Authors: Melissa Jolley
She stared at him, and he thought she was about to cry when her voice broke, but Melody’s hazel green eyes were clear. He couldn’t help but be impressed.
“So what do we do now?” The question was as much for himself as Melody.
“I forget this ever happened and go back to being a barmaid in a sleazy club, and you go off and protect other innocents, and preferably, I will never see you again.”
There was that steel-eyed determination he had seen in her a matter of hours ago.
“I really don’t think it’s going to be that easy, Melody.”
“Why? Because more of ‘the Fallen’ are coming to get me? Jesus, it sounds like a damn boy band!”
“They are most certainly not a boy band.” He felt his features distort into a grimace at the thought of others like Marco, all trying to claim her.
“What are you then?” Her curiosity was getting the better of her.
“We are the ones who lost our way; some fell further than others, depending on the crime.”
As it turned out, even love was a crime.
“I’ve been awake all night, could you please stop talking in riddles!” She’d raised her hands to side of her head, as if the conversation was giving her a headache; it probably was.
“We’re fallen angels.” Alec watched her, trying to gauge her reaction. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened as she stared, and she was even holding her breath. He noted the stillness of her breast, which was something he was trying
really
hard not to notice. After a few seconds it regained its steady rhythm. Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t that. Then again, who would?
“Look, I don’t even know if I believe in heaven and hell and you’re sitting here telling me you’re a fallen angel.” She was massaging her temples now, still holding the antenna of the phone.
It had been a long time since he’d told anyone about this; usually it was ‘save an innocent and get out before the questions started.’ Damn, this woman had a way of complicating matters. “Heaven and hell are merely ideas created on earth. They’re accurate to an extent. In broader terms it’s more about the balance of the Universe; there is no good without evil.”
They sat in silence while he watched her. He assumed she was pondering his words as she stared at the threadbare carpet. When he shifted in his seat, she lifted her head warily, phone poised.
“Relax, I’m just leaving. You’ve obviously got a lot to think about and I’ve got work to get to.” He stood and walked to the door, and he could sense her eyes boring into the back of him.
“Alec, wait.” An invisible band squeezed his heart as she spoke his name. Although his hand was on the doorknob, he stopped and looked down at the carpet, exhaling a sigh. “Is it true? Will there be more coming after me?” Her voice was raw, but this time there was a hint of fear. He didn’t like that; he didn’t want her to be afraid.
When he turned to look at her, she was chewing the inside of her lip. It seemed to be habit she employed in stressful situations, and it couldn’t get more stressful than this.
“Yes, Melody, I really think there will be.” Alec continued gripping the doorknob—it felt like the only thing in the world tethering him to sanity and stopping him from marching across the room and taking her in his arms with a promise to protect her forever.
“So what do you intend to do about it?” She raised her chin defiantly at him, all trace of nervousness gone.
God she’s sexy
. “Are you serious?” He thought she never wanted to see him again, and he would have made sure she didn’t. He would have lurked in every shadow he could to protect her without her ever knowing it.
“Of course I’m serious. As much as I can look after myself, I couldn’t move against you and Marco. I need to be prepared for what’s coming and I need your help.”
“There’s nothing you can do if one gets hold of you.” Hopelessness tainted his words.
“Then tell me what to look for to avoid them.” Her voice was more urgent than pleading.
“You won’t see them coming, Melody. You didn’t last night.”
“Well, I won’t be running into vans in pitch black areas anymore, will I?”
“You didn’t run into a van last night, you ran into Marco. Tell me, did it feel like hitting a brick wall?”
“That’s exactly what it felt like.” She looked at him curiously.
“And you couldn’t see anything in the black?”
“It was oppressive, kind of like a smoke-filled room, without the smell. I certainly couldn’t see the two of you, and you were right next to me.”
“The dark is called the Black Heart. It’s used by, for lack of a better term, demons. As for Marco, though he had a human appearance, his structure was more akin to granite, hence the graze on your neck from his tongue.”
