Angel Dreams (An Angel Falls Book 2)

by Jody A. Kessler

  “We must leave. We should not anger him.” Chris is making ground, albeit only an inch at a time through the grass.

  “He won’t hurt me. Remember, I told you once that he’s my friend. He really is.”

  “No. You are being influenced.”

  “I am not.” What I am, is losing my patience. “Let go of me.”

  “Nathaniel, will you tell him you mean no harm to either of us.” I peer over Chris’s shoulder to see Nathaniel’s glare fixed on Chris.

  “Juliana speaks the truth and she asked you to let her go.” There’s icy malice behind his words. I’ve never heard him sound so threatening before. Fear pinches me somewhere between my shoulder blades. What is my otherworldly boyfriend capable of?

  If I were Chris, I would let go, but he doesn’t. I pry at his fingers exaggerating the sincerity of my request. “Enough already! I know what I’m doing.”

  Chris stops tugging as he half turns to look at me. “Ha!” he snorts. “You do not understand the spirit world. Stop your foolishness before you injure yourself.”

  “She wants you to release her,” Nathan says.

  “Come with me now, Jules. Hurry,” Chris urges.

  Hearing the hardness in Nathaniel’s tone, I get the feeling there isn’t much time before he does something to stop Chris himself. I hold a hand up to Nathaniel to stay back. Chris will come around if he will just listen to me. “Surely not all spirits are bad. Can’t you believe me on this? He’s my friend.”

  Something like hurt and confused distrust passes over Chris’s angry face, but his hand finally let’s go of my shirt. He steps to the side and stumbles, going down on one knee.

  “Yo jeez, are you all right?” I ask.

  He pops back up. The muscles at his temples bulge as he clamps his mouth shut. Embarrassment followed by fury flash across his face. “I am fine,” he growls through clenched teeth.

  Stomping away, I hear him grumble, “If you have any brains in your head, you will stay away from the Shadow.”

  I blink rapidly at his retreating back trying to comprehend his hostility. His aura darkens and swirls around his rigid spine.

  Seriously? What a goon. He doesn’t understand.

  I hear him continue to mutter as he heads toward an outcrop of boulders. “I tried to warn her. Ignorance isn’t going to help anything…”

  And then I can’t hear any more. I’ve seen Chris Abeyta upset before. His naturally intense personality turns explosive. It’s not something I’d like to witness again.

  Take a deep breath and let it go. Better yet, take ten. After letting my nerves settle I brush my hair away from my face and look up into the eyes of two storms. His irises are as tumultuous as tornados, but their centers are a piercing black calm.

  “He has no idea,” I say feeling compelled to settle the waters even though Nathaniel has yet to speak. “Chris doesn’t know you. He’s overreacting. And, I’m fine.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes. He won’t listen to me.” The words fly out of my mouth even though somewhere inside I know I don’t have to defend Chris.

  “I knew he wouldn’t hurt you, but it took everything in me to hold back.”

  “No, I’m glad you didn’t do anything. He’s sort of a friend, I guess, and I don’t want it to get any worse. He thinks you’re something you’re not.”

  “He wants to be more than friends with you.”

  “Why would you say that?” I ask feeling suddenly annoyed.

  Looking away from Nathaniel’s angelic face, I stare into the slow moving current of Earth’s Heart Spring. A bead of water bubbles up at a constant rhythm where the source comes out of the ground. No matter what the weather or time of day or year the water pulses exactly the same. I move closer to the pool suddenly needing to dip my hands in it and not wanting to hear Nathaniel’s answer.

  “I could see it in his face. Why don’t you like him?” he asks.

  His frank curiosity and absurd question is enough to infuriate me. I bite my lower lip and hold back my snide response. Placing both hands in the crisp water, I imagine all the unpleasant thoughts and feelings draining away. Why would the guy, who only minutes earlier, proclaim his love for me, then turn around and ask me if I’m interested in someone else?

