Darkness Arisen

chapter Fifteen



Serenity.

Peace.

Tranquility.

Beauty.

Words foreign to Ian filled his mind and took over his consciousness. He felt the most incredible sensation of peace cascade through him, like millions of sparkling snowflakes on a moonlit night. Six hundred years of tension and hardship floated away, leaving him with a quietness in his soul that was incredible.

Ian. Accept this gift I offer you.

Alice's voice was so soft and beautiful in his mind, like the sound of angels singing just for him. Her presence seemed to fill him, an incredible gift of peace and love. Golden light blossomed in his mind and before his eyes, but it didn't blind him. It simply wiped away six centuries of grit and hell, until all that was left was the sensation of rightness, that all was well. Alice. He wanted to reach for her, but he couldn't seem to move his hands. He became vaguely aware of a searing pain in his body, of Ryland and Kane chanting in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about it. He just wanted to see Alice, to feel her touch, to breathe her into his being. She was all he needed. Where are you?

Right here, Ian. Her fingers slid between his, squeezing gently. Will you accept my gift?

Yes. He couldn't believe how right it felt to have her hand in his, and to feel the delicate warmth of her touch. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had touched him like that, as if he were a treasure that needed to be soothed. He liked it. Really liked it. He tried to squeeze her hand, but he couldn't make his fingers respond. Why can't I move?

You had a bit of a run-in with an angel of death. You need to heal yourself. Can you feel Kane and Ryland? They're helping you.

Her voice was like magical bells in his mind, and he sighed deeply, basking in the sensation of her presence. They're saving me?

They're trying. But you need to help. The golden light seemed to glow brighter, and Ian took a deep breath, cleansing his lungs. Tension seemed to dissolve from him, and the despair that had weighed him down for so long seemed to vanish. He had no fear of Alice or their connection or the ill-fated sheva destiny. It simply felt good and right.

Come on, man. Ry intruded upon his moment of tranquility. You gotta help us. If you don't save your ass, then I'm going to take your angel and keep her. She's f*cking incredible.

Possessiveness thrummed through Ian, and urgency began to simmer inside him. A need to claim his woman, to make her his. He began to struggle to regain consciousness, to move his body. Alice. Where are you?

Here. Her fingers tightened in his. Always here.

Ian focused on her hand in his, on the tightness of her grip. She was there with him. She wasn't leaving. All was well. All was well. The words seemed to free him, and he felt power begin to build inside him, strength that had been deteriorating as he'd fought the curse. Without the fear or despair holding him back, there was no longer a drain on his resources. He focused on the healing energy coming from Kane and Ryland and fed it through his body. He found the black pockets of poison in his soul, and he summoned his own healing strength and joined with his teammates to purge it. One by one they attacked the poison spots, and Ian never let go of Alice's hand. The golden light continued to burn brightly, filling him with her spirit, and the most incredible sense of calmness and hope.

He didn't need to die today. He didn't need to die ever. Alice? This time, he managed to tighten his fingers slightly, and he wanted to shout at the victory of locking her hand more securely in his, of claiming her.

I'm still here, Ian.

I'm not giving up. It can work out. We can make it all work out okay.

A wave of her emotions crashed over him. A yearning so powerful it seemed to come alive and plunge into his chest. Don't say that, Ian. I can't deal with that—

It's true! Fierce determination flooded him, and he fought the poison even harder. He needed to open his eyes. He wanted to see her face. He had to make her understand that there was hope, that there was always a chance. With a roar, he and his teammates blasted through the last of the taint, the part that had locked around his heart. It shattered like a crystal ball, its fragments dispersing harmlessly through him as the unified Calydon healing energy swallowed the last bits up.

Air rushed back into Ian's lungs, and he gasped, sucking in oxygen as he bolted upright. The first thing he saw was Alice leaning over him, her auburn hair framing her face like a silk curtain. "Alice!"

Joy flashed across her face, and he heard Kane and Ryland whoop with triumph. But his team didn't matter. Nothing mattered except Alice. He framed her face with his hands and pulled her to him so he could kiss her. Her lips were soft and warm, and sudden hunger exploded through him. He needed her, this woman who had given him the first peace he'd ever experienced in his life. Alice. He infused her name with all that he felt, with his gratitude, his awe, and his need for her.

