He Fell From The Sky

by HorseyNiamhy

Ruby hates living in rural Ireland almost as much as she's sure her patents hate her.After running away, she meets impossibly tall, Finn. But her attraction to Finn is something that was promised in a prophecy that tells of a revolution, and a death.

Preface-

Have you ever been to someone's house and you can tell that they want you to leave? You can tell they don't want you there, and sometimes you don't want to be there, you want to go home. I used to go to grandmas every summer. The old hag hated me. She wanted me gone and I wanted to be gone, wanted to go home. But you'd never expect to feel unwanted in your own home. I'd grown up happy; I'd had a childhood like one of the princesses in the books I used to read. A family that loved me, a pink bedroom, a cute dog. But I didn't remember any princesses with parents that seemed to be arguing all the time. It wasn't long after my sixteenth birthday, not long after we had moved to a rundown village on the west coast of Ireland, that I realized I wasn't welcome anymore. My mum and dad were always rowing over something, and I just seemed to get in the way. When I walked into the room, it was like I was a leper that nobody even wanted to share the same air as. So I left, I did what they wanted me to. In the middle of the night, I ran away. I thought it was a good idea at first, but then I got scared. I was cold, tired and hungry when I spotted an impossibly tall boy, alone on an abandoned beach. A week after, I was in love with someone I barely knew. And this is the story of what happened in the most horrific, crazy but best year of my life.

Chapter 1-

I woke up to the cool spring air floating through the open window. I hated my parents for moving to a remote cottage in the middle of nowhere; almost as much as I'm sure my parents hated me. I was exaggerating when I said the middle of nowhere of course; Ireland isn't the middle of nowhere, and who needs civilisation when you're nearest neighbour is an old man who lets a donkey into his house to live with him and lives over a mile away. I shivered and got myself up looking out across the shore, noticing how the waves gently lapped against the golden sand. Put that way, where I live sounds nice, to me it's awful. I used to live in the London, and I loved it. Here, I get homeschooled by my mum so I don't even get to socialise. But the parentals decided the best thing was a change of scenery where we could relax and lose the tension of city life. Yeah...wasn't too thrilled about that. I've been here for just under a month, and nothing's gotten better. It's just gotten worse. I looked at the book on my desk; it was flicked open on a page where my name was scrawled in messy handwriting. I smiled and remembered the day Ross Bracknell had written it. It was his book, his sketchbook and he'd given it to me before we moved to Ireland. I noticed the little flick he did on the 'R' at the start of my name, Ruby. I guess I'd really liked Ross. Like my name, my hair is a fiery red, matches my temper. My eyes are an icy blue and I have legs that I could dangle from a skyscraper and they would still touch the floor. But so far, in the land of leprechauns, no boys have caught my eye. Wait, I tell a lie, I've seen a male donkey.

Downstairs is the usual awkward silence. Dad reads a paper, mum writes something in her notebook and I eat my breakfast. Not a word has been spoken yet. "Nice sleep?" My mum finally asked. I gave her a surprised look. "Yes thanks. You?"
She gave a small nod. More silence. I busy myself washing my dishes and walk slowly back upstairs, after five minutes, I hear shouting. "It was your idea to come here, and all we've done is argued. This isn't good for Ruby." My dad shouted. After that, I didn't hear anything because I plugged in my earphones and turned my IPod up so I couldn't hear anything. That's the way I like it.

It was midnight when I added the finishing touches to my plan. I'd packed a bag, got over €75 from my stash of birthday money and some food. I knew that if I walked into the town, I could get several buses into Dublin. Or I could get the bus into Westport, we had cousins who lived there, maybe I could stay there for a while. I decided to head for Westport so I sneaked downstairs and unlocked the door, being careful not to wake my parents. I pulled my jacket closer around me and stepped onto the quiet country lane. It would take me about half an hour to walk into the little nearby town but I didn't care. On the way, I convinced myself what I was doing was right. My parents would be happier without me. An owl hooted nearby and I felt a shiver. After I had chance to clear my head, I arrived in the town. It was reasonably quiet apart from the distant laughing coming from the bustling pubs. I made my way down the cobbled street and neared the bus station. I couldn't believe this was happening. I waited for ten minutes before a coach pulled up. I paid my fare and sat down in a warm seat, drifting into some well deserved sleep.

At about 5am, I stumbled along the streets of Westport. The busy town was already bustling with people but I didn't know where I was. If I asked for directions, I might get stopped and sent home so I decided take the right turn. I had no idea where I was going but I went anyways. The town soon disappeared behind me and I saw a beach at the end of the road. There were two houses nearby and other than that, the road was deserted. I had been walking for almost 45 minutes when I neared the beach. I began to walk down the sandy bank onto some pebbles and then onto the golden sand. The gentle waves kissed the shore and the sun shone in the sky. I saw an impossibly tall figure pacing up and down the beach, as I grew closer I noticed he must have been my age, maybe a year older . I decided I should ask him for directions. I walked over to him and he stopped and watched me. When I was a few feet away from him I spoke. "Hi, can you tell me how to get to Louisburg from here?" I asked him. He was the tallest boys I'd ever met, he must have been 6ft 9in and his skin was tanned. He had masses of black, short but floppy hair, covering his forehead and luscious green eyes. His eyes surveyed me before he answered in a thick, husky Irish accent. "For a price." He said simply, I questioned him with my eyes and he gave an easy smile and tapped his finger to his cheek. He wanted a kiss. "You can forget that, I'll find my own way." I muttered, turning away.
"Wait, you need to go left." He said quickly. Now we were getting somewhere. "But you'll be walking for hours on your own." He added.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "And your point is?"
"My point is that I'll take you there." He said.
I thought about it, and I decided it would be a good idea. "Fine." I told him, acting cool. He saw right through me and our eyes locked. I felt my insides heat up before I looked away. We walked away from the beach together in silence. "Are you going to tell me your name?" He asked.
I didn't look at him. "No, but you can tell me yours."
He shook his head. "That's not how it works. You tell me yours and then I'll tell you mine."
"Fine. My name's Ruby Blackwell."
"Matches your hair, and probably matches your temper." He paused. "Finn."
I looked at him, confused."My name's Finn Brennan." He explained.
"Well Finn. How old are you?"
"17. You?"
"16." I relied.
"You look older. More..." He stopped, looking for the right word. "Beautiful." He said proudly. I stopped, shocked. "Take that back."
He raised an eyebrow. "Make me." He teased. "I'm telling the truth."
I rolled my eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were flirting with me."
He laughed. "It's a good job you do know better than."
I faked a small laugh. "You're hilarious."
"You have been warned."
"Where do you live?" He asked.
"That's none of your business. Once I get to Louisburg, we'll go our separate ways."
"Well then we'll have to go our separate ways tomorrow."
"What? You're taking me to Louisburg today. It takes two hours to walk there." I shouted. He ignored me. We walked for another fifteen minutes in silence. We weren't getting any nearer to civilisation when we came across a house on its own with a slick black Mercedes outside. Seriously? A Mercedes outside a rundown house in the middle of nowhere. He turned, walking towards the house. "Where are you going?" I shouted after him.
"Home." He called back. It made sense, this was where he lived! I ran after him, grabbing his muscular arm and pulling him around. "I said I'd take you to Louisburg, but in my own time." He said, irritated. "Are you serious? I need to get to Louisburg today." I pleaded.
"No-can-do. I'm expecting a phone call. I'll take you in the morning."
"We're staying here tonight because you're waiting for someone to ring. Get a mobile, get a life." I muttered angrily. "Don't like it? Feel free to go on without me." He said, looking down into my eyes. I groaned. "First thing tomorrow we're going. I'll stay here tonight, on one condition." I told him. He gave me a questioning look. "You tell me why there's a Mercedes parked in front of your house. Is it your mum or dads car?"
"No. I live alone, it's my car."
Whoa, a teen boy living alone, with a car like that. Was he some international superspy? "How did you get it?"
"Let's just say that my job has certain perks." He said slowly.
"Job? You have a job? What do you do?"
"I'm afraid that's classified information." He stopped. "Now, let's get inside and you can tell me why you're on your own, not knowing where you're going."

