Sacrifice (39 page)

“So Aiden feels threatened by me, does he?” Now pride added to the mix of emotions. Along with distrust.

“No, I think he sees you as more of an annoyance.”

“Just like I see you.”

Will gave him a smug grin. “Exactly. But you both have something in common.”

“What’s that?”

“You agree that I’m a threat to you if I’m with Emma.”

Raphael paused, cocking his head as he narrowed his eyes. Wariness rolled off of him, along with a hint of fear.

What was Raphael afraid of?

“Now that is an interesting theory, Will, if not somewhat delusional. Why would I be threatened by you?”

“We both know that I’m not holding Emma back. In fact, I’ve pushed her harder than she would have pushed herself.”

Raphael stayed frozen, eyeing Will with distrust. “That hardly explains why you think we’re threatened by you.”

“Why can’t Aiden kill me?”

Raphael shook his head as though he tried to clear it. “What the hell are you talking about?” But dread oozed from his pores. “Did Aiden say he couldn’t kill you?”

Will stared into his dark eyes. “Yes, which is why Emma didn’t follow his orders. His threat is empty. Just like yours.”

Raphael snorted, turning his head slightly but keeping his gaze on Will. “I assure you that my threat isn’t empty.”

Will could sense he told the truth, but his fear had increased. Raphael was afraid of him.

“So, how long has it been since you’ve seen Marcus?”

Raphael’s eyes widened before he caught himself. “What do you know about Marcus?”

“More than you think.”

A slow, wicked grin lifted the corners of Raphael’s mouth. “You don’t know anything. You’re bluffing.”

“Are you willing to take that chance?”

The sound of fatigued metal echoed from the crevice.

“Emma!” Will rushed to the side, but Raphael held up his hand.

“Not so fast. Try to save her.”

“What the fuck do you think I’m trying to do, you moron?”

Raphael laughed with a smirk. “You’re lying. You don’t know anything. You can’t save her. But I can.” He moved closer. “What’s her life worth to you, Will?”

He’d finally gotten his memories back. He loved her with every fiber of his being, but there was no way he’d trust this asshole. “Quit playing games, Raphael. The fucking games are endless. What the hell do you want?”

“What I’ve always wanted. With an added bonus. The book.”

“What you want isn’t mine to give. But you’ve known that all along. Emma is free to make her own choices.”

Raphael raised his hand to the car. “Then I’ll have to do things my way.”

“Wait!” Will took a step toward him. “Let me try to save them both. The book and Emma.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Why not? What have you got to lose? We’ll both be down there, nowhere to go. And I’ll get the book.”

Raphael eyed him with suspicion before he scowled. “Okay, you have five minutes.”

“Emma, hang on. I’m coming.” Will didn’t waste time lowering himself over the edge and climbing onto a tree growing out of the side of the cliff.

***

How was Will here? She’d left him several miles up the mountain. There was no way he could have run here that fast. And what was her father going to do to Will when he found out Will was with her?

“Will, you have go.” Her voice cracked with fear and she cleared her throat. “You have to leave.”

“Sorry, princess, you’re stuck with me.” The car creaked as his head peeked three feet over the passenger window. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“This thing’s not very stable and I have no idea how far down this crevice goes. No sudden movements. Okay?”

“Yeah.” She had no desire to plummet to the bottom.

Will twisted his head to look behind him. “The back end is resting on a ledge, but it’s not very wide. Can you stand up and climb out the passenger window?”

She bit her lip. “Every time I move, the car drops.”

“Then we’ll take this slow, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaky.

“Reach up and grab the top of the passenger seat.”

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed hold. “Okay.”

“Now gently pull yourself up, tucking your feet underneath you.”

“The side window’s gone.”

“Then when you tuck your legs, brace yourself on the window frame.”

She nodded, pulling her body with her hands and sliding her legs underneath her. The car slid forward several inches, her feet slipping on the metal. She released an involuntary shriek before finding a foothold.

