“What do you mean, rescue Aaron?” Reese asked. “Wait. That spirit board thing didn’t actually work, did it?
“You mean you haven’t told her yet?” The key clicked into place, and Marcus motioned the girls to enter. Azrael slipped in behind them and slinked into a dark corner of the living room. Arms over his chest, he rested his sullen gaze on Quinn. At least he was keeping his thoughts to himself.
“I was just getting to that.” Ignoring him, Quinn grabbed Reese’s hand and pulled her over to the couch. “You might want to sit down for this.”
Reese looked at Quinn and then at Marcus. “You’re joking, right?” She settled into the sofa and sighed. “Okay, I’m sitting. Go ahead.”
“Do you want to, or should I?” Marcus bounced on the balls of his feet.
“I think she’ll take it better from you.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, somebody tell me what’s going on.”
“My idea worked, Reese. Quinn contacted Aaron, and then these demons showed up.” Marcus waved his hands, acting out the whole scene for Reese’s benefit. Reese, ever the skeptic, stared at him and rolled her eyes, totally not buying it. “They possessed me.”
“Demons. Right. We just had two more friends die, and you want to make jokes. I’d rather be home alone than listen to this bull for one more second.”
Marcus squatted in front of Reese and took both her hands in his. “It’s true. I saw one of those demon things with my own eyes. It was nasty! All fangs and hair, and the smell! It was worse than that time the boys swim team had a farting contest in the back of the bus on the way to regionals. Nasty!”
“Stop it, Marcus. You’re scaring me.” Reese jerked away from him.
“You should be scared.” Marcus’s sober expression stopped Reese from heading for the door. “They’re the reason Jeff and Kerstin are dead, why Aaron is missing. I wouldn’t joke about that, I swear.”
“You’re both crazy,” Reese said, but she didn’t leave. Instead, she looked from Marcus to Quinn and back to Marcus, tapping her foot on the concrete. “Next, you’ll be telling me Quinn is some alien from the planet Zulu.”
“Or a teenager who can see angels and demons and was born to save humanity from ultimate darkness?” Marcus pounced at the opportunity.
Reese burst out laughing. “Good one. One Slayer born to kick a little vampire butt back through the Hellmouth.”
“Not vampires, demons. And it’s called the Underworld, not the Hellmouth.” Quinn waited for her friend to calm down. “I’m serious.”
“No.” Reese looked at Marcus. “Is she?”
Frustration welled up in Quinn. How could she make Reese believe her? It sounded so far-fetched. Maybe Caleb could explain, but why would Reese believe a boy she barely knew. No, there had to be another way.
Azrael. If Reese saw her Sentinel with her own eyes, she would have to believe. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? A minute ago, he’d been sulking in the corner, now he was nowhere to be seen.
“Azrael?” Although she could speak to him telepathically, Quinn chose to speak out loud so her friends could understand what she was doing. “Where are you? Show yourself. I command it.”
No need to shout. Azrael floated through the ceiling, landed softly beside them, and tucked his wings to his side. They cannot see me. Their sight does not resonate at the correct frequency. No matter how much you command, I cannot reveal myself.
“Where were you?” Quinn asked.
Patrolling the perimeter, as is my duty. You seemed too busy with this wearisome teenage chatter to be worried about demon attacks.
“Who are you talking to?” Reese looked around and shrugged.
“Azrael, he’s my Sentinel, my guardian angel. I commanded him to show himself to you, but he says he can’t.”
“Of course he can’t. Guardian angels can’t show themselves to just any old humans, only those destined to save the world. Everyone knows that.” Skepticism laced Reese’s voice, but Quinn wouldn’t give up on her plan.
“Give her a minute.” Marcus put his arm around Reese, and she snuggled into him.
“I’ll give you five, and then I’m out of here.” Reese pulled her cell phone from her pocket and began surfing.
“There must be a way. You have to tell me if there is a way.” Quinn pushed her will onto Azrael. She was his boss, not the other way around.
