Gideon had.
And then the soul wrenching sounds that it had cost him.
I struggled to wrap my head around that.
My heart didn’t know what to do with it.
I loved Lex.
I hated Gideon.
I needed them both alive.
22
SAGE
We were booked into a motel just outside Charlotte. A neat room with twin beds and a snack area with a table and chairs.
Arran left me there for an hour or so and returned with takeout Italian and soda. While he was gone, I thought about calling Lex.
It was one of those moments that creep up slowly and land a punch.
I had no number to call.
My address book was backed up to the cloud, but I didn’t have access to that either.
The only number I did know by heart was my own.
That’s when you realize how fucked up your life is.
The only person I could call was myself.
I wasn’t entirely sure why I didn’t run or call an Uber or even 911.
I wasn’t afraid of Arran Macleod, which made sense. Whatever he was, I’d known him all my life. He wasn’t possessed like Demon Jessica.
I felt safe with him.
But I also needed to be home. I needed to know Lex and Gideon were okay. I needed to check on my friends and make doubly sure they weren’t still statues in the forest.
Instead I was swimming in a sea of lethargy and drifting with the tide.
Maybe it was exhaustion.
After we’d eaten, I sat back in my chair and studied the cuff of ancient symbols inked to Arran’s upper arm. “Are you Sun?”
He shook his head. “I’m not an Eclipse Warlock.”
“Where are we going?”
“Far from Shadow Horn,” he said. “Hold your questions and your worry, lass, there’ll be another time for that.”
We stopped at a strip mall the following day to stock up on the basics: a change of clothes, a toothbrush, a hair dye kit—joking, although when I noticed Arran pay with cash, I did demand, “Are we on the run?”
“Not from the law,” he responded, which wasn’t very reassuring.
His long, wavy hair was tied back, his unshaved jaw brushed with golden bristles. His broad shoulders bunched beneath his t-shirt. His biceps bulged. He wasn’t just muscle either, I’d seen what else he could do.
If he was running scared from someone—or something—I prayed to God they or it didn’t catch up to us.
“Do you have a cell phone?” I hadn’t seen him use one.
He waited until we were back in the truck before he answered. “You’re verra determined, lass.”
I was. “I want to speak to my boyfriend. Is there anything wrong with that? I love him. I miss him.”
“And you think he feels the same?” His mouth flattened, a sort of smile without his vertical dimples. Dark shadows hung beneath his eyes.
And here I was, talking about how much I loved and missed Lex.
“God, I’m sorry.” I was ashamed it had taken me this long—to say it, and to feel the grief myself. “Arran, I’m really sorry about your wife.”
Arran said nothing more.
I fell back against the seat with a soft sigh.
I’d been so wrapped up in Demon Jessica, I’d forgotten the woman she’d been. She came from excessive wealth and yet she’d chosen a simple, giving life instead of glitz and glamor. That was who Jessica Macleod was, not the demon at the end. Warm. Loving. Genuine. Both her and Arran were. He spent his days running the Snack Hut because he enjoyed people, he liked to watch and listen and be part of the heart of our community. He’d told me that once.
We drove through North Carolina that day and deep into the national forests of West Virginia. Arran rarely spoke and there was something restful in that, a respite that resonated in my soul more than the demand for explanations and answers.
I sensed there was a purpose to this journey, more than just running. But first Arran had to process. He had to grieve. It didn’t matter if his wife had died yesterday or weeks ago, he was using this time to heal.
The sun was still high when we pulled up at the rustic lodge nestled within the shroud of ancient woodland. Our bones were sore from all the driving, but this early stop felt like a destination.
It was remote, picturesque, peaceful, and far from Shadow Horn.
That, and Arran paid for two neighboring cabins set apart from the main lodge.
There was a phone on my bedside table. I was desperate to hear Lex’s voice, to know he was okay, to tell him not to worry about me, I’d be home soon, I loved him.