A soft noise of desire echoed from her throat, and she kissed him back, a kiss of desperation, joy, need, and promises of so much more. Ian slid his hands around the back of her neck and—

Kane cleared his throat, jerking Ian back to the present. He swore and broke the kiss, grinning at his teammates as he slung his arm around Alice's shoulders so she tumbled against him. "Can't a guy get some privacy around here?"

"Shit, man." Ryland's hand slammed down on Ian's shoulder. "Good to have you back."

Kane let out a low whistle and sat back on his heels. His face was drawn from the effort of healing Ian, making Ian realize exactly how hard they'd all had to push to bring him back.

"Thanks, man." Ian slugged a handshake with Kane, who nodded once, then he glanced at Ryland. "Thanks, Ry—"

His words died in his throat when he saw the darkness in Ryland's eyes. It was getting worse, a man so close to the edge that it looked like he'd snap at any moment. "You okay?"

Ryland wiped his forearm over his forehead, leaving a streak of dirt through the beads of sweat. "Yeah, fine." His gaze flickered to Alice, and there was no mistaking the hint of awe in his expression. "Shit, man," Ry said. "You're one lucky bastard."

Ian grinned and pressed his lips to the top of Alice's head. "Yeah, I know."

She smiled up at him, and his heart almost stopped at how beautiful she was.

"You need to smile more," he said, tracing his fingers over her upturned lips. "You're radiant."

Her smile widened. "I'm just feeling the high of that golden light. It affects me, too."

"You're not basking in the joy that I lived to see another day?"

A mischievous light glinted in her eyes. "Of course not. You're trouble." She held up her arm. "You're reeling me in, and last I heard, Calydons who fully bond with their mates meet a terrible demise. I want romance, not ugly endings."

A smug possessiveness thrummed through Ian at the sight of his almost-complete brand. "I'll romance you," he said. "I'll bet there's a lot of info on the internet about how to romance a woman."

"Flowers," Kane said. "Chocolate. Foot massages." He grinned, looking like a freaking Cheshire cat who'd just swallowed a whole can of caviar. "And get her knocked up. Women go soft for babies."

Alice's cheeks flamed red, and a strange emotion settled in Ian's chest. Something that made his lungs feel sort of thick and heavy.

"Babies?" Ryland snorted, moving away from them. "Jesus, Kane. We're in a war zone and you're talking about babies?" Tension radiated through his body again, and he shifted restlessly. "Why in God's name would you bring a kid into this world when it's crumbling down around us?" The venom in his voice was virulent and sharp. His eyes were a turbulent purple and black, and there seemed to be a faint black cloud around him. He shook his head. "No kids. No f*cking kids." Then he turned and walked off, his body rigid.

Ian pulled Alice closer to him as he watched Ry. "He's going to go any day," he said. "Now that Dante's dead, there's no one to keep him in balance." Dante had been the Order's leader since before any of the current team had joined them. He'd brought them all together, and created a unit that had been struggling to hold together since his death.

"Thano had a connection with Ry," Kane said. "If Thano's really dead, Ry won't hold out. His only mission since Thano disappeared has been to get him back."

Ian thought of the irreverent warrior who never missed a chance to remind them that they were all old geezers in comparison to his thirty-five years of life. Thano was the one who was always there with a quip to diffuse the tension when things got too heated. Resolution flowed through him. "I want him back, too."

"Me, too." Kane's eyes glittered. "If he's alive, we'll find him." He glanced at Ryland, then leaned toward Alice. "Can you give Ry some of that golden light? He could use that peace."

Alice shook her head. "An angel can offer it once a millennium. I can't."

Ian looked sharply at Alice. "Once every thousand years? That's it?"

She nodded. I wasn't supposed to give it to you. But I did.

Son of a bitch. She'd chosen him to receive it? Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed by the moment. He took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm, not even sure what he wanted to say or how to say it. As he kissed her, he suddenly noticed that the pocket of her shorts was glowing blood-red. He paused. Alice? What's that?

She looked down, and her face paled. It's activated.

What is?

The pearl. It glows only when it is called into duty to protect an angel from becoming a Mageaan. I must have crossed that line when I gave you my golden light.

Ian scowled. Take it back. I don't want you to risk yourself like that.

But instead of the fear he expected to see on Alice's face, she gave him a serene smile and touched his jaw. It was a tender, incredible smile that touched his very soul. It's okay, Ian. I knew that might happen. It was worth it.

Shit. Ian knew then and there that he had to find a way to save her. End of story.

