Justice First Book Six

By Odette C. Bell

It’s over. But death must come first.
A gate has opened into Erebus. Syn’s true powers have been revealed.
Melanie and Tyr must fight to reach her. But even then, it’ll only be the beginning. All Tyr’s life, he’s been building up to a final showdown with heaven. It’s now here.
But he’s not alone. Melanie stands with him, and as one, they cannot fall.
....
Justice First follows a gritty witch and the immortal tasked to hunt her down on a quest to defeat heaven. If you love your contemporary fantasies with fast-paced action, non-stop fights, and a splash of romance, grab Justice First Book Six today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Jan 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005360900

Book preview

Chapter 1

Melanie Rose

Not dead yet.

She was not damn well dead yet. Those words repeated and repeated in her head, getting faster, getting hotter, getting stronger. Only seconds ago, she’d questioned how she’d gotten so far only to be kicked down every time. She now had her answer. No matter how far someone pushed her down, she would always rise.

Gathering up her soul and her physical body, she finally pressed her lips against Tyr’s. They were cold. And if her fearful mind had been functioning, it would’ve warned her he was dead. But she still felt a spark of his unassailable existence. She grasped hold of it. With her hands, with her lips, with her hope, and with her frigging strength.

Melanie shared her soul. You’d think she’d have nothing left. Gyna’s spell had been cast to break it down. And make no mistake, Melanie was still weak. But something functioned. Something would always function. And whenever Tyr was in danger, it would rise like nothing else.

At first, nothing happened. For all intents and purposes, Tyr was dead.

But as the monsters continued to scream, more of them trying to attack Melanie, even though she paid no attention to them whatsoever, finally she felt this tiny crackle of heat within Tyr.

It was like existing in a cold vacuum, in the deepest reaches of space, only to come across your first flame. You would wrap your body around it, and you would shelter its growing heat no matter what. You would protect it with everything you had. Which is exactly what Melanie did now.

Even as the storm continued to rage and bridge space continued to force itself through all around her, she gathered up the feeling of Tyr, and she kept it safe in her chest.

Bit by bit, second by second, spark by spark, their power was shared.

Melanie still didn’t know exactly what they were, but they were a unit – a team that had existed for so long, the short time Melanie had been a human was but a blink in comparison.

Melanie no longer paid attention to the remnants of Syn’s screaming force in her mind. Syn could shriek all she wanted. She could gather together all of her considerable force and use it to try to burn through Melanie. She could pump every single scrap of necromancy magic she had into Melanie’s mandala. She could take down the city. But nothing would stop Melanie now her lips were locked on Tyr’s. Nothing could stop her, that was, until his eyes finally opened. He reached up. His fingers trembled so badly, they looked as if they would never be able to hold on to anything again.

So she held onto them for him. She pressed her blood-soaked hand into his. And she locked it against her cheek.

More energy rushed through her and into him.

It was so bright, it started to light up the darkening bridge realm around them. Make no mistake, so much of this area had turned into bridge space, it was almost impossible to see the guts of Erebus that had once been there. There was one remaining streetlight, but it was covered in chaotic crackling magical vines. There was a car, too, but only half of it was visible. The rest of it had turned into one of those blue pools from the mirror section of the bridge realm.

It was one of the greatest moments of Melanie’s life to see Tyr coming back to life. The more he kissed her, the more the light returned to his gaze. It was like watching stars blink on in the night sky. You might have thought that you’d reached your darkest moment. But even when the sun sets, there is light to be had.

She wanted to remain there, maybe forever, maybe until her body finally appreciated the hope that had always been waiting for her in Tyr’s embrace. But Syn was hardly going to give them that option. Something cracked above them. It was the storm. Maybe it had once been in Tyr’s control, but it sure as hell wasn’t now. Melanie thought she heard screams. No. She did. And so did Tyr.

He wrenched his lips away from hers, and his fingers fell from her face. Fear bolted through his eyes. She’s doing something. Somehow tying her necromancy magic into the bridge realm. We need to….

Melanie was still impaled. Yep. Weirdly, she’d kinda forgotten about the fact there was a spike sticking through her heart. But she remembered alright as the bridge monster impaling her shuddered at the gathering crack above.

She pulled herself back off the spike. She could’ve immediately called on her bow and arrow and taken the creature out, but she wrapped her arm around Tyr’s middle and pulled him to the side. The creatures didn’t follow. They had been under Syn’s control, but either that control slipped as Syn distracted herself, or the fear of what they were witnessing above was enough to bring them to their senses.

