by Sam Cheever
Something having to do with Dialle.
Sleep beckoned me with velvet arms. I sighed, sinking into the mattress. My thoughts scattered and I lost the nugget of my concern...felt it drift away...then a single thought pulsed through the enticing waves of nothingness. Where was Emo going?
Shit! I dragged myself back toward consciousness. Terror clutching urgent fingers around my heart. I shoved at the mattress, forcing myself into a sitting position. I panted against a wave of dizziness and then dragged the covers back. Emo must have put me under some kind of sleep spell.
My feet touched the floor. Slayer, I need you.
Astra? What’s wrong?
I’m in my room. I need your help.
The air thickened in front of me and Slayer was standing there. He took one look at me and frowned. “You look like hell. What happened?”
I shook my head and stood, grabbing his arm as my head swam. “It doesn’t matter. I need you to take me to the Royal Court. I think Emo’s gone after Dialle.”
Slayer frowned. “Why?”
“That doesn’t mat—”
“I’m not taking you anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Dammit, Slayer! We don’t have time.”
He crossed strong arms over his chest. “I have all the time in the world.”
I muttered a few choice expletives. “Dialle dumped me.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. And I think Emo has gone to tell him what he thinks about that.”
“That’s not gonna go well.”
“No. And they’re both...delicate...right now. A killing rage is not exactly conducive to holding onto the light.”
“Not to mention one of them is going to get killed.”
My heart pounded with fear. I loved them both. If either one of them... I shook my head. I couldn’t think about that. “So now you understand the urgency?”
“Yeah. We’ll need reinforcements. The court is a bloodbath right now. Major internal battles going on. Dialle’s men are trying to fight off the royals who want to take his throne and their guards. Royal Fallen put a call out to the dark world and he’s got an army of nasties at his back. The last I heard Dialle was barely holding on.”
I wrung my hands, my gaze darting around the room in a panic. “Frunk. And me without my powers.”
Slayer held his hands out, palms up and a sword shimmered into them. “You still have the best sword skills of anybody I know...except for me of course.” He grinned and I couldn’t help smiling back. I grabbed the sword. Checking my boots, I discovered Emo hadn’t stripped me of my weapons store. Good.
“Okay, let’s find my sister and the angels. We’ll just have to even up the odds a little.”
I started toward the door and Slayer grabbed my arm. “Have you considered what you’ll do if Dialle refuses your help?”
I frowned. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore but that doesn’t make him stupid.”
“He threw you away, Astra. That makes him pretty stupid in my mind.”
Tears burned in my eyes. Just when I thought Slayer was a complete ass he went and said something so utterly sweet it took my breath away. “Thanks. I needed that.” On an impulse, I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Slayer turned his head and captured my lips in an energetic kiss.
I pulled away, laughing. “There you are. For a minute there I thought Slayer the ass was gone.”
His grin widened. “I’m still here.” He reached out to touch my cheek with a warm finger. “I’ll always be here, Astra.”
Dragging a hand over my wet cheeks I nodded. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s go.”
We found Darma, Myra and my father in the kitchen. There were bodies everywhere, bleeding and mangled. My sister and the two angels were moving among them, healing as many as they could.
Gerch sat at the table, holding one arm and frowning. I was surprised to see him. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d left with Dialle.”
“Dialle left?”
I glanced at Darma. “Yeah. He went to try to hold the court.” I figured the less I said about what happened between Dialle and me the better.
Gerch’s beady, black gaze found mine, but he held his tongue. “Dialle told me to keep an eye on you.”
I blinked, strangely touched by Dialle’s consideration. Though the cynic in me wondered if Gerch stayed behind on his own. He and I had forged a tight relationship over the last several months and his loyalties had grown to encompass me as well as Dialle. I glanced at his arm, which looked as if it had been chewed by a gargoyle. “You need to get healed. We’re going to the court to help Dialle.”
