Fall From Grace (6 page)

“Alexander, m-my father … are they d-dead?”
Acidic liquid rose, burning the inside of her raw throat. Choking
it back down, she pushed up onto all fours. The world shifted and
spun.

“They’ll be okay, child. Can you walk?”
Grace patted Gaby’s head as she looked down at her with
compassionate eyes. “We need to clear the area and take care of the
evidence, Boon.”

“I-I think so.” But she stood only to fall
back to the ground. Alexander moved. She froze and watched as he
made his way to her. “Alex … I-I’m so sorry. I—”

“Shh, it wasn’t your fault.” He stumbled to
her and grasped her hands in his. “I thought I’d lost you.” He
kissed both hands. “You’re okay and that’s all that matters.”

“But I—”

“We’ll figure it out. For now we need to
listen to Grace.” He helped her over to her father.

“Daddy?” She rolled him over and saw his
face. Gasping she buried her head in her hands and cried out. “Oh,
God. What’ve I done?”

“It’s okay, Gaby. He’ll be fine,” Grace
said.

“Fine…f-fine? How can he be fine? His own
daughter m-melted half his face off!”

“Gaby, you can’t get upset. We can help him.
Just stay calm.” Alexander grasped her face in his hands. “Look at
me. Look into my eyes. I love you. Trust me. Everything will be
okay. We’re in this together.”

She did trust him, but how could he look at
her with so much love when she behaved like a monster? Resting her
head against his shoulder, his arms around her, she concentrated on
remaining calm. “P-please, just help my dad.”

Grace moved to the side. “Boon, help me with
Bruce. Sammy, dispose of the demon.” Grace turned from them and
held out her hands. Wind started to blow around them, trees bent,
dust and dirt swirled.

Alexander pulled Gaby close and helped her
up again. Rain poured in sheets. Not even the field was visible
from where they stood. Gaby’s body trembled as she wiped the water
from her eyes, trying to focus on the sudden natural phenomenon.
Alexander tightened his embrace. Was something else coming for
them?

The water swirled into a typhoon in front of
them. Debris flew in the area trapped in the cyclone rising up to
the sky.

Gaby tried to shelter her father from any
possible debris, but Alexander held tight. The wind died down, and
the water evaporated; the Earth rested. No sign of the fire
remained. The thick St. Augustine grass grew from the Earth within
seconds of the wind dying down. Tree limbs sprouted from trunks,
and Spanish moss draped down. Even the front steps were clean and
dry.

Grace swayed and fell to the stairs.

“Mom?” Alexander called out.

“I’m fine, son.” She shooed him away. “Get
Gaby inside. I’ll be right in.”

“I’m not leaving my father.” Gaby
insisted.

“Gaby, you must get inside. It’s not safe.
The demons have found us.” Grace urged.

“But how? I thought we had more time. A
year, maybe more. My mom promised.”

“I know, dear, but there are things we
hadn’t anticipated. I will explain inside. Now, go.”

“I’ll bring him in with you.” Boon pulled
Bruce into his arms, and they all made their way into the
house.

Alexander led her through the kitchen door,
Boon trailing behind with her father in tow. Her father almost
twice his size, yet Boon managed to carry him. The more she tried
to avoid the sight of her father’s face the more she looked at it.
Punishment, reminder of what she had done. The same smells and
sights reminded her of the car crash that claimed her mother. She
hadn’t been able to do anything to save her. Now she’d be forced to
watch her father die, by her own hand. Why was life always so full
of pain?

Boon lowered her father down to the couch,
and Gaby knelt beside him holding his hand with care. She ran her
thumb down the edge and skin peeled off as if he’d spent too much
time in the sun. “D-daddy, I’m so s-sorry.”

“I’m better, I can heal him now.” Alexander
kissed her forehead and moved her to the side.

Could he really? Scrunched down, legs pulled
to her chest, she pressed her chin to her knees and watched.
Dear God, please. Let him live.

Squatting next to her father, Alexander
reached up and placed two hands on his arm. A navy glow pulsed
around his hands. Black flakes fell from her father’s arm, fire
engine red skin formed then faded to bright pink, finally to his
natural olive tone.

