Greed lit his eyes. "When Ryland finishes killing the Order that's outside the entrance to the nether-realm, you will kill each of their souls, ending with Dante. You will make it impossible for their immortality to ever bring them back. We need them cleared out so that the queen can emerge from where she has been for the last five thousand years. Understand?"
She lowered her head still further. "Oh," she said, her voice throaty. "I understand completely."
Simon grinned. "I knew you would come around." His eyes traveled over her body. "You are still my wife, Catherine. I forgot exactly how hot you are. You've gotten fit after the baby weight."
Dark, dark anger built inside her. "Touch me, Simon," she breathed. "Touch me like you used to." Her skin was burning now, saturated in death. "Touch me."
Anticipation and lust gleamed in his eyes, and he moved toward her. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes."
Nausea churned in her belly as he reached for her, and she immediately turned her thoughts to Ryland, imagining it was his hands reaching for her, that it was his body coming to merge with hers. Ryland. This is for you. Use freedom well.
Simon crouched before her and grabbed the front of her shirt. He yanked her to him, and Catherine summoned Ryland to her heart as Simon's mouth closed down on hers.
His lips touched hers. For a split second, he went rigid.
And then he started screaming.
* * *
Thano! Ryland bellowed his teammate's name as he tucked his wings and dive-bombed toward the clearing, straight at the one man he'd actually almost considered a friend. He was out of the nether-realm now. Could he connect with him?
Desperately, he reached out with his mind and felt a pulse of energy from Thano. Yes! Ryland thrust all of his healing energy into the kid, and felt Thano grasp desperately onto his offering. Hope exploded through him as he opened his mind to Thano's, showing him how to kill him. Do it, Thano. Don't hesitate. It's the only way to save your woman. You're Catherine's only chance.
Zach whirled around, shading his eyes to watch Ryland's approach. "Holy shit," he yelled. "What the hell is that?"
The other Order members spun around, and there was a litany of shouted curses as Ryland bore down on them. An asper cat leapt onto the back of one of the cloaked Order members, and then they all spun away, fighting for their lives, with no time to study the mutant beast coming for them. His soul screamed in agony as he watched his team being destroyed. These were his men! They were his charges! He had to protect them! Not kill them!
But he couldn't stop himself, streaking right toward Thano to take him out first. Bile and disgust poured through him, at his pathetic weakness of being unable to stop himself. Thano!
Apollo was protecting the younger warrior, keeping the asper cats away from him, but even the horse would be no match for Balthazar.
He was less than a hundred yards away. Thano! Kill me you stupid bastard. Now!
Thano's eyes opened, and Ryland met his gaze. Hope leapt through him at the sight of those lucid eyes.
Seventy-five yards.
Dude, she's your woman. Save her yourself. I'm sorta busy here. Thano was still lying on his back, his body bloodied and broken, death circling him in a filthy aura.
Fifty yards away. You have one shot, Thano. Right in the eye. It is the only way to stop me. Do it.
In Thano's right hand was his halberd, but his grip was loose and relaxed, not ready for throwing. Who will piss everyone off if you're dead? No one else is as bitter and miserable as you are. We'd all be too happy and cheerful without you around. Nah, I'm not going to kill you.
Forty yards.
Ryland's claws elongated and he raised his front legs preparing to tear Thano apart. Panic assaulted him, and he fought to stop, but he just flew harder. Visions thrust through his mind of his team being torn asunder and ripped to shreds, of the Order being decimated. His spirit screamed in outrage, and he tried to divert his flight, but his wings just tucked tighter, increasing his speed. Catherine will die if you don't stop me. Someone has to save her. I can't do it. You have to do it. Please, Thano, save her. For me. Please.
Twenty yards until impact. Shit, Ryland. Since when do you ask so nice? You almost sound like a guy in love.
Strike me down! Five yards. Swearing, Ryland opened his blood bond with Catherine, summoning her sheva connection to Thano, calling Thano's weapons the very way she had done it. Thano's halberd leapt out of his hand and hurled through the air, right at Ryland.
"No!" Thano roared in protest just as Ryland landed on him, his claws primed to tear his friend apart, but instead of the feel of soft flesh giving way, unbelievable pain ricocheted through him as Thano's halberd lanced his chest. A direct hit.
Death was his. Catherine, he gasped as he rolled onto his side, his claws still reaching lethally for Thano as he fell beside him. This is for you.
* * *
Ryland! His roar of anguish tore through Catherine, ripping her out of her trance. She screamed as his pain lanced her chest and she hunched over, holding her heart. Simon collapsed beside her, moaning in agony, his skin mottled and gray.
The room began to spin, and heat rose from her body, flooding Simon's dungeon like the fires of hell themselves had been unleashed. Ryland's soul seemed to fly into her body, wrapping itself around her. She could suddenly feel his every breath, his every thought, the beat of his heart, and the anguish of his soul. It was as if he had become a part of her, his spirit so entangled with hers that nothing could ever separate them.
