Feathermore (25 page)

Yes, this was it! Exactly what I had witnessed back home. I wondered if it had been Lahash that Nate banished from existence that night.

Once again the scenery changed, this time to an open field. Tall grass was everywhere, and a single majestic tree shaded a spot where two men and a woman stood. One of the men was short and dwarfish.

Lilith’s voice grew softer and took on a note of sorrow. “Lahash collected blood from his skin and forced a man who lived with his family on the outskirts of a town to drink it. It was done in the middle of a field, and Lahash had to struggle mightily, for his arms and legs were bent like a four-footed animal’s.”

The man’s family consisted of a red-haired woman, who was his wife, and their children. I walked closer to the tree and realized that the short man was the monster, Lahash. The woman stood between them, pleading to him, and when she turned to face her husband, I gasped, for it was Lilith! Their little boys were running around the tree, oblivious of what was taking place. Was Lilith showing me this so I would understand what had happened to her?

I wasn’t sure, but it worked in part, because I definitely saw her through different eyes now. Lilith’s voice had ceased, and I listened in on the conversation taking place. Apparently, Lilith had been abused and raped by a drunk man in town, and when Mathias had found out, he killed the man. Lahash was now using Mathias’s guilt as leverage to make him drink the liquid and thereby get another chance.

Mathias agreed. Lilith was there to witness everything. She had seen the demon, covered in blood, hold her husband down as he transformed. This was the end of her husband’s mortal life. The minute the transformation was over, they both dissolved in the air, and Lilith was left crying. Her little boys now surrounded her, hugging her and caressing her face.

Lilith’s voice came again. “Mathias had been successfully turned into a creature unlike any other.” She spoke with pride. “He was neither heavenly nor damned, and he had been a terrestrial animal but was now something greater. Lahash looked in wonder as the features of the man were subtly changed but not distorted into evil. The effects of the gourd blood had been much like the effects on the purer creatures. This was precisely what Lahash had been betting on. Now there was a piece of divinity stored in a living,
sentient
vessel, one that
manifested
the qualities lost to the fallen angels.

“
Mathias became known in legend as a gourd, named for the method by which the blood was stolen from hell. But the word had developed a new meaning, since the new creature was the carrier, the bottle, the sole new possessor of the essence of the gourd. Ironically, all was not over, and the very stealth and care that Lahash had taken in acting out his plans condemned him to incur the eternal wrath of Lucifer.” The images changed yet again, each time showing me bits and pieces of what had happened.

“
Mathias had apparently taken in, though the drop was small, an unimaginable amount of power. It sent ripples throughout the underworld, and almost all demons and fallen angels were alerted. Lahash felt it, too, and fled once again, leaving Mathias abandoned and out of control. During the time it took for Lahash to explain to Mathias what had happened with the gourd blood and to set out to search for it, much was lost.

Another fallen angel had already captured Mathias and quickly went into hiding. Mathias lived a short life because this fallen angel immediately drained him of his blood. In his haste, the dark angel had simply drunk the blood directly from him, knowing what the consequences would be. For ages, this demon roamed with the power of the gourd’s blood. Because it was drunk from the human, the blood contained a new quality, as if each creature had imbued it with some of his own powers. In the blood was felt the torment of Abaddon. Then there was the hint of the betrayal by Lahash. The fear and simplicity of Mathias’s blood were overshadowed by the taste and somehow less-tainted divinity. The demon knew this, and he waited until the time came to make a new living gourd.

I was now back in my own time, standing next to the cliff and Lilith, with Amy and Avan still in front of me. I looked at Avan and understood now what he was. His eyes searched mine and gave me the slightest blink. Their electricity was returning. Could it be that he wasn’t completely gone? I felt the urge to throw my arms around him, but I knew I was meant to play along, and hoped he would be on my side when the time came to fight.

“
I’m sorry Lilith,” I said to her, meaning it. After all, she hadn’t asked for what had happened to her, and her husband had only avenged her. “But how did you become what you are?”

“
When that demon turned Mathias . . .” She looked at Avan with longing. Did she see a trace of her husband in him—his blood still alive in another body? “. . . I caught sight of a pristine black feather that had fallen when they disappeared, and so I kept it. I wasn’t sure whose it was, but it was the last reminder of my husband. Over time, I slowly transformed into what they call a demigourd. Eventually, I learned all the memories of Abaddon, of Shemer, and of the gourd blood made from his wings. I
eventually felt the gourd’s essence and searched for it. In it, I detected the essence of my husband. The rage in me took over, and I then banished the demon who was controlling the new gourd.”

She looked behind me to the distant stars. “I kept the gourd for myself, sensing its greater purity. I eventually learned how the gourd was made, and decided to do an experiment. I drained some blood from my own wrist and added blood from the gourd. The mixture was fed to another human. The newest gourd was created perfectly and was mine to command, since my blood was an added component. The old gourd was still under the influence of the demon, so I destroyed it. I had powers unnatural for a human, and I used them to my advantage in tearing the old gourd apart and throwing it in the ocean.”

Her eyes came back to me, and she smiled as she spoke of her first gourd. “He was unusually attractive once he had matured. I felt a longing for the essence this gourd carried within. However, I had become imbued with the essence of a fallen angel, and as a consequence, I yearned for what was lacking. The gourd was mine to keep forever, as long as stealth and secrecy were maintained—until your pitiful cherub friend stole it from me. I still don’t know how it happened, but she destroyed my gourd. I found a piece of a disembodied limb and used it to create a new one, which lived in a dungeon for two years until you came along. So you see how surprised I was to find you in this realm—pure angels of your caliber are impossible to find.”

I finally knew what she wanted me for exactly: to make new gourds. “I am not the only pure angel, though,” I said, trying to buy time. Though I wasn’t sure it would work, every fiber of me called out for Claire and Nate.

