"You have no authority to invade this place," Gabriel said in a voice like steel. "Your presence here is unjustified."

"As is yours, brother," said Hamiel. "Tell me, how does Heaven feel about traitors these days?"

"Protecting the innocent doesn't make me a traitor," Gabriel snarled. "Tell me, under whose instruction are you acting?"

"We work to serve the Kingdom," said Hamiel proudly.

"Do not lie to me," Gabriel thundered. He swept a hand around the room in disgust. "He would never condone this."

Hamiel pointed a gloved finger at me. "That angel has broken the law. Her actions will not be exonerated."

"And neither will yours," Gabriel replied.

"You could have avoided this game of hide and seek." Hamiel gave a contemptuous laugh. "How long did you think you could keep us guessing?"

"This is about saving face for you, isn't it?" Gabriel said in disgust. "Pride is a dangerous thing, brother. We should all know that."

"It is about justice."

"Then why don't you step down?" Gabriel suggested. "Let Him deal with them as He sees fit. I assure you it will not be like this."

"No," Hamiel replied smugly. "He can't come to the phone right now. It's up to us to issue punishment."

The conversation was going in circles. Hamiel was deftly avoiding Gabriel's questions about Our Father. He knew the Sevens were acting out their own crazed idea of justice. I wondered at what point the ranks that were employed to maintain peace on earth had become a rebel force, to be feared rather than respected.

Gabriel let his wings unfurl slowly and I heard the students gasp.

"You will not be the one to judge them," he said.

"You have no authority here, Arch," Hamiel replied dismissively.

"You know I could destroy you," Gabriel snarled.

"Undoubtedly, but not without incurring loss of human life. I know how much that bothers you." In case he hadn't made his meaning clear, Hamiel glanced pointedly at the helpless teenagers on the floor.

"Then open the doors and let only those involved remain," Gabriel said. But his appeal to the Seven's sense of justice didn't seem to be working.

"Too late," Hamiel said. "They all must perish."

Some of the students began to cry harder and beg for mercy. Others squeezed their eyes shut, willing this to be part of some terrible nightmare.

"These people are innocent." The authority seemed to have leached from Gabriel's voice. Now he just sounded astonished by Hamiel's indifference to human life.

"Your attachment to these creatures of clay weakens you," Hamiel said darkly. "I suggest you stop thinking about them and worry about your own future. Besides, they are not innocent. They carry the guilt of Adam's sin."

"And why do you think Christ was sent?" Gabriel boomed. "He paid their debts, their sin was washed clean by His blood. Why do you manipulate the truth?"

"Are you really going to try and stop me?" Hamiel challenged.

"Indeed," my brother replied. "You will regret this."

As he spoke, a glowing ember appeared in the air beside him and began to shift to form a figure. I knew before I saw the tumble of golden hair and eyes the color of raindrops that it was Ivy. She belonged to the highest of angelic orders and could transform into a glowing orb and travel great distances in a matter of seconds. Hamiel took a step backward. Ivy raised a hand and from her dainty palm, bolts of lightning now blasted through the air, connecting with each Seven in turn and setting their black robes ablaze, the tongues of fire licking at their expressionless plaster faces. They beat a hasty retreat, taking flight and disappearing one by one into the hole that had appeared in the ceiling above us, until only Hamiel stood, deserted. He was their leader and not so easily intimidated.

"I will destroy you," he roared.

Ivy raised one delicate, golden eyebrow. "With what army?"

Hamiel bared his teeth and hunched forward like an animal about to strike. Then without warning, he reached inside his robe and withdrew a scepter. It all happened so fast I hardly had time to react. He knew he couldn't touch Ivy and Gabriel, but he could punish them in his own way. He pointed the scepter at a girl crouching in front of us and I watched her try to hide her face. A bolt of energy burst forth, literally rocking the room. The boy beside her threw his body protectively over hers. When the beam from the scepter pierced his side, I heard the same sickening sizzling sound that skewered meat makes on a barbecue. His arms fell lifeless to his side and I choked back a scream seeing his limbs become charred beyond recognition. When he fell back, unmoving on the carpet, I realized that the face, now blackened and covered with red welts still hissing with heat, was Spencer. All that had remained intact was the thatch of blond hair and his eyes. They were open and staring lifelessly at the ceiling. But I could see no fear in his face, only conviction.

Xavier stared at the body of his fraternity brother on the floor.

"No, damn you!" I heard him shout in a voice choked with emotion. Spencer had been his roommate, his ally, his friend. And now he too was dead because of us. Xavier took an unsteady step back and sagged against a desk. I didn't know how much more death he could handle. All the fight seemed to go out of me in that moment.

