by CS Yelle
“Changed?”
“Can I touch you?”
“Yeah.” I gave him a “duh,” look. Like he hadn’t just been doing that very thing.
He reached over, touching my face and my chest as before. I couldn’t see his face in the shadows as he leaned forward in concentration, but his body went rigid next to me. He pulled back, obscured in the darkness while I waited.
“Well,” I prompted when he didn’t volunteer any information.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just tell me the truth.”
“I don’t know the truth,” he whispered.
Fear grabbed me, threatening to suffocate me. If an angel didn’t know what I was, then who did? “I’m not an Eternal anymore?”
“Yes Britt, I still sense the Eternal in you, but…”
“But what?” I clenched my eyes closed, bracing for what was to follow.
“Your soul and your guardian angel are inside you again.”
“My what?” My eyes flew open with shock.
“I sense your soul and guardian angel have fused into one like before, only now their parts are equal. You have the essence of the angel, though not the angel itself. And you still have the traits of the Eternal you were while your soul is intact.”
“So what kind of freak does that make me?”
“An Eternal and an angel, I guess,” Gabe spoke softly.
I couldn’t speak. My attempt to protect Allister had backfired, changing me into the thing the Eternals condemned. A monstrosity, an abomination; something that never should be.
“Kill me,” I pleaded.
“What?” Gabe said, his voice wavering.
“Kill me, I need to be gone from this world so Allister can live.”
“I can’t,” Gabe answered, his voice hoarse.
“Just do it, for me. If you have any feelings for me, do this, please. I’m begging you.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t kill you, though I definitely will not. What I said is I can’t kill you.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
“Even if I was willing, I don’t have the power to kill you.”
“You killed Kendal and he’s an Eternal. I’m part Eternal, so kill me,” I argued.
“The way I killed Kendal won’t work on you. My power enters an Eternal and fills the empty space where his soul should be. It expands and destroys him, from the inside out. That’s how we kill Eternals.”
“So, go ahead, do it to me,” I pressured him.
“Britt, aren’t you hearing anything I’m saying? You have a soul and the essence of a guardian angel. I can’t kill you like other Eternals because there is no void. And in your case, you are also an angel. The only thing more impossible to kill than an Eternal, is an angel.”
“But Kendal killed guardian angels,” I argued.
“Eternals absorb guardian angels and, as you saw, when the Eternal is killed the angels are released.”
“So all those people Kendal killed, their guardian angels are back to guide their souls to eternity?”
“That’s right. All those lost souls are no longer lost. They will be guided by their guardian angels to the afterlife now, as it is meant to be.”
“So you’re saying I’m indestructible now?”
“No, but pretty near.” Gabe shrugged.
“Aw,” I moaned. My only chance and I blew it, no, more than blew it. I just became an indestructible piece of evidence where before I was merely a piece of evidence. I’d just condemned Allister to certain death.
“I know you wanted to save Allister, and you still can by staying ahead of Bastion. Draw him away from here to protect your family and friends,” Gabe suggested.
Right. The most important thing now is to protect my friends and family. Plan one didn’t work out the way I’d wanted, but plan two could still work. Even if it meant I needed to leave and never come back.
“What if Bastion finds out and still comes here when I’m gone?”
“We need him to see you and then give chase while we lead him away from here,” Gabe explained.
“We?” I frowned.
“You didn’t think I would leave you to face this alone, did you?”
“I guess I don’t know the schedule of an Avenging Angel.” I sniffed.
“I’m pretty busy, but I’ll make time for you.” He forced a grin.
“Okay then,” I sighed laying back, collecting what rational thoughts I could. Maybe Gabe would show me what I could do as an angel before I left.
Chapter 28 I slept like a baby that night. With Kendal gone the nightmares of seeing angels sucked out of people stopped. I woke the next morning refreshed and happier than I’d been in a long time. My room showed no signs of the battle from the night before, thanks to Gabe. Saying a silent thank you, I strolled down to the kitchen as Mom and Dad sat at the kitchen table.
“Hey.” I greeted them, happy to see their faces after I’d mentally said good bye.
“Don’t you look happy this morning.” Mom smiled.
“It seems you’re looking forward to the weekend?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, sure.” I grinned. Maybe it could have something to do with being whole again.
“What do you have planned?”
“I’m hanging out with a guy I met at ICC in Calculus class last week. His name is Gabe.”
“It’s good to see you moving on,” Dad said and drew a glare from Mom. “Oh, I mean I like Allister and all, but if he isn’t around, you shouldn’t sit in your room and pine for him either.”
“Yeah, thanks Dad. Gabe is just a friend.”
“Sure, friends are good. Go hang out, have fun.” He turned red as he struggled to dig himself out of the hole he’d dug.
“Have a good day.” Mom’s smile disappeared as she turned to Dad.
I walked out the door, laughing despite myself as I heard Mom rip into him. Poor Dad.
Gabe sat on the hood of his car and slid off when I stepped outside. He smiled and my insides turned over. What? I needed to focus. I needed to get away from Grand Rapids and draw Bastion with me. For Allister. Focus. Focus.
