by Kelly Oram
“So awesome,” I muttered.
Clara snorted at my geekiness, but I couldn’t help it. Seeing Leslie standing there in her true form with her glory shining caused a burning so strong in my new heart I almost couldn’t breathe. I reached for the medallion around my neck that Michael had given me and rubbed the thing as if it were a worry stone. I could imagine the family portrait—Michael, Leslie, and Ethan. It felt like a miracle that three such angelic beings could let me into their lives, but from the burning in my heart, I knew that they had. Michael was with me, confirming that I was a permanent fixture in their family. I may not have had wings, but I was theirs. I belonged with them.
Leslie gasped suddenly, and her eyes brimmed over with tears. “Russ,” she whispered. “Michael has claimed you! How…why…?” She pulled me into her arms and clung to me as if she’d just discovered true happiness. She kissed my forehead, crying and fawning over me as if I were her newborn baby. “Russ, my sweet boy. I can’t believe it. I am so happy.”
My heart swelled at being in her arms, and I felt the intentions of her heart just as I’d felt Dani and Gabe earlier. I was bathed in love. She wasn’t kidding about being happy. She was overjoyed at the thought of my being officially part of the family. As she considered herself Michael’s mate, and knew she’d be with him again someday, she truly considered me hers now, as much as Michael considered me his. After learning how betrayed I’d been by my own father, knowing that I still had a family, and that this new family would always be there for me, no matter what, was enough to choke me with emotion. My eyes burned as I hugged her back as fiercely as she held me. I could have stayed like that for hours, and I’m pretty sure she had no intention of letting me go any time soon, either—but Clara cleared her throat, reminding us of the current dire situation. “Sorry,” she muttered awkwardly. “But we really need to go.”
“Right,” Leslie said as she wiped away the moisture from her face. “I’m sorry, I just…”
She gave me another overwhelmed smile. Thankfully, I wasn’t teary-eyed with her, but I was definitely too close to it for comfort. “I’ll tell you the whole story after we get out of here.”
I stepped over to the door and looked at both Clara and Leslie. Game faces were officially on. “Okay, on three, straight to the bike. Leslie, you follow us in the air. I’ll cloak you, too.”
“I can only shield her if she’s with us.”
“It’s okay; they won’t be able to see me.”
“They’ll be more focused on Russ anyway,” Clara said. “He’s the one they want dead.”
“Dead?” Leslie gasped.
“Long story. But yeah, they’ll be aiming to kill, and I’ve already been told that anyone helping me aside from Dani, Grace, Ethan, and Gabe will be considered acceptable collateral damage.” I couldn’t stand the thought of either of them being hurt because of me. Not even Clara, oddly enough, who I’d like to hurt myself half the time. “It’s me they want. If you guys want to wait it out here, I can make a run for it on my own.”
Clara rolled her eyes, and Leslie’s face turned frightening. “I will not let you face the guardians alone.” She pushed me behind her and held her hand over the doorknob, poised to open the door. “On three.”
I didn’t want her to go first, but I didn’t dare argue with her.
“One. Two. Three.”
I cloaked us, Clara shielded us, and Leslie swung the door open, muttering, “If anyone touches either of my boys, they are going to be too dead to be sorry.”
We stepped onto the porch and were immediately hit with magic spells. Clara sucked in a sharp breath when the power hit her shield, but she gave us a sharp nod, letting us know she was okay. Around us, there were at least fifteen armed guardians. Most were werewolves and nephilim.
There were four magic users in the bunch; two of them were Councilors Mason and Vanderhousen. They were standing a foot or two in front of the others, leading the charge with their arms stretched out in front of them as they continued to throw magic toward the house. “They’re cloaked and shielding us,” Mason said. “I can feel the magic. It’s strong, but I don’t believe it is the Chameleon.”
“It’s got to be Devereaux!” someone shouted. “Can you locate him, or break the cloaking spell?”
“At least give us a direction!” another man shouted.
“Give me a moment. He’s very strong,” the warlock replied, just as I felt him reach out with his magic.
