Fall For Me ((The Tate Chronicles #1)) (21 page)

“In all fairness, I did try to stop Matthew, and you still don’t want to take off your ring.”

“Why? What will happen?” I asked cautiously.

“I can’t believe after thousands of years as an angel, you have never worked out what your ring is for.”

“It’s a symbol of my connection with God, or rather it was before it turned black,” I said.

“Mine did the same thing when I fell. If you remember, my stone used to be amber, now it’s onyx like yours.”

I glanced at Seth’s ring; one sweeping angel’s wing surrounding a jet black stone. I twirled my ring again, trying to picture what it used to look like when it held the sparkling blue sapphire, a stone as dark as death stared back at me.

“All fallen angels have black onyx in their ring, those who still have rings,” Seth said.

For a moment I let my guard slip. I was confused and wondered why Seth had come, he always had a hidden agenda, but this time something felt different.

“You still haven’t worked it out?” he asked. “For someone who’s been around as long as you, you’re pretty dumb.”

“Hey…”

“If you take that ring off you will lose your wings. They’ll be stripped.”

“Angelica said I was lucky not to have been stripped after I fell.”

“And she’s right,” he said. “But no doubt she intends to try.”

I rolled everything Seth had said over in my mind, and stopped on one thing that puzzled me. “Annie wasn’t wearing her ring, it was around her neck. So why did she keep her wings?”

“If it was around her neck then technically she was wearing it. I guess the Council made an exception, and Angels of the Light have ways around almost anything. Besides, as far as I know, only another angel can strip you.
Unless you’re stupid enough to do it yourself.”

“Why are you telling me this? Are you helping me?”

Seth’s eyes softened. He looked like he actually
cared,
which frightened me. We’d fought for so many years, and it hurt too much to remember what it was like when we’d been friends. I pushed into his mind and glimpsed the beginning of a thought.

Because I…

Seth?

Get out, Grace.
“If Angelica loses her ring, she also loses her wings,” he said. “Think about it. She will be powerless against you, against us.”

“There
is
no
us,
Seth.”

His expression turned cold. I could feel the wall he put back up between us, not even realising how far it had come down in the first place.

“Ivan and Blake, have they been stripped?” I asked.

“My boys got into a little trouble, yes. Their rings are with the Guardian.”

“There’s a Guardian?” I shook my head and rubbed my temples. “Why don’t I know any of this? Has my existence been that sheltered? Am I really that naïve?”

“Don’t beat yourself up too much; I don’t actually know who it is. The Guardian’s identity has been a secret for a very long time. Besides, you’re just a Protection Angel. Need to know basis I guess.”

That was true; my status in Heaven had been on the lowest rung, but Seth’s knowledge got under my skin and it looked like I had a few things to learn. While I was thinking and trying to process all the new information, he’d come a little closer. I raised my head and stared up into his eyes. His face was only inches from mine, and his cold expression bore into me.

“Can we be killed, if we’ve been stripped?” I
asked,
my pulse racing.

“Yes, but it’s complicated. Lose your wings and you lose your power. It also makes you weak, hence the reason Ivan and Blake are more bark than bite. They don’t put themselves in dangerous situations anymore. They’re hoping to get their rings back one day.”

Seth reached out and stroked my feathers. I shrank away from his touch, folding my wings as close to my body as possible, but I stood my ground.

Do you remember what it was like, before my fall?
Seth’s eyes held mine, and I found I couldn’t look away.

Of course I did, but I was used to the way he was now. I’d blocked the other memories. I didn’t want to go there. Seth stroked my cheek with the tips of his fingers and I closed my eyes, shivering at his touch.

Please Seth, don’t.

You know why I fell, don’t you?

I didn’t answer, I didn’t want to, and for some stupid reason I didn’t move.

It’s too painful to remember,
I said.
Please … don’t.

“Why did you really come?” I put up the wall inside my head and stepped back. “Why are you trying to help me defeat Angelica?” And then it dawned on me. A smile spread across Seth’s face as he saw my realisation. “You need me. You want her gone and you can’t do it yourself.”

“You do always figure things out eventually, Grace.”

Angelica wasn’t the only reason he was here, though. I could feel it. Memories flooded my thoughts and this time I didn’t stop them. My time in Heaven with Seth played out in my mind. It hurt. I’d worked so hard to keep it locked up, I didn’t want to remember. When Seth had left, my world shattered, we’d been in sync for so long it was like the night losing its stars. Angelica had told me we were better off without him; he wasn’t a true servant of God and was where he belonged. I came to earth not long after. Well, a few hundred years, but that was nothing in the scheme of things for an angel. I spent so long trying to block it out, throwing myself into protecting the Tate’s and fighting evil, but with Seth on my heels everywhere I went, sometimes it was hard.

Finally, it dawned on me why he fell. How could I have been so blind? Angelica and Seth had been my best friends, how did I not see it before?

“You fell because of me,” I whispered.

A lonely tear slipped down my cheek and Seth reached out as if to catch it in his palm, but instead he brushed it away with his thumb. The memory of catching Seth’s tear in my hand flashed across my mind and I stared into his cold eyes. He glared at me in silence.

Eventually Seth said, “You might want to go get Charlotte. Matthew got hold of her early this morning. She’s locked in a warehouse out on the highway.”

“Seth…?”

