Bound (The Divine, Book Four)

by Forbes, M. R.

  Still Sarah was silent. She was getting close to the archfiend now, and her wings had extended fully from her back, stretching wide behind her and obscuring my view. Izak was dead, Vilya was dead. How was I going to stop Sarah from joining them?

  "Sarah," I cried, one last time. I couldn't stop her. I couldn't touch her, and I couldn't touch Gervais. All I could do was watch her die.

  They stood face to face, father and daughter. They regarded one another without emotion.

  "I knew it was there," he said. "We will rule the universe, daughter. You and I."

  "No," Sarah replied. "You'll die."

  There was no battle. There was no struggle. Her wings folded down and in, spreading and changing as they moved. Two tips caught the archfiend's wrists. Two tips caught his ankles, and another caught his head. The feathers dug into the skin like spears, spreading him and lifting him up off the ground. His eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to move, to touch her with his power, but there was nowhere he could reach. He was pinned tight.

  I could barely see through the wings to Gervais' face. Sarah brought her hands up to it, and cupped his chin beneath clawed fingers. "Thank you, father," she said. "I could never have stopped you without you." She turned around and started walking towards me, while I stood there in shock.

  "Sarah?"

  "Let's finish this, Rebecca," she said, walking past me.

  "Rebecca?" Gervais asked. All the defiance had drained from him.

  She held him aloft in her wings, and carried him through the portal.

  I followed right behind.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Rebecca

  There was silence when Sarah and I came through, into the prison where I had been killed. It hadn't changed much since I had been there last, except the blue glow that had once filled the room was nearly gone. Only a slight flow had been left behind, unable to be collected without the blood of the true diuscrucis. The white star still floated near the top of the prison, and it cast a soft light on us.

  Then I noticed it out of the corner of my eye. It was sitting exactly where it had fallen those long months ago. The Holy Grail. I felt the sting of memories, and the guilt of what I had helped to start. Now I would help to finish it.

  "Holy crap," Obi said, breaking the silence. "That is seriously unreal."

  "Sarah?" Adam said.

  "I brought him," she said. "Where is the Redeemer?"

  "Here." A new voice. A small black and white demon scampered out from behind Dante's legs, dragging the final Canaan Blade behind him.

  "Alichino?" I said. "Where did you come from?"

  "Alichino was helping Gervais to unlock the power of the Box," Max said. "It seems his allegiance changes as easily as the wind."

  The demon snickered. "Always bet on the winning team. That's what I always say."

  "At least we can thank him for creating the portal."

  "We must hurry," Dante said. "I can't remain here for long."

  Max held the Box in his hands. "Adam, take the Destroyer. Obi, the Deceiver. Sarah, the Redeemer, Brian, Truth. Alichino, you will take the Damned, and Rebecca, the Deliverer."

  Adam leaned over the duffel, taking out the swords and handing them to each of us.

  "An angel, a demon, a diuscrucis. A mortal, a spirit, a changeling."

  He lifted the Box into the air, and let it go. A beam of light shone down from the white star, capturing it and holding it in place at chest level.

  "Six swords. Six sides. Six creations. We must all use the blades at the same time."

  Adam rose into the air, to place the Destroyer into the top of the box. Alichino positioned himself below it, and the rest of us each took a side. I felt my heart begin to race, the end of my journey and Landon's freedom so near. We each held our blades ready.

  The Box sat in front of us, its lines pulsing with blue power, its energy radiating around it. Max stood behind me, but he didn't give the word.

  He was waiting for something.

  I saw it when he did. A single thread of white in the sea of blue. It raced around the Box, following the scripture that had been carved into its sides.

  "Now," Max said.

  I stabbed.

  The swords sunk into the Box, much further than they should have been able to without coming out the other side. At the same time, the white light intensified. The Deliverer grew too hot to hold, and I let go and backed away at the same time as the others. We all watched as the light from the star continued to expand, growing larger and larger until the Box was swallowed by it.

  Gervais began to scream.

  Sarah had held him up above her, still trapped in the wings, but now she shifted and lowered him towards the light. It stretched out a thin tendril and wrapped around his leg, spiraling up and encircling him while his screams became louder and more pained.

  "Sarah, don't do this," he said. "Sarah, I'm your father. All I wanted was for us to be a family, to rule together."

  "All I want is for you to die," she replied. "You've hurt enough people. You've killed enough of my friends. Mother may have forgiven you. I never will."

  The power was draining from him, feeding back into the white light and through it to the Box. His entire body began to compress on top of itself, losing the energy that was holding it together and keeping him in his existence. Sarah released her hold on him, dropping him to the ground. His eyes shifted wildly, looking at each of us as he shook and screamed.

  Then he was gone.

  "Max, where is Landon?" I asked. I turned my head, looking for the reaper. "Max?"

  He was gone, too.

  "Where the hell did he go?" I said. There was nowhere to go. We'd all been watching Gervais, and he had disappeared. Then I looked at the light again. It was definitely big enough, and it did look a bit like a door. "Damn it. He did it again."

  "Did what, signora?" Dante asked.

