by KC Bellinger
“Protective spells. Sorry, I forgot. Jaiten couldn’t step onto the property either.”
Arwyn narrowed her eyes at me. “I didn’t know you were so powerful with your spells. Why didn’t you tell me? If I had any idea—”
“Save it, I didn’t set them in place. Dustyn did.”
Killian started to cross into the yard until Arwyn called him back. I wondered why he was going to try when he’d just seen Arwyn get thrown. Was he that dense or was I missing something?
“Humans, inside and other-worldly, out!” Arwyn ordered.
Justin followed behind me. I could feel his nervous energy, so I took his hand.
“It’s just my family—they’re nice.”
“Not helping, Whitney.”
“Why?”
“Here it is, late at night, you are supposed to be at school, and I am holding the hand of Hewitt White’s daughter. What isn’t there to be nervous about?”
“Well, when you put it that way, it does sound bad.” I dropped his hand and opened the front door. “Hello?” I called into the foyer. “Dad? Anybody home?”
“Ms. Whitney?” Charlotte, the housekeeper, called. “Is that you?”
“Yeah, where is everyone?”
Charlotte was a bouncy brunette nearing forty, but she was always full of energy.
“They went to the cabin this weekend,” she said, holding a book in one hand and a candle in the other. “Hewitt’s having the nursery remodeled.”
“Why?”
“I shouldn’t be the one to break the news, but Kristy is pregnant. Since the cottage is too small for three of them, your father is remodeling the third floor for her family.”
“My room is on the third floor,” I said, a bit disappointed. “Was on the third floor, I guess.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. We weren’t expecting you back so soon. He moved you to the bedroom off the kitchen for now.”
“Dustyn’s old room?” Dustyn had stayed in that room before she’d married Hewitt, and when she was pregnant with the twins, she slept in there a lot.
“Yes,” she said. “He thought you might like the cottage. It’s in the plans to prepare it for you once Kristy and Nathan move upstairs. It’s private and free from children.” She winked.
“Good point,” I admitted. “But why the cabin?” I walked to the back of the house and peered out the large window. There weren’t any signs of life out there. It once belonged to Hewitt’s grandparents, and until Dustyn freed their spirits, it was haunted.
“Not that cabin,” Charlotte chuckled. “Dustyn’s old cabin.”
“What?” I started walking back to the front door.
“Um, Whitney, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Oh, sorry. Charlotte, meet Justin.” Before either of them could say a word I took his hand and sprinted for the door. “Gotta go!”
“You’re not going up there tonight,” Charlotte cried. “It’s too dangerous!”
“We have no choice.” I slammed the door and sprinted to the car.
“Arwyn, Killian, car. Now!”
Arwyn appeared from the shadows beyond the gates. She blended in nicely with her camo clothes. Killian walked up from behind me.
“Where did you come from?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Seriously, Killian, how can you be in here and Arwyn can’t put a toe past the gate?”
Killian ignored me. “Arwyn, she’s here.”
“What are you talking about, Killian? I don’t sense Neetah or Camille.”
“Really,” Arwyn said. “How can you be sure?”
“Hello.” I waved my hands in the air. “Can anyone hear me?”
“Shut up, Whitney,” Arwyn commanded.
They shared a knowing look.
Arwyn turned to me. “Where is your sister?”
“At Dustyn’s cabin, in the mountains,” I replied. “She lived there before she married Hewitt.”
Everyone started heading for the car except me. Killian looked different. Brighter. It could have been the moonlight reflecting from his blond hair and pale skin, but something was different.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Killian’s face grew uneasy as his eyes darted to the dark corners of the property.
“No, not till you tell me why Killian is here.” What if he were here to get May? What did I really know about Arwyn and Killian? I mean, look what happened with Jaiten. Dustyn warned me about demons. I couldn’t let anyone harm her.
“We’ll talk in the car,” Arwyn said.
“No, I need to know now.”
