by G. P. Ching
“I saw what happened. Ravenguard had both of them. Whether Finn used his magic or not, the outcome would have been the same. The fault lies with Damien. The angel overpowered us.”
Lips twisted as if he’d eaten something bitter, Lucifer paced uneasily in front of the fire, his gaze drifting from Kirsa, to Finn, to Ravenguard, whose coat was still smoking. Finn wondered if the guy would be able to heal the wounds he’d caused. Ravenguard had no hair on the left half of his head and his skin had melted off the muscle in his cheek and jaw. If he’d been human, he’d be completely incapacitated.
“At least one of them is dead. Ravenguard killed Michael,” Kirsa said.
“Michael had no power,” Lucifer said. “He was a tool.”
“And now the Soulkeepers have one less tool.” She pulled a cigarette from inside her jacket and lit up, leaning back in her chair. Finn had to hand it to her. She was an excellent actress. No way was anyone that cool and collected after having her head pounded by the Devil. Not when he was still as angry as he was. They were all in real danger.
Lucifer turned to the fire, seeming to take solace in its unrelenting heat. “Go to your rooms. Don’t come out until I invite you.”
Kirsa huffed. “But we haven’t eaten all day! Humans have to eat, Lucifer. If you don’t feed us, Finn and I will die.”
The Devil raised an eyebrow. “Lucky for you, I can raise the dead. No matter how many times you starve to death, Kirsa, I promise I will bring you back to starve again.”
Kirsa tossed her cigarette on the floor and stomped it out with her heel. She stormed out of the room, toward the bedrooms. Finn rose to follow.
“Mr. Wager,” Lucifer said. The Devil pinned him with his black stare. “Next time, do not wait for Ravenguard. If I find out you are holding anything back from me, I will have your soul in a tourniquet for the rest of eternity.”
Finn nodded once and headed for his room.
There was no explanation for why Finn could feel the sunrise. The cabin had no windows. It was always dark aside from the raging fires. But something deep within him, a part of himself he never knew existed, could feel daylight spread across the horizon like a silver flash. Instinctively, he knew Lucifer would be sleeping at that moment, as weak as he would be that day.
Finn used the opportunity to disseminate into Kirsa’s room and conjure a brunch fit for a queen. There were croissants, bacon, eggs, beignets, and a large carafe of juice.
Kirsa woke with a deep inhale and widened her eyes when she saw the spread.
“Is that real or an illusion?”
“As real as it gets. Compliments of the Two Sisters. It’s a common misconception that magicians conjure things out of thin air. Whatever we take comes from somewhere. This is hot and ready.”
“Does Lucifer know?” she whispered, glancing at the door.
He gave her a pitying look. “Of course not.”
“He won’t like it.”
“He can’t take away what’s already in your stomach.” Actually, Finn wasn’t entirely sure that was true, but he didn’t want to think about it. He reached for a beignet and took a bite. Kirsa couldn’t help herself. She leaped out of bed and snatched a piece of bacon in one hand and a croissant in the other.
“Delicious,” she mumbled, her eyes closing.
“You should have mentioned he was starving you. I would have given you part of my sandwich that first day.”
She talked around a mouthful of half-masticated breakfast. “Why? You hate me. I spent half a semester stabbing you. You’ve wanted to kill me for months.” Her eyes narrowed as if she expected he’d done something to the food, poisoned it or spit in it, but she didn’t stop eating.
“Thank you for standing up for me to Lucifer,” he said.
The tension in her face relaxed. “You’re welcome. It wasn’t our fault. I’m sick of taking the rap for Ravenguard’s failures. He could have stabbed Hope. What the hell were they thinking anyway, sending two of their best Soulkeepers directly to Lucifer’s concert?”
He shook his head. “Who knows? Totally stupid. It’s incredible they’re alive.”
“A miracle,” she murmured. She stared at the wall and Finn could guess she was thinking about the angel. He’d felt it too when the fire blew through the venue. Everything they were missing by staying with Lucifer was in that fire. It was a warmth that had nothing to do with heat. Finn had never appreciated it until it was gone.
