Dark Awakening (2 page)

Running toward the covered bridged that saddled the park canal, Nadira stopped short, concealed by the drooping branches of a towering hemlock. Through her sagging bangs which were dripping rainwater, she could make out the images of two huge shapes crouching on the railings of the bridge. They faced one another, their knees bent, their pale hands pressed together. Both were dressed in all black, their long jackets hanging down over the balustrade, giving them the look of two black ravens perched on the bridge.

What the hell was this?

Squinting, Nadira tried to see the image more clearly through the darkness and driving rain. The two giants sat crouched on the railing, not moving, not even talking from what she could hear and see of their mouths. And God, they were huge—and scary.

As she watched them, her heart started racing. The bridge these two had commanded was the only way to the park entrance and the lot where her car was parked. Despite this, she realised there was no frigging way she was sauntering across the bridge while these two weirdoes were facing off with one another. She was trapped.

The one shifted his weight, and the flickering shadow of—Nadira narrowed her eyes. Slowly she blinked, thinking to clear what she had seen. But when she opened her eyes, the image was still there, a waver of shadow along the roof of the bridge, a silhouette that resembled wings—huge wings—like those of an—
no!
These were not angels she was seeing. It was impossible.
No way!

In her fear, she stepped back, her running shoes landing on a pile of twigs. The stick splintered beneath her weight, and she stopped breathing as she looked up to see if the two of them had heard her. The bigger guy snapped his head in her direction, searching through the darkness. Shrinking back beneath the waving limbs of the tree, she hid until he once again focused his attention on his companion.

What the hell was she going to do? The only way to her car was over the bridge. A bridge currently occupied by two towering behemoths who apparently were in possession of wings.

God, she was losing her mind. She was becoming hysterical. How the hell could she possibly believe that she was seeing two angels? No, she was clearly losing it.

Another twig cracked. This time it was behind her. Whirling around, her eyes wide, Nadira fished for her mobile phone in her pocket as she struggled to see in the dark. A hand shot out, and she tried to scream but was silenced as he fitted his palm over her mouth. He brought her back up hard against his chest and she struggled, kicking and gasping, praying that if the two giants really were angels, they would come to her aid.

"Hello, Nadira,” the voice whispered in her ear. She went lax in the man's hold, his voice bringing back a rush of memories like a tidal wave. “Oh, good,” he murmured, “you haven't forgotten me."

He was perched on the railing of the wooden bridge. Resting on the balls of his feet, knees bent, hands pressed together, he waited for the Watcher to speak. When their gazes met, he jumped down from the railing, his black coat flapping out behind him.

"Hello, Brother."

"Gadriel,” the Watcher murmured, watching him suspiciously. “It has been a long time."

"Where is the woman?” he demanded.

"You were in her apartment, weren't you? I could smell you. I could smell the hate."

"Where have you taken the woman, Sammael?"

"Recant your sins, Gadriel, and you will no longer be banished. No longer forced to roam the earth alone and in the dark."

"And what? Bow before a human?” he asked incredulously. “Accept the fact a human will take my place at His side? Heaven is not Heaven anymore, since the humans have come to live."

"You never could just do as you were told, Gadriel."

He laughed, stalking closer to his brother—
his enemy
—he reminded himself. “I have always been faithful. I have always obeyed the word, until He wanted us to accept these ... humans,” he spat viciously. “When He asked me to worship Adam, I stopped listening to His commands."

"Why should a son of fire fall down before a son of clay? That was what you said,” Sammael reminded him. “And that is why He cast you out."

"That is, as these humans love to say, history. Let us not rehash old times. I'm certain you wished to talk about something much more important than my fall from grace when you followed me here this evening."

Sammael jumped down from the ledge and landed in a crouch. Slowly he rose, his eyelids lifting, revealing dark brown eyes. “There is a war in Heaven, Gadriel. A war between brothers. You have the power to turn the tides. You command the others. They listen to you. Tell them to repent."

