Steal Me From Heaven

by Crawford, Toni

  “Jacob,” I say to stop his thoughts that are entering my mind. “Is it something that you can tell me?”

  “After she spoke of our children, I felt the pain of losing them all over again. She can project detailed images of certain events and that was one of them. I knew that she could make good on her promise to bring them back to life, but they could never age. They would forever be in childlike form. I would never do that to them. In that moment, I knew that whatever she did to me, whether it was burning, amputation, or marking me with Demons, it would never compare to watching our sons die. I’m sorry that I could not defend them, or you, or our home.”

  “Jacob, there were six of them. No one could have fought them off. They were the chosen knights of King Arthur. I have never felt like you failed us so don’t you dare think it.” I pause for a moment. I do not wish to talk about it anymore. “We should get ready for bed. Daylight is almost here.”

  “I’m not quite ready for sleep,” he says.

  “Who said we were sleeping?” I smile teasingly.

  When the sun is high in the sky, I remind Jacob that we should perhaps leave to go back to the estate at nightfall.

  “Can you transport us there?” he asks me.

  “I have never carried anyone with me before. I do not know how. Plus, I didn’t go out to recharge today. What if it doesn’t work?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My light source comes from the sun. My eyes glow blue in the daylight and return to brown at night.”

  “You mean that you can walk in the light?”

  “Yes, but after last night, I do not know how much energy I have left.”

  “Lilith has access to this place. I do not wish to stay here for another night. I fear that she can track my location now that I have been in her domain of Hell.”

  “But how? You cannot drink from her.”

  “No, but she branded me with her blood. I do not know how to break the curse.”

  “Where did she mark you? I’ve seen your flesh.”

  “I do not know,” he answers.

  “I think that maybe I do. Your eyes are the only thing that is different about you since you returned.”

  “How so?”

  “Jacob, they glow red like fire embers when you are angry.”

  He looks away from me. “I’m sorry if I have frightened you or made you think that I am angry with you. I did not know.”

  I walk over to face him. “That’s not the only reason they light up.” I force him to look in my eyes. “I know when you desire me or lust for my blood.” I kiss his lips, but he pulls away.

  “Go ahead and take a shower. I have a few phone calls to make.”

  I head into the bathroom and turn on the water. Jacob’s voice carries through the room. “Ethan, old friend. I need help. Could you possibly gather the boys to meet at the estate in four nights? Yes, the time has come.”

  I shut the door and step into the steamy shower. Unfolding my wings, I knock off several sample bottles of shampoo, shower gel, and soap. The shower curtain clings to my feathers. Maybe this isn’t the brightest idea. Maneuvering around in the tight space, I figure out the right angles to hold my wings and clean them. I stay in there a long time.

  When I open the shower curtain, I shake off the excess water. I scream as I see Lilith’s face in front of me in the steam. She laughs, and I feel a force of energy knock me back down into the tub. I cling to the curtain, pulling it down, rod and all. Jacob is banging on the door but he cannot enter. I do not know why because I did not lock it in case he decided to join me.

  Before I can get my feet underneath me, I am lifted up by my hair. I kick my legs, but I do not scream. I have no weapons hidden in my wings. Pawing above my head, I cannot feel her arms that are holding me. When I look for her, I only see her reflection in the mirror. She is a manifestation. The mirror is her window into this world, not Jacob.

  I grab the shower rod with my dangling feet and kick it up to my hands. Taking it by one end, I bash at the mirror. I hear Jacob busting through the drywall at the side of the door. Lilith gets off several punches to my face before I am able to shatter the glass. I fall to the tile floor. Before I pass out, I see Jacob’s arm sticking through the wall as he continues to pull off big pieces of the Sheetrock. My mind opens the door for him, and I feel him picking me up. Then I lose consciousness.

  My eyelids filter the light through, and I know that I am lying in the sun. I am not burning so I must be in Angel form. When I open my eyes, I see Malachi staring down at me. The rays are straining my eyes. I am protected by his light, but I need to completely change over to Angel. I try to get up but pain forces me back down.

