“Run!” I yelled. “Get as far away from the river as you can! Run and don’t look back!”
The men didn’t hesitate, lifting the children and starting to move away. “What about you?” one of the women yelled, looking back. “Come with us!”
I shook my head and smiled at the little girl in one of the men’s arms. She couldn’t have been older than four or five. “Please, run!” I told them again before Lincoln and I took off.
We returned a number of exiles as we moved, and though it was plain to see how extreme things had become, I found my eyes barely believing the scene of unrestrained combat and devastation.
I spotted Gray in the middle of it all with Carter fighting at his side. They were both covered in blood and their team was heavily outnumbered. I could see them screaming frantically at something, and I followed their line of sight. Milo and Taxi had been separated and pushed into the ocean of exiles. They were surrounded.
“Up there!” Lincoln yelled.
But my gaze was fixed on Milo. And I could hear my shrill screams as I watched, helpless, as three exiles ripped his limbs apart. Out of nowhere a dagger flew through the air and then another, taking out the two exiles beating Taxi and freeing him long enough for him to move out of immediate danger.
Gray and Carter now fought with their fists, having given up their weapons to save Taxi.
“Violet, we can’t stop!” Lincoln yelled, pulling at my arm. “We can’t help them from here!”
I knew he was right and tried to shake myself out of my mind spiral.
Milo is dead.
I looked to where Lincoln pointed. It was one of the riverbank buildings, only two stories high. On the top, Grigori were panned out—all with their arms raised as they tried to push back the wind and rain.
“Let’s go,” I said, letting him lead the way as we took down as many exiles as we could. We couldn’t stop to help Gray, but as soon as I moved into an elevated position, I yelled his name, and as he turned, I threw him my katana, which he caught and tossed to Carter in one movement, just in time for Carter to swing the blade straight through an exile’s neck. I yanked my arrow from my back and javelined it, watching as it sailed into Gray’s hand. Knowing exactly how the weapon worked, he had no sooner split it in two than he drove the pointed ends into the eyes of the two exiles lining up for a killing blow. Gray swung his attention back to me, his determined eyes locking with mine briefly as he nodded me on before throwing himself back into the fray.
At least they’re armed.
We ran for the building’s outside stairs, Lincoln mowing down everything that blocked our path. His clothes were torn and blood had caked thick over his arms and neck, but he was relentless. A warrior in every way, he moved lithe and sure, carving his dagger with effective precision. I let him take the lion’s share in an effort to conserve what energy I had left. I knew that Lincoln would get us there.
And I knew what I had to do when he did.
We reached the base of the stairs and hit a wall of exiles fighting each other. Lincoln glanced at me and I nodded; we both knew that the exiles could sense the Grigori up there—our nature users—and wanted to take the fight to them. That was something we could not allow. Those Grigori were the only thing holding the hurricane at bay right now.
Lincoln leapt into the fight, quickly taking out two exiles as he did, but another five promptly rounded on him.
I’d just stepped toward him, ready to back him up, when a strong hand gripped my neck from behind and dragged me beneath the shadow of the stairs, throwing me against the wall. My head hit the brick hard, and I felt the trickle of warm blood run down my neck.
Blinking until my vision held, I looked up expecting to see the insane eyes of an exile, but instead I was met with the vicious intent of Drenson.
“Adele is dead!” he snarled, his hand wrapped around my throat holding me against the wall as the other moved his dagger firmly over my heart. “All of this is your fault! I’m the head of all Grigori, and I will end this now!”
My eyes darted right, to where Lincoln was still fighting off a horde of exiles. I could hear him screaming out for me between hits and knew he was feeling me through our connection. I tried to calm my thoughts and my body so that he wouldn’t lose his concentration, and I looked back at Drenson.
“I’m sorry about Adele,” I rasped, struggling to speak with his hand tightening around my neck. I considered my options, but he had me. Anything I did would cause the dagger to slide right in.
“You should be! Without her voting favor, it’s only a matter of time before I lose my seat. It was enough to have that bitch Josephine control me at every turn, but not you!” he spat. “I have hundreds of years ahead of me; I won’t live in shame while you steal everything that is mine!”
A figure dropped from above into a crouched position, landing a few feet behind Drenson—as if it had fallen from the sky. I couldn’t make it out, but even if it was an exile, it couldn’t make my situation any worse, so I kept my eyes on Drenson so as not to draw his attention to it.
“I know how to stop this!” I said.
“Even more reason to finish you,” he hissed. And just as his arm flexed and he made his move, I saw the glint of silver and then Drenson’s eyes cloud over, his hands losing their grip and falling limp along with the rest of his body as he fell to the ground facedown. A Grigori dagger was embedded between his shoulder blades.
Spence stood over him.
His fierce, warrior eyes looked up at me sharply. “Always got your back, Eden.”
I threw my arms around him and squeezed tightly before letting him go.
He delivered a roguish smile and gestured knowingly to the stairs. “Do what you have to do,” he said, giving me a nod before bending down and reefing his dagger free. “Chloe and I will make sure the building is protected.”
