“So, m’lady, what will ye be doin’ now? What’s yer next move?” He asked Gabrielle.
“Keep trying to find out more about the Book. And if it is real and out there somewhere, get my hands on it before any of the Fallen do … especially Ramai.” Gabrielle took a sip of her coffee. “That, and keep trying to win this war.”
“Ahh, yes, the war. What will ye do when the war is over?”
“Assuming we win, I’ll find a remote beach and take a really long vacation. Assuming we don’t … well, that’s something I don’t even want to think about.”
“Gabrielle,” Phalen jumped in, “do you really think it’s possible we’ll lose?”
There was an edge of curiosity and fear in Phalen’s voice that matched her expression. Gabrielle wished she had seen as little of the war as Phalen. Even though angels don’t age, not like humans, what Gabrielle had seen humanity reduced to over the last thousand years, and the rate they’d declined in just the past hundred and fifty, made her feel so old—so tired.
“Yes, I do think it’s possible. Frighteningly so.”
“It seemed we were winning not so long ago. What happened?” Phalen asked.
“The Fallen.”
“But they’ve been around, well, basically forever. Why are they such an issue now compared to, say, fifty years ago?”
“I think I can answer that one, Lady Phalen. Faith. Er, should I say the lack thereof? Humans don’t care anymore. They don’t pay attention to signs; they don’t stop to see the miracles and beauty around them every day; they don’t believe in anything but their computers, their money, and their instant gratification. They don’t know what’s truly important anymore, and they believe things are what brings them happiness. But it doesn’t. It makes them step further away from what really will make them happy, and that kind of happiness can’t be bought.”
“He’s right, Phalen. Add to that the influence the Fallen can have on the minds of those with weakened spirits, which is a rapidly growing number, and demons are having the time of their lives.”
The conversation fell into quiet. There was no sound for a long time except for the birds doing their part to help wake the world, and an occasional sip from a cup and then that cup being placed back on the table.
“Well,” Phalen said as she raised her drink to Gabrielle and Grayson, “here’s to hoping they come to their senses.”
“Hear, hear, Lady Phalen. Hear, hear.”
“I’ll toast to that.” Gabrielle raised her cup to theirs.
“Now, would ye beautiful angels like to chase away these gloomy thoughts with a bit of fruit and cheese, as well as some homemade biscuits and jam? I’ve learned to make some excellent jam o’er the years.”
“Sounds great. But then we’ll have to leave your beautiful Corstorphine, I’m afraid,” Gabrielle said as she freshened up everyone’s coffee.
“Do we really, Gabrielle?”
“Don’t make me feel worse than I already do about it. I don’t want to go any more than you do.”
She didn’t.
She’d like to stay right where she was, with one old friend and one new one, in this beautiful place called Corstorphine, in wonderful Mareschall Castle that was somehow cozier with all its stone than most people’s homes, and forget the realm of humans. She felt safer from stress and bad moods in that moment than she had in more years than she wanted to remember.
She wanted to stay for a while …
… she wanted to rest.
CHAPTER TWENTY
GABRIELLE ~ PERSISTENCE PAYS
Phalen was quite happy when she managed to make it out of Corstorphine with both its name and her memory of what was most special to her, which was the sunrise with its vibrant colors that spanned the entirety of the sky.
Gabrielle had so enjoyed seeing Grayson and hated leaving him and Corstorphine more than any other visit. Every day, things were getting more worrisome and much more dangerous for any on the side of Light. And, even though Shifters are well protected in their own realms, the human realm was becoming more treacherous all the time—and they spent a lot of time in it. She found herself increasingly concerned that she might not ever see him again.
She arrived after the last bell for first period sounded so she wouldn’t run into Lucas. She was glad she did when she saw his Wrangler parked near the spot she usually took. He hadn’t parked in that lot in three weeks. Today, because of being late, she was well away from it.
She spent first period in her own world that mingled Shifters and humans, angels and demons, happy and sad, safe and dangerous, beautiful and ugly, Light and Dark. The life she lived was complicated and full of contrasts—and getting more complex all the time.
When class let out, she was the last to leave, in no hurry for her next class either. At least until she stepped into the hallway and Lucas stepped into her path.
“Oh. Excuse me.” Gabrielle tried to side-step him. He mirrored her movement. She tried the other direction, and he moved with her again.
“I guess you’re going to make me go the long way around.” She turned on her heel and tried to walk swiftly away from him. Swiftly ended up being a snail’s pace, though, since she seemed to be going against the direction of every other student in the hall.
Ugh … seriously!
“No, Gabby. I wasn’t trying to make you go the long way around. I was trying to get you to talk to me,” Lucas said to the back of her head, following her.
“Lucas, I don’t think this is the time or place.”
Lucas grabbed Gabrielle’s arm to stop her, forcing her to look at him.
