The leader of the Carabinieri was yelling now, directing his men in a semi-circle.
Cole, what’s the plan? Do something.
The Carabinieri officer gave the command and in unison, they cocked their guns. If it’s possible for a snake to smile, this one did, with all three mouths. With a quickness that almost made reality blur, the guns flew from the officers’ hands and spun around, now trained on the officers themselves.
Cole!
Gretchen was straining beside me, trying to turn even one of the guns, to save at least one innocent life. I was unable to do even that much.
“Now!” Richard yelled from beside me.
A volley of grenades came crashing through the skylight. The Demon stopped each, sending them in every direction—some blowing holes in the walls, others taking out half a dozen Carabinieri.
“Run!” Taren said, dragging me toward one of the openings now in the wall.
Grenade after grenade fell from the sky, none touching the Snake. I hesitated. How could this work? But Taren was pulling me and I was supposed to do what I was told...
It was then that I felt the bolt of power rip through me. Gretchen screamed and clutched her temples. She wasn’t strong enough to hold this much power; I broke the link and felt even more energy rush through me. I felt dizzy and struggled to remain on my feet.
The guns trained on what remained of the Italian police twisted and jerked in the air. Cole was wrestling with the Root for control of them. I clutched at Taren; used him to help me remain standing. He might not have understood exactly what was happening, but he knew enough not to try and get me to leave. Richard had no such compunction, scooping Gretchen in his arms and running to safety.
Struggling with the guns caused the Root to have less power to deflect the grenades. One ripped through the head on the right, causing the Snake to emit a high-pitched shriek. Blood and venom burst like a geyser from Its ruined head, spraying everything in sight. I felt my flesh sizzle and saw that both Taren and I had what looked like cigarette burns dotting our bare arms. Where it had hit our clothing, the fabric smoked, holes already forming.
Cole’s battle with the Root continued, the guns jerking wildly. A handful of the Carabinieri ran, but most struggled to control their guns themselves, while still others dragged away the wounded, some of them now missing limbs.
The grenades slowed and I was horrified to learn why. Male and female Guardians fell screaming to their deaths as the Snake threw them from the roof.
Sweat dripped down my forehead, between my breasts, down the backs of my legs. It was all I could do to hang on while Cole worked through me.
Run toward It.
Had I been capable of running I wouldn’t have done it, the burning of my arms a harsh reminder of another time, other burns. Not again. Never again. That time I hadn’t cared if I died. Not at the moment I’d jumped, anyway. I realized too late how badly I wanted to live. Whether luck or divine intervention, I had lived, and I didn’t know until that moment how unwilling I was to see if I’d get lucky a second time.
Go toward It; I’ll protect you.
“No!” I screamed aloud.
But then I was sliding, half-lifted off the floor. Caught off guard, Taren grabbed for me, only able to clutch my t-shirt. I twisted around, clawing desperately at him, the floor, anything to stop Cole from sacrificing me to the Demon.
What did It promise you? I screamed in my mind. Were you working with It the whole time?
Cole gave no reply.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why do I always make the stupid choice? I had been so sure Cole could be trusted. The one way to know I’m wrong is to be sure of something, I thought bitterly as I slid closer to the Snake. I tried to shut him out—to not let Cole use me as a conduit—but it was futile. He was firmly in control now, just as I’d let him be.
Taren slid his arms under my armpits and grasped his hands behind my neck. He’d managed to drag me backward a few feet, when Cole’s pull literally lifted the rest of my body off the floor. My spine stretched painfully and I screamed. Taren’s arms flew to his sides, releasing me, and I could tell by the shock on his face it wasn’t his doing. Before he could grab at me again, I slid along the rough stone floor until I was directly below the left head of the Snake.
Its head snapped down, as if noticing me for the first time. Its bifurcated tongue darted in and out of Its mouth and I shielded my face from the dangerous spittle falling down around me. Its eyes held a dangerous intelligence.
The guns clattered to the ground. Cole was no longer fighting the Demon, and It was now preoccupied with me. The center head remained fixed on the rest of the room, while the left descended slowly, until it was at a level with me and only a few feet away. I felt Cole’s power drain from me, until only the trickle that held me in place remained.
“Ember!”
Though held firmly in place, I could twist my head enough to see Taren struggling, yet unable to get to his feet. I hated that the last thing I would see would be the anguish on his face, but I wouldn’t turn away. Better for it to be the face of the man I loved, than the monster that was going to kill me.
I struggled uselessly, hoping against hope that I might once again rise to the occasion and somehow get out of this, but nothing came.
My gaze fixed on Taren, in my peripheral vision I saw the Snake’s head dart for me. Against my resolve, I squeezed my eyes shut at the last second...
Just as Cole burst through me like a rocket.
The rat-tat-tat of automatic gunfire ripped through the air. The odd sense of pressure that had kept me rooted to that spot on the floor left and I scrambled on unsteady hands and knees across the floor. Taren reached me by then and though out of the line of fire, backed up enough to not be hit by the dangerous spray of blood and venom that gushed from what remained of the center head like a geyser. We stared in awe as the weapons fired round after round into the Snake.
