‘BRING HER TO ME!’ Theo calls through the trees. ‘GREY-CLOAK! WHERE IS MY ARCANE WITCH?!’
In the distance, Tobias’s fire lights up the woodland and Theo yells as he takes a hit. Gabriel turns and looks towards the direction of Theo’s voice before looking back at me with wide eyes.
‘COME!’ Theo calls.
Gabriel quickly removes his cuff from his wrist and places it on mine before letting me go and getting to his feet. I grab his wrist and with all my strength, I pull him back down with me.
‘No,’ I snarl. ‘He doesn’t get you too! He doesn’t get you!’
Gabriel’s forehead collides with mine and my head flies back as he attempts to leave. I tighten my hold on him and as he stands, I dig my heels into the ground. But he’s stronger than me and I end up being dragged along after him. Quickly, he spins and shoves me away, pointing his finger in the opposite direction. All the while, his feet slide through the dirt, leading him back towards Theo. He turns, and I’m running after him. I can’t physically stop Gabriel, but that is not where my strength lies. I leap onto his back, grab his head and press my fingers hard into his temples.
‘Ego-Vos-Accepter!’ I say through gritted teeth, determined and absolute in my resolution to not let him go.
Gabriel falls to his knees as I channel my stolen magic into his mind, forcing my way through the mess that’s inside him. It’s all bright lights, pain, confusion and noise. My head feels encased in twisting barbed wire as I attempt to see through his thoughts. To find out what the hell has happened to him and why he’s doing Theo’s bidding.
I hear Theo’s voice echoing as I dig into his subconscious.
Obey. Obey. Obey.
My insides hold the sensation of being covered in acid and I know that Gabriel is feeling this all the time under whatever hold it is that Theo has over him.
OBEY. OBEY. OBEY!
Everything is flickering from the blinding white to the deepest of blacks. Gabriel’s screaming. Not just in pain, but in terror and utter despair.
I’m in the middle of a hurricane. The hurricane is his thoughts and emotions and they make no sense. They’re deafening. Outside, in the real world, I feel him trying to pry my fingers from his skin and get away from me. But I hold on with everything I have.
‘Sit still,’ I order him, channelling his own power against him. He does. ‘Calm yourself, my love. You calm yourself now.’ The chaos of his innermost self remains in turmoil. So I dig deeper. Deeper than I have ever gone before. Until I see all he has done in the year I have been lost. All the lives he has ended. All the people he has tortured. All the camps he has uncovered. All the blood he has spilt.
Including my father’s.
And I see why. I witness, as if standing there in the very same room, what happened to Gabriel Kendryk in the cell beneath Theodore Kendryk’s fortress. And I know why he has become this creature. This Broken monstrosity. And I hear, deep inside him, how he still screams out for death. For this to end. And he screams it to me, pleading with me to slit his throat before he does as his master orders and returns me to his clutches.
Theo has Broken Gabriel with torture, torment and suffering beyond measure. But that is not all he has done. He has done to him, what was intended for me. A demented Break. A twisted and unnatural Break.
A violation of the body and of the mind and of the soul.
I let go of his head and fall backwards into the mud, heaving and retching at what I just witnessed in his mind. The things that Gabriel has been through… it’s not only inhumane to the extreme but so evil, so heinous.
So final.
I lift my head and we both look into the eyes of the other. He blinks at me. Those grey eyes that are streaked with red veins hold no resemblance to the man I love. He gets to his feet and lifts his hood, covering his face, before turning on his heel and walking away.
Theo has ordered him to return, and he has no choice but to obey. That is what has been done to Gabriel. Broken, and forced under the control of Theodore Kendryk. Still in shock at what I have learned, I watch him go. I watch him leave and return to Theo, who now owns him completely.
But I will die before I let Theo take him away from me again.
I skid to a stop in front of Gabriel, blocking his path to Theo.
‘You’re not going anywhere, Husband,’ I tell him. ‘Not without me. So, you either take me with you to Theo? Or you come with me somewhere safe. Your call.’
He wraps his hands around my arms so tight, I know I’ll be bruised. He shakes as he grips me and takes two steps closer to Theo before grunting and tossing me to the floor. Before I can blink, he’s trying to grab me again, but his other hand stops his reach. He’s battling himself for control. My Gabriel, the one I love and who loves me, is still in there and he’s trying to stop himself from handing me over, as Theo has commanded him to do. I was the same when I was lost in my Break. Battling for control and struggling to see past the mental prison I was sealed in.
Gabriel turns once more, heading back to Theo and leaving me behind.
But yet again, he finds me in his path and this time, I have his knife in my hand. I will cut his fucking legs off if I have to. No way Theo does another thing to this man. I will die first. My eye twitches as I fill with determination. I don’t look away, even when I sense Theo’s magic getting closer. He’s coming right for us. Gabriel glances behind me and sees him heading this way. He points, gesturing for me to run.
I shake my head. ‘Not without you.’
‘COME!’ Theo yells in the not too far distance. ‘Grey-Cloak, COME!’