  "What do you think? The swords don't open a way out of the Box. They open a way in." I looked into the white light, and took a deep breath. I knew in that moment that this was why I was here. This is what I had been redeemed for. This was His task for me, His test. I released Elyse from my hold.

  "Take care of yourself," I said to her.

  "Rebecca, what are you doing?" she asked.

  "Saving him."

  I pushed away from her, letting myself move into the light. I could feel the energy of it, the power surrounding me. I didn't know what Max's intentions were, but I wasn't about to let him have free reign to do whatever it was he wanted to do. If I had to, I would stop him.

  A final burst of light greeted me, and then I was through. Everything was dark.

  I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, trying to clear them. I took a breath. Another. I looked down to see that I was whole once more. It was my form, my body. I took my hair and moved it in front of my eyes so I could see it. I licked my lips to feel the fullness of them. I winked my eye.

  Max vanished around a corner in front of me.

  I knew where I was. I had been here often enough to recognize it. The Museum of Natural History in New York.

  I started running.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Landon

  I knew where I was as soon as I stepped into it. The Museum of Natural History. The place where it had all began. It was fitting that it would end here too.

  I was right outside the chalice exhibit, where the Holy Grail had once rested, and the place where I had died. I could hear voices coming from the far end of the room, though I wasn't close enough to see the speakers yet.

  "How did you find me?" Ross asked.

  "We always knew where you went, Erus. We couldn't reach you because He gave you asylum. When you repaid Him with your treachery, He allowed me to come to this realm to collect you. I underestimated the damage to your soul."

  Ross laughed at that. "Does He even know who you are? What you are?"

  "He knows what you are. That is enough."

  "I'm what you made me,
" he shouted. "What you forced me to be. This is your fault."

  "Then why was it your guilt that drove you mad? You were safe here, Erus. He had given you the sanctuary you begged for. Why did you destroy it?"

  I shouldered Avriel's sword and started walking. After a few steps, I realized that something was wrong. I was back on the normal path of the Box, but the power hadn't returned. Why had Malize prevented me from coming through, if he knew I was powerless anyway? What was it that he didn't want me to see or do?

  I decided to be more subtle than I had originally planned. Instead of walking right in on them, I ducked behind one of the display cases and inched my way forward one obstruction at a time. The one benefit to having no power was that they probably couldn't sense my presence.

  "Why did I destroy it? It is what you taught me, Malus. You and your council. Destruction is the only thing that eases the pain. It's also the only pleasure that remains, when nothing ever ends. It's the only challenge left to us."

  When we had fought Ross outside the Great Pyramid, he had recognized Malize. He had said his name. Only, now I heard Malus. I was sure of it. Why had he sold us a different name? Had anything he'd told us been true? He wasn't a demon, so I couldn't spot his lies. I had trusted him because Charis had trusted him. We had both made a mistake.

  "To us, Erus? No. To me. Catching up to you has almost been fun. A masterpiece of controlled chaos."

  I peeked my head up from behind a large, jewel-encrusted cup. I could see them now, near the front of the room. Ross standing face to face with Malus. Charis was bound and unconscious, sitting up against the pedestal where the Grail had sat, her head slumped to her chest. Malus was definitely Malize, and he absolutely wasn't a good guy. The boyish angel was in the same robes I had seen on the path.

  He had his arm around Clara.

  She was clay-faced, motionless in his grasp. Whatever force was giving her life, it had been put on hold. Could she even hear what they were saying?

  "So, now here we are. I knew you were somewhere behind the Box, but I hadn't expected you to make a personal appearance. I've been trying to overcome these two meat sacks so I could bust out of here before someone delivered it to you. They're more resilient than they look."

  He kicked Charis in the ribs for emphasis, which almost brought me out of my hiding place.

  "It took me a long time to prepare this trap," Malize said. "Almost as long as it took me to break you. There were so many pieces, so many possibilities. In the beginning, I thought to just collect you and take you home, so we could both delight in your torture, and repay you for your years of service. Only your power has grown in your madness, hasn't it? My first prison was only barely enough to hold you, and nowhere near good enough to transport you."

  "How many of His seraph did I destroy, Malus?" His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

  "Millions. He was furious enough to allow me free reign. That was when I decided the prison wasn't enough. That taking you home wasn't enough."

  I moved forward again. I didn't like any of the directions this conversation was going in. I focused, trying to find the power, but there was none. I had to stop them both somehow, and I had nothing but a sword and a gun with a single bullet. A bullet that I was pretty certain couldn't harm either of them.

  "There is so little left to us," Malize said. "So little that can consume the years, and bring us feeling. So few places left that we haven't conquered. He is more powerful than you and I, and yet He refuses to get involved. I will make Him get involved. I will make Him fight."

  "I can help you," Ross said, a smile growing on his face. "We may not have enough power to defeat him on our own, but together? Together we can not only take His realms, but destroy Him completely."

  Malize regarded him for a moment. "How far you have fallen, Erus. How sad and pathetic you have become. At least when you were fighting for the balance, there was something there to respect. Now, I don't even pity you."

  He put out his hand and Ross collapsed into a heap on the floor. He didn't move again.

