CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

**GABRIEL**
My eyes went straight to Oliver kneeling in the river, and my heart lurched at seeing him again. I knew that I had missed him, but not to the degree that I felt it. Behind him, two men stood, standing guard and staring me down with uncertainty in their eyes. He had rope marks on his body, my Oliver, and even in the moonlight, they stood out on his skin. He looked thinner, much thinner than when he had been taken. His eyes were hollow and almost dead.
My gaze shifted to Sasha who tucked herself comfortably in the crook of her father’s arm, and on to the man himself. Joshua. He stood tall and stared down his nose at me, a round glass bottle in hand. Rage boiled in my veins as I took in his smug expression. I wanted to rip his skin from his bones, I wanted to stand over his body and watch as he begged for his life…and eventually death. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I had to think rationally.
Oliver’s eyes locked with mine and I smiled. “Are you okay, my love?” I asked.
Oliver smiled and nodded his head slowly. “Yes, I am now that you are here,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much, Gabriel.”
His response warmed my heart and I smiled even brighter. “I’ve missed you too.”
Much more than he could imagine. Much more than he could ever know. My waking and sleeping moments had been filled with thoughts of him, my brain replayed images of us together. I had missed him greatly.
Joshua scoffed, reminding me of his presence. “It’s a good thing you’re here,” he said. “You get to watch the whole show. Although we’ve already started,” he threw back his head and laughed. “And it makes it even easier for me to kill both of you!”
He snapped his fingers at the two men standing behind Oliver, and they crossed the river at record speed and attacked. My eyes opened in shock at their speed and strength, they were human. They just weren’t fighting like humans. I smiled as we fought, happy to send to glory one and all who had caused my Oliver pain. I grabbed the first man by the neck, enjoying the look of shock and pain as I sunk my claws into his neck and pulled, leaving him to fall to the ground. His partner paused and stared at the body, his eyes filled with uncertainty as he weighed his choices.
I watched in amusement as the confusion gave way to anger as he screamed and charged at me. I sidestepped, causing him to lose his footing and fall to the ground. He tried to jump to his feet, but unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough. I raised my right leg and sent the heel of my foot into his neck, enjoying the sickening crack as his neck broke. I raised it again and again, sending my heel repeatedly into his neck and face until all that was left was an unidentifiable, bloody mess.
I smiled in satisfaction, proud of my artwork, and turned to the trio in the water.
“Did you guys like that?” I asked Sasha and Joshua, enjoying the awe-stricken looks on their faces. “Because that’s going to be you soon.”
Even from my place, I saw Joshua grind his teeth together in anger. I looked up at the full moon, grinning happily down on me, showering me with strength. I breathed it in, the sweet night air, and smiled even wider.
Sasha grabbed her father’s robe and tugged with trembling hands, fear evident in her blue eyes. Even in the darkness, I could still see, the stark resemblance between her and Oliver.
“Dad,” she said, her voice coming out in a whisper. “I think we should leave.”
Joshua’s nose flared and he looked at his daughter, his only child with anger and irritation in his eyes. His hand went up in the air and came down heavily across Sasha’s cheeks sending her flying into the river. Her screams pierced the air as her body broke the surface of the water. She sat in the river, the water soaking through her robe as it came up to her shoulders, and held her cheeks, crying.
“You hopeless rat!” He screamed and spat at her, his spittle landed inches off of her. “A disappointment just like her mother!”
Sasha’s eyes snapped up to his, and my heart broke for her. I recognized the expression in her eyes. The eyes of one who had been beaten down and broken down by those who should protect them. The eyes of one who had done everything to please and was still not good enough. And so that was why when she stood to her feet and ran away crying, and holding her cheek, I didn’t run after her.
My attention shifted to Oliver, he still knelt in the water, smiling at me weakly with admiration in his eyes. I smiled at him. I couldn’t wait till all the drama was over and we were back home in our bed, with him in my embrace.
“You imbecile!” Joshua screamed, his face red with anger. “You think you’re strong enough to defeat me?!”