  “Chris Abeyta helped me when I was having nightmares. He also happened to be there when Mason was trying to kill me and my brother, after you…disappeared. So yeah, I kind of like him. As. A. Friend.”

  Nathaniel answers to my back. “You two would look good together.”

  “Are you freaking serious?” I stand up and whirl around on my heels. “What are you talking about?”

  Nathan shrugs his shoulders and looks away at the trees. “He’s right. I am a spirit. I have no idea if I’m harming you. I don’t have to eat, or breathe, and I’m supposed to be working, not having a relationship. Marcus, I…don’t know what he’ll do if he finds out what I’m doing with you. Chris is who you should be with, not me.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “No it isn’t. I’m a selfish jackass and I should leave you alone. I could be altering your future or who knows what. I can’t ask anyone about it because I’m not supposed to be here.”

  “Of course you’re changing my future! And I’m changing yours. Every encounter with anyone can change a person. No one has control over free will. You’re being ludicrous, so stop it. I choose you too, you know.”

  Nathan turns even farther away almost putting his back to me now. “I can’t hurt you. It would be more than I could stand.”

  “Nathaniel, you won’t. It isn’t in you. So please, don’t ever tell me another guy is better for me. That’s how you’ll piss me off.” I take another series of deep breath and then attempt to start over.

  “Can we just forget it? Chris is gone. I brought you here to show you something. Come here,” I say softly. I see his chest rise and fall. Even though he says he doesn’t breathe, he still makes the motions of it. “Please,” I add.

  Moving slowly he eases down next to me on a patch of grass. Tentatively I reach over for his hand. He’s solid and warm. He must have made his body in case it was needed for the encounter with Chris. I let my fingertips slide over the back of his hand and down his long fingers until I can hook my pinky around his.

  He wears a mask of indifference, but I’m not fooled. Males try to hide their feelings, but I’m too sensitive, and it’s always obvious to me when their emotions run on high.

  “I’m not used to this. Forgive me, Juliana. For being a jerk.”

  “You’ve never had a girlfriend before?” I ask, teasing and trying to lighten the tone between us.

  “I have, but it wasn’t like this. You’re,” He clears his throat, “different. It feels different with you.”

  His voice is rough as he chokes this out. The words he used could have come directly from my own mouth. He’s different for me too.

  “It’s like everything about you is a million times better and more intense than with anyone else.”

  “I’ve never felt this way before either,” I confess.

  He grips my hand in his, squeezing gently.

  “Here.” I tug him forward so he has to kneel. I dip his hand in the pool. “This spring is a direct connection with our earth. Like an open vein, her blood is the water. When we drink it, we can be healed of earthly disease or we can use it to help us remember what our purpose is in this life.”

  “How can water help?”

  “It’s not ordinary water. Do you want to try it?” I ask, not knowing if he can eat or drink. I haven’t seen him do so before but he did say he’s pretty much the same as I am in regards to the physical body — when he has one.

  “It won’t kill me. We already know that much.”

  Nathaniel’s tone held the tiniest amount of bitterness, but he didn’t linger on it. He plunges both hands into the water and swirls them around stirring up the fine silt from the bottom. We watch as it muddies the crystal clear water
and then begins to flow out of the shallow pool.

  “I had the idea that if you drank the water it would help you feel connected to the physical world again. Even if it was temporary.”

  Nathaniel lifts his cupped hands to his mouth and drinks. His eyes never leave mine as he takes it in.

  “Thank you,” he says as he lets his hands fall to his sides. He sits back again in silence, openly watching me with his intense eyes.

  Feeling somewhat embarrassed now, I try to shrug it off. “Earth’s Heart Spring is unique. I just wanted to show it to you.”

  “Don’t do that. You were being thoughtful.”

  “Do you feel anything?” I ask.

  “No. I have to be honest. What has an effect on the living, versus what I am, is different. I’m part of this world and I’m not part of it. The spring water doesn’t make me feel any different.”

