Fall from Grace (Book 2: An Angelblood Novel) (8 page)

“Tristan and Jasmine getting married.” She started
clapping her hands with excitement.

Mia was two years old, with blonde pigtails and
bright blue eyes. Shehad the mind of a genius. She couldn’t
always annunciate her words, but she had no trouble getting
her message across for the most part.

She was Adam’s granddaughter
and her best friend
was Joseph’s son, Joey. Like Bren and Tracy, most of the
time Mia and Joey were inseparable.

“When did all this happen?” Aura asked.
“Tristan proposed to me on Christmas Eve,”
Jasmine said.

“We’re planning to have the wedding on New
Year’s Day,” Tristan said. “We’d like to have the reception
here if that’s alright.”

“I would love it,” Aura said.

Aidan walked over to hug his sister and offer his
congratulations.
He
had
never
seen
Jasmine
so
happy
before. She had a twinkle in her eye. “Does Father know?”
he asked.

“Yes - hehas given us his blessing. I trust you’ll be
at the wedding too?”

 

“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“We have a lot to tell you. Let me just unpack, then
we can have a long talk.”

Bren and Tracy immediately went to the other room
to get the bridal books. Alannah followed them. When they
returned, they asked Jasmine what color she liked.

“Actually,I like periwinkle,” Jasmine said.

“OK, we have to find something with a periwinkle
trim,” Bren said.
The girls started thumbing methodically
through the magazines.

Rusty started laughing. “They handled most of the
details for my wedding. Renatta and I only had to show up.”

While the Guild went to the library for a discussion,
the rest of them talked excitedly about the wedding.
They
only had five days to bring everything together. Of course
they were angel-bloods.
They could throw a party together
in just a couple of hours.

Aura was glad the family was home.
It didn’t take
any time for everyone to become comfortable with the rest
of the family.
It was as if they had known each other their
whole life.

“We can call Anastasia. She can have the dresses
made in no time,” Bren said.

Anastasia was their dressmaker. Anytime they had a
special occasion, she would make the gowns for the girls.
She never failed to impress them with her designs.
Usually
all they had to do was tell her the colors and she did the rest.

“I’ll let her know that we’ll be arriving in the next
day or two,” Aura said.

 

Despite
everything
else
that
was
going
on,
a
wedding would be a welcome distraction.
Chapter 8

Paul and the Guild entered the library after lunch.
They planned to leave for Utopia in the morning.
They
already knew that Natalie was gone.
Since Richard would
already have her hidden, there was no urgency.

They were surprised when a knock on the door
interrupted their discussion. Aura walked in and apologized
for disturbing them.

“I don’t usually involve myself in the Guild’s
business, but it’s important that I speak with you now. I
don’t want you to disclose Natalie’s involvement in Ella and
Jasper’s deaths.”

“What benefit is there to keep such information to
ourselves?” Adam asked her.

 

“Natalie wasn’t acting alone.”

 

“Have you had another vision? Was Jeziel
involved?” Paul asked.

She looked at them with
great sorrow. “I know
Virgil was an angel. I’ve seen him in my visions.” She
looked at her father. “I also know Myra is his daughter.”

Martin turned to face her. “Myra only knows her
father gave up his wings to save her life, nothing more.”

“Her mother is alive.”
“Mahlyssa is alive? Are you certain?” Martin asked.

Aura nodded.
“I don’t know where she is, but I do
know she and Virgil did not part ways amicably.
She
blamed Virgil for taking Myra away.”

“He was trying to protect her from Marcus,” Martin
insisted. “Your own father took his life after he deceived
Virgil into giving up his wings.”

“I know,” Aura
whispered. “My intention is not to
upset you. But if I know Mahlyssa is alive, it’s possible
someone else knows too.
Were you aware that Marcus
cursed her?”

“
No - I had no contact with Virgil after he lost his
divinity.
He was too ashamed tomeet with me,” Martin
said.

“Richard was lying about Virgil’s involvement in
the Utopian deaths.
I think Virgil knew a great deal more.
That could be why Richard killed him.”

Aura turned to her
father. “My visions are much
stronger now. I know they will guide us. I’m asking you to
trust me about this.”

