by Lynn Landes
Kane flinches as though her words cause him physical pain.
“Enough, Keeper! You will pay for all you have done!” he hisses at her and four of his companions step from the trees, effectively circling her. “Our master wants you alive, come with us now and your family will be spared. Fight back and they will all die a slow, painful death.”
“I wish it were that simple, demon. I will not go with you.” Before they can move she steps closer, “I offer you one last chance to turn from this path. You are the chosen race of our Father, a Holy creation. Fight for me and you will be forgiven of your transgressions.” She looks into the eyes of madness and Elina knows it is too late for them.
“A chosen race? We are nothing but slaves to his commands and desires, just as you are!” Kane snaps.
“Tell me this before you die, why would you choose to believe lies from a deceiver, over the creator of all?” Her words enrage them and they all move to attack.
Elina does not move she simply stands and whispers,
“The Lord is my refuge and my strength.”
Nameed drops from a tree where he had been waiting for Elina. Transforming to his arch form in full armor he hurtles to the earth with both of his swords drawn in a flash of steel. His impact drives the Fallen backwards to the ground where Simeon waits behind them, his knives ready. Malach hears the call of his brothers and ports, landing just behind Elina.
She does not turn to meet his eyes, but simply steps aside to let him fight. Her bag is on the ground where she left it, she picks it up, intending to leave.
Malach joins the battle and a sound from across the stream draws her attention, demons! They come in a horde leaping through the trees, they are not angels, but the offspring of them. Abominations, flesh eating, blood sucking demons who love nothing more than to destroy. They must not get the scroll!
This is the moment Elina was afraid of. If it came down to it again, would she be able to leave him. “Malach?” she whispers softly. The sound of her voice calls to him and he looks back, knowing what must be done.
In a blink she is gone, trusting them to handle this battle. She begins to port when a hot white pain rips at her ankle. Elina screams and begins to fall back towards earth with pain radiating up her leg.
“You won’t get away that easily, Keeper!” Kane shrieks sinking his nails deep into meat and bone of her ankle. Unsheathing her sword, she lashes out slicing the fallen angels arm off at the elbow in a spray of dark blood.
Refusing to be denied, Kane roars and reaches his good arm up grabbing hold of his now severed arm like a grappling hook in a wall. The sharp corrupt claws of the dead hand dig further into Elina’s flesh holding fast, preventing her escape.
Elina screams in agony at the weight pulling on her ankle tearing at the meat of her leg. They both plummet towards the ground.
Elina pools her power into her hand and reaches down, she places her palm on Kane’s forehead. She blocks out his screams as her power floods into him burning his face.
He releases her and hurtles to the earth, landing hard. Elina jerks his hand from her ankle and screams as the claws are ripped from the flesh and bone. She tosses the hand away. Disoriented from pain her breath rushes out as she is caught in midair by strong arms.
Malach has her before she hits the ground and she wraps her arms around his neck savoring the feel of his body, willing herself to breath. She clings to him until she feels him land. Immediately she pushes against his chest.
“Release me!” Elina snaps struggling to break free.
“Cease, keeper! You are safe now.” He says and she feels her body’s reaction to him and she weeps inside for she knows that is not true.
She stops moving and her eyes drop to his mouth, nervous she whispers, “Thank you Malach. You can put me down now.”
“Elina, I…” he starts to say, but she puts a hand over his mouth. She looks into his emerald eyes and shakes her head, no.
“Put me down.”
He slowly lowers her feet to the ground and releases her just as Nameed and Simeon join them.
Simeon attacks Kane before he can recover from Elina’s blast. He has the panicked look of one who sees his death, but he fights in vain. His scream is cut short when Simeon severs his head from his shoulders. The headless corpse joins its unholy brethren on the ground. Their bleeding bodies scorch the earth black where they lie, burning the vegetation back to never grow again.
Nameed has called in other angels to fight the demon horde back from the river and drive them to the holes they came from.
Her eyes meet Nameed’s and she knows she is out of time.
