Fallen Angel Reclaimed: The Complete Series by Lacey Carter Andersen

23

Mark screamedas the Immortal touched his head. His memories exploded in his mind, and then, it all came back to him. Surcy. Daniel. Tristan.

Everything.

Including the fact that Tristan had killed Daniel.

The Immortal drew back his hand. The being’s golden-eyed gaze held his. “We, the Immortal Ten, have been restored to power. You are an angel who will serve us.”

Mark nodded, even while he tried to force air into his lungs. He’d killed Daniel. He’d worked for Caine. He’d betrayed everything he’d ever believed in.

And yet… his memories were fuzzy. The Immortals had won. Caine was gone.

He should be happy.

Turning, he saw that Tristan was kneeling beside him, recognition in his eyes. So his gargoyle brother remembered it all too.

Now what were they to do?

“You may rise,” the Immortal said.

They both stood.

“Go and find a place,” he commanded.

They turned to see lines of white and dark-winged angels lined up perfectly in the throne room. They found a place in one of the lines and waited, for what they didn’t know.

From behind them, a line of people walked on a path through the angels. When they reached the dais, they spun. All wore matching golden robes. Instantly, he recognized the Immortals they had saved. The ten most powerful beings in existence sat upon ten golden thrones that had been concealed by darkness for far too long.

The God of Summer remained standing, staring out at the ranks of angels. “We are the Immortal Ten. We have ruled here since the beginning of time… until the usurper Caine came. He was the child of the God of Sin and the Goddess of Winter, a being with the unexpected ability to manipulate minds. He used his powers against all of us. He manipulated our thoughts. Some of us he killed over and over again, ensuring we remained ignorant of who and what we were. Some of us he manipulated into prisons of his own making, but he made a fatal mistake. He knew that the Goddess of Life had had a child… but he did not understand her role in restoring us to power.”

The God of Summer gestured with his hand and suddenly a woman appeared, surrounded by dark-winged angels. She blinked in confusion.

“Where am I?”

The Goddess of Life stepped forward and smiled. “Daughter, Goddess of Hope, you are home.”

But there’s already ten of them. How can there be more?

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“The Goddess of Life concealed your father. Caine believed you to be an Immortal, but he didn’t understand that you were more powerful than the ten of us… because your father wasn’t a simple mortal.” He hesitated. “It’s me.”

The woman’s eyes widened, and Mark recognized her as Sharen, the demon-hunter that Surcy had saved many times before. She was an Immortal?

An eleventh Immortal?

“Come to me, daughter,” the God of Summer said.

Sharen stepped forward, but three massive angels stopped to block her path.

“What do you want with her?” One of them asked, the defiance in his voice surprising everyone in the room.

The Immortal smiled. “Not to worry, Alec, she is safe.”

Alec didn’t move. A small hand grasped his arm and pulled him back, and then she walked forward, lit by the same inner glow as the other Immortals.

Without being told, she knelt.

Her father smiled. “There are only ten thrones. Ten judges to decide the fate of man. To make you a judge would destroy the balance.” His gaze moved to the Goddess of Life. “We have decided how to ensure you may survive within this world, but not overthrow the balance. You, my daughter, will help with the great changes that will now occur. Many demons will be angels soon, and many angels will be demons. Someone with knowledge of all the realms will need to help with their adjustments, while we focus on our job—to judge mankind.”

She looked up at him. “I can do that. But not alone.”

“Then, you will have your lovers at your side. Not ours to command, but yours.”

A surprising smirk touched her lips. “I’d prefer they be given free will.”

He raised a brow. “Are you certain?”

“Yes,” she said, with absolute certainty.

“Is that all?” he asked, and there was a fatherly humor in his voice.

“I’d like Surcy and her lovers too. This is a big job, and I could use an angel I trust at my side.”

His smile faltered. “You may have her lovers, but not Surcy.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because Surcy… she has been reborn as an angel. But she paid the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Her mind is gone. Who she was. Not just her memories. Everything.”

Sharen rose, her jaw clenched. “Bring her to me.”

Her father raised a brow. “My daughter, we have all tried to restore her mind.”

“And yet none of you are the Goddess of Hope.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “She gave up everything, father. Everything. I may have set this rebellion in motion, but she restored all of you to power. Surely I can try?”

He nodded and made the slightest gesture.

