Bella’s house butted up against the forest, so they walked through her small backyard and out the gate. The air within the high pine trees had yet to warm, and she wished she’d brought a heavier coat.
She followed Jayden and he walked quickly and with a sure step, while she stumbled over limbs and bushes trying to keep up. If she could concentrate, she supposed the walk would have been much smoother. Her mind still remained confused, as if it rejected everything she’d seen—and what Jayden had told her—as reality.
Glancing up at his strong back, she wondered what terrible influence she’d been on him. If he told the truth—which she found hard to believe, but it still rang genuine to her—she must have changed significantly from that lifetime to this one. Her present day existence was quiet and lonely, but that seemed to be of her own making. She just found very few people excited her, especially when it came to men. Yes, she’d been on a few dates, but she longed for more. No one could offer her enough. However, she couldn’t pinpoint what ‘more’ entailed.
She supposed it came down to excitement, and the fact that she didn’t know how to create it in her own life.
How pathetic.
They reached a small clearing, the sun in the perfect position to beat down on them through the tall pines. She stood in its bright light, taking in all the warmth it had to offer.
Jayden turned her way and presented the sword to her, holding the hilt in one hand while laying the blade in the other. “This is a holy sword, directly from Heaven, given to me with the Creator’s blessing. You must kill Ulric with either this, or the holy knife.”
She stared at it. The steel blade glinted in the sunlight while the handle mesmerized her as it looked as if it had been encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. She took it from him and gripped the handle.
”You want to hold it at the hilt.”
She wrapped both hands around the jewels. “Like this?”
He shook his head. “No. Move your left hand down a bit.”
Her head began to swim, and she stared down at the ground trying to remain standing, despite her sudden dizziness.
Suddenly, instead of standing in a forest of tall, majestic trees in the fall, a large field of grass and wildflowers appeared before her. She gaped at the yellows, purples, and pinks, their beauty taking her breath away.
Inhaling deeply, she could smell their clean fragrance and feel the warmth of the fresh, spring air against her skin.
A tremor of fear crawled up her spine, but then, a wave of comfort smothered it, almost as if she stood right where she belonged.
She decided not to mention it to Jayden in case she truly had lost her mind. There was no sense in letting him know all her marbles weren't in order.
Glancing back down at her hands, she knew she didn’t hold the weapon correctly and sighed, her next words tumbling from her lips without thought, almost as if they belonged in the moment. “Jayden, I give you permission to touch me. I see we will never get anywhere if you do not.”
She furrowed her brow at the formal dialect she spoke, and it felt like she had said the words before.
Jayden gasped, but a moment later, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms to her front, his rough hands grasping hers. Her heart pounded in her chest at his closeness, and she could feel the heat from his body.
“Like that,” he whispered, moving her hands to the correct grip. Her throat felt dry as he held on just a little too long. “Then, to lift, use the strength in your arms, not your wrists. Your hands must be strong, but your power is not going to come from them. It will come from the rest of your body.”
She nodded as he placed his hands on her biceps, and she knew what he would say next.
“Now lift it.”
As she heaved the sword into the air, an intense feeling of freedom overcame her, as well as knowledge that she could not only wield the blade, but she could slay a demon.
He sidled next to her, his hands held out in front of him as if he grasped a weapon. She followed his moves. They felt erratic at first, but then she copied him with ease, as if she’d been doing it a long time. A lifetime.
“You’re a natural, Bella.”
His voice hit her ears, as if it had become an echo. She wiped sweat from her brow and turned to him. “I can do this.”
He smiled. “I know.”
Suddenly, the grass and the flowers disappeared, and the tall trees of the forest surrounded her again. Her heart thrummed in her chest at the changes she’d experienced, and goose bumps traveled over her flesh from the chill in the air as her head swam.
Just as she was about to mention the transformation to Jayden, she heard movement from the underbrush. Without even thinking about it, she turned, brought up the sword, and took her fighting stance. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Jayden had drawn his holy knife and held it out in front of him, ready to attack.
A black wolf appeared and growled at them.
Surprised and afraid, Bella took a step back and brought the sword to her side, while Jayden put his body in front of hers. The wolf stared at them, its eyes glowing yellow, its long, white teeth bared. Then, she realized this may be the same wolf she’d seen yesterday, the one that had told her to get back into her store. She laid a hand on Jayden’s shoulder and moved beside him.
“I think I know her.”
The wolf growled again viciously as it eyed the sword at her side.
Bella took a deep breath. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
It snapped at the air, and Bella wondered if she had been thinking of the wrong wolf. The one outside the bakery had saved her by telling her to go into her shop. This one seemed to be ready to rip out her throat.
She tried again. “At the bakery, you told me to get inside before you … I guess the right word is ‘changed.’ You were a woman, and then you became a wolf. You fought with a grey wolf. Remember? You saved me. You didn’t want to hurt me then. Why do you want to hurt me now?”
A flash of recognition gleamed in its eyes.
