“Tell me!” Hadrian’s voice made the room shake and even I trembled at the enormity of his power.
But Brynn’s body went completely still.
Hadrian and I stood staring, waiting, but there was nothing. It was as if someone had just turned off Brynn’s switch. Her expression was blank and her tears, which moments before had been flowing freely, now seemed to be frozen on her cheeks. I leaned in, venturing to get a closer look at the girl who had just been freaking out, hoping to get some reaction, but she was a blank canvas. Empty.
“What just happened?” I asked breathlessly.
Hadrian’s eyes were still focused on Brynn. “I’m not quite sure.”
My eyes darted around the room, but I saw nothing that should cause Brynn’s sudden muteness.
With a flash, her eyes closed tight, and she turned her head as if trying to face away from something. Her arms cautiously reached out, slapping at the empty air of the antechamber, then quickly recoiled back to her chest where she crossed them protectively around her. Brynn scooted backwards, her once beautiful dress ripping beyond repair, until her back was flat against the dirt wall, where she whimpered in fear.
“She’s struggling, but Lucifer is too strong for her to fight off alone.”
“She’s fighting him off? That’s good, right?” I tore my eyes from the trembling girl before us back to the angel next to me.
“Yes, it’s a start. A part of her has come to her senses, and she’s attempting to resist him. Having her in this place helps.”
Hadrian studied her face, his eyes widening. I took an apprehensive look for myself, worried and fearful.
Brynn’s body jerked violently and then shuddered. She opened her mouth and exhaled a breath so deep it sounded as if it would be her last. Her eyes shot open and focused on the ceiling. Hadrian and I stood frozen. The air in front of us shifted, as if the room were breathing on its own. Hadrian’s body stiffened, his back poised and ready for the full expansion of his magnificent wings. I moved closer, positioning myself safely at his side, but there was only silence and stillness as Brynn’s face transitioned back to a peaceful expression. Her chest now rose and fell at regular intervals and she leaned her head back against the wall. Sweat beaded across her dirty face, but at least she was calm for now.
“Brynn did well,” Hadrian’s voice broke the silence.
“Well? As in a good job?” I turned and looked back at Brynn and suddenly felt the need to take a step away from them both. All I could think of was how her eyes looked, how her chest sounded when she breathed. How it all began and ended so suddenly like a ticking time bomb; how it could all start over at any given second.
“Yes, it was a start, but Lucifer is allowing his strength to show. Rarely does he manifest himself physically as well as mentally in someone.”
“Why Brynn? Why is he attacking her? Tormenting her so violently?”
Hadrian looked at me like the answer was obvious.
“Because she’s trying to back out of the deal.”
I stared at Hadrian. How could he explain this all so easily; how could he take it all so lightly?
Looking back at Brynn, I could see she was sleeping, at least for now. The crease on her forehead was gone and she looked serene, even after all that had happened. But I shivered inside.
He was there. Waiting. In her mind.
And here.
Waiting in my mind.
Hadrian took a step closer to me, his hand reached for mine, the very hand I had once feared now stretched toward me to comfort me.
“I told you of the journey, of the pilgrimage. The river was not always there. The tunnels connected from church to church, from one sacred point to the other, scattered throughout these parts. There are eight of them.”
The significance hit me. I looked down at my hand.
“It was during one year, there was a terrible flood and the river changed course, crushing parts of the tunnel. The water could not erase it from the earth, but only give it new meaning.”
“Birth,” I whispered.
“Yes, birth. Not human birth, but birth from darkness and evil. A strength to overcome in numbers. This place is holy. Each stone laid with a prayer that still resonates to this day. But it isn’t enough,” he said with the upmost gravity, “we must guard what we choose to believe.”
But I was having trouble believing in anything other than what I had just seen. If Lucifer was in Brynn’s mind, then that meant he was in this very room with us. Right now. I was having a moment. My breath was suddenly stuck in my chest. I looked at Hadrian, who was my only anchor in this right now.
“So, if Lucifer is in her mind, then that means he’s still here. With us.” I watched and trembled as Hadrian nodded slowly confirming my fear.
Then, all my thoughts snowballed at that point. I looked at Brynn. I looked at the fire. If this place was so holy, then why would Lucifer be here?
“How did Brynn get here?”
And out from the shadows on the opposite side of the room stepped my still-beautiful guardian, Garreth.
“I brought her.”
He was like a beacon of light stepping from the dark side of the stone room. He was brilliant and beautiful, and my heart tugged painfully.
Although I was happy to see him, the realization set in once again that I was caught between two angels, and I felt Hadrian tense beside me. He had a cold, almost protective fierceness about him now, while Garreth appeared surprisingly calm, yet significantly changed.
“You brought her?” Hadrian seethed dryly.
“I did.”
Hadrian’s eyes narrowed, “You came across the water?”
“No, I’m well aware that the full journey can only be made with the help of one’s guardian, and I’m not Brynn’s guardian.” With that, Garreth looked directly at me, confirming what had been nagging at me for so long. That he indeed still cared for me, and that I really did have two guardians.
“And we’re supposed to believe you did this, for what? To help Brynn? Out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Hadrian, please.” I gave him a look that I hoped would settle him.
“Did you believe I’d forgotten my role as guardian? That I’d abandoned all that I really am?” Garreth asked. Then shifting his focus, he walked slowly toward me. It had been weeks since he’d shown me any type of consideration or concern.
“You needed Brynn where she would be at her weakest. So, here she is.” He handed me a curled paper—the map Brynn had stolen from Nate’s study, which would have only taken her to the first chapel.
I wanted to cross the space between us and bury myself in his arms, bury the past few weeks that had been miserable without him. But I stood still, my feet planted firmly on the hard dirt floor. He stopped a few feet from me, reluctant to come closer without invitation. I searched his eyes for anything harsh that would otherwise convince me not to trust him, but I only saw the familiar blue that I had feared was lost to me.
Hadrian intervened, stepping between us, his gaze on Garreth.
“You left her unprotected.”
“And I see you had no problem stepping in.”