Jaded

by Danielle James

  “We know,” Angel told her.

  “Get out of my head, Dad,” Jade said with a smile.

  “I wasn’t in your head. But I know exactly what you’re thinking because I was thinking it too.”

  “I want everyone who is human to go somewhere safe. Stephan isn’t going to leave well enough alone. I wish I knew when he was going to make his move, but I don’t. It seems my all knowingness has run out on this one. Therefore, the sooner you guys get out of here, the better.” Jade looked into the eyes of her mother and her aunt Jessica. “I want Frankie and Serena to go with you. You’ll need protection and they can do it. Everyone else needs to be ready to fight at any time.”

  “Has anyone called Phoenix?” Brea asked. “You know he would want to be here.”

  Michael shook his head. “I’m not calling Dad because he will come. And Mom won’t let him leave without her. Just like Jade wants to protect you, I don’t want my mother anywhere near that son of a bitch. The last time they met, he nearly killed her. I won’t give him the chance to try again.”

  “I really think you should consider it,” Angel suggested. “I won’t call them if you don’t want me to, but there is strength in numbers.”

  “I appreciate that,” Michael said, “But I’m firm on this. Nobody calls them. I will let them know that I’m ok, but I don’t want them to know about this until it’s over.”

  No one asked what would happen if the worst came about. They knew. If they lost, everyone would be dead. There would be no going back from that. Well, not everyone. Michael would come back and be forced to live a life without his mate. And everyone knew that wasn’t going to happen. They would respect his wishes, even if it rubbed their own hides wrong.

  “I know we can’t call them,” Jade said. “It’s just one of those things I just know. If Stephan hasn’t made a move in a few days, then maybe we could think about changing our minds.”

  “I don’t like the idea of leaving you unprotected,” Serena argued.

  “I will protect them,” Azerial answered.

  “So will I,” Samuel, Azerial’s mate, said.

  “With my life,” Leigh told her.

  “And mine.” Rebel took his wife’s hand.

  One by one, each of the vampires, Sebastian, Jacque, Gage, and Angel, pledged their protection. Brea was about to argue when they heard shouting from outside.

  “What the hell?” Gage snapped as he lurched for the back door.

  “It’s time,” Jade said. She saw the color drain from her mother’s face just before Frankie and Serena grabbed her and Jessica and ran for the escape route under the house.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  Stephan stood on the sand outside the house where his prey lived. This was it, his big victory. All he had to do was get them outside. He drew in a deep breath and shouted loud enough for the entire city to hear. “Send out the firebird and his mate and I will let the rest of you live!” He knew it was a lie, but they didn’t so he stuck to it.

  He heard the scrambling of feet inside the house and within seconds, the firebird and his new family were standing on the sand in front of him. When did they get him back? Wasn’t that fucker supposed to be trapped in Limbo? He wasn’t expecting the vampires to just hand him over. He knew he would have to kill them all first, but what he expected was to find the firebird in a state of stasis and his mate mourning over him, weak and broken. This was not going according to his plan. Stephan was surprised they were even able to find a way. He knew they had tricked him into believing that no one left the house, but apparently they had. They had gone and fetched the firebird from Limbo and by doing so, had made him look like a fool. It was just another reason for them to taste his revenge. But he controlled the anger that threatened to take over. He knew he had to remain calm. He wouldn’t let them get to him. They would all be meeting their maker on this night. He took a small amount of comfort in that fact.

  “Get off my beach,” Angel growled at the man through clenched teeth. “You are not welcome here.”

  “Oh?” Stephan asked, feigning hurt. “I thought we could make a deal.”

  “There will be no deals made here,” Azerial answered. “Demon be gone!”

  “Ha! Your magic has no effect on me anymore, Earth Goddess,” Stephan sneered. “You are powerless to stop me, and so are the witch and the fey. Just give me what I have come for.”

  The group formed a solid line, but the vampire mated to the firebird stepped out from behind them. “We will not hide from you,” she stated clearly as her mate joined her. He stood taller than she did and he tried to push her behind him. How sweet, Stephan thought. The little woman wasn’t having it though and the firebird had to settle for her standing at his side.

  “I am so happy you have all come to your senses. I will take my revenge now,” he said, knowing full well that the Warrior would not allow it. He placed his hands on his hips and discreetly felt for the Spear that was tucked into his belt.

  “You will not be taking anything today,” the warrior, Antonio, said matter-of-factly. “You should go now before it’s too late.”

  “I think not,” Stephan said with a smile. “You see, you may have had me in numbers the last time we met, but I brought a few friends with me this time.”

  Jade watched as the son of Lucifer said something in a language she didn’t understand. Then, as if by his will, the sand began to shift. It piled upon itself higher and higher in multiple places. The mounds in the sand grew taller until they shifted and the grains fell back to the beach, revealing a hundred creatures with swords. They were tall. Almost as tall as Phoenix, who topped out at nearly seven feet. Their bodies were lean and nearly skin and bones. They wore golden breast plates and heavy helmets on their heads. Heads that were not human–but jackals.

  “Let me introduce you,” Stephan said with an arrogant smile. “The army of Anubis!”

