Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades) (8 page)

We sat in front of Allister’s house in Trish’s Jeep,
the top down, the wind blowing our hair in our faces in
the early Saturday morning hour.

“Here’s the deal.” Trish glanced at me then turned
to look at Elisa and Cassie in the back seat. “We can’t tell
anyone else about this. It’s too unbelievable and it could
be dangerous if we let the Parks think we’ll out them on a
whim. It might force them to get rid of us to feel safe. We
need them to realize we’re here to protect our girl Britt,
that’s all. Now put your hands in here and swear.” She
stretched her right hand out so it hung suspended between
the seats. Elisa put her hand in, then Cassie and, finally, I
set mine on top of theirs.

“We all swear we won’t tell a soul about what
Britt told us and we’ll keep Allister’s secret no matter
what it is.” She moved her gaze to each as she spoke and
finished with a nod. “This I swear,” she added.

We marched up to the front door, standing on the
large porch with white railings and a porch swing on one
side. I reached up and swung the large metal knocker to
strike the door. The impact echoed inside the large house
and we waited impatiently before the closed door.

“Well, I guess they’re not home,” I said, losing
my nerve and turned, starting to leave.
Elisa snagged me by my collar, pulling me back
just as the door opened inward and Angelina stood staring
at us, her head cocked to one side like a dog listening to a
high-pitched note no one else can detect. Her right
eyebrow lifted and her lips puckered as if she just tasted
something very unpleasant. She looked perfect as always,
not a hair out of place.
“May I help you?” she asked, her voice light and
soothing yet tinged with disapproval.
“Is Allister here?” I barely heard my own
whispered words.
She opened the door wider to usher us into the
foyer.
“Please come in.”
The ceilings stretched so high it reminded me of a
gymnasium. The stone floors shone sending our
reflection back at us, the dark surface like a deep, cool
pond.
“Would you please wait in the study?” Angelina
pointed to the doorway on our right.
We nodded and moved into the room lined with
cases filled with books. The shelving rose to meet the
high ceilings. A ladder, slid to one side, allowed access to
the far reaches of the highest shelves.
Angelina closed the door behind us and we moved
around the room, staring in awe. A large cherry wood
desk took up the entire end of the room in front of the big
bay windows facing the street. Overstuffed leather
furniture filled the room on the other side of the desk.
The chairs and couches showed wear from years, maybe
centuries, of use while reading the infinite volumes of
text lining the shelving. Their deep, rich brown leather
exuding a welcoming smell of worn leather beckoned us
to sit.
Trish tentatively sat down in a huge chair while I
eased onto a couch, the squeaking of the leather against
our jeans echoed around the room. Elisa and Cassie
moved behind the desk to stare out the window at the
street. The same street we’d driven down countless times
in our lives holding new interest from this rare vantage
point.
“What are you doing here?” Allister asked,
entering unheard with Angelina by his side.
I stood and walked over to stand in front of him.
“I needed to speak with you.”
“Why are
they
with you?” his displeasure lay
heavy in his voice.
“They’re my friends. They’re here because they’ll
always stand beside me in tough times.” I nodded to them
as I spoke.
“What do you want?” he pressed, unmoved by my
declaration.
“Some answers.”
“About what?” Allister raised an eyebrow.
“What did you do to me at the river?”
“Not following,” he said with a confused
expression.
“You and Angelina were at the river below the
waterfall,” I continued. Even as I did, uncertainty crept
up, giving me an uneasy feeling.
“I think you may have been so traumatized last
night when I stopped those boys from harming you,
you’re projecting something more onto me. Something
from another traumatic event.” Allister patronized.
“I’m not making this up,” I argued.
“She says you saved her life.” Trish stepped up
beside me.
Allister twitched, turning to Angelina but said
nothing.
“I’m not lying about this,” I pleaded, needing him
to validate my sanity.
“When did this happen?” Angelina asked.
“A month or so ago,” Cassie said from behind the
large desk.
“We were still in New York.” Allister met her
eyes.
“Do you need to see our ticket stubs from the
airline?” Angelina added.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I said as my
shoulders drooped. How could I have been so wrong? My
mortification took a backseat to my confusion.
“But you were sure they knew something.” Elisa
gaped at me.
“I guess I made a mistake; maybe we should go,”
I sighed.
“Come on,” Cassie said walking up to us. “Thank
you for your time.” She smiled at our hosts and walked
from the room.
Trish looked at me, confusion painting her face.
She shook her head after seeing my expression, not what
she hoped for, and followed Cassie.
“Come on, Britt.” Elisa swung an arm around my
shoulders as we walked from the room.
I shot a quick glance back at Allister as I exited.
His eyes, sad, or maybe disappointed, turned away from
my gaze. Angelina stared hard after me, forcing me to
look away from her accusing eyes.
We reached the Jeep, Cassie and Trish were
already inside waiting for us. Elisa stopped before getting
in, spinning around and leaning her back against the side
of the vehicle. The look on her face made me pull up
short and take a step back.
“If I wanted to start my Saturday off looking like
an ass, I could have run naked through the neighborhood
and been less embarrassed,” she shouted. Cassie and
Trish nodded their agreement from the Jeep.
“I’m sorry, but I was wrong. I guess it was just a
dream,” I stammered, trying to make sense of it myself.
“Fine time to decide,” Trish said from the driver’s
seat.
“I think we need to be alone right now,” Cassie
said.
“I agree.” Elisa glanced over her shoulder at Trish
and Cassie. “It’s only a few blocks to your house from
here. Maybe you should walk to clear your head of that
bad dream
.”
“Fine, I will.” I turned without another look,
storming down the sidewalk. The Jeep’s engine roared.
None of them turned their heads as they sped past. I
successfully alienated the only true friends I had, losing
my mind and taking them with me. I shook my head in
disgust.
By the time I reached home my cell had buzzed in
my pocket over a dozen times. I didn’t take it out to look
at it, too embarrassed to speak with them right now.
I walked up our driveway and punched the code
into the keypad and the door inched open. I walked
through the empty parking spaces, closing the door
behind me. Glancing out the back garage door window as
I passed, I paused, taking a step back to look out again.
The little shed sat in the back corner of the yard,
the windows dark and the narrow path calling to me. I
walked out of the garage, down the path, stopping in front
of my abandoned pottery shed. I reached out and turned
the knob. The door swung open with a creak and I
stepped inside the dimly lit room, moving over to sit
down on the old recliner covered in a sheet and pulling
my knees to my chest as I wrapped my arms around my
legs. What was I going to do now?
Glancing over at the pile of papers awaiting
recycling stacked next to the chair, the light coming in
through the window lit up the headlines.

