6. Colt

When Colt wakes not long after they've fallen asleep, he notices the distinct absence of warmth. Gabby isn't by his side. Startled, he jolts up, wings extending so he can grasp every drop of his power to defend her.

"Uh…" Gabby says, looking up at him from the floor with a tome in her lap. "I couldn't sleep?" she offers.

Colt breathes a ragged sigh of relief. Slowly, he tucks his wings away and swings his legs over several cushions. He cribs his face with his palms and groans at just how tired he still seems to be.

"What are you reading?" he asks, trying to lighten the intensity of his waking.

"The Qur'an," she whispers, reverently flipping the pages as she glances at each and every one. "After what happened in the tomb, I decided maybe I should be learning a bit more about Allah and his teachings. You know, so I don't try and go swimming in boiling Hell water anytime soon?" She gives a soft, self-deprecating laugh.

Colt drops his hands in his lap, watching her. Something is different, or more different, than when they first got here. There are bags under Gabby's eyes, and she looks like she's straining to sit still. Her knee is bouncing up and down, her toes tapping anxiously. The angel Colt knows is calm under pressure—this is not that angel.

"Do you think maybe we should call Gabriel?" he asks. "Have him hold on to the stones for a while, or maybe give you a little bit of information on what might be happening with yo?—"

"Absolutely not!" Gabby shouts, jumping to her feet. Colt swears he sees a spark of celestial fire in her eyes before she stops and blinks in confusion. "I—I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from," she says as she walks over to Colt and sits beside him. "I don't want to call my father, I don't want him to think we need help. You and me, Colt, we're unstoppable. We don't need anyone else. Besides, when in Heaven or in Hell have you ever thought about calling an archangel before now?" she laughs.

Colt strokes her face with the back of his hand as his eyes search her oceanic ones. "Since I fell in love with the daughter of that archangel, and my love is struggling with something I can't quite understand," he says quietly.

Gabby frowns slightly, nibbling her bottom lip as she lowers her eyes. "I'm alright, Colt. You have nothing to worry about. I'm just anxious, we can't let the cult win. Not for anything."

"I know, angel, I know…" Colt says, taking her hands in his and stroking his thumb over her palms. "I just want to make sure we're doing everything in our power to?—"

"Umm, hi, excuse me?"

Colt and Gabby jump up, wings extending, and the Spear of Destiny's in Gabby's hands the moment the stranger"s voice sounds in the room. Before them stands an imposing figure—tall and strong with dark hair framing a deeply scarred face. He holds up his hands and shakes his head. "My name is Xeven. I come in peace."

"No one knows of this chamber besides me," Colt snarls.

Xeven shrugs. "I know many things that I should not. It's a talent I have always possessed."

"Your talent almost got you impaled, Xeven." Gabby says, her eyes narrowing in distrust as she flexes her fingers on the spear.

"How did you even get in here? The door will only open for me." Colt asks, and Gabby tenses a little. Is she worried she's trapped down here? Was she going to try and leave without him?

"I'd suggest we focus on what's important," Xeven says, his voice steady. Blue eyes blaze from his scarred face, hard and unflinching. "I've come to help you. I know what you seek."

"Why would you help us?" Gabby asks suspiciously.

"Let's just say we have…mutual goals. My master doesn't like this cult. They must be stopped."

Colt narrows his eyes, wondering who this master is.

But Xeven continues. "I know a secret way in. An underground tunnel. They are moving their men out that way, trying to smuggle the artifact out without anyone seeing."

Gabby steps forward. "Will you take us there?"

Xeven smiles and nods at her. "Yes."

Colt steps forward and wraps an arm around Gabby's waist, conscious she's not thinking this through. But also conscious they don't have much choice. "If what you say is true, then I have no reason to harm you, but if you're lying…"

"There is little you can threaten me with, demon," Xeven states flatly, turning away and waving for them to follow. "Come with me."

"How do you even know what it is we're looking for?" Colt growls, stopping Gabby from getting over excited and getting too close to this man.

Xeven doesn't answer. He simply exits the room that Colt had made sure was well hidden and turns into the shadowy tunnel, not looking back.

They spendwhat feels like hours following this strange man through the catacombs. Colt pulls Gabby back, letting Xeven get several steps away before speaking in hushed tones. "This could be a trap."

"This is the only lead we have, Colt." Gabby hisses, tugging her arm away.

Colt lets her go, containing his frown. He needs to get the rest of these stones and get them away from her as fast as possible.

"We're here," Xeven whispers, hunkering down beside a corner and waving them forward. They come up next to him, peering down at an empty hallway with a crude ladder at the end.

"Here? Where is here? I just see a ladder," Gabby hisses in a sharp whisper.

"The ladder leads to where the cult is. They will have to pass by here to leave, and here is where we should wait. They will funnel through, two by two at most, leaving them vulnerable to attack"

"Or we could climb that ladder and take what's mine!" Gabby snarls.

