“She speaks the truth,” Rhun said, glancing toward that cone and the dark angel thrashing within that prison.
Before a plan could be made, the dark shadows of the mists fell upon them. Rhun was quickly separated from them. Compromised by his missing arm, he could barely keep the beasts from his throat, let alone return to their side. He soon vanished into the fog, but he still fought out there, revealing himself in flashes of silver.
Christian never let her go. He kept up a valiant fight, swinging his chain, clearing a space around them, holding the demonic horde at bay. But his strength began to ebb, as he reached the bottom of his reserves after battling so long beside Sophia.
His bad arm tightened around her, glancing toward that brilliance that imprisoned Lucifer. He swung the chain once more, striking a giant snake so hard that blood whipped from its body and spattered against the cone of light, burning away with a hiss.
Christian then shrugged off the heavy links from his shoulder.
Erin frowned. “What are you—?”
“It appears this can’t get done without sacrificing a Christian.” A smile flashed across his features. “I will miss you, Dr. Erin Granger.”
She understood.
No . . .
Christian wrapped his arms around her—and leaped high, using the last of his strength to hurtle over the nearest beasts. Together, they struck the barrier. His body burst to fiery ash around her as she fell through. She crashed safely inside, skidding on her hip, a sob trapped in her throat. The Blood Gospel slid up against her, as unharmed as she was.
She sat up, feeling strength returning to her, the black poison vanquished from her body by the passage through the light.
She stared beyond the barrier, watching all that was left of her funny, irreverent, and brave friend drift down in a rain of fiery embers.
Christian deserved better. He had sacrificed himself to get her into this cone of light. She intended to make sure that debt was paid in full.
She picked up the Blood Gospel and turned to face the prisoner.
Lucifer sat upon his throne, no longer fighting, staring down at her, plainly curious and possibly surprised at her presence.
She did not shrink from that black gaze. She had given her soul and her life to stand before him. And now she only had one thing left to give.
She lifted the book in her palms.
Only Eve could pick the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and only the daughter of Eve could bring that knowledge back to the serpent.
Lucifer’s lips moved, but no words came forth, only a sound like the peal of a great bell. Still, such a metaphor paled from the true beauty of that sound, the voice of an angel, the music of the spheres. The bell pealed again, bright and questioning.
He was speaking, but she could not understand him.
She raised the book higher, hoping he would understand, if not her words, then at least her actions.
“Here is the Gospel of Christ, written in His blood and hidden for many long years. My task is to bring it to you, to fulfill the covenant that you made with Eve long ago.”
That head cocked to the side, those flawless features unreadable.
Erin splayed open the book between her palms to show him. As the cover broke open, golden light washed forth. Even without looking, she knew those pages were full of glowing script, all written in Enochian.
Lucifer leaned down, then reached a massive hand toward her.
Erin wanted to run, but she held her ground.
Once those fingers were low enough, she closed the book and gently slipped the gospel into his blackened hands. He sat back again, taking the book with him. With one ebony finger he opened the cover, and that golden light shone even brighter, flaring with such majesty that it burned Erin’s eyes.
She had to look away, its glare more fearsome than a thousand eclipsing suns. Still, she felt that light burning through her skull, through her closed eyelids. For a moment, she felt shreds of understanding caught inside her mind: of the secrets of creation, of the movement of stars, of the hidden code of life. But those scraps fluttered through her, whirling away like leaves in a whirlwind. She tried to mentally grasp after them, to hold them, even though she knew such knowledge might destroy her.
So she weathered that storm, waiting for it to finally fade, which at last it did, accompanied by a heavy clanging that drew her gaze back up.
Lucifer still sat in his throne, but his chains lay at his feet.
He was free.
Still, that was not what drove her to her knees. His body was no longer black, but as white as polished marble, aglow with an inner fire that shone from his eyes as he stared upward, the gospel closed in his lap. The black of his sins had been cleansed from his body as surely as the poison had been from her flesh.
Lucifer had been redeemed.
His beauty and glory shone so brightly that the rest of the world seemed shadowy and insubstantial. The cone of light, the flaming pieces of the broken pyramid of fire had all vanished, consumed by the sacred brilliance.
Farther out, Erin could make out the dark lake, the gray mountains, and the blue sky. Even the bright wintry day was returning as the eclipse ended. Still, it all seemed distant, a dream of another world.
For a breath, that view shifted, filling in with a warmer light, melting winter into a summer of green grass, blue waters, and a blazing red sun. Off by the cliffs, two trees stood guard, their bowers thick with leaves, their branches heavy with ripened fruit.
Could this be the Garden of—?
Bells rang out again, impossible to ignore, pulling Erin’s gaze back to Lucifer. But these joyous peals rose not from the redeemed angel, but from the heavens above. The chorus was one of elation and welcome, inviting Lucifer to return. After all these years, they wanted him to come home.
Lucifer rose up, expanding his wings, feathered now with white flames.
With his gaze never leaving the promise of Heaven, he reached down to her and rested a finger atop her head. From that touch, a warmth suffused through her, filling her body from head to toe. Joy bubbled up inside her like a spring.
