Fall From Grace (28 page)

He pressed his hand to her chest and blasted
what power remained through her body. She bucked under him. Flames
ignited on the ground and on trees. The dark mist shrouded them.
“Fight, Gaby.” Darkness ebbed into him, her darkness; an
immeasurable rush of hatred jolted his body, driving his angelic
healing away.

“Alex.” The soft whisper was all he needed
to hear. He wouldn’t let evil win, not if she was the prize.
Digging deep into his soul, he fought for control and beat back the
agony of helplessness and despair. They were stronger. It was all a
lie, a deception to make them think they could not win. A demon’s
deception.

The barrier broke between them, and he
shoved the evil to the side, touching her soul.
Happiness…peace…love. Visions of kissing Gaby, Grace caring for
him, connecting with friends. The world spun in a sea of silver and
red, streaking in tunnels above.

It tugged at him. A pull from Heaven? No, he
wouldn’t go, not without Gaby. All this time, all he wanted was to
win his way back to Heaven, but he wouldn’t leave her.

“Gaby, please baby, come with me.”

Her lips curled in a smile, the silvery
globes turned blue and the small black pupil returned. “It isn’t my
time.”

The draw to Heaven intensified, and his soul
warred with his body. It was his chance, possibly his only one to
return. Flashes of freedom from the flesh and bones he’d been
trapped in lured him to let go, but he shook his head, refusing to
follow the call home.

He scanned the fight behind them, but kept
his grip tight on Gaby. “I will not go without you. I can’t leave
you, Soulbonded or not, we are connected, forever.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Gaby floated with elation at Alexander’s
words. He loved her, not Avery, her. It meant everything, yet
didn’t matter. “Go. I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.” She placed
her palms on his chest and pushed him toward Heaven’s call. Her
arms still ached, but he’d healed all the major wounds.

His wings flapped with determination.
“No.”

The tunnel roared directly overhead, but she
lay flat on the ground. The wind didn’t pull her to follow him. His
hands remained clutched around her shoulders, keeping himself from
being ripped away.

The tunnel deformed into clouds with no
direction. It was too late. Alexander had made his choice.

“I have to seal the barrier. Where is Sammy,
my father, and the rest of them?”

“Still inside.” Alexander helped her up and
they both stood helpless watching the demon make his way to
Earth.

Neither wanted to say it out loud, but she
had to seal the barrier, regardless of who was inside. She lifted
her hands expecting Alexander to shove them back down to her side,
but he didn’t.

How could she seal her own father into hell?
He’d be eternally separated from her and her mother, the love of
his life.

Darkness continued to spread in all
directions, shrouding the world from Heaven. She had no choice. The
entire world, all of humanity, or her loved one’s. “Please don’t
make me do this.” Gaby cried but no vision flashed, no words of
wisdom entered her head. Only deafening silence. Salty tears rolled
down her face into her mouth. Alexander brushed them from her
cheeks then stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders in
reassurance.

She listened for any sound from the others,
but heard nothing except the ground splitting and the demon
thrashing against the few remaining trees. With a shaky breath she
allowed the evil that opened the barrier earlier to flow free.
Nothing happened. No evil voice filled her head or fiery torture
claimed her.

Alexander rubbed her shoulders then kissed
her neck. “It’s okay. You were chosen to do this, the others
will…understand.”

His hesitation caused the doubt to roar
inside, but that wasn’t it, something was wrong.
Don’t
hesitate.
Those words haunted her. She’d failed and now she
wouldn’t…wait.
If you do, you won’t be able to seal it on your
own.
“We have to get Sammy and Boon out. I can’t seal it alone.
It’ll take all of us. I’m the key, but I don’t have the power to
seal the rift without all of you. I failed. I know it sounds crazy,
but trust me.”

Alexander whispered, “Always.”

The demon halted, sending a zing of panic
through every nerve. Her fingers twitched with adrenaline. At least
when he thrashed for release they knew where he was, but now the
area was thick with dark mist. She clutched Alexander’s hand and
watched his navy wings retract into his back, robbing him of his
only defense against Satan’s master demon.

He led them across the threshold into the
demon’s home. The ground squished beneath her feet.

