Roar of the Lion : Celestra Forever After 7 Read online

  It is hell.

  Gage flashes through my mind. This is the exact hell he has to live with, too. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Yes, he cost me Laken, but I made choices, too. And he’s blood. It felt good to have a brother. Not Blaine, not the false blood relation that the Fems threw at me. Gage is real. He’s mine, too. Maybe Coop is right. I try to own people. I don’t know why, but I am certainly wired that way.

  I head back into the Gas Lab and enjoy breakfast with all of the people who are mine—Laken, little Wes, Eli, Mally, Charlie, Kres, and yes, Cooper, too. I’m not sure how, but some part of me still holds true to the friendship we once had. Sorry, Flanders, but in my strange and twisted world, you belong to me as well.

  Just as we’re finishing up, a thought occurs to me.

  Laken is holding baby Wes, and Kres is holding Mally while they chat about nightly feedings and other things that seem to eclipse my intelligence. I nod Coop to the side, and we step over to the window where the sky rains her tears down over Paragon.

  “What did Gage want this morning?”

  His eyes widen a moment as he digests the fact I seem to have a precise surveillance on him at all times. I don’t care what he thinks. I live across the street. I could have been looking out the window.

  “Nothing.” He swallows hard. “Why?”

  “You went to his house. You knocked on the door. When he didn’t answer, you went next door to the Olivers’. You were hunting him down, determined to find him.”

  “He asked me to come. We had some old business to tend to.” He scratches at the back of his neck.

  “Everything about you right now screams you’re hiding something. Don’t forget, I’m a walking human lie detector. I can give Dr. Booth a run for his abnormal psych money. Don’t bother hiding anything from me, Coop. It won’t work.”

  A heavy hand falls on my shoulder, and I turn to find Logan Oliver grinning over at the two of us.

  “What’s this?” He slaps Coop with a quick handshake. “A budding romance?”

  “Hardly.” Coop folds his arms across his chest, increasing his stance. Logan has strengthened his resolve. Odd. Coop has never needed anyone else to strengthen him. Although he would argue he needs Laken. He would be wrong but polite to infer it.

  “Coop is keeping something from me.” I don’t mind outing him. “He saw Gage today. I want to know why.”

  Logan ticks his head back as he looks to Coop. “What did he say?”

  “Nothing.” Coop swallows hard again. “Just a friendly chitchat. He wanted to know how Laken was doing. He felt bad.”

  Laken pops up with little Wesley fussing. “We have to go,” she says to Coop. “He’s wet through his clothes, and I thought I had another outfit, but I guess I don’t.” She looks my way. “I’ll arrange a time for you to get together with him again. Coop and I will stop by your place. That way it’ll be normal for Tobie. I’m still her mother, too.” She offers an assuring nod, and every last bit of me swims with relief.

  “Thank you,” I push the words out with a grateful heart.

  She smiles over at Logan. “Please tell Skyla I really want to speak with her. She said she wanted to give Coop and me time as a family, but she’s my family, too. I miss her.”

  Chloe bounces over as Laken and Coop pack up to leave, and I kiss Wes goodbye and Charlie, too.

  “Bye, guys!” Chloe gives a friendly wave, and no one is sure what to make of this chipper version of the big bad witch.

  Both Laken and Coop look equally baffled as they say an amicable goodbye before taking off.

  Logan takes a step my way. “What’s going on with Coop and Gage?”

  “I don’t know.” I glance back at Kres as she rocks Mally in her arms.

  Chloe’s lips quiver as she watches the sight. “Oh, just once, for Pete’s sake,” she mutters to herself. “She’s not going to bond over one simple hello, I promise,” she whispers as she heads on over.

  I give a curious look to Logan. “What the hell was that about?”

  He takes a deep breath as he turns to watch. “Let’s just say, Chloe isn’t quite herself these days. She’s taken to talking to herself, among other things.”

  Chloe scoops Mally out of Kresley’s arms and groans as she comes back this way.

