by Dale, Lindy
*****
After dinner, Aunt Beth went back to the Bookshop for her monthly Book Club meeting. She would rather have stayed and talked to Cam some more - how many times did one get to meet a real angel, after all - but the book this month had been one she’d particularly enjoyed and she was eager to discuss it with the other members of the club. Lacey and Cam sat in the lounge on the sofa, looking at pictures in The Book of Angels. Amused at the author’s take on the subject, Cam was giving Lacey his own personal thoughts on the angels he knew. It was so regular, like real friends, yet so bizarre.
“Samuel would be very pleased if he saw that depiction of himself,” Cam said, looking at one particular sketch. “The artist has made him look very tall.”
“I thought angels changed their appearance all the time? Couldn’t he just choose to be tall?”
“He could, but his ethereal being is nothing like that. God would think it vain if he chose that type of body merely because he wanted to be taller and he would be punished for his sin, something which I know all about.” Turning to the next page, Cam began to read about the Arch Angel Ariel.
“Do angels get to make other choices, too?” Lacey asked.
Cam looked up. “As I said before we have free will, like you. We have feelings and emotions. We can choose to do good or evil, hence the reason why there are fallen angels. Technically, I’m a fallen angel, but I haven’t been banished forever. A time will come when God allows me to return to Heaven.”
Lacey wasn’t entirely sure she wanted that day to come. Since Cam had revealed himself, things had changed. She craved his friendship and as with any friendship, she would be saddened if it ended.
“What about the ones who are banished for good?”
“Most of them have been banished because they chose Lucifer over God. It’s one of them that will come for you. That’s what we must prepare for.”
Lacey reached over and closed the book. This was serious; she needed Cam’s undivided attention. “When will they come?”
“The actual day of your deliverance to Lucifer will be on your eighteenth birthday. So, in a little under month’s time. All the Children of the Pentacle have been taken on that day as it marks the transition from child to adult. You won’t be sacrificed then, though. That will happen some time later. When Lucifer decides he is ready.”
“But what if I don’t want to do what they want?”
“You have no choice, Lacey. That mark on your neck means the decision has already been made.”
“But I don’t want to.” She knew it sounded childish but it was the truth.
Cam looked at her steadily. “That’s why I’m here. Being the last one left, we have to ensure that Lucifer doesn’t get his hands on you. Without you, the pentacle can’t be completed and his plan will never reach fruition.”
She was scared to ask but given the circumstances she felt she needed to know. “What happened to the others? Where are they?”
“It was never my job to save them, Lacey, if that’s what you’re asking. Each of the Children of the Pentacle had their own designated angel and sadly those angels were never a match for Lucifer. They were taken on their eighteenth birthdays and have not been seen since.”
“So they’re dead?”
“No. They’re being held somewhere until Lucifer attains the last Child, you. Then he will begin the process of sacrifice by fire. Each child will be sacrificed according to when they were attained and the severity of and pain suffered during the sacrifice will increase in intensity with each child. If I fail and he gets hold of you, your death will be the slowest and most painful of all the Children of the Pentacle and the ceremony that follows will be the catalyst for the End. There will be nothing anyone can do to save the world at that point. Not even God.”
Lacey shuddered. “Would it be possible to get the others back?”
“Maybe. But I don’t think anyone’s thinking along those lines at the moment. All we want is for you to be safe. Once I’ve made sure of that, we can work on getting the others back.”
Lacey frowned and pressed a hand to her temple where her head had begun to throb. She hadn’t realised it was that bad. If she was the only one left, Lucifer was going to do anything he could to get his hands on her, maybe even target those she loved.
“Is Lucifer here already, Cam?”
“Given that there’s such a short time till your birthday, I’d say yes. But Lucifer isn’t going to do his own dirty work, he never does. His recruits will be somewhere, planning how they can get hold of you. It will so much be easier for him if you go of your own free will but if you don’t, I’m sure he has ways to make you comply.”
“So they’ll kidnap me?”
“If it comes down to it, yes. But if they can make you join the Dark Side of your own accord, they won’t need to. Lucifer’s minions have many ways to make a trip to Hell sound like the best idea you’ve ever had. They’ll be out to trick you.”
Lacey tensed. “I don’t want to die. Not anymore.”
Cam held her gaze in his, enveloping her with a sense of calm. “I won’t let it happen, Lacey. All you have to do is trust.”
“But, how’re you going to stop them?”
“Firstly, I have to find out who Lucifer has sent. Once we know who we’re working with, we can figure out how to get rid of them.”
“In three weeks?”
“I don’t have a great deal of choice on the date.”
Changing the subject, Lacey opened up the book again. She’d had enough talk of demons taking her soul, of death.
*****
Lacey and Abbie were sitting in the library the following afternoon. They were meant to be studying for an Art History test but so far all they’d done was gossip. Abbie was smitten with Ty and wanting advice as to what the next step in the relationship should be. Lacey, however, only wanted to talk about her newfound friendship with Cam.
“So, I’ve been hanging with Cam a bit.”
