Scion's Redemption

by Traci Douglass

  Mira looked at Kagan. “She is the host of the fourth Seal, death. Maybe she had to experience that as part of her Seal’s journey.”

  Kagan’s golden gaze fell on Thana. “I am not sure what she is, but her death by my hands was wrought by Lucifer himself. I need to find out why. We can all return to our apartment in Chicago where it’s safe and discuss matters further there.”

  Luther nodded. Chago didn’t seem to have the will to fight anymore. Lin took Thana from him, so he could stand, then handed her back to him. Luther cradled her in his arms and looked down at her, drowning in the maelstrom of his feelings.

  Sloane and Wyck trashed what was left of his apartment so it looked like a break in, if anyone happened upon the mess they left behind.

  He didn’t want to leave, but he needed answers and fast. Thana’s death hadn’t been his final task, apparently, which meant there was more to come. The urge to go to Divinity and Xan and question them was hard to ignore, no matter how many times he told himself that it was better he waited until they had more information. It beat inside him, strong and fierce, compelling him to demand payment in blood for what had happened to Thana.

  He wished that he could obey it and unleash his fury on Lucifer, but he couldn’t.

  One by one, each of the Scion summoned a vortex and disappeared. At last, Luther closed his eyes as well and mumbled the ancient Latin words. Bright rainbow light burst forth behind him and he stepped back into it, Thana in his arms, and took one last look around his New Orleans abode before closing his eyes again and thinking of Chicago.

  16

  Luther paced the small bedroom in Kagan and Mira’s Chicago apartment. The day was wearing on and Thana still hadn’t stirred. Upon their arrival, Luther had placed her on the bed and had stayed with her, leaving the others to discuss events in the other room. Mira had checked on him twice so far, both times asking if he needed anything and if Thana had come around. Everyone else had stayed away, although he’d heard Sloane and Kagan ask about him in the other room.

  All of them were about Thana’s transformation.

  The only time he’d left Thana’s side had been to take a quick shower and change into a clean set of clothes Kagan left for him to borrow. Pain continued to beat in his heart, running through his veins like acid, eating away at him. Sleep might lessen it, but he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. He needed to stay with her and guard her while she was vulnerable.

  She stirred long enough to roll onto her side, her legs tangling in the white gown she wore, her silver-streaked hair splayed out across the pillows.

  Thana.

  It killed him she didn’t remember him or that name. She was the woman he loved and needed more than anything. In the short time they had been together, she’d become more vital to him than air, given him love and awakened him to feelings he could no longer ignore. He ached so deeply for her, craved the feel of her soft skin beneath her fingers and the warmth of her smiles. He hungered for the heat of her lips on his, the taste of her in his mouth, the smell of her on his skin, the sound of her voice whispered in his ear. The more he looked at her, the more he could see past the changes and fool himself into seeing his Thana.

  He stopped near the side of the bed, and gently ran his left index finger down her spine. He half expected her to wake and smile at him as she had back at her apartment after they had last made love, to slide her hand around the nape of his neck and lure him down for a long unhurried kiss. Her skin felt like velvet beneath his fingertip, warm and soft, soothing yet making him yearn at the same time. Miserable torture. He wished with everything in him that she’d remember, and this nightmare would end.

  “Stop punishing yourself.” Chago’s quiet voice jarred him back to reality. “Come and talk with the others.”

  “I’m fine,” he whispered and glanced past Chago through the open door that led into the bright living room. Mira watched him with pity in her eyes. Everyone else seemed to avoid eye contact.

  That room would be far more punishing than his current location.

  “I’ll take first watch,” he said, forcing a tight smile.

  He strode past Chago into the living room, turning away from the concerned stares of the others, and headed straight through the kitchen to the doorway that led up to the rooftop of the building. The warm light of the impending sunset tinged the world with verdant color and he sighed, leaning against the iron railing.

