I’m starting to feel dazed, as if this is happening to someone else. But it is happening, and while I’m in here with Jezelle protecting me, who’s looking after Jordan? Is anyone with him? I should be with him. What if he was outside when the Aracals came down?
‘Where’s Jordan?’
‘I don’t know!’ I shrink back at her venomous tone. ‘Listen, making you safe is my only concern right now. Someone else will be taking care of your little human boy toy.’ She eyes me sideways again, her over-bright eyes lingering a smidgen too long for comfort. My skin crawls under her scrutinising gaze. ‘How close are you two anyway?’
‘Pardon me?’
‘You know what I mean. Are you two involved?’
‘Well, yes, actually, we’re very close. Haven’t you heard? I’m his Guardian Angel.’
After a vicious look she goes silent, and I smile just a little.
We follow Brother Bernard through the chapter house and adjoining dining room to a corridor lined with the Brothers’ dormitories. At the end of this long passageway we stop while Brother Bernard pulls out a ring with many keys hanging from a chain around his neck. He opens the door and Nathaneal bursts through, relief flooding his eyes when he sees me. He lifts me into his arms and whisks me down a dark circular staircase as if I’m made of air. The sound of his heart beating comforts me as no words could.
‘Ebony,’ he says, his voice grave, ‘I’m so sorry, but the unthinkable has happened. A unit of dark angels, all Prodigies, has breached the monastery’s fortified walls.’
Lifting my hand, I run the backs of my fingers around his jaw. His skin is smooth and warm but he’s coiled tight and tense as a rock. ‘Nathaneal, I need you to listen to me.’
‘Stop there. Please say no more.’
‘But I have to. Don’t you see that? I don’t want anyone hurt because of me.’ I lay my head against the comforting thud of his heart. ‘It’s me the Dark Prince wants. If I go to him willingly, will he withdraw?’
He shudders and the tremor passes through him from head to foot. ‘Don’t say that. Don’t even entertain the thought.’
‘Answer my question, Nathaneal.’
‘Then ask me one I can answer.’
‘Can the Dark Prince reach us here?’
His pause is short, possibly no more than a fraction of a second, but I hear it as if it’s screaming in my head.
38
Jordan
After Thane drops me in the sacristy, I check the room out for weaknesses. Lining the walls are timber shelves stacked with vestments, candles, chalices and other items the Brothers use in their services. Behind the shelves is solid brick. With no windows, it’s a secure room, but nothing special. What bothers me is the lack of an exit. There’s no way out except to backtrack through the church.
Thane is always saying to trust him. If anything happens to Ebony tonight, it’s all on his head. I might not have angel powers, but I’ll come after him all the same.
He brings Ebony and she runs straight into my arms, knocking me against the wall. Man, the smell of her skin is intoxicating. I hardly notice shelves digging into my spine. I hold her tight, breathing her in and stroking her hair. I don’t want to let her go, not now, not ever. I love her!
Thane frowns and I quickly shift my thoughts from the pain in my heart to the Aracals that attacked us and the dark angels I saw, the Prodigies. How on earth are we going to defeat them? ‘I was so worried about you,’ Ebony says, pulling away to check my face for bruises. She pushes hair from my forehead and smiles with relief in her eyes.
A surge of anger spikes through me. Thane promised my life would get better, but, man, it’s been anything but. And this room will be a death trap if those Prodigies break down the only door.
Thane hears them first. ‘They’re in.’
‘How far away?’ Jez asks.
It feels as if someone is strangling me from behind.
‘Ground level.’
‘Shit!’
Sounds of battle are filtering down now. How long before they’re in the corridor right outside? ‘What happens now? We’re stuck in here, and this is supposed to be the safest place!’
Thane looks at Jez and nods at some silent communication. They get down on their haunches and start shifting a heavy chest of drawers. Ebony figures out what’s happening before I do.
‘I’m not going anywhere without you,’ she says in a voice that sounds like her heart is breaking. The thing is, she’s not looking at me when she says this. She’s looking at Thane.
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ Thane replies.
Well, isn’t he a fast worker!
