Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (18 page)

Chapter 18

When Kallen is out of sight, I get up and walk to the water.  I stand with my toes at the edge of the tide, feeling it tickle my toes as it ebbs and flows.  What a mess I am.  I thought I was handling everything thrown at me pretty well, but I guess I’m not.  I’ve been taking my stress and anger out on others, including Kallen.  He’s right about me not having to fix everyone’s problems.  I know that.  I just can’t help myself.  I have all this power and I like using it to help my friends.  So, I feel I have to butt my nose in wherever it fits.  Maybe it’s the fault of my social isolation growing up.  I was never around other people.  Maybe if I had been, I would have learned a long time ago to mind my own business. 

Feeling restless, I start walking.  I follow the shore, not paying attention to much of anything as I ponder how I can stop treating my friends like kids who can’t take care of themselves.  Lost in my own thoughts, I haven’t noticed how late it is getting.  It’s almost full dark, now.  It will be by the time I make it home.  I contemplate teleporting but I don’t want the Fallen Angels to see me do that.  So, I’m stuck with walking.

As I round the bend that brings the house into view, something catches my eye and I stop.  There’s something on the roof and I can’t make out what it is.  It’s black or dark gray and it sort of looks like a blob.  Until it moves and stretches out its black wings.  No way.  Is that a Gargoyle?  I move a little closer, keeping to the shadows of the brush and trees that meet the sand. 

It is a Gargoyle.  Why are there suddenly Gargoyles on Isla’s house?  I have a feeling there’s not a good reason for it.  Something is definitely wrong.

“I have come to give you something to do instead of wallow in self-pity.”

I put my hand to my heart after jumping a foot in the air and I whirl around.  “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Shh,” Ambriel says putting a finger to my lips.  “Gargoyles can be in many different times and realms at the same time.  You do not want them to hear us.  Listen very carefully because I only have a moment.  The dark Angels have come for you and the others.”

“What?  You mean my family?”

He shakes his head and gives a nervous glance towards the house.  Grabbing my arm, he pulls me back around the bend.  I pull my arm loose as soon as he stops.  “Ambriel, tell me what’s going on.”

“No, you silly little girl, they are not after your family.  They are after you and the Fallen Angels.”

My face scrunches up when I say, “You’re not making sense.  I’ve never heard of dark Angels.  And why would they want me?”

He rolls his eyes at me.  “If you would be quiet for a moment, I will explain.”

I’m not sure I want to know what’s going on if there are dark Angels involved.  I have enough problems with the ones who aren’t dark.  “Fine, explain.”

“The dark Angels are trying to start a civil war.  In order to do that, they have to keep the strongest of the light Angels out of the picture.”

“Who are the dark Angels?”  And are you one?  I almost say it but it’s probably best not to ask that last part quite yet.

“Dark Angels are Angels who have been cast aside.  They have been stripped of their wings and exiled to a place similar to what Humans call hell.”

“Hell? I thought the Shadow realm was hell.”

He gives me yet another disdainful look.  “Did you see any dark Angels when you were there?”

“No, but I wasn’t exactly looking for any either.”  Jerkwad.

I can tell he wants to keep being snarky but a look back in the direction of the Gargoyles makes him think better of it.  “Angels have their own hell.  Can I move on now?”

“What kind of hell do Angels have?  Is it all fire and brimstone, lava pit kind of hell?  Or are there different levels for different types of sins?”  Was Dante right in his Divine Comedy?

Ambriel shakes his head.  Impressive.  He can even do that in a snarky way.  “That hell is but a figment in the minds of lower beings.  Hell is a place of nothingness.”

“Nothingness?  What do you mean?”

He sighs.  “They are sent to a realm that consists of nothing but air and mist.  There are no other beings, no land or sea or sky.  It is an eternity of gray mist.”

“That sounds awful.”

I know he wants to say duh, but I don’t think Angels lower themselves to use human vernacular.  “It is meant to be unpleasant.  Do you think the dark Angels would rise up and start a rebellion if they were comfortable and content?”

There are so many things I want to say to him at the moment.  I refrain with a great deal of self-control.  “If they are exiled, how can they start a civil war?”

