Bound by Time (32 page)

Lucian folded his wings and nodded. “It won’t take them long.”

The French doors swung open and Isaac greeted them with a weary smile. Isobel crossed the deck with Damien and Lucian on her heels. When she stepped over the threshold, a dark, oppressive feeling washed over her. She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “How long has it been like this?”

Even from the dining room she sensed the window thrumming with malevolent energy. Dark lines of unnatural shadows veined across the walls inside the house.

Amelia glanced at the walls. “Since yesterday evening.”

Isaac nodded. “Xapar seems to be more angry than usual. He’s done his best to terrorize Amelia and Rose, though it hasn’t gone well for him. Between Elijah and I taking turns to shield and Rose’s determination, Xapar didn’t get far. It’s not for lack of trying though.” He closed the door and followed them to the dining room. “It was pretty active demon wise until yesterday evening. Then all of a sudden everything turned quiet.”

Amelia swept a worried look over Isobel. “Lucian called. He said it was pretty bad on the road.”

Isobel gave her friend a quick hug. “I’m fine.” She fished the vial out of her shirt. “And now that I have this, Xapar can finally be sent back where he belongs.” The house seemed to shudder at her words and sinister laughter seeped through the air. The hairs raised on Isobel’s arms. The ominous energy of demons washed over her. She turned and looked out the French doors.

Shapes darker than the night leapt across the river, scrambling up the steep bank toward the house and climbing over one another in their rush.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. White light sprang up around the men as four sets of wings unfurled.

Lucian shoved her in the direction of the foyer. “Go! Hurry!”

Isobel bolted for the stairs, Damien right behind her. The darkness on the landing nearly overwhelmed her with its intensity. Isobel embraced her power, allowing the golden-white light to push back against Xapar’s energy.

She pulled the vial from around her neck and held it up, watching in fascination as it liquefied in the presence of the powerful demon.

“Januarius
.” The hate-filled voice brushed past her cheek like a hot wind.

“Hurry, Isobel!” Damien shouted as the sounds of battle echoed through the house as he fought to keep the lesser demons from reaching her.

Isobel kept her full attention on the window while she broke the seal on the vial. She poured a small amount on her finger, surprised that her hands weren’t shaking, and stepped close to the stained glass without fear. One way or the other this was ending.

Her finger burned when she touched the glass. Isobel pressed the blood into the faded seal until it spread from beneath her finger and across the window. The seal rippled and the tattered remnants fell away. Isobel reached into the colored glass with her power and latched onto Xapar. The demon fought her, but there would be no escape for him.

A lower demon crashed into her and sent her sprawling across the carpet.

Isobel gathered herself and climbed back to her feet, never taking her concentration off Xapar. She barely noticed Damien slamming the lower demon through the wall. She drew more power until a faint burn raced through her veins. The tiny cracks webbed across the ancient glass were visible to her heightened senses. The window flexed and bowed in, the glass stretching and warping, and then it exploded.

Millions of tiny shards of glass showered her and the landing. Isobel gave no thought to the minor cuts on her face and arms. Xapar towered over her on the landing, his black shape solid as a veil of smoky shadows swirled around him. His legs ended in massive cloven hooves. The horns of a bull hung heavy on his head almost brushing the twelve foot ceiling.

Deep red eyes regarded her with a mixture of pure hatred and fear from an indiscernible face. Isobel raised the circle around him the minute he formed but didn’t bother with any symbols. Xapar wouldn’t be susceptible to any of them; he was too strong.

She had to link the other demons to him or they’d be banishing demons for weeks. Isobel pulled on her power and fed it into the glowing wall as she whispered, “I bind them to you, Xapar. Every demon acting under your direction this night, I bind them to you. Where you go, they go. I bind them to you.”

Little wisps of glowing light flowed off the circle she’d raised, looking like energy spiking off a plasma globe. Each tendril fixed itself to a demon, even those beyond her sight. Some tendrils disappeared as the demon it was attached to was banished by one of the channels or dark angels in the house. It would take an extraordinary amount of power to banish them with Xapar, but it had to be done.

Something deep inside told her he wouldn’t banish the same way the lesser demons had. She staggered as Xapar slammed into the wall she had raised. A feeling of tranquility settled over her, and she sensed the presence of Januarius. His spirit was with her on the landing. Isobel glanced to the side. The priest’s kind eyes regarded her and she knew what to do. It could still result in her death, but it didn’t matter.

Xapar’s glowing red eyes widened as she poured the rest of the blood into her hand and coated both palms. The wall shuddered and rippled again when Xapar stepped back and roared.

Ignoring Damien’s warning about not physically engaging a demon she leapt at Xapar, joining him within the circle as her hands clamped over his massive wrists. Somewhere in the distance she heard Damien yell.

She pulled in power until it raged like molten lava through her body. Her hands burned and smoke poured out from under her palms. Xapar tried to thrash away but her grip held solid, made unbreakable by the blood. With Januarius’ blood, power thundered through her hands and into Xapar.

Isobel locked eyes with the demon. “I banish thee.”

He slammed her into the wall of the circle, almost knocking the air out of her. Isobel continued, “I banish thee back to the pit from which you came.”

Her ears rang as Xapar roared and then he slammed her down onto the floor. Something cracked in her chest; agony shot through her body. Isobel pulled more of the power. “I banish thee from this plane,” she wheezed around the pain.

