It was Isabel who worried me. Her lips were white, and her eyes were hooded as she watched me. “Are you alright,” she asked, softly. Her heartbeat was weak and sluggish. She had given almost everything she had, to save me.
I nodded. “I am. Because of you.” Some of her hair had come out of the braid, and I brushed it away from her face. Her skin was cool to the touch.
“Get my dad out of here, okay?” There was goodbye in her eyes.
I shook my head. “Not without you.”
Isabel shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m sorry.” That note of finality in her voice scared me more than words can say.
“Well, isn’t this touching?” Fate watched with a viper’s glare. “I do love a happy ending. It’s almost a pity that you two won’t be getting one.”
I shifted my gaze to Fate. “Why are you doing this?” I had known for centuries that she was petty and possibly insane, but even for her this was over the top.
“She didn’t tell you, did she?” Her slow smile lit up her face with terrible joy. “How awfully bittersweet. To lose the one you love, almost as soon as you’ve found her; that must be excruciating for you, Ashrael. Do tell us all about it.” She still held the thread, played with it absently, coiled it over and over around her fingers.
“What are you talking about? What was she supposed to tell me?”
Isabel stirred against my side. She looked towards her father’s body, then back to me. Her shoulders drooped. “It was a set-up, from the beginning,” she said, as she slowly sat up on her own. “It was a trap for you, and I was the bait.”
I no longer cared that Fate was watching over us, gloating. “I do not understand.” And I did not. Fate had nothing to do with us.
She motioned towards Fate, and avoided looking at me. “You pissed her off at some time, back in the day. My best guess is that you turned her down.”
I nodded, remembering back, literally thousands of years before. Fate had made her preference for me known, both to me and everyone else. My denial of her had been an embarrassment, surely, but to wait so long for revenge, and for something so trivial… it was inconceivable.
“To get even with you,” Isabel continued, “she created me. She bred me like a science experiment, and molded my personality into something that you would want. For what it’s worth, I only found out about it once you took me to the Aerie.” Finally, her eyes lifted to mine. “So, you see, whatever you thought you felt for me wasn’t real.”
“It does not matter.” I reached for her, but she snatched her hand back.
“It matters, Asher. It wasn’t real. None of it was real. She freaking designed me to hurt you. She wanted me to break your heart, but I can’t do it; not even to save my dad.”
Fate watched her with all the pity a child might show a butterfly pinned to an exhibit. “Oh, my darling, I said that you would break his miserable heart, and so you shall. Your cooperation was never required.”
She moved like a striking snake, reached out and grabbed a handful of Isabel’s braided hair, pulling her away from me, none too gently. Isabel bit her lip to keep from screaming. “Your death will be just the thing, I think. This is your final incarnation, little Reaper. When you die this time, it’s for keeps. You won’t be back.”
I was on my feet, still weak, but no longer helpless. “Let her go, Clotho, your quarrel is with me, not her.”
“Ashrael, you may be Death incarnate, but even you cannot stand against a soul’s Judgment. You will never be able to find her.” Her lip curled back in a nasty sneer. “You’ll lose her forever.”
I swallowed hard against the lump rising in my throat. I had to stop this, but how? Isabel twisted hard in her grasp, and her beautiful hair tore, but at least she was free. She backed up towards her father’s unconscious body, kept herself between him and Fate. “You’re one crazy bitch. No wonder he didn’t want you.”
Fate laughed, low and hard. “I will miss you, Izzy. I truly will. If ever I’ve had a child of my heart, it is you.” She shook her head, still bemused. “I’m not going to kill you, you silly child. Ashrael fixed that when he gave so much of himself to you. I didn’t count on that.” Her teeth gleamed in a predatory smile. “And there’s the crux to my little problem. Since you are so unique: a Reaper made and not born, you are uniquely hard to kill. Now, Ashrael could do it, of course, as you are his to kill or claim. But I don’t think he will go along with that, do you?” Isabel just stared at her. There was nothing to say.
