contents

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Books by Lisa Olsen:

Excerpt from The Company of Shadows

Mercy for the Fallen

Lisa Olsen

(2013)

Tags:

ttt

Mercy for the Fallen

By

Lisa Olsen

Copyright © 2013 Lisa Olsen, all rights reserved.

Cover Image licensed by Depositphotos.com/Discovod

This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, copied, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any other format or changed in any way, including the author’s name and title, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.  The use of any real person, company or product names are for literary effect only and used without permission.  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

Visit the author’s website at http://www.lisaolsen.net

Acknowledgements

Thanks to my dynamite editing team – Randi Pandi, Beckie Pimentel, and my sweet James who tore right through this sucker in record time!  Thanks to my superfans for helping me settle on the right cover image – Tidal, Kristen, Emily, Randi, Beckie, and Angie.  And big thanks to all my readers for supporting this series, and for being so patient in waiting on the latest chapter in Mercy’s story.

Chapter One

“I’m farting with my mouth!”

Ah, the joys of motherhood.

A series of squishing noises followed as Eve did her best impression of a fart machine.  Not the most refined behavior for the morning meal, but what do you expect from three year old humor?

“Yes, you are, sweetie,” I said, barely sparing her a glance as I searched high and low for the coffee filters.  Where the hell had Parker put them?  The charming sound effects escalated until I turned around and gave her the attention she craved.  “That’s super gross, Bunny.”  My face twisted in disgust and she giggled, swinging her feet in delight.

That particular sound caught my undivided attention, and I couldn’t resist a quick tickle under her chin, producing more of the giggles.  Sitting at the breakfast bar in footie pajamas, she was almost too cute for words.  The long, chestnut hair, stuffed under a plastic Viking helmet she’d inherited from me.  Her bright blue eyes reminded me entirely too much of her father.

“Bunny, eat your Cream of Wheat before it gets cold and gloppy.  We have to leave soon for preschool.”

“Do bunnies eat creamy wheat?” she asked, stirring, stirring… none of it getting any closer to her mouth.

“No, they eat wheat of wheat.”

“I like it cold and gloppy,” she declared, scooping up a big spoonful and letting it fall with a plop into the bowl.  “Bunnies don’t got warm mush in the ground.”

“Bunnies don’t get to play on the slide either.  If you take too long you’ll miss morning yard time, so stop playing with your food and eat it.”

I’d officially become my mother.  Yikes.  Determined not to follow down that path, I stopped searching for the filters and settled for instant coffee so I could sit down with my girl and spend some time together.

“So… Halloween is coming up.”

Excited with the new topic, Eve chattered on and on about it, while I tried to get her to slip in a bite or two.  “So, what do you want to be then?” I asked, when she discarded all of the existing options from her costume arsenal.

“Pincefip!”

I loved my daughter, but she wasn’t always easy to understand.  Sometimes it sounded like she was talking around a mouth full of marbles.  It took about five minutes of close questioning to figure out she meant Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.  I wasn’t a fan of cartoons that encouraged girls to marry total strangers in general, but I convinced myself it was a passing phase.  Most likely there would be way worse things to object to by the time she got to marriageable age.

“Don’t you want to be Princess Aurora?  You already have the pink dress,” I pointed out.

“I don’t have yellow hair.” This was said in that voice that made it clear she thought I should be a little quicker.  I thought about pointing out that she didn’t have something else Prince Phillip did either, but in the end, I dropped it.

“Okay sure, why not?”  We talked about what she had in mind for the costume and I was fairly certain I could come up with something that would keep her fairly warm and comfortable.

Her breakfast mostly eaten, Eve slipped off the chair, bowl in hand as she headed for the basement door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To give Nelo my smush.”

“You’re going to make him fat.”  I shook my head, but didn’t stop her.  “Let Mimsy out too, okay?”

“Okay, Momma.”

There wasn’t too much trouble they could get into down there, but the fresh burst of giggles made me divert half my attention toward the basement door as I cleaned up after breakfast and started searching for the coffee filters in earnest.  I finally found them in the freezer of all places, and started a fresh pot of coffee for Parker.  His hours at the club kept him up quite a bit later, and we were lucky to see him before we left in the morning.

Mimsy darted through the open door, frantic to escape the noise as the giggles started up the basement stairs.  I opened the kitchen door to let her flee as Nelo burst forth into the room, and I saw the bulk of the giggles were coming from him.  His amber eyes darted around the room in desperation before he dove under the dining table, drawing the chair in after him.  If you know anything about shadow demons, you’ll know he was only half-assing the game of hide and go seek.  If he’d truly decided to hide from Evie, she never would’ve found him in a zillion years.

Eve’s steps were heavy on the stairs as she followed at a much slower pace.

“It’s time to get dressed.” I tried to deflect her as soon as she came into sight, but she ignored me, spotting Nelo under the table right away.  Nelo gave a squeak and darted out, sprinting for the stairs.

“Come back and let me kiss you awake!” Evie demanded, knees pumping as she chased after the little demon at a dead run.

“Time to go get dressed!” I called after them, gratified to hear the clop of feet on stairs as the chase continued up to her bedroom.  We’d already had the discussion with Eve that Nelo was our family secret.  I hoped she didn’t blab to anyone who would listen about having a demon in the house, but Parker and I decided they’d probably blame her active imagination for any slip ups.  After all, we didn’t have a purple dragon living in the backyard either.

The giggling and screeching continued, followed by a loud thump, and I started to think maybe I should head up there and help steer Eve back on course.  But Parker appeared in the kitchen with a look on his face that seemed to say – really?

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” I smiled sheepishly, guilt seeping in at seeing how worn out he looked.  “Did we wake you?”

“No, I always like to get up at the buttcrack of dawn after only getting four hours of sleep,” he deadpanned.  His usually clear, green eyes were red rimmed and tired, dark blonde hair matted to one side of his head.  The morning stubble was still appealing though, and I approached him with a conciliatory cup of coffee and a morning kiss.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

Parker took the cup in one hand and pulled me close for a hug, resting his chin on my shoulder.  “S’okay.  You can’t keep a hurricane in a bottle or it’ll explode.”  Right on cue, there was another loud thud, but before I could take two steps in the direction of the stairs, Nelo’s voice came floating down.

“It’s alright, Mistress.  Nothing’s broken.”

I considered calling up to see what was going on up there, but decided Nelo would tell me if there was something to worry about.

Seeing as how Parker was up, I popped a bagel into the toaster for him as he slid into Eve’s vacant seat at the breakfast bar.  “Don’t forget, I have that class this afternoon.”

“I know. Don’t worry, I won’t forget to pick up the rabbit,” he said, setting the coffee mug down.  “Listen, I want to talk to you about something.”

That made me stop.  “Uh oh, am I in trouble?”

“Maybe,” he grinned.  “But seriously, it feels like we haven’t had much alone time together lately and there’s something we should discuss.”

He was right.  Our schedules were completely opposite.  He worked at the club until late, and most nights I was too tired to wait up for him, having to get up early with Evie each morning.  “I know, I’m sorry.  But I’m almost done with school and Bunny’s in preschool now, so that should free up more time for us during the day.  I’m sorry things haven’t been so… awesome lately.”

“That wasn’t what I was going for, but now that you mention it, we could both use a bit of awesome.”  His lips curved into that smile that made me flush down to my toes.  “Hey, since I’m up anyway, maybe we should…”

The clump of feet on the stairs derailed that particular train of thought.  It was one thing to sneak off for some private adult time when Eve was down for a nap, but quite another when she was up and about.  Besides, I had to get her off to preschool soon.

Leaning in for a quick kiss, I touched my forehead to his.  “Later, I promise.”  My voice dropped to a whisper.  “I’ll take a nap tonight and then wait up for you to get home.  Then we can talk all you want.”  I sent a subtle burst of soothing Grace into him with my words, relieving the aches and pains from too little sleep, and some of the pinched look eased from around his eyes.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” he rumbled, pulling me closer.

“I hope that’s not all you hold…”

“Up, up, up!”  Eve hopped up and down, her hands smacking against Parker’s hip.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” Parker let go of me to scoop her into his arms, dropping a noisy kiss onto her cheek.  “How’s my favorite girl in the world?”

Eve squirmed in his arms, trying to avoid the rasp of his unshaven cheeks.  “You’re all tickly,” she giggled.  “I got dressed for school all by myself, Daddy.”

“You are getting so big…”  He made a show of staggering under her weight.  “I’m not going to be able to carry you for much longer.”

“Then I’ll carry you!”

I watched for a few moments as Parker lost the last vestiges of his serious mood, utterly captivated by our charmer of a daughter. While he kept Evie distracted, I brushed her hair, thereby avoiding the threat of tears when the snarl of tangles almost defeated me.  Checking the clock, I ran the brush through my hair as well, pulling it up into a high ponytail to get it out of the way.

I almost missed the heavy fur-lined boots Eve had on until Parker set her down.  She must have dug them out of the back of her closet.  They didn’t exactly go with the pretty sundress I’d picked out for her.  “Bunny, go and change into your mary janes, I put them by the end of your bed.”

“I like these,” she shrugged and Nelo agreed.

“They look very fetching.”

“Plus, she’s all set in case it snows,” Parker said, in a completely reasonable tone.

“It’s not going to snow, it’s already sixty degrees out there.”  We had at least a couple more weeks of mild September weather before the rain set in.

“It always pays to be prepared, isn’t that your motto?” he teased.

“Funny,” I said without a trace of a smile.  “Fine, you can wear the boots, but if your feet get hot later it’s your own fault.  We have to get moving, go and pick which baby you want to take to school today.”  As she scampered off to the living room with Nelo, I started running through my mental list aloud.  “Parker, I’ve got your dinner on the top shelf of the fridge.  There are cold cuts in there for lunch.”

“Mercy… get going.  I’ve got it covered.”

“There’s enough for one more cup of coffee and then can you please remember to rinse it out?  Because if you don’t rinse it…”

“I know.”

“Okay, but you forget to rinse it and it smells all bitter.”  I stopped for a breath and Parker pulled me into his arms for a good, long kiss.  When I came up for air, I couldn’t remember what we’d been talking about.  “What was I saying?” I blinked.

“You were saying how much you love me, and how awesome it’ll be when I get home tonight.”

“Right.  That,” I nodded, more than a little heated already.

“I’ma get in the car!” Eve called out, even as Nelo hung back, uncomfortable with stepping out into the morning sky.

“Wait…”  Parker caught her by the back of her sundress.  “Where’s my hug?”

The little girl went willingly into his arms.  “I lush you, Daddy.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.  Be good today.”

“I’m good every day,” she replied glibly, face scrunching when Parker gave her a sidelong look.  “Mostly.”

Parker turned to me.  “I wonder where she gets that from?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said loftily, gathering up a light sweater as I herded our daughter to the front door.  “I’ll see you later.”

I was going to finish up my round of classes, maybe even stop off at the fabric store and pick up a few things for Evie’s costume idea – maybe I’d look for something to make Nelo!  I’d finish school and shift my schedule to spend more time with Parker. I could be the kind of mom who had other kids over to play with plastic ponies, and build forts out of chairs and blankets, and have squirt gun battles in the house.

Yeah, none of that happened.

Chapter Two

Parker called just as I was about to scoot into my afternoon class.  I considered letting it go to voicemail, but I had a couple of minutes.  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked, taking a seat toward the back of the room.

“You’d better get down here.”

Something about his tone made my heart clench painfully.  “What is it?  Is something wrong with Bunny?”

“No, she’s safe, but we’ve definitely got a problem.”

I closed my eyes, remembering to breathe again as I inwardly cursed him for scaring me to death.  “What kind of a problem?”

“I’m at the school and… it’s better if you come and take a look for yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a flash.”  Blowing off class, I put my wings where my mouth was, taking to the sky in a rush of snowy white feathers.  I arrived at the school after a series of heartbeats instead of fighting with busy Seattle traffic.  Ordinarily, I didn’t cheat like that, but hey, what was the point of having angelic gifts if you couldn’t use them?

With Eve, “we’ve definitely got a problem” could mean anything.  Just because we’d avoided any major catastrophes over the past few years of the demonic or angelic variety, didn’t mean we didn’t have our own brand of oddness in our household.  For the most part, Eve was like any other girl.  A tad precocious maybe, but every once in a while something strange would surface.

Like the time I caught her trying to rouse the dead fishies at Pike’s Place Market with her Grace.

I’d never shown her how to do such a thing before.  She instinctively knew how to focus her energy, bathing the sock-eyed sucker in golden light while she crooned over it to wake up.  Christ, it might have even worked if I’d let her keep trying, but zombie fish wasn’t something I wanted to deal with in a busy marketplace.

And then there was always the fact that we counted a member of the demon community as part of our family.  Overall, it was more Adventure Time than Brady Bunch at our place. So when Parker told me to get on down there, I didn’t waste a second, making myself imperceptible to human eyes while I approached.

The first thing I noticed was the parking lot was jammed with vans.  News vans.  “That can’t be good,” I murmured, carefully threading my way to the building, which is no easy task when you’re invisible.  After a few minutes of eavesdropping, I had the skinny.  It turned out a kid fell off the slide and hurt her leg pretty badly.  For a second I thought they were talking about Evie, but that wasn’t the case.  Nope, what brought the news vans out in full force was the fact that my daughter had healed the kid in full view of the other children and the yard monitor, and the staff pretty much freaked out.

I’d never been open with her about my own ability to heal, though I’d had occasion to use it for cuts and scrapes over the years.  I usually put a Band-aid on the cut before healing it so she got the normal treatment.  We were still learning about what abilities Eve might develop, given her parentage, but this was the first time it’d been noticed by someone outside the family.  And holy cow, had she attracted attention, gobs of it.

I slipped into Ms. Hinshaw’s office, still keeping myself dim so as not to derail the conversation already in progress between her and Parker.  The director of Helping Hands was one of those larger than life women who bounced from activity to activity, never sitting still for an instant.  She didn’t laugh, she guffawed.  She didn’t just say something, she proclaimed it.  She gave the appearance of hanging onto your every word, even if all you wanted to do was ask where the bathroom was.  Her aura was equal parts pink and yellow.

A robust woman, dressed in an ankle length denim skirt with a long sleeved black top despite the mild weather, Ms. Hinshaw sat with her hands clasped in her lap.  She nodded earnestly while Parker tore her a new one.

“I want to know how you justify what your staff did,” Parker demanded, leaning forward, hands on his knees.  “My daughter is a minor, an extreme minor.  I thought this was a secure facility.  What happened to your duty to protect her privacy as well as her safety?”

Miss Hinshaw nodded some more, fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves as she took a few seconds to choose her words carefully.  “I can assure you, Mr. Davies, I am hearing your concern and you have every right to be frustrated.  Heaven knows we’ve all had an unusual day.”

I resisted the urge to snort from the corner of the room, but they wouldn’t have heard me anyway.  I’d gotten much better at controlling my ability to stay hidden, even when speaking.

“I promise, your daughter has not been in any danger.  She’s been supervised at all times, and hasn’t been traumatized in the least.”

“No?” Parker interrupted.  “You don’t call that circus out there traumatizing?”

Ms. Hinshaw put up both hands, bending forward at the waist, her smile never dimming.  “The security here hasn’t been compromised.  The press has been kept away from her, and none of them have been admitted into the school.”  She beamed as if she thought she deserved a cookie for that.  “We haven’t shared your daughter’s name with anyone, and as you can see, Evie’s completely untouched by any of this.”  The large window overlooking the g-pop playroom revealed Eve playing happily by herself, tucking a monster truck into a doll’s bed.

“And what’s to keep them from harassing her on the way out?  Or us once it leaks out?”

“The employee who spoke to the news has been disciplined, and I can assure you, your privacy will not be compromised.”  Her voice dripped with sympathy, but she rose, her face changing as she watched Eve through the window.  “As you can imagine though, this has been a bit… off-putting.”

“And you think Evie’s to blame?  Why don’t you ask your staff what they’ve been smoking?”

“Eve has proven to be a highly imaginative child in the weeks since she’s been here,” Ms. Hinshaw said carefully.  “And there have been other… incidents, though not of such a fantastic nature.”

“What kind of incidents?”

“Nothing that we didn’t chalk up to a healthy fantasy life at the time, but now…”

Parker’s brows drew together.  “Now what, you think my daughter’s a freak?”

“We don’t like to use labels here at Helping Hands.  Though it has been noted that some of the other children are a smidge uncomfortable around her.”  Ms. Hinshaw pinched her fingers together, going back to her desk, her eyes wide and earnest.  “Mr. Davies, we value the special qualities your child brings to this school. She is truly an exceptional child.  But I’m not so sure we’re the right fit for her.”

I started to clue into what she was hinting at around the same time Parker asked, “Are you kicking her out?”

“I think we need to discuss what the best environment is for your daughter.”

Parker stared at her, at a loss for words before he nodded slowly.

I wasn’t as forgiving.  “You’re kicking her out for helping another kid?”  They both jumped as I appeared by the door, and it gave me a happy to see Miss Hinshaw’s mouth gape like a trout.

“I… I, she… well, I wouldn’t say that exactly,” she stammered.

“You have no right tossing her out, we’re paid up through the end of the month.”

Parker recovered from my sudden entrance, able to guess that I’d heard most of the conversation.  “Mercy, I think we should…”

“What did she do that was so bad?” I demanded.

“It’s not bad… it’s just…”  I could see in her eyes she’d lumped me into the same freaky category as my daughter, given my sudden appearance.  It was tempting to make her eyes really bug out, but I bit back the urge to pull something dramatic.  “We’ll give you a pro-rated refund, of course.”

“Of course.”  My smile stretched as wide the Grand Canyon.  “Actually, I think you hit the nail right on the head, lady.  This is not the right environment for Evie.  I’d like to take my daughter home now.  Come on, Parker.”  My dramatic exit was somewhat ruined by the fact that I had to wait for her to enter a combination code into the door to the playroom, but I held my head up high as I strode in to pick Eve up.  “Time to go, Bunny.  Kiss your truck-baby goodnight.”

Parker helped her get her shoes on and that’s when I noticed they had all the other kids huddled into the infant play room, as if Eve had some kind of communicable disease they might catch if they got too close.  It was all I could do to keep a smile pasted on my face until we got out of there.

More than anything, I wanted to grab Parker’s hand and make the three of us disappear, rather than run the gauntlet between the front door and his car, but there were too many pairs of eyes on us as we left the building.  Instead we hung our heads low, like we were common criminals as the media swarmed, all hoping to catch a sound byte for the evening news.  Parker did his best to shield Eve’s face and I pulled my ponytail free to let my hair fall forward.  Once it became clear we didn’t want to give a statement, they left us alone, pouncing on another unsuspecting parent, arriving to pick up their child.

“Am I in trouble?” Eve asked as we buckled her into the back seat.  I gave her a quick hug before climbing in up front.

“No, sweetie, you’re not in trouble.  It sounds like you had a big day though.  Want to tell us about it?”

Eve kept up a running commentary on her day in agonizingly boring detail for the entire trip home.  I kept hoping she’d get to the “incident”, but it took a backseat to her spirited recount of playing worm tag with the boys in the yard.  (Apparently worm tag consists of chasing after the girls while dangling a worm from your fingers.  Evie played the role of chaser rather than chasee.)

“What about the thing with the girl who fell off the slide?” Parker prompted as we pulled into the driveway of our restored craftsman home.

“April fell and got hurt.”

“And then what happened?”

“She cried a lot.”

“And then?”

“Her nose got all icky snot.”

His line of questioning wasn’t working, so I decided to take a stab at it.  “Ms. Hinshaw said you helped April.  How did you help her?”

“I fixed her with my light.”

Now we were getting somewhere.  “How did you know how to fix her with your light, honey?”

“Shiny man told me how.”

Chapter Three

“Adamiel!”

It’d been months since he’d last shown up, unannounced, helping himself to a cup of coffee and half my bagel.  For the most part he’d stayed away over the past three years, even though I’d invited him to be a part of Eve’s life.  I guess I could understand why he chose not to.  I probably wouldn’t want to watch someone else raise my daughter as their own either.  But we’d agreed when she was still a tiny baby that it was for the best to maintain consistency wherever possible in her life.  Adam was nothing if not unpredictable; it was his defining characteristic.

So while Parker got out the Ritz Bits and turned on Sprout TV, I stepped onto the rear porch and yelled for Adam with all I was worth.  I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not that it took him less than fifteen minutes to show up, dark wings extended for dramatic effect as he floated down beside me.  His shoulders bunched and flexed as his wings tucked out of sight and my eyes were drawn to the way the snug, black t-shirt fit across his chest.

Everything about him screamed sexy beast, from the azure flash of his bedroom eyes, to the dark hair artfully falling over one brow, and the hint of a smirk on his perfectly sculpted lips.  Even the stubble on his jaw was appealing, reminding me of the way he kissed.  I might be in a committed, loving relationship with Parker, but I could still appreciate a thing of beauty when I saw it.

“You called?”

The nonchalance in his voice threw me off.  Had he been expecting my call or was he just trying to play it cool?  “Do you know why I did?”

“Kitten, I know exactly why you called,” he purred, pulling me close.  “Frankly, I’m surprised it took you this long, but I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”

“Ugh, don’t you ever stop?”  I shoved my way out of his grasp pretty easily; being stronger than he was had its advantages.

“You know I don’t,” he said, eyes flashing playfully.

“Have you been doing something behind my back?”

“I do a lot of things.”  He gave a careless shrug.  “I’m not sure it counts as behind your back when you won’t give me the time of day though.”

Not exactly something I wanted to dwell on.  “No, I mean something with Eve.”

“I’m pretty sure my involvement with our daughter ended when you picked someone else to play daddy dearest.”  His blue eyes simmered with something that might be anger, but it was difficult to tell from his casual delivery, as if everything was a big joke to him.

“It didn’t have to be that way.”

“That’s what I tried to tell you, but you chose otherwise.”

We were getting way off topic.  “Did you or did you not show Bunny how to heal someone today?”

That got his attention.  “No, that wouldn’t be on the top of my list of nifty tricks to show the kid.  Besides, I thought that was something you’d wait to teach her until she’s older.  Wasn’t that part of your carefully conceived plan?”

“That’s the way it was supposed to go, yes.  Unfortunately, someone else had other ideas.”  I summed up the incident at the preschool, gratified to see Adam lose some of his flippant manner.

“And you thought it was me?”

“She said the shiny man told her how to do it.  You’re the only angel I can think of she might have come into contact with.  Sam’s still MIA.”

“Yeah, but she knows me.  She knows my name.  She would’ve said Uncle Adam showed me this kickass new party trick, not some random shiny guy.”

“She’s young, Adam.”  As much as I hated to say it, I wasn’t sure how much Eve remembered Uncle Adam at all.  “A girl her age… her memory’s pretty hit and miss.”

“Especially when I’m not around.”  Adam sobered, hands landing on his hips as he looked up at the evening sky.

“Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?” I asked softly.  Parker wouldn’t like it, but I knew he wouldn’t stop Adam from seeing his daughter either.

“Sure, might as well.  Seeing as how I came all this way anyway.”

“Came all what way?  Where are you living these days?”

The moment we stepped into the kitchen, Eve bounded up, her expressive little face lit with excitement the instant she saw him.  “Unca Adam, Unca Adam!  Up, up, up!”  She danced for attention, arms reaching for him, chubby hands opening and closing.

“Hey, squirt!  How you been?”  Adam’s face split into a wide grin at the welcome, lifting her up for a bear hug.  “Christ, what’s Mommy been feeding you?  Elephant steaks?”  At her resulting giggles, he tried to guess what other outlandish things she’d been eating lately, poking the swell of her belly until she giggled so much I thought she might lose her breath.  But Adam switched to a new game, flying her around the kitchen like an airplane.

It brought a lump to my throat to see them together like that.  Not for the first time, I caught myself wondering if I’d made the right decision.  Not that I didn’t love my life with Parker – he was a wonderful father and he treated Evie like she was his own flesh and blood.  But didn’t she deserve to know Adam better?

“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” I found myself saying.

The invitation clearly surprised him, and Eve took up the call.  “Stay for dinner!” she all but yelled.

Adam gave me a crooked smile as he squeezed her hand.  “Kid’s got good taste, what can I say?”

“Say yes.”

He stared back at me across the breakfast bar, his face suddenly serious.  “Yes.”

I didn’t get a chance to find out exactly what he was saying yes to, as Parker chose that moment to enter the kitchen.

“Daddy!  Unca Adam’s stay for dinner!”

Two things happened when she ran for Parker’s arms.  Adam stiffened perceptibly when Eve called Parker Daddy, and Parker held Evie close, almost protectively, coming to wrap his free arm around my waist.

“Hello, Adam.  Long time no see,” Parker nodded to him, holding tight to his family.  “So, you’re staying for dinner, I take it?”  His voice was mild, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.

“Actually no, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that,” Adam replied, surprising the hell out of me.  Hadn’t he just said yes, a moment ago?

“Stay for dinner!”  Eve bounced in Parker’s arms.

“Next time, kiddo.  You and me will go halves on a pie.  Pepperoni and gummy bears.”

“You don’t have to take off,” I offered, but I stayed where I was, in Parker’s arms.

“I’ll be around,” he winked, slipping out the back door.

We stood there in a rare moment of silence, arms wrapped around each other until I shook myself out of it.  “Who’s hungry?  How’s about some spaghetti and meatbulbs?”

We broke up then, Parker being dragged off to the living room to play babies with Eve and a Tupperware container of tiny, plastic Disney princesses, while I got started on dinner.  I went through the motions, pretty much cooking on autopilot while I turned over the events of the day in my head, trying to guess what it meant for us that Eve had another angelic visitor we knew nothing about.

By the time I had dinner on the table, minus the garlic bread which I burned beyond recognition (some things resist being cooked on autopilot, go figure), the evening news was on.  Usually Eve ignored the boring news, but this night she bounced in her chair, pointing at the screen.

“That’s Miss Shari on TV!”

Miss Shari was a pretty girl in her early twenties, with wavy, shoulder length, walnut-brown hair and dark eyes.  She was being interviewed in front of the Helping Hands building earlier in the day, her expression one of wonder and joy.  The caption across the bottom of the screen read Local Miracle or Myth?

“We’re here with Shari Lansing, one of the staff here at Helping Hands Preschool, where a report of a modern day miracle has been made.  Miss Lansing, you actually saw this happen with your own eyes?”

“Hand to God,” Shari swore, one hand resting over her heart, the other held up in the air.  “It was a real miracle.  One minute that girl had a jagged cut down the side of her leg from the bolt, and then I saw it close up like… like magic.”

“And you say another student at the school made it happen?  What can you tell me about this child?”

“Well, she’s the sweetest little girl.  She has this light inside of her… I never really thought about it before, but that’s what it is, a light.  And when she put her hands over the wound, I saw the light.  I saw it, warm and healing, and she made it disappear.  No pain, no cut, no bruises, she made it all better.”

“What’s her name?”

“Oh… I don’t…”  Miss Shari seemed to realize all at once that maybe she’d said too much.  Or maybe it was because Ms. Hinshaw chose that moment to emerge from the building.

“I’m sorry, we can’t release any information on our students.”  As she spoke, Ms. Hinshaw turned Miss Shari around by the shoulders and gave her a tiny shove toward the school.

“Surely the world deserves to know more about this miracle worker,” the reporter countered.

“That’s out of my hands.  All I can tell you is the child is no longer enrolled here.  And I value the work that you do, your thirst for knowledge, but I can’t comment any further.”

“That’s all we have on details for the moment.  We’ve received three other solid corroborations of the event, but no one wanted to appear on the record, including the family of the girl who was allegedly healed today.  Did a modern miracle happen at this Seattle school?  I’ll leave you with the following quote: Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.  Saint Augustine.”

Eve had already lost interest by the time her teacher disappeared from the screen, entirely focused on trying to spear a meatball with the end of her fork.  Parker and I absorbed the whole of it, wondering in silence what, if anything, this meant for us.  He clicked off the sound as the next news story came on, and we braced Eve for more details.

“Did Miss Shari see you help April today?” I asked.

“Uh huh.”

“Who else was there?”  She rattled off a few names, no one I recognized, but I took them to be other kids at the school.  “When April fell, was the shiny man already there, or did he get there after it happened?”

“He was already there.  We were playing tic tac toe.”

It was really starting to creep me out, the idea that my daughter had this unknown celestial visitor.  Especially since I knew angels weren’t always who I counted as the ‘good guys’.

The same thought must have occurred to Parker, as he took up the line of questioning.  “Can you tell me about the shiny man, sweetheart?  Have you seen him before today?”

“Oh sure, lots of times.”

Yep, definitely creeped out.  “What does he look like?” I asked.

“Like you.”

“Like me?  With dark hair?”

“Nope, it’s yellow.”

“Blonde?”

She nodded.  “Pretty blue eyes and he shines like you, Momma.”

“I shine?”

“Uh huh, like Unca Adam.”

“Can you see colors around Daddy?  What color is he?”

“Orange.”  She fixed me with a look like I should know better than to ask her such an easy one.  We’d never had a chat before about auras, human or otherwise, but apparently she could see them, the same as I could.  I guess it made sense, she was part angel, after all.  If she had the Grace, she probably had some of the other perks.  She’d never been sick a day in her life and I’d kept her away from doctors in general.  We hadn’t experimented much with her body’s ability to heal itself, I tended to heal anything on sight to save her the pain.

That was all we could get out of her on the shiny man though.  Apart from learning he was “big” and “pretty”, there were few specifics she could give us.  I’d seen any number of blonde angels in my experience, but none of them had shown much interest in Eve.  Apart from one – but I didn’t dare voice his name aloud.  Both because I didn’t want to attract his attention, and because I didn’t want to freak Parker out any more than he already was.

Evie chattered about Adam all through dinner, and Parker hardly touched his plate, turning the news back up as soon as we stopped grilling Eve for answers.  Finally, he pushed himself away from the table, declaring the need to get back to the club.

“What about dinner?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Parker, you need to eat.”

“I’ll grab something later then.”

“Hey…” I caught onto his hand in the kitchen.  “I’m sorry if today got kind of weird, but I love you.”

“I love you too, angel.”  He kissed my hair, pulling me in close for a hug.  “I’ll see you later tonight.  Are you still waiting up for me?”

“Definitely,” I smiled as he went out the back door.

I came back into the dining room in time to see Evie feeding Nelo from her dinner plate.  It was a sight I’d gotten used to over the years.  Eve’s appetite had never been big, but she continued to grow like a weed, so I tried not to worry much about it.  Besides, Nelo made out like a bandit.  He’d even developed a taste for baby food.

“Nelo, if you’re hungry you can have the rest of Parker’s plate, but Bunny needs her own meatballs to grow up big and strong,” I chided him lightly.  Nelo edged away from the table, looking guilty as hell and I realized he’d already filched the meat off of that plate too.  “Really?” I raised a single brow.

“I’m sorry, Mistress.  I was hungry.”

“I can feed you after Bunny goes to bed, there’s no need to fill up on people food if you’re feeling peckish.”  I gave him a pointed look and he perked right up at the offer of Grace.

“Thank you, Mistress.”

“Okay, you guys get a half hour of TV while I clean up in the kitchen and then it’s bath time.”  They settled in the living room with Spongebob Squarepants, Nelo’s favorite.

I took comfort in the routine chores, putting away the leftovers, loading up the dishwasher – making everything neat and tidy.  It was the only order I could impose over my life, and I ordered the crap out of it.  Bath time came with plenty of splashes and suds, and Alice made it to the Mad Hatter’s tea party before Eve’s eyelids started to droop.

With Evie tucked into bed and Nelo down watching DVD’s in the basement, I made myself a cup of decaf.  Intending to finish up my final paper of the semester before I headed upstairs for that nap, I enjoyed quiet solitude for the first time that day.

Until Adam’s voice made me jump, spilling hot coffee down the front of my top.  “I don’t suppose you noticed, but there’s a guy out there making some kind of art out of your garbage.”

Chapter Four

I pulled the burning fabric away from my chest with a hiss, but not before it stung my skin.

“Ooh, sorry about that.  Need a hand?”  He waggled his fingers.

“No thanks, I’ll manage.”  It wasn’t much of a burn anyway, the pain had already started to fade.  “What were you yammering about, something with garbage?”

“There’s a guy out there.  At first I thought he was just a bum digging through your garbage cans, but he’s building something out of the junk he finds.”

My gaze flew to the window, but I couldn’t see anything through the sheers.  “Building something like what?”

“I don’t know, it could be a rocket ship to take him back to his home planet, for all I know.  I’m not a connoisseur of crap.”

“Okay…”  I slipped on my shoes, intent on getting some answers for myself.

“Hey, you’re not going out there, are you?”

“Are you kidding me?  You’re not going to give me the helpless female lecture, are you?”  If he was, he had another thing coming to him.

“Nope, I just like to watch you get all flushed like that,” he smirked, slipping out the door ahead of me.  Suppressing a roll of the eyes, I followed after him, but I couldn’t completely hold back the smile.  As infuriating as he could be sometimes, it was nice to have Adam back in small doses.

Sure enough, there was a guy poking around in the garbage cans on the side of the house.  His aura was mostly green, with flecks of vivid pink.  I could see how Adam had made the ‘homeless’ assessment; the guy was dressed in shabby, second hand clothes that reeked of cigarettes and sour milk.  His dark hair was wild and matted, the scruffy beard dotted with unidentifiable objects.  His weathered skin spoke of a life spent out under the elements, and his hands were calloused, with half-moons of dirt beneath his fingernails.

But instead of a plastic bag full of stolen recyclables by his side, he was erecting some kind of… an altar, I guess you could call it.  He’d stacked pavers from the back yard (Parker was going to pitch a fit when he noticed them missing) with a damaged skateboard across the top of them.  On the top was a stubby candle, the flame sheltered by a broken bottle.  I recognized flowers from our front garden arranged in a wreath around a single shoe – one of Eve’s castoffs that had lost its mate, making it unsuitable for donation.

As we watched, he straightened from rooting around in the can, emerging triumphantly with a broken crayon and a half eaten lollipop covered in ants.

“Eewh… Hey, buddy?  What do you think you’re doing out here?” I asked, approaching him warily.

“Oh… he was right… you shine with God’s favor!  Blessed be thy name!”  His voice was a touch raspy, but deep, as though it could travel the length of a football field without strain.  Or maybe reach the back of a church from a pulpit.  The whole God thing gave me pause – could he see my Grace or was he cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?

“Um… right.  Listen, you can’t be digging through our garbage.”

“I have come to make my humble offering,” he said with a broad smile, revealing surprisingly strong teeth, if somewhat yellowed.

“Well, go make it somewhere else, pal,” Adam chimed in.  “This is private property.”

Instead of leaving, he fell to his knees, his face shining with rapt joy.  “You, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.”

“Um…”  I stared at him, at a loss for words.  What the hell was he talking about?  He might be awake, but he was clearly a few drinks south of sober.

“It’s from Thessalonians 5,” Adam supplied.

“Super,” I muttered.  So now I had a religious nut to deal with on top of everything else.  “Who are you anyway?  What are you doing here of all places?”  It couldn’t have anything to do with the newscast.  If Eve’s identity had been leaked, we’d have the press camped on our doorstep, not the homeless.

“I am the first disciple.  The chosen prophet.  Address me as your devoted servant.”

“Okay, well, I’m not calling you that.  What’s your name?  Do you remember?”  At that point I wasn’t sure if he’d escaped from a loony bin or what, but maybe the cops might help him get back to where he belonged if we knew his name.

“You may call me Archbishop Steve.”

“Archbishop Steve… is it?” Adam snorted.  “Okay, look, you’re gonna have to move along.  This isn’t a church, and there’s nothing for you to worship here.”

“It is in the word – There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

“And that’s from Revelations,” Adam added.  “The same end of the world crap these losers are always spouting.”

Steve raised his arms to the sky, spreading his hands.  “The angel of the Lord came to me and he said – Look to the heavens… the end to all suffering is nigh.  For the light shall triumph over the dark so long as the new Mother brings hope to the pure of heart.”

“That’s nonsense, it’s not in the scriptures anywhere.”  Adam grabbed hold of Steve’s elbow, hauling him to his feet.  “Look, buddy, it’s real swell that you think you’re hearing the voice of God and all, but I can guarantee you, it’s not Him.”

“I speak the truth,” Steve insisted, puffing out his chest as he pulled his arm free.  “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”

“More Thessalonians,” Adam muttered. “Okay, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you left me with no choice.”  He extended his wings for maximum effect, and the soft golden glow I saw around him all the time swelled brighter.

“I say unto thee, you are commanded to leave this place, as it is Holy Ground and you are unworthy.”  The Grace flared under his hand, bright in the darkness.  “Lead not others unto this place, until ye shall tread without fear, knowing all evil has been scrubbed from your soul.”

Archbishop Steve backed away from the holy light, his face a mask of rapture mixed with fear.  Gibberish spilled from his lips as he stumbled backwards to the curb, and he continued to speak in tongues – if that’s what it was – until he disappeared on foot down the street.

Adam tucked away the wings with a soft rush of air.  “I still got it,” he winked, rolling his shoulders.

“I’m not so sure you should’ve done that,” I said as we went back into the house.  My coffee had gone cold, and I stuck it in the sink, reaching for a bottle of Baileys instead.

“The guy was a nutball.  Nobody’s going to believe a single thing he ever says.”

“Yeah, but all that stuff about this being holy ground and him not being worthy?  Won’t you get in trouble for abusing your Grace in front of a human like that?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.  That’s probably the least abusive thing I’ve done this century.”

“God, this has been the weirdest day,” I muttered, taking a healthy drink.  When I didn’t offer him one, Adam swiped the bottle, tipping it back.

“I dunno, I’ve had worse.  It was nice to see you and the rugrat again.”

“You could’ve stayed for dinner.”

“I was under the impression Parker didn’t want me around.”

“Since when has that ever bothered you before?”  I let out an inelegant snort.

“Okay, since never.  But he looked pretty shaken up about the events of the day.  I figured he didn’t need me hanging around, showing him up.”

“Don’t you worry about Parker, he does fine.  I don’t think he’s worried about you ‘showing him up’.  He just doesn’t like you.”

“I can’t imagine why.  I’ve never done anything to him.”  Adam actually sounded a tad miffed by the idea.

“Something about you abandoning me when I was pregnant…” I pretended to consider aloud.  “I think that’s the part that soured him on the Adam experience.”

“And yet he should be thanking me.  If I hadn’t left in the first place, it would be me lying here beside you every night.”

“This is his house,” I pointed out.

“Fine, it’d be my bed you slept in every night.”  His eyes twinkled playfully as he took another swig of alcohol.  “I don’t see what he’s got to be so grouchy about.  So the kid got kicked out of school.  So what?  Sounds like she didn’t need to be in that shitty place anyway.”

“Hey, language!”

“Sorry, did I offend your virgin ears?  The kid’s asleep.”  He capped the bottle and slid it aside, advancing on me like a jungle cat stalking its prey.  “She won’t hear a thing.”

I retreated to the dining room where I had my books stacked on the buffet table.  “That’s right, because you’re leaving.  I invited you to stay for dinner, not ogle me while I study.”

“I could help, you know.”

“Are you serious?”  My tone left no doubts that anything he had to contribute would end up a huge time waster and land me in dangerous territory.

“I have been through college a time or two.”

It made sense, but didn’t make him any more of an attractive mentor.  “Sorry, I don’t think it’s the best idea for the two of us to be study buddies.  Thanks for coming today when I called, and thanks for letting me know about Archbishop Steve, and you can come and see Evie whenever you want to, but I don’t think we should hang out together alone.”

“Don’t trust yourself, huh?”  His smug smile resurfaced.

“Maybe,” I admitted.  It was true, even after all that time had passed, there was still something about Adam that got to me.

“I’ll take it.”  The smugness disappeared from his smile and he looked light enough to float away as he backed toward the door.  “Catch you later, Merce.”

“Someday, maybe,” I whispered to the empty room.

“Someday maybe what?” Nelo asked, appearing at the top of the basement stairs, Mimsy’s empty food bowl in hand.

“Nothing.  Listen, there’s been a weird guy hanging outside near the house.  He calls himself Archbishop Steve.  Have you ever seen someone like that around here?”

“No, Mistress.”

“I’d like you to keep an eye out for him at night.  Can you please do that for me?”

“Of course.  What shall I do if I see him?”

“If he’s not trying to break in here or do anything that might hurt us… I guess let me know the next morning.”  I didn’t want to start getting middle of the night reports if all the guy did was dig through our garbage.  “But if he does anything scary or messes with the house in any way, come and get me right away.  Do you understand?”

“Oh yes, Mistress.  Serve as your guard at night, and protect the house.”  The little guy seemed happy to have something to do.

“But don’t do anything dangerous.  Like I said, come and get me if something bad happens.  Or call for Adam, I have a feeling he’ll be sticking around.”

“Oh, Adam’s been here for a while.”

“What do you mean he’s been here?”

“He comes to visit Bunny all the time.  Mostly when you’re asleep, at night, but sometimes when you’re at school.”

He’d been stopping by the whole time?  I wasn’t sure if I should be angry about that or not.  I had offered to let him see Evie whenever he wanted to.  “Does he spend time with Bunny then?  Playing with her?”  Why hadn’t she ever said anything?

“Oh no, Mistress.  He only comes in when she’s asleep.  Was I wrong to keep it from you?  Master Adam said you’d invited him in the past and since I’d heard it from your own lips…” he trailed off, worry creasing his features, shoulders slumping.  “It was meant to keep you from worrying and I saw no harm in it.  Master Adam said it would be more troubling for you and Parker to know about his visits.  Did I do wrong?”

He’d been keeping tabs on her this whole time.  I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse.  “No, Nelo, it’s okay.  But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t keep any secrets from me.  Is there anything else I should know?”

“Sometimes Master Adam watches you while you sleep as well.”

Super.  “Okay, thanks for letting me know.  And don’t call him master.  He’s not your master, he’s plain old Adam.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Nelo, have you ever seen any other angels around here?  Maybe one with blonde hair?”

“No, not since Sam stopped coming to play.”

“Let me know if you see anyone else hanging around here.  I’m counting on you to be my eyes and ears at night.”

“You can count on me, Mistress.  I am an army of one.”

“Come here then, my army of one.  Let me give you your rations.”  I gathered his slight body to mine, sending him a soft burst of Grace as I rocked him back and forth.

* * *

Daphne’s call caught me just as I climbed into bed to take my nap.  “I saw the weirdest thing on the news tonight.”

“Let me guess, miracle or myth, right?”

“Yes!  You saw it too?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”  I summed up the incident at Eve’s school, including the bare bones of Adam’s visit and Archbishop Steve poking through our garbage outside too.

“Wow, sounds like you had a busy day.  What are you going to do?”

“Nothing.  It’ll blow over and they didn’t release her name or picture.  I highly doubt it’ll get picked up beyond tonight.  I’m more worried about the weirdo we found outside the house.”

“I guess it’s a good thing Adam was there to shoo him away.”

“I’m not so sure about that.  I mean, I could’ve easily done the same thing, but… it feels like it’s wrong to go throwing around angelic clout.  Neither one of us has the right to speak for God like that.”

“I don’t know, he’s got a lot more experience with those things than you do.  If he thought it was fine, it probably is.  Don’t you think?”

If she’d been talking about Sam, I might have been convinced.  But Adam wasn’t known for thinking things through before he acted.  What might have seemed like a convenient solution could prove foolhardy in the cold light of day.  “Not much I can do about it now, I just hope it works and keeps that kook away.”

“So… did you guys have some time to talk?  He hasn’t been around for a while now.  How did he seem?”

I decided to leave off the fact that Adam had been lurking around for quite some time, not wanting her to speculate if another fallen angel had tried the same with her.  “You know Adam… same as always.”  Not a lie.

“Did he, um, mention…”

“No, I didn’t ask him about Sam.  I thought you were dating that guy, Kirk?”

“No, I know.  I just wondered.”  Her voice got quiet, and my lips mashed together for a second as I debated whether or not to change the subject.

“Daph…”  I’d thought she was over Sam.  I couldn’t remember the last time she’d mentioned him.

“I’m fine.  I wonder how he is sometimes, that’s all.”

“I wish I could tell you.  I haven’t seen him in a while, not since Evie’s birthday over a year ago.”

“You saw him then?  Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to feel the way you’re feeling right now,” I answered honestly.  “Daphne… you have to let him go.  Move on and find happiness with someone who’ll be there for you.”

“I know, it’s just hard.  Don’t you miss Adam sometimes?”

It wasn’t hard to bring back the flash of desire for Adam.  I could feel his Grace out there, a tether going from his heart to mine.  “Sometimes.”  I deliberately cut off the longing, forcing myself to remember how great I had it before I let myself get carried away.  There was more to love than a rush of hormones.  “But Parker’s the man for me.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you know I love Parker too, but don’t you sometimes think…”

“What?”

“I couldn’t still feel this way after all this time if it wasn’t real.”

“I never said it wasn’t real, Daphne.  It’s just not meant to be.”

“What if moving on is just a way of giving up?”

I wasn’t sure how to explain that it wasn’t enough, those fleeting moments of happiness were too heavily shadowed with misery for me to consider it a viable future.  Not for me at least, not with Evie to think about.  And Daphne would never find someone to be with if she kept wallowing over losing Sam.

“It’s not giving up to want to be happy.  You deserve happiness, and so do I.  On our terms, not theirs.”

“Right, I know.”

“You have to let him go, Daph.  If you keep obsessing about him, you’re only going to end up hurting yourself.”

“Thanks, Mercy.  I know I can always count on you to understand.  It must be tons harder for you to put Adam behind you when he keeps popping up though, right?”

“I can handle it.”  Before too long he’d be gone again and things would get back to normal.  Well, as normal as it got for us.  “Listen, I’d better go.  I’ll see you on Tuesday for our movie fest.”

No sooner had I hung up, when the phone buzzed again, an unknown number flashing on the screen.  “Hello?”

“You’re picturing me naked right now, aren’t you?”  Adam’s voice slid over me like dark honey, rich and sweet.  Somehow I managed to combat the mental image that went along with his words.

“Not really, no.”

“But you are thinking of me.”

“Actually, I was about to go to bed.”

“Already?  It’s barely eight o’clock.”  Scorn dripped from his voice for such a ridiculous plan before he found the seductive purr again.  “Want me to come over and help you fall asleep?”

“No thanks, I want to be well rested for Parker when he gets home.”

Silence reigned for a few moments.  “Are you in bed now?”

“It so happens that I am.”

“You miss me there beside you, don’t you?”

“Goodnight, Adam.”  I hung up before it turned into something more intimate than chit chat.  I wasn’t going to play his game.  I had way more with Parker than a few fleeting memories of a love that couldn’t stand the test of real life.  But as I drifted off to sleep, images of a certain fallen angel slipped in.  And damn if they weren’t naked…

Chapter Five

Parker surprised me the next morning by having the coffee ready and Evie fed by the time I got out of the shower.  I could hear singing coming from her bedroom with Nelo, playing along with her See ‘N Say.

“Morning, darlin’,” he greeted me when I stepped into the kitchen, pressing a mug of coffee, the way I liked it, into my hand.  A cinnamon raisin bagel smeared with peanut butter waited for me on the breakfast bar.

“Wow, you should stay up way too late more often if this is the treatment I get.”

“I didn’t sleep long, but I slept deep,” he grinned, pulling me closer by the belt loops of my jeans when I set down the cup.  “Totally worth it.”

“I agree, we should definitely do that more often.”  I noticed the empty bowl next to my plate.  “Did Bunny eat all of her breakfast or did you let Nelo finish it up?”

“Nope, she ate it all herself.”  Parker let go of me to pick up the bowl, depositing it in the sink.

“How did you manage that?”

“I bribed her.” He looked like he was about to explain his genius parenting skills but I waved him off.

“Wait… the less I know about it, the better.  I’m just glad she ate for once.” Sometimes I wondered if it was the Grace.  Did she even need to eat at all?  I hadn’t noticed much of a change in my appetite since receiving the Grace, but she was something different.

Parker poured himself a cup as well and joined me at the breakfast bar.  “Hey listen, can we talk now?”

“Again?  We just talked last night.”

“That was not talking. That was…”

“Hey, you wanted awesome,” I pointed out.

“I did, and it was super awesome.  But sooner or later you’re going to have to talk to me about real stuff.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?”  My brows drew together.  “I talk to you about real stuff everyday.  And now we get to talk about unreal stuff too because we have to find another preschool for Bunny.”

“It’s fine,” he waved me off.  “I can stay with her during the day and you can watch her at night when I’m at the club like we’ve been doing before we enrolled her.”

“She needs to be around other kids, Parker.  You heard the lady, she’s creepy.”

A furrow appeared on his brow.  “She’s not creepy.”

“If she’s creeping out other kids, that makes her creepy by definition.”  My voice dropped to a whisper.  “She needs to learn how to interact with kids her age, not just Nelo, or she’s going to have a sad, lonely childhood.”

“Hey, you’re the one who thought it’d be a great idea to give her a demon playmate.”

“It is great for both of them,” I added softly.  “She loves him like a brother and you know he loves her too.  But sooner or later she’s going to have to figure out how to blend what she is with the real world.”

“She’s only three.”

“And she’s already ended up on the evening news.”

Parker got up to pace around the island.  “Maybe we should hold off on school then, until she’s old enough to understand what’s appropriate behavior for being in public?”

“Fine, say we wait.  What happens when we take her anywhere?  To the store, to the library, the park…  We can’t keep her a prisoner in the house.  I won’t raise her that way.”

“I’m not saying we should.”  He stopped beside me with a comforting smile, hands settling on my shoulders.  “Mercy, we have time to figure this out.  What happened yesterday was like a wake up call, but we’re up to the task.”

“Then you’re not freaked out about this?”

“Maybe a bit, but I know we’ll be okay.”

“Then what did you want to talk about?”

His smiled widened, but Parker let go of me to go around to the fridge.  “Drink your coffee before it gets cold.  I picked up some bacon, I just need to nuke it…”  His words trailed off as he fished a piece of notebook paper out of the fridge.  Unfolding it, he read aloud.  “Mistress, there are two people outside by the azaleas.  They do not seem to be harming the house, but I believe it is the man you mentioned as he is most interested in our garbage.”  Parker looked up, brows knitting together.  “What the hell is he talking about?”

“I forgot to tell you, there was a guy poking around in our garbage last night.  Completely harmless, but I asked Nelo to keep an eye on the place at night.”

“But now there’s two of them?”

“Apparently?” I shrugged, not knowing any more about it than he did.  I was grateful for the heads up, but I wished Nelo had led with the news instead of leaving it in a note.  How long had they been out there?

“I’ll deal with it,” Parker sighed, slipping on a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt.  But when he emerged from the closet with a baseball bat, I inserted myself between him and the door.

“No… you can’t do it like that.  The guy’s a little loopy, but he’s harmless, I swear.”

“I don’t care who he is, if there’s a guy lurking on my property, I have a right to chase him off.”

“Just… let me talk to him.  Maybe I can find out what he wants and get rid of him for good.”

“I’m not letting you go out there alone.”

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged, deciding it was easier to let him tag along than to argue about the fact that I was much better suited for defending myself than he was.  Without bothering to change out of my slippers, I went out the back door, finding Archbishop Steve before his makeshift altar, a woman in a fluorescent rain poncho kneeling beside him.  I couldn’t see much of her under the poncho, but she appeared to be in her forties with dark, horn-rimmed glasses.  Her aura was a peaceful blue with green at the center, and I sensed no danger from either of them.

“Archbishop Steve,” I said by way of greeting.  “I see you brought a friend this time.”

“I have brought my first disciple,” he nodded.

“I am his disciple,” the woman echoed, rocking slightly, forward and backward.

“Okay, nice to meet you, disciple…”

“Patti.  She is Disciple Patti.”

“I am Disciple Patti,” she repeated.

“Uh huh.”  ’Cause that made sense.  “Look, I thought we told you last night to get out of here.”

“We?” Parker frowned.

“Adam stopped by again, it’s not important.”  I let out a short breath.  “You were told not to come back, Steve.”

“But I am worthy, don’t you see?”  Fervor lit Steve’s face.  “Salvation is at hand, and I have divine purpose!”

“Praise His name,” Patti murmured.  At least she was capable of more than parroting him.

“What makes you think you’re worthy?”

“Because the Angel of the Lord spoke to me.  I am his conduit on this Earth.”

“I don’t think so,” I scoffed.  “See, that’s my gig.  And nobody said anything to me about you forming a commune on our property.”  I was the Clarion after all, shouldn’t I be the one doing the calling if he was truly chosen for something?  “What do you want?”

“We seek the divine knowledge, to understand as God intended.  He has promised to reveal all.  And then we shall be as one.”

“As one,” Patti mumbled.

“Only that was the other guy, remember?  The devil was the one promising full disclosure.  That’s what got us kicked out of Eden in the first place,” Parker said, surprising me with his knowledge of the bible.

Was Lucifer Eve’s secret visitor?  “What did this angel look like?”

“He was glorious to behold, and the light of truth spilled from his every pore.”

“Uh huh, that doesn’t help me,” I muttered.  “Let me guess, tall, blonde, good looking enough to be a movie star, sorta full of himself?”  Of course that described about half the angels I’d encountered so far.

“He is the bringer of truth.  He will reveal the path to the light.”

We weren’t getting anywhere with this.  “What did he tell you to do – exactly?”

“He bade me gather an army to keep the child safe.”

“He told you to keep her safe?” I blinked.  What the hell was Lucifer up to?  Didn’t he get that he was exposing her with all the attention?  How was that supposed to keep her safe?

“Keep her safe, praise His name.”  Disciple Patti rocked.

“Hey, it’s real sweet you want to take on this supposed holy mission and all, but you can’t do it here.  You’re going to have to leave.”

“We can not leave the path to understanding.”

“Back off or we’ll call the cops.  You understand that?”  Parker stepped forward, smacking the baseball bat against the palm of his hand.

“We shall fear no evil, for ours is a just cause.  Will you let us see the child?”

I started to see Adam’s point the night before.  There was no use trying reason on a crazy person.  “Ugh, I didn’t want to have to do this…” I muttered, producing my sword with a flick of the wrist.  “I am the Bringer of Life, and I will keep the child safe.  You are not to approach her, lest you incur my wrath.”  The sword gleamed in the morning sun and I hoped like hell none of the neighbors were watching at that particular moment.  At least I kept my wings out of sight, the sword would be far easier to explain.

“Hail to the Bringer of Life!”  Steve bowed low, Patti following right behind him.  “What is your message, holy one?”

“Leave us in peace.  The Child of Light is innocent and should remain so until His purpose is revealed.  Whatsoever you do… do it somewhere else.”  That was about the extent of my bible-speak.  Anything else and I intended to use the sharp end of the sword to make my point.

“It shall be as you say, Holy Mother,” Steve edged backwards, on his knees.  “We will gather our army in secret, awaiting the day when all will be revealed.”

“You do that.”

“Come, Patti, there is much work to be done.”

“Praise His name,” she murmured, awkwardly backing away on her hands and knees.

We waited there, me with my sword and Parker with his bat until they reached the sidewalk and started down the block, still backing away slowly.  Finally, I opened my hand, letting the sword disappear as we shuffled back to the house.  Neither one of us said a word as Parker took the bacon out of the fridge and popped it in the microwave to heat up.  My coffee was a smidge cooler than I liked, but still warm enough to drink, and I drained the mug.  Neither of us spoke until Parker set the plate of bacon on the counter between us.

“So… you’ve got your own religion now.”

“I do not,” I scowled.  Technically Eve did, from the sound of it.

“What was with all that child of the light stuff then?”

“I was improvising.  It worked, didn’t it?”

“This is getting weird, Mercy.”

“And I’m supposed to bear some responsibility for that?”

“I’m not saying it’s your fault, but you have to admit, the weirdness factor has gone way up in the last couple of days.”

“What if this doesn’t go away?  What if they come back?  Or other angels start giving her nifty ideas like how to walk on water?  Or Evie starts sprouting wings when we’re at the supermarket?”

His head canted to one side.  “You can walk on water?”

“Parker…”

“No, I know, not important.  I’m sorry, angel.  C’mere.”  He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.  My head nestled against his shoulder and I took comfort in the soothing warmth of his body and his familiar scent.  “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”

“I’m sorry things are so weird,” I sighed against his neck.

“Hey, how about we both take today off and go to the zoo while the weather’s still nice?”

“I don’t know, Parker.  I already missed my afternoon class yesterday, and I’m so close to finishing…”

“Okay fine.”  His arms dropped away, and he took a step back.  “I’ll take Bunny to the zoo and you can go to school.”

“Parker, don’t be like that… it’s not like I don’t want to go to the zoo.”

“I like the zoo.”  Adam strolled in, stealing a piece of bacon from the plate on the counter.

Chapter Six

“Nobody asked you,” Parker growled, taking the plate of bacon and shoving it back into the refrigerator.  “What’s he doing here?”

“How should I know?  What are you doing here, Adam?”

“I was in the neighborhood.  I thought I should stop by and see my girl.” He waggled his eyebrows at me playfully.

“She hasn’t been your girl for a while now,” Parker replied smugly, and Adam’s hands came up.

“I meant the kid, of course.”

“My statement stands.”

“Ouch.”  Adam’s face contorted with pain for half a second before the smirk returned.  “Feeling quite the macho man today, are we?”

“Eve’s upstairs if you want to spend some time with her.”  I cut off the conversation before they got into a real pissing match.

“Tell you what.  How about I take BunBun to the zoo and the two of you can have your grown up time to work some stuff out?”

Was he serious?  He’d never spent any alone time with her before, at least, not when she was awake.  “I don’t know, Adam.  Maybe you should start with something a bit closer to home.”

“Agreed.  I’m not sure I like the idea of letting her go with him,” Parker said, deep furrows appearing on his brow.

A roll of the eyes was given.  “It’s the zoo, Mercy, not the moon,” Adam pointed out.  “I’ve got it covered.  We’ll even go in the car instead of the fun way.”

Part of me thought it was such a bad idea, but part of me could realize he deserved some time with his daughter while she was conscious.  “Alright.”

“But Merce…” Parker scowled.

“You wanted to talk, didn’t you?”

It took another half hour to get them loaded up and out the door.  Adam balked at carrying Eve’s pink vinyl diaper bag, which held everything from snacks to a handful of small toys rather than actual diapers now.  I suppose I could’ve swapped her things out into Parker’s hiking pack, but I admit, I took a perverse thrill from watching him strap on the bag with cute, baby bunnies all over it.

“Okay, you’ve got me all to yourself now,” I smiled, leaning against the door once they’d gone.  “Are you sure you still want to talk?” I quirked a brow at Parker in invitation.

“I think we should, yes.”

So much for my playful mood.  “What’s so important?  Is it those people outside?  We can call the cops on them if they come back.”

“No, it’s not that.  I want to talk about you and me.”

That brought me up short.  “What about you and me?  We’re good, aren’t we?”  Christ… weren’t we?  I’d thought we were closer than ever.  Maybe we didn’t spend as much time together as we used to, but last night’s awesome proved we still knew how to make that time count.

“No, we’re good.  But I can’t help but think we could be so much better.”

“How?”  If he said word one about an open relationship I was going to let him have it.

“You really can’t guess?”

“I may be part angel, but I’m not a mind reader, Parker.  If you want something, you have to tell me what it is.”

Parker took hold of both my hands, leading me over to the couch.  “I want you to marry me.”

“Not this again…”  He hadn’t brought up the subject for over a year.  The last time we’d talked about it, we both agreed it wasn’t necessary.  We were both happy, and we had Bunny, there was nothing marriage could possibly add to the scenario other than a tax break.

“Why not?  Whatever you were afraid of happening before, it’s pretty clear it hasn’t come to pass.  I love you, Mercy, and I want you to be my wife.”

“We’ve been over this before.”  I shook my head, pulling my hands from his.  “What would getting married possibly change?”

“Plenty… You love me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.  And it has nothing to do with our legal status.”

“Marriage is more than a certificate and a box to check on your driver’s license, Mercy.  It’s a commitment.  To us, to our family.”

“I am committed to us.  I’m not going anywhere.”  I started to see where this was coming from.  “Wait, is this because of Adam?”

“You know I’ve wanted this for a long time.  I tried bringing it up before I even knew he was in town.  But Adam’s part of it, I’m not gonna lie.  What kind of a mixed message are you giving him that you won’t agree to marry me?”

“I’m not giving him mixed messages, he knows I want to be with you.”  Not that it necessarily made it through that thick skull of his.  Maybe I did need to be more direct?  But I wasn’t going to get married just to send a message to Adam.

“You have to be doing something to make him think he can waltz in here whenever he wants to.”

“That’s the way Adam is.  He’s always been a pain in the ass, since the first day I met him.  He can’t help it.  Thousands of years of being worshipped by women tend to make a guy a little fat-headed.  He can’t bring himself to believe that I don’t want him.”

“Don’t you?”  Parker’s eyes were hooded with vulnerability and I touched my forehead to his.

Maybe a part of me would always want Adam, but I wasn’t a slave to those emotions.  I pulled back to look him in the eyes.  “I love you, Parker.  Not because I had no choice, but because I wanted to be with you.  I still do.  You made me fall in love with you and Bunny loves you too.  Adam dropping in out of the blue isn’t going to change that.”

“I want Evie to have my name, not yours.  I want to adopt her, and make things legal between us.  I want us to be a real family.”

I’d been all set to have Parker’s name on her birth certificate in the first place, but the papers Finch provided had my last name on them and Adam Anderson listed as the father.  I hadn’t pushed at the time, but in the years since, Parker was the only real father she’d ever known.  “I can have Finch do that if it’ll make you happy.  We don’t have to get married to do it.”

“That’s all just paperwork.  I’m talking about standing up before friends and family and pledging to be together forever.  I want to know that you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you.”

“I do, I really do.”  Even though forever might mean something entirely different for me.

“Then marry me.”

I don’t know why I couldn’t say yes.  But every time he said marriage it set off a burst of fear, deep in the pit of my stomach.  “I promise I’ll think about it.  Now, I really have to get going for my first class.”

“Are you sure you can’t play hookey today?”

“We can talk about it later, I promise, but I have to go.”  I could see the disappointment in his eyes, but he let me go with a faint smile.

* * *

Parker didn’t pressure me for an answer when I got home later that afternoon.  Barely trading more than a few words with me, he took off for the club, leaving me to a quiet house with Eve upstairs taking a nap after her busy day at the zoo.  My daughter chattered on about Unca Adam from the moment she woke to the moment I put her back down for the night, and I wondered how she’d take it when Adam disappeared again.  Would she simply roll with the punches and get super psyched to see him every time he blew into town, or would his absence break her little heart?

Those thoughts plagued me as I plodded my way through my homework.  After setting Nelo on patrol outside and checking one last time on Evie, I changed into my nightgown, emerging from the bathroom to find Adam stretched out on my bed, reading through one of my books.  I couldn’t see which one he had, but the bare chest on the front gave me a pretty good idea what kind of a book it was.