Abbie put down her pen and crossed her arms over her chest. Information like this was clearly way more interesting than what to wear for a date with Ty. “For real?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“And he’s sort of nice. Not, like I first thought. He has a cool sense of humour.”
“Can’t say I’d noticed. But then I’ve never actually spoken to him.”
“Well, he does. And he has this way of making me see things differently.”
“He’s still a weirdo.”
“He’s not. Not at all.”
An aimless doodle swirled along the margin of Lacey’s page. This conversation wasn’t going the way she’d hoped but what more could she expect? She was telling Abbie she had feelings for someone who wasn’t a part of the group. She concentrated on the image for a minute. It looked like a pair of wings, long and elegant. Tilting her head, she added some hearts along the edge.
“Sounds kind of serious,” Abbie remarked.
“Only as far as friendships go.”
Abbie sat up, frowning. “I thought you didn’t like Cam. I mean, last week, you were telling me he was a stalker. When he interrupted you and Zac, you told him to take a flying leap.”
“That was before I knew him. I’d never had a proper conversation with the guy until a few days ago.” She’d never known the reason why he’d behaved that way before, either. Being a guardian to someone sort of decreed that you had to follow them.
“What about Zac?”
“I like Zac but, well….” Well, what? What did she think of Zac? Lacey bit her lip. “Cam and I spent some time together the other night. I like the way I feel when I’m with him. It’s like I’m alive again. Zac just makes me all hot and bothered. He messes with my head.”
Abbie smirked. “Hot and bothered can be good.”
“Yeah but it’s not like that with Cam. It’s, well, different.”
“But the fact that he’s hot doesn’t do any harm.”
Lacey pressed her lips to
gether, forcing the smile to stay away.
“So I’m right.”
“He is kind of cute,” Lacey replied.
The thought came suddenly. It leapt into her brain and began to dance around shouting. She ‘liked’ Cam. And not just because of the stupid bond or whatever it was that he’d told her. Cam was her angel, in more ways than one. But what was she going to do about Zac? Through the cacophony of thoughts in her head, Lacey heard Abbie speaking.
“So now you’ve got the two hottest guys in town fighting over you. All you have to do is choose. I know which way I’d be choosing, that’s for sure.”
Lacey smiled. It didn’t take a genius to realise that her friend had very definite thoughts in that department and they didn’t involve any sort of relationship with Cam. “You know, I just remembered, Aunt Beth said the same thing. When I first came to town she did a tarot reading. This card called The Lovers came up.”
“God, Mum would freak if I so much as looked at one of those. What did she tell you?”
“That I’d have two lovers and a difficult choice. Well, something like that, I can’t remember the exact wording. I thought it was a crock.”
“Funny that it’s coming true, though.”
“Yeah.” Lacey leaned an elbow on her book and stared out over to the shelves towards the garden. The tip of her pen crept into her mouth. Was Aunt Beth’s reading really coming true? Two possible lovers were evident in her life. The danger she’d spoken of was real. But what of the secret? Lacey knew about the Children of the Pentacle. She knew she only had a month to live if Cam couldn’t find a way to save her. So what else could there be?
After packing their things, the girls headed through the maze of shelves and along the corridor to the stairs. The afternoon light filtered through the long windows, shining highlights on Abbie’s hair as they walked and sending other spots into shadow.
“You’re hair is such a pretty colour,” Lacey remarked. “I really like those little gold streaks.”
Abbie gave a humph. “I hate it. Been thinking about a change. Maybe black, like yours.”
Lacey smiled. “It’d be good it we could just swap, eh? Just for a week or two. Then we could give it back when we got bored.”
“Yeah.”
As they reached the top of the stairs, Lacey stopped short.
“William.”
Shit. Shit. Where the hell had he come from?
“Hello, Lacey. Abbie.”
Lacey felt her body tighten with sudden tension. She should have known he wouldn’t let it go. “What’re you doing here?”
William’s smile was creepy. He stepped towards the girls. His finger stroked the banister of the stairs in a fashion that looked almost aggressive. “I thought it was about time I got the rest of my money. I still have the tapes.”
“Can’t you just leave me alone?”
“I suppose I could…. but seeing you squirm is much more fun. You caused me a lot of grief. You made a fool out of me.”
Lacey sighed. He was never going to let her be. “That wasn’t me, it was the drugs. You know that. I loved you.”
“I want my money, Lacey. And I want it now.”
Abbie stepped up. Calmly facing William, she stretched herself to her tallest, raising her chin in defiance. A slender finger poked his chest. “She doesn’t have any more money. So, why don’t you just nick off to what ever little rock it was that you crawled from under and leave us alone. Go on. Get out or we’ll scream the place down.”
Woah. This was a new side of Abbie. Maybe Ty was better for her than Lacey had first believed.
William’s heavy brow dipped to a frown. His dark eyes glowed blood red with anger as his mouth opened in a venomous growl. Talon like hands swept furious arcs in their direction. He was clearly pissed off.
“Oh please! You think that scares us?” Abbie’s leg rose. Heel thrust, she aimed straight for William’s solar plexus. “You heard me. Go!”