It was his turn to look surprised. He blinked and stood, wobbling a little before he could stop himself. I reached over and touched his arm, pushing him back into the chair. “Darma.”
My sister glared at me but she put her hands on the devil warrior and a healing light suddenly bathed his arm. He closed his eyes, his broad jaw tightening against the pain.
When she was finished he sagged in the chair. I left him to recover as best he could and headed for my aunt Myra. “Hey, angel. I need you to charge my battery. I’m going to help Dialle fight off Fallen and his band of uglies.”
She turned so abruptly that her glossy, blonde hair whipped around her head, falling in soft curls over her slim shoulders. Her clear, blue gaze slid my way, hostile and assessing. “You’re not going alone.”
I smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She motioned toward a nearby chair. “Sit. I’ll get to you as soon as I can.”
My father left a newly healed devil soldier, one of Dialle’s judging by the black uniform decorated on the chest and shoulders with heavy silver braid, and came over to see me. He’d shed his angelic persona to work with the wounded. My aunt had too. Otherwise it would have been battle of the wings in the kitchen, which was a large room but not big enough to accommodate the massive wings of a Seraphim and an Archangel. James Phelps had on a pair of well-worn jeans and a soft, bloody shirt that had probably been a pristine white when he’d put it on. His thick, blond hair was mussed and stuck up endearingly at the top, as if he’d run his hands through it several times. He smiled down at me, tucking a finger under my chin to lift my gaze to his. “How are you, child?”
I considered lying, but he was too powerful an angel, he’d know the moment the lie left my lips. I shrugged. “I’ve been better.”
“You pulled Dialle into the light?”
“For now.” My gaze held his, the meaning of my words throbbing on the air between us. Tears burned, threatening to spill, and I brushed them quickly away, glancing toward Gerch.
My father touched my nose with a fingertip, as he’d done a thousand times since I was a child. “All will be as it should be, Astra.”
I sighed, sniffing. “Yeah, that’s not real comforting right now, father.”
Myra hustled up and grabbed my hand. “Let’s do this. Things worsen at the court.”
I felt the first tentacles of her magic as it slid through me. “How do you know?”
“I...” My aunt’s head came up, her gaze slid to mine. “Astra—”
Pain speared my chest and I gasped, doubling over. I felt as if I’d been run through with a sword. Looking down, I saw no blood, no holes in my clothing.
My father placed a hand on my knee. “What is it, Astra? What’s wrong?”
Darma touched my shoulder, kneeling beside me. “She’s gray and her heart rate has doubled.” She reached to feel my forehead as pain sliced into my throat.
I screamed, jerking to my feet and turned a horrified gaze toward my family. “Dialle’s hurt.”
The three of them shared a shocked look.
I grabbed for Myra, reaching for Gerch with my other hand. “He needs us.”
Myra looked as if she would argue but something in my face apparently made her reconsider. She nodded and I felt the first signs of a shift as a change in the air. I clutched Gerch’s
thick hand tightly, both out of fear and to make sure I didn’t lose him in the shift.
Slayer ran into the room as the air started to shimmer. “I need your help!” I shouted.
He nodded and said something that I couldn’t hear. The world fell away, leaving behind only the stark silence and immobility of the space shift. My heart pounded hard in my chest but I couldn’t hear it. My stomach roiled with terror. Outside of my own body, my only sensual awareness was the feel of Myra’s soft hand on my arm, and the pressure of Gerch’s enormous paw clutching my hand.
The first thing I was aware of as my feet felt the ground again was a blood-curdling scream as a royal and two soldiers rushed us, swords drawn. Gerch jumped in front of me and took on the soldiers, his enormous form dancing lightly across the gore-coated floor as he fought both guards. I didn’t have time to admire his style. The royal rushed me with a yell and I barely got my sword up in time to stop his heavy bladed weapon. The concussion of his strike jarred my shoulder, washing it in pain. My slim blade held his a mere breath from my face, my arm shaking with the effort. “Fallen. Imagine running into you.”