Justin hopped out of the car and took my hand. “Are you okay?”
“Maybe you are right. I don’t know much about them. I can’t put my family in harm’s way.”
“Fuck!” Arwyn turned off the car. “We have to do this now?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Tell her, Killian.”
“She may be in danger; we need to go,” he demanded in a seriousness I didn’t know he possessed. He gazed at me and shook his head. “She won’t believe me.”
“Then show her!”
Killian jumped out of the car and took three large steps until he was face to face with me. He rubbed at his eyes and pulled a soft, red lens from each eye.
“Oh my God, Killian.” I cringed. “What are you doing?”
“Colored contact lenses. I have a ton of them.” His eyes were black. He had the same eyes as Rhys, Azu, Penn—angel eyes.
“I don’t believe you!”
He turned around, his back to me. Golden wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. “I believe your sister is my Hour.”
Chapter 32
“Turn left at the fork in the road, I think.”
“You think?” Killian asked anxiously.
“The last time I was here, I was seven. What do you expect?” I snapped.
“Killian, fill her in with what happened,” Arwyn demanded. “She needs to know.”
“Know what?” I asked while Killian sat staring hopelessly out the window.
“I came out here ten years ago in search of my Hour, the first Hour.” Killian sighed and continued, “I knew she was here somewhere. I also knew she was the daughter of another Hour and there were master demons involved. The more humans accepted the idea of demons and angels, the more the Hours faced danger.
“Anyway, when I arrived I was approached by two demons. Both of them were master demons and highly powerful. I had been mingling with the demon population for a while, so to them, I was just another demon. One of them was Jaiten. I don’t know who the other one was but I think his name was Puldock?”
“Pulduck, Jeremiah Pulduck. He is my Dad’s grandfather. Dustyn caught him,” I said proudly.
“That’s good because what he said was the most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard.
“Anyway, one night I caught Jaiten hanging out in the woods behind your house. Probably because of the protection spells. I asked him if he’d heard of any Hours in the area. He laughed and said this town was full of them, but they all had companions. I asked about the possibility of a newborn. He told me the last Hour born was destroyed, taken straight to Hell by Pulduck himself.”
“He lied.”
“I believed him, so I returned to Timber Grove thinking my Hour would never return to me and that I was good as dead. Or worse, a demon.”
“Why hate the demon population?” Arwyn asked, annoyed.
“Arwyn, I’m not quite sure what you are, but you’re not like them,” Killian said, honestly.
“You’re making me blush. Stop it!”
With the cabin in sight, she turned the car’s engine and lights off.
“We’ve got a few hours before the sun comes up. Whitney, scan the area and see if you catch any traces of Camille. Killian and I will guard the cabin.”
“What can I do?” Justin asked.
“Stay here, pretend you stayed back in Timber Grove,” Arwyn ordered. “I’m not
joking. Don’t leave the car.”
Chapter 33
The last time I stood in this spot, I’d watched Jaiten cut Dustyn with a pair of poisoned garden shears. I thought he was going to kill her. The memories flooded my mind and filled my eyes. I’m so sorry, Dustyn. The scent of lilacs filled the air, but there wasn’t a blooming bush in sight. A gentle wind played upon my hair and I knew it was her. I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was close by, guarding her family. Of course, she would be.
I walked up a dirt path to a lilac grove where Dustyn’s mother and sister were buried. An old well sat nearby to water the plants, but she converted it to a demon trap. I always thought about setting them all free one day, but that would be foolish. I know that now.
“Hey stranger,” a voice called behind a large oak tree.
I knew that voice, and my heart galloped giddily like I was seven years old again. I ran for him and launched myself into his embrace. A mass of curly black hair tickled my face as he picked me up and spun me around. Time seemed to stop.
It should have been different. Dustyn and I should have left Aster and made a home here at the cabin after Mom died. We could have been a happy family with her angel.
