Jacob looks to the Angel on his right for conformation. “It is true. I have seen her body but she is without a soul. Lilith brought her here five nights ago.” I look at Jacob. The timing coordinates with my awakening. I wonder if he notices. Malachi could have easily taken me with him earlier; instead, he gave Jacob and me more time together.
“What do you know of this?” Jacob asks the Demon.
“I know that she made a deal. I cannot speak of it nor can I tell you if her soul is in Purgatory, Heaven, or Hell. But I believe that you know more than you are telling.”
The Angel nods his head in agreement. “This hearing is not to decide the repercussions of those actions.” His eyes fall to me. “Marion, do I know you?”
“No, I have met only one Angel that I know of and that is Malachi.”
“I am Angel, he is Fallen. Do you love him?” he asks me. I look at Jacob.
“Tell the truth. It’s all right,” my husband says to me.
“Yes,” I say.
“And you love Jacob as well.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember Jacob?” His question makes me nervous.
“Some flashes here and there. My memory is not whole.” The Angel looks at Malachi.
“You have not helped her?” he asks.
“No, Your Excellency, I have not.”
“Are you stalling so you can have her all to yourself?”
“No, I have loved her for a very long time. My existence has lingered since the beginning of time. My patience has no end. Her memories will come, and when they do, she will have her choice.”
The Demon speaks to me. “Marion, who would you choose today if given the opportunity?”
“Jacob,” I say. Malachi stiffens.
“But you know very little about each man. Your memories are vague of your past, yet only one night with Malachi and you say you love him.” The cursed Demon has a point. “Alasdair, you know the rules. Since Deborah is here and her body still breathes, she is your bonded Vampire wife. Until she can speak otherwise to release you from your oath, your marriage to Marion is null and void.” Jacob sits quietly as the verdict is read. The Angel makes his final decision and sides with the Demon.
“Marion, my love. After tonight, we can no longer speak. When this hearing is adjourned, you must leave with your Guardian. You are to be coupled with him in order to better protect you. I promise to do all I can to get back to you. I will call forth another meeting when I have worked things out. My heart leaves with you.” I am trying not to sob uncontrollably. I hold my emotions back, but he knows that I am dying inside. “Malachi, you will teach her all you can about yourself and the ways of your people. I have taught her the lessons of the Vampire. Protect her with your life as I know you will. Cherish her. Hold her for me when I cannot.” The committee rises and takes their leave. Malachi bows his head, and I imitate his actions. I take a step, wanting to run to Jacob, but I see the death punisher step forward. Jacob waves him back. I watch him fold his wings down to exit the large door. He glances back over the tip of his wing and smiles at me. I hear him in my head. Soon, love. I have a plan, but you must do what I ask of you. I love you. I am left standing there weeping into my hands.
Chapter 6
Malachi does not come to me to comfort me. He gives me my space. I would have rejected him otherwise. I almost expect Jacob to come back through the doors. Standing there until my tears run dry, I look at my Guardian. “I suppose you have somewhere we can go.”
“Yes, I have a home, if that is what you are asking.”
I make my way out of the large banquet room. The guards lead us to the front steps and back into the night. We have a few hours until dawn. I have many questions about what I just witnessed. I do not dare to look into his mesmerizing blue eyes. My earlier actions enter my mind. He watched me pleasuring myself and then make love to Jacob. I may not have seen him the whole time, but I felt him the moment he arrived on the estate. I feel guilty about not stopping myself, but at the time, I knew somewhere deep inside I wouldn’t see Jacob for a long time.
I start in my line of questioning. “Did you know he was on the committee?”
“No.”
I expect to hear him say that word by the way he sighed when Jacob took his seat. “How is that possible? He is not the original Vampire. He is too young.”
“The last Vampire that held that seat was the Queen of Britain. She was a queen by marriage. I have not been sent before them since her reign. Before that, her husband held the throne, but he wanted to rule a kingdom and to do both is breaking a written law.”