She steps away from Malach and whispers, “I didn’t want you to see this, but I am out of time, Malach. I’m sorry.”
Gently she lifts the scroll out of her shirt, ignoring the pain in her leg and slips the red ribbon off the end. When she starts to unroll it, Malach realizes what it is.
His eyes fill with disbelief, when he tries to move Simeon and Nameed each grab an arm to hold him back.
“Nooo!” he yells in horror as she is lifted into the air.
A holy light erupts from the scroll and rolls across the land, flattening every tree, and every demon left within the vicinity.
Elina is lifted into the air. Her clothes are burned from her body, baring her skin for the task at hand. Blinded by the light, all of the archangels except Malach fall to the ground in reverence.
Naked, the ancient Aramaic script is inscribed onto her body and into her soul. Elina does not fight it, she has accepted her fate. She will keep the covenant and do whatever it takes to protect humanity. She drifts slowly to the ground, with the golden lettering embedded into her skin. Malach looks at her, with tears rolling down his cheeks. “No,” he whispers.
Elina stumbles and immediately Malach jumps catching her, shielding her nakedness from view with his massive wings. The pain starts to fade when the scripts fade. Finally, they are invisible once more, and Elina sighs in relief. Trembling, she looks up and wipes the tears from his beautiful face.
“Don’t weep for me, Malach. The Lord is my light and my salvation. He will strengthen me. You taught me that. Now get me some clothes, I like your friends, but I don’t want them to see me like this!”
His eyes are drawn to her naked body and he struggles with his desire for her. The thought occurs to him, that he could take her far away and keep her safe.
Dragon scales start to erupt on his body. He grips her waist and the beginnings of claws starts to sink into her bare skin from his hands. With a tight grip he draws her naked body to his. When her breasts touch his armored chest, she gasps. “Malach!” His reptilian eyes snap to hers and she puts a glowing hand on his chest.
“Release me, Angel!” she snaps and sends a small spark of power through her hand into his chest. Singed he jumps and snarls at her.
In her mind, she sees his broken and bloody wings on the ground and she knows what is coming.
“Give me a moment, Elina. Just a moment to savor? Will you deny me that?”
Elina does the only thing she can think to do, she ports away from him, putting Nameed between them.
He instantly flares his wings and clothes her. “Go, Elina. We will handle him,” Simeon orders.
Malach’s rage of fury echoes through the woods and into her soul.
“Keep him safe for me,” heart heavy with regret, she grabs her bag and ports away.
Chapter 15
Elina shields her thread so that even the Angels will not be able to track her. This time she knows where she is going. It is time to visit Seth in Hawaii. Heather and her father, Scott are with Seth’s family and she will need their help. They helped find the first part of the book, hopefully they will be willing to help again.
Elina searches for the golden threads of the Keepers on the astral plane as she ports. They are strong and brilliant around Heather. Her thread seems to be protected by multiple golden threads!
When she opens her eyes
, she finds she is on a well-worn, dirt path, surrounded by lush, green vegetation. A soft rain trickles down around her. The path seems to fork in two directions, Elina listens and hears the sound of roaring water. The path has a steep, muddy, incline.
Before starting off she pulls a shirt from her bag and binds the wound on her lower leg to slow the bleeding. She walks fast, ignoring the pain in her ankle she slips, and slides along, hoping this is the correct way.
The noise grows louder and when she turns a corner she sees the source, a huge waterfall! A welcome breeze blows from the powerful falls and Elina smiles at the tourists taking pictures.
There is a sign that says, “Moa’Ula Falls, Danger, NO SWIMMING.”
‘Okay, I wasn’t planning on swimming today anyway,’ she thinks to herself.
The couple leaves and Elina finds relief in her solidarity. She rests on a boulder, checking her throbbing leg, she thinks about Malach and what he is facing. Better a group of Angels than the hell that would have befallen him. He will forgive her for protecting him. She had no choice.
The noise of the falls is deafening, so she decides to head back down the trail. If the trail leads to this, then it must lead to a town in the other direction.
