Crossroads (40 page)

“
If he is better, why
isn’t he here?” I asked again, wondering what he was up
to.

“
You’ll see. I’m not
supposed to say. You’ll just have to see. Do you want to go or stay
here all night?”

Just as Davin asked the last question,
I jumped up and stood right in front of him.

“
Not fashionably late this
time?” he teased.

“
You didn’t steal a car,
did you?” I asked, teasing him back. He gave me a sly
look.

“
Borrowed,” he said and
gave me the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face.

“
No, you didn’t,” I was
trying not to laugh.

“
Same car, 540
horsepower,” he exclaimed.

Before I knew it, Davin grabbed me,
and we were headed to the car.

He was driving slightly over the speed
limit, but when we got on the freeway, he started driving faster –
faster.

“
Ahhh! Slow down!” I
yelled. “You’re giving me a heart attack!”

“
Don’t worry, I’m a really
good driver,” he said, driving over a hundred miles per hour,
weaving in and out of lanes. “Isn’t this great? It’s like flying,
but on the ground.”

“
No!” I yelled, covering
my eyes as I continued to hang on to my seatbelt for my
life.

“
You’ve been flying with
Michael too much,” he teased.

“
Not enough,” I
mumbled.

He was thoroughly enjoying himself,
and I enjoyed watching him get so much pleasure out of something so
simple. I knew that his vision and coordination were more than
perfect, so I let him be. After all, when would he have this
opportunity again? And if I could, I would do it too.

When we finally reached our
destination, my body was plastered to the seat. We were at the same
campground. With my knees still shaking, I managed to get out of
the car. I was about to fall flat on my bottom when I felt a pair
of strong arms around me.

“
Michael,” I turned and
threw myself at him. His embrace felt so warm, and I felt
complete.

“
Davin,” Michael said, in
a scolding tone.

“
I was trying to get here
as fast as she wanted to get here,” he said innocently.

“
You know you can travel
faster than a car,” Michael reminded Davin.

“
But it’s not as much
fun,” Davin said lightly.

“
Leave the fun part to
yourself,” Michael said seriously.

Davin shrugged his shoulder. “Sorry,
Claudia, I thought it would be fun for you too. I forget that you
don’t feel the same rush as me.”

I turned to Michael and shook my head,
so he wouldn’t be mad at Davin anymore.

“
Next time I get to
drive,” I winked.

He smiled, pouted, and gave me a hug.
“See you when I see you.”

Unexpectedly he placed his fist out,
and I looked at him with a questioning expression. He took my hand
and banged it on top of his fist like a hammer. And then he took
his fist and banged it on top of mine. “You know the handshake
people do to say hi and bye?”

I got the idea, but I didn’t know he
knew it. “Oh, now I know what you were trying to do.”

“
Get a clue, Claudia,
you’re acting more like an alkin than a human,” he
teased.

Then he turned to Michael. “See you
later, Mr. Ruin the Fun. Don’t be too late.” Then he flew straight
up and disappeared.

Alone at last, and I was suddenly
struck with shyness. “Fly with me, Claudia, I’ll show you 540 wing
power.” Michael winked and we were already up in the
air.

We didn’t fly high like last time;
instead, we flew up to The Cliff. As we drew closer, he told me to
close my eyes. Closing my eyes meant he was up to something, and I
did so without hesitation. I couldn’t wait to see what he had
planned. When I opened my eyes, my body stiffened, fixating on the
same space where Aden had floated. I knew with every fiber of my
being that Aden was dead and that he couldn’t hurt me any longer,
but just the thought of him brought back horrifying feelings that
coursed through me.

Suddenly, Michael’s wings enclosed me,
and my fear subsided. My body was relaxed and at ease. I knew this
warmth, this place I wanted to be for all eternity. Slowly I
turned, and I was lost in his eyes. I glided my hands up to feel
his soft wings. The wounds had healed completely; no evidence of
his injury could be seen. No matter how many times I had witnessed
the strength that it exerted, it still amazed me.

“
Claudia, look.” He
lowered his wings. Then he turned me around.

My eyes opened wide in surprise to see
many white lights strung above the trees, sparkling brilliantly.
The lights intertwined from the tops of the branches and dangled as
they reached the bottom. Hundreds of lit candles were placed
throughout the surrounding woods. We walked further in, and the
whole place was glowing. It was like we were in some enchanted
forest, and he was my prince. It was the most romantic scene I
could ever have imagined. I was deeply touched by all of his
efforts that had gone into planning such a perfect reunion. This
was the reason he had asked Davin to bring me to The Cliff. I
continued to stare in awe, and my eyes glistened with tears of
happiness.

“
What do you think?” he
asked, wiping my tears.

“
I can’t believe you did
this for me.”

“
You’re worth all this
trouble and much more,” he said, still wiping my tears.

“
Sorry. I’m just way too
emotional these days.”

“
I don’t blame you. It’s
been overwhelming for you. I wish I could make it go
away.”

Wanting not to spoil this beautiful
ambiance, I stopped the tears from falling, wiped the last tear
myself, and lightened up. “A good-looking alkin told me things
happen for a reason.” I ran my fingers down his
shoulders.

“
Who’s this good-looking
alkin? Are you cheating on me?” he asked, nuzzling my neck, knowing
I was referring to him.

“
I didn’t know we were
dating. Would you feel jealous?” I asked, enjoying his
nuzzling.

“
Extremely.”

“
You’re un…unbelievable,”
I said, barely making out the words, lost in his arms.

Suddenly he stopped, and I had to
catch my breath.

“
I know,” he said, trying
to hold back a laugh. “You told me that the first day we met. You
remember? I wanted to prove it.”

