Free Plain Fear: Forgiven: A Novel by Leanna Ellis Page B

him.
    Surprisingly, Remiel had been right. It was good to see Levi and Hannah and know they were living the kind of life they had always wanted. Glancing around the perimeter of the room, he was also relieved to know they were well guarded, whether they knew it or not, for there were other angels milling about, soaring toward the ceiling, slipping out through walls and windows as if no barrier existed.
    “Not as horrible as you imagined, is it?” Remiel spoke to him.
    “How did you know?”
    He blinked slowly. “I’ve seen it before.”
    Jacob thought of those feelings, once so real and palpable, now only a wisp of a memory. “But how is it possible?”
    Remiel turned his attention back to Levi and, of course, did not answer.
    “Are they”—Jacob indicated the other angels—“here to protect Hannah and Levi?”
    Remiel nodded. “No harm will come here—not of the supernatural kind—unless they themselves open the door to evil.”
    Jacob’s thoughts veered sharply toward his younger brother, Samuel, and he stiffened. Caught in a tide and swept from the room, Jacob hollered, “Wait!” He tried to hold on to Hannah, then Levi, but it was too late. He was whisked into a hallway and through another wall.
    Green shades were drawn in this smaller room. Twin beds took up most of the space. Samuel lay sprawled across one, his feet hanging off the end, one arm flung wide. His duffel bag lay on the floor unzipped, his boots tossed near his clothes as if he’d shed everything in one fell swoop and collapsed on the bed.
    A chill entered the room, and yet Jacob suspected it was something more than the weather. It felt as if the air had thinned and something malevolent hovered nearby. Remiel gripped his sword, his expression never changing, but he looked battle ready. A dark form circled above Samuel, similar to one of the creatures that had grabbed Jacob’s ankle. Was it a demon, some supernatural creature, some evil force?
    Frantic to protect his sleeping brother, Jacob swung around and almost ran into Remiel. “Fight that thing off. Tell him to leave. Get him out of here!”
    “This is not my—”
    “You’ve said that before. What good are you?” Jacob whirled back toward his brother. “So, where is Samuel’s angel?”
    “He has none.” Remiel stared out the window, as if seeing what lay beyond the shade. Was that a shadow passing in the dark? “Samuel has made no decision.”
    The dark creature circled the bed, dropping lower and lower, swooping over Samuel’s sleeping form.
    Panic rose inside Jacob. “What can I do?”
    Remiel did not answer.
    Jacob rushed toward the bed. “Bah!” he shouted and flung his arms out wide. “Get out of here!”
    The creature jolted backward, tumbling through the air. Rather than arms or legs, the creature looked shapeless, like a black jellyfish, shifting shapes and sizes, its body fluid. Before Jacob could exult, the creature reared up. A cruel, distorted face rushed toward him, snarling and snapping sharp, gray teeth. Jacob fell back. But the creature did not fall upon him. It swerved sharply and shot toward the ceiling, then began circling above the bed, over the sleeping Samuel.
    A book lay open beside the bed. Jacob moved closer and recognized some of the books. Many were of the occult and dark forces, mysterious and secretive in nature.
    “Close the book,” Remiel said.
    Jacob startled at the sound of the angel’s voice. “What?”
    “Close the book,” he repeated.
    Jacob attempted to do just that, although he wasn’t sure why, but his hand slid right through the pages, hardcover, and table as if he didn’t exist, as if he had no form or substance or purpose. “How?”
    But the angel gave no answer.
    With a heavy sigh, Jacob searched the room, desperate for a way. Then he remembered he could whisper thoughts. Not that Samuel had listened before, but his girlfriend had. Still, he leaned close to Samuel. This time he didn’t fool around trying to inject his