Empower

Chapter 31

‘Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide in times of trouble?’

Psalm 10:1

‘No,’ I said. ‘That is not going to happen. I’ve only been here a couple of days but I’ve seen this city. These people have been through enough. They didn’t raise this land from the sea. They didn’t ask to be punished by tragedy after tragedy. But they have stayed and their homes are here. New Orleans might have started from something sinister but that isn’t all it is any more.’

‘I agree,’ Steph said. ‘Exiles might be in abundance but so is human life. They deserve a chance.’

Phoenix shook his head. ‘It is a price the angels are willing to pay.’

‘Because they’re not the ones paying it!’ Steph yelled, her hands shaking.

Phoenix closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them they were on me. ‘It’s the way of the universe. I cannot tell you what to do, Violet. I’m not even sure where precisely to start – but I do know that this is your Gordian Knot.’ His eyes flicked around the room before returning to me. ‘It can only be untied by you.’

Nothing like a dash of pressure.

I turned my attention to the small window of the battleship looking towards the city. The wind was causing a carpet of spray across the muggy Mississippi and on the walkways I could just make out people pulling their coats tight and holding onto umbrellas threatening to fly away. Lincoln joined me, seeing what I was, his hand resting on my lower back soothingly.

How exactly does one stop a hurricane?

‘We need help,’ I mumbled.

‘Tell us what you need, Violet,’ Griffin said through the speaker, reminding me everyone was still listening in.

Nervously, I began to pace, knowing the fate to which I was possibly condemning the entire Grigori population. ‘We need everyone.’ I turned to Gray. ‘Even the Rogues.’

Gray nodded. ‘They’re already starting to arrive.’

‘Tell them the truth, Gray. Tell them what might happen if they come here and fight with us and we don’t win. The choice must be theirs.’

‘They’re Rogues, Violet,’ Gray said, his pride for his fellow Grigori clear in his tone and expression. ‘One thing you can always trust is that the choice is absolutely theirs.’

‘The resources of the Assembly and Academy will be at your disposal,’ Josephine offered. ‘We will arrive by morning.’

Again, I waited for Drenson to bellow through the speakerphone, but nothing.

‘I’ll focus on stopping Sammael,’ I said, taking a deep breath and glancing at Lincoln briefly, who stood close beside me, emphasising to the room that we were united. ‘Everyone else needs to be ready to fight the city’s exiles and, somehow … the hurricane,’ I said.

As I looked to Phoenix, something passed between us. Understanding and an acceptance to face this burden together. At that moment I realised that it hadn’t been for me that he had returned. Not really. He simply hadn’t been able to stand aside and let this happen. Aware of it or not, Phoenix was more human than angel.

He nodded once to me and then turned to Zoe. ‘Can you gather all your nature wielders? We’ll need every single one with any ability to control weather, wind, cloud, water, currents … all of it. And your telekinetic users.’

Zoe glanced towards me, then Lincoln.

Lincoln nodded. ‘Phoenix is one of us,’ he said, simply, and through our souls I could feel that he meant it. They would never like one another for any of the reasons that made sense, but Lincoln understood Phoenix. And, oddly, he was grateful to him for loving me. Because, although it almost ended the world as we knew it, and he did kill me once, his love had also saved my life. Twice.

Zoe paused for a beat, before straightening and turning her gaze back to Phoenix. ‘Consider it done.’

Gray cleared his throat. ‘Listen, I know what we did in Santorini, holding back that tsunami, but I was in Miami in 1926 when a category-four hurricane hit and believe me when I tell you – a full-force hurricane isn’t like anything you’ve seen. Even with all of our forces combined …’ He shook his head.

‘You’re right,’ Phoenix answered. ‘But with your nature users and telekinetics at my back, you might be surprised what I can do.’

‘This is crazy!’ Steph yelled against the force of the weather as we stood up on the deck. In the past few hours the wind had continued to fluctuate unpredictably.

‘I have to speak with my angel maker!’ I yelled back.

‘What can you say? He might not be able to help you, Vi!’

