Redemption (44 page)

“But how does it work? What do I do?”

“The three of you must work together. You and Will using your bond, and Jake with his mark from the shadows. He can use their power to open the gate.”

Emma’s mouth dropped open. “How will they know what to do?”

“They only have to ask.”

How would they know to ask?

“Will might be able to hear you, but your bond has already begun to change.”

“I thought we were bound forever. Even in death. How do you know it’s changed?”

Emmanuella raised her hand and pointed to Emma. “Your glow. Your aura contained equal amounts of both your color and Will’s when you first showed up, but Will’s blue is fading and your red is growing stronger. You’ll always be bound together, but the bond is weakening. It’s necessary for Will to survive without you.”

She’d never noticed an aura before, but she’d never looked for one. Glancing down, she noticed a reddish glow emanating from her body, interwoven with streaks of blue. “What do I do?”

“Talk to him. Tell him to get Jake to open the gate.”

Fear crashed through Emma in roaring waves. It couldn’t be that easy. There had to be a catch. What if she unleashed a terrible calamity on the earth? The old man in Kansas City had declared her the destruction of the world. What if this decision meant destruction?

“Emma!”

Two choices. It seemed so easy. “What if it doesn’t work? What if my connection to Will is too weak?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

Selfish or not, she had to try. She would regret it for eternity if she didn’t.
Will!
Emma listened to the silence, then tried again.
Will! I’m here! Can you hear me?

“You’re running out of time! Will’s light is continuing to fade. It’s happening faster than I expected.”

“No.” She had to reach him.
Will, I’m here. I can come back, but I need you to help me
!

Nothing.

There had to be something that would reach him. Something stronger than the both of them.

Their bond was the key. What better way to try to reach him than to say the joining words? She closed her eyes and recited the oath that bound them together.

***

Will was almost to the plane when he heard Emma’s voice in his head.

To the last ray of light from the stars at the end

I join my heart with yours

The joining words. His grief was making him hallucinate.

But the words reminded him that they were bonded. In life and in death. They were joined for eternity.

He stopped, reciting the words in his head.

Onto an endless path that winds through infinity

And sears our souls and power into an unbreakable bond
.

Their joining was the key.

Through life and death and all that lies in between

I vow to be yours, forever
.

“I think I can bring her back! I hear her in my head.”

James stuck his head out of the small plane. “Will, don’t do this to yourself. You’ve already tried, man. She’s gone.”

“No. No, I tried CPR. I need to use our bond. It joins us in life
and
death. Maybe I can reach her. Maybe I can bring her back.”

Jake scrambled over the plane seat past James, jumping out of reach as James grabbed for him.

James climbed down and lowered his voice. “Will, don’t do this to Jake. Don't get his hopes up, or yours.”

“No, I heard her in my head.”

“You only
think
you did.”

“I want to try to save Mommy.” Jake’s eyes narrowed and he looked remarkably like Emma when she’d made up her mind to do something.

James shook his head. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” It all sounded great in theory, but how would Will actually make it happen? “Do you have her pendant?”

“Yeah.” James dug it out of his pocket.

“Help me put it on her.” Will lifted her head and James fastened the clasp. Will laid her down again, the pendant at the base of her throat.

“Now what?”

Will grabbed her hand, frustrated. “I don’t know. Maybe if I say the joining words out loud.” He tried to ignore the fact that he and Emma recited them using telepathy when they joined.

“Okay.”

“
With echoes from the beginning of time

To the last ray of light from the stars at the end
.”

Emma’s pendant glowed.

“It’s working,” Jake whispered.

“Not yet.” Will shook his head. “It’s not enough.” He ignited his power, his body glowing a bright white. Water bubbled from the earth, and several geysers shot into the sky.

James fell back on his ass. “Holy shit.”

***

“It’s working,” Emmanuella said, her words whispered like a prayer.

Emma kept her eyes closed, afraid to open them and lose contact. “It’s not enough.”

“You need Jake to open the lock. But Will’s connection to you is getting weaker. You’re running out of time.”

***

Although her pendant was glowing, he didn’t feel her at all. He only heard faint snatches of her voice, and he wondered if that was his imagination. Panic threatened to overwhelm him, and he struggled to reason out what to do next. “It’s still not enough.” He looked up into Jake’s hopeful eyes. “Jake. Can you help?”

“Shadows! Come to me!” Jake shouted. The shadows crept toward him, dancing as they approached. “I need your power.” His mark glowed under his shirt, the outline of his intertwined circles a bright white. Jake took Emma’s other hand.

“
Through life and death, and all that lies between

I vow to be yours, forever
.”

White light burst from her pendant, shooting into the sky.

Emma, please. Come back to me. I need you.
Will sent one last surge of power into her.

***

“It’s working!” Emmanuella shouted.

Emma’s body was on fire. She opened her eyes and saw a vivid reddish light shining around her. Then a bright white light shot from the base of her throat toward the padlock on the gate.

Reaching up, her hand brushed the pendant. How did she get the pendant?

She shook the gate, but she was still trapped, even though the white beam shone on the padlock. “It’s not open!”

“You have to get Jake to open the lock!”

Emma closed her eyes, focusing all her love and power on Will.
We’re so close, Will. But we’re almost out of time. Tell Jake to open the lock.

Emma
?

Tears burned her eyes. He heard her.
Jake has to open the lock. Tell Jake to open the gate
!

She felt his confusion, and she was certain he didn’t understand.

“Will’s light is fading, Emma! They have to hurry!”

Will!

There was nothing. She couldn’t hear him.

The white light faded.

“No!” Emmanuella cried out. “You’re too late.”

***

The light faded, and Will’s eyes grew wide. “Jake, we need more.”