I shook my head. “You know that I will never do that.” I was numb with fear. Since my time with Isabel, I had grown increasingly familiar with that emotion, and I still did not like it.
“Your other option,” she said to Isabel, “would be suicide, but that so often leads to damnation.” She shook her head, pityingly. “A tasty little thing like you will not last long in the City of Sorrows. You’ll be gobbled up and spit back out, in no time at all. In any case, you’ll be gone, and that’s the important thing.”
“Do I have a third option?” She placed her hands upon her knees, ready to fight or flee. I knew that look in her eyes. She would not flee; not without her father.
“Well, you could choose to save yourself. I would go with that option, if I were in your shoes. No one would blame you.” That is exactly what she would do if the tables were turned.
“None of that sounds particularly appealing, but thanks, anyway.”
“I will sweeten the deal. Do this for me, and I will not only let your father live, but I will make it so that he never knows what happened here. It will look as if you died in the wreck you had.”
Isabel looked doubtful. “You can do that?”
“I can do anything.”
“Anything, except make Asher love you.” It was true, but what was she doing? Purposely baiting Fate was not a good idea.
The smile faded from Clotho’s face. “I rather thought you’d feel that way about it.” She pulled the thread she toyed with taut one final time, and it snapped. Isabel screamed and lunged for her father.
Time had run out. Halo was at his side in an instant. “Finally,” she muttered as she placed her hand above his heart, and tore his soul from his body. It was a violation, swift and vicious. There was no mercy, no peace to be had in what she had done. His whole body shuddered violently. He gave one final gasp, and died.
There was no ascension. With dread, I saw the soul hover beside his body in confusion. He did not know that he was dead. I had seen it happen before, but even lost, he should have left. He remained, a shapeless mist that hovered over his only daughter. I believe that he would have gone to Isabel, had Fate not stepped in his way. Whatever she did caused him to change course. Instead of rising as he should have, his soul sank. Like low-lying fog the shimmering purple mist sank into the ground and disappeared.
“What did you do to him?”
“Oh, nothing,” Fate said modestly. “I just collected him for later, since you were too good to do it. I finally found a use for all the worthless lost souls wandering about.”
“What use?” The woman was evil, straight down to the core. She would not allow even the dead to have their dignity.
“That, my darling, is none of your business. I did try to tell you both; there really are worse things than death.”
Isabel watched everything, and her face never changed. She neither flinched, nor looked away. I expected tears, possibly hysterics. Anything, but that terrible calm that settled over her. Her only outward sign of grief was a single tear that slipped over her lashes and slid down her pale cheek. Her breath slowed, along with her heart rate. I had seen that look before, but always on the face of a suicide. It was grim determination. She had made a decision, and there was no question that she was ready to follow through.
“It wasn’t Asher,” she said to Halo. “It was me. I killed your girlfriend. You knew that, right? She knew,” her head tilted ever so slightly, indicating Fate. Her voice was quiet, almost conversational in tone,
and it scared the hell out of me. “Funny thing, though, I can’t remember her name. I remember that I enjoyed it, though. She died screaming; I remember that.”
Halo glared, and her eyes glowed red as she started for Isabel at the same time I did. Her rage was a powerful thing, an entity in itself. All I thought of was Isabel’s broken body crumpled on the ground, and lost to me, forever.
I tackled her and rolled her to the ground as Halo started to charge her. Fate jumped out of the way, content to witness the havoc she had caused. She enjoyed herself, I had no doubt. She fed off the misery of others the way a vulture feeds off rotten meat.
We had mere seconds. “What do you think you are doing?” Isabel and I were so close, her breath was hot against my face. There was madness in her eyes, as well as the dim glow of coals at the center of her pupils. She was still weak from saving me, and no match for an angry Reaper.
“What do you care? Didn’t you hear anything that I just said? It was a trap. There’s no possible way to survive it. Go away before she takes you, too,” she bit out as she shoved me away. I rolled to my feet, stronger now, but still not at a hundred percent. Not yet. Still, I was not going anywhere without her.
