“I didn’t know,” he said softly. “I found out by accident tonight. And I can’t stick around. I’ve got to get out of here before someone sees me.”
“Is Aliah in there?” my dad asked.
“No,” Jude answered. “It won’t be any of the normal Fallen. All traitors. I don’t know how many, but it will be more than one.”
“Is it the traitor?” my mom rushed to ask.
“I don’t know. I don’t know any more details than what I’ve already given you.”
He made a move to leave without another word. I knew he had to get out of here, that he couldn’t risk being seen, but I thought his behavior was more terse than usual. Wasn’t he supposed to be in love with me?
“What? You’re not going to wish me good luck?” I asked quietly just as he stomped by me.
He cut me a sideways glance. “Just in case I’ve been spotted, you need to kill them all, or we’ll all be in serious trouble.”
I sputtered a little bit. “Wait, where are you going? Aren’t you at least going to stick around and watch?”
“I’m going for backup,” he explained without turning around.
Rude.
Also, what the hell did he mean? Backup? From who?
I spun around and readied my swords in my hands. I relaxed my wrists and felt power pulse through my fingertips and palms. “I don’t think he’s in love with me.”
My dad chuckled and threw a “duh” look over his shoulder. “What gave you that impression?”
“Piper.”
He kept laughing. “I think she’s been misinformed.”
I grunted. The soft sound of feet landing behind me drew our attention. Nate and Serena were as bright as they could be and in full battle formation. They fell in line with us and we advanced on the door with stealthy succession.
My father took the lead, with my mom not far behind. I stood in the middle and Nate and Serena flanked us. We didn’t know what we would find behind this closed door. The room seemed to shake and rattle as the Light vibrated with a low-humming noise. Sometimes the crack of Light would disappear completely and the dirt in front of the door would be doused in Darkness before the Light could switch back on again.
As we drew closer to the back of the warehouse, I heard muffled cries behind the door. We had yet to meet any resistance and I knew it was because whomever we’d come to fight or rescue tonight hid behind that closed door. More than one of the unseen voices seemed to be in desperate pain or horror.
The children, my instinct told me.
Unlike last night, my skin did not prickle with the creepy-crawly sensation of insects slithering over me. I did not get queasy or restless. Only the faintest hint of rotten eggs drifted through the room.
We were not about to attack Fallen soldiers who wore their Darkness openly and proudly. This assault would take place against Angels still pretending to be good. Their Light still mingled strongly in their blood, their evil natures completely hidden to those of us who should be able to see them.
Just as we reached the door, it burst open. And a lot of Warriors and Stars filed out of the room.
A lot of them.
Shit.
Unlike the Fallen that we usually ran into, this enemy was just like us. Their Lights burned bright and hot and their energy undulated with goodness and righteousness. These were members of the Lower Realm. They were our brothers and sisters in arms. They were fighting the same war we were and supposed to be on the same side.
I recognized some of them and unease gripped me. Three of the Stars that replaced me when I took my trip to the Lower Realm stood out immediately. Ciana, Senna and Siraj. Two of those girls had offered to escort us off planet!
Another Rebellion.
Jude’s words echoed in my head.
Was this how it started? Or was this how it ended? Even if we stopped the Rebellion from happening, we would be down disabling numbers. We couldn’t let that happen. We had to stop the sickness from spreading.
If we could keep the discord a secret, end it before it truly began… maybe we could save not just our numbers, but souls as well.
If it wasn’t already too late.
I felt my parents shock and horror as their bodies seemed to swell and then shrink from the force of it. These were people they knew, Angels they fought with, comrades they trusted.
And now they were our enemies.
“Ezra?” my dad shouted. “Samara? Issachar? This cannot be!”
One of them in front sneered at my dad. His lip curled back over his straight white teeth and his golden beauty became a dark, ugly thing.
“Don’t be a fool, Micah,” he taunted. “Under your nose for a hundred years and you chose not to see the truth.”
“You concealed the truth,” my father bit back, solid conviction in his tone. Micah Day would not suffer from guilt or regret. He knew exactly where the blame belonged and did not hesitate to put it there.
I loved that about him.
“You’re our friends,” Serena declared incredulously from behind us. “You fought with us. Killed with us! Defended with us. How could you give up your fight so wickedly?”
One of the females let out a charming tinkling of laughter. “We didn’t give up our fight, Serena dear. We simply exchanged our cause. One weak, losing battle for the winning side. It was simple. It was easy.”
“It was stupid,” Nate growled. “And now you have to die for it.”
The group of traitors looked back and forth among themselves. Their faces transformed into smug, arrogant masks of victory. They outnumbered us and they believed they could win.
“We could skip the sword fighting,” one of them called out from the back of their group. “You could join us. Become one of us. Then we wouldn’t have to kill you.”
“No,” my mother whispered. “Never.”
“Then you shall die.”
My mother tilted her chin and stared them down. “Then we shall fight and see who leaves this battlefield alive. We will send you to the very pits of Hell where you so wish to abide. You left the Lower Realm for this? Then we will give you what you want- fire and brimstone and endless pain. Your regrets will weigh on you for the rest of eternity.”
