Bound by Time: A Bound Novel

by A. D. Trosper

  The morning slid into afternoon. When someone pounded on the front door, Damien didn’t even have the strength to stand, much less answer it. The pounding resumed, then stopped and he heard the click of the latch.

  In seconds, Lucian strode into the family room. He took one look at them, uttered an oath and demanded, “How long have you been holding that?”

  “It looks like far too long judging by the failing strength of the shield,” Isaac said, walking into the room.

  Lucian shook his head. “You have to stop or you’ll kill yourself, and that won’t do either of you any good.”

  Damien’s eyelids sagged as he mumbled, “Can’t let it down. He will kill her. Eis quos diligo me devovebo.” I will sacrifice my life.

  Isaac leaned forward and put his dark hand on Damien’s shoulder. “You can’t keep this level of energy up. You have to drop the shield.”

  Lucian swore again and stripped his shirt off unfurling his own massive black wings. “You’re not sacrificing your life for her right now. You don’t have to. Let it down, Damien. I got this.”

  Damien sighed with relief and released the hold on his power. Bright white light flooded the room, strong and true, radiating off Lucian. Damien tried to mumble his thanks but sleep overtook him.

  Isobel woke slow and groggy. Light still filled the air around her though she knew it wasn’t sunlight. A heavy arm draped across her middle. She opened her eyes to Damien’s face, slack and pale. “Damien?” She pushed herself up, concern leaping in her chest. Isobel had never seen him look so drained and haggard. “Damien!”

  “Shh. Let him sleep. He’s beyond exhausted, the idiot. Though I suppose he didn’t have much choice.”

  Isobel whipped her head around at the sound of the strange voice. A man, built like Damien, only with golden hair and tawny eyes stared down at her from where he stood by the windows, his arms crossed over his bare chest. Black wings rose up behind him and the light flowed out from him. A bracelet identical to Damien’s hung on his wrist. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Lucian. I’m an old friend of Damien’s. Yours also, but I doubt you remember me yet.”

  Isobel ran her fingers lightly down the side of Damien’s face. He didn’t stir even the slightest. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes. He will likely sleep until tomorrow and then eat like a starving wolf when he wakes. Would you like to get cleaned up?”

  Isobel turned back to Lucian. “What?”

  He gestured toward her. “You’re a mess. A friend of yours is here. You might want to clean up before she sees you. It was hard enough to convince her to go to bed without waking you first. If she sees you in that condition it’s only going to upset her more.”

  “She? Who’s here?”

  “Isaac, another dark angel, is here. He brought his channel, Rose with him. Rose insisted that her granddaughter, Amelia tag along.” A scowl swept over his face. “Stubborn old woman.”

  Isobel stared at him as tears pricked her eyes and relief washed through her. Amelia really was alive. “Amelia is here? Where?”

  “As I said, after a good deal of arguing we managed to convince both her and Rose to retire for the evening.”

  Isobel looked past the light in the room to the window. It was completely dark beyond the panes. “If it’s still night, how can Damien be so drained? It’s only been a few hours.” Confusion tumbled through her mind.

  Lucian shook his head. “By the condition Damien was in, I would guess it had been at least a full twenty-four hours, maybe more, by the time we arrived late this afternoon. It’s just after eleven now so you must have needed the sleep as badly as he does now.”

  Isobel extracted herself from Damien’s arm, careful not to disturb him. Dried blood caked her arm, shirt, and pants. She closed her eyes as memories of what happened crashed through her mind and she inhaled slowly trying to block them out. When she felt she had her mind reasonably under control, she opened her eyes and looked at Lucian. “What about Xapar?”

  He shrugged. “Still trapped in his little prison, although he has made several attempts to move about the house.” A dark chuckle issued from his throat. “He came up against a nasty surprise when he tried to invade the bedroom on this floor where Rose and Amelia are sleeping.”

  Isobel raised her eyebrows. “How is that?”

