Shadow of the Sun

by Laura Kreitzer

CHAPTER 29: REVENGE

  Another dreamless night had passed, and I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Did the Sight fade when the one who gave it to you passed? It worried me. Andrew had stayed with me again, and he was a complete gentleman. It was amazing how much my life had changed within a few days. The fleeting thought of going back to work in the Fishbowl was kind of surreal—would I ever go back to the life I once knew?

  Special arrangements were made for Abelie because of the circumstances surrounding her death. For a whole day, I wandered through the house—my parent’s house—while I traced my fingers along their belongings. I soaked up everything I could. This was where Abelie spent her time with Aiden and with me when I was a child. The feel of the floor beneath my feet and the smell in the air made me feel like this was my home. It smelled like Abelie: roses and vanilla. Each room was extravagant and different. Some items were old and priceless and others were more modern. You could tell she had been collecting trinkets for centuries. They especially liked old paintings of angels, which almost made me laugh.

  The sun flooded down like liquid light into the room from the window high on the wall, but then a cloud passed over, and it turned dull and grey. When I looked up, I couldn’t see through the dew that hand built up on the glass. Little rainbows shimmered through the water droplets as clouds passed, and the sun faded in and out.

  My feet dangled from my perch at my mother’s bed. It had a large canopy with wrought iron metal that twisted into beautiful designs and connected over my head. I had a family photo in one hand and the phone in the other. My life felt torn between who I was and who I was becoming. It literally hurt when I thought about my family back in the States, especially Jenna. At the same time, my heart was still trying to put all the pieces back together after losing the life I never had, the life I had almost returned to. In the photo, Aiden looked so human with Abelie and me in his lava-cracked arms. We looked happy, like a family should. I was young, of course, with long golden curls cascading down my back. There was so much love in their eyes, even in my father’s, which were nothing more than flames.

  The door squeaked when Joseph pushed it open, and he strode toward me. The bed sank when he sat beside me. “Who you gunna call?”

  I snorted. “That line is never going to be usable again.”

  He cocked his head to the side and smiled at me. “Yeah, I guess not.” He shrugged. “But really, who were you going to call?”

  “I thought about calling my sister, Jenna. But I don’t know what I would say to her.”

  “Probably not a wise idea,” he suggested. “At least not yet. I made a phone call, earlier this morning, to the FBI.”

  “Oh,” I said, looking up at him. I bit my lip, an automatic reaction when I was nervous. “And what did you say—what did they say?”

  “Honestly, I had nothing. I told them not to ask.” He chuckled anxiously. “I mean, it isn’t like I can tell them that I went through a portal and ended up in Italy—even if I do work in Paranormal Investigations. My boss would ask me how many hallucinogenic mushrooms had I eaten.”

  I burst out in laughter, the first real sound of joy I had made in several days. He smiled back, a look of confusion on his face.

  “It’s—” I tried to speak through the fit of giggles that had overtaken me. I would take in every happy moment I could get because I knew it wouldn’t be this lighthearted for long. “When I first found out there were angels, like real, live angels, I thought that someone had put some hallucinogenic mushrooms in my coffee. The whole day I was questioning whether I was losing my mind.”

  After reigning in my insane outburst, I asked, “And they just said”—I tried to imitate a man—“ ‘Sure, Agent Carter, just come on back home’?”

  His smile vanished. “Not exactly, though they did say to come back immediately. And not in a pleasant way.”

  My humor was swatted away by his tone. “Are you not staying for the funeral?”

  “Of course I am.” He grabbed my hands in his. “I can’t express to you how sorry I feel about everything. I didn’t know your mother, but she was valiant, and she fought bravely. She was a hero.”

  I looked down at the golden rug beside the bed. “Aiden said that word spread quickly of her death after we made arrangements with the funeral home.” I took in a deep breath. “It looks like I have to stay hidden during her funeral.” Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, marching back and forth, effectively wearing a hole in the rug. “She was my mom,” I practically shouted. “I deserve to be there—to not have to hide from her.”

  Joseph ran a hand through his dark hair. “It’s not fair, it really isn’t—” His forehead creased.

  “What?” I stopped pacing.

  “How did the angels find out? Because, you know, we’re in hiding. They were in hiding.”