I saw her then, running up behind him, out of breath.
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about us. Go and help Gray and Carter. They’re a hundred yards up the road and need to get out of there.”
Without another word, Spence grabbed Chloe’s arm and they ran.
And I knew it was time to do exactly what I was put on this earth to do.
I called out for Lincoln and turned in time to see Griffin and Josephine’s team jump into the fray where Lincoln was still fighting, freeing him to come with me.
“Where were you?” he asked as we ran up the stairs.
“Dealing with Academy politics,” I replied.
On the low rooftop—and neighboring rooftops along the river—the nature users continued to fight the storm, calling on their strengths and pushing back with all they had, but the hurricane was just too powerful.
At the front, calling out orders and holding the weight of the wind, stood Phoenix, looking every bit the unearthly creature he was. His black shirt was ripped and flying in the air. Wind encased him, and I gasped.
“He’s channeling the hurricane, pulling the power to him and trying to send it back out to sea.”
“It’ll tear him in two!” Lincoln yelled as we watched Phoenix’s body being brutally lashed by invisible whips of air. Zoe stood beside him, her focus on the rising river. It had already lifted over the levies and was now pouring into the city streets even as she and those beside her worked at creating new currents to send it away.
I looked around frantically. We were heavily outnumbered; there were at least twice as many exiles to our Grigori. My knees weakened at the thought.
Lincoln grabbed my shoulders to steady me.
“What now?” he screamed over the wind and rain, over the cries of madness below.
I turned and ran toward Phoenix, getting as close as I could before the wind pushed me stumbling back. I regained my balance and screamed his name as I felt Lincoln behind me.
Phoenix turned slightly, his sh
oulders sagging in relief as he kept the winds rippling and swirling around him. He knew where I’d been, that Sammael had been defeated.
“You need to leave!” I screamed, pushing closer again.
“A little busy right now!” he called back, somehow managing a small smile.
“Phoenix, look at me!” I cried.
He glanced over briefly, his strained expression filled with knowing. There was blood running from his ear and down his neck.
Jesus, how much more of this can he take?
“You always worried you were becoming a new kind of angel, but can you finally see?” he called out. “You were always becoming the best kind of human.” His eyes met mine, and for a few magical beats, all the mayhem around us went away and an understanding passed between us. He knew what I was going to do.
“This is your destiny!” he yelled.
Tears fell and I shook my head. “There’s still time! You can get away,” I called out, ignoring Lincoln, who had braced my shoulders from behind as if he knew I might do something crazy.
Phoenix held my gaze and it felt in that moment as if he were holding me together. “You are exactly where you are supposed to be and so am I.” He managed a smile. “It’s time for the final act.”
“No!” I screamed at him, angry now. “You’ll die!” I couldn’t stand by and let him make this choice—this ultimate sacrifice.
“Listen to her, Phoenix,” Lincoln called out. “You don’t have to do this.”
Phoenix’s eyes lingered on me before moving to Lincoln’s. “Promise me!”
Two words that could have meant anything, but which Lincoln and I both knew were solely about me.
Lincoln didn’t hesitate. “Always.”
Phoenix nodded once then looked back across the river to the suburbs being ripped apart, the land sinking into the ocean, and then back to me. He knew he was the only one strong enough to hold the wind. But I didn’t care. Right at that moment, I honestly didn’t. I wanted him to be safe. He deserved his chance.
“Do it!” he mouthed and then turned his face back to the storm, his arms wide as he gave it everything he had. And the sheer fortitude in his eyes transferred to me and I found myself nodding even as my throat closed in.
My hand went out and Lincoln moved to my side and grasped it. “Open everything, Linc. This is going to hurt.”
“Take whatever you need,” he replied without faltering, squeezing my hand and opening our soul bond, bringing me new strength beyond anything I’d ever experienced.
I pulled it all within, adding it to what already lay inside me, and then I lifted into my Sight, hovering above my physical form. I concentrated on the scene below, taking one, then ten, a hundred, a thousand, as far as I could push, my Sight traveling with little more than a thought as I cruised first along the river and then the main square of the French Quarter, down Bourbon Street, and finally to Canal Street, looping back down to the river and sucking every exile within the circle into my power. It was more than I’d ever tried or contemplated trying to hold before tonight.
All the while, I tried to exclude Phoenix, tried to keep him free of my power, but in the end, it was impossible. The power that had always beckoned me was too strong. Unleashed as it was, it consumed me, leading the way.
I knew I had only enough control for one final choice.
I made it.
I tore from each and every one of them what they had given up any right to have. The power coursed through me, my body shaking as I gave the last. My all.
And every single exile under my power fell.
“Neither shall they say see here or see there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:21
When I opened my eyes, I was cradled in Lincoln’s arms while he shielded me from the wind and torrential rain.
His eyes were fixed on mine.
“Did it work?” I gasped.
He nodded in awe. “They’re all down.”