He glances at me, hearing my thoughts, but I’m past caring. I’m about to die anyway. What about your fiancée back home? I yell at him from inside my head. Huh? What about the one you left behind?
Jez frowns and looks between us. He’s up and in my face in a split second, whispering, ‘Now is not the time, Jordan. Trust me, I will explain everything when this night is past and you and Ebony are safe.’
‘Didn’t you get the memo?’ I whisper back loudly, not caring who’s listening. ‘It said not to believe anything you say any more.’
Ebony frowns, her eyes flitting between us. Argh, man, she has enough to worry about tonight! I plaster a smile to my face. ‘It’s nothing, Ebony. Just a running joke we like to play.’
‘Really? Well it’s not very funny, Jordan.’
‘I know,’ I answer, keeping my eyes on Thane. ‘But that’s not my fault.’
Jez opens the trapdoor in the floor where the chest was and climbs feet first into the dark interior, leaving only her head and elbows out. ‘I’ll check it out,’ she murmurs, disappearing.
Ebony moves towards Thane and he closes his arms around her, tenderly stroking her hair. It’s such a natural act; it’s incredible how familiar they are. When did this intimacy develop? They had, like, five minutes alone together.
What is he doing?
Love is pouring out of him like flooding summer rains. I guessed he had feelings for Ebony the time we talked in his car and he sounded obsessed with finding her. But when did he fall in love with her?
A light rap at the door has Thane moving quickly to open it. Gabriel runs in with Michael right behind him, both breathless and bloodied. ‘At least twelve Prodigies have broken through our defences,’ Gabriel says, while Thane moves to check on Michael, the bloodier of the two.
Gabriel glances at Ebony and nods. ‘I’m sorry, my lady, we have not been able to hold them back. Our reinforcements are yet to arrive, and the Prodigies will not stop until they find you.’ Turning back to Thane, he says, ‘Brother, they’re relentless. They’re tearing the monastery apart. We thought the Aracals were all slain, then Shae messaged from the watchtower moments before another shipment started to descend. There were so many we lost count.’
Finished with Michael, Thane checks his brother’s injuries. ‘And our good Brothers, how are they holding up?’
‘We have lost three.’
Thane winces, closing his eyes tight. ‘And casualties?’
‘Many.’ Gabriel takes a breath. ‘Thane, if they make it to the stairs …’
But that’s just what they do only moments after Gabriel’s warning. We hear them crashing through the staircase, ripping it apart, yelling out in a creepy, guttural language none of us understands. We hear the clash of steel, the sizzle of energy colliding and, most terrifying, aftershocks that make the walls shake, the room fill with dust, the floor rumble beneath our feet.
I cover my ears, slide to the floor, where I sit on my ankles. I’m shaking but I can’t help it. I am more terrified than I’ve ever been before in my life. Ebony runs over and throws her arms around me.
‘Shhh,’ she soothes, cradling my head against her shoulder. ‘It will be all right. You’ll see.’
Michael’s head tilts slightly as he receives a message. Everyone waits anxiously to hear the update. ‘Our reinforcements are not here yet.
’
He looks at Thane fleetingly, then lowers his eyes to Ebony. ‘I’m sorry, my lady, we need to move you again.’ He holds out his hand. ‘You must come with us.’
When she’s up, Thane pulls her into his chest and Michael holds his hand out for me. ‘We will not let anything happen to you, Jordan. Tonight we are all your guardians.’
The moment he wraps his hand around mine it glows and heat enters my body, filling me with a sense of strength and courage and amazing calm. It’s the most incredible, strongest sense of myself that I have ever felt. It’s awesome.
He then turns to Thane. ‘Jez has just let me know the tunnel is clear and she is now bringing the Porsche to the south tunnel exit, where Brother Bernard will wait to open the wall. It’s all organised, but we’ll have to hurry. The ritual to protect Ebony was of vital importance, but now it is more vital that we get her somewhere safe. One of us must remain here to cover our tracks.’
‘I’ll stay,’ Gabriel volunteers. ‘Isaac and Shae will need me here.’
Thane grips his arm. ‘We rendezvous at my house. Good luck.’