Gabriel’s head shoots up and he starts striding swiftly towards Theo’s call. I step in front of him again and get one hell of a punch in my stomach. He tried to stop it from coming with his other hand but missed. He steps back, grunting and growling, slamming his fists into his head as hard as possible as I keel over, winded.
Is he trying to knock himself out?
I ignore my pain and launch myself at him, the knife in my hand. I just need him to stop. And there is only one way I can think to do that.
I stab him in the leg. And then I fall on my knees and slice through the back of his heel.
He falls with a painful, muffled yell. Now, both on our knees, I take hold of his head once more and channel his power.
This time, I don’t use it on him.
I use it on Theo, and the half a dozen Hunters that are sprinting towards us. As they emerge through the trees, I focus on what I need to do, stretching the limits of my power in new ways that I have never achieved before. In the way that I witnessed in Gabriel’s mind. For six months, Theo tortured him to such an extent it Broke him. For the following six months, even though he has been Broken and forced to fulfil Theo’s every whim and desire through no fault of his own, Gabriel has managed to use his Mental magic to plant manipulations throughout the Hunters he has been close to. They don’t sense magic with their mark, because Gabriel has compelled them not to. Many of the Descendants he has helped interrogate have lost their memories when he has searched for camp locations. And most incredible of all, he has compelled Hunters not to recognise me if they ever see me in the flesh, nor understand a word I say when I speak. Even though the world thought me dead, and despite the intense suffering he was enduring, he still did everything he could to protect me if I were ever to return.
I will not let him down now.
I feel blood trickle from my nose as the use of such power tests my mental ability to wield it through such a foreign and incompatible connection to the Arcane Realm.
The Hunters’ yelling gets louder. Their footsteps closer. Theo’s magic hums violently around me and I watch as they pass us by as if we’re not even there.
Because it is not Gabriel’s mind I am controlling right now.
It’s theirs.
And as far as they know, Gabriel and I are just two rocks sat side by side, just as to any Hunter, I am a jibberish-speaking blonde girl with brown eyes and no magic to sense.
‘Where are they?’ Theo barks at one of his men.
‘They came this way, sir,’ his Hunter replies. ‘The Grey-Cloak will return with her, or he will die in his efforts.’
‘They may be back at the castle!’ Theo insists, grabbing hold of one of the men beside him. ‘You. You return to the Castle. See if they are there.’
‘But… the castle is over-run!’ The Hunter stammers in reply. ‘The Nomads outnumber us! Tobias has his fire and there is a dragon and wolves-’
‘I don’t care! Go! GO!’
As Theo turns to look back at the blaze, which was once his prized fortress, I see how badly burnt he is. The left half of his body is severely damaged. His cheek is so decimated, I can see bone and teeth and tendons. His eyelid is all but gone and he holds his side gingerly as blood spills severely through his fingers. When he stumbles, two of his men catch him. The others surround him as a protective barrier. Part of me wants just to take my chance and end his miserable life. But all I have is Gabriel’s connection, and it’s taking everything to keep us concealed from so many minds.
Kill him. Do it now! KILL THEODORE KENDRYK!
My Broken-self screams at me furiously from deep within, loathing that I choose to hide rather than fight.
But fuck her. I came to find my family. Gabriel may be Broken and under Theo’s control, but he is all I have left, and he’s far from lost.
So I stay here, holding him down as he tries to get away from me and focus my strength on manipulating the minds of those around us. My head is splitting. More blood trickles down my nose, past my lips and down my chin.
‘My Lord,’ one of Theo’s men says tentatively. ‘We must go. You are badly injured and if Tobias or the Hooper witch catch up with you in your condition-’
Theo responds to his words by sending a bullet through the man’s brain. All others fall silent and Theo watches Tobias’s flames grow in height and strength, listening, with fury, to the battle cries of the Nomads as they finalise their victory.
‘You may have won this one. But I’m far from done,’ Theo snarls to the air. ‘I’ll see you at the final Bloodstone, Hooper. Wherever you are.’
He turns and leaves through the trees, followed by his men. When he’s gone from sight, I lower Gabriel’s hood.
‘Okay. Just you and me, Beautiful,’ I soothe. ‘You stay nice and still for me, okay? You stay right where you are and you don’t fight me off.’
Fuck… this is killing me. This power is too much and I’m haemorrhaging through my ears now too. Gabriel nods though, so I continue.
‘I need something from you. And I am sorry if this makes you worse, but I need to know. I need to know what happened after the last stone. I lost her, Gabriel. And I don’t know how. I don’t know when or where. Our baby is missing. Will you help me find her?’
I flinch when I feel his fingers rest over my belly. I nod encouragingly.
‘That’s right. Our baby. I’m going to use your magic to look into my memories. I am sorry if it’s bad. I’m sorry if what you see makes your Break worse, but I can’t take another second not knowing if our little girl is alive or dead. I just can’t.’ His face glows as something behind me explodes. The yells of the Hunters and Nomads echo around us, and the rain continues to hammer on us relentlessly.
