Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades) (25 page)

We went to the hospital next to see Cassie. She
smiled brightly as we walked in, but she picked up on my
mood and looked at me worried.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We have to leave Grand Rapids,” I told her.
“Why?”
“To keep all of you safe.”
“Is it Kendal?”
“No,” Gabe said. “Kendal’s dead. He won’t hurt

anyone anymore.”
“Then why?” Cassie whispered.
“Bastion is trying to find me and we need to keep

him from coming here and hurting anyone.” I hoped
getting Elisa out of the way would make Cassie easier,
but a lump formed in my throat as I spoke.

Cassie reached up and pulled me into a hug. She
let me go and kissed me on the cheek as I pulled away.
“Remember me,” she said.
“Always.” I said, the tears flowing again.
“Take care of her Gabe.” Cassie wiped tears from
her eyes.
“I will. You have my word,” Gabe said and gave
her a nod.
“I guess I can’t ask for more. To have the word of
an angel is worth something.” She forced a grin.
“I would like to think so.” Gabe reached over and
kissed her forehead.
“Bye Britt.” Cassie took my hand and squeezed.
“I love you.”
“I love you to, Cass.” I squeezed back and she let
me go. The symbolism not lost to me as her fingertips
slipped from my hand and I walked out without turning
back.
I fought the tears the entire drive to Trish’s house,
feeling my heart being torn apart with every beat. A part
of me wished I could have taken the easy way out and
had Kendal do the job instead of facing my friends’
sorrow in person.
I pulled the car up to the curb in front of Trish’s
house and she sat on her front steps waiting. Gabe began
to get out, but I put a hand on his arm to stop him. He
looked at me questioningly.
“I need to do this alone,” I said.
He nodded and took his hand from the door
handle with a nod.
I stepped out, took a deep breath, and walked
around the car not looking at Trish but down at the
ground. I didn’t look up, walking with my head down,
following the sidewalk until I saw her feet before me. I
looked up and she stared at me, the streaks of wet from
her tears already leaving red marks and lines down her
face.
My tears, I’d thought my ducts had dried up by
now, streamed down my face, dripping from my chin as I
looked at her. Trish was the first friend I ever had. She
stood beside me through everything; giving me comfort,
support, and a kick in the ass if I needed one. Now I
needed to say goodbye, possibly for the last time, and the
thought of it wrenched my insides apart.
“I hear you’re leaving,” she said when I didn’t
speak.
“Uh huh.”
“Playing the martyr again?”
“Guess so.”
“Shit, why do you always step in it like this?”
“I don’t do it on purpose.”
“I never met anyone who has such god-awful
luck, Britt.”
“Not my fault,” I said, getting a little pissed.
“I know, I know.” She nodded her head. “I just
wish it didn’t happen like this.”
“Me too.” I looked at her as we shared our
miserable moment together.
“Could you do me a favor?”
“Yeah, sure, anything,” I said, confused by the
request.
“Could you kick this Bastion in the balls for me
when you finally get the chance?”
“You got it.”
“They do have balls, don’t they, I mean, I guess I
never really thought about it, but they must if they have
kids, right?” She looked up at me, her tears mixing with
her confusion.
“I’m pretty sure they do,” I said, forcing back a
snicker.
She stood abruptly and gave me a big hug, turning
her head to kiss me for a long moment on the cheek.
“I love you Britt girl,” she whispered in my ear.
“You come back to me. Damn it, you’d better come back
to me.”
“I will,” I lied. “I promise.” I resolved to try. To
keep my promise and at least try. I kissed her cheek and
stepped back as she reluctantly released me.
“Bye Britt,” she said, her eyes overflowing with
her sadness.
“Bye Trish.” I turned to walk away. I got two
steps and her arms surrounded me again as she lay her
head against my back.
“I believe in you,” she whispered and let go.
I wanted to look back, but my strength was fading
fast and I held onto what resolve I still had. To leave
before it evaporated completely. I strode purposefully to
the car, got in and squealed away, putting as much
distance between me and my overwhelming sorrow
standing on that sidewalk.

We motored out of town, heading north to
Nashwauk. We didn’t speak, my words used up earlier
and my desire to form others distant.

