Far From Center: An Imp World Novel

by Debra Dunbar

  “Tired of my company already?” she teased.

  “I’d rather have your company while walking along the beach, or jet skiing, or scuba diving, not in a tiny windowless room with nothing but hard floor and walls, and a plate of fruit and bread.”

  He placed his hands on the metal door. A light glowed around his fingers and he frowned. “I can see the locking mechanism. Normally I’d just teleport us out of here, or make the door vanish, but since I can’t seem to do that right now, I think I can unlock the door and get it open.”

  “Then what?” Nyalla stood and walked over to him.

  “Then we get you safely back home. I make sure the Tear is never recovered. Then I take care of Tura and Sidriel. All in good time, of course. Getting you safely home is the priority.”

  “But are we even in Aruba anymore? Do you have any way of knowing where we are? If there aren’t any people around to ask, or we don’t know the language, or there isn’t any kind of recognizable landmark, how will we know where we are and how to get out of here? I don’t have my passport with me. You don’t even have a passport.” She was rambling, their predicament starting to sink in. Her bruises hurt, her mouth kept bleeding, she was tired and scared. If she hadn’t been with Gabe it would have been worse.

  With him, even with him deprived of his angelic powers, she felt safe.

  “We have to be on Aruba or close to the island. Tura and Sidriel are probably searching for the Tear as well as the angel you captured. Both are in Aruba, and they’ll want us close enough that they can check on us from time to time. There’s a sort of angelic radar that can tell when we teleport, but we have to be paying attention and actively ‘listening in’, so to speak. I doubt with everything that’s going on among the angelic host if the Grigori are paying enough attention to catch these two, but they’ll not want to risk it by excessive teleportation or using that skill to move over large distances.”

  “Well then they’re stupid. Once Sam gets here, she’ll tear this island apart looking for me. It’s not a big island. She’ll find us.”

  Or not. They still hadn’t found that girl that went missing years ago.

  “There.” The door gave a squawk noise, and Gabe pushed. Light streamed through the crack and into their room. The angel gave them a moment for their eyes to adjust then pushed the door all the way open, They hadn’t been in a bank vault after all, but some sort of bunker built into the side of a hill. Outside was rock and a canyon that dropped down into a huge field of cacti. Nyalla joined Gabe at the door and saw nothing but rock, sand, and the scruffy plants all the way to the horizon.

  It didn’t matter that they didn’t know where they were, because the few bottles of water in the room behind them weren’t enough to take them far. It wasn’t particularly hot out, but the air was dry.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have your cell phone with you?” Gabe asked.

  Nyalla pulled it from her pocket and showed him the blank screen. “I think Sidriel fried it. He seems to know enough about human technology to make sure I didn’t call anyone for help.”

  “Mine is in some back alley.” Gabe surveyed their surroundings. “You’re the expert at being human, how long do you think we can travel on the food and water we have?”

  “Half a day? Maybe a whole day. Somebody built this bunker, and I doubt they would have placed it too far from their house. Plus, if we’re still in Aruba, we’ll have to hit either the ocean or a city in a few hours. The island is only sixty-nine square miles in size.”

  “Aren’t there those people who think the apocalypse is going to occur any day now? They tend to build these things in remote areas. If that’s what this is and we’re in Venezuela, we could be days from any town.”

  “If this was a prepper’s bug-out spot I would have expected there to be food and water stockpiled here.” Nyalla looked inside the small room. “I don’t think this is somebody’s end-of-the-world sanctuary. I think it’s a bomb shelter. People built them back in the fifties and sixties when everyone was afraid the Russians were going to drop a nuclear bomb on the U.S. If that’s the case, then we’d be close enough to a town for people to get out here before a bomb hit.”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Gabe took a few steps forward and stopped. “Well, that was a short trip. Look.”

  Nyalla shook her head. “Look at what?”

