Page 108 of The Dark Obsession

Rafael breathes a shaky breath. “She had a small fracture on her spine. I managed to heal that and the gunshot wound. The superficial bruising from the day, though, will have to stay. I’m drained.”

“You did well, Raf.”

Rafael scoffs darkly, “I killed him, Adriel. Angels don’t kill.”

“We do what we must to protect the innocent. Anyway, we’re not angels anymore. You heard Dale; we’ve fallen.” Adriel mutters.

“How can we fall when we were born down here?”

“You can add that to the list of questions I don’t know the answer to. All I know is Dad wants us dead …”

I listen warily, trying to keep my breathing as even as possible.

“We’ll figure it out, Adriel. Don’t worry,” Rafael says with a comforting tone.

“Rosa,” Benjamin says, his voice wary and slow.

My eyes snap open to see Adriel racing to Ben’s side. I hear a small scuffle as Benjamin pushes Adriel away wearily.

“Come,” Rafael murmurs and lifts me to my feet.

My legs feel heavy as I take my first step. A tingling sensation shoots up the back of my leg. I move as fast as my tired body allows me. With Rafael’s aid, I reach Benjamin.

Benjamin is still fighting off Adriel, his hands flicking him away every time he tries to touch. My brother pushes himself up the back wall, and Adriel reaches for him again. This time, his eyes roll, and he exhales an exasperated sigh.

“What’s going on, you lunatic?” Adriel says.

Benjamin raises his eyebrows at him. “I touched you, and you … you sent me flying.”

Rafael looks incredulous. “Dale hit you, Ben. You hit your head off the floor.”

I realise what they are trying to do, and they are doing it well. I drop to my knees, colouring my face with concern. “Ben, are you okay? I think you’ve really hit your head hard.”

Adriel tries again, proffering a non-glowing, very plain hand to Benjamin.

This time, he takes it, and Adriel pulls him up slowly. Ben stares at Dale’s body, his mouth wide open. “You … You …”

Rafael sighs sadly. “We didn’t. He stabbed himself during a fight when he went to attack Rose.”

I ball my fists, trying to suppress my feelings—a pang of guilt and a huge wave of heartbreak. “He wasn’t himself,” I let myself speak. “He must have had a breakdown.”

“Don’t defend him,” Benjamin says through clenched teeth.

“Death is a weird thing. It can make us rethink even the evilest of people,” Adriel says, his voice monotonous.

“Come, Rose. Let’s go up to get some phone connection. We must call the police.” Rafael tugs on my arm.

“We’ll wait down here,” Adriel calls out as we ascend the stone staircase.

The stairs seem to take a lot less time to climb. The light that shines through the cracks of the closed door gives me little hope for freedom.What next?An angel.I can barely think the word without wanting to laugh. “God wants me dead,” I mutter as soon as we’re clear of the barn.

Rafael chortles. “Apparently, my father wants us all dead.”

I try to process the information but give up. “What exactly are you?”

Rafael stops and regards me through his eyelashes. “An angel.”

“An angel on Earth?”

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