Gabrielle jerked free, shoving him back with her free hand in the process. Suddenly, the students gave her a wide berth. “Don’t. Ever. Grab me like that again. Understand?” Gabrielle spoke as calmly as possible, trying to contain a very bad mood that was being made much worse at that moment. She glared at Lucas, but he didn’t back down. He walked back toward her, but his expression was soft, apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I just want to talk with you.”
“Trying to force me isn’t something I’d recommend.”
“Then tell me when it will be a good time, and name the place. We need to talk.”
Gabrielle just stared into his unwavering eyes—those damn eyes that still made her want to get lost in them. In spite of her anger, she almost broke. But the memory of him and Mara hanging all over each other came roaring into her mind and brought any chance Lucas had of getting her to talk to him to a crashing end.
“Why don’t you ask Mara what works for her schedule and get back to me? You two seem to have more to chat about than we do.”
She didn’t wait for a response, just turned and found a break in the crowd. As she reached the stairs, she couldn’t help but look back at him. He stood where she’d left him, students flowing around him, with the strangest look on his face. She turned and raced to her next class—raced away from him.
And tried to race away from the tears now stinging the back of her human eyes.
Gabrielle managed to avoid Lucas at lunch, but the class they shared was another story. She’d arrived late, on purpose, hoping to have no communication with him. But Lucas had other plans. The only seat left was right behind him. Throughout class, he kept turning around whenever the teacher turned his back. And unfortunately for Gabrielle, said teacher was called to the office to take an emergency phone call.
Lucas was all over that opportunity. “What did you mean about Mara?”
“Lucas … really. I don’t want to talk to you about this.”
“Tough, Gabby. I deserve to know why you’re avoiding me. What did I do?”
Lucas looked genuinely confused, shaking Gabrielle’s resolve. Again … those eyes weren’t helping matters at all.
“Not talking.”
“You will. Eventually, I am going to get you to tell me what happened.”
Gabrielle felt heat begin to flood through her body and her hands clench as anger began to
rise to the surface again. Who was he to try to force her into a conversation?
“Fine,” Gabrielle said through clenched teeth as she began to gather her things. By this time, even though they were whispering, all eyes and ears were on them. It didn’t help that she wasn’t being quiet while putting her things in her backpack and made sure that the book, notebook, and pen made as much noise as was possible by fiercely stuffing them into place. “Three weeks ago, I saw you more than a little chummy with Mara walking into the gym. Happy?”
She couldn’t say more, no matter how mad she was. She couldn’t tell him that what was even worse was that she didn’t know if he was a demon.
Lucas sat back a little, then brought his body forward again as he spoke. “Gabby, you’ve got that all wrong. I know what it must have looked like to you, but you are wrong.”
Gabrielle didn’t respond. She didn’t even look to see if there was any sincerity in his eyes to match his tone. She just left. She didn’t care about the class or that she wasn’t supposed to leave.
What could they do, anyway, call my parents?
After making it into the hallway, thinking she made it to freedom, she heard the door to the class open again and Lucas calling to her.
“Gabby, wait!”
She didn’t
“Gabby!”
She walked faster.
“Gabrielle!”
That got her attention.
His voice—the tone—it was melodic again, much more melodic than she’d ever heard it sound before. His voice was like …
Like an angel’s.
She turned to face him, scrutinizing him, raising the veil in her mind, careful to leave the Aegis in place. She wasn’t willing to test Amaziah’s patience by removing his protection. Lucas’s tone wouldn’t have any effect on her; she was an angel. She simply recognized it. But it could have a profound effect on a human, allowing the one speaking the ability to induce strong persuasion if it was used for that purpose.
“Who are you, Lucas? What are you?”
He looked stunned but kept moving toward her—more slowly now.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what are you? The sound of your voice. Knowing a language you should never have known.” Gabrielle must have looked like she was peeling back his layers to find the answer herself. “Who are you?”
He was less than a foot away. Lord help her she wanted to touch him so badly. He just stared at her. She could almost see his mind searching for a response, desperately trying to find the answer. He couldn’t find one, she could see that.
Whatever, whoever, he is … he honestly doesn’t know what I’m talking about.
Now … she was stunned.
“Gabby, I’m clueless. The language thing … I’ve always been a natural at foreign languages. What makes that one so special? Why couldn’t I have known it or have heard it somewhere before?”
Realizing she couldn’t tell him the answer unless she told him who and what she was, she turned and ran from him. For the second time that day.
As Gabrielle made her way to her car at the end of the school day, she was lost in thought about her exchange with Lucas. She was now sure that there was something very unusual about him. But she was also convinced he was at a loss as to whatever it was.
Looking up from the ground, she stopped. Lucas was leaning against her car. She’d left her last class early specifically so this wouldn’t happen, but there he was anyway. Now that he was there, she realized her resolve had weakened. She started walking again, shaking her head.
“Boy, you don’t give up, do you?”
“Nope.”
She reached him and leaned against his Wrangler, now conveniently parked next to hers.
“What’s left to say, Lucas?”
“For starters, I should have a chance to tell you what really happened that morning you saw me with Mara. And I think there’s a little something to talk about now concerning what you were asking me a couple of hours ago.”
