Chapter 8: Chapter 7

‘Be brave, Kaitlyn. Be brave. I am here.’

Jacob stroked her cheek. It was a simple thing to tell when Satan had her in his grip. Not only was she impossible to wake, but he could feel the heat of the flames in her skin. He could smell the sulphur in her hair. More and more Satan was making himself felt between dimensions.

And yet, this dream was different. Kaitlyn didn’t cry. She didn’t moan. She didn’t thrash. Instead, she lay stiff in his arms, her hands fisted amid his feathers.

For the first time, she was putting up a fight—and she seemed to be winning.

‘Good girl.’ He kissed her on the mouth.

He winced but didn’t pull away when she wrenched at his wings. Grabbing her face, he pressed his forehead to hers, watching as her eyelids flickered, feeling her erratic panting breaths. Her heart was beating fast. But she held herself together. And slowly she began to relax in his arms. By the time her beautiful brown eyes cracked open, the sun was rising.

‘Good morning,’ Jacob said.

‘Good morning,’ she said, her voice harsh from sleep. Her eyes glittered. ‘You won’t believe what just happened.’

‘I bet I can guess.’

Kaitlyn grinned. ’I beat him. I him!’ She grabbed his face. ‘And it’s all because of you.’ Kaitlyn kissed him between the eyes, then hard on the mouth. ‘I love you so much.’

‘I love you, too.’

Grabbing the back of her neck, he kissed her on the ear, he kissed her on the cheek, then turned her face to kiss her on her sweet, smiling lips. Already, he could feel a stirring in the pit of his stomach. Something that was becoming both familiar and exciting. Kaitlyn laughed as he rolled on top of her.

It was an easy thing to glide into her. Either she was still slippery from last night or she was ready again for this morning. Jacob knew was. Every time he saw her, felt her, smelled her, he felt himself come alive.

It took hardly any time at all to make her come, to feel his own orgasm rush down the length of his shaft in a blast of liquid heat.

By the end they were both panting. He felt a bead of warm sweat trickle down his spine beneath his feathers. Kaitlyn was gripping tightly onto the stems of his wings, a new habit that Jacob was enjoying.

After a long, lingering kiss, he gently disentangled himself and pulled away to sit on the edge of the bed.

‘Getting up already?’ Kaitlyn murmured.

Jacob tingled pleasantly as she pressed her hand into the middle of his back. A strangely intimate touch he hadn’t expected.

He would have preferred to have stayed in bed with her, exploring her, touching her, loving her—she didn’t know how much!—but he gripped his belly with a wince. ‘I think I feel hungry.’

‘I’m hungry too. I guess we should eat.’

Kaitlyn stretched out her long, smooth body as she yawned. Daylight gleamed against her soft, brown skin. Her long, dark hair was all tussled up. She looked so beautiful, so sexy, so extraordinary that Jacob’s mouth began to water.

He was unable to wrench his eyes away. From the elegant stretch of her throat, to the soft, luscious curves of her breasts, to the angles of her hips, to that perfect little V of hair between her legs—she ensnared his attention like a trap.

It was undeniable: woman truly was one of God’s most remarkable creations.

‘Stop it, Jacob. You’re making me blush.’

‘I’m sorry. I’m just …’ He turned away as he grabbed at his belly again.

Kaitlyn sat up and touched his shoulder. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m not sure. I thought I was hungry. But now I think I’m not hungry. It’s some kind of pain—but not a pain.’

Kaitlyn frowned. ‘You’ve been eating, you say?’

He nodded with a wince.

She lifted an eyebrow. ‘Have you gone to the bathroom yet?’

‘Gone to the bathroom? Do you think a shower would help?’

The corner of Kaitlyn’s mouth twitched. Her eyes filled with laughter. ‘That’s not what I mean. Have you done a poo yet?’

‘What? Oh-oh!’ He bit his lip. It shouldn’t have surprised him. It wasn’t unexpected. He knew he would have to “pass a motion” at some point, just as he had to urinate.

He could hear the laughter in Kaitlyn’s voice as she took his hand and slid from the bed. ‘Come on. You’d better go now or you’ll regret it.’

