by L. L Hunter
“Max!” Eden screamed and sunk to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh, my goodness, Ash. What have I done? I’ve killed my cousin.”
“He’s not dead, okay? He’s just shifted into his reaper form to get away from the sage. We have to do what he says, though. If this is our one chance to get rid of Abraham, and possibly Jazmine and Samson forever, then we have to take it.”
Asher began picking some sage while Eden picked herself up off the stony path. As she turned to help her soulmate pick sage branches, she hoped and prayed she hadn’t accidentally killed her own cousin.
Chapter 8
Melody was worried about Gabe. She didn’t want him to think his parents were evil, but the truth had to come out at some point. Now she was afraid he was about to do something reckless. So she followed him closely, flying above the cab he had just climbed into. The cab drove to the private airport hangar that stored the Academy’s jet. She had stayed hidden until now. Most Nephilim or humans didn’t know they had guardian angels, and most had never seen one. So she had to remain invisible until the time was right. But once a guardian had revealed themselves to their assignments, they were then visible from that moment on.
Melody landed on the tarmac once the cab drove away and came into view just as Gabe ordered the pilot to take him somewhere.
“Gabe. Where are you going?”
Gabe startled. He quickly shook the pilot’s hand and walked over to the stairs of the private jet.
“I heard Beth order you to follow me. I need to do this on my own. Leave me alone.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “No can do. You know I’m never letting you out of my sight.”
He sighed. “Fine. But you can’t try to convince me otherwise. I need to find my parents.”
“I know. I’m coming with you, though.”
“Fine.” He gave a small smile and began climbing the stairs. “Come on, then.”
“I know a better way. A faster way. We need to find your parents before they harm anyone else, and a private jet isn’t going to get us there in time.”
Gabe studied the door of the plane and then met her gaze. He cocked an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah? What way is that?”
Melody smirked, spread her white wings, and landed in front of him, blocking the door to the plane. Gabe stumbled down a step but grabbed the handrail to steady himself.
“Do you trust me?” she whispered, holding out her hand.
Gabe didn’t have to think twice. He put his hand in hers.
“Yes, as long as you don’t try to stop me from finding my parents.”
“I’m not going to stop you. We’re going to find them together. Now, hold on tight.”
Gabe laughed as Melody came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and lifted them into the air. They shot through the air at light speed on their way back to London.
“So, where do you think they’ll be?” Melody asked him as they passed through a big white fluffy cloud. Gabe gazed around and was amazed at the total whiteout they were experiencing. It was freaking amazing having angel blood and having a guardian angel to watch over him. It was even more impressive that she could take him places like this. He wanted to travel this way all the time.
“I’m not sure, but let’s try my old house first. There’s a chance they could be there. Of course, they could be at any one of our houses around the world, but I don’t think they would have gone far from me.”
“Okay. Good idea.” They passed through another cloud. “By the way, just how many houses do your parents own?”
“Oh, many. I’ve lived in Sydney, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Rome, Vancouver, and London in my short life. I used to believe they were travelling for work, but now I’m beginning to think they may have been running.”
“That makes sense.”
Gabe directed Melody toward a suburb a few hours outside of London. It was a more impoverished neighbourhood filled with rows and rows of Lego houses and public housing. Most of the yards and surrounding parks were overgrown and unkempt.
“That one,” said Gabe, pointing at one of the Lego houses. “The second one from the right.”
Melody landed on the rooftop of the row of Lego houses, and together, she and Gabe leapt off onto the second-story balcony. Unfortunately, the French doors on the balcony were locked, but Gabe could melt the lock with his trait, and they quietly crept into the house.
The house was quiet. Melody took out her dagger and willed the light to shine only a little, just enough to guide their way in the darkened interior. Melody listened for any signs of a presence or danger in the house, but she couldn’t hear anything.
“Gabe, I don’t think—” All of a sudden, a flash of light and a whooshing sound had Melody and Gabe bracing themselves. A portal opened up in the bedroom they were standing in. Melody held out her dagger as Adam and Veronica stepped through.
“Mum? Dad?”
“Hello, son.” Adam stepped through the portal, and Melody barely had time to react before Adam grabbed hold of Gabe and pulled him through the portal.
Melody screamed and ran for the portal, trying to grab hold of Gabe.
But it was too late.
The portal closed, and Adam and Veronica disappeared from sight, pulling Gabe with them.
Chapter 9
Max drifted through time and space as ash and shadows. He floated, not quite whole, toward the cemetery and through the thin veil into the Realm of Death. Particles of energy, light, matter, smoke, and ash swirled together, forming Max’s solid form. Max walked into the vine-covered cottage when he was whole once more and was surprised to find he wasn’t alone.
He braced himself as Samson, Abraham, and Jazmine turned to face him, his red tendrils of energy snaking their way around his wrists and fingers, his eyes glowing a fiery red.
“What are you doing here,” he asked.
“Ah, Maximus. How nice to see you again,” said Abraham.
