by L. L Hunter
Time seemed to slow.
When Melody withdrew and stepped back from him, he reached for her. It was a reflex, as if he had lost a part of him.
“We should… we should go find our rooms and get ready for dinner.”
“Yeah,” Gabe whispered as Melody hurried up the rest of the stairs and into the corridor leading to the guest rooms.
Asher and Eden shared Eden’s old room, of course. The door was shut when Gabe and Melody walked by. Again, he didn’t want to think about what they were doing behind that closed door. So Gabe decided to give her his old room, and he took Asher’s room. Gabe opened the door to the room for her and waited outside. He couldn’t get her words out of his head. He really should say something, question her about what she meant. Was she legitimately worried about him because she cared? That must be it. Melody paused on the threshold, took a step inside, and then spun to face him.
“Gabe?”
“Hmm?” He looked up into her sparkling brown eyes, her eyes captivating with a lilac-coloured ring of light surrounding the iris. She was so beautiful. His heart thumped wildly in anticipation of her words.
“That kiss before…”
“What about it?”
Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.
He felt his heart might explode because it was beating so strongly.
“We’re not supposed to kiss our Tasks or fall in love with them. But something about you makes me want to break all the rules.” She stepped forward, and her lips pressed against his again. They were as soft as feathers. “You’re special and strong, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you.”
“It’s okay,” he replied in a whisper. “You don’t have to. We can protect each other.”
He stepped into her room and kissed her harder, pushing her against the wooden door, but Melody placed a hand on his chest and pushed him, stopping him.
“We shouldn’t. We have to get ready for dinner.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t?” he teased, grinning wildly. Melody let out a breath and pushed him out of the room.
“We can’t. I… I’ll see you soon, Gabe.”
Then she closed the door in his face, and Gabe was left wondering what the heck had just happened.
Melody couldn’t believe she’d just done that. She couldn’t believe she had just kissed her Task—her assignment, the Nephilim she was meant to guard. Stupid, stupid, stupid! But she couldn’t help it. There was something about Gabe she couldn’t resist. She sighed and headed to the bathroom adjoining her luxurious room.
The guest rooms at the Nephilim Palace were more like royal suites. She stripped off and turned on the shower. She walked back into the bedroom and found her suitcase waiting on the vast queen bed. One of the staff members must have brought her bags up, or divine magic was used. She rifled through her things, well, Mackenzie’s things, the human she had asked to inhabit while here on duty.
She found a simple emerald green dress that was form-fitted, one that reminded her of Gabe’s eyes, and laid it out on the bed with some clean underwear. Then she walked back into the steam-filled bathroom and stepped under the soothing hot spray of the shower.
She tipped her head back and sighed.
What was she going to do?
She was scared the new Goddess would cancel her mission and assignment and call her back to the Realm of Fire and punish her for falling in love with her Task. But then she remembered that Scarlett’s soul mate, Dyston Blackbell, had once been tasked to watch over Scarlett and had fallen for her. So they couldn’t punish Melody for doing the same. Still, Melody had always followed the rules. She always did what was asked of her. It seemed strange she would be placed with a Nephilim that would make her want to rebel. Perhaps this was a test, she thought, standing straighter with her new epiphany. Yes, this was most definitely a test.
Chapter 13
Once everyone was seated at the dining table and then served their entrée and drinks, Beth began with the reason they were all there—the escaped souls and Samson’s plan. Gabe panned his gaze around the table and took in every single face seated there. Lakyn and Rachael were next to Eden and Asher. Rachael smiled at Gabe.
Next to Asher was Melody, in the seat beside him. When he met her gaze, she glanced away. His heart sank.
What had he done?
They’d been kissing only a few minutes ago, and now she seemed to be ignoring him.
On his other side was a man, an angel Gabe had met once before. He now saw him as kind of a father figure—Samuel, Max’s grandfather. Samuel had helped him and Max develop and understand their traits so they could take down Lucifer. Samuel was an Archangel—one of the original Arc of Nine and was very powerful. Samuel nodded at Gabe and sipped his wine. He guessed he was here because what they were about to do was very dangerous and important.
Gabe continued his way around the table and noticed two empty chairs. He was about to ask someone who they were for when the doors to the dining room opened, and in walked two familiar faces—a woman with hair like fire and a man with dark brown eyes and dark hair. Scarlett and Dyston. And just as he suspected, they took their places in the empty chairs at the table.
“Welcome, Scarlett, and my son, Dyston,” said Beth.
“We’re happy to be here,” said Scarlett. “When we heard what had happened, we felt personally responsible and had to do something. Max wanted this role so badly, and it is not his fault some of the tainted souls have escaped the Realm of Death.”
Dyston nodded. “If these tainted souls are truly searching for Samson, then we’re going to do everything in our power to stop that from happening.”
“I, too, feel responsible for these events,” added Samuel. “It was I who placed Samson in the Realm of Ice. I should have destroyed his soul when I had the chance.”
