My nails ripped into the skin on my forearms. Maybe if I released the glow, it wouldn’t hurt as bad. My blood mingled with the white light, without relief. The pain was only getting worse.
I took another step back, but it was one too many. The edge of Spearfish Canyon was closer than I’d realized and muddy from the recent rains. My foot slipped in the soft ground, sending me tumbling backwards and into the raging river.
Shouts from the edge of the bank followed me as I broke above the surface of the water and gasped for breath. The water stung my cheeks like icy fingers and pulled my body back under. I tumbled and twisted, ramming my shoulder against rocks and fighting for another breath.
Another sudden surge of water pushed me deep. The darkness of the night made it impossible to know which way was up. I could only kick and pray that I was headed in the right direction. If I didn’t fill my lungs soon, I was afraid they’d burst inside of me.
Part of me wanted to laugh at the irony. Just a few months ago, my family and friends had tried to burn me to death. I would’ve given anything in that moment to jump into a cool, flowing river. But now, that water I’d so desperately craved was suffocating me. Killing me.
And it was my own fault.
My head broke above the surface. My lungs drew in a sweet breath of fresh air that instantly cooled the fire in my lungs. But any relief was short-lived. Dropping down a small waterfall, the raging water submerged my limp body once again.
The only thing I could manage was to raise one hand above the water. If I could grab something, anything, then maybe I’d have a chance. A tree, a branch, a rock. Something to anchor myself with that would give me a chance to climb out. It was my only hope.
My fingers closed around something small and strong. Afraid that it was a tree branch, I waited for it to snap under my weight. But it held tight. With all the strength I had, I threw out my second hand and grabbed further up, getting a strong hold.
To my surprise, a hand closed around my upper arm and pulled. I gasped in relief and realized Gabe must’ve caught up with me. Either that, or my father. They’d saved me just in time. I wanted to collapse in their arms, but I still had to get out of this strong current.
The arms around me gave a great big tug and practically threw me onto the shore. I laid there in a sopping wet mound, breathing in the precious nighttime air. Water spilled from my lungs, coughed up from the deepest recesses of my chest.
I was alive. I’d made it. I never wanted to see water again.
Rolling over, I looked up at my rescuer. The moonlight shone down on us, bathing us both in silver light. To my surprise, it wasn’t Gabe or my father. A beautiful woman stood in front of me, her pale hair long and wavy. She was short and slim, with dark eyes that twinkled.
“It’s...” I swallowed the last bit of water in my mouth. “It’s you...”
It was the woman from my dreams. The one calling me into the woods every night. I couldn’t believe it. Either, I’d hit my head especially hard in the canyon or...
She was real.
The trees behind me rustled with the noise of two men scrambling through the forest. A moment later, Gabe and Luke sprung into view. Their eyes flashed with panic. They pulled to a halt on the soft riverbank, panting from the sprint. Their gaze went from me and then straight to the pale-haired stranger, letting me know that I wasn’t just dreaming her up again. She really was here.
“It can’t be.” Luke stepped forward. His face betrayed a million emotions at once, including relief, then shock, then disbelief. “You’re dead.”
Surely he wasn’t talking to my rescuer. She was alive, as plain as day. Her chest moved up and down with the assured breath of a living, breathing human. Demons might be able to make shells to live in, but they could never inhabit a dead body. It just didn’t happen.
“She saved me,” I coughed. “Pulled me from the water.”
Luke’s face crumpled, as if he were about to cry. My eyes swept from him to my rescuer, and then back again.
“It’s you.” His voice broke and he shook his head.
I didn’t understand why he was acting so strange.
“It’s my wife.” He took a step closer. “My Elizabeth.”
Chapter Seven
A deafening silence fell over the woods. Not even a bird chirped or fluttered its wings. My eyes flew back and forth between my long lost father and the woman he had just called Elizabeth.
It couldn’t be true. If this woman standing before him was his wife, then I’d found my mother. A woman whom I’d been told was dead. A woman whose grave I used to visit as a child with a bouquet of yellow dandelions in my hand.
