Bound Angel Bound Demon (34 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

The first thing that
occurred to her was to find Gary, so Alex transported to his room at the club, she knew it was risky but she really needed to see him and talk to him about everything that had happened. She was angry with Ryan for trying to split her and Gary up, or maybe she was angry with herself for having feelings for Ryan.

She appeared in Gary’s
room but he wasn’t there. She couldn’t risk leaving the room and running into anyone who recognised her, she called his mobile, but it went straight to voice mail, she ended the call and called the office he to see if he was there.

Melissa answered
“Hello.”

“
Hello Melissa, it’s Alex, is Gary there? I really need to talk to him.”

“
He’s at home, have you tried there?” said Melissa

Alex went quiet
. He’d told her the house had been sold. “Oh, sorry I must have got mixed up, I will try there.”

Alex ended the call;
she closed her eyes.
Why has he lied to me?
Alex concentrated on their old house and appearing on the back porch. The lights were on downstairs and upstairs.

Why would he lie to me about the house?
She tried the back door. It wasn’t locked so she let herself in being careful not to make too much noise.

No one was around downstair
s, it was late, and perhaps he’d gone to bed, but leaving the lights on downstairs was so unlike Gary. She went up the stairs making her way to their bedroom, the door was open wide enough for her to see inside without being spotted herself.

Alex froze at what
she saw: Gary was asleep in bed, but not alone, he was wrapped around a woman with long red curly hair. Both of them were butt naked. She wanted to run in and wake him up and demand an answer. Who was this woman? She moved closer, it was Tracey, the woman who’d worked at Gary’s club until her ex-boyfriend Harry broke in and knocked her about and tried to kill Gary.

Why was she here in their bed?
She’d thought Tracey had moved away to recover,
well she looks recovered now
, anger started to boil inside her. Gary moved in his sleep, Alex stepped back and with a blink of her eye she transported herself out of there.

She
had returned to the graveyard, unsure why she would come here again. She collapsed by her own empty grave and wept, Gary has broken her heart, she wished she were really dead.
How could he do this after everything?
Why all the lies?
He was her world and she would do anything for him, she’d even risked her life to protect him. She had been a loving wife, his submissive servant, what more could she have done? This bloody spell had ruined her life, she hated the very form of her existence.

There was a sound and Alex looked around in the darkness
but she couldn’t see anything, though she sensed something or someone was there watching her. Alex stood up trying to focus on the darkness around her, normally she didn’t have a problem with the dark. Suddenly she wanted out of there but wasn’t sure where to go. She couldn’t go back to Gary, and wasn’t sure she would make it back to the new house, now she was scared.

“
Who’s there?” said Alex quietly but loud enough for whoever it was to hear her.

The moon came out from behind a cloud. It wasn’t a full moon
anymore but was bright enough to light up the cemetery. She saw no man or creature, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. Then she noticed a shadow moving closer,
how could there be a shadow without anyone to cast it?

She watched
as it moved closer. Suddenly Ryan jumped in front of her and shot a flash of light towards the shadow. The shadow was fast it seemed to dodge out the way, before Alex could ask what was going on, Ryan turned to her.

“
Get out of here quick,” shouted Ryan.

Alex didn’t understand what was happening, Ryan looked at
her, he went to say something but the shadow seemed to envelope Ryan and wrestle him to the ground. Ryan was helpless, it was dragging him back, Alex screamed and ran to grab Ryan, she seemed to get hold of his hand, and pulled, but the shadow was strong and resisted, making her lose her grip. Ryan was screaming in agony as though the touch of this thing alone was hurting him, Ryan looked at her she could see the torture in his eyes.

“
Please Alex leave,” he said. Alex ran towards them again and this time got a better hold on Ryan, she tried to pull him away again, but couldn’t shake Ryan lose from the shadow’s grasp.

“
Let him go!” screamed Alex and as she lifted one hand, flames jetted out of her palm, stronger than Ryan’s had been, and the shadow released Ryan. She wrapped her arms around him and then closed her eyes, holding tight to Ryan, in an instant they were back at the cottage, entwined on the living room floor. Neither moved, Alex’s breathing was rapid, panic had taken hold, and Ryan was weak and couldn’t move, the shadow’s touch had burnt his skin.

Alex
took off Ryan’s trousers to look at his wounds; there were seared hand prints all over his legs. Alex cried out at the pain he was suffering.

“
What can I do?” she asked. Ryan had passed out from the pain. Alex placed her hands over the burns and wished for them to disappear, nothing happened, Alex cried out again.

“
Come on help me out here, what do I do? What’s the use of being a witch if I can’t help?” she shouted with tears flowing uncontrollably.