I froze, staring at the picture. Under the bold
letters, it showed the empty bench where the lovers sat
when I saw them in my vision. I pulled it from the stack
and read frantically. The official report said heart attacks,
although the coroner had his suspicions on such a strange
occurrence and planned to look closer.

Could he tell that their souls were gone? What
was I saying? No one knew the real reason they died
except me, and whoever was doing this. Was there a
telltale sign that might tip him off that a serial killer was
on the loose?

I reached a shaky hand and pulled the previous
edition from the pile. Reading it once already didn’t stem
the panic that built up reading it again.

The man’s blank eyes staring at me from his
picture made my skin crawl. I never really saw the face of
the first woman I’d witnessed being killed by the nurse’s
assistant. The councilman and the couple happened in a
public place and made headlines, but what about Jessica,
who they believed succumbed to the stresses of her
cancer? How about the man watching the baseball game?
The woman alone in her living room? Their deaths may
never even be mentioned except in the obituaries.

As the thought crossed my mind I tore through the
pages in my hands and dropped to my knees, spreading
the paper on the floor. I ran my finger from one obituary
to another searching for a key word or phrase.

It seemed that the nurse’s assistant went for
younger, healthier victims as opposed to the old and
dying. I thought of Jessica as being an exception and then
realized, after healing her, she was no longer sick and
dying. The pattern still held true.

In that first paper, three possible people met the
criteria. They were between twenty and forty who died
unexpectedly. Was the nurse’s assistant killing more than
what I saw?

I sat back on my haunches contemplating the
unthinkable. Could he have killed more than those I
witnessed? I wouldn’t see anything if I awake, right? If I
didn’t walk in on him taking Jessica’s angel, I would
never have known about her.

He continued to kill with no one even aware of it
but me. A shaky hand rose to my trembling lips as tears
ran down my cheeks. My ability to heal felt insignificant
compared to the overwhelming damage the killer wrought
with no one to stop him.

I slid over on my side, laying my head down on
the newspaper, and cried at the sheer magnitude of what I
knew and my helplessness consumed me.

I moped around the house the rest of the weekend
ignoring phone calls from Trish, Cassie, and Elisa.
Thankfully, the nightmares remained absent from my
sleep. But the question remained: how could I be around
anyone, especially my friends knowing I was linked with
a killer or at least was an accomplice to a killer?
I waited for the Sunday edition of the Duluth Tribune to
come out, dreading what the headlines might read. My
worst fears came true when the apartment building
appeared on the front cover with the headlines:

“Suspicious,” I thought. So at least experts can
tell
something
is off when they’ve had their souls or
whatever sucked out.

