Dark Impulse Ch. 19

Her voice was cheerful as she addressed the middle-aged black man.

"Good morning, James. How are the wife and kids?"

The older man returned Grace's smile with a wide one of his own.

"They're just fine, thank you. What brings you here today?"

Grace looked over her shoulder at Gabriel, her gaze cool.

"I've come to give Mr. Knight here a private tour. You see, he's only going to be in New York for a few days and I just have to show him the Unicorn Tapestries before he leaves. It is okay, isn't it?"

James nodded. "Sure. Take as much time as you like and enjoy yourselves. I'll be here if you need anything."

They entered the main hall; Gabriel looked around at the interior of the museum in awe as they walked past the exquisite Cuxa Cloister on their way to the Unicorn Tapestries gallery. A moment later, Gabriel found himself face to face with the most beautiful pieces of art he had ever seen, "The Hunt of the Unicorn" series.

Schloss Ritter has nothing like this.

His throat went dry at the giant masterpieces of silk and wool. "My God."

He followed Grace to the first tapestry, "The Start of the Hunt," and was amazed by the vivid colors and costumes worn by the hunters as they prepared themselves for the pursuit of the elusive unicorn.

In the next scene, "The Unicorn is Found," the hunters catch up to the unicorn and it lowers its magical horn into the streaming water to remove the poisonous snake venom within. Gabriel went closer to admire the variety of plants and animals depicted in the scene, unaware that Grace watched him intently.

They moved on to the third tapestry, "The Unicorn Leaps Out of the Stream." Gabriel was taken aback by the cruel expressions on the hunters' faces and the multitude of raised spears aimed at the mythical animal as it tried to escape capture.

He looked at Grace, and she tilted her head at the scene.

"You have to remember that the Unicorn symbolized Christ, Gabriel."

The fourth scene was "The Unicorn Defends Himself," and indeed the creature tried valiantly to escape its tormentors. Its back legs were raised high in the air as it bucked and kicked at the approaching hunters, its horn buried in the side of one of the hunting dogs.

"Ouch!"

Despite herself, Grace found herself smiling at Gabriel's outburst as she led him to the next tapestry, "The Unicorn is Captured by the Maiden."

Gabriel frowned at the incomplete image. "Why is this one in pieces?"

"Because of mishandling over the years and the overall passage of time. These works are almost 500 years old. Fragments of such an old piece are bound to get lost."

He turned back to the scene, which showed a young woman standing near the unicorn inside an enclosed garden. He turned back to Grace for an explanation.

She cleared her throat. "Since the hunters were unsuccessful in their attempts to catch the unicorn, they tried to catch it in the traditional way. According to the legend, a unicorn can only be captured by a virginal maiden. If you look carefully at the creature's neck, you can see a woman's hand stroking it as well as some of her sleeve. The hand belongs to the actual maiden; the woman that you see standing next to the unicorn is more likely a servant of some kind."

Gabriel looked at it again. "Who's that dork in the tree? The one with the horn?"

Grace laughed out loud, the sound echoing in the large room.

"That's the Archangel Gabriel."

He flushed slightly with embarrassment as they moved on to the sixth scene, but it quickly vanished as he saw the unicorn finally defeated in "The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Castle."

Grace watched the sadness in Gabriel's features as he observed the hunters' savage spearing of the animal and the carting away of the unicorn's corpse.

She lightly touched his sleeve, guiding him to the seventh and final tapestry.

"The Unicorn In Captivity" featured the unicorn alive once more, reborn. It was chained within a circular pen, but the creature didn't seem to mind. The entire scene was dominated by numerous flowers and lush plants, including a tree filled with ripe pomegranates. He could almost taste them on his tongue, smell the wild orchids.

Smiling, Grace turned to face him. "This is considered to be the most famous of the series, and it's the one I most wanted you to see. Isn't it beautiful?"

Gabriel nodded in agreement, but his eyes never left her face.

It's not half as lovely as you.

His voice was warm. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

She tore her gaze away from his face to look at the tapestry. It was safer territory. After a long moment, he cleared his throat.

"What did you mean when you told the guard that I'm only here for a few days?"

Grace turned to face Gabriel again, her eyes unreadable.

"Because I figured you wouldn't stick around much longer than that after you've gotten whatever you came for."

He frowned at her defensive tone. "And that would be?"

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"You tell me, Knight. Why are you here? It can't possibly be for me."

Gabriel stepped closer. "What makes you so sure about that?"

She scoffed bitterly. "Over five years without so much as a phone call, and now this? You sending me the book, with an intimate love letter? You showing up at my Dad's place in search of me? At the university auditorium to watch my lecture? Please... please don't insult my intelligence by pretending that you're in love with me."

He reached out and cradled her face in his large hands, pulling her to him. His breath was fresh and warm as it washed over her skin, and she was painfully aware that his mouth was very close to hers. His voice was hoarse with emotion.

"Gracie, you couldn't be more wrong."

His lips were just as she remembered, soft and indescribably sensual. She knew that they were just within her reach; all she had to do was raise her face to make contact. She felt herself lean forward, drawn by his powerful magnetism.

Gabriel saw the flicker of fire in her eyes, the upward movement of her head.

To hell with taking things slow.

He moved one of his hands from her face to stroke her hair as he lowered his head to kiss her. He'd barely touched her lips when her eyes widened and she pulled away from him. Her voice trembled as she tried to recover.

"No. Answer my question, Gabriel. What brings you here?"

He sighed loudly in frustration, briefly directing his gaze to the unicorn. At that moment, he felt like the bound creature, rendered helpless by the chains of desire. However, unlike the unicorn, he wasn't content with the situation. It killed him, not just because Grace seemed to dismiss and deny even the remote possibility that he truly loved her, but also because she was another man's wife. It was a knife that twisted in his gut.

