Ian focused on her terrified face. I'm with you, Alice. We'll get through this.
She nodded once, but he could taste the bitterness of her fear. Shit, as hard as it had been to deal with the constant threats to her life when she wasn't concerned about dying, seeing her afraid of death made it a thousand times worse. He could feel the cold draft of fear in every cell of her body, and it made terror settle deep in his bones. What had changed for her? Why was she suddenly afraid to die?
"Why are you here, soldier?" Cardiff demanded. "Why did you track me down at my home?"
Ian met his gaze, knowing that he couldn't defeat the wizard through battle. He had to find another way. "Free my family from the curse. Take the death spell off Alice." Hey, it was worth a try, right? One never knew when an insane, murderous wizard would suddenly become reasonable.
But today wasn't the day for miracles, because Cardiff simply barked with derisive laughter and pointed his wand at Alice's temple. "Why would I do that? When Alice dies for good, the Order loses their immortality. Think how easy they will be to kill."
Alice's eyes widened, and Ian swore. "What does killing the Order do for you?" he challenged. "Does it bring back your sheva?"
"It saves all the other ones, you stupid fuck!" Cardiff shouted. "It's not about revenge! It's about fixing the Order and giving it the vision that it was supposed to have!"
Well, gee, that was helpful. Ian was sure Dante would be thrilled to know that his Order was so bad that the only way for life to flourish on earth was to expunge the whole damn crew from existence. Stupid crazy bastard, but hey, if he was into sheva preservation, Ian had an answer to that one. "Alice is my sheva. If you kill her, you'll perpetuate that which you hate."
Cardiff waved his wand with a dismissive snort. "You are all tainted. We need to start over with a clean slate." He looked past Ian. "With the next generation."
The next generation? Ian followed the wizard's gaze and realized Cardiff was watching Drew. The youth was fighting on the landing at the top of the stairs. Two gargoyles were engaging him, but Drew wasn't getting hit as hard as the other Order members. Ian realized that the gargoyles were not attacking Drew with deadly intent. They were simply keeping him busy enough that he couldn't help the rest of the Order. "Dante's son? He'll never join you. He believes in his father's legacy."
"He carries far more than his father's legacy," Cardiff said. "He's already changing sides. You will see. He's the future. Even if I die, the seed is planted."
There was a shout from above, and Ian saw Elijah fall, then roll to the right, barely dodging a blow that would have crushed his skull. "Can't you see it?" the wizard laughed. "You all are already losing your immortality, because your angel of life is so close to death."
Close to death? Ian jerked his gaze back to Alice, and his heart seemed to stutter. Alice. You okay?
She grimaced. I'm having trouble breathing. It feels like I'm drowning. Like he's filling my lungs with fluid of some sort.
Tension started to ripple through him. Fear. Despair. He could feel her struggle, and it plunged right into him. Shit. He had to stop overreacting and stay focused. He couldn't help her if he lost his shit right now.
But never had he felt anything as devastating as the idea of losing Alice now that they were so tightly bonded. It was horrifying. No wonder Warwick had gone insane. Ian would do anything to save Alice... An idea burst into his mind. "Stop," he gasped. "Alice can bring her back to life."
Cardiff froze, his black eyes sharp. "What are you talking about?"
"Alice. She's an angel of life—"
"For the Order. She can't help anyone else. I already tried."
"She's broken the rules now." Ian looked at Alice. "I got expelled from the Order, so she couldn't help me, but she did. She brought me back. She's no longer constrained by angel limitations."
Alice gaped at him. I didn't bring you back. I gave you peace and serenity with the golden light. You healed yourself. I did nothing.
Warwick stared at him, and suddenly Ian felt the wizard's emotions blasting through the room: crashing waves of longing, so intense, so powerful, and so crazily