Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I asked then, “And the second?”
He didn’t answer at first, drawing in a deep breath. “You’re not going to like the second option.”
“What are your choices?” Kellan mirrored Damien, standing at the opposite end and leaning forward with his hands on his chair’s backrest. “Spill it, messenger. Let’s start getting this over with.”
And he began, “Well, you see—you’ll have to let Sachiel start to drain your power…”
Here we were. Standing on a hill, feeling the ground shake with my father’s arrival, and I knew that I would either live through this or not. Those were the two options. The plan consisted of letting Sachiel start to drain our powers. Kellan and I would be linked. Sachiel would open himself up to us and he would be vulnerable. When that happened, Damien and Aumae were going to connect to us as well, and the four of us would instead drain Sachiel of his power. When that happened, when he had no power left, he would be vulnerable to a human weapon. Mr. Kent Ocean had volunteered for that part, stepping out from a closet, pale face and trembling like the other night.
He raised his hand in the air and tugged at his shirt’s collar. “I’ll do it.”
Aumae made a sound and hurried to his side. She flashed Damien and Kellan a warning, touching a protective hand to his shoulder. “Now, dear, are you sure?”
The owner pumped his head up and down. “If this guy is as bad as you say, he won’t be focused on a little human being around. He’ll be distracted by all of you guys.”
“If you kill us instead, I will come back from hell. I will kill you and every single member of your family.”
Sweat formed on Kent’s forehead. He wiped it off using the back of his arm, his eyes held by Kellan’s during his threat, and he squeaked out, “I won’t. I, just… I want to help now. I don’t think a lot of us folk ever get called to fight a battle like this. I mean, I’m a church-going man. I don’t think I could sit back and not help, you know.”
“You’re a church-going man?” Kellan drew closer, moving around the table and me.
Aumae snapped at him, “Stay back!”
I caught Kellan’s arm. “Stop.”
“I—uh—I mean, it’s not right. No matter how much of a celestial being your father is. He shouldn’t be forcing his son to turn on his daughter. I’m a father too and that isn’t right. It’s the children that are supposed to be protected. That’s my job. That should be his job too.”
And so, here we were. Mr. Kent Ocean was tucked away behind some nearby trees, protected by the same spell Kellan used to hide us when we were at Kent’s home. Sachiel had no clue the person who would kill him was the least powerful there was and in a way, it was ironic. He wanted power, but he was going to get stripped of his instead.
We felt the earth shaking first.
The winds picked up after that.
The sky darkened.
Then, there was complete silence. It was like a tornado was at our door, and we were waiting for it to ring our doorbell. All breaths were held. Everyone paused, their hearts suspended, and then, with a sudden whoosh, he landed in front of us. As he ascended, the ground thundered once again. It was enough to be a small earthquake.
My father arrived, glancing around—he was alone. That was lucky for us, but I didn’t want to question our fortune. He looked like me. He looked like Damien too. Now that I knew Damien was my half-brother, we had the same nose, same cheekbones, and even the same heart-shaped chin. Our father stood tall, closer to Kellan’s height, and he was like a Greek god. Long blond hair that curled around his shoulder. Broad shoulders. Thin waist. I looked for wings, but saw none until I glanced down. A shadow of them lay out behind him on the ground. As I watched, they folded up, tucking close to his body. His eyes were blue, like Damien’s, and he was watching me, studying me back.
“You look much like your mother.”
I frowned. “I thought you would’ve seen me before now.”
He shook his head, then grew still and tilting his head forward. His eyebrows pinched together and his forehead wrinkled. “I’ve been looking, but I’ve not seen you until today.” He glanced to Damien. “Thank you for calling me, and though I asked for them to be unconscious, thank you for having her awake. Your foresight is commendable.”
“Foresight?”
I glanced sideways to Damien, who shrugged back to me. He said, “Uh—yeah.”
Our father strode forward, his hands stretched out. A low and deep growl erupted from Kellan, and he moved forward, blocking me from my father. Sachiel drew back, his eyes finding Kellan’s for the first time, and his hands went back to his side. “I see. You think to fight on her behalf, demon?”