Adam turns to speak to me. “Marion, you truly are a sight to behold. I pray for your sake that the legend is not true. I am sorry for your loss here today.” He takes the sword from the death punisher and hands it to my Guardian. Malachi slides the sharp blade across his tongue and licks off any blood. He then runs the length of the blade across his chest before he turns it and swipes the other side, making an X mark in his flesh. Adams nods with approval at my protector. Malachi is trying to disguise my blood and hide the truth that would be revealed to anyone who tastes it. Adam says goodbye and leaves.
Jessica rises and leaves without speaking to me. I do not blame her. I know that Jacob’s actions here tonight were because of me. Deborah walks over to us. She speaks to me. “The prophecy is true. He released me from Purgatory just like I released you from Heaven when I made the deal in Purgatory to return. His resting place is beyond. Instead of a penance, he will lie in Hell. Lilith will enjoy taking her time with him, trying to turn him into a Demon. I’m afraid that she will succeed. No one can survive her torture for too long.”
“Enough,” Malachi warns her with a growl from deep within him. I clamp my hand over my mouth. “Deborah, take your leave. You are free of your charge. Peace be with you. I will call upon you when the time is needed.” She tilts her head towards him, acknowledging his leadership, and silently leaves through the doors.
I cannot walk or move. Malachi takes the blade and slides it into its sheath. Then he swings the sling across his shoulder and rests the sword upon his back. He walks over and picks me up. We leave through the doors and down the steps.
“What now?” I finally ask him.
“I have a room reserved for the night. We must go to the mansion tomorrow night. Jacob came into my room also and told me what to do after this meeting. We should find Rebecca. She is the only one who can help us now. Her magic can help free Jacob like it did with you.”
“But it didn’t work quite right before.” I inform him. “I was killed by Arthur. Deborah came to Heaven and stole me. Jacob told me that my body was in a deep sleep but my soul was in Heaven. When she served her penance, she arranged my return somehow.” I swallow before asking, “Do you think Lilith knows that I am the hybrid?”
“Maybe, but she never tasted your blood. Her excitement to receive Jacob into her prison made her forget about the sword. Unless Jacob tells her….”
“He won’t,” I interrupt. “I can walk now. Put me down.” He does as I ask.
“Marion, you do not know what they will do to him. Thousands upon thousands of Demons will mark him. Lilith will torture him. When he does return, he will not be the same man.” Malachi turns away from me. “There is something else about the prophecy. It says that the hybrid will take to her bed Vampires, Angels, and Demons. I thought Jacob was the Vampire, I the Angel, and Charles the Demon.”
“But I did not choose to bed Charles.”
“That is what bothered me until now. I’m afraid that Jacob is the Demon, and that he will come back for you and Hell will be unleashed.”
“No. He would not do that. He will come back for love, that much I believe.” I stop and think for a moment. “Jacob is my charge, isn’t he? But how could he turn Demon?”
“Yes. I believe that he is the charge. I don’t think he can turn Demon. He will just have Demon characteristics.” We walk in silence. “Did you drink from him?” he asks me.
“Yes. Right before the meeting in my room.”
“Did you…?”
“No. We kissed. That is all.” I know that he is relieved. How can I save him when my loyalties are divided? He leads me up a small gravel road. I see a large white farmhouse come into view. “Where are we?” I ask.
“A friend’s house. He is Fallen also. You are safe here. I will tell him who you are. He will help us. We may stay here for a while to train. He used to be an army sergeant when he was human.” The door opens to the house, and I see a small woman appear on the front porch.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“That is his mate. She is Fallen as well. They do not have charges and are not Guardians. They watch the meeting house of the committee.”
“Hello, Harrietta.” Malachi greets her with a kiss on the cheek.
“Good early morning to you both,” she says as she looks me up and down. I am standing in only my bra and jeans with dried blood all down my back. My shirt lies on the banquet room floor at the committee house. “Welcome, take my hands and enter.” I pass through the invisible force field and into the large sitting area. “Come, Marion; let’s find you something to wear before my husband gets home. He always did have a wandering eye.” She walks up the staircase, and I follow. Malachi does not seem uncomfortable with separating from me. When we enter a bedroom, I hear the front door open once again and know that her husband must be home.
