Fall from Grace (Book 2: An Angelblood Novel) (5 page)

“I’ll speak to her in the morning.
Perhaps she will
be more forgiving then.”

“They’re having the memorial service tomorrow.
You might want to wait before you have any discussions
about Jeziel.”

“You may be right. I’m sure she’ll talk to me when
she’s ready.”

 

“Renatta and I are going to bed. Do you need
anything before we retire?”

 

“No I thought I might take a walk.”

“Just be careful Aidan. Death has already come to
our valley.
Until the Guild figures out who is behind the
deaths, none of us are really safe.”

Rusty took Renatta and walked up the stairs, leaving
Aidan alone. He would search again for Jeziel. He didn’t
want her to be alone. He knew she was probably afraid. He
needed to prove to Aura that she had nothing to do with the
deaths.
The only way he could do that, was to find his
friend.
He walked out the front door, closing it gently
behind him.

When Henry returned to Utopia, Meredith was not at
home.
Perhaps she already had some of her belongings
moved into Richard’s country home. Her servants would
remain loyal to her. They had been with her since she was a
child.

He wouldn’t think about her now. He walked back
to the sanctuary, where he found his daughter Analie.
At
least he could salvage the rest of the Christmas holiday with
her and Ambrosia.

The children were in good spirits.
Arthur must not
have told them about the deaths.
There would be time for
that tomorrow. Tonight he would be grateful that his family
was safe.

Richard decided to see Fenryr and Faelan before
going to New York.
It was nearly a month since his last
visit and they were probably growing restless.
He kissed
Desiree goodbye and told her he would return after taking
care of some business.

When
he
arrived
at
the
cabin
it
was
in
ruins.
Obviously the brothers had a falling out and decided to take
their frustrations out on the furniture. He regretted not being
there. Watching them try to destroy each other would have
been entertaining.

The brothers were dressed in green flannel shirts and
loose fitting jeans.“Richard, where have you been? We’ve
been sitting here for weeks,” Faelan hissed.

“Did you not have everything you needed during my
absence?”

 

“We need to have more freedom than this,” Fenryr
argued.

 

“Have you forgotten you take orders from me?”
Richard glared at the brothers.

“We forget nothing, but it’s unfair to keep us
imprisoned.
We could be more useful to you in other
places,” Fenryr insisted.

“You’ll get your chance soon enough,” Richard
vowed. “Things are moving according to plan, save a few
minor setbacks. But I assure you, the rewards will be worth
the wait.
Now is there anything you need before I take my
leave?”

The brothers said nothing.

“Then perhaps you can clean this place up,”
Richard laughed. “I’ll be returning soon and you’ll be
informed of my new plan. Until we meet again,” and he
walked out the door.

Richard knew the brothers had to stay loyal to him.
If they dared disobey him, they would suffer Lucifer’s
wrath.
He doubted either of them wanted to meet that fate.
He
smiled
when
he
thought
how
good
it
felt
to
have
complete control over them.
Soon, he would use them to
avenge his daughter and take over the Utopian colony.

When
Henry
returned
to
the
house,
he
found
Meredith waiting there.

 

“I thought you already left for the country house?”
he asked.

“I went for a walk. Surely you’re not serious about
making me leave? We’ve been married for forty years.
Does that mean nothing to you?” she asked.

“I don’t trust you Meredith. I should have asked
you to leave a long time ago. You can’t expect me to stay in
a loveless marriage. This is for the best. I’m not going to
argue you with you about it.
My mind is made up.
I trust
you and the servants will be gone in the morning.”

He didn’t wait for a response. He walked up the
stairs to his bedroom and closed the door.
He would not
entertain any more of her lies.

When Aura went downstairs to cook breakfast the
next morning, the girls were still sleeping.

Aidan remained quiet and Aura didn’t pressure him
to talk.
She knew that he went looking for his friend again
last night, but he was unable to find her.
Aura knew where
she was, but she wasn’t about to tell Aidan. She didn’t
really trust him.
He put Jeziel before Alannah and that
didn’t sit well with her.

