Beyond (5 page)

“
What ?
!
”
I laughed out loud , snatching the apple out of his h and so quickly even Austin seemed surprised. My teeth sunk in, taking t he first bite. The juice streamed down my face as I savor ed the cool, crisp taste.
“
Mmmm ..
.
this is sooo good.
”
I took another bite and another , and before I knew it, I had engulfed all but the core .

“
Ready to look around the island some more?
”
he asked, taking the last bite of his apple .
“
Sure.
”

“
Follow me. We ’
ll go toward the north.
”

As I walked beside Austin, I
absorbed the wonder of being here , and for a moment , I imagined what it would have been like to be Eve.
I did notice t here were no animals roaming around.
Disappointed, I didn’t bother to ask why.
But then again, the Garden of Eden was different now. No living creatures were allowed to roam here.

We didn
’
t stri de out too far. There wasn ’
t much to see as we circled back to the Tree of Knowledge.
It truly was a beautiful place.

“
Thank you for bringing me here, Austin, ”
I expressed.
“
This was so sweet of you.
”
It was my turn to make him blush.

“
No problem. It looked like you needed some cheering up.
”
Sounding sincere, h is eyes soften ed .

“
I guess , I ..
.
, ”
I stammered , not knowing the right words to use and not able to describe what I was feeling.

“
It ’
s okay.
”
Austin brushed the sides of my cheeks, making me feel warm and safe.
“
You just need some time. We ’
ve been stuck here for two weeks. It ’
s time I take you out of here into the human world.
”

“
Really?
”
I asked with elation.

“
You ’
ve be en captive long enough. You are completely healed. Let ’
s go have some fun before we need to report to Katherine.
”

“
Where are we going?
”

“
Let ’
s go dancing.
”

“
Dancing? You mean , like to a night club?
”

“
Yup. That ’
s the plan.
”
Austin looked at me strangely .
“
Wait a minute , have you ever been to a night club before?
”

“
Uhhh…
I don ’
t think so , unless I’ve forgotten .
Have I?
”

Austin let
out a short laugh.
“
My sheltered one.
I had forgotten already. Well , there is always a first. Let me take you back to your room so you can change. You are going to have the time and shock of your life.
”
Without w arning, he scooped me up and flew us back to my room.

The freezing cold wind swept the mountain in Banff, Canada , causing the fresh pile of new snow to float aimlessly about. Michael stood tall with his wings partly opened , showing their true beauty and their unique shape tha t form ed the shape of a heart, gathering to a sharp point at the bottom. His wings moved like he was about to take flight, flapping back and forth, only it was the motion from the wind and no t him. Feeling anxious, he paced back and fort h. With each step, his feet sank in to the snow , leaving a long deep trai l a s he debated whether to write a letter for Claudia as he promised he would.

Katherine
had ordered him to find Caspian. He didn ’
t know what the mission was about, only that he would be working side by side with a type of demon known as a blood se eker . Michael had known about them long before Katherine informed him back in Crossroads. Aden had told him about these descend a nts of Adam’s son.

Cain murdered his brother, Abel, out of pure jealousy because God preferred Abel ’
s gift over his. As his punishment, he was cursed by God and transformed into a demon known as a b lood s eeker . He was cursed to walk the earth alone, night after night, for all eternity.
Burned by the daytime sun, he was forced to have no contact with civilization.
Also, he could not consume his daily food. The only thing that could satisfy his hunger was blood , s o he would come out at night to hunt the mortals.

Soon after
, Cain met a powerful witch named Lilith , who some believe d to be Adam ’
s first wife. Lilith , also called the G
oddess of N
ight , was a demon , the bearer of disease, illness and death. She showed Cain how to use his own blood for magic and evoke his unknown mystical powers. From Lilith, Cain learned how to create others of his kind , a process called embracing. Cain became lonely and embraced five others to create his own family.

Absorbed with his thoughts of Cain and also Claudia, Michael never saw the stranger approach.
The slim six foot two inch man with jet black hair eyed Michael .
The way he dressed, wearing jeans and merely a T-shirt, he could have been angel or human, but Michael knew better the moment he saw him . He was absolute ly certain this stranger was not one of his kind. His complexion could not lie. He was as pale and white as the snow.

“
Are yo u …
Michael?
”
the stranger asked hesitantly, glancing nervously at the size of Michael ’
s wings .
H
e took a couple of steps back.

“
Yeah, I guess that makes you Caspian. Are you the blood—
sucking demon I was ordered to help?
”
Michael advanced, purposely trying to intim id ate him, letting him know he was in control.

His expression shifting from tense to irritated
, Caspian replied with a cold tone.
“
Yeah, I ’
m Caspian. Let ’
s get one thing straight. I am no blood sucker. My family and I feed on animal and donated blood , as well as a synthetic blood my uncle created. So , no , I wouldn ’
t call myself a blood—
sucking demon. I ’
d rather you use the term vampire instead.
”

Michael didn
’
t care what Caspian had to say. He was half listening.
He was there by order of Katherine and not by choice.
“
Yeah, whatever you say, ”
he mutter ed under his breath.

“
Look , I was told you could help my friend, but I ’
m beginning to think that this Katherine was mistaken. Perhaps you are not the right one for this mission .”

“
Don ’
t worry. I have my orders , and I will fulfill them no matter how unhappy I am about it.
”

“
Then what is your problem?
”

“
My problem is…
.
”
Michael ’
s eye s locked on Caspian ’
s, but he couldn ’
t give him an answer. His answer was too sacred to him . It was about his beloved Claudia—o ne topic he didn ’
t want to discuss with a stranger, especially a demon he didn ’
t know if he could trust.
“
Let ’
s get to work.
”

“
Look, whatever it is that’s pissing you off, I suggest you leave it here. My family and friends don ’
t need your attitude. We have an eighteen-year—
old boy , a nephilim, who is scared for his life. He has a good heart and has every right to live. My family and friends are willing to fight against any evil to help this poor soul.
We have a group of supernatural s that are in training and learning about all the evils in the world. Normally we fight other vampires and demons, but right now our biggest fight is with a group of angels called Ang elus Pugnators.
”

“
Just as I had suspected, ”
Michael commented , wondering if Katherine knew.
“
Life isn ’
t wonderful no matter where you are. All we can do is our best. I can help you. Now stop talking so we can get to work. The faster we take care of this matter the faster I can…
.
”
Michael d idn ’
t want to tell Caspian what he had done .
Ashamed, he didn ’
t want to think about it anymore. He just wanted Claudia back.

“
How do we help Benjami n?
”
Cas pian asked. The harsh wind slapped both of them, making them turn for a second. It gave Michael a chance to think about his question.
Intuitively, Michael knew Benjamin was the angel that was under the protection of the Pierce family. Katherine had sent Michael to find Caspian , and now Michael understood the reasons why.

“
The angel fighters know where to find him , so we have to throw them off his trail. Do you have someone that can do a cloaking spell? That way they won ’
t find him. He will look different and his abilities can be hidden from them.
”

“
Yeah. We have witches that we work with ,” Caspian said.

“
They will have to be some pretty powerful witches to pull off a cloaking spell, ”
Michael said, thinking Caspian didn ’
t have a clue.
“
I guess I ’
m gonna have to help there too.
”
Michael rolled his eyes.

“
Are the M
agnificent O
nes powerful enough for you?
”
Ca sp ian snapped .

“
Magnificent O
ne s ?
”
Michael was impressed that they worked with th at group of particular ly powerful witches he ’d heard about from Aden.
“
You work with the most powerful witches of this day and age ?
Then it should all work out. You get that taken care of , and I will find you again.
”