I’m back on earth.
Holy shit, I’m really back.
I stared at the crowd, shocked. The ground trembled again beneath my feet, shaking pebbles loose and scattering sand.
I’m … free.
Power surged out of me at the realization and it rippled across the ground.
The screams intensified as the shockwave hit them and they lost their balance.
“Excuuuse me. Yeah you, asshole.” A head of ice blond hair bobbed through the panicked crowd, pushing his way forward.
My pulse hitched at the familiar face. A hand went to my mouth.
“Evening, sweets,” Oliver said, stepping out of the crowd. He wore all white, and with his pale skin and light hair, he looked like some strange angel.
“Oliver …” I had to be imagining things. “Am I … really back?”
He gave me a kind smile when he stopped in front of me. “Yeah, sweets, you really are.” He grabbed my wrist. “And now we’ve got to go.”
I stared down at his arm. “Where are we going?”
“Away.”
The crowd stirred, watching us uneasily. We made a pair—him in his white clothing, me a dress of dark cobwebbed lace. Darkness and light.
“Look at me, Gabrielle.”
I glanced over at him.
“Time to let your siren out.”
My siren? Even as I thought about her, she rushed to the surface, making my skin glow.
Gasps came from the crowd.
Next to me, Oliver’s skin began to glitter. It didn’t have the same effect as mine, but between the light emanating from my skin and the moonlight, he looked just as unearthly as I did.
Oliver stared at me strangely, then took a deep breath. He ran a hand behind my neck. My eyes widened as he leaned forward. And then Oliver was kissing me.
We appeared in the middle of the Braaid, the Isle of Man’s stone circle.
Oliver tore himself away from me and began wiping his mouth with his forearms.
“Ugh, ew, you taste like death. I’m never kissing a girl ever again—siren or not.”
I shivered, holding my arms tightly to my chest. A chill sank into my bones, a chill that had little to do with the cool evening air or my skimpy outfit. The last twelve hours …
I shouldn’t be here.
“Of course you should,” Oliver said.
I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud. I dropped my arms and began walking away from my friend.
“Hey, ho-bag, where are you going?”
“Away.” I didn’t bother glancing behind me when I spoke.
Something was wrong with me. In the Underworld I had felt normal. Here I felt unnatural. Wrong.
“No, no, no, no—that’s not how this works. I save your ass, so now you’re in my debt. Fae bargain, get it?”
I ignored him as memories surged. Memories not of this world. My skin prickled, and I shivered. Would I ever be warm?
Maybe near hellfire, but not here.
The grass flattened away from me. Wherever my feet touched, the ground blackened, and the foliage died. My gown slithered behind me.
Oliver jogged to my side. “You are not leaving me, ho. Wherever you go, I’m going too.”
I knew the first place I was going. “Fine. Take me to Castle Rushen.”
“And what’s at Castle Rushen?”
My revenge.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said to him. “Will you take me there?”
Oliver sighed. “What about Andre?”
I stopped, my knees threatening to buckle. “Don’t say his name.” If the devil’s name had power to conjure phantom winds, then Andre’s had the power to crush the last of my soul.
“You should visit him, show him that you’re okay.”
My gaze snapped to Oliver. “I am not okay.”
I was the Queen of the Underworld.
I was a monster.
Andre
Wakefulness came in a short, shuddering burst. Andre let out a low moan. He was empty, absolutely empty.
She’s gone. Oh, God, she’s gone.
He bellowed out his anguish. The vampires that had pinned him to the ground woke at his cry, their hands reflexively tightening on him.
“Damn you all, let me go!” He could feel cool wetness on his cheeks where fresh, bloody tears replaced old ones.
“We can’t,” Vicca said. Her voice sounded like an apology. He didn’t want an apology, he wanted away.
His blackened heart was shredded to pieces.
He couldn’t say how fast the time passed. It could’ve been minutes since he awoke. It could’ve been hours.
A shape blurred into the room, stopping near his feet. “Sire,” the vampire said, breathless.
Andre ignored the man. “Kill me, I beg of you,” he pleaded to those that held him down. He never used to plead, but now—God, what he wouldn’t do to end this torment. Hell had to be kinder than this.
“Sire,” the vampire repeated.
Andre thrashed. “Let. Me. Go!” He felt his hair ruffle, but that was it. He could no longer conjure his power.
Because I’ve given up.
“Is this what you want?” Andre roared at his vampires. “An existence bound to me? Holding me down?”
His coven had already started to drain him of blood. They would have to weaken him until he was a desiccated husk. Then they’d chain him inside a coffin and bury it so deep in the ground that the earth would convince him he was really a dead thing. Then perhaps he could sleep and they could live.
It wasn’t a good enough option. He needed death. That was the only way he could be near enough to her.
“Sire!” the vampire shouted, finally drawing Andre’s attention. “Gabrielle is alive.”
Gabrielle
“Why did you kiss me?” I asked. We sat in the back of a taxi that headed towards Castletown.
Oliver’s lips curled. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I was giving the people of Jerusalem a show. Leanne mentioned that this would be all over the news in a few hours. They’re going to call us the ‘Angels of Jerusalem.’”
