The Guardians (34 page)

Before I returned to human form, I glanced around the kitchen for Lucius. But he was gone. With a sigh, my wings retracted, and my body returned to normal.

I then dared myself to look over at Zach. He was shell-shocked. The knife dropped from his hands, clattering onto the floor. His knees buckled, and he slammed back against the counter. “Cassie…” was the only sound that fluttered from his lips.

Chapter Thirty-One: CASSIE

Before I could respond to Zach’s incredulous expression, Annie began moaning in the living room. “Call 911,” I instructed.

Zach grabbed the extension in the kitchen as I hurried to Annie’s side. Blood flowed beneath her head as she writhed in pain. I reached out my hand, lightly touching her head. When my touch eased the pain, Annie’s eyes fluttered open.

“Zach?” she questioned.

“He’s okay,” I answered.

Tears spilled over her cheeks. “Thank God.”

Zach came sprinting into the living room. “The paramedics are on the way.” He knelt down beside his mother and took her hand in his. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said, in a strangled voice.

“I thought the same thing about you. When I was unconscious, I had such a terrifying vision of you trying to kill Bruce.” She shook her head. “It’s so
over
, Zach. I promise you that.”

I saw the hope surge in Zach’s eyes. “Really?” he questioned, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

“Yes, I really mean it this time. I swear it on your father’s memory,” Annie replied.

I knew Annie had never promised anything like that before. Tears replaced the doubt in Zach’s eyes, and he leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. It was then an ambulance screeched into the driveway. I hurried to let the paramedics in. The police followed shortly on their heels.

As the paramedics worked on Annie, two police officers surveyed the scene. One went into the kitchen where Bruce was coming into consciousness. “So what happened?” an officer asked.

Zach drew in a deep breath. “He hit her, so I went after him—to you know defend her.”

The officer eyed Zach’s bruised and bleeding face. “Do you want to press assault charges?”

Zach met his mother’s gaze before he replied. “Yes, we do.”

“We’ll put him away.”

“Thanks,” Zach said.

“Okay folks, we need to get her to the hospital.”

We followed the stretcher outside. As they loaded Annie inside, Zach turned to me. “I’m going to ride with her.”

I nodded. He quickly hopped into the back. He slid onto the bench beside the stretcher and grabbed his mother’s hand. He glanced back at me one time just before the ambulance door slammed shut.

The flashing lights faded in the distance as I stood alone in the driveway. The sound of a commotion behind me caused me to turn around. The officers were dragging Bruce out of the house. His hands were cuffed behind him, and he was railing obscenities about the police and about Annie and Zach.

But when he saw me, he stopped struggling against them. He turned white as a sheet, staring at me in disbelief. As they put him in the back of the cruiser, he cast one last glance my way before turning dumbly to stare ahead.

I then started the slow walk home. Both my mind and my heart were overwhelmed. One scene played over and over in my mind. It was look on Zach’s face when he saw my true self.

When I got to the house, I didn’t know what to expect from the others. Would they be angry I’d revealed my true self, or would they understand? My hand hovered over the doorknob. Shakily, I turned it.

The moment I walked in the door, Sophie rushed at me, gathering me into her arms. “Are you all right?”

My head bobbed weakly as I was zapped of all my energy.

Elijah and Rafe appeared at my side. “We were so worried about you, Cassie!” Elijah exclaimed.

My eyes were drawn to Gabriel who was standing behind them. I braced myself for his anger as he strode towards me. Instead, he hugged me. Squeezing me tight, he held me for a few moments before he said anything. “I’m very proud of you, Cassie,” he whispered in my ear.

I jerked back in surprise. “You are?”

“Of course I am. You weren’t left with very many options, but in the end, you managed to save Zach.”

“But he knows what I am now!” I cried.

“Yes, he does, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to compromise our mission.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “How can you be sure?”

Gabriel exchanged a look with Sophie before he continued. “After Zach goes to sleep tonight, he will have no memory of you breaking out.”

“What?” I questioned.

“Instead, the Dominion will give him a new memory that he knocked Bruce out, and you called the police.”

I gasped. “They’ll erase his memory?”

Sophie touched my arm. “Don’t think of it in a bad way, Cassie. It’s the best thing for Zach and for all of us. It’s exactly what happened with Hannah when her mother was shot. Her only memory is something caused the gun to misfire and something gave her comfort.” When she saw that I was still unwavering, she said, “It’s just the way things are done.”

My gaze flickered to Gabriel. “So if the Dominion’s wiping Zach’s memory tonight, are they angry with me with what happened?”

“As soon as it happened, I was in contact with Micah.” Gabriel ignored how I shuddered at the mention of his name. “Of course, he and the others aren’t thrilled with what happened, but they understand why you reacted the way you did.”

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked. “I mean, are they going to send me back?”

“No, Micah assured me you wouldn’t be sent away. He said it would arouse more suspicion if you were to suddenly disappear from our family and from school. Not only is there Lauren to deal with, but he says there are plenty of souls who can benefit from your help.”

I cleared my throat. “And what about Zach?”

“Well, he was never meant for you in the first place. You’ll simply keep an eye on him for any trouble looming over the horizon.”

Although I should have been overjoyed to no longer be responsible for Zach, my chest caved in at the thought of having to “just keep an eye” on him. Sophie came up and put her arm comfortingly around me. “You have to be exhausted, Cassie. Why don’t you go on upstairs and go to bed?”

