by Tara Brown
My jaw trembled. I stared at Marcus, hoping he had an answer. He sighed. “Brilliant. Bloody brilliant.”
I turned and faced the others. The faces were desperately sad and horrified.
My wings twitched in the dark wind.
“How do we find Lillith now?”
Aleks stepped toward me and took my hand in his.
“How do we know what to do?” Hanna asked.
Marcus paced. “Henry. We find Henry. I can’t believe she didn’t make me one of you.”
“Really?” Sam laughed and for the first time it was bitter and harsh. “You can't?”
Marcus snorted. “Well, of course I can, but I am still pissed about it.”
Hanna pointed to Sam's wings. “How do we get rid of the wings?”
In the dark we looked awesome. There was no doubt. Our skin was slightly glowing with a light that seemed to be who we were now. Our wings were black as the night and filled with shiny black feathers. We all stood topless and glowing. The expressions on our faces were all the same. Awe and confusion.
“You just pull them back in. You just forget all your thoughts at the moment and pull them in.”
We all turned in one sweep toward the voice speaking to us.
“Henry. There you bloody well are. How could you?” Marcus asked haughtily.
Henry laughed. “You did not need me at the time. You need me now. Shamans know about need. We hear the calling.”
Lucas made a noise and then he stood wingless next to Ari. “It's just like phasing.” He said it like it was helpful.
Blake frowned. “Oh, okay then.” He made a face. As I laughed, Ben pulled his wings in.
Then Aleks did his. The rest of us stared at them helplessly.
“What does phasing feel like?” Giselle asked.
Shane pulled his back. “Hah, just like the fangs.”
Giselle pulled hers in at the same time as Hanna. Ari and I looked at each other and laughed.
“It's like exploding from your skin.”
Blake frowned. “And if you've never exploded?”
Aleks snickered. “Like when you ran and you pushed the last couple of seconds. Pushed the exertion.”
Ari's wings pulled in.
I sighed and glanced at Blake. He shook his head. “We played a lot of WOW and didn’t run, ever.”
“How can we suck at this? We're the smartest people here.”
Marcus walked over and grabbed my face. “Sexy time, Aimee. Think of sexy time.”
My face flushed as my wings pulled back. Blake's did as well.
“See? You did it.” Giselle smiled.
Marcus shrugged and walked to Henry. “How do we find Lillith?”
He shook his face. “She has the power. Impossible. You failed. Now you must prepare.”
“What does that even mean?”
Sam looked horrified as if a light bulb had come on for him. “Oh my God. Revelation.”
“What?” Blake asked.
Henry nodded. “The world as you knew it is over. The world now is broken. You have seven years to fix it before it is too late.”
“Friggin’ hell. Great. Seven more years.”
Ari beamed, “At least I can’t switch the time anymore.”
I laughed.
“Where do we go from here?”
Henry pointed at Shane. “His house. Protected lands.”
I laughed. Aleks laughed with me.
Everyone else shook their heads.
“That stupid shaman story was true?” Shane asked, making Aleks and me crack up harder.
Epilogue
Lorri
The warm breeze billowed through the pillar.
He winked and he was there.
He kissed me and then pulled back. “Wait. If you're bloody well here, where are they?” He glimpsed past me.
“Dorian, I had no choice. She got the magic.”
“Who did?”
“Lillith. She got the magic, all of it.”
“No.” He pulled back. “How in the bloody hell did that happen?”
“I don’t know. We were obviously betrayed. Is Michael still here?”
He shook his head. “No. Several of them fell recently.”
“Then I guess that explains a few things.”
The warmth was comforting. I sighed. “I missed this place.”
“Have you seen Lydia and Annabelle yet?”
“No. O and Oliver both here as well?”
“The whole family. It’s a bit intense.”
I heard her shouting and running. I blushed. Dorian rolled his eyes. “Of course the human breaking the silence would be with you.”
I grinned as Abbey leapt into my arms. We kissed and it was the best feeling ever.
“This is Heaven?” she asked.
“It is.”
“Is O here?”
I nodded. “Yup. Tristan and Phillip and O and Oliver and Lydia and Annabelle and everyone.”
She grinned and I kissed her again. Dorian groaned behind me, “Okay, I'm going to go find out about Michael. Someone knows something. I'm certain.”
I closed my eyes and let the warmth and peace seep in. After thousands of years believing I would never make it back, I couldn’t believe I was here. With my girl.
Failure never felt so good.
Daughter.
I pulled back from the kiss. “You hear that?”
Abbey shook her head.
Daughter.
I closed my eyes and moaned, “Be right back.” I stepped away from her and winked to the place. I stood in the shadows again and waited for it.
The air was still until his words snuck in like the fog, “You failed.”
“I did.” The intensity of his voice made me tremble. “I did, Father. I'm so sorry.”
“You were betrayed by your brothers.”
“Yes.” Tears leaked from my eyes. “I was, Father.”
“You are my most treasured creation, Lucifer. You must know my love for you.”
Dread tried to creep in, but his love was bigger than my own heart. “I do, Father.”