Max clenched his fists at his sides. He had to find a way to get a message to the others, to tell them he had found Samson, Jazmine, and Abraham. He wanted to transport himself back to Eden and Asher, or even to his father, but he was too weak after being exposed to the sage. He had to keep that knowledge to himself that he knew Abraham’s weakness. He couldn’t let the ex-Angel of Death know he had read his demon botany book. Max made his way to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed. He desperately needed to sleep and recharge his batteries. He also needed to dream walk and let the others know what was going on. But dream walking took a large amount of energy. So he decided to sleep first.
But Samson had other plans. Max listened to the conversation they were having in the kitchen.
“This is perfect,” said Jazmine.
“How could you not have seen him coming, love?” Abraham asks.
“Because he is protected somehow. He’s the son of Dyston and Scarlett. I saw his birth. I knew he was going to become the new leader of the underworld, the new Angel of Death, but for some reason, I can’t see him anymore.”
“And now he’s walked right into our hands. You’re right, Jazmine. This is perfect,” said Samson, agreeing. He walked around the island counter in the kitchen and stared down at Benjamin’s map. Even though the two secret Nephilim boys, Gabriel and Max, didn’t show up on the map, Samson felt as if he were winning.
“We have the son of Scarlett and Dyston,” said Samson, addressing Abraham and Jazmine. “Now we can finish what we started. We have to populate this earth with the souls of sinners before they stop us again. Without their precious Chosen One, they won’t succeed.”
“Let’s get started then. I’ll go get the spawn.” He recognised Abraham’s gruff voice and heard the sound of heavy boots coming toward his room. Max’s eyes snapped open, and he grappled for a weapon but then realised he was a weapon.
As the door to his room flew open, Max threw a ball of red energy at Abraham’s head. The reaper ducked, and it missed. Instead, the ball of l
ight hit the wall, burning a hole through the plaster. He scrambled back on the bed as Abraham came toward him. He tried throwing more tendrils of energy, but Max was far too weak. Abraham grabbed his arm and yanked him off the bed. He struggled, but he was no match for the rag Abraham held over Max’s mouth and nose, which was covered in sage. Max was too weak to dissipate into smoke, so he went limp in Abraham’s arms.
Melody screamed over and over. She spun around and around in circles, searching for any sign of the portal or Gabe. But he was gone.
“Gabe! Gabe!”
She fell to her knees and cried once more. And as she cried and called out the name of her assignment, of the guy she loved, a funny thing happened. As she cried and called out, a wave of energy, light, and noise washed over the room. Melody gasped, and her head snapped up. She watched in confusion and surprise as her cries rebounded off the walls in waves of pale blue light. The waves of noise stopped when her cries did. So, testing it out, she called out to him again.
“Gabe? Gabe!” Pulses of blue light washed over the room, bouncing off the walls and flying through the open doors. Could they be sound waves? Could this be her voice? Her trait? Oh, my goodness, had she just received her trait? This made her sob harder, and her cries were amplified tenfold, drifting out the doors and into the sky.
Chapter 10
Eden threw open the doors to the Academy with Asher close behind, both carrying bundles of sage branches. As soon as she saw them, Aria ran up to them.
“Have either of you seen Melody and Gabriel?” she asked frantically. She wasn’t the only one who was acting nervous. Many Nephilim rushed about in the halls.
“No,” she said, looking to Asher. “Why? What’s going on?”
Aria ran her hands through her hair. “Oh no. This isn’t good. I was hoping they were with you.”
“Aria, what’s wrong?” Aria peered over her shoulder and then pulled Eden and Asher to the side. She lowered her voice.
“We’ve just received word that Adam Daylesford is back and is on the run.”
Eden’s eyes widened, and the pile of sage branches she carried fell to the tiled floor. Asher rubbed her back.
“How is that possible?” Asher asked.
“We don’t know. No one knows. It shouldn’t have been possible, but now Gabriel and Melody are missing.”
“And Max. Shit. This is bad.” Eden bent over and tried to pull as much air into her lungs as possible. She felt she was about to be sick.
“Max is missing too?” Aria asked.
“Yeah. Hence why we have the sage,” said Asher. “Sage is poisonous to demons, and because Max is now the leader of the Realm of Death, a reaper, it made him turn into smoke and disappear.”
“This is very bad indeed. We have to go find them. We have to…” Aria paused and yelped, holding her head.
“Aria? Are you okay?” Asher asked. Chordelia landed beside her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. She folded her wings behind her and held onto her friend.
“What’s going on?” Eden asked.
“Can’t you hear that?” Aria gasped.
“No. I can’t hear anything but other students talking.”
All of a sudden, a wave of bright pale blue light washed over them like a wave, and they could all hear her screams.
“Oh, my God! I can hear screaming!” Eden said.
“Who is that?”
“It’s Melody. She’s… crying.”
Asher turned around and looked for Melody in the crowd, but he couldn’t see her. “Where is she?”
“She’s not far away,” explained Aria.
Chordelia nodded. She had her eyes closed. “I can see her too. She’s close. Something’s happened to Gabriel. We must go.”
“Where is she? I need to let my parents know. We need backup,” said Eden.
“She’s at a house in West London. Number five,” said Chordelia.
“That’s where Gabe used to live before he was dropped here. We’ll meet you there.”