Her face dropped in disgust, and she swallowed. For the first time since Alec had met her, she looked like she might be sick. A shiver ran through her body. “Ugh. That’s what you meant when you said tasted. But why me?”
“Your soul, life-force, spirit—the thing that makes you, you—is very appealing to the fallen. The stronger a person is, the more irresistible they are to the angels and demons that roam the earth. It’s like a junkie getting the best high ever.”
“So how do they get this ‘high’ exactly?” Her voice was tentative, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer. He could have guaranteed her she didn’t.
“All they have to do is kill you, but Marco would have drained your blood for the fun of it. He was always a sadistic bastard.”
Melody nodded, her face now pensive rather than scared, although the color had seemed to drain somewhat.
I really might live to regret this.
“All right, meet me at The Precipice—”
She interrupted him before he could continue. “I’m sorry, meet you where?” The corners of her mouth twitched.
He had to smile at her; he couldn’t help himself. “The Precipice Pub, on Rose Street, at four o’clock today. I think you’ll be safe until then. Hunting is more of a nighttime sport.”
He pulled a piece of paper and pen from his inside jacket pocket, leaned on the coffee table at her feet, and wrote his name and number. “If you need me.” He pushed the paper toward her, and this time she didn’t back away.
He got up and started toward the door again, and as he reached it she spoke softly.
“Thank you.” Her voice was so sincere that he wanted to bask in the warmth of it, but knew he shouldn’t.
“I’m just doing my job.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke and walked out without another word.
Melody sat bewildered as the door closed behind Alec. She didn’t understand why she trusted this stranger, especially one who could apparently turn her to dust. Maybe that was it; he could turn her to dust, yet he hadn’t. He had ample time and opportunity, in the flat and in the car.
Though it would be a bitch to clean the four wheel drive afterward
. Even if he didn’t use his
special
ability, he could have easily overpowered her if he’d wanted to. Yet here she was, still alive,
because
of him.
Now in the cold, clear light of day she was beginning to realize something else. Her life now depended on her ability to believe and trust him. It was a big thing to ask, and not in her nature after the Simon fiasco.
Don’t be so melodramatic!
She rolled her eyes. Being a drama queen wasn’t usually in her nature; however, being told you were a demon magnet didn’t happen to be an everyday occurrence either. Would it be so bad to trust him? Two years ago she’d learned a tough lesson. Maybe this was the man to start teaching her a new one—trust. The idea of him
educating
her quickly turned into a host of erotic visions.
Oh hell I need to get laid.
More important at this moment though was sleep; she’d been awake for nearly twenty-four hours and had too many thoughts swimming around in her head. Keeping hold of the phone, she walked the short distance across her sitting room to the cubbyhole she called her bedroom. After kicking off her shoes, she climbed under her duvet without undressing. The phone remained firmly in her hand, but she deleted the emergency number in case she accidentally pushed the button. She turned up the ringer volume and closed her eyes.
A loud ring in her right ear gave her a rude awakening what felt like seconds later. It couldn’t have been seconds, because seconds ago a beautiful, curly-haired blonde woman had been talking to her, telling her to take care of Alec. Melody wasn’t sure how she knew the woman was beautiful because her face vanished from her memory with each passing second of wakefulness, but she remembered her words. “He needs you.” She had been a regular star of Melody’s dreams her entire life, a guide through difficult times. Melody rarely remembered the dreams, and the woman’s face became a mystery the moment she awoke, but she always got the message
.
She pressed the call receive button sleepily.
“Where the fuck have you been! I’ve been going out of my mind with worry!” Even as she pulled the phone a foot away from her ear, her best friend’s tirade was still as clear as a bell.
“Oh, hey Rose.” The croaky, half-asleep voice was almost unrecognizable in her own ears.
“Are you asleep? I’ve left like ten bloody messages on your mobile.”
“Oh shit, my mobile got smashed last night. I fell on my ass and landed on my bag.” An oppressive yawn distorted the first two words.
