Redemption (44 page)
“Now look straight out across the vineyard,” he said.
I looked out into the dark, my gaze searching the beautiful land in front of us and had to fight not to scream. I just managed not to bite my tongue. I grabbed a handful of Marcas’ shirt.
“Can we do this?” I asked frantically.
What I saw could never be described properly. There were creatures, maybe a hundred of them, marching our way. And each one of them was more grotesque than the others. I couldn’t make out minute details, but I knew from that one glance that none of these Demons looked like Marcas or Luther. They were the kind of creatures you’d imagine hiding under your bed as a child, the very reason I still kept a nightlight in my room.
“There’s no choice,” Marcas answered.
He didn’t push me away, and I took advantage of his sudden acquiescence. The bond had forced me away from the friends I was comfortable with and forced me to trust and endure a creature I’d normally run from. Our time together had been short so far, but the things we’d endured had made me feel differently about him. I didn’t want to examine the feelings too closely, but I did know it didn’t feel wrong to seek comfort from him. I did so now and, as long as he wasn’t pushing me away, I’d continue to do so.
I scooted in closer and stared across the vineyard. I wanted to look away, but this was one of those incidences where looking away almost seemed worse than facing it.
“And they are all looking for me,” I said hopelessly.
I was the reason the people on our side were fighting. They were protecting me while I was lying to them. The SOS was going to lose lives while I was stealing the artifacts that gave them their cause, their existence. My heart couldn’t take the idea.
“I’d rather die,” I whispered.
I felt a vibration move through Marcas’ body and his skin warmed. I looked up carefully and saw his jaw tighten. I’d come to recognize that as a sign he was keeping his emotions in check. Tightening his jaw was the same thing as me biting my tongue.
“Your existence is more important than you think,” Marcas said tightly. I shook my head.
“Only as long as I’m bonded to you. Everyone’s afraid of the two of us together, they are afraid of what we could create, what we could be if we mixed our powers,” I said grimly.
If I wasn’t who I was and I hadn’t been bonded to Marcas, then this wouldn’t be happening. I blamed myself. It was hard not to, especially when Monroe had warned me something was wrong and, from that first night, I had ignored the signs.
“I’m as much a cause of this as you are,” Marcas said calmly.
I wanted his calmness. Needed it. It seemed wrong that he was the one feeling it. I stared out the window. The creatures were so much closer.
“But it’s me they want dead,” I pointed out.
Marcas looked down at me.
“They want you dead because, whether they want to admit it or not, the bond is only a small part of why they want you destroyed. You are a rare occurrence, Blainey. A Nephilim has never been born that wasn’t tainted with cursed blood. Not only were you created because of the love an Angel had for a mortal woman, but you were born from a line of people blessed by God. As the first, there is nothing known about what you could be capable of. There is nothing known about what being what you are could mean to the rest of us,” Marcas said as he looked back out the window. I watched his face a moment.
“I couldn’t possibly be stronger than any of you. I’m half human,” I whispered.
I watched as Marcas' shoulders lifted wearily.
“And yet you created a wall of light that you not only managed to pull from your body but that protected you once it was out,” Marcas said.
I shook my head. I still didn’t understand. All Angels had the light, didn’t they? Marcas looked down again.
“Angels have powers they use without trying. All of it comes from the light. What’s unique about yours is that, even though you have to work at it, it responds to you differently than it would to an Angel or a Demon. It not only lets you use it, it almost becomes an ambient being that will protect you at all costs. It’s like having a separate guardian Angel within your body. Ours doesn’t work that way. We use our powers to protect ourselves. They don’t become ambient enough to protect us on their own. And you were able to feed that ambient power into a Demon. The power then took it upon itself to destroy her. Even without me, you would be feared."
I stared at him dumbly. The information was hard to take in. If he thought what he told me would help make me feel less guilty, he was wrong. I was still the cause of this fight and realized, rather belatedly, that I still would be blameworthy without the bond. I had just been safer before this. The bond had brought me to my enemies’ attention.
I looked past the Demon hoard at the dim horizon. We still needed the ring. Unbinding us could mean allowing me the chance to hide or at least finding supporters who respected me, and who would fight with me. We didn’t need more factions on earth. There was enough of that between Heaven and Hell. I looked back out the window. The creatures were close enough now, I could see the drool coming out of their mouths, the glare their eyes made in the dark, the different colors, horns, and pitted skin that made each Demon unique. Marcas backed away from the window.
“Time to fight,” he said.
I shivered. Marcas suddenly pulled my hands away from his shirt but he didn’t put them down. He held them tightly.
“You won’t die tonight, Blainey. I promise you that,” he said with a conviction I didn’t feel.
I stared at him. His face was still expressionless. Was he just trying to save himself? Did I care? I nodded and we moved out of the room. The Coven in the foyer was busy murmuring chants and moving in their circle. I could feel the power rising.
The members of the SOS who remained in the house had equipment that revealed they were medical professionals. They were preparing a makeshift hospital. My heart sank.
“These are Lilith’s Demons,” a man said suddenly, his voice full of awe. Alessandro stood near the door. Dressed down from previously, he was holding a sword.
Marcas and I joined him before moving into the night. I heard screams in the distance. Some sounded human, some didn’t. I knew then the ones on the front line were already engaged in battle. I had to keep reminding myself that it could be worse. There could be way more than a hundred Demons. If there had been, we’d have been finished. But this was just the beginning.
“Are you willing to fight your mother?” I heard Alessandro ask Marcas.
“I have before, Ander. Many times,” Marcas answered.
