This was on everyone’s mind.
In fact, I found Eran on my balcony the next morning, a cup of coffee in hand, gazing across the rooftops. He was deep in thought so I did my best not to bother him.
The bed springs did that for me.
“You’re up,” he stated over his shoulder after hearing the sharp squeak. He stood to meet me and the full sight of him made my heart flutter. His hair was still windblown from last night’s flight but he had changed into a new pair of jeans that hugged his massive thighs and a black sweater tight enough to accentuate the muscular curves of his torso.
“It looked like you were concentrating…” I said, avoiding the sight of him so I could recover. “Anything you’d like to share?”
He replied, “Actually there is something…” and my head snapped up.
He took a seat on the bed and I followed, wide-eyed. He hesitated and I was nervous he wouldn’t go through with telling me. With his lips pursed closed and his brow creased, he certainly didn’t like the thought of it. Then he began to speak.
“Magdalene, I debated myself on whether to disclose this information to you. The last thing I want is for you to be anxious or preoccupied by what I’m going to tell you. Please keep in mind that I have my army in place. You are well protected.”
“I know that, Eran.”
“Right…of course you do…I-I think I’m delaying…” He drew in a breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
“How about starting at the beginning?” I suggested, placing my hand on his bent knee and sucking in a breath at the excited jolt that ran through me.
He paused to notice it and then his smirk rose up, just enough to be seen. “Despite our situation, I like knowing you still react to me.”
“Always…”
He allowed the smirk to linger and then it fell away when he began to speak again. “I’ve been traveling the streets each night in London, Germany, and France, listening to anyone talking. Alterums are well populated in those regions and they always keep themselves knowledgeable on what the Fallen Ones are doing.”
“Really? Why is that?” I asked, surprised. I had gotten the impression from Campion that Alterums kept to themselves but Eran’s answer erased that notion.
“Because they’ve also been attacked. Fallen Ones don’t discriminate. If they can take something, be it from a human or an Alterum, they’ll attempt it. So, Alterums watch their backs and each others, keeping a wary eye on the Fallen Ones.”
“I didn’t know they had a dog in this fight,” I mused.
“They do. More than you know. It was for this reason, they’ve spoken openly to me about what they have heard was coming.”
He paused then, still weighing whether to tell me.
“Which is?” I encouraged.
Staring intently at me, he continued though hesitantly. “You, of all others, have a right to know what is coming. I wish I had more to tell you…but what I do have is this…Abaddon’s daughter, Sarai, you remember her…”
“How could I forget? She killed Gershom and nearly killed me.”
“Yes,” he replied uncomfortable and I knew this was because he felt that he’d failed me as a protector. Of course, that couldn’t have been more wrong. “That’s the one. She and Achan are preparing to release the Elsics from imprisonment.”
That news made me sit straighter. “That would mean the entire world, everyone in it, would be in danger.”
“Yes, it would,” replied Eran soberly.
“When are they planning it? How?” I asked urgently.
“The actual details are not known yet, neither is the timeframe. That’s what I’m working on.”
I sat quietly tense, my eyes mindlessly tracing the folds of the comforter. “Do you think it was Sarai or Achan who we saw in the clouds that night? The one who chased us?”
Eran shook his head. “It wasn’t Sarai…It was too large to be Sarai.” He fell silent then and contemplated quietly before muttering, “But it also seemed too large to be Achan.”
Having seen both Sarai and Achan from a distance and close up, I had to agree. Yet, without further evidence we had to assume it was either one of them.
“How would she help the Elsics escape? Aren’t guards protecting the prison?” I asked. This measure of extra fortification couldn’t have gone unnoticed when devising the prison layout.
“Guards are in place. I’m checking with them regularly and keeping them updated as well.”
My head dipped in thought. “Abaddon…he’s in the prison, isn’t he? We put him there…”
“Yes, he’s there,” Eran responded. He then took my hand to turn my attention towards him. “Magdalene, what’s on your mind?”