The royal inclined his head in a mockery of a bow. “We’ve been expecting you.”
White light flashed past us, followed by the pain-filled yelps of a couple of gargoyles as they crashed into the far wall, taking several combatants with them. “Astra?” My aunt had grown to fill the hallway where we stood, her wings brushing the blood-coated stone as she started to glow with power.
“I’m fine. Find Dialle.”
She hesitated only a moment before flashing away.
The tall man standing before me had a cold, black gaze. Thick rings of red rimmed his iris’s, spinning in dizzying bursts. Wisps of silky black hair had escaped the leather tie at the base of his neck, framing his angular face. His jaw was taut with anger. “It’s good to see you, my queen. Thanks for making it so easy to kill you.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. I’d think by now you people would realize Dialle and I are hard to kill.”
He infused his sword with power and I flew backward, hitting the wall. I sucked air into my lungs, ignoring the pain shearing down my spine. A buzzing sound filled my ears and I shook my head, trying to dispel it.
The air shimmered again and Slayer and Darma appeared. Slayer managed a single step in my direction before the distant buzzing became a cloud of dark fairies.
The two of them were engulfed in the nasty bugs before they had time to react. Slayer sliced the air and spun as shimmering strands of fairy twine slipped around him, tightening until he couldn’t move his sword arm. Darma screeched as hundreds of tiny swords sliced through her skin like razors. Her hands came up and desperate bursts of white energy flew around the space as she tried to fight them off.
Fallen ducked an errant stream and I shoved him, gaining a couple of inches of space that allowed me to slice my sword across one of his arms before he retaliated with a downward stroke that nearly sent me to the floor.
My father appeared behind the royal and Fallen turned his head as the space lit with white energy. The royal was engulfed in white light, his dark eyes widening as his body started to dissolve under my father’s pure energy. His scream continued to throb against my ears as my father turned away, sending a stream of white light into the roiling cloud of bug-sized nasties attacking Darma and Slayer. The dark fairies disappeared with a sizzle and pop.
My sister and the dragon slayer were both bleeding from a dozen cuts and they were entombed in sticky fairy string. Darma shuddered and tugged at the string. I remembered all too well how that felt. “Here, let me help.”
A moment later, my father and I had extricated the dynamic duo from their prison web and we turned toward the distant sound of battle. In the time it had taken us to fight off Fallen and his nasties the battle had moved deeper into the court, leaving behind a floor full of corpses. I was relieved to see that not many of them were dressed in Dialle’s black-and-silver uniforms. Which reminded me. “Where’s Gerch?”
Slayer jerked his head toward the distant battle. “I saw him go that way.”
I started off in the direction Slayer had indicated. “Hopefully he’s looking for Dialle.”
A snarl sounded around the corner as we approached and my sister stepped forward. “Allow me.” The gargoyle that came around the corner, tongue lolling and blood coating its disgusting maw, didn’t even see her coming. She shot a concentrated burst of white energy into the thing and it exploded in a shower of gore.
I ducked, stepping back to avoid getting painted with flying ’goyle. “Overkill much?”
“Shut up, Astra. That was cathartic. I’m still seeing flying bugs with orange eyes and feeling my skin ripping.” She shuddered again.
Father dropped a hand on her shoulder. “Do you feel better now?”
She frowned. “Not yet. I need to kill lots more stuff.” She started forward and Father and I shared a look, my eyes widening.
“I guess we’ll never see magic-phobic Barbie again,” I told him.
He shook his head. “Those days are gone.”
I noticed he didn’t seem too broken up about it. Darma had been insufferable when she’d been all about not embracing her magic side. Even our father, an angel of God, had trouble overlooking her snootiness at times.
Slayer grinned. “If she wasn’t so much taller than you I’d think you were clones.”
I couldn’t help chuckling. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”
There was a burst of light ahead, followed by screams of pain. Slayer glanced in that direction. “You think she needs help?”
I shook my head. “My greatest fear is that she kills them all before we get there.”
