by C. L. Parker
She could feel him, which meant their connection was stronger than he thought. Knowing that gave Dante all the hope he needed to see this thing through.
“I’m here, Angel. I’m right here.”
There was no indication on her stunning face that she had heard him. In fact, her shoulders sagged in defeat before she put her head back on her knees.
Dante pushed harder against the thin barrier, wanting nothing more than to break through, take her in his arms, and get her the hell out of there, but there was no give. He’d need the combined energies of the other Guardians waiting for him back in the room.
Just then, a man stepped into his line of sight and pinned him with his icy glare. He looked down at Tori before returning his attention to Dante with an evil smirk. His clear eyes flashed the deepest black before he slowly shook his head. “She’s mine,” he mouthed without sound.
Dante growled under his breath. “You can’t have her!”
“I already do,” the man said, and then he raised his palms to chest level and pushed forward, an unseen force knocking the breath from Dante and propelling him back in the direction from which he came.
Dante gasped for air as he was shaken from his meditative state and found himself sitting next to Tori’s slumbering form on the bed again. His hand was gripping hers hard and he released it, afraid he might have been hurting her.
“What did you see?” Kerrigan asked, fear evident in her features.
Sinclair rushed to his side and cradled her son’s head to her bosom. “Oh, thank God.”
Dante allowed her a second because he could sense her terror, but then he gently nudged her away as he stood and turned toward his father, Dominic, and Kerrigan.
“We have to get her out. Now. There’s no time to waste.”
Dominic took a step forward. “You saw her, didn’t you?”
Dante nodded.
“Was he there? Is it Adam as we suspected?” Drew asked.
Again, Dante nodded. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but with a heavy sigh, he began describing all that he had seen. Gabe held Kerrigan close as tears streamed down her face. Dominic stood like an unwavering soldier intent on accomplishing a mission—no fear in his eyes, only stark determination. His fists clenched at his sides, the whites of his knuckles giving away their battle-ready state as he rocked his head from side to side on his shoulders.
“Let’s go,” he said in a voice that was lethal all on its own.
Drew stepped next to Dante. “Do you think you can get us inside?”
“I was nearly there myself. I just needed a little extra boost, so yes; I think I can do it with our combined energies.”
“All right, then.” Drew addressed the others, ready to give his pep talk. “Now that we know a bit about what we’ll be faced with once we’re inside, I must ask you all to reevaluate whether you’re ready for this. There will be no room for error. You must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to be victorious. Understand that we may need to make sacrifices we never thought we’d be faced with. After all, this is war, and we must battle for the betterment of mankind. Seems it all comes down to this. It’s the history of our Guardian lineages that have brought us to this moment. Dealing with Drake D’Mon was child’s play compared to what we’re about to venture into, so if you doubt for even a moment that you’ll be able to do what’s necessary, I suggest you stay behind.”
“Drew . . .” Sinclair’s eyes held the words she didn’t need to say aloud.
Drew pulled her against his chest and beheld her with all the love and tenderness Dante had seen pass between them combined in that one interaction. “Don’t fear for me, poppet. I love you far too much not to fight hell and high water to make my way back to you.”
Sinclair blinked and a fat tear rolled down her cheek. “Promise you’ll bring my son back to me as well.”
“I’ll certainly do all that I can.”
“Promise me, Drew.”
Drew’s chest rose with a deep inhale and then he gave her a tight smile. “I promise.”
Kerrigan stood and wiped her eyes, her chin set. She had her game face on, ready to do whatever it took to rescue her daughter from the bowels of Hell. Dominic noticed.
He put his hand on her arm, getting her attention. “No way, Querida. After what Dante saw, you’re staying here.”
She looked down at his hand and then back up at him. “You seriously think I’m going to send my husband into unknown territory to battle for my daughter’s soul while I sit here and, what . . . knit a sweater? I’m a Guardian of the Light, Dominic. I was bred for this. My whole life, everything that has happened before and since I’ve met you has come down to this. And there’s no way I’m not seeing it through.”
Dominic put his forehead to hers as he cradled the back of her neck and gazed at her reverently. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard for a moment, seemingly to get his emotions under control before he opened them again. “If anything were to happen to you . . .”
Kerrigan pulled back so she could see him fully. “I’m her mother, Dominic. She needs me just as much as she needs her father. I wouldn’t think twice about laying my life down for Tori. You wouldn’t either, so let’s stop pretending you can keep me from doing this and go get our little girl. Okay?”
Dominic moved to cup her face, his thumbs sweeping her cheeks. “Okay,” he all but whispered, and then he kissed her as if it would be the last time he ever got the chance to do so.
“Colton, I trust you, Gabe, and my beautiful wife will see to our physical bodies while we’re momentarily away?” Drew asked.
Colton clasped his hands in front of him in a professional stance. “Absolutely.”
Gabe’s hands trembled as he put them to his mouth. “Oh, sweet baby Jesus. This is really happening, isn’t it? I mean, what if y’all die? Will you die here, too?”
Drew shook his head. “I’m afraid since this is a first in the history of Guardians, there’s really no way of knowing that. If we’re successful, hopefully the information will prove useful for the future of Guardians as well. Make no mistake: I intend to be successful.”
