Beyond (37 page)

Davin didn
’
t hear a word ; his eyes were set on Avalon, millio ns of miles away in his own world . In his world, only two of them existed , and his mind wandered with forbidden thoughts for the very first time.

Caleb and Vivian guided Davin
further in as if he was a child , and led him toward the front. Finally , when Davin brought himself back to reality, he noted he was standing in a horizontal line with the A lpha team .

Katherine looked
at the venators with a proud gleam. The number of them had triple d in such a short time.
“
I ’
ve called t his meeting because we are in a dire state. As you know, the dark shadows have escaped . At first we were not sure what their intentions were. Now they have taken over human souls and the numbers have increased.

“
They are difficult to detect because they are much like humans unless they use thei r powers. They are also much like you, pos sess ing strength and speed. Though they do not hold a weapon like a sword or a bow , their power comes from within their malicious wicked hearts. Like the silver flames that project out from your bows, red flames project out of their hands. This knowledge is based on firsthand experience by Austin, Davin and Claudia. We still do not know who released them , and we won ’
t know until this evil being shows itself.
”

Delilah
raise d her hand.

“
Yes, Delilah . You have a question?
”

“
Where is Claudia?
”

Austin
step ped forward, his eyes lock ed on Katherine, letting her know he had this handled.
“
Claudia is on a special mission. That is all you need to know.
”
Austin flashed a quick short smile and f ell back in line.

“
What mission?
”
Delilah whisper ed .

“
It ’
s none of your bus iness, ”
he whispered back with a rude tone.

Delilah
narrowed her eyes on him.
“
Well…excuse me. Protective , aren ’
t we ?
”

Austin ignored her, unable to stop thinking of Claudia, wondering where she was and what she was doing. He thought of going after her many times, but then he thought it would only push her away. Knowing she would eventually do the right thing, he decided not to search for her and not breathe a word about the missing apple.

Th
e day s she was absent w ere a true picture of how it would be without her. Ultimately she would be in the arms of someone else , and that thought alone broke his heart. He suddenly felt empty , and the pain that cut like a knife deepened with each passing moment she was gone . Island of Eden was too quiet when no sound of her laugh t er, her voice or the mere esse nce of her sparkled in their home.

Thought
s of Claudia broke when Katherine continued her speech.
“
I ’
m going to set you in groups of at least ten or more. Each group will be assigned to a town or a city . We will start locally from the Rave where the last demon activity was witnessed, and then you will move forward.
One member from each team will select a reporter who will report back to me, so that I may keep track.
Y
ou must be on the lookout for a group of Earth angels called angel fighters , also known as Ang e lus P
ugnators .

“
This group is really after angels with special souls , so I do not believe they will harm you; however, any group s that kill angels are our enemies , so do whatever you must do to stay safe. Just a reminder , do not wa nder by yourself or split up the group. Alpha Team, I ’
m sending you to Paradi s us again. There is something out there.

“
B
efore we depart, I want to let you know how proud I am of all of you. You have shown me your dedication, loyalty and true marksmanship ; all that it takes to be a venator. I think of each and every one of you as my own. Many of you have made big sacrifice s to leave your human parents, friends , and ordinary li ves to become the protector s of all. Some of you will sacrifice your li ves today, tomorrow or in the near future, but know that you will leave this world with dignity, honor and respect, leaving behind one thing that can never be taken , and that is hope. Keep in mind the words I ’
ve instilled in you. You must work as a team. God speed. Everyone dismiss ed .
”

Chapter
2
4

Michael
brought Claudia back to Paradisus .
They were standing on top of the hill. Claudia remained still, safely tucked inside Michael’s wings.

“
We ’
re here, ”
he said, not wanting to let her go.

Claudia looked up, unable to unlock her eyes from his as if she was hypnotized.
“
Ummm…I should …
go, ”
she finally managed to say . Then s he pushed his wings apart , afraid if she didn ’
t, s he wouldn ’
t want him to let go.

When he opened, she took several steps away from him.
“
Thank you. You can leave now.
”

“
Are you meeting anyone?
”

“
No .”
S
he shook her head, lowering her eyes away from his, afraid he would know she was n’t telling him the truth.

“
Then, I ’
ll stay here.
”

“
What?
”
Claudia ’
s eye grew wide.
“
I ’
m perfectly fine.
”

Michael sat on the pebbled ground underneath a tree, leaning against it. He grinned as he folded his hands around the back of his neck to rest.
“
It ’
s a beautiful day. I think I ’
ll stay here.
”

“
Umm…
.
”
Claudia lost her words for a second. He looked so alluring she had to shake the wicked thoughts from her mind.
“
But you can ’
t !”

