Soul Savers: Faith Part 1

Soul Savers Series.

FAITH.

Kristie Cook.

Faith Summary.

When her eyes see only darkness, her soul must uncover faith's light.

Evil reigns the world. Earth's been ravaged. Only supernaturals roam the surface, while anyone else who escaped the fallout remains hidden deeply underground. The only signs humans survived at all come from those who serve the Daemoni. To finalize his conquest of humanity, Lucas prepares to rip down the veil between Earth and the Otherworld, opening the gates of h.e.l.l into the physical realm.

So why do the Angels insist on Alexis fighting a war that's already been lost? Defending a world that no longer exists?

With a soul that's been battered and beaten by both Heaven and h.e.l.l, Alexis holds on to a single conviction-her love for her family. Her only mission now is to save her husband's and her son's souls. Once she does, she'll plead with the Angels to allow them off this world G.o.d has obviously forsaken.

But has He? And can she give up on her people so easily? On the souls of all humanity? Or will she find the faith she needs to defeat the Daemoni and win back the world? Just how far will she go to save the souls she loves . . . and those she does not?

This epic finale of the bestselling Soul Savers Series will break readers' hearts, put them back together, and leave them demanding more.

For Everyone.

because we can all use a little faith and a lot of love.

Prologue.

As the world destructed upon itself, the last thing I wanted to be doing was staring into the black abyss of a Demon's eye. Yet, here I was, standing on the marble steps of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial doing just that, while bombs exploded throughout the city and chunks of black ice crashed into the ground, transporting more Demons into this realm. Along with the ice came a rain of fire, igniting the dry, autumn landscape, creating an orange glow in the night sky that added to the imagery of h.e.l.l that Lucas had brought to Earth.

The only thing I did want to be doing at this moment was to be holding my wife and son, or better yet, sweeping them off to safety. But first, I had to finish off this last son of a b.i.t.c.h who blocked my way to the rotunda above. The first few Demons had given me quite the beating, but I learned with each one, and had sent six, so far, chasing after their heads.

Seven had always been my lucky number. If I believed in such a thing.

I watched the Demon's horned head as its membranous wings beat at the air and its barbed tail swished to and fro, while I calculated its next move. Its green and yellow dappled skin seemed to undulate like a separate being with each movement, creating a distraction for the inexperienced. But I focused on its obsidian eyes. And when it glanced to my left, I knew it would actually go right, so I feigned that way too. Then I ducked and weaved to its left. I swung my right foot up. My boot slammed into its lizard-like nose, shoving its face into its head with the spurting sound of air being forced out of gelatin.

Its thick neck twisted, and a fang jutting out of its jaw hooked into my boot. When it gave a shake of its head, as though trying to throw its face back into place, it jerked me off the ground. I flew into the air, bits of black matter from its head flying with me. I flipped in midair and landed on my feet three steps above the Demon. At least I headed in the right direction.

The Demon let out a screeching, wheezing sound through its smashed nose and mouth, and then it dove at me. Its sharp claws lashed out at my face, and I arched backward out of its reach. Then I sprang back on my hands and launched myself upward, feet first. My thick-soled boots plowed into its barrel chest. The force should have sent it tumbling away, but the powerful beast barely budged a few feet before its wings caught the air. It hung there for a moment, screaming evil curses in the old language as its eyes bulged from the pressure of its crushed nose.

I glanced at the portico only a dozen steps above me now, straining to listen for heartbeats while trying not to draw the Demon's attention in that direction. I'd heard Alexis screaming what must have been hours ago, but she'd been quiet since, and I hoped she'd been hiding somewhere safe with Dorian. Hiding wasn't like her, not for this long, but I had to hope. I could hear nothing, though, over the squawk of the Demon.

Almost there, my love. Almost there. Her telepathy had become unreliable, so I prayed that she even heard my thoughts.

While sliding a shuriken from a hidden pocket inside my jacket's sleeve, I refocused on the shrieking Demon, a.n.a.lyzing it again so I could seize the perfect opportunity. Since they had no hearts, even their bodies weren't permanently physical, my killing power had no effect on these creatures straight from the depths of h.e.l.l. Every time I tried to paralyze them, they broke free in seconds with powerful black magic. The Ancients had once divulged to me, during my previous life when I was their pet, that most Demons were too simple-minded to use the powers they possessed. They preferred the thrill of a physical brawl.

Which was fortunate for me.

