Authors: Ciara Knight
Chapter Eighteen
Gaby leaned against Alexander. She dug her
nails into the strap of her bag, trying not to cry. The stabbing
pain subsided to a throbbing ache. He scooped water into his hands
and wiped blood from her face. Crimson liquid pooled around her
knees that pushed into the sand with each retracting wave.
Every muscle in her body protested in the
aftermath. The taste of blood lingered on her tongue despite the
saltwater she’d swished.
“We can’t stay here.” Dad’s voice sounded
over the surf. They all stood around staring at her, as if mutant
horns sprouted from her head. She tried to push from the sand, but
her limbs shook and she collapsed into Alexander, all energy
drained from her body. The familiar light of happiness massaged
each muscle strand, and stroked her heart to a calm beat.
“I’m healing her before we move again.”
Alexander spoke in a heavy tone. “I couldn’t heal her in the
air.”
“We need to get moving. We’ll head north,
maybe there’s something in the—”
“We can’t leave Kemp. Don’t know how or why
yet, but we can’t.” Dad spoke with finality. He knew something, but
now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Leave me. Get my Dad out of here.”
Dad huffed, and Alexander ignored her.
They’d never listen, and the constant hammering behind her eyes
made it difficult to argue.
“We need a place to stay for the night.
Somewhere we can see them coming. Some place with a strategic
advantage.”
Sammy squatted by Gaby’s side. “It’s going
to be okay.” She worried her bottom lip in deep thought. “I’ve got
an idea, but you won’t like it.”
“Principal’s house?” Boon didn’t look back
in protest, only continued his scan of the woods.
Alexander lifted Gaby to her feet and
studied her face.
“I’m fine. Really.” Her head still pounded
but at least she could move.
Alexander glared at Boon. “That’s an insane
idea. If she’s the master demon—”
“If she is the master demon, she’s retreated
to where she is most powerful. No way she’d remain in that
house.”
“Boons’ right. Hunters are going to stay
near the County line and our house. We can stay there for the night
while we figure something else out. There’s a chance the numbers
will be fewer by morning.” Dad’s voice cracked and he shook his
head.
He was right. They’d get themselves killed,
or worse, trapped in the darkness.
“I’ll go grab some clothes for us and meet
everyone there.” Sammy stood and ran for the woods, before a pale
pink light shone in the distance.
“What if the Hunters are already at the
house?” Gaby held her churning stomach.
“They’re not,” Dad stated plainly.
“How do you know?” The spark of hatred deep
in Gaby’s gut warned of their approach.
“We need the cover of the trees before we
fly.” Alexander tugged her arm as they sprinted for the woods. Her
wet shorts rubbed against her thighs, and her heart pounded with
not only the strain of keeping up with him, but with the anxiety
over all of them risking their lives for her. She had to figure
something out. Maybe Prim wasn’t a demon and she would be able to
tell Gaby how to free the angelic souls, and stop the war.
Alexander’s arms slid under her knees and
behind her back. He took two steps and launched from the ground,
but remained below the canopy. The muscle in his shoulder moved
against her cheek with each flap of his wings. Despite the threat
surrounding them, she felt safe in his arms.
They were trapped in Kemp, hunted by
self-proclaimed protectors of the innocent, and imprisoned by
something supernatural. Dad knew something, and she needed to find
out what it was. Then she’d find Prim and demand her help to free
Grace, and the other angels trapped in darkness. Despite how she
felt about the Hunters, she couldn’t sit around waiting for them to
be murdered by the master demon, or trapped in darkness only to
rise as a vessel for demonic purpose.
Alexander landed at Prim’s just inside the
broken window and set her down in the corner of the room. Boon and
Dad quickly checked the house. They worked as a team to protect her
as she stood helpless in the corner. No more. She had to help; it
was her destiny.
“Dad, I demand you tell me what you
know.”
Dad stopped in his tracks and arched an
eyebrow at her.
“Don’t try to play innocent. You know more
than you’re telling us. How do you know that I’m trapped here in
Kemp, and what is it?”
