Chapter 30

Savannah's POV

My dad was right. Seconds later I could see them from the window. They rang the doorbell on the neighboring house and two of them slipped inside when the owner opened the door. I could see two of them arrive at our house. They didn't expect to be stopped and they ended up bouncing back from the shield straight to the ground. This didn't go unnoticed by the others who were spreading out. Realization dawned upon them when none of the scouts could enter the front yard. They were talking, but I couldn't hear them clearly. More and more of them entered the street. They were preparing.

“They're trying to come up with a plan to enter. I don't see Gabriel here, but he must be near. When he arrives that's when the fun will start.”

“Fun? How can you say that dad?”

“It'll be fun until they find a way to breach the shield.”

“They can't. It's strong. I'll wait a bit, then go out and greet them and ask them to leave.”

“I won't stop you.”

I wasn't disguised as Iris, I was the woman from earlier. When Ezekiel's face appeared in the crowd I knew that Gabriel had to be near. Maybe he didn't want to interfere until it was absolutely necessary. I saw Ezekiel inspecting the shield. That was my cue to step outside.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, we're looking for someone. Can we take a look inside?”

“I don't think so. I don't know you.”

“You're a witch, you must understand.”

“I hate strangers and I hate it more when they want to come to my house. Please, leave.”

“No can do, we have orders.”

“Then you have to figure something out. You won't get in here. If you haven't noticed, I have a safety protocol.”

“Yes, that's why we need you to let us in.”

“No means no. Now leave. I know that I can't call the cops, because they can't see you, but this won't end well for you if you're persistent to stay here.”

Without waiting for an answer I slammed the door shut. They now know that I won't let them in that easily. They'll have to fight their way in. I didn't have to wait for long until another angel appeared.

“Is that Gabriel, dad?”

“Yes. Now they'll try everything to destroy the shield.”

“Can that happen?”

“If they release their magic together it might. It'll take time though.”

“Then I'll strengthen it back.”

“Don't waste your strength on that. We'll need it when the shield won't protect us. Their powers are linked to their ranks. The higher they're in the hierarchy, the stronger they are. The two of us outrank every single one of them, but you don't have your angel powers. You're a strong witch. The question is how long we can last.”

“Long enough to make them sweat.”

I kept my gaze on Gabriel. Ten minutes later they started to weaken the barrier. With each passing moment I could feel it weaken. They've been going on for about twenty minutes when the weakest angels dropped out. If they keep dropping like this it might take them another hour to destroy the shield. My earlier anxiety decreased and now pure excitement took its place. As the shield weakened my magic hummed louder. Another forty minutes later I knew that the shield might pop any minute now. I could barely feel it. I took my phone in my hands and tapped on the send button. My dad stood in front of the door and I stood next to him. And then I felt the shield disappearing totally. At the exact same moment I opened the portal for mom.

“When I saw ‘go’ you go mom. Okay?”

“Okay, sweetie.”

They didn't raid the house instantly. They were exhausted. I don't think that they dealt with such a strong shield before. Five minutes later Gabriel entered the front yard first and the others followed him. He didn't even knock, just kicked the door in. As soon as his eyes landed on my dad he stopped. Deep down I don't think that he expected him to be here.

“Prince Raphael! You have to come with us.”

“I don't think so. Why do you think I've been hiding for so many years?”

“You must have an excellent reason for that.”

“What about my soulmate? Can she come with me?”

“You know the rules. We won't kill her if you come with us willingly.”

“What about her? She's been helping us to hide.”

“We'll let her live too.”

“Tempting offer, Gabriel, but my answer is no.”

“You didn't leave us another choice. Ezekiel, grab the Prince. I'll deal with the two women.”

“Go, now. Remember what I told you. I love you.”

“I love the two of you too.” - and with that my mom was gone and the portal closed behind her.

“What have you done?”

“I saved her, Gabriel.”

“You could've lived, now this stunt of yours will cause your death.”

“We'll see about that.”

“Who are you even?”

“Why don't you ask Ezekiel?”

“Ezekiel, what is she talking about?”

“I don't know. I haven't seen her before. This must be another trick.”

“If you think so. Let's see in the end who I really am. Are you ready?” - I asked my dad, looking at him.

“Yes.”

That was enough for me and I hurled a magic ball towards the angels. They weren't expecting that and a few of them flew through the still open door and landed on the grass. That was enough for Gabriel and he released his magic too. I quickly put up a shield and the magic bounced off of it. I have no idea how long we were fighting, but I could see that my dad was getting tired. We were constantly using our magic, whereas the angels took turns. There were always angels who were strong enough to fight. Horror swept through me when one of the balls hit my dad and he lost his balance.

“Take a break. I'll slow them down. I still have strength.”

I quickly ran to my dad and conjured a shield. As long as I was strong enough to hold it in place we were fine.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I just need a few minutes. How are you?”

“I'm okay. The shield will give you some time to regenerate. I don't know what'll happen after that.”

“It's okay. There are too many of them.”

Everything was fine until they started attacking together. Keeping the shield together was getting harder and harder and my grip on it started to slip. Keeping the mask in place took too much of my energy. I needed it to go.

“I can't keep my mask on. It takes too much of my energy.”

“It's fine. Let it go. This had to happen at some point. I'm okay now. I'll use their momentary confusion to my advantage and launch an attack. You need a minute to compose yourself.”

That's all I needed. Once the mask dropped I could feel the steady grip on the shield. At that exact moment every single one of them stopped. They couldn't believe their eyes. My dad gathered his magic and attacked. I was back on my feet after a few breaths.

“Impossible!” - I heard someone say from the group.