"Is this a dream?" I ask. His arms feel so secure around me, and I just want to stay there, but the Triune is coming. I start to struggle, but that only makes him grip my body even tighter. He sweeps me into his arms as though I weigh nothing, and I rest my head against his chest.
"Not anymore. You were having a nightmare and took off sleepwalking. It scared the rest of us pretty badly, I will say that."
My hand absently touches where the bandage covers my arm, as though that will stop the intense searing below.
"How's your arm?" he asks softly and begins walking through the night with me.
"It hurts." I look up at the starless, overcast sky. "Where are we?"
"The cemetery."
I begin to shiver, suddenly aware of the fact my clothes are too thin for the night air and I'm wearing neither socks nor shoes. That only reminds me I've probably cut my feet; there’s a low pain pulsing on my left heel as well.
"Cold?" He frowns and looks at the goose bumps stippling my arms.
"Yeah, a little," I manage.
Lev slips one hand upon my forearm, and suddenly I feel his warmth suffusing through me, driving back the chilly night air.
"Better?" he asks.
"Much. Thanks."
"You're welcome." He tilts his head and kisses my forehead. "Anything for you, Elizabeth. You ready to fly?" he asks softly.
"Yeah." I close my eyes and wait to feel us suddenly soar through the air. I keep waiting to feel it, but it isn't coming. "I thought you were going to fly," I murmur, keeping my eyes closed. I just don't think the sudden feel of leaving the ground is going to make me feel so hot.
"We are flying, Elizabeth."
Surprised, I open my eyes and find he's right. Our bodies are floating amid the starlight, high above the clouds.
"I...didn't realize."
He smiles. "I know. Evan warned me your stomach has been weak lately, so I made sure you didn't feel any sudden movement."
"Thank you," I whisper, probably more grateful than he will ever know.
"You're welcome," he murmurs. "We're almost back to the cabin."
"How long was I gone?" I whisper.
"Probably about twenty minutes. So Celia went one way, Evan another, and I headed to the cemetery because I figured that was the most likely place you'd end up."
I can tell by the way the tree line suddenly appears around us Lev is descending, and a moment later, I feel the gentle bounce of his feet touching earth.
Even before Lev can get two steps, Evan and Jimmie are there, both of them doing the hovering thing I like so well.
"Is she all right?" Jimmie asks, trying to move in closer, even though Lev is walking and getting any closer is going to be difficult at best.
"She was sleepwalking. She'll be okay," Lev says, doing his best to get to the door and get me inside. As he slips into the living area of the cabin, Griffin and Celia whirl toward the door, their gazes quickly focusing on me.
"Is she all right?" Griffin's face is pale as he rushes toward me. "If anything happened to her, I'll never--"
"I'm okay, Griffin. I'm fine, really." I try to struggle out of Lev's arms, but he shakes his head and tightens his grip.
"I don't care what you say. You're not fine enough to walk around just yet, so I'm putting you to bed."
Griffin stands at the center of the room, his arms awkwardly dangling at his sides, and his pale face tells just how worried he is. There's nothing I can say that's going to make him worry any less. I know that much from experience. And even though Griffin and Celia don't follow us, there's nothing that's going to stop either Evan or Jimmie from coming into the bedroom as Lev sets me down on the bed.
Evan immediately comes toward me and looks at the bandage, probably expecting to find fresh blood because I've been up and around, but the gauze is pristine, thank goodness.
"I'll get something to clean your feet so we can make sure you didn't cut yourself," Lev says, giving me a last look before heading out the door.
Evan sits next to the bed and proceeds to pull back the dressing to inspect the wound, and I get really still because even the thought of pulling the bandage back makes me nervous. It's stupid, kind of like thinking of an infection will make one appear. Then again, I'm about that lucky.
"I dreamed about the Triune." I stare at the blanket, because I'm afraid to meet Evan's gaze. Then suddenly his fingers get really still, which probably isn't a good sign.
