The Second Sign (28 page)

Jake tossed the blade aside, his own heart beating
in a wave of panic and adrenaline. Pulling back the light that had
been his essence, he fought for peace within the darkness of his
soul, and the pain in his back lessened.

Then, he turned to face Gabby.

A miniature storm enveloped him in wind and sand
before it settled. Her eyes lifted from the two bodies on the floor
and met his. Anguish and pain in his core seared through him,
making him unable to move. Clenching his hands beside him, he felt
the blood between his fingers. The bodies. His mission. He saw her
wings coalesce with the darkness behind her. Something inside him
burst. Energy, jumbled with a heightened sense of pain, settled
into his core. Inside his heart. It threatened to snuff him out of
existence. Hate. Regret. Love.

Gabby could never love a demon. He was a demon and
she was something else.

So why were his insides screaming to burst through
him? Why was his mind telling him to fold her in his arms and
protect her? That thought sent pain ripping up his spine and into
his brain. No.

No.

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken until the sound of
his own voice broke the lapping waves of the lake. “No.”

Gabby took a step back. Before the pain of it bled
him dry, she turned and ran, disappearing into the night, leaving
behind nothing but wind and taking his heart with her.

The End of Things

Perched on a cliff, Gabby watched as the sun began
to creep over the horizon. The angels had taken the possessed home.
Jenna was buried in an unmarked grave. She would become a statistic
along with those murdered at the Myers home. Phil Myers hung
himself, leaving the opening the clean-up crew needed to
incriminate him in the murder. The dead don’t give a crap about
being accused of false crimes. A clean sweep.

Only for Gabby it wasn’t that easy. Alexi and Kyle
were found murdered. And only she knew the truth of it. Jake had
killed them. Gabby had seen him do it and did nothing, could do
nothing to save them. She had gone looking for him to ask him to
leave with her. They could run together, never look back. But as if
he’d read her mind, he answered no. Just no. He had chosen. And it
wasn’t her.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

Max settled beside her. “You’re my sister. I will
always find you.”

She found some comfort in those words, but it wasn’t
enough to fill her soul anymore. All her life she’d felt hollow,
angry, as if a void stretched inside of her, but now she felt too
much. It hurt through every speck of her being. She wondered if
this was how Max felt about life around him, if Mir felt this
way.

“What am I?” she asked, her wings still foreign to
her.

Max shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s not good.
Adler burned the lake house to the ground. There’s nothing left.”
Max looked out into the red sky.

“Do you think Mir expected this?” She shrugged her
wings. “For me to be a freak. Is that why he hates me?”

Max sighed. “Gabby, he doesn’t hate you.”

“He doesn’t look at me, can’t bear to touch me, and
wanted me dead. I think that’s as close to hate as you can
get.”

“Gabby, you
are
the Second Sign.”

“But no one wished me life. No one asked you to save
me.”

“It wasn’t me who saved you when you were born,” Max
said, picking his words carefully. “You and Mir share an essence.
He saved you. It is why he grows weak when you are near. It is why
he cannot touch you. It is also why Naite wanted you so bad. If
Mir’s Order finds out what he did to save you, he will be
banished.”

After everything she’d been through, Gabby wasn’t
surprised as much numb. “But who asked him to save me?”

“Our mother.”

That stung her more than she wanted to admit. That
her mother’s last thought in this world was of saving her rather
than saving herself. And Gabby hadn’t valued her life as much as
she should have.

“Mir kept telling me how Mom was a lot like you. She
didn’t believe as much as she was a witness.”

Gabby didn’t want to talk about their mother. It
hurt too much.

“So, Mir would be banished like he banished Pat.”
She met his blue eyes and they softened. “Pat said that we were
betrothed. That he was supposed to consummate our betrothal that
night when you burst in. Is that true?”

Max looked out into the horizon. “I’m sorry. I
should’ve told you everything.” He reached for her hand and
squeezed. He felt so warm against the cold that surrounded her.
“Mir wanted you guarded at all times. Pat was willing to bind
himself to you so that he could return to the Order. With Mir.”

“But he couldn’t do it.” She didn’t need Max to tell
her that. Pat already did. Pat had chosen exile instead of tricking
her into being with him.

“No.” Max’s voice trailed softly into the wind. “I
guess Pat is not all bad.”

Gabby chuckled. “Tell that to Elle and Father
Kane.”

“Elle
is
all bad. He fought her true form.
Golems care of nothing but themselves. He saved your life.”

“And Father Kane?”

Max bit his lip. “We’re still working on that
one.”

“What about Kyle? Did you program him to save me
last year?”

“No. I think Kyle saved you because he cared about
you.”

Gabby swallowed back the lump in her throat. The
anklet he had given her felt heavier now.

She’d been kept in the dark about everything, and
now she had a pair of wings she couldn’t get rid of, wings she
didn’t deserve.

“Since we’re finally getting to the truth, tell me
about Jake. Naite said Jake and I were bound together. What does
that mean?”

“It means you are his life mate. In order to keep
the blood pure, demons bind themselves. Jake has you imprinted in
his mind, your scent, your true form. You can never hide from
him.”

“What is he? How does he fit into all this?” That
was the question that burned her. The Second Sign was a prelude to
the Second Coming, the apocalypse, and the end of the world. If she
was the Second Sign, it could only mean—

“He is the Harbinger. War will come.” Max let out a
deep breath.

“Are you going to kill him?” She turned to look at
him as he closed his eyes and lowered his head.

“No. That’s the archangel’s duty.” He opened his
eyes, lifted his head, and met her gaze.

“But he still has free will, right? I mean, that
always governs everything. It’s why you can’t tell the future.” She
knew she was clinging to faith. Hope.

Max squeezed her hand. “Yes. He still has a choice.
As do you.” He handed her a slip of paper, spread his wings, and
jumped off, disappearing into the morning.

Written on the paper, in tight cursive writing of
Adler’s penmanship, was an address. So she was hiding again.
Exiled. Shoving the slip into her pocket, she stood up. People
would soon forget what happened. They would rebuild and die never
knowing the truth.

The immortals, well, that was a whole different
story.