Fearless (30 page)

When there is nothing left to condense, what remains is a black tube of energy no bigger than a matchstick, than a toothpick, than a string impossible to see with a human eye. Bright light begins shooting out from both ends as it suddenly erupts, sending clouds of gas and dust hissing and spitting into space.

36

Ebony

Isaac's wings slice through the air. With every massive beat he carries me closer to freedom. But what will my freedom cost this world? Odisha is a wreck, with high-rise buildings tumbling to the ground; debris floating in flooding streets; screaming soldiers dropping from the sky, burning alive.

‘Ebony, nothing you did caused this. And there is nothing you can do to change the outcome.'

He whips off his cloak and drapes it around me. We're so near to the punctured gate but the heat is already becoming unbearable. Flickering shadows turn gold and brighter gold as we enter a tunnel of flames.

With no thought for himself, Isaac turns me one way and another, shielding me from the turbulent reaction occurring around us. I'm grateful that he's taking no chances with me, but I don't deserve his special treatment. One day I will return the courtesy.

Being this close to freedom has my excitement building, but until Nathaneal and every soldier he brought with him pass through the gate, I will be worried.

Then we are through and Isaac is unravelling his cloak from around me. I take my first deep breath of nontoxic air
and look around. The tunnel is busy with soldiers preparing for battle. Well armed, and in Gabriel's colours, they're stationed along the twelve gates and on both sides of the bridge.

Tash and Mela come through behind us. The dome tunnel with its crystal bridge is new to her and her boggling eyes show her astonishment. She reaches out, her hand grasping my lower arm, and through a mixture of laughter and tears she whispers, ‘I'm going home.'

Elijah and Lhiam come through next, and Mela turns and disappears in the embraces of her two leading rebel lieutenants.

Isaac glances over my head at something behind me. I spin round to see my sister running at me, her boots click-clacking on the crystal bricks, her elation emphasised by her glowing skin. ‘She looks like the sun,' I mumble in awe under my breath.

‘Easy, wife,' Isaac warns.

But the energy exuding from Shae's body is warm, and as we embrace her love folds over me. It's just what I need to help break an increasing sense of surrealism.

Skade is no longer my prison.

I'm not in Luca's apartment.

And though I still have the wedding dress on, I'm not becoming his wife before thousands of witnesses.

‘Shae, I'm free.'

She doesn't say a word, and from the way her bottom lip is trembling I'm not sure she can right now. She puts her hands on my shoulders as if to steady herself. ‘Ebony, you really are free. Completely. Utterly. Prince Luca, King of
Skade, monster, beast, whatever he was or whatever you want to call him, he will never harm you again.'

‘Luca is dead?'

‘That he is,' Michael confirms, coming through next. His golden eyes sparkling, he puts an arm around my shoulder. ‘It's all over, little one. Luca no longer exists.' His smile fades as a distant look appears in his eyes, and in a faraway voice he says, ‘You always knew this day would come. Go, and rest easy now, my love.'

I step back to search his eyes, suspecting he's remembering when Luca killed his wife. But he gives me another warm smile. ‘I'm fine, little one. Thrilled that you're safe and my cousin doesn't have to go through what I did.'

I'm thrilled too, but I can't relax yet. ‘Michael, where is Nathaneal?'

‘He's not far behind.'

I nod, relieved but still on edge, as I will remain until I see Nathaneal with my own eyes. ‘Who killed Luca?'

‘No one exactly,' Michael says.

‘Then how?'

‘Luca was right in the hurricane's eye when the storm collapsed. His body – and General Ithran's – tore apart when internal pressures caused the storm to condense exponentially. In the end there was nothing left but extreme dense energy that erupted into gas and dust.'

I keep looking at him with my mouth open, so he spells it out clearly: ‘Ebony, Luca is completely destroyed.'

While the reality of this news sinks in I look for Nathaneal among the group of soldiers just arriving. A few have burns and other injuries that Jezelle swiftly attends to, with Isaac
and Tash helping to triage them, while Solomon, Shae, Mela and I move back to make room.

