Chapter Five
Eloise
Just after Eloise turned eighteen, Nathaniel wandered outside for his usual dawn ritual of checking around the house and observing wildlife. He’d come to believe that some of the native animals could actually see him; either that or he was losing his mind. As he watched a mob of kangaroos, grazing on the rich green grass, a tiny joey hopped out of its mother’s pouch and bounced around the flower beds. Its ears twitched and it stared up at him, then it bolted back to its mother. Nathaniel smiled. At least he had the animals to keep him company. Guiding Eloise for eighteen years with no angels to talk to was taking its toll on his psyche and he was beginning to think no one knew he existed.
As the sun began to rise above the horizon, Butcher Birds, and magpies swooped down from their branches to hunt for food. A baby bandicoot scurried across the lawn and disappeared under a dense grevillea bush. Nathaniel smiled. He was happy to see the tiny night-critter escape the birds of prey. Now it could be with its mother and sleep in a nest of leaves until dusk.
With so many nocturnal animals coming from the forest to forage around the house, they had to expect strange noises in the middle of the night, but Nathaniel didn’t mind. It kept him alert in case Devlin turned up. He hadn’t seen him for eighteen years, and though he still didn’t trust him, he prayed he hadn’t weakened and sold his soul to Lucifer. Although if he had lost his wings and been banished to Earth, he’d most likely come looking for Eloise, especially now she’d grown into a beautiful young woman.
Deciding to do a thorough security check in case Devlin was lurking nearby, Nathaniel raised his arms above his head and shot up to the sky. Instantly relaxing at the thrill of flying, he circled the area, spreading his wings and catching the wind beneath them as he glided over the rooftops and surrounding forest. He couldn’t see anything suspicious, but he knew if he ever did see Devlin without his wings, he’d crush him with his bare hands. No way was he letting him anywhere near Eloise, especially if he’d become one of Lucifer’s demons. Even if Devlin turned up as an angel, he wouldn’t forgive him unless he apologised for his bad behaviour when Eloise was born.
As he zoomed around the neighbourhood, he was tempted to take off into the atmosphere and skyrocket over the ocean for a few hours, but knowing he couldn’t, he sailed back to the house and landed softly on the roof. Standing with his arms folded, he gazed across at the river. He loved how it shimmered through the gaps in the trees that grew along the riverbank, especially on such a beautiful day. He’d needed something to cheer him up. Not being able to go on night flights for so many years had made him extremely restless—though guiding Eloise now that she was a young woman certainly kept him busy, especially when she stayed out later than her deadline. She was stubborn and sometimes took no notice of his psychic warnings, which forced him to step in and help when she came across dangerous situations—and there’d certainly been plenty of them over the years.
He knew he was lucky to be in such beautiful surroundings and he began to feel guilty for grumbling about not being able to go on night flights anymore. At least he wasn’t stuck in some dismal desolate place like he had been many times in the past. Besides, Eloise was such a sweet and endearing girl, he knew he should appreciate having her as a ward instead of feeling sorry for himself.
He swooped back into the house to make sure no one had sneaked in while he was flying around the woods. It was a Saturday and Eloise wasn’t up yet, but Madeline was in the laundry doing the washing. With Matthew away on a work trip again, at least it was peaceful and quiet. Whenever he was home, he’d either be hammering in his workshop or mowing the lawns.
After checking Eloise was in her room, Nathaniel wandered over to the window and peered out. All he could see was animals and birds, but when a movement in the woods caught his eye, he shot outside. With his hand on his sword, he looked towards the trees, then he saw what he dreaded, but also what he missed.
Leaning against a tree at edge of the forest, Devlin stood grinning at him.
Nathaniel reached for the crucifix around his neck and crossed himself, then he flew to the bottom of the garden to stop him from entering the property.
Flashing his pearly whites, Devlin strode towards him. “What’s the matter, Nate, did you think I’d given up?”
Nathaniel stretched to his full height. “Oh, I knew you’d be back. In fact I expected you sooner.”
Devlin smirked. “Ah, so you missed me, then?”
“Not particularly.” Nathaniel glanced at Devlin’s wings, relieved he hadn’t lost them, then before he could stop him, he flew over the fence.
Standing next to him, Devlin pretended to punch him in the belly. “Oh, you missed me all right, Nate. Your face is a dead giveaway.”
“In your dreams.” Nathaniel looked him up and down. He was even more flamboyant than ever. His hair was still slicked back, but longer and his black silk shirt was open at the top, exposing his chest, but his jeans, oh dear. They were so tight, it was a wonder he could move at all. He obviously hadn’t been to rehab. He looked more like a movie star than an angel.
Spreading his arms out, Devlin gazed down at his clothes. “What, you don’t like my outfit?”
“Oh, it’s a great outfit—for a human.” Nathaniel smirked. He wanted nothing more than to pull Devlin into a bear hug and wrestle him good-humouredly to the ground, but he wasn’t about to encourage him to hang around. He was pretty sure he was only after one thing, and it wasn’t for friendship.
Devlin glanced at the house, then back at Nathaniel. “Is Eloise indoors?”
“You’re unbelievable, Devlin. You haven’t asked about her for eighteen years, so why now? Anyway, you should be guarding your own ward, not spying on mine.”
“Your ward?” Devlin stroked his chin. “Now that’s funny because we both know that you stole Eloise from me.”