He jerked her up and slammed her against the wall of the circle again. Her head bounced off it and for a moment there were two Xapars. “I banish thee from the world of the living.”

He rammed her into the golden-white wall again, but this time it lacked any strength. Isobel stared into the demon’s eyes with determination. “I banish thee, Xapar.”

The demon trembled in her grip. Golden-white light mixed with the dark-red blood of the saint swirled from under her palms and wrapped around Xapar, twisting and moving until it completely covered him. Power beyond comprehension raged in her, slamming into Xapar.

Isobel’s hands came loose and the shield dropped just as Xapar exploded in a fireball. The fire and heat slammed into her like a giant fist. She flew backward through the air and hit the wall; the sheetrock caved under the impact. She slid down and landed in a crumpled heap. The howls of the lesser demons going up in flames echoed throughout the house.

Through blurred vision, she stared at the spot where Xapar had been. Fire consumed the south and west walls of the landing crawling across the ceiling with greedy fingers. Shivers tightened her muscles to the point that they couldn’t be moved. Tremendous power still raged in her. Isobel closed her eyes and worked to bring it under control. She couldn’t. There was too much, more even than she’d held on the road. It didn’t matter. Xapar was gone. He wouldn’t hurt anyone for many centuries. Her father was safe. Elizabeth was safe. She felt no regret for her actions. She would gladly give her life over again if it meant others would be safe.

And then Damien was there, his fingers like ice against her overheated skin.

Tears ran down Damien’s face as he knelt beside her. “Isobel?” He thumbed back her lids. The white light had completely consumed her eyes. His hands shook as he let her eyes fall shut again. She was beyond the point of no return. His voice was a ragged whisper as he leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead. “
Usque ad proximum tempus. Meae deliciae
.” Until next time. My love.

Isobel floated on the raging river of power and pain. She wanted to respond to Damien but couldn’t. Gratitude filled her heart, and she whispered thank you to the Higher Powers for allowing her to banish Xapar. Peace surrounded her and she prepared to release the tenuous hold on her life. If it was the will of the Higher Powers that she died, then it was.

A light sprang up in the darkness where she dwelled. It grew and expanded until it was so bright it shot needles of pain through her mind. The pure, sweet beauty and love emanating from the light of the Higher Powers overwhelmed her until she thought her heart would burst.

Something moved in the light though she couldn’t see anything more than a blurry, indiscernible figure through the stinging brightness. The figure settled on the floor next to her and reached out. A deep chill swept her body when it touched her, its radiant approval washing over her. Slowly, the excess power raging within withdrew into the celestial being until it was bearable. Until she could control it again.

The being faded and Isobel pulled the remaining power in and pushed it down. Intense pain hit her. Agony ripped through her head and ribs when she tried to move. And then she wept from the sweet pain. Because she was alive to feel it.

Hope filled Damien when he saw Isobel try to move. He had no idea how she was still alive. Smoke clogged the air; he had to get her out of there. Damien gathered her in his arms; his heart aching as she cried out against the pain.

Flames filled the stairs. Damien pulled on his power. The fire wouldn’t hurt him, but he had to keep it from harming Isobel. He paused and whispered a plea to the Higher Powers for their help in protecting his channel.

His light flared strong and intense, engulfing Isobel within its reach. Damien sent a heartfelt thank you and hoped they would aid him further once he was out of the house. He descended the stairs; they creaked ominously under his weight but held. The fire eagerly devoured the house. The front door stood open, almost obscured by the thick billows of black smoke that escaped through it.

The house groaned as Damien crossed the foyer. He barely made it off the front porch when the ceiling caved in with a loud crash. Drained from using his power so much in the past day and from the gift of the additional amount he now carried with the blessing of the Higher Powers, Damien stumbled out into the grass and sank to his knees.

Isobel whimpered and then cried out as she coughed up a mass of blood. Damien laid her in the grass and pulled up her shirt. A massive, black bruise covered her ribs. More investigation found her hair soaked with blood and her skull soft from the injury.

Damien reached again for the Higher Powers, praying they would aid him once more since they had allowed her to live through the banishment of Xapar. A sense of peace and tranquility settled over him, and he felt their touch. Damien’s healing powers sprang to life. He took care of her broken skull and the swelling in her brain first then moved on to her ribs. He wasn’t allowed to heal everything. She would still be battered and bruised, and probably needed stitches, but she would live.

Damien released his powers and furled his wings. Her skin was still too warm, but he’d done everything he could. Only then did he look around and become aware of sirens wailing in the distance. Amelia sat wrapped in Elijah’s arms, blood running down the side of her face and a large bruise on one cheek. Isobel’s cat was clutched in Amelia’s hands.

Isaac stood with his arm around Rose. She didn’t appear to have any wounds on her other than a burn on one arm.

Lucian stood with his arms folded and watched the house burn.

Damien looked toward the road as the first police car and fire truck pulled down the driveway, their lights flashing through the night. Isaac turned to Damien and Elijah. “You two rest and stay with your channels. Lucian and I will handle the police and the fire department.

Damien nodded. The authorities would believe what the two dark angels planted in their heads. Ambulances were the next to arrive and Isobel was loaded onto a stretcher. One EMT tried unsuccessfully to get Damien on a stretcher. Damien grew weary of his insistence and captured the man’s eyes in a focused gaze. “I am perfectly fine. You agree with me and have other things to do.”

The EMT appeared dazed and then walked away. Damien climbed into the back of the ambulance with Isobel.