The sorrow Rory felt for her deepened, and a rogue sob escaped. She turned and headed toward the kitchen to make some coffee and hide her unruly heart.
Raven ran into the house, breathless. “Four vampires. Really dark energy. They showed up at D’s looking for Glory or Zane. I sent them in the wrong direction, but they’re going to figure it out.”
Rory looked at Zane.
“Was one of them a girl about yea high?” He held his hand out at chest level. “Long brown hair with blonde streaks?”
Raven nodded. “She’s the only girl.”
“Bo’s gang,” Zane said. “And a vamp named Leah who wants me dead.”
* * *
Bo! I thought with alarm. Then I suddenly realized why my chill was so deep.
“Jesse’s coming too!” I shouted, and Lailah and Sasha instantly appeared with their blades in hand.
Earlier, when I had placed Zane’s hand on my belly, Genesis danced. Now, with a ripping pain, she ninja kicked. I doubled over in agony. “And Gen’s coming. She’s coming now.”
† † †
Zane pushed back the urge to run to Glory’s side and tried to figure out how he could possibly take on four vampires. Then an idea came to him, and he raced to his truck.
)o( )o( )o(
Rory watched as Glory sank to her knees. She saw a shimmer of Jesse appear, but the protective wards seemed to be holding for now. Understanding the metaphysics of it all, she knew they wouldn’t hold against Lucifer’s power, nor would the two angels be able to vanquish him. But maybe, just maybe, Genesis would be born before Glory was killed. However, with Bo’s gang coming, Glory needed shielding. Rory wiped away her tears and considered the tactical situation. A large area behind the wood stove used for stacked wood was practically empty.
“Help me set up a place for her on the hearth,” she said to Raven.
Together they kicked away the remaining wood, collected cushions from the couch and chairs, and made a bed. Then they helped Glory lie down.
Hallelujah whimpered. Worried the frantic dog would get in the way, Rory locked her in Glory’s bedroom. Returning to the living room, she glanced out the window and saw two black SUVs pull into the drive. “Kate, come quick.”
Kate left Glory’s side and looked over Rory’s shoulder. “The mercs are here.”
† † †
Zane joined Dominic at the kitchen table where there was a pile of weapons. He tossed his machetes on top of it.
“I’ve got seven shots of the vampire virus cure left,” Zane told him. “Its kick is instant and will give me an advantage. Don’t know how long I can hold them off before they kill me, but it’ll buy time.” He opened the medical kit that contained the syringes and started shoving them into his coat pocket.
Dominic extended his hand. “Give me three.”
“No, you’d be killed. Glory needs you.”
“The girls will take care of her. I’m not going to let you die alone.”
Zane snorted. “Why? I’m nothing to you.”
“Because you’re everything to Glory. You’re the man she’s in love with.”
“She loves you, too.”
“Yes, she loves me. She does. We’re good together. But she’s in love with you and has been for two lifetimes.”
Zane lost his breath. “She would have chosen me?”
Dominic closed his eyes and nodded.
Oh, thank God. Glory loved him as much as he loved her. That knowledge gave Zane more strength than he could have imagined possible.
Rory rushed into the kitchen. “The men in black are coming.”
“Ah, hell.” Zane offered her his Colt .45. “Protect Glory.”
Rory shook her head. “Give it to Raven. I’m going with you.”
“No way, sweetheart. You have a better chance of surviving in here.”
“Seriously? After all the foxholes we’ve shared, I’d think you’d know me better by now. I don’t play safe.” She grabbed a machete off the table.
There wasn’t time to argue. He ran into the living room and found Raven standing guard by the stove. “You ever shoot?” he asked her.
“No, but there’s nothing I can’t do when I set my mind to it.”
He handed her the gun. “Use both hands to aim, grip it tight, squeeze the trigger—don’t pull it—and fire one round at a time. It’ll buck like a bronc, but don’t try to hold it down. When it runs out of bullets the slide will lock back like this—” he showed her “—then push this button to drop the old clip, stick the new one in, and pull this switch to release the slide.”
“Got it,” Raven said.
He demonstrated how to operate the safety, then gave her extra clips. “Twelve bullets each.”
She stuffed them into the pocket of her jacket.
Zane looked at Glory. “Don’t die. Don’t you die.”
“I’ll always love you,” she told him.
* * *
From my position I could see the entire room, and when I saw Jesse fading in and out it was obvious to me that he wasn’t alone in that body anymore. He seemed like an iceberg on fire. I wondered if Gen’s sudden urgency was due to the shock of his heightened demonic energy. She was fighting so hard for her only chance at life.
Mom crouched between my legs.
“As soon as Gen’s born, get her out of here,” I said to her. “Don’t stick around for me. She’s the important one.”
Mom looked uncertain.
“I’ll make sure that’s how it goes down,” Raven said.
Another shuddering pain ripped through me, and I screamed.
)o( )o( )o(
Rory looked though the kitchen window and saw the vamps coming from the direction of Dominic’s house. “They’re here.”