Neither one of us were handed weapons. There was no reason. Our bodies provided that for us. I was suddenly glad Marcas had taught me how to shield. I’d only managed one well-completed attack this afternoon, and it had been a killing one. I wasn’t sure I could handle another kill. My soul already hurt badly.
“She was a Demon!”
I told myself angrily.
Did that matter? Did killing someone because they were on the wrong team make it right? I was so confused.
“Get ready. Blainey. And don’t leave my side,” I heard Marcas say as I took the stance he’d taught me.
I’d barely gotten into position when I saw the first angry creatures come our way. I grabbed for my light.
Lilith is angry. Whether this anger is because she is afraid of the Naphil brought into her midst or her son’s bond with the half Angel is not known. One fact remains: She will see the Naphil dead.
~Bezaliel~
The first Demon that came up on us was a small one but fierce. I barely had time to throw up a shield when his energy came our way. He was an ugly creature whose swollen tongue hung out of his mouth so far it hid a good deal of his teeth. And what teeth they were! The ones I managed to see were yellowed and razor sharp. Add a slime dripping bulbous nose and hairy body and the picture was complete. It narrowed in on me instantly as if it had been programmed to seek me out. I shielded two energy attacks before Marcas picked the Demon up by the neck and dug his heart out with his claws. I gagged.
"It's not going to be pretty, Blainey," Marcas said fiercely as he threw the limp Demon's body to the side. The smell of sulfur was strong. There were smoking bodies everywhere.
"I didn't expect it to be!" I cried out irritably.
Pretty or no, I wasn't used to so much death. Marcas moved closer and I tried my best not to cringe at his red eyes, claws, and pointed teeth. He was what he was, and what he was happened to be all I had right now.
"Think quick!" Marcas ordered as two Demons moved up on us at once.
I shielded. A wet gurgling sound alerted me to the progress Alessandro was making. He obviously knew how to use a sword. I concentrated on shielding.
One of the Demons made it close enough to run a claw along Marcas’ arm. The resulting wound was very shallow and barely bled, but I felt the burn on my own arm as the scratch appeared above my elbow. I gritted my teeth and watched as two more Demons moved out of the dark. There were four creatures now instead of two.
I went into attack mode. With a ripping sound and a sulfuric smell, I knew Marcas had managed to discard the one he’d been wrestling with.
I threw a light ball and watched as it hit the chest of the closest of the three Demons left. He flew backward a few feet. It wasn’t the most effective attack, but it bought Marcas some time.
I heard more than saw some of the SOS warriors move our way. A young man engaged the Demon I’d hit and managed to slice through his chest with a thin looking rapier. The Demon screamed. Four more moved out of the shadows. I counted six now.
“They’re coming in fast!” I called over to Marcas. We had been separated slightly. He lessened the distance between us.
“Just keep shielding, Blainey,” Marcas ordered.
I nodded. Fear made tingling tracks up my spine. Would we even make it out of the battle in order to seek the ring? The Demons cackled and howled. The more noise they made, the more confused I got. Were there more of them?
Marcas lit into another Demon. He had him on the ground before I had a chance to blink. His claws lunged at the Demon’s chest and I looked away only to see two more Demons taken out. One was stabbed through the chest by Alessandro and another was pinned to the ground by an African-American man with a weapon I’d never seen before. I didn’t doubt I’d be introduced to it eventually.
I felt an energy approach me and I threw out my shield. The strike hit my invisible wall hard. More Demons moved out of the dark. I was discouraged. Could we really keep up?
“Chin up. The odds are never balanced in battle. You only die when you lose faith in yourself and in your comrades,” Alessandro said breathlessly as he swung around me in order to slice off the head of a Demon crouching low near the house. I had to swallow my own bile.
Alessandro patted me quickly on the shoulder as he swung back into the battle. I watched him go. Handsome even in middle age, his hair shone dark, his face was lined from years in the elements. Bitterness showed in his expression, but I saw the kindness in his eyes, the same kindness that attracted me to his mother. He and Maria were more alike than I’d anticipated. He was right. War of any kind, even small ones, are never fairly balanced. I just needed faith. I should have that, right? Angels are supposed to be faithful. This whole journey had more than tested the faith I had.
I looked up and cried out. A Demon moved in behind a young warrior, and I threw a light ball at the Demon's head. It barely stunned him. His claws reached toward the man’s neck. I screamed at him, but I knew it would be too late. The man turned and his eyes grew wide. I couldn’t let him die.
“Give it your intentions!”
I heard Marcas’ words scream into my head, and I threw my guilt, shame, and need to save his life into the next light ball and hurled it without thinking.
It blew the Demon in two. I threw my hands over my head and cringed as the Demon’s body fell in pieces around those of us left fighting near the house.
There were exclamations everywhere. The field of battle experienced a deafening moment of silence. I removed my hands slowly and found human and Demonic eyes alike locked on me. The gazes I managed to catch looked afraid. I didn’t blame them. I scared myself.
“What the hell was that?” Alessandro asked as a Demon growled and lunged toward me. Alessandro ran him through with his sword.
I had managed to scare the enemy, but in return I’d also managed to gain their ire. Every Demon in the field turned to me.
Marcas moved in front of me and began his attack. Several members of the SOS and Alessandro joined in. The battle had seemed fierce before, but now it was crushing. Devastating. They wanted me! People were putting their bodies between me and the enemy. They would die. I grabbed at Marcas’ shirt.
“I can’t do this!” I cried out as one of the warriors near us was clawed in the gut. I could feel the anger rising in me. I wouldn’t be the reason these people died. I wouldn’t! Marcas pushed my hands away.
“You can, Dayton. You can,” he said harshly. It was the first time he’d ever used my name. I stared. Tears were pouring down my cheeks.
