“I’m sorry but I was a bit pissed off if you hadn’t noticed.”
Hayley sighed, her gaze drifting back to the window. “I know,” she muttered.
“It’s not your…” Hayley looked at him when he didn’t finish. Alex quickly stood and turned away.
“Alex?”
Snatching his sword belt from the coffee table, he ripped the blade free from the scabbard. Allowing the belt to fall to the floor, he charged from the living room.
“Alex!” Hayley shouted, hurrying after him.
“Stay behind me!”
Hayley stopped where she was, her heart in her mouth. She watched as Alex made his way to the door and swung it open, bringing the tip of the blade to the throat of the person who stood there. His outstretched wings made it impossible for Hayley to see who it was.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Alex shouted, his voice dripping with contempt.
“I only want to talk.”
She knew that voice. Her heart beat faster. It was Adam.
“You had your chance the other day! Now get out of here!”
“Marli is the one behind the attacks!” Adam blurted, throwing up his hands. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at the time but I couldn’t. Not in front of Mark. He would have asked too many questions. He would have thought that I was still working with them.”
“Still?”
“I haven’t for three centuries! Not since before Mark took me back! I promise!” he shouted as Alex pressed the point of the sword into his soft flesh. “Please…”
Alex lowered the sword by a few inches and Adam slowly dropped his hands. Gasping for breath and sweating profusely, Alex could see the toll a life in exile had taken on his former comrade. Adam was much skinner than he remembered. He still emitted a degree of power about him, but it was severely diminished to what it once had been. He was a shadow of his former self. But now wasn’t the time for sympathy. “How do you know it’s Marli?” He demanded.
“Because it couldn’t be anyone else. The last time I saw her she told me that she was looking for you. She came to Rome one day about seven years ago. She asked me to help find you but I said no. I’ve turned my life around, Alexander, I really have.”
“Why is she looking for me now?”
“She said she still loved you. But she wanted someone to help her track you down through The Badlands, New Yopro, everywhere. All those worlds you spent chasing Gabriel through for eight years.” He shook his head. “None of us knew where you were during that time. We had heard rumours but that was it.”
“That doesn’t explain the demons, Adam,” he said, raising his blade again.
Adam threw up his hands. “Ok! Ok! She went off on her own looking for you and that’s the last I ever saw her! But one day, I saw Daniel. He told me she had flipped.” He rolled a finger around his temple. “Someone told her that you had finally been granted a soul mate and she lost it. She told Daniel if she couldn’t have you, then no one would.”
“When did you speak to Daniel?”
“I don’t know…” The cold tip of the sword bit Adam’s skin and he yelped. “About two years ago!” He swallowed hard. “But Daniel told me something else,” he said, lowering his voice. “He told me it was Marli who opened the gate and let Gabriel back into this world. Apparently she did it to draw you back here so she could find out who your soul mate was.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t she just come through herself? She obviously knows that we’re here.”
“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”
Alex pulled the sword away, allowing the point to drop to the carpet. “And where is Daniel now?”
The terrified wreck standing before him could only shake his head.
Alex drew himself up. Gazing at the small man, he pointed a finger. “Go home. If you ever come back here again, I’ll kill you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alexander locked the door and turned away from it, his fiery eyes meeting Hayley’s across the hall. His expression was grim. Lifting his sword, he walked towards her. “It’s all right, he’s going. I can feel him scurrying down the stairs. There’s no one else out there. He definitely came alone.”
If that was meant to put her at ease she did not show it. “How does he know where we live?”
Alex shook his head as he came to stand before her. “I don’t know. He must have heard it from one of the other angels.”
“Why did you let him go? He could be running back to Marli and Daniel to tell them where we are!”
“I don’t think he is working with them. I would have sensed the two of them if they were in the city.”
“You’re certain about that?”
He hated seeing the fear in her big, blue beautiful eyes. Placing his free hand upon her cheek, he brushed his thumb gently beneath her eye. “Trust me.”
Christopher cleared his throat and they both looked at him. He stood in the doorway to the living room. His wings twitched behind him as he gave the couple a nervous look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Alex smiled. “You’re fine, Christopher.” He allowed his hand to fall from Hayley’s cheek. “Where have you been anyway? Where’s Father?”
“He had to return home because of some pressing business, apparently,” Christopher said as he stepped into the hall. His expression grew serious. “I sensed Adam. What happened?”
Alex tensed. “He came to tell me something but whether it is true or not is a different matter.” He spent the next several minutes telling his brother what had been said. Once he had finished, Christopher asked, “What would be have to gain by telling you this? He could have got away without saying anything.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“So what do we do?”
Alex looked at his brother and then at Hayley. He sighed. “I don’t know.”
“I could go look for Daniel and Marli. I might find them,” Christopher suggested, scratching his chin.
Alex noticed the yellow stubble forming around his jaw line for the first time. “It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if you did find them, you’d be out numbered.”
“Why don’t we all go?” Hayley asked, pressing her hand into Alex’s. “From what I’ve heard your ex sounds like a right nutter.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not letting that crazy bitch anywhere near you,” she said, her fingers clenching against her guardian’s.
