Remnant Halos by Callie Stone

Author:Callie Stone [Stone, Callie]
Language: eng
Format: epub

This time silence hung heavily between us.

Our hope had almost run dry. Hunted by man and shunned by our own kind, we felt alone. Gatriel quietly cried when we left. Now, her head rested against my chest as I carried her effortlessly across the earth. Soon we saw the cave as the cool night air took a frigid turn. A sudden north wind came down, and I felt her shivering in my arms. I hurried my steps as we neared the cavern.

“This is my fault,” she said.

“Never,” I replied.

“If I had stayed in heaven—” she said.

“I would have died,” I said. “You saved my life.”

“At what cost?” she asked. “Only to delay your death or create my own?”

“Enough,” I spat. “We are not defeated. We know now what we need to do and where we need to go. And when tomorrow night falls, we will continue our journey.”

“You have done enough for me,” she said.

“I can never do enough for you, my love,” I replied.

“Agape,” Gatriel whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Agape,” I repeated as we entered the cave. I laid her down and turned to gather firewood, but five of my kind stood before me. “Where did you come from?”

“They are vampire shifters,” Gatriel replied.

I’d heard of those who could manipulate their form into that of a bat. I had just never met one until now. They all wore black, and four cradled a pile of logs while the fifth provided us with sustenance. The wood was put in a single pile. A female vampire held her hand over the mound of wood and whispered what sounded like Latin before a flicker turned into a flame, and the flame became a fire. Then she stood and looked at me.

“Diana wanted me to tell you not to lose hope and that your future is brighter than you can ever imagine.”

“Thank you,” I said, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

I looked at Gatriel, who was wrapped beneath her wings. I crawled over to her and hugged her close, pulling her closer to the slowly rising flames.

“Th-th-thank y-y-y-you,” she said through chattering teeth.

I warmed her food by the fire, and she ate in silence.

“If it were not for me, you could have stayed there, been happy there.”

“Gatriel, this is not your fault. Besides, how could I be happy anywhere if you are not there at my side?” I replied, but she said nothing. When she was done eating, her head rested against my chest once more, and her hot tears rained down upon my chest until she was asleep.

I watched her, stroking her hair and taking into account that it was losing its luster as well. I leaned back against a wall of rock. No, if anyone were to blame, it was me. I should have known better than to fall for such a beautiful, almost-perfect creature. She nestled her head against my chest and sighed.

I stared at her, wondering what she was dreaming of. I was honored she had dreamed of me, for I was a far cry from what I imagined angels would dream of.

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