Fallen Angel (14 page)

He scrambled to his feet
and ripped the seaweed from his hair, then he stared down at his
naked body.
Jesus!
As well as losing his wings, his clothes
were gone. It was freezing cold and he was stark naked for the
world to see. He glanced around, but there was no one about, at
least not for now.

As blood dripped from the
wounds on his back, he stepped into a rock pool and washed it off.
He couldn’t remember
ever
feeling so miserable and lonely
and he wondered what he was supposed to do next, but sitting and
freezing to death wasn’t the answer. Shivering, he gazed up at the
ominous clouds and tried to think of somewhere to shelter from the
brewing storm before he got pneumonia. With no clothes to cover his
naked body or hide the wounds on his back, he knew he was in for a
cold wet night if he didn’t find a dry place to sleep.

He climbed out of the
pond and shook the water from his skin and hair. He couldn’t
understand how he’d gotten himself into such a sorry mess, but
surely he didn’t deserve
this
? It wasn’t his fault he’d
accidently possessed Tom’s body, or that Eloise had kissed him. He
certainly hadn’t been yearning for her. That thought had never
occurred to him—not until he’d tasted the sweetness of her lips and
felt the softness of her skin.

He raked his hands
through his wet hair. Oh,
why
hadn’t he resisted the
temptation of her? The way he’d held and kissed her was so wrong.
He’d weakened and failed his duty as a guardian. Lowering his head
in shame, Nathaniel realised with horror that he was no different
to Devlin.

But what now? Should he
try and win Eloise’s heart, the one thing he’d risked his wings
for? Or should he disappear into the wilderness and pray for God’s
forgiveness?

Deciding to beg God for
his wings back, he knelt on the sand, but as he joined his hands
together, a movement on the cliff caught his eye and he glanced
up.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle
was perched on the lookout, its evil black eyes fixed on
him.

Nathaniel froze. Good
Heavens. It was a bird of prey and it was after his blood. As he
held its gaze, it flapped its huge black wings and glided south
over the ocean. Nathaniel sighed with relief, but when it swerved
around and headed back towards him, he stomach tightened and he
started to run. When he glanced upwards, he couldn’t believe his
eyes. The eagle was circling above him, its large hooked claws
ready to tear him to pieces. Far out! It had a body the size of a
large dog and its wingspan was enormous. As it descended lower, its
hungry black eyes burned into him.

His heart pounding
against his ribs, Nathaniel sprinted naked along the shore, but no
matter how fast he ran, the eagle followed him. Realising he
couldn’t outrun the pest, he prayed it would go and hunt for fish,
but when he noticed his own blood, running down his legs, he knew
there was no chance of that. The hooked-nosed predator was after a
meal and determined to linger, ready to pounce.

Nathaniel didn’t fancy
being eaten alive, but the nearest shelter was half a mile away.
Straining every muscle in his legs and arms, he bolted at full
speed towards the safety of the public changing rooms. But it was
no use, he couldn’t outrun a hungry bird and he only got half way
to the white stone building before the Eagle swooped down and
landed on the sand in front of him.

Freezing on the spot,
Nathaniel held his hands out ready to fight it to the death, but
instead of attacking him, the Eagle suddenly transformed into
Father Luke and he grinned with menace. “What a pretty sight you
are, Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel glared at him.
“You vile piece of shit, I should’ve guessed it was you behind all
of this.”

Lucifer eyed him up and
down and grinned. “And what do you think of yourself now, Romeo?
You’re certainly are a fine specimen of a man.”

Gritting his teeth,
Nathaniel balled his hands into fists. “What do you want? Spit it
out so I can leave.”

“
Oh, don’t be
so impatient,” he said, lifting his cane and running it down the
centre of Nathaniel’s naked abdomen.

Nathaniel wacked the
staff away with his hand. “Get away from me, you depraved
asshole.”

Lucifer laughed. “Now
you’ve had a taste of human pleasure, my dear. How about selling me
your soul for more? After all, not only can I make you rich, I can
make it possible for you to be with Eloise for a whole
lifetime.”

I have no intension of
ever
selling you my soul. This was all your trickery, wasn’t
it?”

Lucifer walked closer to
him. “I don’t think you should disrespect me, Nathaniel. You’re
forgetting you have no wings and no powers. I can take you right
now and imprison your sorry ass in my castle jail with all my other
collections, and there’ll be nothing you can do about it. So be a
good boy and sell me your soul. Then I’ll take you straight to your
precious Eloise so you can begin your lives together.”

Nathaniel raised a brow.
“Oh, and what about Tom?”

Lucifer threw his head
back and laughed. “Tom? What has he got to do with it? He’s just a
teenage punk. You don’t owe him anything. The only thing Tom cares
about is having a good time. Anyway, he’s not in love with Eloise,
but you are.”

Nathaniel pushed him
away. “Get away from me. That was an illusion. You put some kind of
spell on me.”

Lucifer shook his head.
“I can assure you, I did no such thing. All I did was to make sure
that Tom stopped at the right moment instead of passing through
you.” He grinned wickedly. “I knew you’d weaken, Nathaniel. Most
angels do once they get a taste of human pleasures.”

“
That’s not
true, and you know it. Anyway, it hasn’t worked with me because I’m
not interested. Now get out of my way.” Shoving past him, Nathaniel
stormed up the beach.

“
Have it your
own way,” said Lucifer. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to change
your mind, and if you don’t. I’ll make the offer to
Devlin.”

What?
Nathaniel
spun around to face him, but it was too late, Lucifer had turned
back into an eagle and was already a mile away.

