The Angel of the Lighthouse (5 page)

The route down to the beach was mostly ladders, some wooden and some rope. Aries watched Skye cautiously as she descended, but he ended up awed by the skill she showed.

“It’s like you’ve done it all your life,” he complimented her once they stood in the lee of some of the largest rocks.

“I’m not just a pretty face.” She smiled at him, a little mischievously.

Aries cleared his throat roughly, more affected by that simple comment than he expected. To pull himself back together, he stepped out of the shelter of the rocks.

“Welcome to the beach,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of the surf.

Above them the lighthouse towered into the sky, the huge cliffs creating sheets of spray as the waves crashed into them. It scented the air with salt, and a fine spray soon beaded their clothes. To the left stretched the beach, rocky with only a few patches of sand for about one hundred metres before it changed to sandy gravel. To the right were sheer cliffs, pocked with holes and caves from the power of the water. And straight ahead was the wide expanse of the ocean.

As he stood in silence and let Skye drink in the sight, Aries did the automatic checks that he had done so many times before. There was nothing washing up on the wide expanse of beach that needed to be dealt with. There were only a few vessels visible, and none of them looked to be in any distress. The weather was clear, no signs of any storms rolling in. He took a deep breath. No demon taint on the breeze. All was quiet.

“Is every night like this?” Skye asked, breaking the silence.

“Most of them. It’s not as nice when there’s a storm brewing.”

“I can imagine,” Skye murmured thoughtfully. “Where –” she began, before her voice caught in her throat. “Where did you pull me out?”

“The other side.” Aries pointed towards the headland. “There’s a stretch of shingle there. We’ve already got the relevant bodies coming out to deal with it, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Skye looked towards the headland as if her eyes could bore through the heavy mass of rock that separated them. In the slowly growing darkness her face was pained. Slowly, Aries became aware of a creeping malignant hiss, itching at the edge of hearing. It sounded close, and when he turned to look at Skye, he could see why. The demon web was back, and its many strands crawled over her like ants. The hissing sound was the noise of the dark threads, twisting over and against each other. Now he could hear voices – or one singular voice uttering many words.
Death, darkness, despair. Fear, pain, hurt. Alone, unloved, unwanted.

Aries’ rage ignited, and he could not hold back his urge to protect. A ball of blue white flames erupted in his hand, chasing away the night. Before Skye could turn to see, Aries rested his hand on her spine right on one of the thickest nodes of darkness. The web ignited, the angelic fire running hot. At first, Aries thought that Skye hadn’t noticed, or hadn’t reacted, but he felt her shudder. Still steadying her while his fire wiped out the web, Aries turned her to face him.

She was crying silently, great heaving sobs that she had been trying to conceal. Her face was silvery wet, and Aries felt his heart break and his soul respond.

He drew Skye into his arms, and after a moment of hesitation she went willingly. She pressed up close against his chest as he drew his arms in. The last remnants of the web shrivelled as his fire turned pure gold. Without thoughts, his wings unfurled, each steel grey feather radiant with light. He drew them in close, enclosing them both in a downy bower. Her eyes were closed as she slowly gained a measure of serenity. Aries almost missed it – the moment she slipped from sadness to sleep, but he caught her as she went limp, and lowered them both to the ground. For a while, the only move he made was to channel his fire upwards to ignite the lighthouse beacon. The sea spray didn’t bother him, and neither did the cooling night. Safe and warm within his wings, Skye slept.

The moon was rising when a dark shape pulled itself out of the moonlit surf and humped its ungainly way up the beach towards Aries. Aries watched tranquilly as the seal approached, nodding his head in a greeting. The seal curled in on itself before it pushed upwards, uncoiling into human form with a dark sealskin wrapped around his waist. Jack’s expression wasn’t the warmest, and as he folded his arms across his chest, he radiated disapproval.

“What is going on?” he asked, quietly in deference to Skye, but still stern. “You owe me an explanation. For your mood swings, if nothing else.”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry,” Aries agreed, and unfurled one wing to make a warm nook for Jack to shelter in. Mostly naked, Jack didn’t hesitate to move under the sheltering feathers, sighing at the warmth. He looked at the slumbering Skye, still resting against Aries’ chest. He waited in silence.

“I don’t know where to start,” Aries began. “Of all the mortals I’ve known, you know the most about me. But some things can’t be put so easily into words. I’m drawn to Skye. My Lord put me on this earth to help mortals, but for Skye I would let that go just to keep her safe. I would take her away from this world, protect her and defend her, above all others.”

Aries felt Jack jerk with what he assumed was shock, but the Selkie remained quiet, letting Aries spill his thoughts.

“And every time I gather my resolve to let her go, she had but to just look at me, and my resolves crumbles like a sandcastle before the tide,” he sighed heavily. “But I have to help her. She has been ensnared by one of the crueller tricks of a demon. A web bound her, feeding on her fears and her doubts, preying on her insecurities. It would have driven her to madness and despair if I had not fought it. Not only is it cruel, it’s also terribly dangerous.”

“Why is it so dangerous?”

“Because the taint of the web is so strong, it drives those of us who combat the darkness to a furious rage.” Aries lightly touched Skye’s cheek. “In such a rage we would blindly destroy the demon taint, only realising afterwards that we took the life of an innocent. Either way, the demon wins.”

“That’s horrific. Is that what’s been plaguing you?”

“She deserves better,” Aries growled, and the edges of his feather rippled as if in an unseen wind. “When she woke earlier, I saw the taint twisted her heart and her head. I had to act. And then when she talked about her crash, the demon web was whispering again.”

“What did you do?” Jack asked.

“I burned it out, leaf, root and branch,” Aries said triumphantly. “Every last strand is gone from her.”

