Summon them! she snapped, sounding strained. And another shiver rolled down my spine to see her suddenly shift two inches to the right without crossing the space between. It looked like one of those video chat calls when the other person has a bad internet connection and they keep freezing and resuming in slightly different positions.
A glitch in the Matrix.
We could not afford a bad internet connection or a glitch. No time to waste.
I turned back to my partners in crime.
A dome of dark light—Hellish protection—slowly expanded around Pride, seeming to press away the gusts of sparks ripping across the desolate, jagged world of raw black and ivory stone.
Michael had a similar dome around him, but his was a pale gray color, representing his Heavenly protection. I let out a sigh of relief, scratching out one of my hidden concerns—that Michael might have actually fallen and lost his Heavenly pension benefits. That would have ruined our whole plan. The two domes intersected without a nuclear explosion, reminding me of a Venn diagram.
I made sure to stay within that overlapping space as the two had forewarned me. I was mortal, after all, and I would be first to succumb to the effects of the Neverwas without their domes of protection—Heaven and Hell keeping me safe in Purgatory. Who would have guessed it.
I quickly checked our surroundings, balking at the colossal pillars of pale powder and dusty mountains in the near distance. Other than the swirling swarms of sparks—resembling schools of tropical fish moving in concert—in the stormy black sky, we were utterly alone, as if this was some alien planet.
“The Night Currents,” Michael commented with a shudder, eyeing the swarms of dancing embers.
The pair instantly tucked in their wings, looking nervous about the Night Currents. “You’d have to be one crazy son of a bitch to try flying in that,” Pride murmured. I was pretty sure I’d heard Nate tell me that his unicorn, Grimm, had braved those currents once. Hunting rainbows or something. I chose not to mention it. Grimm was certifiable, so it didn’t invalidate their fear.
Michael cleared his throat, pointedly. “As fun as this is…”
I blushed beneath my scarf and nodded. I pulled out the two wooden figurines of the White Tiger and the Vermillion Bird that Lilith had given me. Both were carved of a rich, red wood and felt strangely warm to the touch. I swiftly reached down to a throwing knife tucked into my boot and almost dropped the seemingly twenty-pound dagger. I managed to prick the tip of my finger and slip it back into the sheath before a hush fell over the Neverwas.
I looked up in alarm to see Michael and Pride staring down at the ground beneath my hand. A single drop of blood had hit the ash, and already seemed to be boiling. “Shit,” I breathed. Because I suddenly heard a stampede of screams in the distance. I looked up sharply to see a cloud about a mile-wide racing down the distant mountain, seemingly headed right for us. My stomach roiled, unable to look away from the rolling, tangled mass of what I imagined was thousands of rubbery, boneless spirits racing our way as fast as they possibly could. In this place, I had no idea how far away they actually were, because distances seemed to slip and slide in my peripheral vision. Maybe a mile? Too fucking close.
“Callie…” Pride growled nervously.
I rubbed my bloody finger over each figurine, ignoring my shaking fingers.
“ZOE! BAI! WE’VE COME TO BRING YOU HOME!”
The figurines abruptly flared with intense heat, smoldering at the edges. I refused to let them go, fearing what would happen if any more of my blood hit the ground. I tried to ignore the distant screams, which was made easier by the fact that I was panting desperately into my scarf, staring at the figurines in frantic desperation. How long had we been here? Two minutes? Longer than Lilith’s visit, so that was good.
Directly before me, two translucent spirits fizzled into existence and I almost stumbled back in alarm.
A huge, fully-grown tiger and a phoenix of about the same size as the cat slowly lifted their heads to stare at me. Although basically transparent, their faces were gaunt and hollow and confused. They were staring at the figurines with puzzled, exhausted expressions, as if trying to recall why they looked familiar.
“Oh, my God. It worked,” I whispered, feeling my eyes growing misty. I tugged down my scarf and smiled at the phoenix and tiger. “Xuanwu and Qinglong sent us,” I said, pointing at the Gateway. “We’re here to rescue you!”