“So why didn’t you call me when you got in? I tried your home too, but no answer.” Her tone was very accusatory, but Melody just smiled at her friend’s protectiveness.
“Sorry Rose, I forgot I’d turned the phone right down, ‘cause of bloody cold callers yesterday and forgot to turn it back up until I came to bed.” Why was she lying to her best friend in the world about something this huge? Maybe because it still sounded so unbelievable in her own head, she didn’t want to say it aloud to Rose; not yet anyway.
“Hmm, as long as you’re okay?” Rose didn’t sound completely convinced.
“I’m fine, Rosie, promise, hun.” The raspiness hadn’t left her voice yet.
“We still on for lunch?”
“Yep, I’ll see you at 12.30 at the usual place, yeah?” The thought of the Turkish cafe made Melody’s stomach rumble in anticipation.
“Okay. Get some more sleep, you sound like shit.” Rose’s tone had become friendlier.
“Love you too, babe. See ya.”
“Bye.”
Melody pushed the end call button and looked at her alarm clock next to the bed. It was just after nine, which meant she’d been asleep about a half an hour. She pushed some buttons on the clock, setting an alarm for 11.45, and then closed her eyes again.
***
A little over three hours later, she found herself sitting across from Rose, not really listening to the bitch session she was having about her ungrateful boyfriend.
“...and then we made sweet love in the forecourt of Edinburgh Castle, during the military tattoo. We got a standing ovation.”
“Hmm, sounds nice...wait a sec, you did what?” Melody looked up from the coffee she’d been stirring, her mind racing through the last few minutes’ conversation.
“Finally, she listens! What’s wrong with you? You’ve been distracted ever since you arrived.” Her green- and yellow-lidded eyes narrowed in suspicion, before widening in rapturous delight. “Oh my God, it’s a man, isn’t it? Women are only ever distracted like this when it comes to men. Tell me, tell me.” The pixie-like goth princess couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.
It had been two years since Melody had broken up with Simon, and since then she hadn’t even looked at anyone else. Now she was sitting here mooning over some guy, like a love-struck teenager. It was inevitable; she’d have to tell her, but it was going to be the heavily censored version.
“It’s nothing, really. When I fell over last night a guy happened to be nearby and helped me out. He was worried I may have hit my head. No big deal.” Okay, maybe it was a big deal. Fallen angels, demons trying to kill her, but she wasn’t going to place all that on her best mate’s tiny shoulders.
“Ah so he’s the reason you were so distracted you burnt your neck with the curling wand?” Rose’s voice lacked the tone of disbelief it had when Melody first concocted the story. Apparently mooning over a man negated acts of stupidity.
“Um, I guess so, yeah.” Melody pulled her hair forward, covering the large gauze strip.
“Hey, wait a second. Didn’t you say you were near one of the pubic triangle bars? What was he doing round there at that time of night?” The bright makeup gave her suspicious look a snake-like edge.
“He was on his way home. The club was long closed, anyway.” The pubic triangle was the nickname of the area housing three of Edinburgh’s strip bars, each club being a point of the shape.
“Okay.” She appeared satisfied, for now, at least. “So did you get a name, phone number, marriage proposal?”
When your best friend is this eager to have you dating, maybe it’s time to listen
. “Sorry hun, no proposal, but I do have his number. He seemed genuinely concerned about my welfare.” As she spoke the words, she knew they were true. “I’m actually meeting him for a drink in a few hours.” She dipped her head, taking a big sip of her coffee and trying to avoid her best friend’s penetrating gaze.
“Wow. So do you need a wingman to save you, in case he turns out to be a nutter? It is a best friend’s duty after all.”
It was obvious that Rose was desperate to see who could pierce the armor she had placed around her heart for the past two years.
“We’ll see. You can come shopping with me. I need a new mobile and if you’re a good girl I’ll consider letting you see him...from a distance.” She raised one eyebrow, giving her best stern schoolmarm impression. “Now, tell me more about this X-rated military tattoo.”
Melody waggled her eyebrows in a silent movie villain way and both woman fell into fits of giggles.