Chapter 26

 

The days passed by in an unsettling pattern that made Alex and Gaius pensive, yet grateful at the same time. They were thankful that the enemy was not yet at their doorstep, but anxious for the ominous silence to come to an end. However, even with the threat of bloodshed and battle looming ahead of them, both tried to savor each and every moment they were given with one another.

They took every opportunity to talk, bathe, and nap together. They shared in their physical bond as well, enjoying the true privacy that was so hard to come by when they were around other Nephilim. Each day Gaius and Alex texted their contacts on the other immortal teams, conveying their current status and learning the well-being of one and all. And they made sure to text the Groabans, though they never called. It was the hardest part of it all for Alex – not hearing her family’s voices.

After the tenth day passed – Gaius’ actual birthday – they began to venture outside of the house. Both were in agreement that they should not travel into the nearby village, nor dine at the small restaurants found there on the Cape. It would be too easy for the enemy to take a human and use them as leverage.

So, Alex directed their forms to take sword in hand and they walked down to the shoreline. Alex and Gaius stayed over twelve meters behind their copies, with their own swords at their sides, and strolled for over two hours. At one point in the trek, they all sat quietly on the rocks nearby, and just watched the currents break against the land. They let the sounds of the waves soothe the growing sense of tension away.

When that outing proved not enough to draw the enemy in, Gaius and Alex repeated the walk the following afternoon. They meandered around the shore for a longer period of time. Alex collected shells and smooth stones along their leisurely stroll, and she directed her form to do the same. Yet still, the dark ones did not come.

 

Two weeks to the day after they had arrived at the rented property, Alex asked if they could turn in early. Gaius had prepared a large dinner for them and she was full for the time being, but Alex felt heavily fatigued and she needed rest desperately. Gaius understood her body’s needs well, and he had them under the covers before she could ask a second time.

He pulled Alex into his arms, her back to his front, and let his aura blanket her for warmth and calm. Alex drifted off with little delay and he went with her, not knowing if she would wake in the night and ask for more to eat. The longer her aura remained in form outside her body, the more nourishment she had needed. Gaius had grown accustomed to Alex waking in the middle of the night, requesting an extra meal to help her through.

They slept peacefully for six hours, nothing interrupting their solitude or rest. Alex stirred slightly near two a.m. when she felt the familiar call of her stomach, and she rolled to her side to face Gaius. She was loathe to interrupt his serene slumber, but he had made her swear to wake him if she had a need to leave the room, after the first night she had tried to slip from the bed and head downstairs alone. Alex hoped to gently rouse him, so she lifted her hand to touch his shoulder.

Her hand froze in the air between them when she sensed the first strike. Another and then another rolled through her artificial library, and Alex heard the sounds echoing over her true consciousness as the enemy tried to enter what they thought to be her mind. Alex mentally connected with Gaius and immediately moved her hand over his mouth to let him know the time had come. Gaius’ eyes flew open, and he was both alert and ready for battle.

“They’re here, Gaius,” she whispered into his mind.

“How many, Alex? And of what kind?” he asked through their connection.

“I feel six, no, make that seven of our kind. I don’t sense a Fallen one here. Yet,” she added.

Gaius nodded, then told her to follow him. They slid from the bed as Alex commanded their forms to do the same. Each night before turning in, Gaius and Alex had placed fatigues close by that they could dress in hurriedly, and they took the garments in hand with all haste. Within moments, they and their copies were armed and ready.

Gaius took Alex’s free hand in his and led her quietly down the hall into a large closet that was on the same floor. It housed a cabinet which opened at its back. Gaius had located it on their second day at the home as he inspected every nook and cranny it offered. He ushered Alex through the space first, then turned on his side and worked his way through the opening. It took him a moment to fit his large frame through, but he made it in and then he stood. Gaius closed the door, locked it, and then walked with Alex to a far corner of the attic.

He sat down and had her take her place on his lap. She leaned her back against his chest and kept her legs stretched out between his, their swords lying next to them. Gaius’ arms immediately wrapped around Alex, and he settled his face alongside hers. He kissed her cheek, then closed his eyes. Alex took one last deep breath before she closed her eyes too.

She heard a glass pane on the front door break, and she knew it was all about to begin.

