Fall From Grace (13 page)

Before she had a chance to protest,
Alexander and her father were gone. Would Heaven take them from
her, too? Maybe she didn’t deserve to be happy.

Grace paused at the doorway and looked
back.

“What is it?” The hair on Gaby’s neck stood
up with anticipation.

“Nothing, child. Just my old age playing
tricks on me again.” She gave her normal inviting smile, and
proceeded inside.

A hot wave of air brushed against her ear,
carrying a hint of bitter odor with it. She froze. An icy chill ran
from the back of her neck to the tip of her toes. “Join us, and you
can have your heart’s desire.” A mysterious voice whispered.

Pressure built in between her shoulder
blades, pushing through her skin and ribs, gripping her heart. She
palmed the door molding to stay upright. Her heart stopped. Eerie
silence. No pulse thumped in her ears or gurgles in her stomach.
Things a body normally did, but you never notice until they’re
gone. She opened her mouth to scream, but there was no air to form
the vibrations for speech. “Your heart’s desire.”

Just a vision, had to be. But if it was,
shouldn’t she be seeing, not just feeling? How long until she’d be
dead with no heart pumping blood through her body?

A loud crack radiated from the back of her
ribs; a sharp pain shot into her shoulder blades.

All you have to do is join us.
This
whisper didn’t reach her on the wind but echoed inside her head.
They don’t care about you. They’ll never let you have what you
truly want…Alex.

“Gaby, you coming?” Grace called from the
kitchen.

Her heart stuttered then vibrated against an
iron grip. It pumped harder, and the clasp around her heart eased.
A rake of a claw scratched across her heart, ribs, and spine before
it disappeared. Her leg muscles seized, and she bent over heaving
air into her lungs.

“G-Grace?” Only a whisper sounded from her
closed throat. She took another deep breath and stumbled into the
doorway. Her knees smacked against the tile in the foyer.

“You can’t control the power. It controls
you.” The voice now outside her head. The door slammed shut, and
she cried out. “Grace.”

Grace hobbled out of the kitchen. “What is
it, dear?”

“Evil. It’s here.”

Grace went to her side, and a wave of
soothing energy brushed Gaby’s body.

She welcomed the comfort and clung to Grace
for more.

“There, there, child. All is okay.”

You can Soulbond.
The voice returned.
It was powerful, convincing.

“There’s a voice in my head. It said Alex
and I can be together. That we can Soulbond.” Gaby heard the hope
in her own voice.

“You are not an angel. Only angels can truly
Soulbond.”

“Maybe I’ll become an angel?”

Grace inhaled deeply, and she took Gaby in
her arms. “No, Angels have always been. They are not created.”

Truly? You see, there is a way.

Gaby shivered at the intrusion of the
strange voice again, but it was right. Grace used the word
truly
.

“Truly? What does that mean?” Gaby pushed
from Grace’s arms. Her toes curled in her sandals. “This isn’t a
game.”

Grace scanned the room. “Gaby, fight it.
Don’t listen to the evil that whispers. If it spoke the truth it
wouldn’t hide.”

She didn’t deny it.

The muscle in Gaby’s eye twitched with
agitation. “Tell me the truth.”

Grace paced the foyer. “Gaby—”

“The truth!” Her own strong, deep voice
startled her.

“Yes, technically, but it wouldn’t be real,
and it could kill one if not both of you, and all the gifts given
to you would be gone, forever.”

Gaby clutched her fists by her side. “I
don’t care about the gifts.” Her abdomen burned, and she pressed
her palm to the now faint brand left by Forras.

“You are fated to save the world.” Grace
reached out, but Gaby shied away. The vase on the side table in the
parlor rattled. “You need to calm down.”

“I won’t calm down. Why would you keep Alex
and me apart? What if he was taken from Earth by one of those
demons today?”

“Then we would get him back. But don’t you
see, without your powers he’d be lost forever.” Grace urged.

More adrenaline pumped through her muscles,
and nervous energy forced her to shift back and forth between feet.
“You said it could kill one of us.”

A book fell off the shelf. Grace turned on
her heels. The china cabinet doors swung open, and two plates
smashed against the wood floor in the dining room.

Heaven is playing with your life again.
Grace is doing their bidding.