Rory, Zane, and Dominic each had a machete and syringes. In their pockets were some of Glory’s flashbangs. As sensitive as vampire senses were, they figured the disorienting effect would be useful.
“Let’s ride,” Zane said and winked at Rory.
She felt renewed confidence. “This ain’t my first vampire rodeo.”
Right before they walked out the back door, Dominic stuck the machete in his belt and grabbed a baseball bat.
“You do know that the whole wooden stake through the heart thing is a myth, right?” Zane asked.
Dominic nodded. “I just have a feeling it might come in handy.”
They went outside, and three mercs appeared from around the far side of the house. One of them threw a grenade. It soared through the air as if in slow motion, but Rory knew she couldn’t outrun it. Her last thought before it arrived was, Crap.
Then Dominic swung his bat and smacked the grenade right back at them. Zane pivoted to shield Rory, but the shrapnel didn’t hit any of them. The mercs weren’t so lucky. It was a home run.
“Score one for our team,” Rory managed to say.
Dominic smiled and dropped the bat.
Bo and his gang closed in.
“Well, here goes everything,” Rory said as she tossed a flashbang in their direction.
* * *
An explosion shook the back of the house and windows shattered. Then the front door burst open and people rushed in. I looked up and saw two men holding guns. And I saw Erica. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “So, it’s true.”
My vision blurred as another violent contraction tore through me. Gunfire drowned out the sound of my scream.
† † †
Zane drew Bo and the other meanest vamp away from Rory and Dominic. He was as human as they were, but his body remembered how to fight like a vampire.
)o( )o( )o(
Rory figured Leah to be her best shot and immediately zeroed in. It helped that Zane’s presence distracted her because, by the time Leah noticed, Rory was perfectly positioned to swing the machete at the girl’s hand. The hand and the blade it held went flying. Taking advantage of Leah’s shock, she took the bitch’s head clean off.
* * *
Something was terribly wrong. Drowning in agony, I finally fought my way to the surface and saw blood. A lot of blood.
Raven was shot and crawling to where her gun lay. I looked past her and saw she had killed one of the mercenaries.
Then I noticed Mom’s hands coated in my blood. “Something’s terribly wrong,” she said right before the other merc slammed his gun into the side of her head and knocked her out. He bent to look between my legs and I somehow managed to lift one of them and kick him in the face. He fell backward.
I always had been a good kicker.
Swimming in dizziness, my mind clouded. Confused, I blinked, and Erica was at my side. Erica? Where had she come from? I struggled for thought, but my mind couldn’t seem to make connections. I clutched her arm. “Oh, you’ve come home.”
“Yeah, not so much,” she said and shook me off.
“Dad and Mom will be so happy. They always loved you best. I did too.”
“Stop it, Glory.”
Stop what? Treading water, I finally found purchase and remembered what was happening. “I’m so scared. Please help me.”
The merc stood up out of kicking range. “Let’s get her to the car.”
I was able to read Erica’s heart and felt compassion. “She’s in the middle of having a damn baby. Let her finish.”
“Who made you the boss of me?” He aimed his gun at her. “I’m so sick of you. They told me you were expendable.”
I tried to yank her out of the way of his bullet, so it didn’t hit where aimed. However, the strike was close enough.
She collapsed onto my chest, and her eyes searched mine. The fear in her heart matched my own.
I stroked her hair. “Hold on, Erica. You’re home now. Don’t leave again.”
But she did anyway.
Gen tore at my insides. I screamed, and another gunshot rang out. The merc’s brain splattered, and Raven gave me a shaky thumbs-up.
Then I saw that Jesse had finally made it through the wards. He threw his arms open wide and Lailah sailed across the room in one direction, while Sasha went the other way. He looked at me and smiled. It was pure evil.
)o( )o( )o(
Rory pulled a syringe from her pocket and managed to sneak up from behind on one of the vamps Zane was fighting. She plunged it into him, he doubled over, and threw up. Then her machete took off his head.
Proud of herself, she looked up from her kill just in time to see Bo’s blade cut deep into Zane’s throat.
Horror seized her. “No!”
Bo raised his fist in triumph as Zane slumped to the ground.
Dominic used the opportunity of Bo’s gloat to swing his bloody machete like a bat, and it was game over.
* * *
Jesse said, “I’d rather see you dead than lose.” As he raised his hand and started to snap his fingers, a beautiful blonde woman appeared in a blaze of light. Through the fog of my pain and terror, it took me a moment to realize it was Michael.
“Lucifer, you’ll have to fight me first,” she said.
He turned to her. “Not now. Not over this.”
“Then go.”
I watched as a shadow detached from Jesse’s body. Both it and Michael left.
Jesse’s cold eyes met mine. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything,” Lailah said.
Lailah and Sasha teamed up to vanquish Jesse. Right before their light consumed him, he looked at me again and this time his eyes reflected the old Jesse. My Jesse. I gasped as my heart broke.
