Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (127 page)

Concentrating on each move, Gabby traversed the tree, branch by branch. The smell of blood and decay made her gag several times, but she forced herself to focus on the task.

When they finally reached the bottom, she gently leaned Sammy against the trunk, discovering where the rotting smell came from. Sammy’s pink-hued, ultra-soft feathers. She touched the edge of the blackening wound and ash crumbled on her fingertips.

Boon raced into the clearing, transforming back into his meek, bony human form, clutching ripped clothes against his middle.

“Boon?” Sammy cried out. “Thank God!”

He ran over, taking her into his arms. They held each other for a moment, and then he released her and assessed the damage. His face contorted with grief, his eyes confirming Gabby’s worst fear. Sammy would never recover. Not if her wing continued to disintegrate.

Boon took Sammy’s face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “Everything is going to be okay. Grace will know what to do.” He rested his forehead against hers. “No matter what happens, remember how much I love you.” He planted a firm kiss on her trembling lips. When he leaned back, Gabby saw Sammy’s eyes roll back into her head.

“I’ll meet you at her house.” Boon swept Sammy up into his arms. “If I’m going to get her there in time, I’ve got to go now.” He turned and bolted across the clearing, transforming mid-stride. He vanished within seconds, though his enormous frame knocked over several pine trees, leaving a path for her to follow.

Gabby, still in shock over what had happened, dropped to the ground, staring in disbelief at the debris around her. The wake of air Boon created with his hasty departure had stirred up leaves and rustled the pictures that had fallen from her bag.

One picture floated down next to her leg. Lifting it, she saw a perfect visual replica of what just happened. It wasn’t Alexander she had painted, but Sammy. She wanted to shred the picture into a thousand pieces in her frustration. What was the point of sketching her dreams if it didn’t help?

How could she use these to protect the ones she loved? She stared at the picture, trying to find a detail she’d missed, something that would’ve clued her in that the angel was Sammy, not Alexander. But what if she missed other details, and someone else gets hurt because of her?

She gathered all the pictures up, deciding she just needed to spend more time analyzing them. She was given this ability for a reason, and that had to be so she could keep her loved ones safe.

For now, she had to get to Sammy, if for no other reason than moral support. After all Gabby had gone through in the last few weeks, she knew what kind of battle Sammy was in for.

“Alex, where are you?” she whispered into the wind. She reached for the sword she’d dropped to the ground, but it was gone.

****

Alexander swooped down into the clearing and crouched next to Gabby.

Startled, she flinched and scooted away from him against a tree.

His eyes watered at the rancid stench of demonic poison, a smell he knew all too well. Images of Gabby being sliced by Forras’ claws haunted him. Something horrific had just happened here. He’d sensed someone was injured, fatally injured, and had flown here as fast as he could.

How could he have trusted Boon to protect Gabby? He should’ve known to never accept that demon’s help.

He knelt down on the ground in front of her and grasped her arms, analyzing them for any marks.

“I’m fine…it…it wasn’t me.” Gabby’s voice broke, her eyes vacant and distant. Then she reached up, her hand caressing his face. The touch sent a charge of electricity through his body. He quaked with pleasure until she pulled away, her face contorting. How he longed to make the memories of his mistakes vanish from her life. Hold her in his arms and kiss the tears away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who…” Gabby looked at the ground. He could sense guilt eating at her.

Did she still hate him so much she couldn’t even look at him?

“I-it’s my fault,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “All of it.” She collapsed into his arms.

“What’s your fault? You’re not making sense.” Alexander instinctively kissed her forehead and stroked her hair and she leaned further into him. He held his breath, hoping she’d stay in his arms just a little longer.

“I-I’m s-so sorry. I know it wasn’t you. You didn’t cause my mother’s…accident,” she finished, breaking into sobs.

“What? I don’t…” Alexander’s mind reeled as a faint glimmer of hope welled up inside.

Gabby pulled back and looked into his eyes. Tears poured down her face, dampening the golden strands cascading around her cheeks. “I love you.”

She spoke the words so quietly, he wasn’t sure he heard her right. Had she really just told him she loved him? He brushed the hair from her face, her full luscious lips mere inches away. She wasn’t pulling from his embrace. “What did you say?”

“I love you, with all my heart. I’m so…”

He slipped his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her face to his. Their lips joined, his tongue caressing hers as the sweet cherry taste vanquished all the evil around him.

The world slowed and spun around them. His heart thumped in rhythm to his lips sweeping against hers. A sweet floral scent made his pulse quicken. He pulled her to her knees, their hearts beating in unison as their chests pressed together.

Time stood still and he prayed it would never start again. Her touch made the hairs on his arms dance in response. He longed to be one with her, to experience their human frames joining.

She pulled away, gasping. “Wait. I have to tell you—”

“It can wait.” He took her arm and pulled her close again, craving the heat, not wanting it to fade.

“Sammy…she’s hurt,” she managed breathlessly.

His blood ran cold. “What? Is she—”

“No, at least I don’t think she’s dead. I-it’s her wing.”

His heart raced, even quicker than it had at Gabby’s touch.

Gabby took his hand in hers. “I didn’t know what to do. She was pinned to the tree, so I pulled the sword out. But her wing was disintegrating around the wound and…”

The knot in his stomach tightened, cutting off any remote sensation of calm. Was it a fatal wound to her wing? Was she cursed never to fly again? “How? Who?” Alexander’s eyes burned, his heart weighing him down and crushing his insides like a boulder would a leaf.

Gabby’s eyes widened at the sight of him. “You okay?”

Calm. Stay calm.
He repeated the words in his head until he could force the muscles in his face to relax, until the burning in his eyes ceased. A long deep breath helped still his emotions. “I’m fine. Continue.”

