by S Lawrence
“No, I didn’t know. Caliel might have. I’m honestly as surprised by the revelation as you.”
His light dims slowly, but his power still holds me, giving me time to gain control. Finally, I nod slowly at him and he lets me go. I pace away, unable and unwilling to even look at them.
My thoughts are whirling like one of the hurricanes that often tears through the city. Why do I care so much? Why does the thought of her with anyone else make me so jealous? Why does the knowledge of what could have caused her scars release so much rage?
The first memory I have of being an angel plays through my mind. A Guardian with no one to guard. Was she destined to be my charge even thousands of years ago? If so, I’ve already failed her. Staring out the tall, narrow windows, I try to calm myself. I watch an alligator slide through the duckweed that covers the water beneath the shade of the cypress trees. It is the large male that lives near. He often visits because someone started to feed him years and years ago. Well over sixteen feet, he is the lord of this part of the swamp. I feel like his dark citrine eyes are locked on me as he crawls onto the bank. They can’t be at this distance but the knowledge of that doesn’t change the feeling.
I don’t know how much time has passed when I finally turn around, minutes or maybe just seconds. The others are where I left them, except Dagen, who is no longer in the room. My eyes lock on the open door and the small hole in the wall where the knob hit it.
“Are you ready to hear the rest?” Caliel’s tone is aggrieved, and I want to punch the asshole in the face.
“Are you fucking kidding me? There’s more?” I hiss.
“Yes, unless you are going to throw another hissy fit.” Evander is in front of me before I finish blinking slowly.
He shakes his head and leans in close, his lips near my ear, his words for me alone. “The girl.”
He’s right. I need all the information I can get if I’m going to save her. Closing my eyes, I draw a deep breath and hold it, counting to twenty. I was going to stop at ten, but that wasn’t near long enough. I could keep counting until I pass out and it won’t be long enough to wipe the image of Caliel’s throat locked in my hands, but I don’t want to waste the time. Letting out the breath in a puff, I nod at my friend, and he peers into my eyes for a moment longer before stepping aside.
“Please, do go on.” I force the words out through my teeth that are locked close. Once again, my poor damn molars are getting a workout.
“No one knew about this part of the prophecy except me. I wrote the damn thing, had it thrust into my mind the very day you were murdered. It has been my burden alone. I told no one because inevitably they would have tried to force the completion or try to change destiny.” He sighs before continuing, “Luc knew only that there were to be seven descendants of the Archangels, and they were somehow the key to ending the war. Which is exactly what was leaked to Seraphina.”
As he finishes Luc drops into his chair. I’ve never seen him look defeated before.
“I should have been looking harder for them.” His head shakes side to side.
“We’ve been looking for them constantly since the day you pulled us from the darkness.” Evander is incredulous.
“Not the ones who killed you. The children of the Michael and the others. I was so focused on stopping the Fallen, I didn’t think about them knowing.” He turns his head to the angel. “You could have warned me, told me they knew and they were looking. Damn it, Caliel, you could have told me they had one of them.” The last is growled as his powers ripples through the room, hell, through the bayou around us.
“I was watching her.” His eyes shift to the left, and I narrow my own. He’s lying, but I know he was there with her. She obviously recognized the cat. What is he lying about? I will find out.
“So what changed?” Luc asks deceptively calm.
“They have figured out a way to find the others. Lillian is in more danger now than she’s ever been in.” His voice softens a bit, and I realize he truly cares for the beautiful, sad woman. It doesn’t make up for leaving her with those assholes for her entire life but it is something.
“How do we save her?” I don’t care about the rest right now. We can kill them and find the other descendants later. I suddenly have a thought. “Are the others all women?”
“Yes.” Caliel looks at me like I’m stupid.
“Sorry, but there are two genders. How could I know?”
“The prophecy wouldn’t come to fruition until the perfect partners were born.” Again, he says it like everyone should have been know. “You need to talk Lillian into leaving. You can’t win against them right now. Others have joined them at Avalon. It would be all out war.”
