by C. M. Owens
He struggles to hold himself and me up, so using his magic has to be painful. I’m not weak, dammit.
Biting through the excruciating pain, I start flinging out portals, sucking in various people, knocking them out of the fight before they can strike against my family. Drackus rattles the ground with his power, and Calypso displays her own.
Gavin is outmatched, because he might be stronger than Gage, but he’s not stronger than my whole family. Morgana gives Gage a sad look before dissolving into the air, escaping the fight. But then everything takes a turn, and Gavin’s smile returns.
The crystal trap Gage broke suddenly springs back to life, and Gage yells when we all become trapped inside it. Gavin walks around it, smiling over at Gage, and Alyssa and Kane fight uselessly to break free.
“Oh, you didn’t think I would prepare for this, did you?” Gavin asks smugly. “And no, brother. You won’t be able to break this one without killing yourself trying. You’ll be unsuccessful, I might add.”
He turns his eyes toward Alyssa, and he clasps his hands behind his back, once again feeling confident and composed. “Our dear queen has graced me with her presence. Oh, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted to be the one to take you out, Your Majesty.”
“No!” I yell.
He ignores me, and I stop just short of running into the light blue barrier holding us in place. Alyssa is trapped in a separate section, and I can’t get to her. Ella’s eyes change, turning to yellow, and I shake my head.
Her lycan eyes fall out of place completely, and she shifts into a hawk. “Don’t!” I yell to my sister, knowing she’s about to embark on a suicide mission, but she doesn’t listen as she pushes off from the ground and flies straight up, her velocity accelerating with every inch gained. By the time she reaches the top of the trap, she’s a white blur, resembling a comet crashing in the wrong direction.
She bursts through the trap, and the blue falters all around us when the magic is broken. Gavin’s whispers a shocked and disbelieving, “No.”
I take aim and shoot the crossbow, striking him in the chest, and he staggers backwards while glaring at me. Alyssa and Kane focus their attacks on him, and Gage does the same, using more power than I’ve ever seen him expel.
But then I see Ella’s naked body lying limply on the ground, unmoving. Tears spring to my eyes as I try to reach her, but the armies have collided, and I keep having to slash through someone else to gain any ground.
Chaz appears and in a blur of motion, manages to take down numerous men that were seconds away from shredding me, but I don’t even thank him before finally bursting through the pack, managing to reach the spot where I saw Ella, but she’s gone.
I whirl around, trying to find her, but she’s nowhere. She wouldn’t leave. Shit. Someone has her.
I fight my way back through, trying to find Alyssa or Kane, but then the earth vibrates viciously, worse than it has all night, and I actually stagger from the violent shaking. I look over in time to see the cold, dark, vacant stare in Gage’s eyes, and my world sinks to the ground as everyone starts yelping.
I’m the only one not dropped to the ground, and Alyssa and Kane are forced to start vaporizing people, getting them out of the way. Drackus yells for me to get out, but I’m unaffected by the force, feeling no fear for myself.
He curses when I refuse him, but he’s forced to retreat, taking as many as he can with him as he disappears. Gavin drops to the ground, his eyes wide as Gage clenches his fist.
Before Gage can kill him for good this time, Morgana appears and grabs her love, dragging him away before anyone can stop her. Gage turns his cold smile on me, and I narrow my eyes before opening a portal behind him.
I’ll ice him just like I do Drackus.
But the portal doesn’t suck him in. In fact, it doesn’t even affect him at all as he stalks toward me. The power driving everyone to the ground lessens, and everyone starts getting out while Gage’s attention remains fixed on me.
“Gage,” I whisper softly, treating him like a rabid creature.
The castle-like compound behind me starts collapsing, too fragile under the force it has had to suffer tonight. But Gage doesn’t notice it. Instead, he comes closer to me, and even though I should run, I hold my ground.
“Run,” he whispers when he gets right in front of me, his lips twisting into a dark grin.