“Many of the dark Angels were powerful Angels who were popular among the others before they were exiled.  There has always been an undercurrent of sympathy towards most of these Angels.  Many believe their punishment to be too extreme for their crimes.”

“What kind of crimes did they commit?”

“You cannot expect me to speak of them all, but common crimes include: exposing themselves to lower life forms, exerting their will upon others, changing destinies and attempts to kill other Angels.  Some were successful with the latter.”

Angels killing each other?  I’ve seen movies with that plot line but I never thought it was true.  “Why would an Angel want to kill another Angel?”

Ambriel gives me a ‘we don’t have time for this look’ but he tells me anyway.  “Again, there are many reasons.  If another Angel has caught them doing something against the rules.  Or if there is jealousy or anger when another Angel is promoted or holds a prestigious position.  There are some who may have been created with evil in their souls causing them to lash out at others.”

Gee, those reasons sound familiar.  “So basically you guys kill each other for the same reasons us ‘lower beings’ do.”

I know he is dying to say no.  I can even see his tongue and lips in the ‘n’ position.  Instead, he pushes his lips into a grim line for a moment.  Finally, he says, “Yes, but there is a difference.”

Okay, he’s got my attention.  “What’s the difference?”

“When the body of a lesser soul is killed, it is judged and moves on.  When an Angel is killed, there is no place in creation for it to go.  It is forced to linger much the same way your friend Nixie does.”  I rescued Nixie from the Shadow world and she lingers as a tiny spirit, not a ghost.  She can communicate but she cannot be seen.  Currently, she’s off exploring the Fairy realm.

“Why is that such a bad thing?”  It’s not like they’re sent to hell.

Snarky look.  He’s good at them.  “As if being doomed to spend eternity as a spirit is not bad enough,” he pauses to give me an even snarkier look, “the spirit of an Angel must constantly be on the run from the dark Angels.”

He stops talking.  Why would he stop talking after saying that?  “Why?”

He sighs again.  “Because Angels are able to absorb the spirit of a deceased Angel, tearing it apart and garnering its strength and power for themselves.”

Huh.  I wonder how many more murders there would be if humans could do that with other humans.  “That sucks.”

He cocks his head.  “Indeed.”

“You still didn’t tell me how they got out.  And why are they here?”

“They were released from their exile by a powerful Angel.”

“Who’s that?”

“No, no, no.  I cannot give away everything.  Just remember, you still have that final favor to grant me.”

My mouth drops open.  “There are dark Angels and
Gargoyles
at my house and you’re still worried about that stupid favor?”

“If I were you, I would be very careful with the Gargoyles.  They can be cunning when they want to be.  They are also impervious to magic.”  And now he’s gone.  Jerk.  I wish I could send him to Angel hell.

Chapter 19

Since I don’t know my way through the woods, the only way for me to get back to the house is the beach, which will put me in full view of the Gargoyle.  Well, Gargoyles since there are now three of them.  My heart is pounding in my chest as I walk towards them.  I’ve seen pictures of Gargoyles but they did not do them justice.  They are so much uglier in person.  Their bright gold eyes follow me every step of the way back to the house.  The super quiet house.  Something is definitely wrong.  I was sure that Kallen would be on the terrace waiting for me to come back but there’s no sign of him or anyone else.  I need to get into that house because I’m sure that whoever brought the Gargoyles is in there with my family and friends.  And I don’t think they came for tea.

I stumble a couple of times because I am paying way more attention to the horrendous lumps of Gargoyle than where I’m walking.  I can’t really tell what their skin looks like because it’s so dark, but I think it’s scaly.  And their joints creak loudly when they move.  How do I know this?  Because one is flying towards me.  Fast.

I drop to my knees and cover my head with my arms as I pull magic to keep myself from being pierced with its claws.  His four inch claws that are really better described as talons.  It also has incisors that are almost the same length. 

Standing up still encased in a magical bubble, I try to see which way it went.  It didn’t go back to the roof with its friend.  A shrill screech from behind me warns me that it’s not gone.  Even in my magic bubble, I’m terrified.  I drop to my knees again and cover my head.  He is freakin’ scary!

