Salem Moon (21 page)

The small watercraft whisked them across the calm, black, night time waters, its running lights illuminating the way for them.

Gabriel was mesmerized by the gentle breeze, the smell of the ocean water, the feel of the spray
splashing
in small droplets onto the craft itself. The boat hit small swells, which gracefully lifted the bow ever so slightly. And her
,
he watched as her hair streamed out behind her, like long black ribbons, the light dancing on the strands in the moonlight. Her shoulders straight, her eyes fixed upon their destination as she sat at the motor, expertly and swiftly steering them forward.
Another marvel of this age
.
To be carried over the waters so fast
, he thought.

As the island loomed in front of them, the lighthouse beacon swirling above the waters in its graceful search, he knew this moment was transitory. He had no idea what she would think of hi
m once she knew the truth. H
e
’
d decided to tell her the entire truth, holding back nothing
, even the truth about what Lucien was and what he wanted.
Lucien who was plaguing him less, but was that a good thing? Gabriel did not think it was. If he was not with Gabriel, what on Earth was he doing? God only knew.

After she tied up the boat, they sat side by side looking out over the waters and still, her hair blew
gracefully
away from her face
. He
leaned over and placed a tiny kiss on her ear. She shivered a little and he asked if she
was
cold.

“
Nothing that you can
’
t fix,
”
she said turning her head to look into his eyes
, smiling.

He took off his jacket at once and placed it around her shoulders. Sitting with his legs spread eagle in the sand, she sat in front of him, her head resting on his chest. He enveloped her with his arms.

Ah, but she loved the feel of his arms
around her
,
the strength of
his chest, that wayward strand of hair that always fell in his eyes when he looked down. It didn
’
t matter what he said to her, she would never feel about anyone else the way she felt about him.

“
Lily, I once dreamed of you,
”
he began, then hesitated as if his mind was trying to find the right words to make her understand
, so she wouldn
’
t
withdraw from him, for he would surely die if she did
.

She was quiet, as she disengaged herself from his arms and sat directly across from him, cross legged in the sand.

“
Tell me, Gabriel. Tell me everything,
”
she said tenderly, taking his hands in hers.

“
I dreamt of you…a long time ago and…it was so
real
.
Somehow, I
knew
that you existed somewhere in the world.
”

“
And you found me. It
’
s like we
’
re destined to be together. I like that idea.
”

This place seemed to have such a calming effect on her, even with all that had gone on tonight, with her worry over Lilac whom she
’
d
already called from the pier when they
’
d docked, and another time when they
’
d walked ashore. There was still no answer, only a message on her cell from Jillian Thompson, Lilac
’
s mother asking that Lily call her right away.

Lily phoned her and told the frantic woman, no, Lilac hadn
’
t called
. She
was either unwilling or unable to answer her cell phone. She was still nowhere to be found.

Gabriel and Lily had come here because they had things to say to one another. She gave him her undivided attention, trusting in her intuition that no real harm had come to Lilac, at least for now.

Gabriel put his finger under Lily
’
s chin, tilting her head toward his so that he could look into her eyes, and he told her everything.

He told her about the deer in the woods
,
the accusation by Thomas and Joshua Snow, the swift trial in which he refused to confess to the charge of witchcraft, and subsequently, was given the death sentence. He told of his agony under the rocks, the dream he
’
d had of her near death, the loss of his beloved dog, Hunter, the words in his father
’
s diary.

When he spoke of Abigail, his torment was visible. She saw the tears pooling in the bottom lids of his eyes. She felt his pain and realized something that made her love him all the more
. H
is was a heart built upon love and honor.

“
Do you understand what I am telling you Lily? Now you know why I fainted in the museum, why seeing Abigail
’
s name on that bench was such a shock to me. And still, I haven
’
t any idea where she is buried. I cannot visit her resting place nor lay a rose upon her grave.
”

Lily was silent, staring at him. He was unable to read her thoughts. Did she think him a madman? And yet, she had not moved away from him, not at all.

“
I am from Salem, but not of this time. I know you must think what I am telling you
is
unbelievable. But I
swear
on my life, it is the truth!
”

“
I…believe you, Gabriel
.
”
Still,
her face revealed nothing.

What he didn
’
t know was that she had many supernatural abilities
,
which she concealed from the world. One of which was the ability to see clearly
,
to recognize deceit in others.
She saw none in him.
Without a word, she wiped the tears from his face, kissed his eyelids.