Melanie stood there, hand-in-hand with Tyr, as they stared up at the sky.

Gyna was meant to have broken down Melanie’s soul, but it was back, brighter than ever.

That crack was only growing.

Tyr opened a hand. A spark appeared in his palm, but it soon fizzled and died. He clenched his teeth and swore. He tried to gather the spark again, but it kept extinguishing itself. Dammit, he roared. We need to destroy that crack. If we don’t, all of Erebus is going to be absorbed. I don’t—

I have the power. At least I think I do. Share with me what you’ve got left, Melanie commanded him. She didn’t wait for him to get the picture. She maneuvered until he was behind her.

He soon understood what she wanted, and with a breath that shook his chest against her shoulder, he helped her draw her bow.

She never wanted to draw it on her own again. It was a completely different experience with him. Maybe she could appreciate why. Because most of the time she’d called her bow, she’d been under the control of Syn. Now?

Now this was as nature intended.

The bow crackled. It took a lot of power to create. Melanie had never really been conscious of this. She’d always kind of disconnected from her bow and thought there was something external about it, that when she aligned with it, allowed her to call on its power. Now she felt how much it emptied her out. If Tyr hadn’t been behind her helping her, she would have tumbled to her knees and kissed the pavement for good.

As it was, his strength became her strength.

Together, they screamed, then finally fired.

The arrow erupted from the bow, shot into the sky, and reached the crack.

Melanie heard a scream. Make no mistake, it was Syn, and it shook with the true fear of defeat.

It’s working, Tyr gasped. He could have dropped Melanie and taken a step back, but instead he slid his arms down and locked them around her stomach.

She shuddered there in his grip, both from weakness and at the sight above.

The crack started to bend in on itself. It imploded right above them. Which wasn’t a great thing, because the shockwave pounded down into them. Tyr might’ve almost died minutes ago, but he still twisted around and used the bulk of his back to protect Melanie. He pushed her against the cracked bitumen and grass. Her cheeks ground against a sparking vine. She squeezed her eyes closed. Everything shook. It felt as if the shockwave would tear right down to the subway – or whatever the bridge realms had replaced it with. Finally, just as she assumed her jaw would turn to dust and her face would follow, it stopped.

Tyr had been holding his breath. As he released it, his chest pressed against her shoulders. He pushed up. Immediately, he slid his fingers down her arm and grabbed up her hand. She twisted around.

She looked into his eyes.

Tyr… why hold back anymore? They both got that impression right at the same time. And they pushed together, like two balls ejected from cannons. Their lips locked against one another’s. And for a few seconds, she indulged in an experience that wasn’t destruction. She was taken far away to another realm by his hot, quickly moving lips. She was saved from this horror. Just momentarily. And that’s all she needed. It told her with a little more effort, with a little more struggle, she could save herself forever.

Tyr didn’t want to pull away. He slipped a hand down her back.

But then they were disrupted by, of all things, the sound of a squad car.

It was having to navigate through a street that wasn’t so much a road anymore, and mostly a forest.

Tyr pulled away. He narrowed his eyes. Williams?

He might’ve stopped kissing Melanie, but he still held her hand.

Williams got out of her squad car.

She had the kind of expression you would expect on the face of somebody who was meant to control the police force in a city that had just turned into a fantasyland. What the hell is happening? she screamed.

I’ll explain later. It’s stopped. For now, Tyr said.

Was it the immortals? Williams demanded.

Tyr’s lips froze. What was he going to say? Was he going to unleash the truth on Williams or keep it to himself considering its earth-shattering significance?

Melanie shouldn’t have had to question. From the very beginning, Tyr had always taken his commitment to the Erebus Police Department seriously. And perhaps it had finally been the means to pull him away from the immortals long enough for the truth to reveal itself. Much has happened, Williams. I myself have discovered that I’m not an immortal, after all.

Williams shrugged. This right here was possibly the most important news in all the realms, but she took it like another insignificant report from her department. Makes sense. You never struck me as being the same as the rest of them. Less arrogant.

Tyr actually managed a chuckle. But that would be when there was more lightning above.

Williams tilted her plastic-covered hat back and stared at it. You said this has stopped. What exactly is this? What the hell happened to my city?

The things you see around you come from the bridge realm. It was being melded with this dimension, but the process has paused. Syn, however, is still out there – and she is behind all of this. We must still stop the immortals.

