All the agony and fury churning inside her broke free, releasing the daemon. Whipping her hands up in the air, she screamed the words coming from her soul as tears ran down her cheeks. The wind picked up, making her hair fly in all directions. April crouched next to her, ducking her head, shielding herself from the flying debris. Pure white energy pulsed in Libbie’s hand, scorching hot, blistering her palm, but she held it, amassing the power she needed. She didn’t care if it melted her skin off. She wouldn’t need it for much longer anyway. The words coming from her mouth were foreign, even to her, but they kept spilling from her lips. The vehemence in her tone more wicked than she’d ever uttered.
When she could no longer contain the power, she sent it careening through the air, hitting the demon square in the chest. He stumbled back a step, and then braced himself for the onslaught. He shook, and roared, and then with a massive burst of black energy, he pushed back at her. Sweat trickled down her spine. The pain consuming her threatened to make her knees buckle, but she wouldn’t let up. With the intensity of the magic she wielded, her energy dropped fast. She continued chanting, drawing power from the earth itself, but while giving all she had, his dark magic kept coming, stronger than ever. Libbie grunted, falling to her knees.
“Release him, Libbie.” A familiar voice sounded right behind her.
“I can’t. He has to die.” Her hands shook as she drew more power, sending it into the demon.
“Release him. That’s an order,” Jordan barked at her, snapping her back to reality.
The invisible tie between her and the beast shattered at her boss’s command. Libbie fell back, landing hard on her ass. She released the magic still clinging to her, letting it dissipate in the air around her, only then realizing that the gate was gone. Jordan stepped closer to the demon, never averting his gaze.
The demon hissed and tried to look away, but Jordan grabbed it by the throat. His skin sizzled beneath Jordan’s angelic touch, making the demon squeal in a high-pitched tone. Jordan shook his head. “You had every opportunity to redeem yourself, Izidore. You could have come back to the heavenly realms, yet you chose this existence. You chose your fate, and you deserve it.”
With a flick of his hand, Jordan sent the demon crashing into the shadows, and into the Pillars of Justice waiting for it. When he turned back to her, his fury pulsed in the air. He went to April, taking her hand and helping her up. “April, stay with Kurt for a few days. Make sure he’s safe, and that there are no further ill effects from this…blunder.”
Libbie hadn’t even noticed that Kurt was now standing on solid ground a few feet away. Jordan had to have taken him off the roof. His unfocused gaze told her that his memories were gone, but otherwise, he seemed unharmed.
He waited until Kurt and April were gone from the alley before letting in on her.
“What were you thinking, Libbie? He was going to kill you. He would have had I not gotten here in time,” Jordan bit out between clenched teeth. Whoever said that angels were all love and grace had never met Jordan. “You’re lucky I noticed the evil surge and came to investigate, and even luckier that I’m not sending you to face justice right behind him. I still might.”
Libbie couldn’t tear her gaze away from Jay’s lifeless body on the ground, and a sob tore from her lips. “It would have been worth it. I wanted him dead. I wanted to be the one to snuff the life out of him.” She barely whispered the words, but he heard every syllable. Even sitting on the ground as she was, she swayed with the exhaustion pounding at her.
“Damn it, Libbie. It’s not your job to sentence them. You know that. You send them back, and justice is served. That’s it.” He turned his head, his gaze following hers, his whole body going stiff when he spotted Jay.
Her throat constricted. “He is—was—my mate,” she answered his question before he could pose it. The pain in her chest grew until she couldn’t catch her breath. The world around her blurred as her tears fell.
Jordan rested his hand on her shoulder. More than anything, she wanted the comfort he provided, but the gaping chasm in her soul was too deep, too vast.
“Rest now, little daemon.” She barely heard his words before everything in and around her went blissfully white.
Chapter Thirteen
Libbie woke and stretched her arms over her head, moaning at the aches in all her limbs. She opened one eye, quickly shutting it again at the brightness of the room. Everything was white, the walls, the furnishings, even the sheets, and covering. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, squinting against the sun shining through the open window.
