Before I could process the moment, Beau grabbed the cocktail out of the bikers hand and threw it in his eyes. The biker with the neck tattoo lunged for him but Beau ducked out of the way, kicking behind his knee. He fell to the ground in wailing pain, struggling to get up.
The other bikers got up from their seats, pulling out pocket knives. I felt vomit rising up from my throat as drool escaped the side of my mouth. My heart rattled in my chest; beads of sweat dripped down my forehead like a waterfall.
In a flash, Beau grabbed me by the hand and ran me out of the bar. The night’s wind slapped me in the face, settling my senses. Beau led me behind the pub, encasing me in his grasp. He pressed me tightly against the brick wall, covering my mouth with one hand.
“What –” I muttered.
He buried his face in my neck, mumbling a few words. Instantly, my whole body went numb, as if I was paralyzed. Flashes of heat and ice ran through my veins, pulsating under my skin. I watched as the group of bikers ran out of the pub and stared directly in our direction, only for them to curse and stomp back into the bar. They… they can’t see us.
Beau held me against him for another minute before releasing me when there was no sign of the bikers anymore.
He burst into a feral laughter, but I was too shocked to comprehend what had just happened.
“Did you just… did you make us…” I managed to say through staccato breaths.
Beau wiped his teary eyes. “Make us invisible? Yeah, that was precious.”
Fury boiled through my veins. The buzz I had was long gone and I wanted to slap him across the face. I watched his smug expression with crossed arms. They pulled pocket knives out of their jackets… he could have gotten me killed. And for what? For what! Wasn’t Beau my protector?
I couldn’t control my anger. I walked up to him and shoved his shoulders with every ounce of might I had left. “Are you fucking insane, Beau?”
His laughter disappeared into the winds. “What’s wrong? Can’t handle a little trouble?”
“Not when it can get me killed!” I fumed.
I shoved past him, struggling to walk through the grass with high heels. I had just about enough of this night, the night that I planned for Beau and I to have fun. But he had to go and be reckless, for whatever reason. I saw it now; why he got the scars. He was careless, he did whatever he wanted to do and he didn’t care about who he endangered. Yes Beau was sent to watch over me, but he just put me in a situation that could’ve ended everything… and he laughed about it. This was a mistake.
Before I could take another wobbly step, Beau was in front of me, pushing my body against the craggy brick wall. The moonlight gleamed down, illuminating the golden cross around his neck. He caged me in his arms, securing them on either side of my face. His grey eyes burned into mine, twinkling with lust. I felt his warm breath linger against my skin, hovering above my lips. He stared at me for a few moments, then moved one hand to my shoulder, tracing my collarbone slowly with his fingertips.
I swallowed hard, frozen in place. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move.
“If you knew what they were thinking,” he whispered, trailing his fingers up the side of my neck. “You would’ve done the same thing.”
“B… Beau.” I stuttered through erratic breaths. “What are you doing?”
His grey eyes, dark like coal, stared at me with hunger, longing… want. “Taking out my anger.”
Before I could blink, he smashed his lips against mine, violent and thirsty. It took me a second to register that Beau was kissing me, but when I did, I fully gave in. I fantasized about this moment more times than I could count; it almost didn’t feel real.
This was nothing like when he first kissed me. Back then, he was gentle, soft. But now… his lips were cemented on mine, and nothing was gentle about it.
He gnawed at my bottom lip until his tongue found mine, slashing against it with purpose. Butterflies danced in my stomach, banging against each other. His kiss was sinful, fuelled by lust. My hair was entangled in his fingers as he yanked it back, planting kisses down my neck all the way to my collarbone. He wanted this for a while, I tasted it. All the built up tension over the past few months ended in this moment. The events of tonight were a distant memory in my brain. All that I craved was Beau Gabriel.
I wrapped my legs around him as he picked me up, kissing me harder, hungrier. He pressed his groin against me, sewing our bodies together. A soft moan escaped his lips. “Maya…” he released.
