Lailah (The Styclar Saga) (16 page)

He stopped there. I shouldn’t have pushed but I couldn’t help myself. “Did you say good-bye to them?”

“In a manner of speaking. Gabriel was right, I wasn’t able to control myself.” He rubbed his eyes.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I whispered. “You didn’t ask to be what you are.”

Ruadhan blinked, and the flecks of green in his eyes started to swirl. He certainly appeared to be far more able to restrain his impulses than Jonah.

“That may be true, but what I am now is … I would have ended things myself, but I have a debt to Gabriel for risking himself for me.”

“That’s the only reason you go on?” I said.

“Yes. I have assisted him in freeing the others. I hope in some way that my support will allow me some small form of redemption. Though I know when my final end comes, I cannot be saved past this existence. But I’ve got a duty to Gabriel to help him in any way I can.”

I struggled with the idea that this wise and caring being would simply stop existing when his end finally befell him.

“So you go on for him? Only him?”

“Yes. When he no longer needs me, I will ask him to be the one to finish this. I’m evil, we all are—our choice or not. Nothing evil should be allowed to exist in this world. We belong in Hell, right alongside our creators … the Purebloods. I hope to help send them back to the darkness from whence they came, before my final day does come.”

“Even your Gualtiero? Do you not still have some form of connection to him?”

His eyes blazed momentarily before he answered me. “Especially my Gualtiero. If you believe nothing else you hear while you keep our company, believe me when I tell you that if I were ever presented with an opportunity of ridding this world of one of them—any of them—I would not hesitate. In fact, I pray that I am given the opportunity.”

His words cut through the air between us.

We sat, neither of us talking. I felt the weight and enormity of Ruadhan’s guilt and loss now weighed heavily on my own heart.

My lunch finally arrived: several lamb cutlets—undercooked and dribbling blood—together with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and vegetables, all submerged in thick brown gravy. I realized suddenly that I was in fact quite hungry after all.

“Looks grand, that!” Ruadhan laughed. “A hearty meal for a hearty girl!”

I went straight for the lamb; it was chewy as it hadn’t seen the oven long, but delicious.

Ruadhan placed his hand on my arm as I cut into my meal. “You know, you remind me of my daughter.”

I stretched a small smile as he moved his heavy hand from me. “How did you find Gabriel?” I spoke softly despite the outside seating area brimming over with people and the noise filling every available inch.

“He found us, all of us. Hanora was the first he saved. I was shortly after.” He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms together, and suddenly seemed very fascinated by his pint glass, his eyes not moving from it for a while. “Gabriel seems to believe that there are Gualtieros and their armies looking for you.”

I was surprised by the turn in conversation.

“He trusts me implicitly and I him,” Ruadhan continued. “He isn’t telling me everything, not yet. And I get that; there’ll be a good reason for it. But he has told me that they want you and he doesn’t understand why. He’s got us on full alert, patrolling the village in shifts. You clearly mean something to him.”

It was more of a statement than a question. I munched on my carrots while I considered my response. “Why that is, your guess is as good as mine,” I said.

It wasn’t a lie; it was the truth. Ruadhan seemed content with my answer, for now at least. We passed the rest of the conversation on lighter topics.

By the time I had finished my lunch, I was stuffed. We made our way to the exit and Ruadhan settled up before escorting me out of the pub.

Deciding that it would be wise to walk off the meal, we proceeded to trek across the many different trails and roads around the village. I didn’t mind; it was a change to be out in the fresh air, even if it was frosty. The new Chanel jacket was too fancy for the outing, but it kept me sufficiently warm as we walked for what felt like miles. I still didn’t have my bearings among all the fields, streams, and tall trees.

It was almost six o’clock; we had been going for over four hours and the night was drawing in. Letting out an unwanted yawn, I covered my mouth with my hand.

“Oh dear, sweetheart, have I worn you out? I’m sorry, I rather forget sometimes.… Not used to the company of a mortal! Your legs must be aching!”

As I looked up to reply, I waffled.

“What’s wrong?”

Against the darkness Ruadhan almost sparkled like the stars in the dark sky.

“Our kind are created out of darkness,” he said. “We are strongest when it’s dark.”

