I have to give him credit. He has my attitude, but this is nowhere near over yet. I’m happy that he chose not to go with him.
“Dear boy, you are mistaken. This isn’t the army. This is just a taste of what’s to come.” He laughs.
“Enough!” I yell. He narrows his eyes at me, and I say, “If you are done playing games, get on with it.”
“As you wish April,” he sneers. A sword appears in his hand.
I drop into a defensive crouch. In my head, I envision what is about to happen if I don't prevent it. I see Mathew shoot his hands out to send a couple of guys flying away, Logan get stabbed in his side by Azazel, and Mathew getting carried away. It’s time April. The vision and the voice fade away.
Azazel laughs at my crouch, and the scene starts happening. I turn around just as Azazel disappears from the space he had just occupied. I grab Mathew to sandwich him between me and Logan just as Azazel reappears in front of me. Logan sees what’s about to happen and moves me behind him. I let out a frustrated growl and say the spell Gran left me on the counter:
Under the full moon I daughter of Hectate Call upon the Goddess of Love, Venus To aid me in righting wrong Banishing evil from this night. I sacrifice myself
To thy might
By Fire I call thee to me By Water wash away their misery By Wind carry them to safety By Earth encase me in thy might By the shedding of my blood As I ask, Shall be done This I’ll so mote it be.
I finish the spell and manage to get out of Logan’s grasp to pivot in front of him as Azazel's blade goes through the center of my stomach. He looks confused on how I appeared in front of him and how the blade of his sword is now embedded in my stomach instead of Logan’s.
The only light shining down on us right now is from the moon. This is it. This is what It all comes down to. Azazel steps back. His body is sizzling, like fire is burning him from the inside. I look up to see the moon, the stars, and the faces of Logan and Mathew.
They each kiss me on the cheek and take off into the night. As I hear my heartbeat fading, I close my eyes and relax under the sky. I pray for the goddesses' help as my blood seeps into the ground.
Blessed Be.
Chapter 40
Logan I’m cutting down these freaky creatures left and right while making sure I can still feel Mathew’s hand on my back. Then I look over my shoulder to see April watching me. I’m just about to smile at her when he appears behind her. My eyes go wide, and she turns around quickly. If I was being honest with myself about everything going on around me, I would swear I was in a dream. This shit just doesn’t happen. Yet here I’m blasting another thing away with light from my hand. Why we didn’t get weapons is beyond me, but we’re making do with the power that is coursing through our bodies. It’s pretty kick ass if you really think about it.
They’re exchanging banter, and I laugh at April's witty comments. She has this snarky attitude and is giving this Azazel guy shit. Then he’s in front of Mathew trying to get him to go with him. I pray that he says no.
Mathew looks at April, then at me.” No,” he says, like Azazel is stupid for even asking him.
“Stupid, just like your parents. Why would you want them to die?” Azazel is trying to get to him.
“My mom and dad just killed your army. Why would I go with you?” Mathew asks.
I’ve never been called a dad before, and it’s a strange feeling, one that fills me up with pride and love. April yells at him, and I’m not going to lie. It scared the shit out of me. Damn, that girl has a set of lungs on her. I stop focusing on what they’re saying and turn my attention to what the creatures smell like... I don’t even have a comparison. That's how bad they smell. That’s when Azazel punches April. He just punched my girl, and I see red. I'm pissed. I hear the sound of her jaw breaking, but when I look over, all I see is a scowl on her face and a pissed off expression on his. How the hell is she not crying in pain? I don’t have time to worry about it because he pulls out a sword, and April goes down in a crouch. My body automatically mimics hers. As she faces off against him, I take care of the other things.
I punch one in the face as the light shoots out of my hand. His skull shatters, and the wind takes away the ash. I see Mathew lifting his palm up, and the 3 guys gunning for him go flying. Nice. I see another making his way to grab him, so I shoot my hand out, and the thing is blasted to ash. I could really get used to this ability, whatever It’s.