They ate in silence until they couldn’t fit another thing in their stomachs; then Finn sent the remaining food, the table, and the linens back where they came from.
“I should go back to my room.” He stood and prepared to leave.
“Wager?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not your enemy.”
Finn’s gaze slid sideways toward the door. “Ditto.” With a twist, he disseminated back to his room.
25
Lost Boys
Everyone attending the emergency meeting of the Soulkeepers Council looked like they were going to a funeral. Ms. D’s frown had grown so pronounced, Mike thought the lines around her mouth might become permanent. In the main conference room back on the bus, he’d explained in detail what he was trying to do at the Tilted Raven and what had gone wrong.
“You should have run your plan by the council before you acted,” Ms. D said, her voice biting as a whip. “That’s what this council is for. This isn’t the Wild West. You are not a cowboy. You need to work with us.”
“I didn’t think we’d have time,” he said. “This was our one chance to save Finn!”
“And it almost got us both killed,” Hope said.
“How did you get out of there alive?” Ms. D asked.
Jayden cleared his throat. Mike was relieved when Jayden had returned safely to the bus. But he sensed his friend had more to say about what happened last night, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it.
“I started the place on fire,” Jayden said.
There was a collective gasp.
“Yeah, I know. You don’t become a Pyro without understanding how fire can get out of hand. It was a small one and contained, but it put off enough light to allow Damien to come to our aid. He blasted back the crowd and Ravenguard and got Hope and Mike out of there.”
“Thank the Lord,” Ms. D said. She gave a little nod to Damien who was standing in the corner of the room behind Hope.
“I hid in the rafters until Damien came back for me,” Jayden said.
Mike’s head popped up. “You were in the rafters the entire time?”
He snorted. “Yeah. Almost peed my pants watching those slime-buckets at work. Finn helped Lucifer clean up the carnage as if the dead and wounded were broken toys,” Jayden said. “Finn isn’t Finn anymore, Mike. He’s something else. Something evil.”
Mike shook his head. “That’s not true. I don’t believe that. Finn is in there. When I looked into his eyes, he was there.”
“He used his magic to cover up what happened. He compelled people who needed to go to the hospital to go home instead, without compassion. Think about it, Mike, he could have easily come with you. He didn’t.”
“He is lost, then. Completely turned to the side of Lucifer.” Ms. D shook her head.
Orelon said in his low, smooth voice, “In all my time training Finn, I’ve never known him to give up easily. If he is doing the will of the evil one, it is not by choice.”
Mike was thankful there was someone else on Finn’s side. “I agree with Orelon. All we can say for sure is that Finn wouldn’t come with us when we asked. We don’t know why. Maybe he’s being forced. Maybe he’s staying to gather information for us.”
But Hope was shaking her head. “You saw his soul, Mike.”
“No.”
“I know you did. Your skills and abilities might be new to you, but I suspect you couldn’t miss it. I could smell it on him like rotten eggs.”
Mike scowled.
“What did you see when you looked at him, Michael?” Ms. D
asked.
“Mmm. Okay. He did have this dark and tattered halo thing around him.”
“You saw his aura,” Damien said. “That was his damaged soul.”
Hope rubbed her temples and sent Michael a pleading look. “Finn’s hair had completely grown back, Mike. Open your eyes.”
Jayden inhaled a shaky breath. “He didn’t do that himself. Think about it. He watched you die Mike and he didn’t even shed a tear.”
“No, I’m sure he didn’t,” Hope said. “He couldn’t cry because Lucifer controls his every thought, just like he controls Kirsa. Finn has sold his soul for power. He practically told us as much. He told us it was too late.”
“We don’t know that,” Mike protested.
“Lucifer doesn’t give anything for free,” Damien said.
“Finn is a lot of things, but he isn’t evil,” Mike’s voice was low and even. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They were all giving up on Finn… on his best friend!