 

Alex looked through the eyes of her form, and she turned its head to see Gaius now controlling his form through the mental connection she had established between the two of them. He nodded at her and pointed behind his copy. Alex nodded once and then silently moved into the en suite bathroom, sitting on the tub’s side with her sword held firmly in her hands.

They had talked through their strategy many, many times, and Alex knew exactly what to do without another word spoken between them. Their forms had remained in the bedroom they rested in each day, and it was there that Gaius wanted to engage the enemy. He hoped to force one to enter the room at a time, as they filed up the stairs, giving them no great amount of space to work their way past him to get to her copy.

Alex could hear the sound of the hardwood creaking on the first level as the seven fanned out and explored the house. She forced her form to breathe normally, while the children of the Fallen moved about so close to where she sat. She heard the stairs groaning now under their weight, and knew they were methodically working their way up, checking every room as they went along.

Their footfalls sounded closer as they walked through the rooms on the second floor. Alex heard a crash, glass it sounded like, and she thought perhaps one of them had knocked a lamp off of a table. They were certainly making enough noise to rouse even a mortal, much less an immortal with exceptional hearing. Alex was astounded that they did not seem to care as they continued to rifle through rooms.

She heard the stairs creak again, and she knew they were almost upon them. As planned, Alex allowed a slight amount of aura to flow from their two forms, so the enemy would think they were truly sensing Gaius and Alexandria. The door next to theirs squeaked as it opened, and they both listened as one inspected that bedroom. He came out of it quickly and paused at their doorway.

Gaius raised his form’s sword and settled its feet slightly apart, readying himself for the rush.

An ear-piercing scream ended the eerie silence as a dark immortal, named Uzza, broke through the door. He leapt as the door rebounded off of the wall, and tried to come down over Gaius’ head with his sword. Gaius was prepared and met his opponent with a forceful upward swing of his blade. Their metal stayed locked together as Gaius pushed against Uzza’s sword. But they separated in the next breath and began to parry with one another, the swords almost sparking now from the intense power arcing through the two weapons.

When there was a slight hesitation on Uzza’s part, Gaius seized advantage and struck his head from his shoulders, only to have one named Larkien step into the room and take Uzza’s place. Gaius continued to swing his sword, not taking a break between the two opponents, but meeting the second with the same force and determination.

Alex looked on from where her form sat in the bathroom, and watched Gaius take Larkien’s heart and then his head. But he was given no chance to lower his sword. For the next two came in one after the other, determined to take him together. Alex rose, then and came to the doorway, distracting Casson enough that Gaius sheared his left arm from his body.

Casson screamed in agony, and swung his sword with his remaining arm with renewed vigor. He swiped wildly at Gaius and caught his comrade, Asabel, in the process, slicing a long cut up Asabel’s back. Asabel turned on his own then and put Casson between Gaius and himself, letting Gaius have his head. Asabel tried to shield his own body with what was left of Casson, but Gaius thrust his sword through Casson’s torso and pierced Asabel’s heart.

Asabel struggled to push Casson’s remains and Gaius off his body so he could heal the injury, but Gaius held his blade there and drove it further through Casson and Asabel’s chests. Asabel stared at Gaius in disbelief as he bled out and slumped against Gaius’ sword. Gaius placed his foot on Casson’s body and pushed as he pulled his blade free of the two.

Kamora stealthily stalked into the room next, smiling at Gaius as he entered.

“Tired of defending the imposter yet, Gaius?” he asked, pausing and arching an eyebrow.

“If you’re referring to my wife, Kamora, I’ve not gotten started. Come!” Gaius said forcefully, and Kamora’s blade struck out.

They hit one another’s swords with all the strength they could muster, and the two blades reverberated under the sheer force. Alex backed up a step, just as a loud crash sounded to her right. She turned to see one named Gli’el coming through the window he had just broken. She mentally told Gaius not to turn around and then lifted her sword.

Alex used only the strength Arianna had been gifted with, through her aura in form, but she did not attempt to step into the future or throw her Light at Gli’el. But with everything she could muster as a weaker version of herself, she fought the powerful opponent. Alex felt him driving her back against the wall and she ducked low, cut into his abdomen, and then rolled across the floor to stand behind him.

Gli’el roared with fury, but spun quickly and met Alex’s blade with his with no delay.

“Come here, you little bitch!” he screamed.

