“I don’t know. Cal just collapsed, and the fire. The fire went away.” Rose knelt next to Cal and chafed his hand between hers. It was growing cold very quickly and his skin had taken on a blue tint.
That wasn’t like Orlando. It couldn’t be anything good.
Rose brushed a hank of hair from his forehead. Whatever he’d done to Gwen, he’d certainly saved her life. She wasn’t immune to fire. “I don’t understand. Why did she do any of this?” Tears welled up but she refused to let them fall. “Why did she save me and then want to kill me?”
“She was launching a plan to grab power for herself, I suspect. And as a bonus, she could transform into something new if she died before she succeeded in her plan,” came a new voice from the doorway, just before Mr. Ray walked into the room.
“What the… I thought you were in Asia. The Rift.”
His expression grew troubled as he took in Cal’s still form. “I felt a shudder in the essence of the world. Gwen has become a Death Angel. It’s a transformation we always thought impossible.”
“What’s that?” The words tasted bitter in her mouth. And how did that play into whatever had happened to Cal?
He nodded soberly, joining her at the edge of the marked circle where she held Cal’s motionless form. “It’s an ancient magic, predating demon and angel influence on Earth. It allows a summoned soul, and yes, angels and demons have them, to transcend death. It is probably only possible because of the blood she took from you over the years. Becoming a Death Angel requires blood donated from a willing gargoyle and power siphoned from Otherworld.”
“She tried to kill me.” Rose said, the tears continuing to burn at her eyes. “If Cal hadn’t thrown himself in front of me, I’d be dead.”
Mr. Ray closed his eyes, running a hand down the length of Cal’s torso. When he looked at her again, she saw bleak sorrow behind the spectacles. “He’s sent himself to the Nexus, with Gwyeira, I suspect.”
“But, that’s a good thing, right? He came back when he went there with Jonas.”
“Except this time, he believed there could be no return for him,” Mr. Ray said quietly. “To force her off this plane and into the Nexus, he severed his connection to his body and tethered his soul to her so he could drag her there. No one who’s ever sacrificed that connection has ever been able to return.”
Her mouth fell open. “He’s dead?”
No, he can’t be dead! He couldn’t have died for me.
After what she’d said, after what he’d said to her. And all the stuff she still wanted to say to him, he wasn’t allowed to die.
No. Rose hissed softly and stared at the angel. “No. I refuse to believe that. He’s breathing, so he can’t be dead. Jonas wasn’t dead, not until he got to…the Nexus.” Her entire body turned cold, remembering just how Jonas’s soul had been destroyed.
“No, he’s not dead, but he can’t return to us without help. He couldn’t have taken her to the Nexus without a full commitment to leaving his body.”
He saved my life.
The enormity of what he’d done drove the breath from her body and the bottled up tears spilled over. She couldn’t do a damned thing to stop the flow. Even as she gasped between slightly hysterical sobs, she whispered, “Is there anything we can do?”
Mr. Ray looked at her with a sad, gentle smile. “There is one possible way to bring him back, little Rosie. You’re the only one who can do it.”
Hope surged through her body. “Tell me what to do.”
…
Cal swung his axe at Gwen. Her body dissolved an instant before contact and mocking laughter pierced his eardrums. The gray fog of the Nexus pressed in all around them. He only had a short time before a Demon Gatherer showed up. If he didn’t kill the witch, she would find a way to get back to Earth with their help, and all the gargoyles would be in danger. Rose most of all.
Damned if I’ll fail.
“Stupid Sentinel,” Gwyeira said, emerging from a bank of clouds to his right. Hellfire burned around her hands and he feinted left, and then swiped at her left side. Her last second flip backward removed her from range. “You can’t hope to win against me. Not here.”
He swallowed, suspecting she might be right.
Damned if he’d die before he took down the bitch who’d cost him his chance to tell Rose he loved her though.
Cal bared his teeth and kicked out with his right foot. Flames enveloped his leg and he fell back, hissing against the pain.
That hadn’t been hellfire. He still had his leg, albeit singed through the leather of his manifested pants. “You’ll never hurt them again, any of them.”