She let out a slow breath and her ribs
relaxed. A dull throb remained in her abdominal muscles.

Alexander fell back to the floor. “Alex,
please, keep trying.”

Her father groaned.

“Daddy, can you hear me?”

No response.

Boon pressed a hand to her shoulder. “Give
him a minute.”

She couldn’t lose her father now. He’d just
come home. “I’m sorry. I hate that I’m putting you through this
when you’re so weak, but Alex, he’s all I’ve got left.”

His pupils dilated in the dim light, his
brows furrowed. “You have me.”

“I…I just meant—”

“It’s okay.” Alexander pushed up, pressed
his hands to her father’s face, and clenched his jaw.

This time the light pulsed twice, and he
fell to the floor.

Gaby placed his head in her lap and stroked
his hair. “You need to rest. I shouldn’t’ve asked. Rest.” She tried
to mask her concern for her father, allowing Alexander to rest, but
the words choked out between sobs.

Alexander pushed up from her lap only to
fall back again. “Help me up. I can do this.”

“No, there’s got to be another way. I can’t
sacrifice you to save my father.”

“I won’t sacrifice your father to save
myself.” His words only a whisper.

“I can’t lose either of you. There’s got to
be another way.” Gaby struggled to think of something, anything she
could do. What good were these angelic powers if she couldn’t heal
her own father?

Alexander pulled her hand to his lips and
kissed her palm before squeezing it against his chest. “There…is…no
other…way.”

****

Although Alexander could lift a two thousand
pound truck without so much as a strained muscle, he couldn’t lift
his head from Gaby’s lap. He looked through watering eyes at her
wrinkled brow and pursed lips. Even in grief she was the most
beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Her pale blue eyes, the color of
the cloudless sky, were worry-filled. His body relaxed as her nails
grazed his scalp, and the hair on his arms stood at attention.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes,
he refocused his energy, unable to look at the sadness in her eyes
a moment longer. With one last blast of power, maybe he could heal
her father, even if it meant shutting down all the power necessary
to maintain his human form. Even if he died, it would be better
than failing Gaby.

“Help me up. I’m ready.”

“No, Alex, please, give yourself more time.”
Her voice caressed his soul even through her sobs.

“I’ll be fine.” He sat up and faced her.
Cupping her cheeks, he leaned in and kissed her. If he could only
have more time, more kisses. No, even a thousand kisses wouldn’t be
enough.

He pulled away and faced Bruce. “I love you,
Gaby. Never forget that.”

“You better love her or I’d have something
to say about a kiss like that in my house.”

“Dad?” Gaby hugged Alexander pressing her
entire body against his. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She
kissed him again. “You did it. I knew you could.”

Gaby let him go and took her father’s hand.
“Are you okay?”

Alexander looked at Bruce now with Gaby in
his lap. He hadn’t healed Bruce. But his face looked fresh and
shiny. Not a mark on him. Glancing around the room he spotted
Grace, her finger pressed to her lips.

Mom, did you heal him?

She didn’t respond. Shaking his head, he
tried again but was still too weak to communicate.

Grace had cleared the entire field, helped
Sammy dispose of the demon and still had enough power to heal
Bruce. Meanwhile, he could barely sit up.

Boon and Sammy cuddled on the love seat,
holding each other as if they’d been apart another two thousand
years.

Gaby tugged at Alexander to join her on the
coach, next to her dad. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

Grace hobbled into the room, her arthritis
obviously bothering her. “You don’t need to say anything, child, it
wasn’t your fault.”

“But I-I almost killed my own father.”

Alexander squeezed her hand but knew there
was nothing he could do to take away that kind of pain.

Boon pushed Sammy from his lap but kept hold
of her hand. “It actually wasn’t your fault, Gaby. I was on my way
to your house to meet with you and Bruce about something. The fire
was a gift.”

“A gift?” Gaby exclaimed.

“Yes, the creature you saw. What color was
it?” Boon continued.

“A yellow-orangish. It didn’t look like
Forras or any of the other demons we’ve seen. It wasn’t even a
demon, I don’t think.”

“It was a demon. A specific kind of demon—a
scout. One that can only be killed a certain way.”

“Fire. That’s why she…but why didn’t it
stop?” Alexander regretted his question before it left his
lips.