“What are you doing here?”  Was I giving him mixed signals?  Why else would he think it was okay to hang out on my bed and go through my stuff?

“Hang on a sec, it gets really good here.”  Adam ignored my question, continuing to read until he flipped the page.  “This is what it takes to get your motor running these days, is it?”  He tossed the book aside.  “I can refresh your memory if you like.  I can send a quiver of pleasure to your heated core from the barest of touches,” he quoted, flashing me those bedroom eyes again.

“Yeah, that’s not happening again in this century.  But you can borrow the book if you need help working some frustrations out.”  I smiled sweetly, pulling a pair of shorts out of my dresser drawer.

“What happened to me ruining you for all other men?” he grumbled, rolling onto his side to watch me.

“Parker does just fine.”  More than fine, but I didn’t want to get into detail.

“But it can’t be like it was with us, is it?”

I wasn’t about to answer that.  “There are more important things than sex to a successful relationship.”

“Name three.”

“Why can’t you leave it alone?” I snapped, already filled to the brim with my annoyance quota for the day thanks to him.  Adam immediately backed off, rolling up to a sitting position, his hands coming up in a supplicating gesture.

“I was just teasing.  Jesus, you don’t have to bite my head off.”

“I’m sorry.  You just make it hard sometimes, you know that?”

“I know, I do.  I really do.”

I wasn’t prepared for him to agree with me.  I sank down onto the end of the bed, leaving a good foot of space between us.  “You’re always pushing, always joking, always taking it too far.”

“I thought you didn’t want me to be serious anymore when it came to you and me.”

There was nothing funny about the way he looked at me then.  The regret coupled with need… it wasn’t a teasing lust he showed me, it was so much more.  I forced myself to take in a long, slow breath before I replied.  “There is no you and me anymore.”

Adam nodded slowly, dropping his gaze after a few heartbeats.  “Do you want me to stay away?”

Did I?  “No, Adam.  You deserve to see Evie whenever you want to.”

“Just not you?”

“Not like that.  If you want to take her out to the zoo again, or the movies, or the park or whatever, that’s fine.  You can even come over to hang out at the house, just… I wish you’d call first.  It upsets Parker when you drop in unannounced.”

“What about you?  Does it upset you?”

“Whatever upsets Parker upsets me.”

“But if it was just you?”

“It’s not.  And it won’t be, not for the foreseeable future.  Parker asked me to marry him again.”

He was silent for a second, but I saw no sign of surprise on his features.  “And you said…?”

“I haven’t answered him yet.”

“That’s kind of an answer in itself, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not.  It’s a big decision.  One that affects Evie too, not only me.”

“And me.”

My brows came together at his interpretation of things.  “I don’t think you can rightly say it affects you.  I’m already with Parker now.  The only thing that would change if we got married is me getting a new piece of jewelry.”

“If that’s all you’re after, I could have you dripping in diamonds within the hour,” he grinned and I shook my head, biting back a smile.

“You know it’s not.”

“If that’s the only thing that would change, then why haven’t you said yes?”

He had me there.  “I don’t know.  Something about the idea of marriage freaks me out.  I agreed to marry you before, and look how craptastic that turned out.”

Adam swallowed back his initial response to that, and it was another few moments before he spoke.  “Mercy, I know I freaked out when I first found out about Bunny…”

“No, I know, and I’ve come to understand it was all for the best.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far…”  His brows twitched closer together.

“Don’t you see?  When does it ever work out for people?  I can’t think of a single married couple that’s been together for more than a few years, tops.  Oh, I’m sure they exist, but I’m not convinced it’s the right way to go.”  Things with Parker were good, really good, and I didn’t want to screw it up.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re right.”

“I’ll bet.”

“No really,” he said earnestly.  “Unless you’re sure it’s what you want with your whole heart, you shouldn’t do it.  And he shouldn’t push you to do something you don’t want to do either.”

“What are you talking about?  You push me to do things I don’t want to all the time.”

“No, I push you to do things you want to do but shouldn’t.  There’s a difference.”   The smirk was back, and this time I let myself smile in kind.

“Fair enough.  I do love him though.  And it would make him so happy if I said yes.”  Maybe I was worried about nothing?  I did want to be with Parker, no matter how tempting the illusion of being with Adam was sometimes.  In so many ways Parker was the better man.  He never pushed, well… except for the whole marriage thing.  He never left me feeling shattered and alone.  He was always there for me, and more importantly, for Eve.

“You know, there’s one thing you should consider before you decide whether to do the deed or not,” Adam said, drawing me from my reverie.

“What’s that?”

“This.”  All at once he reached for me, his hand slipping under the base of my neck, binding me to him as his lips covered mine.  Surprise stole my breath and in that instant he seized the advantage, his tongue sweeping out to meet mine as he took possession of my mouth.  I’d almost forgotten the taste of him.  It sparked the memory of bare skin sliding on tangled sheets, of cries in the darkness, lit only by the soft glow of our Grace.  I opened my eyes to see that Grace burning between us now as he pulled me closer.

I was strong enough to break away from him, but I didn’t.  I let him kiss me.  No, that’s not right.  I didn’t let him do anything, I kissed him back.  My fingers threaded through his dark hair, holding tight as a longing so deep… I hadn’t realized it still existed, clawed its way to the surface.

Adam was the first one to pull away, and it took everything I had in me not to chase after his lips.  I sat there, appalled by my weakness, the telltale shame of my desire burning like a flame all over my skin.  I saw it all over him too and I wondered why he’d stopped the kiss when it was so clearly what he wanted.

A myriad of expressions crossed his face then but I wasn’t able to decipher them all before he found his smirk again.  “This isn’t going to just go away, no matter what you tell yourself.  The next time you’re with Parker you’re going to be thinking about that kiss.”  Adam’s voice dropped, low and intimate; it caressed me as surely as any touch on my skin.  “And when you fall asleep tonight, it’ll be me you’ll dream of in your bed above you, my hands on your soft, silky skin, the taste of my mouth against yours, and my name on your lips the moment you find your sweet release.”  His lips curved into a wicked grin.  “I’ll go now, but this isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

My eyes had fallen shut at the sound of his voice, almost hypnotic in its tone.  Was this what it was like to feel the pull of the Grace allure?   With a blink I realized he’d stopped speaking and was no longer on the bed beside me.  Cheeks burning with shame, I closed the open window and climbed into my cold bed.  Sleep was a long time in coming…

Chapter Seven

I rolled over, my eyes lighting upon the bare form stretched out beside me.  God, he was more gorgeous than any man had a right to be.

“So, you’re finally up.”  He smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to my shoulder.

“Maybe if you hadn’t kept me up so late…” I said, turning to catch his lips before he pulled away.  Only too happy to oblige, he leaned in for a slow, leisurely kiss.  A few moments later he pulled back, a lazy smile on his face.

“I’m pretty sure you were the one keeping me up,” he smirked, and I grinned back, giving his neck a playful nip.

“I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Oh, it’s like that is it?”  He gave a bark of laughter, pushing me back and mimicking the love bite, his teeth grazing lightly over the tender skin behind my ear.  “I’ll give you something to complain about…” he growled, his voice rough with desire.

“Never…” I breathed, my hands sliding up his muscular arms, nails biting into his flesh as he settled between my thighs.  How could I ever complain about this?

“Tell me you love me,” he demanded at my ear, his movements slow and deliberate, designed to drive me crazy with need.

“I love you,” I gasped, teeth scraping at his shoulder.  It felt like he wanted to consume me, body and soul.

“Me.  Tell me you love me,” he insisted.

“Yes.”  My voice broke on a cry of pleasure.  “I love you, Adam…”

I woke with a start, my body covered in a fine sheen of sweat, hands fisted in the sheets as I came to my senses.

It was just a dream.

My ears still rang with the sound of my name on Adam’s lips, but there was no one there but Parker sleeping beside me.  My body still throbbed with unreleased pressure and as I rolled over, I imagined I could still feel his hands on me.  Gooseflesh erupted over my skin as I remembered the sound of his voice at my ear, dark with desire.  The way our bodies moved together…  it was enough to send the faintest glow over my skin as I couldn’t help but mix the memory of the dream with the last time we’d been together.  Christmas Morning.  Right after he’d proposed.  It seemed like a lifetime ago.  I forced a deep, cleansing breath.

It was just a dream.

No reason to feel guilty, right?  Nobody had control over their dreams, it was just one of those things.  It’d been more than two weeks since that kiss and I hadn’t been close to repeating it once since then.  It didn’t mean anything.

It was just a simple dream.

So why then did I feel so sick with loss as reality sank in?  Part of me wanted to get up and take a shower, wash away the last vestiges of the dream and get my head back on straight.  Parker lay beside me, oblivious to my shame spiral.

But part of me wanted to close my eyes and chase the tail end of the dream where Adam waited for me.

“Merceline.”

The sound of my name had me sitting bolt upright in bed.  All at once I knew it’d been that voice pulling me from the intense dream.  And it wasn’t Adam’s voice at all, it was Gabriel’s.  The voice only I could hear as Clarion.

“What is it?” Parker murmured, his head lifting from the pillow when I swung my legs out of bed.

“I have work to do.”

“Now?  It’s the middle of the night.”

“Somehow I don’t think that matters to them.”  I pointed skyward.

“Oh, that work.”  He sank back against the pillow, his arm falling across his forehead.  I knew he didn’t like it when I went off on these things.  I’m not sure what he thought went on, but it was mostly like being an errand girl.  I had to relay a message to someone.  Usually another angel, but sometimes to a human and I got to play angel myself.  That was kind of fun, I admit.  But mostly it was boring, especially when it was for a gathering of angels and I had to act as translator for Gabriel.

“I’m sorry.  Hopefully it won’t take that long.”

“Can’t you go in the morning?”

“I have to think it’s pretty important or he wouldn’t be calling me before the crack of dawn.”

“Merceline.”  The call came again.

“I have to go, he’s waiting for me.”  I wished I had time for a shower.  I still felt tingly after that dream, and it was a little weird going to meet an archangel in my current state.  I tugged on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt, looking around for a scrunchie to pull back my tangle of hair.

“It’s just Gabriel though, right?”

“I don’t know.  It might be a meeting, or it’s anyone’s guess.”

“But no Adam?”

So that’s what was bothering him.  Ordinarily I might be a little annoyed, but the tail end of that dream still had my guilt kicked into high gear.  I sat down on his side of the bed, my fingers brushing across the rasp of his cheek.  “I highly doubt it.  The Fallen are persona non grata at these things.”

Parker grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.  “Promise me you’ll be careful?”

“Always,” I smiled, cupping his cheek.  “I love you.”

“Love you too, darlin’,” he smiled back, eyes closing with exhaustion.  I sat there for long moments watching him sleep until I heard Gabriel’s call again and snuck out of there, shoes in hand.

I had no idea where to find Gabriel, but as I stepped out onto my back porch and unfurled my wings, I let instinct take over, trusting it to lead me in the right direction.  Right off the bat I could tell he was in the city proper, not the park where I first saw him, or up in Heaven.  Could I even hear him if he called me from Heaven?

“Merceline…”

The call sharpened my sense of direction, leading me to Smith Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the city.  At that hour of the night the place was deserted, and it was easy to spot his golden glow on the observation deck on the thirty-fifth floor.  The archangel Gabriel looked out over the slumbering city, a melancholy cast to his shoulders.  Or maybe that was me reading my own emotions into it.

I came to a soft landing beside him, tucking away my wings so they wouldn’t get in the way.  “Hey, Gabe, how’s it going?” I called out.

“It goes well, Merceline.  Thank you for coming.”  When he looked up at me, there was a smile of genuine pleasure on his lips, and no sadness lingered in his bright blue eyes.  As with all angels, Gabriel was a good looking guy, with dark, wavy hair and broad shoulders, but there was always an air of gravity about him.  It was nice to see him bust out a smile every now and then, and I worked hard to keep it there.

“And how’s the Big Kahuna?” I raised my eyes skyward, gratified to hear his deep chuckle.

“We would all feel it should He fare poorly.”

That was a scary thought.  Was that where earthquakes came from?  Did an upset stomach turn into volcanoes?  Would an emotional funk send us rain for forty days and forty nights?

“So, what’s up?  Who are we going to visit tonight?  Is it a solo gig or another angel jamboree?”  It’d been at least six months since the last one.

“I won’t be accompanying you tonight, and this is a… solo gig.  You have only to pass along a message.”  Once again I was struck by the sound of his voice, deep and even as though he spoke all the time.  It was weird to think I was the only one who could hear him, even among angels.

“Okay, lay it on me.  What’s the message?”

“You are to search out the Fallen and instruct him that his petition has been heard on high.”

That sounded interesting.  “Which Fallen?”

“Samael.”

“Sam sent a petition to Heaven?  What for?”

“That is not for you to know.  Simply instruct him thus – he is to begin his quest and speak of it to no man.  Only God may judge when it has been completed, and only God will judge if he is worthy.”

“That’s it?  That’s all you want me to say?”

“That is all.  Do you accept the charge?”

“Sure, of course.  No problem.  I’m the man for the job.”  I hadn’t once considered saying no to playing messenger of God.  It might get old after a century or two, but for the moment, I still found it interesting.  “I don’t suppose you know where he is though?  He’s been sort of remote lately.”

“He lies within the Garden of Eden.”

“Ah… that explains it.”  I supposed it was as good a place as any to get over a broken heart.  Hadn’t Adam said he liked to go there and think sometimes?  I couldn’t imagine a more peaceful place.  “Alrighty then, I’ll pop over there and deliver the message.  Anything else?  Any other advice from on high?”

“That is all.”  He smiled softly, his eyes turning skyward and I placed a hand on his arm before he could take off.

“Hey, before you go.  I had this weird guy hanging outside my house.  He said he’d been visited by an angel of the Lord.  Is there any way to find out who talked to him, or if he’s a nutbar?”

“There have been no visitations from our side, I would have authorized it.”

“That’s what I thought.  At this point I’m kind of thinking it came from the other place.”  I pointed downward.

“It’s possible.  He has appeared to many over the years to forward his own agenda.”

“This agenda involves recruiting an army to keep Eve safe.”

“That is most curious,” he frowned.  “I shall take this under advisement.”

“What should I do in the meantime?”

“Try not to worry,” he smiled, giving me a kindly pat on the shoulder.  There is nothing in prophecy to indicate she will come to any harm while she remains a child.”

“Whoa, back up a sec – but not when she grows up?”

A pained look flit across his face.  “I must go.”

“Wait… I’d like to hear these prophecies that have to do with my daughter.”

“Fear not, Merceline.  The future remains uncertain.”  With that he launched himself into the air, moving so fast he disappeared from sight within the space of a few seconds.

The future remains uncertain.  Swell.  Why didn’t that inspire confidence?  I did feel better about the chance to see Sam again, only now I had to figure out how to get to Eden.  I had a way to get there, of course, but it’d been three years since my one and only trip there, and I wasn’t sure I knew exactly how to get back there again.

Of course there was one person who knew the way.   One person who probably wouldn’t mind if I called him at zero dark hundred either.

I wasn’t using this as an excuse to call Adam.

Nope.

I had a legitimate need.  At least that’s what I told myself as I pulled the scrunchie out of my hair and finger combed my dark tresses.  Instead of calling for Adam into the air, I tried the old fashioned way, with my cell.  I didn’t want to give him the impression it was an emergency and that way if he was busy, I wouldn’t be disturbing him.

He answered after the first ring though.  “Late night taco run?  I’m in.”

“Do you always answer the phone that way?”

“At this time of night?  Yes, tacos are always the right answer.”

“I do have a job for you, but it’s a touch farther than Taco Bell.”

“Keep talking.”  I could hear the interest in his voice.

“How do you feel about playing tour guide?”

“Where are we headed?”

“To Eden.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Wait, I’m not at home.”

“Even better.  Where are you?”

“At the top of Smith Tower.”

If he was surprised by my location, he gave no sign of it.  “That’s a good a place as any to watch the sun come up.  I’ll be right there.”

“I’ll be waiting. Oh, hey, Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Bring some tacos with you, okay?”

“That’s my girl.”

Chapter Eight

“You smell good.”  Adam held me closer than was strictly necessary, but the flight to Eden had my navigational skills out of whack from traveling so fast.  Just because my body had enough Grace to make the trek didn’t mean my mind could wrap itself around that level of speed.

“I smell like tacos,” I scoffed.

“No, it’s more like… like delicate white roses in bloom.”  He sniffed again.  “I always forget how good you smell and then bam… it’s like a thousand memories crash down on me at once.”

I knew exactly what he meant, but I kept my voice light.  “We don’t even have a thousand memories.  We weren’t together all that much in the time we were together.”

“Maybe you don’t, but I do.”  He leaned over to press his face against my hair.

“Would you stop smelling me?”  Unnerved by how close he was, I jerked away, causing us to dip precariously, and I clung to his arm.

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he smirked at my loss of composure.

“I’m not your sweetheart.”

“Your lips may say no, but… actually, I remember your lips saying yes, not all that long ago, pretty clearly too.”

“I’m trying to forget it,” I grumbled.

“You can try all you want, sweetheart, but I know I’m under your skin.”

“Like an itch.”

“You can’t wait to scratch,” he purred, pulling me closer and I used my considerable strength to pry open his grip, leaving us connected by a single hand alone.

“I will let go of you and plummet to the Earth if that’s what it takes you to shut up, I swear.”

Adam chuckled over my hollow threat, but he stopped teasing me for the rest of the journey across the sky.  The rolling hills emerged below, vibrantly green in the middle of the desert.  Once we crossed the barrier to Eden, the heat of the day dissipated, and a cool, sweet breeze stirred my hair.

I let go of Adam’s hand as soon as my feet hit the ground, but the sudden reduction in speed had my head spinning.  “Whoa, take it easy for a sec.”  Adam’s arms encircled me, keeping me upright.  “Relax, I’ve got you,” he murmured, holding me close.  I clung to his arms until the spinning receded, only then opening my eyes to find him watching me, a pucker of worry on his forehead.  “There she is,” he smiled in relief.

He was so beautiful when he smiled at me like that, without a leer or trace of sarcasm.  It made my heart clench painfully as I let go of him.  “Thanks,” I mumbled, stepping back before I did something stupid.  “So, any idea where we’ll find him?”

Eden wasn’t what I’d call a vast land, but it was bigger than we could easily search in a day.  With the natural cave formations and all the trees, it’d be hard to spot him from the air.  There were plenty of nooks and crannies for him to hole up in, and it’d take forever to search on foot.

“Not offhand.  I mean, I knew he was up here, but it’s not like he invited me over for a barbecue or anything.”

“I guess we should get started then.”

“I’m totally fine searching with you for as long as it takes.”  His grin stretched wide.  “I’m all yours.”

“I think it makes more sense if we split up, don’t you?  There’s no reason we can’t fly up and get a better lay of the land, to start with.”

“In that case, why not do it the easy way?  Samael!  Sam, get your ass over here,” he bellowed.

I felt like the biggest dork for not thinking of that in the first place.  Hell, I might have been able to save the trip altogether by yelling for him from Seattle, but something told me he probably wouldn’t have left Eden for my call.  Still, when minutes went by and he didn’t show up, I started to wonder if we had some bad intel.

“That’s weird.  Gabriel said he was here.”

“I guess we’ll have to do that search after all,” Adam shrugged, looking none too disturbed by the notion.

“Why don’t I try him?  Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you.”  I could relate.  “Samael!” I called out.  “I have a message for you!”

Less than a minute later, Sam emerged from the woods, his wings brushing the treetops.  “Mercy!” he cried out in delight.  His mop of blonde, unruly curls fell to the tops of his shoulders, a testament to how long he’d been away from polite society.

“Sam!” I laughed, instantly buoyed at seeing him.  “You are here!”

“I am here!”  His face alight with joy, he swooped down, gripping me in a mighty hug that nearly knocked me off my feet.  “You are a sight for sore eyes,” he said, his words muffled against my shoulder.

It felt so good to feel his arms wrapped around me again.  Where my contact with Adam was often tinged with regret and not a small amount of longing, I could enjoy Sam’s love without any guilt attached.   “I missed you too, buddy.”

“What are you doing here?”  He let me go, his gaze going back and forth from me to Adam and back again.  “Are you back together again?”

“No,” I answered.

In the exact same instant, Adam said, “Yes.”

“No,” I stated more firmly.  “I came to give you a message and Adam is just here to navigate.”

“That’s her story anyway.”  Adam rolled his eyes.

“What message?”

“The Big Guy said that your petition was heard, and you should start your quest.  But be sure to keep it on the down low.  Does that mean something to you?”

“Where is the down low?” Sam blinked in confusion.

“She means keep it to yourself,” Adam supplied.  “Sounds like a lot of crap to me though.”

“What sounds like a lot of crap?” I asked.

“The idea that the skirts upstairs would get back to him already.  How long ago did you petition them, Sam?  A year and a half ago?  Two tops?  I doubt it’s even made it to the His attention yet.”

“It’s been nearly two years since I made my formal request,” Sam said quietly, and I laid a hand on his shoulder, sad to see his jubilant mood crushed so easily.

“What’s the request for?”

Sam merely shook his head.  “I fear Adam is correct.  Perhaps someone is playing a joke on me, thinking to torment me further.”

“I’m with you, Sammy.  When in the history of ever has it worked anyway?  I say you give up that stupid idea altogether.  Come back to the world with me and I’ll help you forget all about it.”

Sam shook his head.  “I don’t want to forget.  I cannot forget.”

“Hey, guys?” I interrupted.  “Whatever it is you’re arguing about that I’m not supposed to know about – it’s the real deal, I swear.  I have it from Gabriel himself.”

But they ignored me.

Adam was too busy being him, pushing Sam to let it go.  And Sam was rapidly disappearing into a shell of depression, the way I’d seen him at Evie’s birthday party.

My job here was done.  I was reasonably sure I could make it home under my own power without Adam’s help, I didn’t need to stick around.  Sam didn’t seem like he wanted to reminisce much either, his scowl deepening as he descended further and further into bickering with Adam.

I got sick of it.  I had a message to deliver, and they were blowing me off.  Maybe it was my own fault for telling it to him like I was bringing him up to date on Gossip Girl, but I’d be damned if I was going to leave without them listening to what I had to say.

I don’t know where it came from, call it divine intervention if you will, but my Grace suddenly blazed as I boomed in a thunderous voice.  “Hear me, Samael, the Fallen.  I speak God’s truth.   Your petition has been heard on high.  You are to begin your quest, and may speak of it to no man, lest ye fail.  Only God may judge when it has been completed, and only God will judge if you are worthy.  Do you accept the will of God?”

Sam fell to his knees, nodding before he found his tongue enough to stammer, “I-I do.”

“And do you accept the charge?”

“I do.”  He answered stronger this time, his face shining with happiness.

Operating on pure instinct, I called forth my sword, touching it to his shoulder as if knighting him.  Golden fire danced along my blade, giving him a burst of Grace that kindled with his own until he glowed brighter than he had before.

“His will be done,” I said, dropping the sword.  Sam and I stared back at each other for long seconds.  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but his smile was back, so I had to think it was a good thing.

“What the hell was that?” Adam demanded.

“I was doing my job,” I shrugged.

“You were really good at it,” Sam beamed, and I smiled back at him.

“Thanks, Sam.”

“You didn’t tell me you could do that.”  For some reason, what I’d done appeared to bother Adam.

“I’m the Clarion.  I’ve got to have some skills, don’t I?  Otherwise what’d be the point of me telling anyone anything if they don’t believe me?  You do believe me now, don’t you, Sam?”

“Oh, yes, I do!” Sam grinned enthusiastically.

“Great.  Adam, could you be a puppy and get me something to drink?  This messenger thing sure makes a girl thirsty.”  I smiled at him sweetly and Adam nodded, stalking off without saying another thing.  I didn’t stop to worry about what had his panties in a bunch, instead I focused on catching up with Sam while I had him there.

“So, Sam… long time no see.  Have you been here this whole time?”

“No, I’ve been here and there.  Though I’ve come to find Adam was right about Eden, it is a good place to think without fear of being disturbed.  I am happy to be disturbed by you though.  Tell me everything that has transpired since last I saw you.  Is Bunny well?”

There was no way to cover it all, but I hit some of the high points for him, glossing over the weirdness of late.  It was so good to see his expressive face light with joy and laughter again as we talked.   Whatever his quest was, I hoped like hell he made it.  I noticed he steered clear of asking any questions about Daphne, and I didn’t bring her up, not wanting to ruin his mood.  I finished up with telling him about Parker’s proposal.

“I thought you were already engaged.”  His head canted to one side in confusion.

“No, I broke that off before you left, you know that.”  I’d only agreed to move in with Parker.

“I don’t understand how such a pledge can be broken.  Once you give your heart, it’s not yours to take back.”

“It’s not that simple,” I sighed.  “When someone stomps all over it, it kinda reverts back to you to give out again once you heal the scars.”

“And if they don’t heal?”

I debated whether or not I should bring Daphne up now since it was obvious where his thoughts had led.  “If you miss her that much, you should go see her.”

“I can’t.”  His head hung low.  “Especially not now.”

“Maybe when your big challenge is over then?”  I offered hopefully, but Sam just shook his head.

“I can’t think about that.  I might never complete it.”

“She asked me about you the other day, you know.”

Sam’s head snapped back up, the eager light coming into his eyes once more.  “She did?  What did she say?”

Uh oh.  “She wondered how you were.  I didn’t have much to tell her, not with you staying away for so long.”

“Oh.  Is she happy?”

“Sometimes I think she is.”

“Has she found her Prince Charming yet?”

“Honestly?  I think she’s still waiting for him to show up with the glass slipper.”

“I should go.”  Sam took a step backwards, looking skyward.

“Already?  But I just got here.”

“I know.  And I’ll see you again, someday, I promise.  But I can no longer hide away here.  My purpose is clear.”

“Good luck to you, whatever it is you’re after.”

Sam’s face shone with hope as he looked back down at me and he pulled me close for a last hug.  “Thank you, Mercy.  You truly are my BFF.”

“I love you too, Sam,” I smiled against his shoulder, holding him tight.

* * *

“Is he gone?”  Adam stepped out of the trees a few seconds after Sam disappeared into the clear, blue sky.

“Where’s my drink?”  Not that I expected him to come up with much, given our location.

“I didn’t exactly feel like trotting all over the countryside with water cupped in my hands.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“You seemed like you wanted a few minutes alone with Captain Clueless, so I made myself scarce.”

So, the man was capable of picking up on subtle hints after all.  “Why call him that?”  Sam had come a long way since his clueless puppy days.

“Because he thinks he actually has a shot at this stupid quest thing.  It’ll keep him busy for a while, I guess, but it’s just another way to torture him, if you ask me.”

“What’s it all about anyway?  Does it have something to do with the Angel of Death?  They haven’t appointed a new one as far as I know.  You haven’t heard anything, have you?”

“You’d know about it if they picked a new one, it’s a pretty major thing.”

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  What else would Sam petition God for?  “Is that what his quest is about?  To somehow redeem himself and get his old job back?”

Adam shook his head.  “That doesn’t happen.  Once you’re Fallen, you stay Fallen.  No exceptions.”

“So what was that all about?” I asked, but Adam only shrugged.  “You know, don’t you?  Oh, come on, I won’t tell anybody.”

“It’s not my secret to tell.”  That was all he’d say on the subject.  As a matter of fact, he was silent for the duration of the flight home.  He didn’t try to hold me close, or smell my hair or any of the stuff he pulled on the way over.

When he deposited me on the back porch of my house and turned to leave with a mumbled goodbye, I stopped him with a hand on his arm.  “Are you mad about something?”

“No.”

“No attempts to steer us toward South America instead of Seattle?” I ventured a hesitant smile, relaxing when the corner of his mouth tugged up.

“Do you want to go?  Say the word, I’ll go grab my serape and we’ll do it up.  Fiesta like it’s 1999.”

“No, I just wondered why you were so quiet on the way back.”

“Just thinking.  I do think from time to time, you know.”

“Aw, and here I thought you were just another pretty face,” I teased poking him in the side.  Christ… what the hell was I doing?  Flirting with him?  Parker was right, I was giving him mixed messages.  Especially the one that started with his tongue in my mouth. “I um, I guess I’ll see you later.”

Adam fixed me with an inscrutable look.  I thought for a moment he might call me out on the rapid backpedal, maybe insist on inviting himself in over some stupid pretense.  Instead, he strolled to the end of the porch and jumped off, heading for the street.

“Thanks for the ride,” I called out after him.  Adam turned, the familiar twist of his lips in place.

“Anytime.”

I was still watching him disappear down the driveway when Parker opened the back door, his expression not at all amused when he said the words, “Thanks for the ride?”

Ah crap, I had some explaining to do.

Chapter Nine

“Hi, Parker.”  I breezed past him into the kitchen, looking for something to drink.  “What time is it?  I’m all mixed up with my time zones.”

Parker didn’t let me get very far before returning to the subject of Adam.  “What’s with the stuff about the ride?  It’s not like you can get a flat tire the way you travel.”

“I couldn’t get where I needed to go fast enough on my own.  That’s all it was.”

“I thought you said he wouldn’t be there.”

I stalled for a moment, guzzling most of a glass of orange juice before I came up for a breath.  “I know, but I needed him.”  Parker’s face darkened, and I realized that was the exact opposite of what I should’ve said.  “Calm down, nothing happened.”  So why did I feel so guilty and evasive about it?

“So I’m the asshole because I don’t like my girlfriend out on a road trip with her ex?”

“It’s not like we holed up in a hotel room together.  All we did was fly to Eden and come straight back.”

“Is that all?” he snorted, running his fingers through his hair.  It struck me that Parker looked tired, really tired, and I glanced at the clock.  It showed barely past noon.  He obviously hadn’t gotten back to sleep after I’d left, and from the look of it had spent the better part of the last several hours worrying.

“Hey…” I put down the glass, picking up his hand to send a wave of soothing Grace.  “Parker, you have nothing to worry about, I swear.  I chose you, remember?”

“It just feels like every time I turn around Adam is right there, and I want to rip that damn smirk right off his face,” he grumbled, but there wasn’t any real violence in his stance.

“You know Adam.  Pretty soon he’ll get bored and take off again for months at a time.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we won’t invite him to the wedding.”

“The wedding that means nothing to you?  And that you haven’t agreed to, by the way.”

“The wedding that means everything to me because it’s you and me.  I love you, Parker, and if I have to marry you to prove it, I will.”  There was a freedom in having said the words, the worry over what to decide dissipating.  That had to be a good sign.  Instead of the happy reaction I’d expected from him, Parker shook his head, pulling his hand away.

“You don’t have to marry me if you don’t want to.  I don’t want to push you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“I want to.”

“Because that’s no way to start a marriage.”

“I’m telling you I want to marry you, dumbass!”

“And if you want to hold off for a while, I completely understand.”

“Jesus Christ, Parker, what do you want me to do, beg?”  I got down on one knee, stretching one hand up to him.  “Parker Cameron Davies, will you do me the honor of being my husband?”

“I don’t know, Merce, this is so sudden…” he pretended to consider, and I got up off the floor, muttering to myself.

“You are such an asshat sometimes.”

Parker helped me stand, smiling from ear to ear as he picked me up by the waist and deposited me on the kitchen counter.  “But you love me anyway.”

“I do, I really do.”  I kissed him lightly on the lips, my arms draping around his shoulders.  “So, are we gonna do this or not?”

“Gee… since you asked so nicely,” he said flatly.

“Would you stop?” I said with a playful shove at his shoulder.  His mouth closed over mine and I had my answer.  I was easily swept up in his kiss, forgetting where we were, pulling him closer as his hands roamed under my shirt, leaving tingles in their wake.  I didn’t think about Adam once, except to realize I wasn’t thinking about him – which only ended up making me think about him… I chased away that loop of madness, focusing on the spark between us.

“Where’s Bunny?” I asked between kisses, wondering how much privacy we could expect.

“Building a dungeon up in her room.”

“A dungeon?”  I pulled back to look at him.

“With Legos.  Some of the ponies have been bad and need to be punished, apparently.”

“Hmm, sometimes I worry about that kid.”  My lips turned down until Parker chased after them again.

“She’s fine.”  His lips left mine to blaze a trail of open mouthed kisses down the side of my neck as he spoke.  “I came down to make some lunch, but she had a snack not all that long ago.  I think we could definitely sneak in some adult time.”  His head dipped lower, and I sucked in a sharp breath as teeth scraped over my sensitive skin.

“That sounds awesome,” I sighed, holding tight to the back of his head.  His mouth busy, there was only the sound of my breathing until my stomach growled loudly.

“Sounds like I’d better feed you first.”  Parker stood, lips curved in amusement.

It took a second for my head to clear, but then I nodded, realizing the kitchen counter wasn’t the best place for what we had in mind with a three-year-old running loose in the house.  “Hmm, maybe that is for the better.  We should all eat.  You’ll need your stamina, old man.”

“Challenge accepted,” he grinned, green eyes brimming with promise.  “But we’re definitely celebrating today.”

“Sounds good to me.  Let’s take that day off we talked about and spend the whole thing together.”

“Now you’re talking,” he winked, pulling down a set of plates.  “What do you want to do today?  Go out or stay in?”

“Stay in, I think.  Maybe we can go out another night if Daphne can sit with Bunny, but for now, I want to enjoy some family time together.”

“You got it, darlin’.”  Parker was light on his feet as he moved through the kitchen, his mood buoyant.  I watched him prepare lunch from my perch on the counter, enjoying the view.  “I promise this marriage thing will only make it better.  How soon do you think we can get everyone together to make this happen?”

Despite the feeling that I’d made the right decision, the question sent a flutter of nerves through my belly.  “Hey, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.  That means the fancy dress, the flowers, the whole shebang.”

“Sure, we can definitely do that.  I still have my tux from the last time.  Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?  How about Kauai?  We can laze around on the beach and drink mai tais.”

The beach made me think of two things, my father and Adam.  “Or… how about an Alaskan cruise?  I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise ship and Alaska’s supposed to be beautiful.”

“In the winter?”  His brows came up.  “That sounds a bit cold to me.”

“It’s going to take a while to plan the wedding.  It’ll probably be next summer at least before we can pull it off.”

Parker looked like he wanted to argue the point, but came up with a smile.  “If that’s what my angel wants, that’s what we’ll do.  As long as I get to marry you, I’m good.”

“It’s going to be perfection, you’ll see.”

“I don’t need perfect, I just need you.”

“You have me.”  I pulled him close, my legs wrapping around his waist as I tried to show him what he meant to me.  Lunch forgotten, Parker lifted me off the counter, getting a few steps closer to the stairs before Eve skipped in, took one look at us making out and made a retching sound.  Parker and I broke the kiss, and I jumped down to my feet guiltily.

“You can have my snack if you hungry, Momma,” she said, holding up a plastic bag with about ten Cheerios left inside.

“Oh, thanks, sweetie.  But um…”

“One lunch coming up.”  Parker took a deep breath, returning to his preparations.

“Listen, we have some exciting news,” I smiled, picking Eve up to set her in her usual spot at the breakfast bar.  “Daddy and Mommy are getting married.”

Her reaction was less than enthusiastic.  “Again?”

Maybe she was too young for the conversation on why we weren’t married already.  I decided to gloss it over.  “Yes, but this time you can be our flower girl.”

“Flower girl!” she crowed, bouncing in her seat.  “What’s a flower girl?”

“Well, you get to wear a pretty dress and drop flower petals during the ceremony,” I explained.

“Nelo too?”

“Um…” I looked up at Parker, but he just shrugged.  “Maybe, we’ll see how it goes.”  The little demon might be hard to explain to my mother.  Then again, maybe it was time to acquaint her with a few truths about her daughter and granddaughter?  The next thing I knew, Eve slid off her chair and was halfway to the basement door as fast as her chubby legs could carry her.

“Nelo, we get to be flower girls!” she squealed.

“Honey, Nelo’s asleep…”  Not that it made much difference to her.

“A demon flower girl?”  Parker raised a single brow.

“Why not?  I’m all for equality among the races.”

* * *

I had to admit, it definitely didn’t suck being engaged to Parker.  We spent the rest of the day together doing family stuff, except for when Bunny took her afternoon nap, and we slipped off for some adult awesomeness.  And after she went to bed, the relaxing bath he insisted on drawing for me turned into a hot, wet mess as he decided to give me a hand.  It was like he felt the need to prove we’d made the right decision or something.  Whatever it was, I wasn’t complaining, even though I got very little sleep that night.

I still had to tell friends and family about the engagement, but there wasn’t any rush that first day.  I felt like I wanted to enjoy the decision with just us at first.

The next afternoon I came home from school to find Parker and Eve out on the cracked driveway, drawing with chalk.  There were only a few good days of sunshine left according to the news forecasts, and he had a picnic set out on the lawn waiting for me to get home.  Evie wasn’t much interested in the food, so we let her keep drawing while we noshed on cubes of fresh watermelon, cold cuts on soft pretzel buns, and lemon tarts.  My lips stung from the peppered salami, but it was nothing that couldn’t be cured with the plastic Halloween bucket full of ice that housed a couple of beers.

“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” Parker sighed contentedly, touching his bottle to mine.

“It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?” I agreed, drinking to his toast.

“Actually, let me see if I can change that and make it a little better.”

“As long as it’s not more food, or you’ll have to roll me inside.”

“No, it’s not food.”  Instead he dug into his pocket, drawing out a small box.  “I realize you were the one to get down on one knee yesterday, and I didn’t want to feel left out.”

I accepted the box, opening it to find a heart shaped diamond ring inside.  “You bought me an engagement ring.”

“Well sure, we are engaged, right?”

I nodded, staring at the ring as if it might jump out and eat my face if I touched it.

“You don’t like it?”  His face fell.  “I know the heart is maybe a little cheesy, but…”

“No, I do… it’s beautiful.”

“We can get another one.  You can pick it out yourself.”

“Parker, I love it.”  I fished it out of the box and slipped it on my finger.  It was a perfect fit.  “You surprised me, that’s all.”

“Surprises are good, no?”

“This kind is.”  I leaned over to kiss him to show him I meant business.  “When did you have time to do this?” I asked, my eyes lighting upon the ring again.

“Bunny picked it out.”  He laid a hand over his heart when he caught my look.  “Okay, I gave her some guidance.  The first one she picked out was too pink and sparkly for my tastes.  But I think this one has a little something to it, don’t you?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“You are.” He nudged my leg with his.

I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised by how into the whole wedding thing he was.  But he’d clearly been giving it a lot of thought.  He had ideas for the venue, the flowers, the music, how many people to invite… it was overwhelming at first, until I caught on to his enthusiasm.

After dashing inside to get a notebook, we started to make real plans, settling on what kinds of flowers we liked, what song our first dance should be to, whether or not to hire a DJ or find a local band.  By the time it started to get dark and Eve wandered over to snack on a piece of cheese, we’d filled several pages of the notebook.

“Hey, you know what could be cool?” Parker asked as we started bringing things inside.  “We could fly your mom up a few weeks early to help out.  Do you think she’d like that?”

“You know she’ll probably never leave, right?”

“Instant babysitter.  Could be worse,” he shrugged and I stopped in the doorway, convinced he wouldn’t say that if he understood the implications of such an invitation.

“My mother living in this house?  How’s that for worse?”

“We’ll build her an apartment over the garage.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“As a heart attack,” he replied, unperturbed by my doubts and I was reminded of how much he missed his own mother.  “Maybe this will take some of the pressure off.  You can finish school, I can work my late hours at the club and Evie gets to know her grandmother.  Win-win-win.  Besides, it might come in handy when we expand our family.”

How had this turned into that conversation?  I lowered my voice, waiting for Eve to go into the bathroom to wash her hands before I spoke again.  “You’re talking about having another baby?”

“You do want more kids, don’t you?”

“I… suppose I do.  But it feels like we just got some breathing room now.  We’re finally done with the diapers and the bottles and Evie’s not what you’d call normal.  I’m not sure now is such a great time to bring a baby into the equation.”

“Relax, Mercy, I didn’t say we should have one tomorrow.  I’m just putting it out there.  If it happens, it happens.  We have plenty of time, right?”

Easing, I nodded.  “The rest of our lives,” I smiled.  Reaching for the Tupperware, I started to relax again, allowing myself to think of the future.  Maybe if my mother was around more we could get to know each other again, and it would be nice for Eve to spend some time with her too.

“There’s one thing I’d like you to do for me.”  Parker interrupted my train of thought.

“What’s that?”

“Invite Adam to the wedding.”

Of all the things he could have said, that one was definitely the most unexpected.  Maybe with the exception of asking Adam to be his best man.  “Parker… don’t you think that’s going to make him uncomfortable?  Not to mention us?”

“I need him to see how committed you are to me.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve made that obvious for the past three years,” I retorted.  But I kept coming back to that kiss.  Maybe he was right.  “Okay, sure.  I’ll invite him.  Maybe he won’t come, but at least he’ll get the message loud and clear.”

Chapter Ten

Totally Awesome Tuesdays had gone through something of a metamorphosis since Eve came along.  These days it came in two stages.  The first stage involved letting Eve dominate Aunt Daffy’s attention.  Sometimes there were movies involved, sometimes they played babies or Pretty Princess.  Usually there was a bedtime story and then Daphne and I got to have some grown up girl bonding time.  This Tuesday I’d gone with a theme, as I often did, picking My Best Friend’s Wedding and 27 Dresses for our movie selections.  For snacks I had rice crispy treats smooshed into the shape of tiered wedding cakes and cheese puffs shaped like rings.

It only took about ten seconds for her to guess what was up.  The sparkly ring on my finger didn’t hurt either and Daphne snatched up my hand the instant she noticed it.

“For real this time?”  Instead of excitement, there was a smidge of skepticism in her clear blue eyes.

“Yes, for real.”  I pulled my hand back with a frown.  “What kind of a question is that?”

“I don’t know, I guess because you’ve always been so against the whole wedding thing.”

“That was before, when I was marrying him for all the wrong reasons.”

“And that’s not what you’re doing now?”

I gaped at her.  Where was this coming from?  Of anyone I knew, I expected Daphne to be the most excited about the wedding.  Wasn’t she the one always championing a happy ever after ending?  “Of course not.  I love him.  It’s because I was worried I wouldn’t love him enough before that I broke off our engagement.  But obviously I’ve grown to love him enough to want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“Then why haven’t you agreed to marry him since?”

“I don’t know, I guess I thought it wasn’t necessary.”

“And this has nothing to do with the fact that Adam’s back in your life again?”

My expression darkened as she brought up Adam.  “One has nothing to do with the other.  He breezes in to disrupt things and then breezes right back out again.  He might say he’s ready for more, but I know it wouldn’t last.  This will show him once and for all, I’m serious about Parker being the man for me and then he can move on.”

“You shouldn’t be marrying Parker to deliver a message to Adam.  You should be doing it because you can’t live without him.”

“I can’t imagine what my life would be like right now without Parker in it.  He’s been there for me and Bunny since before she was born.”

“That sounds more like gratitude.”

“It’s love.  It’s been love for a long time now.  You know that, you’ve seen us together.”  She didn’t say anything, and I felt my temper flare.  “I thought you’d be happy for me, Daph.  I thought we could share this together, but if you don’t want to be a part of it, I’ll understand.”  I hated to put it in those terms, but I wouldn’t have her moping in the background, trying to bring up Adam at every turn.

“I’m sorry,” she said dully, looking down at her hands and I felt about an inch high for being so blunt when I knew how tenderhearted Daphne could be.

I tried changing the subject.  “So, what’s going on with you lately?  How’s Kirk?”

“He’s good, I guess.”

There were deep smudges beneath her eyes I hadn’t noticed before, and she was thinner.  Not the good kind of thin – like she’d been hitting the treadmill lately or on a juice fast – but underfed thin, with a sallow tint to her skin.  Her long, blonde hair still hung in perfect ringlets, but that was natural, not from any particular effort on her part.

“Daphne… are you alright?  You look pretty tired.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she admitted with a listless shrug.

“Have you tried melatonin?  There’s this great sleep drink.  It’s peach flavored, which is weird, but it’s actually pretty…”

“No, I fall asleep fine.  But…”

“But?”

“I’ve been having these strange dreams.”

“What kind of dreams?”

“Dreams about Sam.”

“Tell me about them.”

With some coaxing, she told me she’d had these recurring dreams about Sam.  Sometimes they talked about movies, or books, never anything too personal.  Sometimes they didn’t talk, they just sat together, watching the sun set over Puget Sound.  Sometimes he held her hand.

“About a month ago the dreams stopped,” she said, pausing for a breath.  “And then a couple of days ago, I dreamed about him, but even though I started walking toward him he didn’t get any closer.  No matter how far I walked or ran, he stayed in the distance.  Finally, he sorta waved at me and then disappeared.  Ever since then, I keep thinking I’ll see him there, and I wait and I wait, but he never shows.”

No wonder she wasn’t getting any rest.  “I don’t think you’re going to find him anytime soon, Daph.  I should tell you, I saw him a couple of days ago.”

“What?  Why didn’t you tell me!  Around here?  Why didn’t he come and see me?”

“No, not around here,” I assured her quickly.  “In Eden, actually.  And I’m not supposed to talk about that stuff, otherwise I would’ve mentioned it before.”  But I couldn’t let her keep hanging out in the Ether waiting for something that might never happen.  “Sam is on some kind of super secret pilgrimage, and I don’t know how long it’ll take.  So you might as well get some rest and stop waiting for him in the Ether.”

“The Ether… is that what I’ve been doing?” She blinked in surprise.

“I think so.  Otherwise you’d be better rested after dreaming about him, don’t you think?”

“But now that I know how to get there, he might come and see me again.”

“I got the impression that whatever he’s doing could take some time.  Years maybe.  You can’t wait around forever, Daphne.”

We were silent for a few minutes, the movie playing in the background, though neither one of us really watched it.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said finally.  “Maybe that was his way of saying goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Daph.  I really am.  I wish things could be different for the two of you.”

“It’s not your fault.  And I’m sorry I was such a downer about Parker.  He really is a great guy.  I know the two of you will be super happy together.”

“It’s okay, I can see how you might be sour on the whole wedding thing right now.”

“No, I totally want to help with the planning.  You are going to have a real wedding this time, aren’t you?  No getting married at City Hall?”

“Are you sure you want to hear about it?”

“Definitely,” she smiled.  “Who knows, they say you have a higher chance of finding your future spouse at a wedding.  Maybe I’ll meet someone special?”

I reached for the wedding notebook, as we’d started calling it, sharing some of our ideas.  Little by little, the Daphne I knew and loved came back as she caught excitement for the idea and by the time the movie was over, I had another three pages of notes in the notebook.  By the time the second movie was over, we had one less bottle of wine in the house, and more than a dozen websites bookmarked on how to make a magical wedding happen for less than a fortune.

“Do you want to sleep over tonight?  You can stay in the guest room, or we can crash in here,” I offered, when it came time for her to leave.

“As fun as that sounds, I think I’d like to sleep in my own bed tonight.”

I stood up to help her find her coat, frowning at the way the room spun until I caught hold of the end table.  “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?  We went through a whole bottle of wine.”  If she felt even half as loopy as I did, she had no business getting behind the wheel of a car.

“No, you went through a whole bottle of wine.  I only had one glass,” she replied, finding her coat with no trouble.

“Weird.”  I didn’t remember drinking all that much.  I frowned into the bottom of the bottle, wondering if it’d spilled without me noticing.

“Get some sleep, Mercy.  I’ll come over on Thursday and we can start talking bridesmaids dresses, okay?”

“Okey dokey,” I said with a sloppy smile.  “Thanks for coming over tonight, Daph.  I needed that.”

“I did too.  I really am happy for you.”  She paused by the door.  “What about Adam though, does he know about the engagement?”

“No, not yet.”

“You should tell him.  You don’t want him to hear it from somebody else.”

I gave her a hug and sent her off into the night.  Feeling bold, I dialed Adam, annoyed when I got his voicemail.  Didn’t he ever pick up the phone?  “Adam, it’s me.  Call me when you get this, I need to talk to you.”

It wasn’t until I had my shirt up and over my head that I heard his voice from the corner of my bedroom.  “Slow down a little.  You still owe me that striptease, you know.”

Instead of running or hiding like a scared rabbit, I calmly pulled my shirt the rest of the way off, trading it for an oversized sleep shirt whose sleeve took me three tries to get my arm through.  “Stop showing up in my bedroom,” I grumbled once I was decently covered again.

“You made it sound urgent on the phone.  I thought I should come right over.”

“You’re supposed to knock on the door like a normal person, remember?”  Reaching up under the shirt to take my bra off, I couldn’t get the damn thing unhooked and finally gave up.

“Are you drunk right now?”

“I had a bit of wine, but I’m thinking clear enough.  I’m glad you’re here though.”

“Yeah?”  He perked up, leaning forward with interest.

“Yes, I have something important to tell you.”

A slow smile spread across his face.  “You decided to try South America after all.”

“I’ve decided to marry Parker.”  It came out blunter than I’d intended, but there it was.  Adam’s brow furrowed at the news, his lips dragging south.

“Did you make that decision hammered too?”

“I’m not hammered, I’m just a little spinny right now.  And no, I didn’t have anything to drink.  If you must know, I told him I’d marry him a couple of days ago, after we got back from Eden.”

“You’re kidding me, right?  This has got to be a joke.  You’re marrying him now of all times?”

“No, I’m not kidding.  He asked me to marry him a while ago and I said yes.”

“And you’re sure about this.”

“Very.  Not that I expect you to understand this, but I love him, Adam.”  I sat down on the edge of the bed, searching for the right words to make him understand it was the right choice for me.  “I love how he makes me feel and I love how he’s always there for us, no matter what.  I love how he loves Evie and how he’s changed his whole life around to make us a family.  He wants to adopt her, you know, he wants a real commitment to us and to our future.  He puts us first, and now I have a chance to put him first for a change.  I’m sorry if that hurts you.”

“No, I get it.” He waved my apology away, rising to his feet.  “Thanks for telling me in person, I appreciate it.”

“You’re not mad?”  Somehow I thought he’d try to talk me out of it, or at least tell me what a boneheaded decision it was.  He seemed to accept it way better than Daphne had.

Adam came to stand before me, reaching up to brush his thumb across my cheek.  “How can I be mad about you finding someone who’ll love and take care of you better than I ever could?”

He’d managed to stun me into silence.  There was no anger in his eyes, only acceptance.  Something I never thought I’d find there.  Not that I wanted him to feel hurt and angry, but was this the same Adam who’d pitched a fit the last time I accepted Parker’s proposal or some imposter in an Adam-suit?

“You’re invited to the wedding,” I blurted out.  It was a stupid thing to say compared to the heartfelt words from him, but it was all I had.

“Thanks, but I think it’s time for me to stay away for a while.”

“Bunny…”

“Is in good hands.  Tell Parker I won’t oppose the adoption.  But someday you’ll have to tell her about me.”

“I will,” I nodded, too stunned to say anything else.

“Goodbye, Mercy.  I wish you every happiness.”  I thought he might try to kiss me goodbye, but he turned to leave.

He was giving up.  That stunned me more than anything else.  Gone was the brash schmoozer, convinced his charm could seduce any woman with a single glance.  Gone was the passionate lover who declared that no man would ever love me the way he did.  Instead, he’d become something I never thought I’d see.  Humble.  Solicitous.  A graceful loser.  He’d become the better man.

“Adam… wait,” I called out, but he was gone.

Chapter Eleven

“Merceline.”

My eyes squinched tight against the brightness.  Had Parker left the light on when he came home from the club?  My foot slid out to feel his comforting heat beside me, and I rolled over, covering my head with the comforter.

“Merceline,” the voice came again.  Not the way it sounded when someone was calling my name and I felt compelled to find them, but speaking it in a low, insistent tone.

“Go away,” I growled, peeking under the blankets to peer at the clock.  A little past four a.m.  What was it with angels bugging me in the middle of the night?  “Ugh.  This had better be good.”

“Merceline, I pray thee leave behind the lure of sleep and speak with me.  I have most urgent news.”

Was he for real?  Even among angels, none of the ones I’d met spoke so formally.  Unless they were delivering a message, that tended to go with the more dramatic.  That thought alone made me force myself to wake up.  That, and I wanted to know who the hell was bugging me in the middle of the night in my bedroom.

Uncovering my head the rest of the way, I had the blankets halfway down before I realized I was naked and yanked them back up to my chin.  When had I gotten naked?  Was this one of those dreams where you can’t find any clothes no matter what?  Dimly, I recalled greeting Parker amorously when he got home from work, still a little tipsy from the wine.  All traces of intoxication were gone, leaving a dull ache behind my eyes and the taste of dead leaves in my mouth.

Through squinted eyes, I saw a man standing beside the bed, the nimbus of golden Grace bright in the darkened room.  Dark, wavy hair fell to just under his ears, curling there.  Powerful, broad shoulders were swathed in white robes with a bright blue mantle that matched his eyes.  He was the only angel I’d ever met who looked like he’d stepped off the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Even Gabriel wore modern clothes whenever he showed up.  I was pretty sure I’d never seen him before at any of the angel meetings in the past.  Definitely not one of the Fallen.  Soft, full lips were pinched into a frowny line as he waited for me to wake up fully.

I lifted my hand to shield my eyes against his glow.  “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my bedroom?”

“Be not afraid, Merceline.  I am Michael, and I bring thee news of great portent.”

“Michael… as in Michael, the archangel?  How come he didn’t come to talk to me himself?”  Parker stirred beside me, and I reached over to rub his back, not wanting to wake him up unless I had to.  It was a tad disturbing to find Michael in my bedroom.  Wasn’t he the leader of God’s army, not a messenger boy?

A pained look flashed across Michael’s features, but it was gone in a blink.  “He knows not of the current crisis and there was little time to find him.  I bring thee tidings of great woe.  Thou must fly to Githa without delay, ere thine seed may grow to fruit before its time.”

I sat up higher in bed, drawing the comforter around me as I tried to push past the fog in my brain.  “Sorry, I didn’t understand a word of that.  Maybe start at the beginning where you feel like it’s important enough to wake me up to talk about gardening.”

Michael shifted his weight impatiently.  “Gird thyself for battle, woman.  We have little time to lose.”

“Oh, you did not just call me woman,” I growled.  “I’m not girding anything until you tell me what you’re talking about.”

“Lucifer has absconded with thine issue.  Thou must needs abandon all else and seek her at Githa, for time is of the greatest essence.”

“What?  Can you please drop the crappy Shakespeare bit and talk English like a normal person?  Are you saying something happened to Eve?”  It was ridiculous.  I’d checked on her before turning in for the night, and Nelo would tell me if anyone came into the house.  Wouldn’t he?  It was enough to get me out of bed though, taking the comforter with me to keep from giving Michael an eyeful.

“What’s going on?”  Parker rolled over, his voice thick with sleep.

“I don’t know, he says there’s something going on with Evie.”

“Who says?”

Of course.  I turned to Michael, who had given me his back once I emerged from the bed.  “Would you please do the courtesy of showing yourself?”

“We are not for human eyes,” he replied without turning around.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I sighed, pulling on my clothes as quickly as I could.  “He knows you’re here, genius.”

“Who’s here?” Parker frowned, reaching for a pair of boxers by the side of the bed.

“Michael,” I answered, when the angel made no effort to reveal himself.

“Michael who?”

“Michael from the Big Guy’s Brat Pack.”  I pointed upward.

“Shit…” Parker’s eyes narrowed, peering into the darkness.  “I hate it when they do that.”

“Parker, why don’t you go check on Evie and I’ll try to figure out what’s going on, okay?”  I couldn’t bring myself to think she might really be gone.  Not again.  Hadn’t we already gone down this road before?  “I think we’d better start at the beginning.  How do you know what’s going on with Lucifer?  And if Eve really is gone, why didn’t you stop it in the first place?”

“There is no time, wo… madam,” Michael changed his word choice at the last moment, which was the only reason I didn’t let him have it at his tone of voice.  “Thou must believe me when I say unto thee – every moment we linger spells greater danger.”

“Okay, look – no offense, but I don’t know you from Adam.”  Literally.  “Adamiel!” I yelled, hoping like hell he might help me get to the bottom of what was going on.

“She’s not here!” I heard the call from down the hall.  “Eve’s not here, she’s gone.”  Parker stuck his head into the room, eyes wide.

“How can she be gone?  Go find Nelo, see if he saw or heard anything.”  Christ, had something happened to Nelo too?  Parker gave a short nod, bellowing Nelo’s name as he bounded down the stairs.

“It is as I told thee, Lucifer has absconded with the child.  The demon will shed no further truth on the matter.”

“Better the devil you know,” I muttered, bending over to tie my shoes.  “Adamiel!” I yelled again, my head pounding from the noise.  All at once it occurred to me – what if he didn’t come?  Hadn’t he said something earlier about not sticking around anymore?  What if he was already halfway around the world?  “Adamiel, please, please come…” I called out softer, my face falling into my hands.

“Change your mind already?”  His voice was like a soothing balm, and I was all I could do not to jump into his arms for a comforting hug when I opened my eyes to see Adam standing by the window, casual as anything.  “Hey, Mikey, long time no see.  What has you down here in our neck of the woods?”

“Adamiel.”  Michael gave him a nod of respect, which was more than most offered him in my experience.

“Adam, he says Lucifer took Evie and we have to go to Githa to get her right away.”  The words came tumbling out as I hugged my arms to my body, fighting the urge to pace.  Parker sure was taking a long time finding Nelo.

Adam’s brows knit together, but his voice remained calm.  “You must’ve gotten that mixed up.  There’s no way he’d take her there.”

“She speaks the truth, brother,” Michael said gravely.  “And we’ve no time to dally.”

The change came over Adam swiftly.  All of a sudden he was all business, his shoulders straighter, the usual smirk replace by a grim line.  “He’s right, we don’t have a second to spare.  Wait here and I’ll bring her back.”

“What?  Hold your horses, I’m going with you,” I insisted, only to be shot down.

“The hell you are.  This is one place you can’t follow.”

“What is Githa anyway?  What’s the big deal?”  Beyond the fact that our daughter was abducted in the first place.

“It’s Hell… or a level of it anyway.  The point is, you risk your immortal soul if you go there.  So put on a pot of coffee and I’ll be back before you know it.  Come on, Michael.”

I stepped between him and the window.  “I’m not waiting here while you go into Hell to find our daughter.  I remember what happened the last time.  You came back half dead.”

“I won’t have to go as deep this time, I should be fine.”

“Then I should be fine too,” I said, the stubborn set of my shoulders keeping him from moving past me.

“Mercy…”

“I’m going with or without you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“You’re wasting time.  And that’s a hollow threat at best.  You don’t know where to find it.”

“I have friends in low places, remember?  Someone has to know where the entrance to Hell is.  Wait… you know, don’t you, Michael?  You can take me.”

Michael took an uncertain step backwards.  “Mayhap it is best to listen to Adamiel.  Githa is not a place to tread lightly.”

“And yet you were all set to bring me there not ten minutes ago.”

“That was before Adamiel presented himself.  He is clearly the superior candidate.”

“Fine,” I scowled.  “I’ll get someone else to show me.  Maybe somebody down at the Honey Pot can help me out.”

“Knock yourself out, I’ll be back with her before you get anywhere.”  He put his hand on my shoulder to push me out of the way, but I stayed where I was, my head moving to catch his gaze.

“Adam, please… I need to do this.  You need my help, admit it.”

“No, I don’t.  Michael’s got my back on this one.  Don’t you, Mikey?”

Michael’s hands came up, his face reluctant.  “I may not set foot in Githa.”

“Then what were you planning to do before, play ding dong ditch?”  He stared at me, his head tilted to one side.  Typical.  Most angels refused to get their hands dirty when the chips were down.  The Fallen were the only ones I’d learned to count on.

“I was to show thee the doorway only.  My brethren are forbidden to pass to the underworld.”

I reached up to touch Adam’s cheek, sending him my Grace in soothing waves.  “Adam, please.  I need to do this.”  He stared back at me, his jaw clenched tight as though waging a war within himself.

“Nelo didn’t see anything,” Parker reported, rejoining us in the bedroom.  “He was outside watching out for that kook and his disciple.”  His expression darkened when he saw Adam there, with my hand still pressed to his cheek.  “What’s he doing here?”

“I need him,” I said softly. “And he needs me.”

“Will somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Parker demanded.

Adam reached for my hand, giving it a brief squeeze.  “We were just leaving.”

“Where are you going?”

“To bring our daughter back,” I said, relief leaving my body in a long breath.  There wasn’t time for goodbyes, no time to explain where we were off to, why we had to go together and why Parker couldn’t come.  I had to hope like hell I survived to bring Eve back and tell the tale then, and hope Parker was still willing to marry into the craziness that was my life.  But just in case… “I love you, Parker.  Remember that.”

Chapter Twelve

I was wrong, we’d never gone down this road before.

We stood at the observation deck for the Devil’s Kettle in Minnesota.  The river rushed below, half of it spilling into a fifty foot waterfall before continuing its path to Lake Superior about a mile and a half away.  The other half diverted to a hole in the Earth where it disappeared, never to be seen again.

I’d seen the movie Jennifer’s Body before, and the Devil’s Kettle seemed way too impossibly cheesy to be a real thing, but the phenomenon was real alright.  The water disappeared into the jagged rocks in a churning cauldron of mist, but nothing as spectacular as the swirling vortex in the movie.  Still, scientists and tourists had been dropping things into the hole for years, trying to find out where the water resurfaced without any luck.  There was even a story that the locals had pushed a car into it before, but considering the terrain, I didn’t think it was likely.

I didn’t know any of these tidbits until now, but Adam had kept up a steady stream of chatter as we flew to Minnesota fast enough to make my head spin.  It was slightly out of character for him, but considering our mission, I could understand why he was a tad jittery.

Leaving the safety of the observation deck behind, we floated down to uneven rocks below and I peered into the mist.  The sun was just peeking into the sky above and there wasn’t much to see.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.  That’s the entrance to Hell?” I asked, unconvinced.  I might have expected a volcano or a deep sink hole or something, not an underground river, if that’s what it was.

“One of them,” Adam nodded.  “Not the safest, but time is our enemy right now.”

“Why do you guys keep saying that?  You don’t think Lucifer would torture a three-year-old child in Hell, do you?”  I knew he had her for his own purpose, but I couldn’t believe that of him.

“What?  God no, is that what you think?”  Adam’s jaw dropped, his brows drawing together in shock.  “No more Thrill-Fest movies for you.”  He shook his head.  “No, I’m sure she’s safe enough down there.”

“Then why the rush?”

“Time moves differently in other places, remember?”

With that biggie to dwell on, he wrapped a strong arm around my waist, pulling me close.  “Hold your breath, I’ll stop when we get beneath the falls so you can catch your breath.”  I nodded as he counted down from three, taking a deep breath as he reached one.

Adam stepped off the ridge and my stomach clenched as we fell into the water.  It was hard not to scream as the sensation went on and on, the water whipping around us so hard I couldn’t open my eyes very well.  My lungs burned, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on when I felt us slow, the sensation of being pelted by water fading to a cloying mist.

