Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades)

by CS Yelle

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “Yeah, fine, I enjoy being blinded,” I said.

  “You whine a lot,” Angelina quipped.

  “I’m still getting used to this Eternal stuff,” I shot back. “So what did you find out? Or did you blind me just for fun?”

  “I believe I would have done it just for fun anyway, but I discovered who the Eternal is. His name is Kendal Stratford. He has been in Europe prior to now, but decided to do his dirty deeds here so his family would avoid further scrutiny.”

  “You got all that from touching my head?” I gawked at her, her face still fuzzy in my vision.

  “Indeed,” she smiled.

  “Wow,” I gasped. “How do we stop him?”

  “It is too early to speak in ‘we,’” Angelina pointed out.

  “But I’m in this up to my eyeballs. I need to stop him as much, maybe more, than you do.” I let Allister help me to my feet. He stood next to me, still supporting most of my weight.

  “We need to get you out of here first,” Angelina said. “Before Mother or Father sense you. I’m surprised they haven’t yet; you give off a strange, different vibe than I’m accustomed to.”

  “You feel it too, the pureness, the pull deep inside?” Allister asked eagerly.

  She nodded, much more sedate than her brother.

  “Come with us,” Allister suggested. “We can discuss this at Britt’s house,” he said pulling me closer as the tingles swept through me and we stood in the pottery shed once more.

  Angelina sparkled into existence off to one side and looked around.

  “Can Kendal sense you and your family are here in Grand Rapids?” I asked.

  “I believe it’s the reason he chose this location for his behavior,” Allister said.

  “But, if you just moved here, how could he know already?” I pressed.

  “He may have some foretelling ability similar to Angelina,” Allister surmised.

  “Not likely,” Angelina snorted. “More likely he followed us here from New York.”

  “How many guardian angels has he destroyed?” I asked, now making the connection that was the true nature of the vapor in my visions.

  “Six, including Mr. Kinsley tonight,” Angelina said.

  “Is that enough to alert the angels to you?”

  “Plenty,” Allister sighed. “They may not detect us, but they will come to investigate and, seeing how they can’t sense us, it will identify what we are.”

  “Why aren’t your parents involved in this?” I asked.

  “They are,” Allister answered quickly.

  “But with you among us, Allister fears the repercussions of his actions. We must pursue Kendal alone, else make our parents aware of Allister’s indiscretion,” Angelina pointed out.

  “Why is saving me so bad?”

  “It isn’t about you,” Allister comforted. “We aren’t allowed to touch people already gone with our powers. If we bring someone back who is already gone, we can create soulless monsters we will need to destroy; else they go on a rampage ravaging every guardian angel around.”

  “I could be one of those?” I asked.

  “We’re not sure, yet,” Angelina said.

  “How do you mean?”

  “It can take up to a year before a soulless can turn destructive, until then, they can function like any other person with a soul,” Allister explained.

  “Then one day, snap.” Angelina snapped her fingers. “The person turns into a crazed maniac.”

  “What?” I turned to Allister, fear and anger gripping me all at once. “I might be a monster?”

  “No, you aren’t.” Allister glared at Angelina.

  “How can you be so sure, Brother?”

  “Feel her essence,” he urged. “She is as pure as any Eternal I have sensed.”

  “It’s true, I feel an attraction pulling me to her,” Angelina agreed reluctantly, “Although one can never tell for certain.”

  Allister rolled his eyes and gave his sister a dirty look.

  “We should go,” Angelina pointed out again. “If Mother and Father discover us gone, they will question our whereabouts.”

  “I’ll see you later,” Allister told me, then vanished.

  Angelina stood in the corner, still looking at me. “Don’t hurt my brother,” she warned. “He cares about you, but sometimes people want something bad for them. You won’t like me if you hurt him.”

  I stared, mouth open, as she shimmered into thin air.

  Not only did I not have a soul, now I had a protective sister warning me not to hurt her brother, another Eternal going around destroying angels, and possibly more angels on their way to kill Allister, his family, and me. How could my life go from horrible, to wonderful, back to horrible so quickly?

  Chapter 11 I walked up to my room and dropped down on my bed. What a day. Found out I was soulless, witnessed Mr. Kinsley’s murder, and got threatened by a protective Eternal. All in one day.

  I pulled the blankets over me and thought of Allister. My stomach churned at the thought of his blue eyes, filled with regret and concern. Did I have feelings for him? I enjoyed the kiss in the school parking lot after he’d defended me. The concept felt so foreign, it didn’t seem real. How could I feel for him when he made me a monster? I lay staring at the ceiling, hoping the dreams wouldn’t return. My eyelids slowly inched closed, sleep drifting over me as fatigue won out.

  The dream did return, but it felt subdued compared to the previous one. I walked along a street and then recognized Allister’s house. I stopped outside and watched as shadows moved in an upstairs window. Angelina’s window, I thought.

  I could make out the outline of Allister and his sister through the window coverings and, after observing for a while longer, continued down the street.

  I felt a tingling and woke the next morning as the sun shone through the windows into my eyes. I glanced at the clock. Nine o’clock.

