‘I don’t understand. Why is that dangerous?’
‘Ana, we don’t just stay in human form to blend in with you. We also do it to stay hidden.’
‘From what?’ I whispered.
‘The Fae, others of our kind who will do harm, there are other threats out there worse than the Fae that I have not told you about.’
‘What?’ I asked weakly.
How could there be anything worse than the Fae who were the epitome of evil? I wondered if it had anything to do with the war that Adam had mentioned, the one Gabriel had assured me I didn’t need to worry about.
‘It doesn’t matter now. They are of no concern to us for the moment, the Fae are.’
Swallowing my worry, I drew us back on topic. ‘How is it dangerous?’
‘When we send the message, we shine bright, spreading our distress call out. Everyone from our world will hear it and be able to follow it.’
‘But it will draw them here.’ My stomach flipped over, and I had to swallow back the nausea. Unable to picture anything worse than the Fae, I could only imagine hundreds of them coming for us.
‘I won’t do it from here,’ Gabriel reassured me.
‘What about you?’ I whispered. ‘Will they find you?’
‘That is a risk, however, I will be quick and hopefully gone before anyone tracks me.’
‘What if there is someone close?’ He wasn’t nearly as worried as he should be, and I wanted to shake him.
‘I will check the area to ensure it is clear. It is a very small risk.’ He squeezed my hand. ‘I will be fine.’
‘I will accompany you,’ Adam piped up to my relief.
‘No,’ Gabriel told him. ‘I need you to watch Ana.’
‘No!’ My response was more forceful than I had intended. Lowering my tone, I explained my reaction. ‘I will not let you go by yourself. You could be hurt…or worse.’
‘I am not leaving you here alone. We will be gone for the whole day and although it is unlikely, the Fae could return in that time.’
Determined not to let him get his way, I challenged him with my stare. ‘I don’t plan to be here alone. I will go to Maria’s; the Fae won’t know to look for me there.’
‘It makes sense,’ Adam told him.
‘Are you willing to risk Ana’s life in the hands of a witch?’
Adam nodded.
‘Well I’m not,’ Gabriel growled.
‘You don’t have a choice,’ I told him calmly. ‘This is the right thing to do and you know it.’ I kissed the knuckles on his clenched hand and continued, ‘This isn’t just about us. It’s also about the children who will have their lives stolen if we allow the Fae to win.’
Every time I thought of the Fae turning children, I saw the image of my nieces in my mind and I shuddered. My main concern at the moment was Gabriel though. I couldn’t allow him to go alone. His pained expression told me I was winning the debate.
‘Anyway.’ I smiled gently. ‘It’s not like Maria is just any old human, as you know she can do things I can’t.’
Guilt flared at the thought of dragging her into our mess, but I squashed it flat. Like I had told him, it wasn’t just about us anymore. She would probably kill me if I left her out of it anyway.
‘It is settled,’ Adam said much to Gabriel’s annoyance. ‘We will leave at first light.’
Chapter 20
Gabriel joined me in the bedroom as I grabbed some clean clothes for Maria’s. We held each other tightly, not speaking for the air hung heavy with worry for each other’s safety. Neither of us wanted to voice our greatest fear; that this was goodbye.
‘I promise I will come back to you’ he finally murmured into my hair.
‘I know you will,’ I replied, pushing the doubt I could feel from him to the back of my mind.
We stood together, gently kissing and stroking each other until Adam called for us. ‘It is time,’ he said, the tension for the upcoming mission evident in his voice.
As Adam drove us to Maria’s, Gabriel and I sat silently in the back, loath to let go of each other for even a moment. The sun was rising and although it was beautiful, the deep red of the clouds made me shiver as they brought to mind the image of blood, as if it were an omen of things to come.
‘I’ll be back tomorrow evening at the latest,’ he murmured as I clung to him in the doorway of Maria’s flat. His distress at leaving me was obvious, but buried beneath it was a distinct air of excitement.
‘Are you looking forward to this,’ I asked.
