by Ivy Sinclair
“Which way?”
Riley’s words brought me out of my horrified stupor. I looked up and saw two small tunnel entrances in front of me. I pointed at the one on the right. “There.”
Riley pulled me through to the other side, and then his hand dropped from mine. I understood why. The small underground lake in front of us seemed to be lit up from underneath. There was enough light for us to see the smooth walkway that went around the far side of the cave and ended up next to a small motor-powered boat.
“I didn’t know angels needed getaway options like this,” Riley said, not hesitating to head toward the boat.
“He said he docked it here because he liked fishing on this side of the island, and this way he didn’t have to pay the dock fee at the marina. But I’ve never seen him fish,” I said. I followed him slowly and caught his look in my direction and the shake of his head. I knew what he was thinking even as I said the words out loud. I had been so naïve.
“Well, it’s a good thing it’s here no matter what the reason,” Riley said. He climbed into the boat and started checking the motor. Once I reached a few feet from the boat, I found that my feet wouldn’t take me any further. I stood there watching Riley feeling waves of fear crashing through me.
Riley looked up at me, and I saw his expression turn to one of concern. “Paige. What is it?”
“I can’t,” I stammered, starting to back away from the boat. “I can’t get on that boat.”
Riley was by my side moments later. One of his hands took my elbow as the other tugged on my chin until I looked up into his eyes.
“You said that you weren’t afraid of boats, although I understand why you would be.” Damn the man’s perception.
“I’m not afraid of boats,” I said. The shivers were beginning to wrack my body. “I can’t leave the island.” I wasn’t sure where the words came from, but there they were.
Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Have you ever tried to leave the island in the last three years?”
I shook my head. “No. I told you that I never wanted to.”
I felt Riley’s hand skim my shoulder and then gasped when he pushed the collar of my shirt away from my skin. The mark that I had seen earlier glowed there once again. It was a red rose with a single white petal encircled in gold. I didn’t know what it meant; only that it somehow connected me to Benjamin.
Riley swore again. “He’s keeping you here.”
Panic set in now. “What do you mean he’s keeping me here? What are you talking about?”
Riley’s eyes darted back to the mark, and then he released the collar of my shirt so that it was covered once again. “It’s operating like a leash, Paige. Benjamin doesn’t want you to leave the island so he ensured that you couldn’t even if you wanted to.”
“Benjamin doesn’t control me,” I sputtered.
“Effective,” Riley said. It took me a moment to realize that he wasn’t talking to me any longer. His eyes were over my shoulder. I spun around and gasped even as I took a step backward bumping into Riley’s hard body. His hands on my waist steadied me; otherwise I was sure I would have gone pitching into the water.
Benjamin stood there with a sad look on his face. But where my mind froze was that the rest of him was covered in blood.
CHAPTER FIVE- RILEY
It was the story of my life. When shit hit the fan, it was as if it all hit the fan at the same time. The last thing I needed was another encounter with the all-mighty Benjamin. The guy rubbed me the wrong way, and it wasn’t just because he had proclaimed that he was in love with the woman that I was more than a little bit interested in.
It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening when Paige said that she couldn’t leave. It had struck me as odd that she hadn’t left Calamata Island in the three years since she had taken up residence there. Now seeing the strange illuminated rose on her collarbone, it all made sense.
When Benjamin said that he was protecting her, it hadn’t been just keeping an eye on her. He’d hunted, coerced, and tagged her as if she were nothing more than a prize deer. Which led me to further question the archangel’s assertion that he had no idea about Paige’s true identity. He had quite effectively cordoned off Paige from not just all supernatural elements, but all humans as well. That wasn’t love. That was power. That was control. And it pissed me off.
“You said to get her out of here. Since that’s what I’m doing, would you mind taking off your little binding spell?” I felt my fists clenching at my sides. It took everything I had to ask nicely and not punch the guy’s face in. Of course, he’d probably put me out of my misery in two seconds flat, but I hadn’t failed to check out the inhabitants of the area around us. Benjamin may be stronger than me, but I could definitely make it an interesting fight.
“I had hoped to take care of the threat entirely,” Benjamin said, but he wasn’t looking at me. His focus was intently on Paige. “In that, I have failed.”
That stopped my thoughts cold. Benjamin had failed? “What exactly does that mean?” I asked. “Aren’t you all-powerful or some shit like that?”
My sharp retort finally got the guy to look at me. The skin of his cheeks tightened in a shallow smile. “There is only one entity in all the worlds which is all-powerful, as I’m sure you know. That is not me.” His eyes returned to Paige. “I’ve done what I can to give you a head start. It won’t last for long.”
“Are you all right?” Paige asked.
My jaw dropped, and I saw my expression mirrored on Benjamin’s face. I was no stranger to battles with supernatural foes. All things considered, Benjamin didn’t look all that worse for wear, especially when both of us knew that the blood that covered him wasn’t his own. Benjamin might not see as much action as he supposedly did in his earlier years, but his ruthlessness in battle was legendary.
