Forbidden Fruit (25 page)

So demons had classes. I added another mental note to find out what they were, and which had attacked me, though part of me would rather not know. Hiding under a rock and pretending it never happened sounded pretty good at the moment.

“
So why did they try to kill me?”

A muscle worked in his jaw. “I was hoping you could tell me that. Did they say anything to you? Ask strange questions? Or suggest anything to you?”

He must have lost his mind. “It’s not like there was time to chat between the beatings I was taking. I doubt those things can talk anyway.”

“
Oh, they can,” he chuckled with warning more than humor. “As a matter of fact, one in particular seemed quite taken with you.” There was accusation in his tone.

“
What are you talking about?” Could this conversation get any stranger? I was about to pinch myself to make sure I was awake when he dropped a bomb on me.

“
Lily, it was Jason and Derrick who attacked you last night.”

My mind was reeling with wonder at how on earth Jason, with his irresistibly cute dimpled grin, could turn into a monster so reproachable. But what was more, how could he try to kill me? I didn’t think I held any real feeling past a crush for Jason, but I was surprised to find I was hurt, truly hurt, that he was the one who attacked me. My mind continued to put the puzzle pieces together. He also had to be the one who haunted my nightmares, broke into my house, maybe even burned Bailey’s pool house, and then chased me around town until he ripped my body to shreds. His brother was believable, that creepy voyeuristic kid who made my skin crawl. But not Jason.

“
I’m sorry Lily.”

I looked up at Michael. He smiled a sad smile and grabbed my hand.

In a low voice, he said, “I need to know if they said anything to you. About why they were here, and what they want with you.”

I tried to recall every conversation I had with Jason, since I never actually spoke to his brother. Were they even brothers or was that a lie too? I shook my head. “He never told me why they were here. There was a rumor about being kicked out of their last school, but I don’t know anything else about why they came here. I thought Jason was just a guy who liked me.” There was shame in my voice that I couldn’t hide. I hated that another guy, demon or not, would be added to the very long list of those who are no longer eligible. Except the guy in front of me. Wait, was he only protecting me? Was this a job for him? Oh god. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach.

“
I will find out what they wanted from you,” he swore. There was danger in his tone.

“
Jason did say something strange to me a few days ago.” I recalled running into him at the bar. Michael arched his brows. “He told me to stay with you.”

Michael’s face showed clear incomprehension. “What?”

“
I know, I thought it was odd too. He said it was because you could protect me.”

“
Hmm,” Michael rubbed his jaw, his eyes slanted in thought. “That is strange.”

“
So, how did you know I was there tonight…er last night?”

The question seemed to catch him off guard, pulling him out of a deep thought. “I came to the bell tower to clear my head, and I sensed you were near.”

“
Oh.” I deflated a little. I guess some part of me hoped he was secretly protecting me from the shadows.

“
Though if you were wearing your necklace, I would have known the moment you were in danger. I got lucky running into you last night.”

“
The necklace?” I automatically touched my bare neck.

“
Yes, which is why I really wish you would wear it.”

I had promised him I would. “Sorry, it didn’t really go with my Halloween costume.” Not to mention a robber would slit my throat in a dark alley for that piece.

He smiled wryly, “I can turn it into a pocket watch or a key chain if you will keep it with you.

The thought of destroying the necklace was absurd.

“
Did you kill them?” I still couldn’t think of Jason as a demon. Derrick, definitely.

“
Not exactly, they’re immortal.”

“
Will they come back?”

“
No.”

The emphasis he placed on the word gave me chills.

“
But you do kill people.” I was thinking of my perverted neighbor who met an end that I would likely never know about. “Aren’t angels supposed to be good?” The question felt stupid and naïve on my tongue.

“
I kill people who deserve it,” he corrected. “And I do it to keep others safe. It’s for the greater good.”

I pondered that for a moment. Then asked, “If you are an angel, then where are your wings?”

He chuckled and stood up. “Will you believe me if I show you my markings?”

“
Markings? Sure.” I sat up curious.

He pulled off his shirt and spun around. I marveled at his perfectly tanned, muscular body. Then I saw what was on his back.

“
That’s what I saw in the video,” I recalled. The tattoo markings I barely made out in the news coverage were now in full form. There were two giant black wings tattooed onto his back. They were beautiful and terrifying at the same time. That had to be painful.

“
So, angels have tattoo wings, not actual wings?” I asked, sounding more condescending than I intended.

His expression turned challenging. “Come here,” he reached out his hand. I hopped off the bed and slid my hands into his. He pressed his lips to mine with an intensity that rocked me off balance. I felt that familiar electricity race through me again. I sighed when he pulled back too soon, wishing I could kiss him forever.

Then I gasped. Two enormous feathered wings rose from behind him. They were jet black, powerful and proud. I heard a chuckle from Michael. “Do you believe me now?”