“All clear.” Alexander checked the front
door again before meeting Boon by the broken window.
With eyes downcast, Dad took her hand and
led her to the large white couch. “It was like something that
happened before…with your mother. I didn’t know back then…” He
choked on the words then steadied his hands against hers. “Your
mother had a problem the last few days before her death. Each time
we tried to leave Winding Road, Montana, she’d fall ill. Blood.
She’d bleed from her nose, eyes, and ears. I took her to the
hospital, but they found nothing wrong. We’d load up the car again
to head out of town, and then it would start.”
Sammy landed inside the window and tossed a
shirt at Alexander before she pulled the strap of an AR15 over her
head and placed it on the coffee table. The dark metal was a stark
contrast to the fading pale pink aura, as she pulled her wings into
her small human frame. Funny how she almost looked like she knew
how to handle a gun. Sammy took Boon’s place at the window, while
he went to change his shredded shorts.
“That’s why we lived there more than a
year?”
“Yes. I didn’t know your mother was an
angel. I never made the connection until I saw the blood on your
face.” Tears leaked from the side of his eyes, and he swiped them
away on the back of his sleeve. “The last time I saw that, was the
day of the accident.”
Sound of metal crunching…gasoline…blood.
Gaby shuddered at the images, but she closed her eyes and focused
on her mother’s face, cradled in her dad’s arms. Red streaked from
her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
“Did you figure out why?” Alexander pulled
the pale green shirt down to his waist, sat on the edge of the
coffee table, and stroked Gaby’s arm. She could feel his comfort
soothing the pain of loss.
The image faded into a distant memory. She
saw the worry in Alexander’s eyes. He must know she wasn’t taking
the pills, yet he didn’t say anything.
“No. I can’t believe I missed it. When I
found out about Elianna being an angel, I painfully searched each
and every memory of our lives together for clues. There were so
many small moments and unanswered questions. Never did I remember
the blood.” Dad pushed form the couch and paced the floor. “Think,
think.” He beat his fist against his forehead.
Boon resumed his post and Sammy greeted Dad
with one of her reassuring smiles. “It’s okay. Don’t be so hard on
yourself. You didn’t know.”
“If Gaby’s mother was an angel, and suffered
the same condition, then do you think it is the master demon
somehow trapping her here? Was there any sign of a demon before the
accident?” Boon kept his eyes directed at the outside world.
“No, not that I can think of. Just Forras.
He’d been tracking us, but I never saw another.” Dad ran his hands
through his hair, pulling at his scalp until the lines on his
forehead disappeared. “Of course, there could’ve been one there and
I didn’t know it.”
Boon leapt from his position, over the couch
and landed at the front door. Sammy took the window, and Alexander
took a fighting stance by Gaby’s side.
She swiveled to see the front door. “What is
it?”
“Footsteps.” Alexander whispered a moment
before a musical chime rang through the house.
Bruce chuckled, “I don’t think a master
demon is going to ring the bell.”
Something thudded against the door.
Heat pumped through her body with
anticipation, despite her father’s dismissal of the potential demon
threat. Boon approached with caution, but relaxed before the door
opened.
Sammy rushed to the front walk. “Avery, what
are you doing here?”
Gaby fought to keep the muscles of her lip
from pulling back in a snarl. Her powers didn’t seem to care that
it wasn’t a demon, only that there was a threat. Alexander quickly
wrapped his arm around her, and pinned her to the edge of the
couch. “Stay calm.” Alexander whispered in her ear, his warm breath
soothing her desire to send fiery rays at the little hussy.
This was ridiculous; Gaby wasn’t threatened
by Avery anymore. She needed to handle the situation before she
went stumbling into Alexander’s arms.
Sammy helped Avery to the love seat. “The
school…men. Jolie, Stacie, and I were hanging in the parking lot,
waiting for Scott and Mike. They have guns.”
Gaby couldn’t fight her suspicions. “Why did
you come here? Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I must’ve dropped my cell when I ran. I was
so scared. I didn’t realize I didn’t have my cell until I was
already half-way to the beach. I knew Principal Mastema had left
school, and this was the closest house.