Wood cracked over her head and her gaze rose to Will, who had scooted farther down the tree. The branch bowed with his weight.

“Will, stop! You’re going to get yourself killed. Go back up.”

He looked down at her, his eyes so full of love and longing that it took her breath away. “I just got back every memory I ever had of you. I’m not going anywhere. Got it?”

Tears burned her eyes. Was it true? She thought he’d been lying about getting back his memories, but he had no reason to lie now. She nodded.

He grinned. “If we weren’t hanging over a bottomless crevice, I’d show you how much I love you, but now doesn’t seem like the right time for makeup sex.”

She laughed through her tears. “No, I guess not.”

Grim determination set his jaw. “We’ve been in rougher spots than this. It’s a walk in the park, princess.”

She and Will belonged together, her father be damned. “Yeah, piece of cake.”

“The car’s wedged but obviously not very securely. My plan is for you to climb out the window and I’ll grab you when you’re in reach and help you crawl across the side of the car.”

“Is there any other way out?”

“No.” Will looked up. “Any chance you could toss down a rope, Raph?”

Raphael’s laughter filtered down. “No.”

Anger filled Will’s eyes before his face softened. “Don’t move until I tell you to. If we shake things around too much this thing might go crashing down.”

“I’ve got to tell you—I’m not a fan of crashing down.”

“Are your feet underneath you now?”

“Yeah.”

“I want you to slowly stand.
Slowly
is the key word.”

She’d maneuvered her feet into a squat with her last effort. Centering her weight on the balls of her feet, she straightened her legs. The car dropped, her stomach plummeting as her feet slipped off the frame. She dangled out the open window, her sweat-slickened hands slipping on the vinyl passenger headrest. “Will!”

“Don’t move, Emma. Just don’t move.” She heard him grunt in frustration as she struggled to get her feet back in the car. “Can you use your power to get out of there?”

“No, I have no idea what to do. If I lift this car or myself out of here, I might fling one or the both of us down the cliff.”

“Just keep thinking of something, okay?” Terror filled his voice.

Shit
. “What is it, Will? Just tell me.”

“The ledge that’s holding this car up is crumbling.”

“Time’s up,” Raphael called down.

“Son of a bitch fucking psycho,” Will growled. “I need more time!”

“Emma’s time is up. Literally.”

***

Will had never wanted to kill someone so badly in his entire life. But losing his temper now wouldn’t help Emma. He needed to focus.

He looked up at Raphael, glowing in his ghastly green light.

Oh, fuck no
. “You’re going to lose the book too.”

“I’ll get it at the bottom.” Raphael raised his hand and Will felt energy flowing from the ground into Raphael’s body and out through his hand.

Will instinctively lifted his arm and blocked Raphael’s power.

Raphael’s mouth dropped and formed an O that opened and closed in shock. He dropped his hand and the power flow stopped. “What the hell? How did you…”

“You know exactly how, don’t you Raphael?”

“I suspected but didn’t see how it could be true. Yet Emma said she had a water sign on her back and it was gone after Kramer took you away. It was like the one she got with Jake, the fire symbol. If she was telling the truth, there could be only one reason for her to have the sign of water.”

“So you didn’t want me around her.”

“When I saw you at the warehouse, I didn’t feel any power rolling off of you so I didn’t see how it could be true, but better to play it safe and get rid of you. I hoped to do it the easy way.”

“You mean me just walk away?”

“Yes.”

“You know I’m not going anywhere now, right?”

Raphael waved down to Will’s position on the tree branch. “You’ve made this painfully obvious. Now I need that book more than ever.”

The car groaned again, the metal screeching on the side of the earthen wall.

“Fuck the book.” Emma’s head appeared at the top of the window, the backpack slung over her shoulder.

Will froze. “Emma, stop right there! What are you doing?”

“I’m getting myself out of this death trap, that’s what I’m doing.” She inched across the door toward Will when the car dropped another foot, jerking to a halt. Emma bounced with the car, sliding halfway off the hood. The vehicle slid down, pinning her against the wall. She cried out in pain.

