Violet Eden Chapters 04 - Endless

bent, lifted Lilith into my arms and walked towards them, willing us into this in-between place I still did not fully understand.
    Uri nodded to me as I crossed the threshold and passed him Lilith, glancing at my bleeding wrist in the transfer. Even in this otherworldly place, the coldness came with me, eating away at me like defenceless prey.
    Nox took in the scene curiously and turned to me. ‘Surprises to be had all round, it seems.’ He nodded with satisfaction. ‘All is as it should be. The tilt has now been corrected.’
    ‘What tilt ?’ I asked.
    Nox looked to Phoenix, who was barely breathing, then back to me. ‘It was never right that one as powerful as you should carry only the light. Now, you carry both light and dark. It is just.’
    It took a moment for me to process his words in my sluggish mind. But eventually … Oh.
    ‘My angel maker is of the light,’ I said softly.
    Nox snorted. ‘Did you think any self-respecting Angel Malign would embrace the image of the lion?’
    More piecesof the puzzle fell into place and fury raged within me. I spat blood at Nox’s feet, looking down and only now registering the wound in my side. Lilith must have done it. I vaguely remembered feeling something when I stabbed her.
    ‘This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? All of it! You wanted this to happen so Phoenix would give me his essence, because what ? The Angels Malign were jealous ?’ I was screaming. It wasn’t like anyone else could hear; we had stalled time around us.
    ‘It is as it must be. I neither wanted nor denied it.’
    ‘Nox,’ Uri interrupted, ‘we must go.’
    ‘And why is that?’ Nox sneered, challenging Uri. He wanted to stay and gloat.
    ‘Because we have shown her the tool to destroy any of us in physical form whenever she should so choose and right now she is not herself. It would not be wise to remain.’
    Nox looked at me properly for the first time. ‘True.’ He tilted his head. ‘Though I do like this look. Feral works for you.’
    Uri cast his emotionless eyes over me. For once, I felt I matched his gaze with my own blankness.
    ‘Extraordinariness will always carry great sacrifice. It must. But you must surrender, still.’
    I ignored him, issuing a threat. ‘Make sure she doesn’t find a way back this time.’
    He gave a small nod, looking beyond me to the dozens of exiles that would soon attack. ‘I’ll leave you to finish things here.’
    ‘Of course you will,’ I spat.
    Uri glanced over his shoulder to where Lincoln lay. As he and Nox began to fade he looked back to me, his eyes fiercer than ever. ‘Nothing is a certainty.’
    And theywere gone.
    But I was still there in this twisted reality. I wondered if I could just stay there, ignore the rest of the world and simply fade away. But as soon as I formed the thought I felt the tug.
    A whimper fell from my lips and I turned to see Phoenix lying on the ground, barely alive, arm outstretched.
    ‘Come back, Violet. Come back!’
    He was calling me back to the world. He was my anchor.
    Lincoln must’ve told him.
    I closed my eyes briefly.
    There is still more to do.
    I stepped towards Phoenix and the world around me came back into focus. Phoenix shook with pain as I crossed the border between reality and other. Around us, exiles began to scramble.
    The combination of chaos combined with their vindictive natures made the exiles as furious with one another as they were with me. And now that Lilith was gone and Phoenix down it appeared the timeless rivalry between light and dark had been reinstated.
    Helicopter blades sounded overhead, along with an explosion nearby. I heard voices yelling out commands from outside the ballroom. The exiles started to turn towards the new threat.
    The cavalry had arrived.
    My eyes sought out Evelyn, bracing for the worst. But there she was, alive, struggling against her restraints, while Spence helped her.
    I fell to the ground beside Phoenix.
    He was barely breathing. The sword he had used on Lilith had not been a full Grigori blade, so when she’d turned it back on him ithadn’t killed him instantly. Still, I was amazed he was managing to hang on.
    I grabbed his hand. It was cold, like mine.
    ‘Ironic, isn’t it?’ I said, coughing up some blood, registering the pain in my side and wrist. ‘After all of this, we’re just going to die.’
    He squeezed my hand.
    ‘You won’t die,’ he said, each word an effort.
    I didn’t bother arguing. ‘Just one more thing to do