by Jen L. Grey
Her eyes flash with anger and she straightens her shoulders. "Then your parents will die tonight." She jabs her finger in my chest. "Do you understand me?"
This time she means it, but I can't back down now. This is it. "Then like I said earlier, do what you have to do." I grab her finger and shove it off me. "But you will not be getting those artifacts." I turn on my heels and walk down the hallway to the door.
"You get back here this instance." She yells after me. "Christina, get back here right now. We aren't finished."
"Yeah, we are." I don't miss a beat and slam the door behind me. I have to get out of here and away from her. My first stop will be my parents' house. I'm sure there will be a hit placed on them soon; if not already.
Not wanting to be stopped, I rush through the house and walk past a butler who turns and stares at me. Yeah, I'm sure someone leaving in a huff of their own free will is an abnormal occurrence. As soon as I sit down in the car, I turn it over and put it in drive heading to my parents. I hope I can get there in time before something bad happens to them.
Driving way too fast, I get to their duplex in record time. I hop out of my car and rush in, using the key that they gave me.
When I step into the house, there is a loud crash from the living room. I run in that direction and find the guard that was assigned to protect them hovering over the couch, where Dad and Mom are plastered, with a gun in his hand.
Dad is wide-eyed and his hands are raised. "Please, you don't have to do this. There has to be another way."
Shit, he's got a freaking gun. Why didn't I even think about that? He's an agent after all. I glance around the room and pick up a small vase. It's not going to do much, but it should at least hurt him enough to knock the gun out of his hands. I need to move fast before he either hears me or shoots them.
Moving as fast as possible, I rush up behind him and swing as hard as possible toward his head. My side complains with the movement since my wound still isn't healed, but I ignore it. It'll make me weak if I don't.
The vase is light and cracks as soon as it hits him. It cuts him up causing him to drop the gun which was my main goal. It slides across the room under the large curio cabinet in the corner. Well, that's not going to help me in any way.
"What the hell?" The guy rubs his face and then turns and glares at me. "You. I should have known."
"Christina, get out of here." Mom's face turns white, and her hands shake as she reaches out to me. "You need to get away fast."
That's not going to happen now even if I tried. I've pissed this agent off. "I'm not leaving."
"You'll pay for what you just did." Blood pours down his face and neck. "I bet the Elders will be happy when I bring you back to them."
I'm not so sure Margaret would be right now. I kinda left her pissed off, but that's not my problem. "Are you all talk?" The madder he gets, the more irrational, or at least that's what I'm hoping. At some point, my instincts have to be right.
He charges me, lower down to take me at my waist. Shit, he's at least double my weight if not more. I spread my legs shoulder length apart and when he's striking distance, I step back and kick out toward his thighs. He stumbles back, falling into the coffee table breaking it in two.
"Are you okay?" Dad gets up from the couch and rushes over to me. His hair is messy, and his eyes are bloodshot.
"Yeah, just get out of the way." I don't have time to worry about them getting hurt.
"You." The guard stumbles as he stands. Blood is coming down from where the glass is still stuck in his neck and it looks like he got injured from falling into the coffee table. He pulls out a knife from a waist band. "I was trying to be nice, but that's done."
This is going to be fun. I glance around for a weapon but, alas, there is nothing.
As if he didn't learn the first time, he charges at me, but this time he doesn't lower. He comes at me straight with both hands in the air around the knife. When he gets close, his eyes lock in on my arm. Shit, he's going to stab me in the arm. I guess it's better than the heart.
When he swings downward, I spin to the side at the last minute and knock him in the back making him propel forward.
Dad comes forward and swings his leg out making the agent fall to the ground. "We need to find the gun, Christina."
My dark, black reaper power begins swirling again inside me. What the hell? When I want to use it, it never works, but in the Angel Realm and here it just begins thrumming of its own accord. I walk toward the agent. "No, we don't need the gun."
"What do you mean?" Dad glances at the guard, then me with his brows furrowed. "We have to kill him. If we don't, then he'll just be after me and your mother again."
"We don't need the gun to do it." The black, sickly power is pulsing inside me and I walk over to the agent and place my hands on him. The suctioning begins at once and the soul begins stripping away and entering my body. The coldness overcomes me as it settles and I wait for it to pass through into the afterlife.
"Frank, what's going on?" Mom's tone is full of concern.
"I... I don't know." Dad's tone is one of bewilderment.
This is still unnatural to me, so it takes all my concentration. They don't understand what's going on just like I don't. Beth shouldn't be trapped in a room because she shouldn't have a soul to be trapped with. We don't reap reapers because they aren't supposed to have souls. So, this isn't common practice. Just like Beth, if one gets touched during a reaping they die, but they don't have a soul to suction. They just die from the process, but I feel a soul being removed from this agent. What's going on?
After this process is done, I stand up and face both my parents. I'm ready for their disapproval and lectures.
Mom takes a step over to me and after a second pulls me into her arms. "Oh my god. I was so worried about you."
"Don't ever scare us like that again." Dad comes over and wraps his arms around both of us. "I don't know what we would ever do if something happened to you."
Wait... What? I'm not getting a lecture right now? "You're not mad at me?"
