The COMPLETE Witching Pen Series, Boxed Set (77 page)

She giggled and turned in his arms, then froze when yet another voice cut through the throng. “And there I was missing you lot – maybe silence is golden after all.”

The clamber faded into the distance, that deep baritone swelling her heart so much she thought she might choke on the intake of her breath.
Oh … my … God.
 

A fierce pain lanced through Paul’s eyes before he could hide it, the spear of that same lance cutting through her; splitting her in half.

Paul stepped back.

She squeezed his hand harder, but he pulled it out of her grasp.

Don’t leave me!

But she couldn’t
not
turn towards the man she’d yearned for with every fibre of her being.

And there he was, even more dark and radiant than she remembered.

He looked bloody magnificent, a small smile aimed at her. The smile reached his eyes, which shined with tears.

Her feet were moving before she realised it, bringing her to him.

He opened his arms.

A sob tumbled out of her, and then she was in them, enveloped in the warmest of hugs, unable to stop the tears streaming down her face.

“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

He placed a hand on her stomach, and she glanced up at him.

Awed coloured his features as he stared at it, then it transformed into elation when the baby kicked in greeting.

“It’s a boy,” she said quietly, trying to get her crying under control.

“I know,” he replied, before kissing her forehead.

She looked at him in question, and then remembered Paul’s emotional reaction at that same news.

She turned around to find him leaning on the kitchen counter, facing away from her – facing away from everyone.

Unwittingly, she took a step towards him, then stopped, unsure of what to do.

That familiar feeling of panic rose sharply within her.

Pueblo placed a steady hand on the small of her back. “Don’t worry, Amy. We have a lot to talk about. I don’t want you to worry.”

Before she could think of a reply to that, Lucifer threw an apple onto the dining table that stood just outside the kitchen area, separating that from the main living room.

Everyone, who Amy suddenly realised had been watching her and Pueblo’s reunion, now watched the apple thud, bounce and roll into the centre of the table.

“The meeting starts now,” stated Lucifer. He stared pointedly at Morgana, who was staring daggers back at him. “Yes, the Malattal have split themselves up and are speaking about the birth of the boy and relaying their final prophecies at all corners of the Earth, the final prophecies themselves predicting the destruction of the seven demon races. But it’s not just demons that are doomed to die: all beings on this planet without human blood in their veins will perish.”

In the stunned pause that followed, Morgana’s face reddened and Amy thought she might just blow the top of her skull. The air around her shimmered in magic that was clearly of the ‘I’m furious’ variety.

Amy stepped back and bumped into Pueblo’s chest.

He slung a protective arm around her.

She glanced again at Paul, who was staring straight ahead and deliberately not at her.

“You see, my friends,” continued Lucifer, “this
is
Armageddon … but not for humans. It’s their world we’ve merged into and there’s no room for everyone. Our powers have been diminishing because
we
are diminishing. The Armageddon is for us.”

“You knew,” raged Morgana. “You
knew
! How long for, Lucifer?
Traitor.
Centuries? Millennia? Or have you always known this was how it would end?” She threw her hand up and a shower of powdery substance flew at him.

Quick off the mark, Elena countered her actions with a spell of her own, suspending the powdery stuff in the air above their heads where it shimmered and glittered.

Holy hell – is that actually fairy dust?

“Not in this home,” bit out Elena, her own anger evident. “You’ve already ruined one.”

“Two, actually,” threw in Paul, flatly.

The fairy queen ignored them, Lucifer still the centre of her attention. “How do we stop it?” she demanded.

“We don’t stop Armageddon – nothing stops Armageddon, except…”

All eyes were on him.

“Except…?”

And now, the first signs of stress were evident in his gait. “Killing the Dragon will not stop the apocalypse, but since it is now apparent that the Dragon is tied to humans and not to the fay, it will most likely end mankind if the Dragon dies. If they do survive the Dragon’s death, they will be void of protection and guidance; they will tumble forward, blinded, into a Dark Age. As for angels, the fay, the demons … there’s no way out, regardless. We’re on the last train outta here.”

