This weather is ridiculous, I thought as I trudged through the rising snow with Gabriel and Carrigan. It was too early in the season to be this snowy. I pulled my cloak tighter around me and shoved my hands deep into my pockets.
"You alright?' Gabriel asked next to me.
Carrigan was walking a few feet in front of us. I looked up at Gabriel with an annoyed green-eyed stare. His handsome features weren't fazed by my antagonistic expression. He simple peered at me with all knowing dark eyes and a frank smile.
"Yes," I replied. "I don't think this is what Carrigan planned to do when she came home for the weekend."
"Not enjoying our family outing?"
I rolled my eyes and didn't answer him. Unfortunately, this situation was the perfect example of a Coleman-Quintin family outing. We weren't normal enough to go out for a meal, shopping or to public events. Then again, we didn't live in a normal time; and when you were the daughter of the Dark Lord, you didn't have much family, let alone time to spend with them. Gabriel's description of our journey as a 'family outing' was quite fitting.
Carrigan believed that Benjamin would go to his flat before he went anywhere else. I wasn't confident that he would go hunting for his mother so quickly. He was angry. I thought it was more likely that he went somewhere to drink or kick the shit out of someone.
I wasn't entirely sure why we were searching for him. Benjamin had a tendency of storming out of my home when he received news that he didn't like; he may leave for long periods, but he eventually came back once he had settled down and refocused. Why would this time be any different?
I'm worried about him, Carrigan's voice rang in my head. I frowned as my eyes darted up to peer at her. She didn't look over her shoulder at me, just continued to march forward in the October snow. "You didn't have to come," she said loud enough for me to hear.
"We all seem to think that we are the best one to talk to him," Gabriel said as we caught up to Carrigan who had stopped on the sidewalk in front of the building where Benjamin's flat was located. She stared up at the building, looking at the light windows.
"We all know I'm the one who should talk to him," Carrigan said keenly as she turned her blue eyes on us. "He'll listen to me."
"If he's even here," I whispered. "He's been looking for the Chaste too. He knew we suspected Talon to hold the position when she was alive. If anything, he's gone after Quinn to get some answers."
Gabriel nodded as he stared at me with a frown. He agreed, I knew he did.
"Either way," Carrigan said stubbornly. "I'll go up to his flat." She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wand and a small bronze key. I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. Benjamin gave her a key to his flat.
Gabriel grabbed her arm before she could mount the steps to enter the building. "If you're not back in fifteen minutes, we're coming up after you."
Carrigan nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."
I watched her with tired eyes as she disappeared up the steps into the apartment building. I glanced at Gabriel, who looked just as nervous as I felt. "She's been on her own enough. She'll be fine."
"You're saying that because you have a bad feeling like I do," Gabriel said somberly as he looked at me with a stunning stare. I bit my bottom lip and tried to focus on the task at hand…not his hands on my body…when I looked up at him again, he was smirking, ear to ear. I sighed heavily as I crossed my arms over my chest and squirmed with discomfort in the chilly air. He looked away from me, knowing that I was thinking inappropriate thoughts, and stared up the building as if he knew which window belonged to Benjamin.
"Why do you have a bad feeling?" I asked.
Gabriel looked back at me and shrugged. "Just a feeling."
As the words left his mouth there was a terrible shattering sound from above us. Gabriel dived to me, knocking me to the ground and shielding me as glass rained down on us. There was a hard thumb near by. Both Gabriel and I turned our heads to look at the sidewalk next to us, where a bloody shredded man stared back at us with wide dead eyes. His body was cut to ribbons from falling out the window and smacking the cement. His black robes were stained with his own blood and the Death Eater cap that would normally hide his identity was askew.
Gabriel sat back on his knees allowing me to sit up on my elbows, staring at the dead man next to us in horrid shock. Before I could speak, a high pitched scream could be heard over head. We both turned, my hair fluttering in front of my eyes blocking my view for a moment, to see Haiden Drake dangling out of a twelfth story window.
"You don't think…" my voice trailed off as I stood up next to Gabriel.
