by C. L. Coffey
He turned back to me with his stern expression. “You can stop undressing me there.”
I held up a finger. “Just one more thing.”
“Kennedy,” he warned, his tone low. I wasn’t sure if he said my name as a warning or an invitation.
Choosing the latter, I shot my hand up once more, unbuttoning the top two buttons. Then before he could grab me, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. “That’s better.”
The archangel looked down at his shirt, and then down at me, his eyebrow arched. I just ignored him, my attention reverting back to the music. The track had turned to something a little more upbeat and while I didn’t recognize it, I liked the sound. So I did what anyone else would do in their dreams. I threw up my hands and danced.
“What are you doing?”
“Dancing,” I sang, twirling around.
Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is there any chance I could persuade you to sit down?”
I paused and poked my tongue out at him. Then, because it seemed like a really good idea, I started dancing around him.
There was an exasperated sigh, and then he reached out and grabbed me by the waist.
It didn’t stop my movements as I pouted up at him. “Dream you is as serious as awake you,” I informed him. “Or don’t archangels know how to dance?” I stopped moving, cocking my head as that thought took over. “Have you ever danced with a girl before?”
“Kennedy, I don’t think that dancing is appropriate,” he started to tell me, but my eyes caught the red flush which was working its way up his neck.
My mouth fell open. “You’ve never danced.” I felt his arms tense as I threw my arms around his neck and started swaying on the spot.
“Kennedy.” His voice was thick again.
I stared up at him. Then, never removing my hands, I closed my eyes and concentrated.
“What are you doing now?” he asked, warily.
I pried an eye open. “Trying to make this dream version of you more fun. It’s my dream.” I closed my eye and continued concentrating.
He finally sighed and slowly started moving side to side.
I opened my eyes and beamed at him. “That’s better.”
“One dance,” he whispered hoarsely, his hands relaxing their hold on me slightly.
I relaxed my arms, and we moved slowly to the music. “Much better,” I muttered again, resting my cheek against his chest.
He froze. With a shuddering sigh, he continued to dance, resting his chin against me. For some reason, I felt at peace in his arms. Warm and safer than I'd ever felt before.
The song ended sooner than I wanted it to, and I was in no hurry for the dance to end. We came to a stop, and Gabriel seemed as reluctant to let go of me as I was of him.
“Is it lonely being an angel?” I didn’t think he had heard me, and I opened my mouth to ask him again, but he answered.
“It wasn’t.”
“I think it must be lonely.” I nestled further into his embrace. “You’re on earth, the other angels are in heaven. And you’re millions of years old? That’s a lot of people.” A sharp, juddering intake of breath caused me to look up.
He was staring at me with such intensity that those green eyes seemed to have become molten emeralds. “Kennedy,” he whispered softly.
I stared, unblinking, locked in his gaze. Breathing became difficult, trapped in his arms.
I kissed him.
Apparently, in my dreams, I was bold. Or stupid.
Or both.
As my lips did little more than brush over his, I was edging strongly towards the latter. I think I stunned him. I closed my eyes, more out of embarrassment, ready to step back and break this bad judgement, but his hands left my back and were cupping my face, fingers tracing the skin behind my ears.
It was Gabriel who deepened the kiss. His kiss was full of passion and need and heat. Heat that travelled from his touch right through my core. He kissed me like he’d never been kissed before, and like he would never kiss again.
When I pulled away, I was breathing heavily, and my lips were tingling.
I was also completely aware that this wasn’t a dream.
I wasn’t sure if that revelation was on my face, but Gabriel took a step back, putting some distance between us. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not dreaming,” I told him. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I stumbled backwards onto his bed.
“Kennedy?”
I leaned forward, resting my forehead on the ball of my palm. My head started pounding, like an ocean sending angry waves rushing against my skull.
I kissed Gabriel.
My fingers moved to my lips and then I looked up and found Gabriel watching me, warily. “I kissed you.”
“Yes.”
I had kissed him, and my lips were still tingling. He was a good kisser.
“I thought I was dreaming,” I muttered. I looked up in time to see Gabriel disappear out of the room.
Aaaaand it was obvious what he thought of that.
“Focus, Kennedy,” I muttered to myself. Maybe I had been in a little bit of denial about how I really felt about Gabriel, but even if that were the case, I wouldn’t have done this if I was … drunk? Drugged?
Just as I was replaying the events of the evening, Gabriel reappeared in front of me, holding a glass of water.
I stared at it and frowned. “Alcohol?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Water.”
I took the glass. “That’s not what I meant.” I took a sip of the water. It was cold and refreshing. “Was I drunk?” I shook my head. “But I only had one drink. There’s no way it would have made me do that.”
“Alcohol lowers inhibitions, and it affects angels differently than humans, so I assume that applies to nephilim,” Gabriel explained, keeping a few feet back from the bed.
While it felt like I had been dreaming at the time, I hadn’t imagined his tongue exploring my mouth. I could feel my cheeks heat up, but I didn’t look away.
“I suspect you were drugged.”
