Falling (The Falling Angels Saga) (30 page)

That was a close call. I’d almost blown the whole thing. Seeing Señora Marisol when I was expecting to meet with Dagenhart had thrown me, and then the unexpected slap had allowed my abilities to spin out of control.

During the melee, I had discovered something new about my abilities. They were no longer compromised by fear. My fear seemed to have no effect on them at all. I looked at this recent occurrence as a good thing. If my plan was to work, I’d need to have full control of my powers.

“I can’t go any further, Miss Barnett.”

The driver’s voice from behind the partition had awakened me. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to sleep. But there I was, slumped in the back seat of the sedan, groggy-eyed and aching all over. The scrapes the demons left along my arms and torso were starting to burn. I sat up and looked out the passenger window. We were at least a quarter of a mile from my house.

I looked forward and saw that the partition had been pulled back. I could now see the driver, a dark, hulking figure.

“Why not?” I called out, my voice raspy from sleep.

“That.” The driver’s finger, with a long, crooked nail, was pointing out the windshield. There was something on the road a few feet ahead of us. Even though the thing on the road was bathed in headlight, it was too small to make out. A package of some sort.

“What is it?” I asked, squinting at the thing.

“Your… hell cat,” came the disgusted reply.

I pushed open the passenger door and stepped out into the night. Little Amanda was standing in the center of the street, in the crosshairs of the sedan’s headlights. Even though her green eyes were gleaming, she didn’t appear to be menacing. The tiny kitty stood her ground, as if quietly daring the large sedan to cross an imaginary line. The sight could have been comical—a small gray and white cat facing off against a large black car. But this was no ordinary cat, and the demon behind the wheel of the car wasn’t taking any chances.

I shut the door and ran to her. As I did, the large sedan began swiftly backing up down the street, tires squealing against the blacktop. I reached Amanda, and she jumped into my arms. The retreating sedan disappeared into the night.

“Thank you for not coming to my rescue,” I said as I cuddled her to my face. She began to purr. “I don’t know what I would have done if those demons had ripped you to shreds.” A tear formed in the corner of my eye at the thought of losing her. You’re a good girl. Yes, you are,” I said as if I were talking to my child. In a sense, I was.

I walked the rest of the way home with Amanda in my arms. My thoughts were no longer on my event-filled evening, but were instead on what was to come. I had agreed to become Satan’s bride. That news was not going to go over very well.

When I reached my street, both Guy and Orthon were waiting for me. They were seated side-by-side on the curb in front of my house, their heads in their hands. Orthon saw me first. He nudged Guy and jumped to his feet. Guy followed suit, and started toward me.

“My God! Look at you,” Guy called out, his voice wracked with concern.

“I’m all right,” I said.

“You’re not all right. You’ve been in a battle.”

“I’m fine, Guy. Really. I need a bath. I need to wash my wounds, but aside from that, I’m fine,” I reassured.

“I should have known,” he said, his tone turning dark.

“I didn’t want you to know. I knew you wouldn’t want me to go, so I slipped out without telling you,” I confessed.

“You were in danger. I should have
known
,” he repeated and hung his head low. “Orthon had to alert me to the danger you were in. If he hadn’t told me…” His words trailed off.

I realized why Guy had turned so sullen. With the passing of each day, he was becoming more human. The psychic link he’d once shared with me, as my Guardian, was fading along with his other angel abilities.

“It’s all right. I’m fine.” It was the only condolence I could offer. I knew it wouldn’t be enough.

Amanda began to hiss and growl as Orthon drew nearer.

“It’s okay, baby,” I said and began scratching her behind the ears. I kneeled and set her on the ground. “He’s not going to hurt mommy. He’s my friend.” I looked up at Orthon. His shades were off and I could see that he, too, was in pain as Amanda’s reaction reminded him of the worlds that separated us.

“Mommy’s okay. You go wait inside,” I said, focusing back on Amanda. I gave her rear end a gentle shove. At first she didn’t move. She arched her back, her large blinking eyes fixed on Orthon. “Go on,” I urged, again tapping her on the behind. After a few moments she began trotting up the walk toward the house. She vanished into the bushes.

“Did she rescue you again?” Guy asked. There was no masking the helplessness in his voice.