“Let’s not blame ourselves for these occurrences,” said Beth. “We need to work together to find these souls and return them to the Realm of Death before they start possessing the bodies of humans and Nephilim and causing all manner of destruction and mayhem.”
“We also need to find Samson and kill the son of a devil. That bastard needs a punishment worse than the Realm of Ice. He clearly thrived in that hell hole,” added Eden, which received a warning glare from Lakyn. She shrugged it off.
“Speaking of chaos, mayhem, and the son of the devil, I think I found him,” said Asher. The room fell silent as Asher turned his phone around to show everyone. It was a news report. It showed a pretty young Nephilim reporter standing outside of Westminster Abbey in London.
“I come to you now outside of Westminster Abbey with breaking news. I am standing just a few metres away from what appears to be an apparent terrorist attack. A car exploded and flipped into the air, killing its occupants.”
An explosion goes off nearby, and the reporter ducks for cover. Screams ring out, and people start running down the street.
“It appears there has been another explosion, another bomb. This time… Oh God!” The camera cut from the reporter’s face to a shot of a man standing in the middle of the street holding a machine gun. The reporter screamed as the man opened fire on people and cars around him. One of the bullets hit the camera, and the screen went fuzzy.
Asher put down his phone slowly. His face paled, and he looked sick. He heard a whimper, and Gabe looked over to see Scarlett with her face buried in Dyston’s neck. Beth sat with her hands covering her mouth while Eden and Melody just looked furious. Like they wanted to burst out of their chairs and go after the terrorists themselves. But Gabe, he knew these men who had just killed innocent people weren’t ordinary terrorists.
“There’s something more to this,” he stated. Everyone turned to look at him.
He pulled out his own phone and began googling, ‘sudden increases in crime worldwide’.
He scrolled down the list of web hits and dismissed ones he thought didn’t relate to demonic activity or tainted souls. Then found one that fit.
“Hey, guys?
Check this out. I think I found something.”
“What is it?” asked Beth.
Gabe began to read the news report.
“It was reported that just last night, a total of fifty rapes occurred overnight in the London CBD.” He scrolled down and was shocked to read similar reports from all over the world. “Sixty in Sydney Australia. A hundred and twenty-two in Los Angeles. And almost every shop in Berlin was broken into. All of this since we found out the tainted souls had escaped the Realm of Death.”
“This is definitely the work of sinners and tainted souls. Or demons possessed by tainted souls,” added Dyston.
“It’s worse than I thought,” said Beth. “It means we need all the help we can get to put a stop to this.” She turned to Melody. “Melody, can you call on your fellow guardian angels?” Then she turned to Scarlett, Dyston, Lakyn, and Rachael. And last but not least, the rest of them. “We need to call on all our friends and allies. And we need Max and Abraham.”
Scarlett and Dyston rose. “We will go to them. We’ll also call Kat and Jacob and Emer.”
“Thank you.” Beth smiled as everyone finished their meals and set off on their assignments. Once Scarlett, Dyston, Lakyn, Rachael, and Samuel had left, as well as Asher and Eden not long after, Gabe rose from the table and hesitated near Melody’s chair. She finished her food and stood to make her way out of the dining room.
“Melody? Can we talk?”
“Not now, Gabe. I have to go back to the Realm of Fire and gather my fellow guardians.”
He bowed his head in disappointment. “Okay.”
He expected her to come to him and hug him at least, but she just walked away and left him feeling lost and abandoned.
Was it selfish of him to demand she come back to protect him? Wasn’t she meant to be his guardian? She wasn’t supposed to leave him. Rejected and confused, he made his way upstairs to his room to pack. He had no idea what he was supposed to do or where he was meant to go, so he just waited in his room for someone to come get him, whenever that may be.
Chapter 14
Max stood in the centre of the fog-filled graveyard and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths in and out to centre himself. And then he called the souls to him. He lifted his hands and faced his palms up. He smiled when he heard the small whizzing sounds of the souls approaching. He opened his eyes and saw a green soul hovering in front of him. He smiled and tried to coax the soul into his hand. But the envious soul did not move. It hovered in front of his face and then flew away. It was as if it was saying, “Sorry, but I’m returning to my true master. You’re a fraud.”
Then he heard a slow clap behind him. He turned to see Abraham walking toward him from the cottage. He was smirking at him.
“Well done, Little Blackbell. You’ve lost another one.”
“I’m trying, okay? I can’t help it if they don’t like me.” Max sighed and slumped onto the top of the nearest headstone. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I’m too pure.”
“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I have an idea. You’d like to keep this job, yes?”
“Yes. This is my destiny. I was born to do this.”
“Then you need to learn how to make the souls of the sinners like you. You need to learn how to become a little less pure.”
Max didn’t like this idea. He wanted to stay true to himself, but he was failing at his destiny. He was failing in life. He needed to do something before he became an embarrassment. It wouldn’t look good when everyone found out that the son of the God and Goddess of the universe had failed at his destiny.
He looked up at Abraham.
“What do you have in mind?”
Abraham smirked and planted a firm hand on Max’s shoulder.