I could see that Gabriel was about to bring down the ceiling with fury. Ivy seemed to withdraw into herself for a moment and when she opened her eyes, she opened fire on Hamiel, hurling deadly lightning bolts in his direction. Hamiel somersaulted through the air, dodging the attacks nimbly despite his colossal size. Gabriel focused on protecting the other students and webs of blue light began to form over each cowering body, looking fragile, but in reality as strong as an impenetrable steel cage. But Hamiel didn't care about them anymore. Now he had his sights on us.

I wanted to summon the strength I knew must be dormant somewhere inside of me, but I was so numb from what I'd witnessed that I couldn't do anything. When Hamiel reached for me, I feebly threw up my hands to protect myself. He caught my wrists in his clublike hands and twisted them backward, snapping the bones like twigs. The sharp cracks were loud and Hamiel hurled me away. I flew through the air like a ragdoll, rolling across desks, my head thudding repeatedly against the wood. I landed on my broken wrists and gagged from the pain. Gabriel's arms were around me in an instant, lifting me up. My head was foggy but I was still able to remember what was important.

"Xavier," I whispered, struggling to get free and being reminded of my inability to help him by the throbbing pain in my hands. Xavier had been left unprotected.

"Beth!" He had all but forgotten Hamiel's presence, concerned only about my safety. He was on the other side of the lecture hall and couldn't reach me. When I was in danger, he shut down and had only one focus. But from my position, I could see everything that was happening. I watched Hamiel's looming form appear right behind Xavier, a hungry expression on his face. Victory had come sooner and more easily than expected. There were so many things I wanted to do: beg, plead, scream out at Xavier to run, to fight. But when I opened my mouth all that came out was a pitiful cry because everything that meant anything to me in this world was about to be taken away. Hamiel's black eyes met mine and he gave a small, satisfied smile before he casually reached out with his scepter and a bolt of lightning stabbed Xavier in the back.

Xavier stopped dead and his hand flew up to clamp over his heart. Confusion registered on his face for a moment as he slowly sank to his knees. His eyes were still looking right into mine and I saw them reflect shock, then pain, then a dull look of acceptance. A moment later his lids fluttered shut and he slumped to the ground.

I screamed so loud, my lungs hurt as Xavier crumpled before my eyes. It had happened almost too fast to register, but I'd heard his heart stop beating and seen the light go out of his eyes. Ivy turned to Hamiel, a look of unadulterated wrath on her face. But the leader of the Seventh Order crouched and then sped upward with the speed of a bullet and was swallowed up by the hole in the ceiling. The last thing we saw were his robes swirling around him and the flash of a triumphant look on his face. Pieces of plaster continued to dislodge, raining around us like pale shrapnel and enveloping us in clouds of white dust.

Gabriel was still holding me tight, but my wings burst open with such force they knocked him back and carried me over to where Xavier lay. I put my lame, broken hands on his chest and shook him, no longer aware of the pain. I felt Ivy and Gabriel at my side, talking rapidly to one another, but their words didn't register. I felt as if I were far, far away, and a loud ringing in my ears drowned out all thought. My brain refused to comprehend what had happened. Fog was engulfing me, swirling around in my head. All I could feel was a hideous gaping hole inside me. Gabriel put a hand at Xavier's neck, searching for a pulse. I saw him look at Ivy and almost indiscernibly shake his head. This couldn't be real, and yet deep down I knew it was.

Xavier lay on his back, his perfect face so beautiful and yet still as stone. The turquoise eyes I loved so much gazed unseeing at the ceiling. I touched his hand, which was still warm, and heard the familiar clink as our wedding bands knocked together. But when I shook him hard, he did not respond. When I repeated his name again and again there was no answer. When I laid my cheek against his and willed him to come back to me, I realized I could no longer reach him.

Hamiel had killed him deliberately and mercilessly before my very eyes. Xavier was gone.

16.

The Sleeping and the Dead IVY and Gabriel lifted Xavier and carried him into the empty office adjoining the lecture hall. They laid him gently on a worn leather sofa while Gabriel turned back to face the traumatized freshmen still inside. I could see from his face that he was steeling himself for the task ahead. Gabriel had the power to collectively erase their memories. I didn't know how he planned to explain the wreckage or Spencer's charred body. But that seemed immaterial to me now. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Xavier's inert form. He lay limp on the sofa, his slender hand trailing on the floor.