Chapter 2-

An hour later, I was sat at the table with Finn. I'd confessed all about the arguing and me running away. Of course, he wanted to take me home right away. But I was adamant that the only place I was going was Louisburg. He finally agreed to drive me there in the morning. "I still think you should call your parents. Tell them you're ok." He said softly.
I shook my head at him. "No." I checked my phone and saw that the total of missed calls had risen to 123. Most from my parents, some from my cousins, aunties and grandparents and some from unknown numbers, I guessed it must be the police. I'd known Finn almost two hours, and I'd already told him more than I had told anyone before. He ran a hand through his thick black hair and stroked his jaw. "You're stubborn." He said softly, with a small smile. I shrugged my shoulders. His house had pleasantly surprised me, from the outside it looked tatty and small but inside, it was classy with stylish furniture and rugs on the floor. It had one bedroom with a huge brass bed. I want sure where I was going to sleep but right now I was too hungry to discuss sleeping arrangements. Finn looked me in the eye. "Hungry?" He asked, almost reading my mind. I nodded. "I'll make something after you ring your parents. I'm gonna leave the room and I want you to call them and tell them you're safe." He warned. I sighed and pulled out my phone, showing him I was going to ring them. He eyed me and then left the room. The kitchen had a small settee and arm chair in with a wooden table that sat four. The kitchen was at the far right of the one level house and the room next to it was a cosy cream living room. I dialled my parent's number, nervously. My mum picked up on the first ring and sobbed my name. "Where are you?" She cried. "We're worried sick; the police are searching for you." She said, rising to a scream.
"Mum, calm down. I'm fine. I'm near Louisburg and I'm going to stay with Aunt Karen and her kids. I need a break." I tried to reason with her.
"You didn't have to run away. Are you ok?" She exclaimed.
"I promise I'm fine. Just let me be on my own for a while, I'll call you tomorrow."
"No, you're coming back tonight."
"No, I'm not. I'll ring you tomorrow. You should probably let the police know I'm ok."
"Honey, please come home." She softened.
"Mum, I need some time away. You and dad argue all the time. Please understand." I tried.
"Fine. But I want you home in a week. I'll call tomorrow to check up on you. Promise me you'll be careful." She faltered. "I'm sorry about all of the arguing Ruby."
"It's ok mum. I just need some time away."
"Ok sweetheart. Where are you staying?"
"At a B&B." I lied. "Love you mum."
She hung up and it hit me how much I was going to miss her. I stood up and opened the door. Finn wasn't in the living room. I walked through the living room and opened the front door, looking to see if he was outside. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around to see a half naked Finn leaning against the wall, an easy grin toying with the corners of his mouth. He was wearing nothing but a pair of cut off, faded grey jeans. The first thing I noticed was his body. Each muscle was perfectly toned, defined and tanned. His six pack was bulging through his tanned skin and his biceps and pecs were just as perfect. Wow. "You don't own a t-shirt?" I asked, again trying to act cool.
"I do, lots of them. But I had a feeling you'd like me better without one. "
"Well you were wrong."I said flustered.
"By the way you were looking at me, I don't think I was. That and the fact I've screwed the fire up and it's always too hot in here." He paused. "What did your mother say?"
"She got the police out looking for me."
"She got the gards?" He asked wide eyed. I looked confused. "It's what Irish people call the police." He explained. I nodded.
I walked back to the kitchen, Finn following behind. He opened a few cupboards, revealing crisps, cereal, biscuits, chocolate, bread and cakes. The he opened the fridge, revealing milk, cheese, ham, bacon, chicken and an endless supply of drinks. "What can I get you?" He asked smoothly.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a teenage boy living alone. This food could have been here for months." I said disgusted.
He let out a loud laugh. "Settle your pretty little self, I got them all yesterday. I did a big shop."
I let out a relieved sigh. "Wow you're domesticated." I teased. He grinned.
"I know. Bacon sandwich?" He offered.
I shook my head. "I'm a vegetarian." I said simply.
"Cows are veggies." He scoffed. I rolled my eyes at him. "Cheese sandwich then?"
I nodded and grabbed the cheese and bacon from the fridge whilst he took the bread out of the cupboard. "Sit down." He said.
"Definitely domesticated." I murmured and he winked.
"So, why did you run away again?" He asked.
"My parents were arguing all the time. I wasn't happy at home."
"Do you have any siblings?" He asked again.
"I have a brother. He still lives in London. He's 22."
"Nice." I noticed his mind process the information as if he'd heard it before.
"What about you? Where's your family?" I asked curiously.
"My family are odd, you wouldn't understand." He said quickly. I didn't ask anything else.

We had just had something to eat when Finn went down to the bedroom to make a phone call. I flicked through a newspaper that was lying on the table, inside was an envelope with Finns name scrawled on the front. Curiosity got the better of me and I peeked inside. There were several drivers' licences, passports and credit cards. None of them belonging to Finn. I didn't say anything about them to Finn. Instead I slipped the envelope back into the paper and put the newspaper back where I got it from. I heard Finns voice come from the living room. "No, nobody is here with me. I'm alone." I heard him say. I took a cautious step towards the door but tripped over my bag that was on the floor. I made a yelping sound and fell against the wall, blowing my cover. I heard Finn hang up then storm out of the door. He strode over to me and grabbed my arm, hurting me. "What did you hear?" He said his voice a low whisper. My arm began to ache furiously. "I..." I mumbled. "You're hurting me." I yelped looking up at him. He immediately let go and the blood rushed back into my arm. But the strength he had was almost superhuman. I looked into his eyes and saw that they looked guilty. He looked at my arm and gently pulled the sleeve of my t-shirt up so he could see the white marks his fingers had left. He stroked his thumb across the mark and looked me directly in the eye, still stroking my arm. "All I heard was you saying that nobody else was here." My brain struggled to look for words to describe how I felt. His eyes seemed to caress my mind and I looked deeper into his eyes. I opened my mouth to say something and then he pulled away, the heat from his body leaving mine. "I'm sorry." He said softly. I shook my head, unsure how I felt about Finn. He walked slowly away, back towards the kitchen and I followed. I'd sort of wanted him to kiss me; I was just ashamed to admit it.

"Let's play a game." Finn said randomly. We were sitting at the table, watching the birds outside.
"I have a feeling I'm not gonna like this game." I sighed.
He grinned. "Exactly. Rules are we have to describe each other in three words."
"That's not a game." I pointed out,
"Is now. I'll go first." He paused. "Sensitive, stubborn..." He cut off, searching for the right word. "Gorgeous." He said, proud he'd found the right word. I felt myself blush, the first two words she'd got spot on. I was both of those things, I felt like he could read my mind. "I'm not doing you." I said, meaning I wasn't saying anything about him. "Shame, I wanted you to." He said, twisting it into an innuendo. My jaw dropped, he leaned over and gently pushed my mouth closed. I wasn't sure if his warm fingers lingered on my skin for a millisecond longer than necessary. I tried to divert my gaze to the clock on the wall, long enough to see that it was half nine. Wow, this day couldn't go any slower if we were wearing cable knit sweaters, playing chess and rereading the works of Charles Dickens. I was pretty sure that Finn would rather be doing other things though...

We spent the rest of the day talking. Getting to know each other. Finn kept the language mild and was actually quite nice, I felt myself warming to him even more. I didn't want to leave for Louisburg in the morning; I wanted to stay with Finn. But I wasn't sure if he wanted me out of the way or not. By 10pm, we were both exhausted, I was about to ask where I was sleeping when I noticed Finn getting two pillows and a quilt, I assumed they were for me. I went over to take them from him; he shot me a puzzled look. "You can have the bed."
I was surprised, but I smiled inside at how much of a gentleman he seemed. "Thanks, I'll see you in the morning." I grinned.
"I'm going to have a shower, I'm not gonna disturb you am I?" He asked.
"No, no!" I smiled, walking into the bedroom. I shut the door behind me and cleaned my make up off, got my pyjamas on and slid into the warm brass bed. I left the lamp on then looked up at the four poster bed's headboard. The headboard was full of intricate carvings with gold flowers and birds, encrusted with jewels. I had seen the bed before, but I couldn't remember where. Then I remembered, I'd sent the bed in my history textbook. It belonged to Queen Victoria! I jumped out of bed and ran into the hall, bumping into Finn wearing nothing but his boxers. I spun away and covered my eyes, bumping in to a half naked Finn was becoming too much of a regular occurrence. "Missed me?" He teased.
"No! I just wanted to know, is your bed from Victorian times?"
He nodded. "Yeah, been completely cleaned, new mattress and everything. But the original frame belonged to the Queen; it was never slept in apparently." He said casually.
My jaw dropped. "That must have cost thousands."
He shrugged his shoulders. "If I like it, I'll buy it. Every piece of furniture in the house is an antique." He said. Wow.
"Ok. Night, for real this time."