  “Oh. I…”

  He interrupts me before I can finish stumbling out of my mouth. “You are the only connection to this earth that means anything to me. Being with you is better than anything I’ve ever dreamed.”

  It’s inevitable, trying to prevent the color in my cheeks from flaring up at yet another proclamation of his feelings toward me. The thing is, I feel the same, only I can’t say it the way he does. I decide to move quickly into another subject. Deflection can be a very useful tool in times of need.

  Chapter Three: Glimpses

  Juliana

  “My mom came up here with me once. It was just the two of us. I asked her if she could see these little flashing orbs of light. They were almost like twinkling Christmas tree ornaments, but they kept moving around.” I glance over at Nathaniel from the corner of my eye to see his reaction to my words. To my relief I see no disapproving judgments being passed.

  “Wee folk?” he asks.

  Nathaniel never presses me for more. He plays along like he doesn’t notice my discomfort at his declarations toward me. It’s another check mark for him on the positive side of the list in my head of all the reasons he is so amazing.

  “Yeah. Fairies is what my mom said they were, and no, she couldn’t see them. She seemed excited that I could see them. It embarrassed me in a way, and she could see it did, so she quit asking me about them. Instead, she told me about the fairies that live here. She said they protect this place and would protect all who have a kind heart that enter here. She said if you were to upset them, they may take you away to the fairy realm and enslave you until they tire of their game.”

  “Is that some sort of warning?” The mixture of teasing with blunt sincerity makes me glance over at him. His crooked half smile causes me to grow warm on the inside.

  “No. I was wondering if you can see them. Being that maybe you are sort of like them.”

  I’m in unknown territory. Is Nathaniel Evans in the same category as fairies? Do all celestial beings see each other? Do they exist in harmony together or do they have no acknowledgement of each other at all? Maybe they dwell in completely different realms. All of this supernatural stuff is foreign to me. My problem has to be similar to someone finding out their IQ is off the charts. You would know you were smart but not necessarily that smart or what to do with it. It’s the same kind of thing for me, not intelligence, although I do fair well enough in that department, but in paranormal skills. I’ve known, ever since I can remember, that I can see and feel things other people don’t, but I had no idea of the extent of my abilities and I’m just now starting to figure it out. But what is really happening to me is that I have more questions than answers.

  “Hmm,” he hums a noise in the back of his throat while thinking about his answer. “When I was alive I wasn’t aware of anything unusual or mystical, but now, I am.”

  Nathaniel picks a blue harebell out of the grass and holds it out to me.

  I take it from him and ask, “Do you see anything here?” I hadn’t noticed anything today, so far, but what I see often happens in quick glimpses that leave me questioning if it were real or not.

  “Yes, and no. There’s a calm to this place. It’s similar to all hallowed ground and when the wee folk are present they have a distinct signature about them. But I should tell you I have only ever seen them twice, and not today.” He turns his serious eyes on me and I want to drown in those thunderstorms.

  “Why do they exist? I mean, what are they here for?” I whisper.

  “Why are any of us here?”

  I feel his stare penetrate me to the core. My skin feels like it has been stripped away, and for unexplainable reasons I don’t care in the least. He can see me like no one has ever seen me and I don’t want to hide from him. As much as part of me is dying to do so, another part of me likes the rawness of being exposed to him.

  “Don’t you know?” I ask, but it is a cop-out to an answer so I try again. “I could tell you what I think in the moment, but it will be a different answer tomorrow. Life changes so fast, and besides, I think we’re not supposed to know some things.”

  “You’re right. It’s not until you leave the body behind that the answers are revealed. And not even then sometimes.”

  “The body is only a vehicle?” I ask, wondering if Nathaniel can answer something I have suspected for some time now.

  “Yeah. And it’s always changing. Let’s add impermanence to our list of all things inexplicable, Jules. It’s the only constant.”