I was speechless. I reached beside him and touched the feathers timidly. They ruffled under my fingers and then the entire wing curved around me, caressing my body in an embrace.

“
This is amazing.” It was an understatement, but I had nothing else to describe what was happening. The dark wings wrapped around my shoulders like a large cloak.

That’s when it hit me. The cloaked man…was Michael.

“
Why would you try to scare me?” I asked accusingly.

“
What?” he looked genuinely confused.

“
You’re the cloaked man I keep seeing aren’t you?”

“
Oh,” he looked guilty.

“
Why would you do that to me?”

“
Lily, I never meant to scare you. I was trying to protect you. You were surrounded by demons. I wanted to send a message to them, yet I didn’t want you to see my face, so I hid it.”

“
Surrounded by demons?” I asked hesitantly. I didn’t want to drown the moment with more bad news.

“
Yes, I only showed myself when there was a demon around you,” he explained.

I thought about that, trying to replay in my mind every time I saw the cloaked figure. The first time, I was on the battery with Jason, and then again in my house with Jason…and on it went. I felt like a blind fold had been removed and my entire life was a lie.

Just then, Michael pulled me even closer, using his velvet wings, and grazed his lips over mine, “Where were we?”

Our mouths moved together in a dance that had to make the heavens jealous. It was beautiful, delicious, and completely intoxicating. I felt my knees become weak and a downy wing tilt me back onto the bed.

Michael hovered over my face, his affect intense, and his eyes blazing. “I love you.”

Our lips met again, driving home the meaning of those simple yet powerful words. I thought my chest would burst with the love we shared. I don’t know how I knew, but deep in my soul, I was sure that Michael and I had a love that would defy the test of time. Because if my dreams were any indication of the past, then it already has.

Michael

I lean against the end of the pier, watching the sun rise and waiting for my brother in arms. He says he has information about Lily. My hands clench and unclench, crumbling the wooden railing. My mind returns to the last night I was here. Lily was in my arms, safe and sound, and then a demon approached from the rear. I spun to destroy the idiot who thought to sneak up on me. Then she screamed, and before I could catch her, a shadow demon pulled her over, then disappeared like a coward.

I’m antsy to return to her now. I hate leaving her alone. At least she is wearing the necklace now, which adds some amount of reassurance that she’s okay.

My stomach rolls in circles. I am eager to find out if the Fallen know who they are messing with. How could they not? What are the odds they would target her?

“
Brother,” Gabriel’s voice precedes his apparition.

“
You have news?” I’m too eager to bother with greetings.

Gabriel crooks one side of his mouth in a rueful smile, “I do, but you won’t like it.”

“
Tell me.”

He walks up next to me and leans both elbows on the railing, peering out over the open ocean. “My sources tell me the inner circle of the Fallen are quiet hushed about it all, but they have been calling her their Holy Grail.”

I mull over this for a minute. The comparison of Lily and the Holy Grail makes no sense.

Gabriel produces a hand full of bread crumbs and tosses a few into the air. A seagull swoops to catch one. “I was hoping you could shed light on that one for me.”

I just shake my head. “Do you have any theories?”

“
None,” Gabriel tosses a few more pieces, enticing three more seagulls.

“
That’s a first.” I stare at the four birds fighting each other for each morsel of bread.

“
Yes, and I find it quite irritating. I would normally have help in my search, but I thought you would appreciate my involving no one else.”

“
No one else can know who she is!” My raised voice sends the birds fleeing.

I drop my head in my hands. “Please tell me you are the only one who knows.”

“
To the best of my knowledge, no one but me, you and the big guy know she exists. And I’m pretty sure the latter hasn’t thought about her in millennia.”

I stare at my brother, hating that I have to confide information about Lily in anyone else, but if I have to pick someone, he is the one. He’s always been a good friend to me. “One of them told her to stay with me.”

Gabriel’s brows arch, “What do you make of that?”

“
I’m afraid they know more about who she is than I realized. But they can’t possibly know the whole truth. Perhaps I was clumsy and they caught me watching over her.”

Gabriel let out a long sigh, “I hate to be the devils advocate –wait, that’s not at all true- but you were told to stay away from her.”

“
I know!” I throw my hands in the air, frustrated beyond belief.

Gabriel waits for me to calm. “I’ll continue to look for answers. In the meantime, I suggest you lay low, because if they do in fact know she is forbidden to you, they could expose you together, and we both know what that means.”

The suggestion hangs heavy in the air between us, then Gabriel disappears.

I take a long, slow breath. How do I protect my soul mate if she’s forbidden to me?

Lay low. I snort. That’s cowardice. As the leader of God’s army, I never hide from anything. But for one blue-eyed blonde, I’ll do anything...