And what about that dream? Now that was weird.
I wait until about 6:30 before following Kane’s instruction to Jayzee’s place. Last night I’d about both Sarah and Jayzee, just in case, and he’d drawn me a map to use when getting around. While Tellico Plains is a small town like others, it still has a less desirable side, a fact I realize, standing as I am outside a seedy apartment building. Slipping through the entrance, I find not only the pool, which considering its cloudiness could definitely use some kind of chemical treatment, but also something I can’t explain or escape.
Griffin and Jayzee stand by the pool. Someone else who seems familiar stands just a few feet away, his body glowing with white angelic heat. Shaken, I rush toward them, trying to recognize the angel who stands before them. I hear arguing, but the words escape me. Sensing the world is about to shift, I start running. The angel lifts his hands towards Jayzee. Griffin throws himself in front of her, his body suddenly glowing with hot light. His entire form goes rigid. His hands, once fluid with motion stiffen into nerveless claws. A wide grimace claims his mouth, and an unnatural scream comes from his throat. Yet none of the neighbors seem to hear his tortured cry.
“Leave him alone!” I yell, rushing forward.
The eyes that turn toward me are a brilliant blue, and the blond hair looks almost white, like the heat radiating through him. Evan. The electricity stops flying from his fingers, and Griffin slips to the ground.
“This is none of your concern,” an ethereal voice commands, turning toward me. “Go!”
He turns toward his cowering prey—Jayzee. She has fallen to her knees, trying to shrink into nothingness, desperate to avoid Evan’s rage, and when the angel’s hands rise into the air, she screams.
“Help me, Lizzie!”
Without thought, I rush into the madness, blocking Evan’s path with my body. He growls, and the flat palms which extended the electricity before suddenly curl into fists.
“You know not what you do,” he warns. “Find Lev. He guards the truth about those you surround yourself with.”
I point at Griffin. “I know you hurt a mortal who meant no harm. He was trying to save the woman you seem to want to kill, and if Lev is guarding some kind of secret, it stays with him. You want to destroy her, you’ll have to go through me.” I lick my lips. “And I have never done wrong to you or anyone else. You know that.” I swallow hard, wondering if he’ll actually go through with it as his white hands waver in the air.
For a moment, all I see is an angel bent on destruction. His face is a hard mask I never could have imagined and don’t understand. I never would have believed this. I risk a peek over my shoulder where Jayzee cowers, tears streaming down her face as she shudders.
“She isn’t what you think,” Evan says softly, the white-hot glow slowly fading from his form.
“And Lev was?” My body starts shaking. “And you were? It appears all I knew about any of you is that you were angels, nothing more. Certainly none of this.” Tears prick my eyes, and I feel my breathing start to get ragged. I peer over my shoulder and tell Jayzee. “Get up and get out of here. I’ll deal with Evan.”
Her nervous eyes dart from me to the angel and back again as she slowly starts to rise. Evan raises his hand, but I keep blocking his path. “You don’t know this being, Lizzie—or what she is capable of.”
Jayzee starts toward the door, and I block her exit. “And what was Griffin capable of that you attacked him? Neither of them were hurting anyone.” Ahead, I see the stone arch that will allow her freedom. Just a few more feet….
“You only have a part of the story. You can’t understand all of it.” His gaze is getting more desperate as he realizes I did not lie. If he really wants Jayzee, he’ll have to go through me. What he hasn’t realizes is that, to me, none of this is about Jayzee. It’s about the lies twisted upon other lies I can’t stomach anymore. I won’t.
“It doesn’t matter, Evan. I’m tired. You want to destroy someone, here I am.” Tears streak down my face and I open my arms wide. “Go ahead.”
His arms fall to his sides, and the glow is gone, just as Jayzee completely vanishes from our sight. But he’s not looking at Jayzee, just at me, his expression haggard. “So Lev was right. You understand nothing and believe everything that comes across your path. You are lost, Lizzie. Lost.” He comes toward me, but I scurry back.