The
sun
was
shining
and
the
temperature
was
unseasonably warm for December. Jessica’s gift was
welcome.

They did not wear black; instead the family wore
white to celebrate the new life their friends would begin.

It was customary to display pictures of those angelbloods who died. Jayden insisted Jasper’s picture include
Ella, who died less than a week before.

They arrived at the funeral hall before noon.
As
before, it was decorated with white satin ribbons adorned
with lilies and roses on each pew.
The pictures of the
departed were displayed in the front near the pulpit.

Bren, Tracy and
Alannah left Aura to speak to
Father Patrick. “If you don’t mind, we would like to say a
few words whenyou finish,” Bren said.

Father Patrick smiled at the little ones. “I’m sure
any words of encouragement would be appreciated by the
family.”

“We saw Ella Father,” Tracy spoke up.
“You did?”

“She’s a beautiful angel now,” Alannah smiled.
“She came to take Jasper home.”

“So they are together?”
“Yes,” the girls responded collectively.

“Well that’s as it should be. Let’s get you seated
now. I need a word with Jane and Jayden before we begin.”
The girls held hands and made their way to the front
pews.

The service was touching with emphasis on the new
journey they were about to begin. When Father Patrick was
finished, the girls stood in front of the hall.

“We wanted to say something too,” they said in
concert.

Bren started. “I know everyone here has angel
blood, with the exception of Father Patrick.” They smiled at
him.

Tracy continued. “When we’re born whether we’re
angels or mortals, we are given the light of Heaven.”
“It is that light that envelopes our souls and binds us
together,” Alannah added.

Bren
spoke softly. “We were always taught it’s not
only our blood that defines who we are, but the choices we
make. Those choices affect the light that lives within us.”

“If you make bad choices, your light can dim. If
you walk the path to darkness, you will lose your light
completely,” Tracy said.

“When you lose your light, you lose your soul,”
Alannah assured them.

 

“If you make good choices, your light will grow,”
Tracy said.

 

The
three
girls
held
hands
and
addressed
their
family jointly.

“It is the light that lives within us, that gives us faith.
It is the light that gives us hope.
It is the light that gives us
love. It is the light that gives us joy. It is the light that gives
us peace.
And it is the light that will one day guide us
home.”

“Those who walk in the light can be assured it will
never fail them.
Elijah, Ericah, Jasper and Ella are home
now. Each of them followed their light.”

The room was silent.
Aura looked at her three little
ones with pride. They perceived what others struggled to
understand. She thought she saw a tear fall from her father’s
eye, not because of sadness, but because of pure admiration.

The girls hugged Father Patrick and thanked him for
allowing them to speak.

 

“Do you think they heard us Father?” Alannah
asked.

Father Patrick smiled with pride. “All of Heaven
heard you.” Though he had no children of his own, he felt
blessed because he would always have them.

Chapter 5
When they returned home, Aura knew it was time to
show them her visions.

“Make yourselves as comfortable as possible. I
have to warn you I can’t filter anything. You’ll see these
events exactly as they happened. She directed everyone to
the living room.

Bren and Tracy sat next to Alannah. Jayden sat next
to his mother.
When they were all seated, Aura called for
the vision.
Esra showed her how to recall certain events.
She practiced until it was second nature for her.

“I’ll start with the most recent events first.” She
called for the vision and soon the scene appeared on the
wall.

Natalie was standing outside the cabin watching the
fire burn, when Jasper approached.
Jeziel, still dressed in
cotton shorts and a camisole top, was in the backyard having
a conversation with Samhael. They could see that the two of
them left the property together.

Jasper started yelling at Natalie.
She reached into
her pocket for a dagger which she threw into his chest.
He
instantly dropped dead to the ground.
She then picked him
up and lofted him through the plate glass window in the
front of the burning cabin.

Jayden arrived afterwards, followed by Rita and
Jessica. They all knew the rest of that story.

 

“She wasn’t defending herself at all. She murdered
him,” Rita bellowed.