Great. Let’s do that from the police department. I don’t know why, but it survived this attack. Mostly. A tree has grown up in the middle of it, but we can work around it. Get in the car, Williams growled.

Tyr did as he was told.

He pulled Melanie with him. She gladly allowed him to do so. They barreled into the back. Williams proved to be pretty good at driving through uncertainty. Literally. Because while the bridge realms were no longer actively coming into Erebus, the vines and trees were still growing. And the creatures were still running wild. Williams showed her heart as she came to a skidding stop when one of those embryonic creatures darted across the road, its fearful shriek keening above Williams’s blaring horn. What the hell are those things? And how the hell do I—

They’re victims, just like us, Melanie spoke before Tyr could. We need to do everything we can to take them back to their home.

Right. But right now my priority is keeping Erebus safe. How the heck do I do that?

Deploy warlocks. Try to make perimeters around areas that are thickest with bridge space. That will help to contain the issue for now, Tyr commanded.

For now? Williams looked up at her rear vision mirror and frowned at Tyr.

I know you want certainty now, Commissioner, but I can’t give it I’m afraid, Tyr admitted. Erebus will become increasingly chaotic as more of bridge space pushes through.

And what are you going to do about that? Williams asked directly. She still hadn’t queried what Tyr was. He’d admitted he wasn’t a higher immortal, leaving a hell of a question unanswered, but clearly Williams knew her priorities.

Tyr looked at his hands. Melanie pretty much already knew what he was thinking. She imagined every single issue in the realms was assailing him like a meteorite storm.

He covered his face for a few seconds then let his hand drop. I will petition the high immortals for assistance.

Melanie stiffened. She said as much with her gaze as she possibly could.

Had she just heard that accurately? They’d kidnapped him. How much of everything that was happening here was because of them?

He looked at her for a few seconds then couldn’t stomach her angry stare anymore. He settled his gaze forward until it locked on the back of Williams’s headrest.

Williams continued to drive expertly considering the conditions only became more chaotic. They made it onto a major highway. There were trees and vines everywhere. One massive tree had grown right through a pylon. Either it was magically supporting the rest of the highway, or the concrete hadn’t yet remembered that it should fall down without support.

I sure as hell hope this doesn’t collapse while we’re on it, Williams snarled. She shoved her foot on the accelerator. She was about the only car driving. Everyone else had already abandoned their vehicles.

Tyr stared out of the car morosely.

This was probably where Melanie had to lean over and lock a hand on his. She had to stare endearingly and supportively up into his gaze. The support was there. She just… didn’t know where they stood anymore. Was he really going to go up and petition the high immortals? He didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome, did he? He didn’t actually care for the people who’d ruined his life, right?

One by one, the fingers of Melanie’s left hand curled into a fist.

Tyr didn’t even notice. He swept his empty stare over every broken building and the growing chaotic storm above. He frowned as they came down the other side of the bridge. What is happening to Oakley Tower?

You noticed that too? No clue, Williams growled. Some kind of energy storm has built up around it, and we can’t get anywhere near the street.

Melanie craned her neck. Locking a sweaty hand against the window, she leaned in as close as she could until she saw Oakley Street. She knew exactly where it was. What with one thing and another, it had become a seriously memorable place.

As soon as her eyes locked on that storm, her gut rocked like a thousand horses all kicking at once. It’s Syn, isn’t it? She twisted around and faced Tyr.

He pressed his lips together. He nodded his head once.

Then— Melanie couldn’t get another word out.

You’re not strong enough to fight her yet. We have to understand this situation first, he warned.

She overtaxed herself trying to bring bridge space here. And I disrupted her when she tried to take me over, Melanie said, keeping her voice low so it wouldn’t carry. She’s vulnerable now, Tyr. This is when we should attack. Unless you don’t want to because you still have feelings….

Don’t say it, he warned.

She bristled at his tone. Why not? I don’t even know who you are at the moment. Why would you want to trust the higher immortals? They—

He closed his eyes. It wasn’t what she expected. He was getting steadily irater, though it was kind of hard to say who he was getting angry at. He kept staring at Oakley Tower, his gaze flicking across the gathering storm. I can’t abandon the immortals. They have a role to play in the heavens.

They have—

I will not abandon you either, Melanie. Everything I have done—

I don’t know what you two are whispering about in the back, but pay attention. We’re coming up to a tricky patch. You see that monster ahead? Is it going to attack our car?

