Was it possible that Luke—no, Lucifer—was telling him the truth? If he was, then that meant that, in another lifetime, he’d been with Naomi and they’d wanted to be married. That would explain why he was so attracted to her from the beginning—why being with her felt like coming home. He wanted to believe it—but if he believed that, then he would have to believe the other part too, and it pained him even to consider it. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Raphael and Jeremy would purposely keep him from someone he loved.
“We’re not going to make it, are we?” Naomi asked softly as she continued to look out the window.
“Don’t think like that. We’re almost there.” He shook away his doubts. “Jeremy and Raphael will help us.”
“Raphael’s here?”
“He was with Jeremy when you came out. You didn’t see him because he was in his angel form. If anyone can help us, it’s him.” A thought of the Raphael in his vision went through his mind, but he shook it away. No, Raphael had always been there for him. He’d come through with this, too.
Naomi nodded, peering out into the distance ahead of them. “That looks familiar.”
There in the horizon stood a towering rock formation.
“Where’s the GPS?” she asked.
“In the glove compartment.”
Naomi pressed a few buttons on the device. “That’s strange.”
“What?”
“The location of the coordinates you entered says ‘Shiprock.’ I was expecting to see an address for a house, not a landmark.”
Naomi jumped at Bear’s sudden barking, and she dropped the GPS to the floor. “What’s wrong, girl?” She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to check on Bear. “Holy crap! There’s one hell of a storm behind us.”
Lash glanced in the rearview mirror, and his eyes widened at the huge mass of dark clouds rolling in their direction. Streaks of light flashed in the sky followed by a crash of thunder. Hidden within the rumbles, he heard it—the sound of wings flapping.
He slammed his foot on the gas pedal.
“Calm down, Bear.” Naomi patted the dog’s smooth head. “It’s only a thunderstorm. We’ve got other things to worry about.” She turned forward in her seat.
He tried to keep his cool as he kept glancing in the rearview mirror waiting for Lucifer’s army to emerge from the clouds. It was only a matter of time before they were on them. Raphael, I need you, he silently prayed.
A loud clap of thunder coming from their right made him and Naomi jump in their seats. “That sounded so close. Whoa, look at that. It’s a huge dust devil.”
Don’t let it be what I think it is. He took a deep breath and looked in the direction she was pointing. Through the swirl of the rising dust, he saw Deborah wrestling with one of the fallen.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Deborah, who had died only a few days ago, was now an angel with the wings of a powerful warrior. Her face radiated a fierce beauty that left him breathless, and for a moment, he thought of Nathan, wondering if he’d ever get to see his wife again. Suddenly, he realized why she’d been taken and why Jeremy had had to do what he did, even if it meant separating her from her beloved Nathan.
Deborah’s wings flapped furiously as she struggled to hold the titian-haired fallen angel away from the car. When she pushed her away, the angel screamed with frustration, her black wings flapping wildly. They continued to circle each other, their wings causing the dust to swirl. The angel lunged again toward the car, and Deborah grabbed her by the waist. They whirled around, making the dust devil larger.
“Look out!” Naomi screamed.
Sal stood in the middle of the road. As they were about to crash into him, he lifted his arm and flicked his wrist. Naomi screamed as the car flipped.
Shattering glass and the crunch of metal muted her screams as the car rolled over and over. Her body slammed against the roof. Lash tried to get a hold of her. Just as his fingers touched her arm, she was thrown out of the car.
Before the car stopped, he tore through the crushed door. “Naomi! Naomi!”
In the distance, he saw her motionless body, and his heart stopped. No!
When he reached her, he stifled a cry at her blood-streaked body. His hands trembled as they hovered over her battered body, struggling with whether his touch would hurt her even more. Delicately, he lifted her into his arms, and he heard a faint heartbeat. He let out a breath of relief. “Stay with me, Naomi. Do you hear me? Hang on.”
A cold wind blew hard, and the sky grew dark with dust and clouds. Then he heard barking as Bear scampered out from behind the mass of metal. She ran toward them. It was a miracle she was still alive.
“Lash, take her away! They’re near!” Deborah cried as she struggled to hold back the titian-haired angel.
He could just make out the shapes of the fallen angels within the clouds. Lucifer had brought his entire army.
He looked toward Shiprock, Naomi’s salvation. It was far for him, but he could fly it. He had to.
He pushed out his wings and pressed her close to him as he stood. “We’ll make it, Naomi.”
He took off into the air and flew as fast as he could. His eyes scanned the ground below and the sky, and there was no sign of Sal. That was when he saw a little brown furry animal chasing after them.
“No, Bear. Go back.”