“FYI—angels don’t kiss.”
“If they’re as hot as we are, they do.”
I cracked a smile at that. “Where’s Leanne?” I asked, looking at the scenery that flew past the window.
“She’s preparing for the evening. If you don’t diverge too much from her visions, then we should be seeing her soon.”
I nodded at that, pressing my lips together.
“What … what did he do to you, Sabertooth?” I could feel Oliver peering at me.
“I hate that nickname.”
Oliver took my hand. I stared down at our entwined fingers, then up at him. His eyes were somber. It was a rare day when Oliver was serious.
“What happened?” he asked.
I pulled my hand away from his. He’d never know, never understand what it was like to be there even for a day. All those burning souls, all those demons … all that attention from the devil. I’d come back to earth, but I’d come back corrupted, and now something wicked brewed within me. Now it whispered things of vengeance.
I shook my head. “Nothing worth discussing.”
The taxi came to a stop in front of the castle, the Politia’s headquarters. This place had taken me in and, for months, trained me.
“Sabertooth, you know I love the shit you get yourself into, but whatever business you have here—” Oliver eyed the castle, “you should really reconsider it.”
Revenge swam like a poison through my veins. I finally understood Andre’s need for vengeance.
Cut down the enemy. Right some wrongs.
And oh were there wrongs to right. One in particular I was especially looking forward to.
I opened the car door and slid out. Oliver made a grab for my wrist. “Seriously, Gabrielle. They’ll shoot you on sight.”
I turned back to him. “Leave this place while you can. I don’t want you hurt.”
“Gabri—
”
I shut the door and crossed the road, heading for the building I used to work in.
Caleb might be in there, and he also might not. I’d find him either way. At this point, my anger wasn’t limited to him.
The entire organization had kept me under their thumb, training me, pretending to care about me, allowing me to believe I was one of their own. How quickly they all turned their backs.
My gown dragged along the ground, the spider silk sounding like scales over sand as I moved. Night had just fallen here.
My senses had expanded since I claimed my title as queen of the Underworld. I could feel magic, could sense spells and curses.
But more than that, I could feel a goodness to the world and my own corruption.
I didn’t belong here.
When I stepped up to the castle’s door, I could feel the protective spell that barred me from entering. An enchantment against dark beings. For the first time since arriving back here, I laughed.
Like they could keep me out.
I lifted my hands and forced my power out. The spell flared up, trying to blast me back. I braced my legs and pushed against it. As soon as I did so, an alarm went off inside.
Guess they now know I’m here.
I felt my hair ripple and shift. I shoved against the door, coaxing my supernatural strength to break the enchantment. Power continued to rise within me, the magnitude of it staggering. I funneled it into the wood all at once.
The spell shattered, and the door exploded inward, its metal hinges tearing out stone as they ripped away from the castle walls. A shockwave fanned through the air, throwing some of the officers in the lobby to the ground.
Did not know that would happen.
I stepped inside the castle as dust and rubble settled. Once upon a time, I had good memories here. This was where Caleb and I worked on cases together, where we brought bad guys to justice. Only now, I was the bad guy.
“Freeze!” Inspector Maggie Comfry, my former boss, stepped into the lobby. Both hands gripped the gun aimed at me.
“No.” My power snapped out, yanking the gun from her hand and throwing her against the wall. The energy coursing through me was terrible, addicting. The more I used it, the more I hungered for it.
My gaze moved over the other people in the room. Just like Maggie, I ripped their weapons away from them and thrust their bodies back with my power.
Papers scattered in the melee, and I could see the surface of someone’s cup of coffee ripple from the sheer force of the energy I wielded. I couldn’t contain it all. It filled me and spilled out into the earth around me, shaking the floor. The angrier I got, the stronger I became.
And boy was I angry. Scratch that, I was pissed.
These people lied to me. They never wanted a vampire on their force; they wanted to watch their enemy closely. And in the end, they wanted to kill me. They almost had too, the devil just beat them to it.
Rage pulsed through my veins. I would make each and every one of them regret that decision.
I strode over to Maggie’s prone body and lifted her up by the collar. “Where is Caleb?”
Her eyes flicked to the hall that branched to the right of the lobby. That was all I needed. The training rooms were in that direction.
I let go of her shirt. “I trusted you.”
“You are an abomination,” she hissed.
“I am the monster you fed. You made me your enemy when I needed an ally. Now you and everyone else here must reap what you sow.” Even my words carried power; they boomed out of me and shook the walls.
I left the room with all the officers still pinned to the back of it, not bothering to release them. Let someone else’s magic bring them down.
Death had not tempered my supernatural sense of smell, and in the Politia’s busy headquarters, that wasn’t exactly a blessing. The scent of human filth—blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine—was embedded into the very building itself. It mixed poorly with the wet, mildewy smell of the stone castle. Overlaying it all was the tang of magic.
This last one I’d never been able to detect when I was simply Gabrielle the hybrid. None of my previous abilities had allowed me to sense magic.