“So King Arthur abandoned his post and left it to his wife?”
“He gave up his seat, but the next in line is the Vampire that he created, which was obviously his wife.”
“The Queen created Jacob,” I admit. “So when Arthur killed his first wife, Jacob took the throne almost as soon as he was created.”
Malachi shakes his head at the truth I speak. “I should have known when I saw his black wings. Not many Vampires can fly.”
“Jessica said that she could and that I could eventually.”
“Then Jessica is next in line, and then maybe you. It doesn’t quite fit together. Maybe it will all make sense in time.”
“Shouldn’t we be flying somewhere?” I ask, not knowing how far we have to go.
“No, there is no reason to hurry. We cannot make it to my house tonight. It is too far away.”
“I cannot go back to the mansion.”
“That is not my intention tonight.”
“What are your intentions?” I ask.
He knows my meaning. “The sooner we are coupled, the better I will be able to protect you.”
“I don’t know if I can have sex with you tonight. I am too heartbroken.”
“There are other ways to couple, but yes, sex will be the fastest and easiest way. An Angel can also bond by sharing blood alone.”
“We’ve already done that. I did feel drawn to you afterwards. Did it work?”
“No. When we are linked together, you will feel it in your very soul. You will know for certain and will not have to ask.”
“So, what is our next option?”
I feel that he doesn’t want to explain because he hesitates for too long. “We can try everything but sex. Sometimes that will work. If not, you will have to give yourself completely to me.”
“Still, I choose not to tonight.”
“Okay, I ask only one thing.”
“What?” I wonder what his request will be.
“I would like to drink from you and you from me.”
I know what he is doing, but I do not argue. He is trying to dilute Jacob’s blood bond on me. Maybe I will yearn for him less. When we reach a more secluded spot, he comes over to me and touches me for the first time tonight. I think he is going to bite me then and there, but he envelops me in his arms before calling forth his wings.
“Time to go,” he says as he arches his white span of feathers outward and leaps into the air. He is quick in his flight as we head towards a mountain range. About fifteen minutes later, he hovers high above the tree tops. His white wings beat in slow motion to keep us in the sky. We have stopped moving forward, lingering in the same spot. I wonder what he is doing and open my mouth to ask. Then he removes his hands from my body. I claw at his neck to hang on. He pushes me off. I fall. My arms circle high above my head, and my legs kick wildly. My back feels like the skin is being torn with a knife. I scream for Malachi. He is still in the same spot looking down at me. His eyes are glowing but his body is not. I close my eyes, but then remember Jacob yelling at me to open them. I find the ground and imagine myself landing safely. My free fall slows enough for me to land on my feet. I pull in the pain that I feel piercing through my upper back.
Malachi lands in front of me. He spins me around and lifts up my black sweater to expose my shoulders to him. “Nothing happened?” he says as he lowers my shirt.
“Well, I
learned to land better,” I say, thinking that, as with Jacob, I should inform him to tell me when he has something to teach me.
“You didn’t feel any different?” he asks.
“Yeah, I felt something ripping my skin and trying to crawl out my spine,” I inform him.
He smiles at me before he quickly grabs my sweater and pulls it over my head. I am standing there in only my bra and jeans. “Again,” he says as he takes me to flight. This time he climbs higher and higher. I know that when he stops, he will drop me again. “Transform into your Vampire self,” he tells me. I darken my eyes to as black as coal and extend my fangs. “More,” he tells me.
“I do not know how,” I say. He stops and throws me out of his arms again.