“Not on your life, Gli’el,” Alex said through clenched teeth, as she blocked a powerful blow aimed at her head.

Gli’el only laughed as he landed a solid kick on Alex’s stomach. She felt the impact as her form leaned forward, but she still managed to lift her sword as Gli’el struck her blade again and again, giving her no quarter. Alex realized that he was now driving her back to the opening where the window had previously existed.

She tried to dig her feet in, but Gli’el hit her sword one last time with such force that Alex’s form fell through the frame. She reached out to catch herself from falling, but only received a deep cut along her left palm from the jagged glass that remained there. Alex let her form plummet the full three stories then, twisting in the air to land on her feet as Gli’el leapt from the bathroom to follow her down.

The moment Alex’s feet touched the ground she had to lift her sword, for the seventh was waiting there in the shadows. Tala struck out immediately, and Alex began to fight her as Gli’el landed behind Alex’s form. She lifted and tried to summersault away from them, but Tala bounded off of the ground too and hit Alex’s form across the back of her head with the hilt of her sword as they rotated through the air.

Alex felt her form’s skull crack and she healed the injury as her feet made contact with the earth again. But Gli’el grabbed her from behind and held his sword at her throat, making any further movement or retreat impossible.

“Be still,” he seethed.

Alex directed her form to kick his shins, but he only pressed the blade of his sword firmly against the skin on her neck and she stilled.

“I won’t say it again. We don’t want to end you, but we damn sure will if you make another move! Got it?” he yelled directly in her ear.

Alex winced from the volume. “Got it,” she panted.

“Tala, go help Kamora end Gaius, and then we can leave,” Gli’el ordered his fellow dark immortal.

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Gli’el,” Gaius said from the window’s frame. He leapt down to join them and Tala moved forward to engage him.

Alex stood trapped against Gli’el’s chest as she watched her husband’s form fight a very agile and determined female opponent. Tala repeatedly leapt from the ground and used her lithe body to continuously evade Gaius’ blade. But even through his form, Gaius was still older and stronger than she. He moved in when she completed her fifth bound and leveled a deep cut into her torso. She screamed and bared her teeth, but healed the injury and lifted her sword to rush Gaius.

Gli’el began to slowly back away from the two battling just meters from where he held Alex. Alex was forced to let her form go with him, lest he cut her throat. She watched as he steadily moved them in the direction of an SUV that he had sitting ready for his escape.

“I’m not getting into that vehicle, Gli’el,” Alex said decisively. “I would rather die here than go anywhere with you! So you had better end me now, because once I get free, you will rue the day you dared touch me.”

“Really?” he chuckled and wrapped his free hand around her waist. Alex sensed his hand moving up her chest and tightening across her ribcage. “I told you, you are not to be ended here. And I don’t think you have it within you to stop me. Come on!”

Gli’el continued his retreat even though Tala finally let out a bloodcurdling scream, signaling her end. Gaius had finally found an opening and thrust his blade through her heart. But he kept the sword there momentarily to ensure she was not going to rise again, and Gli’el used the time to lift his body and Alex’s form further away.

In those few brief seconds, Gli’el had her copy at the open door of his SUV. He lifted the sword held at her neck and brought the hilt down across the back of her head again within the blink of an eye. The injury was more substantial than before, and Alex allowed her form to appear grievously hurt. She slumped forward in Gli’el’s hold and moved no more.

“Alex!” Gaius roared her name, and let Tala fall so he could lift from the ground and try to intercept Gli’el.

Gli’el shoved Alex’s unconscious form into his vehicle and he moved to the other side, desperately trying to beat Gaius to the driver’s door. He had just opened the door when Gaius made his final bound and was behind Gli’el with his sword at the ready. Gli’el pivoted to block his advance and the two began to engage one another.

Alex mentally watched them spar and she waited several minutes before she roused her form, so that it would appear her recovery was genuine. She moaned and slowly lifted her head, pressing her hand against her temple as she fought the false lethargy. She pushed herself off the seat and staggered to the ground, holding on to the front of the SUV as she worked her way around to where Gli’el and Gaius still fought one another.

“Now, Alex,” Gaius mentally whispered to her, and she moved forward.