Because there was only one way to decommission a Demon: decapitate it. It wouldn't die permanently, of course. It was a spirit of the Otherworld. But it would have to return to that other realm, to h.e.l.l specifically, to heal before it could take a physical form again. And decapitation required a closeness their magic would never allow if they chose to use it.

Shaking its deformed head again, the Demon batted its wings, lifting it higher in the air so it was once again above me. And that was its mistake. It probably thought it had gained a vantage point, but instead, it exposed its vulnerable point. At the same moment it twitched to lunge at me, I flicked my wrist at it. It grinned for a moment, likely believing I'd tried another of my powers on it. But the grin faded along with the inky s.h.i.+ne in its eyes. A moment later, the head fell from the body, and then both parts disappeared.

My legs pumped up the steps toward the rotunda as I shouted for my family. "Alexis! Dorian!"

I continued calling for them, but no answer came. Where the h.e.l.l were they? Why weren't they responding? Panic rose and filled my voice as I yelled their names. My heart pounded with the unfamiliar feeling of fear as I reached the center of the portico. Only broken pillars remained, the roof and walls gone. The statue of Thomas Jefferson, where Noah had been magically bound, lay on its side. On a broken piece of wall, written in what appeared to be dried blood and taking the form of Dorian's handwriting, were the words, "We don't belong with you. I have to do this. Don't try to follow."

d.a.m.n it! Dorian had taken Noah and left, possibly for the Daemoni. That must have been what had Alexis screaming earlier. But where was she now?

My pulse raced even faster as my eyes swept over the piles of jagged marble and stone until they caught on something a few yards in front of me. My heart came to a screeching halt. Locks of dark coppery hair. A pale hand. A pool of crimson. And I could see nothing else of her under the rubble.

"Oh, no." A string of profanities poured out of my mouth as I heaved a large chunk of marble to the side. I lifted another, making my way to her still body, my stomach dropping further with each stone I moved. "G.o.d, no. Please no."

I couldn't lose her. I couldn't f.u.c.king lose her, d.a.m.n it!

When I cleared another boulder from the pile, my worst nightmare became reality.

The word ripped out of my chest, taking my heart with it. "NO!"

I tossed the last two chunks away and lurched forward, still refusing to believe what I saw. My boots splashed in the blood and slid on the wet marble until I crashed down next to her. My fingers automatically darted for her wrist, but I felt no pulse. No breath warmed my fingertips against her pale lips.

No, Lexi, no. d.a.m.n it, no!

I carefully lifted her broken body and pulled her into my lap. My arms wrapped tightly around her, probably crus.h.i.+ng her further as I held her against my chest. But it didn't matter.

Because she remained so still. So cold. So ... lifeless.

The horrific feeling that exploded within me was unbearable. Unimaginable. Unlike anything I'd ever felt before. I knew physical pain. From all of the wars I'd been in, all of the suffering at the hands of Lucas and the Daemoni Ancients, all of the times they'd tried to take my heart but couldn't, I knew physical pain very well. I knew emotional pain. I knew misery and regret when my son had been taken. I knew grief and sorrow from others' deaths, especially Rina's and Sophia's because I'd come to love them. But this ...

This unfathomable sensation inside me ...

This agony of my heart being bludgeoned by a dull machete with each beat it made that hers did not echo ...

This torture of my soul clawing and scrabbling, tearing itself apart as it searched for hers ...

I did not know this kind of internal mutilation. I didn't know how to handle it, what to do with it.

Senseless words blubbered out of me as I buried my face in her soft hair and sobbed incoherently for my beautiful bride. For my soul mate. For the one person who had loved me unconditionally. Who had taught me what love felt like. Who had warmed this heart of mine that had been cold for centuries. Whose soul had completed mine, making me whole for the first time ever.

"Alexis, my love, don't leave me." My words morphed into some kind of wail mixed with a howl. A sound of desperation that made me recoil, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't quell it. The pain, the anger, the overwhelming grief! Emotions that were too violent to be held inside. They erupted in shouts and screams and sobs. But still, the agony remained, ripping me apart from the inside.

When I could no longer muster the energy to yell, I silently rocked her in my arms as I recalled our lives together. The first time I'd seen her as an adult-young, barely eighteen and still very human, but nonetheless the most beautiful sight I'd known in my many years. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about her, but she'd captured me and enraptured me from the moment I set eyes on her at this very monument. Her laugh had been medicine for my damaged heart. Her love a salve for my wrecked soul.

