Redemption (9 page)

“Very well. I’ll simply need a few moments
or so of your time this evening,” he responds.

After convincing Abby that I’m not avoiding
her, but need more time to finish my thesis, I follow Professor
Davidson into his office. It looks typical of a college teacher’s
office. It’s dark with books strewn everywhere and it’s dusty.
He really needs to clean more.

“May I offer you some tea, Miss Collins?” he
asks while placing an elegant silver tray on his antique mahogany
desk. It’s host to a white bone china carafe, dainty teacups and
saucers.

“No. Thank you,” I respond and take a seat
in an old worn leather chair across from the middle-aged
gentlemen.

Professor Davidson sits back in his own
executive chair and tents his fingers under his chin. “Let me begin
by formally introducing myself. My name is Dr. Henry Davidson. As
you have already assessed, I’m a gargoyle. At the moment, my
current assignment is the protection of Kingsley College.”

“I see.”
I don’t really, but it seems a
more appropriate response than get the fuck out.

“I was assigned here when you decided to
join the student body. The council realized the demonic legion and
Dark Army could infiltrate the campus while looking for you and
that would place humans in danger. Hence the reason for my
presence,” he explains further.

“Are there other protectors here that I
don’t know about?”

“Yes.”

“Do Asher and the St. Michaels know that
you’re here and who you are?”

“Prince Asher is aware since he is on the
council. Once he was assigned as your protector, and you accepted
your academic spot at Kingsley, he ruled in favor of the college’s
protection.”

Great, something else that Asher ‘left out’
of previous conversations.

“Why didn’t he say anything to me when we
had your class together last semester?”

“That’s for him to answer. I assume he
didn’t want you to be concerned with it.”

“Which clan are you with?”

“That isn’t important. What is, is that I am
an elder, and with that comes a level of prestige and privacy. I
realize you are unfamiliar with our ways. I’ll ask you to be
respectful of what I can, and can’t, offer you in the form of
information. The oaths are imposed for reasons.”

“Right. Who could forget those pesky oaths?”
I sigh. “Would you at least indulge me and answer how it’s possible
for you to sense Thoren, if the others can’t?”

“Like the prince, I have a dark bloodline,
hence my gift to sense higher-level demons. It’s a rare attribute
that very few gargoyles possess. My ability is the reason I was
chosen to protect the college from the demonic legion and Dark
Army,” he answers calmly.

I ponder this. “Asher can also sense
higher-level demons?” I ask quietly.

“Yes. Mr. St. Michael not only has the
ability to manipulate darkness, but his bloodline allows him to
sense higher demons, such as Thoren.”

“Doesn’t he share the same family bloodline
as Keegan and Callan?” I question.

“Asher has a stronger lineage than his
brothers, which is why he is next in line to the throne and will
eventually rule our people. Surely that has been mentioned to
you?”

“It has.” I let this information sink in for
a moment. “I’m sorry, Professor, I don’t understand. If Asher
shares the same parentage as Keegan and Callan, how is his
bloodline stronger? Does he have different parents?”

“Asher’s line is stronger for the same
reason that yours is directly connected to Heaven. It was altered.
Just as you are the last descendent of Eve, Asher is a direct
descendent of Adam, through Lilith, the first female demon.”

I go still. Adam? Eve? Lilith?
I swear to
all that is holy.

“I can see further explanation is needed,”
the professor says, taken aback that I don’t know this revelation.
He shifts in his chair. The leather creaks and groans under the
weight.

“Please,” I answer on a frustrated breath,
knowing the shit’s about to hit the proverbial fan.

“Are you familiar with divination, Miss
Collins?”

“Prophecies? I suppose, some. What do they
have to do with Asher and me?”

“At the order of an archangel, both your and
Asher’s bloodlines were touched, or altered, by Everley, the cherub
angel of ancestry. Your bloodline is actually derived from Eve,
Adam’s second wife, and a light of Heaven. Asher’s lineage is a
result of being altered to include the bloodline of Lilith, Adam’s
first wife, and a demon of darkness. Your combined lines have been
designed to fulfill the divination outlined in the scrolls. The
prophecy states the souls of the daughter of light and the prince
of dark shall join together. United as one, the two will until the
end of days and bring redemption to creation.”

