Grace took a deep breath and blinked back the tears threatening to fall. How could this family so quickly have taken such a funny, confident and happy boy and made him so insecure, despondent and confused? She wanted to whisk him away from here at this very second, but didn’t work that way. “Of course not, Matty! You are an amazing kid. I know this is hard. Everything will work out. Ms. Clarke and I are doing our very best.”
Matty gave her a wobbly, trusting smile and then hugged her. Guilt settled like a weight in her stomach. She hoped everything did work out, but it was never a guarantee. Matty’s custody battle was tied up in court; she doubted his Aunt would win, but if she did, she doubted even more that she could ever provide Matty with a stable, loving home. All she was currently succeeding at was blocking Matty from being adopted by a family who could cherish him.
Grace steeled herself to put on a positive, self-assured face. When she pulled away from Matty, she wanted him to only see the bright, cheery woman he had met on her very first day.
“Ms. Clarke and I will be back soon, Matty. I’ll talk to her about what we can do to make you happier.” She wished she could make him better promises, but she dared not make any commitments she wasn’t sure she could keep.
She walked back into the drawing room. Annalise was putting away her notebook and shaking hands with the Murphys.
“Well, you will be hearing from us shortly. I’m glad both of you feel that things are going smoothly.” Annalise stepped back to allow Mrs. Murphy to lead the way to the front door.
After some final farewells, Annalise and Grace walked back into the sunshine that smiled upon the stunning two-story home. Such irony. The inside of that home was anything but smiles and sunshine.
“Annalise, we can’t leave him here. They are using him as a servant, not nurturing him as a child,” Grace pleaded with her.
“I agree with you. Something isn’t right. But Grace, you must understand, these people aren’t just any family. They have influence - not only with our directors, but with the entire community. Unless we can back up our claims with real evidence, our word alone will mean nothing. We could go in there and take him home today, but not only would our superiors bring him right back here, you and I would probably be out of jobs.”
Grace gritted her teeth and tightened her fists in frustration. “Ugh, this is ridiculous. What are we supposed to do? How can we go up against them?”
“We’ll find a way. Let’s focus on getting Matty out of there as fast as we can. Then we can delay giving them any more foster children for a while. We have other homes we can send children to. Maybe we can buy ourselves enough time to think of something.”
Caleb’s black Lincoln turned the corner onto the street. “Well, my ride is here, I better get going. Thank you for letting me come with you.”
Annalise squeezed her shoulder. “I know how much you care about him. We’ll get him back. I’ll keep you posted with anything I find out.”
Annalise got into her beat up Honda CRV, turn over the engine twice to get it going and pull away. She had probably put more miles on that thing going from appointment to appointment than Grace had ever traveled in her whole life. Annalise was the most dedicated social worker she knew - if Annalise couldn’t get Matty away from the Murphy’s, no one could.
When Caleb pulled up next to her, she got in without a word, still thinking about the little boy she’d had to leave behind.
“It didn’t go well, I take it?” Caleb asked, turning his head to her briefly.
“No. He’s not okay. That horrible couple only wants a foster child to enhance their appearances and further their own political agenda. When no one’s watching they’re using him as a servant. There is no love in that house.” A tear finally escaped the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. Caleb reached out a hand and wiped it away with his thumb.
“Is there nothing that can be done?”
“Usually we’d declare the family unfit and take the child out of the situation immediately. But not this family. They have political clout we can’t hope to overcome directly. Matty, or some other child, will just end up right back with them. We are going to have to get creative. But I hate to think of what’s going to happen to Matty in the meantime. It’s making me sick thinking of him staying there.”
“There is no way they can be so cruel without having some other dirty secrets. I’ll have my connections do some digging. If we find anything, maybe you and Annalise can use it as leverage.”
“You mean blackmail.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to use those exact words, but yes. Sometimes, some things are too important to fight fair.”
“Do it.” Grace said with a fierceness that surprised even herself. She would do anything to keep that beautiful little boy safe.
Chapter 15
Although she’d tried to hide it, Kalev could tell that Grace had spent the rest of the day worrying about Matty. He’d attempted to keep her mind off it, with anything he could think of. They had a battle to prepare for; they had no time to dwell on what they could not change at the moment. There would be time to take down the Murphy’s after Grace was finally safe from Loray.
After Grace had gone to bed, Kalev had met with Azriel. He’d been thrilled to hear that the Council had acquiesced and given them the green light to go after Loray and Daemon. Kalev had faith that the plan he’d concocted with Azriel was a good one, but they’d left little time to prepare, hoping their targets would be caught off guard. Kalev and Grace would go ‘training’ in the Quincy Quarries Reservation, 45 minutes south of the city, early the following morning. Seemingly alone and vulnerable, they gambled that Loray and/or Daemon would take the bait and show up. Once engaged in a fight, Azriel and the Council’s own Elite Celestial Guard would swoop in, dispatch any remaining demons and arrest the leaders.
Now, Kalev was sitting outside on the steps leading up to the apartment, waiting for Gavriel and Jophial to arrive. He’d sent them a mental message after Azriel had left, letting them know he had something important to discuss with them.