Don’t let your power go to your head. Pride comes before a fall. Light pulsed around Azrael, and he grimaced. She could feel his desire to resist, but her wish overruled his. Perhaps there is a way, but I don’t know if it will work.
“Tell me already.” Quinn wondered if she looked like some of those mentally ill patients she saw in New York, talking to imaginary people. Maybe they weren’t crazy after all. Maybe they were like her.
Encompass them within your barrier and use your energy to include them in what you see. If they are within your bubble, you might be able to influence their essences and let them see what you see. Use your energy to manipulate their perception, so to speak.
“And how am I to do that?”
Azrael shrugged. You are Eol Ananael, not me. I am doing what you asked: telling you what I think might work. Since I do not know for sure, I am putting forth a theory. In theory, it should work, but there is no guarantee. And for the record, I still don’t think this is a good idea. It is against the edicts of the Dominions. They will not be best pleased.
“I don’t care if the Dominions are best pleased. Am I Eol Ananael or not? Besides, you never think any of my ideas are a good idea.” She looked over to Reese and Marcus, explaining, “Azrael says there’s something that might work. Give me your hands.”
Marcus stood and took her right hand while Reese gave him a sidelong glance.
“Oh, come on.” Marcus grabbed Reese’s wrist, took her phone, and pulled her forward.
“Okay! I can give her my hand myself, thanks.” Reese jerked away from Marcus, and then held her arms out and nodded. Quinn stepped forward and took one hand while Marcus took the other.
“Will this hurt?” Reese asked.
“I don’t think so.” The circle complete, Quinn closed her eyes. As her essence brushed against theirs, she could feel the tension and skepticism in Reese like a block of ice against her energy. Marcus on the other hand, was so open that it was easy to push her bubble of protection out and around him.
“Dude. That’s awesome!” Marcus exclaimed a few seconds later.
“What? What’s awesome?” Reese asked.
“You should see him, Reese. He’s so … bright.”
Impatient frustration coursed down Reese’s arm and into Quinn’s. “Why can Marcus see him and not me?”
“Relax, Reese, or at least try to have an open mind. Like meditation. Focus on your breathing.”
“Do I have to chant or something? This feels so silly.”
“No, just … ” Just what? Quinn didn’t even know what she was doing. How was it so easy for her to influence Marcus and not her best friend? “Let me in. Think about something fun we shared, like when we went on that road trip to Magic Island.” It was working. She could feel Reese’s essence unwinding, and she heard Reese giggle at the memory. “That’s it.”
Reese gasped and let go of Quinn’s hand, and the bubble burst. “What the … Where did he go?”
“If you want to see him, keep holding my hand. It’s not easy for me to do this.” Reese joined the circle again, and Quinn concentrated on expanding her barrier to include them. Then she worked to tune their essences into Azrael’s frequency. It wasn’t as hard as she’d imagined. Instincts led her where she needed to go as she experimented with how to manipulate their desire to see Azrael into reality.
Within seconds, she sensed Azrael shimmering into focus. She let go of their hands and opened her eyes. They would only be able to see him when Quinn was near. The change she made to their essences depended on her being close. It was similar
to the way she pushed out her barrier to defend her mother from the demons. If they stepped out of the bubble, he would disappear.
“I can see him now! Oh, my God, Quinn, you weren’t lying. He is so beautiful.” Quinn remembered the first time she saw Azrael and wondered if her face had looked like Reese’s right then.
“I’m sorry, Quinn. We’re supposed to be best friends, but all this talk of ghosts and psychic powers, it spooked me, you know? I wanted to believe you, but couldn’t let myself. It was all too scary.” Reese and Quinn fell into a tangle of hugs and tears.
“No, I’m sorry. You were right when you said our relationship was nothing but lies and secrets and that I didn’t trust you. I was afraid you wouldn’t understand.”
“I wouldn’t listen. No wonder you kept secrets from me. God, Quinn, I’ve been so stupid. But I’m here now.” A flash of fear mixed with wonder rumbled through Reese’s essence. “Is he dangerous?”
“Only to demons.”