“It’s Cole!” I yelled, unsure whether he could hear me over the deafening gunfire. “It’s Cole.”
The Root Demon’s body twisted and jerked as It tried to retreat back into the demon dimension. Cole didn’t let up, ignoring the near-ruined remaining head and firing directly into the body of the Snake.
Hissing and shrieking It died, all three heads severed from the main body. They lay still, the one remaining intact eye no less terrifying now that it held no life behind it.
Taren helped me to my feet and with caution we approached the remains of the serpent. The remaining Carabinieri scrambled to pick up their guns, while what was left of the Italian Guardians poured in from the outside, weapons drawn.
Kat raced in, wielding a halberd—where had she gotten that?—her clothing in tatters.
“We were kept out,” Kat said, “by something.”
I didn’t ask Cole whether that something had been he or the Snake. It didn’t matter. We were alive because of Cole. I glanced at the bodies on the floor and thought with detached bitterness, most of us, anyway.
“A little chivalry?” Kat said to Taren, and he immediately removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“I meant for her,” she said, pointing to me. “You know I have no shame.”
I looked down and realized that my t-shirt was now more holes than shirt. Taren blushed and quickly pulled off his shirt and handed it to me, which I gratefully accepted.
“Attenzione!” yelled one of the Carabinieri, his attention and weapon pointed at the body of the Snake.
For a moment I didn’t know what he was looking at, but then I saw it.
Something writhed beneath the surface.
Cole, what’s—?
Before he could answer, assuming he had one, the belly of the Snake split open, and hundreds of smaller snakes slithered furiously from their encasement.
The room erupted in chaos, Guards and Carabinieri alike firing, striking, and stomping on the snakes. Cole did his best to work through me and kill as many as he could, flinging t
heir wriggling bodies this way and that, but he was spent; his remaining power but a shadow of what he was capable of.
Minutes later, the floor was littered with the bloodied bodies of dead snakes.
“How many got away?” Kat asked, kicking the body of the nearest one.
“Too many,” Taren said, his face grim.
“Are there any Guards left in the towers to stop them?” I said.
“A few,” Taren said. “We pulled most of them to the roof of the Gateway for the grenades.”
Taren knelt down, inspecting one of the snakes. Its body was still intact, making it one of the ones Cole had killed by slamming it into a wall.
“That was a good idea,” I said, looking away. I never wanted to see another snake as long as I lived.
“You were amazing,” he said, dropping the snake to the floor. He wiped his hands on his jeans and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I mean it, Em. You... we’d all be dead without you.”
I stared at my shoes. How to make him understand? It hadn’t been me at all. And it proved my point as to why we had to free Cole and his people from the demon world. We needed them. Seven more Gateways, all growing weaker. Seven more, and Cole wouldn’t be able to reach me at any but this one; I had sensed his power grow stronger as I got closer to the Gate. If their world was a mirror to this one, this was the Gateway we needed to rescue them from.
Cole? A little help please?
Though I probably didn’t need to with Cole’s power behind me, I placed my hand on Taren’s cheek. I felt the events of the past few hours pass from me to Taren. All but the part about Cole using me as bait, which was a smart omission on his part; Taren would never forgive that. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I did, but I could concede it might have been necessary. His eyes widened in surprise, and when the transfer was complete, he took my hand and pressed his lips to my palm.
“It’s gonna be OK. We’ll figure this out,” he said, in a way that made me almost believe him.
34
Unlike their counterparts in Los Angeles, the Italian Elders followed protocol, retreating to a secure bunker once the breach had taken place. Now with the danger passed, they swept into the Gateway chamber, surrounded by a dozen Guardians.
Initial casualty reports were in, and whether because I hadn’t known any of the dead, or because I was learning to accept the loss of soldiers in battle, I listened with a stoicism that for once wasn’t forced. As the names were read, an alternate, more troubling explanation came to mind: there would be a lot more dead before this war was over.
Richard had gotten Gretchen to safety, and now she worked to pull the pieces of the Gateway back together. She might have been limited to levitating lighter objects in training, but when it came to the Gateway, our strength increased exponentially. Master Dogan surmised it was because it had been made from us; literally infused with the essence of our ancestors. In any case, she didn’t need my help, which was a good thing because huddled in a corner, wrapped in a blanket, I was unable to channel at all. It felt as though a wall stood between me and my abilities. Even the demon dimension had an access point, how could my powers be any different?
Master Dogan was busy performing Retrievals. Way too many Keepers had been pulled to the other side during the breach. They were lucky to have someone as skilled as he to help them get out.
Guardians ringed the opening of the Gateway, ready to cut down anything that came through, but all was quiet, leading us to believe that the demons who passed through had done so at the direction of the now deceased Root. Two down, I thought for the hundredth time. Seven to go.
The Elders were busy dealing with the Carabinieri. I wondered what excuse they would come up with to explain this away. The way the surviving police looked: dazed, confused, even lost, it was easy to believe they’d latch onto anything that even remotely made sense.
With the Elders preoccupied, Kat, Taren and I were free to simply sit, trying to absorb all that had happened.
