Revolution (The Revelation Series Book 4) (22 page)

Lord Falk’s face morphs into a sadistic grin as the dark army’s shadows take positions around the chamber, closing in on us. The buzzing from their presence is causing the energy source within me to hum.

The council gasps in shock, as Garrick St. Michael, the gargoyle king, and leader of the London clan, rises from death and walks into the chamber. Flanked by Deacon and Jade.

Our traitor. Blood. Family.

At the sight of his dead father, Asher’s face drains of all color. Behind us, Callan exhales.

My breath escapes me as I slide my gaze to Keegan’s and we lock eyes. He offers a solemn look before grabbing McKenna’s hand. She just looks pissed off. I don’t turn to see Abby. I don’t want to see the hurt in her face.

Garrick is the spitting image of Asher, only older, more esteemed looking. His eyes match all three sons as they scan the room and land on me last before he slowly approaches us.

“To say I am disappointed with you boys, is an understatement,” the king scolds.

Asher swallows. “Are you fucking real?” he whispers.

“I am,” Garrick assures.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Callan says on an exhale.

“Dead? No. Missing? Yes,” Garrick answers.

“You faked your own death? Why?” Keegan demands from behind the group.

“To save our race,” Garrick replies unapologetically.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Asher says through a twisted look.

“The last time Heaven and Hell went to war, our race was caught in the middle. Protecting humankind almost ended our existence completely,” the king explains calmly. “When I became king, I vowed that my kin would not suffer like that again.”

“Your kin?” Asher snaps. “Where the hell is Mom? The girls’ parents?”

Garrick’s expression falters slightly. “They exist no more.”

“At your hand?” McKenna’s cool voice slithers over me.

“They believed in our cause. Fought and sacrificed their lives for it,” the gargoyle king explains. “As did your father, Gage. He was an amazing protector and a loyal friend.”

Gage releases a choked laugh. “Fuck you, Garrick.”

The king’s expression becomes dangerous. “Watch your tongue I am still your king.”

“No. You are not,” Gage replies in a low tone.

Garrick studies Gage before dipping his chin. “I see you still hold some residual anger from Camilla’s death. For that, I am truly sorry, son.”

“I am not your son.” Gage steps toward the risen king. “And don’t ever, ever, say her name in my presence again, or I will cut your tongue out without thought, you piece of shit.”

“I will forgive your insolence this one time, because I too lost Vivian in the name of sacrifice. It is a cold lesson, one that hardens our hearts and turns our veins to stone. In the end, oaths and loyalty come first. Something none of you understood,” Garrick rambles.

“So you decided to teach us?” Keegan barks.

Garrick paces in front of us. “Of all of my sons, Keegan, you are the most like me.”

“Not likely,” Keegan replies.

The king throws an amused smirk at him. “Like it or not, it is true. I’ve watched you all these years. You took control of the clan with a strong warrior mate by your side. You’ve done your mother and I proud. Perhaps too proud.”

“Meaning?” Asher prods.

“It was always my hope for Keegan to be the next in line. A strong gargoyle who would lead our race and protect them. Keep them safe,” he explains. “Unwavering in loyalty.”

“Gargoyles were created to keep humans safe. Not our own kind,” Callan spits out.

“Which brings us to why we are here today, son.” The king stands taller.

“And that would be,” Asher encourages.

“You see, many years ago, we learned of Asher’s bloodline. Tied to Lilith, we knew that he would eventually be stronger and therefore was fated to be our next ruler. Asher would have ruled with a solid hand. You are intense, powerful, loyal and an ideal warrior, like me. Unfortunately for you, Asher, you have your mother’s heart, son.” Garrick’s eyes slide to me then back to Asher. “A fault that has recently become your downfall.”

“How so?” Asher asks through a tight jaw.

“When you were all mere children, I, along with my council, decided that the gargoyle race would no longer be summoned for human protection if it meant the extinction of our kind. While working with the Angelic Council, we became aware of Eve’s existence and the divination of redemption, which tied her to Asher even before we were asked to protect her.” Garrick turns his focus to me. “You see, Eve, if we protect you successfully, then the war is inevitable and my race is placed in the middle, something that, as king, I cannot allow, as king, to happen again.”

“If you knew of Eve’s existence, why not just take Heaven’s side, knowing she would tip the scale in their favor?” Gage questions.

“Gargoyles would still be required to protect and the war between Heaven and Hell would be ongoing,” Garrick answers. “As king, I decided to align our race with the dark army. Lucifer agreed to our terms and made a deal with me. If they were victorious this time, the gargoyle race would be exempt from protecting mankind in the future. In exchange, we would feed them information, and when the time came for the divine weapon to ascend, we would ensure that would not happen.”

“But it did,” I offer.

