Shadow Light (Beautiful Beings #3)

by Kailin Gow

  “I can barely inhale, the smell of sulfur and ashes is so great,” Asher commented as he turned away from the stench.

  Before I could turn to question Brax about what he knew of this portal, he threw himself onto his knees and raised his fists into the air as a plaintive cry echoed out onto the empty playing field.

  I felt his crumbling soul; felt I was losing him. As weakened as he’d become these past weeks, he now seemed on the verge of losing whatever remained of his control.

  “Brax,” I said as I set my hand to his trembling shoulder.

  He was beside himself with grief, with loss, before he’d even lost the fight entirely. He was giving up, I could feel it.

  “You can’t stay here, Brax.”

  Looking up at me, his eyes were bereft of all emotion; empty; a deep void.

  “You have to leave San Francisco before it’s too late. You must leave until we’re able to close the portal.”

  His eyes remained glazed and confused.

  “Do you understand me, Brax? Do you hear me? You have to leave.”

  “No,” he muttered softly. “I can’t. There’s so much to do. I have you to protect. Don’t make me go.”

  “You don’t understand. It’s too dangerous for you here. You can’t stay this close to the portal. The hold it has over you is getting stronger and stronger. You have to get away.”

  “What about you? You can’t stay.”

  “It doesn’t have the same pull on me that it has on you. You're vulnerable. You know you are. You feel it, don’t you? Just now?”

  As though suddenly feeling weak, he stood, pulled back his shoulders and gazed down at me. “I can still fight it. I may have allowed myself a temporary moment of weakness, but I still have some fight left in me, Lux.”

  “Please, Brax. Don’t fight me on this. If you remain here you’ll only make it harder for us to fight the demonic forces of this portal. I’ll be too preoccupied with your safety. You should go to Europe.”

  “No. I don’t want to go back there.”

  “Then maybe go to New York, or anywhere on the East coast. Just get out of San Francisco; out of California.”

  Despite his desire to remain strong and argue with me, I saw him crumble to the ground again.”

  “The pull is unbelievable. I never thought it could be like this. I thought I was so strong. I thought I could fight this, no matter what. How am I going to manage out East without you?”

  “You’ll do fine.” I helped him back up and led him away from the portal.

  Several yards away he was finally able to straighten up and walk on his own. “I hate that I can’t deal with this on my own.”

  “I know, but this is what’s best for all of us. Please. This is the only way we’ll be able to close the portal and beat them.”

  “I hate the thought of leaving you completely alone.”

  “I won’t be alone, Brax. Asher and Moore are here with me.”

  “That’s even worse.” His eyes softened and his lips parted. “Come with me, Lux. Leave all this demon slaying business to Asher and Moore and come away with me. We could both escape all of this and…”

  “There’s no more time to waste, Brax. Go! Now!” I tried to bring a sense of urgency to my words. I wanted to shake him out of this lethargy.

  I glanced back at Asher who stared at the portal, mesmerized by its power.

  “I have to go back to Asher before he succumbs to the pull as well. Please, Brax. I’ll ask you one last time, leave the demon fighter and closing of the portal to us and go where you’ll be safe.”

  Brax raked his fingers through his hair. “Okay, you're right.”

  The light finally came back into his eyes; the light of the Braxton I’d first met.

  “Thanks, Lux. I think if you hadn’t intervened, I would have lost the last of the fight I had in me, the pull was that strong.”

  “I’ll contact you as soon as everything is clear.”

  “Don’t you think I should bring Moore with me? Isn’t he as vulnerable as I am?”

  I knew he was right, but was reluctant to have Moore so far away from me. It didn’t make sense and I knew I had to put his safety before my desire to have him at my side throughout this ordeal.

  “I haven’t seen him since we got back from Italy. If you can find him… if you can contact him and tell him what’s going on… yes. Bring him with you. Tell him I told you to leave with him and to stay away until Asher and I have completely contained the portal.”

