by S Lawrence
It was so easy. People die during surgery every day. No one suspected.
The acceptance hits me like a freight train… I have always been the Angel of Death.
I sit silent for a long time; how long, I’m not sure. Time in Hell is different. It could have been days or minutes. I guess that is part of the punishment for those that find themselves here. Eternity has no end, so there is no need to worry about something as short as a day.
But above, Arkyn is fighting. Celine is dying. That thought makes me smile, and I feel that dark side of me smiling out at me.
“Zeph.” I don’t scream; I just whisper it. I make it a plea.
He appears sitting within arm’s length, well within range of my dark power.
“It is neither dark nor light. It just is.”
I frown; I hadn’t spoken out loud. “What is your power?”
“I have a few, but the most powerful is mind control and reading. It came in very useful in my previous job.”
“Which was what exactly?” I don’t think I’m going to like his reply.
“I was the Bringer of Justice. An executioner.” I hear such sadness in his voice.
It brings the other side of my power to life. Tendrils reach for him, wanting to heal what is broken. He shakes his head.
“No, Lali. Leave me my scars.” He blocks my power by reaching inside me with his.
That connection of the two opens him to me slightly, and I see him. Like I’ve seen Arkyn. I see the wounds that he hides that fester within him. Like Arkyn, he doesn’t believe he is worthy. He doesn’t search for redemption. There will be no return to Heaven for him, even if the war is won.
He knows there is no place there for him.
This is his home. Here in Hell.
So he thinks, but I know different. Maybe not Heaven but not eternal punishment. I think there’s been enough of that.
I close my eyes and reach for Arkyn.
‘Find her.’ I use Zeph’s own power to boost that message and hope it breaks through to the man he cares so much about. It almost breaks my heart how much he loves Arkyn, the baby brother who died trying to save Zeph’s best friend. I hear the echo of his promise the moment he found Arkyn dead—I will always protect you. He has been since the moment they awoke here, changed but so much the same.
Lucifer appears, and I know instantly something is wrong.
“Sitara.”
My stomach drops at her name, and I shoot to my feet.
“Theon is attacking the temple.” He is entirely too calm.
“I must go help her.”
They look at each other, and Zeph shrugs.
“She would have to control it or she would kill her.”
Lucifer doesn’t like that answer but he nods. “You are going with her. The power has been locked down here, but there, it will be as strong as it was on the street.” He stares hard at Zeph. “Your job is to keep everyone safe.”
“Don’t put that on him.” I step up to the King of Hell and glare at him, feeling protective of the man that has watched out for Arkyn for thousands of years.
Lucifer grins. “I’m putting it on you, girl. Don’t hurt him or make him have to hurt you.” His eyes say he’s looked deep within Zeph and knows his secrets also.
“Fuck you,” I murmur.
“You aren’t the first to have thought that but you might be the first to say it to my face.” His face flashes to that of Satan, the one meant to scare all humans and demons alike. I shiver but don’t step back. “Good, you are going to need that strength. Avalon has chosen the temple and will only let Sitara in. It is the only reason I came here. I am hoping her love for you will make it consider you worthy, or at least safe.”
My jaw drops. He wants me to go back to the place that held me as I lay dying.
Yep. Fuck you.
Chapter 32
ARKYN
‘Find her.’
I startle, looking around. She shouldn’t be able to reach me from that cell.
She sounds desperate and sad. I blink, once, twice, and a third time as I try to figure out what to do.
‘Lali?’ Nothing. No response and I don’t feel her. She’s gone. Looking down at my phone gripped tightly in my hand, I try to figure out who to call. Normally, I’d call Zeph. Second would be Evander, but he’s out of commission too. Shit. Dagen? I shake my head.
Instead I pull up the text and hit the call button.
“We haven’t found her, but I think we’re close.” Lillian sounds excited.
“That’s not why I called. Lali connected with me.” I can hear her landing, stumbling a little. She must have been flying right over the rooftops.
“Is she out?” Both fear and worry cloud her voice.
“I was hoping you might know. Have you heard anything from Luc?”
“No. I’ll call you right back.” She’s the only one I know he picks up for every time she calls. Of course, now we know it’s because of Grace.
My phone vibrates, and I answer. “Anything?”
“He didn’t answer.” Shit. “Something is wrong. Meet us back at the apartment.” She hangs up without saying anything else. That more than anything tells me how worried she is; Lillian is polite to a fault.
My wings carry me up and quickly across the city. Owning the building and living on the top floor has its advantages; Dagen is waiting by the opened roof access door.
“They are already heading down.” Damn, they’re fast. “I think they were just a few blocks away.”
I pause on the steps at his statement. Interesting.
“She was looking for us.” He nods at my words. How is she tracking us? “Any word from Luc yet?” This time, he shakes his head. “Something is very wrong.” He squeezes by me and takes the stairs two at a time. I follow after him, trying to shake the unease from my mind. But it’s stuck like glue.
When I step through the door, Luc appears, and his face says it all.
