“Earthwalker, stand to face me.”
Kat’s whispered, “She’s back,” carried across the space to bring a short, but fierce smile.
“By my command, you will face me.”
The figure that had been crouched before her slowly pulled himself upright. Wings as black as night unfurled—their span not quite a match for hers, but close. When his head lifted, Galmadriel’s gasp echoed across the space.
“Malachiel.”
He stood defiant before her. “Even when you fall, you shine,” he spat the words at her.
“How did you come to me as a being of light if you are not of the grace?”
“It’s easy to fool humans.”
Amethyst muttered, “But it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” Galmadriel quelled her with a sideways glance.
“That was your mistake, Mal. I’m not human, and I’m not fallen. I’m earthbound.” The words fell with the knell of truth. “This man is under my protection. You will not touch him again. Like you once said to me, stay away from what’s mine.”
Seething fury burned on his face.
“Go,” Galmadriel roared, the force of her words hit him like a hurricane. In a swirl of dark fog, he was gone.
“Too easy.” Kat hauled herself up to standing. “In the movies the bad guy always seems gone, and then he swoops in for one last hurrah.”
“He still has Julius. Does that count?”
Chapter 18
Craig Allen thought he was dead. You wake up with two angels staring down at you, it’s a natural conclusion. Anyone might be forgiven for thinking so. Especially with his memory of the day’s events wiped clean.
“Am I dead? What happened?” On second thought, it felt like he was in his own bed.
“How do you feel?” He certainly looked better than he had earlier. His eyes were clear and he seemed anchored in the present.
“Good. I think. I have a lot of questions.”
Estelle laid a hand on his forehead to put him back to sleep. There was no time to deal with his questions right now.
“Did you find what you needed?” Estelle hoped so. “I need to file a report on Malachiel. It breaks my heart to see one of our own like that. I’ll be back later so we can sort out a plan of action for finding Julius.” Estelle didn’t say it out loud, but with Malachiel behind his abduction, he could be anywhere. Moreover, she had the feeling the search and rescue mission was going to fall to Adriel, which meant Estelle would be the only angel allowed to help.
As of her last briefing, contact with The Earthbound—as Galmadriel was coming to be known—was forbidden to anyone other than her guardians until her motives were settled to the satisfaction of the entire collective. Based on the way things were going in that quarter, Estelle’s estimate on it happening was sometime between now and never.
***
“We need to go back to the cabin; I think I know who killed Ben and Lydia.” Adriel announced to Zack after spending a bit of effort folding her tall frame into the back seat of Kat’s subcompact and ending feeling like a pretzel. “I think Barbie is missing her daily driver.” The acid comment brought a snort from Julie, who watched the debacle from the beside her. Amethyst and Gustavia would follow in her car.
“Do you have any proof?” Zack would be happy to arrest the culprit, so long as he had enough evidence to make the charges stick.
“Maybe, but I need to check on a couple of things first. Julie, can you call Pam and have her meet us there? I need to tell her about Craig, and she deserves to be there when her brother’s killer is arrested.”
And that was the last thing Adriel would say on the matter until everyone gathered at the cabin.
***
“I know who killed Ben and Lydia,” Adriel returned from the bedroom brandishing a red spiral-bound notebook. “Here’s what I think happened.”
“Bill and his buddies helped Craig paint this place the week before their fishing trip, and he paid them with a case of beer. Bill mentioned that Damien and Graham got into a fight, and we also know Bill cheated on his girlfriend that weekend, which means there were five people at the lake and not four.”
“Dun, dun, dun,” Gustavia couldn’t help herself.
“We ruled out Bill because he left on a dirt bike; Graham because if the two deaths are related, he has an ironclad alibi for Lydia’s; as does Levi, who is dead. That only leaves Damien.” Pam said.
“And the fifth person; the one Bill fooled around with.”
“But we have no idea who that is.”
“Oh, I think we do. At first I thought Lydia was killed to stop the construction from moving forward and keep Ben’s bones hidden, but only because someone sabotaged the equipment first. Something else happened that made me think those two things might not be related.” Energy still elevated from the altercation with Malachiel, Adriel paced the small space. Every so often that energy pulsed to raise gooseflesh on arms, and prickle the necks of everyone in the room.
“I found Edward wandering around in the field a few nights after Lydia died, and he mentioned having been out there before. That made me wonder if he was the one who sabotaged the equipment. Later, Bill said Edward was the one behind the picketing, and that clinched it.”
“I’m still confused,” Zack said, “Why do you think Lydia was killed, then?”
“Lydia was the older woman Bill cheated with that night. Damien knew the bones were going to come to light, and he also knew Lydia would put it all together; and, unlike Bill and Craig, there was nothing he could do to silence her.”
“How did he silence my uncle?” Pam demanded.
“He sold the car to Craig. It’s been sitting in the shed back there this whole time.” Adriel turned to Zack.
“Remember when Ben mentioned seeing a plane right before the car hit him? Wait until you get a look at the hood ornament. Several years ago—according to Craig’s diary—Bill Dooley came
