“We have to move!” Jared yelled, pulling me to my feet.
The large wooden door blew open, forcing another strong pulse of wind across the room. Had Jared not kept his arms around me, I would have fallen over.
I held my hand to my face to shield it from the blast. When I lowered it, Shax was standing in the doorway.
He wore an all-black suit, shirt and tie, matching his cold, obsidian eyes. A small smirk was on his face. He was finally ready to fight.
Jared stood his ground, positioned in front of me. Claire stood on the other side, guarding her Taleh.
Shax looked to each side of the church in dramatic fashion. “Where is your Samuel now, Jared?”
“He's around,” Jared said, his body rigid.
“I'm afraid you've made yet another mistake, and Heaven won't intervene this time.”
Two shadows that had been lurking behind Shax came into view under the dim light of the church. Isaac and Donovan stood on each side of their demonic master, their expressions anxious and ready. They had come to murder us all.
Jared shifted. “Isaac, listen to me. You don't have to do this.”
“Shut up,” Donovan said.
“I don't want you to die,” Jared continued, “but if he comes near her, I'll kill him.”
Isaac smiled. “Not if I kill her, first. And I will.”
“You're outnumbered,” Claire said, her small yet frightening voice somehow carrying across the room.
Shax grinned, and the long, clawed hands and feet of the night filtered into the room, covering the walls and ceiling. I looked above me, seeing grotesquely malformed bodies of demonic minions scale the crumbling rafters.
The smell of burnt flesh and sulfur was overwhelming, and I could feel bile rise in my throat. Shax's servants weren't screeching this time, but making strange, excited cooing and whistling noises, waiting for the order to attack.
“Give me the book,” Shax hissed.
“No,” Jared said, tossing the leather bound pages to Kim.
“I dare you to come and get it, though,” Kim smiled.
Shax slowly turned his head to Isaac, and then Isaac's smirk turned into a satisfied grin. He pushed the far pew with both hands, slamming it into the pew before it, creating a domino effect. As the heavy benches toppled over and blew forward with the speed of a freight train, Jared and Claire reacted, jumping to the other side with Ryan and I in tow.
Kim simply side-stepped to the center aisle, remaining calm as thousands of pounds of wood narrowly missed her body.
“You're going to have to do better than that,” Kim said.
Isaac leaped the hundred yards to Kim's position, and then wrapped on hand around her throat, lifting her off the ground. “I'm not a demon. You can't control me.”
With a grunt, Isaac threw Kim back, but Bex moved quick, catching her before she collided with the podium. The demons concentrated in the area closest to Kim scattered, afraid of being too close.
Bex looked Kim in the eyes, and after she acknowledged that she was okay, he scrambled to his feet, taking off full speed, slamming into Isaac. When they collided, a loud crack echoed throughout the cathedral.
My human eyes couldn't make out who was hitting who, until Bex hit Isaac so hard that his body sailed across the air, and he landed in the exact spot he started, next to Shax.
“It's like people tennis,” Ryan said, in awe. “Everyone keeps flying across the room.”
Isaac wasn't about to quit. He engaged Bex again, but this time Isaac got the upper hand. Bex was on the ground, and after the second time Isaac landed a blow that would have been fatal to a human, Jared's arm tensed.
“Do something!” I said.
“I can't leave you,” he said. “If I take my attention off of you for a second, they'll attack.”
Donovan walked down the center aisle with purpose, dodging the falling chunks of ceiling. Claire pulled out her firearm, aiming right at his face. Isaac's attention was distracted, then, and Bex head-butted Isaac, and then threw him against Donovan. They both slid across the floor.
Isaac stood, pulled out his gun, and aimed directly at Ryan.
“No!” Claire said, throwing herself in front of him.
Ryan and Claire were face to face when Isaac's gun discharged. Claire's body jerked twice as it was hit, and Ryan's horrified expression matched hers.
Stunned, Claire looked down, and then turned to Jared. “They went through me.”
