Death's Dilemma (DHAD #2)

by Candice Burnett

  “That’s why I’m here. I’m going to make this better.”

  She sprang up suddenly, knocking me on my ass. I got up slowly, not wanting to startle her anymore. Apparently, I’d said something that offended her as she jumped up like a tarantula had just had just ran across her foot.

  “How could you possibly make this any better? He’s gone…He won’t be back. Nothing could make this better!”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you more upset. What I simply meant was that I’m going to take your pain away.”

  “How?” She didn’t finish her thought as her eyes went wide and then narrowed like I’d just killed her mother again.

  “NO!” Chloe screamed in sheer panic. “You will not take him away from me.”

  “He’s already gone. I’m sorry.”

  “You will not take him away from me.” She brought out a knife like that had the power to stop me. She rushed me, and I grabbed her right arm that held the knife. She struck me again in the face with her left fist. It landed square on my nose. Black circles clouded my vision temporarily, but I blinked rapidly, and they quickly faded.

  “It will make you feel better. I have to,” I said as I grabbed her other arm and forced both of them to her waist.

  “I want to keep him here forever,” she shouted in my face. “Even if it is only in my mind. YOU WILL NOT TAKE HIM FROM ME.” The mascara was running down her cheeks, and her voice was barely understandable at the pitch she was screaming at.

  “I can’t let you, I’m sorry.” She’d be in danger knowing about us, and it would only lead her to suffering.

  “Fuck you! Yes you can. You saved me, didn’t you? You weren’t supposed to do that either.”

  “Fine,” I said, and the tension in her shoulders eased.

  “Thank…” She started to say as I head-butted her. I caught her unconscious body before it hit the cement below. I laid her on the ground and placed my hand on the side of her head, wiping her mind clear of anything Dave related. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. It really was better this way. Hundreds would pay for what I just gave her, wouldn’t they? To forget their pain and live guilt free? Dave would have wanted it this way. He would have wanted her to live her life. Once you’ve experienced love like they’d had, that wasn’t something you could just forget or get over. Tears stung in my eyes as Trevor popped into my mind. What that meant I didn’t need to think about right now. I looked down at her swollen eyes. I had to take it away so she could live, right? But if this really was the right decision, why did I feel so shitty about it. If I was given the choice to forget about Trevor, would I want to forget what we did or didn’t have? Had we had what Dave and Chloe had? Did I throw that all away by not letting us figure everything out together?

  Chapter Forty-One

  Trapped

  “We have to go back there and help her,” Lacie yelled at Drake when I ported back. “Good. Cendall is here. She’ll agree with me.”

  “On?” I asked.

  “Okay. Well, I started remembering some things while you were gone. You see, there was a lady there they were keeping caged. She healed me when I first got there. I think she was an Angel or something— I don’t know it’s all hazy—but I swear remembering her calling me her daughter. The Demon kept threating my life if I wouldn’t cooperate, and then she’d heal me and he’d beat her. It was sick—going from inches from death to life in an instant. But I distinctly remember him saying make your daughter cooperate.”

  “Daughter?”

  “So he stole your parents?” This didn’t make sense.

  “No, they were sent away, and I haven’t heard anything on them being captured.”

  “She had blonde hair like me. That, I could make out, but my vision wasn’t really all there from the beatings.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get there quicker.”

  “It’s not your fault, Cendall. He just wanted something from me that I couldn’t do and didn’t have. He just kept yelling, ‘You will tip the scale. You will port me to the gates, little girl,’ over and over. He thought I had powers that I didn’t possess. It felt natural when she called me ‘daughter’ though. Like, at first, she tried to deny to the Demon that I was hers, but he already knew somehow. She asked about my sister, too, when he left us alone, but I could barely talk. I tried telling her I had no idea what she was talking about, but I don’t think she could understand me at that point.

  “There’s another one of you out there?” I asked.

  “Not that I’m aware of, but this lady said there was, and that if I didn’t know her, that was good and meant that my sister was still alive and the secret was safe.”