  My brain raced ahead at a million miles per hour as I tried to remember everything that Malize had said to us. The story about his origins, his creation, his tag-team with Lucifer in the war against Ross. He was the forgotten for a reason, and now I knew why. Did God even remember where he had come from?

  Malize leaned down over Ross and put his hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes as the connection began to glow.

  I stood crouched behind the chalice, unsure of what to do. Avriel had said we would be rewarded, but what kind of reward could we expect? Malize meant to absorb Ross' power, and then take up his own banner against God and our worlds. He had trapped Charis and I in here because he wanted all of it, every last drop that we held in our souls. He knew the way in, and I was sure he knew the way back out.

  I looked over at Charis, eyes still closed but her expression more peaceful now that Ross was dead. How could she have known what Malize was? How could anyone? Few enough could remember him a minute after they left his presence. I looked at Clara, silent and frozen in time. He wanted the power that was trapped in the Box. She had called herself a battery. All of the energy Charis and I had collected by surviving here and absorbing it was held in her visage. More than that, she had said there was a bond between our power and Ross', because it came from the same place. He had no chance against Malize with only half of the power, and he had cut me off from my share.

  Divide and conquer.

  Now I knew why he wanted to keep me away. I held the gun in my hand, and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure if my idea would work, but there was a sense to it, a logic that snapped into place in my mind.

  I heard a groan. Charis. Her eyes fluttered open, and widened with recognition of her supposed mentor.

  I didn't know what he would do if he saw she was awake. My time was up.

  I stood up. Malize was too busy with Ross to notice. I raised the pistol, extended my arm, and took aim.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Rebecca

  Max moved through the Museum at high speed, making it obvious he knew exactly where he wanted to go. I ditched my shoes and chased behind him, treading as light on my bare feet as I could, hoping that he wouldn't hear me. I didn't want to just jump him, because I couldn't be sure he wasn't trying to help.

  So I followed.

  We raced past dioramas, through the huge hall full of dinosaur bones, and down the stairwell into the main entrance hall. All the while I remained at least fifty feet behind him, weaving and ducking behind anything I could find. I thought I saw him look back twice, but he didn't react. Either he knew I was there and he was fine with it, or I was imagining things.

  At last I heard voices. One I recognized, the other I didn't. I knew the Beast for what he was. I knew him better than most. The other speaker wasn't Landon or Charis. How many people were actually in here?

  Max slowed to a stop, and I dropped to my knees and slid at an angle, coming to rest behind a pillar. I peeked out a couple of seconds later and saw him standing to the left side of the archway into the room beyond, listening.

  I stayed low and made my way forward, dancing from column to column in near silence, doing everything I could to avoid detection. I didn't have any weapons, but I was me again. I held out a hand and watched my fingers grow into sharp talons. I opened my mouth and felt my fangs with my tongue. I was all the weapons I needed.

  I still couldn't see what was happening, but I got within a dozen feet of Max without being noticed. Just as I reached the spot, I felt a wave of coldness flow through me, a strange feeling of an immense but silent shockwave of energy. Max had felt it too, and now he was back on the move.

  I slipped to the wall where he had just been standing, and ducked my head in. Landon! I could see him now, crouched near the front of the room, behind a display case with a large golden chalice in it, a look of indecision crossing his face. I followed his eyes to a woman I didn't recognize, standing still as a statue, t
o a man hunched over the Beast, and then to Charis. I snapped back to Max. He was sneaking towards Landon, and now I saw he had a dagger in his hand.

  There was no time to try to figure out what was happening. It was obvious Max was here to help the stranger. I swung myself around the archway and into the room, hugging the wall and trying to remain silent. Everything I had gone through over the last five months had come down to this place and this time. I needed to stop Max, but the timing had to be perfect. Otherwise I would mess everything up, instead of helping to fix it.

  Max was only a dozen feet away from Landon, and I was almost the same distance from him. I watched Landon rise to his feet, a gun in his hand. A gun? He raised it and held it out, aiming it forwards.

  My hands became claws, my senses sharpened.

  Max stepped up behind Landon, pulling back his arm to strike.

  I lunged forward, covering the remaining distance in one long leap. I came down right behind him with silent grace, digging my left hand into his back, and grabbing his right arm with my right hand. I used my momentum to pull him sideways and throw him away, stopping him from his assassination. Without looking, he locked his arm against my grip and pulled me with him as he tumbled.

  I heard a gunshot.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Landon

  I heard the commotion behind me, the sound of two bodies crashing into the display of chalices against the wall. I fought every instinct to turn and look. I held my breath, and pulled the trigger.

  Clara's head snapped to the left as the bullet pierced her skull and travelled through to the other side. I heard Charis cry out in shock. Malize's head whipped towards me while her body tumbled to the floor.

  I felt it instantly. The power unconfined, released from the battery in one tremendous burst. I focused, pulling it into me, gathering it as quickly as it exploded away, taking hold of every line and tendril and dragging it inward towards my soul with a desperation beyond desperation. I traced it through her, to the energy of a dying Beast. Malize had been trying to take it, but he had been resisting.