Secret Worlds (347 page)

“I like my women feisty,” he purred in her ear, keeping his gaze locked on Steve’s. This primer was just the beginning of his dance and I knew the woman was doomed.

We were all doomed.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said running a sharp nail lightly down her arm. “I’ll let you and your family go, along with this lovely officer, if you leave us to settle our differences,” he said nodding toward Naomi and me, negotiating a deal that would seal me in my grave.

I didn’t move, but I made a point of recounting this beasts broken promises. The moment they stepped outside this cove, the hellhounds would tear them to bits.

“That includes leaving the angel and his son,” Lucifer clarified, his gaze landing on Ty, narrowing into a hateful expression that I was used to receiving.

Steve’s jaw clenched and his gaze dropped to Sarah.

“Do your magic and get me out of this,” Sarah said, the panic reaching her voice as Steve’s head shook back and forth.

His entire being shook and the frustration and anger pulsing in his veins drifted over me.

“You bastard,” I whispered and Lucifer sent a chilling smile in my direction.

“I can’t do that,” Steve said and I glanced at him. Jennifer’s hand rested on his shoulder and her forehead rested between his shoulder blades, her form shaking with silent sobs; and pain flashed in my chest.

I should have never let Naomi talk me into coming to Maine. We should have run across the globe and then these pure souls wouldn’t have to sacrifice those they loved for me.

CJ slid a glare in my direction and the mental reprimand resounded in my head like one of those obnoxious air horns.
Stop the fucking pity party.

I winced at the volume and my gaze dropped to the ground, returning to the woman struggling in Lucifer’s grasp.

Lucifer’s hand ripped the shirt open, revealing a modest sports bra and he tilted his head, smiling as his fingernails dimpled the skin over her heart. “Last chance,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Sarah,” Steve said, his eyes filled with tears and his lips pressed together.

Sarah’s scream shattered the night, followed by the report of a gun. Smoke drifted from the end of Steve’s revolver and I stared at it before turning toward the deafening silence.

Lucifer’s fingers were buried knuckle deep in Sarah’s chest, but that’s not what silenced her scream. The neat bullet hole between her eyes had sent her to heaven before Lucifer could rip her heart out.

I turned back toward Steve and his arms lowered. His chin dropped to his chest, and his breath hitched once. With a violent shake of his head, his tear-stained glare landed on Lucifer and the gun rose back in place.

“Get the fuck off my property,” he said with a growl.

“As soon as I have my whore,” he said.

Steve pulled the trigger again, but this time nothing happened until he moved the aim to the demon closest to Lucifer and then the gun jumped to life, expelling another round. The shot as true as the one that took Sarah’s life and the first demon fell.

Lucifer yanked his hand from Sarah’s flesh and tossed her next to the dead demon. He licked his fingers and scowled, glaring at Steve. The minute he stepped forward, Ty interceded, blocking the devil’s path.

That hateful glare reappeared and Lucifer snapped his fingers, Christopher Ryan appeared in the center of the clearing, bleeding and on his knees, his screams filling the silent woods, echoing on the dark lake and the hellhounds tasked with ripping him to shreds continued their attack.

This time, Ty moved; his face filled with a wrath I had only seen once before and my gaze drifted to Michal. CJ took a step toward his father, pulling my attention back to the spectacle before us. Both Steve and I grabbed an arm, keeping him from entering the violent scene in front of us. This was the primer to the war and I knew it was just an appetizer meant to drive the hounds in line into a frenzy, preparing them for attack.

“You can’t stop it,” I said when CJ tried to rip out of my grasp.

He turned a pleading gaze in my direction when the first hellhound turned on Ty.

I knew the pain in his gaze. I knew the need to stop the inevitable, and I also knew the futility of any action against what had already been set into motion.

What I didn’t expect was for Ty to rip a hellhound in two with his bare hands and from the expression on Lucifer’s face, neither did he.

Ty grabbed Chris around the waist and launched toward the heavens, pulling his brother out of range of the hellhounds, into the single beacon of light, disappearing from view before Lucifer could yank him back to the earth.

