The Angel of the Lighthouse (6 page)

She would talk to Lewis one more time with her new clear vision. If he couldn’t or wouldn’t admit that things needed to be sorted, then Skye would leave him. She thought that she still loved him, but for her own sake, he needed to change, or at least compromise.

Any curiosity she felt about what caused this abrupt change of heart were forgotten as a plate was slid in front of her. The bacon was crispy, the yolks of the eggs still liquid.

She set to with a will, quieting her grumbling stomach. It felt so comfortable sitting in the bright sunlight with Aries, surrounded by good smells and good food. There was something so right about it, and heat kindled within her. It was then it hit her.

She was falling in love with Aries.

Had she ever truly loved Lewis? Had she even really cared for him? The small spark that she felt for Aries was a bonfire compared to the feeling she had when she thought of Lewis. But she owed Lewis courtesy, if nothing else.

“Are you alright?” Aries asked her, jolting her out of her thoughts.

“Just thinking,” she said, swallowing her mouthful quickly.

Lewis would have probed and prodded until she yielded an answer that satisfied him, but Aries simply nodded, trusting that she knew herself.

“Will you be all right on your own for a while today?” he asked. “Jack’s lying on and I have work to do.”

“I’ll be fine,” she smiled. “I may borrow your phone again.”

“Be my guest.”

“Also, I’ll do the dishes,” she volunteered.

“You’re a gem,” Aries said as he stood up from the table, grinning at her.

“I know how much you dislike dishes. And I don’t want you neglecting work because of me.”

“Never think you are an imposition to me, Skye Metcalfe,” he said, commandingly, she thought, before a hint of red touched his cheeks and he left.

Curious,
Skye thought as she started to gather up the plates and carry them into the sink. She was almost finished when she heard a peculiar thudding from far away. It was odd, she thought, but nothing to be concerned about. It didn’t sound like thunder, or the approach of a storm. She finished drying the plate in her hands, stacked it neatly with the others, and hung the drying cloth over the back of a chair. She swept a quick look around the kitchen to make sure that everything was tidy, before heading outside.

The noise from outside was gradually getting louder. Over by the trees, a helicopter was coming towards them.

“Supply run,” Jack said to her left, and Skye jumped in surprise, hand to her throat.

“You scared me,” she said.

“Cat feet, that’s me,” he said. “Could be your ride back to civilisation, if you wanted.”

Skye felt unease churn her stomach. Did she really want to go back this early? Was she ready to face Lewis and confront reality?

The answer was a plain no.

“Think I might stick around for a few more days if I’m not trouble,” she said, and was amazed at how calm her voice was.

“You’re no trouble,” Aries said as he jogged up to join them, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Supply run?”

“Unless you’re expecting anyone?” Jack asked. Aries shuddered as if cold, and he frowned slightly.

“Not that I know,” he said slowly. “Shall we?”

Slowly, they walked towards the well-maintained landing area, taking their time. Even with the funeral pace, Skye’s hair was still blown around by the wash as the rotor blades began to slow. And with each step, she noticed Aries’ scowl getting blacker and blacker.

She couldn’t spare the time to think about this as the door of the helicopter slid back. From within, a lean figure leaned out and stepped to the ground. He was painfully familiar to Skye, and her vision began to turn black. Her mind muddled as her vision tunnelled, until all she could see was his face. Somewhere to the side she heard an angry growl, but it was nothing compared to the face of her beloved fiancé.

***

As Aries had headed to the lighthouse to start work, he had felt a creeping sense of unease gradually growing within him. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction to the events of last night, but it felt like something more.

The feeling only grew worse, like oil sliding over his skin. At first, he thought the sound of the approaching helicopter was part of it, till he looked outside and saw it. He scowled thoughtfully at the silent radio. It was most unlike the pilot to not radio his approach.

He arrived outside to catch the tail end of the conversation between Skye and Jack. The feeling still itched at him, extending into a hum at the edge of his hearing, which merged unpleasantly with the sound of the rotor blades.

“You’re no trouble,” he said, as he crossed the remaining distance at a jog. He meant it, but he was still distracted by the strange feeling that pulled at him, “Supply run?”

“Unless you’re expecting anyone?” Jack said. For the first time, Aries looked directly at the helicopter and shuddered as a thrill of cold shot up his spine.

“Not that I know of,” he frowned, “Shall we?”

The source of the feelings that were plaguing him was on that helicopter. He knew it. And by the slowly rising fire within him, he knew what it was.

Demon.

On instinct, he pulled his angelic power from deep within himself, throwing up the strongest and tightest shields that he could. Beneath these shields he buried his rage and his instinctive urge to destroy the interloper, the evil. He had to have patience, in order to protect the innocent that would get caught in the middle.

The helicopter landed, and the rotors began to slow. The door slid open, and with all his senses heightened, Aries saw the slimy black ooze from within.

The man who emerged from the helicopter, bringing his own shadows with him, was tall and lean. His face was set in stern lines and his eyes were cold. He fixed them on Skye immediately, and the oozing shadows leaped forward, spreading out into a web that engulfed her before Aries could react. They latched onto her hungrily, pulsing with greed. Her eyes glazed over and she swayed, before falling into the arms of her demon lover, who accepted her passionate kiss.

Jack made a pleased noise, and elbowed Aries in the ribs. “Happy reunion,” he said, and Aries only barely saw the slimy web coiling around Jack’s feet.

Aries felt as if he was paralyzed, rooted to the spot in a paroxysm of fear and rage combined. The fire within boiled beneath his shields. The attack had been so sudden that his caution had worked against him. Now he couldn’t strike the demon down without risking Jack and the innocent pilot. And most importantly, he couldn’t risk Skye.

