Hades (53 page)

too dangerous for her.

Xavier’s face flooded with relief. He stepped forward and

reached out to me but stopped when he registered my

state of undress. His gaze traveled over the bed, the

flowers, and the rumpled sheets. Our eyes met and the

pained expression in his made me feel like someone had

slapped me across the face. He looked confused at first,

then angry, and then strangely blank, as if the rol er coaster

of emotions that hit him was too overwhelming to manage.

It was Jake who first broke the silence.

“No!” He lunged toward me and grasped me so tightly I

cried out in pain. That seemed to spur Xavier into action.

“Take your filthy hands off her!” he growled. He went to

run forward, but Ivy and Gabriel appeared by his side in an

instant, holding him back. Jake glared at them like a

ferocious animal, his black eyes wide with rage and panic.

Gabriel’s lip curled in an expression of mockery I’d never

seen him wear before. “Did you real y think you’d get away

with this?” he asked in a soft voice that was al the more

menacing.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Jake hissed. “How did you get

in?”

Gabriel stepped forward and swung the sword in an arc,

casual y testing the weight of it in his hands.

“Let’s just say we had unexpected reinforcements.”

Jake hissed like a serpent, spraying spit through the air.

“You wouldn’t understand, but we take care of our own,”

Gabriel said.

I felt Jake’s fingers dig harder into my shoulder. “She’s

mine
,” he spat. “You can’t take her from me. I won her fair

and square.”

“You cheated and you lied,” Gabriel said. “She is ours

and we have come to claim her. Release her before we

make you.”

For a moment Jake stood completely stil . Then suddenly

I felt myself lifted off my feet, his fingers wrapped around my

neck. I was dangling in midair and the pressure around my

throat was almost unbearable. My feet kicked helplessly

and I struggled to suck in whatever wisps of air I could.

“I could break her neck in an instant,” Jake taunted.

“To hel with this,” Xavier said and before anyone could

stop him he charged forward and rammed into Jake with

his right shoulder, as if he were on the footbal field. Taken

by surprise, Jake released me and I sank onto the bed,

gasping for breath. They tumbled backward into the water.

Jake seemed taken aback by the passion behind Xavier’s

attack. Xavier swung, his fist connecting solidly with Jake’s

jaw. They tackled each other again, rol ing over rocks in the

shal ows as they struggled for control. I heard Jake grunt

repeatedly as Xavier’s fist thudded into him. It was evident

who was physical y superior. But Jake wasn’t one to play

fair and as soon as he regained his composure for a

moment, he swept a hand through the air and Xavier was

flung across the cavern and crashed onto the bed beside

me. Jake snapped his fingers and iron chains materialized

around us both, binding us to the spot. Jake approached

like a predator, waiting for the kil . He loomed above us for

a moment and then his fist shot out and punched Xavier

square across the left eye. Xavier’s head snapped to the

side and I saw him wince, but he didn’t give Jake the

satisfaction of knowing he was hurt. I screamed and

struggled against the restraints as Jake’s fist smashed into

Xavier’s jaw and a trickle of blood ran from his lip.

Then a force lifted Jake clean off his feet and threw him

across the cave. The chains that bound us dissolved.

Xavier groaned and rol ed onto his side, facing me.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry I let this happen. I swore

to always protect you and I let you down.”

I stared at him for a moment before throwing my arms

around him and burying my face in his neck. “You’re here,” I

whispered. “You’re real y here. Oh God, I’ve missed you so

much.”

We stayed locked in our embrace for several long

moments before we sat up to see my brother and sister

squaring off against Jake. He had transformed from a

dapper gentleman into something that looked barely

human. His dark hair was mussed, his nose was bleeding,

and his eyes were glistening with rage.

Ivy and Gabriel together looked like unassailable

opponents.

“Let Bethany go, Arakiel,” Gabriel warned in a low voice.

“Before this gets out of hand.”

“You’l have to kil me,” Jake spat. “And you did a bang-

up job of that the first time.”

Gabriel pointed Michael’s sword directly at Jake. “We do

not come unprepared.”

“You think I don’t know what this place does to you?”

Jake asked. “Every second you spend here, you grow

weaker.”

“There are four of us,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Including one human and one angel so easy she was

about to surrender herself to a demon.”

Xavier slid off the bed and fixed Jake with a dark look.

“Don’t talk about her that way.”

“What?” Jake taunted. “Can’t handle the idea that your

little girlfriend was about to let another man enjoy her? Give

her something you never could?”

Xavier shook his head. “That’s not true.”

“Ask her yourself,” Jake said smugly.

Xavier turned his head an inch to look at me. “Beth?”

I didn’t know what to say. How could I break the news to

him that I had been on the verge of committing an

unforgiveable betrayal? I opened my mouth and then closed

it again, twisting the bedsheets in my hands.

“I think her silence speaks volumes,” Jake said, sounding

pleased with himself.

Xavier flinched and drew back. “So it is true.” He waved

a hand around him. “That’s what al this is?”

“You don’t understand,” I said. “I was doing it for you.”

“For me? How exactly do you figure that?”

Jake clapped his hands in delight. “Oh, come now, this

isn’t the time for a lover’s tiff.”

