Origin (Eternal Sacrifice Saga Book 2) (38 page)

Something had to be done.

I didn’t fight this hard for thousands of years to surrender now.

Humanity was my legacy. I started this mess in the first place, I was damn well going to see it through to its completion.

To Eternity.

I approached the wall, feeling around for the secret passage Eli was talking about. It was dark, cold and musty, a smell worse than the sulfuric gross of the Fifth burned into my lungs.

Even though my physical body wasn’t technically here, and I was only in shadow form, I could hear, smell, see, taste and feel as if my body were truly present. My brain didn’t know the difference. Energy was energy.

The only way to explain it was like phantom pains. Like when a human would lose a limb, and their brain would tell them it still hurt, even though the limb was no longer there.

The power of the mind could be a powerful gift—or a curse all at the same time. Especially in levels beneath the Fifth. They played tricks on the mind, tricks weak minds could not escape.

In all my years, this was only my second or third visit to the Sixth. The Seventh, now that realm, I’d be lucky to escape alive.

The Sixth was bad enough.

The longer I wandered, the more my mind began to slip into places it shouldn’t be.

Defecting. Power. Greed. Murder. Sex.

Everything I would never consider flooded my mind. I could always tell when my head began to slip into darkness. And once your mind had gone dark, your heart was soon to follow.

I had one advantage, though. Above all others.

My mind. It was stronger than any other Eternal’s or human’s ever was.

Knowledge earned from the Tree.

Yes, the
other
Tree. The Tree standing alone in the Garden, holding all the secrets to the universe. My powers were grounded in that Tree’s knowledge. In it’s secrets.

My secrets.

Which was why my mind was impossible to breach, unless I consciously chose to allow another inside.

Only those whose powers were grounded in the mind could resist the evil and temptations of any plane below the Fifth.

My advantage helped me survive longer down here than any Eternal could. I could fight it. But even with my advantage, I was exhausted and weak.

And someone like Phoebe—her emotions were the core of her powers, so the madness and emotional turmoil of the dark realm would be torture for her.

I had to rescue her, before her pure heart was lost forever.

“Zoe, are you in yet?”

“I can’t find it.”

“You’ve been down there too long. You need a break.”

“I’m fine, Eli. I have to find her. You sure this passage is here?”

“That’s what she said.”

“How does she know?”
I scoffed.
“She been down here?”

“Obviously. Come on, get up here before you slip.”

“In a minute, it has to be here. She has to be here.”

I pushed along the disgusting slimy wall, and it budged just a little. But not enough.

“Damn it.”

“Let me in, Chayah.”

“No. I’ll figure it out.”

“Then at least come back up here and take a break. You’ve been down there for hours. It’s too long, you’re getting agitated.”

“Of course I am, what do you expect? The jackass has my girl.”
I barked.
“Geez, I’m sorry Eli.”

“I know, please. Take a break.”

I sucked in air, which was hard to do given the smell.

“Fine. Just a quick one.”

I closed my eyes and made to release my soul from the Sixth when a loud thump rang from the other end of the wall. It moved forward, one inch at a time.

“Zoe, are you okay?”

“Shh.”

I backed up a few feet when the wall caved in and opened all the way.

Phoebe was inside. Crying. “No more. Please.”

What the hell were they doing to her?

Words became muffled, and I couldn’t hear what was going on or what any of them were saying. I crept around the corner to get a look inside.

“Zoe, you need to leave. Now.”

“No, I hear her, Eli.”

“She’ll be okay, you can’t rescue her yet, this is just an info mission.”

“No, I need to see she’s okay first.”
I snapped.

Three demons flooded out of the room then, like they were chasing something. I watched them run down the hallway, so I tiptoed around the corner to make sure Phoebe was okay. I glanced around, not seeing anybody else, so I stepped inside.

Phoebe huddled in a corner of the dark cell, the only light drifting in from the red smoke filtering through a crack in the ceiling. She was curled up in a ball, holding her knees, head buried, rocking back and forth.

I couldn’t let her know I was here.

Eli was right, I couldn’t rescue her yet.

Not until I found that dagger.