  “Apparently—” I sighed and joined Joseph on the bed again “—Abelie had made many friends in the community around here. They were all human friends—one human happened to know an angel.”

  “Did the humans know she was an angel? Do they know about angels?”

  “They suspect. Angels were—are encouraged to mingle with humans. Aiden and Abelie were apparently good at hiding their relationship from public view, so at least Aiden’s safe. He said they rarely had people over. Abelie was loved in the community.” My eyes shot down to the gold rug again. “Of course she was loved, she was wonderful, and I—” I cut myself off, knowing that if I started to talk about her, I would cry again.

  “So how are you going to stay ‘covert’ during the funeral?” he wondered as he ran his hand through his hair. I was surprised it wasn’t standing on end.

  “I’m not sure,”—I shrugged—“but Aiden told me not to worry about it, that he would cover that part.”

  Joseph shifted next to me, and I glanced up to see Andrew. He was absolutely stunning in an all-black suit. From the deep black button-up shirt with jacket, all the way down to his polished black shoes.

  “Wow, Andrew.” Was I drooling? “You look amazing.”

  He gave me a small smile. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked. “Because I have something for you.”

  “No, course not.” I stood. “You have something for me?” I didn’t know what he had up his sleeve. “It better not be a puppy. Hercules will be jealous,” I tried to joke. It didn’t sound right. Laughing, joking, being happy felt wrong. I gave Joseph a tiny wave goodbye, which he returned.

  Andrew smiled with a confused expression on his face when I turned back toward him. “Hercules?”

  “My dog.”

  Andrew’s smile grew, and he gestured for me to exit. He pointed down the hallway toward the room we had been staying in. “It’s on the bed.”

  My feet were bare and didn’t make any noise against the hard floor. The walls were a soft cream color and had beautiful red designs woven at the edge of the ceiling. I wondered if Abelie had painted them, and then I instantly felt empty because I didn’t know anything about her. I made a mental note to ask Aiden. When I reached the end of the hallway, I thought I could hear Andrew say “Thank you for being so kind to Gabriella” to Joseph. I smiled. He really was a kind soul—my kindred soul.

  Lying on the dark green bedspread was the most beautiful black dress I had ever seen. I skipped over to it and ran my fingers along the silk. The angels loved their silk. Underneath was a knee-length, black pea coat.

  Andrew peeked his head in. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it,” I whispered in awe.

  “Put it on,” he said. “The funeral’s in about an hour.”

  So soon, I thought dazedly and nodded. He frowned but turned and closed the door behind him with a small click.

  Andrew held a large black umbrella over my head as we walked through a path in the woods that lead to the burial grounds. Though the air was chilly, the grass was still a vivid green, more pronounced in the misty rain that scattered across the cemetery. Ehno and Lucia had
joined forces to form a bubble around us. Ehno said we would be invisible to everyone during the ceremony, but we had to be quiet because we could still be heard, and we could still disturb the area around us. We approached the dark wooden casket sitting above the deep hole that would eventually swallow Abelie. We tried to stand as close as we could feasibly get. My grief swelled in my chest, as if I were drowning or wading through heavy waters, unable to stay afloat. I didn’t know if I was ready to handle these emotions again, but I had no choice. They rushed back more fiercely than before. Aiden’s face reflected mine in his sorrow. I reached out and held his hand as we moved closer to the casket.

  We stopped farther away from the tent than I would have wished. I stared straight ahead, feeling hollow. This person that possessed me was different—broken. Before, I always felt like there was something missing, and there was. But now—now I felt like a train had severed me in half, like the two parts of myself would never be able to reattach. I was torn. The dark wooden casket taunted me, telling me it was entirely my fault. If it weren’t for my birth, or my ingenious idea to flee the underground lab, we wouldn’t be here right now. For a few seconds, I thought I would be sick all over Andrew’s shiny black shoes. Bent over at the waist, my stomach heaving, Andrew leaned over and pulled my hair away from my face.

  “You okay, Ella?” he whispered so low I could barely hear him through my heavy breaths—the sound like putting my fingers in my ears and speaking.

