Beyond (24 page)

“
Your car, ”
I said, sounding sympathetic, knowing how much he love d his car.

“
It ’
s just a car.
I ’
ll get a new one.
Material things can be re placed, but you, my sheltered one , are irreplaceable.
”
He brushed my cheek with sweetness in his eyes .
“
Let ’
s go home.
”

Chapter
1
2

It was too quiet w
hen Michael arrived at the s upernatural school.
He looked everywhere and opened each classroom door to check for hostages or any living or non -
living beings, but there were none.
Continuing his search , he went around to the back.
F
ind ing no one , he knew they were in trouble.

He followed Caspian
’
s steps by using his angelic super hearing . Though it was faint, he found himself going toward the hills . Michael suddenly felt icy chills prick l ing along his spine , the kind of chil l s that warn you danger is near. A part of him was worried, but another part of him wondered why he should care. Whatever await ed him, he hope d it wasn ’
t as eerie and gloomy as the weather.

D
ark , thick ominous clouds covered the sun, making the day al most appear as if it was night.
The thund er roared in madness and the black clouds turned and rolled , getting bigger and more sinister looking , as if they were about to burst into something evil.
The air smelled so strongly of vampire blood that you could almost taste it . Unaware of where he was going or what he would find, he jump ed on top of a tree to get a better view .
Many trees surrounded the area, making it easier for Michael to leap from tree to tree. When he was close enough, he situated himself to get a closer look , careful not to be spotted.

He could see
vamp ires in fast motion and realized he was right in the middle of a battle.
T
he Pierce family and their friends were fighting for their lives.
Michael recalled Caspian telling him about a group of vampires called Cerberus.
They were the original vampires , made from Cain ’
s doing.
Cyrus was one of Cain ’
s grandchildren , but he became reckles s in creating new blood seekers, going against Cain ’
s order.

It was horrendous to see the way vampires fought, biting and ripping at each other ’
s limbs .
Their fangs sprout ed out, raging like wild beasts.
Blood was everywhere , and what was more disgusting w as the blood surrounding their mouths , defining the word cannibalism.
Their speed w as incredible, just like the angels, but the way they fought was more gruesome , and Michael cringe d .
W
hy couldn ’
t they at least fight with swords , he thought. Michael had been in a war before where he ’d fought against angels like himself, but seeing a battle from the outside was a whole different story.

The Pierces’
enemies seemed to have the upper hand , and t he family’s moral e seemed low.
Three he recognized were inj ured, protected by their friends.
He could have left the scene and pretend ed he was never th ere ; t hey would never know. Why shou ld he care about them ?
B
ut when he spotted Sophia, his heart became so ft. The Pierce family reminded him of his Crossroads family : Davin, Caleb, Viv i an, and Alexa Rose. How he miss ed them.
At that moment there was no longer a doubt in his mind ; he had to help .

Like an eagle soaring down on his prey, Michael spread his wings and landed in the open , g etting the Cerberus ’
attention, and they race d toward him.
Stunned to see such grand wings, let alone an angel, the vampires were baffled at first, but their animal instincts kick ed in. With fangs as sharp as kni ves ready to tear Michael apart, they dash ed toward him with great speed, but they were unaware of and unprepared for Michael ’
s dea d ly weapon.

Michael
’
s already spread wings be gan to spin like airplane propellers.
As the Cerberus charge d forth , Michael ’
s win gs effortless ly sliced through them , like hu ndreds of swords , destroying ten Cerberus at a time .
Even then, more continue d to charge. As he elim in ated them with h is sword, the remaining ones fearfully back ed away , hissing and sn ee ring .

The Pierce family
was just as shock ed as the Cerberus , but grateful to see Michael . Knowing this was their fight and not his, Michael g ave a knowing nod to Caspian, letting him know he was t here for them and t hat they could count on him.
Seeing that he had helped them gain the upper hand, he spr a ng back to the same tree and disappeared.

Before heading home, he followed a trail
where h e had spotted a group of onlookers observing the fight. They were not vampires , nor did they move like humans.

Their
steps brought Michael back to the supernatural school. Carefully moving from one side of the wall to the next, he spotted them in the back . As he stood there observing , he weighed the odds of taking them on his own.
Judging the distance, scanning how many there were, he saw how close they stood to the stream.
If he wasn ’
t cautious, he could lose them in the woods that nestled on the other side of the stream.

