Page 12 of Fallen Angel

She continued in a confident tone, “Be gone this barricade.” A low rumble vibrated from the rocks. “Be one with the sand.”

The smooth stone wall that filled the jagged arch cracked and disintegrated into a pile of fine sand. Darkness awaited on the other side.

Hannah gasped as a surge of electricity coursed through her veins.

Go, said the voice, smooth and reassuring. It was as if it knew what to do with the extra adrenaline pulsing beneath her skin. Since the night of her parents’ death, she had never felt more in control of the anxiety that invaded her body.

She picked up the book and cautiously walked into the dark cave, crouching beneath the entryway. She took out her cell phone to turn on its flashlight. The cave was stark and cold—water dripped down the sides of the narrow tunnel. She walked a few yards and it opened into a grotto, no larger than her dorm room. She stood up straight.

H-e-r-e…

She kneeled and placed the book against the hard ground. Without touching it, the pages swept to a page entitled,Incantation of Awakening.The same breeze she felt in the Occult and Mysticism room brushed against her skin and twirled through her chestnut hair. Despite all that happened, she felt calm and in control.

R-e-a-d…Hannah inhaled, and once again, followed the voice’s command.

“Awaken what has been lost, what has been deep in slumber.

Come forth from thy dreams, none need to encumber.

Reconnect to the earth and open thy soul.

Awaken thy power, and once more be whole.”

As soon as the last word left her lips, the stone wall fractured. Her chest tightened. The cracks in the wall webbed out in all directions. It was as though the stone was desperately trying to expand.

Unsure of how detrimental the blast of the cave wall would be, she scooped up the book and decided to sprint out of the cave, back to the safety of the beach. Not only did she not want to be lacerated by shards of cave rock, but she also felt an innate sense of duty to protect the book. Before she could reach the entrance, the wall ruptured and spikes of rock burst within the cave. The blast pushed her hard against the ground and knocked the wind from her chest. Her ears rang. She couldn’t even hear herself gasp.

A haze of dust clouded her vision. She turned onto her back and brushed debris off her jeans.

The ringing in her ears faded away, and she heard hard footsteps stumbling through the rubble. The haze cleared. A young man walked toward her.

Hannah hugged the book tight to her chest and scrambled to pick herself up. She thought to run, but her wobbly legs refused. She gripped the book’s leather bind with sweaty palms. The euphoria dissipated.

“Raven?” he asked, his voice deep and wispy.

She stared at him, frozen.

The young man appeared before her dressed in dirty, beige suspenders that strapped over a billowing white shirt. His green eyes were so bright against his warm brown skin that she actually felt her heart lunge in her chest.

Tears filled his eyes as he ran toward her. In one smooth motion, he placed his hand behind her head and brought his lips to hers.

Though Hannah felt paralyzed, her body was thrown into overdrive—hundreds of emotions barreled through her. Shock and fear molded into an overwhelming passion, longing, fulfillment. She was on fire, as if sparks of white energy floated above her skin and rippled in every direction.

As time started to move again, she was thrust back to reality. A boy, a stranger, was kissing her.

Hannah pushed him off of her. “What are you doing? Stay back. Don’t come any closer,” she shouted.

The boy, who didn’t look that much older than her, looked deep into her blue eyes. The intensity of his gaze struck her, and Hannah felt tears build in her eyes. His scent of cedar and smoke lingered, and her chest heaved as she inhaled his distinct scent. Its familiarity was painful, and she had no idea why.

“How is this possible?” he asked.

Hannah’s mind flooded with questions. Who was this person? Why was he so familiar to her?She knew with certainty that the effects of the book had worn off. Her skin crawled with apprehension. She took another step back.

The boy looked Hannah over, then fixated on the book she still held tightly to her chest. His expression switched from wonderment to horror. His brows furrowed and rage filled his eyes; he took a step back.

“What have you done?”

Chapter Four

---