Ominous Love (15 page)

“Because when I burned Devlin’s wings off, he
got away before I finished destroying them properly. So his feathers have
started growing back. That was my other big mistake. I was too busy kissing you
and he got away. But I doubt he’ll let his wings grow back again because he
wants to stay human so he can have you as his wife. Plus if they ever did grow
back, they’d be black and he could never get into heaven with them.

“Okay, but Devlin's just a man and you're an
angel, so how has he won?”

Seal looks at me with a tear in his eye. “He
sold his soul to the devil; joined Lucifer, the first and most evil fallen
angel of all, the ruler of all the bad fallen angels and demons. Devlin offered
himself to Lucifer, and in return, he asked that Lucifer give him the power to
get his revenge on me. Lucifer was happy with that because he would love Devlin
to marry you because any child you have with Devlin will join him and Lucifer, and
all the other dark angels and demons that roam the earth causing evil and
destruction.”

I press my hands to my face. “What? But I
won't marry Devlin. He can't make me. You'll stop him, Seal. You will, won't
you?”

“Of course I will. Why do you think I came
back to being an angel? Lucifer gave Devlin riches, a castle, money, power. As
a man I wouldn't stand a chance against him.”

Clasping my hands together, I bite my knuckle.
“Oh my god.
Where is Lucifer? Does he roam around on
earth? Is he visible?”

“Lucifer is The Devil himself and can
manifest himself in human form; possess people. Do you know what exorcism
means?”

I nod. “Of course, but I didn't believe it
was real. This is so scary. Why did I have to be a descendant of some lusty
angel?”

Seal raises a brow. “What like me?”

He lusts for me?
Smiling, I lay my head on his
chest. “Oh, Seal, I'm so sorry I caused you so much trouble. It was me that
kept kissing you, not the other way around. I fell in love with you the moment
I set eyes on you.” I smile and hug myself. “Do you lust after me, Seal? Say
you do?”

He strokes my hair. “Angels aren’t supposed
to lust after humans, Eloise. They're supposed to know better. Anyway, I was given
a chance to redeem myself.” He points over his shoulder to his beautiful silver
feathers.

I wrap my arms around his waist. “It's all so
scary. I'm so lucky you're here to protect me.”

“Eloise, you're stronger than you think.
You've already stood up to Devlin, and to Lucifer. You'll be fine.”

“I've never seen Lucifer.”

Seal looks at me. “Yes, you have. He's
disguised as Devlin's father, the priest.”

My eyes grow wide and a chill runs up my
spine. “Father Luke is
The
Devil?
Crap, I can see how he tricks
people. He just looked like a sleazy old git. Not a demon or devil. But this is
all too much to think about. I can't get my head around it all.”

Seal hugs me tight. “Just relax for a while.
You've had such a bad ordeal. Why don't you lie down and sleep for a bit?”

I look at him, but his eyes are sad, and I
have this horrible feeling of impending doom again. Then I remember what he
said a few moments ago. My heart sinks as I realise what he meant. Franticly, I
press my hands on his bare chest. “Kiss me, Seal.”

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath,
when he opens them, they’re glazed with sadness. “No, Eloise. You know I can't
kiss you.”

My lip quivers. “But, Seal, you just said you
loved me.”

He grabs my arms and holds me away from him.
“It doesn’t mean I don't love you. I do. I love you more than anything in the
universe, but I am committed to God. I told you, angels are not allowed to have
a physical relationship with humans or they lose their wings. I can't do that
and put your life in danger. And I'm not
Seal,
I'm
Nathaniel, Angel of Fire. I'm here to guide and protect you from danger, nothing
more.”

Closing my eyes, I cover my ears with my
hands. I don't want to hear what he's telling me.

He pulls my hands away. “Look at me, Eloise,”
he demands.

I stare imploringly at him. Then I wrap my
arms around his neck and kiss his cheek. “No! No! Please don't tell me you
can't come back to me? No! I can't live without you. Please, Seal, say you'll
come back with me.”

