Beyond (17 page)

Michael flew back to the
c liff where he and Claudia had spent precious time together. He stood on the edge, looking down to the city lights where the humans reside d . As they hustle d and bustle d from day to day, they were unaware of the angels, demons , vampires and witches living among them. How vulnerable they were.
At one point he’d wished he was one of them , but now he wouldn ’
t change a thing.

The harsh winter was calm and merciful tonight, parting the clouds, allowing countless dazzling stars to shine brightly upon Mother Nature.
The w hite blanket of snow that had settled for a long winter nap was slowing melting away.

The memories of their happy times together rushed through. He needed to hold onto them.
They were all that kept him from falling apart .

He
had urgently left the supernatural school when he sense d Davin ’
s warning.
They were heading out to somewhere beyond the realm of Nubilus City, a place called Paradisus. Knowing Claudia was protected by Austin and Davin wasn ’
t good enough. He promised he would always keep her safe , and no matter what he was doing, he would be there for her.

Claudia was and
w ould always be his first priority , even though Katherine would disagree. Katherine was unaware of Michael ’
s visit s . He justified his action by thinking she never gave him a direct order to stay away.

Michael wondered why they would venture out there. It hadn ’
t been occupied by any angels for as long as he could remember. With a flap of his wings, Michael prepare d to take flight when Davin ’
s warning intensified.

When Michael reached his destination, he placed himself on top of the hill , careful not to be seen.
The massive circular cut of the land was definitely performed by something unfriendly . He could see nothing but a black hole. Without wasting any time, he soared carefully insid e.
Michael felt a r ush of air. It was heavy and stunk like soil, but he could still smell the lavender aroma that lingered from Claudia. He could feel their presence, but was unaware how many the re were.

“
Lucien.
”
With his lit sword raised by his side , he cautiously pr oceeded on the dark walk. He tried to reach Davin ’s mind , but for some reason, he couldn ’
t get through , as if the place had some kind of energy that would not allow him to do so. The venators steps were light, swift and graceful , so that it was not possible to trace their footprints or listen for their steps.

After a while, Michael saw bright lights that projected out of the venators ’
bows , so he made sure his sword was not visible. He spotted Claudia, Davin, Holly, Michelle, Gracie and Austin, but he didn ’
t recognize the others. Suddenly, the venators halted and became befuddled when they came to a dead end.

“
Great! Now what?
”
Michelle threw her hand s up in the air .

“
Chill out an d relax, Barbie, ”
Holly snapped .

Michelle scoffed and looked at Gracie for support and sympathy.

Mic
hael attached himself to the ceiling of the underground . He was desperate to get Davin ’
s attention. With precision, he dropped a pebble right on top of his head.

“
What the heck?
”
Davin murmured, then looked up and spotted Michael. Beaming a smile, he quickly looked down.
A myriad of expressions crossed his face, then he suddenly looked up, grinned, and started singing, “
Why aren ’
t you speaking in my mind? I ’
m sexy and I know it.
”

Everyone stared at Davin and
tried hard not to laugh out loud.
Claudia couldn ’
t hold it in and let out soft giggles. Austin looked at him strangely and shivered in disgust.
“
I don ’
t think so.
”

“
I think so, ”
Gracie wink ed , giving Davin a luring smile.

Davin
wink ed back flirtatious ly .

“
What was that for?
”
Holly sneered.

Davin had a
n excuse ready . He shrugged his shoulders.
“
I ’
m bored. There ar e no demons here. Let ’
s go. Or…
are there?
”
The last question was for Michael.

“
Shhhh…
.
”
Elissa said.
“
Don ’
t you feel presences ?”
she whispered.

“
Me, the sexy one, ”
Davin chuckle d .

Elis
s a smile d and shyly turn ed away , obviously caught up in Davin’s charm Michael
roll ed his eyes , thinking , Here he goes again , and h e ld in his laughter.

“
Alright, that ’
s enoug h. Look around, ”
Austin direct ed , shaking his head disapproving ly at Davin ’
s interruption.

“
But…but t here ’
s nowhere to look, ”
Delilah retort ed .

“
Just ch eck .
”

The venators
started to move away from the circle formation . It was a perfect opportunity for Davin. He looked up and pointed to his head. Michael understood and shrugged his shoulders to let him know he didn ’
t know why he couldn ’
t speak to him telepathically . Then Davin pointed to Claudia to let Michael know where she was.

Claudia
turn ed on cue.
“
Why are you pointing at me ?”
she asked worriedly , look ing where he was pointing, at her stomach , and wonder ing if something was there.

“
Ummm…I was pointing to the wall and you got in the way ,” Davin said nervously.
“
Oh…sorry, ”
she said apologetically .

When
Claudia turned and peered up to the ceiling, she saw a dark shadow plastered to the wall .
Austin had informed her about them , and told her to stay away if and when she spotted one. They looked exactly like the shadows from her nightmares , and that alone paralyzed her .

She needed to warn the others, but how
could she do it without alarming the shadows too ?
Claudia was too frighten ed to look up to get a clear view to see how many there were.
She imagined c ountless numbers of them hovering above with their creepy eyes watching, waiting for the right time to attack. There was no other way. She would have to just shout out loud.

“
They ’
re up there !”
Claudia finally bellow ed , pointing over her head.

They
? Michael thought . He thought she saw him and froze.
He was alone…right? What Michael had failed to notice were the dark shadows looming nearby, blending in with the venator s ’
shadow s that reflected from the bow s ’
light .

The venators held their weapon
s in defense. The dark shadows dropped right in to the center, camouflaging with the darkness . The shadows had no weapon s , but their yellow, glowing, intimidating eyes were spine-chilling enough to want to move away from them.
The silver flames sho o t ing out from the v enators ’ bows were ineffective . M
ystified, they continue d with multipl e blows, but nothing happened.
Their flashes hit the shadows dead on, but they only bounced and scattered, leaving behind a mini silver firework.