Ascended (Fallen Guardian Saga #2)

by Debra Ann Miller

  The entire time they were running, all Vie could think about was Dimorte’s eyes, watching her from the portal. The closer they got to the exit, the more anxious she felt. It will never be over, she thought. They’ll come for me as long as they exist, unless—

  “Vie, let’s go,” Carter said, interrupting her thoughts as he climbed out of the Tower behind Gabe. He reached his hand out to her to pull her through the exit, but she paused only a few steps away from him. “Vie, come on,” he hurried her.

  Visions of Lucian and Dimorte gave way to an anxiety that loomed over her like a dark impenetrable cloud. All sounds were lost in the whistle of air humming like the flight of a million arrows as she looked at Carter.

  “Vie?” he called again, his eyes pleading with her.

  “I’m sorry, Carter. I have to finish this,” she said, and the boulders came crashing down, sealing the exit.

  “Vie!” Carter shouted out in agony as her beautiful face disappeared behind the rock.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Trapped

  Vie could hear the throbbing of Carter’s heart as she sealed the entrance behind her. He was in a panicked state, pleading with her not to go after Lucian. She leaned against the boulder and put her face on the cold hard surface, listening to his rapid heartbeat. She could hear him calling for her, screaming her name as he tried to pound through the impenetrable shield surrounding the Tower. It was killing her to listen any longer. She got up from the ground, wiped the tears from her face, and marched back into the tunnel to do what she had come there to do.

  Vie felt this war that was being waged upon them was all because of her. If she didn’t stop Lucian, she knew he would keep coming for her, and the lives of the people she loved most in this world and beyond would forever be in jeopardy. She had seen something in Lucian’s eyes earlier that led her to believe the blade was not the only thing he and Odessa wanted from her. She knew what they really wanted was for her to be gone.

  Vie kept thinking about Odessa’s confession regarding her mother’s death, and the satisfaction it had seemed to give her to recount it. Those indescribably terrible images now in her head of Lily’s last moments fueled her body with vehement hostility. All thoughts of the outside world were erased from her mind, and the only thing she could envision now was revenge.

  “Carter, what is it? Where’s Vie?” Gabriel asked.

  Carter’s hands were spread on the Tower and his head rested between them, his forehead against the rock. He couldn’t speak. He was still in shock, in disbelief of what had just happened.

  Gabriel pressed him further, unable to see Vie anywhere around them. “Carter? Where is she?”

  Carter lifted his head and just stared at him. Gabriel could see the fear in his eyes and the anger on his face, but he needed to hear Carter confirm what he’d already concluded: Vie had gone back to finish what she started.

  Carter finally spoke. “She’s gone.”

  Gabriel reacted just as Carter had. The two of them used all their force to try to break through the shield, to no avail. Camulus and Fallon joined them, not fully understanding what had happened, but trying to help.

  Gabriel shouted, “We’ve got to find a way in! There’s not enough time to try entering the way we did earlier. Vie’s most likely already back in the chamber, alone, and at the mercy of Lucian and Odessa.”

  They looked at each other, all horrified by the fact that Vie was trapped alone, beneath the Tower, with the devil.

  “What do we do?” Fallon asked.

  “There’s got to be a way to get to her,” Camulus stated. They all thought about it, desperately searching for an answer.

  Suddenly, out of the still, calm air came a slight breeze that blew gently from across the plateau. It strengthened, picking up speed as it as it made its way to the Tower—to Carter.

  He closed his eyes, feeling its warmth on his skin; and then, unexpectedly, he received a message in the wind.

  “Find her, Waka!” He heard the Chief’s voice speaking to him. His answer had come; he knew he had the power to find Vie, just as he’d done on the reservation.

  “We can’t get to her!” Gabriel shouted in frustration, still unable to find a solution.

  “I can,” Carter said, opening his eyes.

  “What?”

  “I can get to her,” he repeated.

  “Well let’s do this, then,” Gabriel said, anxious to get inside.

  “I said I can get to her, Gabe, not all of us.”

