“I think I upset him,” JD said. Meagan looked at her sympathetically.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
JD shrugged and Meagan led her to the kitchen, away from the playing children.
“What happened?” Meagan asked quietly, leaning forward.
JD shared briefly what had happened in concluding with the promise Nathan said he had made. Meagan’s face became unreadable as she nodded, then reached out to lay a comforting hand on Julia’s shoulder.
“Don’t take what he said personally, Julia. Nathan has duties he has sworn to and if he breaks his promise than it would be a very bad situation for everyone involved. Trust him, ok?”
“Are you in on this secret, then?” JD asked, apprehensively.
Meagan shook her head. “No, of course not. It’s not my business or place to know the workings of the Host.”
JD gave her friend a dubious look. “I wish someone would let me in on the secret. I hate secrets and secret promises.” She stood to leave. “I’m going back to work, I’ll be back later.” Meagan gave her a hug goodbye with parting words, “Keep your head clear. The answers will come.”
***
The next morning, and every morning after that for the next few weeks, JD went to the site under the protective watch of a pair of Guardians that Nathan had arranged, only now, she could see them, but only as a thin pillar of light that went everywhere she did. She learned how to control her gift and with a little practice, she could shut it off completely by blinking her eyes as rapidly as if clearing her vision. To bring it back, she merely had to close her eyes for a bit and will it to return to see as a Fallen.
Matthew never made an appearance during the following weeks, but she could sense him always nearby. Sometimes, during the quiet of the day, she could hear him whisper her name, and it would elicit a thrill of fear and excitement in her. Matthew haunted her thoughts. At times, she thought she could glimpse him in the shadows in the schoolhouse, or under the tress that lined Main Street whenever she came to work in the morning or left late at night. JD found that she was remembering the earlier days of their acquaintance and how much fun and excitement they had. Then she would remember his touch and warm embraces, and most importantly, the way he kissed her and the things he had promised. She tried to focus on the day-to-day demands of her job, but nothing could distract her from the irrational pain inside of losing the Matthew she had fallen in love with.
Matthew was teasing her, tempting her to abandon everything and come to him as he waited just outside of the protective bounds of the Guardians. A small, wicked thought crept into JD’s mind−that she was free to break and run and meet Matthew whenever she wanted, but the threat of the False One waiting in the wings, kept her feet firmly planted on the ground of common sense.
JD couldn’t look at the schoolhouse without seeing Matthew in her mind−coming out the door with the sledgehammer across his shoulder, his cowboy hat cocked to one side, his grin, and a wink. A few times, she caught a whiff of his fragrance when she stepped into the schoolhouse, and her hands began to tremble. She began to feel a longing for his embraces and kisses again.
But then, there was Nathan. He continued his nightly rounds, always leaving just before she arrived and passing her on the road, not looking at her. It hurt deeply, knowing that she was starting to have feelings for him, but he could not, would not return them because of what she was and what she had done with Matthew.
Why was it so easy to detest Matthew in L.A. and to vow to cut him off? But now that she was back in Torrey, in a place she had come to associate with Matthew, why was she having such a hard time sticking to her resolve? His presence felt so tantalizingly close, it made her ache inside. What was he waiting for?
Chapter 21
The months passed in a blur of activity. Winter gave way to spring and the renovations of the Schoolhouse were turning out to be more beautiful than JD had imagined. Problems still arose from time to time, but there was no more vandalism thanks to Nathan’s constant vigilance. JD had settled into her daily routine of work, at times catching herself spending long hours at the office and thinking of Gramps. She had to laugh at herself as she realized she was becoming like him. She countered that by forcing herself to leave at 5 o’clock every evening and going straight Meagan’s place to help fix dinner and tend to the kids. Roy was never around, but when he was, he kept quiet and aloof, often in his office on the computer or downstairs practicing with his swords. Nathan never made an appearance at home, even though JD had commented on that fact, hoping that perhaps word would get to him that she noticed he was avoiding her. It didn’t make a difference. For all she knew, he had vanished altogether.