I just stare at the professor, wondering if
he’s lost his mind, or if this is truth. It’s hard to tell. The
gargoyle is quirky in that,
I’m an intellect way
, but
scattered in that,
loveable doesn’t have an email way
. He
reminds me of a scholarly
Indiana Jones
. Perhaps he smoked
too much in the sixties. That would explain the crazy ass
information he just dropped on me.

Truthfully, it’s not all that outrageous
given I’m in love with a gargoyle, am being chased by the devil
himself, and most recently found out that I’m the daughter of an
archangel.

“Miss Collins, are you still with me?” His
tone is less than amused.

“Sorry, I was absorbing your thoughts on the
divination,” I reply.

He releases a deep sigh, sensing I’m not
focused. “When you visit with Sorceress Lunette, she will confirm
the divination and show you the scrolls as proof.”

“This information contradicts what I’ve been
told,” I challenge.

“I do believe that Priestess Arabella
informed you that your future is not what is being presented as
truth,” he adds.
Crap. Again, it’s all a lie.

“I think…I’ll take that cup of tea now, if
you don’t mind,” I say through a dry throat.

“Of course.” The professor stands stiffly,
pours then offers a teacup to me. He watches me closely as I allow
the hot liquid to soothe my throat.

“If I’m following what you’re suggesting
correctly, then Heaven predesigned Asher and me so we’d have a soul
connection? Knowing all along, at some point, we would meet, fall
in love, and save the world?” I reason out loud.

“I wouldn’t have put it so plainly, Miss-” I
cut him off.

“The Royal Gargoyle Council of Protectors
would never have granted me Asher’s protection if the prophecy was
true,” I say in a firm tone, watching the professor.

“Miss Collins, the council does not know
what is written in the scrolls. Garrick, our late king, only made
it known that Asher’s bloodline was of superior lineage. Spinning
it to the council the darkness in him would be beneficial when he
takes the throne. Asher will be the first king who is gifted enough
to defend mankind against ALL demons. The success of his assignment
to protect you is something he is required to fulfill in order to
inherit the throne. It’s a contingency set by the Royal Gargoyle
Council of Protectors. That is all. The ruling body is unaware of
your fates, or each of your parts in the divination of redemption,”
he states.

“And Michael?”

Slate grey eyes hold mine. “The archangel
was the one who gave the approval to the cherub to alter both of
your bloodlines with light and dark. Therefore, I would assume the
warrior of Heaven is aware of what is written within the
prophecy.”

We sit in silence for a brief time while I
absorb everything being said. Sadness looms over me when
realization sets in that not only is Asher drawn to me by the blood
bond as my protector. But now, if the divination is true, this was
all a big plan. So that Heaven would succeed over Hell. We’re the
key, not just me. It’s us, together. We were fated to fall in
love.

“This is what Gage meant when he said I was
a pawn,” I state, emotionless.

“Pawn or not, Miss Collins, without
darkness, there is no light. To that accord, without light, there
would be no darkness. Everything must balance,” the elder gargoyle
instructs.

“Is that why Asher agreed to be my primary
guardian? Has he been pretending all this time to feel for me so
that we can fulfill the divination?” I question rhetorically.

“I’m sorry, Miss Collins. That is a question
that only the prince can answer.” His voice is low.

“Who else know about the scrolls?”

“Aside from me, as the keeper of the
scrolls, and Sorceress Lunette, as the guardian of the scrolls,
Heaven, Prince St. Michael, Mr. Gallagher and now, you,” he
answers.

My hands are shaking so I place the delicate
teacup on the desk and stand abruptly.
I need out of this
office.
I register a knock on the door before Gage walks in.
He’s eyeing both the professor I suspiciously while he twirls an
unlit cigarette in his hand in a casual manner.

“Everything okay, love?” he asks, on
guard.

“How did you know I was in here?”