  Lucian chuckled again. “Rose is quite powerful in her own right. He hasn’t made a second attempt to breach the room. In fact, he’s been pretty quiet since then. Her ward must have stung pretty good.”

  Isobel rubbed her eyes and yawned happy that Xapar had gotten stung by something, especially after what he put her through.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and looked uneasily toward the dining room. “I have to go upstairs to my bedroom.”

  Lucian nodded. “I will go with you.”

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Now she knew why she had trusted Damien so easily when he made that offer so many weeks ago. Though Lucian seemed familiar she wasn’t sure whether or not to trust him.

  Lucian shook his head. “Do you want to clean up so you can stop looking like night of the living dead or not? You have nothing to worry about, Isobel. You’re Damien’s.”

  Isobel bristled. “He doesn’t own me.”

  “Not in the way you are thinking, no.” Lucian smiled. “You are his in the way he is yours. You two are…sodales in aeternum.”

  “We’re what?”

  “Forever soul mates. Your souls are bound by time. Like I said, you’re Damien’s. The lucky bastard.” He waggled his eyebrows in an overly exaggerated movement.

  It brought her a much needed laugh and she loved the sound of forever soul mates. “Come on. You can have a tour of the house of horrors and meet my sadistic window.”

  As Lucian followed her through the house flashes of memories of him, always a friend by Damien’s side, flickered through her mind. Isobel remembered him holding one of her hands as she died, and Damien whispered farewell. She glanced at him. “Do you have one?”

  “One what?” he asked as they started up the stairs.

  “A forever soul mate.” She doubted he would lack in female companionship if he sought it. He was built like Damien and just as handsome, though he didn’t appeal to her that way.

  Lucian shook his head and smiled sadly. “Not all of us are so lucky.”

  “But there are others who do have them?”

  He nodded. “Isaac, the other dark angel here, has Rose. They have followed each other through many lifetimes.”

  “So there could be someone for you?” Isobel pressed.

  He chuckled low in his chest. “Don’t worry about me, Isobel. I do fine on my own.”

  They reached the landing, and Lucian glared at the window. “Damn, the demon is getting strong, isn’t he?”

  Isobel couldn’t bring herself to even glance at the window. Darkness tried to push at the edges of her mind but was held back by the white light.

  “Pushy too.” Lucian looked at the window. “Keeps trying to get past me now that we’re up here. Hurry and get what you need. You aren’t coming back up here.”

  Isobel ran for her room, grabbing one of the empty bags still lying in the corner where she’d thrown it after returning from college. She stuffed clothing into it without hesitating. She wanted away from her room and the upstairs. Lucian seemed surprised when she reappeared so quickly. Isobel kept her eyes averted from the window, determined not to look at it. “I'm ready. Let's go.”

  Without waiting for him to respond she pushed past him and dashed down the stairs, her heart pounding. Lucian caught her arm just before she entered the bathroom off the foyer his tawny eyes searching hers. “Are you feeling all right?”

  Isobel took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Lucian’s brows were drawn down in a worried furrow. She smiled shakily. “I’m fine. Really, I am. Just scared. I can feel him watching me when I’m up there.”

  Lucian’s eyes sear
ched hers a moment longer before he released her arm and allowed her to enter the bathroom. He shut the temporary door that one of them must have installed after they arrived. Isobel set the bag on the counter and pulled off the blood-stained clothes. A glance at the floor showed that someone had cleaned up the blood. She shuddered at the thought of what she’d almost done.

  Isobel cranked the water as hot as she could stand hoping it would help wash away the feeling of darkness that lingered in her mind. At least the whispers had stopped for now.

  After she was clean, on the outside at least, she toweled off and pulled some clothes out of the bag and pulled them on. Isobel grabbed her brush, toothbrush, and toothpaste. She hesitated, staring at the misty mirror, afraid to wipe away the condensation. Afraid what her reflection might do.

  Finally, she reached forward and swiped her hand across it a few times, then eyed herself in the mirror warily. Only her normal reflection stared back. Isobel didn’t dare allow herself too much relief. Instead, she pulled the brush through her wet hair then scrubbed her teeth as quick as she could.