"Carrigan shoved her? She can't be up there yet…" he said with discomfort as he darted up the front steps of the building. I followed him quickly; we ran down a long dark hallway to a back staircase and began the climb to the twelfth floor.
As Gabriel charged through the door to the twelfth floor, I realized that I should have stayed on the sidewalk, I could have stopped Haiden from falling if she lost her grip. Panic rose in my chest and I pushed my body to move faster.
"This way," Gabriel said leading me down the hall to the right. He turned a corner and stopped dead, causing me to run right into him. I stepped around, angry and confused.
"Gab—" I chocked on my words.
Down the hall, a tall, thin Death Eater dressed completely in black, was pinning Carrigan against the hallway wall. Her feet were a few inches off the floor, the Death Eater was holding her by the neck. Across from the pair, an apartment door was wide open casting light into the dark hallway. I had to assume the open door led into Benjamin's flat. The Death Eater turned their head down the hall towards Gabriel and I. Upon seeing us, they dropped Carrigan to the ground and pivoted, dashing back into the flat. The door slammed loudly behind them.
I rushed forward, dropping to my knees next to Carrigan. Gabriel went to the flat door, twisted the knob, but it was lock. He stepped back and rammed his shoulder into the door.
"Are you alright?" I asked stroking Carrigan's hair out of her eyes as she coughed, catching her breath. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Gabriel pointing his wand at the door, trying to open it with a spell. He cursed loudly with frustration when his magic didn't work.
"My fifteen minutes aren't up," she sighed with a smile. I rolled my eyes at her cheek.
"Oh yes they are," Gabriel snapped angrily. He stepped back towards me, then ruthlessly kicked the door to Benjamin's flat clear off it's hinges. I sighed slightly with hot desire.
"Mom," Carrigan sighed. "Now isn't the time!"
I didn't say anything as I helped her up. Gabriel was already charging into the flat, wand drawn and aiming for someone to fight.
"What happened?" I questioned as we entered the flat behind him. Gabriel moved into the depths of the apartment, looking for the Death Eater who may be hiding in the shadows.
Carrigan didn't say anything. She moved across the room to the destroyed window, where a figure was standing in the frame, holding the ledge as they leaned out grasping onto Haiden below.
"Benjamin!" Carrigan stopped next to him and leaned out the window, throwing her arms out to help Haiden. I moved forward quickly as well and leaned over the sill to help.
Haiden was dangling below us, her left hand gripping Benjamin's. She must have slipped off the ledge and he grabbed her in time. Carrigan leaned far enough forward to reach Haiden.
"Grab my hand!" Carrigan called. Haiden turned her mismatched eyes up to Carrigan with a terrifying glare.
"Take her hand, Haiden!" Benjamin yelled. "I can't hold you on my own."
I looked back at my daughter and her Guardian. Something had happened; Haiden obviously didn't want to grab onto Carrigan because she didn't trust her. There was resentment and fury in her stare. Was Carrigan the reason Haiden fell from the window?
Haiden swung her right arm up and took Carrigan's. Together, Carrigan and Benjamin pulled her up. When she was high enough, I grabbed Haiden's waist and helped pull her over the sill. Carrigan and Benjamin lost their footing as they pulled her back into the flat, the three of them tumbled over onto the floor. Haiden landed on top of Benjamin. Carrigan released her cousin's hand and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling with detachment.
Benjamin embraced Haiden as she lay on him. She clung to him; which I did not blame her. She was dangling out a window. I would cling to whoever pulled me back too. Carrigan did not seem as open minded. She stood up from the floor and looked around.
"Where is Gabriel?"
I blinked and turned towards the back of the flat where Gabriel had disappeared to when we first arrived. I didn't hesitate, I pulled my wand and moved in the direction that Gabriel had. Carrigan followed me closely.
I wanted to shout his name, but I knew Gabriel would never forgive me if I gave my position away. That terrible feeling I had standing down the sidewalk was worse now. My palms were sweaty as I gripped my wand. I pulled the knife from the holster on my thigh and prepared for a fight.