 

Jane and Jasper remained silent. Too upset to speak.
Aura apologized. “I’m sorry, but you need to see
this too.”

She showed them Ella’s death. The scene started
with the two girls in the car.
Natalie grabbed the steering
wheel and put her foot on the accelerator. They were headed
towards the large oak tree at a high rate of speed.
Everyone
could hear the fear in Ella’s voice. “Let go Natalie. You’re
going to kill us both.”

They could hear the cold calculations as Natalie
responded, “Not both of us; just you. Perhaps Jasper will
think twice before he talks trash about me again.
This will
hurt him more than anything else I could everdo to him.”

They watched as the car slammed into the tree.
Natalie ripped the door open and crawled away, leaving Ella
behind the wheel. She was already dead.

This was no accident; it was about revenge.
Natalie
killed Ella and Jasper.
The Guild had enough evidence to
convict her now. The penalty would be death.

Jayden and Jane were inconsolable. “How could I
have trusted her? Now we’ve lost them both,” they cried.

After the initial shock of Aura’
s visions, the family
broke into groups.
They would have their own discussions.
Will was gracious if nothing else.
As he got to know
Jayden, he determined he was a decent guy.

Rita sensed Acadia’s life wasn’t a bed of roses in
Utopia.
She promised to make her feel at home and asked
her to join their group.

As usual the Guild met in the library. “How do you
want to approach this?” Adam asked. “We can prove now
that Natalie murdered Ella and Jasper.”

“Richard will have her hidden before we can
get to
Paris,” Paul said.“Sooner or later she will reappear and then
we can take her before the Council.
It will not go well for
her.
I am curious to see if she will make contact with
Jeziel.”

“We don’t even know where Jeziel is?” Adam
replied. “Do you think she’s with Samhael? Jayden said
Natalie and Jeziel went to Elijah’s together. She was gone
by the time he arrived at the scene.
Now we have seen that
Samhael and Jeziel were together in the backyard. Natalie
lied about that too.
She is obviously protecting Jeziel.
We
need to find out why.”

“I still believe Jeziel is the key to the deaths. Even
if she wasn’t directly responsible, it’s almost certain that
Samhael started that fire,” Paul said.

Adam stared at his friend.“Pity Hespa isn’t here.”

“Hespa was summoned for her own protection. I’m
sure if she were left behind; she may have done something
she would later regret. We still don’t know who killed Elijah
and Ericah. Perhaps Aura’s visions will show us that truth
soon.”

“So what do we do?” Adam asked.

“First we notify the High Council. Then we’ll return
to Utopia.
I think it would be useless for us to go to Paris.
Richard will have Natalie moved from there.
At least we
can let Arthur know the truth.
Natalie is guilty of murder.
We will notify the colonies that if she is seen, they need to
contact us immediately.”

After dinner everyone seemed more relaxed.
“I know Jasper’s happy now,” Bren told Jayden.
“He’s with Ella and they’re both safe.”

Even Alannah hugged him. “Don’t worry, you’re
home now. We’ll take good care of you and your mommy, I
promise.”

Jayden looked at them and smiled.
He was home
and it felt good.
He missed all of them over the last couple
of weeks.

Aura assured him he would see Jasper again. “The
bonds between twins are powerful.
Jasper will always be a
part of you,” she said kindheartedly.

“How can I see him?”

“He will return to his old self in a short time. He
may appear to you in a vision or in a dream,” Aura assured
him.

“Are you sure?”
“I’ve seen a vision of one dream in particular.
You
will communicate with him then.”

 

“I’ll still be able to talk to him, even though he’s in
Heaven?”

 

“Of course Jayden, he isn’t dead. He’s just started
the next part of his journey.”

 

“You’re not saying this to make me feel better?”

“My visions never lie. Trust me; you will speak to
him again.” Seeing the worried look on Rita’s face she
added. “I haven’t seen any visions of your death. But I have
seen something else that might shock you,” she laughed.

“You’re not going to tell me are you?”

 

“Not yet. But
I
promise
it
will
be
a
happy
discovery.”

 

“I could stand a little happy right now.”