by Brenda Huber
She laid a hand softly against the side of his face, went up on tiptoe, and gently kissed him. Drawing back, she whispered, “I’m not worried. You’ll keep me safe.”
Well, that was fine. Just dandy. She wasn’t worried. Yipee. Goodie for her.
Because he was scared out of his freakin’ skull. He, the Slayer, was shaking inside like a little schoolgirl.
Before he could argue, she stepped back, and began the incantation. He felt the barrier descend between them, and that fear for her turned into a claustrophobic, clawing rage. Everything in him screamed this was wrong. His woman was out there, outside the circle. Unshielded. Unprotected and vulnerable.
His body began to change, bulking up. Going demonic.
She was the one taking all the risk. How could he have been so stupid as to allow this to happen?
As if sensing his turmoil, Sebastian laid a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be okay.”
Rounding on his compatriots like a feral dog with rabies, he snarled in that layered voice, “She better be.” His burning gaze sliced to Gideon. “Because if so much as a single hair on her head is harmed, I’m coming after you. And I don’t care if you have suddenly developed a death wish. I’ll make your death so damned miserable and painful that living would seem like a better option.”
No one responded. Because each one of them knew he meant every word he spoke. He turned to watch her walk through the trees until she was out of sight. He could still hear her as she made her way toward the boulder. He drew in the lingering scent of her upon his own body. Used it to calm his fraying nerves.
“I’m fine, Xander.” He heard her reassuring whisper on the breeze.
Please God, if you never answer another of my prayers, please answer this one. Please, please, let her stay that way.
Xander’s fingers flexed as he readjusted his grip on his dagger. Motionless. Silent. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. He drew breath to call out to her, just to make sure she was still there, still okay, when he heard voices.
“Where is your guard dog, little human?”
“Not here, obviously,” she replied tartly. “You’re Gabriel, right?”
“I see the demon traitors have educated you.”
“And I see you’ve brought friends. Were you so afraid of one little human that you needed to bring along bodyguards? Really, Gabriel. Am I so scary you need six more angels with you?”
She was feeding them information now. Making sure that they didn’t shimmer into the meadow blind. She was the one in imminent danger, and yet she was protecting them.
This was killing him. He could hear them, hear every bloody word. But he couldn’t see them at all. Mikhail had chosen their hiding place a little too well. No one could see them from the clearing for all the trees and undergrowth. Nor could they see anyone in the clearing. Seven angels were out there with her. Seven threats to her safety. And he couldn’t tell which ones had come. Michael was known to be a bit impatient and more than a little hotheaded. Was he out there too? Or Paul? Had Raphael come? He, at least, would listen first and draw his sword later. What about Samuel? Could he be persuaded to hear them out? Or would he view them as Gabriel obviously did? As traitors, and nothing more.
He’d warned Kyanna over and over on their way out here not to let Gabriel come too close. And to never let him or another angel get their hands on her, no matter what. She’d taken additional precautions so that Gabriel couldn’t put her under another trance like before, but if they managed to get their hands on her, they could flash her back to the Heavens, the one place Xander could not follow. How could she possibly keep track of all seven of them?
Please, let her have taken his warnings to heart.
Another thought occurred to him, and his blood ran cold. What if Zachariel had come with Gabriel? Zachariel’s primary duty was to control memories. What if he made Kyanna forget all they’d shared together? What if he made her forget that she even knew him? Or that Xander wasn’t fighting for the side of evil anymore?
What if Zachariel made her forget who she was?
He thought then of how he’d thrust his hand into the enchantments and moved the stone in her burning apartment. He’d do it again now, in a heartbeat, if need be. In fact, he was already considering the stone directly in front of him.
“Why are you here alone?” Gabriel sounded suspicious.
“I came out to clear my head. Get a bit of fresh air.”
“Your watchdog wouldn’t let you out of his sight.”
“He thinks I’m napping.”
“Why are you really here?”
“Maybe I was hoping you’d show up.”