"And fall on their knees before a creature of dirt? Never, Sammael. This war in Heaven won't stop until the humans are banished from our Heaven, until He no longer thinks them superior to us. It is not me who has started this war. It is not me who commands the legion of the unfaithful."

"We stood side by side during the first war, when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven. We fought side by side. Have you forgotten that? Have you forgotten that you were once one of His most trusted and faithful angels, that you commanded the faithful in his army?
Side by side, Gadriel
. We were brothers."

"And we fell together. You for the pleasures of human female flesh, and me for my hatred of that flesh."

"Come back to us. We need your powers—your gifts."

"To protect the humans? To watch over them?” he laughed then pinned his gaze on Sammael. “Is that why Sariel has come? To beg me to repent?"

"Sariel? I had no idea he was in town."

Gadriel smirked as he circled Sammael. “Are you both not here on some divine mission? Is the woman not part of your plan?"

"I have no idea what Sariel's assignment is, but I'm certain you know what brings me to Earth."

"Still the Angel of Death, are you?"

"The Angel of
Benevolent
Death and Transformation,” he corrected.

"Then what is Sariel doing tracking down the woman you're supposed to be gently guiding into the light?"

Sammael's dark eyes widened as if he were surprised by this news. “I have not seen Sariel. And I may assure you, the woman is
mine
."

"Yours, or your mission, Sammael?"

Sammael's lips pressed together in a sneer. He wouldn't budge. Wouldn't come clean with any details.

"No matter. I'll discover everything for myself soon enough. Now, Sammael, you will tell me where the woman is."

"You'll not get your hands on her. She has nothing to do with this war. There is no plan for her other than her death."

"There is a reason you are here. There is a reason Sariel is here. He has not sent a Watcher and an Archangel to guard her for no reason. I want the female. And I want her now."

Sammael moved swiftly, rushing at him and pinning him against the railing that threatened to give way beneath his weight. “She is not part of this war, Gadriel. She is not part of any plan. She is
mine
."

"You're fucking her,” Gadriel sneered, shoving Sammael away from him. “You're touching that human and liking it."

"Have you ever smelt them? Have you felt how soft their flesh is, how it fits against your body? I was never even aware of my own form until I felt a woman against me. You cannot imagine the feel of being inside one, of hearing her breath in your ear. You cannot fathom the pleasure of having your body touched and kissed. It is so easy to fall—to sin—with them, Gadriel. I guarantee you brother, you would bow at their feet—you would
beg
—just to have one in your arms."

"I'll be sure to let her know how you feel about her right before I kill her."

With a grunt and crazed eyes, Sammael came at him, lunging with his hand raised and the jagged edges of a dagger glinting in the moonlight. Savagely, Sammael thrust the blade deep into Gadriel's chest, twisting it back and forth until Gadriel could feel the warmth of blood running down the hilt of the dagger and on to his hand. Sammael grunted against him, the knife burning through his flesh as Sammael tore it out of the wound. A loud sucking gasp intermingled with the sound of cracking bone and the knife was once more plunged deep into his chest.

"You protect this human not out of duty,” Gadriel gasped, feeling his heartbeat slow, “you protect her out of lust, and that, brother, is a sin."

Despite the pain and the knife in his chest, Gadriel's strength surpassed that of Sammael's. Picking up the Watcher and bringing him above his head, Gadriel turned and flung Sammael from the bridge. Wood splintered and flew towards him. With a grunt, he dragged himself up to look over the broken guard rail, waiting to hear the splash of water.

None came.

Fuck
, he grunted, pulling the knife from his chest and shoving it in the pocket of his coat. Sariel was gone, and so too, was any lead to the woman.

"I know you, your voice,” Nadira said to the man who held her captive.

"I have come to you, Nadira to tell you how very important you are. Not only to my kind, but yours as well."

"What the hell are you?"

"You know what I am. You've known since you were a child. All those dreams of angels? All those books and obscure texts you've read. Have you not always looked about you and seen angels walking amongst you? Have you not seen them look at you with their black eyes and raise their fingers to their lips and whisper ‘shhh', to you?"

Shit!
Her struggling was revived with the revelation. This ... whatever he was, knew way too much about her.