Elation flooded her. A feeling of hope and liberation, as if the great angel of life herself had bathed Catherine in the beauty of her soul. The beautiful symphony of a thousand church bells filled her mind, and a feeling of absolute peace and rightness swelled within her, chasing away all the death, all the darkness, all the damage of her soul, leaving nothing behind but Ryland, the beauty of his soul, and the intensity of her emotions for him.
She gasped as she fought for breath, overwhelmed by the sheer force of the emotions trying to consume her, by the depth of her need for Ryland. Her forearms began to burn with the most intense pain she'd ever experienced, and she yanked her sleeve back in time to see Thano's halberd finish forming on her arm. It flashed once, and then settled.
The bond was complete. She belonged to Ryland. Forever. Forever. He'd finished the last stage, his half of the death stage— Oh, no! Catherine lunged to her feet, her heart racing. For him to satisfy the death stage, it meant he had either killed someone to save her life…or that he had offered his own life to save hers. Dear God, please let it be the first one! Ryland!
She suddenly became aware of the piercing pain in her chest again. She pressed her hands to her heart, focusing her mind on it. To her horror, she felt Ryland's spirit entangled with the injury. In pain. Grief. Agony. Death was swirling through him, looking for a place to settle. She realized that she was feeling Ryland's pain, Ryland's death... Oh, no. He had taken a death blow!
Ryland! She broke for the door. She just reached the threshold when Simon's hand closed around her ankle. He jerked her hard, and she fell, her head smashing into the wall as she hit. He began to drag her backwards, away from freedom, away from Ryland, and into hell.
Ryland! She screamed his name even as Simon hauled her toward him. Ryland!
A faint pulse of energy filled her mind, then a whispered plea from the man she loved. Cat?
Don't die! She screamed her command, barely aware of Simon throwing her on the floor and binding her arms and legs. She thrust all her energy into her connection with Ryland. I need you!
A myriad of emotions flowed from Ryland, but the most powerful one was a tremendous sense of shame and failure. Thano will take care of you.
For God's sake, shut up, you idiot! I want you! You're the only one! She gasped in pain as Simon wrenched her arm behind her back.
It's too late, Cat. I'm dying. It's as it should be. My sacrifice to you— He grunted, and sudden fury exploded from him. Son of a bitc
h! They're going down!
What? Who? Tell me what's happening!
Asper cats. They're killing my team. Shit! Energy flickered through him, and she knew he was trying to get up to help them. The intensity of his need to help his team was so powerful it was almost blinding... No, it was blinding. A golden light so bright that it seemed to be setting her on fire. Her breath caught as it filled her, and suddenly she knew. She knew. The golden light that Ryland had been seeking from other angels was actually within himself.
He was the one with the angel power.
He was the angel.
And from the intensity of his reaction to the Order being destroyed, she knew that he didn't have to look any further to find the third angel in the Order's trinity. Ryland was their guardian angel. It was him. And it always had been.
Ryland's shock filled her as he read her thoughts. What the fuck are you talking about? I'm not an angel—
You don't have time to deny it. Catherine focused on him, offering him all the knowledge she had of what they both were. Your calling as an angel is stronger than any other force, she said. Stronger than mortal death, the call of the beast, or the power of the slave cuffs. You can save them, Ryland. You can rescue your team. It's your job. It's what you were created to do. You're the one they've been waiting for. You!
Chapter Seventeen
An angel? Catherine thought he was the angel? Unreal. Un-fucking-real.
He was no angel. He was a monster. Always had been. Always would be.
Denial roared through Ryland as he lay on his side, his life bleeding from his body. His chest was heaving with the effort of breathing, and black blood was oozing from all of his pores, leaking out between his scales. Even in the shadows of death, the form of his beast did not leave him. He'd heard that death always claimed a being in its true form, which meant that he was a monster, not a man.
A beast until the end.
Beside him lay Thano, his body broken and mangled from the cats. The only reason that Thano was alive was because Apollo was still fighting to save him, but Thano couldn't move any more than Ryland could. As they lay there, Ryland swung a weary claw at Thano, trying to fulfill Desdria's orders even as he lay dying. His claw raked across Thano's thigh, and the other warrior flinched. "Shit, Ry. Cut the crap already."
"Can't." His voice was rough and deep, but he managed to form words even though he was in dragon form.
"Fuck that shit. You won't, more like it."
Thano's words hit deep, and Ryland flinched. "You believe that?"
"Yeah, 'cause if you wanted to stop, you would." Thano's green gaze met his. "You're more than the rest of us, Ry. You always have been."
"Fuck that. More of a monster."
Thano managed a grin. "Yeah, that too."
Ryland. Catherine's voice was urgent, compelling, and it seemed to fill his entire soul with light and yearning. Sudden realization rushed through him. He didn't want to die. He wanted to be with her. You need to focus on your team. Accept your mission as their guardian. Don't fight it.