Lucifer’s furious gaze dropped from the sky to me, then moved to CJ. His face crinkled and he roared his aggravation, squeezing a fist in front of him, sending out the command to burst the boy’s heart. I stepped into the flow of power aimed at Ty’s son, deflecting it with a mental wall. Three of the demons next to Lucifer burst, exploding in balls of flame.

The surprise of the back-to-back events stunned everyone, and nothing moved until a streak of lightning flared and Ty landed on one knee in the center of the clearing like Thor arriving for battle. His wings smoldered, sending tendrils of smoke into the air, but when he lifted his head, his fury filled the space and he stood, shifting into battle stance.

“You’ve cheated me for the last time,” Lucifer growled and pointed at Ty.

“Game on, you bastard,” Ty said and leveled the glare I had seen in Steve’s mind. The one that was responsible for dubbing the man as the Angel of Death while he was alive, and it evoked a tremor, a chill that bit at my heels and spread like a four-alarm fire.

Naomi hissed behind me and the spell that held me in place broke. I remembered the gun in my hand and raised it, aiming at the closest hellhound. I squeezed the trigger and the report of gunfire shattered the stillness, breaking the stalemate between good and evil.

Thirty demons went down in the span of the ten seconds it took the four of us to empty our guns and the only one that took the time to re-load was Tom. The angels charged forward meeting the advancing demons in the center but Steve, CJ and I stayed put, protecting our families behind us.

When Tom stepped between CJ and me, leveling the gun at the melee, I pushed his hand down and shook my head.

“Hold onto those, we might need them,” I said, meeting his gaze and pushing him back into the safety of the cocoon we created.

A hellhound launched at us, and I let a targeted power bolt loose. The beast exploded, like the one at the house and CJ and I traded a glance. I wasn’t sure I could target only demons in the battle, but both Steve and CJ nodded.

“We have to give it a try,” Steve said.

“On three,” CJ said and I closed my eyes, concentrating. “One,” CJ breathed low over the bellows of fighting angels and demons.

“Two,” I said and felt the tight coil in my chest.

“Three!” Steve said.

My eyes snapped open and the wave rolled across the field, leaving only a bloody mist in its wake along with four stunned angels.

Ty glanced at the three of us with a maniacal grin.

Lucifer stood at the edge of the field, scanning the gory remains of his army.

Michael and Gabriel stared at the mess with open mouths.

Only the sound of blood rain filled the space and I realize we’d annihilated demons and angels alike. Only archangels remained and my gaze landed on Ty. A shiver caught my soul, turning my blood as cold as the frigid water behind me.

We moved closer to Ty, Michael and Gabriel, squaring up to Lucifer, but he wasn’t done with his arsenal of tricks. Naomi howled and I blinked down at the writhing cat before my gaze jumped to Lucifer.

I charged without thought and got one hit in before his backhand hit me, spinning me onto the ground. The howl turned into an ear-piercing scream snapping my gaze to my wife. Naomi lay in a ball, in human form, holding her stomach, screaming in pain.

The black power moved from Naomi to CJ, dropping him to his knees as he held his chest. His head dipped and his hands balled into fists. When he snapped his gaze from the ground back at Lucifer, the devil stumbled back, nearly falling on his ass.

CJ stood, his breath coming in shallow bursts and I scrambled to my feet, retreating to Naomi and falling on my knees next to her. She turned her head and shock filtered through me at the gaunt face that peered at me. She was too pale, too thin and my heart pounded in my throat. I put my hand on her swollen belly, praying for signs of life and the moment my hand touched, a foot found it, but with it came the writhing struggle inside the womb. My children were alive, but they were in as much pain as Naomi.

“It hurts,” she whispered and I pushed her hair away from her face, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“It’s going to be all right,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it, not with our dwindling numbers. Michael and Gabriel went on the offensive, launching a fistfight with Lucifer while we tended to Naomi.

“Can you fix her?” I whispered and then sent a glance in Lucifer’s direction in time to see Gabriel fall. He went down hard, the side of his face marred by a red welt where Lucifer had connected. He met my gaze for a moment and then returned to the fight.

Steve bent down and delivered a kiss to Naomi’s forehead and light danced over her form, rejuvenating her body, filling her hollow cheeks with a healthy glow. She blinked at him and then her eyes rolled back and she went limp.