“Hey,” Gabe said.
“Uh, hi.”
“I think I found them.”
He looked at me when I spun on him.
“Already?”
“They’re in a little town about thirty miles from here, Nashwauk.”
“Yeah, I know it.” I nodded. I walked around to the passenger side of his car and stopped, waiting for him to get in. I looked at him questioningly.
“What?” he asked.
“We going?”
“I thought we might see if you could ‘travel.’”
“If we get in the car, we can travel a lot faster.” I replied sarcastically.
“No, I mean travel,” he repeated. “The way angels go from place to place.”
“Like shimmering?”
“What the Eternals do is much more limited. They only jump from one place to another. We can go anywhere we want.” He smiled at my amazed expression.
“Do you think I can?”
“Only one way to know. Try.”
He disappeared and then appeared next to me. I jumped with a start.
“How did you do that?”
“Think of where you want to go, and you go.” He shrugged.
No big deal, for him. I still didn’t know how the Eternals shimmered, even though I’d ridden along with Allister a few times. I stood there, not sure I could do this.
“Okay, let’s try,” I sighed.
“I will ride with you. Tell me where we’re going, and then I’ll help if you stray.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and I tensed under his touch. “Relax. You’ll do fine.”
It wasn’t the traveling I worried about. His touch made me feel safe, comfortable. My mind, still loyal to Allister, rebelled.
“Picture the sign outside the town.”
“I’m thinking of the sign outside of Nashwauk. Now what?
”
“Concentrate on it and you’ll be there.”
I closed my eyes, picturing the sign in my mind and telling myself I wanted to go there and touch the sign. I wanted to be in Nashwauk. No tingling, no fluttering, just one second we stood beside Gabe’s car and the next we stood in front of the sign.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, lurching forward before I caught myself.
“Cool, huh?” Gabe grinned.
“I can go anywhere like that?”
“Anywhere as long as you can picture it.”
“What if I picture a field that is a building now? Will I end up in the wall or something?”
“You watch too many movies.” He laughed. “You will not be able to appear in a wall or anything like that. You will move to the next available space, that’s all.”
“Good to know,” I said.
“Bastion and his goons are staying at a little motel on the north edge of town. We could just kill them.”
“Would they send more?” I asked, not liking the idea of killing anyone…even Bastion.
“More than likely.”
“Then we need to be sure they follow us out of the area and keep them coming after us until the council decides to pass judgment on Allister. Without me as evidence …” I looked at Gabe.
“They should sentence him to life in prison.” He nodded.
“That’s my goal then,” I said.
He extended his hand and I looked down at it, not taking it.
“I know the location. You wouldn’t want to appear in the middle of their room, would you?”
“No, that wouldn’t be good.”
I took his hand and we instantly stood on a hill of ore filings overlooking a small motel. Three black Mercedes sat in the lot and a few men stood around smoking cigarettes. I suppose, if you could never die, why wouldn’t you smoke?
“I counted a dozen including Bastion,” Gabe said.
“What do you suggest?”
“Pull your car in at that entrance.” He pointed to the entrance furthest from our position. “Then drive by like you’re looking for someone. Once they see you, act surprised and make a run for it.”
“Then what?”
“We take them north, towards Canada. We get across the line and dump the car and travel somewhere they will never look, like Mexico.” He grinned, proud of his plan.
“Canada again?” I groaned.
“Something wrong with Canada?” Gabe asked raising an eyebrow.
“Kendal took me to Canada when he kidnapped me for Bastion. What is it with you people and Canada?”
“Don’t lump me into ‘you people,’ but the wilderness in Canada gives our kind freedom of doing what we want without being seen. Plus it’s close.”
“Sorry…makes sense,” I said ashamed I included him with the likes of Kendal and Bastion.
“Forgiven, but we need to act fast.”
“Let’s get ready and do it tomorrow then,” I said.
“It has to be tonight,” he said. “We know where they are and the location is perfect.”
“I wanted to say goodbye to everyone,” I argued.
“Tell your parents you’re leaving, but tell the girls you’re leading Bastion away. How long could that take?”
“Fine.”
“See you back at your place,” he said and disappeared.
“Great,” I sighed. Now I have to race an angel; I rolled my eyes.
I concentrated on my house and it appeared before me. Or did I appear before it? Hard to tell.
Gabe’s Focus already sputtered down the street and I turned to the one thing I didn’t relish. Not in the least. I stood looking at the house, knowing what followed wasn’t going to be pleasant. I walked into the kitchen, my parents still sitting at the table drinking coffee.
They looked up at me as I walked in the kitchen.
“What’s up, Britt?” Dad asked.
“I’m going away for a while.” I braced for their reaction, raising astonished eyebrows as they both nodded.
“We knew you would eventually want to go after Allister,” Mom said, a little sad.
“It was just a matter of time,” Dad agreed with a tired smile.
“But, how?”
“We’ve noticed something different about you since the accident,” Mom explained. “And then when you and Cassie were attacked, you going from near death to not a scratch just confirmed it for us.”