I pause for a moment to look over my shoulder at Carrigan, who followed my lead breathlessly. She had her wand out and drawn her knife as well. I motioned to the closed bedroom door on our left. She nodded and took one step forward, without hesitation she kicked the door in, much like Gabriel had to get into the flat. I rolled my eyes as she marched into the room, but turned, heading for the last room in the hall.
The door to this room was open and as I approached the threshold I felt a cold breeze. I knew that this is the room that the Death Eater had escaped from. The window had to be open. I pivoted into the room and froze for a moment.
The Death Eater was perched on the windowsill, like a raven staring down at its prey. I followed the Death Eater's stare, to the floor where Gabriel's body lay. I dashed forward, flicking my wand at the window and throwing my knife, but the Death Eater fell back. I cried out in anger as my knife split through the opened window and followed the Death Eater down. I leaned against the frame and watched in mild surprise as the Death Eater Disapparated mid-fall.
I turned away and fell next to Gabriel on the ground as tears welled up in my eyes. His eyes were closed and I saw no sign of life. My mind raced as I stared as I took in his handsome figure sprawled on the floor on his back. His eyes were closed…he hadn't been hit by a killing curse…he was just injured…unconscious…My mind was trying to make sense of it all. Gabriel simply couldn't be dead.
I dropped my wand, lifted his head and touched his neck to feel for a pulse. I felt nothing. He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating. I bit my bottom lip and held back my tears as I clung to him, just as Haiden had clung to Benjamin. His chest didn't rise and I could not feel his breath on my neck as I lay on him.
"Mom!?"
Carrigan entered the room, but I didn't look up. I felt her next to me. I lost control and began to sob over Gabriel's body. My eyesight blurred and all warmth left me. I suddenly felt lost and alone. This wasn't right. Gabriel wasn't supposed to die now. We were supposed to both die at the hands of Voldemort.
"Mom!" Carrigan grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back away from Gabriel's body. I sat back, staring at him, quivering in fear.
Gabriel was dead.
Carrigan was leaning forward over Gabriel, but I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. I leaned back against the bedroom wall, put my head in my hands as I sucked in my tears. I wiped my cheeks and looked back at Gabriel. He looked so peaceful, and calm, which made me believe that this still wasn't right. He wasn't dead because he wouldn't have looked that way. I always imagined Gabriel would go down in a fight—much like Sirius had—he wouldn't just lay down peacefully and die.
"He is dead," Carrigan whispered. She looked over her shoulder at me as I bit my bottom lip, trying not to cry more. When she said it, my gut clenched and heart skipped a beat. "I can save him…"
"What?" I stammered. "There is no magic in this world that can bring someone back from the dead."
"And yet Voldemort and Penelope Talon live," Carrigan snapped. She looked back at Gabriel with heavy eyes.
Footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. Carrigan didn't pay any attention to them. She leaned forward to begin working on Gabriel. She unbuttoned his shirt as Benjamin and Haiden entered the room, wands drawn.
"What happened?" Haiden questioned instantly as she stared at her mentor on the floor.
"He's dead," I choked with a nasty glare at her. "The Death Eater who knocked you out the window killed him."
"The Death Eater didn't knock me out of the window—"
"Enough," Benjamin interrupted. He looked at Carrigan with worried eyes. "Carri, what are you doing?"
Carrigan ignored him as she worked.
"She said she can save him," I said.
Benjamin looked from me to Carrigan in disbelief. There was anger in his eyes. "You can't do that, Carrigan."
"Yes, I can," she said quietly. She had opened Gabriel's shirt completely.
"It's Dark Magic!" Benjamin yelled. "You'll be giving in just like Voldemort wants you too."
"I can't let him die!" Carrigan shouted. "I'm doing this for good—"
"He's already dead," Benjamin said sadly. "A bad thing done for the right reasons is still a bad thing."
"I don't care what happens to me," Carrigan hissed at her Guardian. "I'm going to save him. I can. Why should I not be able to use this magic for good?"
