by L. L. Wright
“Emmie, what’s wrong,” Leo asked as he moved to stand in front of her. She felt his hand slipping away, and she tightened her grip in response. Her mind drew a comparison to the past, tugging her back to the memories of her anxiety. She recalled the day Lisa had given her an ultimatum, one that Emmie now knew was magically compelled. She had stormed out of the courtyard. Her magic pooled at her fingertips, intensifying as she fought to control it, to keep it contained. Just when she thought she was going to lose it, scorching half the school, or worse. She ran into Leo. With a few words he had calmed her, talked her off the magical ledge she was teetering at the edge of. He is my anchor, Emmie realized, Leo is my person. She squeezed his hand tighter, afraid that if she lost the anchor that had grounded her demonic powers, and kept her emotions alive in the cemetery she might never regain her grip.
“I- it’s the sigil,” she whispered, placing her hand over her marked ribs. “Don’t let go, I don’t think I can do this alone.” Not if I want to keep my humanity in tact.
Leo tightened his grip and shifted to stand in front of her, wrapping his other arm around the small of her back and pulling her against himself.
“You will never have to do this alone. Never,” he whispered back, leaning his head down so that his lips brushed against her temple as he spoke.
Emmie breathed in his comforting scent and relaxed into his familiar touch. His words and way he gripped her body stirred feelings so strong it forced the magic to recede, snapping back into the powerful lines of the brand. For now, Emmie thought, wondering how long it would take her to get a handle on the power the sigil possessed. Leo’s words replayed in her mind and her stomach fluttered again. Angel's, demons, humans, hybrids, none of it mattered when it came to Leo. The handsome blue eyed boy that bumped into her in the hallway of West Creek high hadn't led her down a paranormal rabbit hole. She had unknowingly been inside one all along, and Leo had simply shown her the truth and then extended a hand to pull her back to the surface. The connection they shared was deep, she knew that now. The blood she shared with Hailey had made her doubt its authenticity, casting a shadow over the bond she felt between them, but now Leo's blood flowed through her veins too, and she could feel the truth behind her feelings. Angelic blood had brought her back from a darkness that threatened to consume her. His blood that had given her a second chance at life. Not the normal life she had hoped to someday lead, but a different life. A life without darkness coursing through her body and mind, a life where she had a sister, a twin. A life filled with love.
Emmie let go of his hand and looked up to meet his blue eyes. Deep and bright at the same time, swirled with a mix of concern and fierce passion.
"Are you ready?" he asked, stroking her cheek with his thumb before tilting his head up toward the Enormous stone dome that contained the hall of truth.
Emmie followed his gaze, staring at the impressive building for a few seconds before nodding her head.
"Let's do this."
They passed through the dark corridor and into the hall a few moments later, moving to stand opposite from the elders like last time.
"Why have you returned?" one of the elders asked, turning his attention to Leo.
"We are here to make a deal. We need a meeting with Chamille."
Emmie watched as the three elders turned to look at one another in silence.
"That isn't possible. We will hear your request," the elder announced.
"Neil," Leo said, taking a few steps forward. "This is important. It affects The Faction and the Elders alike."
The angel sighed and looked at each of the men standing beside him again.
"I'm sure you noticed that the city is different today," Neil said flatly.
"Yeah, why are there so many angels off duty?" Leo asked.
"They aren't," the elder said, shaking his head. "A few hours ago Hailey entered the city unharmed. She killed several new angel's before taking Chamille. Faction teams are being called back to the city to guard the artifacts and to train. We fear that another war may be coming."
"Oh. My. God," Emmie whispered. A silent elder shot her an icy look and her hands flew to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry. Terrible choice of words. Won’t happen again."
"Was Chamille injured?"
"There was no sign of blood. It seems that Hailey used the same gas from the attack on Faction Towers. She didn't take anything else and it is unclear what her motivation was for taking Chamille."
"I think I have a pretty good idea," Emmie said, sharing a sideways glance with Leo. She bit her bottom lip and huffed out a deep breath. "We came here to make a deal. I know you've seen my file, and you know I'm a twin. My sister is alive. She was part of the same blood experiments I was. She's a hybrid, human, demon and angel, just like I was," Emmie explained, her eyes shifting uncomfortably between the elders. "Earlier tonight we discovered that Hailey was never taken by the demons. She is their leader, and she willingly betrayed The Faction by stealing an artifact before faking her death." At this the Elder Neil put his hand up to halt her speech.
"How could this be true? You expect us to believe that an artifact was stolen fifteen years ago and its absence went unnoticed?"
Emmie felt her brand warm against her skin. The magic worked fast, much faster than before and by the time she realized her emotions were being dulled it was too late. Leo was out of reach and her mind was already enveloped with an emotional distance. She smiled calmly, and tilted her head slightly, giving off an overall sense of apathy.
"Those details are yours to sort out. I'm simply here to tell you that I have your missing truth crystal and if you want it back you'll have to agree to pardon my sister." Emmie shrugged.
Leo sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand. He turned to Emmie and said, “The hall of truth will amplify the effects of your sigil. It’s one of the reasons most elders are so...distant,” he said, choosing his last word carefully. “When we leave you should feel more grounded.”
Emmie shrugged again in response, unphased by his words or her own.
The room was silent, everyone within it was still and Emmie felt a surge of impatience. While we’re standing here staring at one another Hailey and her demons have Chamille. Who knows what they plan on using her for.