“You wish us to take you to safety?” Xander could hear the interest in Gabriel’s voice and his fury flared.
“No,” Kyanna quickly corrected him. “I want information. I’m perfectly safe, right where I am.”
“Where is the book?” Displeasure crackled in Gabriel’s demand.
“It’s safe.” He heard movement. Grass rustled. A twig snapped. “And that’s just about close enough,” Kyanna warned. The sounds of movement stopped. “If you harm me, you’ll never get that book. It’d be such a pity if it ends up in the wrong hands, now wouldn’t it.”
Damn it, what the hell did she think she was doing, taunting Gabriel this way. And even as he cursed her, a part of him was proud of her courage, of her audacity.
“I know of your bloodline,” Gabriel coaxed. “Would you not like to hear from whom you are descended?”
“You called me human before. Not Halfling.”
“Your bloodline is so diluted it hardly matters to us anymore.”
Creepy-crawlies skittered over Xander’s flesh. Oh, her bloodline mattered to them all right. Shaking the bug-crawling sensation, he concentrated on their conversation, waiting. He motioned to the others that the angel had just told his first lie. Beside him, Mikhail silently drew a wicked looking sword from its sheath.
“Why do you want the book so badly?”
“Why do you want to keep it?” Gabriel countered.
“I’ve been charged with keeping it safe.”
“By giving it to a band of demon traitors?”
“That’s the second time you’ve called them that. One more time and this conversation is over. As far as I can tell, Xander and his brothers-in-arms have done more to save this world than you and all the rest of your kind.”
A seething silence followed, and Xander tensed. Had she just pushed Gabriel too far?
“You shouldn’t trust that demon trai—the Slayer, or the others. They will lead you down the path of destruction.”
“I trust Xander with my life. I trust him with my soul,” she replied evenly, speaking with cool disdain for Gabriel and unwavering confidence in Xander. That confidence was like shards of glass raking through his conscience. Anxiety over her safety already rode him hard. Guilt choked him now.
In a strained tone, Gabriel queried once again, “Do you not wish to know the origination of your line? I can tell you.”
“And what would the cost be?” Smart girl, Xander thought.
“Come with us, willingly. And the book, of course.”
“Of course.” Another moment of silence stretched on. Then, “You know, I’m not really interested in that information. Nor am I interested in going anywhere with you. How about this, instead? You give me some information that I do want first, on good faith. And, in return, I’ll give you the book. And I’ll stay right where I am.”
Xander scowled at the trees surrounding them. He couldn’t see a damned thing, and it was killing him.
“What sort of information?”
“Tell me about.” She paused, drawing the tension out. “The Prophesy.”
Gabriel waited a beat before replying. “What Prophesy would that be?”
“You know exactly which Prophesy
to which I refer.” Her tone snapped, indicating she wasn’t willing to waste any more time fencing. She wanted answers. Now. Xander closed his eyes and focused on the meadow. On the boulder, on the exact location in which he’d told her to stay. He kept the dark magic seething just beneath the surface, harnessed and ready so that the second the enchantments dropped he’d already be shimmering to her side. “The Prophesy about the Chosen One and the relics.”
Another beat passed. And then another. One beat too long. “I know of no Chosen One, no relics.”
Lie, Xander’s creepy-crawlies screamed.
“Give us the book and we will let you go, unharmed, back to your demon.”
The creepy-crawlies swarmed through his system so powerfully, he nearly retched.
“You have nothing to—what is this?” Anger filled Gabriel’s voice. “What trap is this?”
Xander looked over his shoulder to the others in his group. All were accounted for. Who, then, was Gabriel talking about? He needed to be out there. Now.
Suddenly Kyanna’s voice rang out, filled with fear. The first few lines of the enchantment echoed in the distance. But, just before she could finish the incantation, her voice was cut off, choked silent on an explosion. The enchantments still firmly in place. Another, smaller explosion rocked the ground beneath them, followed by another, and another.