I see Azazel disappear. April grabs Mathew to push him between us as she’s saying something. Then he appears in front of her with the sword, and I react. Promises be damned. She was going to sacrifice herself for me. I turn her, and she growls as she finishes whatever she is saying. Then she’s out of my hold and standing in front of me with her arms shielding us.
Azazel’s face is mad and confused. He didn’t expect to see her in front of me. Then he looks down, and my eyes follow his. His hand is still on his sword, but the blade isn’t visible. It’s buried to the hilt in April’s abdomen, with a little piece poking out her back. I stop breathing, and my heart is burning. Azazel backs away when smoke starts coming off his skin. Blisters are covering his body.
“Logan go. Take Mathew, and go home. You promised me.” I can barely hear her.
“Mom?" Mathew is starting to cry, and my heart is breaking. I’m torn between picking her up and running away with Mathew.
“It’s going to be okay baby. I’ll catch up with you and Logan,” she says, but her voice betrays her.
“April." I say, “You said you
wouldn't do anything stupid.”
Tears are falling out of her eyes. "This wasn’t stupid. Now go before he stops burning.”
Gesturing to Azazel, who is
screaming in agony, we give her a kiss on the cheek. I pick Mathew up and take off running in the direction of the car. Mathew is crying, and I’m on the verge of tears. When we reach the car, we get in and sit. And sit. And sit. We’ve been sitting in the car hoping to see her walking toward us for hours. The moon is up above us, illuminating the valley.
Another hour goes by, and Mathew has finally cried himself to sleep. Surely it’s been long enough to go back, right? I’m gazing in the direction of where we ran from, when a ray from the moon shines down to the ground. I shake my head to make sure I’m awake because the moon doesn’t normally beam lights like a spotlight, right? Then the light explodes in a circle. The last thing I see before my eyelids close is someone standing with April in his hands.
I feel like I’m floating in the clouds. Everythingissopeaceful, and Ican hear Mathew talkingto
someone.Ilook overandsee him withhisbrothersandgrandmother. They’replayingaboard game and laughing. I smile at them when they look upat me. I walk around,but it feelsmore like gliding. I feel my body beingpulled toward a lake that isupahead. Insteadof fightingit, I follow it. Iwelcome the pullbecause I know it has to be April. She’s the only one that’s ever had that
magnetic pullon me. As I walk through the trees, I see her. She’s sittingon a rock withher feet dangling in the water. She’s wearing apink andorange sundress. Her blonde hair shineslike the sun. The red hair underneathremindsme of fire when it movesin the wind,like aflame of acandle dancing. She turnstofaceme when she hearsme comingupbehindher. She smiles the most beautifulsmile Ihave ever seen.Thisgirl'sbeauty rivalsthis beautiful lake in front of us. She’s beauty incarnate, andthisplaceis just her shadow.
Isit downbehindher, and she leansintomy chest.Everythingis right, perfect. But Iknow perfection doesn’t last forever, and I can’t help but wonder if I failed. I promised her that everythingwould beokay, but I was wrong. I saw her die before my eyes, but now we’re here, wherever here is. I know I should care that I failed, but if we’re here together, is it really failure?
“Logan, Logan wake up.” I’m being shaken. I open my eyes to see Mathew looking at me with a worried look in his eyes. I bolt upright
remembering everything that happened, while my dream is nagging me. Somethi
ng about It’s important, but I push it to the side, and we get out of the car. He takes my hand, and we start walking back to where we left her. The entire valley is clear. No body. No piles of ash. No
anything. If there’s no body, then the person I saw pick up April was real. Where is she?
“Logan, where’s Mom?” Mathew asks confused.
What am I supposed to tell him? I have no idea why she’s not here right now. “I don’t know buddy. Let’s get home. Maybe she’s there.” I look over at him to see him nod his head. He looks doubtful, but he’s holding out hope.
Chapter 41
April I can still hear everything that’s going on around me. Azazel is still screaming in agony, Logan is running away with Mathew, and my heartbeat is getting slower. I still have my eyes closed, not wanting to open them to see the destruction around me.