Two angels hurried from the throne room.

Mark looked from one Immortal to another. He realized he’d been in shock. Nothing Sharen had said had made sense, but now he realized, and the knowledge was like a hand plunging into his heart. Surcy… she didn’t remember them. Again?

How could it be possible? Were the Fates simply cruel children playing their heartless games?

The doors opened once more and one of the angels came in carrying Surcy in his arms.

Tristan sprung forward and snatched her from the other angel. His eyes were wide, fixed onto her face.

The other angel returned a moment later, leading Daniel. Daniel looked confused. How long ago had the Immortals brought him back?

Daniel and Mark hugged, a hard hug that said what their words couldn’t.

They all three stood together, looking down at Surcy’s face. It wasn’t like before, when she had been confused and didn't recognize them. . It was… blank.

She stared off, as if seeing nothing.

“Surcy,” Tristan whispered, the word torn and filled with tears. “Surcy!”

“She can’t hear you,” The God of Summer said. “She can’t hear anything anymore. She is just a shell. The essence of Surcy—whatever made her at her core—is gone."

“Bring her to me,” Sharen, The Goddess of Hope, ordered.

They moved up to the dais with even steps. If Sharen couldn’t fix her, no one could. That knowledge made him feel as if the world was crashing down on him.

Tristan laid Surcy at Sharen’s feet and the goddess knelt down, touching her gently.

Mark spoke before she could act. “If you can’t restore her mind, I want your word that you’ll destroy mine.”

“And mine,” Tristan and Daniel repeated without hesitation.

Sharen’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “You can’t mean that.”

“Promise us,” Tristan said. “Give us the word of an Immortal.”

Sharen looked up at her father. After a moment, he nodded, but his expression was reluctant.

She took a deep breath, and reached out to touch Surcy’s head. Her eyes closed, and minutes of silence ticked by. Her expression changed, from faraway to frustrated.

Come on. You can do this. Save her life. Bring her back to us.

At last, Sharen’s eyes opened. “Something’s wrong.”

Her father spoke. “I told you. It isn’t possible.”

“It’s not that,” she said, and then her gaze met theirs. “I can’t bring back someone I didn’t know that well. But you all can. Touch my hand.”

They obeyed without question, placing their hands upon hers. One second they were in the throne room, the next they were gone, pulled through their lives with Surcy.

He remembered when they saw her on that farm, many years before, the most beautiful angel in existence. One who let them live for reasons none of them would ever understand.

Their memories ran through every laugh, every tear, every small moment that meant more than the big ones, every piece of themselves that contained Surcy.

Someone drew in a deep, shaky breath, but they kept being pulled through time, pulled through everything, until they reached the end. Until they reached that very moment when they touched Surcy, their hearts in their hands, ready to die for her.

Mark opened his eyes. Surcy was breathing hard, her eyes closed. Her entire body shaking.

His gaze met Tristan’s and Daniel’s. Did it work?

Sharen suddenly collapsed. Her demons—no, her angels—surrounded her, pulling the little woman into their arms. Sharen wasn’t looking at them. Her eyes were on Surcy.

“Come on,” she said. “Come back.”

“Surcy?” Mark said, taking her hand. “We love you. Are you in there somewhere?”

Very slowly, her eyes opened, and they were staring at two pools of the deepest blue. “Mark?”

It was like an explosion in the room. Tears filled his vision, and he pulled her into his lap. They gathered around her, kissing every inch of her. Glorying in the look of recognition on her face.

And then, she laughed.

“What?” Daniel asked.

“You all make the strangest looking angels.”

And then, they were all laughing.

She touched each of their faces. “And I remember. Not just this, but before, before Caine took my memories.”

What must this be like for her?

It was something they’d have to deal with, not now, but soon. But they would be there for her, and they would be there for each other.

The God of Summer came to stand closer to them. “My daughter truly is the Goddess of Hope, and she’s given it back to you. Now I must know, can you serve my daughter as she helps to fix these shattered realms? Can you follow her of your own freewill?”

“Freewill?” Surcy asked, confused.

“You won’t have to obey anyone, angel.”

Surcy nodded. “I can do that.”

“And so can we,” Mark said, without hesitation.

The Immortal smiled. And then, a flash of light came over them.

This time, it wasn’t the end. Just the beginning of something more.