by Tara Brown
She nods, "You can never go to heaven Aimee. I've taken your souls."
"You are the devil? The real devil?" I mutter, still stunned.
Only Lucas, Ben and Aleks look the way they did before. I scream, as my shirt is ripped from me and my back explodes in pain. I look back at the black wings and cry. They're so beautiful and frightening I can't cope. I cover my breasts and sob. Aleks looks frightened.
"I am the real devil, Aimee. I was sent with the mission of keeping the balance. I've always had the ability to create an army of darkness. An army of beings so strong that there is no force that can kill them. But all of my brother's have betrayed me. All of them. It was always a losing battle. I just didn’t see it. Like Jonathan said, always the last to know." She strolls to where Aleks is. She looks at me, "I have never done it before. I needed to be sure." She punches Aleks in the face hard. She grabs his mouth and plants a kiss on him. They flash and wink and then they're back and he is on the ground "Lorri, what the hell?" He growls at her.
She stands back and watches us changing and touching ourselves. Lucas and Ben creep back on the balcony.
She points at them and wags her finger.
I run to Aleks and hold him close. His warmth sends chills across my naked skin.
I look back at her, "Why would you do this to us?"
She shakes her head, "It's too late." She winks and is behind Aleks. She snaps his neck. He drops to the ground. I scream.
His neck starts making popping sounds. She sighs, "I have failed. You are plan b." She winks and grabs the wolves and winks them away.
Ari is crying and shaking. She turns to face me. I am covering Aleks with my naked skin.
My wings feel the breeze in them. They feel the way my arms or legs do. I can feel every feather.
Giselle is spinning like a dog trying to catch its tail.
Shane starts to smile at Blake who is jumping and flapping the wings like a bird. Shane's start to twitch.
Ari is shaking and trembling until Lucas's dead body is dumped next to hers. Then Ben's. They are in naked human form. Ari is shirtless and covering herself, sobbing into Lucas's bare skin.
Lorri is back. Marcus steps forward, "You had this all along? Why didn't you use it?"
She shakes her head, "I couldn’t. It was the emergency hatch. Once pulled it couldn’t be un-pulled. These cannot be unmade. There is no destroying them. No hellfire. No magic. No angel. No nothing. They're completely indestructible. God's last stand against it all. Do you have any idea the kind of power that is to bestow upon someone?"
He laughs and points, "You chose this group? These people?"
She nods, "I have. They are called redeemers. They can redeem a soul and send it back to heaven. For every soul they save, the balance will tip slightly in the favor of the light." I catch the stolen glance she sends me. I know what she wants.
Aleks starts to stir. He wakes and screams. He flashes away. We all have our safe haven we go to when we're scared. He and I share the same one.
Lorri points, "These are true angels. How I was before I fell."
Marcus sighs and looks at Giselle, who is still moving in a circle trying to touch her wings. "This is the best you had to choose from?"
Lorri laughs, "Yes. No human or immortal has lived through what they have. Except you and I buddy."
He puffs his chest out, "I'm one of them."
Lorri gives him a look and rolls her eyes, "I trust them. Completely."
Shane looks back at Lorri, "What do we do now?"
Lorri looks grimly at us all, "Prepare. You can feel pain. You can bleed. You can suffer. She will try to make you live through all of those things. She will try to make you join her. She will have things equally as strong as you are."
I glance at Ben's twitching body. Lucas wakes with a start and screams. He tries to phase but instead his wings shoot from his back.
Aleks is back. His huge beautiful black wings look amazing on his strong thick physique.
Blake tries to see things through his glasses and then takes them off. He puts them in his pocket, "So you made us into angels of darkness, but we are good?"
Lorri nods, "You are what you want to be. I have given you the ultimate immortality. You will live forever. With that come horrible amounts of responsibility and terrible things to cope with."
Blake looks upset, "Alise?"
Lorri nods, "She can't ever know."
He looks heartbroken but nods, "Well, we all know her."
I glance at Hanna and realize my hatred is gone. I just see the sweet girl she is. Has always been. She holds her hands over her breasts and shakes her head, "My Siren? My beast?"
Lorri shakes her head, "Gone. You can all wink but no more wolves, no more blood lust or succubus powers. Nothing but the pure power of God."
I cross my arms over my chest and shiver, "It's too much. You've made a mistake. We aren’t worthy of something like this. We'll screw it up. I know we will. One of us is going to be bad and join Lillith in her evil deeds. I know it." My voice is panicked.
Lorri laughs, "I'm counting on it. I'm also counting on the rest of you to be the team you've always been. The best Roses I have ever had. You have to be there for each other."