And the project went on. The last few weeks of the project were agonizing, but when the morning came that JD could make that phone call to Rick and let him know that the project was complete under budget and two weeks ahead of schedule−she was exultant. One last tour of the new bed and breakfast that evening and JD began to feel the burden of the project lift from her shoulders. It was almost over. Her bags were packed, and she’d be leaving after the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the morning.
JD locked up the schoolhouse after the final walkthrough with X? He congratulated her and signed off on some paperwork. “Beautiful job,” he said, shook her hand and left.
Satisfied with herself and the completion of the schoolhouse, JD strode to her brand new, fire engine red truck – a bonus she had given to herself as part owner of the construction company. “A double chocolate brownie milkshake sounds appropriate right now,” she told herself. JD grasped the handle of the truck door, and turned once more to look at the bed and breakfast, to cement the image of her first successful project in her mind. Then something odd happened. The door handle moved. She turned and looked down at it and noticed the truck tires looked a bit flat. Something scraped on top of the cab of the truck, and her head snapped up.
Shock locked her response as she took in the enormous figure perched on top of the cab, its weight crushing the top of the cab. With wings as black as tar that soaked up the sunlight and heaved slowly about his muscular form, a demon leered at her. Its head was huge−his face was carved at angles, and its horns looked as if they had erupted through the flesh at its temples. His eyes were flaming red, and his mouth curled back in a beastly snarl. Long, black hair whipped about in the breeze its wings created. It wasn’t until she spotted the tattoo around his bicep that she realized it was Matthew. That thought alone broke the power the demon had over her immobilized body.
“Well, if it isn’t my guardian demon,” she said sarcastically, fighting to remain calm and levelheaded.
“Missed you, too.” He flashed a smile and squatted down to get closer to her.
“Go away,” she ordered, backing away.
“Not without you, sweetheart,” he snarled and lunged for her.
JD spun around and scrambled across the gravel parking lot for the front door of the schoolhouse, remembering Nathan had told her to go there if Matthew ever made another attempt for her again.
Using her truck as a launching pad, Matthew leaped into the air, mouth opened wide as he let out an ear-splitting roar. The concussion of the sound nearly knocked her to the ground. As she stumbled and tried to regain her balance, Matthew swooped down to grab her. She felt the heat of his anger before wind rushed up behind her. She spun away, going down hard on her backside. Matthew missed snatching her by a whisper, and he swerved sharply to the right to come around for another try. But she had gained her feet, having kicked off her cursed heels, and bolted across the narrow parking lot through the iron gates.
The gates hardly deterred Matthew as he sailed over them, but he came down too late on the other side as she slammed the front door and bolted it. She backed into the middle of the large open space of the reception area, waiting for Matthew’s next move, and prayed Nathan was right that Matthew couldn’t enter.
Matthew assaulted the building with everything he had, causing the chandeliers
to shudder and sway. JD anxiously looked about the room for cracks in the walls or any other damage. The building was holding together, thanks to Rick’s ingenious engineering. She intended to tell Rick that he had been successful with his engineering design, but then it occurred to her that he might have difficulty understanding how she knew.
JD heard Matthew roar again, followed by a solid thud against the door. She could only imagine the havoc he was wrecking on the exterior of the building. She gritted her teeth, frantically searching for a solution to end his assault. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow morning, and she intended to present the Blackwell’s with a gorgeous, pristine building.
An idea sprang to mind. She spun around and darted up the grand staircase to the third floor. She sprinted down the hallway, noting that Matthew’s assaults were muted. She reached the end of the hall and turned the corner to where the fire exit door stood. She went to the door and peeked out the small glass window. The bell rope hung just outside the door. Matthew swooped by just then, but he didn’t see her. He started battering the back door, just below where she stood. She cringed and berated herself for designing the bell rope to hang outside. What was she thinking?
She pushed open the door just a crack and glanced down at Matthew who furiously attacked the building, shouting and cursing unintelligibly. JD reached and grabbed the rope, but quickly realized she would need both hands to get the bell ringing. She pushed the door open and braced it with her foot as she snatched the rope with her other hand and with all her strength, hauled on it.
