Blood Redemption (Angel's Edge #3) (17 page)

But still it wasn’t enough. The Hunters we hadn’t managed to hit stood poised to strike. I closed my eyes against the impending blow.

Only to be thrown backward by the strongest tremor yet, breaking my link with Jack. I cried out as my head hit the ground. The last thing I saw was Jack surrounded by Hunters, about to be struck down.

Then I woke up.

Soft hands cradled my head. I lay flat on my back on the narrow bed I’d fallen asleep in, with my upper body elevated on someone’s lap. Soft denim rubbed my right cheek while my left one felt like it was on fire. My hand automatically reached up to rub the spot that ached all the way down to my bones.

“Shh,” a familiar voice soothed. Ethan. “You’re safe now. Nothing can hurt you.” He smelled of laundered cotton and the spicy musk of fear.

But his voice did little to slow my racing heart, even though part of me ached to melt into his lap and never move again.

“That’s right,” announced a terse female voice. “No one is going to hurt you again.
Are they
?”

I opened my eyes to see Ethan’s light ones staring down at me. They narrowed slightly at the speaker’s words, but he didn’t look away. Gentle fingers caressed the throbbing side of my face. I smiled at him gratefully, and was rewarded with the faintest twitch at the corners of his mouth. Still, he seemed angry more than anything.

“What… happened?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow.

Ethan placed a restraining hand on my breastbone, urging me to relax into his lap once again. As tempting as the invitation was, I had to get my bearings, and fast. I’d left Jack alone to face a half-circle of divine monsters.

Jack. Guilt returned. I could only hope that, without me to worry about, he had somehow gotten away to safety. Even if that meant reawakening in the Twilight Kingdom.

The room was crowded. Besides Ethan and myself, I saw Cassandra and her mother. Mrs. Alice stood, solid and reassuring, between them. To Cassandra’s left was a person I barely knew: Jacob Eden, the silversmith who’d made my bracelets. He hardly ever left the Hollow, the odd little community on the outskirts of town that seemed to hum with light and energy. Beside him was a dark haired, copper skinned young woman whose smile lit up the room. She looked Native American with glossy dark hair tumbling down one shoulder. Her features were strong rather than delicate, but it didn’t detract from her overall breathtaking beauty. I realized I was staring and ripped my gaze away.

Only to find Asheroth lurking in the deepest shadows of the room. He looked ill at ease and vaguely guilty like a child who’d been reprimanded for doing something naughty. I was used to seeing my Fallen guardian looking enraged, angry, or demented, but never guilty. What had he done?

“He slapped you,” Cassandra said as if reading my mind. She spat out the words like they offended her. “With his strength, he could have broken every bone in your face. But he slapped you anyway. More than once.” She whirled on him, one hand on her hip, her foot tapping out an impatient rhythm. “Didn’t you?”

“No one else would do it,” he said, eyes as wide as a puppy’s. “Someone had to wake her up.”

“We would have gotten through eventually,” Cassandra snarled. “We were working on it.”

“I only tapped her,” he continued defensively. “As light as a feather. I swear.”

Above me, Ethan said something under his breath. I got the feeling it wasn’t complimentary.

“We were about to be struck down by a horde of angry Hunters, and I left Jack there to face them alone, thanks to you.” I moved my jaw experimentally and winced. “I just hope Jack is okay.”

A stunned silence ensued. Asheroth turned even whiter than his usual deathly pallor. I hadn’t known that was possible. Then his diamond eyes narrowed to slits. “Hunters?” he asked. Before I could blink, he loomed over me beside the bed.

Ethan tried to get between us, but my guardian pushed him away as if he was nothing more than an annoying fly buzzing around. Cold, unbreakable hands descended on my shoulders. “What were Hunters,” he snarled, “doing in your dreams?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shrinking away in spite of myself. Asheroth’s anger was always terrifying, even when not directed at me. “Jack says the Dreamtime isn’t safe from them anymore.”

“Then
why
,” he enunciated carefully, “were you there?”

“Because I have to learn to use my gift!” I shouted, my voice rising to a hysterical pitch. “I can’t just spend my life at the mercy of the Shadows. Is that what you want for me? When Jack and I work together, we become something else. Something
more
. And we can fight them! We
did
fight them! We hurt them, burned through their armor.” At that, Asheroth’s nostrils flared in surprise. “Nothing can do that except Azazel’s blades. Isn’t that important? To develop weapons, any weapons at all?”

“The girl is right.” Jacob Eden stepped forward, his face shaded by the Stetson he wore. His voice was soft, but I saw grim determination written across his face. “It’s not just the Dreamtime anymore. They’ve breached the Western wards as well.”

