Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1) (25 page)

“Confirmation that my band and I have no competition in this town.” he said with a laugh. He was quick to open and unload the trunk of Hannah’s car.

We got out and unloaded the back seat making sure that we had our tents, sleeping bags and bags of food. We had strategically placed some items inside our rolled tents and bags to help hide the amount of items we were bringing. I threw on my backpack, picked up my supplies and headed to the hill. It was a difficult walk when not carrying anything so the trek with all the gear was going to be almost grueling. Gray led the way up, followed by me, Hannah and Declan. Everett was in front of Sadie with Alissa bringing up the back. Declan carried Alissa’s extra stuff in an attempt to keep her whining to a minimum. It didn’t work. We had to stop several times so she could catch her breath. Even Sadie seemed to be getting annoyed with her, but no one said anything. It was getting warmer as the day advanced, and during one of our breaks I had to shed the long sleeved t-shirt I’d put on this morning. I noticed Hannah had taken hers off too, leaving us both in tanks. Gray, Declan, and Everett had removed their shirts too. Hannah was having fun teasing Gray who took it in good stride, flexing his muscles and posing.

It took every ounce of restraint I had not to just stare at Declan with his shirt off. He was in excellent shape, and he looked good shirtless. I started watching my feet as a distraction. Hannah was giggling at me profusely every time she looked at me. I could feel my face change from pink to deep crimson. Thankfully, I knew if anyone else asked, I could blame the flush of my cheeks on the exertion of the climb. Once we reached the top, Alissa needed another break, which at this time elicited a collective groan from the whole group. We were so close to the valley that none of us wanted to stop, but we did. Once people got over the grumbling and looked around, they noticed the valley. Everyone was remarking how beautiful it looked. Everyone but Gray, that is.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” I asked Gray in a hushed tone, in order to avoid drawing too much attention to our conversation.

“I’m ready, but try to imagine if something had happened to Had. That’s how I’m feeling right now. I’m happy to have this opportunity, but it’s bittersweet.”

It was a like a shock of pain shooting through me because Had was my brother, even if not by blood. Therefore, I understood him completely. I couldn’t speak, so I nodded, and gave him a quick hug which he returned.

“Bay, you’re kind of awesome.” Gray said. His voice was filled with sincerity.

“Hannah, we now have two reasons!” I hollered back trying to lighten the mood some.

She shot me a thumbs up, eliciting a look of confusion from Gray. “With you two, I don’t even think I want to know.”

“Probably safest.” Declan added.

“Hey, Michelangelo called, he needs his model back.” Hannah threw back at him in response, causing the entire group to fall into a fit of tired laughter. Even Declan laughed at the jab at his perfectly chiseled body.

“We need to be heading down into the valley, so we can get our tents set up. We need to find some firewood too.” Declan reined us all back in.

Gathering all the gear we had dropped during our rest, we trudged on back down the other side and into the valley. It was fun watching everyone else see this place for the first time. Everyone seemed genuinely taken by the beauty. Gray was smiling, but I could see some sadness there too. Hannah had moved closer to him to provide silent support. They moved very well together, giving each other what they each needed with little to no words exchanged. It made me happy to know they would continue on together even if I would not. I led them into the valley, and everyone agreed it was a great place to set up camp.

Declan put up Alissa’s tent first before setting up his, and Everett helped Sadie get hers up. Hannah showed up the rest of us girls by putting her tent up alone and even came over to help me while Gray was setting up his. We made fast work, mainly because Hannah knew what she was doing. I was of little help to her. I had never even really seen a tent before, let alone put one up correctly. She was telling about camping with her parents and Gray growing up.

“It’s one of the perks of growing up around here, lots of places to camp. I don’t know why we never came here though. It’s perfect.” Hannah stated.

“I agree. There’s so much exploring I want to do.” Everett replied as he finished putting up his tent with the help of Sadie.

I wasn’t too sure about Sadie still, but at least she was willing to put in some work.  Alissa, on the other hand, was sitting in the chair she had brought while Declan did all the work. She seemed bored with the whole thing. She was surprisingly sans make up for the trip. I’m not sure if she did this on her own accord or if Declan had played some part in it. Declan asked her for a hand, but she just waved her hands to show she was painting her nails. Hannah coughed to cover the laugh that had bubbled up.

