Salem Moon (10 page)

“
Lucien!
”
Gabriel exclaimed, now looking intently in the mirror and as he did, his own im
age became a blur. In its place
was that of the angel
.
An aura of bright, yellow gold surrounded him making him appear almost translucent. His face was
…
stunning
.
Pale, with a pinkish hue at the cheeks. His eyes were a piercing blue, almost aqua in color, not like that of the wolf, nor the man he
’
d appeared as while Gabriel lay upon what surely would have been his death bed. A swirling mass of platinum, multi-layered hair surrounded his face, flowing down toward his chest. He was without doubt the most beautiful creature Gabriel had ever laid eyes on
.
Nothing on this Earth possessed such ethereal splendor
.

“
I hear the pounding of your heart, Gabriel, but it is not necessary to be afraid. I know this era, just as I know all the eras that have passed. Believe it or not, you are still in Salem; the Salem of the future in the year
2010
.
”

“
My God, Lucien! Why would you bring me to this time? I cannot possibly survive here, I do not know how
.
”

“
I will teach you the manner in which to live in this time. You need only to trust me. I have surely proven myself trustworthy in the past, haven
’
t I? You will walk, talk and dress like the people of this age.
”

“
Why do you care about me? What makes me so special to one such as you?
”

“
Ah, it is not an act of pure altruism
, I assure you.
I need something from you. Something that you possess and I do not. I wish to experience life as a human male. To do so, I need a soul.
Your
soul.
”

Fear struck Gabriel like a bolt of lightning.
What was this creature, really? What had he done in agreeing to go with him?

“
But…you are an angel, are you not?
”

“
I am,
”
Lucien replied calmly.
“
But I wish to experience
fully
that which only human
s
can, to feel passion, to take pleasure in the flesh of a woman, and in all things that God, when he made me failed to provide.
”

“
I will
not
give my soul over to you…
ever
! I would rather go back to the tortures of Gallows Hill and the witch judge than give it over freely to
the likes of
you
.
”

“
You misunderstand, Gabriel. The choice was yours and you made it freely. I asked you as you were near to your last breath, trapped beneath the hideous pile of rock, if you would come with me or no. You
chose
to come with me. I have already laid claim to your soul. It is mine to do with as I wish
.
But do not fear, in time I will be powerful enough to break free from you. You have already seen my powers. The white wolf, the vision of the angel at your side, these powers I possess only for short periods of time. But, as I feed off your soul, my beautiful boy, I will become as powerful as I once was, many ages before you were even born. In time, I will be able to change myself into whatever I wish, whether an animal or a human being. Ah, to be human and still have the power of the angels
.
Just imagine it
.
And I will use my powers through you and bit by bit I will be able to become human. You shall witness this. Look to see me as a man, outside of you, and you will see how very intoxicating these powers can be.
”

“
What kind of an angel
are
you,
”
Gabriel whispered.

“
What kind did you think I was? There is only one kind. And really, Gabriel in all fairness to me, do you know what the
true
nature of an angel is? What purpose we were created for? We are the warriors of God, his army
. We are
fierce and dangerous beings who have been held captive by the will of God for eons. I chose to go against God
’
s will and so I was cast out, thrown down from the very gates of Heaven. And yet, I shine brightly still as that is my nature. So, to answer your question
,
I am without doubt an angel
. A
fallen
angel.
”

“
You
’
re a
demon
, then
.
”

“
The only difference between
angels
and
demons
is perception. I saved your life. That makes me an angel to you. For poor Thomas Snow, well…I
’
m afraid I was his
demon.
”
H
e laughed softly. The sound of it, eerie and echoing in the air, made Gabriel
’
s skin crawl.

Gabriel pondered these words, but the uneasiness he felt at allowing Lucien into his life did not dissipate.

“
Why are we here in this time? Surely, there must be a reason you
’
ve brought me to this particular time?
”

“
It is here that you will find your destiny and where I will begin the journey to realize mine. You ought to be
thanking
me.
”

L
ily and Lilac made their way through town heading for the Salem Witch Museum. Lily explained to Lilac that she had to pick up some paperwork. When she finished there, they would head out to Salem Willows beach and meander through the unique shops
, a
favorite spot of the tourists
,
where the shops boasted a hint of yesteryear. As was their routine, they
’
d buy an ice cream cone at Hobbs and sit in the sand, dipping their toes in the chilly water and talk of their plans for the future and of course, Lilac
’
s favorite subject: men.

