One Soul Book Two

Chapter Twenty-Five

Harlee POV

“Sands!”  I cried out, pushing at Sam to get him to move.  He rolled away reluctantly and followed as I ran to Sands’ side.  “How do we heal an Angel?”  I asked desperately, my hands fluttering over his body uselessly.  One of his wings was badly mangled, his beautiful face had been nearly beaten to a pulp.  There was a long gash across his rib that had exposed bone, at least one of his legs looked broken and his arms were slashed to ribbons.  Sam hissed and was looking around us warily.

“The better question is: did he lead anyone here?”  Sam growled.  I tried to prevent myself from shaking at the thought.  Sam grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around me, so he must have seen me tremble anyway.  Sam was pacing the small space and the next time I looked at him, he was fully clothed, wings out.  He had grown larger, darkness was swarming around him, his Form was roiling.

“Sam?”  I asked tentatively.

“Hush.”  He snapped and I recoiled.  A hand snatched my face and my scream was muffled by Sands’ swollen and bleeding lips against mine.

“Feed me Harlee.”  He gasped against my mouth.  “Help me.”  His head fell back to the floor and I panicked.  How was I supposed to do that?  WIth Sands it was all about showing love, acceptance, care.  ‘Being the source of his Divinity’ he’d once said.  What the Hell was I supposed to do that would even…

“Give him some of your blood and connect with his Mark Harlee.  Talk to him.  Try to ease his pain.  Show him you care.  You know how to do this.”  Sam instructed, cutting into my thoughts.  He was glaring out the window beside the door into the night, the shadows creeping away from him across the floor like living smoke.  Living death.  I shuddered.  Sam turned abruptly.  “I won’t fully change in your presence, but one day you will need to see me.”  He said sadly.  “I know it can be.. unsettling.. for humans.  For now, Sands needs you.”  He jerked his chin in Sands’ direction.  I extended the claws on one hand, but hesitated, staring at my exposed arm.

“Sam, I.. I think I need a little help.”  I was trying to keep the whine from my voice, but I winced at the pitiful sounding pout in my voice.  I was in full-blown panic mode and I couldn’t seem to bring myself to make the first cut, much less think straight.  A gentle hand tilted my wrist further, while Sam stroked my cheek.

“Never be ashamed to ask for my help, my love.”  Sam murmured softly, and with a tear in my eye, I looked up into the face of Death.

Zeev POV

Lu stumbled into our beach house sometime during the night.  Cael had remained in child form and was fast asleep on the bed at the time.  I checked on him quickly as she threw the door open.

“How did you find us?”  I hissed, shutting the door behind her and checking one more time to be sure Cael was still asleep.

“You showed me this place in your memories-remember?  I took a chance one of you might be here.”  Lu slid down a wall, leaving a bloody streak.

“I can’t heal you.”  I fretted.  Only Harlee could do that.

“That’s not entirely true.  We never cemented Harlee’s Bond.  Remember, you have half of her soul.”  Lu reminded me.  I cursed.

“God damned pesky thing is going to be the death of me yet.”  I spat.

“Look, I’ve tried not to intrude..”  Lu began.

“You mean you’ve lurked and been suspicious as Hell.  Yeah, we noticed.”  I interrupted her.  She ground her teeth.

“I didn’t want this either you know.”  She argued.

“Well good, we didn’t need any extra interlopers.”  I crossed my arms and glared.

“You’re going to need them now.”  Lu rebutted sadly.  I winced.  She was right.  I growled angrily.  “Look, I know you don’t trust me, but I have some people I can call upon.  They might help us win this thing.”  Lu took a few unsteady breaths and slumped a little further on the floor.

“Ah Hell.”  I paced to her and crouched in front of her.  “Come on Luc.”  I extended a hand.  “Do your worst.”  She grimaced at me and reached for my hand wearily.

“Since you bear the other half of the soul I’m sworn to protect, I pledge myself to your service and protection.  If you should have me.”  Lu let out a weary breath.  “I’m sorry, I’m too exhausted for more of a speech than that.”  Her hand went limp in my grip.

“I accept Lu.”  I murmured and picked her spent form up off the floor.  A tingle of warmth raced under my skin at every point of contact and the heavy weight of a pendant settled around my neck.  As I settled Lu in a chair beside the bed, I plucked the pendant from my shirt to see it matched Harlee’s, except the dagger at my throat had four wings wrapped around it.  It seems Lu truly had remembered me.  I placed her hand on the pendant and watched her body twitch slightly as the Mark rebounded on her.  A single orange eye with a slitted pupil  appeared on the underside of her arm.  My eye.  I snorted.  Lines ran off it, twirling and pooling into a delicate pattern around the lids, some ending in delicate vines, leaves and flowers.  “Never anything half-assed, eh Lu?”  I tsked.

“Hey don’t blame e, that’s on you.”  She mumbled, not opening her eyes.  I sighed.

“What do you need from me?”  I asked grumpily.

“Let’s try the Marks first.  Maybe you can sort of ‘channel’ Harlee through your soul or something.”  She grumbled, pushing herself upright a little further.  I mulled it over while she examined the Mark on her arm with a sigh.

“I don’t know if this is going to work.”  I warned her.  She shrugged a shoulder.

“Worth a shot.”  She remarked and reached up to grip the pendant again.  “By the way, what’s this Mark about?  Watching me much?  Pervert.”  I growled at her, but settled my hand over her Mark and immediately felt the connection between us, the warmth sliding under my skin like a friendly hug.  Lu frowned.  “No, that’s not enough, try this…”  She grabbed my hand and slapped it to her chest over the Mark Harlee left and I felt my palm sizzle.  Lu’s own palm connected with Harlee’s Mark on my neck and my back arched.  I fell to my knees beside her chair.  My eyes rolled back in my head as the thread that Bound us together pulled taught.  Harlee’s body went rigid, and I felt every bit of it.

Harlee POV

Sam’s fingers stroked my cheek right before my body bowed backwards and I began to fall.  I don’t know what I was expecting.  The grim reaper?  Not the absolutely terrifying and gorgeous creature that stood before me.  He looked almost.. human.  But not.  He was too ‘other’.  Too ethereal.  His eyes.. The red.. The fury within them, they latched onto me as I fell and then concern overtook his face and the strange bone spurs spiking from the sides of his face disappeared.  The furious gaze vanished as he reached for me, trying to catch me as I fell.

‘Harlee!’  Zeev’s panicked voice rang through my head.  I smiled.  I could sense him, and through him Cael and Lu.  And he’d been in contact with Ash who had Leila, so that meant everyone was accounted for.  My family lived!  My body jerked as if on a string.  I felt the drain almost immediately.

‘Tell Lu to stop!  Sands needs help too!’  I screamed, making Zeev flinch.  He twisted in his own mind, trying to free himself.

‘I can’t!  She’s got too firm a latch on us both damnit!’  Zeev replied.  Suddenly Sam’s face swam into view again and with an enraged snarl he smacked me in the forehead with his open palm.  My head jerked backwards.