They both pull back and my mom reaches over and cups my cheek. "No, honey. We aren't mad." A large smile spreads across her face. "Despite all the hell we put you through, you came here and saved us."
"Yeah." Dad leans over and kisses my cheek. "I don't know what we ever did to deserve a daughter like you, but I'm so proud of you."
Tears spring to my eyes but I blink my eyes trying to hold them back. "I wouldn't leave you to die. I'd do everything I could to save you."
"And that's what makes you so special." Mom throws her arms around me once more. "I don't know why we took you for granted all those years and tried to make you someone you weren't. I love you just the way you are."
"So do I, Christina." Dad pats my back. "I don't think I've told you that in years. I love you, too."
My heart is so full I think it might explode. There has been so many things going on in the past few weeks I'm not even sure what to feel at this point. However, right this moment, I have to get my parent's safety set and get back to protecting the artifacts from both Damien and the council. I don't have time to pretend we can be a happy reunited family in this moment. I reach up and kiss both their cheeks. "I hate to break up our moment, but I need to call Charlie. A lot has happened and I'm sure more agents will be here soon once they realize we took care of one of their own."
"Oh, right." Dad steps back and looks at the agent on the ground. "I'll take care of that while you're handling the other things."
"Great, thank you." I grab my cell phone and walk into the kitchen as Charlie's phone rings on the other end.
He picks up on the first ring. "Christina, where the hell have you been?"
Yeah, I deserve that. "I'm sorry. It's a long story, but I got sent to the Angel's Realm and realized a lot of things." I catch him up on what's happened as fast as possible. "So, I need your help. They are trying to kill my parents. Can you help me?"
"Course I will." Keys ra
ttle in the background. "I'll be there in five minutes."
"Okay, thank you." I give him the address and pull the phone away.
"Hey, Christina." A voice yells from the phone.
I place it back to my ear. "Yeah?"
"Please, be careful and just stay there." His tone’s filled with concern.
While I wait on him, I go in the living room and clean up the glass and broken coffee table. I don't know how I was able to come out of that fight unscathed, but I'll take it.
There is a loud knock on the door, and I run to go answer it. My heart races when I realize it's been a few days since I've seen him. That's not the norm anymore, and it hits me how much I've missed him. When I open the door and see his bright eyes, I throw my arms around him.
He wraps his arms around me and takes in a deep breath. "I've missed you, too."
"Come on in." I step inside and motion for him. "We have some planning to do."
Not missing a beat, he steps inside and takes my hand.
After I shut the door, we walk into the room together where my parents are now sitting after they finished taking care of the agent. They carried him off right on the outskirts of town and buried him in the woods somewhere. They had just gotten back about ten minutes ago and taken a shower to get clean in case someone stopped by asking any questions. Granted, everyone will know what happened, but they can't prove it without a body here.
Just when we're about to get down to matters, a white swirling portal appears in the center of the room.
"What the hell?" Dad stands and steps in front of Mom.
Charlie pulls me to his side. "Did you ask Becca to come?"
"No, I didn't." He knows how Becca transports.
Then, Jeff falls through. His dark, sparkly skin is red with blood and he hunches over grabbing his stomach.
"Frank, what is that?" Mom cries out as she takes in his old looks.
"I don't know, but he won't hurt any of you." Dad raises his hands ready to fight.
"Calm down, this is my friend." I rush over to him and bend down. "What happened?"
His large black eyes find mine. "Your friend, Brad, he found me somehow." He groans as he reaches down and grabs his stomach. "I don't understand how I wasn't alerted. He..." He slumps forward and cries out.
I glance down where he's grasping, and my stomach turns queasy. His whole shirt is drenched with blood. Shit, and the worst part is I don't even know if he still has the Angel's Breath.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It still seems surreal Brad is the one doing this. My lifelong friend turned vicious monster? If we don't get Jeff treated soon, he isn't going to make it. "Guys, we need to get him to a hospital and fast. He's bleeding bad." I point down to his stomach.
"Oh, damn." Charlie sits next to me on the ground and examines him. "Those are deep. He needs to go now."
"My car has leather seats so let's take mine." Dad stands and puts his shoes on.
"I'll grab some clean towels he can use." Mom runs into their bedroom. "It might help with the pressure."
With shaky hands, Jeff grabs a glove that fell on the ground when he transported here. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out the vial of Angel's Breath. "This is what he wanted." His breathing is becoming ragged. "Luckily, I already had it hidden so he wasn't able to find it, even though he caught me off guard."
"Why did you bring it here?" I glance around. This isn't a safe place for it.
"I've been watching you, and I was wrong." He coughs and winces from the pain. "You are not what you seem and are growing wiser every day."
"If she doesn't feel comfortable having it, then that's all that matters." Charlie scowls at him.
"See, that's where you are both wrong." He holds a hand out almost as if he's balancing himself and closes his eyes for a moment. "You are one of the few people who can handle these artifacts wisely. I know this now. You have to stop looking for others to protect the artifacts." He reaches out with his gloved hand and places it in my hand. "You need to take them for yourself. These were made for you."