  Though he nodded, I could see he was bothered by my concern for Moore.

  “You’d prefer he stayed here with you, don’t you?”

  I heard the pain in his voice and didn’t have the heart to add to it. “Moore is just as susceptible to the forces here. We need to keep our numbers up if we’re going to survive this. We can’t afford to let Moore turn into a full-fledged demon like Shayne. You do understand that, don’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “You have his number?”

  He flipped on his phone, checked his list of contacts then muttered, “Yeah.”

  “Then hurry up and find him, then leave.”

  Before he could argue further, I turned away and returned to Asher and the portal.

  “It’s too late,” I heard Brax call from behind me.

  No, I thought with a sharp pang to my heart. I turned to glance back on him, but my gaze halted at the boys’ locker room door.

  “He’s already here at St. James,” Brax went on.

  The door opened and Moore stepped out. I wanted to shout and tell him to hurry back inside, but he rushed out and headed to the side of the field where Asher stood. My voice remained trapped in my throat.

  “Moore,” I finally managed to croak, but he didn’t hear me and continued walking to Asher. “Don’t.”

  The scene played out like a disaster scene from a movie and I felt helpless to stop it. He seemed so determined to make it to that portal, and I doubted Asher would be able to stop him. With a new thrust of adrenaline, my feet carried me across that field with more speed than I would have thought myself capable of, but my eagerness left me clumsy and I tripped over my own feet and landed flat on my face.

  Nose deep in turf, I heard thundering footsteps pass me by. Feeling as though I’d lost the battle before it’d even begun, I struggled to get to my knees only to see Brax run by and hurry to Moore who now stood shoulder to shoulder with Asher.

  “Brax, you can’t,” I shouted.

  “I can’t just stand by and do nothing, Lux. Moore was there and helped me deal with this whole demon thing. Now it’s my turn to do what I can.”

  My heart was torn. I knew I’d never make it to Moore’s side in time, and I desperately wanted Brax to get there and save him, but Brax… He wouldn’t be able to survive being so close to the portal without someone there to save him.

  Several yards still separated him from Moore. I had to try and stop him.

  Getting to my feet I chased him. “Brax, stop. You can’t save him. You have to save yourself.”

  “He’s far more entrenched in all this than I am. He’s more vulnerable. He has nothing to fight with.”

  Reaching him, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “This is suicide, Brax. Go back. Get off the school property. I’ll take care of Moore.” I glanced past him and saw Moore slumped toward Asher. He seemed so weak, so hypnotized. I could barely see a shadow of the guy I’d come to love so much; the man who’d touched me so deeply. With a deep sense of nausea sweeping over me, I looked to Brax.

  “I’m the gatekeeper, remember. I can fight the powers of the portal off better than he can. I know you're strong, Lux, and I know you want to deal with this your own way, but there’s only so much you can do on your own. Moore isn’t in a good place of mind right now. You don’t know what he’s capable of. You don’t know how he’ll behave once you get within arms’ reach.”

  “I’m afraid for you, Brax. Moore is just as apt to reach out and hurt you.
If anything even more so.”

  He smirked and patted my cheek affectionately. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worried about me. It’s kind of nice, but the timing could be a bit better. Come on. Are you going to come and fight this with me or are you going to stay there and argue with me all day?”

  I stared into the eyes of a new young man, a man I’d never seen before. He no longer had the glazed expression of a man lost to the demons. He was in full control and knew what he had to do.

  “I am the descendant of Shadow Light gatekeeper after all,” he said with pride. “You can’t go wrong fighting at my side. Think about it, either we stay together and fight this thing, or we all fall to the ground, one by one.”

  “Okay, you win. I’m with you.”

  “Then get your fighting game on and let’s shut this portal down once and for all.”

  Chapter 18

  Collision of Souls

  The ground beneath our feet shook and the urgency of the situation chilled me. It was all coming to this; the years of fighting, the years of learning how to dominate the demonic influences that constantly threatened to over humanity.

