Broken (13 page)

I look into my mirror and gawk at the cop car in the air. This powerful dark force picks it up with its giant hands and holds it over the top of us. ‘Are you seeing this?’

The cop car seems to hover above us, its wheels spinning in the air. ‘What the hell is that thing?’

While not in slow motion, it seems like the longest few seconds of my life when the hands toss the cop car to the right. It’s now I realise this force is after us. The cops were just in the way.

I blink hard to clear my eyes when suddenly Ebony screams. The cop car comes down on the right side of the road at the same time as the stone monastery walls swing into sight. We’re driving so fast we pass the monastery’s main buildings in a blink. But the cops don’t gain control in time. The car hits the road hard, rolling twice before smashing into the wall, where it explodes instantly.

The burst of flames from the collision shoots across the road after we pass, but we don’t escape the shockwave. It hits us with so much force it shoves us clear off the road. We miss the unfenced cliff edge by mere centimetres, then skid on loose gravel for about fifty metres more, before finally gaining the road again.

And now our speed has slowed to half.

Ebony checks our rear and yells, ‘It’s still there! It’s coming after
us
!’

‘
Sh-i-t!
’ Like a Tsunami outta nowhere, this powerful, living, breathing force folds over the top of us.

‘Floor it, Jordan! Faster! It’s reaching out to pick us up!’

Our rear wheels suddenly leave the surface as the lane’s top layer breaks up beneath us and the dark force catches the car’s rear in its hands. And then we’re being lifted into the air. ‘This is not happening. It’s
not
happening.’

‘There!’ Ebony spots the first natural marker, the tree left bare by lightning, its right-angled branches pointing to Thane’s driveway.

‘Good work,’ I murmur, concentrating hard on turning, but the dark force is still tilting us higher.

Ebony shouts through the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. ‘Go, Jordan.
Go!
’

My pulse jumps as adrenalin pumps through my body. Acting on impulse, I switch off our lights. Using only the front tyres, that, incredibly, are still gripping the road, I push the power button Thane told me was for extreme emergencies only. With the steering wheel held firmly in my hands, the Lambo bursts forward at a speed that would rival a Rolls Royce jet engine, shooting flames from the rear exhausts.

The dark force drops us.

Released from its hold, our tail end drops with a grating, grinding thud just as the piano rock, the second marker signifying we’re about to pass Thane’s driveway, flashes into view. But with four wheels on the ground now, I finish making the turn. The gates open with the dashboard’s remote-control switch, closing fast behind us.

‘
Phew!
’ I swing round in time to see the dark force’s lower tornado half chewing up Monastery Lane as it passes Thane’s property. Hopefully, it will roll right off the ridge, crash into the rocks at the cliff base far below, and die.

‘Do you think it will notice we’re not on the road any more?’ Ebony asks.

‘By then we’ll be safe inside.’

‘Hurry, Jordan. Please hurry.’

With no headlights, the driveway seems to take too long. We both keep checking behind us. Ebony starts to tremble. But once we hit the clearing, the house swings into sight. Ebony depresses the garage door remote switch and I drive straight in, hitting the brakes hard and stopping just in time to prevent us slamming into the opposite internal wall. I hold my breath until the garage door automatically closes behind us.

Exhausted and shaken, we sit in the dark and just breathe.

19

Ebony

We escaped death tonight because of Jordan’s remarkable driving skills. But the police officers’ tragedy had nothing to do with skill or lack of it. I can’t see how they could have survived that explosion. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught up in something bigger than them, bigger than the laws of this world. I can’t help feeling responsible. Though I don’t know what that dark force was, I know it was after me.

If the police come looking for answers, I’m afraid of what I will tell them.

I had dealings with detectives when my house burned down and my parents went missing. They ask the most intrusive questions, trying to catch you in a lie. I don’t lie. I can’t seem to even when I want to, but I learned that to tell the whole truth sometimes isn’t wise, and can cause more harm than good.

