Chameleon (Supernaturals) (49 page)

She was as short as me, but sturdy—a drumstick to my toothpick. She had dark leathery skin and short dark hair. She looked fierce but smiled at me with the most serene countenance. Her dark eyes sparkled in that same glossy way that Gabriel’s did. It made me feel that I liked her, that I could trust her.

“Sister,” she said when she greeted me.

“Are you the Creator?” I asked. “Am I dead?”

The girl smiled. “Just sleeping. Dear friend, the Mother Creator is proud of you, but it is not time for you to return home yet.”

“I know you.” I wasn’t sure how, but this girl was more than a figure from my dream. She was a memory. “You’re the Oracle. You’re Joan Of Arc.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled and she smiled. “I knew you would remember me. In time, you will remember more, but for now you need only remember your quest.”

“The prophecy!” I gasped. Somehow, in this strange place, I’d forgotten all about it. “Gabriel!” Remembering him made me frantic. “Where’s Gabriel? Send me back! I have to help him!”

The Oracle shook her head and with a playful sigh said, “I see some things never change.”

Her words were confusing, but they stirred something within me. Like when my forms fought with one another, something deep inside my mind was struggling to reach the surface. “I don’t understand.”

“Not yet,” Joan said. “But you will remember. Now that you and Gabriel have been reunited you will both begin to remember.”

I could feel my eyes bug out as her meaning sunk in. “We knew each other before?”

The Oracle rolled her eyes and laughed. “I’m surprised it took you this long to find one another.”

I gasped. “You mean we’re like soul mates?”

“Quite literally, Danielle. You volunteered for this quest together. I believe this short life is the longest the two of you have been apart since the beginning of time. In fact the Creator was worried you would find each other before you were ready.”

“Why did we have to be separated?”

“Everyone has their weaknesses. My brother is such an optimist. He refuses to see the bad in anyone.” The Oracle laughed again. “That’s why they had to send me to stop the war last time. Gabriel’s not built for battle. Too much faith in people. He gets too stuck on the idea that there can always be a peaceful solution.”

Wow. She really hit the nail on the head with that one. “So what’s my weakness?” I asked.

“Gabriel, obviously,” she said with another roll of her eyes. “You needed to be strong before being reunited or his influence over you would be too great. There are decisions still to be made, Danielle. Decisions my brother could never make. He has an important destiny to fulfill, and he will need you by his side to accomplish it. Now you must go back. Wake up and make sure my brother lives to fulfill his destiny.”

“But how can I save him? Maybe we did find each other too early. I don’t know how to use my powers yet. I can’t change forms.”

The Oracle gestured to my necklace. “Use the amulet. Draw from its strength. You must defeat Addonexus. If you do not, all that the Creator has accomplished will be destroyed.”

“Geez, no pressure or anything.”

The Oracle smiled at me again. “Look to Gabriel and you will find your strength. Now go, sister.”

I blinked and I was back in the circle room beneath Princeton. The first thing I noticed was the two men locked in battle. Both were dirty and bloody now with torn clothes. Alex, it seemed, had the upper hand because the Councilor was pinned against the wall, clutching at his throat as if he couldn’t breathe.

“You were given the position of Supreme High Councilor because you bear the name of Valois, but the Devereaux family always held the stronger magic.”

Alex clenched his hand into a fist and as he raised his arm the Councilor’s feet lifted off the ground. His face turned a deep shade of purple.

Surprisingly, I wanted to help the Councilor.

I was sluggish still, but I had enough energy to clutch the amulet around my neck. I could feel magic pulsing from it, and, like the Oracle promised, it gave me strength. As I grew stronger, Alex lost a little of his grip on the Councilor. The amulet was borrowing his magic.

I pulled a little harder and Alex dropped the Councilor. The Councilor fell to the ground coughing violently while Alex whirled on me. “Damn it Dani! How did—”

Alex didn’t get to finish his question because he was hit with a spell so hard he went flying across the room and smashed into a large stone pillar. He fell to the ground unconscious and blood trickled from his forehead.

The Councilor limped his way over to Gabriel and me and I clamped onto his hand without asking permission. The magic I’d been desperately trying to call to the surface flared to life, and with one simple thought I shook off the spell that had been hindering me.

I looked down at Gabriel’s sleeping figure and whispered the words, “Wake up.”

It took a moment, but the color rose to Gabriel’s cheeks and his eyes fluttered beneath their lids.

“Gabriel, wake up,” I said again and kissed his lips lightly.

Gabriel’s eyes didn’t open but his lips turned up into a smile. “
It is my soul that calls upon my name: How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, like softest music to attending ears.
”

“He’s fine,” I said with a laugh.

Gabriel opened his eyes and smiled at me. “You found me.”

“Of course,” I said airily. “I am way too young to be a widow.”

I leaned over to kiss him and the Councilor huffed, “We do not have time for that!”

I pressed my lips to Gabriel’s for just a second longer and then stepped back. The Councilor took my place beside Gabriel. “How are you son? Are you hurt at all?”

“I am not hurt. But I do not believe I can move.”

“That’s odd,” I said. “You should be—”

That’s when I realized that the Councilor and I couldn’t move either. I looked around for Alex, but he was no longer lying unconscious on the floor. I closed my eyes to wish myself free of Alex’s spell but I’d switched forms again when I’d kissed Gabriel. When I figured that out, I said a word that would’ve made Russ very proud of me.

Gabriel shouted something a lot less vulgar. “Councilor!”

His warning came too late and all either of us could do was scream as we watched Alex shove his long silver dagger through the Councilor’s back. The tip came all the way through his chest. He gasped, coughed twice, and then fell to the ground dead.