Late Sunday night, all the amigos texted me they
were sorry. I was too. Sorry for being so horrible. I
ignored several more texts until Trish texted she would
pick me up at the normal time the next morning for
school.

What was I supposed to do to avoid harming
anyone in my personal, waking world? I didn’t recognize
any of the locations or people until they were noted in the
paper. Maybe the amigos were perfectly safe with me as
long as I kept them close. I texted Trish “thanks” and
hoped my reasoning was sound.

The next morning I climbed into the Jeep and
sheepishly looked at Cassie and Elise in the back seat
before looking to Trish in the driver’s seat.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Mistakes happen,” Trish said with a curt nod and

I looked over my shoulder to the girls in the back
seat and they nodded.
“You guys are awesome,” I smiled.
“Don’t you know it,” Trish said laughing.
I found a note in my locker at school that
morning.

Finally, maybe I’ll get some answers.
The day dragged on and on as I anticipated the meeting
with Allister. He didn’t let on anything at lunch, sitting at
a table with Angelina and a few other students while
Trish, Cassie, Elisa, and I stared at them from a distance,
entranced.

“Why don’t you sit with them,” Trish stated,
“you’re at their table anyway?”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, turning back to the three
glaring at me.
“What is it about them?” Cassie asked.
“I don’t know, they’re rich and gorgeous? Maybe
we’re just jealous, but I can’t stop thinking about them
either,” Elisa admitted.
I didn’t share the news of the date with the
amigos, but told Trish I didn’t need a ride after school.
“Okay,” she said, looking at me curiously.
I waited to see Allister walking out to his car
before leaving the school, not wanting to look too
anxious, though I doubt it worked. Once he cleared the
main entrance, I exited the side doors and walked over to
him as he stopped before his shiny, black Camaro. Cars
didn’t normally excite me, but this one, was kind of
awesome. I finally pulled my eyes away to look up at
him.
“I thought we could go for a drive,” he smiled.
“Sure.”
“We giving rides now?” asked a musical voice.
Angelina walked up looking not too pleased.
“Not ‘we.’ I need to talk to Britt.” Allister told her calmly,
opening the passenger door so I could slide in.
“I have to drop my sister off first,” Allister said,
opening the other passenger door.
Angelina took hold of Allister’s shirt sleeve and
pulled him away from me, not quite out of earshot.
“Are you crazy?” she started.
“I need to talk to her, I owe her that,” Allister
argued.
“You
know
what you should be doing,” she
fumed.
“It wasn’t her fault, it was my doing,” he said,
walking back to the car door before looking back at her.
Angelina paused. Staring at Allister, she sighed
heavily and walked over to slide into the back seat.
I turned, questioning, to Allister and he merely
shrugged. I slid into the seat and he closed the door after
me. I could feel Angelina’s eyes glaring at the back of
my head.
We drove in silence, uncomfortable silence, until I
stepped out of the car in front of their house. Angelina
slid to the door, pausing to share a meaningful look with
Allister, and then stepped out. We exchanged glances, her
eyes filled with nothing but anger for me. I got back in
and Allister pulled away from the curb. I caught a passing
glimpse of Angelina on the porch. Not happy, not happy
at all.
“Don’t worry about Angelina,” Allister said,
reading my mind.
“Why doesn’t she like me?”
“She doesn’t know you like I do. Give her time.”
“So I’ll be around long enough to ‘give her
time’?”
“If I have my way,” he grinned. “This is your
town, where can we go?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Talk.”
I felt a little uncomfortable, but knew just the
place. Somewhere I went as a kid to get lost in my
thoughts.
“Take a left here.” I pointed as we approached an
intersection.
We drove out of town, past the high school and
around a small lake, heading to my spot. I directed
Allister until we pulled into a gravel parking lot and
swung up along the far side. As we rolled to a stop,
Allister gasped. The area before us dropped off into a vast
ore mining pit, thousands of feet across and nearly as
deep, thick steel cables strung between large posts, the
only thing separating us from the pit.
“This is incredible.” He looked excitedly to me.
“My dad brought me here as a kid.” I got out,
walking to the covered observation platform; the metal
floor clanked under my feet. I paused by the
informational plaque.
Allister followed stopping next to me, reading the
plaque quietly. “It must have been amazing when they
were digging here.”
“I’m too young to remember, but this was always
a good place to think.”
“What do you need to think about?”
“You,” I said boldly, looking at him out of the
corner of my eye.
“Me? What’s so interesting about me?”
“You’re different than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“So are you,” he grinned.
“I, I, I…I’m sorry about the other day. I’m afraid