There are nasty storms up here, history will attest to that, but will anyone believe a tornado touched down on Ridge Road and tore up most of Monastery Lane? Maybe the Brothers saw something that could help explain what happened.

And where is it now?

Sitting in the Lambo in the dark, locked in our own thoughts, neither of us seems in a hurry to go inside. I just saw two people slam into a wall and explode. The image will give me nightmares for a long time. ‘Oh, Jordy, what a terrible thing to happen.’

‘I know,’ he says, his voice thick. ‘Come here.’ He reaches for me and I shimmy over. He cradles the back of my head with his hand, murmuring caring words and stroking my hair in a steady rhythm. After a few minutes our hearts settle down from their wild, adrenalin-fuelled ride and he pulls back to peer at my face even though it’s too dark for him to really see it. He holds my face in his two hands and kisses my forehead. ‘I’m so relieved. Thank God you’re OK.’

It feels amazing being this close to Jordan. It’s like this is what I was made for. I lay my head on his chest and he goes back to holding me and stroking the back of my head.

And for the first time since we met I’m not worried he’ll misread our physical closeness for something it’s not.

After what we just experienced, nobody would.

Suddenly, blinding white light floods the garage. The shock makes us jump apart. We stare out of the front windscreen where the source of this blazing light appears to be coming from, waiting in silence as it slowly loses intensity and our eyes adjust. Knowing that only an angel can make a room light up like this, my pulse races as I think for a second it might be Nathaneal.

Except the warmth and serenity Nathaneal emanates is clearly absent. Instead, an icy chill leaves my skin tingling with cold.

As soon as Jordan recognises Nathaneal’s brother, Prince Gabriel, he grins and jumps out. ‘Hey, dude, am I glad to see
you.
’ He offers his hand. ‘You have no idea what just chased us . . .’

Gabriel stares down his statuesque nose at Jordan, lips curling in a sneer, and ignores the offered hand with a look that has Jordan stopping in his tracks.

Even from here I can tell Gabriel is livid.

I suppose he would be. We didn’t make it home before sunset. Before he left, Nathaneal made sure we understood how important that rule was to our safety. And now two people are dead.

I take the photograph Mr Zavier gave me, slot it inside my skirt pocket and collect our backpacks. ‘Hello, Gabriel.’

He nods at me, then makes a short sharp motion with his head towards the living room. ‘In there. Now. Both of you. We need to talk.’

I know Gabriel doesn’t like me. He made that clear the last time we saw each other. That Nathaneal chose to stay with me on Earth only made Gabriel’s aversion more obvious.

As soon as the internal garage door closes behind us, Gabriel turns on Jordan. Though he’s still big, he’s more slender than I remember, in figure-hugging black trousers, long grey jacket with white shirt underneath. He cuts an elegant, commanding figure, especially with his yellow hair slicked back in a ponytail at the base of his head. If he came to my school, girls would swoon; guys would step out of his way.

‘Do you have any idea what you’ve done? How could you remain out after dark when my brother’s explicit instructions were to have Ebony inside
before
sunset?’

‘I know I stuffed up. I’m sorry. Gabe, I’m really sorry.’

‘Nathaneal trusts you. We don’t understand how or why he has such faith in a human teenager, but there you have it.’

‘Gabriel, is this necessary?’ I ask, but his need to reprimand Jordan has turned this angel’s ears to stone.

‘Is his trust in you warranted, boy? And, after what I just witnessed in my brother’s own car, I need to ask you straight out –’ he leans down until their faces are only millimetres apart – ‘are you keeping Ebony safe
for
him
?’

I thought he was a tad
too
angry. He saw Jordan and me comforting each other in Nathaneal’s car. No wonder he’s upset. At least
that
is a misconception I can clarify – if he’ll simmer down enough to listen.

A sudden blast of hot air shoves Jordan backwards into the wall.

‘Wait!’