“My dear, let’s get you a shirt.” She opens a big closet door and comes back with a T-shirt. The letters across the chest say Angel of Mine. I laugh when I see it. She giggles. “I can find something else.”
“No,” I reach out my hands. “I love it.” When I turn around, she sees the blood on my back.
“My goodness, what happened?” she asks.
“Lilith had me cut open. I’m fine.”
“No, child, you are not fine.” She walks over to me and hugs me tightly to her chest. She is warm. I have not had many friends. I immediately like her. “I have a bathroom down the hall. Let’s get you all cleaned up.”
When we head out of the bedroom, my Vampire ears hear her husband whispering. “…half-Vampire, she will heal quickly. The process may even work better if we break her bones, and then insert the metal pieces. She will heal around them. The pain may not be as bad.”
Malachi speaks. “There has to be another way. Her body may be strong, but her mind and heart will not be able to withstand the torture. She will never look at me the same.”
“If she truly loves you, she will understand what you must do and why. The legend…”
Harrietta closes the bathroom door and turns on the faucet. I can no longer hear them discussing me like I have no say. “What is it that Malachi needs from the two of you?” I ask her. I know that we are not here for a sleepover.
“I shouldn’t say, but my Gerald, he’s an army sergeant from generations ago. He is Malachi’s right-hand man. You are here for training. Gerald has no feelings for you. He will show you no mercy. You are just another recruit to him. I assume Malachi cannot do what is necessary.” Harrietta is telling me this as she tenderly washes my back. After air drying, I put on the T-shirt. We head downstairs and both men stand to greet us.
“Marion, please sit,” Gerald says. “We were just discussing the details of your stay.”
“You mean how you’re going to beat me to death and then implant weapons into my broken bones? I heard.”
Malachi takes my hand. “Marion, I am so sorry. I haven’t decided anything on the weapons.”
“It’s okay. I know what I must do. I do not feel like company tonight. I’m ready for bed. Since this house is so large, I assume that you have a bedroom for each of us.” I do not want Malachi beside me tonight. He lets out a sigh. Harrietta starts to stand. “I can find it, just point me in the right direction.” She tells me where to go.
“I will wake you at noon to recharge. Good night,” Malachi calls after me.
I know that I didn’t make a good first impression, but I am not here for their entertainment. As I walk up the stairs, I hear Gerald ask him some more questions;
“How is it that she can go into the sun if she is Vampire? What all have you taught her? What else can she do?”
“You will find out tomorrow,” Malachi answers. I close my bedroom door and cry. I fall asleep with my face still wet from my tears. Several hours into my slumber, a scream shatters through my mind. It is Jacob’s voice. I can hear him even in Hell. I sit up in the bed and grab my temples. My heart is breaking. I know that he controlled the pain projections when
he was in the dungeon with Charles until he couldn’t any longer. My flesh crawls with what Lilith could be doing to him. I close my eyes and show him my memories of our past together. It is all I can do. I send him my love. If he receives it, I do not know.
I hear a knock on the door. Malachi enters. He holds out a cup full of his blood. I turn my nose up at it. “You must drink. You will need your strength.” I take the cup and sip twice before handing it back to him. He pushes it back toward me.
“No. I will not let you drink from me, and I will not let you dilute him from my blood. He needs me more than ever.” Malachi doesn’t say anything or try to make me drink anymore. He sets the cup down beside the bed. I guess it is noon.
“Gerald is waiting. He will take you. I have arrangements to make. He is the strongest under me. I have given him instructions.”
“I thought that I was only recharging, not fighting.” I do not feel like doing this now.
“We are training your Angel side. Daylight is best. You will charge as you go.”
“I guess that you can’t stomach staying around and watching,” I spit at him. I do not know why I am being so mean towards him. His answer surprises me.
“No, I cannot. I may intervene. If I lose it and strike him, I will kill him. He would not simply vanish. He tells me that it is better this way. I will be back tonight. We will leave for the mansion at ten.” He gets up and leaves. He does not kiss me goodbye.