Elena spoke. “So, we don’t kill the Dragon, right?”

“Right, Lucifer?” added Morgana, snidely. “Exactly whose side are you on? Maybe you
want
to see humans stumble around in darkness; maybe it gets you off.”

Katherine glanced briefly at Lucifer, a strange look on her face, but Lucifer held Morgana’s gaze. “And what about you? You’ve fought for the Dragon to rise for an eternity and a day – who’s side are
you
on? Whether the Dragon lives or not, millions die. Will it be by your hand?

What the hell is going on?
“Wait,” interrupted Amy. “My baby?”

The fallen angel nodded at her. “If the Dragon dies, so does the baby, or so it would seem if he is aligning himself with it.”

“So, we
don’t
kill the Dragon,” repeated Elena, steel in her voice, as she stared at Lucifer for confirmation.

“That’s right,” said Lucifer, silkily, although Amy could tell that no one believed him, or Morgana, right at this second. “But I’m afraid we have another prob—”

A commotion on the balcony caused all heads to turn that way, everyone on high alert. After another second, the screen door slid open with force and some large, blond bloke Amy had never seen before stepped into the living room carrying a pile of clothes in his hands – a pile of
glowing
clothes.

 “We have a problem,” he said in a rush and out of breath before anyone could utter a word.

“Archangel Michael, how lovely to finally meet you – I’ve heard so much about you.” Lucifer brought another apple out from wherever he kept them. “I was just about to explain the circumstances we find ourselves in, but it seems you’re one step ahead of me.” He crunched into the fruit, his eyes on the clothes.

“And what
is
the fucking problem?” Elena all but shouted, clearly on her last nerves.

The blond guy looked at them all, then answered Elena’s question directly. “It seems Gawaine’s blood flows in the body of another – he has a son.”

“Gawaine?” asked Elena.

Lucifer mumbled as he chewed. “He means Gwain – some angels prefer the traditional pronunciations. He’s referring to
Gwain’s
son.”

Elena turned back to Michael. “His son’s name is Karl.”

He met her glare with a frantic one of his own. “God wants the Dragon and mankind dead so that he can start over – eliminate his mistakes and start creation from scratch… Karl has Gawaine’s sword.”

Everyone except Lucifer stared blankly at the archangel, realisation only dawning when he spelled it out with his next words. “Gawaine was created using more of God’s will than any other angel – his blood offers a
direct
connection to God – his son carries his blood…”

“Oh, no,” whispered Elena.

“God has attached himself to…” he held up the clothing… “No – it appears he’s
fused
with him somehow. At some point, God must have been made aware of the existence of Gawaine’s bloodline – the trail he left is clear: God is now merged with, and working through Karl.”

Chapter Fifteen

All hell broke loose at Michael’s revelation, accusations and fury flying, and Morgan le Fey was crushed – wounded in a way she had never thought possible; had never even considered could be felt. And the feeling was …
hurt
. A hurt so deep she wasn’t sure it could ever be repaired.

Among the fay, trust is something not thought about, because you were all tied to the web of existence and to each other, able to connect in such a rooted way. There was no need to trust - trust simply
was
.

But Lucifer … she had
given
him her trust. Just as she had given it to the stranger at the very beginning, who had tumbled onto her land, lost and desperate. He hadn’t been known as ‘God’ then.

She had given of herself; she had given her home.

For nothing… It’s all been for nothing.

It was over. She would disappear, perish the way mortals do and then what? What happened next?

NO!

She had to hold on … she had to—

“The past is past. Gods come, and gods go … and so do we, my friend.”
 

Neesa had known; had tried to warn her.

Had everyone known but her?

She felt cheated; lied to.

A sharp pain burst from her palms and she looked down to find she had cut them with her nails, her hands balled into small fists to keep from damaging everyone in her immediate surroundings – her magic dust could turn giants to stone. The same cold stone that now encased her human-like heart – cracking…

“Absolutely not!” That was the Shanka witch, looking as enraged as she felt, and skirting on the edge of a similar desperation.

