Salem Moon (33 page)

“
What about a man with a weapon?
”
Jack asked
, thinking,
How
much
easier
his life would be if he could pin these murders on Gabriel.

The Medical Examiner
’
s workers began putting the boys
’
bodies onto gurneys. Visibly shaken, the assistant ME forgot to put a hand underneath one of the boys heads as they lifted him onto the gurney, and the head fell back from the neck, held on by mere threads of tissue and muscle
. It
would take very little effort for the head to fall off altogether.

Officer Collins ran from the sight, his hand over his mouth and went to the back of the lighthouse where he threw up. Jack felt sick as well, but managed to keep control. He was the Chief of Police after all. Damn it, he couldn
’
t
allow
himself to give in to the churning in his stomach.

“
I don
’
t think a weapon did this, looks more like teeth marks of
an unusually large animal biting
them repeatedly. We
’
ll know more once we process the DNA, see what we
’
re dealin
’
with here. I
’
ll let you know what we find ASAP. You may want to…put out an alert. This was a savage attack and they never saw it coming. Whoever or more likely
whatever
did this is
extremely
dangerous.
”
Decker gave Jack a quick pat on the shoulder and went down to the ME
’
s boat.

The loud motor cut through the silence on the beach as the craft sped away toward the mainland.

It didn
’
t matter
that Gabriel was probably not the actual
killer;
Jack still wanted to have a chat with him. His gut told him that the young man was somehow involved in this
. Even
if he hadn
’
t picked up a weapon and killed these two boys. Even if he wasn
’
t the one who
’
d kidnapped,
sexually assaulted
and damn near killed his daughter
. He
had an instinctive feeling that the boy knew
something
about the happenings in Salem in the past weeks.

There was nothing more to be done here. The Medical Examiner
’
s office had already left with the bodies. The evidence from the scene had been taken and secured by the CSI team. The team, along with Chief Thompson and Officer Collins climbed aboard the Salem Police boat after settling the light house keeper
down
, and they left Baker
’
s Island.

G
abriel was totally unaware of what was happening in town. Crouching down on his hands and knees, in the, dark, heavily wooded area, he brushed away the fallen leaves furiously
,
section by section, layers of them,
left to rot over the years. No
one came to this area anymore.

“
She is here.
”
Lucien pointed one of his long, white perfect fingers at the spot where Gabriel was now sweeping away leaves, twigs and debris. He leaned against an old oak tree, arms folded, fully visible,
silently watching Gabriel
. His
eyes
bored
into him with malicious intent.

Lucien knew he had to leave this place soon, go back to
1692
, just as he had promised Gabriel. Making him think he was doing this thing for him, when in reality, he needed to get away from Eva and the Pure.

As it had been for centuries on end, he could hide from them for short periods of time
,
but they always found him…eventually. If only he could become a mortal man, become Gabriel to be more precise, he could linger in one place for an entire lifetime. If done right, he could also maintain his own powers as an angel
.
Ah,
what the world would offer him then
, to
be immortal, but still able to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh
.

Gabriel moved further into the bramble bushes
. The
rough branches scratched his hands and arms, leaving behind thin but painful scratches. Crouched down in
the
small space, his fingers touched something hard and unmoving, definitely not a rock. He dug faster, his fingernails caked with mud
,
the smell of old, mossy dirt drifting up pungently. He peeled back layer after layer of the dirt and clumps of green and black mold, until
…
he felt
a
rectangular shape
. He was
sure it was the outline of
a
plaque that
had been
placed flat on the ground
and
forgotten for years
, perhaps even centuries
.

Once he had all the mucky substance cleared off, he brushed furiously at the edges of the stone. The dirt was so thick, he
’
d only been able to unearth a tiny corner of what he
knew
was a grave! At long last, the letters were becoming visible
.
When all was clear, a gasp escaped his lips and he backed away from the
stone
, sitting with his hands on his knees and just stared
, without blinking
at the words. His blood ran cold.

There it was, the horrible proof he
’
d sought
.
For, upon the hard stone was the name of
“
Abigail Blackstone died July the Nineteenth,
1692
. And,
directly
beneath
her name were the words
:
“
Hanged as a witch.
May God have mercy on her immortal soul.
”

Gabriel wept silently
. Two
tears
fell
slowly down his cheeks, finding rest at the corners of his lips. He ran his fingers lovingly across the stone and murmured
,
“
I am…so sorry.
”

Lucien
watched calmly
. Gabriel
’
s back was to him, and his shoulders shook with silent sobs. Men did not cry in Gabriel
’
s time. His tears should not be witnessed by anyone
.
To watch him weep with this most profound of losses seemed almost sacrilegious.

