Ryder frowned deeply, studying his baby girl, the whirling eyes, dimpled cheeks and fair skin. Lucian was right. “I am sorry, Luc. I cannot stand the thought of losing her. Not now.” He attempted to rock Ember in the same way Lucian was rocking Autumn.
“You won’t lose her, Ry. The Angels have a plan.” Lucian frowned deeply. “I don’t like it, mind you, but it is a plan and all we have left.”
Ryder’s heart sank. If Lucian did not approve then it could not be a good idea. “What is it?”
“They are going to send you in after her.” Lucian spoke matter of factly as he continued to rock Autumn, never breaking eye contact with Ryder.
“No. No. No. No.” Ryder’s sharp tone shocked Ember and she started wailing again. Careful not to smother her, Ryder shifted her small form and whispered to his daughter until she calmed again. “That could kill us both!”
“Let’s hear them out, brother. We are out of ideas and out of time. There are allies coming today but Storm needs to claim them. You know how it works. If sunset comes and she doesn’t claim them they could leave and be lost to us. We cannot hold them prisoner until she wakes up.” Lucian shifted Autumn carefully in his arms. “Besides, the wood sprites are waning and without their natural barriers we will be vulnerable. We need Storm to wake.”
Ryder fell silent. He contemplated the news and held his daughter closer. They needed more help. They needed Damarra and Roane. “Where are the Scots? They showed up last night, or was I imagining them?”
“They are healing, brother.” Lucian shook his head. “They were badly injured and only made it back here by the grace of the Gods. It seems a little fellow by the name of Credne found them and rescued them.”
“Credne? Is he here?” Ryder perked up. A God in their midst would make him far more comfortable with the Angels’ plan.
“No, he left again. He said Damarra and Roane have a plan and need his help.” Lucian half smiled. “If they succeed we will be joined by a legion of Gods and Goddesses.”
“Well, then let us hope he succeeds. We need Damarra and Roane, as much as I hate to admit it.” Ember began whimpering in his arms, making a sucking noise with her mouth. “Is she hungry?”
“What are you asking me for? How would I know?” Lucian shrugged awkwardly.
“You seem to be doing alright with Autumn, I figured you had this down already.” Ryder looked at his daughter, blindly seeking something with her mouth opening and closing desperately.
“Sophia showed me how to do this a few hours ago. I know nothing about babies beyond this little trick.” Lucian tilted his head toward the door. “Aren’t we supposed to get them into Storm anyway? Let Trin figure out what they need.”
Ryder shrugged. Fair enough. He was completely unused to being so distracted. There were too many things vying for his attention and the only place he wanted to be was next to his wife. But, then he stood here holding his daughter and that felt right too. He knew Storm would never let him live it down if the girls were not cared for adequately. But what did he know about babies? Ryder shifted Ember awkwardly in his arms and led Lucian back to the bedroom where Storm’s condition appeared unchanged though Trin continued to watch over her, absentmindedly stroking the auburn locks as if it would coax her niece to wakefulness. She did not even look up when they entered.
“Trin? I think the girls are hungry but I cannot be sure.” Ryder hated admitting to her of all people that he needed help.
“Of course they are hungry. Sophia fed them three or four hours ago. They are probably starving.” Trin still did not look up at him.
“What do we do?” Ryder wondered if she was toying with him now just to be obstinate. But when Trin Sullivan finally met his gaze, he noted the very real tears flowing down her cheeks. He did not realize she was capable of such things in her current state of being.
Trin wiped the tears from her face and backed of the bed. “Well, since Storm cannot nurse them we will need to continue with formula bottles. I know Angeline had stocked up, just in case. Lucian, I know Sophia is resting but do you think you could wake her?”
Lucian handed off Autumn to Trin who instantly began cooing and baby-talking. “Sure, she would want to be awake for all of this anyway.” Lucian slipped back out of the room as Ryder settled on the bed with Ember.
“The Angels want me to go into Storm’s head and bring her back.” It came out in a rush before Ryder could stop himself.
The cooing stopped. He could almost hear Trin’s head whip up to attention. “What did you say?”