I continued staring at him, ready to call him out on avoiding answering my question, but a thought—a memory—popped into my head.
One drink: I’d had one drink, and the person it had come from was Ty. It was the drink he had brought back for Leigh-Ann.
I was going to murder him.
With a growl, I jumped to my feet, thrusting the still full glass at Gabriel and not stopping when the water sloshed over the side. Instead, I hurried past him, running outside into the snow.
Snow.
The college, just a little down the road, was bathed in bright light from the security lights.
Leigh-Ann’s dream.
“Kennedy?” Gabriel appeared beside me, looking at me like I had gone crazy.
I whirled on the spot. “Leigh-Ann’s dream.”
Before I could explain, there was an explosion behind me. When I turned back to the school, part of it was up in flames.
Harrison.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I started running towards the college, vaguely aware that I wasn’t wearing any shoes, but not changing direction to go find them. I’d had weeks of practice running through snow, only this time, I wasn’t focused on hiding my speed.
This time, I was almost flying across the grounds to the main campus.
From nowhere, Gabriel appeared at my side. He reached out and grabbed my hand, and then we were in the corner of the ballroom, hidden behind a blossom tree. Half of the room was on fire. If the fallen angels had come in, they had done so through the gaping hole in the wall.
Covering my mouth with the back of my hand, I coughed from the smoke. My other hand grabbed at Gabriel’s arm as the familiar dizzy feeling hit me.
“We need to find Harrison and Leigh-Ann,” I told him. “Leigh-Ann dreamed this would happen, that fallen angels were attacking and they’re after Harrison. If we don’t stop them, he’s going to die.”
Gabriel stared at me. I expe
cted a dozen questions, but instead, he removed my hand and disappeared.
“Really?”
And then he was back, handing me a dagger. “I know we’ve not covered weapons yet, but if there are fallen angels here, you need a weapon. We’re going to find Harrison and Leigh-Ann, then you are going to get them out of here. Leave the fighting to me.”
The room was in chaos. It was still full of students, some lying on the floor, others scrambling over debris as they tried to get out. I was trying to focus on the doors at the far side, guarded by two men—fallen angels—who were attacking anyone who tried to get past.
There was the sound of glass breaking, and I turned in time to see one of the ballroom windows rain down over Lottie. She was standing in front of it, holding a beam of wood with far more ease than a human could do.
Lottie was a nephilim?
And here I’d just thought she was a bitch.
Great. She was a bitch with supernatural strength and speed.
But she was also a bitch who was helping others out of the window, despite the cuts that had blood running down her bare arms.
I ran over to her, wishing I’d gone back for my shoes. “Have you seen Harrison?”
Lottie’s eyes went from my face to the dagger in my hands. “Are you kidding me? You’re one?”
At least I wasn’t the only one in the dark about who the other nephilim were. “Lottie?”
“No, he disappeared with you ages ago.” There was a sneer on her face as she said that, but I didn’t have time to argue. A junior girl ran towards us, and I helped her over to Lottie before turning to find Gabriel.
I spotted him at the door, fighting the fallen angels.
With smoke tickling at my throat, making my eyes water, I climbed out the window. The last place I’d seen Harrison and Leigh-Ann was in the library. Hopefully they were both still there, safe.
Something sharp hidden in the snow stabbed the sole of my foot, making me shriek in pain. I ground my teeth together and pressed forward, climbing out into the snow-covered garden.
Outside was just as chaotic as inside, only with less smoke. Students dressed in ripped ballgowns and suits were running around frantically. Some were terrified, some found weapons from pieces of debris and attacked the fallen angels swarming the campus.
When Pinnosa said there were nephilim on the campus, she’d downplayed it. At least a third of the student body was either fighting the angelic invaders or moving rubble around with supernatural strength to help the injured.
Now was not the time to process this piece of information. There were a lot more fallen angels invading the campus than Leigh-Ann had seen, and there were enough nephilim outing themselves to fight the Fallen off.
My priority was my best friend and my charge.
Much as I had been trying to ignore the fact Harrison was my charge, he was. I had been avoiding it, partly because it was easier to do so than accept that having him in my life meant Lottie wasn’t far behind.
Only, now, they had split up. And I had no excuses left.
I’d been given Harrison as my charge to make sure that he was safe.
And this, right now, was something he needed protection from. He was a human and he stood no chance against a fallen angel.
I ran through the snow, my bloody footprints following me. The emergency exit to the library was still ajar, so I slipped inside, trying to keep as quiet as possible. This side of the building had missed the brunt of the damage from the explosion, but several pieces of furniture had been upended, surrounded by books that had fallen from the shelves.
“Leigh-Ann?” I edged forward carefully, expecting a fallen angel to appear out of nowhere. “Harrison?”
“Kennedy?”
Relief swept through me as Leigh-Ann’s prominent Texan twang carried across the room. I spun, finding her on the other side of the room, tears streaming down her face.
“Thank you,” I muttered to myself as I ran across to join her, avoiding a fallen chandelier. “Why are you crying? Where’s Harrison?”