“Will she be able to lock it?” Kat asked, watching Gretchen as she reformed the Gate.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “It’s pretty damaged. Cole is strong enough, though. He just needs some time to recover.”
And get here, I thought. That had been the plan I’d come up with in the past hour. He was mobilizing his people, racing toward the Gateway. They were a full two days march from the Gate, which meant I had that long to convince the Elders to let them through. The Gateway was already open and Cole had certainly proven himself loyal to our cause; surely they would see reason.
If I could get just Master Dogan on my side, my argument would bear more weight with the Elders. How much, I wasn’t sure, given the “honored guest” card they liked to play, but it had to help. Whatever protocol dictated, they had to see reason. It wasn’t just that allowing the Daemons trapped on the other side safe passage was the right thing to do; we needed to do it. Needed their abilities, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit, I needed to not be the only one responsible for saving the world. Especially now, when I wasn’t even remotely capable of it.
The Elders must have sorted things out with the Carabinieri, because they began filing out of the Gateway chamber. The glances the Elders cast in my direction while they murmured amongst themselves were uneasy at best. They were happy to have my help, but not necessarily happy to have to deal with the implications I presented. Would I snap? Use my powers for evil instead of good? It was one thing for them to be told what I was capable of, quite another to witness its aftermath. They didn’t know it had been Cole doing the work; as far as they were concerned I could have killed everyone in the room if I’d had a mind to.
“Another debriefing?” I said under my breath. I wanted to do another one of those about as much as I wanted to see a snake.
“Afraid so,” Taren said with a sympathetic smile.
“I say you take Dogan’s advice and tell them to bugger off,” Kat said, not nearly as quietly.
Nicholas looked up from their huddle, his sharp eyes zeroing in on Kat. She responded by sticking out her tongue.
“Seriously, Kat?” Taren said, irritated.
“What?” she said, turning back toward us. “Half of those Elders are former Guardians. When they busted through our Gate, Annys and the others were right there, in the thick of the battle. Where were they? Hiding in a room.”
Neither Taren nor I could argue the point, so we remained silent.
Any minute the Elders would be rounding us up, insisting we go over our every move. I stood, taking the opportunity to check in with Gretchen while I had the chance.
I stepped closer to the center of the room where she was working and was surprised to see how far she’d gotten already.
“Wow, I said, eying the tiles. All but three were in place. “Impressive.”
She smiled, but didn’t look up. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Taren or Gretchen, about Cole racing toward the Gateway. I had no illusions that either would be very receptive to the idea. Gretchen knew first hand how easy it was to be fooled by a powerful demon, and Taren would likely insist on even more vetting than the Elders would. They each had a right to their fears; I was certainly afraid. I’d had more time to realize that this was what we needed to do, however, and was willing to take the risk.
Taren came up behind me and placed his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, hypnotized for a time by the tiles sliding slowly across the floor. The hole became smaller; only two tiles were left to place. Nine of the strongest Keepers stood in a semi-circle, ready to take over as soon as Gretchen was finished. She and I would be called upon heavily to keep the Gateway closed until the time came when Cole would reseal it. Two days...
“I can do it,” Gretchen said excitedly. Her eyes were still focused on the tiles, but her smile was broad. “I can lock it.”
“Mom, that’s great,” Taren said, at the same time I said, “How do you know?”
“I just feel it,” she said. “The pieces still fit together p
erfectly; all the breaks are clean. I can do it.”
Before Cole could speak, I felt his anxiety growing in the corner of my mind.
It doesn’t matter; I will still come for you. I promise.
They won’t let you. Once they know what you want, do you think they’ll let you near this Gateway? You’ve destroyed their Root—you’re lucky if they allow you to stay the night knowing what you can do.
Tears welled in my eyes because he was right. Deep in my gut I knew he spoke the awful truth. And I knew what I had to do.
“It’s over,” Taren said softly, stroking my hair. “You’re safe.”
Ain’t no such thing.
I couldn’t even look at him, instead whispering into his ear when I said, “Please forgive me.”
Before he could speak, I spun from his arms and bolted toward the small section of the Gateway still open. Gretchen blinked in surprise, her concentration broken, and the tiles stopped moving.
“Ember, no!” Taren’s anguished cry cut me more deeply than one of his daggers ever could.
Three more steps, two more, one...
And then I was airborne, leaping with arms crossed tightly to my chest like a child braving the high dive.
The charged air of the Chasm rushed by me, turning to acrid smoke as I fell deeper and deeper into the demon dimension.
Taren’s cries chased me most of the way down. The small shaft of light shining from above became ever smaller until finally it disappeared, the Gateway closing, leaving me in utter darkness, the only sound that of the howling wind.
I landed hard, though not as hard as I would have had Cole not broken my fall. My right leg buckled beneath me, twisting painfully. I stifled a scream just before it ripped from my lungs.
From off in the distance came a beastly cry, and my blood froze.
The demons were coming.
End Book 2 in the gateway trilogy
Tether: Book 3 in The Gateway Trilogy
The Gateway Trilogy: Complete Series: (Books 1-3) Page 38