"All right. Tell me what happened in your dream."
"One of the angels was following me in the woods. I was running, trying to get away, when I tripped. The angel came after me and tried to grab me. I felt the energy surge in my hands, and when I looked down, I saw the light. I knew I wasn't going to be able to control it. When the angel attacked me, there was this instant of horrible pain. The energy surged toward the angel, and I ran."
Evan's face turns ashen. Yet again, not a good sign for an angel. For a moment, he just sits there, stone-faced, as he stares ahead, his hands unmoving. It's like he's somewhere else beyond me and everything else. I can't tell you how much that scares the crap out of me.
"Evan? What's going on?"
Suddenly he blinks and his fingers resume pulling back the bandage. I purposely avoid looking at the wound, figuring I've passed out enough for one lifetime.
"At least there don't seem to be any signs of infection," he mutters. He completely takes off the dressing, puts on a salve and then re-bandages the wound.
"So what is it you aren't saying?" I ask, daring him to meet my gaze.
"What do you mean?" He sets the unused gauze back in the box on the night table and throws away the old dressing.
"There was something about my dream that bothered you, and while you didn't say anything, I still saw you react. So tell me what it is."
Lev suddenly appears with a basin of water and a wash cloth. At first, he looks from me to Evan and then goes about cleaning my feet as I awkwardly lie there, feeling completely useless. More than once I jerk my foot back as Lev accidentally finds a tender spot. He looks closer at it to determine if the skin is broken.
“What’s going on with my dreams?” I demand again, knowing if I don’t keep bringing it up, he’s going to just let it slide. Well, that makes one of us. I refuse to let it go. I have a right to know.
“All right,” Evan finally relents. “I’m not completely sure that what you experienced was just a dream, Elizabeth.”
I flinch. Lev thinks it’s because he’s prodded a tender spot, but it has nothing to do with my foot. “What do you mean? Lev said that I was sleepwalking.” I look at Lev. “Were you with me in my dreams?”
Lev shakes his head and grabs the towel to dry off my feet. “No, I wasn’t.”
Evan nods and sits in the chair across from the bed. “I didn’t say all of it was real, Elizabeth. But the parts with the angel from the Triune are quite possibly real, and that’s troubling.”
“I don’t understand.” A cold chill sweeps down my body, and I shudder involuntarily. Lev looks up, concern forcing his mouth into a frown.
“In other words, I think you might have actually had an altercation with one of the angels sent here to judge you. He or she was probably testing your powers to see how much of the dagger’s supernatural abilities you absorbed.”
The basin slips and clatters to the floor, dumping water everywhere. Lev’s face is as white as a sheet, and he fumbles, trying to gather things up. While Evan hasn’t really said much, whatever he has said has been enough to freak Lev completely out.
“So what does that mean?” I lick my lips and tell myself it’s not time to panic.
Evan leans back in the chair, and even from where I’m sitting, I can see he’s not at all comfortable with what’s going on. “It really depends on what happened in the dream between you and the angel.”
I recognize the forced calm in his voice. It's masking something far more disturbing than I probably want to hear about. But I have to. I have to kn
ow what the future holds.
"He was following me and reached for me. I kept trying to get away from him but couldn't. Then the power just seemed to act of its own accord. It lashed out at him, and he fell to the ground. He was getting up again as Lev woke me."
When I thought Evan's frown couldn't get any deeper, I was wrong—oh so wrong. Right about now he's looking at the carpet. I keep waiting for him to say something, but he's not exactly being verbal.
"What does that mean?" I finally ask. In my peripheral vision, I see Lev mopping up the last of the water from the basin. If I have to guess based on Lev's expression, he already knows what Evan seems reluctant to tell me, and he really doesn't like it at all.
"I think the angel was probably testing your boundaries, checking to see what kind of power you possessed. If he'd wanted to attack you, he wouldn't have waited until you'd drawn the first blood. He would have done it upon sight."