They walked with caution, climbing over
charred trees and brush. Branches scratched her skin.

“Strange, I don’t feel weak.” Alexander
tugged her along.

Rounds of gunfire drove her forward until
the mist cleared. Gaby yanked Alexander back before he toppled into
the sea of lava.

David wobbled precariously on a rock
floating in the pit of fire, while Dad shot from a nearby ledge
overhead.

In the center, Boon and Sammy were clutched
in one hand.

Something black swished by them and plunged
into the center of the demon’s chest. It thrashed about, sending
waves of flaming rock at them. Alexander grabbed Gaby and they
tumbled to the ground.

She pushed up on one knee and looked
back.

A dim pink light pulsed in the red and gold
fire light. “Sammy?” Gaby wiped her stinging eyes. The light grew
closer, and then she saw it. Three figures zoomed toward them.

“Go!” Boon hollered as they flew overhead in
a blur, but she knew they carried the others. Alexander’s wings
exploded into a brilliant navy hue before he scooped Gaby into his
arms and followed the three other flying dots ahead.

The lava bubbled up below. Red flashed from
behind. The demon charged the already parted ground. Nothing stood
in its way this time.

Alexander landed. The others formed a circle
around her and that’s when she realized the forth one that flew out
wasn’t Prim, but Grace. A younger, stronger version, but it was
Grace.

“No time, child. Seal the rift, now.”

Their colors blended together into a white
stream of light that swirled around Gaby until she couldn’t see the
others. A cool glimmer of power grew inside her chest. Her heart
thrashed against her ribs. The light plunged into her. It joined
the power inside of her and grew. Icy vibrations covered her skin
and her ribs ached from the pressure, until the power burst from
her. Sparkling diamonds blanketed her vision, but the energy sated
to a dull queasiness before her knees buckled and she fell to the
ground. Alexander wrapped his arms around her. She couldn’t see
him, but his healing warmth soothed the prickly ice left
behind.

“You did it.” Alexander covered her face
with soft kisses.

Smoke rose into the sky and the sulfuric
mist began to evaporate.

“No, we did it.” Gaby leaned into him for a
moment, but then tried to find Grace. Dots of green and white
popped in her field of vision in rhythmic patterns. She blinked,
but they still remained.

“It will settle dear.” Grace’s voice came
like a cure for cancer that had ravaged her body.

The dots diminished and she saw Sammy
approach. “I can’t believe Prim sacrificed herself to save us. I
thought we were gone for good.”

“I-I was sure she was evil.” Boon choked,
his wings folding with obvious remorse.

Gaby pulled at the singed threads dangling
from her shorts. Dad squatted by her side, his face covered in
scratches and dirt. “G-Bear. You saved us. You ended the war. I’m
so proud of you.”

Alexander pushed hair behind her ear. “The
war is over and now we can live in peace.”

“No,” Grace said.

David cleared his throat. “Excuse me ma’am?
What do you mean no?”

Grace gave them a reassuring smile. “I think
it would be best if we headed back to the house for a cup of tea
and I’ll explain.”

Gaby’s stomach churned. “The house is gone.”
Images of the men left at the clearing near the beach sucked the
breath from her lungs, and she doubled over. “Those men. I killed
them all.”

Alexander held her up.

Sirens sounded in the distance. Talk about
being late for a fight.

“No dear, you didn’t. I think we should all
get cleaned up and I’ll explain everything.” Grace marched over to
a rock and retrieved the journal, gave Gaby a quick glance then
lifted from the ground and headed toward the beach.

A nagging emptiness crept back in. Was it
true? Was there still a war coming?

They made their way back to Gaby’s house and
cleaned up. There was an eerie silence amongst them all. The men
took turns showering in her Dad’s bathroom while Sammy and Gaby
took turns upstairs. The hot water soothed Gaby’s aching muscles.
Tears streaked down her cheeks, and she realized Alexander had been
soothing her since she remembered the men in the clearing.

Did she murder all those men?
Grace
said she didn’t. She had to know for sure, so she shut off the
water and hurried to dress. She needed to find out what that meant.
And most of all, she needed to discover if the war was still
coming.