Adam looked at his friends.
“Perhaps Aura is right.
There’s no advantage in revealing everything we know. It
might be prudent to wait. Richardcan’t avoidus forever.”

They agreed
to
delay
the news.
Aura
excused
herself and walked out of the library.

 

Paul smiled. “Who would have thought Aura would
be so diplomatic. She would make for a finepolitician.”
They all laughed before adjourning the meeting.

After a quiet dinner, Aura told the family of her
plans to meet with Anastasia. “Good, we could use a little
retail therapy,” Rita said.

“What’s that mean Bren?” Alannah asked.
“That’s another way of saying they’re going
shopping.” Bren looked at Tracy for approval. She had a
mouthful of food, but nodded in agreement.

“I like shopping,” Alannah said,
looking
for
approval from her mother.

 

“We’ll all go,” Aura said.

 

Acadia was grateful to be included.
She really was
adjusting to being a part of the family.

Aidan decided that the girls should have a day out
by themselves. Aura suspected while they were shopping, he
would once again look for Jeziel. Aura’s visions had shown
her with Samhael.
They had to consider that Jeziel was still
with Lucifer.

When Rita woke up that morning, she looked at her
hand to make certain the ring Aura gave her was still there.
She wasn’t sure if she was having visions throughout the
night, or if her sister was trying to show her something.

“Jess wake up,” she said shaking her friend. “Jess
you need to wake up.”

“What time is it?” Jessica moaned.
Rita looked at the clock. “It’s five o’clock.”

Jessica pulled the pillow over her head. “Why are
you wakingme up so early? We aren’t leaving until later
this morning,” she said, still half asleep.

“We might be changing our plans. Jess are you
listening?
I know where those creatures are that attacked
Will and Joshua.”

Jessica shot straight up in bed and looked at her
friend. “What did you say?”

 

“I’ve had a vision or at least I think I did.”
Jessica looked at her ring, “If it’s your vision I
should be able to see it too; shouldn’t I?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” Rita said.
Jessica moved closer to Rita.“Can you make it
appear again?”

 

“Yeah - I think so. At first I thought it was a dream,
but it kept coming back again.”

Jessica became excited.
If Rita had the gift of sight
it would be an invaluable weapon.“Maybe Aura was right
and you can see more than you realize.”

Rita laughed.“I doubt that.”

 

“Why not - you have Esra’s blood? Maybe you just
needed towait until your sight developed.”

 

“Considering you’re right and it’s my own vision, I
should be able to make you see it by using the rings.”
Jessica looked down at her hand. “How does it
work?”

 

“I’m not sure.
You remember how Will described
those creatures?”

Jessica responded hesitantly.
“Yeah – I remember.”
“They were exactly the same in my vision.”

“OK! OK!” Jessica said. She was definitely awake
now. “Let’s think about this for a minute. Why don’t you
try to envision what you saw again and I’ll think about what
Will told us. If we’re right, the rings should connect us.”

Rita sat next to her friend and thought about the
scene she witnessed. Within seconds the creatures were in
front of her again.

“Whoa!” Jessica
shouted.
“Do you see them too?” Rita asked.

“Yeah
- they look just like your father said.
They
can almost pass for humans, but when they get mad they
turn into something I’ve never seen before.
I can see why
people would confuse them with wolves.”

They continued to watch as the two creatures fought
each other.
They overheard them call each other by name;
one was Faelan and the other Fenryr.
Jessica and Rita
deduced they were brothers.

“Nothing like brotherly love,” Jessica chuckled.
“Look how they turn on each other. Do you think we should
tell your father and the rest of the Guild?”

“No. I think there’s a reason this image came to me.
We have to go after them Jess.”

“What? You s
aw what they did to Will and Joshua.
Those are the creatures made with the blood of hellhounds.
It’s too dangerous.”

“Well I’m going
.” Rita wasn’t going to budge.
Once she had her mind set, nobody was going to change it,
not even her best friend.

“Damn.
You know I won’t let you go alone. But I
swear if one of them bites me, you’ll never hear the end of
it,” Jessica scoffed.

“They won’t get close enough. We can call for
angelfire. I doubt they have even seen that before.”
“I still think it’s too dangerous, but I’ll go,” Jessica
huffed.