Ryder smoothly reiterated himself. “Dan and Shane want me to go in after Storm and guide her back.”
“You can’t be serious.” Trin moved around Ryder so that he had to look at her. “That is too dangerous. You cannot try to go inside her. She could kill you both without realizing it. You could both get lost in her head.” Trin shook her head. “Any number of things could go wrong. We don’t know what caused this or even how to breach the wall around her mind. If she put it there then none of us can get through it, not even you.”
“I know that, Trin. That is why I do not want to try it. That is why the girls are in here instead of safe and sound in their nursery. Maybe this is what Storm needs.” Ryder was grateful that at least one person would back him in his refusal.
“You are going to have to try it, Ryder.” Shane’s voice rippled through the tension in the room. Ryder had not heard them enter but Dan and Shane stood just inside the bedroom door looking grim and determined.
“Not going to happen.” Trin stepped in front of Ryder. “I cannot allow this.”
“You cannot stop us Trin.” Dan chimed in, “It is the right thing to do, the only thing we have left to try. Ryder can reach her and bring her back.”
“We have to do this, Trin. There may be no other way. Others are arriving today and we need Storm to claim them. We cannot lose anybody else.” Shane pled their case. Ryder saw the logic but he could not get beyond the immense risk.
“What if she kills them both?” Trin’s shoulders slumped.
“She won’t.” Dan’s tone softened. “You know how strong their bond is, how intense their emotions run together. If it is the Unseen then it may be Storm’s only chance at escaping him.”
Trin turned to Ryder. “Are you really going to do this?”
Ryder grimaced under the weight of her glare. The war in his own mind ravaging the little will power he clung to. Looking from Ember to Storm, Ryder’s heart nearly shattered. “I do not think we have much choice. I think I have to.” He added in a whisper, “I cannot live without her, Trin. You know this.”
Several moments passed in an uneasy silence. Finally Trin handed Autumn to Dan and stalked toward the closet. “If you are going to do this then you are going to do it correctly. I will be back in thirty minutes. Do not do anything rash until I return.” She disappeared through the closet doors leaving Ryder and the two Angels staring at each other over two babies who broke into simultaneous wails.
“Make your preparations, I will do what I must to bring her back.” Ryder took Autumn from Dan, a babe in each arm, and dismissed them as he settled into the chair beside the bed.
Angeline
Crying. Somebody was crying. Why so loud? She blinked her eyes and tried to focus. “Where am I?” The words came out in harsh whispers.
“Ang, you are at Willow Wood. You are going to be okay. Jordan helped you pass out for a bit so we could move you without you feeling all of the pain.” Frederick’s voice sounded far away but she thought she felt his hand on hers. She still couldn’t focus her vision.
“It’s going to take you a minute to come out of it all the way, Angeline.” Jordan’s voice came from even further away. What an odd sensation.
“Who’s crying?” That she was not imagining. Somebody somewhere was wailing.
“The babes.” Frederick spoke, his voice a little closer now. “Lucian was going to get bottles for them so they should quiet down soon enough.”
“Are
they okay?” Angeline felt like she was swimming in mud, working to clear the sludge from her mind and focus on her surroundings. She must be in bed, an excellent improvement.
“Yes.” She wasn’t sure who spoke but it was a relief to hear that the babes survived.
“And the Emerald?”
“Rest, Angeline, just rest now. You need to recover.” Frederick was the one who responded this time, without a doubt.
“No more resting.” Angeline’s voice lacked the conviction she intended but she felt pretty certain she pulled off a decent glare because he actually sighed loudly and answered.
“She is in some sort of mystical coma and they can’t figure out a way to bring her out of it.” Frederick squeezed her hand. The gravity of his words sinking through her foggy mind like nothing else could. It set off adrenaline that helped her bring everything into focus, including Frederick’s face. He smiled down at her, the kind that reached his eyes. “Good to see you again.”
“I feel like hell.” Angeline tried to frown. Her voice still came out a whisper.
