Tainted Legacy (YA Paranormal Romance) (35 page)

Chapter 23

The discomfort of the room hit Gabe immediately, even though he had tried to brace himself. He stumbled, catching himself on a chair as he tried to assimilate his body to the discomfort of the sigils. Heat boiled through him, racing through his veins. His head pounded convulsively. He closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him, forcing his body to absorb it. To accept  it.

He expected Ava to rush to his side. He had expected to return to find her frantically pacing the room or having a much deserved break down. He had not expected to find her in what appeared to be a deep sleep on the couch. Her dark hair was fanned across the decorative throw pillow. Her chest rose and fell in a calming rhythm. Her lips slightly parted in relaxation. Only the slight, occasional twitch of her fingers led Gabe to wonder if perhaps she was not resting as soundly as she appeared to be.

He knelt on the floor beside her, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Ava?”

She didn’t even flinch at the sound of her name. He leaned back, allowing his eyes to wander over her body. He wanted to memorize it. Memorize every inch of her. He gently brushed a stray strand of hair off of her face, letting his fingers glide through the rest of her luxurious locks. He wanted to remember how silky it was. He wanted to remember how soft her skin felt against his.

He let out an anguished sigh as he took her hand in his, kissing her fingers.

He felt Grier before he heard her.

“This is not going to have a happy ending.”

“I know,” Gaspaspew Robe miserably replied. Hearing it come from the lips of an angel brought about a new kind of scorching certainty.

“You should leave her. Let her rest.”

Whether Grier had just stepped into the room or simply just stepped into his line of sight, Gabe wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was that he was weary of having demands constantly put upon him. He did not leave Ava’s side, instead he left his fingers entwined around hers, allowing them to absorb the tremble of her hands.

“What did you do to her?”

“She is sleeping. She had become agitated and was being bothersome.”

“She’s not resting peacefully. I can feel how troubled she is. I want to wake her up. I need to speak with her.”

“You should wait.”

“And you should know you can’t just do this to people,” Gabe told her.

She favored Ava’s resting form with a confused look. “Yes,” she said, “I can.”

Gabe sighed. “I did not mean it literally. I meant you
shouldn’t
do this to people just because you feel like it. It’s not right.”

Grier frowned at him. “You are going to lecture me on what is right?”

Gabe decided to ignore the question.

“You were with your father.”

It was a statement but Gabe nodded his answer, regardless.

“What did you discuss?” Grier asked.

Gabe opened his mouth to answer but Grier’s hands flashed and were upon his forehead. He felt his body convulse as she pulled his memory from him. This time was not nearly as traumatic as she pulled a single, recent memory from him as opposed to the long drawn out memories of his life.

“I see,” she told him in her typical, emotionless tone. “Azael knows of your plans then.”

“Yes,” Gabe admitted.

“But you were able to block some details from him?”

“I don’t know for sure but I think so, yes.”

“You will still carry out your plan to trap him?”

“I don’t know.” Gabe hated himself for admitting it. “I don’t know what to do. If I do as he asks, at least Ava won’t suffer. If I try to carry out our plrry">an and I fail—and failure is such a huge possibility—Ava and I will both pay. She more than me.” His breath caught in his throat at the memories of what his father had made him see.

“You are in quite a predicament.” Again, it wasn’t a question. This time, Gabe gave no response, he simply returned Grier’s unflinching gaze with one of his own.

“You understand that I cannot interfere. Your decision is yours and yours alone.”

“I know,” he bitterly replied. “What about my plan? You must know if the demon’s snare will trap Azael or not?”

“I am allowed to create the sigils you have requested. Nothing more. I do not know the outcome.”

“So if it fails, Azael will have Ava. My
brother
will have Ava.” His heart lurched painfully in his chest. It was a feeling he had not known until recently but he was becoming far too acquainted with.

“If your plan fails, yes.”

“Can you tell me anything? Anything else?” Gabe pleaded.

“I can tell you that your father has been planning this for a very long time. He took an interest in Ava shortly after she was born. It took him much longer to choose the St. Clair’s. But as you’ve said, time is nothing to him so the fact that he waited seventeen months to place Ava with them is truly nothing. We have been watching her for years, in various degrees of proximity. It has never happened before that a demon has taken a human child and placed her with a man of God. Her mother did not want to give her up. Rafe helped with that.” Grier rattled off the facts as though she were listing them off a note card.

“Rafe?” Gabe asked in disbelief. “He would’ve only been…what? Six, maybe seven years old?”

“Rafe has been doing your father’s bidding for a very, very long time.”

Gabe listened numbly as Grier ticked off more facts. Facts that would not help him. “Her mother’s body is at the bottom of a river. Azael wiped all traces of her from this earth. If Ava were ever to search for her, she would find nothing.”

