by Ciana Stone
Nevaeh pointed in the direction of the table where they'd been sitting. Augustus leapt across the table and dropped to his knees beside Gabriel, taking Layla from Gabriel's arms.
Neveah raced around the table and dropped down to her knees beside them."What do we do?"
Augustus looked at Gabriel. "Why is everything…frozen?"
"I think time is on hold."
"Pardon?"
"We'll figure it out later. For now, let Nev touch Layla."
"Because?"
"Because she can wake Layla like she woke you."
"No. Her wound is severe. We cannot wake her until we're in a position to heal her immediately."
"Can you do that?" Nevaeh looked first at Augustus and then at Gabriel. "Heal her?"
They looked at one another. "She doesn't want to be turned."Gabriel said.
"Do you know another way?"
Gabriel shook his head and put his hand on Augustus' shoulder. "What do you need from me?"
Augustus looked at Nevaeh. "How long do we have?"
"I don't know."
"Then wake our people and Layla's friends. We can disarm the attackers."
She nodded and hurried to Eldric's table. One by one, she placed her hand on the people. Then, with Gabriel's guidance, she woke his people, leaving Augustus to shout orders to them.
By the time she'd made a circuit of the room, the Preterhumans had removed weapons from the hands of the attackers. Nevaeh moved toward Asha but stopped at the sound of Augustus voice.
"Wait."
She turned to look at him. He looked around the room. "This was deliberate and there are only two people in this room with the authority and access to achieve this kind of coordinated attack. Me and my mother."
There was a murmur and he waited before continuing. "If you have any doubts of my innocence in this act of barbarism, then consider; the person I love most is lying wounded at my feet. Nevaeh, would you waken one of our attackers? We will secure the name of the person behind this attack."
Nevaeh looked at Gabriel. "Which one?"
"That one." Gabriel pointed to a man in a crouched position, his empty hands still in the position of holding an automatic weapon.
Nevaeh went over and touched the man on his shoulder. He blinked then jumped up, whirling around with wide eyes. "What the fuck?"
"Perhaps that should be my question." Augustus' voice had the man turning to look in Augustus' direction.
"I will ask you one time only. You will answer truthfully, or my people will pull the answer from you and I assure you it there will be great pain. Who is behind this?"
The man looked around fearfully and his gaze fell on the still frozen Asha. "That cold bitch."
Augustus nodded and looked at Andre who stood beside Connor. "My friend, would you be as kind as to notify the local authorities?"
"Be happy to, but I must point out that no matter who among us is to blame, this will undo all we have done to secure peace."
"I hope not, however we have no choice. Make the call."
"As you wish." Andre pulled out his phone and Augustus looked at Nevaeh. "I am going to ask you to wake Layla, but I want to explain to you what is going to happen before and after."
She nodded, feeling as afraid at his words as she'd been in the middle of the bloodbath. Memory, along with Colton and Eldric came to the table. Memory took Nevaeh's hand. "You can trust him. He loves her, Nev."
"I know."
Augustus looked at Gabriel and then at Eldric. "If I am to succeed I will need your help."
"You have but to ask." Gabriel said.
"I stand ready." Eldric added.
Augustus nodded and looked at Nevaeh. "In order to save her, she must, to all appearances, die. I will take blood from Eldric and Gabriel. Their blood holds great power. Then you will wake Layla. Judging from her wound, she will bleed out in minutes. Just before that happens, she will take blood from me."
"And that will heal her?"
"It will change her."
"Change her how?"
"She'll be like him." Gabriel took her hand. "In time."
"In time? She'll turn into a Vampire?"
Gabriel nodded and Neveah looked at Augustus. "And what about Gabriel?"
"He nor Eldric will be harmed by the taking of their blood. Moreover, Nevaeh, once Layla is safe, I am going to ask you trust Gabriel. He will … open your mind and take you back."
"Back? Back to when?"
"To the beginning of this evening. You and he will be able to observe what is taking place and with luck, find proof of who is behind this. And then you will tell me."
"But … is that possible? And what if we don't find out?"
"You will."
"Okay, on the outside chance that's true, why would you believe me if I did? I mean, maybe you'd believe him, but why me?"
"Because you will carry my blood."
"What?"
"I am going to bite you and then you will drink from me. We will be connected by blood and I will be able to touch your mind and know what you say is true."
"You want to – to bite me?"
"Yes."
She looked up at Gabriel. "I'm way out of my element here and scared. What do I do?"
"Do you trust me Heaven-spelled-backwards?"
He could have spent an hour telling her myriad reasons why she should trust him or why she should do what Augustus asked, but that one question, the phrase he used for her carried enough endearment that it wiped away her hesitation.
"Okay."
Augustus walked over to her and lifted her right arm. She tensed as he lowered his mouth to her wrist and gasped as his teeth pierced her skin. Holy moly, this wasn't what she expected.
She'd had things feel good in her life but this? This was … it was incredible. When he finished, he gave the two punctures in her wrist one swipe of his tongue and to her amazement the wounds started to close.
Augustus bit his own wrist and held it out to her. "You have only to take a little."
She looked at it and then at his face. "I don't know if I can."
