Refracted (The Celadon Circle Book 2)

by Nicole Storey

  No one should ever feel that way, Gabriel thought.

  Some humans believed that, after they passed, a better place waited for them, a paradise with no sorrow, no disease, no war. There was a Father who loved them – loved them so much He gave his only son for their sins – and He would be awaiting their arrival with open arms. For the most part, this was true…for human souls. For angels, it was much more complicated.

  Though Gabriel loved his brothers and sisters and the role assigned to him as an archangel and messenger between worlds, he did not like the politics. If every angel cared about Heaven, Earth, humans, eradicating Evil, and did their jobs, there would be no need for the hierarchy. They would all work toward the same goals. Unfortunately, some did not. Some, like Michael, focused on the wrong things.

  Ironic. Humans were destroying one of his Father’s most beautiful creations while His own angels were hell bent on destroying another. Heaven and Earth…Pretty soon, there would be no difference between them at all.

  So why did he feel so drawn to Earth? Why did it feel more like home?

  Gabriel smiled as different faces came to mind.

  Casen, with his gentle ways, kind nature, and never-ending strength. Gabriel had watched the man struggle with the transformation from bachelor cowboy to surrogate father. It had been a difficult change. When Richard Bailey slowly descended into his own personal hell, neglecting his children while he obsessed over keeping Jordan out of Aamon’s clutches, Casen had taken on a more paternal role. He’d pulled on Richard’s boots and, though they were uncomfortable, he’d managed, not knowing if he’d ever be able to take them off again. Casen never complained. He did what had to be done for his niece and nephews and had come to love them as his own.

  Nathan was a lot like Casen in many ways. He rarely complained, was easy to please, and had a big heart. He loved information and learning. He cared about others more than himself. He would make a wonderful angel some day. Nathan sacrificed so much – as a Slayer protecting others, and for his family, but it never even crossed his mind how much he gave up. He understood people, and they were drawn to him, listened to him. Nathan was the best kind of leader – one who had no idea that he was.

  Quinn was everything Nathan was not. Gabriel had no idea how twins could be so different. Like opposite ends of a pole, Nathan kept a cool temper while Quinn’s always ran hot. But where one was weak, the other was strong and in that, they complemented each other. Quinn was a fighter. When standing side by side, enemies always looked warily at Nathan because of his build, not realizing Quinn was the dangerous one. In combat, he was poetry in motion, wielding weapons like an artist wields a brush. He glided silently around his enemies. Every move was intricate, effortless. His battles were tantamount to a ballet and beautiful to behold.

  One would think Jordan, the baby of the family, would be spoiled and perhaps a bit needy. She was anything but. Gabriel felt closest to her because he’d watched her grow up and been there for almost every milestone. Unlike Casen, who was already a grown man and set in his ways, Nathan, who was strong in mind and body and rarely needed to lean on others, or Quinn, who kept everyone at arms’ length, Jordan was the only one who’d let him into her heart. She didn’t see Gabriel as an angel, but as a friend and confidant. She had good qualities and some that made him want to scream, but she was his ward and he wouldn’t change a thing about her.

  Those four people were why he loved Earth so much. They were his family – more so than any angels in Heaven.

  And I left them when they needed me most.

  Gabriel picked up a rock and threw it toward the night sky. He’d been such an idiot. What if Casen, Nathan, and Quinn refused to let him back into their lives, even after explaining why he had left? He probably wouldn’t get far, fairly certain one of them would finish what they started the last time he saw them and blow a hole in his forehead. It wouldn’t kill him, but part of him would die just the same. Perhaps the most important part.

  He leaned against the shed, shifting his attention back to the farmhouse. It was late. Gabriel wondered if Casen and the boys were still awake. He was weighing the consequences of knocking on the door and begging for forgiveness when someone emerged from inside.

  Quinn hauled several duffle bags down the steps and tossed them in the back of Jordan’s car. Seconds later, he roared down the drive in a cloud of dust and gravel.

  Gabriel decided to follow.