‘Go!’ Gabriel urges.
As I jump down on to a cold hard floor, the trapdoor closes over our heads and plunges the four of us into darkness.
39
Jordan
Jezelle drives about a kilometre before slamming into a tree. The front-passenger corner takes the full brunt, crumbling in a screaming match between metal and wood. Dazed, it takes me a few goes to punch out the airbags and remember we were heading to Thane’s house when a bolt of lightning struck the roof, its dazzling blue light blinding Jez.
That’s when she lost control.
The car is empty. I must be the last to get out. I try to move but find my legs pinned. I smell fumes and a knot of panic tightens in my gut.
I see Thane in the forest, caught in the car’s one remaining headlight. He has Ebony in his arms, lowering her gently and checking she’s all right.
‘He’s conscious,’ Jez calls, climbing in to help with the airbags.
‘Hurry, Thane,’ Michael urges.
Thane moves fast. In a flash the three of them reach over the top of the crumpled front and peel bits of Porsche off my thighs, metal grinding and scrunching. I’m free at last, and Jez reaches down through the smashed windscreen and yanks me out in one go, practically dislocating my shoulder in the process.
‘Go easy. I’m not made of rubber!’
Someone kicks out the headlight just as she dumps me unceremoniously beside Ebony.
Thane and Michael share whispered words. My head’s not all right yet, but I hear Michael’s voice, tighter and faster than usual. ‘There’s activity at your house too.’
‘No. No!’ Thane loses it. He smacks his palm against a thick branch, which cracks. He yanks it off and flings it into the canopy. It travels fast and high before it snares in the upper branches and gravity returns it to earth.
His frustration spent, he takes a deep breath. ‘Jez, go ahead of us. You’ll be faster on your own. Report any information immediately.’ She prepares to take off and he grabs her arm, ‘Stay out of sight.’
Michael watches her for a moment. ‘She’ll be all right. As soon as the reinforcements arrive, I’ll dispatch a team to back her up.’
‘Take enough soldiers to install a perimeter around the house.’
Michael takes off and it’s just the three of us, running along the path to Thane’s house, the same one Thane and I jog on every afternoon, except it looks different tonight. It feels different.
‘Nathaneal!’ Ebony hisses in warning. ‘I hear something.’
Thane says, ‘Keep still.’
An Aracal, unmistakable with its weird orange eyes glowing in the darkness, scours the forest for movement from the other side of the river. It spots us so quickly it must have inbuilt heat sensors.
Thane whispers, ‘Run!’
Sticking to the path, he urges us to run faster, but the creature zooms around the trees, burning leaves off branches with its wings. Another, larger Aracal rockets in behind it.
Thane and Ebony sprint ahead, only to slow down until I catch up. I’m running at capacity, but they’re not. I tell them to go ahead. ‘I’ll find somewhere to hide, a hollow log or tree trunk.’
‘Don’t be stupid,’ Ebony cries out. ‘We’re not leaving you behind.’
Without warning, Nathaneal picks me up.
‘This is really embarrassing,’ I murmur. ‘Come on, man, put me down.’
‘Not leaving you behind, Jordan.’
‘Well, you should. My life’s one stuff-up after another. If you keep me around, chances are you’ll go down with me eventually.’
‘Jordan, do I really need to remind you of our arrangement?’
That shuts me up quick.
We set off again, but the Aracals get so close the one in front swipes at Thane’s back, almost scratching the top of my head, its black talons as long as fingers. Thane groans and, with no choice but to turn and fight, he lowers me to the ground. He spins around to face the Aracals, making sure the two of us remain behind him.
Thane peels off his coat and tosses it to Ebony. He’s wearing the same battle clothes as the other angels – black trousers and top with silver shoulder armour and a wide belt. I catch Ebony staring with her mouth open, her eyebrows elevated, eyes wide. She swallows and moistens her lips with her tongue. No guesses what she thinks of his look. With his glowing body giving off enough soft light to see by, he releases his wings. This is the second time I’ve seen them and they’re still every bit as amazing, but Ebony is in awe.
