Dark Saviors: The Consequence of Destiny Novella

by Brittany Cournoyer

  We were deep into Savannah, and Alistair was directing me where to go, using the scents he picked up to navigate. I shuddered when we passed through an old iron gate, the wind picking up just enough to cause the gate to swing a bit, causing an old creaking sound when we drove through. Up ahead, my heart sank and my stomach knotted in dread when I saw where we were going. Yup, total B-rated movie. I was the star and probably the idiot who’d run up the stairs instead of out the door—so I’d be the first to die. And yet, I continued driving toward our destination instead of backing the car up and getting the hell out of there.

  “Well, isn’t this clichéd?” I managed to choke out past the lump in my throat.

  “What do you mean?” Alistair asked as he took in the scenery in front of us.

  “Seriously? A creepy dude kidnaps two women and takes them to this place for an ultimate showdown? Doesn’t that sound clichéd to you?”

  Alistair didn’t say anything, just growled the closer we pulled up to the looming, ramshackled mansion that set on top of a hill. Shutters were hanging haphazardly on the wall, the paint was peeling, and through the knee-high grass I could see shingles from the roof. In its glory I was sure the house was beautiful, and it was a shame to see it in such a way.

  I pulled up the car and parked right by the crumbling steps, and cringed when I saw the door swing a little bit in the wind. Between the long drive, and my nap, dusk was finally about to be upon us, and it made my skin crawl to think we’d be in that house at night fall.

  Alistair wasted no time getting out of the car and slamming my door shut. He stood there, staring at the looming mansion, and even from the car I could feel the anger radiating off him in waves. A shiver went down my spine at the intensity of his stare, but it wasn’t in fear. No, it was a shiver of arousal, and I cursed my dick for getting involved at such an inconvenient time.

  With a sigh of resignation, I turned off the car and got out, shutting the door much more gently. I walked around to the front of the car and stood staring at the building my friends were supposedly being held captive by my supposed brother. My body shivered again at the energy I felt coming from that house and the grounds it was built on. Something felt very off, and wrong, about where we were. Like it was telling me we shouldn’t be there. In fact, it felt like pure evil.

  “Let’s go kill your brother,” Alistair said, as he climbed the stairs to step inside the house.

  I wasn’t sure if it was his words, the eerie feeling I was getting from the house, or a combination of both that made me hesitate to follow him. But I had no other choice. My friends were counting on me to save them. Alistair was counting on me to take out Gabriel. So whether I wanted to or not, I had to go inside that damn house.

  Chapter 9

  If I thought the outside looked like something clichéd from a horror movie, the inside was just as bad. The broken windows and shutters allowed just enough of the setting sunlight to filter through. I was able to make out the broken pieces of furniture, spray painted walls, and leaves that’d been blown in over time. Nature was a force with that house and persistent vines had broken through the crumbling foundation of the house and climbed over the walls and broken mantle of the fireplace. They snaked across the ceiling toward the other side and wound their way around the broken pieces of furniture and chandelier that swung from the center of the ceiling.

  “Well, this place is pretty creepy,” I muttered, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a mouse scamper across the floor.

  “Let’s go. They’re upstairs,” Alistair ordered.

  “Of course they’re upstairs. Why not be any closer to the door than need be?” I grumbled as I followed Alistair through the house.

  Every move we made the house seemed to groan under our weight and I was terrified it’d collapse at any second. Thankfully, the house seemed to have good bones and a strong-ish foundation, so it was holding up during our walk through the house.

  Alistair, using his canine-like sniffer, led us through the main living room into what appeared to be a dining room. Off to the left was a doorway but the door was missing off the frame. He walked through it, with me following him, and into a back room with a staircase. And why wouldn’t there be a staircase in the back of a house? Why not use the main one where the most light was shining on it? Oh, because that’d be too easy.

  Alistair put his foot on the bottom step and the entire house seemed to shake under his weight. The stairs groaned, and I felt the floor move under my feet.

  “Uh, is the house like alive or something?” I asked stupidly.

  “It’s angry that we are here. This is a house of evil.”

  “Oh, well that’s nice to know. Maybe you can collect some damned souls while you’re here.”

  Alistair turned around to look at me and when he did my breath caught in my throat. His eyes were glowing. There weren’t lit up by some incoming light, or flashing with anger. No, they had a bright yellow tinge to them made him look like an animal at night.

  I opened my mouth to try to make a joke about his glowing eyes since humor was my go-to during intense situations, but my words got trapped in my throat. On the wall behind him I could make out a shadow…of wings. Skeletal, plucked angel wings that moved whenever Alistair did. What the hell?

  “I already have,” he growled at me, his voice sounding deeper than ever.

  With that comment, he turned and started to head up the stairs, his shoulders set in fierce determination. And I felt like I had no choice but to follow him. At the top of the stairs Alistair turned right and started toward a door at the end of the hallway. I could see a light glowing from under it and a weird feeling vibrated my body. Instead of fear, my body hummed with a feeling I’d never experienced before. It was excitement and anticipation as a strong force charged my synapses and flipping a switch that’d been in the off position.