His heart had already stopped, but perhaps there was still time in the precious seconds before his soul left his body to do something ... anything. I held my broken wrists out to Ivy. In one touch my twisted hands became straight, the bones knitting together and clicking back into place. I set to work on Xavier immediately. Buttons spun into the air as I tore open his shirt and spread my hands over his smooth chest, but I was trembling so much I couldn't focus. I tried sending out the healing currents that might restart Xavier's heart, but my own was racing so fast it kept blocking my concentration.

I looked frantically at Ivy kneeling beside me. Although she'd resumed her earthly form, shiny pearls of light still dripped from her flaxen hair, dissolving once they hit the carpet. What was she waiting for? Ivy was a healer. I knew she was the only one who could help him now. I shifted position to allow her room to work and squeezed myself onto the sofa with Xavier's head in my lap. As I stroked his hair away from his eyes, I saw that a deathly pallor was already settling over his beautiful features.

I looked imploringly at my sister. "Do something!" I begged.

She gave me a stricken look. "I don't know what I can do. He's already gone."

"What!" I almost screamed at her. "You've done this before, you've brought people back! I've seen you do it!"

"People who were close to death," my sister said, nodding frantically. "On the brink. But he's ... past that point now."

"No!" I yelled, leaning down and pumping Xavier's heart vigorously with both hands. Hot tears poured down my face and dripped onto his unmoving chest. "We have to save him. I can't let him die."

"Bethany..." Ivy began, looking at us both like a mother might look at her injured children. The acceptance I read in her face horrified me.

"No..." I cut her off. "If he dies, I die."

My words seemed to snap her out of her reverie and return her to the present.

"Okay." She quickly looped her hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. I'd seen Ivy heal many times by now but I'd never seen it cost her so much effort. A fine film of perspiration appeared on her brow. She kept her eyes closed but I could see the strain growing on her face. She was silently mouthing an invocation in Latin of which I caught only the words Spiritus Sanctum. It grew in fervor every time she repeated it until she finally paused to draw breath.

"It's not working," she said, amazed at her own failure. She sounded so composed while I felt like my heart was being wrenched out of my body.

"Why?" I said weakly.

"Either my energy is spent or Xavier's resisting."

"Try harder!"

Could Xavier's soul be resisting? Perhaps he thought giving his life to spare mine was a good compromise. Perhaps he thought the wrath of the Sevens would now be satisfied. I imagined what he'd say: "Doesn't seem like such a bad deal." Maybe even in death he was still trying to protect me. It did make sense that with one of us dead, the separation would be complete. The Seven's job would be done. Had Xavier known all along that Hamiel was going to kill him? Could he really have offered himself up like some kind of sacrificial lamb? No way was I going to stand for that. He had forfeited the right to act independently when Father Mel married us.

Suddenly I was aware of another presence in the room. I turned to see the same youthful reaper that had appeared at our wedding. He was lounging in the doorway, the same impertinent, slightly bored look on his effeminate face. He tossed his head and began tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for his cue to enter. The fanning of his black wings created a breeze in the office and emitted a strange smell like scented oils.

"Sorry, is my timing off?" he drawled. "Shall I come back later?"

I had no time for his sarcastic remarks. Xavier was slipping further away with every second that lapsed.

"Don't you come near him!" I warned as Ivy's whole body clenched with the effort of trying to revive him. I prayed that she would stay strong, that she wouldn't give up and relinquish him to Heaven. A golden light the color of corn surrounded the spot where her palms lay on Xavier's chest. It glowed then waned in rapid succession. I knew she needed time to restore her healing power; time Xavier didn't have. Suddenly I knew that what remained of her energy was not going to be enough to get Xavier through this crisis.

"That's no use," the reaper said as if it were obvious. "Can't you see? His soul has already detached."

"Give him back to us," I cried. "Get away from him!"

"Always making me the bad guy." The reaper sighed.

"Please don't take him," I begged. "Tell him I need him, tell him..."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" the reaper said, and I saw his gaze flicker to the space at the end of the couch. I looked up and my mouth dropped open in shock.

He was nothing but a faded outline, but he was standing right in front of me. Everything about him was washed out and if you weren't concentrating, you could have missed his presence entirely. Xavier's spirit stood at the foot of the sofa, looking lost, like he was trying to find his way. I sucked in my breath so loud that Ivy jumped and the reaper rolled his eyes.

Ivy crossed over to the spirit, who was standing very still. "Xavier? Can you hear me? You need to come back to us. This is not your time."

Xavier's spirit looked at her uncomprehendingly and then turned to look at the reaper.

"Sure you don't want to come with me instead?" the reaper said smoothly. "Don't worry, you can trust me, I'm a professional." Ivy threw him a furious glance. "Hey," the reaper protested with a smirk, "this job gets old. Why not let me have a little fun with it?"