I leaned forward and took Carrigan's hand. She looked at me sharply.
"What happens when you save him?" I asked. "What is the price?"
She hesitated. "I'm strong enough to handle it. Dorian taught me how to handle it."
I shook my head. "What if you're not strong enough?"
"Then I die," she whispered. I looked at her with disbelief. I wasn't sure if her plan was really much of a solution. I had a feeling that her magic, even if it did bring Gabriel back to life and she survived, he would not come back as himself. Magic had away of destroying the body when a soul was brought back to it. My father was an extreme example of that. He has used magic to destroy his body in an effort to keep his soul eternally alive. Quinn had described Penelope Talon's body as mutilated and she had been brought back from the dead. What if Dark Magic destroyed Gabriel, despite bringing him back? And what if it killed Carrigan?
I put my head in my hands.
"Is it guaranteed to work?" Haiden asked.
"Of course not," Benjamin replied. "Only Dark Sorcerers have been able to master it, but even then the person you bring back will not return as themselves. Gabriel is dead, his spirit may return to his body, but he'll still be dead….he'll move through our lives, but he'll just be a shade of his original, living self."
"Benjamin," Carrigan spoke sharply. "You're speaking about things that you don't understand. I can do this and I don't appreciate you doubting my abilities. I will be able to return Gabriel to his full living body, because I am a Light Witch and capable of using Dark Magic to do good."
"I've never doubted your abilities," he snapped. "What would Gabriel say to you now? That you're willing to sacrifice your good for his life? He wouldn't let you do it. You know that. If you do this, Carrigan, you will turn to Dark Magic to solve all of your problems. You will succumb to Voldemort."
"If you're not going to help us, then get out of here," I retorted. Benjamin didn't say anything, but he didn't leave. "Go ahead, Carrigan. I'll help you."
"Good," she said to me. "I need your blood. And we'll need to hold hands. We're stronger together."
"I'll help you too," Haiden said stepping forward. She knelt down on the other side of Gabriel. Carrigan gave her a very dirty look, and was about to verbally object, but Haiden spoke quickly. "We're of the same blood, Carrigan. We have the most powerful blood in this world. My blood and magic will help."
"She's right," I whispered.
"Fine," Carrigan said as she pulled her knife from her boot.
I watched with discomfort as she leaned forward and slit a small gash down Gabriel's chest, vertically over his heart. Carrigan turned to me.
"Your left hand."
I extended my hand to her. She placed the knife on my palm and sliced it effortlessly. I winced at the pain, but did not make a sound. Carrigan took my wrist with her free hand and guided my hand to Gabriel's wound. She turned my palm over and let my rich red blood drip from my hand down onto Gabriel's chest.
"Hold your hand down on the cut," she said to me. I nodded and lowered my hand to Gabriel's chest. She released my wrist and took Haiden's extended right hand. Haiden's eyes stayed on Carrigan's as she sliced her cousin's hand open. Carrigan looked
indifferent as she guided Haiden's hand over mine. "You can remove your hand, Mom."
I moved my hand off of Gabriel's chest. As Carrigan let Haiden's blood drip onto his chest, I looked at his face. I bit my bottom lip as my eyes welled again with tears. I leaned over his face and stroked his hair while pressing my forehead to his.
I couldn't imagine my life without Gabriel. He had been at my side for so long, and loved me so well, even when it was hard too. He was my soul mate; despite our age difference and the twisted way we met. Gabriel was a good man and there was no other man who could love or understand me the way he did. We were so alike it was hard to imagine that I had ever loved another man…it was hard to imagine that I bore another man's child but not his when he was the one who I loved more than life itself.
I kissed his forehead gently. "Do let go," I whispered in his ear. "You're all I have."
"Mom," Carrigan said.
I sat up and looked at her. "I need both of you to hold Gabriel's hands. Haiden hold my shoulder, Mom, my other hand. We need to form a circle."
Carrigan was leaning over Gabriel with her bloody hand on his chest. She looked somber as she glanced between Haiden and I. For a moment, I wondered if she was losing her nerve…perhaps she didn't want to try this.