He laughed.
Astra?
I didn’t realize how much I’d been worrying about Dialle until my aunt’s strident voice twanged through my head. Did you find him?
He’s in the council chambers.
I’ll be right there.
Astra...prepare yourself...
Dread closed my throat, making it hard to breathe. Is he...?
He’s alive, but his mind is shattered. I’m not sure you can pull him back this time.
I was running before I thought about it. I was barely aware of my father calling my name. I hit the long hallway leading to the throne room and slashed out with my sword as a uniformed devil turned toward me with a long, bloody knife. His head flew off his body in a spurt of dark blood and I kept running.
I was vaguely aware of power shooting around me as I ran. Attackers lunged and fell back without touching me. My hands flew, slicing, slashing, washing away anything that got in my way.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, I saw the doors ahead of me. Two guards in green uniforms trimmed in black stood before the door, swords drawn. I lifted my hands and they fell away in twin streams of bright energy. The doors slammed open and crashed against the wall as I ran through. I screeched to a halt.
The room beyond the doors was pure carnage.
Dead royals covered the floor, their assorted guards laying twisted and bleeding around them. The air smelled like a butcher shop, layered with the stench of sulfur from their magic. I looked around for Dialle. He was standing on top of the long, curved council table. His head was down and his fists were clenched at his sides. Gerch stood facing him, his big hands clasping a pair of bloody knives. His gaze never left his king’s downturned face.
“Astra?”
My head whipped around to find Emo standing next to my aunt. He was holding one arm against his stomach and he was covered in blood. “I don’t think you can save him this time.”
“I have to try.”
“He...” Myra’s voice faltered. She swallowed audibly. “He did all this, Astra.”
I blinked, unwilling to let her words sink in.
“He called all the royals into the room and blocked the doors. Then he systematically killed them all,” Emo added.
Tears burned and I shoo
k my head, willing them away. “He couldn’t. Where would he have drawn that kind of power?”
My aunt’s blue gaze was suspiciously bright as it held mine, willing me to understand.
My knees buckled. “Oh good Him.”
She reached for me, keeping me from sliding to the ground. “I’m so sorry, Astra.”
All I could do was shake my head. There was only one place Dialle could have drawn that much dark power. “No.”
Footsteps sounded behind me. Slayer’s husky exclamation of horror brought me out of my funk and straightened my knees. I suddenly knew I had to protect Dialle.
I started across the room.
My father’s voice boomed behind me. “Astra!”
I ignored him. I ignored them all. As I reached the table Gerch turned and my heart broke in half. The big warrior’s eyes were bright with tears. His red, scaly cheeks bore their silvery trails. “He won’t look at me, Astra. He only stands there shuddering.”
I touched Gerch’s arm. “You’ll help me?”
He nodded. I squeezed the hard flesh beneath my fingers then placed my hands on the tabletop.
“Astra?” My father sounded desperate.
I swung myself up onto the table. “Leave us. All of you.” I didn’t even turn around but I was aware of Gerch clambering up onto the table with me.
“Astra you need to come—”
I swung around, enraged. “Go!”
Dialle jerked as my voice boomed around the room, enhanced by some kind of power I didn’t stop to examine.
I approached Dialle slowly, cautiously. Gerch stayed within reach, his knives at the ready, though I knew it would kill him to use them against his king. Again.
I spoke his name softly. “Dialle.”
He didn’t look up, didn’t move except to shudder.
“Dialle, I’m here now. It’s all right. Gerch is here too.”
Dialle’s shoulders shook in another shudder but his head stayed bowed.
I reached out and touched him, almost jerking my hand away as his skin singed mine. “He’s burning up.”
Gerch finally lowered his knives. “Sire?”
Dialle’s head lifted slowly. The tangled curtain of his midnight hair slipped away as he looked at me. I gasped under the clear, blue gaze. “My love.” His hand whipped out and wrapped around my wrist and the world started to slide away.