  “Lie still. I am not done healing you.” I close my eyes as I remember Lilith’s attack.

  “How did you get here?”

  “I am drawn to you by the necklace. If you are in trouble, I will know, and I will come.”

  “But it is no longer your job to protect me.”

  “As long as I live and breathe, you are mine to protect. No ruling will convince my otherwise.”

  “Where’s Jacob?”

  “He’s close, in the meeting house. I told him to rest and give you to me. He healed what he could. You were not recognizable when I got here.”

  “And now?” I say as I lift my hand towards my face.

  He grabs my wrist to stop me. “Better,” he says. “You will be back to normal soon. It will take longer since I cannot heal you in the way I prefer.”

  I start to blush, but the blood rising to my face causes too much pain. When I was attacked, I was naked but now I know that I am wearing a bathrobe.

  “Malachi, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything,” he answers.

  “Are you falling in love with Jessica? I mean, you did ask to drink from her when we visited the estate together.”

  “I find her attractive, yes. I find her comforting. Will I protect her? With my life. But I do not love her. I will not take her or any other woman to my bed, not after you.” Tears flow slowly out of the corners of my eyes. He wipes them away. “I do not mean to upset you or make you cry. I waited a long time for you. I filled my nights with many human women trying to get you out of my mind. I envisioned some of them to be you. I’m sorry. I know how wrong that is now. I will wait as long as it takes to hold you again. No one else can compare or fill your place in my heart.”

  “I do not wish a life of celibacy for you. No man can go without. I want you to be happy and if Jessica can do that for you, I want you to be open to loving her.”

  “Marion, I was celibate until I fell from grace. I was a created Angel, never human. I did not know the taste or smell of the flesh.”

  “Promise me that you will not pass up love when you find it again. I could not live with myself if you are unhappy.”

  He gets up and walks closer to the edge of the courtyard. I stand and follow him.

  “I cannot promise what you ask.”

  “Take me to Jacob, now.”

  “As you wish.” He takes my hand as he speaks and leads me into the house. He leaves.

  As soon as I see Jacob I tell him of my former Guardian’s plans.

  “If Malachi is going to be celibate and wait for you to return to him, then I will have to talk to Jessica,” Jacob says. “He seems interested in her. He will only get more dangerous as his anger and frustration build. With both our influences, they may stand a chance for happiness.”

  “Why does that matter?”

  “Angels have no need for sex, but the Fallen…Well, that’s just who they are. If Jessica isn’t interested then maybe Rebecca…”

  “No.” I hold my voice back from breaking down with emotion. “Jessica will do. She hasn’t loved in a very long time. He will not hurt her.” Jacob does not catch on that I said anything wrong. I will tell him about our child when the time is right.

  “How did she attack me?”

  “Demons and ghosts can use reflections to m
anifest themselves in certain locations. I should have thought of it. I thought she had killed you. I gave you my blood. I was about to carry you out into the sun when Malachi showed up. He took you from my arms and carried you away. I had to watch you leave with him again. I did not think that you were so vulnerable to her attacks.”

  “Jacob, I did not even try to fight her. She was testing me to see what I could do. I know that she was setting me up. I’m not going to play my cards before it is time.”

  “I did not realize what you were doing.”

  “She will think that I am weak and easy to defeat. As long as I do not give her anything to expect, she will not know how to fight me.”

  “I still get the first crack at her,” he says.

  “It is your right,” I say. I will not deny him the right to avenge what she did to him. My only job is to make sure she doesn’t call forth Lucifer.

  “We will leave as soon as it is dark. Tonight, we will train.”

  “But I have trained for this for months.”

  “With Malachi?”

  “And Gerald,” I say.

  “I’m impressed that he let Gerald touch a knife to you.”

  “Gerald almost died for it,” I say. Jacob does not ask the meaning behind my comment.