Quickly, they got changed.

He’d barely had time to pull his cloak on before the urge to “expunge” became so overwhelming he burst through the door. It was like a pressure. An pressure. It made him sweat. It made him tingle. It was starting to make him panic.

. A sensation he’d never conceived of before. It was horrible. How did humans tolerate it?

Vaguely, he heard Kaitlyn hurrying after him, her slippers thudding softly against the floor. Reaching the nearest bathroom, he slammed the door shut. Panting, gripping at his belly, he stared at the toilet, unsure what to do, fearful of the outcome. His heart was pounding. He felt so sick.

‘You okay in there?’ Kaitlyn said, tapping at the door. ‘Do you need some help?’

‘What am I—what am I supposed to do?’

‘Just pull down your pants and sit. Your body will do the rest.’

Jacob’s hands were trembling as he tugged down his pants. He turned around and tried to do as she said but it was awkward with his wings. The seat was cold against his backside.

Closing his eyes, he dropped his head into his hands and braced himself.

Minutes later and it was over. Jacob’s hands were shaking as he tore off several pieces of toilet paper as per Kaitlyn’s muffled instructions through the door. He grimaced as he finally completed his task and stood. He felt so much better. The urge was completely gone. But he didn’t feel good about it. His heart wouldn’t stop racing. He felt dizzy. Without looking at what he’d done, he flushed.

‘Don’t forget to wash your hands!’ Kaitlyn called.

His hands were trembling as he obeyed.

It was a relief to finally open the door and rejoin Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn twisted her lips. ‘You look pale.’

Jacob grabbed her wrist, making sure to use the hand he hadn’t wiped himself with, washed hands or no washed hands. ‘Please tell me it’s a once in a while thing.’

’Every day, Jacob. You’ll to go day.

me.’ She kept twisting and untwisting her lips. Finally she clapped a hand to her mouth as she snorted.

Jacob frowned. ‘It’s not funny, Kaitlyn.’

Shaking her head, Kaitlyn waved her hand, then leaned over her knees as she burst into laughter. A nun down the end of the hall turned to look at them with a start. Any annoyance Jacob felt quickly melted away. How could he be angry?

Their laughter echoed.

It was late by the time they’d properly dressed and cleaned up the room. Kaitlyn pulled up the blanket to cover the stain on the bottom sheet. ‘Just in case someone walks in,’ she said.

Breakfast had already been served but they managed to snag some leftover toast from the kitchen. Kaitlyn watched Jacob eat as they sat alone in the refectory. Warily, he bit down. The toast was cold and hard and felt like cardboard in his mouth. Kaitlyn had smeared strawberry jam onto it. It looked gooey and unappealing but the moment it hit his tongue he felt a queer zing. Instantly, his mouth burst with saliva. He felt an ache in his throat as he hungered for more. Three bites later and he was dusting off his hands and reaching for another.

‘Enjoy that?’ Kaitlyn chuckled.

He swallowed. ‘You have some jam on your lips.’

She lifted an eyebrow. ‘Do I?’

Leaning across the table, Jacob kissed it away.

Kaitlyn’s eyes were hooded as he sat back. ‘You’re lucky we’re alone.’

Jacob licked his lips. The tip of his tongue was tingling again and it wasn’t because of the jam.

Several slices of toast later and Jacob felt a heaviness in his belly. When he stood he felt an uncomfortable pressure that forced him to hunch over. He clapped his hand to his mouth when air raced up his throat in a loud burp. ‘Sorry.’

‘There’s no need to be embarrassed. It happens. Particularly when you eat too much.’ She took his hand as they left the table. ‘You’ve got to learn to know when to stop.’

Jacob shifted his wings at his back, feeling the weight of the cloak as they crushed his feathers. Two nuns passed them in the hall, their eyes wide as they watched him. A feather skipped across the floor. Kaitlyn quickly bent over to pick it up, but the two nuns had already seen it. If they hadn’t already guessed what lay beneath his cloak, they knew now.

‘They’re not going to all fall out, are they?’ Kaitlyn asked him guilty as she tucked it into the pocket of her dress.