Now, however, the scent of it coated my mouth, tasting somewhat bitter, somewhat sweet. Eventually—hopefully—I’d be able to understand the nuances of this new ability. For now I just had to endure it, along with everything else.
The training rooms were located belowground—conveniently close to the Politia’s cellblock. As I got closer to them, I heard fists smack leather. Grunts accompanied the sound, and when I scented the air, I caught a whiff of Caleb’s sweat.
Here he was, not twenty-four hours after he shot me point blank in the heart, working out like the whole thing never happened. How could he continue on as though my death didn’t affect him?
That cut deep.
The florescent overhead lights flickered with my anguish and my anger.
The room fell silent, punctuated only by the sound of heavy breathing. “Who’s there?” Caleb called. “Maggie?”
I wasn’t trying to be quiet, but in human form, Caleb couldn’t sense my approach. After a few moments, he resumed his workout. The smell of blood increased the closer I got. Shapeshifter blood.
Someone had propped open the door to the training room, and I slipped inside. The room was full of all the fixings of a regular gym. Weight racks, machines, workout benches, mats, and free weights.
On the far end, Caleb slammed his fists into a punching bag. He hadn’t bothered wrapping his hands or wearing gloves, and his knuckles were bloody. The sight and the smell triggered some primal part of me. My fangs dropped.
Had I been mostly human yesterday? Now I felt far from it. I saw Caleb’s blood, and I thought, food.
I took the rest of him in. I’d been wrong. My death had affected him. I could see it in the sickly pallor of his skin and the smell of bile that lingered on him.
When he caught sight of me, he stumbled away from the punching bag.
“Gabrielle?” Shock and hope and despair all rolled into that single word.
I thought maybe the smell and sight of his anguish would soothe my anger. It worsened it.
The lights went out.
A vampire wouldn’t be able to see in total darkness, but I was the queen of the Underworld. I could see even in the darkest corners of this world and the next.
The scent of Caleb’s magic flooded the air. He thought he could shift. He thought wrong.
I grabbed him just as he changed into a tiger. Grabbing the beast’s muzzle, I slammed his head into the ground, and his body went limp. I assumed that perhaps unconscious he’d return to natural form, but nope. Still a tiger.
I gripped the feline by the scruff and dragged him out of the gym. As I passed by a bin of fresh towels, I grabbed one. From here I could hear the mayhem at the front of the building. Someone had discovered the officers.
I hauled Caleb to the prison block of the castle. Called “neutralization tanks” for the deep enchantments woven into them, each cell stripped certain supernaturals of their powers. Not all beings could be stripped of their powers; for some it was too innate. Imprisoning them was the same as death.
I wasn’t surprised to find this place empty. The Politia had proven time and again that they preferred to kill rather than contain the guilty.
As I headed down the prison block’s walkway, the overhead lights began to flicker. Off. On. Off. On-off-on.
I threw a giant, furry Caleb and the towel into one of the enchanted cells and slammed the door shut. As soon as the lock clicked, the magic began taking effect.
Caleb’s eyes snapped open as his back arched. Fur forcibly sank back into skin, and claws dulled to fingernails. His entire body shrank, tan skin replacing orange and black stripes.
When the transition completed itself, he groaned and rubbed his head. His previously bloody knuckles were now scabbed over. Caleb had once mentioned that changing form could accelerate
healing. Now I’d seen it for myself.
He lifted his head and met my gaze. “How are you alive?” he asked from where he crouched. His eyes searched mine. I could smell his disbelief and his relief. But regret wouldn’t undo the fact that he mortally wounded me last night.
“What makes you think that I am?” My voice came out calmer than it should’ve. The florescent lights continued to flicker and pause.
Caleb wrapped the towel around his waist. “Are you a vampire now?”
“I was always a vampire.”
He covered his eyes with a shaky hand, then let it slide down his face. “I—I’m sorry, alright?” He said it like I’d already accused him. “There aren’t words to describe just how much I am. But I warned you I couldn’t be trusted. And you were considered the anti-Christ, for God’s sake. You knew where things stood.”
“So this is my fault.”
Say it, I dared him. Say it and allow me to unleash my anger here. I’d do more than level this place. I’d wipe it from existence.
He padded towards me. “Of course it’s not. You didn’t choose to be the devil’s consort. But you are. When I joined the Politia, I swore an oath to protect supernaturals. That means setting aside my feelings for you and protecting the innocent.”
“From me,” I filled in.
His mouth formed a grim line.
“You were my friend,” I said. The overhead lights flickered faster and faster.
He glanced at them but said nothing.
“You were my friend and I trusted you when I needed you most. You betrayed that trust. You betrayed me.”
He shook and goosebumps sprouted along his arms. “I know, Gabrielle, I know, and I’ll never forgive myself. I did my job, but now I can’t seem to live with the person I now am.”
So this was still about him.
“Four months ago, I saved you. I carried your body out of a burning house. The same one you returned to, to kill me.”
“I know,” he breathed. “That wasn’t lost on me. I came to kill you. I pulled that trigger and watched one of my closest friends die—” His voice caught, and his eyes swept over me anew. “But I didn’t kill you,” he breathed. “You’re not dead.” Wonder lit up his eyes.