  Alistair reached out to grab the door knob and I stopped him. “Allow me.”

  With confidence I didn’t even know existed, I reached over and grasped the door knob. A heat started to sear my hand, daring me to let go as I twisted it and pushed the door open.

  “Ahh, big brother. I see you’ve come to save the day. And brought some help with you.”

  I paused on the threshold, my hand still wrapped around the doorknob as my knees started to shake. My breath escaped my body in a loud gasp as I looked at the man standing in the same room as me. There was no way. It couldn’t be possible. The person staring back at me… was me.

  “What?” I gasped and turned to stare at Alistair, pleading with my eyes for him to help me understand what I was looking at.

  “Oh, looks to me like Alistair left out a little piece of information, didn’t he? Alistair’s pretty good at doing that,” Gabriel sneered.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that we’re twins?” I asked, my voice coming out harsher than usual.

  “I didn’t think it was relevant information,” Alistair replied with a shrug before turning his gaze to Gabriel. “Are we good here?”

  Gabriel nodded. “A deal is a deal.”

  “What deal?” I asked, a sick feeling bubbling in my gut.

  “Ah, more information withheld. I must say, Alistair, you’re getting almost as bad as me,” Gabriel tsked before letting out what I could only describe as a cackle.

  “What’s he talking about? Tell me,” I demanded, finally letting go of the doorknob and stepping farther into the room.

  Kimmie and Courtney were seated in the middle of the room, their legs crossed and their backs against each other. And even though the room was only lit with candle light, I could see the vacant gaze in their eyes. It was as if they were in a trance.

  “What about Zachariah?” Alistair asked Gabriel, ignoring my question.

  “A deal is a deal. He will no longer be harassed by Krieger.”

  “Zachariah? Krieger? Who the hell are these people? And what deal are you talking about?” I asked, my voice rising higher and getting more shrill with e
ach word.

  Gabriel snickered, crossing his arms over his chest. We might have been twins, identical ones at that, but where I was skinny, he was muscular.

  “Why don’t you fill your new buddy in, Alistair? Let him know how you used him to get what you wanted.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Is that true?”

  Alistair refused to meet my gaze; instead, he continued to glare in Gabriel’s direction. Gabriel looked back and forth between Alistair and me, and then let out a full-blown belly laugh.

  “Oh goodness, you didn’t tell him at all, did you? Well, allow me to fill him in. You see, Carson, Alistair here left behind a younger brother, Zachariah. Alistair took care of him, and looked out for him, until he was cast out of our realm for being a naughty boy.”

  “That’s enough,” Alistair hissed, his voice deeper and firmer than ever.

  “Oh, but I’m just getting started,” Gabriel replied. “Anyway, where was I before Alistair interrupted me?” He tapped his chin with his forefinger as if deep in thought. “Oh, yes. So after he was cast out there was no one to take care of Zachariah. And let’s just say, he hasn’t had an easy time lately.”

  “That’s enough!” Alistair bellowed. “You got what you wanted; now keep your filthy henchman away from my brother.”

  I snorted. “With a name like that, I can see why Alistair would say that. Does he have knives for fingers?”

  Both men ignored me, clearly not getting my joke.

  Gabriel scoffed, “I’d hardly call Krieger my henchman. That’s such a strong word for a good friend.”

  “That’s exactly what he is to you, and you know it,” Alistair retorted bitterly.

  Gabriel waved him off. “He is merely a good friend.”

  “Who’s at your beck and call! I know you sent Krieger after Zachariah. There’s no way he’d target my brother on his own. Just make sure you keep your word. I kept mine.”

  “Done.”

  “Good,” Alistair ground out before turning on his heel.

  “Wait?” I called after him when he walked past me. “Where are you going?”

  “His time here is done. He has no use for you anymore.”

  “Is…is that true?” I asked, licking my suddenly dry lips.

  “Goodbye, Carson,” Alistair said, not meeting my gaze before walking out of the room.

  I stood there, gaping at the door Alistair shut gently behind him, enclosing me in the room with my brother and friends.

  “So, Carson, let’s have a little family reunion. What do you say?”

  Chapter 10

  “No, thanks. I’m not interested,” I replied, turning back to glare at him.

  “Oh, come on, Carson,” Gabriel said, throwing his arms wide. “I’m your brother.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re just a man who happens to look a lot like me. My only interest here is getting my friends out of here and taking them home.”

  “Pity. Guess it’s time to teach you a lesson about siblings. You don’t always get your way, even if you are the older by two minutes.”

  I cocked my head to the side, “Why did we get separated? It can’t be because we’re brothers. Alistair proved that with his own brother.”

  “He didn’t fill you in with a lot, did he?”

  I shook my head and waited for him to answer.

  Carson rubbed his chin. “From what our mother, Isadora is her name by the way, told me, shortly after we were born, our father was cast out of the realm. He couldn’t bear the thought of being away from his children, so our mother graciously offered to give him one of us to take with him and raise down here.”

  “That’s odd, but I can kind of see where he’s coming from. What was he cast out for?”

  “For impregnating our mother without being joined in a spiritual union.”