“It’s a little late to be requesting a house call, don’t you think?” Jophial grinned, appearing right on the steps next to him.
“This is not unusual behavior for him, Jophial,” Gabriel quipped as he appeared a few feet away, “I have answered his summons at all hours on numerous occasions. I can attest, however, that they are always of the gravest importance.”
“Dude, you have to learn to speak like a normal person,” Jophial chuckled.
“When I am called upon to deliver the word of the Lord, I must speak in a manner that conveys the holiness of those words. This is the way I was instructed to speak. I know no other way,” Gavriel said.
“Chill out, man, it was a joke. I know you’re a Messenger,” Jophial gestured for Gavriel to calm down.
“Are you two done?” Kalev asked. They snapped to attention. “At daybreak today, Azriel and I are going after Daemon and Loray.”
“Daemon?” Jophial said, shocked, “As in the ex-Guardian, gone-over-to-the-devil Daemon?”
“The very one.” Kalev proceeded to tell Jophial the story of how Daemon had appeared at the club.
“Well I’ll be damned,” Jophial responded after he’d finished. “I’d have never thought he’d have the guts to show his face around here again.” He then turned to Gavriel and added, “And I’d have never thought you’d break protocol and appear before a human for anything other than your Messenger duties.”
Gavriel opened his mouth to speak but Jophial cut him off, “Good for you, man. You did the right thing.”
Gavriel didn’t answer him but nodded his head in acknowledgment. Instead he turned to Kalev, “How can we be of assistance?”
“Listen, I have no doubt that the Celestial Guard will be effective at fighting and capturing demons. They are one of the best squads in the Western Hemisphere, but they will be focused their objective, not on Grace’s safety.”
“We will keep her sa
fe,” they both answered in unison.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it,” Kalev said.
“What are friends for?” Jophial said. “I’ve got souls to save, but I’ll be there before sunrise.”
“I shall be as well,” Gavriel reassured him.
Kalev thanked both angels again and the pair disappeared into the night. ‘Friends’ Jophial had said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He supposed Jophial was right; they really had become friends over the past few decades. Angels didn’t usually have friends; they weren’t traditionally capable of the feelings required to foster a true friendship. He supposed, however, that working so closely to humans as the three of them did, he was not the only one unaffected by the pull of humanity. He guessed it was impossible to be so invested in working with souls without some of their emotions rubbing off. As strange as emotions sometimes were, Kalev had no interest in ever going back to the cold, uncaring way he had been before. He never wanted the warmth that Grace had brought to his existence to go away, even if he couldn’t be with her.
✽✽✽
The morning air was unusually cold for March; even if the car thermometer hadn’t said it was only 38 degrees, their clouds of breath in the air would have told him as much. Threatening, dark thunderheads loomed in the distance, charcoal black against an impenetrable blanket of grey stratus clouds that had settled in. Kalev and Grace had parked their car in the lot near the quarry entrance before sunrise and begun the short walk into the rock formation. They’d brought backpacks, and even a picnic basket to sell their ruse.
“Are you sure you want to fight, Grace? I’d much rather you allow Gav or Joe to escort you to safety once the battle begins.” Kalev asked again, although he already knew the answer. When he’d told her the specifics of the plan this morning, she’d balked at the idea that she’d abandon him to fight what she called ‘her fight’ without her.
“For the hundredth time, Caleb, I can’t ask you and your friends to fight for me, to put your lives on the line for me, and not ask the same of myself.”
He sighed. Arguing with her would get him nowhere. She could be as stubborn as he when she’d made up her mind.
“Then promise me that you’ll at least stay in the back and go after the weaker targets.” Regardless of what she did he would worry about her while they fought, but he needed to lessen his anxiety enough to be able to focus on battling the enemy.
“Fine. I’ll stay in the back,” she grumbled. “Just promise me one thing.” She turned her face up to him.
“Name it,” he responded.
“Promise me you won’t get yourself killed.”
His first impulse was to laugh but he could tell from her expression that she was dead serious. “I can’t make that promise. I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t happen, but I put my life on the line every time I face demons. Your involvement doesn’t change that. Besides, Azra’s group will rush in shortly after the fighting has begun, so we won’t be in danger very long. They are very good at what they do.”
She sighed. He knew she was smart enough to understand the truth behind his words.
“Then promise me you at least won’t sacrifice yourself for my sake. I am NOT worth dying for.”
“In that, Grace, you are very, very wrong.”
Her eyes widened. She made to reply but a voice from behind them cut her off.
“Well, where’s the party at?” Jophial came out from behind a tree a dozen yards away.
“Grace, this is Joe,” he gestured as Jophial met up with them.
“Nice to meet you, Joe,” she said shaking his hand.
“You are even more beautiful in person. Caleb didn’t do you justice,” he flashed his perfect teeth at her. Grace blushed.
“You called me beautiful?” Grace said, turning her big blue eyes up at him.
“I…” How was he supposed to answer that? He hadn’t told Jophial anything about Grace’s appearance, but he couldn’t very well tell her no. He wasn’t that stupid.