"You've sensed me in your life all along, don't tell me now that you do not know who I am or that you do not believe in us. Where is your faith, Nadira? Where is the little girl whose bedtime prayers I listened to?"

"Sariel,” she said on a long rush of breath. Reaching up behind her, Nadira sought his face. Wet hair clung to his jaw and she followed the wet tips of hair with her fingers until her fingertips grazed the left side of his neck. On his skin, like a brand, were the markings she had once seen in a dream. “Sariel,” she repeated, “Command of God."

"Yes,” he whispered as his palm, warm and strong, slid up her belly till it rested beneath her breasts. “But I come to you, by His command, as the Angel of Prophecy."

"You're here for Mary."

"I am not here for Mary. Another has come for her."

"What do you want with me?"

He looked down at her through his wet hair, his eyes were large and blue, not black like the angels she had seen as a child. His face was the face of the angel she had seen in her vision. He had been the first to fall from the sky. The one to put his fingers to her lips.

"Yes, it was me you saw."

"I don't understand any of this. I mean ... this is way too weird. Unbelievable."

"You were born for an angel, Nadira.” She gaped at him. “Your heart, it is meant to beat for one of my kind. An angel is your destiny."

"What are you saying?"

"That tonight another will come to you, and you will accept him. You will take him into your body."

"Another? Another what? An angel? A man? What, and I'm supposed to have sex with a stranger? Right, like I believe all this. You're an angel, and another angel is going to come for me and take me to bed. I'm not believing you. In fact, none of this is even happening. This is just a hallucination brought on by lack of caffeine."

"The seeds of the prophecy will be sown tonight. You must have faith, Nadira, that what you do, what you're feeling, is right. That is all I can say."

She looked away from him, her head swimming. Certifiable. That was what she was. Was she truly believing this guy's story? There were no wings on him, no shimmering halo above his wet head, no white robes edged in gold. Just a brown woollen trench and the strange feeling in her gut that told her to believe.

"You must believe, Nadira. So much depends upon your faith. You've known all along that angels have been in your life—that
I
have been there with you. You always believed. I know you lost your faith, that it has been tested and tried. But you must find it again."

"I gotta go,” she muttered, stepping away from him and heading toward the bridge that was now empty. God, she was losing it. Totally, fucking losing it.

Shaking off his hold, Nadira ran across the bridge that was now empty, before jogging up the grassy incline to the parking lot. Beneath a lamp pole her little yellow Sunfire gleamed in the rain.

What the fuck was going on here? Was she going insane? Did she really believe he was an angel? That she was a part of some divine plan? Was her life so damn pitiable that she was reduced to experiencing a little excitement by conjuring up sexy angels who wanted to do her?

Opening the car door, she slid down onto the seat and rested her head back against the worn out fabric of the headrest. Closing her eyes, she sought to calm her nerves, but instead, she saw flashes of the bronzed statue, the image of the angel falling from the sky. She saw Sariel, the angel she had felt as a presence in her life for as long as she could remember. She saw the black winged angel—a fallen one—and she felt the touch of angelic hands as they roamed over her body.

Definitely certifiable. And what was more, she had completely forgotten about Mary. Some best friend she was. While she was secretly cavorting in the bushes with a so-called angel, Mary was what? Dying? Good God, she could not be dying—not alone. Nadira had sworn that Mary would not see the end, alone in the dark.

Turning the key in the ignition, Nadira started up the Sunfire and shifted it into drive. It was pouring so hard now that her windshield wipers could barely keep up with the torrents of water running down the glass. Listening to the rain as it pelted against the windows, Nadira stepped on the gas, the gravel spitting out beneath the wheels as the car fishtailed over the loose stones. Straightening the steering wheel, she headed for the park entrance.

Through the swaying wipers and the rivulets of rain, she could barely see anything. Suddenly there was a man standing in the beams of her headlights. He was a giant of a man who stood with his legs braced and his head partially bowed. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a long black leather trench coat that was sopping wet. Beneath the trench, his white tank top was stained red.