Sam spins around, "Where are you going to be?"
She laughs, "Retired. I will ask one of you to step forward and help me out. Then Abbey. If you don't mind."
"What?"
"Retired?"
"How?"
"Lorri we can't do this alone."
"She's kidding. She's kidding us."
She shakes her head. She winks and is back a moment later. The silence of the dark is creepy. She smiles at me. Abbey looks confused.
"You guys have wings?" She looks at Lorri, "That’s sweet eh? You got wings too baby?"
Lorri shakes her head, "Not yet."
She looks at me, "It works exactly the same as before Aimes."
I take a breath.
"I have a million questions. You can't go."
She puts her arms out, "You have each other. I'm afraid I don’t have a choice. Making you all, took all there was in me. There is nothing left. I'll be useless now."
I swallow and step forward. The fever and heat isn’t there. There is nothing. My hand's shudder when I lift them and touch her and Abbey. Abbey looks confused, "Aimee? Lorri?"
Lorri nods a head toward Abbey, "One at a time now Aimes. Her first."
I pull my hand off Lorri and squeeze Abbey's arm. She tries to pull away but I grip her hard.
"Aimee!" Her voice breaks with panic and fear. Terror fills her watery eyes. I close my eyes and do my thing. It's different. It's cool and refreshing. I don’t feel like I'm feeding. I'm floating. I'm sailing down the river of her memories and thoughts. It's instant. I open my eyes. She is on the ground in a heap.
My eyes sting instantly when I look into her eyes, "Don't leave me."
Lorri shakes her head, "Never. You'll always have help Aimee." She offer's me her hand. I look back at the others. They look desperate. Aleks takes a step forward. I shake my head and look back at her. I close my eyes again. This time it's long and musical almost. Her memories are huge and amazing. They span the world's life. I see so many things all at once. I can't keep up. I don’t keep them as memories or knowledge. They float past me in a cool breeze. Joy and pain, bliss and love. The way Abbey's face beams in her mind. There is a bright light, a flash. And then it's black.
I open my eyes. She is on the ground in a heap next to her love.
I step back. I don’t want to touch them. I don’t want them near me. My jaw trembles. I turn and look at Marcus. He shakes his head and sighs, "Brilliant. Bloody brilliant."
I turn and face the others. The looks are the same. The faces are desperately sad and horrified.
My wings twitch in the dark wind.
"How do we find Lillith now?"
Aleks steps toward me and takes my hand in his.
"How do we know what to do?" Hanna asks.
Marcus paces, "Henry. We find Henry. I can’t believe she didn’t make me one of you."
Sam laughs and for the first time it's bitter and harsh, "You can't?"
Marcus snorts, "Well of course I can, but I am still pissed about it."
Hanna looks at Sam's wings, "How do we get rid of the wings?"
In the dark we look awesome. There is no doubt. Our skin is slightly glowing, with a light that seems to be who we are now. Our wings are black as the night and filled with shiny black feathers. We all stand topless and glowing. The looks on our faces are all the same. Awe and confusion.
"You must pull them back in. You must forget everything else you think at the moment and pull them in."
We all look in one sweep at the voice speaking to us.
"Henry. There you bloody well are. How could you?" Marcus asks haughtily.
Henry laughs, "You not need me at the time. You need me now. Shamans know about need. We hear the calling."
Lucas makes a noise and then he stands wingless next to Ari. "It's just like phasing." He says it like it's helpful.
Blake frowns, "Oh, okay then." He makes a face. As I laugh Ben pulls his wings in.
Then Aleks does his. The rest of us are staring at them helplessly.
"What does phasing feel like?" Giselle asks.
Shane pulls his back. "Hah, just like the fangs."
Giselle pulls hers in at the same time as Hanna. Ari and I look at each other and laugh.
"It's like exploding from your skin."
Blake frowns, "And if you've never exploded?"
Aleks laughs, "Like when you run and you push the last couple seconds. Push the exertion."
Ari's wings pull in.
I sigh and look at Blake. He shakes his head, "We played a lot of WOW and didn’t run, ever."
"How can we suck at this? We're the smartest people here."
Marcus walks over and grabs my face, "Orgasming Aimee."
I feel the flushing in my face and instantly my wings pull back. Blake's do as well.
"See, you did it." Giselle smiles.
Marcus shrugs and walks to Henry, "How do we find Lillith?"
He shakes his face, "She has the power. Impossible. You failed. Now you must prepare."
I snap, "What does that even mean?"
