The executioner obeyed, climbing the platform and wielding an axe to hack through the ropes, which were too hot to touch. Once free, I stepped out of the fire completely unmarked. As soon as I did, the flames rose up to devour the wooden frame, which was quickly charred to cinders.
“What the hell is going on?” Asia leapt forward, looking wilder than ever. She whipped around to face Jake. “She should be fried to a crisp! What did you do?”
“Nothing …” I thought I heard Jake’s voice tremble. “I … I don’t know what happened.”
“Liar!” Asia screamed.
“Silence.” Lucifer held up a ringed finger. “Arakiel had no hand in this. It seems the angel has been holding out on us. Her powers are greater than we know.”
“What now?” someone asked.
Lucifer’s listless blue gaze met mine and this time I didn’t flinch away.
“Arakiel,” he said tonelessly. “Kindly escort Miss Church to the chambers until we decide what to do with her.”
As it turned out the “chambers” were Hell’s version of a prison cellblock and they made Hotel Ambrosia look like paradise. The bodyguards hustled me out of the arena into a car and before I knew it I was being thrust into a space in the wall barely large enough to contain me. It was made of rough, cracked stone and rusted iron bars secured the entrance. When I sat down, my elbows scraped against the walls and my legs began to cramp after five minutes. There was total darkness in the chambers, but strange noises like the shuffling of feet and the clanging of metal pipes filtered through, along with mute cries of despair. The smell of damp was overwhelming.
Once the bodyguards left I heard Jake’s voice through the bars. Although I could barely see him I could hear the mixture of relief and confusion in his voice.
“How did you do it?” he asked in a hushed tone. I heard his rings clink as he wrapped a hand around the bars. “Tell me the truth.”
“I don’t think it was me.”
“Well, don’t admit that to anyone, got it?” Jake said sharply. “It’s the only bargaining chip we’ve got left.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll speak to my father — try and persuade him to let you go. Maybe things will be different now he’s seen how special you are.”
I didn’t respond — I was too drained from the day’s ordeal. “Leave it to me,” Jake said.
A few moments later I heard his retreating footsteps and I was left alone in the darkness.
24
Tennessee Blues
WITH Jake gone, there was only one way to take my mind off my physical discomfort. I shoved all troubling thoughts out of my head and focused on projection. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing my thoughts to shift away from this nightmarish place. The transition happened easily, like flipping a channel in my head. There was a rush of wind and then I had the feeling of my body dropping away like a stone as I rose in my spectral form. Before the darkness cleared, a voice reached me, distant at first but growing clearer. I could feel the familiar chug of an engine beneath me and smell leather mixed with sandalwood. I would have known that smell anywhere. It belonged to a certain 1956 Chevy Bel Air convertible. I felt the knot of tension in my chest instantly unravel and I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I was in Xavier’s car.
As my astral form took shape, I realized I was hovering in the backseat of the Chevy between Xavier and Molly. They seemed to be angled as far away from each other as was physically possible, both gazing sullenly out the windows at the passing landscape. Any rift mending that had occurred in the last few hours had evidently been only temporary. Ivy and Gabriel were sitting tight-lipped up front, clearly relieved to be at some distance from whatever dispute was in progress. As I watched the highway speeding by, I realized that we were in unfamiliar territory. My family must have already left Venus Cove far behind them. They sure weren’t wasting any time.
“We’re almost there,” Gabriel said sounding like a parent hoping to placate restless children. His voice, deep and resonant, reminded me of a low chord strummed on a guitar. Hearing his voice triggered a sharp pang of nostalgia for the way life used to be before Jake showed up and shattered everything. “We’re about to cross the Tennessee state line.”
“I don’t see why we couldn’t have gone by plane like all normal people,” Molly grumbled.
“We weren’t going to fly to cross one state,” Ivy replied calmly, though I could sense that her patience was wearing thin. Molly shifted and her elbow went right through my rib cage. The sensation was uncomfortable like a bar of heat spearing through my side. I guessed it was the life force of her human body colliding with my spectral form. I automatically wriggled away from her.
“Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten all those Junior Mints on the way over here,” Molly complained rubbing her stomach. I noticed she was wearing pink sweatpants and a matching cropped hoodie. Her auburn curls were pulled up into a high ponytail on top of her head and a hot pink duffel bag had been shoved under the seat in front of her. I couldn’t suppress a smile, knowing that Molly would claim she’d dressed sensibly for the occasion. Nobody responded to her comment. I supposed there wasn’t much to say about Junior Mints when your mind was preoccupied with demonic kidnappings and apocalyptic signs. The Chevy coasted along the highway and Xavier laid his forehead against the window. He looked edgy, like he needed to be doing something more than lounging in the back of a car.
I peered through the window and watched the Georgia countryside fly by. I was struck by how scenic it was. The earth seemed to have a life of its own and lush forestland spread out before us like a cloak. Vivid red maples grew thick and fast, forming shady canopies where their branches interlocked. I caught sight of butterfly weed and delicate purple prairie clover among the velvet greenery. As we traveled I watched as the earth became carpeted with sycamore twigs. The sky above us looked vast and open, only a handful of clouds scudded lazily across it, like lilies drifting across a clear blue pool. Things seemed simpler out on the open road and I felt close to the natural world. I was reminded of my old home in the Kingdom. Something about this place made me feel more connected to it than I had in a long time. I let out a heavy sigh and Xavier, who’d been resting against the window, sat up straight and glared at Molly.
“What?” she demanded when she noticed him staring at her.
“Please don’t do that,” Xavier said.
“Do what?”
“Breathe in my ear like that.”
Molly looked insulted. “What kind of freak do you think I am? Why would I want to blow in your ear?”
“I said breathe.”
“Oh, I see, so I’m not allowed to breathe now?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You do realize, I’ll suffocate if I’m not allowed to breathe.”
Xavier leaned forward. “Seriously, guys, let me drive,” he implored. “Someone else can sit back here and be tortured.”
“I’m not even talking!” Molly protested angrily.
“You’re talking now,” Xavier groaned.
“We’d be there already if we’d gone by plane.”
“The pilot would have crashed after five minutes of listening to you talk.”
“It’d still be safer than driving around in this old bomb.”
“Hey!” Xavier could not have looked more offended had someone insulted his manhood. He always got worked up when people took shots at his car. “It’s vintage.”
“It’s a vintage pile of crap. I don’t know why we couldn’t take the Jeep.”
I’d been wondering that myself. I got the feeling that taking the Chevy had been Xavier’s idea. Maybe it made him feel more connected to me. We’d shared plenty of memories in that car, and maybe he’d wanted to take those with him when he left his old town and his old life completely behind. But Xavier wasn’t about to share that information with Molly. Instead he said, “You wouldn’t know a classic car if you fell over one.”
“Airhead.”
Ivy whipped around and glared at them both. “Were you two born in a barn? Knock it off.”
Molly looked sheepish while Xavier sighed loudly and sank down in his seat once again. A few minutes of blissful silence followed until Gabriel pulled into a gas station. Xavier couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and vanished inside, almost before my brother cut the engine. I considered following him, but I knew he was only going to fill in the time sulkily inspecting packs of gum and dated magazines until it was time to pile back into the car. Molly threw him a dirty look as she trotted off to find the restrooms.
I followed as my siblings made their way over to a man in oil-stained overalls, squinting beneath the hood of a rusted pickup truck. I noticed that beneath the smudges of grease on his face he had a twinkle in his eye and a cheerful demeanor. He was chewing tobacco and an old Hank Williams tune crackled from a portable radio nearby.
“Hello,” Ivy introduced herself. “It’s beautiful weather you’re having.”
