Gilded Wings (16 page)

“Grimlock?” I gasped. Those creatures terrified me. If we hadn’t had backup in the Underworld, Samuel and I would have been dead at that Grimlock gate. They had already captured and injured both of us, and we were only alive because of Dom, Malachi, and Danyel.

“Yes, but I’m only going on hearsay, and what others have witnessed. I haven’t seen any of these creatures myself, and am hoping we won’t have to.”

“So, in other words… all Hell has broken lose,” Dom stated flatly.

“Yes,” Alaine answered. “The barrier is set up to keep the Fallen out, but we aren’t sure how it will affect the rest of these creatures. At the moment someone is holding them back and it might be because they are still gathering others.

“Whether it is Lucian or Lucifer, we need to be ready. It’s coming down to the end, and we need to make sure Emma is safe. Her safety is our top priority. I doubt they will attack us during the day because it will take time for their eyes to adapt to the light. But I have a feeling that soon, when darkness falls, we will have a battle on our hands. Until then, I need all of you to stay within the barrier.” She glanced around the room with a look of adoration. “I’m so proud of each and every one of you. I hope you all get your wings for this. You have proven yourselves time and time again.”

“What about Emma?” Malachi asked. “If those creatures were sent by Lucian, they will be coming for her. Shouldn’t she be taken to safety, or at the very minimum hide in the safe room?”

“Yes, Malachi. Our plans to leave and take her to a safe-house have been canceled. It’s too dangerous to take her outside of the barrier now, especially with the new threats. To be certain of her safety, Emma will stay in the safe room during the night, and I will allow Kade to stay with her.”

Both our heads snapped up to her.

“I trust you both, and know Kade’s intentions.”

“Thank you,” he said. “You know her safety is my priority.”

“I know,” Alaine answered. “This is why I am delegating it to you.” She turned toward the others. “I want you all to rest today and make sure your weapons are ready. I’m not sure if they will attack tonight, but if they do, I want to be prepared. I will be sending Henry and Miss Lily on an extended vacation, until this is all over.”

James was the only quiet one, and I’d forgotten he was even in the room until he spoke. “We all need to be on top of everything. There is no room for mistakes. We will stand guard around the property but inside of the barrier. The guard posts will be held until the sun rises.”

“I call back of house,” Dom said, raising his hand.

“Why? So you can be close to the kitchen?” Malachi smirked.

“Dude, you do have brains in that huge noggin of yours,” Dom snickered.

“Yeah, and if you keep jabbering, I’m gonna use my huge fist to knock in your
huge noggin.”

“Oh, someone’s mighty feisty today,” Alex said, slapping Malachi on the back.

Malachi turned and glared at him, “I’m prepared… for anything,” he rumbled back.

“We’re
all prepared,” Dom added. He then stood and threw his fist in the air. “We may be outnumbered, but we are mighty, and ready to kick some ass!”

“Yeah!” the rest of the Guardian’s yelled in agreement.

Whoever sent them knew what they were doing. They were an awesome team. I looked around at each of their faces, gleaming with confidence and positivity. We had the best team of Guardians in any world. I knew it because through each obstacle we’d endured, they all still remained.

My thoughts immediately went to Samuel. I prayed he was alright out there on his own. I wondered if he would be able to find some needed answers. Time was ticking, slowly running down to either our victory or demise.

The day went by much too fast while the Guardians prepared themselves for battle. War was coming, and it was coming soon. An annoying buzz of doom lingered in the air. I knew what we were up against. Our enemy was strong, and we were fiercely outnumbered. If the creatures of the Underworld could break through the barrier, I didn’t see any of us surviving. Not without help. 

Would Lucifer keep his end of the deal and come to our aid when we needed him?

All we could do was wait and see. My hope was dangling by the smallest of threads. Any kind of intense pressure would easily break it in two. It was fragile, but for now, it was intact. There was nothing I could do to make it stronger. My fate was balancing precariously on those around me. And when it came down to the end, I would do my part, whatever that may be.

War was inevitable. My greatest hope and prayer, was that we all survived.

PREPARED FOR THE NIGHT, I glanced out my window. The sun was lingering on the horizon, and I soaked in the beautiful colors it created against the darkening sky. It was as if the hand of God had created a master piece right in front of my eyes.

A single tear tickled my cheek, and I quickly swiped it away. I didn’t know how many more sunsets I would be able to watch, but at least I had this one. I made sure I took it all in. As the end drew near, I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted to be awake and aware of everything around me – to make every moment count like it was my last.

I was waiting for Kade to arrive and take me to the safe room. My super suit and dagger were in my duffle bag, and I was dressed in black sweatpants and my grey hoodie. I traced my finger across the black words over my left chest, wondering if in less than a week I would possess the same magical hidden wings as Ethon. No other Nephilim had the gift of wings, not even Alaine. But I couldn’t dwell too much on something so doubtful. I had enough to deal with in the present.