“
Says who?
”

“
Says…me .”
She couldn ’
t believe Michael was seriously going to stay. He was teasing her and she knew it.

“
Why not? This isn ’
t your property, ”
he smirked.

“
I know it ’
s not, but I didn ’
t invite you to stay and I don ’
t want you here.
”
Claudia didn ’
t want to be rude, but she felt that she had no choice. She didn ’
t want Michael to follow her.

“
Hmmm…you kind of hurt my feelings there.
”
He arched his brows with a frown.

There
he went again , looking so darn sexy even while frowning .
“
Are you kidding? The deal was for you to bring me here and leave.
”

“
No, the deal was for me to bring you here. There was nothing about me not staying.
”

“
F
ine .
”
Feeling frustrated she turned. Looking beyond, she noted even more how beautiful this place was. To the right of the hill was where the venators were the last time they were here. To the left was where she should go, back to the waterfall, to where Callum was waiting for her, but she couldn ’
t get her legs to move. She wanted to stay here with him. Unable to decide, she turn ed to Michael, but to her surprise, he was gone .

Claudia exhaled a deep sigh. In a way, she felt empty now that he was gone. She guessed this was a sign for her to proceed to Callum, but something held her back. She wasn ’
t sure anymore as she held the apple in the palm of her hand. Could it really bring her memories back? What if she was making a grave mistake?

Instead of using her super speed, Claudia decided to trek down the hilltop to give her time to think things through. As she marveled at the splendor of Paradi s us, she wondered if Michael truly left her side or if he was here, hiding. Unable to feel his pres ence, she figured he had left , and that thought made her feel utterly alone.

On her way to see Callum, Claudia sat on a small boulder by the stream , f eeling the warm breeze and listening to the flow of the water .
Feeling a lump i n the pocket of her jeans, she stood and pulled out the butterfly necklace she had forgotten about. When she placed it on the palm of her hand, it sparkled and blinded her when the sun reflected at the precise angle.

Claudia sat back down, placed the apple on her lap and grasp ed the necklace from the ends of the chain allowing the butterfly to dangle.
Beautiful , she thought. Unable to clasp the broken hook, she placed it around her neck and peered over to look at herself in the water . The reflection back from the stream was unclear, but she could still see it.
“
Perfect, ”
she muttered and outlined th e crystals with her fingertip.

Suddenly she realized she could fix it by the power of her will . Not sure of how it c ould be done, she tried it any way. Placing the necklace on the palm of her hand, she enclosed it with the other and focused her light. As she inhaled a deep breath, peace flowed through her. Her hands glowed as if she generated elec tricity out of them .
T
o her amazement, the clasp was fixed. Giddy as a schoolgirl , she was proud of herself and clasped the necklace around her small neck , t hen secu rely tucked it underneath her T-shirt. Besides the little bump, it was hardly noticeable.

Holding the apple in her hands again, she wondered why this was so important to Callum. She stopped examining it when she thought she heard shuffling from the trees. Numerous trees were lined along the stream as far as she could see, so it was difficult to tell exactly where the sound came from. She swept the perimeter , and relaxed when she noted there was no one around.

When she gazed back into the stream, she saw a clear image of her grandmother. Gamma was smiling at her.

“
Gamma, ”
she called in shock .
She turned to see if she was standing behind her .
Disappointed, she realized it was a figment of her imagination.
Claudia wondered why she hadn ’
t visited her in her dreams.
Gamma had promised she would always be there for her when she needed her the most. She ’d needed her since the day she woke up at Island of Eden when she couldn ’
t recall her past, when she felt so alone, but she never came. As tear drops flowed down her cheeks, her heart ached.

After she gathered herself, she wo
ndered if it was a sign from Gam m a .
Maybe she couldn ’
t visit her in her dr eams .
Perhaps she was visiting right now but in a different way. She looked back into the stream again , only to find a hazy reflection of the trees behind her. Thinking about Gamma, guilt flushed through her. There was no way she could bring the apple to Callum now. Gamma would be very disappointed in her, especially knowing she was about to break one of the d ivine laws.

She would be on the run if she didn
’
t want to be locked up.
What kind of life would that be for her, alone, always looking behind her back, not knowing who to trust ?
She had lost her way and realized it now more than ever. What in the world was she thinking? How could she let her selfish needs engulf her? In a way, she was already running away from the angels.
With these thoughts in mind, she knew what she had to do.