  “That’s odd. I can try and find out, but I swear, Lacie, I was told when I got the assignment that your parents were sent away for their protection a long time ago. Do you remember any other distinct features about the Angel who healed you?”

  “I saw her left hand, where she had a dark silver ring which had a ruby birthstone. I think she was tall…” Ruby birthstone, like my families.

  “Do Guardians have family rings? We could start there. None of this makes sense, but it has to tie in somehow. Why would a Demon keep an Angel captive?” Trevor would probably know, but I doubt he’d be okay with what I’d done to keep Lacie alive. He’d probably never want to talk to me again. Tears began to fall from my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but the last time I’d seen him kept coming to my mind. What would I have done if he’d done that to me? I’d never talk to him probably. I secretly hoped he was a better person than me.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Well, Hello There

  My arm slammed down onto my alarm just as it started going off. I’d set it to get up early this morning so I could try and piece some of this puzzle together. I rolled out of bed and stepped out of my room to start coffee for everyone.

  I heard the front door click open, and my mouth dropped as Trevor walked in. He walked straight up to me with saying a word. I put my hands up, and they connected with his chest. I tried getting out a word, but the look he was giving me made my breath catch. He kept walking forward, pushing me across the room until we slammed into the back living room wall. I tried to free myself but to no avail. He hung his head down to mine and took deep breaths.

  “Don’t ever fucking do that to me again,” he demanded as he slammed his hands against the wall, letting them land on mere inches from the sides of my head. I watched the dust settle on my shoulders. I guess he was upset.

  “Okay.” Was all I said, and his lips were on mine with a hunger he’d shown me only once before. “I’m so…god…Cendall,” he said as he pulled away for a second but then dove back in. “I’m so happy you’re alive…If had died, and I never got to tell you, that I, Cendall…I’m so glad that I guessed you’d be here. I would have looked forever until I found you,” said between ravenous kisses, but he froze as the door clicked open once more.

  “Who else is here?” His head snapped in that direction just as Lacie walked around the corner.

  “Oh, hey Trevor.” As soon as the words left her lips, she slammed her hand over her mouth, and her eyes went wide. That girl couldn’t hold anything in.

  “Lacie?”

  She nodded her head and ran back into her room.

  “What did you do? I came here because I had a feeling, if anywhere, you’d be here, and I thought I’d be bringing you good news that I could feel Lacie’s presence again on earth, but you obviously already know that.”

  “Yup,” was all that came out.

  “Did you see what happened?” he asked.

  “Yup”

  “Did you put her in that?”

  “Yup.”

  “So, not only are you going to be expelled from your realm, but they probably won’t let you work for mine anymore either. How did you do it?”

  “Long story.”

  “Damn it, Cendall.”

  “I umm…” I wanted to explain later and continue on with what we had been doing
prior to him turning into angry Trevor.

  “I’m so fucking mad at you! I can’t believe you just left me like that. We are supposed to be in this together. I thought we had an understanding. After all that’s happened...” I can’t lose him popped into my mind as all the feelings I had tried to push away for so long came rushing into me at once—the first time I saw him, our wrestling matches, the first, second, and last time we’d kissed.

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I had to.”

  “I know that, too. I’m so angry with you, but…you’re alive…and I thought…Fuck I thought I lost you, again. I’m so sick of playing this game with you. I need to know something right now.”

  “Okay,” was all I could get out as I felt his body trembling against mine.

  “Do you want me or not, Cendall? No more games, no more lies, just tell me the truth. I deserve that answer at the very least after all of this.”

  “You still want me, even though I’ll be looked at almost as badly as Demons for doing this?”

  “That should be obvious by me standing here. Horns or halo Cendall, I’d take you either way. But I need to know if you feel the same.”

  “Yes,” came out without any thought as I kissed him and then pulled away. “I’m sorry. I’ve wanted you for so long now, and I’m sorry I made excuses. I’ve actually been thinking about it for so long, and I’m so sick and tired of fighting against this….”

