Fall From Grace (24 page)

Brace yourself.

An icy wind blew over her skin and she
looked down, but didn’t see her own body. Only darkness.

An eruption of bass, pounding against her
ears, deafened her. She tried to cup her hands over them to block
the noise, but there was nothing to move. Her body remained back in
the kitchen, while her consciousness lie in another plane, but the
cold still pierced her skin with pain.

The swirls of grey parted like a curtain on
a stage. She drifted beyond the barrier to the other side. Crimson
streaks rolled into forms of people she loved. Family and friends
she’d lost were chained to the underworld.

Cracked rocks floated on a sea of molten
lava, but their bodies didn’t burn. Instead they remained within
the red glow without touching the ground. A bloodied translucent
figure of her mother, an image from the past, shot a sting of
sadness down her limbs. Forcing her eyes from the one image that
would cripple her, she continued the search of the demonic desert
of bodies to find answers.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. Her mother
hadn’t been trapped in darkness or cast to the fires of hell. The
world shook and chains snapped loose. Her mother rose into the
darkness, then the night parted and a glimmer of light shone
through. Several other bodies she didn’t recognize were set free,
but still hundreds remained.

Gaby refocused on the remaining ones and
caught a glimpse of silver hair glistening, before the midnight sky
blocked the light of peace from above. The world began to shake,
and fire exploded from the cracks between the floating shards of
Earth.

Free them before it’s too late.

How?
Gaby pushed the words from her
mind and lingered out there to touch another soul, but connected
with only blank space, a void.

Your power to lead an army can raise the
undead. An army to fight at your will. All you need to do is
embrace all your strength and cheat death.

Cheat death? Gaby rolled the idea around in
her mind in an attempt to process the words. No one cheated
death.

The bodies blurred into waves of red that
trailed off into the distance. The lava field that chained the dead
turned to black, and everything merged into a pool of nothing.

The smell of hazelnut and a distant voice
drew her attention. A feathery touch swept her ribs and tugged her
back. The curtain swooshed closed, and her consciousness slammed
into her body. Each bone vibrated from the force. She sucked in a
lung full of air as if it were her first. It stung with urgency and
she heaved another breath.

The white world swung back and forth with a
loud swoosh of air. She palmed her forehead, attempting to slow the
swinging sensation.

“You’re okay.” Prim’s calm, but raspy voice,
broke through the tunnel between the two worlds.

Did Prim speak from the future, or was she
in the present? What did it all mean? The bodies, good and evil
stuck in darkness and her mother floating away.

If she saw the plane where all the souls
were chained between worlds, then she would be there too. The
weight of her fate crushed her ribs with so much pressure she
thought the end was near.

“Breathe.” Prim spoke again.

Gaby blinked and saw Prim’s distinctive
poufy, blonde hair through watering eyes. Prim’s hand brushed her
shoulder, warmth like the morning sun pushed the anxiety down. Her
arms and legs no longer shook. “You’re an angel?”

“Not exactly.” Prim pursed her painted,
peach colored lips together, and sat back from her on the kitchen
floor while eyeing the journal.

Gaby swiped her eyes and studied Prim’s
expression. It was the same look Grace had when she avoided sharing
the entire truth, yet wanted Gaby to figure things out on her
own.

“What do you have there?” Prim reached for
the Journal.

Gaby shoved the book containing all of
Grace’s thoughts into her bag. Her head spun with images of the
dead entombed in darkness and she struggled with her destiny. “You
going to kill me? Send me to the dark, nothingness?”

“No, of course not.” Prim’s eyes grew wide
and she clutched Gaby’s arm tight. “Tell me what you saw?”

Was this a trick? Was Alexander right and
she was evil? She could scream, and Alexander would be here in a
second. No. Prim knew something, a way to free all those lost
souls. Gaby had to take a chance. If the rest of them showed, Prim
would just disappear again.

“You said there was a way to free them, the
souls trapped between the worlds.”

“Yes, there is a way. Tell me what you saw.
You spoke of chains and a light.” Prim’s grip eased, but she didn’t
let go.