One of the many great characteristics of Salem was that it was pedestrian friendly. One could walk for miles and never tire of what the city had to offer.

Lily would never grow weary of this old, historic
place
. Salem was part of the reason why she wanted to become a historian. The volume of history in this very place she called home was astounding to her. It was also the sentiment of the many tourists that flocked to Salem throughout the year.

Of course, Lilac couldn
’
t wait to go away to school. Salem was claustrophobic to her
.
It
was too much like a small town, people knew one another and of course, her father knew everyone
.
She wanted to go where no one knew her, where no one passing her on the street might call her a
“
witch
”
under their breath.

In the fall, Lily would lose her friend to the far reaches of the south. Years ago, Lilac had visited New Orleans, Louisiana with her family and fell in love with the sultry, steamy and eclectic city.

As they walked, so did another
. A
lthough, unlike them this was the first time he
’
d ever walked the
se
streets in this century.

When last he
’
d walked here, they were not streets at all, just dirt pathways, logging roads and woods full of grand, tall pines and of course the small neat colonial homes embraced by large fields of pasture
.
The
cows lazily
grazed
on the grass, tails twitching at stray insect
s
. Horses
were
tied to posts,
the white picket fences were f
reshly painted and always
,
the
re came the
smell of wild flowers.

The Salem of those days was rural. In
1692
, the town was still in its infancy at just short of seventy years of age.

Everywhere he looked he saw something that held some fascination for him. The houses with their many brick chimneys at the roof tops, built close together as seemed to be the fashion in these times. The old colonials were much grander and elaborate than homes of the past with windows that ran from floor to ceiling, where heavy drapes hung. The shutters had latches on them still which meant they were not just for ornamentation, but also used to close homes in the event of storms
, as
Salem was vulnerable
to the wrath of the sea.

He stopped short in his tracks
, seeing
what he first thought
was
a castle or a church. A colossal and extravagantly built structure the likes of which could be found in Italy and other parts of Europe; places he had only seen in picture books.

He stood directly across the street from it at the traffic island where a huge statue of a man provided him with shade. He turned to read the name on the embossed plate on the bottom of the statue: It read: Roger Conant: Founder of Salem, Massachusetts,
1626
.

“
Much has changed
,
”
Gabriel whispered to himself, knowing that Lucien heard all of his thoughts. Gabriel was forced to accept the fact that until such time as their destinies were revealed, their fates were intertwined.

“
The Salem Witch Museum,
”
Gabriel read the name over the entrance-way to the building.

With its turrets and cathedral-
shaped windows, it looked as if it were a European castle from mid evil times. He watched as many people came and went from its doorway. The sound and smell of the many cars traveling along this busy stretch of road was distracting, making Gabriel
’
s head pound and his stomach queasy.

When he could draw his eyes away from the front of the building, he noticed a commotion going on at the front right side.
There, he saw
two boys, roughly his own age taunting two girls. From where he was standing, he could only see the backs of the boys and hints of the girl
’
s faces.

He watched in dismay as he saw one of the boys push one of the girls against the wall, shouting something at her that Gabriel couldn
’
t hear.

Carefully, he crossed the treacherous street, Lucien guiding his steps.

“
Witch girls
,
”
sneered one of the boys. He was the one who
’
d pushed the petite girl. She had short hair with a prominent purple streak running through it.

“
Trevor, stop it!
”
the other girl yelled.

Gabriel could not see her face, her back was too him. She was pulling the boy off of her friend.

“
Dude, better watch out she doesn
’
t put a spell on yah
,
”
said the other boy, laughing cruelly.

Dressed all in black with tattoos running up both arms, hints of still more showing at the sleeve of his tee- shirt gave Trevor a menacing look. His hair was so short as to be almost non-existent and many small loops of gold were imbedded into one ear lobe.

Gabriel grew angry at the sight of it. It reminded him of his sister and the way she must have been treated by Thomas Snow when he laid his hands on her.

“
Leave them alone,
”
Gabriel said in a commanding and threatening tone which surprised even him.

The shouts and scuffling
stopped as they turned to the newcomer standing before them, and that was when he saw
her
.

T
he whole world seemed to have melted away, leaving only Gabriel and this girl.

Gabriel felt as if he had been struck in the heart by a bolt of lightning
.
His mouth dropped open in awe. For the girl standing against the wall, where she
’
d been pushed by the two young thugs was none other than the girl he
’
d envisioned in his dream
,
the last dream he believed he
’
d
ever have before death took him
.
It was not possible
!
And yet, Gabriel
knew
it was her.