Chapter Eleven
Lucien was watching the events that took place on earth through the orb that he'd conjured up. He clenched his fists, the orb extinguishing instantly. They've met, but from what he'd seen, the girl hadn't been able to detect his aura. Though she displayed hostility, Lucien could tell that she was beginning to find him a little intriguing, while he on the other hand, found her interesting. No doubt he'd done a good job in concealing his aura, but if he didn't try to get him to cooperate with him soon, his efforts would render useless.
Turning, he changed into a black shirt with long sleeves to hide the tattoos he sported along his arms and a pair of causal jeans. With a flick of his wrists, he suited his minions with in black suits and transported them all onto earth. He was carefully to appear in a dark and abandoned alley, so no one would see him conjuring up a black Mercedes. He got into the car with his minions and seconds later, the car drove off, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.
The car pulled to a stop minutes later, in front of a daycare. Lucien took a look at his watch and got out of the car. He slid his shades off his eyes and leaned against the car and waited. Seconds later, he heard the distinct sound of an engine belonging to a motorbike. A huge smile spread across his face just as the driver swerved and parked just behind his car. He started towards the man as he killed the engine and took his helmet off.
"Hello. My name is Lucien," Lucien said, extending his hand towards the man. He watched as he lifted his head slowly, his eyes clouded with suspicion and annoyance.
He ignored Lucien as he got off his bike and placed his helmet on his seat. He started to walk past Lucien when he said, "You're Noah Westland aren't you."
It was a statement, not a question, and it had succeeded in attracting Noah's attention. Slowly, he turned around to face Lucien, his eyes narrowing.
"Who are you?" Noah asked gruffly.
"I just told you, my name is Lucien," Lucien replied, a smile on his face despite the hostile look Noah was giving him.
"I heard you the first time. Who the hell are you?"
Noah thought the man was mad. From the way the man was dressed, Noah thought he was some sort of insurance agent when he approached him. He decided to ignore him and walked right past him when he'd mentioned his name. His interest peaked, as like his suspicion, he turned around and had demanded for his name.
"It doesn't matter. What matters, though, is the proposition that I'm about to present to you," Lucien said, clasping his hands in front of him. "You have two choices, Noah. Either to work with me, or against me."
"What do you mean?" Noah asked, his brows furrowing together in confusion and annoyance.
"To tell you the truth, you're in danger, Noah. Work with me and I'll give you everything," Lucien offered. "I'll get you out of this slump, you'll never have to work odd jobs anymore. I'll get you a high paying proper job, and your sister, you'll be able to provide for her with ease."
"Look, pal. I have no idea who you are or what the hell you're trying to sell me," Noah growled, his eyes narrowing in anger. "But don't you dare touch my sister."
Noah walked away, leaving that man behind.
"Not even if it might save your sister's life?"
Noah stopped in his tracks. His skin crawled at the thought that anything could happen to Natalie. He'd been shocked that this man even knew about Natalie, but he'd learnt to conceal his emotions well.
Seizing the opportunity, Lucien walked towards Noah. He had two choices in his hands, one was to go on avoiding the issue at hand and the other was to out rightly tell this man what he was proposing. Seeing how the first choice was going to yield nothing, Lucien decided to lay it all out.
"Look, Noah. What I'm about to tell you is absolutely true," Lucien began, slowly measuring his words. If he managed to win Noah over to his side, he'd already won half the battle. "I'm not what you think I am. I'm a-an angel, of sorts." Seeing the look of disbelief cross Noah's face, Lucien quickly added. "I know you think I'm crazy, but I'm not. You and your sister are about to be in grave danger if you don't work with me. Someone else who will be trying to hurt your sister will be coming for the both of you. And when the time comes, it'll be too later for me to even save you two."
Lucien was inwardly pleased with himself. He sounded so close to begging this mortal man. He'd even sound sincerely in his faked proposal! Now, as he watched the glimmer of thoughts passing through Noah's head right this instant, he was almost certain he'd succeeded in his plan. "Otherwise, how else would I know about you and your sister?"
Truth be told, Noah was more incredulous than afraid of what the man was telling him. Did that guy honestly think his lie sounded real? Though he was certain that what the man said was a whole lot of crap, he did worry about the fact that he knew about him and Natalie. The people who worked with him didn't even know about her, save for a handful who were closer to him. He took a step closer to the man, his eyes boring into the man's, and said,
"Look you psycho. What you said just would only convince the people at the mental institute. I'm warning you, don't you even dare touch my sister in any way, because if you do, I swear to God, you'll pay."
Satisfied that he had gotten what he wanted across out to the man, he walked hurriedly through the entrance of the daycare and never looked back.
