Redemption (Book 4, The Redemption Series) (13 page)

“It’s not from lack of trying,” I tell Edgar, which draws his attention back to me. “You shouldn’t judge people you don’t really know. You have no idea what my life is like, or the sacrifices I’ve had to make. Before you go jumping to conclusions about a situation you know nothing about, perhaps you should get all the facts before sharing your ignorant opinions with others.”

“I know what I know,” Edgar says stubbornly. “And that’s plenty enough for me. I have no desire to get to know you any more than I have to,
Empress
Annalisse, if you can even still be called that.”

“That is
enough
,” Olivia says with more viciousness than I thought her possible. “You’re being rude, Edgar. I never thought I would see the day when you would forget your manners. I will not allow you to verbally abuse a close friend of mine. Come on, Anna. I’m sure we can find someone with better manners to speak with.”

Olivia turns me away from Edgar Ellis but not before I see his final scornful look at me.

“I’m so sorry,” Olivia says as we walk away. “I had no reason to think he would be so disrespectful to you. If I had, I assure you we would have never gone over there. I just thought he might like some company. He isn’t the most popular ruler among us.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I say sarcastically.

Olivia softly laughs at my statement.

“Now that you mention it, Horatio and I were the only people Edgar was ever social with.”

“Is what he said true?” I ask, remembering Lorcan publically ridiculing me for being with Malcolm at his version of a wedding celebration with Kyna. “Do the other rulers think Malcolm and I are merely having an affair?”

“I’m afraid they do,” Olivia says with a concerned sigh. “The only way you will ever be able to legitimize your relationship is for Auggie to die and for you to make Malcolm your husband in the eyes of the public.”

“Auggie
is
dead,” I say, “it’s just that the public doesn’t know it yet.”

“I’m sorry you lost the real Augustus the way I lost my Horatio. He was a good man and would have made a fine ruler.”

“Auggie would have been happy to know I found my soulmate in Malcolm. All he ever wanted was for me to find the love of a good person.”

“Then don’t worry about what other people think,” Olivia tells me. “Only what you and Malcolm feel for one another matters. Life is so short, Anna. Don’t waste a moment of it because you never know when it might suddenly end.”

I see Malcolm walking through the crowd of people towards me. Just the sight of him sauntering across the floor makes my heart tighten inside my chest. I love him so much I want to shout it out to the crowd of people around us. I know what Olivia just said is true, but I also have this need to make what Malcolm and I have together a celebrated event, not one to be ridiculed by strangers.

When he reaches us, I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him soundly on the lips. I feel his hands rest on my hips as I kiss him like it might be the last one we ever share.

When I pull away slightly to look at his face, I see a pleased smile spread his lips. The effect of his smile just makes me want to devour him whole.

“Don’t take this as a complaint,” he says, “but what exactly was that for?”

“I love you,” I tell him, not bothering to keep my voice to a whisper. “And I want everyone in this room to know it.”

Malcolm quickly scans the faces of the people around us while I continue to look up at only him.

“Well, if that was your intent, I believe you’ve made your point, my love.”

“I don’t care what they think about us,” I tell Malcolm. “Because I love you with all my heart and nothing will ever change that.
Nothing
.”

Malcolm looks back down at me. His smile vanishes, and I see his concern for me return.

“Please remember those words,” he practically begs. “After you take what you need from them today, let that thought keep you with me.”

“I will,” I promise.

Music begins to play, signaling that we should all take our seats before the wedding begins.

As we walk over to where the chairs are situated, we see Daniel waving us up to the front row.

“Kyna reserved these seats for us,” Daniel says when we reach him, Linn and Bai. “Since we’re basically Brutus’ only family, she wanted us to sit close enough for him to see us.”

It was a thoughtful gesture on Kyna’s part, and one that made me even surer of her love for Brutus. Though, her love for him was never in question. Now that I knew why soulmates existed, I also understood what a rarity it was to actually find your own. I looked over at Malcolm and realized he was my miracle. The kind of love we shared wasn’t experienced by many people in the world. I knew I needed his love for me to survive and to remain sane.

Brutus and Bianca walk in from the right side of the room to stand underneath the center of the altar just as the wedding march begins to play. It was only then I realized Bianca would be officiating the ceremony. She had every right to do so. Each ruler of every cloud city had the authority to marry people. It made sense that Bianca would want to preside over the service herself.