Then Gabriel gasped my name too and I felt a searing pain run through my gut. It hurt so badly I couldn’t even scream. I followed Gabriel’s gaze to where Alex’s long silver dagger was now sticking out of my stomach. “Heal,” I commanded myself, but without being a warlock I couldn’t grab the magic enough to do me any good.

“Alex?” I gasped.

“Try not to move too much,” Alex said as he carried me across the room.

I was confused because he cradled me like he really did love me but he’d just stabbed me.

“Don’t worry. This wound is meant to be painful but it’s not fatal. I’ll heal you just as soon as we’re finished.”

“Alex.…” I was in so much pain and shock that I couldn’t manage to think anything past his name. “Alex....”

“I’m sorry, but you’re just too powerful. I need you to stay distracted for a few minutes.”

Alex pushed my hair back with a gloved hand as he laid me on my side on the floor. I pinched my eyes shut unable to look at him. I was ashamed that I was crying. Ashamed that after all he’d done I was still surprised that he would now hurt me physically.

Alex read the expression on my face and said, “I am not betraying you. I’m helping you, Dani. You just won’t be able to see that for a while.”

“You will not solve anything with this,” Gabriel spat as Alex returned to his side and began readying the altar for the summoning.

Alex smiled at Gabriel, but it wasn’t meant to be a comforting gesture. “I would let you stay awake for this, but I’m sure that would upset Dani and she’s going through enough right now.”

Alex put Gabriel back under his sleeping spell and went to work lighting candles and chanting whatevers. When he finished his incantation for the first candle, wind started blowing in the room.

My heart raced. I closed my eyes and reached inside me for the magic I knew was there, but the harder I tried, the more the wound in my stomach hurt. I cried out from the pain, and started to panic.

“Take me instead,” I begged Alex. “Let Gabriel go.”

“Can’t,” Alex said simply.

“Why?”

“Besides the fact that I love you? I need to win my son back. He will forgive me if I give him the one thing he wants more than anything, and that’s you.”

I could feel my body turning cold and it hurt to breathe. I knew Alex would keep his word and not let me die, but that wasn’t good enough. I braced myself for another wave of pain and tried again to pull my magic to the surface of my skin. I was just angry enough that I felt the amulet around my neck begin to pulse. I wasn’t able to break Alex’s spell that kept me frozen, but it gave me a little energy and that was better than nothing.

“You think he’s going to forgive you when he finds out that you were planning to kill me all along?” I said, now that I had enough energy to speak again. “You were going to sacrifice me! That’s what made Gabriel have the vision of me in the first place. All of this is your fault!”

“I wasn’t going to kill you Dani. I needed your blood, not your life. I was going to use you to raise the demon and then heal you. You weren’t even going to know it was me who’d taken you. I was going to help Russ find you and we would save you together and explain the supernatural to you. Then we were going to be the family we always should have been. The family we will be again when we find Russ and undo what the Councilor has done to you.”

“If all you need is blood, then just use mine. I’m already bleeding. There’s no need to hurt Gabriel.”

Alex said another incantation and another candle began to burn. “Well, now you see there’s a problem. I can’t let Gabriel live. I’m really sorry Dani.”

“But why?”

“Well for one, I’d planned to wait until the veil was thinnest and thanks to you and the Councilor it’s not even sunset yet. I think I should spill all his blood just to be safe. Plus, I can’t let him live because you love him.”

“What does that matter?”

“You’ve chosen him over Russ, but you still love my son. If Gabriel is dead, you will go back to Russ. You won’t be able to help yourself. You will need him again.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. While Alex lit a third candle, I tried again to pull my magic to the surface. “Heal,” I whispered to myself.

When I felt it working I was filled with hope and found my ferocity. “If you hurt him, Alex, you’d better just kill me too. You know I am more powerful than you.”

“I also know that you won’t hurt me. It would kill Russell if you did anything to me. It would kill you too. You know it would.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Alex shut me up with just a look. He knew me almost as well as I knew myself. He was right and we both knew it. I could never bring myself to hurt Alex.

“If you hurt Gabriel at all,” I said with a shaking voice, “I will never forgive you.”

“And that is sad, Dani, because I love you very much.”

Another candle flickered to life and the wind began to blow so strong I almost couldn’t hear what Alex was saying.

“Even if you never forgive me, Russ will, and so it’s worth it. Russ will forgive me and come home, and you will come with him. You may hate me for the rest of your life, but you’ll be home safe with us where you belong.”

“If that’s all you want I’ll come with you, Alex. I’ll choose Russ. We can go get him right now and then find someplace far away from here where it can be just the three of us. I’ll never tell Russ about any of this I swear. Just please don’t hurt Gabriel.”

“If only it were that simple, Dani. We will have that future someday, but there is much to do first—starting with freeing you of your bonds with the Seer. Once we have freed Addonexus and returned you to the girl I raised you to be, together we will end the council and show the human world the power of the supernatural. When you defeat the demon and stop his reign of death and destruction, the human race will be too grateful to go to war. They will respect us. Revere us. There will be no more hiding. No more lies. No more Kates in the world.”

Alex lit the last candle. When he finished the accompanying incantation thunder roared and the walls shook.

I looked at Gabriel’s sleeping form and became determined. I knew I was almost out of time. “Heal,” I commanded myself again.

Almost instantly I felt the last of my wound vanish and all the pain in my body was gone. With my body healed and the warlock inside me finally resting comfortably on the surface of my skin I could feel my power.

“I’ve got news for you,” I said in a voice so fierce it startled Alex. He jumped again when he turned around and saw me standing in full health. “I’ve already won this battle. The prophecy has already been fulfilled.
You
just fulfilled it. I was angry with you, but I still loved you. I would have forgiven you eventually. Now it’s too late. You screwed yourself when you took Gabriel. I found you, and all I have left to do is stop you.”