“Try,” I hear him yell as I free fall once more. I can barely see the trees from this height even with my Vampire eyes. I try to find a place to land without hitting any branches. I spot a small clearing, but it is too far to the left of me. I do not know how to maneuver, only how to fall and land. My eyes grow larger to let in more light. I now see more clearly. The pain returns in my back. My ribs and spine seem to separate wider within me. I try to hold in my scream, but I cannot. Above me, I hear Malachi following close behind. My skin rips, and I feel a warm liquid run down to my waist past my bra strap. I dig in deep to call forth any strength I have inside me. Gritting my teeth tightly together, my fangs piercing my bottom lip, I push with all my might and feel my wings squeeze through the small openings in my shoulder blades. I stretch them up and out to the sides. They are guiding me to my destined landing spot, but I no longer wish to land. My skin tingles where the wings protrude out of my back as I ride the air currents. I beat my wings slowly, and I start to rise back above the trees.
Malachi approaches alongside me. He passes me and nods his head in approval. His fangs are extended, but so are mine. His eyes are glowing, and I wonder if mine glow too. Jacob’s eyes did not. Folding his wings around him, Malachi does a barrel roll. I imitate and succeed. I am learning to fly. Next, we ascend several miles above the ground before he pulls his wings back tightly behind him and nose dives. I do not like this. I feel like I am falling headfirst to my death. When he is close to the ground, he opens his white span and glides back up to me. He catches up and hovers above me closely in flight, lowering himself so he is almost on top of me. I glide so I do not hit him. I feel his hands on my wings as he strokes the outside ridges.
“Magnificent,” I hear him say. “You do not know what this means.” I try to ask him, but my voice doesn’t travel upwards in the wind. He doesn’t hear me. I hear him laugh. He taps my shoulder and motions me to turn around. I follow him back towards the mountains. After a few moments, I see him fold in his wings and disappear into a small dark opening. Slowing my speed, I try to follow him inside.
“Open up,” I hear him yell. I hit the top of my right wing on the ceiling as I spread them out. I cry out in pain. “Beat backwards,” I hear him call as I travel closer and closer to him. This cave is deep but the space is not large enough for what he is asking. I try to do as he says and beat my wings towards the opening of the cave and back into my body. I start to slow, but not fast enough. The cave wall is approaching, and I am heading straight to smash into it. Frantically, I flap harder with all my might. I see Malachi jump to stand in front of me. His blue aura is shining but not as bright as I have seen it before. I stop short of colliding into him. My wings are still beating back and forth. I start to distance myself from him as I flow backwards towards the cave’s entrance. He reaches out and grabs my hands while digging his feet into the rock and dirt floor.
“Easy,” he says. “Let them down.” I lower to the ground as I stop my wings from moving. I rotate my shoulder blades one by one, feeling the weight upon my back. The wings probably weigh about ten pounds each. Malachi walks around me and looks at my wounded feathers. His hands stroke me from top to bottom along my back. He finds my bra strap and unhooks it. I close my hands over my breasts so it doesn’t fall off. He continues to marvel at my new accessories.
“What does this mean?” I ask, remembering what he said as we were flying.
“I do not understand how this is possible. A creature like you should not exist. I have never seen one until now. The color of your wings proves that the legend is true.”
“What am I?” I demand. He stops touching my feathers and turns me around.
“You are a hybrid, a mixture of two creations. You must never tell anyone of your existence or let anyone see the color of your feathers.”
“A mixture of what?” I ask.
“You are Angel, and you are Vampire.”
I think for a moment. “Deborah was the same as me.”
“No. No one is the same as you. She is a Fallen Angel who turned Vampire. She is a cast-out. Her wings are white. You are a pure Angel, like Adam. When Jacob turned you, you transformed into a hybrid.”
I look at my wings. They are slightly smaller than Malachi’s. They are feminine. Their shade is a light gray with a hint of blue. Angel wings are white and Jacob’s wings are black. I fear Malachi is speaking the truth.
“You must learn something else before we are called before the committee again,” he says.
“What?”
“You must learn to lie.”
“Angels cannot lie,” I remark.
“No, but Vampires and Demons can. If the committee finds out what you are, I hate to think of the consequences.”
“You said that this means the legend is true. What legend?”
