CHAPTER XXXVIII
Rachael tries her best to ignore Elena as she rants on about things unfamiliar to Rachael.
Amid their one-sided conversation, Rachael picks up on some information about the family.
Elena's voice is overshadowed by gunshots and the two women share a glance.
"Stay here," Elena says as she and a few of the men go out to find out what is going on.
Rachael glances at the door of the room where John is being held. Two armed men guard the door.
The gunshots continue outside and Rachael begins to wonder what the situation is outside.
Are the twins here or is something else going on?
They aim their guns and shoot at Gabriel as he moves toward the cabin.
The sphinx groans as he begins to feel the force of the bullets.
He begins to move fast, swaying from left to right as he tries to dodge as many attacks as he can.
He gets close to the cabin but his movement is disrupted by a shrieking sound, hurting his ears and bringing him down to his knees.
He screams as the frequency of the sound tears at his eardrums.
He rolls on the ground like a playful dog; he forces himself to calm down and find the source of the noise.
It is a radio-like device that is placed in front of the cabin.
Gabriel roars and begins his painful walk towards the device.
Marcus's men take advantage of this and stand behind the device as they shoot their weapons at the sphinx.
Black furry wings burst out of Gabriel's back tearing the back of his shirt.
His eyes begin to glow and he flaps his wings generating enough force to push the guards backward and against the ground.
With his wings, he moves swiftly like a blur and smashes the device into the wall of the cabin.
Rachael's heart leaps with fear as she hears a loud thud at the door and in a second it calms down as she sees his face.
His chest shows its shape through his grey tight shirt and his bicep standing firm as his hand rest against the wall and his blue eyes stare at her petite shape.
It feels wrong but Rachael can't help but find him sexy.
She bites her lips as he looks like a model posing for a brand.
He mouths her name as everything else feels insignificant, "Rachael,".
His wings disappear into his back and he enters the room filled with surprise as he wonders why Rachael is here.
The two guards in the room point their guns at Gabriel and demand his submission. An attempt that looks like a joke.
A sphinx does not submit to anyone.
Moving like a breeze he disarms them and knocks them out.
"What are you doing here?
Where is Bryan?"
"They took him,".
He rubs her cheeks in his palm and looks into her eyes. He can sense her relief and this pleases him.
"John is in there," Rachael points to the room.
Almost immediately armed men fill the room and they point guns at Gabriel and Rachael.
"Are you crazy? She is Mary's daughter. You may have something against me but leave her out of it," Gabriel roars.
Marcus and his siblings enter the cabin with Marcus pointing his gun at the immortal, "Don't you dare call her name" he says angrily.
"Stop this…" before Rachael can finish her words a gunshot drowns her voice in the room.
And in a flash, the look on the face of the Tremblays turns to one of shock, worry and fear.
Rachael falls to the ground as a bullet hits her in the chest and sends her to the ground.
Gabriel roars like a mad lion as he watches Rachael fall onto the ground.
He rushes to her side and holds her head up.
"What have you done?" he shouts as the Tremblays surround them.
They try to apply pressure on the wound as blood drips from the girl's chest.
They turn to look at the shooter and see Elena holding her semi-auto, "Why did you get in the way?" she screams.
Kate walks to her daughter and snatches the gun from her hand.
She slaps Elena in the face and gives her a look of disappointment before turning her attention back to Rachael who is still bleeding.
Gabriel is angry and tired of losing people; he failed Frank and Mary McQueen. He promised that he would not fail Rachael.
He places a hand on her chest and takes in a deep breath.
He begins to speak an incantation known only to him and the effect of the bullet on Rachael begins to reverse itself.
Her flesh and skin gradually close as the bullet is pulled out by an invincible force of time.
The bullet falls to the ground.
The Tremblay's eyes widen with surprise as the immortal heals their niece before their eyes.
It is a strange event for them to witness.
A supernatural is healing one of their own.
Rachael's wound is healed but she does not wake up.
Gabriel can feel her consciousness fighting to hold on to her.
"Come back to us, Rachael. Rachael come back to me", his blue eyes carry a weight of sadness.
He looks at her lips as they slowly dry up, "Please Rachael, come back to me".
He locks his lips with hers.
He takes in her scent as he kisses her, connecting their body and mind.
He kisses her softly as he holds her in his arms and tries to pull her back from the void of uncertainty.
He holds onto her consciousness like a priest holding onto his faith.
Gabriel feels her arms go round his neck and her tongue twist around his.
Gabriel pulls her closer to his chest as he hugs her and she opens her eyes.
Gabriel helps her stand on her feet.
Rachael is shocked; what the hell just happened?
"You say you are Mary McQueen's family but you just shot her only child.
Tell me, who is the monster now?" Gabriel says.
The Tremblays frown as they cannot reply.
No matter what happened, Rachael was not to come to harm but she almost died before their eyes.
Rachael can't believe that she almost lost her life.
"You almost killed me," Rachael says. Elena stares speechless and ashamed, "You shouldn't…have gotten in front of him," Elena struggles to say.
"Elena," Kate calls out as she shoots a threatening look at her daughter.
Marcus is angry and ashamed; how could this happen?
With their years of experience in hunting down the supernatural, they have never found themselves in this kind of situation.
He holds his rosary tight in his hand as he prays silently.
Steven Gerard and Philip enter the room and the sphinx immediately recognizes the lanky-looking man.
"You, you were there. You saw what happened when we faced Dracula," Gabriel says.
"Philip has given us his account of what happened," Marcus says, "Look, we both want the same thing.
We want Dracula dead,".
"If you want to honor my mother you will help us," Rachael says.
Hearing Rachael's demand the Tremblays feel compelled to oblige after Elena's actions.
Mary McQueen was their little sister and they see her in Rachael.
If Rachael died, it would feel like Mary died twice.
"And we'll need our friends back," she says.
"Go get the prisoners and free the vampire in the room," Kate orders.
Rachael isn't happy to hear Kate's condescending tone when referring to John but she ignores her aunt.
The atmosphere is strange and awkward due to circumstances but they would have to look past this if they are going to work together.
Detective Warren Peace reaches the NYPD and parks his car.
He slams his door and what's left of his broken window falls off.
The detective takes a look at it before walking into the station.
He walks towards his cubicle, greeting a few of his colleagues before he reaches his cubicle.
He pulls a file from his table and begins flipping through the pages searching for something when he gets a phone call.
He picks the call, "Hello,".
The voice on the other side makes a few statements, "Don't worry, they thought I was hypnotized.
I am expecting them to contact me soon.
They will come and the Lantern will have them,".
Warren ends his call.
It seems the detective has plans of his own; what is this suspicious man up to?