Chapter 45: Return

I lay cradled in Angandriel's lap. I knew it was him without opening my eyes. I could feel his strong aura of lightness. It was hard to describe it any other way. I was wrapped in a wool blanket with my head on his shoulder. His arms held me around the torso and legs. I kept my eyes closed tight. I didn't want him to know I was awake yet. As much as he hated me, I really liked being this close to him.

My stomach was still a little achy and my throat was raw, but overall I was feeling better. I could feel the weight of the aurora sword in my pocket as just the small dagger. I could feel the energy come off of it. That feeling of ownership was powerful. I wasn't sure how I was going to give it up to Karma. Her hard eyes haunted my memories. Right. That was how. She was a scary bitch.

I finally registered what had woken me. There were voices. Angandriel was speaking with someone. I liked how his voice rumbled in his chest beneath my ear.

"I can't believe you let her get hurt. She almost died." I recognized that voice, too. That was Remi. The pure worry in his voice was surprising.

"I can't believe you let her summon Karma," Angandriel whispered. There was definitely a note of anger in his voice.

"You can't stop her when she gets something in her head. Why'd you even go with her? She couldn't have gotten there if you didn't take her."

"I can't interfere."

"Don't give me that bullshit line," Remi spat.

"You know she had to get the sword at some point. She might as well do it while she's young and at the top of her ability."

"She almost died. She wasn't ready."

"Did you want to go with her? Do you think you could have done any better?"

"You know I can't go there."

"Right. And you'll have your chance when she gets the other one. Now get out of here before she wakes up."

"I'm not leaving. I don't trust you with her. And I don't trust Karma."

A low growl issued from Angandriel. I liked the way it vibrated from his chest all the way into mine. I couldn't help the sharp breath I took in from the pleasure of it.

Angandriel shifted me in his arms. His hands tilted my face up towards his. I slowly opened my eyes, the gig was up. He knew I was awake. I looked up into his ice blue eyes and his handsome sharp features.

"Are you okay?" He asked. His eyes were full of worry.

I nodded slowly. "Water?" I managed hoarsely.

In a snap, a bottle of water was in front of my hand. I followed the arm to Remi. He gave me a half smile as he twisted the lid off for me. I grabbed it in both my hands and lifted it to my lips. My hands were still red and crispy from the last monster. Remi saw them and scowled at Angandriel.

I didn't dare look up to see the angel's face. I sipped a little of the water. It was hard to swallow. My throat felt so tight and dry.

"Drink some more," Angandriel encouraged.

He helped me lift the bottle up to my lips again. He was very careful not to drown me. This drink was easier. I could finally feel my throat start to open up. The water hit my belly. It made me feel queasy again.

I squirmed. He was sitting on the tailgate of my truck. Angandriel released me as I wiggled out of his arms. I rolled off his lap. My knees shook when I landed on my feet. My hand grasped the edge of the truck as all the water I just drank came back up.

Remi stepped in next to me, holding me up. My knees gave way completely as I lost all my strength. He supported me before I fell.

"See what have you let happen to her! You probably could have done so much more," Remi shouted at Angandriel.

"I'm okay," I said weakly. I patted Remi's hand around my waist. "Really, I'm fine." I straightened.

Remi tucked me into his side. "You have radiation sickness. You are not fine." He cradled my head in his hand and lifted it up to his face. He was so handsome. I loved his hawk nose. He looked over my head back to Angandriel. "I'm going to fix this."

He lifted me up on to the tailgate of the truck like I was made of air. Angandriel wrapped the blanket back around me. He wrapped an arm around my side and scooted me closer to him. The look Remi shot Angandriel made me think the angel would go up in smoke.

"Don't let her go anywhere."

Angandriel narrowed his eyes at him. They both shared a heated look and then Remi disintegrated into shadows.

After a moment I said, "Is everything okay between you two?"

Angandriel squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Everything is fine and you're going to be okay."

It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself more than me. I just leaned into him, enjoying his aura. I didn't ever get to do this. It felt nice.

A few minutes later, the shadows coalesced into Remi. He held a shot in one hand. He leveled another dark look at Angandriel.

"Lanie, hold out your arm," Remi said.

I complied. I like the way he said my name. He pressed the needle into my arm and plunged the shot. It felt like a knife as it went in. I tried not to flinch. He must have read my expression because I could see an echo of pain in his eyes. I wondered exactly how the three of us were connected. I never gave guardians much thought. Mother treated them more like maids than anything, but maybe they could feel what I felt, too.

"I need to give the sword to Karma," I whispered.

Remi frowned. "Let me give it to her. You've been through enough today."

I shook my head against Angandriel's side. "No. She asked me to do it. I don't want her to mess up my Karma anymore. I can't risk Mother-"

Remi scoffed.

I stopped.

Remi's eyes looked to Angandriel. I felt like they were communicating without saying anything. I tried to shift to look up at Angandriel, but he squeezed me in tighter to his side.

"Okay," Remi said. He held out his hands to me. "Let's go give her the sword. I'll help you summon her."

Angandriel's arm tightened around me. Remi pulled at my hands. I felt like I needed to make a decision here before they tore me apart.

I lifted my hands towards Remi. "Okay." I said.

Angandriel let me go. Remi picked me up in his arms while I was still wrapped in the blanket. I felt like a child being fought over by their parents. I leaned my head on Remi's shoulder as he carried me into the forest. His aura wasn't the same as Angandriel. It didn't have the same lightness to it, but it did have the same power. Instead of light, he felt warm. He felt... sweet. I breathed in his campfire scent. That was what demons always smelled like, but his had another more earthy scent to it, something that was uniquely him. I'd always caught a whiff of it when he was teleporting me, but now I really got a chance to enjoy it.

We reached the nexus point. The dark stars above sparkled through the pine trees. Remi set me down at the edge of the circle. He fixed a few of the lines and then sat down next to me. I could feel Angandriel walk up behind and tower over us.

I lifted my hands palms out towards the circle. "I, Alaina of the House of Grey, beseech Karma, force of nature. I wish to bestow of gift on her greatness."

The purple light flared to life. Karma stepped out of the purple cloud once again.

"Ah, excellent." Karma stepped forward ignoring the angel and demon complete. She bent down with her hand extended. "My sword?"

I fished it out of my hoodie pocket. My burnt and cut up hands turned the blade hilt out for her to grab. She grabbed it from me. As soon as it left my hand, I felt empty. I felt as if I was losing a good friend. Greif washed over me and I had to blink a few tears from my eyes.

Karma turned back to me with her dark hard eyes. "Don't bother me again or I will give you bad karma." She shook the dagger at me.

She snapped. The purple light faded leaving us in the dark again.

"What a bi- ," Remi started.

"Shh," I said, my eyes wide as I turned to him.

"You're right. Come on. I'll take you home." Remi stood and picked me up. I sagged against him. Between the sickness and the grief I really didn't care about anything anymore.

Angandriel barred his path. Some more unspoken communication passed between them through glares before Remi finally moved passed and back to the car. He set me in on the passenger side then climbed in on the driver side.

Before Remi started the engine, Angandriel opened up the door on my side. He slid me to the center and climbed in. He reached over and belted me tight. They shared another nasty look before Remi slammed the accelerator and the truck started forward.

I sank down between my two guardians. I could feel their auras at war with each other but completely syncing with mine. It was such a strange place to be. I wiggled my right hand into Angandriel's big hand. He patted it before holding it. I slide my left hand out from beneath the blankets into Remi's lap. He laced his fingers with mine and squeezed gently. Despite all the pain and grief I felt, there was a piece of me that had never felt more content in my life.