Chapter 3-

I woke up at 6am, made my bed and walked up to the kitchen in my pyjamas. Finn was snoring, curled up on the settee. I pulled the quilt further up so he was warmer. Flicking on the kettle, I sat down at the table and watched the sun in the sky. I didn't want to leave, I'd made my mind up and I was going to ask Finn if I could stay with him. I didn't have to wait long for him to wake up, I'd made him toast and had already ate mine. He was wearing an old football top and boxers and gave me an appreciative smile. "Finn, can I ask you something?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Sure. What's up?"
"Do you mind if I stay a while longer? I don't really want to go to Louisburg; I'm sort of enjoying it here."
He rubbed his chiselled jaw. Then gave floppy grin. "I thought you'd never ask."
I laughed and gave him a hug, when I pulled away I blushed at what I'd done. I didn't know why I was so shy around him. "So what do you want to do today?" He asked.
"Up to you."
"Ok, we're going out later." He smiled.
"Where?"
"To a pub. You can meet a few of my friends."
A chance to learn more about him? I was definitely going. "Cool!"
He nodded. "There'll be live music!"
I felt a rush of excitement.

By 6pm, I was ready to go out. When I ran away, I'd packed a dress. I didn't know what for, but I had. It's short and black with a gathered waist band. I wore it with black tights and patent heels that I'd packed. My long lashes were coated in mascara and I expertly applied black eyeliner and a coat of scarlet lipstick, I thought it was too much. "Christ! Ruby, you look lovely." Finn said sincerely. He was wearing a smart white shirt and black jeans. I'd rang my mum to tell her I was staying at the imaginary B&B for the rest of the week, she wasn't happy but accepted it, as long as I called her every day. God knows what she would do if she knew what I was really doing. Finn unlocked the Mercedes and started the engine, turning up the heater. He swiftly pulled out of the driveway and turned on the radio, a soft country balled hummed quietly on the radio. Finns phone buzzed and he put it on my knee. "Read it and tell me the name of the pub please, I'm not sure which one we're meeting at." He said. I opened the message from someone called Cathal. "Flanagan's." I told him. "Who's Cath-al?" I asked, saying the name as it looked. Finn smiled. "You pronounce it Coh-hul." He informed me. "Irish names are usually spelt weird."
"Oh, ok." I could see lights and the shadow of a few cars ahead. As we drew nearer, I heard traditional Irish music coming from the pub. Finn killed the engine and stepped round to my side of the car. I looked up at him and all his tallness and smiled. He smiled back and offered me his arm to walk into the pub. Inside, a band was playing Irish music. There were people, young and old, jiving all around and the smell of smoke mixed with perfume and alcohol hung in the air. As soon as we were in the door, a very tall boy bounded up to Finn and gave him a hug. When he faced me, I realized he must only be 14. "Ruby, this is Cathal." Finn introduced us. Cathal gave me a friendly hug and then smiled. "Welcome to Ireland. Finn said you're new here." He said in an equally broad Irish accent. So Finn had told Cathal I was here, just not the person he was on the phone to. I looked at him and he nodded, confirming what I was thinking. "I'll go and tell the others you're here." Cathal said scurrying off. Finn introduced me to a few old men and women and a few girls. When we had a moment alone I turned to him. "Others?"
"I told you I live on my own, and I'm not the only one. Around here, I have friends that are like brothers to me. They're the others." He said, I knew he was still keeping something from me. He took my arm and led me to the other side of the pub where a group of around seven boys were sitting. I felt uncomfortably at first but most gave easy, friendly smiles. Finn pulled out a seat for me then flopped down beside me. "Ruby, I'd like you to meet Paul, Ardghal, Lochlann, Christy, Colm, Declan and Eamonn." Finn introduced me. All the boys gave welcoming smiles except one, Declan. He eyed me suspiciously and stood up, pushed his chair back and walked away. Finn gave an unreadable glance to Lochlann. "He doesn't say much." Lochlann said in a silky voice. Not one of the boys was bad looking, they were all very tall. Not one under 6ft, even boys who looked as young as 13 and 14. Paul was just over 6ft with brown curly hair, he looked fourteen. Ardghal was the shortest one but muscular, not as muscular as Finn but very toned. His hair was the lightest shade of brown. Lochlann was a few inches short of 6'7 with hair so black it was almost tinged an inky blue and his eyes were a crystal grey. He was almost as handsome as Finn. On the way in, Finn had said Cathal's brother was called Lochlann and they did look similar. Christy and Colm were obviously twins, both with milk chocolate eyes and milk chocolate coloured hair. They were smouldering, both of them. And Declan and Eamonn both had curly blonde hair. I made a mental note of all of the names, hoping I wouldn't forget them. Declan had browny blonde curls and Eamonn had black curls. They both had green eyes. All of the boys were so flawless and beautiful, they could have been air brushed. "Ruby, is it?" Christy asked in a very soft accent. I nodded and smiled. He reached out to shake my hand. "Like Finn said, I'm Christy. And of course, Colm is my twin." He added.
"Don't bore her with your life story, Chris." A voice came from behind, affectionately shortening Christy's name. A boy of at least 6'8 emerged. He was the only boy near Finns height. His hair swept over his forehead but was still short and was a sandy gold. His eyes were a brown so light, they were piercing. They were almost...gold. Finn jumped up and wrapped him in a tight hug; I could tell they were definitely best friends. "I was wondering when you'd be back." I heard Finn whisper. The other boy gave a short laugh. "I had...business to take care of." He said, stealing a private glance into Finns eyes. Finn gave small smile and I felt as if I was missing a private joke. The other boys took turns to greet him before I was introduced. "Ruby, meet Kian Cassidy. He's my best friend." Finn said, smiling at me. I held my hand out to shake Kian's but he took it in his and kissed it. I felt my face grow red and I diverted my gaze. I wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking, but I thought I'd seen anger in Finns eyes when he saw Kian blatantly flirting with me.

Half an hour later, I had received compliments from every boy in the pub; most of the girls had given me smiles or envious looks. The song changed and Finn shook my arm. "Want to dance?" He asked, standing up. I nodded and took his hand. He led me over to the dance floor. "You know this song?" he asked. I shook my head. "It's called 'Galway girl'." He stopped. "It was my mother's favourite song."
I didn't say anything else; instead I let Finn twirl me around, matching the rhythm of the fast song. We laughed as I stumbled over his feet and only stopped when a slower song came on. I looked to my right to see Kian and a girl kissing. I shot an embarrassed look at Finn who looked at them, shaking his head. We danced to the slower song, talking. His face paused inches from mine, I was certain he was going to kiss me, but he seemed to remember himself, shutting his eyes and sighing. I felt my heart sink and slid his hand from around my waist. "I need some air." I said, walking out of the pub. Outside, Declan was sitting on the ground, his back against the whitewashed wall of the pub. I decided I should ask him what his problem was. "Declan, hi. I noticed that you didn't say anything to me earlier, I haven't done anything to upset you have I?"
He looked up at me, his eyes had a pitiful look in the. "You haven't done anything to upset me; Finn has just done something to anger me. That's all." He said. It might as well have been a riddle.
"I don't understand."
"It's not safe here, Ruby. You're going to get hurt. Try and understand that." he said briskly, walking away.

Chapter 5-

Finn was giving Kian a lift home. Kian had insisted on giving me the front seat, flirting with me even more. "Thanks for the lift." Kian said squeezing Finns shoulder as Finn slowed the car. Kian opened the door and blew me a kiss, I couldn't see where he was going, I didn't see a house. But then again, I didn't see anything on the dark road. Finn pulled away when Kian got out. After I'd spoken to Declan, I danced with Cathal and Christy then we left. Things were awkward between me and Finn and I was beginning to think it was best that he dropped me in Louisburg in the morning.