What the hell is going on? I don't want that responsibility, but at the same time, he's right. The artifacts are here and I have to stop leaving them in other people's possessions. People I either don't know or trust. I have to do something. "You're right." I take it and the power courses through me.
"Are you sure about this?" Charlie glances at me. "Don't be pressured into something."
And that man right there has my back. "I'm not. He's right. Whether I like it or not, the artifacts are here and circulating. I don't trust anyone but us to have them. I have to go after Brad while you guys take him to the hospital." I put the artifact in my pocket, not wanting to lose it.
"I don't like this. I should go with you." Charlie frowns and grabs my hand.
"No, I need you to protect Jeff and my parents." I need him to do this for me. I can't do this without him. "I can't focus on Brad if you aren't taking care of them."
"Fine, but only because you love them." He huffs and runs a hand through his hair. "I hate not being with you."
"The car is ready." Mom comes into the room. "Let's go. He's losing too much blood."
Dad comes over and both Charlie and him get on either side of him and lift him up.
Jeff's head's bob. "Wait. One last thing." His head lifts up and he glances at me one last time. "I've had a protection spell put on all the artifacts during my lifetime. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it."
"Don't say that..." He has to make it.
"No, stop. I'm severely injured." He takes a short breath. "If I die, the artifacts may react more strongly to you. Be prepared."
More strongly to me? They already connect with me more than I'm comfortable with. "What does that mean?"
He opens his mouth to respond but then his body slumps.
"Shit, he passed out." Charlie groans as he struggles to hold his weight.
"We need to go now, honey." Dad shifts Jeff more onto him. "He's lost too much blood."
"You guys go, but I need to find Brad." I turn to head out. "Be careful you guys." I have to leave before I can't make myself go. I want to stay with them, but I have to find Brad and get this resolved.
As I get settled in my car, I lean my head back on the headrest. I need to find Brad and fast. I close my eyes and lock in on him. When he comes into view, he's taking it to an old abandoned cabin at the edge of town we used to play in when we were younger.
If I hadn't felt betrayed before, I sure do now. That bastard is using our sacred shared places to hide an artifact that he stole from me? If that's not heartless, I don't know what is.
I text Charlie where I’m going and then burn rubber as I pull out of the driveway and drive way too fast making my way to Brad. I'm ready for this to be over and to get back to Charlie.
When the trees thicken, I slow down and turn in next to Brad's old, red truck. I hop out of the car and follow the overgrown path to the cabin. The sun is setting, but it's still bright enough to light the path to the cabin I know that's just a few hundred yards away. I don't know what to expect, but the last I saw he was alone, so I'm hoping that's still the case.
When I step through the last section of huge trees, the house comes into view. The front door is wide open, and Brad is outside with a shovel.
Is the idiot going to bury the stone? He'll forget where he buried it just like he did my Barbie. "Brad, what the hell are you doing?"
He stiffens and turns around. "How did you find me?"
"It wasn't hard." Like I would tell him. "You're pretty predictable."
"Well, obviously others don't think so." He raises the stone in his gloved hand. "I got this from your freakish friend."
What a jackass. I can't believe I called him. Did I get him involved in all this? "He's a better person than you are."
"It doesn't matter what you think." He shrugs and throws down his shovel. "Because at the end of the day, I have the Earth Stone."
"Not for muc
h longer." I raise an eyebrow. I have to get it back from him.
A hard laugh leaves him. "You're cute, Christina. I've always thought that." He grins at me. "I don't know why you've always had eyes for Charlie, but you have."
"As sweet as that is, that doesn't take away what all you've done." That's super creepy. I don't want him to think of me like that.
"We could work together." He takes a few steps toward me. "My group would love to have you on board. The reaper the council is desperately courting."
Dear god. Do I have that reputation? Just gag me now. "No, I think I'm good just being on my own."
"Well, I hate that." He tilts his head and frowns. "Then I guess I should be asking you where the Angel's Breath is."
"Don't know what you're talking about." If he thinks I'm just going to hand that information over to him, he's got another thing coming.
"Stop being cute." He cuts his eyes at me. "Tell me where you've hidden it."
"Once again." I flip my hair over my shoulder and place a hand on my hip. "I don't know what you're talking about." I'll kick his ass if I need to. He's not getting a damned thing from me.
Footsteps come up from behind. "Oh, look. Here they are." Margaret's voice hurts my ears.
I turn to find the four elders making their way to us. However, for once, they are all dressed in jeans and t-shirts. I guess they realized the woods isn't a place for ballroom gowns. Good for them.
"Did you really bring them here with you?" Brad's jaw drops open and he looks at me from the corner of his eye.
"No, I most definitely did not." There is no way I want to be lumped together with them.
"Oh, Christina. I know we had a little tiff this morning, but you must know the Council has your back." Margaret makes her way to me and smiles. "We are here to help you fight and get the Earth Stone back from this traitor."
"You had your agent attack my parents to kill them." And she considers that just a tiff? What does she do when she declares a freaking war?
"Margaret does react rather emotionally." The eldest lady rolls her eyes and steps toward me. "Had I known, I wouldn't have allowed it. My sincerest apologies."