I stumble backwards, but I don’t run. Trust. I have to trust him. Somewhere inside the madness is the guy who would lay down his life to save me.
“No.” My one-word answer only sparks more menace in his already hauntingly scary eyes.
There’s only one thing to do. The portal wasn’t strong enough to drag him away, but a gate will be. There’s one place I can send him that will keep him away from the breathing plane for a few days—hopefully long enough for him to cool down. One place where he can wreak havoc without feeling guilt when he’s himself again.
“Your funeral,” he says, but I’ve already started the gate’s opening.
Despite his threat, Gage makes no move to hurt me. He glares at me, but then his feet shift when he feels the pull. The black hole behind him spreads, opening larger and larger, and I fight the exhaustion sweeping through me.
He growls as he struggles against its pull, and he digs his feet into the ground to keep from being tossed in. Blood trickles from my nose when the power exerting from me starts to take its toll. I can’t hold it open much longer, and he’s too damn strong to get sucked in.
I cry out when the force becomes overwhelming, but just when I’m about to face defeat, gold forms at the corner of my eye, and Chaz steps in within a blink, shoving both hands into Gage’s chest and sending him spiraling into the black hole.
The gate closes behind him, and Chaz catches me when I fall, pulling my arm around his neck to support me before dusting us out of the dark plane. When we appear inside Gage’s house, I’m a little surprised, considering this distance is a little hard to travel with vaporization, but it’s low on the pole for things to worry about.
“Kimber!” Calypso says, rushing to my side. “Why the hell did you stay behind?”
Wincing, I drop my arm off Chaz’s shoulders, and I stagger to the counter for support.
“Why do we always congregate in kitchens?” I ask absently, still trying to wrap my head around things while managing to find a bottle of whiskey.
As I twist the cap off, Drackus asks, “Are you okay?”
I laugh bitterly while turning the bottle up and taking a massive sip. “Oh, I’m fine. Just fucking fine. I just found out that your ex-fiancée, also known as Gage’s mother, is the one who murdered my parents and enslaved me. Oh, and I just sent my boyfriend to hell. Ironically enough, I sent him there to cool down. Uh-huh. Yep. Fine.”
My hand shakes as I take a long sip of the whiskey, making it bubble.
“Technically I’m the one who shoved him into the gate,” Chaz says brightly.
“Now that’s a dysfunctional relationship,” Dice says while pulling a stunned Karma into his arms and kissing her hair.
“Where’s Ella?” I ask.
“Kane and Alyssa went after her. Chaz took off to go get you before we could. We don’t know what has happened to her, and they’re not having any luck so far,” Calypso says with tears in her eyes.
Thad walks in, naked. Apparently he just shifted. “Anything?” Drackus asks.
Thad makes no move to cover up as he shakes his head. “Nothing.” Then his eyes move to me. “Where’s Gage?”
That has me taking another sip of whiskey.
“His girlfriend sent him to hell,” Dice drawls, sounding too damn amused.
Thad cocks a questioning eyebrow, but I don’t respond. Chaz tosses him a pair of pants.
“Cover that shit up,” he grumbles. “We have to go back out there and find Ella,” he adds, turning his attention on us.
“That won’t be necessary.” Ella’s voice causes us all to whip around and face the blond as she
fully appears in front of us, wrapped in a sheet and looking as exhausted as I feel.
Thad blurs to her when she staggers, and he supports her weight as she looks around the room.
“Call Kane and Alyssa,” Calypso says to Dice who already has his phone out and doing just that.
Calypso goes to inspect Ella, but she bats her hands away. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Her eyes meet Drackus’s, and then she looks over to me.
“Gage’s brother?”
“Still alive,” I say with a sigh. “What happened to you?”
She shrugs, clutching the sheet a little tighter. “No idea. I remember crashing through the barrier, and the next thing I know I’m waking up in an off-the-grid cabin. It took me a while to figure out where I was, but I know magic was involved. The bed I was on was pristine and clean. But the shack of a cabin was falling apart. Someone didn’t want me on a dirty mattress.”