Gabby pointed to a tree. “I dropped the sword to the ground so I could get Sammy down, but when I went to retrieve it, the sword was gone.”

“Maybe Boon took it,” Alexander said, hopefully. Wait…he hoped a demon took it?

“No. He didn’t. I watched him carry Sammy toward your house.” She pointed to a path of twisted and fallen trees.

“It’s not your fault.” He wished he could have been here to help. If he hadn’t been so distracted about Eliana, he would have sensed what was going on. He brushed his lips across her cheek then gently kissed her eyelid. “We’ll worry about the sword later. Right now, we need to get out of here and help Sammy.”

“Boon took her to Grace.”

Alexander nodded then kissed her hand. “We have to go.” He pulled her close and took to the air, racing to his sister’s side.

****

Gabby clung to him as the wind whipped through her hair. She wanted to hold him close and never let go. Strangely, the height wasn’t even a concern as he flew with her in his arms.

He’d been so gentle and kind, yet strong. Had he really forgiven her that easily? She’d been scared to beg his forgiveness for blaming him for her mother’s death. Yet, he’d dismissed it as if it were old news.

After everything that had happened, should she have told him she loved him? She couldn’t help it, though. The words spilled from her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. She did love him, in a way she never thought possible. An ache pulsed deep in her soul at the thought he didn’t feel the same. He didn’t tell her he loved her back, but certainly his response spoke volumes.

When he’d pulled her close, their hearts beat as one and she’d nearly gone mad with the passion of his kiss. It took everything to pull away, to let him know about Sammy, but she’d never forgive herself if she kept him from his sister’s side when she needed him the most.

At least they didn’t have to live in secret any more. Her father swore Alexander would be welcome in their home, even encouraged her to spend time with him.

While she was relieved, it was one thing to accept a boy into his house, but a fallen angel? That posed its own set of worries.

Her father? She looked out at the darkening horizon. He’d be back by now. She’d have to get home soon, but she couldn’t leave Sammy.

They landed, sand flying up around them from the beach. He released her and ran for the front steps, but Grace intercepted him.

“There might be a chance to save Sammy’s wing but there’s not much time.” Grace sounded breathless, her hair tussled about.

“Can I see her?” Alexander stepped around her.

“I need you to hurry. You’re the only one who can get what I need in time. So please, make the visit short.”

Boon came out the front door, his expression grim, eyes vacant. “I’m sorry…I-I tried—” He choked, unable to get the words out.

Grace turned to him. “We know you did everything you could. Right now, we need to focus on what we talked about. Take Alexander and explain on the way. There’s no time to waste.”

“How much time do we have?” Alexander asked.

“A day, maybe two. I’ve been able to stop the spread of decay, but I can’t heal the damage already caused, at least not without some help.”

“I’ll do anything.” Alexander turned to Boon. “Please, just help Sammy. Let me see her then we’ll go.”

Gabby stepped up onto the porch. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, child. You can’t go inside. Her powers are too unstable.”

“I have to go, Gabby.” Alexander kissed her cheek.

She closed her eyes and lifted her chin for one more kiss before he disappeared inside the house, but all that greeted her face was the cool breeze off the water. She opened her eyes. The front porch was empty and the door stood ajar. Her heart ached to touch him again.

For the first time, she envied Alexander’s powers. If she could fly or heal, she’d be of some use to them.

****

“Just tell me where to go,” Alexander said.

“No, I have to take you to him.” Boon followed him up the stairs to Sammy’s room.

“Him?” Alexander lunged up the last several steps, anxious to be by his sister’s side.

“Yes. His name is Herak. He lives in a remote region of the Pindus mountain range in northern Greece. I’ll take you to an isolated area of the mountain where he lives. After that, don’t worry. He’ll find you.”

“You need to tell me how to get there. I can’t carry you all that way. We’ll waste too much time.”

Boon shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep up.”

What was this demon playing?

Alexander gave him a dubious look as they entered Sammy’s room. She lay unconscious, with one wing bandaged. Alexander knelt next to the bed and stroked her silky hair. She looked so frail and unnatural in the half-human, half-angel form.

“Hold on, Sammy. I’ll be back as soon as I can with a cure.” Alexander closed his eyes, willing her to heal. If only his powers were fully restored, he’d be able to save her. Someday, he’d possess his full strength again and be able to protect everyone he loved. He’d never have to watch any of them suffer again.

He squeezed her hand, his eyes burning from the sour stench of decay. He was thankful a bandage covered the wound; he didn’t want to see it. She was his constant in this earthbound life, and from his previous life as well. He fisted the sheet by her side. “It should have been me,” he choked out before rising. “I won’t fail you.”

“There’s no time to waste.” Boon grabbed a black bag Grace handed him, and pulled Alexander from the room. They rushed down the stairs and out the front door, heading for the beach.

“Now what? You going to swim all the way to Greece?”

“Don’t worry about me. Just try to keep up,” Boon retorted.

“Keep up?” Alexander scoffed at Boon’s arrogance.
Typical, cocky demon.
He’d probably hitch a ride on Alexander’s wing the moment he lifted from the ground.

Boon’s small frame twisted and turned, bones cracking, skin stretching. His face elongated and changed into a large nostril-flaring beast. No horns protruded from his head, but veins and muscles bulged under dark leathery skin. His clothes shredded and fell to the ground. By the time his transformation was complete, he stood over seven feet tall.

“W-what are you?” Alexander stammered.

Tremendous bat-like wings unfurled and spread to over seven feet in length. “Try to keep up,” Boon taunted as he shot into the sky.