It didn’t take long to arrive. I took the lone
highway heading north through the small mining town.
As we approached the motel, I slowed to get my bearings
and then stopped just out of sight of the motel.

“I’ll travel back to the car once you get their
attention and start heading for Canada,” he said.
“We can do that?”
He smiled and then disappeared.
I put the car in first and let out the clutch, easing it
into motion, confident Bastion would remember the
distinctive vehicle on sight. I pulled into the parking lot
and cruised through, actively looking at the room
numbers, but keeping a watchful eye on the black
Mercedes.
As I pulled even with the first one, a man walked
out of the room and lit a cigarette. I let my foot off the
gas and the engine rumbled as it slowed down. His eyes
met mine and Bastion recognized me at once. His mouth
opened to shout out orders as his silver tooth glittered. I
didn’t wait, gunning the Camaro and squealing out of the
parking lot, spraying the black cars with rocks as I went.
Not part of the plan, but gravy, I thought.
I raced by the parking lot on the road heading
north as men scrambled to their cars and the black
German beasts lurched into motion. I shifted and punched
the gas, spinning the tires again and rocketing out of
sight.
“Easy, you don’t want to lose them,” Gabe said. I
jumped at his silent, sudden arrival.
I slowed, watching my rearview mirror until I
spotted the first pursuit car and then punched it again.
Shifting smoothly, my memory of Dad teaching me to
drive stick in the field just outside of town coming
unbidden to me. We raced towards the border, hoping to
stay ahead of them until we hit the patrol checkpoint.
We hurtled towards International Falls some 120
miles away, pushing our speed close to 100 mph to keep
ahead of our pursuers. I slowed as we approached the
border. Pulling up to the guard station, I rolled down my
window.
“Passports please,” the guard asked.
I handed mine over and then Gabe reached across
to hand his to the agent.
“What’s the purpose of your visit?” The guard
asked.
I wanted to scream, “escape” or “To get away
from the guys following us,” but I pushed the urge down
and smiled. “Just heading up so we can sightsee in the
morning.”
“Thank you,” he said benignly. He handed the
passports back and stepped away from the car.
I saw the headlights move closer as our pursuers
eased in behind us. The agent waved us to move along
and I put the car in first, slowly pulling away. As soon as
I turned a bend in the road, I punched the accelerator and
shifted rapidly, speeding down the road.
Gabe reached over, putting a hand on my arm and
I glanced over. “We can slow down now.” He turned to
look out the back window.
“We want them to think we headed deeper into
Canada. If we lose them, they might think we doubled
back.”
I nodded at the logic.
“We need to keep them after us for some time in
order to assure they feel we, or should I say you, are on
the run permanently.”
The reality of this life hit me hard. This plan
meant I’d be running from them until the council
sentenced Allister. How long it would take, I didn’t have
a clue.
“Pull in here,” Gabe directed. He motioned to a
small roadside diner as we approached and then vanished.
I shook my head. I didn’t think I’d ever get used
to that. I pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off.
Getting out, I stretched, feeling the kinks from the other
night. I waited for a moment and prepared to go inside
when the car shook and Gabe stepped out of the
passenger seat.
“Well?”
“They stopped just inside the border,” he said.
“Why would they do that?”
“I think they suspect we’ll try to double back.
Remember, they have all the time in the world. Allister is
in custody; he won’t be going anywhere. They can take
their time and present you anytime they catch you.”