“Just go, Grace. I’m done with Matthew and his crap. Chasing Charlotte was fun, but I want Angelica now. She’s the one who convinced you to hate me so much in the first place.”

“No, you did a good job of doing that yourself,” I said.

He stroked my cheek again and it made me shiver.

“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”

And then he was gone.

GRACE

Saturday Afternoon

S
eth’s touch lingered on my cheek as I retracted my wings. The good news, there was a way to defeat Angelica, or pull her down a few rungs. The bad news, well I didn’t want to think about that.

“Grace?” Josh called across the clearing. I knew he’d seen everything and I felt a little guilty. “What did
he
want?” he asked, coming to my side.

“To tell me Charlotte is locked in a warehouse on the outskirts of town, among other things.”

“Charlotte is what? Why are we standing here? Find her!” Archer said.

“You could be a little less rude,” I said.

“Oh, we’re sorry, Grace, did we interrupt a private moment between you and Seth,” Josh shot at me.

“Josh? It wasn’t like that.”

“I saw the way he touched you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, shaking my head.

“I know what I saw.”

“Josh, Seth and I have history. Not even Archer knows about it.”

“Well, that’s news to me.” Archer sounded mad, too.

Great, my boyfriend and my brother were mad at me for something that was out of my control. I knew I wouldn’t win this one, but I had to try.

Josh, please…

“Would you stop doing that,” he said, storming off towards the shed.

Ryan was silent through the entire exchange. He shrugged and followed his best friend. I knew he wasn’t angry, he just felt he had a responsibility to Josh.

“Ryan,” I called after him, “we’ll be back soon with Charlotte.” He nodded and continued walking.

Archer clenched his fists at his sides. He looked really angry.

“What the … what were you thinking, Gracie?”

“Arch, it’s complicated. I can’t explain…”

“Try.”

My brother stood over me, not about to back down. The story would take too long to tell, so I opened my memories to Archer and flooded his mind with a snapshot of my life before him, before our family. Archer’s eyes widened with every new piece of information.

“Well, that kind of sucks.”

“Can we go get Charlotte now?” I held out my hand.

“You don’t love him back, do you?”

If looks could kill Archer would have died instantly. He flinched then took my outstretched hand without another word. I misted us to the other side of town and we landed in a lane way between two big warehouses. We walked to the end and out into a car park. Concentrating, I searched for Charlotte.

“She’s in there,” I said, pointing to a dilapidated tin shed across the street.

I misted again and we landed inside the warehouse. The shape of some old farm machinery came into focus as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. Apart from the two run down tractors and a dozer, the place was empty. I couldn’t see Charlotte anywhere, but I could feel her.

“Charlotte,” I called into the darkness.

“Grace? Upstairs,” a tentative reply echoed off the metal walls.

There was a staircase in one corner leading up to an office. Archer and I ran to the bottom and picked our way over the rusting steps. It took a few shoves to open the door at the top, and when we entered the small room we found Charlotte chained to a chair. Or rather, she was under a huge pile of chains that wrapped around her body and her legs. Hercules wouldn’t have been able to break free.

“What took you guys so long?”

“You kept running away, remember?” Archer knelt down to pick the padlocks holding Charlotte captive.

“We stopped looking, figured you’d come when you were ready. Seth told us where you were. Looks like we won’t have to use
bait,
Arch,” I said, laughing. He threw me a look and Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Never mind,” I said quickly. “Are you coming back? We may have a way to put Angelica in her place.”

“This bit you haven’t told me,” Archer said.

“All in good time.
Let’s get Charlotte home first.”

Archer began to unravel the chains. When he was done Charlotte rubbed her wrists where they’d been bound, then launched at Archer and hugged him. He spun her around a few times to see if she was hurt.

“Archer, I’m fine,” Charlotte said. “But I have some bad news. Matthew and Cain drained more of my blood, about another four vials.”

“That is bad news,” Archer said. “I thought one drop was enough.”

Charlotte nodded. “One drop is plenty, but it doesn’t last long because their blood cleans it out of their system. But, the more they drink, the longer the effect. In theory if they drink enough the change could be permanent.”

We stared at each another in silence as the horror of what was possible hit home.

“You’re saying if they drink enough they’ll become like you, and be able to walk around during daylight hours, forever?” Archer asked.

“To this day it’s never happened, the Blaze have always defeated those who have threatened us. There’s a reason I’m so quiet, Arch; I don’t like to draw attention to myself.”

“You do that just by existing,” he said, smiling.

“I think we’re ok for now, though. They haven’t had any yet. Matthew mumbled something about having enough…”

“To create his army,” I finished.

Charlotte nodded.

“That’s good to know, but tell me one more thing.” Archer sat down on the chair and rubbed his face with both hands. “Are you going to run again?”

Charlotte pursed her lips then wiped her face, smearing blood across her cheek. One shake of her head was all it took, and Archer sighed with relief.

Something didn’t quite add up, though. For a split second I wondered if Charlotte was telling the truth. Of course she was. What reason would she have not to? Still, I peeked inside her head and found the closed box that was there before. Our eyes met and I forced myself to smile.

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Charlotte?” I asked.
I know you’re hiding something,
I thought.

She hesitated as if she’d heard me, and then simply shook her head. “I’m just tired.”

“Leave her alone, Grace. She’s been through a lot,” Archer said.

Against my better judgement, I decided to let it go.