I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here, but Azazel has finally stopped screaming, so I look up and see that he now a pile of ash. Thank the universe becauseI’m not sure we could have faced them again. I can feel the wind pick up and scatter everything around me into oblivion. That’s how I feel right now, like I’m fading into oblivion. There’s no angel coming for my soul. There’s nothing but darkness obscured with light from the moon.
I used to be scared of death. I thought it was going to be painful. I figured I would see my life flash before my eyes. Frankly, I feel cheated. There’s no pain, no flashbacks of my life; there is nothing, an abyss of darkness. Ican’t even open my eyes anymore to look at the sky above me. I’m struggling to take another breath. Thump, thump, thump, I exhale, and there’s no more thump. My heart stops beating. I start to feel my soul being torn from my body, and then a white light surrounds me, forcing my soul back into my body. Then I’m being lifted.
I can feel the texture of his shirt against my face. He is cold, too cold to be human. It doesn’t make any sense. Whoever or whatever is carrying me has a heartbeat. I can hear its slow, steady rhythm. I can hear his breathing and smell his cologne. I can’t place it though. I’ve never smelt it before. It smells like a foggy day, like the clouds when they’re so low that It’s like you’re walking on clouds. He also smells like the sun. I chuckle; I’m delirious. How can I smell something that can be compared to walking in the clouds and sunshine? Then the stupid song “I’m Walking on Sunshine” starts to play in my head. The lack of oxygen is making me loopy.
When someone is carrying you, aren’ t you supposed to feel like you’re actually moving? I feel nothing, and I hate it. I hate the unknown. It brings me back to a time when I would do anything to feel something, including cutting myself. I would rather be back in the mountains fighting Azazel and his army. At least I would be feeling something, knowing something, and fighting for something. Click. The light bulb goes off in my head. I had stopped fighting. I just accepted the fact that I was going to die if it meant saving Mathew and Logan. I’m not ready to be dead. I’m not ready to give up on loving Logan, and I’m sure as hell not ready to give up raising my kids when I just got them.
I start to feel that prickly sensation running through my body, the one you feel when your leg falls asleep. I start to feel that all over my body. I feel the stab, the punch to the face, and the stiffness that took over my muscles. Gah, is this much pain necessary? I guess that’s what I get for wanting to feel again.
I’m finally able to open my eyes but can’t open them much because of the bright light that is blinding me. I hope this creature is taking me to my house. Just when I’m about to open my eyes again, I’m being placed on a bed. I open my eyes to find myself in my room with a gorgeous guy kneeling beside me. He has the bluest eyes I have ever seen, which stand out against his pitch black hair and illuminated skin. I reach my hand out to touch him as he stares down at me. I touch his face. It’s cold but warm, and it’s soft but hard. It’s like everything about him is a contradiction.
My touch has no effect on him. He’s just looking at me, waiting to see if I’m going to freak out. I smile at him, and he tilts his head to the side and mimics my smile. Guardian. That’s what he is. I don’t know how I know it, but I do. This guy is the one who has been speaking to me along the way. He’s the one who saved me many times over as a kid when I decided to do something stupid. I guess, in a way, he’s my subconscious. My eyes are searching his, and then he speaks.
“April do not be afraid. Everything is taken care of. You did exactly what was expected of you, and Mathew is safe. Saving Logan was an added bonus, which is why you are here now. Don’t forget anything, but don’t hold on to it.” He places his hand over my heart. “Allow yourself to love
unconditionally and be loved back.”
Before I can say anything, he smiles once more and kisses my forehead. Then the light is gone.
I’ll always be here with you April. You may not see me, but I’ll always watch over you.
I knew it! I smile and think of how luckyI’m to be here right now. Wait! Where are Logan and Mathew? I jump out of bed. “Son of a mother freaking A!" Ugh, my body hurts, and quick movement isn’t pleasant. I slowly start to make my way to the stairs and take each one extra carefully. Wow, I really need to get into shape.
I finally make it down the stairs. I head to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and some aspirin. I’m about halfway across the room when I hear a car pull up in the driveway, and my heart stops all over again. Then I hear nothing. Maybe it was someone next door. I turn to get the aspirin because my head is pounding while my body is zinging with electricity. If anyone is looking at me in this moment, they would think I’m insane. Maybe I’m. I just fought things and demons, died by a sword, and now I’m standing here waiting for the door to open, all because I have one of the most gorgeous guardians possible.