Boon secured the front door and joined them.
“How many men?”
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”
Sammy stroked the back of Avery’s head.
“What did they want?”
Avery glared at Gaby. “Her.”
She hated Avery with every fiber of her
being. Maybe it started as jealousy of the fact Avery had
everything and Gaby had nothing, but add in her constant flirting
with her boyfriend, and hatred wasn’t a strong enough word. She
didn’t want to listen to a word Avery had to say. But she was
right. Gaby couldn’t let all her friends die because of her. “I
have to go.”
Bruce sat on the arm of the couch. “No,
that’s what they want.”
“What choice do we have?” Gaby fought the
urge to strangle something, or someone. Demonic claws scratched and
tore at her insides for release. To fight, to kill something. Her
eyes stung, but she shook her head and clutched Alexander’s hand,
trying to keep hold of something real, and angelic. He responded
with a knowing nod and reassuring smile.
Bruce rested his hands on his hips. “The
hunters might be merciless with earthbound creatures, but they’ve
been sworn to protect humans. That being said, they can
get…excessive at times.”
“Boon, you scout the football field and
report back. No cell phones, the hunters will be tracing those.”
For the first time since Dad had returned from rehab, he looked
strong and confident. He was born for strategic planning and
combat, why wasn’t he the chosen one?
“You didn’t see those men. They’re gonna
kill everyone.” Avery pinched the edge of the love seat so tight
her fingers blanched.
“Everything is going to be fine.” Sammy
soothed.
“Sammy and I’ll take the perimeter. Alex you
stay with the girls.” Dad grabbed the AR15 off the table and headed
to the front door.
Gaby glanced over at Avery swooning on the
couch with Alexander catching her before she fell to the
ground.
“Get some water.” Alexander’s words stung,
but she gladly left the scene to seek solace from Avery.
Her tennis shoes thudded against the white
tiled hallway that paved the short distance to the kitchen. The
white cabinetry only added to the sterile feel of the house, but
the hazelnut aroma that wafted from a coffee maker made it feel
homey. The red light still shone on the bottom, indicating the
principal had been there recently, but when she slid the glass
pitcher out, the coffee looked more like tar than a beverage. She
flicked the switch off and opened the glass door that housed some
cups. They were all neatly placed in rows. Everything in the
kitchen sat in a particular spot. “Talk about OCD issues.”
She’d never pictured a demon being this
neat. Avery’s weepy voice carried down the hall. Why was she always
popping up?
She gripped the smooth glass in her hand and
shoved it against the lever on the refrigerator. The water spit out
in a steady stream, cooling the cup in her hand. It turned lukewarm
then bubbled in her grasp. Placing the glass on the dark granite
counter top, she took several cleansing breaths. “I can control
this. Won’t lose it, again.”
She snatched the journal from her bag and
sat it on the counter, flipping through to where she’d left
off.
I’m not going to be on Earth much longer.
The pull to return to Heaven is growing stronger. The decision for
me to leave right now perplexes me. A time when everyone is needed
to help train the chosen one. Unless, she isn’t the chosen one.
The white cabinets tilted and slid in the
corner of her vision. She clutched the edge of the counter to
steady herself, but it was too late. Whatever image was about to
pull her into another reality, couldn’t be stopped. The throbbing
pressure made her skull constrict, turning her brain to mushy
nothingness.
Blood surged to her face, and the world
became unbalanced beneath her. She slid to the cool tile, and
rested her head against the island in the center of the kitchen.
Darkness rolled in like a thick mist from the ocean, twisting and
turning until shapes formed.
Only shadows and movement danced ahead, and
she let go of her body to plunge into the world of future events.
Maybe, somehow, this time she could use the information to help
them.
The distant shapes took form and their
features sharpened, but not enough to see who, or what they
were.
Beware of the ones you believe are
friends. Trust the ones you do not know.
A sweet, yet
disturbing voice pierced the murky image.
“I don’t understand.” She tried to speak,
but did not hear her own words.
You will. Brace yourself, for I will show
you.
The voice answered.
“Mother? Grace? Who are you?”