Chapter ELEVEN
Rebecca
I had no concept of time in my ghostly form. I had no concept of much of anything. The only thought that kept repeating was to find out where the Box was, where Landon was, so that I could set him free. The only emotion I felt was eagerness.
Sarah showed up with Ulnyx at some point. She went to get him a beer while he spread his massive bulk out on the sofa.
"He never got back to you?" the Were asked.
"No," Sarah said. "I tried calling, e-mail, text message. I even posted to that damn internet channel he likes so much." She came back in and handed him the bottle.
Ulnyx huffed. "I never thought Obi would take himself out of the game while Landon was still twisting in the wind. Hell, I'm still in." He used his teeth to break off the end of the longneck, and swallowed the drink in a few large gulps.
"You aren't the one who..." She didn't finish the sentence.
Ulnyx did. "Lost their girlfriend? He needs to man up and grow a pair. We've all lost something or someone. We'd have lost even more if Landon hadn't sacrificed himself."
"You can shift into a monster. Obi has what? The smallest slice of power making him a little tougher? He's more human than human, but he's still human. Help me roll this back."
I watched Ulnyx get up and lift the coffee table, pulling it off the rug. Then he helped Sarah roll it up to the couch, just enough to reveal a small metal handle attached to a block of stone, covered with a thousand sigils and marks. Sarah grabbed the handle and lifted the stone away from the floor. All of the sides were enclosed except one. That was why I couldn't find it, and why no angel or demon would have found it either. It wasn't just hidden from sight, but also from Sight.
Avriel's Box. It was a mottled black, with blue lines of energy coursing along the Templar script on the outside, pulsing and pounding in a strange rhythm. Landon was in there. So was the Beast. I had let Avriel and Abaddon out of the Box. I knew what had occurred in there. If I had a form, I would have shuddered.
"It keeps me awake at night sometimes," Sarah said. "I can't stop thinking about the fact that Landon and Charis are in there with him. I wonder what he's doing to them. How it feels."
She'd seemed so strong when she talked to me on the beach, but now I could hear the cracks when she started talking. Underneath that exterior was a soul struggling to stay sane in a time that was beyond crazy.
"How do you know they aren't kicking his ass?" Ulnyx asked. "Why does it have to be the Beast that's winning?"
"Sometimes, they may be." She kicked the rug, rolling it back out, and then sat down on the couch. Ulnyx regained his position there. "The Box is a universe inside of itself. It has its own rules, and its own laws, but there is one that must be maintained. It was Avriel's mistake, and Alichino's mistake. They thought it was just about the power, the energy. I only realized while I lay there staring at the ceiling. They had missed the most important piece."
I felt the answer, as much as I heard it.
Balance.
"Even the Box demands balance. Avriel balanced Abaddon. Landon and Charis balance the Beast."
"What does it mean if they're balanced in there?" the Were asked.
"It means that they can never lose," a new voice said. Dante. "It means they can never win either."
He appeared between them on the couch. He was wearing a simple navy blue suit with a red tie, his hair slicked back. He looked old, but energized.
"That isn't completely true," Sarah said.
Dante shrugged. "We've discussed this, dear. I even went to Alichino with the idea, and he ran some computer models. The odds are astronomical."
"What are you talking about, old man?" Ulnyx asked.
"Don't get your fur all bunched, signore. I assume since you were inside Landon for a time you have a solid understanding of the balance?"
A short growl served as the Were's response.
"Yes, well, just as the balance can be tipped here, it can be tipped there. The trouble is, it is much easier to do here, and the effects are much easier to understand. If you think of it in terms of a mathematical equation, the-"
"Forget it," Ulnyx said. "Get to the point."
"There's a one in a million probability that Landon and Charis can sufficiently overpower the Beast to break the balance. After which, there is a one in a million probability that doing so won't destroy this realm, and perhaps all of them."
"You can't know that," Sarah said.
Dante glared at her. "No, and neither can you. Nobody knows what would happen if the balance was lost inside the Box."
"The Beast could bust it too," Ulnyx said.
"Yes, which is why I asked you two to meet me here." He paused and looked around the room. "Where is Obi-wan?"
Sarah sighed. "He wouldn't come."