I rise out of bed and put on my shoes. I’m glad that at least I didn’t have on heels. Coming down the steps, I see Gerald standing by the door. His shirt is off, and he is well built. He looks to be around forty years in age. I am starting to think that there are only beautiful Angels.
“Your eyes, they are blue. I thought they were brown last night,” he says to me.
“Don’t worry, grandpa. You’re not losing it. Angel by day, vamp by night.” He cringes when I call him grandpa. I like it. I step out on the porch and into the sun. I know today will be painful. I haven’t sparred with Malachi in a long time and somehow I don’t think Gerald is going to end each match with a tongue licking. I feel my skin singe in the daylight rays. I hear Gerald gasp. I decide to let myself burn longer than usual before I call the heat into my core. I need to get used to a little pain. That is why we are doing this after all.
Gerald comes up to me. “Do you do that every time?”
“Yes.”
“I have blades on me and weapons in my backpack. You will have none. I do not wish to be dead or banished. You cannot be either so I will not hit you in the heart. No flying. There are almost one thousand acres here that are all fenced in. Those are the protected borders of the property. Do not go outside the boundaries. If you are ready, let’s begin.” I run.
It takes him about seven minutes to catch me. He is not as fast as Malachi. I am cornered against a steep, rocky hill. If I only had my wings I could fly up to the top. He is approaching with a dagger in his hand. I cringe at the thought of it piercing my flesh. Darkening my eyes, I become Vampire. My skin starts to burn. Gerald crinkles his nose at the stench. I leap for the top. I do not make it. The pain resonating through my body overrides my senses. I fall and land on my back. He crouches over me, ready to strike. He hesitates.
“Do it,” I demand. The silver dagger burns through my side. I scream as it comes to a stop. I realize that I am still Vampire and my flesh still hurts. I breathe as I to try to relax. The air catches in my lungs. I jerk. My eyes return to their Angelic blue. The silver does not burn but the blade bites. I hear it grind against my bone and then I hear Jacob’s scream. I do not know if it is because of his torture or mine. I try to send him a message that I am okay, only training. I am not being killed even though it feels like it. His scream subsides into a more manageable ache inside my heart. I gurgle and then expel all the air from my lungs. Gerald pulls the knife out slowly and wipes it on his camouflage pants. He does not offer assistance. I heal quickly and stand. I prefer Malachi’s reward to Gerald’s punishment. My flesh is now whole.
He instructs me. “Good thought, but you cannot transform to a full Vampire next time. You will fry before you escape. Hold it at bay.”
“Whatever you say, grandpa. Let’s do it again.”
“Not before you jump out of this ravine. If you don’t make it this time, I’ll gut you open.”
I call forth my darker side, but my eyes stay blue. I feel the strength return in my legs, and I jump up, clearing the landing. Looking down at him, I know he cannot jump this high without his wings. He does not cheat. Instead, he turns around and runs the other way, retracing his tracks. I head for the mountains. Twenty minutes later, he has me again.
“Are you just going to lie down for me again and let me stab you or are you going to fight this time?” I hadn’t thought about it. Usually I just get naked when I am caught.
“I do not know how to fight,” I tell him.
“Learn,” he says as he lunges forward. I move quickly. I am faster than him. Since this is his land, he probably knows where I am going and the shortcuts to get there fast. He strikes against my shoulder as he comes back around. I fall to one knee. Silver hurts. I will have to fight him as an Angel. I call forth my light just in time as he lands the next blow. Malachi was right about the light being a force field. The blade vibrates in Gerald’s hand, and he is knocked backwards onto his knee. I think that I surprised him. While he is down, I kick, claw, and punch at him like a madwoman. He falls to the ground. When I see him start to glow a white light, I know I am in trouble. He is a stronger than I, and he must have reenergized all morning. Seeing the rage in his eyes, I back up and my force field falters. He grabs two more daggers and strikes them through my wrists. He backs me up to a tree and pins my wrists to the bark. I cannot hold back my cry. I scream. Gerald circles me and looks at me.