And when I thought I couldn't possibly hold more love in my heart, I met our son for the first time. I'd never imagined I could produce such beauty, but of course, it had come from her. With the many hards.h.i.+ps our poor child had suffered, he'd grown into a fine young man. But now ... Although I'd been expecting this since the day I learned of his birth, a father could never be prepared to lose his son. I could only hope, for his soul's sake, he'd perished in the bombs before he ever reached the Daemoni.

They were both gone. I was left alone. With nothing left to live for.

I pressed my lips into Alexis's hair and murmured in her ear, praying she heard me. Or that someone heard me. "Lexi, ma lykita, I need you. Don't leave me here alone. Come back to me, my love. Please come back."

I closed my eyes against the brightening sky of morning and slumped backward against a large chunk of marble with my wife still in my arms, her head pressed against my chest as though she were only sleeping. I wanted to sleep with her. The night of fighting the dark magic of the sorcerers and Lucas, and then the Demons that had kept coming, combined with more grief than any one man should have to bear, drained me.

I'd lost my son. I'd lost my wife and our unborn child. The world seemed to have lost anything still good in it.

Take me, too.

"Is that what you really want? Would you come back home if that's where she is?" The deep, Otherworldly voice spoke the old language of the Daemoni Ancients as evil blanketed over me. I peeled one eye open. An orangish-yellow Demon balanced on the edge of a slab of marble a few feet away. I was too exhausted to fight. Too drained to give a s.h.i.+t anymore. "Shall I find her for you?"

My eyes fell closed again. I tightened my hold on Alexis's small body. The word came out as a whisper. "Yes."

The Demon's evil presence disappeared. As the sun rose higher, the odor of burning ozone filled the air. A distant part of my brain urged me to get up, to find shelter from the fallout that would likely blow this way from the mushroom clouds we'd seen near Baltimore and Richmond. h.e.l.l, Lucas probably planned a direct hit here in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., at any moment. If I knew him at all, which I did too well, he certainly had. But I couldn't bring myself to care. I slipped off into a doze.

"You will follow her where she goes?" The Demon's voice startled me partially awake.

I sighed. It didn't need me to answer. As a spirit, even an evil one, it already knew.

"Even into the dark?"

Again, it required no verbal reply. But I knew she wasn't there. Not my Alexis. She'd be in Heaven with the rest of the Amadis matriarchs.

"Come with me and make your choice."

And I went with the Demon.

Chapter 1.

The most important yet surreal question I'd ever asked hung in the air, suspended by the mult.i.tude of emotions surrounding it, the last word echoing around me: Dead ... dead ... dead .... The only response came from my soul mate's wails, calling like a desperate love song, piercing the veil that separated the Earthly realm from the Otherworld.

That separated me from him.

My mind tried and failed to wrap itself around this fact, and my soul refused to believe it. I watched Tristan through the veil as his sobs and my question swirled together blocking out all else. The warmth of the tears on my cheeks wasn't enough to chase away the chill traveling down my spine.

He held my limp body in his lap, my face pressed into his chest. My hair flowed over his muscular arms that appeared unusually tan compared to the white of my skin. He rocked me back and forth, sobbing my name.

"Alexis, my love. Please, G.o.d, don't take her. Please make her okay."

I wanted so badly to answer him.

"I'm right here, Tristan," I called back to him, but, of course, he couldn't hear me.

I tried pus.h.i.+ng my way to him, not for the first time, but the veil held me back, an invisible curtain that may as well have been a wall as thick as the universe. I could see and hear through it, as clearly as though I stood right before him, but in truth, my love, my soul mate, my other half was in an entirely different dimension.

How had this happened? How could I change it?

My hand pressed to the veil and tears streamed down my cheeks as I gazed out to a world that I was no longer a part of. I should have been relieved for my part to be over, especially with everything wrong in the picture before me.

Tristan sat among the boulder-sized chunks of white marble he'd thrown off of me, his legs spread out before him in a pool of blood. My blood, I a.s.sumed. Or, more accurately, the blood of our unborn child. The ruins of the Jefferson Memorial surrounded him, nothing more than a couple of broken pillars rising from a pile of rubble. We'd gone there to save our son and my uncle when h.e.l.l entered the Earthly realm in the form of Demons, nuclear bombs, and fire.