“Breathe,” Adam said, and I opened my eyes to find us standing on a smooth stone ledge, slick with moisture.  I sucked in a ragged breath, taking a few moments to look around and get my bearings.  The water from above funneled into a deep pool about thirty feet across before channeling into a rushing river, about fifteen feet wide, that disappeared into the darkness.  There wasn’t much light down there, but I could see all kinds of crap like the stories mentioned.  Beer bottles, a coil of bright orange nylon rope, a basketball, those were just some of the things visible on the sides of the cavern.

“How are you feeling?  Do you need a few minutes?”

“I’m good,” I nodded.  “And we’re on a time crunch, right?”

“We’re fine now that we’re down here.  It’s probably still going a touch faster in Githa, but not too bad, not like up there.”  He pointed to the hole where the rushing water came in.

That was comforting, at least.  “I’m okay to push on, I just have a bit of a headache from last night.  I’ve never been able to zap away my own headaches, you know?”

“Come here a sec.”  Adam laid a hand on the back of my head and I felt the warm pulse of his Grace as the pain receded.

“Thanks,” I smiled, my head feeling clearer than it had since I’d been awakened in the middle of the night.

“That’s a good look on you,” Adam smirked, and I looked down to see my blue t-shirt plastered to my chest.  I would’ve been tempted to smack him one if I wasn’t half sure he was trying to keep my spirits up.

“Yeah, the drowned rat look is all the rage this season,” I smirked back.  “Where do we go now?  Into there?”  I eyed the pool with distaste.  Holding my breath was not my strong suit, and I wasn’t looking forward to going into the water again.

“No, we stick to the path,” he said, pointing to the river.  His hand began to glow brighter and I could see that the cavern extended above the river, with plenty of clearance around it for us to either walk beside it, or even fly above it.

“Oh, that doesn’t seem so bad.”

“We have to go over a few ground rules before we get started.”

“Okay…”  Why did that fill me with all kinds of dread?

“As long as we stay on the path, we should be alright.”

“What happens if we stray off the path?” I asked.

“We could be trapped in any number of pockets of Hell and they’re not so easy to escape once you’re stuck there.  Human beings are incredibly creative in their punishments, far worse than the Keepers could dole out.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means be careful what you think about down here because it could very easily become your reality.  You know – it’s the Stay-Puft Marshmallow defense system.  Whatever you do, don’t imagine the giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow man or that’s what will appear and destroy us?”

I shook my head, dumbfounded.  “You totally lost me.  We’re going to be attacked by marshmallows?”

Frustration lent a pucker between his brows.  “No… Just keep a tight reign on your fear.  Whatever we come up against, the more fear you show toward it, the stronger it becomes.”

“Oh, swell.”  Because that’s not scary at all.

“Stay out of the water, hold tight to me, and we should be fine.”

“What happens if I touch the water?  Will it burn me?”  I remembered something vaguely from my Sunday school days about the lake that burned with fire and sulfur.

“No, but the Keepers are in the water and they’re attracted to souls.  This is part of why I told you it wasn’t safe for you to be down here.  Trust me, you definitely don’t want them to get a hold of you.  Me, they should ignore.”

“Got it.  Stay out of the water.  Which bank is safer, the left or the right?”

“No, we’re flying above the water, the shore is too dangerous.  And it’s better if you don’t look.”

“What do you mean don’t look?  How will I know where I’m going?”

“I’ll make sure you get through safely.”

“Why can’t I look?”

Adam hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully.  “There are some things you can’t unsee, and I wouldn’t put you through that.”  He wrapped an arm around me, prepared to take to the air, but I held him in place.

“Wait… how bad is it?  When you came back from Hell before…”  He’d been all singed and beat up.  I’d had to heal him before we could get more than three words out of him.  Who would heal us if we were in that rough of shape?  And could Evie survive it?  How were we going to make it back in one piece?

Adam felt the tension in my body and his hold shifted, cradling me, his hands spreading comfort and warmth.  “No, shhh, it won’t be that bad.  We won’t have to go as far as I did to see Lucifer.  Githa isn’t nearly as deep.”

“And you’ve been there before?  You know exactly where we’re going, right?”

“Yes, I’ve been there before.”

I had to trust him to lead us through it.  “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Are you sure about this?”  His head canted to one side as he studied me carefully.  “You don’t have to come all the way with me.  You can stay here and wait, or even fly back up through the falls to wait up in the world again.”

“No, I can do it.”  My chin came up with determination.  “Somewhere in there Lucifer’s got our little girl.  I’ll be damned if I let my fear get in the way of being there for her when she needs me the most.”

His lips curved into a smile that changed into a wince about halfway through my bravado.  “You probably shouldn’t keep using his name like that.  Even if you’re not calling him, he might hear you coming.”

“I’m not afraid of him.”

“But he might move Bunny before we can get there.”

“Fine, I’ll call him Luce.  I still think it’s cute when you call her Bunny, by the way.”

“And I still say she’s going to hate you for that nickname one day,” he grinned.

“Maybe so, but she’s still my baby Bunny for now.”

“Enjoy it while you can.  Love can be fleeting.”

I didn’t say anything to that.  My love for Adam wasn’t fleeting, there were other reasons why we couldn’t be together.

“Are you ready?” he asked, when I didn’t respond.

I tucked my head against his shoulder, my eyes closed tight.  “Yep, let’s go.”

* * *

I could only keep my eyes closed for so long before I snuck a peek.  I know, I know, how stupid do I have to be, right?  Still, I couldn’t help it, I had to have some idea what we were passing through.  Instead of smelling fire and brimstone or anything I associated with Hell, I only caught the faint smell of trees and moss, like we were hiking in the woods instead of following a river through the levels of Hell.

I caught sight of squat, misshapen trees, their branches intertwined to form a dense thicket on either side of the river.  Moss choked out all other undergrowth, covering the lumpy, exposed roots as well, and pale splotches of lichen crept up the sides like a scabby disease.  I didn’t exactly want to pitch a tent there, but it didn’t look so bad.

There was no sign of life until I surreptitiously snuck a look down and spotted people in the water below, bobbing and drifting.  They weren’t corpses, or ghosts, but solid and whole, like real, live people in the water.  The first thing I noticed was that those who bobbed along with the current sailed by, unmolested.  Those who thrashed and tried to reach the shore were the ones who ran into trouble.

Tentacles, slick and blacker that the deepest sea, formed to drag them down.  A woman’s torso, nakedly beautiful but no less deadly, surged up and dragged one man beneath the surface.  Arms, hands, claws… even sudden whirlpools formed to suck them under.   Those were the ones whose screams punctuated the stillness, sending me to bury my face against Adam’s shoulder again.

“Told you so,” I heard him sigh into my hair.

I didn’t peek again until I felt him set us down on solid ground again.  It looked like we were inside the Matterhorn at Disneyland, with the river flowing downhill instead of the rollercoaster.  Ice formed crystals against the rocky cavern walls, making them sparkle like glitter.  Cold as fuck, pretty glitter.  I missed Adam’s body heat the instant he pulled away, shoving my hands into the hem of my shirt.

“Jesus, it’s freezing in here,” I muttered, worried my shoes might actually freeze if we stopped there for too long.  Personally, I preferred the place with the weird trees.

“That’s Githa for you.”

“Is that what this is?  Where’s all the fire and brimstone?”  Who ever heard of a Hell dimension without a warm, fiery furnace?

“There are all kinds of Hell,” he shrugged.  “This one’s just as bad as some of the others, trust me.”

“If you knew it was going to be this cold, why didn’t you tell me to bring a sweater or something?”

“I forgot.”

“You forgot.”  I stared at him, but he was more interested in peering through a break in the frozen stone wall to the world outside.  “What else are you forgetting to tell me?”

“Nothing, now will you pipe down?  I’m trying to figure out the best way to go about this.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, suitably subdued.  “Where are we headed?” I asked after a few minutes of stamping my feet around.  Outside a frozen wasteland waited below with snowy peaks as far as the eye could see.

“Do you see that light out there?”

I craned my head and spotted a tiny flicker far below.  “Yes, what is it?”

“That’s where we’re headed.  Now listen, you’re going to have to make yourself hidden from sight from here on.  I’m not sure it’ll work, but it’s our best bet.”

“Why?  What about you?”

“I told you, the Keepers are attracted to souls.  We might be able to sneak past them if you’re hidden, but be ready for anything.  And for God’s sake, try to keep a reign on your imagination, you got me?”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Think about something good.  Think about hoppity bunnies.  Or think about me, that should do the trick.”  His lips curved into a lopsided smile.

“How about I think about getting Evie back?”

“Suit yourself,” he sighed, hopping up to the outcropping of rock to squeeze through the opening.

“Wait… don’t I have to keep my eyes closed?”

“No, you should be alright here.  The big thing to remember is to keep a lid on your fear.  Whatever it is we come up against, you’re only making it stronger if you feed it.”

“Okay sure, no sweat,” I nodded with more confidence than I felt.  The fear simmered deep inside and I did my best to lock it away.  Instead I focused on what I could control – making myself dim and aiming for the light in the distance.  I couldn’t extend my wings and still fit through the crevice in the wall, so I had to follow Adam’s example.  Climb through first and then unfurl them as I jumped into the air.

Now that, I could do without apprehension.  I didn’t suffer from the slightest fear of heights any more, not with my wings to carry me.  If it wasn’t for the biting cold it would’ve been a beautiful vista below, with dark stone jutting up into the sky, liberally dusted with snow.  It reminded me of the New Zealand landscape, ala the road to Mordor.  Only there were no hobbits or dwarves on the barren mountains below.

As we flew closer to the light, it became apparent that it wasn’t a single light, but a crap-ton of them, all winking from torches surrounding a huge, stone keep.  Almost a castle, with crenellated towers at each corner, rising high into the sky.  Expecting a prison of sorts, it shocked the hell out of me when we got close enough to see children dressed in little more than rags playing dodgeball in the open court.

Kids.  He’d brought Eve to a Hell dimension for kids.

There were no ‘jailers’ visible, and Adam led us to a corner of the battlements, sheltered from the wind by the corner of one of the huge towers.

“What’s the matter?” he asked when I froze in place, watching the children play below, their auras a riot of colors.  It was a brutal game, the black ball far less forgiving than the red, rubber ones I remembered from junior high.

“Those are children down there!” I hissed.  “Why would there be children in Hell?”

“You don’t think kids can be miserable, violent, little monsters?” Adam pointed out.

“I guess…  But not on a level that deserves Hell.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Stop saying that!  This whole thing is a surprise.  I can’t believe God would let kids be stuck down here.”

“Who do you think created this place?  All of it?  The sweet little cherubs who die before their time don’t wind up here, it’s the nasty rotten ones who deserve a few decades of reflection before they move on.”

Decades…  I closed my eyes against the horror of it.

“Come on, she’s close by, I can feel it.”

“You can?”  My eyes popped open in wonderment.

“Sure, can’t you?  I can feel her Grace now that we’re this close.”

I concentrated on the connection between us, something I hadn’t had much need for in the past, Eve was always just there before.  Adam was right, I could feel something, coming from up high.  “There…” I pointed to the tower across the square.

“Yep, she’s definitely in there.”  Adam’s grin stretched from ear to ear.  “Come on, let’s go get our girl.”

Chapter Thirteen

It was easy to get into the tower, none of the doors were locked.  There still wasn’t any sign of guards or caretakers in the complex, and no sign of the ‘Keepers’, though I had no idea what to expect for how they’d look.  For all I knew they took the form of other kids and kept the peace from their level.  We kept both ourselves imperceptible as we ascended the stairs, concentrating on homing in on Eve’s Grace.

Finally, very near the top of the tower, we came to an arched wooden door, bound by iron.  I could practically feel Evie’s Grace humming inside and I could tell from the look on Adam’s face, he knew it was the right door as well.  Holding a finger up to his lips, he slowly tried the latch, surprised to find it unlocked.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Maybe to find her chained to the wall or even locked in a cage, shivering against the cold, but the room was more toyshop than torture chamber.  The chill of the room was defeated by a metal brazier glowing with hot coals in the center of the room.  The harsh stone walls were covered by thick tapestries depicting fanciful scenes of castles with knights on horseback and meadows with prancing unicorns.

There were toys tucked into every conceivable surface and scattered about the floor.  Old fashioned wooden puzzles competed for space beside a pink plastic dollhouse and an overflowing bookcase held enough books to keep her entertained for a year of bedtime stories.  A low bed stood in one corner of the room, liberally draped with pink gauzy fabric that billowed from a ring set into the thick, wooden beam high overhead.

It was there that we found the room’s sole occupants.  A small child, maybe five or six years old, sat patiently on the bed facing the wall while she had her hair brushed by the pale slip of a girl of seventeen or eighteen.  To my amazement, I could see right through the teen, she wasn’t solid like the rest of the dead at all.  The child’s dark hair fell nearly to her waist, crackling with static as the ghost-girl – I wasn’t sure what else to call her – continued her ministrations as if neither of them noticed our arrival.

The ghost-girl was dressed in an old fashioned riding habit with a full skirt and silver buttons on the jacket.  Her golden hair was pulled up into a severe style, but there were a few loose strands at her temples, as if she’d been through some kind of a struggle and hadn’t had time to fix her hair.

Hot disappointment lanced through me as I’d been expecting to find Eve on the other side of the door.  Could she be hiding under the bed maybe?  Or in the wardrobe tucked into the corner?  The Grace was definitely coming from the room, and I could see the nimbus of golden light coming from the child on the bed.  Had Eve somehow gifted the girl with her Grace?

Adam moved deeper into the room, his eyes focused on the pair on the bed.  I crept closer, trying to get a better look at the child.  I froze as her laughter rang through the chamber when the ghost-girl got too close to her neck.  This girl was older than Eve by a good two years at least.  Taller, less pudgy around the cheeks and arms, but her hair was the same chestnut brown, her eyes the same vibrant blue, and the Grace…

“Evie?”

The little girl looked up, her eyes giving nothing away, regarding us calmly.  She clearly saw us, even though I still kept myself hidden from most eyes.  The ghost-girl’s gaze roved over the room as if she could sense something was different, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

I took a step closer, not quite sure how to proceed in the face of Eve’s silence.  Had so much time passed for her that she didn’t recognize us anymore?  “Bunny, is that you?” I tried again, blinking past the sting of her indifference.

All at once her face changed, an inner light shining through as she launched herself off the bed.  “Momma!” she cried, throwing her arms around my neck when I crouched to catch her.

She felt strange in my arms, like a completely different child, but as I held her, the weirdness melted away and the knot of worry started to unclench in my stomach.  I wasn’t about to lose her again, even if I had to shackle us together as we slept.

“Look at you… you’re so big!”  I pulled back to look at Eve, brushing the hair over her shoulder.  “I don’t understand how she could be this big.” I looked to Adam, who hung back from our reunion.

“Time works differently here, remember?”

“Yes, but she’s only been gone for a few hours!  How long have you been here, Bunny?”

Her expressive face scrunched up the exact same way it had when she was a toddler as she thought it through.  “I don’t know, a long time, I think.  Isobel?  How long have I been here?” she asked the empty room.  The ghost-girl had disappeared.  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  “She’s gone again,” Eve reported matter of factly.  “She does that sometimes, but she always returns.  I’m not sure where she goes when she’s gone.”  Eve sounded so polished – where was my marble-mouthed girl?

“Hey, how about a hug for your favorite uncle?” Adam asked, stretching his arms wide.

“You’re my only Uncle,” she giggled, dropping me like a hot potato to run for his embrace.  Though it made me smile to see him pick her up and swing her around in the air, I couldn’t help but be bummed to think she didn’t remember Matty at all.

“I hate to break up this love-fest, but I think we should get a move on before her ghost maid tips off the warden of this place,” I suggested.

“Isobel would never do that, she’s my friend,” Eve insisted, but I could tell Adam shared my opinion, as he immediately went to check out the small, blocky windows.

“It’s not always that simple, squirt.  So far so good though, it’s all clear out there.”

“Are you okay, Evie?  I mean, nothing terrible happened to you down here, did it?”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” she replied, without a trace of hesitation.  “I miss playing outside, but it’s too cold anyways.  And I like playing with Isobel, she’s nicer than the other kids.  She knows the best stories.”

That was comforting, at least.  “Do you have a coat then?  We’d better get a move on.”

“I have a princess cloak.”  Eve ran to a trunk, overflowing with costumes of every imaginable hue.  She pulled out a blue velvet hooded cape, the edges trimmed in spotted white fur.  It was a bit small, but short of dressing her in several layers of clothes, I wasn’t sure what else to try.

“Here, this might suit.”  Isobel materialized out of thin air, a heavy boy’s coat with big wooden toggles on it clutched in her hands.

“That’s Justin’s coat.”  Eve’s eyes widened when she saw it.

“It’ll look much better on you.”  The hint of a smile curved Isobel’s lips as she helped her put it on.  The teen was nearly solid now, just a hint of the objects on the other side of her showing through.

“See, I told you she wouldn’t bring the Keepers,” Eve reported smugly.  “She’s my friend.”

I offered Isobel a heartfelt smile.  “Thank you for being her friend when we couldn’t be here, but we’d better split while we can.  Is there anything you can tell us about how to avoid the Keepers around here?”

Isobel shook her head.  “There is no avoiding the Keepers, they always come.  They will sense when a soul endeavors to escape and try to stop you.”

“Adam?” I looked to him for guidance.

“We’ll probably have to fight our way through them, yep.”

“And you’re just now mentioning this plan?”

“I told you it’d be dangerous.  This is good though.  You focus on keeping the kid out of harm’s way and this frees me up to take care of business.”  The shining sword appeared in his hand and he gave it an impressive swing.

“Oh…” Eve’s eyes widened at the sight of the sword, even as Isobel dropped to her knees.

“I humbly beg forgiveness for my sins,” Isobel cried, clasping her hands together.  “I only ask that you make it quick and end my torment.”

Adam let the sword disappear, his brows drawn together as he studied the girl.  “Honey, you’re the only one who can end this torment, not me.”

“I thought you said the ones that didn’t deserve to be here didn’t wind up here?” I said softly, feeling nothing but pity for the teen on her knees.  There was a soft nimbus of her soul glowing a pale blue with none of the dark splotches and violent reds I’d seen out in the courtyard.  How had she ended up here in the first place?

“They don’t.  She might look sweet and innocent, but there’s got to be a reason why she’s down here.  Even if it’s just in her own mind,” Adam said, his lips returning to a grim line.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means if she thinks she deserves punishment, this is where she’ll stay.  Just like this Casper impression.  This is her interpretation of Hell.  She thinks she should be haunting the battlements in woe, so that’s what she’s doing.”

“She’s sad about the baby,” Eve said in a small voice, placing her hand in mine.

“What baby?” I blinked.

“It’s too horrible to speak of.”  Isobel’s shoulders bowed under the weight of her sins.

“How long have you been here, Isobel?” I asked gently.

“Not long enough to wash away the stain of my sin.”

Eve tugged on my hand and I crouched lower to hear her.  “She had a baby growing inside her and she wasn’t supposed to.  She fell off a horse on purpose and died,” she whispered.

And the poor girl had been beating herself up for it for a century or more by the look of it.  “Adam, we have to do something,” I looked up at him, sure he’d heard every word.

“It’s not our responsibility.  Like I said, this is what she thinks she deserves, so this is where she’ll stay until she’s ready.”

“But we can’t leave her like this.  She took care of Eve the whole time, that has to mean something to you.”

Eve’s face upturned to his.  “Can you help her, Uncle Adam?”

Adam let out a harsh breath.  “Alright, I’ll see what I can do to help her move on,” he grumbled.  “But then we’re outta here.”  Taking a deep, calming breath, his face lost that pinched look and became serene as he stood before the kneeling teen.

“Rise child, and hear the word of the Lord.”

Isobel’s tear-streaked face came up, but she remained on her knees.

Adam’s voice was soft and coaxing, I’d never heard him speak like this before.  If he’d ever spoken to me like that I would’ve done anything he asked me to and more.  “God is love and God is forgiveness.  If you have truly repented in your soul, then God will show you mercy.”

“I do not deserve mercy,” she moaned, but there was a touch of hope there as her gaze remained riveted on him.

Adam spread his wings, drawing a gasp of awe from Eve and stunned silence from Isobel.  “All God’s children deserve mercy when they accept Him in their hearts.  Embrace His love and you will find salvation.”

“Truly?” Hope teetered there.

“Truly.”  Adam smiled, and he was so beautiful in that moment, it made my heart ache.  “I see no stain of malice in your heart.  Come and accept God’s love.”  He stretched his hand out to her and Isobel placed trembling fingers there.  Enfolding her into his embrace, his Grace flared around them in a pulse of warm golden light, and then she faded from sight.

“She’s gone now,” Eve said, her voice small in the silent room.

“She deserved to move on,” I replied, giving her hand a squeeze.  “She was here for a long, long time.”

“Where did she go?”

“To a better place,” Adam said, sounding subdued.

“That time you went to Hell to see Luci… Luce when Nathaniel took Bunny… How long were you down here for?”

“Too long.”  His eyes took on a haunted cast.  What had the hell of his choosing looked like?  He shook himself out of it before I could ask anything else about it, though.  “We’d better motor before ol’ scratch gets wind of our jailbreak.”

“Right.”  I grabbed a knit stocking cap off the end of the bed and tugged it over Eve’s head.  Mittens would be better, but Adam was right, time was of the essence.

“Do you mean the shining man?” Eve asked, bringing me up short.

“Yes, does he come here very often?”

“No, not since he brought me here.  He told me how to be safe here and to pretend I was a princess in a tower and that one day he’d come to save me.”

Well, that was something.  At least we wouldn’t have to worry about running into Lucifer unless he figured out what we were up to.  “I still don’t understand why Luce kept her here and not with him?  Wouldn’t he want to keep an eye on her if she’s so important?”

“It’s not about keeping her safe.  It’s about how impatient he is.”

“Then why isn’t he here with her if he was so impatient to take her?”

“He’s up there,” Adam pointed skyward.  “That’s why he didn’t send anything after us when we crossed over into his domain, he can’t sense that we’re here.  He’s up there, waiting for Eve to come of age.  Think about it.  It’s been two years down here and just a few hours on Earth.  He wouldn’t have to wait long at all to pop back down here and claim her for… whatever it is he’s planning.”

“He wants to save me.”

“From what?” I asked, but Evie just shrugged.  “Okay, what’s the plan now?  How are we supposed to get her out of here?  Is there a magic portal back to Earth somewhere down here?”

“No, we go back the way we came.”

“Are you kidding me?” I gaped.  “We can’t take her back through the sinkhole.”

“It’ll be fine.  You can hold your breath, can’t you, BunBun?”

“For a long time,” she nodded.

“Great, then we should be good to go.  I can carry you both while we fly over the river, but you’ll have to take her from here to the river.  I’ll need my hands free to deal with the Keepers.”

“Okay, I can do that.” I unfurled my wings, giving them a shake before tucking them close to my body.

“Why do you have wings, Momma?”  Eve reached up to touch them, and I shot Adam a helpless look.

“That’s a complicated question.”

“She’s part angel, squirt,” Adam replied glibly.  “You are too.”

“Oh,” Evie nodded, one of my feathers between her fingers.  “They’re pretty.”

Apparently not all that complicated.  Eve accepted his word at face value without argument.  Then again, she’d seen things most little girls weren’t privy to.  I suppose it was easier for her to accept that fact that her mom and “Uncle Adam” were both angelic while standing in a level of Hell.

“Thanks, sweetie,” I smiled when it became apparent that she didn’t have a problem with it.

“Does that mean I have wings too?”

“I don’t know, maybe someday you will, but we’re not going to experiment with that here, okay?”  I picked up her hand again.  “Now try not to talk, we’re going have to be super quiet while we sneak out of here.”  The windows in her room were too small for us to squeeze through, so we’d have to creep lower through the tower.

“Yeah, it’s time for the quiet game,” Adam winked, keeping his voice light.  “And trust me, you don’t want to lose this game.”

Chapter Fourteen

For once, luck was on our side.  We didn’t run into a single soul out in the hallway and the stairs were deserted.  Unfortunately the windows three levels down weren’t the kind that opened, and we were going to make one hell of a racket busting them open.  We held a whispered debate over whether or not it was more dangerous to continue down to the base of the tower or to risk attracting attention by breaking the window out.  The decision was taken out of our hands by the sound of voices on the stairs below.

“Here we go.” Adam’s face was grim as he called forth his sword and used it to shatter the glass, taking care to break free all the jagged pieces that might cut us on the way through.

No alarm sounded, and the voices approaching from below didn’t give any sign that they cared one way or the other about the sound.  Adam stepped through the window first, his dark wings unfurling to hold him aloft the moment he took to the open air.

“It’s our turn now, sweetie.  Hold tight to Mommy and everything will be fine.”  I opened my arms to her, marveling again at how big she’d gotten.  Not that I had any trouble with her weight, thanks to my angelic strength, but she was definitely bulkier to hang onto.  I emerged from the tower, remembering to keep dim as my snowy wings spread wide.  A quick look around showed no one in sight, and I quickly spotted the general direction where the river waited.

Only as soon as we climbed higher, tiny dark shapes appeared in the distance, moving fast in our direction.  I was reminded of Raum’s demon army and tried to pick up the pace, but it was like trying to fly through water.  It would have made more sense if it was the wind keeping us back, but it was like an unseen current of molasses, thick and gloppy, slowing me down every time I aimed for the river.  “Why is it so hard to get out of here?” I yelled through gritted teeth.

“It’s like a roach motel,” Adam called back.  “You know, roaches check in but they don’t check out.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  I could hover in place without being too taxed, but forward progress was slow going.  Not so for the black winged creatures rapidly gaining headway.

“It’s an old… never mind.  Focus on hitting that outcropping of rock we came out of before and I’ll keep them off your back.”

I didn’t have much choice but to do as he said, each few feet I gained a shallow victory as the Keepers closed the distance on us.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… I heard the simple cartoon song in my head, encouraging me to keep that forward momentum going.  I could do this.  It might take a while, but we’d make it if I could keep focused on the task at hand.

“Christ, what are those things?”  I heard the shock in Adam’s voice as the air around us was filled with the beat of leathery wings.  I know I shouldn’t have looked back, I should have just focused on the rocks in the distance, but it became impossible to leave my back turned to them, knowing instinctively what they were.  I’d seen them before.

“They’re soul eaters,” I replied.

“No, they can’t be.”

They were though, I could feel it in the pit of my stomach.  And they were hungry.  They had thin bodies with oversized heads, and dark leathery wings, like a bat’s.  The one I’d seen at Lucifer’s beck and call had fit in the palm of his hand, but these were as big as Nelo if not bigger.

“Hold tight to me, Bunny,” I spoke in her ear.  “And don’t look.”  If we somehow survived this, I didn’t want her to have nightmares.

“They’re getting bigger.  Mercy, dammit, what did I say about your fear?”

“I can’t help it, they scare the crap out of me!”

Adam turned his back on them, his blue eyes looming large before me.  “You have to stop it or they’ll grow big enough to swallow us whole.  Just calm down, it’ll be okay.  I got this,” he offered a lopsided smile, and I tried to match the courage I saw there.

“I’ll try.”

“I could quote Yoda or some shit at this point, but this is more my style.”  Adam leaned past our daughter’s head to kiss me, sending a burst of soothing Grace in that brief contact before he pulled back with a wink.  “I’m going in, you’d better scoot.”  He gave me a shove toward the mountain, turning to face the soul eaters head on.

Feeling better, I turned back to push my way through the soggy air (that’s not quite right, but I don’t know how else to say it), Dori’s voice egging me on in my head.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.  The sounds of a skirmish reached my ears, but I did my best to ignore them.  Adam could handle it, I’d seen him take on a half dozen armed angels before, he definitely knew his way around a sword.

The inhuman shrieks of pain made me flinch, but I tried to take heart whenever they split the air, each cry a blow of success for Adam.  Harder to ignore were the grunts of pain I recognized coming from Adam, and I risked a look behind to see how he fared.

Adam was fighting three of them, and there were many broken bodies littered on the snow below.  There were bite marks on his legs and one of his wings dripped blood, but he doggedly held them back.  We would make it, as long as no more showed up to fight.  While I watched in horror, the soul eaters he engaged gave an ear-splitting shriek and ripped themselves in two.  Where he’d been fighting three were now six, each as big as the first three.

I had to help him.

Through it all, Eve had remained quiet, nestled in my arms, but at the last shriek she’d let go of me to cup her hands over her ears.  “I need you to hold onto me, I need to help Adam.  Can you be brave and do that for me, Evie?”  I sent her some soothing Grace and she nodded, her arms circling around my neck.

It was far easier to fly back to his side, my maneuverability was fine as long as we didn’t try to leave Githa.  Summoning my sword, I struck at the soul eater closest to me, its attention firmly focused on getting around Adam to get to me and Eve.  My sword sliced through its wing, sending it tumbling to the rocks below with a screech.

“Hey, this is easier than I thought,” I crowed over my quick success.

“I said get to the mountain!” Adam growled over his shoulder at me.

“No gratitude…” I murmured, slicing at the little bugger trying to chew on my boot.  My blade bit into the top of its shoulder and it shook its head in confusion before trying to attack my foot again in the exact same way.  I just waited for it to get into range, lifting my foot higher until I could lop its head off.

“These things aren’t too bright, are they?” I called out to Adam who’d dispatched two more.  It was easier than I’d thought it would be to fight them.  As long as I stayed away from their teeth, or tried to deflect them with my boot, they weren’t too hard to manage.  It might have been harder if they were smaller like the one who got into Ben, then they could swarm and…

“Oh no…”  The soul eater I was fighting broke apart into a dozen tiny creatures, enveloping me in a cloud of teeth and claws.  They swarmed over me, biting and trying to burrow into my mouth and ears.  Tiny hands tore at my hair, ripped at my wings, it was all I could do to stay aloft and try to keep them away from Eve.

“Adam!”  I screamed, spitting as I bit down on one tiny creature who ventured too close to my teeth.

“There’s too many of them,” he grunted, and I saw that the others had all broken apart too.  We were surrounded by a cloud of tiny monsters, each desperate to bite and claw their way inside of us.

“Ow!” Eve yelled when one of them pulled her hair.  I rolled my arm, trying to tuck her into the safety of my shoulder, but she wriggled out of my grasp.  “Shoo!” she scolded, swatting the tiny creature on the head.  Her lips puckered up and a whistling trill emerged, reminding me of how Lucifer had called one to Ben’s aid.  To my utter surprise, it squeaked and disappeared in a black puff of smoke.  “Go away, shoo!” she said again, repeating the whistle with duplicate results, utterly unafraid of the terrifying little beasts.

I tried to copy the whistle, flicking one with my middle finger and it rolled away, disappearing before it completed the spin.  Adam caught on as well, and in less than a minute of whistling, we stood alone above the mountain tops, our path clear.

“Evie, how did you know how to do that?” I asked, holding her close in a celebratory hug.

“That’s how I always make them go away when they try to bite me.  The angel told me how to be safe here.  He was an angel, wasn’t he?”

“That would’ve been good to know before we left the keep.”  Adam rolled his shoulders with a wince.

“You didn’t ask,” she blinked, all innocence.

“Can’t argue with that logic,” he allowed.  “Alright, team, we’re not out of the woods yet.  Let’s beat feet for the rocks, I won’t feel better about this until we reach the mouth of the river.”

It was slow going though, it felt like hours before we reached the crevice in the rocks and climbed inside to the relative safety of the crossroads.  Still, we got there in one piece, and the tiny bite marks had mostly healed thanks to our Grace.

“We made it.”  I let out a breath of relief, leaning against the frozen wall.  One thing was for certain, I didn’t feel all that cold after struggling so hard to get there, especially with Eve tucked in close to my body.

“No time to rest, we’ve got to keep moving.”  Adam’s voice was calm, but I could see the tension in his shoulders.

“What’s the big deal?  We know how to take care of the soul eaters if they show up again.”

“That’s what form the Keepers took here on Githa.  The whistle command might not have any effect if something else tries to stop us on the way out.”

“Oh.”

“It’s time to play the quiet game again,” Adam smiled down at Eve, chucking her under the chin.  “And for this round you’ll have to close your eyes.”

“I don’t want to,” she pouted, sounding sleepy.  Was it her nap time?  I had no sense of the time of day anymore.

“Well, that’s part of the rules of the game.  Your mom has to do it too.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked over the top of her head.  “Maybe we should try this just holding hands so I can help if I need to.”

“No, our best bet is to make as small of a target as possible.  I’m hoping the Grace keeps everything at bay, but we also don’t know if my brother left us anymore surprises designed to keep us down here.  So quit your complaining and come here where you belong.”  He opened his arms, and I bit back the retort that leapt to mind, keeping Eve sheltered between us as I wrapped one arm around his shoulders.

“Now close your eyes.  Both of you.”

I didn’t want to.  Not because I was curious about what there was to see, but because I wanted to keep an eye out in case something else came after us.

“Trust me, Mercy.”

I did.  He’d brought us safely so far, and maybe it was for the best if I kept my stupid imagination out of the picture.  I tucked my face into his neck, closing my eyes tight.  “Let’s go.”

There was even more resistance this time as he flew over the river, heading back the way we’d come.  It was like we were flying through sludge, and I could feel the strain in his muscles to keep us aloft.  Not that I thought it was all that much harder for him to do while carrying us, I had the feeling it would be just as hard for any of us to try it solo.  This place was designed to keep people in, even without the Keepers’ interference.

I wasn’t sure how far we’d come when I felt his energy start to falter.  I did the only thing I could think of, sending him a surge of my Grace like a bubble to envelope us.  To my surprise, I felt Evie do the same, her Grace merging with mine.  Like a rocket, we shot ahead, cutting smoothly through the air with much less effort on Adam’s part.  Before I knew it, we were free, collapsing onto the wet rock at the bottom of the falls.

Adam rolled onto his back, breathing heavily, but I didn’t feel the least bit tired from supplying the burst of Grace and Eve appeared to be no worse for wear.

“That was fun, let’s do that again!” she declared, her face alight with exhilaration.

“That’s my girl,” Adam breathed, still winded, but amused by her outburst.

I was more worried about how spent he was, laying flat on his back like his shoulders were pinned to the rock.  “Do you need some of my Grace?” I whispered.

“No, I’m good.  I just need a minute to catch my breath.”

I didn’t mind taking a breather either.  He didn’t seem concerned about anything else coming after us, and Eve had settled down to watch the water, her eyes growing heavier once the excitement faded.

“Did you mean that stuff you said to Isobel back there?” I asked once her head drooped onto my chest.

“It’s a bit preachy for me, but more or less.  Like I said, by and large the Big Guy is more forgiving than people give him credit for.  He’s not concerned with punishment on an individual basis, He’s got more important fish to fry.  It was her own guilt keeping her there.”

“Then why did it take you so long to forgive yourself for what happened to Mariah and the baby?”

His eyes narrowed.  “That was different.  Isobel was just a kid.  She made a bad call while under extreme emotional duress.  I knew what I was doing, and I did it anyway.”

“I don’t think He wants you to keep punishing yourself for it until the end of time.”

“So you’re speaking for God now, are you?” Adam scoffed, his eyes half lidded.

“I’m the Clarion, aren’t I?”

He considered that in silence for a few moments before looking up at the reflections the water painted on the ceiling.  “You know for a while there I might have believed that, but I don’t think he’s done punishing me yet.”

“Why not?”

His bright gaze found me again.  “Do you really want me to answer that?”

I shook my head, looking down at Eve’s sleeping face, anything but the power of those eyes.  “I thought you were happy for me and Parker,” I said softly.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not torture for me to see you with him.”

“I’m sorry.  I never wanted to be a torture for you.”

“Eh, it’s okay.  Give it another couple hundred years…  You never know what the Big Guy has planned for us, right?”

I couldn’t think in those terms, not yet.  Did I consider the possibility that we might find our way back to each other again someday?  Yes.  Did I feel confident enough in that eventuality to tell him to be patient and wait for it?  No.

“Did you ever think maybe I’m not the right one for you?” I asked.

“Not for one second.”

I couldn’t look at him.  “We should probably get her home soon,” I mumbled, shifting my hold on Eve.

“What’s your rush?”

I cocked a single brow.  “You need more than the obvious fact that we’re hanging out in the doorway to hell?”

“It’s not so bad here.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“I’m not saying I want to hang curtains and dig in for the winter, but I’ve stayed in worse places,” he said with a lazy grin.

I studied Adam closely, the way his eyelids drooped and the way his arms were plastered to the rock.  “You’re still tired aren’t you?”

His brows twitched together in denial.  “What?  No…”

“You are.  That took a lot out of you between the flying and the fight with the soul eaters.  You’re wiped out, admit it.”

“I’m just comfy.  An object at rest tends to stay at rest, you know.”

“Why didn’t you let me give you some of my Grace?”

“Because I don’t need it.”

“Don’t be such a baby…”  I scooted closer, shifting Eve to one hip in order to reach him better, and she stirred at the motion.  “Sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to wake you.”  I rubbed her back soothingly, but she didn’t slip back to sleep.

“What are you doing?” she yawned, her head still resting on my shoulder.

“I’m going to give him some of my healing Grace to make him feel better.”

“Which is entirely unnecessary,” Adam interjected, but I just ignored him.

“Can I do that too, Momma?”

In for a penny, in for a pound.  I figured I might as well start teaching her about what we were, the better to avoid any situations like at the preschool.  “Sure, sit by me here.”  I patted the smooth rock beside me.  “Do you remember when you helped that girl at your old school?  I know it was a long time ago for you.”

“The girl who fell,” she nodded.

“This is just like that, only there’s no cut for you to focus on.  You concentrate on your light, let it gather beneath your hand and then send it into him, thinking about making him feel healthy and whole.”

“Like this?”  The Grace started to glow under her hand, but I lightly caught her wrist before she got too far.

“Wait a sec.  Before you start you always want to take a moment to ground yourself.”

“We’re on the ground.”

“Make believe you’re a tree, kiddo,” Adam interjected.  “Pretend your feet go down into the ground.  Feel the strength of the Earth beneath them.  Become part of that strength, so nothing can knock you down, not even the mightiest gust of wind.  Do you feel it?”

Her eyes had fallen shut at the sound of his voice, her forehead pinched with concentration.  “I think so…”

“Now, gather the light under your hand,” I said softly, setting her hand over his abdomen.  “Think about sending that strength into him, to give him healing, restoring energy until he’s charged up like a battery.”  The light began to glow beneath her hand, and I kept half an eye on her while sending him some of my energy as well, careful to watch for any sign that she’d sent the wrong kind of energy and ended up hurting him.

Adam sucked in a deep breath, his eyes widening as we both sent the Grace into him at once.  I felt Eve’s Grace beside mine, bright and strong, offering more than I was.

“Slow down a little, Evie.  You don’t want to wipe yourself out.  Keep it slow and steady, like this.”  To my surprise, she responded to the instruction, immediately backing off to match me pretty well.  My little girl was a natural at it.  The shot of pride was immediately chased by the sour aftertaste of fear.  Was that a good thing or a bad thing that she took to it so well?

“I think I’m good,” Adam said, covering my hand with his.

“Time to back off, sweetie,” I said to Eve.  “Remember those roots in the ground?  Concentrate on those for a couple of minutes before you move around too much or you might end up dizzy.”

“I feel fine, Momma,” Eve smiled, with no trace of wooziness as the light faded from her palm.  “Are you feeling better, Uncle Adam?”  She leaned down and deposited a spontaneous kiss on his cheek.

“Oh, thank you for that,” he beamed, sitting up.  “And yes, I’m feeling much better.”  Adam kissed her back, sneaking a peck on my cheek on his way back up.  “You two are better than an energy shot, you know that?”

“What’s an energy shot?”

“Ooh, I’d show you, but I think your mom would have my hide if I let you get hopped up on those at your age.  How about we table this conversation until you’re ten?”

“How about we make it sixteen?” I interjected only to have her bottom lip thrust out in a pout.

“Uncle Adam says ten.”

Adam let out a sigh, light on his feet as he stood up.  “You know what, we’d better listen to your mom, squirt.  I forget she always knows best.”  He dropped a wink in my direction.

I stood, helping Eve to her feet as well.  “We’re still moving faster here than in our own time, right?” I asked as a thought occurred to me.

“Yep, until we reach the top of the falls.”

“Good.  That means not that much time will have gone by at all for Parker, right?  He must be going out of his mind with worry.”

Hearing Parker’s name sent a gasp of delight through Eve.  “I forgot about Daddy.  He’s real too, isn’t he?”

What a strange thing to say.  “Yes, of course he’s real and he’s missed you bunches.”

“And Nelo?  Is Nelo there too?”

“Yes, Nelo is waiting for you, and Mimsy and Daphne and everybody you left behind.”

“Mimsy… I forgot about cats.”

Something about the way she said it brought the sting of tears to my eyes.  I could soothe the worry over the past few hours easily by holding her close, but she’d been gone for at least two long years from her perspective.  What else had she forgotten in her time away?

Adam saw the flash of emotion in my eyes and picked up my other hand.  “I’d better get you two home then.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Big breath now.”  Adam held us close again.  We stood on the slippery bank beside the pool about to jump into the rush of water above.

“Hey, Adam?  Thanks.”  It needed saying, while we had these last few moments of quiet together.

“No problem.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d come, you know.  You said you might not be around much anymore.”  Not that I blamed him, not after his mention of torture at watching me and Parker together.

Adam met my gaze squarely, the reflection from the water glinting off of his eyes.  “I’ll always be there when you need me the most.  You know how to call me.”

“The same holds true for me,” I pledged.  “I know you have other stuff you’re dealing with from time to time.  If you ever need me to be there, you know how to call me.”

“Can I call you if I need help killing a bottle of merlot?”

I bit back a smile, but it snuck through anyway.  “Only if you want me to kick your ass for dragging me out to God knows where on a booty call.”

“Could be fun,” he considered aloud with a bob of the head.

“Do I still have to hold my breath?” Eve squeaked, and I realized she’d been holding it the whole time.

“No, breathe, Evie!” I cried out in alarm, but she seemed no worse for wear after a few gulps of air.

“Sorry, squirt,” Adam winced.  “Boy, you can hold your breath for a long time.”

“Let’s try this again,” I said, readjusting my hold on her.

“Big breath, this time for sure,” Adam said, and this time I did it too.  We launched into the air, the water beating all around us like one of those fancy showers with a zillion jets gone haywire.  My lungs burned by the time we shot out of the hole in the rock with a huge geyser of water, Adam’s wings shaking the droplets of water that clung to him in a spray.

I opened my eyes to see a small group of tourists on the observation deck, staring up at us in wonder.

“Oops, guess I forgot to keep us hidden, huh?”  Adam flashed them a grin before going dim and I hurried to make Eve and I imperceptible too.

“Please tell me we did not just inspire a new religious phenomenon,” I said, wincing as I heard the couple exclaim below, and the rapid fire debate that followed as to what they’d seen.  Adam didn’t seem too broken up about it though.

“Eh, it’s good for them to get a reminder of the divine every now and again.  Keeps things fresh.”

“What happened to keeping this stuff hidden from human eyes?”

“You know me and rules.  Who’s up for waffles?  Mercy?  I know you like waffles,” he grinned.

“Waffles!” Eve bounced in my arms with some of the enthusiasm she used to display as a toddler.  Just as suddenly, she sobered, her face pinched in thought.  “Do I like waffles?”

“Everybody likes waffles, squirt.  It’s the law.”

As much as I enjoyed waffles (safe words and the syrupy version alike), I felt there were other pressing matters at hand.  It was just after day break, and we were all soaking wet with a chilly flight between us and Seattle.  “We’ve got to get her some warmer clothes before she catches cold.”

“When has she ever been sick?” Adam scoffed.  “Do you feel sick, BunBun?”

“No, I feel fine.”

I scowled at the hated nickname.  “Don’t call her that.  And that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to let suffer the cold.  I’m already half afraid I’ve lost a toe or two to frostbite from that place.”

“She’ll be fine, she’s made of stronger stuff than normal kids.  And if she gets sick, then we’ll heal her, easy as pie.”

“I remember pie,” Eve volunteered.

“Great, then we’ll find an IHOP and get some waffles and pie.”

“No.”  I hated to be the dissenting opinion, but there were other things to consider.  “If she’s well enough to travel like this, then we should head straight home.  Parker’s waiting, remember?”

Eve nodded enthusiastically.  “Maybe Daddy wants some waffles too?”

“So we’ll call him, let him know we’re all fine and dandy, and we’ll be home later.”

“I can take her by myself if you don’t want to come,” I said gently.  I might not get her there as quickly as he could, but I’d gotten much better at hopping around from place to place over the past few years.

Adam sobered, drawing out a pair of sunglasses from his inner coat pocket.  “No, I’ll take you home if that’s what you want.”

The flight home was quickly done.  It was cold, but not unbearable, certainly not as freezing as the air in Githa.  Eve made no complaints.  Fearless, she watched the ground speed by with a mixture of awe and envy, and I knew she’d take up trying to manifest her own wings as a hobby until the day it happened.

It was still dark out when we got back to Seattle, thanks to the time difference.  Looking at the clock, I noticed most of the time that passed had been from our travel time to and from Minnesota.

“Parker?” I called out as soon as we entered the kitchen.  Adam closed the door, hanging back, but sticking around for what was sure to be a pretty serious strategizing session once we got Evie settled.

“I remember this place,” Eve stared in wonder, touching the countertops with the tips of her fingers.

“Of course you do.  You lived here, sweetie.”

“I started to think this part was a dream too.”

It was sad that this part of normalcy had become the dream and a Hell dimension with a ghost for a caretaker had become the reality.  “Come on, let’s get you up into a hot bath to warm up.”  I set her down, taking her hand to lead her upstairs, but she wriggled out of my grasp almost as soon as my fingers closed around hers.

“Daddy!” she yelled, running for Parker as he appeared on the stairs.  He froze, eyes bulging as he took in Eve’s size.  She caught him around the waist in a hug, and his arms closed around her slowly, looking to me for an explanation.

“E-Evie?” he stammered in utter surprise.

“You still remember me, don’t you, Daddy?”  She looked up at him, her face falling in disappointment.

“I, well… of course I remember you.  You’re just so… so big…”  Parker recovered enough to crouch down and give her a proper hug, meeting my gaze over her shoulder.  “How did this happen?”

“It’s a long story, but that’s Evie alright,” I said with a tired smile.

“Time goes faster down there than up here.  That’s probably why he took her there, to age her up quicker,” Adam volunteered, and I had to hand it to him, he sure did know how to sum things up.

“Aw honey, I’m so sorry.”  Parker pulled back to get a better look at her.  “This is so strange.”  He touched her cheek.  “You are my little girl though, aren’t you?”

“You smell the same.  Like that yucky drink and minty fresh.”  Her nose wrinkled with distaste.

“I might’ve had one drink after you guys left.”  His brows twitched together.  “And I just brushed my teeth.”

“Nelo!”  Eve wriggled out of Parker’s arms and tore up the rest of the stairs, practically tackling him with an enthusiastic hug.  The demon stared, completely blindsided by the sudden charge, almost losing his balance as she hugged him tight.  He was quick to reciprocate though, tendrils of darkness writhing and shifting as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Bunny!  You are big and strong!” he exclaimed in delight.  “Did you eat spinach?”  Eve giggled at that, chattering back to him about cartoons remembered and forgotten.

Parker drew me aside, his hands rubbing down the sides of his face, as if he didn’t trust that he was really awake.  “Tell me all about what happened.  Tell me how she’s so much older.”

“I told you, time moves faster there,” Adam smirked, leaning against the handrail at the bottom of the stairs.  “Which part didn’t you understand?”

“I didn’t ask you,” Parker snapped with barely controlled hostility, and Eve and Nelo looked up from their conversation.  “I’m sorry.”  He made the effort to control his tone.  “It’s been a crazy night, and I’d like some answers.”

“You think it’s been crazy,” I snorted, but I could understand his point of view.  “Come upstairs, let me get some dry clothes and I’ll fill you in on everything.  Adam, could you…?”

“I won’t let her out of my sight,” he promised.

“Thanks.  See if you can find something that might fit her.  Otherwise, we’ll have to stick her in a t-shirt of mine until we can run a load of laundry or wait for the stores to open.”  We’d need all new clothes for her, a new car seat, a whole new birth certificate that matched her apparent age – the mundane details seemed more daunting than storming the keep at Githa.

Parker wasn’t too happy about my asking Adam to stick around, but I wasn’t about to let Eve out of my sight until we had a game plan.  He trailed along behind me as I peeled off my damp clothes and changed into warm, dry ones.  A hot shower would’ve been even better, but I couldn’t spare the time for it yet.

As I filled Parker in on the details of Eve’s escape, I found myself pausing every now and then, listening for the sound of her voice.  I heard the topic of waffles come up again, and glanced down the hall in time to see Adam carrying her down the stairs on his shoulders.  She wore a pajama nightgown that used to go down to her ankles, stretchy enough to cover her for the most part.

“Thank God you’re home safe now.”  Parker wrapped his arms around me, laying a kiss to my temple as I drank in the comfort of his solid embrace.

“Not for long,” I murmured, knowing we had to broach the next subject at hand before we got too comfortable.

“What was that?”

I didn’t want to talk about it without Adam there to help plan, no matter how much that was likely to bug Parker.  “Let’s go down and get something to eat while we talk it over.  I could eat my weight in nachos right now.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure we have the makings of nachos, but I could probably do burritos if you want to wait for me to cook.”

In the end, I decided not to wait for anything too involved, going with a frozen burrito and strawberry Pop-Tarts.   Hey, don’t judge.  I’ve had weirder things to eat at that time of night.  Eve’s appetite had improved greatly, and she polished off an entire plate of waffles with a side of pizza rolls without sneaking Nelo a single one.  With her belly full, her head started to wobble again, and I tucked her onto the couch with Nelo to watch Finding Nemo.  Suitable, I thought, given our recent adventure.

The adults convened in the dining room, where we could keep an eye on her, but still talk in relative privacy.

“Did you tell him?” Adam asked.  He hadn’t touched a bite of food, but I noticed he had no trouble finding where we kept the scotch in the cabinet above the fridge.

“Not yet.  I thought we should all discuss it together.”

“Tell me what?” Parker’s eyes narrowed, looking back and forth between us.  “Did something happen while you two were gone?”

Was he asking what I thought he was asking?  “Yes, Parker.  Something did happen.  We had to travel to Hell to get our daughter back,” I said dryly.

“That’s not what I…”

“I know what you meant,” I interrupted him, trying to let go of the flash of anger.  I was tired, my stress levels were through the roof, and I was pretty sure my hair smelled like pond scum.  It took me a few seconds to pull myself together.

“We can’t stay here, Parker,” I said finally.

“What do you mean?  Why not?”

“Because Luce could take her again at any time,” I explained, hoping he caught on to the nickname.  “We can’t spend the rest of our lives keeping one eye out for him.  I might need a lot less sleep, but I don’t think I could go without it ever again.”  And I wasn’t sure I wanted to live my life that way, watching over Evie like a hawk.

“We could take turns,” Adam suggested.  “I don’t mind taking the night shift since Parker can’t be trusted.”

Parker immediately bristled, his shoulders bunching tightly.  “Are you trying to make me hit you?”

Adam’s hands came up, but he didn’t back down.  “Don’t take it personally, but any one of us could freeze you in place without batting an eye.  He could sweep in and take her as if you weren’t even here.”

“I thought you were going to leave,” I reminded him.

“That was before Luce took up abduction as a hobby.  Next time we might not be so lucky.”

“You call it lucky that our daughter was kidnapped and taken to Hell?”

“I call it lucky that Michael happened to be playing Guardian Angel.  If you’d slept in until morning, we would’ve had an adult on our hands.  With years of opportunity for my brother to brainwash her to his cause.”

I hadn’t thought any of this through as deeply as he had, apparently.  “That takes us back to the fact that we can’t stay here.  We make too easy of a target.”

Parker rolled with it pretty easily, all things considered.  “Okay… let’s think about this then.  We can’t stay at the club, obviously.  What about someplace fairly visible, like a hotel?”

“No, that’s no good,” Adam shook his head.  “It can’t be where any one might spot us and a hotel is too public to defend.  I know a place.”

“Where?” Parker asked, and Adam gave him a condescending smile.

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

“Hey, butt out, will you?” Parker turned on him, his temper flaring again.  “If anything, this concerns me more than it concerns you.”

I laid a hand on Parker’s arm, doing my best to calm him down and considered doing the same for Adam when I saw his jaw tighten.   But Adam backed off, picking up the bottle of scotch where he’d left it behind.

“I’ll go keep an eye on the kid,” he said with a tight smile, but not before shooting me a look as he slid into the living room to watch cartoon fish.  I knew what that look meant.  It meant Parker was about to get a whole lot madder.

Chapter Sixteen

I chickened out.

Instead of saying what needed to be said, I dropped the ball completely, diverting upstairs to pack a few things together.  There weren’t all that many things to take for Eve, she didn’t fit into much.  But I grabbed the stuffed penguin she’d been sleeping with since she was born, hoping to help her remember her old life all that much better.  That and a few cherished books I didn’t think she was too old for made a small dent in the backpack I dug out of the back of the closet.

Parker showed up as I was frantically searching for a change of sturdy clothes for myself that would roll up into the smallest space.  A few simple toiletries made the cut, as well as the fat roll of cash in my sock drawer that I’d been hoarding for such an emergency.  The sense of urgency grew stronger with every minute we lingered there.

“My bag’s already packed and in the hallway,” he said, sitting down on the end of the bed.

“You’re not coming with us.”  I didn’t look at him, instead searching for a pair of thick, wool socks to slip over Eve’s feet while we traveled.  She might say the cold didn’t bother her, but the mother in me wouldn’t let her make that call.

“What do you mean I’m not coming with you?”  His eyes narrowed.  “Of course I am.”

“We don’t have time to make all the arrangements it would take for you to come with us.”  I zipped up the main pouch, looking around the room for anything I might be missing that we couldn’t pick up along the way.

“I told you my bag is packed and ready to go.”

“Parker, you have the club.  You can’t take off in the middle of the night, people are depending on you.  Plus, after we get to where we’re going, I can’t let you call back here to manage it.  Any contact with people here could lead him right to us.”

He caught hold of my hand, eyes hardening in anger.  “Fuck the club, you’re my family.  I’m not letting you go out there alone.”

We wouldn’t be alone, but it seemed like a bad time to bring that up.  “It won’t be for long.  Take the time you need to hire a manager or whatever and I’ll contact you when I can.”

“Mercy, you’re not listening to me.  I don’t care about the club, I’m coming with you.”

I gave his hand a squeeze, torn between love and duty.  “I can’t take you with me.  We’re not getting in the car and driving to Mexico like fugitives.  We’re not taking a plane, or a train.  The only way to do this is to leave absolutely no trail behind and I have to make Evie my top priority right now.  I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

“Fine, then at least tell me where you’re going.”

I shook my head, it was a bad idea on many levels.  “I don’t know what Adam has in mind.”

“Why does he get to go?”  A petulant note crept into his voice and my anger returned sharpened for battle.

“You know exactly why.  And if you make another crack like you did downstairs, I swear to God, I’ll…”

“I’m sorry,” he interrupted, letting go of me to sink back onto the bed.  “I didn’t mean to be a dick.  It’s not easy for me to watch the two of you fly off together, you know.”

“Do you think it’s easy for him to see us so happy together all the time?”

“Is that what we are?”

“We’re going to be, I promise.”  I wedged myself between his legs to take hold of his face.  “Look, until we find a way to fix this, it’s like Adam said.  It’s better if you don’t know much about where we’re headed.  I don’t want to give Luce any more incentive to strike out at you.”

“So I’m supposed to just wait here, knowing anything could be happening to you out there.”

“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“That’s all on you.  I’m the one trying to simple it up.”  Parker pushed his way past me, a deep furrow setting in between his brows by the time he got to the door.  “I’ll be downstairs saying hi and goodbye to my daughter.”

Part of me wanted to chase after him and bring him back.  With some Grace and a few kisses, I might even smooth things over enough to make the goodbye seem less final.  But the sense of urgency returned with a vengeance the higher the sun climbed in the sky.  How long would it be before Lucifer checked on his prize in Githa?  How long did we have before he popped in for round two?

My pack was ready to go and I slipped it onto my shoulders, tightening the straps.  A sparkle caught my eye from my heart shaped ring, and it set me to thinking.  I still had Adam’s ring in the back of my jewelry box.  Maybe Parker needed to see me give it back to Adam to understand I was just as committed to him as always, even in the face of our departure.  I picked up the tiny box, giving in to the urge to take a quick peek to make sure it was still there.

The perfect princess cut diamond winked back at me, flanked by two smaller sapphires, the exact color of Adam’s eyes.  I hadn’t looked at it in years, but now it filled me with unbearable sadness to think about giving it back to him after so long.  Deciding not to make an issue of it, I tucked it into one of the zippered pockets in the pack.  Maybe I’d give it back to him and maybe I wouldn’t.   All I knew was, I couldn’t bear to think of leaving it behind and I knew Parker wouldn’t pack it as an essential when he came to join us.

The tension was thick as I came down the stairs.  Both Nelo and Eve were asleep, their heads together on the sofa, the cartoon blaring in the background, unseen.  Parker glared at Adam, who pretended not to notice, swirling the dregs of his drink around in the bottom of his glass.  I avoided both sets of eyes as I entered the room, kneeling before Eve to slip the socks over her bare feet.  Her stolen coat was still somewhat damp, but it would have to do.  I did add a fuzzy knit cap I found in the top of the closet to keep her head warm.

Parker tried one last time to change my mind.  “Take me with you, Mercy.  This is crazy.”

“It’s not crazy.  It’s the way it has to be.  I’m doing the best I can with a crappy situation.”  I didn’t know what else to say about the matter, but I did think of something else to keep him safe.  “Listen, it’s probably better if you make yourself scarce for a few days too.  Can you stay at the club for a while?”

“I’ll figure something out,” he sighed, giving up.

“I’ll be in touch soon.  Then you can make your arrangements to leave, and we can meet up somewhere once I figure out a game plan.”

“Whatever.”

I touched my lips to his, hating the way they felt cold and unresponsive.  “Hey, I love you.”

“I love you too, Mercy.  I always have.”  He kissed me then, full of longing and passion.  I forgot everything when he kissed me like that, and it was a while before he pulled back.  “Try not to forget it, wherever you go.”

“I never will, that I can promise you.”  Blinking back tears, I tried for a smile, not wanting Eve to clue in to my distress.  Adam stood out of the way, his expression unreadable.  Parker sat on the opposite side of the couch as I gently shook her awake.

“Hey, wake up for a minute, sleepyhead,” I said softly.

Eve rubbed the sleep from her eyes, perking up almost immediately.  “Is it time to go?”

“Yes, it is.”  I injected a note of false cheer into my voice.  “Listen, Daddy needs to stay here, but he’s going to join us as soon as he can.  Did Uncle Adam explain where we’re going?”

“Yes, he said we’re playing hide and go seek.”

“And I am the best at hiding!” Nelo piped up.

“Oh, well, Nelo…”  I wasn’t sure how to explain to him that he’d be staying behind as well.  “You see…”

“You’re riding with me, buddy,” Adam said briskly, holding out his arms.  Nelo accepted that with a happy bounce, climbing into them.  “We need him to play watchdog, and he’s right.  Nobody hides like he can.”

I began to see the genius of that plan.  In the event we were found, Nelo could hide Eve in the shadows where even Lucifer couldn’t find her.  Parker accepted the news with resigned dignity, not offering a word of protest.  It twisted my heart to think about him being left alone with only Mimsy for company, but hopefully it wouldn’t be for long.

“Bye, Daddy.”

Parker gathered her into his arms, and I could see he was still a smidge unnerved with how big she’d grown in such a short period of time.  But the awkwardness passed quickly, and then I couldn’t look at them any longer as they said their goodbyes.

“I love you, honey.”

“I love you bunches, Daddy.  I’m glad we’re going to all live together again.  I missed you lots when I was away before.  Isobel doesn’t do the billy goats like you do.”

“Me too, honey.  Me too,” he whispered into her hair.  “I’ve been working on a pretty good Smaug the dragon too.  It seems like you’re maybe old enough for that one too.”

“Oh, I already read that one,” she replied enthusiastically.  “Isobel let me call her Precious whenever I wanted,” she giggled.

“You’ve already read The Hobbit?” I blinked.  Did anyone else find that odd for a girl her age?

“They didn’t have TV like we have here,” she replied matter of factly.  “Will we have TV at our new place?”

All I could do was look at Adam, having no idea if we were headed for a remote cabin in the Alps or the presidential suite at Caesar’s Palace.

“We’ll figure something out, squirt,” Adam promised with a wink.  “We really should be heading out though.”

“Are we going to fly again, Momma?”

“Yes, actually.”  I didn’t see any point in hiding the fact.

“Can I see if I have wings now?”

I looked to Adam again, wondering if there was a downside to letting her try.  Even if she managed it, I’d never let her fly solo for a trip like this.  Adam shrugged, apparently fine with the idea.  “You can’t stop it from happening, Mercy.  I say let her have a go at it.”

“Okay then, knock your socks off, sweetie.”

She let go of Parker, moving into the center of the living room.  Her shoulders wiggled, rising up and down, arms pumping as she tried various poses out, but no wings emerged.  Thank God.  I wasn’t ready for a five year old with wings.

“How do you make them come out?” she scowled, brows pinched together with concentration.  I decided to take some pity on her and distract her before she hurt herself.

“Maybe you’ll have more luck when you’re older.  We need to get going though.”

Eve tried another few shrugs before coming to my arms.  I held her there comfortably, adjusting the knit cap on her head before we headed for the back door.

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Parker sighed, following after us.

“Only for now, I promise you’ll hear from me soon.”

Parker nodded, hands on his hips.  “I’ll get started on the club today.  Maybe Walter can take care of some of my duties until I figure out the best way to automate the payroll or even put it on the market if we’re thinking about making a clean break.”

“My man Finch can help with that,” Adam offered, but Parker shut him down quick.

“I don’t need your help.”

“I’m sure Parker can handle it just fine,” I said with confidence.  “You, don’t forget to hide yourself this time. I’d rather not have my neighbors talk any more than they’re going to once they discover we’re gone.”  I had another reason for asking, I didn’t want Parker to have to watch me take Adam’s hand as we flew away.

“I know what I’m doing,” Adam bristled.  “Sorry about this, buddy.  I know you don’t like the sunlight,” he cautioned Nelo as they stepped out into the rapidly lightening sky.

“I’d better go, the sooner we can get someplace dark, the more comfortable Nelo will be.”  I could tell that Parker had objections to my sacrificing his comfort for Nelo’s, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it.  Delaying would only bring trouble to our door.  “I love you, Parker.  I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Daddy.  I love you too,” Eve echoed, waving cheerily.

Parker managed a smile for our daughter, but before he turned around, I saw what that smile masked.  He didn’t have to say it out loud.  He had a bad feeling about this.  As I stepped out onto the deck and took Adam’s hand, I hoped like hell that wherever he was taking us, it wasn’t a mistake.