Alex lifted her form’s sword and she drove it into Gli’el’s lower back. He gasped as he looked down to see that she held him impaled. Gaius stepped closer and prepared to take Gli’el’s head, but Alex called out for him to wait.

“Gaius, no! Make him talk! He said he didn’t have to end me, that he needed to take me. Make him tell you that the game hasn’t started again. Please, God, make him say it!” Alex pleaded, crying as she uttered the words.

“What?” Gaius asked in disbelief. His hand shot out and encircled Gli’el’s neck.

“He did, Gaius. I swear, he said it,” Alex choked out, and nodded her head while tears streamed down her face.

Gaius looked from Alex back to Gli’el. “Tell me, or I will draw this out far longer than you can stand,” he threatened.

Alex arched an eyebrow at him, having never heard such a vile threat come from Gaius’ lips. He caught the motion and mentally reminded her to play along. Alex nodded her form’s head and she privately promised Gaius she was with him in every way.

“Go to Hell,” Gli’el chuckled, grimacing in pain as he laughed.

“I think not, Gli’el. But you, on the other hand, are going to wish you were there with your father very, very soon,” Gaius vowed, taking the end of his sword and placing it just above the place where the tip of Alex’s blade still protruded from his abdomen. “Tell me. Who sent all of you here tonight? Who?” Gaius yelled.

Gaius began to slowly run his sword into Gli’el, and he screamed, but gave them no information. Gaius removed the sword and placed it just above the wound, repeating the motion. Alex looked at Gaius’s form and shook her head, wanting him to stop.

“Shall I do this again, Gli’el?” Gaius whispered, leaning closer to the dark immortal’s face. “I can go on for hours.”

“Stop!” he panted. “Just stop. Get her blade out of me, and I’ll tell you.”

“Do it, Alex,” Gaius said, not taking his eyes off of Gli’el.

She gradually removed the blade, and he sucked in air between his clenched teeth as she freed his body of the Celestial metal. Alex looked through her form’s eyes and watched the hole close in his back as he healed the damage her sword had wrought. He took a few moments to collect himself, then stared into Gaius’ determined gaze.

“Your little whore is needed elsewhere, Gaius,” Gli’el stated arrogantly. He smiled, watching the fury flit through Gaius’ eyes.

He laughed softly then said, “What? You think this all at an end, just because you took the little chit home to her human family for a while? What in the hell happened to you, Gaius?” he roared. “You used to be so sharp, so completely calm and in command. Yet this little fraud enters the picture and you forget all reason! You go off in the middle of nowhere, so close to the end of a war just so you can, what, have at her without the others hearing? You are just as bad as she, ruined for the rest of time,” Gli’el scoffed.

“Speak, demon, and I will make your end quick,” Gaius said quietly, though his tone told of his anger that simmered just below the surface.

Gli’el narrowed his eyes slightly as Gaius placed the tip of his sword just above Gli’el’s heart. Silence stretched between the two until finally Gli’el nodded his head ever so slightly.

“Fine,” he simply stated. “This war was never at an end, and in just two days hence the hounds will be unleashed. Anot’s brother, Than, would like to have a little meeting with the one who helped to fell his kin. He and many others will encircle Festetics Castle near Lake Balaton’s southern shores, and humans will fall by the hundreds. And then, mankind will fall by the millions.”

Alex gasped and placed one of her form’s hands over her mouth. She stepped from behind Gli’el and moved to Gaius’ side. She shook her head in denial, but Gli’el only laughed at her dismay more.

“How can you all do this?” she said in low voice. “I am so sick of this death. So sick of it!” Alex screamed.

“Well then get out, little girl!” Gli’el spat. “No one wants you in this game. Certainly not your own father! You’re a liability, a hazard, because you’re just a shell of what she was. And trust me, Ganymede knows it! It won’t be long now before he puts you down, like the wounded and lame animal you truly are. Better to come to our fathers, who will shelter you, and give you a way to keep drawing breath.”

“Come to your father?” Alex whispered, shaking her head and taking a step back.

“Hell, yes!” Gli’el taunted. “How long do you really think they’ll keep this act up? Hmmm? You. Are. Not. Arianna! And mark my words, sooner or later, they will kill you because of it. You’d better re-evaluate your circumstances and pick the winning side, child, while you still can.”

“Enough lies!” Gaius said through gritted teeth.