  “It’s warded. Sidriel has been either working with a sorcerer, or buying magical items from one. I’m assuming if we trip the ward, it will set off an alarm. I doubt it’s lethal because he wouldn’t want to kill you in case the Iblis wanted further proof that you’re unharmed.”

  “So we trip it and he comes back for us?”

  “Yes. But I think I’ve got enough angel power to get us through a weak spot undetected,”

  “There’s a weak spot?”

  He grinned. “There’s always a weak spot. Go grab what food and water you can carry, just in case we’re in for a long walk.”

  She did as he said, and by the time she’d returned, he was standing near a steep and rocky descent. “Figures. Why couldn’t the weak spot be near the path?”

  “Because just as there’s always a weak spot, it’s never where you want it to be. And this is going to be a bit tricky. When I tell you I need you to squeeze between this Divi Divi tree and hibiscus. Then try not to fall down the hill and into all that cactus.”

  “Yeah, I’ll try not to do that.” She shoved a couple of the water bottles in her waistband, and a fistful of granola bars in various pockets, then stood sideways eyeing the narrow space between the plants. “Ready.”

  “And…..go.”

  She shuffled sideways, letting out her breath once she was carefully perched on the steep rocky decline of the hill. It was then, looking up at Gabe, that she realized he’d never fit between the tree and the hibiscus, at least not without trampling the hibiscus and, no doubt, triggering the ward.

  “Gabe?”

  “Run,” he told her, his expression brooking no argument. “Run, and don’t look back. Find a city, take the next plane out, and don’t stop until you’re safely home with the Iblis.”

  She set her jaw, and this time it was her turn to scowl at the angel. They’d kill him, and he wasn’t strong enough yet to defend himself against two angels. She wasn’t about to run away and leave him to his death. She’d rather die with him.

  “Nyalla.” His voice growled, low and menacing. She knew it was supposed to intimidate her into compliance, but all it did was turn her on and make her all the more determined to not leave his side.

  “No. Get your cute butt over here right now. Then we’ll both run.”

  “I’ll trip the alarm. I’m too big to squeeze through the weak spot, and I can’t alter my physical form. Either you run and get away so I can fight these angels in a few days without worrying about them using you for leverage, or I trip the ward and we both die.”

  “You’ll still worry even if I run,” she countered. “You won’t know whether I’m safe or not. All they’ll need to do is show you some Photoshopped picture of me with my fingers and toes missing, and you’ll back down, you’ll do whatever they want.” She adjusted her stance, sending a shower of rocks down into the cacti below. “If we’re still in Aruba, all they need to do is be watching the airport and they’ll catch me. Gabe, I’d rather die fighting by your side then have them kill you while they beat the stuffing out of me and drag me off to a locked room all by myself for however long it takes them to win Aaru.”

  He took a deep breath. “I’m not happy about this, Nyalla, but I do see your point. Get ready.”

  Nyalla had no time to get ready before he’d launched himself through the space, flattening the hibiscus. The air popped and crackled as he came through. Then he jumped, grabbing her and tucked her close as they fell down the hill.

  It hurt to bounce along the hard ground, sliding through rocks and rough brush. At the bottom he landed first, breaking a saguaro in half and crushing several p
rickly pears.

  “Oww.” He grimaced, jumping up and grabbing her hand. His shirt was smeared with cactus bits and thorns, his arms scratched and bloody. It hurt, but he couldn’t risk healing himself and expending energy that he would most definitely need in the next few minutes at most.

  And as he expected, before they could even turn to run, the air crackled and Tura appeared.

  “You two are more trouble than you’re worth,” he commented, floating down the rocky hillside toward them.

  Gabriel shoved Nyalla behind him. “I won’t let you take her, Tura.”

  The angel laughed. “What are you going to do, hit me with a set of bolt cutters? I’ll admit that was a frightening display of actions completely unworthy of someone who used to be a powerful archangel, but it will take more than that to stop me and you don’t seem to have any bolt cutters handy this time.”

  “I don’t need human tools to stop you, Tura. You’re lucky to have escaped me last time. You won’t be so lucky this time.”

