Angelfire (22 page)

WE FINISHED THE NIGHT OFF IN KATE'S BASEMENT by watching the original
Halloween
movie, but we just made fun of it the entire time, so it never got too gory for me. It was funny how many real horrors I faced every night, yet I still couldn't handle a stupid scary movie. Landon was sprawled across the sofa chair, and I sat on the couch with Kate and Chris while Will sat silently at my feet. The warmth of his body against my legs was comforting and I felt perfectly safe. I couldn't tell if he was enjoying the movie, but he sat still as a statue against me, his eyes on the TV.

I started to nod off, so I checked my cell. It was nearly three, and I knew I was going to crash any minute. I was pleased to see that everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way. Chris was already passed out with his head propped on the back of the sofa and his mouth gaping
open as he snored. He still hadn't taken off his ridiculous mustache. Kate and Landon seemed to be in their own little world of giggles and clinking glasses. As soon as the movie finished, Kate wished us good night and left the den. Landon chose one of the two bedrooms, and Chris didn't seem like he'd be leaving the couch for a while. I left Will by the TV to go change in the unclaimed bedroom. With my overnight bag plopped on the bed, I unzipped it and pulled out my pajamas. I let my hair down and shook out the big curls.

I walked to the bathroom near the little kitchen to brush my teeth. As soon as I opened the door, I froze in my tracks. Kate and Landon leaped apart from each other and Kate yanked a towel off the rack to cover her bra. Landon bumped into the sink and knocked over a few things. Both their faces were twisted in shock. I looked from Kate to Landon to Kate's shirt lying on the floor.

“Oh, man,” I said in a small voice. I promptly spun on my heels and headed back toward my room, letting the bathroom door shut behind me. I didn't need to brush my teeth
that
badly.

Looked like Landon was over me.

“Ellie, wait!” Kate called out in a hushed voice.

I stopped and turned back to her as she tugged her shirt over her head and raced down the hall toward me. Her expression was mortified. “Oh God, Ellie, I am so sorry. It just happened! Do you hate me? I swear we didn't
do anything. We just made out.”

“That's fine,” I said honestly. “It's cool. I don't care. I'm not into Landon, remember?”

She slumped. “I know, but I didn't want it to get weird. I'm kind of drunk and I'm in a really good mood and he was just there and he's cuter than Chris. I don't know what I'm thinking.”

Landon left the bathroom, said nothing, and disappeared into the bedroom he'd chosen, shutting the door behind him.

“Kate, it's cool,” I assured her. “He's all yours.”

“You sure?” She looked worried but happy, if that was even possible. Maybe she was faking the worried face.

“Definitely,” I said with a firm nod. “Night.” I turned briskly, without learning if she went into that room with Landon or back to her own bedroom. I didn't
want
to know.

I closed the door and sat on the bed. Well, that was a shocker. Maybe if Landon got preoccupied with Kate, he'd get over me for good. Then again, if they started going out, I could never hang out with them. I'd be like a third wheel. I certainly didn't want to watch them make out all the time. Oh God,
please
just let this be a fling.

A soft knock came at the door. “Come in,” I said.

Will entered. “I'm going to go out and keep watch.”

“Okay,” I said. “Do you really think someone might attack the house?”

“It's always a possibility,” he replied. “Good night.” He smiled and turned to leave.

“Wait—Will?”

He turned back. “Yeah.”

“Stay with me?” I asked. “Please? Just until I fall asleep.”

“As you wish,” he said. He stood motionlessly.

I climbed into the bed. The quilts were cool at first, but they warmed up quickly. Will walked over and sat down on the floor with his back against the bed. I inched closer to him so that I could lay my head down by his face. He still smelled wonderful despite having been at the party all night. I assumed I hadn't fared as well.

He let out a long, low breath and rested his head against the edge of the bed.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “For staying.”

“I will do anything you ask of me,” he said.

I giggled. “Better not say that. I might ask you to do some pretty wild stuff.”

