A Warrior's Heart (Shields) (31 page)

“What of you?”

He didn’t answer her, but pushed her toward Elle and Shannon, who pulled her into the ruins. Jayna tried to jerk out of their grasp when she saw Gabriel reach for his bow and arrow. The Harpy was bearing down on them, ready to rip someone to shreds, and aiming straight for Gabriel.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Gabriel drew back his bow and aimed for the Harpy’s eyes. Without her precious eyesight, they might be a little harder to hunt.

He saw her spread her wings as her talons opened wide. She was coming for him. He released the arrow and watched as it imbedded in her eye. Instantly the Harpy vanished.

“It was as I thought,” Aimery said. “The Harpy and Gargoyle were nothing more than the Shapeshifter.”

Cole nodded. “It explains why neither creature acted as it did before.”

“Or attacked,” Mina added.

“It was toying with us,” Gabriel said as he glanced around the area. “The Great Evil is coming.”

Hugh leaned against a fallen stone and held his crossbow up. “We’ll be ready for him.”

But Gabriel knew differently. The Great Evil wanted him, needed him. How Gabriel didn’t realize this sooner he didn’t know. But it made perfect sense. It was why the Evil didn’t kill him in the forest. He had only spoken to him. Gabriel shook his head and placed a hand on his temple.

“Something wrong?” Jayna’s sweet voice reached him as her soft hand touched his.

“I thought all of my memories had returned, but I was wrong. There are some still hidden.”

Her face blanched and her mouth parted in surprise. “You remember?”
 

“I’ve wanted to tell you.”

Her hand dropped limply to her side. “For how long?”

“Since we made love that first time.”

“You know why I’ve come then.” She sounded defeated, the light gone from her eyes.

He took her face in his hands and made her look at him. “I know you didn’t kill me when you had the chance. That’s all that matters.”

“There’s so much more, Gabriel,” she said as tears fell onto her cheeks.

Roderick cursed in his native tongue of Thales, drawing everyone’s gaze to the mist rolling toward them.

“It’s him,” Gabriel said as he released Jayna and readied his weapons.

The mist was dense and thick as it quickly surrounded them. “Do you think you could hide from me here?” the ominous voice asked.

“We came out here to fight you,” Hugh bellowed.

A chuckle sounded around them as mist encircled Hugh. “Ah, the leader of the Shields. Wounded and barely able to stand. What good are you to them, then?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Roderick said. “He’s preying on our weakness.”

“Weakness?” the ominous voice repeated. “Weakness is your fear that you won’t be able to stop me from taking over Thales. I hate to disappoint you, prince, but your realm no longer exists.”

“Nay,” Cole bellowed and hacked at the fog with his massive double-headed war axe.

The Great Evil only laughed at Cole’s weak attempts. “You cannot kill me. Not even these so called Chosen will be able to carry out your wishes...Aimery.”

They all turned to the Fae commander who looked bored as he leaned against one of the stones with his arms folded over his chest and his feet crossed at the ankles.

“What are you doing here?” the Great Evil demanded.
 

Aimery shrugged. “The same as you.”

“You cannot interfere.”

“Hmmm. It does say that, doesn’t it?”

The Great Evil gave a vicious growl before the mist moved to Gabriel. “I’ve longed to speak to you, Gabriel. To refresh the memories that are lost to you. I wonder if the Shields would be most interested in the man you were before you came to them.”

“The past is the past. It doesn’t matter what I was before,” Gabriel said. He refused to look at the others for fear that he would see the distrust in their gazes.

“Ah, but it does.” Suddenly, the mist turned from him to Jayna.

Gabriel felt real alarm then. Jayna had said there was more, and he feared his suspicions that she was somehow connected to the Great Evil had been right.

She stood her ground as the mist enveloped her. “My Jayna. You aligned your soul with mine just so you could mete out your retribution. How is it that you didn’t know I was the one that ended your realm? Your stupid little mind thought Gabriel had done it, but Gabriel was just my pawn.”

“Stop it,” she said through clenched teeth.

The evil laughed. “Nay. I think its time the truth be revealed. Have you told your new friends that you came to kill Gabriel? That you hunted him through time and space just to plunge your dagger in his heart?”

Gabriel’s heart twisted as he saw Jayna’s eyes close and defeat surround her.

“I shifted you through time, kept you alive, and gave you the means with which to kill Gabriel.” The Great Evil’s voice had turned hard, cold. “Yet you betrayed your vow to me.”

The mist suddenly pulled away. Gabriel started toward Jayna when she gave a startled gasp, and her eyes widened. He stood in shock as the tip of a sword pushed through her chest.

He didn’t know whether to go after the Shapeshifter that had snuck up on them or to Jayna. The look of terror on Jayna’s face propelled him toward her as the sword pulled from her and she crumpled to the ground.

“Nay,” Gabriel said as he ran to her. “Nay. Look at me, Jayna. Focus those beautiful hazel eyes on me.” He pulled out his black bag and reached for the delicate white flower that would save her life.

Only to find nothing.

It was then he remembered using it on Hugh and never replacing it. He gritted his teeth as a wail of anger built inside him. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not to Jayna.

“Shhhhh,” Jayna whispered as her cold hand rose up to touch his cheek. “It was not meant for you to save me, my love. I’m so sorry. For everything. I was such a fool.”

“Nay,” he said again, his throat closing with agony. Tears burned his eyes as he struggled to think of other herbs that could save her. “You won’t die. I am a great healer, you know. I will save you.”

Tears poured from her eyes to fall down into her hair. “You cannot.”

“I lost you once, I won’t do so again,” Gabriel vowed as he looked through his black bag, seeing herbs but nothing that could bring her back from the death that was coming to claim her.