Where the hell was she? She tried to remember what had happened, why every single muscle in her body ached, but everything was so fuzzy. Sighing, she got out of bed and looked out the window. As far as the eye could see, a meadow filled with flowers of every color dotted the landscape. A soft breeze ruffled the open curtains, bringing with it the sweet scent of jasmine. So, she was in the heavenly realm. Nowhere on earth, or anywhere else for that matter, was this peaceful. Funny, she couldn’t remember passing through the shadow lands, or even getting there.
Looking down, she noticed a tear in the right knee of her jeans with some dried blood on it. Her blouse, though wrinkled and dusty, wasn’t in bad shape. She had to have been in a battle. Why else would she end up there looking like she did?
Her heart pounded, and she whipped around, looking for a door. There had to be someone here who could tell her what was going on. Why were there gaps in her memory? Searching the small cottage took no time, and finding it empty, she headed outside. She finally found him in the gardens, his eyes closed, with his extended wings glistening in the sun.
“Jordan. What am I doing here?” Libbie tried to squelch the rising panic. Something was wrong. Deep inside she knew it was.
He took a deep breath and tucked his wings in before facing her. “I wasn’t expecting you to awaken so soon. Did you rest well?”
She nodded, but had she? It wasn’t like she had been visiting and gone for a nap. “I don’t know. What’s going on? Why am I here?” An ache that transcended the physical throbbed deep in her soul. Had she suffered a life-ending blow?
Jordan sighed and motioned for her to sit in a chair next to his facing the meadow. “I brought you here after a particularly difficult battle to rest and heal.”
“I don’t understand. You could have easily healed me and left me in my home. Why bring me here?”
He hesitated. “You suffered a great loss, Libbie. You needed more than physical healing.”
She shook her head. “I can’t remember. Please tell me.” Her heart lodged itself in her throat, threatening to choke her. “Was it April? Did April die?”
“No, April is fine.” He looked down at the ground for a moment, then back at her. “Libbie, I erased some of your memories to distance you from the pain. Before you let me have it, hear me out. You battled a powerful demon. You had no chance of winning against him. None. He not only injured your body but your spirit as well. You kept fighting me every step of the way. You wouldn’t allow my healing, and I had to save you. It was the only way.”
“Why?” She stood and faced him. “Why would I fight against the healing? What could have possibly happened to make me refuse it? That would have been a death sentence for me.” Since her parents’ deaths more than a century before, the only person close enough to cause so much devastation would have been April, and he’d already said she was fine.
Jordan raked his fingers through his hair, the only outward sign of his agitation. “I don’t wish for you to suffer the pain again, but under the circumstances, I’m left with few options. Perhaps you should sit.” He waited a moment, but when she stayed where she was, he frowned. “Very well.”
Her entire body tensed as memories of Pete’s death started trickling back in. A shudder rippled through her as the sound of him hitting the ground and the evil laughter that followed rushed back in precise detail. Taking deep breaths, she tamped down the nausea
rolling in her empty stomach. As gruesome and horrifying as that memory was, it couldn’t explain the emptiness inside her.
The next months were a blur of mundane life. Nothing happened to trigger the emotions inside her. Then she saw the pretty woman with the long blond hair, and her heart began racing. Jennifer had asked for help. Memories flashed through her mind. Jay, sitting at The Witch’s Brew, both of them fighting the goblins. Pain squeezed at her chest, and she couldn’t take a breath. She had a mate. He was hers. The battle with the demon slammed into her mind, and she fell to her knees. She let out a strangled cry as she relived Jay’s death. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she couldn’t hold herself up. She crumpled to the ground as great wracking sobs tore through her.
Jordan knelt beside her, rubbing circles on her back until the tears slowed to a trickle. “Libbie, there is more we need to discuss.”