“I need that backpack, Emma.” Raphael called down.

She pushed against the metal, her face straining with the effort. “You need me!”

Raphael glanced at Will with a grin. “No, not anymore.” Raphael sent a blast of energy toward Will, catching him off guard and knocking him off the tree.

Will slid down the earthen side, rocks digging into his back until he landed on top of the sideways car.

“I promise you that I’ll save Jake,” Raphael said. “If you just toss up the backpack.”

“I can’t,” she said through her gasps. “It’s stuck.”

“Then I have no choice but to free it.” Raphael raised his hands.

Will looked down at Emma’s panicked face. It glowed in the fading sunlight. “I know what you plan to do, Raphael. You want to join with me instead of Emma.”

“I always knew you were bright.”

Will slid across the car and grabbed hold of another scrub tree, straddling the sideways trunk. “How is that possible? Isn’t it like a wedding ceremony?”

“There’s another bond, a seal of brotherhood. It’s not as strong, but it will do.”

“No!” Emma shouted, grunting as she leaned her weight into dislodging the car. “Will, for God’s sake, don’t do it.”

Will’s chest tightened. “What about Emma? I want her safe.” He looked up to see Raphael’s answer.

He shook his head.

Without knowing how, Will absorbed power, creating a white glow that surrounded him.

“
Emma, do you trust me
?”

She paused for less than a second and lifted her chin. Love filled her eyes, replacing her shock. “
I trust you with my life
.”

“
Do you love me enough to spend eternity with me
?”

She snorted. “
Now isn’t exactly the right time for a marriage proposal, Will
.”

The fact that she could joke in a situation like this made him love her even more. “
No sense wasting any more time, princess
.”

Tears fell down her cheeks. “
Yes, I love you more than enough to spend eternity with you
.”

He reached his arm across the earthen wall toward her.

Her chin trembled. “I’m stuck, Will. I’m wedged in here and I can’t get out.”

“I know. Just hold my hand. Please.”

She reached her hand toward him, their fingertips barely touching.

“Get away from her!” Raphael called out.

Will leaned farther off the tree branch and laced his fingers around her outstretched hand.

“Do you remember when you told me that words held power?”

“Yes.”

“You were right. But do you know what makes the words more powerful?”

She shook her head.

“Love.”

***

She didn’t know how he was doing this, or how he knew what to do, but she felt his intention simply through their connection.

Staring into his eyes, filled with love and devotion, loyalty and trust, the words leapt into her head. They recited them in unison.

“
With echoes from the beginning of time

To the last ray of light from the stars at the end
.”

Bursting stars erupted overhead, their light sweeping from the sky, the tendrils swirling around Will and Emma.

“What are you doing?” Raphael screamed.

“
I join my heart with yours

onto an endless path that winds through infinity

and sears our souls and power into an unbreakable bond
.”

The streams of light wound around their hands, swirling down their arms and around their bodies.

“
Through life and death, and all that lies between

I vow to be yours, forever
.”

A bright-burning light pierced her heart. White and golden lights burst from their bodies in rays, lighting the sky in an unearthly glow.

“What have you done?” Raphael shouted overhead.

Will’s grip slipped down her hand to her wrist. “Hold on and don’t let go.”

“Never.”

The wall behind her shook, and she searched his face for reassurance. She had no idea how he knew the joining words. Or had powers. How could this happen? But she knew. It happened because she released him.
May you have the life you were destined to live
. Emma had given him this gift, whatever it was.

The earth behind her shook until something cold and wet seeped into her shirt. She squirmed in panic, but Will’s grip on her wrist tightened.

The entire side of the rock was now covered in water, a stream of it trickling over the cliff above them, down to the crevice, sweeping down around the car. Emma spit out a mouthful as it drenched her head.

The car moved, now pinching into her abdomen. She cried out in pain.

Will’s fingers bit into her wrist, his face hardening as he concentrated.