Conduit (5 page)

“Do something!” Lev shouted as both
the semi and truck stopped at the same time.

Jimmie’s mouth gaped, and his gaze
slowly fell to the pole.

“Get Lizzie out, away from here,”
Evan ordered.  “She’s not safe!”  Then he was gone.

Jimmie slowly turned his head toward
Lev.  Blood was seeping into his shirt, and his eyes opened wide in terror.  As
Lev started to move, Jimmie grabbed his arm, stopping him. 

            “Jimmie.  Evan’s going to
help you.  You just have to hang on.”  Lev felt panic surging up inside him,
threatening to consume him entirely.  His head swam.

            “It’s too late for me,” Jimmie
wheezed, struggling to breathe.  “But you have to take care of Lizzie.”  He
blinked a couple of times, and each breath seemed to get more and more
shallow.  “Tell her I love her.”

            “Tell her yourself.  You
have to stay here with her.”  Lev shook his head, worried that if he agreed,
Jimmie would let go.  That couldn’t happen.  Lizzie would never forgive him for
letting Jimmie die.  He should have known this was going to happen, that they
remained in danger.  Evan had known, yet they were still here in this wrecked
truck as Jimmie bled out.

            Jimmie reached for his
hand, and his face seemed to go white.  “I…can’t.”  He opened his mouth and
started to say something else but then slipped away.

            A coldness slithered down
Lev’s spine, and he did the only thing he knew to do: he got out of the truck
and scooped Lizzie into his arms, grateful she wasn’t conscious.  It would have
destroyed her.  Glancing around, he saw a nearby park.  No, it probably wasn’t
the best location, but it would have to do.  He needed to get them both away.

            Grateful that no one was
around yet, Lev ran with Lizzie tucked in his arms.  Immediately, he noticed
the jarring impact of his footfalls dredging her from the warm cocoon of
unconsciousness, and he wondered what might happen when she came to.  He prayed
he didn’t have to tell her about Jimmie, not until they escaped from here.

            By the time he finally
made it across the park and into a thick stand of trees, Elizabeth was shifting
like mad, making it very difficult for him to keep hold of her.

“Shh,” he
said, “it’s all right.  I’m here.  I’d never leave you.”  He cradled her
tenderly against him as he sank down, his back against the trunk of a large
oak, his shirt catching on the bark on the way down as he drew his arms
protectively tight.

            Once again, Lev regretted
the change.  Granted, it hadn’t been easy for him to get used to all the
hormonal aspects of humanity, but now he abhorred feeling completely useless. 
And that’s exactly what he was to her, unfortunately.

            Suddenly, she moaned, more
loudly this time, and her eyelids fluttered open.  Even though she must’ve seen
it was Lev holding her, it brought no comfort.

            “I’m here,” he managed,
unsure what else he could say.

            She seemed not to hear
him as she tried to roll out of his arms, which made him have to squeeze more
tightly.

            “Let go!” she rasped,
tugging at his arms, determined to get loose.

            “I can’t let you go,” Lev
whispered.  “It’s not safe.”

            She began thrashing
harder.  At first, Lev thought he could hold her, but he’d been remembering
what it was like to have superior strength as an angel.  Had he still been one,
Elizabeth could’ve struggled all she wanted.  Then again, he would also have
been able to keep her calm and sedated as Evan had done.

            Somehow, she plastered
her hands against his chest and shoved as hard as she could.  The sudden force
propelled her from Lev’s arms despite his best efforts to hold on.  She rolled
onto her side, surprisingly quick.  He reached out to catch her arm, but she
jerked back, just out of reach as she struggled to her feet.

            “They’re all around us,”
she said, looking at the sky, searching for something beyond his sight.

            “That’s why you need to
stay here.  With me.” 

            She brought her finger to
her mouth and shushed him.  Cocking her head to one side, like she listened for
something.   

            “Come to me,” he said,
stepping toward her.  He was almost there, his fingers inches from hers when
she screamed and her body was jerked savagely into the air.

            “Elizabeth!” he shouted,
watching her body fly through the air.  Panicking, he ran after her.  He
couldn’t just give up.  He was her last line of defense, yet she was being
carried away faster and faster until at last she slipped away from sight.

Chapter Five

“Shouldn’t they have brought Lizzie
back by now?”  Griffin stood by the window, looking out.  No matter how he
tried to tell himself everything would be all right, he had a massively bad
feeling about everything.  While getting attacked by a
dybbuk
a couple
of days ago could seriously dampen his spirits, he had a feeling it went far beyond
that.

“They could’ve gotten held up at the
hospital or by something else that was perfectly normal.  The last thing we
need to do is panic.  It will only make things worse.”  She stepped beside him
and slid one of her hands over his.

“Do you understand how maddening it
is that you never panic, Celia?  It’s like all the world could fall down around
us and you’d still be calm!”  He gritted his teeth, wishing Jimmie’s old truck
would just stutter down the road and pull into the driveway.