The next morning, I was up early as usual. Finn had gotten up at 5am to drive to the shop to get milk and today's paper then he'd gone back to sleep. I flicked through the paper, pausing when I got to the back where the announcements of deaths were. I glanced at the first name there, Farrell Ryan. I'd seen the name before. I did a mental search over all of the places I might have seen the name. Then I remembered, the name was on one of the passports I'd seen in the envelope Finn had been hiding. I ran to get it, my heart beating. Inside was over 15 passports and drivers licences. I tipped them out, and sure enough Farrell was on the passport. But there was something wrong, seriously wrong. Every name on the death announcements page was on some form of ID, in the envelope in my hands. I felt a hand grab my shoulder, I looked up. Finn was there, his eyes full of rage. "What do you think you're doing?" He said in a fierce whisper.
"That's my line. How do you explain these?" I shouted, shoving him. He didn't budge at all; instead I felt my wrist sprain from the pressure of pushing him. He pushed me backwards, I didn't move much, only a few steps but his hand connected with my chest, almost crushing me. I felt a piercing pain in my heart, Finn's eyes widened as they looked into mine and I felt my heart skip a beat. He pulled away, his mouth wide with shock.

I was sat at the table with Finn beside me. He hadn't stopped saying sorry for the best 2 hours. I knew he felt terrible about losing his temper again. "I'll forgive you if you tell me what's going on."
He pushed his chair back and stood up, pushing a hand through his black hair. "You want the truth?"
I nodded. "Fine. I'm a criminal, Ruby. I'm the leader of a gang, that's my job. The people who died were bad people, their ID are like trophies, proving that the gang had disposed of them." He stopped and I felt my blood run cold. "I was abandoned as a baby, Ruby. Because I was different. The people I call my parents aren't biologically, but they're the closest thing I have to parents. I'm dangerous, very dangerous." He broke off, pinching the bridge of his nose. Somehow, I knew there was more to his story. My legs felt like jelly.
"You're a murderer?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "I'm the leader of the gang, I deal with business."
"All the boys there yesterday at the pub are in the gang too, aren't they?"
"Yes, Cathal, Paul and Ardghal are too young though. They think it's a game." He said sadly.
I stood up and bolted for the door, I needed to get away now. Finn stepped in front of me with super human speed. "You can't go Ruby. I'll never harm you, I don't like being on my own." He pleaded. My heart softened and I touched his jaw. "Your life hasn't been smooth has it?"
He pressed his face against my hand and closed his eyes. "No." Then he tilted his forehead against mine, being careful not to let his lips touch my face.

The next day, I sat in the warm armchair thinking. Finn was in the shower. I heard the click of the shower and the swing of the door. Finn walked through in nothing but a towel, it was hanging below his muscular hips. He gave a floppy smile and I pretended to cringe, turning away. He laughed and walked out. I was glad it wasn't too awkward. When he finally emerged fully clothed I felt a hot, searing pain in my chest. I crippled over, and he was at my side in a flash. "What's wrong?"
"This is going to sound so weird, but since you nearly crushed my ribcage, I've been having bad pains whenever I think of you. I think I'm going mad." I whispered. He looked shocked for the billionth time today. He stood up and backed away. "Stay there." He ran outside, started the engine and drove away.

An hour later Finn emerged with Eamonn, the oldest of Finns gang. Eamonn said hello then walked with Finn to another room. I tried to relax and get rid of the pain in my chest but I heard Finn speak, not out loud but in my head. Now I was sure I was losing it. "I think I may have done something terrible." He murmured.
"Did you touch her where her heart is?" A deeper voice this time, Eamonn. I tried to convince myself that I could magically hear them from the other side of the house. "And you looked her in the eye?" Eamonn asked another question. At this point I was frantic, what was going on? I could almost feel Finn nodding. "That was when your minds fused together." Eamonn said. Oh yeah, because I really understood that. What? What the hell was he talking about? I managed to get a glass of water, trying to hum to get the voices out of my head. Not happening. "You do know it only happens when the male and the female both love each other equally. It means she feels the same way about you." Eamonn asked.
"Yes." Finn said slowly. I gasped, I was terrified. I was too scared to move.
"Well I hope you're prepared to spend eternity with her, you've summoned her."

I woke up on the cold kitchen floor, Finn was crouched beside me. "She's coming around." I heard Eamonn say. I looked up and they both smiled at me. Finn picked me up and lay me down on the settee. I suddenly remembered the voices in my head; I sat up so fast I felt dizzy. "You have to tell her Finn." Eamonn said gently.
"Ruby, I want to apologise in advance for this. I wasn't completely honest when I said I was in a gang, that part was true but the members of the gang aren't humans." He stopped and pushed my back up to stop me from falling. "We're angels." He cut off, letting the words sink in. "My father was the leader of an angel gang before me."
"Our ancestors were sent down to keep the earth safe, but they did wrong. They weren't allowed back up." Eamonn finished. I gasped and let out a dry sob.
"Today, I did something awful. Normally it only happens when a male angel and human female want to. But when I almost killed you today, I summoned you." He stopped. Eamonn took over.
"When the angel and the human both share the same feeling for one another, the male summons the female. He makes her belong to him and he gives her part of his soul, and she does the same. It makes them soul mates for all eternity and means it causes them pain to be apart." He waited for Finn to explain further. "Today, that happened to us. There is no way to take it back. We can speak to each other though out thoughts, and we can hear each other's conversations when they're about one of us. That's why you heard me and Eamonn."
Finn loved me? It was too much to take in and I passed out. Again.

Chapter 6-

When I woke up, I was lying in Finns bed. I knew Eamonn had gone and I could feel Finn sitting on the edge of the bed. "You're going for a world record." He said softly.
"I think it was a lot to take in. But then again, who passes out twice in the space of fifteen minutes."
He smiled and rubbed his jaw line. In a few days, I'd fallen in love with a boy and was going to spend the rest of my life with him. "You'll start to notice that you'll get stronger. Fallen angels are immortal and they can't be killed. They are also a great deal stronger and more powerful than any other race." He paused. "But even though you'll start to become more like an angel, you can still be killed. Many angels never summon a female because the only way to kill an angel is to kill the female he has summoned. The pain will crush him from the inside. An angel who summons will stay the same age forever. But an angel that doesn't will grow old and die. It's too risky and so it's not common these days to summon. It's even more uncommon to do it by accident." He finished.
"Finn. We both know that we love each other now. But you've done nothing to show it. Shoot me if you think I'm rushing things, but we're spending eternity together and you've done nothing to show me that's a good thing."
Then he kissed me. It sent electric rains through my brain; he paused millimetres away from my face and smiled. "Does that prove it?"
I nodded.

"I'm going to have to go home soon." I admitted. Finn was sitting at the table next to the window in the kitchen whilst I was curled up on the armchair. "It'll hurt you." He said, not looking up.
"It's a month till the six weeks holidays, a month until I can legally leave home because I've finished school." I argued.
"So what, you're just going to move out?"
"That's not what you want?" I asked, I knew I was winning.
He sighed. "What's your plan."
"I've become rather good at lying recently, not that that's a good thing. But it means I'll be able to move out with no questions. My brother moved out at 16, and my dad expected me to do the same. He told me." I stopped, looking at Finn. His perfect face was emotionless. "If I can pretend I found my dream job up here, at a clothes shop or something. I can move to Westport and stay with you."
"Look's like you've got it all figured out."
"I've rehearsed my speech. My dad will be fine with it. My mum on the other hand..."
"Fine, I'll drop you back the day after tomorrow." He said, looking at me.
"Ok, I'll be back soon. For good."
"You've fallen in love in a few days. Next time you come up I'd like you to meet Eamonn's mate, Claire. She can tell you what to expect."
He walked over to me and sat on the arm of the chair. He'd told me that we'd feel happier whenever we were near each other. He put his hand on my knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I sighed and put my head against his shoulder. "Now I want you to tell me why you're still on Earth."