“I’m going to take you where you can learn from the best. What if I told you the devil’s son needs an apprentice?”
The door to the black London cab opened, and Eden stepped out into the cool, overcast day. It was almost dawn by the time she and Asher had landed back in London. They had a job to do, and Eden and Asher were the only ones with connections to the Realm of Death. So they were tasked with collecting Max and Abraham and bringing them back to the palace. Then they could begin rounding up the lost souls of the sinners before they caused any more havoc.
Eden and Asher made their way to the mausoleum, which posed as the entrance to the Realm of Death. They descended the dark and dingy steps into the Death Realm. But when they reached the vine-covered cottage, they found no one at home.
“Max? Abraham? Jazmine? Hello?” Eden called. Asher ran around the back and tried the doors and windows before returning to the front.
“Nothing. No one’s answering, and everything’s locked up,” he said.
“That’s so strange.” Eden ran her hands through her long brown hair and tugged on the ends in frustration. “When I was here, Abraham never locked up. I don’t know about Max, but this place is never this abandoned. Something’s going on.”
“I agree. Something doesn’t feel right.”
Eden tried the front door again and an idea formed in her mind. She put her hand over the doorknob. And just as she thought it would, the knob began to glow and get warm. The door clicked and fell open.
“Ha!” she exclaimed. Asher turned and looked at her in confusion and wonderment.
“What did you do?”
“Well, since I still have reaper blood and used to be the Grim Reaper’s apprentice and have crossed into this realm before, I thought the house might remember me. I remembered Abraham once saying something about when you are connected to this realm that you never need a key to unlock it. I thought he might mean a literal key as well. And whaddya know, it worked!”
Asher stepped forward and kissed her. “You’re a genius, and I love you.”
“I love you too. Let’s find my cousin and that smug bastard reaper and his skank of a lover.”
They entered the cottage cautiously. Eden had been allowed to keep the blade that had been used to destroy Lucifer’s soul—a gift from her uncle Dyston and father. She brought out the glittering white blade and held it in front of her.
When they entered the small lounge area, they found dying embers in the fireplace and an open book lying face down on one of the wingback chairs. Asher walked over to the chair and picked up the book.
‘“The Sin Harvest,”’ he read. “Hey, Eden. Look at this book. It looks like a journal.”
“Let me see.” Eden met him by the fireplace and took the ancient leather-wrapped journal from his hands. She studied it from cover to cover and gasped.
“This is Abraham’s personal journal. I knew it existed, but he never let me read it. It was always locked up in a drawer in his office.”
“I wonder if Max has read it. If this thing is so special to Abraham, he wouldn’t leave it just lying around,” said Asher.
“You’re right. Max must have been reading this to help him learn how to harvest souls and call them to him.”
“But where are all the souls? There should be some at least floating around upstairs or in the graveyard. Should we check downstairs in the cellar?”
“No. I have a feeling we won’t need to. I have a feeling there won’t be any souls down there.”
“Perhaps that’s where Abraham and Jazmine have taken Max? To collect all the souls?”
“No. Something doesn’t feel right. The souls that are already harvested and stored can’t escape. Someone let them out.” Eden dropped the book back on the chair and walked over to the kitchen counter, where she found a map and an address scribbled on a piece of notepaper lying next to the map. She then turned to face Asher.
“None of the souls escaped. Someone let them all out and then pinned it on Max. I know who it is, and I have a feeling we’ll find our answers at this address,” Eden said, holding up the piece of paper between them. Asher swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He had the same feeling.
Chapter 15
&
nbsp; Melody touched down in the Realm of Fire and made her way to the Hall of Songs—her home. She was raised as an Angel of the Realm of Fire, and growing up, she always knew she wanted to be a guardian angel. Her mother and father were guardians, and so she was happy when she received her task.
The Hall of Songs was a separate building situated behind the golden palace. It was where angels trained and also where they received their tasks and assignments. It was where their wings would be laid to rest when their time was up, as well, or if they were killed in battle. Melody found her friends, the ones who currently were waiting on assignments, lounging around the private pool in the Hall of Songs.
“Aria, Chordelia, there you are,” called Melody as she walked into the pool area. Her friends looked up and smiled. Chordelia, the bubbliest of the three friends, leapt from her deck chair and ran into Melody’s arms.
“You’re back!” Chordelia hugged her friend tight and spun her around before setting her feet back on the ground. She stepped back, so she was at arm’s length. “Wait, is everything okay? Is your assignment okay? Because we’ve been hearing whispers about an impending war and Lucifer’s son.”
“Chord, how I’ve missed you. You too, Aria. My assignment is fine—for now. But that’s why I’ve returned. I need your help.”
“Whatever you need, sweetie. We’re here,” said Aria. Her long blonde hair floated in the soft breeze as she got up from her seat and came to hug Melody.
Melody looked at both her best friends and took a deep breath before telling them everything. Well, everything apart from her kiss with Gabe. She was pretty sure she would go to the Realm of Ice for that. Falling in love with your assignment was strictly forbidden. She wasn’t sure how her friends would react.