“There’s no alternative,” insisted Lucifer as everyone else looked unsure of which argument to side with.

“You’re not even
looking
for an alternative! If it were any of you, Karl would be the first to search for a way out – he
has
done. And you’re giving up on him?”

“The Dragon’s birth is imminent. To ensure the safety of both it and the baby
and
the survival of the human race, Karl
has
to be eliminated.”

“Allowing the Dragon to live will ensure
your
annihilation. Do you expect me to believe you won’t turn around and kill the Dragon yourself when we’re not looking?”

“To what end? Even with the Dragon dead, non-humans will still be destroyed, and don’t assume you know my intentions – what makes you think I’m not willing to die to save humanity?”

“So you
have
known all along,” Morgana threw in, her fury climbing the betrayal for a better position. “Is this what you’ve been after? Saving humanity?”
Knowing it would destroy the rest of us!
 

She was completely ignored.

“Oh, give me a break!” Elena spit out, angrily.

“I
am
giving you a fucking break – take it! Your boyfriend is currently the greatest threat to the human race – FACT. He
has
to be destroyed.”

“
God
has to be destroyed, not Karl!”

“Karl
is
God now!”

And the witch laughed. It burst from her in a maniacal way, the tell-tale signs of sanity slipping, and then she suddenly turned and slammed the heels of her palms into the wall, creating two small dents; plaster falling…

“Elena…” said her mother.

But she held up a hand and shook her head, the emotional fortress around her hardening.

Morgana’s eyes prickled with heat. What an uncomfortably familiar sight.

Elena’s shoulders sagged. “How did this happen.”

It was a whispered, rhetorical question, Morgana was sure, but Michael answered it anyway. “There must have been a trigger – usually just knowing is enough for angels and some demons to trace something back to a source. The moment Karl knew about his connection to Gawaine, would have been the moment that line of thought would have been accessible to God.”

“Yes,” replied Elena, almost too quietly for anyone to hear. “It’s the same reason I was never allowed to know about my demon lineage, isn’t it? The Shanka would have picked up on my simply knowing it, all the way back to me.” She straightened up and turned to face everyone. “It was about three weeks ago when he found out, and it was about three weeks ago when he started changing … becoming distant.”

“And now we’ve run out of time,” added Lucifer, bringing the point home.

Elena looked desperately at Pueblo. “Can you stop time so Karl can—”

He shook his head. “Events now are unfolding so fast in an order I’m not sure is safe to disrupt. To stop the Dragon – an entire era – from surfacing when it should? I can’t, it’s too great, and,” he added softly, apologetically, “I’m not sure I’d want to if there’s a chance it could hurt my son in the process.”

Elena shook her head in disbelief.

Amy stared at her, imploringly. “We have to protect our son, you know that.”

“But that’s what I’m trying to do, too. God wants to kill the Dragon, and we all want it to live. If I could just have some time to—”

“And what will you do if killing Karl is the only way to save the Dragon?”

The two witches glared at each other, Elena unable to answer; Amy upset, but determined.

“Will you be able to kill him?” she pressed. “Will you let anyone else do it?”

Elena faltered and looked at Pueblo instead. “Karl
helped
you. Just a month ago—”

“It was fifty-five years ago for me.”

And now it was Amy’s turn to look shocked. “What?” she whispered, realisation taking place behind her eyes – eyes which clouded over once more with a wet sheen. “Fifty-five years?”

“I said we had a lot to talk about,” he replied, gently.

Morgana almost left right then. It was one thing to live with her own suffocating emotions, but to feel everyone else’s … when had empathy been one of her gifts? It hadn’t – this was too much. Things just needed to go back to normal somehow…
“Change is the only constant, my friend.”
 

She wanted to curl up into a ball and scream her tears until the scream wrenched her from her body and rendered her numb – something else she had witnessed human women do, and some men, but mostly women.