The phoenix let out a weak cry that sounded like a dying peacock, and then shook her head languidly. Her long, translucent tail of feathers stretched out behind her like a limp rag.
“Let’s save the Q and A for after we save them,” Pride growled. “Come on, Zoe,” he said, scooping up the phoenix and lobbing her through the Gateway.
Except she bounced off the surface like it was solid glass. My heart dropped into my stomach. Zoe landed awkwardly on the ground, stumbling. Then she let out another wailing cry, shaking her head more forcefully. Bai, the tiger, let out an agonizing growl, and then shook her body as if to banish excess water from her fur.
“Well, that fucking sucked,” Pride said, staring at the Gateway.
“They’re moving fast,” Michael warned, keeping an eye on the oncoming horde of starving souls.
The tiger plodded over to me drunkenly, and I had to focus intently so as not to lose sight of her almost invisible form. She nudged my hand with her nose as if wanting me to pet her, and my heart broke. “Oh, Bai. What has this place done to you?” I whispered, feeling how frail and hollow she was.
She nudged me again and my bloody finger smeared over her forehead in a crimson streak. Light suddenly flickered through her body like fire following a trail of gasoline, and I gasped. She straightened marginally, puffing out her chest as if taking her first deep breath after a long run. Then the light faded and she sagged again, letting out a sad whine that I felt in my chest.
The phoenix wailed again, tripping towards me, and she sounded downright condescending.
My blood was powerful, able to make people stronger. I’d Blood Bonded Qinglong to me. My blood was also powerful enough to break bonds. But Zoe and Bai were bloodless souls. Yet…Xylo had been a bloodless skeleton, and I had bonded him. I decided to stop thinking about it too hard, because the oncoming wave of vengeful spirits was only growing closer.
I drew my knife and cut deep across both palms. Then I grabbed both of the divines, hurriedly smearing my blood over their bodies as I drew deep on my power. They flared with light and the horde of souls screamed louder as the two Divines roared and wailed, growing less translucent and filling in with color. My head began to swim as I panted, not entirely sure what I was doing. But I felt their minds coming alive, and I tried to pass on my intentions through our bond. The Blood Bond snapped into place and I let out a choking cough, feeling as if my stomach was a black hole of nothingness—as if I would never again feel full.
I. Was. Starving.
“What was that?” Michael shouted, sounding shaken.
I sagged, wanting nothing more than to fall to the ground. “A Blood Bond,” I said, fighting through the yawning void in my center. “It makes them stronger by binding them with my blood,” I mumbled, tiredly.
The tiger nudged my cheek, encouragingly, and I sobbed to see that she was now actually a glowing white tiger. Her claws gleamed like freshly polished steel, and her teeth were a perfect match as she curled her lip in an anxious snarl towards the oncoming wave.
The phoenix burned with astonishing red and white feathers, and I saw faint flickers of flame on her long, vibrant tail. She swiftly abandoned us and began frantically pecking at the glass-like surface of the Gateway. My joy crashed and burned, realizing my Blood Bond hadn’t been enough. I scrambled over and reached my own hand through to Xuanwu’s field without issue.
“Damn it!” I cursed. “My Blood Bond isn’t strong enough to get them through!”
The screaming army grew steadily nearer, drawn to the amount of fresh blood in the air. The t
iger snarled angrily as she swiped her claws against the invisible barrier of the Gateway to the sound of nails on a chalkboard. I stared at our escape, trying to force my mind to think of a solution as Sanguina continued to spastically snarl and flicker on the other side—the connection between us spotty, despite her anchor. I glanced back to see the horde of souls had covered half the distance. I hoped they were as sluggish as Bai and Zoe had been, giving us a few more precious seconds to come up with our escape. I called up the Spear of Destiny and stared down at it, trying to think of anything I could do to buy us some time. What had my mother expected me to do? Could I send a blast of light at the souls?
“Fighting and hiding are both off the table. What if we tried this Blood Bond?” Pride asked, anxiously. “It obviously did something helpful since they’re no longer transparent,” he said, pointing at Zoe and Bai.