At first it was just a gentle nudge, and then, without warning, he pushed so hard he knocked me over and nearly shattered my cloaking spell. I stumbled back a step. “I’m fine,” I promised, “but we need to get out of here, fast. Run!”
We dashed from the house out to the motorcycle parked on the curb in front of the house. I got halfway down the driveway before I hit an invisible wall of nasty. The surprise force field felt like some kind of million-watt electric fence and blasted me so hard I flew back and slammed into the garage door. My cloaking spell shattered, and I collapsed to the cement driveway, gasping for breath and unable to use any of my limbs. I’d only felt pain like this once before—when I lost the fight with the Leventis house.
Leslie and Clara were at my side before I even realized what had happened. I’d been the only one affected by the barrier. Clara was still holding her shield, and Leslie had her swords in her hands, ready to fight off the approaching guardians, but we were screwed if we didn’t come up with something fast.
Mason’s voice broke through my pounding headache. “Hand over the boy, Ms. Dunn, and you and Miss Laroche will be free to go.”
“Hand him over so you can kill him?” Leslie asked. “He has done nothing wrong. As long as there is life left in me, I will fight to keep him safe.”
As Mason began to spout excuses and warnings explaining why it was imperative that I be handed over, Clara crouched down over me and helped me sit up. “What happened?”
“One of those jerks cast some kind of shield against demons.” I coughed, and a little blood came up. Whatever they’d used to detain me, they weren’t messing around. I wasn’t sure I’d survive another hit from that force field. “We’ve got to take out all the magic users, or I’m as good as dead.”
Clara helped me to my feet and had to hold me up as I tried to steady myself. I felt like roadkill, but somehow my bones all seemed to be intact. “Do you remember that spell you used when you, Ethan, and Grace busted in on the resistance meeting?” Clara asked.
I could hardly focus, but I remembered the one she was talking about. It was sort of like a magic EMP, disabling all spells and magic users within its radius. It was a spell that only affected magic users, but it left them unconscious for a good fifteen minutes. “That takes a lot of juice,” I admitted. “It’d be the last spell I’m good for today, and it would take you out, too.”
Clara held out her hand to me. “Maybe not, if you’re sharing my magic.” I blinked up at her, surprised by the creative thinking. “It’s worth a try. And if you knock me out, well, I’ll be sure to kill you for it later. Do it. I can’t hold this shield against all of them much longer.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her magic into me like before. Again, my body thrilled at the amount of power. She nodded when she was ready, and I whispered the few powerful words my father had taught me a lifetime ago. A surge of power shot out from me, blasting the magic users and making them drop like flies. They’d sleep for fifteen to twenty minutes, if we were lucky. The spell was definitely amped, thanks to the extra magic Clara lent me. It was so strong even the non-magic users felt the force of it. The front windows of Leslie’s house shattered, but so did the demon ward that was trapping me. I felt it crumble. Unfortunately, Clara’s shield dissolved, too. But on the bright side, she was still conscious. “Go!” she shouted.
We took off for the bike before the guardians figured out what had happened, but they were on us quickly. Leslie bought us a few seconds, swinging her swords at the approaching guardians as Clara j
umpstarted the bike and I hopped on behind her.
We shot off like a rocket down the street, and I immediately forgave Clara for her Fast And Furious driving skills. There was no way the werewolves were going to catch us, but the nephilims’ stupid wings were going to be a problem, and Leslie couldn’t fight all of the half dozen or so that followed us. Stupid half-angels and their awesome gift of flight!
“If either of you has any magic left in you,” Leslie hollered, zipping beside us as she clanked swords with some nephilim dude who wasn’t nearly as graceful, “now would be a good time to cloak us!”
“I’ve got nothing,” Clara shouted. “You disabled my magic.”
I didn’t have much left in me, but I was still able to use my magic, so I leaned my face into Clara’s neck, connecting with her skin so I could pull her power from her. She didn’t have much either, but between the two of us, there was enough left for me to cast a cloaking spell. When the three of us blinked out of sight, the nephilim had no one to chase anymore. The guy who’d been fighting with Leslie fell to the ground. No doubt she’d walloped him good.
