Unable to pe e l their eyes off each other, neither of them knew what to do as they stoo d there , hypnotized. It was as if they could see into each other ’s soul , feeling the depth of the love they had for each other. Their trance was broken when they heard a noise. Michael grabbed Claudia so fast she didn ’t realize she was elsewhere until she saw a door in front of her.
The door w as closed , which, Michael whispered, meant a meeting was being held. He motioned Claudia to rest her ear on the door the way his was . “Concentrate. Relax. Will you r power to listen, ” he whispered.
“Impossible!” Jeremiah stood up with rage. “How could you have let this happen?”
“You were there too,” Katherine retorted. “We were fools to trust Callum, but how could we have known he would betray us ?” Sadness fill ed Kat h erine’s heart .
“What do we do now?” Phillip asked, raking his hair back in despair.
“From what Samuel has told me…that ’s if I trust what he said…Aliah ’s soul is in Ca llum ’s body. He can go just about anywhere. I will assume Callum is the one who freed the dark shadows with Aliah ’s help, ” Katherine informed.
“Do the Curators know?” Margaret asked.
“Maybe, ” Katherine said softly. “After this meeting, I ’ll hold an emergency meeting with them, but I believe they were due for their quarterly meeting.”
“Where is Claudia and what is she doing about this?” Jeremiah sn ee red , narrowing his eyes on Katherine with disapproval.
“Why does this fall upon Claudia? We are all in this together. She can ’t fight this battle herself , ” Katherine huffed .
“If she would have done it right in the first place, Aliah wouldn ’t be alive, ” Jeremiah said .
“This is not Claudia ’s fault, ” Phillip intervene d . “If you are to point the blame, it is on all of us. We ’ve been so blinded, too trusting, giving them too much.”
Agnes place d her hand on his to give him comfort. “There is no way we could have known. What is done is done. I ’m sure not all the Curators are against us . It could be just Callum.”
“I hope so for their sake, ” Elizabeth mutter ed . “When this war comes to an end, the Earth angels that are against us will be turn ed into dark shadows to be locked away in the Abyss for eternity , just the way the others were. Perhaps we should do something different this time.”
Katherine stood up. “I ’m sorry , but I need to leave. I hope I ’m not too late. But before I go, we need to think about appointing the empty seats. We can ’t be called the Twelve if there are only nine of us. I want you to consider my son and perhaps Michael as well.”
“Good choices, ” Phillip agreed.
“After we put this nightmare behind us, we can vote. I ’ll keep you informed.” With a spin of her wings, she vanished, leaving the rest behind.
When the meeting ended, Michael took Claudia back to the dirt road on Crossroads. Claudia shivered faintly in Michael ’s hold.
“Are you okay? What ’s wrong?” Michael asked .
“Did you hear what Jeremiah and Katherine said? Aliah is alive in Callum ’s body. We might as well call him Aliah. I didn ’t kill him. It ’s my fault .” Claudia looked numb, not wanting to believe what she ’d heard.
Michael forced her to look at him. “Listen, Claudia. You did nothing wrong. It was nearly impossible to kill him in the first place, but you destroy ed him. He crumbled into nothing but ashes. How were you suppose to know his soul would enter Samuel ’s body and then Callum ’s? Even the Twelve didn ’t know …how could you ? You were the hero that day. He would still be alive if it wasn ’t for you.”
“You were there?” Claudia asked , looking confused.
Michael had forgotten Claudia couldn’t remember the memories of him.
“Yes, I was there. I was always around…for you.”
Claudia threw herself into his arms. She couldn ’t remember, but knowing he was there, she was grateful . Suddenly , Claudia backed away. “The apple…Callum or Aliah wanted me to eat the apple. He said he would bless it and after I ate it, it would help me remember.”
Michael arched his brows. “So that is what you were going to do with the apple.”
“What would ’ve happened if I did?” Claudia ’s muscles tighten ed just at the thought of what she almost did.
“I ’m not sure, but I ’m going to assume he was trying to take your powers.”
“My powers? My powers are nothing compare d to his.”