  Her mind betrayed her by conjuring up the horrible things she’d seen. The bathroom seemed to grow smaller. Isobel grabbed the edge of the sink as a band tightened around her ribs. Terror closed over her and chills shivered through her body. She hadn’t had a panic attack in years unless she counted the one that night when Maria screamed at her. The first one had struck the night her mother died. They had only stopped when Elizabeth came into her life. Elizabeth, who was a blessed one.

  Shaking, she sat on the edge of the tub and leaned over as a wave of dizziness struck. Isobel dug her fingers into her hair and struggled to breathe around the pain in her chest. There was nothing to do but wait it out though everything in her screamed to get out. Out of the bathroom, out of the house. Her breath started to come in short, shallow pants as the unreasonable terror gripped her. Maybe not completely unreasonable; she had seen everyone she loved killed. Even if it hadn’t been real, it had felt real, and the images were burned into her psyche with sickening clarity.

  Isobel stood and scrambled for the flimsy door fumbling with the latch. Cold sweat broke over her skin. It didn’t matter that some small part of her mind knew what was happening. Fight or flight had taken complete control.

  Finally the latch turned, and she yanked the door open dashing past a startled Lucian. He caught her arm in an iron grasp. She looked up at him unable to control the shaking as the house closed around her. “Get me out of the house. I need out. I need the air.”

  Lucian’s eyes swept over her, and he gave a quick nod. He hauled her to the front door and pulled it open. Isobel staggered onto the front porch and dropped heavily to the wide boards, wrapping her arms around her middle. The warm, humid night air shifted with a light breeze.

  Lucian’s light followed her onto the porch. He knelt beside her. “Isobel, what is it? I know Xapar hasn’t slipped past me.”

  “Just give me…a minute.” Isobel stared at the grain of the boards beneath her knees, the wide open night already helping. Slowly, the terror ebbed away and the pain eased.

  She dropped her forehead into her shaky hand and practiced the slow, deep breathing Elizabeth had taught her.

  Lucian shifted next to her. “What happened?”

  “I’m sorry. It was a panic attack.” She rose to her feet with his help. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  “Worry me...” He said the words as if testing them. “No. More like scared the hell out of me. You do realize what Damien will do to me if harm comes to you on my watch, right?”

  Isobel gave him a small apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I would hate for Damien to be angry with you.”

  Lucian shook his head. “Isobel, stop apologizing for something you can’t control.” His face grew serious. “It isn’t just Damien. You don’t have all your memories back yet, but we’ve always been friends. Seeing you like that…well, let me just say that I was far more worried about you than I was for my own skin.”

  Isobel stared at him. More memories surfaced of other times where Lucian had always been a close friend to both her and Damien. And then she recognized him as one of the men who had fought alongside Damien when she was burned at the stake. “I remember you.” More memories of him filled her mind, of him and Damien trying to get out of Germany with her.

  Lucian smiled. “Your memories will come back with time. I’m glad you’re remembering me now though.”

  “I wish they would all just come back.”

  “They won’t all come back for you. Those that are necessary for your survival, moments in time where there was strong emotion, that kind of thing. A dark angel gets all of his memories because of what he does. A channel doesn’t need century after century of knowledge just the most important parts. In a sense, channels get to live a more normal human life than dark angels.” He leaned against the doorway. “Don’t worry too much about how long it takes. You will have what you need by the time you need it.”

  She turned back to the open front door. The lights inside couldn’t compare to the brightness surrounding her. She glanced up at him. “Aren’t you afraid someone is going to drive by and wonder why you’re glowing?”

  Lucian laughed as they stepped back into the house. “Only demons, people such as you, and other angels can see the light.”

  Damien still slept like the dead when they reached the family room. She sat on the floor in front of the sectional and reached up to brush a few strands of inky black hair off his face. “I’ve never known him to sleep this long or this heavy.”