Lev sets the basin on the dresser and leans against it. His wings shimmer lightly, almost like a second, barely visible layer over the shoulder muscles as he leans back over the dresser and props himself with both arms. His head is bent low, almost like he's praying, but I think he's probably just listening to the conversation and doing everything he can not to react.
"And what are you holding back?" I ask quietly.
"Depending on which member of the Triune tried to make contact, it could mean a lot of different things."
I shake my head. "Why does it matter which angel approached?" I try to get comfortable, but that's pretty hard to manage when you feel like you have the weight of the world breathing down your neck, just waiting for things to fall apart.
Evan leans forward in his seat. His elbows rest on his thighs, and he cups his palms together. For a moment, he just stares off into space as though lost in thought. Then he gradually turns toward me.
"The Triune is composed of three angels, each of whom has a different strength. The head of the Triune is Lepail. He focuses on balance. Atmir is the second angel. His concentration is on justice. Lastly, there is Turnoc, an angel who is concerned with faith. If Lepail is the angel who first made contact, I'm guessing his report was not kind, Elizabeth. He can easily sway the other two into seeking a path of destruction for you."
The breath I'm holding comes out in a shuddering gasp, and Lev turns, his face ashen. Evan reaches for my hand. "However, if you were approached by one of the other two, their views could be tempered with understanding of your situation, which might make all the difference in the world for you."
He squeezes my hand, and I know he's trying to be reassuring, but all I feel is this sense of panic building inside me. My racing heart won't slow, and I wish I saw a way out of this nightmare. But I don't. I don't think Evan does, either. And right about now, considering how I'm feeling, I really don't want to think about what’s going through Lev's mind. It can't be good.
“How would I know which of them it was?” I toy with the covering just for something to keep my hands busy so Evan won’t notice the violent trembling in my fingers.
“You wouldn’t be able to tell. All three of them would seem identical to you.”
Lev shakes his head. “It was Lepail. We both know as the head of the Triune he wouldn’t simply delegate the task to another.” He straightens from the dresser and stares out the window. “And we both know Lepail isn’t going to listen to a word Elizabeth says.”
“We know nothing of the sort,” Evan counters loudly. “While it seems Lepail would be the one in control, we both know that what seems is not always what is."
While Lev doesn't say much after that, I can tell by the hard line of his jaw he's holding a lot of things inside.
"Have you seen any of the Triune?" Evan asks. "I mean, outside of your dreams?" He walks around the room, and I see the shimmering at his back as well, hinting his thoughts are keeping him from focusing on concealing his aura as well.
"They were in Knoxville. Didn't you see them?"
Evan freezes in mid-stride. His expression suddenly turns shell-shocked. "When?"
"Right after I left." I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The grandfather clock down the hall chimes softly.
"It's just a matter of time," Lev says, shaking his head. "That altercation with Sarah will lead them here, and Elizabeth's powers are too strong to miss her location now."
"Meaning I can't hide anymore, right?" I toy with the ends of my hair and try to ignore the throbbing in my arm.
"It's not really like you could have hidden to begin with, Elizabeth. The power would have given you away regardless."
"So what happens now?" I ask softly. Lev isn't looking at me. Instead, he's staring out the window, almost like he expects them to suddenly appear any moment, which is so not a comforting thought.
"You need to get some rest, that's what," Evan says. "Your body might have this great power, but you're still weak, and the last thing we need is for you to be worn down when the angels from the Triune finally appear before us."
"I'm not tired," I argue, despite feeling sluggish as the needles of pain begin to jab harder with passing time.
Lev turns toward me. He's got his arms folded across his chest. Evan glances at him and heads out the door.
"I'll let Jimmie know she's resting," he says, his tone once again measured to hide emotions.