Panicked, he yelled for Kyanna and bent to reach for the stone by his feet. His fingertips began to burn. Her voice suddenly called out again, shaking and terrified, but she finished the incantation and the shield dropped. Xander and the others shimmered to the meadow.
Right into the middle of an apocalyptic scene.
Demons swarmed the small clearing, at least two dozen, with angels wading into the fray, fighting as if called by God himself to defend this tiny, isolated glade. And in the middle of it all? His small, defenseless female, ducking plasma balls, dodging lethally sharp wingtips and swinging swords.
Xander had shimmered to the boulder, right where she was supposed to be. But Kyanna wasn’t there, because the boulder was no longer there. It lay all around, scattered and broken. Exploded into a million irreparable pieces. He tracked to her, where she ducked another plasma ball and rolled away from the arc of a glowing sword of flames. In a heartbeat, he was at her side. He scooped her up in one arm, even as he conjured his own sword and raised it in defense. Forged from Quïnï, a specialized composite of cursed metals infused with Ralsha poison, his blade deflected the flames of an angel’s blade in a shower of sparks. Xander shielded Kyanna with his own body.
With half his attention on the angel currently trying to gut him, he quickly assessed the battlefield. Gideon, now in fully demonic form, was holding his own with a group of demons and an angel. Mikhail, also in demonic form, stood upon a growing pile of demon ash, his sword slicing and dicing its way through another group of demons. Shadows moved over the ground, deflecting sunlight like man-shaped clouds, and he shot a fast glance skyward. A fully demonic Sebastian swooped through the skies, cart-wheeling and tumbling, soaring and slashing, as he battled three angels. One angelic blade swept too close to Sebastian for comfort. His massive black wings swept forward, wrapping around his body protectively, and the angel’s sword was repelled in a spray of sparks as metal skidded over metal.
Satisfied that Sebastian seemed to have things well in hand, he turned his attention to the others. On the far side of the clearing, the angel Gabriel went toe-to-toe with the gray-fleshed Agares. Nearer to them, closer to the stream, the angel Samuel fended off three demons.
Another angel attacked, drawing his attention. This one was unknown to him, but he fought with a dedication and viciousness Xander found admirable. If the angel hadn’t been trying his damnedest to behead him, thereby placing Kyanna in jeopardy, Xander may well have applauded him.
Just then, another demon shimmered behind Samuel, lifting a black sword high to deliver a death blow. Xander sucked in a sharp breath. And even as he did so, he knew his yells—even if they were heard—would come too late. Nor could he shimmer Kyanna back to the cabin and safety and return in time to save Samuel. With no other alternative available to him, he shimmered himself and Kyanna to Samuel’s side. Xander wedged Kyanna between Samuel and himself, and threw his blade up, blocking the downward slash.
Just as quickly, he thrust his dagger forward, slashing across the demon’s exposed belly. When the demon faltered, Xander took his head, already looking for his next victim. He shot a glance to Samuel and the two remaining demons, and he absently noted the surprise on Samuel’s face. Surprise quickly followed by first puzzlement, then consternation.
Samuel’s lips parted, but Xander shoved him aside seconds before a demon sword would have taken his head. That was twice in as many minutes that he’d saved the angel’s life.
Another demon shimmered near them and engaged Samuel. Kyanna plastered herself to Xander’s side. Her eyes were huge, her breathing ragged as she stared all around her. Xander cursed to himself as he disemboweled another demon. He hadn’t ever wanted her to see this kind of violence. Hadn’t wanted her exposed to this carnage. She must be terrified.
Across the way, two angels battled wings-to-wings against a swarm of horned, burnt-orange demons. One of the angels fell to one knee and his head was taken. Every angel in the clearing jolted, all focus swinging to their fallen comrade even as their swords continued to clash and crash. Xander remembered that marrow-deep connection, one he’d once held with these same soldiers of God.
Out of habit, Xander took stock of his own men. Mikhail had moved on to another group of demons newly arrived. He didn’t give them a moment to acclimate. Instead, he hacked his way through their numbers with very little resistance.
