Relics (33 page)

“As Gabriel said, it is time for you to bring the relics here. Now.”

So much for having convinced him of anything.

“Michael, you can call this off.” Aurelia's voice was soft and sweet. “You are the leader now. I have known you for a very long time, and you are not evil. Please, let the human go and find another place to feed. One that will be mutually beneficial, as you have in the past. The elves will help you. We will find out why your needs are increasing and help reverse it, if at all possible.”

There was a long pause. More Light Ones arrived and spread out around Michael. I felt Michael tense up. His voice was rock hard, each word distinct. “You just killed my brother. I will follow his final wishes and open the portal.”

The Light Ones seemed to take the news of Gabriel's death in stride. There was no outcry or display of emotion, as I would have expected.

Michael's guards moved to either side of the room, accompanied by their fairy escort. I guessed they were telling the rest what had happened. Again, there wasn't the reaction similar news would have gotten from humans. Instead the Light Ones simply looked to Michael for their instructions. It was eerie and pointed out their differences to humans more than anything else had.

When he continued to remain silent, they simply waited. I thought that was even creepier, but was glad there wasn't going to be more killing – yet. I was afraid it would be my side the next time, since we'd quickly become outnumbered, even with more fairies appearing and spreading out.

I realized Michael had never been on our side, not even for those few brief seconds. My heart sank. I felt betrayed and resentful. The glimmer of hope that he was a “good” Light One died.

It was at that moment that I knew I was going to be dead very shortly. Even knowing everything I knew about the dead, I wasn't ready to die yet. I doubted Jones would be able to kill Michael before he killed me, even with his astonishing speed. I was sure Michael, unlike Gabriel, was keeping a very close watch on Jones.

“Bring the rest of the relics to this place now,” Michael said.

Recognizing the consequences if they did, I knew there was no way we could let Michael open that portal. If it was a choice between me or the portal, there really was no choice. With my heart pounding, more afraid than I'd ever been in my life, I looked for Thulu. When our eyes met, I said one word: “No.”

Michael shook me slightly. I felt the sharp point slide into my skin with a bite of pain. Michael immediately pulled it out, and a warm wetness trickled down my throat. I tried to appear calm and determined, but damn that hurt. I felt tears blur my eyes, and I looked down to hide them. When I was sure I could appear calm, I looked back up defiantly.

Thulu had reacted when Michael shook me, but Belus had laid a hand on his arm. I was glad to see Thulu stayed where I could easily find him. He had tears in his own eyes and made no effort to hide them. He looked more afraid than I'd ever seen him. Yet, he was ready to attack and stood poised lightly on the balls of his feet.

I found Reo next to him. Reo was furious, an expression I'd never seen on his handsome face.

Jones's expression was unreadable, as were most of the non-humans present. He'd positioned himself to Thulu's other side.

Some of my dead family and friends had appeared, probably in reaction to my fear. Even though she was dead, Nana Fae would be tuned in to me. Maybe even more so.

Nana Fae, Mama Deb and Evan were on one side of the group. Parker hovered in mid-air. Jane, Emily and Devon had also shown up. They all had varying expressions of shock, anger and fear. Their fear scared me most of all. I looked down to hide the emotions I knew were plain to see.

Jones finally spoke. “Michael, I would regret this human's death, but I cannot allow you to open the portal. We have all the relics. You have nothing, but one insignificant human.”

Gee thanks, Jones.

“She made a promise to Gabriel. That is binding.”

“It was not her promise to make. She was forced into agreeing.”

I wanted to speak, but was afraid I'd be cut again. My wonderful Thulu did it for me, understanding what I would have said.

“She had no intentions of ever giving you the relics. They aren't her property. She only made a false promise, in order to save our family. That can't be binding.”

“Bring the relics,” was Michael's only response. The other Light Ones were still waiting.

Jones sighed with resignation, his wings rustling. “Very well, Michael, but I will close the portal and banish every Light One on Earth back to your world. Know this, now. You should take the help the elves have offered. Perhaps they can even heal your people so you only need small amounts of energy, as you did in the past.”

There was a reaction from some of the other Light Ones at this, but Michael made no answer. Jones shrugged and transformed back into his human form. He stepped into our portal, followed by Aurelia, Belus and Aela. The rest of us remained in our frozen tableau as we waited.

I honestly couldn't see a way out of this for me. I could only hope that Jones had some sort of rescue plan, but I doubted it. My body was tense, ready to fight or fly as soon as I was released. I wasn't sure which one it would choose, since it seemed to be separate from my brain at that moment.

As fast as Jones was, I had no doubt that Michael could kill me. I wondered why he needed the dagger. Actually, I wondered a lot of things, with my out-of-control brain careening all over the place.

Did insanity run in Michael and Gabriel's family?  It seemed insane to me, anyway. His refusal to cooperate was going to get me killed, and he would still lose.

What was taking Jones so long?  Had he and the others simply left us there?  I discarded that thought. One thing I caught in Jones's mind was that his concern for humans was genuine. Go figure. It didn't mesh with his casual killing, but it was real.

I regretted my lie to Gabriel, but had no idea what I could have done differently to save my family. I looked at them, living and dead, then ducked my head as tears formed.