“The sacrifice you made was met with unkindness and hatred. Yet you did as I asked. You saved them. The redeemers will save my children.”
I nodded and believed the words. “They will, Father.”
“Thank you, Lucifer. I may call upon you again.”
My words became a whisper, “Yes, Father.”
The air and light moved and left me where I was, standing in the shadows. My skin crawled with the intense energy.
I peered up and fought the urge to beg that he never call on me again. Ever.
* * *
Aimee
The scene was my dream exactly.
Bombs dropped.
Destruction was everywhere.
People fighting in the anger that had overtaken the planet.
Our country was ripe with pain and suffering, but still far behind the rest of the world. South America was filled with vampires and succubi. Lillith had the power to make them all.
All varieties of demons.
She moved constantly and was never out of the company that shielded her from us. But we fought her darkness with our own. It was a constant battle.
I peered out at the city and sighed. The heat of the midday sun was intense in Rio. I glanced at Aleks and grinned at his wings.
He shook his head. “Stop staring at them. It makes me feel weird when you do that.”
“What? You look hot with those in that black tee shirt. That’s all.”
“You look hot without your black tee shirt and I don't stare at you.”
“Yes, you do.”
He ignored me. “You ready?”
I nodded once.
We jumped together.
My wings shot from my body as we sailed to the ground and saw the chaos and destruction everywhere. Lillith had used the magic she stole to make hell on Earth.
And we would have to fight every day until we fixed i
t.
Hanna strolled up with Sam, Ben, Giselle, and Shane.
Sam seemed annoyed. “We found another one.”
“Vampires?”
Sam nodded. “And succubi.”
“Where’s Ari?”
Ben winced. “With Luke. She isn’t coming for this ride.”
I glanced down the alley. “Why?”
“Kids. She doesn’t do kids.”
Aleks nodded. “Fair enough. In the words of our fallen leader, ‘let's do this.’”
We walked down the alley into the dark building where dark creatures were doing the dark deeds.
Fortunately, nothing was as dark as we were.
I entered the building first, with Hanna. The man standing at the front, greeting guests smiled when he saw me. “Hello, Madam,” he said in English. His accent was strong.
I loved the effect I got when they saw them so I flashed my wings fast. I had slits in my shirts, so my clothes didn't get ripped off like before.
His jaw dropped. “Do Diablo.” He backed away with his hands out. I glanced to my right at Hanna. She smirked and let hers loose as well.
He screamed louder.
The whole house filled with screams.
It was music to my ears.
It was the end of something dark and sinister.
We left the house at the end of the fight, with dirty blood and dirtier images bathing our bodies and minds.
It rolled off fast now; we cleared quickly.
We winked home to Port Mackenzie.
Shane's house was an oddly delightful sight now.
Henry and the kids were there full time with us. He made it feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Just like the spell he had put on Marcus’ house, trying to help us.
Shane's mom let us buy the house when she moved to the city. She was happy to get away from the small town and the gossip and the wedding of her ex to a younger woman.
Some people thought it was a hostel.
Some thought it was an orphanage.
My parents were just grateful I was able to find work in town. I ran a research center as far as they knew. I lived with Shane and helped him take care of foster kids with my friends. Marcus did a lot of memory construction.
I walked through the front door as Giselle turned to Aleks. “Is the house in England safe yet?”
“No. We have to get Henry there to bless the land. Bombs have been dropped on a town close to the house. The land might not be able to be blessed.”
“Sucky.” Giselle sounded disappointed. Ben walked by and grabbed her hand. They were gone before I could mock them.
“Where’s Blake?”
Shane laughed. “Pretending to be busy so we won't assume he’s hanging with Alise.”
“Still?”
He shrugged. “He’s in love.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe she hasn’t moved on. I never saw that coming.”
Shane nudged me. “I remember how it was before.”
The words tiptoed through my mind. I spun around and saw the truth of it on Shane's face. “You do? All of it?”
He nodded slowly. “I remember it the other ways.”
“Oh my God.”
“I just want to say, this is the best possible outcome for us all. I just wanted you to know. You know, in case you catch me staring or something.” He took my hand in his.
I laughed and pulled away. “Great. Just great.” I walked into the kitchen after Aleks who was feeding Shakespeare and rubbing his hands over his furry black face. “Who’s a good kitty? Who? You are.”
I leaned on the frame of the wall and glanced over at the sunroom. It forced a smile across my lips.
The End
Volume Six
Chapter 1
Baton Rouge, June 1964
I know fear.
Fear that cripples you.
Fear that takes everything from you.
The loss of my dream in the middle of the night ain't the issue or the fear. The warmth of the heavy air don't bother me none. Being woken to the feeling of someone's whispered words on my lips wouldn’t be disturbing, if I knew whose words they was.
But no.
For the third night in a row, at 2:47 a.m., I'm startled awake by the feel of an icy whisper against my face. Formed words I comprehend, and yet I can't hear clearly. It's always the same time, every night: the glint off the face of the clock on the wall, its numbers shining in the darkness scare me. What do they mean?