We all stand and watch as Kyna walks down the aisle on the arm of Bianca’s father. I wonder if Kyna thought about inviting her biological father to the wedding. I doubt the Empress and Emperor of Stratus allowed her to have much contact with Barclay while they were alive. And after their deaths, Lorcan kept Kyna on a tight leash. Maybe in time, the two of them could work through their estrangement like Lucifer and I had. I hoped so, for Kyna’s sake. I knew firsthand how important such a relationship was.

When Bianca’s father hands Brutus Kyna’s hand, it feels like the sun itself is peeking into the room and smiling down on them.

As I watch Brutus and Kyna exchange their vows to one another, I suddenly get the distinct feeling that someone is staring me. I look to my right across the aisle and find the source of my unease. It’s the same man who I noticed observing me right before my duel with Lorcan in Stratus. If I thought I was simply being paranoid back then, I know now that I wasn’t imagining things. It is me he is watching and no one else.

I meet his stare with one of my own, silently asking him who he is. Have we met before? And if we have, how can I not remember him? I highly doubt that is the case. He is someone I knew I would remember. With his dark hair, haunting brown eyes, and chiseled good looks, he is a man any woman would keep in mind. As we stare at one another, the stranger unexpectedly smiles at me. Yet, it isn’t the kind of smile a man gives a woman if he’s interested in her romantically. This smile is one of encouragement. It's as if he is telling me, in his own way, to forge ahead with my mission and not give up. I feel no malice from the man’s attentions, just a quiet support.

Our connection with one another isn’t broken until everyone stands to applaud. I look back over at the altar and see Kyna and Brutus standing proudly in front of all of us as they hold hands. It’s only then that I realize my preoccupation with the stranger has caused me to miss the last half of the wedding.

As I stand to add my own applause to our friends’ nuptials, I glance over to where the man was sitting and find the seat he occupied just a moment before empty.

Chapter 12

Malcolm, Daniel, his family, and I are ushered to be first in line to congratulate the happy couple. Brutus and Kyna’s joy is evident on their faces. It makes me push my troubles to the back of my mind for a moment. I don’t want to ruin one of the most important days of their lives with my problems.

“Congratulations,” Malcolm tells Brutus, shaking his hand. “I guess the two of us will be growing old gracefully together.”

“About time too, I think,” Brutus says, sounding almost relieved by the prospect.

“Where will the two of you be living?” I ask. I have to assume Brutus doesn’t intend to continue with his ‘taking from the rich and giving to the poor’ profession now that he’s a married man. I also can’t imagine him taking Kyna to his bar in Kathmandu to build a normal life together there either.

“Malcolm gave us one of his homes,” Brutus tells me. “I’m sorry, Anna. I thought you knew.”

“No,” I admit. “But I couldn’t be happier to hear it. It’s better to have your friends close than far away.”

“Any news yet?” Brutus asks, not having to say much more.

“No,” Malcolm tells him. “Not yet. But Rafael should be showing up soon for the meeting.”

“I saw him earlier,” Brutus tells us, looking troubled by the encounter. “But it was only for a split second. He disappeared before I had a chance to corner him. Something’s wrong with Baal though. I’m just not sure what. If I didn’t know what he was, I would swear he looked sick.”

Olivia mentioned the same thing to us earlier. I honestly didn’t care what condition Baal was in physically. All I needed was his seal. As long as he was still breathing, I would take it from him.

“I have a message for you,” I tell Kyna quietly. “Barclay Stewart asked us to give you and Brutus his best wishes.”

This makes Kyna smile which only confirms my suspicion that she does indeed know who Barclay actually is.

“Thank you for telling me,” Kyna says. “I hope I can get to know him better now that there isn’t anyone to keep me from him.”

As Malcolm and I walk away from the happy couple, I finally catch sight of the person we have been waiting so patiently to make contact with us.

Baal, in the body of Rafael Rossi, is standing on the other side of the glass portion of the wall in the throne room. He’s dressed in a white suit with his shoulder length blond hair blowing in the artificial wind produced by the pseudo-ocean in the background. His skin was indeed paler than I remembered it being in the pictures I had seen of him. It seems only to be a few shades darker than the suit he’s wearing, and his eyes look bloodshot and weary.

I grab hold of Malcolm’s arm to gain his attention. Malcolm follows my gaze out the window just as we watch Baal walk around the veranda to somewhere behind the sandstone and glass block wall.

“Let’s go,” Malcolm says, taking hold of my hand.