“I’m…” I searched for the right word. “Nervous. Nervous about the safety for my housemates. Nervous that with all the Fallen Ones here in the city a release of the Elsics would cause a frenzied slaughter. I’m nervous about you and the dangers you’re encountering in collecting this information…” I sighed, disturbed by my thoughts. “I always seem to place others in danger, Eran, most all you, and I’m tired of it.”
Slowly, he lifted his hand to cup my chin and forced me to raise it so that we sat face to face. The morning sun, glinting from some window nearby, penetrated his eyes, causing them to sparkle.
“You don’t put anyone in harm’s way, Magdalene.”
I began to argue but he didn’t allow for it. “The Fallen Ones do. Stop blaming yourself. No good comes from it.”
Again, I tried to disagree and he cut me short. “It won’t change our circumstances and you’ll be left feeling distressed for no good reason. Let it go…”
His hand slid from my chin then, softly down my neck to rest gently just above my shoulder, leaving a trail of tingling skin in its wake.
He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “I can feel your heartbeat,” he whispered.
“Then you know it’s sped up.”
He nodded then, his lips pursed together, his eyes filled with longing.
Unable to refuse the tension mounting in me, I gave way to the moan caught in my throat. “Eran…” I murmured.
“I know…I feel it too.”
The unbearable passion overcame us and our lips met. His hands were around my shoulders then, pulling me towards him. I leaned forward, moving into him. His lips pressed against mine feverishly, my own meeting his with the same intensity. We clung to one another, allowing ourselves the brief respite we needed, we deserved.
When Eran pulled away, he leaned his forehead delicately against mine, peering in to my eyes. I breathed in his earthy scent, a natural fragrance that always seemed to settle me down.
“Our two lives here, the brief blink of an eye that they are, challenges me more each time. My emotions for you, once again, test my resolve.”
“I suppose telling you to give in to them won’t make a difference…”
“It won’t,” he confirmed, using his most charming tone.
“Of course…” I sighed.
He pulled away entirely then. “Especially since I need to leave you alone now so you can get yourself ready for school.”
Quicker than my mind could follow, he was on his feet and across the room, closing my French doors but not bothering to turn the lock. Instead, he strolled back across the room, using his innate power over mechanical objects to slide the lock into place without touching it, and boastfully winking at me as he reached the door.
“Café du Monde for breakfast?” he offered.
“Perfect,” I responded, absorbed in his glory until he’d left the room. Then I sprang out of bed and headed for the closet to pull out my The Killers t-shirt and jeans.
After I showered and dressed, we said a quick goodbye to our housemates and stopped at Café du Monde before heading for school. Again, I felt the yo-yo reaction as the hair raised and settled at the back of my neck as we passed Fallen Ones on the street.
Classes and our house seemed to be the only place I didn’t have to endure it.
The day passed uneventfully, which for us was just fine, and before I knew it I was standing on the back porch with Eran as he prepared for another night mission.
Our conversation from this morning still lingered in my mind as I reached for his hand, a gesture meant to comfort him as much as me.
“Where will you be going tonight?” I asked.
“Germany. An Alterum there has been very helpful.”
“Okay…If-If you foresee any trouble, any sign of an Elsic-”
Eran smiled warmly. “Yes, Magdalene, I’ll avoid trouble as much as possible. But your concerns are unfounded,” he told me, his wings emerging from between his shoulder blades now. “All Elsics are safely imprisoned last I checked.”
“It’s the ‘last I checked part’ that worries me.”
“I’ll check with the guards again before I meet up with my contact. Will that make you happy?”
“Yes it will,” I said bluntly.
“Then that’s what I’ll do,” he replied, already lifting off the ground.
Our eyes remained on each other until he reached the trees when he was forced to turn and maneuver himself up and over them. He floated towards the sky, his wings barely needing to work, until he was far enough away to be undetectable by anyone stargazing. He then bolted across the city so fast that it left a blurred trail behind.
Campion, who I had learned, always adhered to etiquette, waited just inside the door. He opened it only when he was certain Eran was gone.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” I replied.
We then took my bike across the city to Mr. Hamilton’s house.
As was typical, Alfred led us to the underground training center where Ms. Beedinwigg waited. However, this time, he didn’t leave, instead stepping aside and waiting with hands clasped behind his back.
