Falling (The Falling Angels Saga) (31 page)

“I will create the diversion.” Orthon’s words pierced the silence. We all looked at him.

“How? What will
you
do?” asked Harrison, his inbred distrust of demons shading his words.

“I will shape shift and enter the ceremony as Megan—the bride. Megan will enter with the crowd, hidden among the wedding party.”

“You’ll never get away with it. Satan is no man’s fool. He will know it’s you,” said Guy. He looked at me and shook his head as if to say Orthon’s idea was foolhardy.

“I will get away with it long enough,” responded Orthon. “When Satan discovers it’s me and not Megan at his side, he will be enraged. He will want to discipline me in front of the entire demon world. He will lash out and punish me with a slow and painful death,” said Orthon. He faced me. “And that will be your diversion. The eyes of the Satanists and the demon world will all be on me. No one will be watching Maudrina. She’ll have to be quick, but she should have the time to draw the hexagram on the floor.” Orthon removed his glasses and looked at me with a loving gaze.

“I don’t like it,” I said. My eyes were getting heavy, as the magnitude of his gesture weighed them down with tears.

“It’s… perfect,” said Guy.

I turned to him and lashed out. “Of course you’d say that. You
hate
him!” My voice crackled with emotion. “No!” I said, with defiance. “I don’t like it. It’s too big a risk.”

“The risk is in not doing it,” said Harrison.

I turned to Harrison. With the weight of emotion overtaking me, my tears began to fall. “Not you, Harrison. Not you,” I said softly as tears trickled down my face.

“I’m not saying it to be cruel, Megan. I’m not saying it because I want Orthon to be destroyed. I’m saying it because his…
diversion
may be your only chance,
our
only chance. Who else among us could command such attention?” His voice had softened around the question.

I looked at him and shook my head again, but I knew he was right.

Guy put his arm around me. “This is big… for both of you. Why don’t we give you two a few moments of privacy? You know… to talk.” He looked into the faces of the others who all nodded. This was yet another reminder of why I loved him so.

Had Guy been an angel, this would have been a sweet gesture. But Guy wasn’t fully angel anymore, he was becoming more human every day, saddled with the same insecurities, doubts and emotions of any ordinary sixteen year-old boy. For the near mortal Guy, leaving me alone with Orthon was more than sweet. It showed the depth of his love. He was trusting me with the one person he didn’t trust because he knew I needed the time.

Moments later, they all departed the room, headed for the kitchen where I was sure they’d be restraining themselves from listening in.

I was standing by the sectional sofa, my eyes stinging from the tears I’d shed. Orthon was standing across the room by the rocker. His eyes were on me, and despite how pitiful I must have looked, they were drinking me in.

“Boy, the magnanimous gestures are just piling up, aren’t they?” I said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Orthon moved to me. He crossed the room in two giant steps, and I fell into his arms. We pulled each other in close. I was overtaken by the fragrance of cinnamon. It was a familiar fragrance, one I’d missed. It titillated my senses. In that moment, despite how I felt about Guy, I truly loved him.

I luxuriated in his arms for several minutes. I could tell he was breathing me in, just as I was breathing him in.

“He wishes it was him,” Orthon said in my ear, still holding me close.

“Who?” I asked.

“Guy. He wishes he was the one sacrificing his existence to save you from Satan. He would do it, too, and it would be a noble sacrifice. But I know what it would do to you,” he said, his voice dropping low. “Losing Guy would destroy you. I couldn’t go on living knowing the girl I loved was in so much mortal pain, pain I could help her avoid.”

I continued clinging to him. My tears were falling freely now, soaking into his hoodie.

He continued: “I was wrong about you. You
don’t
love me—”

“Don’t say that,” I said wagging my head into his shoulder.

“It’s true. You love Guy. You love him with all your heart. I love you with every ounce of my existence. True love is wanting to see the one you love happy, even if her happiness isn’t with you.”

“You can’t make this sacrifice, Orthon,” I whispered. “It’s too… too…” I couldn’t find the words.

“Do you love the angel?” He pulled away and gazed at me his eyes blazing.

“Yes. Yes, you know I do,” I said and watched as the last flicker of hope died in his eyes.