I stared at the stupid useless phone, stared and stared.
It was an instrument of torture.
A mirage in the dessert.
After I’d showered and changed into fresh underwear and a clean shirt, I met up with Arran on the lakeside deck for an early supper. There were other occupied tables and we let their conversation hum around us as we ate.
As we were finishing up, I folded my hands on the table and leaned in to speak softly, “Arran, I really would like to speak to Lex, to hear his voice and know he’s okay.”
His gaze held mine. The shadows weren’t just darks hollows below, they reached in and dulled the blue of his eyes.
He nodded and stood. “You may use the phone in my room. Keep the conversation short and say nothing of our journey or location.”
“Thank you!” I walked with him, down the deck steps and onto the wood-chipped path. “I need internet access, too. My contact list is saved on the cloud.”
“I have a cell,” he said, “but dinna use it to call.”
And keep the conversation short? I snorted. “You seriously think someone will be able to trace the call?”
“Gideon Crest’s company is at the forefront of technology,” he grunted. “I wouldna be surprised if he can trace a landline.”
“Gideon?” The guy you swatted against the wall like a fly? That’s who you’re afraid of? I sent Arran an incredulous look. Not that he noticed. He kept walking, eyes on the path.
I thought about it and maybe it wasn’t that incredulous. Gideon had family. He had a coven of warlocks and a powerful father who couldn’t be very happy with Arran right now.
“You’re afraid the Moon coven comes after you,” I said.
We were at the cabin.
Arran ushered me in ahead of him and closed the door. “I’m not afraid, lass, I dinna want to have ta kill them.”
I laughed.
And then I remembered the ease with which he’d dispatched Lex and Gideon. A fling here. A swat there. What was he?
The cabin was divided into a bedroom and living area. Arran allowed me to look up Lex’s number on his cell and then he left me to the privacy of his bedroom.
I placed the call, holding my breath as it rang.
Lex answered almost immediately. “Sage! Is that you?”
His voice filled my heart and that breath swept out from under my feet.
I sagged onto the edge of the bed. “Lex, thank God. You’re okay.”
“Yes…yes, I’m fine. Jesus, I was so worried. We traced your phone and found it outside the warehouse.” There was a shudder in his voice that stung tears to my eyes. “Are you okay? Has he hurt you?”
“I’m okay, I promise.”
“Where are you?”
“I’ll be home soon,” I said. “Lex, please, there really isn’t anything to worry about. Arran has just been through a lot. He won’t hurt me. I swear.”
“I’m coming to get you,” he said firmly. “Where are you?”
“Not alone,” I reassured him. “We’re at a lodge. There’s load of people around.”
He wasn’t reassured. “Why won’t you say where you are? Is he there with you? Can’t you talk?”
“I’m safe, Lex, I’ll be back soon.” I chewed on my lip, hesitant, my breath clipping. “How is Gideon?”
There was a p
ause. “He’ll live.”
“He’ll live?” Dread pinched my lungs harder. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“He took a lot of damage,” Lex said after another pause . “And he went to war with hell vine. His magic isn’t just depleted it, it’s injured. He will heal, it’s just taking him more time.”
He went to war with hell vine. I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t need a picture. The torturous sounds of his wounds were imprinted on my soul.
“Because of me,” I said quietly. “He let the demon torture him to buy time for you to save me.”
“None of this is your fault,” Lex said.
Maybe not.
I was still responsible.
He went to war.
His magic was injured.
Boys and their pride, you’ll die for a girl but you won’t let her see you cry. I’d thought it was just the demon blustering.
Gideon hadn’t just endured torture to save my life.
He’d gone outside with that demon to die.
“I have to go,” I said.
“Sage, no, please tell me where you are.”
“I love you, Lex. I miss you. I ‘ll see you soon,” I said and put down the phone.
Gideon wouldn’t die. He was a powerful warlock. He had angel blood.
But he’d been prepared to die.
For me.
