Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1) (7 page)

“Whatever you think is best Bayla...you’re the expert. However, I think the way you are doing things now is more beneficial. You have to realize that knowing these people and allowing yourself to live and feel can be beneficial, it doesn’t all have to be a hindrance. Life is going to happen either way, you might as well enjoy it while you can. You know better than anyone knows how quick it can be altered.”

I was stunned into silence. Somewhere Father Paul was mentally high fiving Hadraniel. Father Paul always tells me I’m too dark and uninvolved. I knew Hadraniel had a point, but I didn’t know how to do that. He seemed so natural at mingling with the humans. Maybe having witnessed all that I have, I knew how this was going to end. I knew saving Gray wouldn’t keep him safe from feeling all the things that were going to come with the aftermath of the earthquake. I knew that whether I allowed myself to open up, or if I stayed away, I would still pity him for those emotions.

“Took you long enough.” Declan’s voice broke my train of thought. He was sitting on the steps of the cottage. Gosh, he really knew what clothes accentuated his body. He still had his church clothes on - khakis, a sky blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up and boots. He knew he looked good too. He was staring at me as I took him in. I shook my head, remembering the promise I made myself last night.

“Sorry, we were stopped by the bookstore owner.”

“Ah, yes, Mr. Whitstock, he’s very helpful. So, what’s for lunch?”

“Bayla made some kind of soup and taught me how to mix a salad. We figured we could eat first before discussing our plans.”

“Sounds good to me.” Declan rubbed his belly and licked his lips.

I didn’t think I could ever get used to this demon. Lunch proceeded without any further sarcasm or real issues. We discussed the sermon, and the area where Declan lived, and how he was liking his first mission location. He was definitely very charming. I had to remind myself throughout lunch that it was his job to be charming and not to fall for this act.

“Shall we move out to the garden area to have our business meeting?” I asked. Sitting outside would allow me to have a visual reminder of the devastation that would be occurring soon.

The boys simply nodded, grabbed their lemonade and followed me out back. The view from our garden area was a meadow full of flowers and surrounding trees. It was quiet, peaceful, and private. Privacy was very important for this conversation. I hadn’t lied to Hadraniel when I said we would be sticking to the original plan for what to share with Declan, but I would be adding him into the getaway plan. I needed to know where he was going to be during the quake.

“Do you want to go first, or would you prefer we start?”

“You can start.” Declan raised his glass in my direction.

“Our plan is to continue to gain the trust of the group by joining in on get-togethers as much as possible in hopes of being able to invite them somewhere the weekend of the quake to ensure their safety.”

“I must say, I’m kind of let down, Bay. I really was expecting some large elaborate plan. You are the Great Bayla, Angel Collector of Souls!  I came here expecting to be blown away. It’s a nice plan, I suppose. And If I wasn’t in the picture,” he was making grand gestures with his hands as he spoke, “I’m betting it would work great too. Your goal is to save him from the quake, but MY goal is that he doesn’t survive. Which really sucks because he’s a pretty cool dude. I don’t have a plan...yet. Well, other than to make sure your plan doesn’t work.” There was an air of arrogance to him that betrayed any and all previous displays of being a semi-decent guy. “Thanks for the info, though, because now I know I just have to keep him from going with you for that weekend and stay here where the quake is going to hit. I may even use that pretty Hannah as bait.” He winked, finished his lemonade and stood to go.

Hadraniel was scowling. I could feel his anger building up, but I placed my hand on his shoulder before he had a chance to stand. I didn’t need him to mess up this plan. While Declan had been harsher than I’d anticipated, he did do exactly as I had expected. He would use our plans to build his and work against us. I knew his type, demon or human. He would accept the challenge that went with the deal I was about to present to him.

“If you’re so sure it’ll be that easy then how about a wager? You can use whatever plan you decided upon just now, BUT you have to make it work while on the campout I have planned for that weekend. You have to get them to leave the area and follow you to wherever you plan on letting them die. Because that is what they are going to have to do for you to win. They will all have to die. I’m game though, if you are.” Hadraniel was staring at me in shock, almost disgusted with what I was saying to Declan.