“Hi there,” the man replied, dropping his tools to give Ivy his undivided attention. “Sure is.” He thought about shaking her hand, but reconsidered when he glanced down at his grime-caked fingernails. Up close, he had gentle blue eyes and a crooked smile. “How do you do?” His husky voice was made melodic by his flowing Southern accent. It was beautiful to listen to and of all the voices in the world I thought none sounded quite so musical.
“What’s your name?” Gabriel asked and Ivy shot him a look. His way of skipping over small talk sometimes made his style of conversation sound like a flat-out interrogation.
“Earl,” the man replied, wiping a hand across his brow. “How can I help you?”
“We’re looking for the Abbey of Mary Immaculate in Fairhope County,” Ivy told him. “Do you know it?”
“I sure do, ma’am. It’s near on seventy miles from here.”
Xavier, who had sauntered out of the shop to join the discussion, did a quick mental calculation and sighed.
“Great,” he muttered. “That’s another hour on the road.”
Ivy gave him a dismissive glance. “Is there a place to stay near the abbey?”
“There’s a motel on the highway,” said Earl. He looked Ivy up and down from her fawn trench coat and riding boots to her immaculately groomed blond hair. “It’s none too flashy though.”
“That’s not a problem,” my sister said demurely. “Can you tell us anything about the abbey itself?
Earl cleared his throat softly and averted his gaze, which immediately drew Gabriel’s attention.
“We would be very much obliged if you could tell us what you know,” my brother said in a voice suddenly full of charm. It had the usual hypnotic effect.
“Yeah, I know a thing or two ’bout that place,” Earl said hesitantly. “But I ain’t sure you wanna know.”
My brother and sister leaned forward eagerly.
“Trust us,” Ivy encouraged, flashing the man a smile that made him wobble on his feet. “We’d appreciate anything you can tell us. We haven’t been able to find out much ourselves.”
“That’s ’cuz everythin’s been locked up there for a spell,” Earl said, mopping his brow again.
“What do you mean?” Ivy frowned.
“When you work at a gas station for a livin’ you hear things,” Earl continued in a conspiratorial voice. “A lot of folk come through here and they talk. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I sometimes hear things without meanin’ to. That abbey you’re talkin’ about — I got a bad feeling about it. Something ain’t right there.”
“What makes you say that?” Gabriel pressed, his voice low and intense.
“It used to be a real nice place,” Earl continued. “We used to see the sisters ’round town all the time, visitin’ folk and teachin’ Sunday school. But ’bout two months ago we had a nasty lightnin’ storm, worse than we ever seen. After that, the sisters didn’t come out no more. They said one of them fell sick from the storm and couldn’t be disturbed so they shut themselves up inside the abbey. Not a soul’s been in or out since.”
“How could a lightning storm make anyone sick?” Xavier asked. “That’s not possible, unless the woman was physically struck by lightning.”
“Sure, it don’t make a lick of sense,” Earl replied, shaking his head sadly. “But I drove past the abbey one night when I was a makin’ a delivery out that way. I tell you, ain’t nothing natural ’bout what I saw.”
“Can you tell us what you saw?” Gabriel had stiffened and his expression told me he already knew the answer and he didn’t like it.
“Well.” Earl frowned and looked embarrassed as if the others might be on the verge of questioning his sanity. “I was headin’ back into town when I passed by the place and I thought I heard someone screamin’, only it didn’t sound like no noise a human could make. It was a howlin’ like some kind of wild animal. So, I got out of my car, wonderin’ if I should call the sheriff and I saw all the top floor windows had been boarded up and there was scratches on the front porch like somethin’ was tryin’ to get in … or out.”
Ivy twisted her head to look at Gabriel. “He could have warned us,” she said in a low voice and I knew she was talking about Michael. “We are underprepared for this.” I saw her gaze fall on Molly, who was applying a coat of lip gloss, using the car window as a mirror.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Earl added as an afterthought. “I might just been an old coot losin’ his mind.”
“No, I’m glad you told us,” Ivy said. “At least we know what to expect.”
