Bound (The Divine, Book Four) (39 page)
Read Bound (The Divine, Book Four) Online
Authors: M.R. Forbes
"I do," I said. "Someone has to."
She looked down. "I'm sorry."
I picked her chin up with my hand. "Don't be. You saved the world, Charis. You brought me here. You taught me, you trusted me, you loved me. I know what I'm going back to is anything but peaceful, but every day when the sun rises, I'll know it was because of you and I. I'll know that six billion people get their shot at their hundred years, and then another six billion people after that. I'll help them with you in my heart, and in my soul."
I kissed her forehead. I held my lips there and exerted my will on her.
"Rest now. You've earned it."
"I love you," she said again.
It was the last thing I heard. Her body turned to energy, and the energy swirled around me. First, she would be with Clara here in the Box. Then, she would be free.
I watched her dissipate into the air. Right before she did, I captured a single point of light, and I breathed it in. I pushed it down into my soul, and I trapped it there for all of eternity. I couldn't stand to have our connection completely broken.
She would have agreed.
I stood there for hours, still and silent. I let the tears fall, because I was going to miss her. I let my heart soar, because I was happy she was free. Eventually, Rebecca came into the mansion. She didn't speak to me. She just stood there and waited, her own tears joining at my pain. I never would have expected that.
"It's time to go," I said to her at last.
"Landon, I..."
"I forgive you."
I focused, and a new doorway appeared in the center of the room. The door was mottled wood, and I remembered it from a dream. It was a symbol of struggle, and of hope. I pushed it open.
"Go now, Rebecca."
"Aren't you coming?" she asked.
"Yes, but I have one more thing I need to do first. Tell Sarah I'm proud of her. Tell Dante I'll be in touch. Tell Obi, Adam and Elyse that they have my infinite thanks."
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to." I pointed towards the door.
She walked over to it and paused.
"Landon, I..."
I held up my hand, and she stopped. "Be good, Rebecca."
She smiled, winked at me, and stepped through.
I took a deep breath. I could feel the power coursing through me, the energy sizzling at every tip of my being. I had observed what the thirst for it had done on every level. I had witnessed the death, the pain, the destruction. I had seen it in Josette, in Sarah, in Ulnyx, in Gervais and Abaddon, Ross and Malize. I was a diuscrucis. One part demon, one part angel, one part human. That meant I was all parts fallible and corruptible.
Such power didn't belong in my hands.
I held it in my soul for a brief moment. I kept a grip on just enough, and I let the rest go. I pushed it all out into the Box, a Box that I knew couldn't hold it. It didn't need to.
I walked over to the door, took one last look back, and fixed the world.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Rebecca: Epilogue
"Are you ready?"
I pursed my lips and stared into the white light in front of me. Master Lu was standing on my right, dressed in the plain gray robes of the House of Life.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
It had been nearly a month since we had freed Landon from the Box. At least, I could only assume he had been freed. The last I had seen of him was right before stepping through the doorway back to the Beast's prison, and rejoining those who had been waiting on the outside. I had waited for him there with the others, only to have it all vanish in a flash of light. The Box, the star, even the prison itself. We had found ourselves back in Gervais' chateau, left to wonder what exactly had happened.
It had only been his words to me, words I shared with the others, which brought us any comfort. They weren't the words of someone who was gone for good. They were the words of someone who needed a break and time to heal their battle scars, who would overcome their grief and loss and return stronger and more resolved than ever.
We'd gone our separate ways then. Dante had returned to Purgatory, bringing a reluctant Alichino with him. Adam had gone back to Heaven to report on the fate of the swords that his Inquisitors had been hunting for so long. Elyse had expressed her need to return to Japan, to a family estate that she could only hope had avoided Gervais' attentions, where she planned to regroup and come to some kind of closure on the death of her father and her status in the Nicht Creidim.
Obi was going to return to New York, but Sarah had wanted to stay, and so he had stayed, naming himself her guardian in Landon's absence. She wanted time to mourn the loss of her friend and mentor, and to deal with the power her father had unlocked with her fury. The chateau was probably hers anyway. I couldn't imagine that any Divine would lay claim to it any time soon, especially if word got out about what she had done to the archfiend.
I had remained a spirit from the moment I had used Elyse to pass along Landon's message until I had been drawn back across the world to the small monastery in China, run by one of the oldest angels on Earth. The world was safe from the Beast and the one called Malus. Landon was free. I had accomplished my mission. I had earned my redemption.
Master Lu had known I was coming. I don't know how, but he knew. He had a volunteer waiting for me, a new initiate to the House who he had yet to gift with the Touch. She was no more than twelve, and her memories were so simple and so pure. After all I had been through and witnessed, it was hard to keep myself from weeping at the beauty of them. I was sure she would make a good monk.
