Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (30 page)

The demon went wild. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to her feet. Naomi cried out. Pain stretched across her scalp but she continued to pray. She steadied herself and covered his hand with hers.

“Stop it!” He sneered into her face.

He drew back his hand but someone caught his wrist, preventing the blow.

“Release her,” Gideon said, his tone calm and deadly.

Domieno obeyed so suddenly Naomi stumbled backward and fell. Pain ricocheted up her spine as she slammed against the wooden floor.

“It is me you want,” Gideon snarled. “Leave Naomi out of this!”

“I am not the one who dragged her into this. You should have stayed away. You should have accepted what you are before others became involved.”

“I will not Fall!” Heaven’s light ignited within Gideon. He felt his eyes dilate and knew they glowed. “Leave this place!”

The demon glowered at Naomi, his lips curled back from his yellow teeth. “We will meet again.” Then with a threatening hiss he disappeared.

Gideon turned to Naomi. She huddled against the wall, eyes huge, face devoid of color, lips ashen and trembling. His breath lodged in his throat as the impact of her terror kicked him in the chest. Protective fury screamed through his being.

Slowly, he took a step toward her. “Naomi.”

Her eyes shifted to his face but her gaze seemed unfocused. Gideon knelt before her and reached for her hand. She snatched it away and pressed herself against the wall.

“This cannot be real,” she whispered. “How can this be real?”

Tracing the contour of her face with his fingertip, Gideon tucked her hair beneath her veil. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to ease her fear.

“I love you, Naomi.” The words escaped in a sudden rush. “I will do anything you want. Tell me what you need.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, launched by the sweep of her long lashes. “I need…I want…”

She wrapped her arms around her legs and hid her face against her knees.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Naomi heard him leave the room. Part of her desperately wanted to call him back, but—he drank human blood. She trembled, waiting for her emotions to run their course.

He loved her.

He drank human blood.

He had protected her.

He drank human blood.

He could be so wonderful.

He drank human blood!

“He
survives
on human blood,” a female voice interrupted her thoughts. “You make it sound like he hunts for pleasure.”

Naomi raised her head, no longer surprised that someone had responded to her thoughts. Elspeth stood before her—yet it was not Elspeth. This woman’s hair was a vivid shade of red, her eyes a brighter blue.

Tugging off her veil, Naomi dried her face with the soft linen. “You are a
friend
of Gideon’s as well?”

“As well as Daniel, aye. But do not dare connect me in any way with Domieno.”

“Do all of you…?”

“Survive on human blood?” she finished.

“Aye? Do all of Gideon’s friends survive on human blood?”

“Nay. Gideon is the only one. Our abilities and our torments are uniquely our own.”

Naomi struggled to her feet. “What do you want? Is Elspeth your name?”

“I’m known by many names. Most often I’m called Alyssa.”

“Why pretend to be a servant?” Her breath shuddered as Naomi gradually regained her composure. “What do you want from me?”

Alyssa moved about the room, lightly running her fingertips along the tabletop, the back of a chair until she stood next to Naomi. “Why must I want something? Why can I not have something
for
you? Or for Gideon?”

Naomi said nothing. She recognized the mischievous gleam in Alyssa’s eyes. These rebel angels loved to twist words and manipulate meanings.

“Gideon loves you.”

“He told me,” Naomi said stiffly.

“I don’t think you understand what that means. Gideon has set aside his bitterness. He has subdued the darkness within him and allowed himself to feel—love.”

“What would you have me do?” Naomi flared.

“Accept it. Embrace it.” She paused. “Return it. He needs you, Naomi. More than you can possibly understand. Gideon needs your love.”

“Or he will Fall.”

Alyssa didn’t respond.

“Will Domieno return?” Naomi asked with a violent shudder.

“Gideon will do his best to keep him away but it’s a possibility. Domieno is desperate. That alone should tell you how far Gideon has come. He has sacrificed so much for you. It’s time for you to prove yourself worthy of him.”

Accompanied by Karl and Will, the day’s rotation of her personal guard, Naomi strolled toward Monthamn Major. She’d not seen Gideon since her disconcerting conversation with Alyssa three days past.

Was he avoiding her? Giving her time to sort out her feelings or…

I love you, Naomi.

The echo of his tormented words cut through her other thoughts, causing her steps to falter.

It’s time for you to prove yourself worthy of him.

“Where are we bound, Lady Naomi?” one of her guards asked. He was a lanky lad with shaggy brown hair and sharp gray eyes.

Thankful for the distraction, she said, “To the parish church.” She silently struggled to remember if he were Karl or Will.