Garrick throws a nasty look my way. “So it did. All our planning, strategizing, and sacrificing was disregarded because my son fell in love with you.”

“I don’t understand,” I breathe out.

“You see, Eve, when I discovered your existence, and the divination of redemption, I put into place a law stating that a protector could not mate with a human charge. Knowing that some day Michael would call upon Asher and assign him to you. Asher has a strong fondness for loyalty and oaths. One that I assumed he would abide by, even once tempted by the divination.” Garrick angles his head to Gage. “To be sure, I ordered that his best friend’s mate, Camilla, a human he was protecting, be raped and killed in the most brutal of ways so Asher would understand the severity of his disobedience should he decide to break his oaths.”

I look at Gage who is ready to tear Garrick apart. “Oh my god, you had her killed?”

“Yes. The council that you see before you was also informed and allowed to punish any gargoyle who broke those oaths by stone petrifaction. The worst sentence a gargoyle could carry. A lesson for Asher. One that I knew Keegan, as my mirror image, would enforce,” he continues.

“But Gage never was sentenced,” I say quietly.

“A favor to his father, as a thank you for his loyalty,” Garrick states coolly. “One that I thought I would have to remedy with Gage’s talk of conspiracy theories. Fortunately for you, Gage, you began to spiral into your own self-hatred and sadness, and until recently, your existence became a non-issue. That changed when you became Eve’s second protector.”

Commotion to my left has me witnessing Callan and Rulf grabbing Gage’s upper arms, holding him back. “I will kill you for this,” Gage says slowly.

“You won’t.” Garrick tsks.

“That still doesn’t explain you faking your death,” Keegan reminds.

“We knew that pretenses were needed. If the elder clan members were no longer in the public eyes, we could work behind the scenes with the dark army. While our children continued to keep up pretenses. In your despair and sadness, you continued to work with the Angelic Council, protecting humans. We needed Asher to agree to take on Eve as a charge, so that we could eventually step in, when it was time and turn her over to the dark army.”

“And the Declan clan?” Callan asks.

“I was hoping to stay in the shadows and use them to do my bidding.”

“Morgana?” Asher inquires.

“An all too willing pawn. She was so in love with you, Asher, that she couldn’t see straight when it came to your love for Eve. She was angry and eager to help,” he adds.

“Until she told me your name,” I counter.

“Yes. A strategy we set up so you would be forced to tell Asher, and he would hate you and not go through with your mating,” Garrick lays out.

“But he did go through with it. We’re mated,” I retort.

“Not for long.” Garrick nods his head and the army descends.

22
Amongst The Ashes

IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOOK UNAFRAID, I scan the room, pretending like Garrick didn’t just threaten my life. Asher steps directly in front of me with a low, protective growl rumbling from his chest. He begins to breathe heavily. It almost sounds like he can’t pull enough air into his chest.

A feeling of dread registers in me. My panicked mind becomes frantic, assessing the situation we’re in. My hands shake nervously while I watch the dark shadows crawl toward us. I think about my strategy in the fraction of a second it takes for the clan to circle around me and take on protective stances with their wings fully extended.

We’re outnumbered and I’m not convinced we can handle this. The only way to escape is if I can use the light source against the dark army and let the gargoyles battle it out amongst one another.

Asher speaks in a low tone. “If you want her, you will have to go through and kill me.”

“With pleasure, son,” Garrick answers with a nod of his head to Deacon and Jade.

Anxiously, I focus on the council, envisioning them trapped within an invisible cage. Through my new gift, I’m suddenly able to conjure an unseen barrier that holds them hostage. Each of their faces morphs into expressions of confusion and then panic as they realize they’re confined. Lord Falk’s irate gaze lands on me with pure hatred.

“Holy shit. Way to go, cutie,” Callan says.

Garrick’s eyes narrow on me. “Impressive, daughter of Heaven.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I state in a cool tone.

He smirks. “I look forward to the show.”

Asher’s focus is locked on the demons as they begin to creep further into the room. All at once, chaos erupts. Everything becomes surreal around me as I watch Asher move like a graceful assassin while engaging Deacon. I study the disorder in awe. The clan ferociously tears through the demons, morphing from the dark shadows at insanely rapid rates.

Knowing I need to help, I focus on the shadows within the room then dematerialize into the darkness and reappear behind the council, releasing my daggers. In the blink of an eye, Jade springs onto the raised stage in front of me, scowling at me. My eyes narrow as I lean into her space, daring her to come for me.

She lunges and I duck to the side, avoiding the Angel Blade. I exhale, remembering how much the blade will burn if it touches my skin. It’s meant to hurt angels and with my soul having been touched by an archangel, I know what will happen if the weapon makes contact with me. Jade grunts and spins back to me. We circle one another, waiting for the other to make a move.