“Gaby, it is too great a risk.” Grace tried
to approach her again, but something yanked Gaby backward until her
back slammed against the wall.

“That should be my decision. You lied to
Alex.” Rage filled her with a hint of darkness, but it was
empowering. For the first time in months, she felt free to make her
own decisions, to take charge of her life instead of being led
around like a dog.

“Gaby, please, you need to calm down.”

The words were lost in the swirl of hatred
filling her head.
You can’t trust her. She lies.

A fissure formed and shot across the
ceiling. Grace gasped, and Gaby tried to still her emotions, but
the more she tried to suppress the power, the more it fed on her
compassion. It twisted her emotions and spit them back out for
another purpose. Or was that her?

Gaby crawled on her hands and knees toward
Grace knowing her touch would sooth the anxiety, but the front door
flew open, and the entire house trembled.

“Grace. Help me.” Gaby cried out.

Grace’s wings thrust out, a pulse of light
shot Gaby from the foyer, and she rolled down the porch steps to
the sand. Moans and creaks sounded from inside. Gritty particles
scratched at her eyes, and she blinked to see what the noise was.
She scurried to her knees and watched as the entire house
imploded.

“Grace!” Gaby yelled, only to be silenced by
the crashing wood in front of her.

Someone clutched her shoulders and yanked
her backward away from the house. She landed on her back; Alexander
over her. “Are you okay?”

Bruce squatted at her other side. “I-I’m
fine, it’s Grace. She’s still inside.

The house slammed to a halt, and some of the
boards wobbled before complete silence haunted them.

“Grace.” Gaby whimpered, but there was no
answer. She did this, the destruction of their home, trapping Grace
in the rubble of her demonic anger. Her stomach churned, and her
head spun. Alexander’s wings shot out, and he landed on the house.
He ripped wood planks and tossed them across the beach.

An amethyst light shone, and she spun around
to see Sammy and Boon behind her. “We felt a soul being…”

“Here,” Alexander called. They all rushed
over to find Grace’s hand protruding between two boards.
Lifeless.

Boon and Sammy helped clear more, and they
pulled Grace from the wreckage. Alexander sat with her in his arms.
“Mom?”

Gaby’s heart ached at the sight and the
sorrow in his voice. “Alex, heal her. Quick.”

“I can’t, she’s gone.” Alexander choked
out.

Terror paralyzed Gaby. No, it wasn’t true.
She couldn’t have murdered Grace. Angels couldn’t be killed by a
few tons of wood collapsing on them.

Sammy pressed her ear to Grace’s chest then
sat back with tears in her eyes.

“What do you mean gone? Heal her.” Gaby
ordered.

Alexander shook his head, his eyes cast to
the ground. “She’s dead.”

****

Alexander cradled Grace in his arms. A heavy
sense of loneliness fell over him. He wiped his eyes and looked to
Boon and Sammy. It was only a body, Grace would be reborn and all
would be well again.

“I have to tell you something.” Sammy
brushed the fallen gray strands from Grace’s face. “Grace confided
in me a week ago. She said she was being called home.”

“No, that can’t be.” He looked down at her
loose jaw. Life was gone from her body; her soul had been released.
That meant she would be reborn in a different body. She always did.
“She’s been here for centuries. She wouldn’t desert us now.”

Sammy’s lip trembled. “She would never
abandon us. It was her time. Heaven has a purpose for her, or she
fulfilled the one here.”

“I-I’m s-so sorry.” Gaby leaned into her
father. Regret filled her tortured eyes.

Alexander hoisted Grace into his arms and
stood up, wobbling on loose boards. “It’s not true. Heaven knows
how important Grace is to stopping this war. I’ll bury her, and
she’ll come back to us by daybreak.”

Bruce held Gaby tight. “You can stay with
us.”

Alexander looked at the destruction around
him. The only home he’d ever known was rubble. “What happened? How
did the house collapse? Why would Heaven do this to us? Take
everything away?”

“It wasn’t Heaven. It was me.” Gaby shoved
from her father, to her feet, and bowed her head. “I-I lost
control. I killed her.” She stood there with a blank stare as if
she just spoke words, not delivering news that his mother had
died.