We watch as he leaps into the air and grabs the two demons by their throats, smashes their heads together as he lands, then flings them into the treetops where they sizzle and burn up. Their remains dribble to the ground like heavy raindrops.
Thane spins around to check we’re OK. Ebony holds out his coat. He sees she’s trembling and he wraps it around her shoulders. ‘Your wings are so beautiful,’ she murmurs, reaching up and touching one, caressing it with her fingertips. ‘You really are … You’re an angel. You’re all angels. Angels do exist.’
He smiles and looks at her as if his heart is melting. I feel like a third wheel on a bicycle. ‘Yeah, well, I’m impressed too, if anyone cares,’ I mutter, ‘with your slick move, that is.’ Imitating his move, I smash my fists together. ‘Wham! That was awesome. You gotta teach me how to do that.’
‘I have every intention,’ Thane replies.
Just as he’s about to get us running again, I spot a pair of glowing orange eyes.
‘Incoming!’
But the Aracal disappears suddenly, leaving us wondering. Thane turns his own body light off and peers into the darkness. Then his eyes widen suddenly. ‘Go. Run!’ he shouts.
We don’t get far before the Aracal swoops down on to Thane’s back with a deafening shriek. Her wings, larger than they ought to be for her size, wrap around his arms, immobilising him, her beak tearing into his flesh. Thane gets to his feet and rams his back into a tree to try to dislodge her, but the Aracal is strong and doesn’t budge.
Ebony, meanwhile, pulls down a branch and races back to attack the Aracal. She begins belting her to little effect.
‘Her eyes!’ Thane yells out as he stumbles around trying to throw her off. He must be in excruciating pain.
‘You poke while I drag her off,’ Ebony yells to me.
I grab a stick, and aim for a bull’s eye first time, but as if she knows exactly what I’m about to do, the Aracal goes feral, snapping at my hands. I pull back and scour the ground for a longer stick.
‘Just do it, Jordan!’ Ebony yells.
Finally I lunge, stabbing the Aracal in her right eye. She screams and wails mournfully, in a way that will alert the flock to our position for sure.
But Ebony pounces, shutting the demon up with hands around her throat. Then in one wilful tug she yanks the Aracal off Thane’s back. The creature’s neck snaps. I hear the crack.
Ebony does too and gets a sickened look on her face, then hurls the Aracal into the canopy like Thane did.
The Aracal hits a tree and drops on to a lower branch with a thud, where it ignites into a fireball and dribbles down in a rain of ash.
‘Thank you,’ Thane says tightly, in obvious pain as he takes a quick look at his wound. ‘It’s not so bad it won’t heal by itself. At least she didn’t break through to the marrow.’
Ebony takes a look and gasps. ‘And this will heal itself?’
‘It will take a few minutes.’
I find a log to sit on and wonder at the pain I’m suddenly feeling. It’s only then I realise my hand is bleeding. Thane hears my thoughts and comes over. Getting down on his haunches, he takes a look, then, slowly, sits back on his heels. He seems concerned.
Ebony frowns at his reaction and takes a look at my wound. She studies it, then looks at my face. ‘It’s not as bad as Thane’s, nowhere near as deep.’
I glance at the wound and shrug. ‘It’s just a scratch.’
Thane shakes his head.
‘Nathaneal, what is it?’ Ebony figures it out and grabs his hand to make him look up at her. ‘What is going on? Is … is Jordan going to die from this?’
Nathaneal swallows deeply and gets to his feet. ‘It needs cleaning quickly. As a human, Jordan is vulnerable to the demon bacteria in the saliva. It needs to be cleaned out. I can’t do it while I have demon saliva in my own blood.’ He looks at me then, his eyes clear and intense. ‘We need to get you to Jezelle.’
We start moving, but with Thane’s arm still healing he can’t carry me, and it’s becoming difficult to stay upright. So now we’re down to walking pace with the scent of my blood advertising our position.
‘You’re proving to be quite invincible, Jordan, so try not to worry too much.’
‘I’m not immortal, Thane.’
Ebony slides in under my shoulder, lifting me off the ground, and we’re running again.