  I shook my head and let the tears roll down my face. I had thought I knew what pain was before, but I was wrong—so incredibly wrong. Something had ripped through me and shredded any strength I had left inside. Before, she was still there—covered on the table in the library or lying on a bed in her house—but now she would be devoured by the Earth with dirt and rocks. There was just something so final about the act—so permanent. The thought of the barrier between us almost made me faint with sadness. I didn’t know how Aiden was still standing. When I looked at him, golden tears littered his face.

  All around me, those who had been blessed by this glorious being wept and held on to each other, coming together as one entity for the support they each needed. The mass of humans surprised me, and I realized how many lives she had touched, changed in some way. In the distance, I could see angels beneath the shadows of the encroaching forest. I recognized the Elders clustered together. Their golden tears glittered in the small glint of the sun beaming down through a slit in the clouds. Maybe the heavens were shining upon them. No one else seemed to be able to see them, or maybe they weren’t paying them any attention, but I could—in all their magnificent glory. They had always possessed a celestial glow, but today it had been taken away. A darkness surrounded them as they mourned the one they had lost. The one I had lost.

  “If I ever see Jeff again, I’ll kill him. That’s a promise,” Aiden barely whispered.

  The other angels shared a look of approval before nodding. “Agreed,” they all said. For once, I agreed to this death.

  There was a short, grey-haired man that walked toward the podium and pulled a book from beneath his black robes. He looked Catholic. He spoke reverently in a deep, rich Italian. The rain pounded against the umbrella above my head and drowned out his speech. Instead of listening, I let the humming of the rain soothe my brain. Andrew held me against his side and sang in my ear. The words were lovely and beautiful. It only made the tears come quicker, like a soundtrack to my sorrow.

  I was silent as the tears descended my face, contributing to the heartache around me. As the service came to a close, the crowd dispersed and the angels in the shadows vanished before my eyes.

  We moved closer to the casket covered in white roses. We were still invisible, and I wondered how long Ehno and Lucia could keep up their strength. Once everyone was in their cars, making their way down the windy drive, workers converged upon the tent and started to disassemble it.

  The rain scattered across the ground, soaking the flowers that lay upon the tomb of the once forgotten angel. Someone had once told me that when it rained, it was God weeping for the beloved who were lost. Today I believed this more than on any other day, because this was a more grievous death than that of any mere mortal.

  We stayed to watch as they lowered the casket into the ground. A perfectly smooth, warm hand found its way to mine. A thumb compassionately stroked my palm and soothed me. I never looked to see whose hand held mine, and its owner remained slightly behind me, out of view. I knew it was Andrew—it was always Andrew. He didn’t pressure me to leave, or tell me it would be all right, because it wouldn’t, and he knew that. That was just fine with me; I needed time to grasp the concept of this monumental death.

  I peered at the mound of dirt that would cover this benevolent angel, my mom. Something broke away from my heart. It fluttered away, and the hole it left would forever be there. A reminder.

  Andrew’s warm hand never left mine, even when I collapsed to my knees, unsure if I would ever be able to leave this place and leave this angel who had never left me. My mom, who had secretly watched me grow into an adult, even though she couldn’t reveal herself for fear of losing me. To imagine the kind of sacrifices she had to make only made me choke on my breath. I needed it—the tears, the release—so I could get past this, make a special place for her in my heart and seal it for eternity, because that was what I had now, eternity, forever . . . a timeless immortality.

  When I struggled to rise, Andrew reached for my waist and pulled me to my feet. I peered into the eyes of my angel through my tear-filled ones. They were deep pools, so blue you would think someone painted them that way. Perhaps someone had. Maybe there was an exalted artisan in the sky using watercolors on the red-golden fall day, painting the angelic being before me. I’d never seen such a devastatingly beautiful day before in my entire life.

  As we reached a path in the trees that would lead us back to Abelie’s hidden house, the invisible charm disintegrated from around us, a white mist falling to the leaf-strewn ground. Still, the support of Andrew’s warm hand never left mine, as if we were melted together. Besides the sound of our feet shuffling beneath the canopy of trees and the small drips of rain making their way through, we were silent. I had yet to really look at the other angels, to see their golden tears trailing down their faces. We were here to comfort each other, so I snaked my free arm around Aiden’s. His head turned to the side as he gave me the most anguished smile I had ever seen, patted my fingers wrapped around his huge, charcoal bicep, and continued our silent parade through the ever rain-drenched trees.