The door is pushed open, and my heart is beating double time. The first face I see is Mathew. Tears form in my eyes when I see the shocked expression he has on his face. He runs to me and flings his arms around me. I wince in pain. I look up to see Logan, who has an expression that keeps changing from love to guilt. The tears poor down as he makes his way to us. I beg him with my eyes to not blame himself. Everything that happened was exactly what was supposed to happen. I can’t even imagine how they must be feeling. For about 8 hours, they thought I was dead. Hell, I thought I was dead, and for a briefmoment, I’m pretty sure I was.
“I’m going to go play upstairs Mom. I’m really glad you’re okay, but I know Logan wants to be alone with you.” He laughs when I give him a look.
“Alright kiddo. Scram before I go apocalyptic on your behind,” I say.
He runs upstairs so fast that I laugh some more, which causes me to wince again. Damn it! This shit hurts.
“Don’t feel guilty Logan. This isn’t your fault. Frankly, I didn’t even feel any pain when it
happened.” I sigh. “This pain is what I get for feeling likeI was ripped off.”
“Babe, what the hell are you talking about? Getting ripped off from what?” He asks me with his eyebrows raised.
“Oh, you know how they say It’s painful when you die, your life flashes before your eyes, and there’s a white light or angelto take you away?” I ask, and when he nods, I continue, “Yeah, well I got ripped off. No pain, no flashes, no white light or angel. Well I guess the end isn’t entirely true.” I shrug.
“Wait, what? Back up. I get the pain and flashes, but what do you meanabout an angel?”
I sigh as I sit down and bite my lip to suppress the wince. “Well I actually died. I felt my last breath and heard my heart stop. I didn’t feel any pain or anything for that matter. When I died though, and my soul was supposed to leave my body, it was forced back in by this white light. Then I was being lifted and carried home.” I look over at him to make sure he’s following. He nods so I keep talking. “When he put me on my bed, I opened my eyes and saw him. It was so surreal babe. He wasn’t like us. When I touched his face, everything clicked. I knew he was my guardian.”
“Well, whoever
he was, I’m glad he was watching over you," he says softly.
I know he feels like It’s his job to watch to me, to protect me, so ignoring the pain it will cause, I sling my leg over his so that I’m sitting in his lap facing him. I grab his face and say, “Logan, you listen to me right now. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. You kept Mathew safe, and that’s what matters. Do not think for one second that this is your fault, and you could have changed it. I love you, and it all worked out.” I don’t give him any time to respond with some smart ass remark. I kiss him hard. To hell with the slow passionate kiss. I need to feel him, every inch of him, and Idon’t care how needy it makes me becauseI’m needy. I need to know he’s here, that I’m here, and that we can have our happy future.
I let up on the kiss, not because I want to, but because I need to get some sort of pain pills in me before I scream. I get up to go grab some when I notice the stiffness is gone. I look down at my stomach, which is still covered in blood, and I grimace. I lift my shirt up to see a nasty scar where the blade pierced me, and I frown. I’m not a vain person, but damn, It’s ugly.
Logan pulls me in front of him and kisses the scar. “You are beautiful. Don't think for one second that this makes a difference. In fact, it reminds me how kick ass you were out there.” He wiggles his eyebrows and gives me his sexy grin.
I laugh. "Oh, isthat right? You didn’t look so bad yourself.”
“Come on. We all know I kick ass. I just didn’t expect you to though, but damn, you moved fast!”
I start to notice that the longer my skin stays in contact with Logan’s, the pain subsides, and I start to feel like myself again. I think he notices too because I can see the fire burning in his eyes. So what do I do? I bite my lip and step back. He narrows his eyes and smirks. We’re definitely not playing fair. When I end up against the wall, I laugh. It seems like I always back myself into a wall. He’s lowering his head to kiss me when the front door opens. A very excited Michael crashes into us, and Lee runs upstairs to see Mathew.
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