‘No. My transformation was just a shock to my system. Within the next several weeks they should have all grown back.’

Lines appeared around Kaitlyn’s mouth.

‘It’s not your fault, Kaitlyn.’

She nodded mutely.

He should probably leave the confines of the abbey and shake his wings out properly in privacy. In fact, as they walked down one of the abbey’s longer halls towards the nave, he turned to Kaitlyn, about to explain just that, when they came upon a familiar nun.

‘Sister Grace.’ His voice echoed against the walls.

The girl paled. She was standing in the middle of the hall, watching them, her hands behind her back as she shifted awkwardly on her feet. Jacob got the impression that this was not a chance meeting.

She jerkily bobbed her head. ‘S-sorry to disturb you. M-mother Abbess is asking that you meet with her.’

Kaitlyn and Jacob looked at each other.

‘Why?’ Kaitlyn said.

‘She-she won’t say.’

‘That would be just fine,’ Jacob told the girl. ‘Let your Mother Abbess know that I’ll see her shortly.’

The girl bobbed her head and hurried away.

Once the girl disappeared around the corner, Kaitlyn frowned at him. ‘I have a bad feeling about this. The nuns have been acting strangely for the last few days.’

Jacob nodded. ‘I’ve noticed too.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘I have my suspicions.’

A cute little crease formed between Kaitlyn’s eyes. ‘Will you tell me?’

‘I’ll tell you all I can when I know anything for certain.’ He laid his hands upon her shoulders. ‘Have no fear, Kaitlyn. I will return.’

‘You’d better.’

The Mother Abbess was standing in her usual spot by the window as Jacob stepped into her office. Even at a glance, Jacob could tell that something wasn’t right. She was too stiff and she seemed to sag, as though bowed over by some unknown weight.

‘You wanted to see me, Abbess?’

She turned, her eyes darting over his “new” face. Her lips pressed together, as though her suspicions had been confirmed. ‘I hope my nuns have been treating you well.’

‘They have. Thank you, Abbess.’

Her eyes flicked searchingly over his cloak. Her smile was strained. ‘You seem different.’

’Well caught, Abbess. I different.’

‘Not too different, I hope.’

Jacob didn’t answer. The abbess cleared her throat. ‘Things have been happening. Things I did not expect. Things that should not be happening in the sanctity of an abbey with impressionable girls witnessing. Do you know of what I speak?’

‘I can take a guess.’

‘Though my nuns have kept your secret, they mutter and they whisper. Their ears and hearts fill with rumours and scandals. Is it true?’

‘If you’re referring to Kaitlyn and myself, it is true. I have taken her to bed.’

The nun’s mouth thinned. She went pale. She turned back to the window. ‘I do not know what to think of this.’

‘It is really none of your business.’

The abbess turned back to him with a start. ‘Anything that happens in my abbey is my business, angel or no angel.’ She thrust her hands into the deep pockets of her habit.

‘There is a reason why I’m doing this. I have God’s permission. That should be enough for you.’

‘So you say.’ She tightened her mouth. ‘You cannot stay here.’

‘We will not stay here. We are due to leave in two more days.’

’No. You cannot stay here any longer. You must leave today.

.’

Jacob clasped his hands behind his back as he tried to hide their trembling. It was troubling. With each passing day, it was becoming more and more difficult to control his emotions. Love. Anger. Fear.

‘So be it,’ he said calmly, swallowing his frustration. ‘But know that you’re putting yourself, your abbey and the world at risk.’

The old woman turned white.

Jacob felt a moment’s pleasure before he caught himself and sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Abbess. I should not have said that. I understand your fears and reservations. I, myself, feel the same way. Please know that we’ve appreciated your help. You have been brave. Just as your nuns have been brave.’

The nun gazed at him as though she still couldn’t quite believe what he was. And Jacob wondered whether, in the years to come, she would question her memories of what had happened here. Likely. It was with the way of humans. A survival tactic to deal with the incredible—and terrifying.

‘You will be in our prayers,’ she said.

‘As you will be in mine.’

With a nod, he left the room.