  Carter explained how he had discovered he could find Vie wherever she was, and could teleport himself to her. He told them he’d only been able to do so a few times and that his new ability was far from perfect.

  Camulus was concerned about their ‘all on board’ decision to let Carter go back in alone after Vie. While there didn’t seem to be any other option at the moment, their job as Guardians was to protect the Chosen One, not Violet, at all costs. He pulled Gabriel aside and expressed his reservations about their duties.

  Gabriel acknowledged his concerns, but knew Carter Stone far better than Camulus did.

  “Do you really believe we could stop him even if we wanted to?” Gabe asked him.

  They both looked at the young man as he prepared to return to the darkness below. He took only a second to return their eye contact, and Camulus knew, in that one brief second, there was no stopping him. And by the look of things, he was already halfway there.

  “Come on, Gabriel,” Camulus said. “If he’s going, we need to tell him exactly how to take Lucian down.”

  Gabriel handed Carter his blade and repeated the words he had spoken to him earlier. “No mercy, Carter.”

  He nodded and replied, “No mercy,” as he took the blade.

  “Carter, Lucian’s army will be in full force but I know they’ll fall like dominos up against your abilities now,” Gabe spoke like a true warrior.

  “Thanks, Gabe, for believing in me. I won’t let you down,” Carter replied.

  Although Gabe wasn’t quite convinced that Carter was ready for the battle, he needed him to believe that he was a force to be reckoned with right now; and truthfully, so did Gabe.

  “What about Lucian? Any last-minute tips you’d like to offer?” Carter asked jokingly.

  “There is only one way for you to defeat Lucian: you must use Vie’s blade to kill him,” Camulus said. “It’s the only way, Carter.”

  Carter now realized why Lucian had wanted to get his hands on Vie’s blade. Not only could her blade give him great powers, it could also end his existence.

  It was time to go. Carter sat at the base of the Tower and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, trying hard to focus only on Vie as the wind picked up again. But Lucian kept creeping into his thoughts, making it impossible for him to connect with her.

  The Guardians looked on, waiting anxiously for Carter to teleport.

  Vie, in the meantime, had made her way back to the chamber, leaving a trail of demon corpses along the way. The power of her blade, matched up with the fervent intensity of her strike, was a deadly combination for any and all who dared to engage in battle with the determined young warrior.

  She looked around the chamber, ducking out of the way of falling rocks as she searched for Lucian and Odessa. She heard a loud noise and she stopped in the center of the room with her back to the portal, blade drawn. She could feel a malignant presence in the room, and she knew it was Lucian.

  “It’s just you and me now, brother,” she said as she looked around the room. “Show yourself, you coward!” Vie hoped she could lure him out by challenging his ego as she had before. Calling him a coward was dangerous, as she had learned, but she didn’t care about anything other than destroying the evil being.

  “I know you’re here, Lucian,” she said, feeling an eerie and stronger presence in the room. Faster than she could blink, Lucian and Odessa appeared in the chamber, ready to greet their guest. Vie was ready to attack the moment she saw Odessa’s malevolent face.<
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  Lucian didn’t know whether to be impressed with her courage, or insulted by her audacity. There was one thing he knew for sure: she was more like their father than he had initially thought. Violet would prove to be a worthy but unwise opponent.

  “Welcome back, sister,” he said cunningly.

  “Go to Hell!” She said, flying through the air and striking Lucian with a very powerful blow as she planted her foot into his chest, sending him clear across the room.

  Odessa took flight, trying to launch her own counterattack, and Lucian put his hand up in the air to stop her. He was angered by her interference and let her know this battle was between him and Violet. He looked at the beautiful Guardian and said, “May the best man—or woman—win.”

  Their eyes met in a brief moment of understanding that this was to be a one-on-one fair fight to the death. The problem with this was that everyone knew Lucian could not be trusted.

  Vie was sure she would not be engaging in a fair fight with Lucian, because ‘fair’ was not a trait of the devil. They both took flight straight up and directly at one another, causing the Tower to shake.

