Chapter 31
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
SAMANTHA
I tried to pull the claws from my neck so I could get in some air.
“ You can’t out-trick a trickster .” My father’s voice was confident, deep, and laced with anger.
Oh God. Help me. There was no way I could get away from him now.
“ I’m older ,” he said.
And he was. My father was, but this wasn’t really my father. It was just a piece of him he used to power one of his monsters.
Wolf howls broke through the night and I knew help was coming, but they were too far away.
I looked into the monster’s red eyes, and I wanted to beg, but I bit my tongue, tasting blood.
I wouldn’t beg. Not him. Not ever. He wasn’t a merciful being. If I begged for my life, he’d give it to me, but the cost would be…
No.
I would never beg. Never make a deal. Not with him.
He lifted me slowly, not snapping my neck, even though he held it painfully tight.
“ I’m wiser. And infinitely more powerful than you .”
I knew that. I knew it. Especially now, with his hand wrapped around my neck. Hot tears ran down my face, and I knew this was it.
“ And as your father, it’s my right to end your life. ”
No.
No .
Oh God, please. Send Eli or any angel. Please.
I sucked in a shaky, shallow breath.
The wolf howls grew louder, but they were going to be too late.
I pried at his claws again, trying to pull them away from my neck.
My feet dangled above the ground, and every time I kicked them, his fingers tightened.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t get any air.
It was over.
My vision narrowed and filled with black dots.
Suddenly, the monster let go. I sucked in a breath as the clawed hand dropped me, and I slammed into something painfully hard. I blinked my eyes open, and I was on the ground. Light filled the night. A light so pure and bright that, for a second, I couldn’t see anything.
I scooted on my back away from the light. From my father roaring. From my death.
My neck throbbed and ached. I tried to turn it to see what was happening, but a sharp pain rolled down my back.
So, I stayed down, staring into the night sky, but there was light. So much light.
And sounds of a fight.
And the snarls of the wolves.
And my shallow, reedy, gasping breaths, but I was alive. So far.
I knew I should be doing something, but I couldn’t get up. So, I turned my head to see the fight.
At first I thought it was Eli. The glow. The flaming sword. All of it.
But no.
It was Phoenix.
Phoenix was fighting the monster.
What was happening? How…
Phoenix moved so gracefully, so fast, with his sword on fire. His movements flowed, reminding me of Cosette and Van the one time I’d seen them sword fight. But they’d trained for so long. How was he this good?
It didn’t make any sense.
He swiped his sword at my father’s monster, but it leaped out of the way. Somehow, the monster had gotten bigger since he’d chased me. I wasn’t sure how, but the wolves were here now and?—
A wolf dove into the fight, its jaws clamping down onto the monster’s arm. The beast roared, flinging the wolf off him, and then I realized why none of the wolves had followed us.
The monster had split his form into two so it could run after me. They hadn’t abandoned the fight. They’d been fighting him, too.
But now he was back together, and there was no way any of us stood a chance.
The wolves prowled around Phoenix, but every time they tried to make contact with the monster, they either missed or he swatted them away with his power.
I watched in awe for a moment before I remembered what I had to do.
I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to move. I wanted to watch Phoenix fight, but I had to go. I had to end this.
A wolf came beside me, licking my face. It whined, and I looked into its eyes. I knew this wolf.
“Tessa?” My voice sounded scratchy.
The wolf whimpered.
I closed my eyes. Just for a second. Just to gather myself. “Don’t draw attention to me. Stay here. Keep it distracted. Buy me some time so I can end this.” I whispered the words hoping she’d do what I said.
Everything in my body protested as I struggled to get up. Pain rolled through every fiber of my being, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move. Up and off the ground. Stumbling on my wrecked ankle, I moved behind my father’s monster and edged my way backward, sneaking back to the house.
Only when I was sure no one was watching did I turn and take off in a hobbling run. I kept my jaw clenched as I forced myself to keep moving. My body was bruised all over, and my ankle screamed at me. Every step was excruciating. But pain meant I was still alive.
So, I kept moving as fast as my body would take me.
Two houses.
One.
Here. Here .
I climbed the porch steps and tried the door.
It was locked. Damn it.
I couldn’t kick it down like Dastien could, even if I wasn’t hurt.
But the back window had shattered when the wolf was thrown through it. I could get in that way for sure.