I assumed we were free and clear, until the other nephilim still trying to follow us began shooting blindly down the street in the direction they knew we were heading. I’m not freaking kidding. Shooting at us. With bullets. Jerks.
I knew they’d be bold, but I didn’t think they’d be that reckless. Waking the neighborhood with gunshots, while they had nephilim flying through the air and wolves chasing us down the street? They were really desperate.
We only needed to make it a hundred yards or so before we could turn and lose them for good, but before we could get there, burning fire ripped through my back.
I let out a curse. Or twenty.
“Russ!” Clara screamed.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I lied. “Keep going!”
“Hold on. We’re almost around the corner. Don’t drop the cloaking spell, and we’ll lose them in twenty seconds.”
I wasn’t sure I had twenty more seconds in me. I gripped Clara’s waist as tightly as I could, but I was starting to lose consciousness. Getting shot hurt so much worse than it seemed on TV. The pain was mind-numbing, and I couldn’t breathe.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two more nephilim drop out of the sky. I smiled, despite the fact that I could no longer hold the cloaking spell. Leslie was amazing. There was only one stupid guardian left. She’d take care of him in no time.
Unfortunately, “no time” wasn’t fast enough. I dropped the cloaking spell just as the bike flew around the corner. We’d lost the werewolves, but the last nephilim saw us and immediately started shooting again. Leslie dive-bombed him, knocking him out with one whack on the back of his head with her sword, but he managed to get two or three more shots out before she hit him. And also, unlike in the movies, this guy could aim. Two more bullets tore into me, doing who knows what kind of damage. The deadly kind, I assumed, as I only had a split second of pain before I blacked out.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It was over-the-top extravagant, but I couldn’t complain because the gigantic fluffy bed felt like heaven. The curtains were drawn, so it was dark, and it was quiet enough for me to hear the echo of hushed voices outside the cracked door.
After taking in my surroundings, I finally noticed my physical condition. My head throbbed, every muscle in my body ached, and I was exhausted, but I was alive. Considering I’d been riddled with bullets not that long ago, I figured alive was something to be proud of.
Someone’s hand clung tightly to mine. I gave it a squeeze, and Dani sat up with a start. She’d been sitting in a chair next to my bed, and judging from the drool and red crease lines in her cheeks, she’d fallen asleep holding my hand. “Russ!”
I sat up slowly, not sure how bad the action was going to hurt, and laughed through the aches. “Dude. Never get shot. That pretty much sucked.”
Dani’s squeal was a welcomed distraction, but I could have done without the tackling. “Whoa, easy on the goods, Dani girl. Wounded soldier here.”
I groaned as she jumped on top of me and threw her arms around me, but I laughed at the same time, so I must not have sounded all that hurt. After squeezing me to near death, Dani pulled back and promptly punched me in the shoulder. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
“Ow!” That one really did hurt. “I’m pretty sure I was just shot in that shoulder.”
“Sorry. But, you scared the crap out of me!”
I sighed and let her hug me again. “You’re supposed to be in New Jersey.”
Again, I was unable to make myself sound too mad, this time because I kissed the top of her head while scolding her. Dani shifted so that she was lying next to me, cuddled up against my side. It was good to really, truly have my best friend back. I put my arms around her, tucking her tightly to me, and she grinned up at me as if she understood exactly what I was feeling. Maybe she belonged to Gabe now, but in some ways she was still mine and always would be. My new supercharged heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I felt as if I were in an Alien sequel. “I assume I have you to thank for saving my life, so I suppose you’re forgiven for blowing off my orders to go to the safe house.”
As Dani rolled her eyes and muttered something snarky about expecting her to follow my orders, her other—more annoying—half walked over to my bedside, smiling down at us. He looked genuinely happy to see Dani and me holding one another. It was obvious that the contact was pure friendship, and Dani looked so happy that she was positively glowing. I guess she still needed me as much as I needed her.
Gabe’s gaze shifted across the room to where Clara sat in a rocking chair in the corner. “On the contrary, your gratitude is owed to Clara. By the time we arrived, you had already been healed and were merely sleeping off the trauma.”
