by S.B. Rodgers
A thought occurred to her as she stood there panting furiously, propped against the red door she had just come through. What would she do once she got to Gabe? He was, as far as she knew, unconscious, and was likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. What would she do if he never woke up…she banished the thought with a swift shake of her head. No. Gabe would be fine.
She was worried and frightened, a million thoughts swirling in her head as she moved down the long stretch of off-white hallway leading to room 315. As she drew closer to the room, she began to tremble all over. The night’s ordeal had taken a toll on her, both mental and physical, and her encounter with the pale man—Mammon, Elijah had called him?—had given rise to a notion that weighed heavily on her mind.
Everything, from the Wards’ strange powers to the creatures that had chased after her to the bizarre, uncontrollable something that lay dormant inside of her, terrified her. She wasn’t the same Abby Shepard who had woken up that morning, so excited and nervous about going to a school dance with Gabe that she had hardly slept the night before. She had changed, and the world had changed with her. She was no longer normal, and, as she walked alone and uncertain, she craved any ounce of normalcy, any nuance of her old life.
Then she caught sight of him leaning in the doorway of Gabe’s room. Her eyes filled with tears as relief flooded her body. She moved forward unconsciously on numbed legs, falling into his outstretched arms. “Raph!” she cried, not caring at that moment that he wasn’t Gabe. He was there, still the same aside from looking a little more windswept than usual.
Raph hugged her tightly to him, stroking her hair with one hand. “You’re okay. You’re alright.” He whispered, trying to calm her.
She pulled back, looking into his eyes “Raph, what’s going on? Everything’s so strange, and there are monsters, and the Wards are glowing and fighting and Gabe—Gabe’s…”
“Shhhh,” he said, brushing his finger gently against her lips. “I…can’t promise that this’ll all make sense to you, or that everything is gonna go back to normal. But I will do everything in my power to protect you. That’s what I can promise.”
Abby stared at him, fear taking over as she backed away from him. “Oh god…you’re part of this too?” She caught movement behind him, turned her gaze on the two tall, silver-haired figures that stood in the doorway. “And you two, you’re like those things from outside!”
“Abby,” Raph said, taking a step towards her.
“Stay away from me!” she screamed, scurrying backwards. She watched as hurt instantly flooded his dark eyes and he slowly withdrew his outstretched hand.
He looked away from her, a pained expression on his face as he spoke at the floor. “At least listen to me, Abby. Please.”
“WHY?” She shouted; this was insanity. All of it. She turned away, gathering her shredded skirts around her.
His bitter voice stopped her in her tracks. “Because I might have a way to save your boyfriend!”
Abby whirled around to face him. “But…why would you do that? You hate Gabe!”
“I’m not doing it for him.” His gaze flicked from the worn tiled floor to her, a fire burning in his dark eyes.
The intensity of that stare and the meaning of his words hit Abby, and she felt her cheeks grow hot. She looked away. “I love him.”
“I know.” Raph said. “But let me help you at least this once, or I’ll never be able to give you up.”
Abby could only stare at him, her mind and heart racing. If he could really help Gabe, if he would do it for her, maybe…maybe it was alright to trust him. Once, cautiously, she nodded. “Okay. Just…just help him, Raph. Save him.”
Raph inclined his head and turned, walking away from her. “Come on, then. He’ll want you to be there when he wakes up.”
* * *
Raph leaned over Gabe’s still body. The angel’s chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, as if he were deeply asleep. Raph knew, though, that this was one sleep that Gabe would not wake up from. Not without his soul. Without his help, Gabe would stay that way; perfectly preserved body, zero brain activity.
He glanced at Abby, took in her reddened eyes and torn finery, her mussed hair and bare feet. He had to do this for her. He owed her that much. “You two. Out.” he snapped, addressing the silver-haired, silver-eyed couple that stood guarding the doorway.
Malakh shot him a blank look. Rivkah was more polite. “Why, dear?”
Raph sighed in exasperation as he strode around the room, placing several candles he had stolen from the chapel. “Because you’re dangerous. Your powers aren’t light or dark. I can’t have them interfering with this. Even if you don’t mean them to.”
Wordlessly, Malakh left the room. A nonplussed Rivkah followed him after a moment, hitting the lights on her way out. ”You’ll need the darkness for this, demon.”
Raph took a deep, steadying breath, returning to the bed. With Rivkah’s contribution, his preparations were almost complete. He accessed his powers, maybe for the last time on Earth, feeling the tattoos glide under his skin.
He flicked his wrist, droplets of fire shooting from his fingertips to light the five candles. Abby flinched, whimpering quietly. “Sorry.” Raph winced, glancing at her again.
She shook her head, clearly trying to be brave. “I—I’m okay. You just startled me, that’s all.”
