Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades)

by CS Yelle

“We’ll usually heal from any other wound,”

  Angelina added.

  I unconsciously raised my hand to my chest and

  the the prints Kendal left behind, still burning. The bell rang and we scattered to our classes

  again, meeting up outside by the cars afterwards. The

  girls looking questioning to Allister, Angelina, and me as

  we reached our car.

  “You should spend some time with your friends.”

  Allister turned to me. “What would you normally do

  now?”

  “We need to go shopping,” Elisa said.

  “Then go shopping,” he said mildly. “Angelina

  and I will go back to the house and see if anything has

  developed. I’ll stop by later.”

  I nodded and stepped next to him, stretching up

  expectantly.

  He smirked, glancing at the audience and

  shrugged. Leaning down, he kissed me softly. “Ooh,” Elisa sighed, envious.

  He pulled away, leaving me as breathless as

  always.

  I turned and hopped into the Jeep.

  Trish started the Jeep and we sped off, destined for a

  girl’s day like we use to have before everything changed.

  Chapter 16 The Jeep pulled into the parking lot of the mall and we piled out, all except Trish. She sat behind the wheel, the motor still idling. We stopped, waiting for her, but she stared straight ahead, deep in thought.

  We walked back, waiting for her to snap out of it. “What are you doing?” Elisa asked as she pulled her auburn hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a scrunchy.

  “I’m bored with Grand Rapids shopping.” She blinked at us.

  “So, what do you want to do?” Cassie asked.

  “Let’s go to Duluth,” Trish suggested.

  “Duluth, on a school night? I don’t think mom…” Cassie objected.

  “We’re eighteen. We’re old enough to spend an evening in Duluth shopping,” Trish insisted.

  “Let’s do it.” Elisa smiled and jumped into the back.

  “We better call our parents and let them know,” Cassie said.

  We nodded, pulling our cell phones out and dialing. None of our parents had a problem with it and we were soon speeding along the highway to Duluth.

  Curving down the large hill leading to the port city we could see out into Lake Superior as it disappeared along the horizon. We moved our jaws to relieve the airlock in our ears at the sudden change in pressure the steep incline caused. I realized I forgot to call Allister and quickly dialed him, getting his voicemail.

  “Allister, its Britt. We’re in Duluth for the evening. I’ll call when we’re heading back.” I slipped the phone into my pocket and noticed the girls smirking.

  “What?”

  “Like a little married couple,” Trish teased.

  “With Kendal after me he needs to know where I am,” I defended myself.

  “You never said he was after you,” Elisa exclaimed, eyes wide.

  “What did you think when Allister said Kendal tried to hurt me and Angelina?”

  “I don’t know, I guess I didn’t think ‘psycho stalker’ type of hurt,” Elisa admitted, frowning.

  We pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the large mall. The girls stared at me, concerned at this new information. I turned in my seat to face them and pulled my shirt down at the collar to expose the five finger marks on my chest between my breasts.

  “Holy shit,” Cassie cursed and I looked at her, surprised. She never swore.

  “You said it,” Trish murmured.

  “He tried to rip your heart out?” Elisa gasped.

  “Yeah, he would have done it too if Allister hadn’t shown up in time.”

  The girls gave a collective gasp.

  “Maybe we should get you home,” Trish suggested. “This wasn’t such a bright idea.”

  “We’re here now, we might as well shop,” I said with a brief smile.

  “Okay, but everyone needs to keep their eyes peeled for stalker Kendal, right?” Trish instructed.

  We all agreed, piling out of the Jeep and racing into the mall. People milled around everywhere, the mall was packed. We hit our favorite clothing stores first, finding something for each of us, and then we looked in some trinket shops. I was searching for something small but sentimental for the two Eternals linked to me forever. I found the perfect gifts and we hit a restaurant for dinner.

  We ate and laughed, forgetting about the dangers possibly lurking outside the mall, at least for a while.

  Then my cell buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, and Allister’s name showed on the screen. I hit the answer button with a wide smile on my face.