  Luther watched the street below, eyes tracking couples as they walked through the nearby park, or families as they played together. Even this was torture. The sun sank lower toward the horizon until it disappeared from view behind the trees and buildings, and the sky darkened. He remained there, standing sentinel with his senses on high alert in case something happened.

  Through the open door, he heard the conversation inside die down as the streetlights came on. Someone entered the kitchen, Mira judging by the sense of power, and hesitated a moment at the door behind him before leaving again. He heard cupboards open and close, and what sounded like crockery being piled and cutlery gathered.

  His stomach growled with hunger, but he ignored it and remained where he was, part of him afraid of facing the others. He didn’t want their pity and couldn’t bear the way they looked at him as though he would break under the slightest breeze. He was stronger than that, or he would be if they gave him time. These feelings were new to him, but he’d master them.

  The moon rose, crescent-shaped. Stars appeared. He would have given anything to fly high in the sky, far from Earth, to see them properly. He couldn’t leave though. He had to remain here and watch over Thana. Even if she didn’t remember him now, there was a chance she’d regain her memories. He couldn’t be weak and run away.

  She needed his protection now more than ever.

  His resolve crumbled when he sensed someone step out onto the rooftop behind him.

  Thana stood beside him, a vision in her flowing white dress, her silver-streaked hair shining in the pale moonlight. Her dark eyes sparkled with tiny shards of sliver, more otherworldly than his Thana’s had ever been. He stared at her bare feet instead, avoiding her gaze, avoiding the differences between this woman and his lost love.

  A breeze blew the hem of her robe against her legs, revealing the cherub tattoo on her ankle. Luther frowned at it, pain spearing his chest. He remembered the first time he’d noticed it, in the hall outside her apartment on the night of the fight. She’d been wearing that plum colored slip that had first awakened his suppressed feelings for her. He remembered the warmth of her hand on his as she’d iced his knuckles, the heat of her gaze on his bare back. Everything between them had started that night. It had been their beginning, and now they’d reached their end, and he’d give everything to go back and do things differently, so she didn’t have to die.

  So she didn’t leave him alone with only an eternity of suffering and loneliness ahead.

  He tore his eyes away from her and stared at the moon, but it was no use.

  His gaze wandered back to Thana, the ache in his chest increasing. He wished everything would end so he no longer felt such sadness. The past day had been a nightmare and he hated what had happened and hated that Sloane had saved him. He would rather be dead than face this torment. He couldn’t bear it. He tried hard to cope with everything and be strong, to continue his mission and protect the woman standing beside him. When she wasn’t present, he found some sense of peace. Then the moment he set eyes on her again, it shattered, leaving him weak, his heart crying out for Thana to return to him.

  He took a slow, deep breath then forced himself to meet her gaze.

  Thana.

  His heart called to her even when he knew she was no longer that soul.

  The urge to gently brush the backs of his fingers across her cheek overwhelmed him. If he did, he wouldn’t get the reaction he expected. She wouldn’t lean into his caress or look at him with love in her eyes. She’d remind him she didn’t know him. His heart couldn’t bear it
again.

  Luther shut down his emotions, forcing them away until he was cold inside, as empty as her cold, dark eyes watching him. “What do you want?”

  17

  The agony in her heart wouldn’t be ignored.

  She stared down at her chest, confused by the feelings burning inside her, trying to understand them. They drove her to leave the bed although she wasn’t sure why then led her from the room. She regarded the mortals and warriors gathered in the next room with curiosity, unaffected by their presence. They watched her and when they looked as though they might speak, she turned away, following her heart out here to her knight.

  Cool air wafted around her as she stood beside him. The moon hung above them in an inky sky, surrounded by bright pinpricks of stars. She bathed in its weak light, then glanced at her warrior.

  He avoided her gaze, choosing to stare at her feet. He’d called her Thana.

  She wished she recalled that name, but it was foreign to her, as mysterious as he was. While she knew what he and the others were, she didn’t know who they were, and she was wary of trusting them. She looked at her knight again and her pain eased.