He sighed. “Then this is the only way. Hell has caused you pain. Please allow me the pleasure of doing my part to make things right. Please.” He continued gazing at me.

“But—”

“Megan,” he said, placing a finger to my lips. “I may be a demon, but I still have my pride. Allow me a last bit of dignity.”

I nodded, “Of course. Yes. Of course I will. Thank you,” I said and began kissing his fingertips.

“If only those kisses were for my lips,” he said wistfully.

I stopped kissing his fingers and stepped out of his embrace. “Thank you,” I said again, more formally. I turned off the tears. “I’m going to beat him, Orthon. With your help, I’m going to beat him one last time. Thank you.”

“Your happiness is the only thanks I require,” he said, gazing at me with sorrowful eyes.

*

We agreed never to speak of the plan again. It was too risky. Everyone would go back to their lives, pretending to be distraught over the prospect of losing me to Satan. I didn’t think anyone was going to have to pretend, at least, I wouldn’t. If my plan failed, I’d be damned to hell for all eternity. That was reason enough to have a long face.

The next step was to begin getting my affairs in order and wait for further instructions from Señora Marisol. Everything needed to look as though this week was going to be my last week on earth.

On Tuesday, when I got home from school, Suze was already there. When I saw her car in the driveway, I tensed, wondering
what
now?
Were the Satanists still twisting the screws on my life? When I got inside, I found her at the counter making a large salad for dinner… and she was singing
At the Copacabana
, one of her favorite good mood tunes. “Dah-dah, dah dah dah, dah-dah!”

I hadn’t heard singing in our house in quite some time “Someone’s in a good mood,” I said as I came in and put my bag down.

Suze looked up. She hadn’t heard me come in, and when she saw me, she treated me to the most glorious smile. “Someone’s in a
great
mood,” she replied, the smile brightening her face.

“What happened?” I asked. I moved to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. I was trying to act casual, although I was on pins and needles.

“The man who bought the Kinetoscope contacted me at work today. I didn’t even know he had my office number.”

“Dagenhart?”

“Yes. Mr. Dagenhart called to tell me he’d had a change of heart about the lawsuit. He actually apologized for any disruption he may have caused in my life. Disruption in my life? He has no idea.” She laughed. It was light and carefree—child’s laughter. It was the kind of laughter she deserved.

“So he’s not going to sue you?” I asked.

“No. He’s not. It’s over. All I have to do is return his money, and he’ll return the scope.”

A face-to-face exchange with Dagenhart. I didn’t like the sound of that. “When?” I asked.

“When what, hon?”

“When do you plan to make this exchange?” I could feel tension creeping into my voice.

Suze stopped working, looked at me and cocked her head. “Why do you want to know?”

“Oh… just curious is all. I can’t believe our good luck. Wow!” I said and hit her with a ridiculously bright smile.

It worked. She was smiling again. “Sunday morning. He’s busy till then.”
I bet.
“I’ll give him a cashier’s check, and he’ll return the fake kinteoscope,” she said and went back to the salad. “And we can still make a profit off the cabinet alone.”

“That’s wonderful, Mom. Congratulations!”

“Congratulations to us all. Now we don’t have to move. We’re not going anywhere,” she said and laughed again. “That Tony is one amazing guy.”

“Umm… Excuse me? Tony?”

“Dagenhart’s change of—excuse the pun—
heart
had to be Tony’s doing. A few days ago Dagenhart wouldn’t even return my calls, and now he’s calling and apologizing. That’s got Tony Christopher written all over it. The man’s a miracle worker.”

“Yeah. Wow. You’re right. What a guy.”

Okay, I have to admit a part of me was a little more than miffed that Suze was crediting Tony for her sudden good fortune. I’d traded my soul so that the lawsuit would go away, and was I getting any credit for it? Nooo!

Yes, I know, I didn’t do it for credit. I did it because the Kinetoscope fiasco was my fault in the first place. All of the recent drama in Suze’s life was because of me, and so it was up to me to fix it. Still, it’d have been nice to have gotten a little credit for my effort. Right? Sometimes being the anonymous donor sucks.

I left her in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the salad and singing “Brandy.” “Early dinner tonight, if that’s all right with you,” she called, moments before Brandy lost her lover to the sea.