“But apparently it was someone not involved with us,” Thad says, frowning. “One of the prisoners we released?” he asks thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. I never saw anyone.”
“All the prisoners got the hell out of there when we released them. Or at least I thought so,” I say.
Ella turns her eyes on me, her brow puckered in concern. “How’s Gage? I mean, I know his brother being the bad guy really has to be hurting him right now. Where is he?”
Ah, hell. I forgot she was out during Gage’s crazy turn. “Um… he’s sort of in hell, and I don’t mean that figuratively.” Her lips part to speak, but I interrupt, “Long story. We need to focus on Gavin. He’s hella strong. And now we’ve destroyed his rings. He’ll start collecting new slaves soon. How do we stop him?”
“That’s a damn good question,” Kane says, appearing out of nowhere and coming over to jerk Ella in a tight hug.
“Dad, can’t breathe,” she says, mocking a wheeze.
He doesn’t let her go, and suddenly Alyssa is beside her, hugging her as well.
“We have a few more problems,” Zee says, walking in with Sierra and Deke. “I snatched these when Kane took us back to the dark planes to look for Ella.”
He tosses down shackles with familiar markings; the same markings we use to bind Ella on the nights of the red moon. Otherwise she shifts and goes on a small killing spree. Even though she’s ridding the earth of people that hurt others, she doesn’t want to kill mortals and she can’t control it.
“They had creature gods in that place. Two of them,” Deke says. “Dray is coming over to help us. He had to help with healing a lot of the worst injuries.”
“This just gets better and better,” Chaz groans while nudging the shackles.
“Maybe they’re like us,” Alyssa says, sounding hopeful. “Creature gods are inherently good. They can only choose to be… monsters.”
Dray—the dark angel I haven’t seen in so long—appears in a haze of smoke before anyone can comment.
“Looks like I’ve been missing all the fun,” Dray says dryly. Then he looks around the room, searching the faces. “Where’s Gage?”
With that, I take another long sip of whiskey.
Chapter 19
GAGE
Breaking out of hell is officially my least favorite thing to do. It’s not like a typical plane where you can just dematerialize and shift through the threads. You have to find various places and follow a labyrinth to get out.
She’s clever. It kept me down there long enough to find my sanity, but she’s an idiot for even staying around me for long enough to do it. She should have left and went with the others. If I wasn’t planning to distance myself from her, I’d probably kick her ass for that reckless decision, even if it did save me from hurting anyone. Well, anyone still alive, that is.
Just as I materialize in my living room, I’m met by three pairs of eyes. “You’re back,” Karma says on a gasp, warily studying me, as Chaz and Dice look me over.
“It’s fine, Karma. I’m me.”
She relaxes as Dice smirks over at me. “You look like hell,” Dice says, his pun not particularly appreciated.
“Not now, incubus.”
“Too soon?” he asks coyly, and I flip him off like a juvenile because I’m too exhausted to come up with anything witty.
He snickers while Chaz gets up and comes over to me. “Sorry about knocking you into hell and all. No hard feelings?”
His teasing grin causes me to roll my eyes. “No hard feelings. It was the best place for me.”
“I need to call Kimber,” Karma says, reaching for her phone.
“No,” I say quickly, waving her off. “As far as she’s concerned, her part in this mess is over. In fact, all of you are done, so you might as well get on with your lives.”
Karma tilts her head as her brow furrows in confusion. “What do you mean? Hell, it’s just getting started.”
“No. You wanted to free the slaves. You’re done. Kimber wanted to extinguish the rings. She’s done.”
I turn away, but Karma suddenly appears in front of me, halting my stride. Her short black hair seems to have been cut even shorter, and I stare at the marks on her neck. What the…
“We’re just getting started. Your brother is still out there. He’ll just rebuild the rings. Recapture the escapees. Or capture new ones. He’s after something, and he’s drawing power from his slaves. That’s why we all have these,” she says, motioning to the marks I’m staring at that are close to her ear.