“What did you do?” I asked, alarmed by her slip into unconsciousness.

“She’ll be fine,” Raven said, “But we need to get her out of here,” she added, watching the movement of the three archangels. “The path isn’t blocked anymore,” she said pointing.

I didn’t hesitate, I picked Naomi up and headed for the open escape and the group followed me. I ran as fast as possible with her limp form in my arms, praying I wouldn’t slip. When I reached the back door, I used the power growling inside me to open the locks to the house and burst inside, heading toward the nearest soft surface. The couch sat on the sidewall in the family room with a view of the front yard and lake beyond. I laid Naomi on the soft cushions and pushed her hair away from her face.

“Come on, baby,” I whispered, pressing my lips to hers. She didn’t respond and I turned, looking at the crowd behind me.

Raven stepped forward, her gaze averted, but she forced eye contact. “She’ll be okay; her life force is still strong.” She touched my cheek. “Your babies shine just like you.”

I dropped my head to my chest, my relief choking me for a moment before I inhaled and stood, shaking off the momentary lapse. The dull ache in my arms reminded me of my human frailty and I scanned the beautiful view, wondering who would win the battle in the blood-filled clearing.

My answer came a few minutes later, when Lucifer stalked onto the property. The severed heads of my father and uncle dangled from each of his hands and he held them up for me to see. His roar of triumph painted my skin with a burn I hadn’t felt since I watched Athena die.

I wanted vengeance and the power inside me screamed for justice.

“Shit,” Ty said from behind me and I turned, staring down the only other angel standing.

I pointed to Naomi. “Keep her safe. That’s all I ask,” I said, moving my gaze across the faces in the room, then I turned and crossed to the door.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Steve asked.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob asking myself the same question. I glanced out the window and then met Steve’s stare dead on.

“Ending this,” I said and stepped outside, letting the fury of twenty-five hundred years take over.

I stalked towards Lucifer, getting my mind in fight mode. A shadow moved into step with me and I glanced at my companion.

“I thought I told you to keep Naomi safe.”

“CJ and Steve will see to that,” Ty said and met my gaze. “They’re making the house safe right now,” he added, which meant he wouldn’t be able to get back in, and neither would Lucifer if he was the last one standing.

I focused on my nemesis and he dropped the heads on the ground so they faced me. I ground my teeth together at the manner in which he wiped his hands together, like they were nothing more than dirt and grime. He grinned at me, knowing just how angry I was.

“Coming to exact revenge for your family?” he asked, moving his gaze from me to Ty and back. The question was fitting for both of us and we stopped less than five paces away.

“Vengeance is mine,” I whispered, feeling more like a god than a human at the moment. “And you shall behold the full fury of the heavens.”

He laughed, leaning back and cackling to the sky. Ty and I traded a glance and then the angel by my side launched his attack, leaving me standing in place like a shocked little kid. I blinked as Lucifer went flying on his ass. Ty shook his right hand and then curled it up again as Lucifer got to his feet, his smirk long gone and replaced with wariness.

“I’ve only felt that kind of power from Michael,” he said, narrowing his eyes and studying the angelic form of Ty Ryan. “Gabriel wasn’t strong enough to wage any sort of decent fight,” he added, stepping away from the discarded heads.

Ty grinned. “The world has never seen anything like me,” he said, his voice a feral growl that promised all the pain hell could deliver. “And neither has heaven.”

Lucifer waved his hand and I landed on my ass from the invisible sucker punch. The cold snow seeped into my bloodstained jeans and I climbed to my feet, circling away from Lucifer, letting Ty take the lead in this fight, even though he didn’t have the same mental power Lucifer had.

Ty’s smile faded when he was shoved a step backwards, but he didn’t stumble, he only leveled that glare.

“What are you?” Lucifer asked, unnerved by his inability to budge his primary foe.

“I’m your worst fucking nightmare,” Ty said, pulling memory after memory of the same line delivered for the past two decades.

The two angels charged, slamming into each other and creating an explosion that knocked me back twenty feet. Dazed, I pushed into a sitting position, shaking the cobwebs from my head and focused on the flurry of snow before me. The only identifier I could see in the blur was black wings. Ty’s blended in with the snow tornado they created.