She vanished again with a happy little hum. Her revolting singsong rang out from multiple angles in the fog. “Do you care so much about one stupid gargoyle? Hope to mate with her and have little gargoyle babies?”
A bolt of electricity exploded from the clouds in front of him. The bolt seared through his side and he moaned, stumbling back.
Think of Rose. He clapped one hand to his side and spun, searching for some telltale swirl of fog to locate her. “I never wanted anything from her, just to protect her.”
Liar.
“You’re nothing but a failure. You can’t keep anyone safe.”
Her mocking words came from his left. He dove in that direction, trying to block at the pain eating at his stomach from her lightning bolt. He connected with a body, sent both of them tumbling to the ground.
Unable to get enough leverage to use his axe at full strength while lying on the ground, he dropped it and slammed his fist toward her hateful face. The witch vanished and his fist sank deep into the misty ground.
“I never failed Anniko. I couldn’t have stopped anything. That was all you.”
For the first time, he believed the words. The inquest had cleared him, but he’d clung to his guilt. Until now. Until Rose.
“Yes, it was,” Gwen purred from behind him just as something sliced his throat.
Hot blood spurted.
“And now I’ll finally kill her precious bodyguard,” she hissed against his ear.
Cal’s hands went to his throat, feeling the blood pouring as his strength drained away. What the? I can’t…I can’t…
The fog of the Nexus closed in. It seemed hungry now, intent on consuming him as blood spilled from his body. From far away, Rose called out to him. “Cal. Oh God, Cal! Fight!”
He gasped, unable to draw air into his lungs. Darkness clouded his eyes. He couldn’t go back; there was no trail for him to follow to his body.
“I might not be able to help Giles kill Lucifer any more, but at least I get the satisfaction of killing you.
Her words barely made an impact because just then, directly in front of him, the clouds parted to reveal a brilliant column of white. A figure stepped from the light, wings stretched to their full expansion, and a feral howl burst from her lips as she barreled toward them, a machete in her taloned hand.
“Anniko?”
Surely he was seeing things. Anniko was dead.
The darkness swallowed the last of his sight.
Chapter Sixteen
Gargoyle Anniko: Hurt me, I hurt you and that’s the end of it. Hurt my hatchlings and I will not only hunt you down to the ends of the Earth, but into the Nexus and Otherworld beyond. And then I will destroy your kin down to the last.
“Cal, get up.” Rose’s voice called to him from the darkness. “Please come back to me.”
Metal clashed against metal nearby as fresh strength surged through his body. “Get up, Calhoun,” a much closer female voice shouted. “A little help would be…oomph…nice.”
Flesh smacked into flesh as he forced his eyes open. When his hand touched his throat, he found no blood. At the same instant, he gaped into the fog.
Both women had weapons now. Gwen held a blazing sword of fire while Anniko clenched a sabre in the fist not closing around the witch’s throat.
The gargoyle looked exactly as she had twenty-four years ago
when he’d left her for the trip to Paris. Well, except for the glow. The glow was definitely new.
He leaped to his feet, searched for his axe and found it quickly. He raced toward the battling women.
“She…can’t…vanish anymore,” panted Anniko, her silver eyes glowing right along with the rest of her. She drove her knee upward. Gwen ripped herself away. “We’re blocking her. But it won’t last long.”
Cal closed in and swung at the witch when she stumbled off balance.
Gwen howled as his axe sliced through the fleshy part of her upper arm, but whirled away.
“How, why?” he stammered, babbled really, but didn’t let up on his assault against the witch. Gwen’s sword clashed with his axe, forcing him back a step when the blade ignited with hellfire.
“Tell you later,” the gargoyle snarled. Her tail whipped around and yanked at a foot to throw the woman off balance.
Cal somersaulted to avoid the flaming sword, landing on his feet behind the witch. Anniko struck out once with her fist as she flapped her wings, sending powerful gusts of wind to lash at the encroaching fog.
The flames on the sword sputtered, forced back toward Gwen under the wind from the gargoyle’s wings. She snarled and the hellfire disappeared. With a single muttered curse, she shot a bolt of lightning toward Anniko, who launched herself into the air.