“I just took Citlali and Zeph to Rio. Sitara is being attacked by Theon at the temple. I couldn’t help her because Avalon has chosen the temple as its new home. It won’t allow me in and it is even blocking Caliel.” His face shifts, he is angry.
“I took Citlali, hoping it will recognize how Sitara feels about her and let her in. I don’t know who else got in with Theon.” His power flutters across us.
Glancing around, I see the others notice it as well. I’ve never seen him lose control. Dagen’s head shakes a minute amount, worry creasing his brow.
“Luc, take us there. Even if we can’t get in, we can keep any other Fallen from starting trouble from the outside.” Charlie touches his forearm to make sure he’s paying attention. He turns eerie eyes on her before shaking his head, clearing them.
What the fuck is going on?
“Yeah, okay.” He sounds completely out of it.
“I think I should stay here and try to find the woman.” His head turns slowly my way at my words. “Lali contacted me from Hell.” I emphasize the last. “She told me I needed to find the woman.”
He nods once, and then they all disappear.
I stand staring at where they were.
No time to waste but I don’t have a clue how to find this woman. I can't hear her song, don’t have any idea what she looks like. She was close. The thought gives me an idea.
I think we were right that she can track us somehow. I head back out the way I came in, back up to the roof. I think of Lali and my brothers, I think of those that have been slaughtered by the Fallen. My anger, my rage, spikes and my power flows out of me.
Another freak storm covers the Amsterdam skyline. Lightning flashes, illuminating the city.
“Come find me.”
Chapter 33
CITLALI
Zeph is at my side. He is the thing keeping the darkness in check. His words, his pain, his memories, and the knowledge that they could be mine soon or at least ones that look just like them.
The sounds of battle crash through the barrier Avalon has set
around the temple. Theon and Sitara are at war.
She will not win. I look over at the man at my side, and his face is set, grim lines creasing the eternal youth of it. He seems to have aged a thousand years in the moment we have stood here.
“She has watched, not fought. She will not win,” I murmur what I had thought only seconds before.
He had agreed to stay out of my mind unless I asked for his help.
“She is stronger than you think.”
“I have felt his strength in my bones.” My voice drops an octave in my anger.
He turns his head and pins me with his gaze. “Then do something to aid her.” Easier said than done. “You have yet to try.” I narrow my eyes at the invasion. “Cross the barrier.”
My heart pounds just at the thought. He doesn’t understand the pain and the terror not only of Theon but also the place itself. Avalon held me prisoner, hid me as I lay dying. It did nothing to help me.
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Get out of my head, Zeph. You promised.”
He shrugs, unrepentant. “How do we know it did nothing? Maybe it was why the other woman could see you.”
I feel my mouth drop open. I want to argue but can’t. I look at the temple. I’m able to see the shadow of Avalon over it. The Avalon from before, what it once was. I step up to the barrier.
“Help me, help her,” I whisper at it and I realize that maybe it is sentient. Maybe it had been waiting for Sitara all these years, waiting to help her fight. Theon had stolen and enslaved it, hidden it from Sitara. “I will kill him for what he has done to you,” I pledge in a quiet declaration and I let it feel my power.
It visibly shivers, and then we both know. I glance back at Zeph, and his eyes are wide as he stares at it. I know he finally sees it for what it truly is.
The ward wavers just enough to let us in before snapping closed once again. I feel Theon’s rage and power punishing it as I stride down the long dark hall I’ve walked a thousand times. This time, I don’t come to heal or learn; this time, I’m here to liberate and destroy.
“Theon!” I scream his name, and silence falls around us as I step into the light.
Sitara’s hand comes to her chest as she sees me. I look to my right, and Zeph is grinning at Theon and Celine. If there were others, they fled as soon as they felt my power flare out. My friend nods at me.
“Now is the time to embrace your dark side, Lali. I will be here with Sitara to bring you back to the light.”
I can see the dark swirls of mist circle out from me. Cloaking me. Tendrils of death are reaching for those that dare hurt Sitara. That hurt Arkyn. That hurt Zeph. I want to rip Celine apart but focus on Theon; he is the true threat right now.
We haven’t seen all of his power yet. Sitara is bleeding from her ears and eyes, and I can tell she would have fallen in moments.
“You dare hurt her here, in her own temple?” My voice sounds strange to me as I let Death take over. “She who has healed and cared for thousands, hundreds of thousands, through the millennia. You defile this place.”
“What does Death care if a place of healing is defiled, if a healer is killed?” He taunts me.
“It is not your place to decide. You were marked thousands of years ago, Theon of Lumeria. Your name has been written, therefore you must be taken.” I float closer to him and I see that first flicker of fear.
I don’t know written where exactly, but it was written. He has been running from death for a very long time, and it just caught up with him.
I, for one, am very excited about that. I hear a commotion and I look over to find Zeph circling around Celine. I let him have her, for he deserves it. I saw his memories of what she did to his best friend and the young angel he swore to protect since that day. I hope it gives him something he needs. That instead of another dark mark on his soul, it heals some that are already there.
Looking back at Theon, I see a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face from his temple. I raise a brow and smile at him.
