Elizabeth woke early the next morning. Her eyes felt tired and a thin layer of crust was holding them shut. She had a lot of work to catch up on, though, so it was time to take a shower. The water was warm and with every passing minute she felt a little more awake. After the shower, she ate a small breakfast, and then immediately headed downstairs to continue installing the drywall. She hadn’t gotten too far in the kitchen yet and was determined to finish it today.
After an hour the front door opened and closed, and then she heard the rumble of a car engine. Ben was awake and in a hurry to leave. That was fine with her. She’d get more work done without any of his distractions. She was able to finish the kitchen and laundry room by lunch and then after a short break, she moved onto the hallway and foyer. She’d only been working for a few minutes when the crunching of gravel caught her attention.
Her initial thought was that Ben was back, but looking out the window she could see a small black car coming down the driveway. It parked next to hers and, waiting by the door, Elizabeth held it open for her friend. Claire took in the progress slowly and carefully. Nodding her head in approval, she said, “You look busy. Is this a bad time?”
“Nah,” Elizabeth said. “It’ll be nice to have some company. So what’s up?”
Elizabeth finished screwing in the panel she had been working on while Claire dragged a small stool over to her. After taking a seat she said, “Not too much. Working mostly. How ‘bout you?”
“Same.”
They remained silent for a minute while Elizabeth screwed in another drywall panel. “Nicole’s sister is getting married.”
Elizabeth stopped to think before asking, “Her half-sister?”
“Yeah,” Claire said. “She was dating this guy for a few years, apparently, and with everything that’s happened, I guess they figured they’d better do it while they can.”
That made sense to Elizabeth. She couldn’t remember her name, but knew she was nearing thirty--not a bad age to tie the knot.
“Rachel is dating someone now too.”
“Oh, really?” Elizabeth said. That caught her attention. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to date her, although that was probably because they didn’t get along too well.
“Yeah,” Claire said. “He’s kinda nerdy but they seem to get along really well. I’ve only met him once.”
Moving the next piece of drywall into place, Elizabeth thought for a moment. “I haven’t talked to her since that night at the club.”
“Yeah,” Claire said. “I’ve only seen her once since the funeral. It just feels too weird without… well, you know.”
Elizabeth nodded to herself, lifting the drywall into place. It was nice seeing Claire again. Even when they weren’t talking it was pleasant having her there. It felt like things were getting back to normal, although that was never really a good thing to think.
Claire watched her silently for a few minutes, and then randomly asked, “Did you ever call that guy?”
“What guy?”
“What do you mean what guy?” Claire said. “How many guys do you meet? The one from the club.”
Shaking her head, Elizabeth bent to grab a few more screws. “Nah. I haven’t had much time lately.” Really, she had deleted the number, but Claire didn’t need to know that.
“I actually met his friend a few nights ago,” Claire said. “He took me to dinner.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Claire said. “He called me so I figured, why not? His friend’s really into you. You should call him.”
Letting out a sigh, Elizabeth wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Yeah, well, I kind of threw his number away.”
“That figures.” Claire rolled her eyes. This wasn’t the first number Elizabeth had magically lost. “You’re gonna come with me, okay?”
“Go with you where?” said Elizabeth.
“I’m going out with that guy again,” Claire said. “Come with and I’ll tell him to bring his friend. It’ll be fun.”
“Claire, I really don’t…”
“No! You’re coming, you big sour puss!” Claire said. “It’s just dinner. It’s not like I’m asking you to marry the guy.”
“Fine. Alright. I’ll come.”
Claire had a smug look. Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth fetched another sheet of drywall. They talked and worked until it was close to dinnertime. By then she had finished the foyer and hall, and with a little help from Claire she was able to make it into what would be her future bedroom. It was quitting time. Picking up the tools and leftover materials, the girls laughed when their stomachs growled. They joked and reminisced about the past, and with all the noise they were making, they didn’t hear the car pull up the driveway or the door open. Turning to leave, they screamed when they saw Ben standing in the doorway. He was leaning casually against the door frame with a broad smile on his face. He looked like he was up to no good, and probably wasn’t.
Not wasting any time, Elizabeth immediately introduced the two. “Claire, this is Ben. Ben, Claire.” There was an awkward silence after that. Elizabeth knew Claire had recognized him from her stunned expression but she wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet. To avoid having to explain his presence, Elizabeth raced upstairs to get cleaned up.
