He stops moving. ‘Who? Ebony and Jordan?’
‘Yes!’ Gabe squeals. ‘I’ll show you. Then tell me what you would have done.’
Oh shit.
‘Continue,’ Nathaneal’s voice is like a chip of ice. What can he be thinking? What will he think when he sees that image. And who knows if Gabe will tamper with it? Show it to Thane the way he misunderstood it. Oh hell …
I can’t let Gabe put that image in Thane’s head the night before he leaves to bring her back! I get up and run as fast as I can, shoving branches out of my way, stumbling over a rock and landing with my face in the dirt between them. ‘Don’t believe a word he tells you,’ I yell from the ground, scrambling to get up. ‘He misunderstood everything, and no matter how hard Ebony and I tried to explain the situation, he wouldn’t listen.’
Thane looks at me, then his brother. ‘One of you had better explain.’
‘Me first,’ I say. Ebony deserves her side told before Gabe tarnishes Thane’s mind with pathetic excuses to get his butt off the hook. ‘Whatever he shows you, all you need to know is that Ebony and I didn’t do anything. Nothing! Maybe I would have if she had let me,’ I confess. Honesty is what Thane deserves now, more than anything else. ‘But I couldn’t sway her. She was committed to you the whole time you were away, even though she hadn’t received your message and I fed her lies. But in the moment Gabe is talking about, being together was the last thing on our minds. Only a moron would misinterpret me and Ebony comforting each other after witnessing two innocent people die in our place.’
Thane glances at his brother, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking. I have to convince him. ‘Thane, I swear I’m telling the truth. I swear it on my life.’ No, wait, that’s not worth anything. ‘I swear it on my mother’s soul.’
He looks at me for a long time. I swallow deep in my throat and clench my hands into fists to help me hold still under his full black-eyed scrutiny. I’ve got nothing to hide. Not any more.
Finally he shifts his focus to Gabe. ‘Ebony protected you.’
Gabe frowns. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘When we saw each other in the tunnel and the battle raged around us, I asked Ebony if she had received my message. I now realise she was fishing for a name. She figured out it was you, and while she didn’t lie, she implied she knew and went along with my relief that you had passed it to her successfully.’
‘What? Why would she do that?’ Gabe asks, his voice as weak as a little boy’s.
‘So I wouldn’t be angry at my brother.’
‘I misjudged her,’ he murmurs. ‘This whole time I thought …’ His voice fades. ‘Thane, if Ebony didn’t want you angry at me then, it stands to reason she wouldn’t want you angry at me now.’
Gabe is still using Ebony’s selfless nature to get out of taking responsibility for what he did. He’s worse than a jerk. ‘Do you have any idea how different today would be if you had given Ebony Thane’s message?’
He doesn’t answer and I hear myself snarl like a wolf, ‘She would still be here with us.’ I wish I were a wolf right now, a wild grey one, with giant canines. I would take Gabe’s jugular out in one bite. ‘I was with Ebony all the time. She cried over that promised message, thought it meant Nathaneal had forgotten her.’
Nathaneal growls from deep in his chest, and the sky ignites with hundreds of thick lightning bolts that split into thousands of crackling fingers that race across the sky. Thunder detonates, shaking the mountain from top to bottom.
I drop to my knees, gripping my ears.
The next thing I know, angels are crashing through the canopy. First to arrive is Michael, who goes straight to Thane’s side. They talk, but my head throbs, both ears ringing, and I can’t hear a word they say.
Uriel, Tash and Jez drop down a few seconds later. Issac and Shae must have gone to the house first. They run in from the driveway, moving so fast they’re just blurs of light skimming round the trees. Other angels come too, a dozen or so, their glowing bodies lighting up the forest like fireflies. I recognise a few as Gabe’s soldiers that used to come help him locate the dark forces. They must be part of the crew leaving for Skade in the morning.
Thane sends Jez straight to me. She tugs my hands down. ‘It’s all right,’ she says, though I can barely hear her. ‘Your eardrums have perforated and you have a few broken ribs, but I can help you. Keep still.’