Still, Lucien felt no compassion for him
,
none at all, for in truth he hated mortal men, even while he envied them. That had been his true sin in the eyes of God. Envy, anger, lust, greed, pride, these were his sins and he embraced them, coveted them even. He had no doubt that Gabriel was right where he wanted him.

A guttural, agonized scream erupted from Gabriel
. His
fists balled in anger
,
he flew at Lucien, punching him hard in the face. The blow knocked him down. He kicked him, stomped on his chest, blinded by grief and anger and the unfairness of it all.

It was totally unexpected, but Lucien regained his composure quickly. He stood up, seeming to loom over Gabriel, and laughed.

“
You cannot kill me, Gabriel.
”

“
You wretched creature
! Do
you know how many lives you have ruined by your very existence?
”

“
Oh yes, I do know. And by the way, I added a few more to your tab.
”

“
What…lies do you tell me now?
”

“
Those two boys, I believe they are called Nick and Trevor
.
I took care of them both. After all, they were such a nuisance, don
’
t you think?
”

“
What did you do, Lucien?
”
Gabriel
whispered
, feeling a knot in his stomach
; feeling
his adrenaline skyrocket to an unhealthy level.

“
I killed them. Or shall I say
,
they were brutally attacked by a wolf
; a
white wolf to be more accurate.
”

Gabriel was shocked
. His
heart beat so fast he felt he would die of a heart attack right there on the spot. It was too much
, all of it.
Finding
his sister
’
s grave and the sorrow of it permeating deep into the very core of his soul
, having to leave the only woman he would ever love, a
nd now this
.

“
Don
’
t you see what you
’
ve done, Lucien? It is
I
they will question for it!
”

“
So? We shall not linger in this time much longer. Besides, I had to do it, they saw my true nature.
”

“
And what about Lilac
?
She saw you too. Will you kill her as well?
”

“
No, I will not kill her. I have no need too. She will never speak of what passed between us. Of this I am sure. For deep in her heart, she knows that I saved her from herself. And she loves me still and fears me all at once.
”

“
What makes you think I will go back there? And with you, no less?
”

“
Because my beloved Gabriel, you are an honorable man. You will not be able to move on until you try to set things right. One of the many things I love about you, why I first wanted you and still want you.
”

The conversation was cut short, as a loud rustling
sound came
through the woods
. Darkness was imminent
as the afternoon sun was now gone,
and the
twilight waned
. The
dusk was fast approaching.

Hoping that it was not one of the cemetery
’
s grounds keepers, Gabriel retreated into the shadows,
hiding
underneath the bramble bushes.

When Gabriel saw who it was heading toward him, he let out a sigh of relief and his heart beat faster, but this time not due to fear, or anger, instead to the strong rhythm of love.

Lily.
He scrambled to his feet to meet her
.
How she had found him here, he did not know.

He
’
d assumed that once the decision was made to return to the past, he would never lay eyes on her again. Not unless he was able to undo the past and therefore change the future and somehow come back to her. A lot of if
’
s
,
to be sure.

She was running toward him, holding up a piece of paper. She didn
’
t dare call out; having just made it inside the cemetery gates before
they
were closed and locked for the night.

Out of breath from running, she wordlessly handed him the paper.

He examined it, seeing the margins that revealed the longitude and latitude of the exact spot he had just now discovered
, t
he final burial place of Abigail
. Here she
’
d lain
for centuries
in this desolate and long forgotten grave, buried under the layers of time
,
with no one to mourn her as he did now.

“
You found her,
”
Lily said softly, wiping the dirt stained tears from his face.

She bent down and looked at the stone and her own eyes brimmed with tears. No grave should be left like this, forgotten, without even a flower set upon it, without anyone to care about it. She felt Gabriel
’
s pain as if it were her own because she loved him.

“
I know what you
’
re thinking Lily
. Her
grave is over
300
years old and she would be dead now regardless of how she died.
”

“
I
’
m not thinking that at all, Gabriel. I understand you mourn not only her death, but her life as well
,
that
hers
was…a life not lived.
”