“I have an army of demons,” Luc drawls, and I grin at the thought of spilling angel blood.
“Thousands or millions of humans would be slaughtered. That’s why I’m here,” Caliel says. “To stop the war. By rescuing Lillian, you will stop them.” He locks his dark eyes on me. “And maybe save yourself.”
Eleven
LILLIAN
I stare at the knife in my hand. I could end all of this now, this eternal damnation that is my life.
Instead, I cut through more of the crisp bell peppers and scrape them into the pot with the onions and garlic. I’m stirring them with my favorite wooden spoon when Grace limps into the kitchen. I haven’t spoken to her since her warning. Or since a stray cat spoke to me and an incredibly handsome and yet dangerous man spoke to me. Spoke to me about angels. The angels living here.
I thought about what happened a long time. I’ve run every scenario and I’ve come to two conclusions. One - either everything good in my life is just one big fabrication, a trick being played on me by the ones who keep me. Or two - what happened three days ago was real.
I haven’t left the house in those days. I haven’t even looked outside but I know he has been watching. I picture his blue eyes and I realize that they had more darkness in them than any brown eyes I’ve ever seen. At the same time, they held none of the evil that shines out of the angel’s sparkling gem-like eyes.
His eyes held heat, like the summer here in the south. It can be oppressive and dangerous but it can also wrap you in it’s warmth. I shiver and wonder what it would be like to feel his heat wrap around me.
I don’t know where that thought came from. I’ve never even kissed a boy or a man. Hell, the closest I’ve even gotten to a man is the delivery people. Shaking my head I refocus on the task at hand, dinner. When I raise my head, Grace is watching me closely, her eyes filled with curiosity.
“You haven’t been out in a few days?” I just nod, not trusting my voice. “Is something wrong?” This time I shake my head. “What happened?”
She grabs the knife in my hand, drops it on the counter, and then pulls me around the island, down the small hall, and into the laundry room. Pushing me inside, she steps in behind me and closes the door.
If it had been any of the others, I would be terrified, but Grace means me no harm. I keep my back to her as I decide what I am going to say. I’m still making the decision when I hear my own voice.
“Are there still male angels?” Shit. Her gasp is deafening in the tiny room. Oh no.
“A male? Here?” She whispers, and I turn around. Her already porcelain skin is almost translucent in her panic. So the answer is yes, there are. Maybe this Torryn is one after all. That tiny spark of hope flares bright in my chest, and I realize I had never actually put that fire out.
“Tell me what happened,” she says as she steps closer.
So I do, the words tumbling from my mouth in a whispered rush. I tell her about Captain Jack and her eyes narrow and then I tell her about Torryn and what he said. She’s quiet the entire time, and by the time I finish, I’m positive her brows can lower not a millimeter more. I can barely even see her eyes at this point.
Holding my breath, I wait for to say something, anything. When she does finally, my breath explodes from me.
“Ye
s, there are still male angels. I think I might actually know the one that is pretending to be a cat. If it is who I think it is…” She looks up at my face. “Well, that doesn’t matter. If he comes back, come get me.” Her eyes are filled with some emotion I don’t recognize and then she looks away. “Actually, no don’t.”
She’s scaring me now. Pacing away all of three steps the little room will allow, she stops at the door and puts her hands on it. I’m frozen; I have no idea what to do or how to console her. Suddenly, she whips around and I jump.
“There’s no time. I mean I’ve had a lifetime, but it felt cruel.” She’s not talking to me, exactly. I keep quiet, not wanting to interrupt her. Finally, she focuses on me once again and nods her head, coming to some silent decision.
“First, before I tell you anything else, please understand I did what I could. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you away or protect you more.” Now I’m really worried; her iridescent eyes are swirling in a way that used to fascinate me but now I know just means trouble.
