Fall From Grace (9 page)

A surge of helplessness poured over
Alexander. If it was true and a master demon was in Kemp, he could
lose Gaby forever.

“Boon, if it’s true what do you think will
happen? I mean, will Gaby go to Heaven if she is killed?” Alexander
gripped the edge of the swing to steady himself, the rhythmic
lulling turned to nauseating movement.

“No. I don’t believe she will.” Boon leaned
against the railing. “None of us will, not if we lose this war.
Something has bothered me since the day Forras died.”

Alexander stayed the emotions threatening to
rip him apart. “What?” The one word could barely form on his lips.
He didn’t want to know, not really. All he wanted was for Boon to
promise he’d be together with Gaby forever.

Boon’s nostrils flared. “The war that we are
to prepare for, where will Hell get its army? I mean, in the last
war the gate was opened by Herak, but he wouldn’t be able to open
it again. Not that he would.”

“Aren’t there plenty of demons here on
Earth? I mean it seems like every time we turn around another one
is popping up.” Alexander gave a nervous huff.

Boon shook his head. “No, not enough to
fight all the warrior angels. Plus, Heaven said Gaby was the key to
stopping the war before it starts.”

“So?”

“Only a being with great power, a power that
has been to Hell, can open the gate. Gaby is a product of all
worlds: Heaven, Hell, and Earth. The only one ever born from an
angel and a hunter, yet branded by a demon. She could be the
key.”

The world spun in a typhoon of blue ocean
and white beach. No, it couldn’t be true. He steadied himself and
thought about what Boon implied. “She’s never been to Hell, so she
can’t open the gate.” A welcomed breath shot into his lungs and the
world stilled.

“Yes, but she’s connected to Forras who
resides in Hell. She has a direct connection to the
underworld.”

Alexander’s mind reeled with other
possibilities. “Her mother is in Heaven…she has been chosen by
Heaven…she has angelic abilities—”

“And demonic. The fire?” Boon reminded
him.

The image of her spewing flames from her
mouth and eyes was forever etched in his mind, but she wasn’t evil.
Nothing about her was evil. She was perfect, loving, strong,
independent, and beautiful. He stifled a scream to the Heavens. It
wouldn’t do any good. He knew that from past experience.

“There might be another explanation.” Grace
stood in the doorway with compassionate eyes. “Something that we
need to consider in our own fight.”

Alexander spun on his heels with
anticipation of another possibility, anything was better than Gaby
being the walkway to Satan.

Grace pushed open the screen door. “I just
got off the phone with Bruce. The hunters have witnessed something
strange up north. A coven was wiped out, but there were a few
stragglers they had to track. When they found them they realized
they were not fully demon.”

Alexander could feel his forehead crunch
with confusion.

“The lost souls.” Boon blurted out. “Hell is
recruiting the dead that are between worlds for their army.”

Panic shot through every muscle in
Alexander’s body. If that were true, two thousand years of deaths
could equate to an exponentially large army for hell.

Chapter Eight

Gaby clutched her purse to her side and
waited for Avery’s blow. “What is it?”

Avery’s eyes looked swollen and vulnerable;
her body slumped unlike her normal perfect posture.

For a moment Gaby felt her muscles soften.
Maybe Alexander was right, and she was just troubled and needed
help.

Avery traced a crack in the grey floor with
her pink tennis shoes. “I-well, there is something I need to tell
you about Alexander. We—”

The locker room doors burst open with a thud
against the cement walls. Avery backed off when Jolie and Olivia
rounded the corner, giggling.

“I heard Alexander’s mom came to talk to the
principal about your dad. Boy, you’ve really become part of their
family.” Olivia tossed her shoes on the bench.

Jolie spun the lock to enter her
combination. “Yeah, guess you’re out of the running there
Avery.”

Gaby opened her mouth to defend Avery. But
before she could say a word, Avery yanked at her lock and then
kicked the metal door. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.
She was just here because Gaby’s dad’s a drunk. They’re probably
scared Gaby’s gonna turn alkie, too. Drink much?”

Pricks of hatred struck her skin, and she
knew now wasn’t the time to get in a fight. Not after the other
day. She grabbed her bag and bolted from the locker room. Avery’s
taunts followed her all the way out the door.