He pressed his lips together for a moment before giving me a small smile. ‘You have to understand,’ he said. ‘It has been a very long time since I’ve had the opportunity to take natural form. It is something that our race has avoided for thousands of years.’ He sighed. ‘There was a time that the Siis took human form as a choice, now it is a necessity. I have done this only once since developing my abilities as a child.’ He smiled broadly once again.
‘Have fun then,’ I said in a strained voice, wishing his excitement could diminish some of my anxiety.
After one last kiss, he released me and walked away, leaving me to pray that God would bring him back to me safe, the feeling of loss already laying heavy on my heart.
‘I’ll make us some tea,’ Maria said, her voice pulling me out of my desolation. She placed her arms around my shoulders and led me into the flat, closing the door behind us.
‘Not one of your herbal ones,’ I told her, following her into her shoebox of a kitchen. However awful I felt, I wanted to keep a clear head.
After staring at me for so long I thought she hadn’t heard, she finally skipped to the cupboard. ‘Fine, regular tea for you then.’
‘I’m sorry I dragged you into this Maria.’ I flushed with the guilt I could no longer ignore.
‘Don’t be silly, that’s what friends are for.’ Her voice was raised as she spoke over her shoulder. ‘To be honest I wouldn’t mind a crack at the Fae myself.’
I inhaled sharply at the thought of my petite, kind friend coming up against the fury of the Fae. Seeing my look of horror, she laughed.
‘Come on Ana, we will be fine, you’ll see.’
‘It’s not us I’m worried about,’ I murmured, taking the mug off her. The heat from the tea warmed my hands, causing them to tingle sharply with the sudden change in temperature.
‘Do you need to cry?’ she asked, really looking at me for the first time. ‘It’s okay if you do, better to let it out.’
I smiled weakly, wishing it was that easy. I would have loved the release that tears would have brought, but every cell in me was wound up so tightly, the tears ducts where firmly sealed closed. I was helpless as all I could do was sit waiting for news. Would Gabriel survive? Would it work? Would Eris come? Could we really win against the Fae if there were so many? All these thoughts kept running around my head, without any answers to pacify them.
The hours passed and I only became more anxious. Maria gave up trying to talk me out of my unhappiness, instead turning the CD player on. There was a moment that I thought that maybe I would be able to cry, instead of feeling trapped inside my own head. Even though the song was filled with the squeal of an electric guitar, and the dull thud of a drum, I was taken back to the sweet melody of the piano the night before, though it now seemed so long ago. The time we had spent in each other’s arms was the closest I had ever come to experiencing real bliss. The tears wouldn’t fall though, as if to cry would be to admit defeat, to acknowledge that he wouldn’t be coming back to me and I wasn’t ready to do that yet.
It was early afternoon when the sensation found me. I ran to the window and searched for some visual sign of the message Gabriel had sent out, there was nothing. I could feel it humming inside of me though, as if I was a radio picking up a transmission. The sound of a thousand singing angels rose in me and my spirit soared high. I could hear Gabriel although there were no words; it was his essence I heard. Everything he was and had been flowed through me.
I had always wondered how they communicated in their natural form and now I knew. The music painted a thousand words. Love, friendship, hope, anger, fear and so much more, the emotions were ordered to tell the story of what had happened and the message was clear. The pull towards him became stronger and I even took a few steps forward, before it was gone, along with the strong feeling of Gabriel.
‘Did you hear it Maria?’ I tried to look at her and became aware that I was finally crying, not from sorrow or fear, but from simple pure joy. ‘It was so beautiful.’
When I cleared my eyes, I became aware that Maria was gagging. ‘I don’t know what you heard, but that was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had.’ She started rubbing herself down as if she was brushing of an army of tiny ants, with her lip pulled back revealing her teeth.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked her in surprise. ‘Did you not hear the music?’
‘No I didn’t.’ She swilled her mouth out with her drink before spitting it back into the glass. ‘All I felt was my skin crawling and when I tried to focus on where the feeling was coming from the most awful taste filled my mouth, as if I had just eaten rotten flesh. Yuck.’ She spat into the glass again. ‘I’m going to brush my teeth. That was disgusting.’
