Bound by Time (28 page)

The sun peeked over the horizon like a molten eye when they left the next morning, and birds sang their early songs to each other. The temperature was already uncomfortably warm, and the humidity clung to her skin. In the west, the pale crescent of the moon still hung well above the horizon. The flat scenery around them held the washed-out tones of grass and leaves that had felt the heat of summer for too long.

It didn’t take long to check out of the motel and get back on the highway. They made a quick stop a few towns later at a fast food restaurant for breakfast. Isobel only nibbled at her sandwich and hash brown. A small, nervous knot had taken up residence in her stomach and it left little room for food. In a couple of hours they would be in Wichita where the vial was, and from the sound of it, a lot of demons.

Traffic was heavy as they entered the city, the morning rush hour in full swing. Damien swore and dodged into another lane to avoid a slow moving car. “I swear people in this city either drive too fast or too slow.”

Lucian laughed. “Maybe the heat has gotten to them.”

Isobel kept a white-knuckled grip on the door handle. It wasn’t because she didn’t trust Damien’s driving, rather she didn’t trust the other drivers careening down the highway, apparently willing to tempt death just to get to their jobs a couple of minutes faster.

“Damn it.” Damien glared at a motorcycle that zipped between them and the car in the next lane, and then wove through the lanes ahead. “I don’t even know why they bother with speed limit signs. Everyone is going to go ninety except the people getting
on
the highway; they’re going to stop at the top of the ramp and then drive five miles an hour when they finally decide to get up here.”

“Or when they decide to get off the highway,” Lucian said in a strained voice.

Damien jerked into the next lane, fitting the car in with barely any room to spare in order to avoid hitting the car that had slammed on its brakes and then swerved to make an exit. Damien shot a glare at the car as they passed. “Stupid people. I’m astounded more of them aren’t dead each morning.”

Finally they caught the exit for downtown and Isobel relaxed. “This isn’t even that big of a city. You’d think traffic would be less hair-raising to drive in.”

“Actually,” Lucian said, “it can be less hair-raising in larger cities mainly because people there know if you stop on the highway or onramp you
will
be run over, no questions asked, and probably by at least ten cars before anyone realizes your car was in the way.”

Isobel gave a shaky laugh, the tension from the morning rush on the highway draining away as they made their way downtown. Traffic was still heavy, but at least it was moving at a reasonable pace. They made several more turns winding their way through the city.

The church sat on the corner of two busy streets. Damien pulled into a parking lot across the street but made no move to shut off the engine or get out. Isobel gazed at the building. It wasn’t the largest or most ornate Catholic Church she had ever seen. Savannah had a huge, stunning church. That didn’t mean this one was small. On the contrary, it was quite large with crosses rising into the sky from their place on the roof. They were parked on the north side and the sun backlit the church in a golden glow.

Cars zipped by on the roads and only a few people walked the sidewalks. Isobel looked at Damien. “Aren’t we going to go in?”

Damien and Lucian both sat tense and unmoving. Isobel was reminded again of predators facing another predator trespassing in their territory. She turned back and looked at the church. It looked fine.

Suddenly, he threw the car in reverse and tore out of the parking space. Yanking it into drive he hit the gas pedal and the car leaped forward, cutting someone off as they barreled out onto the road. It was only seconds later when they turned sharply and flew into a small lot behind the church. Isobel was tossed forward into her seat belt when he slammed on the brakes to keep from hitting anything.

Isobel looked around wildly as he moved into one of the few parking spaces available in the tiny lot behind the church. “What just happened?”

Damien eased the car into park and turned off the ignition, a grim expression on his face. “Demons.” When she jerked in her seat to look around again he said, “They can’t come here. It’s holy ground. They can prowl all over the place but they can’t set foot on the land of any church, especially a Catholic, Jewish, or Islamic place of worship. It’s less so for the Protestant churches, but still safer than any other property. It’s why Father Thomas hasn’t been off the grounds since I showed up to talk to him.”

“So we’re safe?”

Damien gave her a half grin that held no humor. “For now.

Isobel saw a smoky figure skulking in the shadows across the street. A woman walked right by it without even glancing at it. “How does she not see that?”

“Normal people can’t see them anymore than they can see the light of an angel,” Lucian said as he opened the door and got out.

Damien nodded. “He’s right.” He opened his door and stepped from the car.

Isobel’s eyes slid toward the demon. There was another one. Embracing her power just in case, she climbed out of the car. “Do we go in the back?”

“No, we’ll go around the front like everyone else,” Damien said and started along the side of the church, careful to stay on the grass between the church and the sidewalk. “You can drop your power here. You’re safe.”

Isobel reluctantly let it go. She could guess why they avoided the smooth stone of the wide sidewalk. In the grass they were on church property. The sidewalk belonged to the city. “Why are the other churches you mentioned safer than a Protestant church?”

Lucian, who bracketed her from behind so that she walked in-between the two much taller men, answered, “More history, deeper roots. Ground blessed by a Native American shaman is good too, so are the kivas used by some tribes. Those left by the cliff dwellers are extremely safe.”

They rounded the front corner and Isobel gazed up at the entry fronted by archways. Several steps led up to three sets of tall wooden doors. Damien opened one of the doors and they entered the quiet sanctuary of the cathedral.

