Drake kicks Ethan in the shoe. “You know what else is a force to be reckoned with? Unidentified flying objects.”
“No shit.” Ethan leans in. “I just heard local officials in Oregon detained two teenagers who appear to have super human capabilities.”
Skyla looks to me in haste. “It’s starting.”
It is starting. It’s a race to remove the markers.
Ethan and Drake dominate the conversation for the next twenty minutes, listing about a dozen new sightings across the world—fireballs in the sky—unexplainable floating lights. Wesley thinks he’s got the upper hand, and maybe he does. His plan is running seamlessly. But little does he know I have a little something up my sleeve, too. I shrug into the darkness. It’s worth a try. After all I’m responsible for this mayhem.
We sit by the fire for the next few hours just shooting the breeze, talking about how we’re going to combust the world with our overall greatness. We’re dreamers, and tonight is a night for dreams. Skyla is tucked in my arms just the way it’s supposed to be, and it feels right. We’ve already set the world on fire—we do it nightly.
Skyla and I are right.
Now to convince the universe of that. The universe, of course, being my mother-in-law. I glance up at the navy sky, the mist bleeding over it like an open wound.
Mercy isn’t exactly her forte.
Heaven help me.
I’ll need it.
Skyla and I finally make it upstairs. I give the dresser a ceremonious slide over the door as Skyla slinks into bed, naked, just the way I like. It takes less than ten seconds for me to strip down and meet her there. Just the thought of ending each day with Skyla, nude, and in my bed, is enough to put a goofy grin on my face. I don’t deserve her, never did.
“I love you.” I peck a kiss over her lips as I pull the comforter over the two of us.
Skyla shivers as she scoots in close. “Not half as much as I love you.” Her warm arms cinch around me as our torsos heat against one another. “You feel amazing, you know that? You’re rock solid as if you were chiseled out of wood or marble.” She wrinkles her nose. “I take that back, marble is freezing. You’re the solid version of fire.” She giggles into my neck. “You don’t have anything molten running through those veins, do you, Mr. Oliver?”
“I can have lava flowing for you in just a few minutes.” My hard-on rubs over her thigh as if setting an example.
“What if I want that lava flow right here?” She picks up my hand and grazes my finger over her lips.
“Hot damn.” I smile into her as our mouths collide.
“I’ve got a pair of panties I’ll let you tie me up with if you want.” The moonlight streaks across her face, and I can see her beautiful eyes enlarge expectantly. All Skyla wants to do is make me happy, and deep down it rips me to pieces.
My heart breaks. My soul weeps and begs the rest of me to join along.
I brush her hair back with my fingers. “How about tonight I show you that vanilla is an amazing flavor in its own right.” I press my lips to her cheek, wet, trembling as I fight to hold back tears. “Let me make love to you, sweetly.”
“Vanilla?” She sings with a tiny laugh reverberating through her chest. “Don’t tell Bree, but it’s always been one of my top ten favorites.”
“Good, because I’m aiming to make it number one—at least for tonight.”
My lips land over hers, soft, determined, as we start in on a kiss reminiscent of the very first one we shared so long ago. Skyla digs her fingers through my hair. Her hips grind up against mine as her urgency increases. My hands float up and cup her soft flesh, and I don’t plan on drifting from this position for a good long while. I’m not sure what’s going to happen later tonight. Not sure I’ll ever be back, and the prospect of that makes me want to bathe her in tears. I know if I told her what I plan to do, she’d insist on coming with me—not that I would mind, but if things go south, and I’m guessing there’s a good chance—I wouldn’t want to put Skyla through that.
Her hands glide down my hips and find me. Her cool fingers wrap themselves around the length of me as she draws me to that heated wet slick, calling me home.
I give a dark laugh into her mouth while blindly reaching for a condom. I unwrap it and roll it on without ever breaking the leash of our tongues. This moment—moments like these—makes life worth living. Hell, I’m not sure why we do anything but this. Every other second is wasted in comparison.