"I'm really not tired," I argue. The last thing I want is to be forced to bed like some little kid, but I can tell by Lev's stubborn posture I'm pretty much stuck. The last thing I need is to get upset and kick that power on like throwing a light switch. No, the Triune may not be close yet, but there’s no sense giving them a homing device to follow, either.
"Be reasonable, Elizabeth. I can tell you are exhausted. Your body is still trying to recover from the bullet. That's going to take time and rest; your power isn't geared toward healing you, unfortunately."
He walks over and sits on the side of the bed. His blue eyes meet mine, and I see the fearful expression on my face.
"Why do I get the impression you’re hoping I'll go to sleep so you won't have to deal with talking about the future?"
"I don't know. You tell me," he whispers and slips his hand atop mine. His fingers gently caress.
"I think it's because you're afraid to tell me what's going to happen." I brush the hair from my face, and he looks down at my hand.
"Elizabeth, I can't tell you what's going to happen because I don't know. I could give you lots of guesses, some good and some bad, but that doesn't mean I can divine the future. I'm not that sort of an angel." His voice sounds raw, and his expression is troubled.
"So there are angels who know the future?" I chew my lip, intrigued.
"Yeah. Like I said. I'm not one of them."
I shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around that concept. "I thought supernatural abilities were bad."
He half-heartedly laughs. "Elizabeth, I'm a supernatural creature through and through. That doesn't make me bad. The abilities you’re referring to are those used by humans who draw their power from evil."
He looks up at me and touches my face. "And for the record, the ability that has fused with your body isn't evil, so that doesn't count, either. None of this was of your choosing."
"I never meant to cause this much trouble," I whisper, suddenly overwhelmed by everything around me.
"I know." Lev lies down next to me, which makes things really close quarters on a small twin bed. Although he's distracted by his thoughts, he offers a cocked smile and brushes his fingertips against my chin.
"You need to sleep, Elizabeth. There's nothing to worry about tonight. You're safe, I promise."
With those words, his wings unfurl and drape around us, closing off everything else and leaving us to the sanctuary of each other and now.
Chapter Fifteen
The steady thrumming of pain gradually forces me from the peaceful nest of sleep, and by the time I realize I've crossed from unconsciousness, I also know I have a raging headache,
my arm is on fire, and my body aches. So much for peace and quiet.
Forcing myself to open my eyes, I quickly realize the side of the bed once filled with Lev is now empty, and it's almost like a dream. Then again, Lev is like that. Part of me knows he will never completely fit in with this world.
I sit up and look around the room, aware by the sunlight pouring in around the thick curtains. It's morning. I grit my teeth and rise from the bed.
"Lev?" Part of me knows he's gone. And something tells me it's not just from this room.
I force myself to stand, and as I walk toward the door, my hair slips over my shoulders and falls in disarray around my face. Without thinking, I start to raise the wounded shoulder, but the shooting pain quickly changes my mind. I gasp, push the hair back with the other hand, and struggle to open the door.
The cabin is quiet, and I see Jimmie crashed out on the couch, while Griffin lies on a pallet in the middle of the floor. Only Celia stands there, staring out the window into the bright, perfect sunlight. Her arms are folded across her chest, and even in the dusty morning light, I recognize the outline of her wings because her back faces me. The long, blonde curls spill midway down her back, and she seems not to hear me approach, so I walk up to her and touch her arm. She absently whirls. A worried frown plays at her lips as she realizes it's me.
"What are you doing out of bed, Elizabeth? You need your rest."
I shrug and touch my temples. "Head started throbbing, and it woke me."
She nods. "I'll get you some Tylenol." She reaches for her handbag and pulls out a small plastic container. Her deft fingers quickly open it and spill two into my palm.
"There you go." She nods to the pills and closes the bottle. "I'll get you some water to wash them down."
Without waiting for a response, Celia heads into the kitchen, grabs a glass, and fills it with water. Then she brings it to me.
"Thanks." I take the glass, pop the two pills into my mouth and take a swallow. Once I'm done she takes the glass back.