Beyond (8 page)

“
Why are we meeting here ?”
Victor asked .
The abandon ed bro ken down building reeked with rottin g wood. The dust that had settled on top for many years covered the tables in a thin layer like snow, visible by the light that seeped through the cracks.
Besides the several broken tables and piles of junk, it was empty.

“
This is perfect. Nobody would be crazy enough to follow us in here, ”
a young vis i tor said , her eyes sweeping t he perimeter .
“
You weren ’
t followed , were you?
”

“
No. I made sure, ”
he sn ee red , darting his eyes at his vis i tor , looking annoyed that she would question his ability to perform such a tedious task.

Approaching
closer , she examined him.
His hands were safely folded inside the pockets of his jeans whil e his cream T-shirt was untuck ed . His ash brown hair was comb ed back neatly and his coal black ey es were filled with questions .
“
I ’
ve come in my father ’
s place .
I ’
ve come to let you know, I ’
ll be working with the venators.
It will be easier to keep an eye on Claudia , especially now since she can ’
t remember much. Poor soul .”
S
he shook her head in mock sympathy .
“
Now that you ’
ve seen my face, you ’
ll know who I am.
”

“
Why would you want to mess with the venators? It will only get complicated.
”
Victor shifted his body weight to the right, pulling his hands out from the pockets, looking apprehensive as his muscles tighten ed .

“
You have something against the venators?
”
She peered above him, gaz ing at the chipped painting and the cracked c eili ng , and wondered if it would collapse .

“
Yeah…
besides Katherine , there’s Austin. I ’
ve never meet him, but I ’
ve heard about him, ”
he said, his eye s admiring th e curves of her feminine features and the way her hair natural ly flow ed with her gestures.

“
Don ’
t worry.
You ’r e not dealing with him. I will be. And from what I ’
ve heard, he is quite attractive.
”
Her brows lift ed with anticipation.
“
It ’
s about time they find out who I am. I ’
ve been waiting for my time of glory.
”

“
Why are you after Claudia?
I thought we were going after the angels with Holy Spirit souls that are clueless as to who they are .
”

“
We still are. That is your job , to get your team to find them .
B
ut Claudia is special …t he head master wants her.
”

Victors
’
s mouth opened to speak, but before he could ask his question, she spoke again , assuming what he would ask.
“
Don ’
t ask me who the m aster is …
I have no idea who he i s. We are not to ask questions, ”
she lied. Her eyes glued to the floor , afraid he may see right through her.

He nodded,
acknowledging that there w as information he would never be told, especially since he had just joined the angel fighting team.
“
I was told the Curators recently had a meeting , and they are aware of the recent killings .
”

“
Go od. Maybe some of them will join us.
”

“
I doubt that.
”
Victor look ed over his shoulder to gaze at t he dusty window that was hardly visible from the outside.

“
You doubt so much. R
elax. You look nervous .
Are you sure you weren ’
t followed?
”

“
Yes. I know what I ’
m doing.
”
His tone was short.

She raised her brows.
“
Watch the tone.
”

“
Sorry.
”
His gaze lowered , and he shuffl ed his feet.

“
Let ’
s get this over with.
I ’
ll contact you if I need you.
In the mean time, you need to search for Benjamin . He is half human and half angel . He is your next target. I suggest you handle this one with caution. I was told the blood seekers —they go by ‘
Pierce family ’—are p rotecting him, ”
she said, gradually unfolding her pea r l white wings.

Victor
could do nothing but stare . She saw his envious eyes and lit a proud smile.
“
I don ’
t know what God was thinking when he left wings off of Earth angels .”

Victor
stared at the ground .
“
I ’
m sure he had good reasons, ”
he mumbled .

“
Hm mm …
.
”
she said and prepared to take off.
“
Oh…and by the wa y. Watch out for Michael. You don ’
t want to mess with him. If he ’
s there , I would…
run. Pick another day.
”
With a downward sweep of her wings, she disappeared, uplifting the settl ed dust that now swirl ed around him .

Chapter 4

“
Hurry up, ”
Austin called .

Claudia
roll ed her eyes.
“
Okay…okay. I ’
m just…can ’
t a girl just get ready ?
Apparently you haven ’
t been around them when they do, ”
she hollered.
“
Or maybe you have, ”
she mumble d , wondering how many girls he had taken to the nightclub . Not that she cared —h e was only a friend after all.

Claudia looked at herself in
a mirror that was nailed inside the closet door.
She’d asked Austin to place one there .
It was hard to imagine she wouldn’t have one already. Look ing at her reflection, she saw a g lamorous girl in a black dress that clung on the top and fla re d out a bit toward the bottom, hitting just above her knees . B
ut t he plunging neck line that showed a part of her cleavage made her slight ly uncomfortable.

She couldn
’
t believe she would buy a dress like th at . At least it was just a bit sexy, and not like the dresses she had seen on other girls. She knew she would feel self-conscious, but she only had a few dresses to pick from and this one was less revealing.
Oh well —t oo late to buy another dress .
I f only she had a simple , sparkling necklace to wear.

With her hair in soft curls and
wearing only a light touch of makeup¸ she was set to go. But when she looked into the eyes of the girl standing in front of her, she only saw sadne ss . She looked lost, empty and alone. Wasn ’
t she happy?
Was there more Austin hadn’t shared with her ? She had always felt that the eyes were the window s to a person ’
s soul. One way or another, she had to find the missing pieces of her memories . There had to be more to herself than being a venator. Or was there?

A
soft knock on the door snapped her out of her thought s.
“
We ’
re only going to a dance, not to a prom. I ’
m sure —”
Before Austin could finish, Claudia had slipped on her black heels and opened the door.

Aus
tin cleared his throat.
“
Hey …
you look…
, ”
Austin stammered, his eyes wide and a grin splitting his face.
Embarras s ed, she gave him a warm, shy smile.

Austin wore
dark jeans and a black T-shirt with intricate design s that clung to his firm chest.
“
You don ’
t look bad yourself, ”
Claudia said .
His eyes were glued to her in a way that made her feel uneasy.
“
Are we going to stare at each other all night or what?
”
she said lightly with a slight tease in her tone.

As usual, Austin
add ed to her words.
“
That might not be a bad idea in bed, ”
he grin ned slyly, twitching his brows up and down.

S
hak ing her head , she smile d, amused.
“
Ha ha…in your dreams.
”

“
Ouch…I guess I ’
ll have to dream then.
”

Austin
fl ew them to where his car was parked, off the i sland .
The first thing Claudia noticed was the new black car, different from what she remembered.
“
This isn ’
t your car !”

“
Correction. It is my car. I got a new one. I was tired of the other one so I switched.
”

Claudia
circle d it, then came to a stop when she stood in front of the trunk , lightly brush ing her fingertip s over t he letters ‘
PORSCHE 911 Carrare.
’
“
And convertible too !”
she squealed , grinning as Austin pushed the remote button and the top folded back automatically .
Opening the door like a gentleman, Austin assist ed Claudia into the passenger seat .