"You're sure about this?" I asked. "I don't want to loose both of you."
"You won't," she said sternly.
Haiden took Gabriel's hand and touched Carrigan's shoulder instantly. I hesitated for a moment. I trusted Carrigan, but I would never forgive myself if she died trying to save Gabriel. She was staring straight at me. She knew what I was thinking.
"We're more powerful together," she whispered. "If it kills me, it will kill all of us."
I rolled my eyes. That was not very encouraging.
I took Gabriel and Carrigan's hand. His was growing cold, which made my stomach roll. I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes, scared to watch. I could feel the blood from my cut rolling between my hand and Gabriel's.
"Clear your minds," Carrigan advised. "Repeat after me, redeat sanguis cordis…" Carrigan spoke in flawless Latin. She impressed me beyond anything. She could give life to a dead language by speaking it so beautifully.
"Redeat sanguis cordis," Haiden and I repeated together.
"…in pulmones anima redeunte…"
"…in pulmones anima redeunte…" I kept my eyes close, forcing my mind to be clear of every thought and feeling I was experience. I had to focus if I wanted to help bring Gabriel back.
"…redit ad corpus."
"…redit ad corpus."
"Say it with me," Carrigan guided. She squeezed my hand tightly as we began to chant together.
"Redeat sanguis cordis in pulmones anima redeunte, redit ad corpus….redeat sanguis cordis in pulmones anima redeunte, redit ad corpus…."
We repeated the spell at least seven times. After awhile, I was beginning to doubt it would work. I glanced at Carrigan, who did not seem nerves at all. She was keeping her eyes on Gabriel's chest, waiting for something to happen.
Silence reverberated off the walls around us. My ears began to ring. I looked between Carrigan and Gabriel nervously.
"Come on," she whispered as she pressed her hand harder against his chest. "Come on."
Without warning, she cried out and her hand fell through Gabriel's open wound as if a magic force had pulled it in. Benjamin moved forward from his corner in the room where he had remained silent. I had forgotten he was still there.
"Carrigan!" I made to let go of her hand, but she grabbed onto me tensely.
"Don't break the circle!" she snapped as she cringed. "Keep saying the spell! No matter what happens, keep saying the spell until Gabriel wakes up!"
I looked at her confused, with terrified eyes. I didn't like not knowing what was happening.
"…Redeat sanguis cordis in pulmones anima redeunte, redit ad corpus…"
Carrigan's eyes rolled behind her head and she collapsed onto Gabriel's chest. Her cheek pressed into the stain of blood on his skin and her hand deep into the crevasse of his chest.
"…redeat sanguis cordis in pulmones anima redeunte, redit ad corpus…"
I kept repeating the spell, but my mind was no longer clear. It was going frantic. I wanted to stop this—I needed to stop Carrigan from sacrificing whatever she was about to sacrifice to save Gabriel. Before I could take action, there was a brilliant red explosion that emanated from Gabriel's chest. It threw all of us back away from Gabriel against the walls of the room.
My body slid across the floor and collided with the wall. I sat up in utter shock as Gabriel's body rose from the floor to the middle of the room—suspended in mid air in a red hazy cloud that filled the room with unbearable heat.
I didn't move. I could only watch in shock as Gabriel's body lurched and shook. The red haze began to fade, but Gabriel's body continued to glow, turning red hot as if lights were beneath his skin. His body stopped quivering. His limbs extended straight so he made a wide X shape. Energy flowed through every inch of his body; red ray darted from his finger tips, toes and head. His open shirt and cloak billowed as if in the wind.
The red rays sprawling from his body began to dim and his body began to lower from the middle of the room. I stumbled up to my feet and stared in awe as Gabriel stood upright in the center of the room. The red light and haze vanished, leaving the room cold and dark as it once was.
Benjamin began to stir across the room, but Haiden and Carrigan didn't move.
"Gabriel," I stammered.
His eyes opened and he turned his head to me, looking confused.
"Cadence?"
