by Laury Falter
Suddenly Sarai was standing in front of me. Her lips pursed out of fury as she took hold of my shoulders, digging her fingers into my flesh.
I brought my arms up, trying to force her away from me but Sarai was too quick. She lifted me as if I were nothing more than a pillow and threw me toward the concrete wall.
Something soft, yet burning hot, stopped me from colliding with the concrete; and I knew that Eran had somehow intervened. My feet landed safely on the ground a moment later. I instantly swiveled my head from side to side, looking for him, but found only a dizzying array of bright lights darting around the alley.
An infuriated screech resonated around me, one that I remembered clearly from fencing class.
It was Sarai and she was charging toward me, crouched, with her fingers reaching out like claws.
I didn’t move, knowing already what I would do. Just before her hands were about to touch me, I sidestepped away from her, watching as she slammed into the wall where I’d been standing.
A muffled grunt could be heard as she slumped slightly against it, her knees nearly collapsing below her. She recovered, drew in a breath, and brought her head up to meet my gaze.
“You know…I guess I did learn a thing or two about footwork in fencing,” I said, grinning.
Then I noticed the blood.
A drop of it hung at the edge of her mouth.
Stunned, I said, “Do you feel pain too?”
As I moved toward her, I pulled back my arm and squeezed my hand into a fist, leaning my weight into the force behind my punch. As she had thrown her entire body at me, I was now throwing my entire body at her.
I made contact just where I’d hoped, in the center of her face.
I felt our skins meet; hers solid but flexible, mine taut and unforgiving. Her head snapped back, smashing against the wall and making a sickening thud.
She released a low grunt.
Then, to my alarm, she brought her head back, steadying it. Her shoulder’s lowered, relaxing.
And then she smiled.
“I’d almost forgotten how you hit,” she stated casually.
Confused, I gazed back at her. Sarai and I had met before? I had no memory of it.
Her comment did the job she’d intended. It caught me off guard long enough to draw my attention away from her. She didn’t waste any time.
I felt her fist hit me like an explosion had ignited my cheek. My body fell back, crashing to the ground, spots from the force of her strike obscuring my vision.
I felt her weight on top of me then. Her gloved hands clenched around my neck, squeezing and closing off my airway.
From above, she smiled, and her hands tightened.
My arms flailed, beating her sides, limp strands that barely made a dent. It was no good.
I saw my vision narrowing…blackening, and I knew I was losing consciousness.
Then something remote, deep inside me, clawed its way out. A faint memory that steadily grew more detailed. With it, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
I had been in this very position before. And I had escaped it.
My body moved based on instinct; the muscles recognizing what they needed to do before I could even command them. My hips rose and twisted. Sarai’s weight shifted off-center. She fell slightly, releasing her grip just enough. The heel of my hand came up and made contact. Her nose bent disturbingly to the side.
She groaned and released her hold on me.
I shifted again. Her weight rolled off.
I was on my feet. She stood too, blood trickling from her nose to her lips.
With my back arched and my hands rising, balled into fists, I darted forward, bringing the force of my weight toward her.
Though, we never made contact.
As she stood slouched, her head bowed, something curled out from behind her, steadily and methodically. There were two of them, one on each side. They unfurled and in the end their span reached beyond twenty feet. They were grey and each one was thickly covered in feathers.
With a single, smooth swipe, the wings lifted Sarai off the ground. Another flap and the inky night sky swallowed her whole.
I didn’t move, too stunned to think straight. I heard the commotion again behind me and turned to find the alley still in chaos. There were more bright lights attacking each of the Fallen Ones, I noticed. At least four lights were on each of them now. It took only a second for me to realize that it wasn’t that more of Eran’s friends had arrived. There were less of the Fallen Ones. Eran was winning.
Then, I saw Gershom. He lay sprawled against the side of a building, his head hanging, his eyes closed, and his chest not moving.
I ran for him, dodging lights as I made my way down the alley toward him. When I reached him, I slipped my hand underneath his back and lifted him to a sitting position. Then I drew back my hand and a scream escaped my throat.
It was covered in blood.
“Gershom! Gershom!” I yelled at him, my voice choppy and broken.
His eyes fluttered, focusing and landing on me. “I’m sor…sorry…” he panted.
I shook my head, tears welling up and streaming freely down my face.
“Your parents,” he reached for me and I took hold of his hands, clasping them between mine. My insides felt as if they were being ripped apart – one side with anger and one with regret – but I held on, unable to bear the fear of letting Gershom suffer in such pain alone. He gasped and I realized it was too late for him. “Harry and Alisa Tanner died… Helena…Montana…”
I struggled to breathe, understanding instantly what he was telling me. He used his last moments, his last breath on earth, to arm me with the knowledge I needed to find my parents.
And then he was gone.