He gave her the most encouraging smile he could muster. He didn’t want her to freak out, and things were about to get worse. Focusing again, he turned back to Gabe’s body, pulling away the blankets that covered him and unbuttoning the crisp linen shirt the angel still wore.
“What are you doing?” Abby asked, her voice quiet and wavering.
Raph drew in a deep breath before answering. “His soul is gone, but his body’s okay. In theory, I can get it back. But that means going back--” he gave her a dark look, his face eerie in the flickering candlelight. “back to Hell, that is. Unlike your boyfriend here, I’m a demon. Probably explains a lot, right?”
Abby gave him an indescribable look, the pain and confusion and fear all mixing together. Raph didn’t wait for her response. “I know that this must all sound crazy to you. I get that. And I’m sorry about…everything. All of it.” His voice broke. Raph coughed to cover it up, clearing his throat as he busied himself once again with stripping away the shirt on Gabe’s chest. “I’m ready. So just, uh, stand back.”
What he was about to attempt was dangerous, something he hadn’t tried before. A deeper power than he had ever used began to thrum in his veins, pulsing back and forth with the beating of his heart. The tattoos swirled and rushed, glowing black and twisting up over his face. The whites of his eyes filled with the inky blackness that flowed inside of him, the power building as his focus grew.
He leaned over Gabe, his breathing slowly syncing with the unconscious angel’s and he stared at the rise and fall of his naked chest. The dark, pulsating power, the flickering candlelight, the second their breath was in unison…it was everything. It was nothing. He acted.
His hand shot out, fingertips sharp, cracked and glowing, black and orange and claw-like. They traced over Gabe’s exposed belly, carving into his flesh. He heard Abby gasp, but ignored it. He couldn’t afford to stop now. This was the only chance. His only way back to Hell, and certainly his only hope of following Gabe’s soul on its journey into Hades.
His fingers dug deeper into the soft skin and flesh, scraping and carving a clean path, a pattern onto the angel’s torso. The candles snuffed out, one by one, as each point of the upside-down star was etched. Deftly, sweat beading on his forehead as he concentrated fully, Raph finished the pentagram.
He took a step backwards, looking over his handiwork without pride. It wasn’t something he enjoyed, he thought, feeling a little sick from the power that was now ebbing away from him. It was a crude, old method, and not something he wanted to repeat. But, hopefully, it would work. “Only one way to find out,” he muttered
, placing his palm firmly on the center of the symbol, the rise and fall of Gabe’s chest never wavering from its placid rhythm.
He glanced at Abby one last time; her eyes, those beautiful green eyes that he had fallen in love with so long ago, were huge and terrified. He gave her a wry smile. If only he hadn’t been such an idiot; this all could have ended so differently.
Shaking his head, he focused on the bloody symbol and his destination. The power screamed in his limbs, rushing and aching through him. The symbol pulsated with that familiar, unholy orange light. One word passed from his lips, his mind slipping easily back to its native tongue. “Hades.”
He vanished in a blast of bright, fiery light, the room lighting bright as day and then plunging into blackness except for the light pouring in from the hallway. Abby sank to her knees.
She stared blankly at the clean white hospital tiles for what felt like ages, but might have only been minutes. It was Aiden’s worried voice that made her look up. “Abby?” He knelt down in front of her quietly, his suit and hair in utter disarray and a sad smile on his usually cheerful features. His hand reached out and she flinched away despite herself. Persistently, gently, he wiped away the tears she didn’t realize she had been crying with his thumb. “We need to talk.”
The warmth of his touch and the kind tone of his voice broke something inside of her, something fragile and small. She took a deep, shaky breath and inclined her head, dashing the remaining tears from her eyes. Eyes that flashed bright gold for a split-second when she looked at him.
She took in his bloodied and battered state, the remnants of his power still glowing faintly in his eyes. “What…what are you?” She asked haltingly, knowing the answer before he spoke.
She had to hear it from him, know that she wasn’t just making this all up in her head. Know that Raph really had just carved a portal to hell into Gabe’s unconscious body. “You’re not human.” Abby said accusatorily.
Aiden laughed, more loudly than Abby had expected. He shook his head, reached out to place his hands on her bare shoulders. “No, we’re not. We’re angels, Abby, sent here to protect you.”
Abby tried to wrench away from his grip as he leaned forward, his expression dead serious. “Abby, listen to me! You have to know this—we’re not human, but neither are you!”
Abby stared at him blankly; this was all too much. “What do you mean? Then what the hell am I?!”
Aiden simply shook his head again. “I’m not sure. But I have a theory.” He said. “When we get back to the house, can you show me your mother’s mirror?”
END OF BOOK ONE