“Look, I get it,” Emmie said walking into the center of the room, closer to the three elders than she had ever been before. The confidence of the mark continued to wash over her making the exchange easy for her. “It’s your job to make the rules, and people are more likely to follow those rules if you guys come off as a bunch of impartial hard asses.”
“Emmie,” Leo scolded. But she didn’t care, waving him off and continuing without a second thought to his words.
“But, this seems to be a pretty high stakes game, and from where I’m sitting, it looks like we’re all in on nothing more than a bluff right now. Hailey defected, she took all of her angelic knowledge and an artifact, might I add, and switched sides. Then she, along with her clan of demons spent fifteen years experimenting on me and my sister and who knows how many other humans with serums of supernatural blood and rare minerals. To what end, no one knows. She has been using this truth crystal to build up a legion of demons too scared to leave or disobey her, again, for unknown reasons. And now, she has Chamille and we have no idea why she took her. You think a war is coming, but I think it started more than a decade ago, and by the time the battle reaches your perfect little city it will be too late to fight. You’ll have already lost.” Emmie waited a minute, absorbing the silence and weighing her options. Then, finally, she turned on her heels and headed toward the dark corridor.
Leo caught her forearm as she reached him, his eyes were wide as if he expected an explanation.
“They’re not going to help us, in fact, I don’t think they’re going to do much of anything at all. I don’t know how this whole elder thing works, but to me, those three look more like children attempting to fill shoes that are far too big, than angels that are supposed to
lead an army to defend mankind,” Emmie said bluntly. “We’re better off seeing this through on our own than following them to our inevitable deaths.”
He pressed his eyes closed, and Emmie could see that he was torn between his loyalty to The Faction’s codes and the survival instincts he had developed as a hunter. She pulled his hand off of her forearm, and instead laced her fingers between his.
“We’ll figure this out,” she whispered. “Together.”
He nodded his head and together they turned, walking hand in hand toward the darkness.
“Stop!” The sudden shout made Emmie jump, and they both turned back toward the room.
One of the previously silent elders walked into the center of the room, to the place where Emmie had stood moments ago. He raised his hand in front of him at the waist, and repeated the word calmly. “Stop…” he sighed. “I hear the truth in your words. We all do,” he said, turning to glance behind him. “Change is difficult, admitting ignorance is difficult, compromise is difficult. These are all things we are confronting in this one singular moment. Hailey was an elder, and none of us noticed her deceit. The way we have been approaching the coming battle, from a place of power, acting as though the upper hand we held decades ago was still intact. It has proven foolish, and now, we must change course or I fear that you may be right. The end of days may be much closer than we would like. All of this to say, we accept your deal, with one caveat.”
“What is it?” Emmie asked cautiously. She knew what the man said was the truth, the magic within the walls ensured that much, but his motivation, and his endgame was an unknown that made her weary.
“Return the crystal to the city, where it belongs and we will pardon your sister, she will remain exactly as she is, a hybrid, teetering on the line between demon and angel. There will be no intervention from The Faction, but you have my word, no harm will come to her from our side. Bring us Hailey and we will welcome your sister into the fold. She can be rid of her demon blood just as you were and join The Faction. You will be immortal and loyal to the same cause, with plenty of time to make up for the years you lost.”
Emmie’s heart raced and she felt her sigil warm in turn, but this time she fought the magic on her own. The intense anger, and excitement pulsing through her mind gave her enough power to suppress the angelic brand, pushing it’s influence back within the confines of its sharp black lines. It’s not exactly what we wanted, but if this is the only way to ensure we can stay together...The only way to keep her by my side it’s better than nothing. Besides, as soon as we find Hailey the rest will fall into place, Emmie sighed, knowing her decision was already made.
“Nothing could ever make up for the time we spent apart, or for losing our parents, and certainly not for turning us into supernatural weapons,” Emmie spat. “What will you do with Hailey if I agree?”
“The Faction needs to study her. Now that we know that her actions are without influence we need to know how and why this has happened. No angel has ever betrayed The Faction or their soulmate. She has done both and we need to know what makes her different from the rest of us. Once we have what we need, she will be executed for her crimes against heaven and earth,” the nameless elder said.
“You’ve got a deal,” Emmie said.
She turned on her heels, Leo’s fingers still entwined with her own and pressed her eyes shut tightly, fighting back a tear. A war lay ahead, the fate of the earth and humanity were at stake, there was no doubt about it. But Emmie breathed easily as she walked back through the darkness. She could feel Leo’s fingers between hers, and her sister’s life was safe, for now. Maybe that was enough, because for the first time since learning about the world of angels and demons Emmeline Clark felt certain that she could find happiness within it.
Acknowledgements
To my husband, who always answers my strange what-if questions and supports my ambitions without judgment. I probably would have deleted this if not for you.
To my editor, my first fan, my beta reader and mentor. This book wouldn't be half of what it is today without your efforts every step of the way. Thank you, Steph. P.s is it 13 or 14?
To my family, you have all inspired this work in some way. Bits of your personalities, your quirks and even snippets of our conversations can be found in the text on these pages and between the lines. Thanks for the sparks.
About The Author
Lorelei Wright is an American author of Young Adult fiction, short stories, and adult romance. She can often be found writing and editing late into the night when her family is fast asleep and the house is quiet. When she’s not busy taking orders from the bossy characters that take up residence in her mind she spends time baking, crafting and otherwise adventuring with her two sassy toddlers and exceptionally handsome husband.
I LOVE connecting with my readers. Follow me on Twitter @LLWright_Writes for updates on the Blood Bound Saga as well as future projects.
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XoXo Lorelei