  The angel shot out a whip of energy that snaked around Gabriel’s arm, burning through his flesh to the bone. It held his arm as Tura tugged him forward. He heard Nyalla gasp, felt her grab his other hand.

  Gabe shrugged her off, leaning backward so Tura had to exert himself to drag him forward. The rope of energy smoked, filling the air with the smell of heat and burning flesh. Tura’s smile grew wide as Gabe stood before him.

  “Kneel,” he commanded.

  “No.” Gabriel responded, shrugging off the compulsion that would have had him on his knees if he’d been human.

  Tura blinked. “Kneel,” he ordered, putting every bit of his power behind the word.

  Gabe gritted his teeth, fighting against what he should have easily been able to resist. “No.”

  “Then I’ll just have to kill you as you stand.”

  He heard Nyalla cry out and prayed that she stayed where she was. Ignoring the pain in his arm, he summoned every ounce of power available to him and shoved it outward.

  “I think not.”

  Wings shot from his back, snowy-white and nearly twenty feet across. Gabe felt his physical form shimmer and knew that he was glowing, his eyes like silver-blue ice. The rope of energy left his arm, and Tura jumped backward, stumbling and falling on his rear as he shielded his eyes.

  Gabe towered over the traitor, then he shot out a hand to grip Tura by the neck, raising him in the air.

  “I demand a hearing. I demand to present my case before the head of my choir and the Ruling Council,” Tura choked out. “Procedure. Protocol. Established and followed by Angels of Order for billions of years.”

  “I’ve decided not to follow the rules today.” Gabe gripped the spirit-self behind the angel’s form, and began to slowly shred Tura from the legs upward. “Today, Tura, I will be your judge and jury. I pronounce you guilty of treason and sentence you to death.”

  The angel screamed, His legs and torso crumbling. The screams turned to shrieks and wails until suddenly he went silent, nothing left of the angel known as Tura beyond a pile of sand.

  And now Gabe fell to his knees, wings fading from view.

  Hands gripped his shoulders, stroking his back with tentative, trembling fingers. “By the Goddess, Gabe. I thought for sure he was going to kill you. I thought I’d lost you forever.”

  He turned to smile at her, the ground tilting around him. “Never underestimate me, Nyalla. I am a mighty and powerful archangel.

  A mighty and powerful archangel who was slurring his words and near passing out.

  Nyalla eyed him with concern. “Are you okay?”

  He gave her a thumbs-up. No, wait. That wasn’t his thumb, that was a different finger, and he was pretty sure that gesture meant something else entirely. “Okay. And we’re going to hike out of here and get you on the next plane off the island. Just as soon as I take a little nap here on this cactus.”

  She laughed, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him. “I’ll stand watch while you nap. And so help me Goddess, I don’t care if I have to steal a passport from some poor tourist, we’re both leaving on the next plane out of here. You, me, and Terrelle, because there’s no way I’m going anywhere without you, Gabe. I’m not leaving you. Not ever.”

  “Good.” He slumped down on top of a bed of prickly pear. “Because I’m not leaving you either.”

  Chapter 28

  “I know you’re there.” Nyalla continued to read her magazine, a tiny smile twitching up one side of her mouth. “Sam went out and won’t be back for hours. Come out.”

  The pool water launched upward into a column, branching out to form a humanoid shape before shimmering into Gabriel’s human form. He walked across the top of the water, stepping out onto the edge of the pool. His footsteps left wet marks, his body glistening with drops of water. He’d even manifested a bathing suit, which Nyalla found amusing as there was no one here except the two of them. Well, unless you counted Boomer and Diablo down in the barn. Oh, and Dalmai who seemed to be permanent assigned to stable duty.

  He knelt by her side and she put the magazine on a side table, lifting her sunglasses and leaning back in the lounge chair. He was so gorgeous. So very gorgeous. And all angel.

  “I brought you something.”