Jack shook his head. “Were you at least gentle?” His tone was sharp.

Aries bristled, fire flashed from his skin, and Jack pulled sharply away as he was scalded. “I wouldn’t hurt her!”

“You’re in love with her,” Jack said, in tones of great revelation.

“Of course I am,” Aries was confused by the change of topic. “I love all mortals.”

“No, I mean you love her.
Love
love her,” Jack sounded a little irritated.

Aries considered this. His bones vibrated with the truth of Jack’s words, and a laughing whisper in the back of his mind chided him for being blind. “Well, this is new,” he said, stunned.

Jack laughed, and nudged Aries affectionately.  “Can we finish having revelations back in the warmth please. Some of us are still naked here.”

“And some need a soft bed.” Aries unfurled his wings, shifting Skye to carry her bridal style. “See you at the top.”

With careful wingbeats on an updraft of fire, Aries was aloft.

“Cheat!” he heard Jack call, and grinned, still feeling flushed with the new feelings, the new knowledge. He was in love.

***

She was warm, cocooned in something soft. She could hear sea birds calling. She felt relaxed, recharged and better than she had felt in a long, long time. She could get up and start her day, begin working and start her research, but she decided that no, she would relax. Lewis would be disgusted with her and tell her she was lazy, but she found she didn’t care. He wasn’t here, and after their argument, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the relationship. It had been the last straw, and had made her realise just how many things about it were making her unhappy, and how much she had been holding back.

She winced, expecting a migraine to erupt, but to her surprise, nothing materialised. Pleased, she opened her eyes, and sat up in bed. She was back in the bed in Aries’ room, and the sun was shining in the window. A breeze drifted through the room, stirring the curtains. Skye plumped up the pillows and leaned back against the headboard.

Remembering last night, she felt only a little embarrassed at the way she had wept on Aries. In the warm bright light of day, she couldn’t really remember what had brought on her tears so badly. But Aries hadn’t laughed at her as Lewis would have. Aries hadn’t judged her, or demanded that she grow up. Instead, this stranger she had only known for a day had held her and let her cry herself out. Listening to his heartbeat, she had felt warm and comforted. Certainly more loved than she had ever felt with Lewis.

And though she had fallen asleep on him when exhaustion overtook her, he hadn’t woken her up to chide and chivvy her. Instead he must have carried her up here. She peeked under the covers and found she was in her t-shirt and trousers still. She smiled. A gentlemen as well.

The book from yesterday was on the cabinet beside the bed, and Skye settled down to read. It was nice to be able to do what she wanted without feeling pressured to being devoted to her work, or pressured into being the perfect fiancé. It was strange how she had never realised how much Lewis pushed her into being what he wanted. But now it was as if blinders had been lifted off her eyes. Maybe a near death experience had given her the clarity she needed.

She was brought up out of the book when the smell of bacon frying drifted into the room. Her stomach growled and she set down the book without a second thought. On bare feet she padded down the stairs to find Aries in the kitchen in an improbably flowery apron, piling a plate high with strips of bacon. Three eggs bubbled and spat in the pan.

“Good morning,” he said, before glancing up at the clock on the wall. “Good afternoon.”

Skye grinned back. If that comment had come from Lewis, it would be barbed and edged in disappointment, but from Aries it seemed teasing.

“Good afternoon,” she replied in kind. “Your bed is far too comfortable to get out of. But you shouldn’t move yourself just for me.”

“Which one of us was in a plane crash and deserves every comfort?” he asked her mildly enough, but Skye was sure she saw a flash of some deep emotion cross his face, before it smoothed once more into geniality. “I’m afraid that it’s either tea, milk or water with breakfast today,” he continued. “Our supply helicopter is a few days overdue. Engine problems, or so I’m told.”

“Tea is fine,” Skye said, taking a seat at the table. “And Aries?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for last night.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m glad you were there,” she admitted. “You knew just what to do. You didn’t judge me.”

“Jack says I have a saving people thing. I couldn’t see you in pain and not do something. And why on earth would I judge you?”

“Everyone else does,” slipped out before she could censor it, and she clapped her hand to her mouth, mortified blush rising on her cheeks.

Aries turned the frying pan down, slid the bacon into the grill, and came over. He pushed a chair over till it was in front of her, and then sat, taking her free hand with both of his.

“You are a special person, Skye Metcalfe,” he said, and his voice was deeply resonant and filled with utter conviction. “People may or may not judge you, but those who do should be ignored. If they cannot see your true worth as you are, then they are nothing.”

Skye felt a warn flush spread thought her, starting from deep inside at her core and spreading outwards till her fingers and bare toes tingled.

“Had no one told you this before?” he asked.

“Mom and Dad,” Skye said, “But we don’t see each other very much. It’s a long trip so we only talk over video chat. It’s different hearing it in person.”

She didn’t mention that it helped when it was an attractive stranger doing the telling. Her parents were meant to love her and think she was special.

“Shall I make a point of telling you every time I see you, then?” He actually sounded serious enough that Skye shook her head.

“I’m not quite that insecure,” she said. “I suppose I just woke up this morning and realised a few things.”

His eyes were as warm as his hands as he leaned forward. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen,” he said.

For whatever reason, Skye trusted him. Now that she had clarity in her own head, she could admit that she was more an a little attracted to this strong and capable man.

“Though its probably better to talk on a full stomach,” Aries suggested. Skye nodded and Aries returned to his cooking. She felt colder without his hands touching hers. She missed the way he looked at her, as if she was the only woman in the whole world.

She had only known Aries for a day, and already knew he was a better man than Lewis. Aries cared more for her well-being than Lewis did. Aries had taken her and accepted her for what she was, and not tried to convince her that his way was the only way.