  “Hello?”

  “Britt, what are you doing in Duluth?” Allister sounded panicked.

  “Just shopping, don’t worry. We’re surrounded by people,” I assured him.

  “We found Kendal’s trail. He’s headed right for you!” he shouted into the phone.

  My eyes shot up as the girl’s faces turned pale. They’d heard Allister’s voice through the phone.

  “Get out of there now!” he ordered. “If he finds you, he’ll get to you. A crowd won’t stop him if he’s as desperate as I think he is.”

  “Okay, okay,” I tried to stay calm.

  “And Britt,” Allister brought me back, his voice much quieter. “Keep the girls close. I think he knows how important they are to you. They’ll be targets as well.”

  “Allister,” I whimpered, feeling panic threaten to shut down my ability to think or even move. “What should I do?” The thought of Kendal hurting the amigos devastated me.

  “Get on the road,” he advised, “maybe he’ll pass by without noticing. Angelina, Trevor, and I are on our way. We’ll meet you on the road and escort you the rest of the way, but you have to leave now. And Britt, don’t let the girls out of your sight.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I whispered, ending the call.

  I stared down at my phone. What had I done? I looked up at the girls, studying me in silence.

  “We have to go. Kendal’s on his way here,” I told them flatly.

  We threw money on the table for the food, not bothering to count it, and raced out with our bags. Like maniacs, we ran through the mall as people around us turned and stared. We burst out of the mall and sprinted to the Jeep.

  We sped up the long winding hill leading out of Duluth, reaching the top as a silver Mercedes on the other side of the two lanes screeched to a stop and did a U-turn through the grass median spraying dirt and grass behind it. The cars around it veered off into the ditches on both sides of the road.

  “That’s him!” I shouted, not so much seeing him as sensing him. The eerie feeling it gave me was undeniable.

  Trish punched the gas and we roared through a red light, cars honking and swerving to avoid us. Cassie and Elisa looked back as the wind blew their hair around their faces in the open Jeep. Elisa’s ponytail all but pulled free of the band, flailing back and forth across her face.

  “He’s gaining on us,” Elisa shouted over the deafening wind as she gripped the frazzled ponytail in her hand and pulled at it nervously.

  “We can’t out run him with this!” Trish shouted back.

  I frantically dialed Allister. He answered on the first ring.

  “He’s after us and we can’t lose him!” I shouted into the phone.

  “Where are you?”

  “Just outside of Duluth.”

  “We’re still thirty miles away,” his voice sounded strained. “Do what you have to do and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  “Okay,” I cried, adding needlessly, “hurry.”

  The phone went silent and I grasped it tightly as Kendal pulled in close behind us, slamming into our rear bumper. Trish struggled to keep the Jeep on the road, the vehicle swerving uncontrollably for a minute and then pulled away from the Mercedes slightly.

  “I can�
��t let him do that anymore!” Trish shouted. “I almost lost it.”

  “Here he comes again!” Elisa shouted over the wind.

  Cassie sat with her head in her hands, her knees pulled up tight to her chest.

  I turned around as Kendal crept closer.

  Without warning, Trish jerked to the right and we sped down a gravel road. The Mercedes screeched to a halt on the highway, laid rubber in reverse, and came after us.

  Gripping the Jeep’s support bar, I looked at Trish, surprised by her maneuver.

  “I have to use the advantage the Jeep gives me,” she cried over the sound of churning gravel. “Call Allister and tell him where we are.”

  “Where are we?” I shouted.

  Coming out of her coma from fear, Cassie shouted the mile marker number listed before we’d gone off the road.

  “Right.” I nodded.

  I dialed Allister as Trish took a steep incline, rocks on either side, forcing Kendal to circle around for another path.

  “Yeah, we’re almost there,” Allister answered.

  “We’re off road now, keeping ahead of Kendal. Can you find us?”

  Allister paused.

  “Hello, hello?” I shouted into the phone.