I flexed my shoulders and rolled my neck, more than happy for the party to begin. I pranced on my feet, smiling confidently to myself as I felt the vial move in my zipped pocket. We were going to win. I watched in amazement as Joshua began to scream, smoke began to come out of his head and surround him, his eyes changed to black…same as the wolves that had made the attack, only this time, no one was falling to the ground unconscious.
His screams intensified, and I blinked rapidly when I saw horns extend on his head, his hair covering its roots. Finally, the screaming stopped and he began to breathe heavily, smoke coming out of his nose every time he breathed out. Shanice had emphasized how strong he was going to be, but seeing it myself, I realized that no amount of description would have prepared me for what my eyes were currently drinking in.
I turn to Oliver. “Hey, you need to talk to the river goddess!”
Just as Oliver stirred, Joshua laughed. “Not on my watch!”
I watched as he raised his hand in the air and muttered a spell, causing Oliver’s eyes to roll to the back of his head for a moment, and then fall back into the water, breathing heavily.
“What did you do to him?!”
“Oh, nothing,” Joshua replied. “The brat is still alive. I strongly suggest you worry about yourself.”
As though this man couldn’t amaze me further, I watched as fire poured from his nostrils, as he charged at me. I was ill-prepared for impact. One moment, I was standing on my feet, and the next, my back was against the ground. I quickly jumped to my feet, thanking Shanice for the umpteenth time as k dodged blows and landed some of my own. He was fast. Very fast. Almost as fast as me.
I smiled to myself as I faked a left, and hit his horn with my right, chuckling to myself as I watched him fall back and grab his horn in pain. Finally. Joshua’s eyes blazed red, fire pouring from his nostrils as he charged at me again, this time faster.
Joshua’s fists connected with my chest and I groaned as my heart felt split in two. His eyes fell on the crocodile’s skull and he smiled wryly and looked up at me as I held my chest in my hand.
“So that’s how you were able to get in,” he said. “Well, too bad this is where and how you die.”
I pranced on my feet again and paused as I felt the vial jiggle in my pocket. I looked over at Oliver who now lay on the bank breathing heavily with half of his body in the water, and back at Joshua, whose eyes stayed on me like glue.
Without giving it much thought, I jumped over his head and ran full speed to the water. I pulled the coal out of my pocket and shook Oliver aggressively.
“Wake up!” I said. “You need to drink this!”
Oliver’s eyes fluttered open and met mine, and then slowly shifted down to the vial in my hand. His hand reached out to take it, but before he could, I was knocked into the water. I swore loudly as I felt the vial slip out of my fingers and into the water.
“Fuck!!”
My screams were muffled by the water as Joshua pushed me under, holding me there as water filled my lungs. My hands reached up for his horns, and I grabbed them and pulled, enjoying his screams as his hood on my neck slightly weakened.
And then all of a sudden, it stopped. The screaming, the struggling, the grunting. Joshua’s eyes seemed to be fixated on something else…someone else. I pushed him off of him, and my breath caught in my throat as I beheld the sight before me.
Oliver, standing on the water, his eyes blazing white, and in his hand a two-pronged spear shining gold. He looked angry, his lips run down in a disapproving smile. His eyes were fixated on Joshua whose eyes were open in fear.
“Long time, Fotia,” he said, his voice coming out strangled.
“No…”
Joshua turned to run, and Oliver laughed and launched the spear. It caught him in the back, just as he got to the river bank, and I watched in complete amazement as the spear nailed him to the ground.
I swore under my breath as he began to disintegrate, where his body once was, a pair of ashes now lay, and the spear began to disappear slowly. A loud groan tore me away from Joshua, and I made a beeline for Oliver as he began to fall back in the water, his eyes back to their beautiful, blue color.
“Oliver!!”
I watched helplessly as his eyes slowly closed, and blood flowed out freely from the sides of his eyes, nose, and mouth. My heart lurched in my chest, heavy with anger and grief. And as I held my lover’s limp body in my arm, I raised my face to the moon and howled.