By the time she finished her shower Ben and Claire had moved upstairs as well and were talking softly in the small makeshift kitchen. Ben was heating something in a small bowl and Claire had a drink in front of her. They didn’t notice Elizabeth at first. She contemplated heading back to her room but was soon spotted by Ben when he turned away from the microwave.
Their conversation stopped, and all eyes were on Elizabeth. Her confidence shrank exponentially and she wondered what they had been talking about.
Taking a seat next to Claire, she immediately said, “Elizabeth, you didn’t tell me you had a roommate.”
“I guess it slipped my mind.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t buying her complacent attitude and was quick to chime in, “What Elizabeth hasn’t told you is that I’ve been staying here for a few weeks now. In fact, I’ve been trying to get her to date me, but she’s been quite reluctant.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks burned. She could only imagine what shade of red she was turning. Cocking her head, Claire stared at her friend in disbelief. “He’s exaggerating,” Elizabeth said. “We’ve hung out a little, but he’s never once asked me out on a real date.”
Claire rolled her eyes. She wasn’t buying a word of what Elizabeth had said. “So do you still want to come to dinner with me and the guys?” Claire asked. “I wouldn’t have asked if you said you were dating someone already.”
“We’re not dating!”
Wide-eyed, Claire took a long gulp of her drink and looked away. Ben was intrigued now and crossing his arms, he leaned back in his chair. “Going out with what guys?”
This was the last thing Elizabeth needed. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Just some guys we met at a club.”
Frowning, Ben said, “You can’t go.”
“Excuse me?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he restated, “You can’t go.”
Pointing a finger at his face, Elizabeth said, “You can’t tell me where I can and can’t go! You’re just my guest! And you’re not even paying me to stay here, ya big mooch!”
Gulping down what was left of her drink, Claire popped out of her chair and said her farewells. “Well, apparently you two have a lot to talk about so I’m just going to get out of here. It’s been nice catching up with you, Liz.”
“Yeah, same here,” Elizabeth said. “Call me when you figure out what day you want to go eat.”
Nodding silently, Claire waved and quickly exited the room. An awkward silence took over the small kitchen until they heard the front door close.
“Well, she was nice,” Ben said. “Kind of dull, but I guess all humans are.”
“Excuse me?”
He shrugged his shoulders and took a bite of his dinner. Glaring at him, Elizabeth didn’t like his condescending tone. “Oh, come on,” Ben said. “You have to admit human life is boring on the whole.”
The conversation was quickly going nowhere. Standing, Elizabeth ignored him and searched the fridge for something to eat. Nothing. That figures. Heading for the stairs, it sounded like an elephant was tearing apart the small kitchen. Ignoring the noise, Elizabeth grabbed her purse and opened the door to see Ben racing down the stairs towards her. “Where are you going?” he said.
“I’m going get some food.”
“Good. I’ll come too.”
Pushing past her, he was out the door before she could blink. She wanted to say something but was too tired to think of anything so, shrugging, she locked the house and got into the car. Ben was already in the passenger seat. He had no intentions of driving this time.
Heading into the city, Elizabeth sang quietly to the radio while Ben stared out the window. She didn’t want to go too far and pulled into a Wendy’s near the edge of the city limits. Belial never said a word the entire time, but paid for dinner after they ordered. He was enjoying his burger but Elizabeth had a few questions she was hoping to have answered. “So where did you go this morning?”
He didn’t look up from his dinner and continued to eat without a second glance. “Okay,” Elizabeth said, “can you at least tell me what Crocell wanted last night?”
That question got a response albeit a bad one. Glaring over his burger, he looked like he was trying to burn holes into her head. Frowning, he chewed his food slowly, staring at her the entire time. Taking a gulp of her drink, Elizabeth decided to drop the subject. They finished their dinner in silence and the drive back was equally quiet.
Entering the house, Elizabeth set her purse down and locked the door. Belial walked around the bottom floor, poking his head into every room.
“What are you doing?”
Stopping at the end of the hall, he turned towards her and said, “You’ve been busy.”
Nodding her head, Elizabeth didn’t wait for a reply. Heading upstairs she went straight to her room and changed into pajamas. Pulling a robe on, she walked to the small sitting room to watch TV. It still wasn’t late enough to go to bed, so television seemed like the next best option. She was a little sore and her feet ached from being on them all day. Falling onto the couch, she flipped channels for a minute until Belial requested, “Do you mind if we watch Animal Planet?”
Shrugging, she agreed, since there was nothing else on. It was a show about the ocean-- something about fish or the reefs. Definitely not Elizabeth’s taste, but Belial was captivated by it. Resting her head against the back of the couch, she zoned out. During a commercial he glanced at her curiously. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh and without thinking asked, “How’s Lucifer?”