“It's not like you haven't in the past.”

I was intrigued enough to almost forget the thought of Landon and Kate hooking up on the other side of the wall.
Almost
. I had to think of something else before I lost my mind. “Distract me.”

“What?”

“I'm desperate. Distract me.”

“How?”

“What's the craziest thing I've ever asked you to do?”

He thought a moment. “This may not be the craziest, but once we chased a reaper and he jumped off a bridge. You
asked me to go in after him while you ran downriver.”

I laughed. “No way. I asked you to jump off a bridge?”

“We were pretty desperate for that one,” he said.

“Will you tell me the story?”

“Because you asked, I will. It was in the eighteen eighties, Texas. A reaper had been terrorizing a small town. He had a taste for children.”

My stomach churned. “That's awful.”

He nodded. “The locals thought it was just coyotes dragging the kids off in the night, or the nearby Kiowa tribe stealing them for slaves or some other nonsense, but we knew better when we picked up the lead. The first night we arrived in town, you decided to use yourself as bait. I tried to talk you out of it, but you were determined to catch him before he hurt any more children. You dressed in a little girl's dress and waited at the edge of the town, pretending to play with a doll. It was one of the darkest nights I can remember. It was the dark of the moon and the town didn't have electricity yet, so we only had a handful of stars to see our way with.”

As he spoke, I found myself picturing the scene in my mind, as if I were right there. Was I remembering? I fought harder to remember as he told me the story, and flashes of images streaked across my mind. I
knew
they had to be real.

“The reaper didn't take long to show himself and attack you. He got really close, and I remember being horribly
scared for you, but you acted like he wasn't even there. I'd never seen you act so cool before. By the time he realized you were the Preliator, I was running from my hiding spot, swinging my sword. I didn't land a solid blow before he took off into the darkness. We gave chase, following him through the forest at the end of a field. He was a lupine reaper, so he was fast and more agile than we were. When he got to the river beyond the trees, he ran out onto the bridge and jumped. He let the river take him. I guess he thought he could lose us in the water. You yelled for me to jump in too, and you ran alongside the river in case he climbed out. I swam as fast as I could, and when I finally caught up to him, he fought back hard. He tore me open, but he was fighting so hard, he stopped paying attention to you, and that's when you jumped into the river. We got him that night.”

“Wow” was all I could say.

“It was quite a night,” he said. “You were amazing.”

“Sounds like
you
were amazing.”

He shook his head. “You've always astounded me. Your strength has kept me with you and it's why I follow you.”

I smiled. “I wish I remembered.”

“You will,” he insisted. “I keep telling you that, because it's true. There are many things I wish you would never remember, but they all make you who you are. I've never known anyone else who's seen such unspeakable tragedy in their lives, and still you're more human than the entire rest of the world.”

“You sound so sad,” I said.

“I am.” He didn't elaborate.

My fingers wove through his hair, and he leaned back into my hand, turning his face so that his eyes met mine. “Don't be. I'm sorry.”

“There's nothing for you to apologize for,” he said. “No matter how many times I tell you how sorry I am, it'll never make up for all the times I've failed you and let you die.”

“Will…”

He looked fiercely into my eyes. “I meant it when I told you I've never broken a promise to you. You will survive Bastian, I swear it.”

“I believe you.”

He sat motionless and silent for some time. I laid my head back down and watched him. He seemed deeply lost in his thoughts, and it broke my heart to see him so tormented.

“I have a question about the Grigori,” I said, struggling to think of something to take his mind off whatever was bothering him. “Didn't some of them have children with humans?”

He nodded. “The Grigori weren't truly wicked like the Fallen were when they rebelled against Heaven, but somehow being bound to Earth as punishment caused them to develop mortal desires and emotions. Instead of silently watching over the human world as they were supposed to,
they slept with mortal women and fathered powerful half-human, half-angel creatures called the Nephilim.”

“Could that be what I am?” I asked. “I'm mortal, but I use the power of angelfire.”