“Elizabeth?” Luke moved closer. He stepped slowly, as if afraid to spook her. “Is it really you?”
A serene expression swept her lips up into a smile that made my heart hopeful. Maybe it was her. We certainly didn’t look much alike, but that wasn’t a shock. The older women in Hanna used to say that I must take after my daddy. They were right. Luke and I had the same blue eyes, the same dark hair, and the same lanky height. I didn’t share anything with this beautiful ghost of a person.
“Lucas, it’s been a long time.” Her voice was sweet and light. “I’ve missed you.”
Luke pressed his hand to his chest and his face took on a pale pallor. “It is you. I...can’t believe it.”
Gabe took his arm to offer some extra support. I couldn’t help but notice his other arm never left the vicinity of the dagger at his hip. An alarm rang in my head. He didn’t trust this woman. Maybe she wasn’t really who she claimed to be.
“It’s really me,” the woman replied, looking right at me. “You can trust me.”
I shook my head. Surely, she couldn’t read my mind.
“I know you have questions. I want to answer all of them.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, my daughter. Your absence has been like a hole in the heart.”
“Granny said you died,” I uttered, my voice breaking. I knew I should be celebrating my mother’s sudden return from the dead, but it felt like a trick. “We buried you. I spent time at your grave.”
In fact, I’d spent years visiting her gravestone in the small Hanna cemetery. Her tiny white stone stood near a twisted pine in the rear, slightly separated from the dozens of other headstones belonging to the women who’d claimed Hanna as a home over the past century. I used to trace my fingers along her name, etched in the granite. We shared the same name. It was the only thing she could give to me before she died. At least, that was Granny’s story.
Her almond shaped eyes narrowed. “My mother wishes I would’ve died. She took you from me and banished me from town. It was because of her that we were forced to part.”
That same familiar rage flared up inside of me. Of course, Granny would keep a secret like this from me. How many other secrets was she keeping? My own mother—alive. How dare she lie to me all these years?
“Oh yes, your grandmother is a liar,” Elizabeth continued. Beautiful rage poured into her fragile features, wrinkling her perfect nose and pouting out her bottom lip. “She threatened to kill us both if I returned, so I was forced out into the world without my child. Can you imagine the heartache I endured? The pain?”
I could imagine it. It was the same type of pain I’d felt every day growing up with Granny, dreaming of a mother who would’ve loved me. How many times had I imagined her there? Making pancakes in the morning, brushing my hair, tucking me in at night. How many times had I shaken those dreams away, knowing that it was all a fantasy and that my mother was dead?
I found myself standing suddenly and edging nearer to her. She reminded me of Kate, my best friend from Hanna. Slight and petite, she wore tall hiking boots, tan pants, and a thin white blouse that billowed in the slight breeze. The sleeves fell down to her tiny wrists and lace trim brushed against her pale skin. I wanted to touch her, afraid that this was all an apparition, another dream. Instead, I pinched myself hard on the thigh, tryin
g hard to wake up.
“Come, my child.” Elizabeth held out a hand. “Let me look at you.”
My fingers brushed against hers. She felt real enough. With a hesitant intake of breath, I reached out further and caught her hand. Solid and soft at the same time. Warm and welcoming. The top of her head barely reached my nose, but that didn’t stop her from pulling me into a fierce hug that crushed my ribs.
“Finally,” she muttered into my soaking wet shirt. “Finally.”
I allowed her to embrace me for a moment longer before the doubts swept in. If she was really out there all this time, why appear now? What made this the right moment to come back and find the daughter she’d given up?
Apparently, Luke had recovered enough from the shock to think the same questions. He brushed Gabe away and stood tall beneath the pines, his shoulders strong.
“Why didn’t you come back to me?” he demanded, his voice trembling and eyes shining with emotion. “We thought the demons had taken you, had killed you. Why didn’t you come back?”
Elizabeth smiled again. “They did take me. But I survived. The Reddings are survivors.”
