Keeper of Crows (Keeper of Crows #1)(41)

“Can I block my thoughts from him?” I asked, curious.

“From your father or from Michael?”

“Both.”

Gabriel blew out a slow breath, his cheeks inflating dramatically. “Michael is going to be angry, but there is a way.” He reached to the ground beneath him and found a small pebble. If pebbles were going to keep me from revealing my thoughts, I’d fill my pockets with them.

He smiled and held the stone with both hands, cupping them to form a cavern. He muttered some unintelligible words, and then blew into the hole toward the rock. When Gabriel opened his hands, the stone was white, sparkling like the veil’s pale opposite. The rock changed shape, its borders expanding and receding slightly. “Angel stone,” he announced, holding the stone out for me to hold.

“What exactly do I do with this... rock?”

“Keep it on your person. If you wish to block your thoughts, simply rub it. Keep contact with it while blocking, and let go when you are okay with the angel hearing you. It’s that simple.”

“It seems too good to be true, and in the earthen realm, that’s usually the case, Gabriel.”

“You don’t trust me?” He clasped his chest as though hurt. “But I’m an angel!”

“You’re also male, so my trust is something you’ll have to earn. With the exception of Michael, every man I’ve dealt with recently has tried to kill me, or worse.”

Gabriel kicked the pebbles underfoot. “There is something else I can do to help. Michael doesn’t know I can do it, though.”

“What?”

“I can strengthen you.”

Adrenaline coursed through me. “Do it. Do it right now.”

“I can’t make you completely whole, but I can help bolster your recovery time.”

“I want you to help me,” I begged. “Please, Gabriel. I’m worthless in the shape I’m in. I wouldn’t stand a chance—against a Lesson or Malchazze.”

He looked guiltily at me. “Michael would not approve.”

“Michael doesn’t want me to approach him. If I’m weak, he knows he can keep me from my father, but Father isn’t one who likes to be told no, Gabriel, and I can’t face him like this. He’ll hurt me, and I won’t be able to fight back.”

Gabriel grabbed my hand. “Do not breathe a word of this to Michael.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

He opened his mouth and I heard his angelic words, the lilting rise and fall of them. I felt my body mending, the skin repairing itself, the bruises fading, the bones… I felt amazing.

Gabriel stepped back from me, releasing my hand. “That is all I can do.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank me by being strong enough to stop your father.”

“I’m going to try my best.” When I threw my arms around his neck, he let me hug him. He didn’t flinch or tell me I couldn’t touch him; he just stroked my back like he’d done it a thousand times before. For one, blissful moment, I felt comfortable and calm.





18





Clutching the Angel stone in my pocket, I thought about the veil. It was liquid, but I needed it to be impenetrable as stone and strong as titanium. Gabriel busied himself while gathering manna for us both. If I went through with this, Father would have to be here—in Purgatory. Gabriel would have to leave. And Michael... I couldn’t trap him here forever, so I had to figure out a way to make him cross over. Would he leave without orders to do so? Could I force him to? He was in danger. Gus and Chester had mentioned that there were plans to take Keeper out. My father was going to kill him if the isolation of this place didn’t.

Do I want him to go? The answer was no, but I didn’t want him sealed here, either.

The change in the veil, if I could manage to do it at all, would likely be permanent. For me, for Father, for all of us.

“If I could seal the veil, could souls still pass over?”

Gabriel shrugged. “I would think so, but I’m not sure. Assuming you could repair what’s been damaged, perhaps you could also make a way for it to work the way it was intended to, or at the very least, make it passable only from Earth to Purgatory—a one-way ticket with no return flights.” He smiled.

I let go of the stone when he handed me a handful of puffy white goodness.

Did angels fly commercially?

He laughed heartily. “I have once before. Recently.”

“Why would you need to fly on a plane?”

“It depends on the assignment. For a few weeks, I was charged with guarding an important dignitary. His life had been threatened.”

“By a human?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, a powerful demon in the hierarchy of things. He wanted to sway an election by removing one of the persons running for office. We typically don’t interfere with the lives of humans because of their inherent free will, but we also don’t allow demons, or crossers, to manipulate people or politics on Earth. They would manipulate everything if they could. Demons would love to make Earth a veritable Hell for the living.”

“Give ‘em an inch, they’ll take a mile?”

He sat down on the rock beside me. “Exactly.”

“You must be busy all the time. Is there something you should be doing right now? An assignment you’re missing or slacking on because of me?”