Bella heard Jayden softly curse as she took a step toward the animal. “I never got the chance to thank you.”
The wolf came closer, and she held her breath, waiting to see what the animal would do, afraid that it would pounce on her and shred her limb from limb.
Instead, its fur began to shimmer yellow, the same color as its eyes, then in a brief flash of light, a naked woman crouched before them.
She stood, her black hair a snarled mess around her torso, her body thin, yet muscular. Her mahogany gaze showed intelligence and she showed no embarrassment about her nudity.
“You’re welcome, human.”
Bella stared at the woman, her heart pounding in her chest, but she didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement. Today, she’d felt more alive than she ever had.
“M-My name’s Bella.”
The woman smiled, baring her canine teeth. “And I am called Celestria.”
She turned to Jayden, tilting her head back and sniffing the air. “You aren’t human. I can smell it. You’re from another plane.”
He nodded. “Yes. Heaven.”
She grinned again, as if it was something she heard every day. “I’ve come across other Heavenly ones like you. I’ve also seen a few demons from Hell. The Heavenly ones are waging a vicious war against Evil.”
Jayden nodded. “My kind are very strong and willing to do almost anything to eradicate the evil.”
Celestria gaze narrowed as she studied him. After a moment, she asked, “Were you here the last time this happened?”
“Yes, but not in the same capacity as I’m here now.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “It was terrible. So much death and destruction.”
“But you didn’t return to your side,” Bella said.
“No, my pack didn’t. We were running for our lives when the rift closed—a band of humans hunted us. When we realized we would never get back to our universe, we adopted this area as our own. This time, we fight for our own survival during this occurrence, as well as the humans.”
Saint’s Grove had always been steeped in legends, and Bella once again recalled one of them being that a pack of werewolves lived in the wood surrounding it. In the 1970’s, a hunter claimed to have shot a werewolf in the forest, but all they had found was the remains of a naked man.
It was also said that if you look up at the mountain during a full moon where a mining accident had taken place in 1905, the ghosts of the minors could be seen walking around in front of the mine. However, she’d never noticed them.
The towns’ founder, Peter Saint, had a very religious wife, Beatrice, who claimed she had been visited by an angel dressed in white with large, white wings. The angel had told her fantastic stories of battles of Good versus Evil that had taken place in the area many, many centuries ago. Beatrice wrote down her meetings with the angel in her diary, but it had also been noted that she smoked peyote in order to open her mind to talk to God.
Bella had never given much thought to any of the legends as she tended to be very pragmatic. If she didn’t see it with her own eyes, she had a hard time believing it had happened. Legends equaled fiction to her, and stories as fantastic as some of the ones floating around Saint’s Grove were either untrue, or had been blown so far out of proportion, they didn’t even resemble the original tale. But now, she began to wonder about the validity of all of them. She was standing in a forest talking to a werewolf with an angel by her side.
She turned her attention back to the conversation as Celestria spoke.
“Why are you here now, Heavenly One? What is your purpose?”
He glanced over at Bella, as if uncertain whether he should answer or not, the muscles in his arms rolling beneath his skin as he held on tightly to the knife. “My job is to protect Bella from a demon.”
Celestria raised her brows, her dark gaze piercing as she looked her over from head to toe. “I’m sorry for you, Bella. Demons are horrible creatures.”
She smiled, hoping her fear didn’t show. Noticing that Jayden hadn’t offered up much of the story, she decided to do the same and keep the conversation to a minimum. “Thank you.”
Celestria glanced at their weapons. “What will you do with the sword and the knife?”
Once again, Jayden hesitated before answering. “I’m teaching Bella how to fight off and kill the demon.”
Celestria nodded. “Right now, you’re in our territory, and that is why I came to you—to warn you off. However, since you are on the side of Good and here to fight Evil, we will allow you to use our lands to hone your skills. We will also keep guard so that you aren’t disturbed by a demon or any other entity.”
“Thank you.” Jayden bowed his head, seeming to relax a bit. “I wish you well in these strange and dangerous times. Your fierceness will certainly protect you if you, and your pack, have managed to survive for this long.”
“Thank you, Heavenly One. Be careful, Bella.”
She stared as Celestria turned and walked back into the trees, and a wave of relief washed through her. She couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off her face. Just yesterday, she’d been so bored with her life. Then, she’d become so terrified, she could barely move. Now, she felt empowered and excited. She had a pack of damn werewolves watching her back!
“What goes through your pretty head?”
She hadn’t realized Jayden had been looking at her.
“Well, I was just thinking that this has been the most exciting, yet scary, time in my life. Yesterday, I was going through the motions, then I was paralyzed with fear, and now … I don’t know. It’s as if everything in my life has come together in this perfect storm and I feel … I feel alive.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder, his dark eyes smoldering, a small smile playing on his lips. “We still have much practice to do with the sword, and then we shall move into the handling of knives.”
She nodded, feeling ready for anything. “Let’s do it.”