A soft knock at the door made my stomach flutter with butterflies. I walked just a little too fast to open it.

Kade held out his hand to me.

“Are you ready?” His charming crooked grin made me warm inside, and I watched on as he raked his fingers through his thick brown hair. I placed my hand into his and he pulled me against his body. Pressed tightly together, he leaned over. I thought he was going to kiss me so I closed my eyes, only to hear the door shut behind us.

That was embarrassing.

I quickly opened my eyes and his angelic face was an inch away, his sweet breath tickled my nose. Gently clasping his hand behind the back of my neck, he leaned closer and kissed me. When he pulled away, I was left dizzy.

“I’m ready,” I exhaled. He took the duffle from my hand and we began to walk down the hall toward the bathroom that had the secret door.

“How many secret doors are there in this place?” I asked.

“Three. One on each floor. There is a room right below us on the opposite side of the hall, and the last one is on the first floor, behind the grandfather clock in the foyer.”

“Wow. I would have never known.”

“Yeah, Alaine wanted to build a few more, but her late husband already thought she was crazy for even thinking of making secret doors which led to a safe room in the middle of the house. She had a lot of convincing to do, but he finally gave in. I’m glad she did it.”

“Me too.” I smiled thinking about how Alaine had planned everything out from the beginning, even though she didn’t know what the future held. She was a prepper.

Familiar thundering growls and barks erupted outside, just as we were making our way to the last room. The darkness had awakened the creatures.

As we entered the bathroom, I disconnected from Kade and made my way to the window.

“Emma,” he called after me.

“Just keep the light off. I have to see what’s out there.”

I slowly pulled the curtain from the window, and saw fiery red eyes slowly emerging from the forest.

Hellhounds. There were at least a dozen of them; more than any of us had anticipated.

“Emma,” Kade called, pulling the secret door open.

“Wait, please,” I whispered, frozen.

Malachi stood just inside the barrier, about twenty feet away from one of the beasts. His sword was drawn, and he was crouched, ready to take it on. There were too many Hellhounds for the few we had, even with all six of them fighting.

As I glanced to the right, I saw Thomas, and beyond Malachi to the left was Alex.

The Hellhound in front of Malachi stopped. Kade stood behind me and pulled back the curtain a bit more so he could see. His chest pressed against my back, so I leaned into him for support.

“What happens if they come through the barrier?” I said, my voice quavering.

“Then we run for the safe room,” he said, taking hold of my hand.

We watched helplessly, incapable of offering any help.

My breath seized as the beast crouched. It pounced toward Malachi, who stepped forward to meet it, his sword raised above his head. But as soon as the beast hit the barrier, it slammed to a complete stop and dropped to the ground. Sparks flew everywhere and the Hellhound yelped in pain.

“Oh my God. It worked,” I exhaled loudly. The barrier actually kept the Hellhounds out too. I wondered why it worked on Hellhounds and not the Darkling.

“Now we know they’ll be fine, so it’s time I get you inside before Alaine finds us standing here. There are monitors in the safe room where you can watch what’s going on outside.”

“Okay,” I agreed. Our hands were still locked together as he led me into the secret passageway. As soon as we were inside he clicked on a flashlight and handed it to me, then closed and locked the door behind us.

While we were walking to our safety, I started to feel horrible; I was abandoning the others. But I knew there was really nothing I could do to help. If I were out there, they would probably be worried about saving me, which would be more of a hindrance than good.

Once we reached the safe room and Kade locked the doors, I began to feel a bit claustrophobic. I walked over and sat on the bed.

“What happens if the Fallen break through, and find this secret room? We won’t have a way to escape, and this safe room will become our tomb.” My mind started to go haywire again, thinking up every negative scenario.

Kade grinned and made his way to me. He sat down on my side and took my hand. “Don’t worry. They all know what they’re doing out there. This is just for safety measures. Plus, there is another way out,” he said pointing under the bed. “It’s a downward drop of about a hundred feet that will take us into an underground tunnel that leads to the garage. It’s a last resort.”

“It’s good to know we have an option.”

Kade walked over to a cabinet on the wall, just above a small desk. When he pulled open the cabinet, inside were five small monitors which he clicked on.

Each screen was split, with two different views from different areas around the house. My eyes locked onto the first screen, looking out from the front of the house. Malachi was in the left corner of the screen but beyond him were three huge beasts, Hellhounds, stalking the perimeter trying to find a way in. Behind them I saw a set of black wings quickly fly past, and I could swear I saw red eyes flash. My heart dropped.

Was it Ethon?