T
he ceiling of the cathedral soared over their heads making the inside of the church cavernous. Rows of empty pews sat in quiet attention. The massive space seemed to swallow sound creating a silence so profound it pressed on her ears.

A deep sense of peace seeped into her easing her worries and making it feel like she could really breathe for the first time in weeks. A collection of candles gathered along one wall near the front, some of them with flames burning steady on their wicks. Stained glass windows lined the walls, casting the light of their colors across the pews and the floor.

Isobel stopped and stared at their beauty. None of the evil that she felt from the window in her house was present here. Not even from the round window lighting the choir loft. The energy of the Higher Powers filled the very air. The empty cathedral was a great, silent sanctuary from the darkness in her life, and Isobel felt she could sit in one of those pews for hours absorbing the peaceful energy it offered.

“Isobel?” Damien whispered, his eyes searching her face.

She turned to him with a radiant smile and said quietly, “They’re here. I can feel
them,
and it’s beautiful.”

Damien gently brushed the side of her face with his knuckles. “They are always in places like this,
meae deliciae
. It’s the concentration of energy.”

An older man approached them, the white in his collar proclaiming him a priest. Damien turned to greet him. “Father Thomas.”

The man, several inches shorter and much slighter than the tall, muscular angels stopped and nodded to Damien. “I see you have returned. Do you have the channel with you?”

Damien shifted so the Father could see Isobel better. The priest stared at her for a long moment. Then he whispered, “It is as it was written by the priest in 1456. He said your eyes are always the same, and he went on to describe them in detail. He also said you were always Isobel.” He stepped closer and took her hand in his. “It is a pleasure to meet you, young lady. You will have to pardon my forcing your trip here,” he smiled apologetically, “however, the instructions that have been passed to those of us who were trusted with the vial were quite explicit that the vial should only be given up if it was being placed into the hands of the channel that was the key to the demon’s removal.”

“It’s fine, Father. In fact, I’m happy I came. This,” she let her eyes sweep the inside of the cathedral again, “is the most peaceful place I’ve been since the beginning of summer. Maybe ever.”

A happy smile spread across his face. “It is as close to God as we can get on earth.”

Isobel didn’t disagree, not even with the name. God or Higher Powers, it was all the same and she felt
them
here. “You have the vial then?”

He nodded. “Yes, come this way.” He led them to the side of the cathedral to the end of the pews closest to the stunning windows. “Please, wait here while I retrieve it.”

Isobel settled into one of the pews with Lucian and Damien, both of them seeming somehow too big for the narrow benches. “How did Father Thomas know who you were?”

Damien chuckled. “I showed him my wings.”

“And even then he wouldn’t hand you the vial?”

“Father Thomas was very adamant that it could only be given to you.”

Isobel stared at the windows entranced by their splendor. “What is it like to embrace your powers in here?”

Damien closed his eyes. “Very sweet. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

She gazed at his face. His expression held the obvious happiness the memory brought. Isobel opened herself to the power that always shined within her and embraced it. It
was
incredibly sweet, just as Damien said. So pure and lovely tears stung her eyes from its beauty.

Damien watched her face. In the soft glow of the windows and surrounded by a halo of golden-white light she looked beautiful beyond measure. The glow grew stronger as she soaked up the feelings. He didn’t want to say anything to diminish her pleasure, but he knew he needed to bring her back down when the light began to edge around the green of her eyes.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “
Meae deliciae
, I know it’s wonderful. It’s also very easy to lose control in here and take in too much. You are dangerously close to that now. You will want to back it down and release it.”

Isobel heard the sincerity and the twinge of worry in his voice and pulled the energy back, releasing it with a wistful sigh. He was right; it was easy. Too easy. She hadn’t even felt the heat of it rushing through her veins.

Father Thomas strode back, the sound of his footsteps swallowed by the cavernous nature of the church. Lucian moved down so the Father could sit next to her. He held a small and very old looking box in his hands, a serious expression on his face.

“This box contains a true treasure of the church. Only a few over the centuries have known this vial existed. The blood of Saint Januarius is very powerful; only use it when you are sure you have the strength to banish the demon.” Father Thomas lifted the lid of the box and pulled out a small vial made of ancient glass. At some point in history, a thin chain of silver had been attached to it.

Isobel took it in her hands and immediately felt the power the priest spoke of. The power of Januarius’ sacrifice made with perfect conviction and a pure heart. It tingled through her fingers and up her arms. Isobel peered closer at the glass. “The blood is solid. Will it still work?”

Father Thomas smiled slightly. “It is solid now, yes. It will become liquid again when it is time to face the demon. Keep it on you at all times and whatever you do, do not let it into the hands of a demon. Remember, the glass is quite breakable. You cannot allow it to be destroyed.”

Isobel nodded, slipped the chain over her head, and tucked the vial under her shirt. “I will keep it safe. Everything I love rides on it.”

“You have the right heart for this. Be very careful on your journey. Once you leave the church grounds, you will be in danger. There are demons everywhere, though they won’t likely attack in the daylight. Not directly anyway. Watch other humans close as the demons will attempt to slip into them and use them against you.”