My breath catches. He knows about the pregnancy.
“It’s not the same,” I whimper, wiping back the tears as they spill across my cheeks.
He sighs heavily. “I know. I know it’s not. But it’s the best I can do.”
“I don’t want to live in a world without you in it. It’s not fair,” I say, my chin quivering and every fiber of my being screaming in agony.
Wade’s father approaches us, lifting his left hand to place it on Wade’s shoulder. “We need to go. I know you don’t want to, but your initiation must begin to solidify your role as an Angel of Death,” he says softly.
“I don’t want to leave her. Not like this,” Wade says, tears clouding his own eyes.
“When that is over, you can come back for longer periods of time,” his father offers. “But for now, we must get your initiation underway or your soul will be swept up into the realm of the dead. Let’s try and avoid that, okay?”
Wade nods faintly. “All right.” He turns back to me, placing his hands on either side of my face and making me look directly into his silver eyes. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise you.”
“But it isn’t forever—” I sob.
His lower lip tugs downward, making his chin compress. “It’s always forever.”
With that, his lips crush down on mine, sending a chill through me that reaches all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes. I reach up, entwining my fingers in his hair, only half aware of the fact that it’s not his real hair—or his real body I’m kissing.
After a moment, he pulls back, resting his forehead against mine. “I know this isn’t what we wanted. But it’s the only way forward.”
“I know,” I mutter, closing my eyes to fight back the emotions threatening to devour me whole.
But no matter what I try, my world is spinning seriously out of control.
Wade moves abruptly, kissing me on the cheek and turning back around to face his dad. “All right. I guess I’m ready as I’ll ever be.” He gives my hand one last squeeze as he steps away from me.
“Sorry, dear. But you’re not going to get off quite so easily,” a woman’s voice says.
Materializing out of the shadows in the room, an older woman clad in a dark woolen cloak appears just to the left of Wade. Before we have time to react, she reveals an enormous pair of shears from under her cloak. Then, within seconds, she severs the silver cord of light binding Wade to his father.
“No—” the Angel of Death cries out, lunging forward.
But it’s too late. The silver string and the strong aura that flowed around the two of them dissipates, leaving Wade in a hazy gray cloud.
Aisa twists around, squaring off with Wade’s father. “How dare you try to defy us? You know his role in all of this, just as well as I. You will not be allowed to circumvent it.”
Without warning, Wade’s soul is thrust back into his body. For the briefest of moments, euphoria takes me over as he sits up, clutching at his chest and coughing life back into his lungs.
However, the mark on his chest detonates in a flurry of red and gold flames until there’s not a single trace left of it. Then the inky black lines that had spun themselves outward from the mark on his chest erupt, consuming every square inch of his skin. His silver eyes darken until even the whites are crowded out by the darkness.
“What the hell?” I screech, rushing into the room.
Before I can reach him, both his father and I are thrust backward as Aisa raises a single hand in our direction. I fight against whatever energetic hold she has on us, but it’s no use.
Aisa’s smile widens into a lopsided smirk, and without even looking at Wade, she says, “It’s time to ride, Horseman. You have work to do.”
My heart skips a beat, lodging itself firmly in my throat.
Horseman?
As in…one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Oh, my god. This can’t be happening.
Chapter 23
Fail-safe
As if everything that happens next is up to free will, Aisa chuckles to herself and vanishes in the same swirl of sparks that Lachesis did.
Her laughter rings in my ears as Wade’s dad and I drop to the floor, landing hard on our feet and crumpling to the tiles. However, the Angel of Death is faster than I am. He’s on his feet and rushing over to Wade before I’ve even managed to collect my bearings.
Wade’s blackened form leaps from the bed, ripping off the hospital gown and dropping it to the floor. A strange, guttural sound escapes his lips as the bones inside him begin to snap and bend, growing in both height and size.
Stepping out in front of Wade’s deforming body, the Angel of Death stretches his arms out wide. “Wade, you have to fight this. Don’t let the Moirai win.”
However, what stares back at him is undoubtably no longer Wade. Instead, the Horseman tilts his head down, his black eyes staring straight through the Angel of Death.
“Wade, please,” his father pleads. It’s a last feeble attempt—even I know that.
The Horseman responds with a quick, forceful jab through the Angel’s abdomen. His black fist protrudes through the other side for a moment, then disappears when he retracts it.
The Angel of Death collapses, falling in some sort of bizarre slow motion.
“No—” I cry out, crawling my way to him and yanking him backward as quickly as I can.
His breathing is labored as he struggles to hold himself together. “Use…the…box,” he says softly as something akin to black blood oozes from his lips. He reaches out, clutching my hands in his. His eyes plead with me but dim all too quickly.
Slumping forward, his body disintegrates into a cloud of black smoke that disperses right through my outstretched hands.
Before I can stop myself, I scream. The sound does nothing to deter the Horseman as he turns his horrifying black stare toward me. Instantly, I know there’s no way I can outrun him, and he’s clearly got no qualms about killing people who are in his way. Even ones his body would have otherwise cared about.