  Still outside the Tower, Carter sat, trying desperately to clear his mind and teleport to Vie. The harder he tried, the more frustrated he got, and those negative emotions were stopping him from connecting with her.

  Gabriel couldn’t stand it any longer; he had an idea.

  “Carter, remember when we meditated together to unlock your past? Maybe we can give it another try. I can help calm your thoughts, and maybe you can find Vie easier,” he said.

  At this point, Carter was willing to try anything he could in order to get to Vie. Gabe had always been able to help him relax under any circumstance.

  There’s something about those two, Camulus thought as he watched them interact. They remind me of the way Gabriel and I used to be, once upon a time. He was confident Gabe’s plan would work.

  They sat together, trying to clear all thoughts from their minds. It only took a few seconds for them to connect.

  “Carter, can you hear me?” Gabe asked.

  Carter responded and Gabe could see the chaos in his soul.

  “Listen to me, Carter. Focus on my voice,” Gabe spoke in a calm, smooth tone. “Have you ever heard Vie's angelic singing voice?"

  “Yes.” Carter replied with a smile on his face as if he could hear her singing.

  “Good, Carter; that’s good,” Gabe could see his anxiety lifting already.

  “I remember the first time I heard her sing. I had never heard anything so beautiful in all my life,” Carter said, reflecting on the moment he’d first heard Vie singing at Henry’s church. He smiled inside at the sound of her heavenly vocals playing in his mind. He was entranced by the sounds recreated in his thoughts; they both were.

  Fallon looked at the two of them sitting on the ground with huge smiles on their faces, and she knew whatever they were thinking about was working for them. Then suddenly Carter was gone.

  Camulus and Fallon looked at each other, puzzled, because not only was Carter gone, but Gabriel was, too.

  “What the—?” Fallon said.

  No one had an answer for her.

  Lucian and Vie were thrashing about violently throughout the chamber. It was a match made in Hell, literally. Two souls, cut from the same cloth, bearing all-powerful abilities, unleashed upon each other in a battle to the death.

  The entire Tower had become unstable. There were embers burning on the ground, spear-like flames shooting out across the chamber, and massive hunks of rocks crashing down from the top of the Tower.

  Lucian struck Vie, and she landed directly in front of the portal, hitting her head hard on the corner of his throne, leaving her momentarily dazed. Blood ran profusely down the side of her head; she saw a blurred figure walking toward her, grinning triumphantly.

  Vie reached for her blade, trying to pull it in toward herself, but Lucian stepped on her hand, crushing her fingers beneath his foot. She bit her lip, trying to hold in any sound of agony as she felt excruciating pain radiating from her fingers. He pressed down harder, and Vie could hear the sound of her bones cracking under his foot.

  He leaned over and reached for the blade, his cold eyes lighting up as he held the blade high over his head, ready to end Vie’s life.

  Odessa was smiling from ear to ear, enthused by her son’s defeat of the girl she hated more than anyone. At last, she thought, my son will have everything!

  “Goodbye, my dearest sister!” he said, bringing the blade down hard toward her skull.

  Suddenly, Carter appeared directly in front of Vie and laid his body down as a shield over hers. The blade struck, but the deadly attack was deflected by the polished arrowhead pendant the Chief had placed around Carter’s neck.

  The talisman, or evil eye pendant, had refracted the negative energy, protecting them from their enemies while it absorbed their power. This particular talisman was thought to protect those who wore it from evil spirits and demonic forces. Both Vie and Carter felt a shield form around their souls.

  Carter felt the surge of Lucian’s power from the strike transfer into him.

  It was as if Lucian could see it happening, too, and he was furious at the allocation. He grabbed Carter by the shirt and lifted him up with one hand. He threw him against the wall, sending more boulders crashing down on top of him.

  Vie looked at Carter as they lay on the ground, separated by several yards, connected only by their eyes. He spoke to her once again as he’d done before, communicating from their souls. We fight together, till death do us part.