Sam looks horrified as if a light bulb has come on for him, "Oh my god. Revelations."
"What?" Blake asks.
Henry nods, "The world as you knew it, is over. The world now is broken. You have seven years to fix it before it's too late."
"Friggen hell. Great. Seven more years."
Ari beams, "At least I can't switch the time anymore."
I laugh.
"Where do we go from here?"
Henry points at Shane, "His house. Protected lands."
I laugh. Aleks laughs with me.
Everyone else shakes his or her head.
"That stupid Shaman story is true?" Shane asks, making Aleks and I laugh harder.
Epilogue
Lorri
The warm breeze billows through the pillar. I look at him and grin. He winks and he's there. He kisses me but then he pulls back, "Wait if you're bloody well here, where are they?" He looks past me.
I shake my head, "Dorian, I had no choice. She got the magic."
He pulls back, "How in the bloody hell did that happen?"
"I don’t know. We were obviously betrayed. Is Michael still here?"
He shakes his head, "No. Several of them fell recently."
I grimace, "Then I guess that explains that."
The warmth is comforting. I sigh, "I missed this place."
"Have you seen Lydia and Annabelle yet?"
"No. O and Oliver both here as well?"
"The whole family. It's a bit intense."
I hear her shouting and running. I blush. Dorian rolls his eyes, "Of course the human breaking the silence would be with you."
I look back and smile. She leaps into my arms. We kiss and it's the best feeling ever.
"This is heaven?" She asks.
I smile at her, "It is."
"Is O here?"
I nod, "Yup. Tristan and Phillip and O and Oliver and Lydia and Annabelle and everyone."
She grins and I kiss her again. Dorian groans behind me, "Okay, I'm going to go find out about Michael. Someone knows something. I'm certain."
I close my eyes and let the warmth and peace seep in. After thousands of years believing I would never make it back, I can't believe I am here. With my girl.
Failure never felt so good.
"Daughter." I pull back from the kiss. "You hear that?"
Abbey shakes her head.
"Daughter."
I close my eyes and moan, "Be right back." I step away from her and wink to the place. I stand in the shadows again and wait for it.
The air is still until his words sneak in like the fog, "You failed."
I nod, the intensity of his voice makes me tremble, "I did father. I'm so sorry."
"You were betrayed by your brothers."
Tears leak from my eyes, "I was father."
"You are my most treasured creation Lucifer. You must know my love for you."
Dread tries to creep in, but His love is bigger than my own heart. I nod, "I do father."
"The sacrifice you made was met with unkindness and hatred. Yet you did as I asked. You saved them. You saved them all. The redeemers will save my children."
I nod and believe the words, "They will father."
"Thank you Lucifer. I may call upon you again."
My words become a whisper, "Yes father."
The air and light moves and leaves me where I am, standing in the shadows. My skin crawls from the intense energy.
I look up and fight the begging in my mind that doesn’t want to be called on again. Ever.
Aimee
The scene is my dream exactly. Bombs have dropped. Destruction is everywhere. People fighting in the anger that has overtaken the planet. Our country is ripe with pain and suffering, but still very far behind the rest of the world. South America is filled with Vampires and Succubus. Lillith has the power to make them all.
All varieties of demons.
She moves constantly. Never out of the company that shields her from us. But we fight her darkness with our own. It's a constant battle.
I look out at the city and sigh. The heat of the midday sun is intense in Rio. I glance at Aleks and grin. I get lost for a second. He shakes his head, "Stop staring at them. It makes me feel weird when you do that."
"What? You look hot with those in that black t-shirt. That’s all."
He rolls his eyes, "You look hot without your black t-shirt and I don’t stare at you."
"Yes, you do."
He ignores me, "You ready?"
I nod once. We jump together. Our wings shoot from our bodies. We sail to the ground and look out at the chaos and destruction everywhere. Lillith has used the magic she stole to make hell on earth.
"I love you." I say.
He leans in and kisses me when our feet touch the ground, "I love you more." Our wings pull in fast now.
I laugh, "Cheesy and sad. You've been alive for hundreds of years and that’s the best you got?"
He nods, "Yup. I love you so much that my brain stops functioning when you're near me."
I point at him, "That I believe."
Hanna walks up with Sam, Ben, Giselle, and Shane with her.
Sam looks annoyed, "We found another one."
"Vampires?"
Sam nods, "And succubus."
"Where is Ari?"
Ben winces, "With Luke. She isn’t coming for this ride."
I look down the alley, "Why."
"Kids. She doesn’t do kids."
Aleks nods, "Fair enough. In the words of our fallen leader, let's do this."