But Colt grabs her elbow and pulls her back. "In the bible, what does it say about patience?" Colt asks her.

"Patience leads to abundant understanding, but impatience leads to stupid mistakes," she mutters.

Colt nods. "That's right, Proverbs 14:29." He pulls her to his chest and kisses the top of her head.

"Are you sure he's a demon?" Xeven asks, one eyebrow cocked. "I have never in my life heard a demon who knew any holy words."

"I've been on earth a very, very long time," Colt says, lifting his head in challenge to Xeven. The strange man just shrugs, turning to look around the corner again.

"They're here." He steps around them until he's behind, then simply stands there, looking at them. It's clear he doesn't plan on fighting.

The sound of incoming footfalls echo down the passageway Gabby's eyes grow wide and she grips Colt's arm hard. "Xeven was telling the truth.! The man in front, he's got them. I can feel it!" The Spear is in her hand in a blink.

Colt lips thin. He doesn't like how connected she is to all this. Just then, the first man comes around the corner and Gabby drives the Spear forward without mercy. She stabs him in the side, slicing him open from rib to hip. He screams once, sharply, and falls dead.

"These are mine," Gabby snarls at the man, and snatches a satchel from his cold, dead hands.

Behind her, the cult begins to chant as they each prepare a weapon for battle.

"They're strengthening their witch," Colt growls, his wings sprouting from his back as he summons dual blades. He flaps once, shooting over their heads and flanking them from behind.

"For unity," Gabby cries, rushing the men.

Colt has a brief second to see Xeven dart between the legs of an oncoming attacker and crawl through the fray. Just as Colt suspected, he won't be fighting.

As if they're one being, closing the gap like a great pair of hands, Colt and Gabby hack and slash their way through the cult members. Gabby's enraged, her movements faster than ever, her Spear turning and twisting so fast even Colt can't quite keep up. He runs one blade up through a man's jaw, as Gabby spins and takes out four at once with her razor-sharp wings.

"They don't stand a chance," Gabby laughs, and it chills something deep inside Colt.

The cult presses on, not asking for mercy, not running for their lives. They keep going, sprinting at each of them in a blind rage. It's almost too easy, too fast before there's only a handful of men between Colt and Gabby.

He crosses his blades, lashing out and gutting the last man in front of him just as Gabby lunges. Colt falls back on his ass, staring up in shock at Gabby as she holds the Spear to his neck. There's real celestial fire in her eyes now, her mouth drawn into a frightening grin.

"Gabby? Angel?" Colt whispers.

She blinks, focuses, and drops the Spear before she screams. "Oh god! Did I hurt you?" she wails, throwing herself in his arms and searching for any wounds.

"No, Gabby, but?—"

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," says Xeven. "My master will be pleased."

Colt leaps up, holding Gabby to him. Xeven's at the end of the tunnel, holding a tattered scroll with a grin on his face that could be wicked, or happy, it's impossible to tell. Gabby lifts the Spear an inch, but Colt reaches out and stops her.

"He may have more information! We need to find out?—"

Gabby's jaw drops, her eyes wide in disbelief. Colt turns back to see what she's looking at, but there"s nothing there. Xeven is gone.

"He just…walked through the wall," Gabby whispers, her voice seeming to not believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

Together, they walk over to the ladder and Gabby places her hand where Xeven disappeared. The stone is cold, slightly damp, but rock solid.

"I swear Colt, he waved to me and backed up right through this wall," Gabby gasps.

Colt puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I believe you," he says. Xeven clearly controls powerful magic. "Did you get the other two stones?"

"First thing, well, second thing I did." Gabby holds up the man's satchel with a victorious smile. It pulses with a double dose of that eerie black light.

"Good, stuff it in your bag just like that. No need to touch them." Not waiting for her to comply Colt quickly snatches the satchel and jams it in the bag for her.

Gabby narrows her eyes, but then slings it over her shoulder. "If you say so," she smiles, standing on her tip toes to press a hurried kiss to his lips. "Next?" she asks hopefully.

Colt stabs a hand through his hair. "Already? You didn't get any rest."

"One more and we're done. And I can already see the location. With most of the stones together, it's crystal clear."

"Well…that's good," Colt mumbles, crossing his arms and waiting for her to tell him.

Gabby frowns as she closes her eyes. "I'm seeing a lot of sand." Her brows sink lower. "There are remnants. And I keep seeing the word Atlantis, which doesn't make sense."

Colt instantly knows the location she's describing. "The Lost City of Omar," he says. "Also called the Atlantis of the Sand."

Gabby's eyes pop open. "Yes, that's it!" She takes a few steps away, looking over her shoulder. "Shall we, demon of mine?"

Colt joins her, nodding. "One more," he whispers, worried.