Walking along, she listens to the birds and wonders if there are any large animals she should be worried about. She doesn’t know much about Hawaii, or Seth’s family for that matter. The rain starts to let up, and the sun shines through, drying Elina’s clothes.
They stalk her soundlessly through the vegetation, her unusual scent calls to them. She has no visible weapons, but they have learned the hard way to trust no one.
Elina pauses a moment as she slips in the mud once more, mumbling she continues on her way.
Uncomfortable, she feels the pressure of unseen eyes on her. With a quick scan she senses more than one person following her, and they have golden threads. With a small smile she ports, landing directly behind a large, muscular man. They all stop shocked when she disappears. He whistles to his companions and they close ranks on the spot where Elina stood.
Enjoying herself, Elina re-emerges and creeps up behind the small group, wondering when they will sense her. This is a game Malach used to play with her when she was younger.
With a smirk she starts to advance, but the crunching of a stick behind her has her spinning around. She is surrounded and the leader is pointing a gun at her.
“Seriously Cap! You are losing your touch.” Seth says smiling.
“Stuff it, Cowboy! I would have had her earlier if you boys had shielded your threads!” Jake snaps lowering his weapon.
Elina’s eyes fill with tears at the sound of their voices, “Jake?” she exclaims and runs into his waiting arms.
Jake catches her with a huge smile and whispers, “Welcome to Hawaii, Elina.”
Chapter 16
Jake feels her trembling in his arms and gives a quick nod of his head to Seth and his team of brothers. They move out noiselessly, this time shielding their threads.
Exhaustion, fear, and heartbreak, take its toll and she begins to sob, clinging to her friend.
“Easy now, Elina. Everything’s going to be okay.” He tosses his rifle over his shoulder, lifts her into his strong arms and ports them to a small cabin, safe from prying eyes.
Elina looks at him with shock, “Jake? How did you get here?” she sniffs.
He sits her down on a couch and looks at her with a frown.
“I’ve been busy, your Dad trained me with Malach’s help. I’m not as good as you are, yet. Seth gave me this cabin and I’ve been visiting with his family whenever I could find the time. I heard you talking to your Dad and I assumed this would be where you went next. What I can’t figure out is why you would come alone?”
Frustrated, he paces back and forth and she smiles at the image he makes. Big, blond, muscular, warrior, with a gentle heart.
“Elina you are the one who said we are stronger, together! It’s time you start following your own advice. You are not invincible.” He stops lecturing when she doesn’t respond and finds her sleeping on the couch.
Exhaustion wins out, safe for the moment she rests content, trusting that he will watch over her. Jake grumbles and grabs a blanket to cover her.
“Sleep tight, Keeper. Tomorrow you will have a lot of questions to answer.”
Jake grabs a quick shower, then picks her up and carries her to a bedroom. She doesn’t move, except to roll over and grab a pillow. He hesitates when she whispers, Malach’s name, then stretches out beside her and she snuggles into his heat and sighs. Content to hold her, he drifts off to sleep.
As the morning sun breaks through the fog, Elina screams like a wounded animal. She pushes back against the headboard screaming for her angel. Jake tries to grab her arms, but she fights him.
“Malach!!!!”
“Elina! You are safe,” he yells and quickly pulls her down on the bed by her ankle. He pins her swinging arms to the mattress. “Look at me, look at me! You are safe!” he says over and over. Her eyes meet his and she begins to calm.
“The fire, Jake! It killed them and I couldn’t stop him! I tried!” her panic filled eyes stare into his and his stomach drops. He releases her arms.
“What fire, Elina? Is everyone okay?” He helps her sit up and then watches as the confusion begins to lift. Elina wraps her arms around herself and begins to rock back, and forth.
“It was just a bad dream, Jake. Just a dream. Did I hurt you?” she asks, looking at him with fear for his safety.
“No, I’m fine. Do you want to tell me about it?” he asks reaching for her.