The bridge is already a hive of activity when a few hundred more soldiers fly in wearing Gabriel's colours and full armour. They march down the tunnel, bringing with them trunks filled with weapons they quickly distribute.

The sight, so much like preparations for war, sends a chill through me. ‘Shae, why do we need all these weapons now? We're not invading Skade, are we?'

Isaac reacts to my concerned voice. ‘Would that worry you, Ebony?'

‘Any war would worry me, Isaac. An invasion by either side would destroy good and bad, aggressors and the innocent alike.'

He nods. ‘Wise words, sister-in-law, but rest assured we're not invading Skade; we're protecting Earth.'

Shae explains. ‘Even though Prince Luca doesn't exist any more, we still have to ensure that none of the creatures that live in Skade escape, such as his supporting angels who might rally and retaliate, the demons he created over thousands of years and dark souls that should never return to Earth.'

Mela asks, ‘How long before the gate is repaired?'

Shae shrugs. ‘That depends on how fast Gabriel's troops can build the wall.'

‘A wall?' Mela's knees buckle. Elijah and Lhiam rush to hold her up. She hoists herself to her feet. ‘How long will that take, because anything more than a few hours is too long?'

No one answers. And the words they're not saying give me a bad feeling.

Meanwhile, Mela is looking frantic. ‘Doesn't your prince know there is only one way to seal a breached gate and it's not with a wall?'

He's through. I feel him though I can't see him yet. As my heartbeat goes into overdrive, I thank the stars and everything and everyone that helped to keep him safe.

Solomon says softly, ‘He knows, Mela.'

‘Then he must do it!'

‘It's complicated,' Solomon says, his voice carrying a tight edge. She hears it and says no more.

I push through a dozen soldiers to get to Nathaneal an
d I ca
n tell he's pushing through at the other end to get to me. I feel him getting closer and closer as soldiers fall left and right out of our way, until suddenly there's no one between us, and our eyes meet. ‘Ebony,' he says breathlessly. ‘Come here.'

He opens his arms and I jump into them. He lifts me above his head and swings me around. Whistling, clapping and cheering breaks out. Nathaneal lowers me slowly, and the way my body brushes his on the way down awakens my cells like nothing ever has before. Then his lips devour mine. I can't breathe, so I breathe him into me in great gasps and he moans and plants soft kisses all over my forehead.

His eyes meet mine. ‘Are you hurt in any way?'

‘No. I'm fine. And you?'

‘I'm good
now
.' He smiles. ‘Luca can never bother you again. Did they tell you?'

‘Yes. Thank you, with all of my heart.'

‘Unfortunately there's still work to do.'

‘So I hear, but I'm going to help you now.' It's a statement
not a question. He looks into my eyes, shifting his gaze from one to the other, then he nods.

And just like that, everything feels right with the world and I know I am exactly where I should be.

But something suddenly alerts my senses. I rub the back of my neck and look around as my mind spins in confusion. This is what it feels like when my Guardian alarm blasts into life. But that could only mean one thing. ‘
Jordan
is here?'

He doesn't deny it.

‘Where is he? Can I see him? Why did you bring him?'

‘It's a long story. I'll explain as soon as I've checked with Gabriel that his soldiers are in place and have begun constructing the wall.'

‘Everything is in order,' Gabriel says, coming up beside us.

‘And the rest of your troops?'

‘Are on their way.'

Mela touches my arm. ‘Did you say Jordan is here?'

Nathaneal turns to Gabriel. ‘Gabe, have Jordan brought down. He's lived without his mother for long enough.'

Gabriel flies up through the blue light and brings Jordan back himself. Jordan is looking for me before his feet touch the ground. When he sees me, his grin could paint the sky. We hold each other for a few very precious moments. ‘I thought I'd never see you again.' He glances up at Nathaneal. ‘All is forgiven. You got her back, and that's all that matters. The rest is –'

He sees Mela and freezes. ‘Ebony, is that who I think it is?'

My voice is thick with emotion. ‘Your mother is alive, Jordan. You're looking at her now.'

He walks over to Mela and they study each other.

‘How can this be?' Jordan asks, still not quite allowing himself to believe it yet.