Azrael stood before them in all his glory, hands gripping the pommels of his swords, a hard look on his face. He did not like being her dancing monkey. He didn’t even try to hide his distain from her.
“Azrael, this is Reese and Marcus. Guys, this is my Sentinel, Azrael.”
“I know who they are.” Azrael pulled his sword from his scabbard and began picking dirt from beneath his nails with the tip. Reese and Marcus both backed away.
“Play nice, Az.”
“Don’t call me that, and maybe I will.”
“Ignore him. His bark is worse than his bite.”
Azrael snarled, and then grinned. Quinn rolled her eyes.
Reese circled Azrael, studying him as if examining a work of art. Quinn couldn’t blame her; he was an Adonis to look at, though his personality was completely lacking. Azrael ignored Reese like a cat ignored its owner, preening himself and looking smug.
“And you started seeing him after you drowned?” Reese asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how. Would you have known how to tell me something like this?”
Reese shook her head. “I guess not. So what does this have to do with Aaron?”
“Long story short? He’s trapped in the Underworld by Adam’s first wife, Lilith. She wants this box I found in exchange for Aaron.”
“A box that, when opened, will unleash the rest of Lilith’s horde into the human realm and rip the veil to pieces.” Azrael flexed his jaw, wings fluttering in agitation. “Lilith will no longer be trapped in the Underworld. You are being foolish and selfish. You would risk the lives of your friends, your family, their families, for the life of one boy?”
“I have until the eclipse to bring it to her or damn him for eternity.” Quinn didn’t know what the Underworld looked like, but she imagined it was a terrible place. She pictured Aaron alone and in pain, and her heart shattered all over again.
At the thought of his face, pain crackled through her body like a million volts of electricity running under her skin. “He’s here,” Quinn whispered. Although she couldn’t see him, the magnetic draw of his essence pulled her to him. She sensed his urgency pushing across from the Underworld.
“Don’t. You do not know what is contacting you.” Azrael took two giant steps toward her, intent on keeping her from Aaron. Quinn raised a hand, palm out, and directed all her focus at Azrael. “You will let me do this. Azrael, Sentinel of Arcadia, I bind you to my command and order you to hold your position.”
“You do not know what you are doing.” Azrael growled.
“I know exactly what I’m doing.” She didn’t need to think about it anymore. Accessing her power was as easy as breathing. Wish, and it will be.
Before Azrael could say another word, Quinn commanded him to be silent then slammed a barrier between them so he couldn’t follow her. He paced like a caged animal, repelled by the wall she put between them. Satisfied he wouldn’t be able to interfere, she dropped to her knees and projected her essence out of her body and into the astral plane, the seam where the fabric of the Underworld and her realm joined.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Time slowed, and then stopped. Reese and Marcus stood like carved statues, concern and fear etched on their faces as the world bleached of color. Hues of gray and black replaced the white walls of Marcus’s living room, and then Quinn stood between her realm and another, darker world.
Shadows bathed the astral plane, and the air smelled of a strange mix of sulfur and grass. A thousand fingers pinched at her heart. Gray smoke writhed in the corners, creeping closer, but Quinn held firm.
“Aaron,” she called to him. His essence was close; its familiar scent wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Breathing in, she savored the sweet, earthy smell, like a warm summer night.
Light rippled before her, and the shadows parted like a curtain. Aaron stumbled through, his bare chest heaving with exertion, and Quinn’s breath caught in her throat. Although their physical bodies remained anchored in other realms, here in the seam, on the astral plane, their essences appeared just as they would in the real world, as flesh and bone on a blank canvass. But this Aaron was more than just flesh and bone. Golden wings unfurled from his shoulders, each feather flickering like a flame from a candle. Quinn’s jaw dropped, and she gasped. An angel! He was an angel! How the hell did that happen?
“Quinn? Thank God.” Aaron spread his wings wide, fluttering them the way Azrael did when he was agitated. “Are you okay?” Only Aaron would be more concerned about her than he was for himself.
