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Zoe
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A horrific crash came from the basement, followed by a loud tweak made by the stereo skip, then a tall, skinny girl and a much shorter guy stumbled out the back door, yelling at each other. Man, she looks familiar. A group of bystanders started to surround them and shout encouragements.
“Who do you think you are?” The girl shoved the guy backward off the patio. “I came here with you and then find you kissing that blonde—”
“I didn’t do anything.” The guy continued to step backward onto the lawn. “I swear!”
“That’s not what my eyes told me. You lying two-timing piece of—” She stalked him like prey.
Shay jumped up and faced me. “We have to get out of here,” he said quickly, his expression grim. “Right now!”
I glanced at the group of teens, then back at Shay. “Why? It’s just a couple fighting. It happens when people drink.” I tried not to notice the hairs on my arms rising.
Any humor was gone from his eyes. “No, Zoe. You don’t understand.” He squeezed my hand so tight I was afraid he might break it. “We need to leave now!”
Before I could say anything, he hauled me to my feet and dragged me toward the edge of the yard. “They’re demon knights,” he muttered. “Like at the warehouse. Now come on!”
That made me move.
But it was too late. We were the only ones in the backyard who had walked away from the house at the onset of the fight and it was easy to spot us. The lovers’ quarrel broke apart, and they hauled down the patio stairs to run across the lawn.
“Go!” Shay screamed.
Adrenaline coursed through my body, and I started to sprint. Shay threw the car keys at me, and I bobbled them mid-air. Running alongside Shay, I jumped the small wooden fence and ran for the edge of the woods, hoping the trees would slow our pursuers. Unfortunately, we slowed down, too.
“Zoe, listen to me!” he shouted. “You need to stay hidden!”
“No! I want to—” I tripped over a branch, then I regained my footing.
“I’ll fight them off to give you a chance to circle back and get to the car,” he yelled as he helped me keep my balance.
Tree branches grabbed at my hair. “No! I’m staying with you!”
He wasn’t listening to me. “Drive directly to Kieran’s house, and go as fast as you can.” He leaped over a fallen stump and kept running. “Do you understand? Do not stop for any reason!”
I shook my head. My lungs were burning. “I don’t want to leave you! What if you can’t fight them off? What if they kill you?”
“No! You—”
“What if there are more of them hiding in the woods?” I shoved a branch out of my way. “I don’t know how to fight! I need to stay with you!”
Our “talk and dodge” technique slowed our pace, and that hesitation was enough to allow our pursuers to catch us. Now it was too late for plan A, and since we had no plan B, we’d have to make a stand. Or maybe that was plan B.
All I knew was that my chance of survival was better if I stayed with Shay than if we separated.
The girl and her two-timing ex-boyfriend crashed through the woods and stopped a few yards away from us, panting hard. Shay stood in front of me, drawing his sword.
“No Kieran tonight?” the guy asked, lifting his head and sneering. “Oh, that’s right. I heard you two were no longer seeing each other.” He stood and shrugged. “At least that’s the word on the street. What a shame. Tsk. Tsk.”
For crying out loud. Even demons were talking about it.
Shay nodded at him. “Trey. I hope you brought more than just you and her.” He bobbed his head toward the girl. “The last time Sam only sent two, I sent both back to Hell in body bags, so to speak.” He chuckled. “By the way, how are Blane and Devin doing?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the girl scoffed and leaned away from the tree. “After their demise, Sam decided not to underestimate you or Kieran. For newer Enlightens, you shouldn’t have been able to kill them. That was our mistake, and it won’t happen again. This time we brought four Marquises with us. Think you can take on us and four Marqs, Shay?” She looked at her partner in crime and jabbed her chin toward us. “See how sweet, young love is, Trey? They’re holding hands.”
“Disgusting!” Trey spat. “That’s what it is, Felicity. They actually think they’re going to survive.”
Leaves rustled and branches snapped, as four figures, all wearing black-hooded cloaks, crashed through the trees beside us. They joined the two Knights and created a circle.
Six against one and a half. I didn’t like those odds.
I trusted Shay with my life. I did. But in that moment, I wished Kieran was with us. I had witnessed Shay’s fighting skills, and though he was undoubtedly good, it was dumb luck that Blane had been injured when the shelves had broken apart. That’s what had sent the metal spike into his chest, giving Shay the opportunity to behead him. And sure, he’d chopped off Devin’s head with his sword, but that had been with Kieran’s help.
Shay wore a furious, but confident expression, as if he was positive he could take them all on at once. Maybe he could. The anger and hatred in his eyes scared even me. I wouldn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of that look.