Declan’s smirk shifted into a full blown ear-to-ear grin. “Sounds good to me. Not only do I win, but I beat Bayla the Great AND I get to choose my winnings from the wager to be determined at a later date, of course.” He put his hand out in front of him, waiting for me to shake on it.

I reached towards his hands when I felt Hadraniel jerk me away.

“Just give us a minute please.” He pulled me to the far corner of the garden. “Have you never heard the old saying to never make a deal with the Devil? He is his representative after all. What exactly are you doing?”

I hadn’t told Hadraniel my suspicion about Declan and our mission. I wasn’t going to either. The less he knew, the better off he would be. I figured this was going to happen so I knew I had to have a reason to give him without giving away too much or flat-out lying.

“Father Paul told us to include him, remember? This was the only way I could think of that would get him to agree. Besides, I don’t plan on losing Had so I’m okay with making the wager. However, you do not have to make the wager with him. It can be on me.” I reassured him with my authoritative and confident tone that I was sure I knew what I was doing. He just nodded, and my gut clenched with sudden doubt. I turned to head back to where Declan had perched himself on the back of the chair, leaning his elbows on his knees. When he noticed us approaching, he looked up, and his hair fell into his eyes. I stumbled a little at the look he gave me causing the doubt to grow into fearful uncertainty… maybe I didn’t know what I was doing. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Why was I letting this man - scratch that - this
demon
get to me as much as I was?  

“So is it a deal?” He stuck his hand back out towards me, smirk on his face.

“Deal.” I shook his hand.

The ground shook, not hard, but enough that I feared maybe I had made a mistake. Seeing the grim frown on Had’s face, I realized he was thinking the same thing. Declan on the other hand seemed unfazed by the movement that had just occurred. An angel and demon had never made a deal before that I was aware of, and I’m sure that this was going to cause a huge problem with Elder Michael even if I did succeed.

“Nice working with you guys. See you in town tomorrow. I have to head back to my place.” The arrogance that had just been present, seemed to fall away like a curtain and the vulnerability that had been there last night returned. He left and headed in the opposite direction from our cottage.

He was so mercurial that I was unsure of anything other than I had literally just made a deal with the Devil. And I had only a small inkling of what I thought may or may not be a secret mission within the mission. I decided right then and there I would definitely be seeking out Mr. Whitstock tomorrow for the book he wanted to show us, but also to figure out how much information he had about our situation. First, however, was to use the internet to research what the tremor was related to and if I needed to move my plans up.

When you cease to strive to understand, then you will know without understanding. ~Chinese proverb

After all the research we had done last night, we found that tremors such as the one that occurred concurrently with my handshake with Declan were normal precursors to large earthquakes. From what we could find, there would be a few more before the final catastrophic one. Unfortunately, based on the research we completed, it seemed as if no one in the news or seismology departments in the local area seemed to be tracking or predicting the one that was quickly approaching. We ate in silence before heading to town to meet Mr. Whitstock.  The walk into town was silent. Hadraniel still wasn’t very happy with me or the decision I’d made last night. He felt that I hadn’t carefully considered everything before making the wager, and that his opinions had not been heard. I tried to explain to him that I had a plan, and I would give him more details later, but that wasn’t good enough for him. He threw it in my face that I thought I was better than him, to which I readily agreed. Upon further reflection, this may not have been a tactful admission, but I had only meant better in the sense that I had more experience with missions than him.

The bookstore was quiet when we entered. The bell above the door tinkled, alerting Mr. Whitstock of our arrival. He didn’t look surprised at all to see us; he simply smiled, motioned for us to follow him as he took off towards the back of the bookstore. This area was set up with tables for people to sit and review books, enjoy a cup of coffee and chitchat. We were the only ones in the whole store. He had several books laid out, pages marked, and four steaming cups of coffee already sitting on the table awaiting us. I noticed the fourth cup just as Declan came from over from another aisle.