“Here, you tell me what I need to do, and I’ll help.” I offered, walking over to where Declan was setting up.

“Thanks.”

“How’d you get the tent up before when you were camping at the other location?”

“It was a different tent. I brought this one hoping it wouldn’t be easily identifiable to Meph.” he whispered.

“That was smart. It’s kind of why I went for a regular colored tent as well. Hopefully, he isn’t planning on pulling any tricks until tomorrow.” My voice wasn’t much louder than his.

“There’s a lot of whispering going on between you two.” Alissa’s snarky voice interrupted Declan before he could answer.

“You could have been whispering with him if you had helped.” My remark slipped out before I could stop it.

“Burn.” Everett shouted out, providing another good laugh for the group.

“I can’t help it that my nails were wet. I take pride in my appearance...unlike some of us.” The last bit was under her breath, but I still heard her.

“Some people have more important things to do.” Hannah chimed in this time.

“This is supposed to be a fun camping trip, guys. Besides, we need to go see if there’s any fish in the creek. We need to get everything prepared for lunch later.” Gray sounded a little like a parent, but I’m glad he said it. I wasn’t one for quipping with others much.

The remaining tents were up in no time, and Gray was showing us how to make fishing poles with the string, sticks and hooks he had packed. We made a trek to the pool that was underneath the falls and separated around the edges, each with a pole...except for Alissa, of course. She plopped down beside Declan, and stretched out like she was tanning. It had to be exhausting to be her. She was in character at all times, it seemed. That was one side of the human teenage girl experience that I was glad I hadn’t adapted.

Fishing with a pole like this was something I could finally do without much assistance, as it was similar to the fishing I had done on previous missions. Sadie was the first one to get a bite. She was able to hook the fish, and was pretty excited about it. Everett ended up catching the second fish fairly soon after Sadie, but those were the only two catches of the day.

“Two should be enough for us, along with the bags of food Hannah and Bayla brought. Everett, take Declan and Sadie and collect some wood for the fire, please. While Hannah and Bayla get the other food ready, I’ll skin and fillet these.”

Alissa didn’t even bother to act shocked that she wasn’t given a task. Instead, she continued to sunbathe as the rest of us set out to do whatever tasks we needed to do. Lunch was going to be pretty light. We wanted to save some of the other food for this evening. We divided grapes out on the plates we’d brought and gave everyone a bag of chips and I got out the bottles of water. Just as we were finishing setting out blankets for us to sit on around the fire, Declan and the others were returning. They’d gathered what looked to be enough wood to last through the night. Gray was putting the fish on the grill that I had brought. It didn’t take long for the aroma of the fish to get everyone’s stomach rumbling. Even Alissa made a comment about how good it smelled.

Lunch was spent telling different stories from childhood. I shared some that were true for the most part, and from the way Declan’s sounded, his were based on some sort of reality as well. After lunch, everyone agreed that napping in the sun was a good idea before going out and exploring the valley. I was quick to sleep. The sound of the birds and winds in the leaves helped lull me into a dreamless slumber. I was awakened by voices discussing something rather heatedly, even if it was in whispered tones. Turning my head in the direction of the voices, I could barely make out Declan and Sadie by the tree line. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they would be arguing. I was debating on joining them when they both looked in my direction. Sadie looked completely stricken. Declan waved me over when he noticed I was awake.

“Tell her what you just told me.” He was gripping her arm so she wouldn’t escape.

“I thought it was Meph.” Sadie saying his name took me aback some.

“That
who
was Meph?” I said between my teeth.

“Hadraniel.” She broke down in sobs. “I didn’t mean to shoot him, I thought it was Meph. He had been following me around town. I was trying to get rid of him.”

I was seething. I wanted to kill her right there. I didn’t even know why she knew who Meph was or how to kill one of us. Rage was building in me as she continued to sob. She had no right to cry. “Why?” I could barely contain myself as I awaited her answer.

