Mira shrieked as she soared down the alley. Thomas glanced over his head just as she winged above him, then landed on my shoulder. The comfort of having her near grounded me, repelling his wintry aura. For these few minutes with Thomas, I’d been spinning, lost in orbit. Mira brought me back to earth where I belonged.
He stared at her, entranced, as most Flamma were when they first saw her. “She is your creation.”
When my underlight glowed, so did Mira, shining like the beacon of light that she was.
Fortified by Mira’s strength, I inhaled a deep breath and said with firm conviction so there would be no doubt of my feelings, “I do not love you, Thomas. I never will.”
He swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his jaw clenched.
“I understand now that killing you won’t bring Jude back. But if you threaten those I love again—I
will
kill you. Make no mistake about that. Do you understand?”
His chin dropped. He closed his eyes in ascent for the briefest of moments. When he lifted his gaze to me, a flicker of raw emotion I’d never seen in his eyes sent my heart racing.
With a tight nod, he said, “I do.” Then he sifted away in a blink.
Mira lifted off into the night. Needing to escape the confined and foul atmosphere of this alley, I immediately stepped away, jogging out of the alleyway and around the corner, literally bumping into Kat. She grabbed my shoulders to steady us both.
“Did you get him?” I asked.
“No. That bastard can’t sift, but he’s fast as hell and wily as a witch. What about the other guy?”
“Gone.”
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Worse. An angel.”
“No. Way. Thomas?”
I walked on. Kat fell in stride.
“So? What did the asshat have to say for himself?”
“Nothing worth repeating. Let’s get out of here.”
Before she could argue or ask me another aggravating question I didn’t want to answer, I grabbed her hand and sifted us out, knowing Mira would instinctually follow us to Jude’s home. She always knew where I was going. Our connection was constant and unbreakable.
As Kat and I tumbled through the Void, my mind kept drifting back to the glimpse of something primal in those glass-green eyes before Thomas had vanished. I couldn’t name what I’d seen for a split-second there. Only one word screamed at me when he quietly confirmed he understood my threat clearly. And it made no sense, for it was the opposite of what he’d said. In my mind, I heard only a defiant
no
.
Chapter Seven
After Kat had gone, I sifted across the ocean to the only place where I felt safe, where I felt closest to Jude. A blustery snowstorm whipped over the island. Once Mira and I were safely in the cottage, I barred the door tight and stuffed a towel under it to keep out the cold.
As I settled under a dozen quilts in the bed where I’d spent my wedding night in his strong arms, I listened to the gale winds howl and rattle the panes like some ominous warning of danger drawing closer. I snuggled deep into my pillow, angry that I hadn’t at least given Thomas a punch in the face. Leaving him with a bloody, broken nose would’ve made me feel better. After all this time waiting for the moment to show him what his betrayal had done to me, I couldn’t lay a scratch on him when the time finally came. What was wrong with me?
In his presence, I felt stifled, restricted somehow, my emotions jumbled, masking my anger. It wasn’t that I forgave him. Because I didn’t. It was pity…and compassion. I pretended his words meant nothing to me, but they did. I didn’t return his sentiment of love, but I could certainly sympathize with his position. He’d guarded me my whole life and had formed an attachment over time. He saw Jude for his flaws, his sins, not the remarkably selfless and loving man that I knew. Without a second thought, Jude had leapt into the arms of that wraithlike soul eater, knowing he would go into the pit of hell and possibly never return…for me.
Jude.
Jude.
Jude.
I burrowed deeper into the pillow, wishing with all my heart that I would see him again, that he would hold me in his arms and love me still. As grief threatened to pull me under, a warmth in my belly reminded me I wasn’t alone. I smiled as I closed my eyes.
Soon, little one. We’ll bring him home soon.
I wasn’t surprised the next morning, while sipping warm tea and watching snow swirl on the cliff, to see George sift onto the hillside and march up to the cottage, lowering his head and pushing into the blustering island wind.
I’d awoken early and dressed before I’d eaten a bite. I hadn’t even tried to connect with Jude across our invisible bond. A premonition that something was coming had me on edge. Armed and ready, I stood as George opened the cottage door, his expression grave. Our gazes locked, and I knew.
“It’s time, isn’t it? Uriel has what we need.”
A sharp nod. He reached out his hand. “It’s time.”
Mira alighted from her perch on the chair onto my shoulder as George took my hand and guided me outside and beyond the wards. He sifted us a shorter distance than I expected, speeding us through the Void at a dizzying pace. We arrived on a rolling hill of Dartmoor beneath the shadow of a boulder I recognized from our last visit here when we had a rather tense gathering with Prince Bamal and his lackeys.
A brutal wind cut across the moor, the sky rolling with white clouds, the sun zipping in and out of view. I wondered if it would be hot in hell, as mythology suggested. I’d been in the Black Forest and Danté’s castle before. The air was damp, tepid, dead. This time I was going where souls were kept and punished. I shivered at the yawning gulf of the unknown opening before me.
Standing in the stone’s shadow were Kat and Uriel, waiting. Uriel stepped forward. He didn’t use the cast of illusion outside the presence of other humans. I didn’t think I’d ever quite get used to the aura of magnificent power and the sheer beauty of his glorious gold-tipped white wings. He spoke to me as if it were commonplace to be having a covert meeting on an abandoned moor right before I went straight to hell. I tried not to giggle to myself as the lyrics of an old drinking song by Drivin’ ’n’ Cryin’ popped into my head.
I’m goin’ straight to hell, just like my momma said.
“You’re smiling. That’s unusual for one in your position,” said Uriel when he reached me.