Claire and Ryan fell to their knees at the same time, and Jared rushed to his sisters side. He pulled me with him, and I fell to my knees just behind him.
Ryan's head fell back, and he coughed, blood spraying up and spattering across his cheek.
“Oh, God, no!” Jared cried, pulling off his shirt and wadding it up, pressing it against Ryan's wounds.
Isaac's maniacal laugh seemed to be all around us. “I always wanted to see that smug smile wiped off your face, Claire.”
Bex glanced at the bloody scene, and then focused on Isaac, his hands balled into fists at his sides. He lowered his chin, then, and his expression morphed into something one might see from a demon rather than an angel.
Claire looked up at her brother, expressionless. “End this.”
Horrified, I watched Claire tend to Ryan's wounds, but within moments, Jared pulled me to my feet.
He took my hand in one of his, and then pulled out his side arm with the other. He pointed it directly at Isaac, shooting one round after another, walking toward him as he fired, forcing me to follow.
Isaac jerked with each hit, stumbling backward. “You son-of-a-bitch!” Jared screamed, his eyebrows and lips pulled in so tight, the skin around them was white.
“Jared!” Bex cried, but it was too late.
Donovan had his gun to Jared's temple. “I suppose it'll take you a while to heal from this one,” Donovan said.
An abrupt blast resounded in the room, and Donovan fell to his knees, finally falling over, succumbing to the bullet hole I had just shot into his brain.
“Shawn!” Isaac said, struggling to reach his Taleh.
It was too late for both of them. Shawn Donovan's life had already spilled onto the floor.
Isaac fell back, already feeling a weakness in his body.
Jared's eyes were wide as he processed what had just happened. “You killed him,” he said softly, looking to me.
“He was pointing a gun at your head,” I explained.
Jared laughed once, momentarily forgetting that we were still surrounded by the enemy.
A quick wind passed by, and Bex and Shax were suddenly in a ball. The sounds coming from their scuffle were horrific. Distracted, Shax lost his control on the demons clustered on the walls and ceiling, and they began descending from their position, and swarming around us.
“Run to Kim!” Jared said, pushing me in her direction.
The hundred yards down the aisle to where she was protecting the book seemed a mile away, but I took off without hesitation.
Seeing that I was running to her, Kim scrambled to her feet, sprinting down the aisle to meet me. I turned, seeing Jared and Bex attacking Shax, and his minions were quickly crawling to the floor in endless numbers. Adrenaline kicked in, and my feet moved faster, desperate to reach Kim before the demons caught me.
“Run, Nina!” Kim screamed, the horror on her face telling me in moments I would be crushed and torn apart by the Hell so closely pursuing my flesh.
Their screeches were almost on top of me when Kim's long arms reached out, encompassing my body as she brought me to the ground. The wailing of the minions experiencing what Kim was capable of was deafening, but the individual howling resounding farther away was most definitely the sound of Shax losing his fight with Jared and Bex.
And then it was quiet.
Chapter Nineteen
Waiting
I peeked out from under Kim's arms, seeing Jared and Bex slowly making their way down the aisle. Kim helped me to stand, and Jared wasted no tim
e pulling me into his arms. His hands were trembling, and he was uncharacteristically shaken.
“Are you okay?” Jared asked, evaluating every inch of me for any signs of trauma.
“No, I'm fine,” I said, shivering as the adrenaline soaked back into my system.
Bex carried Ryan in his arms, leaping and maneuvering around the ruins of St. Anne's to the entrance.
With the inordinate level of noise from just moments before, the night seemed eerily quiet. The crumbling concrete, wood and sheet rock grated against each other under my feet with every step. Those tiniest sounds echoed, even though the church seemed to be torn open and vulnerable, a contrast to the silence outside.
“We're going,” Claire said, her voice distant and emotionless.
“Right behind you,” Jared said. He lead me quickly out of St. Anne's by the hand.
I turned to take one last look at the rubble, and saw Kim help Father Francis to his feet. She threw his arm over her shoulders, hobbling along herself beside him as they followed us to the Escalade.