  “What do you want?” he asked, his deep voice resonating in the darkness. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She wasn’t sure yet what she wanted or what she needed to do. It would come to her in time, of that she was sure at least. He stared straight ahead, his expression shuttered. “You should remain indoors where it is safe.”

  She glanced back into the apartment where the others waited. His observation wasn’t wrong. He was alone out here, while there were six other Scion in the next room. Logically speaking, she was safest there. But logic didn’t seem to matter much in this instance.

  “Nowhere is safer than near you.” She wasn’t sure where the answer came from, only that it was true.

  He regarded her with startled green eyes. “Why?”

  Thana touched his hand and felt his pain. “You are sad.”

  “Yes,” he said without inflection, cold and emotionless.

  “Because I do not recall you?”

  He exhaled slow and looked skyward. “Something like that.”

  She struggled with new feelings as her gaze traced his profile, a sense of recognition she flowed through her. She tried to grasp it but couldn’t.

  Wanting to comfort him, she cupped his cheek, forcing him to meet her gaze again.

  “Did I do something to upset you?” she whispered. “Is it the mortal soul who shared this body with me?”

  His expression darkened. He pushed her hand away. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

  “There must be something I can do to ease your pain,” Thana said.

  Luther looked at her again, his eyes soulful and full of hope now.

  “Do you remember me?”

  Thana stared into his eyes, searching her fragmented memories. A flicker of something rose as it had done when he had posed that question to her the first time.

  “I know you… in here.” She touched her chest then her head. “But not in here. I wish I knew more about why you are familiar to me.” She curled her fingers over her heart. “Why you are…dear to me. Or perhaps I was dear to you. I wish I remembered.”

  “Why?” His voice cracked.

  She cupped his cheek again and he leaned into her palm. Whatever connected them, it was a bond even death could not break.

  “This is not Thana touching me now,” he whispered, eyes closed. “Whatever you are now, you’re not the woman I loved.”

  “I want to ease your suffering.”

  He opened his eyes and stared deep into hers. “The others believe in time you will remember things. Will you?”

  The pain in her heart intensified, stealing her breath. The feelings awakening inside her both confused and surprised her. Whatever they’d shared, it had been strong. She’d meant a lot to him. Yet she didn’t understand the emotions involved, struggled to grasp their meaning.

  He watched her, his pale green eyes full of turbulent emotions she felt when she touched him. He lowered his head and she leaned in, bringing her mouth to his. He knocked her hand away and stepped back before their lips met.

  “Don’t!” Anger radiated from him, giving her a sense of the true depth of his power. There was something about Luther, a hidden strength that she hadn’t noticed before. He stepped back and glared at her. “It doesn’t work that way. You can’t just kiss me. I can’t take it. I can’t. Not if you don’t remember what happened between us.”

  “Perhaps I will in time. Perhaps the feeling in my heart will revive the memories and restore them. Would you like that?”

  She trembled, waiting for his answer, unsure.

  Part of her was afraid. The emotion was as alien as the rest of the ones she’d experienced since waking. She didn’t like it. It made her feel vulnerable and weak. For the first time, she was aware of the power Luther held, and it scared her. He stripped her of her defenses and left her exposed to him and at his mercy.

  He stared down into the street below and whispered, “I’d like that more than anything. Being with you when you are no longer Thana is killing me. I wish Kagan had finished me off.”

  Eyes closed, he turned and walked back into the apartment, leaving her alone on the rooftop staring at his retreating back.

  The fact he wished for death now shocked her and left her cold.

  Her knight wanted to die because of her.

  She looked down at herself, then gazed at her reflection in the full-length window nearby.

  She had to remember who she’d been because if she didn’t, she’d lose her knight, and she didn’t think that she could bear that.

  A flash of images danced over her reflection.

  Moonlight. Palm trees. Dark waves lapping at a white shore.