I giggled, recalling the first day we
met when I was extremely mad at him. “Of course I remember. But
this time, I mean it in a good way.”

“
I know you do.” Then he
changed the subject. “I’m sorry I was away, but I asked Davin to
keep an eye on you.”

“
You did?” I asked in
surprise and pulled away to look at him. “But I never saw
him.”

Since you were not in immediate
danger, I asked him to keep an eye on you from a
distance.”

“
Aden is dead. Why would I
be in danger?”

“
It’s nothing. I’m only
trying to be cautious.” Then he brushed off my question.

“
Michael, you didn’t
answer my question.”

“
It’s really nothing. I
shouldn’t have said anything,” he replied, not able to look at
me.

“
Please tell me,” I
begged. “You know I won’t stop asking.”

He gave a short laugh. “That’s true. I
don’t want to worry you, but I’m just being cautious. There are
many fallen who might have the same ideas as Aden. Not that I was
suspicious of anyone. Please don’t trouble yourself and put a lot
of thought into what I just said. When it comes to your safety, I’m
overly protective, that’s all. Promise me you won’t
worry?”

“
Okay,” I said with
hesitation. Although I just promised him that I wouldn’t worry, I
knew a part of me would. But I was more curious to know where he
was and what he had been doing. “Where were you?” I asked, changing
the subject.

“
I needed to think about
what we are going to do with you.”

“
I think you should just
whisk me away to where no one can find us. Fly with me, Michael,” I
said, giving him my most puppy-eyed look, even though I knew it was
impossible.

“
If only it were that
simple. I would take you anywhere you pleased.”

I knew he meant it. “If only,” I
whispered. “What are you going to do with me?”

“
Honestly, I don’t know. I
don’t want to tell Phillip that you have the Holy Spirit’s soul
because he will take you to the Royal Council. It’s possible they
would make you stay with them. It may be a place without me. And I
can’t be without you.” He then placed his head gently against mine.
“They know Aden is dead, and I’m going to have to explain why he
was after you. Unless I can come up with a good explanation, it
will be out of my hands.”

My heart sunk.

He lifted my chin, and my eyes met
his. “If they do find out somehow, I will do everything I can to
stop them from telling the Royal Council. I honestly don’t know
what the Royal Council will do, but I’m not willing to take any
chances of them separating us.”

“
What do we do in the
meantime?”

“
The plan is that you go
back to your normal life, whatever normal is for you now.” He
cocked his brow. “Since Davin, Caleb, Vivian, and I got permission
from Phillip to see you more often, I’ll get to visit you, even if
you’re not in danger.”

“
Did you ask or tell
Phillip anything else?”

“
I told him about
us.”

“
You told him about us?” I
repeated his answer, unsure of what he had just said.

“
Yes, and he also knows I
kissed you!”

I was in shock. “What! He knows?”
Suddenly I flushed with embarrassment.

“
And I told him that I am
in love with you.”

“
What?”

“
I also told him that you
make me absolutely crazy.”

I finally caught on to his
playfulness. “Did you tell him that you’re making things up?” Then
I pushed him gently across his muscular arms, frowning. His fingers
tickled the sides of my ribs and I arched my back from the tingling
sensation. Without warning, he scooped me off my feet, and I was
wrapped like a cocoon inside his wings. I could tell we were
floating off the ground. I traced my hands along his face to
memorize every turn and every angle. “Can I ask you a
question?”

“
I was waiting for you to
ask me that,” he laughed.

“
How did you make Alexa
Rose float? And I heard your voice the day of Gamma’s funeral. How
did you do that?”

“
I reached out to Margaret
when I was away. She taught me how to make people float, and how to
transfer my thoughts to you on the day of your grandmother’s
funeral,” he said excitedly. “I’m not good at it. And it takes a
great deal of energy, but with practice, I can do
better.”

“
Can all angels learn
special skills like that?”

“
No, I’m the unlucky one
who has the ability to learn. It’s what makes me different from the
other alkins, besides my wings and the fact that my father is, or
was, one of the Twelve,” he said humbly.

“
Unlucky?” I asked,
remembering when Aden said he would have taught Michael everything
he knew.

“
It’s the only reason why
Aden was interested in me,” he said with shame written all over his
face.

“
I’m so sorry, Michael,” I
said, feeling so much compassion for him. “I think you have a
wonderful gift, and you can use it to do good things.”

He let out a huge smile, “For you, I
will learn to do anything.”

I didn’t know what to say; instead, I
placed my hands on his cheeks and asked him another question. “Do
you wish to be human still?”

“
No.”

“
I don’t understand. I
thought you wanted to be human. When did this all
change?”

“
After I became your
guardian angel, I never wanted to leave your sight. I wanted to
protect you and keep you safe. If I were a mere human, I couldn’t
do that. I found my purpose.” He paused, setting his eyes deeply
into mine. “If I had to die to save you, I would. I would do it in
a heartbeat. Life isn’t worth living, unless you have someone worth
dying for.”

I knew what he meant. “I would do the
same for you,” I said as I traced the outline of his lips with my
finger.

“
I know you would. But if
you died and I lived, I might as well be dead. You are my breath of
life. Without you, there is no purpose. You are my reason. I need
you for my life to make sense.”

“
I need you
too.”

“
But I need you more,” he
said softly.

I closed my eyes, letting his words
sink in, and repeating them inside my head.

“
What are you thinking?”
he asked.

“
Just that I can’t believe
you’re here. I can’t believe you’re real.” I ran my hands along his
face, memorizing every curve, every line, every crinkle when he
smiled, knowing that we would be apart again. “Where will I be when
I wake up?” I already knew the answer to my question, but I asked
anyway.