He shoved his sword through Gli’el’s heart and ended the dark one where he stood. Alex took a tentative step back, still trying to appear deeply in shock. Somehow, she knew the Fallen were watching this play out. She could not pinpoint where they were, but she knew it to be true to her very core.

Gaius let Gli’el fall away from his blade and he turned with an outstretched hand toward Alex. She just swallowed hard and stared into his eyes.

“Alex, don’t back away from me and do not believe anything he just said. Gli’el was full of lies, sweetheart. I know you’re not Arianna, and I love you anyway. No matter what, I love you. We still have much to do to train you, and you will grow stronger. We just have to give it a little more time.”

“More time, Gaius? I can’t do this much longer. I can’t. Oh, please make it stop,” she gasped as she begged him.

“Shhh, come here, love,” he said and drew her into his arms. Heedless of what covered his bloodied clothes, he held her to his heart and murmured words of comfort and love.

 

“Just a little longer, Alex,” he mentally promised her. “Stay with me.”

“I am right by your side, Gaius. Don’t worry,” Alex assured him through their connection.

She felt his arms tighten on both her true body and her created form. However, he commanded his form to release hers and he strode forward, willing all of the dead to come out of the house through the broken window. The bodies from the ground lifted too and they and the blood headed due north to the middle of the English Channel.

Alex directed her form to hide her face in her hands, as though the scene was just too much for her to witness. Weak, she told herself, she had to look weak. Her form trembled as she continued the act for a while longer.

Gaius called her to his side, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He led Alex around the house to the door the intruders had broken in through. Once inside, he willed the glass to lift from the floor and place itself back into the pane within the door. Gaius coated the glass with his aura, and the pieces snapped back into place, forming a perfect sheet of the material. He closed the door and led Alex back upstairs.

They repaired three broken lamps on their way up and then they entered the bedroom their copies had used. Gaius made sure all of the enemy’s blood was removed and then he used his power to repair the bathroom window. He told Alex to gather her clothing because they would be leaving shortly.

While their twins changed their clothes and readied themselves to flee, Gaius mentally asked Alex to help him scan the terrain for any further threats. For over fifteen minutes, they sat in the attic and searched the surrounding countryside and nearby water for a dark immortal or a Fallen one. They found none, yet still Gaius asked Alex to wait with him there a little longer.

Their forms were finished packing, but they willed them to sit side by side on the bed while Alex’s form cried. Gaius’ copy wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and held her against him, letting her grief work its way out. They wanted Alex to look near to crumbling once more, and as her sobs worked their way out, she most assuredly looked vulnerable.

 

“Alex, let’s go back and gather our things now, love,” Gaius mentally said.

“Alright,” she agreed.

Gaius wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her from his lap. Alex extended a hand back to him once she was standing and he rose, then lifted their swords. He placed Alex’s in her hand and settled his left palm on her lower back as he led her across the attic, back to the hidden door.

They left their hiding spot behind and re-entered their bedroom. Alex directed their forms to walk downstairs and pack what food remained in coolers, while she and Gaius secured the few items they did not already have stored in a piece of luggage. Throughout their time there, Alex and Gaius had made sure to keep most of their items packed away in preparation of a quick departure. There was little to gather, and they were ready within minutes.

Gaius pulled Alex down next to him on the side of the bed while he took his mobile in hand. He sent a text to Nassor, Ahadi, Elrick, and Rohan that the game was back in motion. Gaius relayed that they had been set upon by seven children of the Fallen, but that the enemy were all ended and that he and Alex were about to take to the skies.

Replies from their loved ones were immediate. Each conveyed their relief that Alex and Gaius remained unharmed. And each said they would be in flight for Hungary soon thereafter. Gaius sent one last message imploring them to use all caution, and keep their one angelic protector close at hand. Once the final communication was sent, Gaius leaned forward and lightly kissed Alex’s lips.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” he asked mentally, still saying nothing aloud.

“I am. Are you?” she asked in return.

“You are by my side, safe and whole. That means I am well.” He smiled as he gave her the words. “We have to go now, though. I know you’re hungry, but we’ll eat once we are in the air. Okay?”

“That’s fine, Gaius. I’ve actually lost my appetite for now. Let’s just get going to Hungary,” Alex sighed.

“Alright, my love. Come,” he said solemnly, standing and taking her hand.