The Angel

by Blaire Hammond

  There was a sound of boots crunching through ash and gravel, and Mitch appeared before her.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, his deep voice quiet and calm. Testing to see if she was okay.

  Gemma didn’t reply. Only reached out and hugged him, resting her head against his shoulder. His arms came up around her, strong and firm as they hugged her to him. They’d all been through so much. It was surreal to think after everything, they’d won.

  At least – for the time being. Erebus was still out there, and he had Laura’s power. Who knew what he was planning.

  ‘How’s your parents?’ Gemma asked after a minute.

  Mitch’s parent’s had arrived an hour after the battle with the news that the rest of Lastrala was back in their control.

  ‘They’re fine. In shock like the rest of us, but they’re okay.’

  Gemma nodded into his shoulder. ‘Good.’

  They stayed there, hugging among the dirt, debris and dead, for what could have been hours. Gemma knew it would be a long time before she came to terms with the things that had happened – the things she’d seen and done. But, for the moment, she could allow herself the time to appreciate being alive.

  ‘We should head back. Stella actually sent me out here to get you,’ Mitch said softly.

  Gemma lifted her head and gazed up at the man that had come to mean so much to her. He smiled ever so slightly down at her, and she kissed him without hesitation.

  ‘Okay. Now let’s go,’ she said as she pulled back.

  He laughed a little, taking her hand and walking beside her as they tried their best to look past the evidence of the fight.

  ‘What do you think happens now?’ Mitch asked her.

  Gemma peered down the street to where Stella and Leo were talking with a group of Enchanted. She squinted for a moment, then realised that they weren’t just any Enchanted. They were the members of the Grand court.

  ‘I guess we start to rebuild,’ Gemma replied, nodding towards their people’s leaders.

  Mitch followed her gaze. ‘There are only five.’

  Gemma counted the Grand Court Members, and realised he was right.

  ‘I guess we weren’t the only ones to lose people in the battle,’ Gemma responded grimly.

  Mitch squeezed her fingers. ‘Come on. Let’s find out what’s going on.’

  ~

  Logan stood beside Grace, listening to the Grand Court Members as they told them of how the Wicked had invaded the island where all those who couldn’t fight had been kept hidden. They explained that Wizard Markus Kalidi died in battle defending them, taking their Grand Court numbers down to five.

  Then, Logan stared in awe as they told them of how a group of Wicked arrived just in time to come to their defence, driving back the evil Wicked and killing them all. No one had known what to do. They’d heard little of Creshan and how he’d turned Wicked against Erebus, so the whole event had taken them by surprise.

  ‘We have confirmation from the Emperor of the God’s, Marries himself, that the Wicked aren’t who we’ve always believed them to be,’ Stella said quietly once the Grand Court Members finished relaying their story.

  Miraculously, Markus was the only death they had on their side, which had been an enormous relief, especially for Stella, whose parents were still there.

  ‘You’re sure? How could they simply stop being murderous killers?’ One of the Witches asked.

  ‘Because they never were murderous killers to begin with,’ Grace cut in. ‘We just painted them as that because they had the red lightning within them like Erebus. But it’s not the colour of our lightning that defines us, as we’ve always thought. It’s our souls.’

  ‘But the God’s perform very special ceremonies, looking into our souls to determine whether we’re good or evil,’ one of the Wizards countered.

  Leo shook his head. ‘We thought that, but no. All they were ever doing was releasing our lightning. The colour of our lightning and Identity Mark then determined who we were, not what the God’s saw in our souls.’

  ‘That makes no sense,’ the Wizard countered. ‘Why would the God’s tell us they look into our souls to see if we’re good or not then?’

  ‘Because they do look into our souls. They do see what’s really within us. But the power they unlock does not reflect that. A Wizard has blue lightning, a Witch purple, a Warlock green. Why would the Wicked have one colour simply because they are evil when we have three separate colours that define what kind of Enchanted we are? What if all along, Red was just another colour for another different kind of Enchanted?’ Stella responded.