  Vie smiled and gave a subtle nod back to him. In a single moment, they were up and joined together, fighting off every dark soul in the chamber with unbelievable precision and force. They were a formidable combination; their agility and speed together were astounding, difficult to follow with the human eye. They were perfectly in sync, just as the Chief had taught them to be.

  Lucian grew angrier and angrier as he watched his army gaping in awe of them. His rage consumed him and he ordered all his men to attack.

  Vie knew the fair fight had ended; the war was on.

  They landed on the ground in front of the portal once again, in a fighting stance, ready for what was to come next.

  Odessa sprang up from out of nowhere and attacked Carter from behind. Vie tried to assist Carter, but Lucian blocked her attempt.

  Lucian was smart. He’d figured out what he needed to do to defeat them: he had to split them up. A horde of demons restrained Carter, helping Odessa, and Lucian stepped toward Vie. With each step he took forward, she took one backward.

  With her last step, she found herself teetering on the edge of the portal. She didn’t look back—she couldn’t—she was afraid she would see her father’s eyes again, looking back at her.

  “Vie,” Carter called out to her as he watched her trying to keep her balance.

  “Careful, sister,” Lucian said, his grin evil. “Oh, Violet, come on now; you have to love the irony here. It’s all so familiar to me, watching you stand here with the same look in your eyes your mother had just before she met her untimely demise.”

  The circulation of the portal grew even more turbulent, rotating fiercely below where she stood teetering on its edge.

  Suddenly, Lucian noticed an unexpected change in Vie’s eyes. He turned his head for a second, glancing behind him, to see why her fear had disappeared. To his amazement, Gabriel was standing behind him, eagerly waiting to bring his wrath down upon him.

  He lunged forward at Lucian, knocking him to the ground. But somehow, Lucian disappeared into thin air.

  Gabriel looked around, his weapon drawn, waiting for him to appear. When he did, he was standing next to Vie with his arm wrapped around her neck, “Don’t take one more step Gabriel,” Lucian warned, threatening to throw her down into the portal if Gabriel didn’t drop his blade and step back.

  Gabriel did as Lucian asked, slowly and cautiously discarding his weapon and moving
back, one step at a time.

  Vie studied Gabriel’s face carefully, waiting for the signal that was sure to come. When she saw her chance, she elbowed Lucian in the chest with brute force, freeing herself. She turned to face him and said, “This is for my mother,” and spun around, delivering an extremely powerful and impressive jump kick, mid-air, sending him over the side and into the portal.

  Odessa screamed out to her son at the top of her lungs as she watched him fall into the cyclone. She released Carter in her moment of pain, and the demons froze in place.

  Carter went to Vie and hugged her tight, and Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief. Carter looked into her beautiful violet eyes and smiled at her, but Vie was not smiling any longer. Something was wrong; she could feel it. There was a strong presence of evil in the room.

  She looked at Gabriel, alarmed, and saw that his eyes were wide in surprise. Dimorte was rising up from the portal behind her, slowly and steadily. The presence she felt in the room was her father’s: the Dark Prince himself.

  “Vie, Carter, RUN!” Gabriel cried out. The entire chamber began to collapse as Dimorte continued to ascend through the cyclone.

  They both tried to run, but something—someone—had grabbed onto Vie’s ankle. Lucian had reached his hand out from the center of the vortex and had grabbed hold of Vie; Dimorte descended temporarily, allowing Lucian to finish what he’d started.

  Vie couldn’t move; he was not letting go. She yelled out to Carter and he turned around just steps away from her, watching as Lucian pulled her into the swirling mass.

  He ran fast, reaching out for her hand as she went over the edge, jumping to grab her wrist as she plunged into the portal.

  Lucian was smiling as he clung to her ankle from below.

  Vie’s hand was slipping; she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. She could see Dimorte looking up at her with his cold, dark eyes, waiting for her to fall.

  “Carter, it’s okay,” she said, looking up at him.

  “Vie, don’t you let go!” he said, feeling her hand slip away further. “Gabriel!” Carter called out for help.