But right now, it’s just us. Lilly and her Gabriel. Both Broken and damaged and bleeding. Both in need of saving.
‘If I hurt her while I was Broken, you kill me. Because it will shatter my soul and turn me back into a monster, I know it, so you don’t hesitate. If I have hurt that baby, you kill me without a second thought, and you go to Tobias for help. I compel you to, Gabriel Kendryk. I compel you to.’
Gabriel gives a single nod, removes his leather gloves and reaches out, resting his hands either side of my head. It tingles as he focuses his power to me. We lean closer until our foreheads meet. He watches me nervously, and I sense his conflicting rage within him as his Broken-self struggles to hold his thrall over him.
I close my eyes and let him search my thoughts with me.
It all flashes before my eyes like a movie played at triple speed. The images and sounds make me breathless, and when it’s done, when I see myself return, to find Jensen, to travelling through the underground pipes and ultimately being captured, I release my hold on Gabriel and sever the link between us.
Everything is spinning and my head pounds. I slump forwards so my head lands on my knees as I cradle my skull.
I laugh. I laugh loudly and with tears in my eyes.
Gabriel’s hands rest on my shoulders and slowly he raises me up. As our faces meet, I watch as his eyes start to return to the blissful blue they once were.
Because what we just saw together… the images and sounds and moments that were lost in my mind… they mean everything. And it’s precisely what he needed to overcome his wicked Break.
‘She’s alive!’ I cry happily, relief flooding through me at speed. ‘She’s… she’s alive and she’s perfect! She’s safe, Gabriel. All of them are safe! Can you believe it?’
My laughing turns to hysteria and my body rushes with warmth. Everything is spinning and the adrenaline that was keeping me on my feet is slowly ebbing away.
‘Did you see?’ I ask him as I start to slump. He catches me in his arms as I fail to keep myself upright. ‘Did you see her little fingers? Did… did… did you see her chubby little cheeks?’
He traces his thumb over my mouth and observes the blood he catches. I lie there, growing more limp in his arms, but loving how his hair is starting to turn to its usual brown.
‘Did you see her, Gabriel?’ I ask weakly, my arm falling to my side and my words starting to slur. ‘Did you see our daughter?’ Slowly, I blink and feel tears of blood seep from my eyes. ‘Of course you did,’ I smile. ‘She’s undone your Break. Her perfect… little… her… I called her Callie. Callie m-means… it means… Beautiful…’
He looks around him in a panic as he lifts me into his lap. With his free hand, he tries to get the metal mask off his face. He starts yelling, but the steel muffles his voice. When he tries to stand, the damage I did to his legs has him back on the ground. He snatches up the knife by my side and points it at whoever has emerged through the treeline. His brown hair claims the white more and more, and with every blink I manage, I see more of Gabriel’s humanity return.
And why wouldn’t it? Those memories we witnessed together could turn the evilest of minds to love and light.
Gabriel is yelling furiously now, his hand thrashing the knife back and forth wildly at whoever is approaching. He pulls me back, dragging us both through the dirt.
I look, blinking the rain and tears of blood from my eyes to see a line of five Hunters heading straight towards us.
But I laugh because I can see what no one else sees.
Tobias Kendryk.
He sets the fuckers alight, killing them with ease before running to my husband and me.
‘YOU!’ he yells. ‘YOU GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER! GET… Gabriel?’
Collins appears from the trees, and I watch as he pulls Gabriel, kicking and screaming, away from me. I fall into Tobias’s waiting arms and see the utter shock and confusion on his face at the discovery of who has been beneath the grey hood this whole time.
‘You keep him away!’ Tobias yells at Collins who is pulling Gabriel back. ‘Keep him secure and away from her!’ He turns his wrath directly to Gabriel as he’s dragged further away from me. ‘You? All this time? You?! I saw what you did to Jensen, you fucking bastard! How could you do all the things-’
‘He was Broken,’ I tell him weakly, barely loud enough for him to hear. Tobias looks down at me with wide eyes because of course, he is only seeing Gabriel now. Unbroken, wearing the Grey-Cloak, covered in my father’s blood and full of violent desperation to get to me. Collins isn’t fucking about and knocks Gabriel out with a single punch before stepping back and looking at him with horror.
‘Broken?’ Tobias asks. ‘He was Broken?’
I nod.
‘Theo… He… Not Gabriel’s f-fault.’
‘Jesus, Lilly! You’re bleeding everywhere!’ Tobias looks down at me and strokes my cheek.
‘She’s alive…’ I tell him.
‘Who?’
More explosions and gunfire sound out.
‘I need to get you somewhere safe. You look like you’re at death’s door.’ Tobias scoops me up in his arms and orders everyone to Retreat. ‘Get Gabriel,’ he bellows as we make our way through the woodland.
‘Where will we go?’ Collins asks. ‘The camp was raided!’
‘I know exactly where to go,’ Tobias tells us. ‘C’mon. Let’s move.’
