Shades of Darkness (Redemption Series) (47 page)

“I’m going to heal her!” Liam jerked the blade from her chest and clamped his hands over the gushing wound. “I don’t have time to get her out of here! Just keep them back!”

“Easier said than done!” Haden yelled over the chaos, cracking a demon with an elbow to the jaw and lobbing another with a sucker punch in the gut. “And since when do I give a shit about helping you?”

“Since if she dies, so do you!” He glanced past Haden and nodded. “Behind you—”

Haden glanced back and ducked as a beer bottle swung toward his head. “You make a convincing argument,” he said, blocking the backswing with his forearm as he jerked the bottle from the demon’s hand and cracked it over the head of another. Still holding onto the broken neck of the bottle, he jabbed it forward, sinking it into the chest of another demon.

As he watched Haden battle to keep the mob at bay, Liam pressed harder against Olivia’s chest, trying to stanch the flow of blood while he drew on energy he didn’t have. Gahn had tried to hold true to his promise that no angel left Sheol alive, and while he had been keeping Liam occupied, he’d dispatched two fallen Ronnin warriors to make sure that didn’t happen. He’d been fighting his way back to the dimensional portal when Olivia’s fear had hit him. He’d tried to trace to her, but couldn’t shift in that world. Sheol was like a dimensional black hole. It was easy to enter and harder than hell to get out.

It’d taken nearly all his energy to fight off the demons and breach the portal. And now, Liam called upon his last reserve, praying there was still enough energy inside him to heal her. He glanced down at Olivia’s pale, lifeless body, her life’s blood slowly oozing between his fingers—warm and sticky.
Oh God, please don’t let her die!

Drawing on his energy was like striking flint to stone and hoping an ember caught hold. “Hang on, Olivia. You’ve got to fight!” he encouraged, his voice a broken rasp he no longer recognized. He could feel Olivia’s heartbeat beneath his hands—thready and fast. Her breaths were slow and shallow—too slow.
I’m losing her!

Their connection was dimming, her life force flickering like a candle in the wind. “Dammit, Olivia, just hold on!” he yelled, trying to summon his last bit of energy. If he could just send it into her, she’d be healed—even if not completely, then enough to survive this deadly blow. But as the seconds ticked by and the color drained from her beautiful face, Liam knew he was running out of time.

Gut-wrenching panic gripped him as her lips took on that haunting blue pallor and her pulse began to slow. “Olivia!” he cried, kneeling in a pool of blood. The once warm liquid soaked through his pants, gelling as it cooled on the wooden floor. Slower, her pulse beat against his palm until suddenly it stuttered and the rise and fall of her chest abruptly ceased.

“Olivia! Nooo!”

***

This wasn’t the first time she’d died. And since Olivia was no stranger to the experience, she stopped fighting the pull drawing her toward the man standing beside a towering oak in a field of heather. The bell-like blooms colored the ground with shades of purple, gold, red, and blue. The light, floral fragrance wafted over to her, making her want to draw a deep breath and savor the scent, but her chest wouldn’t rise against the invisible weight. She squinted into the sun and shielded her eyes, trying to see who stood off in the distance with a welcoming arm stretched toward her, but she couldn’t make him out through the aureole of light.

Taking a step into the fields, she looked down when her bare feet brushed through the velvety soft heather and saw she was wearing a dress. It was a larger version of her favorite princess dress she’d worn as a child—off-the-shoulder sleeves, breast-hugging bodice, and hip flaring satin.

As she took another step toward the outstretched arm, she heard someone calling her name. Shielding her eyes again, she squinted, trying to see if the call came from the iridescent figure waiting so patiently for her. But the desperation and panic in the voice didn’t match his serenity.

Taking another step through the field, she suddenly realized the pain in her chest was gone—the ache in her heart all but disappeared. The only time it retuned now was when that persistent voice called her name. Each time he spoke, it was like a little jolt of electricity shot into her heart. It hurt, and she wished it would stop.