She found everyone already seated at the
kitchen table. Alexander signaled her to him, and she sat on his
lap. An instant calm rushed over her, but she didn’t sense his
powers. Just his touch calmed her nerves.

“Where’s Avery?” Sammy asked.

Boon took Sammy’s hand in his. “What
happened to Prim? Is she evil or not?”

“Is the war really still coming?” Dad and
David blurted out at the same time.

Grace held up a hand. “Please, I’ll explain
what I know.”

Alexander pulled Gaby tight against him.
“Thanks for bringing her home to us.”

His words caressed her heart.

“Yes, Gaby freed me, but she shouldn’t
have.” Grace narrowed her eyes in reprimand at Gaby. “She should
have sealed the rift the moment she arrived.”

Shame filled her for not obeying her mom’s
instructions, but she was so torn between the right thing for
humanity, and the right thing for Alexander.

“But you would have been trapped inside.”
Gaby shivered at the thought, and Alexander kissed her neck. Dad
cleared his throat.

“No, I would’ve been released when the rift
was sealed. The demon used your fear and love to keep you busy, to
distract you from what he really wanted. The men were not murdered
by you, and they are released now to help fight on our side.
Unfortunately, so were all the demonic souls.”

Gaby’s skin burned with fear as if she
remained in that lava-filled demonic land. What else could the
demon want?

“When you freed me, you freed all the souls,
demonic and angelic. They are now on Earth. They only needed the
key to remain in the gateway long enough to open new rifts. Now the
demonic souls have been sent out to protect the new rifts. There
won’t be time, or enough manpower, to seal all of them. The war
will come.”

The weight of her failure nearly crippled
her. Dad looked to Grace, but it wasn’t up to her. Gaby had been
chosen to lead, and until this point she hadn’t. They needed to
stop protecting her and worry about the war. She straightened.
“What about Prim?”

“I’m unclear as to her part, but I know one
thing. She wanted this.” Grace lifted her journal from the table.
She sighed and ran her palm over the front cover. “Judy hoped to
discover a way to free Herak on her own.

Boon sucked in a quick breath. “Did
she?”

Grace shook her head. “I’m not sure. It
doesn’t matter now; she is gone so we must assume she was helping
the master demon in hopes of freeing Herak.”

Boon huffed.

Sammy patted his arm. “What of Avery?”

“I’m not clear what happened to her. Once
the emergency personnel have put out the brush fire, we’ll search
for her. There is a chance she escaped.”

“Brush fire?” Sammy asked.

David crossed his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, heard it on the news.”

Dad shook his head. “If there are more of us
to fight, we need to regroup.”

“I agree.” Grace nodded.

“I need some fresh air.” Gaby pushed from
the table and walked out to the back yard. The dark plumes of smoke
continued to spread across the distant sky.

“Gaby dear, may I join you?” Grace walked
down the back steps with no limitation. Her body had definitely
rejuvenated. She had to be at least ten to fifteen years
younger.

“Yes.” That was all Gaby could manage.

“I was wrong. You should be allowed to
Soulbond with Alexander, if that is what both of you wish. My
concern was that Alexander would be forced to live on Earth, and
would hate you for grounding him here, but Alexander made his
choice today. He chose to stay with you.”

“But I’m not an angel.” Gaby wanted Grace to
speak the truth. It was time for her to listen instead of fixating
on what she wanted.

“We are not sure what you are. I knew you
were a product of an angel, and you had angelic powers, but it
wasn’t until I saw the light enter your body that I knew something
for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“Wings or no wings, you are an angel. A gift
from God. Who am I to question that?” Grace smiled and opened her
arms. Gaby fell into them. “By the way, your mother says you chose
well, and she’ll be watching over you.”

A lump formed in her throat. “My mother
spoke to you?”

“When you released me, there was a
connection for a moment. She is proud of you, Gaby.”

“Why? I failed.”

“No, you learned. That’s all any of us can
do. We’ll learn as we go and protect the innocent while winning a
war. You won’t be alone.” Grace smiled. “If you’re Soulbonded with
Alex, you’ll never be without him again. You sure that’s what you
want?”