  “Anyone else train you?”

  “Well, Charles, but you already know that,” I comment.

  “What? How? When did you fight him?”

  “Jacob, I don’t understand. You sent him to train me. He told me that you released him and Deborah when you went to Hell.”

  “You can only trade one soul for another. Tell me everything that happened.”

  “Claudia showed up and said she needed to get paid for her services so I drank from her, but I passed out because she carried Charles’ blood in her system. When I awoke, Charles explained that he was to train me. After four days, I finally defeated him. He told me to kill him, and he would trade his soul for yours. He owed you his life. I didn’t know why Lilith would prefer him to you, but since you came back, I figured it must have worked.”

  “What did you reveal to him?”

  “He knows my speed, but as a Vampire, he would already assume that one. I never flew. I never pulsed him with electricity. I never used my light as a force field. I only moved daggers with my mind.”

  He sighs. “This is not good.”

  “Why?” I ask. “I held back with Charles. I did not reveal all my tricks.”

  “If I did not send him, then Lilith did. She wanted to find your strengths and weaknesses.”

  “What would she want with him to release you?”

  “I did not tell Lilith what she wanted. I did not break to her torture.”

  “About me?”

  “No. She wanted to know about Arthur. She sought the location of his bones.”

  “So she can raise him from the dead. But why?”

  “If I fail to bind her, then Arthur will. I did not tell her where his body lies, but Charles knows the location. He helped me dispose of him. He probably told her the locations so she would become his ally. Did Charles turn to ash or bone?”

  “Bone,” I say.

  “Is he scattered about?”

  “Yes, Malachi and Gerald split his remains all over the world. Neither one knows where the other one went.”

  “Very smart. I wish I would have thought of that.”

  “You did not know that you would be betrayed.”

  “She will come for them. Charles will want to be resurrected. Malachi will not break but I fear Gerald will.”

  Nighttime falls and we stand outside in the courtyard getting ready to transport to the estate. “Just hold onto me tightly and try not to drop me,” Jacob teases me, but I do not find the humor in it.

  When we reform in our bedroom, I am squeezing the air out of his lungs. “Marion, let go. We’re here. It’s okay.” I ease up and touch his chest and abdomen before feeling below his waist. “I’m all here, you didn’t lose anything, but I’m happy to know the parts of my body you like the most.” He grows hard in my hand. I smile as my fangs emerge from my gums.

  “It’s good to be home,” I say as I lead him over to our bed.

  About an hour later, we leave the comfort of our bedroom to find the others. I hear loud music coming from Jessica’s room. We knock on her door loud enough for her to hear.

  “Oh, you’re done. Good,” she says as she opens the door.

  “Don’t you mean to say you’re home?” I ask her.

  “No, trust me. I knew you two were back. The whole house did.”

  I blush when I realize that everyone heard us having sex again. “Where is Malachi?” I ask while trying to see into her room past her.

  “Did you expect him to stay here and listen?”

  “I have no expectations of him. He is yours.”

  “We both know how far from the truth that is. Even if he did want me, which he doesn’t, I am not ready.”

  “Jessica,” Jacob interrupts. “You need to be available to him.”

  “I will not be his second choice, and I will not fall for a Guardian again.”

  I wonder if she was Nathanial’s soul mate. I almost ask if he slumbered after they coupled but I cannot be so cruel, even though she did not show me any consideration at the committee meeting. “When he returns, gather everyone in the dining hall.” She nods her head, and I leave with Jacob.

  “What will we do in the meantime?” I ask him.

  “I can think of a few things.” He places his hand on my shoulder.

  “Not until you soundproof our bedroom. I do not wish to have to mute ourselves.”

  “I’ve already thought of it and I am going to call someone in the morning. I’ll arrange for us to stay at another house on the property.”

  “Still, I don’t think now is the time to go back to bed and do what you are thinking.”