Across the Tidal Basin that looked like black ink, as if refusing to reflect the lightening sky, the Was.h.i.+ngton Monument resembled a broken toothpick. The once pyramid-shaped top had been cleaved off, leaving blackened, jagged edges reaching for the sky. Fire and ice shot through the air and blasted into the ground. Sparks trailed the fireb.a.l.l.s and fell in an orange and yellow rain that ignited whatever they landed on. Fire blossomed everywhere and spread instantly, easily traveling through the trees and gra.s.s that had been dried out from the autumn weather, consuming everything in its path as it went. The ice b.a.l.l.s shattered into shards on impact, and winged creatures exploded out of them.

The colors of the beings' mottled skin seemed to change as they moved, like a separate creature rippling over their somewhat human-like bodies. They had one head, though horns sprouted from it, some with two and some with many. Their thickly muscled torsos and powerful limbs-two arms and two legs-would make a body-builder weep. They had claws for hands and hooves for feet, a long tail with a barbed tip, and leathery, bat-like wings that spread out from their shoulder blades. They were the things of nightmares, but were part of reality on Earth now.

Demons.

Tristan had been fighting them when the memorial fell to pieces, crus.h.i.+ng me. Now, all of the Demons flew toward the Mall, where undead Norman corpses had been limping and shuffling around like zombies, which they'd essentially become. The Demons' shapes disintegrated into a black fog that enveloped the human bodies and then disappeared inside them, possessing them.

Lucas had brought h.e.l.l to Earth.

His words slithered through my mind: "The apocalypse is here, and you, darling Alexis, weren't able to stop it. And now you're out of time."

He hadn't acted alone, though. With a little encouragement from him and the Daemoni, the Normans had done their share. They'd gone to war against each other. Bombed each other's lands. Even allowed genocide. Some had committed these acts in the name of protecting their own, but others had been controlled by Lucas's hand of pure evil. And now the Normans had done the ultimate act, resorting to nuclear bombs that had created a forest of mushroom clouds earlier in the night.

"There goes Richmond." Lucas's tone had been sharp, filled with a demented thrill. "And Baltimore. See what I mean about the Normans? So eager to destroy. Like I said, you can't stop this. ... It's just a matter of me opening the veil and letting Satan and his Demons in. I'm ready for him! And then ... the spirits of my lord can come and save this world from itself. Humans are so eager to destroy their home and themselves. He will be a good king over them. The true G.o.d who will empower them and give them everything their hearts desire. So I will drop the veil for him, and he will come and take me. ... You can't stop this. ... You can't stop this."

That one phrase echoed, louder than anything else. Because he'd been right.

We hadn't been able to stop him. We'd been too slow, always five steps behind him. We'd been too nave. Not even Tristan had antic.i.p.ated Lucas would go this far, this fast. Because we'd been too good to fathom the depth of evil Lucas possessed. Too honorable to conceive such an outlandish idea as calling Satan to Earth so he could have the ultimate power over humanity. Who does that? My sperm donor. That's who. And I was supposed to lead the crusade to stop him.

And I'd failed.

As morning came, the sun rose on an unrecognizable world.

My vision through the veil panned out, and for as far as I could see, the land burned or was already blanketed in ash. The mushroom clouds had lost their shapes long ago, but their fallout drifted and settled. Homes and buildings were destroyed. And worst of all-thousands of blackened corpses lay in yards and on the sides of roads and highways. Tens of thousands sat in the sh.e.l.ls of burned-out cars. They'd probably been trying to escape, but there'd been no place to go. How many more lay in their beds or in shelters not made for nuclear disaster? I didn't want to know.

But I already did.

All of them.

n.o.body but Lucas and the Daemoni had been prepared for this final act. And now the only sign of life came from the Demons.

And my grieving husband.

I fell to my knees, clawing at my throat and chest as tears streaked down my cheeks. I'd failed everyone so miserably-the world and humanity, my people, my friends, my family, my son. I'd failed the man sitting before me who'd fought so hard against the evil that had created him, who'd fought so hard to learn goodness and love. Who'd loved me like no other being ever could. And I'd left him. Alone. Heartbroken. Weeping for me.

"How do I help him?" I asked, sensing the others behind me, although they'd never answered my first question and apparently weren't going to answer this one. "What will happen to him? What about Dorian?"

My poor son. What had I done? My eyes zoomed in on the broken wall behind Tristan, where written in dried, dark blood were Dorian's words, "We don't belong with you. I have to do this. Don't try to follow."