I waved a hand. “Just thinking of something totally ridiculous for a time like this. Nerves, I guess. But believe it or not, I am happy. Scared shitless, but happy. I’ll be with Jude soon.”
George came up next to us. “Be bloody sure you return, both of you, safe and sound.”
“I will,” I promised with sincerity, refusing to show any doubt.
George sauntered over to Kat while Uriel spoke to me privately. He pulled from his jacket a small hourglass-shaped vial with a cork top. The liquid inside was clear glacier blue. Beautiful, yet not as fascinating as I’d expected.
“Hmph,” I said.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. I guess I expected something more…heaven-like.”
“Which would be…?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. Glittery stardust or something?”
“You do realize we don’t live in the clouds.”
“Of course I do. Pffft. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Uriel smiled. When he did, my stomach fluttered. It had nothing to do with any infatuation-like feelings on my part. It was simply the fact he was stunning in every way. When he smiled, a girl’s natural inclination was to lose her composure.
“This elixir will protect you from the veil. However, it has no power against the evil you will encounter there.”
“Understood. Thank you.” I took the vial with a sigh. “Is there enough that I can give some to Jude when I reach him?”
Stoic and serene, he answered with a directness I admired. “No. This potion does not restore memory. We will address Jude’s ailments upon your return. Let us focus on step one first.”
“Right. What about Mira?”
He studied the hawk on my shoulder, then stroked her head. “I’m not sure what effect the veil will have on an animal, even a divinely born one. Best give her a little as well.”
“Okay. Good.” I inhaled a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose that’s it, then.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. A wave of power—all golden, bright and exceedingly dangerous—jolted through my frame. His signature was off the charts.
“The power lies in you, Vessel of Light. You hold all you need for defense within you.”
His electric-blue gaze dropped to my belly. He moved his hand to rest over my womb. I sucked in a sharp breath.
“You also carry a precious gift within you.”
Mira clicked her beak together in agitation near my ear.
“How did you know?”
“I sense the child.” His perfect brow pinched into a frown, then he removed his hand. “I am not sure why or how.”
I diverted his attention to something else. “What happens after the veil?”
“When you cross Lethe’s veil, you will find yourself among listless souls and demons who have wandered into her realm.”
“How will I know if I’ve strayed out of her realm while looking for Jude?”
“Black rivers border each dominion.” Rivers. Of course. The reason these creatures morphed from monsters into underworld waterways in Greek mythology.
A rumble of thunder in the distance drew our attention. Heavy, billowing clouds rolled in from the south, darkening the vast green moor to gray. When Uriel turned back to me, his eyes had darkened with the storm. Strange. His expression hardened; the arches of his wings drew tighter against his back.
“What is it?”
“Just a reminder.”
I frowned and glanced at the oncoming storm. “A reminder?”
“We are entering the Age of Gray. The Flamma of Light and Dark will clash in battle on earth, bringing with them a storm like never before.”
“On the night of the Blood Moon. That’s when it will begin.”
A deep nod. The wind before the storm blew his golden-blond hair across his forehead. Even so, nothing marred his appearance or aura of perfect power. “What the prophecy doesn’t mention is that not all Flamma will remain true to their cause. The war will be long. Light will become dark. Dark will become light. And there is no prophecy foretelling who will win in the end. If the end should ever come.”
Uriel took a step back and gestured to the others. “No time to waste. Call the one you have struck a bargain with to take you to Lethe.”
“How did you know I struck—oh, never mind. All-seeing archangel. I get it.”
He chuckled as we ambled toward the others. “Not all-seeing, I’m afraid. That would be a gift indeed.”
When we joined Kat and George, who whispered with heads bowed together, I reached inside my pocket for the raven feather and lightly blew on the plume.
With a crackling snap, the well-dressed, heavily pierced, one-handed demon appeared in front of us.
Kat swung the black coat she held over her shoulder and crossed her arms. “You did
not
make a deal with him.”
Dommiel crossed his arms too, mirroring her stance, and rolled his eyes.
“Yes. I did.” I stood alongside Dommiel.
“He can’t be trusted,” said Kat.
“I’ve made an eternal blood oath with him. He can and
will
be trusted.”
The demon hunter, the saint and the archangel all stared in disbelief.
“Eternal?” George moved out of the shadow of the boulder, the dim light catching the edges of his chestnut hair, casting him in a golden halo. “You would put your faith and our fate in the likes of him?”
Dommiel puffed out his chest and scoffed. “Dude. What the fuck?”
I raised a hand, palm out, to silence Dommiel. True, he was a demon. One of the enemy. But he’d helped us in the past and had shown no signs of being untrustworthy. I’d learned in my short stint as a Vessel that the world was colored in myriad shades of gray rather than divided in resolute lines of black and white. Thomas was a prime example.
“My faith lies with my heart, which tells me to follow the right path toward the Light.” I clenched my fist against my heart. “Everything in my being tells me to go to Jude, to save him. If that means taking steps that are slightly unorthodox for the almighty Dominus Daemonum, like swearing a blood oath with Dommiel, then so be it.”
“Gen,” said Kat, interrupting my tirade and pointing at my body.
My underlight glowed jewel-bright, my VS humming furiously through my veins, charging the air with stormy emotion.
George exchanged a knowing glance with Uriel. I hated it when they did that, sharing secrets with a look. But this was no secret. With every day that passed, I drew closer to my full awakening.
Uriel flared his magnificent wings, the tips catching the sunlight, sparkling like stardust in the darkest night. “And so our Vessel must ‘walk through darkness’ to find her way to the Light. She knows her path, George. We will not interfere.”