Secret Worlds (185 page)

“Didn’t think I’d leave the munchkin hanging, did you?”

They both stopped at the end of the alley, waiting to cross the street to the next one.

“I don’t recall you being very fond of children,” Catalina said.

He chuckled, watching for cars. “Maybe so, but if she’s anything like you, I suppose I could take a liking to her.”

The comment made her pause, realizing the gravity of what he had done for her. “Andrew, I—”

He shook his head. “Don’t get soft on me now, Cat. We’re not outta this yet.”

“I know, but—”

“Hey,” he whispered, cupping one side of her face in his large hand and meeting her dark eyes with a determined look. “You don’t have to thank me for this, ever. I’ve spent my whole life fighting for people who will never know I even exist. You’re the only thing I have left to believe in—you and that little angel waiting for us. Okay?”

She nodded once. “Okay.”

She pulled him closer by the lapel of his grey duster and kissed him with abandon, allowing herself to be lost in him, if only temporarily. He kissed her back with equal passion, only pulling away when he was sure that she knew exactly how he felt about her. Then he grabbed her hand and led her across the street to the next alley.

They ran faster as the sirens got closer, filling the alley with a shrill shrieking that sounded almost as demonic as their pursuers. At last, they came up on the last turn that would spill them into a side street where the car and its driver were waiting.

“C’mon, it’s just around the corner!” He went around it first, but stopped dead in his tracks, making her stumble as she ran into his back. At the end of the alley stood a tall blond man, holding their driver above his head by the throat. He turned his head slowly, looking at the pair with lifeless blue eyes.

“If you value this man’s life, you will throw your weapons over to me. Now.”

Andrew surveyed the man, noting the long, thin blade held in his right hand. It glinted dangerously in the dim light spilling in from the open end of the alley. Behind them was a dead end. The police were closing in. They were trapped.

He turned his head slightly to look at Catalina, warning her with his eyes not to move or say anything, but to be ready. Something was off about this man—not demonic energy, but something. “Let him go, first.”

“You are not in the position to give me orders,” the man said, digging his thumb into the back up driver’s pulse point and making him cry out.

Andrew took the shotgun off of his back, making sure to seem as harmless as possible. The nameless man nodded towards the dumpster beside him.

“Throw it in there. Make any attempts to harm me and I will kill this man, and then you.”

“Charming fellow, ain’t he?” Andrew muttered, walking over to the dumpster and tossing the gun in.

The man gestured to Catalina next. “Yours as well.”

She threw in her gun, her dark eyes glittering with hatred. “How much are they paying you to help them damn this world?”

The man allowed a small smirk to touch his lips. “Enough.”

With that, he let go of the man, who stumbled and fell. “Get in the car and drive away. If you attempt to come back and save them, I will slit your throat and feed you to the hellhounds.”

The driver’s eyes darted to Andrew, who shook his head. “Go. We’ll figure something out. I can’t have your death on my hands.”

“I’m sorry,” the driver muttered hoarsely, picking himself up and limping over to the car. He got in and drove away, leaving the alley dark with the absence of the headlights. In the few seconds of dark that they had, Catalina slipped Andrew’s handgun to him from the small of her back. She edged over to the dumpster in case she would get the chance to retrieve the shotgun.

The man tracked her movements with his eyes, lifting the blade to point at her.

“Walk over here. The police will be here shortly to arrest your lover and you will return to the facility unharmed. If you resist, that will not be the case.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Come and get me.”

The man cocked his head. “Do you doubt my intentions?”

“That’s pretty apparent,” Andrew snapped. The moment his eyes left Catalina, Andrew raised the handgun and fired at him. The man dodged his shots with unbelievable speed, darting over to Catalina and grabbing her by the neck. He pressed the tip of the blade to her heart, pinning her against his body.

“Fire one more shot and I’ll kill her.”

“Let her go,” Andrew snarled, aiming at his head.

“Drop the gun.”