Chapter Seventeen

“Well, lookee what the cat dragged in,” Remiel drawled, making no move to rise from his lazy slouch on the porch swing.  His dark blonde hair fell over his forehead, but it was shorter in the back than the last time I’d seen it.  He looked a little sweaty, but without the air of debauchery that clung to him like a second skin the first time I’d met him.  The five o’clock shadow was still in place, and the ash coated end of a cigarette glowed dully from between his lips.  Faded blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt (not so white anymore) were both liberally coated with the dust of the day, but it seemed more honest than lazy for once.

His ranch house sprawled in the center of the fifty acre property, surrounded by scrubby paddocks, mostly empty of livestock.  The corral closest to the house had a few horses huddled together by the water trough.  An outsized barn, the timbers weathered to a silvery gray, looked as forlorn as the rest of the empty compound.

“It’s like the Goddamn Partridge Family all up in here.”

“We only brought one kid,” Adam retorted, regarding Remiel warily, and that’s when I understood that Remy had no idea we were coming at all.  It made a kind of sense, ours being a secret mission, after all.  But seeing as how Adam had to have known this was our final destination all along, it might’ve been nice to give Remy a heads up to expect some kind of company soon.

“What do ya call that thing in your arms?”

“I am Nelo,” the little demon volunteered, slinking to the ground as Adam set him down.

“I remember you…” Remy peered at him closer.  “Ain’t you the butler guy?”

“And you are the angel that went through the Mistress’ underclothings,” Nelo beamed in recognition.

“I’m sorry, what?” I butted into the conversation, even as Adam’s expression darkened.

“You did what?”

Remiel stubbed out the cigarette, his dimples in evidence as he sat up straight.  “So, what brings you out to these parts?” he asked, changing the subject.

“You said I could look you up in Texas whenever I wanted to,” I reminded him, still holding Eve close.  I wasn’t about to put her down until we were sure this was where we were staying, at least for the night.

“I meant that as more of a personal invite, darlin’,” he winked at me.

Adam bristled at the sound of that, trying to decide in what context the offer had been made.  “Maybe this was a mistake,” he grumbled, drawing a low chuckle from the other fallen angel.

“Relax, Hoss.  Mi casa es su casa.”  Remy heaved himself up to his feet, peering at Eve with interest.  “This your girl?”

“Yep.  Remy, this is Eve,” I replied and Remy nodded back.

“Howdy do.”

Suddenly shy, Eve offered him a faint smile, her head lying against my shoulder.

“She don’t talk much, do she?” Remy considered after a moment.  “I like that in a gal.”

Adam snorted at that.  “Wait until morning, she’ll talk your ears off.  Takes after her mother.”

“You can just shut your yap.”  I gave Adam the evil eye, and he fell silent.

“You got big fast, sweet pea,” Remy added, studying her more closely.

“There’s a reason for that.”  Adam smiled tightly.  “So, are you going to invite us in or do we have to shack up in your barn with the other vermin?”

“Oh, so you’re bunkin’ here tonight, are ya?” Remy’s brows rose a fraction before he gave a wide smile for Eve’s benefit.  “You look plum tuckered out, little lady.  How’s about you let your Uncle Remy show you where you can get some shut eye?”  He held his arms out and after a moment’s hesitation, she went to him, studying him with interest.

“You’re my uncle too?”

“In a roundabout way,” he winked.

“Thanks, Remy.  I appreciate it.” I smiled my thanks.  “Nelo, you go with them, remember what we talked about.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“I have got to get me one of them.  You ever think about livin’ on a ranch, Jeeves?” Remy asked as they headed down the hall.

“My name is Nelo…”

“I’ll get us some drinks so we can talk,” Adam volunteered and I followed him into the old fashioned kitchen, decorated in pitted Formica and knotty pine cabinets.

“You’re not seriously going on a beer run right now, are you?”

“Just to the kitchen.”  Adam fixed me with his best duh look.

It had taken us the better part of the day to get to Remiel’s ranch in Texas.  Adam had insisted on taking a circuitous route.  Stopping off at his apartment in Chicago for a change of clothes first, then down to a remote cabin somewhere in the Appalachian mountains to pick up a mysterious black bag before heading to Texas.

Nelo spent most of the trip swathed in a royal blue Snuggie that Adam refused to explain ownership of.  Eve had been far too interested in the scenery to sleep during any of it, and I saw her head start to nod off before Remy got halfway across the room with her.  Even though I knew she was in good hands, my palms started to sweat as soon as she slipped out of sight.

“Actually, I’m going to go make sure Evie gets settled down for the night before we get into it.”

“She’s down the hall, Mercy, with both an angel and a demon for protection.  I’m sure she’s fine.”

“I still want to see her, okay?”

“Alright, but then we need to talk.”

“I know.”

I followed the hallway to where Remy had led Eve and Nelo to a small bedroom with bucking broncos on the faded wallpaper and matching curtains.  Remy frowned over the twin sized bed pushed up against one wall, the thin blanket old and tattered.

“House came like this.  Don’t never use this room much, so the beddin’ ain’t likely to be too fresh.  Hold up a sec…” He disappeared down the hall and came back with an armload of fabric, spreading the comforter atop the old mattress and a tiger striped throw blanket on top.  “Here ya go, sweet pea. I’ll give ya my lucky pillow too, how’s that?”

“I don’t want to know what it’s lucky for,” I muttered, but Eve smoothed her fingers over the soft, striped, throw with delight.

“Thank you, Uncle Remy.”  She leaned up to kiss his raspy cheek as he set the pillow at the head of the bed, and I saw his face soften with genuine pleasure.

“Thanks, Uncle Remy,” I repeated, kissing his other cheek when he straightened.  “We really appreciate this.”

“Ain’t no big thang,” he grinned. “Lemme go make sure there’s a place for Adam and you to bed down in for the night.”

“He and I aren’t…” I broke off, not wanting to confuse Evie overmuch.

“Still, I don’t reckon he’ll let ya share my bed, will he?”  Remiel’s dimples reappeared as he slipped out of the room.  If I’d been a free woman, I definitely would have considered sharing it.

“You can sleep in my bed, Momma,” Evie offered.  “It’s plenty big.”

“Maybe I will, but for now, you need to get some rest.  Nelo, you go ahead and climb in there with her, but no falling asleep.”  He obeyed without question, and I pulled the tiger blanket up to their chins, placing a kiss to each of their foreheads.

“Will you tell us a story?” Eve asked and Nelo was quick to join the cry, his hands clapping together in anticipation.

“Oh yes, a story please.”

I had to get back to the guys, but I couldn’t resist the chance to reconnect with her after such a long absence (from her perspective anyway).  “Sure, what kind of a story do you want to hear?”

“Tell me about who the shining man is and why he took me away.”

Boy, did she pick a doozie.  “That one’s liable to give you nightmares.  How about something more cheerful?”

“Oh, tell us a story of the good old boys,” Nelo suggested and it took me a few seconds to figure out what the hell he meant.

“Are you talking about the Dukes of Hazzard?”

“Are there any princesses of Hazzard?” Eve asked.

“No, they’re not that kind of Dukes exactly.  Unless you count Daisy, but… I don’t think that’s the right choice for tonight either.”  I shook my head.  Maybe if Sam was around they could reminisce over the old reruns, but I was more of a MacGyver kind of girl when it came to old action shows.

“Do you think I’ll ever get my wings, Momma?”  The question came out of the blue and I honestly didn’t know what to tell her.  I went with my best impression of sounding like a sage adult.

“They only appear when you’re ready.  The first time mine came out, I was falling head over teakettle from the top of the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“Ooh, I want to hear that story!”

“It’s a good one,” Nelo nodded with enthusiasm.

“Maybe when you’re older.”

“I’m older now, Momma.  Remember?”

How could I forget?  In the end I went with retelling the story of Sleeping Beauty, knowing it was one of her favorites.  If she’d grown too old for it, she gave no sign of it, listening with a faint smile until her eyelids grew too heavy and she passed out for the night.  I kept talking even after I knew she was asleep, finishing the story for Nelo.

“I like that one, Mistress,” he smiled in satisfaction once I said the magic words, the end.  “I like Bunny like this, she’s easier to talk to.  Will she stay big?”

“Yes, she’ll stay this big, or bigger,” I replied, smoothing the hair back from her forehead.  At least I hoped so.  Anything was possible in my crazy ass world.

“Good.  Now I don’t have to worry so much about breaking her when we play.”

I probably should’ve explained that he didn’t need to be so careful with her now that she wasn’t a baby anymore.  Then again, having a demon be mindful of her safety wasn’t such a bad thing.  “Listen, I meant it when I said no falling asleep tonight.  Can you do that?”

“Oh yes, Mistress.  I’m not at all sleepy.  I’m awake at night always, you know that.”

“Good, because it’s important that one of us is with her at all times.  So as long as the rest of us are in another room, you stay with her.  That means if she gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, you follow her like a shadow, do you understand me?  Can I count on you?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“I know it’s a big responsibility.”

“I can do it, I want to keep Bunny safe.”

“That’s what we all want.”  I gave his hand a squeeze.  “Thanks, Nelo.  I’ll be in to check on her again before I go to bed.”

I found the guys standing around in the kitchen, a couple of long necks in hand.  While I could definitely use a beer, I wanted to keep a clear head, so I settled for a glass of water.  Something to eat would’ve been welcome as well, but the only things in the refrigerator, besides beer, were a couple of limes and a tub of butter.  I thought it best not to ask.

“So…”  Remy set his empty beer bottle down on the counter, rubbing the condensation off on his jeans.   “Adamiel’s been fillin’ me in on your ass-puckerin’ escapades.  You must be beat.  Let’s go have a sit down,” he said solicitously.

“Thanks, but I’m not sure I could sit still just yet.  Too much nervous energy, you know?”

“I do,” he nodded.  “I’d suggest what I always do when I get ta feelin’ like that, but I suspect you’d sock me for it.”

“I probably would.”

“Might be worth it.”  The dimples were back and I found myself smiling back at him.

Adam didn’t exactly enjoy the mild flirtation between us, his brows drawing together into a single dark line.  “Hello, I’m standing right here.  Could we focus for a moment?”

“Oh, he’s harmless.  It’s his way of making me feel better.”  I’d already found out Remiel was all talk.

“That’s what you keep tellin’ yourself, sugar,” Remy winked.

“Besides, what’s it to you?” I asked, quirking a brow at Adam.  “You’re not the boss of my world anymore.”

“Was I ever?” he muttered, tipping back his beer to take a long swallow.  “But before you two continue your love fest, I think we have a few things to discuss.”

“Poor Adam, he don’t like it when he ain’t top dog no more,” Remy sniggered, pulling another beer out of the fridge.  I was about to object if Adam followed suit, but he didn’t make a move for another.

“He’s right though,” I admitted gravely, losing some of my good mood.  “We’re definitely at DefCon One, at least until we figure out a way to keep Luce from popping in unannounced again.”

“We should be fine for a while,” Adam said.  “Who knows how frequently he’s even visiting Githa?  It could be a while before he even notices she’s gone.  And then, he won’t know where to look.”

Remy nodded in support.  “Adam’s right, ya know.  He ain’t got no way to track ya here.  Leastwise not while you’re holed up on my property.  It ain’t a permanent solution, but you can sleep easy tonight.”

“All the same, I’d rather not underestimate him again.”  Who knew what resources Lucifer had at his disposal?  “All it takes is a few moments of letting her out of our sight and he can snatch her away.  Nelo’s with her now, but that’s not a permanent solution.”

“I’ll watch over her while you sleep,” Adam offered, and I appreciated it, but sleep was the last thing on my mind.

“I’m not sure I could sleep right now.”

“Sure, you can,” he insisted.  “Have a nice hot shower, a stiff drink and you’ll drift right off.”

“And if ya need somethin’ else to carry you off to dreamland…” Remy stopped short of an open leer with the invitation, but only barely so.

“Remy…” Adam’s tone had a note of warning to it.

“She ain’t yours no more.  I’d say that makes her open game.”

“I’m not open game.”  I held up my hand, waggling the finger with engagement ring on it.

Remy looked suitably impressed.  “And where’s he at?”

“Not out of the picture.  I just need to figure out what we’re doing before I ask him to uproot his entire life for us.”

“You shoulda let him come along then.  A man likes to take a hand in his own fate when he can.”  He pushed himself away from the kitchen counter.  “I’m gonna take care of some errands. I wasn’t expectin’ company.”

“You don’t have to put yourself out like that,” I said, but he waved me off.

“Don’t give it another thought.  This here’s the South, hospitality’s in our nature.”  What a different reception than I’d gotten in Tacoma.  “Get some rest now.  Your gal’s safe, don’t nothin’ need to be decided tonight.”

“I could use a shower,” I admitted.  The pond scum smell had ripened with my own sweat from having flown pretty much the entire day, and my scalp felt itchy.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Adam pledged again, and this time I nodded, trusting him to keep her safe.

* * *

The shower was amazing.  I’ve never understood the mystical connection between a hot spray of water and revitalizing the body and soul.  It was almost better than being given a burst of restorative Grace.  I probably should’ve taken a quick one, washing the necessary bits and pieces so Adam could take one too, but instead I lingered until the water turned tepid and unsatisfying.

A sluggish placidity had taken over my limbs, and as I stepped out of the shower into the steamy bathroom I felt calm and relaxed.  They were right, nothing bad would leap out to get us.  We had time to figure things out.  Soon I’d have Parker there with me, and we could figure out what to do long term.

I hated that he’d have to give up his business to keep us safe, and I wondered if he could keep running it by proxy.  Maybe not through Finch, I couldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to use Adam’s guy, but there had to be reputable people out there to manage a business for an owner who didn’t have the option of being as hands on as Parker was with the club.

I pressed the towel to my face and neck, inhaling the scent of April freshness and smiled to think of a guy like Remy using fabric softener.  A flicker of movement caught my peripheral vision as I lowered the towel to dry off my arms, and I let out a shriek as I noticed a figure standing there.

“Whoa, relax, it’s me!” Adam stepped into the light, one hand outstretched, and the other clutching a plate covered with mini sandwiches.

“Jesus…” I wrapped the towel around myself, fingers fumbling it horribly and almost losing it entirely as I tried to secure it.  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, advancing on him, my heart pounding with a heady combination of anger and embarrassment.

Adam blinked at my tone, taking half a step backwards before he recovered his usual swagger.  “You left the door open,” he retorted with an accusatory tone, setting the sandwiches down.

“And that makes it okay?”  I hadn’t exactly been expecting him to roam the bedroom after his promise to stay away and keep an eye on Eve.

“I’m a guy.  Do you honestly expect me to turn down a free sample?”

“I wasn’t giving you a free sample,” I bit out.

Adam shrugged, completely unrepentant.  “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say you’re sorry for intruding on my privacy.  That is the standard response when one is in the wrong.”

He snorted at that. “I’m not sorry,” he muttered, before the tiniest spot of guilt crept in at seeing how upset I was.  “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.  It’s not like I was perched outside your bedroom window with a pair of binoculars.”

“Watching someone without permission, whether it was premeditated or not, is still doing something bad.”

Adam gave a one sided shrug.  “You were the one to leave the door ajar.  I don’t know what you’re making such a fuss about.  It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“You’re not really that much of an asshat, are you?  Do you seriously not get why I don’t want you creeping around in the shadows sneaking a peek at my goodies?”

“I wasn’t creeping around in the shadows.  I came to bring you something to eat.  Besides, I don’t have to watch at keyholes to sneak a peek.  Not when I can close my eyes and see your goodies any time I want to,” he smirked.

There wasn’t much I could say to that.  It wasn’t possible to police a man’s memory fueled imagination.  “Fine, then you stick to your fantasies and leave me out of it.”  I moved to close the bathroom door, but he was quicker, blocking the way with his body.

“Admit it, you fantasize about me the same way sometimes.  Don’t you.”

A flush of guilt that went through me as I remembered that steamy dream, the towel standing between me and him feeling somehow smaller all of a sudden.  “That’s not something I spend a whole lot of time on, no,” I lied.

“Your lips may say no but your eyes say yes,” he grinned, taking a step closer and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the cheesy response.

“Has that line worked for you since prohibition?”

“Ouch, there’s my girl.”  His grin spread wider, obviously enjoying the argument.

“I’m not your…”  I bit back the frustration, knowing it gave him a charge to get a rise out of me like that.  I took a step closer to him as well, not wanting to let him intimidate me with his presence.  “Let me simple this up.  What do my eyes tell you right now?”  I fixed him with a pointed look.

Adam closed the remaining distance between us, holding me with the power of his gaze.  “They’re telling me plenty.”  His grin was predatory, refusing to let me completely off the hook.  The air tingled between us, our breath mingling as he stood his ground.  I was the first to look away, flushing with a combination of anger and like it or not, attraction, followed by a quick side of guilt.  I should not be there having this conversation with him with nothing between us but a towel…

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I looked up at him again, my eyes pleading.  “Adam, we can’t…”

“Look, I’m trying, okay?” he interrupted.  “I’m more of an if-it-feels-good-do-it kind of guy.  I’m not used to this respecting boundaries stuff.”  His face wrinkled with distaste.

“Try harder,” I returned, the corner of my mouth twitching into an almost smile at his expression.

“I will, scout’s honor.”  Adam held up his fingers in a passable attempt at the Boy Scout sigil.

It was hard to hang onto my anger with that little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar look, and I decided it would be easier to let it go for now.  “I need to get dressed now.”

“Go right ahead, who’s stopping you?”  The smirk was back in place again.

“Out!” I ordered with a laugh, pushing against his abdomen.  I backed him through the bedroom until he froze in place, the glint in his eye leaving me to think he’d changed his mind about playing by my rules.

“Adam, I’m serious, get out.”  And that’s when I noticed he’d really frozen in place, completely unresponsive and unmovable.

“That can’t be good…”

Chapter Eighteen

Adam was stuck the same way I was able to freeze humans.  His cheek was still warm and soft, but he was utterly unmovable.  Officially time to panic.

“Remiel?” I called out, squeezing past Adam to the door, knowing in my heart I wouldn’t hear a response.  Abandoning any hope he might come to the rescue, I skidded down the hall on damp feet, almost losing my towel as I careened into the cowboy room Eve slept in.

My heart squeezed painfully when I found Lucifer there, gazing down at the bed where Eve slept on undisturbed – or was she frozen too?  Nelo sat unmoving, his eyes wide and staring beside her.   So much for him being able to hide her in the shadows when push came to shove.

“How the crap did you do that?” I gasped, clutching at the towel as I slipped into the room, trying to edge my way toward the bed.

Lucifer turned to me with a polished smile.  Everything about him was elegant, from the exquisitely tailored suit, to the diamonds winking at his cuffs and the pin in his scarlet tie.  His blonde hair was slicked back from a perfect brow, and the smooth curve of his lips framed gleaming white teeth.  Almost too pretty to be a man, he would’ve looked equally impressive in drag.  All the archangels were, I supposed, even the Fallen ones.

“You’re looking fetching as always, Merceline.”  His eyes dipped lower and I tugged the towel around me like a shield, feeling like I needed another shower.

“How did you freeze them?” I repeated, and he turned back to Nelo, gazing at him thoughtfully.

“I’ve powers you can’t comprehend,” Lucifer boasted airily.  Leaning forward, he tapped Nelo on the head, and the demon disappeared with an audible pop.

“What did you do to him?” I demanded, rushing to insert myself between him and Eve before he did the same thing to her.

“I merely sent him home.”

“To Seattle?”

“To Midian.”

Poor Nelo!  “Can you bring him back?”

A faint line appeared on Lucifer’s smooth brow.  “Why would I want to do such a thing?  I’ve returned him to his people, where he belongs.”

“He belongs with us.”

“We’ll see what we can do about getting him back for you if you’re cooperative.”

“You’re mental if you think cooperating means I’m going to let you take Eve again.  Any second now Adam’s going to unstick, and while he’s having fun playing shish kabob with your ass, I’ll take Evie someplace where you’ll never ever get her.”  Obviously we’d made a mistake in hiding out with one of Adam’s known friends.  That meant I’d have to take her somewhere more obscure.

Lucifer ignored the threat, taking a seat on the edge of a scarred dresser.   “It was pathetically easy for me to find you, you know.”  He smoothed a wrinkle from his pants leg and looked up at me, his smile sending a shiver down to the base of my spine.  “I could have easily frozen you with the rest of them.”

“Why didn’t you?”  The words came out barely above a whisper.  How could one man, even a former archangel, have so much power?  Here I’d thought myself to be pretty kickass with all my angelic traits, and I was nowhere near approaching his level.

“I have a proposition for you.  One I’d much prefer you conscious for.”  His eyes dipped to the towel again, but I tried to focus on the big picture.  For whatever reason he wanted to talk.  As long as that bought me some time, I was all kinds of up for distracting him.  I shifted my position on the bed, crossing my legs.

“What kind of a proposition?”

His eyes followed the shift appreciatively, the faint smile lingering on his lips.  “There’s no need for this enmity between us.  We both want the same thing.”

“For you to die in a freak cattle stampede?”

Lucifer’s smile stretched wider, his hand coming up to point in my direction.  “See, now there’s the spark of life I admire in a person.  You triumph over adversity like no one I’ve seen in a millennium.”

“Thanks, I like your shoes.”  I waited patiently for him to get over his amusement and get to the point.

“I speak of raising your child to adulthood with nothing unpleasant happening to her.”

“Which is why you took her to a Hell dimension,” I said, my dry tone speaking volumes.  Lucifer had the gall to look embarrassed.

“Oh dear, you’re not going to forgive me for that, are you?”

“Is there any reason why I should?”

“She was well protected, surely you saw that,” he said earnestly.

“I saw she was little more than a prisoner in a tower with only a dead girl for company,” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.  “You can’t think growing up like that would be pleasant.”

“I admit, it would be less varied than most childhoods, but she would have been safe, I can assure you that.”

“Yeah, but, that’s not what childhood is about.  Kids need those life experiences to help mold them into adults.  You said I triumph over adversity?  How do you think I got that way, from having a perfect childhood?  No, I learned how to take care of myself and whatever came my way.”

“Surely you want better for your daughter.”

“Yes, I do.  And better has nothing to do with selling her to the devil.”

His brows dipped closer together, the beginnings of a frown tugging at the perfect curve of his lips.  “You mistake me.  I don’t wish to buy her from you at all.  In fact, what I have to offer will benefit you both greatly.”

“I don’t want anything you have to offer.”  I wanted to make that clear, right from the start of whatever negotiation he thought we were entering.

His face fell, big blue puppy dog eyes and all.  “But you haven’t heard what I have to say yet.  Surely…”

“The only thing I want to hear from you is your apology before you take a flying leap out of here.”

“An apology,” he nodded slowly.  “You’re quite right, one is definitely in order.  I realize now the folly of my ways in trying to separate mother and child.  It was wrong of me and for that, I do apologize.”

Was he for real?  Was I supposed to say okey dokey and let bygones be bygones for stealing two years of my child’s life?  Still, I was in distraction mode, buying time for the paralysis to wear off of Adam and Remiel.  “Okay, let’s say for a minute I buy this apology of yours.  What is this proposal you have in mind?”

“I should begin by acquainting you with a few facts in my possession that might help you make a more informed decision.”  He sounded so reasonable. I wanted to knock that perfect smirk off his lips with a two by four, but I sat there patiently, waiting for him to get to the point.

“Thank you, that would be helpful,” I managed in a civil tone, but I couldn’t make myself smile.

“Now then, as I mentioned before, it was absurdly easy to find you once you returned from Githa.  In fact, there is nowhere on Earth you can hide that I won’t find you.  Your daughter’s Grace is like a beacon, if one knows what to look for, which I do.”

“Why is that?”  If there was a way to mask it, we might stand a chance.

“She simply has more Grace than my brethren do.  It sets her apart from everyone in the world, human and otherwise.

“Duly noted.  I’ll accept your claim at face value for the moment.”  Though I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced it couldn’t be beaten.  “Please continue.”

“Thank you,” he said politely.  “I can take her from you now, of course, and eventually you’ll find out where she is.  You’ll take her back and we’ll go round and round, and who will suffer for this?  That sweet girl who hasn’t done a single thing to deserve such a battleground for a childhood.”

“So, stop taking her,” I bit out with a forced smile.

“Or – you can come with us, raise your daughter yourself until she’s an adult and can make her own informed decision.”

“I’ll bet.”  Did it count as an informed decision if you only got to hear half the facts?

His finger came up to scold me.  “I’ve always been about disseminating knowledge above all else.  I give you my word no harm will come to either one of you.”

I pretended to consider the ludicrous invitation for a moment or two, shifting to uncross and cross my legs again the other way.  “Where exactly do you plan on taking us?”

“It doesn’t have to be to Githa if that doesn’t suit.  I can guarantee you safe passage to any number of realms that will suit my purpose.”

Like that wasn’t a frightening prospect.  “I’m a little vague on what that purpose happens to be, now that you mention it.”

“I told you, my purpose aligns with yours.  To ensure that Eve reaches adulthood in absolute safety.”  His smile was a perfect curve of lips and flash of white teeth, but there was nothing friendly or comforting in it.  Whatever his endgame was, I could bet it wouldn’t have Eve’s best interests at heart.

“So you expect me to come along peacefully and go along with your crazy plan?”

“To ensure the peaceful, safe raising of your daughter, yes.”

“Have you been mixing your medications lately?” I asked, my head shaking in disbelief.  “What makes you think that’s motivation enough to give up, hand her over to you, and leave everything behind?”

“Isn’t it every mother’s wish to see her daughter grow up happy and whole?”

“Which I’m not convinced would be the case holed up in some demon realm.  Besides, you’re leaving out a pretty important aspect.”

“Which is?”

“Love.”  I waited for him to reply, but he stared at me blankly.

“I don’t understand the point.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” I muttered.  That much was obvious.  “You expect me to leave the man I love behind?  You know he’ll never stop looking for us.”  I was deliberately vague as to who the “he” was, figuring he wouldn’t be all that worried about having Parker on his tail, but he didn’t seem too concerned in any case.

“Frankly, I think my odds are good at evading him.”

“You’re missing the point.  I could never be happy sacrificing one love to save another.”  Not that I wouldn’t choose Evie in a heartbeat, but if I could get him to consider taking Adam along, that would help my odds along, quite a lot.

“It’s true, I haven’t considered your needs beyond the maternal,” he considered aloud.  “However, I could be induced to stay by your side if it proved to be mutually beneficial.”

“Meaning?”

In a single move, Lucifer was across the room, the mattress squeaking as he sat beside me.  “Meaning, we could certainly keep each other entertained over the years.”  The perfect smile was back, paired with the sultry flash of bedroom eyes.  A heady combination for someone who didn’t hate his guts, no doubt.  But all I could think was eewh.  Was he hitting on me?  Maybe there was a way to exploit this… make him vulnerable.

“You think you’re up to the task?” I raised a brow, leaning forward enough to allow for the swell of my cleavage to strain against the towel I still held wrapped around my body.

“I assure you, I have never had a complaint in that department before,” he purred, his entire body looming, taking up my personal space.  “There is nothing you crave that I can’t provide.  I can bring you your fondest desire, before you even realize what it is.”  Lucifer leaned closer still, lips promising delights, his breath hot on my neck.   His hand came up to stroke the curve of flesh across the top of my breast, fingers dipping inside the towel, and it suddenly disappeared entirely.

He meant for me to feel vulnerable, or maybe even titillated, but all it did was piss me off.  I wasn’t some shy, virginal, schoolgirl.  Sure, I’d rather have my clothes on, but I wasn’t defenseless without them.

“Mmm,” I sighed, my head falling to one side to give him better access, even as I produced my sword with a snick, swinging it in a perfect arc at his exposed neck.  I felt the blade bite into his skin, but in the next instant he was across the room, cupping a hand to the wound.

“I see I may have miscalculated.”  His smile was tight, but with a brief flare of Grace his cut was healed.

“You think?”  I picked up the tiger blanket off the bed and wound it around me.

Lucifer spread his hands, his tone mollifying.  “Come now, I’m trying to be reasonable.”

“And I’m losing my patience,” I snapped.  “You don’t know a damn thing about what I want.”

“Don’t I?”  A shimmer of light rippled over his skin and in the next instant it was Adam who stood before me.  At least it looked and sounded like Adam, but there was no mistaking the glint of Lucifer’s presence behind the eyes.  “I think I know a thing or two about what you want, Mercy,” he smirked.

I knew a thing or two about a fallen angel masquerading as someone I loved, and I wasn’t afraid to fight back.  I kept the sword between us, at the ready.  “Come any closer and I’ll split the other side of your neck open,” I growled, but he didn’t look the least bit intimidated.

“Fine, you don’t want this one?  How about this?”  The light rippled again and he morphed into Parker.  “Come on, angel.  I know you miss me,” he said with the familiar smile, his hands stretched out to me.  “This way we can be together and be a real family.”

“This is what you call real?” I gaped at him.  How stupid did he think I was?  “Just because you look like him doesn’t mean you’re anything like him.”

“Very well then.”  Lucifer shimmered back to himself, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt before he looked back up at me.  “I can fetch you the man himself.”  There were no theatrical waves or gestures, but Parker appeared beside him, blinking in confusion.

“What the… Mercy?”

“Parker!” I gasped, truly believing it was him this time.

“What’s going on? Why are you naked?” he demanded.

Instead of answering him, I appealed directly to Lucifer.  “Please don’t involve him in this.  I don’t want him caught up in the middle.”  The last thing I needed was to worry about dividing my attention between protecting him and Eve, because I knew who would win.

“In the middle of what?” Parker took two steps toward me, but he disappeared in the next instant.

“Fine,” Lucifer said, his tone crisper, as if he was done playing games.  “Now then, I think I’ve presented any number of arguments in my favor.  I think I’ll have your decision now.”

The moment of truth.  I could try to delay him further, but we’d both know it was an act after my bit with the sword.  Eve showed no sign of stirring, and I started to think the paralysis wouldn’t wear off until Lucifer was good and ready for it to.   Drawing myself up to my feet, I gathered the blanket more firmly around me.

“Alright, I’ve come to a decision,” I declared.  “I won’t ever willingly submit my child to your twisted version of a childhood.  I don’t care what you offer me, it ain’t gonna happen.  So if you’re so worried about keeping her safe from a traumatic upbringing, why don’t you try leaving her the hell alone?”

Lucifer nodded gently, blinking a few times as he found a genial smile.  “Ah well.  You can’t say I didn’t try.  Goodbye, Mercy.  It might have been fun.”

Chapter Nineteen

I took an involuntary step backwards at the flawless, placid smile on his face, the back of my calf hitting the side of the old bed with a creak.  Coupled with the sinister goodbye, it made the base of my spine shiver like I’d been hit with an ice cube down the back of my shirt.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Not a blessed thing,” he smiled.

I gripped the sword tight, even though I knew I was supposed to hold it loosely, from my lessons with Sam.  It was too bad I couldn’t give Sam a holler, but he was probably too busy with his secret mission stuff.  Hell, I would’ve settled for Bert and Hubie if I thought they’d come when I called.  It started to look like Lucifer meant that literally, when no blow came, and I didn’t find myself frozen in place.

His smile slowly faded, and I understood that he must have tried something on me and failed.  Whatever it was, his look of disappointment was like a tube of Chapstick in the desert.

“What the devil…”

I didn’t have time to poke fun at Lucifer invoking himself at the botched move, because the archangel Michael appeared in a blinding flash of light.  If ever there was a good time to look the part of an Angel of God, this was it.  Michael was magnificent enough to give Lucifer pause.

“Hold, in the name of the Lord,” he declared, immediately inserting himself between Lucifer and me.

“This has nothing to do with you, Michael,” Lucifer snapped, the furrow between his brows deepening as he tried something else that didn’t work as planned.

“Thy magics have no effect upon me.  Be gone, I will not let thee bring harm unto this child,” he commanded stiffly.  He still sounded kind of poncey to me, but as long as Michael was on my side, I wasn’t complaining.

“I’ve no intention of harming her, brother,” Lucifer’s tone turned sweet, cajoling, but Michael wasn’t having any of it.

“Dost thou not consider taking the child from her mother’s arms harmful?”

Lucifer tried to look contrite.  “I have learned from past mistakes.  I offered to bring her along this time.  I offered her everything her heart desired, as a matter of fact.”

“You can’t offer me a single thing in my heart but your absence,” I bit out, wanting to make it clear where I stood, once and for all.

No trace of a smile lingered on Lucifer’s lips.  “Have a care, Merceline.  Your tongue would not easily be replaced should you find it torn from your body.”

And the guy wondered why I didn’t want to take him up on his offer.

“Remember what happened when last we fought,” Michael said in a low voice.  “The Clarion can command the entire heavenly host at a single call.”

I could?  Why the hell hadn’t anyone told me that one before?

Lucifer drew himself up, regaining the polite façade once more.  “I see now is not the time to trouble you, Merceline.  I shall have to pick my moment more carefully.”

“Yeah, you think good and hard before you come after her again.”  Not that I had a lot to threaten him with from my usual bag of tricks, but that calling a legion of angels down sounded promising.

“You can’t keep her from me forever,” Lucifer warned in parting.  “You can’t safeguard her from her own destiny.”

I opened my mouth to say something cutting in return, but… I had nothing.  “Destiny schmestiny,” came out.  Lame.

“Charming to the last.  We will meet again.”  His eyes were dark with promise.  “Brother.”  Lucifer nodded to Michael and vanished into thin air.

“Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny!” I quoted Bob Marley too late.  So lame.  That left me and Michael with a house full of frozen angels.  “Oh man, thank you!  That’s twice you’ve saved our bacon.  Is this your new gig or was it a lucky break?”  My words obviously confused him, so I tried again.  “Does this mean you’re watching over us all the time?”  A bit creepy, but useful considering the circumstances.

“I have been tasked with watching over the child.”  Michael was trying to look anywhere but at me, and I understood my state of undress made him extremely uncomfortable.

“Thank you, Michael.  I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.  That was super handy, your being able to resist his magicky stuff.  Did you keep him from freezing me too?”

“I did nothing.  I suspect, he doth not possesses the power to ensnare thee, just as he may not ensnare any of my caste.”

“You mean archangels?” I blinked in surprise.  Did that mean I was one of them now?  “Why would that be?”

“Thou art filled with more Grace than a common angel may possess.”

A common angel…  Boy, Michael was a snob and a half.  “Holy crap, I knew I was stronger than Adam, but I didn’t know I was running with the big boys.”  Not that it did me all that much good around Lucifer, but it was a huge relief to know he couldn’t freeze me whenever he wanted to.  “Oh… I forgot about the guys.  Will they be alright?”

“The effect should cease soon enough.  Thou hath ample time to dress in something more suitable.”

A smile curved the corners of my mouth at the stuffy suggestion.  Not that I was an exhibitionist by any means, but I couldn’t help teasing him a bit.  “What’s the matter, Michael?  I’m just standing here as God made me.”

“Thus He made the animals, but He instructed man to clothe themselves.”

“Actually, it was man who decided he was naked on his own after eating from the tree of knowledge, as I understand it from bible school.  But I’ll go get dressed if you promise to keep an eye on Evie.”

“That is why I am here, is it not?” he muttered irritably.

I dashed into the other room to pull on my spare clothes, concerned to see Adam still frozen in place.  I’d thought for sure he’d snap out of it once Lucifer disappeared.  How long would it take before they were back to normal?  I needed to talk to him.  I needed to talk to Parker as well, to explain what he’d seen – if any of that was real.  It was possible that Lucifer had manufactured an illusion of Parker rather than actually producing him only to return him moments later.

Dressed down to my boots, I lingered in front of Adam for a moment, touching his still-warm cheek.  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.   For what – there were too many things to list.

I was surprised to find Eve awake when I returned.  She sat up in bed, talking to Michael, her hand in his, a strange look on his face as he looked down upon her.  “Everything okay in here?” I asked.  “How are you feeling, Bunny?”

“I’m fine, Momma.  This is Michael, he’s my guardian angel,” she smiled brightly.

“I don’t know if I’d call him that…” I protested, but Michael didn’t correct her.  It was odd the way she seemed perfectly comfortable around him, still holding onto his hand.  “Have the two of you met before?”

“I saw him before in my dreams.  The nice ones.”

My head came up sharply at that.  “What did you do in her dreams?”

“Nothing… I have never appeared in the child’s dreams,” Michael gaped, tugging his hand free.

“It’s not his fault, Momma.”  Eve looked disappointed when he pulled his hand away, but she salvaged a smile, looking up to him with a whisper.  “I’m glad you’re real.”

I wanted to ask her what other kinds of things she dreamt about, but there would be time for that later.  “I’m just glad you woke up.  The others are still stuck in place,” I looked to Michael for answers, but he didn’t seem too concerned about it.

“They will waken soon enough.  The child was merely sleeping, untouched by Lucifer’s magic.”

Damn, she was a deep sleeper then.  Maybe it had something to do with living in a Hell dimension for two years?  Who knew what other things she had to block out?

“Mercy!” The shout rang out from the other room, an edge of panic to Adam’s voice.  In the same instant, a string of blistering curses filled the air from Remy’s direction.

“We’re in here!” I called out, only to be tackled in a bear hug when Adam careened into the room.  “We’re fine, thanks to Michael,” I managed to get out when he let go of me to check on Eve for himself.

“Shit… what happened?” Remy demanded, looking haggard when he appeared in the doorway.  The small room was getting crowded, and I picked up my daughter, tucking her comfortably against my hip.

“I think we should move into the living room and have a little talk.”

Remy had picked up a few necessities while I was taking the shower, including a pair of overalls and pink cowboy boots for Eve that she instantly fell in love with.  I made us some hot chocolate the old fashioned way on the stove with milk.  I filled them in on the particulars of Lucifer’s visit, glossing over some of the details like my nudity and anything else I thought would give Adam an embolism.

Adam began to pace about halfway through, hands laced across the back of his neck as he grew more and more agitated.  “Shit… I’m sorry,” he apologized when I ended with Michael’s rescue.  “I never thought he could track her like that.  I let you down.”

“It’s not your fault, none of us knew he could do that,” I said, feeling hella stupid for underestimating him myself.  “He’s far more dangerous to us than I thought.  Looks like I’ll be the one playing watchdog for now since he can’t freeze me.  Unless you’re going to be around from now on?” I asked Michael, who had retired to the corner of the room, watching us without speaking.

“I will not be playing watchdog, as thou named it,” he said with distaste and I started to wonder why he kept hanging around.  It was obvious he felt we were all beneath him or something, and had better things to do from the haughty expression etched deep into his face.

“Where’s Nelo?” Eve asked suddenly.  “How come he didn’t come back after Lucy left?”

Shit.  How could I have forgotten all about him?  “I’m sorry, sweetie.  We’ll probably have to go and get him.”

“You’re not going to Midian now,” Adam scowled.  “You need to stay here with Eve.  I’ll go.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Remy offered, surprising us both.

“Thanks, Remy.  But you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.  Raum knows where things stand between us.  He shouldn’t give us any trouble if either Adam or I go.”

“I’ll pop in and outta there with my ring before ol’ Raum knows I’m there.  It’s the least I can do after I let ya down like that.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I assured him, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.  “He got the drop on all of us.”

Eve left the dregs of her cocoa behind, her arms reaching up to him.  “Bye, Uncle Remy.  Thank you for my boots,” she said as he picked her up.

“You’re welcome, sweet pea,” Remy smiled, hugging her tight before he set her back down again.  “You take care of that little gal now, y’hear?”   He dropped a quick kiss to my cheek before heading for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” I asked.  “I thought you were going to open the portal to Midian.”

“Gotta go find me a virgin first,” Remy said with a wink, his grin stretching wide as he went out the door.

I picked up Eve, bringing her back to the worn couch.  “Don’t worry, sweetie.  Uncle Remy will bring Nelo back, I promise.  In the meantime, we need to figure out what we’re going to do now.  We can’t keep running like this.  He said there’s nowhere on Earth he can’t find her.”  I looked to Michael for answers.  “Was that true or was he trying to scare me?”

“He spoke the truth.  Many will be attracted by the shine of her Grace.”

“So… are you planning on sticking around to help in case Luce comes back?”

“No, my place lies in the heavens.  I will come when I can, but I am not made to dwell among thee.”

Adam rolled his eyes at that.  “It’s the twenty-first century.  Don’t you think it’s time to pull the stick out and start interacting with people again?  It might do you good.”

“Thou hast dwelled too long among the humans.  Their debauchery hath permanently stained thy mind,” Michael sneered, and I lost my temper with him, guardian angel or not.

“Hey, we may be part angel, but we’re also part human around here,” I pointed out.  “So don’t go human bashing if you don’t want my boot up your ass.”  Eve giggled, and I recalled my pledge to watch my language, which had taken a turn for the worse ever since Adam’s arrival back in my life again.  “Sorry, honey.  Bottom,” I amended.

“I think my time here is long past.”  Michael drew himself up, but Adam blocked his path.

“There’s only one place you can take her to keep her absolutely safe until we can figure something out, and you know it.”

“It is not a place for the living.”  Michael moved to step around him, but Adam shifted, keeping himself between Michael and the door.

“You go there, you’re alive.”

“Thou knowest of what I speak.”

“What are we talking about?” I interrupted, feeling lost.

“We’re talking about Mikey taking Eve to Heaven.”

Chapter Twenty

I found myself on the archangel’s side for a change.  “No.  There has to be a way to keep her out of danger here.  Some kind of a spell or a shield to hide her Grace.  We haven’t even begun to search for something like that yet.  I’m not ready to stick her away in another realm again.  I already lost her for two years of her life.”

“Mercy, it’s the safest place for her,” Adam insisted.  “The Fallen can’t enter Ma’on.”

“What is Ma’on?  I’ve never heard of it.”

Eve perked up.  “I know this one!  It’s the fourth level of Heaven, ruled by the archangel Michael,” she answered, turning to Michael.  “Oh, you’re that Michael.  I thought you were just a story.”

“Where did you hear that?” I asked.

“Isobel read to me about it.  She read to me a lot at first before I started reading on my own.  I liked Jungle Book better.”

My head swiveled back to Michael.  “Is that true?  You have your own level of Heaven all to yourself?”  No wonder he was so cut off from humanity.

“It is my domain,” he nodded.  “Many a soul passes there on their path to absolution.”

“Well, you’re not taking her there without me.”  Maybe it was stubborn of me, but I wanted to keep Evie by my side.  Otherwise, what was I fighting for?

“She’d be safe.”  Adam didn’t want to let it go and I started to lose my temper.

“I’m not letting her out of my sight again!”

“Then you can go with her.”

“What kind of a life would that be?  Even if it’s all sunshine and rainbows up there, she’ll be apart from everyone and everything.  I might as well take her to Eden.”

“Lucifer can get into Eden.”

He had me there.

“As much as it pains me to admit, Adamiel speaks the truth,” Michael said, after a few moments of silence.  “Eve would be safe there – as a temporary solution, until another is conceived.”

“A temporary thing.”  It didn’t sit right with me, but what else could we do?  “So, we take her there for safekeeping and try to figure out how to fix this?”

“Right, you keep her there safe and sound, and I’ll find you a solution down here, I promise.”  Adam laid a hand on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing over the strip of skin available to him near my collarbone in what was meant to be a comforting gesture, I’m sure.  All I could think was how wrong this felt.  I wanted Parker there in the worst way to help me make the decision.

“I need to talk to Parker about this.  I might as well call him since Lucifer knows exactly where we are.

“No, there isn’t time.” Adam squeezed my shoulder gently.  “You can’t tell him where you’re going anyway.”

“Why not?  Lucifer can’t follow us there, what difference does it make if he knows where we take her?”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t get to her.  He’s made of sneak.  How hard would it be for him to sweet talk his way past one of my more gullible brothers and talk him into going there for him?”

“I am loathe to say it, but there is truth in that as well,” Michael admitted.  “Lucifer may yet find a way to convince one of my brethren to tread where he may not.  It hath ever been his way to corrupt the innocent.”

“I get it,” I sighed, none too happy with it.  “We’ll go there and I won’t say a word to Parker about it.  But you have to promise to fill him in so that he knows we’re safe at least.  And explain to him why I couldn’t call him myself.”

“I’ll do it as soon as I get back,” Adam promised.

“What do you mean?  Get back from where?”

“I’ll come with, just to the gate.”

“I will conduct her safely through.  She is more than capable of making the journey on her own, and I will carry the child.”  Michael stood firm on that point, much to my surprise.  He held his arms out to Eve, who obediently climbed into them, her cowboy booted feet wrapping around him like a monkey.

It bothered me to think he might bolt and take her somewhere I couldn’t follow, but I decided I had to learn to believe in Michael.  If I couldn’t trust an archangel, who could I trust?

“I guess this is it then.” I wiped the palms of my hands on my jeans, leaning forward to give Adam a small peck on the cheek.  “I’m coming right back as soon as she’s settled in.  A few days at the most until I’m sure she’s adjusted, and then I’ll be back to hash things out.”

“Right.”

“And make sure Parker understands what’s going on.  Even if you don’t tell him every minute detail about where we’re going.  Make sure he…”

“I’ll handle it, you just take care of our girl.”

“I will.  Bye.”  I gave him an awkward smile, wanting… feeling… everything was all jumbled inside as I thought about saying goodbye.  I looked over to see Eve sitting comfortably in Michael’s arms, her head lying on his shoulder.  His arms were settled protectively around her, despite his earlier reluctance at playing babysitter.  It was obvious my daughter’s charms had gotten through to him on some level.

“I guess I’ll see you then.” Adam pulled on his leather jacket and something flashed over his face, too fast for me to decipher it.  His eyes swept over my features, as if committing them to memory.  “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.  You’re strong enough to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

How did he know that about me when I wasn’t sure about it myself?  I watched him pick up his black bag (I never did get a chance to ask him what was in it), not knowing what else to say but feeling like something was ending, despite my promise to return in a few days time.  “Take care of yourself,” I mumbled.

“Always,” he grinned, pausing by the door with an almost wistful look, before the familiar hunger descended over his face and he dropped the bag on the floor.  “Ah, fuck it,” he muttered.  Closing the distance between us, he swept me up in his arms, lips descending over mine in a kiss that stole my breath away.  On and on the kiss went, until I though my heart might burst.  When he finally tore his mouth away, he pressed his lips against the curve of my ear.  “There, now you have something to remember me by,” he whispered.

Before I could say anything, he turned to Eve, giving her a noisy kiss to the forehead and a quick tickle under the chin.  “Be good for your mom, squirt.  I’ll catch you on the flip side.”  And then he was gone, whistling a jaunty tune.

“He said a bad word,” Eve tittered.

The corners of Michael’s mouth turned down in a frown.  “That is not all he did.”

“It’s time to go,” I said, not wanting to hear Michael’s moral judgment.  My own guilt trip was already well underway for how I kept betraying Parker whenever Adam’s lips came to call.

“I want Nelo to go with us,” Eve complained when we stepped out under the night sky.

“We can’t wait for Remy to get back with him.  I promise you will see Nelo again soon, but he can’t come with us anyway, can he?”

Michael shook his head.  “No demon may trespass in my realm.”

“There you go.  Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll all be back together before you know it.”  I offered her the brightest smile I could manage, bringing my wings out with a rustle to distract her.  The move worked and I could tell she was trying it again from the way her shoulders wiggled.  Michael’s wings emerged, slightly larger than mine and just as white, if not whiter.

“Shall we go?” he said, holding out his hand to me.

“I’m not sure how to get there, you know.  I’m assuming it’s up there somewhere?”  My eyes turned skyward.

“Trust in me, I shall be thy guide.”

“I like it when we fly.  I wish we could fly all the times,” Eve’s tone was plainly envious as we took to the sky.  Her energy had returned with a vengeance, and I could see her bouncing in Michael’s embrace.  The mom in me winced every time I thought she bounced a bit too hard and I was scared to death he might drop her.  But I forced myself to relax as we whizzed through the night sky.  Michael wouldn’t let her fall.  And if he did, I’d just zoom down and snatch her back up again.

Higher and higher we flew, until I started to feel the path before us.  Despite the darkness of the hour, the air around us grew perceptibly brighter as we got closer to the heavens.  Once we pierced the cloud level high above, the air felt different – it felt thinner.  No, that’s wrong.  I mean, you expect the air to get thinner, the higher your altitude is.  This felt almost like gravity had shifted.  It took less effort to propel myself higher and higher, almost like the air wanted me to cut through it faster.

And then we were in the middle of a tunnel of white light, and I didn’t have to do anything but ride the current like one of those old fashioned pneumatic tubes.  Just like in Tommy Boy, where the pressure sucks off that guy’s shirt and sends it up the tube fast as anything.  That’s how I felt, like there was a tremendous flow of air sucking me straight to Heaven.

I felt it when we reached the first level.  I could have stopped there, but the urge to go higher trumped any curiosity I had for what it was like.  Besides, Eve had mentioned the fourth level, it was much too early to jump out of the heavenly tunnel of light.  All I could think was how much more pleasant a trip it was to ascend than it was to descend, and I marveled that I’d never tried it before.

We passed the second level, and the third, going faster now, anticipation growing.  The fourth level approached, and still I wanted to climb higher.  Michael’s tug at my hand nearly yanked my arm out of the socket, I’d been so bent on ascending.

“We have arrived,” he said gently, and on some level, I knew that was our destination, but more than anything I wanted to keep going.

“Can’t we take a quick peek at what’s up there?”

“No, we may not.”

The urge grew stronger, until a sweat broke out across my scalp and I started to feel wrong for staying in place and not flying higher.  “I’ll come right back, I just want to go check it out.”

“Merceline…”

My fingers slid out of his grasp as I let go.  I felt Michael reach for me, but I was faster, already shooting up higher into the light.  I’d come right back, I just needed to see what the next level held.

“Momma?”

That voice alone cut through the clamoring instincts egging me on, and I froze, fighting to think through the haze.  What was I doing?  Where did I think I was going?  “I’m coming,” I called down to Eve, her upturned face impossibly far below me.

It wasn’t like the fight to fly my way out of Githa, my wings cut through the air like normal, but the horrible sinking feeling that I was flying away from true happiness made it almost as hard to make my way back to her.

Michael held his hand out to me again as I got closer.  Instead of the disapproval I expected to see there, his face held no judgment, only a serene smile as I closed my fingers around his.

“Sorry,” I offered, glad that he’d waited, or I might not have had the strength to come back.

“It is natural to want to convene with Him, but now is not thy time.”

I reached for Eve’s cheek, giving it a brief stroke before I faced the fourth gate.  “Let’s see your world.”

Chapter Twenty-One

We emerged from the tunnel of light into a murky, cloud filled sky.  The land below looked normal enough, a lush valley of densely packed trees, surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains.  No purple sky or weird flying creatures.  At least… I didn’t think so.  I spent a good minute or two craning my neck to take a better look, but I didn’t spot anything in the air besides us.

I didn’t see any structures, no sign of any people, no animals… it pretty much looked deserted and I wondered if the whole place was like this or if he’d taken us to a non populated area on purpose.  As we got closer, I started to understand that the trees themselves were unusual, at least not like anything I’d seen on Earth before.  They were enormous, hundreds of feet tall, wide enough to park a box truck in.

The cloud cover was extremely dense, a drizzle of rain gradually picking up to a steady rainfall that threatened to soak us to the bone.  Not having any clue as to where in particular Michael was taking us, especially since I didn’t spot any buildings, I tugged on his hand when we showed no signs of stopping.

“Can’t we take shelter and wait for the rain to pass?”

“It doth always rain in this place.”

Which made it exactly like Seattle…  Swell.  It wasn’t cold like it was in the city this time of year, and the rain itself wasn’t unpleasant at all, just… wet.  But it went on and on, never slowing as we flew above the tree line.  After a while it started to get to me.

“No offense, but this is kind of depressing.  Please tell me there’s something better on the other side of those mountains.”

“How do you mean?”  Michael blinked.

“I don’t know, it’s so desolate.  There are no people, no animals… it’s even more lonely than Eden.”

“I think it’s pretty,” Eve volunteered.  “And the rain tastes good.”  Her head tipped back as she caught the raindrops on her tongue.

“There are souls here, you cannot see them from this height.  We are nearly there, and you shall see.”  That was all he’d say, but he did swoop lower, leading me through a break in the trees to thread through the massive things, going at a much slower pace.  It was darker under the canopy of trees, but also a lot less wet as the leaves sheltered us from the worst of the rain.  Following his glow of Grace proved easy enough though, and soon we came to land in the open arms of a ginormous tree, the limbs twisted and shored up with hand hewn boards to form an elaborate tree house.

The large chamber was well protected by a dense layer of thatching in the branches above, leaving the floor smooth and dry, as well as the possessions he kept in the tree house.  Michael kept Eve in his arms as he shook off the worst of the water and tucked his wings away, lighting a series of oil lamps while I got my bearings.

There were plenty of chairs, mostly next to end tables covered with books and writing implements, but no kitchen, no bathroom, and definitely no beds.  This was going to be fun.

“You live here?” I asked.

“I do.”

“Super.”  I set down my pack, wringing the water out of my hair as I pulled my hoodie off and draped it across the back of a chair to dry.

“You… do not approve?”  Michael looked puzzled.

“No, I think it’s peachy keen, jelly bean.  I guess I was expecting – I don’t know – walls, indoor plumbing, a front porch that didn’t involve Eve plummeting to her death…”

His chest puffed out a little.  “It hath served me well all the years of my life.”

“And I’m sure it’s great for someone of your interests.  But for a small girl, I’m afraid this is an accident waiting to happen.  Is there any way we can keep her someplace safer?”

“There is no other place here.”

“I thought you said there were people.”

“There are souls here, but they lead a simple life.  There is no other dwelling here.”

“So they live out there in the rain?  Man, I thought Heaven would be cooler than that.”  What a disappointment.

“This is not the final stage of ascension.  Those here are working for the right to move on.  Creature comforts are not part of His plan.”

Fair enough.  “Okay, then how are we going to keep her safe?”

Michael’s expression turned earnest as he looked into Eve’s eyes.  “Eve, you must not stray to the edge of the tree or thou wilt surely fall.  Does this stand to reason?”

“I understand, Michael,” she replied, just as solemnly.  “What about toys, do you have any toys?”

He looked at me helplessly, and I remembered my pack.  “I have a few things here, Bunny.  Your penguin…”

“Puffy!” she cried with delight, snatching the fat plushie out of my arms.

“A few books.  Your ponies.”

Ignoring the plastic ponies entirely, she looked at the books with interest that quickly faded.  “These are baby books.  Do you have any books I can read here?”  Her head craned to get a look at the stack on the table nearest her, but Michael quickly nipped that in the bud.

“These books are not meant for human eyes.”

“Where have I heard that before?” I muttered.  Not that either of our eyes were strictly human, but… “I’m sure you’ll find these kind of boring, but I could tell you some stories, or maybe you could share some of the ones Isobel used to tell you.  We can write them down and make our own books if you want to.”  I didn’t care what we did together, I only wanted to get to know the little girl my daughter had become.

Over the next couple of days Michael provided food for us – fruits and nuts, and the occasional breakfast burrito when he took a quick trip back to Earth.  I thought Eve would balk at the simple fare, but she took to it with relative ease.  I didn’t want to ask what passed for food in Githa.

I knew I had to start working on a plan to camouflage her Grace, but every time I mentioned leaving, Eve attached herself to my hip and wouldn’t let go.  I didn’t have it in me to leave her behind, not when she was barely getting used to me again.  After a while she stopped clinging to me at every turn, and I learned to sleep again without the need to hold her in my arms for every second of the night.

Michael left us alone for the most part, but I caught him looking in our direction more than once when he was holed up with a book or a sketch pad.  After Eve complained to me that she liked Hell better than his realm, a few interesting books began to pop up after his supply runs to Earth.  Content with a stack of the Narnia books and a case of Scooby Snacks, she stopped complaining and a comfortable truce settled between the three of us.  Michael was still crazy formal, but the more time he spent with us, the more I noticed the thees and thous dropping from his vocabulary.

I woke up once to find him dangling her off the side of the platform, offering small words of encouragement before he let go.  After my heart jumped back into my ribcage, I realized there was a network of branches below, forming a cradle of sorts.  After handing her down, he crept in beside her, the tree swaying slightly as they rocked, safe in its embrace.  In soft tones, he explained to Eve that if she was patient, she would spot the penitents below.  So far beneath us, the only things visible were the soft glow of souls, moving in the night.

They lay among the branches together for hours at a time, watching the souls like colorful fireflies in the distance.  Sometimes he explained what the colors meant, and sometimes he was silent as she chattered on about some completely random thing, the way kids do.

Eve grew to enjoy the quiet solitude – that was slowly driving me kazoo.  Not that I didn’t enjoy spending time with my daughter, but the idle pace was killing me.  Every day we spent there was another day away from Parker, another day for Lucifer to figure out where she was and scheme how to get at her.

It was easy to lose track of time when each day was exactly the same as the one before.  When I realized that nearly a month had passed I had to draw the line, I couldn’t put it off any longer.  After discussing it briefly with Michael and making sure he had enough supplies to last for a few days, I sat down with Eve to say goodbye.

“I don’t want you to go again, Momma,” she said, throwing her arms around my neck.

“I know, I’m sorry, Bunny.  I don’t want to go either.  But I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Why can’t you stay a little while longer?”

“Because it’s already been a long time and everybody’s got to be pretty worried about us.  This was only supposed to be temporary, remember?  I need to let them know we’re okay, and figure out how to keep you safe in the real world.  You don’t want to stay here the rest of your life, do you?”

Eve looked over the open air tree house that had become her home.  “It’s not so bad.  Especially when Michael brings more books and hot dogs.”

“Ah, but there are all the books and hot dogs you can eat waiting for you back home.  That’s worth figuring this out for, isn’t it?”

“You can’t eat books, Momma,” she said solemnly before breaking into giggles as I tickled under her chin.

“You know what I meant, silly rabbit.  But you miss Daddy, right?  And Uncle Adam and Nelo too.”

That sobered her up.  “Oh… I almost forgot about Nelo.”

“I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can.  In the meantime, you behave, and only go to the edge of the tree when Michael is right there and can watch over you.”

“He’s always watching me, or he’ll get fired from being my guardian angel.”

“Well, make sure he’s paying attention.  Sometimes he’s too sucked into his books.  You know how he gets.”

“I will.”

“I will keep her safe at all costs,” Michael pledged, his face solemn.

“You’d better.  Or God help you when I catch up to you.”  It was more of a promise than a threat, angel or no angel.

I gave Eve a long hug, and waved goodbye, doing my best not to cry until I left the tree house behind.  The rain enveloped me as soon as I pierced the canopy of trees, the gray drizzle matching my mood perfectly as I felt my way to the gate high in the sky.

There was nothing obstructing my way as I left Michael’s domain, but as soon as I reached the corridor to Heaven, as I’d started to think of it in my mind, I felt the pull to rise higher.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… the same mantra got me through the worst of it, my determination to return to Earth forcing the urge to rise aside.

Then it was as if I’d passed through some unseen barrier.  The celestial light dimmed, the yearning to chuck it all and visit the great beyond disappeared, and I cut through the sky like a hot knife through butter.  I fell, plummeting faster and faster, so that my eyes couldn’t track what I saw.  I’d only traveled this fast before with Adam or Michael to guide me, but I trusted my instincts to carry me safely home.

Sweet Jesus, were they way off.

Chapter Twenty-Two

When I opened my eyes (previously squinched tightly shut out of self preservation at the cloud of dust that arose once I hit the ground), I found myself standing in the middle of a barren vineyard.  The plants were stunted and black, the ground around me sunken in a shallow crater from the force of my impact.  My clothes were covered in a thick layer of dust.  I guess I should’ve slowed down.

As far as I knew, there were no old vineyards like that near Seattle, and the weather was way too hot for that time of year anyway.

And that’s when I remembered the time difference.

In the weeks that had passed up on Ma’on, months must have passed on Earth, which made the stifling heat understandable.  Man, Parker was gonna kill me.  There wasn’t anything I could do about it now though, except get to him and apologize with plenty of awesomeness.  Stripping off my hoodie, I found a scrunchie in its pocket and pulled my hair up before taking to the sky again, searching for a familiar landmark.

Nothing looked familiar though, no sign of Seattle’s high rises, or the Sound.  Nothing but rolling hills, and in the far distance, the ocean, on the wrong side of the land.  Where the hell was I?

Making sure I was hidden from sight, I flew higher, aiming for a small town in the distance.  It was dinkier thank I’d thought at first, with a single main street, and nothing above three stories high.  The most activity I saw was around a drive through liquor store boasting a sale on West End beer.  Linke’s Central Meat Store didn’t give me much of a clue, neither did Barossa Betta Electrical.

The smell of hot, greasy food derailed my investigation of where I was, as my mouth started to water.  Nuriootpa Chicken Barn and Deli beckoned to me, diverting me to the glass door which opened with a jingle.  There was no way to mask the sound, so I quickly tucked away my wings and stepped inside, offering a big smile to the red faced man behind the counter.

“G’day, miss.  What do you reckon?  Chicken and chips?  We’ve a new Asian salad if you’re wanting something lighter.”

Holy shit, I was in Australia?

Chips was fries, right?  “Um, chips please,” I smiled, my stomach rumbling with a vengeance.  I know, I should’ve had something more healthy, at least with some protein in it, but after roughing it in the tree for weeks, I craved some good old fashioned grease.

“Good on ya, I’ll have her for you straight away.”  As he turned to the deep fryer, I studied the posters on the wall with interest.  If the cheap prints could be believed, I was somewhere in the Barossa Valley of South Australia.  Talk about taking a wrong turn…

“That’ll be two dollars fifty,” he smiled, pushing a newspaper wrapped parcel across the counter at me.

“Right,” I smiled, pulling out my wallet.  The trouble was… I didn’t have any Australian currency.  “I don’t suppose you’ll take US dollars?”

The smile grew more forced as I could see his natural helpfulness warred with his business sense.  “Not really.  There’s a bank can change it for you, round the corner.  You’d best hurry though, they close in fifteen.”

I really wanted those chips.

The next thing I knew, I’d frozen him in place, and I stood, standing over the counter, stuffing my face with hot fries.  They were greasy and salty and just about the best thing I could remember putting into my mouth, maybe ever.  Ravenous, I ate every last chip before the newspaper had a chance to soak through with grease.  Only when I stood mopping my hands and face up with napkins, did I start to breathe normally again, the food frenzy over.

I felt bad about dining and dashing, so I stuck a twenty dollar US bill into the tip jar before I made myself dim and snuck out of there before the guy unstuck.  Don’t judge me, it wasn’t one of my proudest moments.

My stomach pleasantly full of fried potatoes, I flew out of there, going much slower this time as I tried to orient myself.  Seeing as how my instincts sucked ass, I relied on basic geography to lead me in the right direction.  The trip was much slower this time but I gladly sacrificed speed for the security of knowing I was headed for home this time.