“What?” I cried. “No, if they sentence Allister to
life they can’t come back and sentence him to death if
Bastion brings me in. That’s double jeopardy, they can’t
do that.”
“Britt, you’re thinking human still. The Eternal
Council can do anything they want.
“Now you tell me,” I shouted, the injustice
making my head hurt.
“I thought you knew.”
“No, I didn’t.” I turned and stormed away from
him, folding my arms in disgust.
I strode behind the diner, walking down a path
into the woods that flanked the property. I walked in the
dark, following the light colored path and mulling it all
over in my head. On the run forever? And I mean,
forever. Being immortal definitely had its down side. If I
wanted Allister to live I needed to stay away from
Bastion or anyone else the council sent after me forever.
I sat down on a stump next to the trail, the
frustration pushing to the surface in the form of tears. I
leaned down, setting my head in my hands and sobbed.
This sucked. I already lost Allister, now I lost everything
I loved for good. As if on cue, Gabe appeared next to me.
“Would you quit that.”
“Sorry.”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’ve
done nothing but help me.”
“I understand your pain. I wish I could make it
better, but I can’t.”
“Then what good is being an angel?” I asked,
more of myself than of him.
“We get to help people. There is that.” He
shrugged.
“Maybe you, but I’m some freaky hybrid between
an Eternal and an angel. I’m not good for anything.”
“Not true.”
I stared at him. In the darkness he gave off a glow
when I let myself see it. His beauty undeniable. I sighed
at my shortcomings compared to his radiance.
“I will never be anything like you, or like
Allister.” I closed my eyes and images of Allister’s
perfect face, his amazing smile flickered into focus. The
memory of his easy laugh brought more tears to my eyes.
“But you already are, Britt. You have the best of
both.”
“No, the Eternals are damned to walk the earth
forever, never to know the wonder of the afterlife.”
“What are you talking about?” Gabe stepped in
front of me, his eyes staring at me in horror.
“Eternals don’t have souls and are damned to
walk the earth forever,” I repeated what I’d been told.
“Britt, Eternals don’t need souls.” Gabe leaned
closer to me. “Where did you get this nonsense?”
“Allister and his family.”
“Their kind might feel that way, but somewhere
they went astray of what they are. They have already
gotten their salvation.”
“They don’t have guardian angels,” I pointed out.
“True, that is very true, but it isn’t because they’re
damned or not going to heaven. They don’t have angels
because they don’t need angels. They can find their way
to heaven on their own.”
“Even though they never die?” Gabe had me
spinning in circles. I didn’t know what to believe
anymore.
“None have, so far.”
“How is that possible?”
“Eternals are here for a specific purpose; a
specific event. And that event hasn’t happened yet.”
“What event?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.
“That isn’t for me to say, but I do know that
Eternals have been created perfectly to defend mankind
when this foretold event comes.”
I glared at him, pissed he’d told me just enough to
get my mind running wild with crazy images of
Armageddon and all the biblical stuff drilled into my
head over the years.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” he said raising
his hands defensively.
“Then why tell me this?” I began.
“To make you realize you’re special and have a
purpose. We all do, and you may be destined for
something bigger than any of us.”
“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m the
one
.”
“Let’s go get something to eat, I’m starving.” He
flashed his brilliant smile, visible even in the dim
lighting, and extended a hand.
I grinned in spite of my bad mood, taking his
hand, and walked back to the diner.
 