“Claudia, you just need to believe in yourself. I can feel you holding back because you ’re not embracing who you are. You ’ve been a human for so long, you ’re afraid to let go.”
“Can you blame me, Michael? Everything happened so fast. I didn ’t have a chance to breathe. I was a normal teenage gir l in high school with friends, a job …and I had a…mom . I should be worried about who is going to ask me to the p rom or what colleges w ill accept me , not this. When I woke up from Island of Eden and couldn ’t remember my past, that was the worst feeling.”
Tears streamed down Claudia ’s face. She looked away. How she hated to cry in front of Michael. She didn ’t want to make him feel bad, but it was how she was feeling. “I felt so alone. I didn ’t know who I was anymore. I didn ’t even trust myself. Now the being I thought I killed is back , and the worst part is , I didn ’t even have a clue.”
“He tricked us all.” Michael pulled Claudia into his arms, wiping her tears, holding her tenderly. “Let ’s go find him and get rid of him once and for all.”
“Okay , ” Claudia murmured, her words lost through Michael ’s shirt. She had only said those words so she wouldn ’t disappoint him.
When they got to Nubilus City, their team was nowhere to be seen. Michael wondered if he ’d misheard where they were meeting until Delilah appeared.
“Claudia, Michael, ” Delilah called, sounding urgent and friendlier than before. She approached them with great speed. Giving Michael a seductive smile she started to speak, but lost her words when she stood in front of him, practically shoving Claudia out of the way. “I… him…I mean Davin….”
Michael rolled his eyes, and the fact that he didn ’t flirt back to an attractive girl bas ically throwing herself at him made Claudia smile inwardly. “What is it?” Michael said with a slight ly irritated tone, trying not to sound rude.
“Davin needs you. He ’s in Paradisus.”
“Why is he in Paradisus? We were suppose to meet here. Where is everyone else?”
“Everyone else is on I sland of Eden.”
“Claudia, I ’ll meet you at I sland of Eden. I need to go to Paradisus and find Davin.” Michael brushe d a soft kiss on Claudia ’s forehead.
Before he could leave, Claudia gripped his arms. “Please be careful, ” she said with a look in her eyes Michael hadn ’t seen in a while , t he look that said ‘I need you.’ With a giddy grin on his face, he nodded and disappeared.
When Claudia landed, she turned to look for Delilah , thinking she would head back to join the others with her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Strange , she thought. It didn ’t matter to Claudia anyway ; she ’d rather be alone . Claudia opened the double doors to enter her room. She was glad to be back to the smell of the ocean breeze, but before she went to find the others, she took a hot shower and changed her clothes —jeans, a red shirt , and the same black boots. Not only were the boots her favorite, they were a good place to hide the small dagger.
Seeing her comfortable bed, she wanted to take nap , though she didn ’t really need one. It felt strange not to need sleep or to feel tired after so many days had passed . When she was ready, she headed toward Austin ’s room. Oddly, not a sound echoed through the house. “Austin…Holly….” Claudia called, but no one answered.
As fast as she could she darted throughout the house, looking for her friends. She was just about to give up when she saw a door in the kitchen she had never opened before. She felt something pulling her , l ike she knew they were
there .
Holding her bow steady, her heart hammered faster as she slowly opened the door. The first thing she noted was the golden angelic cuffs that glowed so brightly in the dark. Claudia thought she ’d found a cell that held d emons captive , but when she cracked the door wider she was in shock to see her friends instead. They were bound around the middle of their upper torso s and their mouth s were gag g ed.
“Davin?” Claudia said, surprised to see him t here more than others. Delilah had told Michael to go to Paradisus as requested by Davin. Not h ing seemed to fit. Delilah wasn ’t here and neither was Austin.
After the initial shock and hearing mumbling sounds from their mouth s , Claudia advance d forward. She tried to crack the b i nd s with her bow, but nothing happen. She finally understood when Holly shook her head, letting her know it wouldn ’t work. Claudia did the only thing she thought could possibl y work. She recalled doing this in Specus when her friends were all bound. She narrowed her eyes on them and said, “Recludo.” The b inds w ere released as the golden angelic cuffs fell to the ground to disappear.