She lays glowing hands on my ears, then looks at me with raised eyebrows. ‘What did you think you could do? Stop them from killing each other?’
‘Nope. As long as Thane was winning I wasn’t gonna do a thing.’
‘I see. So what has Gabriel done to upset you and Nathaneal so much?’
‘He didn’t give Ebony Thane’s message.’
Her hands go still. Her eyes freeze on mine.
‘I was just making sure Thane heard the truth behind the reason Gabe gave him.’
Someone suggests we take this inside. I hear the words clearly, but Jez is still healing my ribs. When she’s done, I thank her.
Everyone starts moving towards the house. Michael carefully plucks the branch from Thane’s hands. Jez picks me up. I tell her I can walk. She takes no notice. Then Thane takes me from her arms and carries me himself.
‘I can walk, you know. I look like a child when you do this.’
‘I’m sorry I hurt you,’ he says. ‘I lost myself for a moment.’
‘Not long enough, if you ask me,’ I say. ‘Your message would have changed everything. It would have cleared her doubts, removed her confusion and completely transformed how she saw her future. Not getting your message made her think stupid thoughts, do stupid things. It helped her believe my lies. Zavier would have had no power over us if Ebony had known positively who she was. His plan to deliver her to Luca wouldn’t have worked and we wouldn’t have fallen into his trap.’
He shakes his head. ‘It pains me to think of what Ebony went through, and how it all could have been avoided.’
‘And look where she is now,’ I remind him.
He growls, low and deep. Lightning flashes overhead. Angels look at us, but he just keeps carrying me to the house.
‘And you know what? She told me once she wanted to know the truth of her heritage for your sake.’ At his questioning frown, I explain, ‘To make sure you weren’t wasting your time on the wrong girl.’
Isaac holds the front door open and Nathaneal lays me down on the sofa. But I’m feeling fine and I sit up and grab his arm. ‘What are you going to do to him?’
Gabe plonks down in an armchair looking exhausted, and too pretty, as far as I’m concerned.
Thane sits opposite him. ‘If I didn’t need you tomorrow, I would lock you up in a cell with Dark Thrones. Tell me why I shouldn’t lodge a report of this incident with the Courts?’
Gabe leans forward, elbows on his knees. ‘I can make this up to you,’ he tells Thane. ‘I have something to offer that will benefit both you and Ebony.’
‘Sure you do, Gabe.’ Sarcasm pours out of my mouth. ‘As long as it’s self-serving, because you only care about yourself.’
Jerome gives me a look that’s part sympathy, part warning. He stops his pacing in front of Gabe. ‘Whatever you believed you saw pass between Jordan and Ebony that night – or on any night – you had no right breaking the agreement you made with our brother. You gave him your word.’
‘I know. And I’m really sorry.’
‘But I’m willing to hear you out for Ebony’s sake.’ Jerome glances at Thane. ‘Will you listen to him too, in case he has come up with an idea that might help?’
Thane looks at me, his eyes asking if I agree.
I shrug. ‘S’pose it can’t hurt to listen.’
‘It’s a simple plan,’ Gabe says, barely waiting for me to finish. ‘Our scientists, engineers and biochemists have studied the Skade gates for centuries. I saw them myself tonight. I talked to a team of our best and they’ve helped me come up with a solution.’
; OK, now he has my attention.
‘We take the hanival and use it to open a passage through one of the gates, and as planned, our three teams work together to find Ebony and bring her back.’
So far, so good, but nothing new.
‘And what exactly are you offering?’ Thane asks, apparently thinking along the same lines.
‘Once we have Ebony back safe, I begin constructing an impenetrable brick wall made to the specifications formulated by our specialists. The wall will run parallel to Skade’s twelve gates and no creature will be able to pass through it.’
‘A wall that size could take years to build,’ Thane says, but I can tell his mind is thinking about the merits of Gabe’s plan. An impenetrable wall is not a bad idea.
‘I’m prepared for that,’ Gabe says.
‘How would this wall work?’ Thane asks.