We took a booth next to the high bank of windows
facing the road. The décor was right out of the sixties,
from the checkered tile flooring to the vintage jukebox
spinning records in the corner. We ordered from the
waitress dressed in a poodle skirt and a big bouffant
hairdo and then contemplated our next move.
“Where do we go now?”
“The closest major city is Winnipeg,” he
answered. “If we lead them there, we might be able to
keep them busy for a while.”
The plan sounded like a good one. I nodded my
approval. Then, a question lingering in my mind for a
while pushed itself to the surface, and I looked at Gabe.
“Are you the Archangel Gabriel?” Six years of
Catholic school and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was
the same angel who came to Mary two thousand years
ago.
“I go by many titles.” He stared at me flatly.
“Nice try. Quit dodging, answer the question.”
“Yes, I’ve been known as an Archangel, though
my role now is as an Avenging Angel.”
“And what does that entail?”
“Kendal isn’t the only problem I need to find.
There are others out there interfering with the natural
order. My job is to ensure they stop.”
“Stop by killing them?”
“Stop one way or another.” He didn’t elaborate.
A thought came to me. One I wasn’t sure I wanted
to know the truth about. I looked up at Gabe again and
hesitated a moment, biting my lower lip.
“Britt, if you want to ask me something, just ask.”
“You say there’s no one else like me; that I’m
unique, a hybrid. Would you consider
me
someone
interfering with the natural order?”
I expected him to laugh, to tell me I thought too
much, worried too much. He didn’t. Instead, he stared at
me hard for a moment, his deep green eyes holding my
gaze. They softened and he turned away, looking out the
window.
I gasped, still staring at him. His lack of an
answer said it all. He came along because he felt I could
interfere with the natural order of things. He came along
in case I caused problems and he needed to take me out.
“Why don’t you just kill me now and be done
with it, like I asked back in Grand Rapids?” I whispered
heavily.
He turned back to me, his eyes glossy with tears
as he searched for the right words.
“I don’t see anything about you indicating you
could ever do anything I need to kill you for.”
“But?” I waited for the but, there was always a
but.
“You’re one of a kind. Angel and Eternal. I can’t
be sure what abilities you might have and what you might
do with them. I needed to come to be sure it was… safe.”
“
It
was safe?”
“The world, Britt. I have a responsibility to the
world.”
“So now I’m a threat not only to my hometown,
my friends and family, to the Eternals I care about, but
the entire world?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“They may not be in your mouth, but they
are
in
your head.” I glared at him, using my anger to mask the
pain and hurt I felt.
Gabe dropped his eyes.
The perky waitress in the poodle skirt delivered
our meals, eyeing us nervously. Sensing our moods, she
hurried away after setting the plates in front of us.
“You’re taking my words out of context,” Gabe
spoke soothingly.
“I don’t know. It seems to suck no matter what
context it’s in. So you’re not here to help me, just to
chaperone me and make sure I don’t turn into some
crazed monster out to destroy the world?”
“Britt,” he sighed.
I looked down at my food and began to eat. I
didn’t look at him the rest of the meal. I still seethed
when we were walking to the car, refusing to make eye
contact.
“We could head to a motel down the road a ways
and wait for them to come looking for us in the morning,”
Gabe said.
“Whatever.” I still didn’t look at him as I ducked
into the car.
He got in as the engine turned over. I felt his eyes
on me, even though I stared straight ahead. We drove the
few miles in silence and pulled into the gravel parking lot
of the Moonlight Motel.
The clerk checked us in, raising an eyebrow as I
gave the name of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson and showed him
my ID. He nodded and gave me a key. Gabe and I walked
along the sidewalk to the room’s door. I opened the door,
swinging it inward as he collected my bag from the car.
He walked past me and tossed the bag down on the bed.
Turning, he walked back out and I finally looked at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’ll sleep in the car,” he said, a little sharp. He
took a few more steps towards the Camaro.
“There are two beds in here.”
“I wouldn’t want you to misunderstand my
intentions,” he said, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.
“Don’t be a jerk.” I folded my arms across my
chest.
“Oh, it’s fine for you to overreact and get all
snippy about my intentions, which might I remind you,
you took out of context, but I can’t get upset you don’t
trust me enough to listen to my reasons for being here?”
He threw up his arms in disgust. “I’ll sleep in the car.”
I stared at him, my mouth going dry as I tried to
say something. The right words wouldn’t come.
“Britt, I care about you. You. I’m not here out of
fear of what you might become. I’m here because of what
might become of you. I want you to live. I don’t think
I’ve wanted anything so much in my entire existence.”
“You want me to live?”
“Very much.”
I walked over to sit on the bumper of the car, at a
loss. How could someone like Gabe, Gabriel, the
Archangel Gabriel, care so much about me when he
barely knew me?
Gabe sat next to me, placing his arm over my
shoulder and pulling me into his chest. It was warm and
felt comfortable being in his arms. The arms of an angel,
I laughed softly to myself.
“What’s so funny?”
“Uh, nothing.” I grinned into his chest.
“Can we get past all this?”
I leaned back to look at him as he concentrated on
my reaction. I liked Gabe a lot, and he also scared me to
death. The way he’d destroyed Kendal…
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I stood and took a few
steps towards the room, stopping to turn back to him.
“Now come in here and use the other bed.”
“Okay.” He shrugged and walked over next to me.
“Good.” I grinned.
“Ladies first.” He motioned with a flamboyant
bow.
“Does that actually work with the ladies?” I
asked.
“Don’t know.” He smirked. “You’re the first I’ve
tried it on. Did it?”
“Not really.” I gave him a playful shove and
strode past him into the room.
“I’ll make a note of that.” He laughed, closing the
door behind him.