Gabe nodded absently. Nothing Grier had relayed to him would help him and he told her so.

“I am only trying to clarify, in case you have any doubt, that Azael has been toying with Ava since she was a small child. Almost as long as he has been controlling you, he has controlled certain aspects of her life.”

“I understand that. But I don’t know what to do to fix it.” His voice was anguished as he gazed at Ava’s sleeping face. He still held her hand in his, his thumb swirling across the back of her hand in a circular motion.

He glanced up He mb to see Grier staring at him, an odd expression on her face. It was odd in the simple fact that her face was typically expressionless.

“What?” he demanded.

Grier said nothing as she continued to stare at him. It took Gabe a few moments to realize just why she was staring. With his free hand, he scrubbed at his face, finding that, for the first time in his existence, his cheeks were damp with tears. He hurriedly wiped them away.

“You will do what is needed,” Grier firmly replied.

“
I don’t know what that is
!” Gabe yelled but Grier was gone.

Ava stirred, stretching sleepily before her eyes even opened.

“Hey, I’m here,” Gabe said in a voice that he hoped was soft and comforting.

“
Gabe
!” His name came out of her mouth sounding like a sob. In an instant she had thrown her arms around him, tugging him up on the cushions so he was sitting next to her, wrapped tightly in her embrace. “I was so scared! I didn’t think you were coming back!”

Gabe assured her that he was fine. For the first time in a long while, he lied to her. He told her Azael believed that Gabe was still following his command. He left all other details of their meeting out of his explanation. Ava was frightened enough. Her body was trembling in his arms. No good would come of her knowing the truth.

“He agreed to give me twenty-four hours with you,” Gabe explained. “And then we will meet him at your grandfather’s church.”

“Grier will draw the sigils?”

“She has agreed to, yes.”

Ava was searching Gabe’s face and it made him uncomfortable. He tried to smile but wasn’t sure he pulled it off.

“You don’t think it’s going to work,” Ava finally realized.

“It should work.”

“Stop looking away when you say that,” Ava softly commanded. “Tell me you really think your plan will work. Tell me you think we can trap Azael.”

Gabe closed his eyes, willing the lie to come but it wouldn’t. “I don’t know,” he finally said with a shake of his head. “I really, honestly don’t know.”

“We have to have faith that it will,” Ava said with determination.

“Faith? I’m not exactly familiar with the term,” he told he”’t know.r, only half joking.

“Yes, faith. In a higher power.” Ava looked so certain. As if the faith that she spoke of was absolute.

Gabe sighed. He felt so defeated but he didn’t want to admit that to this girl who was looking at him with so much hope.

“Would this be the same higher power that
sent his son to save your race? Because he sent the flood to annihilate mine. Somehow I don’t think the same rules apply.”

“I don’t know, Gabe. I think maybe you’d be surprised. Just
try
to have a little faith,” Ava entreated.      

He gave her a dubious look.

“Please, promise me?” Ava begged.

“Okay,” he agreed with a nod.

“So what do we do now?” Ava wanted to know.

“We wait,” Gabe told her. He hated that there was nothing left to do. Their options were so limited. Trying to trap Azael had its own set of unthinkable consequences that Gabe could not dwell on too long for fear of losing his nerve. Those consequences would mean nothing if they failed and were forced to face his wrath. The only solution that was absolute was the one that he had agreed to carry out.

What little that needed to be done at the moment was something only Grier could accomplish. His subconscious was constantly wandering through his memories and his knowledge of his father, searching for another answer but it seemed to be a futile effort.

“How are you doing?” Ava asked. “With the sigils I mean. You’re really pale.”

Gabe shrugged. “I’m fine.” The sigils that glowed throughout the cabin were the least of his concerns.

“You’re not fine. I know you’re feeling miserable, being here. Should I give you some space?” she asked as she sat back.

“You make me feel better,” Gabe said as he pulled her back to him so she was resting her weight against him once more. “You are the only thing, in all of my life that has
ever
made me feel better.”

“I wish we could stay here like this forever,” Ava told him as she snuggled into his chest. “What if we just never left? What if we don’t go to the church tomorrow?”

Gabe sighed and explained to her what Azael would do, how he would find a way to draw her out.

“He would go after oulld dmy family and friends,” Ava said angrily. “He is the epitome of evil, isn’t he?”

“He is a demon, so, yes,” he admitted without even a trace of sarcasm.

Ava shook her head. “I can’t think about him anymore. Not right now. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?”

“Tell me about you,” Ava requested. “Tell me about the Nephilim.”

“I’ll try. What do you want to know?” Gabe was not entirely comfortable with the idea. But with their time together drawing closer and closer to an end, he wanted to give her what little he could.