‘Luca lied and manipulated us all,' Nathaneal explains. ‘But it's over now, Jordan. Luca is dead, and you and your mother can be together.'

Mela struggles to hold back her emotions. ‘You've grown so big!' She thrusts out her hand about waist high to indicate the height he was the last time she saw him.

Subtle laughter ripples through everyone. Some wipe tears away as mother and son embrace for the first time in eight years. It's a private moment, but impossible to look away from. When I glance up, Nathaneal's eyes are on me, glistening. He smiles and winks and my love for him swells and grows impossibly deeper.

Michael and Jerome are at the gate assessing the situation in Odisha. They return with worried faces.

‘What's going on?' Isaac asks, getting our attention.

‘It's anarchy down there,' Michael says. ‘Troops are trying to take control of the looting. And there are souls massing that don't look anything like humans.'

‘Up this high, at least the souls shouldn't bother us,' Jez says. Then she notices their troubled looks. ‘What's different about those souls?'

‘They have wings,' Michael says.

Everyone gasps. Even the soldiers stop what they're doing until Gabriel yells at them, ordering another newly arrived unit to begin laying the foundations for the wall.

Jerome touches Nathaneal's arm and says softly, ‘Bro, we got a problem.' He jerks his head at the gate. ‘The reaction is escalating. It's especially visible on the inside. We don't have long before the entire gate disintegrates.'

Nathaneal turns to Gabriel. ‘The wall must be completed in the next few hours.'

‘That's impossible!' Gabriel protests. ‘There's a process to making these bricks. They have to be set in a high-temperature kiln.'

‘Make it happen.'

‘My warriors can hold back anything that comes at us for as long as we have to. The rest of my company will arrive soon, and I'll allocate half to construction, the other half to patrolling the gate.'

Jordan is so happy he's oblivious to the escalating tensions in the air, making my Guardian alarm hum contentedly. Keeping an arm around his mother and a big grin on his face, he asks whoever is listening, ‘Does this mean you people have got this covered and we humans can leave now? I would really like to take my mother home now.' He looks over at Nathaneal. ‘Will she be able to live with us?'

‘Of course, Jordan.'

‘Oh, man, that's great. Thanks, mate.' He squeezes Mela's shoulder. ‘Did you hear that, Mum?'

She nods and gives him a big smile, but can't dispel the worry from her eyes. Jezelle sees it too and gently coaxes the pair to a safer distance along the bridge.

When she returns Michael gives her a quizzical look and she shrugs, ‘I didn't want to burst their happy little reunion when the flying dark souls arrive and we enter battle mode.'

Michael quips, ‘You're not getting soft and mushy on us, are you, Jez?'

‘Not in your lifetime,' she returns. ‘Just saving myself work for when the gate disappears and all the inhabitants of Skade decide to leave for a better world.' She turns to Gabriel. ‘Seriously, do we have enough military power here, right now, to stop those other creatures Prince Luca kept hidden in his underground compounds? You know I'm not talking about dark souls with wings.'

Nathaneal calls Lhiam and Elijah over. ‘What did Skade's king keep locked in those underground compounds?'

Elijah says, ‘That would be the chimeras, my prince.'

A chorus of exclamations erupts but quickly dies down when Nathaneal lifts his hand. ‘How many?'

The two rebel Thrones glance at each other uncomfortably before Lhiam quietly clears his throat. ‘Five hundred thousand, give or take a few hundred. Their populations alter daily. Some kill each other, some breed together and have …
infant
chimeras, but the king's preferred method was genetic modification. He would pit teams of scientists against each other in a competition of who could create the deadliest, fastest abomination. Of those winning designs, he had thousands cloned.'

Chills slink deep into my bones and everyone else's by the gasps of shock and outrage that greet this news.

Gabriel allocates more soldiers to building the wall.

Nathaneal glances at the foundations already beginning to show, then asks Gabriel to show Lhiam and Elijah the wall plans and brick-making formula put together by a specialist team of scientists, engineers and biochemists. He
asks the Throne rebels, ‘When this wall is finished, knowing it has been constructed out of two of the strongest elements in the universe, in your opinion will it hold back the chimeras?'