“Don’t touch me.” My back hits a wall.
“I won’t hurt you.” He steps toward me, and I hedge toward Griffin, who still hasn’t budged.
“Is that what you told Jayzee? That you wouldn’t hurt her?” My head is starting to ache again, and I wonder how long it’s going to hurt.
Evan stops and lowers his hands. “Jayzee is a walking lie, and you have no idea what letting her go will cost. You can’t begin to fathom that. But I do.” His voice is soft, almost painful as he slowly turns away.
“What did you do to Griffin?” I ask, rushing toward the still form lying on the cement.
“What I had to.” He gives me one last look. “Just remember the truth isn’t always obvious, Lizzie, but its edge can set you free—if you have enough faith.”
That said, he turns and disappears, leaving me with Griffin. I rush to him and lift his head, immediately hating the way his face is so pale and sweaty. He’s weak, and his breathing is so shallow it frightens me.
“Griffin?” I whisper, touching his cheek. “Wake up!” His eyelids flutter, but he does not open them. Stillness seems to settle on him, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s dead. I lower my face so I can feel the barest hint of breath caress my cheek, telling me I still have time to save him. My phone doesn’t have much charge, but there’s enough for an emergency call. I’m in the middle of relaying the information to the dispatcher when I remember how Lev warned me about my friends. If I understand one thing, it’s that whatever mission Lev might be on, Evan is somehow in on it as well. That means anyone I know right about now is probably in some kind of danger from the angels I once trusted my life with.
I hear the ambulance siren squealing toward us, and I softly run my hand across Griffin’s face. My whole body trembles, and I know I have to leave. I can’t save him, even if I linger. His life is not in my hands, but there are others I can save. I can shield them somehow from Evan because for some reason, he won’t destroy me. Maybe because since I found out about the truth behind Lev, it really doesn’t matter anymore.
I run to the Jeep and get in, my fumbling fingers dropping the keys once before I can start the engine and back out. My heart is racing, and I don’t know where to go first. Who else would Evan target that desperately? Sarah, perhaps? Something about her frail form suggests I need to get over there. She and Jayzee were friends, and she sure can’t hold her own against a vengeful angel like Evan.
Although it’s just a handful of moments that pass during the drive over to Sarah’s, it seems like forever. I keep glancing at the speedometer, thinking I should go faster, but the swerving country road keeps my speed in check; if I drive off the shoulder and wreck, I won’t be able to help anyone.
No matter how I try not to think about Evan’s words, they swirl around me, and I can’t stop shaking. I don’t understand what’s going on or why. I turn into the neighborhood where Kane lives and head down the street toward Sarah’s, but even as I see the house just ahead of me, I also spot an ambulance with flashing lights, bathing the world in a red and blue blur. My foot stutters on the gas pedal, and I stiffen, forcing myself to park the Jeep.
I can’t be too late. It’s not possible. Once I’ve pulled to the curbside, I throw the door open and rush toward the house. The front door is open, and two EMTs are rolling a stretcher out the door. Even from a distance, I can tell the woman lying there is Sarah. I’d know her blonde hair anywhere. As the stretcher rolls down the drive toward the ambulance, the front door opens again, and a haggard Colin exits, one hand raking through his hair. He looks shell-shocked.
“Colin?” I run up to hi
m. “What happened?”
For a moment, he doesn’t look at me. It’s the shock, I think. But when he finally meets my gaze, he says, “You’re Lizzie, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. What happened to Sarah?” My voice is breathless, as though I’ve been running much longer than I really have. My whole body hurts from everything I’m holding inside.
His shoulders slouch, and he keeps shaking his head in disbelief. Although there’s plenty of personal space between us, I realize I stand just below his shoulders, and while black normally makes things appear smaller, now he looks huge. He swallows hard and stares at the ground distractedly.
“Colin?” I prompt. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I just found her like that. Somebody attacked her.” He slowly sinks down on the step and rests his head in his hands. “There’s no reason anybody would want to hurt her. She didn’t have any enemies.”