“You’re dead, you stupid cow,” Gwyeira cried. “How’d you get here?”
Cal raised his axe, prayed a little under his breath, and brought it crashing around to slice at the witch’s head. A last moment dodge caused him to miss.
Avoiding him sent her tumbling into the hovering Anniko’s range and the gargoyle’s tail wrapped around Gwen’s leg to hoist her aloft.
Anniko flung her away into the mist.
“Summon the Demon Gatherers, Calhoun,” she called.
“Are you on crack, ‘Niko?”
“Do it. Trust me.”
He sent a pulsing cry through the fog. It briefly bleared the gloom and Gwen struggled back to her feet. The energy sent out would draw any Demon Gatherer nearby.
Cal raced for the bitch with a bellow.
Luck saved her more than any intention on her part. She stumbled, clearly weakened as she conjured more fire. It didn’t glow so hot or move so fast as before.
Anniko soared over to them and kicked the witch in the back of the head just before landing by Cal’s side.
He swung once more, connecting solidly with Gwen’s abdomen. Blood gushed from the wound and she stared at him. Her guts boiled out along with blood and she sank to her knees.
“How…how is this possible?” she croaked, tears filling her eyes. “They promised us glory.”
“Who?” She was dying, but he kept his guard up even while demanding answers. Maybe somehow Anniko could get word back to Mr. Ray. “Who was helping you plan to kill Lucifer?” He’d heard Gwen say something about that before he passed out from blood loss, hadn’t he?
Bloody spittle frothed from her mouth along with a strangled laugh. “Idiot Sentinel. You’ll rot in your grave before I tell you.”
Her eyes rolled back as she collapsed to the ground, blood flowing freely.
“Calhoun, we must go,” Anniko said urgently, yanking on his arm. “They’re coming.”
He heard a Demon Gatherer’s roar, knew Anniko was right. But where could he go? He had nowhere to flee to. There was no return for him.
Her arms closed around him as she spread her wings. The ground, such as it was, fell away. As Cal glanced down, two Demon Gatherers converged on the dying witch.
He felt no shred of sorrow when they ripped her to shreds.
The Nexus pulsed around him, the clouds shifting and swirling as Anniko flew, her strong arms holding him close.
“How did you find me? How did you get here?”
“Rose,” she said simply. Abruptly, her wings stopped flapping and ground formed beneath their feet. “We are far enough away to be safe. You have to return to Earth now.”
“Rose?” He blinked turning to stare at the gargoyle in shock. “What do you mean?”
Her lips curved upward into a radiant smile just before she shimmered and shrank to assume her human form. A blonde Rose stood before him a moment later. Not precisely Rose, he admitted. There were subtle differences that he hadn’t remembered after twenty-four years.
“Razael felt your move into the Nexus and managed to send me to you because of a choice Rose made. You will see,” she said softly, reaching out with warm fingers to caress his cheek. “Ah, Cal. My dear friend. You’ve fulfilled the promise of greatness I saw in you all those years ago. You certainly proved yourself a fiercely devoted warrior to my Brier Rose.”
He closed his eyes against the gentleness of her touch. For so long, his world had been dark because of her murder, and the loss of her children. Knowing she held no resentment for his continuing to live after she died finished healing the long-held wounds.
Rose. Rose was his future. Well, she would have been if he could go back. Wait a second. Didn’t Anniko say…
She touched his chin and smiled that gentle smile of hers, so often aimed toward her hatchlings. “Look after my girl. After both of them, if Reny is still alive as the witch hinted. They will both need you as the Rift cycle begins.”
“You don’t object?” Shit. Was he that obviously attracted to Rose that Anniko knew, without even seeing him around her daughter?
She laughed softly. His skin and his spirit soared at the glorious noise. “Heavens no, Calhoun. You can protect her stubborn hide as I no longer can.” Her expression hardened and her grip shifted to his throat. “But know this: hurt my Brier Rose and you will never walk the Nexus safe from me again. I will find a way here again if I have to.”