“You two are later than I expected, but the coffee's still hot. I found a few more books I thought you might find of interest. Sit, and enjoy! I doubt there will be much traffic today so we can do as much research as you need.”

Mr. Whitstock sat, glasses sliding down his nose, in front of book labeled “Limestone Caves”. The book in front of me was labeled “Kentucky Fault Lines”. Declan was reading about campsites in the area, and the remaining book where Had sat was labeled, “Angels and Demonology”. I stared at Mr. Whitstock. This man definitely was not as he appeared to be. He caught me staring, wiggled his nose and pointed to my book indicating I needed to get to reading. He left little room to allow me to question how he knew as much as he did. Then it hit me! The wiggle, the wink, the familiar grin...Mr. Whitstock was Father Paul. The realization made me gasp aloud. Both boys glanced up at me. Mr. Whitstock simply shook his head slightly warning me to not mention this discovery at all. I had never been given help before on any case, and now I had a Blue-in-Training, Father Paul and a demon. This mission’s level of importance just increased greatly, meaning that my deal yesterday just became even more of an issue. I pretended that the coffee I had sipped was hot, and the boys went back to reading their books. I decided I needed to read too, since “Mr. Whitstock” took the time to personally select these books for us to review.

Hours passed, as we each finished our books and traded with each other. We took breaks to stretch, to eat, and to discuss any new discoveries that we made. Declan was pleasant today, and seemed to be very honest in sharing his findings. Pure mystery, this one. Mr. Whitstock, as I decided to continue to call him to avoid exposing him, only occasionally provided his input. He allowed us to discuss our opinions freely with each other. He had to have invited Declan, and with the conversation we had yesterday, I now knew my suspicions were true. I had another mission to save Declan as well...though why I still couldn’t figure out. I had never known the whys behind any of the missions that were deemed rescues versus soul retrievals. I just completed the mission and returned home. However, I couldn’t seem to let this go. During this break, the guys decided they needed more food. They volunteered to walk to the café to procure food for all of us. I was glad, because this gave me time to address Father Paul.

“Why are you here? I’ve gone from working alone to needing three people with me for this mission. What gives, Father Paul?” I didn’t give him much time; I was questioning him right as the door closed behind the guys.

“Bayla, I cannot help you more than simple guidance. Elder Michael sent me here because he knew you would figure out the need for Declan. He knew you would have questions. He is only permitting me to agree if you are correct. I cannot independently or freely give you information. You must come to me first. I had hoped you wouldn’t figure out it was me so early. I don’t want you to think that any of us are doubting your abilities...quite the opposite actually. We have never been surer of the decision to send you on the mission. Hadraniel was just for extra support and hopefully to help teach you a few things. You must not let him know about Declan.”

“Can you tell me why? Why Gray? Why Declan?”

He shook his head and walked back to the table. He handed me the “Angels and Demonology” book and went back to reading his campsites guide. I’d known it was a long shot that he would answer, but I had to try. I had already read most of the book in front of me and was just merely skimming when a section titled “Falling” caught my eye. I began reading about when Lucifer defied God and was sent to Hell. I read about the other fallen angels, and the story of how the demons were created. The section talked about how many of the Fallen were thought to have tried to rise again, with little success. Some realized their mistake a little too late. Others who were the children of the fallen felt they had the right to try to be redeemed as it hadn’t been their choice that made them a Fallen. I became oblivious to my surroundings as I became immersed in the story of the children of the Fallen; their legends and myths, how they tried to help angels, and humans throughout history, yet were overlooked for various reasons. Reading this was just causing more frustration for me. Why have me try to help Declan if it was impossible? The guys walked in just as I had decided I needed a break. I moved to another table that had open space so I could eat and not see a book. Thoughts kept racing as I ate my burger.