Without a second thought, I propel myself from my physical body, forcing myself into astral form in the hopes that it might confuse the Horseman long enough for me to regroup. My body drops, and for a moment, the Horseman halts his progress forward.
If this form could breathe, I’d be holding my breath, hoping he doesn’t realize my heart is still beating.
When my body doesn’t move, the Horseman drops to his hands and knees, prowling forward like some kind of feral animal. Even in this form, I can feel the energy of the room shift as the Horseman bends closer to my body. His tongue flicks outward as he tests the air.
“Come out, come out,” he chides, his voice a deep baritone that sends a chill straight through me.
I don’t take the bait. But I also don’t leave. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I need to get my ass out of here and find a way to warn everyone. I can’t do that if I’m dead, and I sure as hell can’t do that in this form.
“Hey, you big black oaf. What do you think you’re doing? Leave the girl alone,” Diana Hawthorne calls out from the doorway. Behind her, Cat and Colton look like they’re ready for the beat-down of the century.
When the Horseman of Death looks over his shoulder, Diana juts her chin out, blowing some stray pink hairs out of her face.
“If you really want a challenge, how about picking on someone who can’t die,” she says, placing a hand on her hip.
The Horseman turns, clearly more interested in this new prey than the measly little girl crumpled on the floor. He rises, his black body almost tall enough to reach the ceiling.
“Ooooh, shit. Here he comes,” Diana mutters, her blue eyes wide as she spins on her heel.
The three of them race off down the hall and the Horseman takes the bait and rushes out the door after them.
Relief floods through me and I don’t hesitate. I drop back into my physical form, with the clear intention of getting as far away from here as I
can. There’s no time for fear or grief. I need to get somewhere safe and figure out my next move.
As I regain my physical bearings, I scramble to my feet. In the distance, I can hear the commotion caused in the wake of the Horseman and his chase. Screams pierce the silence and some are abruptly cut off in mid-tone.
My stomach rolls and I find myself again fighting the urge to be sick. Holding onto my stomach, I race from the hospital room, running the opposite direction from where Diana and the others ran. I need to put as much distance as possible between us.
Turning the corner, I slam straight into my mom. I let out a surprised squeal, collapsing into her.
“What in the hell is going on?” she asks, craning around me to get a better view.
“Everything—” I wail. “Oh, my god, Mom. Wade…” Tears rush to my eyes and for a moment, she tugs me into her.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” she whispers.
“Mom, it’s not safe. We can’t stay here,” I say, breaking the connection. I know what she thinks has happened, and while she’s partially right, I don’t want her to witness the rest of it.
“What do you mean? What’s happened?” she asks, alarm rising in her tone.
I try to catch my breath and force my mind to form the words. “Wade—the Moirai—”
“Slow down. Tell me what happened,” Mom says, holding onto my upper arms and steadying me.
Swallowing hard, I say, “Aisa’s cursed Wade. He’s become a Horseman.” The last word squeaks out of my mouth and I cover my lips with the back of my hand. “We have to run. He’s already killed his father.”
My mom’s eyes widen and she breathes, “An Angel of Death has been killed?”
I nod frantically.
“Holy shit,” she says, raising her fingertips to her mouth. “This is bad. Very, very bad. You’re right, we need to get out of here.”
In total agreement, I turn to run the way she had come, but Mom yanks me back. “Wait, wait. Do you have your backpack?”
“Forget the damn backpack,” I cry, waving a hand dismissively.
“No, we need to go back and get it. I know what the writing on the box means,” Mom says, clutching my arm.
“What?” I ask, unable to fight the panic telling me to run. Run like hell and never look back.
Mom exhales, her eyes closing for a moment in concentration. “It says, ‘Gift to the ones with the power to wield it. Prison for the sins that lay waste.’ Autumn, do you have any idea what this means?” Mom asks, her hazel eyes flashing.
“Not in the least,” I mutter, wishing it made even a semblance of sense right now.
Her eyebrows tug in and her jaw sets. “Autumn, I think you were somehow gifted Pandora’s Box.”
I shake my head and back away. “That can’t be right.”
“Of course it can be. The box was lost in antiquity, but somehow it’s made its way to you. There has to be a reason for it. Some way we can use it to our advantage,” she says, her words coming out in an urgent whisper.
“I have absolutely no…”
Suddenly, everything is all too clear. Sin-eating, the box, the end to the curse. All of it.
For the first time in forever, hope floods my being and I look back into my mother’s confused eyes. “I know what I need to do,” I say, my mouth dropping open.
“What is it?” she asks.
A high-pitched scream erupts down the hall, making us both jump. It’s closer than before.
“There’s not enough time. You’re right, I need to go back for the box,” I say. “But I’ll have to do everything from the room. ”
“Let’s go. Whatever you need, I’m with you,” Mom say, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze. “I tried keeping you from this life. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it take you from me without a fight.”
