BREAKING SHADOWS (Shadows Book 1)

Chapter 23

My feet pounded the pavement down the main lane towards home. Nearly there, I had to stop. Bent over, with my hand on a tree trunk for support, I vomited all over the ground.

And again.

I wiped my mouth and carried on, letting the acid burn my throat.

Somewhere behind, someone screamed my name. But it was in vain, his words lost as I hurtled home. A sharp pain struck my side, the inhuman effort to get to my grandmother taking its toll. The cottage came into view. The painted white walls broke out from the dark-green, black in the darkness flanking two of its sides.

I slowed.

My legs lost the ability to will me forward. Both the gate and the front door were wide open, but the cottage sat in darkness. In the doorway, I fell forward, my hand reaching out for the door frame. I grasped it, pushing most of my weight onto it and forced myself to go inside.

Even without the warning, I would have still known something was wrong. It was nothing in particular, a feeling only. I'd been in the cottage many times alone and there had always been a warmth which reflected off every surface. But as I walked familiar steps I'd taken a thousand times, an eerie chill greeted me.

Gran lay quiet and still on the living room floor.

One arm crossed over her body, the other folded at an ugly angle behind her head. Her glasses lay next to her, lenses smashed and the frame twisted beyond recognition. A single line had parted the skin of her neck, severing and deep. Blood had seeped from it and pooled on the carpet.

I vomited once more. In the plant pot by the door.

I wiped my mouth as Arden rushed in behind me, panting for air and chest heaving.

"By the Goddess," he whispered.

The Goddess had nothing to do with it. I took small steps to where my grandmother lay. Tears flowed silently. I didn't wipe them away, but let them slide freely off my chin. Kneeling, I took my grandmother's hand, holding it against my cheek. Her skin was cool and soft. I stroked her hair and broke down into choking sobs.

"Please wake up. Please."

"Riley," Arden knelt at my side and placed his hands on my shoulders. "She's gone. She's gone, let her go."

"No. No, I won't. She will wake up, she has to."

"It's too late. There's nothing we can do."

A slit of bright light cut its way into the living room before it exploded, filling every inch of the room. An angel stepped through and the light shrunk behind him, a serpent's iris closing. Scarlet robes fell to the floor, complimenting the dark-olive skin, white-scarred knuckles clutched a small dagger, similar to Rafe's.

Arden's hand gripped mine tight.

"Step aside, Riley Archer. I am here to reap the soul of Rebecca Archer," the angel grinned a hunter's grin.

"You can't have her. I'm not afraid of you."

His mouth contorted. "Do not make the mistake of thinking all angels are alike. We do not all play the role of the chivalrous knight."

My breath caught painfully in my chest.

"Now, move."

I flung my arms over Gran's body. "Don't touch her!" I snarled, beginning to tremble. Words became muffled. The room blurred. A current of brine replaced the blood in my veins. My power throbbed and the cottage shook in response. Arden, even the angel glanced to the heavens for answers as dust billowed from the rafters.

Strong arms tugged me from Gran. "No!" I cried. The moment I was cocooned in a warm hold and the scent of night, I knew it was Rafe who'd pulled me away. I tried to break free, kicking my legs out and flailing my arms.

He whispered words I couldn't hear into my hair, over and over, soothing the waves of my magic until they were nothing but a steady tide lapping the shoreline. Calmness returned to my limbs and I fell against his chest. I hated his affect on me.

"What's happening?" I heard the panic in Arden's voice.

"Nothing." Rafe replied, still gently rocking me. "She has full control."

"And yet the matter remains," said the other angel. "The soul of Rebecca Archer must be reaped."

With my face still wet with tears and my grandmother's body at my feet, I twisted until I could look Rafe square in the face. "There's still time. We made a b-bargain. I bargained for her soul."

Rafe shook his head sadly. "But I bargained for yours. She's gone, Riley. No amount of deals will change that."

I screamed when the other angel took a step toward my grandmother. I grasped Rafe's shirt between my fingers. "You then. It must be you. For whatever reason, your lies hurt the most and right now I can't make sense of anything. But you must take her."

The other angel released a laugh that pricked my nerves. "You trust him, do you? You have a lot to learn about angels... and men."

"Shut your mouth. You do not speak to her." Rage tore through Rafe's features. Thankfully, he needed no other explanation. His gaze went up and over my head. The next I knew, Rafe let me go and Arden's arms banded around me instead.

The world spun at high speed knocking everything I'd ever known off kilter. Rafe was quiet, each movement flowing like liquid as he crouched next to my grandmother. I tried to say his name, but the word wouldn't come.

"I don't want to leave you," Rafe's voice broke.

"Come now, Rafe. Her grandmother lies pooled in blood at her feet, surely you don't want to dally now." The angel's mouth twisted, screwing up his leathery face.

I took in the rise and fall of each careful breath Rafe took, but all I could think about was Gran laying in the house she loved with her throat slit from side to side.

Rafe lifted his forearm and summoned his magic. A brilliant golden light consumed his hand all the way to his elbow. The magic, which would have been stunning in other circumstances, swirled around his arm and placed the glowing light on Gran's chest. Drifting upwards, he drew a wispy slither of white smoke from her body.

"Rafe?" I finally managed to say. There was a storm of emotions raging inside and I couldn't tell one apart from another. His eyes reflected the brightness of my grandmother's soul.

"Don't come back."

I hated the look that struck his face, but then in a breath he vanished taking the burning, glorious soul of my grandmother with him.