I felt a deep pain at the base of my skull and a burning sensation spreading up, covering the back of my head and then my face. I slumped forward, unable to empower my body to respond. The last thing I saw before everything went black was my face slamming into Gershom’s still chest.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: FALLEN
When I woke up, the alleyway had disappeared. The bright lights were gone, too.
There was, however, Gershom kneeling over me, his eyes lit with anticipation.
“I didn’t believe it was possible…even when others told me. I didn’t believe you could do it…”
I sat up, wondering what had happened to Eran. “Gershom, where are we? Where’s Eran?”
With my new position, I could see that we were on the top of a mountain range, overlooking a winding river that cut a path through the green valley below. The sky was lit orange in the distance with wispy clouds dotting the horizon.
“We’re in my private paradise, my heaven. Just the way I left it.” He laughed to himself, turning to appreciate the view. “You carried me here.”
“Did I carry Eran too? And Ezra and Felix and Rufus? Where are they?” I asked, anxiously.
“Don’t worry.” He was blissful, content in a way I’d never seen him before. “They’re safe.”
He then turned and faced me, imploringly. “How could I ever repay you for this?”
“Gershom, I still don’t know what I did.”
“I can see that,” Gershom replied, staring at me with unreserved gratitude. “Maggie, you have the ability to carry not just messages but souls back with you.” He paused and drew in a shuttering breath. “I didn’t think it was possible. Not after what I’ve done. I’m not sure it would have been possible without you…you carrying me here.”
I glanced around again, realizing I hadn’t woken up in the Hall of Records.
“Am I…dead?” I asked.
Gershom shook his head and smiled. “Listen…”
I did, and from a distance, I heard voices so familiar and so missed that I spun around, looking for them.
“Eran? Ezra?” I called out.
Suddenly, I was no longer standing beside Gershom. I was laying down again, this time on something bumpy and protruding, far less comf
ortable than when I’d first woken up. My eyes were closed and they struggled to open, as if someone had weighted them down with heavy blocks.
“Will she be okay?” I heard Felix ask, his voice filled with anxiety.
“She got a good whack but I think so,” Ezra replied, a little closer. I thought I felt her hand brush by my cheek.
I heard a shuffling noise like a skirt’s fabric moving against its own folds and then a grunt – Ezra’s – as she stood up.
“Magdalene…”
At the sound of this voice I struggled much harder to lift my eyelids.
“Magdalene,” said Eran again, coaxing me, guiding me. “I feel you trying. You can do it.”
I used every bit of power to open my eyes, concentrating so hard I forgot to inhale.
Light…I could see light. Then blurred colors. Finally, the hazy outline of Eran’s face came into view.
I sighed. He was more handsome than I remembered.
He reached out and touched his palm to my cheek, tenderly, its warmth giving me renewed strength.
“Eran…” I gasped.
He smiled.
“I was hoping to hear that beautiful voice of yours again.”
“Hoping?” I asked. My voice sounded unfamiliar to me as I pushed myself up. Eran helped me and then kept his arms around me, securing me. Sensing a nervous longing from him, I realized he probably couldn’t have let go if he tried.
“We were unsure for a moment…” he said, brushing my cheek with the back of his finger and sending chills through me.
I sat up, moving closer to his hand as if I was being drawn by a magnet. “What happened?”
When I looked around, the alley was empty. The bright lights were gone, the Fallen Ones, too. Ezra, Rufus, and Felix stood encircling us.
“Sarai…while the rest of us were engaged in combat, she attacked you.”
“Oh…” I said, unable to think clearly still. I rubbed the back of my head, which pulsed lightly but without as much pain as I would have expected. “How did I ever survive that?”
Eran smiled amusingly at me, lifting his eyebrows.
“Oh…” I said again, understanding. “You…”
“At least you have your cognizance back.”
“It’s good to see you awake,” Ezra said softly, smiling down at me in her maternal way.
I smiled awkwardly back. “Barely…”
Eran’s hand came over mine, gently drawing his thumb along my pulse there. “You’re going to be fine, actually. I’ve been checking you regularly. Most of the swelling has already dissipated.”
“You…checked me?”
Eran nodded and smiled at me reassuringly. “One of the many abilities I’ve brought with me…”
“That’s good to know,” I said and he chuckled.
I froze, realizing that I was talking to Eran with Ezra, Felix, and Rufus standing over me watching. I glanced up at them, figuring they must think I had really damaged my head good if I were holding a conversation with an invisible person.
Rufus must have understood what I was thinking because he said, “This the wanka’ you were tellin’ me ‘bout?”
“You…you can see him?” I asked hesitant but amazed.
“We can,” Ezra smiled lightheartedly down at me. “Good thing, too. We needed someone to explain all that just happened.”