“No. I didn’t need rescuing this time. I ran into her on the way home.” I slid my hand along the bruise on my face. It was starting to puff up.

“Your bruises tell a different story.”

“I’m fine,” I said in a clipped tone, wanting the interrogation to be over with.

“So what happened?” asked Orthon.

“I’m engaged is what happened,” I replied, my gaze moving between Guy and Orthon. “I went up to the castle to tell them they’d won. I told them if Satan accepts my conditions, my wedding to him will be a week from Saturday.”

“No,” drawled Guy. There was agony in his eyes. “You didn’t. You couldn’t.” His words were more tormented than before. I wanted to reach out to him and let him know he hadn’t let me down, that this was all part of a larger plan. But I had to play it out.

“Yes,” I said my voice sounding hollow. “We’re getting married. And after that, we’ll probably have lots of babies.”

“No!” cried Orthon, louder, his words more tortured than Guy’s.

“Yes,” I said again. “In a little more than a week, I’ll be Satan’s bride.”

I stood on the sidewalk in front of my house, feeling my heart being ripped into a million pieces, as an angel and a demon’s cry shattered the night.

We met at Aunt Jaz’s in the morning. It was a school day, but this meeting was far more important than my GPA. The time had come to share my plan with the group.

I was exhausted by the time Guy and I had arrived. I’d gotten in late, and after bathing and dressing my wounds, I’d spent the better part of the early morning hours talking with Guy as he peppered me with questions about my
crazy
plan. I refused to answer any of his questions and eventually fell into a restless sleep. I told him he had to wait to hear the plan. I wanted to tell it just once, afraid that if I had to say it again, it would, in fact, start sounding crazy to me.

When we walked in, Aunt Jaz’s hallway was filled with the fragrance of bacon frying, coffee brewing, and fresh baked muffins just out of the oven.

“Aunt Jaz, it smells wonderful in here,” I said as we headed for the tiny kitchen.

“I just threw together a little breakfast is all,” she replied. “Fix yourselves a plate. I’m afraid you’ll have to eat in the living room, balancing it on your lap. This apartment’s too small to serve a proper breakfast party.”

I smiled. Aunt Jaz and her romance with food was the one constant in my life.

Breakfast was in chafing dishes lined up on the kitchen table. I piled my plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, country sausage and home-fried potatoes. Guy fixed himself a plate as well. I wondered if he was being polite, or was this another step in his journey towards becoming human.

When we arrived in the living room, Maudrina and Harrison were already on the orange sectional, with plates on their laps. Harrison sat, his golden hair down, eating with gusto. They said brief good mornings before going back to their meals.

Guy and I sat on the ends of the sofa and began picking at our food. I was too nervous to eat, and it seemed food continued to hold no appeal for Guy.

Twenty minutes into the meal, Orthon arrived. He didn’t bother with the pretense of fixing a plate he wouldn’t eat. He moved across the room and sat in the rocker. His hands fidgeted in his lap.

“Has everyone had enough?” Aunt Jaz asked, returning from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Only Harrison had emptied his plate.

Everyone said what a good meal it was, and after some polite conversation, the room fell unnaturally quiet.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Thank you all for coming,” I said, setting my plate on the coffee table. It was time to get the show on the road. I stood. “I appreciate you hosting this on such short notice, Aunt Jaz.” She smiled and nodded. There was tension around the corners of her eyes.

“To begin with, I want you all to know I don’t plan on being Satan’s bride. But I need to get close to him if I’m going to beat him.” There were surprised glances all around, and perhaps even a sigh of relief.

“You were close to him a few nights ago,” said Guy. “Why didn’t you try to beat him then?”

“That was a dream. I need to be physically close to him, like I was the last time I defeated him.”

“I hate to interrupt, but what difference does it make if you’re close to him or not?” said Orthon. “It was luck that you defeated him the first time—chance. It’s crazy to think the stars will all align and you can beat him again.” Orthon showed immediate distaste for my plan.

“Then, go! Leave us,” barked Guy.

“Control your emotions,
friend
. You believe this is a crazy idea just as much as I do. Do not deny it,” challenged Orthon.

His words silenced Guy, who shrank back into the sofa and looked at me with misery-filled eyes. “Continue,” he said, his voice raspy.

