Fall from Grace (Book 2: An Angelblood Novel) (10 page)

When Paul and the others arrived in Utopia it was
almost three o’clock in the afternoon.
He suggested they
stop at the sanctuary before meeting with Meredith.

Will and Joshua hadn’t been home since before
Thanksgiving.
Neither of the boys were happy to be back,
but they wanted to make sure Henry was safe. Joshua knew
all too well how vindictive his brother Richard could be,
especially if Natalie was the center of the recent controversy.

Arthur advised him they would convene the meeting
of the Committeeat four o’clock, allowing the boy’s time to
visit with Henry.

Jayden accompanied Will and Joshua.

When they left the sanctuary, Paul and the others
walked next door to Richard’s home.
The estate was one of
the finest in Utopia. Richard’s deceased wife had spared no
expense in the décor.

As
they
approached
the
large
oak
door,
Paul
knocked three times to announce their presence. Meredith
was not pleased to see three Guild members standing in her
doorway.
She stared icily at the group before addressing
Paul.“Are you expecting trouble?”

He
wouldn’t entertain her attitude today. “The
hearing for the death of the Enchantor is scheduled today at
five o’clock.”

“My son is not here and I don’t know when he’ll be
returning,” Meredith said coldly.

 

“That’s unfortunate. The hearing will take place
regardless of Richard’s presence,” Adam replied.
“You can’t have a hearing if Richard isn’t present,”
Meredith argued.

Paul
was
blunt
and
indifferent
towards
the
Governor’s wife. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. If Richard
fails
to
appear,
he
will
abide
by
the
ruling
of
the
Commission.
I have it on good authority some of the
members may ask for the death penalty.”

“You would like that wouldn’t you. I haven’t
forgotten you murdered my father. Now you’re trying to kill
my son and my granddaughter,” Meredith bellowed.

“Your father
killed an angel.
His punishment was
just.
Your son will be given an opportunity to defend his
actions. However, if he fails to appear, he will live with the
decision of the Commission,” Joseph reiterated. “As far as
your granddaughter is concerned, we don’t have enough
evidence to convict Natalie yet, but rest assured we will be
vigilant in our efforts to learn the truth. I trust you know that
killing an angelblood carries the same penalty of death?”

Paul smiled. “As Joseph said, Natalie will be given
a
reprieve
for
now.
However,
after
these
matters
are
resolved, we’ll need to speak with her again. Now if you’ll
excuse us, wedon’t want to be late for the meeting.
One of
the first topics of discussion will beJayden’s annulment.”

Meredith glared at them as they walked away.

When Joshua and the boys arrived at Henry’s, they
were surprised to find him in such a relaxed mood.
Henry
although pleased to see Joshua, was confused about the
timing of his visit.

“We wanted to ensure you were safe,” Joshua
said.
Henry laughed.“I’ve never been better.”

“So it’s true you asked Meredith to move out,”
Joshua said.
He could barely contain his delight.
If the
Committee agreed to give his father an annulment, Meredith
would no longer be the first lady of Utopia.

“
Your mother left earlier today.
I had the servants
take her belongings to Richard’s country home. I intend to
have our marriage annulled.”

“
Yes– we heard that. Do you think the Commission
will grant your request?
You and Meredith have been
marriedfor forty years,” Will said.

“A minor fact of little importance considering she
can no longer be trusted. They won’t forget her outburst the
last time we were together.
I have no doubt she would have
allowed Richard to kill Joshua if Rita and Jessicahadn’t
intervened,” Henry stated.“The Commission will certainly
take her recent behavior towards Joshua into consideration.”

“And what about Natalie, do you know where she
is?” Jayden asked.

Henry
was
sympathetic
to
the
young
man. “I
suspect she’s hiding in Paris temporarily. The Guild doesn’t
have enough evidence to charge her with your brother’s
death yet.”

The three boys looked at each other. They knew the
truth about Natalie, but it was obvious the Guild didn’t
inform Henry.
Why would they keep something of such
importance from him? As far as Jayden was concerned they
could have her trial and then he wouldn’t have to bother with
having the marriage annulled.
He would
almost enjoy
watching her die.