“Phoenix?” I asked, my voice breaking. But, really, I already knew.
“Phoenix too,” Lincoln said.
I stumbled to my feet, despite Lincoln’s attempts to stop me, and faced the storm.
“Michael!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Michael!” My hands fisted at my sides.
“Over there,” Lincoln said in my ear, pointing me to the corner of the rooftop.
A lion stood proudly at the edge, his front paws mounted on the surrounding wall, the wind neither a deterrent nor bother. And with one almighty roar that sounded and felt like thunder, the rain stopped and the hurricane pulled into a gentle tornado and traveled back out to sea.
Cheers sounded out from the rooftop and below, but only tears fell from my eyes as I watched my lion walk over to where Phoenix lay.
My lion—my angel maker, Michael—gently leaned over Phoenix and nudged his face, giving him a small nurturing lick, as a lion would his cub. And with a final look back at me, his eyes as blank as ever, he took off, bounding in great and mighty leaps all the way to the edge of the rooftop and beyond as Grigori watched in wonder.
“Vi, you’re bleeding,” Lincoln said, sounding worried.
My hand went to my face, and I looked down to see the streaks of blood that my eyes, nose, and mouth had left behind. My power was gone. I couldn’t feel it at all. I couldn’t feel the senses. I couldn’t feel the lure of my Sight. The well that sat deep at the base of me was empty. And still, none of it mattered as I staggered over to Phoenix, collapsing at his side.
My hand trembled as it ran over his face.
“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry,” I cried.
Slowly, his dark brown eyes opened and lifted to meet mine. He stared at me for what was probably just seconds but felt like a brief lifetime. And in his eyes I found everything I needed at that moment. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Relief. And…humanity. I had killed him. Not today. Perhaps not for many tomorrows. But immortality was his no more.
No longer a malign angel.
No longer a dark exile.
Phoenix was human.
Just like every other exile in the nearby radius.
And yet, in those final seconds before the world around me went black, I saw something new in his eyes. Something that looked an awful lot like hope.
• • •
It hurt. Everywhere.
I’d moved in and out of consciousness for what seemed like a very long time, opening my eyes, seeing Lincoln, feeling his closeness, and then slipping back under all too soon.
I could hear chatter here and there.
“She might not make it—”
“Yes, she will.”
“I’m just saying, you should be prepared.”
“No need…get this joker out of here.”
And then, later…
“We should consider moving her.”
“Is it safe?”
“We can’t know, but it has to be better than keeping her here.”
“Get a plane ready.”
And then, moving. Lying in a bed and then being cradled in the arms of the sun. Warm. Loved. Safe. I sunk in.
People came and went. Again I heard them talk. Sometimes I even knew who they were.
Griffin sat with me often. I thought I heard him cry. But then he got on with it, letting me know that he was looking after things, that the cleanup was well in hand. All the exiles in the city of New Orleans had fallen. My range hadn’t been much more than a dozen city blocks, but since they’d all been in that area for the battle, it had worked like a charm.
The Grigori had started to detain the now-powerless exiles immediately, with assistance from the navy. A number of the exiles had taken their own lives before they could be stopped, and many had fled but were being pursued.
Griffin marveled at how the events of that night had
changed the face of the fight. There were still many exiles out there to fight and the guarantee of more to come, but the playing field had been significantly evened.
All the while, Lincoln stayed by my side.
I wanted to open my eyes and tell them I would be okay. But I couldn’t. The darkness held me even while light surrounded me.
Eventually, I became aware of loud noises. Then I heard a familiar voice.
“Honestly, you’d think they’d give a guy a break. It’s like fricking Fort Knox getting in here.”
“Yeah, a few of the Rogues have taken it upon themselves to add a little extra security.”
“A little!” he scoffed. “I almost peed myself.”
I heard Lincoln chuckle. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah, well, I got sick of waiting for you to come and visit me.”
“Sorry, Spence.”
Spence.
“No sweat. I would’ve been here sooner but Mia and Chloe are worse than the pit bulls guarding this room.” I heard his voice change, soften. “How’s she doing?”
I heard Lincoln sigh. “I can’t feel her like I usually do. She’s weak, but she’s holding on. I try to help the healing along, but it’s like something is blocking me.”
“Maybe she just isn’t ready,” Spence said simply. I felt a hand at my forehead. “Is it terrible that there’s a part of me that wishes we’d never figured it all out? That we’d been somewhere on the other side of the world when that war had gone down and the angels had just dealt with it like they were going to?”
“No. I’ve had that thought myself. Doesn’t mean we’d change things, though.”
There was a pause before Lincoln added, “What you did…Drenson. How are you dealing with it?”
I could almost hear Spence’s shrug. “Not like I look back on it with regret if that’s what you mean. It was him or her, which meant there was no other option. And it helps that no one locked me up.”
“I agree.” Another pause, and then, “But?”
Spence sighed. “Yeah. Just wish he hadn’t been such a dick, I suppose.”