“All right, I will.” I started upstairs and then turned around. “Thanks guys. I really appreciate your help and understanding.”

Gabriel smiled. “No problem.”

When I got to my room, I collapsed onto my bed. Breaking out of my human form depleted all my energy. But at the same time, I was too keyed up to sleep. Besides, every time I closed my eyes, I saw Zach’s horrified expression before me.

A gentle knock brought my attention to the door. “Come in.”

It was Sophie. She must’ve have sensed something wasn’t right with me. She eased down on the bed and gave a small smile. “I just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m okay,” I murmured, avoiding her gaze.

Sophie cleared her throat. “Um, no you’re not. I can feel your distress.”

I rubbed my eyes. “I’m just tired, that’s all. I’m sure things will look differently in the morning.”

“Things with Zach?”

My chest heaved. “Maybe.”

Sophie took my hand in hers. “By Lucius disappearing at Zach’s house, you defeated him, Cassie. And by defeating him, you should be freed of the Demon’s Kiss he put upon you.” Sophie paused to gage my expression. “But I would venture to say by the way you’re feeling, that you aren’t freed of your emotions for Zach. Am I right?”

Deep down, I didn’t want to acknowledge the depth of what I felt for Zach. But while I could lie to myself, I could never lie to Sophie, so I nodded.

“And I can further imagine as you’re lying here you’re pretty upset that you still have feelings for him, and you’re also worried that nothing will ever be the same between you because of what he knows.”

“Yes,” I croaked.

“I think those are all understandable emotions, Cass.”

Tears stung my eyes. “I just feel so jumbled up inside—like I don’t even know myself anymore. I can’t even imagine getting up in the morning with things the way they are between us!”

Sophie shook her head. “But I know you will. You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, and you’re a much better guardian than you’ll admit to.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I’ve really done a bang up job. I’ve even alerted to a human to our presence.”

“You’re not the first guardian to do that, and you won’t be the last. You just have to remember no matter what, you
saved
a life tonight—more than one in fact. You saved Zach from prison, and his mother and brother from any more abuse. And although he is a blackened soul, you saved Bruce from death. Now their family can finally heal.”

A weak smile came to my lips. “I know I should see it that way, but I just don’t.”

“Give it sometime. You’ve had a really emotional night.” Sophie rose up from the bed. “I’ll let you sleep now.”

“Okay.”

She started for the door. “Sophie?” I called. She turned back to look at me. “Thanks.”

She smiled. “No problem.”

After Sophie closed the door, I eyed the clock. It was a little after eleven. I burrowed under the covers and willed sleep to come. I must’ve dozed off because shortly after one, a noise caused me to jump. I bolted from the bed and went over the window.

It was Zach.

I immediately threw open the window and helped pull him inside. When I closed the window, I turned back to him. For a few minutes, we just stood staring at each other. Finally I broke the silence. “How’s your mom?”

“She’s gonna be okay. She’s got a pretty bad concussion, so they’re keeping her overnight for observation. AJ’s staying with her.”

“I’m so happy she’s all right.”

Zach nodded.

“And Bruce?” I asked.

“The officers assured me since he was on probation for several DUI’s and since he’d broken the restraining order, it would ensure he was put away for awhile.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah, it is,” Zach replied.

We once again stood in silence. As he stared at me, Zach’s mouth hovered between saying something and staying quiet. Finally, he drew in a deep breath. “So what happened tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tonight when you came between Bruce and me….”

“You were going to kill him. I had to stop you.”

He shook his head. “But you had
wings
. I saw them with my own eyes! I heard the sound they made, and I felt the wind.”

I stared down at my hands, unwilling to answer him. He quickly crossed the room to stand in front me. When I looked up, I found him staring into my eyes, searching for answers. “What
are
you?”

The intensity of his stare took my breath away. My head spun, and it took me a few seconds to find the words. “Why are you asking me what you already know?”

“Because I need to hear it from your lips. I need to know I’m not crazy!”

“You’re not crazy,” I protested in a whisper.

“Then tell me,” he insisted.

I bit down on my lip, knowing the moment I admitted it everything would be forever changed. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I heard myself murmur, “Please…” It was so soft I doubted he heard me.

“Cassie, you have to tell me!”

The barricade broke, and the words rushed out. “I’m a guardian angel.”

The words didn’t have the effect I thought they would. Zach stared at me, wide-eyed and incredulous. Slowly, his head swiveled from side to side, his eyes never leaving mine. “But it can’t be!”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t make any sense. You’re not some winged creature flying around Heaven. You’re as real as I am!” he argued.

A smile filled with regret crept on my lips. “Are you so sure?”

“Yes, I’m
sure
. I’ve held you in my arms, and I-I’ve…kissed you.”

“I know. But trust me, I am an angel—an angel in human form sent to guide and protect you.”

“But why me?” Zach asked.

“The Dominion knew you needed someone. I was with you the night Bruce threw you out…and on the bridge-”

Zach gasped. “That was you?”

“Yes,” I said.

“But I swore I heard my father that night.”

“You did…I thought the best way to save you and to be Lucius would be to channel your father.”

Zach’s brows furrowed. “Lucius? That guy from prom?”

“He happens to be a demon.”

Zach’s knees buckled, and he sunk down on the bed. “This is unbelievable.”

I hesitated only a moment before I eased down beside him. “It may be unbelievable, but it’s the truth.”

“And so you just flew down here from Heaven or something to help me?”