  “Yeah, I’m here. Angelina has you, we’re on our way.”

  The phone went silent. Oddly the fact that Angelina could sense my whereabouts didn’t creep me out under the circumstances.

  Trish took a path with deep ruts up over a ridge and a steep hill on the other side sending us plummeting into a large pond before she could avoid it. Water rose up in a huge rolling wave and splashed over the top of the Jeep, soaking us and stalling the engine.

  The Mercedes roared into the clearing, grinding to a halt on the far side of the pond not more than twenty feet away.

  Kendal stepped out, his dark hair blowing around his face in the wind and his black eyes zeroing in on me. The smell of lilac reached my nose as I sat drenched in the front passenger seat of the water logged Wrangler. He smiled the same smile he’d flashed before putting his mark on me last night. He stepped to the edge of the pond, his hand on his hips, assessing the situation.

  “I only want you, Britt!” he shouted to be heard across the distance. “The others mean nothing to me. Come here and I’ll spare them.”

  “He’s lying,” Trish cried, grabbing my arm and bringing my eyes to hers. “Don’t listen to him, Allister will be here.”

  “He won’t get here in time,” Kendal warned. “I can kill you all in seconds and you know it. But if you come with me I’ll spare your friends. You have my word.”

  “What good is his word?” Elisa whispered, eyes filled with terror.

  “It’s all she has,” Kendal said.

  “How’d he hear that?” Cassie gasped.

  I looked down at my phone, Allister’s name flashing on the screen. What if he couldn’t find us? I panicked, looking back at Kendal.

  I tucked the phone in my pocket and slipped a foot out of the Jeep, Trish grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I can’t let him hurt you, any of you,” I said, looking hard at her.

  The resolve in her eyes wavered as I pulled away. I gave Cassie and Elisa one last glance and stepped from the Jeep into the water, waist deep, cringing as my phone plunged beneath the water. I trudged to the bank and Kendal. He didn’t touch me, but moved over to open the passenger door of the car and motioned me in.

  “You tell everyone that you lost Britt at the mall and couldn’t find her. Understand? You mention me and I will kill her.” Kendal shouted at the girls.

  I stepped to the door, pausing to glance at the girls sitting in the Jeep, stranded, desperation plain on their faces, and then slid into the black leather interior before Kendal slammed the door shut. He eased behind the wheel in an instant and we sped away, leaving my friends safely behind.

  We reached the highway, spinning onto the pavement and racing back towards Duluth. Not far away, Allister rushed off the road towards the pond with no clue how bad things had turned. Meanwhile I rode with Kendal, certain this was how it would end.

  Chapter 17 “Here’s the deal.” Kendal leaned closer, snapping closed a thin silver bracelet on my wrist. “I changed my mind about killing you, for now. I have bigger plans for us, but if you give me trouble, I can always revert back to my original plan and eliminate you at any time. Do we understand each other?”

  I looked down at the bracelet, nodded, and then glared back at him.

  “This will keep Angelina from finding you too easily and keep you from shimmering in case you get any bright ideas of escaping. And remember, I know where your girlfriends live and they would be delicious to dispose of.” He reflexively licked his lips.

  “If you touch them,” I hissed.

  “You can’t stop me, or haven’t you figured that out yet?” he laughed at my feeble threat.

  I stared down and the plain silver bracelet. I knew Allister wouldn’t give up on me, I had to believe that. He would follow me to the ends of the earth. I needed Kendal to keep me alive until Allister came.

  But what was he planning and where were we headed?

  We drove north, though I couldn’t tell for how long. I watched the signs, keeping track as we went. I felt the lump the cell made in my wet pocket, probably ruined; worthless. No way to reach Allister. Hopefully, Angelina could still sense us and catch up.

  It turned dark, the only light now coming from the headlights and an occasional house along the road, its yard light glowing dull yellow in the pitch darkness. No moon lit the way, only blackness mirroring the blackness threatening to take over my heart.

  A sign indicating the US/Canadian Border lit up in the headlights. Canada?

