Broken Wings (Hidden Wings Series Book Two) (27 page)

“Thanks, Malachi,
” I blushed. I was glad he said it, because I was starting to doubt myself.

Next, I went to Dominic and hugged him tightly.

“Don’t worry, Emma. We’ll be seeing each other again. Just remember when we do, don’t go getting all emotional and lovey-dovey with me, especially if Kade is watching,” he winked.

“Oh my G
od,” I laughed.

“I told y
ou to stop calling me that. It’s Dom. Just Dom,” he laughed.

I
loved Dom. Not in a romantic way, but he was the coolest, most fun Guardian I’d ever come across. Without Dom, this new world would have totally sucked. Of course Kade was part of that world, but he was in a whole different category.  

“Shut up, Dom,” Malachi snapped. “Emma, just stay safe. Keep your dagger close to you and don’t be Shut-up scared to use it if you need to.”

“About that dagger,” Samuel butted in. “Dominic, h
ow did come into possession of Michael’s dagger?”

Dominic shook his head.
“He actually approached me and told me that he wanted me to be its keeper, until it found the one it was supposed to go to next. He said I’d know and feel when it had found its next keeper. Ever since Emma came near it, it started to buzz. I felt like it was begging me to hand it over to her. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. I don’t know what kind of connection Emma has to the dagger, but I’ve never seen it passed to anyone other than a Pureblood,” Dominic said.

“Me either,”
Samuel agreed.

“Yeah, I thought that wa
s pretty odd that she could be in possession of it for so long and not have any ill effects, or be unable to control it.” Malachi added.

“Well, as long as it works for her, who cares
about the formalities,” Dominic said, patting my shoulder.

“I
actually have to agree with Dom… again,” Malachi sighed. “Now that is frickin’ weird. I really need to get the hell out of Hell and clear my head.”

“Dude,
I’m just growing on you,” Dom grinned.

“Yeah, like a damn tumor,” Malachi huffed.
We all laughed for a moment.

“I
t’s time for us to go our separate ways,” Samuel said. He walked up to Dominic and Malachi. “Good-bye my brothers. I wish you a safe passage back to Alaine and the others. Please take care of her, and tell her that I love her, and will do my best to return to her safely.”

“Hell yeah
! You’d
better
return, because living with Alaine, if anything happens to you
again
, will be unbearable. I don’t think any of us would survive for long. So you better keep yourselves safe and make it back. Deal?” Dominic held out his hand to Samuel, and in return he shook it.

“Deal,
” Samuel answered.

“Wait!” I gasped
, picking up the container, which held Danyel’s ashes. “Please take him out of here.”

“Sure
,” Dominic said. He took the container and placed it in his pocket.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But just so you know… I won’t be spreading Danyel’s ashes anywhere. These will be staying right here in this container until you come back and spread them yourself, wherever it is that you wanted them spread,” he said.

“Fine,
” I exhaled.

Dominic was
giving us both some pretty good incentives to return, which was good. At least we did have more than a few things to look forward to when, and if, we did return.

“Please tell Kade that I’m okay, and that I’ll see him soon
,” I added with a grin.

“Fine,”
Dominic huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Alright,
Emma. Are you ready for this last journey?” Samuel asked.

“Yes,” I breathed. He held his hand out
to me and I took hold of it. We gave one last glance at Malachi and Dominic before we turned and started on toward the last gate. Their faces looked so somber and sad, and I felt my heart shatter again.

I was
glad when our backs were facing them, because tears had begun to pool in my eyes, daring to spill over. I tried hard to contain them, and quickly dabbed the wet away. Samuel glanced quickly at me, but didn’t say a word.

We
slowly made our way past the corpses of the Hell Hounds and into that very last tunnel. It was dark and smelled horrible.

When we reached the end of the last tunnel, we still had a long ways to go before we reached the gate
. The gate which would give us access to Lucifer,
if
we were even allowed to pass.

Samu
el stopped me about five feet out of the tunnel.

“Emma, your mark. We
need to disguise it,” he said, looking at me with sad eyes.

“Just d
o whatever you need to do. I just want to make it out of here in one piece.”

“This is going to
hurt a bit,” he said, pulling out a small knife from his pouch.

Oh dang
. This was
really
going to hurt.

“I’
ll try my best to keep it from hurting too much. I just have to mask Alaine’s mark. It’s her mark that will make them question.”

I nodded. “Soooo, are you planning on cutting
it off?”

“No,
” he said kneeling down, behind a rock to the side of us. “I’m going to burn it off, but it will only be temporary. Your mark will come back once it heals. This is just to keep anyone from suspecting that you are anything more than a Nephilim.”

“Okay,” I said. That sounded simple enough.

He gathered some things from his pouch and laid them on the ground. With a w
ave of his hand a flame burned.  He held the tip of his blade over the fire until it glowed a bright orange. I swallowed hard.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” I lied. I turned my back to him, closed my eyes tight, and sucked in a deep breath. As soon as I did, Kade’s face flashed in front of me. His smile, his dark-brown disheveled hair, and his glowing, hazel eyes. I suddenly felt horrible that I was acting like a baby. Kade had endured the worst burns I’d ever seen, and still managed to be strong.

