Earth Angel (The Kamlyn Paige Novels) (26 page)

Electrical charges ran through my hands to my
fingertips. Sparks flew all around as I placed my hands on her face. The light
from within her burst out through every opening. She gave a piercing scream as
she burned from the inside out before the light faded. A warm liquid ran from
my ear down my neck. The rush inside me was gone. I was drained. My body had
finally recognized all it had just been through. I crumpled, falling off the
motionless body right into Sari’s arms.

“Kam!” he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around
me, resting my head against his chest.

Everywhere felt bruised, broken, and battered. The
smoke from the stage fire made it hard to breathe properly.

“We have to get out of here,” Sari said in a panic
as he stood up with me cradled in his arms.

“The girl,” I whispered in his ear. “Save her.”

“There’s no time. I have to get you out of here!”
he cried in hysteria.

“Please…”

Reluctantly he set me down on the floor again and
appeared next to the girl who was engulfed now by smoke. He touched a finger to
her forehead, sending her out of sight and to safety. I coughed, consumed by
black smoke as I lay on the floor struggling to get to my feet. Before I could
stand completely upright, Sari had me in his arms once more. The dark, smoke
filled room faded away and I was able to breathe once more. I was on the cool
cement with Sari huddled over me, tears flowing down his rosy cheeks.

“Please be alright, please,” he pleaded.

I felt dizzy as my eyes fluttered, ready to drift
away to unconsciousness. The ground beneath me was stained red from the wound
on my shoulder. I looked up at Sari, his flawless face going in and out of
focus as I tried to open my mouth to speak.

“I…I love you,” I pushed out with as much force as
I had left.

A tear streamed off of his cheek and onto mine.
With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and placed his hands gently on my bleeding
shoulder. I writhed and moaned from the pain. As he concentrated on the gash,
the agony began to wash away until there was nothing left. He moved his hand
down my leg until he reached my broken ankle and did the same thing, healing
the bones completely. Even though I knew I still had bruises and gashes
throughout my body, he had gotten rid of the two main sources of torment I was
feeling. Compared to them, the other infractions felt like nothing. I sat up,
wrapping my arms around his neck. Over his shoulder I saw the young blonde girl
from the auditorium lying in the grass.

“Can you help her?” I asked, afraid it was too late
to save her.

“I can try. If the person is too far gone then
there’s nothing I can do,” he responded, turning to look at her.

Sari walked over to the still body and found the
cause of her unconsciousness. He placed his hand on the back of her head where
she’d been hurt, shrinking it in size till in vanished entirely.

“She still lost a lot of blood,” he said with
grief. “She needs to go to a hospital and so do you.”

I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket,
surprised it was even still intact. I dialed 911 and reported the auditorium
fire.

“Please hurry. I think she breathed in a lot of
smoke. She’s not waking up,” I said as calmly as I could so they’d understand
me.

After I told them where we were located, Sari
helped me to my feet. Already, we heard the sirens of the campus police. The
familiar inward debate started in my head. Should I stay and answer questions
or should I flee? I looked at the girl on the ground and knew I had to stay.
Sari and I would be able to come up with something plausible where we were not
the ones to blame.

We looked at each other as the cops drove up and
stopped next to the curb. The building behind us was emitting clouds of smoke
as the flames grew in size. The fire department and ambulance pulled up behind
the squad car within the minute and they went straight to work.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked the paramedics
as they put her into the back of their truck on a stretcher.

“She’s still alive but critical. We need to go
now,” one of the men in blue responded before slamming the door.

The ambulance sped off with its siren blaring. Sari
put his arm around me as we watched them turn the corner, the loud whining of
the sirens fading away. Two police officers stepped away from their cars and
approached us to get the story of what happened.

“We come to visit the campus sometimes to see our
friends,” I began with a steady voice. “We wandered away from our group to talk
when we saw smoke rising from the auditorium. We could hear faint screaming
from inside. That’s when…Gary…ran inside and pulled the girl out. Once we got
her to the grass she passed out.”