The two guardian angels nodded, unfurled their wings, and flew out the front doors.
Max came to the cemetery just outside the entrance to the Realm of Death. When he opened his eyes, he saw Abraham looking down at him.
“Good morning, spawn.” It wasn’t Abraham who spoke. Max turned his head and noticed Jazmine and Samson standing nearby.
“We should begin. We don’t have much time before they find out what’s happened and come looking for you.” Samson stood up from his seat on a headstone and walked over to a bag lying on the ground. He pulled a jar from the bag and twisted open the lid. A bright white pure soul flew from the jar. Samson picked up another jar and opened that too. He let loose another pure soul.
“What’s going on?” Max asked, groggy. He must have been drugged. He got shakily to his feet and brushed the dirt from his jeans.
“You are going to finish what you started. No tricks this time. I want you to turn all of these good souls into evil ones.”
Max watched all the pure souls fly around the graveyard. He crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”
Samson’s eyes glowed red, and he growled. He stomped over to Max and pointed at him. “You will turn those souls, or else.”
“No. You can’t make me. Besides, I don’t think I can.”
“Anyone can be good or evil if they choose to. You just have to want it bad enough,” said Jazmine.
“Well, I don’t want to undo everything I’ve done. I came here to help the demons and the tainted souls—to purify them. I didn’t come here to turn good souls bad.”
“You can, and you will, once you see what is at stake.” Samson stepped forward and was about to put his finger on Max’s head, but he hesitated because he knew how dangerous Max was. All Max had to do was reach out and touch Samson to purify him.
“Ah… a little help, Abraham?”
“Certainly, little Lucifer.” Abraham walked over to Max and grabbed his arms. Max struggled as Abraham held him tight, and Samson placed his hands on Max’s head.
Max screamed, and his eyes rolled back in his skull as a vision took over.
Gabe’s face filled the vision. He looked worn out. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Then Gabe screamed, and Max caught a glimpse of Gabe’s surroundings. He was tied to a chair, and a man stood in front of him. The man grabbed hold of Gabe’s arm, and Gabe screamed.
The vision changed, and he saw Eden running down a street, with Asher close behind her. Hooded figures grabbed Eden and Asher and pulled them screaming and fighting into a dilapidated house.
Max pulled himself from the vision by kicking out at Abraham. Abraham screamed as Max’s heel connected with his shin and then his toes.
“Argh! You stupid brat. Never trust a Blackbell. You’d think I would have learned my lesson by now. Bloody hell.”
“What was that? What have you done to my cousins?” Max asked.
“Oh, they are fine. For now. But they won’t be if you don’t do as I say and turn those souls into sinners.”
He didn’t want to, but he had no choice. He couldn’t let anything happen to his family. Besides, when his uncle was finished with the demon vaccines made from Gabe and his blood, they would be able to save the souls.
“Fine. I’ll do it. Just leave my family alone.”
Samson grinned wickedly. “Good. That’s what I like to hear. Let’s get started, shall we?”
Chapter 11
Gabe didn’t know where he was. All he could see was darkness. Was he dead?
“Hello?” he called. His voice echoed in the space. He was definitely in a room. He knew this because his voice seemed to bounce off the walls. It was a pretty small room, so his voice didn’t go very far. He could also smell dust and mildew. This room had been untouched for a while.
At last, a trickle of light appeared to his right, and a door hinge creaked as someone entered the room. Gabe tried moving his hands to call his trait and defend himself, but he found his hands were tied down. He
was tied to a chair, judging by the sitting position he was in. Finally, a light turned on with a click, and the room was illuminated. He blinked and squinted, and he got a look at his captor. Unfortunately, though, he already knew exactly who it was.
“Why are you doing this, Dad?” He tried to move in the chair, but the legs gave out beneath him, and he fell backward. Adam rushed over and caught the back of the chair before Gabe’s head hit the ground. Gabe’s breath stilled, and he stared into the eyes of the man whom he thought was dead.
“I’m sorry, son. This is the way it has to be. Being away from this realm for this long has drained my powers. Being away from other Nephilim has made me weak.”
Adam circled the chair his son was tied to in the middle of the room. Gabe turned his head and followed, watching as his father walked lazy circles around him. He was a shark—and Gabe, the prey.
“So, it’s true what they say. You can draw power from other Nephilim, steal their trait.”
Adam grinned. Gabe noticed that sweat dotted his father’s forehead and stained his armpits. He also noticed how his father glanced around nervously. He was nervous and scared for his life.
“It’s true. That’s why I’m glad to see you again, Gabe. My son. I need you in my life.” Adam stopped in front of Gabe and reached out, placing his palm against Gabe’s cheek. Gabe’s trait crackled inside him, and his body began to glow bright green. Raw electricity hummed through Gabe’s veins, and Adam yelped as Gabe’s body gave off an electric charge, shocking Adam. Adam flew backward across the room, colliding with the wall. Gabe clenched his fists and tried to control his power, to keep it within him.
“You shouldn’t touch me,” he warned.
Adam picked himself off the ground and walked toward his son. He held up his palms like he was trying to calm a frightened, cornered animal.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Gabe.”