Broken Wings (Hidden Wings Series Book Two) (6 page)

“Emma,” Caleb
breathed. His eyes were still shut.

“Yes.”

“Thanks for coming and rescuing me from those monsters,” he whispered. “I didn’t think anyone was going to come for me.”

“Of cour
se they would have come for you,” I answered.

“But, you did. You came. So, t
hank you,” he breathed.

“You’re welcome.”

I smiled and watched his chest rise and fall with each breath, and listened to the clock on the wall…tick-tock, tick-tock. Within a few minutes, his fingers loosened, and his hand fell from mine.

Chapter 3

I wasn’t sure how long I was supposed
to wait in the room, but I started to get antsy and a little irritated. I was going on this quest into Hell, so why shouldn’t I be a part of their conversation? 

My mind
started whirling. Was it because they thought I was too young, or because I was still a mortal girl? I pushed off the chair and strode over to the door, furious, ready to fling it open, but instead, I took in a deep breath, gathered myself, and placed my ear to it.

I could hear
their muffled voices, but they were faint and I couldn’t really make out what they were saying. I noticed a gap at the bottom of the door, so I laid flat on my stomach and pushed my ear as close to the opening as I could.

“Your orders are to t
ake her directly to the house. It’s the only way that she’ll be safe. There is no way I will put her life in greater risk than it already is. If you all believe that going to Lucifer is our only hope, then you need to decide who will go and speak to him. I’ll not decide for you, or be responsible for any of your decisions. But I will be responsible for Emma.”

That w
as Alaine. She was trying to change the original plan, which had already been set. I knew she didn’t want to lose me or Samuel, but out of her desperation she probably didn’t realize that she was putting pressure on the rest. Of course they would risk their lives, knowing that this was their only chance to save us.

Danyel spoke next.
“Kade, being human, can help us get in. If I’m in possession of his mortal soul, then we might have a fighting chance of making it through Hell’s first gate. They’ll think I’m just delivering his soul. But the only way we will be able to get to Lucifer is attempting the five levels, which no one has ever survived. And, just saying…by the slimmest of chances that we do survive, Lucifer would
not
see us. We have nothing urgent enough to present them to acquire his audience. They would never let us pass the last gate, and Lucifer does not take kindly to visitors.”

There was silence for brief moment
.

“
Like I said before, I am not making any decisions for you, Danyel,” Alaine spoke. “I am not asking you to take on this burden, but I am asking that Emma and Samuel stay out of it.”

“I understand
, Alaine, and I have already made my decision. Even if our chance of entering Hell and speaking to Lucifer is as small as a speck of sand in the entire sea, it’s still a chance. I will go,” Danyel answered.

“
I will go with Danyel,” Kade spoke without hesitation.

My pulse started to race and my stomach churned.

No way. There was no way they were going to do this. Everyone already knew that without me, the journey into Hell would be suicide. I was the key. The Nephilim that might be able to get access to him, and let him know that his son, like me, was in danger.  

I was amazed at how these two immortals
were willing to risk everything for us, knowing full well that they didn’t have a chance. It wasn’t fair.

I was just about to get up and make
my entrance when I heard another voice. It was Samuel.

“
I agree with Alaine, but only partly. Emma should not take this journey. It’s way too much of a risk for her, and for the rest of us. If anything happens to her, we will not have hope for the future. But I will be going. I’ll not allow Danyel and Kade go on this quest alone. They have both already risked their lives to save my daughter, and it’s not fair that they be abandoned to this perilous journey alone, which we all know will end in vain.”

Samuel.
My father.

He
was so brave and compassionate, and I didn’t see how he could be one of the Fallen. His heart was too big and too good.

The blood in my veins continued to simmer
. I knew they were looking out for me, but it was completely unfair that they didn’t even give me a say in the matter. And the fact that they kicked me out of the room to make this decision, made it even worse! Yes, I was seventeen and still human, but I wasn’t stupid and going to let them risk their lives for no reason.

I jumped up from the
floor, gripped the door nob, twisted it, and swung the door wide open. All heads snapped toward me. I glanced at the all of their faces, and set my eyes on Alaine.

“I
just want you to know that I’ve been listening to your conversation. I know you don’t want me to go, but I believe I should have a say. When I was born into this world, I didn’t have a choice. I never asked to be… whatever it is that I am. But I’d like to have a choice now. A choice in how I’d like my life to turn out. Like I said before…if fate chooses that I should die, then I’ll die, but if it isn’t my time, then I will come back to you.

“
If Lucifer does have a Nephilim son, then I will have a greater chance of speaking to him. Maybe I can convince him of Lucian’s plans. Convince him that he has marked every Nephilim, including his son. If he loves his son as much as you love me, then he should help us. I just need to get him to see that if he continues to let Lucian run free, his son will eventually become a victim.

“
If I stay here, we will all die. If I go, we have a chance of surviving, and a hope to live the rest of our lives without fear. If I fail…we will all die anyway, but at least we tried. It’s not a question of whether or not I want to go. I will go, and I will have the best of Heaven and Hell to guide and protect me.”

I
t was like my mouth was on autopilot. I’d never spoken before with such devotion or conviction. A few days ago, I would have never risked my life, or put myself in any kind of danger. But the old me was slowly starting to fade, and become covered with my new life.