Sammy waved from across the field where they
normally practiced, but the anger kept stirring so she sprinted
into the woods. She focused on the rhythmic pounding of her feet
and her breathing. The physical activity helped subdue the raging
monster inside her. Birds chirped overhead when she stopped at the
clearing. Sweat poured down her temples, and she gasped for
air.

Sammy landed across the clearing with a
petrified look on her face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, now.” Gaby managed between
breaths.

Sammy approached with caution. “I heard what
happened. Avery had no right. Your dad is doing great, and you
don’t touch the stuff. Most importantly, you didn’t set Avery on
fire.”

They both giggled. Sammy had a way of
lightening any situation. “Listen, I have to get to the house. Are
you going to be okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine now. I was able to control
the anger. Maybe there’s hope yet.” Gaby chuckled, but something
didn’t feel right. If she’d manage to control her power that was
amazing news, yet she couldn’t let the feeling go.

Sammy gave her a hug, and she headed home. A
sick feeling deep in Gaby’s belly warned her something big was
coming. She hadn’t had a vision since homecoming, of course, that
turned out so well, causing bleachers to nearly crush half the
students. Still, if she saw something coming before it happened,
she might be able to stop it. And she’d controlled her temper in
the locker room. If only she could sketch some new images, warnings
or clues to what would be coming.

Twigs snapped under foot as she made her way
by the old boathouse into her back yard. It had overgrown again.
They never managed to rebuild the boat. She missed the afternoons
working with Alexander; of course, he had no clue what he was
doing. At least they spent time together back then. He’d barely
spent five minutes with her since homecoming.

The aroma of Dad’s famous ribs wafted from
the house. She inhaled the spicy scent, and her heart warmed. At
least she had her dad back.

She climbed the few steps to the back porch
and opened the glass sliding door to the kitchen.

Three men stood over her father in the
living room. A scan of one of their forearms showed a tattoo. The
one her father always said he got in the Special Forces. But she
knew better now. Her hands started to tremble, and she shoved them
in her pockets hoping to pull out her cell phone unnoticed and warn
Sammy, Alex, and Grace to run.

But there was not time. The largest of the
men turned and snarled. Her father’s eyes shot wide, and he tried
to stand, but one of the men shoved him back in the chair.

The large man splayed his hands then
tightened them, cracking his knuckles. “You must be Gaby. The lover
of earthbound abominations.”

Gaby gestured at his arm. “And you’re a
hunter. Murderer of the innocent.”

****

Alexander sat at the front window watching
Sammy shuffle up the steps. The screen door squeaked as it swung
shut with a bang.

“Where’s Grace?” Sammy pulled away and gave
a reassuring smile.

Something wasn’t right. Sammy never looked
less than excited when she entered a room.

Grace entered the dining room, placing a
tray of tea and cookies on the table. “I’m here. I thought we
should all sit down over some afternoon tea and talk.”

Alexander touched Sammy’s arm to gain her
attention. “Where’s Gaby?”

“Home. I sent her home to check on Bruce.”
Sammy muttered before taking her seat next to Boon.

“Oh.” Alexander managed before sitting at
the end of the table.

A prickling sensation covered his skin.
Shouldn’t Gaby be here for this conversation? Wasn’t she one of
them, and Bruce?

Alexander took a cup from Grace. “I
overheard Avery tell The Prim she knew what she had to do to
Gaby.”

Sammy went to take a sip of her tea, but
stopped mid-air. “Avery and Gaby apparently got into it in the
locker room.”

Boon and Grace shot a look across the
table.

Alexander tensed. “What is it?”

Boon took a deep breath. “We’re not sure.
Somehow we think there is a connection between the principal and
Avery.”

Grace dabbed the corners of her mouth with
her napkin. “When I was in the office with Principal Mastema I
mentioned Avery’s name and she tensed.”

“But you didn’t feel anything?” Alexander
asked.

“No, it’s as you said, no emotion at all.”
Grace took another sip of tea.

Alexander followed suit and the warm,
soothing liquid slid down his throat. “Then what kind of connection
do you think it is?”

