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

Books by Lisa Olsen:

Excerpt from Pretty Witches all in a Row

Mercy for the Damned

Fallen [3]

Lisa Olsen

(2012)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tags: angels and demons

angels and demonsttt

Mercy's trouble with angels continues in the third installment of The Fallen series. Mercy for the Damned finds Mercy determined to break Adam and Ben out of their demon prison no matter what it takes, and this time her friends are family are along for the ride. There are a lot of plot twists in this one, blending new characters and some we love to hate seamlessly into Mercy's world, while still taking the time to deepen the existing relationships in a satisfying way. As expected, the story didn't end with saving Adam, far from it, and there's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere about being careful what you wish for.

Product Description

"You'd think having an angel come to visit you would be a good thing. So why did I feel like everything was about to get ten times worse as one knelt before me?"

Mercy's saga continues with Mercy for the Damned, Book III of The Fallen. When a new prophecy predicts a great evil if a fallen angel is allowed to remain in Midian, Mercy will move heaven and earth to free Adam from his deal with Raum. The trouble is, it's far easier to get into Midian than it is to get out, and Adam is perfectly happy to serve out the remainder of his sentence if it keeps Mercy safe from harm. Throw in some pressure from the police who suspect Sam and Mercy of eliminating Ben, and the race is on to rescue both of them before it's too late.

Mercy for the Damned

By

Lisa Olsen

Copyright © 2012 Lisa Olsen, all rights reserved.

Cover Image licensed by Depositphotos.com/Vaeenma

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 everyone who voted on the cover art; I love hearing people weigh in with their opinions and suggestions.  Thanks to my mom (who is nothing like Mercy’s mom, just for the record), for always putting your family first, even when you’ve got a lot on your plate.  My daughter Brynna, thanks for talking me out of killing off Nelo, he lives to clean another day!  Thanks to Emily for another great job at proofreading, (I’m getting better though, right?).  Thanks to Randi Pandi for letting me bounce ideas off of you, you are made of awesomeness!  And to my husband James, my one and only love… thanks for being so patient with me when I insisted you show me how to do all the formatting and cover art just in case you’re ever hit by a bus.  Now I can truly appreciate all the work you put into it!

Chapter One

You’d think having an angel come to visit you would be a good thing.  So why did I feel like everything was about to get ten times worse as one knelt before me?

I looked up helplessly from Raziel’s earnest face, giving my friends and family a sheepish smile.  Considering the fact that angels were supposed to keep themselves hidden from humans, he didn’t seem to care much that he’d barged in on Thanksgiving dinner.  For their part, no one in the living room thought twice about the fact that the man had entered from the third floor balcony of my apartment, kneeling before me like I was a queen and he my loyal subject.  That probably had to do with the fact that I’d just told them we had to figure out a way to break my fallen angel boyfriend and possessed ex out of a demon dimension.  As holidays went, it was about par for the course for the year I was having.

“We have to talk?” I repeated. “Well, pull up a chair, that’s all we’ve been doing for the past half hour.  Would you like some coffee?”

“Thank you, no, my lady.  I have no need of refreshment.”  Raziel rose with fluid grace to his full height, looking impossibly elegant in his gray suit.  His dark flowing hair and trimmed beard made him look like one of those Middle Eastern princes that had more money than sense.

“Just Mercy, okay?” I reminded him.  My lady, Mistress; I wasn’t much for any of those titles considering my job as a bartender, and only my mother called me Merceline.  “What’s this about?”

“Perhaps we might speak privately…” His dark eyes swept over the other inhabitants of the room, who all watched us with rapt attention.  I knew I’d end up repeating anything he said anyway, so I waved the suggestion away.

“No, it’s alright, you can talk freely here. I have no secrets from my family.”  Maybe I did, but that was beside the point.  For the time being, I was preaching full disclosure, having come clean about the supernatural happenings in my life to my brother Matty, my best friend Daphne and my boss Parker.  Sam, being a fallen angel himself, was already up to speed on the ins and outs of my celestial abilities.

Raziel looked less than convinced, but he plunged ahead anyway.  “As you say,” he nodded.  “I have been sent to discuss a certain prophecy with you, one that concerns you and your friends.”

“We are well aware of the prophecy,” Sam cut him off, none too thrilled about Raziel’s presence in my home.  Daphne immediately looped her arm through Sam’s and I could see the soothing effect that contact gave him.

“It’s okay, Sammy.  The sooner he gives us his news, the sooner he can be on his way,” she smiled up at him supportively.