The room fell silent except for the
constant ticking of the grandfather clock down the hall, and the silence began
to feel smothering, forcing him to pace, his arms folded across his chest.

Suddenly, a couple of loud thumps resounded
on the porch which made Griffin abruptly look.  He headed to the door, but
Celia cut in front of him.

“Let me go first.”

“Why?  Somebody’s coming.”

“No, I don’t think that’s it.”  Celia
shook her head.  “Besides, you have no defenses if it’s a
dybbuk
.  I can
handle them.”  Celia didn’t wait for Griffin’s reply.  Her mind was already
set, and she knew he’d just argue.  There wasn’t time for that.

“You really think
dybbuks
are
just going to come through the front door?”  His voice rose incredulously as he
watched her unlock the door and open it.

“Nothing would surprise me at this
point.”

At that, Celia found two souls in
front of her, but they weren’t the ones she thought—just Evan and Lev, both
looking much worse for the wear.

“Oh, no,” she stammered, taking in
their painful expressions.  She stumbled back a couple of steps.  “Where’re the
others?”  Unable to believe it was just the two of them.  She stepped out onto
the porch to look behind them.

“Jimmie…is gone,” Evan said, his
voice soft. “And Elizabeth has been taken.  Evan touched Lev’s shoulder. 
“Let’s go inside.  There’s no point in waiting out here.”  The two men stepped
into the house.

“What?” Griffin exploded, surging
toward Lev.  “You let her be taken?”  His face twisted with rage, and had Evan
not been standing between them, Griffin probably would’ve taken a swing, but
since he couldn’t, he focused on Evan. “And you let her father die?   How could
you?”

Celia stepped in front of him,
cutting him off.  “That’s enough, Griffin.  None of this was done on purpose.” 
She set her hand on his arm, but he savagely jerked away.

“Of course it wasn’t,” he muttered. 
“You guys are angels, so you never get it wrong.”  He raked his fingers through
his hair, trying to come to grips with the news he’d just been given.  Lizzie
was God only knew where, suffering the same pain he’d felt, pain sharp enough
to drive him mad.  They had to find her somehow, and right now all they were
doing was sitting there.

“So where is she?  We have to go now
and get her back before they kill her.”  He stared expectantly at Evan,
figuring he’d have all the answers.  Somebody had to.

“We don’t know, exactly,” Evan
replied.  He reached out and set his hand on Griffin’s shoulder, seeking to
comfort him.  Instead, it just angered him more.

“Don’t touch me!” he fumed, jerking
away.  Feeling frantic energy welling up inside him, Griffin realized he just
couldn’t stand around and look at the floor like Lev or look at the ceiling
like Evan.  He needed to move before he went mad, and at this point, he was
already more than halfway there.

“Tell me you have a plan,” Griffin
demanded, holding out hope for some kind of reprieve.  Always before, Evan had
been so meticulous and cautious about trying to handle everything.  Now,
Lizzie’s life depended on those two things not changing.

“I’m working on it as we speak,” Evan
affirmed, nodding.

“You’re working on it?  By the time
you get done, Lizzie will be dead, too—or don’t you care?”

Evan stiffened.  His wings
materialized slightly and then winked back out.

“Look, Griffin, I get what you are
accusing me of, but if you had thought of all the time and energy all the
angels have put into watching over Elizabeth and those around her, trying to
keep everyone safe, you’d realize just how mistaken you are. I was doing what I
thought was right—chasing the one I thought was in control.  Lev was trying to protect
her when I had to stop and sojourn Jimmie’s soul, or he would’ve ended up like
them, like the very creatures that stole her away.  Try as I might, I couldn’t
do the one and the other.  I’m not that powerful.”

Those words humbled Griffin and
stilled the need to argue.  It was natural to try to blame someone, but Evan
had truly done what he could, for all of them.  Only a fool would keep thinking
otherwise.

“He’s right,” Celia chimed in.  “I
barely kept the
dybbuks
away from you, and if Evan hadn’t arrived when
he did, you would have probably died.”

“So what are you going to do now,
Evan?” Lev finally asked, his voice edgy.

“I’m going to try to make the arrangements
for Jimmie since there’s no one else to do it.  I convinced the cops that it
was just a simple accident that killed him and that we were the only ones in
the truck.  After I get Jimmie’s funeral set, I’ll seek out other angels to
help.  Some of them know far more about the
dybbuks
than I do.  They
will be able to offer the guidance I need.”

            Lev glared and waited
until Evan met his gaze.  “Guidance?  You think that’s what’s going to save
her?  Are you kidding?”

            He rolled his eyes and
strode for the door.  “I’m going for a walk.”

            “Lev, it’s not safe!” 
Celia stepped toward him, but Evan caught her arm.

            “Yeah, well, maybe if
they come after me, I’ll at least end up where she is now.”  He kept walking
and slammed the door after.