Then a drum thumped once in her ears—then again, quieter.
She recognized that rhythm, having heard it all her life.
It was her heartbeat.
She covered her face, a sob of happiness escaping her. Lucifer had brought her back. She had sacrificed her life for him, and he had returned it.
The bells pealed louder now, with a touch of insistency, a new urgency.
It was time for this bright angel to return to his rightful place.
Answering that call, Lucifer beat his great wings together and rose into the air, climbing to hover over the valley. He hung for a long instant, holding the book against his chest.
Then he looked down, perhaps for one last time.
His gaze swept the lake, its surface frozen solid again. Atop the lake and out across the valley floor, inky shapes crawled, slithered, and lurched, their very movements foreign to this world. They fled and scrambled, mewled and howled, knowing their way home had been closed forever.
Lucifer stared down, not with loathing, nor with pity. Instead, love shone from his body. He opened his mouth, and a dark note pealed out. The nearest creatures stopped in their tracks. Again that head cocked, staring below, perhaps pondering the great evil that such demons could unleash upon this world.
If Lucifer left, the earthly realm might yet be damned.
As if seeking the right answer, Lucifer opened the gospel once more, allowing that golden light to shine across the planes of his face. After a moment, a shine of certainty grew in his eyes, maybe even a trace of regret.
Lucifer glanced Heavenward one last time, then drifted on wings of fire back to the frozen lake, touching lightly down on the ice. Sensing what was coming, Erin retreated until she felt cold hands grasping her warm skin.
Rhun . . .
As another dark peal rang out from Lucifer, Rhun gathered her to his side.
Relief was writ large on his face. He knew that she was human again. Still, now was not the time for a reunion. Instead, he took her hand, and together they ran across the ice toward shore.
Demons and abominations of every ilk streamed past them, responding to the siren call of their master, rushing back to Lucifer’s side.
Erin spotted Jordan standing with Elizabeth at the shoreline. The lion came loping out onto the ice, gamboling around their legs, his every movement one of joy, urging them all together.
Erin needed no such urging.
She broke free of Rhun and ran toward Jordan.
He hobbled forward to meet her, one arm wrapped around his belly. “Careful there, lady,” he warned, but his smile was one of warm invitation.
She struck him without slowing and wrapped tightly to him, intending never to let him go.
But Rhun herded them off the lake. “Keep going,” he ordered. “As far from this lake as possible.”
They obeyed, climbing up to the shelter of those two ancient trees. Only then did they stop and turn around. Under that icy bower, Erin kept close to Jordan.
By now, the demons had gathered around Lucifer, shadowing the brightness of that angel.
Lucifer looked in her direction. Silver light beamed from his face, shining with peace and acceptance, clearly knowing what he was sacrificing by his next action. He lifted his wings high and batted them down. A blaze of light flared, blinding the eye—but not before Erin saw a dark hole open below the gathered horde and watched those shadows fall away—taking that shining star with them.
When the brilliance faded, the lake was empty, frozen over.
Tears streamed down Erin’s face.
“He chose to go back,” she said. “He could have ascended, but he went back to guard the demons, to keep everything safe.”
“Because you redeemed him.” Rhun touched his pectoral cross. “In the face of such glory, he chose to serve in Hell instead of Heaven.”
March 22, 10:42 A.M. CET
Vatican City
Two days after the events in Nepal, Elizabeth sat beside Tommy’s bed.
A Sanguinist guard had led her here and waited outside the door. It was a small concession in order to be allowed to see Tommy, to learn where the boy was being housed in Vatican City. She had intended to evaluate Tommy’s health and make her plans. And in the worst of cases, she knew she could easily overpower the lone guard and whisk Tommy away before anyone was the wiser.
Once here, she had found Tommy asleep, looking much sicker than she had ever imagined. His heart told a story of disease and weakness. His pale skin was only a few shades darker than the pillow on which he rested his head. And his arms, folded atop his blanket, were riddled with dark lesions.
I must do something quickly.
As if sensing her presence, the boy’s brown eyes opened, reminding her of a doe—round and innocent. He blinked, then rubbed his knuckles against his eyelids.
“Elizabeth? It’s really you?”
“Of course it is I!” Her words came out harsher than she had intended.
“I heard you were back.”
He struggled to sit, but she offered him no help, knowing how he prized his independence. Still, to hide her shock at his profound weakness, she reached behind him and adjusted his pillows to make sure he was well supported.
“I also heard you guys saved the world . . . again,” he said with a tired grin. “That you’re a hero among the Sanguinists.”
“I have never wanted to be considered a hero by the Sanguinists,” she answered.
He frowned. “But I thought you were one of them now.”
“I have taken their vows, yes.”
“Good.”
She stiffened. “Why is this good?”
“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug. “You can make friends with other Sanguinists. You won’t have to be alone all the time. You won’t even have to hunt.”
His concern for her touched her heart. “I have found another way.”
She told him what she had discovered in France—that there was another way to live outside the bounds of the Church, without falling prey to one’s own feral nature.