The EMTs shut the ambulance door and look at Colin before getting into the vehicle and driving away. He leans back and closes his eyes, trying to ignore the flashing lights as they dwindle with the racing ambulance.
“How bad is it?” I ask softly.
“Bad. Somebody bashed her head in with a bat or something.” He forces himself to rise. “Look, Lizzie, I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but I should get to the hospital and be there for Sarah when she wakes up. God knows her aunt won’t be.” He takes a deep breath and pulls his keys from his pocket. He looks at the sky which is still a light blue. Dusk is another couple of hours away, but already the darkness is so palpable I can feel it pressing down on me. “I’d like to know why. But I guess I don’t rate an answer, do I?”
It takes me a moment to realize he’s speaking to the heavens, waiting for God’s response. Nothing. Then he shakes his head and walks away, heading toward his blue Silverado as I stand on the walkway, trying to put the pieces together. I know he didn’t see anything, but I have a feeling I know who the perp was. Evan. I’m beginning to think he had to have attacked her before Jayzee, or the ambulance wouldn’t have had time to get here and take Sarah to the hospital. But I’m not really struggling with the who. I agree with Colin. I want to know why. Why are angels doing this, and how do I stop them?
The world feels like it’s spinning, and I slowly sit down, wondering what to do next. I start rocking back and forth, my body chilled from what should be a warm wind. I can’t guess what Evan is doing or why. I do know that the longer I sit there, the more the panic builds until I can’t take it anymore. I have to do something because watching my whole world come tumbling down around my head is just too much. So I pull out my cell and rise from the step. As I flip the phone open, I realize there isn’t enough battery to call Jimmie and warn him about Griffin. I’m going to have to go over there. Still, with everything that’s happened, facing Jimmie hardly seems like the worst of it.
Forcing myself to rise, I make my way to the Jeep, aware that one police officer is cordoning off her house as a crime scene, and there are more inside, working the actual site. I shake my head, wondering how they plan to catch a rogue angel. What prison could hold Evan? A chill sweeps down my arms, and I get into the Jeep and turn around, heading back to the house.
I try to imagine how things will be when I arrive. Will Jimmie totally freak out as he usually does? My stomach cramps, probably from the acid eating away at it. Right now, I just want to run away and never look back, but there’s nowhere for me to run to, and no matter how angry I might be at Jimmie, I need to check on him. I don’t think Evan would hurt him, but then again, I’m not even clear on why Evan is doing what he’s doing, and I can’t ask Lev. I don’t trust him.
My body tenses as I drive home, and it’s only when I see the driveway is empty and there are no police cars or ambulances in the driveway that my body actually relaxes as I slowly exhale the breath I feel I’ve been holding forever. I pull into the driveway. I know Jimmie’s not here. He’s probably with Theresa. Still, I want to look around and make sure nothing seems out of place—as if I’d know.
I stride up the front walk and slip my key in the lock. Even as I open the door and look around, I realize just how normal things seem, and how much I wish I could go back to that because right now it feels like nothing is normal in the slightest, and I have no idea when it will return.
Forcing myself to head down the hallway, I go to my room, pausing at the doorway to survey things, but from what I can tell, everything is as I’ve left it—everything but me. Before I left, Griffin wasn’t hurt and Sarah hadn’t been assaulted. Two people I considered friends are now in the hospital. Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so.
I push that thought away and step to the dresser, where my phone charger lies. I pick it up and go to the closet to grab a duffle bag so I can pack some clothes. I try not to think about anything while slipping a few t-shirts and jeans into the bag. I collect some other stuff and zip it shut, as if that is all I need to get me through for a while.
Then again, the truth about all of this would be nice. But one thing I’ve learned is that the truth often changes in the telling or hearing. It all depends on what we want to believe or ignore.