  He slammed his mouth back on mine, and I melted into him. He lowered his hands to my hips and pulled us together.

  I heard a deep growl that made me stop moving my lips and open my eyes. Had Trevor just growled at me? His eyes were still closed. As I pulled my mouth away from his, he started a trail of light kisses down my neck. I froze in place as I looked past him and saw where the growl had come from.

  “I suggest you get your hands off my daughter’s hips unless you want a face to face meeting with your maker, Guardian,” Dad said in a tone I hadn’t heard since I had ported to earth alone when I was twelve. Trevor stopped and turned slowly, pulling away from me. He reached for his spear, but I shook my head slightly. If he pulled that out, dad would finish him off.

  “Dad, this is Trevor,” I said as I pulled away from the wall and stood at Trevor’s side. “And, Trevor, this is my Dad.”

  “A Guardian?” he questioned.

  “Yes.”

  “You and your mother with your forbidden fruit. At least she picked a Reaper,” he said, confirming my suspicions.

  “So she was a Guardian then.”

  “Guardian? No, she was much more than that.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Deep

  “Cendall, before we get to your mother, I’m going to need you to tell me what the hell all of this is about and why you have a bounty out on your head?” he asked, and I told him everything that had happened since the day I met Lacie. Well, except the parts about me being with Trevor. I didn’t see how that pertained to the story really. Several times throughout the story, he looked like he wanted to throw up. Each time I spoke about how I almost died, he would keel over. I even saw a tear leave his eye, but it all just kept spilling out of me. It felt good to be honest, and by the end, I was balling. “Cendall, I had no idea. I’m so sorry. I wish you would have said something. You should have never had that high of a soul on your first list, and from what you’re telling me, her name might have not belonged there at all. I can’t believe you were able to put her soul into another being. I always knew you’d be great but that’s power way beyond my scope of imagination.”

  “Where have you been?” Drake asked him. “You left, but he said no one had a clue and hadn’t seen you since the trial.”

  “I’ve been here and there. I knew after the trial they’d want to question me on who exactly your mother was, Cendall, and that is not information I am willing to share. Then I tried to contact Dave’s dad and he told me about what happened,” his eyes went to the floor and back up to me. “And also told me he saw you stealing an extractor so I thought it was time to come to you. I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner. So tell me again, what did the Demon say to you when you were leaving?”

  “Something about a Jake. He said he knew he couldn’t have pulled this off and then said it was really me he was after.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. Jake was Herald’s son, and he died a long time ago. About eighteen years ago to be exact.” He looked away and then back at us.

  “Who is that?” Dad asked as he got up from the table and walked over to the mantel. “Who is this?”He picked up the picture I’d put there of Lacie, so she’d remember what she looked like. He gripped the frame so tightly that it began to crack in the corners.

  “That’s me. Well, what I used to look like,” Lacie said to him. He dropped the frame and walked toward Lacie. “You lie.”

  “No, dad, that’s really her. I stalked and then protected her for the last year. I think I would know,” I laughed, trying to make light of the situation. He was losing his mind in front of me. This wasn’t how I wanted to introduce my new family to dad.

  “This woman in Lacie’s kidnapping story that was imprisoned, she also had blonde hair?” he asked Lacie.

  “Yes, and a ruby ring on her left hand.” With that, he let out a deep bellow that had the room shaking.

  “Dad, stop! What is wrong with you?” I asked.

  “I just wish fate would have let me known.”

  “Let you know what exactly?” I asked.

  “Cendall, all these years I’ve wanted to tell you so much about your mother. To tell you about her loving nature, fierce spirit, and breathtaking smile. I just never thought. Cendall, that Angel they have trapped is your mother.”

  “Wait... what?” I asked, none of this was making sense.

  “Dad, please. You’re sounding insane here.”

