by Maggie Mundy
“Will you stay with me and read?”
“Of course” Gabriel sat beside the bed and picked up Pride and Prejudice. The words of Jane Austen always appeared to give Jane some peace. She lasted half an hour before drifting back to sleep.
Mrs. Bales insisted he eat and sat nearby to ensure he complied. It often baffled him how you could care about someone and want to kill them at the same time, but it was the way he felt about her.
He went to his room and prayed. The words were repeated over and over, but he felt nothing. Normally he would gain some solace but his body shook with agitation. Isaac would report back tomorrow. Gabriel should rest, but it wasn’t an option. He took off his shirt and laid it upon the bed. In the bathroom he stripped and sat in the bath with his whip in hand. He needed the pain. As he whipped his back he could feel the skin burn. Before the burn receded, he hit again. Soon the blood would flow and he would feel alive.
He fell forward hitting his head against the side of the bath, then he rolled over and lay on his back. For some reason he laughed. A chuckle at first, but these days he couldn’t tell the difference between his sobbing and laughter. Blood from his back splattered down the sides of the bath and his whip was still in his hand. He peered at his body. It was wizened like an old man’s. He never wanted sex with either a woman or a man, but his flagellation always made him hard. He grabbed his penis and masturbated. He even hated touching himself but he needed this. He fought it with his mind, but not his hand. Standing, he turned on the shower overhead. The water chilled him but he needed a deeper cleansing. His mind was pure, but his body kept betraying him.
“You underestimate your faith, my dear friend.”
Gabriel froze as he scanned the bathroom to see where the voice originated. The blood loss had made him euphoric before. It was different this time, it sounded more real and less of an echo. Someone was here, and he appeared like a ring wraith from The Lord of the Rings, with his cloak drawn around his face. Gabriel groaned with disappointment. Was this all his imagination could conjure up?
“My name is Sayell, and I can assure you I’m not a ring wraith, and I don’t understand your world’s love of Tolkien. The man was tedious and talked of nothing but his Middle Earth. Get dressed and we’ll talk in your study. We have much to discuss.”
Gabriel bit down on his tongue until it bled. In the drug cabinet mirror he watched as little rivulets of red flowed down over his tongue. He hadn’t thought this a dream, but he had to be sure. He put on his dressing gown and followed his guest to the study.
On his desk were two glasses of red wine. Gabriel didn’t have to glimpse at the bottle to know it was the most sought after cabernet sauvignon in California. His father had been on the mailing list and Gabriel appreciated the taste also. The cloaked figure sat at his father’s desk. There was also another young man with a beautiful face who was dressed in an immaculate suit.
“People these days don’t take time to appreciate fine things, do they, Gabriel? Wine embodies creation. It embodies growth with each changing season, but let’s talk of other things. Life is going to change on Earth soon and you can be a part of that change.”
Gabriel’s heartbeat thumped. The moment had come, but he needed to stay calm before this stranger. He sipped and tugged his dressing gown close around him. He could feel the blood congealing on his back. It would cause pain later when he ripped the material away. It didn’t matter, pain meant you were alive. Gabriel gawked at the cloaked figure opposite trying to wish his hood back.
“You’ve been waiting for one of us to contact you, yet I sense reticence. I’m sure you’d be aware there are only a few offered this.”
“I’m unsure. I’d been expecting...” Gabriel sniffed the aroma of the wine to cover what he thought was the smell of burnt flesh.
“You were expecting us to be like pictures from the renaissance. I apologize for my appearance at the moment. I’m usually much more normally attired, like Carl here. I’ve come to speak with you because it seems we have a mutual interest, Nicole Flynn. Your own men have suffered due to her strange powers I believe.”
Where was this heading? He needed Nicole, and he wouldn’t give her up. She was his only hope. “That may be so.”
“She has one of our kind protecting her. He’s the one who injured me, so as you can imagine I’d like to repay the compliment.”
“What is your kind?” Gabriel asked as he placed his glass down and held his breath.
“Carl, demonstrate.”
Within a split second, wings appeared from the young man’s back. They glistened with streaks of silver threaded through them. Even in a room with artificial light they were glorious. Gabriel eyes watered, his prayers were finally being answered.
“We are the ones who watch over the guardian angels. We’re known as Midworlders. We ensure everyone has a guardian, but something’s happened with Nicole. She no longer has one. I understand your friend is unwell, and has visions of an evil attached to her. If we could get Nicole here, we could remove Jane’s evil possessor, and place it on her.”
“Why do you need me?” Gabriel was still enthralled by Carl, but sensed he wasn’t being told everything.
“Unfortunately another Midworlder has bonded with Nicole. We have formal rules preventing us from touching her.”
