Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (83 page)

“Michael?” I muttered, blinking, wondering if I’d somehow fallen asleep without even noticing it.

Michael also seemed taken aback, as if he hadn’t expect to see me there, though we were in my room. His blond hair fell around his face dripping wet, as were his clothes. The black leather jacket he wore and his motorcycle boots were leaving a small pool on the floor where he stood. And then, he suddenly seemed to awake, and strode into my room, going straight to my wardrobe.

“Put this on!” he told me dryly, throwing a flannel shirt at me that I almost couldn’t catch, and I was suddenly very much aware that I’d been standing there, staring at him in disbelief, in my bra.

I obeyed, awkwardly, turning my back on him to button up my shirt but, before I could even finish, his hand was already around my wrist, and he was dragging me out the door.

“Hey! Michael! Wait!!” I complained, stumbling as my aching legs failed, but he ignored me and pulled me down the stairs.

I stumbled again, and would have fallen if he hadn’t pulled me up as if I were a child learning to walk, the iron strength of his fingers around my wrist hurting me as we got to the ground floor.

“Stop!!” I commanded, angry at his silent arrogance, and tried to free my hand. “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice cracking, but the look he gave me silenced my protests at once.

His green eyes were glowing as if they were precious stones touched by the sun and something in him was suddenly very frightening.

“Don’t argue with me, Mariane! And do as I tell you!” he simply replied and, although he hadn’t raised his tone and almost sounded calm, his voice echoed inside me, giving me the creeps. I couldn’t resist him when he pulled me again, helplessly stumbling forward, but as we went by the living room door, I saw a body lying on the floor that made my heart jump in agony.

“Lea!” I called desperately but Michael didn’t slow down, forcing me to keep following his steps. “No! Let go of me! Let go!” I demanded, now roaring as I fought his hand with all my strength, and he turned, wrapping a hand around my waist and easily scooping me from the ground,

I screamed, and hit him, and kicked him, and screamed again until my already hoarse throat almost couldn’t scream anymore, but nothing made him free me, or stop dragging me outside where the rain mercilessly drenched us again.

I wanted to cry but had no tears. I wanted to get free from his hold but hadn’t enough strength. My wishes all echoed empty inside of me. Because my Soul felt nothing for Lea, she didn’t care one little bit about what Michael might want with me, nothing would be able to move her except for Gabriel, and Gabriel wasn’t there.

Michael dropped me on the seat of his bike, holding me firmly, bearing indifferently all my constant aggressions. But still, no matter how hard he held me, there was no way I was just going to sit there quietly, and there was no way he could start that bike with me thrashing around like that. He sighed deeply and wrapped a hand around my neck, pulling me back against his chest, squeezing just enough to stop me from breathing.

“Sit still, or I swear I’ll put you to sleep,” he threatened in a whisper as cold as the rain and the shock that washed over me at that warning left me stunned for a second, time enough for him to send his bike roaring down the street.

I could hardly breathe at the speed he was going, the ice cold rain feeling like stones thrown against me, making me raise my arms to protect my face, and I was sure he was going to kill us both, the wheels of his motorbike squealing against the wet pavement. The curves left me sick to my stomach, making me feel dizzy again, and I would have fallen from the seat more than once, if not for the arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place against his warm body.

When he finally stopped, the first thing I did was bend to the side and throw up, but there was nothing in my stomach. His hand grabbed me again, dragging me mercilessly, and I fell on my knees, breathing heavily, my ice cold hair sticking to my face, making me feel really sick. He, however, pulled me up again, forcing me to walk even though every muscle in my body hurt. I know I stumbled up some stairs and finally his hand let go of me, and I fell on a ground as cold as the rain that had wet me, and yet a blessed motionless surface. The slamming of a heavy door filled the air, startling me, and his footsteps walked by me, making me feel relieved that he was walking away.

I fought to quickly sort my thoughts, feeling too confused and tired, pain muddling my brain. I noticed that it wasn’t raining anymore, although it was so cold that I couldn’t stop shivering. With a stab of pain, I remembered Lea’s body lying on the floor by the living room door and clenched my hands, looking for strength to raise my head.

I saw him standing a few steps away, his back turned to me as he faced an altar illuminated by a heavy chandelier. I felt lost and looked around me, and noticed that we were in a church, obviously empty at that time of night.

I took a deep breath, holding on to one of the wooden benches, and forced my shaky legs to obey me and support my weight as they should. The world around me spun dangerously as I stood, and I held on to the bench until the dizziness subsided.

“Michael!” I called out to him once I was back to myself, and my hoarse voice echoed eerily.

I saw him shudder, before he turned back to me, and facing his pained and guilty expression broke my anger and determination.

“Don’t worry, Mari. Everything’s going to be all right,” he said, coming towards me, and the memory of the unbreakable prison that were his arms made me take a step back. He stopped, giving up on the idea of coming any closer, and his pained expression became even bitterer. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“Why did you bring me here?” I demanded and only then noticed that it wasn’t the first time we were in that place.

He seemed to hear my thoughts and smiled lightly as he looked around.

“Remember when we first came here?” I didn’t answer and he took a deep, melancholic breath. “You told me you were looking for an angel because yours had fallen asleep, and you thought I could never fulfill that task.” I trembled when he looked at me with that same intensity from before. “I brought you here to protect you!” he declared and his voice echoed like a thunder all around us.

“Protect?” I repeated, not knowing if I should feel confused or frightened. “Protect me from what?” I asked in a whisper, trying to call him back to reason, but apparently my words only fired his anger even more.

“Protect you from what! Protect you from what?!” he shouted, his voice a threatening crescendo, and he was on me before I could even think of escaping, as I stumbled and almost fell back if he hadn’t held my arm.