“I’ve seen you look better.” Frederick tried to disguise his concern with an overly chipper demeanor. “But we’ll get you fixed up in no time. Your jaw and ribs are already on the mend thanks to the witchling.”
“What exactly happened?” Angeline stretched her mind. She remembered Trin’s panicked ghost flying into the kitchen with word of the pending attacks. Dan and Shane, the shifters, Dorian and Gregoire and the entire contingent wasted no time. It was terrible, the worst she’d seen. But she couldn’t remember how she ended up buried under the wreckage. It was as if somebody blocked that from her mind. A witch? Had she been hexed? Then it came, rolling through her like a deadly steam train. Olivia. She knew about their world, about what Angeline did, about her destiny and she had been there at the hospital. Angeline closed her eyes forcing back what would surely become a waterfall of tears if she succumbed.
“Ang?” Frederick leaned in; she heard the chair creak but couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. “Angeline?”
“I remember.” She didn’t want to remember. She wanted to blot out that scene. “Jordan? Are you still here?”
“I am.” Footsteps on the floor boards prepared her for Jordan’s extra warm touch.
“Put me back to sleep.” Angeline exhaled loudly. “Permanently.”
The hand withdrew and with it the warmth. “I cannot do that.”
“You can. I know you can. I remember how I know you and I know what you can do. What you have done before.” Angeline tried to sound pleading but could muster no more than a whisper.
“No, I cannot. I will not.” Jordan backed away, humiliation and guilt heavy in his voice.
Angeline opened her eyes, “Please, Jordan. I want to see my sister again and you know this is the only way. You can bring me back when you are done.”
“No. Angeline it is not the way. I cannot guarantee anything and you are already too weak. If you know what happened before then you know the risks. I will not put you in jeopardy.” Jordan shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m sorry, what did I miss here?” Frederick squeezed her hand. “Angeline, what exactly are you asking Jordan to do here?”
“She wants me to end her life so her sister will come or her.” Jordan stalked across the room and fell into an armchair.
Frederick leapt to his feet. “Hell no! He is not doing that! Angeline, you cannot be serious!”
“I need to see her, I need to apologize. I didn’t want this for her, I –“ Angeline shut down. The idea of breaking down in front of Frederick and Jordan was unbearable.
“You knew this day would come, Angeline.” A new voice registered through her grief. Angeline blinked the tears away to find Trin Sullivan’s ghost floating just off the side of her bed. “I know you wished to prevent it but I have told you times innumerable that destinies cannot be avoided, altered yes but never avoided, luv. We all make choices, you know this as well as anyone, and we have to deal with the consequences of those choices.”
Angeline eyed her mentor warily. “Why are you here, Trin?”
“I wanted to check on you, luv. And, I brought somebody to see you.” Trin inclined her head toward the door. “I have other things to attend to now, but I will be back later. Take care of yourself, Angeline. We need you still.” Trin’s apparition disintegrated with a slight pop as the bedroom door swung open.
A bright white glow filled the room sending a single tear down Angeline’s cheek. Olivia seemed to float in, her hair trailing behind as if blown by a slight breeze. She looked lovely, her shimmering blue eyes acting as beacons of color in the midst of so much white. “Hello Ang.” The quality of her sister’s voice had changed so significantly that Angeline barely recognized it. Olivia stepped up to the foot of the bed and dampened her glow.
“Hi, Liv.” Angeline’s voice bled with emotion causing her to internally cringe. “I’m so sorry.”
“Do not be sorry. I am fulfilling my destiny.” Olivia looked so much older as if the weight and knowledge of her new station wiped her innocence completely.
“I tried, Liv, I really tried.” Angeline tilted her head to the side, catching a glimpse of Frederick out of the corner of her eye, his expression a mask of wonder and disbelief.
“Why? Why did you feel the need to try? It is my destiny and always has been. I feel more complete than I ever did as a mortal.” Olivia’s response was so full of conviction that Angeline almost believed her.
“But what about your life? Our family?” Angeline thought back to all of Olivia’s childhood dreams, the pictures that had strewn their walls and the refrigerator, the massive journal she’d kept of all the things she wanted to do.