The bell clanged, once, then twice. Matthew’s head jerked in her direction. She gave him the barest of glances as she ducked back inside. He was there an instant later, clawing and thrashing at the door. If the clanging bell didn’t attract a crowd that would hopefully scare Matthew off, then perhaps it would at least alert Roy and Nathan.
JD dashed downstairs again, praying that Roy or Nathan heard the bell ringing. “Please, please, please,” she prayed, fighting back the terror and the tears. Long moments seemed to drag by as Matthew tore around the building, assaulting every weak point he could find, and those were mostly the windows. She ducked when the first of the windows exploded inward. He can’t enter, he can’t, she assured herself, hiding in the corner where the wall butted against the grand staircase, she waited for help that may or may not come.
Sirens sounded in the distance. JD wasn’t sure if she could trust her ears as Matthew started on the upper windows, kicking them in one at a time. She trotted over to the front doors, and opened them just a crack. A police cruiser raced toward the building.
Matthew must have seen it, too as the sounds of shattering glass stopped. Just as Roy skidded into the parking lot, JD bolted from the building, seeking the safety she knew he could give her. But just as she reached the iron gates, Roy jumped from his car, shouting at her to get down. She knew instinctively that Matthew was above her. She dropped instantly to the ground and covered her head, catching a momentary view of Roy brandishing a sword, and racing toward her.
Chapter 22
JD didn’t move fast enough, Matthew snatched her around her waist, and hugged her to his chest. In doing so, her necklace was knocked from beneath her shirt and grazed the skin of his forearm. Matthew jerked his arm back, dropping her. She didn’t have time to think about what had just happened. When he let go of her, she fell face first into the gravel. JD twisted around, spitting gravel as Roy shouted from somewhere nearby.
Matthew roared and reached for JD as she made another attempt to get to Roy. Matthew flailed trying to grasp onto her, as she twisted and turned, trying to avoid his grasping claws. Finally, catching her by the ankle, Matthew surged upward just as Roy came pelting across the gravel walkway inside the gated courtyard. She screamed as she twisted in the air, feeling the rush of wind and seeing the building’s exterior wall rush past her.
Roy could not follow them and stared after them helpless, thanks to his human weakness. JD stared down at him and began to feel dizzy and faint as the blood rushed to her head. She closed her eyes. Screaming, she realized, would accomplish nothing except to make her run out of breath and lose consciousness. She tipped her chin toward her chest to look up at Matthew at the same time he glanced down at her, a wicked grin splitting his dark countenance. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said.
“Matthew, please don’t do this!” she begged. The wind rushing into her face, made it difficult to breath as his wings created a near constant gale force wind. Matthew leaned forward and drew her up against him, holding her like a baby against his chest, hard and cold as a windowpane in winter. His grip was firm, pinning her right arm between them, with her hand against her grandparent’s wedding bands pressed against her chest. Her eyes stung from the cold and the wind.
“Matthew, let me go!” she cried.
Matthew looked down at her briefly.
“No,” he said.
“Please Matthew. Don’t do this. Please!” she sobbed. Matthew did not answer as he flew steadily towards the setting sun. Every mile that he put between him and Roy, JD felt the chances of her rescue diminish. It was up to her to rescue herself she decided.
“Matthew?”
His glistening black eyes slid to look at her. When he blinked, she saw an inner membrane trail after, reminding her of a feline; a creature accustomed to darkness. She resisted a shiver.
“Remember when you kissed me for the first time?”
Matthew flinched. It was enough to embolden her. “Remember? On the cliffs over looking Torrey just after the fourth of July?”
“Stop,” he said suddenly, giving her a hard look.
“Matthew,” she said quickly, “I loved you.” She held his gaze as long as she could. Matthew just stared at her. She wriggled her arm free and reached up to stroke his face. “Please. Let’s just fly away, you and me. Let’s do what we talked about. Remember? Taking a break after the project was complete and driving up to the Uintahs. You were going to take me hiking through, there. Remember?” JD could see confusion and uncertainty in his eyes as the beating of his wings slowed.
