Beyond (44 page)

Katherine dug into her mind. She recalled Jeremiah, Callum and herself brin g ing Samuel to his cell. Callum volunteered to stay behind to make sure the lock was secure. There were four of them, not five.
Katherine backed away in shock beyond anything she ’d ever imagined. She heard his words, but she couldn ’
t reply. What could she say?

“
That ’
s right, ”
Samuel spoke proudly.
“
Aliah was never gone. Who is the fool now?
”
he challenged.

“
You ’
re lying!
”
she yelled in anger.
“
I saw him burst into ashes with my own eyes.
”

“
Oh, indeed he did , but not his soul. One thing about God ’
s first angels, their powers go beyond our understanding. Tell me…have you seen Callum lately?
”

Katherine looked straight into his eyes without saying a word.

“
I guess that means no. But when you do, you ’
ll see him withering away, like me ; h is eyes full of darkness, skin so pale as if it had never seen the sunlight , and lips so red as if they’d tasted blood.
”

Katherine stood there not wanting to believe, but recalling Austin ’
s words, and seeing how Samuel was changing the way an angel would when evil was in them, she believed him now.
Knowing Aliah was out of the b etween and into the living terrified her. Possessing Callum ’
s body and soul, he could go just about anyw here. Not only that, but as Callum los t control of his own body, Aliah w ould be able to take over and become just as powerful as he once was .

“
I know that look in your eye …
you believe me, ”
Samuel said triumphantly.

Katherine disregarded him. In fact, she walk
ed away. She had to warn others about Callum.

“
Aren ’
t you going to at least say good bye , or give me a good bye kiss?
”
Samuel teased happily, knowing how terrified she looked.

Brewing with anger and hatred toward him, Katherine extend ed her right arm and waved her index finger. Willing her power, Samuel was forced to slam against the blazing bars. He squealed in pain from the burning heat as if he was set on fire. She only held him for a split second, but it was enough to have an impact. His face and the parts of his body that collided against the bars sizzled from the tremendous hot temperature. H
e recoiled to the ground with a loud thump.

“
There ’
s your goodbye kiss, you pathetic, no good, unholy load of crap, ”
she murmured under her huffing breath, seeing Samuel fall from the corner of her eyes. Then she headed toward Crossroads.

Austin stood there alone, wondering how the other venator teams were holding up. As his thoughts wandered, Delilah charge d in.

“
W
hy are you here?” Austin asked, surprised to see her.

“
It ’
s Claudia. She went to Paradisus by herself looking for Callum.
”

“
What!
”
he bellowed .
“
But…s he ’
s with Michael.
”

“
I don ’
t know what happened. I think they got into a fight or something. Hurry !”

With a fl
ap of his wings, he prepared for takeoff.
“
Where are the others?
”

“
They ’
re on their way.
”

With that, he was gone.

Chapter
2
9

The
C
urators sat patiently, waiting for Callum to begin their quarterly meeting. They gasped in shock when he appeared wearing a long black robe . T
he hood of the cape h ung over his head. It was difficult to see any of his facial features, but his height and body structure clearly defined it was Callum.

It was forbidden to wear anything but white. How dare he appear in black with no regard for their laws ?
What was even more shocking, he was holding a girl against her will , a nd she stood by his side looking terrified.
All the C
urator s’
eyes set heavily on the two of them standing on the podium .
After t he initial shock, questions were asked out loud .

“
What is the meaning of this, Callum? And how dare you bring her here ?”

“
Why are yo u dressed in black?
”
on e shouted “
Where were you?
”
another bellowed.

Callum
wave d his hand to silence the room.
“
My brothers and sister, we stand here united as Earth angels. Earth angels have tried to take over Crossroads before and failed. Our poor brothers and sisters have become nothing but dark shadows, locked away into the unknown place to suffer for eternity. I stand before you now to let you know our time has come. Our time of ruling is now.
”

“
You are mad! I do not approve of your actions.
”

“
I understand you are frighte ne d, but do not fear for Aliah will help us.
”

Lo
u d voices filled the room and Callum showed a malevolent grin. He was enjoying the uproar way more than he had anticipated. He raised his hand once more.
“
That ’
s right. Aliah lives through me. He and I are as one. He will help us overthrow the Twelve.
”

“
How do we know you are Callum?
”

“
Show yourself. Who really hides behind the cape?
”

“
Very well.
”
He dropped his cape and unveiled.

Everyone
’
s mouth dropped open and eyes were wide with shock. It was clear they heard Callum ’
s voice, but his face was not Callum’s . He looked like someone who was raised from the dead , right out of the casket .
His skin was wrinkly and his eyes were dark and deeply set .
S
cared out of their mind s, everyone stood up and scrambled to leave.

“
It ’s rude to leave. You haven ’
t he ard my proposal. S
it down!
”
His tone was cold and wicked . T
hey could feel his words brushing against their faces. Feeling they had no other choice, the C
urators sat.
“
Ahh…much better. Now where was I…oh…yes.
Here is my proposal. It ’
s very simple —j oin me or die.
”

One
C
urator stood.
“
This is madness. It ’
s him against all of us. Take him down!
”

Callum
’
s eye s narrowed to him.
“
Now you ’ve pissed me off.
”
He motioned his finger and said, “
Darkness , rise , my children , for I am here.
”
Out of the air appeared countless demons , out numbering the C
urators . Avalon , still in his hold , whimper ed at the sight of them . Some of the C
urators began to run, while other s stood there unbelieving, frozen to their position. Many escaped, but at the same time many were massacred , for they would not join his cause.

“
Kneel before me , ”
he demanded , gripping one of the Curator’s robe.

When he
refused , Callum forced him by pu shing his should ers down.
“
Bow before me and say ‘
I will serve you my lord .’
N
o …say , ‘
I will serve you God, the father, the son and the Holy Spirit ,’
and kiss the shoe , and I shall spare your life.
”

With his head low,
the C
urator reached over to Callum ’
s left foot, silently pull ing out a small dagger that set on his waist.
“
I…I kneel before thee to pray to God, not to you !
Now I send you back to hell!
”
he shouted and stabbed Callum ’
s foot.

Instead of wincing in pain, Callum
laughed out loud , and the whole room vibrated with the evil sound.
“
You fool. You just marked your death.
”
Callum let loose of his grip on Avalon, pulled the C
urator up and yanked his heart out. Blood stream ed down , drenching the white robe to crimson red.

Avalon was too scared to move. She wanted to run away, but her legs wouldn ’
t listen. Covering her face with both of her hands, she prayed for all the C
urators whose lives were painfully taken.

Callum turned to Avalon.
“
Well…that went well. It ’
s a good thing you didn ’
t run. At least you learned your lesson .”
With that, Callum took her to his next destination.