you think I’m crazy.”
“No, I don’t,” he assured me.
I took a deep breath and spilled. “Not only do I
think you and your sister saved me after I went over that
waterfall, but I think you’re angels and cured my cancer
somehow.” There, I’d gotten it out, my crazy thoughts
hanging out there, exposed, for him to see. I couldn’t look
at him, staring out over the large pit, waiting for the
laughter to start. It didn’t. I cautiously glance over at him,
expecting to see a frightened look on his face as he
considered the crazy girl. Except the look wasn’t there.
Instead, he gazed at me with such compassion it brought
tears to my eyes. I stared up at him, afraid to speak.
“Britt, there are a lot of things you don’t and can’t
know about what’s going,” he said and then turned away.
“I don’t want you to believe in fantasies, but I can’t lie to
you either.” He stared at the pit, avoiding my eyes.
“Are you saying it’s true?”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
“I mean, I can’t. There are things that should
remain secret, and I messed up more than I thought.
Meeting you at the hospital and telling you to stop
healing people was a huge risk as well.”
“So you’re saying it
didn’t
happen and at the same
time you say it
did
?” I could feel the confusion twist my
features.
“I’m saying you’re not crazy, but I can’t explain
why.” He turned to me, his eyes urging me to believe
him, to trust him.
“That’s fine for you, but you just messed me up
even more.” I wanted to believe him as I stared into his
deep blue eyes, only something felt off, like there was
more to the story. More that I wasn’t going to like.
“I don’t want to do that.” He hesitated a moment
and then turned to look out at the pit again. “I’m pretty
sure you should stay away from me.” He didn’t look back
at me.
“Why?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Ah.” I threw my hands up. “You’re talking in
circles. So you don’t want me around? Will you stop with
the bullshit and come clean?”
I glared at him, my anger and frustrations rising.
“Britt, take it easy. I like you and know I can’t
avoid liking you. There’s something about you that draws
me to you. I feel it inside, attracting me to you, making
me want…It’s just, being around you is going to be
very…difficult.”
“I’ve never shied away from difficult,” I said,
putting my hands on my hips.
“I can see that, but this may test even you.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
He gave me a nod and turned back to the pit.
I stared at him for a while and followed his gaze
into the mine. The frustration drained from me and I felt
my heart slow while I stared into the abyss, in awe of its
sheer magnitude.
An arm slipped around my waist and my heart
took off to the races again. I felt his warm body against
me and the scent of his cologne filled my nose. I sighed,
leaning my head against his shoulder. His head came
down to rest on top of mine and we stood watching the
birds swoop into the pit in search of food and nesting on
the pit’s walls.
I’m not sure how long we stood there, but the sun
touched the tree tops before either of us moved. I looked
up and straightened as a thought came to me; he stepped
away and stretched.
“So you and Angelina are angels?” I tried again,
more directly.
“Not exactly.” He shook his head.
“But you brought me back. I was dead and you
brought me back. If you’re not angels, what are you?”
My answers weren’t coming as clearly as I had hoped.
“You were dead,” Allister agreed. “I touched you
and brought you back, only it was as something different
than you were before.”
“Uh, I kind of noticed,” I said, waving my hands
around my body like a model showing him the latest
fashions. “And that little thing about being able to heal
people is new. So what did you bring me back as?” The
words came out and I wanted to catch them and shove
them back into my mouth. Fear swelled within me as I
realized I wasn’t sure I wanted the truth…if it was bad.
“I want you to know it wasn’t my intention. I had
no idea this would happen if I touched you.”
“So you go around touching dead people all the
time?” I folded my arms across my chest.
“Not dead people. I’ve never touched a dead
person…until you.” He looked at me and read my
confused expression. “I’ve touched people who were
sick; healed them so they could get better. I’ve done that
hundreds of times, but never has anything like this
happened before.”
“Cut to the chase, Allister,” I said in a low, firm
voice, only hesitating for a moment when hearing he
healed people too.
“I’m an Eternal,” he said. He looked at me like I
should know what that meant.
“Okay, so you’re an Eternal. Good for you. I’m a
Scorpio. What is that supposed to mean?” My voice
cracked as my frustration rose.
“My family and I are different from other people.
There are things about us that no one else can know. It
would change the way people view the world, and the
afterlife.”
“Allister.” My tone turned hard as the need to
know overwhelmed me.
“Some people are born without guardian angels