Quinn nodded. The awe of seeing him in his new form tied her tongue in a knot. Even Azrael paled in comparison, and she wondered what his feathers would feel like against her fingers. Would they be warm to the touch? She took a tentative step forward. Aaron moved to meet her, stopping just shy of touching. Heat radiated from his skin. Being close to him was like standing in the sun on a warm spring day, and she wanted to soak it all up before winter came to steal it away.
Aaron brushed back a matted strand of black hair, not meeting her gaze. Blood seeped from a gash above his eye, streaked his torso, dripped from an open wound on his side and down his left thigh. It was then she realized he was completely naked. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she snapped her eyes back to his face. How long had she been staring?
“Sorry,” he stammered, his face turning a deep shade of cranberry as he realized. A tip of a golden wing rushed to cover his exposed skin. “Give me a second to, um, dress.” With nothing but a wish, jeans wrapped around his legs and fastened around his waist. “There’s so much I need to tell you, I don’t know where to start.” Rubbing the back of his neck with a hand, Aaron glanced over his shoulder, brow furrowing. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” He blinked, but not before she recognized the tears threatening to fall.
“That wasn’t you at the river.” There was no need to explain—Aaron’s thoughts flowed into her own, their bond stronger than ever. “It was a trick?”
Aaron nodded.
“How could I have been so blind?” Now that the true Aaron stood in front of her, she could sense it. The difference in his essence and the one she’d met in the seam just hours before was like the difference between ice cream and frozen yogurt.
“Don’t blame yourself. She’s a master at manipulation.”
She cupped his cheek, examining the long scratch running from his ear to his chin. Sweat dripped from his thin body, and scratches covered his arms, highlighting the long scars that twined from his wrist to his elbow. A dark red ring circled his throat as if he’d been strangled, and his hair hung in matted strands around his dirt-streaked face, making him look older.
“And torture?”
Aaron shivered and looked away again, brow wrinkling into two faint worry lines. Hiding wasn’t an option anymore. On the astral plane, their connection exposed his emotions to her. Tears slid down her cheeks. His thoughts were open to her and hers to him, as if they were one being, and s
he caught glimpses of chains and demons and a dark-haired woman with silver eyes.
“Lilith.” Aaron shook his head and rubbed a thumb to his temple, banishing the vision from both their minds. His uncertainty beat against her essence like a thousand wings. She wanted to press him further but sensed he wanted to forget for a moment and feel safe in her arms, and she needed to respect his wishes as he would respect hers.
“Aaron, I’m so sorry, for everything.” The words tumbled from her like heavy boulders rolling off the side of a cliff, a load she’d been carrying for a long time. But even voicing her apology didn’t change the guilt that etched itself on her heart. She ran the back of her hand down his cheek and across his lips, drinking in the truth of what she’d done to him. A fate worse than death. Guilt and shame stabbed her heart. Aaron should have been the chosen one, not her. Courageous, loyal, selfless—everything she wasn’t. “If it hadn’t been for me, you … ” Quinn began, but Aaron shook his head and pressed a finger against her lips.
“Let’s forget all of that. We’re here now, together.” Though his words whispered of forgiveness, she sensed the sting of her betrayal buried not so deep within his essence. Trust was a fragile thing, and she had wounded him deeply.
“I’m not completely blameless for what happened, Quinn.” Aaron looked away.
“What do you mean?” Her heart contracted as the truth started to bleed from his essence into hers.
“I know now why I came back, why I didn’t die in the car accident, why my suicide was futile. Meeting you wasn’t chance.”
Quinn felt Aaron push a memory into her mind, and she saw the reality, all of it, as if she had witnessed it herself. Her hands flew to her mouth, and she backed away. No, it couldn’t be true. Aaron wasn’t just a boy. He had been a Sentinel. Not any Sentinel—hers.
“Everything that’s happened to you, the demon attacks, the nightmares, it’s all my fault. Or at least half mine, Kaemon’s half.” Aaron reached for her, but she swatted him away.
Pretty Dark Sacrifice Page 17