“What do you mean, you caused this?” Heat
pulsed behind his eyes, and he knew they were flickering orange.
Alexander suppressed the rising anger, but his human side wanted an
explanation, to understand why his mother and home would be ripped
from his life in one day.

“I lost it. I wanted to know why she
wouldn’t let us Soulbond.”

Alexander shifted Grace’s body in his arms
and maneuvered down the broken boards to the only thing that
remained of the old house, the bottom step. “I told you why.”

“I know what you told me, but it wasn’t
true. We can bond even if I’m not an angel.”

“How?” He sat down on the bottom step still
holding Grace in his arms. Blood ran down from her temple. He’d
been so distraught he hadn’t noticed her extensive injuries: broken
wrist, leg, and neck. He just hoped the neck had come first.

“I don’t know, but she admitted it to me.
Told me I could die if we tried but that it was possible.”

Boon held up his hands to show he knew
nothing about this, and Sammy shrugged.

Alexander never thought he’d feel this way,
but who cared about Soulbonding? The only mother he’d ever known on
Earth was dead. He couldn’t focus on anything else at that moment.
He needed to put her at peace in hopes she returned. They’d never
survive without her.

“G-Bear. Who told you this?” Bruce spoke in
a soothing tone reminiscent of Grace.

“A voice.” Gaby looked out toward the
woods.

“A voice? A demonic voice? You’d listen to a
demon over Grace?” Alexander’s blood pumped through his wings and
they pushed at skin and bone to be free.

“I-I’m sorry.”

His insides tore in half. One side wanted to
comfort the woman he loved that stood only feet away trembling with
pain. The other half wanted to scream at Heaven, her, and the demon
for taking his mother away. The only one that knew anything about
the upcoming war. Even Boon didn’t possess her experience with such
things. She was the only one with a connection to Heaven.

Terror soared through him, and he gripped
his mother’s body close to his chest. “No, she can’t be gone.” His
gut clenched tight, and his limbs felt like dead weight. A moonless
night moved over his soul. They were alone and facing an epic
battle with Hell.

He was done waiting around for the war to
begin. It was time to take action. He’d join Boon and help find the
coven so they could build an angelic army to fight evil.

“Bruce, does your offer still stand to live
with you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. I’d like for Sammy to stay with
you.”

Sammy swiped the tears from her eyes. “Where
are you going?”

“To stop this war.”

Chapter Twelve

Gaby sat on the floor of her room scratching
behind Patronus’ ears. The night had been filled with darkness and
constant tossing and turning. “What am I going to do, boy? I-I
killed Grace.” No more tears slid down her face. The constant
thumping in her head from crying all night exhausted her.

“Mom, where are you? Please, I need help.”
No golden light or soft whispers filled her head. Abandoned. Not
one word from Heaven, only volatile powers that murdered people she
cared about.

“Maybe I’ll just stay here with you all
day.” Patronus cocked his head to the side and poked her with his
nose. “You think I should go to school?”

He nudged her again with his nose and drug
her backpack off the desk chair into her lap, leaving the strap wet
with doggy slobber. Already dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, hair
pulled back in a ponytail, she pushed from the floor. She was still
heavy with sadness and regret, but it would be easier to hide in
the mass of people who knew nothing of what happened. They couldn’t
know, or social services would be called to place Sammy and
Alexander in foster care. Of course, they’d find out eventually,
but if they wanted to stay together, they needed to remain
quiet.

“Come on.” Gaby shuffled to her door in
hopes of escaping before anyone woke. She wanted to be alone not
constantly analyzed and watched over.

Two soft taps sounded from her door. She
released the handle and stood there holding her breath for a
minute, hoping her dad or Sammy would go away.

“Gaby, I know you’re there. You can’t trick
an angel.” Sammy spoke softly but with a hint of determination.

Gaby opened the door then plopped down on
her bed. She smacked one hand on the bed and Patronus jumped up to
join her, resting his head in her lap.

“You going to school?” Sammy asked, her
eyebrows crooked.

“Yes, don’t want to cause any more
suspicion.”

Sammy sat on the edge of the bed but kept
her hands in her lap. Gaby had refused Sammy’s comfort the night
before, wanting to feel every ounce of pain in hopes it would keep
her from killing anyone else.