Hello, Gabriel? If you’re not too busy, we could use some help.
Felicity nodded to the four newcomers as they approached. “Glad you could come to the party, my brethren.” Then she turned to face me, wearing a nasty grin. “It’s nothing personal, Zoe.”
That was their cue, because all at once, the four hooded creatures drew their swords and edged toward us. The square grew smaller with each menacing step.
This was déjà vu. Demons gunning for me: check. My imminent death: check. Shay standing between me and danger: check. His body was rigid and his sword rose high. I squeezed his free hand, having no idea what to say or do.
The wind picked up, dark clouds slid along the tree tops, allowing the full moon to loose its silvery glow over everything. As the newcomers advanced, I could see how hideous they were. Long, black hair whipped in the wind from under their hoods, and hollowed spaces instead of eyes stared back at me.
The wooded terrain began to shake beneath our feet, and Shay squeezed my hand, trying to reassure me. I adjusted my footing as the quaking increased in intensity, and we had to let go of each other so we could use our arms for balance.
“It’s going to be okay,” Shay shouted over the howling wind.
My head bobbed mechanically, but my gaze held on the black-cloaked demons.
It looked as if Felicity and Trey were having problems standing, too, as a couple of smaller trees collapsed around us. Unfortunately, the hooded newcomers stood perfectly still, unaffected. More importantly, though, they had not progressed forward. That was when I noticed their feet did not touch the ground.
With a deafening crack, the ground split open leaving us on an island, separating us from them. I knew we had to move, but we couldn’t. All at once everything in front of me blurred, and this time I understood it wasn’t my eyes. A milky purple orb had formed around Shay and me, similar to the one in the warehouse. It lifted us off the ground and dimmed the howling winds and booming thunder. Shay stared at me, a small smile playing around his lips.
The earth rolled like a giant wave, and moments later Felicity and Trey lost their balance. Screaming, they stumbled into each other and fell into the crevice. This time I felt no sympathy at all. Two down, four to go.
The Marqs still hovered and started their advance again.
The sides of the orb vibrated with each clap of thunder, as if we were watching a ripple in the water. Rain pelted down—except when I looked up, no clouds were in the sky. Water pooled around us and soaked into the ground, making it soft and squishy. I felt like I was trapped in a snow globe, except the raindrops fell on the outside of the glass.
In the distance, a glowing dot came toward us, its emerald green glow becoming larger as it neared.
“What is that?” I yelled at Shay.
“I don’t know.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, tugging me against his side, and braced himself to attack. But when he lifted his sword and tried to puncture the side of the orb, it only flexed outward.
The translucent green sphere’s color faded and stopped a short distance away. My eyes widened with shock when I saw that in its place stood a girl about my age—who looked a lot like Sidelle. Very slowly, she raised her arms into the air and her mouth formed words I couldn’t hear.
Fierce winds swirled leaves, dirt, and other debris. A massive branch broke from a tree. It struck two of the hooded creatures’ heads, and we watched them fall into the crevice. When the limb flew straight at us, it bounced off the orb. The remaining two demons spread out, trying to dodge debris the size of small cars, and clusters of dirt as large as watermelons. Another tidal wave of packed soil rolled and then opened in the shape of a hand, snatching one of the Marqs back into the ground. A horrific screech pierced the air and then was muffled by the earth, leaving only a small piece of black material waving in the wind.
White light cascaded across the sky and thunder vibrated the ground, tearing down even the largest of trees until their roots and trunks created a cage around the last creature. Lightning struck again, setting wood on fire and dropping the last remaining demon into the open pit. As soon as the creature had disappeared, the blowing stopped, the rift in the earth slammed shut as easily as if it had been a door, and the orb around Shay and me disappeared. The sky still poured rain to extinguish the smoldering fires.
Shay grabbed me, pulled me into a tight hug. “God, Zoe!” he said into my ear. I could feel his heart racing against my own. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him, pulling away and plucking a leaf from his hair. “Are you okay?”
“As long as you are.”
I glanced back at the spot where the demons had stood moments before. “Are they gone for good?” Then my eyes moved to the girl collapsed on the ground in front of us, and panic rushed through me. She didn’t even appear to be breathing. “Sidelle?” I raced toward her and dropped to my knees by her side. “Shay! What’s happened to Sidelle?”
He was at her other side, crouched protectively over her. “She’s drained. We’ll have to help her back.”
I put my hand on her shoulder, shook her gently. “Sidelle?”
Nothing.
“Oh my god, Shay! Is she—”
“I’m okay ... ’m okay,” Sidelle whispered, then she moaned and squeezed her eyes. “Yeah. Headache.”