  ‘Then how are we meant to know who’s really good at heart and who’s not?’ A different Witch from the Grand Court asked.

  ‘We don’t,’ Leo replied simply. ‘We never really know. I mean, look at Mr Stark. At James. At how easily they were able to betray and hurt us. They were Enchanted. And look at the Wicked who turned around and fought for us!’

  ‘But we’ve always known that people could change sides… There’s a whole ceremony for it,’ the Wizard from before said.

  ‘I can’t answer that, but my guess is that it’s easy to grant someone a different coloured lightning. Look, there is much we ourselves don’t know. The Wicked have always been allied with the Devils, us the Gods. They’ve always had the Gold identity mark and been affected by our silver weapons, and us the opposite. We still have a lot we don’t understand, but right now, I truly believe that things need to change. I think the Wicked were forced to become who they are because we pushed them away, we shunned them from our society. I think, if we don’t want another war on our hands, then we need to give them a chance,’ Leo replied, clearly growing frustrated. ‘Not only for our sake, but for the Humans. We’re meant to protect them. Our sacred oath is to ensure their safety. They come first. And if finding a way to work with the Wicked is how we can make sure they’re safe, then I say let’s do it.’

  The Wizards and Witches of the Grand Court looked partly fearful, but Logan saw agreement in their faces. He knew Leo had struck a chord.

  One of the Witches inclined her head. ‘Very well. Something to discuss in future once we have everything back on track. For the time being, they can help clear the mess. We’ve received word that Elixir is back in our control.’

  ‘All except Alast,’ the Wizard added.

  ‘If we can form teams and begin setting the countries right again, we can then organise a final army to infiltrate Alast and rescue it,’ the Witch continued.

  Stella nodded. ‘We believe Erebus is hiding out there. We’d like to be a part of that army.’

  ‘And us,’ Grace said quickly, shoving her shoulder length black hair back from her face and glancing at Mitch, Gemma, Drew, Oscar, Caspian and lastly Logan.

  Logan gave her a firm nod. He would finish Erebus, they all would, for Laura.

  Stella and Leo glanced at one another, then nodded as well. ‘Yes, we would all like to go.’

  ‘Very well,’ the Witch said, her silver hair falling into her face. She looked much different in her battle gear, just as bloodied and dirty as them. ‘We’ll gather who we can and send you to Alast.’

  ‘We’ve heard the Mariadies came to our aid in the battle,’ the other Wizard said, his voice calm and regal as his deep blue eyes turned to Stella. ‘Also some rather powerful beings and strange creatures.’

  Stella nodded. ‘Yes. But before we take you to meet their leaders, we must warn you. They are to be treated with respect. The Mariadies did not have to join us in this fight. They chose to, despite all we’ve done to them. The same goes for the Casters and the Creatures. Both know you could use them for their abilities and still they risked discovery to help us. They deserve our protection.’

  Logan wanted to grin, but held it in. Stella did always jump right to the point.

  The five Grand Court Members glanced between one another.

  ‘Of course,’ one of the Witches said. ‘They did much for us. We acknowledge that we could
n’t have won without them. We will forever be in their debt.’

  ‘Good,’ Stella said, brushing her white-blond hair from her eyes.

  She and Leo turned, gesturing to the Grand Court Members to follow them. The rest of the group stayed, however, standing in their little semicircle.

  ‘Do you think we’ll be able to kill Erebus?’ Caspian asked quietly as they stared after their mentors.

  Logan felt something deep within him shift. Almost as if it were a warning.

  ‘I think we have to try. Laura would want us to,’ Drew replied.

  ‘Agreed,’ Logan said.

  He felt Grace stiffen a little beside him, and he knew she was worried. They all were. The battle wasn’t yet over for them after all. Would they all survive? Logan could only hope so.

  ~

  Laura was forced to experience the grin on Erebus’s face as he took his place upon the newly built throne in the old Grand Court’s hall. He watched as the Wicked filed into the building, taking their places before him, weapons at the ready.

