Beyond (3 page)

Left alone once more,
Samuel tuck ed himself back into his only comfort …
the wings that felt heavier than before.

Chapter 1

Michael flew to the waterfall, alone. It was a special place he had brought Claudia many times before. He thought going there would help ease the pain, but it didn’t. Sitting on top of a boulder, he stared at the water impassively, and reflected back to the day he first met his true love.

It was nearly impossible—
and forbidden—for alkins, such as himself, to fall in love. They were trained not to, but being part human, there were no guarantees. He could clearly remember, as if it happened yesterday, when Claudia first crossed over the thick, tall grass to Crossroads. She was naïve and carefree, and clearly unaware of his world. She thought she was dreaming.

Never would he have imagined she would be a descendant of God’s first angels. And because of her holy soul, demons and fallen were after her. Though he tried his best to forget her, Phillip, one of the Twelve who resided in Crossroads, appointed him her guardian angel. Being with her, protecting her, only made matters worse. He had fallen deep, and there was no turning back. His life seemed perfect when she told him she loved him too, but he was to learn that perfection comes at a cost.

After killing Aliah at Specus with her power, the twelve wanted Claudia to become one of the venators —demon hunters. They ordered him to erase her memories of him, the alkins, having been at Crossroads, and her human life. If he refused, they would take her away and he would never see her again. He followed their order knowing he would find a way to restore her memories and be with her when the time was right.

As he sat there reflecting on what he had done, he knew he had done the best thing for her. But for him, the pain of losing her was beyond agonizing. His heart was broken, and every second he wasn’t with her was precious time lost. But knowing they would be together soon gave him strength to carry on. He would wait, impatiently, for the right time.

Michael stood up and unfurled his massive wings. He looked up to the heavenly sky. “Soon, my love. I will wait for you to remember. I will live a thousand lives and die a thousand times if I must, but I’ll still be waiting for you. I love you to the depths of my soul, to eternity.”

With a flap of his wings, he soared away.

Like a painting on a canvas, the sky was stroked with the perfect turquoise blue.
P
uff y clouds s pread across it , reminding me of cotton balls.
I breathed in the fresh crisp air, enjoying the gentle breeze caressing my body. I plunked myself down, curl ing my body inward as I buried my feet in the soft, warm sand.

The sand seeped
in and out, shuffling between my toes, tickling me.
“
Ahhh…
.
”
The heat of the sun penetrated the depth of my soul, granting a serenity words could not describe . As I watched , crystal—
clear waves rolled in and out, with no be ginning or end, trapping me into a trance .
Austin ’
s words reverberated through my mind .

Selective amnesia was what he’d called it. I remembered falling when Aliah burst into flames, but that was it. I’d have to take Austin’s words for it.
It was difficult to put the puzzle together because I could only remember bits and pieces of my hazy memories. I d id n ’
t recall hitting my head on a boulder …
most likely the reason why I d id n ’
t remember the rest .

Austin also told me my mother died when she tried to save me from Aden.
Aden was one of the Twelve who betrayed his own kind. He was also the angel that killed Gamma. I was just a baby so I d id n ’
t know what my mother looked like , and nobody had a picture of her. Gamma took care of me and took me to Katherine.
When I was old enough, I was trained to become a ve nator, a name used for nephilim—half-human and half angel beings —that hunted for demons.

Everything about my life
seem ed unreal. As unbelievable as it seem ed , angels exist ed .
I ’d seen them with my own eyes. I was one of them , whether I want ed to be or not. This was my life. This was my destiny. But even after being told who I was , the missing pieces haunt ed me. I was so lost and empty. Some significant part of me was missing , and I c ould n ’
t quite put my finger on it. I tr ied my best to brush off these feelings , but I couldn’t.
Maybe nothing was missing and I just need ed time to adjust while I wait ed for my memories to come back.

