Free Torment by Lindsey Anne Kendal Page B

at the sky “I need you, mate; besides, you owe me.”
    “Who are you talking to?”
    “An angel.”
    “Oh now I’ve heard it all.”
    “She doesn’t believe me. I don't like being made out to be a liar,” he added, this time looking at me.
    “You’re not amusing,” I told him, heading back to the car. “Just go home.”
    “ Keira ?” I heard a man say.
    I stopped dead in my tracks; my whole body started shaking badly. I turned around slowly, frightened in case this was some sick joke. But when I saw him I knew it wasn’t.
    “Dad!” I choked.
    “Hello, princess,” he smiled, holding his arms open.
    I ran over to him and threw my arms around him. He picked me up and spun me around a few times before putting me back on the ground.
    “How did you get here?” I asked.
    “It seems someone owed your friend over there a favor,” he said, looking at Eligos.
    “How long are you here for?”
    “Not long, sweetheart; we’re not supposed to do this; you’re not supposed to be able to see me.”
    “Oh,” I sobbed as a tear ran down my face.
    “You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman. I always knew you would.”
    “Well, I had a good-looking dad,” I told him.
    We both laughed for a moment.
    “I know what you did for your friend, and I know what’s inside you.”
    “Oh.”
    “I’m proud of you,” he smiled. “You’re an amazing young woman.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Don't ever change; follow your heart like you always have; it won’t lead you astray.”
    “Dad, I know who did this to you.”
    “I thought you might,” he said seriously.
    “I swear I’ll get her.”
    “She’s very dangerous, Keira; please don't do anything stupid.”
    “I won’t, I promise. God, it’s so good to see you,” I said, hugging him again.
    “I wish I didn’t have to leave you again,” he sighed, kissing my forehead. “But my time’s up.”
    He cupped my face and wiped my tears away with his thumbs.
    “I love you, darling,” he said as he started to fade away. “I’ll always be watching over you.”
    “I love you, Dad.”
    I watched as he faded away completely with a smile on my face.
    “Do I still infuriate you?” Eligos asked sarcastically.
    I turned round to see him smiling at me.
    “I can’t believe you did that,” I said.
    “It put a smile on your face, didn’t it? And isn’t that what you told me to do?”
    “You know sometimes, just sometimes…you amaze me.”
    “Hmmm, only sometimes; well, I suppose I can live with that.”
    I walked over and stood in front of him.
    “Are you going to pass me to someone else or not?” I asked.
    “No.”
    “Good, I swear I will never attack you again,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief.
    “Keira, it wasn’t the attack that pissed me; it was the fact that you could have been killed. You didn’t call for me when you knew he was strong. I know you’re strong, but you haven’t mastered even a quarter of your power yet and until you master it all you’re going to need help.”
    “I know I was a bloody idiot and acting cocky; I was just so annoyed…Eligos, do you only see me as a job and Lilith’s daughter?”
    “I wish I did.”
    I couldn’t help but smile, but he didn’t smile back. I reached up and kissed him on his cheek. His eyes went wide, showing just how big they actually were.
    “That was for bringing my dad here,” I told him. Then I reached up and kissed his other cheek. “That was just because I wanted to.”
    “You wouldn’t do that if you knew the real me.”
    That took me by surprise and I stood there looking at him with a frown on my face. I’d spent the best part of three months with him…how could I not know the real him?
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked him.
    “It means, what you see isn’t what you get.”
    As soon as he finished his sentence he disappeared.
    All the way back to my house I was wondering what he could have meant. I knew he wasn’t a horrible person; I knew him well enough to