Chapter Eleven

Nathaniel fell to his
knees and held his head. Not only had he let God down by his stupid
actions, he’d practically given Eloise to Lucifer. And if Devlin
did sell his soul to him and fall to Earth, he’d use his good-looks
and charm to trick Eloise into believing he loved her. Then Lucifer
would have control over both of them.

Rocking backwards and
forwards on his heels, Nathaniel bit hard into his knuckle. There
had to be a way he could warn her, but how? He couldn’t just turn
up at her house stark naked and homeless. Madeline would call the
police and have him arrested. Staring up at the ominous sky, he
held his arms out.

“
Oh, Lord, I
know that I deserved to be punished, but why have you forsaken
Eloise?”

Hearing no answer, he
glanced around, but the beach was deserted. Even Ramiel had
abandoned him and so had Michael. Wrapping his arms around his
legs, he rested his head on his knees, but that didn’t warm him.
Shivering with cold and pain, he got to his feet and started
running along the shore to warm himself. At least if anyone turned
up, he could dive into the ocean.

As he tried to figure out
where to go from here, he pondered on why this had happened to him.
He’d always prided himself on his willpower and morals, but now
he’d weakened and broken God’s rules. But that didn’t mean he was
willing to join Lucifer and become one of his demons. He’d just
have to find a job and a place to live. Then somehow, he’d find a
way to help Eloise, though that would take too long. Closing his
eyes he rubbed the back of his neck. There must be something he
could do now. Lucifer had given him twenty-four hours before making
an offer to Devlin, but who in their right mind would trust him?
Realising he’d probably already done a deal with Devlin, Nathaniel
knew he’d better find some clothing, and fast. Then at least he
could go and warn Eloise.

He was already feeling
tired and exhausted but there was no time to stop. Looking ahead,
he spotted the public restrooms in the distance. Maybe there’d be
some left over clothing in there that he could use. If not, as lest
he could shelter from the wind for a while. As he sprinted towards
the white stone building, a strong wind whipped sand in his face,
peppering his skin as if he’d been stabbed by a thousand tiny
needles. He sheltered his eyes with his hands and kept on running.
Being human certainly wasn’t easy. He was used to flying from place
to place within minutes or even seconds, and the pain that humans
felt certainly wasn’t pleasant, though the mental anguish was
worse. The ache in his heart and mind from the loss of guarding
Eloise was tearing him apart and he’d never felt so
useless.

It suddenly dawned on him
that he was the only human on Earth who knew about Lucifer’s plan
to capture Eloise’s soul and his stomach knotted like never before.
He was sure he was going to throw up again, but he couldn’t stay on
the beach stark naked, even if it was getting darker. He’d be
arrested for indecent exposure for sure.

Reaching the white stone
building, he entered the men’s changing rooms, but as he walked
inside, he stopped in his tracks. The water was running in one of
the cubicles and someone was whistling. As he tiptoed around to
check the empty cubicles for any leftover clothing, he noticed a
tracksuit and a pair of joggers on the bench. It was the only bit
of luck he’d had since losing his wings, so without another
thought, he gathered them up and bolted outside. With his heart
pounding in his chest, he glanced around to make sure no one was
coming, then he darted around to the back of the building. He
guessed the clothes belonged to the guy in the shower, but he
couldn’t afford to feel guilty. Saving Eloise before it was too
late was the only thing on his mind.

With a fresh feeling of
hope, he dashed behind some bushes and pulled on the track-pants.
He could hear the man singing from the shower window only a few
meters away. After shrugging into the jacket, Nathaniel zipped it
up. Then he curled his nose up and cringed. The top was damp with
sweat and there was a horrible pungent smell under the arms. Unable
to be too choosy in his predicament, he quickly shoved his feet
into the sneakers, but as he tied the laces, the taps in the shower
went off and the cubicle door squeaked open.

His pulse whooshing in
his ears, Nathaniel crossed himself as he tiptoed out of the scrub,
then taking off, he scurried as fast as he could down the first
sandy bush track he came across. When he glanced over his shoulder,
adrenalin pumped through his veins. Holy crap! The man was charging
after him, wearing nothing but a towel.

“
Hey, you
freaking shithead,” he yelled. “Come back here with my clothes or
I’ll break your frigging neck.”

Nathaniel ran faster, his
legs aching like Hell. When he reached the street, he darted across
the road and zipped into a supermarket. Hiding behind some shelves,
he bent forward with his hands on his knees as he tried to get his
breath back. As soon as his heart had slowed down a bit, he prayed
the man hadn’t seen where he’d gone. Peering out the window, he
spotted him across the road. He was standing with his hands on his
hips and a towel around his waist. Jeez, he was only a teenager. He
didn’t look more than nineteen or twenty, though he was well over
six-feet tall and built like an ox, and from the way he was flexing
his biceps, he looked ready for a fight.

Nathaniel bit his lip. He
didn’t doubt for a second that he would win any fight with a human.
He’d fought too many battles with demons to be afraid of a
muscle-bound teenager, but that didn’t mean he wanted to engage in
useless street brawling, nor did he want to hurt an innocent boy.
When a bus blocked his view, Nathaniel moved away from the window
so he couldn’t be seen. Time was running out and all he was
interested in was getting to Eloise and warning her of the danger
before Lucifer spoke to Devlin.

As the traffic moved
forward, Nathaniel craned his neck to see if the guy was still
there, but he was nowhere in sight. After waiting a few minutes to
make sure he’d gone, he marched to the exit, but as he passed a
full length mirror, his jaw dropped with shock as he stared at
himself.