  I saw the look of horror on Brax’s face and questioned if we were really up to such a battle.

  “This is going to be big.”

  At the far corner of the school building, a small group of students emerged, adding a degree of difficulty to the battle that lay ahead. It was important to keep them out, the keep them from becoming involved, and to keep them from being killed by the very demons that could arouse their curiosity.

  A few sophomores looked our way, the girls eyeing Brax while a few guys looked at me. “We can’t let them get close to the portal. It’ll become a feeding frenzy.”

  We both looked at Asher and Moore. The fight had already begun and while Asher held his own, Moore seemed to struggle more and more.

  “I’ll hurry over and divert them. I’ll find some reason to send them running back inside. You go and dive in there,” I ordered Brax.

  He nodded and hurried to help Asher and Moore, and I turned my attention to the young onlookers who were quickly approaching.

  “Hey, you're the senior hottie I’ve been hearing about,” a sophomore said as he approached me with a cool stride that didn’t match the pimply faced kid that he was. “I’ve been meaning to reach out and get to know you.”

  “Calling me a senior hottie isn’t exactly going to do it. Why don’t you guys go back inside and try to devise a better pick up line?”

  “What’s going on? It looks like a major fight over there.”

  “None of your business…” I said in a harsh tone, but I instantly saw that it wasn’t really the way to go. The girls glared at me and the guys seemed more defensive than obliged. Pulling out the tart in me, I played the delicate damsel in distress card and hoped they went for it. “You know, on second thought, I am starting to feel a little flushed by the sun. It is getting pretty hot out here and it’s affecting me more than I would have thought. Can one of you guys go in and get me something long and cool to drink? Maybe an iced-tea with plenty of ice. I’d sure appreciate it. I’d be forever grateful.”

  Another sophomore scrambled forward. “I’ll get you whatever you need, babe.”

  Oh, brother, I thought with a deep desire to shake my head, but I simply smiled my prettiest smile and said. “I won’t forget you.” I patted his smooth cheek.

  “Come on, guys.” The shorter of the two guys obviously had the role of ring leader because the others followed him without saying a word.

  With the coast now clear I turned my attention to the battle ahead. I turned to see Asher and Brax fighting hard while it was hard to tell which side Moore was on. He was losing control. Even from this distance, I could see him struggling.

  I reached them just as three demons circled Asher and tried to pull him down. Awed by his power and prowess, I froze and watched him for a moment, then got in the game. They were coming out so fast, I could barely understand how Asher and Brax had managed so well. Moore was of no help and showed signs of becoming like Shayne.

  He hurried to me and my fingers twitched to find my crucifix.

  “You have to help me, Lux. They’re pulling me in.” His eyes flared red then yellow, then back to red. In a flash he turned and slayed two demons with one quick motion, but when he turned to me again, his eyes still retained the demonic influence that was taking over him.

  “You're doing great,” I said, despite my reservations. “So long as you fight and slay the demons instead of fighting with them. Don’t give up, Moore. We’re this close to our goal. Stay strong.”

  At that very moment a demon came from behind me and pulled me to the ground. It was all over me, keeping me from reaching for my crucifix. Closer and closer it came until it’s putrid breath burned my skin.

  Moore jumped in, tearing the demon to shreds with such ferocity, I couldn’t help but be afraid in the very same instant I was proud.

  “Thanks,” I shouted over the cries of battle. “I owe you one.”

  The ground shook again, sending both slayers and demons to the ground. The portal grew wider and wider, and the number of demons reached the threshold of manageability. We were going to lose, I thought as I looked at the impossible number of demons.

  Moore stayed close to me, helping me and keeping me safe whenever I struggled. Every demon he slayed gave me hope for his soul.

  “Watch it,” I shouted as a small army of demons rushed toward him.

  They recognized him as one of their own and seemed caught off guard as they looked into his eyes. Moore used this to his advantage. He murmured something to them, something that encouraged them to let their guard down.