She held her hand out again. Her hand started to feel warm
and she could see the burns lifting up from his skin. It was like she was sucking them into her, she moved her hand along all the burns until they were all gone. Ryan was still unconscious; Alex went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She lifted his head on to her lap and put the glass to his mouth, and Ryan began to come round and sipped the water.

He sat up and looked at
his legs and then at Alex. “You’re learning quickly, I’m supposed to look after you, not you me, which is why I’m here, among other reasons. Are
you
ok?” he asked.

Alex broke down in tears
, “This wasn’t supposed to happen, everything has gone wrong tonight, I have gained so much and lost so much in one day.”

“Alex
, I knew it wouldn’t be safe going tonight, I was worried when you left, I shouldn’t have let you go, I tried to focus on you but could not track you. Now I know it was because of the night crawlers, the shadows you saw tonight, they can cause us to become weak. They would have dragged me to god knows where tonight and it would have been painful, I’m grateful you were there Alex, but you should have gone when I told you. You could have gotten killed tonight. You don’t seem to realize how important you are,” said Ryan.

“
I wish I had died tonight. Life isn’t worth living, you keep telling me how important I am, what, to this clan you talk about or someone else?” said Alex as she sat down and stared into the glass of water as though searching the clear liquid for answers.

“Alex
, you’re important to me, I can’t explain why. I don’t want to cause any more upset between us, but Alex where did you go tonight?” he got up and pulled his torn trousers back on, and sat beside her.

“
I was angry with you, I suppose I was blaming you for the lie I was living, maybe angry with myself as well and I needed to talk to someone else. So I went to see Gary, and he wasn’t where he should have been. It turns out he has been lying to me too, he hasn’t sold our old home, and he was there with another woman all this time, he wanted me away so he could move her in, he has broken my heart Ryan. I didn’t think he would ever do that to me. I had to get out of there and I ended up back at my grave, when you saved me. And right now I don’t feel like living anymore.”

Alex stopped and looked at Ryan. He was sitting holding her hand listening to her, this man was so kind
and had been there for her since she moved here, and in her dreams he was trying to reach out and protect her and all she had done is push him away. She looked again into those beautiful amber eyes and leaned forward so her lips nearly touched his.

Ryan pulled away
, “Alex, you’re upset with Gary I can understand that, but don’t do this.”

“
I thought this was what you wanted.”

“
Alex there is nothing more I want than for you to love me, but you need to sort this out with Gary before you can move on. I will not do this Alex and make you hate me for using you at your lowest point. I will wait for a long as it takes for you to see we should be together.” Ryan held her hand again and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“
Thank you Ryan, but can I ask one thing from you?”

“
Anything, you know that.”

“Will you stay with me tonight?
I need to feel someone hold me. I feel so tired and lonely now and I just want someone to hold me while I sleep, so I can try to forget this night ever happened.”

Ryan looked at her for a minute
, thinking, and then nodded. They both went to the bedroom, Alex climbed on the bed and waited for Ryan to join her. Ryan lay down with his head next the headboard, Alex put her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beating. She began to fall into a deep sleep holding onto Ryan so he wouldn’t leave her, tonight she just wanted to rest and clear her mind ready to fight what came tomorrow.

Ryan
watched her while she slept, this is how he wanted it, taking care of her, taking her away from that life with her husband. That man had treated Alex cruelly, just like another one of his tarts. She had been dragged deeper into that life, and used like one of his other girls at the club, that was not love, that was lust, that man did not know how to love anyone other than himself. Ryan knew he could never tell her how long he’d been watching her for, and that he had seen Gary for what he really was and what he would become. He knew this was something she needed to find out for herself, but
he
would always be there for her.

Ryan closed his eyes, she will learn to love again and feel what it’s like to truly fall in love and be loved by someone,
he just had to wait.

Chapter
Fifteen

Ryan woke early; he needed to check on his friend Nick. He hadn’t told Alex the complete truth about Nick.
He hated lying to her, especially now he could see what mendacity had done to her. He left Alex asleep, leaving a note saying he would be back; he just wanted to give her space while she sorted out what she wanted to do about Gary.

He
went back to the main house and went inside and found his way to the kitchen. He got some food from one of the cupboards and put it on a plate, then went through the door that led down to the tunnel.

Ryan
came to the two locked doors that Alex had seen the other night and where she had encountered the large creature. He unlocked the door and went in. This time there was just a man lying on the floor covered in a blanket. Ryan put the plate down on the dressing table and went over to fetch the clothes that were folded neatly.

“Nick, wake up,”
said Ryan.

The man moved and sat up rubbing his eyes.
“What time is it? Where have you been?” asked the man.