“Tell me why you want me to free the souls
so bad.” Gaby narrowed her gaze, daring her to lie.

“Because someone I loved needs help. I’m
sure you can understand.” Prim let go of her arm and sat back. “I
want to help the one I loved, the way you want to help Alexander.
To free someone he loves.”

Grace remained chained to the underworld,
living in darkness, and Prim knew how to free her. “I saw them. The
lost souls. I guess that means I’ll be joining them.” Gaby fought
the panic that threatened to send her demonic side into a fiery
rage.

Prim took her hand. “Tell me exactly what
you saw. What did you see first?”

Gaby hesitated, but it was their only shot.
Ignoring Alexander’s nagging voice of warning, she decided to trust
Prim enough to get some information from her. “I was here, then I
was in a grey tunnel, I came out near a red curtain of sorts. It
felt like…well, evil. I don’t know how to explain it. My body was
gone, yet I could sense pain and discomfort, loss, and terror.”

“What happened? Did you pass through the
curtain?” Prim asked.

“Yes, then I was calm. Saw my mother float
to Heaven, which made no sense because she’s already in Heaven.
Grace remained chained to the underworld. I went closer and
blackness shrouded my soul. Nothing in this world or any other
mattered. Everything was gone, nothing remained.”

Prim squeezed Gaby’s hand. “Your mother, did
she look like the rest?”

“No, she was more of a see-through kind of
image. Grace and the other’s were in bodies.” Gaby shivered at the
memory of feeling nothing, no purpose to breathe. It reminded her
of the shadowy life she lived after her mother’s death, when she
turned to the pills to dull the ache.

“Gaby, your powers have matured. You didn’t
see the future.”

“What? Of course it was the future.” Gaby
shook her head.

“Don’t you see? Earth is shut off from
Heaven. The only communication is through you. You are the vessel
that will close the gate and stop the war before it begins. All you
have to do is embrace all your sides. The demonic powers you have
will open the gate, once inside angelic good will set the right
souls free, and then you can seal the gate.” Prim got to her feet
and offered her hand. “This is it. Our chance to stop all this
before it’s too late.”

“I can’t.” Gaby managed to stand on her
wobbly legs. “How am I supposed to use demonic powers and switch to
angelic in the next breath? I’ve barely been able to keep the
demonic powers from setting this house on fire since we got
here.”

“You can do it.” Prim paced the floor. “You
just need help.”

Prim bit her nails and continued to pace
before she stopped. “Remember, you have to embrace your demonic
side to get through the gate. You just need to convince the others
that this is your idea. If they suspect I had anything to do with
this, they’ll never agree.”

“I can’t do this alone. You need to go with
me.”

“I will. I’ll meet you at County Line Road,
but you need to go before Boon returns.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me, please.” Prim shoved her to
the hall. “Go, before it’s too late.”

Gaby sensed urgency, not only from Prim, but
something made the hair on her arms stand on end. Perhaps it was
the doomed mission of convincing the others to trust The Prim.

She reached the end of the hall and found
Avery and Alexander on the couch. Avery had her arms wrapped around
Alexander, and her lips were pressed to his.

Rage boiled to the surface and she raced for
the couch. Alexander bolted up and landed between her and Avery.
“No, Gaby. Don’t.”

Avery sat back and smiled as she licked her
lips and winked at her. Gaby planted her hands on Alexander’s
shoulders to shove him away, and they reddened with heat. Material
singed and the stench of burning cloth filled the air. Her hands
flared and flames licked up her arms, a pulse of energy shot from
her, and blasted Alexander across the room. The front door swung
open.

She hissed and grinded her teeth, ignoring
everything around her. Alexander scrambled to his feet and blocked
her path once more. A handprint marred his shoulder as if she’d
branded him. The old mark from Forras itched beneath her shirt.

Alexander gasped, “Gaby, your eyes.” He
lifted Avery into his arms and stumbled back. “You need to calm
down. You can control it—”

“Gaby, stop this.” Dad appeared by
Alexander’s side, blurred in red and gold hues, but he wouldn’t
stop her. Her insides twisted at the sight of the one she loved
protecting someone else. Someone he’d just kissed. She snarled and
grabbed the coffee table. Demonic venom replaced her blood coursing
through her body with so much power she couldn’t hold it back any
longer. She tossed the table at them and bolted out the broken
window.