Alex ignored her outburst; it was only natural that Hayley felt threatened. “No, I’m not putting you in harm’s way again. Marli’s dangerous,” he said gently.
“We could attempt to draw her out somehow?” Christopher offered, leaning against the wall. His great white wings shifted behind him.
“If only it were that easy.”
“She is clearly growing desperate. It will only be a matter of time before…” Christopher trailed off as his eyes darted to the ceiling.
“What…” A deafening explosion drowned out the rest of Hayley’s words. Strong arms and a flurry of white feathers cocooned her as the floor fell away beneath her feet. The world, hidden away behind Alex’s wings, sounded like it was being ripped apart. Hayley’s ears were assaulted by a melee of sounds as they tumbled through space; the deep rumble of smashing concrete and the cringing creak of steel girders giving way. Her stomach lurched in the freefall, her head spinning as she tumbled with the angel. Pain exploded through the back of her head as Alex collided with something hard. They had stopped. So had the noise and the world had become a deafly silent and dark place.
“Alex!” Hayley shrieked, shaking violently against him. She couldn’t move. Warm tears fell down her cheeks and Hayley knew that she had never been so scared. The angel’s arms tightened around her.
“It’s all right, it’s all right,” he whispered, pressing his head against her as Hayley cried into his chest. “I’m getting us out of here. Don’t panic.”
It felt like she was falling again
, but only for a second. Alex unfurled his mighty wings and a cold wind prickled her skin, causing her to shiver. Hayley blinked; the sudden glare of daylight was a stark contrast to the dusty dark tomb they had just escaped from. She looked up at Alex, her trembling white fingers reaching straight for his grey and dirty cheeks. One glance into his bright blue eyes told her that he was fine. She burst into tears and fell back into his arms, clutching him desperately.
Alex held her just as tightly, relieved that his life-companion was not hurt. His gaze drifted to the city. Plumes of black smoke rose like columns across the skyline. Red and amber flames licked at their grey tails, streaming from the roofs and windows of countless buildings across Glasgow. He could hear the blare of sirens, even from the distance of the Campsie Fells where they had taken refuge. The only things he could smell was ash and smoke. But it was nothing compared to the fear and the death he could sense emanating from the city. Tears filled his eyes. He blinked, suddenly remembering his brother. Throwing his head back he screamed, “Christopher!” He stared into the angry black sky, the howling wind freezing his tears, waiting for an answer. It seemed like an eternity before he got one. Alex sensed his brother before he saw him, his chest pounding with relief. Christopher appeared alongside him. His little brother looked like a zombie with all the dust that coated him from head to toe. Alex threw an arm around him and pulled his close. The traumatized youngster fell against him, bursting into tears. Alexander sank to the snow covered grass, clutching the people he loved. They sat huddled there for the longest time in silence. Finally, drawing a deep breath, Alex peered down at Christopher. “Are you all right?”
Christopher gave a meek nod. His gaze drifted towards the ruined city and his brother’s followed. “How could this have happened?”
Alex shook his head, causing dust to fall from his black and grey mottled hair. “I don’t know. This was never meant to happen. The Elders would have told us. They would have seen it coming.”
Christopher gasped and fresh tears fell from his eyes, carving streaks through the film of dust on his cheeks. “So much death. It’s wrong, Alexander, it’s just wrong! It was not their time. It was not time for any of them to die!”
Alex swallowed hard. He could feel it as well; the spirits of the deceased that now fled the Earth. Every human was marked and every one had their time to die. But it had not been time for those who had died this day. It felt wrong, sickeningly wrong. Every inch and every bone in his body ached from the wrongness of it all. Hayley felt Alex’s chest tighten. “I’m going to kill them,” he muttered coldly. Standing, he lifted her and Christopher to their feet. Letting them go he looked skyward. “I can feel it, the rip in the sky. They tried to close it but it’s taking a while. If we’re going after them we need to go now.”
“What about the people? This city? We must help them!” Christopher cried.
“We might never get another chance to catch her!” Alex argued, his wings snapping wide behind him.
Hayley was about to speak when her head ached and the world started to spin around her again. Going weak at the knees, she fainted.
Chapter Fifteen
“Get up! Get up!”
A sharp poke to the ribs was enough to wake Hayley. She flapped a hand at whatever it was that was jabbing her. Hayley opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the glare of the sun. Placing a hand over them brought the world back into focus. The dome of a cloudless, azure sky loomed overhead, framed by the rustling green leaves of the tree branches that stretched overhead. But it was the relentless pounding inside her skull that dominated her attention.
“Get up!” Another blow was delivered to her side. Hayley grabbed the end of the stick without looking. The old woman snatched it from her grasp. She did not look pleased by the action, Hayley decided, judging by the expression on her wrinkled face.
She sat up. “Why do you keep poking me with that bloody thing?” she complained, rubbing at bruised ribs.
The little old lady stared at her with flinty, hard eyes. “Don’t grab my cane,” she said flatly.
“Don’t poke me with it then.” Hayley staggered to her feet and the world seemed to rock for a few moments. Her head pounded harder.
