Sitting on the white sand, his bare feet brought up so he could rest his arms loosely on his knees, Gideon wondered why he even tried. It seemed as if everything he did to keep those he loved safe only made things worse. Now he was afraid it was too late.

It started out as such a simple plan. Hide Sapphira in plain sight and then wait for the danger to pass. Who would have thought it would take this long or the cost would be so high?

Eons lost because in the end she was lost. Not lost as in her soul slipped into the darkness never to return to the light, but lost as in physically could not be found, and yet she was right in front of them the entire time. Damn Michel and his games. If only the angel had talked to him before they wiped his memory he would have ended this madness a long time ago.

Grinding his teeth, Gideon cursed his brother’s part in all this. Just as quickly he took it back. Fallon had suffered just as much if not more for his part in their deception. At least Gideon had been allowed to stay in the heavens and, even though he had not realized it at the time, keep Sapphira safe from the demons that constantly hunted her. Fallon…. Gideon shuddered. No angel, fallen or otherwise, should be subjugated to what his brother had endured these last millenniums.

And now the Unspoken One was loose and hunting the one being that even after all this time he was still obsessed with owning. The one being that could either bring them peace, or destroy them all.

There was a rustle behind him followed by a soft thud, as if something fell onto the deep sand. Gideon did not turn around to see who had landed behind him. He did not need to. His brother’s presence was as familiar as his own.

“Any luck?” Gideon asked staring out at the light blue sea stretching out before him. A beautiful view if only he was in the mood to enjoy it.

“Nothing yet,” Fallon sighed wearily. More rustling and the dark angel sat heavily in the sand next to Gideon, his huge ink black wings lying in the sand next to Gideon’s pure white ones behind them. Pushing one hand through his shoulder-length black streaked with red hair, a stark contrast to Gideon’s short blonde hair, Fallon growled in frustration, “It’s like they have vanished into thin air.” After a moment of silence, he whispered desperately, “I can’t lose her again. Not like this.”

Gideon looked down at the sand between his knees knowing how his brother felt. He could not lose Sapphira either, but then again she wasn’t really theirs, was she. That privilege belonged to another far more powerful god. One they were, at one timed, devoted to just as deeply as they were devoted to Sapphira.

One hand snaked down and idly picked up a sea shell. Rubbing it between his fingers, old memories melded with new. Where Gideon knew Sapphira was far more than what she seemed, that together she and her mate were what kept the known universe, and those unknown, from ripping apart at the seams, it still did not completely erase the bitterness he felt every time he thought of her in the one male’s arms that had made the last thousand years a living hell. Or did it erase the deep feeling of loss.

Bitterness was a human emotion he should be far above being who he was. Yet it still tormented him. More so, it seemed, than his brother.

As calmly as he could, Gideon said into the silence, “They couldn’t vanish again without help, and we would know if she was…dead.” The word practically choked him.

“They have been hidden from us before,” Fallon reminded.

Very true.

The Unspoken One did not want to hide, though. He wanted to possess and once he did he would make sure they all knew he had finally won.

Fallon suddenly pushed himself to his feet, his wings fanning out behind him in agitation.

“Sitting here is not going to help us or them. Maybe if we go back to where we were separated. Pick up the trail….”

Fallon kept talking as he paced back and forth in front of Gideon, but Gideon did not hear him. His attention was on one of Fallon’s feathers that had dislodged itself from his wings and was slowly floating down to the soft sand. There was a memory that was buried deep in his subconscious that kept trying to remind him of something important. Of pain and blood and fire. Of darkness and light and unconditional love so deep that even now it soothed the ache in Gideon’s heart. Something that would help them find Sapphira.

Slowly, he reached out his hand to the feather that had settled softly in the sand. Picking it up he stared at it, twisting it one way then another. Then one of the words Fallon had uttered whispered in his head and he suddenly knew what to do.

 “Are you even listening to me?” Fallon snapped.

“Back,” Gideon answered, his voice that distance when someone is thinking out loud.

“That’s what I was saying. Go back to where we…,” Fallon began again in frustration.

“No,” Gideon said grinning up at his brother. “Back.”

Fallon stared at Gideon as if he had lost his mind. Maybe he had, because what he was thinking was insane, but it just might work. Jumping to his feet, Gideon showed Fallon the feather.

“We go back,” he repeated enthusiastically. “To the beginning.”

“The beginning,” Fallon repeated slowly, staring at the feather. “As in before it all started? Time travel?”

Gideon nodded.

“Are you insane? We can’t do that. It could rip the very foundations of the time continuum, not to mentions there are only two beings that have that kind of power and even they refuse to time travel.”

“Not true. You and I both know Sara has gone back in time to save us. Now it is our turn to go back and save hers.” When Fallon continued staring at him like he was insane, Gideon tried one more time. “What do we have to lose?”

“Everything,” Fallon breathed.

“Haven’t we already lost everything?”

Fallon’s eyes snapped to Gideon’s. While what his brother said was true, this was the most insane, stupidly dangerous idea he had ever come of with. So much could go wrong, yet at the same time everything  already had. Gideon was right. They had nothing to lose.

“What if it doesn’t work?” Fallon asked still unsure.

“Then we try again,” Gideon said firm in his conviction.

“And if it all goes to hell and we destroy everything they have built, everything we have fought so hard to protect?”

There was an uncertainty in Fallon’s voice that made Gideon hesitated. It was a huge risk, but the feeling in his gut was telling him that it was the only way. “Then they will truly begin at the beginning because everything will be gone, including us. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make to keep them safe.”

After a moment, Fallon’s hand came up, a small smile crossing his lips. Grinning, Gideon grasped Fallon’s forearm, the agreement made and sealed in that handshake.

“For the record I still think it’s an insane idea,” Fallon said grimly.

“Noted. Now to figure out how far to go back.”

“The day of the sentencing,” Fallon said quietly. “That way we don’t run the chance of changing too much and destroy everything.”

The color drained from Gideon’s face. It would mean Fallon would have to live through the horrors that followed that fateful day all over again.

“Are you sure?”

Fallon took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No.”

“Do you think it will be far enough?”

“Only time will tell.”

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

This story came about from a Free Write that I used to do every Friday on the Kellie Elmore website that took off. She is thinking about bring back her FWF and I hope she does because it was a lot of fun. There is a lot more (an entire book actually) that I will let you what I decide to do with it, whether it is to publish it through Amazon or on here.

Have a great day! 🙂