“Sidelle?” I whispered, again.
Her eyes opened and warmed. “Don’t worry about me, Peanut. I’m ready to party.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Truth,” she said, but I could see the exhaustion in her cheeky smile. She staggered to her feet and spread her arms out, showing us she could stand on her own. When I stepped away, I saw her wink at Shay.
He nodded. “Go ahead. She already knows about Kieran and me.”
The rain stopped as Sidelle shrugged, a casual little motion I’d seen her do so often. “Okay.” She grinned at me. “Zoe, I’m a fairy. A Summer Fairy, to be exact.”
Of course she was. “You’re a fairy.” I shook my head. “That’s good, right?”
She frowned.
“Well, it’s just that Kieran told me both good and bad exist within each Order.” I squeezed my wet hair, wringing out the water.
“I saved you both, didn’t I?” She held up four fingers, looking smug. “Against two DKs and four Marquises. I doubt Shay would’ve been able to defeat the four Marqs on his own.” She stumbled to the side, and Shay propped her up. “Even an experienced Archangel would have a difficult time with those numbers. When I saw you two leave to go outside after your little outburst in the basement, I felt something was off, so I followed you. Good thing I showed up when I did.”
Her words confused me, then I realized I had put Shay on a pedestal. And maybe subconsciously, I had put Kieran on one, too. As long as I was with them, I’d believed no one could harm me. They were my protectors, my guardians.
“Shay? Is that true? Would you have been able to beat them?” I asked.
He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Well, I would’ve given it my all to keep you safe. I could have died, but I would have done it while protecting you. We all have to take that risk for you. Sidelle’s right. Taking on four would have been extremely difficult, even for me. But it’s over now. She saved us.” He nodded toward her. “Thanks. I owe you.”
“I owe you, too!” I embraced her.
Blood rushed through my ears, and tears stung my eyes as Shay’s words sank in. The very idea of what he’d said made me feel sick to my stomach. “Don’t you ever do that again, Shay!” I exclaimed. “Do you hear me? I don’t want you to give your life for mine! Next time—and yes, I understand there will be a next time—we’ll run or fight or do whatever we have to. But you are not going to die! I won’t let you!” I slugged his chest to make my point, but he didn’t even blink.
Must learn to fight.
He shook his head, looking sad, and his warm palm rested against my cheek. “Zoe, you can’t ask me to do that. I’m a warrior. It’s what I was born to do. I am assigned to protect you, and I will. If that means I have to die for you, then so be it.” He moved his hand so it pressed over his heart. “That’s just the way it is. The sooner you accept it, the better. We all need you to be safe and alive. We took an oath to God to protect you with our lives. The truth is, you need to be alive so you can save the world.”
I wasn’t accepting that. “You keep saying you believe I’m the Redeemer. What if I’m not?” I poked his chest with one stubborn finger and brought my face close to his. “And if you die ... I don’t want to think about that, so don’t mention it again.” All this talk about him dying was getting to me, and ... wait.
I blinked at him. “Who’s ‘we,’ as in ‘we all need me to be safe’?” I asked.
“Me, Kieran, and all the good Enlightens. You know, ‘we.’”
I turned to my rescuer. “You took this oath, too, Sidelle?”
She swayed on her feet, and I put my arm around her waist on the other side, but she nodded. “Sure did.”
The whole idea was ridiculous. I held out my hands. “But ... I mean, how do we even know I’m the one the prophecy is talking about?”
“Zoe, remember in the warehouse when you were encased in that purple orb?” Shay asked.
“Of course.”
“Kieran didn’t create it or put you in it, and I don’t have powers to do something like that. The orb we were just trapped in, Sidelle can’t create those. She and Kieran can only create them around themselves.” He gave me a wry, almost apologetic grin. “So that leaves you. You created it, and you let us both out when we were safe. I think it’s a defensive tactic or something you subconsciously create when you’re scared. There is no way an Ordinary could create anything like that. At the very least, you must be part angel.” He tapped the underside of his wrist. “Anyway, I guess we’ll know for sure when you turn eighteen and get the Heaven’s Mark.”
“Sidelle, could I be a fairy?”
“Nope. Not a chance on that one.” She tapped her chest. “I’d know.”
I thought about that and wasn’t sure whether to be excited or unhappy that it all seemed to make some kind of crazy sense. “Why was today’s orb purple with white swirls?”
He stepped away, scratching his head. “I don’t know why the two colors. I wasn’t in the first one with you, so I can’t tell if the properties are the same or not. This one was different, though. It was big enough for us to move around in a little. I can’t even tell you if anything can harm you while you’re in it.” He frowned at Sidelle, obviously concerned. “I wouldn’t think so, but I’m not sure how we could even test that theory. Any thoughts, Sidelle?”