“You are weak when you are pierced. Pain cannot control you. Your enemies will not fear you.” He takes out a pocketknife and flips it open. The metal is long and jagged. It is an animal gutting knife. He raises my shirt to expose my abdomen. I suck in my stomach, hoping to make it disappear. He slices against me slowly. If I had any intestines, they would fall to the ground. Again, I scream.
“I will continue cutting you until either your voice is hoarse or you no longer make a sound.” He grinds the daggers that are holding my wrists to the tree. I cry out again. He looks at me and shakes his head. Taking the pocketknife again, he jabs it in the top of my thigh. I hold in my scream, but gasp. He leaves the knife in place. He takes out a rope and ties it around my neck and to the tree. I cannot go anywhere so I do not see the purpose in this.
The knife in my leg is starting to expel itself as I heal. It is not made of silver. My stomach tingles as the flesh closes. I can heal quicker than I thought when in deadly situations. Only the silver holds strong in my body. Gerald steps away and unzips his backpack. I fear what is inside. He lays a case upon the ground. When he opens it, I see many small silver throwing blades. Picking one up in his hand, he flips it to hold the sharp end. He throws it at me. It rams into my left shoulder and into the tree. I bite my tongue. He throws another, and it lands in my side. I am not screaming. I do not know why he isn’t stopping. I grow weaker. I do not fight to stay conscious anymore, but I do not pass out. Gerald finally runs out of his tiny spears to target practice with. I have about ten of them in my body. The sun is getting lower in the sky. I do not think he wishes to be caught out here in the dark with me. He knows I am more dangerous when I am Vampire. They have a darker, almost Demon side to them. I do not know if I can control myself. I think of killing him already. He walks up to me.
“Get down,” he orders me.
“I cannot do what you are asking.”
“When the night comes, the silver will only hurt more. Now get down. I will not help you.” I hadn’t thought about the silver. I am numb to it now. I do not know where to begin. I stretch against the daggers and involuntarily let out a shriek. Gerald does not punish me. He onl
y places his finger to my lips. In his eyes, I am seeing the enjoyment he is getting from doing this to me. He steps back and watches me. I try once more only to fail again. His next words chill me.
“If you do not get down before the sun sets, I will strip you naked and take your body. Then I will leave you bloody and beaten for the animals to feed upon.”
“Malachi would never allow it.”
“He is not here. He may have ordered me not to touch you, but the prophecy says that you will bed Angels, Vampires, and Demons. The words are plural. Malachi is not the only Angel to satisfy you.”
“Never,” I yell back. After I try again, the daggers move against my wrist. He marches up to my face and grabs the knife in my thigh. He does not have to pull hard since it is almost free from my muscle. The jagged teeth still tear my skin. He raises the knife to my neck. Taking hold of my collar, he rips my shirt open with the teeth of the knife. Next, I feel the back of the metal against my sternum. He cuts open my bra. I am exposed. He steps back as if to admire me. I grow angry.
Thinking that I cannot escape silver as a Vampire, I think of love to try to make my aura glow. It does not work. I am too hostile. When I feel Gerald’s hand move across my breasts caressing me, I think of Charles. Never again. The fury rises up out of my blood. Taking all the strength that I have, I send a jolt outwards from my center. Gerald flies through the air and hits a tree. He is unconscious. My light shines brighter than I have ever seen, so white that it appears silver. Sending out another pulse of energy, I expel all the silver throwing knives outward. I am left with only the rope and the silver daggers in my wrists. I brace against the tree and the length of the silver passes through, and I free myself. I take the blade and cut the rope. I do not check on Gerald. I do not care if he lives. This will never happen again.
Still glowing with rage, I pass through the front door of the house very easily. When Malachi returns, I am upstairs soaking in the bathtub. He enters without knocking. I guess we are beyond having boundaries. I am enveloped by red liquid, and my body is trembling. He reaches his hand in the water to see if it is cold. I am not quivering because of the temperature. My body has been abused. I am shaken to my core.
Steal Me From Heaven Page 14