“Look at him all tongue-tied,” Jophial laughed, sparing Kalev the awkward task of responding. “I’ll stay out of sight until the fun begins, alright? I just wanted to let you know I was here. Gav will be here in a minute. I’ll have him join me.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you coming to help us,” Grace said.
“Any time,” he winked at her and took off into the trees.
“I’m not sure what it is,” Grace said with the sparkle of mischief in her eye, “but I really like him.”
Caleb rolled his eyes at her and let out a snort. “I have no idea.”
The two walked the rest of the short distance in silence. At the back of the curved rock formation, they dumped their gear in a small pile and faced each other. Grace’s cheeks were already tinged pink in the cold, but she was smiling brightly. Even bundled in her black Patagonia and ear wrap, she was a vision. If Gavriel and Jophial hadn’t been somewhere nearby keeping a lookout, he’d have swept her up into his arms and kissed her until they both forgot why they were standing in a quarry in the first place.
Instead, he figured that he might as well be useful while they waited for the demons would take the bait.
“I’m going to teach you some moves from Silat,” he said. He staggered his legs, bent slightly at the knees and turned his torso to one side.
“What is Silat?” Grace asked, although she was already mimicking the stance that he’d taken.
“It’s one of the deadliest forms of martial arts in the world. It originates from Southeast Asia, although it has picked up in popularity elsewhere. The moves are fairly advanced, but I know you’ve got it in you.”
She smiled broadly, clearly flattered by the compliment.
“Since we’ll need our strength later, let’s use this to warm up our muscles. I don’t want us expending too much energy. Let’s just walk through some of the steps, alright?”
Grace nodded. “I could use the distraction anyway. I’m getting antsy.”
Stretching her limbs, Grace stood up from her crouched position and headed over to the packs to get a water bottle. It was dreary; the subtle lightening of the sky over the past hour was the only indication that the sun had finally risen. But it was bright enough to outline the looming rock faces on three sides of her. No wonder Caleb and his friends had chosen this spot. It looked like the perfect trap - for themselves. But he had assured her that Azra was connected with a sizable number of fighters and when they swooped in from behind, it would be the enemy that was trapped instead. Had she been alone, or with anyone other than Caleb, she would undoubtedly have been afraid, but with Caleb at her side she could face a whole army of demons and not flinch. She would follow him anywhere, and if he thought their odds were good, she believed him.
“Hello, Grace. So good to see you,” a familiar voice called from the opening of the quarry. She froze; the time had come. She forced herself to turn around. It was Daemon.
“I’d like to say it is a pleasure to see you too, but I’d prefer not to lie,” she responded coolly. Caleb came to stand beside her and angled himself slightly ahead of her.
“Still playing the hero, then?” Daemon added, turning his attention to Caleb, “Joan would be so proud.”
Joan. So, Daemon and Caleb must have been close if he knew Joan of Arc was Caleb’s role model. A stab of sympathy ran through her. She couldn’t imagine the sense of betrayal he must be feeling at this moment, to facing a former friend as an enemy.
“It’s time to end this, Daemon. You need to leave Grace alone. She has done nothing to you,” Caleb shouted across the clearing.
“You and I both know that I can’t do that. I have certain obligations that I need to keep. I promised Loray we’d get her, and so we shall. You chose a poor spot for a romantic interlude.” He gestured around at the walls of the quarry as if to point out that they were trapped, then he took a few steps forward. “Now, Grace, you seem like a reasonable y
oung woman. Here me out. If you come with me now, we can avoid this whole scene and I will let Caleb walk away, unharmed. If I have to fight and force you to come with me, I will, but Caleb will, in all likelihood, die in that fight. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”
Grace hesitated but only for an instant. She would willingly sacrifice herself if it meant that Caleb would be safe, but she didn’t trust Daemon to let Caleb live. Perhaps he’d make it out of the clearing, but she had no doubt that Daemon wouldn’t give up until Caleb was dead. He didn’t seem the sort to only do a job halfway.
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Caleb said before Grace could voice her dissent.
“I didn’t ask you, now did I,” Daemon answered, the smooth patience in his voice beginning to fade.
“You can take your ‘offer’ and shove it, Daemon. Neither of us is going anywhere,” Grace said.
“Ah, well, so be it.” Daemon sighed, as if tired of dealing with two naive children who didn’t know what was good for them. He then raised his hands towards the sky. The billowing black clouds that had been in the distance before, were swiftly rolled in, faster than could possibly be natural. Thunder boomed and bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. The clouds burst. Rivulets of rain pelted down in an angry torrent; the weather itself seemed to have teamed up with Daemon. She wondered how they would be able to fight in such a blinding deluge.
Through the rain, a small army of daevas stepped up in neat rows behind him. Their noxious stench immediately hit her nostrils. The contents of her stomach threatened to revolt, but she forced it down. She couldn’t afford to indulge any weakness.
With a swift stroke, Daemon brought his hands down, signaling the daevas to start their charge. As they rushed forward, she steeled herself for the impact. Then two men jumped in front of her. It was Gav and Joe. They must have climbed down the rock face behind her while she was talking with Daemon and pushed off to leap over her. The two hit the ground in a synchronized roll, slamming into the first line of daevas, and breaking their formation.
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