I went around the house to the shattered window and climbed in, screaming through my gritted teeth as I landed on my bad ankle. Tears ran down my face, and I wanted to stop. To quit. Give up because I felt so beyond done. But I couldn’t. I could still hear the fight outside, and I wouldn’t abandon them.
I shoved the pain and fear and despair away and focused. I had to focus.
One breath. Just like Chris always told me. One breath to calm myself and focus on what needed to be done.
As soon as I took that breath, I felt the portal.
It was small.
Smaller than the other one. A lot smaller.
That was good. It meant I could close it faster. It was the little shred of hope I needed to keep going.
I screamed with every step as I moved through the house, up the stairs, into the attic. My ankle was trashed. It was terror and sheer stubbornness that kept me going.
And there it was.
Another attic. Another portal. Just like the other one.
Damn it.
I was right. This one was smaller, less symbols, less complex spells, but I couldn’t believe I didn’t sense it before.
I couldn’t beat myself up about it. I’d done what I could, and there was no changing the past. I just had to fix it.
I unzipped my belt bag as I approached the portal. This time, I sped through the prayers, dumping salt on the whole circle and all the symbols around it as I spoke the words, countering the spell that kept this portal open as fast as I could. I didn’t have time to untangle it. I had to force it shut despite all the mess around it. But if I could weaken the elements, that would be make it a little easier. So, I kept at it and?—
The whole house rattled.
My time was up.
He knew.
My father’s monster knew what I was doing and where I was.
His roar hit my soul, filling me with dread.
He was coming for me.
No time to freak out.
Faster. I had to go faster .
I dug into my belt bag, pulling out the bottle of holy water.
Almost done. Just keep moving.
I quickly circled the portal one more time with the holy water.
The house continued to shake—rattling on both the spiritual and mortal planes, making it hard to stay on my feet—and I knew it was getting closer.
His roars grew louder, but I shut them out.
I shut everything out.
But just as I finished countering the spell on the floor and felt it flicker into nothing, something picked me up and tossed me across the room.
I slammed into the wall so hard my vision went black for a second. And then I hit the floor, bouncing twice, before lying in a motionless heap.
I couldn’t move.
It was over.
I’d lost.
“ Get up.” My father roared, his breath hot on my face.
But I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t yell.
My head was still dazed from slamming into the wall, and I was pretty sure I had a concussion. There was nothing I could do now. I couldn’t get my limbs to work. I had no fight left in me.
A hand wrapped around my wrist, yanking me toward the portal.
Panic and adrenaline forced everything into focus.
“Let her go!” A deep voice yelled.
Light filled the attic. So much light that it hurt my eyes. I blinked a few times, and then I saw the most beautiful thing ever.
Phoenix.
He was bathed in gold light. His aura had expanded, and he seemed bigger, taller, stronger. He didn’t have any armor, just the flaming sword, but he didn’t need anything else.
He darted around monster’s claws, moving faster than I’d ever seen him move. His dance-like moves flowed as he dodged the monster’s swiping claws.
He dropped low and stabbed the flaming sword into the monster’s side.
It roared and dropped my wrist.
That was all I needed. That one distraction.
“ Claudare!” I tried to speak the word, but my throat ached, and it didn’t come out right. The portal wasn’t closing.
So, I focused my mind. Claudare! I thought the word, forcing what power I had left into it, and I hoped it was enough.
It had to be enough. This was all I had left.
The portal started to close, and my father’s monster raged. I pressed myself into the floor, crying, because I was so spent and done.
Demons screamed as they were pulled into the portal from every direction.
The monster tried to pull himself free of the vortex, but Phoenix kept fighting it, even as it was diminishing—in size and power.
Phoenix swiped his sword across the monster’s arm, and it turned to ash before it hit the attic floor.
The monster stumbled back a step.
“Bye, asshole,” Phoenix screamed as he kicked the monster in the stomach, sending it toppling down through the portal.
Thank you, God. I didn’t know how Phoenix had gotten the sword or the glowing power, but I knew who had given it to him.
I relaxed into the floor with tears rolling down my face as I watched the demons disappear into the portal. The light around Phoenix seemed brighter as he moved to stand over me. His sword was pointed at the floor. He scanned the room, protecting me, making sure no demons came anywhere near me.