Michael shook his head. “Our blood is too potent. And who knows what mixing our two pantheons together would do? It might very well be poisonous to them. May as well stab them in the heart with your weapon.”
Which left us with…
My Spear. But how?
I sent up a silent prayer, not knowing what else to do.
Help me, mom. Please just let me save these girls and bring them home. They’ve suffered enough.
51
I stared down at my Spear with a frown, Michael’s words scratching something deep in my mind. It is not a weapon. Ryuu and Aala had been adamant about that. I slowly looked up at the archangel and archdemon. I could visibly see that their domes of protection were weakening and growing smaller, their very aura was being beaten back by the oppressive weight of anti-death that was the Neverwas.
Sanguina snarled at us through the Gateway, her fur visibly steaming and her molten eye sockets blazing with light. I could feel her anxiety and strain to keep the Gateway stable for us—able to see us but reading my mind well enough to know that something was terribly wrong. For whatever reason, she could no longer communicate with me through my mind—our connection was too unstable.
The tiger stalked over to me, growing more lethargic as I watched the power of my Blood Bond begin to fade away. She sat down beside me, nudging me with a sad yowl. The phoenix hopped over, her flaming feathers already growing weaker as she pressed up against my other side, shooting her sister a sad look and voicing an agonizing cry. The fire didn’t burn me, but I probably wouldn’t have cared if it had.
“The Spear is not a weapon,” I whispered, fighting back the heartache caused by their fear and sorrow. At their dashed hopes.
Sanguina managed to somehow send me a whispered message—a repeat of her earlier mantra—and the Gateway rippled as a result, shrinking smaller at her momentary lapse in focus. The Gateway solidified as she focused back on it. I pondered her mantra, gripping my Spear tightly, ignoring Michael and Pride nervously bickering back and forth.
I visualized the metal card from the box in my mother’s laboratory—particularly, the strange image I’d found inside it. The Spear of Destiny forming a bridge. Whatever the picture had portrayed, there was no question that it had represented massive power. And the Spear was made for healing, not harming. I slowly lifted my gaze to the two brothers, cocking my head at a crazy, half-baked thought.
Was it enough power to save the two Divines? Was their blood worth the risk?
“I need you both to cut your hands and grab the Spear of Destiny with me,” I said, hurriedly. “Maybe it will be enough to bolster my Blood Bond with them. This way we don’t have to worry about your blood poisoning theirs.” Maybe my Spear would cleanse their potent blood before passing it onto the Divines—like a blood transfusion. I risked a glance past them, cringing at the writhing mass of tortured souls. Like an inbound wave, they stretched to left and right, impossible to evade or withstand. “If you don’t, we’re all going to die in a few minutes. Less.”
“We can escape and come back with a better plan!” Michael shouted, pointing at the open Gateway.
And…he was right.
I shook my head adamantly. “I won’t do it. We just rang the dinner bell and painted them with living blood. No way am I leaving them behind to be feasted upon after we gave them a taste of hope. Look at them!” I said, feeling Zoe and Bai press closer against me, sandwiching me as they wilted in fear of the oncoming wave of anti-death. “They’re brimming with life compared to anything else here. The souls will devour them like a school of piranhas. We just turned them into cocaine!” I shouted, feeling my own stomach threatening to pull me down into the ground from my impossible hunger.
Pride gripped Michael’s shoulder firmly. “She’s right, brother,” he said in a stern tone.
Michael set his jaw and nodded. “I know,” he whispered. And the look he gave his brother touched my heart. It was a look of respect. A look of gratitude. And it was a whisper of unspoken sorrow at all the time they had lost with each other. “Thank you for saying what shouldn’t have needed to be said,” Michael told his brother, dipping his chin, respectfully.
I narrowed my eyes. “Hey. I am right here, and I said it first, you hairy idiot.”
Michael shot me a guilty smirk that quickly split into a wide grin. Then the two of them laughed, slapping each other on the backs as they knelt down beside me.
And that’s when I noticed that my pockets were buzzing. I frowned, reaching inside to pull out the rings from my mother’s box. Both were glowing.