"Ryland needs some of that golden light." Kane sighed and ran his hand through his hair, oblivious to the revelation Alice had just shared with Ian. "I'll ask my wife if she can give him some."

"Wife?" Ian looked sharply at Kane. "You married her?" The soul mate bond was so powerful that Calydons rarely bothered to get married. They were sucked into the bond, and then went rogue. No time for flowers and wedding processions.

Kane grinned. "Hell, yeah." He held up his hand, and Ian saw a black and silver band on his ring finger. Engraved on it were two spiked flails, his weapon, with their chains interwoven by a halo. "Wedding band and everything."

"Shit." Ian looked over at Alice, and sudden regret filled him that he'd never have that chance. He would die. She would die. One or both of them would die.

Alice seemed to feel the heat of his stare, and she glanced at him. In her eyes was such stark longing that his chest tightened, but at the same time, her jaw was tight with grim resolution and the acknowledgment of reality.

"Nice work, by the way." Kane held out his hand. "Welcome to the team, Alice."

Her expression softened with warm surprise as she shook his hand. "Thank you."

Kane nodded. "My sheva is Sarah Burns. She's our angel of hope. She's been looking forward to meeting you. She hasn't met a lot of angels."

Alice cleared her throat. "Well, I look forward to meeting her." But her voice was flat, and Ian knew it was because she was thinking that she wouldn't live long enough to make that trip. Despite the residual glow of the golden light, the reality was that she had still been killed by the wizard, and eventually death would catch up with her.

The idea settled darkly around Ian as he slid his hand around Alice's arm and gently helped her stand, emotions warring at him. She'd given him a gift of such incredible power, a gift she'd never be able to give to anyone else, not even Catherine. She'd saved it for him, breaking rules so he could have it. He couldn't let her suffer for all eternity on his behalf. He had to find a way to stop the slide.

Kane grinned. "Sarah's pregnant. Did you know that? Three months along and going strong. I didn't even know angels could get pregnant!"

Ian stared at Kane. "You're going to be a dad?" He hadn't heard that news. Shit, what planet had he been hiding on? "You're shitting me." He'd been teammates with Kane for centuries. He'd been in battles with him. They'd dragged each other from death, and they'd shed more blood than anyone ever should. And for him to be a dad? Ian couldn't imagine Kane hoisting some infant on his hip and making googly noises after getting home from taking out a bunch of rogues.

"No joke." Kane stood up, and there was no hiding the gleam of satisfaction on his face. "How about that, huh? We don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. It might be a demon. It might be an angel." He grinned. "Who the hell knows? But it's gonna be great."

To his surprise, a flicker of envy ran through Ian. And sadness. Kane's enthusiasm reminded Ian of his own father and what a great dad he'd been. Ian had never contemplated fatherhood, unwilling to risk his own children's future until he was able to break the curse. But as he felt the satisfaction rolling off Kane... Hell. Ian looked over at Alice, unable to keep his thoughts away from her when thinking of starting a family. She might not have had a mother who appreciated her, but he'd felt the depth of her soul, the warmth that was buried so deeply.

She'd be a great mom. He knew she would be.

Then Alice shivered, and his thoughts of some fairytale family vanished in the face of the reality they were dealing with. Alice was standing slightly away from them, her arms wrapped around her belly, her face pinched and worried as she distanced herself from the picture Kane was painting for her, a world he knew she didn't believe was accessible to her.

Protectiveness surged through him, a need to change her future, to make her feel safe, to make her face glow the way Kane's was.

She looked over at him, realized he was watching her, and smiled...a smile so beautiful it made his heart stop. I'm so glad you're okay, Ian. It was worth it.

I'm never worth that kind of sacrifice, sweetheart. But even as he said the words, he reached for her, drawing her into his arms for an embrace. As he buried his face in her hair and felt her body melt into his, he couldn't stop looking at Kane's goofy-ass grin. A child? A family? With Alice? Really?

"Son of a bitch." Ryland's explosive epithet had them all spinning around. He was standing at the end of the woods, staring into the trees that had been burning so fiercely before.

"What is it?" Ian's mace burned in his arm, and Kane called out his flail.

"That pit you guys jumped over." Ryland turned to face him, his eyes blazing. "It's the same exact thing that took Thano." His eyes flashed. "Thano's here. He's f*cking here. I know it."

Adrenaline rushed through Ian, and he strode over to stand beside Ryland. The pits that had nearly taken him and Alice were still there, bottomless holes of purple, green, and black smoke. "Thano got sucked into one of those?"

