22
Imove closer to the window, desperate to get their attention. One, to let them know I’m still alive and more or less okay. And two, to tell them they can’t just charge up here. Mr. Trent needs to believe he has control over the guys. For a few seconds, I freeze, unable to take my eyes off the cars so far below me. Then I shake myself and fly around to the desk. The top drawer is full of notebooks and paper.
Knowing I only have seconds before the others make a move, I yank open the top drawer and pull out a notebook and a pen and quickly write a note.
I’m alive and up on the second to the top floor. Jac is here. Mr. Trent thinks he has control over the guys. He needs to keep believing that. -Ace
Realizing that the note could actually be confusing, I shake my head and tear it out of the notebook anyway. I fold the paper in half and move toward the broken window. My stomach flip-flops when I get close, and looking down makes me dizzy. Keeping one hand firmly planted on the metal frame just in case I slip, I hold out the note, close my eyes, and call upon the element wind.
“Bring this note to the hands of my friends. Bring this note to the hands of my friends.” I let go of the piece of paper. “Bring this note to the hands of my friends.”
The wind picks up, stealing my breath and reminding me how high up I am and how fast I can fall. I grip the windowpane tighter and feel a little light-headed. I’m running on borrowed energy, but my body is still battered and bruised. And I’m starting to feel it. Come on…I don’t have time for this shit. Not if I want to get out of here alive. Oh, and save five innocents and one man who I happen to love more than life itself.
I try to open my eyes and fail. My consciousness is slipping away, and I need to sit down and rest…even for just a minute. But I don’t get the chance, and the next thing I know I’m on the verge of passing out. I can only hope I’ll fall backward instead of forward, because no one can fly up and catch me now.
Except…I slit my eyes open. Is that…no…it can’t be. My eyelids fall shut again. I inhale deeply and force my head up.
“Hasan,” I whisper, watching him come closer and closer. He flies up into the office, barely fitting through the broken window. His arms go around me and he pulls me away from the edge.
“Ace,” he breathes, cradling me to his chest. I flatten my hand over his pecs, feeling his heart beating beneath my fingers. “Shit, you look awful.”
“Right…right back at you,” I say, trying to smile. But my ribs hurt again and I’m just so incredibly tired.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” Hasan says, and starts to stand.
“Wait, no.” I push myself up and look at his face, heart fluttering. I shift my gaze from his face to his wings. “You still have your wings.”
He smiles. “I know.”
“But the curse…I thought…it’s daytime, though. It has to be.”
“It’s broken.” He gently brushes my hair back and kisses my forehead. “We all felt it. You did it, Ace.”
I shake my head. “But I didn’t.” And then something clicks. “Jac did.”
“Jac?”
“He said the curse won’t go away until the universe is given an ‘equal loss,’ and I didn’t understand what he meant until now. He was willing to sacrifice himself for me—and for you all. That’s what broke the curse.” I reach up and run my fingers over the top of Hasan’s wing. “But it didn’t break it completely. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he presses. “This is what I wanted, Ace. I like having the powers of a gargoyle. I like being able to fly.”
“Right.” He’s said it before too. Hasan is a warrior through and through, and taking a step down, losing strength and one hell of a defense, would actually be hard on him. Tom and Gil have said something similar as well. They like having the extra strength and better-than-human senses but miss looking human and being able to step into the sun.
“And the twins?”
“They don’t have wings but seem to have kept their other powers.”
“Really? I wonder how that works—never mind.”
Hasan pulls me to him again. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He looks around the room. “Where is Jacques?”
“With Mr. Trent, who thinks he has control over you guys. He also thinks I’m dead, and he has four kidnapped children upstairs with the witch who showed up at the house yesterday. I’m assuming Gemma filled you in on it.”
He nods. “Are we to take the witch out too?”
“No. She’s been manipulated by Mr. Trent, but she’s on our side. I think. Fuck, I really hope so, because I’m counting on her to help me get the kids out. And Melissa, the witch who tricked Gemma into thinking I was evil, is working with Trent. Feel free to throw her off the building if you find her.”
“Really?” He sounds a little too hopeful there.