“Tresian!” I cried. “I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you, too.” He kissed my cheek and then gently set me down. “What brings you all the way up here? I thought you’d be off in some big city breaking hearts by now. Or are you here to visit an old friend?”
“Dustyn?” I asked.
“Dustyn, me, Ateil,” he joked.
“You know, you never were very funny.” I rolled my eyes at his mention of the demon that destroyed my mother.
“Ah, c’mon. No one gets my sense of humor,” Tresian pouted. “Okay, seriously then, why are you here?”
I gave him the short version of Camille and her search for May.
“So, have you seen him?”
“Seen who?”
Tresian pulled the hair out of my face and tilted my head so the moon reflected in my eyes. “Your angel?”
“How did you know? Have you always known about him?” I was getting pissed that no one had informed me about what I was.
“Hold your horses, cowboy,” Tresian chuckled. “He came looking for you a year or so ago. Dustyn has been tied to the cabin by that stupid spell she cast, meaning I can’t go far either.
“Anyway, he stumbled upon the cabin one night, and thinking he was a demon, I planned on killing him when he mentioned your name. That is until he showed me his eyes. Man, he reeked of demon. I told him where he could find you. He said he came through town when you were born, but since you were well-protected, he just left. He didn’t intend to be gone as long as he was. He saw your house abandoned and feared the worst. I’m not sure where he went from there. Care to update me?”
“He’s gone,” I let out the breath I was holding. “Back to Heaven.”
“Wait, are you saying he left you?”
I’d never heard Tresian get upset, ever.
“He didn’t have a choice.” I didn’t want to get into all the details now.
“So, you are here, all alone, looking for this Hour-gone-evil?”
“She’s not alone,” Arwyn said.
Tresian jumped in front of me and puffed out his chest, ready for a fight.
“Give it a rest, angel, sheesh. Why are all of you always playing the hero?” Arwyn’s voice echoed around us, but she wasn’t visible.
“We guard what we love,” Tresian beamed.
“Yes, we do,” Killan agreed, stepping out into the opening. The sun pushed against the night, making him glow. I could see why he chose the first of the light Hours.
“Whit, care to introduce me to your friends?” Tresian was still defensive, but with another angel among us, he seemed to relax.
“Sure. Tresian, this is Killian, May’s angel. Arwyn is somewhere in the trees, we don’t know what she is,” I admitted.
“My May?” Tresian said, barely audible.
“Your May?” Arwyn hopped down and landed between us. “Wait, I thought Hewitt was her father. Whit, do you know anything about this?”
I shook my head.
Tresian walked to Killian and looked him over disapprovingly. “You smell like a demon.”
“Long story, man,” Killian placed a hand on Tresian’s shoulder.
They were quiet for a moment. Perhaps sharing an angel thought?
“Is it true, then?”
“I believe so. Her twin, Jasper, looks like me. How can we prove it?”
“Either you’ll find out when she dies, or we find the stone,” Killian said.
“What stone?”
“The amazonite stone. It’s the stone of truth. If we can find it, an angel asks it a question, and it will glow when the truth is being told,” Tresian answered. “But I haven’t seen any of the relics in centuries.”
“Until now,” Arwyn said. “Camille has the cloak, we have the spoon, and a piece of the spear.”
“Rhys has the ring,” I murmured. “The rope is sorta a lost cause since no one knows how many pieces it has been cut into. He said the cuff was destroyed, but I don’t even remember seeing a stone in the book.”
“It was on a leather necklace.”
“The picture with the naked guy and the wolf skin wore Rhys’s ring and a leather necklace,” I remembered.
“We need to find that stone,” Tresian said.
“Does it really matter?”
“It wouldn’t change the fact I love those children as my own, whether or not they are. But if they are part angel and part Hour, they will be the most powerful humans on this planet.”
“They’ll be mine,” a low growl rattled behind us.
