Fall from Grace (Book 2: An Angelblood Novel) (14 page)

“He will need an army and then some,” Aura s
aid.
“No one will touch me or my little ones. If Lucifer is foolish
enough to try, he will sufferGod’s wrath.”

Aura was usually calm and level-headed, but she
wouldn’t tolerate threats to her little ones. It wasn’t her they
were concerned about. Lucifer didn’t play by the rules. He
may not be able to touch her, but he could certainly make
her friends suffer.

Paul looked at his wife.
“I think it would be best if
they stayed close to home until we know why Mortriel was
here. I’m going to insist the Malloy’s stay here too. We’ve
already lost Ella because she refused our blood. I won’t let
them take another mortal from us,” Paul insisted.

“Me, Tracy and Alannah can talk to Alice’s parents
for you.
I think we can convince them to take the angelblood now,” Bren said.

“How do you propose to do that?” Rita snapped.
“Dad and the others have asked them repeatedly and they’ve
always declined.”

Bren
was
resolute. “They might listen to us.”
Alannah and Tracy both nodded in agreement.

“I’ll contact the Malloy’s when we finish our
meeting,” Paul assured them. “In the mean time,we don’t
leave the valleyunless you’re with one of us.”

“Are you including me and Jessica too?” Rita
fumed. “That’s hardly fair. If we could take on those
creatures, we shouldn’t have any trouble with a dark wing,”
she pleaded.

“Rita’s right,” Eve said. “Their weapons will protect
them.”

 

Adam didn’t agree. “Mortriel is Lucifer’s own son.”
“I’m not afraid of him. Let him come here if he
wants to die,” Bren said stubbornly.

 

Tracy was just as defiant. “That’s right. I can use
my bow and Bren can call for her sword.”

“I’ll burn him if he comes near me,” Alannah add
ed.
The three girls stood together as one.
Mia walked over to
join them, kicking her right foot. “We no take hims crap,”
she said.Though it wasn’t appropriate at the time, Aura
couldn’t help laughing.

“All for one and one for all
,” Willow said as she
grabbed Alannah’s other hand. Joey reached for the other
hand of Mia.
Soon everyone in the house joined hands.
If
darkness was coming, they would fight it together.

Shortly after their meeting, the Guild left to advise
the High Council of Mortriel’s visit. When the girls went to
bed, Aidan still wasn’t home. Aura found herself getting
more annoyed. He could at least have the courtesy to let her
know he was alright. She couldn’t help thinking his
behavior was rude. This wasthe second time he didn’t come
home.
She wondered if he was being tempted to walk the
path to darkness as Jayden did.

Rita decided to call the Academy to let them know
what happened.
She was surprised when Will answered the
phone. Though he was remorseful for leaving Rita the way
he did, he was sure he came across as being cold and
insensitive. Hearing the bitterness in Will’s voice, Rita
abruptly ended the call.

An hour later Andromeda called back to say she
would be sending Matthew with her father in the morning.
She let Matt talk to Willow to assure her they would be there
bright and early.

Rita wondered why Will and Joshua hadn’t
volunteered to accompany him.
She could only assume he
was still angry and didn’t want to see her. She decided to
suffer in silence, even though it broke her heart. She thought
she
knew Will better.
Obviously
she made a mistake
trusting him.

Chapter 15

Richard
left
Natalie
with
Phillipe
to
scout
out
possible places for her to live.
He wanted her close enough
to the valley, but far enough away to avoid suspicion.
After
finding a small cottage a few miles from the valley, Richard
returned. It was after midnight.

“I won’t be coming with you under the
circumstances.
You have the address and everything you
need will be waiting. Plan to attend church service with the
other angel-bloods on Sunday morning. Be sure to keep your
wedding ring hidden.
Jayden will be attending the services
with the rest of the Guild.”

“I thought we were going to the Academy first,”
Natalie argued.

“I’ve ch
anged my mind.
Sending you to the valley
makes more sense. You are Natasha now. Don’t forget it! If
anyone recognizes you; leave immediately for Paris.”

“No one will see through this disguise. I barely
know myself,” she laughed.

 

“Remember to stay clear of Jayden. Don’t forget
who you are,and where you come from.”