  “Look at these kissable cheeks?” Chloe coos. “And her hair, it’s so thick and wavy. Oh, Wes, she is a living doll.” She holds the baby close, and her eyes swell with tears. Chloe heads for the window and whispers sweet nothings—or curses—into Mally’s ear. And the baby smiles and giggles as if she were glad to hear the sound of her mother’s voice. Not that she’s remotely aware of who Chloe is in relation to her.

  Logan garners my attention with another nod. “Did Coop say anything about their meeting?”

  “No.” I take a breath, still not sure what to make of Chloe’s one-eighty. “Kres saw Coop head to Gage’s place. Then he went to the Olivers’, and I guess that’s where he found him.”

  “Interesting.” Logan gets a far-off look in his eyes. “Coop is up to something.”

  He says it as a fact.

  A dull laugh huffs from me. “And to think I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “I don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt anymore. You taught me that lesson, Wes, when you stepped in and brainwashed Gage. You made that monster.”

  “Demetri made that monster,” I counter.

  “Maybe genetically, but you pulled him across the finish line. I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’m not letting Coop hide shit from me. We’re all working on the same side. Remember? No secrets.”

  I glance back to where Chloe is playing the part of Mother of the Year and scowl.

  “Chloe is acting strange. Something is up.”

  “Yes, it is.” Logan waves her over, and she’s far too quick to comply. “What do you think?” He nods her way.

  Chloe examines me a moment with those dark eyes. “Yeah, go ahead. Gage knows. I don’t see the harm in it.”

  My curiosity piques. “What’s going on?”

  Logan sighs. “I’m going to tell you something, for your ears only.”

  Chloe nods. “I’ll tell Coop and Laken, and Ellis, of course. Oh, and Brody. Yes, God, Brody should know.”

  I shake my head at Logan. “Don’t trust her. Whatever it is she’s feeding you, don’t eat another bite. She’ll have you vomiting out your soul, right before she steals it.”

  Logan smiles. “You’re sort of on the right track.”

  Logan spins a tale that involves my brother, the murder of his ex-wife, and one very unfortunate—or fortunate, depending on how you look at it—possession.

  “Crap.” I close my eyes. “No wonder you were acting so strange.” I blow out a breath as I look to Chloe’s frame, ironically housing Skyla’s soul. “You do a lousy impersonation of Chloe, by the way.”

  She laughs at the thought. “Chloe says you should go have fun with yourself, but she used a far more colorful F word.”

  “Now that sounds like Chloe.” I give a wave as I try to peer inside her eyes as if I could see the wicked witch lurking in there. “Sorry about this, Skyla. My brother is an asshole, as you are well aware. I don’t know what Rory is up to, but the best thing that could happen is that we out her to the Factions. She has power, and right now she’s a dangerous person who must be stopped.”

  Chloe—Skyla—and Logan exchange a brief nod.

  “We have a plan.” Logan takes a breath.

  Skyla nods. “She won’t be around long. Besides, I’ve decided to move into the Landon house so I can keep an extra eye on her. Chloe has taken up residence there before so it won’t be anything too suspicious.”

  A dull groan comes from me. “Gage will most likely tell her who you are. Not sure I would have outed myself to him just yet if I were you.” I think on it a moment. “On second thought, it’s genius. We’ll cut him off at the knees every chance we get.”

  Skyla steps up, those dark wells that C
hloe sees the world through widening as she takes me in. Skyla definitely brings an innocence to Chloe that she would never be capable of on her own.

  “It’s nice to have you on our side, Wes.” Even her voice has a softer edge to it. Maybe Chloe can learn a thing or two for having Skyla as a houseguest. A woman doesn’t need to go around hacking off heads just to be strong.

  “I’m on Laken’s side.” I give a simple shrug because it happens to be true. “And we will win. I don’t back down and I don’t lose.” I nod to the two of them as I take Kresley and the kids back home.

  But as soon as they’re settled, I jump back into my truck. I’ve got a brother to find, a celestial bone to pick. If Flanders won’t tell me what they’re little meet and greet was about, I know Gage will.

  I hope.

  The morgue.

  That’s where I’ve managed to track my brother down.

  The cemetery to be exact.

  “Wishing for deader days gone by?” I slap him on the back and startle him as he stares out at the rolling hills full of Paragon’s past residents, resting in peace under the heaving, pregnant sky.

