Only You (UnHallowed Series Book 3)

by Tmonique Stephens

  A grimace crossed his face, and he muttered, “Favorite shirt.” Then said to everyone, “Those who can fly, do so.”

  “Wings are gone, bruh,” Riél groaned and dropped to his knees. “Cut them off our backs and burned them.”

  “We’re not leaving anyone behind. So either stay and fight or leave, Daeden.” Sam commanded.

  Daeden shoved Sam away. Helpless, Sam plopped onto his ass. “One hundred years as a pacifist down the tubes,” Daeden mumbled and transformed back into a Reaper. He swept low over the battlefield and started killing. Waves of Darklings rose into the air to fight him.

  But Sophie was lost in her memories because regardless of what she said in that memory however long ago, she had forgotten everything.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Amaya tackled Taige. Cartwheeling in the air, they grappled, each desperate to get the upper hand. With the vial in one palm and a blade in the other, she was at a disadvantage. At best, she kept him at bay. At worst, he toyed with her. He knocked her about, landed glancing blows, not doing real damage. What was he waiting for?

  “Ah. Reinforcements.” His scowl, a menacing slash splitting his face nearly into two halves.

  She risked a glance to see a Reaper. A real-life Reaper with a scythe a mile long. Her blood ran cold. Damn it! When were they ever gonna get a break? She didn’t know much, other than they weren’t of this world or the next. They were a separate, unique breed and impossible to kill, because—technically—they weren’t alive. How the hell could she defeat it?

  Taige swooped in and grabbed her shirt. She buried her blade in his chest and twisted. It broke off at the hilt. He grabbed her hand before she could palm another one. Then she realized she had no more.

  “What? What is he doing!” He focused on the battlefield, not Amaya.

  Now was the time to strike. She brought the vial up, planning to shove it in his mouth and crush it with an uppercut to his jaw. The holy water would pour down his throat. No demon could survive that. He would die and his army would fall apart. All would be over and—

  We can go home.

  His fist slammed into her wrist. Her entire hand went numb. The vial slipped from her fingers and into Taige’s palm. “I can smell holy water a mile away.”

  He whipped her around, her back to his front. She got a thimble of air and then not another sip because he’d wrapped his arm around her neck.

  “Taige! Take me in her place. I’m the one you really want,” Malphas shouted.

  “Thank you for reminding me you’re still alive. Right now, I’m having some alone time with Amaya.” Taige planted a sloppy kiss on her temple. “I wasn’t thirsty. Maybe you are.” He shoved the vial between her teeth and slammed his fist into her jaw. The glass shattered, shredded her tongue, cheek, and the roof of her mouth. Blood, holy water, and glass mingled. He freed her neck to use both hands to cover her mouth and nose.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. She’d led the UnHallowed to their death. Scarla, Sophie, and Dina too.

  Taige yanked her head back. The slurry mixture of blood, holy water, saliva, and glass slid to the back of her throat. She gagged, her throat automatically convulsing, and then, with no other choice, she swallowed.

  Agony. The glass cut into her esophagus. Blood filled her mouth and throat, choking her. She swallowed again, all the while clawing at the hands covering her mouth. Her throat kept filling. She kept swallowing.

  Tears blurred her vision. She wanted to see Bane. One last time, please.

  Abruptly, she stopped fighting. All the energy drained out of her and pooled in the pit of her stomach. She felt it there, churning, drawing ever tighter to a finite point, along with something else. At first, she didn’t know what, then warmth spread to every cell in her body, on the heel of that warmth one overpowering scent gave her hope.

  She looked up, expecting to see him there, wings outstretched, empyreal blade leading the way, coming for her. Coming to take her with him. But there was only the sky, dotted with stars and a thin strip of purple on the horizon.

  A charge zapped her atoms and a violent shudder ran through her. Her limbs twitched, tingled, and went numb. She hung limp in Taige’s arms.

  He eased his hand away from her mouth and caressed her throat in a most gentle fashion. “Is it the holy water or the glass you find hard to digest?” Taige murmured all seductive in her ear. The goal was to kill her not screw her.