I hadn’t seen, felt, or spoken to him since Bane dropped me off that night at the barrier. From what Alaine and the others had said, he and the goons hadn’t been in the tower. I didn’t even know if he was alright, or had been injured. Alaine said she spoke to Bane about Lucian setting the Underworld creatures free outside, but directly after he gave the information, he left as well.

Maybe they were in danger and needed to find another place to hide since Lucian’s Fallen and his creatures were out there now. They weren’t protected by any barrier, and would be easy targets. It could have been Ethon doing a fly-by just to check and make sure the barrier was still intact. Or maybe he was making sure I was safe.

But then again, maybe it wasn’t him. It could have just been one of Lucian’s Fallen. Hopefully it wasn’t Samuel. He couldn’t come on to the property and would be a sitting duck outside the barrier. I searched the other screens for any signs of a winged, but the skies were dark and empty. I still worried about Ethon. The bond wouldn’t allow me not to.

My mind started to run through even more scenarios, and this time I wondered if Bane had been telling me the truth. Up until the time he was sent by Ethon to take me to safety, he didn’t like me, and it was very obvious. Had he been trying to drive a wedge between us? It was too hard to judge the Fallen. For centuries they had been deceivers. I had no clue what to think anymore.

The only time Ethon lashed out was when I had hurt him by mentioning Kade. We were bonded, so it was understandable. But Kade was also a factor. A huge factor. I couldn’t just forget him and brush him off to the side like he didn’t exist.

“Hey,” Kade said, stepping in front of me, breaking my eye contact with the monitors and momentarily silencing my crazy mind.

I looked up into his beautiful eyes.

“You were in deep thought again. What’s bothering you?”

“How do you always know when something’s bothering me?” I questioned, gawking at him.

“Your brow was furrowed and your lips were turned down. I can read you like a book,” he replied.

“How?” I asked.

“You’re pretty easy,” he noted, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, I think you’re pretty easy too,” I countered.

“Alright then,” he said, stepping forward until he was about a foot away. He knelt down in front of me until we were eye to eye, and then placed his hands over mine.

His touch sent waves of pleasure through me.

Speaking in a very sexy, very slow voice. “What am I thinking right now?”

His hazel eyes locked onto mine and captured me. I swallowed hard, “That you want to—to…” I paused, my mind went blank.

“That I want to –
what
?” he asked, leaning forward.

“That—”

I tilted my head to one side, studying the expression on his face. If I was reading him correctly, the feeling was mutual.

I placed my hands on either side of his face pulling his sinfully beautiful mouth to mine. His protective arms coiled around me, his sweet mouth eagerly slid against mine as his velvety tongue entered my lips. Desire tingled through my insides When we finally parted he trailed warm kisses along the underside of my neck before resting his forehead against mine.

His breath was heavy. “I guess I am pretty easy to read.”

“Very easy,” I said breathless.

“Just for your information, I’ve never been easy to read until I met you,” he confessed.

Kade’s hand brushed down my cheek and landed on my chin. “I still vividly remember the first day I laid eyes on you. As soon as I walked into the hospital, I was incredibly nervous, when I asked the nurse which room you were in. It was the first time, after guarding you for over a year, I was going to finally meet you in person. I’d never previously met any other mortal I had guarded. You were the very first, and I never, in a million years, expected my bond to be attached to you.”

I smiled, remembering. “You must have been just as shocked as I was.”

“Shocked is an understatement,” he laughed. “When I walked down that hall, twenty feet from your door, I was slammed with a wall of feelings I couldn’t explain. It was as if I was being electrocuted, and the buzz continued to surge through my body. I had difficulty breathing, and although it was confusing, I knew it must have been the bond.”

“Didn’t we touch when you saved me from the car, the night of the crash?”

“If it did happen, I wasn’t aware. That night was a blur and a complete nightmare.  My adrenaline was pumping, and my whole focus was set on keeping the car from crushing you. It killed me inside that I was helpless to save your parents. You were screaming and in pain, so I had to put the sleeper on you and then quickly escape as help arrived.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, and I cannot thank you enough.”

“If it was to keep you safe, I’d do it all over again… in a heartbeat.”

My eyes threatened to tear, but I refused to be sad. There was too much of it right now, so I refocused on the good.

“How did you know it was the bond?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You said after you experienced all those feelings, you knew it was the bond. How did you know?”

“I’ve had several friends who found their mates, and the feelings they described when the bond connected them were the exact same I was feeling at that very moment. When I came around the corner and saw the same flustered, bewildered look on your face, I knew you were the one.

“But back then, all I could see was a girl who was lost, confused, and agonizing over the death of her parents. You were so innocent, and I wanted so much to help take the pain away. That look has faded, and is much different than the one I’m looking at right now. I can still see your pain, but I also see your strength, selflessness, and honesty. I see a girl who would do anything in her power to protect those she loves. But she is also confused by the bond.”