Benjamin took a step toward Paige. His face softened. “I am fine. My ego is battered more than anything else. Calamata Island was always meant to be a stronghold against those types of lower form evil creatures. It appears that they’ve been keeping some secrets from us. They will be dealt with to be sure.”
I heard Paige release a small breath. It killed me that she felt anything for this piece of shit in front of me, especially when I knew what he had done to her. Unless she had been a willing party to it. I took a step away from her. Everything she told me said that she didn’t have any feelings for Benjamin beyond friendship, but there were some of her actions that seemed to speak otherwise.
“I can’t leave,” Paige said softly. “I want to, but I can’t make my feet move any closer to the boat. Riley said it’s because you did something to me. Is that true?”
I smirked at the look of chagrin that crossed Benjamin’s face. That was one thing that I enjoyed about being in Paige’s company. She was refreshingly honest and didn’t bother with the niceties of beating around the bush.
“Everything I’ve done has been for your own protection,” Benjamin said. He took another step closer. “I told you that I was ready to explain everything to you. I can take you away from here now if you let me. I can take you somewhere safe.”
“If Calamata Island isn’t safe, I’m pretty sure that is a complete lie. There is nowhere safe,” I snorted.
Despite my bluster, I was worried. I had gotten lucky so far with Paige, and I knew it. I’m not sure that she did. She trusted me to keep her safe, and now I had two instances where it definitely wasn’t all me that had done it. Paige was protecting herself even if she didn’t know it. That was helpful, but led to more questions that so far I didn’t have any answers to. If she chose to leave with Benjamin, I could hardly blame her. I was a guy with some extraordinary skills, but at the end of the day, I was human. Benjamin was a freakin’ archangel.
“A minor setback,” Benjamin said coolly. “And one I intend to remedy shortly. In the meantime though, Paige is safer with me. Wouldn’t you agree, Necromancer?”
“I don’t think so. You’ve got a target on your b
ack wherever you go,” I said with a snarl. I might be the underdog, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. “You’ve just proved to every demon official out there that you are vulnerable. You’d be a fool to think that it all ends here. They’re going to be after you now because they think that for once, they might be able to get the upper hand. I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb here to say that you’ve probably pissed off more than your fair share of demons and those other “lower life forms” that you just mentioned. They’re all going to be coming after your ass because they smell blood in the water. There will probably be some angels in the mix too looking to climb the celestial ladder. I’m pretty sure that anywhere near you is the last place that Paige needs to be.”
Paige’s head swung toward me. Her look was considering. I couldn’t stop now. She had known me for two days. She’d known Benjamin, at least the face that he wanted her to see, for the three years. She had called him her best friend. I heard the whole story about how he had been the one who had given her a chance when she thought that the world had forgotten about her. Despite the fact that he had lied to her since day one, he still hadn’t done anything from her perspective that was particularly nefarious or wrong.
That was because she didn’t understand the full extent of the brand on her collarbone, and I cursed myself for being too chickenshit to explain it to her when I had the chance.
“I don’t dispute the fact that what you are saying might be true,” Benjamin said. I could tell that it was taking all the angel’s resolve not to smite me where I stood. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I fully understood how someone was smited, but I knew from Alice that it was some bad shit. That wasn’t something that was recovered from, and if nothing else, I fully understood the importance of preserving your everlasting soul once you crossed over to the other side in death. It should have been a comfort to know that death was merely a pit stop on a person’s journey in and out of their many lives. Smiting meant that it was all over though. Forever. No second chance. No advancing to the green fields of Heaven. When an angel decided to smite you, you were just done. I had my own flavor of it that I used during my own interrogations. It wasn’t something to mess with.
“However, the particular demon official present at the moment on the island has a history with you. I’m thinking that being anywhere near you is certainly more dangerous than being anywhere near me, don’t you think?”
A flood of memories rushed through my mind then. Bruno Proctor had a starring role in all of them, and the victims were my mother and sister. My mind reeled as I tried to bring those thoughts and my anger under control.
“You never answered me before Proctor’s attack on the beach. Surely you’ve told Paige about what happened with him and your family?” The snide grin on Benjamin’s face told me that he knew that I hadn’t. It was as if he was exposing the soft underbelly of my soul. No matter how you tried to hide something from an angel, they always knew where to hit you so it hurt. Bad.
“I accept your offer to get me off this island,” Paige interrupted. My heart sank. “But only on one condition.”
“Paige, don’t. You can’t trust him.” I said.
Her hand came up and stopped my words. I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. She was slipping out of my fingers right in front of me, and I was going to let her because I refused to do anything that could be compared to what Benjamin had done. It had to be her choice.
Benjamin spread his hands to his side in a conciliatory gesture that I knew was as faked as the expression of concern on his face. “Anything. You have my word that as long as I’m able to take you away from here and you remain under my protection, I will grant you whatever you wish.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Benjamin. My condition is that Riley comes with us,” Paige said. The silence was deafening in the cave after her pronouncement.
I hid my guffaw underneath a cough. Paige stared at me with a sour look on her face. Benjamin looked as if he were about to spit nails.