  <><><>

  The motel Quinn stopped at in a neighboring town was not fancy, but appeared fairly clean from the outside. Gabriel made himself invisible and watched from a few cars away as Quinn unloaded his gear into the last room on the bottom floor, far from the other guests. Shortly after, he drove to a grocery store. From the number of bags he exited with, it looked as if he planned to be away for a while. This worried Gabriel.

  Now, Quinn’s room was dark except for the flickering light of a television. Should he knock? What would Quinn say after all this time?

  A police car crept by. The officer behind the wheel scowled, and Gabriel realized he must look like some sort of deviant hanging around the parking lot. He should have stayed invisible. Now, he had no choice. He’d have to leave or take his chances with Quinn.

  Rapping softly on the door, Gabriel secretly hoped Quinn wouldn’t hear and give him an excuse to leave…maybe try again tomorrow. But this was Quinn, one of the best Slayers in the Circle. He could hear a whimper in the middle of a heavy metal concert.

  There was a soft curse and then the door opened a crack.

  “Are you alone, Gabe, or do you have a winged posse waiting to take me out as soon as I open this door wide enough for all of them to fly in?”

  Gabriel frowned. “Of course I’m alone. How did you know it was me?”

  Quinn rolled his eyes. “I looked through the fish-eye lens in the door, dummy.”

  When Gabriel didn’t answer, Quinn sighed and pointed to a small circle about eye level embedded in the door.

  “And this allowed you to see outside?” Gabriel smiled. The wonders of this world never ceased to amaze him.

  Quinn shook his head. “Gabe, really?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you here? I should rip your damn wings off for leaving us under a jumbo pile of demons back in Tennessee – and for Jordan’s death at the hands of the Kongamato – and for running away like a coward.” Quinn gripped the doorjamb with white knuckles and Gabriel took a step back. “You know, ripping your wings off would be too merciful and I don’t have time to come up with anything creative. I have to fix this fucking mess you left us in and right now…” He ran a jerky hand through his hair. “Right now, I’m too tired.”

  Quinn stumbled back into the room and slammed the door in Gabriel’s face.

  Jordan had died. She’d been killed by the Kongamato and he never knew.

  Gabriel sat down on the curb in front of Quinn’s door and put his head in his hands. Michael didn’t tell him. His brother knew he would have moved Heaven and Earth to get to her – to any of his wards – if they’d been hurt.

  He thought back to the last day he’d seen Casen and the boys in Tennessee and groaned. No wonder Quinn and the others had been so upset. He must have come off like a selfish bastard who couldn’t have cared less about their welfare. He’d relayed the information Michael shared regarding their father and Sariel but now, thinking back, they probably thought he’d known about the demon situation all along and never told them.

  His charges would never trust him again and he couldn’t blame them. Gabriel had lost the only people who made him feel there was more to being an angel than just a job.

  With a heavy heart, he considered his next move. Jordan still needed help. He’d go to Hell and search it level by level if he had to. He’d threaten every demon he came across.

  Might as well start now.

  Gabriel got to his feet and was stepping off the curb when the door opened behind him. He turned and faced Quinn. The dark circles under the boy’
s eyes and lines of fatigue made Gabriel feel even worse.

  “I’m sorry, Quinn,” he whispered, “for everything. There was so much I didn’t know…”

  “Gabe, just come inside already. It’s late and my beer’s getting hot.”

  He left the door open and Gabriel watched from the threshold as Quinn flopped onto a double bed and took a drink from a brown bottle.

  “Wanna shut the door? It’s colder than a witch’s tit in an iron bra and I’m not heating the entire parking lot.”

  Gabriel shut the door and locked it. His angel eyes showed him runes and symbols Quinn had drawn on the walls and back of the door to ward the room against demons.

  “Have you been with many witches?” he asked Quinn.

  For a moment, the young man stared at him like he’d suggested they go skinny dipping with Michael.

  “No, why?”

  “I inquired because you seem to know their thermal readings. I had no idea witches’ body temperatures ran cooler than non-witches, or that they favored undergarments of iron.” Gabriel frowned. “I would think those would be uncomfortable.”