“What are you waiting for?” Skyla cups my balls and gives a gentle squeeze. “An invitation?” She helps guide me in with a bubbling laugh that rounds out to a satisfied moan. She falls back on her elbows, her heavy eyes struggling to stay connected with mine. “I do love you, Gage Oliver. It’s you and me forever.”
My lips find hers as I ease into her body. This is usually the part where I’d echo the sentiment, forever. But, right about now, there’s not too much in me that believes in that anymore. I can thank Demetri for knifing that dream right out of my heart—for a lot of crap things that have gone down as of late.
Skyla and I make love, subtle, hard, restrained, and wild. We run a rainbow of emotion, exhilarating, wearing ourselves down until well past four in the morning. I hold my beautiful bride in my arms, her skin still slicked with moisture, until her even breathing lets me know she’s finally given in to much needed sleep. I take a moment to bury my face in her hair. Silent tears fall, and I don’t stop them. There’s a poem I once wrote to her long ago. I jot it down from memory on a loose piece of paper and set it under her phone.
I press my lips to hers one last time, lingering there until I can taste the salt of my tears. I step back and gaze at the beauty she exudes. Skyla is a goddess—a sublime being of human grace and angelic ideal.
The moon kisses her body in one long, perfect silhouette. I don’t take my eyes off her as I dematerialize out of the room.
“Goodbye, Skyla,” I whisper, but she doesn’t hear.
I wouldn’t ever want her to hear me say those words.
Sometimes the only way to stop evil is to destroy it.
I’m sure Candace will have no problem helping me destroy this evil—especially when the evil one is me.
The wind swirls every which way in a violent pattern. The clouds overhead heave and groan as Ahava forms around me. I take a deep breath of the foreign air. For a moment I wonder if I should have dragged Dudley here with me, Ezrina perhaps. I’ve never been too good at dealing with Skyla’s mother. I’m not sure anyone has her down to a science, expect for Logan, and I’m not too sure what he would think of what I’m about to attempt.
The lake glows a luminous blue, the exact pale color of Skyla’s eyes. I glance around at the hillside, at the waterfalls in the distance, there’s not a sign of another soul, living or dead. It’s peaceful like this, but I don’t think I’d ever want to get used to being alone. Without Skyla I can be alone in a crowd of thousands.
“Hello?” My voice echoes, deep and melodic, like the sound effect from an old church organ. It doesn’t sound human at all, but, then again, I’m anything but. “Candace?” I shout a little, in the event she’s out of earshot. I’m not entirely sure how this place works. I don’t believe anyone knows for sure.
“Gage?” I turn to find Nathan, Skyla’s father, and head over to offer a quick embrace. “What’s going on?” His face is unblemished by time. He’s younger here. His hair is darker than I remember during his last visit.
“I’m here to see—”
“Me.” We turn to find Skyla—correction, her mother looking back at us with her daughter’s face, her voice. Had I met them both on Earth, I would have thought they were twins. “He’s here to see me, Nathan.” It comes out bored, insulted almost. Candace doesn’t bother to hide her discontent. “What’s this? I was just about to enjoy a dip in the falls with Rothello.” She turns to Nathan. “I do love springtime in Ahava. Not a trace of humidity this eternal season.”
“I agree.” He slaps me on the back
. “Once you get home, I’ll have to take you to the Elysian streams. I caught a wild trout this big.” He spreads his hands out a good two feet. “Are you a fisherman, Gage?”
“I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at it.”
“The Tree of Life is blooming, Gage.” Candace sings like a threat. “Of course, it blooms once a month. The fruit is sweetest when it ripens on the vine.” Her eyes dance like flames. There’s a caveat in there somewhere, but I’m not quite sure how to read it.
Nathan ashens. “Gage and Skyla have just married.” His eyes fix on hers with horror. “He’s far too young for that, Candace.” He shakes his head just barely as if he’s pleading with her on a silent level, and I’m afraid I know why.
Candace smiles at me, a deep, I’ve-got-you-by-the-balls smile while holding a hand out to Nathan. “Let me speak with the boy alone. I’ll find you by the stream. Rumor has it there’s enough salmon this season you can walk across them.”
“I’m not leaving.” Nathan’s voice brings out its baritone as he steps beside me.