“
There is something more you need to know Lily. About…how I got here. I had help. I must tell you about
him
.
About…Lucien.
”

L
ilac paced the creaky wooden floors of the old, run down house for a least the hundredth time. She dared not go upstairs. There were huge gaping holes in the ceiling above her. Rotting, moldy, wet wood, still dripping water spoke of the dangers of the upstairs rooms. She roamed throughout, peering through the filmy
,
dirt caked windows, barely able to see out of them. Finally, she ventured to the front door of the dilapidated house.

W
hen she stepped out onto the wooden porch, with its splintered and warped wooden slats, she lost her footing when a piece of wood gave way. Her foot plunged into the darkness below, landing in a slimy, wetness, perhaps wet moss
…
or worse. Repelled, she pulled her leg up.
Luckily, there was only
a large scrape and a cut on her ankle that was bleeding a little
. Other
than that she was okay.

The porches railings were broken and slanted every which way
. Some
had completely fallen off and lay rotting in the tall grass.

In fact, the whole structure was leaning forward, toward the swamp. The tiny body of water was overrun with weeds and flowers both. The Oleanders were producing the cloying, sickening
ly sweet scent
and the Lantana was growing in large, unruly bunches. She heard the sounds of birds, the croaking of frogs and slithery sounds of unseen swamp dwellers. There
were no signs
of civilization here. Everywhere she looked was desolate, nothing but the high weeds, coming right up to the dirt walkway.

Slowly, she came to the realization that there was no way to get out of here. Even if she could find the nerve to walk through this twisted wilderness and somehow avoid the swamp, at best she would certainly get lost. At worst, well those slithery sounds belonged to
some
living thing, didn
’
t they?

“
Holy fuck,
”
she whispered
. The
gravity of her situation finally dawned on her. She
’
d already searched everywhere for her cell phone, but to no avail.
He
must have taken it from her.

Where
was
Lucien? Did he intend to return? He
’
d left her food and water
,
a few sandwiches, which she
’
d devoured in minutes. She
’
d been ravenous after
his demanding love-making.
And
her
body was
sore from
it
.
She was a small, petite girl to begin
and he was a large, muscular man.
Then, she remembered, he
’
d revealed his true nature to her.
He wasn
’
t a man at all.

Her heart beat faster as she thought of the massive, shimmering white wings
caressing
her while she was blindfolded
. And afterward, when he
’
d removed the scarf and she
’
d first laid eyes on them, she was stunned, shocked even.
The glow of his skin shimmered from an unknown, yet breathtaking light source.

She knew he was not of this world as surely as she knew that she
wanted
him again. She feared him, of that there was no doubt, yet she was also in awe of him
. He was an angel after all, but also the most physically desirable man she
’
d ever
known.
An angel incarnate, becoming a human man, the most perfect man she
’
d ever seen
. 
Something occurred to her
then
. She realized he had no
scent.

There was no smell to his semen, no smell of sweat or the
“
aftermath
”
of sex
.

A creaking noise brought her out of her thoughts
. Panicked,
she stood stock still, unaware that she
’
d ceased to breath. And there it was again, but this time it was the sound of something walking with measured precision across the side porch. She immediately crouched down, straining her eyes to see through the dirty film on the windows.

Then, she saw it
. A
wolf! It was immense in size, stunningly white,
and yet, it didn
’
t appear threatening. On the contrary, it appeared quite docile.
She watched it walk away from the house, toward the stairs, the swamp. She saw what the wolf
’
s eyes were fixed on. Her heart literally skipped a beat, for there
,
stealthily climbing the porch steps, was an alligator!

Her fear turned to disgust as the wolf opened his mouth
.
In
one swift movement,
it bared its fangs
. Massive jaws severed the
alligator
’
s
head in one precise bite. Blood sprayed everywhere from the gaping throat, and still, the remainder of its body thrashed every which way
,
headless
.
Within moments, the wolf sliced it to pieces with its claws. The tail twitched, and then lay still. There was blood everywhere, soaking through the wooden slats, sprayed across the very window she looked out. Lilac couldn
’
t see what became of the alligator
. She
assumed the wolf had eaten it.

All at once, the image of the wolf flickered in bright light.
It
was too
intense
to be from any natural source. Lilac had to shield her eyes from it. It dimmed just as quickly and when she looked again, the wolf was gone.

The front door banged open and she jumped in mortal terror
. E
ven the veins in her throat
pulsated with it
. She curled up in a fetal position
;
sure the wolf would tear her to shreds as well. But, there was only the hot breeze coming through the door
,
and silence.

When she dared to open her eyes again, there
he
stood, looking down at her with a savage hunger
; the
now familiar, cruel smile on his lips.
God help
me,
she thought. At
the sight of him, she
was becoming sexually aroused. She couldn
’
t help it.
She wanted him, no matter what he was
.