† † †
Rory cradled Zane’s head in her lap and Dominic grasped his hand. Despite deepening shadows, Zane saw the compassion in Dominic’s eyes and tears in Rory’s. As his life rapidly drained, time slowed, and he remembered.
Zane tamed Hope’s wild heart and offered arms to hold her, hands to stroke her, and dreams made holy with sacred kisses. He stripped her of white satin, lace, and a crown of flowers, then, as the black velvet night rose to embrace them he whispered, “I love you.”
“Polish those words with your tongue,” Hope said. “Make them last longer than the stars and shine brighter than the moon.”
“I love you,” he repeated, polishing the words that would be hers forever.
* * *
I heard Gen’s first cries and my heart rejoiced.
“Glory’s lost too much blood,” Sasha said.
If I died, the price was worth the prize.
† † †
Zane watched helplessly as Hope sacrificed her life to save their son. As she lay dying, she whispered to him, “Drink my blood, I don’t need it anymore.”
He drank, and her strength became his.
Zane’s mind hopscotched through time, and he witnessed decades of seeking comfort in Jinx’s arms, scenes of watching family from afar, nightmares of wandering in darkness wrangling monsters, and the agony of his heart longing for love again. Then he remembered Rumi’s words.
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you
not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.
* * *
As Sasha healed me, I felt Zane dying. I prayed his faith would finally break through to God, and that grace would descend to end his anguish.
† † †
Zane made love to Glory high on a cliff under the sky bright with a pregnant moon and shooting stars. He moved slowly, making every precious second count—their time together was almost over. Softly he said, “Whatever happens, Glory, you’ll carry a part of me into the future.” When he finally surrendered, a falling star fell from the sky and light filled her body.
Zane heard the baby’s lusty cry announcing her arrival and Rory said to him, “Genesis—born of such a great big love—is gonna save the world, sweetie. The honorable way you lived your life saved us all.” Her voice broke. “You’re a real good man, Zane.”
Sacred light fell from the sky and filled his body.
“I have never forsaken you,” a familiar voice told him. “You never lost your soul. You’ve made me so very proud. It’s time to come home now.”
His soul leapt when he realized whose voice it was.
Then he remembered something Jade had said to him. “In the end, the only thing that matters is how much you loved.”
Zane surrendered to the light, and he finally went home.
* * *
I feel you leave. Alone with my heartbeats and those of our child. Unbearable loss. Unbearable sorrow.
The world is forever changed.
SPRING
* * *
At dawn on Easter, Gen, Hallie, and I walked to the graveyard to honor the fallen.
Genesis’ DNA, Mom’s vampire virus cure, and angelic assistance performed the hoped-for miracle of undoing the worldwide genetic damage the New World Order’s efforts had caused. Thanks to Evan, the NWO itself—at least the faction responsible for the attempted genocide—had been undone. However, because of their Blue Beam project, all hell had broken loose among world religions, and chaos still reigned.
Mom was living at home now and working with Professor Greenberg in scientific studies to benefit humanity. They were searching for a cure for AIDS.
Lailah left for her next mission, while Sasha remained behind to look out for us.
Rory went home to Savannah, but after discovering we were family, our relationship transformed into one of the heart.
Raven lived in Dad’s old art studio now, and Dominic had returned to his own house. Soon, Gen and I would be joining him there.
It was cool and foggy, and I carried my daughter cradled against my chest in a warm sling. Her bright blue eyes stared up at my face, and their resemblance to Zane’s never failed to amaze me. I was eager to discover what kind of person she would grow up to be. I felt she’d be rebellious and passionate, with the capacity for big love.
As we neared our fami
ly plot, Hallie growled, and I stopped short.
Jinx stepped out of the mist. “Tell your dog to stand down.”
My heart stuttered. I hadn’t seen Jinx since she had rescued me from Hell. It took a moment for me to find my voice. “She doesn’t like vampires.”
“Control your dog, Glory.”
This was between Jinx and me. I couldn’t let Hallie get hurt over whatever this was. “Hallie, be like a cat.”
Hallie whined, but she obeyed the command Dad had taught her. She lay down and grew quiet.
Jinx moved closer, I could see streaks of bloody tears on her face, and a shiver of fear shook me. I wrapped my arms protectively around Gen.
“I let my passions get out of control and was horrible to Zane,” she said. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
I considered her words. “I don’t know what happened, but I would guess that he’d want you to forgive yourself.”
She walked up to us and stared down at Gen for a long time.
My mind raced to figure out what I could do to protect her.
Then Jinx grabbed me behind the neck and pulled my lips to hers in a brief, but fierce, kiss. “That is my oath that if you or his daughter ever need me, I’ll be there.” She turned away and disappeared into the fog.
It took a few minutes until my breath steadied and I could move on.
We visited Dad’s grave first. Mom had come yesterday and left Easter lilies, which perfumed the damp air. His gravestone, mysteriously engraved by supernatural forces following the pandemic, read,
† MARK TEMPLETON †
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat. Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) Page 23