Chapter 8

 

Truth looked back over her shoulder at Drake as he left the sanctuary. She gazed down at the footprints in the sand and a smile crept over her lips. Flicking her eyes up, Drake was now almost to the town, running. “It seems he really does care about her.”

“Indeed.”

Truth turned around to face the lake. Hope hovered above the surface, her face stern and unreadable. Truth's smile did not falter. “Hello, Sister.”

Hope curtly nodded. “Truth.”

Truth walked over o the edge of the lake and peered down into the water, acting as calm as possible, but inside her heart was racing. What is she doing here? Angels aren't supposed to talk to the fallen. “There are rules, Hope, and you are breaking them. Why are you here?”

“I have news.”

“And Father could not tell me Himself?” Ever since her fall, relations with Hope had been tense, and right now she was certainly not in the mood to deal with her. Her heart was crumbling inside her chest and now Hope was taking those pieces and shattering them even more. Truth's eyes narrowed into a glare.

“He is hurt and disappointed. Did you truly expect Him to talk to you? You betrayed our Father, Truth. You cannot continue to act like nothing happened.”

“Why have you come here?” spat Truth. “I'm not in the mood to hear your lectures.”

“Do not be so ungrateful "“

Truth spun around to face her sister. “Who are you to tell me how I should act?” she yelled. “I'm not ungrateful, I am rejoicing. I am free from our Father, from His rules. I can now follow my own path. I don't need you. I don't need anyone.”

Hope's gaze at Truth hardened. “That is good to hear. Because you have no one, and in God's eyes you are nothing.”

“All I need is Drake,” the fallen angel whispered.

Hope laughed. “You don't even have him.” With that she pumped her feathery wings and ascended into the sky. The trees nearby quivered with the force of her departure.

Truth glared up to the clouds, the blood rising to her face. The urge to prove her sister wrong filled her with new rage and indignation. The passion for the lost love set fire to her heart. He would be hers once again.

***

Drake knocked on the door to the doctor's house. Within moments a young man opened the door. He was about the age of Drake, perhaps a little younger, but equal in height. His brown hair brought out his green eyes like the bark of a tree does the leaves in spring. He smiled. “How can I help you?” His voice was young, yet sophisticated.

“I'm here to see Leanne.”

The young man opened the door wider. “Come on in.” Drake stepped into the house and followed him. “She's still unconscious, but she'll live. My father was lucky to find the right antidote in time.”

“Antidote?”

He glanced back at Drake. “Yes, she was poisoned.”

Drake gulped. Who would poison Leanne? But he already knew the answer. His muscles tightened at the thought. Truth.

The man extended his arm as they approached one of the rooms. “Here she is.” He pulled back the curtain in the doorway to reveal Leanne.

Drake hurried over to the bed where she peacefully laid. He knelt down next to her, tenderly taking her hand into his. Her skin was still as cold as ice and her face pale, but she looked better. Drake released a sigh of relief. There was a noise at the door and he turned to the doctor who was leaning against the door frame, smiling. Drake cast a bewildered look at him.

“Don't look so concerned, Drake. She can only get better from here.”

Drake rolled his eyes. The doctor has always made things out to be better than they really were. But he had to with Drake. Cassie had been in this same room too many times to count. Worry was part of Drake's daily emotions. “Who could have done this to Leanne?” he asked despairingly. He looked down at Leanne, as if searching her for some sign that Truth had tried to kill her.

“Someone with a lot of money.”

Drake's foul thoughts of Truth stopped abruptly. The doctor appeared at the opposite side of the bed. Drake started at him. “What?”

“The poison that Leanne drank is called nightshade; Quite rare and very expensive. Whoever poisoned her must have had a long time to plan. It is only imported from India and has to be special ordered. You know how seldom the Indian merchants come through Eldor.”

Drake knew very well. Their last visit was over a month ago. But that did not matter. An angel just as easily could have used magic and made it herself. “I see,” he muttered between clenched teeth.

There was a cough from the other side of the curtain, which was pulled aside. The young man strode in. “Ah, Seth,” the doctor said. “Allow me to introduce Drake to you. Drake, this is my son, Seth. He recently came back from a trip to France where he studied medicine for a few years, so I don't think you've met before.”

They nodded at each other.

“Soon he'll be taking over for me, but for now he's just learning. He's a smart one,” he added with a wink.

Seth managed a weak smile at his father's last remark. “Do you need anything, Father?”

The doctor casually waved his hand. “No, you may go.” When Seth was gone, he turned his attention back to Drake. “You may stay if you like, but she probably won't wake for another few hours. Go home, Drake and get some sleep. You look exhausted. Leanne is in safe hands.”

Drake nodded and stood up. “Is the water safe to drink?”

“Yes, I should think so. With such an expensive poison, I doubt he or she would have wasted it in the well. But do tell Leanne's parents to be careful of their own drinks in case it was slipped into a bottle. I'll send Seth over when she wakes.”

Drake returned to the lake, secretly hoping to see Truth there, but his sanctuary was empty. He didn't want to return home just yet. Perhaps he was being selfish, but there was so much on his mind, he desperately needed a distraction, time away from the evils and tribulations of the world. Truth was once one of these escape. Yes, things were different now, but there were still time when he wished she could take his worries away like she had once been able to do. Trying to shrug off disappointment, he stripped and dove into the warm water. He swam across the lake to the opposite bank and laid down in the tall grass that bordered that side. Here, with the sound of the water lapping against the shore, the light whistle of the swaying branches and leaves, and the occasional call of a bird, Drake found sleep. He did not wake until the sun began to set and the clouds were splashed with a firey hue.

When Drake arrived at the small wood building that he called home, Cassie greeted him with a run-and-jump-hug and a face full of worry. “Who would want to kill Leanne?” she asked, her voice muffled against Drake's stomach. She looked up at him with large glossy eyes.

“I don't know, but it doesn't matter,” he consoled. Drake lovingly pat her head. “Everything is going to be all right.”

“Promise?”

Drake looked up at his father, who stood over at the table, carving knife in hand and fatigue plastered on his face, staring at his children, waiting for an answer. Drake couldn't look at her as he lied. “I promise.” God, I hope.

“Good,” she chirped, hugging her brother even tighter.

“Where is Truth?” It had been several hours since he had last seen her, and she obviously wasn't home. I just want to make sure she isn't doing something stupid.

Drake's father pulled back one of the chairs and sat down with a grunt. He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking some sawdust free. “A royal messenger cam down earlier and asked for Truth. She should be at the castle.”

Too late. “I see.” It was then and there that Drake decided. It was a question that his father had plagued him with ever since he had turned seventeen, and that was three years ago. Now, with his twentieth birthday swiftly approaching, Drake was finally able to answer him. But first, he needed to get a ring and the courage to ask her.