I didn’t think. I just turned around and lunged for the bear foolishly and was pulled back by Tresian. Camille was faster and scraped my hand with a large claw. It was shallow but burned like crazy.
Arwyn, who still hadn’t made herself visible, yelled down to me, “Call the Bear, Whitney! Stop screwing around!”
It was difficult to focus with the bear thrashing around wildly. We all backed up, giving her some room. No one said a word, but I heard Arwyn jump along the tree branches above us.
“Neetah,” I called her mentally, but she wasn’t responding. “I miss you, Neetah. You were supposed to go with Azu. She needs you. I need you.”
Nothing.
“It’s not working, Arwyn,” I cried.
“You aren’t trying hard enough. We have to separate them. It’s the only way we will trap her,” Arwyn’s voice echoed all around us.
The bear sniffed the air, searching the trees. When she couldn’t find where the voice was coming from, she set her focus on me. She inched close, snarling. Tresian’s grip tightened around me, and I felt him lift us up so we were hovering an inch above the ground. He would bolt if she got too close.
“Neetah, what happened?” I asked gently.
She put her nose down, her brown eyes were filled with sadness.
“I was to watch the cub. I have failed. She convinced me you were dead, and for that I am sorry,” Neetah’s words turned bitter and cold, “but you let me fall into the ocean to drown again. I saw you with that angel and you just watched me fall. You didn’t even try …” her voice trailed away and a deep guttural roar filled the meadow.
“Tell her you went back for her, but she was gone!” Arwyn demanded. “Tell her, Whit!”
“It’s true, Neetah. I jumped into the ocean and searched for you, but you were gone.”
She snorted, but she was listening.
“I saw you in the tunnels, and I drove all night trying to find you.” I reached out for her. “Don’t push me away.”
The cloak’s hood—Neetah’s head—snapped back and Camille appeared.
“The difference between you and me is I can control the cloak—she doesn’t control me. When you tossed me off the cliff, I think you forgot I can’t die.” She inched closer to me.
Tresian lifted me out of her reach.
She guffawed at the slight retreat. “I have no desire for you anymore. I have new companions I need to go meet. Tata.”
I looked around and noticed Killian was missing, and Arwyn had been awfully quiet. But something was coming up the trail. The rustle and crunch of leaves followed by the twins’ giggles twisted my gut with fear.
“Friends!” Camille clapped. “Come on up, kids, Whitney’s here to see you!”
“Whitney,” Jasper and May squealed. Their footsteps quickened.
“Now!” Arwyn commanded.
I jumped out of Tresian’s embrace as Arwyn fell from a tree branch. We both landed on Camille simultaneously. I pulled on Neetah, coaxing her mentally to let go. Arwyn reached for Camille’s neck and we pulled in opposite directions until Neetah was free. Camille turned blue from the lack of oxygen. I threw on the cloak and gave myself a little hug. Neetah shuttered.
“Thank you, Hour of Darkness. That cub was awful!”
I turned my attention to the kids as they ran into the meadow and threw themselves into my arms.
There was a muffled scream.
I whipped around to see Arwyn on the ground and Camille striding toward us quickly.
“Hi, guys,” Camille smiled. She was shorter and stouter than the twins, but her cunning words belonged to an adult. “I’m a friend of your sister. I’m an Hour, like your mom was.”
The twins’ grip tightened around my neck. I had one in each arm and started to back away.
“Stop, Whitney,” Camille warned. “I know your boyfriend is sitting in your car, and your dad is still in the cabin. If you leave with them, I will destroy them both.” She turned to the kids. “I’m not bad, but nobody wants me to be around anymore. I just want a family.”
The twins’ grip loosened. A light wind played upon my face, pushing at my chin. Dustyn. I glanced up and noticed both angels positioned on tree branches above me, motioning for me to throw the kids up into the trees. If something went wrong, I’d never forgive myself.
“Doesn’t everyone deserve to be loved and have a family?”