  When the huge stone mansion came into view, the light of day had started to fade in the background. The sky thickened with the languid darkness of night. It was twilight again, just as it was when Abelie’s soul was severed from her body. Ehno opened the door for us, but before I could find my way to the bedroom to weep in solitude, he called out to me.

  “Gabriella, wait.” I turned, curious. Everyone else, besides Joseph, went their separate ways. Ehno continued after seeing my expression, “Joseph has a plane to catch. I thought you might want to say goodbye before he left.”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  Ehno walked off to give us privacy.

  “Gabriella—”

  “No, Joseph. Let me speak.” I raised a hand in protest when he opened his mouth. “You’ve been far beyond amazing these last few days. It’s my fault you got caught in this whirlwind with me. I’m so glad you stuck it out with me and survived, because I don’t think I could handle your death on my hands too.” My voice had lowered so much that he leaned in to hear. “I’m glad you’re finally going back to your normal life and—”

  “You’ve got it all wrong,” he protested. “You changed my life. Remember when I said you were a skeptic?”

  I nodded, raising my eyebrows.

  “Well, I was a bigger skeptic than you. I’d seen things that your lab never had the chance to investigate, and I still didn’t believe—but on that plane, falling fro
m the sky . . . there are no descriptions in my head that could make you understand how that felt. My heart lifted, rejoiced, even though we were about to die. And if it weren’t for me sitting next to you, I probably would have crashed with the rest of them. If anything, you saved me.”

  And with everything heavily weighing down on me, I collapsed in tears once again. I was really growing tired of the tears. It was actually a mixture of grief and a twisted sort-of-happiness. Joseph caught me and gave me a huge hug.

  “We’ll see each other again, won’t we?” he mumbled into my hair.

  I pulled away from him and wiped the golden tears away. “You know it. Once all of this craziness goes away, I’ll definitely come visit. You can count on that.”

  “Good.” He smiled. “Well, I better go. Ehno called me a cab before we went to the funeral, and I just heard it pull into the drive.” His eyes darted to the door.

  “Be careful,” I ordered and reached up on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed and walked outside into the rainy abyss.

  I watched as the brake lights of the cab disappeared through the trees. I shut the door.

  “Everything okay?” Andrew asked from the bottom of the staircase.

  I shook my head. “Not really. Let’s just go to bed.” It was early, but I didn’t care. I was exhausted. He reached out a consoling hand. I took it, and we ascended the stairs. “Will you just . . . hold me tonight?”

  “I wouldn’t want to do anything different.”

  I jolted upright. I didn’t know why my heart pounded a million miles a minute, but it was racing. Inhaling deep, steadying breaths, I looked over Andrew’s sleeping form to see the alarm clock. It read five in the morning. Rain pattered against the arched window above the comfy sofa. Trying not to jostle the bed, I uncurled myself from Andrew’s arms, tiptoed across the room toward the fogged-up window, and peeked into the misty darkness. Even in the cloudy night I could see the path through the trees. I ached to see my mom more than anything, and all I would have to do was follow that trail. Even if the only thing I could do was stand at her grave, it would be enough. I just needed that closeness.

  Outside and through the fog, I found my way down the path in the middle of the trees as the sky diluted into a grayish blue. I tore through the forest until it ended at the clearing of the cemetery. Not too far away was a stone bench. I wrapped my new coat around me securely and pulled the hood over my head from the hoodie I wore underneath. The wind lashed out with harsh rain. As the sun rose, the bright yellow ball found larger holes in the clouds. Abelie’s grave hadn’t been filled in, and I couldn’t will myself to look over the deep hole with her casket covered in rainwater and roses. I couldn’t believe they left it like this.

  Two cemetery workers materialized from the mist. They didn’t pay me any attention as they started their day’s work. One of them drove a Bobcat while the other directed his actions. It was then that I understood what they had planned. They lifted the fake grass off the pile of dirt next to Abelie’s grave and proceeded to push the dirt into the hole.

  I flinched when I heard the first bit of mud fall onto the casket. Something inside of me sank down with my mom, as if I was suffocated by the dirt that was thrown over her. I stayed to watch as the ground swallowed the casket whole. Each time they backed up the Bobcat and it forcefully pushed more muddy dirt into the hole, I jerked out of reflex.

