The Forsaken(12)

“You promise?” The plea in his voice told her his fight was hard.

“I promise. Tell Meredith if you have need of me. She’ll understand.” Izzy stood up from the bed and made her way to the door. Gareth followed.

When he leaned down to kiss her good night, Izzy stopped him. “Good night, Gareth.”

He straightened. “Tomorrow, Izzy.”

Izzy closed the door softly behind her and then leaned against the wood to gather composure and strength. She felt like she’d been in a battle for days but that wasn’t the case. The only war waging within Izzy was in her soul. She’d rather deal with demons. The last person she wanted to confront was Nathanael. When a soft knock sounded, she tensed. “Come in.”

Meredith walked in carrying a hot cup of herbal tea. “This is for you.”

“Thank the blessed light. I thought you were Nathanael.”

“No, he left. He said you’ve had a busy night and thought you might need something to soothe your soul. His words exactly. I had…I had forgotten…”

“How formal everything is. How bloody unemotional they sound?”

Meredith handed her the hot mug. “Nathanael didn’t sound unemotional, Izzy. He sounded concerned. While you were talking with Gareth, he asked us some questions. Did you know that in heaven a decade has gone by? None of the heavenly angels know that time on Earth moves differently. Why, after a decade in the heavens, has the Mistress not answered our prayers?”

Izzy closed her eyes wearily. She highly doubted no heavenly angels knew of their plight. Why indeed? Taking a sip of the hot brew, she wondered where Nathanael had gone. “I don’t know, Meredith. I honestly don’t know. But my guess is they’ve forgotten about us.”

“I don’t want to believe that. I won’t believe that.”

Izzy said nothing. Meredith clung to her hope like soap on a rope. Meredith picked up Izzy’s clothes off the floor like a mother would. She always did this when she came into Izzy’s room and just like always, Izzy cringed. She didn’t want to be mothered by anyone. She’d lost her mother to demons and it was always good to recall that was the impetus for her desire for more out of her life. It was also why they were still on Earth.

“Leave the clothes, Meredith. Where did Nathanael go?”

Meredith, as usual, ignored her to gently finish folding Izzy’s clothes. She even neatly tucked Izzy’s boots under the dresser.

“He’s staying at the Seraphim safe house. Oh—he asked me to give you this.”

Meredith held out a small white cloth. Izzy’s hand shook as she took the offering. She was instantly hit with nausea, and if her wings still existed, she’d have them protectively curled around her, enveloping her so that no one, especially her best friend, could see the reaction on her face. Nestled in the center of the white cloth was an onyx-colored stone with a small hole at the top, held onto a plain leather tie. The same necklace she had suspected that had been wound around the Mistress’s neck.

“Tell him I can’t accept.” She choked out the words, wrapping the cloth back up to hand it back to Meredith.

“I’ll take this for you now, but you must tell him you can’t accept. He’s coming tomorrow after our show to speak with you. Looks like your angel’s here to rescue you.”

For the first time, Izzy noted the hurt and scorn filling Meredith’s usually calm voice. Izzy reached for Meredith’s hand, drawing her closer to look into her sad eyes. “Meredith, you can’t begin to imagine that I plan to leave.”

Meredith gave her one of her famous are-you-nuts? looks. “You are Cherub. He is Seraphim. I distinctly heard his words. You’re his heavenly wife. He holds the power to bond you to him, as is the right of a Seraphim.”

Izzy took hold of her friend firmly by the shoulders and let her anger and disappoint reign free. “I did not bear arms in the heavenly war to simply become a vessel to carry forth the next generation. I did not willingly sacrifice my wings for this. I will fight this—like I’ve fought for everything in my and our lives. I won’t leave you. You are all my Cherub sisters and more than that, you are my best friends. Without you, all of you, I am nothing.”

Meredith leaned in, allowing Izzy to hug her. Both in tears, Izzy finally released her friend, who had suffered like her with the exile. They all had suffered—and would continue to—until the Mistress declared they had served their penance. Abandoning them was not an option. She’d rather cut out her heart than sacrifice them to live on Earth alone without her. Killing a demon was a hundred times easier than dealing with the onslaught of emotions she’d experienced today, and once again, Nathanael was at fault.

Why did he have to find us? Find me?

In her heart, Izzy knew the answer. Without her, he couldn’t ascend. What he wanted condemned her. A Seraphim did not account for her wishes. She was Cherub a female brought up to please him in all aspects, to never question his authority and to keep his heavenly house pure and serene. Nothing about her at the moment, including Izzy’s thoughts, was pure. She’d rather sharpen knives than keep his house clean.





Chapter Four


Nathanael didn’t go back to the Seraphim safe house. His heart felt heavy, his soul ached, and his mind had a dozen questions circling over and over again. The intensity of what he’d discovered tonight left him feeling more than dazed. A part of him was questioning all he’d been taught, all he knew. And it was all Isabella’s fault. That, he didn’t like. He walked to the only place he could think of: a nearby synagogue. Saturday night, the beginnings of holy night. Late into the evening, almost midnight, he thought it to be empty…until a door opened and a hand waved him inside.