Death (26 page)

Lorri

The warm breeze billows through the pillar. I look at him and
grin. He winks and he's there. He kisses me but then he pulls back, "Wait
if you're bloody well here, where are they?" He looks past me.

I shake my head, "Dorian, I had no choice. She got the
magic."

He pulls back, "How in the bloody hell did that
happen?"

"I don’t know. We were obviously betrayed. Is Michael
still here?"

He shakes his head, "No. Several of them fell
recently."

I grimace, "Then I guess that explains that."

The warmth is comforting. I sigh, "I missed this
place."

"Have you seen Lydia and Annabelle yet?"

"No. O and Oliver both here as well?"

"The whole family. It's a bit intense."

I hear her shouting and running. I blush. Dorian rolls his
eyes, "Of course the human breaking the silence would be with you."

I look back and smile. She leaps into my arms. We kiss and
it's the best feeling ever.

"This is heaven?" She asks.

I smile at her, "It is."

"Is O here?"

I nod, "Yup. Tristan and Phillip and O and Oliver and
Lydia and Annabelle and everyone."

She grins and I kiss her again. Dorian groans behind me,
"Okay, I'm going to go find out about Michael. Someone knows something.
I'm certain."

I close my eyes and let the warmth and peace seep in. After
thousands of years believing I would never make it back, I can't believe I am
here. With my girl.

Failure never felt so good.

"Daughter." I pull back from the kiss. "You
hear that?"

Abbey shakes her head.

"Daughter."

I close my eyes and moan, "Be right back." I step
away from her and wink to the place. I stand in the shadows again and wait for
it.

The air is still until his words sneak in like the fog,
"You failed."

I nod, the intensity of his voice makes me tremble, "I
did father. I'm so sorry."

"You were betrayed by your brothers."

Tears leak from my eyes, "I was father."

"You are my most treasured creation Lucifer. You must
know my love for you."

Dread tries to creep in, but His love is bigger than my own
heart. I nod, "I do father."

"The sacrifice you made was met with unkindness and
hatred. Yet you did as I asked. You saved them. You saved them all. The
redeemers will save my children."

I nod and believe the words, "They will father."

"Thank you Lucifer. I may call upon you again."

My words become a whisper, "Yes father."

The air and light moves and leaves me where I am, standing in
the shadows. My skin crawls from the intense energy.

I look up and fight the begging in my mind that doesn’t want
to be called on again. Ever.

Aimee

The scene is my dream exactly. Bombs have dropped. Destruction
is everywhere. People fighting in the anger that has overtaken the planet. Our
country is ripe with pain and suffering, but still very far behind the rest of
the world. South America is filled with Vampires and Succubus. Lillith has the
power to make them all.

All varieties of demons.

She moves constantly. Never out of the company that shields
her from us. But we fight her darkness with our own. It's a constant battle.

I look out at the city and sigh. The heat of the midday sun is
intense in Rio. I glance at Aleks and grin. I get lost for a second. He shakes
his head, "Stop staring at them. It makes me feel weird when you do that."

"What? You look hot with those in that black t-shirt.
That’s all."

He rolls his eyes, "You look hot without your black
t-shirt and I don’t stare at you."

"Yes, you do."

He ignores me, "You ready?"

I nod once. We jump together. Our wings shoot from our bodies.
We sail to the ground and look out at the chaos and destruction everywhere.
Lillith has used the magic she stole to make hell on earth.

"I love you." I say.

He leans in and kisses me when our feet touch the ground,
"I love you more." Our wings pull in fast now.

I laugh, "Cheesy and sad. You've been alive for hundreds
of years and that’s the best you got?"

He nods, "Yup. I love you so much that my brain stops
functioning when you're near me."

I point at him, "That I believe."

Hanna walks up with Sam, Ben, Giselle, and Shane with her.

Sam looks annoyed, "We found another one."

"Vampires?"

Sam nods, "And succubus."

"Where is Ari?"

Ben winces, "With Luke. She isn’t coming for this
ride."

I look down the alley, "Why."

"Kids. She doesn’t do kids."

Aleks nods, "Fair enough. In the words of our fallen
leader, let's do this."

We walk down the alley into the dark building, where dark
creatures are doing the dark deeds.

Fortunately nothing is as dark as we are.

I enter the building first, with Hanna. The man standing at
the front greeting guests, smiles when he sees me. "Hello Madame." He
says in English. His accent is strong.

I love the effect I get when they see them, so I flash my
wings fast. I have slits in my shirts, so my clothes don’t get ripped off like
before.

His jaw drops, "Do Diablo." He backs away with his
hands out. I glance to my right at Hanna. She smirks and lets hers loose too.

He screams.

The whole house fills with screams.

It's music to my ears.

It's the end of something dark and sinister.

We leave the house at the end of the fight, with dirty blood
and dirtier images bathing our bodies and minds.

It rolls off fast now. I feel good.

We wink home to Port Mackenzie.

Shane's house is an oddly delightful sight now.

Henry and the kids are there full time with us. He makes it
feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Just like the spell he put on Marcus's house.

Shane's mom let us buy the house when she moved to the city.
She was happy to get away from the small town and the gossip and the wedding of
her ex to a twenty-seven year old. Some people think it's a hostel. Some think
it's an Orphanage. My parents are just grateful I was able to find work in
town. I run a research center as far as they know. I live with Shane and help
him run the orphanage, with my boyfriend. Marcus does a lot of memory
construction.

I walk through the front door and look at Aleks, "Is the
house in England safe yet?"

"No. We have to get Henry there to bless the land. Bombs
have been dropped on a town close by to the house. The land might not be able
to be blessed."

I frown, as he plants a huge kiss on my cheek.

Shane makes a face, "Get a room."

Ben walks by and grabs Giselle's hand, "You can't have
ours." They are gone before I can mock them.

I look around, "Where is Blake?"

Shane laughs, "Pretending to be busy, so we won't assume
he's having sexy time with Alise."

"Still?"

He shrugs, "He's in love."

I shake my head, "I can't believe she hasn’t moved on. I
never saw that coming."

Aleks walks into the kitchen. I watch his butt when he walks.

Shane nudges me, "I remember how it was before."

The words tiptoe through my mind. I spin around and see the
truth of it on Shane's face, "You do?"

He nods slowly, "I remember it the other ways."

"Oh my god."

He shakes his head, "No. This is the best possible
outcome for us both. I just wanted you to know. You know, in case you catch me
staring or something." He takes my hand in his.

I laugh and pull away, "Great. Just great." I walk
into the kitchen after Aleks who, is feeding Shakespeare and rubbing his hands
over his furry black face. "Who is a good kitty? Who? You are."

I lean into the frame of the wall and glance over at the
sunroom. It forces a smile across my lips.

Stay Tuned for news about The Redeemers. Coming the summer of
2013.