Revelations (Bloodline Series) (41 page)

“I
can try!” I cried.

“Moreover,
I don’t
want
to be saved. I still want this to go ahead, and if I have
to literally go through you to accomplish it...then so be it,” he seethed. “Let’s
see if you’re as good a fighter as you are an actress.”

“Ballantine—”

He
didn’t give me a chance to finish my sentence. He lunged at me, striking out
with his blade. The sword Eligos gave me appeared in my hand and I was able to
block him. A blast of energy escaped my chest, forcing him back. I lowered my
sword.

“I
don’t want to fight you,” I told him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You
won’t have a choice.”

He
came at me again, and we began the unstable dance of swordplay. I hadn’t had
much practice using a weapon, and so all I could really do was defend myself as
best I could and wait for the rare opportunity to strike. However, he easily
blocked my advances, even though I attacked with lightning speed. I moved backwards,
and we stepped around in an imaginary circle before he thrust his sword at me
once more. We struggled, and I managed to blast him away from me again. In a
fit of rage and with a vicious overhand motion, he threw his weapon at me. I
dashed to the side to avoid it, but the sword travelled so fast it sliced me
across the side of my rib cage. I screamed out in pain. For a split second
Ballantine actually looked upset that he’d hurt me. I clutched my now bleeding
side. I could see Eligos and Lily trying to come closer. Eligos looked livid.
Mason and another rather large demon also seemed to be running over to us to
aid Ballantine. I knew they would never reach us alive.

“Only
one of us can survive this, Keira. The question is, who has more to live for?” he
said, turning emotionless.

“That
would be me!” A ring of white fire appeared, keeping anyone from coming too
close, but also preventing
us
from leaving its boundaries. The powerful
flames rose several feet, dancing in the strengthening breeze. “This is between
you and I. Nobody else can interfere.”

“As
you wish,” he smiled. “Is this where you attempt to invoke divine justice upon
me?”

I
didn’t respond. I quickly attempted to heal the wound on my ribs, but for some
reason I couldn’t do it. This really annoyed me. I stood as straight as I could
and threw my hands out in front of me. Orbs of light, energy, and holy power
flew continuously from my palms. Ballantine moved quickly, avoiding most, but
was eventually struck several times. One particular orb slammed into his chest
and caused him to drop to the ground, writhing in sheer agony.

I
switched from using the power of the angel and returned to my demon self. A
thick dark smoke surrounded me. Before Ballantine was able to stand, it floated
over to him and started to seep into his skin. The pain must have been
excruciating…his cries chilled me to the bone. The potent dark magic was eating
away at his soul. He rolled over onto his back before his body contorted into
some horrific and un-natural positions. I cringed, and even had to look away
from the disturbing sight in front of me.

Ballantine
growled angrily, trying to fight it. His whole body glowed a brilliant white
and the thick smoke began vacating his body, almost pouring out of his mouth,
nose, and ears. He rose to his feet. He was furious. The ground began to
tremble, a sure sign that it was now becoming hard for him to control himself.
I readied myself for another attack, but I was starting to feel weak. Blood was
oozing from my ribs, and I could feel my energy levels depleting. Whatever
power his weapon had, it was definitely debilitating.

He
threw his hands out in front of him. An invisible force slammed into me,
causing me to fly backwards several feet before hitting the ground. I attempted
to get to my feet, but each time I tried, Ballantine would send a plasma ball
or an orb of pure energy straight at me. The pain inflicted upon me was almost
more than I could bear. My friends screamed out, telling me to get to my feet,
to fight back. That was proving to be more difficult than I imagined.

“Who
would have thought the royal mix up of Heaven and Hell would be so easily
defeated?” Ballantine jeered, stopping his onslaught for a moment.

This
touched a nerve. This wasn’t over; he hadn’t beaten me. I used his little break
in attacks to my advantage. I quickly rose to my feet, trying not to show the
agony I was currently experiencing. I balled my hand into a fist and Ballantine
was forced to his knees, clutching his chest.

“Do
not underestimate me!” I scolded.

I
held my free hand out to the side, and my sword reappeared. This was it…this
was my chance. Even if the sword didn’t kill him, it would incapacitate him
long enough for me to bring him to his death. I surged forward, and was about
to strike when he mustered the strength to reach up and grip my wrist. My sword
was quickly engulfed in holy flame, and I was force to release it. It vanished
before it hit the ground. He let go of me and sent a shock wave towards me, and
I was knocked back several feet. Before I was able to attack, Ballantine rushed
at me…I couldn’t move quickly enough to escape. His hand clasped around my
throat, and he slammed me onto the ground. I fought as hard as I could to break
free, but I just couldn’t find the strength. Then, I started to feel very warm,
my temperature increasing by the second.

“You’ve
heard the saying ‘burn in hell’ haven’t you?” he said between gritted teeth.

My
whole body now felt as though it were on fire, like I was being cremated from
the inside out. I feared that any moment now I would explode into flames. I
could feel beads of sweat trickling down my face.

“The
pain you feel now is nothing compared to the pain I
felt when I saw you’d
betrayed me,” he said, turning up the intensity of the heat. I screamed out—this
was torture and I couldn’t free myself. “I’m not an evil man; I won’t prolong
your suffering, Keira.” A dagger appeared in his free hand, the blade glowing a
rich shade of red. “I never wanted this. But you’ve left me no other choice. I’m
sorry.”

Chapter 55

Wrath

Eligos’s
Story

I
watched helplessly as Ballantine pinned Keira to the ground, torturing her in
some invisible way. Her screams made me feel physically sick. I wanted so
desperately to save her, but there was no way for me to get through the holy
flames surrounding them. The feeling of helplessness quickly turned to one of
fear and terror when I saw a blessed dagger appear in his hand. Keira was still
of demon blood, and that blade could kill her. Lily and Tyler screamed and
yelled to her, but it seemed she couldn’t hear them.