Her brown eyes gazed into mine, the warmth of her hand never leaving my back. It was true. I’d survived a demon attack, too. Already, we had so much in common.
“You didn’t answer the question.” Gabe stood nearly covered in the shadows, but I could see his hand grip the dagger at his hip. “Why didn’t you come back?”
She turned her head in his direction, pursing her lips slightly. “So, this is the man that my daughter loves?”
My face flushed red. I’d never exactly said that I loved Gabe out loud. And he hadn’t said anything either. It was much too early in our relationship to be thinking about things like love. But still, I avoided Gabe’s eyes, just in case. If he were repelled by the idea, I’d die right there.
“My name is Gabe. And you didn’t answer the question.”
This was starting to feel more like an interrogation than a family reunion. I rushed to soften the line of questioning. “What he means is, why didn’t you tell Luke you were okay? He thought you were dead, all these years.”
There were a million other questions floating around in my head, but I started with that.
“My dear, I was dead.” Her hand left my back and she lifted her arms out to her sides. Her sleeves billowed out like formless clouds. “I was lifeless under the rules of my tyrannical mother. The laws of that dumpy little town. And I was like the walking dead living at that manor. My heart was a dead stump in my chest, craving light. I didn’t know it until they captured me. That’s when they brought me to life.”
Nothing she said made sense. “What are you talking about? Who brought you back to life?”
Luke had told me the story about her capture by feral demons. She’d been heading to town with another Nephilim for supplies. Their car broke down and they’d been ambushed by ferals on the side of the road. The other Nephilim didn’t survive.
Luke was sure she’d been murdered. They’d found pools of her blood on the highway. No one could’ve survived those kinds of wounds.
“My family brought me back to life. My true friends. The very people I want you to meet.” Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. “Oh, Lizzy, we’ve waited so long for you.”
My mother had family? I’d never known anyone besides Granny. And she’d never mentioned anyone else.
“Lies.” Pain echoed in Luke’s hollow voice. His hand shifted to the ax at his side. “You’re not Elizabeth. You’re not my wife.”
She laughed, a light and airy noise that tickled my ears. “Of course, I’m your wife. I may be carrying an extra spirit than when we married, but I’m still her. We are the same. We want the same things.”
Panic clouded my eyes. I took a step backwards and tripped over a stone jutting from the ground. My head hit the ground hard, sending stars shooting into my vision. Blinking away the pain, I crawled backwards on my hands and knees, putting as much distance as I could between myself and that demon. Gabe jumped in front of me. He had drawn his sword and raised it defensively.
She laughed again and dropped her hands. “My dear, do not be afraid. I have not come to hurt you. We love you. You are our daughter.”
It wasn’t too long ago I’d faced off with someone like her. Evil of the worst kind. A deceiver—vastly smarter than the ferals and more devious. They were the masterminds behind the hordes of demons that worked their way through the Hell Gate. Hell’s war generals. They were the ones trying to gain a foothold on Earth.
And another one was standing right in front of me, inhabiting the body of my mother.
I pushed myself up off the ground and ducked behind Gabe’s shoulder. This was all happening so fast. Suddenly, I have a mother again. And now, she’s controlled by a demon.
I wanted to run away, to throw up, to pinch myself and make this all go away.
“You’re nothing but pure evil,” I spat. Margaret Thatcher had wanted me, too. Except she’d wanted to use me as a blood bag for the rest of my long Nephilim life, sucking the energy out of me. “You’re one of them.”
“Oh, my darling.” Elizabeth shook her head slowly. “My dear, dear girl. You have been misled. We do not seek to bring harm. Our leader is coming to rule those who have escaped from the clutches of Hell. You’ll see. He is pure truth and beauty. He will come to stop the killing. We only want to bring peace.”
I couldn’t help but look at Luke. What kind of nonsense was this? She was spouting lies like a cult leader—her face an unadulterated mask of joy. My father looked as helpless as I felt. His ax hung loosely at his side as his shoulders drooped. Heartbreak poured into his face, nearly breaking mine in the process.