Skye and Lewis parted, and Lewis took a firm grip of her hand. He smiled, and Aries hissed.

“Thank you for rescuing Skye from her own folly,” he said, and to Aries’ ears he sounded insincere, but Jack nodded.

“Our pleasure,” he said. “Really, we were just doing our job.”

“Nevertheless, you didn’t have to risk yourself for her.”

Unable to bear the sight, or the conversation, Aries turned, fleeing to the sanctuary of the lighthouse. His hand on the door left smouldering black fingerprints and his vision wavered blue with heat.

At the top of the lighthouse, he turned so that all he could see was the endless view of the ocean. Where usually it would soothe him, today he could sense the strong stain of darkness leeching up from below, and tainting his peaceful world. He didn’t even dare to down himself in his power. If the demon knew there was an angelic adversary so close, then Skye would suffer as the demon sought to make the angel weak.

He heard the sound of the helicopter taking off and grimaced. Not a supply run then, but demon transport.

Footsteps below made him turn to stare grim-faced, as Jack appeared in the room behind him, his expression equally grim with displeasure at Aries’ abrupt departure. Before Jack could lecture him about his manners, or lack of them, Aries spoke.

“He’s the demon.”

His words fell into the silence, burning his tongue and throat as if they were edged with his fire.

“He’s the demon, and he has Skye again. And I didn’t stop him.”

His face burned as he kept his eyes on Jack, willing the selkie to understand. The fire within him still begged to be unleashed, to burn the demon into ashes, but Aries controlled it.

Jack looked confused. “Lewis is a demon? Aries, I know you have more experience than me, but are you sure? He sounds like a stand-up guy. Nice too, from our brief talk.”

There was something not right about Jack’s voice, and Aries was jolted out of his self-recriminations to truly look at his friend. It was subtle, but there was a shadow that was more than a shadow clinging to his form, and an oily gleam to the whites of his eyes.

This time, Aries reacted; stepping close into Jack’s personal space, raising his hands to rest them on the other man’s shoulders. He channelled pure fire from his heart through his palms, letting it trickle through his shielding, to engulf the other man in angelic fire. Jack inhaled deeply and held his breath, eyes opening wide. The shadow that was far more than a shadow burned away and viciously. Aries burned every last speck of ash into nothingness.

While it wasn’t as good as sending the demon scum back to hell, Aries felt happier for being able to help Jack. The roil of fire beneath his shields settled somewhat. The fire he had channelled guttered and died, and Aries was ready to catch him as Jack’s knees gave way.

“Was that you being gentle?” Jack gasped out, once he found his voice again.

“As gentle as fire can be,” Aries said. “Angels and demons... not a lot gentle about that combination. Sorry.”

“It wasn’t painful, just overwhelming,” Jack said thoughtfully. “Is that how you feel all the time?”

“I had to get you clear of the taint,” Aries dodged the question.

Jack shuddered. “And I thank you. It was the weirdest feeling. All he did was shake my hand, and I knew that he was a decent guy who’d be great to share a drink with. That thought throbbed in my head while I was coming to find you to chew you out. My mind felt as if it was covered in oil.”

“You have a very strong mind,” Aries complimented him. “Most can’t tell exactly what the demonic manipulation is.”

“Could Skye?”

“Likely not. She’s thralled too deeply, and it’ll be even worse this second time around. He won’t risk losing control of her again.”

“So how do we save her?” Jack asked, and the faith in his face that they could do it was almost blinding.

Aries took heart in the confidence that Jack had in him. Skye could be saved. Skye
would
be saved.

“Where are they now?” he asked.

“I showed them to the guest house. I wouldn’t like to guess what they’re doing.”

Although Jack tried to make a joke of it, Aries still felt the fire within rage at the thought.

“We need to...” Aries started to say, but cut himself off as he felt the world around him change.

Dark demonic power blanketed the world in torrents of force, spinning around the lighthouse. The presence took Aries’ breath away, pressing down on him, a smothering, all-encompassing darkness that threatened to overpower him and steal away his control.

“What’s wrong?” Jack said worriedly as Aries staggered.

“Can’t you feel it?” Aries asked himself as he braced himself against the metal disc of the beacon.

“Feel what?” Jack asked. “I can see some nasty-looking clouds on the horizon, but nothing else.”

“The demon...” Aries closed his eyes, both to stabilise his balance and to find the words for what he was feeling. “He’s strong. He’s doing something.”

Once more Aries rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder and channelled a gentle breath of fire to Jack’s eyes. Jack blinked, and Aries turned to look outside again. The dark energy was now becoming visible as strands that turned and tumbled in the air. They were growing thicker as Aries watched, reaching up to the sky, drawing in the clouds.

“He’s calling a storm?” Jack asked.

“He is,” Aries confirmed.

“Can you do anything about it?”

Aries reached out with his fire, gently testing the dark currents that flowed around him and the lighthouse, careful not to do anything too overt that would signal his angelic presence. Even though they were the work of a demon, the workmanship was admirable. The weave was close, and there was no way for him to burn out the corruption without releasing uncontrollable, powerful forces. The demon-summoned storm would be a picnic compared to what would be unleashed if he were to meddle.

Aries relayed this all to Jack, who nodded. “Guess we just have to ride it out,” he said philosophically. “We’ve done it before.”

“The storm is just a distraction,” Aries said thoughtfully. “This demon is up to something.” He let fire pool into his palm, a roiling ball of angelic energy. “I may not be able to stop the storm, but I can stop him, whatever he tries.”

***

The sound of the rain beating against the window dragged Skye from her half doze. She lifted herself up a little and saw Lewis standing over by the window looking out, an unfathomable look on his face.