Last Rite (9 page)

“Gabriel? Are you okay?”

I stand in the Collective with my eyes closed for a second longer as the pain recedes, then heave a sigh and turn to Celine. “I’m fine. Any word on Lilith?”

She glides forward, shaking her head. “She doesn’t appear to be on the coil—” she says, waving a hand toward the Board, “—as best as we can tell, anyway. She’s tricky to get a fix on.”

I step back from the Board so I can get a broader sense of where my guardians are and sit as my chair materializes under me. I lean back and kick my feet up onto the footrest that solidifies just as I need it. I scan the Board, noting that there are the typical masses of red, mostly around cities and prisons, and white interspersed fairly evenly with the blue—business as usual.

“Gabriel?”

I pull my gaze away from the Board and look at Celine. She shuffles nervously next to my chair. “There’s something else.” She hesitates and I wait for her to continue. “We got a report that He’s trying to use a Mage and the Other to find her.”

“The Other?”

Her gaze drops to the floor. “Matthew.”

I grimace, because the pain is almost physical.

Matt
.

He had so much promise and I threw him to the wolves before he was ready. He was Frannie’s twin, and I thought he’d flourish as her guardian. But he wasn’t prepared to withstand the likes of Lilith and lost his wings because of it. And worse, he chose Lucifer over life on Earth as a Grigori. He’s lost to Heaven forever.

So, He’ll use Matt and the Mage to find her … “In her dreams,” I mutter to myself as I pinch my forehead. That would explain the intensity of them. My gaze slides back to Celine. “How connected is the Mage?”

She waves her arm in the air and looks over the grid that appears there. “I don’t have specifics on that.” She touches the grid, enlarging a portion. “He found her in young Lucifer’s mind. That’s all I have. I suppose it depends on how strong
his
connection to her is.”

My gut rolls—more evidence that I’ve let this transformation go too far. “It’s only a matter of time,” I say under my breath, fighting back the urge to strangle Luc. I knew our time was short, but now … they may have already found her.

She closes her hand over the grid, as if crumpling a sheet of paper, and it’s gone. “Can you Shield her from the Mage?”

“No.” I lean back farther in the chair, closing my eyes. I have to think. How am I going to pull this off?

“Gabriel.”

Luc’s voice coupled with a sharp kick to my ribs pull me from the Collective and I follow the Light back to the corporeal world. I open my eyes and sit up in the sand, and I can’t stop the groan as every muscle in my body clenches against the pain of the shift.

He looks at me curiously for a moment, then his mouth pulls into a tight line. He crouches down, getting into my face. “I need to know how much time we have.”

The pain recedes slowly and I take a deep breath, expanding my lungs. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” I growl, pushing him back.

“How would I know that? This is your plan, cherub,” he sneers, shoving me. “How long?”

I shove him back, feeling rage bubble inside me. “Not as much time as we need, thanks to you. Why didn’t you tell me about the Mage?”

He drops back onto his butt in the sand as his face pulls into a mask of shock. “Unholy Hell.”

Over his shoulder, I see Frannie crossing the beach toward us. I glare at Luc as she reaches us, trying to contain my fury.

LUC

“What’s going on?” Frannie’s voice startles me, and I lift my forehead from my hand. “What’s a Mage?”

“Tell her,” Gabriel spits, darting me a look that could kill.

I sigh deeply. How did I not remember the Mage? When I realized I was demon again—that Frannie didn’t want me anymore—I’d willingly gone back to Hell with Rhen, hoping Lucifer would throw me into the Fiery Pit and be done with me. But instead, He decided to make an example of me. He tortured me for days, then sent the Mage into my head looking for Frannie. And I was weak. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of her—giving it what it needed to find her. At just the memory I can almost feel it tearing through my mind, looking for her. And I can see Lucifer’s satisfied sneer when He knew the Mage had found her.

“Mages are creatures of the Abyss.” I stare out over the water because I can’t make myself look at Frannie. “Like me,” I add, and feel my face twist into a grimace. “But they live in the Shadowlands—the space between planes.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Frannie asks impatiently.

My eyes flick to her. “One of Lucifer’s Mages found you in my head when Rhen brought me back.”