  “So he knocked her up before they got married? Why wasn’t she cast out with him, then?”

  “Her parents are on the council.”

  Damn. Even in another realm politics could be a huge factor in a lot of things. “So he took me and tried to raise me down here? Well, clearly that didn’t work considering I was raised in the system.”

  Gabriel shrugged. “Hard telling with him. Maybe it’s because he knows he took the wrong kid out of the realm.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked, furrowing my brow at him before stealing a glance at my friends.

  “Isadora would only separate with a catch. Our father could only take the weakest of the two out of the realm.”

  “You,” I breathed out.

  “Yes. And things were fine until your powers started to strengthen.”

  I snorted again. “Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think that I believe a bunch of old people didn’t realize for thirty-two years that the wrong person walked among them? Come on, Gabriel. Think about it. And what powers? Nothing has strengthened on me except for my irritability.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, brother. Your instincts are getting stronger. Your senses sharper. Things around you are starting to come into question. And you’re finding yourself feeling like something is missing. That’s caused a rift in the realm. The council knows you’re out here, and they want you to come home.”

  “Yeah, no can do. I’ll just be taking my friends and—”

  “Yeah, hate to break it to you, Carson, but only one of us can make it out of this room alive. You see, I’m the weakest of us two, and well, in the event of one of us dying, we inherit the other’s powers.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Too bad I don’t have any powers. Wake up my friends or reverse whatever you did to them so we can get the hell out of here.”

  “You do have powers. I could feel when they started to stir inside you. That link twins have is true. Haven’t you felt things you can’t explain? A phantom pain? Flu like symptoms even when you weren’t sick? Even an itch you couldn’t scratch? That’s because they happened to me. Our link is even stronger due to being angels.”

  I didn’t want to hear his explanation. I couldn’t care less that we had some messed-up link because we happened to be brothers. I didn’t want anything to do with him once this was all over. He was nothing to me but a pain in my ass at the moment, and a barrier that was blocking my way of saving my friends.

  “I don’t have any powers,” I repeated, more vehemently this time.

  “You just haven’t had a reason to use them yet. Maybe…” Gabriel trailed off, tapping his chin again with his finger. “Maybe you need a little incentive.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked warily.

  Dread filled my stomach as he inched his way over to where Kimmie and Courtney were seated. I watched, my eyes widening with each passing second as he placed a hand on either of their heads. I opened my mouth to protest, but the words froze on my tongue. I watched in horror as both girls bent over at the waist; their faces contorted in pain as they let out low moans.

  “Stop!” I managed to yell out as he bent over, pressing down harder on their heads, and their cries got louder.

  I felt a rage slowly burn inside my body that started at my feet and raised higher through my legs and up into my stomach. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides as my entire body started to tremble in anger. A low hum filled my ears over the pain-filled cries of my friends.

  “I said stop!” I screamed out before I snapped.

  I saw red. The words burst from my throat as the fury inside me erupted from my body. My back bowed, bending me backward until I was almost in a backbend. My arms raised up on their own, bringing my fists higher until they were at the same height as my shoulder. Then, my jaw fell open as the most guttural scream I’d ever heard left my body. It was a sound I’d never made before and had I not felt the fire burning inside me, I never would’ve guessed I was capable of making such a noise.

  My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I continued to scream; my back contorting even more until my head was nearly touching my calves. I felt like my body was ripping in two from the
fiery burning that coursed through my veins. The area near my shoulder blades started to pulsate until I felt the skin start to tear, causing me to groan in agony. The intense pain was building instead of lessening with every passing second. I could feel the fabric of my shirt stretching against my torso as the fabric started to tear, until it was hanging loosely on my body.

  Sweat dripped down my temples and tears poured from the corners of my eyes as my skin ripped open and I felt something foreign expel from my back. And then, just as quickly as it started, the entire ordeal was over. I felt my body reposition itself on its own, and only when I was upright was I able to blink the room back into focus and take a deep breath.

  “Oh my,” Gabriel rasped. “It’s not possible.”

  “What’s not possible?” I asked sharply, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

  “Y-your wings. It…it’s not possible,” he repeated.

  “My wings? What?” I asked in confusion before I looked over my shoulder.

  I gasped at what I saw, and blinked a few times to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. Then, I slowly reached over my left shoulder with my left hand and gasped when my hand touched the feather. They were real, and I could actually feel the touch.

  Protruding from my back was a pair of wings. A pair of wings that were darker than the blackest night.

  “What do black wings mean?” I asked, still staring in fascination at my new accessories.

  “It means you’re the most powerful angel of the realm.”

  I snapped my head back around and stared at Gabriel, my eyes narrowing into a glare. “Then let us go.”

  Gabriel pressed his finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and pressed down. “I can’t let you go, Carson.” He dropped his hand and his eyes flashed at me. “Especially now that I know you possess so much power. Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “Come back with me. We can overthrow the council, and you and I could rule the realm.”

  I laughed at his audacity. “Seriously? You initially brought me here so you could kill me and take my power, and now you want us to rule together? Yeah, I think I’ll pass. Something tells me you can’t be trusted. I’m assuming it’s the fact you want me dead.”