“Am I missing something?  I thought we already knew about the prophecy,” Matty frowned. “Wasn’t that what you just told us about?”

I felt bad for Raziel, the odd one out in the room, but he was the one with the bad rep to overcome.  ‘Angel of Death’ doesn’t exactly spell warm and fuzzies for most people.  “What about the prophecy?” I steered the conversation back.  “We’re doing everything we can to keep Azazael from getting to me.”

“You misunderstand me.  I do not speak of the prophecy that foretells of your Grace and Azazael’s rebirth, but a darker text that has come to light.”

“A new prophecy?”  He had us now.  Bad feelings aside, even Sam hung on Raziel’s every word.

“Indeed.  This text speaks of a fallen angel in the land between the living and the dead, and the great evil that will come should he be allowed to remain there.”

“Adam…” The word slipped from my lips as the strength went out of my legs, and I sank onto the edge of the couch.

“Hey, I’m sure it’ll be fine, Mercy.” Daphne left Sam’s side to wrap her arm around my shoulders.  “We’re going to get him out, remember?”

“This is all my fault.  I’m the reason he made the deal with Raum and went to Midian in the first place, he wanted to keep me safe.”

“Your safety is of paramount concern to me as well.” Raziel approached, but Sam blocked his path.

“You’ve delivered your news, you’d best be on your way, brother.” The last was delivered with a flat, unfriendly stare.

“My place is here where I can be of most use.  I have been given a special dispensation to remain here until we resolve the situation.  Gabriel was most specific in his instructions.”

“As if I gave a flying f…”

“Sam!” I cut him off before I had to try and un-hear the sound of an angel swearing for the first time.  “I love you, but you’re not helping right now.  We need the information Raziel has to save Adam.”

“You’re choosing him over me?” Sam blinked, and I felt about an inch high for putting that slapped puppy dog look on his face.

“It’s not about that,” I tried to explain, hating the fact that we had to rely on someone not only Sam but more importantly Adam hated more than any other person in the universe.

Parker, who had remained silent through the entire exchange, climbed to his feet, drawing our attention.  “So, let me get this straight.  In addition to Mercy being an angel…”

“I’m not an angel, maybe just part…” I corrected him.

“The good parts then,” he winked at me.  “And trying to deal with demons and shit coming after her, now we’ve got to step up our timetable for breaking her boyfriend out of demon prison or bad shit is about to hit the fan.  Am I missing anything?”

“That about sums it up, yes,” Raziel nodded.

“And besides the fact that Sam here looks like he wants to tear your arms off and stuff them down your throat, you’re on our side.  We both want the same thing, right?”

“Correct again.”

“Then I’m with Mercy, pull up a chair and let’s figure this mother out,” Parker shrugged, not understanding the objection, but Sam wasn’t so willing to let it go.

“You don’t know what he’s done...”

“No, I got it.  I just don’t care,” Parker cut him off.  “We need all the help we can get to dig ourselves out of this hole, am I right?”  He held his hand out to Raziel and the angel took it, his smile dazzling as he clasped it in friendship.

“Do none of you see the folly in accepting Raziel into the fold?” Sam tried a last time.

“I’m with him,” Matty shrugged, in favor of Parker.  “What do you like on your pizza?”

I flashed Parker a grateful smile, all the while hoping Sam could get over his hurt feelings, because we really did need him too.  Everyone chatted, deciding on what pizza to order.  Daphne pulled Sam into the corner of the room, whispering soothing words into his ear, fingers threading through his.  I wondered when they’d gotten that close, that he didn’t object to the invasion of his personal space?  I could remember when a hug made him freeze like a deer in the headlights.  Raziel didn’t sit, leaning against the breakfast bar, he watched the proceedings with avid interest.  Who knew what he thought of our motley crew of saints and sinners, but I couldn’t have asked for a more loyal bunch.

* * *

“So, what do we do now?” Parker asked, sitting beside me as everyone dug into their pizza.  I couldn’t eat.  Still full of turkey dinner, the smell of the pizza made me slightly nauseous.  Maybe it was nerves, it felt like I had squirrels wrestling over a walnut inside my belly.

“I think it’s pretty obvious we need to get Adam out of Midian as soon as possible.” I just had no idea how to go about it.

“Don’t forget about Ben,” Daphne piped up, and I added that to my list of insurmountable obstacles, feeling a little guilty for not sparing much thought to his fate in my worry for Adam.  The last time I’d seen Ben he’d been trussed up over Adam’s shoulder with a bullet in his stomach. I only hoped he was still alive.