  “What do you care?” He snarls at me as if a graveyard brawl were in the cards for us, and it just might be. I haven’t given him a proper beatdown just yet, and I plan on eviscerating him, for eviscerating me. What’s fair is fair.

  “I don’t care.” I fold my arms across my chest, mimicking his body language as we look out at the empty graveyard. Not even a ghost in sight. “What’s the matter? Jealous of the good time all these souls are having up in paradise? You should be. You won’t be joining them.”

  “And because of your determined foolishness neither will you.” He flinches. “Yes, you will.” He softens as he changes his stance on the subject. “And you’ll have me to thank for it. There is no way in hell you’re bringing in the W for Celestra. You know I will claw my way to the finish line if I have to. I will not let go of the victory at hand. But I get why you stepped over enemy lines. It’s quite brilliant, actually. You get to pretend to fight for Celestra while I do all the dirty work. Or are you here hoping to pull a few puppet strings like the old days, Wes?”

  “Nope.” I kick a pebble with my foot as the dark, angry sky growls overhead. “I’ve abandoned you, brother, fully. You see, Laken is a smart woman. She sees through any and every one of my schemes, and if I am less than genuine in her eyes, I will not find the redemption I am seeking. She is the light and I am the darkness, and someway, somehow, I need to find a way to wiggle back into her good graces. Spending hell in eternity would be a pleasure cruise so long as I have Laken’s true forgiveness, her true respect, and her true heart once again, if only for a moment. She’s worth life and death and eternity to me. I know she’ll take good care of my children. And I know that at the end of the eternal day, they will respect me, too. I’m not burning down the world anymore. I’m lighting fire to myself. In the end, all you’ll have is ashes, Gage. That’s it. You think you have everything to lose, but you’re too stubborn to see that you’ve actually already lost it.”

  His chest bucks with a silent laugh as the wind picks up and pushes the fog along the cemetery stones like a herd of poltergeists stumbling through.

  “Wes”—he growls my name out—“you talk a good game, but deep down, you know you’ll be with Laken in eternity. You know this because you’ve seen that my own tenacity to maintain our position is equal to or stronger than the one you had for the Barricade. Essentially, you have two versions of yourself running around on the planet. And, since I wear what you call the cloak of darkness well, you’ve decided that it’s safe for you to don the light. The irony here, and I do believe there is one, is that you have fooled the one person who truly needs to believe your spiel, and it isn’t Laken. It’s you. There’s not one part of me that believes you’d be fine with eternal separation from your children. That’s the biggest bullshit I’ve heard in my life. Yes, Laken is the prize, like always with you, Wes, the only golden carrot you will every truly give a damn about, but you care about the long run, too. You’re not impulsive. You’re not passive.

  “You’re certainly not a person who gives up on what he believes in easily, Wes. And all of that emotional math tells me you are planning to enjoy one hell of a ride—pardon my pun—on my coattails. And you know what? I don’t care. Hell, I wish I had thought up this scheme for you. But the best part is, you came by it honestly. And I guess in your new delusional world, that’s what counts.

  “Isn’t that right, big brother? Truth over fiction, good over evil, Wes 2.0 over the version that truly lurks in the recess of your mind, of your heart. You are a liar, Wes. And the person you’re lying to is yourself.”

  I give his chest a firm shove. “Don’t you ever discredit my truths again.” A bout of emotions bubbles to the top, and I swallow down the urge to roar with anger, to shed a tear, and I’m not certain why he’s struck such a raw nerve. This is Gage. He’s alone. He’s hurt and injured. His only defense is to lash out. I know that.

  “Dude, you killed your wife,” I hiss in disbelief. “You smothered her with a kiss of all things. Do you know who you are anymore? Do you know how low you’ve sunk?”

  He examines me a moment, and I can tell he’s piecing it together, wondering how and why I know and swallowing the fact others know, too.

  “I didn’t think she’d come back.”