Gideon had leveled his demon adversaries, and now dueled with an angel. Xander thought to yell a warning, thought to caution him not to kill the angel, even by accident. He even took a step in their direction, but then hesitated, slowed by Kyanna’s presence. Gideon had a wild look about him. He looked as if he no longer knew where he was, or who he fought. His goal had simply become to kill anything within reach.
He wouldn’t let Kyanna get anywhere near Gideon just now.
Worried over Gideon’s excessive rage, Xander searched for Sebastian. The Demon of Vengeance had brought his battle to the ground. And Xander immediately saw why. His left wing was hanging at an odd angle, its tip dragging on the ground. But still he fought on, wounding another angel in the arm. Again, Xander thought to call out a warning not to kill the angel. But instead of taking advantage of one angel’s slip in defense and beheading him, Sebastian brought the grip of his sword down on the angel’s temple, rendering him unconscious before turning on the other angel. The glint of flaming steel caught his attention, and Xander ducked as a sword thrust at his own head. He swung his blade up to fend off the next anticipated blow, but it never came. He glanced over in time to see Sebastian grab hold of an angel’s wing and give a brutal twist. The angel screeched in pain as his wing was broken.
Broken, but not torn from his body.
Xander didn’t know if he would have been able to exercise such restraint were he in Sebastian’s shoes. Kyanna muffled a shriek against his side as an angel suddenly vaulted into their path.
No, not just any angel. Gabriel himself.
Kyanna couldn’t look away from the vengeful countenance of the angel before them. His blade arced through the air, missing Xander by slim inches. So close she could feel the heat of the flaming blade sizzle in the air.
All around her, she witnessed monstrous creatures battling one another, mutilating and killing one another. Beautiful angels fought with vicious, cold-hearted resolve. Resolve that, she knew, would eventually turn her way. Fear swamped her. She wasn’t ready to die yet.
She’d watched as the boy-next-door Sebastian had morphed into a terrifying monster. His skin had become the color of smoke and ash. He’d grown nea
rly a foot taller than the angels around him, his muscles—everything about him—bulging to three times the normal size. Great, thick horns sprouted from the sides of his head, spiraling up and back. His eyes were black as coal, chilling her to the bottom of her soul. Monstrous fangs flashed every time he opened his mouth to roar. He’d assured her once that he had wings. And wings he most certainly had. With a great shudder and a flexing of his shoulders, massive, black wings had unfurled behind him. They glinted in the sunlight like polished, feather-shaped, metallic plates. And what’s more, he’d actually flown.
The wings of vengeance…
She’d watched Gideon shift into a wild, feral creature with reddish-orange skin, and flickering red eyes. His long black claws glinted as he swiped his way through yet another demon’s body with little to no help from the sword he held in one hand. He was still lean, still tall and muscled. But now, instead of the façade of a southern gentleman, what she saw scared the bejeepers out of her. He looked utterly rabid. As if he’d turn on friend or foe alike with no warning whatsoever.
And Mikhail—
She could scarcely wrap her mind around what he’d become. The nightmare of all nightmares. Kyanna turned her face into Xander’s side and she prayed for this to all be over soon.
Xander continued to battle in his human form, and she wondered if he was doing that to spare her more fear. Gabriel slashed and thrust, his face a determined mask of hatred. Xander parried and dodged, striking back lightning quick, but never dealing the death blow that even she could see should be coming. Why was he holding back? Why wasn’t he ending this?
A frightful looking demon suddenly appeared behind Gabriel, and Kyanna suddenly remembered him. It was the demon that had led the invasion in her storeroom. The one with red dreadlocks and gray skin. He held his arms up, an evil grin stretched wide over wickedly sharp teeth, and his lips moved silently. The ground buckled beneath their feet, shaking violently. Several lost their footing, angels and demons alike, including Gabriel. Caught by surprise, the angel went to one knee, his sword swinging wildly to deflect the blow from Xander that never came. Instead, Xander anchored a protective arm around Kyanna and leaped to the side.