  Laura could feel her power swelling within her body, begging to be used. She could sense Erebus’s anticipation. His excitement. And that ever present well of anger and darkness that always stirred in his soul.

  The boundaries were set. The Wicked were in place. Laura knew the Enchanted would come. Alast was the only country left that they had yet to reclaim. Alast was the home of the Enchanted. They would come for it. And when they did, she feared Erebus would kill them.

  But she had a plan. In the back of her mind, she knew what she had to do. She’d known probably since the moment she’d found out Erebus wanted to use her. Since the second she realised that, residing within her, was a power unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. She had always known in her heart and soul what would happen. And she was ready for it.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  This Is It

  Mitch watched on as the sky slowly faded from black to gold, the sunlight returning through the darkness that had ensued during the night. Grace and Logan sat to his left, Gemma to his right, and they relished the feel of the sun against their skin for what could very well be the last possible time.

  They were comfortable in the grass, perched at the top of a little cliff that looked out over the beach and ocean, just east of the docks. They each sat with their feet dangling over the edge of the cliff, feeling the slight breeze on their faces.

  It had been a long night, and after the Grand Court Members had assembled with the Casters and the Creatures, thanking them and the Mariadies for their service, a meeting had been called to announce all those who had volunteered to join the army going to Alast.

  Loki, Megan and Obverse were all intent on entering the fight with their own people behind them. General Lain had decided to lead a group of Enchanted. The group included Stella and Leo and their students, along with Mitch and Oscar as well as a number of other Enchanted. Lastly, Creshan would be entering with an army of Wicked alongside him. They would be leaving in an hour, as soon as a portal had been established.

  Stella and Leo were with the other leaders and the Grand Court Members, calling on the Gods. After they’d defeated the Devils, sending them rushing back down into the cracks in the ground, they’d left themselves, taking Terian’s body with them. It was discovered that only two God’s had been killed in the battle, and six Devils. It was a huge blow, and the Gods were morning their losses. Still, it showed the extent of their power for them to have lost so little of their people. Even for the Devils, in only losing six.

  Mitch hated himself for thinking that. Only. Dead was dead. Only didn’t matter. No one should have died. He didn’t exactly like the Devils, but if everyone had kept to themselves then no one would’ve had to die. Mitch knew that it had been inevitable though. The Wicked had been miss treated. They wanted better. If the roles had have been reversed, Mitch was sure he would have done the same thing.

  Gemma leaned into his side as the sun rose higher into the sky. He reached an arm around her, drawing her closer to him. He didn’t like thinking of the possibility of losing her when they went to Alast. It felt like he’d only just found her. But he knew they had to go. For Laura. For the Humans. For Elixir. It had to be done – Erebus had to be stopped so nothing like the war just passed could happen again.

  But just because he knew it was the right thing to do, didn’t mean he had to like it. He had already lost Robin. He’d probably lost friends and other family in the war that he didn’t yet know about. It sickened him to even consider that possibility – however he knew it was true. So he couldn’t lose Gemma too. He didn’t want to face a tomorrow without her.

  ‘What are you thinking about?’ Gemma asked him.

  He peered down at her beautiful face, her dark skin glowing under the sunlight. She smiled briefly up at him, awaiting his answer.

  ‘Just how much I love you,’ he said.

  Gemma rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘Oh no. I haven’t turned you into a big old softy have I?’

  Mitch laughed too. It was true, he supposed. He’d once been stern, a man who followed the rules. All that had changed when he had met Gemma and her friends.

  ‘Ugh. Get a room you guys,’ Grace said. ‘We’re trying to enjoy the view.’

  ‘Hey, you made me listen to all those times you wanted to talk about Logan,’ Gemma returned. ‘Oh, I love him. Oh he’s so cute, isn’t he? Oh just look at him flex those muscles. He’s so talented. He’s so dreamy.’

  Mitch snorted back a laugh as Gemma peered down the line at a blushing Grace and a grinning Logan.

  ‘You think I’m dreamy?’ Logan asked, gazing at Grace.

  ‘Oh shut up,’ Grace muttered, pushing her black hair behind her ears.