“When they found you, I thought sure they would kill you. But of course they didn’t. They used you to control me. I’m the reason you’ve had this terrible life.” I listen but I’m caught on the kill me part.
“Why would they want to kill a baby?”
“I told you why they fell, what they did, but I didn’t tell you the why of their rage. Jealousy. The Archangels had children with their human lovers.” She stares at my face and I shiver. “You are a descendant of those first children. You have a hint of their blood running through your veins. Thousands of years ago, the Prophet of God foretold of an end to the war the fallen wage on humanity and Heaven. It is the seven descendants that defeat the Fallen. They have gotten a tip where another is. They will kill the others, then they will kill you.”
She draws a breath, and I shake my head, wanting to stop her from uttering another word. I can’t hear one more thing. I’m a child of angels. Angels have tortured me all my life. Angels want to kill me. Angels will kill me because I can’t escape Avalon.
I feel her smooth hands on my own scar roughened ones and I flinch. I hate myself for the hurt I see in her eyes. But I steel myself against it.
“Why are you here?” She shakes her head.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is I saw the man you spoke to. He was across the street a few days ago, and I saw him watching you. He is no angel.” There is a strange roaring in my ears as she continues speaking.
The last words I hear as I fall to the floor, passing out cold, are, “He is a demon.”
Twelve
TORRYN
Rain runs down my face as I watch the house. I’ve been here for days. Watching and waiting.
“You stink and you look like shit,” Caliel says.
I ignore him. He’s back in his cat form, sitting on the wide porch of the house behind me, staying well away from the pouring rain.
He’s probably right. I haven’t left this spot since I ran from the office, images of her driving me to come here. To save her. I’m afraid I’ll miss her, afraid I’ll fail her.
“I don’t think she’ll be strolling the garden in a torrential downpour,” he calls out over the thunder. “Maybe go get cleaned up. It’d be easier to coax her from Avalon if you didn’t scare her with your crazy stalker behavior. Maybe she’s seen you staring at the house like a lunatic hour after hour for days and would rather face the crazy she knows.”
My shoulders slump. What if he’s right? What if she saw me and thinks I’m going to hurt her? Fuck. Some guardian angel I am. You’re no angel, idiot. I was, I retort to myself. Guardian demon. I like that. Keep her safe and destroy those that think to stop me. Steam billows off me as my temper heats my skin.
“I’ll watch. Go get some rest and a shower. Eat something, for the love of… well, God. Plan what you’re going to say.” I look over my shoulder at the cat.
“What do you think I’ve been doing while I stand here?” His tail swishes. “Fine. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me... Can you call me?”
“I can reach you anywhere, Demon.” His power flares and washes over me for just a moment.
Only one other has such intensity -- Lucifer. I nod my head just a bit before turning back toward the street. I take one last look. Sprinting down Saint Charles, I probably just look like someone caught in the storm. Looking around, I check for anyone that might see me as the rain starts to grow heavier. No one is out, so I use my demon speed. Racing for my home, it takes only minutes for me to arrive.
I give the doorman an apologetic look at I slosh across the lobby, the water running off me like tiny rivers. Pushing the call button, I try not to notice the puddle that grows by the second around me on the marble floor. Finally, the ding announces the arrival of the elevator, and I waste no time getting in when the doors slide open.
Once I’m in my apartment, I head straight to the bathroom, stripping and throwing my wet clothes in the basket. Turning on the water, I step in, not waiting for it to heat up. My body is still running hot, so I barely notice the frigid water as it pours over me.
I waste no time, no lingering under the spray like I usually do. Instead I wash and rinse quickly, climbing out after grabbing one of the towels that are always hanging ready. I dry myself and then grab my phone from where I threw it on my bed, checking for missed calls or messages. Nothing.
I’m suddenly tired. Exhausted. Not physically, I can go days or maybe weeks without sleep, but I’m mentally drained. I’d lied to Caliel; I hadn’t thought of anything to say to her. The image of the Lillian pops into my mind. So beautiful, she reminds me of women of Creole descent, but I don’t think she is.
