Chapter 21 — Here we are
Lana/Apolliana:
My sisters and I stand on the cavern's edge located above a bast void that drops several thousand feet. Within the void is The Creator’s sacred stone covering the sacred seal. We hold our mates’ blood in a vile as The Creator adds his power and brings us one step closer to unleashing destruction into the world.
Power radiates through the cavernous room, vibrating against the high ceilings. It’s so thick that you can almost touch it. Shadows flicker around the darkened chamber's sandstone surface, creating eerie figures across the rocky ceiling and earthy ground. Our voices echo through the vast openings that stream like veins creating an underground labyrinth that leads to yawning voids, cracks and craters. The caverns remind me of the caverns that I climbed and trekked through at the Grand Canyon with their dark and treacherous landscapes. The chamber looks like a rustic throne room with its vast space, leading to a long stone path that looks like a bridge with deadly drops on each side. The path is several hundred feet and stops at a peak overlooking the void that we’re standing beside.
Bree is locked in a cage enveloped by darkness near the cavern’s subterranean drop. I can tell that she’s screaming, but no sound is heard as she slams her fists against the invisible barrier I erected to keep her screams muted within her prison.
Our bodies swell, and the ground shudders as we repeat the enchantment. The Creator’s light swirls around the scriptures carved on the ancient seal.
“It is time,” The Creator’s booming voice reverberates across the enclosure. “Pour the blood and let there be woe to all of the inhabitants of heaven, earth and hell. Heaven and Earth shall burn; Fire and flame will consume them. The sea will enter the land, all structures will crumble, and the stars and all pantheons will fall. Let the dragon rise!”
The floor shakes and shudders as we prepare to pour the blood. Each sister takes turns pouring their blood vile down the seal, making flames hiss as each drop touches the runes. Just as I’m about to pour my vial, Lucifer and the others appear.
The Creator roars with rage and tosses power at his angels, who manage to roll away.
My sisters and I produce our swords and prepare to fight as each male approaches.
Lucifer’s son tries to reach his love, but I quickly throw power at him, making him fly back until he falls to the rocky ground.
My sisters' angry growls echo across the cavern as they fight their mates. But I do not bother to check on them, opting to keep an eye on my own mate.
“Apolliana,” Lucifer calls out in his husky timber that makes my body shudder.
Even though my mind loathes the mere sight of him, my body still longs for him. Do not get me wrong. I am still resolute on my path of destruction. But I can’t help that everything inside me is still warring over what I experienced in his arms. During my stint in heaven, before my madness overtook me, I’d fantasize about what he would say when he saw me. Of course, I didn’t know about carnal pleasures. I just thought about how we’d feel emotionally. However, I have to say that our interactions went beyond sex. Lucifer turned out to exceed anything I would have ever imagined, with his tender touches and passionate kisses. I’m torn, and I don’t like it. I want to remain angry and continue to hate him for giving up on me before meeting me. Stepping back, I shake off the residual emotions that Lana carried for the male. I refuse to let my human weakness dictate my future.
The Creator continues to shoot destructive power toward the males, making them scurry for cover as they fight back.
Gabriel rushes forward with a growl, his lips curled with derision, “You betrayed us, father! You betrayed me!” he calls out.
The Creator’s light pulses as he faces down his son, “This is how it must be done, my son. The world must be set anew and free of corruption. I vow that your sacrifice will not be in vain.”
Gabriel scoffs as he shoots power toward The Creator’s light. “Do not lie to me! I know your true purpose. I may have been a fool in the past, but my eyes have been opened to your true nefarious purpose! You do not wish to save the worlds; you wish to create creatures you can control. But we will prevail!”
Gabriel’s mate moves toward him at that moment, her lips curled with hostility as she kicks at his back and slashes her sword toward his neck.
Gabriel parries her strike with his own sword making their swords sizzle with power as they touch.
While I’m distracted, Lucifer moves closer until he’s mere feet away, “Do you remember the conversation we had the last time we made love?” he asks.
I tighten my jaw and refuse to answer, but Lucifer is not deterred. He stands proudly, his matte black armor molding to his masculine frame as he gazes intently into my eyes, “You asked me if I cared for you, and I said that I did.”
I close my eyes and swallow as unwanted emotions threaten to clog my throat. “Enough of this!” I call out, “Fight me!”