Belial flinched and his eyes narrowed. Looking at the floor, he said, “How did you know I saw him?”
“Lucky guess? Whenever you run off and won’t tell me where you’ve gone it’s normally because you went to see him.”
“First off,” he said, “I don’t run off, and second, I don’t tell you because I’m ordered not to.”
He didn’t sound too convincing but she really wasn’t in the mood to argue so she let it go. Belial was in a chatty mood, however, and after a short pause said, “Lucifer wishes you well. However, he warned me, and I feel I should tell you since you’re so stubborn… the angels will stop at nothing. If they find you, they’ll kill you.”
She’d been attacked several times by now but was still having a hard time accepting that her attackers were angels. “Are they really that bad? I mean, how do we know they’re even angels? I was always told angels will protect you, not harm you.”
“When He is awake, that is the case, but since He’s taking His rest, they are left to their own devices. Angels are just as power-hungry as humans. They will kill you. Make no mistake.” He was serious. His voice and eyes were cold and stony. All of this talk was making her sick. Why did this happen to her? Standing, she decided the best course of action was to go to bed. Belial didn’t try to stop her. She was glad because she was tired and just wanted to sleep.
She was relieved the next day was Monday. She was looking forward to going back to work. It was reassuring being around normal people and nice to get away from Ben. He was always watching her and telling her what to do, so it was refreshing to be alone from time to time. The horses were excited to see her as usual, and as silly as it might sound, it was good to feel needed, even if it was only by horses. The whole morning went smoothly and Elizabeth took her normal spot under a large tree for lunch. The air was warm and thick but it wasn’t uncomfortable yet.
After lunch she headed back to the stables without seeing anyone. The owners had to be busy. No one was moving about the house or the property. At least she didn’t have to stop and talk to anyone. Who knew what they’d heard about Ben and her.
The rest of the day passed quickly and soon it was time to bring the horses in from pasture. The mares were always easy to coax in, but the males… not so much. She normally had to bring them in one at a time and today was no exception. Leading the last horse into its stall, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind her, “Excuse me?”
Turning, Elizabeth saw a tall man with brown hair and eyes. He was dressed simply enough and was looking around curiously. “Can I help you?” Elizabeth said. “How did you get in here?”
He had such a pleasant smile that it was contagious. Closing the stall door behind her, Elizabeth grinned back at him weakly. The man walked over to the stall and leaned on the door while she removed the horse’s halter. “I’m parked on the side of the road on the other side of the fence,” the man said. “I’m a bit lost and when I saw you I was hoping to get some directions.”
“Where do you need to go?”
“Here.”
Turning, she saw a small paper in his hand. Holding it out to her, Elizabeth took the paper to see what was scribbled on it. She recognized the location immediately. “Yeah, this is about three miles back the other way. It’s a little set back from the road and the sign’s pretty small, but if you head the other way it’ll be on the right.”
Handing the paper back to him with a smile, the man thanked her. He left without another word. Elizabeth watched him closely while he exited the stable and jumped a nearby fence that marked the edge of the property. Shrugging it off, she finished brushing down the horse and put away the remaining equipment. After feeding the horses again it was time to go.
The drive home was relaxing. She took her time, driving below the speed limit with the radio blaring. Singing the entire way, she belted every song that played. This was the first normal day she’d had in a while and it was great.
Pulling into the driveway, Ben’s car was already parked near the house and the lights were on inside. She was beginning to get used to the idea that she wouldn’t be coming home to an empty house anymore and it put a little extra pep in her step. Throwing her purse in its usual spot, she bounced up the stairs. Reaching the top step, she barely had a chance to gain her footing when Ben jumped out from around the corner. Slamming her against the wall, his hands dug into her shoulders with great force causing her to wince in pain.
Looking her over, his eyes narrowed. Spinning around, he pressed his back against her and growled. “Where is he?”
Elizabeth was having issues breathing under his weight. Pushing on his back she tried to move him. “Where’s who?” she said. “What are you talking about?”
Turning slowly, his eyes darted in every direction, still not convinced that they were alone. Taking a deep breath, he smelled it again--that distinctive scent. Leaning close, Belial placed his hands on the wall so she couldn’t get away. Sniffing, he tested the air around her neck and mov
ed down her body from there. Reaching her left hand, he took in a deep breath. Holding her hand, he raised it to his nose and took in the scent one more time.