“I don’t know. But Gaby, I promise I’ll
figure it out.” Boon stretched a hand out and patted her on the
knee.

“That’s not the important question right
now.” Sammy chimed in. “How and why did it come here? I thought
we’d chased out Forras’ clan.”

“We did,” Boon said.

“Then why?” Gaby trembled.

Alexander reached out to pull her close and
hold her but retracted when her father wrapped his arm around her
and leaned her into him. Should they have warned her about the
demon and her powers? Maybe it would have kept her from losing
control like that. Information could be powerful.

Boon pulled a kitchen chair out to the
living room for Grace. “I’m not sure, but I have a theory.”

“What is it?” Alexander swallowed down a
rising lump in his throat.

“Somehow they’ve discovered the powers used
in Kemp to destroy Forras and his gang. I believe that demon was
hunting for clues but got more than it bargained for.” Boon turned
to face Grace. “I need to try to infiltrate another demon
cell.”

Alexander’s chest tightened at the thought.
Living among demons again would be torture. How he’d made it so
long with Forras was beyond his comprehension.

“No. You can’t.” Sammy grasped Boon’s
arm.

“Sammy, my love, I’m sorry. It’s the only
way to know for sure. If they’ve tracked the powers to our
location, we’ll have to relocate. At least until Gaby is trained
and we can fight.”

Gaby was so vulnerable and confused. He’d
felt her turmoil last night and knew she wasn’t ready for a
war.

“But I thought the point of my powers were
to avoid a war.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t mean we can fight now.”
Alex wanted to take her into his arms, head for the sky, and not
stop until they landed far away from all of this. If only he could
keep the demons away, protect her.

“What should we do?” Gaby’s voice
quivered.

“Act normal. Go to school on Monday. If they
know about the powers in Kemp, it’s imperative they don’t know who
possesses them.” Boon clung to Sammy, and Alexander knew how tough
it would be for him to separate from her. So many years they’d
spent apart. Alexander couldn’t imagine being separated from Gaby
for two thousand years.

Gaby shifted, eyes wide. “I can’t go to
school. I’ll kill everyone if another one of those things comes
after us.”

She was right; the demon’s presence
explained her erratic behavior. If another came, she might not be
able to stop, and Alexander just proved he couldn’t protect
her.

Chapter Six

Monday morning came with all the anxiety
Gaby had anticipated. Her stomach churned as she grabbed her purse
then paused. She opened her top drawer and studied the pills hidden
inside. If she started feeling too anxious, or had a vision, would
the pills help? She clutched the small brownish bottle in her hand.
A container she swore she’d never need again, but these were her
friends. The pills rattled in her shaking hands as she glared down
at them. She took in a shuttered breath and shoved them in her
purse, as a precaution only, and ran out of her bedroom. The
stairwell filled with sounds of sizzling bacon and the heady aroma
to go with it. Normally she’d be famished, but today the smell
nearly drove her back into her room.

“G-Bear, come down and eat,” Dad called
up.

The old rickety stairs creaked with each
descending step. Oranges, bacon, eggs, and toast set waiting at her
seat. He must have gotten up early to surprise her with breakfast.
She had to stifle a chuckle at his tube socks, hairy legs, and
green and white floral apron. It felt good to find humor after two
days of worrying about him.

He’d made it through two months of rehab
only to be set on fire by his own daughter for his homecoming. She
tried not to worry, but she found herself peeking in cookie jars
and back, of cabinets for liquor bottles. Guilt forced her legs to
move the few steps to the table, sit, and choke down a few
bites.

Dad scooped another sunny side up egg onto
her plate. “Is it good? It’s all your favorites, right?”

“Yeah, Dad. It’s great.” All those days she
spent wishing for this moment, but how could she ignore what was
waiting when breakfast was over.

“What is it? You know, I’m strong enough
now. It’s about time you leaned on your old man for a change.”

Gaby pushed the bacon around on her plate
with her fork and tried to muster the courage to talk to him. He’d
been gone for a couple of months, and before that, he’d been drunk
for almost a year straight. “I know, Dad. I’m glad you’re home.
It’s just that…well…oh, I don’t know.”