“Now I have a different life.” Olivia walked around the side of the bed. “I am still permitted to see our family and now I can see you again. I’ve missed you, Ang.” She paused and settled on the bed. “Please let go of your guilt. I am happy and I finally feel whole.”
Angeline shed another tear as her sister’s cool hand stroked the hair from her bruised cheek. “I don’t know how, Liv.”
“Sure you do. Just shut it off. Look at how peaceful I am and be happy for me being chosen by the White Lady. Do not mourn the half-life I was living before.” Olivia leaned closer until Angeline was forced to look her in the eye. “You are being kind of stubborn about this, An-hell-ina.”
Angeline chuckled. “White Priestesses are not supposed to have a sense of humor.”
“Well, I am not just any White Priestess. Besides, the White Lady is quite funny once you get beyond the whole death and crossing over thing.” Olivia shrugged and smiled, looking almost like she used to. “I’m still in here, Angeline, just a little different.”
“Just a little different?” Angeline raised an eyebrow. She felt better though, like a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Olivia was alright with it. She was still Olivia, sort of.
“Like you can talk.” Olivia rolled her eyes, “Check out those ears of yours and the color of your eyes and your superhuman dexterity, please, stop me when we are even.” Olivia trailed off, her voice dripping in sarcasm.
“Fair enough.” Angeline missed this. She missed her sister. Maybe it was worth it after all. If she could just see Olivia it would be alright.
“I didn’t just come here for this stellar pep talk, Ang.” Olivia turned serious. “Trouble is coming and I am here to warn you. The White Lady sent me in her stead.”
“Whoa, really?” Frederick finally found his speech, though not the most eloquent reaction. “We have the blessing of the White Lady?”
Olivia’s head jerked up, her eyes trained on Frederick for the first time since she entered the room. “Of course, shifter, she has much and more invested in the coming battle. Why would she not help her kin?”
Frederick must have turned eight shades of red. He shifted uncomfortably and ultimately stumbled over his awkward apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I just can’t believe I am
in the middle of this massive, epic thing.”
“Our whole world will be involved before long.” Olivia tilted her head. “The Seraphs are about to try something foolish.”
“What?” Angeline didn’t like the sound of Olivia’s new voice. It had the eerie quality of death and lacked the warmth Angeline had been accustomed to.
“They are sending Ryder into Storm’s mind to retrieve her.” Olivia spoke matter of factly but the concern was evident in her eyes.
“No! They can’t do that! She could kill them both!” Angeline tried to sit up. Her voice seemed stronger but still lacking its usual power. She fell back in the pillows, a million scenarios running through her mind all at once. “How could they be so foolish?”
“They are desperate, Ang.” Frederick chimed in. “And you need to relax. What good are you like this?”
“Like what? I’m fine. Really, ready to fight some more.” Angeline scoffed though the pain in her ribs was starting to impede her breathing again. She wondered if they could hear the wheezing sound at the end of each sentence
Jordan emerged from the shadows, “Let’s go then, I could go for a little scrap.” He eyed her, challenging with his best swashbuckler’s grin, “What? Trouble getting up?”
“I’m just giving you a head start. Make your move, shifter.” Angeline narrowed her eyes and readied for the pounce. Jordan leapt into the air, shifted mid somersault, and landed in a ball of fur beside her. “A cat? Really? Are you going to give me fleas?” The kitten purred and rubbed against her arm sending warmth up her arm. A tiny kitten’s kiss flicked across her forearm before Jordan leapt off the bed and raced out the door. She involuntarily relaxed into the bed. “I hate when he does that.”
“It’s good for you, Ang. You aren’t going to heal if you get so worked up all the time.” Frederick leaned in. “Ryder will never do anything to harm Storm, you know that. But, I am not opposed to you and your sister intervening.”
Olivia settled on the bed beside her, the chill of her skin a stark contrast to Jordan’s warmth. “I think we should, Ang. We may be able to help.”
The Storm Sullivan Saga: The Emerald Seer Series Box Set Page 60