"Yeah. Almost got me too." Ry went down on one knee, peering over the edge. "Thano!" he bellowed. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

A long silence filled the night as all three warriors reached out with their minds, trying to connect with Thano telepathically. If he was near, they'd be able to reach him. If he was far away, only a warrior he was blood-bonded with could reach him, and none of them fit that bill.

Ian didn't pick up anything from Thano, and from the frustrated expressions on his team's faces, Ian knew they'd come up short, too. Ian grimaced, studying the seething cauldron below them. "You think he could have survived that?"

Alice walked up beside him, setting her hand on his arm. Ian instinctively pulled her against him,needing the physical connection with her. "It's not Catherine's trap," she said. "It's not death. So, he might have a chance."

"Catherine?" Ry looked up sharply, not bothering to rise from his knee. "Your sister? Her trap is death? What does that mean?"

Alice hesitated, and Ian knew she was retreating to her old self of holding back and playing by the rules.

"Alice." He took her hand. "What the hell does it matter if you contradict precedent now? There's no going back. You broke the rules by giving me that golden light. You've gone too far. It's time to do whatever the hell you want to do. Being safe gets you nowhere. You know that."

"But—" Alice started to protest, and then she stopped as Ian's words registered. She slipped her hand into her pocket and felt for the pearl that was protecting her, the pearl she would have to give up when they returned to Jada. What did it matter if she broke the rules now? She'd killed a woman. She'd given Ian the golden gift. Ian was right. There was no salvation for her.

A strange sense of liberation began to flow over her. After a lifetime of trying to play by rules that she hated, rules that stole from her everything she wanted to be, she'd crossed that line. She'd used the golden light on Ian, a light that was supposed to be preserved and offered only to someone who represented a greater purpose than themselves. Ian was simply himself, and she'd done it anyway.She'd never be able to go back, no matter how she tried to atone for what she'd done. She could only go forward, and make the most of what she had. To be free. Free.

Fierce determination flooded her, and she clenched her fist around the pearl as the reality of what she'd done settled on her. Yes, she would still die. Yes, she might be trapped as a Mageaan without the pearl to protect her, but right now, in this moment, she was free. Truly free. She smiled, a small smile that grew.

Ian grinned back, though there was no mistaking the worried shadows in his eyes. "Freedom," he said.

"Freedom," she agreed. She strode forward to the edge of the pit and crouched beside Ryland. "Catherine Taylor isn't my sister," she said. "She's my best friend, but not my actual sister."

Ry's pitch-black eyes were fastened on hers, as if he were riveted by her words. "What is she?"

"An angel of death."

Ryland's jaw flexed, and he closed his eyes, as if the news was more than he could handle. "An angel of death," he whispered. "Just like the oracle said."

"Oracle?" Ian crouched beside them. "What oracle?"

Ry's eyes opened, and recognition flared through Alice once again. Ryland was more than a Calydon. He was more than Order of the Blade. Something that rang a bell...

He stood up, breaking eye contact and moving out of range before she could place it. "Thano is here," he said. "And an angel of death." He called out his machete. "We need to find them both."

Kane was staring down into the chasm. "It really is exactly like the one that took Thano. I thought it had been made by demon magic."

"It is demon magic," Ian said. "Demon magic controlled by Warwick Cardiff, a black magic wizard. He's here. And if you saw the same pit before, then he must have created that one, too."

Kane looked up, his eyes glittering with fury. "Warwick Cardiff? Who is he?"

Ian felt a flash of triumph. Kane and Ryland were giving him their full attention now. For the first time in six hundred years, they were on board with his mission. "He's a wizard who harvests demon magic. He's the one who cursed my ancestor for killing his sheva. If he was the one trying to kill Kane's sheva, then he's the one targeting the Order. Not just me. The entire Order."

Kane ran his hand through his hair. "Why would he target the Order? Whoever is trying to kill our angels is after the Order." He gave a grim smile. "I get why he'd be pissed about his sheva getting killed. I'd probably go after you guys too if you killed Sarah. But why the entire Order?"

"I know why." Alice spoke up, and all the men turned to look at her. She was looking at Ian, and only Ian. "You all make choices in accordance with your Order oath. If it didn't drive you, you would be free to make the right choice—"

"The Order choice is the right choice," Ian interrupted. "I honor my duty—"

"Exactly!" She looked around at them. "Warwick believes that the oath the Order members take obscures their ability to do the right thing." She looked at Ian. "Didn't you say that Warwick's best friend was your ancestor? But that Augustus put his Order duty over their friendship?"