“But won’t the Sanguinists hunt you down if you try to leave?” he asked.
“They have been hunting me for many long years, but I am still here.”
He grew quiet, his hands fiddled with his quilt, and he would not meet her eyes.
“What is it?” she asked.
“When are you leaving?”
She had not finalized such plans and said so. “I’ve not decided as of yet.”
“Then will you at least stay . . . until I go?” He looked at the crucifix on the wall, the door, the window, everywhere but at her. “It won’t take long, I don’t think.”
“I will stay with you,” she promised. “Not to watch you die. But to help you to live.”
Tommy covered his neck with his hand, plainly knowing what she meant. “No.”
“No?”
“I don’t want to become a monster.”
“But you need not be a monster.” Apparently she had not made herself clear enough. “I told you about France, about the Himalayas, about another way.”
He shook his head violently. “I’m ready to die. I should have died in Masada with my parents.”
“There is always time to die,” she said. “It must not be so soon.”
“No,” he repeated, collapsing against the pillows. The effort of disagreeing with her had cost him much. “I don’t want to be immortal. I don’t want to live on blood or wine. I’ve seen that life, and I don’t want it.”
She touched his hand. It was warmer than hers, but colder than it should have been. She could take him. It would be easy. She was stronger. She had killed and changed more humans than she could count. Hundreds. But he would be the first that she killed out of love.
Tommy squeezed her hand. “Please, let me go.”
“You do not know of what you speak.”
“I do,” he said. “I watched Rasputin and Bernard and Rhun and the others. I know how they live. They’re not happy, and I wouldn’t be either.”
What did he know of happiness or of life? He was fourteen years old, and he’d spent two of those years dying of this disease. She could turn him. With time, he might forgive her, and even if he did not, he would still be alive. She could not bear the thought of him dying.
Those brown eyes stared into hers. They had seen much in their few short years, and yet they still reflected innocence and kindness. They were dark, like Rhun’s, but she had never seen simple happiness or innocence in Rhun’s eyes. Immortality had been thrust upon Rhun, too, and it had not suited him. He was not a killer. He had truly been meant to be a priest—someone who served others. Becoming a strigoi was a perversion of his nature.
Just as it would be a perversion of Tommy’s.
How can I force my will on him and pervert that innocence?
It would be a selfish act. She would be taking his soul to spare herself the grief of losing another child. She could not hurt him to spare herself. Not ever.
Tommy must have seen the change in her eyes, because he relaxed and smiled at her. “Thank you,” he whispered.
She looked away and blinked back tears. He would suffer, and he would die, and she would not save him. She rose from the chair, walked to the window, and faced the shutters so that he would not see her cry. She would bear up silently and stay with him until the end. She took a deep breath and reached inside herself for strength.
“Perhaps we should go outside, for a walk in the sunshine?” she suggested. She would help him enjoy the time he had left.
Before he could answer, a sharp rap sounded on the door. Without waiting for permission, Rhun burst inside, with the lion cub close on his heels.
“Forgive the intrusion.” He looked between Elizabeth and Tommy. “I heard that you were here, Sister Elizabeth, and I . . .”
She scowled at him, knowing what had d
rawn him here so brusquely. Rhun had feared she would turn the boy.
“I’m fine,” Tommy said.
She smiled down at his pale face. “This is the truth.”
The lion bounded past Rhun and jumped up onto the bed. His golden eyes locked on to Tommy’s, and the two stared at each other with rapt attention.
“Meet Rhun’s lion,” she said by way of introduction.
Tommy seemed deaf to her, lost in the beast’s gaze, as if they knew each other.
Rhun watched and whispered quietly, “The cub reacted in such a manner when he first met Jordan. I think it’s because of the angelic blood they once shared. All three of them carried the angelic essence of the Archangel Michael at one time or another.”
The cub leaned forward and rubbed his head against the boy’s cheek, breaking the spell and raising a bright laugh.
Her heart ached at the sound, knowing how much she would miss it.
Rhun crossed to the window and opened the shutters. Sunlight flooded the room, but it did not bother her as much as it had even a few days before.
The lion basked under that morning sun, stretching out next to Tommy. A low purr rumbled from that furry chest. The sound was full of love, contentment, and simple pleasures.
As she listened, Elizabeth felt a strange warmth pass through her and away, leaving her slightly swooning. She leaned against a bedpost until it passed.
Maybe I’m not as accustomed to sunlight as I imagined.
Tommy lifted a pale hand and stroked the cub’s snowy fur, a wistful smile on his lips.
If nothing else, it was good to see the boy happy. Even his heartbeat sounded stronger, his blood flowing more richly through his veins.
Then she stepped back in shock, staring at Tommy’s pale skin. “Your arm,” she said.
Tommy looked down, confused, then wearing a matching expression of surprise. “My lesions . . .”
“They’re gone,” Elizabeth said.
The lion raised his head at the commotion and drowsily opened his eyes. The snowy cub’s eyes were no longer golden. They were a simple brown, like Tommy’s own.
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