  I considered making a scene at the border, except Kendal read my mind, giving me a cautionary look as we slowed and pulled up to the border patrol station. He held my gaze for a moment longer as the guard stood impatient at the closed window.

  Kendal turned on the smile and rolled down the window with a whir. “Evening sir.”

  “Headed to Canada on business or pleasure?” the officer asked.

  “Pleasure. Visiting some historic sights and such,” Kendal answered easily.

  “Passports.”

  My hopes soared. I didn’t have a passport, the guard would turn us back. I restrained my victorious grin as Kendal looked over to me, leaned in, and popped the glove box. The door dropped open and two passports slid across the cover. I stared in shock as he retrieved the passports from the storage space, pausing to give me a devious grin and turn back to the guard, handing him the documents.

  “This looks in order.” The officer nodded, handing them back. “Have a nice stay in Canada,” he smiled, motioning us through.

  “Thank you, I’m sure we will,” Kendal said with a chuckle, pulling the car through the checkpoint and onto the road into Canada.

  “Don’t ever underestimate me,” he warned with a smirk, underlying the seriousness of his words. “It could cost you your life.”

  I turned away in a huff, staring out the window and the blackness still threatening to seep into my heart as the hope of Allister reaching me became bleaker by the mile.

  I fell asleep at some point, the effort of keeping my eyes open to read any sign of where we were becoming too much. I woke as the sun shone in through my window, still headed north, I surmised from it’s position.

  Kendal glanced over as I sat up, straightening my clothes, their dampness chilling me and my teeth began to chatter.

  “We can pull over at the next town to get you some dry stuff as long as you behave,” he cautioned.

  I nodded.

  “This isn’t personal, you know,” he started.

  I stared at him, incredulous.

  “No, really.” He shook his head. “I didn’t realize Allister would save you that day at the waterfall. I knew you wouldn’t need your guardian angel since you committed suicide, so I took it, well tried to take it.” He snorted
, making light of my life changing day. “It didn’t want to come out of you, it kind of hung on.” He paused, staring out at the road as he remembered. “Never saw anything like it before. Your angel willed you to live, it fought to hold on.”

  I looked at him opening my mouth to respond, but I had nothing. I turned away, looking out the window as the trees rushed by.

  “Why were you up there at all?” I asked, “In the middle of nowhere.”

  “Your essence drew me in, like a predator to a fresh kill. I could taste your guardian; irresistible.” He licked his lips.

  “How can you do that to people?” I said clenching my jaw out of anger and to stop my teeth from chattering.

  “You should try it, it’s such a rush.” He grinned with pleasure.

  I turned away, sick to my stomach at the mere thought of doing something so heinous, the memory of the dreams enough to leave distaste in my mouth.

  He pulled into a gas station, turned off the key, and got out. He leaned down, peering through his open door at me as he slipped the keys into his pocket.

  “Go inside and get what you need. I’ll come in and pay for it with the gas. Behave,” he added before slamming the door.

  I got out of the car, watching him push a button on the pump and begin to fill the tank. I walked to the front of the store, going inside and looking around for any clothing they might have.

  “You look like you’ve seen better mornings,” a woman said with a smile from behind the counter over the top of a newspaper, “Tough night honey?”

  “Huh, yeah, I guess,” I mumbled, tempted to confide my plight to her, but realizing she could end up a hollowed out husk like my teacher. “You have any clothes? I fell in a creek and need something dry.”

  “Down the aisle behind you,” she said pointing. “Sorry, but we don’t carry much, especially

  undergarments.”

  “That’s okay, thanks.”

  I meandered down the aisle, picking out a red, I Love Canada, t-shirt, a pair of gray sweat pants with a red maple leaf on it, and some white sweat socks with Canada across the tops. I took them up to the counter as she looked up from her paper.

  “He’ll pay for them.” I motioned to Kendal at the car. “Is there a place I can change?”

  “The restrooms are around the corner.” She smiled, motioning to her right.