Time passed in slow motion. Although everyone was desperate to get Ryan to the hospital, the distance to Jared's SUV seemed like miles, and getting everyone, bruised and bleeding, settled into their seats was a slow, frustrating process.
Claire rode with Ryan in the hatch, holding his head in her lap as he was nearly sprawled out. She seemed lost as she held pressure on his wounds, watching his face intently.
Bex sat in the back seat with Kim and the priest, but his focus was on Claire. He reached back, gripping his sister's shoulder. Bex's expression was heartbreaking, as the worries in his mind played out across his face.
“The closest hospital, Father,” Jared said.
“Landmark Medical Center. Two minutes away. Stay on this street, and then turn left on Cass Avenue.”
Jared blew through the stoplight, and then weaved in and out of traffic, making a hard right turn into the hospital's ambulance bay.
“We need help here!” Jared yelled, jumping out of the driver's side.
I ran to the back, watching Jared open the hatch. Bex helped the priest into the Emergency Room, and Claire let Jared place Ryan on a gurney.
Jared was gentle, as if it were Claire he were holding. A small cry escaped my throat, drawing Jared's attention away for just a moment. His eyes were dark, and suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu — but more of an out-of-body experience. Watching Jared and Claire hover over Ryan's limp body was like seeing my last trip to the hospital from a different, more real perspective. It was cruel for both of them to have to suffer through it again.
Ryan was pale, but he had stopped coughing up blood. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
He managed a weak smile for Claire. “How about a kiss…just in case?”
Claire tenderly touched his forehead. “I'll tell you what, Cowboy. You come out of this alive, and I'll kiss you.”
“You promise?” he said.
“I promise,” Claire said, letting go of his hand.
In the emergency department's waiting room, Jared sat on the sofa next to me, Kim kept to herself, alone in a chair, and Claire stood with Bex in the corner. No one spoke, further discussion was unnecessary. We were waiting for someone to tell us if they had saved Ryan, or if Claire would die.
Claire kept her eyes closed, concentrating on everything she felt from Ryan. Her clothes were ripped and filthy, and her platinum pony tail had given up holding her hair in place hours ago. Once in a while she would twitch, and I wondered if she could sense when they used the scalpel, or if it was difficult while he was under anesthesia to sense anything at all. Jared would have answered my questions, but it was hardly the time.
The tension in the room was unbearable, but the waiting was worse.
I watched the faces of the people walking by. Some noticed our rag-tag group, some didn't. Glancing around the room, passers-by would no doubt wonder if we'd been in some sort of large accident. The news of the wreckage that was once St. Anne's would soon spread, and I worried that the hospital would be crawling with police officer's soon.
The random thought occurred to me that those staring had no idea the pretty platinum blonde they couldn't help but notice could be dead in the next forty-eight hours. Claire was the strongest, most amazing woman I had ever met, and she looked so helpless in that moment — so hopeless.
Finally, she broke the silence. “That's it,” she snapped, stomping her way to the door.
Bex stopped her. “Whoa…where do you think you're going?”
Claire shoved at her brother, fighting to get free. “I can help him. I have to do something; I can't just sit here!”
Bex grabbed her face, cupping her cherubic cheeks in his hands. “They won't let you in there, and if force your way in, you'll just distract them from what they should be concentrating on.”
Claire slammed the side of her fist into Bex's chest. “Let me go!”
Bex maneuvered his hands to get a better grip on Claire's arms, but she stopped struggling. Her eyes grew wide with fear.
“He's fading. They're losing him,” she said, her voice sad and frightened.
Claire's body bent backwards, stiff and unnatural.
I stood, cupping my hands over my mouth. “What's happening?” I cried.
Jared stood with me, restraining me with his hands on my shoulders as Bex cradled his sister, and then helped her to the ground.
Claire relaxed, and then stiffened again.
“Help her! She's having a seizure!” I said.
Jared turned my head, refusing to let me witness Claire's body writhing on the floor. “No, she's not. They're shocking him with a defibrillator.”
