Enthroned by Amethysts (A Dance with Destiny Book 3) (47 page)

She looked victoriously at the tiny woman they had all called Empress… swaying empty before her.

Jenevier was completely absent color. Her hair was as tarnished silver, her flesh, the color of the moon, and her sapphire scar was now as glittering clear crystals. Only the tattoo covering her hand and the one sapphire curl were contrast. They were a void of ebony, blacker than a moonless night. Trelaina looked into the Angel’s once magical pink eyes and saw only the resemblance of snowflakes against a blackened sky.

“Don your priceless wings, Angel,” she whispered. “Fly into the transporting cloudbank. Once inside, your wings no longer work, they will hide from you. You will fall into another realm, upon another layer, minus all things you once knew. You won’t remember this place and you will never return to the land of Ashgard.”

Jenevier stared blankly into the night as the Elf whispered her heartless instructions. She swayed, blinked once, and then took to the skies.

When she fell, great was her fall. She lay unconscious in the rocky center of the massive crater her dark despair had caused.

*****

At nearly the same instant Jenevier entered the clouds, the sky exploded over Mangladune.

Three mighty Angels descended in fury upon the singing Elven people.

Screams replaced their music as they looked upon the wrath of God, standing flesh before them.

“Where is the Angel?”

The guttural growl echoed around them, shaking the leaves from the trembling trees.

Jezreel took a shaky step forward. “Are you Daichi?”

“I am,” he roared. “Where is Naga?”

“She was only just here. Only seconds ago she kissed me farewell and walked into the forest. Just there.”

The giant Angels turned in the direction the new Elven Princess was pointing, just as Trelaina stepped from the trees. Munenori grabbed the shocked Elf girl by the throat before she even had a chance to blink.

“Sons of Heaven, hear me now,” The Elven King shouted above the cacophony of terrified wails. “Who is it you seek? This is not your Angel. You now crush the neck of an Elven maid. What madness do you claim?”

“I only wish it were madness.” Daichi turned steely eyes toward Alastyn, flames leapt within them. “I trusted you to keep her safe. I stepped aside for the sake of her heart, the heart you swore to hold as treasure. How is it I was on layer three with the Guardian Vareilious, when I felt her light go out?”

“Her light?” Alastyn’s words sounded so tiny. “She was fine, only just. Less than a few heartbeats have passed since I kissed her farewell. On my honor, she is whole.”

“She is
not
whole!” Munenori yelled as he dragged the deceitful Elf down to face her people. “I am the Guardian Angel of layer nine. I knew the very moment her soul quit singing within mine. How is it I smell her delicious scent upon this woman?” He squeezed Trelaina’s neck ever tighter.

The entire assembly held their breath. Confusion swept over them as a plague.

Munenori released the girl, letting her fall gasping to the forest floor.

The third Angel stepped forward, speaking with a voice akin to thunder. “I am Uriel, Father’s defender,” he said. “The very heavens shook when the Death Angel ceased to be.” He jerked Trelaina up by her hair. “Make confession before I end your life, Elf. Make haste, for you have precious few heartbeats left.”

The Elven woman’s voice was raspy as she choked out the treacherous blow she dealt Jenevier by her own wicked hand. She told them why she had done it—her great jealousy. And she told them how—using darkest unspeakable magic tweaked by her Elven skills. Then, before her life was claimed, she revealed her final instructions to the colorless, broken Angel.

It all happened so fast the eye could not follow it. Uriel’s heavenly blade was buried deep within the Elven woman’s chest, the curved point sticking through the back of her blood-stained dress. It glowed and pulsed as the light slowly faded in Trelaina’s black eyes.

When he withdrew the dagger, the angelic seraph blade shone with every color of the rainbow.

He sheathed it, turning the hilt toward Daichi. “This is the whole of her.
This
is your Angel.”

“How can this be my blessed little Angel?” Daichi asked, fighting back his tears.

“Because, little brother,” Uriel said. “She is now a soul, minus her body. All that she is… now lives within this blade. Find the body and restore her soul before it’s too late.”

“Too late?” Daichi sounded like a little boy, frightened, unsure.

Munenori touched his arm. “She is only a vessel now—minus heart, minus power, and minus soul. Find the vessel and restore Naga before something else claims her place.”

“Before something else claims her?” He looked pleadingly toward the much older Angels, his brow furrowed. “But… once I find her… how do… how do I restore her?”

Uriel placed his hand upon Daichi’s shoulder. “Return her essence the same way I withdrew it, Brother. Plunge this blade deep within her deadened heart.”

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About the Author

JK Ensley is a native Tennessean by way of Missouri, born there and quickly ushered down South. A product of public school and private college, she spent her early twenties bouncing across the country. Fascinated by rich culture, ancient customs, and thick accents, she’s compelled to drink in the many exquisite differences humanity is gifted with. A self-described, happily divorced mother of three with a black belt in sarcasm and an über common minivan, she does little to hide her wicked wit, advanced sarcasm, and extreme shoe addiction. “At the core of me, I’m one slightly twisted, pink haired, sword wielding, invisible ninja with a laptop, an imagination, and very little
me
time. That’s just who I am. I’m comfortable in my skin and I love my life. Totally not kidding about the hair, the swords, or the laptop, but I might’ve stretched it just a little with the invisible part.”

You can find Jennifer at the following locations:

http://www.facebook.com/ADancewithDestiny

http://www.jkensley.com

http://www.twitter.com/JenniferEnsley

Download entire series
here
.

JK Ensley is a native Tennessean by way of Missouri, born there and quickly ushered down South. A product of public school and private college, she spent her early twenties bouncing across the country. Fascinated by rich culture, ancient customs, and thick accents, she’s compelled to drink in the many exquisite differences humanity is gifted with. A self-described happily divorced mother of three with a stressful day job and an über common minivan, she does little to hide her wicked wit, advanced sarcasm, and extreme shoe addiction. “At the core of me, I’m one slightly twisted, pink-haired, sword wielding, invisible ninja with a laptop, an imagination, and very little
me
time. That’s just who I am. I’m comfortable in my skin and I love my life. Totally not kidding about the hair, the swords, or the laptop, I might’ve stretched it just a little with the invisible part.”

You can find JK Ensley at the following locations:

http://www.facebook.com/ADancewithDestiny

http://jkensley.com

http://twitter.com/JenniferEnsley

Download the entire series
here
.