She just stares blankly at me. “What does that even mean?”

My jaw grinds tight as self-loathing eats at my gut. “It means I’ve put you in danger.”

She looks at Gabriel. “So, what’s new?”

He reaches up for her hand and holds it as he says, “This is serious, Frannie. Mages can invade a mortal’s dreams. So I need you to be honest with me. Have you had strange dreams?”

“How would I know if there was a Mage? In my dreams, I mean?” she evades, sinking to her knees in the sand next to Gabriel.

He heaves a sigh of frustration, but I speak before he can press her further.

“Mages are the demonic equivalent of a nightmare. They work their way into mortals’ heads, which is easier when your conscious thought slows—just as you fall asleep. They may or may not show themselves in the dream, but either way, they’ll show you things—what they want you to see—through other people’s eyes in your dreams.”

“If it showed itself, what would it look like?” She sifts sand through her fingers as she asks, avoiding eye contact with either of us.

“It would appear as it is, I suppose. Black, shadowy, insubstantial.” I try to read her face as I say it, but it’s intentionally blank.

She drags in a heavy breath and holds it for a moment, thinking, then blows it out, seeming relieved. She straightens and looks at Gabriel. “I haven’t…” but she goes pale as her eyes widen. “Wait.”

Gabriel leans toward her, and I can see the concentration on his face.

“You’ve seen it,” he says.

“Get out of my head, Gabe!” she shouts, pulling her hand away from his.

“Make me,” he says, shifting onto his knees, closer to her. “Push me out.”

Frannie’s face sets, determined, but after just a minute she crumples, defeated. “I’m never gonna be able to do this.”

“So, answer my question,” Gabriel says, softer.

She stares hard at him, but then her face softens and she nods. “I had a … Taylor was floating, dead, and I was drowning. There was a black face with red eyes … just for a second. It pulled me under the waves,” she says, looking haunted.

I have the distinct feeling there’s more she’s not saying, but, for now, it’s enough to know the Mage has found her.

Alarm flits behind her gaze as she looks at Gabriel. “How do we get away from it? Do we have to leave?”

He shakes his head. “This is one demon we can’t lose so easily.”

Panic cuts through me like a cold dagger. I need to distance myself from her—to gain my infernal power back. But if the Mage has already found her, there’s no time.

I hold her gaze, trying to keep my head straight and not get lost in her eyes. Steeling myself, I take a deep breath. “In the dream where you saw the Mage … did you see anyone else?”

She shrugs. “Taylor … like I said.”

“No one else?” I press, my voice hard.

“This thing is just in my dreams, right? If it’s only in my imagination, what’s the big deal?” she asks, her jaw set and her eyes narrow.

“It’s much more than your imagination, Frannie,” Gabriel interjects. “Don’t make the mistake of underestimating it just because it’s not part of our physical world. In reality, that makes it even more dangerous.”

“Okay, fine,” she says, her glare swinging back to me. “So, you’re the expert on stuff from Hell. What’s the danger?”

My chest clamps tight and I’m having trouble finding air. “It’ll show up in your dreams for one of three reasons. First, to show you something it wants you to see; second, to try to decipher where you are, or third…” I hold Gabriel’s gaze, “… to allow Lucifer to follow it in.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrow and Frannie’s widen. “Lucifer?” she says and shudders despite the sticky heat. “What do you mean, follow it in? To my
head
?”

“Mages are splinters of His essence. Once one is in your head, if its connection is strong enough, it’s like a part of Lucifer is there, and the rest can follow.”

Panic spreads across Frannie’s face. “You mean, for real? He could show up here?”

“Not in corporeal form, but His essence, which is no less dangerous.”

She pushes herself to a stand, staring down at me. “I need to think.” She turns toward the water.

I watch as she staggers down the beach and drops into the sand on the other side of the bungalow.

“What are the chances that Lucifer has already found her?” Gabriel asks, his voice tight with barely contained fury.

I shake my head. “Hard to say.” My eyes shift to him, where he still sits in the sand. “You’d have a better handle on that than I would.”

Quicker than lightning—literally—he’s on me. Before my human eyes can even register that he’s moved, my T-shirt is wadded in his fist, and his face is an inch from mine. He grits his teeth and spits, “I had one shot at this. Now there’s no way she’ll be ready in time.”