The midnight air offered little warmth to the man as he hastily walked along the frosty lane. This was unfamiliar to him; he'd never walked on human territory before. At 18 years old, Michael Brennan was the only one trusted with such an important mission. Or so the angel had said. He'd first come to Michael in a dream two years ago. The angel was unbelievably tall with shoulder length, matted chestnut hair. He'd told Michael he had been chosen from a long line of Brennan men that were all descendants from an angel. Of course, an excitable teenage boy would be delighted with such an important deed. But Michael was resentful. He mentally swore as he stepped in a mud, gravel and rain filled puddle. He shook the excess water from his boot and pulled his grey coat further around his broad shoulders. His fantastic eyesight fixed on a dim light ahead of him and he picked his pace up slightly. A human would never have seen the light, for it was over 3 miles away and nothing more than the mere flicker of a wax candle, but someone who had been injected with the blood of an archangel would have no problem with such a simple task. Michael's mind shuddered when he thought of the long steel needle plunging into his heart, filling him with strength and power. His long, flexible legs carried him to the inn in less than a few minutes. He pulled the hood from his head and peered through the window. A horse gave a low nicker that Michael heard through the rain. The sounds and smells of Medieval Ireland greeted him as he drew nearer to the stable, the people waiting for him inside the inn could wait a few moments longer until he had decided on a horse to take home with him. After all, Michael was a superior and had no intention of walking home. A lamp provided the low glow inside the old wooden stable. A small pony was tied next to an old donkey in the far corner of the barn. A stable hand came out to meet him. "Can I help you sir?" The young boy asked in a gentle Irish accent. Michael studied him, and seeing that the boy wasn't even 16, he decided to manipulate him. He sniffed the air and smelt a faint scent of tobacco. Again, a human would never have detected the smell. "Smoking in a barn filled with hay?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The young boy played right into his hands. "Please don't tell my father, sir. He owns the inn you see, and he'll send me off to school in Dublin if he finds out, sir." He said quickly. Michael gave a sly smile.
"I'll keep quiet in exchange for one of your horses. Your best one if you please."
The young boy looked hesitant but he wiped a hand across his forehead and tweaked his newsboy cap before nodding. He pointed over to a large chestnut stallion. "That's Desert, sir. I'll have him saddled up for you when you're finished." The boy said. Michael gave a satisfied smile and nodded.
"Thankyou."
Inside the inn, Michael sat at the head of a long table. The innkeeper had given Michael and troubled look before leading him into a small room at the back of the inn. Inside, seven men sat drinking wine and speaking in low voices. Their head turned in perfect synchrony as Michael approached. He took his place and rested his arm down on the table. The innkeeper shut the door and limped off, muttering angrily in Gaelic. Michael focused his gaze on the lock of the door and locked it, using only his mind. "As you all know." Michael began, his voice silencing the others. "We have been called upon to rid the world of evil. Not cause it, you've been careless." His voice rose an octave. "Sleeping with humans, gambling, drinking. The list is endless."
A man at the far end of the table lowered his head in shame as Michaels black eyes sliced into him. "If the archangels had wanted us to waste our time succumbing to temptation, desire and lust, they would have made female angels. And as you all know, male angels are the only ones to exist."
"And now, we're trapped on this Earth, forbidden to return to the skies until we fulfil our original mission of not just getting rid of evil, but getting rid of every human to walk this earth."

Chapter 7-

I came back to reality with a flash. My hand flew to my head as my temple throbbed from information overload. Finn had put the vision into my head my touching his head against mine. So we could share memories now? What else didn't I know? I stood up. Michael Brennan was Finns grandfather somewhere down the line, and I was guessing that he wasn't around so that would mean Finn would have to carry on his legacy and kill the world's population. My thoughts were spiralling out of control. But I felt Finns emerald eyes on me and I began to relax against my will. "There's a reason that I'm still on earth, Ruby. I can't kill innocent humans; I don't have it in me." He said gently. I looked into his eyes and found the boy I'd fallen in love with. I walked next to him and he pulled me onto his knee. I was content when I was near him and I leant back against him, wishing I didn't have to go home tomorrow.

Finn had agreed to drop me off ten or fifteen minutes away from our house so my mum and dad didn't see me with him. "Finn, thanks for everything. Well everything bar the summoning part."
He smiled at my dry humour and kissed my cheek ever so softly. I caught his arm when he pulled away and squeezed it before getting out of the car. He waved me off and was gone, I already missed him.

I lay in bed that night smiling, my parents had been glad to see me but they seemed happier and relaxed. I think me going way did them some good. Before I could broach the subject of moving out, my dad sat me down. He told me he and mum had been discussing my happiness, and they agreed that I was independent like my brother. And because he moved away at 16, my dad wanted to know if I wanted to leave home, take care of myself and get a job. So basically, the hard part was done for me. It was settled, at the end of the month, I was to move away to Westport to live with the 'friend' I met and help run her 'shop'. I couldn't believe it was so easy. I brushed a finger over the scar on my chest that was just visible in the silvery glow of the pearl moon. It was a ting dot, almost as if it had been pierced. I had gotten it when me and my brother, Joe had been in a car accident. My uncle had died, and Joe and I were miraculous survivors. At the memory of the crash, I had to stand up and open the window for some air. But at the window, a boy was there, supporting himself lightly, propping his elbows on the outside ledge. I jumped and I saw the familiar easy grin. I padded over to the window and pulled it up, coming face to face with Finn. He was dangling from the window, gently resting on the ledge as if it was the simplest thing in the world. But on his back were a pair of huge black wings. Made up of perfectly detailed silky, oil black feathers. I blinked for a second then he stepped into my room and the wings were gone, he was still topless though. He smiled and towered over me, cupping my waist in his tanned, firm hands. I put one hand on his bare chest, daring to touch him for the first time, daring to make sure this was all real. "I couldn't stay away." He whispered. I let out a breath. "My parents said..."
He cut me off, pushing a finger to my lips. "I heard it in your thoughts, I knew you were happy about something."
"You're not happy about it?"
He smiled down at me. "No, I'm delighted." He kissed my forehead. So, I was away for a night and we were already at the touching and kisses stage? It could only get better right? "I still feel awful about sealing your fate through my own mindless actions." He admitted. I pressed my head against his chest and then there was a knock at the door. I pulled away and looked at Finn in terror. I signalled for him to go out the way he came in and I turned to unlock my door. My mum stood on the other side. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I thought I heard voices."
"No, I was just...Erm...singing!" I practically shouted the last word.
"Singing?" She gave me a sceptical look. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah...NO! No, no. I'm not ok; I'm feeling really ill actually." I blabbered. "I'm just going to go downstairs and get some water." I lied. She shot me the same look.
"Ok, honey." She said, walking back to her room. I sprinted down to the wooden kitchen to find Finn sitting easily in one of the chairs. I did a double take when I spotted him.

A month passed of daily life with my parents. When moving day finally came, Finn had come to pick me up. I told my parents that he was my new boss's brother, another lie. My father had a quiet word with him, and my mother helped me load Finns car. A slick black Audi jeep this time. She got tearful and promised to visit soon. And then Finn was driving away, driving away from my old life and driving into my new one. On the way, Finn started talking about his childhood. "I'm the leader of these angels because I'm different. All of the others were once humans; they were injected with the blood of an angel, therefore making them angels themselves. But I was born an angel, something that had never happened before. My father was made an angel and so was his. But this was how I was born." He paused. "I'm the only one of my kind."
Listening to his life story felt wrong. I'd accepted Finn as such a private person, I'd accepted that there were aspects of his life that I was better off not knowing. And hearing him openly discuss them felt odd. "Wow, that's something." Was all I could say. He laughed at that. He looked to his left and saw the scar on my chest. He widened his eyes and pulled over, almost sending me flying. "What's that?" he asked, touching the scar. "I've never seen it."
"Well unless you spend lots of time studying my chest you wouldn't have." I said, trying to make a joke. "Your brother, is his name Joseph?" He said, deadly serious.
I nodded and he pinched the bridge of his nose, then he punched the steering wheel, swearing loudly. "You were both in a car crash; you were both treated by the same doctor. The driver of the car was killed but you two inexplicably survived." He stated. I wondered how he new those things. He swore again. "What have I done? I might as well just have killed you myself."
Then he pulled out, and sped off road up a large, mountainous hill.

