Death (The Devil's Roses #5)

"You must pull them back in. You must forget everything else you think at the moment and pull them in."

We all look in one sweep at the voice speaking to us.

"Henry. There you bloody well are. How could you?" Marcus asks haughtily.

Henry laughs, "You not need me at the time. You need me now. Shamans know about need. We hear the calling."

Lucas makes a noise and then he stands wingless next to Ari. "It's just like phasing." He says it like it's helpful.

Blake frowns, "Oh, okay then." He makes a face. As I laugh Ben pulls his wings in.

Then Aleks does his. The rest of us are staring at them helplessly.

"What does phasing feel like?" Giselle asks.

Shane pulls his back. "Hah, just like the fangs."

Giselle pulls hers in at the same time as Hanna. Ari and I look at each other and laugh.

"It's like exploding from your skin."

Blake frowns, "And if you've never exploded?"

Aleks laughs, "Like when you run and you push the last couple seconds. Push the exertion."

Ari's wings pull in.

I sigh and look at Blake. He shakes his head, "We played a lot of WOW and didn’t run, ever."

"How can we suck at this? We're the smartest people here."

Marcus walks over and grabs my face, "Orgasming Aimee."

I feel the flushing in my face and instantly my wings pull back. Blake's do as well.

"See, you did it." Giselle smiles.

Marcus shrugs and walks to Henry, "How do we find Lillith?"

He shakes his face, "She has the power. Impossible. You failed. Now you must prepare."

I snap, "What does that even mean?"

Sam looks horrified as if a light bulb has come on for him, "Oh my god. Revelations."

"What?" Blake asks.

Henry nods, "The world as you knew it, is over. The world now is broken. You have seven years to fix it before it's too late."

"Friggen hell. Great. Seven more years."

Ari beams, "At least I can't switch the time anymore."

I laugh.

"Where do we go from here?"

Henry points at Shane, "His house. Protected lands."

I laugh. Aleks laughs with me.

Everyone else shakes his or her head.

"That stupid Shaman story is true?" Shane asks, making Aleks and I laugh harder.

Epilogue

Lorri

The warm breeze billows through the pillar. I look at him and grin. He winks and he's there. He kisses me but then he pulls back, "Wait if you're bloody well here, where are they?" He looks past me.

I shake my head, "Dorian, I had no choice. She got the magic."

He pulls back, "How in the bloody hell did that happen?"

"I don’t know. We were obviously betrayed. Is Michael still here?"

He shakes his head, "No. Several of them fell recently."

I grimace, "Then I guess that explains that."

The warmth is comforting. I sigh, "I missed this place."

"Have you seen Lydia and Annabelle yet?"

"No. O and Oliver both here as well?"

"The whole family. It's a bit intense."

I hear her shouting and running. I blush. Dorian rolls his eyes, "Of course the human breaking the silence would be with you."

I look back and smile. She leaps into my arms. We kiss and it's the best feeling ever.

"This is heaven?" She asks.

I smile at her, "It is."

"Is O here?"

I nod, "Yup. Tristan and Phillip and O and Oliver and Lydia and Annabelle and everyone."

She grins and I kiss her again. Dorian groans behind me, "Okay, I'm going to go find out about Michael. Someone knows something. I'm certain."

I close my eyes and let the warmth and peace seep in. After thousands of years believing I would never make it back, I can't believe I am here. With my girl.

Failure never felt so good.

"Daughter." I pull back from the kiss. "You hear that?"

Abbey shakes her head.

"Daughter."

I close my eyes and moan, "Be right back." I step away from her and wink to the place. I stand in the shadows again and wait for it.

The air is still until his words sneak in like the fog, "You failed."

I nod, the intensity of his voice makes me tremble, "I did father. I'm so sorry."

"You were betrayed by your brothers."

Tears leak from my eyes, "I was father."

"You are my most treasured creation Lucifer. You must know my love for you."

Dread tries to creep in, but His love is bigger than my own heart. I nod, "I do father."

"The sacrifice you made was met with unkindness and hatred. Yet you did as I asked. You saved them. You saved them all. The redeemers will save my children."

I nod and believe the words, "They will father."

"Thank you Lucifer. I may call upon you again."