            Once again, Celia started
to follow, a desperate sadness in her eyes, but Evan stopped her, giving her a
stern look.  “I know you want to help him, but right now his human nature is
taking over.  You won’t be able to reason with him.”

            “But what about all the
dybbuks
out there?”

            He finally nodded.  “All
right.  Follow him, but you can’t untangle his heart.  You can’t fix this.  No
one can.”

            She gave a subtle nod. 
“I understand.”  Then she slipped out.

            Griffin found himself
alone with Evan. “You know he’s skirting along a dangerous precipice, right? 
He’s not doing well as a human.”

            Evan gave a slow nod. 
“Yes.  I’m not sure what to do about it.  What can be done? When he became
human, it was supposed to be permanent.  We could never have known it would end
up like this.”

            Griffin took a deep
breath, trying to calm down.  “Look, I’m sorry about earlier.  I’m just crazy
worried about Lizzie, and I know if these creatures are somehow getting past
you, things are going to get a lot more serious—and soon.”

            “Yes,” Evan agreed, “they
are.”

            Even though Griffin knew
he wouldn’t be able to see anything out the window, he still sauntered over to
it, more to give himself something to do than anything else.

            “How long do you think we
have to get her back?”  He leaned on the window sill, feeling the muscles in
his back tense.  He hung his head, wishing he could stop the fear from clawing at
his insides.

            “I don’t know.” 

            Griffin shifted and saw
that the angel wore an expression of uncertainty, his gaze seeming to drift
past the ceiling.

            “Evan?” Griffin whispered
his name, shaken to the core.

            “I have to go now,
Griffin.  There are things to be done and answers to be sought.”

            Then Evan was gone. At
one time, Griffin would’ve believed angels could handle anything.  Now he knew
better. 

* * *

Lev must’ve walked for hours, always
watching the sky, thinking he might catch sight of something to help him find
Elizabeth.  Perhaps he was a fool, putting himself out here like bait.

It didn’t matter, though.  The
dybbuks
didn’t want him, so he’d had no choice but to go back to the house and try to
help Evan accomplish whatever plan he finally came up with.

He was only a few yards away when he
sensed that someone followed. He whirled.

“Who’s there?” he called, an edge to
his voice.  He wanted it to be a
dybbuk
, to be something he could
destroy as he was being destroyed because doing so would be the only thing that
would make him feel better, like he was in control.  He saw no one but was sure
he could feel someone—something. He didn’t have to be an angel for that.

A
dybbuk
? No, not this time.
He stiffened.

Celia.

“You might as well face me.  I know
you’re there.”

Slowly, Celia appeared before him,
starting out as a bright shimmer that transformed itself into her full form.

“How did I know it’d be you?”

“Some things are transcendent, as is
the bond between us.”  She stepped toward him.

“How long have you been there?”  He looked
away.

“The whole time.”

Lev laughed, but it was hard and
brittle, unlike him—or what used to be him.  Whether it was like him now he
couldn’t say. “Of course.  You figured I’d do something unforgivably stupid,
right?” It wasn’t a question.

“You aren’t safe, Lev.  You know
that.” She touched his arm, but he pulled away. The
dybbuks
didn’t want
him, and he was certain they both knew it, so what was her game?

“It doesn’t matter, Celia.  Elizabeth
is gone, and we don’t know where.”

“It matters to me.”

Lev started to argue but abruptly
froze, searching the darkness. Had something moved? 

“Lev?” Elizabeth’s voice called to
him.         

He waved her to silence.  “Where are
you?”  He seemed to speak to no one, which set Celia on edge even further.  It
was like he was hearing voices she couldn’t.

“Who are you talking to?”  Celia
stepped closer.

Here again, Lev didn’t answer but
instead glanced slowly around, now gazing skyward.  “Elizabeth?  Where are
you?  I can’t hear you anymore.”

Elizabeth
?  Celia
shook her head, trying to make sense of what was right in front of her.  What
did Lev think he was hearing?

“Lev, what’s going on?”

“Shh!”  He waved his hand around
again, still searching.  “I can’t hear her anymore.”

Unsure what to do, Celia fell silent
and watched, hoping for insight.  Instead, what she saw was her brother getting
more and more agitated while getting louder and louder—so loud, in fact, that
Griffin heard him and stepped out onto the porch.  Lev kept calling for
Elizabeth.

“Celia?”

She shrugged. 

Lev whirled to face her.  “What, you
can’t hear her talking to us, begging us to help her before they kill her?”

“No, Lev, I can’t.”

His shoulders sank, his face ashen.
“How can you not?”

“Because she isn’t tied to me like
she was to you.”  Celia stepped closer to him.  “The two of you shared a
covenant.  There’s no way we could’ve known such a bond would transcend your
loss of immortality, but perhaps it has, and that’s why you can still hear her
voice.”