“He’s here. He’s hurt.”
I crouched down beside him, placing the dagger on the ground as I looked him over. He was conscious but clutching at his thigh. His head was covered in blood, too. “What happened?”
“We were talking and then there was an explosion, and everything shook. The chandelier fell.”
“Harrison pushed me out of the way. It fell on him.”
I gently pulled Harrison’s hand from his injury. There was a massive gash leaking blood everywhere. Without thinking, I tore the sleeve of my dress off, my strength making it look like I was ripping through paper.
Ignoring Leigh-Ann’s surprised cry, I wrapped it around Harrison’s thigh, just above the wound, and tied a knot as tightly as I could. “I’m sorry,” I said as he winced. “We need to slow the bleeding until we can get you to the infirmary.”
The other sleeve came off as easily as the first. This, I wrapped around a piece from the bottom of my skirt that I’d torn off and rolled up to press onto the wound.
“Is he going to be okay?” Leigh-Ann asked. “My dream–”
“Your dream is not coming true tonight.” My words were firmer and more confident than I felt. “Harrison is going to be okay, but we can’t stay here.”
“We’re up the side of a mountain,” Harrison said, his voice cracking. “Where do you expect us to go?”
“The church,” I replied, surprising myself at the answer. Ty said fallen angels couldn’t enter churches. I turned to Leigh-Ann. “Where’s Ty?”
Fear filled Leigh-Ann’s eyes as she shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since you disappeared with Gabriel.”
That’s convenient.
“Harrison, can you walk?” I asked.
“I think so,” he replied. “Yes.”
I scooped up my dagger before turning my attention to Leigh-Ann. “This campus is crawling with fallen. Thankfully, half the student body seems to be nephilim and are fighting them off.”
“What?” Harrison asked.
“I promise to fill you in properly when we get to the church.” I leaned over, helping him to his feet. I waited to make sure Leigh-Ann could support Harrison’s weight before I helped them both towards the door.
Just as we got there, the security lights which had lit the grounds up like it was the middle of the day switched off.
The campus descended into utter darkness as what little moonlight there was broke through the racing clouds, reflecting off the snow.
Outside, there were still fights going on. Humans huddled in groups as nephilim banded together to battle the fallen angels and protect their friends.
I couldn’t see Gabriel anywhere. We were on our own.
“No matter what happens, keep heading to the church,” I told the twins. “It’s the only place they can’t go. You’ll be safe there.”
“Don’t say it like you’re not going to be there with us.” Leigh-Ann’s eyes grew wide.
“I have every intention of getting in that church too. Let’s go.”
It would have been quicker had I picked Harrison up and carried him. Leigh-Ann was struggling as much as he was, as the pair kept sliding across the snow.
“Dora,” a voice yelled across the night.
I whipped my head around, finding Simone waving me over. She was cowering behind one of the garden statues. Going to her was a detour from the church, but she had blood all over her pale blue dress, and her skin wasn’t far from the same shade.
“Dammit.” I changed direction and led us over, keeping the dagger out in case I needed it. “Are you okay?”
Simone shook her head. “It’s not my blood, it’s Cody’s.” She pointed behind the statue.
I moved around to find Cody leaning up against the stone base, clutching his side. His hands, shirt, and the surrounding snow were all covered in blood.
“We can’t leave him here,” Leigh-Ann told me.
I crouched dow
n in front of Cody, but as I checked his wound, he shook his head.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll heal quickly. Simone won’t.”
I gaped at him. “You too?”
“I’ve been asking that question on repeat for the last hour.” He chuckled before coughing. “I’m going to petition to change the name of this place to Hellfire Academy.”
“Just shut up and come with us to the church.”
Cody shook his head. “Get Simone there. I’ll just slow you down.”
I’d never really liked Cody, but it didn’t feel right to just leave him here.
And then Simone let out a shriek. “Lottie!”
Charging across the snow, brandishing what looked like a table leg, the tall Asian headed towards us. She had blood on her, but like Simone, it didn’t look like hers. “What are you guys doing over here?” Lottie demanded.
“We’re going to the church,” Leigh-Ann replied.
“I don’t think praying is going to help,” Lottie told her.
“No, but holy ground will stop the Fallen. Dad was always complaining about churches when I was younger,” Cody told her before coughing again.
“Your father?” Lottie repeated. “You?”
I was glad that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know who else was a nephilim but now wasn’t the time. “This can wait until we’re not under attack from our parents. Simone, help Cody. Lottie, you look like you can fight. We’re getting to the church.”
We’d been out in the middle of the grounds for too long. I was surprised when Lottie and Simone actually listened to me. Instead of saying anything, I continued leading us forward to the church.
We’d covered most of the ground and had just another fifty yards to go when Lottie let out a scream of rage. I turned back to see Simone on the ground, her head no longer attached to her body. A fallen angel was standing over her, Simone’s blood dripping from the sword that had been used to kill her.
Lottie let go of Cody, letting him slump to the ground as she whirled around and slammed the table leg into the side of the fallen angel’s head.