Struggling to sit up, she couldn’t look him in the eye. He had done so much for her and was more like a brother than her boss. Her request would hurt him, but she couldn’t stay. He had the power to release her from her duty so she could find Jay and spend their eternity in the heavenly realm. “Jordan, please you have to—”
“Don’t.” Jordan snapped, then grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. “Don’t even say the words. I won’t do it. You have to listen to me. You might still be able to help him, but you need to pull yourself together first.”
“What do you mean?” The tears still rushed down her cheeks, and the agony still slashed through her, but she forced herself to listen.
“After the battle with the demon, I sought your mate. I wanted to ensure he had ascended so you could reunite someday. He wasn’t there, Libbie. He didn’t make it to the heavenly realm.”
“I don’t understand.” She would have known if Jay had a tainted soul—he didn’t.
Jordan ran his fingers through his hair again. “He’s lost somewhere in the shadow world. We can still bring him back, but he won’t respond to my call. Maybe if you tried…”
“Where is he? Tell me what I need to do.” Whatever it took, she would do it. “You’ve kept his body alive?” Hope blossomed in her chest.
“I have, but time is running out. Libbie, you have to know, he might not come to you. If he is in the shadow world, he is in his primitive form. He may be your mate, but the soul bond was never formed. The wolf may not recognize you as its mate.” He held his hand out to her, and she took it without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, they were standing in another sterile, white room. Jay’s still form lay half covered by a pristine white sheet. She faltered when he didn’t move, not even to breathe. She looked at Jordan, then let go of his hand.
Seeing Jay with his skin so pale, and his body so still, she had to fight the urge to turn and run. This wasn’t the man who had turned her entire world upside down in such a short time, it couldn’t be, but it was. She lifted his hand to her lips, ignoring how cold his fingers were, then climbed onto the bed, curling up next to him. “Thank you, Jordan.”
“You can thank me when you have your mate back.”
She waited to hear the soft click of the door shutting behind him before she centered herself. Libbie closed her eyes and relaxed her body. Had she been full-blooded daemon, she could have whisked herself into the shadow world with nothing more than a thought, but she wasn’t. Her concentration had to be absolute. Every cell in her body vibrated as white light filled her, lifting her spirit, separating it from her physical form.
Focusing solely on Jay, she floated above herself, directing her energy to where it needed to go. The air chilled and the sunlight dispersed. In the shadow world, she had no body, yet the cold filled her entire being. Only once her spirit was fully grounded in that plane did she open her eyes again. Using the imprint he had left on her soul, she sought out Jay’s essence. His spirit would call her to him like a beacon. All she had to do was find his unique trail and follow it. She’d expected to find him somewhere near The Witch’s Brew, but he wasn’t there.
Think, Libbie. Where would he go? In wolf form, he wouldn’t choose the city. He’d want a forest to run in—to hunt in. Rather than waste any more time searching in the city, she headed south toward the nearest forest.
Not encumbered by a physical body, she could cover great distances quickly in this dimension, yet it still took several hours for her to catch onto his faint trail. Once she had it, though, she held on tight. It took her deeper into the shadows than she normally traveled, but she didn’t care. She’d go into the pits of hell to find him again if she needed to.
It led her to a heavily treed area. The sun, such as it was in the shadows, couldn’t filter through the canopy of trees, making the small clearing she landed in dark and oppressive. Turning in a circle, she opened her arms wide and called out to him. Of course, he might not understand anything she said, but she tried. “I know you’re here, Jay. Please come to me, mate. I need you.” Focusing her energy, she allowed her corporeal form to take shape once more. If nothing else, she hoped her scent would help him remember her.
Chapter Fourteen
Libbie didn’t see or hear anything at first. She was about to call out again when menacing growls rumbled all around her. Her natural instinct was to run, but running would only give the wolves reason to chase her, and she could never outrun them, even if she were still in the astral form. She took a steadying breath. If she could keep her fear from projecting to the pack, her odds of succeeding would be greater.