I smiled at him. "Yes, it's me, Gabriel."
Nothing appeared to be wrong with him. He didn't appear to be less of who he was before he had died.
He reached out, with hesitation and touched my cheek gently. "Am I dead?"
"No," I whispered grabbing his hand as I smiled at him. "You're alive. This is real."
"What happened?" he asked confused. "The Death Eater hit me with a curse."
"Carrigan saved you."
I frowned and turned away from him suddenly, looking at Carrigan and Haiden who were still lying on the ground of the room, not moving. Benjamin stood up and went to Haiden. I immediately went to Carrigan, kneeling down next to her, and pushed her from her side onto her back. She was still breathing. I shook her, trying to wake her.
She groaned as I continued to shake her. "I'm fine."
"Does anything hurt?"
"I can't feel my right arm."
I helped her sit up and bit back my shock as I looked at her arm. Long thin lines of red were all over her arm, from her fingertips up to her bicep, forming distinct symbols and curves. They looked like vines sprawling up her arm; as if someone had drawn on her arm with a thin blade. I could see blood oozing from a few of them.
"Yea, I imagine it would be pretty numb," I muttered.
"Carrigan," Gabriel sighed as he took in the sight of her arm. "What did you do?"
Carrigan looked up at Gabriel with sad eyes. "I had to save you," she stammered. "Mom needs you…"
Gabriel crouched down next to her. "Not at this price," he whispered as he kissed her forehead. The cuts on Carrigan's arm continued to spread. Her skin was being sliced slowly by an invisible force, twisting in spirals and shapes.
"What is happening?" I questioned as I stared at Carrigan who was clearly in pain. Her eyes were shut in anguish as tears leaked out of them.
"She performed the Sanguis Cordis spell," Gabriel said softly. "It returns life to someone, but not without a price. If performed properly, the person performing the spell only looses their magic, but it usually ends in the person's death. Only the most powerful of Dark Sorcerers can perform it. Only one has been successful. Not even your father could perform this."
"My magic is in my blood, I will never loose it," Carrigan insisted. "This is nothing compared to the pain I've already experienced."
"But what is happening now?"
"The Dark Magic she used to save Gabriel is moving through her system," Benjamin said as he came up behind us, with Haiden. "It is looking for the source of her power."
Carrigan turned her head to Benjamin. The thin cuts had spread under her shirt now. They were make their way up her neck.
"I may have used a spell that was built from dark magic, but I used my magic to cast it. This was a good spell. Everything will be fine."
"The Dark Magic will consume your good magic, as it already has in your heart," Benjamin hissed. "You could not have cast that spell if you did not believe in its dark purpose. People aren't supposed to come back from the dead, Carrigan! It is a selfish act."
"It was selfless," I snipped in defense. "Carrigan risked her life to bring Gabriel back and she did not tell me of the possible outcomes. She knew full well she could die and she did it anyways!"
Benjamin shook his head and turned away. Haiden hesitated for a moment as he left, but within a few moments she followed him. I called to her before she exited the room.
"Haiden," she looked at me with her mismatching eyes. "Thank you."
She bowed her head and exited the room without a word.
I looked back at Carrigan who had tears in her eyes. "He's just upset because I defied him….and I don't need him as my Guardian anymore. Everything will be fine, this will go away."
"You said Dorian taught you to be strong enough to handle this?" I whispered. "How did he do that?"
"Gabriel is the second person I've brought back from the dead," Carrigan sighed with a heavy heart.
"Who was the first?" Gabriel asked puzzled.
"Dorian taught me the spell," Carrigan didn't look either of us in the eye at first. "He said the only way to truly master it was to do it. Either I would be powerful enough, or I wouldn't be, end of story. Dorian arranged for me to perform the spell on a dead woman; he had her covered up from head to toe so I wouldn't see her. He said that it would make it easier, so I could think of her coming back to life without seeing her dead in front of me. But now, I'm beginning to think he was lying."
"Why?"