“That brings up a good question.  Even if we can sneak into Midian, break not only Adam, but Ben free and somehow sneak past Naberios – who I still owe a favor to by the way, what do we do with Ben once we’ve got him here?  We can’t keep him bound up forever.  His family, the police… they’re going to keep looking for him.  If it gets out we’re keeping a cop hostage, we could be in some serious trouble,” I pointed out and Matty let out a low whistle.

“Let’s kill one bird at a time, sweetheart,” Parker patted me on the knee.  “First off, can you do anything to get us into Midian?” he asked Raziel.

“Sadly, no.” A shake of the head was given.

“Then you don’t actually have a plan on how to keep your prophecy from happening?”

“It isn’t my prophecy, and no… no guidelines were given in my task to set things right.”

My heart sank a little, and I wondered if I hadn’t hurt Sam’s feelings for nothing.  Maybe we didn’t need Raziel’s help after all?  “We know the guard does take favors, I wonder if he’d be interested in anything we have to offer?”

Daphne offered a suggestion with her tongue firmly in cheek.  “He’s been at the gate for a long time, what about chocolate?”

“Forget chocolate, if he’s always stuck at the gate we need to get him a girl,” Matty snickered, as he and Parker shared a knuckle bump.

“No, you can’t go anywhere near Midian or Naberios, your innocence would be like a beacon to them.” Sam’s tone brooked no argument and I gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’ll be fine, Daphne won’t need to go anywhere near Midian, none of you will.”  That particular danger I reserved for myself.

“Somebody needs to go, I’m thinking a neutral, third party negotiator might be a good idea,” Parker volunteered. I shot him down before he picked up too much steam behind that idea.

“No way.”

“Why not?  You said innocence was like crack to them, right?  I think we can all agree I’m hardly a babe in the woods,” Parker smirked, but I refused to let his considerable charm get to me.

“No offense, but you’d be defenseless there.  Unless, maybe you feel like spending eternity down there playing slaveboy to depraved demons?”  I laid it on thick, not wishing that fate for any of them.  “If anything I’ll take Raziel with me.”  Raziel perked up over that, even as Sam practically glowered in his corner.  “But from what I understand, it’s especially dangerous for anyone with Grace to go down there, so I’d understand if you didn’t want to go.”

“I stand ready to accompany you into the deepest pits of hell, my lady,” Raziel bowed deeply, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes over the theatrics.  He’d obviously never been to Midian.

“Maybe we can think of a way to get Raum to meet us on neutral territory to arrange for their release?  I don’t know, we have a lot to think about.” I glanced at the clock on the DVD player.  “Why don’t we call it a night and think things over?  We can meet up tomorrow morning and come up with a plan of attack.”

Matty approached as the others rose to their feet, a hopeful look on his face.  “Do you have those leftovers wrapped up for me?”

I didn’t begrudge giving my brother the lion’s share of the leftover turkey, I knew it’d feed him for the rest of the week.  “They’re in the fridge, hold on a sec.”  I turned to retrieve them, and by the time I was done digging in the refrigerator, I saw Sam and Daphne had already gone.

“You sure know how to throw a mean party, sis,” Matty grinned, taking the Tupperware out of my hands.  “Let me know if you need me to drive the getaway car on this caper,” his eyes flashed playfully and I kissed his cheek noisily before he left.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Matt.”

“I will take my leave of you as well, my lady,” Raziel came to stand before me, taking both of my hands in his.

“Please, just call me Mercy, okay?”

“As you wish, Mercy,” he smiled, lifting my hands to kiss the air over each of my wrists before he disappeared out the patio door.

“Weird guy,” Parker snorted, picking up the empty pizza boxes and stuffing them into a garbage bag.  “How come Sam’s got his panties in a bunch over him again?”

“Here, I’ll wash, you dry.”  I tossed a dishtowel over his shoulder as I tackled the holiday dishes while I filled him in on Raziel’s connection to both Sam and Adam.  We fell into an easy rhythm in the small kitchen, much the same as we did at work, although in my apartment, I was the boss.  To his credit, Parker didn’t balk at being asked to help out, he even seemed to enjoy the domestic tasks as we set the apartment to rights.

“You should have told me about this before,” he chastised me lightly, draping the dishtowel over the drying rack when we were done.

“I didn’t know Raziel was gonna crash the party,” I shrugged, drying my hands off on my jeans.

“No, not about him, about you.”

“What?  That I’m part angel?”