I cupped the sides of his face and brushed his lips softly before pulling away. He wasn’t done with me, I saw it, but he couldn’t contest. The cards are in my hands now.
“Let’s go back to our room,” I smirked.
Chapter 41
Beech County, 13 Hours
Beau kept his lips against mine as he fumbled with the room key, unable to take his hands off of me. Or maybe I can’t take my hands off him.
We stumbled in and Beau kicked the door shut, swooping me up with one arm and held the back of my neck with his free hand. My senses amplified, craving every inch of him more and more as he pushed me gently on the bed, ripping his black dress shirt off. Buttons soared through the air and clattered against the floor.
“Oops,” he smirked against my lips, caressing every part of my body.
Every kiss, every touch felt ethereal. He satiated every part of me without effort. I had been in a relationship with Tommy, and of course we had our fair share of intimate moments, but none like this… this was incomparable.
He pulled back, knees on either side of my body and scanned me up and down. My cheeks flushed. I had never seen someone look at me with such desire, such want.
I ran my fingers up and down his abdomen, giggling playfully. “That shirt was twenty dollars, you know?”
He chuckled, brushing my brown locks away from my face. He gently pushed the spaghetti strap off my shoulder in one careful movement, then the other. A tingly sensation began to form between my legs, so I pushed them tighter together.
“And how much…” he began, outlining my silhouette with his finger. “Was this dress?”
He tugged at the fabric, ripping the ruffles off the bottom hem like tape. “I hope it wasn’t expensive.”
I swallowed hard, pulling him down on top of me, but he pulled away once more. He searched my eyes for approval, I could tell. He wanted me, that much I saw, but he didn’t want to do anything without my consent. I shut my eyes and smiled, thinking loud thoughts, fully aware that he could read my mind. I want you, Beau Gabriel.
A small smile crept over his lips as he melted into me, bunching the bulk of my dress in one hand and pulling it down my legs. His fingers danced all over my skin, running over my lace bra and in between my thighs.
“Beau…” I moaned softly against his lips. I want you… I need you.
In an instant, Beau tensed up and drew back, balling his fist against the side of the bed. He looked down at me and clenched his jaw before leaping off the mattress.
Embarrassment, guilt, worry, panic, all the emotions bubbled inside of me as I covered myself with the white sheets. What – what happened? What did I do?
“Nothing.” He said through gritted teeth, finding his black t-shirt. His chest heaved up and down.
I kept my eyes on him as I searched for my clothes, throwing on my wool sweater from earlier. I walked over to him with tentative movements, reaching out to touch his shoulder but he moved away.
“Beau…” I whispered, fighting back tears.
I was so open with him, vulnerable. I let him touch me, kiss me, hell, I almost gave myself to him. How could he treat me so coldly? What did I do? What the hell did I do!
He sat on the edge of the bed with his hand between his legs, huffing with frustration. When he looked up at me, I could see the pain in his eyes.
“It’s not that I –” he started, but cut himself off. After a few moments, he stood up and walked up to me, cupping my face in his hands. “Fuck,
Maya, I want you more than anything,” he breathed. “I’ve wanted this, us, for longer than you know.”
I shook my head in confusion, placing one hand over his. “Then why…”
He swallowed hard and slowly turned his back to face me. I gasped in shock. My hands shook as I reached out to touch the cornucopia of black veins pulsating underneath Beau’s skin. His scars were off-black, connecting in various different directions like a gigantic spiderweb.
He quickly turned around and grabbed my hand, staring into my eyes.
“Does it…” I stuttered, unable to form a proper sentence. “Does it hurt?”
He nodded. “If I give in to one more vice, Maya…” he bit down hard on his bottom teeth, flexing his jaw. “I’m going to become one of Lucifer’s fallen. I can’t, I won’t –”
My innocence. Beau refused to take my innocence. I folded him into my arms, running my fingers through his hair. I wanted to stay like this, embraced forever. He wrapped one arm around my waist and held one hand on the back of my head.