  Lucian resumed his place by the window. “Dark angels don’t usually need more than two or three hours of sleep.” His eyes rested on Damien. “The level of power he held for as long as he did drained him of almost all his energy. It’s a good thing we arrived when we did or he would have killed himself, which would have left you completely open to Xapar.”

  She looked up at him startled. “But he’s an angel. How can that kill him? I thought only beheading could do that.”

  Lucian’s expression softened. “The power that we wield is very strong. It is meant to be used in short bursts for the protection of our channels not sustained for a full day or more, especially not the level Damien was holding.”

  “What about you?” Enough people had died for her; she didn’t want anyone else to.

  “It’s draining me too. Isaac will relieve me in a couple of hours.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Then I’ll probably sleep an hour or so longer than usual and eat like crazy when I wake. We bounce back pretty quickly.” He glanced at Damien again. “Unless we push it too far. Then it takes longer for our strength and energy to return.”

  Isobel dozed off and on through the rest of the night. At some point Lucian was gone and in his place was an older man. His black skin and dark eyes a sharp contrast to the white light that rolled off him. His build reminded her of Damien and Lucian, though his face showed a few lines of age. His black wings rose strong and glossy behind him.

  She was awake to see the sunrise spreading golden rays into the room that couldn’t compete with the light from Isaac. The older dark angel followed Isobel into the kitchen where she started breakfast. Isaac sat on the far side of the island, his wings filling that end of the room.

  Isobel started a pot of coffee then opened the fridge and grabbed out the eggs and bacon. She would have to make a run to the store soon. As she set them on the counter Isaac smiled. “Make plenty. Lucian is going to devour a lot and Damien will likely out eat him. Even I will need to replenish my energy.”

  Nodding, she grabbed the pans and began cooking her way through two pounds of bacon. In-between rotating the pans in and out of the oven, she mixed up a large batch of pancakes. As she pulled the first pancake off the griddle, she looked over at the angel who watched her quietly. “Lucian said you and Amelia’s grandmother are soul mates.” The scent of brewing coffee and cooking bacon filled the kitchen.

  �
��Rose.” He nodded, a warm light filling his eyes when he said her name. “We have been through a lot of lives together.”

  “Lucian said not everyone gets that. Why?” Isobel flipped another pancake.

  Isaac smiled. “Oh they do, eventually. There are a few old souls, like you and Rose that come into this world again and again. There are also new souls being born. A very few of those are destined to come again and become old souls. Lucian will find his as will other dark angels. Love is the greatest gift of the Higher Powers; they won’t deny their dark angels the chance to feel the love that comes with being soul mates. In their infinite wisdom though, they will wait to bestow such a gift until the right soul is born. The one that will be a match for the angel.”

  Isobel nodded as she lifted the pancake onto a plate and poured more batter onto the griddle, happy to know that Lucian wasn’t destined to wander the earth alone life after life. “How long have the dark angels been around?”

  “Since the first time we were needed. I don’t know exactly how long in years; it has been too many,” Isaac said gently. “Damien, Lucian, Aiden, myself and a handful of others are the oldest, the strongest. We have lived many lifetimes; we get assigned to the strongest channels because they will face the strongest demons.”

  “I’m a channel.” Isobel thought of the power inside her that fought for release.

  Though it hadn’t been a question, he nodded. “You are.”

  She flipped the new pancake then pulled the final pan of bacon from the oven, moving the crisp strips to the pile sitting on a paper towel. “Since the Higher Powers are real does that mean the big bang theory is a bunch of bunk?”

  Isaac laughed and shook his head. “Who says it’s bunk because of the Higher Powers? How do you think it went bang in the first place? Dynamite doesn’t explode without some sort of outside help. Why would the universe suddenly do it?”

  Isobel thought over her science classes while she continued building a tower of pancakes. After a moment Isaac continued, “This planet formed pretty close to how scientists think it did. However, do you truly think that it’s pure chance that everything happens to be just right to support the kind of life Earth does?” He smiled, his eyes kind. “Or that all the ingredients just happened to be here for so many different forms of life to develop?”