Malcolm nods to Daniel and our friend follows us as we make our way towards the automatic partition that leads from the throne room to the outside veranda. Once we reach the veranda, we see Baal making his way down a grey stone staircase to a stretch of white sand buffering the palace from the artificial blue-green sea.

Baal walks towards the ocean then turns to watch our approach.

“Daniel,” Malcolm says, “grab your sword. Something seems off here.”

Daniel phases but barely misses a step because he returns so quickly. He obviously positioned his sword in a place where it could be accessed readily.

“What’s wrong?” I ask Malcolm. “What seems off to you?”

“The way he looks for one,” Malcolm says, narrowing his eyes on Baal as he studies the other man. “The way he’s fidgeting isn’t natural for him either. Considering the fact that he’s holding all the cards against us right now, Baal should look cocky about it. Normally, he would have thrown some taunts our way because of that fact. It’s what he does when he thinks he’s in control.”

“Maybe he’s simply scared of me,” I suggest. 

“Perhaps,” Malcolm agrees. “But I don’t think so. Something else is going on. It’s better if we’re prepared for the worst case scenario here.”

“A fight?” I ask.

Malcolm nods.

I immediately shed the jacket I’m wearing and let it fall against the steps as we continue to descend them. I need easy access to my sword in case what Malcolm suspects comes true.

“Why would he start a fight?” Daniel asks. “This should be an easy trade.”

“I don’t know,” Malcolm replies, sounding worried because he doesn’t have all the facts to form a concrete conclusion. “But be prepared for anything, Daniel.”

When we reach the sand at the base of the steps, we all slip off our shoes to make it easier to walk over to Baal.

As we get closer, I do notice that Baal is twiddling his thumbs together as he holds his hands clasped in front of him. Why is he so nervous? I mean, sure, I could kill him with one touch, but he should know I won’t do that since he and Mammon are holding Millie and Lucas hostage. I might want to kill Baal, but I want my family back more.

This is the first time I’ve seen Rafael Rossi in the flesh. Only Bianca showed up for my wedding in Cirrus. I wasn’t told why Rafael was a no show, but I didn’t really care at the time. I could see why so many women found him attractive. Though, with Baal wearing his skin, Rafael didn’t look like the golden boy of Alto anymore.

“Where is my son?” I ask Baal when we’re only a few feet away from him.

“Safe,” Baal answers back. “At least he will be as long as you keep to your end of this bargain. I hope you don’t intend to just slaughter me like you did poor Belphagor.”

“That was a mistake,” I tell him.

“Well, I want to make sure there aren’t any
mistakes
made during this trade,” Baal says. “I’ll give your son back to you as long as you just take my seal and leave me alive.”

“Do you intend to stay in this body you’ve stolen?” I ask him, stopping just a couple of feet away from him.

Baal shrugs his shoulders. “Depends on if I can get the lovely Bianca to ever accept me as her husband. It seems Rafael was a very bad boy when he was alive. I wouldn’t waste my time mourning over his loss if I were you. He got what he deserved.”

“No one deserves to have their life snatched away from them prematurely,” I say.

“I really don’t care,” Baal says off- handedly, sounding bored by the conversation. “Why don’t we just do what we’re here to do? The sooner this is settled, the sooner you can have your son back.”

I notice Daniel turn around to keep an eye on the area behind us. I look over at Malcolm and see him nod to me to go ahead and take the seal, but his eyes are watching Baal very closely.

I take two steps forward towards Baal.

“Give me one of your hands,” I tell him.

As I look at Baal, I can see a fine sheen of perspiration covering his brow. Malcolm’s right. Baal is definitely nervous about something, but what?

“I won’t kill you unless you do something stupid,” I try to reassure him.

Ok, maybe not the most comforting words I could have uttered in that moment, but I feel sure I got my point across. Maybe he was just nervous about giving up his seal. I wasn’t sure how it would affect him. Surely giving up that much power would lessen his own. Perhaps that was what he was concerned about.

“Give me one of your hands,” I repeat more stridently.

With great hesitance, Baal lifts his right hand. I grab it with my own and wait for him to transfer his seal to me. He doesn’t. I squeeze his hand so tightly I hear a few bones crack with the added pressure. He whimpers but still doesn’t transfer his seal to me.

“Give me your seal!” I yell at him, quickly losing what little patience I have left.

I see Baal look over my right shoulder. He smiles at whatever he sees there before looking me straight in the eyes.

“You should be more careful about what you ask for,” Baal says to me with a sneer.