“What?” I said, pulling away from him.
Claire lay in Bex's arms, limp. “He's dying,” she whispered, a single tear falling from the corner of her eye, down her temple, into her ear. Her eyes were nearly vacant, fixed on the ceiling.
“No,” Bex said. He closed his eyes. “Don't take her,” he said softly. “Please don't take her, too.”
A sob escaped my throat, and I buried my face in Jared's chest. “They can't do this to us,” I said. I pushed away from him, then, raising my fists to the ceiling in a rage. “You can't do this to us! We are the good guys, and this is what we get? How dare you! How! Dare! You!”
“Nina,” Jared said.
“It's not fair!” I screamed.
Jared enveloped me in his arms and kissed my hair. His fingers pressed into my skin, and I suddenly felt guilty, knowing Jared was suffering the agony of losing his baby sister, and then feeling my sorrow as well.
“I'm sorry,” I said, holding him tightly. I took a breath, and focused on numbing all of my emotions.
“Don't do that,” Jared said, sensing my efforts. “You don't have to do that,” he whispered.
“I don't want you to hurt anymore than you already are,” I said, tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Claire?” Bex said in a strange tone.
I closed my eyes, terrified to peek out from Jared's arms to see Claire's lifeless body. There was still so much I didn't know about Hybrids and the curse. Jared had prayed for Gabriel to take him quickly; maybe Samuel had taken mercy on her, and couldn't bear to see her suffer.
“Nina,” Jared said, nudging me. “Look.”
Claire sat straight up, looking herself over, and then to the doorway. She didn't speak, she just waited. Finally, a nurse walked in, slightly confused by the spectacle on the floor.
“Er…we just stabilized Ryan. We had to remove his spleen to stop the bleeding, but he's a fighter. I'll come back when we know more.”
I looked up to the ceiling, stunned. “Um…I'm sorry. Th-Thank you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, a black figure appeared next to me. I jumped and recoiled, grabbing at Jared until I realized who it was.
“Samuel,” Jared breathed.
I frowned, and Samuel smiled in response. “You are unhappy with me, young Grey.”<
br />
“You haven't been much help,” I said, too angry to hold back.
He smiled, his white teeth a stark contrast to his rich, dark skin. “It appears to me that the situation is under control,” he said, making his way to Claire. He leaned down, touching the top of her head with his massive hand. “Ryan will be fine, I'm told.”
Claire smiled, another tear falling from her eye. “Thank you, Sam.”
Bex and Claire embraced each other with raw relief. For the first time I heard Claire giggle. Her wet eyes were bright, and the sound of her laughter chimed in the air, reminding me of Lillian. Bex laughed along with her, wiping the tears from his eyes as they celebrated together.
Jared squeezed me to his side, and Kim's mouth widened to a large grin. It was as if we could all breathe again.
“He's going to make it?” I said. The question was redundant, but I had to hear it again.
Samuel nodded once. “Yes,” he said, confident.
He returned to my side, and I wondered if any of the passers-by could see him. No one seemed to notice the half-dressed giant in the room.
“We still need your help,” I said. “We've read the book. We've all came close to death more than once trying to get our hands on it to find a loophole. Jared didn't find anything.”
Samuel looked to Jared, who shook his head with a frustrated expression.
“I think you already know the answer,” Samuel said.
Jared sighed. “I was kind of hoping that would be a last resort.”
Samuel touched Jared's shoulder. “It's a means to an end, isn't it?”
With his last words, Samuel blinked from the space he had once occupied. Jared sat in the chair, pulling me into his lap, lost in thought.
Bex helped Claire to her feet, and then walked her to the sofa. “He's right. It's what you should have done all along.”
“Stop,” Jared said.
The nurse returned, this time with a smile. “He's in recovery, now. He's doing well.”
“When can I see him?” Claire asked.
“Soon,” the nurse said, offering a comforting smile before leaving the way she came.
Claire collapsed against the back of her seat. “That was close.”
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