“I want to save Jane, but it isn’t all I want. I need to prove you exist.” The man threw back his hood and revealed his scared face.
“We know you do and it’s the reason why you were chosen. A long time ago one of the guardians came here in human form. One wishes to do so again. You will be the first to see the face of one of your gods when she comes over.”
“She?” Gabriel had never considered himself sexist, but he had believed God would come to him in male form. It didn’t matter, what was important was he had been chosen.
“Liliath will bring a new order to the world and we will be there by her side. Go and rest. Carl here, will watch over Jane, and ensure she sleeps peacefully.”
Gabriel didn’t want them to leave, but both Sayell and Carl disappeared before his eyes. He went to his bedroom and dumped his dressing gown on the floor and lay on his bed with his back open to the air. By morning it would be scabbed over. Mrs. Bales was used to his blood stained gowns. A clean one would be on the bathroom door to replace it. His heart beat fast as his chest pressed against the bed. He had waited so long for this, now that the moment had come, he feared he would not have the strength. It didn’t matter anymore because he was not alone. He would never be alone again.
Chapter 11
A Green Toothbrush
Nicole sat in the kitchen and scoffed pancakes with Kaylie. It seemed so normal after what happened. She would try not to think about sex or healing powers for five minutes while she enjoyed the best pancakes in the world.
The fun atmosphere changed as soon as Sara marched in. If Nicole expected a show of affection between Kaylie and Sara, it didn’t happen. Sara appeared as before, a woman ready for a fight, a smile nowhere to be seen. Somewhere inside the hard exterior Nicole assumed Kaylie found something soft and endearing, but she couldn’t see it. Sara went over to the percolator and poured herself a coffee. She drank it black with three sugars. Nicole was tempted to offer the quip, she thought Sara was sweet enough, but had a feeling it wouldn’t go down too well. Kaylie broke the silence.
“Sara, for goodness sake stop walking around like some overseer. I feel like you’re going to tell us to get back below stairs.” Kaylie shook her head.
Sara sipped. “So you’re friends with this already?”
“She has a name and is a person,” Kaylie replied.
“I’m not so sure after what she’s been doing.”
“I am here, even if I don’t want to be.” Nicole was getting fed up with people talking about her, instead of to her. She had
saved their boss when they hadn’t shown much worry for him. Thanks might have been nice.
“As a human you might be considered of low level intelligence, but the powers you have. They mean we’re dealing with something else. I’m just not sure what yet.” Sara raised an eyebrow and finished her coffee.
“Well when you find out what I am, you can tell me too.”
Sara didn’t help herself to any of the food, which was probably how she kept her figure. Nicole shoved another piece of pancake smothered in maple syrup into her mouth. She couldn’t get over how hungry she was. Healing aliens obviously took a lot out of humans.
“Hey food. I thought I could smell pancakes.” Peter came over and gave her a hug, grabbed a plate and a stack of pancakes, smothering them with syrup.
His action made Frieda smile. “This is good. You need fattening up. I’ll make some more. Ridge will want some. He is always hungry.” Frieda turned back to the fridge.
Nicole thought Frieda relished the extra company as she bustled away in the kitchen.
“So what happened? The guy from LA said there was nothing to do when he got here. Did you work your voodoo on him Kaylie?” Sara asked.
“I didn’t need to, Nicole fixed him.” Kaylie winked at Nicole. “She has extremely alternative healing techniques. I might try it on you the next time you get hurt.”
“I don’t get hurt, Kaylie. I do the hurting.”
A door opened behind Nicole. She didn’t need to turn to know Ridge had entered the room. Her heart pounded after what had happened when she was in his head. She couldn’t turn and face him. His lips touched her neck and she jumped when his unshaven face grazed her cheek. He whispered in her ear.
“Thanks for fixing me up, but next time I’m on top. You know what though, darlin’, it was worth gettin' hurt for.”
She wanted to turn and slap him but wouldn’t rise to the bait, mainly because she felt like a foolish schoolgirl blushing. “There won’t be a next time.”
Sara coughed. “Nice to see you’re back to your old self, Boss. When you two lovebirds have stopped cooing at each other, we’ve another problem. Carrick went back to the agency this morning. It’s been ransacked and a fire started. The police called and want to see Nicole and Peter over there.”
Nicole watched Ridge pour himself a coffee and tuck into a stack of pancakes. He gazed up and winked at her. Damn it, but the picture of him naked and groaning beneath her kept popping into her head. She needed to concentrate on something else. “Let’s go then.” Nicole stood up.
“You’re not goin’ anywhere. I need you here where my men can protect you,” Ridge said as he put down his fork.