  And then her knight. Luther.

  Carrying her through the water to the shore, his eyes locked with hers and full of passion. She’d felt hot all over, burning for him.

  Except it wasn’t passion heating her blood now.

  It was a single feeling crashing over her like the waves from her memory, sweeping her away and leaving her dazed.

  Love.

  She’d remembered the night she’d fallen in love with Luther.

  18

  Luther woke to the sound of an argument. It seemed Xander had arrived.

  He rose to his knees on the floor next to Thana’s bed, his muscles stiff and sore from healing, and checked to see if she was still asleep. Her eyes were closed, although how she could sleep through such a racket was beyond him. He rubbed a hand over his head and yawned then caught the topic of the argument. He was alert in an instant. After tugging on his clothes, he strode to the door, and opened it. Kagan stood in the middle of the living room with his back Luther, while Xander—their Scion commander—faced him.

  The determination in Xan’s icy blue gaze surprised Luther. It didn’t waver as he and Kagan faced each other down.

  “I can’t leave without her,” Xan said at last, casting a look in Luther’s direction. “Divinity’s orders.”

  “No,” Kagan snarled, and the room darkened for a moment, the sense of anger pervading before it ebbed away.

  Luther glanced toward the kitchen and spotted the rest of the group congregated around the table—Wyck, Sloane, Chago, Lin, and Mira. For once, Sloane wasn’t wearing a crisp, clean suit. In fact, if the wrinkled T-shirt and sweatpants he sported were any indication, he’d slept in that outfit. Mira had on pink PJs and the other guys were wearing jeans and T-shirts. Except for Lin, who was dressed in all black, as usual. He’d come to relieve Luther and take over the watch this morning. Luther glanced at the clock on the wall. Only a couple of hours had passed.

  “You dare to defy Divinity?” Xan folded his muscled arms across his chest. In his black turtleneck and jeans, he looked deceptively slim, but he was by far the strongest Scion. He’d earned his position as commander through brute force and eons of battle.

  “She’s too w
eak to transport,” Kagan said, glancing over his shoulder at Luther. “In this instance, yes. I must refuse Divinity’s command. I’ve done enough to cause others pain. I will not allow this to happen too.”

  “Sorry, but you don’t have a choice.”

  Kagan laughed. “Be careful, Xan. With whatever those bastards in Hell did to me, you have no idea what I’m capable of when pushed. Try to take her and you’ll die.”

  Mira moved toward Kagan, but Sloane caught her arm, holding her back. Brow furrowed, her hazel gaze locked on the man she loved, and Luther sensed a glimmer of her pain in her power. She feared he’d fight again. It must have been difficult for her to see Kagan forced killing Thana and her not be able to stop it. It had been difficult for them all.

  “What right do you have to order me around anyway?” Kagan asked, taunting their commander into perhaps making a mistake. The bold move drew a collective gasp from the group. “You’re retired. Out of the game, remember? You sit in Heaven with Divinity and simply watch as the rest of us do our duty. When’s the last time you even deigned to set foot on Earth before this morning? I doubt you even know what your current Seal host looks like, let alone her name.”

  “I invented the damned game, as you so aptly called it.” Xander took a step toward Kagan, forcing him back, keeping the distance between them steady. “I was doing my Scion duty before you were even a twinkle in Divinity’s eye. And my Seal host’s name is Zoe.”

  Kagan sighed. “Go home, Xan. Please.”

  “I can’t do that, as you well know. Divinity knows all, sees all. I’ve been instructed to say here until I retrieve the girl. What happened in New Orleans wasn’t your fault. Divinity has the archangels investigating now to discover what was done to your will during your imprisonment in Hades, so it never happens again.”

  “I killed her. I killed a Seal host.” Kagan stalked towards Xander, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the wall beside the front door. “They forced me to kill her and I can’t let you take her away… not again… not from Luther. I took her from him once… and I have to make it up to him now.”