Harlan's Hill, as it was known by the locals, was a very large and steep ridge that ran for about a mile. There were many waterfalls and streams crashing down either side of it but nobody knew what was at the top. There was a very old and poorly maintained road that led up to the top, but it was dangerous and crumbling. Legend had it, that hundreds of years ago a group of men lived up there. They were all dressed in black, black hair and black eyes and they were only ever seen at night. Then one night, the men slaughtered everybody in the village at the bottom of the hill and ever since, all that is left of the village is little stone ruins where the houses used to stand. The locals believe that if you cross the threshold of one of the houses, if you step inside it, then you and your family will be cursed forever. Apparently curses were the last thing on Finns mind as he drove up the old road. I begged him to stop, as I could see how dangerous the road was, he ignored me. I was so temped to take hold of the steering wheel myself, but I held back. As we grew nearer to the top, thick faction of fog enticed us in; this was why you could never see what was at the top of the hill. As the fog grew thinner, I spotted an extremely grand and gothic manor sitting proudly at the top of the hill. It had large turrets and black and grey granite on the outside, making it the fanciest house I'd ever seen. Each window, each brick was fancier than the last. Ivy crept around one side of the house; the door seemed to offer an ultimatum, enter and see what's inside or run away forever. And I had no doubt what I was going to do. Finn killed the engine and was round at my side in record timing, taking my hand and leading me into the manor. Cathal answered the door, his handsome face lit up when he saw us. He opened his mouth to say something but Finn abruptly pushed past him. "Not now Cathal." He called. I shot him a helpless look and mouthed a 'sorry' and followed Finn into a large dining hall where a good looking man in his late thirties sat at the head of a large wooden table. He was eating his dinner and drinking wine, talking to a beautiful woman, around the same age who sat next to him. The woman stood up and rushed over, cupping Finns face in her hands and kissing him on the cheek. She was so unearthly beautiful, she didn't look like she could be human. Her face was like porcelain, absolutely flawless. And her hair was a shade of gold that matched her eyes perfectly, her golden waves tumbled silkily down to her waist and her lips were a delicate pink as she smiled. "I was wondering when we'd be seeing you." She said softly to Finn. Her voice was like the delicate chiming of a wind chime in a scarcely there wind. The bond between them was obvious, like a mother and son. "And you, darling. You must be Ruby. The boys told us all about you. Aren't you beautiful?" She cooed. She did not just call me beautiful. The man had joined us now; he hugged Finn and smiled at me. "Ruby, this is Alistair." He said gesturing towards the man. "And Adalynn. They're like a mother and father to me and the boys; we grew up here when we were turned into angels. For me, I lived here all of my life. I was abandoned as a baby because I was different." He added impatiently.
Adalynn noticed something was wrong. "What's concerning you?"
Finn turned to me and brushed his fingers over my scar. Adalynn turned pale. Alistair's eyes widened. "No...It can't be." He muttered.
"It is." Finn scowled, leading me over to sit at the grand table. I snapped.
"Will someone finally tell me what's going on?"
All of the boys I had met in Westport were now flooding into the hall, along with a few I didn't recognise. "In that car accident, you were almost killed and so was Joseph." Alistair began. I wondered how he knew my brother's name. "The doctor that treated you was an angel. He knew he could save your brother by injecting him with angel blood, even though it would make him one of us, it would keep him alive. But females have a very different reaction to our blood, it kills them." Adalynn told me. "Many angels tried to create female angels, none of them successful. But the doctor thought it was worth a try, not knowing the results."
"Your blood has been tainted with magic for centuries, making you the first female to even have a drop of magical blood in her veins. When the angel blood was injected, your diluted magical blood was rekindled, making you half angel. When the doctor realised what he had done, he ran away. He knew gangs of angels would hunt him down, and torture him for his secrets to create a female angel, even though it was pure accident." Oh. My. God.
Alistair continued. "You were already a legend in our world, gangs wanted to capture you and examine you, hoping to find a way to greed female angels, making their armies more powerful so they could kill the humans and return to the skies quicker. When Finn summoned you, he gave you half of his angel mind, the other half you needed to become a full angel. It now seems that the blood running through your veins is pure angel blood, making you the first one of your kind. Just like Finn."
"In our legends, it tells of a male and female who could overrule the archangels, killing them and letting our people return to the skies if they were pure. The angels would be unclean if they had killed a human. At first the archangels started it off as a test, to see who would kill or who would stay pure. But they enjoyed their power and refused to let us return, even though we had passed their test. Therefore, they're evil and need to be removed." Adalynn said. Then it hit me, Finn and I were the coupled destined to overpower the archangels. Our fate was sealed long before we were even born. "If you defeat the archangels, you will take your rightful place as king and queen of the angels. But if you fail, lives will be lost. For years we have been searching for you, to fight alongside Finn. He is a son to us and we want nothing more than to see him succeed. And because of that, we built an army to one day help fight the archangels." Adalynn finished off. And for the third time in this past year, I blacked out.

Chapter 8-

When I came around, I was lying down in a large four poster bed with black silk sheets and curtains. The whole room was minimalistic with a sense of Victorian antique. Finn was next to me, my head on his chest and his fingers in my hair. The first thing is commented on when I came around was how beautiful Adalynn was. He laughed. "You'll continue growing until you reach the same age as me. In that year you should change, your hair will get longer and silkier, your skin will lose all marks and blemishes, and your eyes and voice will change. But because you're the only one of your kind, we're not sure it that's exactly what will happen." He murmured. I sighed; I really doubted I'd end up looking almost as beautiful as Adalynn. "When an angel summons a female, and the female gets part of his mind, she grows angelically beautiful so doesn't that make her an angel?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, the females don't have any powers and would be useless in a battle." He said quickly. "They've prepared a feast for you, you'll be introduced to the three boys you haven't met and you'll be welcomed into the family. Any girl one of the boys summons is always made part of the family." He told me, helping me up off the bed and leading me downstairs.

Over 13 of us sat at the table. The cooks had prepared stews, casseroles, beef, chicken and a vegetable soup for me. Before we ate, Alistair raised his glass. "I'd like to make a toast to Finn and Ruby. It's very important we respect the latest addition to our family. I'd also like to commemorate the day that we found the Pair of Power." He said, referring to the name given to Finn and me in the Angels book of prophecies. We all clinked glasses and began to eat. Just then, the loud creak of the big wooden door made us all look up. A girl of about 17 was striding across to us. She was so beautiful it made my heart ache. Her glossy brown hair was swept into a loose plait that joined into a messy bun. A few strands hung down and framed her perfect, faultless face. Her eyes were a warm caramel but her crimson red lips were set into an unreadable line as she sat opposite me at the table. "Sorry I'm late." She muttered to Adalynn. Her voice was light, but much harsher then Adalynn's. "Ruby, I'd like you to meet our daughter, Aria." Adalynn said cautiously. The boys seemed to be nerved by Aria's presence at the table. Aria locked her eyes on me, then she glanced at Finn. I saw her work out why I was here and her perfect mouth formed a perfect 'O'. For a second, her eyes blazed with anger, and then she pushed her chair back and stormed out. "You've found her then." She called, slamming the door. Declan got up and followed her, I remembered my encounter with Declan and I couldn't help but see that Declan had summoned Aria. The pair suited each other. "She's so much fun." Lochlann said dryly.
"Please excuse my daughter. She's very upset that she can never be a true angel, she's very independent. Declan is the only one who seems to understand her." Alistair apologised. I smiled. "It's fine." I said. The mood seemed to lighten after a while, but the Aria cloud still hung above everyone's heads.

In the morning, Alistair and I were in the library, reading books about the pair of power. "The pair must find the archangel that lives on earth and kill him first. When you have, one of you must take his wings and fly to the skies, leaving the other behind. Up there, the male must banish one of the archangels to the ground where the female slaughters him and takes his wings, rejoining her mate in the skies where they complete their mission." Alistair said proudly, showing me the pages of faded paper that the plans were written on. "They have to part ways?" I asked.
He nodded. "It's the only way to do it."
I sighed and read through another book. "What's the history of this place?" I asked, glancing at the walls around us. "It was once a safe house for the archangels, but they killed the villagers and fled to the skies." He said, confirming the rumours. "There are different broods of fallen angels in countries all over the world, little pockets of them. The house now belongs to me and Adalynn and can only be seen by the fallen angels in the Irish brood, it's a home to them."
I understood now. "What about the house Finn took me to?"
"That was one of the many guard houses we have for the boys, when they were travelling searching for you."
Wow, all these boys had been hunting me down and they never even realised I was right under their noses. But they'd found me now and that was all that mattered. I was going to help Finn and we would rule the skies together, I hadn't quite worked out how though. I'd asked Finn how he hadn't noticed that I was the girl he had been searching for, and he told me he was too distracted with trying not to fall in love with me because he thought I was human and he didn't want to get me caught up in the angel world. Too late.

