Chapter 13

A glimpse of the long stretch of beach coupled with the name of the motel, clued her in. It was Tubakula Beach Bungalows in Sigatoka. Sigatoka was her hometown. They were on the main island of Fiji, Vitilevu, where the capital, Suva, resided. Suva was over a two-hour drive from here.

This area was serenity itself.

Her special paradise.

She was transformed.

Blissful.

Nina had missed this. The sea air, the beaches, the sea itself. The brilliant colors and smells that popped the eyes and satisfied the senses.

Then reality hit like a cyclone!

What happened with the demon, Cagilaba, had turned this paradise into a nightmare for her. He had marred her love for her hometown, turning it into her own private hell. Because of him, she had fled her home, fled her country. Being back here made her see what she had missed all these years. She had lost all of this, because of him.

It inflamed the already short fuse she had on her temper.

Nina was incensed anew.

She had been exiled all these years because of fear of what he might do.

This anger was new. It was righteous indignation. She’d lost so much. So much time lost spending those precious years being afraid of him.

And for once the anger overrode the fear. Fear was pushed aside in favor of this new feeling. As she grew more incensed, she felt more powerful.

Stronger. She could take on anything.

She supposed coming back to see all that she’d lost, was the push needed.

She was free of that crippling fear.

It was a beautiful reality.

“Thank you.”

She turned to Brett to find him looking surprised.

“For what?” His eyes were enigmatic.

“For bringing me back home.”

She paused for a second., thoughtful.

Then held up a finger.

“Wait. Let me rephrase that. For bringing me forcefully back home.”

She had emphasized the word ‘forcefully’, to lighten the atmosphere. Although she was still hellishly mad, it was not directed at him now. Its focus was now where it should have been all the time.

On the real culprit.

His eyes, filled with mirth, sparkled back at her. But there was a brooding intensity lurking behind that. She was too wound up to try to interpret that.

“You’re very much welcome, beautiful lady.”

He bowed, delighting her.

“Oh, thank you, kind sir.”

She curtsied back.

His grin broadened.

“Okay, cut it out.”

He was back to his teasing, autocratic self, but she found she was okay with that.

He wasn’t the focus of her anger. He had just been the catalyst.

Besides, she loved the fool.

They checked into the motel and were given one of the bungalows. It had a main floor bedroom with a dormitory like loft above. An open kitchen, dining and lounge area was on the main floor with the bedroom.

He glanced at her set face, as they stood in the entryway.

“If you don’t want to sleep with me, I can take one of the beds upstairs.”

He offered this in a mild voice, but his eyes were speaking volumes.

“Seriously?”

She asked, then laughed out loud. The freedom she felt back in her own country was overwhelming. And it was cleansing. She was no longer scared. Just energized, rejuvenated.

Renewed.

Ready for anything. Ready to fight this battle.

There was no longer any avoidance, no longer any trying to evade the issue. She had finally accepted her destiny.

No more procrastinating.

No more hiding her head in the sand.

She had to stand up and fight or die trying.

She owed that to her aunt and cousin, and to herself.

But in the meantime, their sleeping arrangements had to be sorted out.

“Nope. I like the sleeping arrangements we have going on just fine.” She quipped.

He did a double take at her nonchalance.

‘He’s probably wondering what’s gotten into me.’

The amused thought gave her lips a slight quirk, which his eyes zeroed in on. They snapped back up to hers, with dawning comprehension.

Then he was beside her, without her even noticing he had moved. Hauling her into his arms, he carried her into the bedroom.

His eyes smoldering with heat, he growled, “Ooo yess…”

Then she was naked. Now, nothing else mattered, but him.

Hours later, she swam up from an exhausted sleep, famished, to find the light in the bedroom on, with him leaning over her.

“Yes, I do like this sleeping arrangement. I love to watch you wake up.”

His smile lit up the whole room, making her forget how hungry she was. The sudden energized feeling that pulsed through her, woke her exhausted body right up. His eyes were waiting above her to see her reaction. As soon as he saw the emotion that he was looking for, he swooped to her lips. Caught up in him, she forgot everything else.

Hungry not for food, but for him.

Again.

I know you’re dying from hunger,” He teased, when she opened her eyes for the second time.

“Got some food conjured up for you.”

“You can do that?” She was astonished.

“There’s nothing that we angels can’t do. They are gifts bestowed upon us by Heavenly Father. Except the creation of man, that is. Or heaven forbid, take away man’s freedom of choice.”

“Wow.” She breathed, awed. “Awesome!”

“Yes, I’m awesome.”

His arrogance knew no bounds. She stared at him.

He laughed.

“Kidding. God is awesome. Jesus is too. The Holy Spirit is, as well. I come way below them. But I am awesome.” He tacked on, grinning.

She had stopped listening to him, her stomach was growling, mercilessly.

He laughed louder.

“Okay. Okay. I hear you.”

Jumping off the bed, he strode out of the room. Before she could think about following him, he was back with a huge tray, piled high with dishes of food.