“I know Father. If I was able to fool them once, I
know I can fool them now,” Natalie said, as she stared at her
reflection in the mirror.

“You will report to me every day and advise me
immediately of any problems. Do you understand?!”
Natalie turned away from the mirror.“I understand.
Why are you so angry with me?”

“We are in this situation because you acted without
consulting me first.
If you had waited, things would be
different and I would have more time to follow through with
my plans. I don’t like being rushed.”

“I’m sorry. I swear I won’t cause any more trouble.

Richard’s voice was frigid. “See to it that you
don’t.” He kissed his daughter goodbye and left to meet his
mother in Paris.

The next morning when Aura awoke, Aidan had still
not
returned.
She
was
beginning
to
worry
something
happened to him.
She put the thought out of her mind, not
wanting to upset the little ones. Aura wasn’t good at hiding
her feelings, but she would try for Alannah’s sake.

“Is
Daddy home yet?” Alannah asked.
“Not yet. I’m sure he probablylost track of time.”
“Where did he go?’ Bren asked.

“I’m sure he went to search for Jeziel. Let’s have
breakfast. He’ll show up sooner or later.” Aura was furious
now.
It was one thing to keep her waiting, but to make
Alannah worry unnecessarily, that was unforgiveable.

She didn’t care if Jeziel was his friend; Alannah
was his daughter. At least he allowed her to call him Daddy.
Aura wondered if that was a mistake. She would speak to
Aidan when he returned.
What was she supposed to say if
the others asked? Sorry I don’t know where he is. Maybe
he found Jeziel and decided to stay with her.
The more she
thought about it, the angrier she became.

When Rita walked in the door the first thing she
asked was, “Where’s Aidan. Isn’t he joining us for breakfast
this morning?”

“Aidan didn’t come home again last night.
I guess
he forgot what time it was.”

 

“Why are you defending him?”

Aura shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t need to know
where he is all the time.
Maybe he needed a little break
from family life?”

“He always came home before,” Alannah said sadly.
“I’m sure he had a good reason for staying away.
We’ll ask him later.”

As Aura walked back into the kitchen, Rita followed
her. “Dad’s going to be pissed.
It was one thing to go out
for the whole day, but not coming home again after what
happened yesterday?”

“Nothing happened yesterday I couldn’t handle.
Maybe he just needs some time alone.”

 

“Stop making excuses for him Aura. He should be
here. He’s your guardian.”

 

“I’m not making excuses,and I told you I don’t need
a guardian.”

 

“Then why don’t you ask him to leave?”

 

“I can’t ask him to leave. Alannah loves him and
she’s already lost everyone else she cared about.”
“What’s it doing to Alannah not knowing where he
is,or what he’s doing?”

Aura knew Rita was right. She couldn’t bear to see
Alannah upset.
She would have a long talk with Aidan
when he returned, a very long talk. Aura wondered if Jeziel
was
with
Natalie.
Considering
no
one
knew
their
whereabouts, it was possible.

Aura
got
strange
looks
from
the
other
family
members throughout breakfast, but no one dared broach the
subject of Aidan. Rita already beat that horse to death.

Willow was surprised when Matthew showed up
with Joshua and Will instead of his grandfather.
Jessica
immediately ran to give Joshua a hug, but Rita remained in
her seat and barely acknowledged Will.

Jayden took a seat next to Acadia and afterwards
made plans to show her around.

“You might want to wait,” Paul said. “We have to
move you and your mother into one of the houses here in the
valley.”

“I’ll help,” Acadia smiled. “If I’m going to be
staying here,I can at least do my share. I’m used to working
anyway. It’s not like Meredith gave us a lot of time off.”

Jane looked sadly at her new young friend. “I’m
sure Meredith was anything but kind to you.
But I promise
you will be treated with love and respecthere.”

“It means a lot to be part of a family again, but I still
want to help,” Acadia grinned.

 

Jayden returned her smile.“It won’t take long to get
settled and then I’ll show you around.”

 

“I’m not planning on leaving any time soon,” she
assured him.

Jane felt better having Acadia around and so did
Jayden.
He wondered what she thought about his short
marriage to Natalie. He hoped she wouldn’t have a lesser
opinion of him, since his marriage was annulled.

