Earth Angel (The Kamlyn Paige Novels) (11 page)

“Can’t fight this time, huh?” he said, cocking his
head to the side as he stared down into my panic stricken face. He bent over at
the waist, putting his lips next to my ear. “How does it feel?”

His hot breath covered my neck and the smell of
rotten decaying eggs overwhelmed me. He backed away slowly, continuing to
smile. I stared at him as he shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again
I saw nothing but black emptiness.

“You’re not Tom,” I gasped as I took in a shallow
breath and tried to back away.

He walked around to the end of the bed and gave a
deep, echoing laugh that was unnatural and cold.

“Oh, he’s in here somewhere with me,” he said as he
leaned over the edge of the bed, resting his hands on the soft mattress. “And
the lucky man gets a front row seat.”

I let out a yelp, wishing I had the strength to
really belt out as he yanked the blankets off of me and threw them onto the
floor in one swift motion. I tossed my head back and forth as I tried my
hardest to move the rest of my body. My arms and legs convulsed slightly from
my efforts, but not enough to stop what was about to happen.

“Relax…” he whispered as he crawled on all fours
onto the bed.

He placed his lips right below my knee and kissed,
moving up inch by inch. Stretching his arms above his head, he grabbed the
bottom of my nightgown and tossed it upwards. He lifted his head, taking his
mouth away from my thigh and pulled himself up so that his face was level with
mine. The enormous weight of his body settled on my chest and I struggled to
breathe. It was the first time since I began hunting that I felt utterly
helpless.

“Please…don’t,” I begged as tears slid down my
cheek.

I knew I had no choice. I had to try to exorcise
the demon from Tom’s body. Even though most people did not survive the
procedure when done right, it was my last option. I hated to admit it, but if
it was going to come down to me or him that lived, I was going to pick me. One
of the first things Don taught me about the job was that sometimes innocent
people died. There was nothing any of us could do to stop that.

“Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde,” I recited
quickly from memory in a whisper.

The demon’s hallow, black eyes narrowed as he
slapped Tom’s hand forcefully over my mouth.

“Clever little bitch,” he growled.

He reached his free hand down and fumbled with the
expensive leather belt on Tom’s gray slacks. I let out a muffled cry, knowing
there was now nothing I could do to stop him. I regained most of my strength
back, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the demon inside Tom. I feared for my
life as he grinned at me.

Just as he unhooked the sleek belt, his body flew
off of mine and slammed into the wall. I grabbed the gun from my nightstand and
ran to the opposite side of the room. Another man was struggling against the
demon evenly as I watched from the shadows in shock. I was sure Don wasn’t
strong enough to take on a demon with his bare hands, but who else could it be.
As I watched horrified, a blinding white light ran through Tom’s body, shooting
out of his eyes and mouth as the demon inside screamed. The tall man held both
of his hands on Tom’s head until the light inside died and he let the lifeless
body fall to the floor. He knelt down for a moment in silence before turning
towards me. As he stood up, a car’s headlights ran across the room, shining on
my savior.

“Sari?” I squinted and took a step forward.

I stared into his deep eyes as he brushed his hair
aside. He made his way towards me and embraced me in his arms as I rested my
head against his warm, bare chest.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” he
apologized as he rested his hand on my head, holding me closer to him.

I felt a brief moment of peace and calm before
snapping back to reality. I pulled away, wanting answers to what had just
happened.

“How are you here? How did you know where I was?
Are you following me?” I asked frantically.

I raised my gun in front of me, aiming right
between his beautiful eyes. The sides of his lips curled upward when I clicked
back the hammer, as if the site of a gun being pointed at him was a joke.

“It’s not what you think,” he started to explain,
trying to step closer to me as I backed away. “My name is Sariel. I’m an angel
and I’ve been sent here to watch over you.”

I looked at him in disbelief as I laughed
nervously. I wasn’t even sure I believed in angels, but there he was; a
gorgeous man standing in front of me in nothing but jeans, claiming to be one.
I continued to stare at him with confusion on my face.