“How is Jane? She must be overwrought with grief,
losing two children so soon,” Henry asked.

 

“She’s doing better. Having Acadia there is good
for her,” Jayden said.

 

The guilt washed over Henry once again. “She’s a
nice girl; one of our best. I am truly sorry for deceiving her.”
“I thought she was staying here because she had no
other family,” Joshua said.

Henry looked at his son.
“It was your mother’s
decision to keep her and the other girls here.
I should have
intervened on their behalf.
I promise you it was a choice I
now deeply regret.”

Will see
ing the concern on Henry’s face, tried to
alleviate some of his guilt. “No one blames you.
Acadia
loves the valley. I doubt she’ll want to leave. I understand
the Commissionis meeting at four o’clock. We can go to
the Hall of Justice together.”

Jayden started to laugh. “Let’s hope we’ll all see a
little justice today.”

The other boys both smiled. “I’m sure the
Commissionwill grant your request. Natalie doesn’t have
any friends on the board. Most of them despise her as much
as they do my brother,” Joshua said.

“Thank you,” Jayden said sincerely. He wanted to
be rid of Natalie and start the next journey of his life.
If
Aura was right, he would see Jasper again.
He wanted
desperately to apologize; praying his brother would forgive
him.

Chapter 11

Rita and Jessica arrived near the woods, where the
vision showed the two creatures hiding inside the small
cabin. “How should we approach them?” Jessica asked.

Rita looked at her friend and smiled.“We’ll call
them out; then take them down.”

 

“Are you sure that’s wise? Wouldn’t it be better if
we contained them inside?”

 

“I’m not prepared to walk into their little funhouse,
are you?”

 

“No, but what if they try to run?”

“They won’t get far. I’m betting they don’t know
about our powers. If they’re as deviant as my father
predicted, they will want to engage us.”

Jessica stared at the cabin.
“Let’s get this over with.
I don’t want to give them any advantage by knowing we’re
here.”

Rita
approached
the
dwelling
and
called
out,
“Faelan and Fenryr!”

The brothers immediately rose from the table.
They
were smiling. “It seems our luck had changed. Richard said
we could have anyone who ventured into the woods,” Faelan
said excitedly. They hurried towards the door and opened it
to find the girls waiting.

“They will be easy prey,” Fenryr laughed. Rita and
Jessica knew they would have precious little time to ready
their weapons, but they didn’t want to expose them too soon
either.

Faelan spoke
first. “To what do we owe this
pleasure?”

Rita was careful and decisive with her words.
“We
are here on behalf of the Guild.
You and your brother have
been found guilty of murder. We are here to pass sentence
on you.”

The
creatures
both
laughed. “I don’t remember
having a trial.What punishment have you decided?”
Rita was unyielding. “The penalty for murder is
death.”

 

Fenryr was still laughing.“What if we decide not to
go with you?”

 

Rita smirked. “What makes you think we’re going
anywhere?”

 

What areyour names?” Jessica asked.

Faelan stood defiantly. He did not fear these young
girls.
They had no idea what he and his brother were
capable of.
He decided to play their game. “I believe you
already know that.”

“Your real names; those you were born with,”
Jessica said.

 

“We were born as Clarence and Chester,” Fenryr
said with disdain.

Rita and Jessica started laughing hysterically.
“I can
see why everyone is so frightened of them. Those names are
terrifying.
Clarence and Chester; how priceless.” They
continued to laugh.

But the brothers weren’t laughing.
Jessica and Rita
watched as they extended their claws and their teeth, ripping
through the flannel shirts and jeans they were wearing.
Knowing they would be attacking in seconds, the girls called
for their weapons.

As the creatures lashed out at them, the girls were
more than prepared. They moved quickly to avoid being cut
by the deadly claws.
Jessica wrapped her whip around
Fenryr’s hands, while Rita quickly took off Faelan’s left
arm.
She then took off Faelan’s right arm; dropping him to
the ground.

She looked at him and said, “Who do you work
for?”

As Fenryr struggled to free himself
from Jessica’s
whip, Rita took off his right leg.
He too dropped to the
ground, screaming in agony.
Angel-fire was something
they’d never seen.

