Faith Heights

Chapter 51

I shook my head with a wrath, waiting for Nick to interject. To promise that this was was just another ploy of Lucas'. But nothing came. The three of them were looking at me with some kind of morbid curiosity, waiting with baited breath for my reaction. 

"That's not possible," I finally managed, crossing my arms. "Why would they be here for me? I'm just a human – albeit an old soul – that got caught in the middle of the fued they came here to end." I frowned. "Do they hold me accountable for bringing you here? Is that why they're after me?"

It was more of a rhetorical question, trying to untangle my own confusion. Although I dreamt of gaining further control of my powers, compared to Nick and Lucas, I was a mere child with one toe dipped in their world. Certainly not strong enough to merit a search party of angels. 

Nick barked out a short laugh, but it barely seemed to reach past his throat. "Haven't you started your training yet?"

I shot him a strange look. "Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with the angels." 

I was eager, and frightened, to see what kind of gifts that well of power inside of me could offer, but I'd hardly learnt to tap into it yet. The best I'd done was heal a small scratch on Lydia's arm- and the worst almost killed us both.

Nick's eyes widened as he turned to Lucas with an incredulous sneer. "You posed as her soulmate, and yet you were incapable of telling her how powerful she is? Did you not think of what could happen to her if she was caught in a situation like this?"

"I didn't pose as anything," Lucas retorted. "And I'd hoped to keep her safe from all of this before-"

I snapped my fingers, forcing Nick's sneer to face me. "Don't talk about me like I'm just some pawn you need to protect. I was told about my abilities, but I don't see why that makes me any different to the other old souls at Faith Heights."

Lucas spread his hands toward me. On anyone else, I would have thought it an honest, vulnerable gesture. But knowing what I now did, I couldn't help flinch back from his fingers.

He didn't seem to notice my recoil. "You're different because, for whatever reason, you were the first old soul to have been created by angels."

I slowly nodded. "I know, but why does that matter? The angels are here because Leclair called them down to stop you two from causing any destruction on school grounds. It has nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you." Lucas countered. "When they caught wind of Nick and me in the same location, they knew that it could only be because we'd found your latest reincarnation. They've been looking for you for a long time, Lila."

I forced myself not to take a step back. "Why?"

Lucas stammered and ran a hand over his face, and I recognised it as a reluctance to reveal the rest of what he knew. It was my nervous gesture. 

"Why are they looking for me, Lucas?" I demanded.

The angel shook his head, almost distraughtly. "I don't know. Honestly, I have no idea why they're chasing you. But... they have been for centuries. That's part of the reason why I was so eager for you to leave Faith Heights with me. If they catch you, I-I don't know what will happen."

I looked over to Nick, but he merely raised his palms. "Trust me, I'm hearing this for the first time, too."

Nick snorted at Lucas, and his forced nonchalance was starting to grate on my nerves. "But whatever the angels want can't be worse than what you've done to her in every single lifetime you've laid eyes on her." 

Nick made a slitting motion across his neck, and I felt a foreign urge to slap that smug smirk off his face. I took a slow, deep breath, and glanced at Jackson, who was still standing awkwardly at the back of our gathering. It was clear from his pale expression that this was far beyond his depth, and my chest welled with guilt for dragging him into any of this. But although he looked mildly uncomfortable, he didn't look out of place. He wanted to be here, to help, as much as the murderous angel and sardonic demon would allow.

Lucas ignored Nick's dig and locked gazes with me. "Regardless of their motives, we need to get somewhere safe until the angels leave. They'll have a perimeter set up around the town, but it will be a step in the right direction if we can make it off school grounds and into the forest." 

I couldn't ignore the sincerity in his brown eyes. I wasn't ready to trust Lucas, but I knew that if he was willing to work with Nick, then the danger was chillingly real.

"Where can we go?" I emphasised the 'we', letting them know fully well that I wasn't going to be holed up on my own again like some scared rabbit.

Lucas lowered his gaze. "My cabin in the forest is the obvious choice. The angels have no idea I own it, and they won't expect us to have somewhere safe to stay in the woods."

Nick initially scoffed at the idea, but hesitantly agreed once Lucas explained how well warded the cabin was. It would allegedly keep out any unwanted guests for the time being, and that was certainly better than staying hidden in Jackson's room eating old protein bars.

The three of us made a quick dash out of the room after Jackson performed a minute of reconnaissance in the hallway. The cover of night should have been enough hide us, but there were still dawdling figures standing guard under the building's faint lights. Jackson agreed to stay on campus and uphold our ruse, and I promised to contact him as soon as the immediate danger had passed. We hugged briefly before he dashed back to his room, hopefully to find sleep for the first time in two days.

More than once Nick offered to carry me on his back to hurry our trip along, but I refused. Practical or not, I'd had enough sitting down over the past day to last me a lifetime. I ran with them as fast as I could, forgoing what little composure I had to pant through swollen lungs. Once the cabin came into view, we slowed, listening for any nearby sounds. 

Once I caught my breath, I asked Lucas quietly, "How did Jackson find you?"

He shook his head. "He didn't. I was heading back to campus when I saw the angels. I managed to pry Jackson away from them without anyone noticing, and he told me what happened."

"And you?" I turned to Nick with acid in my voice. "What the hell was the point of getting a phone if you never answer it?" He'd even gotten it for me, for Christ's sake. 

Nick ignored my tone. "I threw it out a few days ago. You should throw out yours, too. I would have come for you sooner, but the angels were already hovering around the campus the night that we were in the forest. I had to wait until there was an opening to sneak through."

"I thought you two had killed each other," I mumbled as I stepped around a fallen branch.

For the first time, Nick and Lucas exchanged an almost humorous expression. Nick said, "It takes more than a fist fight to kill two angels."

Lucas seemed to bristle at Nick calling himself an angel, but didn't say anything more as we kept walking. We pushed through the last line of foliage and hurried across the gravel surrounding the cabin. A soft sensor-light flickered on at the veranda, but Lucas extinguished it with an impressive flick of his fingers. I'd have to ask about the extent of an angel's abilities at a better time. 

Lucas reached into his pocket and handed me his key. Mine was lying in a desk drawer in my dorm, and I hoped it was hidden well enough amongst loose biology notes to avoid the angels' attention.

"I'll keep looking for an opening or a break in their perimeter to escape through." Lucas offered, stepping back with small, hesitant paces. 

"Stay safe." He added in a whisper, before bending his knees and pushing off the ground.