  “Shit,” Leigh said before teleporting out of sight. Jade couldn’t fault her. She was considering running herself.

  Antonio’s eyes widened for the briefest of seconds before covering his surprise with his signature, nonchalant look. “Yeah?” he said back to the devil, “I got friends too.” He pulled something that looked like a kazoo out of his pocket and raised it to his lips.

  “What, are you going to call your dog?” Stephan laughed.

  Antonio didn’t answer, but blew into the instrument. The thunderous sound that came out of that little horn was impressive. It rattled the windows and shook the earth. As soon as Antonio stopped blowing, twelve Warriors appeared at the ready, swords drawn. “Meet my friends,” he said to Stephan.

  Stephan had not been prepared for the warrior to call in reinforcements, although it didn’t surprise him. There would be no turning back now. “Attack.” Stephan said as if he were ordering a cup of coffee. But the sand soldiers heard him and obeyed. They surged toward Jade and her family. “Leave the firebird for me,” Stephan commanded.

  The warrior angels formed a fast line in front of Jade and her family, swords drawn. As the sand soldiers approached, there was a terrifying clash of metal against metal. The warrior angels were outnumbered, but were proficient in speed and skill.

  Antonio brought his sword down at an angle that the soldier he was up against wasn’t expecting and slashed easily through its neck. The soldier immediately dropped, turning to sand on the way down. “You gotta go for the neck!” he shouted to his brethren.

  Leigh reappeared, holding several long swords. “I got into your dad’s stash,” she told Jade as she tossed her one of the blades. Jade caught it easily in the air and turned to join the fight. She had learned from her father how to handle the ultra-sharp weapon and she was good at it. She tried to use her mind to control the sand soldiers, but it wasn’t working. She did, however, have the power to protect herself from their deadly blades. From the corner of her eye, she saw Leigh tossing swords to each of her family members, including Michael.

  Michael was furious. How dare that
fucker come back and threaten his family? He let his fury take the form of fire on his wings as he joined the fight. He was not trained to use a sword, but he figured the best idea was to do as Antonio said and go for the neck. And don’t die. Not that it would matter much, but still. It would be embarrassing.

  He dispatched one after another, and when the soldiers fell, two more took their place. He heard a horrendous noise to his left, and looked to see Antonio swinging that awesome blade into one sand soldier after another. The noise was him singing. Another One Bites the Dust, no less. Michael smiled despite the situation at hand. He jerked his eyes back to his opponent and narrowly missed a blow to his head. He leapt into the air, spreading his wings wide, and came down again, dragging his sword through the top of the sand soldier’s head. It turned to dust.

  Jade couldn’t help but worry about her family. She had no trouble shielding herself from the army Stephan had conjured, but the people she loved were a different story. She wished that she could shield them all from harm, but she could only do one at a time. She knew that her mother and the other humans were likely down in the basement, probably in the tunnels on their way to safety.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jade saw one of the soldiers coming up behind her father. Time slowed to a crawl as she watched in horror as it raised its blade and began the downward swing. Jade screamed and tried to do anything, but it was no use. The blade was coming down and her father was right underneath it. Angel turned just in time to see the blade coming for his head. He didn’t have time to move.

  An orange streak moved across her field of vision and slammed into the sand soldier. Michael! The fire from his wings burned the soldier back to sand, but not before Angel saw it all. Jade smiled. Of course her mate would protect her father.

  Angel nodded at Michael in the way that said thanks and portrayed the utmost respect and kept fighting.

  Stephan stayed back away from the fighting. He had an army, after all, to do his dirty work. The plan was to wait until the soldiers had rid him of the vampires. The witch and the fey had been forced into the house by their mates, likely running to protect the meager humans. They were of no concern to Stephan. The ones he wanted were right there in front of him.

  He watched as they fought. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. No matter how many soldiers they killed, more would rise. They were connected to him now, and as long as he could draw breath, they would fight for him.

  As the fighting continued, Stephan saw an opening. He could get to the Warrior Angel if he moved quickly. He wasn’t Stephan’s target, but as he palmed the Spear of Destiny, he couldn’t help but think of the notoriety he would gain by killing such a powerful creature. He moved forward.

  Antonio was ready for Stephan as he approached. He raised his mighty sword and swung. Stephan was also prepared. He ducked just in the nick of time, avoiding the warrior’s blade. Stephan feinted left then backward.

  “Hold still, fucker!” Antonio shouted at him as he swung again.

  Stephan laughed.

  One of the sand soldier’s blades connected with Gage’s arm, drawing bright red blood to the surface. Jade screamed and ran to his rescue. At the same time, Rebel was fighting one soldier with another at his back. Antonio made a decision. He turned his back on Stephan and cut the head off the soldier who would have killed Rebel. His eyes met his brother’s, and Rebel nodded his thanks. Antonio grinned and turned his attention back to Stephan.

  He was waiting for him.

  Stephan shoved the Spear of Destiny upward, slicing through Antonio’s chainmail and breastplate.

  He shoved the blade deeper into Antonio’s chest and smiled. He had done it. He had killed a warrior angel. He would be renowned throughout Hell as the most powerful force to ever exist.