“Jayden wants to ask for an annulment and Dad
wants to speak to Henry again.
He can ask him to call a
meeting with the Council. We can tell Will and Joshua to
visit his father before they leave for New York. We’ll make
a stop and meet them there.”

“What if they ask us where we’re going?”

“They won’t.
Those wolf things are only a short
distance from Utopia.
We need to make sure Richard and
Meredith are both at the Council meeting.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Jessica asked.

“We’ll tell my father we want Richard questioned
today for Virgil’s death. It’s been more than a month and we
need some closure.”
“Do you think your father knows where Richard is?”

“It doesn’t matter.
He can tell Meredith to notify
Richard
about
the
hearing. I’m sure she knows his
whereabouts. They can stress it would be in his best interest
to appear, becauseif he doesn’t,he’ll have to accept the
Council’s decision. We’ll make sure Meredith knows the
death penalty is on the table. Trustme; she’ll get him there if
his life is on the line.”

“Are we going to tell anyone what we’re doing?”
Jessica asked.

“We can tell Aura. If I’ve had the vision, she’s
probably seen it too.
Those creatures may give us the
evidence we need to finally link Richard to the deaths of
Will’s parents.”

“Are we going to take them back to the Council?”

Rita smiled.
“We’re going to kill them. But I just
thought of something else. I’ll tell you about it after we
leave.”

“Are you sure about this?

“Absolutely,” Rita said. “You’ve seen them. How
long do you think they’re going to stay hidden? If they’re
working for Richard, I have no doubt he’ll have them kill
again. We can’t let another attack happen.”

“Do you think the Guild will be angry with us?”

“Jess
we’ve already come of age. We don’t need to
ask permission. We would be guaranteeing the safety of our
family by helping to expose Richard. We’ll talk to Aura
before we go and then we’ll convince Will and Joshua to
visit Henry.”

“Do you think they’ll go back to Utopia?”
“They’ll go if they think Henry’s in danger.”

“Can you send Aura a silent message like your
mother does?”

“Yeah
I’ve been practicing,” Rita smiled.
“Let’s get dressed and remember to wear something
comfortable. I’ll make sure we have plenty of sunshine
today,” Jessica winked.

The girls grabbed long-sleeve cotton t-shirts and
jeans to wear. They both decided that one braid would work
better for them.

When they finished dressing, Rita hesitated for a
minute. “Aura will meet us downstairs when we get there.
Mom will send our father’s over for breakfast with Jayden.
We should have enough time to put our plan together then.”

Jessica became serious.
“We should watch the
vision a few more times, so we can see how they move when
they’re attacking. We don’t want any surprises when we go
after them.
It looks like they use their claws first and then
their teeth.”

“My shield will protect us and I’m not planning on
staying for lunch if you know what I mean.”

 

“Are you going to ask them about Richard?” Jessica
asked.

“We’ll secure them first. You can use your whip to
hold one of them, while I take the limbs off the other one. If
I remove his arms it will slow him down. They won’t be
able to see the shield, which will frustrate them when they
can’t reach us.”

“What if they try to run away?”

If they’re injured they won’t be moving fast. The
shield can keep them from leaving, at least Aura’s can. You
remember when Samhael came to visit?
Aura used her
shield to keep us on the porch.
I might be able to do the
same thing,” Rita said.

“Let’s hurry so we can get there before the others
wake up, especially Aidan.”

 

“Have you noticed how quiet he’s been since the
fire?”

 

“Yeah and I’ve also noticed he isn’t spending time
with Aura.”

 

“You don’t think he was involved with Jeziel do
you?” Jessica whispered.

“He’s known her a long time, but I don’t think they
were romantically involved.
Iris said Aidan has loved Aura
since she took her first breath.”

“Maybe he has,” Jessica said. “But he had some
kind of relationship with Jeziel.”

Rita nodded.
“Where do you think she went? She’s
been gone for almost three days. The longer she stays away,
the guiltier she looks.If her eyes are still black, they’ll be
more suspicious.
I would like to know what she was saying
to Samhael while the fire was burning.
He knows Aidan is
here now doesn’t he? He probably knows Alannah’s here
too?”