William’s feet teetered on the stair. Abbie kicked him again. Legs a tangle, hands grasping at the railing, he toppled, coming to a stop at the landing. Righting himself, he shook his body out and looked up the stairwell at the girls before disappearing around the corner.
“And don’t come back,” Abbie yelled. “Or you’ll have Zac to deal with too!” Giving a cursory nod, she turned to Lacey. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
Lacey blinked at this new incarnation of her friend. “Where did that come from?”
“Don’t ask me. Must have been some adrenalin rush or something.” She held out her free hand. It was shaking uncontrollably.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
Abbie grinned. “At least we got rid of him. Don’t think he’ll be back for a while, do you?”
“Maybe I should take up karate or something? Seems like everyone in this town is great at self-defence but me.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Chapter Seventeen
The sunny winter afternoon had given way to a cool night. It was just the kind of weather Lacey loved and yet as she closed the window against the chill, she was conflicted. Outwardly, her life was going well. Not only had she found a girlfriend in Abbie, one she could share girl stuff with, but she was making good grades and she had two almost boyfriends. Sure, one of them was an angel but that was a minor detail. Technically, there were still two. The flipside, however, was a little harder to fathom. To even try to marry such normality with the fact that she was possibly going to die in three weeks was impossible. Lacey had no idea how to deal with it. And until Cam came up with a grand plan to do so, she had a plan of her own. She was going to ignore it.
After shoving her dirty clothes into the hamper, Lacey pulled her leggings and t-shirt from under her pillow and began getting ready for bed. She flicked on the lamp and pushed back the doona. She sat on the edge of the mattress, the pair of old woollen socks she favoured to keep her feet warm in her hand. Technically, Cam wasn’t a boyfriend; he was an angel, or a really good friend. But he felt like a boyfriend. His level of care was way above normal friend status. And being the independent girl she’d always been, the fact that she enjoyed his care came as something of a surprise. She liked the fact that he cared about her welfare, even if it was his job. Not that she believed that for a second. Cam cared about her for real. She knew it.
Just as she jumped under the covers, Lacey heard the knock at the window. The curtains were drawn to keep in the heat but even before she opened them, she could feel that it was Cam on the other side. Since his revelation, he’d begun to radiate a form of energy that made her able to sense his presence when he was close by. It was as if her acceptance that he was an angel had added a telepathic dimension to their friendship, made her open to things she would never have believed possible before.
Lacey breathed in the sensation. A buzz of consciousness began to build in her chest, right near her heart, and that all encompassing feeling of peace and security that she had when she spent time with him came over her. The first time she’d felt it was the other night before bed. She’d actually felt him there and when she’d looked out the window she’d discovered him keeping watching on the fence outside her window. She’d never slept so soundly.
Pulling the curtains aside, she reached to open the window. She’d considered asking Aunt Beth if they could install a door in its place, as it seemed to be a more popular option for her friends to enter the house this way than through the front door. Even Abbie had become a window climber of late.
“Hey, bit late for a chat isn’t it?” Lacey asked, by way of hello.
Cam’s smile was broad. “I’ve been busy all day but I wanted to show you something. Can you come out?”
Lacey picked up her mobile from its place on the bedside table and looked at the screen. 10pm. She had a Biology test in the morning.
“Please?”
“Sure.” Grabbing her coat, mittens and uggs, she climbed out through the window. “But I’m not stay
ing out late. I have a test tomorrow.”
Cam took her hand. “In that case, we have no time to waste.”
Swinging her into his arms with ease, Cam held Lacey tight to his body and directed her to put her arms around his neck. The familiar feeling of peace flowed through her body and she snuggled against him, as his grasp grew even tighter.
Then, she felt him shudder. His wings began to unfurl, their fullness silhouetting against the moonlit sky. Lacey’s body tensed. The solid ground below her fell away. Her fingers dug tight into Cam’s shoulders.
“What’s going on? Where are you taking me?”
The grass below them flattened with the updraft Cam’s wings created. Jezebel, Aunt Beth’s cat, meowed from the windowsill in the bedroom, her yellow eyes peering into the night and her fur rising at the sight of girl and angel floating above her. Over the fence, the neighbour’s dog let out a bark that Cam silenced with a look.
“We’re going on a little journey. It won’t take long. Not if we fly.”
Lacey gripped him tighter. She couldn’t see the ground at all now. “Um, have I ever told you about my fear of heights?”
“Trust me.”
A feeling of weightlessness came over her as Cam flew out into the dark night with Lacey in his arms. Staying clear of the streetlights, he flew over the rooftops and out into the liquid night sky across the Seraphim River. The cool air played against her cheeks and sent its whispers through the tendrils of her hair and she shivered and put her face closer to his chest. Cam’s arms were strong about her and even though she was normally queasy with heights, Lacey felt secure in his embrace. She trusted Cam. With her life. The air around them was ice-cold now but she noticed nothing except Cam’s arms encircling her and the way her senses were heightened to their fullest. Smells she’d never noticed came to the fore when she was with him - crisp eucalyptus as they glanced over the treetops, moist earth when he finally lowered her down - and sounds she’d blurred her mind to recently- crickets, frogs in the creek and the padding of nocturnal animals in the undergrowth.