“Oh, Elizabeth...” he muttered. “What have they done to you?”
“Nothing that I didn’t want, my love,” she replied with an empty smile.
I could sense Gabe edging forward and with a start, I realized he was readying for an attack. Part of me wanted him to drive the silver sword right through her heart, but a large part of me hated the idea. Part of this person standing in front of us was still my mother. Surely, we couldn’t kill her. We had to find a cure. A way to drive the demon out. An exorcism or something.
“Wait.” I placed my hand on his tense arm. “Don’t.”
Elizabeth returned her gaze to me and smiled warmly. “My daughter, I knew you’d understand.”
Gabe resisted against my arm. “Let go, Lizzy. You can’t save her.”
Maybe not, but I didn’t want to kill her. I still had so many questions.
“Come with me.” Elizabeth held out a hand again. This time, I stayed where I was. “Come with me, and fulfill your destiny. You were born for a purpose, my love. I can lead you to it.”
It sounded like the kind of mumbo jumbo they used to spill on the late night evangelism TV shows. The kind that Granny would fall asleep in front of, accompanied by her nightly glass of Scotch.
“And what purpose would that be?” I asked.
I wasn’t sure why I was feeding into her lies, but the longer I kept the conversation going, the longer I’d get to see my mother alive.
She tilted her head to the side. “You’re the key, of course. The key to the gates of Hell.”
Keys to what?
“Lies,” Gabe hissed. He shook free of my hand. “All it does is lie. Don’t listen to it, Lizzy.”
The truth was, I wasn’t sure I’d really heard her in the first place. The Hell Gate wasn’t your typical kind of gate. It didn’t have bars or a lock. From my brief time near the gaping hole in the ground, I hadn’t seen anything that would require a key. Nothing she said made sense.
“I would never lie to my daughter.” Elizabeth pushed her lower lip out into the perfect pout. “She is the key. Once she opens the gate, we are all saved. My prince will join us on Earth. He will rule this kingdom, just as it is written. And Lizzy is our key.”
I didn’t like what she was saying. None of it. I�
��d just gotten used to the idea of being a half angel warrior. Now I was supposed to be some sort of key that unleashed Hell upon the Earth?
No, thank you.
“It can’t be me.” I was talking aloud to myself, more than anyone else. “I can’t open the gate. That’s not possible.”
“Why do you think more demons have slipped through the gate in the past twenty years than ever before?” Elizabeth took a step back toward the canyon bank. The waters rushed past her feet, splashing on the muddy banks. “It’s you, my dear. It’s your very presence. And when you’re ready, they’ll open all the way for you. It’s preordained. All of this. You were always meant to be here.”
My lungs worked overtime to suck oxygen from the air. At least in some part, she was right. The Nephilim had been concerned about the huge increase in demons slipping through the gate lately. And it had only grown worse when I came to stay at the manor at the start of the summer.
It was starting to make sense. I was helping them through.
“Enough!” Gabe swung his sword and lunged forward. “Enough of your lies.”
Elizabeth easily side-stepped his advance and gave a harsh laugh, so opposite of her sweet smiles. “Come find me,” she said, turning her dark eyes to me, “when you’re worthy of this great honor, my daughter.”
Without waiting for my response, she jumped into the raging stream and was swept away over the rapids, her blonde hair disappearing into the dark swirling depths of the storm’s aftermath.
Chapter Eight
I don’t know how I got back on the manor grounds. Everything was such a haze. By the time I figured out what was happening, they’d set me on a stone bench outside, gazing out onto the expanse of vividly green grass in the early morning hours.
It didn’t take long for word to get out of my mother’s sudden appearance in the forest last night. Nephilim ran around, as if prepping for war. I felt their gazes fall on me like the tiny red sight dots of sniper rifles. My eyes remained glued to the ground. If I dared to look up, they’d fire on me, releasing a hailstorm of questions and accusations that I wasn’t ready to face. Silence was my friend. I could face the quiet, for as long as I needed to.
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