“It’s not my fault!” she yelled at the innocuous backside of Retreat House. “I didn’t want to screw with the damned board to begin with!”
To calm herself, she thought of Eli. Her heart sank. She couldn’t be responsible for his downfall. No matter what she had to endure, she had to make sure he didn’t leave behind immortality for her. As she waited on him to return, she steeled her resolve. She had to nip whatever this was in the bud.
Twenty One
Before Eli had taken his true form, several of the others advanced on him.
“You want us to participate with a group of witches?”
“You are going to leave our ranks for a human? You are going to give up your role as protector and defender, as an immortal creation for the likes of a simple human girl?”
“How could you do this to us, Elion? You should have sealed the portal and banished the spirits immediately, not hung around to socialize while it gained power!”
“You told her about us, didn’t you? You exposed a forbidden secret, Elion!”
Eli understood their anger. He had been angry, too, each time he’d been in their position and had to watched as a brother descended for a human. Madness, craziness! Yet, here he was, walking in those very shoes; ready to trade in his Harbinger’s sword for fifty or so measly human years. Then he would die and have to start all over in his angelic training.
“Harbingers!” Uriel raised his voice above the melee. “Do not be divided now. If Elion makes that choice and the Almighty allows it, who are we to judge? He created love and gave us all free will, who are we to question Elion’s choice? Right now, however, we must unite our ranks to force the one unwilling spirit through the portal and then we must seal it for good. I trust everyone here is ready for the challenge?”
The twenty Harbingers that stood in front of Uriel, were immediately silenced by his words.
“Brothers, I beseech you to help me. I have not made any decision to descend. Have I considered it? Absolutely? I wish I could describe how she makes me feel. I am … whole when I am with her. I have feelings and thoughts that I have never, ever had. Have I made a final decision, though? No. I admit that I do feel torn, but I am not a lost cause yet, so please don’t act as if I am. And don’t take your anger out on her. We are here to protect her. That is our job – to protect His most precious creation. Please, help me push this spirit over. It is too powerful for me alone. I cannot do this without you.”
“These women, these concubines to Lucifer!”
“They are no such thing and you know it. These women are seers, able to channel the spirit and corral it to where we need it to be. You are trying to find a reason to be angry. Be angry at me if you have to, but do not take this out on innocent parties. I have not made a decision to leave you, so please don’t act like I have. Right now we need to be united as one if we are to triumph and seal this rip.”
Uriel took Eli’s hand in both of his, “You have our unwavering support, Elion. Now hurry back, we know that you are anxious, having left Lindsey alone at the house. We will be there tonight. We will be there to help you until the threat is over. After that, you are to report back to your ranks until given permission to do otherwise. God speed.”
Eli nodded, looked at his fellow Harbingers, half of which were looking at him angrily, and returned to his human form in a burst of white mist.
Twenty Two
Ready to stand by her decision to shut Eli out, Lindsey opted to sleep in her mother’s bedroom instead of the living room where she’d been sleeping. She made an excuse to go into town earlier in the evening so she could get away from Eli and think clearly. She drove down to the Great Swamp Sanctuary and sat on a bench at the opening to the park until the sun began to sink down in the western sky and the mosquitos began feast on her exposed skin. She ate dinner alone at a Mexican restaurant.
When she couldn’t linger anymore, she made her way back to Retreat House, said hello to Eli, and went straight upstairs. She heard him in the hall a couple of times, but didn’t make a move to go to the door.
As she lay in the bed, staring at the moon-lit ceiling, she was hyper-aware that Eli was standing sentinel in the room below her. It was as if she could feel the heat from his body – feel the vibration of his beating heart – rising up through the floor. She longed to jump out of bed, run downstairs, and jump into his arms. But she couldn’t. It could never, ever be. Yes, we have to nip this in the bud.
She turned over on her stomach and buried her face in the pillow. She let out a low moan of frustration and banged her fists against the mattress. How could this happen? How could she fall for a man that she couldn’t be with? Once this ordeal was over tomorrow, he would be gone. He had to be gone. Back to his post, back to being a protector of mankind. She could never see him again.
But tonight the only person he was protecting was her.
Stop it! She scolded herself. Quit trying to rationalize opening the bedroom door!
Unable to relax, Lindsey sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The wood floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she padded softly to the window. The light of the large, round moon reflected off the estuary water in silvery ripples. She could hear a chorus of bullfrogs croaking in the reeds. A slight breeze fluttered through the moss hanging in the trees. The nights here were beautiful. And calming. She wondered if Eli was looking outside at this moment, too. If so, could he sense her standing above him, sharing his view? The idea sent her heart racing again.
“Stop thinking about him!” she hissed out loud this time.
11:34 p.m. glowed bright red on the face of the clock on her mom’s nightstand. She really needed to get to sleep. Her mom would call and wake her up at eight – like she had every morning she’d been out of town – so she could say good morning. It mattered not that Lindsey didn’t have to be up, she would call and would be worried if Lindsey didn’t answer. Then, around dinner time, the group from C.A.P.I. would return to rid the house of the activity.