Lucifer shakes his head and continues, “I know I disappointed you with my response, luv. What I should have said was that I more than cared for you. What I should have told you is that I’m completely and irrevocably in love with you. That now that I’ve had you in my arms, I cannot imagine living without you.”
“Shut up!” I cry out, “Just shut up! You are too late! You abandoned me to slowly die!”
His eyes gleam with untold emotions, and his nostrils flare as he shakes his head. “A decision that I deeply regret, Apolliana! You do not know how much it pains me to know that I wasn’t there to care for you. You are everything to me.”
I shake my head in denial as I back away, “It’s too late, Lucifer. What was done was done.”
His jaw ticks, “But we’re still here, luv,” he places his palm against his chest, “We’re still here, and I can make things right if you will let me. I love you, Lana. If you let me, I will make up all of the wrongs that I reaped upon you. I would worship you for eternity. Please, just take my hand,” he extends his elegant hand toward me as he pleads.
As the fight ensues around us, I take another step back and blink my blurry eyes.
The emotions inside of me unbearably swell as I try to ignore his sincere words.
Before I can make a choice, The Creator steps forward and growls, “He’s deceiving you. He is the king of lies and deceit. Remember all of the pain you suffered because of his selfishness.
Though my heart shies from the idea of hurting him, I refuse to listen as I rush to the void and pour my vile.
As soon as I do, an explosion of power bursts through the void like a reverse waterfall as it bursts through the ceiling and expands as it destroys everything in its path.
Fallon cries out as the power widens and inches toward Bree’s cell.
Lucifer looks on with despair as his son tries to release his love from her cage. “What have you done, Apolliana?” he mumbles.
Jaw tight, I turn to face him and give him a brittle smile. “I have brought the end.”
The ground shakes and shudders as the stone floors begin to crumble at our feet.
Somehow, Fallon is able to free Bree, but it doesn’t matter because everything is coming down around us, blocking any chance for an exit.
As I spread my winds, I look at Lucifer and wave my sword. It’s time to die, mate.”
Lucifer flies up to meet me, his expression one of defeat. Before he can say a word, I fly toward him, aiming my sword at his heart, but he manages to float away.
My sisters and I fight our mates as The Creator steps into the power stream and begins to change. His light disappears to be replaced by dragon scales and wings as he begins to metamorphosis.
Lucifer and I thrust and parry as I try to stab him through the heart. Somehow, he manages to trap me in his arms, his breath caressing my neck as he mutters, “I love you, and I will love you after death.”
A crack forms in my eyes at his words, but I continue to struggle in his hold. “You are mine, Apolliana. If I had stayed in heaven, I would have made love to you and taken care of all of your needs as it was my right.”
“Stop talking!” I scream out while I try to wriggle out of his hold.
“What I can’t regret is the time we did have,” he continues as he lays gentles kisses across my neck. “Making love to you was like nothing I had ever experienced. Your smile and your touch brought life to my life. Because of you, I am not the shadow of a man that I used to be. You are the love of my life, Apolliana, and I will gladly die by your side if that’s what my fate is to be.”
Another crack forms inside of me, making emotion leak from each cut.
It’s only when I hear Bree’s horrified scream that every emotion inside of me breaks open. I look down to find my sister clinging to her wounded mate as The Creator impales him with one of his talons. Her face is set with fear, and her thick curly hair flutters around her as she holds tightly to Fallon. Fallon tries to grab ahold of her as she slips from his grasp and is about to fall into the destructive void.
Memories of my sister that I thought locked away in the recess of my mind assail me as I watch her slowly begin to fall.
I try to shake them off, but they become stronger. One moment I am floating above the cavern, and the next, I’m sitting in a vehicle with my sister and Zoe, singing along to a song on the radio. The next memory is of Bree arguing with the social worker who wanted to place me in a foster home, but Bree fought to keep me with her until she eventually won. My eyes tear as I look into my sister's eyes, and she whispers, “It’s okay, Lana. I got you, and I will never let anyone separate us.” Another is of Bree and I clinging together as we watch our mother’s casket being lowered into the ground. “Don’t cry, Lana. Remember, I love you, and we will always have each other,” Bree whispers in my ear as she holds me closer. The last memory that assails me is twelve-year-old Bree holding my eight-year-old hand as she defends me from an older girl who was bullying me at school. “You have to get through me to get to my sister!” Bree screams at the girl as my world grows dark, and the real me breaks through.