He had her on the last one at least. She’d opened that can of worms right up, and she needed to buy some time to figure out how to put the lid back on. If he really didn’t know what he was, there was no need to freak him out more than he probably already was. Now there was also the little problem of not being able to tell him who and what she was so she could explain further about his voice and language.
“Okay, Lucas. But not here.”
Lucas looked relieved, even smiled a little. “Sure … where do you want to go?”
Good question.
After thinking on it a few seconds, Gabrielle decided it would be safe enough to go to her house. An angel would notice a human’s energy, so there wouldn’t be surprise manifestations.
“How about my house?”
“I’ll follow you.”
As they pulled out of the school lot and made their way toward her house, all she could think about was Lucas and what he might be and how she could explain away her concerns about it without telling him everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LUCAS ~ CHANCES
“Finally.” Lucas said to no one but himself as he pulled out of the school’s parking lot behind Gabby. He had thought it would take longer to convince her to talk to him after he’d learned she saw him with Mara draped all over him.
A chill ran through him with just the thought, but at least Mara had been staying away from him since. He wasn’t planning on telling Gabby the whole story about what had happened that morning, though. If she thought he was strange now, it’d be worse if he told her he thought Mara’s eyes not only changed colors, but that her entire eye went completely black, and that she’s not the same person he’d originally met.
Yeah … I think I’ll keep that little tidbit to myself.
After about five minutes, Gabrielle pulled into the driveway of a brick townhouse. He turned off his Jeep and slid out, and they both silently climbed the steps and went in.
Lucas tried to take in everything he saw. The townhouse was larger than he thought, but its exterior was deceptive; it was built deep instead of wide. From the large entry where he stood, stairs hugged the left side of a curved three-story wall; a large contemporary chandelier hung from the ceiling directly above a round entry table in the center of what was really a room in itself. A beautiful arrangement of the most unusual flowers he’d ever seen were on the table. He was borderline captivated by it, actually. The colors of the unusual petals and buds were like they were from another world. Gabby stepped in front of them as she placed her things on the table and gave him his mind back as he continued to take in what he could from where he stood.
A music room or a study—maybe both—was immediately to the right and showcased a white baby grand piano, a large ornately carved wooden desk, and shelves of books that lined every wall he could see—most looked aged. He loved books and hoped he would have the chance, one day, to spend a lot of time in there looking them over. The only other thing in the room was a very large dark brown leather couch that looked like the most comfortable thing he’d ever seen.
Gabby turned and motioned at him to follow her. “Are you thirsty or hungry?”
Lucas followed, but both his feet and mouth responded slowly as he continued deeper into her home.
“Yeah … sure.” He walked through a long, wide hallway with nooks and crannies holding paintings and sculptures. Eye-candy was everywhere, capturing his attention like a five year-old walking through the gates of Disney World for the first time.
“Are you coming?”
Lucas managed to just glance at the remaining art as he left the hall that led into a massive room that held the kitchen, family room, and dining room. He had already thought the hall was full of interesting and beautiful effects, but after a quick scan of this room, he realized it had been simple in comparison to the one he was now in. Beautiful things were everywhere.
Not at all in a cluttered way, just … interesting. He’d never seen a home with so man
y styles of furniture, art, and nick-nacks. And somehow, it all worked together perfectly. Nothing looked out of place or like it wasn’t meant to be among all the other things on the walls or in the room. And everything was anchored by more of the same oversized, comfortable looking, dark leather furniture that was in the library. Only in here, there were two couches and one chair with a matching ottoman that was easily big enough for two people.
A large flat screen was situated over a fireplace with more shelves on either side of them, full of CD’s and … more things. Quite a few unframed black and white photos had been left on the ottoman, making him wonder if Gabby had taken them.
What does she fill her time with outside of school?
The dining room was about what he would have expected, furnished with a large wooden table and chairs and a buffet server. There was more eclectic art hanging on the walls and a larger arrangement of those unusual flowers on the table.
The kitchen was a gourmet chef’s dream with dark stained cabinetry and tiles that were as current as the high-end stainless steel appliances. A large island in the middle held a six-burner gas range and a bar that curved around one corner with six stools nestled around it. The back wall of the townhouse was almost completely glass, bathing the room in light.
He glanced around the room again. There were no pictures of Gabby or her family—or anyone else for that matter—anywhere.
Absolutely none. Odd.
“Do you want some sweet tea or a Coke?” Gabby called from the fridge she just opened.
“Coke’s great … thanks,” he said as he walked through the family room into the kitchen, pulling out one of the stools to sit.
“This is a really great place, Gabby.”
Gabby turned and looked at him, a smile parting her lips as if she was pleased he liked it.
Man … I miss that smile.
“Thanks.” She slid a can of Coke across the counter to him and popped the top on her own, picking up a notebook that he’d glimpsed a few lines of poetry in before she closed it to conceal its contents. “It’s kinda … different, I know. But I really like it. Chips or pretzels?” She asked as she made her way to the pantry.
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