That was true. I’d felt the portal of Hell, glimpsed at an eternity of nothing but excruciating torment. They were going to get what they deserved.
One of them laughed. “The Starling will be enough for us,” he declared, eyeing me hungrily. “Don’t you agree?”
The other traitors took a step forward as if they couldn’t wait to sink their swords into me. I had no idea I was so famous. Ugh. I imagined my face on a Wanted poster, hanging in all the Fallen hotspots.
Did my head come with a monetary reward?
Serena was just as valuable as me. Or so I liked to believe.
Jude told a different story.
My parents and Serena and Nate closed in around me. I could feel their protectiveness encase me with a defensive shield. But it wouldn’t be good enough. I would never be able to stand here idly while my loved ones risked their lives for me. And they would never be able to fight a battle with their fullest strength if they had to focus on protecting me.
“You think you can kill my child? You think you can end the Protector of Earth? She was chosen for a reason, Ananiah. You’re a fool to believe you can touch her with your blade.” My dad’s words resonated conviction and certainty; I felt them in my bones, in the core of my being. He believed in me.
That gave me more strength than anything else.
I lit up, feeling my heat burn through the air around me. My replacement katanas reflected the searing Light of my inner being, protected by a blessing that would keep them solid and sharp.
Let’s go Terminator and Excalibur the Second. We have work to do.
My parents began to glow as well and soon the inside of the warehouse glowed with the brightest Light. Too many Angels in one place. The metal of the building bowed and creaked from the pressure of th
e heat. The ground temperature intensified and I felt the hard-packed dirt become charred earth beneath us.
And the battle began.
That’s how it always happened. One second you stood there staring at each other, measuring your intake of breath and counting down to the moment until swords clashed. And then it happened. It was hard to say which side moved first or if the pressure simply built and built until it forced us together in a cataclysmic crashing of steel against steel. One second you stood with resolve on your face and fury in your bones, then the next your blade raised over your head and you narrowly missed getting your head chopped off.
Such was the nature of the business I was in.
The five of us split apart in order to cause the most destruction. I knew my parents wanted to keep me close and protect me, but they couldn’t. There were too many of them and not enough of us. They trusted me. They had to trust me. This wasn’t just my future anymore. This was my life. If I couldn’t handle myself now, I might not ever be able to.
I rolled out of the way of a swinging sword and ducked to the side. The traitors were here for a reason, protecting the children behind the door.
Through the clanging of swords I could hear the frantic but muffled pleas of the kids. My stomach knotted into a ball of nerves and I felt everything in me hone and focus into getting beyond this horde of traitors and through that door.
That was my objective. My mission.
Sure, there were lots of people here that wanted to kill me and if I were completely honest, I returned that heart-warming sentiment for them. But, I had to get to those children. I’d failed two separate times now. I knew this would be my last shot, even if Jude wouldn’t have told me that.
Besides all of that, something terrible was happening to them in that room. Something that probably resulted in death.
I left my parents, Serena and Nate to explore what was behind door number one. I fought a few stray swords that tried to stop me, but my parents were causing so much havoc that they really didn’t have time for little old me.
My parents were freaking bad asses. They had hundreds, maybe thousands of years of battle experience. They were older than Serena and Nate by a significant amount and had earned their places in the Lower Realm ranks.
I was proud to be their daughter. I knew I had earned my place as future Protector thanks to their skill and bloodline. The Council had trusted me because of them.
Or they put me in this job because they expected me to be easy to kill.
So… one or the other.
I sprinted for the door and met an angry Star in the way. We battled. It was epic. I stabbed her in the stomach; she lashed out and cut my hip. I twirled, she spun, and we clashed swords. Then I took her head off.
Blood spurted everywhere.
Rule of battle number twenty-seven: Cut the head off and get the hell out of the way.
You do not want to stick around for the gore.
I lunged forward and shoved the door open. I had to put the entire force of my body into it. Some intense force pushed back from the other side and I had to Light up so bright, I almost melted the door entirely before I heaved it open.
The other side was a nightmare of insane proportions. However, at least I had expected the worst. That way I didn’t falter one step when I finally met the traitor that had been haunting me for a year now.
The children were the first thing I saw. Three of them were strapped to large, pointed rocks that seemed to push up from the core of the Earth.
What the heck?
A portal to Hell swirled beneath their feet. The only way I recognized it was because I had seen one before. Not that long ago, actually. It sucked out any hope or confidence I had; it pulled it into its fiery depths and burned it with sulfur and brimstone.
The children took me in with wide, black and blue eyes. I recognized the little girl, Zia, but the two boys were new. Their Lights shone as brightly as they could, but it was almost like they were being pulled out of them. It was as though the children were forced to shine against their will.
And after taking them in, I decided that had to be the case.
In another second, I figured out why. The traitor stood on the other side of the portal, pulling it out of them. He stood in the center of a five-pointed star. Red candles stood like sentinels on each of the points and gave him power and dominion to steal Light from children.