“All of it.  If I’d known what you were dealing with, I might not have come down on you so hard.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.”  He’d only really yelled at me about Sharona anyway, for the rest of it he’d been pretty great.  “Go home and get some sleep, we’ll talk tomorrow, alright?”  Parker lifted my hands like Raziel had, kissing the air over my wrists in the same oddly formal gesture and we giggled at each other before I gave him a real hug, kissing his raspy cheek on the way back down.  “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, angel.”  He bent down to kiss my cheek, pulling away slowly, something unreadable in his eyes.  For a long moment, I thought he might say something else, but instead, he leaned in again, his lips brushing against mine.

“Parker…” I pulled away, unsure who I was more upset with (him for kissing me, or myself for letting him), when I’d known it was coming in the seconds before.

“No, I get it,” he nodded, taking a half step backwards.

“It’s alright,” I shook it off, not wanting things to be weird between us.  After all, we had to keep working together, and I didn’t want our friendship to suffer over one kiss.  Especially since I knew it was less about me than the allure of the Grace.

I’m vain/realistic enough to realize I’m pretty enough, with long, dark hair (in the stage of growing my bangs out), and the Grace transformed my brown eyes to a brilliant blue, (my most striking feature - one I shared with all angels, fallen or otherwise).  I wasn’t too shabby in the dating department in the past, but it was nothing like the male attention I’d drawn since Sam gifted me with his Grace.  If the number of times I was regularly hit on at Eden was any indication, it had seriously upped my hottie factor, and I knew that had to do with why Parker kissed me then of all times.

“It’s the Grace, it sort of makes me a guy magnet.  It’s not your fault you got sucked into it.”

“It’s never been the Grace,” he replied roughly, and I stared up at him in surprise, not quite sure what to say to that.  Parker cleared his throat in the absence of my response, taking another step backwards.  “I’m gonna go.  Sleep deep, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded numbly. God, that was all I needed…

Nelo stepped out of the shadows the instant Parker was gone, taking care of the final chores to return the room to its usual order.  “I think that went well, Mistress,” he observed carefully.

“Compared to what?”

“You now have more champions in your cause, was that not the purpose of the evening?”  Nelo was pretty unassuming for a demon.  Only coming up to about waist height on me, he was small and dark, his skin absorbing the light rather than reflecting it, giving him a slightly indistinct, shifting appearance, as if he was made up entirely of shadows.  I happened to know his mouth sported rows of sharp little teeth, but I also knew he’d sooner cut off his own right arm than hurt me.

“That was the plan,” I had to admit.  So since I had the extra ace in the hole, why did I feel more overwhelmed than before?  “You know, you can leave that stuff for now, Nelo.  I’ll take care of it in the morning.”

“I don’t mind, Mistress.”

No matter how many times I asked him, he never stopped calling me Mistress, and I admit, I kinda liked it.  But at that moment, I didn’t want any company, not even his earnest little face smiling up at me.  All I wanted was… well, that wasn’t going to happen unless Adam magically appeared before me, so for the moment I would settle for a good night’s sleep.

I left Nelo fluffing couch pillows and went to bed early for once.  Unfortunately, my body wouldn’t cooperate.  While I chased after that sweet oblivion, something kept me from finding even the false happiness of dreams.  Tossing and turning, I couldn’t seem to find the right position that lent itself to slipping out of consciousness.

Even my cat, Mimsy gave up, leaving her usual spot at the bottom of my bed when I rolled over one too many times.  Eventually I gave up and lay there concentrating on the tendril of connection I had with Adam.  I could feel him out there, very far away, but alive.  That tenuous thread was enough to carry me through the night.

The first rays of dawn that slit in through the blinds found me glad for a reason to get up and around again.  A hot shower and a cup of coffee, and I almost felt human again, even if I did feel cut off from the rest of humanity.  Without Sam to keep me company and Nelo asleep in the hall closet where he retreated from the harsh rays of the sun, the apartment seemed quieter than usual.  Odds were it’d be quite some time before everyone came back for another session of brainstorming, none of us were exactly early risers.  The sharp knock at the door gave me a corresponding jolt of anticipation.  Maybe Daphne wanted a little one on one time?

Chapter Two

Completely forgetting to check to see who it was first, I flung the door open with a cheerful smile, coming to a short stop at the stern face of my early morning visitor.  Clearly she wasn’t a morning person either, and she looked like she hadn’t had her daily cup of coffee.  Just a little shorter than me with dark hair pulled back into a no-nonsense bun, she wore blue jeans and a black turtleneck with a heavy navy peacoat.

