Chapter Twenty-Two
Alex
After my shower, I found Eden lying on the bed, fast asleep. Her tray was next to her and her plate was empty. She’d been through so much today, I would have been surprised if she was still up.
I tucked her in and took the tray downstairs and found Alaine making Sage and Mateo some food.
“How’s Eden?” she asked.
“Sleeping soundly.” I emptied the tray into the trash. “She was amazing. I’ve never witnessed a power like hers. She sent countless Fallen shooting across the Underworld with her twister, and killed dozens with lightning strikes. We escaped only because she made a twister pick us up and throw us through the portal.”
Alaine shook her head. “She is incredible. I’ve never seen another Nephilim with that kind of power.”
I proceeded to tell Alaine what Eden had told me in the Underworld. How she’d felt that rage and anger when she entered the portal. And how her power seemed to be magnified, including the black and crimson rimmed eyes.
“I believe what Beleth said was true. Because Eden’s father was Fallen, being in the Underworld could have triggered the power. Who knows what kind of dark magic is tied to the place. I can’t even imagine what she was feeling.” Alaine shook her head.
“If it’s because she’s half Fallen, did Emma feel like that too?”
Alaine shrugged. “I don’t know. Emma didn’t mention anything like that. But she is not just Fallen. Yes, Samuel is her father, but Michael—an Archangel—is her grandfather. If there was a battle going on inside of her, I don’t think it would be as intense as Eden’s, because she has both.
“Before we left, Beleth disappeared. I have a feeling he’ll be back for her.”
Alaine finished putting her trays together. “I know he will,” she sighed. “He was shamed by a girl who stood up to him in front of his army. I saw it in his eyes. He wants to kill her.” She stacked one tray on top of the other. “I’ll call Midway right after I deliver this food.”
“Thank you, Alaine.”
Alaine smiled. “This is my life. I am Nephilim and helping others like me has become not only a job but a duty. We’ve gained two more Nephilim in the past few days. I believe we may be growing an army of our own.”
“I agree.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Did Samuel go to the tower?”
“Yes. He’s there with Dom and Mark. Thomas is in his room recovering. His wounds had already been tended to, so I just changed the bandages.”
“Do you think Samuel will need help?”
“No. They’re fine tonight. Go ahead and get some rest, Alex. We know the Fallen will be coming soon enough, if they aren’t already camped outside the barrier. We just have to be ready.” She winked and walked out.
There was a thunderous boom outside that shook the house. Piercing screams blared from upstairs.
I ran from the kitchen and down the hall. Alaine had set the trays on the floor and was sprinting upstairs. Another boom rocked the house, followed by more screams.
It was coming from our room. I called my wings and flew to the third floor landing, then ran to our room and flung the door open. Eden was on the bed, her hands grasping the sheets. She was having a nightmare. A gust of wind sent the window flying open.
“What’s going on?” Alaine asked, charging in the door.
I went over to the side of the bed. “Eden,” I said, gently shaking her. Thunder roared outside, and lightning cracked. Rain poured down. “Eden, wake up!”
Eden shot up, her eyes wide.
I stepped back as she looked at me. Not at me, through me, with those black and crimson rimmed eyes. She began screaming again, the weather going crazy outside.
I wrapped my arms around her and said, “Sleep.”
Eden’s eyes rolled back, her body fell limp in my arms, and the weather outside instantly died.
I glanced over to Alaine, who had a worried look on her face.
Dom came through the door next. “What the hell is going on?”
I laid Eden’s head back on her pillow. “Eden was having a nightmare.”
“A nightmare? Damn, I thought you two were getting it on.”
“Really, Dom?”
“Hey, you should take that as a compliment.” He chuckled. “Did you put the sleeper on her?”
I nodded.
“Oh, she’s gonna be pissed. Watch out, she’ll drop a twister on you to teach you a lesson.”
My head snapped to him. “Who told you about the twister?”
Dom’s eyes narrowed, then he gasped. “Holy crap. Did she drop a twister on you?”
I turned away from him, mad at myself for giving it away. Damn, how did he do that?