“Confirmed what?”
“You’re something beyond us,” Dad said, pain in his voice. “We understand there are things in this world we will never fully comprehend and we’re guessing you’re a part of something bigger than us. It explains how we got you back when we were losing you. Before the accident.”
Tears warmed my eyes. “I wish I could explain, but that would only put you and Mom in danger.”
“Allister is in the center of all of this, isn’t he?” Dad questioned. “And you love him?”
“Yes, I love him and he is smack dab in the center.” I nodded.
“Your Father and I know what it’s like to be in love, Britt,” Mom said, surprising me.
“We don’t approve, but we do understand.” Dad nodded. “Just try to be safe and call us when you can.”
“I will.”
“Gabe going with you?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, for a while at least.”
“Good, it’s safer than traveling alone,” he said.
I went over and hugged them both, shocked by their understanding and calmness. I guess the last few months had changed more than me. After giving them one last squeeze, I ran upstairs and gathered my things. Throwing them into a duffle bag, I carried them downstairs and dished out another round of hugs.
“Got your phone?” Mom asked.
I raised my hand holding the phone and she nodded.
“Here.” Dad handed me some money in a roll bound by a rubber band. “Call if you need more. We’ll see what we can spare.”
I hugged him tightly around his neck and stepped back as he wiped tears from his eyes.
“I guess my watch is over,” he said sadly. “I hope Gabe knows what he’s doing.”
“He does, trust me, he does,” I said, wiping my own cheeks.
I pulled them both into one last hug and whispered, “I love you both.” Then stepped back.
“We love you too,” they said in unison.
I rushed out the door, hoping the pain I felt would be left behind as the door closed after me, but no such luck. The sick feeling in my gut hung there like a lead burrito. I went to Gabe’s waiting Focus as he popped the trunk and hopped out. Before I threw my bag into the trunk I stopped, looking over my shoulder at Allister’s Camaro.
Changing directions, I pulled the keys out of my pocket and unlocked it with a beep of the security system. I popped the trunk and moved around to drop my bag in. Slamming the trunk shut, I saw Gabe staring at me, a shocked expression on his face.
“If you think I’m going to run for my life in that piece of shit, you’re nuts. We wouldn’t stay ahead of them for a mile.”
He grinned and walked over to the passenger side of the car while I went around to the driver’s side and slid in. The engine popped off right away, surprising me after sitting for so long, and we drove over to Elisa’s house.
Elisa opened the door, surprise on her face seeing me and Gabe standing there.
“What, is it Kendal again?”
“No, Kendal is gone, but we have to leave.” I turned my eyes so I didn’t have to see the pain fill hers.
“You’re leaving, Britt?”
“We have to lead Bastion away from here,” Gabe said when I couldn’t speak.
“When are you coming back?”
“I, I…don’t know if I am.” My eyes met hers and they locked, unable to move away. Tears blurred my view of her face and I saw her wipe her own cheeks.
“So this is it? Goodbye and maybe we’ll meet up again someday?” Elisa sniffled.
“I
guess so,” I said with a jerky sob.
Elisa threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and squeezing me until I thought I would burst. “I love you Britt Anderson,” she whispered in my ear.
“I love you too.”
We leaned back, still with our arms around each other, looking deeply into the other’s eyes and seeing the resolve to never forget.
I gave a nod which she returned and we stepped apart. I hesitated for a moment, turned awkwardly, and walked down the steps to the waiting car. Gabe stood on the steps for a moment longer, nodding as Elisa spoke to him and then he turned and walked back to climb into the Camaro as I sat waiting.
We went to the hospital next to see Cassie. She smiled brightly as we walked in, but she picked up on my mood and looked at me worried.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We have to leave Grand Rapids,” I told her. “Why?”
“To keep all of you safe.”
“Is it Kendal?”
“No,” Gabe said. “Kendal’s dead. He won’t hurt
anyone anymore.”
“Then why?” Cassie whispered.
“Bastion is trying to find me and we need to keep
him from coming here and hurting anyone.” I hoped getting Elisa out of the way would make Cassie easier, but a lump formed in my throat as I spoke.
“Are you coming back?”
“I don’t know, but I hope so, someday.” Cassie reached up and pulled me into a hug. She let me go and kissed me on the cheek as I pulled away.
“Remember me,” she said.
“Always.” I said, the tears flowing again.
“Take care of her Gabe.” Cassie wiped tears from her eyes.
“I will. You have my word,” Gabe said and gave her a nod.
“I guess I can’t ask for more. To have the word of an angel is worth something.” She forced a grin.
“I would like to think so.” Gabe reached over and kissed her forehead.
“Bye Britt.” Cassie took my hand and squeezed. “I love you.”
“I love you to, Cass.” I squeezed back and she let me go. The symbolism not lost to me as her fingertips slipped from my hand and I walked out without turning back.
I fought the tears the entire drive to Trish’s house, feeling my heart being torn apart with every beat. A part of me wished I could have taken the easy way out and had Kendal do the job instead of facing my friends’ sorrow in person.