“But the police want to talk to us, and we have cases we’re working on. Those people trust us and we have to find out what’s missing.” Nicole folded her arms and stood in front of him. She wasn’t going to back down. Little enough of her old life existed, and she would hold on to it as long as she could. Plus she had an incredible urge to grab him and kiss him, and she had no intention of giving him the satisfaction. From his grin she considered he already knew.
“You go. I need to open the club, and if the police don’t see her soon they’re going to be sniffing around here. We don’t need that,” Sara said.
Ridge finished his coffee and picked up his car key. “What I would give for a simple game of poker. Well are you comin’?”
Nicole sat in the back of the car as Ridge drove to the agency. She needed to keep as much space as possible between them. A police car was parked out the front of the building, and a uniform cop was talking to Carrick.
Nicole followed the policeman up the stairs dreading what she would find. The reception area didn’t look any different which for a moment was comforting, but the main office was gutted. The beautiful oak desk was blackened. Ben had been so keen on the agency having an old fashioned appearance from years gone by. Those years being the 1920’s. He said it gave the place class. From what she’d read of Dashiell Hammett there was nothing particularly classy back in the twenties, just a lot of double dealing and murder. That aside, they had gone to an auction. She had never been to one before and didn’t want to bid. Blending into the background was more her idea of fun, but Ben had other ideas. He grabbed her hand and raised it high when the desk came up.
“We can’t afford it.” She had to keep a level head even if he couldn’t.
“It’s a business asset, and I’ve this fantasy of having sex with you on it.”
Nicole had put her hand back up not even knowing if she needed to bid.
That was long ago. She placed her hand on the blackened leather. Nothing had been spared. The leather chairs were ripped open. The old wooden filing cabinets were charred. The drawers were open and the fire or the sprinklers had done their damage on anything within. Every picture or certificate had been yanked from the walls and thrown into a bonfire in front of her desk. The computer was smashed beyond recognition. It wouldn’t even make a good door stop. The cop said something. Turning away from the pile on the floor she gawked at him. She wanted to cry but all she felt was broken inside, like nothing would be the same again.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She shook her head, trying to focus.
“So neither you nor your brother-in-law has any idea who may have done this. Happening on its own would be one thing, but the fact your apartment was blown up as well seems a bit coincidental. Could it be one of your ex-clients isn’t happy? Maybe lost some money in the divorce case.”
Nicole shook her head. “We only had three active cases we were working on. Peter would have the information on them on his laptop if you want.” Nicole rubbed her forehead but it didn’t help in gathering her thoughts. “I can’t imagine any of the cases would cause people to do this. I thought the apartment was a gas explosion. Has there been something found in the investigation?”
The policeman shook his head as he answered. “Gas seems to have been ruled out. We’re still trying to find out what caused it. Until we do it will be classified as suspicious.”
“I’ll call my receptionist and the clients to say we’re no longer active,” Nicole said, hearing the flatness in her voice.
The cop appeared bored. “We should be finished here in about an hour, then you can start to clean up. It would be helpful if you could give my partner a statement about your whereabouts for the last few days.”
Nicole sat in one of the chairs in the reception area, as the other cop asked her questions. Ridge leant back against the wall behind her. His arms folded across his chest as he nonchalantly peered around the room. He didn’t fool her. He was like a leopard waiting to pounce on anything. He was back to his old form again.
The cop accepted her statement saying she had stayed with Ridge. Why would they doubt it? It was a normal thing to go and stay with friends. If she mentioned angels and demons they were going to need a completely different form to fill out for her. The one to send her to the funny farm.
“We shouldn’t be too much longer. I just have to interview Mr. Flynn. After that you should be able to go back into your office. Will you be going back to Heaven’s Gate?”
“Yes.” What else did she have to say? She had nowhere else to go.
“Is it alright if we go get a coffee?” Ridge asked.
“Yeah sure,” the cop replied.
Nicole couldn’t move. Ridge took her arm and moved her from the chair.
The cafe was three shops down and they sat inside by the counter. The coffee cooled in front of her. She couldn’t summon the need to pick it up. “I don’t want to talk.”
“As a gentleman I can tell as much, but you needed to get outa there. If he kept askin’ you questions, you were gonna explode the truth all over him. I couldn’t risk that.”
She might have wanted to kiss him earlier, but now she wanted to
hit him. “I’d like to say I’m sorry, but you’re no gentleman. The fact your Midworlder orders have been messed up at this point doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want to go back to your nightclub but I don’t have a choice, do I?” Ridge didn’t answer.
He sipped on his espresso. There was another choice. If she died all these problems would go away for everyone.
She couldn’t cope with the changes in her life every few hours. Peter would be sad, but he would cope eventually.
“Don’t even think about it,” Ridge said as he laid his hand on top of hers.
“It’s going to happen in a month, so why not get it over and done with?” She wrenched her hand away and gulped down the coffee.