Crap. That was three times now I owed the witch.
Clara was watching Dani and me in a scrutinizing way that I couldn’t decipher. There was a lot of emotion in her expression, exaggerated, I’m sure, by her sickly appearance. She was pale and had deep, dark circles beneath her eyes. Her cheeks looked a little sunken in and her hair needed a good brushing, but she seemed okay. Exhausted, but okay. I wondered if she’d been shot, too, or if I’d really been so close to death that it had taken that much out of her to heal me. “Awake already?” she asked in a dry voice when we made eye contact. “You are resilient, aren’t you? Like a cockroach that just won’t die.”
I smirked. “You sure I’m not dead? You’re here. I figured this was Hell.”
Her lips twitched and she raised an eyebrow. “I could send you there, if you’d like to go.” She gave me a smug grin. “That’s three now, Russ.”
Annoyed that she’d plucked the words from my brain, I glared at her. “What do you want, a thank-you card or something? Don’t hold your breath for it, witch.”
“Russ!” Leslie had just stepped in the room with Simone, and gasped. Dani moved from the bed, giving Leslie the opportunity to sit next to me. Leslie grabbed my hand and frowned down at me with shining eyes. “That is no way to treat the wonderful young lady that just saved your life.”
I would have buckled under Leslie’s stern gaze and actually thanked Clara, but luckily Simone fluttered over behind Leslie, calling out to me in that sing-song voice that made me want to stick hot pokers in my ears before I had to do it. “Russell, you dear boy! It’s so good to see you awake. You really gave us quite the scare again, darling.”
There was a true sense of longing in Simone’s voice that baffled me. Every time I saw Simone, she seemed so genuinely fond of me. I’m not sure where her feelings came from. They definitely weren’t mutual. I skipped the pleasantries and looked at Leslie again. “Did you find Ethan and Grace yet?” I knew from the way Leslie’s face fell that the answer was no. “How long have I been out?”
“Hours. It’s about seven in the morning.”
I pulled Leslie into another hug when she closed her eyes and chewed on her lip
with worry. “I’m sure they’re safe. The council didn’t want to hurt them. We’ll get them back.”
She sucked in a breath, trying to get a hold on her emotions, and nodded her head. I squeezed her hand and started to stand, but I was so tired that my head swam with dizziness and I had to sit a minute longer. “It has to be the council. Who else would have them?” I glanced at Simone. “Gather your troops. We’re going to have to come up with a plan to get them out of there, and it’s probably going to take whatever resistance army you’ve got.”
When I tried to stand again, Simone stepped in front of me. “Not so fast, darling. I’ve got some questions for you first.”
Great. She was on one of her power trips. “Look, no offense, Simone, but we don’t have time for you to be a pain in the butt.”
Simone lifted an eyebrow. “Necessary precautions, I’m afraid. I have heard from reliable sources that someone completely dissolved all of the protective wards on the consulate, and now, suddenly, the guardians are out for your blood.”
I waved a dismissive hand. “Coincidence.”
Simone broke into a light, tinkling laugh. “Oh, Russell, you certainly are a Devereaux. I know it was you, darling. What I don’t know is how you did it. Not even the Chosen One could have accomplished such a task, and I’ve seen the miraculous extent of her power firsthand.”
Simone glanced at Dani and only got a scathing glare in return. Heh. Simone wasn’t likely to gain Dani’s good graces anytime soon. The only other time they’d met, Simone had tried to kidnap Dani and Gabe, and nearly killed me. Dani took it a bit personally. And believe me, no one could hold a grudge like Dani. Except maybe Cynthia. Simone was unaffected by the scowl, and gave me another sugary smile. “So come, sweetheart, drop the act and tell Auntie Simone your secret. How did you do it?”
“Auntie Simone?” Clara and I asked simultaneously.
I heaved a disgusted shudder while Clara gagged, equally appalled. I think it was the first, and hopefully the last, time we ever shared the same opinion on anything. “You’re not still trying to get me to buy into that godmother crap, are you?” I asked. “Because I’ve got news for you; your connection to my dad only makes me hate you more and trust you less.”