“No idea,” she replied. “I’ve never seen it manifest like that. I wasn’t at the warehouse, so I can’t comment on differences. Maybe it has to do with the angel glow.” She shrugged. I was relieved to see her color returning to normal.
I let out my breath. “Whoa,” I said. This was all too much. What I needed was to sit down. “Let’s go back a few steps. What were those cloaked thingies? That girl said something about a mark ...”
“Did Shay or Kieran tell you about the levels of angels?” Sidelle informed me, collapsing on the grass beside me.
I nodded.
“Well, Hell also has levels of demons.”
“Yeah, Kieran said something about demon knights being low-level demons. So these ones are higher? Can they be killed?” I looked back toward where the creatures had floated moments before. “Are they dead now?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Sidelle replied. “The Knights can be killed for a while, but Marqs ... well, they are much harder to fight. On the bright side, if you actually manage to kill one, they remain dead. This evening, I only opened the earth so it swallowed them. They will be forced to return to Hell, but they will return.”
She only opened the earth. Huh.
“Marquises are mid-level demons,” Shay explained as he helped me back to my feet. “They are the fighters of hell, like the nephilim are for heaven. They are ruthless, vicious, brutal, and they’re also expert swordsmen. Typically you find them in small groups. They’re most effective that way.”
“They’re also experts in starting what everyone calls ‘natural disasters,’ you know?” Sidelle said. “Like flooding, erupting volcanoes, droughts, and forest fires. That kind of thing.”
Shay nodded. “Sam wants the world to be in total chaos. His plan is to ultimately have the demons overpower the Ordinaries so he can take control. Rule both Hell and Earth. While they’re stirring up trouble, he’s been sending out Marqs to find the Redeemer.”
I flicked one eyebrow up. “He’s sending things to find me?”
“Yep. I think we just confirmed to the Marqs that they found their target. Sam is going to be hell-bent on killing you now.”
We must find a way to stop the Marqs, too. My head spun. “You know what, Shay? I’ve had enough for tonight. I’m ready to go home.”
He nodded and took my hand, and we walked back to Cali’s house with Sidelle limping beside us. I observed the face of my girlfriend, amazed by what I’d just discovered about her.
“Sidelle? Can I ask you something about being a fairy?”
“Sure. What’s on your mind, Buttercup?”
“Were you assigned to protect me, too?”
She nodded. “A long time ago. Back then, no one knew who it was, so the oath didn’t mean anything. I only knew that one day I would be called upon to serve. The day of your birth, the earth told us that someone had arrived who had the potential. We didn’t suspect you specifically, but as you grew up you showed great potential. King Oberon, the King of Summer Court, decided to send someone to watch and monitor your progress.” She poked me in the shoulder. “I suspected the Council of Angels had the same idea, since they sent Kieran and Shay. They must have thought you’d shown the most potential of anyone in years because they assigned two guardians to you. That move made the fairies set up shop here in St. Joseph, too. I befriended you, but it was a little different from Kieran’s approach of being your best friend. I thought being a girlfriend to you would be enough. I didn’t need to be at your side twenty-four seven.”
“What did the earth tell you?”
“It’s not like the earth spoke, exactly. It was more like a power surge.”
“Uh-huh.” We walked a little farther, then I frowned at her again. “So was that you doing the wind and rain thing tonight?”
“Yuppers. I can manipulate all natural objects to do my bidding: summer weather, water—to a point—and plants.”
“Wow. Like you could make it hot and sunny every day?” I checked her back. “Do you have wings, too?”
She grinned. “Slow down, Tadpole. Yes, I could make it hot and sunny, but that would drain me. Eventually nature would overpower me. Working against nature for any prolonged length of time would kill me. And, if you think about it, everything would die without rain.” She leaned closer. “Yes, I have wings, but they’re not like Shay’s or Kieran’s. We don’t use them to travel. Ours are much smaller and thinner, more iridescent. Also, we use Glamour. That’s like magic.”
She’d always been pretty, but wow. When I studied her now, she was a human-sized Tinkerbell. I had no idea how she’d react to that comparison.
As we neared the back patio door, I veered off, not wanting to go inside. After assuring us she was feeling just fine, Sidelle waved and left us, smiling. Shay and I walked around the house to get to the street.
I hesitated before climbing into the car. “I don’t want to ruin the cushions with my dirty, soaked clothes.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He helped me into my seat.
We sat in silence, holding hands, and I was glad he didn’t speak for a few minutes.
Yeah. Tough to beat that first date.