  Another shudder was her answer. Her insides burned, also her skin, as if nitroglycerin had been injected into her veins along with a blowtorch. Pain laced up her spine and slammed into her brain, where it ripped through her conscious layer and hooked into her subconscious. The protective shield she had over the place where Braile dwelled, shattered, and all that glorious essence surged like lava freed from a pressurized cavern.

  Amaya’s stomach heaved, everything was on the way back up. She opened her mouth and—

  Light streamed out. Pure, bright, white light shot out of her mouth and scorched everything it touched; Darklings, Spaun, and demons—vaporized. Not even ash remained. The scent that filled her nostrils was Braile. The celestial essence she’d absorbed in his burial chamber, the same celestial essence that fueled her transformation into an angel, shot out of her like water out of a firehose.

  Amaya tried to control it, direct it, but not only was it uncontrollable, light spilled from her nose, ears, and eyes. She could still hear, see, and breathe, but nothing else. She couldn’t even control her body. Trapped inside, she was a passenger on a runaway train. A train piloted by Braile.

  He didn’t have form, only light. Bright, pure, all-encompassing light. It healed her from the inside out, every ache, every cut, and bruise, even as it swept over the field, killing all. Not with rage, but with the cold, resolute determination he’d always shown.

  Nothing withstood the onslaught. Not Darklings. Not Spaun. Not all the other multitude of demons gathered. Taige’s demon army climbed over each other trying to escape. A Spaun opened a dimensional pocket. It exploded when Amaya’s light passed over it. More formed. They were getting away until the light rotated in their direction. She was a deadly demon killing beacon, burning as brightly as the sun.

  She choked on a broken cry from the unbridled joy. Braile, he’d saved her. He’d saved them all.

  Her arms flung wide. Now, she screamed because the light was an inferno. It punched through her bones, muscles, and skin, gathered in her pores to stream through every part of her in an all-encompassing wave. Her clothes melted so nothing would impede Braile’s celestial essence. Naked, she hovered in the sky, a star gone supernova.

  Taige’s demon legion roasted under her brilliant onslaught. She rejoiced, uttered a silent thank you. Then she rotated one hundred and eighty degrees.

  Amaya tried to stop, fought with all her might, even tried to latch on and draw it back into her, but nothing she did halted the light from landing on the UnHallowed.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Bane, Zedekiél, Sammiél, Rimmon, Chayyliél, Daghony, Tahariél, Ioath, Kushiél, Gadreel. Braile, please! Don’t!

  I do what I must. A form took shape in the center of the light. Different shades of light refracted to show a vague outline she had to squint to see, though she had no problem seeing the Unhallowed in her line of sight.

  But the UnHallowed. You’ll kill—

  My brothers have never feared me. They will not do so today.

  Through eyes not of her own, she saw the UnHallowed’s broken bodies, saw and felt the light engulf them in a velvet embrace, and Braile’s essence pour into each of them. She watched them heal.

  And she felt Braile slipping away from her.

  What are you doing? She reached for him and came away empty handed.

  Making the only amends that I can.

  Amends?

  I failed them once. I will not do so again.

  Memories and emotions mixed in her head. He blamed himself, not because his brothers fell… Beca
use he didn’t join them. For the first time in his existence, fear had dictated his actions. He could have stopped them—maybe not all, definitely not Metatron—but most would have listened to him and heeded his warning to stand down. Instead, he did nothing and watched his family split in two.

  Suddenly, he was beside her—just a collection of denser light particles—and together they watched Bane’s limb reform, wings sprouted from the backs of Sammiél, Kushiél, Daghony, Tahariél, and Rimmon. Watched as they regained their footing and stood tall again. Watched as grace infused their bodies and they grew stronger than they’d been since the Fall.

  By this action, I will not make them whole, but I will give them some of what they have lost.

  His words made no sense, yet his intent bled through her confusion as she registered a shift in her DNA.

  Her mouth opened on a silent cry. Angelic grace that had fused to each cell since her abrupt birth, first splintered into jagged shards, and then streamed out of every pore, joining the reservoir of grace leaving her.