Her skin is a pale but with undertones of burnished hickory. I know if she was allowed freedom in the sun, she would darken. Her black hair is straight as a board, flowing long down her back unless she pulls it up. Then there are her eyes, brilliant bottle green.
I wake to someone pounding on my door. Blinking, I realize it’s dark. Fuck. Jumping up, I race to the door.
“Jesus, Torryn, put on some damn pants,” Evander implores as he shoves by me. I glance down at my nakedness and shrug as I stroll back to the bedroom.
“What time is it?” I yell out to him. “Why did you let me sleep?”
“Because Dagen and Caliel are both watching the house, and you needed it.” He is putting food on a plate as I come back into the room pulling a t-shirt over my head. “Eat.”
Sitting on a stool, I drag the plate to me and start shoveling the food into my mouth.
“Fucking chew, asshole,” he grumbles. “Listen.”
Oh fuck, what could it be now?
“I know you feel protective of this girl. But…” I hold up my hand, noodles hanging out of my mouth, dripping sauce on the counter. He waits, eyebrow raised, as I chew twice and then swallow.
“There is no but,” I growl, angry at what he’s hinting at.
“We don’t know if she’s destined for you, Torryn.” His words are quiet, and I jerk my eyes to his face.
I realize he’s worried. About me. My anger fades as quickly as it flared. Thousands of years, he’s watched out for us, been responsible for us. We are family.
“I know. Really, I do. But I still want to save her.” I run my fingers through my hair, causing it to stick out all over, I’m sure. “I was a guardian, and they stole my purpose along with my life. I won’t let them steal hers.”
I hear the determination and hardness in my voice. “Besides, if she isn’t for me, she is for one of my brothers. They deserve…” I can’t finish. Can’t say love. I’ve never even considered it before. Who loves a demon? My heart pounds as I wonder if she can.
“She’d be lucky to have any of you.” He smiles at me, and I force myself to smile back. “Caliel said she hasn’t been out of the house in days.” I nod, another forkful of noodles already in my mouth.
“How are we going to coax her away from them? Do you think she will want to stay?” I shake my head
as I swallow hard forcing the half chewed food down.
“She has a scar on her face that I’m sure one of them gave her. She was nervous when I talked to her. Kept glancing at the house. No, she’s scared of them for sure.” My eyes lock on a bead of sweat as it trickles down over his temple. Drawing a deep breath, I rein in my powers and the heat begins to drop.
“Thank you.” I nod at him. “Dagen is there now, so maybe we should have him approach her next.” There goes another chunk of my molars as I grind the shit out of them to keep from screaming no.
Everything in me balks at the idea of her talking to him, choosing him, of being his.
“Has Caliel said how we will know?” I don’t have to say what; Evander isn’t an idiot and he was watching me closely when he made the suggestion.
“Not to me, but maybe Luc knows. It could just be her decision, like any human. Whoever she falls in love with.” There’s that word again. Love.
“Can demons love?” I ask the question that has been gnawing at me since I first saw her.
Since I first saw her? It’s true -- even before I heard a word about the revelation or prophecy, I wondered. That day under the tree as her eyes glided over me, I felt something stir to life within me. She’s meant for me. I know it.
“Why wouldn’t they be able to? Luc created them and once he was almost nothing but pure love. Even now with all the hurt and anger, beneath the surface is love. Why do you think he never told you all of the prophecy? Out of spite? Trying to hurt you? No. He was protecting you.” I feel like a child being scolded. “What if they had killed her that day they first found her?”
I stiffen. “Exactly. If you had known there was someone destined to LOVE you and they had killed her before she could ever grow into a woman, what would it have done to you? If one is lost, the prophecy is null. So not only you but all your brothers also. An eternity of knowing something beautiful and truly celestial had slipped through your fingers. It would be torture, your own personal version of hell.”