He turned back to her then and placed his hands on either side of her head. “Jayna.”

“I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

“Forgive me for betraying you.”

She smiled. “I already have.”

Gabriel raised his gaze to Aimery. “Save her. Please. My life for hers. Take my life and give it to her.”

“I wish I could do as you ask.” Aimery lowered his gaze.

With a curse, Gabriel returned his gaze to Jayna. “Don’t leave me,” he begged as her eyes began to close. “Jayna. Please.”

“I never have,” she whispered.

Gabriel took her hand. Her grip was light, barely there. “Dammit, Jayna, fight. Fight death as you fought me,” he bellowed.

Her eyes slowly opened. “Let me go, Gabriel. Let me find the peace I seek.”
 

Gabriel could only watch as her life slowly ebbed from her to paint the snow red.

Her hand fell from his, signaling the end. He had never felt so useless, never felt so...empty as he did now.

His entire body shook as he kissed her forehead before placing her hands together. After a deep breath, he stood and faced Aimery and the Shields. He looked at each of them, hoping they would say something. Yet no one moved. The loss of Jayna touched him to his very soul, and the need to hunt the Great Evil was all that kept him from lying down beside Jayna and wishing for death.

“You know the truth now,” he said slowly. “The memories I feared were much worse than you could imagine. I am from an ancient race of this realm –Babylonians. I was gifted with healing abilities, and so was sent from realm to realm learning all that I could.

“Eventually I knew how much power I wielded in these hands,” he said as he gazed upon his hands. “With my healing powers, vast knowledge of herbs and then the magic I learned, I could bring people back from the brink of death. The offers I received were numerous, the sums...enormous. But I wanted more.”

“That’s how the Great Evil found you,” Aimery said.

Gabriel nodded slowly. “I was an easy target. I was power hungry, and he gave me that power. He shifted me through time and made me near invincible. All that he asked was that I help him in one small task.”

He hesitated as unwanted memories flooded him. “He sent me to Jayna’s realm. A realm rich in minerals, life and...magic. What I didn’t know was that the evil had been steadily going from realm to realm, destroying them. I helped him get into the realm, and once in, it didn’t take him long to annihilate it.”

“I don’t understand,” Mina said. “How did this realm manage to keep him out?”

Aimery sighed loudly. “This realm was small, but their magic was strong and true. The Fae had helped to combine our magic with theirs to keep any unwanted evil out of the realm. There has to be a balance of good and evil, so they couldn’t extinguish the evil that already resided on the realm.”

“How exactly did Gabriel get in then?” Hugh asked.

Gabriel inwardly cringed at Hugh’s words. He didn’t blame Hugh though for he knew if he was in Hugh’s place, he’d think him evil as well.

Aimery glanced at Gabriel. “Because for all of Gabriel’s faults, the evil knew Gabriel wasn’t evil. Gabriel’s thirst for power is what allowed him to be seduced by the dark side, much like Nicole’s brother.”

“My brother was trapped for centuries,” Nicole whispered as her gaze rose to Gabriel. “How did you manage to get out from the Evil’s grasp?”

Gabriel turned and looked at Jayna. “My orders were to make sure I was in the fray, I didn’t realize what that meant until the attack started. I refused, and the Evil threatened Jayna’s life, which left me no choice. I kept my sword in my hand and stood to the side sickened at the destruction.”

He licked his lips and turned back to the group. “When I saw one of the many creatures enter the palace, I charged in after it since I knew Jayna was there with her family. I battled the creature and wounded it, but it was already too late for most of Jayna’s family. Her father was the first killed. I found her at the back of the castle hunched over her two small sisters that had been slain.

“She knew I was part of it, knew I had brought the evil to her realm. She attacked me, and I let her. I deserved death and she deserved her retribution.”

Silence filled the air then. Gabriel looked around to find the mist completely gone.

“The Great Evil has left,” Shannon said.

Aimery shook his head. “Nay, he’s gathering his forces. To leave these ruins would be folly. We wait here for the attack, for he will attack us first. He wants Gabriel.”

“Why?” Val asked as he moved toward Gabriel. “You betrayed him.”
 

Gabriel shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

“Tell us what happened next,” Cole prompted.

Gabriel wasn’t deceived by their even tone. He knew they felt betrayed themselves and he couldn’t blame them. “As much as Jayna hated me, she couldn’t kill me. She had wounded me gravely in her grief, though I’m not sure she realized what she had done. I knew it was just a matter of time before I died, but before I did I wanted to end the evil.”

Roderick snorted. “Fool. You are only human.”

“True. Yet, I knew I could. I made it back into the castle and stood guard as a group of people stood together fighting the evil. I don’t know what they chanted for I couldn’t understand the words, but they were defeating the Great Evil.”

Elle’s mouth parted as hope filled her eyes. “You mean, like we are supposed to do?”

Gabriel nodded but couldn’t meet her eyes. “That’s when the evil sent in another creature, a Hydra, a nine-headed beast. There was nothing between the creature and these people but me. I fought him as best I could, but I was no match for him since I was already wounded. He got past me and killed most of the small group. That’s when the evil came for me.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Yet he forgot the gift he had given you,” Aimery interrupted.

“Aye,” Gabriel said as he met Aimery’s gaze. The Fae commander’s gaze was steady, no hatred or disgust shown in his fine features. It gave Gabriel a small measure of hope. “My immortality. I tried to find Jayna to take her with me, but she was gone. The realm was about to implode, so I opened a doorway.”

Aimery gave a quick nod. “And was found by us. The Great Evil cannot venture into our realm, which shielded Gabriel from him.”

“And his memories?” Hugh asked. “Did he lie to us all this time?”