Ian nodded. "He did what was right—"

"He did what the Order oath convinced him was right." She looked around at the three stoic faces. "Don't you understand? Warwick is trying to free all of you and future Order members by destroying the Order, by giving heroes the freedom to think for themselves instead of playing by the rules."

Ryland's scowl deepened. "He wants to destroy the Order to free us? F*ck that." His fist tightened on the machete. "The Order is sacred. Dante's mission will be upheld by those carrying his torch."

"Sacred? Like murdering shevas to protect their males?" she challenged. "Would you really kill me if Ian and I finished bonding and he went rogue? Protect the greater good by killing me?"

Ian growled and moved in front of her as Ryland scowled. "If you are part of our angel trinity," he said, "then no. Ian would be the one to die. Protecting the Order assets to protect Dante's legacy is all that matters. Ian is one member. You protect us all. You are more important."

She blinked. "You would kill your teammate in cold blood?"

A muscle twitched in Ry's cheek. "I do what I have to, angel. It's what I live for." His eyes darkened. "Don't look for what I'm not," he said. "I don't give a shit about anything but making sure Dante's legacy is protected."

Kane studied him. "And angels," he said. "You care about angels."

Something flashed across Ry's face. "Our guardian angels, yeah. Because they're part of the fabric of the Order."

"No. Not just them," Kane challenged. "Any angel. Why?"

Ry's face darkened. "I honor Dante. Nothing else matters. If Warwick is trying to bring down his legacy, then I'll stop him."

Alice groaned in frustration. Didn't they understand what she was talking about? "What about the fact you're following the rules to kick Ian out of the Order, when you both know he's one of the best warriors you've ever had, and one of the most loyal?"

Guilt flashed through Kane's eyes. "We do what we need to do. He made his choice."

"Seriously?" She looked at Ian. "And what about how you're unwilling to help me kill Catherine because your first job is to find Warwick and end the curse because you owe your ancestors this great honor? All you think about is honor, and not the situation."

Ian's face darkened. "Are you trying to say that I should walk away from my oath to the Order and my family honor?"

Alice hesitated, knowing that those two things were what defined Ian. They were what had been driving him his whole life. The resistance on his face made her heart sink. She would never be most important to Ian. Just as her mother had always been more interested in angel activities than her own daughter, Ian would never put her first. Suddenly, the love that had blossomed so brightly in her heart when she'd offered him her golden light seemed to flicker and die.

None of the men standing before her would put their women first. Their first love was the Order. Blind, mindless adherence to traditions formed two thousand years ago. Fury boiled through her, anger that she'd finally broken through her boundaries, and yet these men were too stubborn to do the same. God, she almost understood why Warwick wanted to break them up. She understood, because she had been bound so deeply by rules for so long, and her mother had died for it. If she'd become brave earlier, her mother might still be living. With the pearl in her possession, who knows what she could have done? Instead, she spent her life hiding. Now, she had only days left to live. Well, dammit. She was going to make the most of those last days.

"Wait a second." Ryland held up his hand. "Did you just say you're here to kill Catherine? You're here to kill the angel who might be the third part of our trinity?"

Alice hesitated at the threat in his voice. "I'm here to do what I promised her I'd do." But as she thought of Catherine, she felt a vast warmth spread through her, a beautiful sensation so pure and amazing she wanted to cry. She'd always said she loved Catherine, but suddenly, for the first time in her life, she felt it in her heart. It was so powerful that it almost overwhelmed her. She knew it was so vivid because she was no longer fighting what she was, or allowing the strictures of her kind to rule her. Catherine was the source of support and friendship and family that had kept her heart beating her whole life, and suddenly, for the first time, she could feel, truly feel, how much Catherine meant to her.

She didn't want to kill her. She didn't want to lose her. Dear God, she didn't want to.

"What did you promise her you'd do? Kill her?" Ryland pressed.

Alice took a deep breath, recalling that moment when she'd made that promise to Catherine, and she knew that no matter how badly it tore her up to do it, she had to make it happen. She owed it to Catherine to do what Catherine couldn't do herself. But as she studied the dark denial in Ryland's eyes, she knew that he would never allow it. "Catherine asked me to rescue her," she said evasively. "So, that's why I'm here."