Shocked at Gabriel’s show of power, I squeeze between them. ‘Gabriel, back up. Move back now!’ I’m surprised when he does. ‘
I
pressured Jordan into driving me to my science teacher’s house. Jordan knew I would go on my own if he didn’t come. The whole time we were there, he was conscious of time passing. He kept reminding me of our curfew. But dark clouds swept in and there was a long path back to the car and darkness arrived sooner than expected.’

Gabriel stares at me in silence, his eyes darkening ominously like angels do when they’re drawing on their powers. I force myself not to cower before his intimidating look. ‘If you need to blame anyone for this terrible tragedy, Gabriel, make sure it’s me. I made the mistake.’

While Gabriel continues to stare at me with unnerving silence, I search into his eyes as Nathaneal has been teaching me, but before an impression develops he looks away, shaking his head.

‘I was in the Watchtower at the time,’ he says. ‘In their duty as Gatekeepers of the portal, the Brothers of the Holy Cross Monastery keep the Crossing entrance safe for angelic movement through the dimensions. Brother Timothy was briefing me on recent demonic activity near the portal when an undefinable energy, stronger than anything the Brothers have measured before, appeared on their radars.’

Jordan steps out from behind me. ‘It came out of nowhere, Gabe, and started following us when we made the turn on to Ridge Road. It chewed up the road like a tornado with lightning bolts streaking and booming inside it. Man, it was crazy. It lifted the cop car chasing –’ He stops abruptly, his eyes shifting to me.

‘That police car was after
you?
’

I jump in quickly, ‘We don’t know that for sure.’

‘When Brother Timothy pointed out that my brother’s car was on the same road as an unidentifiable dark force that was annihilating everything in its path . . .’ He shakes his head. ‘I raced outside and saw a police car exploding, with no idea what had happened to you two until you drove into the garage. And when you didn’t exit immediately I didn’t know what to think. Jordan’s thoughts were chaotic – I couldn’t make sense of them – and yours, as usual, were closed.’

‘We were just taking a breath,’ I explain.

His eyebrows rise, his eyes widen. ‘You were taking more than a breath, my lady, unless the breaths you took were each other’s!’

‘You’re wrong. You got this wrong.’

He laughs, mocking me. ‘I saw you clutched in each other’s arms, gazing in each other’s eyes. I heard your whisperings and promises of love.’

‘
Love?
What you saw and heard were two people comforting each other after a terrifying experience. The rest your creative mind imagined.’

His demeanour suddenly changes. He straightens his back and starts walking around me, studying me as if I’m an insect from an alien world. ‘You lie, and you do it so smoothly even your micro-expressions give no clues. You don’t tighten facial muscles, alter your blinking rate, or break eye contact. For an angel, that’s impossible.’

‘What are you saying? That I’m not an angel?’

‘All I’m saying is that I’m sure of what I saw – young lovers, clasped in each other’s arms. And your denial makes you a liar.’

He’s so arrogant and self-assured that it will be hard to convince him of the truth. He’ll tell his brother, and Nathaneal will hate me. At the least it will upset him and cause him undue worry, especially if Gabriel tells Nathaneal he caught me lying. But if I ask Gabriel not to tell Nathaneal that would look more incriminating.

‘Dude, you are
so
wrong. Ebony does
not
lie.’ Jordan is so angry on my behalf he may do something he shouldn’t. I can’t risk more people getting hurt because of me, especially Jordan.

‘Arguing with Gabriel is pointless, Jordan. Don’t bother. His mind is closed and there are more important things to worry about right now.’ I glance up at Gabriel. ‘So you saw the accident.’ It’s not a question, but he nods anyway.

After an awkward silence, Jordan clears his throat. ‘What if it comes back? I mean we can assume this dark force is looking for Ebony, right? So do you think this house is strong enough to stop even
that
thing from getting in? I’m not saying your brother didn’t do a good enough job when he built this place. We all know how strong he is, but, dude –’