Alice's Insurrection (Alice Clark Series) (6 page)

“Sweetheart, if we only have a short moment as you say
, can we please enjoy it?” Elizabeth’s voice sung.

“Of course
, my love,” Kokabiel’s voice replied as he kissed her sweetly. Someone came in the door and told Kokabiel they had run out of time, but Alice didn’t recognize the Fallen’s voice. He looked back at his love, “I won’t leave you to be slaughtered! I can’t!”

“You must go! Save our son
no matter how you have to do it, and one day, when he’s old enough to understand, promise to tell him the truth about us.” Kokabiel nodded and kissed her feverishly one last time before letting go of her. She gently kissed her newborn baby, Cole’s, forehead one last time and passed him over, tears raging in her eyes. Kokabiel scurried to the window and opened it. He turned back and looked at the love of his life, so strong, smiling at him as if what was to come next would be enjoyable.

“I love you.”

“I love you,” she replied.

Kokabiel’s wings sprung from his back and he flew out the window into the dark night sky with his newborn baby
, who they had agreed to put up for adoption to hide him from the bounty hunters. She got up slowly, cautiously, and shut the window. Before turning to her bed, she whispered, “I forgive you, my love.” Just as she returned to her bed a hideous man almost seven feet tall came in, shutting the door behind him.

“You know why I am here?”

“I do.”

“Where is the ba
by?"

“It died
,” she said as she began to cry.

“Well
, all that’s left is you, then,” he said as he wrapped his large hands over her mouth and plugged her nose. She fought as hard as she could, but in time the light in her eyes vanished and her soul was yanked to the very place it would remain for eternity.

Alice’s face was flushed
, hot and stinging from so much salt pouring from her eyes. She felt her heart breaking as Elizabeth re-lived each moment as if it were happening all over again.

“I am so sorry.”

“Oh, you sweet child, don’t be silly. I got to see my son as the grown up, handsome man he is, strong, loving, hopeful, smart, and so much like his father. That is more than a mother could ask for, to know that their child grew up to be an amazing human being, even if they were part Fallen Angel.”

“Thank you so much for sharing with me.”

“I’m happy too. If I am stuck here forever, I would enjoy a familiar loving visitor at any time.”

“As long as we live we will continue to do so.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry, Alice, I feel the pull, I can’t hold on much longer.”

“You
’re in my thoughts.”

Elizabeth’s translucent figure disappeared like smoke, leaving Alice emotionally traumatized. She looked at her father to see glossy eyes gazing back. When they had made the decision to create Fallen children in hopes to find a savior
, they had not realized the effect that the consequences would have on them, and by the looks of her father, they were weighing on him now.

Alice stood up and took her father’s arm. “Come on
, Dad, let’s go home.” He nodded as sadness cloaked his being. She knew that soon she would have to unbury his demons, but today was not that day. They got into the car and headed back to her home.

PENEMUE/PAUL

Paul was quiet on the
drive home. Seeing Elizabeth was only a cruel reminder of what he had done to his Marie. He occasionally glanced over at his daughter, puzzled as to what she may be thinking about as she stared at the large moon hanging in the sky as though she was holding a conversation with it. He wouldn’t put it past her with all of her abilities. She was connected to all of God’s creatures, it seemed. He wondered about her idea to convince Him, if they all deserved salvation, if it was even possible, yet she continued to break through all the horror in her life and find the silver linings in everything. She was a lot like her mother in that aspect. Marie held such joy for life and had pushed him to appreciate even the little things before she died. “Alice?”

“Yeah?”
she answered, trying to hold back a yawn.

“Do you believe we deserve salvation?”

“What do you mean, Dad?” She sat up a little startled.

“I don’t know
. I was just wondering, what with all we have all done since the fall, do we truly deserve salvation?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” She leaned over and kissed her dad on the cheek. She smiled sweetly before returning her gaze out the window as she watched the road as it
winding toward her home. Paul was always wrestling with his inner demons and he had yet to feel worthy of such love or forgiveness. Yet Alice was the light in a darkened space that danced around them all, and he couldn’t help but to be proud of her and captivated by all she had done for them and all she planned to do. “Everyone makes mistakes, no creature was created to be perfect and I honestly don’t believe He is perfect either. All we can do is our best to survive, to fight for every single breath and hold on to the hope that He will find the good in us all. I hope this little venture in everyone’s minds shows Him that. We just have to stand united and believe that what we are doing, what we are searching for, is the right thing and will come to pass.”

“How did you get all grown up? I missed so much,” he said, ashamed.

“I know why you did what you did, why you gave me up. I may not have lived this long if you hadn’t. Besides, you have me now and we have plenty of time to live in the moment and just be with one another.”

Paul leaned over, pulling Alice under his arm and kissing the top of her head.
“I love you, Alice.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

ALICE

Alice climbed her stairs sluggishly
, pulling herself up by the rail. She chuckled at how lazy she had become with all the resting she had been doing. She planned to return to school; art had always been an escape for her. Now all she had to do was convince Cole. She audibly sighed at the thought. Cole did seem to have a jealous streak, but she was much more worried about being away from him after what had just happened to them. The entire ordeal was fresh in their minds, making them both wary about the other’s absence. Just the other day she had panicked when she rolled over at four a.m. and he wasn’t there. She had found him standing on the porch, breathing in the scent of four a.m. air. He had said, “You’re right, it’s smells wonderful.” It was then she realized they had both been memory sharing.
Some gift,
she thought. She opened the door to find candles lit on all her shelves, desk and nightstand. Cole stood with an expectant smile crawling up his face.

“What is all this?” Alice questioned.

