Broken Wings (Hidden Wings Series Book Two) (18 page)

Samuel reached back and took my hand. His hand
tightened around mine, and as it did I took in another deep breath and refocused on him.

“
Come on, Emma,” he said calmly but firmly, leading me forward, step by miserable step, across the razor sharp field of rocks.

W
e were more than halfway there when I heard a familiar voice calling my name. I paused, but only briefly, trying to decide if my ears were playing tricks on me. There was no way it could have been the voice I thought I heard. I wanted to look. I needed to look, but my inner voice was telling me to keep my head straight.

“Emma.
I’m here, my sweet Emma. Come to me my darling,” the voice sang.

No way!

There was no mistaking that voice. It was my mom, Victoria. I knew her voice well, and the one that was calling me, was undeniably hers.

“Emma,” she repeated
.

I
had to look. I turned my head, and immediately heard Samuel yell, pleadingly, “NO, EMMA! IT’S NOT HER!”

He jerked my hand, but it was too lat
e. My eyes had already locked onto my mother. She was floating towards me, as graceful and beautiful as I remembered her, as she’d always been. She was dressed in a flowing white gown, her face was flawless and beaming, and her perfect red lips were turned up into a warm smile. Her green eyes were piercing, and her delicate hand was outstretched toward me, beckoning me to come.

I was tingly all over and
my head felt like it was lost in a fog. My heart was telling me no, but my mind was telling me to go. I must have been in some sort of trance, and knowing this fact had my mind warring within itself. Every cell within me wanted to run into her arms and never let her go, but yet… there was that vague, still small voice, which told me that this was not real. That she was not my mother.

“Come my daughter.
Come to me,” she sang, as both arms were now opened to greet me.

It was her. I was sure of it. Her face, her hair, h
er beautiful green eyes. But then again… there was something in the back of my mind, and in the pit of my gut, that was waving a huge red flag.

Why would my mother be in H
ell? There is no way she could end up in a place like this. My mother was destined for Heaven.

“Come to me,
my sweet Emma. Come, to me and we will be together, forever.” Her voice was melodic, pushing my better judgment deeper and deeper into a dark, shrouded abyss.  

I tried to shake Samuel free
and run to her, but his grip was locked securely around me. He suddenly pushed me back, and then he jumped in front of me, and swung his sword at her.

“NO!” I cried, as his blade passed right through
the center of her, causing the apparition to disintegrate into white haze. But suddenly…the haze that Samuel had just swiped away began to take shape again. This time the apparition that reappeared was definitely NOT my mother.

I gasped and fell
backwards onto the razor sharp rocks, locking eyes with a horrifying, ghostly creature. Its eyes were black and sunken; its face was shriveled, long, and terrifying. Sharp pains shot through my hands, and I knew they’d been sliced from falling onto the razor sharp rocks. I could feel the warm liquid dripping from my wounds, but right now that was the least of my worries.

Samuel swung again
and again, but his efforts were useless. The creature would dissipate for a few short moments, but would appear again, arms outstretched, eyes locked, and heading straight for me.

“Run, Emma!” Samuel yelled
.

I tried to get up
but was suddenly surrounded with a dozen or more of the same ghostly creatures. I reached for the dagger that Dominic had given me, unsheathed it, and grasped it tightly in my bloodied hands. I held on to it as tightly as I could, hoping it wouldn’t slip. I forced myself to stand, and then glanced toward Samuel. He was still swinging away, and trying to make it back to me. “RUN, Emma! NOW! Get to the third gate!”

Gate? It wasn’
t really a gate. It was just another darkened tunnel. But right now, that dark tunnel seemed much safer than the horrifying demon creature that was chasing me, trying to steal my soul.

These past few days had drastically altered my
life. I’d learned never to question those around me. In my new world I could die if I paused, or questioned, so I took off as fast as I could, toward the next gate.

It looked like it was about
25 yards away. I kept going.

Twenty
yards.

I was still on my feet, but my ankle twisted a few times. H
orrifying screams echoed on both sides of me. From the corners of my eyes I could see more white figures hovering in my direction. Keep moving.

Fifteen
yards.

A sharp pain shot through my
ankle as it twisted on a sharp rock jetting out from the ground. I went down hard, throwing my arms out in front of me to catch my fall. They were now doubly sliced to shreds. I should have been impaled by the sharp rocks I fell onto, but the suit protected me.

I
managed to keep the dagger within my grasp, despite the blood pouring from them, which made it slippery. I knew the creatures were already too near, and I already out of time. Instead of getting up and running, I quickly rolled to my back to defend myself.

The nearest creature
, a few feet away, had its mouth gaping wide, like a python unlocking its jaws, ready swallow its victim whole.

Shit
!
That thing was frickin’scary!
 

I thrust
my arm upward, which held the dagger, not sure if it would find its mark. But as I raised it, the dagger and its hilt began to glow with a blinding light. The light was so bright that it fully illuminated the darkness all around me.

I
thrust the dagger at the oncoming creature, and as it passed through, it screamed most horrible, painful cry, and then shot off into the darkness.

The other two creatures attacked
, so I swung the lighted weapon towards them. As soon as the light touched them, they screamed and writhed in pain. Their withered hands tried to block out the light from their hollowed eyes, and they quickly retreated into the cover of darkness.