The breeze suddenly picked up, whipping her hair in her face and tangling her dress around her legs. Clouds rolled in, and the distant rumble of thunder sent a ripple of goose bumps prickling up her arms. She’d always hated storms, ever since she was a child. When lightning cracked in the distance, the ground shook beneath her feet. Olivia looked to the waiting figure for reassurance and found him still standing there with his hand outstretched. Except now, there was a sense of urgency in the way he stood reaching for her.

Where there was once a golden light, shadows now covered his face. The wind began to whip, and cold drops of rain splattered against her bare skin, sending a shiver down her spine. Thunder cracked again, lightning struck, and her name ripped through the field in a desperate plea.

“Run!” the shadowed figure from the tree commanded, stretching his hand out farther. He didn’t move, even though she could clearly hear the desperation in his voice. It was as if he were grounded to that spot.

“Olivia!” the familiar voice yelled, only to be drowned out when thunder struck and the sky split open, releasing a torrent of rain. A bolt of lightning hit the ground beside her feet and Olivia screamed, running toward the now indistinguishable figure. Heather crushed beneath the bare soles of her feet, and the earthy, floral scent pulled deep into her lungs as air rushed in. Sharp, tearing pain pierced her side with each breath of air forced upon her.

Olivia clutched her chest as she ran, the train of her dress tangled in her legs, clinging to her rain-soaked skin. Warm moisture pooled beneath her hand, and when she pulled it back, her palm was coated in crimson. Tears flooded her eyes, making it impossible to see through the unrelenting downpour, but still she ran for the old oak tree.

The pressure on her chest was immense, heavy, suffocating, unrelenting. She pushed on for the safety of that outstretched hand. “Faster!” he yelled, “before it’s too late!”

Before what’s too late?
Panic spurred her legs to pump harder. Thunder rolled, electricity lighting the sky in a flickering lightshow.
Almost there…

Olivia reached for the outstretched hand. He, too, reached for her. Nearly touching… A blast of lightning lit the sky again, and the face of the stranger flickered before her. Olivia gasped in horror. What at first had appeared to be the vision of an angel was now the gnarled face of a red-eyed demon.

She jerked her arm back, putting on the brakes. Her momentum sent her stumbling forward. Now she realized why the creature hadn’t moved—a three-foot chasm separated them. An enraged snarl rent the air as the beast lunged for her. His long arm extended just beyond the crevasse as she came to an abrupt halt, her bare toes rimming the ledge of the bottomless pit. She tried to scramble back, but the demon’s claws wrapped around her wrist just as a bolt of lightning shot from the sky, striking her chest.

Olivia screamed as the electricity entered her heart—hot, searing pain. The blast tore her from the demon’s grasp, knocking her to the ground, and then everything went completely black again.

***

Her heart was finally beating again. It’d taken Liam multiple attempts and multiple blasts of energy to restart it. After Olivia had died and their connection flickered out, his grief had consumed him. An energy reserve he hadn’t known existed roared up inside him and he sent pulses of electricity into Olivia’s heart, praying each time it would beat. Every compression of her chest had sent another pulse of blood oozing from her chest, and each breath he breathed into her lungs tasted faintly of…heather?

Where was she? Over and over, he called her, beckoning her back to him. As he fought for her life, Liam knit the wound in her chest closed. With the bleeding stopped, he resumed the chest compressions, breathing and shock routine, refusing to give up, refusing to let her go. As his desperation mounted, it almost felt like she was fighting against him. That was when he’d laid it all on the line and, using every last bit of energy he possessed, placed his hands over her heart and let it flow.

The shock was so great it sent her back arching up. And as it fell to the floor beneath his hands, Olivia’s heart beat once again. Hesitant and weak at first, but as the seconds ticked by and her heart found its rhythm, her pulse grew stronger, steadier, and the blue pallor of her lips turned the most beautiful peach color. Her breaths were the next to come, shallow and guarded. They still smelled of heather, which made no sense at all. The only heather fields he knew of were in…
Oh, hell no!

Chapter Forty

“Purgatory? You think she’s trapped in purgatory?”

Liam pulled his gaze from Olivia long enough to glance up at his friend. Balen stood on the other side of her hospital bed, staring down at him in disbelief.

He shrugged, knowing just how crazy it sounded. “I can’t think of anything else it could be. When she died, she smelled of heather. Where else is there an abundance of heather?”