Lucien watched as Noah disappeared through the entrance, his insides churning with anger. How dare he threaten to harm him when Lucien would do damage to him far worse than he could to him! And how dare he refuse his offer! Lucien slipped his shades on, immediately switching to plan B. Since he couldn't get Noah Westland to join him, he'll simply have to convince her then. He turned around, and with a flick of his wrists, brought his followers to his side. Carefully surveying the streets, he snapped his fingers, transporting the lot of them back to hell.
Danielle returned home late that night, with memories of the lunch date with Aidan still fresh in her head as she moved through the house in darkness, towards her room. They'd gone to the mall and decided on eating at Mac's Old Farmhouse. They'd sat there for hours and hours chatting about themselves, well, mostly about Aidan, since there was limited things she could tell him about herself. She'd never felt this happy in a long time, Danielle thought, completely unaware of the other presence in the house, besides hers. She dropped her bag onto the floor, by her study desk, and reached for the light switch. Light flooded the room, instantly revealing the two figures in her room, one sitting on the edge of her bed and the other standing by the window, both looking straight at her.
"By God!" Danielle gasped, taking a few steps back, her hands flying to her chest instinctively. "You two could have made your presence known before delivering the shock of my life to me!"
"You should have picked our presence up the moment you stepped into the house," Daniel answered, his tone flat. "There was no need for us to inform you beforehand."
Refusing to comment on his statement, Danielle straightened herself and started towards her wardrobe. She knew Daniel was right. She should have sensed their presence the instant she was in the house, but she didn't, because she was thinking about Aidan. And she very well couldn't tell them that. God only knows what lecture it would yield from Daniel. She stepped into the bathroom, ignoring the fact that she had guests in her room, waiting to speak to her. She turned the shower on, using the water and the time to clear her head and focus her thoughts before facing the both of them. Minutes later, she emerged from her bathroom, her hair dripping wet, dressed in a simple spaghetti top and gray drawstring pants. She'd left the door open, allowing the steam to evaporate into the air behind her.
"So, what brings you here?" Danielle asked, leaning against her dresser whilst she toweled dry her hair.
"To tell you of your charge," Daniel answered, once again, matter-of-factly.
"A man of few words, aren't you Daniel," Danielle said. She turned her attention to Kaitlyn instead. She'd always been the one who was more willing to communicate with her. "Care to elaborate?"
"Her name is Natalie Westland and she's only five years old," Kaitlyn explained. It wasn't the first time Danielle's gotten a charge, but it had been a long time since her last charge.
"A preschool kid?" Danielle echoed. She had never had such a young charge throughout her years as a half-angel. "What's wrong with her?"
"Apparently she lives with her brother in a dingy apartment just down Avenue Street and her father, as we know, is a drunk and a drug addict. He left them both five years ago and never came back until a few hours ago."
Danielle frowned. She could see why little Natalie Westland needed her protection. "He came back? What for?"
"Got kicked out by his mistress, ran out of money and booze, who knows," Daniel replied, shrugging. "There are a million of reasons for all we know."
Danielle studied Daniel's face carefully. As much as he was trying to not show that he care, she could see that he was very much affected by the grim situation Natalie Westland was in and faced.
"All we know is that he has abusive tendencies and that the little girl needs a protector."
"You mentioned she had a brother," Danielle voiced, remembering every little detail that Kaitlyn mentioned earlier on. "Doesn't he protect her?"
"He does, I would suppose," Kaitlyn shrugged. "They didn't really talk about that. We only know that there was a disturbance at their household noted a few hours earlier. And as Zora told us, while the father was gone, there weren't any disturbances reported."
"This isn't the first time this girl has become one of your many missions, isn't it," Danielle stated. Thinking of the fear and pain that the little girl had to go through while her father was home made her sick in the stomach. And now he was back in her life, once again without doubt, striking fear in her life. "I will pay the little girl a visit tomorrow and see if she's okay and try to fish out some information from her."
"The address of her house and the preschool she attends are on your dresser," Daniel said, moving to stand next to Kaitlyn.
Danielle reached behind her and picked the piece of paper in her hand, just as Kaitlyn bade her goodnight. She looked on as Kaitlyn and Daniel slowly faded into a white blinding light before finally vanishing completely into thin air. She turned her attention back to the piece of paper, mentally internalizing the two addresses.
"Natalie Westland," Danielle murmured, as she closed her eyes, trying to picture the little girl who needed her protection. She'd known pain, right before she died. She was no more than sixteen when she felt the pain an axe could inflict upon its victim. Though she was sure that the pain the little girl had to endure was no where near what she felt, a girl Natalie Westland's age should be spared of any sort of pain. Danielle opened her eyes, silently making a promise that she'll protect little Natalie no matter what happens.