I tip my head, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around her neck. “Thank you.”
“I love you, sweetheart. Now, let’s put an end to the apocalypse.”
Together, we rush back to Wade’s room. There’s a trail of blood and scattered body parts at the far end of the hallway, and it takes everything I have to walk back into the place where all of the devastation started.
“I’ll stand guard,” Mom says, sliding into the room and closing the door behind us. “But whatever you’re planning, do it fast.” She mutters something under her breath and the seams of the door light up in a bright light that etches itself into the creases.
Scrambling to the other side of the room, I dive to the floor and pull my backpack close to me. I can’t believe all this time I held onto something so powerful and it was just sitting in my backpack.
I wrench the bag open and pull out the small wooden box, staring at it with a completely different perspective. If my mom is right, if this is the box that inspired Pandora’s myths, then maybe…just maybe I can do something to set things right.
“What are you going to do?” Mom asks, turning to look at me.
I glance up, settling into a strange sense of calm. “You’ll see. No time to explain.”
Her forehead wrinkles, but she nods.
Outside, another scream makes us both jump. “He’s coming, Autumn. If he senses either of us in here—”
The door suddenly throbs with the force of an explosion, but somehow manages to stay on its hinges.
Mom stumbles back, her arms raised in front of her. “Hurry!” she yells, her eyes wide as she turns back to the door. She splays her fingers wide as she mutters words I have never heard before. Bright light emanates from her palms, intensifying the light binding the door.
My heart thumps against my ribcage, and all I can think about is how this is the only thing that makes any sense. If it doesn’t work—nothing else will. This will be the end of the line.
I flare my nostrils and inhale deeply. “All right, Autumn. I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing,” I mutter to myself, turning my gaze to the small wooden object in my hands.
Closing my eyes, I focus on the box with the extrasensory sight Abigail had me work on. In my mind’s eye, a pattern emerges on the outside of the box. The bright, neon-like light moves almost slowly, edging from piece to piece. A sense of relief swells, but I don’t have time to give in to it. This might still blow up in my face if I’m not careful.
There’s no way I’m about to do as Lachesis suggested. It might make sense to her, but even if I trusted her, it’s not enough.
Releasing Abigail and Warren’s sins won’t stop something like this from happening again to Wade. Even in another timeline, even in another life, he could be called forth as a Horseman. There could always be another reason.
His father knew this was coming. He knew how big this was about to become and how devastating it would truly be. There were so many ways he tried to stop it from coming to pass, but he had one fail-safe.
This box.
There’s no way he entrusted me with Pandora’s Box, a box that can trap sins and the evil of this world, simply to save my own family.
No, it’s much, much bigger than that—and I intend to see it through.
Settling into the energy of the box, my fingertips work swiftly to unlock the wooden puzzle. As it begins to open, one small wooden component at a time, the gravity of this situation consumes me.
This is what I was made for. Understanding the delicate balance of life and death…knowing how important it is to wield the power wisely was only the beginning. It brought me into alignment with my ultimate destiny—to put an end to fate itself.
I need to consume the sins of the Moirai.
Chapter 24
The Box
The vibration in the air reaches a fever pitch as the box gets closer to opening fully. The power of the box is evident, and even if it’s not Pandora’s Box, whatever it is, it has the ability to cause some serious damage. Each piece slides back and forth, operating in tandem like a wooden Rubik’s Cube.
For a moment, the pounding on the other si
de of the door ceases and shouts erupt in the hallway. I look up just in time to see the Horseman lifted off of his feet and flung away from the tiny hospital door window. Tiles, boards, and steel beams follow after him and instinctively, I know this is the work of Colton and his abilities. At this moment, I couldn’t be more grateful to have him here. I just hope I have it in me to make their efforts and any sacrifices worth it.
Diana yells something, but I can’t make out her words over the sounds of crunching metal and debris. Shuddering away the images it conjures, I take a deep breath and turn back to the box.
My vision shows me the final three moves and I continue quickly until I remove the final piece. The top of the box opens like a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Bright-white light spews from the opening, making me shield my eyes with the back of my right hand.
Mom twists around, shielding her eyes as well.
The lights in the room dim, then flicker off as the box creates a sort of energy vacuum. The hairs all over my body stand on end, but I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from the white light. It’s as if I could just crawl into it and stay there forever.
Maybe I should just…
“Close the box,” Mom yells, dropping her arms, and racing toward me. “You can’t have it open until you’re ready. It’s too dangerous.”
She reaches forward, pressing her hands to the top components, and forcing them closed one by one. As the last piece locks down, the light instantly goes out, plunging us into semi-darkness. It only lasts a moment because emergency lighting suddenly floods into the room, casting a strange orange-and-red glow.
“That was close. Thank you,” I mutter, shaking my head. “I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t look away from the light.”
“Its magick resonates with you. You’ll need to be more careful,” Mom says, pulling her shaking extremities back from the box. Her hands are charred black as the skin burns from her fingertips to her forearms.
The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 Page 81