  Logan chuckled then pressed a kiss to her cheek. ‘I think you’re dreamy too.’

  ‘Ugh. Get a room,’ Gemma muttered, a smile on her lips.

  Mitch couldn’t help but laugh again. Then, his stare shifted to the young man standing on the beach, his shoes sunken in the said, the water lapping up around his ankles. Gemma followed his line of sight, then Grace and Logan too.

  ‘Do you think he’ll be okay?’ Logan asked.

  ‘Not for a long while,’ Grace replied sadly. ‘We just have to be there for him. And not let him push us away like he did when we lost our parents.’

  ‘It’s still going to be hard. Facing Erebus when he’s…’ Gemma trailed off, and Mitch knew what she was going to say.

  ‘When he’s in Laura’s body,’ Mitch finished for her, glancing away from Drew.

  Seeing how it was affecting his friend hurt. Knowing he could so easily lose Gemma and be feeling as Drew was, was an even worse pain. He’d already endured it once with Robin. Watching on as Erebus used his cousin’s face and body to do his bidding had been a horrific kind of torture. He couldn’t experience it all again.

  ‘We’ll try and make sure he doesn’t have to face him alone,’ Grace said firmly.

  ‘Agreed,’ Logan added, pushing his mop of dark hair from his face.

  Mitch and Gemma nodded too.

  They would make sure to be there for Drew. But first, they would honour Laura by destroying Erebus.

  ~

  Oscar and Caspian stood at the edge of the wharf, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun against their skin. Caspian hazel eyes, however, were glued to Drew, who was alone on the beach. He’d asked to be alone, but Gemma, Mitch, Grace and Logan had made sure to sit close by so they could keep an eye on him.

  Oscar knew Caspian was hurting for his friend. Oscar hated seeing his new friend in such pain too. But Drew was Caspian’s best friend. They’d been there for each other for a long time. When Drew had been hurting, Caspian had been the only person he would go to. When Caspian had been hurting, Drew had been the only one he wanted to talk to.

  Caspian had told him about how they had always had their secrets. Caspian’s sickness and Drew’s revenge plan. But despite that, they had always been best friends. So for C
aspian to see his friend hurting, and to be forced to acknowledge that he couldn’t do a thing, well, it was an incredibly helpless feeling.

  Oscar in turn wanted to help Caspian. He also knew Caspian had loved Laura like a little sister. They’d grown close quickly, for they’d both been blind to the Spirit World before losing their parents. It was a commonality that none of the other Corin Manor Residents shared, so of course it had brought them together.

  Caspian didn’t really talk about his time before his parents died, and Oscar understood. He didn’t push him to talk. He knew Caspian would tell him when he was ready. But it helped to know that he’d had Laura. The fact that he didn’t anymore… Oscar didn’t really know how he could be there for Caspian in Laura’s absence.

  While he knew he could never replace Laura, he also recognised the fact that he could be a shoulder for Caspian to cry on – an ear to listen. He might not have known quite how to help him, but he would still be there as best he could.

  ‘It’s a nice morning,’ Caspian said, turning away from Drew and peering out at the water.

  Oscar stepped up beside him. ‘It is.’

  ‘How are you doing after last night?’

  ‘I should be asking you that,’ Oscar responded.

  Caspian shrugged, turning his face to the ground where he toed at a loose nail.

  Oscar stepped a little closer. ‘You can talk to me, you know. I meant it when I said I liked you. I want to be there for you – whenever you need.’

  The corner of Caspian’s mouth twitched, and his eyes flickered to Oscar’s. To Oscar’s surprise, Caspian reached out and took his hand. Oscar glanced down at their entwined fingers, a small smile of his own growing on his lips.

  ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,’ Caspian said out of the blue.

  ‘What are you-’

  ‘Seriously. You have no idea how you’ve changed everything for me. I’ve never met anyone I’ve connected with so easily. I’ve had friends, but never anything like this. I just want you to know that you really have made a difference in my life, and I hope that once this is over we can maybe go on a real date. Or something.’