“No,” he said gently. “The Nephilim were monsters. They were born out of fallen spirit, and nothing good came from them. They were enormous and violent, more monster than the most frightening of reapers. God flooded the Earth to destroy them, and then He made the Grigori infertile so that no more abominations would be created. A handful of the Nephilim may have survived, but I've never seen one. It's not possible that you are one of them. You'd be ten feet tall and looking for a fight left and right.”

“They sound nasty.”

“They were,” he said. “Nasty enough for God to flood the world to kill them all off. He's only ever done that once, and you know of all the horrible things out there now. He was pretty desperate.”

I couldn't imagine monsters more terrible than the reapers I'd seen. It made me wonder what the Fallen were like and about the truth behind Lucifer, Sammael, and Lilith. “Why did Lucifer rebel? Why would he risk something like a war against Heaven?”

“I don't really think I'm qualified to answer that.”

“But what do you think?” I asked. “I'm sure you have a theory.”

He closed his eyes as I smoothed my hand over his hair again. “Love, I think.”

“Love?” I gave a small laugh. “I thought Lucifer was evil. He can't love anything.”

“He did,” Will said, looking at me again. “He loved God very much, but an angel isn't supposed to feel love. God does, however, and he loves humans more than anything. An angel isn't supposed to feel jealousy, either, but Lucifer did. He was jealous of humans because God loves them more. And he rebelled. And lost.”

“This sounds weird, but I kind of feel bad for him.”

“Love is a beautiful but terrible thing,” he said. “You have to be careful with it. It can destroy you. That is why the angels aren't supposed to feel emotion. They must be infallible and without doubt.”

“Sounds like a rough gig. It must suck to have to be perfect.”

He smiled. “Good thing we don't have to be.”

I pulled the covers up to my chin and was quiet for a little while. His face was so close to mine that I could taste his breath. I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“Of course.”

“And for staying with me. Thank you again.”

“Anything for you, Ellie.”

I smiled, but his selfless words broke my heart. He meant
that fully, and I trusted his oath. “I always feel better when you're close to me.”

He studied my face for a few moments as his expression became more tranquil. “You should try to sleep.”

I nodded. “Yeah. You'll be here when I wake?”

“I won't leave the room.”

My eyes closed. “Thank you.”

 

The vir erupted into flames as her head spun off her shoulders. Ashes settled around me, clinging to my hair and the thick folds of the skirts around my legs. I relinquished my swords, and when the angelfire died, the city street turned dark again. Will called my name as he finished off the other reaper, its body turning to stone and crumbling to the ground. The pain in my abdomen was mind numbing and my throat kept filling with blood. I choked on it and pulled my hand away from my belly to see how much damage the reaper had done when she'd stabbed me. The fabric was shredded and there was too much blood for me to even see my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut as another torrent of pain shot through me. I staggered dizzily on my feet as Will called my name again.

He touched my shoulder and I ground my teeth in pain. Every inch of my body hurt, and cold rushed through me, spreading from the wound in my belly.

“You were great,” he said with a gentle smile as he
caught his breath. A gash on his neck was slowly closing. I reached up to touch it, to touch
him,
because I knew it would be my last chance. His smile faded as if he'd read my mind. “What's wrong?”

I bit my lip to keep from grimacing as something popped inside me, trying uselessly to heal. “I'm all right.”

Will's eyes flashed brightly as he cupped my face with both hands, smoothing my hair back, examining me for damage. He knew. He hadn't found the wound yet, but he knew it was there. “You're hurt. Where? Please let me help you. Where is it?”

As his heart broke in front of me, tears slid down my cheeks and I pulled away, refusing to let him see. I didn't want it to be real for him. Not again. The sudden movement caused me to cry out and double over. Will screamed my name and fell over me, throwing his sword away and grasping me close to him as my knees hit the ground. Red drenched my dress and pooled around me, soaking the ground with darkness like a pit leading to Hell.