‘Then maybe Nox and Uri can do something. They can’t just let this happen!’

Lincoln suddenly appeared behind us, grabbing us and dragging us back inside.

‘What were you two doing out there?’ he asked, closing the door behind him.

‘I’m going to see the angels,’ I explained.

He nodded as if he’d been expecting me to say exactly that.

‘And I need to do this one on my own,’ I added.

Lincoln’s eyes flashed up. ‘Does that mean you’re going to take me with you tomorrow?’

I nodded, resigned to the fact that for better or worse, we were a team and I wasn’t going to try to fight that any more. ‘We’ll talk about it, but yes. If I cross tomorrow night then we cross together.’

‘Thank you,’ he whispered, pulling me briefly to his chest. And I knew that it was about more than being in the fight. In many ways, it was our last hurdle of trust.

‘Would you give me a minute?’ I asked them both, stepping back. ‘I need to do this on my own.’

Steph hesitated, but Lincoln gently took her arm and steered her down the hall. ‘She knows what she’s doing, Steph.’

I heard Steph laugh as they turned the corner and say, ‘A little nooky and suddenly you’re the voice of reason?’

I didn’t hear the response, but I felt it, through what could only be described as a cheeky kiss through our soul bond.

I walked to my cabin and wasted no time, using my abilities to cross the realms.

But when I arrived in the blank expanse of space that I created with the angels, I found myself eerily alone.

I searched with both my Sight and my senses. ‘I won’t leave that city to die! This is not why I fight!’ I yelled into the nothingness. ‘They have families and people who love them. The world is a much bigger place than it was when you took down Sodom and Gomorrah. If you destroy New Orleans you will destroy much more than the land and the people on it!’

But there was no answer, and I knew that no matter how long I remained, no angels would talk to me today.

Lincoln sat me down and insisted we eat dinner. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten, nor could I stomach the idea of food, but as soon as he put a plate of pasta in front of me, I found myself grinning like a fool.

‘You cooked?’ I asked, looking down at my favourite pasta dish.

He chuckled. ‘No, not exactly. But I did have a long chat with the chef and may have given him an extra incentive to make something special.’

I regarded him suspiciously. ‘You paid him, didn’t you? How much?’

‘Enough to expect that every mouthful is perfect, so eat!’ he ordered, avoiding the question.

I twisted a mouthful onto my fork and dove in. ‘So good,’ I mumbled. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a proper meal like this.

Lincoln’s thumb wiped away a drip of sauce from the corner of my mouth and I blushed as he licked it off his finger, his eyes on me.

I cleared my throat. ‘So, do you still own the warehouse?’ I asked, watching as he finally looked away from me to begin eating.

‘We do,’ he said, between mouthfuls.

I straightened. ‘We?’

What have I missed?

‘Yes, Violet, we. As in: you and me. Everything I have is yours, which makes us considerably wealthy.’

My eyes widened. I’d always known that Lincoln had inherited a vast amount of money from his mother, but I’d never dared nor cared to try to put a figure on it.

‘And once all of this is done, you and I are going to sit down and make some decisions,’ Lincoln went on.

‘About?’ I asked, nervously shovelling in another mouthful of pasta. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Not that it was a problem but I’d built a life, albeit not a perfect one, around being a Rogue, and there was a part of me that was proud of that.

‘About a lot of things. For example, where we are going to live.’

I swallowed with a gulp. ‘I agree. Let’s just …’

‘Save the world first?’ he offered with a raised eyebrow.

‘Yeah. And then a city.’

When Lincoln left to thank the chef for our dinner, I headed to the infirmary. Despite all the world-ending problems we were facing, things were … good. Odd how that can happen, I suppose, but I was also sure that nothing would be right in my world if I let down Spence when he needed me most.

‘What did you do?’ I asked quietly as I held his hand. He stared at me from his bed, seeing nothing, and I was struck by his green eyes – how devoid they were of their usual mischievous spark. My hatred towards Sammael grew. ‘You should never have gone after him. I should never have left you to deal with my mess. I’m so sorry, Spence. Just hold on, wherever you are.’

