Faith Heights

Chapter 53

The blonde angel strode through the door a minute later, clad in dark jeans and a grey jacket. There were heavy bags under his lidded eyes, and his hair was sticking out in clumps like dry tufts of grass. He took in the scene before him, me in his shirt and Nick helping himself to Lucas' groceries, with a surprisingly blank face. But if there was ever a cause for a ceasefire, it was our current situation.

He came over and took a cautious seat at the other end of the bench. "I managed to get back onto the campus grounds. The angels have mostly evacuated from town, and are focusing back on the school. Fortunately, they seem to be avoiding causing any further casualties in their search." Lucas' voice cracked a little.

I could see that this was killing him, and, even after everything he'd confessed to, I still felt sympathy for his plight. In whatever way he knew, Lucas was trying to protect me from the duty he'd sworn himself to. I didn't know what kind of repercussions he would face for hiding from fellow angels, but it would be more than a simple cane to the hand.

"Did you see Jackson?" I pressed. "Or Rhea? Are they safe?"

He raised a hand in a placating gesture. "They're both fine. Jackson is being kept in his dorm, like all the other students. I made sure to let him and his friends know that you're safe."

"And Rhea?"

"Rhea and her soulmate managed to leave Faith Heights before the chaos erupted. They're safe, far away from here." He added with a soft smile.

I couldn't help closing my eyes for a breath. I was monumentally glad that Rhea was safe, away from all of this, but I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye. 

I wondered sullenly if I'd ever even see her again.

"How did you get back onto school's grounds?" Nick asked. "I'm sure they've all but fortified the campus by now."

Lucas looked down at his hands, as if he'd been berated. Slowly, he said, "I needed to get answers from them, and for that to happen, they had to believe I was on their side. I told them that I'd intended to find and bring you to them, but you'd both already escaped."

Lucas sighed, lowering his head. "They believed it, or at least enough for me to confirm that their main goal is capturing you, Lila. I'd suspected as much, but at least now we know for sure."

I accepted his words with a slow nod. Whether or not he went about it in a way I approved of, Lucas believed he was doing the right thing. He hadn't betrayed us, but he certainly wasn't willing to sever all ties with the angels yet. I could sympathise with that- but not entirely forgive.

Nick, on the other hand, snickered. "And they told you all this because you're one of them. They'll probably show up at our doorstep any minute now."

Lucas just shook his head, and looked up at me with such physical sorrow in his eyes. He regretted his actions, that much was obvious. But there was a difference between experiencing regret and seeking atonement. Lucas might feel guilty for what he'd done, but I doubted he'd do any differently if he had a second chance.

When I didn't offer any words, Lucas stood and headed back towards the door. I should have said something, but couldn't bring my mouth to work. It felt like my brain wasn't in coordination with the rest of my body.

"I'll return later, hopefully with better news." He said, before stalking out the door.

I heard the strong brush of wind as he left the ground, and a moment later, we were surrounded once again by the forest's eerie silence. I hated that Lucas was so evidently still keeping me in the dark, but at least Nick seemed just as clueless.

After another two helpings of breakfast, Nick and I settled down on the couch once we cleaned away Jackson's old blood-soaked bandages. I grabbed a book, and Nick seemed content enough to mindlessly peruse the ancient television's free-to-air channels.

After a few hours passed in comfortable silence, Nick asked, "What have you learnt of your abilities so far?"

I looked up from my book to find him watching me curiously. I meticulously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear before replying. "My laser-eye precision is coming along pretty well, but I still have a fair way to go before I can shoot fire out of my fingertips."

He laughed. "Seriously, what have you been shown how to do? I'm intrigued."

"I can heal wounds, and bring plants back to life. I can enter this strange state of mind and see other people's energies, but that's it, so far." I confessed weakly. Nick probably had a whole arsenal of abilities at his disposal. The only thing I was capable of was healing a scratch- and that was only if I could keep myself from disintegrating the entire room around me.

He didn't seem to notice my tone, and his eyes lit up. "Show me."

I shook my head. "That's not a good idea. There's something strange about my power. I can't always control it."

He frowned, but shrugged my concerns off. I tried again, "I don't want to heal something and risk destroying the whole cabin. It's not worth it."

Nick grinned. "Then it's a good thing I don't want you to heal anything. I just want you to enter your usual trance, and I'll take it from there."

My eyes narrowed, but I reluctantly agreed. I relaxed back against the couch and shut my eyes, listening to Nick's and my own steady breathing. It lulled me to that halfway point quicker than expected, and I was able to direct myself from there. Soon enough, I felt the familiar sensation of my mind expanding, revelling in the feel of the foreign energies around me. The forest outside, and even small flickers inside the house. But the most prominent was the force sitting beside me, hovering just before me face. 

Keeping my eyes closed, I tentatively examined Nick's energy, prodding with tendrils of power that I didn't know I possessed. His energy was unlike anything I'd ever felt before, far more powerful than Lydia and the other students in my classes. Its edges thrummed through almost half of the room, taking up so much space, and yet still emanating from the spot on the couch beside me. It was a different shape to the other energies I'd seen before, too. Where they had all been shapeless, hazy blurs in the air, Nick's aura seemed to extend behind him in two obscure shapes. It was almost as if something was protruding from his back, but they were impossible to define, like soft mist.

Before I could study his energy any further, I felt Nick reach out and grasp my hand. The physical touch felt so foreign in this state, but I still welcomed it.

"You can do more than perceive energies. You can see thoughts and emotions. I want you to try to see mine." Nick coaxed softly.

"I don't know how." I murmured.

He ran a thumb over my wrist. "Concentrate on my energy, rather than seeing all of the others around you. Just hone in on mine."

I tried to follow his vague instructions, keeping my eyes closed. I focused on the colourless, pulsing heart of energy on the couch, and ignored the others behind me. It was difficult, with the forest so vibrantly alive, but eventually I managed to block out the mental noise.

I was unable to read his mind, but I could feel his emotions, as if they were my own. And then all at once, they hit me like a tidal wave. 

I couldn't help but gasp at the flood of warmth now coursing through me. I felt a tear escape my closed lids as I delved deeper and deeper, almost unable to pull myself away from the unreserved affection drenching the room- directed at me.

Still, I forced myself to break from the trance and kiss him. I wrapped my hand around his neck, and he responded hungrily. Nick loved me. He truly loved me. No matter what he'd done in the past, or how much I doubted his motives, he loved me.

But, like all good things, it had to end.

All too soon, Nick broke the kiss, as if he'd been shocked, and lifted his eyes to the door with fear.

"They're here," He whispered.