It was many hours later that I first spotted the familiar sights of Mount Rainier, then the Puget Sound, and finally the sweet stench of urban decay – the unique smell of Seattle in the rain.  I was heartened to find it nice and cold in Seattle, I must not have missed all that much time after all.

I sped up, the closer I came to home.  Eagerness to see Parker again made me bold, and I landed in the backyard, barely pausing to tuck away my wings before I stepped into the kitchen.  It smelled… different in there.  Like spicy sausage – the real deal you cook on the stove, not the microwaveable stuff.

“Parker?” I called out, moving deeper into the house.  It was a lot messier, but that wasn’t surprising.  Neither one of us had ever been what you’d call neat freaks, but it was usually me who prompted the chores in the household.  “Parker, are you home?”  The clock on the DVR said 10:30 a.m., maybe he was already up and out somewhere?

“Parker?” I tried again, running up the stairs two at a time only to stop stock still when I caught sight of the bedroom.  The walls had been painted a creamy beige, lighter than the taupe they used to be.  The bed and all the furniture was the same, but the quilt was a cheerful yellow, with tiny white flowers embroidered all over it.  Had Parker really picked that out himself?

There was a different scent in the room too, so light I couldn’t identify it, but it pricked at the edge of my senses, teasing me.  With a strange tingling sensation growing in the bottom of my stomach, I left it behind to check out Eve’s room.  The toddler bed was converted back into a crib again, the penguin mobile hanging above it.  The dresser drawers held tiny baby clothes instead of Eve’s toddler clothes, and I recognized some of them, like the pink sleeper with the bunny feet.  What the hell was going on?

My phone was stone cold dead, but I found a charger on Parker’s side of the bed and plugged it in, dialing his cell phone.  It rang three times before an automated voice told me that my account was no longer in service.  Starting to feel uncomfortable, I checked the master closet.  Parker’s clothes hung neatly on his side, but I didn’t recognize a single stitch of clothing hanging on the other.

Had he moved someone else in while I was gone?  Someone with a baby?

Somehow I got to the bottom of the stairs, stumbling toward the door.  The hallway closet was packed full of jackets and sporting equipment, most of them kid sized.  I had to find Parker and find out what the hell was going on before I lost my mind.

Eden.  The answer came to me as I left the house.  Not the garden, but the nightclub Parker owned.  If he wasn’t at home, it was a safe bet I’d find him there.

Only there was no Eden.  Not anymore.

When I got to the club, an ugly neon sign bearing the name Cheaters glowed above the door.  Cheaters?  Eewh.  A liquor truck was backed up to the service entrance, and I slipped in unnoticed, almost getting hit by a pallet jack when I froze just inside the door.

The club looked completely different inside.  Pink and aqua neon was everywhere, making the place look like a Miami Vice nightmare.  The small round tables and chairs were replaced by black vinyl couches and low, Lucite blocks, lit from beneath.  The only things that looked familiar at all were the dance floor and the bar structure itself.

Wandering deeper, I made it to Parker’s office – no, not Parker’s – the name on the door said Donnie Cusmano.  Mr. Cusmano was a short, compact, man with a love of Neil Diamond (from the prints on the wall) and a lot of body hair.  As I searched for something, anything, that reminded me of Parker, he signed for the booze and went back to his computer.

The computer.

I froze Mr. Cusmano, intending to shove him aside and see what I could find out about where Parker was online, but I never got that far.  The date on the lower right hand corner of the screen brought me up short way before I could type in a single keystroke.   It hadn’t been a few weeks or even a few months since I’d left Texas to take Eve up to Ma’on.  It had been five years.

Let me say that again.  Five… fucking… years.

I stared stupidly at the date long enough for Cusmano to come back to life, and I froze him again without thinking twice about it.  Five years.  Why had nobody told me about this?  Michael especially had to have had some inkling, hadn’t he noticed on his trips back to pick up supplies?  Or maybe it just never occurred to him to mention it?  What did he care if years went by?  It meant nothing to him.

After freezing Cusmano for the third time, I started to emerge from my mental fog, picking up the phone since mine was useless back at home.  Or was it my home anymore?  It sure as hell looked like I’d been replaced.  Dialing one of the few numbers I still remembered by heart, I waited for Daphne to pick up, my toes tapping impatiently inside my shoes as it rang.

“Please, please, please answer the phone…” I murmured, already starting to fear for the worst as she picked up.

“Hello?” Her voice came on the line, tentative, since she probably didn’t recognize the number.

“Daphne!  Thank God you’re there!”  I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, sending a sliver of relief through my belly.

“Mercy?  OMG, is that you?” she gasped in shock.  “I can’t believe it!”

I had to see her, I had to find out what else had changed since I’d been gone.  “Please tell me you’re still here in Seattle.”

“Is that where you are?  Holy cow, I can’t believe you’re back!”

I could picture her pretty face clouding with emotion from the tremor in her voice.  “Yes, I’m… I need to talk to you.  I don’t understand what’s going on any more.”

“Of course, you should definitely come over.  Oh, but you probably don’t have my new address, right?  Where are you?”

“I’m at the club.  Well, not really.  I’m where the club used to be.”

“Do you mean Eden?”

“Yeah.”  Only I could never think of it that way again.

“Hang on, I’ll be right there.”

* * *

I wasn’t sure if the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was because of the nervous wreck I’d worked myself into, or from the fries I’d inhaled back in Australia.  Either way, I was a ball of stress as Daphne rolled up in a car I didn’t recognize, a white Honda Civic with a moon roof and tinted windows.

“Mercy!”  I’d been about to go for the passenger’s side door, but she threw her door open, jumping out for an excited hug.  I was halfway to squashing her like a bug before I remembered my angelic strength and held back, hugging her carefully, more excited to see her than I could say.  Luckily, words weren’t necessary, when she pulled back, I could see she was even more overwhelmed and excited to see me than I was to see her.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” she said, blue eyes shiny with unshed tears.  Her hair was cut shorter now, to her shoulder blades, still hanging in perfect blonde ringlets.  “Come on, let’s go back to my place.  I want to hear absolutely everything about where you’ve been!”

Only I wasn’t ready to talk about it, not yet.  Parker had filled her in on Eve’s abduction and my trip to Hell to get her back with Adam, but she had no idea what had happened to me after that.  I supposed I could understand Parker wanting to be tight lipped about it.  Instead, I got her talking about Matty and my mother.  It turned out Matty was still living in Las Vegas with Oriana, working ‘the circuit’ as they liked to call it.  They had a pair of three year old twin boys, Fin and Col, and she had some pictures she could show me in her email.

Matty a father… I couldn’t get over it.  And Oriana a mother… I wasn’t sure whether I should be excited for them or afraid.  And I’d missed it!  Missed it all.  Daphne chatted on about my mother, something about Oriana threatening to turn her tongue into a snake if she didn’t go home after she’d come to Vegas to “help out” after the twins were born.  After that she wasn’t sure what my mom had been up to.

When she pulled into an underground parking lot beneath a posh high-rise, I stopped asking questions long enough to pay attention to our surroundings.  While I hadn’t thought she’d be living in the same tiny studio apartment, I hadn’t expected her to pull into such an expensive building either.

“You live here?” I asked as we stepped into the elevator.  Daphne gave me a secretive grin, tongue peeking out between her teeth as her giddy nature asserted itself, playing it coy.

The apartment on the top floor (lucky number thirteen if you counted the lobby and the two garage levels) was ultramodern, not how I pictured Daphne living at all.  The kitchen was super sleek with red lacquered cabinets and a stainless steel countertop on the impressive island.  The living room was more eclectic than posh, and that’s where I saw Daphne’s influence.

A fuzzy purple throw was tucked over the arm of the buttery soft couch, the Hello Kitty pillow I recognized tucked onto a weathered club chair.  Two giant bean bags, one pink the other blue corduroy, sat in front of the flat screen TV, somewhat out of place with the rest of the moneyed opulence, and the TV console was littered with open DVD cases.  And the books… there were books on every available surface.  Some open, some with napkins serving as bookmarks, one even holding a lamp at the right height to read by.

Daphne went right for the open kitchen as soon as we got there, letting me meander around to check the place out while she put the kettle on.  The view from the windows held my attention for a few minutes, savoring the hustle and bustle of real life after staring at little more than trees for so long, until the whistle of the kettle caught my attention.

“This place is amazing,” I smiled, settling onto one of the barstools.  “What did you do, rob a bank?”

“Nothing that dramatic,” she waved the question away without actually answering it.  “Are you hungry?  Wait… I know just the thing!”  The tea was abandoned for chocolate chip cookies and giant mugs, big enough to be soup bowls filled with hot chocolate and topped with a huge scoop of Chocolate Explosion ice cream.  “Do you want any hot fudge?” she asked, licking the tips of her fingers after putting the ice cream away.

“Ah, no thanks, I’m good.  I think we’ve about done it with the death by chocolate here.  For the moment I’ve only got the clothes on my back, I’d rather not split my pants.”

“My sweet tooth is going crazy for a fix, so indulge me.”  She grabbed a bottle of dark chocolate syrup, liberally coating the ice cream/hot chocolate concoction and adding a puddle to the plate of cookies to dunk them in as well.  I stared at her while she stuffed herself with chocolate, wondering how she managed to eat the ice cream before it melted and became lukewarm goo.  Did she eat like this all the time now?  She’d put on a few pounds, but still looked healthy enough.

I pushed away my cup of cocoa, still half full and so sweet I couldn’t take another sip.  It was time to get some answers now, whether I liked them or not.  “Daphne, I just got back to town and everything is so different,” I began.

“I know, right?  It’s this global warming.  Can you believe it’s the beginning of October already?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”  In for a penny, in for a pound…  “What can you tell me about Parker?”

Her jaw dropped.  “You haven’t talked to him?”

“I don’t know where to find him.  I went to the house, it almost looks like someone else lives there.  The club’s gone, where is he?”

“He sold the club a few years ago.”

“A few years ago…”  She said it so naturally, as if it wasn’t the craziest thing I’d heard all day.  “Why would he sell Eden?  He loved that place.”

Daphne pushed the edge of a cookie around and around in the puddle of chocolate syrup on the plate.  “After you left… things weren’t so good for him.  I don’t know the whole story because I didn’t see him right away, but when it became pretty clear you weren’t coming back… well, he started drinking.”

“But I was coming back.  I did come back.  I just had no idea it would take so long.  Adam should’ve told him.”

“Adam?” she said, looking up in surprise.  “He never told him anything about where you went.  As far as Parker was concerned, you disappeared and weren’t ever coming back.  That’s why I was so floored to hear from you today.  We all thought you were gone for good.”

Why hadn’t Adam told him where I’d gone?  I knew he couldn’t tell him specifically where, but he should have at least told him something about what I was doing.  And why hadn’t Adam warned me about the time difference?  “Is Parker okay now?  You said he started drinking… was it bad?”

Her gaze dropped away again.  “It was pretty bad there for a while, I’m not going to lie.  When he realized you weren’t coming back…” She held up a hand when I would have interrupted her. “I know you planned to, but you didn’t.  When you didn’t come back, he fell apart for a while, but then he seemed to do better.  The next thing I knew he was off the sauce and putting Eden up for sale.  He said it was time for him to start something new.  Plus, I think it was hard for him to keep working there.  You know, all the booze and memories.”

“So where is he now?”

“He’s still around.  He bought a coffee house a few years ago, and he’s got three of them now.”

“Then he’s doing better.”

“Oh yes, much better, he’s…”  The light that came into her eyes dimmed as she hesitated.

“What?”

“He’s married now.”

I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.  “Married…” I gasped, not sure the word was recognizable as English, but Daphne understood me well enough.

“I’m going to do this fast like a Band-aid, okay?” she said, her pretty face scrunched up like something awful was coming.  “He’s married to Luz now.  He adopted her boys and they have a baby girl together, named Parker.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

I was right.  It was awful.  I wasn’t sure what hurt more – the idea that he’d moved on, or the idea that he’d moved on with her and found his happy ever after.  Not that I had anything against Luz, I liked her, but he’d never had anything more than lukewarm feelings for her.  How exactly had she stepped in and taken my place?  And to name his daughter Parker… that was our inside joke.  I didn’t find it the least bit funny now.

“He’s married to Luz.”  I glanced down at the engagement ring on my finger, the ring he’d placed there barely a month ago, by my way of thinking.  How long had he waited before he’d given up on me entirely?  Shame flooded me in the next instant.  How could I feel angry and betrayed by a man who I’d abandoned?  Just because I hadn’t meant to didn’t change anything in his reality.  How could I begrudge him his chance at a happy family life?

But I did, dammit… In that instant all I wanted to do was march down to that house and pull her ass out by the hair for moving in on my man.  I wanted to make him love me again the way I loved him.  Maybe he still did?  Maybe he’d see me again and…

“Mercy, are you alright?” Daphne asked, covering my hand with hers.

“No, not really,” I admitted, twisting the ring on my finger.  “I just… I guess I didn’t expect everything to change so much while I was gone.”

“Well… it has been five years.  A lot of things have changed.”  Her other hand rested on the faint swell of her belly and I caught the familiar gesture.  I’d done it a thousand times or more when I’d been expecting Eve.

“You’re pregnant!” I sucked in a breath, careening around the kitchen island to give her a careful hug when her ecstatic face confirmed my guess.  “Daphne, this is fantastic!  Why didn’t you say something?”  Probably because I’d been too busy asking questions about my own life as usual.  Then I noticed the simple gold band around the significant finger.  “Pregnant and married too?  When did this happen?  You have to tell me all about him. Are you having a boy or a girl?”

“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll make us a more substantial snack.  Sam will be home soon and we can all catch up the rest of the way together.”

I was about to take a seat again, but that last bit brought me up short.  “Wait… Sam?  My Sam?”

“He’s kinda mine now…”

I couldn’t process it, it was too much.  How in the hell could that have happened?  Weren’t they at all worried about the fallout from the man upstairs?  “You’re married to Sam?  The food can wait…”

“I know, it’s amazing, right?”  Daphne positively glowed with happiness.  “I couldn’t believe it when he showed up out of the blue, and we’ve never been apart since.  I mean, we’re apart sometimes, like now.  It’s not like we’re joined at the hip, but you know what I mean.”

“And now you’re having a baby.”  It was so amazingly wonderful, I couldn’t stand it.  I started to choke up with emotion, my eyes shining with happiness so full it spilled over into tears.  Maybe my own life was irretrievably screwed up, but somehow this made it better.  “I’m just so insanely glad this worked out for you.  Nobody deserves this chance at happiness more than you do.”

Daphne instantly teared up as well.  “And here I thought I was the one to cry at the drop of a hat now,” she laughed.  We clung to each other in a warm hug and I felt oddly cleansed, as though somehow, everything was going to be fine.  Maybe there was such a thing as happily ever after?

“Mercy!”

I hadn’t even heard Sam come in, but my astonishment was nothing compared to his.  He stood, mouth gaping open like a fish, shopping bags fallen to the floor, forgotten.

“Sam!” I yelled back, grinning from ear to ear like a fool.  Neither Daphne or I wanted to let go of each other, so we opened our arms and waved him over for a three way hug, full of laughter and sniffles.

“I’m so glad to see you.  Now I know what it means, sight for sore eyes,” he blinked through joyful tears.  I pulled back to get a better look at him.  The unruly mop was gone again, his blonde hair falling in tousled curls above the ears.  Had I ever compared him to the homeless?  Sam was far more put together now in a pair of tailored black pants and a deep blue sweater of the softest cashmere under a long topcoat, a warm scarf tied around his neck in an intricate knot.  But what captivated my attention was his aura – a beautiful turquoise with a swirl of pink at the center.

“You’re human!” I gasped in shock.

“I am human,” he nodded, grinning like mad.

“How…?”

The story came out in stops and starts.  One of them would finish the other’s sentence, or interrupt with something to add.  Sam’s special task, the one I’d put him on after his petition was received – that had been to leave behind the trappings of Grace, as he put it, and live out the rest of his life as a mortal man.  Adam had known about it, but never truly believed it possible.  He didn’t talk much about the trials he was put through, or how he’d actually become human, sort of glossing through that part.  Most of the story revolved around how he’d been almost afraid to approach Daphne almost a year ago, fearing she’d moved on, and how she’d never given up on loving him.   And when he’d shown up on her doorstep, a flesh and blood human… the rest was a fitting end to the fairytale.

Everyone had moved on without me.  They were all happier without me, really.  Matty, Parker, Daphne, their lives had all improved in my absence.  It was a humbling thought, but I didn’t begrudge them any of their happiness.

We ordered pizza and talked and talked and talked.  I don’t think I’d ever heard Sam talk so much, and with such joy.  They were obscenely happy together, filled with hope and excitement for the new life they’d created.  It was enough to make me tear up every time I slowed down enough to think about it.

Adam’s name hadn’t come up much, and I was fine with that.  Part of me was ticked at him for not passing along the slightest iota of information as to where I’d disappeared to.  Never mind the fact that I’d sworn him to secrecy about Eve’s actual location, he could have told them something instead of letting them think I’d abandoned them all for good.  At the end of the day though, I wasn’t sure it made much difference.  Whether I’d meant to or not, I had chosen Eve over them, and I probably would’ve done it again if given the chance.

The time came when they ran out of steam and wanted to know what I’d been up to for the past five years, only I didn’t have all that much to tell.  Well, beyond sharing what happened to Eve and the basics about Lucifer’s shenanigans.  I was deliberately vague about where she was now, saying only that she was in Michael’s care, but Sam immediately knew what I meant.

“Ah, Ma’on,” Sam nodded in approval.  “That’s brilliant, of course.”

“You can’t tell anyone where she is though, promise me.”  Not that I thought they’d go blabbing it, but I was serious about keeping it on the down low.

“Of course,” Daphne immediately agreed.  “I still don’t understand where that is or why it’s brilliant though.”

“It’s a heavenly realm where the Fallen may not enter,” Sam explained.  “That explains why you’ve been gone for so long.”

“What do you mean?” Daphne still didn’t get it.

I took a deep breath, I’d put it off long enough, wanting to cling to the happy mood of the room before I returned to my own heartbreak.  “I left Texas with Michael less than a month ago.  In that time, five years have passed here on Earth, but not for us in Heaven.”

Her face crumpled in distress.  “Oh, Mercy… you mean to tell me it’s only been a month for you since you’ve been gone?”

“Yep.  Not all that long ago we were having Totally Awesome Tuesday and planning my wedding to Parker.”  My gaze fell to the ring on my finger again.

“And now he’s married to Luz…” she sighed, the pain of commiseration replacing her buoyant mood.  “I thought, we all thought… you chose to be holed up somewhere.  That you’d chosen Bunny’s safety over a life here with us.  We didn’t blame you for it, but… well, it hurt.”

“I did, in a way, only I didn’t realize what I was choosing,” I said, reaching for her hand.  “I never intended to hurt any of you.  Adam really didn’t say anything to you?  Either of you?”  I looked to Sam.

“He did not.  He merely said you’d taken her someplace safe where no one could hurt her and that you’d be back when the time was right.”

“I swear to God, I’m going to kill him.”

“Your absence has taken its toll on him as well,” Sam said softly and Daphne agreed.

“Yes, he’s changed a lot since you left.”

“Changed how?”

Daphne’s nose scrunched up as she thought it over.  “I don’t know, it’s like he’s nice or something.  He found us this place, and took care of Sam’s identity when he first came back, all that kind of stuff.”

He’d always looked after Sam financially.  “Money doesn’t change anything.”  It was Adam’s stock in trade, throw money at a problem instead of getting personally involved.  “Has he been hanging around with you?  Showing interest in your actual lives?”

“Well… no,” she admitted.  “He said being around us gave him a toothache.”

“That sounds more like the Adam I know.”  So much for change.

Sam yawned.  A big, jaw cracking, yawn that soon had Daphne yawning in return.  I realized I’d never seen Sam look sleepy before.

“It’s getting late, I should probably get going,” I realized aloud, but Daphne stopped me from getting up.

“No wait… you’re staying here with us, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” I hated to intrude into their perfect reality.  I was starting to realize that the less interaction I had with people, the happier they’d be.

“Like you said, it’s late.  Do you have anywhere else to go?”

“No, not really,” I admitted.  I wasn’t even sure if my debit card would work anymore, the date on the front was expired.

“Then it is settled, you will stay with us,” Sam beamed.

“You’ll have to sleep on the couch, but it’s super comfy. I crash on it all the time.”

“Yes, I crash there quite frequently when she snores.”

“I do not snore!” she scowled, nudging him with her elbow.

“I crash there quite frequently when she doesn’t snore,” he said, completely straight faced.

How could I say no to that?  “Thanks, guys.  I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Daphne gave me a big fat smile, squeezing my arm with a squeal of triumph.  “Let me get you something to sleep in.”

That sounded like heaven.  “Thanks.  I’ve been wearing the same two pairs of clothes for longer than I like.”

“Oh, in that case, I’ll get you something to wear for tomorrow then too.  It’s only fair since Parker gave me most of your old baby clothes.”

“He did?  What happened to the rest of my stuff?”

“I’m not sure,” she shrugged.  “I think he probably has it packed away somewhere.”

Super.

The mechanics of getting me blankets and clothes and cleaning up our garbage from the pizza fest took up the better part of a half hour.  Though I’d had a pretty tiring day, I found I couldn’t fall asleep.  Not because the couch wasn’t comfy as promised, but because I couldn’t shut my stupid brain off.  It wasn’t all that late out, not by my standards.  The longer I lay there, the more I started thinking about seeing Parker again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

While I could’ve been certain of finding Parker awake in the old days, I had no idea what his hours were now.  All I knew was, I couldn’t begin to think about visiting him at home.  The thought of seeing him with his new family… it made my palms sweat just thinking about it.

I had no idea if he even worked at any of the coffee shops he owned, or if his name was only on the paperwork.  He’d always been a hands on guy, but a lot could change in five years, as I was learning.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I changed into Daphne’s borrowed clothes and slipped out, determined to find him.  I had to see him sooner or later, right?  Not that I expected him to chuck his life aside and declare how much he still loved me (okay maybe a tiny, evil part of me hoped for that), but we needed to talk.  If only for the chance to explain myself and why I’d disappeared off the face of the Earth so suddenly.

There were three coffee shops for me to choose from, and I found him on the second stop.  I didn’t bother to make myself dim, I had nothing to hide.  It was late enough that there weren’t that many customers in the shop, and the door marked office was right next to the ladies room.  Without bothering to knock, I let myself in, shutting the door behind me when I spotted Parker, his head bent over the desk, deep in some task.

“You still got another hour to go before your break, honey,” he said, without looking up.

“Really?  It seems like it’s long overdue.”

I don’t know which one of us was more stunned.  No, I take that back.  Parker was more stunned, as in shocked. I was just incapable of saying or doing anything as I caught sight of his face.  I wanted to run up to him, to throw myself into his arms and have him tell me everything would be okay.  Instead I just stood there, the corner of my lip caught between my teeth as I waited for him to say something.  Anything.

“Mercy…”

I still couldn’t tell if it was a good reaction, or a bad reaction, and I tried for a smile, but I think it came out sort of sad.  “That’s me.”

“Holy shit…”  He passed his hand over his face, as though he thought he might have nodded off.  “You look exactly the same.”  There was a note of wonder to his voice, but still, he made no move to get up from behind the desk.

“You look…”

Parker dropped his head, hand running through the streaks of silver dusting the blonde above his ears.  “I know, I’m an old man.”

“You look exactly like the man I wanted to grow old with.”  Not that he looked that much older, but he looked more serious, less like a playboy.

“Only you’ll never grow old,” he muttered, staring.

“I’m starting to think my heart will.  I’m starting to think my heart is going to shrivel up and die and I’ll be this perfectly preserved corpse that’s completely hollow.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry… so sorry I had to leave you like that,” rushed out all at once.  “I did the best I could with limited information, but I have no excuse for staying away so long, except that I was enjoying getting to know Eve again and…”

“Is she here with you?”  The thought brought Parker out of his chair and around the desk, his face eager.  “Can I see her?  God, she must be so big.  What is she now… ten?”

“No, she’s… She’s still… in another place.”  How was I supposed to explain that she’d jumped ahead two years but then stayed behind for five?  It was too much for him to wrap his head around; I had enough trouble getting to know my daughter again as a five year old without factoring in a five year gap the way Parker was.

“She’s safe then?”

“For now.  I don’t want to leave her there for very long.”

“So this is… a visit?”

“This is a – gather the horses in a circle to figure out how to best protect her – kind of thing.”

“Well, count me in.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  The last thing I wanted to do was drag him into my crazy world again.

“She’s still my daughter too.”

“What about your wife?  You don’t think she’ll mind?”

“She knows what we had together.  I don’t think she’ll assume it’s a ploy to run off with you,” he smirked.

“Because that would be crazy…” I said with a broken smile.  “Congratulations, by the way.  Daphne filled me in on your good news.”

“Thanks.”  He looked away, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Her and Sam, huh?”  I wasn’t sure what else to say when he didn’t follow up with anything else.

“Right, I heard something about that.”

I still had his engagement ring on my finger, and I twisted it off.  “I guess I should give this back.”

Parker held his hands up, backing away a step.  “No, keep it. I bought it for you.”

Sure.  Because what I really needed was a physical reminder of what I’d lost.  I stuck it in my pocket, not sure what else to do with it.  “I told you getting engaged to me was tantamount to asking the universe for a kick in the shins.”

“More like the heart.”

“I’m sorry,” I tried again, hating to see him in pain because of me.  “I had no idea so much time would pass down here.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve only been away for a month, my time.”

“How is that possible?”

“Time works differently in other places.  Remember how Evie came back a couple of years older after being gone for a few hours?”  I could see him start to digest the information, sitting against the edge of the desk.

“Talk about a mindfuck,” he murmured.  “Where were you exactly?”

“I can’t tell you, she’s still there.  I need to keep her safe until we…” I stopped myself.  There was no we, not anymore.  “Until I figure things out.”

“I can’t believe you’re back.”  He shook his head, rubbing at his neck as though it was stiff.  My hand lifted to send him a burst of Grace, but I held back, suddenly not so sure it was a good idea to touch him.  When he spoke again, it was with heavy regret.  “Mercy, I waited… I waited so long for a single word… but nothing.”

“I know.  I’m not blaming you in any way, but this pretty much sucks, Parker.  I still love you.  I came back here… I knew I’d have some groveling to do.  I knew you’d be pissed I stayed away, but this… I never in a zillion years would have guessed you’d be married to Luz.  And with a bunch of kids.  I just…”  I kept running out of words and he wasn’t helping any by avoiding my eyes.  What was he thinking?  Did he hate me?  Did he still love me?

“Did you ever wonder what would happen when I came back?” I asked him finally.

“I didn’t think you were coming back.”

“Adam was supposed to tell you.  He was supposed to explain everything.”  He’d promised… and I’d believed him.  Or had Adam been operating under a completely different motive for the past five years?

“So Adam’s known this whole time what happened to you?” Parker snorted in disgust.  “That figures.”

I could see his mind filling in the blanks with the wrong conclusions.  “It wasn’t like that.  He was there that night, that’s all.”

“He’s always there,” Parker bit out.  “Has he been with you this whole time?  Watching out for you?”

“No, the Fallen can’t go there.”

“Sometimes I thought…”  His voice trailed off but I could pretty easily see the direction his mind had taken him.

“You thought I ditched you to be with Adam and never had the guts to tell you about it?”

“Well…”

No wonder he’d replaced me.  “Jesus, Parker.  That’s quite an opinion you have of me.”

“I’m sorry, but what was I supposed to think when you never came back after swearing up and down how much you wanted to keep me in the picture?”

“Adam was supposed to tell you…”

“Well, he didn’t,” he interrupted with a scowl.  “I was left with all these feelings, and eventually, I had to put them all behind me.”

“I wish I could say the same.”  We were silent then, neither one of us looking at the other, both too buried in our tower of hurts.

“Why did you come here tonight, Mercy?” Parker finally asked, hands on his hips.

“I thought you deserved to know what happened.”

“And you and me?  Were you expecting us to pick up where we left things off?”

“No, of course not.  I just knew I… I needed to see you.  I’m sorry if that’s selfish…” My voice broke, a squeaky hiccup filling the void as I choked on a sob.  It was a mistake seeing him, all I’d brought us both was more pain.  It would’ve almost been better to cling to memories of the past than be confronted with this man who was so twisted and bitter about the way I’d wronged him.  Tears stung at my eyes, and I dragged in a ragged breath, trying to keep from losing it, but it was too late.

All at once Parker’s face crumpled with empathy.  “Shit, don’t cry, Mercy.”  His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.  I rested my head against his shoulder, the sure knowledge that his comfort didn’t belong to me anymore making it all that much worse.  “Hey, shhh, I know you’re not selfish,” he soothed, pulling back to swipe at the tear tracks on my cheek.  I saw that familiar cant of his head, the look in his eye.  It was wrong, but I didn’t pull away even as I knew what was coming next.  “This is selfish,” he breathed, pulling me to him for a kiss.

From the instant his lips touched mine, I knew it was a bad idea, but that didn’t keep me from kissing him back.  There was desperation and sorrow in that kiss, and passion, plenty of passion left between us.  But as it drew to a close there was a slant to it that made me think it was our last.

Neither one of us said anything as we pulled apart and I knew he’d made his choice.

“I get it, you moved on,” I said quietly.

“I loved you so much, Mercy.”  There was a wistful quality to Parker’s voice now, some of the pain stripped away.  “It almost broke me when you didn’t come back.  But now…”

“I know, now you have everything you always wanted.”

“Not everything.”

His green eyes held me for long moments before I recovered enough to step away from him like I should have in the first place.  “I’d better go,” I mumbled.

“I meant what I said before.  I want to be there for you to help Evie.  Whatever it takes, you can count on me.”

Part of me needed to hear that, craved it even.  But the sensible part of me knew what a train wreck that would be.  The kiss was proof enough of that.  “I can’t ask you to do that.  You have your new family to worry about.”

“She’ll always be my daughter, Mercy.  And you…” he paused, a smile curving his lips, “will always hold a place in my heart.”

“That’s exactly why I have to say goodbye.”  I froze him in place, too chicken to hash it out any further and lose sight of what needed to be done.  Digging the engagement ring out of my pocket, I set it on the desk for him to find later.  “I love you, Parker,” I whispered, laying one last, soft kiss to his lips before I slipped out, blinking back tears that melted into the rain.

Chapter Twenty-Five

You know that saying, when it rains, it pours?  I’d never experienced such a literal example of it before that night.  Almost as soon as I stepped out under the soggy sky, the heavens began to weep, instantly drenching my borrowed clothes.  One thing I missed was how much warmer the rains were in Ma’on.  Here in Seattle, my fingers felt like ice cubes, even with them jammed into my damp pockets.

I didn’t want to go back to Daphne’s and chance waking them up – I didn’t want to get into why I’d slipped out in the first place, let alone why I couldn’t stop blubbering.  I couldn’t go home, I didn’t have one anymore.  I could try to get a hotel room, I supposed, and hope my debit card would still run through.  Or maybe I could waltz into a cheaper motel that still used old fashioned keys and lift one from the front desk without anyone being the wiser.

I thought about calling Adam, but I decided I was too angry to see him without chewing his ass out over how he’d handled things with Parker.  In the end, I could see that it wouldn’t have made any difference.  The fact of the matter was, it was my decision to stay away for so long, and even if Parker had known exactly where I’d been hiding out, I couldn’t have expected him to wait around for me forever.

As the night dragged on, I found myself wandering deeper and deeper into the crappiest part of town.  All of a sudden I realized where my feet were taking me, the perfect place to let off a little steam and satisfy the urge to pound someone into goo if the right situation presented itself.

The Honey Pot.

I’d never gone there to hang out and have a drink before, but that’s exactly what I did that night.  The sad, dingy strip club hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d been there.  The chipped linoleum stage as grubby as ever, the dancer up there pathetically young and stoned out of her gourd as the last girl had been.  All through the bar I could see the stained and pitted souls of rotten men, and more importantly, the utter lack of a soul that marked a few demons.

Jackpot.

I bellied up to the bar, ordering a beer, draining half the glass in one go as soon as it was set before me.  From the aftertaste, that was probably a wise decision.  My shoulders tensed in anticipation as I waited for someone to approach me, but I got to the end of the glass and… nothing.  A crowd like that, I should’ve been jumped on within thirty seconds flat.  Maybe the fact that I looked like a drowned rat had something to do with it, but considering some of the locals, I couldn’t see how they’d be all that picky.

Swinging around on the barstool, I found the few expected sets of eyes on me, seedy losers hopped up on booze and worse, looking for an easy lay.  What I didn’t expect was for every demon who caught my eye to immediately drop their gaze, as if they didn’t want to be caught looking.  How was I supposed to pick a fight when nobody pounced?

In disgust, I reached behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of something, daring the bartender to confront me, but he backed away, giving me plenty of room.  I raised the bottle to my lips and took a deep drink, nearly choking when the vile stuff hit the back of my tongue.  Looking down, the label read Yukon Jack – Parker’s favorite drink.  “Ugh, it figures,” I muttered, winging it at the wall behind the bar where it smashed into a zillion pieces, shattering the mirror there as well.

The bar had gone deadly silent, all eyes on me, but no one dared approach.  “Fine, I didn’t want to have to kill any of you anyway,” I growled, stalking out of the bar, feeling more agitated and unsettled than I had going in.

I’d started to get a headache behind one eye and was wishing I hadn’t been so hasty with that bottle when I spotted him.  Fat and greasy, with long sideburns and a thin mustache – and no aura in sight.  Whistling a merry tune, he strolled out on an employees only door and into the parking lot, digging for keys in his pocket.  I followed him to the edge of the lot, a convenient location, away from the weak glow of the streetlights.

Right before he reached his car I started whistling along with him, when the saints go marching in.  Fat guy darted a nervous look over his shoulder, eyes bulging when he saw it was me.  “I don’t want any trouble,” he said, keeping his back away from me, hands coming up as he edged toward the car.

“Too bad, trouble is what you found.”  I could’ve called forth my sword, hell, I could’ve walked away and let the wimp go home.  But what I wanted most of all was to take out my aggression on something evil and this demon had grown fat on innocence.  That made him fair game as far as I was concerned.

As I approached, I could feel the malevolence swirling around him like a physical thing.  He wanted me dead just as much as I wanted to kill him, only mixed with his malice was a taint of fear.

“Let’s go, dough-boy, you and me,” I taunted, beckoning with my empty hands.  When he didn’t make a move, I took the advantage, grabbing him by the throat and flipping him down to the ground, the way I’d seen Sam do before.  The guy crashed to the pavement, his belly shaking like a guy in a Santa suit.  It was almost too easy.

“What’s your name?” I asked, conversationally, pinning him down with one hand.

“Nydas,” he squeaked, sounding as if it hurt to breathe.  Good.

“So, Nydas, out of curiosity, why didn’t you come after me in the bar?”

“Ain’t nobody stupid enough to mess with an arch.”

“I’m not a narc, I could care less about the cops.”

“No, an arch,” he replied, wheezing a touch.  “An archangel like you.”

Was that what they thought?  “What makes you think I’m an archangel?”

“You mean you’re not?” he blinked.  “You shine bright as one.”

“Occupational hazard,” I shrugged.  “You’re a demon, right, Nydas?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Now I was back on familiar ground again.  “And you feed on innocence?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Does it hurt them when you feed?”

“I… yes, I suppose it does.”

“Does it make you feel good when they suffer?”  He didn’t respond, and I shook him roughly.  “Answer me!”

“Yes, it tastes better.”

“That’s all I needed to know.”  I laid my hand over his heart, my hand glowing with Grace.  “I judge thee, unclean thing.  I abjure thee, and cast thee into the cleansing fires of Hell.”  This time I didn’t hold back as the Grace gathered beneath my hand.  This time I didn’t falter as he writhed and gurgled beneath me.  I held my focus, burning away the stain of his existence until there was nothing left but a scorched blot on the pavement.

“I did it…” I gasped, falling onto my butt, lungs burning as I dragged in a breath of cool night air.  That was one less slimeball feeding from the innocent.  So why didn’t I feel any better?  All I felt was sick to my stomach, remembering the bulge of his eyes and the stench of burning flesh.  It was enough to send me retching into the scrubby bushes, losing what was left of my dinner, but probably for the better, the skunky beer and hard liquor as well.

When I was done heaving, I felt weaker, but somewhat cleansed, as if I could start to heal now.  It had been a strange night of revelations.  Of happy news, heartache, and disappointment.  There was only one thing left to make it a trifecta of misery.

“Adamiel!” I yelled into the air.  “Adamiel, get your mangy ass down here!”  Not that I expected him to come.  I had no idea if he was anywhere nearby; I could sense him out there, but I was lousy at gauging how far away or even in what direction.  So when somebody grabbed me from behind, I screamed.

“Jesus, Mercy, it’s just me!” Adam laughed, pulling me into a hug tight enough to make my ribs creak.  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” he said into my hair.

For a few moments I allowed myself to relax into his arms.  God, he smelled good.  But when he pulled back as if to kiss me, I slapped him good and hard across the cheek.  It always seemed like the thing to do in the movies, but it made my palm sting like a motherfucker.

His head rocked back in surprise, more than anything else, blue eyes wide with shock.  “Oww… That’s a hell of a greeting.  What gives?”

“I happen to be mad at you,” I scowled, shaking my hand until the sting started to fade.

“For what?”

“What’s the one thing I asked you to do before I left?”

“Take care of myself?”

“And?”

He stared at me blankly before offering a hesitant guess.  “Not to tell a soul where you were off to?”

“Except, you were supposed to tell something to Parker.”

“Oh, that.”  His shoulders dropped an inch or so, relaxing.

“Yeah that.  What the hell, Adam?  How could you let him think I abandoned him?” I demanded, but Adam was anything but contrite.

“It’s his own fault.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Hey, I went to see him, like I promised I would, and the guy was a total dick.  It’s his own fault if he didn’t want to listen to what I had to say.”

I could see that, the men hadn’t gotten along particularly well on a good day, let alone during times of stress.  “Still, you should’ve tried harder.  Or written him a letter or something.”

“Oh, right, I can see it now.  Dear Parker, I hope this letter finds you well.  Also, Mercy went somewhere I can’t tell you, to keep you-know-who safe from you-know-what.  Your pal, Adam.  Yeah, that would’ve cleared things right up,” he smirked.  “It’s not my fault he forgot about you the moment your back was turned.”

“He didn’t,” I snapped, resisting the urge to slap him again.  Not that I had any idea how much time elapsed from when I’d left to when he’d started seeing Luz again.  “Did he?”

“The guy’s an idiot,” Adam said softly, his arms coming around me again.  “I would’ve waited for you forever.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re immortal.”  I probably should’ve pulled away, but his arms felt warm and strong, and my guard was down again.

“I think you’ve got that backwards, sweetheart.  Humans are the ones to make an easy promise like that, without thinking what a pathetically short time commitment that really is.”

“It’s not pathetic if that’s all the time they have.  Time moves a lot slower for most people than for angels,” I pointed out and he tipped my face up to his.

“Time might slip by faster from my perspective, but it doesn’t change the fact that I thought about you every single day you were gone.”

I pulled my chin away from his light grasp.  “Please don’t say things like that to me right now.  I’m way too jumbled up inside to process another emotion, okay?”

“What’s the big deal?”  His dark brows twitched together in genuine puzzlement.  “Parker’s out of the picture now.  That means there’s nothing standing between us.”

“Jesus, Adam, that’s cold, even for you.  How can you say Parker’s out of the picture just like that?”

“He’s married!”

“That doesn’t mean my feelings for him magically go away.”  Couldn’t he see that?  I couldn’t flip a switch and move on to Adam when in my heart I was still committed to Parker.

“What about the feelings you have for me?” he demanded, the furrow between his brows growing deeper as I pushed myself out of his arms.

“I’m not having this conversation with you right now.  We need to figure out how to help Evie, that’s why I’m here.”

Adam wouldn’t let me get away so easily, catching hold of my hand.  “She’s safe for the moment.  Mercy… don’t you think you’ve made me wait long enough?”

“The essential facts haven’t changed.”  I couldn’t count on him, not with any regularity and I needed constancy for my life, and for Eve’s.  “Unless you’re just looking for a night of cheap, torrid sex,” I teased, trying to get him to smile, to erase the brand of pain I’d put behind his eyes.  Instead of a flippant reply with that smirk of his, Adam tugged me close, pressing my body against the length of his.

“It wouldn’t be cheap and it’d last more than a night,” he growled, his breath mingling with mine.

I won’t say it wasn’t tempting to move my head a fraction and take what he offered, but I also knew the timing wasn’t right.  There was too much raw emotion roiling around inside me, and I couldn’t let myself make any decisions that could have such lasting repercussions.

“You’re right, it wouldn’t be cheap,” I nodded.  “Maybe if I felt nothing for you it’d be easy to fall into your arms to make myself feel better, but whatever is still there between us complicates things and you know it.  Whatever I do affects Eve too.”

“I know.  I want that complication.”  He showed me so much yearning mingled with regret.  “I’m ready for it now.”

“Well, I’m not.”  Everything was happening too fast.  “Now please, can we talk about the bigger picture here?”

His gaze locked with mine for long seconds before he nodded, the tension going out of his body.  “Yeah, we can do that.”  Instead of letting me go, he hugged me close again, enveloping me in his comforting embrace.  “I’m sorry, Merce… but damn, it’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too,” I admitted, my voice muffled by his chest, but I could tell he heard me by the way his arms tightened around me.

“Even if you do look like kind of a mess.”

I pulled back, glad to see that familiar smirk back in place, and I punched him lightly on the chest for the dig.  “Yeah well, you try being homeless in the rain, and see what it does for your look.”

“Come on.  Let’s go back to my place and hash this out.”  He let me go, keeping an arm around my shoulder as he guided me down the street.  “We’ll invite Sam and Daphne over, it’ll be like old times.”

“They’re asleep.  Like most normal people.”

“Like you should be.  Let’s go get you some rest and in the morning we’ll figure something out.  Besides, there’s someone else who’s dying to see you too.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Nelo!”  I held the little demon tight as he bounded into my arms the instant we arrived at Adam’s house.

“I knew you’d return, Mistress!” he exclaimed, the top of his head rubbing against my chin as if the hug wasn’t enough.  “Every day I looked for you and Master Adam said I had to be patient and wait one more day always.  And today is the day!” he beamed.  “Is Bunny with you?”

“No, I had to leave her behind where it’s safe.  How are you?  Were you stuck in Midian for very long?”

“Midian?” he blinked, the deportation there a dim memory.  “Oh no, Mistress, not long at all.”  Still holding tight to me, like a monkey, he jabbered on about Remy’s rescue while we sat down on the long, leather couch.  Next he told me all about how Master Adam had built him his own room with his own pink bed, and a kitty tower made of special carpet that’s okay for kitties to scratch.  His words tumbled out almost faster than I could follow, as if five years worth of conversation tried to spill out all at once.

“Whoa, slow down there, buddy,” Adam said gently, giving his head a pat.  “She’s not going anywhere for a while, you can take a breath.”

“Sorry, Master Adam,” he said with a sheepish smile.  “Am I talking your ears off again?”

“Maybe a bit, but I’ll let it slide just this once,” Adam winked.

“He’s been living here with you this whole time?”  Somehow I thought he’d stay with Parker.  Then again, not much had gone how I’d thought it would.

“Yeah, we have a good arrangement.  He does all the fetching and carrying for me and I toss him a bone every now and again.”

“He does not throw me bones, Mistress,” Nelo said solemnly.  “He gifts me with his Grace, like you did.”

“And Mimsy?”  He’d mentioned something about a kitty tower, but I hadn’t seen any sign of her.

Nelo’s face fell.  “Mimsy has gone.  Did she not find you?”

“Find me?”  I stared at him blankly before understanding dawned on me.  He meant find me in Heaven.  “Oh… Mimsy’s gone,” I murmured, my mood plummeting at the news.  She’d been my sole companion when I’d struck out on my own.  She was Eve’s first pet, and Nelo’s confidant.  I suppose she was starting to get older, but I never imagined she was that close to…  I didn’t even want to think the word.  “How did she…?”

“Master Adam said it was her time.”

“She didn’t suffer, Merce.”  Adam laid his hand over mine and I squeezed it back.  “But, we have a new addition to the family.  Don’t we, buddy?”

“Oh, we do!” Nelo cried.  “Would you like to see?”

“Um, sure…”  No sooner had I uttered the words, Nelo scrambled off me, tearing off down the hall, his feet a blur of shadows.

“That was nice of you to let him stay here with you,” I said.

“Eh, the little guy needed a place to crash, I had this extra space…” He shrugged it off, but I could tell he’d offered him more than a spare room.

“Thanks for taking him in.”

“Ohana means family,” he said seriously, before cracking a smile I found too irresistible not to return.

Nelo appeared down the hall, carefully clutching a puff of black and white fur, yellow eyes peeping out from between his fingers.  The new addition turned out to be a tuxedo kitten with a plaintive meow at least twice its size.

“Kittens are a big responsibility,” Nelo reported, settling onto the couch with the kitten in his lap.  “I’m learning to take care of him, like I learned how to take care of Bunny.”

I stroked its tiny head, earning me an interested sniff and a lick.  “He’s adorable, what’s his name?”

“Bitey.”

After a few minutes of playing with him, Bitey lived up to his name, attacking my hand with a ferocity associated with a much larger cat.  Nelo scolded him each time he bit too hard, picking him up patiently by the scruff of his neck.

“Master Adam says he’ll settle down after we get him snipped.  Until then, I am on Bitey patrol whenever he’s loose in the house.”

“I’m sure you’re doing a bang up job.  You were always such a great helper with Bunny,” I smiled, patting Nelo on the head while he soaked up the praise.  I was tired, but Nelo was so excited to see me, I didn’t have the heart to beg off and look for a place to bed down until Adam noticed the yawn beneath my hand.

“I think it’s getting late.  Nelo, why don’t you put Bitey down for the night and close up shop, huh?”

“Yes, Master Adam,” Nelo agreed without objection, though he did hesitate before leaving the room.  “You will be here when I wake, Mistress?” There was such a vulnerability there, I almost choked up again.

“Yes, I’ll be here,” I promised.  I didn’t imagine we’d solve all of the problems facing us in a single day.

“Goodnight then, Mistress.”  He ran back over to give me another hug, Bitey mewling in protest.  “I’m ever so glad you came home.”

“Me too, Nelo,” I said, hugging him back.  “Me too.”

“He missed you,” Adam said softly, once Nelo was gone.

“I can tell.”  I wasn’t sure if he was going to make some kind of crack about how much he missed me too, but the next words out of his mouth were less dramatic and more practical.

“Time to get some rest.  We’ll call everybody over tomorrow and hash this out.”

“I am kind of tired,” I admitted, rising to my feet with a groan.  “Abjuring takes a lot out of you.”

Adam’s brow went up.  “You’ve done some abjuring since you got back?  You don’t waste any time, huh?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got nothing but time.”

“Sleep now, talk later,” I said, heading for the spare bedroom.  At least it used to be the spare, I hoped it still had a bed in there.

Adam caught onto my shoulders and steered me back down the hall when I turned at the appropriate door.  “Take the master.”

“I’m not getting in bed with you,” I scoffed.

“Don’t trust yourself?”  His exaggerated smirk triggered an answering smile from me.  “I don’t need to sleep, you can have the big bed.  It was supposed to be yours after all.”

I’d almost forgotten I owned the place.  “Oh right, technically you owe me five years of rent.”

“You’re going to charge me for living here when I’m the one who gave you the house in the first place?”

I pretended to consider my options as I stepped into the bedroom, decorated in tasteful shades of taupe and cream.  “Now that you mention it, maybe there’s something you can do to work it off if you’re cash poor at the moment.”

Adam lingered by the doorway, hanging against the frame.  “That sounds intriguing.  Let’s hear your proposition.”

“Pancakes in the morning?”

Instead of sulking, his face split into a wide grin.  “You got it.”   He turned to leave, remembering to close the door as an afterthought.  “Merce?” he said, leaning back in through the doorway.

“Yes?”

“Welcome home.”

* * *

I woke up sometime mid morning to the smell of sausage sizzling down the hall.  Only one thing sounded better than the lure of savory breakfast meat and the expected pancakes – a hot shower.  After nearly a month of making do with tepid sponge baths in the tree house, I used up all of the hot water in Adam’s fancy steam shower.

Prepared to make do with the damp borrowed outfit I’d left in a heap on the bedroom floor, I was pleasantly surprised to see a clean set of clothes on the foot of the bed as I came out of the bathroom.  Maybe the silky, red top showed more cleavage than I was used to, but I couldn’t fault Adam’s taste or memory as I zipped up the soft jeans that clung to my curves like a second skin.  There was even a pair of gorgeous leather boots in my size, but I left them off to go find my breakfast.

I met Adam outside the bedroom door, fist poised to knock, a tray full of food in the other hand.  “Hey, you beat me to it.  I was going to offer breakfast in bed.”  On the tray were the requisite stack of buttery pancakes, fat sausage links, a mug of steaming coffee and a single pink rose in a bud vase.

“That’s so sweet, but I can come and eat out here.”  I appreciated the gesture, but the two of us in the bedroom was a bad idea, even over pancakes.

“Okay sure,” he replied with an affable shrug and turned back down the hallway toward the kitchen.

“Did you eat already?”

“I snuck a bite or two in.”

I was about to offer to share mine when I remembered he didn’t need to eat the same way I did.

“Sam and Daphne should be over in about an hour, I wasn’t sure how long you’d need to pull yourself together.  You were never much of a morning person, as I recall,” he grinned, setting the tray on the breakfast bar.

“You’re not wrong there.  Eve’s the opposite though.  She’s up with the birds lately, well… if there were any birds on Ma’on.”  A wistful look flashed across his features, but it was gone a moment later.  “So… five years.  How have you been?”  It seemed like a weird question after all the talking the night before, but I realized I hadn’t asked him what he’d been up to lately.

“Oh, you know, fine,” he said with a noncommittal shrug.  “You?”

“Good.  And Eve’s fine.”

“Good.”

Talk about awkward.

And it stayed awkward between us, neither one of us wanting to talk about anything more than the weather, until Sam and Daphne showed up with more coffee and donuts.  I pounced on Daphne almost the moment she came into the door, dragging her into the kitchen with me to try and find napkins while Adam and Sam exchanged a few words.

“Are you and Adam…” Daphne whispered.

“No, of course not.”

“Don’t look all offended.  It’s just when you didn’t come home last night and then Adam called to say you were over here, I sort of thought…”

“I didn’t want to wake you guys when it got to be late.”  Not a lie…  “And he and I had a few things to sort through.”

Daphne’s face fell.  “But you’re not together?”

“No.”

“I guess you didn’t sort through them all then, did you?”  She cocked a brow.

“It’s more complicated than that and you know it.  We’re on completely different timelines right now.”

“I know.  And I know how hard it is for you to accept that Parker’s moved on.”

I could tell there was more she wanted to say.  “But?”

“But you know you’ve had unresolved feelings for Adam for a long time.”

“Maybe that’s true, but…”

“And he’s still head over heels for you, Mercy.  This whole time you’ve been gone, he’s never doubted you’d be back.”

“That’s because he’s the only one who knew where I went and why.  Something I’m not too happy about, by the way.”

“Do you still love him, Mercy?”

Something held me back from answering that question.  “I’m not ready to go there, not yet.  I’m…”

“Talking about us behind our backs, huh?  Good stuff, I hope.”  Adam waggled his brows at me playfully.

“Just girl talk.  But now that we’re all here, we probably should get down to business.”

“I do so miss these palavers,” Sam grinned, already scoping out a jelly donut.

“I’ve missed them too.”  I shot him a smile, which I lost pretty quickly as Adam reached past me to steal my favorite, the chocolate old fashioned.  To my surprise, he put the donut on a small plate and slid it across the counter to me without a word.

“Yeah, we should all get together for a barbecue once a week,” Adam smirked.  “But for now, let me officially open up the topic at hand – keeping Luce from getting to Eve.  You know, I hate to say it, but we should really have Luz or Oriana here to talk about what other options we have to keep her hidden closer to home.”

“We can’t call Luz,” I frowned, surprised he’d even thought to bring her up.  “I’m not dragging Parker back into this.  I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him where to find me if he calls any of you.”

“Sounds good to me,” Adam muttered, but Daphne was less accepting.

“But Mercy, doesn’t he deserve to be involved?”

“He’s moved on with his life, and he’s happy.  He doesn’t need me getting in the middle of things, complicating them.”  The same could be said of both Sam and Daphne, but complicating their lives didn’t seem nearly as messy.  Neither one of them had kissed me in a moment of weakness.

“But Mercy, she’s his daughter.  I’m sure he’ll want to…”

“I can’t, okay?” I blurted out, shutting her down.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t be around him right now.  It’s too… it’s too much.”

“Besides, she’s my daughter, not his,” Adam grumbled.  “I’ll figure out how to hide her.”

“We’re all here to figure this out,” Sam said diplomatically.  “Surely we can come up with a workable solution that doesn’t involve witchcraft at all.”

I’d almost forgotten about his bias against witches.  “At this point I’ll take all the help I can get, Sam.”  Just not from Luz or Parker.

“We should definitely get your witch-in-law’s two cents on it,” Adam agreed.

“Perfect, I want to see Matty and Oriana anyway.  It won’t take me long to get to Las Vegas.”  I could see Adam’s brow furrow when I said I instead of we, but he didn’t complain.

“Okay then.  You’ve got the Vegas angle covered.  Luz isn’t the only witch in town.  I’ll put some feelers out with some of the others and see what I can find out.”

I remembered the friendly terms he was on with some of the witches in her circle.  That wasn’t all he’d be feeling.

“I’ll consult my books, see if there isn’t anything else we might try that doesn’t involve trafficking with the dark arts,” said Sam.

I opened my mind to remind him that the witches we knew weren’t into any of that stuff, but I changed my mind.  It wasn’t up to me to overcome years of prejudice.

“I can do some shopping for Bunny for when you bring her back,” Daphne perked up at the thought.  “She needs pretty much everything, right?”

“That’s true.  Can I pay you back later?  I need to get in to the bank at some point and figure out my cash position.”  I’d had some savings before, but mostly Parker had provided for us when I stopped working.  “And I’ll need some things too.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Adam cut me off.  “I’ve got that taken care of.”

The mind boggled.

“Alright, so we have a plan then,” I sighed.  It wasn’t much of one yet, but I felt confident we’d turn something up with so many heads working on it.  “I think I’ll go tonight after dark.”

“Good, then you can come shopping with me today,” Daphne beamed.  We started to make specific plans, what stores we’d hit first, what the essentials were to shop for.  We had to drop Sam off at home before we went.  He’d overcome his aversion to cars enough to ride in them now that his wings were gone, but he was clueless as to how to drive on his own.

Adam singled me out as I went to retrieve my coat from the bedroom.  “Hey.  You’re taking Nelo with you to Las Vegas?”

“That’s right.  I told him I wouldn’t leave him for a while, I can’t take off the very next day.  You saw how he was last night.”

He leaned in closer to where I stood at the closet door.  “What about me?  It’s been five years since I last saw you.  Aren’t you the least bit worried about bruising my tender feelings?”  Flashing his best bedroom eyes at me, his lips curved into a sexy smile and I felt that old familiar pull.

“You can take it.”

“You are coming back though, no matter what you find out, right?”  There was a trace of vulnerability there beneath the swagger.

“Of course.”

“Then why can’t I come too?” he pouted.

“Somebody needs to stick around and take care of Bitey,” I reminded him with a sweet smile.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Remember, we need to stay hidden from human eyes, so stay with me, or keep to the shadows while we’re here.  Okay, Nelo?  Las Vegas can be somewhat overwhelming sometimes.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Nelo agreed, his amber eyes bulging from all the lights on the strip.  I had it from Daphne that Oriana was headlining at a smaller club called Voo Doo Blues.  Sure enough, I saw the name of their act on the marquee – Madame Oriana Knows All!

The establishment was small, but doing a brisk business, the waitresses wearing enough so that I wasn’t worried they’d stuck her into some kind of a burlesque club.  I spotted Oriana almost instantly, her long, silvery hair catching the stage lights, surrounding her in a sort of halo effect.  She sat at a deeply curtained table behind a glowing crystal ball, her eyes gazing into its depths.

Dressed as a kind of gypsy/pirate wench – it was hard to tell what they were going for, between the bright scarves that made up her skirt and the leather bustier corseting her within an inch of her life.  She almost looked like a child dressing up for Halloween rather than a grown woman.

Behind a partition sat a middle aged woman with a shock of frizzy orange hair, wearing a purple sequined dress two sizes too small for her.  On her lap rested a plastic bucket, the type a kid might take to the beach.  She drew a large card from the bucket, with a picture of a boat on the water.

“I see a ship lost at sea.  Quickly, bring on the next challenge before the spirits depart!” Oriana said in a ringing voice, with far more theatricality than I gave her credit for.

The woman looked suitably impressed, as did the crowd.  But now she dug through the cards, choosing one from the middle, probably thinking she’d memorized the order they were in or something.  The next card she held up had a china doll on it.

Oriana clapped her hands together in delight.  “Oh, how lovely, a pretty doll.  I had a pretty doll once but Mummy said that only good girls who mind their manners get to keep pretty dolls.  Naughty girls get the fiery furnace.”  Her voice was so forlorn at the last bit, I forgot I had a goal in mind, stopping to watch with rapt attention.

“There she is, the Bringer of Life!”  Oriana cried out suddenly, hopping to her feet.

“I beg your pardon?” the woman said, looking down at the card in confusion, but Oriana ignored her, beaming at me.

“I’d forgotten how she shines.  Isn’t she pretty?”

I wasn’t sure if I should acknowledge her or keep stepping, but she looked at me expectantly, so I had to say something.  “Hey, Oriana.  I’ll catch up with you back stage.  I don’t want to interrupt your act.”

“Oh, I don’t mind.  I’d rather talk to you anyway.  This one’s wits are soft like cheese.”

“Who is she talking to?” The woman tried to peep over the divider, not sure if it was part of the act or not.

“And Nelo too!  We shall have a party!”

“Yes, we’ll have cakes and tea.” I smiled at her enthusiasm.  “But you should finish your job here.  I’ll be backstage waiting.”

“You won’t change your mind and leave again?  Matty would be most disappointed, as would I.”

“No, I promise I’ll be there.”

“Uh, hey there, Madame Oriana… I think you’re forgetting our lovely participant.” Matty appeared on the stage, nervous over the deviation in the act.  Gone was the scruff, replaced with a tidy slanted mustache and a pointy goatee.  His dark hair was longer going past his shoulders without wave or curl and he was dressed like a pirate as well.  Or maybe a musketeer, it was hard to tell.

“Oh, Matty, she’s returned, isn’t it wonderful?” Oriana gushed.

“Yes… it is wonderful,” he said, his hat flopping as he loped to her side.  “You know what else is wonderful?  Finishing the show.”

“But Matty…”

“Now we come to the grand finale,” Matty announced, overriding her objection.  “For this we’ll need two new participants from the audience,” he said, in a passable piratey accent.  “Can we get a volunteer, or shall we have to resort to force?” He grinned, as Bert and Hubie materialized out of the shadows in the crowd, suitably filthy and decrepit looking, prodding people up from their seats with dulled swords through a smile full of rotten teeth.  They were born to play pirates.

I’d been about to leave, but I decided to stick around and watch the finale.  It looked like it was going to be a doozie.

“How can I concentrate on that when the fate of the child presses so?” Oriana said, wavering slightly in place.

“What are you talking about?” Matty hissed.

“Don’t you see?  It’s the Grace.  It’s a magnet for destruction.”

It looked like my presence was way too distracting for Oriana, and I felt bad for Matty having a meltdown beside her.  “Oriana, it’s okay.  There’s plenty of time for you to finish your act.  I’ll be backstage and we can talk about it later.”

“If you say so,” she replied.  “But I’m ever so glad to see you again, sister dear.”

“My sister?” Matty blinked.  “You saw Mercy?”

The audience wasn’t sure what to think about the deviation from the act and her one sided conversation, and it was tempting to suddenly make myself visible, wings and all, to give her finale a kick.  But I scurried off instead, the better to stop distracting her from the act.

It wasn’t hard to find her dressing room, her picture was on the door with a big sparkly star above it.  Inside was fairly spacious, with a dressing table, couch and coffee table, and even a small kitchenette.

“Perhaps we should’ve waited for the show to be over,” Nelo commented once we were safely inside.

“I forgot I wouldn’t be able to hide from her.  It’s been a long time since either one of us had to go playing hide and seek with Oriana.”

A child’s voice rang out, high and pure.  “Are you an angel?”

I spun around to see two small boys, about Eve’s age.  No – not anymore – the age she was before she went to Githa, around three.  Identical from head to toe, the big brown eyes and bowl cuts reminded me of Matty when he was a little boy and I knew they had to be my nephews.

“What makes you say that?” I smiled.

“You’re too shiny to be a demon.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, especially when I remembered I was still making myself imperceptible to people.  Apparently he’d inherited his mother’s talent for seeing things.  “Let me guess, are you Fin?  Or maybe Col…?”

“I’m Finlay, he’s Colwyn,” the same boy answered.  So far the other one just stared at me like a creeper.

“Nice to meet you, boys, I’m your Aunt Mercy.”

“We know you.”

“Right.  Because you’ve seen my picture?”

Fin ignored the question for one of his own.  “Why do you have a demon with you if you’re an angel?”

“I don’t like to discriminate.”

“Mummy says we mustn’t talk to demons.  Except for Bert and Hubie.”

Okay, apart from looking like younger versions of Matty, they’d definitely gotten some personality traits from Oriana.  Swell.  “Very good advice,” I nodded.  “But I’m pretty sure she’ll let you talk to this one.  He’s an old friend.”

“I’m Nelo,” he volunteered, but they only stared.

“Do you guys always hang out here while you’re mom’s working?”

“Mummy says we must stick close by.  You never know when bad peoples will come.  Are you bad peoples?”

“No, I’m your aunt.”  They looked unconvinced.  “Shiny like an angel, remember?”  Nothing.  “I’m one of the good guys, I swear.”

“Mummy says angels ain’t always good guys.”

“Fair enough.”  I couldn’t fault her on that one.  “Hey, do you ever talk?” I asked the other one, Col.

They shook their heads in tandem.  “He don’t need to,” Fin replied for him.

“Okay, good talk,” I muttered, swiping one of the bottled waters stacked on top of the mini fridge.

The sound of applause filtered in and I hoped that meant Oriana’s act would be over soon.  Her kids were giving me the creeps.  She breezed in a few minutes later, positively glowing with happiness.  “You’ve returned!” she exclaimed, rushing up as if to hug me only to stop a few paces away.  “May I greet you as a sister?”

“Of course, Oriana.  I’m glad to see you too,” I smiled, letting go of Nelo’s hand to hug her.

“Oh, you’re real,” she said when her arms closed around mine.  Was that a concern?

