eyes. I don't know. I just feel like he needs our help.
We're going to give it to him. Don't worry. Ian glanced over at the pit as they began to dematerialize. Remember, the Order is more immortal than any other warriors.
She met his gaze. Yes, but if it's because I'm your angel of life, then we have a problem. Since I broke the rules and the pearl started glowing, I'm not sure whether I still have those powers or not. You all might be unprotected. You might not be so immortal anymore.
Ian gripped her hand more tightly. Or, now that you're not constrained by your limitations, you might be even more powerful than you were before.
Her face was tense. How do we know which it is?
I don't know, but I expect we'll find out. Before they could finish the conversation, they dematerialized, and the hunt was on.
* * *
"We found it," Alice whispered in stunned disbelief when Kane helped them materialize for the eleventh time, having taken them from spot to spot around the island in search of Warwick's domain.
This time, they'd hit the jackpot. Towering above them was a castle made of black stone. Six towers, with black flags billowing from the ramparts. Stone gargoyles perched beside every window, the glittering rubies in their eyes so realistic it made chills run down her arms, as if they were living creatures trapped heartlessly in a casing of rock.
The sky above was a conglomeration of purple and black clouds, churning and rumbling. The castle was perched on the far edge of the island, the back half of it built on rock pilings that suspended it over the ocean. The ocean was whirling and raging beneath the shadowed structure, whitecaps crashing against the walled side.
It stretched nearly a hundred yards along the coast, with stone railings lining the upper decks. Alice almost expected to see the ghost of an ancient sea captain's wife leaning on the rail, staring out over the horizon, still waiting for her true love to return, her tattered dress lashing against her legs in the harsh wind.
It was a haunting sight, and she could hear the howl of the wind as it whipped through the ramparts, down empty corridors, through windows that had no glass. It was a place of loneliness and isolation. No beauty. No salvation. Just the cold, harsh existence of a life battered by storms and surf so brutal that not a single weed clung to the stone, not a single blade of grass braved the sandy ground around the building.
Kane and Ian went low, crouching behind a massive boulder that was covered in patches of green lichen. She knelt beside them, but the emptiness of the existence before her tore through her like a great vacuum. There was no life in that mausoleum. Just death. Suffering. Emptiness. She knew what that felt like. It was what she'd carried with her for so many years, until Ian had finally freed her.
"I need to see where I'm taking us," Kane said softly. "Otherwise we could end up in the middle of a wall." During their search of the island, each time Kane had teleported them, it had been to a place close enough that he could see where he was going to materialize.
Ian searched the building. "Take us to the ramparts on the north side. It's well covered. We'll go from there—"
"No." Alice couldn't take her gaze off the center widow's walk where she'd felt that presence of the ghostly widow. She pointed to the spot. "There. That's where he'll be. That's where he spends his time."
Ian looked over at her. "How do you know?"
"Because if the person I loved was murdered in my arms, that's where I'd wait for his spirit to return to me. The ocean brings life. He built this castle for her." She could feel it in every fiber of her body. She was absolutely certain.
Alice, other people aren't like you. They don't come back to life when they die.
She didn't look at him. The spirit never dies, Ian. Not unless Catherine— She stopped, suddenly realizing what she'd been about to reveal.
Ian stared at her. "Catherine kills the spirit?"
Alice didn't answer, and this time it wasn't because she was bound by angel rules. This time, it was because answering his question would unlock secrets that were too dangerous for the world. This time, the secret was her choice, and it felt good.
Ian probed at her mind. Alice. Talk to me about Catherine.