Samuel
placed one hand on my shoulder.

“
This is the first time I’ve seen Alaine’s mark,” he said.

“Is it bad?”

“No.” That’s all he said.

“Do you know who the mark belongs to?”

“Yes, but it’s not for me to share,” he said.

Whatever. I was used to unanswered questions. I just wanted to get this over with.

“Just do it,” I said.

“Alright. Deep breath.”

I sucked in, as h
e pressed the hot blade to the back of my neck. I flinched at the searing pain, but didn’t move. I bit down hard, and sent my thoughts to Kade. This was nothing compared to what he was enduring.

After a few moments
, the heat ended.

“You’re so
strong, Emma.”

“I don’t think so. Not compared to the rest
of you. Not compared to Kade,” I breathed.

“Well, t
hat should do it.” He softly, squeezed my shoulder and then released.

“
Good. I hope so.”

“
Well, they can’t question what they can’t see,” he said. “But just remember what Danyel told you. Don’t be fooled by Lucifer’s words. His words are smooth but deceiving. Just remember why we are here.”

“So, is
Lucifer as scary as everyone paints him to be? Does he have horns and a tail?”

Samuel laughed and shook his head.
“Not even close. Lucifer was one of the most beautiful angels in Heaven before the Fall. When he worshiped, his voice was like that of a hundred beautiful choirs, filling the air with the most beautiful melodies. As time went on, and he received more and more praise from the angels around him, his heart began to fill with more pride. Pride turned into jealousy, and jealousy into bitterness and hate. It was that which became his downfall and had him expelled from Heaven.”

“Because of his gift
, and the way he could sway others with his words, a third of the angels chose to go with him. Danyel and I were amongst them. We were part of the Fall.”

Samuel’s face was
saddened. He’d succumbed to the Prince of Darkness’ forked tongue, and it worried me. If they couldn’t withstand his deceiving words, how was I supposed to?

“Well, I have you with me
now. I’m not worried. Plus, I reeeeeeally would like to get out of Hell as soon as possible!”

Samuel smiled.
“Good then. Let’s get this over with and get back to the others?”

“Sounds amazing. I stink and
I am dying for a shower.”

“No dying on my watch,” he chuckled.

“Deal,” I laughed.

As we drew closer, the gate was towering and ominous. It was tall, black, and twisted, with large, sharp barbs covering it. I couldn’t see how far it extended because it disappeared into the darkness on each side.

Two large torches were set on either side of the gates opening, and in front of it stood a tall, hooded creature.

Was that the Grim Reaper? It
looked exactly like him. Whatever it was, it was what I had always envisioned standing at the gate of Hell.

Chapter 16

We were about twenty-five feet away, and the tall, hooded figure still stood frozen. I wondered if it was real, or if it was just a statue.

“What
is that?” I whispered to Samuel.

“T
he last gate keeper.”

“Is he real? I haven’t seen him move since we exited the cave.”

“Yes. He’s very real. Let me go in first and talk to him. You stay here, and I’ll let you know if, and when, it’s safe to come.”

“Okay
.”

“ Emma, i
f anything should happen, Malachi and Dominic are still waiting beyond the tunnel on the other side. I’m not saying that it will, but just in case… run back to them.”

My heart twisted
.

“J
ust don’t let anything happen. Please,” I begged. I needed him.

“I’ll try,
” he said, resting his hand on my shoulders. He nodded, and I nodded in return.

I remained in my spot and watched Samuel walk towards the creature. My pulse star
ted to race as different scenarios started to run through my head. Would he call me to come, or would I have to run? I watched in anticipation, hoping for one, but ready for the other. 

As
Samuel moved closer, the creature started to move. It raised a large, sharp sickle above its head.

HO-LY Crap!

I strained to see if I could make out what was under its long, black cloak, and as the light from the torch illuminated it, I gasped. It was bones. Like…only bones. A skeleton.

But, w
hat the heck was holding all of its pieces together? OMG! It
was
the damn Grim Reaper!

I watched as Samuel stopped a few feet in front of it. It towered over him and stood over
ten feet tall.

I strained to listen as Samuel spoke.
“It is urgent that we speak to Lucifer,” he said, in an even, serious voice.

The creature shoo
k his head and pointed behind him. It looked like he was telling him to leave. Right now, that seemed like a pretty damn good idea.

“It’s regarding
his son. Lucian is planning to murder him, and he needs to be warned.”

The creature
stood as still as a statue for a few long seconds, then made a motion with his arm. Samuel stepped closer and turned his head. I think he was showing him his mark. Samuel spoke to him in a softer tone which I couldn’t hear. I waited. Anxious. What was going on?

A few minutes
later the creature stepped forward, unlatched the gate, and swung it open. He then stepped aside.

No way!
That was too easy!

We’d fought
for our lives through every single gate, and I assumed that we would have to do the same to get through this one too.

But NO!
The scary death creature… aka the Grim Reaper… was the coolest of them all! He actually gave us a free passage into Hell.

Samuel motione
d for me to come to him, so without fear I went forward and took hold of his hand. As I walked past the Reaper, I didn’t know what to do.