was still coming up through the stained glass windows, it was as it were the middle of the day inside the church. That was when I saw them.
Six men stood circling the altar staring at us. But, of course, they weren’t men at all. They were the six archangels whose mission was to keep peace on earth, no matter what the consequences. I heard Riley’s hiss as he saw them.
I wanted to run as far away as we could, but I knew that this confrontation was inevitable. I thought there was going to be time to talk. To reason. To figure out a way that worked for everyone that didn’t require any more bloodshed. But then I saw the archangels link hands, and I felt the hum of an enormous amount of energy. A pulsating beam of light appeared over the altar and shot through the air toward us. Toward Riley.
“No!” I screamed. I threw myself in front of Riley just as the beam invaded our space. I heard his roar as his hands pressed into my shoulders to shove me away. The world imploded before my eyes.
PART TWO: THE LIGHT
CHAPTER SEVEN – RILEY
If I lived through the day, I was going to have to have a talk with Paige about continuing to try to sacrifice her life for mine. The beam of pure light energy was meant to decimate me. Instead, with Paige’s body in front of me, it was as if it was filtered through her and into my body. My eyes closed, and I felt something tear through me.
I was lifted off my feet, but I never felt the weight of landing back on them. I opened my eyes and found Paige standing in my arms looking up at me. The space all around us was white. We were in an empty, white room that seemed to go on forever around us. The archangels and the church were gone.
“Any idea where we are?” Paige asked in a quiet voice. “Is this Heaven? Because I’m pretty sure I might be dead. Again.”
I pulled her tight into my embrace. “You silly woman. You need to stop trying to save me. Otherwise, one day you will get yourself killed.” My words were said with only halfhearted enthusiasm. The tides pushed and pulled us together. We were meant to be inseparable. I felt that in my bones.
“If we die together, I can’t think of a better way to go. As long as we’re together, I don’t care if we’re on earth or somewhere else.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt. “Are we dead?” She peered up at me. I wanted to lose myself in those blue eyes.
Finally releasing her, I looked around us. Her hand slid into mine so that she maintained the physical contact. I didn’t mind. I felt different somehow in a way that I couldn’t explain.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “If I were to hazard a guess, this is a waiting room of some kind, though.”
“Like Purgatory?”
“All of the places that exist on the other side of the veil have their own rules of physics and logic,” I said. I wasn’t sure where I was pulling this information from, but it rang true to me. “Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the ether beyond them. Those are the places we know about. There are more out there. Different planes of existence inhabited by those that belong there.”
“So this is one of those places?”
“I think this is a place where someone put us to keep us out of the way,” I said, choosing my words carefully.
“You look different,” Paige said quietly. She reached up and touched my cheek. “Are you feeling better?”
I thought about the question. Incredibly, I did feel better. The voice that had permeated my thoughts ever since I crushed the relic was gone. I looked down at my arms and gasped. The tattoos that had been there moments ago were gone. “What the hell happened in that church?”
“You’ve been cleansed.” Viho appeared as if out of nowhere. “The tainted curse of the relic is gone.”
“Viho? How are you here?” Paige asked.
“I’ve never left,” he said. There was a sad note in his voice.
“Never left?” Paige repeated, as if the words didn’t make sense.
Of course, to me, they
Six men stood circling the altar staring at us. But, of course, they weren’t men at all. They were the six archangels whose mission was to keep peace on earth, no matter what the consequences. I heard Riley’s hiss as he saw them.
I wanted to run as far away as we could, but I knew that this confrontation was inevitable. I thought there was going to be time to talk. To reason. To figure out a way that worked for everyone that didn’t require any more bloodshed. But then I saw the archangels link hands, and I felt the hum of an enormous amount of energy. A pulsating beam of light appeared over the altar and shot through the air toward us. Toward Riley.
“No!” I screamed. I threw myself in front of Riley just as the beam invaded our space. I heard his roar as his hands pressed into my shoulders to shove me away. The world imploded before my eyes.
PART TWO: THE LIGHT
CHAPTER SEVEN – RILEY
If I lived through the day, I was going to have to have a talk with Paige about continuing to try to sacrifice her life for mine. The beam of pure light energy was meant to decimate me. Instead, with Paige’s body in front of me, it was as if it was filtered through her and into my body. My eyes closed, and I felt something tear through me.
I was lifted off my feet, but I never felt the weight of landing back on them. I opened my eyes and found Paige standing in my arms looking up at me. The space all around us was white. We were in an empty, white room that seemed to go on forever around us. The archangels and the church were gone.
“Any idea where we are?” Paige asked in a quiet voice. “Is this Heaven? Because I’m pretty sure I might be dead. Again.”
I pulled her tight into my embrace. “You silly woman. You need to stop trying to save me. Otherwise, one day you will get yourself killed.” My words were said with only halfhearted enthusiasm. The tides pushed and pulled us together. We were meant to be inseparable. I felt that in my bones.
“If we die together, I can’t think of a better way to go. As long as we’re together, I don’t care if we’re on earth or somewhere else.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt. “Are we dead?” She peered up at me. I wanted to lose myself in those blue eyes.
Finally releasing her, I looked around us. Her hand slid into mine so that she maintained the physical contact. I didn’t mind. I felt different somehow in a way that I couldn’t explain.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “If I were to hazard a guess, this is a waiting room of some kind, though.”
“Like Purgatory?”
“All of the places that exist on the other side of the veil have their own rules of physics and logic,” I said. I wasn’t sure where I was pulling this information from, but it rang true to me. “Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the ether beyond them. Those are the places we know about. There are more out there. Different planes of existence inhabited by those that belong there.”
“So this is one of those places?”
“I think this is a place where someone put us to keep us out of the way,” I said, choosing my words carefully.
“You look different,” Paige said quietly. She reached up and touched my cheek. “Are you feeling better?”
I thought about the question. Incredibly, I did feel better. The voice that had permeated my thoughts ever since I crushed the relic was gone. I looked down at my arms and gasped. The tattoos that had been there moments ago were gone. “What the hell happened in that church?”
“You’ve been cleansed.” Viho appeared as if out of nowhere. “The tainted curse of the relic is gone.”
“Viho? How are you here?” Paige asked.
“I’ve never left,” he said. There was a sad note in his voice.
“Never left?” Paige repeated, as if the words didn’t make sense.
Of course, to me, they
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