Gathering my courage, I pull more magic and I send it out towards the Gargoyle.  I don’t care what Ambriel said.  My magic circle seems to be keeping them at bay.  Unfortunately though, it moves too fast for me to hit it. 

His friends decide to join him in scaring me.  They fly off the roof and I try flinging magic at them but like the first one, they’re way too fast.  What am I going to do?  I need to get to the house if there are dark Angels in there, but dropping my magical bubble so I can walk doesn’t seem like a good idea.  I keep flinging magic, but all I’m doing is creating waves and blowing up trees and not hurting the Gargoyles one little bit.  I’m trying to be careful and not hit the house, and I think they’ve figured that out because they are circling around it, taunting me.

This is ridiculous.  I refuse to be intimidated anymore by creatures that are half my size.  I just have to figure out a way to be as fast or faster than they are.  A thought hits me and a smile builds on my face as the Gargoyles are make another sweep over my head.

Kallen told me this should come naturally.  It’s a part of who I am now.  Looking inside of myself, I call to my Pegasus form.  Instantly, my body changes.  It happens faster this time.  It’s almost instantaneous.  I’m ready for the stupid Gargoyles now.  I may not be able to use magic against them but I now have other weapons.  I have wings and hooves.

When my transformation is complete, I let go of my magic circle.  Spreading out my wings, I start to fly as a Gargoyle comes at me.  I’m not fast enough and I get a little gash from its claws.  That’s enough motivation for me to flap my wings faster, learning balance and navigation with them as fast as I can.  I’m a little shaky at first and another Gargoyle is able to get another swipe in.  Damn it.  I’m bleeding from that one and it really hurts.

Pushing any other thought out of my mind, I focus on my enemy.  I watch how they turn and swoop and find their rhythm.  It turns out that when I want to be, I’m faster than the little buggers.  It’s my turn now to swoop down at them.  I clip one of their wings with my hoof eliciting a loud screech from it.  I see why when it falls to the ground.  I think I broke its wing.  It’s dragging on the ground as it screeches up at me.

Taking advantage of my distraction, a Gargoyle gets a good swipe at my hind quarters.  I have hind quarters.  That’s kind of funny.  Maybe I’ll refer to my butt that way from now on.  After I get these other two Gargoyles and take care of the dark Angels.

I round on the one that just scratched me and I fly right at it.  It holds its ground as we play magical creature chicken.  I’m determined to win.  It figures that out and tries to fly backwards but it’s not fast enough.  I’m on it in no time and use my hooves to throw it to the ground.  It lands awkwardly on its wing and leg.  Pretty sure both are broken.  I really don’t like hurting any creature and I’d feel badly about it if they weren’t trying to kill me.  Or eat me.  I’m not sure exactly what Gargoyles do with their prey.

One more.  One more and I can figure out what’s going on in the house.  I circle around to the last spot I saw it, but it’s not there.  Moving my big white ears backwards and forwards, I listen for the flapping of its little wings and the creaking of its joints in the wind.  There, behind me.  It’s hiding in a tall tree.  It is a cunning little thing.  It knows that with my large body, I can’t get through the branches like it can.  I swear it’s laughing at me as it moves to another tree a little deeper into the woods.

What it hasn’t figured out is that I don’t need to chase after it into the woods.  It may be impervious to magic, but the trees aren’t.  Baring my teeth in a horsy smile, I send out a blast of magic that makes the tree it’s hiding in fold backwards and it’s forced to hold on or fall to the ground.  Not for long, though.  As soon as I let the tree go, the Gargoyle is catapulted back towards me.  The force of the action is too great for it to flap its little wings hard enough to change course.  It’s flying right towards me.  I rear up and when it’s close enough, I kick it as hard as I can.  It tumbles out of the sky in an instant, joining its friends on the beach, nursing its injuries.

I kind of feel bad.  I’ve never hurt an animal before.  But then again, are Gargoyles really animals?  I don’t know.  They felt more like stone than flesh and blood but they could just have a hard exterior and be soft underneath.  Kind of like an M&M©.  Either way, I still feel mean as I look at the pathetic creatures struggling to fly and not being able to even get off the ground.  Maybe I’ll heal them later.  Right now, it’s time to face the Angels.