“I never knew what they were doing, but they were taking our blood. I thought it was for science, but in the few days we’ve been back, we’ve been in contact with a few escapees. Apparently they’re using the blood to make themselves stronger or something. Gavin’s trying to achieve something. He’s after something. We have to get it first.”
I shake my head, moving around her. “No. We don’t. You’re done. My brother will shred you as soon as his eyes land on you. It’s suicide to think otherwise.”
“Then I guess we’re on a suicide mission.” My head drops back at the sound of that voice, and I turn to face the blue eyes of the stubborn girl I need to break up with.
“Not for you,” I mumble, dematerializing to move upstairs.
She’s there before me, obviously having used her portal, and she crosses her arms over her chest as she stares at me.
“You mad at me for tossing you into hell or something?” she asks while coming closer.
I take a step back, needing the space between us to remain.
“Nope. Not at all. I just think it’s best if this… us… doesn’t continue, and you know I’m right.”
She looks at me as though I’ve lost my mind. Apparently she has forgotten what the crazy version of me looks like.
“I don’t follow your logic, so get over yourself. We have shit to do.”
She takes another step toward me, but an invisible barrier blocks her path. She steps back, her eyes pained. “You’re serious? You’re seriously trying to dump me now? Why, because you have a dark side? Well get the hell over it. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself around you.”
I laugh bitterly while dropping my head back. “That’s just it, Kimber. You’re not. You stared me in the eyes and stayed instead of running like you should have. And my mother… what she did… Let’s face it, I’m cursed. I apparently can’t be with anyone because shit always falls apart at the seams.”
Her lip quivers, but she clears her throat and regains her composure. “No. You’re not cursed. And what your mother did, she did on her own. It’s not like you were there with her when she killed them or took me. If I’m not blaming you, then you sure as hell can’t blame yourself.”
Her defiance isn’t what I expected. I thought this would be easier after she heard that. I thought she would be happy I was ending this. I actually expected her to end it first. She has no idea how hard this already is.
***
KIMBER
It shouldn’t be natural to fall for someone as quickly as I’ve fallen for him,
and to cry would only give me away. So, denying all my emotions their right to surface, I keep myself stoic, even though it physically hurts to do.
When he doesn’t say anything, I ask the question that will address the oversized elephant in the room. “Is this about Morgana? Do you… Are you still…”
The words die in my throat because I can’t bring myself to ask them.
He sighs as he drops down to sit on the bed, and he hangs his head. If this invisible barrier wasn’t holding me back, I’d go to him.
“I wish I could be the guy I need to be and lie to you right now. I wish I could tell you that seeing her resurrected some buried emotions, but I can’t seem to bring myself to lie even if it’s the right thing to do.” His eyes come up to meet mine. “No. This has nothing to do with Morgana. She chose her own fate. This has everything to do with you, and since you have no sense of self-preservation, I’m doing the only thing I can to keep you safe, because I can’t make you the same promise I made her so long ago. I can’t promise I won’t lose it again, because I’m going after Gavin, and I’m going to have to tap into some seriously dark power to take him down.”
I glare at him, because once again he’s underestimating me. “And you think I can’t handle it? Gage, I frigging sent you to hell. I’m strong. You just keep treating me like glass.”
He leaps off the bed, and the barrier dissolves as he comes to put himself so close to me that I have to tilt my head back to look up into his furious eyes. “You’re reckless, Kimber. I could have killed you. When I get to that point, there’s no conscience. There’s no guilt. No fear. There’s nothing but power and the hold it has on me. Nothing else matters. I refuse to be your new mission. You. Can’t. Save. Me. Get that through your motherfucking head. You don’t mean a damn thing to me when I’m like that. And if I hurt you, then when I come to, I’ll end up going off the fucking deep end. Do you understand that?”