“Shit!” Gabe pulled on Kerrigan’s hair to get her attention. “Don’t die, bitch, and you better bring my mini-me back with you. ’Cause if I gotta come in there after you, it’s not gonna be pretty.”
Kerrigan kissed him on the mouth. “I love you, too, Gabe.”
“Dante?” Drew turned to his son and put his hand on his shoulder. “Once we get in there, you’re going to have to fulfill your destiny as the Guardian of the Guardian. You’re the only one who can get her out.”
“Any idea how I’m supposed to do that?”
Drew squeezed his shoulder and gave him a solemn look. With a shake of his head, he said, “Don’t know, mate, but when the time comes, you’ll know what to do. There’ll be no second guessing your own actions because it’s engrained in you. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but the task is yours nonetheless.”
Sinclair wedged her way between them and looked up at her son adoringly. Without warning, she flung herself into his arms to hug him tight. A strangled whimper of a cry escaped as she buried her face against the side of his neck. “I love you, and I know you have to do this, but if you don’t come back, you’re going to be grounded for . . .” She sniffled. “. . . the rest of your life.”
Dante gave a halfhearted laugh and then kissed the top of her head. “No one’s going to die, Mother. You worry too much.”
Sinclair pulled back and grabbed his chin firmly. “You’re the only son I have; I worry just enough. I’ll probably have a head full of gray hair by the time you get back, too.”
“You’ll still be the most gorgeous creature on the face of the planet regardless,” Drew said, interrupting.
“We ready?” Dominic asked.
“As we’ll ever be.”
Dante walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to Tori with his boots still on. He could feel Domi
nic’s disapproving eyes on him as he lifted Tori slightly to put his arm under her head and tucked her into the length of his body. If Daddy had a problem with it, he could kick Dante’s ass once they got his daughter back safe and sound.
Drew sat closest to him with Dominic on the other side of Tori, and Kerrigan sitting on the foot of the bed in the middle. Sinclair pulled up a chair beside Drew and leaned forward with her eyes closed and her lips moving in silent prayer. Dante knew for a fact that she wasn’t the religious sort, but he guessed times like these made people turn to God in desperation. He was thankful, because they were certainly going to need some divine intervention to pull this off.
With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and snuggled into Tori’s neck. Once again he felt the same sensation of flying. It was much faster this time, easier since he’d done it before. When he saw the dim light at the end of the tunnel, he extended both hands. A warm weight landed in each palm and then he felt a boost of energy more powerful than even his connection with the Guardian of Mankind. His back bowed, pushing his chest forward as he was propelled with what seemed like G-force power to the end of the tunnel. Dante closed his eyes, prepared to feel the pain of broken bones once he crashed into the invisible barrier.
Snap. No pain.
Dante opened his eyes, finding himself standing amid the horror that was Tori’s sanctuary with his father, Dominic, and Kerrigan just behind him. Fierce growls pierced the air as the demons sniffed the air and turned their attention on them in unison.
Like a hiker who had found himself standing smack dab in the middle of a pit of venomous vipers, Dante froze. As did his company.
“Find Tori,” Dominic whispered. “We’ll handle these fuckers while you get her out of here and back to safety.”
Dante only barely nodded.
“Querida, you stick close. I want you in my sight at all times. Drew, see you on the other side?”
“Right you are, old friend. On the count of three?”
Kerrigan dropped her hands out to her sides, two bright white orbs of Light pulsating in her palms. “Three,” she said through clenched teeth. She launched the two energy balls in quick succession, two more immediately at the ready.
Dante lurched forward a moment before the demons descended. With his own Light in the palms of his hands, he landed them one after another to the center of chests, between the eyes, in the gut—wherever as long as they landed. Ducking and dodging demons that managed to shield themselves behind his victims, Dante managed to traverse the scorched terrain littered with body parts and corpses until, finally, he saw Tori.
“Angel!” he yelled in her direction.
Tori looked up at the sound of Dante’s voice calling her name. “Dante?”
He was there. He was really there. She didn’t even care how that was possible as long as he was.
“Dante!” she called back. She jumped to her feet, foregoing the safety of her patch of sanctuary and ran toward him. Just as she was about to cross the edging that separated her sanctuary from the destruction around her, an invisible wall kept her from going farther.
Dante apparently didn’t have any trouble with the wall. He had managed to reach her, and suddenly, she was embraced by his arms. His clean, woodsy scent enveloped her, replacing the smell of burnt flesh and scorched landscape.
“Are you okay? Are you injured?” Dante asked in a rush as his hands swept over her body to check her out for himself.
“I’m fine,” she answered. “How did you—”
“No time for that now, Angel. My father and your parents are outnumbered by some bloody nasty demons. I’m not sure how much longer they’re going to be able to hold them off. We’ve got to get you out of here now before someone gets killed.”