  Being reminded about our growing list of perplexities of the human experience, I’m unable to stop the smile from creeping across my face. “And let’s add the soul, too. It’s as unexplainable as the rest of the list.”

  “Agreed,” he says, and then pauses, staring at me with a new intensity. “You speak to my soul in a way I didn’t know was possible. I’m here to experience you, Juliana.”

  I look down at the ground absorbing his words and fighting for control of the battle inside. Frantically excited and simultaneously frightened is a tenuous place to be. I can see myself being with Nathaniel forever and I even asked him for that very thing last night but I need to honor the pace of reality, and my reality is I want to get to know him over time. As it happens to be, emotions and brainwaves run on two separate channels.

  “Your soul speaks to mine too, and I don’t care where you’re from, or what you are.” Words flow out of my mouth that I would never have been capable of saying before we met. “You could be a Dullahan, or an incubus, and it wouldn’t matter.”

  He leans close to me. “It would matter, but I’m neither of those things. I promise I’ll never hurt you. If I did, it would be the end of me,” he says with a low voice that purrs down my spine.

  My head tilts to the side as if on command to expose my neck. He wields some kind of magic that has complete control of my body. “We should try to take things slow, okay,” I manage to squeak out. I swallow hard forcing down whatever involuntary protest is about to betray me and confess I never want to spend another second without him.

  He traces a line down the outside of my arm with a perfectly sculpted finger. Heat radiates from him leaving a hot trail over my skin.

  “Juliana, if you’re in my world then we can move at any pace you want.”

  His fingers stop on the top of my hand. “Thank you. It’s important to me for some reason.”

  “Then it’s important to me, gorgeous fox.”

  I feel my hand gently turn over and the tracing of a continual line around my palm. “I’m not part fox, you know.”

  “No, I don’t know. I’ll never be convinced otherwise. If I can be a Dullahan, which I very well may be because I don’t know what one is, then you can be a fox. One that can change into a woman, and lives on the edge of multiple dimensions.”

  The melting butter sensation had made its way to my back and is creeping north and south simultaneously. In another minute I’m going to be a warm puddle. “An Irish Dullahan is a being that comes at night, he’s headless, and forewarns of death.”

  “Ah, maybe that is what I used to be, but definitely not anym
ore.”

  His velvet rich voice caresses me from the inside out. I can feel his strength pulsing through his fingertips as he strokes my palm. His clean scent lingers in the air and I let myself drift away with the symphony of sensation.

  “Sweet vixen, are you all right?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Are you falling asleep?”

  “No, why?”

  “Your eyes are closed, love.”

  “It’s fine. Please don’t stop, Nathaniel.” There it is again, a part of my brain notes, speaking without my permission.

  He raises my hand to his lips and kisses the heel of my palm, then the inside of my wrist and up my forearm to the inside of my elbow. The top of my shoulder becomes his next destination and then along the edge of my collarbone. I want to protest — remember, taking things slow — but the jelly which my insides have turned into must include my voice box because recognizable sounds are no longer possible. Feather soft tickling on the side of my neck leaves me breathless, and all reason has now left the building. Somehow my hands have joined my betraying mouth and are doing things without my consent, like they have a separate mind of their own, even though I can still feel what they feel. Strong cords run up the back of his neck. The thick waves of his hair are soft and scrumptious between my fingers. My hand wraps around the base of his skull as he teases the underside of my jaw with his too warm mouth. My other hand moves over his muscular shoulder and down his back. He’s so strong and so solid.

  At some point I must have pulled him on top of me because I’m suddenly aware of the smell and feel of crushed grass beneath me. My ear is being nibbled and I can hardly breathe, not because of the weight of him, but because of the sheer excitement and the rush of blood pounding through me. It’s taken my breath away. Turning my face to find his mouth, he’s all too agreeable to meet me. My self-control has become as distant as yesterday’s breeze.

  “You have the most kissable mouth I’ve ever seen,” he whispers and then proceeds to prove his statement.