“If you’re right about The Prim, she could
be controlling Avery.” Boon took a deep breath. “But we don’t know
for sure.”

The phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled
it out. His pulse quickened at the sight of Gaby’s name. It simply
read.
Don’t come for dinner.
That was it? No explanation?
She just told him not to go over?

“What is it?” Grace asked.

“Nothing. Gaby must just need some time with
her father, alone.” Alone, that’s how he felt lately. It seemed
like every time they tried to be together something happened. Just
one night he’d like to sit and hold her under the stars again.

“Bruce is still recovering.” Sammy
offered.

Boon shot up from the table.

“What is it?” Sammy clutched his arm.

“Don’t know.” Boon walked to the front door,
everyone following close behind.

Two funnels had formed out in the ocean and
split in two then they all dissipated.

He didn’t need Boon to tell him what that
meant. “Demons.” Blood pumped through his body, and his wings
thrust against his muscles for release.

“It would appear so.” Grace patted his back,
soothing his wings to rest again.

Boon turned to Sammy. “I need to go
investigate. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He pulled her in for a
kiss and raced from the porch. His black wings thrust out, and he
shot across the sky.

Sammy stood watching the black dot disappear
into the sky.

“There’s something else.” Grace pulled their
attention back to the entryway and they followed her back to the
dining room.

Would the bad news ever end? “What?”
Alexander helped her with the tray and Sammy cleaned up the cookie
crumbs.

“A battle is brewing. Tension is in the
air.” Grace sat on one of the bar stools while Alexander and Sammy
cleaned the dishes.

“Do you mean an army of souls rising to
fight for hell?” Alexander dropped a dish into the soapy water.

“What army?” Sammy asked.

“That was the other part of the story.”
Alexander’s stomach balked at the small cookie he just ate. All
this demon stuff always churned his stomach.

“To have a battle you have to have two or
more sides.” Grace rubbed her temple.

Alexander tried to follow the trail of
clues. “Demons are here so maybe we have to fight them to keep Gaby
safe.” He wanted to bolt out the door and check on Gaby, and he
would the minute he found the opportunity to sneak away. Grace and
Sammy would scold him. to give her time with Bruce, if they
knew.

“Yes, you would think we would be the ones
to fight them, but I’m getting a sense of something else.” The deep
lines in Grace’s forehead crinkled.

“Well, who else would fight demons if not
us?” Sammy smiled then her mouth dropped. “Unless.”

“Unless what?” Alexander’s mind twisted with
ideas, and then he figured it out. “Hunters.” He shuddered at the
thought. His phone…Gaby. “I think Gaby knows they’re here, which
means they must be at her house now. She texted me to stay away.” A
small part of him relished the thought of her not rejecting him,
but protecting him.

“Well, I guess she’ll be safe from the
demons. I mean, hunters kill first and ask questions later.” Sammy
teased.

“Wait, what if we’ve been looking at this
all wrong?” Blood drained from Alexander’s head leaving him feeling
unsteady on his feet. “Gaby isn’t just the daughter of a hunter.”
He tightened his grip around a plate and it snapped in half. “They
hunt anything not of this world. If they know she isn’t full
human…they won’t protect her, they’ll kill her.”

Chapter Nine

Gaby stood tall and waited for the man’s
advance. It had been years since she caught a glimpse of another
hunter besides her dad. The last time it left her mother in tears.
She glanced at her father sitting wide-eyed in his chair.

“We hear you consort with fallen angels and
demons. Is that why your father abandoned the cause?”

“I stopped hunting because it’s wrong,” Dad
shouted.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll never tell you
anything.” Gaby stood firm even though the man took another step to
tower over her. Intimidation tactics wouldn’t work on her. Heck,
her dad had used them all on her before. She might be scared of the
unknown demons, but these were just men.

“Oh, you’ll tell me or your father won’t be
granted his
retirement
, instead he’ll be branded a traitor
and terminated.”

Her gut twisted in knots of fear, but she
drew a blank stare. “You’re a monster who just wants an excuse to
kill someone. You claim to want to rid the world of evil, yet your
bloodlust is more corrupt than anything else I’ve ever seen.”