‘I’ll show you the report on the way.’ He taps his skull. ‘It’s in here. But simply put, the wall will be constructed from a combination of two of the toughest substances in the universe – adamene, and diamonds.’
‘What’s adamene?’ I ask and, glancing around, I can see there aren’t many faces that look as if they know either.
Gabe explains. ‘Adamene is similar to graphene but where graphene is limited to one dimension, adamene can be combined with other substances to form three dimensions, like the bricks we need to build the wall.’
Someone whistles, heads nod, angels whisper to each other, but I still have no idea what he’s talking about.
‘And what do we do while the wall is being constructed?’ Thane asks.
‘I won’t let anything through the gates, I promise you. No souls or angels – not even Prince Luca himself – will escape. Under my command, half of my troops will construct the wall while the other half will patrol the breached gate, ensuring nothing comes through.’
Michael asks, ‘How long before you can begin construction?’
‘Everything we require to make the bricks and construct the wall is already on its way. And I promise to maintain the wall and patrol the gates for as long as necessary.’
‘For a hundred years, Gabriel? Can you do that?’ Tash, sitting beside me, questions Gabe’s staying power, but she seems to be the only sceptic in the room, other than me.
‘Yes, Tash, I’m committed for a hundred years if that’s what I must do. But the wall will be completed well before then.’ He slides his elbows to his knees again, pinning Thane with focused eyes. ‘My offer means you and Ebony will be free from having to do this yourselves. You could get on with your lives.’ He glances at me. ‘And you too, Jordan.’
Gabe reaches across the short distance from his chair to Thane’s and pulls his brother up with him. ‘Thane, before all these witnesses, tell me you accept my offer.’
‘What of Rebecca?’
‘Who?’ I whisper to Tash.
‘Gabriel’s wife.’
‘Or haven’t you told her?’
‘She knows. We talked earlier this evening. She agrees it’s the only way I can make this right between us.’
Thane goes quiet. Nobody speaks while he contemplates his brother’s offer: to construct a wall that will replace the damaged gate with a combination of elements that nothing can break through, while monitoring the wall himself with his own soldiers for as long as it takes.
Thane looks at me and raises his eyebrows.
I run my hands through my hair. ‘Whatever it takes, we gotta get Ebony out.’
‘And we must do it quickly,’ Isaac says, emphasising the word, then adding softly under his breath, ‘if it’s not too late.’
Everyone knows what he means. The thought that Ebony might already be carrying the Dark Prince’s child is too much, and Thane turns ghostly white. It seems to help him make up his mind. ‘I hold the right to decide whether to submit a report to the Courts,’ he says. ‘But since I don’t have a better alternative, and time is not on our side –’ he holds out his hand – ‘Gabriel, I accept your offer.’
19
Ebony
I’m dreaming that someone has their hand over my mouth and I can’t breathe. The dream-me throws my own hands around my assailant’s throat and squeezes.
Then two things happen simultaneously. I wake up, and I realise the small, warm hand on my mouth belongs to Mela.
I drop my hands immediately from around her throat.
Gasping, Mela stumbles back into the armchair against the wall. ‘I didn’t mean to frighten you,’ she croaks, touching her throat tenderly.
By now I’m crawling across the bed after her, quickly reorienting from the mix of dream and reality that threw me for an instant.
‘Why did you do that?’ I whisper, tugging her fingers down and checking her neck gently. ‘Nothing feels broken, but you’ll probably bruise.’ I sit back on my heels. ‘You’re lucky I don’t have a knife tucked under my pillow.’ Yet, I add silently.
She lights a small glass-encased lantern she brought with her and says so softly I can hardly hear her, ‘I thought we could take a ride.’
‘In the middle of the night?’ I reply just as softly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me at dinner? I wouldn’t have tried to strangle you.’
She flicks a look at the door and puts a finger to her lips, whispering even more softly, ‘There was a late change of guards and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to arrange my little surprise. You’ve wanted to get out since you got here, and I just now received word that everything is arranged.’
She brings me an all-black riding outfit from my wardrobe, keeping her voice extremely low. ‘We have to return before the next change of your guards, so dress quickly.’ She grins. ‘I have a lot to show you.’