“Careful, I do not want you collapsing on my footpath again.”
Hayley wiped the corners of her bleary eyes before looking up and down the path between the trees. It was little more than a dusty, narrow game trail. “Where am I?”
The old woman clasped her withered, bony hands over the black handle of the cane and leant against it. “You are at Madam Kiki’s. Well, it is just over this hill anyway,” she said.
Hayley stared at her blankly. “And where’s that exactly?” she asked, looking about, taking in the rolling green meadows and empty summer-soaked landscape. “I take it we’re nowhere near Glasgow?”
The creases on the old woman’s face deepened as she allowed herself a crooked smile. “You seem smarter than a lot of the ones who come this way.”
Hayley frowned at the cryptic answer. She turned, looking around her again. “I take it you’ve not seen my friends?”
“And who would they be?”
“Alex and Christopher,” Hayley said, still looking.
The smile vanished from the old woman’s face. “Who is this Alex you speak of?”
“He’s about six foot two, has black hair and wings…” she trailed off when she saw how wide the old lady’s grey eyes had become.
“Alexander?” she asked. “The angel?”
“Yeah…”
The old woman looked this way and that. “Come with me,” she said, lowering her voice as she made up the hill.
For a small, slightly hunched back elderly lady with a cane, she moved surprising fast. Hayley had to jog to keep up. “Where are you going? Do you know where he is?”
“No, I don’t,” she said, casting a quick glance back down the game trail. “But it is not safe for you to be out here. A lot of people will be looking for you.”
“Who’s looking for me?”
“Shh! Not here,” the old woman whispered, raising a bony finger to her mouth as she looked over her shoulder at Hayley. She hurried to the crest of the hill, Hayley in tow.
Hayley was about to ask where they were going again when it lurched into view. Rearing out of the next hill was a tall, whitewashed building. Its exterior was featureless save the odd window that dotted it here and there. At its base stood a stout terracotta coloured wall, which the dirt path wended its way toward. Hayley followed the little old lady up to it. It wasn’t until they were a lot closer that she realised how tall the wall enclosing the building really was. It had looked tiny against the tower beyond. Standing in its shadow, Hayley figured it must have been at least four metres high. The path had brought them before two large black and golden gilded gates. Their edges were lined with studs forged from the precious metal. A twisting golden leafed stem traced its way around the edges of the barriers. Within the stemmed frame were even more vines, twisting and turning around each other, winding their way to the top of the gate. The centre of each was adorned by a large, golden rose head. But they were not identical. Among the shining metal petals of the one on the left was a black handle.
The little old lady had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it.
“Do you want me…”
“I can manage.” And she did. Three slams and the old woman sent a thundering volley of bangs resonating through the gates.
Hayley was surprised that such a tiny, elderly woman had managed to muster such strength. She then remembered being jabbed in the ribs. Her side ached from the memory.
“Who goes there?” shouted a muffled voice from beyond the gate, a moment before a set of hazel eyes appeared through a slit.
“If you had looked through first before opening your mouth then you would not have needed to ask such a stupid question,” the old woman said, but not unkindly.
The eyes rolled. “I see you didn’t get lost then, Jo?”
&nb
sp; The old woman smiled and her mouth and cheeks creased into deep lines. “You can keep hoping.”
“Who’s this?” the man asked, his eyes narrowing when he saw Hayley.
“Another lost straggler.”
“Well she can stay lost then. Madam Kiki isn’t taking in any strays at the moment.”
“I think she’ll make an exception for this one.”
The man looked suspicious. “And why’s that?”
“This one hasn’t lost her marbles.”
That seemed to be all the would-be-guard needed. “We could definitely use someone like that,” he said. The slot in the gate suddenly closed. There was a loud clank, followed by a heavy groan, and the gate jarred open. The old lady went in first, followed closely by Hayley.
The first thing Hayley saw beyond the black and gold gate was the stern face of the guard. The man was middle-aged, with greying hair and a cautious appearance. Despite purporting to be some sort of gateman, he wore very plain attire. Another look revealed he did not even have any shoes.
“So what’s this one called?” he asked, looking at the old lady. The guard swapped the spear he was holding to his right hand and ran his sweaty palm down his grey, thin cotton tunic.
Jo smiled. “Evelyn.”
Hayley knew better than to ask why the old woman had chose to give her a fake name. Instead she simply smiled at the guard and said, “Hi.”
The man gave her a wary look. “Evelyn, you say? And which part of the old world are you from then?”
“Glasgow,” Jo answered for her.
The guard’s gaze flitted to the old woman and then back to Hayley. “So how did you get here?” he asked, looking her up and down. “Did you fall from the sky?” he laughed.
She was about to ask what he meant but a quick glance down revealed how filthy her clothes were. Maybe Alex dropped me. Then she remembered. Why have I not tried calling him through my mind? Alex? But there was no answer, only silence. Where are you? “Evelyn.” Hayley snapped out of her reverie and looked at Jo. The woman stood there staring at her with a worried expression. Turning away from the guard she said, “Come with me.”