Samuel
suddenly appeared, and took hold of my other hand and pulled me up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, with a concerned look on his face.

I held the light over me to do a quick examination. No holes or anything life threatening, except for the blood all over my sliced hands. This suit was like wearing a suit of armor.

“I’m fine,” I answered.
 

I now had no doubt that this
dagger was definitely magical. It kept the creatures away. I could hear them, but they remained hidden somewhere in the dark recesses of the cave. I held it up high, like a torch to light our path, and continued to hear the painful screams all around us. 

“Where did you get that
dagger?” Samuel asked.

“Dominic gave it to me
last night. He told me that it was Michael the Archangels.”

“I know exac
tly to whom that dagger belongs. I was there the day it was presented to him, as a gift from the Almighty himself. Only Michael, or those deemed worthy by him, could ever possess this dagger, let alone be in possession of it for any given length of time.

“
To be deemed worthy to possess such a gift is one of the greatest honors ever bestowed. Only a handful had been chosen to possess this magical and ancient relic, and up until now… they were only Purebloods,” he exhaled and shook his head, as if he was in complete awe.

He didn’t need
to speak another word. I could read his expressions very clearly. He was completely baffled. How could I, his seventeen year old, non-pureblooded daughter be in possession of Michael the Archangel’s dagger?

Hell if I knew!
I was just as baffled, and didn’t even know who Michael the Archangel was. It was Dominic who he gave it to last, so Dominic must have been deemed worthy.

But now
, the real question was… why did I end up with it?

Was it really
calling to me, like Dominic said? Did Michael the Archangel know that his dagger would end up in a non-Pureblood’s hands?

It must have been fate.
It had to have been. There was no other reasonable explanation. None that I could think of.

Fate.
That was such a broad word, which I didn’t fully understand, let alone use in my everyday vocabulary. I was beginning to learn that my life was now completely in fate’s hands.

I shook my head.

Way too much information. My brain was already at full capacity.

I glanced at the dagger
again. Its white handle was still glowing brightly keeping the creatures away. We were now only steps away from the next gate, and I was certain there was something, even more horrifying, waiting for us somewhere within, or on the other side of this dark tunnel.

Samuel wrapped his arm around me, most likely to keep me
from tripping and falling again. I was thankful he did, because I didn’t know how much more my injured hands could take.

“Any last words?”
I questioned. He turned and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “I mean… do you want to give me a heads up on what I should or shouldn’t be doing when we enter this next gate? I sort of want to be prepared. Believe me…This time I won’t question your advice.”

H
e chuckled. “The only advice I have for you, to get through this next level, is to stay on your feet and move as quickly as possible.”

“
Crap. So what will I be running from this time?”

He paused. “Do you like snakes?”

“Snakes?” I exhaled. A shiver rolled down my spine at the thought of them. “I hate snakes. I’m terrified of them.”

His eyes furrowed
and right then I knew that this next level would contain those slithering, disgusting, vile creatures.

“
Double crap. Okay. So, like how many snakes are we talking about?”

“
Well, let me try and give you a rough estimate. I’d say somewhere between the range of one to maybe thousands,” he answered flatly. My heart suddenly stopped beating, and I felt every ounce of blood drain from my face. “But don’t worry. I’ll get you through it. There is one particular serpent that I’ll need to take care of first. You just keep your distance, and wait for my signal. Once I give you that signal, I need you to run.”

“Where am I running
to?”

“T
o the end of the tunnel, but DO NOT go beyond it.” I was afraid to ask why. “There are many dangers beyond this cave, and things you definitely don’t want to run into. Just stay about ten yards in. Hide yourself, and stay hidden until I come for you.”

I nodded
.

He
sounded so sure of himself. I just hoped he would be able to defeat whatever he was up against, without Danyel’s help.

My body began to heat up
, and I felt like I was suffocating. I closed my eyes and tried to focus and slow down my heart rate. As I did, I felt a coolness wrap around me. The suit had turned up its cool level, and just in time. I took in a deep refreshing breath. 

“Emma, just stay behind me. When the next creature
comes, I’ll divert its attention, and will yell when it’s safe for you to run,” he whispered.

Was he kidding
? I mean seriously. He was totally scaring the crap outta me, and then expected me to run?

The ground began to shake, and I hea
rd something moving ahead of us, and then the Bloodstone started to warm my chest.

“
What is it?” I breathed.

“Shhhhh-”

Damn. He wasn’t going to tell me, so I assumed it was a snake. 

Chapter 10

Level 3:

I held the lighted dagger down to the ground to see what I’d have to be running through. The rocks here seemed a lot more manageable. They weren’t sharp or as jetted out as much as before. They were actually smoothed out. But as I looked closer, I could see why. Something had broken off all of the jagged parts. Something humongous that had probably slithered over them.

“Cover your
light,” Samuel breathed.

“What about
those soul ghouls?”

“Don’t worry
. They won’t enter this next level.”

I quickly
but unwillingly sheathed the dagger, and then gripped tight on to Samuel’s arm as we entered the cave. It was pitch black and suddenly eerily quiet. The air had a heavy putrid smell to it. The smell of death mixed with something else.