  Taking the cell phone off my nightstand, I read a text from Trish. Party at Cassie’s today.

  I got up, showered and got ready for the day. I had just slipped on my shirt when Allister appeared in the bathroom, causing me to jump and bang my head against the hook on the back of the door with a thud.

  “Ouch.”

  He smirked.

  “My bathroom, really?!” I placed my hands on my hips frowning at him.

  A light knock tapped on the door. “Britt, are you alright?” Mom asked.

  “Yeah, fine. Just slipped and banged my head against the door.”

  “Okay, but be careful.”

  I glared at Allister. “Okay, Mom.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, raising a calming hand.

  “Give me your phone.” I extended my hand. He gave me his phone and I punched my number in and handed it back. “There, make sure you call first from now on and no more bathroom or bedroom. The pottery shed only. My Dad would flip if he found you up here.” I turned to gather my phone from the vanity and tucked it into my pocket. “I’ll meet you there in a minute.” He shimmered as I opened the bathroom door to find Mom standing there.

  “Who are you talking to?” she asked, leaning in past me to look around the small bathroom.

  “No one,” I said, looking over my shoulder at the empty room.

  “I swear I heard voices.” Mom frowned, confused.

  “Just talking to myself. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.” I shrugged and walked past her and down the stairs without looking back, pausing briefly to grab a coat on my way out.

  I hurried to the pottery shed, closing the door and peering out to be sure Mom wasn’t following me. I turned around to find Allister sitting in the recliner.

  “We tracked Kendal for a few hours last night.”

  “Did you see him?”

  “No, he lost us in the woods north of here. Angelina and I decided to wait until he strikes again and see if we can get a fresh trail to follow.”

  “You’re going to wait until he kill
s someone else before you look for him? That is so wrong.”

  “What do you expect us to do?”

  “I don’t know, get more Eternals to search for him or, I don’t know, something besides waiting until he kills another person.”

  “He’s very creative and hides his path well. I think he realizes we are searching for him. He will continue to be more cautious now he knows we’re aware of him.”

  “But you need to stop him before he kills again.”

  “It isn’t like he sends us a note to let us know where he is going to be next,” Allister argued.

  “Are you sure you and Angelina can handle this by yourselves?”

  “We have to,” he sighed.

  “Not good enough. You need to stop him before another person dies. With me connected to him you should be able to pinpoint where he is. Maybe Angelina could somehow tap into my dream.”

  “I’ll see if Angelina thinks that will work, but if it doesn’t we have no choice other than tracking him after he kills again, I’m sorry.”

  “There has to be another way. How can we sit back and let another person die without trying? We need to step it up here.”

  “I understand how you feel, but there is only so much we can do.”

  “That sucks. It drives me crazy to know he’s out there killing people and we can’t do anything about it.”

  “We’ll catch him as quickly as we can. I promise.”

  I stared back at him, realizing my misplaced anger did nothing but hurt our effort. “I know,” I said sadly. Then I remembered the dream from last night. “I dreamt again last night and we were outside your house.”

  “Really, what did he do?” Allister sat up abruptly.

  “He looked up at Angelina’s window and watched your shadows for a short time and left.”

  “He’s onto us. We have to be more diligent about watching our backs. Hold on.” He shimmered and was gone only a minute before he shimmered back. “Angelina is looking into the possibility of tapping your dreams. I warned her about Kendal being suspicious of us. She will circle our house and look for any remnants of his presence.”

  Glancing at the clock, I grabbed a coat to head to Cassie’s. Slipping it on, I pulled my hair out from under the collar.

  “Where are you going?” Allister asked.

  “Over to Cassie’s,” I said and then paused. “Want to come?”

  “Is she the little one?” Allister asked.

  “They all will be there, but yeah, Cassie is the small blonde.”

  “I suppose it’s time we come out to your friends.”

  “There’s nothing to come out about. There is nothing going on between us.” Even as I said it, my stomach did a flip-flop. Was I kidding myself? “Besides, the three amigos will accept whatever I do, no matter what.”

  “Why do you call them the three amigos?”

  “My dad gave them the nickname after watching that old movie with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase,” I laughed. “It stuck.”

  “You’re lucky to have them,” he smiled. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah, I’ll ask Mom if I can borrow her car.”

  “I’ll drive,” he said.

  I looked at him questioningly.

  “My car is around the corner. Wait here until you hear me at the door. I’ll pick you up in a second.”

  “I have to learn that,” I said as he disappeared.

  I went back to the house and waited in the kitchen. It felt like forever before the doorbell rang. I ran through the living room as Mom opened the door to Allister.

  “Good afternoon Mrs. Anderson, my name is Allister Parks, I’m here to see Britt,” Allister greeted her politely.

  “Hello,” Mom said, staring at him in shock.

  “Britt and I are going to attend a party at one of her friend’s this afternoon,” he said.

  I slid to a stop behind Mom as she turned to look at me, questioning. “Cassie is having a party today and Allister and I are going for a while. Is that okay?”

  “Have fun,” she said as I walked past her.

  “I won’t be too late, but don’t wait supper.” We walked out the door and down the sidewalk to his jet black Camaro.