“I can’t,” he said quietly. Her heart constricted, not because she had failed to convince him, but the timbre of his voice betrayed him. She could hear the desire in his voice, but something had a fast hold on him.
“Matthew, is this, what you truly want?” She looked him over. “Don’t you have any feelings for me?”
“I…” he started to say, then shook his head firmly. “No. I do as Quabin commands,” he said, and with a powerful surge of his muscles, his wings beat furiously as if trying to make up for lost time in the momentary distraction. They moved faster through the chilly spring air, and Matthew’s body was nothing more than a block of ice against her skin.
No wonder hell is described as fire and brimstone, JD thought grimly. It’s the only way the demons and their ilk can stay warm. JD felt her extremities grow cold, her finger tips already numb. She was sure she was going to die of hypothermia. She brought her other arm up to wrap around herself, to conserve heat as Matthew’s grip had loosened once he realized she wasn’t going to fight to be free anymore. How could she? There wasn’t anyone around to catch her if she fell, even if she managed to wriggle free of his grasp.
Then, unexpectedly, Matthew growled, “If I remained in this form, would you love me?” JD drew in a breath and forced herself not to hesitate.
“Yes,” she blurted, seeing that her words had managed to break through his ice-cold heart. She reached up and put her hand on his shoulder and carefully pulled herself into an upright position in his arms, carefully wrapping her legs around his waist. Coming eyelevel with him, she laid her chilled hands on either side of his face as he slid his hands under her upper thighs to support her. She looked long into his eyes, searching for a sign that the Matthew she had fallen for was still in there somewhere. She saw but a momentary flash of longing in his eyes, a pleading for her to reach out to him. She kissed him. Matthew’s wings slowed in the
ir frantic hurry, and his arms moved to tighten around her.
With her eyes closed, it was her sweet-eyed, dimpled Matthew with the sweaty t-shirt and the dust of plaster on his hair and shoulders she was kissing. But then something warm and wet coated her tongue, tasting of blood. She jerked away. The thin skin of her lips had torn against the cold, firm surface of his. Matthew, his eyes closed, licked the blood from his lips. He opened his eyes slowly and shook his head. “I could never love you in this form.” He said and drew her tenderly against his chest.
“Then change back. Come back to me as that Matthew I fell in love with,” she pled.
“Like this?” Instantly, he was her Matthew again, and they were suddenly plummeting toward the earth. Her initial surprise at seeing Matthew’s human form only momentarily deflected the realization that he no longer had wings to keep them aloft. JD screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. Instantly, he sprouted wings again, and sweat beaded his brow. “I can only hold my former form for a little while and with great expense of my energy, JD. But, I would do it for you.”
She found hope in his words. “Then you won’t take me to Quabin?”
Matthew laughed and morphed into his full demon form. “Quabin is expecting you. If I fail to bring you back…” he paused and shook his head as he looked away, “I wouldn’t dare to disappoint Quabin.”
JD slumped in Matthews arm, realizing now that he was totally under Quabin’s control. It didn’t matter if he loved her or not, he was loyal only to Quabin. JD considered her options as the sky turned dark in a moonless night. She would not go to Quabin willingly, and if she had to choose between hell and death, as Nathan had explained all those months ago, she would choose death.
As Matthew hugged her close, she felt the wedding bands pressed against her chest again. She remembered that something had hurt him when he had first grabbed her back at the schoolhouse. She looked to the side at his arm and saw a reddish welt across his granite like skin, in the shape of two circles. Then it dawned on her - the rings had grazed his skin, and he had reacted as if it had burned him. Could these rings have some sort of power in them? She recalled that the words inscribed on them were, “My Forever Angel” and “Angel Heart”. JD reached into her blouse and wrapped her fingers around the bands and pulled sharply on the chain, snapping it. Sure of her grasp on the rings, she let the chain slip between her fingers and fall away. Her movements alerted Matthew and he looked down just as she slapped both rings against the side of his mouth.
If I Fall...: Will You Forgive Me? (Angelore Saga Book 2) Page 12