  “I’m always thinking of you in my bed, but that is not what I meant. We need to change. It’s time for you to fight me.”

  “What? I have learned endurance from Malachi, pain from Gerald, and the sword from Charles.”

  “Still, you have not fought me,” he says before adding, “Did you not fight with Malachi?”

  “No, he put it off and took me to Gerald instead. I was taken by Charles on the night that Malachi was to train me to fight.” He opens our door and after we pass through, he slams it shut.

  “You are not prepared. I never should have trusted him to train you. Let me guess, he was so blinded by his love for you that he couldn’t harm you.” I do not answer him. He knows that he is right. “Marion, it is because I love you that I will do whatever it takes to make you strong enough to survive this war.” He removes his shirt and pants as he walks into the closet. When he returns, he is wearing a pair of tight black cotton shorts. His legs, chest, and feet are bare. In his hand, he is carrying a black case. I have learned to fear what is inside—nothing but torturous devices.

  “Open your wings,” he says as he clicks open the case. I pull my dress over my head and expand my wings. He picks up a dagger and turns it around in his hands, inspecting it. “Come here.”

  When I reach him, he runs his hand over my wing before inserting his fingers inside to find the first hook. Once found, he attaches the blade to my bone. He hangs another dagger equally on the other side. “Fold them in carefully.” I slowly do as he asks. It feels like something foreign is inside of me. I feel it is uncomfortable but not unbearable.

  “Call them out. Do not rush.”

  I grimace as my wings emerge and one dagger slices my back in the process.

  “Again, back in and out.” I comply and do not cut myself this time. “Faster,” he instructs me. When he is satisfied with my ability to control my wings and not get hurt, he stops me before I fold them back in again.

  “Those two are the hardest and worst daggers to maneuver. The others are of no concern for you. They will not slice you as long as you remember the way to do it properly.”
He hangs the remaining blades in my feathers. The weight of the silver makes my bones ache. I fold them in and out one more time.

  “Once you are used to fighting like this, I will strap on your leg and arm bands.”

  “Jacob, these are silver. I could pierce your heart by accident.”

  “Silver feels different and throws different than metal. I take it you learned with metal blades?”

  “I only fought Charles with silver. I did not have any weapons with Gerald.”

  He growls. “Not exactly a fair fight. I’m surprised that Charles let you use silver, but then again he wanted you to kill him.” I watch him go back into the closet. He calls for me to join him. Sliding a few items of clothing to the side, he opens a secret door. Weapons of all kind line the shelves and some are attached to hooks on the wall.

  “This is my armory. There is also a hidden door that leads to the tunnels. If you are in a no-win situation, come here. I will find you. The wall will open with your command.” He turns and lifts my chin to face him. “Promise me, Marion, you will protect yourself if we cannot win.”

  “I will not leave your side. If you want me in that room then you better bring me here yourself.”

  He hisses, grabs a sword, and walks away from me. “Get ready. You will be using your wings so dress accordingly.”

  When I emerge dressed in a short strapless dress, I see the window is now open. I walk over and look down. I don’t see him. Climbing out onto the ledge, I jump. The ground makes the daggers in my body jostle, and I make a note to be more careful with my movements. If I was not accustomed to pain, I would have fallen to my knees. I inhale a breath of air to pick up his scent. He is heading towards the pond. Instead of flying, I choose to run. The air would be too easy for him to spot me, and I couldn’t follow him with my nose. I slow my pace when his distinct aroma grows stronger. He is close, and he is somewhere above me. I listen for the beating of wings. The breeze is making it hard for me to pinpoint his location. I look up just in time to see him leap from a tree branch. I am not prepared. My daggers are safe in my body and out of reach.

  I call out my light and shield myself from his sword as he swings it at my head. Doesn’t he know that decapitation can kill me? I grab him by his arm and flip him over the top of me. He rolls and stands up. My wings emerge, but in my excitement, I slice my back. I do not grimace so I do not warn him of my injury.