I plant a hand on his chest and shove him back. “What the Hell are you talking about?”

“You’ve killed her.”

7

Soul Kiss

FRANNIE

I lie back in the sand and stare up at the haze of the cloudless sky. I’ve never felt so trapped in my life. Caged. Even in my dreams, I’m not free.

Staring out over the cresting waves, I work on letting them calm me, slowing my racing mind. My mini victory over my Sway seems pretty insignificant now.

Lucifer—in my dreams.

I close my eyes and the memory is so sharp it cuts—the feel of His black bats wings pressing me to Him, the burn of His cold heat, and how much I lusted for Him.

My breathing comes in short pants. I feel sick.

I force the thought of Lucifer away and think of nothing but the rolling waves. With the waves comes a rhythm. And with the rhythm comes a tune—a familiar tune that I can’t quite place. I hum along softly as it loops through my head, feeling more relaxed, and see the flashing image of a beautiful green-eyed boy.

I open my eyes, trying to remember. I know the boy. I’ve seen him before.
But where?

When I glance up the beach, I catch sight of the guys, and at first I can’t figure out what I’m seeing. They’re moving across the sand, just at the edge of the surf, close and then apart.

Are they dancing?

I squint at them and, despite everything, feel a smile pull at my mouth.

But the next second, Gabe lunges forward, grabbing Luc, and they go down hard on the sand. Gabe’s fists fly, and, at first, Luc only seems to be trying to push him off, but then he cocks his fist and pounds it into Gabe’s face. Gabe’s head snaps back, and he rolls to the side. But then he’s back on top of Luc, his hands around Luc’s throat.

I sprint up the beach as Luc twists Gabe into a leg lock and throws him off. Luc hauls himself out of the sand and stands over Gabe.

“Stop!” I yell as I reach them, standing between them with my arms out. “What the hell are you doing?” I realize I’m shaking when I hear it in my voice.

“Tell her!” Luc demands, wiping away a trickle of blood from his split lower lip with the back of his hand. “You’re putting her life in danger. The least you can do is have the decency to tell her.”

Gabe pulls himself to his feet. He leans toward Luc, and I hold him back with a hand to his chest. “
I’m
putting her life in danger? You’ve done nothing but endanger her from the moment you set foot in Haden. We wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for you.”

A shadow passes over Luc’s face and his gaze drops to the sand.

“What’s going on?” I ask, feeling the shake work its way into my legs, which suddenly feel like Jell-O.

Gabe’s eyes connect with mine, and there’s something in them, a combination of shame and fear, that I’ve never seen there before. He grasps my arm, not so gently, and starts walking. “Inside” is all he says, but his expression is deadly serious.

Gabe all but throws me onto the couch when we get inside, but I have the distinct feeling it’s not me he’s mad at. And I don’t know what to think about Luc. He sits in the chair glaring at Gabe as he lowers himself onto the couch. For someone who just got done telling me he didn’t care what happened to me, he seems pretty concerned.

I look between the two of them. “So?”

Luc glares death at Gabe. “Enlighten her.”

Gabe sighs deeply and hangs his head. “This isn’t how I was hoping it would go,” he says.

“How is it going?” I ask.

He lifts his head and glares at Luc. “Too fast.”

I touch his arm, drawing his eyes. “Tell me.”

He blows out another sigh, but he doesn’t divert his gaze. “We were supposed to have time. I was going to work with you—train you to protect your mind and use your Sway.”

I nod. “You said that. I’ve been working on it,” I say encouragingly, thinking of the boy on the beach.

“But we’re out of time, and you’re not ready.”

“You’re worried about the Mage,” I say.

“Tell her,” Luc interjects, and when I glance at him, his face is hard, his lips pressed into a tight line.

“It’s not just that.” Gabe drops his gaze. “The rest of the plan was to use you to lure Him here.”

“Him?” I ask, afraid I know the answer.

His eyes flick to my face then away. “Lucifer.”

I feel light-headed as all the blood drains from my face. “G … Gabe…” I stammer, but that’s all I can manage through my shock.