“Yep, I’m the real deal alright.  And I hope you don’t mind, I’ve already introduced myself to the twins.”

Oriana only now seemed to realize her children were present.  “Ah, you’re still up!  And how are mummy’s darlings?”  They each presented a pale cheek to be kissed, not saying a word.  “Good, very good,” she said, as if they’d replied.  Hell, maybe they did, and I just didn’t pick up on the right brainwave.

“Mercy?  Are you in here?”  Matty burst through the door, looking wildly around.

I’d almost forgotten I was still dim, it took no concentration at all.  Turning it off, I popped back into view, catching my very startled brother up in a fierce hug.  “Long time no see, Matty.”

“Merce!  It is you!” He hugged me back, almost desperately, as if he couldn’t believe I was there.

“I’m here too,” Nelo said quietly, hanging back by the shadows.

“So you are.  Come and tell me all that’s passed since we last spoke.”  Oriana patted the couch beside her and Nelo cheerfully complied, telling her all about his last trip to Midian and his new kitten.  The twins crowded around, fascinated by Nelo and his story, but never once interrupting even though Oriana did, questioning him closely.

While they chatted, I drew Matty aside for a more ordinary conversation.  We talked about our mother, who was apparently taking it as a personal slight that I’d disappeared off the face of the planet.  And apparently our dad had been up to visit them several times, spending the weekend gambling, but also visiting with his grandsons.  I guess I couldn’t fault him for that, but I still had zero desire to introduce Eve to him if I could help it.

We briefly touched on Parker’s marriage, and Daphne and Sam’s good fortune.  I didn’t say much about where I’d been, only saying it was necessary to keep Eve safe.

“But you’re back for good now, right?” Matty asked.

“Not until I can figure out a way to hide Eve from Lucifer.  That’s why I’m here.  Well, that and a visit is long overdue.  But we can talk about that later, after the kids go to bed.”  It was already pretty late, but I imagined their hours were unusual, given their lifestyle.

“It’s time for children to seek their beds,” Oriana announced out of the blue, even though I was pretty sure she hadn’t been following our conversation at all.

“Can’t we stay for cakes and tea?” The boys wore twin looks of hope.

“No, it’s too late, and you know it,” Matty replied, sounding almost responsible.  It brought a smile to my lips to see him going all parental.  “I’m sure Hubie and Bert want to get back home too.  Now, give your mom a kiss.”

“Goodnight, my darlings,” Oriana said, placing a kiss on top of their heads in turn.  “And a kiss for your aunt as well.  She is the light of the world.”

I smiled awkwardly, bending to receive a kiss on the cheek from each of them without another word.  “Goodnight, kids.  It was nice meeting you.”

Matty herded them to the door, giving me a pointed look.  “Don’t start any of the good stuff until I get back.”

Truth be told, I was glad to see them go.  The boys made me a little uncomfortable, hold the little.  “So, Bert and Hubie live with you guys?” I asked as Oriana busied herself, making a pot of tea.

“Of course.  We are a family, just as you are,” she smiled at Nelo who nodded sagely.

“Ohana means family.”

“Just so,” she said with a solemn nod.  “But I long to hear of your travels.  I’m all in raptures to hear about your little one.”

That was easy enough to do.  They hadn’t heard about my trip to the underworld, so I started there.  Oriana was so caught up in the story, she forgot all about the tea, and I took over the rest of the preparations.  By the time I was done, Matty was back for the tail end of the conversation, a scowl on his face.

“I thought you were going to wait to get to the good stuff?” he pouted, sounding very much like his sulky kids.

“Believe it or not, that wasn’t the main event.  The good stuff is yet to come.”

“Time for some serious sugar then.”  He produced a pink box of donuts, the cakes to our tea.  Nelo showed up at my side, eager for a bite, and I wondered when he’d picked up a taste for donuts.

Briefly, I went over the basics, of Lucifer’s ability to track Eve by her Grace, and his repeated attempts to steal her away from me to age her more quickly.

“Sounds like that backfired if she’s still five.  He should’ve left her where she was, she’d already be eight by now,” Matty snorted.

“Adam did pose this question to me some time ago,” Oriana said thoughtfully, blowing across the top of her tea.

“He did?” I blinked.

“Oh, yes.  I had nothing to contribute at the time, and he did not say what it was for.  I thought it to hide his own Grace for some convoluted reason.”

I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it, and why he’d supported my visit if he knew it would lead to a dead end?  “Then there’s nothing you can do?  No way to suppress the Grace at all?”

“I haven’t the strength to bind her light, but another might serve your purpose.”

“Another witch?” I sat up higher, tea forgotten.  “Who?”

“A witch with access to darker magics than I.”

Darker magics – that didn’t sound so good, but I was getting desperate.  “Someone I know?”

“I don’t know, Merce, this sounds kind of dangerous,” Matty frowned.  “I don’t think you should be messing with black magic.”

“I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of choice right now, Matty.  Who is it?”

“The witch that serves Raum.”

“The tattooed chick?”  The one that scared even Adam?  “What makes you think she’d help me?”

“She will have a price to be met, make no mistake of that,” Oriana said grimly.

“Perhaps if you brought her a gift?” Nelo volunteered, his eyes on my donut and I slid it over to him.

“I’m thinking the kind of gift an energy vampire wants is beyond my means.”  I wasn’t about to let her feed off of me, and bringing her a random victim wasn’t an option.

“Perhaps it is Raum that you need to win over then, not the witch,” Nelo said around a mouth full of sugary goodness.

Of course… that was it.  Who cared whether the witch wanted to help or not, she was Raum’s witch and Raum was in my back pocket.  “Nelo, you’re made of good ideas.  That’s it, that’s the answer.  We’ll go see Raum and work something out.”  It all sounded so simple, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before.

“I still think you shouldn’t mess with that stuff.” Matty shook his head, and I reached over to cover his hand with mine.

“Like I said, I don’t have much choice.  If this is what I need to do to keep Evie safe, so be it.  But having said that, maybe Nelo should stay here with you guys until I get back?”

“Oh, we’d be ever so happy to have him,” Oriana smiled, warming to the idea.  “The boys could use a new playmate since they broke the last one.”

On second thought… “Or I could always drop you off at home on the way.”

“No, Mistress.  My place is by your side,” Nelo insisted.  “If Raum is contrary I can help you escape, as always.”

“Thanks, Nelo, I appreciate it.  We should probably get going then.”

“But you just got here,” Matty frowned, his ridiculous mustache dipping comically.

“I know, but the sooner we do this, the sooner I can bring Eve back where she belongs.”

Oriana reached out for my hand, her eyes growing remote.  “Beware.  The sacrifice he makes to bind her light might be more than you’re willing to pay.”

“Do you mean Adam?”  It made sense, if I told him where we were going, he’d probably make some new cockamamie deal with Raum for Dahlia’s cooperation.  “I’ll just leave him out of the equation then and that takes care of that.”

“It’s a dangerous path you’re on.  You will lose much.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

“As you will it, so mote it be.”  Oriana blinked, regaining her sunny smile.  “May I have the last cake?  I’ve been ever so good.”

* * *

My pocket rang as we stepped outside, and I realized Adam had slipped a new phone on me at some point before we left for Vegas.  His picture smiled up at me as I hit the button to answer it.

“How’s the visit going?” he asked before I could say anything.

“Good, the kids are a little…”

“Freaky?  Consider the source.”

“Hey, be nice.  I was going to say precocious.”  Out loud anyway.

“What about Oriana?  Did she turn up anything useful?”

“Nope, not really.  Then again, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“How should I know if she might decide to finally be worth all the trouble she caused us?  Stranger things have happened.”

“What about you?  Have you had any luck with the local witches?”

“Nada.  It’s early stages though.  I’ll get some results, I have some magic of my own to work.”

“I’ll bet,” I muttered, a sliver of jealousy creeping in when I thought about how persuasive Adam could be when he put his mind to it.

“What was that?”

“It’s wet.  It’s raining here,” I lied.  “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, at least another day or two, I think.  So keep me posted, okay?”

“Sure thing.  Have fun visiting with your family.”

“Thanks.”  I was starting to think that he’d suggested the visit just to give me some time to reconnect with Matty.  Maybe Adam had done some maturing in the years since I’d been gone.

“And Mercy?”

“Yes?”

“Be sure to check out the pics I left on your phone.”

“Okay, bye.”  Thinking it might be some of shots of Daphne and Sam, I was unprepared for the eye candy that was Adam in all his glory, peeping back at me from the bright little screen.  Had I said matured?  Yeah, not so much.

“Aren’t we going then?” Nelo asked, confused by my conversation.

“Oh, we’re going alright.  But if there’s any sacrificing to be done, I’ll be the one doing it.  Come on, it’s time to get this over with.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I didn’t tell Sam or Daphne about my impromptu trip to Midian either.  Partly because I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on my latest scathingly brilliant idea.  But mostly, it was because I thought they’d earned the right to a normal life that didn’t include me calling them in the middle of the night to announce my next field trip to a demon realm.

Instead, I stopped at the store for a box of chocolates for Naberios, the burly gate guard with a sugar jones, and a pack of gummy worms for Nelo to snack on.  As disconcerting as it was to watch him smile with brightly colored worms dangling from his mouth, it was worth it to watch him enjoy the treat.  If everything went according to plan, I’d have time to worry about the onset of Type 2 diabetes for demons and if not… at least he got to enjoy one last sugary delight.

As everybody knows, it’s not getting into a demon realm that’s difficult, it’s getting out.  This time was no different, and Naberios was even – dare I say it – friendly to us when we breezed through bearing gifts marked with the Godiva label.  If you ever need to get in good with a demon who’s stuck in one place for a while, I say go with the best.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, we were on our way through the rocky tunnel to Raum’s palace.  We emerged into the purpley sky that passed for twilight in Midian after two jumps thanks to Nelo’s ability to hop from shadow to shadow.

I wasn’t hiding this time, nor was I afraid of anything that might crawl out from behind a jagged rock, so I spread my wings and took to the sky as soon as we reached open ground.  It might’ve been my imagination, but I thought I saw the leathery wings of a morfran in my peripheral vision more than once.  If so, the creature kept its distance, and that’s all that mattered.

I flew us straight up to Raum’s open air court, which was mostly deserted, a few lesser demons hovering, waiting for Raum to show himself.  Ignoring them, I strode right up to the base of the stone throne, setting Nelo down with strict instructions to dive for a shadow at the first hint of danger.

“Raum,” I called out, my voice echoing through the columns.  “I’d like a few minutes of your time.”

Whether or not he heard me right away, I was forced to call for him twice more before he appeared on the throne, dressed in a pair of red silk pajamas, a black cravat tied in an intricate knot around his neck, affixed with a ruby the size of a robin’s egg.  His hair was closely cropped, his Roman features authoritarian and not completely unappealing.  Raum’s slim build wasn’t especially imposing, nor was the expression of interest on his face, but I knew he was dangerous from past experience.  His eyes were completely dark, which always made his intent a little murky to read, but the smile on his lips seemed to indicate genuine pleasure to see me again.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite angel.  What have we done to earn a visit, dear lady?”  His voice always reminded me of every bad guy in every movie from the seventies.  You know what I’m talking about, the vague British accent they always stick on sci-fi and fantasy movies?  It had an odd lilt to it that wasn’t quite British though, as though English wasn’t his native tongue, but he managed it beautifully.

“Lord Raum,” I said, inclining my head to him in my best attempt at a curtsey.  “You’re looking well.”  It didn’t cost me anything to show him courtesy in his own court and I was counting on it to earn me some goodwill.  Otherwise… we’d have to do it the hard way.

I could tell my words pleased him greatly though, and his smile widened as he leaned forward on his throne.  I’d managed to capture his attention at least.  “I am well, exceedingly so,” he boasted.  “I trust there are no crimes to lay at my door this time?”

“Not at all, my lord.  I come with a humble request.”

“Better and better.”  His grin widened.  “What is it you seek?”

“Maybe we could talk it over in private?” I suggested, looking up at him demurely through downcast lashes.

“Oh yes, I think I might enjoy that very much,” he chortled, prancing down the stone steps to offer me his arm.  “This way, m’lovely.”  I took his arm, head bent submissively until we were away from the court and prying eyes.  “It’s too much to hope that you’ve missed my charms, isn’t it?” he said, after showing me to a sitting room.

“‘Fraid not.” I smiled tightly, dropping his arm like it was a live snake.  “I’m actually here to talk to your witch.”

Raum’s left eyelid twitched once at my words, the smile remaining on his lips.  “Oh?  Whatever for?”

“I need to ask her a favor.”

“Ah, and what do you offer as payment for the use of my witch?”

“How about I agree not to ventilate your pajamas?” I smiled sweetly, calling my sword to hand.

Raum jumped back by about a foot.  “No need for that, I was only checking.  Doesn’t hurt to ask, you know.”

“You don’t think so?  Keep asking and try me.”  I kept the sword in hand for a few seconds longer, to make my point before letting it go.  “Anyway, that’s what I’m here for.  She’s still here, right?”  If she was gone, I was right back to square one again.

“Are you quite sure you need Dahlia’s help for whatever you’re cooking up?”

“I think so. Unless you’ve suddenly developed the ability to hide Grace from angelic eyes?”

He found his smile again.  “Going walkabout are we?  I suppose I can support any endeavor that thwarts the all seeing eye of the Heavenly Host.  Come along then, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to help.”

That was easier than I’d thought it would be, and I squeezed Nelo’s hand, offering him a hopeful smile.  The demon hadn’t made a peep since we’d landed in Raum’s court, and I could feel the tremor of fear going through his body.

I recognized the path to Dahlia’s room.  Like last time, the room was gloomy and dark, almost dismal, and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust enough to spot the woman reclining on a chaise lounge.  Petite, with a dark pageboy haircut and severe bangs, she wore an elegant sheath of soft black, the jut of her pointy breasts against the thin fabric making me think she wore nothing underneath.

Her bare shoulders were covered in intricate ink that I couldn’t quite make out in the gloom.  Her aura was a riot of colors, vivid reds, yellows and blues pocked with darker bits, swirling and moving.  The darkness seemed to have grown since the last time I’d seen her, but considering where she lived, it made sense.

Her fingers busily knotted a black silken cord, lips moving soundlessly, and she gave no sign that she’d heard us enter.

“Dahlia, love.  We’ve a special visitor.”  His eyes dropped to acknowledge Nelo for the first time. “And a wart.”

The witch ignored us all, continuing to concentrate on the cord until the last knot was tied and she pulled a long pin from the chaise, stabbing herself in the finger.  I felt a pressure change in the room, like I needed to yawn and pop my ears, but it passed quickly.   Dark eyes looked up then, no surprise registering on her face to find me there.

“Look who’s come to visit, pet,” Raum smiled.  “What do you say?”

“Leave us,” she said flatly, not even looking in his direction.  To my surprise, Raum turned to go without argument.  “Send out your familiar as well.”  Her liquid eyes fixed upon Nelo, who shrank behind me.

“Nelo’s not my…”

“If you want my help, I’ll need your undivided attention,” she interrupted.

“Better come with me, wart.”  Raum motioned to him from the doorway, but I kept my arm firmly around his shoulders.

“Nelo stays with me.”

“I’ll take good care of my old friend,” Raum promised, and I made sure to catch his eye before he herded him away.

“See that you do.”

Dahlia’s dark gaze was still on me as I turned back to her.  “I know why you’re here,” she said, giving away nothing as to whether she planned to cooperate or not.

“Good, then I won’t have to waste my time explaining myself.  Can you do it?”

“For a price.”  She rose to her feet and I caught the sight of more tattoos down the smooth expanse of her bare back.  She stalked out to the terrace where a brazier waited, full of glowing coals.  There wasn’t a hint of subservience in her movements, nothing to indicate she felt she owed me a damn thing just because Raum brought me to her.

“I don’t suppose you’ll do it because Raum orders you to help me?” I asked, following her out there.

“Raum can order all he likes.  This kind of a spell… it requires a sacrifice.”

“Here we go…” I sighed.  Just what Oriana warned me about.  “I’m not bringing you anyone to suck the lifeforce out of.”

“I haven’t asked you to.  Pay attention,” she snapped, poking at the coals with a long iron rod.

I really didn’t like her.  “Alright, let’s hear your price.”

“A spell like this, is no small thing.  I can do it, but it’ll take more power than I have to give.  Binding the soul of a child with that much Grace… it’s not easily done.  I’ll need your Grace to accomplish it.”

“No deal.”  I wasn’t giving up my Grace, not without guarantees, and without Adam or even Nelo here to have my back, it wasn’t up for negotiation.

“Not all of it, just enough power to complete the spell of binding.  I assure you, it won’t harm you in any way.”

“And I’m supposed to take your word for it?  Is that how this works?”

Dahlia turned away from the brazier, her painted lips curving into a smile.  “You’ll have to trust me.”

“Oh right, because that makes sense,” I muttered, not liking the thought of giving her that much power over me.  Then again, it wasn’t like I needed as much Grace as I had swimming around inside me.  If there was a person on the planet or above it with Grace to spare, it was me.

“Let’s say for argument’s sake that I agree to this.  That covers the power needed to complete the spell, but not your price.  What do you want in exchange for doing it in the first place?”

“You’re a clever thing, aren’t you?” Dahlia smiled in admiration.  “Yes, I do require a boon.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I want you to keep your word and break me out of here.”

Was that all?  “I thought you liked it down here.”

“I admit, it has its diversions, but a girl likes a change of scenery from time to time.”  She paused, a haunted look coming into her eyes.  “It’s time.”

“That’s all you want?  For me to take you out of here?”

Her posture shifted the tiniest bit, some of the hardness slipping from her expression as she fixed me with a pleading gaze.  “It’s no small thing to me.”

That trace of vulnerability she revealed was enough to sway me.  “Alright, I’ll do it.” I decided on the spot.  “Is that why you wanted Raum out of here?”

“Mostly,” she admitted.  “Also, I wanted to see if I could make him do it.”  The hint of a smile curved her lips and I felt the beginnings of a sisterly bond there.  Maybe she couldn’t help it if she was a bitch.  Consider the source, as Adam had said before.  Going from a clan of energy vampires to Raum’s palace had to be rough on a girl.

“So let me get this straight,” I said, refocusing us to the bargain on the table.  “You can do this.  You can keep Eve’s Grace completely hidden from Lucifer, or anyone else who can sense the Grace, but you need my Grace to power the spell, right?”

“That’s the general picture, yes.”

“And all you want from me in return is to get you out of here when we’re done.”

“Also correct.”  Dahlia went back to poking at the fire.

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“If it doesn’t work, I guess you can always hunt me down and stick me back here if you feel the need.  Or, I can contact some of my old coven and see what alternatives we can come up with.  But this is going to work, I can feel it in my bones.”  Her dark eyes snapped with anticipation as she started gathering spell components, putting them on one of Oriana’s old potting tables next to the brazier.

I expected cooperation, but not so much glee.  “Why are you so psyched about this?”

“Partly because I want to see if I can pull it off,” she replied, taking an opaque crystal the size of my palm out of an ornate box and setting it on the table.

“And?”

“And…” she stopped what she was doing to catch my gaze.  “You’ve spent some time with Raum.  Wouldn’t you be ready for some R and R?”  There it was again, that hint of what she’d been put through at Raum’s hand.  No wonder she was itching to get the spell over and done with.  I was her ticket out of there.

“What do we need to do to get this thing started?”

“Leave everything to me.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“First things first, I need you to charge this crystal with your Grace.”  Dahlia tapped the crystal on the table with the tip of her finger.

“Um… okay.”  She said that like I knew what she meant.  “How do I do that?”

A faint smile flitted across her lips, but it was gone just as quickly.  “Focus your Grace as if you were healing.  Fill the crystal with light and love.”

It sounded silly, but I could manage that easily enough.  “What’s it for?”

“Ordinarily it’d be good for healing magic, but today we’re going to use it to represent Eve’s Grace.  It’d be better if you had something of hers, but your connection to her should be strong enough.”

“I can do that.”  I wasn’t sure if I needed to hold the crystal at first, but decided I should be able to do it with a light touch.  I started to ground myself, not thinking too deeply about the demon realm I connected myself to.  “I have to say, I’m surprised you know how to do this stuff.”  She didn’t strike me as the healing type.

“The left hand isn’t always so different from the right hand, you know.  Their paths intersect from time to time.”  Dahlia gave me what was probably meant to be a friendly smile, but it made the hairs on the back on my neck prickle.  As far as I was concerned, she was nothing like Luz and the other witches I’d met.

Something about her made me more than a little nervous about the whole thing, but what choice did I have other than to trust her for Eve’s sake?  I managed a faint smile in return before focusing my attention on charging the crystal until it glowed brightly with Grace.

“Very nice,” she said in approval.  “Now I need a single drop of blood from you.”  She held a large pin over the flame of a black candle with one hand and I recognized the black cord she’d been tying into knots when we first came in.

“What’s this for?”

“This is to link your energy to mine so I can harness it for the spell.  It’ll only hurt for a second.”  She held the pin up expectantly, and I stuck my hand out, bracing for the sting.  Her lips moved with the barely audible sibilance of a whisper, too faint for me to make out.  Without warning, the pin flashed out to stab my finger, deep enough for a fat drop of blood to well, and she smeared it onto the black cord, her lips moving all the while.

“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dahlia smiled in satisfaction, and I had to admit, the pinprick was already healed over.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t for her to loop the black cord around the handle of the poker lying in the brazier.  As she pulled the poker from the red hot coals, I saw it wasn’t a poker at all, but a brand, like the ones they used to brand cattle in the Old West.  All of a sudden I started to worry what else she wasn’t telling me about this spell.  “Whoa…You’re not coming near me with that,” I said, backing toward the door.

“Relax, it’s for me,” she replied flatly, her eyes fixed to the glowing tip.

“Oh.”  My relief was short lived.  The thought of involving any kind of pain made me queasy.  “You’re not actually going to…”

“A spell of this magnitude demands sacrifice.  Mortification of the flesh is the easiest way to accomplish that.”  The way she said it, without the slightest hint of worry, almost a light of anticipation, made my blood run cold.

“Are you sure…”

“I’m sure,” she said with a serene nod.

“I’m sorry you have to put yourself through this.  I can take away the pain for you after the spell is done.”  That much I could do, at least.  Her answering smile of relief made me feel better about it.

“Are you ready?”

“What’ll happen to me when the spell starts?”  I wasn’t stalling exactly, but I couldn’t help but eye the brand.

“You’ll feel drained, like you’ve had to use your Grace over and over again.  Do you know what that feels like?”

“Yes, I do.”

“That’s pretty much it,” she shrugged a bare shoulder.  “The instant the spell is complete, we should see this crystal’s power dim.  That’s how we’ll know it worked.  But you’ll be able to see it from the moment you first lay eyes on your daughter.  She’ll look like a normal human child to you, a ghost of her human aura visible to those who can spot them.”

“And it’ll last forever?”

“For as long as the spell remains in effect.  If you should choose to undo it someday, it can be done.  Now stand on the other side of the brazier, facing me.  Good,” she nodded, picking up the handle of the brand, grasping it with both hands.  I admit, it bothered me to be within stabbing range of the thing, but I held my spot, watching her carefully.

“Thank you for doing this,” I said softly, and she returned my thanks with a solemn nod.

“Thank you for helping me.”  Dahlia began to chant in a guttural tongue, dark hair sliding forward to obscure her face as she rocked gently in place.  The words sounded mangled, twisted, as if the language was designed to be spoken with more teeth.  My skin crawled as the tingle of dark magic filled the air and it got harder and harder to stay in place as the urge to back away grew stronger.

My foot tried to edge backwards as the heat from the brazier flared, and I found myself rooted in place.  A ribbon of panic sliced through me as I fought to back away, but it was like she’d super glued my feet to the floor.  Dahlia raised the brand high into the air, and I called forth my sword, ready to block it when she swung it toward me.

Only she didn’t.

True to her word, the witch turned the hot metal to her own flesh, but the scream of agony came from my lips, not hers.  A searing pain sent my nerve endings into overdrive and sweat broke out all over my body.  I gazed down in horror to see the skin over my heart redden and then blacken as if an invisible brand had marked me.  I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe – the only pathetic response I could manage was dropping the sword in my hand as the Grace drained from me in one massive blast.

I’m not sure what she felt, but the expression on Dahlia’s face looked closer to pleasure than pain as she finished the incantation, the last words panting, almost hoarse.  Released from the spell, we both collapsed to the ground and I curled up into the fetal position, trying to find the strength to breathe again.  Everything hurt, not just the wound on my breast that was angry and red.

I looked over to find Dahlia twitching on the ground, legs pressed together, a look of rapture on her face.  How come I ended up with the shitty end of the pain stick?  My whole body throbbed, but as I looked down at the mark, it had faded from the angry red to black, much less puffy, almost like an inflamed tattoo.  The mark was about the size of a half dollar.  It looked like two paisley amoebas getting to be close friends, almost like a yin/yang symbol without the dot.

“What the hell did you do to me?” I croaked, when I could make my voice work again.

“I told you, it required a sacrifice,” she said with a languid stretch, like a cat waking up from a nap.  My Grace shone all over her, amplifying the riot of colors in her aura.

“You said it was for you.”

“It was.”  Dahlia pushed herself up to a sitting position, the neckline shifting to show a duplicate mark over her heart.  “We’re linked now.  Your Grace fuels the spell.  For as long as we’re linked, the spell will hold.  Now, if anything happens to either one of us, she’s on her own.”

I looked up to the table to see the crystal I’d charged had lost the Grace.  “It worked then?  Eve’s safe?”

Dahlia nodded.  “I told you I could do it,” she said smugly.

The brand mark had faded to a dull throb, the skin around it pink, but almost completely healed.  I still felt like I’d been brought back from the dead though.  “You could’ve warned me,” I grumbled, dizzy when I tried to sit up. I laid back down to catch my breath.

“Would you have done it?”

It only took me a moment’s hesitation to answer.  “Yes.”

“Ah, motherly love.”  Dahlia chuckled, light on her feet as she rose to retrieve the black knotted cord from the brand, looping it around her wrist.  “I did forget to mention one teensy little condition.”

“There’s more?”

“You must allow me to feed, whenever I want.”

I was too tired to frown, but I didn’t like the sound of that.  Not one bit.  “What do you mean by feed?”

“I need enough power to keep the spell ongoing.  I need your Grace.”

“Yeah well, I gave you all I’m willing to part with, so you’re SOL.”

“You’ll recover soon enough.  I told you, there won’t be any permanent damage from the spell.”

That was something at least.  “If you’re looking for a place to stay when we get out of here, I can’t help you.  At the moment I’m a little up in the air on that myself.”

“Oh, I won’t be leaving Midian.”

“You won’t?”  Wasn’t that the whole basis for her doing the spell in the first place?  “I can’t keep coming back here every time you’re feeling peckish.”

“There’s no need for that.  Thanks to the link between us, I can feed whenever I want to.  I just thought it would be polite to give you a heads up.”

“I didn’t agree to that.”

“You agreed to provide the Grace needed to fuel the spell.  You should be careful what you promise when you enter into a bargain,” she smiled, reclining on the chaise again.  “Now then, you look tired.  I have a nice room prepared for you, I believe you’re familiar with it.”  With the clap of her hands, two guards entered and I started to realize how screwed I was.

“I’m not staying here.  You might be able to have your thugs drag me away for the moment, but like you said, I’ll recover.  As soon as I’m able, I’m outta here.”

“Leave then, if you can,” Dahlia said loftily, the taunting smile behind her eyes scaring me more than any weakness I felt.  The guards flanked me, dragging me to my feet.

“I thought you wanted to leave here.”

Dahlia came to stand before me, practically crackling with power.  “I said I wanted you to break me free.  I’m free now to do as I please.  Thank you for that, Mercy,” she smiled, leaning forward to kiss me on the mouth.  I tried to squirm away, but the guards held me tight and I was forced to endure the press of her lips.  “We’re sisters now.”  Her dark eyes gleamed when she pulled back.  “Take her away.”

* * *

Yes, I know, I’m stupid.  I shouldn’t have trusted a dark witch like Dahlia in the first place.  I had no way of knowing if she was telling the truth about binding Eve’s Grace or if that was complete bullshit either.  At least not until I got enough strength to bust out of there and find out for myself.  If she thought I was going to stick around and feed her, she was nuts.

The guards took me to my old suite, and nothing had changed since my last visit.  The room was well appointed, with rich tapestries hanging on the walls and thick woven carpets on the polished stone floor, just like I’d left them.  Was it weird that I’d started to think of it as my room?  The best thing about it was the open air balcony along one entire wall.  It was my key to escape as soon as I got enough energy back to fly out of there.

Actually, that was the second best thing.  The bestest thing was the sight of Nelo curled up on the rug at the foot of the bed.

“Nelo!” I cried, as soon as the guards left me alone.

“Mistress, you are well?” He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Well isn’t exactly how I’d put it, but I’ll be okay,” I smiled, collapsing on the bed which was blissfully soft.

“What happened?  Is Bunny safe now?”

“I think so.  We won’t know for sure until we see her in person.  How about you?  Are you alright?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Raum didn’t give you any trouble?”

“No, I think he was worried about something else.”

“I’ll bet,” I murmured, my eyes staying closed a lot longer than I liked when I blinked.  As much as I hated the idea, I needed to rest up or I wouldn’t get far.

“Are we going home now?”

I decided to stop fighting it, letting my eyes fall shut.  “Soon, I need to rest up a piece first.  That spell really took a lot out of me.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, Nelo, just… wake me up if you sense Raum or Dahlia or anyone else coming, okay?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Thanks, Nelo.  Things will look better in the morning, I promise.”

* * *

Things did not look better in the morning.  Things were more screwed up than ever.

On the one hand, I did feel physically stronger after my nap.  It was hard to gauge exactly how long I’d been out, but a few hours at least, I guessed.  The brand mark on my chest wasn’t the least bit sore anymore; the symbol permanently etched there seemed more like a tattoo than anything else, not raised or puffy at all.

It was harder to call forth my Grace though.  I broke out in a cold sweat just trying to give Nelo a taste before we set off.  I couldn’t help but wonder if it was only a matter of time for my Grace to recharge, like she said, or if I’d given up a more permanent part of it like Sam and Adam had.  As long as the spell worked, I didn’t care.  I could still call forth my sword in the blink of an eye and my wings unfurled on demand; it seemed like a small price to pay for Eve’s sake.

But the super really screwed up part was yet to come.

Nelo and I headed for the balcony, prepared to take off and fly home, only to be met with the crackle of purple energy.  It didn’t hurt more than a sting, but it extended along the entire opening, blocking us from the open air outside.

We were trapped.

“This way, Mistress,” Nelo called out, half of his body disappearing into a nearby shadow.

“Ah, Nelo, you are a genius,” I beamed, rushing over to take his hand.  Only I couldn’t fit into the shadow.  I mean, my hand passed into the shadow alright, but it didn’t disappear into it. I just had a shadow across my hand.

“She blocked me in here,” I growled, mad enough to split the end table, but all I ended up with was a sore fist.  Apparently my strength wasn’t up to par yet.

Nelo’s head poked out of the shadow.  “I can’t pull you with me.”

“You’ll have to go without me then.”

“I can’t leave you, Mistress.”  His head shook violently.

“You can if it’s the only way to get me out of here.”

“You can call Adam and he will come to you, always.”

“There’s no way of knowing if he can even hear me down here.  Her magic might be blocking that too.  Besides, he needs to know what he’s stepping into before he gets here.  No, the only way to do this is if you go find him yourself and tell him what’s going on.  Tell him Raum’s witch has harnessed my Grace and now she’s much more dangerous than she was before.”

“But…”

“Please, Nelo.  I’m counting on you to find him.”  I could see the indecision warring within him until he slowly nodded.

“Yes, Mistress.  But what if she harms you before I return?”

“She won’t kill the golden goose.  Dahlia needs me for the moment.”  If only for her next meal, I thought, but didn’t say it out loud.  “I’ll be fine, you go ahead.”

“As you wish.”  Nelo disappeared from view, only to pop up across the room.  “That’s odd,” he muttered, sinking into the shadow again.  Twice more he popped up out of different shadows in the room.  He might have gone on doing it like a demented gopher before I stopped him.

“Wait, it’s no use.  She has you trapped in here too.”  He could hide in the shadows fine, but not teleport outside of the room.  “This is just perfect.  Ugh, he’s going to kill me,” I sighed, flopping back against the bed.  “Adamiel!”

Chapter Thirty

At first I thought Adam was letting me sweat it out down there as some kind of a lesson.  But as one hour turned into two, I started to wonder if Dahlia’s magic was keeping my call from reaching him.  My voice had grown hoarse from calling him, the Grace slow to heal it, and I started to feel drowsy again, my eyes drifting closed.  Every now and again I’d rouse myself enough to call him, but I’d started to lose faith that he’d come.

So you can understand why it scared the crap out of me when he landed on the balcony, dark wings spread wide to block out most of the mauve sun.  “Adam!” I gasped, more relieved than I could say.  “Stay right there!”

“Why do I have the weirdest feeling of deja vu?”  He leaned against a stone column, negligently picking at a fingernail.  “Oh right, because I’ve had to save your ass from this exact same spot before,” he scowled, tucking the wings away in a flash as he stalked toward me.

“No wait…”  I rushed forward, but he stepped through the unseen barrier, effectively trapping him inside with us.  “Ugh, dammit!  Why didn’t you listen to me!”

Adam’s brows drew together into a single dark line.  “I’m sorry… Did you not just call me here to the rescue?”

“No… I mean yes, but not like this.  Now you’re trapped with us.”

“We are all of us trapped,” Nelo said with a sad smile.

Adam reached out to feel the barrier, rubbing his fingers together afterwards.  “Interesting.  But I don’t see that as a problem.  We’ll go through the front door.”

“There are guards out there.  Sure we can maybe take out a few, but how long do you think it’ll be before Raum sends every single one of his demons after us like last time?”

“You do get yourself into the most interesting situations.” He shook his head, sitting on the bed.  “Do you want to tell me what you’re doing trapped down here in the first place?” he said, patting the space next to him.

I didn’t want to sit anymore.  While I didn’t feel up to regular strength, there was a nervous energy coursing through me, following the surge of adrenaline at seeing him again.  “I needed Dahlia’s help to hide Eve’s Grace.”

Adam’s brows rose.  “Did it work?”

“I think so.  I won’t know for sure until I see her.  But it sapped a lot of my strength and Dahlia took advantage of that weakness to lock me in here.”

“No biggie.”  Adam slapped his hands on his thighs and pushed himself to his feet.  “I’ll just lop off her head, and we’ll be out of here in time for dinner.”

I reached out to catch his arm.  “No, we can’t do anything to her directly.  We don’t know what it’ll do.”

“I’m pretty sure it’ll destroy this barrier.”

“And it could break the spell binding Eve’s Grace as well.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take to get out of here.”

“Wait, there’s something else.”  I pulled the neckline of my top to the side, showing him the new tattoo.

“She marked you?”  Adam’s voice sounded hollow, his lips going slack.

“It was the only way.  We don’t know if it’ll hurt me if you hurt her.  She said we’re linked.”

Adam’s hand cupped over my heart, his Grace flaring, but apart from a tingle, there was no change to the mark.  “I’m gonna kill that bitch if it’s the last thing I do,” he growled.

I laid my hand over his.  “Let’s focus on getting out of here and leave the revenge for another day.”

Adam looked at me, really looked at me, the furrow on his brow growing deeper.  “What did she do to you?” he murmured.

“She took some of my Grace.  It’ll get better.”

“I can help with that.”  The hand over my heart flared, and I felt the warmth of his Grace coursing through me.  I breathed in his light, losing the fatigue and feeling very, very tingly when I opened my eyes to find his face close to mine.

“Better?”

“Much,” I nodded, aware of how much closer the movement brought me to his lips.  “I feel…”

“Yes?”  His deep voice rumbled through me, one arm curving around my waist, his other hand sliding against my skin in a gentle caress from my heart to cup my breast.

“I…”  What did I feel?  I hardly knew anymore.

“Mistress, Raum comes!” Nelo hissed, promptly vanishing into the nearest shadow.  I jumped away from Adam as if I’d been burned, my cheeks flaming hot as Raum entered alone.

“Hello, children,” he called out brightly.  “So nice to see you again.”

Adam shifted, putting his body between me and the Demon Lord.  “I know you’re not even going to think about keeping us here.”

“No, of course not.  In fact, I’m here to help you on your merry way,” he replied, shocking us all.  Nelo even peeped his head out again.

“You are?” I asked, more than a little skeptical by the declaration.

“Yes, of course.  I’m afraid you’ve rather overstayed your welcome.”

“What did we do?  You’re the one who locked us in here in the first place,” I scowled.

“Hey, don’t argue with the guy, Merce,” Adam murmured.  “He’s here to let us go.”

“Yes, the sooner, the better.”  Raum rubbed his hands together.  If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think he was afraid of something.  With my Grace backing her, had Dahlia managed to tip the scales of power?

“Does Dahlia know you’re down here?” I asked.  Sure enough, his shoulders bunched as if someone had stuck a dagger between them.

“Hush now.  Do you want to leave or don’t you?”  Raum’s smile looked decidedly forced as he waved us toward the door.  “Come now, hold hands everyone.”  He beckoned with his fingers, and I took his hand, Adam behind me and Nelo bringing up the rear.

“Here we go, walkies…” Raum said in a sing song voice, leading us through the door.  The two guards flanking the door didn’t so much as glance at us as we passed by.  Could they even see us?  Deciding that wasn’t my problem, I kept my mouth shut as he led us to the open air court, which was deserted for the moment.

“Off you go then.”  Raum let go of my hand as soon as we were well away from the corridors.  “I trust it will be some time before you return?”

“I’m starting to think you don’t like my company,” Adam said, his brow still bunched in puzzlement over Raum’s inexplicable behavior, but I was starting to figure it out.

“You bet, next time I’ll write,” I said with a tight smile.  I picked up Nelo, handing him into Adam’s arms before he said anything stupid.  “We’d better be going.  Thanks for the help, Raum.”

“Lovely to see you, as always.”  Raum caught my hand before I could take off, licking the back of it like a dog.  “Perhaps when circumstances have changed, we’ll meet again.”

I suppressed the shudder of revulsion at the touch, managing a faint nod as I launched myself into the sky without further delay.  Adam was beside me in the blink of an eye, his face still pinched.

“I don’t get what happened down there,” he said after we put some distance between us and the palace.

“I think my Grace made Dahlia a little too big for her britches.  Raum wanted to cut off her meal ticket before she turned him into a slave in his own court.”

“That makes sense.”

I didn’t say anything about the link between me and the witch.   If Dahlia had been telling the truth about being able to feed from me whenever she wanted to, it could make things very unpleasant for Raum, not to mention me.

The flight to the caves was hard.  I was sweaty and out of breath by the time I got there, and I needed a minute to recover.  Even with Nelo hopping us from shadow to shadow, I was ready for a hot shower and a nap by the time we reached the gate.  To my surprise, Naberios didn’t do a thing to stop us, and I think Adam was secretly disappointed he wouldn’t have to do any bargaining to get us out of there.

The next thing I knew, we stood under the night sky outside the strip club, being pelted by rain.  Nelo gave a whoop for joy, scrambling out of Adam’s arms and into the nearest shadow, sort of puddle jumping from place to place in celebration.

“Are you okay?”  Adam searched my face after pulling me under the overhang for a noodle house.

“Yes, I’m just tired.  That spell took a lot out of me.”

“I could give you another burst of Grace.”

It was tempting.  So tempting, I knew it had to be a bad idea.  “No, I’ll be fine.  I’ll feel better after I get to Bunny’s side.”  I just had no idea how I’d manage the flight up there with as worn out as I was.  Maybe I should take another burst of his Grace?  Or was I looking for excuses to let him get close to me again?

“Hey,” he said, voice softening as he brushed his thumb across the top of my cheek.  “You know time goes by a lot slower up there.  She’s probably barely missed you the whole time you’ve been down here.  Maybe you should have a few hours of sleep under your belt before you go get her?”

“Maybe you’re right, but I can’t help but feel like I need to check up on her, to make sure the spell went through as it should’ve.  Otherwise, all of this was for nothing.”

“You realize a few hours one way or the other won’t make much difference, right?”

“It will to me.”

“Alright, I’ll take you up there,” Adam sighed.

“But… you can’t go with me.”

“I can get you to the gate.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’m pretty sure I can find my way back there again.”

“Oh?  And how am I supposed to feel when you plummet back to Earth in a fireball because you’re too tired to make the whole trip?  We’re not completely immortal, you know.  We can still die.”

“I remember,” I mumbled.  It was hard to shake the memory of an angel dying.  Sometimes I could still see the way Raziel’s body had broken up into chunks of glowing embers as the last of his Grace burned out.

“Or if you don’t have the strength to resist the escalator all the way to the top floor.  I might never get you back.”

“You feel that too?”

“Of course I do.  Only I can’t go any higher, not any more.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Adam shrugged.  “Now come on, if we’re going to do this I’d rather get it over with.”

“Why, do you have a date later?”

“Something like that,” he smirked.

An emotion very like jealousy reared its ugly head at his response, but I kept myself from letting anything slip.  I couldn’t exactly tell him not to date anyone when I’d said I wasn’t ready to start anything up with him again.  “I’ll try not to keep you for too long then,” I managed to get out.

The smirk remained fixed as Adam turned to look for Nelo, who was still playing with the shadows.  “Nelo, stop farting around and go on home.  Remember what we talked about before, right?  Plan B.”

“Yes, Master Adam,” Nelo said quickly.  “You will bring Bunny home for good?”

“That’s the idea,” I smiled, giving him a quick hug goodbye.  “What’s Plan B?” I remembered to ask as soon as he was gone.

Adam wrapped his arm around my waist as his dark wings unfurled.  “Let’s hope you never have to find out.”

* * *

Adam held me close as we rocketed through the sky, bound for Heaven.  As much as I hated to admit it, he was right about me conserving my strength.  I’d need it to get from the gate to Michael’s tree house.  It felt good to be in his arms, relying upon him to take charge for a while.  I think in a way he preferred it like this.  It chapped at his ego whenever it became obvious I was stronger than him.  This way he got to play the hero – the hero who got to hold me close – which I also could admit, didn’t suck.

All too quickly we were there, the radiant light all around us, making his eyes especially brilliant.   I could see the urge to fly higher mirrored in his face, and saw the sorrow there that it was forever blocked to him.

“I’ll wait for you,” he pledged, letting me go as I extended my wings.

I hadn’t expected that.  Who knew how long of a wait it’d be for him between the time difference.  Was there even much of a divergence between Ma’on and the space outside of it?  “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

Adam’s lips curved into an enigmatic smile.  “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

“Thanks,” I smiled back.  All at once I knew there wasn’t a date waiting for him.  He wasn’t interested in anything that wasn’t already up in the heavens.  “Thanks for everything.”

“Ugh, I forgot how much you like to talk.  Get going before I change my mind and strand your ass up here just to get some peace and quiet.”  Adam swatted me on the behind with a teasing smile as I turned to leave.

I was still smiling as I emerged into the endless drizzle of Ma’on, the rain much warmer than the Seattle streets far below.  At first I wasn’t sure if I could even find the break in the trees to get to Michael’s place.  I considered calling him, but I didn’t want to leave Eve unprotected, even for a few minutes.  Not that I thought anyone would be after her here, but all it took was one misstep and she’d be a goner.

Just when I thought I’d have to try and find someone to ask for directions, I spotted the break, the path growing more familiar the closer I got to Michael’s house.  I couldn’t help but smile as I heard Eve’s voice, high and sweet, singing about a jolly holiday with Mary.  My smile stretched wider as I caught Michael’s smooth tenor joining in.  I sang along as I slowed to approach, the sight of Evie hopping up and down in excitement as she spotted me overcoming any fatigue I felt from the flight.  Her aura was no longer the golden glow of angels, but a beautiful, deep green with a violet ring around the outside and a pink center.

“Momma, you’re back!  Did you get lost?”

“No, of course not,” I said, pulling her into a bear hug as I sank onto the floor in relief.  Whatever I’d endured at Dahlia’s hands, it was worth it to see the spell worked.  “Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause you just left.”

Of course it would seem that way.  “Nope, I took care of everything I need to.  Are you ready to go home?”

“Home with Daddy?”

It was only with the greatest effort that I kept the smile on my face.  I couldn’t bring her back to see Parker, it would kill the whole point of hiding her Grace.  “Actually, we’re going to find a new place to live.  Maybe you can help me pick it out, like an adventure.”  Of course I had no idea where Eve and I would be staying once I brought her back to Earth.  It was obvious Adam thought it would be with him, but I hadn’t gotten that far.  Seattle was out of the question, but I wasn’t convinced taking her off to Timbuktu would be any safer.

“Why don’t you go get your books and Puffy together and we’ll get going.  Uncle Adam is waiting for us.”

Eve scampered off, and Michael lost no time in approaching me, his voice stern.  “I wondered how long it would take thee to come after I saw her Grace stolen.”  From the pinched look on his face, it was clear he didn’t approve.

“It’s not stolen, it’s hidden.”

“What did you do?”

Here we go… “I had a witch bind it away so Eve could go back to Earth and live a normal life without having to look over her shoulder for Lucifer every minute of every day.”

Sure enough, his eyes bulged, and I thought Michael might be very close to losing it, but he controlled himself, lowering his voice before he spoke in a harsh whisper.  “Thou didst conceal her gift from God with the black arts of Satan himself?”

“Relax, it had nothing to do with Satan.  And considering God didn’t give me any other means of defense, this is what we’re going with.  She’ll be safe this way and out of your hair.  That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?  Now you can go back to contemplating the universe or whatever the hell it was you did all day before we came here.”

“This is most disturbing,” he muttered.  “Nothing has been foretold about this turn of events.”

“Yeah well, not everything’s in your precious books.  There is something called free will, you know.  And I’m exercising it to keep her safe.  Are you ready to go, sweetie?”

“Yes, Momma.”

“Great.  Say goodbye to Michael then.  Unless you’re coming with us?” I cocked a brow at him.

“I should say not.”

“Goodbye, Michael.”  Eve slipped her small hand into his, and he lost some of the bluster in his voice.

“Goodbye, Eve.  Don’t forget, you are a creature of the light, no matter what darkness comes to call.”

“Will you still be my guardian angel?”

“I am not well suited for…”  Her face crumpled with disappointment at his response and he softened his words.  “I will try.”

Eve brightened, tugging on his hand until he bent low.  She whispered something into his ear, too soft for me to catch, and his face lit into a glorious smile.  Damn, he was pretty to look at when he wasn’t full of himself.

“Okay, it’s time to go,” I smiled.  “Thanks again for keeping her safe for me, Michael.  I appreciate the struggle it’s been for you to have us intruding in your sanctuary.  I owe you one.”

He waved away my thanks, but said nothing else as I gathered her into my arms.

It was harder going as I flew us to where Adam waited.  At least, I hoped he still waited.  While I’d assured him it wasn’t necessary, I definitely felt the strain as we reached the gate.

“Hey, squirt!  Long time no see.” Adam’s smile was a mile wide as we emerged from Ma’on to the heavenly corridor of light.  Eve was easily transferred to his arms, and I didn’t mind taking his hand to steady myself as we hovered above the Earth.  “You guys ready to go home?”

“About that…”

“Leave it all to me.  You can decide what the big picture will be after a good night’s sleep.”

I nodded, too tired to do anything else.  I would’ve followed him back but Adam gathered me into his strong arms, holding us both close.  I listened to the steady rhythm of his heart as we descended.  Dimly, I was aware of Eve’s excited chatter as we fell from the sky, but it felt much slower this time, almost as if we were floating.  As we touched the ground, I hardly knew where we were, my eyes as heavy as my limbs.

In a haze, I felt Adam scoop me up into his arms, and the soft comfort of a bed as he murmured promises to take care of everything.  There might have been some undressing then and I know I felt the brief press of lips before I slipped into oblivion.  But it seemed like I’d only been asleep for a few short moments before I felt myself roughly shaken awake.

“Jesus, Mercy, wake up before I shoot myself in the head!”

Chapter Thirty-One

“What?  Who?”  I blinked against the harsh light, Adam’s freaked out expression sending a rush of adrenaline through me.  Not exactly my favorite way to wake up.

“Oh, thank God.  I need to get out of here.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”  I pushed the hair out of my face, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I tried to force my brain to catch up to my pounding heart.

“She’s been watching that cartoon about the stupid sponge for six hours.  If I hear that song about the pineapple under the sea one more time…”

“You’re freaking out over Spongebob Squarepants?”  Was that all?  For that he’d nearly given me a heart attack?

“How can you stand it?  I’m ready to chuck the damn TV out the window after two days of the crap they have on those kiddie channels.”

“I’ve been asleep for two days?”  I pushed myself up to a seated position, surprised to find myself in a tank top and a pair of soft sweatpants.

“Almost three.”

No wonder I felt so out of it.  I rolled my neck first one way and then the other; stiff, but not nearly as bone weary as I’d been after Dahlia zapped my Grace.  “Did it ever occur to you to turn the TV off?”

“But that’s what she wanted to watch.”

“And you’re the adult.  You say no.”  I could see from the look on his face, it hadn’t occurred to him once.  My stomach gave a loud, almost painful rumble.   “Do we have anything to eat?”

“I think we have some leftover pizza.  That kid has been eating nonstop.”

“She has?”  That didn’t sound like Eve at all.  Normally I had to trick her into eating more than a thimble full of food.

“Yeah, she only has three modes – eat, sleep and watch TV.  And the TV seems to be part of the other two modes, ‘cause she notices the moment you turn it off, even if she’s dead asleep.”

“Okay, first of all, relax.  Take a breath.  You did fine.”  Instinctively, I reached for his hand, intent on sending him a wave of soothing Grace, but it came out as more of a trickle.  Apparently my Grace hadn’t recovered as much as I had physically in the days I’d been passed out.  “Second of all, where are we?”

“The state capitol.”

“DC?”

“Not the nation’s capitol, the state’s capitol.”

“Which would help if I knew which state we’re in,” I pointed out.

“We’re in Olympia ,” he replied.  “I figured it might be better to hide a little closer to home.  Who would think to look for us here?  It’s a big enough city not to be easily spotted, and not too far away in case we need reinforcements.”

He might have gone on, but I gave his arm a squeeze.  “No, it’s good.  I approve of the choice.  Are we in a hotel?”  The bedroom had the generic, furnished look of a decent hotel, and nobody with real taste would actually buy big framed prints of pinecones like that.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to jump the gun and get anything more permanent until we had a chance to talk.”

“You talk, I need to eat.”  I pushed myself out of bed with a groan, an unfamiliar ache in my back making me take shorter steps, like an old lady.

“Hey, are you alright?  Maybe I should’ve let you sleep longer…”

“No, it’s good.  I’m not sleepy anymore, I’m just stiff.  Nothing a good hot shower and a trough of coffee won’t fix.  There is coffee, isn’t there?” I shot him a worried look as panic set in.

“You hop in the shower, I’ll take care of the coffee.”

“Thanks.”  It surprised me when he left without offering to scrub my back or anything even cruder.  Maybe there was hope for him yet?”

* * *

Now that I was awake and the TV had been switched off, Adam lost the wild look from his eyes as we sat down around a sea of cardboard containers bearing tasty, but overpriced Italian food from the restaurant across the street.  At first I worried Eve wouldn’t eat anything since he hadn’t picked simple food like mac and cheese, but she gamely worked her way through both Alfredo and Bolognese alike.

We held an impromptu family meeting, doing our best to include Eve in the conversation as much as possible.  Things were so crazy in her life lately, I wanted her to feel like she had some say in how things went.

Adam offered to set us up with new identities through Finch and I tried to make it a game as much as possible, letting her pick out what her new name would be.  She settled on Ginny, having recently discovered the Harry Potter books thanks to Michael’s influence.  I told Adam I didn’t care what name he came up with for me, as long as it wasn’t a stripper name.  He then spent the better part of an hour taunting me with suggestions like Alotta Fagina and Boobies McGee.  What had I said about him maturing?  It was kind of a two steps forward one step back thing.

As for the danger, we kept it simple.  The shiny man who’d taken her before was still out there, and we needed to start a new life.  No, Daddy couldn’t be a part of it, and she seemed to grasp the concept that years had gone by for him since she’d last seen him fairly well.  It probably helped that she hadn’t spent much time with him while trapped in Githa, or maybe she’d end up with big time daddy issues when she got older.  I couldn’t worry about that now, one crisis at a time.

It was almost kind of fun, making up these new identities for ourselves.  I decided I was a recent widow, that way people wouldn’t ask too many questions about Parker.  Adam promised he could get me any kind of credentials I needed to help me find a job, but I wanted to keep it simple.  Without my usual Grace I wasn’t qualified to do more than bartend or work in a fast food restaurant, and neither sounded too appealing.

For the moment Adam was footing the bill for things, and I couldn’t complain after I saw the stack of cash he pulled out of the mysterious black duffle that appeared after one of his trips out.  I tried asking him about the cash once, but all I got was a “don’t worry your pretty little head about it”.  Typical.

Nelo arrived the next day with Bitey, and the hotel suite started to almost feel like a home with all of us together again.  But any time I left the room, which was rare, I felt horribly exposed.  There were far too many ways for someone to come after us in such a public place.  We started looking at houses after that, online at first, and then with a realtor.

But none of them was quite right.  I couldn’t look at finishes in the bathroom and whether or not I liked the kitchen appliances.  All I could think about was – could Eve climb out of her bedroom window if she needed to?  Was the yard sheltered from the neighbors to keep them from noticing the demon we had living with us?  How could we make it defensible in case of an attack?  Was there a back way out of there in case we had to leave in a hurry?

And Eve… I couldn’t let her out of my sight.  We strolled to the bakery, and I nearly crashed us into a pole, I was so intent on watching the street around us at all times.  She wanted to play with another kid at the park and I spent the whole time hovering about ten feet away from her, worried someone might swoop down and snatch her.  I didn’t sleep well; I kept needing to get up and check on her in the middle of the night to make sure she was still there, despite the fact that Adam stayed up to watch over her.

“I’m going to end up like Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, aren’t I?” I said, late one night after my third time waking to check on her.

Adam sat at the table, poring over the real estate listings.  “She was a little butch for my tastes, but I think you could make it work.”

“I’m serious.  I’m going to turn into this paranoid shell of a mother who doesn’t sleep and spends all of her time smothering her kid because she’s scared to death of what will happen to her.”

He looked up from the computer, leaning back in the chair with a lazy smile.  “Hey, that’s not going to happen.”

“No?”

“Naw, Eve’ll rebel and run away once she hits the teens, easy.”

“Funny.”

He got up to herd me over to the couch by the shoulders.  “You’re overlooking one major difference between you and Sarah Connor.”

“What’s that?”

“Me.  I’m not about to die in a tragic factory explosion.  I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”

I let him sit me down, but I couldn’t relax, not even when his fingers massaged my shoulders lightly.  “I don’t know if I can trust that,” I replied in all honesty.

“That’s fair,” he allowed.  “But I have no problems trying to prove it to you for the next ten to twenty years if that’s what it takes.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.  I still felt so jumbled inside.  I missed Parker, I missed the life we had together.  Yes, there were feelings for Adam mixed up in there too, but as long as I was still mourning my relationship with Parker, I couldn’t count on myself to make wise decisions where Adam was concerned.  He might pledge to be there for me until the end of days, but every single time I’d counted on him in the past, he’d let me down.  At least, until now.  But how long would this streak last?

“Let me help you relax.”  His hands continued their slow massaging movements.

“I’m not doing that,” I murmured, knowing where it was mostly likely headed.

Adam’s chuckle was low and intimate by my ear.  “That’s not what I meant, but I like where your head is at.  I meant, let me give you a burst of Grace.  I know you’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately and your Grace is still…”

“It’s still lower than it should be.”  It was barely there, in fact.  I could still call forth my sword, and I could still see people’s auras, but it was hard to make myself imperceptible without concentrating the whole time.  I could still use my wings, but my stamina was nowhere near where it had been.  And the healing… I couldn’t manage enough Grace to fix a pimple.

I got aches and pains now, things most people had to endure, but I’d been blissfully immune to since Sam first gifted me with his Grace.  And a headache, a constant headache, from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed.  I’d asked Adam to help me with it a few times, but it always came back.

“Let me give you a boost.  It’ll make you feel better, I swear.”

“Maybe a little.”

Adam let go of my shoulders, shifting to lay his hand over my heart.  “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“I like to watch your face when it hits you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?  What does my face do?”

“It reminds me of what it looks like when you… you know…” He waggled his eyebrows at me until I clued in.

“Eewh, we are not doing this.”  I shoved his hand away, but he replaced it with a chuckle.

“Relax, I’m just teasing you.  Watching you get all riled up is even better.”

“Give me your stupid Grace already,” I grumbled.

“God, I love it when you sweet talk me,” he grinned, gathering the Grace beneath his hand.  It hit me in a glorious burst, and I gasped, my cheeks flaming red as I realized he might be right.  It wasn’t a sexual feeling exactly, but I felt warm and tingly and very close to him in that moment.  It wouldn’t take much for it to tip into something more intimate if I wasn’t careful.

The Grace kept flowing, more than he’d given me before and I soaked it up, reveling in the power I’d missed.  “Mmm, that was very nice,” I smiled, falling back against the couch lazily.  I felt strong and whole, better than I had since leaving Midian.  Suddenly, the mark over my heart blazed with heat and I froze, too shocked at the sudden onslaught of pain to do more than make a strangled cough.

“What’s wrong?” Adam demanded, grabbing hold of my shoulders.

All at once it drained away – all the Grace Adam had given me and more, leaving me panting.  “She took it… Dahlia took the Grace,” I managed to get out after the pain faded to a dull throb.

“How could she do that?  She’s not even here.”

“We’re linked, remember?” I coughed, my lungs burning like I’d run for miles.  “She can take the Grace whenever she wants.  She must have sensed it somehow when you gave me so much at once.”

“I am such an idiot…” Adam hopped off the couch, pacing around the room in irritation.  “I should’ve seen this earlier.  That’s why you’ve been weak as a kitten, she’s been sapping your Grace this whole time.  This is fucked up, Mercy.  You can’t live like this.  We need to put an end to it.”

“No,” I insisted, feeling a tad stronger.  “It’s not so bad.  It’s worth it to keep her safe.  I just can’t do some of the things I used to.  I lived this way for twenty-six years before Sam gave me the Grace.”

“But… this isn’t how you were before, is it?  When you were human?”

I honestly couldn’t remember.  I didn’t used to get headaches all the time, but I’d always had the odd twinge of low back pain from working on my feet for too long, or a hangover from too much rum.  Plenty of people lived with chronic health problems worse than my minor complaints.  “It’s not that big of a deal.  Like I said, it’s a small price to pay to keep her safe.  And you can’t ignore the fact that it’s working, right?  She looks like a normal little girl.”

“I liked her better the old way,” Adam grumbled.

“She’s still the same girl.”

“She talks more now.”

I suppressed a laugh at that.  “She’s older now.  Besides, I thought you liked girls who talk too much,” I teased.

“I like a girl who happens to talk too much, there’s a difference.  I’d like her even better if she let me do something else with that mouth of hers,” he said with a wolfish grin.

“And on that note, I think I’ll go back to bed.”

“Want some company?”

“You don’t need to sleep.”

“Exactly.”  He flashed those baby blues at me, and for a split second, I wondered what he’d do if I said yes.  Instead, I took the safer route.

“Goodnight, Adam.”

“Night, Merce.”

I held it together until I got to the bedroom, my shoulders sagging with fatigue.  Everything hurt, and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed for another two days.  The next morning I didn’t feel much better, but I put on a happy face.  The truth was, I felt even more rundown than I had after Dahlia’s first theft of my Grace.

It wasn’t only that I couldn’t heal as well, or I couldn’t zip across the room at super speed, I didn’t have the normal resilience of a human my age.  Despite my words the night before, I knew I shouldn’t feel so many aches and pain without doing anything more strenuous than ordering a peanut butter and banana sandwich from room service for Eve.

Deep inside I felt… wrong.  As though the Grace had changed me, and now I needed it to survive.  The first time she’d stolen it, I’d made a slow but steady recovery thanks to Adam’s Grace, but this time, Dahlia had to have taken more.  Now, each day I felt a smidge worse than the day before.

I didn’t say a word to Adam or anyone else about it.  What could I do?  So I had less spring in my step, so I popped over the counter painkillers like they were TicTacs – it was a small price to pay.  I kept telling myself that over and over again while we searched for a house, until I stopped being so picky and I agreed with the next one Adam championed.  An eighty year old white farmhouse behind a curtain of trees with four bedrooms and a low basement for Nelo.

Maybe it was a tad old fashioned, but I didn’t care.  I’d lived for years without stainless steel appliances and central heating; those things seemed more like extravagances than necessities.  The high ceilings and claw foot tub more than made up for the lack of closet space.  I had to admit it surprised me to see Adam pick it out though.  He had such a thing for luxury accommodations, but he promised we could upgrade anything we wanted to, money was no object.

The best thing about it was the privacy.  Set on a full acre, we were well shielded from the road as well as the neighbors by the trees lining the property.

With the house vacant and plenty of money to grease the wheels, we had the keys in hand within two weeks, the deed in my fake name, and suddenly there was a whole lot of shopping to do to fill the household. But even the lure of diving into that stack of cash Adam offered wasn’t enough to inspire much enthusiasm for the idea.  Mostly it made me feel tired just thinking about everything that needed doing.

Eve kept me going, her boundless enthusiasm for everything carrying me through the roughest of days.  She loved her new room with its built in shelves and secret cubbies in the closet and it did make me smile to hear Adam try to talk her out of painting it lime green and purple.

Nelo settled into the basement, the low ceiling not bothering him at all.  Adam promised him a pimped out crib since he’d been spoiled living with him for so long, and was even talking about putting in a pool out back.  I tried to explain to him that a swimming pool in the Pacific Northwest was a useless extravagance for about five minutes before I gave up and let him do whatever he wanted.  It was easier that way.

One night, about a month after we moved into the place, Adam cornered me in the kitchen.  “You know, one of these days we’re going to have to make some real decisions here,” he said, after I’d tucked Eve into bed.

“What do you mean?  I told you the kitchen’s fine.  I’m starting to like the yellow now.”

“About what we are to each other.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

I met his eyes across the room, sucking in a deep breath.  Adam hadn’t pushed me for anything since we’d moved in together.  In the back of my mind I always thought he’d be moving on once we got settled.  Was this going to be the conversation that sent him packing?

“What are we?” I asked, waiting to hear what he had to say before I volunteered anything.

“You tell me.”

So, he was pushing me to make a decision.  “Adam…” I began, searching for the right way to explain my frame of mind.

“Fine.”  He waved my words away, drawing his own conclusions from the tone of my voice.  “I’ll keep playing the Uncle Adam role for now, but sooner or later she’s going to figure it out, Merce.”