“Don’t you understand? They don’t need her! Let them take me instead—I’m a Seer!”

The man shook his head. “You are not pure enough. The woman is what they want. Drop the gun.”

“Don’t,” Catalina whispered. “They’ll kill you.”

Andrew shook his head wildly, gripping the gun tighter. “ I won’t let them take you, Cat.”

“And I won’t let you die because of me.” The tone of her voice, the quiet serenity in it, and the calm look on her face told him all he needed to know. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Her hand gripped the hilt of the blade and shoved it through her chest. It sliced through her body and plunged into the man’s heart, killing him instantly. He dropped to the ground behind her and she fell to her knees, blood soaking her blue hospital shirt and turning it black.

“Cat!” He dropped the gun and ran to her, catching her before she could hit the pavement. He couldn’t breathe. There was blood everywhere, even on her beautiful face. Her breaths were shallow and trembling and he knew she only had moments left.

“C’mon, stay with me, Cat! I can heal this, I know I can,” he whispered, raising his hand above the knife. He poured every last bit of his energy inside her that he could, but the bleeding didn’t stop. The wound was too severe. He didn’t have enough power to save her and it killed him.

She smiled softly, watching him through half-lidded eyes as she lowered his arm.

“Mentiroso.”

He almost choked on a sob, brushing the hair away from her forehead. “Why, Cat? I could have come up with another plan, I could have saved you—”

“You did save me, amor. I knew from the beginning that this would be the end of my life. It is ending on my terms, not theirs.”

His head snapped upward as he heard car doors slamming in the distance. The cops had arrived.

She touched his cheek, making him look at her. “Go. You cannot let them catch you.”

“Cat—”

“Go, amor. I will see you again. I promise.”

He closed his eyes, ignoring the hot trails of tears streaming from them, and kissed her one last time, cradling her soft body in his arms. He pressed his forehead to hers, his voice so low that she almost didn’t hear it.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“Whatever happens…take care of Jordan any way you can.”

“I will.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Gently, he lowered her to the ground and folded her hands over her stomach, saying a quiet prayer for the passing of her soul, and then fled into the night.

When Andrew finished speaking, I didn’t know what to say. In the end, I wiped my eyes, glancing at my mother.

“I guess we have more in common than I thought.”

“Perhaps. I never intended for you to suffer the same fate as me, Jordan,” she said, her brows wrinkled with worry. “I always wanted you to be happy and live free of the persecution we escaped.”

I touched her arm, feeling a little stronger. “But I did. For the past few months, I have been happy. Between Lauren and the archangels…I have a family. It’s not the one I always thought I wanted, but it’s still exactly what I need.”

A beautiful smile touched her lips just before she pressed them to my forehead. “Then my worries are at rest.”

“Now,” Andrew said, though he hesitated before breaking up the moment. “I hate to be Buzz Killington, but we’ve got a war on our hands, and one that you guys aren’t exactly winning.”

“I know. There’s just got to be a way to defeat the false angel. Tell me you guys can help.”

My mother shook her head. “Our souls have crossed over. We can never return to Earth. We can, however, offer advice.”

“You can tell me how to kill it?”

“Yes and no. Think about it. What did it take to create the false angel?” Andrew asked.

I paused, remembering. “The sliver of the True Cross, my blood, and Belial’s.”

“So that, in essence, is a trinity of Christ, man, and angel, though fallen. Those are the greatest powers in all of existence. This tells us that violence alone will not destroy the false angel,” my mother said.

“So you’re saying we need to combat their trinity with our own kind of trinity?”

She nodded. I frowned. “But how? Gabriel said that we can’t extend our defense powers to each other. We can only use them for our own protection.”

“That’s true, but there may be a way to bend the rules a little through you.” Andrew stepped closer, touching my shoulder.

“When Belial stabbed you with the Spear of Longinus, Christ’s blood was still on the tip. Do you understand where I’m going with this?”