"Because when I was thrown from the body, and it rose in the air as the spell is completing, some of the woman's coverings fell off of her. I didn't see her face, but I saw her neck and part of her stomach. She had open wounds there. I saw them heal. She had died from being stabbed in the stomach and her throat being slit."
I sat back in discomfort. "How long have you suspected this."
"Just today…when I heard you and Quinn arguing about how you killed Savanna Snow."
"You never saw her though?" Gabriel asked quickly.
"No," Carrigan shook her head. "When this started to happen," she motioned to her arm. "I passed out from the pain. Dorian said he moved me to my room after that…and I should be proud because the spell was successful."
"You believe that you brought Penelope Talon back to life?"
"Yes," Carrigan sighed heavily. "I also believe that she was the one who just killed Gabriel."
I sat back and put my head in my hands. Today was going from bad to worse every hour. Gabriel touched my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
"What's the matter, Mom?" Carrigan asked with sarcasm. "This wasn't the way you wanted our family outing to go?"
"No," I responded to her cheek. "This is how our family outings always go. This is why I don't like us going out on family outings."
Carrigan and Gabriel both smiled at me.
"Benjamin is right to be worried about you, Carrigan," he said softly. "He loves you. He is worried for your well being. He doesn't want to loose you to anything."
"He won't loose me to Dark Magic or Voldemort. Benjamin fails to see the shades of grey in life," Carrigan responded. "I am not black or white, good or bad, I simply am. I am all the shades of grey in between. A bad thing done for the right reasons isn't a bad or good thing, it's just a thing."
Gabriel smiled weakly and pinched her cheek. "I am very thankful you see it that way."
She smiled at him. "Let's get you home."
"You both go, I'm going to take to Benjamin about his mother."
Gabriel and Carrigan frowned. "I'm fine, I can do it."
"You're seriously injured. And he's in no mood to talk to you right now," I said. "Go home with Gabriel. I will speak to him."
"Listen to your mother," Gabriel advised as he pulled Carrigan into his arms and stood up. "She's knows what's best."
Carrigan rolled her eyes. "Fine." She laid her head on Gabriel's chest. I smiled at the pair of them, despite the fear in my mind. We walked out of the bedroom and towards the front of Benjamin's apartment. He and Haiden were in the front room repairing the window she had fallen out of.
"I'm going down to take care of the body," Benjamin said as he turned away from Haiden. He paused when he saw us enter the room. "Are you alright?" he asked Carrigan with a touchy tone.
"Yes, I'll be fine," she replied calmly.
"Gabriel's taking her home," I said. "Haiden, I think you should go with them. You're not safe on your own."
"I'm not interested in going anywhere with Carrigan. She might shove me out a window again."
An awkward silence fell around the room.
"I'm sorry. It was an accident," Carrigan muttered. "I hit the Death Eater with a throwing curse, Haiden happened to get in the way, they both went out the window."
Haiden rolled her eyes. Obviously she didn't think it was an accident.
"I don't care," I said quickly. "Haiden, I want you safe. You'll be safe at our house with us. Period. No arguing. Go with Gabriel. Carrigan's too weak right now to push anyone out the window."
"What about Benjamin?" Haiden asked.
"He and I are going to get rid of the Death Eater's body," I responded. I thought it would be better if he didn't think I just wanted to talk to him. I thought if we were doing something together and happened to discuss the fact that his mother is still alive that would better. "Let's go. Benjamin and I will take care of everything here. Haiden get your stuff. You'll never come back here."
"She's right," Benjamin said. "Get your stuff. We're going to have to get rid of everything so no one can track us."
Haiden nodded and moved past us to get to her room. Within a few moments, she had collected her things and was out the door with Gabriel and Carrigan.
Benjamin looked at me with his cool icy blue eyes once we were alone. "You don't have to pretend, I know you just wanted to talk to me alone."
"Yes, I do, but you'll also need help cleaning up this mess. Let's do that first, then we'll talk."
Benjamin didn't say anything else. He just nodded his head and turned back to the window. I helped him finish it as I stared down at the dead Death Eater on the cement below. It was going to be tricky cleaning him up.