“Oh, um… hi,” I recovered, drawing my cardigan a little closer around me.  “Can I help you?”

“Merceline Renault?”  Her dark eyes assessed me critically, and I instantly regretted not playing the ‘not at home’ game, usually reserved for Jehovah’s Witnesses and kids peddling cookies.

Uh oh… “That’s me, can I help you?”

“I’m Detective Anna Santiago, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”  She held up her badge long enough for me to look at it, before tucking it away again.

A cop.  I was so used to Ben’s laid back, polite style, her stern approach caught me off guard.  “What is this about?”

“You really want to do this in your hallway?” she cocked a single brow.  Her aura was a brilliant red, with darker swirls of red towards the center.  In my experience playing “spot the dirtbag” at work, that meant she had a hot temper, but wasn’t necessarily evil, per se.  Either way, I’d have to tread carefully with Detective Santiago.

“Ah right, come on in.” I stood back to let her pass, glad I’d already tidied up from the party the night before.  Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, something about her made me feel guilty.  “Would you like some coffee?”  I was ready for another cup.

“No, Ma’am.  I’d rather have some answers,” she replied brusquely, taking a good look around my small living room instead of taking a seat.

“Alright, let’s hear the questions.”  Her attitude started to get to me a little; she acted like I had something to hide.  Okay, I realize I did have something to hide, but she could hardly know that, could she?

“When was the last time you saw Detective Ben Gates?”

“Oh, that’s what this is about?”  I couldn’t help the note of relief that crept into my voice and she picked up on it right away.

“Why, did you have something else you think the police want to talk to you about?”

“No, I just thought you already had everything you needed from me.  I already talked to a detective… um, Rogers I think it was, after Ben disappeared.”

“So?  The last time you saw Detective Gates?” she prompted.

“Right, like I said before, I haven’t seen him since we broke up.  He came to my work, I’m a bartender at Eden.” I paused to make sure she was tracking with me, but she seemed to be familiar with who I was, and my relationship to Ben.  “We talked and decided to end the relationship, and I haven’t seen him since.”  Not a lie… though I knew exactly where he was.

“Just like that?”

“Just like what?”

“You two talked and ended the relationship.  Why did you break up with him?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but we hadn’t been seeing much of each other and… I started seeing someone else.”  Also not a lie, though I left out the part about him being possessed by a psycho fallen angel.

“Who?”

“Why is this relevant?”  I didn’t really want to bring Adam into it.

“Your ex-boyfriend drops off the face of the Earth the same night you break things off with him?  I want to talk to your new guy.”

Shit.  “He’s not around right now.”

“Where did he go?”

Shit, shit, shit… I couldn’t tell her about Adam, it was way too suspicious that he’d disappeared around the same time as Ben.  Then there was the whole fact that I had no idea where he lived or even what last name he used.  “I meant he’s not here right now.  It’s still a little new, so he doesn’t really stay over,” I lied glibly.

“What’s his name?”

“His name?”

“Yes.  He’s got a name, doesn’t he?”

In a moment of panic, I settled on the one person who I knew could think on his feet enough to handle a little heat from the cops.  “Parker, Parker Davies.”

“Address.”

I had no idea what Parker’s home address was, so I gave the address for the club.

“Wait… isn’t that where you work?”  Detective Santiago flipped through the pages of her little notebook.

“Yes, Parker owns the place.”

“You’re sleeping with your boss?”

I opened my mouth to protest the question again, but decided it was easier to admit to being a cliché.  “You can’t help who you fall in love with.” It was impossible to keep the forlorn note from my voice, though it had nothing to do with Parker.

“Right.”  There was no inflection to her tone, but I could tell she wasn’t too keen on women who dumped their cop boyfriends to shack up with their bosses.  “Police were dispatched to this building for shots fired that same night.  Did you hear anything unusual that night?”

The other detective hadn’t asked me that.  “I remember hearing the sirens, but I was already in bed, so I wasn’t sure what it was all about.”

“Alone or can your boss corroborate that?”

“Alone, he was still at the club.”  It gave me no alibi, but there were bound to be people at the club who remembered Parker being there that night.

“Gates’ car was spotted here the night he disappeared.”

“Yeah, he gave me a ride home.”

“But then you broke up and he left.”

“Right.”

“Why was it still here when the cops arrived later?”

My palms started to sweat.  “I have no idea, maybe he went for a walk to cool off?”

“I thought you said before it was amicable?”

