Page 49 of Rage of the Fallen

“I remember,” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. “Dad… I remember everything.”

“What?” Damon was there instantly, all pretense of casualness gone. My brother knelt beside us, hope and fear warring on his face. “Sawyer, what do you remember?”

Lisa and Zara moved closer, their faces soft with understanding. Brody stood guard nearby, ever the protector, but his eyes held compassion.

“It’s like a door opened,” I managed, clinging to Justice with one hand while reaching for Damon with the other. “All this time. How could I have forgotten?”

The memories crashed over me like waves. Dad cleaning weapons at the kitchen table, teaching us about silver bullets and holy water. His voice, steady and sure. “Always check your corners, kids. The monster you don’t see is the one that gets you.”

“The training course,” I choked out, looking at Damon. His face blurred through my tears. “Behind the house, through the woods. He’d set up those targets…”

“And make us run it blind,” Damon finished roughly. “Said we had to learn to trust our instincts.” He squeezed my hand harder. “You remember that?”

More memories flooded in. Dad showing us how to track creatures through the forest, teaching us to recognize signs most people would miss. The way he’d quiz us on lore while cleaning guns, making a game of it. His serious face when he taught us about demons, how they were different, deadlier.

“The salt lines,” I whispered. “Every night, he’d make us practice laying them. Said speed could mean survival.”

“‘A hunter’s got three jobs,’” Damon quoted. “‘Protect the innocent, kill the monsters, and come home alive. In that order.’”

Justice held me steady as I remembered the weapons training, the endless drills, the way Dad would ruffle our hair when we got something right. But he wasn’t only teaching us to kill. He was teaching us to survive, to protect others. To be the kind of hunters who made a difference.

“He was preparing us,” I realized, looking around at my team, at the family we’d built. “All along, he was preparing us for this. Dad would have loved you guys,” I blurted. “He would have…” I couldn’t finish, but Damon could.

“Given Justice the shovel talk of the century?” He tried to smirk, but his eyes were suspiciously bright. “Called Brody ‘son’ within five minutes of meeting him? Adopted Lisa and Zara as bonus daughters?”

Justice grinned. “I don’t know about that. Vampires aren’t your dad’s favorite supernatural. I’m sure I’ll always be a thorn in his side.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But you’re my mate, so he’ll just have to get used to it.”

A distant church bell tolling snapped us back to reality. The Apprentice Pillar stood silent, its new prisoners forever part of its mystery. Where chaos had reigned minutes before, now only peace and the lingering warmth of the artifacts’ power remained.

“The demons,” Justice stated suddenly, his arms tightening around me. “When we bound Rage, when we used all seven artifacts against the sins…”

“They would have been pulled back to hell,” Lisa finished, understanding dawning in her eyes. “The whole army, with no leader, no anchor here.”

“So, McDuff Manor is safe?” I asked, hope rising in my chest. After the possession, the battle, the memories. Could it really be over?

“One way to find out.” Damon was already pulling out his phone. “Think we got reception in here, or do we need to step outside this literal prison of evil?”

Lisa shook her head. “Without the hourglass, she can’t transport us.”

I thought of the mirror, and sadness rushed over me at the idea of not hearing my mom’s voice again. “So, the artifacts are lost to us?”

Zara nodded. “I believe so.”

Damon headed toward the double doors. “Then let’s leave this cage. I need some fresh air.”

Justice and I intertwined our fingers and followed him outside, the grip of his hand comforting me in the midst of chaos. The once-pristine grounds were a mess, with torn grass and fractured stones strewn about as if a violent storm had swept through. Statues lay shattered on the ground, their proud forms reduced to rubble.

Lisa and Zara conjured a powerful spell that enveloped the area, healing the damaged grounds and restoring them to their former glory. The broken stone structures rose back up, and the grass grew thicker and greener than before. It was as if the battle had never happened, but I would always remember it.

Brody put his cell phone away. “I spoke with Sean. He’s coming to pick us up.”

I looked at him. “What about Grady and Scott? Are they all right?”

He gave me a reassuring smile. “They’re back to themselves. Sloth’s power broke the second we locked those demons away. Now, let’s get ready for Sean. He’ll be here soon.”

One by one, we climbed over the wall. Rosslyn Chapel would be the same except for the added dragon in the Apprentice’s Pillar. I almost felt sorry for Maci. Her lust for revenge had been her downfall, and now she was trapped forever. The ironic thing about the pillar was the dragons were supposed to be keeping the demons from escaping hell. She was caught in a purgatory.

---