“That’s so sweet, don’t you think? She’s worried for you, Ashrael. I do believe she really loves you. Such a pity.”
“Go screw yourself, bitch.”
“You’ve developed a little bit of a temper, Izzy. It must be that friend of yours that Grim is so fond of. She’s a bad influence on you. I must make a point to visit her soon.” She was not bothering to veil her threats, now.
Halo’s chin came up. “I’ll do it.” Fate placed a restraining hand on Halo’s arm. “So you shall, but that’s enough for now, dearest. You’ve had your revenge, now be a good girl and calm down.”
Halo would not calm down anytime soon, not without more blood being shed. She had a taste for it, now. Even weakened as I was, I could handle Halo, but Fate was an unknown element. She was older than any of the Reapers, and her immortality had never been put to a true test. I had to get Isabel to safety. Given enough time to heal, I could keep her safe, I was sure of it.
I grabbed Isabel about the waist and started to take her elsewhere, even as she struggled against me. Nothing happened. No distortion of time or space. No shift. My power was useless.
Fate laughed that tinkling laugh that never failed to set my teeth on edge. “Are you experiencing a little problem, Ashrael? Allow me to introduce you to my littlest Sorrow.”
Isabel no longer tried to get away from me. She went completely still in my arms, her breath hitched in her throat. “Madeleine?”
“That is Madeleine?” The ghost of a child stood miserably at Fate’s side. Perfectly formed, she was the most articulated spirit I had ever seen. Her fingers knotted into the material of her dress, and she bit her lip as if she were trying to stop herself from crying.
Big, terrified eyes turned to Isabel. “I’m so sorry, Izzy, but she made me do it.”
“She’s the one hunting the Sorrows?” The child nodded.
“She hurts me if I don’t do what she tells me to.”
“It’s ok, Madeleine, she hurts everything she touches.”
“Madeleine is my little secret. My backup plan, in case Izzy, here, didn’t work out. I always have a backup plan.” She smoothed her fingers down the child’s face and smoke curled up in their wake. The little girl cringed, and a tiny whimper escaped her rosebud mouth. Only Fate would take pleasure in torturing the spirit of a dead child. “With a few alterations, I’ve found that the Sorrows can make Reapers virtually powerless. There’s just something about them; they escaped their own Reaping in the first place. So right from the start they have a natural immunity, if you will. I like to think of them as Null demons.”
“You’re a sick bitch. Sick and evil.”
“Perhaps,” Fate agreed.
“Izzy,” the child spoke, and it cost her dearly, if the look of pain that crossed her face, was any indication. “You aren’t like the others.”
Izzy nodded. “I know, honey. This isn’t your fault.”
“No. It’s yours. I gave you a simple task, and you deliberately tried to ruin everything.” Fate dropped all pretenses; there was nothing beautiful about her now. Her true nature revealed itself in the cruel lines of her face. “Suriel,” she spoke sharply. “I have Ashrael’s attention, if you’d like to speak with him.”
Suriel materialized out of the mist, and with him came half a dozen Reapers.
“Hello, Ashrael. I thought we might discuss the terms of your surrender.”
Isabel stiffened against me. I loosened my hold on her, but I kept her in the circle of my arms. “We had a deal Suriel. Let Isabel go, and we will discuss anything you wish,” I said, calmly.
Suriel laughed. He did it so rarely, it came out cracked, and rusted sounding. “I think the terms of our previous agreement are null and void, don’t you? I’ll have your wings, with or without your cooperation.” He spread his arms, and his followers circled us. Isabel’s fingers trembled against my back as her grip tightened.
“I have always known you for a coward, Suriel, but this is a bit much, even for you. The child holds my power, and still you felt the need for reinforcements? Perhaps you should have brought more help.”
His face darkened in rage. “I will enjoy watching you bleed, Ashrael.”