I ventured outside of the manor to explore the wood around it for the first time. I spotted Aria sitting on a fallen tree trunk in the distance. She was breaking off tiny strips of the bark and scattering them on the grass around her. I decided to go and talk to her. "Hi!" I said warmly as I approached her. She looked up at me with her piercing eyes. If what Finn said was true, I couldn't wait to look anywhere near as beautiful as Aria. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to talk; I noticed you were sort of distant." I said nervously.
"Please, don't waste your time. I don't want to talk."
I wasn't expecting that. "Why not?"
"I'm jealous ok! You're a legend in our community; you're going to be strong, powerful and the most beautiful girl in the world. What's not to envy."
I was about to stop her and tell her I was sure it was impossible to be more stunning than she was but she interrupted my thoughts by thrusting a dead tree branch at me. I twirled it like it was a feather. Wow, I was going to have to get used to this superhuman strength. But to my surprise, the dead branch started to grow before my eyes, sprouting tiny, beautiful, baby leaves that entwined around it. After a minute, it was perfect again. "The female of the power pair has nature on her side, she can communicate with animals, bring plants back to life. The male has weather. Finn can make it rain, hale or snow. He can control the tide and the sun." She said exasperated. "You don't know how powerful you are, do you?" Her voice was softer this time. I shook my head.
"Look, I'm sorry if I was harsh. But I just can't sit around and watch you prepare to die, unless you learn to exercise your powers, you'll never kill the archangels, never!"
I was taken aback. "How do I do that?"
"Go out and use your powers. Break them in so you know their effects. Talk to animals; grow plants or whatever you do. It'll help you train your powers to suit you." She said walking off. I sighed and decided to get back to my original mission of exploring the wood, hopefully clearing my head in the process.

I tracked left down a little path in the woods. I couldn't see the house and I was starting to get alarmed. I stopped dead when I heard a twig snapping. "Hello?" I called out, my heart beating faster. A beautiful snowy white horse stepped out of the dense growth. Her mane was long and her tail flowing, she was at least 16 hands. She looked at me warily, as if she was about to flee but then she gradually walked over to me, delicate feet snapping twigs as she walked. When she stood right in front of me, she reached her long neck out to sniff me shoulder, blowing friendly puffs of air onto me with her refined nostrils. I smiled and stroked her warm neck. I knew the horse had to be feral, so this was what Aria meant about me being able to communicate with wildlife. I somehow knew that the mare would not have approached anyone else. She dropped forward and I widened my eyes as she appeared to bow, her front legs bent underneath her. I somehow understood what she wanted me to do. I stepped forward and slid my leg over her back, remembering how I used to ride my horse, Jack, back in England. She stood up and I locked my hands in her mane. I looked around happily as the mare daintily walked through the woods, not knowing where she was taking me. We reached the edge of the woods and the mare walked up to the front of the house, lowering herself again for me to dismount. She had brought me home! I felt Arias eyes on me from the bay window, and I smiled smugly to myself, I'd shown her I was exercising my powers. I gave the mare a kiss on her pretty nose and a pat on her neck before she trotted back off into the woods. I knew I would see her again. When I got back into the house, I knew something was wrong. Everyone was gathered at the table, looking solemn. "What's wrong?" I whispered, sitting next to Finn. He gave me a welcome kiss on the cheek. "Ruby, are you hurt?" Alistair asked, frowning. I shook my head. "Why?"
Adalynn shot him an anxious glance. "You have to understand, Ruby, that not all fallen angels are happy about the power pair. They want to rule the skies themselves, even though they are only males, and they haven't been chosen. Therefore, they'll do anything to make the power pair perish so they can take their glory." She said in the nicest way possible.
"We've heard 'rumours' that a group of French fallen seraphs have knowledge that the female of the power pair has been discovered. They're not happy about this." Said Alistair in his smooth, deep voice. The door creaked open to reveal Kian walking across to Alistair and Adalynn. He looked as handsome as ever with a broad smile on his face and his muscular shoulders concealed under a grey jumper. "So, who's the angel lady?" He said, not spotting me. Paul's eyes flickered to me, so did Kian's. He rubbed his hands together. "Bring it on." He whispered. "Bring it on."

Chapter 9-

That night, I lay on the sheets with my hand in Finn's. Kian hadn't been able to control his grin when he saw he'd be sharing the same roof as me. "Ki makes you uncomfortable doesn't he?" Finn asked, stroking my hands. I nodded awkwardly. "Let's not talk about him." I begged.
"So, you made friends with Ailbe?" He asked, his impossibly hot skin was like a flame, licking along my arms. Another angel trait was the relentlessly warm skin, but I was still ordinarily cool. "Al-Bay?" I repeated, saying it how it was pronounced.
"The big grey horse. She looks white, but she's technically grey because her coast is a mixture of white and grey hairs."
"Oh, yes. Is she yours?" I asked.
He smiled and shook his head. "No. The woods around here are bigger than a large town. They're crawling with wild horses, deer and birds. As far as I can tell the horse has magical blood because she can connect with you, it seems she was sent here with you." He paused. "We named her Ailbe because it's an old word meaning white. Like her fur. She was very nervous, but you know about your gift with nature, so it explains it."
"She's very beautiful."
"She likes you; she wouldn't let any of us near her." He admitted.
"Bless her. Good Night." I said, moving closer into him so his heat drowned out the coolness of the large mansion.

The next morning, my mum called to see how I was doing. I made up a bunch of lies about me working in a clothes shop. I was up at 5am and was the only one awake. I sat in the historic hall surrounded by medieval armour and family portraits. I decided to go for another walk in the woods as I'd only covered a scratch of it the day before. Outside the house I saw Ailbe grazing on the edge of the wood. I walked over to her and she nuzzled my shoulder affectionately. She stretched her neck out to sniff the air and cantered off into the woods. I smiled at sprinted deeper into them, amazed at my speed. I stopped when I picked out a yelping noise. My ever budding senses directed me to a small animal trapped in a mass of thorns and brambles. On closer inspection, I saw the animal was a type of wild dog. Could it...No. It couldn't be a wolf. You didn't get wild wolves in Ireland, but over the past month, I had learnt enough not to doubt anything anymore. I kicked the brambles apart and took a closer look at the animal. I was right; it was a beautiful black wolf pup. He let out a small cry as I scooped him up, I wasn't scared he was going to bite me and I subconsciously soothed him. He was so skinny and about the size of a fluffy plant pot. His blue eyes were piercing and he pressed his little nose into the crook of my arm, his blunt baby claws scraped my arm, but my skin didn't seem to feel it. I cooed over him and put him under my jacket to keep him warm. I heard him start to snore softly before long. I sniffed the air, using my new found ability, to sense for any other sign of wolf, maybe I could reunite him with his mother. But I couldn't find any trace of another wolf. I called out Ailbe's name, curious to see if she would respond, and too my surprise she did. I heard the fast gallop and I saw her flash in front of us. I gave her neck a pat and I mentally sent her my thank you, she bowed her head in gratitude and then bowed down, allowing me to get on. I gave her a squeeze with my calves and let her guide me back to the house as she galloped through the trees. She nimbly and effortlessly dodged the trees and I peered down inside my jacket at the little wolf that was still sleeping soundly. In a few minutes, Ailbe had reached the manor and I gave her a final stroke, smoothing her mane onto the same side. I dismounted and Ailbe trotted away. Kian was leaning against the pillar of the porch, sweating greatly. He looked as if he'd just gone for a run. "Morning." He smiled.
I bobbed my head at him and raced inside, upstairs and into my room. Finn was snoring on the bed. "Wake up, wake up!" I said stirring him. "I've got a little baby!"
His eyes flew open. "It must have been the Immaculate Conception because..."
I laughed and cut him off. "It's a wolf."
"A what?"
I lifted the little wolf out of my jacket and he woke up, opening his beautiful eyes and blinking at his new surroundings. I held him against my cheek and he snuffled my chin with his damp little nose. I laughed and Finn smiled at how happy I was. "That's not just any wolf. It's Brana wolf, a companion of angels. I thought they were extinct."
"Can we keep him?" I pleaded, jutting out my bottom lip and matching the pup's eyes, holding him next to my face. Finn laughed and held his hands up. "Of course, he likes you."
"Yay!" I squealed, handing Finn the pup. He yelped and clawed Finns arm, trying to escape. He began to cry. "Aww poor puppy. You don't like Finn very much do you?" I cooed, scooping him into my arms. "You're head over heels." Finn teased. I shot him an innocent smile and left the room, intent on finding some food for my new baby. I decided to call him Bear. A little paradoxical, I know, but it suited his little fuzzy face. I made my way into the large stone kitchen, trying to remember my route around the colossal house. In the cupboard, I found a carton of baby milk powder. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what this was doing here but I checked the date and saw it was fresh so I made up a bottle that I also found in the cupboard. I made a mental note to ask Finn what they were for, but I had so much on my mind right now, it wouldn't surprise me if forgot. In one hand I held the bottle and in the other I held Bear. He fed from it hungrily and I smiled, happy with myself.