  Quinn laughed, transforming his entire face and making him appear younger. Gabriel smiled, not sure what was so funny but happy to see the boy in better spirits. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Quinn laugh.

  “Gabe, it was just an expression! I have no idea what a witch’s temperature runs, but I’m pretty sure they don’t wear iron bras.” Quinn wiped away tears with the back of his hand. “I don’t understand how you’ve spent so many years around humans – especially my family – and still take everything so literally.”

  Gabriel shrugged. He tried to understand human emotions. With Jordan, it was easy to tell when she was being sarcastic. She rolled her eyes, placed a hand on her hip, or gave some sort of outward signal. Quinn was always serious, so the meanings behind his words were harder to unravel.

  “Do you feel better?” he asked.

  Somber once more, Quinn said, “Not really, but I have to admit it’s kinda cool seeing you again, even if I am pissed at you.”

  Deciding the urge Quinn felt to rip his wings off had passed, Gabriel sat at a small dinette table which held a pizza box. The aroma of cheese and tomato sauce made his mouth water. Technically, he didn’t need to eat or drink to survive. As long as he had his grace, he could sustain his vessel indefinitely. Still, he liked human food.

  Tearing his eyes from the red and white box with the little Italian man on the front, Gabriel focused on Quinn once more.

  “Why didn’t Nathan and Casen come with you?”

  Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know they didn’t?”

  Gabriel was familiar with one human expression: Open mouth, Insert Foot. He’d mastered that one. He wanted to crawl under the table.

  “Gabe?”

  “I was at the farmhouse when you left.”

  “You were spying on us?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I was contemplating on whether to knock on the door.”

  Quinn drained the last of his beer and set the empty bottle on the bedside table. “I’ll tell you why I’m alone if you tell me why you bailed on us in Tennessee.”

  It was a fair trade. Gabriel offered the missing pieces of the story. It was difficult, especially the part about Michael’s lies. He hung his head, remembering how Quinn accused him of being nothing more than a pup at the end of his big brother’s leash.

  After disclosing the conversation between Michael and his Aeon, Gabriel paused to let the information sink in. Quinn got up from the bed and grabbed two bottles of water from the tiny refrigerator. He sat at the table, slid one of the bottles to Gabriel, and flipped the lid on the pizza box.

  While they dined on cheesy goodness, Quinn reiterated what he’d learned. Around a mouthful of pizza he said, “So, my sister could possibly be part demon and part angel. Michael knew but never told you. He gave you orders to stay away from us and is sending his Amazon-in-charge after Jordan. Have I got it right so far?”

  Gabriel helped himself to another slice. “Yes.”

  “So why are you here, with me?”

  The pizza lodged in his throat like a lump of wax. Gabriel swallowed hard and said, “I defected from the Circle.”

  The words, so alien, hung from his lips. Gabriel remembered Yasen’s remarks about the hierarchy and tried to quell his jangled nerves.

  “You mean you’ve turned away from Heaven?” Quinn’s voice cracked.

  “No, from Michael’s command.” Gabriel managed a smile. “I removed my collar.”

  It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw a faint gleam of approval in Quinn’s stormy eyes.

  “Now,” Gabriel said, taking a sip of water and wishing it was the sweet tea Jordan made, “why did you leave the farm? Has something else happened?”

  Quinn’s story was short and to the point. “I don’t trust them,” he concluded, “and I don’t understand why Case agreed to let Lucas summon a demon into his home.”

  Gabriel thought for a moment. “What Lucas Fane proposed isn’t a bad idea in itself. I planned to do something similar – interrogate demons on Jordan’s whereabouts.” Gabriel paused. “Of course, problems could arise if Nathan and Casen were not familiar with how demons work, but they are.”

  “So, we just sit back and let them?”

  Gabriel searched for words to allay Quinn’s fears but the bottom line was, even though Casen and Nathan were knowledgeable about demons, they couldn’t kill them. Only angels could end their existence. Slayers had the ability to send them back to Hell by performing an exorcism or piercing the possessed person’s heart with silver. Gabriel didn’t know Lucas well and had no idea how much experience the man had. If something went wrong, if the Devil’s Trap was weak or not constructed properly, the demon could escape.