"You can." Gabriel took Augustus wrist and guided it to her lips. "Just close your eyes and part your lips."
Nevaeh searched his eyes for a moment then did as he ordered. She felt the fluid warmth on her lips and hesitantly stuck her tongue out to lap. It wasn't horrible but it was odd. Twice more she licked and swallowed and then Augustus pulled his wrist away.
Can you hear me, Nevaeh?
Holy shit! Are you in my head?
Yes.
She turned her gaze to Gabriel. He gave her a smile then cut a look at Augustus. "My turn." He held out his wrist.
Nevaeh watched with curiosity, trying to see if being bitten affected him the way it did her. Gabriel didn't even bat an eye. When Augustus finished, Gabriel didn't even give his wrist a glance. "You want us to wait until you have Layla taken care of?"
"No. Just awaken everyone and then do what I ask."
Gabriel looked at Nevaeh. "Go ahead."
"And do what? Touch everyone?"
He shook his head. "Just use your eyes and think about it. Think about running around the room as if you're playing a game of tag. Move from one person to the next until they're all awake."
"Except Asha." Augustus added. "We'll have her moved to her private quarters."
Nevaeh nodded and did as Gabriel suggested. To her surprise, it worked. Within a minute the frozen people were awake, and being restrained by the Preterhumans.
As soon as she'd finished Gabriel took her hand. "We need to fly."
"Fly? Why? Where?"
"Somewhere private and quiet."
She nodded and let him lead her from the room. Neither spoke until they walked outside. He started to lift her into his arms but she stepped back. "Do you think this will work? And how is this happening, anyway?"
"I know it will work if you'll trust me and I don't know how it happens. You're doing it, which means you're not entirely human o
r at least not like the normals. We'll figure it out, I promise, but first we must do this. Augustus needs to know who is responsible if he is to salvage this accord with the humans."
"Okay. Let's go."
He lifted her into his arms and took to the air. Nevaeh wished she wasn't worried about everyone back at the estate and what was going to happen because the experience was incredible.
Gabriel flew along the coast for what seemed like miles and landed on the sand beside a small cottage set back from the beach. It was a wood-frame house painted a light yellow with white shutters and a porch that looked out at the water.
"Oh, this is so pretty!" She looked around as Gabriel carried her across the yard and up the steps.
"Yes, it is."
"Do you know the people who live here?"
He chuckled. "It's mine."
"Yours?"
"You sound surprised." He put her down on the front porch.
"I guess I am. A little."
"Why?" He stripped off his tuxedo coat, removed his tie, and loosened the top two buttons of his shirt. Then he took a seat on the padded wicker loveseat and patted the cushion beside him.
"I don't know. I guess I thought you were like – you know the rest of the Seven. Rich."
Gabriel laughed again. "So I'd prefer a palace like Asha's?"
"Well yeah."
"Sit, Heaven-spelled-backwards."
Nevaeh took a seat, tucking one leg beneath her and angling to face him. Gabriel stretched out his legs and propped them on the porch railing. "Having a lot of money doesn't make you something other than what you are."
"So Angels don’t care about money and fancy houses and cars?"
"Some do. I don't."
"Why?"
"Because that's not what brings happiness."
Nevaeh watched him for a few moments. "You're definitely a bird of a different feather, aren't you?"
Gabriel shrugged. "Not really. Augustus lives on a ranch in Texas – land he bought over two hundred years ago. Connor lives in on a ranch in Colorado, or sometimes in Florida. We're just like you in that respect. We all gravitate toward a certain lifestyle, one that suits us."
"Some of us don't have the option to choose."
"Oh you do. It's just a matter of how important it is to you. If you're set on living in a certain place and certain kind of home, then most people will do whatever it takes to make it happen."
"If it's within their power to do so."
"Yes, true. But that's a discussion for another day. Right now we need to get to the task at hand."
"And how do we do that?"
He nudged her head onto his shoulder then raised his free hand. A pinprick of light appeared, hovering above his palm. As she watched, it grew until it was the size of a golf-ball, transparent but swimming with light.
"We're going to go inside this bubble."
"Inside? It's gonna need to be a lot larger."
"And it will be. Once we're inside, where we are now will vanish. All you'll see is what happened tonight. We'll start at the time we entered the ballroom. I want you to pay attention, move slowly through the environment and if you see anything that seems out of place or suspicious, I want you to tell me."
"Okay."
"All righty, then here we go. Watch the bubble."
She did and it swelled quickly. She could have sworn that she felt an electric tingle pass through her as the bubble grew to encompass them. It seemed to continue to grow until she felt as if they were sitting in the middle of a vast space that was nothing but soft swirling lights.
Then the scene took shape. She was looking at the hallway at the entrance of the ballroom.
"How do we move?"
Suddenly she was standing, in front of the ballroom entrance.
"Okay, so what do you see?"
She looked around. "There are security guys on either side of the door. Outside. They have on dark suits."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"Do they have radios or walkie talkies?"
"No." She walked up beside one of the men and looked him over. As she did, she heard him.
"Sector one reporting clear." He looked around as he spoke
"Who's he talking to?"