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Oh, we’re going through that again, are we? You know very well that I was called upon by Michael. It wasn’t my fault Eloise was born early, or that she had a difficult birth. I told you at the hospital that Lucifer turned up and I had to fight him to get him out of there, so how dare you accuse me of stealing her from you? You’re the one who put her life in danger by leaving her vulnerable without a guardian, and all because you were too busy lusting over women at a surfing competition.”
“Ah.” Devlin, wagged a finger at him. “So you did know where I was.”
Nathaniel sighed. “No, I didn’t. I found out later. You didn’t tell anyone where you were going. Look, Devlin, it was eighteen years ago, so why are you still harping on about it?”
Devlin clasped his fingers together. “Because Eloise should have been mine. I’ve always felt that, I still do. Please, Nate, I’m begging you, hand her back to me?”
“Don’t be absurd. Angels don’t own people. Anyway, I can’t give her back to you.”
Devlin spun away from him and held his head. “Why not? You betrayed me, Nate, and you were supposed to be my friend.”
“I was your friend, Devlin and I didn’t betray you.” He wrapped his arm around Devlin’s shoulder. “Listen, try and understand. I had no choice in the matter. I was ordered to take over as Eloise’s guardian. I didn’t ask for it. It hurt me as much as it did you. Ask Ramiel if you don’t believe me.”
Devlin shrugged him away. “That’s rubbish. If you were a genuine friend, you would’ve flat out refused, or at least tried to find me, but you didn’t. And if you are a true friend like you claim to be, prove it.” He flipped a hand in the air. “Hand her over to me now or at least share her with me. You owe me that much at least.”
Confused, Nathaniel stared at him. “What is it with you, why do you want Eloise so much?”
“The same reason you do, you hypocrite.”
Nathaniel raked his hands through his hair and sighed. “Look, we’re just going around in circles and I don’t have time to stand here and argue with you all morning. I’m not sharing her with
you, Devlin, and I never will. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than annoy me. You must have wards to attend to, so why aren’t you with them?”
Slumping his shoulders, Devlin smiled. “Nate, I’m here now because I couldn’t stand us fighting any longer. Though you don’t admit it, I know you missed me—and I miss you, so I decided to come and see you. Anyway, I left my ward with his mother’s guardian. Okay, I’ll admit that I that want to see what a descendant of a fallen angel has turned out like, but I also want back what was taken from me. It was my destiny to guard Eloise.” He gripped Nathaniel’s shoulders. “Come on, Nate, you were my best friend for thousands of years and we never fought before Eloise was born. You know you can trust me, so please, just share her with me?”
Nathaniel looked deep into Devlin’s eyes and though he tried to see into his soul, something was stopping him. Believing he had an ulterior motive, there was no way he could trust him with Eloise, so he pushed him away. “No, and that’s my final answer.”
“Why not?”
Nathaniel blew out a frustrated breath. “Because you’re irresponsible.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nathaniel looked at him for a long moment. “Listen, Devlin. I know you won’t believe this, but I would love nothing better than for us to be friends again, but first, you have to move on and forget about guarding Eloise. Please, say that you will and we can ...”
Before Nathaniel could finish his sentence, the back door flew open and Madeline walked out with her laundry basket. Devlin’s jaw dropped and as she walked down the garden to the washing line, he stared at her bare legs and whistled. “Wow, she’s still as stunning as ever.”
Grabbing Devlin’s arm, Nathaniel frowned. “Okay, it’s time you left.”
Devlin wasn’t listening to a word he said. He was too busy gawking at Madeline in her skimpy nightdress. And from the hungry look in his eyes, it was going to be hard to get him to leave. At that moment, Devlin’s obsession with Eloise became suddenly clear. He didn’t just want to guide her because she was a descendant of a fallen angel, he had a crush on her beautiful mother.
Nathaniel gritted his teeth glared at him. No way did he want Devlin hanging around and gawking at Madeline like that, especially since Eloise had grown up to look like her, except for the colour of her hair. He shoved him hard. “Did you hear me?” he yelled.
Devlin blinked. “Huh?”
“Okay, I don’t know if you’re doing this just to annoy me or if you’ve lost the plot, but you, my friend, need to go to Angel Rehab to recover from your addictions. And until you do, I don’t want you hanging around here. So it’s up to you.”
Devlin’s eyes flashed. “Jesus Christ, Nathaniel, don’t start with that again. I’m not going to no angel frigging rehab again. Michael got me there once and that was enough.”
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “I see you’re still blaspheming and using your potty mouth.”
Devlin glared at him. “Why are you being so sanctimonious?” He pressed his hand to his chest. “And to think I use to idolise you, confide in you, but then you went and doublecrossed me. You crushed me, Nate.”
“I didn’t doublecrossed you, Devlin. Nor did I ever repeat what you told me in confidence. I .....” Ah, he was wasting his breath. Devlin wasn’t even listening to him. He was more interested in gawping at Madeline as she bent over to gather stray pegs from the grass. Nathaniel shook his head. Devlin hadn’t changed. He was just using their friendship to get what he wanted. Well it wasn’t going to work. And no matter what, he had to get him to leave before Eloise came out. No way was he letting Devlin gawp at her the way he was looking at her mother, and if he saw how beautiful she was, he’d try everything to get her to her. Then it occurred to him that Devlin might have already been spying on her, and if he had, he’d know what she looked like. He clenched his fists. That was it! He had to force him to leave.