Gabriel took a deep breath as his eyes returned to hers. "I came for you, but since you insist on ignoring that fact I'll have to focus on the other details."

She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Okay. Let's hear it."

His green eyes darkened. "I was hired on a case. By your husband."

Grace's mouth dropped open in shock and she stared mutely at him until she found the ability to speak again. She frowned. "What kind of case? Tell me everything."

He did, carefully omitting the part with Liam's business card message.

She stared at the floor, unsure of what to think of the situation. Gabriel looked at her, feeling guilty for causing her distress. But there was no other way for him to find out what was going on and hopefully crack the case. He needed her help.

"So now I'm stuck in New York with nothing to do on until Anami returns."

Her face turned pale. "Have you heard about what happened in London?"

His voice softened at her worried tone. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm sure that he'll be fine."

Grace raised her head, her voice suddenly tough. "And you thought you could look me up in the meantime just for kicks, right? For entertainment while you wait?"

Gabriel stared at her as if she had sprouted horns and a tail.

"Hold on a second. You're the one who wanted to talk business, so we're talking about the case now. You had your chance on the other subject. It wasn't like that."

She looked away, and he remembered the research that he had done on the plane. "Do ravens have any significance for you or Anami?"

She was surprised by the question, having expected him to say more about why he was pursuing her. "Ravens? No, not at all... wait a second. David has a thing for ravens. He grew up in Ireland, and those birds are very powerful in Celtic lore. That's not really my area, though. I have a friend that's working on her doctorate in Archeology, specializing in the British Isles. You could meet with her if you're interested. I can set it up."

Gabriel smiled, and Grace felt her heart knock against her ribs.

"Sure, I'd like that. Thanks."

She nodded, uncomfortable with discussing her husband with her former lover.

"David wears a gold ring with an emblem of a raven's head, and... um, he has a rather large tattoo on his back of a raven in flight. He got it when he was a teenager."

Gabriel flinched slightly at her words, not liking the idea of Grace knowing another man in such intimate detail. Deep down, his senses screamed in outrage at the thought of her seeing and experiencing any naked male body other than his own.

He forced himself to respond in a neutral tone. "I see. Has he displayed any unusual behavior?"

She told him about David's increased aggression and outbursts within the past several months, and his fierce reaction to the bloody shirt discussion and the episode in the elevator. Grace didn't mention that she was planning to divorce him.

Gabriel doesn't need to know that part. What does it matter?

She cleared her throat in an attempt to keep her cool composure. "I'll call Mosely later today and have the items picked up. I can't keep them any longer."

He remembered the incident with the university police. "What happened at your office?"

Grace sighed at the memory. "It was ransacked, vandalized beyond recognition. I believe that David is behind it; I'm sure that he wanted to find and destroy any evidence that could tie him to the scene of the crime."

Gabriel swore under his breath. "That bastard."

She didn't reply. When she spoke again a moment later, her voice was pensive.

"Despite all that's happened recently, I wish him well and I hope that he'll be okay. I care for him very much. I don't want to see him hurt, Gabriel. Something tells me that he's been hurt deeply before, and I don't want to add to that in any way."

He watched her silently.You have no idea how damaged he is... 'Care'?

He could hear his own breathing as he spoke. "Do you love him?"

Grace's eyes flashed with hot anger as her tone grew cold.

"What I feel for my husband is none of your concern, but yes, I do love him. He's a good man and a wonderful provider for myself and our son. He was there for me when I needed someone in my corner, when nobody else gave a damn and for that I will always love him!"

As she threw the words at him, her soul whispered something else entirely.

There is more than one kind of love in this world. While I'll always be grateful to him for taking me out of the cold, David isn't the one I love. I'll never love another man as much as I love you, but I can't get past how you treated me. Why did you throw me away? Why have you now come to pour salt on the wound by talking of love?

Gabriel's own eyes glistened in response to Grace's passionate words, and his teeth clenched as he fought the urge to destroy her high opinion of David Anami.

Instead, he chose to take the high road. "I need your help, Gracie. Please."

She fought back tears, exhausted from the raging battle between heart and mind.

"What do you want from me, Gabriel?"

He stepped closer. "Has Anami talked to you about his past?"

She felt a shiver pass through her. "Only that he grew up in Ireland, and that his father passed away when he was very young. He was also married before, but she and the baby died in childbirth. Why?"

He ran a hand through his copper hair, trying to compose himself.

"Mosely dug up some information on him, and it's not pretty."

Grace took a deep breath to prepare herself. "I'm ready."

Gabriel told her everything, and she didn't know how to react to such a tragic tale of hate, revenge and loss. She felt sorry for David's pain over what happened to his mother, wife and child, but she was also fearful of the rage that such events could undoubtedly create in a person and what could happen if it suddenly exploded.

When he finished, she bit her lip so she wouldn't cry in front of him. "Thank you for informing me, but what does this have to do with helping you on the case?"

He looked down at her. "There's still the matter of the missing fourteen years. I need you to find out what he was doing during that time, see if it could shed some light on what's going on now."

She looked up at him, her face drawn. "I need to think about this for a while."

Gabriel nodded, keeping his hands at his sides instead of reaching out for her like he wanted. "I understand. Take your time and get back to me. Call me anytime."

Her face softened as she looked out of the window at the garden beyond.

"I need to be alone now, if you don't mind. Can you find your way back?"

"Sure. Look, Gracie..."

"Yes?"

Her eyes were suspiciously moist as she looked into his eyes, and whatever he was going to say died in his throat at what he saw in their midnight depths.

"I'm sorry about springing all this on you at once like this."

She nodded but didn't reply. With nothing else to say, Gabriel left her alone in the large gallery, not knowing that she let the tears fall as soon as he was out of sight.