Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (82 page)

‘
Not for me ... never for me. That’s not what I wish for!
’

I felt him shudder and the muscles from his arm grew stiffer, almost like strained ropes.

‘
She tried to kill her! It’s the second time! There won’t be a third.
’ I heard his voice in my head, harsh and dark, and deadly, and shook my head.

‘
No, Nyx ... Because you don’t really want to kill her. And she doesn’t want to kill you either. All she wants is for you to win this war ... and that’s something you’ll have to do, whether you want it or not. But she’s not an enemy you have to eliminate.
’

Although he kept motionless, his crimson eyes turned towards me and I couldn’t help shudder before that terrifying image. I was sure he did not see me when he looked at me like that and, for a split second, I wished I had accepted Alexander’s invitation and had run away from there.

I quickly erased that thought and squeezed his stiff arm, as if that could help me keep my fear under control. I raised my other hand that wouldn’t stop shaking, and stood on the tip of my toes to reach his ice-like face.

“Release her,” I whispered and felt his arm shake. “Everything’s fine ... trust me ... and let her go,” I told him gently and wondered if it had been just my words, or some other power hidden inside the golden Circle. All I know is that his expression became somehow softer, as if someone had taken a heavy weight from him, his menacing eyes looking at me with an almost mesmerized expression, and I smiled, encouraging him to do as I said. As if all strength had abandoned him, his arm became limp and fell to his side, letting go of her, and Telane stepped back quickly, coughing and gasping for air as she clutched her hurt neck.

I held his face between my hands, making him turn his head towards me, making sure he looked only at me, and he unconsciously bent slightly, so I could easily reach him, his drenched hair falling around his face. I smiled, making sure I didn’t turn my gaze from his threatening eyes, and gently caressed his face.

“Everything’s fine,” I insisted and the pained expression that crossed his face left me wordless.

His crescent moon spear disappeared in a cloud of black ash, and his arms moved slowly to encircle me, barely touching me. I smiled again, still caressing his face, still facing him unwavering and, to my surprise, he bent one knee in an incredibly elegant movement, and kneeled down in front of me, his black wings exploding in small dark sparkles that were quickly dragged away by the rain. The air became lighter, immediately, the pressure gone, taking part of my own tension with it, and his trembling arms pulled me closer. I forgot how to breathe when he rested his head against my chest, his cold, wet hair making me shiver, and I pulled my arms around him, holding him there as his pain made the still waters inside me hum and vibrate gently.

Suddenly Telane’s presence filled the air, reminding me of her existence, and, not knowing how, everything else disappeared, leaving me cold and empty. I know I turned my head to look at her and it seemed it wasn’t my head at all. And, although I could easily feel her hatred and fury directed at me, I couldn’t feel anything, as if her dark emotions simply passed through me. In the emptiness inside me there was only one thing, only one certainty; I was not going to allow her to take him away from me again! I was not going to give her a single part of him! Not his anger, not his fury, not his hatred, not his crimson eyes. Everything about him, even his darkest feelings, everything was mine!

Her thoughts reached me again, completely clear. She did not want to destroy him. She wanted to kill me. Because I was the only thing keeping him there. Because I held him prisoner of his own will, because I controlled him and made him weak and submissive, far from the Gabriel she knew and wanted. Her Gabriel was great, and powerful, and cruel and untouchable. He could easily destroy the whole world if he wanted, and he never felt remorse, or guilt, or pain. He was like a dark shadow majestically standing on top of a pile of death and destruction. And he would win that war! And seeing him kneeling like that, in front of a mere insignificant Human was beyond wrong, it was inadmissible!

And yes, I knew part of what she thought was right, especially how wrong it was that he would turn towards someone like me. But I also knew she didn’t know him at all! Or at least I wanted to believe she didn’t. Because her Gabriel would never even glance at me. My frail and insignificant existence wouldn’t mean anything to him. And even if she was right, and he really used to be that being, I’d never allow him to go back, even if it meant his death. He belonged to me! And I would never concede to a Gabriel that would walk by me without even glancing my way, no matter how selfish that would be.