“Many people who are not evil do evil things,” Damien said. The angel paced at the back of the conference room, making Mike uneasy.
Mike took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter why Finn was the way he was or had done the things he did. The most important thing was getting him back and helping him become Finn again. “There’s only one thing for us to do.”
“What can we do?” Hope shook her head.
“We need to try again.”
The room went quiet and then erupted into confused murmurs.
“You can’t be serious,” Hope said. “Lucifer can’t see you alive, Mike, ever. He’ll know you’re the Healer. Once he knows, he’ll never stop until you’re on a slab of stone with the dagger pointed at your heart.”
“I’ll be careful. I know what to expect this time.”
“Are you insane?” Jayden’s fingers sparked as his hands slapped the table. “It’s out of the question. You are exactly what Lucifer needs to complete the spell to merge the realms. The Tilted Raven was a bad enough idea. Facing Lucifer again would be suicide.”
“When I touched Finn, I felt him start to heal. I saw one of the symbols on his wrist fade. I can bring him back. I know I can.”
Ms. D brought her fingers to her chin. “He’s too close to Lucifer and you are too important. We can send a team to Technothrob’s next concert to try to capture Finn and bring him to you—”
“No. It has to be me.” Mike shook his head. “I’m the Healer. I know this is what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just like you were supposed to touch Juliette?” Hope rolled her eyes. “You said the same thing about Lucifer’s guitar, and that didn’t turn out too well, did it?”
“That was different.”
“It was? Healer wisdom is different from intuition, Mike. You need to go to the other side and ask the immortals. We can’t follow your every whim.” She said the last through her teeth.
“As it so happens, I’ve recently visited with the Immortals, something you can’t do anymore,” Mike snapped. Hope recoiled. “And they emphasized the importance of friendship. Friends do not let friends sell their souls to the Devil.”
Ms. D gave a heavy sigh and held up her hands. “You have friends in this room too, Michael. We can’t do it. I won’t do it. If Lucifer gets his hands on you, all is lost. I’ve told Fuse to take us back to Revelations where you’ll be safe. We can discuss next steps there.”
Mike played with the corner of the notebook he was using. “I thought this Healer gig came with the perk of being your leader.”
“You were. You are,” Ms. D said. “But that also means we need to protect you. With time, you’ll grow into your role.”
Mike reached for the triquetra around his neck, intending to call Gabriel to back him up. It was too late. There was a lurch, and Mike felt like he was putty being pressed through a cheese grater. He couldn’t breathe or move. Everyone else seemed similarly incapacitated. Jayden’s face was roughly the color of a beet.
And then Damien disappeared.
A series of bumps indicated they’d landed on Veil Island. Of course, that’s why Theodor and Wendy weren’t here. They’d returned home because they couldn’t travel to the island. And Fuse, she was driving, likely with Amuke as copilot. Everyone else was here, keeping him busy while they trapped him on the island.
“You brought me here against my will?” He turned the full weight of his rage on Jayden. “You’re supposed to be my friend! Finn’s too.”
“That’s exactly why we’re here, Mike. I risked my life to save your ass in that bar. I’m destroyed we couldn’t save Finn. I won’t lose you too. We need to take a beat. We need a plan that doesn’t include you offering yourself up as a sacrifice.” Jayden bared his teeth and leaned toward him across the table.
“You have no right,” Mike said. His stomach pitched, and he shot Jayden and Hope a look of disgust.
He stayed behind as everyone stood and started filtering out of the room. As she walked by him toward the door, Hope said, “As the Soulkeepers Council, we do.”
Long after everyone else had gone to bed, Mike sat in the dining hall alone, staring up at the antler chandelier as he had his first day at Revelations. So much had changed since then. He had changed. He sipped Mrs. Wilhelm’s version of root beer, a concoction that was heavy on root flavor and nothing like the tasty soda drink. The others had tried to talk to him, especially Hope and Jayden, but he’d refused. They’d gone against his will, trapped and imprisoned him. That wasn’t something he’d forgive anytime soon. Nor would he forgive them giving up on Finn.