I guess t
hat’s what death does. Seeing and experiencing it all around you. It changes you from the inside out. My heart aches whenever the memories of my parents flash through my mind. I miss them horribly, but I also have to learn to block the memories out, because it makes me weak. This new life, the one I was just thrown into, doesn’t allow me to be weak.

But there was something
else that gave me strength, and it happened the moment I met Kade. His touch held me together during my darkest hours. It helped me gather myself, and pull me to the moment to where I am right now, standing strong and determined.

Now,
I no longer needed his touch, because I could feel a change happening within myself. I was a caterpillar, in the process of wrapping myself in a cocoon. Wrapping up all the sadness, anger, frustration, and horror, only to be transformed and released on my eighteenth birthday.

I wasn’t sure what type of butterfly would emerge, b
ut right now all I cared about was staying alive. I was still mortal, and my cocoon was very fragile.

If I was going to emerge
and be stronger than the Angels, as they said, then I was going to start making a hit list. Right now, Lucian was at the top. 

Samuel had a
smile on his face. A smile that was silently saying he was proud of me. Alaine, on the other hand, didn’t look happy at all. She looked heartbroken. Tears began to stream from her red, swollen eyes. She slowly walked up to me, and wrapped me in a tight embrace. I hugged her back and assured her that everything was going to be okay.

After a few moments, she cradled my face in her hands, kissed my forehead,
and then walked into Caleb’s room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Samuel ambled up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder
.

“It’s only because she loves you,” he whispered in my ear.
“She was heartbroken that she wasn’t there to see you grow up, and it took her a long time to deal with the fact that she had to send you away. Your mother tried to keep her updated, but only once in a great while, through a little note or a picture.”

I sig
hed. All of this was news to me, because growing up the name Alaine was NEVER mentioned. I’d never heard her name, not even in a whisper.  

“I know she cares
about me,” I breathed, “but this is a decision that I had to make. I don’t think we have much of a choice. If I’m the only one who can get to Lucifer, and attempt to make him understand, then I’m going to try. I won’t sit here in this hellhole and let the demons come in and slaughter us. I’d rather be out there. Besides, I have the best Guardians of any world.”

He laughed and shook his head.

“Spoken like a true warrior.” He placed his hand on the side of my face, and nodded with a smile, then leaned in and kissed me lightly on the forehead and walked away.  

I guess I
’d gotten my guts from my father, and hopefully, I’d be handed down some of his fighting skills too. Sooner would be better. At least knowing they would be with me made it easier, but the lingering thought of Kade, no longer an immortal and able to die, literally made my heart ache.

What would happen if he
were hurt? In this new world, anything was possible. Death was possible. Samuel and Danyel would have to protect us both. They were warriors, but then again…the mental picture of them last night, beaten and on the brink of death…sent my stomach in knots again.

Was I
really making the right decision?

My heart said ye
s. We had one more day in this underground prison. I’d have to keep reassuring myself that this was the right decision. That we were doing this to save everyone we loved, and that alone should be more than enough.

I walked back over to the couch and sat down. I was just about to close my eyes and try and black out
the world, when I felt a touch on my shoulder.

“Hey, Emma,” a voice whispe
red. I turned around to see Kade. His eyes were tired, but still as beautiful as the first time I saw him. The light that had once emanated from them had dimmed just a bit. He looked battered, weary, and far from the Kade I was with last night, but he was still handsome and made my heart flutter with his touch.

I scooted
over so he could sit next to me.

“What happen
ed to you?” I breathed.

He sat down and
his leg brushed up against mine, but there were no tingles and no feelings of euphoria that shot through my body. I was sad because I’d become used to the buzz of electricity which seemed to flow between us; the warmth and zap that happened whenever we touched. His touch and his closeness still sent butterflies dancing through my stomach and made my pulse race. That was something I’d never be able to control around Kade.

“
Last night after we were attacked, I went to the Midway for help. I knew that you’d be safe down here with the others until I returned. It took hours to get there, and when I finally arrived they told me that they couldn’t help. Authority from above wasn’t given, and they weren’t given permission to send any more help than they already had. We were on our own.

“I still don’t fully understand why they wouldn’t send help, but one of the leaders pulled me aside. He
told me that our best bet was to go directly to Lucifer himself. If he sees you and you can convince him of Lucian’s executions of the Nephilim, which is putting his son in great danger, that there might be a good chance he will help us.

“
I know that he is very protective of his son, and because of the rift between him and Lucian, this might be the perfect storm to end it all… once and for all. The only thing I’m concerned about is that with Lucifer, everything has a price. I just hope he’ll be lenient, knowing that his son’s life is at stake too.”

“Ok
ay wait. Lucifer has a Nephilim son, and he wasn’t sentenced to death?”

“He’s not his real son. He was his brother’s son, and his brother
was
executed for disobeying the law. I don’t know the whole story, but I’m sure Samuel does. You should ask him about it. It was a pretty big deal in the Underworld.”

“
Okay. I will ask him when I get a chance, but…what I really want to know is what happened to you? Alaine told us last night that you had become human. But how is that even possible? You can’t just change from immortal to mortal…can you? I mean, I can tell that something has
changed
; something is different. I don’t feel that familiar warmth or tingles that let me know when you’re near,” I said sadly.