Unable to feel fear I watched as Telane’s white hands were covered with green and blue sparkles and her intention to use them against me became clear in my head. I felt Gabriel’s arms squeeze me gently and he took a deep breath, regretting having to let go of me, regretting having to go back to fighting her, wishing he would have killed her long ago, so that I wouldn’t have to be there to see all that, to be placed in such a danger, to see his terrifying self as he fought. But now that it’d come to this, he would protect me no matter the cost.

My whole being vibrated and I deeply despised that red-headed creature that made him feel like that; that was trying to take him from me, and the command echoed throughout my entire body, from a place much beyond any thought or desire.

Bind her!

The white lights that aimlessly filled the air after Alexander’s dome had been shattered to pieces, flew at high speed towards Telane, surrounding her and blinding her for a moment. She screamed, uselessly swatting the lights as if they were flies, and her fury exploded against the bright barrier that now surrounded her.

The effort needed to resist that shock was more intense than the previous one, and I felt as something inside me cracked and broke, driving me to the brink of madness. I heard screaming and only afterwards realized that it was my voice I was hearing, and cold hands held me, as urgent, confusing voices surrounded me.

“Mariane! Mariane! Look at me! Look at me!!” His severe command echoed inside me and it was impossible not to obey. I opened my eyes and gasped for air, as if I’d been submerged in dark waters for eternities. The pain that washed over my body was very much real, my muscles burning and melting, and I clenched my teeth so I wouldn’t scream again.

I heard Alexander’s voice intoning strange words and Telane’s screams echoed savagely, filling the air.

“How can you be so stupid?” I heard his bitter whisper and only then noticed that the cold rain wasn’t the only thing wetting my face. Warm tears slid down my skin, blurring my vision, stealing the sight of his worried violet eyes from me.

“Izrail!” Alexander’s voice called out, urgently, and Gabriel placed a hand on my neck to make sure I looked up at him.

“Release her,” he commanded and I just shook my head, stubbornly, trying to bear the agonizing pain in silence. “Release her, Mariane! Sigweardiel can contain her now! Or are you going to tell me you want to die here?” Somewhere inside me his dry, apparently unfeeling words shocked me. I’d never thought about dying! But dying wouldn’t be all that bad, right? At least I’d die in his arms, and I would die being helpful, that should be acceptable in terms of a brief and insignificant life like mine. But then, if I died, when I died, she would get free! And I couldn’t allow that. I would never let him fight her again! I would never let her steal him from me like that again! Make him look at me with those unseeing eyes! There was only one solution. Before I died, I would destroy her, I decided. “Mariane!” His voice broke through my thoughts once again and his face leaned over mine, his dripping wet hair falling over my neck. His hand twitched in pain as he touched my face and was burnt by my tears, but the pain in his eyes was so much darker that my mind was suddenly completely blank. “You cannot leave me. I won’t allow it,” he whispered and his voice shook because, in the end, he knew the truth; that if I died there was nothing else he could do and that I’d be forever out of his reach.

And yet his pain was, apparently, more than I could bear, and that unfeeling part of me recoiled and returned to the still waters from where she’d emerged, allowing my more Human, compassionate self to regain control of my own thoughts and decisions, making his pain even harder to bear.

Without even thinking about it, the white lights shot through the air once again, crashing against me, disappearing under my skin, even though I couldn’t feel a single thing. And then I was whole again, and was shivering again, and was cold, and tired, and my Human, normal self again. His arms were around me in one second, holding me carefully against his cold, wet body, and I took a deep breath.

“Everything’s fine. I’m fine,” I managed to mutter even though my mind was muddled about a lot of things, and he let go of me just enough so he could look at me, his expression hard and severe.