  “I guess for it all to make sense, I should start at the beginning. Cendall, your mother, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by your gifts, is an Angel. We fell in love hard, and of course, it was forbidden. This made our lives complicated, but damn, she was worth the fight. We’d even thought we’d figured it all out until Herald’s son, Jake, got in the way. He got mad because she’d protected a soul he was supposed to take. He thought that, because of her protecting it, he would have to kill her to get it. He was too obsessed with finishing his list. He came to me, asking me for advice, and I told him to let it go. One, because that’s what you’re supposed to do when you lose, you fucking let it go until another opportunity arises. And two, I was absolutely in love with your mother, and I wouldn’t let anything touch her. I’d fought so hard just for her to give me a chance. I didn’t ever want to let her go. When your mother got pregnant, we were so happy, but so worried. We had no idea how we were going to keep you a secret from both of our realms, but we didn’t care anymore. Even if it meant living on earth forever, we were both ready for that sacrifice.” He choked up on the last word and wiped a tear from his cheek.

  “Your mother was about to have you when we finally figured it out that, apparently, Jake didn’t get the picture or take my advice, and he had been stalking us for quite some time. He rushed into the room, knowing it would be his best shot. Your mother couldn’t fight during child birth. He came into the room and tried to take me down at the hospital. I had to kill him as he was about to stab your mother. I stabbed him with my scythe, and before he died, he muttered what I thought was just gibberish. He said, ‘That baby will belong to my master and will help bring down her entire realm. How dare you fraternize with this creature! Being from both worlds will help this child destroy theirs. You have no idea what you’ve just accomplished, but all the credit will go to me.’ And he died with an eerie smile on his face. At the time, I thought he was insane. But as soon as you came out, Cendall, we didn’t want to take any chances. Cate called out to her Guardians and other Angels for help, and I ported you out before they got there. As soon as I had you at a safe location, I ported back, and that’s when I lost
her. Demons, Angels, and Guardians were battling everywhere, but she was nowhere in sight. There was so much blood.” His face went pale. “When the fight finally died out, I overhead them say she was killed. They talked about how no one had known she was pregnant, and it was sad because the baby had been taken. I thought they meant you, Cendall. I thought they meant you were taken away, but I made sure you were safe. I had no idea by ‘taken’ they meant there had been another baby. We had no idea there were two. She must have given birth to Lacie while I was porting Cendall away.”

  “I’m so sorry to both of you. We didn’t let anyone know of her pregnancy, and we hid out for eight months in fear that someone would find out about us. Surely no one from either of our realms wanted a mixed Angel and Reaper baby. So, that’s why I lied too. When I finally showed you to the rest of the realm, Cendall, I lied and said you had a human mother that had died during childbirth. That happened sometimes, when humans weren’t convinced to come live in hell. We got lucky that you didn’t show any of your other gifts until after you were out of training.”

  “Wait, so what are you saying is...”

  “I’m saying your mother is that trapped, Angel.”

  “That’s impossible,” cut in Abram who appeared out of thin air and startled everyone. “Lacie is my sister’s child.”

  “And Cendall’s sister,” my dad countered.

  “No, there was only one. I was there. My sister called me. I got there before anyone else. She was screaming in pain and thought she was going into shock. I looked under the sheet and saw Lacie coming. “You’re having a baby,” I said to her. ‘Having or had?’ she asked, and I thought it was odd. I told her, ‘Having. I can see it crowning.’ ‘Holy shit’, she screamed. Then she had Lacie.

  Immediately after, she said she could feel Demons were approaching and that I had to get Lacie out fast before the other Angels got there. She said I had to protect Lacie. That she’d stay there and take care of whatever was coming. I tried to argue with her, saying she’d just given birth. I still had so many more questions. I begged her to come with me, but she refused—said she had to wait. She made me promise if she didn’t make it that I’d protect Lacie. She told me I couldn’t tell anyone about her either, as she didn’t want to bring our family any shame. I understood none of it at the time, but I granted her wish. Once I got the baby out of there and to a safe spot, I came back, and she was gone. They said Demons had come and rushed her, and that she’d been killed and her body taken. She was so close to death when she handed me the one child, not two.”