He pulled me against his warm body and I screamed in panic, pushing him away with all my strength, unable to get free again. He grabbed hold of my shirt and pulled it hard, breaking the sewing threads that kept the buttons in place, and pulling it down my arm, undressing me roughly. I cringed instinctively and he grabbed me again, shaking me, making me dizzy and nauseated.

“You’re still asking what? Look at this! Look!” he ordered, his voice like a thunder again, and I obeyed, trembling. My eyes fell upon the dark marks left under my skin, the bruises I had ignored as if they’d never existed, the same that Gabriel’s cold hands had given me. “On your arms. On your chest. On your back. Where else did he touch you?”

The shock lit a smoldering anger inside me.

“Let go of me!” I demanded dryly and he seemed perplexed by my sudden apparent firmness.

“Mariane! He’ll end up destroying you!” he insisted, resisting through all my attempts to get free, and I faced him severely. “Can’t you see? I only want what’s best for you. I only want to protect you. And although I understand that, up till now, you had to deal with all this on your own, you no longer need to. You no longer need to stay with him!”

“Michael!” I shouted, hurting my sore throat. I couldn’t even hear those words. What did he know of what I needed? My anger turned against him again and I fought to get free from his unmoving hands. “Let go!” I shouted and a thunder crackled all around us, as if ricocheting on the walls, making the ground under my feet shake.

Cold wind broke my anger and I only noticed that there wasn’t anything holding me anymore when I stumbled forward. I held on to the bench once more to stop myself from falling, and made sure I was still breathing before raising my head.

Alexander was standing right in front of me, his presence so cold and fierce that it made me shudder. But he wasn’t the only one. And, as I looked back, I saw Gabriel leaning against the now wide opened, tall wooden door, his arms folded over his chest, like an authentic inanimate block of ice.

Jonathan walked forward with hesitant steps, dripping water all over the place, and stopped beside me. However, he didn’t even look at me, his anxious eyes locked on Alexander’s straight back, his tension leaving me apprehensive.

The sound of laughter filled the air around us, startling me. And only then I noticed that Michael was lying on the floor at the base of the altar, as if he’d been thrown across the air by an invisible force, to somewhere far away from me. I was immediately worried that he might be hurt, and then noticed he was the one laughing, and, in complete disbelief, saw him stand up effortlessly.

His green eyes glowed coldly, as if burning in a green cold fire, and I took a sharp breath since I had never imagined his gentle face would be able of an expression like that, my heart beating too fast, making my chest hurt.

“How dare you come in here?” I heard his voice, clear and strong, the implicit threat dripping out of his every single word, and I knew immediately he wasn’t talking to me anymore.

“Because it would seem you have a serious hearing problem. It’s the second time she tells you to let go and that you’re not quite able to listen,” Alexander replied in that same restrained tone, but contempt was thick in his voice.

“This matter does not concern you!” Michael stated severely and I felt Jonathan’s anxiety grow by the minute, contaminating me.

“That it’s not for the likes of you to decide,” Alexander replied and Michael smiled, but that same expression that had always brought me comfort and warmth could only make shiver, leaving me certain that that could not be real — that could not be the Michael I knew.

“Oh, really? Who should decide then?” he asked ironically and his voice lowered to a deeper menacing tone. “You’re interfering where you shouldn’t! Because you’re nothing but a dog at the beck and call of that thing, over there!” My heart almost stopped knowing he was referring to Gabriel. I waited in fear for his fury, or to simply watch as he appeared at Michael’s side and shredded him to pieces, right there and then.

Alexander seemed to share my thoughts and his bright sword appeared out of thin air in his right hand.

“You think what you like! That thing over there won’t have to lift a single finger to put you down!” he growled in a dark threat, and Michael laughed again, insanely, as I begged in my thoughts that he would just run away while he could!

“And what can a
fallen one
like you do against me?” Michael demanded and everything inside me fell into a deep silence. “You’re nothing but a traitor!”

“You may even be right. But at least I didn’t abandon anyone!” Alexander replied with pure loathing and Michael smiled coldly again.

“No, you dragged him down with you. And what is he now? Nothing but an aberration like you! What was the use of breaking the Law? A broken thing will never be able to save anyone!” he declared and Alexander’s rage was so intense that it left me breathless.

Black feathers scattered all over the place and then he wasn’t standing there anymore. A thunderous sound echoed throughout the entire church, and my eyes anxiously flew all over the place, looking for him. I stopped breathing as I saw Alexander, leaning over Michael, his face a furious mask. And it took me some time to understand that Michael had been able to stop his attack, that he was smiling coldly, and that he was holding a sword much like Alexander’s.

Alexander swiftly jumped back, his legs flexing as if he were an animal, his head bending low as he faced his enemy, and Michael stood up, holding his sword that looked almost made of light, readying himself for the next attack.

I was unable to move as I watched Alexander’s face slowly changing, becoming ever more less like him, taking on the expression of the emotions commanding his actions. And I recalled what he’d told me about constantly fighting against certain parts of him, stopping them from emerging, so that he could remain who he was. My chest hurt as I realized that Michael had been wrong, that he wasn’t a
fallen one
, that he was still
falling
, losing himself piece by piece every time he allowed his dark emotions to take over him, like how it was happening right now. And I wished I could stop him, I wished I could run to hold him back, but my shaky legs just wouldn’t move and my throat was too dry to emit any sound. Alexander raised his bright sword that looked like a shadow when compared to Michael’s, and Michael smiled at him in a cold challenge, as if he were unable to fear him.

“Sigweardiel!” The young, clear voice that filled the air with that shout was like a blast of cold wind over a scorching desert, and everything was suddenly very quiet and silent, so much so that, for the first time, I could hear the rain falling outside.