  Soon, there was nothing left but a smooth layer of Earth above the angel . . . my angel . . . my Guardian . . . my mother.

  There were soft footfalls behind me. I figured it was one of the workers coming back to do something else to Abelie’s gravesite.

  “Ella?” a gentle male voice spoke softly in my ear. I hadn’t noticed that he crouched beside me.

  “Andrew?” I whispered as I recognized his face.

  “It’s time to leave.” His breath was so affectionate, so healing, that some new strength grew inside me. He reached for my hand, and I gladly gave it to him. He had a look of panic on his face, and I wasn’t quite sure why. Did something frighten him?

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. It wasn’t out of exasperation that I had cried out, it was pure intoxicating relief. I hadn’t realized how much I needed him as I watched Abelie become one with the Earth.

  His hand tightened in mine before he released me. He wrapped his graceful arm around my waist to move me toward a black limo. I wondered where it had come from. Did he steal it?

  “No time for questions. It’s not safe here anymore,” he whispered. I mouthed his words back questioningly as he pushed me towards the limo.

  Reflexively, my eyes darted around the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing strange in the least. No Shadows, no Ladies of Light. No angels to speak of except for the one who held me against his body. After one last sweeping gaze around the forest that choked the boundaries of the cemetery, I stiffened when a form materialized under the shadows. I couldn’t see a face, only the red-orange glow of fiery eyes.

  Andrew reached for my hand, and we picked up our pace.

  No, I thought stupidly, it couldn’t be. Wasn’t this death the end of it all? Could there possibly be any more tragedies? The door flung open on its own accord, and suddenly we were inside and speeding away.

  Andrew’s hand hadn’t left mine, and he continually gave me the strength I so desperately needed. My heart pumped my new golden blood through my veins so rapidly I was surprised it didn’t explode under the pressure.

  “I don’t think he’ll follow—not while he’s alone,” Andrew whispered into my hair. My head rested upon his shoulders as a single tear trickled down my face to land on his jacket, staining it gold.

  “I’m sorry,” I said softly as I wiped at the fabric. He caught my hand to stop me, as if this action displeased him.

  “Don’t ever be sorry about weeping over an angel.” He cupped my chin. The warmth of his hand was enough to feel like he was healing me. And perhaps he was—not in a physical way but an emotional one.

  He kissed the tears on my face and wrapped his arms around me protectively. “Ehno and Lucia went looking for you in the opposite direction. You really had us frightened.”

  “I’m sorry, Andrew.” I looked down, embarrassed. “I wasn’t thinking.”

  The road curved as we headed out of the cemetery.

  “And what about Aiden?” My question was muffled against the lapel of his jacket as I tried to avoid his skin. “If he finds out a Shadow is here, he’ll come looking for him and try to kill whoever did this to Abelie.” And once again, just like before in the Divine Library, I felt a thirst for retribution. For justice.

  “The Shadow.” He nodded. “He’s not far.” He pressed a button, and the window between the driver and us slithered away.

  “Driver,” he called out. “How much longer till—”

  Sudden and violent metal twisting against metal echoed in my ears as the limo bent sideways. The sound grated against my ears, but my head hurt worse as it slammed into the side of the limo. My reality warped into something new. Then I was exposed to the elements. Odd, the sun had disappeared again and rain beat down on the ground. I was way too dizzy. Rain splattered across my face and wind rushed through my hair as I was pressed tightly against Andrew’s hard chest. My head felt faint, but with all my might I clung to him, absolutely confused at what was going on.

  There was a blur in my vision, and I wasn’t sure if we quit moving or if we were high in the sky at this point. For some reason we weren’t in the air. I was on the ground looking up at the beautiful maple tree above me, with its big yellow leaves.

  “It’s just you and me,” Andrew breathed into my ear. He helped me sit up against the tree.

  Something hot and wet seeped from my head and down my neck. My hand automatically went up to the sore spot on my temple, and when my fingers came away they were covered in rich molten blood. When I looked into my protector’s eyes, they were full of regret and torture. He als
o had a splattering of blood on his clothes. All I could think about was making sure he was okay, even though he was there to protect me. There was no time for that; we were in danger. A woman materialized. She stalked toward Jeff Vittorio, the Shadow who had caused our accident. It was the Soul Stalker—Karen.

