“Thank you,” I say, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Mother, you have to help us. We are desperate to convey to Gage that Demetri is stringing him along with a rope of lies.”
Logan nods. “A rope that Gage has already hanged himself with.”
“And the world,” I add.
“I can’t.” My mother glows with hues of incandescent pinks and blues. “The deception is his and his alone. I’m not to interfere. The stipulation is as follows: the heavenlies shan’t divulge the nature of the offense. But through the natural, the deceived may be apprised of the deceiver’s intentions.”
I close my eyes. “And that’s why Marshall is out as well.”
“Don’t worry.” Logan pulls me close. “All is not lost. We can do this, Skyla.”
“I know.” I swallow hard as I look back to my mother. There is so much I want to say, so much of it volatile. “Rory is back and she’s in another body. Why do you allow such foolish games with the dead? Does the Good Book say it is appointed for a man to die once—and then to enter into many bodies post death? No, it does not. You are defying the laws of the written word, and for what?” My voice comes back to me as an angry echo.
“Those who are dead to the world are not dead at all to God,” she replies with a stony calm. “Rory has a role in this madness, Skyla.” She leans in until all I see is her crystalline blue eyes. “Make her work for you.”
I lean in a notch myself until we’re just about nose-to-nose.
“I don’t need her.” I pull back and Logan clasps his arm around me tighter in the event I feel motivated to claw this entity’s blind eyes out. “Tell me how to get my standing back. Gage has no people. They have all sided with Celestra once again. Rory had them accept a covenant to stay with me forever.” Stay withher, but thankfully she’s gone. “It may have been the one good thing she did. I would never have thought of it.”
My mother’s chest bucks. “Because it was foolish.” She pins her glowing eyes on Logan. “I see Chloe has caused a little chaos. The people Celestra has acquired are slow to believe anything my daughter says. You will be her mouthpiece. The time has come for you to shine, my son. You will no longer stay in the shadows. For a time, my daughter will remain in your shadow. There will be difficulties.” She narrows her gaze with the warning. “You will need to persevere great challenges. The enemy is pulling back his sling. In a moment, all you worked to build will be lost. You must stay strong. The both of you.” She takes a smooth breath, expanding her chest as her unbreakable gaze penetrates Logan. “You must fight harder than ever before. Let them see exactly how fierce you can be. Let them hear the roar of that lion who lives within you.” She bears those crystalline eyes over me. “All that is mine is yours, Skyla. Remember that always. Remind yourself of it so that you never forget.” She lays her hand onto his head and does the same to me.
My mother speaks a bold prayer, a chant, an incantation over the two of us in the language of God, and my entire body responds as a whirlwind of warmth and light as she pours those feel-good vibrations straight through our bones and into the depths of our souls. My womb radiates every ounce of love that has ever existed, and in this moment I realize this is the child that my body and this world have been waiting for.
“It’s time,” she whispers as she pulls Logan forward by the cheeks and plants a kiss directly on his lips.
Logan’s body jerks in response and he’s lit like a flame from the inside out. Logan clasps his hands onto her shoulders and struggles to push her away, but my mother and her electrifying smooch is unrelenting in its ferocity.
Every part of me demands to intervene, and yet I’m immobilized, completely a voyeur with no use of my limbs.
The wind picks up with hurricane force as the blaze of light emanating from Logan accelerates to blinding levels, and just as quickly as it came, it’s gone in a flash.
The woods are quiet, the fog is thick with secrets, my mother is gone, and Logan is left gasping for air.
“Shit.” He wipes his mouth down with the back of his hand.
“Logan.” I pull him to me. “Are you okay?”
“No.” His features harden with a newfound anger. “And neither is the world. She gave me a vision. This virus isn’t natural, Skyla. And it’s not a biological attack from any world government. It’s a direct FU from the Fems. Demetri did this. And Gage gave him the seal of approval.” He takes my hands and pulls me close. “It’s going to get worse, Skyla. And it’s going to hurt like hell.”
“The world needs a hero who will swoop in and save the day.” I close my eyes as a heavy sadness takes over. “And that so-called hero will be Gage.”
He gives a single nod. “We can’t let it be him.”
“We won’t,” I whisper. “It will be us.”
Now to convince myself and the world of this.
Heaven help us.
God forgive Gage.
It’s time to roll up our sleeves and come up with a whole new serum.
It’s time to put the devil on notice.
18
Gage