  But Antonio laughed.

  “Yeah, that’s what my dad thought too,” Stephan smirked as he looked into Antonio’s eyes and waited for the spear to do its job.

  But Antonio’s eyes continued to gleam. “Yeah,” he said, “your dear old dad was evil. If you took the time to read something instead of flossing your ass crack with your underwear you might know the difference between good and evil you fucking shit brick.”

  Stephan was floored. The spear of destiny was the most powerful weapon in the world. It could kill anything, so why wasn’t the piece of shit angel dying?

  Jade saw the surprise flicker across Stephan’s face as he held the blade deep in Antonio’s chest. For just a split second, he forgot to shield his mind from her. That was all the opening she needed. She pushed with her mind and broke into his easily. She immediately set about housekeeping in his brain. Memories of his father? Nope. Didn’t need those, she thought as she wrecked his memories. No memory of her mate’s mother either. He didn’t need those. She wrapped one thought around another and then another and tied them in a huge knot until his brain was reduced to that of a vegetable. And then she thought better of it. Instead of making an insane man crazier, she went to work on setting his brain right. She pushed all the good memories forward, and repaired his conscious. Where before he had always thought he was evil and there was nothing he could do about it, she made him sane. She made him understand the pain and the sorrow he had inflicted upon the many people he touched. She made him regret his decisions. She made him a man with a good heart who had done so much bad. She made him regret.

  And that was when she saw it in his head; an ancient piece of parchment with writing in Latin. She didn’t need to speak Latin to understand what it said. Stephan knew what it meant.

  Two families, bound by heart

  Shall rise together but from afar

  Unlikely births

  To falling stars

  Two young of age But old in soul

  Mated in blood

  Destined from birth

  Will stop the flood

  Two hands tied

  Will unite the clans

  Their strength combined

  The future in their hands

  One thousand years of peace

  Will reign

  No longer will blood

  Or evil remain

  Jade not only saw the prophecy, but knew what it meant. Everything that her mind couldn’t see before became crystal clear. She saw flashes of Phoenix and Kelly fighting Stephan. She saw the sacrifice made to send him back to Hell. He had intended to enslave the human race, to bring about the Apocalypse. Only, where he thought they had ruined his plans, he had actually succeeded. The time from that moment in time, when Stephan’s followers wore the mark of the beast, until now, had been the time of reckoning. The time where every soul on Earth was allowed to make their choice between good and evil.

  Stephan thought the prophecy meant that the two souls would bring about peace, that just by their living and coming together that they would somehow see that he never ruled.

  He had been partially right. Stephan wanted to rule. He wanted power and he wanted to reach a status higher than God.

  He wanted evil to rule the earth and heavens.

  The part that he was wrong about was the souls. They weren’t going to just keep him from ruling. They were going to stop him for all eternity so that his will would never taint the goodness God had created in the world ever again.

  The two souls in the prophecy were Michael and she.

  They had been destined to be together and they had been destined to finally bring peace on Earth. Their love for one another, their love for their families, their combined sense of right and wrong was what gave them the power to defeat him.

  Peace.

  She only had to kill the Antichrist. The son of Lucifer. And he was standing right in front of her. Her puppet to manipulate.

  While Stephan stood like a statue as Jade rearranged his mind, Michael came up behind him. Jade nodded once and Michael wrapped his arms around the demon. The fire blazed in his wings as he wrapped them around himself and Stephan. He knew the fire wouldn’t kill the bastard, but it would hurt.
His theory was proven when Stephan began to scream in pain.

  Jade turned to Antonio, who still had the spear of destiny sticking out of his chest. “Uncle Antonio,” she asked sweetly, “Can I borrow that?”

  Antonio grunted as Jade carefully pulled the spear from his chest. She turned at the same time that Michael opened his wings and shoved Stephan forward. She pushed the spear into the demon’s chest and forced it upward into his heart.

  “I warned you to leave my family alone,” she glared at him and then stepped away. Stephan screamed and twisted to try to get away from the pain, but he couldn’t stop the blood of the Savior from entering his blood stream. He wailed at the sky just before he exploded in front of their eyes.

  The Sand army stopped their attack the instant Stephan was dead and disintegrated back to the sand from which they came.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Antonio said as he picked pieces of demon flesh from his chainmail.

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  Jade looked into the eyes of her mate, her life, her destiny. She couldn’t believe the number of people her family invited to her wedding. Her mother and her aunts had taken the reigns and run with them. Of course, a wedding in the Clan Leader’s home, where the king of vampires lived, was not a small event at any rate. Her mind was going a million miles a minute and she nearly missed the words that Gage was saying to her.

  “Do you, Jade, daughter of Angel Knight, take this man, Michael, son of Phoenix, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to be your mate, to love and protect, honor and cherish, for all of eternity?” Gage asked loud enough to yank her head back into the ceremony.

  Jade smiled, flashing her fangs at Michael. “I do.”

  “And do you, Michael, son of Phoenix, take Jade, daughter of Angel Knight, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to be your mate, to love and protect, honor and cherish, for all of eternity?” Gage asked Michael.

  “Yes, I do,” Michael answered, pride and love filling his voice.