  What are you doing? Even though she asked the question, Amaya already knew the answer. He was giving all of himself to the UnHallowed, saving them the only way he could, then leaving her. This time, forever, because after this final act, there’d be nothing left.

  Desperate, she reached out again. Before, it slipped through her fingers as air through a net. This time, she latched onto the light. It was a tangible living thing in her.

  Don’t leave me! Poised on the tip of her tongue. But suddenly, for the first time, she got it, understood the true meaning behind everything he’d taught her. Every lesson she hadn’t comprehended. Every argument where he tried to explain, made sense.

  Sacrifice is what you give to others in the time of need without regard for yourself.

  From a distance, she heard screams mixed with Bane’s voice. Through eyes not her own, she saw the UnHallowed huddled around a shriveled form. The abrupt malevolence pouring out of Braile gave the answer to her unspoken question.

  Please, Braile. You can’t kill Malphas!

  Demon! His anger vibrated around her.

  Yes! But he’s a friend. My friend. I know that sounds warped, me, friends with a Demoni Lord. But we need him. This war isn’t over and we need an ally. As messed up as that is, we need Malphas. Please, I’m begging you, don’t kill him!

  She felt his reluctant acceptance, but the intensity of his essence didn’t decrease. Now the shadowy line she’d focused on, solidified into a recognizable figure. A figure all too familiar, though she hadn’t seen him in over a decade and she knew—knew—

  This was it, the last time she’d ever see him. This was goodbye. And she wasn’t ready. Fuck that, she’d never be ready.

  Yet she opened her hand and let Braile slip free.

  It’s not about me. It’s about us. Everything he’d ever done was about someone else’s need. This final act was no different. His noble heart could do no less and she wouldn’t guilt that from him. He’d trained her to be better than that.

  He peered over his shoulders and the arc of his wings at her. She lost herself in the glint of his eyes, the sharp profile she so missed, and the overwhelming love that poured into her heart. Tears coasted down her cheeks unbidden, unapologetic. Though her heart ripped in two, she managed a sharp nod. In the next breath, his arms were around her and she was a little girl again, basking in the unconditional love she’d always craved.

  For saving me, raising me, loving me as best you could, thank you…Father.

  Chapter Thirty

  Bane’s back slammed into the rubble that used to be the house. Dumbfounded and temporarily immobilized, he watched Amaya incinerate a handful of creatures on the field. Between her and the Reaper, maybe the tide had turned even if a portion of the demons would get away. Already Spaun were forming dimensional pockets and Taige had vanished. Died? Either way, he’d left his legion to survive or die on their own.

  A heavenly scent filled the air. Braile. It wasn’t just light pouring out of her. It was Braile’s celestial essence that she’d absorbed. Energy in the air coalesced around her, feeding her more power. Arms stretched wide, her clothes melted away, and the beautiful light bled from her pores and projected forward.

  Darklings, Spaun, and demons burned, their ashes a gray blizzard. “Look out!” he shouted, too late to save the Reaper from getting a full blast of light. Bane didn’t expect to see anything left of the Soul Snatcher when the light moved on. The bastard proved he was the real deal when he wobbled to his feet, dazed, and very human.

  And then, Amaya turned toward him.

  He pivoted and yelled at the UnHallowed, “Get to the hou—”

  Braile’s celestial essence washed over Bane. He waited for the searing pain. Waited for his substance to unravel and for him to receive his final punishment, the punishment handed down when he fell from grace. He was UnHallowed. He would burn like all the rest.

  Instead, Braile’s essence entered his body and…and…stayed. Braile’s light filled the empty reservoir that used to hold Bane’s grace.

  Was he alone in this phenomena? Had Amaya and Braile saved him and none else? He pivoted to his UnHallowed brothers. Braile’s essence encompassed them all. From stunned to terror, a range of emotions contorted their faces as skin returned to Tahariél’s chest and face, gray wings sprouted on Daghony’s back. Sammiél rose to his feet as the Angel of Death once again. Kush, Ioath, Rimmon, and Zed were on their feet, wounds healed. Gideon had Dina in his arms while Gadreel and Chay stood close to Scarla and Sophie, both UnHallowed and the women were healed.