“Scotland?”

“Not funny. It’s been a week and still she sleeps. Her body is healed. I can feel our connection, and yet I cannot get her to wake up. Then again, if she was in purgatory, I shouldn’t be able to feel her as strongly as I do.”

“Maybe she just needs time, Liam.”

That was the problem—time was something he didn’t have. For the last three days, he’d been ignoring the summons from the High Court. Urgency had been placed on the directive of his immediate return, and he suspected he knew the reason for their decree. Then again, it could be any number of things. He’d committed multiple violations over the past two weeks—for starters, returning to Earth without authorization. He simply hadn’t had the time to go through the court, and considering how he’d fallen the last time he’d come here, it was highly possible they’d have refused his request. It had been easier to act now, beg forgiveness later. Looks like “later” was coming sooner than he’d expected.

“Mortal bodies are funny like that. Every now and then you hear of people who’ve been in comas and no one knows why, then suddenly they wake up as if nothing ever happened. She’s been through a great trauma.”

Liam sighed, dragging this hand through his hair. He stood from where he sat beside her and started pacing. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. It might be easier this way. I’m not sure I could stand to say good-bye to her again, but then, how can I leave her until I know she’s going to be all right?”

An unexpected surge of panic flooded his veins. Waves of dread had been hitting him off and on over the last week, further adding to his suspicion that Olivia’s soul was trapped, keeping her bound by unconsciousness. Liam walked over to her and tenderly brushed his hand over her cheek, whispering softly in his angelic tongue. The language always soothed her.

“You’re not leaving her—not really. And it isn’t like you have a choice right now.”

Liam tensed, locking eyes with his best friend. Balen held his stare—bold, unwavering—knowing… But how? He hadn’t told Balen of the summons. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and he let out a humorless laugh to cover the painful stab of betrayal.

“They sent you to bring me back,” he accused in disbelief, failing to mask the sharp bitterness in his voice. He wasn’t a criminal, dammit, and he resented like hell being treated as one.

“If you don’t go willingly, then yes, Liam, I’m to take you back. But I know it won’t come to that. You’re going to do the right thing here.”

The right thing?
“The right thing would be supporting your best friend!” he snapped.

Balen winced, casting his regretful gaze to Olivia. Liam’s followed. She looked like
Sleeping Beauty
, lying there so serene, her hair a dark halo, disarrayed from the countless hours Liam sat beside her, running his fingers through the raven silk. If only this were a fairy tale and he could awaken her with a kiss.

When Balen’s eyes met his again, the determination in them was rock solid. “I don’t know why they want you, Liam. And I’m not going to ask. I don’t want to risk being called to court to testify against you. You’re my best friend. Do not test the bounds of our friendship over this.”

A frustrated growl rumbled in Liam’s throat and he resumed pacing. The air crackled as his energy stirred. “You can go now. I’d like a few minutes alone with her, if you don’t mind.”

Balen nodded, casting one last regretful glance Olivia’s direction, and silently left the room.

***

Olivia woke to the sound of hushed voices whispering over her. She tried to open her eyes, but climbing out of this black hole of unconsciousness was like swimming through a pit of quicksand. The harder she fought, the deeper she sank. She’d once heard that hearing was the last thing to go and the first thing to return—they were right.

“It’s been a week and still she sleeps. Her body is healed. I can feel our connection, and yet I cannot get her to wake up. Then again, if she was in purgatory, I shouldn’t be able to feel her as strongly as I do.”

Purgatory? Was that the place where the demon had come and tried to take her? Tension filled his smooth, deep voice. Wait, she knew that voice—loved that voice. She’d heard it daily, over and over, since she’d been trapped in this darkness. Normally, it was soothing, the rich cadence calming her, coaxing her to fight, to open her eyes. She wanted to, she really did, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get her body to listen to her commands. But this time, the voice was different—tense with worry, gruff with frustration. The rhythmic brush of his fingers through her hair paused.

“Mortal bodies are funny like that. Every now and then you hear of people who’ve been in comas and no one knows why, then suddenly they wake up as if nothing ever happened. She’s been through a great trauma.”