“I will only ask you once more,” Rita shouted.
“Who do you work for?”

Faelan and Fenryr knew they were going to die, but
they would never implicate Richard because Lucifer’s wrath
would be far worse than death. “Go to hell!” Faelan
screamed at her.

“After you
,” Rita responded, by removing his head.
They watched as the appendage bounced a few times before
landing in front of his brother. His eyes were still open.

Fenryr stared at his brother and thenat Rita. “If I
tellyou what you want to know, will you spare my life?”

Rita knew she couldn’t lie about something this
important. “That won’t be possible. You have to pay for
your crimes. I will however, give you the opportunity to ask
for forgiveness before I kill you; if you tell me the names of
those who you are loyal to.”

“Do you think me a fool? How would I benefit from
your proposal? Will you allow me my freedom?” Fenryr
laughed.

“I’m afraid forgiveness is the only redemption we
can offer,” Rita said frankly.

 

“I have no need of forgiveness.” Fenryr cursed them
both and Rita quickly beheaded him too.

 

“Do you think there are others inside?” Jessica
asked, as she stared at the two headless creatures.

“If there were others, they would be gone by now.
Rita dragged the bodies of Faelan and Fenryr to the center of
the yard and piled them on top of each other.
They entered
the cabin cautiously and looked around to find something
they could use to start a fire.
Jessica found some kindling
and matches in one of the rooms, while Rita looked for
something to put the heads in.

“What are you doing?” Jessica asked. Rita told
Jessica of her plan to take the heads to Utopia.

She
found
some
burlap
sacks
in
one
of
the
cupboards that served as a pantry.
Before placing their
heads inside the bags, Rita put gloves on.
They returned
outside and arranged the kindling around the bodies before
starting
the
fire.
Within
seconds
the
creatures
were
completely engulfed in flames.
Normally, Rita would have
said a prayer over the bodies, but in this case she doubted it
would have made a difference. These creatures had no soul,
so it didn’t matter.

“Where do you think they go?” Jessica asked her
friend.

“I doubt they go anywhere. They won’t
go to
Heaven and I’m sure they can’t go to Hell considering they
have no bodies and no soul. Lucifer had no further use of
them. They will just cease to exist.”

When there was nothing left but ashes, it was time to
go
before
the
Commission. “I’m sure we’ll get their
attention today,” Rita laughed. Jessica agreed and as each of
the girls held one of the bags, they left for Utopia.

Meredith watched as the Guild walked towards the
Hall of Justice.
She needed to find Richard before the
hearing.
without

She
wasn’t about to let her son be convicted
presenting
a
defense.
Perhaps
the
Commission
would show him some mercy, considering Richard believed
the Enchantor killed the Allgoods.
Regardless of their
feelings towards him, they couldn’t deny he was trying to
protect the children of Utopia.

When the Guild was clear of the property, Meredith
walked into the library to call Desiree.
She was unable to
hide the panic in her voice.“Is Richard there?”

“He was here, but he and Natalie left before noon.
Issomething wrong?” Desiree asked.

 

“The Guild is holding his hearing today at five
o’clock. I need to speak with him urgently.”

 

“Surely they wouldn’t hold a hearing without him.
He has a right to defend himself.”

“The Guild cares nothing of his defense. Th
ey
would like nothing better than to kill him, the same way they
murdered
my
father.
Henry
has
moved
us
out
of
the
Governor’s mansion. He’s going to have our marriage
annulled.”

“I can’t believe Henry would do such a thing.”

“He cares more for Ambrosia an
d
Analie.
He
intends to leave the house and all his family heirlooms to
them; as if they deserve anything,” Meredith grated.

“If the Commission agrees to his request, you will
be entitled to some form of compensation.”

 

“The pittance they would award me could never
keep me in the lifestyle I am accustomed to.”

 

“You’re welcome to come here.”

“I appreciate your kind offer, but I would be more
valuable to Richard if I remained in Utopia.
I should have
allowed him to marry you instead of his brother.
Perhaps
everything would have turned out differently and neither of
us would have regrets now.”