“It’s my job to protect you,” he added in short as
he nodded his head towards me, smiling.

Another headlight cast its lights inside my window
as it drove by the house, shining directly onto Sari. Behind his muscular body,
which seemed to be chiseled meticulously from marble, a large pair of black
transparent wings appeared on the wall, attached to the shadow of him. I stared
at him in awe. In all the pictures I’d seen, angels were portrayed with big
white feathered wings, but his were nothing more than the shadow of wings that
were not even there. The headlights passed and the room fell dark once more. I
reached for the wall switch behind me. As the soft light filled the room, my
eyes searched for what I had just seen, but there was no one there. Sari was
gone. Without hesitation, I ran over to the other side of my bed and reached
for my phone.

“I need an ambulance right away. My friend’s had a
heart attack,” I said as calmly as I could.

There was no other way to explain what had happened
to Tom that would be plausible. I hung up the phone after giving them my
address and went to wake Cara up. I needed to brace her for this. She had
always slept with her headphones in and I knew if she had heard what went on,
she would have come running. I would tell her the truth of how her fiancé died
once we were alone again, but for now she needed to believe it was a heart
attack. So much for not breaking her heart…

“Heaven’s gates won’t open up for me.
With these broken wings, I’ve fallen.”

 – Nickleback

Cara and I sat in the living room with coffee mugs
steaming in our hands. The sun crept across the pale yellow walls as we sat in
silence. I knew it was time to tell her how Tom had really died. As I
explained, Cara’s brilliant brown eyes widened and tears streamed down her
face. Rarely did she ever cry, but when it happened it was extremely
disheartening to see. I put my arm around her shoulder, pulling her in. She
turned and cried into my shirt while I did my best to comfort her. It was the
first time I got to be there for Cara. Whenever there was a loss, it was
usually mine and she was always there to pull me together. Now it was my turn.

“Tom didn’t really have any family, so I have a lot
I need to do for the funeral,” she said, trying to compose herself.

She stood up, taking a deep breath as she pulled
her fuzzy pink robe around her.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” I asked.

She looked down at me and gave a weak-hearted
smile. Once again she was trying to be strong. I wanted to tell her it was okay
to be sad and show it, but instead I kept my mouth shut. This was her way of
dealing with the pain.

“More than ever I want you out there hunting,” she
said softly.

I understood what she was feeling. The minute
someone is taken from you by evil, the thought of revenge consumes you. Not
knowing what else to do, I went upstairs to pack my things. Cara was right. I
needed to be out there searching for my own demon. As I shoved my clothes into
the raggedy duffel bag, I wondered if Cara would be able to handle this
hardship on her own.

I gave Cara a long hug before I left, taking in one
last breath of her lavender scent. Who knew how long it would be till I saw her
again. I expected after the trip I just had, I’d want to stay as far away from
here for as long as possible. I was beginning to think it was cursed. Too many
people had died in there and I was now convinced it was my fault. Maybe I was
the one who was cursed.

“Call me if you need anything,” I reminded Cara
once more before leaving.

I tossed my belongings into the bed of my truck and
turned around to wave goodbye. Cara waved back to me from the doorway with a
blank stare on her face. I was scared for her. The minute I backed out of the
driveway, she would be left alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her
company. I decided to stop by Don’s as well. Neither of us was good at saying
goodbye, but I wanted to remind him to check in on Cara daily till the funeral
was over. Knowing someone would be there to look after her would put my mind at
ease.

When I pulled up in front of his house, I saw him
sitting in his favorite spot, one leg crossed over the other.

“Thought we weren’t saying goodbye,” he said as I
walked up the steps and sat next to him.