“Father John will come to the castle to hear your confession, my lady. You need not have troubled yourself,” the other guard told her. Older and more muscular than the lad, his dark hair was neatly trimmed. The shade of his eyes was more blue than gray but Naomi wondered if they were kin.

“The sun is shining, the breeze is mild and I can smell baking bread. This is no trouble, I assure you.” She averted her gaze and then asked, “So, Karl, are you two kinsmen?”

“Aye, my lady, Will is the youngest of my four brothers,” the older man answered.

Naomi smiled. Problem solved.

“Don’t let my youthful face mislead you, Lady Naomi. I’m fast with a sword and can ride like the wind,” Will said.

“Those with impressive abilities don’t need to bring them to the attention of others.” Karl glared at his brother.

Naomi chuckled softly, enjoying their banter.

The parish church sat in the center of the village, an ostentatious peacock surrounded by humble wrens. Heavy round arches inset with zigzagging chevrons drew attention to the massive, iron-banded door. Why did this church look forbidding, as if it were built to hold the world at bay?

“Shall we?” She climbed the steep stone steps and Karl heaved the door open for her.

The faint spice of incense teased her nose. Naomi drew her cloak more tightly around her. Should a church feel this cold? Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim interior and the chill seeped clear to the marrow of her bones. Everywhere she looked her gaze met the unmistakable gleam of gold. Tall, branched candle stands, a jeweled goblet, communion platter…while the orphans starved in the forest!

She must calm down. If she saw Father John, she would claw his eyes out. Dragging slow, deep breaths into her burning lungs, she moved toward the nearest wall.

A large scene depicting the Garden of Eden had been painted directly on the stones. Shrubbery concealed Adam and Eve from the waist down and Eve’s long hair protected her modesty. Eve held an apple toward Adam and a serpent twined around the branch of a tree beside her. The figures were correctly proportioned and positioned realistically but there was no life, no inspiration—no illumination.

Everything in this church was flat and lifeless.

Shaking her head sadly, she moved on to the next scene.

“May I help you?”

Crushing handfuls of her skirt beneath her cloak, Naomi turned to face Father John. “I was admiring
your
church.”

Even in the dimness, his dark eyes gleamed. “The church belongs to God and I to the church.”

“The church belongs to the people as should you.” Naomi heard the restless shuffle of Karl and Will behind her. If she attacked this pompous ass, would they restrain or assist her? “Is it not a priest’s sworn duty to meet the needs of the people in his parish?”

His hand closed around the golden cross suspended from his neck. He took a slow step toward her, making the difference in their height more apparent. “The people in my parish want for nothing. They are well fed and happy. If you have something to say to me, Lady, then say it.”

“Are the ruins of the old manor house in your parish?”

Father John buried his hands in the loose sleeves of his robe. His throat work as he swallowed and his nostrils twitched. She took a step closer and demanded an answer with her hostile gaze.

The orphans were well guarded, safe beyond this person’s reach. Would he betray his guilt by word or deed? If he thought to harm Jack—let him come! Daniel waited for just such a move.

“Do not believe everything that…creature tells you.”

“Which creature might that be?” she asked. “The lad not yet in whiskers, who has taken on
your
responsibilities?”

“Jack lies, my lady,” he said calmly.

His nonchalance made her furious. She wanted to jump on him and tear his face to ribbons but that would not help the orphans. “Fine. I will judge the situation by your information. Was the care of the orphans entrusted to you?”

“Aye, but I—”

“Just
answer my questions,” she cut in, and he glared at her. “Are you aware that thirty of the orphans under your care are currently living in the forest with no adult supervision and only the—”

“That is not my doing!”

Karl and Will stepped forward, one on either side of Naomi, each with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Father John cleared his throat and continued in a more respectful tone. “Jack convinced the orphans to flee into the forest with lies and half-truths. I dragged them back twice before I gave up and left them to their own devices.”

“And why would Jack feel compelled to
flee
into the forest?”

The priest shrugged and spread his hands, but his dark gaze shifted away from her. “The child has a rich imagination. He concocted all manner of intrigues. According to Jack, I sold the children to the devil himself in exchange for riches and power.”

“Odd, the stories he told me were not nearly so dramatic.” She crossed her arms under her cloak and studied his ruddy face. “I will not waste my time listening to you refute each of Jack’s tales. I need only know one thing.”

“How refreshing.”

Karl stepped forward with obvious menace. Naomi laid her hand on his arm. “Is the Bishop of Chichester still compensating you for the care of the orphans?”