"A miniature earpiece would be my guess. One of the companies we own produces them for military and government use."
"Oh, okay."
"So does anything look odd?"
"No. Augustus and Layla just entered the ballroom and people are turning in their seats to look at them."
"Okay, look at me Nevaeh."
She did. "You're going to lead this dance and we're going to experience it. Just remember to tell me if anything at all looks off."
Nevaeh took his arm, walked into the ballroom and stopped. She knew there were one hundred tables in the room, each seating eight people. The tables were set a good fifteen feet from the door, cordoned off so that one had to enter from a center walk area and then turn right or left. There was a center walk area leading from the door to the front of the room where the bridal party would be seated.
Augustus and Layla were half-way across the room. He'd stop every few feet to speak with someone or shake a hand. Nevaeh watched the people who interacted with Augustus and Layla. Everyone smiled as they were engaged but that was expected so Nevaeh paid attention to the peoples' reactions after Augustus and Layla had moved on.
As they drew near the table, she leaned over to whisper to Gabriel. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary. What we need is a mind reader."
Gabriel stopped without warning. As she was still moving, she jerked to an ungraceful stop one step ahead of him. "What's wrong?"
"A mind reader. Layla can get into people's heads."
"She can?"
"Yeah."
Nevaeh cut her eyes to Layla, who was just taking her seat. "I don’t guess you know anyone who can send us back in time for real."
"Afraid not."
"Damn. There has to be something I'm missing."
"Don't get upset, just relax and go with it."
"I'll try."
She repeated what she'd done at the actual event, talking with Eldric, Memory and her husband. As everything went silent, she looked toward the door and saw Asha framed in the doorway.
Nevaeh returned to her seat and as she did, she noticed a security person at the server's entrance. He appeared to be checking the time on his watch then raised it to his mouth. She could see his lips moving.
"I remember seeing this before!"
Gabriel leaned over closer to hear her whisper better. "Over there by the server doorway. That security guy. He doesn't have the same earpiece thing. He's talking into his watch like something from a movie."
As Gabriel looked in the man's direction, Nevaeh looked around the room. All eyes were on Asha. Well almost. Across the room, in the back, a woman with raven black hair in an upswept hairstyle had one finger to her ear.
Nevaeh cut her eyes back to the security guy. He was lowering his wrist. Her gaze hurriedly returned to the dark haired woman. The woman's finger moved from her ear and she looked into the galley where the press was assembled.
Nevaeh followed the woman's gaze and saw a tall man with brown hair looking back at the woman.
"I know who it is!"
Suddenly she was sitting on Gabriel's porch again. "I know who it is. Well I know what they look like. How quick can we get back?"
"Two shakes."He stood, swept her up in his arms, and ran to the steps.
They were airborne in a split second, the wind blowing her hair back from her face like a storm, and the landscape a blur beneath them. Gabriel landed, set her on her feet with her hand firm in his, and was running into the house in one smooth move.
Nevaeh wished she'd chosen something besides heels. She was having a hard time keeping up with his stride. When they reached the ballroom, the first thing she saw was Augustus, kneeling beside Layla's chair and Layla sitting there with a stunned expression and
blood all over the front of her dress.
"Ok, slow down." Gabriel slowed his pace to a leisurely stroll, looking for all the world like someone who'd just stepped out for a breath of air.
Augustus looked up as they reached him. "Well?"
Nevaeh took the vacant seat beside him. "I saw a security man. He was by the server entrance. He spoke into his wrist and there was a woman sitting in the back who had her finger to her ear. She lowered it when the man finished speaking and then looked at a man in the press gallery who was watching her.
"I saw the security man do the same thing right before the attack."
"Security? Perhaps he was simply checking in with the other stations."
"You didn't use that type of communicator." Gabriel pointed out. "Remember? You opted for the earpiece model we upgraded for the military."
Augustus looked at Nevaeh. "Please take no offense, but I must see what you saw. Just think about it. It will take but a moment."
It was a bit disconcerting. She could feel Augustus' laser beam attention in her head as she recalled what had happened. Abruptly, he was gone. "I will see whoever is responsible brought to justice."
"In a legal way, Augustus." Gabriel put his hand on Augustus' shoulder."This isn't the time for vigilantism."
"I know." He stood and gestured to Nevaeh and Gabriel. "Walk with me."
He leaned down, whispered something to Layla, and then kissed her. Nevaeh fell into step with him when he left Layla's side and Gabriel walked on the opposite side. "Tell me when you spot these people."
"But you have my memories."
"For confirmation. Please."
Layla scanned the faces of all the attackers who'd been restrained and forced to sit on the floor in the center of the room. They made two passes around the group and she stopped. "That guy. The one in the blue shirt with brown hair and a black eye. He's one."
"Yes. And the others?"
"They're not here."
"Perhaps they are. You did say one was posing as security."
"Yes."
Augustus looked at Gabriel. "Find Connor. Fill him in. I want that man found."
"On it. What're you going to do?"
"Nevaeh and I will continue to look for the woman."
"She already told you that she didn't see her."
"She didn't see her among those we know to be with the attack. Perhaps she did took no active part."