“
It would have been rather poetic for me to use the woman cherub, given that her mate died at Abaddon’s hands to become the one thing she has been pursuing for centuries: gourds. And so she had killed mine. You know, she has exterminated nearly every single one in revenge for her mate’s death. Wherever there is a gourd, she will destroy it in hopes that no one will be able to create another one. But I hold the way how, and as long as I am alive I will keep creating them.”

I stared at Avan.
That
was what Claire had meant when she said that if I ever shared my divinity with him, it would end badly for both of us. She knew she would have to destroy him.

I felt suddenly weak.

Avan’s eyes grew wide as he, too, understood the consequences—understood that once Claire found out, he would be done. I spoke to him in my mind, hoping he would be able to hear me.

“
Avan. We need to get out of here.”
I stared at him, trying to gauge any change.
“Can you hear me?”
I asked again.

“
I can. Claire is going to kill me, Jade.”
His eyes grew glossy.

“
I won’t let her. But we have to get you out of here. I’ll distract Lilith and Amy. Do you know what kind of powers you have?”

“
No.”
His voice was a silent whimper. Before we had even tried, I heard it in his voice: he had given up.

“
Okay, when I distract them, you just run to me and we’ll be gone.”

I used my sonic scream, and a flock of eagles, bats, crows, and ravens hovered above me. And before I could even give the signal, Claire and Nate were by my side, crouched and ready for the fight.

24 THE BATTLE

The moment Claire laid eyes on Avan, she would know
what he had become. My two best friends stood on either side of me, ready to fight. At the edge of the forest, Lilith stood tall with Amy and Avan crouching at her side. It was involuntary for him. She pretty much owned him now. He would do as she commanded, no matter what.

He cocked his head to the side, as if analyzing the situation and looking for a way to stay alive.

“
What the heck happened, Jade?” Claire asked under her breath as she shot me a short but piercing look.

Was she talking about Avan? I mumbled something that was unrecognizable even to my own ears. I couldn’t let her take Avan from me. It wasn’t fair what she had gone through, losing her mate so that some fallen being could create a gourd. I understood why she was doing it. I was there when she lay over her dead lover’s body, and I felt her pain. But this was
my
love, and I would not allow anyone to touch him, even if it meant I must die in the process.

“
Why were you out here? What were you thinking?” she asked again, getting impatient at my lack of a response. At least, she hadn’t noticed Avan yet.

I looked over at Nate. He definitely had spotted him. His eyes grew dark.

“
So what do you want, Lilith?” I turned to her, desperation getting the best of me. “You want me? You want my blood? My wings? Take them! Take it all. I don’t want any of it if it means his death.” The tears welled in my eyes. “You have taken it all away from me. I have nothing left. So take me. Do what you must.”

Claire gasped behind me, her hand gently holding on to my arm.

Nate took a step forward. Through my tears, I noticed the distortion in his face. The anger must have taken over, and he charged toward Avan. I was seeing it all happen in slow motion. I ran after Nate, wrapped my arms around his waist, and hurled him up into the air. I threw him over to the trees in the forest. He quickly got up, but I was already hunkering in front of Avan.

No one was getting through me. Claire’s eyes widened as she took in what was happening. I couldn’t be sure whether she understood what Avan was, or only that I had turned my back on her and Nate and was now protecting him and, in part, Lilith.

“
Jade? What’s happening?” she asked as she came a few steps closer.

I backed up until my back touched
him
. His touch made my whole body shiver in the usual way.

“
I . . . I can’t let you take him, Claire. I just can’t.” I felt his hands around my hips. Oh, no, he was going to make me lose control. I took a step forward.

“
You have no idea what he has been made into.”

Claire spoke the words between clenched jaws. Her eyes, just like Nate’s, had grown dark. The gray in them was long gone, the pupils now dilated and sharing the same petrifying charcoal color. Her face contorted until it didn’t look like my graceful, happy best friend anymore. Now she had transformed into a revenge-filled maniac. Her mouth went crooked, and if I didn’t know better, I would think she was beginning the transformation into a demon. It would be a hard fight trying to keep her from avenging her dead lover.

“
He’s immortal—so what? I know why you’re doing this, but, Claire, I won’t let you. I love him.”

I backed up and stood next to him, and he held my hand and spoke into my mind:
“You can’t do this, Jade. I can’t let you choose between me and your best friend. What if I
am
a monster?”

“
No! I love you!” I said to him as I grabbed his face with both hands and made him stand tall. He looked more beautiful than ever. I guess it was the divinity he had been infused with. His skin shone brighter, and his eyes began to sparkle again. His true self was coming through. I was lost in those eyes when I heard running footsteps approach. I pushed him off to the side, and he flew and landed against a dark, cold boulder. I heard something snap. There was no time to react and check on him now. I comforted myself in the knowledge that he was immortal.

Claire and Nate charged at me, and the way they moved send a wave of fear through my body. I couldn’t believe this is what it all had come to: me battling against my two best friends to keep my boyfriend alive. Claire changed direction and was now headed to where I had thrown Avan.

Nate hit me with full force, sending me flying back a few feet. My back hit a tree trunk, and I fell limp to the ground. I shot to my feet and ran after Claire, who was now dragging Avan away. Where the hell was Lilith?
I would have thought she cared about Avan, even if it was just a little bit. I grabbed Claire’s shoulder and twisted her around with more strength than I had ever summoned.

I was momentarily distracted by shouts from Amy. She was all over Nate, who was fighting her off. She kept biting the air like a rabid animal, trying to get at him. Claire’s leg swept out in a wide circle, connecting with my ankles, throwing me into the air once again. Before I could realize what was happening, I found myself flat on my back, sucking in deep breaths of air that seemed empty of oxygen.