“It wasn’t
luck
that Maudrina and I beat Satan. We beat him because we had a most powerful weapon to beat him with.” I smiled at Maudrina, and she smiled back. “It was the yellow-toothed girl that reminded me of the true power I had within me. When I saw her on the escalator at the mall, she once again said, ‘You can win.’ I was already in an emotional state when I saw her, so I pretended I didn’t see her, didn’t hear. But once I was alone with Maudrina, and we’d settled our friendship, I realized the girl had said something more as she glided by on the escalator, something I blocked out.”

“She said ‘You know how. You’ve done it before,’” said Maudrina, quoting the girl. Her voice was calm and warm. There was a smile on her face, and in that smile I saw the history of our friendship. I saw two girls who’d faced the worst together grow into women. I saw two old ladies sitting on a porch talking about the old days, their weddings,and their grand-children. I saw a friendship that would last a lifetime.

Maudrina looked into the eyes of the others. “Once Megan remembered what the girl said, she knew…
we
knew we could beat him again,” Maudrina continued.

“But you said yourself, she might have been sent by Satan. This could all be part of his grand scheme.” Harrison’s eyes were on me. He picked up a piece of bacon from my plate and nibbled at it nervously.

“I thought about that. But Satan wouldn’t encourage me to fight him. This warning didn’t come from Satan. It came from a demon still looking for redemption. Ibwa.”

“Then why doesn’t he show himself?” barked Orthon.

“I don’t know!” I barked back.

“The weapon you used back then was
The Book of Calls
,” Aunt Jaz interrupted in an even tone meant to diffuse the mounting tension. “You no longer have
The Book of Calls
, deary,” she said, still puzzling over my plan.

“She’s right. The weapon has been destroyed,” said Guy. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“And that’s where Satan underestimates me. He thinks the book is the only weapon that can defeat him. But I don’t need
The Book of Calls
to defeat him. All I need is the incantation. And that, my friends, is right here,” I said pointing to my head.

“Megan has the most amazing memory ever,” Maudrina continued. “I’ve seen it in action. It’s nearly photographic. She doesn’t need
The Book of Calls
because she’s memorized the incantation.”

When Maudrina finished, there was jaw-dropping silence all around as the plan materialized. And then, Aunt Jaz began to laugh. “Ooh, you did it again. That’s my girls,” she said, as cheerful, relieved laughter filled the air. At least Aunt Jaz was on our side.

“Are you certain?” asked Guy. He, too, was appearing hopeful, his eyes once again shining.

“Positive. I’ll never forget that incantation. Ever! That’s the reason I agreed to the wedding, to get as close to Satan as possible, but once the wedding begins, I’ll need a diversion.”

“What kind of diversion, deary?” Laughter was still bubbling out of Aunt Jaz as she spoke. “I’ll bring my pots and pans to that God forsaken wedding and make all the noise I possibly can. Oh! I am invited to the wedding, aren’t I?”

This prompted laughter all around. It was just the release we all needed.

“Yes, you’re invited, Aunt Jaz. You all are.” I got back to business. “As soon as I begin to recite the incantation, Satan is going to try to stop me. Maybe even kill me. So when I begin, I’ll need to be standing inside a hexagram. That’s the only way I can stay safe long enough to finish it.” I turned my gaze on Maudrina. “During the diversion, Maudrina will draw the hexagram on the floor of the chapel, or wherever we’re getting married, just like the one she drew on the hospital floor the last time we battled Satan. Once it’s complete, I can step inside the hexagram and begin the incantation.”

The confidence in Guy’s eyes faded. “That sounds risky. She’ll need to be very close to you for that to happen.”

“She’ll be my maid of honor, standing right next to me,” I countered.

Guy nodded, his eyes turning wary. “But then she’ll be in plain sight. Everyone will see her.” Worry crept into his voice.

“That’s why we need the diversion. It needs to be big enough to divert everyone’s attention away from what she might be doing, but not so big that Satan will get suspicious.”

A brooding silence mushroomed around us. I couldn’t tell if they were lost in thought, trying to come up with a diversion, or if they’d given up on my plan and were waiting for someone else to tell me to throw in the towel.