  “Tell me how you want to handle it and I’ll help any way I can,” he said. “Do you think talking to Casen might help?”

  Quinn pulled his pizza crust apart with his fingers and sighed. “No, it won’t. When Case’s mind is made up about something, there’s no changing it. I told Nathan to call if they needed me and I’d come running.” He looked up, eyes tired but resolute. “I can’t sit by and do nothing. We have to find Jordan.”

  “Yes, we do, and quickly. If Jordan is a Paladin, she could be in danger – and not just from angels.”

  “Paladin…” Quinn appeared to roll the word around on his tongue, tasting it. “Warriors for the cause; hybrids of Light and Dark.”

  “What do you mean?” Gabriel asked.

  “I read it in a book. Case and I found it in his study when we were researching Cambions.” He shrugged. “Is that what Jordan is – a Paladin? What are they?”

  Gabriel told Quinn about his visit with Yasen. “If such a hybrid is possible, then her condition is rare, so rare that she may be the only one.” He drummed his fingers against the Formica table top. “Yasen will find more information soon.”

  An idea came to him. It was a long shot but was better than sitting around twiddling their thumbs. “Do you have the book you spoke of? Perhaps I can make more sense of it.”

  “Good thinking,” Quinn said. “I’m glad I packed it. Uncle Case will be madder than a one-legged waitress working at IHOP, but he’ll get over it. He told us to leave it in the safe.”

  Quinn got up and took a few steps toward a small dresser in the corner; a duffle bag lay on top. A knock at the door stopped him in his tracks.

  He turned to Gabriel, who whispered, “Are you expecting anyone?”

  Quinn pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans. “Hell, Gabe, I wasn’t expecting you.”

  From outside, an authoritative male voice said, “Gabriel, we know you are in there. Michael has sent for you, brother. Please come peacefully.”

  The heart that once belonged to his vessel pumped rapidly and Gabriel lost the ability to speak, to think. Quinn, his gun trained on the door, backtracked to where he sat and tapp
ed his shoulder. “Who is that, Gabe?”

  His hands shook as he stood. “Michael sent some members of his army to fetch me. He knows I disobeyed.”

  Quinn regarded the gun with a pained expression and tucked it back into his jeans. “Just tell them to leave,” he said. “You’re an archangel. They have to listen to you, right?”

  Gabriel wondered how long they had before the angels decided to enter the room. “No. They only answer to Michael. He’s their leader.”

  “What happens if you go back?”

  Gabriel knew exactly what would happen. His brother would find a way to keep him from returning to Earth. He would secretly lock him away somewhere and Yasen would be none the wiser. Michael had no right to keep him from his wards – and Quinn and his family were still his wards.

  Squaring his shoulders, he replied, “I’m not going back.”

  Quinn nodded. “Good, that’s good, Gabe. But we need a plan – now.”

  There was nothing for it. Gabriel knew they had to run. If he faced down the Aeons, Quinn could get hurt in the fray.

  “Let’s grab your stuff. We have to leave.”

  “And go where?” Quinn hissed, stuffing what little he’d unpacked into one of his bags while Gabriel grabbed two more. “If they tracked you here, they can track you anywhere.”

  “I think I can fix that, but not here, not now.”

  Outside, several voices rose and fell in rapid conversation and then someone pounded on the motel door. “Gabriel,” one of the Aeons called. “This is your last chance. Open the door or we will!”

  Horrified, he watched Quinn scuttle across the room to the last bag resting on the battered dresser. Time seemed to slow down, bring everything in sharp detail. Quinn snatched the bag by its nylon straps and had covered half the distance back when the door shattered. Chunks of wood rained down like confetti, floating slowly, as if the air around them had grown as dense as water. Splinters passed like tiny, misshapen angel wings. Gabriel saw every jagged edge, each deadly point. Something grazed his face. The fish-eye lens sailed by, burrowing itself in the refrigerator door.