I wipe
d t hose thought s from my mind . After all, I ’d been through some traumatic experiences. Fighting one of God ’
s first angels wasn ’
t an easy thing to do. Lucky for me, I ha d Austin, who was always there for me. Gamma had asked Katherine to appoint a guardian angel for me before she died , and she had chosen Austin . How I miss ed Gamma . If only things were different.

Austin was
t here with me the whole time while I “recovered .
”
Though I was perfectly fine , I was to remain at Island of Eden u ntil further notice. We spent most of the days relaxing , and sometimes we practice d shooting with our bows. Not to sound arrogant, I was pretty good at it.
To Austin ’
s surprise, I always hit the targets he thr e w my way.

As m
uch as I enjoyed our times together, nobody else visited me. Didn ’
t I have any friends?
I couldn’t recall —didn ’
t they care?
Maybe they wan ted to give me space .

Straining my neck
, I glanced up at the cliff.
Austin stood there watching me.
He ’d seemed a bit distan t lately. Maybe he , too, wanted to give me space. Maybe he needed some time to heal from the loss of Patrick. Maybe it was me who seemed distan t . Regardless, it was nice to relax at Island of Eden and bum around.

Soaking in the sun for some time, the heat was
finally too much to bear. I went into the tantalizing ly clear water and g o t my feet wet.
Then I rolled up my jeans, stood up and headed straight for the cool water .
Ahhh!
The chill sent shivers down my spine as I walk ed further in.

Raising my arms
to the heavenly sky , I enjoyed the warmth the sun graciously gave. My wet jeans clung to my legs, but I didn ’
t care.
The water reached my waist and I stopped , not comfortable going further.

All of a sudden a heavy impact tumbled me in over my head.
I struggled to find m y balance and just before I panicked , a hand pull ed me out. I inhaled a deep gasp and sp a t o ut a mouthful of salt water .
H
eavily irritated, I flipped my hair out of my eyes to see Austin with his arms around me.

“
Are you crazy ?
”
I yelled.
“
What are you trying to do? Kill me?
”

“
I…I thought you were going to…
.
”
He paused , looking at me with a confused expression , m ost likely second-guessing himself.

I knew that gesture and the meaning behind it.
“
You thought I was going to kill myself?
”
His lips parted to speak, but I didn’t give him the chance .
“
I may have sel ective amnesia , but I ’
m not crazy, ”
I huffed , trying to release myself from his unyielding hold. Realizing my hands were resting on his muscular biceps , I blushed and glanced down ward .

“
What ’
s wrong? Can ’
t handle being this close? You look pretty hot wit h your wet T-shirt.
”
He arched his brows, giving me a sly smile, then drew me closer to whisper in my ear .
“
You know you don ’
t have to get wet to get my attention.
”
He chuckle d , knowing how to make me blush.

My face flushed even more when I couldn
’
t think of anything clever to say f or a good come back. All I could do was giggle, shake my head with disapproval , and desperately try not to stare at his wet T-shirt clinging to every curve of his muscular chest.

Feeling his heart beat next to mine
raised goo se flesh on my arms and weakened my knees. In that moment , I had an overwhelming urge to kiss him. Was I always attracted to him? Or did I feel something for him because he was my guardian angel ?
Maybe it was his friendly , flirtatious personality. It didn ’
t matter anyway ; venators were forbidden to have relationships.
The Royal Council didn ’
t want us populating and taking over the human world.

“
I ’
d like to get out of my wet clothes , if you don ’
t mind, ”
I stammered , avoiding his gaze and trying to sound bold.

“
You got it. Anything your heart desires , my shelter ed one.
”
Unexpectedly he unfur led his beautiful , alabaster wings, scooped me off my feet , and flew us back to my room.

When we landed, he told me he would take me around the island.
N
ever having toured the island, I flashed him a huge smile.
Excited, I stepped into the shower.
Occasionally, he would ask if I needed assistance , to which I would loudly reply “N
o thanks , ”
hoping he wouldn ’
t use the excuse of not being able to hear and try to step in the shower with me. Then he would really get it.