Her lips curved in a vicious smile, and his stomach twisted. The Sacred Mother would always protect her children.
“I miss you,” he said.
“I know.” Her expression gentled and she wrapped her arms around him. “You will always be my friend, Cal. Go.” She shoved at him lightly. “Let yourself return to your body now. The Sentinels need you, as does Rose.”
Cal reached for the trail back to his body, not expecting find anything. To his shock, he felt a line he could follow back to Earth attached to his soul once more. “How is this possible?”
“You will see,” she said mysteriously once again.
As he relaxed into the heated summoning of his body from the real world, Anniko shifted back to her gargoyle form and slowly sauntered into a newly formed column of white light.
…
Rose squeezed Cal’s hand. Never in her life had she prayed as hard as she had in the past few minutes.
The palm of the hand she held bore a small cut. The symbol of Horus now shone forth where before there had been only clean, clear skin.
Mr. Ray paced the living room, occasionally glancing at Cal’s still form and then into space as if trying to see through to the Nexus.
“How long?” Patience had never been her strong suit.
“Soon,” Mr. Ray answered calmly for the fourth time.
She might die from worry before “soon” ever happened.
Cal gasped, his body arcing upward as his hazel eyes flew open. “Mother of all the gargoyles, holy shit. What the fuck?”
“Cal?” Exhilaration raced through her veins and she threw her arms around him. “You’re alive! You came back to me, er, to us!”
She wasn’t about to presume. She’d done enough of that already for this lifetime. She instinctively curled her fingers shut, though it wasn’t her palm that bore the mark of what she’d done to save him.
He coughed.
“Breathe…can’t…breathe…Rose.”
“Oh! Oh, so sorry.” While she couldn’t convince her arms to release him, she did loosen the grip and leaned back to study him. The pale mark along his throat that had appeared just before she tied herself to Cal in the sacred bonding was still there.
At least
it no longer gushed crimson.
“Are you okay?” She asked carefully.
He blinked rapidly, peering around. She reluctantly let him go, remembering they hadn’t been on the best of terms before he’d sacrificed himself for her.
“I think I am, actually. How am I back? That was supposed to be a one-way trip.” He dragged shaking hands through his hair, turning the previously well-groomed strands into an appealingly tousled mess.
Mr. Ray came forward and crouched next to them. “Look at your hand, Calhoun.”
Cal looked down. Breath whistled between his teeth before he stared at her. She swallowed hard, uncertain whether an accusation was about to fly in her direction.
“You bonded with me?”
She couldn’t very well lie, but was he going to be mad? What if he didn’t want it? There was no undoing the bond. But if she hadn’t, he’d never have come back. “Sorry. I understand if you’re mad, but I refused to let you die.”
Her cheeks heated and she trailed off.
Mr. Ray rose to his feet, signaling to Tom, who still hovered nearby. Together, the two left the room.
Nerves fluttered in her stomach. “I’m sorry, Cal. I really am, if you don’t want to be bound to me. I didn’t know what else to do. You were dying, and Mr. Ray said it might help and I…”
His lips slammed down over hers in a voracious kiss.
A toe curling, totally-forgot-what-she-was-saying kiss. Heat swirled, and his arms closed around her. She opened her mouth to him and dragged him close. Damned if she was going to pass up this opportunity. He better not think he was going to brush her off after this.
Dear God, he tastes good. Even better than I remember.
Sometime later, his grip slackened and their mouths reluctantly fell apart. She breathed heavily, staring at him. “So, you’re not mad? And, don’t you dare try telling me you and I can’t have sex now.”
To make her point, she gripped the collar of his shirt and ripped it a bit so she could press her lips to his collarbone.
“Damned if I’ll let you push me away now,” she mumbled.
He tangled his fingers in her hair as it fell down her back and stared at her before a laugh exploded out of him. “Oh God, Rose, your face. Your beautiful, gorgeous, incredible face.” He touched her cheek with fingers so soft it might be a dream. “It’s priceless.” Cal pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then a slightly more lingering one to her mouth. “No, Rose. I’m not mad.”
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