I inspected Phoebe, head to toe, as quietly as I could without being noticed.

Phoebe continued rocking, whispering under her breath.

Physically, she appeared okay, though she had some cuts up and down her arms. Her mind, however, was fading.

“I’m so sorry, baby girl.”

She stopped rocking and lifted her head. Tears streaked her cheeks. She glanced around the room, as if searching for me, though it was too dark for her to see.

I had to stay quiet. Couldn’t let her know I was here.

Not yet.

“Please. Make the voices stop. Make it go away.”

“Soon, little one.”

“Who’s there?” Phoebe’s gaze darted around the dark room.

“You must fall before you rise.”
I whispered into her mind.
“They’ll come for you soon. Stay strong.”

“I can’t do this. Make them stop. Make it go away. Please.”

“Eli, we need to find that dagger. Now.”

“She’s got it hidden. You need to find it.”

“That wasn’t the deal, damn it. Where the hell is the fucking dagger?”
I practically shouted in my head.

“Chayah, please. Get up here.”

“You can’t see her. The voices. They’re torturing her, Eli. She’s an Empath, she can’t take the darkness. It’s going to overwhelm her. Please, we need to get her out.”

“You need to find the dagger,”
Eli said.
“She says it’s in the Souls Vault.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Zoe. Break.”

“Why did they bring Phoebe down here? What do they know?”

“I don’t know, but you need to get out. You’re losing it.”

I bent down, barely touching Phoebe’s blonde hair that seemed to be a lighter shade than last I saw it.

“Were going to get you out of here, I promise.”

Her head flipped up, and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Footsteps echoed through the corridors, so I ran out, just in time before they closed Phoebe in, and she began screaming again.

“No break. Lead me to the Souls Vault, Eli. We need to find the dagger. Now.”

Cade

“Can you see anything?”

Raz held his hand on Zoe’s forehead, trying to breach her mind.

“Where is she?”

I paced the floors, anxious to be in contact with my Gemini. She’d been projecting far too long, and I genuinely feared for her well being. Her body could not withstand her absent soul for this long without deteriorating. Her body weakened with each passing day, and only my presence even kept her somewhat sustained.

Raz glanced up, pursing his lips.

“Raziel?”

“She’s in the dark realm.” He scrubbed his chin.

“I assumed. Where?”

“She’s been in the Sixth.” Raz’s gaze fell to the floor.

“What?” I clenched my fists. “What is she doing in the Sixth? What the hell is she thinking? She needs to get out, she’s been under way too long.”

“She’s trying to rescue Phoebe.” Raz stood beside me, reaching for my shoulder to calm my nerves, but I pushed him away.

“Phoebe’s been in the Sixth all this time?” A knot pushed into my chest. “How has she not gone mad?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps she has. With her empathy, she surely should have by now.”

The darkest of souls were sent to the Sixth and Seventh planes, known as the most impossible to endure or escape. When all was lost, the Seventh was where they went. The Sixth was a step above, but the darkness there could consume a soul in no time at all. Zoe could not withstand the Sixth for long.

She tried before. A failed training mission on most avenues, though she was a young Eternal then, and not nearly as strong of heart and will as she was now.

The Sixth and Seventh planes were where dark souls went to rot for Eternity, and Phoebe was trapped there.

“Please, Raz. Get Zoe out.”

“I’ve tried, brother. Tried pulling her soul back, tried slipping into her psyche to draw her attention. Nothing is working. She’s adamant on retrieving Phoebe.”

“At what point should we consider Phoebe may already be lost?”

It was torture to even consider the idea, but given what I understood of the Sixth and of Phoebe’s gifts, it was possible.

“No, Cade. I don’t believe that. And your Gemini would not be risking everything to reach her if she believed Phoebe was lost. She’d be working on other plans for this looming war we’re about to face.”

“We need to meet as a full Council. I will not let her down his way. Why is she there alone? And why did she allow Phoebe to be taken in the first place?” I grunted, pacing, leaving scuff marks on the floor. “Nothing makes any sense at all. I don’t understand her motives. Why would she do this?”