I wondered about my Angel. “And Gabriel?”

“He is born out of light, he feeds off the sun. On Earth, his gifts peak at sunrise and weaken at sunset.”

It made sense. Whether day or night, Gabriel was almost impossible to take in, unlike anyone or anything I had ever seen. My knees weakened as I pictured his face.

“We should get back. He’ll be waiting for you.”

“How far do we have to walk?” I asked, hoping we weren’t miles away.

“Not far. Can you manage, or would you prefer a lift?” He smiled.

“Um, we can walk.”

Half an hour later we were near the property, and I finally gave in, letting Ruadhan carry me the last bit of the way. Sure enough, at the front door, Gabriel was standing there smiling widely at me, displaying his perfect white teeth.

“She’s all yours!” Ruadhan laughed, lifting me from his shoulders and placing me in Gabriel’s arms, leaving us alone together.

“Did you have a nice time?” he asked me, his dimples set deeply into the sides of his cheeks.

I stretched my body in his arms and raised the back of my hand to my temple, attempting my best damsel-in-distress routine. “Funny, I never ever thought I’d need rescuing from a Vampire because he was forcing me to exercise!” I laughed, burying my head into the crevice between his shoulder and his chin.

Gabriel held me effortlessly as though I weighed nothing at all. “Well, now you’ve been rescued, or rather, returned for a refund, what can I do for you?”

I paused and considered some things I’d like him to do, but I resisted enlightening him.

I hopped down and shivered as I removed my jacket. “Tea…!”

ELEVEN

O
NE CUP OF TEA
and several chocolate cookies later, I lay my head in Gabriel’s lap, my tangled hair covering my face. My boots were strewn by the side of the sofa, and I felt myself drifting off.

Sweetly playing with the curls at the ends of my hair, Gabriel proceeded to stroke the length of my arm, finally circling his fingers inside my palm. I was only dozing, yet I was very aware of his hands and what they were finding.

Lightly, he undid the top few buttons at the back of my blouse. He rested his hand on my shoulder, holding it there tentatively before running it around to just under the left side of my neck. Moving aside my crystal ring, which was dangling at the bottom of the cold chain, he spread his whole hand out.

I realized then that he was searching for my pulse. I was worried that he would feel it beating at a hundred miles an hour as his skin touched mine.

I tried to think of anything else, but no amount of distracting thoughts could stop my heart from thudding against my chest at his touch.

“Your heart’s racing,” he whispered in my ear, gradually moving his hand to my head. I guessed he was checking that I was feeling all right.

Nervously I sat up, relocating his hand away from my forehead down to my waist, and—caught in the moment—I released a few buttons from the top of his crisp shirt.

Fluttering my eyelids closed I placed my hand over his chest in return. He wrapped his hand over the top of mine, pressing it down more firmly. It was like his soul was enveloped around me tightly, and I imagined cupping his light, watching his purity dance in the palm of my hand.

“So is yours,” I murmured back, keeping my eyes shut.

As the dancing light subsided from my mind, I repositioned his shirt back together and returned to my dozing position. Now content, I began to nap.

*   *   *

I
WAS RELUCTANTLY WOKEN AN HOUR LATER.
As I stirred, Gabriel informed me that he had to leave with Michael to “see to something.”

“There’s fresh food in the fridge if you want some supper, and plenty of milk and tea,” he said as he paced toward the door, with an edgy-looking Michael in tow.

There was something about Michael I didn’t like, something that wasn’t quite right. Gabriel had told me that he was important; his connection was the deepest and freshest with a Pureblood. He could detect changes in his Gualtiero’s behavior, such as his moods, and apparently being in this position made him an asset; however I couldn’t help but think that our best asset was also our Achilles’ heel. Michael was the most recent Vampire in the group to have been separated from his Gualtiero and clan. Gabriel hadn’t spent long guiding him back to some form of humanity, and I had a bad feeling about Gabriel being alone with him.

Just as Gabriel and Michael reached the doorway, I shouted, “Why don’t I come with you? I might be useful?” I tried to stop my suggestion from sounding like a plea.

Gabriel turned to me and smiled. “No, you stay here, curl up with a good book and rest. Michael and I will be fine, won’t we?”