My words become a whisper, "Yes father."

The air and light moves and leaves me where I am, standing in the shadows. My skin crawls from the intense energy.

I look up and fight the begging in my mind that doesn’t want to be called on again. Ever.

Aimee

The scene is my dream exactly. Bombs have dropped. Destruction is everywhere. People fighting in the anger that has overtaken the planet. Our country is ripe with pain and suffering, but still very far behind the rest of the world. South America is filled with Vampires and Succubus. Lillith has the power to make them all.

All varieties of demons.

She moves constantly. Never out of the company that shields her from us. But we fight her darkness with our own. It's a constant battle.

I look out at the city and sigh. The heat of the midday sun is intense in Rio. I glance at Aleks and grin. I get lost for a second. He shakes his head, "Stop staring at them. It makes me feel weird when you do that."

"What? You look hot with those in that black t-shirt. That’s all."

He rolls his eyes, "You look hot without your black t-shirt and I don’t stare at you."

"Yes, you do."

He ignores me, "You ready?"

I nod once. We jump together. Our wings shoot from our bodies. We sail to the ground and look out at the chaos and destruction everywhere. Lillith has used the magic she stole to make hell on earth.

"I love you." I say.

He leans in and kisses me when our feet touch the ground, "I love you more." Our wings pull in fast now.

I laugh, "Cheesy and sad. You've been alive for hundreds of years and that’s the best you got?"

He nods, "Yup. I love you so much that my brain stops functioning when you're near me."

I point at him, "That I believe."

Hanna walks up with Sam, Ben, Giselle, and Shane with her.

Sam looks annoyed, "We found another one."

"Vampires?"

Sam nods, "And succubus."

"Where is Ari?"

Ben winces, "With Luke. She isn’t coming for this ride."

I look down the alley, "Why."

"Kids. She doesn’t do kids."

Aleks nods, "Fair enough. In the words of our fallen leader, let's do this."

We walk down the alley into the dark building, where dark creatures are doing the dark deeds.

Fortunately nothing is as dark as we are.

I enter the building first, with Hanna. The man standing at the front greeting guests, smiles when he sees me. "Hello Madame." He says in English. His accent is strong.

I love the effect I get when they see them, so I flash my wings fast. I have slits in my shirts, so my clothes don’t get ripped off like before.

His jaw drops, "Do Diablo." He backs away with his hands out. I glance to my right at Hanna. She smirks and lets hers loose too.

He screams.

The whole house fills with screams.

It's music to my ears.

It's the end of something dark and sinister.

We leave the house at the end of the fight, with dirty blood and dirtier images bathing our bodies and minds.

It rolls off fast now. I feel good.

We wink home to Port Mackenzie.

Shane's house is an oddly delightful sight now.

Henry and the kids are there full time with us. He makes it feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Just like the spell he put on Marcus's house.

Shane's mom let us buy the house when she moved to the city. She was happy to get away from the small town and the gossip and the wedding of her ex to a twenty-seven year old. Some people think it's a hostel. Some think it's an Orphanage. My parents are just grateful I was able to find work in town. I run a research center as far as they know. I live with Shane and help him run the orphanage, with my boyfriend. Marcus does a lot of memory construction.

I walk through the front door and look at Aleks, "Is the house in England safe yet?"

"No. We have to get Henry there to bless the land. Bombs have been dropped on a town close by to the house. The land might not be able to be blessed."

I frown, as he plants a huge kiss on my cheek.

Shane makes a face, "Get a room."

Ben walks by and grabs Giselle's hand, "You can't have ours." They are gone before I can mock them.

I look around, "Where is Blake?"

Shane laughs, "Pretending to be busy, so we won't assume he's having sexy time with Alise."

"Still?"

He shrugs, "He's in love."

I shake my head, "I can't believe she hasn’t moved on. I never saw that coming."

Aleks walks into the kitchen. I watch his butt when he walks.

Shane nudges me, "I remember how it was before."

The words tiptoe through my mind. I spin around and see the truth of it on Shane's face, "You do?"

He nods slowly, "I remember it the other ways."

"Oh my god."

He shakes his head, "No. This is the best possible outcome for us both. I just wanted you to know. You know, in case you catch me staring or something." He takes my hand in his.