  “Is that why—”

  “I can’t fly?” Andrew finished. “Yes. She’s preventing me from using my abilities.” He sprang forward, shielding me from her.

  But not my abilities, I thought dazedly, but there was no strength within me. I was tired and hurt, worse than I previously thought. The horrible ache in my side came back with a vengeance. Abelie had said she wasn’t able to fully heal me. I was in pain—a lot of pain. The scene went in and out of focus. One moment Andrew crouched before me, and the next thing—

  “It’s him,” I whimpered. “Aiden. Just like he promised.” This was my fault. If Aiden were killed, I would die too. Surely there were no other Guardians left for me. This would be the end. I didn’t want this to be the end. I’d lost Abelie—I couldn’t lose my father too. I refused.

  He shot a murderous glare in Jeff’s direction, right at his temple, like a sniper preparing to shoot. The ground shook beneath me, like one of those cheap beds in a trashy motel where you have to pay a quarter. Then everything stilled. The ground shook beneath us again as a dark shadow loomed overhead. Andrew tensed for action as the ground shook again. Darkness closed in on the edges where only the headlights of the limo illuminated the vicinity. It was my office all over again, like the dark mist was creeping up and around every inch of my skin. I wanted to swat it away, but my arms felt heavy, like they were broken. Fire sprang up and ringed around us, and the rain seemed only to intensify the raging flames that licked at the air. They were hungry.

  “Only one Guardian?” a vicious voice said mirthfully. The Soul Stalker. “It’s so easy to pick you off one by one.”

  I blinked, transfixed in horror. I squinted to see Jeff’s expression of gloating pleasure, or was it just vicious satisfaction on his face? Swallowing, I tried to muster up the strength to stare at him with every sign of great dislike—hate, even. Hate indeed.

  As I faded in and out of consciousness, light flashed left and right as fire and magic twirled in the air like pretty fireworks. There was a swirl of colors, a rush of wind, as if something flew overhead. There were no other words for it except complete and utter chaos. I had no idea how they kept up with each other. I was thankful all over again for everything Andrew had done for me. I hoped that between my father and Andrew, they could fight the two creatures who wanted to kill me more than anyone else on this universe, because I couldn’t.

  “You won’t take her,” Andrew shouted. I really thought daggers would roll off his tongue and pierce Jeff’s heart—if he even had a heart.

  “Won’t I?” Jeff laughed. “I will kill everyone who tries to protect her until she has no protectors left.” Again, he laughed. “Did you hear that, Illuminator? Everyone you hold near and dear will die as long as they stand in my way.”

  Maybe it was my faint state, but I thought I would freeze from his words, so icy and not threatening, exactly, but promising.

  The encompassing fire crackled and flickered into an ominous red as a shape appeared before us. It was so easy for Jeff to embrace the same fires that had snapped the neck of Abelie. I tried to fight against my heavy lids and failed miserably. Heat wrapped around my ribs, up my shoulders, and crept around my neck. Any second I was going to join my mom. My ribs folded under the pressure.

  There was shouting and a grunt as the sensation disappeared. I tried to shake off the faintness and the pain in my side so I could help, or at least see what was going on. I couldn’t concentrate through the haze of pain. When I stood, hand on my side, blood leaked from beneath my clothes. I lifted my shirt to see the wound that Abelie had tried to heal ripped open, and blood dripped down my side. My back hit the tree trunk, and I sunk back to the ground, unable to stand.

  Fire shot from the palm of the dark creature. Andrew ducked, and the fireball hit a branch above us. Then he flung himself in front of me as another fireball rocketed my direction. He didn’t move fast enough. It pierced my chest, and for a fraction of a second, anger boiled up like a black wave right along with the pain. It did me no good. He had me. I was a goner; the Shadow and Soul Stalker had won. Andrew yelled, but I couldn’t make out the words. My Guardian ducked, and another fireball hit a branch above us. The branch clattered down, and then, as a new darkness began consuming me, I knew I was finished. My world disappeared into a silent, black oblivion.