Standing behind Gabriel, Michael half turned in my direction, making sure Gabriel could see his enthusiastic thumbs-up to me, with a sweet smile spread wide across his face.

But as Gabriel walked through the door, Michael’s grin fell away and he stared at me with a blank expression, and in a low murmur said, “As Gabriel said, enjoy your time.… I’m sure we’ll find a use for you soon enough.”

A shiver made its way up my spine, and as Michael followed Gabriel through the hallway, I paced after them.

“Gabriel, I really think you could do with another pair of hands. If you won’t take me, at least have Ruadhan go with you? His are strong and, well, Irish—you always need a pair of those!”

Just then, Hanora appeared. Bumping me out of the way, she started trailing them, swishing her perfect hair as she went. “I couldn’t agree with you more, but it’s mine he needs. Don’t worry, I’ll look after him, I always do,” she shouted down the hall back to where I was now standing still.

I wasn’t sure if that was worse, but at least if she was there he wouldn’t be alone with Michael. I tried to make myself feel happier about it. The sinister undertone in Michael’s words only made me feel more wary and suspicious of him.

As the front door slammed shut, Ruadhan appeared, a book in his hand. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. I wanted to go out with Gabriel, but he’s taken Michael and Hanora with him instead.”

“Business,” Ruadhan said. “Best for you to stay here, where I can keep an eye on you. It’s not safe out there.”

“Do you know where they’re going? What they’re doing?” I asked.

Ruadhan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “As I said, business. Nothing for you to worry about. You’ll stay indoors, maybe get an early night?” he suggested.

“Doesn’t seem like I have a lot of choice in the matter.” I forced a smile.

“I’ll be in the study if you need anything.” Ruadhan went to leave, but then hesitated.

He stepped closer, and to my surprise brought me in to his chest for a hug. Awkwardly, I returned it, and he kissed the top of my head and said, “Night, love.”

I didn’t want to go to bed yet, so I decided to stay occupied by raiding the fridge.

It was a huge fridge/freezer, which was ludicrous given that until now it had probably never been used.

Gabriel had stocked it well for me. There was an abundance of yummy things to eat: eggs, cheese, pizza, chicken, fruit juices. I wasn’t hungry, but I needed to busy my hands, so I decided to make a sandwich. I placed the bag of green shredded lettuce, together with the cucumber, tomatoes, precooked chicken, and bread on the counter next to the sink and went about washing the vegetables in a colander. To draw out the process, I chopped the lettuce into smaller pieces, placing it neatly into a clear glass bowl.

“Hey, Cessie.” Jonah’s voice traveled from the entrance of the kitchen.

I swiveled around. “Hi, you all right?” I replied.

He sat down at the table, watching me as I aired out the greens. “All good. What you up to?”

“Making a sandwich.… Not really hungry, though.”

“Then why are you bothering?”

“To keep my hands busy, to take my mind off wondering what Gabriel and the others are doing.”

“Well, if you want something better to do with your hands, I can think of far more exciting options than mangling veg—”

The scrape of his chair over the tiles as he stood up made me cringe, and I readied myself to bat him away. To my surprise, he rustled about in one of the cupboards and placed down two tumblers next to me, pouring a large amount of neat vodka into each.

“I don’t really drink,” I said.

“Humor me, have a glass. You never know, you might enjoy my company. Seems I’ve got a bit of ground to make up.”

I supposed one glass couldn’t hurt, but one. I still wasn’t completely comfortable alone with Jonah. I set down the sharp knife and the tomato I was butchering and made an effort to lift my spirits. We exchanged a “cheers,” tapping the tumblers together, and I sipped at the clear substance that reminded me of paint stripper.

He downed his glass quickly. “Jeez, Cessie. Not much fun, are you?”

I scowled at him and took another sip. I creased my brow as it hit my throat. It was difficult to resist spitting it out.

Rolling his eyes, Jonah produced a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and refilled his glass.

I eyed him curiously. “You smoke, you drink, I saw your reflection in the rearview mirror … not exactly fitting the usual Vampire stereotype here,” I stated.

“Nope. Interestingly, as you may have noticed, we don’t explode in sunlight either.”

“I guess I don’t understand,” I said.