“You reek of angel,” he said. “I thought one was in the house the smell is so strong. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
Elizabeth was having a hard time registering what he was saying. Rubbing her temples, she shook her head. “I’m fine. I didn’t see anyone all day.”
Belial glared at her. Grabbing her hand again, he squeezed it. He knew what he smelled, and it didn’t get there by chance. Blinking, it suddenly hit her, “Oh yeah. I did see someone today, right before I left.”
His face perked up. He was all ears. “A man came into the barn when I was getting ready to leave,” Elizabeth said. “He was asking for directions.”
Cocking an eyebrow at her, Belial groaned. His face said it all: he didn’t believe her, not even a little bit. Yanking her hand away, she pushed past him and V-lined for the shower. She remained motionless for the first few minutes, allowing the water to flow over her before washing. Grabbing the soap, she scrubbed her skin roughly, washing and rinsing several times. She didn’t know what he had smelled but she was determined to get it off.
After the shower she pulled on a simple cotton T-shirt and shorts, and then headed into the kitchen for dinner. To her surprise, the table was already set. Ben had picked up hamburgers. He was already seated and eating when she walked in, but paused when she took a seat. He was trying to be inconspicuous but Elizabeth could see his nose twitching ever so slightly. Testing the air, he was satisfied with the results and without a word continued eating.
The burgers were good and Elizabeth quickly devoured the food. Belial was acting strange, though. He was melancholic all through dinner. He even cleared the table and washed the dishes, which was out of the ordinary. Not letting it get to her, Elizabeth moved to the sitting room and turned on the TV. The news was on and they were covering a topic she had a great interest in.
“… Although they still haven’t been able to identify the deceased and no leads have proven useful. No report has been filed on the mysterious feathers found at the scene and police are saying they speculate that the cause was due to a flock of ducks or geese that happened to be in the area at the time of the incident. The police chief declined to comment. Now onto the weather and this week’s forec…”
The channel suddenly changed to Animal Planet. She hadn’t noticed Belial enter the room but after changing the channel he took a seat next to her on the couch. He was content to watch the TV in silence but Elizabeth had grown curious. “Do you think they know what the feathers are really from?”
He didn’t move and his eyes never left the screen. Looking away, she was exasperated. He was giving her the silent treatment again. Leaning back, Belial placed an arm along the top of the couch and, still deep in thought, responded, “I don’t know. They definitely know they’re not from a bird but I’m not sure if they’ll figure it out, or if they’ll even want to. Most humans are content living with the unknown and they’d rather not find out something strange and unexplainable is out there, living among them.”
His explanation made a lot of sense. It would cause a lot of unrest if people knew demons were walking around and angels were trying to kill people. Religious organizations might actually fall apart.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Lucifer already has men on it. They won’t find out anything.”
Elizabeth had forgotten that Lucifer was there as well. So he had just as much to lose as Belial and her if the police discovered anything. Shrugging, she accepted his response and settled into the couch to watch whatever animal show was playing. Belial was still deep in thought, though, and was staring blankly into space.
“He really didn’t try to attack you or anything?” he said. “The angel, that is.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Why?”
Retreating inwards, he wasn’t sure what it meant. “The smell, his smell… it was the same one that was outside here last week.”
Elizabeth’s heart sank. It felt like it had skipped a beat. She wasn’t worried until he said that and now all she could think about was how she could be in serious danger. Why was this guy following her? Cocking her head, she looked out the window. The sun had set and it was nearly pitch black outside. He could be out there right now and she would have no idea.
Suddenly she was pulled backwards. Letting out a piercing scream, her breath quickened but then she heard Ben’s familiar laugh behind her. Wrapping an arm around her waist he held her to him. A calming rush passed through her body. Relaxing, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. They sat on the couch for almost another hour like that until it was time for bed. Retiring to their respective rooms, Elizabeth laid under the covers but sleep avoided her. Instead she tossed and turned for a few hours.
Eventually she gave up and crawled out of bed. Walking towards Ben’s room slowly, she peeked around the corner. It was so dark that she couldn’t see much, but he was definitely in bed. Letting out a sigh, she turned to go back to her room. A soft patting sound caused her to pause. Looking back into the room, a dark hand was tapping the top of the bed. Tip-toeing into the room, Belial scooted over to make room for her. Without hesitation she slid under the covers and his arm fell over her waist. She could feel his body shift closer to hers. He was so close they were almost touching. It was strangely comfortable and soon she drifted to sleep.
Chapter 15