“I don’t see how.  Adam, I’m trying to minimize the weird in her life right now.  She’ll be starting school soon.  We already have to downplay the fact that we have a demon living with us. I don’t want her to go around telling people her father is an angel.”

“So we’ll talk to her about boundaries.  She’s a smart kid, I’m sure she’ll figure it out.”

“What exactly do you think we should tell her?”  I couldn’t wait to hear this.

“The truth.  That I’m her father and I’m crazy insane in love with her mother.”

“I’m trying to minimize the crazy insane right now, remember?”

“I’m not joking, Mercy.”

“Neither am I,” I fired back, starting to head for the stairs.  “I’m not in a place to start something with you right now, Adam.”

Adam’s hand shot out to catch mine.  “I think we both know it’s already started.”

He was right, but I didn’t have the strength to get into it with him.  Maybe someday, but not now.   I took a deep breath, my eyes pleading with him to understand.  “It’s all I can to do get through one day at a time right now.  Even with her Grace suppressed, I can’t help looking over my shoulder, wondering when Luce is going to strike again.  Do you know what that’s doing to my nerves?”

“Relax.  There’s no way he can find us, and I’m here to take care of it if he does.”

“For how long?  How long until you find some excuse to leave us, like you always do?”

He dropped my hand.  “That’s not fair,” he said, a furrow appearing on his brow.  Maybe it hurt him for me to call him out like that, but it needed to be said.

“Isn’t it?”

“I know I made some mistakes.  I can’t go back and change the past, all I can do is say I’m sorry and try to do better in the future.”

“I can’t take that chance.  Not where Eve’s concerned.  It’s okay to have an uncle that comes and goes, it’s not okay for a father to do the same.”

“When are you going to stop making me pay for this?  Jesus, Mercy, what else do I have to do to prove myself to you?  Die?”

“I don’t see why you’re being so melodramatic about this all of a sudden.  Why do we have to decide anything right this minute?  Why can’t we focus on getting her settled in here and see what happens?  Why can’t we keep going the way we are?”

“Because it’s not enough.”

“You said you’d wait as long as it takes.  Did you change your mind already?”  He was proving my point for me.

“I said it and I meant it.  I just think you’re being stupid about this. For once, can’t you stop overthinking it?  Do you love me?”

I shook my head.  “It’s never been about love, it’s been about commitment.  I’m sorry if my being once bitten twice shy is hard on you.  You have to remember, you’ve had a lot more time to process everything.  I’m still getting used to the idea of being a single parent.”

I could feel the frustration coming off of him in waves.  It was enough to tie my already wobbly stomach in knots.  “Dammit, Mercy, you’re not a single parent,” he said through clenched teeth.  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.  I want to be with you.  It’s all I’ve wanted since I first met you, for chrissakes.”  He took a step closer, his voice dropping as he regained control of his temper.  “I’ll back off if you tell me to because I’m so crazy about you I’ll go with whatever ridiculous plan you come up with.  But I’m asking you again.  Do you love me?”  His blue eyes blazed, demanding an answer.

“Yes!  Okay?  I love you.  I have always loved you, even when you’re being the biggest pain in my ass like you are right now.  I…” I didn’t get any further as his mouth closed over mine.  Adam’s kiss was hot and demanding, as if he dared me to deny what was between us.  I’d never doubted the physical connection between us, it touched me on the deepest level; he touched my soul.  But a tiny flare of something else sparked within me, something I’d thought crushed a long time ago.  Hope.

We were breathing hard as the kiss drew to a close, both of us shaken at the intensity.  The pad of his thumb traced a path along my jaw as he held me close.  “See, it’s as simple as that.”

I let out a long breath.  “I think your definition of simple varies from mine.”  If anything, it complicated matters.

“There’s nothing to stop us from being together now.  Do you realize how rare a thing that is?”

“But what if…”  His lips descended over mine again, effectively shushing me.  I didn’t have the strength to fight him any more, and once I acknowledged that fact, I found I didn’t want to.

“It doesn’t matter,” Adam said, his hands settling to rest on my hips.  “Nothing matters as long as we have this.”

“I do love you, you know.  That wasn’t ever my objection.”  I felt it needed saying again, but he was less interested in words, his lips brushing across the top of my cheek, and down to nibble at the underside of my jaw.

“Nope.  Not gonna hash over it again.  Less talking, more kissing.”  Adam walked me backwards, skillfully avoiding the debris left over from Hurricane Evie.  “I’ve waited so long for this,” he murmured, his breath fanning across my skin.

“Me too.”

“I waited longer.”

“Fine, you win, you big baby,” I smiled against his lips.  “What do you want, a medal?”

“I’ll show you what I want.”  His hands roamed lower, sliding under the back of my shirt to reach bare skin.  But the teasing touch stilled, the flat of his hand pressing against my lower back and then up a smidge higher.

“Did you forget what comes next?” I teased.

“You’re really hot.”

“Thanks, so are you.”

“No, I mean you feel like you’re burning up,” he frowned, withdrawing his hands to feel my cheek, my wrist, my belly.

“I’m pretty sure you’re to blame for that.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”  His head canted to one side as he studied me, and I reached up to bring his lips back into range.

“Do you want to stop and give me an examination?”

“I did go to medical school for a while,” he grinned.

“You did?  What for?  You can heal anything without breaking a sweat.”

“Nurses.”

“Less talking, more kissing,” I frowned, not wanting to go there.

“Maybe I should give you some more Grace.”

“No!” I said, stronger than I’d intended to.  “You remember what happened last time.  I’ll be fine.  Do you want to do this or not?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”  A roll of the eyes was given.

“I’m sorry,” I laughed softly, leaning against the doorway to the living room.  “No, I don’t feel all that great, but it’s not a big deal, I promise you.  How about you go ahead upstairs and I’ll be up in a minute?”

“Why?”

“I want to check on Evie,” I admitted.

“She’s fine, Mercy.”

“I know, but I’ll feel better once I know that for sure.”

Adam let out a long sigh.  “Fine, then how about I’ll go check to make sure she’s fine, which I know she is.  You go get into bed and I’ll come and check you out.”  He waggled his eyebrows at me, a big cheesy grin on his face.

“Sounds like a good plan to me. I’ll see you up there.”

“Not so fast… I need something to tide me over.”  Adam caught me up in another bone melting kiss, reminding me what I’d been missing out on for so long.  I didn’t even notice that he’d brought me up the stairs by the time it was finished, I was so caught up in the overwhelming sense of him.  “Don’t get too undressed without me, I like to have something to unwrap,” he grinned, leaving me by the door to my bedroom.

Almost from the moment he let go of me, my fatigue returned with a vengeance.  It was like I could barely hold myself up without him there to shore me up.  I stumbled into the bedroom, feeling dizzy all of a sudden.  He’d said I felt hot?  A rush of warmth flashed over my skin, drawing a fine sheet of sweat to my face, my neck, even the backs of my hands felt hot and clammy.

“Adam?” I called out softly, struggling to get my shirt up and over my head as it became unbearable.

This was not normal.

I felt feverish and shaky, collapsing back on the bed with the shirt still clinging to one arm.   It was hard to tell how long it took for Adam to make an appearance, the pressure on the bed beside me barely roused me from the light sleep I’d fallen into.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he teased, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.  “Why don’t you get some rest, we can pick this up in the morning.”

“Adam?  Is that you?”  I couldn’t tell, his voice sounded weird, far away.

“Who else would it be?”

“Something’s wrong…” I murmured, the world spinning away as I edged closer to darkness.

“Mercy?”  Adam took hold of my shoulders, jostling me away from the abyss.  “Hey, can you hear me?”

I did feel better once he had a hold of me, my eyes fluttering open.  “Whoa, I guess I got a little woozy there for a moment.”

“Jesus, that was more than a little woozy.  What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, I felt all weak and swoony there for a minute, but I’m doing better now that you’re here.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he replied, but I could still see the worry behind his eyes.

I felt drawn to him, even more than usual, my body craved contact with his.  The more I touched him, the better I felt, and from the sounds he made, he felt it too.  I had his shirt off, his chest pressed to mine, my fingers fumbling with his jeans in no time.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Adam’s hands closed over mine.  “Maybe you should take it easy.  We’ve already waited this long, what’s one more night?”  That patch of insight was followed by a groan of disgust.  “Christ, you’ve turned me into a woman.”

That left the role of the man to me.  “Shut up and kiss me,” I growled, pressing my lips to his.  His objections forgotten, Adam returned my kiss with a hungry passion, his Grace flaring as it reached out to mine.  Only my Grace was a bare flicker compared to his, and my body craved more.

The next thing I knew, I felt his Grace surge into me, filling me with healing light.  I wanted to object, to tell him to stop, but it felt too good after feeling so crummy for so long.

Adam suddenly broke the kiss, pulling away, his eyes wide.  “How did you do that?”

“Do what?”  I felt the best I had in over a week, like a normal person again.

“Steal my Grace like that.”

“What?” I blinked at the accusation.  “I thought you gave it to me.”

“You told me not to.”

“Maybe you gave it to me without realizing.  I didn’t do anything to your Grace, all I did was kiss you.”  I would know it if I was stealing Grace, wouldn’t I?

Adam didn’t shake it off so easily.  “No one can do that.  Grace can only be given.”

“See, then it was probably you.  Just be more careful next time.”  I kissed him again.  Adam’s response was hesitant, but soon he forgot to worry and the urge to get skin to skin took over.  Feeling stronger, I was far too distracted by what his hands and lips were doing to worry about the Grace until it started flowing into me again.  This time I could feel it was me doing it, drawing it out of him with my kiss, as if I was stealing his breath.

“Mercy, stop,” he said against my lips.

I wanted to, but my body had other ideas.  The more Grace I took, the stronger I got, and the easier it was to hold him still.  On one level I could understand what I was doing was wrong, but the power could not be denied.  It filled me with light, filled me to bursting and I felt whole and strong for the first time in weeks.  I felt amazing.  I felt like I could do anything.

I felt like I was being ripped in two as the mark over my heart blazed and it was all sucked away in a long exhalation that felt like it dragged away part of my soul with it.  I must have blacked out because the next thing I knew Adam was hunched over me, begging me to wake up.

“I think I’m going to…” was all I got out before I rolled over and was noisily sick all over the bedroom floor.

“Jesus, Mercy… what happened?  One moment we’re kissing and the next you’re practically raping me and then it was like you died. I couldn’t get through to you at all.  What the hell is going on?”

“I’m sorry,” I cried weakly, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes.  “I don’t know what happened.  It was like my body needed your Grace so it took it.  But then I couldn’t stop and Dahlia…”

“She sucked it away again,” Adam said sourly, sitting back on his heels.  “We can’t keep doing this.”

“I know, I won’t do it again, I promise.”  While I was left in better shape than I had been before I’d stolen his Grace, the whole experience of Dahlia feeding soured me on the idea.  It was far too painful, not to mention wholly unfair to Adam.  “Are you alright?”

“You’re not getting it.  I’d give you my Grace in a heartbeat. I’m talking about you keeping things from me.  Why didn’t you tell me how bad off you were?”

“Oh, I didn’t want you to worry.”

“And you thought this was a better solution?”  His brows lifted skyward.

“I didn’t know this would happen.  But now I know what to look for.  I’ll just keep my Grace from yours when I’m like this, and maybe you can give me a tiny taste to keep me going.”

“This is not a way to live.”  Adam rolled off the bed, tossing a towel over the mess on the floor.

“Leave it, I’ll clean that up later.”

He ignored me, mopping up the mess.  “Mercy, we have to find another solution.  You can’t keep letting Dahlia feed from you and I have to know that I won’t get my Grace sucked out every time I kiss you.”

“There is nothing else.”  I sat in silence while he wrapped the towel in another towel and crammed it down the laundry chute.  Man, I hoped that didn’t get jammed somewhere inside the wall.

“Maybe we need to talk to Oriana again?” he said when he was done cleaning up.  “There has to be a way to hide Eve’s Grace without this constant drain.  Maybe if we can get a bunch of witches together, or I could call some of my brothers.  If we pooled our Grace together so no one person had to shoulder the whole burden, maybe we could make it work.”

I was skeptical he’d find a solution, but I recognized his need to try.  “Okay, go talk to her.  Maybe she’ll have some new ideas once she knows how Dahlia went about the binding spell.”

Adam sat back down on the bed beside me to pull his discarded clothes back on.  I watched, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him.  “Are you sure you’ll be okay here?”

“We’ll be fine, I have Nelo and no one knows we’re here.  Not even Sam, right?”

“Right.”  He let out a long breath.  “This is not how I saw this night ending.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he smiled, leaning over to kiss my forehead.  “We’ll figure this out, even if it means I have to give you every last drop of Grace I have.”

“That’s not a practical solution.”

“Who’s talking about practical?  I told you before, I’ll do what it takes to keep you safe.”

I wanted to kiss him, but settled for squeezing his hand, it was safer that way.  “Killing yourself in the bargain is not an option.”

“It wouldn’t be my first choice either.  That’s why I’m gonna go talk to your witch-in-law.  I’ll call you when I find anything.”

“You’re leaving now?”

“Yep, I think a brisk flight is just what I need to take the edge off.”

“Are you really alright?  I didn’t take too much Grace, did I?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine as long as I stay away from trouble for a while.”  His aura did look the same as always to me.  “I wonder though…”

“What’s that?”

“If we could get around the whole Grace sucking thing if you didn’t use your mouth,” he teased, running his fingers down the curve of my bare shoulder.

“I thought you liked it when I use my mouth?” I threw my most sultry pose back at him.

The hungry look was back in an instant.  “It might be worth it,” he grinned, leaning closer, but I stopped him with a hand to his chest.

“You’d better get going or we’re going to end up on dangerous ground here.  But hurry back.  If Oriana doesn’t turn up anything, we can always do some experimenting.”

“You got it,” he grinned, turning to leave.

“Call me later, okay?”

But it wasn’t Adam whose call woke me shortly after dawn.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Mercy?”

“Daphne, is that you?  How did you get this number?”  As far as I knew, the only one who had it was Adam.

“I really need to see you, where are you?”  She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“It’s, um… it’s Sam.  He’s really sick.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.  What is it?”

“I don’t know, but it’s bad, super bad.  I tried to reach Adam but it went straight to voicemail.  Listen, I really need you right now.  Where are you?”

“I’m not that far, but it’ll take me a while to find someone to stay with Evie.”  While we talked, I threw on a pair of pants, juggling the phone with one hand.  It was too early to pop her into the daycare we’d found, and I was trying to figure out if I had time to find her another temporary sitter or if she’s be okay with Nelo for an hour or so.  A quick peek into her bedroom showed her still sacked out under the covers.

“We can come to you, where are you at?”

Something about the way she said it made me stop.  “You know I can’t tell you that. But relax, I’ll be there. I promise.”

She made a sound between a yelp and a sob.  “But this is an emergency.  I seriously think he might die.”

“Then it makes more sense for me to come to you.  I can travel a lot faster than you can.”

“Mercy, please. I won’t tell anybody, I swear.  Where are you?”

“What’s going on, Daph?  Why do you want to know so badly?”

“Mercy… he’ll kill me.  He’ll kill us both,” she sobbed.

The breath left my body in a rush.  “What?” I managed to get out.

“She’s quite right, you know,” a polished voice came onto the line.  “I won’t hesitate to kill her and the unborn child if you don’t give me what I want.”

“Luc…” I stopped myself before saying the rest of his name, knowing it’d give him a bead on where we were.  “If you hurt her, so help me…”

Lucifer cut me off, unimpressed by my threats.  “You said you were close by, so I’ll be generous.  I’ll give you a half hour to bring me the girl or your loved ones will pay the price.”

“Where?”

“The rooftop of your friends’ apartments.  Don’t keep me waiting, and don’t try any misguided heroics.  It’d be a shame for me to mark her, she’s such a pretty thing,” he chuckled and I closed my eyes against Daphne’s uncomfortable squeal.

“I’ll be there, don’t do anything stupid.”

“I might say the same to you,” he said mildly, disconnecting the call.

I stood in the middle of the hallway, indecision freezing me in place for long seconds.  What could I do?  I couldn’t bring Eve to him, it was out of the question, but I couldn’t let him kill off Daphne or Sam either.  My fingers hit the button for Adam’s cell, scowling as it went straight to voicemail.

“Adamiel!” I called out, running down the stairs to keep from waking Eve.  I could feel him out there, but far away, much farther than he should be if he was in Las Vegas.  “Adamiel!” I tried, not bothering to keep the note of panic from my voice.  After ten minutes, I couldn’t wait any longer for a response.

There didn’t seem to be a point in avoiding calling Matty’s cell directly since Lucifer already had access to my number.  At first I thought it might be too early for him, but he picked up after the fourth ring.

“Hlo?” he slurred, his voice thick with sleep.

“Matty!  Is Adam there?  I really need to talk to him.”

“Adam?  No… he was here last night, but he left.”

“Where did he go?”

“I, um… I thought he was going home.”

“Thanks, Matty.  Sorry to have woken you.”

“Mercy, is everything…”

I hung up on him.  The clock was ticking away far too quickly for me to explain anything.  How could Adam be gone when I needed him yet again?  My options were running out, and then it came to me.  “Michael!” I yelled, stepping out onto the back porch to get some good volume going.  Maybe it would piss off the neighbors, but I didn’t have much of a choice.  I wasn’t sure how closely he kept an eye on us these days, if at all.  “Michael!” I repeated his name over and over again in a normal voice, my eyes on the sky.

Nothing.

I had to risk going back to Seattle empty handed and trust Eve to stay safe on her own until one of us came back for her.  I went back inside to scribble a note for her in case she should wake up and find us all gone, telling her to stay put.  My hands fumbled with the laces as I shoved my feet into my boots, cold and stiff from the morning air and the nerves that had me forcing my body to move faster than it was ready to.

“Didst thou call?”

I looked up to see Michael standing in the frame of the back door, and nearly wept with relief.  “I need you to watch over Bunny.  I have to go meet Luce, he’s holding Daphne hostage.  There’s no time, just keep her safe, please!”  The words tumbled out one on top of the other.  I paused long enough to catch his startled nod before I was out the door, launching myself into the sky.  I could care less if people spotted me in the air, I had to divert all of my energy to getting to Seattle fast enough to make it on time for my meeting.

The rooftop was deserted when I got there, and I took a few moments to gulp in a few deep breaths and shake away the disorientation from flying so fast.  It was set up as an entertaining space with upscale patio furniture, and a fairly well equipped outdoor kitchen for barbecues.

“You came alone.”

I whirled to find the man himself, impeccably dressed as always, not a hair out of place.  Daphne stood beside him, her blue eyes red rimmed and her cheeks stained with tears.  He had no visible weapons, and wasn’t standing in a particularly menacing manner.  If not for the hand pressed against her swelling abdomen, I might not have found him threatening in the least.

“I couldn’t get her here fast enough.  All I could think to do was come here and bargain with you in person.”

“There is nothing to bargain for.  You will bring her to me or you will have to live with the consequences.”

“No, I get it, you have all the power,” I said quickly, taking a step closer.  “I will absolutely bring her to you, it’ll just take longer than a half an hour.”  I couldn’t think of anything else to say to make him let go of her.

“Do not think to trick me,” he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.  “I’m not the one with something to lose.”

“You’re right.  I’m the sucky loser,” I nodded, taking another step.  “Where’s Sam, is he safe?”

“I took care of him for the moment.”

“He was bleeding from his ears,” Daphne sobbed.  Visions of how Charles Weatie died came back to me, but I couldn’t dwell on that.  I had to get him away from her and try to somehow lure him into dropping his guard.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll fix him, I swear,” I promised Daphne, meaning every word of it.  “This is a pretty good plan.  A fucked up one, but pretty good all the same.”  I pretended to be impressed.  “How did you get my phone number anyway?  Daphne didn’t have it.”

Lucifer smiled wide under my praise.  “That man of Adam’s is very good.  It took me quite a while to break him.  Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know your place of address.  Please give my condolences to Adam, he’ll be hard to replace.”

“Do you mean Finch?” I gasped, remembering the last time I was in his office.  He was kind of a lowlife, but a good guy over all.  And now he was dead, just like that.  “You killed him just because he didn’t know where we were?”

“I couldn’t have him warning you, now could I?  Now then, you have precisely ten seconds to tell me where I can find your daughter or your friend here will never know what it is to hold her child in her arms.”  His hand tightened over Daphne’s belly and she gave a whimper.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but only if you take me with you, like we talked about before.”

“That deal is no longer on the table after you rejected it so ungraciously,” he said, drawing himself up stiffly.

Why was I not surprised to find out a guy like Lucifer held a grudge?  “I’m sorry about what happened before, but I get it now.  There’s nowhere we can run that you can’t get to us.  Just… let me go with her and I’ll lead you right to where she is.”

“You have five seconds left to divulge her location.”

“Okay!  She’s…”  The mark over my heart flared with heat, driving me to my knees as white hot agony ripped through my body.  Why was she taking more Grace now when I had so little to spare?  “No… not now…” I whimpered as my entire body throbbed.

Lucifer’s placid expression gave way to puzzled suspicion.  “If you think to trick me in any way…”

All at once the pain stopped, like someone had flipped a switch and I was flooded with Grace in one burst.  My entire body thrummed with energy and light, and I gasped at the pure rapture of it.  I felt strong enough to take on the universe.  Looking down at my chest, the brand was gone, my skin healthy and pink as if I’d never been marked.  “What the hell?”

“Mercy, are you alright?” Daphne asked in a small voice, and I drew in a deep breath, my body tingling with good health.

“Yeah, I feel… I feel great.”  All at once I understood where Adam had slipped off to, and why he hadn’t come when I’d called.  “Oh, no…”

Lucifer’s head snapped up, his head canting to one side as if listening for a pitch too high for us to hear. “Thank you,” he said with a dazzling smile.  “That should do very nicely.”  Without another word he let go of Daphne, disappearing in a flutter of white wings.

“Daphne, are you alright?” I asked, scrambling to my feet.

“Yes, I think so.  He didn’t actually hurt me, but I think I peed a little.”

“I have to go.  I have a bad feeling he’s on Eve’s trail.”

Daphne caught onto my arm, clinging tight.  “Wait, what about Sam?  You said you’d fix him.”

Indecision rooted me to the spot, the obligation to restore Sam warring with my duty to my child.  With Lucifer in pursuit there was no telling how much time we had until he caught her, but if something happened to Sam because of me I’d never forgive myself.  In the end, I had to trust that Michael could keep her safe for at least a few minutes until I got there.

“Where is he?”

Daphne led me down to their apartment where Sam lay in a crumpled heap on the kitchen floor, bleeding from the nose and ears.  Barely taking the time to ground myself, I placed my hands over his heart, sending him healing energy.  My Grace responded quickly and with plenty of juice, the power thrumming under my hands.  After a few seconds, he drew in a deep breath, his eyes opening in surprise.

“Shhh, lie still,” I cautioned him, sending him more energy until I was sure he was out of danger.

“Mercy, you came after all,” he smiled faintly after I was finished.  Daphne kissed him in teary relief, and I pushed myself to my feet, wishing I had time to visit but knowing time was against me.

“I’m so sorry about this, but I’m going to take care of it.  I’ll make sure Lucifer doesn’t ever bother you again.  I love you guys,” I said with a broken smile, knowing that this might very well be the last time I saw them for a long, long time.

“We love you too,” Daphne called back, helping Sam up to a sitting position.  “And Mercy?”

“Yes?” I hesitated, my toes tapping to get out there.

“Kick his ass.”

I gave them one last answering grin before I was out the glass slider, taking to the early morning sky.  This time I knew I didn’t have to worry about keeping myself hidden from human eyes.  I was back to full strength but Lucifer was tricky.  He had access to dark magics I couldn’t defend against.  I had to think of a plan, and think of it fast.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Whatever beginnings of a plan I managed to cobble together on the brief flight home fell right out of my head at the sight of the angel sized crater on the hood of my rental car.  Good thing I sprung for the optional insurance, huh?   The shower of glass on the front porch and shattered picture window gave a good clue as to how the car had gotten damaged, and another crash from inside let me know someone was still putting up a hell of a fight.

I took it as a good sign.  Fighting meant the two archangels were still present and duking it out.  Silence would’ve been much, much worse.  I could sense Eve’s Grace inside, and that was the most important thing of all.  Taking care not to draw too much attention to myself, I slipped in through the front door, intent on picking up my daughter and getting the hell out of there.

Only I couldn’t find her.

After catching a glimpse of Michael and Lucifer destroying my kitchen in the process of trying to kill each other, I snuck up to her room, thinking that would be the most likely place to find her.  But she wasn’t anywhere up there, or in the basement either.  I could still feel her in the house, but she was nowhere to be seen.

A chair splintered into jagged pieces not a foot from my head, returning my attention to the fight raging between the men.   Both had their swords in hand, but had drawn most of the objects in the room into the scuffle.  I’d never seen such a savage fight before; the skirmish in Eden was nothing compared to this one.  It was as if they’d both completely forgotten about Eve and wanted nothing more than to tear each other limb from limb.  Meanwhile my house was getting thrashed, but I could care less if only I could find Eve and get her out of there.

Lucifer dropped his sword, crashing into Michael and lifting him bodily to slam him through the kitchen table to the floor.  Seeing the opening, I drew my sword and charged for his exposed back.  Lucifer heard me at the last moment and rolled away.  My momentum carried me forward, skewering Michael through the shoulder.

“Sorry!” I gasped, immediately letting go so the sword would disappear.   A bright spot of blood stained Michael’s white robes, but he barely winced, his attention still focused on Lucifer.  I hopped out of the way barely in time to avoid the charge as he crashed into Lucifer, weapons forgotten.  I stood there watching them roll around, unable to jump in without possibly stabbing the wrong guy.

Strength-wise they were pretty evenly matched, but Lucifer’s mixed fighting technique kept tripping Michael up.  After flipping Michael again, Lucifer picked up his head and smashed it against the ground, hard enough to crack the tile floor.

“Stop it!”  I yelled, hitting Lucifer with a blast of Grace.  It was the only way I knew how to slow him down, but instead of knocking him back, Lucifer absorbed the blast.  A smile stretched across his face as he rolled his shoulders.

“Thank you, that was just what I needed,” he said.

Had he just fed off of it like a demon?  What the hell?

“Stop helping,” Michael growled, grabbing a table leg and smashing it upside Lucifer’s head.  The angels rolled away from each other, each taking up a cautious stance.  “Thou hast no chance of defeating me, Lucifer.  Be gone now or I will have no choice but to dispatch thee once and for all.”

“Brave words considering I’ve shed more of your blood this time.  Truth be told, I think you’re getting a trifle rusty, old man,” Lucifer teased.  “You might consider picking another battle before I decide to play dirty.”

“I fear thee not.”  Michael’s lip curled in scorn.  “Thy dark magics have no effect on my kind.”

Lucifer nodded, the smile still playing over his lips.  “You’re right. I can’t use my magic on you directly, but that doesn’t leave me entirely without options.”  With a dramatic wave of the hand, Lucifer sent a shower of hot coals from the fireplace into Michael’s face.  Michael let out a horrible shriek, hands coming up to shield his eyes, but it was too late, the damage had been done.  While I stood there blinking stupidly, Lucifer stepped forward and deftly sliced him across the throat.

“No!” I yelled, sliding across the debris strewn floor in an effort to get to Michael’s side before it was too late.  Burning embers sizzled against my leg as I knelt beside him, but I ignored them, focusing my Grace on healing the damage before I lost another angel.  Michael’s sightless eyes bulged wide with fear, the cut was deep… so deep.  I did my best to ignore the gore and cupped my hands over the wound, pushing the Grace as quickly as I dared.

Lucifer could’ve ended us both as we sat there defenseless.  Instead, he brushed off his suit and took a sweeping look around the kitchen.  His head cocked to one side and he stepped into the living room.  Ignoring him for the moment, I held tight to Michael, whose body was strung as tight as a drum as his body repaired the damage quick enough to hurt from the look on his face.

Only once I was sure he was out of danger did I stop the flow of Grace, following after Lucifer into the next room.  He was up to something, and it set goosebumps all along my arms for fear of what he’d do next.  I caught the tail end of an incantation, in the same demonic language I’d heard from Dahlia.

Suddenly the house was ablaze with light.  I don’t mean there was a bright light, I mean every single crevice was illuminated, as if the light came from everywhere at once.  Stripped of the shadows, Nelo and Eve were revealed, huddled close behind the TV.  Another swipe of Lucifer’s hand sent the TV careening out of the way, but before he could advance I burst in between them, my sword in hand.

Lucifer shook his head in disappointment.  “Remember what we discussed.  If you stand in my way now, I will simply go back to your friends and finish what I started.  Or should I try a different target?”  A flame sprang to life on the palm of his hand, my mother’s face clearly visible inside.  Cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach, but I did my best not to show it.  I had only had one option left to keep Eve safe.

“No, I get it. I know you’re the man.”  I let go of my sword, my hands coming up in a supplicating gesture.  “But I want to renegotiate.”

Lucifer raised a single brow.  “And what do you imagine you bring to the table?”

I moistened my lips, drawing in a steadying breath.  “Have you ever kissed an angel before?”

I could tell that was the last thing he’d expected me to say, but he was interested.  His brow dropped, twitching closer to the other one.  “Perhaps,” he said warily.

“Then you know what it’s like,” I continued, taking a step closer to him.  “When your Grace touches another’s.  It can be very, very intimate…”

“Ah, I can’t say that I do.”  Very interested.

I made my voice soft and seductive, drawing from years of experience watching those shows on the CW.  “Well, it doesn’t come from the accidental brushing of lips.  It comes from wanting… and accepting…”  I closed the distance between us, my gaze holding his hostage.  I’d been counting on the angelic allure that worked like catnip on everything with two legs, and I took a gamble that Lucifer wasn’t immune.  From the way his eyes dropped to my lips I could tell I’d at least captured his attention.  “Would you like me to show you what I can offer if you take me with you?”

“Very much.”

I wasn’t sure I could do it, not with a man I’d rather squash like a grape than kiss, but I had to take the chance.  It helped that he was gorgeous to look at and smelled like dark, spicy secrets, and when I tipped my lips up to his, they were soft and full, surprisingly gentle.  I felt it the instant his Grace took notice of mine, the tingle of awareness prickling over my skin as it mingled.  Lucifer felt it too, as a shudder of delight swept through him and he pulled me closer.

“Jesus, I go away for one day and all hell breaks loose.”  Adam’s voice held a wry twist to it as he stepped into the house.

Shit!  I closed my eyes at the interruption, tamping back the urge to scream in frustration as Lucifer tore his lips from mine.  Why did he have to pick that moment to show up?

Lucifer’s body became hard and rigid (not in a good way), gripping my arms tightly.  “This wasn’t a ploy to delay until Adamiel came to save the day, was it?  And here I thought you’d finally come to your senses.”

“No, it really wasn’t.” I let out a frustrated breath, eyeing daggers in Adam’s direction.  “Adam is the last person I want to see right now.”

“Why do I find that hard to believe?”

“Why would I want him to show his face after I kicked his ass out?  On top of the fact that he’s let me down whenever I trusted him, he’s rude and obnoxious, and he only cares about himself.”

“Ouch,” Adam scowled, trying to figure me out.  “I am standing right here you know.”

I whirled on him, needing to sell it for all of our sakes.  “Oh, I know.  Like I told you last night, you can’t protect us.  You might as well leave now and spare us all the aggravation.”

“Am I to believe there’s trouble in paradise?”  Lucifer’s tone was mild, not quite sure what to believe.

“Please, he’s nowhere near as sexy as he thinks he is.”

“Yes I am.”  Adam looked offended, but I ignored him, turning my focus back to Lucifer, my hands sliding up his arms.

“I have to do what’s best for me and for Eve.  I told you this morning, I know I can’t beat you, so why try?  If you’re going to take her away anyway, why shouldn’t I get something out of it?”

“Don’t do this, Mercy,” Adam glowered.  “Think of what you’re giving up.”

“Adam, you’re too little, too late, as usual.”  I turned my back on the sight of Eve huddled in the corner with Nelo. I couldn’t look at her, I had to be strong.  “You felt it, didn’t you?  That bond between us?” I asked, sending out a subtle wave of soothing Grace to Lucifer.

“I felt… something.”  He looked as hesitant as I’d ever seen him and I turned it up a notch, using all of my powers of persuasion to ensnare him.

“Let me show you, let me prove myself to you.”

“Very well, if you insist.”  Lucifer tossed an insufferably smug look in Adam’s direction before capturing my mouth with his. I opened up to him, giving him everything until I felt his Grace surge against mine.

Only this time, I didn’t let go.

Trusting the same sensation I’d felt when my body stole Adam’s Grace, I focused entirely on drawing Lucifer’s Grace into me, devouring it, making it a part of me.  I didn’t just sap him of his energy, I went directly to the source, stealing his power.

He didn’t notice at first, too caught up in the heady sensation of my Grace enveloping him.  By the time he realized what was going on, Lucifer was too weak to pull away.  I clung to him, forcing him to be still, while I drank myself dizzy on his power.

Finally, I let him go, watching in satisfaction as he fell to his knees, his face a mask of shock and exhaustion.  “What did you do to me?” he gasped, sucking in a ragged breath.

“You know that torture machine they built in The Princess Bride?  It’s sort of like that,” I replied, giddy as my body got used to the added Grace.  “Are you okay, Evie?”  She flashed me the thumbs up sign, but remained silent in the corner with Nelo.  We’d have to have a long talk later.  Ah, who was I kidding?  She’d probably end up in therapy for years over what she’d been through so far in life.

“Do you want to clue me in on what just happened here?” Adam said, a deep furrow etched into his forehead.

“I think I can clear things up,” I said, hunkering down to meet Lucifer at eye level.  “I’ve stolen a piece of you, a piece you can never get back.  If you come after Eve again, I will take you apart bit by bit if I have to, until there’s nothing left of you but glowing ash.  Do you get me?”

There was no trace of his usual cockiness in the way he recoiled from the menace in my voice.  With a great effort, Lucifer pushed himself up to his feet, tugging at the sleeves of his suit coat.  “I agree,” he said stiffly.  “I will leave her be until she is old enough to choose for herself.”

“Swear it,” Michael said, his voice raspy.  I’d almost forgotten he was there.  His eyes were swollen shut, the skin burned and puffy.  “Swear it upon the Almighty.”

Lucifer’s jaw tightened with anger, but he tamped it down, his voice mild as he spoke again.  “I swear it upon Almighty God, I will leave the Child of Light in peace until she is of age.”

“Great,” I beamed.  “We understand each other.  Now go away before I decide I want another taste.”

Instead of the witty quip I expected, Lucifer ignored me completely, giving one last longing look to Eve.  “Until we meet again,” he said with a trace of sadness, and then he vanished with an audible popping sound.

“Momma!” Eve cried out, lunging for me the instant he was gone.  I caught her up in a bear hug.  “Not so tight!” she squeaked, and I loosened my grip with a whispered apology.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” She nodded against me, and I sagged in relief.  Not that I had any illusions to Lucifer keeping his word, but hopefully he’d think twice before he came after us again.

“It is forbidden to steal another’s Grace.”  Michael’s voice seemed rougher, scratchy, and I looked up to see him peering at me through swollen eyelids.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, and it got him to back off, didn’t it?  Besides, nobody gave me an instruction booklet with it.” I shrugged.  It was the least of my problems.

“Pleading ignorance, huh?  I like it.”  Adam still looked wary, like he wasn’t sure how much of that exchange had been real, and how much for Lucifer’s benefit.

“I’m sorry. I had to sell it, you know?”

“I get it.  That’s been the story of my life since I met you though, too little, too late.”

“It’s alright, I had it under control.”

“So I see.”

“Do your eyes hurt?” Eve came out from under my arm to ask Michael.

“They will heal soon enough,” he said, feeling his way along the wall until he reached the couch.  I hadn’t realized how bad off his eyes were.  Apart from the puffiness, it didn’t look like he could see much.

“I can fix you,” Eve volunteered, letting me go, her arms outstretched.

“That is not necessary…” Michael edged away, almost as if he was afraid of her.

“I can…” I started to interrupt, but Adam held me back.

“No, let her do it.  It’s better for her to learn how to control it.”  As we watched, Michael stopped squirming, and Eve’s hands began to glow with healing light.  Michael sucked in a breath as it hit him, his face turning pink and then smoothing out to his normal, pale radiance as she worked her magic.

“There, all better,” she beamed, looking to us for praise.

“Good job, kiddo,” Adam called out, giving her a broad wink and I added my smile of approval before remembering Adam had some explaining to do.

“What happened to you?  Why did the spell fail?  Did you go to see Dahlia?”

“I think you’d better sit down before we get too deep into it,” Adam replied, scratching at the back of his neck.

Oriana stepped in from the kitchen, picking her way through the carnage of my living room.  “She didn’t kill you at all,” she said with a sunny smile.

Chapter Thirty-Five

“Oriana?  What are you doing here?”

“Oh… you’re dazzling…” Oriana ignored my question, blinking at my supposed brilliance.  “Who did you eat this time?”

“I didn’t eat anyone, exactly,” I frowned, not liking the way that sounded, even if it was true in a way.

“And our sweet Bunny… how she shines!  My, how big you’ve grown.”  Oriana clapped her hands together in delight before holding out her arms for a hug.  Eve would have gone to her, but Michael kept her back.

“Be gone, witch.  I will not let you pollute this child’s soul with your dark arts.”

Oriana’s face clouded.  “She’s not yours to command yet,” she said solemnly.

“She’s a good witch, Michael,” Eve said, wriggling free of his grasp.  “Look at her pretty colors.”  She went right to Oriana’s waiting arms with a trusting hug.

It was time to get some answers out of Adam without small ears around.  “Oriana, why don’t you take Evie upstairs and help her find some clothes for the day.  Nelo, you go on with them, or you can go to bed if you want to.”

“I want to stay with Bunny if she’s going somewhere,” Nelo said, eyeing Michael with suspicion.

“She’s not going anywhere, not without us.  Go on now, it’ll be fine.”

“If you’ve no need of me, I will take my leave as well,” Michael said, standing tall.  His face was as beautiful as always, no trace of a scar from the burning embers.

“Thanks for coming so quickly, you totally saved my bacon,” I smiled.  He looked a tad confused, but said nothing.  Eve left Oriana’s arms, slipping her hand into Michael’s for a brief squeeze.  The two of them looked at each other, neither one of them saying a word.  Michael let go of her hand to chuck under her chin, smiling when she giggled reflexively.  Taking two steps for the open picture window, he was gone in a flash of snowy feathers.

“So,” I said once Oriana disappeared with Eve and Nelo in tow, “Are you going to tell me where you slipped off to and why that spell was broken?”

“I told you I was going to go see Oriana.”

I just waited for Adam to continue.

“And I did, I went to see her.  Only this time, she figured out how to fix it so that you didn’t have to sacrifice your health to keep Bunny safe.”

My eyes widened in surprise.  “She did?  So you went to talk to Dahlia?”

“I wouldn’t say talk, no,” he hedged.

“Adam, you didn’t…”  I remembered the look in her eyes when she’s last seen Adam.  Had he bargained himself away instead?

“Chill out.  No, she just didn’t have much of an opportunity to say much when her head came away from her body.”

“You beheaded her?”

“Just a little bit.”  He held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.

“And Raum let you go?”

“Are you kidding me?  He practically threw me a bon voyage party,” Adam grinned.  “The guy was over the moon not to be under her thumb anymore.  So I swung by to pick up Oriana and came back to save the day, only you’d already done it first.”  He wrapped his arms around me.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure what else to do to scare him off.”

“I guess that’s a good excuse, but don’t let it turn into a habit.  The next guy I catch you kissing isn’t going to get a pass.”

“I won’t kiss anyone else, I promise,” I smiled, turning my face up to his, but he pulled back.

“I’m not so sure I want to be kissing you right now.  How do I know you won’t steal my Grace?”

“Come here, you big baby,” I suppressed a roll of the eyes, pulling him close for a deep kiss.  I felt his Grace there, and I knew I could take it if I needed to, but it wasn’t hard to let it lie.  This kiss wasn’t about that.  This kiss was all about relief and love and a growing swell of lust.

“So what happens now?” I asked when we finally broke to breathe.

“Besides hiring a new decorator?  Not a whole hell of a lot.  You grab a broom and I’ll take Oriana home and then we get down to some serious adult time.”

“You expect me to clean up this mess by myself?”

“Of course not.  Nelo will help.”  His smile was beatific.

“Funny,” I replied, less than amused.  “How about we let Oriana stay to watch over Evie and then you and I hole ourselves up in the bedroom for a week?”

“I like where you’re head is at.  No time like the present.”  Adam scooped me up into his arms, carrying me toward the stairs.

“It’s the middle of the morning!”

“The better to see you,” he grinned, his eyes flashing playfully.

“The better for them to hear us,” I pointed out.

“So, we send them out to the movies.”

“I don’t know about that.”  While Oriana might be better at functioning in society, I wasn’t quite ready to send Eve out alone with her yet.  “Plus, we’ve got a giant hole where our front window used to be.  I’m thinking we need to take care of a little business before we can get down to business if you get me.”

Adam let out a long sigh.  “Yeah, I get you.  Being responsible sucks,” he scowled, setting me down.

“I’ll tell you what.  I’ve got an even better idea.  How about you go take Oriana home and I’ll make some calls to get this window repaired.  And then tomorrow, all three of us can go to Fiji.”

“Fiji?” The corner of his mouth tugged up into a half smile.

“That is where you wanted to take me, right?  Evie can swim with the dolphins and you can rub sunscreen all over my body as many times a day as you want.”

“Not quite the NC-17 trip I had in mind, but I’ll take it,” he agreed, leaning in for a possessive kiss.

“Great, then you make sure my sister in law gets home okay and leave all the arrangements to me.  Oh, and don’t freak out if you get back and we’re not here.  We have some shopping to do.”

“What for?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” I smiled smugly.

* * *

The first call I made was to the glass company, making an appointment for them to come out and board up the mess and take measurements for the new window.  I almost liked it better with the board in place.  The house felt more secure that way.  But, seeing as how I was trying to avoid going overboard on the security, I placed the order.

The second call was to Daphne.  I thought about going to see her in person, but I needed to be there for the glass guy at first and then Eve was taking her nap.  Thank God we didn’t have to stay in hiding anymore!  We talked for over an hour, the first half dominated by my apologies and the second half her assuring me that Sam was alive and well and that neither of them blamed me for what happened.  We made plans to go shopping as soon as we got back from our trip.  For baby things and to get some Christmas shopping done.

By the time Eve woke up from her nap, I had the worst of the damage cleaned up, the pile of broken furniture on the side of the house ready to be picked up by the garbage hauler.  After a quick snack, we set off for the mall to buy a few provisions for our trip.  Eve was very excited about going on vacation, particularly someplace warm, and talked me into buying her two bathing suits.  I picked up a red bikini for myself, reminiscent of the one I’d worn in the Ether with Adam.  Maybe he wouldn’t remember, but it made me smile.

As casually as I could manage, over frozen yogurt, I broached the subject of what had happened that morning, trying to see if Eve was at all freaked out over the battle royale in the house that morning.  Oddly enough, she seemed to roll with it pretty well.  She understood enough to know Michael and I had been there to protect her, and Lucifer had promised to stop trying to take her away, and that was enough for her.   She seemed much more interested in trying to talk me into buying a quirky little pillow shaped like a happy piece of sushi.

With our purchases in hand (and the sushi pillow tucked under her arm), we made it back to the house, Eve’s face sticky with frozen yogurt.  There, in the middle of the kitchen counter, was a bouquet of pink roses and a smaller bouquet of pink and white carnations.  The card read:

For my two favorite girls.

A.

“Something tells me Uncle Adam is home,” I grinned.  It took us a while to find him though.  Finally, we remembered to check the basement, where he was watching a documentary on muscle cars with Nelo in the dark.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked softly, not wanting to disturb them, as it looked like Nelo was fast asleep on his lap.

“The little guy was lonely,” he shrugged.  “No big deal.”  Adam carefully peeled Nelo off of him, settling him on the oversized dog bed we’d set up as a temporary bed for him.  He left the TV going to mask the sound of the creaky stairs.

“Guess who else was lonely?” I smiled as he reached the top of the stairs, my height advantage placing my lips at the same height as his.

“I’m definitely the guy to help you out with that,” he said with an answering grin, delivering a scorching kiss that left me clinging to him and panting for more.  “I don’t suppose you want to park the rugrat in front of the TV and take this upstairs?”

As much as I wanted to, I also knew I didn’t want to rush what we’d been waiting for after so long.  “Soon,” I promised, leading him up the rest of the stairs.

“You still owe me a striptease, don’t think I’ve forgotten about that,” he grumbled, giving my butt a swat as we emerged into the light.

“Soon,” I repeated, throwing him a teasing waggle of the eyebrows.  “First, we have to figure out what to do about dinner.  We can’t exactly use the kitchen like this and the dining set is kaput.”

“Leave everything to me,” Adam said, pulling out his cell phone.  A half an hour later, we had two pizzas, sodas, cookies, everything we could possibly want for a dinner camped out in the living room.  Somewhere about halfway through The Little Mermaid, I realized… we could do this.  We could be a real family.  We might not ever be a normal family, but we could make it work.

Adam caught me looking at him and dropped me a quick wink.

I reached over the back of the couch to cover his hand with mine. “I love you, you know.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean, I really love you.”

The movie forgotten, Adam caught onto my mood, his eyes blazing with another kind of hunger.  “Time for bed,” he said, his gaze holding mine.

“I want to see the rest of the movie,” Eve immediately objected and Nelo chimed in as well.

It wasn’t all that late, but I could tell from the look in his eyes, there would be no denying Adam.  I’d made him wait long enough.  “You can watch it tomorrow.  Right now it’s time to get washed up for bed.  Nelo, take Bitey with you, I don’t want him clawing at the door to get down to you again.”

Eve accepted that without too much argument, making me think she was tired from the long day.  “Can I have a story?”

“Sure.  After you brush your teeth and put on your pj’s.”  I stood to escort her up the stairs.

“I want Uncle Adam to tell me a story.”

Adam’s face registered surprise and genuine pleasure at the declaration.  He picked her up and swung her onto his shoulders.  “Sure, squirt, I know lots of ‘em.  Some that’ll curl your hair.”

“I like curly hair.”

“Good, ‘cause you’re gonna have a curly top by the time I finish the one about David and Goliath.”

I followed them up the stairs and down the hallway until Adam turned to face me, Eve’s hands pressed to either side of his face as she held on.  “Where do you think you’re going?”  He raised a single brow.

“I want to listen to the story too.”

“Oh no, you have some preparing of your own to do, woman.”  He flashed his best bedroom eyes at me.

“I don’t even want to think about the lessons you’re teaching her,” I murmured, leaning up to give her a kiss.  “Goodnight, honey.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Momma.”

I lingered in the hallway, listening to their hushed voices punctuated by the tinkle of her laugh.  We could do this.  We could be happy.   I hurried to my bedroom to dig through one of the pink bags from the mall.  He wanted preparing?  I’d give him preparation.

It was hard not to smile at the disappointment that flitted across his face at finding me in a flannel sleep shirt.  “I thought you were going to make yourself ready for me.”

“I did.”

“This is all I get?”

“Hey, if you’ve changed your mind…”

“No, no, no, it’s what’s inside that counts.  I just thought you’d… you know.”

“Be draped in leather and lace?” I cocked my head to one side.  “Maybe next time.”

“I like the sound of that.”  Adam found his smile again as he drew me into his arms with a welcoming kiss.  “Or there’s always nothing at all.”

“You said you liked having something to unwrap.”

“So I did,” he smiled against my lips, hands delving to the soft fabric between us as he edged me backwards to the bed.  I obliged, laying back against the pillows while he made short work of the buttons.

Adam gasped when his eyes set upon the delicates underneath the flannel, fingers reverently stroking the black lace.  I’d managed to surprise him, and that was worth the silly disappointment over the sleep shirt.

“You like?” I arched a brow.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, hands closing over a lace encased peak.  “Daddy likes…”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting,” I punched his shoulder lightly.  Just when I thought he was reformed of his old ways, something stupid came out of his mouth.

“What?” His eyes widened innocently.  “I didn’t mean it like I’m your Daddy.  I meant it like… I’m the Daddy of this family.  I am, aren’t I?”  There was a trace of hesitation in his voice, the vulnerability there erasing any annoyance over the obnoxious words.

“Yes, you’re the Daddy of this family now.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”  His face became serious, foreplay forgotten as he strove to tell me something significant.  “You and Bun, you’re the most important things to me.  I would’ve sacrificed everything if you hadn’t been able to beat Lucifer.”

I reached up to cup his cheek, drawing his face close to mine.  “Hey, you didn’t have to sacrifice anything.  We’re here and we’ve got nothing but smooth sailing ahead.  We have only one major problem that I can see.”

“What’s that?” he frowned.

“You’re wearing way too many clothes.”

“Now that I can fix.”  The sexy grin was back, his eyes watching me as he slowly lifted his t-shirt up and over his head, revealing the smooth, taut lines of his torso.  “Your turn.”

I shrugged out of the sleep shirt, rolling one shoulder at a time, never breaking eye contact with him until I was clad only in the black bra and panty set.  Laying back against the pillows again, I drew one finger across the rigid line in his jeans.  “Your turn.”

His breath left him in a whisper, fingers busy with the button of his jeans.  The zipper made a tantalizing hiss as he revealed the dark thatch of hair atop the low slung boxer briefs.  He shoved them down over his hips and kicked them off, the poetry of motion somewhat marred when one pant leg got stuck on his foot.  “Your turn,” he grinned when he tugged it free.

I shook my head.  “Nope, you said you wanted to unwrap me.  Don’t you start shirking your duties already,” I teased, arching my back ever so slightly to draw his eyes.

“Maybe there’s something to be said for being a responsible adult after all.”  His eyes crinkled in amusement, hands closing over the curve of my breasts.  But he didn’t stop there, expertly teasing me with teeth and tongue, his breath hot through the lace.

“I thought you wanted to take them off,” I gasped as he worked his way lower, leaving the lingerie in place, the thin material easily pushed aside.

“Not yet, I’m still enjoying it.”  A swirl of the tongue made me gasp.  “Aren’t you?”  Instead of letting me answer, he began his tender assault in earnest, leaving me breathless and panting, begging him for more.  And when he’d reduced me to little more than a slave, my body quaking at every touch, only then did he settle above me, the thick tip of him begging entrance.  I felt the raspy lace torn free and whisked aside as he plunged into me with one perfect stroke.

I clung to his shoulders as he moved within me, enjoying the play of strong muscles beneath my hands.  It was as if our bodies had been made to become one, every curve and hollow fitting together, his lips a perfect height to reach my mine with every powerful thrust.  The Grace enveloped us, mingling, adding another level of tingling energy to our movements.  Our bodies became slick with heat, sliding sensually, craving every inch of friction between us as the pressure began to build.  The slow grind gave way to a fever pitch as we drove each other closer and closer, mindless in our quest for release.

I could taste it there, feel it trembling just out of reach, stealing my breath as it broke with a thundering gasp.  And then my Grace flared, searing me with incredible ecstasy as my body gave in to pleasure.  I felt him shudder above me, his face buried in my neck as he drove into me again and again.  My cries muffled against his hot skin, each stroke sending ribbons of delight down to my toes as I bit back the desire to shout for joy.

Adam collapsed, his heart pounding madly against mine.  Our bodies were still bathed in a warm golden light, and I held him close, perfectly relaxed and content.  After a few breaths, he rolled to the side and pulled me with him, one hand settling possessively on the small of my back.

“Is it me, or was that even better than it was before?” he said lazily.

“I have more Grace than I did before.”

“That’s not it,” he drawled, and it made me smile against his shoulder.  I’d like to think it had something to do with me and not my Grace.

“You broke my pretty lingerie,” I sighed, spotting the remnants of lace and underwire lying on the corner of the bed.

“I’ll buy you more.  I’ll buy you a new set every day just so I can tear it off of you at night.”

“Or, you could take it off of me before you lose control.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

My eyes drifted shut, enjoying the aftermath of my body calming down, still tingly but so, so satisfied.  Until a random thought jarred me back to full consciousness.

“What’s the matter?” he said, feeling the tension in my muscles.

I hated to say it out loud and ruin the mood, but I couldn’t unthink it now that it had popped in there.  “We forgot to use protection.”  I prepared myself for the major freak out, but all he did was offer a lazy shrug.

“So?”

No swearing?  No accusations?  No dire predictions?  I relaxed against his side again, smiling as he reached up to turn off the light.  “So, I guess nothing’s the matter at all,” I smiled in the darkness.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I’m such an idiot.  I know better than to believe in happy ever after, but I thought for sure we’d earned some kind of peace.  Not that we didn’t have a fantastic time in Fiji.  Even despite my need to slather Eve in sunscreen every hour we spent in the sun (yes, I know, she would have easily healed a sunburn, but old habits die hard), she had a fantastic time playing on the beaches, hiking through the jungle and exploring in town.  I had a fantastic time watching her scamper over rocks and discovering lizards and swimming like a fish in the ocean.  Adam had a fantastic time doing very little but watching us have fun; he said he was saving his energy for the nightlife.

Not that we went out a single time, despite the childcare services the resort offered.  The instant Eve’s head hit the pillow, Adam spent most of his energy in the pursuit of making up for all the time we’d lost together.  I was glad I needed modest sleep to function, thanks to the Grace, because he kept me up until nearly dawn every night.  I had no complaints, except I wished Eve had Nelo to play with, but demons and sun drenched resorts didn’t make the best of friends.

It sounds peaceful, right?  It was for the first week, but midway through the second, I started noticing things.  Dark things.  At first I though I was imagining it, but there were definitely eyes on us whenever we ventured out in public.  Not so much during the day, but in the evening I saw things skulking in the shadows.

On the third day I mentioned as much to Adam, only to find his disinterest  annoying.

“Sure, there are demons here too.  So what?” he shrugged.

“What do you mean, so what?  Aren’t you the least bit worried about why they’re watching us?”

“They’re watching us because the three of us together is like someone leaving a pile of hamburgers out for a pack of wild dogs.”

“I want a hamburger for dinner!” Eve declared, and I dropped my voice, not wanting to freak her out.

“You’re not at all worried about them attacking?  Like a pack of wild dogs?”

“Nah, as long as they keep their distance it’s not a big deal.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I’ll handle it,” he said with an even smile.  “I think I’ll have a hamburger too, BunBun.  What about you, Merce?  You want some fries to go with your chicken?”

And that was all he’d say about it.  Maybe he was putting on a happy face so Eve wouldn’t get scared, but I couldn’t sit and enjoy my night knowing we were being watched by demons salivating over our Grace.  What if Eve happened to wander away for a moment?

The next morning, I started making arrangements to go home.  Adam pouted for a few minutes before realizing I wasn’t going to budge an inch and then helped me pack.

Only the demons didn’t go away once we got home.  Maybe they weren’t the same demons, but suddenly, it was like Olympia was the new capital of Demonland.  During the day it wasn’t so much of a problem, but when we went out to Cascadia for milkshakes (almost worth braving demons for, you should try them sometime), I could feel them out there, watching… waiting.

I took Eve into the Danger Room comic book store across the street to let her look around, suddenly craving the lights and normalcy.

The glass door swung open as a tall man shuffled in, his dark hair patchy, as if he’d used a knife to trim it in uneven hanks.  He reminded me a lot of Ubel, the way he stood, the way his lips stretched to cover a mouthful of jagged teeth, his eyes dark pools of glistening hunger.  No aura at all marked him as a demon, and he was definitely more ballsy than his buddies out there in the dark.

Deciding not to screw around, I drew my sword.  “Bad mistake coming in here, asshole,” I said in a low voice.

“Whoa, no props in the store,” the clerk behind the counter frowned, looking up from his book.

Negligently, I froze him with a wave of the hand, making myself invisible to human eyes, but I knew the demon would have no trouble tracking me.  The glass walls of the store put the frozen clerk on display, but I had bigger fish to fry.

“Momma, I want to go home.”  Eve tugged on my purse and I slid it off my shoulder, handing it to her.

“We will, sweetie, just stay behind me for a minute.  Did Raum put you up to this?” I challenged the demon.  “Tell him I’ll be happy to come and lop off his head too if he keeps it up.”

“Balan no work for Raum,” he grunted, pounding a meaty fist on his chest.  “Balan in the world.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.  Knowing Raum wasn’t on our tail had to be good news, but this made the demon a wildcard.  “What do you want?”

“Balan want taste of pretty girl.”  His lips spread wide to reveal sharp teeth.

“How about I give you a taste of this sword, will that work for you?”

“No work for sword.”  He shook his head, puzzling through my choice of words, obviously not a tower of intellect.  “Girl shines pretty tasty, it calls to Balan.”  His eyes were on my daughter, not me.  In fact, he barely seemed to notice my Grace at all.

“Are you talking about Evie?  What do you mean it calls to you?”

“Girl shine bright like tasty cakes.  Calls to Balan, make mouth water for taste.”  The smile stretched wider, and a ribbon of drool spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Eewh.  “Back the fuck up, Balan,” I said, flashing out with my sword to nick his shoulder.  “She’s not for you or any of your kind.  Do you get me?”

“Balan not get you, get pretty girl.”

“Outside, now.”  I stabbed him again, but he barely seemed to notice, completely fixated on Eve.  Short of killing him right in the comic book store, I wasn’t sure what else to do.  Then I remembered the sting of the sword and laid the flat of the blade against his neck.  That got his attention and he shrank away from the holy steel.  “I said get outside now.”

Balan scowled.  Lumbering backwards, he ducked under the doorway, his eyes darting between me and Eve and back to me again.

“Come on, Evie, it’s time to go.”  I scooped her up into my left arm, sword still held threateningly as I squeezed out the door and edged past the demon.  There were two more demons outside, dirty and hunched over, like their backs couldn’t straighten up completely.  I wanted to fly away, but I wasn’t sure if any of them could sprout wings and pursue.  The one time I’d tried to evade Raum in the sky had turned out to be harder than I’d thought it would be.  I didn’t want to take the chance with Eve in my arms.

A flash of dark wings was the only warning I got as Adam landed light as a cat behind Balan, his sword glinting off the streetlights as he sent the demon’s head rolling.  “Hey, guys,” he said with a nonchalant smile, wiping the black ichor off the blade before he sent it away.

I stared at him in shock, not quite processing what he’d done right away.  The couple waiting for the light to change sure noticed though.  That is to say, they noticed Balan slump to the ground without a head; they didn’t even look at the three of us.  The man clutched the woman to him fearfully, looking around in fright for some sign of why Balan had gone down, and I grabbed Adam by the arm, dragging him down the block a ways.

“You killed him on the street corner in front of everyone,” I hissed, keeping my voice low despite the fact that they couldn’t hear us.

“So?  They couldn’t see me.”

“Yes, but they can see him.  They can see he’s not human.”  Two more people had stopped to look down at the dead guy, cell phones already in hand.

“He won’t last.  Trust me.”

I looked back, peeking through the rapidly gathering crowd.  Sure enough, Balan’s skin began to darken, his clothes steaming as he dissolved into a pool of black sludge.

“And you don’t think that’ll attract attention?”

Adam shrugged it off, not bothered in the least.  “It’s good to keep the humans on their toes every once in a while.  Who wants to go see a movie?”

“I want to go home,” Eve said in a small voice, and I couldn’t blame her.

“I can’t say I’m in the mood for a movie anymore either,” I muttered, rubbing her back in a comforting manner.

“Oh, come on, you guys.  He’s dead, he can’t hurt you anymore.  And it’s a public lesson for the other demons in town.”

The other two I’d seen had slunk off somewhere, and I couldn’t see anyone else around who wasn’t human.  That didn’t mean they weren’t still out there though, waiting and watching.  “How many are there?”

“I don’t know, the usual amount in a town this size.  Wherever there are people you’ll find a demon population to feed from them.  It’s the circle of life.”

“The only circle of life I want her knowing about is from the Lion King, and this is so nothing like that.”

Adam reached over to pat her back.  “You can’t keep her head buried in the sand, Merce.  She’s not a normal kid.”

“I want to go home,” Eve said a little louder.

“Okay, sweetie, we’re going home now,” I said, striding toward the car, not caring in that moment if he followed us or not.

“You can’t expect it not to happen every once in a while.  It’ll be fine as long as we’re with her at night.”

“They don’t only come at night.”  I knew that from personal experience.

“I told you, I took care of it.”  Adam chased me down, catching hold of my elbows to get me to face him.  “Word will get out.  No one else will dare get so close again.  Mercy, trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

I wanted to believe him.  The look in his eye told me he wasn’t just being an overconfident smartass, he believed every word he’d said.  “Alright, I’ll trust you.  But I think we should cut the evening short and maybe stick to a matinee next time.”

“That’s my girl,” he smiled, giving my arms a squeeze.  “Alright, let’s get you two home and we’ll have a movie fest on pay per view.”

Too bad the demons weren’t the only things drawn to Eve’s Grace.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The picture window had been repaired, the new furniture delivered, the cracked tiles replaced.  On the outside, our family was restored and whole.  But on the inside, there were still cracks that needed more than spackle.  Eve started having nightmares, dreaming about the scary man from the comic book store.  She didn’t like going into town anymore and she flatly refused to go anywhere near that street corner.

Paranoia kicked in for me, and I started to rethink the idea of registering Eve for school.  Adam soothed my nerves by reminding me she’d be supervised at school, and one of us could pick her up if we didn’t want to trust the bus.  Since she seemed to be looking forward to meeting other kids in the area, I swallowed the worst of my fear and signed her up.

We never went out at night anymore.  Not wanting to present her like a target, I made sure all of our errands were run during daylight hours, the better the odds in favor of avoiding demons altogether.

Adam tried to pretend he wasn’t worried at all, but more than once I woke to find him sitting next to Eve’s bed, watching her slumber, Nelo tucked onto his lap.  He always played it off like something to keep him busy since he didn’t need to sleep, but I could tell, I wasn’t the only one worried about what the future held in store for Eve.

One day I drove home from picking her up at school to find an unfamiliar dark blue sedan parked in the driveway.  At first I thought it might be a new car that Adam had picked up, but it had a license plate frame from Enterprise Rent a Car.  When the pretty blonde woman stepped out, I braced myself in front of Eve’s door, not quite sure what to expect.

She was about my age, with blonde hair tucked back into a conservative knot at the nape of her neck.  Dressed in a slimming, black dress with a short, fitted coat in a brilliant red, her jewelry was heavy and expensive.  She looked like a lawyer maybe, or someone soliciting money for a charity.   I relaxed somewhat when I spotted her aura.  A deep purple with yellow in the center, I detected no dark patches or even red spots of anger.  She greeted me with a smile and I found myself smiling back.

“Good afternoon,” she called out, offering a hand.  “I’m sorry to barge in on you unannounced like this.  Your number is unlisted, and I so wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.  I’m Corinne Maxwell.”

I shook her hand, the wariness dissipating as I remembered what it was like to be a normal human being again.  “Hi, nice to meet you.  I’m Jennifer Thompson,” I said, using my alias.  “And this is Ginny.”