“You won’t,” I promised him. “I can’t lose you.”
We stood still in time, holding each other like that was all we had left.
In the distance, I heard my phone vibrate in my purse. If it were any other circumstance I would have tossed my phone out the window, but a gut feeling told me to pick up.
When I clicked open my cell, I saw that I had twenty three missed calls from Mags. No, no, no, no. Shit!
I dialed her number immediately and heard her panicked voice. “Maya, you need to leave, you need to get to Port Hope now! Do you hear me?”
I furrowed my brows in confusion, checking the time. 12:08am. “Mags, what’s wrong? We have time?”
“No!” she snapped. A muffled male voice sounded in the distance, only it didn’t sound like Tommy’s. I swallowed hard, glancing to Beau. I put the phone on speaker.
A static noise followed and then I heard a man clear his throat. “Maya?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Siles.”
Before I could speak, Beau darted for the phone, pulling it out of my hands. “I’m going to fucking kill you. If you touch Mags you rodent piece of –”
“I didn’t hurt her. I’m not going to hurt her.” Siles was calm. In the distance I could hear Mags say, “He’s not going to hurt me.”
Siles continued. “We don’t have time for this, Marina’s gone. Mags thought she was dead, she isn’t. If Marina hasn’t found you yet, she will. Lucifer gave us an orbionyx to track your whereabouts.”
Beau’s eyes went lifeless. He spoke slowly underneath his breath, shaking his head. “That’s how they found us.”
I bit my fingernail anxiously. “Orbionyx?” I asked.
“In Heaven, we use orbiopal. It’s a crystal orb that can show you specific points in time, but only for a few moments.” He turned to me, his eyes darkening by the second. “Why didn’t you tell me about Marina?”
Before I could protest, he hung up the phone and grabbed his keys off the table, pulling me towards the door. “We’re leaving.”
I struggled out of his grip. “I don’t even have pants on!”
The veins in his neck protruded as he flung back around in anger. “Then put your fucking pants on, Maya, she will kill you! She will kill you in cold blood and she won’t think twice! Fuck!” He seethed. In panting breaths, he spoke, “If Lucifer wants you, he will claim you.”
He stared down to the ground and stretched out his hand, white sparks fizzled at his fingertips. I had never seen Beau so angry before, so enraged. I paced back and quickly threw my jeans on, leaving the rest of the room in a heaping disaster.
I shoved past him, holding the door open for him to walk out. When he did, he planted one swift kiss across my lips. “You’re the only hope I have left.” He whispered.
Chapter 42
Port Hope, 2 Hours
The entire drive to Port Hope was in silence. It took us eleven hours to get there, and Beau insisted on driving the entire way. I didn’t know what to say, so I slept for most of the trip.
Beau was angry, angry that I didn’t tell him about Marina. But I knew if I had, he would have wanted to leave immediately and I thought she was truly dead… Never trusting Mags again. But it wasn’t her fault, if anything it was mine. How could I think one normal night with Beau would actually be normal.
“Where is this place?” I asked Beau, fiddling with my fingers.
He didn’t answer, only pressed on the gas harder. I didn’t contest.
After a half an hour, Beau pulled off the highway and took a sharp turn down a narrow road. Drooping trees lined the sides of the route, shading the sunlight from coming in. Even though it was almost noon, it looked like nighttime.
He slowed down when we reached an abandoned liquor store, and parked his car next to a decrepit shed. I swallowed hard, goosebumps breaking the barrier of my skin.
I opened my mouth to end the silence, but he cut me off.
“I’m not angry.” His grey eyes burned into mine like ice, softening the longer he stared. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
I wanted to say a million things, but I thought it best to keep silent. Instead, I flashed him a genuine smile and nodded my head.
He unlatched his seatbelt and reached over my legs, popping open the glove compartment. Inside, he pulled out Gabriel’s feathers, a piece of white cloth, and a silver blade before getting out of the car.