I told him my concerns for Cara and he nodded in
agreement to my suggestion that he check in often. I was grateful to have
someone I could truly count on for anything in my life. No matter what the
favor was Don was always willing to do it. I leaned my head onto his broad
shoulder as he put his arm around me. We swung back and forth in silence,
savoring our last moments with the only family we had left. The birds were
chirping, singing a song all their own, and for a moment I let myself believe
that my life was here. No more hunting, no more nightmares to chase, just life
here with Don and Cara. I closed my eyes, letting the silence consume me.

“So, who’s the hunk in your truck?” Don asked,
breaking my peacefulness.

I lifted my head and stared forward at the
shaggy-haired man sitting in my passenger seat. Sari gave me a widespread grin
as he waved his fingers. Of course I expected he would find me again to explain
more, but couldn’t it have waited till I was alone? I was tired of lying to
everyone. I promised myself to tell the truth from then on and if someone had a
problem with it, then it was up to them to deal with it. I shouldn’t have to
hide things from my fellow hunters, I thought before taking my own advice.

“Oh, that’s Sari. Would you believe me if I told
you he’s an angel sent here to watch after me?” I responded, lowering my head
back onto Don’s shoulder.

“Not the way he’s waggling his eyebrows at you,” he
said.

“Well then, he’s just some guy who followed me here
from Nebraska.”

That was still the truth. Close enough, at least.

“Want me to take care of him for you?” Don asked as
we resumed swinging back and forth.

I raised my eyes in thought, staring into the
bright blue sky. It would be amusing, but after seeing Sari battle with that
demon, I was positive the brawl would end with Don getting his ass handed to
him.

“That’s okay, I’ll handle it myself,” I said as I
sat up and stretched my arms over my head.

It was time for me to head out and receive
explanations from my vanishing angel. Don and I stood up and hugged each other
tightly. He was just about to let go when I pulled him back in, burying my face
into the collar of his shirt. I wished desperately that we could go back to
hunting together. He was right when he said we’d defeat more by splitting up,
but I missed his company so much. He rested his head on top of mine, letting me
hold him as long as I wanted.

Once I finally backed away I stared up at him,
smiling. It didn’t matter how run down and cynical he was from the job, he was
always going to be one hell of a man to me. I walked down to the truck and
stared into Sari’s eyes as I moved around to the driver’s side. If I wasn’t
mistaken, I saw a hint of jealousy in them. I had to be imagining things. He
should know Don and I never had anything romantic between us. For some reason,
I felt the urge to tell him not to worry, but realized I was being silly. Why
would he care if I was dating someone or not?

“We need to talk,” I said as I started the engine,
deciding not to waste any time with senseless chit chat.

“Alright,” he said, looking at me from across the
truck. “Start driving.”

I pulled out onto the street and drove, waiting for
him to tell me where to stop.

“There,” he pointed out the window at an old motel
after only a few minutes.

I turned into the parking lot without question and
parked in front of the office door. The words ‘vacancy’ flashed in bright red
letters under its name. I considered offering to pay for a more expensive
hotel, embarrassed by this one’s simplicity. Again, I was being silly. After
all, he picked the place. Sari got out of the truck and walked around to the
bed. As he leaned over to retrieve my bags, his shirt lifted up and I saw the
defined muscles in his back tighten before they were covered again. My stomach
started to flutter as if a million butterflies were trapped inside trying to
get out. Before he could see me staring I reached inside my pocket, pretending
to check the messages on my phone. Smiling to himself, he walked over to the
motel office and went inside. I could feel my cheeks burning. He’d seen me
looking at him.

The room we checked into was basic; one dresser
with a small television on it, a tiny wooden desk…and one queen sized bed.

“It’s all they had left,” Sari said as a small grin
spread across his face.

He dropped my bags on the floor and sat on the bed.
He lightly patted the empty space on the mattress next to him as I looked down at
the unbelievably handsome man in front of me. I sat down slowly, placing myself
further away from him than he had wanted. He looked down at the discolored
floor before he began to tell his story.

“You may not like what I have to say.”

I looked over at his uncharacteristically serious
face and leaned back, using my arms behind me for support.