I felt the blood draining out of my face. “You’re saying that there is a small portion of the Son…in me?”

“Yes. It’s very faint and it won’t last forever, but it may be enough to allow you to join the archangel’s powers together enough to form a trinity.”

“What’ll happen? Will we turn into some sort of Megazord?” I asked, growing anxious.

Andrew grinned, apparently getting the reference, but pushing past it anyway. “Not exactly. Your mother and I believe that you will become a conduit capable of connecting their powers together enough to destroy the false angel because each element represents a part of what created it. The attack comes from man, the defense comes from angel, and the healing comes from Christ. Use it well.”

I hesitated, feeling the weight of their words, of my responsibility. “What if I fail?”

My mother met my eyes then. “What is it that Gabriel always tells you?”

“Have faith.”

“That’s all you need,
mi hija
. Go. We’ll be watching over you always.” She wrapped me in a hug one last time. I fought a fresh wave of tears when she let go. Andrew brushed a lock of hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead, sparing me another encouraging smile.

“Go get ‘em, kid.”

“Thanks. I love you,” I whispered.

They began to fade from my vision, but I could still see them join hands and speak in unison. “We love you more.”

I crashed back into my own body—my poor, broken, aching body. I could still hear the sounds of dying and slaughter around me, but it took a minute for all my senses to return. When my eyes focused, I saw Michael hovering over me. His eyes darted between my face and my chest, checking to make sure I was alive. He sighed—a sharp sound—and brushed his thumb across my cheek.

“Welcome back.”

I coughed hard, shaking and rubbing my bruised neck ruefully. “How did you…?”

Just as I pushed myself up to a sitting position, my hand brushed something cold and wet on the grass. I shrieked as I realized it was Mulciber’s bloody, severed arm and scooted away.

“Oh. Well, that explains it then.”

“You were unconscious. It was…the longest four minutes of my life,” Michael admitted, helping me to my feet. Four minutes. It felt like I had been with Andrew and my mother for at least half an hour. Then again, they did say it was a place suspended from time.

Mulciber—minus her right arm—was on her knees with Ithuriel and Zephon holding blades against both sides of her neck. To my relief, it looked like they’d healed themselves.

She sneered at me. “I should have snapped your neck.”

I punched her as hard as I could with my good hand, relishing the groan of pain that escaped her as a result.

“Yeah,” I said slowly, my voice ice cold. “You should have.”

“This isn’t over, Seer.”

Michael stared down at her with hard certainty in his eyes. “Yes, it is.”

He made one quick motion to the angels with his hand and then ushered me away. The sickening slice of her head being removed from her shoulders still reached my ears. Good riddance. Bit by bit, I could feel my strength returning. The instructions from my mother and Andrew rang in my ears. Time to end this war.

“Come on, we have to get you out of here,” Michael said.

“I know how to kill the false angel.”

He stopped. “What?”

“When I was unconscious, my mother and Andrew Bethsaida came to me. They told me we need to form a trinity in order to destroy it.”

He shook his head. “That’s impossible, we can’t form one without—”

“A conduit, I know. I am one. They told me there is a trace amount of Christ’s blood in me. It might be enough to help combine our powers.”

There was an unearthly roar in the distance and the ground trembled. Michael glanced in the direction where Gabriel was fighting the false angel and then back at me. “I don’t like this plan.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s all we’ve got right now.”

He gave me a grim look, but nodded. “Alright. Just don’t die. I’d hate to have to miss you.”

“I wouldn’t want to be such a bother.”

Michael didn’t smile this time, and I didn’t blame him. He motioned for Ithuriel and Zephon, who had come up behind us after dispatching Mulciber.

“Follow me.”

Michael picked me up and launched into the air, soaring over the heads of angels and demons alike until we reached the clearing where his brothers were fighting. Despite the dismal surroundings, the flight was breathtaking. His wings parted the sky with powerful movements. I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck, resisting the urge to touch one of his wings out of pure curiosity.