Light…her body was weightless as she jumped
from the window, to a tree, to a light pole, twenty feet at a time.
She never knew how freeing such power could be. Who needed
wings?

The ground below blurred with each leap, she
soared through the air. In only minutes she landed at County Line
Road, and into the center of the Hunter’s camp.

Thirty or forty men jumped to attention.
Guns snapped into position, all pointed directly at her.

****

Alexander sat Avery down and faced Bruce.
“Did you see that? Gaby’s eyes, they were red. Not just orange like
demon eyes, but bright, fiery red.” His gut clenched tight with
fear and worry.

“What the hell is she?” Avery whimpered into
his side.

“Better question. Why don’t you tell them
what the hell you are?” The Prim stood in the hallway with hands on
her hips.

Bruce snapped his gun up with precision,
aiming it at the principal. The front door flew open, and David
pulled a Glock from a black bag, before dropping the satchel with a
thud.

“Go ahead and shoot, but you’ll never be
able to save your daughter if you do.” The principal smirked and
stepped closer, nodding in Avery’s direction. “That little girl
you’ve got in your hands, what does she smell like? What do you
feel when you touch her?”

His eyes remained fixed on the principal,
but his mind reeled with her words. The day of the homecoming game
when she kissed him, and a few moments ago, he’d felt loss, hatred,
loneliness. He took a long intake of air and realized he smelled
flowers, fruity hair spray, and a hint of death.

“You fell for it. Imagine that, the fallen
angel that is so quick to judge demons missed one right under his
nose. Well, of course she isn’t a full demon, just possessed by
one.”

Bruce shifted to his left and his gaze
darted between the principal and Avery. “She the reason Gaby just
erupted?”

David lifted his bag and approached, keeping
his eyes on Avery.

Alexander couldn’t let them shoot an
innocent girl, even if she was possessed.

“Part of it. Of course, Alexander lip locked
to that blonde cheerleader didn’t help. But there’s no time for
that right now.”

Alexander pushed Avery from his arms. “I
didn’t, she attacked me.”

Avery grinned and flames danced in her eyes.
“You know you loved it. Forget about that poor, pathetic girl and
take me.”

He wanted to throttle the demon inside her.
How could he have been so stupid? Wait, the principal was trying to
confuse him. “You told her to do something to Gaby. I heard
you.”

“Yes, as her principal, I told her to
apologize to Gaby and to back off of Alexander. The last thing we
needed was Gaby’s powers surfacing in front of a worthless,
low-level demon. I could control her without incident, but
apparently you can’t handle it.”

Alexander took a step toward Prim. “I don’t
believe you.”

“Believe what you want. You were the one
embracing it.”

He fought the urge to attack the principal.
It wouldn’t do any good right now. “What do we do with her?”

“We’ll figure that out later. Right now, we
need to save Gaby before she either traps herself inside the
darkness all souls reside in, or worse, open the gates allowing
Satan himself to live on Earth.”

Alexander gritted his teeth at the searing
pain radiating from his shoulder. The demon mark tattooed forever
as a reminder of Gaby’s demonic rage. Would he be able to pull her
back? They had all failed before, only Grace had managed to save
her.

“Tell us how…Judy.” Alexander swallowed the
sting of desperation and stomach acid that bubbled up his
throat.

“Bruce, you might want to secure that demon
before she runs off to warn Satan of our plans, sealing all of our
fate.”

Bruce nodded to David. He pulled some rope
from his black duffle.

“Will rope hold a demon?” Alexander
asked.

“Nope, not ordinary rope.” David shoved
Avery down in a chair near the dining room and wrapped the rope
around her. It sizzled like meat in a frying pan. “Let’s just say
the rope’s been treated with somethin’…unique.”

Avery cried out in girl squeals until the
demon became angry and surfaced. “You’ll never win. Master will use
her to free us all.”

David gagged Avery, leaving her in the
corner to thrash and moan.