Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (44 page)

Dad...I know it’s not your thing, but I love that you read it

anyway. You’re getting better at pretending!

To my favorite and kindest reader—Matt. Thank you for your

unconditional love and support, and for never complaining that

there was no dinner.

Lastly, the following songs cannot go without mention: “Falling,”

“Drumming Song,” “Kiss with a Fist,” and “Hardest of Hearts” by Florence and the Machine; “Lentil” and “Lullaby” by Sia; “Citizen” and “Trap Doors” by Broken Bells; “All the Same to Me” by Anya

Marina; “Love Lost” by Temper Trap.

Embrace_FinalINT.indd 388

11/30/11 4:32 PM

Copyright © 2011 by Jessica Shirvington

Cover and internal design © 2013 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

Cover illustration by Don Sipley/Lott Reps

Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems— except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews— without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

The author and publisher would like to thank the following for permission to use copyrighted material: State University of New York Press, Albany, for a quotation from
Jung
and
Eastern
Thought
by Harold G. Coward; University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, for a quotation from
A
House
of
Gathering: Poets on May Sarton’s Poetry
by May Sarton and Marilyn Kallett.

The author and publisher would also like to acknowledge the following works from which the author has quoted: Douay- Rheims Bible; the Holy Bible: English Standard Version; and the King James Bible.

Every endeavor has been made on the part of the publisher to contact copyright holders not mentioned above, and the publisher would be happy to include a full acknowledgment in any future edition.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Published by Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567- 4410

(630) 961- 3900

Fax: (630) 961- 2168

teenfire.sourcebooks.com

Originally published in Australia and New Zealand in 2011 by Hachette Australia.

Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication data is on file with the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

VP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Entice.indd 4

12/19/12 4:44 PM

For Mum and Dad,

who are a constant inspiration in both my life and work.

Thanks for always being there.

I love you.

Entice.indd 5

12/18/12 4:57 PM

I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil:
I, the Lord, do all these things.

IsaIah 45:7

Entice.indd 7

12/18/12 4:57 PM

prologue

“No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will.”
JohN 10:18

Th e
angel
had
been
ordered
to
make
his
choice. It had to be of his own
free will. But what they asked of him carried a high price. He would
most likely never return. Most likely be destroyed. Or worse.

And
no
one
would
ever
know
the
truth.

“You have decided, then,” a voice said to him.

I
felt
each
moment
as
the
angel
did— the obscured version of time in
what had to be an otherworldly place— but could see nothing. It was
surreal; no people were visible— just their presence, or maybe auras.

It
wasn’t a question, what was said. Th ey knew the moment he’d
made the decision. Th ey probably knew before him. He could sense
them all around, the mighty Seraphim. Supreme knowledge lent them
a powerful presence, but it was bitter this day.

“When the fi rst of your tasks is complete, you will move on to the
next. You must not reveal yourself or seek companionship with anyone,
especially exiles, unless for the purposes of fulfi lling your objectives.”
Entice.indd 1

12/18/12 4:57 PM

Jessica shirvington

“I understand.”

“You will spend three years before the day on which you must act
arrives. He has his role to play. It is not possible without your actions first.”

“I understand.”

And
he
did
understand. He had made this decision of his own free
will, despite the sacrifice, for he knew it had only been asked of him
because he was the perfect choice.

He
felt
the
universe
around
him, the freedom of unfettered dominion
over space and realm, and wondered when he would again feel this, if ever.

“Take a name of the times when you are there. Now go.”

And
so
it
was. He made the transition amid images of mobs and
anger. To his destiny. To death. The flash of a kiss. All things to come.

A
fog
cleared
around
me
and
my
surroundings
came
into
view. I
was suddenly in my art studio. Standing by the window was a figure I
recognized. The one I suspected was my angel maker.

“What’s your name?” I asked, still amazed by the way my words
seemed to float through the air in these dreams, as if they had their own
physical presence.

“It does not matter. But you may call me Lochmet if you require a title.”

“What does that mean?”

“Warrior.”

I
swallowed, suddenly nervous. The way he said it, with such force
and confidence, made him seem so powerful.

“Why did you show me that angel? I don’t get it.”

“Not yet. But you will. It is but a strand of one existence, from a
very long time ago.”

2

Entice.indd 2

12/18/12 4:57 PM

Entice

“No, please don’t…Just tell me.”

He
turned
to
face
me, his shoulders squared, and I struggled with
conflicting urges— one drawing me toward him, the other, to cower
away. I was sure he could see it, see right through me, which only made
me more vulnerable.

“We all have the capacity to find the will to do what must be done—

even when that which we must do terrifies us most. Remember this.”

“That’s it? That doesn’t explain anything. Who was he? I thought it
was against angel law to exile to earth. How come the Seraphim asked
it of that angel?”

He
considered
me
for
another
delayed, vacant moment before
his head tilted toward a painting beside him. The vision of a sandy
beach with a midnight blue sea crashing against rocks seemed to affect
him. He stretched his arm out and brushed his fingers lightly across
the textured ripples of the oil- painted canvas. For just a moment, the
silence between us was almost comfortable.

But
when
he
looked
back
at
me,
I
knew: he wasn’t going to tell me
any more about the angel he had shown me.

“Be mindful. A traitor is within your fold,” he said.

“Who?”

He
shook
his
head
and
turned
back
to
the
window.

“You must walk your path; leave the footprints as evidence of your
journey. I cannot take it…or change it.”

His
voice
held
the
first
hint
of
emotion— a small, almost undetect-able, quiver.

“But you did help me,” I started. “Two years ago, in that classroom…”
3

Entice.indd 3

12/18/12 4:57 PM

Jessica shirvington

Even in my dream, I felt the sickening memories and the lump in my
throat willing me not to go on. “It couldn’t have been anyone else. You
sent that teacher across the school to intervene.”

I
swallowed
hard, fought to hold onto my train of thought, not
detour to that day, to that teacher holding me down while I struggled
beneath his heavy weight.

“You interfered,” I said, then dropped my head. “Thank you.”
His
silence
was
all
the
confirmation
I
needed. I looked around
the room, unsure what to say next. My paintings surrounded me, but
unlike before, they now included those that I had only planned, envi-sioned. Somehow, this room held the paintings of my imagination.

I
shuddered.

From
behind
me, I heard a roar. The deepest rumble, so strong it
reverberated up my legs and into my spine.

“My lion,” I whispered.

I
spun
around
in
dreamy
slow
motion. There was nothing there. I
turned back to the angel. He was gone. Sprinkles of rain spattered in
through the crack in the window.

I
stood, waiting.

And
then
everything
around
me
exploded
in
a
flash
of
color
that
settled
to
nothing. I was nowhere, all alone apart from the rain, startlingly cold, stinging my face with every sharp landing.

Shards
of
ice.

Cold enough to wake me up.

4

Entice.indd 4

12/18/12 4:57 PM