Jake’s heart felt like it was going to explode. He could hardly see through his tears as he shook his head. There was no more, but he knew where to get it. Climbing to his knees, Jake shouted into the air. “Shadows! You promised to help me save my mom!
You promised
!”

A spot of light on the asphalt grew brighter until it became blinding. A black shadow spot moved toward them.

Will sucked in his breath. “Jake…”

Jake glared at the shadow figure, angry at its betrayal. “He can help.”

The dark spot stopped in front of Jake and the figure rose from the ground.

Will gasped and reached to pull Jake back, but Jake shrugged him off. “No. He can help.” Turning his attention to the creature, Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You tricked me.”

“The gift was freely accepted. You knew the conditions.”

“You said you’d help me save my mom, but you didn’t. You’re a liar. You’re just like Aiden.”

Will stiffened, his fingers digging into Jake’s arm, but the shadow figure remained silent.

“I need you to bring back my mom.”

The shape nodded slowly. “It comes with a price.”

“What is it?” Jake wasn’t going to be tricked again.

“The original elements are now gone, and you must take their place. You are Air. Will is Water. If you save your mother, she will be Fire. The baby, she will be Earth. Someone will need to stand in for her until she is born.” The figure lifted a single finger toward Jake. “The price is simple, but steep. The time of immortal elements is over. If you bring your mother back, you will give up all claims to immortality. You will live like humans. Your only power will be your element, a power you must pass on to someone else before you die.” Jake glanced over his shoulder at Will.

Will leaned closer, worry on his face. “He’s telling you that you won’t live forever. None of us will. Aiden could live forever until your mother killed him, but you will get old and die like you normally would have before…before all this. That is the price you pay to save your mother.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Will’s mouth twisted, and he looked torn, but he also looked desperate. “I want you to do this, but I’m not sure if I should let you. It’s a big decision. It means you’ll die someday.”

“But Mommy will still be dead if I don’t.”

Will swallowed, and his voice was scratchy. “Yes.”

Jake’s anger ignited. “He asked
me
. Not you. You don’t get to decide.” Jake turned back to the shadow. “I agree to the price. What do I have to do?”

The figure nodded and Jake thought he saw the hint of a smile, even though if he looked closely he couldn’t see a mouth. “Put your hand on your mother’s pendant and think about opening the lock.”

“What lock?”

“The lock keeping your mother from you.”

Jake nodded. “Okay.”

“Will must help too.”

Will put his hand over Jake’s.

“Let’s begin.”

***

She slumped against the cold bars. “I failed them again.”

Emmanuella released an anguished cry from her cell.

She’d failed her too.

As she began to slide down the wall, a beam of light burst from her pendant, burning the skin at the base of her throat. “It’s working,” she whispered.

The blinding beam illuminated the room, and Emma’s gate swung open with a creaky groan. She stumbled into the circular stone floor, shielding her eyes, but unsure what to do. Gates blocked all the openings to the tunnels. Where was she supposed to go now?

“Emma!” Emmanuella stood at the gate, clinging to the bars. “You have to free me.”

She’d agreed to get Emmanuella out, but she didn’t know how to make that happen.

“Emma, please!”

The bright light exploded from her neck again. The lock on Emmanuella’s gate fell to the floor with a metallic clang. Smoke billowed into the room and an unsettled feeling washed over Emma. Something wasn’t right.

Pushing the gate open, Emmanuella rushed out, her face lighting up with delight. “You did it!” She spun around in a circle, her robes swinging around her legs. Stopping abruptly, she pulled Emma into a tight embrace. “Thank you!”

Emma was about to tell her she hadn’t done anything, when Emmanuella gripped her shoulders and pulled her away, staring into Emma’s face. A smile lifted the corners of her mouth, but her eyes held an ominous glint. “Just remember, everything isn’t always what it seems to be.”

And then everything faded to black.

***

The bright light faded but Emma still lay limp and unresponsive on the asphalt. They’d been so close. Had it not been enough to save her? The shadow creature faded away.

Will grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Please, Emma. Come back to me.”

Her body twitched then jerked. Emma gasped, drawing a deep breath.

“Mommy!”

“Holy shit,” James mumbled, scooting away a couple of feet.

Emma’s eyes opened, and she gave Will a weak smile. “You did it. It worked.”

Will pulled her up into his arms, burying his face into her shoulder. “Don’t you ever scare the shit out of me like that again.”

“I’ll try not to die again anytime soon.” She wrapped an arm around Jake and pulled him into their hug.

“Good to see you back, Emma.”

She turned, her eyes widening in surprise. “James. You made it.” Her hand reached around Jake, touching her pendant. “Thanks for bringing this.”

“Just call me
errand boy
.” He grinned. “We were about to give up on you.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “We?”

James gave a half shrug. “We really need to get out of here.”

“In a minute.” Will refused to let go of her yet.

Emma’s arm around him tightened. “How did you save me?”

“James had the pendant, and Jake and I used our powers, but it was the shadows that did it. Jake convinced them to help.” He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “What was it like…where you were?”

“Cold and scary. I was in something like a jail cell. A light came from my pendant and opened the lock.”

“Thank God.”

“There was someone else there.”

Will was afraid to ask. “Who?”

She looked up into his face. “Emmanuella. She was the one who told me to reach out to you. She told me that you two could save me.” With a grin, she kissed the top of Jake’s head. The grin faded when she looked at Will again. “She offered to help me if I helped free her. She said she wanted to be with the one she loved.”

“Raphael?”

Emma nodded. “After my lock broke, hers did too.” She paused. “Emmanuella was happy and gave me a hug, but then she got the strangest look on her face. She said, ‘Everything isn’t what it seems to be.’ And then I was back here.”

“What do you suppose she meant?”

“I have no idea.”

James scratched at his back, letting out a grunt. He craned to look over his shoulder. “Holy shit.”