  “You didn’t think?” A dull laugh pumps from me. “Did you just think Candace was going to roll over and let her daughter, the one she appointed to lead the Factions, play dead? Come on, Gage. You’re smarter than that. Of course, you knew she’d winnow her way back here. She’s more tenacious than the two of us put together. She was given one possession. She had to ask permission, and do you know why Chloe agreed to it? Chloe? Because the people who hate you are banding together to defeat you. Have you ever heard that old adage, the enemy of my enemy is my friend? You are going to see a lot of oddball friendships develop fairly quickly over their shared disdain for you. And now Skyla is back. Not one version of me, past or present, has any good advice to give you regarding that. In fact, I want to warn you that the demon you loosened in her place has no desire to work for you either. And I don’t even know Rory. I don’t need to know her, because what I know of her is enough to make me keep my distance. She is the rejected daughter of Candace Messenger. And you can’t tell me she wasn’t rejected.”

  The sky crackles overhead like a threat, and it sounds as if a pair of jeans were ripping at the grip of strong hands.

  “All right.” I throw my hands up at the sky. “She’s perfect.” I look over to Gage. “See that? She’s delusional, too. You have no idea the nightmare you just opened up, buddy. But one thing is for sure, you have one hell of a fight on your hands.” I pull him in by the shirt as the first few fat drops of rain fall over my face. “So tell me, brother. What the hell are you doing with Cooper Flanders? I don’t believe for a minute he came to your house voluntarily on some angelic wellness check. You summoned him, didn’t you?”

  His dimples invert, a sure sign he’s been discovered. I know his face well enough to read it like a book. I own a copy of that shitty novel myself.

  Leave it to Coop to plunk himself down in the middle of yet another mystery.

  “What is it?” I give Gage another rattle, but his lips remain sealed. “Oh my God.” I close my eyes as I let him go. “This is big.” I take a breath as the rain starts in at a quickened clip.

  “It’s not big,” Gage replies a little too quickly, a little too late, and I squint over at him.

  “Coop knows what you know.” He swallows hard. “That’s all.”

  I squint over at him. “And what the hell do I know?” About fifty different people would pay to hear me say just that.

  He slicks his hair back with his fingers as the rain bounces off of him. I can see his frustration level rising no matter how hard he’s trying to submerge it. Something is afoot, and Flanders holds the key. I don’t know wh
o I dislike more at the moment, Gage or Coop. And ironically, I consider them both brothers.

  “He knows.” Gage nods, those stormy eyes of his sirening out like cobalt lanterns. “Cooper figured out that either the Fems or the Sectors will be locked away as the official watchmen at the gates of Hell. He knows that if the Fems sink for eternity, we sink for eternity too. He knows why we we’re fighting so damn hard. He’s known for a while.”

  “Then why not tell Skyla from the get-go?”

  His chest heaves with a laugh. “You’re not as bright as I gave you credit for. Put on your thinking cap. Figure it out.”

  A thousand scenarios run through my mind and only one prevails.

  “Shit.” I squeeze my eyes shut tight. “Because Skyla wouldn’t put up a fight. She’d call a ceasefire and demand answers from every heavenly being, her mother first and foremost. She’s not sending Dudley, or her mother to Hell, but she’s not sending you there either.” Same reason Gage wouldn’t tell her.

  “That’s right, genius. She would lie down. I would secure the victory—or not. She would be a wild card. And a wild card is something I cannot afford. This is a war, Wesley. Kill or be killed. Damn or be damned. There is no in-between. Nothing at all.”

  I glance out toward the exit to this dismal place, through a curtain of rain, and glower in that direction.

  Hell, I have to find Coop. We can’t just blurt this news to Skyla. If she loses the will to fight, if she paralyzes our people, Celestra won’t stand a chance.

  “Yes, I know exactly what you’re thinking,” he says. “And you’re right. Skyla cannot know, not yet, not like this. We must have a plan in place for that moment—if and when she finds out.”

  “Two different plans, Gage. We’re on different sides of the battle line. Don’t forget it.”

  “No, we’re not.” His voice hikes a notch as the rain begins to drive hard around us. “We’re still on the same side, Wesley. Whether you like it or not, I’m dragging you across the finish line with me. I’m securing your eternal standing just the way I am mine. You are a corpse tied to my back because you choose to be. But you will share the spoils of my victory just the same.”