"By killing her?" he asked.

She didn't need to answer him to know that she'd just acquired an enemy. Instead, she lifted her chin and faced his challenge. "What if killing her was the best thing for the Order?"

He said nothing, and she saw the conflict warring in his eyes. As loyal as Ian was to the Order, Ryland was even more intense, almost rabid with his commitment to their deceased leader. But so was his connection to angels, despite his denial. Which would win?

"I think," said Ian, breaking up the moment. "We need to find Warwick. He has answers all of us need. Let's start there."

For a long moment, Ryland didn't move, then he gave a curt nod. "Agreed."

Kane inclined his head. "Agreed."

Ian looked at her. "Alice?"

There was no need for her to find Warwick. His spell had already been cast on her. There was nothing that could help her now. She was there for Catherine, and only Catherine. But as she looked around at the determined trio, she knew that there was only one answer to give at the moment. "To Warwick," she said. If they got to Warwick, he would lead her to Catherine, and Catherine was what mattered. Dear sweet Catherine, why do I have to find my love for you right before I have to kill you? There was no answer from Catherine, and no answer from anywhere else. Would she rather have never felt this, or felt it and lost it? She knew the answer. Even a minute of being alive was worth all the pain that came with it. "Let's go."

She met Ian's gaze, and she couldn't help the feeling of loss that echoed through her. The brand burned on her arm, mocking her. She was his soul mate, but she would never trump his code of honor. She'd given her soul for him, yet his would never be offered in return.

But as she turned away, he caught her arm, pulling her back. Alice.

She resisted the personal intimacy. "What?"

I will find a way to do it all. The fierce determination in his voice caught her attention, and she looked up. To do right by you. You will not end up in the ocean or in demon hands. I swear it.

His stare was intense, his jaw flexed with conviction. There was no doubt he meant it, and her heart fluttered at his promise. He'd uttered the words from the depths of his soul, imbuing them with the beauty of true emotions. God, to have him look at her like that, as if his world would be right only if she was okay... it was incredible. A gift. Even if, in the end, he wasn't able to do it.

She knew why she'd given him the golden light. His intense loyalty and commitment to family honor was so admirable and so beautiful that she couldn't help but treasure it. Ian had shown her how to break her bonds and follow her own heart. He'd given her freedom, and for that, she would never regret her choice, even if he would never love her the way she wanted to be loved. "Better to have lived and lost," she said softly, "than to never have lived at all."

His eyes narrowed. "Isn't it 'loved' not 'lived?'"

Her throat ached for what she felt for him, with the need to tell this solitary warrior that she loved him, but she couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it. Not when he couldn't give it back to her. So she shrugged. "I'd never truly lived until I saved you. You gave me the gift of life. That's what matters."

But as she turned away, she knew it wasn't all that mattered. Love mattered. Love was why she'd saved him. And love was why she had to kill Catherine. Love might be beautiful, but it had a razor edge of pain that hurt more than anything she'd ever felt before.

Ryland was perched on the edge of the pit. "I'm going in. If Thano's down there, I'm going to find him."

Alice stiffened. "You're going to jump in there?"

"Why not? I got an angel of life here to keep me alive, right?"

Alice's jaw dropped at his assumption. "We have no reason to believe I'm one of the Order's trinity. Don't do something so—"

Ryland jumped, instantly swallowed up by the hell below.

"Ry!" Kane swore and dematerialized. He was back in a split second, his body streaked with black and purple slashes. His hair was on fire, and his skin was sloughing off. "I can't find him. It's a nightmare down there. We can't go in there." His face was grim. "I don't know how Ry or Thano could have survived that. It almost killed me and I was only in there for a split second." Kane looked at Alice. "Do you feel Ryland? Has he called to you for help, as his angel of life?"

Alice blinked, and shook her head. "No, I haven't felt anything." Should she? She had no idea what it was supposed to feel like to save anyone.

"Well, shit." Ian ran a hand through his hair. "We need to get to Cardiff fast then, and have him shut it down."

"Yeah." Kane looked around, searching their surroundings. "Which way?"

Alice followed his glance. They were at the edge of the forest. In one direction was the meadow that they'd landed in. In another was the pit. To the left and right stretched more woods. There was no sign of civilization or any kind of inhabitants. "What if his house isn't on the surface? What if the pit is the front door?"

The three of them stared grimly at the seething chasm. Jump, or not?