As soon as I open my eyes, the words and the person who dares to whisper them are gone. It's always the same.
That is the fear I know.
I'm left alone in the dank darkness of my room with the horror of whatever, or whoever it is, still there. The only sound in the whole room is the drapes being dragged along the carpets as if they’re trying to crawl away in protest, as the night air toys with them—as does whoever is waking me with their whispers.
Their whispers that linger on my lips like a gloss made of frost. The words hitting me with their icy-cold breath. Their face next to mine. So close it's as if we are one. So familiar.
If I concentrate and close my eyes, I can hear the mumbles. Every word is drawn out in an exhale that brushes against me softly.
Now.
Here.
They're coming, Lorelei.
It's always the same words, broken sentences of danger and my name.
Before this week, it hasn’t happened since I was a kid. I remember the bad feelings I had back then. I would lie frozen, wide-awake and surrounded by the cold.
And now, just like when I was a kid, I stare at the stark white ceiling and wait for my heart to stop pounding. I'm terrified it will give away the fact I'm aware of them still being there. I don’t know where, I just know they are.
I need the light of the lamp next to me to stop the thumping of my heart, but I can't reach out my hand to turn it on. I fear my outstretched hand will be met with cold fingers that match the temperature of the whispers that just woke me.
Whatever it is can't touch me in my bed. It's a juvenile thought, nevertheless I believe it. I always have.
I sigh when the same thing happens that's happened every time the terror hits me: I have to go to the bathroom. However, instead of just reaching for the lamp beside me, I lie stiff as a board.
My body is trembling as if I can't get warm again, yet I am sweating like a pig at a picnic.
I don’t move in the bed.
I don’t move at all.
I wait.
I listen.
Sometimes, if I'm not careful, it comes back just as I think I'm safe.
I take a breath and listen. My hearing is so sharp I hear the creak of the flagpole across the courtyard, through my window.
I wet the bed as a child, enduring a moment exactly like this one.
Like I said, I know fear.
Fear that grips you and holds you tighter than any other emotion. Fear that takes away every ounce of sense you thought you had.
Slowly, I creep my fingers across the sheets to the resting place of Bunny. My white stuffed rabbit that has always been my lucky charm. I almost sigh with relief when I touch his furry leg and drag him back to me. I pull him across my throat, just as I’ve always done. Just as Ramón's grandmamma instructed me to, after she blessed him to keep away the cold whispers. She couldn’t sense them in the room, but she said that don’t mean they ain't there.
Bunny's protection gives me the strength to reach my hand out into the abyss and feel for the light switch. I clutch his leg with my right hand and slowly move my left across the bed.
My eyes dart around the room. My skin becomes hypersensitive to the air around me, checking for the cold breeze.
When my hand reaches the end of the mattress, I stop and wait for my movements to be noticed. Nothing stirs. The icy cold in the air seems gone, but I don’t trust that. I don't make that mistake anymore.
It's come back fast before. In a whoosh, it has come back and ne
arly stopped my heart.
I'm hyperventilating.
In one fast and fluid motion, I reach across the bedside table without knocking over anything. But in the dark, I end up fumbling for the dang switch on the lamp. The lamp is turned and the knob is on the other side. Time stretches as my panicked hand gropes in the darkness for the small switch. Just as the air begins to grow cold again and my throat fills with a scream, my fingers find it.
I turn the switch flooding the room with light. The cold is gone. The movement in the air dies down. It pretends to be part of the hot breeze coming in the windows. But I know better. Since I was a child I've known about the things that hide in the dark. They run from the lights, they flee the window, and won't come back until the lights are gone.
In the light of the room, I feel silly with a white stuffed rabbit stretched across my throat and my heart poundin’ in an unnatural way.
I jump up and run to my ensuite to pee. I turn on every light switch along the way, filling the room with brightness. I will find a way to sleep with them all on. I always do.
It won't be a great sleep, but I will live through the night without terror and whispers. I lie back in bed with my rabbit safely around my throat. When my head hits the pillow, I feel the heavy weights pulling at my eyelids. I yawn and snuggle back into the covers. I am safe in my bed. The lit room is warm, but I don’t care. I sleep. Somehow I sleep.
When it gets warmer, I think it's Em. Sometimes she comes when I need her to and whispers nice things to me, telling me to sleep and that she loves me.
I like the warmth. I sleep better when she’s there.
* * *
At finishing school, the next day, I yawn in class. I struggle to focus my attention. I haven’t been this tired in ages. The icy whispers haven’t been back in so long I don’t recall the last time they were here.
Ms. Mitchell drones on and on. My head gets heavy so I close my eyes tightly and open them again.
Thankfully, she points to the green board and slaps the underlined words with her pointer stick. I am startled awake.
“A lady should be innocent until marriage. Once married life begins, she should always ensure her appearance is not only respectable, but also attractive. Having dinner scheduled with the help is obviously important. Freshening up before he arrives home from work is a must. If you ignore everything else, remember this: no man wants to come home from work to find his wife as he left her.” Her steel-gray eyes float past our faces with severity and judgment.