Michael quietly
le apt on the roof and sprang behind them.
“
May I ask what you are doing here?
”

In shock to see a stranger, they
scrambled to escape while the ones near est Michael attacked. Th ree came at once. Michael punched one in the stomach , and he fell i n the water. The second was thrown over Michael ’
s shoulder , only to slam against a tree so hard he was knocked unconscious. Michael blocked the blow from the one that was left and pulled him up by his shirt.

“
Who are you spying for?
”
Michael said in a rage.

No answer was given
from the stranger ’
s mouth.
A nnoyed, Michael moved him around and held him tightly with his arms wrapped around his neck.
“
I ’
ll break your neck if you don ’
t tell me.
”

“
I.
.
.I …
don ’
t work for anyone. I ’
m an Earth angel. I was searching for another angel. We ’
re trying to help him.
”

Michael squeezed tighter.
“
Don ’
t lie to me.
”

Coughing, the stranger
struggle d , begging for mercy.
“
Please. I ’
m telling you the truth.
”

“
What is your name?
”

“
Victor.
”

“
Victor, tell me …w ho is lo oking for this particular angel?
”

“
The y go by the name of Angelus Pugnators .
”

“
What do they want with him?
”

“
I don ’
t know, ”
Victor managed to say wh ile Michael continued to grip him tightly around his neck.

“
You ’
re lying.
”

“
The master wants his soul.
”
Victor ’s words were hard to hear. His voice came out low , still gasping, a lmost inaudible.

“
I ’
m goin g to tell you this one time. The angel you ’
re searching for is in good hands, protected by the blood seekers. Judging by what you are capable of, you won ’
t even have a chance with them. They may even turn you into one of them. If I ever catch you here again, I won ’
t give you another chance. Don ’
t ever come back. Do you understand?
”

Unable to speak, Victor
nod ded his head.

“
Go back and tell the others what I said.
”

With the co
nfirmation, Michael let him go. Too busy looking over his shoulder while escaping , Victor trip ped over a small boulder and land ed in the stream.
The coldness stung every nerve in his body.
Drenched, he picked himself up and look ed back for Michael, but he was no longer there.

Chapter
1
3

Austin and I headed to Nubilus City. When we entered the training room, the level of anxiety was not as high as before. Having a girls ’
day out with my friends had helped settle the issue of whether I had any friends besides Austi n.
Holly approached me with a smile that was different from before , t he kind of smile you give to a friend you care about.
F
eeling that she did utter ly warmed my heart. It wiped away the insecurity of wondering if her kindness was a sympathy act.

I was just about to give her a hug when someone grabbed me tightly , like he or she hadn ’
t seen me in years. I sucked in air from the firmness as I wondered who it could be , and knew when I heard his lively voice.
“
What ’
s up, Claudia?
”
Davin cheered as he swung me around. His actions were totally unexpected , being that he was usually aloof. But whatever the reason, he made my day. There was something about Davin ’
s personality that stood out from the rest. He was definitely friendlier , with a great sense of humor …s omeone I would enjoyed just hanging out with all day if I could.

When he
set me down, he looked shocked and suddenly backed away like he had made a mistake. Davin was hilarious and I love d being around him, but this was very odd.

Holly smacked Davin
’
s arm, “
What ’
s wrong with you? She ’
s not your teddy bear.
”

Davin laughed.
“
I ’
m happy to see Claudia. What ’
s wrong with that ?
B
ut if that smack was for not hugging you or Austin that way, then you can smack me again.
”

Austin scoffed and lifted his brows with a
n “
I wouldn ’
t want you to ”
look. I didn ’
t get th ose two , always making sly comments about how much they disliked each other. I didn ’
t bother to ask what was up with them , and just figure d it was a male thing I couldn ’
t understand.

Davin gave me a quick smile and turned to Austin
.
“
See you when I see you, don ’
t want to be near you.
”
Then he walked away.

It was the first time I
’d heard Davin use that line, but why did it sound like I had heard it many times before ?
See you when I see you echoed in my head. I racked my mind to figure out where I had heard it before. Surely someone else must have said it and I got confused.