“Well sure, there wasn’t any shouting or anything, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t both upset about it.”  I was about to suggest the idea that maybe he got jumped by muggers when he was all alone on the street, when Raziel stepped out of my bedroom as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“I thought you said your boyfriend wasn’t around,” Santiago’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Super.  That was all I needed.  “No, this isn’t Parker…”

“How many men are you juggling, Ms. Renault?”

“No, it’s not like that…” I started to explain, but Raziel cut me off, gliding across the room with effortless grace, all smiles and polish.

“Let me assure you, dear lady, nothing could be further from the truth.”

Santiago looked at him like he was something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe, and I had to admire her ability to resist his Grace.  Most women would have been fawning all over the handsome man.

I stepped up to intervene before he volunteered some tidbit of information that would land us in hotter water.  “This is my friend Raze, and he was using my bathroom, nothing more.  You didn’t spend the night here at all, did you?”

“No, I spent the night searching for the key to the prophecy I spoke of.”

“Prophecy?” Santiago blinked, and I could tell he’d thrown her for a loop.

“He’s really into that doomsday stuff, you know, ‘the world is coming to an end’ predictions?  I’ve been telling him it’s a load of crap, but he’s been hooked ever since he saw that movie with the asteroid the size of Texas.  So, did you need anything else, Detective?” I smiled sweetly, hoping like hell Raziel kept his trap shut until after she left.

Her eyes narrowed, but after a pregnant pause, Detective Santiago tucked the notebook back into her jacket pocket.  “No, that’s all for now.”  She didn’t give me her card or ask me to call her if any new information came up, instead she paused by the door.  “You should know, I’ve never lost a case.  It’s only a matter of time before I find out what happened to him.”  Her aura fairly crackled with menace, and I resisted the urge to shrink back from that steely gaze.

“I’m glad to hear it.  All I want is for Ben to come back safe and sound.”  Finally something I could tell her without reservation.  I don’t know if she believed me or not though, her expression didn’t change before she left.

“Great,” I collapsed on the couch.  “As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.”

“Something troubles you?” Raziel looked genuinely perplexed by my outburst.

“Yeah, something troubles me.  Why did you start talking about the prophecy in front of the detective?  Why did you even let her see you?  What happened to not revealing yourself to humans?”

“She did not know I am of the heavenly host.  Besides, she is with the police, is she not?  Aren’t the police on our side?”

“Not when we have direct knowledge of the kidnapping of one of Seattle’s finest,” I lowered my voice just in case.  “She looked like she would like nothing better than to find a reason to pin it on me too.  Trust me, she is not our friend.”

“I’m sorry, I had not realized…”

“You have to be careful here.  You can’t go talking about prophecies or angels or anything that would cause anyone to look twice at you.”  Well, more than they would because he was smoking hot, like all angels were.  “In fact, if anyone asks, you’re my cousin visiting from out of town, say that back to me.”

“I am your cousin visiting from out of town.  Mercy, I do not wish to lie…”

“You’re not, you’re stretching the truth a little.  I’m part angel too, that makes me your relative of sorts, and you are visiting, and you don’t live here in town, right?”

“Yes,” he allowed, though I could tell he wasn’t convinced.

“Did you find anything out last night?” I changed the subject, but before he could answer, there was another knock on the door.  “You, make yourself imperceptible if it’s anyone you don’t recognize, you got me?”  At his nod I approached the door, taking care to check through the peephole first that time.  Immediately I relaxed, seeing my brother slouching against the door frame.

“Hey, Matty, and here I thought you turned to dust if you rose before noon.  Come on in,” I invited him, freezing when I saw Parker standing beside him.  Afraid things would be awkward between us after his surprise kiss the night before, I wasn’t quite sure what to say, so I settled for the ever appropriate, “hey.”

“Hey, I brought donuts,” he gave me his usual half smile and strolled right in as if it had never happened.  Maybe I hallucinated it the night before?  Whatever the cause, I was glad to get no furtive looks or wounded ego from him, there was enough on my plate to worry about.

Matty was in the middle of imparting a lifetime of knowledge on the importance of choosing the right donut to Raziel, who hung on his every word.  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t just dive in all willy nilly without giving this some serious thought.” Matty pulled the box away when Raziel reached for a jelly-filled donut.  “If this is the first thing you’ve ever eaten, you gotta start slow.  Like, try the glazed old fashioned, it’s not too complex for that first bite.  You can’t go for the jelly right off the bat, your head will explode.”

“If anyone asks, we’re dating by the way,” I murmured to Parker who went straight for the coffeepot, picking out a mug with a cute, fluffy kitten on the front.