“Paige, I can appreciate that you desire to ensure your friend’s safety, but I am weakened from my time on the battlefield. My power is not at full strength. If you desire, I can come back for Riley later once my energy has been replenished but, for now, I must insist that we leave.”
Paige crossed her arms, and her stare swept between the two of us. I wasn’t sure exactly what I had done wrong, but I felt the weight of her displeasure nonetheless.
“I’ve spent the last two days running around this island like a chicken with my head cut off. I’m getting bits and pieces of the truth of what is actually going on from both of you, but I have no fucking idea what the hell is really going on.”
Benjamin’s eyes widened at Paige’s curse. I secretly thought it was fantastic.
Paige let out a long sigh. “Despite all of that, I do genuinely believe that the two of you want me to be safe and are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for that. But I’m done with being in the dark. I want to know the truth. I want to know who I am. I want to know how to stop all of this. But most of all, I don’t want anything to happen to people I care about because of me.”
A warm rush of emotion filled me then. I was on that list. It had been a long time since I had been on anyone’s list.
“I want answers. And I want them now. From both of you.” Paige looked at both of us expectantly.
I, in turn, looked at Benjamin. Maybe he was playing Paige straight on what he knew about her past. I highly doubted it, but I was willing to go along with it if he wanted to keep up the pretense because that meant I’d get my way.
“I’m sure you know Sister Alice Asher.”
“Everyone knows of Sister Alice,” Benjamin said scornfully. “She’s one of the few humans that has gained a level of trust within the angel community.”
“Good.” I nodded. “Paige wants answers. I think Sister Alice can help us get them.”
“I had somewhere else in mind,” Benjamin started.
“Perfect,” Paige interrupted. “Since you don’t have answers about my past, Benjamin, then I want to go see this Sister Alice. Can you take us there?”
Benjamin’s face grew dark. “Of course. Whatever you wish. For you, I will try.”
“Beats the hell out of trying to cross the country with a bunch of demons on our asses,” I said. I tried to keep the glee out of my voice. I took the angel’s hand and felt the tingle that told me he was starting to harness his magic. “But I should warn you in advance, she’ll probably ask for your autograph.”
CHAPTER SIX- PAIGE
I had to disconnect everything I knew about the world from what was happening now because it didn’t make sense. There was nothing logical about it. One minute I was standing in a dark, rank cave feeling as if I was about to be pounced on by a swarm of demons. The next minute I was standing under the full moon on a street that could easily have been found in Anywhere, USA.
“Is it still the same night as before?” I asked. The question was stupid, but not entirely irrelevant. For I all I knew, we had not only traveled across land and miles but also time and space. The idea of time travel wasn’t that far-fetched when you knew that angels and demons actually existed.
Benjamin’s hand dropped from mine, and I realized that the angel wasn’t answering me because he was slipping down to the ground. I rushed toward him, but Riley got to him first.
“Unbelievable,” Riley said as he caught Benjamin in his arms just before he hit the ground. I watched as Benjamin’s eyes rolled back in his head, and his body began to shudder.
“What’s wrong?” I couldn’t keep the fear out of my voice.
Riley’s face alternated between a look of chagrin and a look of surprise. “I don’t know,” he said. “Everything I know says that these guys are basically invincible.”
“Then why does he look like this?” I knelt down next to Benjamin’s form and touched his face. Benjamin jerked and shuddered as if refusing
my attempt at trying to comfort him. “He said that he couldn’t take three of us and that he was weak.”
“Well, I appreciate you forcing his hand on that,” Riley said. “Paige, we have to get out of the street. We’re sitting ducks here. Demon officials have eyes everywhere.”
For the first time, I looked around us. Riley was right. We were perched in the middle of a two-lane street with darkened houses surrounding us everywhere that I looked. Nothing looked even the slightest bit recognizable, and I felt a pit of fear growing in my stomach. But it wasn’t because I felt like I shouldn’t be there. Benjamin had lifted that spell after all.
“Any idea where ‘here’ is?” I asked. I felt as if the dark windows were staring into my very soul. I shifted uncomfortably returning my attention to Benjamin. I touched his forehead and hissed. He was burning up. “I don’t think he was lying about his condition, Riley.”
“We’re a few blocks over from the convent,” Riley said. As he stood, he pulled Benjamin’s limp body into his arms. “Welcome to Kansas City.”
I rose with him and felt an odd sense of anxiety and excitement. Even though I was concerned for Benjamin’s welfare, I couldn’t help but look around me with a sense of wonder. I was twenty-something years old. I knew that for a fact. But my memory only extended as far back as Calamata Island and before that, Park Ridge General Hospital. Now I was smack dab in the middle of the country, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. And while I always had dreams of traveling far and wide, I had to admit that Kansas City was one place that hadn’t even hit my radar.
“How do you know that we’re in Kansas City?” Riley had already started to move to the sidewalk, and I had no choice but to follow. “I can barely see a thing. The streetlights aren’t even on.”