The spirit stood motionless, as if it barely understood what was going on. I knew Xavier was caught between the worlds of the living and the dead. It was a hard transition to make. That was what reapers and guardian angels were for, to lead people out of this world and into the one beyond. Only now we needed to get him back and that was no easy feat.

"Look at me," Ivy said, reaching for him. "You know who I am, you can trust me. I'll take you back to the life you knew."

When her fingers connected with his pale, ghostly ones, Xavier seemed startled and took a step back.

"That is one pathetic sales pitch," said the reaper. He turned to Xavier, tossing his head in an overly theatrical way and grinning. "I can make all the pain go away. All of those worries that were weighing you down, you can forget them. I'll take you someplace you'll never have to worry again. No more death, no more destruction, no more suffering. All you have to do is follow me."

He threw a triumphant glance at Ivy, clearly impressed with his own performance. Xavier's spirit tilted its head slightly as if the reaper's words appealed to him and the air shimmered as he moved away from us. Instinctively, I looked around for my brother. I was so used to Gabriel coming to our rescue, solving all our problems. But today he had problems of his own. What could I do? I couldn't grab hold of a ghost. Xavier's body now lay deserted and there was no way to slay the reaper. I couldn't kill Death himself.

Xavier's spirit gazed at me, confused. It looked around as if trying to determine which way to go. The reaper smiled coyly.

"Looking for the way out? Come with me. I can show you." His voice was full of promise.

"Don't listen to him!"

Xavier's spirit looked at each of us in turn, unsure who to trust. I knew how vulnerable he was in this moment, how easily he could be influenced. "You don't want to go with him," I insisted. "You'll never get back. We need you here."

"She's lying," said the reaper. "She only wants to keep you because she doesn't want to be alone. Come with me and nothing will ever trouble you again."

It had become a contest between the reaper and me with Xavier's spirit caught between us. But there was no way I would let the reaper steal him from me.

"Just take my hand," I urged. "I'll show you how easy it is."

But it wasn't working. He only looked more lost and confused than ever. At any moment, I could lose him and he'd slip away for good.

I felt Ivy's lips at my ear. "Only you can help him now. Do it!"

But how? I wanted to cry out. I had nothing on their strength or power. I was a weakling in comparison. But I didn't have time to dwell on that. I ran forward and planted myself firmly in front of the spirit, hands on my hips. It stopped as recognition slowly dawned on its face.

"You listen to me, Xavier Woods," I yelled, trying to grab hold of his shoulders. But my hands passed right through him and fell uselessly back at my sides. "Don't you even think about leaving me behind! What happened to we're in this together? We had a pact: Wherever you go, I go. If you die on me now, I have to find some way to follow you. Are you trying to kill me? If you don't come back to me right now, I'll never forgive you. Do you hear me? You can't leave me here alone!"

My outburst was so personal I could see Ivy felt like an intruder. Even the reaper cast his pale gaze at the ceiling as he waited for me to finish. The spirit gazed for a moment and then stretched out its hand to me.

"Come on," I whispered. "Come back."

When Xavier's fingers connected with mine, they were solid and I was able to grip them tightly. I knew it wouldn't last for long, but I couldn't rush him. Slowly, I coaxed him away from the reaper and back toward the couch, where his lifeless body lay. When Xavier stood looking down at his own death scene, Ivy took over. She moved her lily-white hands so that they now hovered over Xavier's temples. It created a nimbus of light around his head. The light began to creep down, spreading across his body like a fine mist. It continued to extend until it reached the spirit, coiling around it like tendrils of fog, drawing back in. Suddenly, Ivy fell to her knees and threw her arms up to the sky. There was a flash as the gentle mist morphed into a blazing sheet of lightning and then vanished, taking the spirit with it.

From the couch, Xavier let out a gasp like he'd been stuck underwater and had just broken the surface. His eyelids flew open and a moan escaped his lips. Sobbing, I threw myself at him, my arms clamping around his neck and refusing to let go. From the doorway, I saw the reaper pout.

"You win," he said with a slight bow. He turned and disappeared into the hall, muttering something about reaping not being anywhere near as much fun as it used to be.

Xavier still seemed disoriented, so Ivy had to pry me off him.

"It's okay, Beth," she said, handing me a wad of tissues. My face was a mess of tears and a running nose. I was crying so hard I felt my skin tighten and my eyes swell up. "He's going to be fine," Ivy repeated soothingly. Still, I watched the rise and fall of his chest fixedly, doubting my own eyes and refusing to take Ivy's word for it.

"Beth?" Xavier asked groggily, his eyes struggling to focus.

"I'm right here," I told him, overcome with a fresh wave of tears.