11:36 p.m. The time was ticking away like sand through her splayed fingers. This time tomorrow night Eli’s job would be done and he would have to leave. This time tomorrow night, she would be completely rid of her ethereal guests – no ghosts and no warrior angel. This time tomorrow night she would be alone.
Alone.
This was their last night together so shouldn’t she be spending it with him? Shouldn’t she be making the most of it so that she could say that she enjoyed every second that had with him? No, going down there will only make it worse. She sighed, wiped the silent tears from her cheeks, and went to the bathroom.
She put the plug in the tub, turned the hot water on full blast, added a touch of cold water, and grabbed the bottle of bubble bath from above the faucet. She measured out a capful. What the hell? She thought, and turned the bottle upside down under that tap, adding a third of the bottle before putting it back on the shelf.
As the tub filled with bubbles and the scent of cherry blossoms wafted around the room, Lindsey pulled her hair up into a messy twist on top of head and placed a thick towel on the floor. Her mom kept a radio on her vanity, something of which Lindsey had always made fun. But tonight, before stepping into the frothy water, she turned the radio on and lit several fat, scented candles.
The water was hot and so deep that only the tops of her shoulders and her head were visible above the thick layer of scented foam. Her muscles instantly responded, unknotting and relaxing. She wiggled her toes and imagined sleep, like a foamy blanket, sliding up her body – from the soles of her feet, up her legs, and finally making its way to her head.
She reached over and turned the whirlpool jets on. The water bubbled in the small of her back, down the outside of her thighs and calves, and on the soles of her feet. Yes. She knew that if anything would lull her to sleep, it was a hot bath. Bubble baths were magical in that sense. They had the power to make you forget your worries, the power to make everything better, even if only for a short while. She should�
��ve done this an hour ago.
The DJ on the radio finished a spiel on an upcoming back-to-school event and went to the phone lines. A young woman requested a song that Lindsey wasn’t familiar with. “You got it!” the DJ said. “And now, from the ‘Whatever Wednesday,’ request lines, here’s ol’ blue eyes himself with a cross-over smash from the contemporary Christian scene!”
Soft music began to play. The words hit her like a baseball bat in the gut. She sat up in the tub and scowled at the radio. The words immediately brought Eli back to the forefront of her mind … and reminded her of what she’d been fantasizing about earlier. And that it could never, ever happen. The lyrics brought hot, stinging tears to the corners of her eyes.
She knew that it was sacrilege to take a song about God and turn the lyrics to someone else, but she couldn’t help it. They lyrics fit her situation. The singer crooned softly in a song that talked about love coming from the heavens down to earth. This song fit her unspoken desires for the future … a future that included Eli. It said everything her mind and body wanted so badly – to be with Eli. If not forever, then for one night before he had to leave.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she said out loud, aggravated. She threw her soapy bath pouf at the little radio, knocking it off the vanity and onto her small pile of clothes with a barely audible thud. It came unplugged and the room was suddenly silent.
So much for my relaxing bath!
As she started to rise out of the tub, something thick and cold hit her in the chest, pushing her backward. She opened her eyes wide in surprise but no one was there. The force hit her again, pushing her under the sudsy water. The water jets pelted her in the ears and face as she thrashed around, drowning. She kicked and clawed, but there was nothing there. She opened her eyes wide. The water washed away her contact lenses and the soap burned her eyes. Everything was too blurry to see anything clearly. She blinked several times. She could make out the frothy layer on top of the water and the churning bubbles stoked up by the whirlpool jets. Blurry or not, though, she could tell that there were no arms sticking through the soap holding her down. It was as if an invisible weight had been placed on her.
Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as the last bit of oxygen left in her body escaped in a silent underwater scream. Just as she was giving up, another forced jerked her from under her arms and her head broke the surface of the water. She was lifted out of the water and gently placed on the cool tiles of the floor.
“Lindsey! Lindsey, are you alright?” Eli fretted as he lowered his cheek to her mouth, checking for breathing. He tilted her head and pinched her nose, ready to perform mouth-to-mouth. She coughed and sputtered in response. He let out a sigh of relief and covered her body with the towel she’d laid out earlier.
Eli turned and stood protectively in front of her. The air in the bathroom was still heavy and charged with negativity. Lindsey could feel Milton was watching them, that he had tried to kill her… again.
“Tu autem effugare, diabole!” Eli held his right hand up in the air.
There was an audible laugh from over their heads. Eli disappeared in an explosion of mist. The heaviness lifted almost immediately.
Lindsey sat in the floor, soaking wet, and shaking from both fear and the chill that comes with being naked and wet. This was just like the incident at the water park. No, this was worse. She was more vulnerable here. If Eli hadn’t been here … She clutched the towel to her body and concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her mouth was wide open in shock.
“It tried to kill me … again … it keeps trying to kill me,” she uttered to the empty room. She started to stand but slipped on the tiles. In one swift movement, Eli’s arms grabbed her. She hadn’t even seen him reappear. He picked her up off the floor and started toward the door. Lindsey struggled, embarrassed at the fact that she was wearing nothing but a wet towel.
“It’s OK. I’m here. I won’t let it hurt you,” Eli reassured her as he put her down.
