The black cloud that is Emil collects and forms a gigantic, shadowy angel with sharp, pointy wings that tower above me. His skeletal mouth widens as he emits a horrible scream that sounds like a hundred thousand voices crying out at once. I cringe as my hair blows back from my face. His elongated, claw-like fingers cut a hole in the very air, tearing it open. It folds back to reveal an orange glow from the night skyline of a city on fire. Achingly elegant, gothic buildings rise up out of the darkness. Gargoyle-like creatures patrol the air with long, albino wings that swoop and cluster above the shrouded streets and the midnight river that runs crookedly through the ancient metropolis.
For a moment, the sight of it mesmerizes me; it’s gruesomely lovely and soul crushingly frightening all at once. I’m aware of its scrutiny as well. It’s as if a thousand eyes have turned towards me, hunting me. While the pungent scent of offal assails my nostrils, my heart contracts in a futile attempt to hide from it and the eyes watching me. I strain to get away from Emil’s essence because this is worse than the 7-Eleven on the night Freddie tried to kill us. It’s Sheol.
An invisible force yanks me toward the opening. Xavier gets between Emil and me. He wraps his arms around me, spreading wide his scarlet wings, shrouding me from evil. Xavier opens a compact in his hand. The world around me distorts, swirling in a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors as I whirl into the iridescent glow of his portal.
REED
I rest my bound wings against the damp, brownstone wall at my back and listen to the sound of water lapping against rocks. I don’t need to study the cell; I know every inch of my cage by memory. It’s similar to the one they kept me in the last time I was at Dominion’s chateau on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Still, my eyes follow the mortared slabs of rock, reinforced with layers of metal stronger than steel. It’s Trictofite, an oar mined from magma deep within the Earth, farther down than humans can dig and, unfortunately, the solid metal door is made of it as well.
My bare feet nearly freeze to the bedrock floor. I ignore their numbness as I gauge my position to be somewhere beneath the arena where the Powers had put Evie on trial and judged her. Anger over that thought warms me before I shiver; the last time I was here it was summer. Winter comes with a new set of hardships. My muscles are beginning to cramp from the frigid air. I bring my bound wrists closer to my chest as I draw my knees in. Closing my eyes, my mind moves through each hall that I’d cataloged while last in this stone prison. I study the intangible map as a means of doing something constructive and to repress the ache associated with the loss of butterflies—the loss of my proximity to Evie.
Centuries of control and ability to live in the shadow of emotion collapsed within me today when Tau blew the boatswain. Within inches of ridding myself of Xavier from our lives forever, everything changed in that moment. Seeing Evie fall, pale and nearly lifeless, to the ground was like having the light cut out of my life. It had affected Xavier in the same way. We were both rendered powerless in that moment. It’s apparent how much I need her; she’s my air. She’s what’s keeping me alive. Without her, I’ll suffocate.
I exhale, trying to compartmentalize my rage. I failed to kill Tau. Cole and Xavier pulled me off of him before I was done. I only managed to slit his throat open; I didn’t go deep enough. He’ll live. He’ll heal.
In the minutes after he blew the boatswain and I attacked him, a swarm of Dominion Powers amassed to help the Seraphim. A dark hood was thrown over my head. My wings were tied along with my wrists and legs. I fought them to try to get to Evie, but I was overwhelmed and dragged off.
She was still breathing when I was beaten nearly senseless, shoved into a trunk of a vehicle, and driven off. I felt the attraction of butterflies even through the pain. I’m certain that she’s alive; it’s the only reason why I’m able to hold onto a semblance of calm. I’m clutching the invisible thread that binds me to her. I won’t let go, not for anything in this world.
A soft, golden glow appears in the corner of my cell, dispelling the gloom. Russell takes shape as his head peeks through the wall. When he sees me, the light from Russell’s illuminated clone pushes through the cold stone. His leg steps through next, followed by his arm and shoulder, and the rest of his tall frame. As he emerges, he takes a look around at the walls before his eyes return to me crouched on the floor. I don’t bother to hide my bleak expression. It unnerves him; his clone runs his hand through his hair, mimicking his normal reaction to stress.
“You in a time out?” Russell asks with his slow, southern smile that attempts to hide the growing anxiety in his clone’s eyes.
“It’s more like a time in,” I reply.
“They catch you jay walkin’ again? I’ve told you to wait when the orange blinkin’ hand—”
“I tried to kill Tau.”
Russell’s clone’s playful grin evaporates in an instant. “How come you’re not dead then?” he asks.
“They need me alive as leverage against Evie.”
“Where are ya? We’ll come get ya out.”
“Dominion—the chateau, but you can’t come here, Russell.”
“Huh?” he asks without humor. “Where’s Red? Is she here, too?”