“No, it’s not! Everything is not fine at all!” he contested angrily, but then sighed. “But you’re freezing and soaking wet, and you need to rest, so we’ll talk afterwards,” he decided in a softer, gentler tone, and I looked around me, trying to place myself.

Alexander was still standing under the pouring rain, eyes closed as if he’d fallen asleep in that position. And Lea and Jonathan were both looking at me with apprehensive expressions. But there was no sign of Telane.

“Where is she?” I asked, my voice tearing at my soared vocal cords, and he placed a nervous kiss on my temple, as if he needed to do it to make sure I was really there, alive, between his arms.

“You don’t have to worry about her. Sigweardiel has her locked up in another dimension.”

“What are you going to do with her?” I asked, fearing his answer, and the endless horrifying images I’d seen in his thoughts came back to my mind.

“Don’t worry about her!” he insisted, frowning, reminding me of how he used to refuse to answer my questions, always telling me it was nothing I should concern myself with, and I opened my mouth to contest. “Mariane! Will you, for once, just do what I tell you?” He cut me off before I could argue, and a warm hand held my arm gently and pulled me up. I was shocked at how easily he let go of me, and the dizziness that made the world flash and turn around me left me nauseated. Someone scooped me up from the ground and I whined under my breath, now really feeling sick. His cold hand on my forehead startled me.

“I won’t take long, I promise,” he told me gently and I clenched my teeth when his violet eyes suddenly disappeared, and the world around me dissolved into dark spirals that threatened to swallow me.

I only felt a little bit better when I was finally placed on a clearly unmoving surface that granted me some measure of safety, and still I had to take a deep breath, to keep my stomach in its place.

“Mari? Are you OK?”

“Lea,” I mumbled when I finally recognized him and his worried expression opened up to a bright smile. Even though he was the big Lea now, his smile hadn’t changed, I mused, my mind still foggy.

“We’re home,” he informed me and I looked around just to make sure. He was right. I was back in my room, sitting on my bed. “You should get out of those wet clothes,” he suggested and then I was wide awake, and all that had just happened came back to me, flooding my tired mind.

“What about Gabriel?” I asked urgently and he smiled again, trying to appease me.

“Master is fine. He’ll be back in a second. Just trust him a little bit.” he added and my temples ached painfully. “Want me to help you?” I shook my head. “OK, then. Just get out of those clothes. I’ll go and draw you a bath. You need to warm yourself or you’ll get sick. Ok?” The idea of sinking my freezing body in a pool of hot water sounded perfect.

“Thank you,” I replied in my broken voice and he smiled, much happier.

“I’ll be right back.” He turned to leave and I heard his small bell ringing as he went down the stairs, that clear sound making feel more relaxed.

It took me sometime until I was able to move. My freezing body wouldn’t stop shaking and I was sure that moving would be very painful. Even so I got up, wincing and swallowing my cries of pain, and took off my wet sweater that fell heavily on the floor. My skin was even colder than Gabriel’s, the drops falling from my wet hair and sliding down my back an absolute torture.

The sound of something heavy falling on the floor startled me, leaving me immediately alert as my gaze flew to the half-closed door. For a moment I could hardly breathe, but then the sound of footsteps on the stairs made me sigh in relief — until it came to me! Unless he was running, Lea was like Gabriel, his footsteps were completely silent. And, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hear the tinkling sound of his bell. My heart jumped in panic, and I took a step back, trying to think about what to do; if I could possibly survive if I jumped out the window, since I really didn’t have anywhere else to hide, and the steps stopped right outside my door.

My hand flew to the pair of scissors stuck in one of my metal cups on my desk, and I held it firmly in my hand. If my unwanted guest was a Human, a question by now all too common for me, I’d stick the damn scissors straight through his eye. As I was, in that moment, after all I’d been through, no Human could ever scare me!

The door opened slowly, as I readied myself for my bloody attack and then, everything was blank, and I couldn’t help stare at him in complete disbelief.