“I’m a Fallen. My real name is Lailah. I was a delivery Angel. I left for reasons that don’t even matter anymore. I wasn’t on Declan’s radar because technically I’m not rogue. I came here when the Watcher was living with Gray. I wanted to seek out redemption. Even if I was going to have to stay a Fallen, I could still do something good. Meph found me. He was the leader of the Rogues. He gave them the ideas for the things they were doing. He approached me to help him with this mission. I agreed, but not for the reasons he thought. I knew that if he thought I was on his side, he wouldn’t go looking for another Rogue, one who might actually try to hurt Gray. I was doing everything I could to help keep him safe until you got here. The Watcher told me about you.”

“Who’s this Watcher?” I interrupted.

“Nathaniel. He was posing as Oliver.” She looked confused that I didn’t know all of this.

I glanced to Declan who shook his head. He wasn’t aware of any of this until now either. “Continue.” I was still mad, but I needed to hear this.

“The Watcher did what he needed to do to get Gray back on the right path. After that, I did enough ‘evil’ to keep Meph away. However, when you all showed up for your mission, he started getting antsy. Especially when he found out that you had Hadraniel with you. He was pushing me to kill Gray. I was here in the valley when you and Had were here, but I didn’t know it was you all. I saw him from the back. He looks a lot like Meph from the back. I swear I thought it was Meph. I saw my chance, I started throwing my voice to sound like you in danger. I knew Meph wouldn’t resist the chance of getting you early if he could. When he got into my range, I shot him. I didn’t stay around to see it wasn’t him.” She dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders were shaking with what seemed like overwhelming remorse.

“What did you shoot him with?” It was important to know. If I knew, I would know if he had been erased or not.

“I don’t know. Something I found at your cottage, in Had’s room.”

I froze. I knew what she was talking about. It was one of his Blue’s weapons meant to erase demons. If that hit his heart there was no chance of him surviving. I dropped to the ground. There weren’t even tears. I was numb. Had was dead, he had to be.

“I’m sorry Bayla. I was trying to help you. I didn’t know it was Haddy. I would…”

“Get her away from me. Now!” My tone was harsh, and I was louder than I should have been.

I watched as Declan pulled her back towards the group. Most had woken up but weren’t paying much attention to us thankfully. I sat there for a long time, trying to work out in my mind how Hadraniel could maybe have survived a wound from that weapon. I couldn’t come up with a way. That’s probably why Father Paul couldn’t discuss him. They didn’t want me distracted. Well, that would have been a good plan, if not for Sadie, or Lailah, or whomever. I wasn’t familiar with a Watcher, or an Angel named Nathaniel. Father Paul didn’t mention him either. I took some deep breaths, closed my eyes and visualized the last meeting with him. I listened to his words again. After one more deep breath, I stood. I couldn’t focus on the why right now. Declan was heading towards me, I raised my hand. I didn’t need him to come over here. I didn’t want to talk about it right now.

“Keep her away from me.” I said in passing.

He nodded solemnly.

“Bayla! Just the person we were waiting for. We want to explore. You in?” Everett said, almost bouncing with excitement.

I quickly placed a smile on my face, “I’m game. Lead the way.”

“I’m just going to hang here, maybe read or something.” Alissa said to no one really in particular.

“I’ll stay with you.” Sadie volunteered. She was smart enough not to try to talk to me or make eye contact.

We gathered our packs and headed in the opposite direction of where we came into the valley. I knew we would find the second falls eventually if we kept going in that direction. It might be fun to go swimming if the pool was deep enough. Hannah came up beside me and locked our arms as we walked through the woods. Declan, being the nerd that he was, lectured the others about the surrounding trees and wildlife. Gray was up front with him, enjoying the little tidbits. Everett was between them and us, just observing the happenings. Hannah slowed us down some so that we were out of earshot of the others.

“What was going on earlier?” Hannah asked.

“Please. I can’t. Not right now.” My throat felt like sandpaper. I was barely containing the emotions right now. If I said the words out loud, I would lose the tenuous hold I had on them at the moment.