“Wait. How did you get this? There aren’t any restaurants here.” She asked, puzzled. “Did you go out?”

“Nope, I just conjured them up.” He smirked. “And yes, from the restaurant down past ‘The Outrigger’.”

He gave a charming grin that made her yearn to kiss him.

But she was too hungry.

She fell on the food instead.

“How are we going to find the place where he keeps his prisoners?” She asked him drowsily.

They were sitting together in a lounge chair, on the balcony. He had come to find her, had hauled her onto him when he found her lounging outside. Nina had come out there after their shower to bask in the serenity of night. She got acquainted anew with the harvest moon, which shone bright in the darkness. An occasional sparkling star dotted the sky around it. The beach shone a silvery white in the moonlight. Hearing the crash of waves on the reef, soothed her soul. The whole view soothed her as nothing else could. This had been her love, and her life, until she had been torn from it.

They were both in bathrobes he had conjured up from somewhere. She assumed it might be from one of the five-star hotels. It looked like it was for high paying guests.

“I know where.” Brett grunted. “We just have to catch him unawares. And remember, this is your trial by fire. I can only protect you, but I can’t do your fighting for you.” He warned in a somber tone.

“But I have no weapons.” She exclaimed, aghast.

She became agitated.

“It’s a spiritual weapon. Your weapon is your faith. Your power lies in you. Being able to communicate with spirits is part and parcel of who you are.” He soothed.

His voice was calm, but his eyes weren’t.

“What would happen if I failed? If I died…Will I be trapped in that place with my aunt and cousin?”

“I will bring you out, if needs be.” He vowed.

She knew he meant it.

His face was grim. In that frozen moment he looked like a stranger. Not her laughing angel at all.

She subsided.

Oddly enough, she trusted him.

If she died, he would take care of her. He was an angel of God.

“Okay. I’m ready. When do we go?” She asked.

“When I get the Intel, I asked for.”

“When do you think that will be?”

She didn’t know why she was so determined to get an answer right now. She felt he wasn’t being upfront with her.

He gritted his teeth.

“Sweetheart, we are going.”

He tried to gentle his voice.

“Why are you so determined to meet your fate?”

Then he looked aghast at letting that information fall.

She was shocked. She pushed away, then sat up.

“So, we know then. I will die.”

She shot that at him like a bullet.

His non-answer combined with the ghastly look on his face, told her what she had suspected.

And dreaded.

There was no choice.

Inevitable from the beginning, she couldn’t escape her destiny any more than she could stop it.

Or him.

She couldn’t run now, even if she wanted to.

She was committed to seeing this through.

But it seemed Brett wasn’t.

As far as she could ascertain, he was hoping for a miracle.

“You can’t change what is inevitable.”

She voiced what she had been thinking.

He glared at her.

“I can bloody well try.”

He looked infuriated. He was in the grip of strong emotions. Emotions that seemed to be tearing him apart.

“As an angel of God, you know that His will be done. If it is my time, then it is written in stone. Nothing you, or I do, will make any difference.”

He looked even more torn and angry.

Like a raging bull, he stood up. He started pacing up and down. She lifted her feet onto the chair, to get it out of his way.

He didn’t notice as he raged on.

“We have to accept it…” She began.

He turned to shout her down.

“I WILL NOT.” He yelled.

The cheerful, fun-loving archangel was gone.

In his place stood this stranger, who glared at her.

Like he wanted to be the one to put his hands around her neck and strangle her, right there and then.

“HEY, I SHOULD BE THE ONE WHO IS YELLING AND CARRYING ON ABOUT THIS. I AM THE ONE WHO IS SLATED TO DIE. REMEMBER? WHY ARE YOU CREATING ALL THIS FUSS?”

She finally got mad enough to yell at him.

“YES. THAT’S WHAT I WANT. FOR YOU TO GET MAD ABOUT IT. NOT TO JUST CALMLY ACCEPT IT.”

His angry voice roared into the night sky.

The building seemed to tremble.

‘If he thundered, would the walls fall?’ She wondered inanely.

The thought made her smile.

‘Better not test that theory.’

He was looking daggers at her, so she abandoned her amused thoughts.

She tried to be serious, but it was hard. Trying hard to understand what he was trying to convey; she asked the question that had been nagging at her.

“So how do you propose we go about this?”

“We go about this my way. I will fight. I will not stand back and allow any lowly demon to take you away from me.”

That was it?

Now she saw what she hadn’t before.

“Oh. wow.” She tried to lighten the atmosphere.

“So, the archangel has feelings for little old me…”

Her attempt to lighten his mood backfired.

He grew even more livid.

“IF YOU ARE THAT BLIND, THEN I MIGHT AS WELL ALLOW WHATEVER FATE HAS IN STORE FOR YOU, TO HAPPEN.”

He thundered at her.

His anger shook the walls again.

Before she could say or do anything, he vanished.

“Shit.”

Now she was the one who was pissed off.

And hurt.