  “I could use a car,” I sighed.

  “What kind would you like? We kind of get what we want.” He pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows at my amazed look. “It’s one of the perks of living so long. You can acquire a great deal of wealth over nearly two hundred years.”

  “No, you don’t need to get me a car.” I got into the front seat as he held the door open. I slid my legs in as he shut the door. I quickly flipped down the visor to check my hair in the mirror, pulling the thick mess of waves away from my face as he got into the driver’s seat.

  “You look great,” he smiled, glancing over at me.

  “Thanks, but I’m nervous how everyone will react.”

  “Don’t worry. This is a much smaller group. We’ll see a bigger crowd tomorrow at school.”

  “Great,” I sighed. “Now I’m nervous about tomorrow too.”

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Thanks to you,” I pointed out.

  He leaned back, frowning. “Where did you get that idea?”

  “You changed me when you touched me.”

  “Britt, I can’t create you or instill beauty on you any more than I can create a star or change the color of the moon. The beauty existed inside you before I came along.” He held my doubtful gaze for a moment and then started the car with a roar.

  I stared at him, contemplating his statement.

  “It’s true.” He laughed and punched the gas, sending us racing down the street.

  I turned away, embarrassed, in time to see Mom staring out the window as the car jumped into motion. We pulled alongside Cassie’s house on the corner. All heads turned to watch as the sleek black car eased to a stop and Allister got out, walked around to my door, and helped me out.

  I looked up hesitantly to see Trish and Elisa staring. Trish held my gaze and mouthed, OMG, her eyes open wide. I nodded and a huge smile spread across her face. Elisa raced over to give me a big hug and then looked up at Allister.

  “Isn’t this a nice surprise?” she smirked.

  “Nice to see you again Allister,” Trish said, coming up behind Elisa.

  “Hello.” Allister grinned. “Where is the third amigo?”

  “Oh my God,” someone shouted from the direction of the house.

  We turned to see Cassie, a pile of buns at her feet as an empty plate tilted in her hands. Her face, a mix of excitement and shock, she dropped the plate on top of the buns and raced across the yard. I looked around, shifting my weight from one foot to another as all eyes locked on us.

  Cassie nearly tackled me, whispering in my ear. “You have to be kidding me.”

  “Maybe we should speak later, your guests are preoccupied with us and I think Britt would prefer they weren’t,” Allister pointed out.

  “Yeah, right,” Cassie said. “Come on, Elisa. Help me get the burgers on the grill and the salads on the table.” She pulled a reluctant Elisa after her, looking back over her shoulder and grinning at me.

  “Sorry about that,” I said with a grimace.

  “Nothing to worry about,” he smirked.

  We walked with Trish to the deck and found some Diet Coke to drink. We stood on one side of the deck with Trish as everyone took turns whispering and staring at us.

  “You two are a couple?” Trish asked.

  “Uh, no, I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  “You always date the girls that accuse you of being an angel?” Trish pressed.

  “We talked it out and it was just a

  misunderstanding,” Allister said. “She thought she saw something that day at the waterfall. I was impressed that she was brave enough to approach me.”

  I bit my lip as Trish looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  “I saw that she was a real person and liked that about her
. She’s genuine,” Allister told her, smoothing over my friend’s doubt with ease.

  “Yes, yes she is that.” Trish was smiling.

  I exhaled, relieved as she looked at me with a ‘you’re so lucky’ expression plastered on her face.

  Cassie came over, took me by the hand, and pulled me with her. “I need to borrow Britt for a moment.” She looked at Allister as he gave her a nod.

  We went into the kitchen, Trish close behind, and Elisa waiting, leaning against a counter. Once the door closed behind us, they all began to talk at once.

  “When did this happen?” Trish wanted to know.

  “Did you kiss him yet, is he a good kisser?” Elisa asked, of course that would be most important to her.

  “Is it serious?” Cassie asked.

  “I’m not sure, nothing’s ‘happened’ yet. No, we didn’t kiss, and I don’t think it’s serious, that way, at least,” I explained.

  All three burst out with questions that I stopped with a raised hand. “You guys are the best friends ever.” I smiled, reaching out to pull them into a hug.

  “You better believe it,” Trish agreed.

  I forced another smile as the guilt of keeping the truth from them burned inside, threatening to eat away my soul. Oh, right, I didn’t have to worry about a soul anymore, thanks to Allister.

  My mood turned gloomy after that. The realization that Allister’s change now forced me to be dishonest with my best friends grated on me. We went out to the deck with the rest of the guests where some of the girls already gathered around Allister. Noticing me coming, they scattered like a flock of birds on the side of the road taking flight when a car passed. I felt certain of the flock’s return if I left him alone again.

  I stood beside him, not looking at him, but taking in the rest of the party. Everyone except my three amigos now gave Allister and me a wide berth.

  After a long time, Allister stepped around in front of me, looking down at me with concern.

  “What?” I looked up at him and then away at the other guests.

  “Something is on your mind,” he said.

  “No, I’m fine.” I glanced over, then continued to look around the yard.

  “You’re upset about something,” he pressed.