Tori looked over his shoulder, shocked to see her mother dealing blow after blow and taking a few herself. Dominic went from demon to demon, using his fists to ward off the assailants. He stumbled back from a harsh blow and then charged the demon, snapping its neck. Drew stepped in behind him, and after killing a demon that was nearly on top of him, he threw an orb of Light at Dominic’s momentarily stunned victim. They worked like a well-oiled piece of machinery, Dominic stunning his demons while Kerrigan and Drew followed up with a blast of energy to finish them off, in addition to holding off demons of their own. But they were surrounded, and they wouldn’t last long.
“Okay, yeah,” Tori said with a nod of her head. “Let’s get out of here.”
Dante took her hand and lifted his booted foot to step past the threshold, but Tori pulled him back. “Dammit, I forgot,” she said with an exasperated huff. She gestured toward the barrier. “I can’t cross.”
“What?”
“I can’t cross. I don’t know why. I just can’t.”
“It’s for your own protection,” he said, appearing behind them. “But apparently,” he added, sneering at Dante, “I didn’t secure it well enough.”
“Am I a prisoner?”
“Aw, don’t think of it that way, Tor. I’m saving your life here, darling.”
“How is that?” Dante asked.
He ignored Dante, acting as if he weren’t standing right there at Tori’s side.
“You can’t leave. If you do, your physical body will die and the demons will be set free on Earth without you here to keep them at bay. The only way you’re able to exist now is in your sanctuary, and even that has moments before it, too, is gone. Come away with me. I offer eternal life.”
Dante squeezed her hand. “Don’t listen to him, Angel. He lies. There’s no way he can promise that. He’s not God.”
“I don’t have to be God, Tor. I simply need to be loyal to all that we are. We’re soul mates, remember? That’s how I can promise you eternal life. We’ll live forever, you and I, existing in that place where soul mates are created and thrive as one.”
Kerrigan let out a shrill scream and Tori whipped her head to see her fall to the ground. Razor-sharp talons sliced through her mother’s arm right before Dominic jumped onto the demon’s back that had her pinned. He pulled with all his might, but Tori could see how tired he was. A ball of Light went sailing through the air and hit the demon in the chest as Drew struggled to keep the other demons at bay until Kerrigan and Dominic could recover.
The cruel hand of Fear gripped Tori’s lungs in her chest and squeezed, refusing to let air pass. They were going to die—all of them.
He stretched his hand out to Tori, pulling back before it crossed the invisible barrier. Just as she couldn’t leave the patch that was her sanctuary, he couldn’t pass into it. He saw the realization in her eyes, but quickly averted her attention.
“Tell me you love me and all this will end. Help me save your family, Tor . . . before it’s too late.”
When Tori didn’t answer, Dante said, “You can’t seriously be considering this?”
“I have no choice, Dante.”
“Yes, you do. We all have a choice. Free will is exactly what your parents and many Guardians before them have fought for all along. Don’t let their hard work be for nothing.”
Yes, but her parents were about to die, and so were all the men, women, and children of the world if the demons were unleashed. Tori swallowed hard as she turned back to him. “If I do this, if I leave with you, they’ll be okay?”
“Angel, no.” Dante tugged on her hand, but she kept her focus on the man who had always been with her.
“When you leave, so do the demons.”
“Angel!” Dante grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face him. “This is insane. You can’t listen to him. He’s the one that has to leave for the demons to disappear, but he doesn’t want you to know that. He’ll say anything to get what he wants, and that’s you. You love me. Say it, Angel. Send him away so we can all go home.”
“He lies!”
Tori looked back at him. His diamond eyes were sincere as they captured her in a trancelike state and she recalled all the good times they’d had together as children, and
then as young adults.
With a single finger to her jaw, Dante turned her head to face him again. His eyes pled with her to believe him. “It’s the truth, Angel. I swear my love for you on it. You know I love you, don’t you?”
Tori didn’t know who to believe. She pulled away from Dante and backed up to put some space between her and either of the two men pledging their love for her. She was confused beyond reason, and there was no clear-cut choice, but she knew she had to choose. Who was being truthful, and who was deceiving her yet again—the man who had been her best friend for all of her life or the man destined to stand by her side for what little life was remaining? It was impossible to tell the difference between truth and lies when the lines had been blurred beyond distinction.
Tori bowed her head and buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what truth is,” she whispered.
“See, Guardian,” Tori heard the familiar voice of the mystery woman at her ear before a warm sensation entered through her back and pushed forward.
“Eve . . .” she heard both men gasp out before her senses were taken over.
Tori fell backward in time, watching as the scenes of history she had only read about in books passed by like brief clips to a movie of man’s existence. Every devastating tragedy, war, vice, rise and fall of mankind burned into her mind. She knew them all as if she had lived them herself. She saw men and women falling to their knees and praying to the God of their religion for salvation, for intervention, for any sign that He truly did exist. Tori felt their pain and desperation as if it were her own.
And then there was a calming peace that encircled her and took all the worries away.
She was in a land that shouldn’t have been familiar, but was. Surrounded by a garden that held every animal known to man, every blooming flower, tree, and plant—she was in paradise. The sun shone down like liquid gold from heaven and bathed her in its warmth as birds sang their songs in the canopy of trees overhead and the most heavenly fragrance wafted in the light breeze.
Tori ran her fingers through her long hair with a giggle. As her hands fell, so did her golden locks. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was naked, but she was not ashamed.