Page 95 of Total Eclipse of the Moon
Before he could find her, there was darkness
* * *
Madeline whirled.Bile singed the back of her throat. An uncontrollable shudder swept through her.
Shane shook on the ground in the midst of a seizure.
Her heart reverberated inside her ears:Thud thud. Thud thud.
Baku materializing into full form…
Thud thud.Her ribcage hurt from her heart’s beating.
She yelled, "No. Stop! It’s not supposed to be this way. Go back in him. You’re killing him. Please, no." The curse didn’t get to take Shane. She reached out to touch the emerging demon, planning to…to what? Shove him back into Shane? That was impossible. As she reached out for the dragon her hand passed through it as if it were a hologram.
The king screamed, this time not an order but a terrified sound.
Everyone gasped as Baku materialized to more solid form as a shiny purple Japanese dragon, but he moved far enough away from her that she couldn’t reach for him. "I will be the one to make the sacrifice." In Sumerian he said, "I do offer myself as the great sacrifice. As a dragon, as a demon, I give up my corporeal self and soul in order free all here. Spare the curse caster and all others present."
"Go back into him. Protect him," she begged, shaking the demon to get its attention.
"I am protecting him, as you requested." Baku ever so subtly bowed his head. "He will survive. I’m not sure about you, though."
Flynn was on the floor with Shane, trying to stop his seizures, not that holding him or shaking him to wake him did any good. In an agonized tone he said, "Someone help him."
Roman tried to get to Shane but landed on his knees, head bowed and blood gushing out of his nose. He vomited up blood.
Ky had collapsed on the floor seconds ago.
The brothers were dying.
She moved forward to be able to touch the demon’s now solid arm, unsure which of the two of them the curse magic would accept as payment. These spells could be finicky and take everything. "Let it take me."
Baku’s stared down at her hand on him. Glassy, dull eyes met hers. "Your daughter asked this of me. She tasked me to protect her parents. I didn’t know what this hurt right here," he rubbed his chest, "meant after she asked it of me. Never felt this kind of pain. But I think I just figured it out. It’s friendship, or maybe some form of love." On a whisper he added, "Thank you for showing me this feeling. It’s new and rich and extraordinary. My gratitude knows no bounds."
The demon pulled his arm out of her clasp. He shimmered as if turning into a ghost. "It’s going to take me. Go save him. Ground him. Ask his protector for help to keep him alive."
"No. Don’t do this!" Again, she reached out to grab the demon, but her hand came away with air.
The demon faded to nothingness.
Madeline fell onto all fours, conflicted with grief over Baku’s loss and terror that Shane wouldn’t survive the separation. Shane continued to convulse on his side. She rolled him enough to be able to see his back and tugged down the shirt. Eye to eye with the face of the angel, they stared at each other through the movements of Shane’s body. The angel silently blinked at her. Placing her hand against it to feel its energy, she said, "Channel through me to keep him alive. To save him. Quick, please help him before the curse takes him out of spite. The curse magic can sense weakness. God must decide now if he keeps us in this world, for if we stay, then we are both needed."
A line of energy zipped up her arm. Tingles radiated through her. She gasped as it felt like something else entered her body and filled it with an emotive, pure life force. Eyes closed, she gave up control to let the power flow through her into Shane.
I am Jeremiel, Archangel of Mercy. Only a miracle could have saved Baku’s soul to the point he would choose to leave Shane and sacrifice himself. You have proven to be that miracle. I find you worthy of mercy, Madeline Roales. Worthy to protect Shane’s soul.
The use of her maiden name didn’t bother her. She was a Roales.
"I’d argue Shane saved that demon. Not me," she forced out. Words were tough to vocalize against the electric energy pressurizing her.
Laughter.
Only, the laughter wasn’t in her head. Someone or something had laughed out loud. A check behind her and her muscles felt frozen. She couldn’t scream in reaction to the shimmery emerald hue surrounding the…
Oh, my God. He has wings. And a vintage Van Halen T-shirt?
Long, dark hair swept into a ponytail, sharp cheekbones stretched over brown skin, and green eyes…brilliant green like twin jewels pinned her, but the multiple scarves around his neck and the dangly earrings gave him a pirate quality. Was that a feather on a chain dangling from his left ear? The otherworldly being said,"Perhaps it was a group effort to save the demon’s soul, then?"