I watched him, breathing hard, my heart beating so fast my chest ached, adrenaline making my body feel like it was shivering. But all of that meant that I was alive. Thank you, God.
The fight had been way too close. Too hard. Once again, I felt completely unmatched by my father. This was too many times. All together, it felt like a lot. More than a lot.
Tears coated my face. But it was okay because Phoenix was alive and freaking amazing. He stood over me until the last demon was gone and the portal was closed.
When it was finally shut, the house was so quiet. Phoenix took a deep breath and looked down at me.
“Help!” he yelled. “Sam is hurt! We need help!” He held the sword away and dropped to kneel next to me. “What hurts? I don’t know what to do. How do I help you?”
I shook my head. Everything hurt, but I couldn’t think about that. I couldn’t focus on it, or I’d scream. “How…” My voice was raspy from where the monster had strangled me. “What—” I pointed to the flaming sword in his hand.
“I don’t know. I saw you get tossed, and I couldn’t do a damned thing. I think I was knocked out cold for a second, but when I woke up, I couldn’t find you. So, I called out to Eli, but he didn’t come. I heard you call for him while we were running, but he never came. So, I called out for God to help me. I begged Him to help me help you . You couldn’t do it alone and?—”
Eli appeared in the room—glowing, armor, no sword, and too late to do any good in this fight. As usual. “He did well. I was watching, but I had to give him the room he needed to ask God for help if he wanted the power to help you. If I came, he wouldn’t have asked.” Eli watched Phoenix. “He’s worthy of the gift, I think.” Eli gave me a smug smile, and I knew— I knew —he planned this whole thing. He helped put the dominos in place so Phoenix would show up at the right time. He gave Phoenix hints in the car earlier and set everything up, and he definitely knew what God would do if Phoenix asked.
Phoenix’s soul had always glowed brighter than anyone else’s I’d ever known, but now it was just more . If Eli knew this all those years ago. If he saw the potential in Phoenix’s soul. If he’d put Phoenix on a path to help me and even somehow led Mom to that apartment all those years ago…
I wouldn’t put it past him. Eli was a master of the long game.
“You’re such a manipulator.” My voice was a broken whisper, but I knew he could hear me just fine.
“Oh, come on, angel. It was fate, and there was free will involved. He could’ve made any number of choices. I just gave him some hints, a nudge here and there, opened up doors. I can’t control a mortal’s actions. Just… guide .”
I closed my eyes for a second before looking up at Phoenix. “He played you.” I swallowed, trying to wet my aching throat. “He wanted you for me. Like this.” Tears flowed again, but for a different reason.
“ Shhh. ” He brushed the hair that had fallen out of my braid away from my face. “Everything is okay.”
“ Okay ?” I whisper shouted. I couldn’t believe Phoenix wasn’t mad. He deserved better than a life of chasing literal demons and saving my butt.
“What does it matter if he manipulated me a little bit when this is what I truly wanted?”
Eli spread his arms wide as if he’d performed a massive magic trick that had just paid off. “You see? Everything always works out. Just as it is meant to.” He sighed. “I tried to tell you that day in the apartment, but you didn’t listen. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was going to be what you needed, but the timing wasn’t right. Now, it is.”
“When did you see him?” How long had Eli been planning this?
“I saw him when I saw him. The details aren’t important.”
The details were everything, but I didn’t have enough voice in me to argue with him. “You gave him extras?” My voice cracked at the end.
“Oh, no. You know I can’t do that. I might bend the Law, but I won’t break it outright. The Lord is the only one who can give power like that. But I did ask if He was willing to bestow a gift on a special spiritual warrior. And when Phoenix asked, the Lord did as He wanted.”
I was flat on my back, exhausted, emotional, ready for bed or food or I didn’t know what, but Phoenix lowered his forehead to mine. “Don’t freak out about this. Please. This feels right to me.”
“Are you sure?” I didn’t want him to regret the choices he’d made. It would destroy us—destroy me —and I wanted this. Someone to stand by me. Someone to feel alive with. Someone to fight beside me . Someone to love. And I desperately wanted to have all of that with Phoenix.