He hugs me close. “I'm so sorry, Eloise. I
didn't mean to hurt you. You're my whole world. But if I'm to protect you from
Devlin and Lucifer, I have to stay here. Please don't make it harder for me.”
He looks into my eyes, into my soul. “You know how much I love you and want to
be with you, but if I lose my wings again, I'll never get them back. Please,
Eloise, say you understand?”

I stare at him, shocked, dumb founded. “You're
not coming back, are you?”

He shakes his head. “No, Eloise. I'm not. But
I'll be with you always. I'll be watching over you, and whenever you're in
trouble. I'll be there, just know that.”

I'm sob into my hands. I'm heartbroken, I
can't breathe and I gasp for air.

“Please don't cry, Eloise.” He wraps his arms
around my shoulders to comfort me.

I push him away. “You may be an angel, but
you're no different than Tom and Devlin. You were just after one thing, and you
didn't even think I was worth fighting for. You're just interested in your ego
and winning some battle with Devlin. Well, you've conquered him now and got
your trophy, you don't need me anymore. Go back to your heavenly duties, but
you can count me out. I don't want you watching over me, ever. Just leave me to
live my life on my own. Go and find some other idiot to fall in love with you,
then you can have another challenge. Now, take me home or I'll jump off this
cloud.”

“Oh, Eloise, please, it's not like that at
all. I do love you, but you have to understand how dangerous Devlin can be. I
need my wings and my powers to protect you, not for my ego. Do you remember
when I went outside to fetch wood for the fire?”

I sniff. “Uh-uh. That's when you got your
memory back.”

“Well, it wasn't just the storm that
triggered my memory, it was Devlin's scent. I knew he was around. I sensed him,
smelt him, and the thought of him harming you terrified me. I may have burned
his wings off, but now he's a physical man, a young, handsome, virile man. If
he can't make you love him enough to marry him, he'll try his hardest to make
you pregnant. You see, he can still get to you as a human; he kidnapped you
once and he'll do it again if he can. I'll have to watch him constantly. He
can't outwit an angel, but he can outsmart a human, especially a poor one.”

I hold my hands out. “Devlin is just a man
even if he is rich. As long as you love me, and I love you, we can get through
anything. We can find a safe way to be together. We can hide. He has no wings.
If you don't come back to earth with me, I'll truly curl up and die.” I look up
at him, hopefully. “Then I’ll come up to Heaven and be with you.”

“No, you won't, it's not your time to die.
And if I'm not up here to protect you, you could suffer, especially if Devlin
gets his way. He's a man now, and he doesn't need to use Tom's body to get to
you, he has his own, plus he has Lucifer to help him.”

“What about God?” I scream. “Why can't he
help us?”

“He does, Eloise. He gives us free will. He
helps us in his way. There are lessons for humans to learn through your life on
earth and for angels to learn while guiding them.”

My eyes cloud over. “But … but God's not
helping us. He's like a parent forcing us apart.”

Holding my teary face between his hands, he
makes me look at him. “Eloise, you're only sixteen. You've got your whole life
ahead of you. You'll meet someone one day and have a family. You'll get over
me. I'll make sure you do. When I take you home, you'll have no memory of me,
but you'll know you have a guardian angel and all you have to do is call out if
you ever need me.”

I pound my fists on the hard muscles on his
bare chest. “Don't you dare erase my memory of
you!
I'll never forgive you if you do. And you obviously don't love me because you
said you don't care if I meet someone else.”

“I didn't say that, Eloise. You're so
infuriating sometimes.” He smirks. “I bet you gave Devlin a hard time.”

Lying on the feathery bed with my hands
behind my head, I grin. “Maybe I didn't. He's pretty hot you know. Maybe I
liked it when he kissed me. I might even go out with him when I get back to
earth, at least he wants me.”

Seal glares at me, his blue eyes flashing
daggers beneath his straight dark brows. “That's not funny, Eloise.”

Smiling, I waggle my feet at him. “So, you
are jealous?”