I soon discovered why he stayed.
Ms. Beedinwigg, again in her skintight, black leather suit and hair flowing freely, asked me to run through each of the obstacle courses again. As she had predicted my timing was improving and I came through with less bumps and scratches this time.
Then she approached a tall wooden case, opening it to reveal it contained an array of weapons.
“As you know, Achan’s favorite weapon is the bow and arrow,” she mentioned, pointing to one. “Most Fallen Ones have a preference, even a fondness, for their specific weapon of choice. Rifles, shotguns, sabers, nooses, kamas, nunchucks, steel boomerangs, bokkens, metal stars, throwing knives, tonfas…” she continued on until she’d covered every piece of her inventory.
“Your preference is the rapier,” she informed me.
My head jolted back in astonishment. “The rapier? My class last semester told me the exact opposite.”
Still, she pulled the rapier from its mounted position in the case and handed it to me. “If you should ever remember your past, you will recall your expert level with this weapon and feel comfortable using it. If you don’t, it’s still a very good weapon to use. My particular preference is the sai.”
She pulled a sword from the wall which had two curved, pointed prongs protruding from the handle, so that it was in effect three weapons in one. Another was mounted to the wall behind it, which she also pulled down.
“These are commonly used in pairs,” she explained.
I glanced at my slender rapier and wondered how I was ever going to avoid an attack with it.
“Now, the courses I’ve asked you to run through,” she pointed to the contraptions she timed me on, “taught you to duck, roll, do what was necessary to avoid being injured, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Good. Recall and use the steps you’ve learned in making it through the courses and you’ll see that they’ve unwittingly taught yourself effective defensive maneuvers.”
“Ah, so that’s what those were for…”
“Thought they were meant for simple, mindless punishment, ha?” She smiled.
After showing me a few steps that, surprisingly, I recalled from my fencing class, we began to spar. Though she didn’t go easy on me, she never made actual contact with my skin. She was clearly adept at using the blades and in the tactics used in the defensive arts. Watching her movements and having to defend against them gave me the chance to test and hone my new abilities.
Occasionally, she would call out, “Nice!” or “Again!” At the end of thirty minutes, I felt slightly winded but confident.
Then she changed the rules.
As I successfully pinned her against the wall, Alfred came up behind me. He’d selected a bamboo bo staff which he twirled skillfully in his hands and around his body.
I was now defending against multiple attackers.
Surveying my surroundings and my attackers weaknesses, I began to realize something change in me.
My senses heightened.
The roll in the carpet that could trip me came in to view. I noticed the way each held their weapon, offering me insight on how each would be used. I heard Ms. Beedinwigg’s breathing coming now in short gasps and knew she was fighting exhaustion. I saw where the staff would hit long before it reached its destination and where the sword was aimed before she completed her step.
In the end, despite my abilities, I landed on the floor both weapons at my throat.
Alfred dropped his weapon and extended his hand, which I took. “You’re the best I’ve ever seen,” he said once I was on my feet.
“Really?” I was thrilled to hear it.
“Your mother was good with the rapier too,” said Ms. Beedinwigg plainly, taking a towel to wipe her face. “But you’re better.”
I nodded, stunned.
“You did well tonight, Maggie,” said Ms. Beedinwigg. “You’re definitely improving but there’s more to learn.” She flung the towel over her shoulder.
Knowing where her comments were headed, I interjected, “I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“Same time,” Ms. Beedinwigg stated and headed for the stairs.
The rest of us followed her to the front door.
“Rest up,” she suggested. “Tomorrow will be a big night.”
“Oh really?” I said my curiosity piqued. “What am I in for?”
“Tomorrow,” she replied, gently positioning me towards the door. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”
On the ride home, I wondered what awaited me when I returned to Mr. Hamilton’s house but mostly I wondered how I could rest up when the emotional toll from visiting my past lives took so much out of me. Tonight I’d be visiting Paris which I couldn’t deny was intriguing. It was just the prospect of encountering Marco and my other adversaries that left me uneasy.