Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

His darkness began to crystallize, as Maci’s scales had. But where she had steadily turned to stone, Rage’s transformation was different. His shadows tried to split apart, to escape, but each tendril of darkness caught in our light turned solid, gray, eternal.

“ This cannot be! ” His voice fragmented, echoing off stone walls. “ I am Rage! I am darkness. I am ? — ”

“You are done,” I retorted, pouring every ounce of determination into the harp’s song. The pillar’s dragons writhed faster, making space beside Maci’s frozen form.

“Together!” Brody shouted as Rage made one last desperate attempt to break free.

“Not so tough without your dragon, are you?” Damon’s blade flashed through what remained of Rage’s fluid form, herding him closer to the pillar.

Justice’s gaze met mine across the circle of light. At that moment, I saw everything he couldn’t say. His gratitude, his love, his relief at being free of this monster’s influence.

Rage’s form spiraled inward, drawn into the pillar’s eternal dance. His darkness turned to stone in waves, like ink freezing in mid-splash. His final scream cut off as the transformation reached what passed for his head, leaving only those void-black eyes burning with helpless fury before they, too, became nothing but stone.

The chapel fell silent except for our ragged breathing. Where Rage’s darkness had boiled and writhed moments before was only stone, a twisted, beautiful spiral of shadows caught mid-flight, forever entwined with Maci’s dragon form around the Apprentice Pillar.

My legs gave out, and Justice caught me before I hit the floor. The harp slipped from my trembling fingers, its song finally quiet. Looking up into his brown eyes—his own eyes, not Rage’s crimson gaze—made everything we’d done worth it.

“He’s really gone,” Justice whispered. The golden healing marks under his skin pulsed like a settling heartbeat as his arms tightened around me. “I can’t feel him anymore. That darkness he left inside me…”

“Is gone,” I finished, reaching up to trace one of the fading marks on his cheek. My hand shook, the aftermath of fear and adrenaline making me unsteady. We’d come so close to losing each other, to losing everything.

“If you two start making out again, I’m leaving,” Damon announced, but his voice lacked its usual bite. Even he looked drained, leaning against a pew as he stared at our handiwork on the pillar.

I couldn’t stop touching Justice, reassuring myself that he was here, he was whole, he was himself again.

“We did it,” I murmured against his chest. “We really did it.”

The world seemed to shift then, like pieces of a puzzle clicking into place. Maybe it was the aftermath of using all seven artifacts, or maybe it was time, but suddenly, memories flooded back. Memories of my father, the ones that had been locked away for so long.

His smile. His laugh. Teaching me to hunt. The way he’d look at Mom like she hung the moon. The last time I saw him…

My knees buckled again, and this time, Justice lowered us both to the floor.

“Sawyer?” His voice was thick with concern.

“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.

Exhaustion washed over me, and I longed for the comfort of my own bed. I leaned into Justice’s strong shoulder, seeking support in his embrace. He gazed down at me with concern etched on his face. “Are you all right?” he asked softly.

The weight of the past year bore down on me, and I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. “I’m tired,” I admitted with a shaky voice. “I think it’s time to go home.” As much as I loved Scotland, a sense of homesickness tugged at my heartstrings.

“Yeah, ‘cause nothing says good times like almost getting killed. Let’s hit the road already,” Damon muttered with a smirk.

Justice’s fingers curled under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his intense stare. “I can grant you that wish,” he murmured before closing the distance between us. His lips were soft and warm against mine, and I couldn’t help but lean into him, losing myself in the sensation of his touch. All thoughts faded away, leaving only him and me in this moment.