The knife shone like mirrored glass in every way he turned it. A pit fell hard in my stomach… I hope to God he doesn’t have to use that.
I sat still, analyzing the dark forest encircling me. No light penetrated through the cracks of the leaves; it was just a conglomeration of phthalo green and black wood. Where are we?
Beau knocked on the glass and opened up the passenger door, leaning over my body and clicking the seatbelt. “Come on, Marina could be anywhere.”
I obeyed. I didn’t have a choice. I had no idea what I was walking into. This is really happening right now. I’m supposed to drink from a chalice, and become… become what? The Puritas? What do I do then? Where will I go? What is going to happen to me?
As we passed the desolate liquor store, I caught a glimpse of the graffiti stained windows. Lined symbols and letters covered the brick. An odd sense of familiarity loomed over me. Have I been here before? Beads of sweat dripped down my face and I shivered against Beau.
He kept me close, lacing our fingers together. It calmed me down… sort of. I felt like I was being watched, I couldn’t shake the feeling. Like every single one of my nightmares, I had seen this before. I was walking in a shaded wood, someone was chasing me in a… in a… No. In this forest.
Shivers ran down my spine and pricked my skin like barbwire. Were my nightmares warning me? Did I really predict this? No, this can’t be happening.
A rustling sound behind me caused me to jump. A squirrel ran out from the fern, disappearing into a log.
I cleared my throat, shuddering next to Beau. We walked for a few more minutes before he stopped at a large willow tree, pushing aside the leaves. Engraved in the bark was a dark handprint, blinking in beats. My eyes grew wide.
“We’re here.” He released, placing his hand over the handprint. It was Beau’s.
He signaled for me to stick with him and stepped through hanging vines. I heard the distant sound of slashing waves, light peaking through the hanging leaves. This is it. With one heavy breath, I shut my eyes and left my entire life behind.
◆◆◆
I faced a rocky precipice, planting my feet on the stone. Mist swept the ground like dancing spirits, trapped beneath the rocks. All I could see in the horizon was the dark sea, splashing violently over smaller peaks. The cloudy skies hid the sun.
Beau was ahead of me, walking right to the edge of the cliff. He took in a deep breath and crouched down, running his hands along the cold stone beneath him.
I approached him slowly, the wind slapped my
skin with light force.
“It has to be here.” He muttered under his breath. He closed his eyes and placed his palm flat against the ground. A white hue radiated from underneath his fingertips, penetrating every crack and crevasse like a silver snake.
I couldn’t process what was happening. The waves roared as if they were speaking, trying to communicate with me. A grim feeling resurfaced, the feeling of being watched.
Beau finally got up and moved to a small dent in the stone, concaved like a bowl. I watched as he mumbled a few words and shot a beaming white light out of his palm, cracking open the rock.
My head felt heavy, witnessing the impossible. In moments like this, I found it very difficult to differentiate reality from fiction. None of it seemed real, it couldn’t be. What if I never met Beau and all of this, the past few months of my life was just a twisted dream… a fragment of my imagination? It has to be. This can’t be my life. But somehow, it was.
He buried his arm into the stone, struggling to grab something. After a few moments, he pulled it out.
I dropped to my knees beside him, staring at the crystalized opulence that was the chalice, the Holy Grail. I had read about this in books before, how beautiful it was, but to see it… the original cup forged by the angels themselves was indescribable. Four gems encompassed the golden bowl, glimmering with glowing radiance. I have never seen anything more beautiful.
Beau wrapped his fingers around mine, facing me with weak eyes. “Maya…”
“What do I have to do?” I asked, unable to keep my eyes off the chalice.
“Maya,” he repeated. “Look at me.”
His grey eyes pierced into mine with purpose. The wind began to pick up and the clouds concealed the sun completely. I didn’t want to look at him, I couldn’t. It took everything in me to rip my gaze away from the chalice.
The Gates of Gabriel Page 22