I found Arran outside on the deck with a bottle of whiskey and went to stand kitty corner to the timbered railing he leant against. My head tilted back to take in the sky. The moon was full, a glowing globe of ivory that lit up the dusting of thin cloud.
“What are you?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.
“Nephilim.”
My jaw fell down, my eyes widening on him as parts of Lex’s story hammered at my chest. “Half angel.”
He offered me the bottle of whiskey in response.
I took it. The label was unfamiliar. Glenfiddich. I swigged down a decent mouthful and gave the bottle back, side-eyeing the angel as I waited for the courage to coat me.
Half angel.
Immortal? What I knew came from fiction, mostly romance. But the word sat comfortably on my tongue. Immortal. I’d always felt there was something timeless about Arran. How often hadn’t I thought he reminded me of a medieval warrior?
“You’re immortal,” I said.
He drank from the bottle and nodded. “I have a story ta tell you, lass.”
“I’ve heard it,” I said slowly. “You’re the Nephilim, and the druid, who created the Moon and Sun. Merdicus. You cast some kind of spell with angel blood and magic to forge an army of warriors. Do Lex and Gideon know who you are?”
“Much of the true history has been lost to them over the ages,” he said. “I’m not Merdicus, lass. I am no druid and I didna create the Moon and Sun, but I was there the day it happened.”
I held out my hand. “I think I’m going to need that.”
Arran gave over the bottle. “Many centuries ago, millennia, Lucifer found a back door and escaped hell to walk the earth. That was before my time. It was a dark period. Great civilizations were lost or plunged back inta obscurity. The Archangel Michael came down from Heaven to hunt him. He was the one who lay with my mother and sired me.”
“Your father is the Archangel Michael.”
The glimmer of a smile touched his mouth. “I have three half-brothers. Merdicus is one of them. His mother was a druid.”
Holy crap. That deserved another long haul from the bottle before I gave it back to him.
“Michael destroyed Lucifer, ended him, and with that he unknowingly weakened the rift between realms. Lucifer wasna only bound to hell, he was…” Arran looked at me, searching for the word. “One of the locks, you could say. Ever since, some demons have found the strength and means ta come through. Me and my brothers fought them alone for centuries, but we couldna be everywhere and Merdicus grew weary of the loss.
“He chose the village of his mother in the lowlands of Ireland. It was a day buried in dark energy, a midday eclipse that fell on the same day as a full moon festival in the village. He performed a ritual with his druid magic ta bind his angel blood to the feast wine. All who drank would be warriors of the moon, bound by his blood and empowered by the lunar energy of an eclipsed full moon. That’s what he called them. His Moon Warriors.”
I digested that in the silent pause. So far, there was nothing in his story that conflicted with what Lex had told me. Just additional, interesting detail.
Arran went on.
“The magic didna settle as Merdicus intended.
“A third of the village became Moon.
“A third of the village became Sun.
“A third of the village became Eclipses, a bridge to walk between Moon and Sun.”
“So there’s a third caste,” I said, thinking aloud. “Moon. Sun. And Eclipse. Wait…are you saying Eclipses draw energy to power their magic from both the sun and the moon?”
“The Eclipse do not have their own magic,” he said. “They are not mundane humans. Elemental traces of angel blood flows in their veins, but they have a void of magic. ‘Tis not the same as having no magic. They are a bridge that joins the Moon and Sun.”
I frowned at him. “I don’t follow.”
“The Moon and Sun call it Reaping. They can harness the void of magic from an Eclipse. It enables them ta walk on that bridge and draw energy from both the moon and the sun. ‘Tis a powerful elixir, as you may imagine, as close to the pure magic of an eclipsed full moon as Merdicus originally envisioned.”
“A double whammy.”
Arran gave a slow nod. “The Moon and Sun broke off into their covens. It’s no surprise the Eclipse scattered far and wide across the planet. They were hunted. Weeded out until their number can be counted on one hand.”