“
I was with Alex,” said Ryan as he began to unlock the shackles around the man’s ankles.

“
You could have unlocked me before you disappeared.”

“
I’m sorry Nick; I was intending to come early on this morning but overslept. I had a late night, I told Alex the truth and needed to prove it to her, so I couldn’t unlock you last night.”

“You told her about us? H
ow did she take that?” said Nick as he began to dress.

“No
, I haven’t got round to that one yet, I told her she was alive, I couldn’t let her risk herself anymore, that night when she came here, if you hadn’t been locked away well you know what would have happened,” said Ryan.

“
I’ll be fine once this bloody Alignment is over, I don’t understand why you can control it better than me, we both have the silver medallions, so I should be able to manage as well as you,” said Nick.

“
I’m not sure myself, perhaps I have accepted what we’ve become better than you,” answered Ryan, he watched Nick eat his food quickly.

“
You’ve accepted it but now you’re too scared to tell Alex, if you want this to work you need to tell her the truth, don’t you think? Not being told who you really are your whole life, like Alex, is a bad enough, without you deceiving her about your true self as well,” said Nick.

“
What, like you did with Marie! You still haven’t got round to that one yourself have you?”

Nick smiled
, “You got me, what did you do last night then?”

“
I took her to her grave.”

“Fun date.
Are you stupid? We are safe here, what if you had trouble with you know whom?”

“
I did run into them, but Alex saved me and brought me back home to safety. She used her magic to make the burns go away.”

“
I thought she didn’t know how to use her powers yet?”

“
It seemed to come naturally to her.”

Nick looked at Ryan and smiled
, “You’ve got it bad, you were meant for each other.”

“
I just have to wait, my time will come, I need her to see sense about Gary first,” said Ryan

“Bloody hell, can’t she
see what he’s like, we have been tracking them for the last how many months and the guy is an asshole!”

“Look
, Alex is still in love with him, she chooses to go to the club and join in, but she can’t see him yet for what he will be, what’s hidden inside him, I’m not sure he knows what he is himself, and at the end of the day to Alex, he is her one true love,” said Ryan.

“
We need to make her see his future; he is to become one of them that hunt us down.”

“
Leave it, Nick. She will get to it in her own time, now come, I think it’s time you met her.”

* * *

Alex was looking at the phone, should she phone him and tell him what she
’d seen last night.

She picked up the phone and rang the club, again Melissa answered.

“Did you get hold of Gary?” asked Melissa.

“
You knew didn’t you, you wanted me to find out!” snapped Alex.

“
Look, I think you both need to move on, I mean this can’t be a healthy for either of you,” answered Melissa.

Alex
went silent, she could sense Melissa smiling on the other end of the line. “I thought you were a friend Melissa, but I was so wrong.”

“Hey
, it’s all about the club and that goes for Gary, you and he were never going to last, even if you are still here, perhaps now you can move on to wherever you dead people need to go.”

Alex
felt her rage rising, she heard Melissa scream and drop the phone.

“
What the fuck was that!” shouted Melissa. Melissa picked the phone back up, “The bloody phone just gave me a shock, look I’ll tell Gary you rang and get him to call, but do yourself a favour let him go!” Melissa ended the call by slamming the phone down.

All this time I thought Melissa was in love with Gary, when really she loves the club so much and everything to do with it, she didn’t like me coming into Gary’s
life! It must have been a threat to her bloody club, if anyone needs to get a life it’s her. Well at least I got to add a bit of a spark to her life, so to speak,
thought Alex.

She
felt a bit better;
I could get used to this.

She looked out the window and saw Ryan and another man talking with Betty, Ryan looked towards the cottage and waved. She watched as Betty and Nick shook hands and Betty left.

Ryan began to walk towards the cottage with the other man in tow. Alex opened the door.

“Morning,”
said Alex.

“
Morning Alex, I’d like you to meet Nick,” said Ryan.

“
Nick, as in Marie’s Nick?” said Alex, she stood aside to let them both in.

“
The one and only,” grinned Nick. Alex looked at him, she could see why he would be Marie’s type, he had a mad wild hairstyle and a cheeky look about him, he wasn’t Alex’s type, but who was, she’d thought Gary was but look how that turned out.

“
So, how long have you been around?” asked Alex. Nick looked at Ryan, then back to Alex.

“
I’ve been staying at the big house for a couple of weeks, didn’t Ryan tell you this is a safe area for all of us at the moment,” said Nick.

“No.
Well at least I don’t think he mentioned details about this house and that you were here too,” said Alex.