“I don’t know. She asked for our trust, brother. Watching her soul suffering in the dark realm, searching for Phoebe, I understand her actions, though you’re right, we still don’t know her motives. It’s something we’re going to have to wait and ask when her soul is ready to return.”

The door opened, and Lailah came in. “May I speak with you?”

“Yes, Lailah. What do you know?” I hoped she had better news than Raz.

“Eli is with Chayah.”

“What?”

“He’s projecting with her. Her backup.”

“Oh, thank the gods.” A small measure of relief ran through me, though certainly not enough.

“He just opened his mind to me, which means they both want us to know what’s going on.”

“And what have you seen?

“The Newborn’s dagger box.” She tilted her head to the door. “Come see, Raz.”

Raz followed Lailah down to the weapons vault, searching for the Dagger box. Each incarnation, a batch of daggers for the Newborns was constructed by Michael. Only he, Gabrielle, and Raz had much to do with it before the rebirth.

I sat beside Zoe, stroking her hair while she slept like the dead.

“Zoe, love. Please. Come home.”

I leaned down, kissing her forehead and laid down beside her. Wrapping my arms around her still body, I held back the sorrow mixing through me like a cyclone.

Zoe’s body flinched as I held her. Her skin was like ice.

She was deep within the dark realm, so far, her own soul could slip into darkness at any moment.

I closed my eyes, holding her as tightly as I could. Hoping. Begging she’d let me in and take my soul with her.

“Zoe. Please. Let me help you, love.” I whispered into her ear. Into her mind. “Please. Let me in.”

A moment later, Raz and Lailah returned.

“What did you find?” I craned my neck back to face them.

“Do you recall the dagger ceremony in Chicago? We had one dagger too many.”

I shrugged.

“I think we know who it belongs to. It was a clue. To Zoe and to me, but we didn’t think about it then. And it’s missing.”

The owner of the missing dagger was the least of my concerns at the moment.

I refocused on Zoe, holding her. “How do I get through to her, Raz? She won’t let me in.”

“Your Gemini is an overprotective mother, Cade. She doesn’t want her family to get hurt. That includes you.”

“I don’t care about getting hurt. She needs me. Lailah, please reach out to Elijah. Implore him to speak to Zoe. She shouldn’t be on this mission alone.”

I leaned in close, whispering into her ear.

“Please, Chayah. I adore you. Let me in.”

I closed my eyes and listened to her heart. It was steady and slow. I breathed in and exhaled out, syncing my body with my Gemini’s.

My body became numb as I relaxed, and my soul slowly slipped further from consciousness…

“Zoe?”
I spotted her running down a dark corridor of the Sixth. I followed behind, trying to catch up.
“Chayah, please. Stop.”

She stopped at the sound of my voice and spun around on her toes, her dark hair flying around her shoulders.

“Cade?”
Her gaze narrowed.
“But, how did you—”
She pressed her lips together and ran to me, jumping into my arms, burying her head into my neck.
“I don’t care.”

A moment later a gust of wind whipped down through the corridor as I held Zoe in my arms, her legs wrapped tightly around my waist.

A bridge wind opened then, by no intentional creation of our own, pulling our physical bodies in from the Eternal realm to materialize in this one.

Currents of energy forced through us both as I set Zoe on her feet, and she fell into my embrace.

“That was amazing,” she whispered, mumbling into the curve of my neck. “We’ve never materialized like that before.”

“You’re not meant to do this alone, love. Let me help you.”

“Cade.” She pulled back, a tear slipping down her face. “I need to save her.”

“I know.” I wiped away her tears. “What can I do to help?”

“We need to find the dagger.” Zoe dropped to the floor.

“Chayah, you’re weak. You’ve been projecting too long, you need to rest.”

I crouched before her, holding her cheek.

“I can’t now, it’s here somewhere.” She pulled at her hair, her gaze focusing on the ground beneath us. “I need to find the dagger.” She glanced up to me. “Please, help me find it. Phoebe won’t hold on much longer.”

She got to her feet and began walking in circles.

I reached for her shoulders to stop her from spinning. She was distraught and obviously, she’d been here too long. “Focus, love. Where do we look?”