“That’s terrible.”
“’Tis nature. Warlocks with pure eclipsed magic have unparalleled power. They rule their covens for generations. The bridge doesna pass down to their sons and daughters, but the core of the magic they’ve amassed in their lifetime does.”
“Lex never mentioned anything about these Eclipses to me,” I said. “Is that part of the history lost to them?”
“Gideon Crest and Lexan Delacotte are verra aware of the Eclipse.” He looked at me, creases deepening into the corners of his eyes. “Why do you think they want you?”
Me?
I laughed and reached for the whiskey.
His beefy fingers clamped mine around the neck of the bottle. “You are Eclipse, lass, make no mistake. Gideon Crest found you. He hunted you down and trapped you. It’s no coincidence him and Lexan came to Shadow Horn. You are prey and he is a ravenous beast.”
I snatched my fingers away.
My damn knees caught a tremble.
This was ridiculous.
“Why do you think you are so precious ta him?”
I didn’t know about precious, but I was important to Gideon.
Important enough to die for?
“No.” I shook my head emphatically. “Gideon threw himself at a demon to save my life. That doesn’t sound like a ravenous beast to me! He can’t Reap me if he’s dead.”
“The Moon and Sun are fiercely loyal to their coven. He would die if it meant you were saved for another Moon ta Reap.”
“You mean Lex!” I spun away from him to grasp the railing, piercing a look into the dark woods with a scowl that ached behind my eyes.
I was seething. I wasn’t even thinking about Lex. I was thinking about Gideon. The two-faced bastard.
He made no bones about controlling my life. Playing inside my head. That was bad enough.
This was worse.
He’d screwed with my fucking emotions. I’d actually been grateful to him. My heart had softened. I’d been awed, lifted up, put on a pedestal of damn straw.
“Why are you telling me all this?” I flung a hard look at Arran. “And don’t say you want to help me. You practically introduced me to
Lex.”
“Each of us have our own destiny to walk,” he said, not quite sadly, maybe with regret. “I am proud of my brother’s warriors. I have always stood with them, even if it was from the shadows.”
“Oh, so that’s what you were doing in the warehouse yesterday. Standing with Lex and Gideon!”
“They crossed me. I warned them under an oath of vengeance ta leave my wife ta me and they went ahead and took her from me.” His tone grew dark and somber. “This is how I take you from them. You are right. I’m not doing this for you. That doesna make what I’ve told you any less true.”
I knew Lex.
He loved me.
He wouldn’t. He just wouldn’t. He would never do this to me. He wouldn’t let me fall in love with him while he and Gideon plotted.
But Gideon would.
“I can and will help you,” Arran said. “You canna outrun Gideon Crest on your own, he is too strong. Your void of magic is a black hole he can sense and track from hundreds of miles away. He will hunt you again and he will find you.”
“That’s why we’re running,” I finally realized. “That’s why you took me.”
Arran looked at me grimly and it was there, in his eyes. I needed him. If anyone could keep me off Gideon’s radar, it was him.
“I willna hold you prisoner,” he said. “Now that you know the truth, you are free to do as you wish and decide as you will. But if you return home to Shadow Horn, it will be the end of you.”
23
SAGE
The pre-paid Uber dropped me right outside the front door of The Stables. I didn’t care that it was after ten at night. This couldn’t wait for morning. I’d had twenty-four hours to stew and storm and process. I didn’t need a minute more.
The soft glow of light fed from a bedroom upstairs. Everything else was cast in blackness. That didn’t mean they’d both retired. The door was solid and none of the downstairs windows faced out onto the front.
I hammered on the door and waited, my stomach a nest of broken knots. I trusted in the joint decision my head and heart had reached, but that didn’t stop the nerves.
I didn’t want to run and leave behind everything and everyone I loved. But Gideon was too powerful to fight and defeat.
Torment: Dark Paranormal Romance (Eclipse Warlocks Book 1) Page 25