That evening I sat with Adalynn in her bedroom. She was brushing my hair with a soft bristled brush and singing softly. "When a male angel summons a female, do they both stay the same age forever?" I asked curiously. She nodded. "I met a fallen angel when Alistair took me to Rome. He was a Roman and still around today."
"No way! That must be so cool." I said, astounded.
"Really? Stuck in time forever, with no chance of ever moving on?" She sat down on the silky bed and clasped her hand to her heart, pulling her cashmere sleeves down over her wrists. "I was 32 when I met Alistair. And I should be dead by now, but I'm stuck in a 32 year olds body forever."
I felt a rush of sympathy. "Does that mean that you can't have children?"
"No, we can conceive. It still dumfounds us. It's one of the very few things about the angel world that we don't know much about. Although our bodies are stuck at that age, we still can reproduce." She confessed.
I was utterly mortified at my next question, but it had to be asked. "Does everything 'flow' the same way?" I made air quotation marks.
Adalynn smiled. "Yes, everything 'flows' the same way for women."
"Oh, so if Finn and I..." I stopped when she raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't planning anything, I was just wondering,"
She bit her bottom lip and very slowly and teasingly nodded her head.

After dinner, I sat outside with Finn, watching the stars. "Adalynn said something to me earlier that sort of scared me." I said softly, I was slowly noticing the change in my voice. It was getting higher and smoother, almost like a sing song voice. He turned his head towards me. "Not some tale of angel massacres?" He said with mock innocence. I gave him a playful shove.
"No, she said that angels were frozen in time and could never move on. She didn't mean to scare me, but it did."
"Ruby, don't worry. You can still have children."
I snorted ironically. "And have my children grow older than me?" I shifted my weight. "I don't think so."
"I told you that the child will grow until he summons or she is summoned. If you have a male child, it will be injected with angel blood when he's a baby and fallen angels normally summon before they are 16." He reasoned.
I groaned. "Ok."

Bear had already grown to the size of a small dog. Finn said that Brava wolves grow up to shoulder height. Even though he was small, Bear was very protective over me. If Finn came to talk to me, he would snarl and growl, warning Finn away. His fur was getting softer and fluffier. I made my way into the library, Bear at my heel, to do some reading. Aria was inside, glasses on the tip of her nose, flicking through pages and pages of books. Circling things here, crossing things there. She looked up. "Yes?" She said in a tone that made it appear I was disturbing her.
"Oh, no! I'm just here to look for a new book to read."
She seemed to sense her rudeness and softened. "Ah. You can sit down here." She told me, tapping the seat next to her. I sat down and pulled the nearest book of the endless shelves. The title was in Irish, great. "I've never seen Finn as happy as when he is with you." She admitted, lifting her papers and tapping them on the table, making them all the same length. I smiled to myself. "I met Declan through Finn, he introduced me." Her eyes sparkled when she said Declan's name.

Before I went to bed, I sat with Finn on the balcony drinking hot Cocoa and talking. "We've heard talk that a group of fallen angels are trying to find our whereabouts." He said as gently as possible. His words set a surge off panic loose in my mind. Things were just starting to fall into place, well as much as they could considering I was a freak of nature, and here he was telling me that the chance we were both going to die was rising again. I sighed and tried to keep calm so my eyes didn't well up with tears. I wouldn't cry in front of Finn, I couldn't. I had to show him that he could trust me and that I could do this, but so far I was having very little luck with that. Finn tilted his head next to mine and I breathed in his scent of spice. Somehow, having him near me made my anxiety flow away. "Will they find us?"
"The house is protected, it can only be detected by the fallen angels in the Irish gang, so us. Unless they can penetrate the protection, I think we'll be safe. For now." He said, uncertainty a prominent note in his voice. "So they can't find us at the moment?"
He shook his head. "Alistair invited some fallen angels from America over. They're going to see what they can do to help and protect us." He said excitedly.
"How will they get into the house if they can't see it?"
"We'll make a small hole in the protective shield and seal it up when they're inside. Don't worry, you'll be ok."He assured me, squeezing my hand. Everything felt so perfect when Finn was here, he was soothing and perfect. To say how much I hated him when I first met him, love does funny things.

Chapter 10-

That morning, I was sure I was getting under everybody's feet as they prepared for the arrival of the American fallen angels. I decided to go for a run with Bear. He was growing so fast, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him whilst he was still smaller than me. I'd been running for at least an hour when I took the path that led back around the house. I pulled a headphone put and stretched my leg on a branch, watching the commotion unfolding outside the house. Three girls stood with a woman I believed was their mother. They were all so beautiful, I felt immediately intimidated. One of them had obviously been summoned, but the other two looked ordinarily beautiful, like they didn't need to be summoned to be stunning. Adalynn rushed outside and enveloped the mother in a warm hug, before turning to each of the girls. I decided to go and meet them myself. All of the boys had gathered outside of the house when I reached the group. The girls all gave me warm, friendly smiles and I felt nowhere near as nervous around them as I had with Aria. One girl was short and curvy with waste length, Marilyn Monroe style blonde hair. Another was tall and skinny with mousy brown curls that reminded me of my own untameable ringlets, but her skin and eyes were not human so she must have been summoned. And the last one was of average height, maybe a little over 5'6, and weight but her pixie cropped hair was dyed a bubblegum pink, her green eyes danced under her bright purple painted eyelids and she wore a puffball skirt and vintage t-shirt with a cropped denim jacket. She gave me a toothy smile and wrapped me in a perfumed hug like we were old friends. I looked at Finn over her shoulder who, along with the other boys, was finding the whole escapade massively amusing. When she pulled away she let out a giggle and clasped her hand to her mouth. "Sorry, I know we haven't been officially introduced but I know we'll get along like a house on fire." She said giddily. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder and shot me an apologetic smile.
"Ruby, this is Annabella, my sister." Adalynn told me, hugging the mother of the group. "And her daughters, Carmen, She's 18..." She paused, pointing to the blonde. She gestured towards the brunette, "Skye, who's 17 and Felicity, who's 15." She finished by bobbing her delicate head, with her curls piled into a neat bun, towards the girl with the 'unique' dress sense. "Please, call me Lissie." The girl with pink hair said enthusiastically. Finn came around to me and slid gave polite hugs to each of the girls. "Well would you look at that, Finn's in love." Carmen said affectionately. Finn put his arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair. She shook him off, laughing. "Carmen and I are very close, she's like the sister I never had." Finn whispered to me. I smiled happily at her. Lochlann walked around to stand next to Finn, his eyes setting on Carmen's beautiful face, when her eyes met his, she did a double take and I was sure that Lochlann would be the next one to summon. Alistair led us all inside to the dining hall where the cooks had prepared an all American breakfast. The table was pile high with sugar coated cereals, waffles, donuts, pancakes and syrup, bacon and scrambled eggs. I wondered how they got this amount of American food over to Ireland, but I didn't register the word 'impossible' after all I'd been through.

Finn and I were alone in the hall when everyone had left to sit in the lounge. Although he showed affection, Finn had never passionately kissed me, and it hurt. I decided I would have to take matters into my own hands. I walked over to his chair, perched on his knee and flung an arm around his neck, the other hand rested on his chest. He looked directly into my eyes and kissed me first! Finally! At first it was gently, but then it got deeper with more emotion installed in it. When he broke away I let out a long breath. "I was wondering when that was going to happen." I exclaimed.
He gave a sheepish smile. "My apologies, Miss. I was just too nervous."
"Are the nerves gone?"
He nodded, so I kissed him this time. After a while he broke off. "I've me thinking about our conversation the other day."
I groaned, I'd had the most embarrassing talk with Adalynn and I did not need it with him. "You want a family, and so do I. But we're different; the prophecy tells of our children, but I don't know if it's true." He stopped. "What I'm saying, is that I don't know if I can even get you pregnant. I don't know if everything works the way it should for a boy." He broke off, cringing. "And it makes me feel like I'm not man enough for you." He admitted quietly.
My heart melted and I hugged him fiercely, his head against my neck. "Finn, you're perfect for me. If the prophecy tells of children, we can have a family. But we're going to be seventeen forever so I hope we're not in any rush."
He smiled at my dry humour. "Are you sure you want kids with me?"
"Whenever I decide I want a family, it won't be with anyone but you." I assured him, kissing his nose. Aria walked in with Alistair, her face white. I knew something was wrong and immediately crossed off possibilities in my head. The only boy away from home at the moment was...
"It's Colm." Aria sobbed. "He's dead."

Every resident was sat at a table in the hall.