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Lumiel doesn’t question her orders and leaps in front of Zaph in one bound. Zaph raises a hand, knocking Lumiel to the ground, feet in front of him. The small angel is nothing compared to the size and strength of Zaph.
“Well, that was disappointing,” Lilith laughs. “I really thought she’d put up a better fight.”
Zaph moves closer. “You’re running out of time,” he warns.
“That’s cute,” she answers, wrapping her hand around my neck. “Humans are so weak. What’s so special about this one?”
“Let her go, and we’ll talk.”
Lilith turns toward me, grasping my neck hard, completely closing my throat. I can’t breathe. Blackness slowly fills in my vision, cutting me off from the world around me. I struggle against the immovable force until everything fades to nothing.
“No!” is the last word I hear as the sensation of weightlessness surrounds me, and the pain fades away.
EIGHT
past, present, and future
I’m surrounded by nothing and everything at the same time. Am I dead? Am I alive? My body feels like I’m dead, but my brain is aware of everything around me, or is this what death feels like?
“Lucy?” a voice calls from nowhere.
Someone’s talking to me? I’m Lucy.
“Wake up, my love,” the voice calls again. “We’re safe.”
Zaph? Am I alive? A warm hand caresses my cheek, and something passes between us. “Open your eyes,” the voice asks.
On command, my eyes crack open, allowing a small amount of light in. In front of me is the dark-haired angel from my dreams. “Zaph,” I whisper.
Something warm and wet swipes across my cheek. “Bob says to tell you he’s hungry.”
“Bob?” I turn, finding my overweight basset hound standing beside me. “Where am I?” My voice is no louder than a whisper.
“We’re back at your cottage.”
I squint, trying to make details out of the place I’ve called home for the past few years. “Home? What happened? Lilith?”
“She’s not going to be bothering us.”
“What happened?”
Bob crawls next to me, laying his head on my stomach. “It’s not important right now. Get some rest, and we’ll talk later.” His words are like magic to my soul. My eyes close as if they were waiting for permission.
I don’t know how much time has passed when I wake again. The weight of Bob’s head is gone, replaced by a warm blanket. This time, my eyes open with ease, and the room around me is in focus. My room looks just like I remembered. Is this real?
My mind flashes through the events of the past on constant repeat in my head. “Bob!” I call into the emptiness of the room. I hear him before I see him. Loud thuds on the steps, telling me he’s coming. He rounds the corner into my room, jumping with all of his energy onto the bed. For the first time in a few years, he lands beside me in one leap.
“Hey, bud!” I wrap my arms around him, pulling him close. His licks cover my face.
“He missed you,” Zaph says, following Bob into the room.
“I missed him, too.”
Zaph sits on the corner of the bed. “How are you feeling today?”
I do a mental check on myself. Other than sore muscles, especially around my neck, I feel good. “My neck is a little sore, but other than that, I’m good.” I sit up, sliding closer to the headboard. “What happened after?”
“I made a deal with Lilith.” He looks down with his words.