“You should be scared.” I let one of the tendrils snake out at him and he jumps back but not before it touches him, tastes him.
He reaches for Sitara. Hurt, she’s not fast enough to get away from him, and his hand closes around her arm.
“I’ll kill her.”
I feel his power spike a little. “Can I ask a question?” He frowns. “What did she do that would make you hate her so much?”
“She left me. She was fine with our death sentence. She chose you humans over her own brother.”
“You are a child. Spoiled by our entire family, the entire village.” She shakes her head. “You caused our destruction. It was your plans that caused His anger.”
She turns sad eyes up at her brother’s face, and in them, I can see her love for him still there. After all these years and after everything he has done, she still loves him. I understand why she has stayed hidden, stayed away from the fight. She didn’t want to kill him. Couldn’t kill him.
I have none of that love. He manifests a knife and looks at her with such hatred it almost takes my breath away, and still she smiles sadly at him and waits for him to kill her.
I won’t allow that.
I strike before he can move a single muscle. Out of respect for her, love for her, I make it quick. Still he struggles, fighting me and death.
But you can’t beat death for long.
He falls, dragging Sitara down with him. Running across the great room, I roll her gently over, and what I see brings tears to my eyes.
He has stolen her life from her, draining her as I drained him.
Death drains away, and I can finally see her through my own eyes. She smiles up at me, her breath labored in her lungs.
“I have loved you since the moment you were brought to me, since the moment you were born. You have become everything I knew you would be. My daughter.”
I see my own tears drip on her face, which is now lined with wrinkles.
“Mother, please I’m not ready. I can’t lose you.”
Chapter 34
ARKYN
I wait for hours, all the while looking at my phone.
No calls.
No texts.
No woman.
Nothing.
I finally break as night turns to morning. Punching the name on my phone, I start down the stairs as I listen to it ring.
“Did she show?”
“No, Luc, she didn’t. What’s going on in Brazil? It’s been hours. And no one has bothered to call.”
“Only Zeph and Citlali got in. It got quiet a few hours ago.” He sounds worried.
Satan sounds worried. Lucifer is scared. Wonderful. Great.
“I need to get there.”
“I know.” He appears right in front of me, causing my muscles to bunch. He smirks, but it fades quickly. “Come on, let’s see if Avalon will let you in.”
We disappear and are in the jungle in moments, maybe less. My brothers are standing around the perimeter and each of them straighten when we appear.
Lillian comes over to us at a jog. “We are still locked out.” She doesn’t seem too upset about not being let in. I don’t blame her. “You should see if you can get in.” She jerks her head at me.
“Has anyone else tried?” Her head turns toward Dagen, who is leaning against a tree.
He holds up his hands, which are burnt and slightly blackened. Ouch.
“Wonderful.” I look over at Luc, and he shakes his head while shrugging. “Okay, fine.”
Lali needs me, and I will walk through that barrier. I don’t fucking care if I come out the other side like a crispy fried piece of bacon.
Stepping up, I draw a deep breath, letting it out before pushing my hand against the barrier. It slips through, and my body follows. Dagen has straightened when I glance back and wink.
“Thank you, Avalon.” If I’m not mistaken, the whole place shivers in response. “Lali.”
“Arkyn.” I’m overwhelmed by the relief I
can hear in her voice; it makes my feet move fast as I race through the tunnel to her. I stumble to a stop as I enter the room I laid recovering in for so long because Sitara is laying on the altar. She is an old woman.
What the hell is going on? Looking around, I see Celine chained in the corner, beaten but not dead. Zeph stands between her and Lali, and the look on his face says she won’t live for long.
She waves at me, and I want to kill her myself but I hear a sob and turn back to the woman I love.
“Lali, what happened?”
“Theon.” She jerks her hand over, and I see him dead on the floor. “He drained her of her life force as I killed him. I didn’t know.”
“Shh. Daughter, it isn’t your fault. We have been heading to this day for thousands of years.” She smiles at me over Lali’s shoulder. “Besides, you have found your destiny, your love.”
I lay my hand on Lali’s shoulder as I glance back at Zeph. ‘Why isn’t she healing her?’ I think it as loudly as I can.
He shakes his head.
“Lali?” She doesn’t look at me. “Lali?” I say it more forcefully. She turns her head slowly. “Lali, have you tried to heal her?”
“I can’t get it to work.” She cries harder. “I let death control me for too long. I don’t think I have the power anymore.”
“The power, both sides, are part of you.” Zeph steps a little closer drawing her eyes. “Remember what I told you about God. God has the power of both life and death, Citlali. It is still there; you just need to believe it.”
“Do you believe your good side is still there?” She bites back at him.
Wow. His face shuts down, and she cries harder. “I’m so sorry, Zeph. I didn’t mean that.”
“Lali?” I try to draw her attention as he stalks back to Celine. Honestly, I hope he takes his anger out on the bitch. “Think about the love. Your love. You can do this. You healed blocks and blocks of Amsterdam. The news is still talking about the unusual cases. Some are calling it a miracle. You are the miracle.”