It was simple, but most importantly believable.
Just one detail was overlooked in my rushed thinking.

“Ma’am, if you were out here the whole time, how’d
you get so bruised and banged up?” the officer asked, using his pen to point at
my face which must have been obviously damaged.

“Um…well, some girl wouldn’t stop hitting on my
boyfriend at a party and we kind of got into it, but it’s really no big deal. I
don’t even know who she is.”

“Well, I think you should go to hospital and get
checked out anyway, just to be safe,” he suggested with a concerned face.

I squeezed my eyes together as if I were in a lot
of pain, groaning a little to really sell it. Right away, the police turned to
Sari and told him how to get me to the nearest hospital. We thanked him and
Sari put his arm around my waist for support as we walked off into the parking
lot. Once out of sight, we disappeared all together and landed on a sidewalk in
front of a small motel.

“I can’t believe it’s really over,” I said with so
much joy that my mouth pained from my large smile.

Sari picked me up in his arms and spun me around.
He held my face in his hands as he kissed me in a frenzy. He ran his fingers
through my hair and down my back, relaxing my entire body.

“I was so scared I was going to lose you,” he said
in between passionate kissing.

I smiled up at him and stared into his big warm
eyes.

“This is a new beginning for us, isn’t it?”

He kissed me again more gently this time, letting
the flavor of his sweet breath linger on my lips.

“It sure is.”

“If Heaven and Hell decide that they
both are satisfied and illuminate the no’s on their vacancy signs…if there’s no
one to guide you when your soul embarks, then I’ll follow you into the dark.”

– Death Cab for
Cutie

Inside the hotel room, I cleaned the wounds I still
had throughout my body; minor cuts and bruises were all that were left.

“I can fix that you know,” Sari said as he crept up
behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I kind of like it,” I said, turning around to face
him and giggling. “It makes me look tough.”

Sari laughed and hugged me tighter.

“Downright frightening.”

He raised his hands to hold my face as he leaned in
closer. His soft lips pressed gently against mine before separating slowly. I
closed my eyes, savoring the sweet taste of his tongue. His movements were
gentle and perfect. I thought my knees were going to give out beneath me.
Swiftly, he spun me around to lean me up against the bedroom wall, pressing his
body onto mine. My hands groped in ecstasy as I reached up to unbutton his pale
blue shirt, kissing him harder all the while. He lowered his arms and let the
shirt float down to the floor. As our lips parted for a short moment, I lifted
his white t-shirt over his head and threw it across the room. His dark hair
fell into his eyes as they gazed down into mine.

I ran my hands over his bare chest in awe, letting
my fingertips rise and fall over his hard muscles. My breathing was steady and
deep as my heart raced. Without warning, he picked me up and tossed me
effortlessly onto the bed, landing softly over me. I could feel the muscles of
his arms contract and release as he leaned down to taste my lips once more. We
became swept away, rolling around as we tried to shed ourselves of our
clothing. He pulled away unexpectedly to lie next to me.

“You’re more beautiful than anything I’ve ever
seen,” he whispered softly as he brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.
“I’ve never wanted something so much.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered back, biting
my bottom lip in anticipation.

Sari grazed his nose against mine as an uncontrollable
smile spread across my face. I giggled as I ran my fingers through his tousled
hair. Embracing me in his arms, he pulled me closer into him. My body tingled
all over as he kissed me. The rest of the night was spent as close to heaven on
earth as humanly possible.

*

When I awoke, I was on my side facing the wall. I
rolled over half expecting to find the space next to me empty. I was terrified
Sari had been a character in an elaborate dream of mine. Instead, I rolled
against his warm body. I scooted over to rest my head on top of his chest,
heaving a blissful sigh. I’d never felt so relaxed before. He put his arm
around me and ran his fingers up and down my bare back. I felt protected and
safe.