  A sharp pain had Bane glancing at his right shoulder. His jaw unhinged at the sight of his arm back where it should be. Stunned, he flexed his elbow, opened and closed his fist in amazement. He should be dead, not hale and hearty.

  A scream broke through his inspection. The essence had landed on Malphas, and Bane saw the last thing he’d ever expected; Daghony threw himself on top of the Demoni Lord and shielded Malphas with his wings. Riél was next. He stood over the two with his wings outstretched. Rimmon joined in, then Kush surprised him and joined the circle, even though his wings were skeletal. Sam was the last one with wings that could join the Protect Malphas fan club. Give it to the Angel of Death to glare at the rest of them as if they were all demented. Understandable since Sam hadn’t been privy to any of the UnHallowed’s activities for the past two weeks.

  Kush surprised Bane again when he hauled Sam into the circle. The rest—Gideon, Zed, Gadreel, and Chay—filled in the gaps. They created a cocoon to protect Malphas when they could’ve let him die.

  Braile’s essence continued to stream out of Amaya, focused on the UnHallowed. Did Amaya know what she was doing or was Braile in control, sensing a Demoni Lord and performing his duty?

  Too bad he couldn’t ask. He’d give almost anything to hear the Chancellor’s voice again, but not more than he wanted his woman back. He waved his arms. “Amaya! Look at me, baby.”

  Like a searchlight, her head whipped toward him and he was doused in warmth. But this time, it was different. He sensed a presence within the light, a being of such benevolence, Bane dropped to his knees. “Hello, Chancellor.”

  Bane.

  The deep tenor of the Chancellor’s voice echoed inside Bane’s head. “Thanks for the help, killing the demons, putting us back together, but I think you’re done.”

  One more.

  Amaya’s attention and the light returned to the group huddled around Malphas. “I know this may be hard to hear. Malphas is a friend, of sorts. Definitely, a means to an end. He’s not our enemy and we need him.”

  Demon!

  “I know, but so am I. So are they.” Bane pointed at his brothers. “It’s what we are and you saved us. I am asking you to save him also.” The light intensified and began passing through the UnHallowed to reach Malphas. His screams began again.

  “At least not kill him! We need him, Braile. The enemy you know is better than the enemy you don�
��t. You taught me that. We know Malphas.”

  The intensity ratcheted up a notch, became blinding. Malphas’s screams dwindled, took on the tone of a man seconds away from dying, joined by the cries of the UnHallowed.

  “Braile, please! You’re killing us, too!”

  Amaya’s head jerked, as if she fought to regain power, then it fell back on her neck. Her entire body tipped forward and blazed into the UnHallowed. Bane expected to fry, and though he didn’t cook, he did feel crispy, yet lighter than he’d been since the day he fell. Stronger and at peace in the most fundamental way, because a part of him that had been missing had returned, gifted from the sacrifice of another, who was worthy of the highest exaltation.

  The first rays of the sun crested the horizon and touched all of them. How many times would they have to escape death tonight?

  He wouldn’t leave. He couldn’t. Not without her. “Amaya, I’m with you baby. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  The energy pouring out of her intensified until she was a dark blip surrounded by white. Abruptly, it decreased by half, then a fourth. He could see her again, an outline haloed by light.

  But then the rays from the sun landed on him and the UnHallowed. He braced for the pain, but none came. He didn’t burn. Multiple gasps came from behind him, but his gaze stayed on Amaya. That wasn’t where his concern lay. It was her wings. One by one, her white, red tipped feathers floated away on the morning breeze. Soon, nothing but the skeletal frame remained, and then it withered to white ash.

  The light surging out of her ended as swiftly as it started. For a few precious seconds, she hovered. She’s a candle caught in a thunderstorm. No matter how brightly she burns, she will be snuffed. Rimmon’s words cored a hole in Bane’s chest. Rimmon’s words were now prophetic as Amaya plummeted from the sky. He caught her naked body and cradled her close to his heart. “I got you. I got you, baby.” His grip tight with relief.