He rubs the back of my arms. “I should not tell you but it is your destiny, and it is your right to know your fate. The legend states that a creature will rise up from the gates of Hell to escape. His soul will linger in the balance of good and evil. A hybrid will be assigned as his Guardian. She will fight many Demons and many wars for him. If she loses her battle for his soul, then mankind will burn in the eternal flame. If she wins, then all of creation will be saved. She is the leader. All of the Fallen will bow before her and serve her. If victory is ours, then the Fallen are redeemed and allowed to go before the judgment again. Those who are worthy shall enter the gates of Heaven.”
He continues to tell my future. “I know why Jacob wants me to show you the ways of the protectors. He knows what you are. Only I can teach you.” He looks at my wings once more before he drops to one knee in front of me and bows his head. I do not want this. I am no leader.
“Rise,” I say. He stands before me again and kisses the back of my hand. I fumble to hold my bra close to my skin. He takes the straps off my shoulders and drops the bra to the ground.
“You can put it back on after you call your wings back into your body.”
“How?” I ask.
“Just think about what you want them to do. Envision it in your mind and they will comply.”
I close my eyes and feel my wings start to tighten and my feathers close together. They fold in upon themselves and back into wherever it is that they go. My bones snap back together and heal very quickly. Putting them away hurts less than calling them forth. “Where will we sleep?” I ask.
“Here for the day. I will have to leave for several hours when the sun is at its peak to recharge. You will be safe here but just in case, you should drink some of my blood.” He reaches down to pick up my bra.
“Leave it,” I say. “Just bring back my sweater before tonight.”
He does not fold in his wings. Instead he sits down on the floor and lies back, stretching his bottom wing on the ground, making me a bed. “Lie down, but be careful not to bend a quill.” I lie down on his white blanket with my face to the cave wall and my back to him. I feel his strong hand on my abdomen as he pulls me back against his pelvis and chest. His other wing encases me for cover. “If you get cold, just let me know.” I know that he is talking about the heat from his light source, but I remember how electrifying it felt against my bare flesh. I close my eyes as I feel the sunlight rising outside, only to snap them ope
n quickly when I feel his teeth pierce my neck. My breathing increases, and I want to pull away.
He is taking his time sucking my blood. His arm that is holding me rises up to rest just below my breasts. The weight of them is resting on his forearm. He does not touch them with his hands. I push my ass into his pelvis and feel his need within him grow. I arch my back and rotate my hips into him. I coo in his arms. His hand opens wider on my side and he releases his teeth. He does not have the ability to heal his bite marks on me. My natural healing gift will do that for me. Turning me over to face him, he kisses me. His eyes are starting to get brighter. I know he is summoning forth his light.
“No, not tonight,” I say.
He sighs and lowers his head to bite this side of my neck. He punctures the skin slowly drawing the pleasure of it. I run my hands along his chest and grip his hair in my fingers. I feel my teeth lengthen as I lose more of my essence. I am ready for my turn. I see that my blood is staining his white feathers as it drips out of my body. After withdrawing his fangs from my flesh, he stretches his neck up for me. I snap into him quickly like a striking snake. He jumps. I ease up, but only a little. I do not wish to pleasure him with my bite. I want to finish and sleep. He does not fight against me.
His blood is warmer than Jacob’s. It tastes richer, more pure. I know Malachi has taken many human women to his bed. It is the history of the Fallen. I do not feel any jealousy, yet still I wonder if he has ever been with a Vampire. I think of all the things he has learned through his experiences, and I imagine what making love to him would feel like.
“No,” he says as I pull away, “more.”
“I cannot satisfy your need tonight,” I remind him.
“Do what you want with me. I can handle it, but you need to drink more. You have not yet replenished what I have taken.”
“You are just trying to get him out of my system and replace him with you.” I remove my hand from his body.
“He explained that to you?” He seems surprised.
“Yes.”
“What else do you know?” he asks.
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