“Ay, ya been keepin’ quite a bit to yerself, Ms. Sneak…” said Rufus, shaking his head, admonishing me.
“And if we ever learn of this happening again…” Felix reprimanded me but didn’t bother to follow up with a threat of punishment.
“Let’s just make certain it doesn’t happen again,” said Eran, giving me a sharp nod of conviction. “You knew I couldn’t find you if you didn’t have any emotion and you weren’t fearful at all. Were you, Magdalene? You knew exactly what you were doing.”
I grinned, sheepishly.
“I thought so. That’s why it took me so long to find you. It wasn’t until you were fearful for your friends’ lives that I could signal in on you. That was a brave…and very foolish…thing you did. But you’ve learned now, haven’t you?” he asked, clearly worried. “We’re not going to give you up that easily.”
I smiled, meekly, up at him. “I have learned my lesson.”
“That’s good to hear,” Felix said, “because if that Sarai or that Achan come back…” He allowed his voice to fall away. His concern was evident.
“What do you mean? What happened with Sarai and Achan?”
It was Eran who filled me in on how the fight had ended. Apparently, the only ones to escape were the ones who I had attended school with the longest, the ones who knew me the best. Sarai and Achan.
The news was unsettling but I knew there was nothing we could do about it at the moment.
“Abaddon?” I asked, tentatively.
Eran drew in a breath and released it slowly. “Abaddon…He will no longer bother you. My friends have made sure of it.” Eran tightened his grip on my hand that he’d been holding in a comforting way. “I will protect you. At all costs.”
I smiled up at him. “I know, Eran. I know you will.”
“But that jab of yours…” he said playfully. “I think Sarai was as surprised as I was.”
“You saw that?” I asked, coyly.
“I did. Very impressive.” Eran’s grin faded and was replaced with impassioned eyes. I felt the distinct emitting of pride from him.
Ezra, sensing I wanted a moment alone with Eran, pulled Rufus and Felix aside and asked them to bring the car around for us.
We watched until they disappeared around the corner and Ezra stopped to wait for them at the end of the alleyway.
I looked to Eran and asked the question I’d wanted to ask since I regained consciousness.
“Eran, I can’t feel your intense heat any longer. And my roommates can see you now…Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Which is what exactly?” he asked, toying with me, a smile playing across his lips.
“Did you-did you fall? Are you here on earth for good? Or will you leave soon?”
The features of his handsome face tensed, overcome with emotion. “I have been battling this decision for some time now. If I’d fallen earlier I could have protected you far better. I understand that now. So I will do my best to protect you, to guard you, to balance that responsibility with loving you. Because I do love you, Magdalene. Far more than you know.”
His entire being stiffened then, frozen in agonizing wait for my answer.
I swung my arms around him, pulling him closer. Then my body started shaking, wracked with emotion.
“Love can’t begin to describe how I feel about you,” I said into his shoulder.
I felt him press his lips to my head and my heart skipped a beat. “It is the same for me,” he whispered softly.
“Then will you stay?” I pulled back, staring at him firmly. “Don’t tease me, Eran. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“Tease you?” he asked, incredulously. “You apparently have no idea what you do to me.”
“Eran,” I said, demanding an answer.
His signature smirk rose up before he replied. “Someone does need to keep you out of trouble…”
I gasped, opening my mouth to protest his joke, but he pulled me close and for the first time – that I could remember – his lips touched mine. This part of him was so familiar to me that even a lifetime apart couldn’t prevent my recognition, and with it, came an impassioned response that left us clinging to each other, breathless.
“I am here now,” he said, quietly against my lips.
I sighed. “It’s how long you’ll stay that worries me. You have a habit of disappearing.”
He leaned back and caressed my face. “And that’s one habit I intend to break.”
I smiled, reaching my hand around his neck and pulling him closer to me, trying to persuade him to keep his resolution.
“Promise?” I whispered.
“I
do, my love,” he asserted as his arms tightened around me, broad and secure. “I absolutely do.”
***Download the remainder of the Guardian Trilogy! Eternity and Reckoning are now available!
Eternity was given top rankings by readers on Goodreads for: Best Sequels, Best Paranormal Romance Books Of All Time, Books That Should Be Made In To Movies, Best Fantasy Female Characters From YA And Childrens, Favorite Books
Eternity was given top rankings by readers on Goodreads for: Best Paranormal Romance Books Of All Time, Books That Should Be Made In To Movies, Best Fantasy Female Characters From YA And Childrens, Favorite Books
Visit www.lauryfalter.com for more Laury Falter novels!***
Brief Biography
Laury Falter graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and a Master’s degree from Michigan State University. She lives with her husband and two stray dogs in Las Vegas. She has been secretly writing for most of her life and only released her first novel, Fallen, after the insistence of her sister, Babs. Her website if www.lauryfalter.com
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