He rose up enough to brush a kiss on my forehead, then he looked in my eyes. “I’m absolutely sure. More than anything in my life ever. I promise. Being with you, doing this, feels like coming home. And I can’t be anything but grateful for the ability to help you.” He gave me the grin that I loved so much. The one with his dimple. “I didn’t like standing to the side while that monster beat the crap out of you.”
I croaked a laugh. “I don’t really like getting beaten up either.”
Phoenix looked up at Eli. “How do I sheath the sword?”
“Picture it gone and move your wrist like this.” He demonstrated.
“And to bring it back?”
“Do the opposite,” Eli said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Phoenix rose and gave it a try, vanishing the fiery sword, then reappearing it—here, gone, here, gone—until he looked comfortable. “Cool.” He squatted down beside me. “How hurt are you? Can you get up?”
“I don’t know. Bad. Everything hurts. My ankle might be messed up.” It throbbed, and I wasn’t even putting any pressure on it. I looked at Eli. “My throat hurts. My face is killing me. I blacked out when I hit the wall, and I have the worst headache.”
“Concussion for sure, then.” Phoenix knelt beside me, brushed a hand against my forehead, and leaned forward. His face was serious as he studied mine. “But your pupils are okay. Even.” He leaned back. “So, that’s something.”
My gaze slid to Eli. “Come on. Just this once?”
“No.” His voice was soft and kind but firm as he knelt on the other side of me. “I start saying yes, and I’ll keep saying yes until I cross a line. I can’t start now. I won’t be able to stop. And I can’t afford to lose the ability to come when you need me. Buuuut have you figured out all the things your bond can do?”
“What does that mean?” Phoenix asked.
“What do you think it means?” Eli’s tone was beyond grating.
This was my most-hated of Eli’s moods. The know-it-all, smug, answering-a-question-with-a-question form of Eli was the worst . “Shut up. We’ll figure it out ourselves.” My voice was little more than a croak, which took some of the bite out of my words.
“Do you always end up this hurt?” Phoenix gave me a once over, then sighed. “I want to hold you, but you hit the floor so hard. I feel like if I try, I might hurt you.”
“It’s unfortunate that she always ends up hurt, but she’s not being abandoned in her fight,” Eli said. “He is watching, and I’m helping line up everything she needs as the battles intensify.” He bent to me, gazing into my eyes. “We always knew your road was going to be hard. Didn’t we?” He said the words softly, and even if they were true, they made my heart ache.
“We did.” Eli had been coming to me for as long as I could remember, and he’d told me it would get harder and harder. I just didn’t think it would get this bad, this often.
Eli rose. “There were battles laid out for her, and though she is fearful and discouraged from time to time, Samantha knows this is the path for her. That the reward at the end will be great, and in the meantime…” He looked at Phoenix. “I trust you’ll figure out what to do. After all, your bloodline is holy, and that is what allowed Him to bestow a gift.”
Phoenix looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“That’s why he glows?” I asked. “I feel like an idiot.”
Eli looked down at me and smiled. “Indeed. You, of all people, should’ve known.”
I looked at Phoenix, and the way he glowed with that heavenly aura wasn’t new. It was more intense now, but it wasn’t new. He was like that when we first met. It was why I was so drawn to him.
“You’re welcome, Samantha.” For an archon, Eli could give the most devilish smile. “Maybe I was manipulative to set this up, but it’s what you needed. It’s what he needed, too.”
I didn’t know what to say, but I suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here. “Okay. I better see how the ankle is.”
I whimpered as Phoenix pulled me gently to my feet, and I let out a gasp as I put weight on it. Everything started to go black.
Phoenix swept me up in his arms. “I better just carry you for now, okay?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t like to be carried, but I guessed I needed to get over that. “My ankle’s definitely toast.”
“We’ll get it x-rayed and then see what’s what. It could just be a bad sprain.” He gave me a small smile. “For now, I’ll carry you. It’s kind of romantic, right?” He winked.
I huffed. “I don’t know, Nix. I’m a mess right now. That might be a stretch.”
“I know what I know. You like it when I carry you.”
I rolled my eyes because I didn’t, and yet…I kind of loved it.
“Also, the raspy voice is really sexy.”
“See,” Eli said. “This is working out just right.”
I couldn’t believe I was laughing right now, but I was. “Shut up.” I was going to hit Eli. Not right now, but the next chance I had, I was definitely hitting him.
