Earth Angel (Angels and Seers: Book One) Page 8

Chapter 8

  This time, Sam actually uses my guest room, and I go to the bedroom I once shared with Harry, enjoying my cats cuddled around me for possibly the last time. I may reunite with them once we go to Vermont, but I don’t know when…or if…it will be. Gosh, I love these little fur balls so much. Tears well up in my eyes a little as I realize how much I’m going to miss them. But what I’m doing, I’m doing as much for them as for anyone else. I don’t want any harm to come to my precious kitties. So, I will do what I have to do. With any luck, we’ll be together again. I know my grandparents adore my cats and will take good care of them until I can bring them home, wherever home may be.

  The next morning over breakfast, I tell Sam my plan for getting the blade.

  “I’ve got to hand it to you, Lucy,” he says, pleased, “it is, hands down, the most brilliant tactical plan I’ve ever heard. Definitely equal to the best plans of any angel military strategist. I don’t know where you learned to think like that, but it’s incredible. And you’re right. The plan can’t possibly fail.”

  “Super!” I exclaim, excited. “Then let’s do it.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “What? Why? And…and you’re not in charge here!”

  “Maybe not, but I do have a say, since we’re a partnership. And I say it requires you to get too close to Jonathan. It’s too dangerous.”

  “It’s foolproof,” I say, annoyed. “You said so yourself.”

  “I can’t let you risk it,” Sam insists through a mouthful of gluten-free French toast. “I’m responsible for your welfare. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  “We’re responsible for each other’s welfare,” I insist, feeling this conversation is ridiculous.

  “True,” Sam agrees. “And I’m doing my part by keeping you safe.”

  “How is it keeping me safe if the plan is foolproof?”

  “Just in case something goes wrong. Even the best plans can have unseen flaws. It’s an excellent idea, believe me, and if it were anyone else…” He trails off, leaving the unspoken end of that sentence hanging in the air. But the words are very clear.

  “Sam,” I say, irritated, but doing my best to maintain a reasonable tone, “this plan will work. And it will protect you. Once we have that blade, it becomes a million times harder for Jonathan to find you. That benefits everyone. You can’t stay at a lowered vibration forever. Regular people will see you, and your powers aren’t at their peak when you’re this way. We have to get the blade. My plan will get it for us.”

  Sam is quiet, gazing down at his food as if he can avoid the conversation by not looking at me.

  “Sam? Would you be willing to go along with this if it involved anyone but me?’

  “Yes,” he says softly, continuing to carefully study his breakfast. I can almost swear I see a redness creeping into his cheeks, as if he’s embarrassed. What could possibly make him embarrassed about wanting to protect me? I totally understand it, even if I don’t agree with it.

  “But,” he is quick to add, “I would only go along with it if some other person volunteered. I could never ask anyone else to put themselves in danger because of me.”

  “I know you wouldn’t.”

  Of course he wouldn’t. He’s Sam. He’s noble, almost annoyingly so. “You’re a good guy, Sam. I haven’t spoken to too many Earth Angels, much less spent time with them, but I can tell you you’re as sweet, kind, and loyal as any human I’ve ever met. You’re a hero.”

  “Oh, Lucy,” he says, gazing up at me from beneath hooded eyelids, “I am so far from being a hero. I’m not worthy of that kind of praise at all.”

  “How can you say that? You took on the most dangerous angel anyone in your kingdom ever met and lived! So far, no other angel can say the same. You’re the first. That’s so brave. And you’re willing to keep fighting to protect this planet and the people and angels on it. Do you see any other angels lined up to take on the task? I don’t.”

  “I’m in hiding from Jonathan, rather than fighting him,” Sam protests. “I’ve put you in danger just by being around you, and now you have to leave your home. I’ve caused you nothing but trouble since you met me. Lucy, I wish I was special. Maybe then I’d be worthy of being called a hero. I’d want that if for no other reason than to be a hero for you. But I’m not special. I’m just one angel among millions. Anyone could do what I’m doing.”

  “No, they can’t!” I insist. “The archangels said so. They chose us for this task, and you agreed to it. And you did live through the fight with Jonathan. That’s something. That’s a hero in my book. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re amazing.”

  “You’re very kind. But I’m not at all confident I could defend you against Jonathan while my wing is still broken. Maybe I couldn’t even if it was healed. And Lucy, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

  “Look, Sam, I know you want to protect me. I get it. We’re friends and partners. But we’re also supposed to be working together to defeat Jonathan. Getting the blade back from him can be our first step. And you know it’s a good plan. It’s simple and it makes sense. You teach me to shift dimensions. We cut your arm and leave some blood on my kitchen counter. You shift into my mansion, because you aren’t healed enough to risk another fight with Jonathan yet. Jonathan’s blade will lead him back here to the blood on the counter. He puts the blade down by the blood to go look for you, I grab it, and shift out to meet you in the mansion. We’ll also set up a bunch of boxes I can dump on him to get him to drop the blade if he doesn’t set it down on his own, and then I still grab it and shift out to be with you. We’ll reunite you with all your blood, to strengthen your powers and help you heal, and hide the blade in the mansion where Jonathan can’t get it. You said those supernova heart-forged starstone blades he carries are the only kind that can kill an angel and they’re extremely difficult to come by. That makes it unlikely he’ll find another soon. Even when you change back to your regular vibration and he can sense your energy signature, you’ll be invisible to him long enough for us to get a cloaking spell on you to make you invisible to him permanently. Come on, Sam. We’ve got to do it!”

  “Lucy, I can’t risk you that way. You’re too precious, and not just to the cause. To me, too.”

  It’s super sweet, but he’s just being unreasonable now. I open my mouth to argue, but before I can say a word, a whooshing noise behind me alerts me to the arrival of another angel. I don’t bother to see if Sam looks worried before I spin around to face the intruder, a kitchen knife already in my hand, for all the good it will do if it’s an enemy.

  It’s definitely not Jonathan. Standing before me is a beautiful, golden-haired female angel.

  “I’ll get the blade,” she says, her voice smooth and silken, like the best part of a good dream.

  “Ella!” Sam cries with delight behind me. I turn around just in time to see his face cracking into a huge smile.

  “Hello, big brother,” the female angel says affectionately. “It’s good to see you.”