“I am going to kill you,” she snarls with loathing.

I roll my eyes. “It’s nice to see you’re still drinking the Kool-aid.”

Jade grinds her teeth and comes at me, piercing my side. The sting from the blade propels me backward and I let out a whimper of pain as she continues to ease around me. With my hand covering the blood seeping out of my side, I stand to reface her.

From somewhere in the room, I hear Asher shout my name. I continue to focus on the angry female gargoyle in front of me. Jade attacks and I act like I’m going to strike her upper arm. Instead, I bend and thrust my dagger into her stomach.

She hits the ground in shock and pain, dropping her sword in the process. I kick it away and circle her, catching my breath and holding my injured side.

I glance around the room, but everything is too frenzied to see what’s happening. Jade yanks my dagger out of her abdomen harshly and rolls onto her side. Suddenly, her leg kicks out in an arching motion, causing me to lose my footing.

I fall to the ground and land on my dagger, which is lying straight. I exhale in relief that it didn’t pierce me and shift my hand under my stomach so it’s on the handle.

Knowing this is my chance, I wait, calming myself until I can feel Jade standing over me. With supernatural speed, I twist so I’m facing her. Straddling me, she leans down closer and brings my dagger to my throat.

Thinking she has me trapped, Jade gives me a cruel smile. “This is for Kaiden.”

“Go to Hell,” I say, quickly thrusting my other dagger into her heart.

I watch as her face morphs into shock and she drops my weapon next to my head. It hits the marble floor with a clank as she begins to turn to stone. Just as the granite reaches her throat, she screams before completely turning. The dust of her remains falls onto everything surrounding me.

I exhale a relieved breath and roll on my side. Pushing myself up, I wince at the ache in my side as I stand to find Asher.

“In a hurry to die, little girl?” Deacon asks, coming at me quickly.

My heart lurches into my throat. Asher is across the room in half a second. He rushes forward, pushing me behind him. His body is tense and the muscles in his arms flex as he prepares to attack Deacon.

“Stay behind me, siren,” Asher orders in a low tone without glancing at me.

“I will,” I reply.

Asher spreads his raven wings wide and for a moment, all I can see are his dark feathers. In the next second, he lunges for Deacon, nicking the half-gargoyle, half-demon’s upper arm.

Before I can process what’s happening, I’m yanked into a firm grasp from behind and Asher’s raven wings disappear from sight.

Suddenly, I’m outside. Hovering above the Atlantic Ocean. Miles and miles below me, the rocky cliffs are slick with the harsh ocean waves pounding them in a brutal assault.

I glance behind me and lock eyes with Garrick.
Fuck
.

“Why would you do this to him?” I ask.

“Why do you care?” he spits back.

“I love him,” I whisper but it’s taken away on the wind.

“Love will not save him from the darkness,” he snarls, grabbing my chin painfully, forcing me to watch as Asher and the clan rush toward the wall below us.

The shadows of the dark army surge forward, closing the gap. There are too many and there is no way the clan will be able to fight them off and save me. In this moment, everyone I love is in danger. Overcome with panic, I make my decision.

“Love may not save him, but light will. From darkness, comes light,” I say quietly.

In less time than it takes me to breathe, I source the energy within me. It swirls within my soul and my arms tingle, while my fingers itch to release it.

Asher and Gage become airborne and my eyes fill with tears as they move toward me.

“Siren!” Asher barks. “Stop. We’ve got this.”

My tear-filled eyes lock onto his before they drop to the ground where the rest of the clan are slashing through the legion of demons coming at them from all angles. They don’t have this, how could they? There are too many demons to fight off.

I lock eyes with Asher and mouth “forever,” to him.

At the same time I release those words, the energy pulsates through my body and flows out of my hands toward the dark shadows. Asher and Gage get thrown back, tumbling in the force of the orbs of light floating around us. I watch in horror as both protectors hit the ground, unmoving.

Thunder rumbles. Everything around me ignites, explodes, and disintegrates into charred embers. The shadows of the dark army sprawl on the ground before turning to blue flames and disappear. My eyes scan the ground for the rest of the clan. I see nothing but burnt land.

Ash rains from the sky and the ground below becomes blanketed in the grey flakes.

“Everything comes with a sacrifice, even love,” Garrick says and releases his hold on me.

And I fall.

***

In death there is tranquility. No pain. No sorrow. Only silence. I’m caught in the shadows as my mind drifts away. There is strength within my pain. Hope within the darkness. One day, I will again, see the light.

The skies darken and the air is heavy with sorrow. I stand amongst the ashes. Silence surrounds me. My mind is finally at peace. I am not brave. My promise to Asher is broken. I must force the courage to leave love behind.

The ashes fall.

The world is silent.

And darkness descends.

Amongst the ashes, I’ve finally found peace.