“What took you so long?” Holly grumbled. “I ’m going to kill Delilah .”
She didn’t answer Holly ’s questions. “Where ’s Austin?”
“How the heck should I know? I don ’t keep track of you r boyfriend . I ’m going to kill him too. He went to see Katherine and never came back.”
Claudia brushed off Holly ’s comment. She knew Holly was upset. “But I was just ther e. Katherine and Austin aren ’t there.”
Claudia told the A lpha team what Delilah had done and Holly told Claudia how Delilah tricked them, bound them and put them in the pantry. Knowing Michael was in Paradisus, they gathered that Delilah had tricked Austin as well. There was no doubt where they had to go.
Chapter 31
When Austin stepped on the grounds of Paradisus, he realized he should have brought backup. Knowing Claudia needed him had clouded his mind . He went without thinking twice. All he could think about was getting to her, to make sure no harm came her way. “Claudia, ” he called. There was no answer as he walked the pebbled path. No sound from her and being alone was not a good thing.
He headed toward where the ground had collapsed, but before he reached the area, he saw Claudia bound by golden angelic cuff s . Carefully, he looked up among the trees and scanned the perimeter. When he didn ’t see anyone, he advanced to her. “What happened? I told you never to go anywhere by yourself.”
Avalon shook her head and tried to tell him she wasn ’t Claudia, but all Austin heard was mumbling sounds and a fright ened look in her eyes. Feeling furious and glad to see her at the same time, he stroke d her hair , needing physical confirmation she was fine and no harm was done to her.
Before he could figure out how he was going to unb ind the cuffs, he was lifted up into the air. It happened so fast, he didn ’t have a chance to react. A branch from a tree slithered like a snake , coiled around Austin ’s ankle , and yanked him up. As he was shot up in the air, Austin willed his bow and slashed across it , releasing himself to fall toward the ground . On his way down, another branch wrapped around him and broke his fall. Several more darted and cur led around his arms and legs. Faster and faster, m ore branches appeared, wrapping h is body like a mummy.
Michael stood on the vast hills where he’d dropped off Claudia the last time he was here. He search high and low but could not find Davin. He had specifically told him to wait. Davin never went against his word , so Michael f ou nd it odd that he would just rush off by himself ; but then again, an angel in love did stupid things.
Michael’s instinct told him something was wrong, but he decided to trust Delilah ’s word s . After searching near the hills, he went further into the woods. What stun ned him the most was seeing Claudia a few yards away, tied to a tree. Michael wondered if he was hallucinating. He had been with her a short time ago. How could she be here?
He approached her carefully. She definitely looked like Claudia ; her petite frame, her eyes, the color of her hair, but he knew it wasn ’t his Claudia. Claudia smelled like lavender wrapped up in sunshine, but whoever was masked , did not. Michael didn ’t feel the attraction when he looked at her, the kind of attraction that draws two souls like a magnet that you can ’t pull apart no mat ter how hard you try. He also didn ’t see the butterfly necklace on her. He back ed away cautiously , not to awaken or disturb any demons nearby, but it was to o late .
Oddly, he didn’t see any demons prance in front of him as he willed his sword. All he heard w as the shuffling sounds from the trees and the ground where he stood. Flashing his eyes swiftly to every sound, he waited , anticipating.
With a ‘whoosh ’ sound, one branch slashed Mi chael in the bac k like a w hip . He flew across and sl ammed into a tree. Feeling dazed , he stumbled to get up and willed his sword that was knocked out of his hand. Just in time, he slashed through mor e branches that were charging at him, a nd they slithered back. When he thought that was the end of it, he dashed toward Avalon, still not knowing who she was, but more demons came toward them.
Michael turned when Avalon gave him a fright ened look . He cut the branch es aiming for his arms, but he missed the ones that coiled around his feet. Yanked up into the trees, he slammed against the tree’s trunk . Just before he was knocked out, he called out for the only person he ’d ever loved .