Dante didn't look happy. He stared at the ground and rubbed his chin with a frail hand. "There is strength in numbers, but if we must, we must."
"Must what?"
"As you are aware, I can't stay here for long, which means my usefulness is limited. We need to get the Box to Switzerland, to the CERN laboratory. Alichino will meet us there, and together we will destroy it."
What? Every particle of my being cried out, my whole existence feeling the threat of his words. How could he?
"Dante, no," Sarah said. "You're going to kill Landon."
The Outcast didn't seem fazed by the idea. Had my form been capable, I would have killed him.
"I'm sorry, signora. Was that not what Landon asked of us before we lost him?"
"Sarah told me to come here to help you get Landon out," Ulnyx said. "Not to finish burying him."
"He deserves for us to try," Sarah said.
"At what cost?" Dante replied, his voice rising. "We already know that your father is plotting to use the Box to gain the Beast's power for himself. Do we wait for Gervais to send Izak to come and take it from us? Or do we wait for Lucifer or the seraph to throw an army at us so that they can take control? There are only three of us, and I cannot even stay here long to help you. How do you propose we keep the Box away from everyone who knows anything about the Divine indefinitely? It's going to be risky enough trying to get it to Switzerland. I have given you two months to find an answer, and you have none."
None? How could there be no hope? I didn't believe it. Where was Elyse? She needed to make a try for the Box, before he could convince Sarah to help him.
"I've lost everything else," Sarah said, her meek reply little more than a whisper.
Dante's face softened. "I know, signora, but I promised Landon I would find a way to destroy the Box for all time. The longer we leave it in this world, the more the risk it poses to all of everything. I'm sorry, but Landon would want the Box out of reach of everyone who would want to use it for their own aims. We must destroy it."
I could feel the pain of the words, even in my ghostly state. There was little chance that Elyse could get the Box away from Sarah, Ulnyx, and Dante. She couldn't even stand up to Sarah without being under my control. Landon was as good as dead unless I did something, but I was powerless. I had so little self, so little substance, but I had enough to pray. Please, help him.
There was a knock at the door.
"Expecting someone?" Dante asked.
Ulnyx raised his nose. "Whoever it is, they smell like sweat and seawater."
Sarah turned to the door. "It's okay. I'll take care of this."
That was when I knew it was Elyse. It took every bit of effort I could manage, but I propelled myself towards the door. If Sarah tried to Command her again, she wouldn't stand a chance.
Sarah put the Box down on the coffee table and headed in the same direction. She walked right through me, leaving me with a strange feeling of lightness that I hadn't expected. I fought to keep myself from becoming disoriented. Landon needed me to reach Elyse. We needed to take the Box before they could destroy it.
She reached the door and put her hand on the knob. I was a few feet behind, struggling to keep up. As soon as she started turning, the door slammed open, the force of it smashing into her arm and sending her flailing backwards. Elyse stood there, knife in hand. Her head was bare, and the Eye glowed at my presence.
"Hurry," she said, running towards me.
"Elyse?" Sarah was stunned, but recovering. "St-"
I was inside of her, my vaporous soul clamping down on hers and taking the wheel. She stumbled once while she ran, the transfer completing, but I regained my balance and shoved Sarah aside before she could react.
"I'm sorry, Sarah. I won't let you kill him."
Three more strides, and I was in the living room with Dante and the Were. It was too small in here for Ulnyx to shift completely, but his hands grew out into large claws. I stuck my free hand in the pocket of the leather jacket, finding a small brick there. I broke it and threw it at him.
The dust spread across his face, and he cursed and howled while his body shifted back to human form and he began to choke. The Box was sitting there, beckoning to me, only a few feet away.
"Stop." Dante moved in front of me, holding his hand out.
I knew he expected something to happen, but he had no more power over me than Sarah did. I didn't stop. I jabbed the knife into his gut and shoved him out of the way, knowing he could flee to heal. I reached down and took the Box, careful to keep it in its protective enclosure. In front of me, I could see the back door that led out to the beach. That was my escape route.
"No." I felt Sarah's power wash over me, harmless.
"You can't Command me," I said. "I'm going to find a way to save him. I have to." I jumped over the couch and sprinted to the back door. I had opened it halfway when the first bullets started raining in.