I threw my arms around my frail friend who had become my brother and whispered in his ear. ‘I’ve got your back. Now, and always. I’ll bring you home.’

I forced a smile and tried to hold his eyes that had begun to wander aimlessly, seeming to focus in on things that I could not see. ‘We should go on vacation after all this, don’t you think?’ I forced a pathetic smile. ‘A beach. You can teach me to surf, and laugh when I’m tragic at it. Lincoln can cook and we can bring the whole gang. You can even bring Mia – yeah, I know all about that little secret,’ I teased, even though my voice quivered.

I stared at my hand holding his. ‘I really made a mess of things, Spence. And something tells me I owe you big time for helping Lincoln when I was gone. But here’s the crazy thing: I finally know who I am.’ I half laughed. ‘I’ve been searching for so long. Hiding for even longer.’ My eyes stung with unshed tears. ‘I’m human,’ I whispered, my words catching in my throat. ‘And I get it now. My flaw is my strength.’ I squeezed his hand. ‘I’ll fight for my family and friends to the end, Spence. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure no one else is hurt in the process.’

Lincoln found me as I left the infirmary and then led me to his – our – cabin.

After a shower – one that Lincoln insisted we share for the all-important reason of water conservation – I lay in his arms that night not knowing what tomorrow would bring but realising that, for the first time in my life, I was content and that no matter what lay ahead, we would face it together.

Mia and Chloe were watching over Spence and they would stay with him until this was all over. I would find a way to bring him back to them.

We drifted in and out of sleep for a few hours. I smiled whenever I woke to find Lincoln’s hands tracing every inch of my body and encouraging mine to do just the same to his. His eyes held mine, piercing green even in the dark, daring me to question everything we were to one another ever again. It was a dare I knew I would never take. Never wanted to.

Later, when I woke him with gentle kisses to his face and down to his chest, I laughed when he grabbed me in response, pulling my mouth up to his in order to explain – in his own toe-curling way – that gentle kisses were simply not going to cut it. I’d never felt so beautiful, or loved, or cherished or … flat-out wanted. Years of imagination had gone into these moments and they did not disappoint. Bottom line: it was hot. He was hot.

In the early hours of dawn, exhausted but sated and unwilling to miss a moment, I pulled Lincoln’s arm close and snuggled into the crook of it. ‘Promise me you haven’t made any secret side deals with Phoenix or anyone else that could take you away from me again?’

His fingers played on my arm, weaving some kind of pattern over and over, distracting me. ‘I promise. Now, promise me that you won’t cross over the realms again without me by your side.’

Although I’d already agreed about tomorrow night, I could sense that this was about an ongoing commitment. I swallowed, part worried that I was risking him, part relieved that he would be with me always. ‘I promise, Linc.’

I started to sit up but his hand snaked around my stomach and pulled me back to him. ‘You should try to get some more sleep,’ he said.

‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘Not until this is over.’

He sat up beside me, taking my hand in his and quickly kissing the back of it before suggesting, ‘Run?’

The man knows me.

I glanced out the small window. The sun was yet to appear on the horizon and rain fell lightly, but the wind had eased for now.

I beamed. ‘Coffee first.’

He laughed as he stood up and tossed me a T-shirt. ‘Coffee first.’

And it turns out, even when the world might be about to end, a girl can still swoon.

By the time we returned to the ship we could see a number of small aircraft touching down, along with cars pulling up at the dock and new arrivals being efficiently directed to meeting rooms by navy personnel.

I don’t even want to know how the Grigori within navy ranks are pulling this off.

Our run, it turned out, had been quite the information-gathering exercise. As soon as we boarded the ship, Lincoln disappeared to talk with Gray about what we had seen. Or, rather, sensed.

Now that Lincoln and I were joined again he could sense the exile activity just as acutely as I could. And he wasn’t the only one who’d never felt anything like it before.