“Samantha?” Tessa called up to us. “Phoenix said to wait down here, but I wanted to know if everything was okay. The pack doc is working on someone right now, but he’ll?—”
“She needs medical attention, but she’s stable for now. I think,” Phoenix answered her before I could attempt to shout back. “The portal is closed. The monster is back where it should be. I haven’t looked around, but the house should be pretty clear. We’re going to need to get her to a hospital. I’m not sure how bad she’s hurt. The doc needs to look at her.”
“Ummm…” Tessa said, and a knot formed in my stomach. That was her code for when she needed help but didn’t want to ask for it. “I’ll check on the doc. We had some gravely hurt wolves, so if it’s not urgent, he needs a few to finish. And in the meantime, I have something I need her to see. If she can.”
I wasn’t sure I could take much more, but I’d figure it out. “What is it?” I couldn’t shout, but I didn’t need to.
“It might be able to wait for later, but I’m not sure,” Dastien called out from below us. “If you could check it out, that would help.”
I leaned my head back against Phoenix’s shoulder. “I’m so spent. I just want to go home.”
“You can always say no, angel.” Eli looked at me with sad eyes, and I knew he regretted not being able to fix me.
“Can I?” I wasn’t so sure—I wasn’t sure God would forgive me if I left an innocent to suffer. I wasn’t sure I could forgive myself either.
“There are always choices, angel.” A light covered him, and he sighed. “I’m being called away. I have to go. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
With Eli gone, I felt sad. I had no reason to feel sad just because he left, but I did.
He frustrated and annoyed me sometimes, but I loved him. I wished he didn’t always have to go.
“You okay?” Phoenix whispered to me.
“No. But let’s go see what they need and how urgent it is.”
“Okay.” Phoenix started for the stairs, still cradling me in his arms.
Tessa met us at the bottom of the stairs. “Whoa. You said she was hurt, but she looks really bad. Is she okay? Should I call an ambulance?” Tessa turned to Dastien, and their bond lit up.
Dastien studied me for a second. “I’m going to get an ETA on the doc.” I was sure he was going to say something, but then he turned and ran through the house.
Tessa stared at me with sad eyes, and I hated that look. I’d seen it before, and I knew she felt bad that I’d been hurt. Again. “I’m okay.”
Tessa winced at the sound of my voice. “No. You’re not. We’ll fix you up again, but I hate this.”
“I’ll be fine, Tessa. Everything in the area should truly be gone now that I closed this portal.” I looked around the house to make sure I wasn’t just assuming that, but I didn’t see anything. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to fly home soon. I need my own bed.”
“We’ll have to see about that,” Dastien said as he came back. He looked at me with sad eyes. “The doc is setting a bone. If he stops now, he’ll have to re-break it. We heal too fast, but he’ll be up in a minute. He’ll check you out and see if you need the hospital. If not, and you’re cleared to travel, I’ll call the pilot. I’d love to take you home, but I have to make sure traveling won’t do you more harm.”
I couldn’t help the groan that slipped free. “Fine. Let’s got see what you need me to check out. No promises, though. I don’t have much left, you guys.”
“Just a quick assessment,” Tessa said. “If it can wait, then it can wait. Maybe we can even find a local priest to take care of it. But there’s a family living in the frog that needs your help, and I think?—”
I knew those were words, but what Tessa said didn’t make any sense. “I’m sorry, a frog? They’re living in a frog ?” I must’ve hit my head harder than I thought.
“No.” Tessa busted up with laughter, then slapped her hand over her mouth as she tried to stop. “Lord. No.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. I guess I needed the laugh because it’s not that funny…but no. Not the animal. It’s an acronym for finished-room-over-garage. F-R-O-G.”
“Right. Okay.” That made so much more sense, and if I was right, this was the family we’d been looking for. “Let’s go see what they need from me.” I looked up at Phoenix. “Are you going to be able to carry me for much longer? Maybe one of the werewolves could?—”
“Not a chance. I’ve got you, and I’m not letting you go until we get the ankle checked out and see about the concussion.”
“Concussion?!” Tessa yelled.
“I’m going to go hurry the doc up,” Dastien said before rushing off.
“You had to tell them about that?” I asked him with as much whine as my raspy voice could allow.
“Yes. They need to know how hurt you are.” Phoenix looked at Tessa. “Lead the way.”