I noticed a shift in his countenance and knew I shouldn’t have mentioned Xavier. It always set him off.
“Have you noticed that time’s passing and nothing’s happening?” Jake asked. “I don’t see a rescue team on the horizon. Want to know why? Because it’s an impossible mission. It might take them centuries to crack the right portal, if they ever do. By that time, Xavier will be nothing but a maggot-ridden pile in the ground. So you see, Beth, you don’t have a choice. If I were you I’d seize the day, make the most of the opportunities in front of you. Everything down here is yours for the taking. I’m offering you a chance to be queen of Hades. Everyone would bow down to you. Think about it, that’s all I’m asking.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. I didn’t know how long I could hold out against Jake. He was so unscrupulous. I had no idea what tactic he’d spring on me next. He’d been around too long for me to have any hope of outsmarting him. I just had to make sure he didn’t get into my head. It was my only weapon. I had to stay true to myself and remain spiritually stronger than him. I closed my eyes and focused on inviting positive thoughts.
I tried to visualize how my release from Hades might come about. I imagined Gabriel and Ivy storming through the gates of Hell and carrying me to safety. Their enveloping wings, soft as satin yet powerful enough to crush through walls, would shield me. I imagined Xavier with them, only transformed as an angel so that he had his own beating wings. They reared behind him vibrating with his power. Xavier was glorious in the form of an immortal. Any man who saw him would pledge his undying loyalty. The vision of the three of them, glowing agents of Heaven coming for me, was the only thing that worked to calm my fears.
On the downside, it made me painfully aware of my own wings, bound tight beneath my clothing. I’d been so caught up in my troubles that I’d neglected to think about them. I wriggled uncomfortably, longing to set them free. Jake regarded me with a suspicious gaze.
“You will succumb to me, Bethany,” he said, sweeping toward the door. “It’s only a matter of time.”
14
Messenger
THE next time I managed to project it was raining heavily at Byron. The noise of the rain on the roof drowned out all other sound. It filled the eaves and poured off them in streams. It flattened the grass as if someone had been out there with an iron and turned the garden beds to slush. The noise woke Phantom from his sleep and drew him to the French doors to see what the commotion was about. Satisfied it was nothing that required his intervention he returned to his beanbag and sank down with a prolonged sigh.
Some sort of meeting was taking place. Gabriel, Ivy, and Xavier sat around the dining table. It was littered with pizza boxes and cans of soda — something rarely seen in our house. They must have run out of napkins because they were using a roll of paper towel. It told me that no one could muster the motivation for the usual routines, and cooking and shopping had been the first to go. Gabriel and Xavier sat across from each other, both as immobile as stone. Suddenly Ivy rose from the table and began to stack dishes and put the kettle on, flitting from kitchen to dining room, her white-gold tresses swinging in time with her movements. Whatever they’d been discussing it was clear they’d reached an impasse. They were all waiting for inspiration — for someone to come up with an idea that hadn’t yet been considered. But their minds were as exhausted as they were, and it seemed unlikely. At one point, Gabriel opened his mouth, as though a new idea had struck him. But then he changed his mind about sharing it and his face became distant once again.
Everyone froze when the doorbell broke the deafening silence. Phantom pricked up his ears and would have rushed to the door if Gabe hadn’t ordered him to stay with a silent gesture. Phantom complied, but not without registering his protest with a low whimper. Still no one moved and whoever was at the door rang again, longer this time and more impatiently. Gabriel bowed his head and sighed when his celestial gift gave him a sneak preview of the visitor.
“We should probably get that,” he said.
Ivy gave him a questioning look. “I thought we agreed — no visitors.”
Gabriel frowned for a moment as he zeroed in on the thoughts of whoever was waiting on our front porch. “I don’t think we have a choice,” he said eventually. “She’s not planning to leave without an explanation.”
Ivy looked as if she weren’t entirely comfortable with Gabriel’s directive and would have liked time to consider it further, but the tension in the room was so great that she pressed her lips together and went to get the door. My sister still moved with swanlike grace, her feet barely touching the floor. In contrast Molly stomped into the room with her face flushed and her strawberry curls bouncing on her shoulders. When she spoke, it was with her usual direct candor.
“Finally,” she said angrily. “Where the hell have you all been?”
I was happy to see that Molly hadn’t changed a bit, but the sight of her filled me with sadness. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I missed her. Molly had been my first friend, my best friend, and one of my strongest links to the human world. Now here she was so close and yet so far away. I saw the faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, her peaches-and-cream complexion, and her long eyelashes that brushed her cheeks. I was horrified at the idea of my earthly memories beginning to blur around the edges and was grateful for the gift Tucker had given me. It would have been too much to bear if all I could remember of Molly was a flash of corkscrew curls and a pretty smile. With my new sight, I would be able to watch over her always. Right now, her blue eyes were full of accusation. She even had one hand on her hip as she looked challengingly around the room.
“It’s good to see you, Molly,” said Gabriel. He looked as though he meant it. Her liveliness did have the effect of dispeling some of the gloom that had settled over them. “Please join us.”
“Can I get you some tea?” Ivy offered.
“I haven’t come here to socialize. Where is she?” Molly demanded. “The school told me she was sick, but it’s been ages now.”
“Molly …,” Gabriel began slowly. “It’s complicated … and difficult to explain.”
“I just want to know where she is and what’s happened to her.” Molly’s voice broke at the end, revealing a glimpse of the emotion she was struggling to contain. “I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”
Ivy stood stiffly, her long, slender fingers tracing the patterns on the linen tablecloth. “Bethany has gone away for a while,” she said. My sister wasn’t any better than I was at twisting the truth; honesty was too ingrained in her. Her voice came out sounding too rehearsed and her face betrayed her. “She was offered an opportunity to study abroad and decided to take it.”
“Sure she did. And left without telling any of her friends?”
“Well, it was all very last minute,” my sister said. “I’m sure she would have told you if there’d been more time.”
“What a load of crap!” Molly cut in. “I’m not buying it. I’ve already lost one best friend; I’m not going to lose another one. I don’t want to hear any more lies.”
Xavier pushed back his chair and went to stand by the mantelpiece. As he did he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Molly’s head whipped in his direction.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook,” she snapped, marching over to him. Xavier didn’t even raise his head as she berated him. “For months I haven’t been able to drag Beth away from your side and now she’s suddenly vanished off the face of the earth and you’re standing here twiddling your thumbs.”
I winced at Molly’s words, knowing how much they would hurt Xavier. He was beating himself up enough without her criticism to add to his stress. “I may not be a mathlete, but I’m not a total idiot,” she continued. “I know something’s up. If Beth had gone away for a while, there’s no way you’d still be here. You’d have gone with her.”
“I wish I could have,” Xavier said, his voice ragged with emotion. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Molly’s face grew pale as she assumed the worst. Fearing he’d said too much, Xavier backed away from her. He looked so overwhelmed by the situation that Gabriel felt the need to take over.
“Bethany is not in Venus Cove anymore,” he explained calmly. “She’s not even in Georgia anymore … but she had no choice in the matter.”