“I have no problem with that.”

“Just so you know, I had to tell this new detective that we’re seeing each other, she came to see me this morning about Ben’s case.”

“Actually, just so you know, I have a strict no dating policy with my staff.”

“Yeah, right…” I scoffed.  Then where had that kiss come from?  I wasn’t about to say that though, especially not with other people in the room.

“No, seriously.  It’s in the employee handbook, didn’t you read it?  I’m gonna have to report you to HR.” He waggled his eyebrows at me playfully, and I couldn’t help but laugh in response.

“You don’t even have a handbook.”  Or an HR department, he was the sole owner of Eden as far as I knew.  There wasn’t even a job application to fill out.  Basically if you were cute and looked semi-reliable, he hired you on the spot.

“It wouldn’t keep me from dating you even if I did,” he winked, picking up his mug to rejoin the others where Raziel chewed carefully, a thoughtful look on his face while Matty stole the jelly donut.

I didn’t know if we should wait for Sam and Daphne to arrive before the brainstorming began.  Sam spent less and less time at my place since Adam’s deal with Raum kept any demons from attacking me.  While I enjoyed my privacy, it did make me a little sad sometimes that we weren’t as close anymore.  By the time the donuts were mostly gone I decided we had to get the show on the road.

“Raziel, tell us, what does the prophecy say exactly?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he recited it for us, in a rich, dramatic voice.  “Into the land between the living and the dead shall one of the Fallen dwell, and none shall know the true depravity of his will until all is lost.  Forsaking the heavens, he shall join the Lost in eternal torment, until his light become scored and pitted with ruination.  Then will his immortal soul fall under the sway of the Damned, giving rise to a new evil.  And goodness and mercy shall surely perish for all days.”

“Huh.  That doesn’t sound too good,” Matty frowned, summing it up for all of us.  I was a little more worried about how to take that last line.

“What do you think he meant by ‘goodness and mercy shall surely perish’?  Am I supposed to die?”  He could have mentioned that little tidbit the night before!

I could see the struggle on Raziel’s face as he tried to skirt the truth of his own concern.  “I do not think he meant to speak of you by name, dear la… Mercy,” he corrected himself.  “Often times prophecies speak in generalities, it is very rare to single out an individual by name.”

That was true I supposed.  In the other prophecy about me it never came right out and called me Mercy, it called me the Bringer of Life or something.  “Okay, but how can we be sure?”

“I have given this much thought, and I think I should go find the prophet himself.  Before we lend too much credence to his words, we should ascertain whether or not he speaks in true prophecy or if it is only the ravings of a madman.”

Parker’s eyes narrowed at that.  “Don’t you think your bosses would have figured out if he was looney tunes before they sent you here to stop it from happening?”

“Gabriel did not share that information with me, he only bade me come help you prevent it.”

“I appreciate your willingness to track him down for me.  I agree, if he’s cuckoo for cocoa puffs, it takes some of the pressure off.  But either way, I’m planning on breaking both Adam and Ben out of Midian, so we’ll keep working on that.” I was adamant on that point.

“I’d best be off then.  In the meantime, have faith, Mercy.  All will be as it should.”  Raziel lifted my hands again in his curious form of farewell, kissing the air above them.  With a final nod to the others and surreptitiously sneaking another glazed donut, he left through the balcony slider.

“That’s gotta be cool, flying like that, don’t you think?” Matty wondered aloud, his eyes on the curtain as it fluttered in the breeze.

I felt a pain in my hand, and looked down to see the two bullets I’d pulled out of Adam, the night he’d been shot in my apartment.  It was an unconscious habit I’d picked up, playing with the little misshapen slugs of metal, my only real connection to that night.  That and Ben’s gun, which Nelo kept for me in the shadows.

“Relax, you’re not gonna die.  We’ve got this.” Parker patted my knee reassuringly.

I hadn’t been thinking about that, but I appreciated the sentiment.  “What are we going to do then?  I guess we should break it down into pieces, that might be easier to tackle than the whole problem.  The first step being how to get past Naberios at the Gate to Midian.”

Matty sat a little higher than his usual slouch.  “The guy’s lonely, right?  Bored, standing around all the time.  What if we bring him a PSP or something?”

“Don’t be stupid, where’s he gonna get batteries?” Parker scoffed.

“Demons come and go through the gate all the time.  I’m pretty sure they can get batteries if they want to.”