“Henry. It’s nice to see you again. I assume
you’ve downloaded Eve on the scrolls and the divination?” Gage
ignores my question.

“I have. As you asked of me,” Professor
Davidson answers point-blank.

My eyes flip to Gage’s. “You told him to
tell me?”

“Once again, it is my opinion that you
should have all the facts, love. Henry is the old friend I spoke of
during our time in the Land of Leprechauns.”

“Well, now I have them.” My tone is lined
with aggravation.

Gage holds my eyes for a moment then nods
once.

“I’ll give you two a moment to catch up,” I
offer, looking between the two gargoyles.

“Abby is waiting for you outside, stay with
her,” Gage orders.
Damn bossy gargoyles.

I snatch my messenger bag up and head to the
door, opening it to exit as I hear Professor Davidson’s voice float
through the dust specks in the dim beams of light in his
workplace.

“Miss Collins…for the record, the divination
never spoke of love. Only that the two souls would be entwined as
one,” he says as if it’s supposed to make a difference.

Without a look back, I walk through the
door, needing to escape. Still not ready to face Abby, I head
toward the back of the building. I know it’s risky but right now, I
need to digest everything that, once again, has been thrown in my
freaking lap.

As soon as the cool night air hits me, I
squeeze my eyes shut and take in a deep breath, attempting to hold
back the tears.
Shit! Don’t break down. Not here.

Does Asher even love me or has this all been
a game for him? Gage is right. I have no free will. Everything from
birth and before has been decided for me, including love. It dawns
on me that I’m not my own person.

I’ve been fooling myself into believing I
have control over any of this. It’s all a diversion and I’m the
key.
When am I going to wake up from this nightmare?

Everyone, every single person I know and
cared for has lied to me.

7
Forbidden Fruit

The smell of fresh grass
encompasses me, swallowing me up like a wave. My eyes drift to the
sky, immersed in its perfect shade of blue. Smiling to myself, I
pretend, like I did when I was a child, that the sky is the ocean
and I’m so far underneath it, no one will ever find me.

A passing airplane leaves behind a line of
white billowing smoke and I imagine it’s a boat and the trailing
vapor waves that are too far away to ripple through me.

My eyes close, absorbing the warmth of the
sunshine. Its yellow beams penetrate through the light green leaves
as they sway gently in the spring breeze. It’s in these small
private moments that I’m able to appreciate the beauty that is life
and the world. I can center myself and allow the outside forces of
the universe to disappear. I just…exist.

A shadow falls over me, cutting off the
warmth. An odd occurrence, since there are no clouds in the sky. My
eyes pop open to see Callan looming over me, chomping on a red
apple. Chewing at it viciously, like a horse.
Ugh gross.

“You’re blocking out the sun.” I point
toward the ball of fire.

Callan plops down next to me on the grass.
The sound of his exaggerated crunching invades the quiet of nature.
I study the child-like way the gargoyle is relaxing next to me,
without a care in the world.

Looking down at me, he holds out the mangled
fruit. “Want a bite, cutie?”

I squint. “I don’t know. Is it poisoned, or
will it provide me with knowledge?”

He chuckles. “I think you might be taking
this whole bloodline thing too seriously, Eves.”

“That’s a first. Most of you think I’m not
taking it seriously enough,” I quip.

Placing the core on the ground next to him,
Callan scoots down and stretches out next to me before placing his
hands behind his head.

“For the record, in the Garden of Eden, when
Eve ate the forbidden fruit, it was never established that it was
an apple. The fruit could have been anything. A pear, a banana, an
orange…well, you get the point. Any one of those items she snacked
on might have pissed off the big guy,” he quibbles.

I roll my eyes. “Your point?”

“Sometimes, a myth is just a myth. If you
want truth, you need to seek facts,” he says.

“Does that mean you don’t believe in the
divination?”
Please say no. Please.

He closes his eyes, soaking in the sun. “I
believe that my brother loves you. End of story.”

“I wish I had your conviction.”

“You do. You just don’t know it.”

We sit in comfortable silence for a while
just watching the sky before Callan speaks.