Dumfounded, I stared after her as she left the room. I knew I should be feeling worried as Gabriel was now in more danger that he had previously been, yet the light, happy feeling persisted. I would never understand how the human language could bring him satisfaction when their own way of communication caused the mind to spring open, as if filled with a cleansing breeze.
When Maria returned I tried to put into words what I had felt, but there were none that could convey the true extent of what I had experienced. Eventually I gave up in frustration. ‘I wonder why you didn’t feel what I did.’
‘Don’t know,’ she shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s got something to do with the energy in you. You are lit up like a star right now.’
‘Oops!’ The feeling of joy had caused my concentration to slip. Although I was a lot better at keeping the Shi hidden, I still had the odd moment where it got away from me. I focused and drew it back in; smiling at her once it was done.
‘There is a lot more now isn’t there?’ She spoke gently, though her eyes narrowed with concern. I shrugged and threw myself onto the sofa. ‘Have you thought about what it could be doing to you?’ she persisted.
‘I’m fine.’ My smile was a bit too wide. Although I was aware I had become brighter, I hadn’t realised the full extent of how much there was. It was obvious that I was absorbing more of Gabriel’s Shi as time went on.
‘Really?’ she asked sceptically.
‘What do you want me to say?’ I pouted. ‘That I’m concerned? Of course I am. I would be stupid not to be, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I couldn’t leave him if I tried.’ I stared her, daring her to suggest it.
‘I know that, I never said you should.’ Her tone was calm in order to pacify me. ‘But what if it gets worse? Do you even know what you are becoming?’
As her words echoed my own thoughts that I had tried to keep buried, I was unable to deny them any longer. ‘Eris assures me that I am not changing but…’
‘But what?’
‘I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like she isn’t telling me the whole story. It’s not what she says, more what she doesn’t.’ Blood rushed to my face as I accused my new friend of lying to me. ‘I’m sure I’m just being paranoid but…I don’t know, maybe I’m just spending too much time around non-humans, they can keep things close to their chest at times and it’s making me suspicious.’
‘Why do you think she would hide something about what’s happening from you?’ she asked thoughtfully.
‘I don’t. Just ignore me, you know what I’m like, I can sometimes see shadows where there are none.’ The joy I had experienced was starting to fade and the anxiety was creeping back in. ‘I hope they’re alright,’ I whispered.
‘Of course they will be,’ she said. ‘I bet Adam can take care of more than a few Fae.’
I decided against telling her that there were worse things out there than the Fae. Life was already terrifying enough.
As the evening progressed into night, I became more and more anxious. By calculating how long it had taken them to get there, they should have already returned, and as each hour passed I became more convinced that something had gone wrong. Maria was in the process of threatening to drug me if I didn’t stop pacing, when I sensed him.
I ran to the door, only to be halted by Maria’s grip on my arm. ‘Wait,’ she hissed. ‘It could be someone else’
‘It’s not.’ I shook her off and hurriedly fiddled with the locks on the door, unwilling to spend the time explaining that it would be impossible for someone to mask themselves as him, for I knew his presence too well.
‘Oh yeah, your spidey senses,’ she muttered as I threw open the door to find Gabriel stood before me. Without pausing, I launched myself into his arms, knocking him back a few steps with the force.
‘Thank God, you’re safe. I was so sure that something had happened.’ I kissed him between words, making it impossible for him to reply. I didn’t care, it was such a relief to have him stood before me and I didn’t know if I would ever be able to let him go again.
Much to my disappointment, he eventually pulled away, chuckling wearily. ‘I’m fine. You worry too much.’
‘Where’s Adam?’ I asked looking around. The hallway was empty but for us.
‘Doing a sweep to check nothing followed.’ Seeing my frown, he reassured me, ‘Don’t worry, it is just precautionary.’ He peered through the open doorway. ‘Hey Maria.’ He gave her a smile in greeting, though his eyes were drawn, and his face pinched, making him look as if he was ill. I wondered how much energy was required to send a message in their natural form.