I pick up the bag and head for the door, stopping only to pick up a picture of me with Jimmie as I head to the kitchen to scrawl a short note and let Jimmie know Griffin has been taken to the hospital and I’ll call soon. Even so, I don’t have a clue what I’m going to say to him, I realize, setting the note against the half-empty fruit bowl. I grab a banana and shove it into the bag before heading out the door. I haven’t a clue where I’m going. I just know I can’t stay here. If I thought having it out with Jimmie was bad last time, this is much worse.
Back at the Jeep, I start the engine, wondering where I can go so maybe it doesn’t seem like everything is falling apart. The only thing which comes to mind is the cemetery. I know I should go see Griffin and Sarah, and I will, but right now, I can’t. I’m too shaken, and I need someone to make sense of all this madness, and the only person who is impartial is Bob. He has no reason to deceive me, and he doesn’t want anything from me, so he’s as close to a safety zone as what I have right now.
I drive to the cemetery. As usual, the parking lot is empty—save for one vehicle, probably the old man’s so I don’t pay much mind to anyone else who might be around, at least until I get out of the Jeep and look over toward Bess’s grave. Bob stands there, his withered hand braced on a cane to keep his balance. But he isn’t alone. Lev stands with him.
My stomach knots. I don’t know why. But Lev shouldn’t be here. As I start to run, two things happen. First, Lev quickly grabs the old man’s shoulders and starts violently shaking him. Again, the bright light fills the air around him.
“No!” I scream, running as fast as I can. One of the headstones trips me, and I spill to the ground. When I rise, I see Bob’s frail form wobble and slowly sink to the ground, one hand clutched to his heart.
Lev hears my cry. His hands dangle uselessly at his sides, and his head slowly swivels toward me. Unblinking blue eyes regard my face, and in that moment, when I see his hard expression and unnatural blue eyes, I realize what it means for him to be a supernatural creature: he is just as dangerous as Evan. Still, I gasp and pitch forward until I reach the old man’s body, where he lies barely breathing amid the green grass. His face is pale, and he sweats profusely, rather like Griffin.
“Bob,” I whisper, trying to shake him into consciousness. “Can you hear me?”
His body rocks with my frantic motions, but his eyes remain closed, and he looks so frail. Suddenly one thing is clear, one horrible thing: I’m the only thing all these people have in common, and if they hadn’t met me, they wouldn’t be fighting for their lives against these angels who should be here to help us.
“Elizabeth?”
Lev steps toward me, but I scurry back. “Get away from me!”
I tell myself I don’t know those eyes. Maybe I never did. But half of me wonders if he’s going to kill me now
.
Chapter Sixteen
“I know what you’re thinking and how this looks,” Lev says, gesturing to Bob. “But you have to listen.” He shakes his head and suddenly looks tormented as he steps toward me.
“Stay away from me!” I shriek, backing up. My foot catches on a tombstone, tripping me. Lev reaches for me, but I dodge his hand. “It doesn’t matter how it looks, only what you’ve done.” Tears prick my eyes, but even so, I see Lev shift so the Scott form vanishes and the boy I fell so much in love with appears. My mouth parts, and an anguished groan escapes my lips.
“Elizabeth, I know this is hard. I know you’re scared, and I’m trying to help.” His hand inches toward me, and some part of me wants to fall against him and believe once again he could be my salvation, but he’s not. I know he’s not.
“No!” I scurry to my feet, trying to get away from him. “I’ve seen your kind of help. I’ve seen what Evan does to help.” My head is really throbbing now, and my vision blurs unpredictably. I raise my hand to it, wishing the pain would go away. Could it be there is something wrong? Is that why it hurts so much just to keep breathing?
“Come on. Just give me a chance. I can explain.”
That’s it. Headache or no, I start running back toward the Jeep. I almost make it when Lev entangles his arms around me and pulls me snug against his chest. No matter how hard I fight, I can’t get loose.
“Let me go!” I scream, over and over. I’m no match for his strength. The panic builds until that’s all I can feel. It consumes me so completely I can’t think. How long have I waited to feel his embrace? But not like this. Not after all of that’s happened. It’s impossible to go back. The hope has been shattered beyond form.