On Wednesday morning, when I opened the door to leave for school, I discovered a large gift box on my doorstep. The box was wrapped in beautiful black floral brocade and sealed with a giant white bow. As much as I’d hoped it was a gift from Tony for my mother, I knew better. This was for me. I was sure there was a gown inside—so much for me choosing my own wedding dress—compliments of my groom-to-be.

My fingers trembled as I picked it up. I could hear fine fabric rustling on the inside. I tucked the cumbersome package under my arm and carried it out to Guy’s car waiting at the curb. Guy hopped out to get the door for me. He’d been incredibly thoughtful lately, not that Guy wasn’t always a gentleman. Since Saturday, though, he’d been more considerate—a kinder, gentler Guy.

His kisses were different as well. They were deeper and lingered longer on my lips, which should have been heavenly, yet when each kiss ended, he peered into my eyes with a needy expression, as if to ask
how’d I do?
I wanted to tell him he wasn’t in a competition, and if he wERE, he’d won it hands down. My love for Guy had never wavered. Even when I wasn’t sure of how I felt about Orthon, I was always sure of my feelings for Guy.

Yet with each passing day, another brick was added to the wall of guilt I’d been feeling since Orthon had confronted us on the street. It was my fault Guy was no longer the carefree, arrogant boy I’d fallen in love with. It wasn’t time, or his growing mortality that had somehow changed him. It was me. And now Orthon’s sacrifice for love had stacked another brick on the guilt wall that separated us. Orthon may have lost me to Guy, yet in our three-way dance of love, he had come out the big winner.

“What’s in there?” Guy asked, peering warily at the box as I arrived at the car.

“I’m guessing a wedding dress,” I said, before tossing the package in the backseat.

“Aren’t you curious?” He asked.

“No. Not really. I’ll see it soon enough on Orthon at wedding.” The box in the backseat had become another brick in the guilt wall.

“I’m curious,” he said, his voice small.

I was surprised, and a little annoyed, he was being so persistent. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess because each step in the process brings me one step closer to the day we’ll be together. As difficult as it may be, I want to remember these days. I want to find a way to cherish these days. Each day brings us one step closer to our happily-ever-after.” He smiled. He was trying to smile
his
smile, the smile I’d come to love.

I wanted to say
that’s all I’ve ever wanted
, but instead I said “I guess that makes sense,” and got in before he could see the betrayal on my face. The only good coming out of this entire mess was that
if
I was able to pull it off, Guy and I would finally be together.
But at what price?

Guy got in and glanced briefly at the package in the back seat before pulling away from the curb. We rode in silence for a few minutes.

“It’s not fair,” I said after a while. My voice was hot in the back of my throat.

“What’s not fair?”

“Every day girls meet the man of their dreams, fall in love and get married. This happens every single day! Why must
my
happily-ever-after come at such a price?”

“There’s always a price to be paid for love,” Guy replied softly. “That’s God’s way. It’s true some pay more than others. God never promised the cost of love would be fair. The problem for mortals is that, when it comes to someone else’s love, we’re always on the outside looking in.” I noticed that this time he included himself as a
mortal
. “You have no idea of the price others pay. You only know of the price
you
pay.”

“I know of the price you’ve paid,” I said, my words cloaked in guilt.

He smiled. This smile was brighter, as if the old Guy was struggling to swim to the surface. “And worth it a thousand time over,” he said.

He drove on, the smile lingering on his lips. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk this past week. I’m embarrassed by my behavior.” His voice was low.

“Don’t be. It’s all on me. I blindsided you.”

“You did,” he responded quickly. “Just as
I
blindsided you with Rocky. I say we’re even, and from this day forward we call a truce. No more guilt. No more bad feelings. No more blame. If I could turn back the clock, I’d go back to how I felt that day on the school bus.”

It was my turn to smile as I recalled how excited the new boy at school made me. “That’d be a nice place to start. If we could only turn back time.”

He yanked on the steering wheel and the car lurched to the side. Several horns blared as cars dodged us while Guy maneuvered the Mustang over to the side of the road. Once we were there, he turned off the ignition. He looked into my eyes. His were steamy.