I stared into the white light and shuddered. I was nervous, excited, and afraid. I remembered what the other spirit had said to me. I knew there was a possibility my road to Heaven would end here, at least for now. Still, I was hopeful. I hadn't saved a kitten from a tree, after all.
"Step into the light, child," Master Lu said. "Bare your soul to the Heavenly Host, and allow them to make their judgement."
I held my breath, trying to calm my pounding heart. There was no sense in delaying.
Be good.
It was the last thing Landon had said to me. I had my flaws, but for better or worse, Heaven or not, that was what I was going to do.
Be good.
My host's feet carried me forward until I was inside the light, surrounded by it so that I saw nothing but a field of bright emptiness. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but I felt a warmth surround me for a fleeting instant and then retreat.
I stepped out of the light.
Master Lu was smiling at me. A comforting, gentle smile.
Be good.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Landon: Epilogue
I watched the waves roll across the beach. It was early morning on a clear day. A crisp breeze was blowing from the north. The sun would be coming up soon.
I hadn't missed a single sunrise in the three months since I had gotten out of the Box. Even when it was cloudy or raining I would come out here, I would look in the direction I knew it to be, and I would smile. It wasn't just because it meant humanity got one more day, it was also because I knew Charis was out there somewhere, and in a sense so was Clara.
I had made myself a new body, a replica of what I had lost, but no longer a thing of the Divine. I had taken the Box, and I had brought it with me to this remote place, unseen by those gathered in the Beast's prison. I had left the doorway open, and I had pushed it up into the stars, where the energy would leak out and become a smaller part of the thread that wove this universe to all of the other universes. Then I had stretched out in the sand below those stars and cried myself to sleep.
I had done the same every day for eighty-one days, alone with my thoughts, my grief, and my joy. I had seen the potentials of my future in the despair of the Beast, but in the end I rejected them. I wasn't him, and he wasn't me. I was free to choose, and my choice was to stick with the hope and the unbreakable spirit that made every single member of mankind capable of rising up to do great things. My plan wasn't so much to be their protector, as it was to help them learn to protect themselves. The Nicht Creidim weren't right, but they weren't completely wrong either. There had to be a balance there, somewhere.
In the end, if I taught them, and I helped them, then the loss of one diuscrucis would never be enough to break the world. It would never be enough to break the will and the spirit.
The game was over. We had won.
A new game would start soon.
I was ready.
Author's Note:
There was some confusion after the release of Broken that it was the end of the Divine Series. I want to make sure I avoid making the same mistake twice. This IS the end of what I've been self-referring to as 'the Beast Cycle'. It IS NOT the end of the Divine novels.
Landon's adventures will continue.
I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has gone on this ride with me. I appreciate your continued patronage and support, and I hope to be able to keep entertaining you for years to come.
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About the Author
I grew up with books. When I was eleven, I used to ride my bicycle three miles to the nearest bookstore to check the shelves for any new science fiction or fantasy titles they may have added in the last week, and eagerly put down almost all of my paper route money for the pleasure of escaping to a different place.
It's hard to be an avid reader without wanting to create worlds of your own, and so that's what I then set out to do. Too many years later, it's a dream come true to be published, and have people read and enjoy my work.
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His Dark Empire
An old man without a past. A young girl without a future. An empire ready for rebellion.
His Dark Empire
is the story of Silas and Eryn, two fugitives from opposite ends of a tyrannical Empire whose worlds collide in an explosion of sorcery and blood, intrigue and mystery. Together, they race to discover Silas' lost legacy, and in doing so uncover a conspiracy spanning hundreds of years, a conspiracy that has claimed the lives of thousands of magicians, and has led to the death and imprisonment of countless innocents.
An epic fantasy both familiar and unique,
His Dark Empire
is a fast-paced adventure full of magic and mystery, lies and betrayal, strength and courage, friendship and love. It is a journey that will lead you into a world in search of hope, and the lives of two people who refuse to let go of it despite devastating loss.
Enter a new fantasy series written with the strong characterization, edge of your seat thrills, adventure, plot twists, and accessible, quality prose enjoyed by fans of M.R. Forbes. Enter
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******************
Just turn the page to start reading the first ten chapters (that's more than the 'look inside'), or check it out on Amazon here:
The arrow thunked into the broad trunk of the giant redwood, only inches from Aren's head. It had been close, so close that he could feel the sharp cut of the air around it, and hear the whistle of the feathers passing by. Aren leaned forward and dug his heels harder into the roan's flanks. The horse gave its all to forge ahead, but it had been born and raised for farming, not outrunning death.