She leaned against the wall while Eli mopped up the bathroom floor with a towel and picked up both the radio and the CD that had fallen out of the top of it. He took the radio into the bedroom, placed it on the nightstand, and plugged it into the outlet by the bed. Through the open door, Lindsey could see the CD title scrawled on the silver disc as it reflected the light from the bathroom. It was a disc by her favourite band, one that her mom had borrowed from her a few weeks ago.
“Let’s see if this thing still works.”
She heard him pop the disc in and the lid close with a click. She saw him touch the ‘random play’ button that glowed at the end of the row of buttons on top of the player.
Lindsey stood frozen to her spot in the bathroom. Eli peeked back in; surprised that she hadn’t followed him out. Fearing that she was in shock, he picked her up gently. His touch pulled her from the paralysis.
“No… leave me alone. I can do it,” she struggled against his grip.
Eli stood in the doorway and looked into her eyes. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
The CD player stopped whirring and a soft ballad began to play. Of course, Lindsey thought. This song would be the one the damned thing plays first! It was her favorite song on the disc, one she was known to listen to over and over again. She did not want this memory attached to it.
Lindsey buried her face in his shoulder and cried as relief washed over her. Then grief. The thing had tried to kill her … again. And Eli had saved her … again. But the roller coaster ride would be all over tomorrow night. The highs and the lows, they would both be gone.
“It’s going to be OK, Lindsey. I promise that I won’t let this thing hurt you.” Eli mistook her hysteria for fear.
“I know. It’s just that this thing wants me dead, but here you are, protecting me. And it’ll be over tomorrow but I don’t know that I want it to be. Not yet. Part of me hopes that this cleansing tomorrow fails … so … so that you won’t have to go.”
Eli stood in the floor, moonlight shining on his angelic face and stared at her. The music didn’t help the electricity in the room.
Lindsey noticed a gash across his cheek. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was a cut nonetheless. She touched his cheek with her damp fingertips.
“You’re hurt. What happened?”
“I’m fine. Milton swatted at me, but I scared him back into the dark recesses of the house. If only I had the power to banish him on my own!” He stroked Lindsey hair and his voice softened. “You are absolutely beautiful, you know that?”
He closed his eyes and put his forehead against hers. “I feel the same way you do, Lindsey. I don’t know if I will be able to leave tomorrow regardless of the outcome. I have tried to distance myself, but I can’t. I promised myself earlier tonight that I wouldn’t come in here. I would do my duty and protect you, but that would be it. I would protect you like I would any other human. But that, that thing gave me no choice but to enter this space. Now here I am, and I don’t think I can walk away.”
Lindsey squirmed until he put her down. But he didn’t remove his hand from her back. She tried to wrap the towel around herself more securely and back away but she was unable to move from his touch. It was like his hand was glued to her back. They stood there looking at each other for several heartbeats. The only sounds were the lull of the music and the faint thuds as drops of water rolled off the ends of Lindsey’s hair and splattered to the floor.
“Eli, I won’t be responsible for your loss. You won’t become a fallen angel for me. This can’t happen. It won’t happen.”
“Lindsey, there is a difference between an angel who falls and one who descends. A fallen angel is one who has turned his back on the Creator, one who has come to earth to torment His most precious creation. An angel who descends is one who has gone to his commander and requested to be relieved of duty. The commander then talks to Him. But remember, God wants us to be happy. He has yet to refuse a request. Once the approval is given, the descendant hands ove
r his sword, has his wings removed, and then takes human form. At that point, the change is complete and the descendant is equipped for human life with an identity and a stipend so that he can blend into life on Earth. So please don’t worry that you are damning me. Quite the opposite, actually.”
She couldn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. Was he telling her the truth or what he thought she wanted to hear?
Eli finally moved his hand from her back, but he didn’t let her go. He gently grabbed her face and lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was tentative at first, nervous. But it quickly gained momentum. Lindsey hugged herself against him as he kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, her collar bone, and back up to her mouth. His touch grew more and more feverish.
“Eli, I can’t…” Lindsey whispered when he moved back to her throat.
He didn’t answer. He moved back to her mouth and pulled her closer to his body, bowing her backwards. He held the small of her back with one hand and used the other to unbutton his shirt. In one, fluid motion it was gone. The feel of his skin against her own made Lindsey shudder. Not from cold or fear, but from sheer desire. She put her hands in his hair and pulled him closer still.
The wet towel fell to the floor, forgotten.
He jerked her up back up into his arms and, in two long strides, sat her on the dresser top. “Lindsey, my Lindsey,” he moaned, stooping down to kiss her throat. He used his free hands to rub her sides down to her hips and outer thighs. “I can’t fight it anymore. I want to be with you every way possible for as long as possible.”
Eli’s hands on her bare skin, his lips on hers, was like a shot of adrenaline straight to her heart. Lindsey arched against him, returned his kissed just as fervently, and dug her nails into his back. She didn’t even remember when he carried her from the exploratory perch on the dresser to the bed. It was so easy to get lost in everything that was Eli.
Harbinger in the Mist (Arms of Serendipity) Page 22