It feels good like this with Skyla’s father by my side. Almost as if my own father were here—Barron, of course.
“Tell me, Gage”—Candace slits her eyes in my direction as if I’m costing her precious skinny dipping time—“what constitutes this little visit? And don’t think for a moment it’s gone unnoticed that you used your Fem privileges to access the heavenlies. I’ll be having a word with your father about your new probation status once we adjourn.”
“That’s exactly what I want you to do.” I hold out my arms bearing myself to her. “I want you to put me on the strictest probation possible. I want every cell in my body stripped of its Fem privilege.” I drop to my knees and bow my head. “I’m here to beg you to restore me to my Levatio standing. I never wanted this.” I examine my arms as if they alone are to blame. “I don’t want any of it.”
“Look at me.” She sniffs.
I return my gaze to hers as she examines me in this subservient position.
“Gage”—her shoulders sag, sorry for me—“you were never a Levatio. You were a well-hidden Fem. I cannot restore you to something you have no right to be.”
“Then simply strip me of my Fem capabilities. I’ve hurt Skyla. If I’m no longer a Fem, she won’t go to court. I’ve hurt the world as far as I know. The Nephilim people are in jeopardy specifically because of me—because of my thirst for power. I’m a monster, Candace. If I’m not stopped, there’s no telling how much damage I’ll do.”
“Gage, no.” Nathan lands a warm hand over my shoulder.
“It’s true.” I don’t have it in me to look at him. “And if I may ask, I’d like Wesley stripped of his powers as well. He needs to be stopped Candace, we both do.”
Candace holds her hand out before her eyes. She skims her palm as if she were reading a letter.
“You’ve been to see Ezrina. You were hoping to be human.” She scoffs.
“It worked for Brody.”
“Brody is a half-wit. Nevertheless, he’s not as powerful as you.” Her chest inflates with her next breath. “Do you realize what you’re asking of me?”
“Yes. Take away my angelic standing if you must. My genes are bent to destroy. Nothing good will ever come of me being a Fem.”
“Rise.”
I get on my feet obediently and take a step forward. My muscles twitch. I can feel myself wanting to bolt. I’ve never known anything but myself as a Nephilim. It guts me to the core to become human.
“Come.” She places a cool hand over my forehead as if reading me for a fever. “I’m afraid it’s impossible to do as you ask. Your brother’s guilt is on his own head. Your request to have his powers stripped is denied. As for yourself—you are a Fem, Gage. You were born a Fem, and you’ll die one. A Fem you will remain into eternity.”
I knock my head back and roar. “Fuck!”
“Language!” They both chime in anger.
“I’m sorry.” I drop my head in my hands a moment. “It’s just. I can’t do it. I can’t put Skyla or anybody else in danger any longer.” A hard groan escapes me as if I’m going to be sick. “You can’t let me go back there. As much as it kills me, I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have.”
“Your absence will shatter her.” She titters, matter-of-fact.
“Hang on a minute.” Nathan pulls me back. “Candace, Gage loves Skyla. And you know how much he means to our daughter. You return him right this minute.”
“Not like this.” I examine my hands. They might as well belong to Demetri, or Wesley for that matter.
“If you can’t change the fact he’s a Fem, remove his capabilities.” Nathan is shouting, vying for me in the most passionate way.
“Very well. I’ll strip him of his powers.” She answers Nathan as if I’m no longer in the vicinity. “It’s a waste if you ask me. There’s so much good he could have done had he just applied himself.”
Ahava begins to recede.
“So he’ll basically be human?” I hear Nathan’s voice ring out, slow and steady as a cymbal. “I can imagine it will be quite an adjustment.”
“Oh, he won’t last an hour,” she laughs as darkness robes me. “He’ll be back before you make your first catch of the day. Shall we set wagers?”
“You realize it will kill our daughter to lose him.”
“It will indeed, especially now that she’s with child. But, on the bright side, I suppose there will be a wedding to attend soon thereafter. I always did favor Logan.”
“You think we’ll get an invite to that one?” Their voices fade to nothing.