‘They’re everywhere, Steph,’ I said as she watched me unload and prepare my weapons. I was going fully armed tonight, and I would make sure as many people as possible would be equally prepared. ‘The city’s divided in two: light exiles are in the French Quarter, and the dark have taken over the Warehouse District. I’ve never felt so many before – it was like a pulse of power was closing in on us – and they’re still flooding in. We saw a few street fights – they’re barely bothering to keep themselves hidden from humans.’

She fingered the crate of non-Grigori blades that I’d asked Carter to arrange for me. ‘It’s odd, almost as if this city entices division,’ she said. ‘It always has for humans. First the French and the Spanish, then the rivalry between the French and Americans. There have been divides in religion and even between the living and the dead. And now the exiles are breaking the city in half, and something tells me a spot of jazz music really isn’t going to help fix things.’

I half smiled. ‘I don’t even know if exiles hear music. They’re so insane they don’t see the beauty in what they’re trying so hard to destroy.’

It was a thought that I seemed to be having more and more – the ultimate problem of this Gordian Knot, as Phoenix called it, that I now faced. No matter what happened in this battle, unless we could somehow attack the problem of the ever-growing exile population in our world, we would always be just trying to keep up.

Something had to change.

‘Well,’ Steph said hesitantly. ‘Dapper and I think we might have found a small loophole.’

I focused my attention on her. ‘What?’

‘We think the angels might have stepped in once before and stopped Sammael from destroying the city.’

‘When?’

‘Hurricane Isaac. It came after Katrina and according to all of the weather warnings was supposed to be much bigger. If it had reached its potential over the city it would have destroyed it.’

‘But it didn’t.’ Clearly.

‘No. Suddenly it changed direction. No one knew why, but it was drawn out to sea.’

‘The angels,’ I said, more to myself than to Steph.

But she nodded anyway. ‘We think so.’

‘So, they could do it again, if they chose to. I just need to figure out a way to convince them.’

Sure. Because changing the minds of divine beings is soooo easy.

I sighed, taking out my Grigori blade and glancing at Steph. ‘So, tell me about the wedding.’

Her brow creased and she scrunched up her nose. ‘Don’t try to distract me. I know what you’re about to do.’

I shrugged and sliced my blade across my markings, holding my wrist above the non-Grigori blades. As my blood trickled onto each of them they became instantly lethal weapons. After I’d touched them all with my blood, I healed the wound and picked up one of the daggers, holding the hilt out to Steph.

‘You shouldn’t need it, but just in case; I need to know you’re protected.’

‘Er … Vi … I …’ Steph stuttered, her horrified eyes fixed on the blade. ‘I can’t fight like you guys.’

‘And you won’t need to. If an exile attacked you he would know you’re human, and that’s your advantage. Let him come at you and then cut him any way you can. My blood will do the rest. Just … don’t hesitate, okay?’

‘We’re having an outdoor wedding,’ she said quickly. ‘Did I tell you that? Salvatore’s mother wasn’t happy about it at first but Father Peters agreed to it and I really liked the idea. Oh, and you should see the dress I’ve chosen for you. It’s perfect, not disgusting-typical-bridesmaid. It’s—’

‘Steph!’ I cut her off, fully aware of who was distracting whom now.

She swallowed, nervously taking the hilt in her hand. ‘Okay, Vi. Cut. Don’t hesitate. Got it,’ she said, her hand and voice shaking equally.

I nodded. ‘Good,’ I said. ‘And when they tell you it’s time to move out of the city, promise me you will go.’

She nodded solemnly. ‘I’ll run like my ass is on fire.’ After a beat she added, her voice now less sure, ‘Vi?’

I met her eyes and, seeing how they glistened, sat down beside her. ‘He’ll be okay, Steph. Zoe will be by his side and they’re a great team. They’ll have each other’s backs and they’ll be on high ground.’

She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek. ‘I know. It’s just … it feels like I’m so close to happiness and everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m scared.’

I pulled her towards me, my arms encircling her protectively. ‘Me too,’ I told her, holding tightly until finally Steph sniffed and said, ‘And he looks so damn delicious in a tuxedo.’

Relieved to hear the familiar sass in her voice I grinned and sat back. ‘More importantly, tell me about your dress.’