My eyes dart around the room as I put on a long-sleeve polo shirt, jodhpurs and boots. ‘Who else knows? Is anyone coming with us?’
‘I have friends waiting outside.’
Friends? A midnight ride? Tingles trip down my spine. Could Mela have reconsidered using her position as general of the rebel army to help me escape?
She places a black cloak around my shoulders, bringing the fur-lined hood low over my forehead before doing the same to herself. She then stuffs pillows under the quilt to resemble my sleeping body. From the doorway it’s not a bad disguise, but she must be counting on no one taking a close look.
We move into the small hallway, where my glance goes to the front doors. They remain closed. In the other direction, the amber glow of a candle flickers from within her bedroom, where the door is slightly ajar. My heart is starting to beat rapidly.
Once inside her room, with the door closed, I have to ask, ‘Mela, are you helping me escape?’
She looks suddenly wretched.
‘Hey, it’s all right,’ I reassure her. ‘I’m glad to get out, see something different.’ Something that might help me escape as soon as I’m ready to make my run.
Taking my hand, Mela leads me through a half-size door entrenched in a timber shelving unit that appears to be nothing more than the lower half of a wood-panelled wall.
You wouldn’t know the door existed unless you knew where to look.
Mela brings the lantern with us and I follow her with blind faith through a pitch-black tunnel to a door that opens into a narrow space between the walls of a pair of guest suites she assures me are vacant. We exit into a dusky utility room, stepping carefully around buckets, brooms and mops before crawling through a hatch at the opposite end that leads to the top of a spiral stairwell. There is no lift here, and no guards like before when Mela showed me to my rooms.
Mela gives me a quick glance that asks how I’m holding up. I nod and she points to the stairs, clearly mouthing ‘nine’. I nod again, letting her know I get that there are nine flights we have to descend, which would put us one floor below ground since there were eight floors up to my rooms on the top level.
Mela treads briskly and I follow, being careful not to trip on the floor-length cloak that insists on getting between the stairs and
my boots.
It turns out there are more underground floors but this is where we get off.
Setting the lamp down on the floor, Mela leaps across a void about a metre square to a narrow ledge at the foot of a brick wall, then motions with her hand for me to follow. She makes it look easy. It likely is, but not so much for a human. Mela, I’m fast learning, is no ordinary human. I take a deep breath and follow. Her grin is my reward.
Removing a square panel of fake bricks from the wall, we step into a tunnel large enough to stand in. There’s just enough light from the lamp we left behind coming through to see our way to the end, where Mela turns the handle on a door and opens it.
‘Not locked?’ I ask.
She shakes her head. ‘Only because someone left it unlocked for us.’
And suddenly I’m outside on a dark night, the air a mix of odd rancid smells. Even knowing the air is toxic, I take a deep breath, content for the moment to savour a sense of being free.
I follow Mela through shrubs and clinging vines to a narrow cobbled lane, where, up ahead and tucked into a dark driveway, I spot the tails of four horses.
We make our way there, hugging fences and gates and trees for cover. Looking back over my shoulder, I see the massive white perimeter wall with soldiers in their creepy helmets patrolling the top.
I cover my mouth to stop from squealing with excitement.
There is a way out.
And my handmaiden just showed me it. Mela – connected to me through the Guardian bond I have with her son – is the key to my freedom from Luca. She just doesn’t know it yet. She may not be willing to help me escape, and I won’t do anything to jeopardise her army or her position at its head, but now I know how to escape the palace on my own. It’s just a matter of time to build up my powers and get my wings working. I don’t care if I have to live in a cave for a hundred years; as long as I’m not with Luca I have hope that one day Nathaneal and I will be reunited.
Keeping the horses quiet are two male Seraphim angels, wearing long coats with hats that keep their faces in shadow. They acknowledge us with a nod, stepping back as we each take a set of reins. They maintain their distance behind us as we walk the horses away from the palace, sticking to the shoulder where high fences and walls with trees and bushes give us cover.