Melanie reluctantly turned. She frowned at the street. More of those embryonic creatures were running about. But there were also these stag-like demon things. They were massive. Their horns looked as if they were reaching for the sky. Everything was electrified, too. Long lines of light chased down into their muscles, scissored across their backs, and discharged down from their hooves.

One was right in Williams’s way. It put its head down, angling it toward the grill of the car, and kicked one foot back.

Drive around it, Tyr commanded.

I don’t think that’s a good idea. Unless we appease it, it will attack. Melanie grabbed the headrest, opened the window, and leaned out.

She didn’t have that much magic left. A heck of a lot of it had been used to call on the eternity bow. She was tired, anyway. Deeply so. She’d almost died… she couldn’t actually count how many times she’d almost died. It was kind of an irrelevant metric to somebody who could come back from the point of death an untold number of times. The point was, every single time she resurrected herself from the dust, it cost her.

She didn’t want to admit Tyr was right, but if she went up against Syn right now, she’d be able to wipe the floor with Melanie.

What are you doing? Tyr crunched in close and grabbed her collar.

But Melanie had no intention of throwing herself out of the car into the path of that stag. She stared out at it instead. Sliding a hand down her leg, she grabbed up her bells.

What are you doing, Melanie? Tyr hardened his tone.

I’m trying to distract it so it won’t attack us. Melanie clutched her bells tighter.

I need to know what to do, Williams growled, one hand settling on her holster.

Melanie reached out with the bells. She shook them once. It was just before the stag started to charge.

Its eyes pulsed wide at the sound. It got this endless look in its gaze. It was one that sank right into Melanie’s soul and rattled her heart. It was the look of a creature who dearly wanted to go home.

… Melanie wanted to go home, too. It had become abundantly clear that regardless of the fact that she was a human punisher in this iteration of her existence, in her heart, she was something else. She still didn’t know where that forest with the starscape and the wheat field was, but she wanted to go home. She wanted to leave this mental world behind.

Maybe it was because she recognized that emotion in the stag that she managed to calm it down. It veered away from the car. It ran for a few more meters then turned and looked at her right in the eyes.

She stared at it as Williams shot past. Then the stag ran off between two buildings.

Melanie pulled herself back into the car only to feel Tyr’s gaze on the side of her face.

What? she whispered.

You are—

There was a crackle over the radio.

Williams immediately answered. What is it?

That storm over Oakley Tower is getting worse. It’s drawing in power from the grid, someone answered in a throaty, husky voice.

The power grid is still functioning? Tyr demanded.

It was until a moment ago, Williams commented. She twisted her head up, and sure enough, the remaining streetlights and buildings that were unadulterated by bridge creatures and plants started to fade as their lights turned off in a marching wave.

Which just led to a far eerier sight. The city might not be lit up by electricity anymore, but it was illuminated by the magic and bioluminescence the bridge realm had brought with it.

It was a startling sight, and under any other circumstance, it would be beautiful. Most of the vines that now clogged the streets and ran up the sides of buildings had these special little glowing flowers. They made it look as if everything was covered in Christmas lights. It also brought Melanie’s attention to the pools of water that had spread everywhere. They looked a lot like those ones from the bridge realm near those mirrors.

Hold on, we’re coming up on the police station now, Williams commented.

For someone who’d lived in this city her entire life, Melanie was surprised they were so close. Everything was unrecognizable. Some landmarks might still be there, but it was pretty hard to guess what they’d once been now they were covered in clinging plants charged with magic.

Williams managed to drive down into the car park. She had to get past a team of five warlocks and five witches. All of them had their hands spread as they chanted spells to keep the bridge realm out.

Melanie was surprised when Tyr let out a sigh of relief. Melanie didn’t. She kinda wanted to go back out there. She felt more at home and strangely safer out there. Plus… she would have to face the look in Tyr’s eyes if she stayed here much longer.

Don’t get her wrong – she was so glad he was still alive. And she would do anything and everything to keep him that way. But at some point… at some point they would have to face each other and figure out what they now meant to one another.

Williams opened the door and barreled out.

She did not head toward the elevators. It wasn’t just that the electricity wasn’t on. Even from here Melanie could see that moss had grown up the sides. It flashed blue and orange.

Just this way, Williams said as she strode away.

Tyr looked at Melanie once.

She wanted to believe that there was a lot conveyed in that look. But it wasn’t answers. It was more questions. She got the impression that when he had the time, he’d press her up against the wall and ask them all.

Okay, he probably wouldn’t press her up against the wall, but… their entire relationship had been defined by a game of cat and mouse.