Saving Tally (last Book 6) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 6

Tally

I wake to a noise of some kind and feel around for the small lamp.
“Tally, wake up.”
That voice, it can’t be. My eyes pop open as I shuffle up in bed. When I turn on the lamp, I see him kneeling by my side in all his wondrous glory. 
“Jace! You’re alive?”
He’s wearing the same shirt, but it’s torn and bloody. His hair is disheveled, and it looks like he’s lost some weight. 
“How is this possible?”
He shakes his head and puts a finger to his lips, warning me to be quiet. 
“I’ve been lost here. Until today. I saw you in the garden and waited until dark to rescue you.”
Oh no, I can’t leave. But he can. I need to get him to safety.
“We have to get you out of here before he finds you. I know where the exit to earth is.” I tell him. Before I can get out of bed, he gently pushes me back.
“Wait. I’ve been without you for so long. I need to kiss you. To feel you in my arms.”
Is he feeling okay? He’s acting like we’re old lovers. We haven’t even really kissed before. Does the forehead count? Damn! I’ve wanted this for so long, and he chooses now to express his feelings?
“We don’t have time.” I argue, even though I’m kicking myself for it. I’m also a little nervous, and I have morning breath. Not exactly the best first kiss. He looks angered by my merited rejection. Something doesn’t feel right.
Jace’s hand reaches out to touch my cheek. My eyes close as he gently caresses me. My stomach tightens when he leans in. Jace is going to kiss me. Just before his mouth meets mine, his thumb brushes over my bottom lip. The feeling is familiar, but with his lips pressed against mine, I can’t think. I’m overwhelmed by the pleasurable sensation. His other hand grips the base of my neck to deepen the kiss. As he groans, my eyes pop open. I remember.  
My power flares along with my anger as I push him off.
“You’re sick! How could you?”
It all makes sense now. He shifts back to himself when he realizes the jig is up. Tears blur my vision, and I scream at him.
“Get out! Go!”
He reaches out to me before throwing his hand into his hair. When Lucifer doesn’t budge, I yell,
“Leave… leave me alone.”
For a split second, he looks guilty, but then his customary anger shines through, and he slams the door shut behind him. 
I lay awake, trying not to cry as I watch the sun rise in its weird way here in hell. It’s a smoky lightening off the horizon. 
He left this morning, and I skip the library today, staying in my bed. The last thing I feel like doing is reading, especially about romance.
When dinner rolls around, I choose not to eat. He broke our agreement first and in a terrible way. There’s no reason I need to stick to mine anymore. 
It feels like I’ve lost Jace all over again. I will never forgive Lucifer. It was a cruel play of power. Why would he do such a thing? He’s an evil and psychotic monster with no care and complete disregard to others’ feelings. Like I suspected; a black shriveled heart.
I ignore the knock on my door. The second one, too. Then I hear Ozar tell me he has left me a plate outside the door. It’s a simple grilled cheese. My favorite, but I can’t bring myself to eat it. 
When night rolls back around, I wonder where the time went. One question keeps rolling over in my mind. What did I do to deserve this?

 
Jacob

I’ve saved as many people in the city as I could and hid them in the basement of my complex. There’s enough food down there to last them a couple of weeks if they portion it right. It’s the best I can do until I get where I’m going. Raphael is a long shot, but I know he’ll do it. Not for me or the humans, but to serve himself. He’s comfortable in his club, and the less work he has to do, the better off he is. 
I’ve lived a long time and have never seen anything like this. It’s utter chaos, a true end to the world we know. My worry is there won’t be anything left to salvage. Demons taking over the city. Dimensions bleeding into one another. Vampires feasting and wolves warring with vampires as helpless humans get caught in between.
Raphael’s nightclub remains untouched, for now. I enter, not bothering with announcements. When I open his office, he’s standing in front of the monitors. 
“How?” He asks the question with genuine disappointment. I didn’t think he cared either way. Could it be he’s grown to like the humans? Anything is possible. 
“Sphere connected with me telepathically before he was brutally murdered… With the dagger of Mikha’el.”
Raphael turns to me. Shock and horror clear in his expression. 
“Who?” 
He grits the word. He’s definitely angry, but why? What changed? We knew something was brewing. he could feel it like a storm coming in, but he didn’t care either way. Or so he said.
“I saw it through his eyes and kept the connection beyond his death. Cael killed him.” 
Sphear’s eyes widen slightly as he looks down at his feet. It may not look like much of a reaction, but coming from him, it’s extreme. 
“There’s more. Cael killed the elders with the same dagger.”
His head snaps up as he asks;
“All of them? You’re sure?”
I nod, assuring him.
“I saw through Sphear’s eyes as he laid lifelessly next to them. I watched them all bleed out.”
He’s silent a few minutes and turns his back to me.
“Why have you told me? What do you want?” 
Straight to the point. Good, I don’t have time.
“I need you to warn the others. To tell them to stay safe. I’m going to need them… I’ve also got humans in my basement. They would be safer here.”
He’s deadly silent for a long moment, and I worry my requests fell on deaf ears.
“You ask a lot of me.”
I knew he would say that. 
“They can’t go where I’m going, and they can’t fight off tens of thousands of greater beings. It’s a death sentence.  As for the humans, if we don’t save all we can, they could die out.”
I’m expecting him to argue or say something smart, like good riddance. What I get shocks me. He nods.
When I’m on my way out, he stops me with a question I have no business answering. 
“Where are you going, Jacob?”
I pause, looking back. His eyes search mine, and I find hope in his. Emotion that I thought could never be there.
“To save the world.” I say.
The road to salvation is a difficult one. Some species have taken over cities and are trying to make human slaves. I’ve seen a dark fae brutally rape a woman, and there was nothing I could do. Thousands of demons stood watch, blocking the grisly scene. That’s when I found out there're bigger downfalls than blurring dimensions. I sifted to her and ended up back at my complex, losing the two-day lead I had.
I have to travel like a human. With all the open dimensions, my teleport compass is skewed. I can’t rely on it. That’s why I’m barreling down the highway at a hundred and forty in my vet, hoping not to hit a wall.
Earth is acting strange. Time shifts are occurring all over the country.  Like now, for instance. A quarter mile up its pitch black, an invisible wall separates from the section I’m in now, which is hot and blindingly sunny. I turn on my high beams, keeping my speed.
I’ve got over a thousand miles to go. I have to reach the end of India by the morning of tomorrow to catch the last boat out to Desolation Island, the end of the earth. It only tours four times a year.
From there, I’ll have to pay a visit to an old friend to get access to the island. There’s a reason beyond the elements people aren’t permitted there. And I’m the last person who knows.
I’ve got ten days ahead of me. It may be too late by then. I can only hope the earth is still salvageable.  That there are enough people left to rebuild it. 
Fuck! The road stops up ahead a twelve foot gap, give or take a foot.  I stomp on the pedal, watching the needle climb as it maxes out at one ninety-four. She howls across the open valley. I slam down hard on the other side, skidding in a zig-zag formation. I straighten her out of the fishtail and wipe the sweat from my brow. That was close. Although I’d more than likely survive the crash, I’d lose my transportation and that can’t happen right now. The weight of the world is literally on my shoulders.