The angry sky thunders, black and menacing, as the clouds boil around me. I’m floating through the space, freefalling back to earth, back to Paragon. The clouds dissolve into a vat of precipitation. Rain falls like sickles as I claw at the air, picking up speed as I head for all familiar terrain, Devil’s Peak. The storm blows me a few feet farther out, and I’m desperately swimming through gray Paragon sky trying to land myself on the right side of the cliff. The knife-sharp rocks below laugh as they wait to spike right through my body.
“Candace!” My voice is swallowed in a rumble of thunder. “God no, please. I don’t want to die.” Paragon comes up in uneven jags as I speed toward earth like a missile. “Shit!” I’m not going to make it. Devil’s Peak is just a few simple feet away, and I’ve floated off course just enough to fuck this up—story of my short, sweet life. Then in a surge of desperation a name vibrates through me about as welcome as vomit. “Demetri!”
My head and chest thump onto wet Paragon soil as the rest of my torso hangs off the edge. Damn straight he should save my ass. I gave him Logan’s body in exchange for length of years. He gave me his word, but, then if he’s anything like Wes, his word is worthless like the rest of him.
A huff of a laugh spews from me as I struggle to balance myself on the slick piece of land.
“I’ve got this,” I whisper in a lame attempt to give myself a pep talk. The rain pummels me with its surge. The ground swells with a river of water, spilling over the edge, making it impossible to hold on. A loose root from a nearby evergreen coils upwards as if beckoning for me to grab it. My fingers feather over the top. I roll my body forward and grab ahold of the frail tendril as I marvel at the fact my life hinges on this plant, my entire future with Skyla relies on this one, thin vine.
Something Candace said echoes through my mind. Nathan said it would kill Skyla to lose me, and Candace mentioned it would now that she’s with child.
Skyla is with child? My child?
I rifle through my brain like spinning through a sexual Rolodex. That night comes back like a slap in the face. No back to front.
“Fucking Ellis.” My mouth fills with rain as I coil my fingers around the root and pull myself up a few inches. My body fills with unexpected laughter as unspeakable joy fills me right down to the marrow. It vibrates through my bones like a rebirth of my spirit. “I’m going to be a father.” Skyla and I are goi
ng to be parents. “I love you,” I whisper as if she were here. Demetri blinks through my mind, and I squeeze my eyes shut chasing him the hell out of there. My foot struggles to find anything to dig into so I can get the hell off this ledge. “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her. “We can do this.” God—a baby! I can’t stop marveling at the idea. I’m so filled with joy I want to scream it from rooftops, find Ellis and thank him, share the wonderful news with my true brother, Logan. It’s funny how all thoughts of building a dark dominion have vanished in the grand scope of actually having a beautiful child with the love of my life. I should be horrified at what I’ve done, and, yet, I’m thankful to God that this precious new life is in existence, growing in the womb of my wife. Our love will soon become a tangible being that we will love and cherish for all eternity.
A nest of lightning appears above me, bright, lavender, frighteningly familiar.
“Candace?” I glance up at the circus in the sky, not wanting to lose sight of the fact I’m hanging on for dear life. I close my eyes and employ my strength to pull me further, but not a muscle twitches. My mind clears as I envision myself in Skyla’s bedroom at the Landon house, but every cell remains staunchly in place. It’s done. I’m as lousy as a human. Gone are the teleporting, the mind reading, the stronger, faster-than-hell days. A laugh escapes me because if I weren’t hanging on for my life, I’d be celebrating with a bottle of champagne—with Skyla—with the baby safely tucked in her belly.
My fingers claw into the dirt, begging for a clot of grass, a rock buried deep, anything to hold onto as my body begins to glide back with the wash.
Candace gifted me exactly what I wished for—all of my Fem capabilities have been stripped, leaving me nothing more than your average, ordinary, human being.
“Thank you,” I shout to the sky. “Now would you mind helping me off the side of this cliff?”
A bolt of lightning strikes the base of the evergreen in front of me, and the root around my finger cuts loose from the ground.
“Shit!” My body slips right off the edge as efficient as a shove. “No!” I call out into the thick void of sky expanding before me. “Not like this.”