“Perhaps you can help us with one more thing,” Gabriel said gravely. “The sister who fell ill on the night of the storm … what was her name?”
“I believe it was Sister Mary Clare,” Earl said solemnly. “Shame — she was a real nice one too.”
THE rest of the trip was more subdued as Gabriel made his way to the motel. Even I knew they couldn’t barge into the abbey guns blazing until they’d thought of a strategic plan of action. To Ivy and Gabriel the source of disruption at the abbey was painfully clear, but Molly’s and Xavier’s confusion showed on their faces.
The motel was called the Easy Stay Inn and was situated just off the main highway, too far from the township to attract many tourists. As a result it was fairly shabby and badly in need of some maintenance. The parking lot was empty and the neon sign only flashed every few minutes, the rest of the time emitting a whining, static hum. The brown bricks had been painted white, but exposure to the elements had left them peeling and weathered. Inside the motel was only a small improvement, with dark paneled walls and brown carpet. A TV was blaring in one corner and a woman sat behind the reception desk, painting her nails and snickering at a Jerry Springer rerun. She was so stunned by the group’s arrival she spilled her nail polish, but recovered quickly and stood up to greet the visitors. She wore tight stonewashed-denim jeans and a tank top. Her red hair was curly and scraped away from her face with a floral headband. Up close, I saw that she was older than she first appeared. A crookedly pinned name tag told us her name was Denise.
“Can I help you?” she asked uncertainly, clearly thinking they had lost their way and were looking for directions. My brother and sister stepped forward to deal with the formalities. I realized how they must look; like a golden couple, too perfect to be real. I had to admit the four of them looked strangely out of place in this setting. They stood close together, forming a secure unit, like a barricade against the rest of the world. It struck me that Xavier was starting to act more and more like one of us. He used to be more relaxed in the company of people, interacting with them easily, charming them as if it were second nature. Now he looked detached and reserved; every so often a frown creased his brow as though he were agitated by something unseen. My family had all made an effort to dress like average travelers, Gabriel and Xavier in dark jeans and black T-shirts and Ivy in her fawn trench coa
t. They all wore dark sunglasses to keep from drawing attention. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. The woman behind the desk stared at them as though she had suddenly found herself in the company of some rather gloomy film stars.
“We require two twin share rooms for the night,” Gabriel said stiffly, handing the woman a shiny gold credit card.
“Here?” Denise asked in disbelief before realizing she wasn’t helping business much. She gave a nervous laugh. “It’s just that we don’t get many folks through this time of year. Are y’all here on business?”
“We’re on a road trip,” Gabriel explained hastily.
“We’re hoping to visit the Abbey of Mary Immaculate,” Ivy said. “Is it walking distance from here?”
Denise wrinkled her nose. “That old place?” she said disdainfully. “It gives me the creeps; no one’s been out there in a long time. It ain’t far though, other side of the highway, just down a dirt road. You won’t see it straight off on account of all them trees.”
As she spoke, she inspected Ivy with an envious gaze and I tried to imagine how things must look from her perspective. Ivy’s tumble of golden hair reached halfway down her back and her face was glowing and radiant despite the gravity of her expression. Her skin was translucent and her perfect, sculpted features barely moved when she spoke. She was like a stunning illusion you felt might fade away if you got too close. Denise turned to Gabriel, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “So, are you wantin’ a honeymoon suite for you and your wife?”
I heard Molly snort from the green vinyl sofa and knew she was wondering what the motel classed as a “honeymoon suite,” seeing as it resembled a highway shack with as much atmosphere as a toolshed.
“Actually, we’re not …,” Gabriel began, but stopped himself just in time when he saw the sudden gleam of hope in Denise’s eye. The last thing he needed was to waste time fending off the clumsy advances of another infatuated female. “We’re not fussy,” he finished carefully. “A simple room will be fine.”
“And for you two?” Denise asked, inclining her head toward Xavier and Molly.
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