Again with the angel? Resistance built inside him, raw denial for the lies she was spinning. I'm not a fucking angel—
Shut up for one second, she snapped, her voice filling him with urgency. This is how it works, Ryland. You must accept your true calling, or you can never fully tap into your power. Look at your team, acknowledge your need to save them, and then state that you accept your mission. Do it now!
"No way." Thano was staring at him in shock. "You're an angel?"
Ryland glared at him. "Get out of my head."
"Dude, you're broadcasting like there's no tomorrow—" There was a loud scream of agony, and both of them turned their heads to see Zach fall as an asper cat leapt on him. One of the other Order members, a stranger they didn't even know, beheaded the cat a split second before it finished off Zach. But even as he did it, another cat attacked, tearing a chunk out of his shoulder.
Outrage roared through Ryland, and the need to save them vibrated through him. But he was too weak to move, his life bleeding away, which was fortunate, because every move he took was designed only for the purpose of killing his own damned team.
Ryland— Catherine's voice was cut off, and he felt a stab of pain from her.
Cat? What's wrong?
Simon. Another burst of pain jerked through her, igniting a lethal anger within him. Possessiveness raged through him, an agony that seemed to rip his heart right out of his body. "Thano! Save her!"
"Really?" Thano shot him a disbelieving look. "You dumbass. Look around. We're all going to die. No one is going to be left to save her, unless our missing third angel shows his pretty little face and helps us out."
Ryland's soul screamed in protest as more pain hit Catherine. Frantic, he looked around the clearing and saw only death. They were all losing. They would all be dead. Thano was right. No one would be left. Not even Catherine. "No!"
Ryland. Help me.
Fierce determination swelled through him, and suddenly Ryland didn't give a shit what he was capable of, what his destiny was, or what anyone thought about him. Only one thing mattered. Saving the people who mattered to him. With a roar of fury, he turned toward his team, following Catherine's orders. He accepted the horror of what he was seeing as the truth. He scented the blood of warriors. He heard their screams of pain. He watched them fall. He let their suffering and torment fill every space in his soul. As their suffering filled him, so did an answering, grim resolve, an unflinching drive to protect them, to end their suffering, to make the shit stop. "I need to save them," he growled.
At his confession, something flickered inside him. Strength. Energy.
"I need to save them," he repeated, louder this time. More energy seemed to fill him, flooding his muscles with strength.
"I need to save them!" he shouted. "I accept my mission!" The words seemed to explode from him. Not just from his mouth, but his chest, his heart, from the very depths of all the darkness swirling around inside him. "I am their guardian angel, and I accept my fucking mission now!"
As he bellowed the words, a massive golden light exploded in the sky above them, showering everything with a fiery glow. Life flooded Ryland, and he leapt to his feet with a roar of triumph. He spun around, his massive claws ripping an asper cat off Apollo's back. He hurled it into one of the pyres by the entrance, and it screamed in agony as the fires of hell consumed it.
He tore across the clearing like hell unleashed, his roar flattening the trees for a mile around. He reached Zach first, his massive jaws crushing an asper cat just as it went for Zach's throat. Ripping it apart, he hurled it aside as he smashed his tail into a duo that was ripping the flesh from one of the cloaked Order's body. He was everywhere, moving faster than he'd ever moved before, taking out the beasts as they swarmed him. Hundreds seemed to flood from the woods, summoned to the battle to take out the creature threatening them.
He whirled around, their teeth tearing scales from his body as he attacked them with his claws, his teeth, his tail, everything he had. The air was filled with the tormented cries of the cats, with his howls of victory, in a battle that seemed to stretch on and on and on—
Until suddenly, there were no more left.
Ryland stood on all fours, his massive body heaving as he stood at the ready in the middle of the clearing, his tail flicking restlessly. Around him, hundreds of asper cats littered the ground. Not a single one breathed. Not a single one had been spared. Creatures that had taken hundreds, thousands of lives, would never hurt another soul.
"What the fuck is that?" Zach shouted.
What? Something else? Ryland spun around, his claws bared, only to discover that Zach and the other five Order members were surrounding him in a well-armed circle. Their weapons were out, even as blood streamed from their decimated bodies.
"Don't move," Zach commanded, moving so that he was in front of Thano, blocking Ryland's access to the downed warrior. "Stand down, creature."
Ryland's eyes n
arrowed at the distrust on Zach's face, at the way everyone's weapons were pointed at him. It was the same as it had always been: his own team looking at him as if he were going to tear them apart, ready to kill him at a moment's notice. Again, he was on the outside.
Which was fine.
He wasn't there to make friends.
He was there to keep the ungrateful bastards alive—
A lone clap made everyone jump.
Then there was another, and Ryland saw Apollo nudge the battered Thano to a sitting position as he clapped again. "Bravo," he said.
Stephanie Rowe - Darkness Unleashed Page 26