Ballantine
slammed the dagger into her chest, directly into her heart.

“Nooo!”
we all cried.

Lily
and Tyler instantly broke down in tears, their legs buckling beneath them. My
whole world had just suddenly ended, and I dropped to my knees. I could hear
the others screaming and crying behind me. Keira’s body shook violently and
rose slightly from the ground. I turned away quickly. I couldn’t watch, not
when I knew what was coming. Her body would glow and then slowly start to
evaporate. Her soul had been destroyed, and now her body would suffer the same
fate. How could I watch that happen?

I
closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of the people behind me still fighting
and the cries of Lily and the others. Then I heard something strange. Someone
was laughing. I looked up and saw Keira, still in a prone position but no
longer shaking. Instead, she laughed louder and louder. The flames which had
been encircling them vanished. I instantly tried to move forward, but something
was blocking me. I looked at the others and saw they too seemed to be hitting
an unseen wall.

Ballantine
stepped back from Keira, pulling the dagger from her chest and watching her
with an unreadable look on his face. My attention was then drawn to a figure
walking up behind him. It was hazy at first…I couldn’t even tell if it was male
or female. As it came closer my jaw hit the floor. It was Keira, looking
completely natural, like an everyday human being. She approached him silently
and without his knowledge. Her eyes suddenly turned the brightest shade of blue
I’d ever seen, her white vine like markings glowing brighter than ever before.
The version of Keira who was laying on the ground laughing evaporated before
our eyes.

“Ballantine,”
she spoke.

He
spun around so fast he became a blur. Before he had time to react she slammed
her fist inside his chest. A purple light travelled the full length of her arm,
disappearing inside his rib cage. I was waiting for him to cry out—the pain
surely would have been unbearable—but he remained silent. His jaw was clenched
and he made more of a loud, throaty, gurgling sound, looking her in the eyes
the whole time. After a minute or so he could no longer bear his own weight,
and he slumped to the ground. Keira’s hand was now free from his chest.

He
coughed and wheezed while trying to speak. “You can’t kill me Keira...I’m not
your…average...angel.”

“I
know.”

“And
you cannot take...me to Heaven...to have me killed.”

“I
know,” she said again, her voice overflowing with emotion.

Her
eyes remained blue, but I noticed the markings on her skin suddenly turned
black. Both her forms, the demon and the angel, were showing, working together.
This was something I’d never seen before, something I didn’t even think was
possible. She held her arms out to her sides, raising them just above shoulder
height. A semi transparent form of energy shot out of the palms of her hands.
Two vortexes began to form, one a vibrant gold color, the other an immensely
deep shade of red. Both of them swirled around fiercely, generating their own
forms of what looked like lightning.

Keira
then threw both hands out in front of her. What could only be described as a
live current of pure energy started to flow from the vortexes, surging directly
into Ballantine. I instantly knew what she was doing. She was using the wrath
of both Heaven and Hell to destroy him. Thunder roared through the skies, and the
wind suddenly became so strong that it became hard to stand.

This
time Ballantine cried out in pain and despair, terror and fear. His body
convulsed, glowed so brightly that it hurt my eyes to watch, and began smoking as
if someone had set him afire. She continued the flow until Ballantine fell
silent. Only then did the vortexes disperse, and Keira returned to her normal
human appearance.

The
invisible wall, which had prevented us from aiding her, had now gone. We moved
closer, but she raised her hand to us.

“Stay
back, don’t come any closer,” she choked. “Don’t touch him!”

Ballantine
lay silent and weak, barely conscious in front of her. A white fog was slowly
escaping his body; it was his soul, evaporating after only a second or two of
being free from his shell. Keira knelt down beside him and took his hand in
hers. Although it was clearly difficult for him, he managed to turn his head
slightly to look at her.

“I’m
so sorry,” she cried, tears running freely down her cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry,
Ballantine. I didn’t want this to happen...please forgive me.”

“No...,”
he croaked, barely audible. “I’m...sor..ry.” He slowly and shakily lifted his
hand and touched a silver charm hanging around her neck. “Don’t ever…take
it…off.”

“I
won’t; I swear.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Forgive me.”

The
fog was now leaving his body at a faster rate, and his eyes began to look
lifeless.

“Be...happy...Keira.
I...for..give....”

Before
he could finish his sentence, the fog completely vanished, his soul now
completely destroyed. Keira sobbed loudly and held onto his hand until his
whole being had evaporated. She looked down at her now empty hand, and then
turned to us.

“He
wasn’t a bad person,” she struggled to say.

None
of us responded. What could we possibly say? Keira then started to experience
REM. This took me by surprise. Who would have been contacting her? She’d been
banished from Hell, and Lucifer wanted her dead. Lilith was under strict orders
to have no contact with her at all.

“Relieve
your men,” she told Buer and I. “Do it right away.”

We
saw how serious she looked and sent a telepathic message out to all our people.
Keira got to her feet and took a deep breath.

“Guys,
look!” Beth shouted, looking out at the battlefield. “What’s happening?”

Only
Ballantine’s followers remained all of them looking sad and dejected. My
attention was then drawn to the skies. The clouds started circling, almost as
if forming a tornado, only there was a round hole just over the field. I’d seen
this before, we all had…the day we found out Keira had been given the power of
an angel.

All
of us watched in silence as a beam of golden light shot down from inside the
circle, completely engulfing the fields around us, yet it never touched the
area where we stood. Keira closed her eyes, forcing more tears to stream down
her cheeks.