  He had an earnest expression, open, honest, and vulnerable. Nyalla felt her heart clench. She loved him. But loving a human was different than loving an angel, and that was different than loving an archangel. They had a rough road ahead of them, and she wasn’t sure if he’d find the effort worth it.

  He said he wanted to watch the beauty of her life, her sunset, but would that be enough for her? Would it be enough for him?

  “Here.” He stretched out his hand. There was a flash of light. And held gingerly between two fingers was the collar.

  “Oh!” She took it from him, noticing how he shuddered and wiped his hand on his swim trunks. “How did you… Oh Gabe, you found Sidriel?”

  He nodded, his expression suddenly grim. “It took me a while. But when I did I made sure to take the collar from him.”

  And give it to her. This thing was a bane to both demons and angels alike, but he knew how having something so powerful made her better able to go up against such beings.

  “Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “And I assume that Sam will be complaining about how she needs to attend an emergency Ruling Council meeting to vote on how to punish the traitor?”

  “No. Unfortunately Sidriel did not surrender, and during my attempts to bring him in, he was killed. My report was promptly completed within the hour and submitted for review at the next regularly scheduled Ruling Council meeting. I’m sure they will find it satisfactory.”

  That didn’t bother her one bit. She ran her fingers over the silver of the collar, then slid it under her lounge chair. “Beach this weekend? We can sail or take some kayaks out.”

  “Unfortunately I’ll be too busy this weekend.”

  All the excitement over seeing him drained away. He was busy. He’d always be busy. She’d need to make do with the little scraps of time every year or so that he could pull together. She knew it would be like this, but deep down she’d hoped things between them might be different.

  “Aren’t you going to ask what I’m doing this weekend?” His fingers brushed down her arm, the light touch both tickling her skin and electrifying each nerve ending.

  “Tracking down more rebels? Assisting with the elven assimilation? Reading through a gazillion pages of reports for the next Ruling Council meeting?”

  His fingers were now tracing circles on her stomach, making her want to do less talking and more…this.

  “No, I’m going to be viewing the Great Barrier Reef with my beloved before the humans completely destroy it. And we won’t have need of snorkels, but she’ll be able to breathe underwater without a problem.”

  She caught her breath, then let out a squeal, throwing her arms around his neck. She’d get to teleport. She’d get to experience something she�
�d been longing to see since she first saw that glossy travel brochure. And she’d get to do it with Gabe — the man...angel that she loved with all of her heart and soul.

  “So you’re back to full power then?” She asked when she finally pulled back from him.

  “One hundred percent angel,” he told her.

  Nyalla glanced behind her to the rows of French doors. “You know, Sam won’t be back for a while and we have time, if you’d like to go upstairs to my room.”

  He followed her gaze, a slight frown on his face. Oh no. Was sex off the menu now that he was one hundred percent angel? Was that something she’d have to learn to live without?

  “I mean no offense, Nyalla, but your room… I’m sure it’s just as much of a disaster as the hotel room in Aruba — worse probably. I will never be able to concentrate on making love to you with your clothing balled up all over the floor and make-up smears on your dresser, and your sheets untucked.”

  Nyalla laughed. He was the same Gabe. He was the exact same Gabriel she’d fallen in love with. “Well then, you organize my room to your satisfaction while I watch, then we’ll make love. What do you think?”

  He stood, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. “I think, as you humans say, we have a plan.”

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thanks to my copyeditor Jennifer Cosham whose eagle eyes catch all my typos and keep my comma problem in line, and to Claudia at Phatpuppy art, for cover design.

  Most of all, thanks to my children, who have suffered many nights of microwaved chicken nuggets and take-out pizza so that Mommy can follow her dream.

  About the Author

  Debra lives in a little house in the woods of Maryland with her sons and two slobbery bloodhounds. On a good day, she jogs and horseback rides, hopefully managing to keep the horse between herself and the ground. Her only known super power is 'Identify Roadkill'.

  @debra_dunbar