“Morning, sweetheart,” he greeted me half asleep,
trying to open his tired eyes.

I kissed below his ribs tenderly in return. Even
though his body was as hard as stone, it was warm and inviting. I felt if I
took myself away from him, even for a moment, he would vanish right before my
eyes.

“You know, I half expected you to be gone when I
woke up,” I admitted as I ran my finger around the outer edge of his belly
button. “I thought it was all a dream.”

Sari took my hand in his and brought it up to his
lips to kiss each of my fingertips.

“Now that I have you I’m never letting you go,” he
said as he lowered my hand to his stomach again.

I smiled, feeling a sense of security I wasn’t used
to. There would be no more surprises in my life anymore. Mia was finally dead.
I could give up hunting all together. I had Sari to wake up to every morning. I
didn’t have to worry about demons or monsters ever again. I could let my brain
be consumed with happy moments, like when Sari kissed me. I could have girl
time with Cara and have a family again.

“Where are we going to go?” I asked as I ran my
fingers along his stomach muscle lines.

“Wherever you want to go,” he answered with a
smile. “I’ll make sure we are never bothered again.”

He kissed the top of my head and ran his hands
softly over my hair.

“Boston might be nice,” I said, not even thinking.

I had only been there once before briefly and I had
been taken in by its rich history. Every step I took there was like walking
back in time. Whether you liked big city high rise apartments or quiet family
homes, there was something for everyone. I was sure Sari and I could find our
place there.

“Boston it is, then,” he said, continuing to run
his fingers through my hair. “Sounds like the perfect place for the Paiges’ to
settle down.”

I looked up at him and smiled awkwardly.

“The Paiges’?”

“Well, you can’t take my last name….because I don’t
have one.”

I laughed out loud. With all the thoughts I had
about spending my life with Sari, I had never actually pictured us getting
married. I just knew we were meant to be together. We smiled at each other as I
let the idea sink in. Our life together might actually work out with absolutely
no complications whatsoever. It would be the first time in my life that ever
happened. I turned my body so my back was to Sari. He wrapped his arms around
me and fit his body around all the curves of mine. Still tired, I closed my
eyes again.

Our peaceful quiet was interrupted by a loud thud
coming from the other side of the door. I was sure it was too early for
housekeeping, but every motel was different. The pounding grew louder before
the door was blown completely off its hinges. Sari moved quicker than I could
see to block me, shoving his arm out to keep me behind him. In the doorway the
shadow of a tall, muscular figure appeared. As he took a step forward, I made
out the details of our intruder. His heavy boots stomped onto the hard floor
loudly with every step he took. I peeked around Sari’s shoulder, looking
straight into the unknown man’s furious gaze. It was a look of intent. This man
knew Sari personally.

The few times I had ever thought about what an
angel would look like, I’d never pictured them to look anything like the one
standing in front of us. He had a large, shaved head that only had the faintest
shadow of hair growing from it. His dark, solid eyebrows were placed closely on
top of his piercing blue eyes that stared sharply into mine. As he took one
last step, he tightened the innumerable muscles that covered his broad body.
I’d never met a body builder before, but I was sure this guy could have easily
taken one out with one punch.

“What do you think you’re doing, Sariel?” the man
asked in a gruff, low voice.

Sari rose from the bed, standing in nothing but a
pair of black boxer briefs. He didn’t falter once as he spoke, but I nervously
pushed myself backwards till I hit the wall behind me. After all I’d done, I
shouldn’t have been scared but I was.

“Tamiel, listen,” Sari began, but was cut off
instantly when he was struck across the face by the back of his fellow
watcher’s hand.

I took in a loud sharp breath as I gasped in shock.
Sari caught himself on the bedside table before lifting his head again to stare
into Tamiel’s cold eyes. His gaze was fierce and frightening.

“I will
not
let you ruin our chances of
going home!” the man yelled with a force that seemed to shake everything in the
room.