“I wish I could, Jake.” She gets out of the bed and turns away from his outstretched hand. The moment she puts weight on her foot her ankle reminds her of the wound. Pain radiates up her leg, stealing her breath.
“You’re hurt!” He helps her sit back down and gently lifts the leg of her pants. The binding is saturated with blood and has run down into her boots. Jake gently removes her sock and shoe along with releasing the wrapped T-shirt from around her leg.
A hiss of pain escapes Elina when he pulls the cloth away from the deep angry wound.
“What the hell? That looks like claw marks, Elina.” He rushes out of the room to the bathroom, and grabs his medical kit. “That is going to need stitches,” he reaches into a pocket on the bag for anti-septic.
“Jake,” she says stopping him, “let me take a shower and get clean then you can dress them. Help me up, please.”
She leans on him hobbling to the bathroom, he sits her on the side of the tub as he starts the shower.
“Can you manage, I’d be glad to help?” He says with a sassy smile.
Elina laughs at the image he presents, she smacks at him with a cloth. “I bet. Get out of here, you animal. I can manage on my own.”
Jake sighs deep and loud, “Okay. I know who holds your heart, but if you change your mind, I’m here. Just toss your clothes out and I will throw them in the washer.” He closes the door softly and heads to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast.
Elina showers quickly, scrubbing her hair and body clean. Trying to scrub the image of Malach out of her mind. The steam feels so good, but her leg reminds her that she needs to be healed.
She walks into the bedroom wrapped in a towel and finds a T-shirt of Jakes waiting for her. She quickly pulls it on and dries her hair, then brushes the tangles out.
He stands in the doorway and stares at her with hunger in his eyes. The T-shirt is huge, covering her to mid-thigh. She looks so beautiful, that all thought of keeping his distance flees.
“Elina.” He says and in that word she hears hope; hope for a future together that she cannot give him. When he steps toward her, she backs away, holding up a trembling hand.
“Don’t, Jake. I really need you to be my friend right now and I can’t give you anything more than that.”
He looks closer and reads her fear, desperation, and exhaustion.
“Okay, then. Let’
s look at your leg. Sit on the bed and put your leg on this towel.”
She tugs on the T-shirt and sits. His hands are gentle as he prods the wounds.
“Elina, what the hell happened to you? What kind of animal did this to you?” Red striations flow up her leg, indicating infection and swirls around the ankle, flaring out.
“Not, animal, demon. A fallen angel, named Kane grabbed me.” She inhales swiftly when he swabs the wounds with iodine. Looking at long rips and finding some of the claws left buried in her trembling leg. He looks up mumbling.
“You need a doctor, or an angel. Why don’t you call Malach? He could heal this for you.”
“No!” she says too loudly. Jake looks at her and grits his teeth.
“Okay, that’s a first. Tell me, Elina. Let me help you,” he asks. When she doesn’t answer, he wraps the leg in gauze and waits patiently.
In her mind, she remembers a bible verse, “The enemy seeks to steal and destroy your hope, your faith and your purpose.” Now looking at this man who has been her friend since childhood, Elina knows it is time to trust him.
“Jake, the things I will tell you are… unbelievable. I need help and I can’t do this alone anymore.” Trembling, she waits for him to respond.
He smiles, “You never had to do it alone, Elina. I have been waiting for you to ask me.” He cups her cheek with his hand, “Let me shelter you. I promise you can trust me.”
She covers his hand with hers and smiles at him.
“Okay, you asked for it, but first can I have some clothes? I keep ending up naked.”
Jake laughs and hands her a robe from his closet.
“I have coffee ready.” With his help she settles down into the couch while he props her ankle up.
“Seth’s mother is a nurse, she can look at you later today.”
He walks off and throws her clothes in the dryer and returns to her.
Chapter 17
“Jake, you know that I am the Keeper. I was chosen from my people to protect the Book. It was broken into five pieces and I have been able to find four parts and return three of them to the Ketuwah. I have made some bad choices, my need to protect my family and my desire for…” she pauses to sip her coffee because she does not want to hurt him.