“My name is Libbie McMaster, and I am looking for my mate. He left my world, and I want him back.” She infused her voice with confidence, knowing the animals would sense any weakness. Hopefully, at least one of the wolves would understand her. More than a dozen pairs of eyes shone at her from the thick of the forest. “Jay, if you can hear me, now would be a great time for you to come out.”
A rustle in the leaves to her left drew her attention. “Please, he was taken before his time. He shouldn’t be here with you.”
A blur of gray shot out from the thicket, leaping high into the air above her. All she saw before she ducked beneath her arms were huge teeth snapping only inches from her face. From her left, another wolf pounced, hitting her hard enough to send her crashing to the ground and out of harm’s way. The huge brown wolf stood before her, facing the gray one. The hair on its back stood on end. Wicked snarls came from both creatures as they faced off. The rest of the pack became quiet, waiting for direction, as the two large males snarled and circled each other. The gray wolf jumped forward, snapping its mighty jaw, narrowly missing biting into the brown one’s flesh. It lunged forward again, but this time, the brown one was ready. It met the attack, clamping its teeth onto whatever it could. The gray wolf yelped and took a few steps back, favoring its right side.
When the gray wolf backed away, the brown one came to stand next to her, eyeing the other wolf warily.
It had to be Jay. She was almost sure of it. It already demonstrated protective instincts. If she were wrong, Libbie would likely lose her hand, but she wasn’t wrong. Every fiber of her being told her this was Jay. With trembling fingers, she stroked the wolf’s pelt. Even when it growled, she maintained contact with it. “Please, Jay. I’m frightened. It’s not safe for me here. Come back with me. I need you.” All the talk in the world wouldn’t help if he were too deeply immersed in his wolf. With a whispered word, she magnified the impression of fear, directing it solely at him. The wolf shifted closer, pressing against her, reassuring her with its strength.
Kneeling down, she buried her face into the fur of his neck. When he didn’t pull away or snap at her, she wrapped an arm around him. From the corner of her eye, Libbie spotted more wolves coming into the small clearing. Most looked more curious than aggressive, but the big gray wolf still snarled. It prowled from one side to the other, trying to get into a position where it could reach her.
“Jay, it’s going to kill me,” she whispered close to his ear. “I have to go back. Come with me.” Libbie stood an
d tugged at his wide shoulders, trying to tell the wolf that she wanted him to come. Letting go of her physical form, she returned to the astral plane, leaving nothing more than the translucent image of herself in the forest. She rose slowly from the ground, purposely coming closer to the gray beast. It growled and snapped at her, its teeth finding nothing but air where her calf would have been. Jay leaped, knocking the beast to the ground, holding its neck in his massive jaw. It would have to submit, or die.
The gray wolf struggled for a moment, then stopped when Jay shook his head, sinking his teeth deeper into its neck. For a moment, she thought Jay would finish it off, but then he looked at her and released it. The alpha limped back into the forest, taking the rest of the pack with him, leaving only Jay on the ground in the clearing. He watched as she rose higher and higher, whimpering as she went beyond his reach. She held her hands out, beckoning him to come forward. Her heart raced. If he didn’t come with her willingly, there was nothing she could do to make him. Had he done something to warrant sending him to justice, she would have been able to remove him from this world, but he hadn’t. It was his choice to stay or to leave.
Libbie held her breath. He paced back and forth, whining and whimpering beneath her, his eyes never leaving her. Just when she thought she had lost, he leaped, leaving his canine form behind.
Chapter Fifteen
“Why isn’t he waking?” Libbie shot off the bed, meeting Jordan halfway across the room. “You said if I could find his soul, he could come back to his body.” It had been hours since she had returned to the heavenly realm with Jay, and although his chest now rose and fell with his breaths, and his skin was warm again, he had yet to rouse.
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 7