‘Thank God you got back when you did,’ she told him. ‘My carpet has had just about enough of Ana’s pacing. I thought she was going to wear a hole in it.’
Gabriel chuckled lightly. ‘Lucky for you we had a free run then.’
‘There was no sign of anything?’ I asked, watching him for signs of a lie.
‘No, we were lucky. We were long gone before anything got there.’ When I studied his eyes, I couldn’t see any signs of deception, only tiredness.
Adam appeared at the door, also supporting dark smudges under his eyes. After nodding to Maria, he spoke directly to Gabriel. ‘We should go. Hopefully Eris will be on her way.’
I hugged Maria goodbye and thanked her for putting up with my stress levels, before following the men out. Once in the car, I cuddled into Gabriel’s arms and let the quiet hum of the engine soothe the last of the tension out of my muscles.
‘Ana, we’re home.’ I blinked several times before realising that I must have fallen asleep. I stumbled out of the car and allowed Gabriel to support me as exhaustion dragged at me, making it nearly impossible to open my eyes. Climbing the stairs was an awkward process as my legs had turned into lead, and I barely had time to shed my clothes onto the floor before falling into bed.
‘Please stay,’ I mumbled as Gabriel went to leave.
He lay down beside me and pulled me close, brushing his lips across my ear. ‘Sleep now sweetheart, it has been a long day.’
‘Mmm.’ His breath sent delicious shivers down my spine. ‘So beautiful.’
‘What is?’
Sleep was demanding my attention and it took every ounce of strength to fight it.
‘Your song,’ I murmured as my weariness finally won the battle. As I sank into oblivion I thought he said something more, but I could have been mistaken.
Chapter 21
I rolled over and groaned as a sharp pain shot across my head, reducing the fuzziness that clouded my thoughts. I must have drunk fifty million cups of tea at Maria’s and I reached for the bottle of water on the bedside table to rehydrate myself.
When I rolled out of bed, not at all ready to
start the day, I could see that Gabriel’s side was smooth as if he hadn’t slept there. It took me a moment of studying the digits on the clock before I could see I had been asleep for nearly six hours, causing me to wonder grumpily why he hadn’t joined me.
As I trudged down the stairs I became aware of the two figures in the lounge ‘Eris!’ I exclaimed as I ran the rest of the way.
‘Hello Ana.’ Her smile was as broad as always. ‘I have to say you look awful.’
I ignored her remark and sat down next to her. ‘You got here so quickly.’
‘I flew here as soon as I got the message.’
‘What? As a bird?’
Eris and Gabriel chuckled at the wondrous look on my face.
‘No,’ she laughed. ‘Although that would be possible, it would have taken me days to get here if I had.’
‘Where did you come from?’ I muttered, trying to ignore the redness that reached all the way to my hair line.
‘Africa. I was lucky to get a flight leaving straight away.’ Leaning towards me, she shook her head and spoke in a stern tone, ‘Have you noticed that there is always trouble around you?’
Gabriel threw her a withering look and I laughed, my earlier guilt buried. ‘You know me, I’m just a magnet for it.’ Gabriel glanced at me with relief, before leaving for the kitchen, hopefully to make me coffee as I need the kick start. ‘What’s the plan then?’ I asked Eris.
‘When the time comes, we fight.’
I stared at her incredulously. ‘What? No plan of action to outwit them?’ That didn’t sound very organised.
‘What would you like us to plan? We don’t know when they are coming or how many there will be. All we can do is ensure that we are not caught off guard.’
‘What can I do to help?’
‘You won’t be here.’ Gabriel’s voice was tight as he handed me my coffee. ‘I have had word that Suraya will be back tomorrow, and I am sending you both off until this is resolved.’
‘Suraya?’ Unable to keep the shock off my face, I stared at Gabriel. I couldn’t believe that he was going to send me off alone with his minx of a daughter.
Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series) Page 21