“Well, hello,” Corinne waved to Eve in the car.  “I’m sorry to interrupt, I could come back some other time if you have your hands full.”

What would a normal person do?  “Oh, no, it’s no biggie.  We’re just getting home from school is all.”  I pulled open the car door, unstrapping Eve from the booster seat.  “Do you, ah, want to come in for a cup of coffee or something?”

“That would be lovely,” she smiled, standing back as I got her out of the car and dug out my keys.  “It’s nice to see a family in this house again, it was vacant for some time.”

“How long have you lived in the neighborhood?” I asked, unlocking the deadbolt and ushering her inside.  It wasn’t too crazy in there, a few scattered toys, but not too bad.  Still, she looked out of place in our modest home, as if she belonged in a house straight off the pages of Better Homes and Gardens.

“A few years now,” she replied, taking a seat on the edge of the sofa when I motioned her in.  “I’m from the east coast originally, but I enjoy the slower pace out here.”

“May I have some juice, please?” Eve asked, affecting the perfect performance of a little lady without even being asked.  Maybe it was a habit she’d picked up in Githa, because I’d certainly never been such a stickler for manners.

“Of course.  Miss Maxwell, would you prefer tea or coffee?”

“Oh please, call me Corinne.  I’ll have whatever’s easiest.  Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” she smiled.

“Alright, I’ll go put the kettle on,” I smiled back, crossing into the kitchen where I could still keep an eye on them through the arch.  The whole thing felt like we were playing at a grown up tea party.  All of us playing a role, not saying anything of consequence.

I came back into the room with a tray of tea, juice and a small plate of cookies.  Eve and Corinne had their heads bent together, speaking quietly.  It bothered me to see Eve so close to the stranger, even if she seemed perfectly harmless, but I didn’t feel like I could say anything without attracting attention.  Instead I lured her away with juice and cookies and the promise of a movie upstairs in her room.

“Oh, I don’t mind her staying around.” Corinne looked disappointed when I sent Eve away, a cookie in each pocket and the cup carefully balanced in her hands.

“She needs some time to unwind after school or she’ll talk your ears off.” I waved her away, busying myself with the tea and playing hostess.

“She’s quite a little charmer, isn’t she?”

“We think so.”

“We?”  Her brows came up, the mug of tea halfway to her lips.  “Are you married?”  She looked down to my naked finger.

“It’s complicated,” I said shortly, not wanting to jump into a lie without talking to Adam first.  These were going to be our neighbors for a while, I wanted to have our story straight.

Right on cue, Adam strolled in, looking good as usual in his black t-shirt and jeans.  “Hey, who’s this?” he asked with a friendly smile.

“Corinne Maxwell, pleased to meet you.”  She rose to her feet, taking a breath when he shook her hand.  “Adamiel… your reputation precedes you.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, and neither did he.  “I wish I could say the same.  What is it you think you know about me exactly?”

“Actually, I know a great deal about you,” she smiled.  “We’ve been following your exploits for hundreds of years.  We didn’t know you were actively with the child at this time.”

“Who has?”  A furrow appeared on his brow.

“And what do you mean you didn’t know he was with the child?  Just who the hell are you?” I demanded.

Corinne didn’t lose an ounce of cool, turning a controlled smile in my direction.  “Miss Renault, I represent a small offshoot of the Catholic church who deals in the mysteries of faith.”

“There’s nothing mysterious going on here,” Adam said with a scowl, and she leveled a cool stare at him.

“I think we all know you’re wrong about that.”

“The church?”  I gasped.  I had no idea they even knew who we were let alone kept tabs on us.  “How did you know where to find us?”  Daphne would’ve called if they’d stopped by to ask her questions.  And the house, everything else, was under assumed names.

“We’re not without our resources.  We’ve been tracking all references to the three of you in the new bible for some time now.   Most of the prophecies are more general than specific, but they’ve helped clue us in to this region for some time, especially with the help of the Church of New Faith up in Seattle.”

“The Church of New Faith?  Never heard of it,” Adam said with a shake of the head.

“I believe you’ve met the founder.  He calls himself Archbishop Steve?”

“That crackpot?” I snorted.  “You can’t seriously believe anything he has to say.”

“Oh, his testimony is only one piece of the puzzle we’ve assembled.  We monitor all news services for reports of the unusual… like a beheaded man who dissolves from view,” she said with a pointed look to Adam.  “But in this instance, the prophet was very specific.  His vision described your home here very specifically.”

“What did he say?” I asked, even as Adam tried to distract me from it.

“Mercy, you can’t put any stock in it.”

“What did he say?” I pressed.

“He said there would be a struggle between the light and the dark.  And the darkness would fall before the Bringer of Life with the help of her consort and the Archangel Michael.”  She said it like we were talking about the menu for the PTA fundraiser, not the crazed battle that had destroyed my living room.

“Consort?  I’m more than a consort,” Adam grumbled.

Corinne ignored him, looking to me.  “Unless I’m mistaken, that’s already come to pass, hasn’t it?”

I met her gaze squarely.  “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what it is you want to talk to us about.”

“I’m here to investigate the claim that you’re the Bringer of Life.”

“I’m not claiming to be anything.”

“May I see your daughter again?”

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Adam said coldly.

Again, she ignored him, focusing her plea on me.  “What are you trying to hide?  If your daughter truly is this new race of man, she deserves to be studied carefully, exalted.”

“Yep, time for you to go.”  I went to the front door and pulled it open.  Corinne took a deep breath, her heels clicking on the hardwood as she slowly made her way to the door.  Once she was right in front of me, she gave it another try.

“Miss Renault, I can understand your instinct to protect your child, and that’s admirable.  That’s all we want too, to protect her.  If she truly is the new messiah…”

“I never said she was the messiah, and neither did the new bible.  Whatever she is, she’s my daughter, and I want you to leave her alone.”

“Miss Renault…”

“You should probably keep in mind that I beat down the devil without breaking a sweat.  I wouldn’t push it, lady.”

“I see.”  She gave me a tight smile.  “Well, it was lovely to have met you both, and I hope we’ll speak again under better circumstances.”

“Don’t count on it,” Adam scowled, slamming the door behind her.  I stayed at the peephole, watching until she got in her car and drove away.

“Bunny, are you okay up there?” I called out, suddenly wondering how far they’d go to study my daughter.

“Yes, Momma.  I’m watching Animal Planet!”

“Okay, have fun.”  At least she’d been unaffected by the visit.  Adam less so.  He sat on the edge of the coffee table, staring off into space.  “Well, that can’t be good.  What are we supposed to do about this?  We can’t stay here with them looking over our shoulders all the time.”

“We leave,” he said, slapping his hands on his thighs and standing.  “We’ll grab a few things and go.”

“Are you kidding me?” I blinked.  I’d been expecting him to tell me I was making a big deal out of nothing, the way he always did.  “Demons you don’t have a problem with, but a visit from one woman sends you packing?”

“You don’t want to fuck with these guys, believers are more dangerous than they look.”

“But what about the house?”  We’d just moved in and now he wanted to pick up and leave?

“What do you want me to say, Mercy?  You asked for my opinion, I’m giving it to you.  If they’ve gotten it into their heads to take Evie into custody for the good of humanity, they won’t stop until they have her.”

“Where will we go?”

“Someplace… not here.  I’ll figure it out along the way.  We’ll have to be more careful next time.  Cut off all ties from your old life.”

“That’s not how she found us.  She said one of their people had a vision or something.  How are we supposed to hide from that?”

Adam took me into his arms, wrapping me up in soothing warmth.  “Yeah, but it took them eight years to pinpoint her.  It’ll be okay, Mercy, I promise.”

I never should have believed him.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

We didn’t bother to look into buying a house after that, it was strictly rentals for us.  First we went to Denver, but there were too many demons in town, and they all seemed drawn to Eve’s Grace.  I don’t know how they managed to sniff her out.  It was like one of those zombie movies where they always knew what deserted warehouse the humans were holed up in.

I started to appreciate the streets of Seattle and Raum’s presence there keeping the demons at bay.  But we couldn’t go back there, not with Corinne and her believers knowing our ties to the city.  Next we tried Carson City, and that seemed like a good choice, until the day she was spotted and we had to leave town in a hurry after Adam gutted a demon like a trout in the parking lot of the Dairy Queen.

Springfield, Oregon seemed like a safe bet.  Nelo didn’t sense any demons for miles around.  We settled into a tentative calm, even enrolling Eve in school again, until the night I woke to hear Nelo calling for me, followed by her terrified screams.

I ran down the hall at super speeds, careening into the wall as I burst into her room to find a demon frozen in place, not two feet from her bed.  Adam shot in seconds later, having come from downstairs, his jaw dropping at the sight of the paralyzed demon.  Eve ran into his arms, burying her head against his chest, sobs wracking her petite body.

“Is she okay?  Did he hurt her?” I asked, trying to get a look at her face, but she wouldn’t budge from his chest.

“She’s just scared.  How did you do that, Mercy?” Adam nodded his head to the paralyzed demon.

“I didn’t.  She must have.  I didn’t think we could freeze demons.”  I knew Lucifer could, but I assumed that was from whatever dark magic he had access to.

“Nelo!” I yelled at the top of my lungs when I couldn’t find him anywhere.  He stepped out of the shadows at the foot of the bed, hanging his head in shame.

“I called for you, Mistress.  I called, but then I was scared.”

“Come here,” I said, opening my arms to him.  “It’s okay, you did the right thing.  You called us and you got yourself safe.”  I held back tears as I met Adam’s gaze over the top of Nelo’s head.  We couldn’t keep this up, not anymore.

An hour and a cup of hot chocolate later, I had both Nelo and Eve tucked into our bed, fast asleep, but I couldn’t even think about sleeping there for even one more night.  Adam showed up not too long after, the dark spatter of demon blood on his shirt letting me know he’d found more of them outside.

“We’re all clear out there.  They won’t be bothering us again.”  Adam kept his voice pitched low to keep the kids from waking.

“He was in our house,” I said dully, fancying I saw movement in the shadows outside, even though he’d declared it safe.

“I’ll have to start watching over her while you sleep.  I’ll handle it.”

“Will you?  Will you attach yourself to her twenty-four seven?  What happens when she gets older?  What happens when she doesn’t want you glued to her side at all times?”

“Tough, she doesn’t get a choice.”

If only it were that simple.  I dragged my gaze away from the window to find him staring down at the sleeping pair on the bed.  “And what about you and me?  What kind of a life is this for us?  Watching over her like a hawk.  When do we get any time for ourselves?”

“It won’t always be like this.  We’ll find a place…”

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this.  It seems like we’re barely in a place for a week and we’re spotted.  What are we supposed to do, find a lonely mountaintop?”

“It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’m not.”  Adam’s jaw tightened, but he kept his voice low.  “I said I’d do whatever it takes, and I meant it.”

“I just… I don’t know if I can live like this.  I’d almost rather take her back to Ma’on.”

“I thought we agreed that was no kind of life for her.”

“She’d be safe, at least.  Oh… but you couldn’t be with her.  I’m sorry, I forgot you couldn’t go there.”

“It’s okay.  That’s not important right now.”

“Of course it’s important.  She’s your daughter.  I know we haven’t come right out and had the talk with her, but she deserves to grow up knowing you.  And if we go up there and you stay here… who knows how many years will go by on Earth until you can see us again.”

Adam stripped off the spattered shirt and sat on the corner of the bed.  “There’s another alternative.”

“I’m not taking her to a hell dimension,” I hissed, but his hand came up to cut me off.

“That’s not it.  We could bind her Grace again.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s why I went to see Oriana, remember?  There’s another way.”

“How could I have forgotten about that!” I gasped, hands covering my mouth as I got excited for the first time in weeks.  “Why didn’t you mention it before?”

“Because we were handling it.  There’s a price…”

“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.  You said you had a way around it though, didn’t you?  I shouldn’t need to give up all my Grace this time.”

“Yep, I did say that.”

“So let’s do it.  Let’s get Oriana out here and magic her up.  Then they won’t be able to find us anymore, right?  Eve can grow up like a regular kid and we can stop running.”  It seemed like the perfect solution.

“Yeah, it’s the right thing to do.”

There was something about the way he said it… I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but he didn’t seem too thrilled by the prospect.  “What’s the matter?  You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

“I was just hoping to avoid it,” he sighed, looking down at her sleeping face.

My danger sense kicked into overdrive.  “Why?  What’s the matter?  What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing,” he smiled, getting up to pull on a clean shirt.  “You’re right, this is the only way she can have a normal life.  Otherwise they’ll keep coming, from both sides.   I just wished… I hoped things could be different, for all of us.”

I started to see what was bothering him.  The Grace gave him a connection to Eve, one that Parker hadn’t shared.  I came up behind him to wrap my arms around him in a hug.  “Her losing the Grace isn’t the end of the world, you know.  I can think of worse things than being human.”

“Me too.”

“So we’ve decided, that’s what we’ll do?”

“Yeah.  That’s what we’ll do.”  Adam turned around, and I could see he’d jumped on board with both feet.  “Tomorrow I’ll go pick up Oriana, and we’ll meet back at the house in Olympia.”

“Why there?”

“Because it’s quiet and out of the way, and no one will expect us to go back there.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“I always make sense,” he snorted.

“Look, I know this is bumming you out, but you can still bond with her without the Grace as a bridge.  There are plenty of father-daughter activities you can do to spend time together.”

“Right, I know.  It’ll be worth it,” he nodded, his lips tugging up into a half smile.  “You should get some sleep, tomorrow’s a big day.”

“I’m not sure I could.  I should probably get us packed up.”  We’d broken it down to a science and it wouldn’t take long, but I was way too amped to clock out.

“That can wait.  Come here.”  Adam pulled me over to the bed, carefully climbing in without disturbing Eve or Nelo.  I went into his arms, my ear pressed to his chest to listen to the steady beat of his heart.

I did sleep, in the end, and when I woke he was still holding me, his other arm curled around our daughter.  I smiled up at him and he returned it with a soft, almost reflective smile.  A pensive Adam wasn’t something I saw often, but it made me think he really was growing and changing.  Maybe we did stand a chance at being a normal family after all.

* * *

“Are you quite certain you want to do this?”  Oriana’s eyes were wide as she asked me the question for the fourth time.

“Yes, I think it’s the only way, don’t you?”

“Once the spell is cast, it can not be undone.  Her Grace will be bound until she is of age.”

“Yes, I know, you’ve already explained that.”  I started to get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.  “Oriana… is there something you’re not telling me?  Will there be any other side effects?”

“No, no side effects,” she answered readily enough.  “She will be every inch a mortal child while her Grace is hidden.  She will be more susceptible to injury and illness though.”

“So, pretty much like a normal kid.”

“There is no such thing as normal, Matty is often fond of saying.”

“Right.  So we’re good here.”

Still, she hesitated.  “I must caution you, I will no longer be able to see her path.”

“But neither will anyone else, right?  Those religious guys, they’ll be just as blind?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“That’s all we want.  The chance to be left alone to live a…”

“Normal life,” she finished for me with a long, drawn out sigh.  “Very well, we should begin.  Unless…” She looked to Adam who’d emerged from the house with his face freshly scrubbed, the faint whiff of soap coming off of him.

“Let’s do it,” he said, rubbing his hands briskly together.  “But first.  Give me a kiss.  For luck.”

“I won’t say no to that,” I smiled, tilting my face up to his.  Instead of a quick peck, Adam’s kiss meant business, and I almost forgot where we were when he finally pulled away, holding me tight while I regained my senses.

“Wow, that was some kiss,” I breathed, my Grace casting a faint glow over my skin.

“We can use all the luck we can get, right?” he said with a playful wink, letting go of me to approach Eve.  “You too, BunBun, give me some sugar.”  Adam caught her up in a big hug, holding her close and laying a noisy kiss to her cheek.  He even laid a hand onto Nelo’s shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze before he carried Eve out into the driveway where Oriana had drawn a large four square in white chalk.

“Alright then, everybody take their places,” Oriana called out brightly, steering Eve to one of the spaces.  “There’s a good girl.  Nelo, you’d best get in there too.”

That was news to me, I hadn’t known we were going to involve him at all.  “Why?  He doesn’t like being out in the daylight.”

“It’s going to be okay,” said Adam.  “Oriana knows her stuff.”

Oriana’s smile at the compliment was dazzling and she coaxed Nelo into the morning sun with a wave.  “The spell will bind Nelo’s darkness as well so it can’t be sensed.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”  Still, I didn’t like having things sprung on me.  I’d learned not to appreciate surprises all that much.  I noticed a small box in Adam’s hands for the first time, about the size of a deck of tarot cards, intricately carved with Celtic knotwork.  “What’s in that?”

“The power we need to pull the spell off for good.”

“Where did you get it?”  I remembered him saying something about calling in some favors from his brothers, but we hadn’t had much time to talk about the specifics.

“What difference does it make so long as I’ve got it covered?” he snapped, and I looked up at him in surprise.  “Shit, sorry.  I guess I’m a little edgy about this.  Don’t worry about this, Mercy, we’re doing the right thing.”

“I know,” I said softly. I hadn’t had any doubts until that morning.  But something was off…

“It’s time to begin.  Each to your own squares please.”  Oriana physically separated us, placing Adam in one square and me in another.  She took her place in the final remaining square.

“Why?”

“It’s necessary, for your safety.”

“If you say so. You’re not scared, are you, Evie?”  She hadn’t looked the least bit frightened, but as she stood there with Nelo’s hand in hers, I saw a flicker of worry behind her eyes.

“No, Momma.  Uncle Adam explained it all to me, I’m not afraid.”

I nodded, looking to Oriana to begin.  We stood waiting, each of us in a different quadrant, like we were about to play the weirdest game of four square ever while she lifted her face to the sky.  The words were different, unlike the guttural chant in the demonic language Dahlia had used.  These sounded more lyrical, reminding me of those Elvish passages in the Lord of the Rings.  It was still all Greek to me, but the tingle of magic in the air convinced me it was more than pretty gibberish.

The air around Eve’s body started to glow, visible even in the daylight, her Grace a beacon. I was glad we weren’t doing this at night or we would’ve attracted every demon in the county.  Nelo let go of her hand, as if it burned, but Eve showed no signs of discomfort.  A soft breeze fluttered Oriana’s pale hair, but it didn’t touch Eve’s or mine.  I started to feel warm, like I was standing next to a raging fire, but whatever she was doing wasn’t accessing my Grace, there was no telltale glow.

Adam on the other hand blazed bright, more dazzling than Eve, and I could see the sweat standing out on his brow from the effort it cost him.  He was using up too much of his own Grace instead of relying on the Grace he’d collected from his brothers.  “Hey, open the box,” I called out to him, more worried for his sake than the risk of messing up the spell at that point.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes, his chest heaving as he sank to his knees, his Grace crackling and flickering around him like a bug zapper.  It sparked a memory from the dim recesses of my mind – of Sam standing over me in the hospital, his aura faltering after giving me his Grace.  I started forward, spell be damned, but ran face first into an invisible barrier, like the one in Midian.  My hands came up to push at the forcefield, but I was trapped like a mime gone horribly wrong.  “Adam!” I yelled, my voice sounding small to my ears, muffled by the powerful magic encasing us.  “Oriana, what are you doing?”

The petite witch ignored me, her lips moving soundlessly as she continued her chant, hands raised to the heavens.  Nelo had crouched into a ball, his darkness partially obscuring him from my view while Eve stood beside him, staring into space.

“Now!” Oriana commanded, her voice reverberating through the square prison.  Adam opened the box, to my relief, but instead of a flow of supportive Grace as I’d been anticipating, nothing rushed out.  It sucked the Grace right out of Eve in a river of pure light.  At the same time, the darkness around Nelo shifted and dissipated, leaving the huddled form of a naked little man shivering beside her.

I stared in wonder before a groan drew my attention back to Adam, who swayed on his knees, his skin waxy and pale.  “Adam?” I called out, but he ignored me, focusing on the box.  “Adam, stop it!  It’s taking too much.  Let me help you!”  Tears spilled from my eyes as I started to grasp what his intent was all along.

“Oriana, stop… you have to let me help him.  Take my Grace to finish the spell!”

The witch gave no sound that she’d heard me at all, her intent tightly focused while her body wavered like a leaf caught on the wind.

“Adam, look at me!” I demanded, beating against the unseen barrier, wondering if I could blast through it with my Grace.  His hand came to rest on the other side of the invisible wall, palm to palm, but not touching.  Confusion clouded his blue eyes, but I could reach him, I was sure of it.

“Yes, you can stop it.  Please, please don’t do this.”  I tried to send a pulse of Grace to him, but it dissipated into the barrier, having no effect on him whatsoever.  “Adam, please… I need you,” I pleaded, chest heaving in desperate panic.

His lips quirked into an almost smile.  “Always… love you…” he breathed, the confusion clearing for one long moment frozen in time, before he disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

“Adam!!!” I screamed, beating against the wall with both my fists and it suddenly failed, leaving me to topple over into the next square, but it was too late.  Adam was gone.

Oh God… I couldn’t…he couldn’t really be gone!

I couldn’t bear it.  For endless minutes I was so stunned, so shocked, so… there were no words.  I wanted to die too.  I wanted it all to just stop.  To take away the pain, the loss, the unbearable agony of facing a lifetime without Adam.

I’d always thought there would be time.  In the back of my mind, even when I was happy with Parker, I admit, I always thought Adam would be waiting for me someday.  Someday, when he learned to think before he opened his mouth.  When he learned you couldn’t bolt when things got tough.  I’d even dared to think we were finally there in those few short weeks we spent together as a family.

Only the moment he did the growing I knew he was capable of, he did a boneheaded thing like sacrifice himself for our daughter.  How was I supposed to live with that?

Numbly, I looked down, surprised to find Eve cuddled up against me, her soft sobs echoing mine.  Oriana lay panting on the driveway, looking near death herself, and part of me lashed out angrily, thinking good.  Her head turned, pale eyes meeting mine, and I felt my anger sharpen into a burning thing with a life all its own.

“You had no right to do this!  You had no right to take him from me!”

Her eyes widened in hurt like a wounded animal not knowing where the hunter’s arrow had come from.  “But… it’s what he ordered me to do.  It’s what you wanted.”

“I never wanted this!”

“You knew… you knew of the sacrifice required,” she gasped.

“No, I didn’t.  How could you think I would make a decision like this?”

“It was his choice to make.”

“No, it wasn’t.”  Not when it affected all of us like this.  Eve cried softly in my arms, and I pulled back to try and see her face.  “Bunny, I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry you had to see that.”  First Parker and now Adam… how much loss could a girl take?  She surprised me, her blue eyes shiny, but serene as she looked up at me.

“He said he had to go away, and that we shouldn’t be sad,” Eve said with cheerless resignation.  “But I am sad.”

“Of course you are, honey,” I said at first, wondering at how I’d been the only one without a clue.  “Adam told you he was doing this?”

She nodded.  “He said it would keep us safe from the shadow people.  Am I safe now?  I don’t feel any different, but you do.  You don’t shine anymore, Mom.”

I was Mom now, instead of Momma.  It made sense, she’d had precious little time to be a child.  My Grace was still there, but she couldn’t perceive it, that and the glow of her human aura told me Oriana’s spell had been successful.

“Yes, you’re safe now, Bunny.  We’re both safe.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Inside, I was dying, but there were things to do.  Besides binding Eve’s Grace, Nelo didn’t resemble a demon anymore.  He looked like a stocky little human, still only coming up to my waist, with dark hair and slightly crooked teeth.  It was hard to gauge his age from his appearance, but his voice still sounded childlike to me.  The amber eyes were the only things that felt the same.  We dressed him in some of Eve’s clothes, jeans and a Lilo & Stitch t-shirt, even though he said he found the material scratchy.

I couldn’t bring myself to take Oriana home.  Instead, I called Matty and told him where to come and pick her up.  Maybe it was a shitty thing for me to do, but I couldn’t be around her, not yet, the pain was still too fresh.

It was all I could do to get Evie and Nelo out of there, opting to take a rental car instead of flying us out.  We drove south, without a real destination in mind.  I had a bag full of cash and a set of new identities in the front seat, Eve and Nelo asleep in the back with Bitey curled up between them.  Inside the bag was a letter from Adam. I hadn’t been able to open it yet without dissolving into tears.

For the moment there were more pressing matters at hand.  In order to make this work, for Eve to have a shot at a real childhood, I had to call in some reinforcements.  Remiel came as soon as I called, working some of that angelic magic of his to fudge with Eve’s memory.  He offered to stay on for a while, to make sure we were okay, but it hurt me to have him around.  I could see too much of Adam’s charm in his lazy smile, and too much of Adam’s beauty in his flawed perfection.  As far as I was concerned, I never wanted to see another angel again as long as I lived.

And as far as Eve knew, angels and demons were only vague notions from storybooks.  She remembered Parker dimly, and Adam as a distant uncle who dropped in every now and again, but that was it.  Nothing of her time in Githa or with Michael, nothing of the Grace she’d given up, and Nelo was under strict orders never to mention any of it ever again.  It was better that way.

We settled in Battleground, Washington.  Well, as settled as we could be, prepared to run at the slightest hint of danger.  I enrolled Eve – now Annabeth by her choice – in school and tried to go on with living.  My birthday came and went, and I looked no different than when Sam first touched me with his Grace.  I started to think I might truly live forever.  Swell.

Months went by and we saw no sign of demons, Corinne and her believers, or any other angels.  Until the call came.

I’d just watched Eve climb onto the school bus when I heard it, the call of Gabriel’s horn.  My insides froze as I wondered if she’d hear anything too, but she waved to me from her seat like nothing was wrong.  I forced a smile, waving back, ignoring the call until the bus faded from sight.

Shit.  Just when I’d started to put it all in the past.

It felt like a lifetime ago when I’d last heard the call, back in my bed with Parker by my side, but there was no mistaking it.  The horn could not be ignored, but I delayed going for as long as I could, taking a perverse pleasure in sauntering back to our apartment first to give Nelo a heads up.  If the skirts had to wait – so be it.

But by the time I got there, the muscles between my shoulder blades were twitching, every part of me eager to answer the call.  I barely paused to tell Nelo where I was headed, trusting him to meet Bunny at the bus stop if I didn’t come back in time to make sure she got home safely.  And then I stepped out onto the tiny balcony, spreading my wings with an audible sigh of relief.

It didn’t take long to get there, the tiny wooded island near Seattle where I’d first met Gabriel and Raziel.  Raziel… I hadn’t thought about him in a long time.  Another angel dead because of me.  I tamped those thoughts away, it was getting easier to avoid thinking about painful things the more I did it.

I landed in the center of the group of milling angels with a soft whump.  “This had better not go past noon.  Do you know how hard it is to find a sitter at the drop of a hat?” I growled to Gabriel, not at all amused at being summoned, great honor or not.

The angels gathered gasped at my tone, and I was willing to bet none of them had ever heard anyone speak to him like that.  For his part, Gabriel didn’t seem too upset by my outburst.  I took it he knew my circumstances well enough to know the source of my irritation.

“We have much to discuss,” he said evenly.  “It has been too long since we last gathered.”

“Not long enough for me.  Can’t you hold these things without me?  Give me a pass or something?”

“You are still the Clarion, you are still my voice.”

“Yeah, whatever.”  I let out a long breath.  Might as well get it over with.  “Alright then, guys.  Hear ye, hear ye, the meeting is about to begin.”  I clapped my hands together, wishing I had a gavel to bang or something to get them to stop yakking.  “First order of business?”  I looked to Gabriel.

“We must speak of the Portland witches.”

“Is there an update on the witches in Portland?” I called out.

One of the angels gave a report, I think his name was Davael.  Mostly it had to do with watching their activities, pretty boring stuff actually.

“Why are we even watching these witches?  They’re the good guys,” I asked, remembering my brief contact with Annaliese in Portland.  “Don’t we have bigger fish to fry?”

Davael drew back as if offended, but didn’t say anything as he looked to Gabriel, who waved me on.  “Move on to the demon activity in San Francisco.”

“Okay, enough about witches, he wants to know about the demons in San Francisco.”  Considering the large population of demons in other big cities, I could imagine a place like that would be a regular Mecca for the shadow creatures.

Gagiel stepped forward.  “It’s being handled,” he said succinctly.

“By who?”

“Humans.”

“There are humans that know about demons?  That can’t be good,” I frowned, but Gabriel merely shrugged.

“Some of them do.”

“So… it’s under control then?”

“For the moment.  I will keep them ever under my watchful eye,” Gagiel promised.

“If you say so,” I murmured.  “Okay, moving on.”  If we kept things short and sweet, I might get home in time to eat lunch with Nelo before Bunny got home from school.

“One of the Fallen has been redeemed.”

“Say what?” I blinked, sure I’d heard Gabriel wrong.  “Did you say one of the Fallen has been redeemed?”  A collective gasp went through the crowd – they were just as shocked as I was.

“Yes, he has been welcomed back into the fold.”

“I thought that never happened.”

“This is a first,” he agreed, the hint of a smile behind his eyes.  A ripple of understanding seemed to go through the gathered angels, though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.  Something was up, and I felt like my brain was too sluggish to follow.

“What’s…”

A blur of dark wings streaked through the sky, aiming for the island going impossibly fast.  I barely had time to take two steps backwards when it landed, and Adam stood there, his wings fanned around him for dramatic effect, the dopiest grin I’d ever seen perched on his lips.

“Adam?” I breathed, too afraid I’d slipped into a dream to say more.  It hurt to look at him, he was so stunning, his Grace shining bright against the gray day.

“That’s my name, babydoll,” he smirked.  “Did you miss me?”

The angels assembled parted, opening a path for me as I approached him, still too scared to believe my eyes.  “I don’t understand… you died.”

“Yep.”  He didn’t seem all that broken up about it.

“Did you know this was going to happen?  Did you know you were going to come back?”  I reached up to touch his face hesitantly, afraid he’d have no form, but he caught up my hand and pressed a kiss to the center of my palm.

“Actually, no, I had no idea,” he admitted.  Which meant only one thing… he’d seriously thought he was a goner that day.  Rage bubbled inside at him for taking that decision away from me and my hand cocked back, almost of its own volition.  I punched him hard enough to send him reeling backwards, off balance.

“That’s for being a dumbass and leaving me like that,” I shouted, overcome with emotion.  I leapt at him again, and Adam tensed, but this time I delivered a powerful kiss, throwing my arms around his neck.  He was there, and he was real.  He tasted the same, and the way he held me… it was like we’d never been apart.

Only after we were gasping for breath did it occur to me to ask, “Are you allowed to do that, now that you’re a full angel again?”

“Who cares?” he breathed, kissing me again.  I let him distract me like that for long minutes, until I pulled back again.

“No, seriously.  Is it a problem for us to be together?  Loving a woman is what got you Fallen in the first place.”

Adam gave a careless shrug.  “I don’t see any thunder or lightening, so I think we’re good.  I wouldn’t care anyway.  Fallen or not, I’m still going to be with you.”  He held me tight, and I felt a knot ease inside of me, deep beneath my heart where I’d felt lost and alone since he’d died.

“Have you been up there in Heaven this whole time?”

Adam pulled back to look at me again.  “How long have I been gone?” he frowned.

“A few months.”

“Ah shit, I’m sorry about that, Mercy.  You know time…”

“Moves differently,” I finished for him.  “Yes, I remember.  It’s okay, as long as you’re back now.”

Gabriel cleared his throat, and I remembered we had an audience.  All the angels were watching us closely, curious over the open display of affection.

“Oh, right.  The meeting’s adjourned,” I announced, shaking out my wings.  More than anything I wanted to get Adam home.  No… needed to, to prove to myself it was real.

“We still have business to discuss,” Gabriel said mildly.

“Then act it out with charades, I’m on sabbatical as of now.  Come on, Adam, let’s go.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smirked, taking hold of my hand as we took off.  We didn’t talk on the way.  It didn’t take all that long to get back to Battleground and back to my apartment.  Nelo was predictably excited to see him and Adam hugged him back, even if I could tell he was understandably weirded out to see the human version of the little guy.  I was still getting used to him in people form too, only Eve seemed to accept him as normal.  He chattered on in excitement until we convinced him we needed some grown-up time of our own, and he excused himself to go make a welcome home banner.

“You’re really here,” I sighed, catching myself staring at Adam for the umpteenth time since he’d walked through the door.

“I am,” he grinned, reaching over to rub my shoulder.

“I can’t believe this is happening.  Bunny’s going to flip out, and Sam, Remy… Everybody.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

“What?”

“I don’t think you should tell her I’m her father yet.”

I could see what it cost him to say that, and my brows knit together in puzzlement.  “Why not?”

“It’s like you said.  It’s okay for Uncle Adam to drop in and out of her life, it’s not okay for a father.”

Quick like a rabbit, the knot of dread jumped back into my stomach.  “But… you’re back to stay, right?”

His hand flopped back and forth.  “Yes, and no.  I’m here, but I have responsibilities now.”

“What kind of responsibilities?”

“Whatever He decides.”  His eyes turned skyward.  “But for the moment I’m all yours.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask for.”  I leaned close to meet his kiss, the knot easing at his touch.  “Evie doesn’t remember any of it, you know.  Angels, demons, what she is… Remiel wiped it clean.  So you can’t do anything angelic whenever you’re around.”

“I can manage that,” he agreed without hesitation.

I let out a long breath, settling deeper into the couch as I turned it over in my head.  “So we go back to you being Uncle Adam?  At least while we’re in public and in front of Eve?”  It wasn’t the worst plan ever.  It would make things simpler, so long as we could keep our hands to ourselves.

“As much as I’d like things to be otherwise, I think that’s probably for the best.  No sense in confusing her.  Unless you think she’ll accept that we’re unusually close siblings.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, leaning in to kiss my neck.

“You’re sick, you know that?” I laughed, even as I tilted my head to give him better access.  We probably wouldn’t last a week before she figured it out.  “Do you really want to do this?  To live as a normal human being, washing dishes, taking out the garbage, get a real job, become a productive member of society?”

Adam drew back, his face pinched as if he’d smelled something rank.  “Who says we have to do all that?  Why can’t we be independently wealthy?”

“Because the whole point is to be under the radar.  Just because Eve’s Grace is hidden doesn’t mean there aren’t people still out there looking for her.  The less attention we attract, the better.”

“You can get a job then, I’ll be your freeloading brother,” he grinned.  My smile faltered. I still missed Matty and I felt bad about how I’d left things with Oriana, but we’d completely cut off all ties to the past.  Adam mistook my reaction.  “Don’t worry, I’ll still contribute to the household, it’ll just be with my ill gotten gains.”

“As long as you keep Eve away from it, that’s fine with me.”  I supposed it was too much to ask for him to domesticate more than that.  “The important thing is that we’re a family again, no matter how dysfunctional a family that is.”

“Hmm, I’m feeling the urge to do something really dysfunctional…” he purred, flashing those crystalline blue eyes at me.  “How long until she gets home from school?”

We had a couple of hours yet.  I took his hand, pulling him off the couch and leading him to the bedroom.  “Come on, I think it’s about time you redeemed that striptease I owe you.”

“That’s my girl.”

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Books by Lisa Olsen:

The Touch

Moonsong

Nine Steps to Sara

Pretty Witches All in a Row

Kiss the Witch Goodbye

The Company Series:

The Company of Shadows

The Company of Darkness

Book 3 (end of 2014)

The Fallen Series:

Angel of Mercy

Mercy for the Wicked

Mercy for the Damned

Child of Mercy

Mercy for the Fallen

Forged Bloodlines Series:

Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down

Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down

Find Me When the Sun Goes Down

Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down

Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down

Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down

Release Me When the Sun Goes Down

Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down (Fall 2014)

The Vampire Diaries:

Tabula Rasa

For more information, visit the author’s website at http://www.lisaolsen.net

or her author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/lisaolsen

You can also visit her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisaolsenrobotbrain

The Company of Shadows

Chapter One

Need.

Not wants or desires, but need drove Asherik to seek the company of shadows.  The sunlight didn’t pain him in a physical sense, but he preferred the darkness.  All manner of interesting things grew bolder under the cover of night, all driven by need.  Street toughs openly flashed makeshift weapons, demanding tribute of those stupid enough to look prosperous on the seamy streets of San Francisco.  Junkies smashed car windows, searching for anything portable worth a few dollars, desperate to slide oblivion into their veins.  Women sold their bodies, some to chase that same oblivion, some to feed a deeper need.  Scuttling vermin and insects; night was the perfect time to feed, and Ash felt a hunger that couldn’t be satisfied by tender bits of veal sautéed in an excellent Marsala.

Though he enjoyed the comforts of excess (the elegant meal, black satin sheets, and panoramic views of the bay that stretched from every window of the modern house he’d appropriated), Ash preferred the seedy squalor of the Tenderloin district when it came time to satisfy his true hunger.  There, among the dregs of human society, he felt a kinship.  His sins were no worse than the sins of man.  There were plenty who fed from terror, pain and lust.  Tonight he was after something far more elusive – innocence.

He could pluck a victim from the streets at any time for the taste of fear; it was corruption Ash sought.  Corruption of innocence above all else, a feat made all that much more elusive for the hunting ground he chose.  It would be nothing to lay in wait outside of a church or a library and find all manner of easy prey, but he wanted more.  Nothing so simple as virginity, though that was a keen pleasure to be had, but an innocence of spirit was all the more satisfying to consume.  Far tastier than the gobbets of quivering flesh he fed upon when the mood struck.

Though he enjoyed the occasional grapple with men, Ash preferred the softness of women.  There were women to be had on the streets, but their dead eyes offered him no joy.  He wanted to hunt.  He wanted the thrill of discovery.

And so he’d dressed himself in an elegant suit of virgin wool, soft against the skin and pleasing to the eye.  Black on black, open at the throat, with a shock of scarlet peeping out of the breast coat pocket.  Perhaps a bit warm, given the muggy night, but Ash didn’t mind the heat.  He enjoyed a good sweat.

He pushed the silver coupe he’d appropriated through the squalid streets with a squeal of tires, daring a policeman to stop him.  There were none in sight, having abandoned that part of the city for the night unless called.  Parking a short distance away from his chosen destination, he didn’t bother to lock the car, preferring to make it easier on thieves.  It made no difference to him if the car was there on his return, and after a brief consideration, left the keys in the car; a lucky find for a comrade.

The neon and pumping music called him to his purpose.  Inferno – the club brought him everything his delicate palate could desire.  Here, women were used in the dirty bathrooms and no one looked twice.  One could obtain all manner of mood altering drugs through sale or trade.  Sometimes Ash chose to indulge.  Turn on, tune in, drop out… the concept hadn’t changed much since the sixties, and there was a draw to that kind of nothingness.

If he was in the mood for a quick fuck, there were women who required less than a crook of his finger to follow him wherever he led.  The body he’d chosen was well formed and desired by women.  Dark, smoldering eyes that promised a garden of delights, strong jaw covered in a rasp of stubble, designed to raise a flush of tender pink on delicate flesh.  Lips full and constantly quirked in a half smile that implied he knew secrets.  Secrets he might share with the right woman.

That was all that mattered, be the woman pretty or plain.  Make a woman feel special and she became yours, body and soul.  Sometimes Ash allowed himself to become lost in the pursuit of debauchery alone.  To bury himself in soft, slick heat, chasing pleasure until the dawn.  He left those women with nothing more than a satisfied soreness and a love bite or two.

But always the need returned.

Need drove him to push past the crowd, plucking a full glass from an unguarded table (it mattered little what it held), settling on a white vinyl couch in the rear of the club to watch.  Ash liked to watch.  He liked it very much.

There was an air of indifference to the swaying throng; an almost tangible apathy, as though none of them expected to live to see the dawn.  Peppered among them, like writhing tongues of flame burning brightly in the gloom, were those who were in over their heads.  It was there that he hoped to find the flash of innocence he sought.

It was there that he spotted her.  Long, raven hair spilling down her back, beckoning to him, begging him to wrap its length around his fist and pull her close.  But he would watch and wait.  The night was still young and he enjoyed the pleasure of allowing the need to build.

For now.

Chapter Two

“Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person in the world not having sex.”  Cady Garrett leaned against the scarred table, not liking the way the low couch stuck to her sweaty skin when she sat back.  It made her wonder what other bodily fluids had been stuck to the cheap vinyl in the past.

“That’s just silly.”  Kelli held platinum curls away from her neck, pressing a cool glass to her cheek.  Even without all the dancing, there were enough people in the club generating body heat to rival any sauna.  Never troubled by modesty, she wore the briefest of skirts, a generous amount of flesh showing both above and below the scraps of pink fabric she called a blouse.  Cady could see Kelli flexing her bare toes under the table.  That’s what she got for wearing ridiculously high heels to a dance club.  “Did you even see that guy over there with the ponytail?  Trust me, you are not the only person not having sex tonight.”

Cady couldn’t help but look, hiding her smile behind a rum and diet soda.  Falling into the game, she pointed a discreet finger alongside the glass.  “And sausage fingers guy isn’t having sex.”

“I’m not having sex,” Penny volunteered in her babydoll voice.  She alone seemed unbothered by the heat in a navy blue dress, better suited for a dinner at the marina.  Probably because she was so tiny, her body didn’t produce enough of its own heat to keep warm.  She’d actually brought a sweater with her despite the summer heat, her dark hair loose, covering her shoulders both in front and back.

It made Cady itch to tie it back into a ponytail, glad her own long, auburn hair was wound up and out of the way in twin knots.  Her clothes lay somewhere in the middle of the two extremes her friends sported.  A thin, strappy tanktop over skinny jeans and pretty sandals she could dance in without breaking a toe.  Cady wasn’t on the prowl, she just wanted to relax and have a good time.  “That doesn’t count, you’re engaged,” she said, taking another cooling sip of her watered down drink.

“Which is ridiculous.  You should be having more sex than the two of us put together,” Kelli snorted.

“No one has more sex than you, Kelli.”  Penny gave her a sweet smile, ducking to avoid the wadded up napkin Kelli threw at her.  “Hey, can I help it if Justin is old fashioned?  He wants to wait, so we’re waiting.”

“No guy likes to wait,” Cady murmured.  It was part of the reason why she wasn’t having sex these days.  No guys liked to stick around long enough for her to be sure.  Not since high school when sex wasn’t expected after the third date anyway.

“What if you get to the big night and it’s… you know…”  Kelli’s finger wilted and she made an accompanying sound like dying in a videogame, but Penny maintained her serene superiority.

“It’ll be wonderful because we waited.”

“I’m sure it’ll be magical.”  A touch of envy crept into Cady’s smile, though she wasn’t sure her friend had the right idea either.  Cady wasn’t exactly saving herself for marriage; if she found a guy she loved, she’d be doing the deed every chance she got.

“And if it’s not…” Penny’s voice lowered, as if she was about to share something wicked.  “Then I’ll just pack old reliable with me and take care of it myself.”  The women traded a giggle, clinking their glasses in a hasty toast.

“Well, I’m not old fashioned, I’m jaded,” Cady proclaimed with a weary sigh.  Burned by too many men (and too recently), she’d made a silent promise to herself to take a break from the dating world.

“How can you be jaded already?” Kelli scoffed.  “You’re barely nineteen years old.  Look at me, twenty-three and I’ve slept with half the population of Angola.  If anyone should be jaded, it’s me.”

“Cool it!” Cady’s gaze darted around nervously.  “I don’t want to get tossed out of here.”

“Newsflash, nobody cares.”  Kelli drained the rest of her glass and pressed it to her cheek, chasing after the remnants of cold.  “Look around, they’re too caught up in their own shit to waste two seconds over whether or not you should be in here.”

“I guess,” Cady relaxed.  She was right, nobody gave her a second look.  “Hey, what is the population of Angola, by the way?  Just so we know what kind of numbers we’re talking about,” she teased, drawing a narrowing of the eyes from her blonde friend.

“Oh Cady, you’re looking at this all wrong.”  Penny shook her head, chasing after the cherry in the bottom of her glass with the flimsy straw.  “You’re the opposite of jaded, you’re a romantic.”

Cady almost spilled her drink, eyes bugging out at the ridiculous statement.  “What?  Take that back!” she demanded, but to her disgust, Kelli joined in with a sad shake of the head.

“You know it’s true.”

“It is,” Kelli added.  “That’s why you haven’t hooked up since Stefan dumped you.  You’re still waiting for that perfect, non-existent guy to sweep you off your feet.”

Familiar words of protest jumped to the ready, it was a subject they’d gone over before.  “He didn’t dump me, I dumped him.”

“Only after he stopped calling you.”

“I thought we agreed not to mention the S word anymore?” Cady scowled at Penny until she went back to chasing her cherry.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

Cady fell back against the couch, hugging her elbows.  “I’m not waiting for a perfect guy,” she muttered.  “I’m just tired of going out with guys who are only after one thing.”

“I know what you need.”  Kelli’s blue eyes widened, and Cady’s stomach sank, fearing the blonde’s passion for whatever it was.

“Please don’t say makeover…”

“Oh, that would be super fun, but not what I was going for.”  Kelli waved the thought away.  “I was thinking more along the lines of you taking a break from picking out guys since your judgment is obviously flawed.”

That didn’t sound so bad, especially since it already went with what she had in mind.

“Instead you should let us pick out your next guy!”

Because her judgment was so much better?  “That’s crazy.  All you know how to pick is guys to hook up with.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to pick the super boring guys you’re into,” Kelli insisted, earning a frown from Cady.

“I don’t like boring guys.”

Kelli continued, undeterred.  “Besides, Penny knows how to pick guys that want to wait, look at Justin.  He’s almost not even a man.”

“He’s a man…” Penny ventured in a small voice, and the pair debated that for a few minutes while Cady watched, until they both turned to her with expectant faces.

“This is stupid,” Cady insisted, refusing to even consider it.

“No, really.  Just for tonight, either you pick a guy or we’ll pick for you.”  The bubbly girl stuck out her hand.  “Deal?”

“Why would I make a dumb deal like that?”  Cady kept her hand firmly in her lap.  “I don’t want to go out with anybody.”

“That’s because you haven’t met our guy yet,” Penny nodded brightly, her dark eyes already searching.  “Let’s see… who do we have to work with?”  They made a big show of scanning the crowd, but Cady sat back, already having lost interest in the game.  As if it was that easy.  Pick a guy out like a book on the shelf.  Didn’t they realize you couldn’t judge a book by its cover?  Otherwise Rico Suave from across the room with his dark, smoldering looks (and probable venereal warts) would be the answer to all her dreams.

While she went up to the bar to buy another round of drinks they continued their search, squabbling between themselves over what type of guy Cady needed.  Kelli insisted Cady needed a hottie to make her forget about her stupid standards and have a bit of fun for a change, while Penny seemed to take the exercise very seriously, carefully assessing the possible suitors.

She made it back to the table with the drinks in time to see Kelli throw her hands up in disgust.  “I give up, how about that homeless guy over there?” she gestured, not even caring if he heard her or not.

Cady’s head swiveled, unable to keep from looking.  He sat alone in the corner, elbows resting against the table, watching the crowd with an unshakable intensity.  Wearing a blue hoodie under a faded army jacket, everything about him appeared rumpled and frayed, prompting the homeless crack, but she didn’t think he actually lived on the streets, he was too clean.

An unshaven jaw, not the kind Rico Suave over there cultivated to perfection, but rough, as if he’d forgotten to shave for a week.  The straight blonde hair was a little shaggy on top too, but trimmed close on the sides in an almost military cut.  His nose was too flat to be conventionally handsome and had obviously been broken before, but the eyes were a clear, cornflower blue, free from the glassy stare of drugs or too much drink.

“Hey, I know that guy,” Cady realized suddenly.  “He’s not homeless, he’s my neighbor.”

“He’s not that bad,” Penny allowed, taking a deeper look.  “His eyes are pretty.”

“He needs a makeover, STAT,” Kelli speculated, taking a long drink.  “I think you should be the one to give it to him, Cady.”

“I don’t think he’s interested in a makeover,” she snorted, continuing to watch the man.  His gaze slid over to their table and then quickly flicked away.  Had he heard them?  Not a chance over the din of the music, Cady decided.

“You should go talk to him,” Penny nodded encouragingly.  “He’s your neighbor, that makes him safe.”

Cady wasn’t sure she followed the logic in that, but before she could reply, Kelli laid a hand on her arm.

“No, hold everything, take a look at this guy.”  Kelli smiled over the rim of her glass at a guy on the dance floor, wildly gyrating his hips in her direction.  “That is the kind of guy who could curl your toes.  Go talk to him instead.”

Ick.  “You know what, I think you’re right.”  Cady pushed herself up from the table.  “I should go talk to him.”

“Really?” They blinked in unison.

“Sure, it would be the neighborly thing to do.”

Chapter Three

In general, Cady didn’t have trouble talking to guys.  Outgoing by nature, she figured the worst that could happen was he could tell her to F off, and she could at least say she’d tried.  Still, she hadn’t approached a total stranger like this before, usually there was some other pretense that had her offering the first words.  Something like… I love your jacket, do you ride a motorcycle?  But what could she say to this guy?  He looked like he was dressed from Salvation Army castoffs.

“Hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” Cady approached, smiling past the inner cringe at the lamest pick up line ever.

“No, thank you.”

Not what she’d expected to hear.  “I wasn’t offering anything.”  A furrow appeared on her brow, he hadn’t even looked at her.

“It’s just a general no, thank you.”  He offered the barest of smiles before returning his eyes to the crowd.  “I’m not here to pick up girls.”

“Oh, are you into guys?”  Cady sat beside him, the brief smile and oddly polite rejection piquing her curiosity.  He didn’t outwardly object to her taking a seat, but he didn’t look thrilled about it either.

“I’m not here to pick up anybody,” he growled, letting out a sigh that could have meant anything from a deep heartache to indigestion.  “Go try someone else.”

Cady’s eyes darted back to her table to get a thumbs up and an encouraging grin from Penny.  Kelli was already making eyes at the mad dancer she’d spotted before.  “I’m not trying to pick you up either.”

That earned her the first look from him that lasted longer than half a second, and it came with a raised brow.  “You’re not?”

“Okay, maybe I did say hello under false pretenses,” she allowed with a flap of the hand.  “Do you see my two friends over there?”

His gaze never shifted, but he described them well enough.  “Petite brunette, dressed like a widow, and the bottle blonde, five six, her ass hanging out on the dance floor?”

Her head craned back in time to see that Kelli was indeed out on the dance floor, shaking her booty.  “Then you were checking us out.”

“Not particularly.”  He shrugged a single shoulder.

“Um…”  Not quite sure what to make of that, she plunged ahead.  “Anyway, I sort of promised I’d try to pick you up, but I’m not really.  It’s just to get them off my back, and Penny thinks you’re safe because we’re neighbors.”

“That’s the most ridiculous argument I’ve ever heard.”  He didn’t bother to keep the scorn from his voice and it earned her another look.  “Why would I be safe because we live in the same building?”

Even though she’d expressed the same doubt not two minutes before, she couldn’t help but try and defend her friend’s position.  “Well, because… if you tried anything I could always tell the cops where you live.”

“And that would make whatever sicko attack I could dream up okay?”

“No, but you wouldn’t attack me, knowing I could turn you in.  It’s a natural deterrent, see?”  Her winsome smile didn’t appear to have any effect on him.

“Only if you survived it.”

“My friends know you’re my neighbor, they’d report me missing if I didn’t turn up for work tomorrow.”

“Big comfort that would be to your friends and family after I murdered you in cold blood.”

Her head canted to one side as she wondered how they’d strayed to that particular topic.  “Do you often kill girls who pick you up in clubs?”

“Not usually, but I’m beginning to understand the appeal,” he muttered, shaking his head.  He looked over at her and she got the feeling he was truly seeing her for the first time, his eyes giving her as frank an appraisal as she’d given him before lingering on the delicate gold cross that hung around her neck.  His face softened, and when he met her eyes again, his tone was earnest.  “Look, whatever this is, no thank you.  The safest thing you can do is take your girlfriends out of here and go home.  In a group, together.  In fact, you shouldn’t be out in a place like this at all.”

He was starting to sound like her brother.  “I can take care of myself.”  Before he could reply with what she was sure would be a cutting remark, she changed the subject.  “What are you doing in here anyway?  Besides not picking up girls or guys?”

“I’m… working,” he replied after a moment’s hesitation.

All at once the reason for his protective disinterest hit her.  “Are you a cop?”

“Something like that.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Cady relaxed beside him.  It made perfect sense to her, a cop would find the neighborhood dangerous for a girl her age, and it explained his hyper-vigilance.  “You know, it actually helps with your stakeout in a club if you’re seen talking to a girl.  Otherwise you stick out like a sore thumb.”

“You think so?”  A half smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.  “Been on many stakeouts have you?”

“Oh yeah, I’m an old hand at them.  My dad was a cop back in the day.  He used to take my brother and I with him plenty of times.”

“I’ll bet.”  His eyes narrowed, but at least they were focused on her for a change.  “What kind of a cop takes his kids into a dangerous situation like that?”

“The kind who can’t afford a babysitter?” she grinned, and he shook his head in amusement.

“Let me guess, you saw the back seat of a cop car a few times and now you think you know all about surveillance?”

“I know the trick is to blend in, to not look like you’re there just to watch.  Which you are failing at, by the way.  You look like you belong in the alley behind the club, not inside it.”

He frowned down at his jacket.  “I’m not trying to blend in, I’m here to make sure nothing bad happens.  There’s something to be said for a visible deterrent, you know.”

“Then why not show up in your uniform and flash your badge around?  Besides, what are you expecting to stop from here?  Everybody knows the drugs go down by the bathrooms.”

“I’m not here because of the drugs, I’m here…” he stopped, eyes darting back to the crowd.  “Shit… I’m here letting myself getting distracted by a pretty girl instead of doing my job.”

“You think I’m pretty?”  Cady’s smile returned at the backhanded compliment, but he didn’t seem to realize he’d given it.  His attention was fixated on something else and she turned to see if she could spot it, but everything looked normal to her.  There was no sign of Kelli anywhere, and Cady realized she’d been gone longer than she intended.  Penny must be… sitting with Rico Suave, chatting up a storm and… flirting?

“You should get back to your friend before she makes a serious mistake.”  He seemed to echo her thoughts.  But how did he know Penny wasn’t free to flirt in a club with a sexy stranger?

“She’ll be alright, trust me.  She’s just being friendly.”

“Very friendly,” he replied in a flat tone and Cady had to agree.  Penny was being uncharacteristically touchy feely, laying her hand on the guy’s arm, leaning in close while she talked to him.  It was like she and Kelli had switched bodies.

“Okay, but she’s engaged,” Cady insisted, not sure who she was trying to convince more, him or herself.  “There’s no way she’s about to leave with that guy.”  Except that they both rose from the table together.  “I’d better go.”

“Be careful, he isn’t what he seems.”

Cady spared him a last look, trying to figure out the meaning behind that enigmatic statement before she hurried after Penny, eager to catch them before she slipped away with the guy.  Could he somehow tell with his cop-vision that the guy was a baddie?  She managed to hook an arm through Penny’s elbow as they reached the end of the bar.

“Hey, where are you headed?”

“We’re going to a party,” Penny smiled brightly, her eyes wide and shiny.  Had he dosed her with something?  Cady thought she saw a flicker of annoyance shadow the man’s handsome face but it was gone in an instant, replaced by an engaging smile.

“You are welcome to join us if you wish.”

“No, thanks.  In fact, I think it’s time we called it a night.  Don’t you think so, Penny?”  Cady nodded encouragingly at Penny who ignored her, her eyes trained on the man’s face.

“We’re going to a party,” she insisted vacantly.

“What happened to Kelli?”  Cady did her best to command her friend’s attention, giving her arm a shake.  “Where’s Kelli?”

Penny’s head wobbled, but it worked, and she turned to look back at her.  “What do you think?  She already left with that guy.”

Damn.  “Okay, well, it was nice of you to invite us, but I don’t think we’re up for any parties tonight.  Thank you.”  Cady put a note of finality in her voice, not quite rude, but making it clear she had no intention of letting her friend leave with him.

“But… Claudio said…”

“I’d be more worried about what Justin had to say about this.”  Cady gave her a pointed look.  “Remember Justin?”

“Justin…” Penny blinked, almost as though she didn’t remember her own fiancée.

“Yep, time to go.”  Cady grabbed hold of Penny’s elbow, only to have it pulled from her grasp as Claudio held firm to her friend’s arm.  “I’m not playing tug-o-Penny with you, dude.  Let go or I’ll scream bloody murder.”

“In this place, who would care?” He chuckled, his voice all soft and silky, but somehow penetrating the din without any trouble.  “Join us.  I promise it will be a night you would not soon forget.”  With his free hand he reached for hers, bringing it to his lips.

Cady felt the invitation down to her toes, and instead of telling him exactly what he could do with his slimy suggestion, she nodded, held captive by those dark eyes.  He smiled, and she wanted nothing more than to see him smile again.  Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, poised to say yes, when she was jostled from behind, something cold, wet and sticky spilling over her side.  Letting out a yelp, Cady turned in time to see a girl with frizzy orange hair shrug her shoulders in apology.

“Oopsie,” she grinned sloppily before tottering away on platform heels.

It was better than a bucket of cold water for cooling her jets, and Cady shook her head to clear it.  Was she seriously contemplating leaving with this guy and Penny for a night of… ick!  Maybe he’d used some kind of hypnotism on her?  She wasn’t about to stick around and find out.

“Now, ladies, if I may suggest…” Claudio started to say, but Cady ignored him, grabbing onto Penny with a jerky tug, pulling her free of his grasp.

“Let’s go, Penny,” she insisted, looking anywhere but at the guy.  Penny objected weakly, but Cady had no trouble dragging her out of the club, sucking in a shaky breath once they reached the relatively fresher night air outside.  Without stopping, she pulled her down the block, knowing they’d never get a cab in that area of town, but at least the busses were still running.  Darting a look over her shoulder, she half expected to find Claudio following them, but apart from a short line of people still trying to get into the busy club, the street was empty.

“What’s going on?” Penny blinked, rubbing her arms against the cooler temperature, which was probably still over seventy-five degrees.  “Where’s my sweater?”

Cady laughed, nerves and relief lending a touch of hysteria to her giggle.  “Where’s your sweater?  That’s all you have to say to me right now?”

“Well… I…”  Slowing to a stop, Penny placed a hand over her heart, her forehead crumpling as she puzzled through the mental fog.

“Come on, we have to keep moving.”  Cady propelled her forward.  It was one of the unspoken rules of the street.  Keep moving, keep your head down, don’t make eye contact.  Especially given the weirdness they’d just experienced.  Her thoughts went back to her neighbor, the cop.  How had he known that there was more to Claudio than met the eye?

“Did I almost just go home with a random guy?”  Penny’s already tinny voice squeaked into a higher register as the magnitude of her actions sank in.

“Yep,” Cady nodded, pulling her across the street.  “You and me both.”

“Oh my God…”

“It’s alright, Penny, you didn’t do it.”

“Yes, but I…”

“Let’s just get out of here and we can talk about it later.”  Cady gave her another subtle tug and this time Penny allowed herself to be led.  “Do you want to go grab a cup of coffee?”

“No, I want to go home.”

It wasn’t Cady’s first choice, they lived in opposite directions and she’d rather not be alone just yet, but she nodded, understanding her friend’s desire to feel safe at home.  Luck was with them, and Penny’s bus appeared at the end of the street as they reached the stop.  “Here comes your bus.  Will you be okay getting home from here, or do you want me to come with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”  The words tumbled out too fast, and Cady wondered if her friend was trying to convince herself.  “I think I just need to lie down for a bit.  I feel so strange.”

That didn’t sound so good.  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with?”

“No, don’t be silly,” Penny smiled weakly.  “It’s not all that late, I’ll get home just fine.”

She started to sound more like her old self, and Cady didn’t really want to ride clear to the other side of town and back.  “Okay, but call me when you get home so I’ll know you made it there alright.”

“Sure, of course I will.”  The bus stopped with a squeal of the brakes, the doors opening with a hiss.  “Goodnight, Cady.  Thank you.”

“No worries.  Remember to call me, okay?”

Penny nodded, hurrying up the steps to flash her bus pass at the driver who barely glanced at it.  Crossing the street, Cady studied the schedule posted under the number for her bus.  Weighing the time against the probability of it actually showing up on time, she decided to hoof it, glad she’d worn comfortable walking shoes.  Besides, she didn’t want to stand around waiting, it made her feel more like a target.

Usually walking home at night didn’t bother her all that much.  It drove her brother, Ian, nuts whenever she did it alone, but damned if she was going to sit at home every night off because he had to work.  As long as she carried less than twenty dollars on her, getting mugged wasn’t that big of a deal.

The spilled drink on her shirt felt clammy now, smelling unpleasantly of sickly sweet cranberries and hard alcohol.  Feeling somewhat exposed with her bare shoulders and arms in the brief tank top, she unwound her hair from the knots on the side of her head, letting it spill down her back.

Her hair was the one thing Cady was vain about.  She never cut it, and it hung just past the top of her jeans, even with a bit of curl in it from the tightly wound knots she’d twisted it into.  When she was a little girl, she’d loved the story of Beauty and the Beast.  Not a princess, but an ordinary girl who gladly traded her life to save her father’s, and found love in the strangest of places.

In the well worn pages of her book, Beauty had long, flowing, crimson hair and vivid green eyes, and her beloved father had always teased her that perhaps she was a descendent of Beauty’s.  Cady’s eyes were more brown than green on most days, but she imagined her hair was similar, especially when she treated it with henna.  In the sunlight it glowed with red fire, but at night, it darkened to rich mahogany, as it was now.  The cloak of hair offered her some measure of protection against the night, and Cady felt more comfortable with it down.

Hurried steps carried her past the entrance to Inferno again as she headed for home, and Cady darted another look in the club’s direction, but there was no sign of Claudio.  Ready to dismiss thoughts of the disturbing man, her mind turned to her neighbor, and she wished she’d thought to ask him his name.  The mailbox next to hers said D. Brown in faded pencil, but it could have been years out of date for all she knew.  It was strange that she’d never talked to him before, too.  Not that she was all that friendly with most of the people in her building, but he did live next door, and she knew the names of the residents of the other two apartments on their floor.

Crossing the street again, she turned the corner, breathing shallowly through her mouth as she stepped past an alley that reeked of urine and worse.  There were dark shapes huddled there, but Cady didn’t look.  If she looked, she would see.  If she saw, she might stop.  And if she stopped… you never knew if you’d escape the encounter with a dollar less in your pocket or end up in the hospital.  In the daytime, she tried to spare a buck or two when she could, but at night it was best to keep moving.

A quick glance at the time showed that if she could make three blocks in the next three minutes, she stood a good chance of catching a bus that would take her the rest of the way home in one shot.  Easy as pie…

Easy, except when the figure of a man stepped out from the doorway of a noodle shop, completely blocking her path.  Especially when she recognized Claudio’s inviting smile.  “What lovely hair you have.”  His eyes glittered in the green neon light, casting his features with an unhealthy pallor.

“Oh, balls…”

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The Company of Shadows here!