Aura saw the two of them growing closer.
No one
considered his marriage to Natalie anyway; it only lasted a
week.
When asked about it, he said he was temporarily
disoriented.

“He means he had a brain fart,” Bren said. The
entire room laughed, including Jayden.

When breakfast was over and the dishes were done,
Aidan finally returned home.
Aura could sense Rita wanted
to jump on him, but she warned her not to.
She would talk
to Aidan first.

He didn’t give Aura a hug, but he went to the three
little ones and apologized for not returning the night before.

“Do you want some breakfast?” Aura asked.
“Actually breakfast would be great. I’m starving.”

Aidan was in a good mood.
Aura wondered if he
had news to tell them. Shedidn’t return his smile. She went
into
the
kitchen
and
started
to
warm
up
some
of
the
leftovers.
Normally she would have made something fresh,
but she was still angry that he had been so inconsiderate.

Sensing Aidan and Aura needed time to talk, Rita
and Jessica volunteered to take the girls shopping.
“If you run into any trouble, come home
immediately,” her father warned.

“We’ll be fine dad,” Rita assured him. “I doubt he
would be foolish enough to appear again today.
Besides its
Aura he’s interested in, not us.”

“Will and Joshua should go with you just the same
.”
Paulknew his daughter’s had power, but so did Mortriel. It
was useless to argue the point. He wasn’t about to change
his mind.

Rita looked at Will.
He was the last person she
wanted to go shopping with.
But she knew she couldn’t
refuse her father’s suggestion. The way he said it, was more
like a command.

“We don’t want to detain them,” Rita said
sarcastically.

“Actually, we thought we would stay for a couple
more days.We weren’t supposed to be at the Academy until
after the New Year anyway.
We promised Andromeda we
would watch out for Matthew,” Will said.

“Matthew is perfectly safe. He’s been here countless
times and nothing’s happened to him.”

 

“We promised his mother we would stay close to
him; especially after what happened yesterday.”

 

Aidan looked around.“Am I missing something?
Was there an incident yesterday thatI’m not aware of?”

Everyone
in
the room looked at Aura. “It’s
nothing.” She wasn’t about to bring up the subject of
Mortriel. If the truth be told, she didn’t care whether Aidan
knew about her confrontation or not.
She was perfectly
capable of protecting herself and the little ones.

Aidan
continued
to
look
at
the
others,
before
returning his attention to Aura. “What aren’t you telling
me?”

“It’s nothing. Why don’t you finish your
breakfast?”

Aidan knew something must have happened while
he was gone.
Aura was visibly upset with him, probably
because he didn’t come home all night again.
He had news
for them and he was sure it would lighten the mood. “I
found Jeziel last night.”

“Where was she?” Paul asked.

“She ran away after she saw the fire because she
was frightened.
She knew it was too late to save Elijah and
his sister.” Aidan was convinced that Jeziel was telling him
the truth, though the others doubted it.

“Why didn’t you bring her to us?” Adam asked.

“She doesn’t know how the Guild will react to
leaving Elijah unprotected, so she wants to stay away until
things settle down.”

“Where is she?” Paul asked.

“She didn’t tell me where she’s staying. We met
somewhere she used to frequent with Natalie. Jayden knows
the place. It’s in the mountains near Deep Creek Lake.”

“Yeah I remember. It was one of Jasper and Ella’s
favorite places.”

“You should have brought her back,” Adam said.
“She didn’t kill Elijah and she didn’t start the fire.”
“How can you be sure?” Paul asked.

“I could tell if she was lying. I have no reason to
doubt her.”

“Did she say anything about her conversation with
Samhael?
If she was telling the truth; she would have
nothing to hide. Why not return and clear her name?” Jack
asked.

“No
she didn’t mention him and neither did I. She
thinks she’s in trouble. She’s upset about what happened.
She promised she’ll come before the Council soon.”

“What color were her eyes?” Aura asked.
“What does her eye color have to do with
anything?” Aidan answered defensively.

 

“It could have a great deal to do with many things.”
“Aura I know you’re upset with me, but you don’t
have to take it out on Jeziel. I’m telling you she’s innocent.”
“Perhaps you didn’t ask her the right questions.
Your friendship with her may be clouding your judgment.”