After a few moments I got control of my emotions long enough to give my family a shaky smile. My beloved Nana Fae smiled back and nodded encouragingly. Mama Deb and Evan tried smiles of their own, but they were flat. Parker looked as if he was going to cry. The other dead simply continued to look afraid, which I did my best to ignore. I was already scared beyond anything I could imagine.

I looked for my Thulu, and he stood where he'd been. Determined, strong, loving. Still standing next to him, Reo stared at me intently. When I made eye contact, his thoughts broke into mine for a moment.

“Strong and calm, Fi, strong and calm.”

Reo's thoughts and empathy eased my fear a tiny bit, but my brain quickly skittered off again, looping, jumping, looking for a way out. I'd catch on something for a moment, then off I'd go again. I wondered if Michael's insanity was contagious.

The wait for Jones seemed to drag on forever, but it eventually ended after about ten minutes.

Jones and the others returned with the three relics in their boxes. Aurelia held the four panels. Jones had put on an elaborate robe over his clothes. Black and studded with gems and embroidery, it was open in front to show his regular clothes. Wide sleeves hung almost to the floor. It was lined with a deep red satiny material. He carried another like it over one arm and handed that one to Sarah Grant, who handed him the scroll, before putting her robe on. Jones also carried a leather bag.

I felt Michael's muscles move as he unfolded his wings and rose up from the ground, easily taking me with him, his strong grip more than a match for the gravity that pulled me. He backed away slowly to the far end as everyone seemed to move with him. It had to look pretty strange seeing the entire group of different beings move as one, almost as if we had been choreographed in some bizarre dance. I wasn't even tempted to giggle though. I just wanted it to be over.

Michael settled back to the floor and lowered me more gently than I would have expected, but he didn't lessen his tight grip.

Thulu made sure he stayed in my line of sight. He nodded encouragingly.

I wasn't sure why Michael hadn't killed me yet. The thought occurred to me that maybe my death was a way of reversing the spell Jones was going to use to close the portal. Would a blood sacrifice be able to do that?  Open the portal instead of close it?  It seemed to be the only thing I could think of, and it sure explained why Michael was allowing Jones to continue uninterrupted. I willed my brain to go back to sluggishness. I didn't much like the alternatives it was conjuring.

Jones and Grant purposefully cleared a circular area of the floor, with the portal in the center.

Michael turned us slightly, and I saw we were near the small portal. It pulsated in fits and starts, sputtering to a larger size about three feet in diameter, before retracting to less than a foot across. There was no pattern that I could see.

I did notice the glittering dust of dead Light Ones on the floor in front of it. I had the hysterical thought that it gave whole new meaning to the term “angel dust.” I was almost thankful the dagger at my throat prevented me from voicing that thought. I wondered how many Light Ones had tried to use the erratic portal only to die when it contracted on top of them. It looked to be a lot of dust, and that was a lot of desperation.

Jones and Grant continued to set up, ignoring the rest of us. Someone had placed a simple wooden table near the portal and put the boxes and panels on them. Jones held the scroll and referred to it several times as he and Grant pulled the relics from their individual boxes. The boxes had been refitted with what looked like memory foam. Jones and Grant put them under the table.

Michael moved us to one side so we had a clear view of what Jones and Grant were doing.

Thulu countered and stayed where I could see him, with Reo still at his side. My dead family and friends moved to be nearby.

Jones pulled items from the leather bag. He set down two small silver boxes, unlatched each and raised the lid to show what looked like dirt in one and sand in the other. He pulled a gold box out. When opened, it revealed four small white balls.

I guessed the balls were made from rice flour, if the panel had been correct.

Jones pulled two small clear glass bottles from the bag. They both looked like water to me, but again using a panel as a guide, I was sure one was rice wine. There was a different rune embossed on each bottle.

Jones took another look at the scroll, rerolled it and handed it to Grant. He moved to our side of the table and looked up at Michael. His voice was quiet, yet carried in that empty space.

“I am ready to begin the ritual, Michael. Killing this human will not stop what I have to do. You will only succeed in taking one step closer to what your brother had become. I cannot believe you would do that. Killing is not something you do lightly, and this would be a meaningless death.”

“Amends must be made for my brother's death. The death of this human will hurt you.”

Jones looked down at me, dark eyes full of regret and pain. “This human is disrespectful, willful, contentious and stubborn – and her death would hurt me very much.” Jones continued to stare at me. Softly, so no one but Michael and I would hear, he said, “I am so sorry I brought all of this to you, my dear La Fi.”

Had Jones really just apologized to me again?  That had to mean he had no way to save me. I had a couple of false starts, but finally managed to say, “Not your fault, Jones.” I looked up at him and saw compassion and something else I didn't – or wouldn't – give a name to. I moved my eyes upward to indicate Michael. “They're the ones to blame.”

I looked at Thulu and realized he was only a few feet away. He stood with his fists clenched to one side and looked ready to launch himself at Michael. I made sure he saw me and gave a tiny shake of my head. 

“The cycle will never end, Michael.” Aurelia had joined us. “Gabriel killed millions of Dark Ones in his invasion of their world. He has killed goblins, elves, fairies and almost every other race over the eons.”