Michael and Pride both froze. Pride leaned close. “Where did you get those?” he breathed. “I thought they had been destroyed.”
Michael looked shaken to his core as he reached out and touched one. It flashed brighter and suddenly zipped out of my palm and onto his finger. His name flared on the metal and he let out a sigh of relief.
Pride did the same, and the other ring suddenly appeared on his own ring finger. A name flashed there, starting with an L—obviously not Pride—but he lifted his hand to inspect it before I could read it. “You never cease to amaze me, White Rose,” he whispered to me with a loving, compassionate look.
I nodded numbly, knowing we didn’t have time for monologues as I handed Pride my dagger.
Pride shot a dubious scowl at the Spear, and then checked the distance of our impending doom. “I’m not going to die a coward,” he boasted angrily. “What would everyone say about me? It would ruin my reputation.” I could tell that his heart wasn’t in the last part, but I saw no need to point it out as he sliced his palm and held the dagger out to Michael with an encouraging nod.
Michael assessed him. “I’m going to regret saying this, but I am proud to call you brother, Lucifer,” he said, and then he sliced his palm and grasped his brother’s bloody hand with his own.
I blinked, my jaw falling open. “The fuck what? You’re Lucifer?” I shrieked. That had been the name on his ring—not Pride. I’d seen the L, but not the rest of the damning name. They didn’t seem to hear me. I felt a panic attack brewing, so I shook my head, firmly, filing it away for later—if we survived.
Pride—Lucifer—sucked in a breath, surprised and…honored by his brother’s praise. “Thank you, Michael,” he whispered, lowering his eyes. “You’re not too bad yourself, you know.”
Michael rolled his eyes and released his grip with Lucifer to grab one end of the Spear. “If an angel can fall, does it not make sense that one could also rise?” he mused, philosophically.
Lucifer nodded with a thoughtful look in his eyes, and then gripped the other end of the Spear. Then he wrapped his other arm around the tiger protectively. “Come here, Bai. Let me help you. I’m not as noble as my brother, but I’ll die before I let them take you, girl.” He smiled at her so brightly that my heart skipped a beat. She purred like a diesel engine as she rubbed her metal whiskers against his cheek, making him laugh.
A tear of joy fell from Michael’s cheek as he cast his brother an adoring smile. Then he mirrored the gesture by wrapping his arm around the phoenix. “Come here, child. Like my brother said, we
’ll stick with you to the end.”
I focused on the Spear, checking the souls in my peripheral vision. They must have been as lethargic and heavy as Bai and Zoe had been, or they would have already been on top of us. I licked my lips, nervously. “You understand this might not work, and that it could kill you,” I said. “Kill us all.” I eyed their rings curiously, trying to figure out why my mother had kept them locked away—where she had managed to steal a fucking archangel and archdemon’s class ring.
Lucifer shrugged. “But think of the story they will tell about me.”
Michael chuckled. “None of us will survive long enough to share the story if this fails.”
Lucifer nodded with a faint smile. “I felt like I needed to say it,” he murmured. In unison, the two abruptly turned to stare at something well above, and beyond, the tide of souls. Their rings flared brighter—white hot, but they didn’t seem to notice.
“Do you feel that, too?” Michael murmured.
Lucifer nodded. “Yes. It’s…strange. Familiar but not.”
“Is it dangerous?” I asked, trying to see whatever it was that had caught their attention as I fought down my own soul-deep hunger. Their rings had done something. But what? And why didn’t they seem to notice?
“No,” Pride, Lucifer, whatever, said absently, turning back to me with a frown. “It’s nothing, I’m sure.”
Michael cleared his throat. “We’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. Save us, Callie Penrose.”
“Hold onto your haloes,” I said, focusing on the Spear. “This is going to get bumpy,” I muttered. “And in case we don’t make it, I love you two for seeing this through with me.”
And…I meant it. Aala had told me there was a power in healing. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, and she had devoted her entire life to healing her husband’s pain. My Spear was designed to heal, not harm. Maybe…
Anghellic: Feathers and Fire Book 8 Page 30