As the A lpha team gather ed in Claudia ’s room to discuss their plan, Claudia paced anxiously from the foot of her bed to the double door. Worried for Michael and Austin, she only heard half of their conversation. A part of her felt uncomfortable , remember ing who Vivian, Caleb and Davin w ere . She tried her best not to make it obvious because now was not the time to discuss this matter , when more important issues were at hand.
“Would you stop pacing back and forth, princess ? You ’re making me nervous.” Holly ’s tone was light, but Claudia didn ’t take it that way.
“Why do you call me princess? You think I ’m this helpless girl who can ’t do anything right…and…I need others to protect me all the time , because I have this dam n soul and can ’t do a dam n thing right…like killing Aliah?” Claudia ’s heart raged with anger and fear. She took her failure of killing Aliah out on them. She didn’t mean to, it just came out unexpectedly . She couldn ’t stop thinking about Michael and Austin , wondering if they were trouble.
Shocked by the sudden outburst that was so uncharacteristic of Claudia, no one said a word as they watched her storm out of the room.
Davin followed her out , closing the door behind him. “Claudia.”
Claudia ignored Davin’s call and ke pt on running toward anywhere she thought she could escape. She headed toward the kitchen , sobb ing her worries out into the palm s of her hands.
Davin didn’t care if he would be rejected; he cuddled Claudia into his hold. “I ’m sorry. I know you know that I know what you know.”
Claudia busted up laughing as she took a step back , wiping her tears. Davin beamed a huge smile too , feeling good that he ’d made her laugh. Claudia always felt a great level of comfort around him , even when she didn ’t know who he was. She cared about him and she knew he did the same. It was the kind of the feeling you never let go of, or forgot.
“Davin, I remember you, ” she said , with the most heartfelt smile and such sweetness in her tone, like she had just reunited with her best friend. “I remember Caleb and Vivian too. I don ’t remember what we ’ve been through, but I remember some and how I felt.”
Davin stood there at first, looking stunned as ever. To Claudia ’s s urprise, he reached for her and gave her a tight squeeze, like one would hold a long lost friend. “I ’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I thought you might think that I was crazy. It had to come from you, ” he muttered . “We didn ’t know what to do, but we had a plan. I mean , we still have a plan. You ’re not suppose to know cause then it wouldn ’t be a surprise plan. We ’ve always had your back, looking after you, making sure you were okay.
We just had to wait for the right time.”
Claudia didn’t care what the plan was. She didn ’t even bother to ask. She let herself melt into his warm hug, the hug of comfort, the hug of friendship, the hug of the feeling of home.
As Davin released his hold, Caleb and Vivian burst in , running toward Claudia.
“Sorry, we were ea ves dropping. We learn ed that from Davin, ” she said, holding onto Claudia with tears in her eyes. “I ’m so sorry too, but we would never let it stay that way. I hope you can forgive us.”
Caleb joined in, hugging both Claudia and Vivian. “I ’m sorry too, Claudia. We had a plan on fixing what we had to do.”
“I understand, ” Claudia said, backing away, wiping her tears she thought wouldn ’t fall again. “I don ’t remember everything, but like I said to Davin, I remember enough to know how much we mean to each other , and that is enough for me. I ’m sure it was difficult for all of you, but you had to do what you had to do. I have no doubt in my mind th at you would have done anything to help me remember. Michael told me he suppressed my memories instead of talking them away like he was ordered too.”
“I ’m sure he suppressed the memories of Davin being a weirdo, ” Vivan teased.
“What? Then I ’m sure he did the same for you, ” he teased back.
“See, Claudia, nothing ever changed. It ’s probably better you don ’t remember a few things about them.” Caleb rested his arm around Claudia ’s shoulder.
Davin narrow ed his eyes sharply on Caleb and chuckle d . “That ’s my spot. Move out of the way.”
When Davin pushed Caleb out of the way, Claudia’s butterfly necklace was exposed. The three of them were stunned to see it on her, but they didn ’t ask how she got it . Too much ha d happened and none of them wanted to bring up the past.
Holly and the rest of the venator team enter ed . “Sounded like you guys were having too much fun in here.” She looked at Claudia. “I ’m sorry. I ’m not good with sorrys , so you know it took a lot for me to say it.”