He leans over and seizes my arms. “This is
not a laughing matter. Devlin is doomed to burn in hell one day. He wants you
because you're good and pure, and because he knows how much I love you, which
is all the more reason he'll want to tempt you and take you to hell. He hates
me with a vengeance, hates what I stand for. He'll do anything to destroy me.
His aim is to make me sin and be banished to earth forever, then I'll belong to
his kind forever. When he realised my weakness was you, he taunted me by going
after you, determined to make you his bride. He knew what I would do—but he
wanted it, he yearned for it, hungered for you to bare his child, and for me to
burn in hell. If that happens we can never be together. Don't you understand? There's
no hope for us to be together on earth. Not ever.”

My lip quivers and uncontrollable tears pour
down my cheeks. “You know I didn't mean what I said, Seal,” I sob. “You're the
only one I'll ever want, but you're telling me it can never be. I hate Devlin
for what he's done to us.”

Seal squeezes my hand. “Oh, Eloise, I’m so
sorry.”

Shaking my head, I glance around. “This can't
be happening. I must be in a horrible nightmare. I want to wake up, but I
can't.” I cover my face with my hands,
then
I peek
out. “You don't even have any darn tissues in heaven.”

“We're not actually in heaven. We're just
underneath.” He leans over and lifts me onto his lap. “Come here babe.” He rocks
me in his arms. “Eloise, please say you understand. I'm hurting, too, you know.
We have to be strong and face it. We can't be together. It's forbidden. It's
not our destiny.”

Staring up at his sad face, my heart crumples
into million tiny pieces. “But we could change destiny.”

He kisses me gently on the forehead, where my
wound has nearly healed, then he whispers, “Sleep now, Eloise, and I'll take
you home, and when you wake, you'll have no memory of me, but you'll sense me,
you'll know you have a guardian angel. I'll always be there for you, my love.”

Teardrops fall from his sea-blue eyes and
plop into mine, making me blink. I want to keep them, hold them forever and I
squeeze my eyes shut. Suddenly, I feel relaxed like I've been drugged, and as I
drift off to sleep, the beautiful image of Seal
is
still visible on my lids.

Chapter Seventeen

The phone is ringing, bringing me out of a
deep sleep. My eyes flicker open and I glance at the clock radio. Crap. It's only
seven-thirty. Who would call me this early on a Sunday morning? Groaning, I crawl
out of bed and pad to the hall.

“Hello,” I say grumpily into the phone. Then
I hold it away from my ear as my mother's voice blasts from the receiver.

“Eloise, where have you been? I've been
calling you since yesterday. I was just getting ready to send your dad home or
call the neighbour. I hope you weren't out partying with Tom.”

“Mum, you woke me up. Why did you ring so
early?”

“What do you mean you just woke up? You're
supposed to be starting your job at the pet shop today. Have you slept in?”

Holy shit, is it Monday? “Um … I guess I
slept in. I'll have to go, Mum. I don't want to be late on my first day. Can
you ring me back tonight?”

She sighs into the phone. “Okay, but you
better be there. I want to talk to you.”

“I'll be home at five-thirty.”

“Okay, I'll phone you at six o'clock. Bye,
love.”

“Bye, Mum.”

I hang up and dash to my room. How can it be
Monday? I tap my lip and try to think what I did yesterday. I remember going to
Richie's party with Tom on Saturday night, but I don't remember coming home.
Far out, I must've slept for twenty-four hours. I better check my messages and
emails. I dash to my room to get my cell phone.

Darn it. Where's my bag? I rummage around my
messy room, but I can't find it anywhere
.
What's
wrong with me? I can't believe I don't remember where I put it. Frowning, I
search through my wardrobe, but it's not there either. My stomach flips. Crap.
Did I lose it? Scratching my head, I try to think. I know I had it at the party
because after catching Tom with Francesca, I phoned for a cab—though I don't
remember actually getting
into
a cab,
or arriving home.

Someone bangs loudly on the front door,
startling me from my thoughts. Wondering who it is, I run into the front room
and peek out the window.
Yes!
It's Brooke
and she's holding my handbag. I punch the air with my fist, then run to the
door and let her in. “Hey, you found my bag. Come in.”