  I grinned as he played with their twisted minds, their twisted sensibilities. Just as they released him and prepared to attack Brax, Moore pounced on them and they were quickly slain before they even knew what had hit them.

  “Whatever you're losing in your ability to control these demonic forces, you certainly are making up for it with deceit. That was absolute genius.”

  Another band of demons marched toward us, but this time they weren’t willing to listen to anything Moore had to say. They forged on, attacking him and leaving him barely able to fight them off. While I was kept busy fighting, Moore faltered and fell to his knees. I wanted to throw my crucifix at the demons on his back. My heart tore in two as the demons pinned him down and prepared to finish him off.

  A demon had me on my back fighting to get him off me. I was useless and completely unable to help him.

  Tears filled my eyes as I shut them to the awful scene playing out before me. I couldn’t bear to see him finally taken by the dark side, but hearing a distinctive grunt in the melee, I opened my eyes to see Brax joining Moore in the battle.

  I was touched by his actions. Knowing how much he hated Moore and knowing how he wanted nothing more than to have Moore out of my heart, it must have been so tempting to just let him shrivel up and die, but there he was, fighting with all he had.

  Fighting the demons with added fervor, I felt a sudden lightness in my heart. We were going to win this. I could see it reflected in Brax’s eyes. He’d taken on the role of gatekeeper and was serious about the role. I loved him all the more for it. These past few days it’d been so easy to simply assume my attraction to him was purely physical.

  I’d seen just moments earlier how girls in school saw his beauty, but I’d also seen just how profound his beauty ran. For him to put aside his feelings in order to do what was right… it made me realize what kind of man he was, what kind of man he was becoming.

  If anything were to happen to him, to any of them, I’d never be able to live with it. I’d grown so close to all of them. As I looked at all of them, I thought back to when I’d first met them, before they’d known who they really were, what their roles were, and what their capabilities were.

  As another demon went up in a puff of smoke, I shot a glance at Moore and Brax again. They we
re a beautiful team, fighting in sync, in perfect harmony. One could have thought they were both parts of the same being they were so uniform in their manner and force.

  It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. They’d been friends before I’d come along to St. James Academy; long before I came to San Francisco. They’d been the kind of buddies who sat together for lunch and went to one another’s house for fun.

  A sudden and deep pang of guilt struck me in the gut as I realized I was the cause of their rift. From the very first moment I spoke to Moore, Brax had changed toward him. Slaying another demon I thought of that first and instant attraction I’d had for Brax.

  Strange how things had shuffled around, changed, twisted and changed again. Just as my heart had changed, so had Brax.

  A demon rushed me and pushed me into a small group of large and fierce demons. I slayed two, but three more tackled me and sent me to the ground. Asher hurried over and dealt with them fast enough.

  “How you holding up?” he asked.

  “I’m getting breathless, but holding in there. How long can this go on?”

  “I’m beginning to think indefinitely. How long can we go on?”

  I jutted my chin toward Brax and Moore. “There seem tireless together. They’re like a machine… a finely tuned machine that doesn’t miss a beat. If anything the demons must be starting to wonder how long they’ll be able to keep up.”

  “They keep coming and they’re stronger.”

  “I know,” I said with a proud grin. “But so are they.”

  I looked at Asher, his cocky grin aimed at me. “Then I better get moving if I’m going to have you look at me with that kind of pride.”

  Playfully slapping his arm with my fingertips, I slayed another demon with my free hand.

  Asher was the perfect guardian for me. As much as I’d appreciated and loved Lothario my whole youth, although Lothario had been the best guardian a young girl could hope for, Asher was the perfect ally for this stage in my life. I needed him, and he knew it.

  I glanced back at Moore. From what Lothario had told me when I’d first arrived in San Francisco, I was to meet people who’d be on my team. I’d expected someone like Asher and I’d expected someone like Braxton, but Moore… I hadn’t expected someone like him on my team.