Whatever he might have said after that was lost. The tingling sensation was subtle, at first, and not unlike touching a live wire. It was a numbness that turned quickly to pain. In my confusion, I thought the child caused it, but I was wrong. It was Isabel.
“Isabel, you must not. You are too weak.” Her face turned up to mine, and her eyes already glowed a bloody red.
“They aren’t taking you, too.” The redness spread and brightened till it looked like the white-hot heart of a flame. No Reaper had eyes like that. She was both beautiful and terrifying.
Power rushed through her and she smiled, then laughed, delighted. It reminded me of the first time she had taken energy from me. She had been stealing the life essence of those around her by accident, then. Now, she did it intentionally, and with abandon. Her skin glowed golden, lit from within by massive amounts of stolen energy.
“What is she doing?” Fate snatched the child’s arm and twisted it.
“I told you; she isn’t like the others! I can’t control her.” There was triumph in the girl’s eyes. Whatever she had been turned into, had not changed the core of her. She was still a child, and she had done her best to help her friend.
“Suriel, do something!”
There was nothing he could do. Nothing any of us could do. Isabel drained energy from the very air around us. Everything was a source of nourishment to her, from the Reapers who circled us to the very earth itself. She drained it all. Everything except me. Somehow, she passed over me in her hunger. Holding onto her was like trying to hold onto lightning. I felt both blistered and burned, but I could not let go of her, for fear of losing her.
The Reapers panicked once they realized what was happening. Some of them tried to get away, but she had taken enough of their essence to weaken them irreparably. There was no escape for any of them. They had met a new kind of Reaper, but none of them would survive to tell the tale.
That much power cannot be contained for long. She screamed as it exploded out of her. It held the power of an exploding star, and it destroyed everything in its path. I clasped her to me as she fell, tried to protect her, but how can you protect someone from what is inside?
All around us was silence. A quick, upward glance revealed several bodies lying in a circle around us. Halo lay sprawled face down in a ditch, her mop of short, blonde hair was bloodied, and a gash ran the length of her back. Suriel stared lifelessly up at me: his immortality at an end. At least he looked surprised. There were others. Many others, most had been caught trying to escape, it seemed. Isabel had destroyed them all.
It took several long seconds for me t
o realize that she was not moving under me, that she was limp in my arms. I pulled away from her, desperate to hear her heart beat. My breath caught on the lump in my throat. Her eyelids fluttered open, and the emeralds had returned to her eyes. She was my Isabel, once again. I let the breath escape, and held her face in my hands.
“Are they dead,” she asked.
I nodded. “All of them. You killed them all.” Her heartbeat was erratic; she had destroyed her enemies, but the cost was too high.
“Good.” That one word held deep satisfaction. “What about Fate? Did I get her, too?”
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “She escaped, and took the child.”
“Damn,” she said weakly, “I don’t think I can do that trick again. At least Madeleine wasn’t hurt.”
“It was truly impressive.”
“I’ve been practicing. Thought I would surprise you. Were you surprised?”
“Very.” Her fingers found mine. They were cold to the touch.
“Find Madeleine, Asher. Help her, if you can. She doesn’t deserve this, and she tried to help us.”
“I know. I will.” Blood trickled from the corner of her eye, and the sight of it terrified me. “You should rest, Isabel.”
She chuckled softly. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m pretty sure I’m dying.”
“No. I would know, if you were.”
“You’re a bad liar, Asher.” Pain flickered across her face. “I think I liked it better when I was numb,” she groaned.
“Let me help you.” I had never felt so helpless. She was right, I was a bad liar.
“You can’t fix me this time.” The grip she had on my hand weakened. “Just remember… no matter what Fate did to me, I loved you. That was real. I just wish I’d told you sooner.”
I leaned down and kissed her softly, felt her last breath against my lips. “I love you, and I will find you.” A hollow, suffocating pain bloomed inside my chest. I thought I knew what pain was, but that was nothing. Watching the one you love die in your arms, and knowing you will never hold them again; that is pain.
Wings of Darkness: Book 1 of The Immortal Sorrows Series Page 31