“I made a deal,” I blurted out. “If I slept with him, he said

he wouldn’t try and hurt you again.”

Gabriel’s silver eyes flickered across to Jake. “You real y

are the vermin of the earth,” he said in disgust. “Don’t

blame Bethany, Xavier—she didn’t know he was lying.”

“You were lying?” I cried. “I was going to give myself to

you and you were lying to me the whole time!”

“Of course I was,” Jake scoffed. “Never trust a demon,

sweetheart. You of al people should know that.”

Before I could respond, Xavier let rip with a steady flow

of cursing. I’d never heard him cuss before and even

Gabriel raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“My oh my, it seems pretty boy has some bite in him after

al ,” Jake said.

“When wil you stop screwing with us?” Xavier hissed. “Is

this the only way you can get a kick out of life? Are you

real y that pathetic?”

I took the opportunity of Jake’s distracted state to jump

off the bed and run to my brother and sister, positioning

myself safely behind them.

“You can hide, Bethany,” Jake cal ed lazily. “But you’re

not getting out.”

“Actual y, brother,” Gabriel said darkly. “It’s you who isn’t

getting out.”

Suddenly Gabriel’s wings lifted him off his feet and in a

flash he soared over Jake—Michael’s sword poised above

him. It al happened so quickly, it was almost a blur. I heard

the swish of metal slicing through the air, a ragged gasp,

and when Gabriel’s feet touched solid earth, the sword was

embedded deep in Jake’s chest. Xavier’s mouth fel open

in shock and he ran to me, wrapping an arm around my

shoulders. Jake screamed then and gripped the hilt, tearing

it from his body and tossing it to the ground with a clatter.

The blood that stained the blade was thicker than normal

and black as night. It spurted from the gaping wound to pool

around him, his demonic power leaking out with it.

Suddenly blood bubbled like froth from Jake’s mouth. A

spasm jolted his body as he col apsed, twitching to the

ground. Before Jake’s face became a mask he raised his

head and reached out to me. His eyes were pleading as he

mouthed something soundlessly. At first I couldn’t make out

the words but I caught fragments in between his ragged

breathing.

“Bethany, forgive me.”

Pity made me move toward him. I was driven by a desire

to offer what comfort I could.

“What are you doing?” I heard Xavier’s voice behind me,

but I was too distracted by the misery in Jake’s black eyes.

He may have been my tormentor in Hades but I knew it al

stemmed from a twisted desire to win my affection. Maybe

deep down Jake just wanted to be loved. At the very least,

he shouldn’t have to die alone. A strange part of me wanted

a chance to say good-bye.

“Bethany, no!”

My fingers had almost closed over Jake’s withering hand

when I was suddenly yanked back. I toppled onto the

ground and saw a pair of luminous wings beating over my

head. Gabriel, understanding what I was about to do, had

swooped across the cavern to stop me.

“Stay back! If you touch him now he takes you with him

into death.”

I curled my fingers into a fist and pressed it against my

chest. So I had misjudged again. It seemed Jake had

remained true to himself til the bitter end.

He was stil staring fixedly at me as his body jerked one

last time and then was stil . We watched the fire go out of

his eyes until they glazed over and stared dul y into space.

“It’s over,” I whispered, needing to say the words aloud in

order to believe them. Ivy and Gabriel closed around me in

a tight embrace. “Thank you for coming for me.”

“We’re family,” Gabriel replied as if it were the only

explanation necessary.

I found Xavier’s face and took it in my hands. His eyes

were wet with tears and when he touched my cheek, I

realized I had been crying silently too.

“I love you,” I said simply, stating an unassailable fact.

There was plenty more I could have said, but in that

moment it was al I needed to say. It was al that mattered.

“I love you too, Beth,” Xavier said. “More than you can

ever know.”

“We need to move quickly,” Gabriel said, shepherding us

toward the Chevy. “The portal won’t stay open much

longer.”

“Wait.” I resisted as they tried to usher me into the car.

“What about Hanna and Tuck?”

“Who?” Ivy asked in confusion.

“My friends, they looked after me while I was here. I can’t

just leave them.”

“I’m sorry, Bethany.” My sister’s eyes were ful of genuine

sorrow. “There’s nothing we can do for them.”

“It’s not fair,” I cried. “Everyone deserves a second

chance.”

“The demons are coming.” Gabriel took my hand. “They

know we’re here and the portal is starting to seal. We must

leave or we’l be trapped.”

I nodded silently and fol owed them, hot tears trickling

down my cheeks. Gabriel took the wheel while I leaned

against Xavier in the backseat. I looked over my shoulder

one last time and saw Jake’s body floating in the water.

What he’d put me through would probably haunt me for the

rest of my existence, but he could no longer hurt me. I

wanted to feel anger, but I felt only pity for him. He died as

he had lived, alone and without ever having known love.

“Good-bye, Jake,” I whispered and turned my face away,

burying it in Xavier’s chest. I felt him kiss the top of my head

and his strong arms held me close as the Chevy roared to

life and sped toward the gaping hole in the cave that had

already begun to close over.

I had only one thought as the blackness closed in,

drawing me back to my beloved earth. I was going back to

the life I’d known before, the life I’d missed and longed for

… but there in Xavier’s arms, I was already home.