I feel the full force of the seal transfer hit me in the gut. The pain makes me feel like I just jumped off a high cliff and hit the ground at full velocity. I hear myself scream out as I experience a pain that is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. None of the other two seal transfers felt this excruciating. The deep-set pain emanates from my lower abdomen all the way through to my back. I feel like someone has just drilled a hole straight through me. I close my eyes against the agony as I fall to the sand on my knees.

“Kill the bitch!” I hear Baal scream to someone as he wrenches his hand out of mine. “We might not get another chance!”

I’m faintly aware of the sound of swords clashing against one another and know Malcolm and Daniel are in a fierce battle behind me. I force my eyes open and see Baal backing away from me. He looks over at something to my left. I turn my head in that direction and see Mammon, in the body of Callum Ellis, lifting a sword above his head and swinging it down with all his might towards me.

I hear Malcolm scream my name somewhere behind me, but he’s too far away to be of any help.

I stare at Mammon’s blade and watch it arc down towards my head like the action is happening in slow motion. The power I’ve just absorbed from Baal reaches down into the darkest part of my soul, yanking all of my rage and hatred up through the wall I’ve been using to keep it at bay. It rises to the surface all at once, bubbling over like boiling water. I instantly feel a sense of freedom in no longer having to keep it contained.

I focus this newfound power from my anger at Mammon. I stretch out my hand and watch as a ball of blue fire flies from my palm and punches him directly in the gut, propelling his body so far back I can’t even see where he finally lands. I immediately turn my full attention to Baal.

“Damn it! This should have worked! It should have knocked you on your ass!” he yells at me after he sees that his orchestrated deception with Mammon has failed.

I watch as he quickly brings up his holographic display over his broken right hand and punches in a code of some sort.

I feel the earth beneath me lurch so violently it knocks me off balance, and I find myself lying face down against the white sand. When I look back up to find Baal, he’s already phased away.

In the distance, I hear the simultaneous screams of thousands of scared people emanate from the cloud city of Alto.

“Anna!” Malcolm screams as he comes to kneel down beside me. He pulls me up to a sitting position looking half crazed with worry.

I take a few precious seconds to look behind me and see a scattering of dead bodies bleeding out all over the white sand. Daniel is walking over to us with his sword dripping with blood. I see a deep, open wound across his chest that is bleeding profusely.

The ground beneath us begins to tilt slightly to the right.

“What’s happening?” I ask Malcolm.

“I don’t know,” he says. “But I need to get you out of here.”

“We have to follow Baal,” I say. “He might do something to Lucas!”

“Baal’s phase trail leads to Hell,” Malcolm says, ending my hope that we could follow it and find our son. “Besides, you’re still alive. Baal won’t do anything to Lucas because he knows that’s the only reason you won’t kill him.”

I fully intend to kill Baal the next time I see him. I wasn’t sure what he did to me during the transfer of his seal, but he seemed to think it would knock me out, allowing Mammon to kill me easily. Cowards like that didn’t deserve to live. They needed to be put down like the mangy dogs they were.

“Malcolm!” We hear Brutus yell from the veranda in front of what’s left of the shattered glass wall in the throne room. Brutus quickly phases down to us as Malcolm helps me to my feet.

“You need to get Anna out of here,” Brutus says urgently. “Someone just blew the propulsion system keeping Alto in the air. The city is sinking. We only have a few minutes left before it crashes to earth.”

Now I know what Baal did right before he left.

I look over at Daniel. “Get Linn and Bai out of here,” I tell him.

I don’t have to say it twice. Daniel immediately phases back to the throne room to get his family out of harm’s way.

“What about the people in the city?” I ask Brutus. “Is there enough time for them to get to the escape pods?”

“If there were any escape pods to get to,” Brutus says in frustration. “We were informed they were all jettisoned without any passengers at the exact same moment the propulsion systems were blown.”

“If Alto falls, it’ll destroy the down-world city beneath it,” Malcolm says. “What about the backup propulsion system?”

“It was blown too,” Brutus tells us. “There’s no way to save the city. Just get Anna out of here before it comes crashing down. The royals who have personal teleporters have already left, but there’s simply no time to teleport everyone in the city somewhere else.”

Brutus looks completely powerless to stop what is about to happen. It disgusts me slightly to see him just give up and want to run away like a scared little child. I feel Malcolm take hold of my arm closest to him as if he intends to take Brutus’ advice and phase me away.

I yank my arm out of his grasp.

“Anna, we need to go!” Malcolm says urgently. “There’s nothing we can do!”