Read Online SOUL MATES (Angels and Demons Book 3) by Brenda L. Harper - Free Book Online
Authors: Brenda L. Harper
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friends from outward appearances, but Dylan could see the little looks they shared from time to time and the way Rachel’s pinky caught Raphael’s whenever their hands brushed. She was happy for Rachel, really. She just worried that she didn’t fully understand what it was like to love someone who was so different from herself. Wyatt had learned that lesson over and over again. It wasn’t something Dylan wished on anyone, especially someone as gentle as Rachel was.
The others were there, too. Wilhelm and Donna were dancing, holding each other a little too close as he made her giggle about something Dylan couldn’t even begin to guess. Demetria was standing with a bunch of older women, sharing recipes and discussing children like middle-aged women tended to do. And there were the angels of Raphael’s legion, some dancing with each other or the humans, and some were hanging around the perimeter, watching for trouble. If she didn’t know who they were, she wouldn’t have noticed the steel in their steady gazes. But she did and it was an unnecessary reminder that they were at war and trouble could come at any moment.
She was, however, grateful that, for the most part, they were all relaxing and having something of a good time. They deserved it. It had been a difficult year, or so. She wished that she could join them, but there was too much water under the bridge for that. Watching the dancers reminded her of Wyatt. Watching the young mothers who still had their babies in their arms, and those who were constantly glancing back at the dwellings, worrying about babies left at home with older siblings, reminded her of Josephine and her new baby.
She should be there. She should be helping Josephine with the baby, giving her advice and support. But she was here, fighting a battle she wished was not hers alone. Alone. That seemed to be the theme of her life these days. She was alone in the leadership of this legion of angels and gargoyles and humans, alone in the search for a way to stop the demons, and alone in her struggle to accept her role as the guardian of humanity.
Dylan knew she could choose her soul mate now and she would no longer be truly alone. But she also knew that once she made that choice, her freewill became more of a footnote than the primary thing that set her apart from all the other angels. Even though she knew that made no difference in the bigger picture, it was something she stubbornly held on to just the same. Maybe it was the human part of her—that teeny, tiny piece of humanity that struggled to be heard within her angel DNA. Whatever it was, she was reluctant to let it go.
She turned and headed back to Rachel’s. She was nearly there when she felt a dark presence materialize behind her. It was a split second, and then she felt the cold tendrils of a dark soul touch her brighter one. Anger immediately washed through her, anger so intense that her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands as she balled them into fists.
“You can’t,” she said as she fought the demon’s attempt to possess her body. “You can’t do this to me.”
“I can do what I wish, when I wish,” a voice said in her head. “That’s one of the perks of being like this.”
Dylan fought the soul for a moment, but the more she fought it, the more ingrained it became in her soul. So she stopped, stood very still, and closed her eyes. When she did, she could feel the thoughts and memories of this demon.
She saw a beautiful little girl dancing in a meadow with her equally beautiful mother. She saw laughter on their lips and words of love twirling in the air around them as the mother sang some song Dylan didn’t know. And she heard a man’s laughter.
She knew who this was, knew who the woman and child were.
“Rebecca.”
You don’t say her name! The demon screamed as his soul loosened from Dylan’s for just an instant.
“You’re Jack James. You’re Rebecca’s father.”
Shut up!
“You fought for the end
The others were there, too. Wilhelm and Donna were dancing, holding each other a little too close as he made her giggle about something Dylan couldn’t even begin to guess. Demetria was standing with a bunch of older women, sharing recipes and discussing children like middle-aged women tended to do. And there were the angels of Raphael’s legion, some dancing with each other or the humans, and some were hanging around the perimeter, watching for trouble. If she didn’t know who they were, she wouldn’t have noticed the steel in their steady gazes. But she did and it was an unnecessary reminder that they were at war and trouble could come at any moment.
She was, however, grateful that, for the most part, they were all relaxing and having something of a good time. They deserved it. It had been a difficult year, or so. She wished that she could join them, but there was too much water under the bridge for that. Watching the dancers reminded her of Wyatt. Watching the young mothers who still had their babies in their arms, and those who were constantly glancing back at the dwellings, worrying about babies left at home with older siblings, reminded her of Josephine and her new baby.
She should be there. She should be helping Josephine with the baby, giving her advice and support. But she was here, fighting a battle she wished was not hers alone. Alone. That seemed to be the theme of her life these days. She was alone in the leadership of this legion of angels and gargoyles and humans, alone in the search for a way to stop the demons, and alone in her struggle to accept her role as the guardian of humanity.
Dylan knew she could choose her soul mate now and she would no longer be truly alone. But she also knew that once she made that choice, her freewill became more of a footnote than the primary thing that set her apart from all the other angels. Even though she knew that made no difference in the bigger picture, it was something she stubbornly held on to just the same. Maybe it was the human part of her—that teeny, tiny piece of humanity that struggled to be heard within her angel DNA. Whatever it was, she was reluctant to let it go.
She turned and headed back to Rachel’s. She was nearly there when she felt a dark presence materialize behind her. It was a split second, and then she felt the cold tendrils of a dark soul touch her brighter one. Anger immediately washed through her, anger so intense that her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands as she balled them into fists.
“You can’t,” she said as she fought the demon’s attempt to possess her body. “You can’t do this to me.”
“I can do what I wish, when I wish,” a voice said in her head. “That’s one of the perks of being like this.”
Dylan fought the soul for a moment, but the more she fought it, the more ingrained it became in her soul. So she stopped, stood very still, and closed her eyes. When she did, she could feel the thoughts and memories of this demon.
She saw a beautiful little girl dancing in a meadow with her equally beautiful mother. She saw laughter on their lips and words of love twirling in the air around them as the mother sang some song Dylan didn’t know. And she heard a man’s laughter.
She knew who this was, knew who the woman and child were.
“Rebecca.”
You don’t say her name! The demon screamed as his soul loosened from Dylan’s for just an instant.
“You’re Jack James. You’re Rebecca’s father.”
Shut up!
“You fought for the end
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