Shocked silence followed his words. Asheroth seemed frozen in place, not wanting to release me. After a moment, the beautiful girl stepped forward to join him.

“They grow stronger,” she said, her voice light and melodious. “How long before they penetrate the heart of Whitfield itself?” Her dark brown eyes pleaded with mine. “With the Dark Realms and its army trying to force its way in, we’re like a piece of iron on a forge, wedged between the hammer and the anvil. It’s only a matter of time before one side or the other finds a way to strike. We have to find a way to fight back.”

“Who are you, exactly?” I asked.

“I guard the West,” she said with a small, sad smile. “Or I used to, before Jacob came and brought me here.” Her huge brown eyes welled with tears. “I am afraid my home is lost to us.”

“Not entirely,” Jacob said gruffly. “The Hollow has a mind of its own sometimes. They won’t find it an easy conquest.” He pushed his hat back so that I could see angry, steel gray eyes. “That’s why we’ve come. Why we’ve called the meeting.”

The beautiful girl, who looked barely older than me and was already the guardian of the Western gate, took his hand. “We need your help,” she said as if it pained her to admit it.

“You’ll have it, of course,” Mrs. Alice said decisively. “Fallen One, turn the girl loose. There is much we need to do before the Northern guardian arrives.”

Instead, Asheroth plopped down beside me, his weight making the bed groan. “If the North is coming, I’m not leaving her side,” he announced, and grabbed hold of my upper arm as if laying claim to it.

“We need the North,” Mrs. Alice said, exasperated. “We need all the guardians of all the gates, whether they be Light or Dark in their affiliations. And we had best lay out some plan of action before he gets here. If we’re united in our strategy, it will be that much harder for him to stand against us.”

I was thoroughly confused. I knew about the guardians, and the directions they warded, but I’d only ever met two of them before today: Asheroth and Mrs. Alice. Now it seemed I was to meet all four.

And why did the North seem to scare them so badly?

“Now Alice,” chided a new voice from the doorway. It was so crowded I couldn’t see the speaker, but his voice reminded me of snakes and the electric cold of Shadows. “You shouldn’t start a strategy meeting without me. It wouldn’t be fair.”

People strained to move away from the door as if some magnetic force propelled them outward. In it stood a tall man dressed all in black. His eyes flashed hints of red, and his lips pulled back from teeth that seemed too large for his mouth.

Mrs. Alice rolled her eyes heavenward. “It is only the most dire of emergencies that led me to summon you here at all,” she snapped. “You know that better than anyone. And let me remind you, lest you forget: Blackwood Lodge is warded to the teeth, and has five generations of witches and mages under its roof. One word from me, and you’ll be nothing more than a pile of ash and cinders. So control yourself, Bain, or I won’t hesitate to make you sorry.”

The man in black widened his eyes in mock surprise. “You wound me,” he said, voice heavy with sarcasm. “I would never…” His eyes roamed the room and locked on mine, widening in surprise. “And there she is,” he said, wonder replacing sarcasm as he stared at me. “The second Caspia.”

I wondered how he knew me, but my thinking was a bit fuzzed, so I let it go.

He stepped into the middle of the room, hand extended as if he meant to shake mine. “I’ve so longed to meet you, my dear.” His voice was soft, hypnotic.

I found myself rising from the bed with every intention of going to him.

Asheroth stepped between us while Ethan firmly wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I was confused and a little drained.

“That’s enough,” my Fallen angel said through gritted teeth. “She’s under my protection.”

The man sneered, flashing teeth. “The mighty Southern

Guardian. How… interesting. They said you had a new little pet. I hadn’t expected someone so young.” He sniffed the air deeply. “So
innocent
,” he drawled, making the word sound obscene. Ethan’s arm convulsed around me. Asheroth nearly vibrated with rage. The man in black only shrugged. “Since no one else has bothered, allow me to introduce myself. Erasmus Bain, Guardian of the North, at your service.” He gave me a mocking bow. “Now, dearest Caspia, if you’ll come with us, I believe we have a war to plan. I love a good war. Don’t you?”

ll of the air seemed to leave the room. No one around me moved, and they even seemed to have stopped breathing. The strange man held his hand out again. This time, I moved to take it, conscious of nothing except his bright burning eyes. They bore into me, drowning out all other sounds in the room, commanding me to take slow, small steps forward. The man named Bain smiled at me, sharp and wild, and I felt as if we were the only two people in the world. One step, two… a few more, and I would be at his side.