because they are born without souls. That is what I am.
That is what my family is. We don’t have guardian angels
and are destined to live soulless lives forever with no
salvation or redemption. We are Eternals.”
Now he had my attention. We were talking about
something my Catholic educated brain could
comprehend. Every person has a soul with a guardian
angel to watch over it. Kind of like a personal bodyguard
for your eternal spirit. I stared at him, trying to wrap my
mind around what he was saying. He had no soul?
My eyes shot wide as I looked at him, the
realization of why this information was pertinent to me
becoming clear. “Allister, did you do something to my
soul?” I asked slowly, the words coming out in a whisper.
“I’m so sorry…” he started, unable to hold my
accusing gaze as his eyes looked to the floor.
“What do you mean, ‘you’re sorry?’ What did you
do to my soul? My eternal soul, the only thing that I
hoped would bring me to a better place. You brought me
back from the dead without a guardian angel, or a soul?”
My voice continued to rise in volume until I screamed the
last word.
“I didn’t intend for that to happen,” he defended.
“Then what
did
you intend to happen?” I flailed
wildly as I spoke.
“I really didn’t know what would happen.” He
turned from me, walking over to the railing to stare out
over the pit, gripping the railing in his hands. “I saw you
laying there, your life slipping away, and knew I couldn’t
let you go. That I had to try. I had no idea you would turn
into an Eternal.”
No. I shook my head as the idea of what Allister
said sunk in. No. This wasn’t possible. This wasn’t how it
worked. You lived, you died, and your soul went to
heaven for an eternity of happiness.
“No,” I said flatly.
Allister looked back to me from the pit, his
expression confused. “No?”
“No,” I said shaking my head.
“This isn’t something you can just ignore and it
will go away,” Allister said.
“I don’t buy it. What is an Eternal anyway? Why
haven’t I ever heard of Eternals before? No, I don’t
believe you.”
“Britt, be reasonable…”
“Reasonable? Really?” I shouted. “You tell me
this and expect me to just accept your word? Maybe
you’re some guy who gets a kick out of freaking people
out.”
“How would I have known about the waterfall?”
he argued.
“Because I told you at your house. You could be a
sick twisted person wanting to drive me insane so you’re
throwing it back at me now. My soul is safe and sound
right here.” I pointed to my chest. Even as my finger
touched my chest, my doubts crept up. Did the dreams
come from me being soulless? Somewhere deep down,
did I know?
Allister moved closer, causing me to step back. He
was beginning to scare me.
“What are you doing?” I threatened.
“I need to convince you I’m telling the truth.” He
moved forward, reaching to take hold of my arm.
“Let me go. Are you some kind of frea…?”
The last word never finished as we suddenly stood
on the far side of the pit, looking back at the reviewing
stand. I panicked and stumbled along the edge of loose,
spent taconite tailings and Allister took hold of me,
pulling me back from the edge and spinning his back to
the pit.
“What was that?” I spoke in a whisper, shaking
against his chest.
“Shimmering.”
“Shimmering?”
“We can move over short distances with a
thought. It’s one of the perks of being an Eternal,” his
voice was lighter, almost amused.
Shaking my head, I pushed away from his chest,
hard. “No.”
The force caused him to stagger backwards a few
paces. He teetered on the edge of the pit for a second as
his eyes met mine and he toppled over backwards,
surprise filling his eyes.
“Allister,” I shouted in horror, dropping to my
hands and knees and scrambling to the edge of the pit in
time to see him splash into the lake below.
“Oh my God,” I cried out.
“Humph.”
I rolled over to see a drenched Allister standing
behind me. He smiled deviously and moved over to
extend a hand. I grasped it and he pulled me to my feet,
covered in orange iron ore dust, staring at his confident
gaze.
“You were surprised, but you weren’t scared.” I
said, realizing it as I spoke.
“I can’t die. There was nothing to be afraid of,” he
said smiling.
“No, this isn’t real. This can’t be real.” I turned,
threw my hands up in the air and walked away from the
pit following the old road as it wound up over a hill and
back towards the main road.
“Britt, wait, I’ll take you back to the other side,”
Allister cried after me.
I didn’t turn around, walking defiantly away from
him and his bizarre claims. I froze in place as I realized
something. If he could move across the pit like that, was
the rest of his story also true? I shook my head, silly
nonsense. I had my soul. His story was b.s. I needed to
get out of here and sort this out. There had to be some
reasonable explanation.
Allister appeared out of nowhere in front of me,
his hands held up before him, trying to calm me down.
“Britt, please, you need to listen to me.”
I stopped a few paces from him, crossing my arms
and glaring at him with my best daggered look. He
cringed and I fought to keep a satisfied smile from my
lips.