“
I’m sorry Alex. I just wanted you to learn about yourself. I didn’t think it was a good idea you knowing your best friend’s lost love was here as well, and risk you telling her and her coming here,” said Ryan.

Nick looked at Alex,
“Please don’t say anything yet. I don’t want her getting hurt, you’ve met our hunters I hear, and I somehow don’t think Marie would be able to fight them off like you did.”

Alex could see how much he loved Marie,
“No, I wouldn’t want that, but I can’t lie to her Nick, you do not know how much she’s missing you. Why did you leave her anyway? She said you told her something happened and you needed to leave until you could deal with it, until it was safe enough to come back,” asked Alex.

Ryan jumped in, “
Have you had a chance to talk to Gary yet?”

“No, but I spoke
to Melissa, she works with him, I told her to get him to call me.”

“
Right, so what next?” asked Ryan.

“
I think we need to talk, there are still things that I don’t fully understand,” said Alex.

“
Ok, that’s my cue to exit,” said Nick getting up.

“
No you don’t, you’re part of this! I know you are, and you’re staying,” said Alex.

Nick and Ryan sat down obediently, and looked expectantly at Alex
.

“
I can see why you like her,” laughed Nick, Ryan gave him a nudge to shut him up.

Alex smiled and then sat down.

“Have you been following me?” asked Alex.

“
What makes you say that?” replied Nick.

“
Things just don’t add up, you showing up here for one. Ryan giving me papers telling me who I really was, you have been staying in the house. Not long by the looks of things and yet I haven’t seen you until today. But you must have been here before I turned up; it’s as if you knew I would come here. Plus who gave you the papers?”

“
We’ve been following you since I first sensed you were in danger. It must have triggered something that opened up a magical connection, maybe your protection spell was reaching out to others, I don’t know, but up to that point we had no clue where you were,” said Ryan.

“
Danger! What danger? You mean Harry, and yet you didn’t show yourself and stop it from happening,” said Alex.

“
We knew you would be ok, plus we had to make sure you were the right person, we couldn’t come forward until you were alone. We just had to wait for the right moment,” said Nick.

“
How did you know the spell would work? What if the protection spell hadn’t worked?” asked Alex.

“
It was going to work, your mother is, or was, one of the best out there,” said Nick.

Ryan sat quiet
ly listening to the conversation.

“
Who gave you the papers and told you to find me?” Alex continued.

Ryan looked at
her, “They were left for us. Given to us a man one night with details of what to do next,” said Ryan.

“
Next?”

“
There was a note, here, I still have it,” Ryan passed Alex the note.

Alex took the note and opened it
. She read:

Dear Ryan,

I’m sending this to you, in need of your help. I will not tell you my name or any of my details only that I need you to find this person. It is of great importance to our clan.

A c
lan that I know has long gone its own way, this person, a girl, well woman, now needs finding and watching over until you feel she is in no more danger. The reason I have chosen you Ryan will be revealed in time, just know she is as important to you as she is to the clan. Maybe even more so.

The enclosed shows details of this woman’s real name, and her new name. As you can see, she is the da
ughter of our long-lost leader. I’m worried this letter will not reach you in time, I sense her life is in danger and because she is unaware of who she truly is she may be in even greater peril. Please locate her before the Alignment, and protect her. She is the last of an important line, without her our kind could end.

Please find her and
protect her and help her find her way, I will contact you again.

Regards

X

Alex looked up from the note,
“There’s no name. Did it not have an address on the envelope of where it came from?”

“
No, it just had Ryan’s name on it,” answered Nick. “This seemed odd at the time, because we didn’t know anyone knew where we were. We’d been in hiding for a while. Whoever sent it must have some kind of powers themselves, to be able to know where we’d be and when.”

“Why
were you hiding?” asked Alex.

“
That’s not important now. I will explain that when the time is right. What we were doing has nothing to do with this,” said Ryan.

“
Are you both hiding something from me?” asked Alex.

“There are some thing
s you need to find out for yourself, other things I will tell you in time,” said Ryan looking at Nick, warning him not to say a word.

“
Ok, so you found me, made me understand I’m safe as long as I stay here. I’m the daughter of the high priestess, so what now?” snapped Alex.

“
Right now, you need to sort things out with Gary, work out what you want to do next. That’s why we are here, you need to face him and we will go with you,” said Ryan.

“
What about those night crawlers?” asked Alex not wanting to risk bumping into them again.

“
They only come out at night when they are at their strongest, but on some occasions they have been known to come out in daylight, so we’ll come in case they turn up, who knows what this Alignment is doing to them,” said Nick.

Alex smiled at them.
Her own team of bodyguards, what more could any woman ask for? This was tough but she knew Ryan was right; she needed to speak to Gary.