Cole walked over to Alice and took her hand, placing it on his chest. She could feel his heart racing, pulsing against her palm. She could feel it in her own chest as well. “With all we have been through and have to look forward to in a sense, I thought we could use a night away and since that could be dangerous I…” Alice rushed forward, interrupting him as she slammed her lips into his.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.”

“I love you, Alice. I’ve been so afraid of losing you, I underestimated what you are capable of. That won’t happen again. Though we may never get the chance to do this…” Cole walked over to her jewelry box of feathers and pulled something from the box. She noticed sweat beginning to form on his forehead and she suddenly felt extremely anxious. At first she wasn’t sure if it was her own nerves or his as they were so tightly connected. Immediately after the thought, she knew the anxiety she was feeling wasn’t her own, but Cole’s. As he knelt down he opened a small black box. “Alice?”

“Oh
, my God,” she said as her own panic added to the anxiety she felt. The two were nearly frozen in fear at such a normal step for a human couple.

“Would you honor me by being my wife?” Cole regained his compos
ure, allowing Alice to calm down as well, momentarily.

Alice stared at the round diamond set with a white gold thin band. She knew her answer before she ever answered, even before he asked but some part of her
never thought this moment would happen to her, especially since her destiny was written in stone, but she refused to let that define the life she lived. “Yes! Of course yes!” She lunged forward, knocking him to the ground, kissing him with all the love she held inside of her, all the love she was never given or taught. This moment was everything to them both. He lifted her up, standing with her legs wrapped around his waist. He slipped the ring on her finger and tossed the box aside, allowing her to gaze at it for a moment with her hand held out in front of her. He wiped tears from her eyes.

“Why are you crying
, love?”

“I’ve just never felt so happy in my entire life. I love you so much
, Cole.”

Cole pulled her into him tightly and kissed her forehead gently
, “Mrs. Corvus. I like it.”

“Me
, too,” she beamed. Cole set her down on the bed and crawled on top of her, kissing her neck before reaching her mouth and searching again for her tongue. She gave in willing. She pulled his shirt up over his head and threw it to the floor. While he slowly unbuttoned her pants, she removed her shirt. As they threw each layer onto the floor, Cole kissed every inch of her until they both were no longer able to control the need to feel the other become a part of themselves. Just as had happened many times before, black and charcoal gray feathers from her jewelry box began to float around the room, landing softly on their skin. Alice hooked her legs, pushing him onto his back. He leaned up as she wrapped her arms around him and she slid onto him slowly. He gently lifted her again and again. All she could think was,
this is love.
She never knew that she could feel any closer to him. With a final thrust, Alice and Cole fell into the bed, smiling, breathing heavily. She glanced around at the partly melted candles and back to the ring on her finger, which sparkled flawlessly in the candlelight.
I’m getting married.

“Yes you are
, love.” He kissed her tenderly before pulling her against him so she could cuddle safely in his arms. She closed her eyes to recover and as she heard him whisper ‘I love you’s’ in her mind, she was lulled to sleep.

COLE

Cole awoke first from a
perfect night. Their future hung over their heads like rain clouds in a bad sitcom, but all he could feel was hope, his own and Alice’s. A smile crept across his face, sharpening his jawline and allowing his dimples to show as Alice’s sleepy mind envisioned her walking down the aisle toward her love on her father’s arm. He couldn’t help but feel extremely lucky even with the impending doom lingering nearby. He kissed the top of her head and whispered he’d return shortly as he hopped out of bed. He washed his face in the bathroom sink and noted he should shave, as his 5 o’clock shadow was looking more lumberjack each day. He went downstairs to make coffee as he wondered what their children may look like, if they would carry his or her features and whose personality would appear in their children’s faces as they grew up. His mind wandered, wondering if Alice would get His forgiveness so that their children wouldn’t be damned the way they were.

Alice entered the open bathroom quietly, wrapping her
arms around Cole’s torso, “What are you thinking about so heavily?”

“What do you mean?” He smiled giving her a peck on the lips.

“You always furrow your brows like a mad scientist when you’re concentrating really hard,” she chuckled.

“Do I really?”
he joined in her laughter. The thought had never occurred to him before. He smiled, staring into Alice’s warm eyes as he gently touched her face before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was thinking about our future.”

“Pleasant thoughts I hope?”

“Only pleasant thoughts, Love.” He knew there was a darkness following them around like a bad Saturday morning cartoon, but he refused to live in fear any longer. They had both been underestimated and if anyone was to survive the waves crashing toward them, they would. Cole rested his chin on top of Alice’s head as they both inhaled the rich flavor of coffee while the pot finished brewing. “What are your plans today?”

“I was
thinking about going up to campus. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been there.” She looked hopeful and as much as it scared him to let her go off on her own after what they’d been through, he knew she could take care of herself.

“Then you should go.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll find something to do.”

She leaned up, kissing his lips gently before heading back upstairs with her cup of coffee to change for school. He watched her glance at the ring on her finger as she grabbed her cup with such joy plastered across her face, all he could do was love her, unconditionally, forever.

Briathos walked quietly
and cautiously into the room as he approached Cole. “So what is this coffee you speak of?”

“Really? Here you go
,” Cole laughed a bit. He handed him a mug filled with steamy hot coffee with a touch of creamer. “Bottoms up.”

“Huh?” Briathos questioned
, puzzled.

“Just drink it.” And so he did. He made some audible mumbles that made Cole laugh under his breath. “Good
, right?”

“Oddly so. Thank you. I was thinking about going along with Alice today if she’d allow it.
Is that alright with you?”

“Of course. She’s a strong girl; she can take care of herself
, but with you along, I know she’ll be safe.”