A séance.
Ari.
And somehow I wasn’t the least bit surprised.
My intuition knew far before my mind grasped all the facts. Ari stole Light from children to mask his own Darkness.
And these kids were up next.
Chapter Eighteen
I immediately lunged at Ari, hoping to derail his sick, twisted spell. I launched myself toward the chalk-drawn star and hit something that could only be described as solid granite. I flew back and landed directly on my ass.
My swords were still in my hand and I kept them in front of me, but it was unnecessary. Ari wasn’t going to leave his center of protection. And he didn’t need to.
I looked from him to the children and felt little hope of setting them free.
“How long have you been doing this?” I demanded as I shouted over the rush of winds that bellowed from the hell portal.
He gave me a sideways glance and a slow smile. “Longer than you’ve been alive, Starling.”
“You steal from children! You steal to keep a pure Light when you’re nothing but evil?” I leapt over the portal, using my Light to keep me far away from the pits of hell. I didn’t really think I could just slip and fall right into it, I knew there was some kind of safety barrier for those that were both living and Light, but I wasn’t going to push my luck.
Ari let out a charming laugh. “She finally gets it. Maybe I underestimated your talent when I helped choose you for your position.”
His words hit me hard. I didn’t want to let them affect me, but they did nonetheless. I had always felt insecure about my capabilities to save this planet. Ever since I’d been told the Council was compromised, I wondered if I had been part of some elaborate plot to give the Darkness an advantage. Ari’s careless words were the exact confirmation I needed to let the festering insecurity grow into a consuming disease.
Zia looked at me with helpless, hopeless eyes and my resolve was encouraged, despite my own shortcomings. I took my sword and slammed it against the chains that locked her into place. Sparks flew in my face and the sound of metal clashing rang in my ears, but not even a scratch was made where I’d hit the chains.
I swung out and hit again, this time grunting with the force of my swing. Nothing. So I hit again, and again and again until I was panting and my lungs burned from the force of it.
My Light heated into a scorching flamed and I felt the very portal to hell shrink back from the pure radiance that surrounded me. Still, the chains seemed impossible to break.
Ari’s laughter pierced through my reality and I whirled around and pointed my sword directly at him. “I’m going to take your head before this night is over.”
His white, orb-like eyes mocked me with his disbelief. “After all I’ve done for you? I placed you. I gave you this position. I stood up for you while the rest of the Council debated your lack of worth. I even convinced them to let you take the planet at eighteen, while they had wisely argued to wait until your twenties, like we’d originally agreed. I’ve been an ally for you, when everyone else would have seen you replaced with someone much more qualified and infinitely better trained.” His eyes started to take on a dark quality. The edges stopped glowing and producing that brilliant Light, only to seep gray Darkness instead. The Darkness looked like smoke as it swirled and mingled with the Light he so desperately tried to hold onto. He raised his own sword from his side and jabbed at me from the safety of his satanic star. “Try it, Starling. I’m under no contract to spare your life, whether from Heaven or Hell. I will gladly teach you a lesson in propriety, in gratitude. How
about a thank you very much, Uncle Ari. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“You set me up to fail!” I shouted at him. “The only reason you’ve fought for me was to make it easier for you to kill me. I’m not stupid, despite what you hoped for.”
A cruel smile turned his lips, and that same graying Darkness seemed to spread from his face to the glow around his body. “I never expected you to be stupid. I didn’t choose you for your lack of brains, but for your promised intelligence.” I must have looked confused because his expression softened just a bit. “The smarter ones are always easier to convince.”
“You hoped I would switch sides?” The shock in my voice was as naïve sounding as I imagined it would be to an evil traitor like Ari, someone who had been deceiving an entire Council for centuries.
“Obviously,” Ari snorted. “With the Star of Earth on my side, who could stop me?”
“Why would you ever think I would change sides? My parents are as loyal to the Realms as anyone could be-”
“Ah, but your parents aren’t who I knew would change you.”
“Seth.”
“Easy, wasn’t it? Just a little bit of pressure and he cracked. Some might say he was my greatest accomplishment to date.”
I felt sick to my stomach. The way I’d been played, the way Seth had been moved around like a knight on a chessboard. No pawn. He’d been a pawn. Sacrificed for as much evil as it was for good.
“He won’t stay Dark. Then what will you do?”
In the driest tone imaginable, Ari gave me a pointed look and said, “He’s already Dark. I don’t have to do anything.”
“I’ll never go with him. I’ll kill him before I become Fallen.”
That soft smile came back. “Right.” Then it turned mocking. “Now out of my way, Starling. I’m expected back at the Council to discuss your… future.”
I glanced over my shoulder and realized my Light was blocking Ari’s… whatever it was that Ari was doing. I felt some satisfaction in that. I might not be able to stop him, but I could at least keep him from finishing. And at the very least, I could annoy the ever loving hell out of him until he stepped out of the pentagon within his chalk drawn star that kept him safe and out of reach.