“Dude, I need details.”
“Go away, Dom.”
“Fine, but I’ll be back.” Dom walked out the door then came back, sticking his head in. “Good night, Alexander.”
“Good night, Dom,” Alaine answered.
I sighed as Alaine walked over and stood next to Eden. “That was a bit unnerving.”
“Do you think taking her into the Underworld could have damaged her? What if it starts to control her? What if this nightmare was just a glimpse of what could happen?”
Alaine brushed a stray hair from her cheek. “We’ll try and figure it out. Until we do, I think it’s best, for all our sakes, that when she falls asleep, you put the sleeper on her.”
“What if she wakes and doesn’t remember? Should we tell her?”
“I think we should. She needs to be aware, so that if there is something that she can do to fight it, she will.”
There was another knock at the door and when we turned, Thomas peeked his head in. “Is everything okay?”
“I’ll let you two catch up. Goodnight, Alexander,” Alaine said, before heading out the door.
Thomas came in and took a seat on the chair next to the window. “What a day, huh?”
“Yeah,” I breathed. I glanced up at him and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes. “How are you?”
“I’m on the road to recovery. I don’t even know how long I was down there. They kept me in a cell that had no light. Every couple of hours they’d come in and—” he paused.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said. “But you know that I’ll always be here for you.”
“Thanks, bro.” Thomas’s head dropped. “I knew you’d be there for me, that’s why I called you.” His blue eyes met mine, in so much pain. “While I was in the cell, being tortured, I kept thinking about the call I made, and wished I hadn’t made it. I knew that if you got it, you would come looking for me. I didn’t want you to be put through the same thing I was.”
“I’m glad you did call because it set things in motion for us to find you sooner.”
“Whose idea was it to go into the Underworld looking for me?”
“Actually, it was Ephraim who told us in an indirect way, that he would turn a blind eye if we went into the Underworld to save you.”
“Ephraim?” Thomas’s face crumpled. “Wow. Who would have thought?”
“None of us, that’s for sure.” I laughed.
“He must have felt really bad for sending me on that assignment, that he would ask you to go to Hell to retrieve me.”
“He feels bad. His job is now much harder. He’ll have to really look into each one to make sure his Guardians are safe and not falling into the hands of Fallen.”
Thomas nodded. “It was mostly my fault. If I hadn’t gone up to the mountain, they wouldn’t have caught me.”
“I think it was a matter of time before they found a way to get to you. You were already targeted, and I believe Dom was too. He could have been taken as well if that Nephilim boy hadn’t run into him.”
“Are you talking about the fast kid?”
“Yeah, Mateo. He recently transformed. The kid was in Guam while Dom was there. The Fallen came after him and killed his mom.”
Thomas’s hands fisted at his sides. “What the hell is wrong with the Fallen? They aren’t animals,” he growled. “That kid was instrumental in my escape, but because of our circumstances, we weren’t properly introduced.”
“He’s a cool kid, you’ll like him. He actually wanted to come to help save you.”
Eden moaned and rolled over.
Thomas stood from the chair and ambled toward me. “There is no way I could ever repay you for saving my life. You and your girl. I saw what she could do. It would be pretty terrifying to be on the other end of it. Thank God we aren’t on her bad side.”
“No kidding.”
“Get some rest. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Thomas held out his hand, and I shook it.
“I would have given you a hug, but I know you’re still healing.”
“Yeah.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Like hell. But not all the time now. Once in a while I’ll get a shooting pain through it, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“I’m glad we found you, brother. I’m sorry for what they did to you, but I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Me too, man. Me too.” Thomas said patting my arm. “See you in the morning.”
“See ya.”
When everyone had settled, I crawled into bed. I looked at Eden and held her hand.
“How am I supposed to save you from your dreams?” I whispered. I wondered what triggered the nightmare. And her eyes. I wondered if there was anyone who could explain what was happening to her. Awake and asleep, her world was one huge nightmare.
“Don’t worry, Eden,” I breathed, pulling her into my arms. “We’ll get through this.”