“Would you like cookies to go with your drink, Soulkeeper?” a voice asked. Michael stood and peered over the table to find a little man staring up at him, wearing green lederhosen and a pointy hat. At least he thought it was a man. The face was more like a monkey’s.
“Uh, no. I’m good thanks,” he told the man.
“It is Archibald’s pleasure to serve the new Healer.”
“Archibald, nice to meet you. Do you work here?” He extended his hand.
“Oh yes, Archibald has served the Soulkeepers for hundreds of years. I am a garden gnome, from the Garden of Eden.” The little guy sniffed Mike’s hand then pumped it twice, as if the gesture was unfamiliar.
Mike snorted and sat back down. “I don’t suppose in those hundreds of years you ever dealt with mutiny against the Healer.”
“Oh yes, of course I have,” Archibald said with a sharp-toothed grin. “But it never lasts long. A Healer’s power is not easily caged.”
Interesting. Mike gestured for the gnome to come to his side of the table and patted the empty chair next to him. Archibald climbed into the seat.
“Not easily caged, huh? They seem to have done a good job with me. I’m stuck on this island instead of saving my friend Finn.”
“Could you take the bus off the island? That’s how the others go.” The gnome’s eyes loomed large in the dim light.
Shrugging, Mike spoke gently, as if talking to a small child. “No keys. Plus, I don’t know how to drive a magical bus.”
“Oh.” Archibald pressed a tiny finger to his lips.
“It was a good idea though, Archibald.”
“The others call me Archie.”
Mike bumped the little guy’s fist with his own. “Okay, Archie. If you have any other ideas like that, you let me know. I need to get off this island, and you seem like the kind of gnome that gets things done. The kind of gnome that respects the position of Healer.”
The compliment widened the gnome’s eyes, and Mike could almost feel the little guy thinking. “There is one other way off this island,” Archie said.
With his drink halfway to his mouth, Mike froze. He looked over his shoulder before leaning forward and lowering his voice. “Did you just say you know another way off this island, other than the bus?”
The gnome smiled and nodded vigorously. “There is one other way. The way Archibald arrived here. Archibald
did not come by bus.”
“If you didn’t come by bus, how did you get here?”
“By portal,” the gnome said wondrously. “In a cave at the back of the mountain, is a tree. It used to be a portal to Eden. Years ago, gnomes could travel through a network of trees. Archie used gnome magic to bring him here when Eden was destroyed. The vibrations that toppled Eden also injured the trees. Archie can no longer use it to travel. Can’t go home to Eden.” Archibald looked wistfully at his hands
“Oh,” Mike said. “I’m sorry you lost your home. I know what it’s like to lose people you love.”
“Mmm. Yes, I fear you do.”
Mike rubbed his hands together. “So, uh, the thing you said about another way off this island… there was another way, but not anymore. The portal tree is, uh, broken.”
Archie nodded. “Unless you can convince her to fix it.”
“Her who?” Mike wondered if it was something Ms. D had to do. Maybe something that was broken when the star was destroyed.
“Your friend Hope. She has the gift of Life. If she were to use her new abilities to heal the tree, the portal could be opened once more.”
Mike’s thumb tapped nervously on the side of his glass. “Are you saying that the portal will work if the tree is… healed?”
Archibald’s hat bobbed as he nodded. “If Hope heals the tree, Archie can navigate the portal. Archie could take you anywhere there is another portal. Archibald is certain. And then you could go there without the bus.”
A chill ran the length of his spine. “Thank you, Archie. Do you think you could show me where this tree is tomorrow?”
“Of course! It would be my pleasure.”
“Terrific. Can you do me one more favor?”
“Of course. Gnomes adore serving their Soulkeepers.” The little guy grabbed the sides of his hat as if the thought was truly exciting.
Mike patted the air in front of him. “Let’s keep this on the down low. Don’t tell anyone else. I want to ask Hope when the time is right, when she’s most likely to say yes. You understand?”