“Are you gonna bring him a bunch of games too then?  He’s gonna get bored with just one game.  I say we get him a…”

It went back and forth like that, arguing over what would be the best thing to bribe him with, but we weren’t making too much progress until I felt Nelo tap my shoulder.

“Why not try to find another way into Midian, Mistress?”

Chapter Three

“What was that?”  My head swiveled to find Nelo crouching behind the couch, doing his best to stay out of the daylight.

“There are other ways into Midian, it has ever been so.”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?  How do we find them?” Parker asked in exasperation, and Nelo crouched even lower.

“I don’t know.”

“Thanks a lot for that, pal.  You’ve been very helpful,” Parker sighed, turning his back on the little guy.

“You are welcome,” Nelo smiled earnestly, but I wasn’t ready to give up on the idea.

“Hold on a sec, who else knows about these other ways in to Midian?”

“Everyone knows they exist, but they are not known to us demons.  Witches are the only humans who come and go as they please.”

Witches… I hadn’t thought about that.  Maybe we were looking at it all wrong trying to find an angelic solution to the problem.  What if there were witches with real power we could find?  Hadn’t Nathanael said something about witches in Portland?  That wasn’t too far away.  Belatedly, I realized they might not be too keen to help us though, not when there was so much risk to them.  “What about Oriana?  She didn’t get to leave.”

“She’s different,” Nelo replied, as if that needed no further explanation.

“Who’s Oriana again?” Matty asked, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, it was just like him to forget the details.

“She’s the witch I met in Midian, she has the Sight, and Raum keeps her like a dog on a leash.”

“How do we find these witches?” Parker asked, regaining his interest in the conversation.  “You can’t exactly look in the phone book, and chances are most occult shops are full of fruitcakes rather than anyone with real juice.”

“I don’t know.  I have not been here overlong,” Nelo admitted.

“We can’t ask Sam, he definitely won’t be on board with this plan,” I pointed out, to the confusion of the boys.  “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live, ringing any bells?  It’s a cinch he or Raziel won’t want to mess with anyone who traffics in the dark arts.”

“Oh, right.  I’ll get on the witch track then,” Parker volunteered, much to my surprise.

“You?”

“Why not?  I’ve dated a witch or two in my lifetime,” he smirked, drawing a snigger from Matty.  I had a friend or two that counted themselves as Wiccan, but I knew they didn’t have any real connections to anything we were looking for.  Still, they were a good a place as any to start.

“I’ll put out some feelers too.”

“What do you want me to do?” Matty asked, feeling a little left out, I suppose.

“Why don’t you spend some time on the net?  See if you can find anything about portals to hell or demon possession, it might translate into something we can use,” I suggested.

“Shouldn’t we ask the witch about that?”

“The more information we can assemble the better.  Besides, we don’t even know if we can find any real live witches at this point.”

“Alright, I’m on it,” Matt grabbed the last donut as he rose to his feet.  “What are you gonna work on?”

“I have to figure out what to do about the cop who was here this morning.  There has to be some way to get her to drop the search for Ben.  Maybe Sam can help.”

“I doubt the boyscout will go for that,” Parker snorted.  Right on cue there was a brief rap at the door and Daphne and Sam let themselves in.

“Where have you two been?” I arched a single brow at Daphne in particular, gratified to see her blush prettily.  Of course she did everything prettily. Daphne was naturally blessed with long blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a sweet smile.  She didn’t need the allure of Grace to catch Sam’s interest.

“Did we miss the meeting?” Daphne asked in dismay, seeing everyone on their feet.

“Only the good parts,” Matt stuffed the donut into his mouth and gave us a half wave as he took off.

“Donuts…” Sam murmured in devastation as he regarded the empty pink box.

“Don’t worry, we can pick some up later if you want,” Daphne patted his arm soothingly.

“Sorry about that, buddy, but you snooze, you lose,” Parker shrugged.  “I’m gonna take off too, I’ve got to run some errands before I open the club.  You’ll still be in tonight?”

“Of course.”  I couldn’t afford not to work, and sitting at home alone would drive me insane.

“Right, see you later then, sweetheart.” He held his cheek out expectantly and my brows drew together in puzzlement.

“What are you doing?”

“No kiss?  Some girlfriend you turned out to be,” he teased, dropping a last wink before heading to the door.

“Funny,” I called after him, laughing when I saw Daphne’s expression.

“Am I missing something?”

“It’s nothing, I’ll tell you later,” I assured her.  “But you guys did miss the meeting.  Not that we set a time or anything.”

“What did we miss besides donuts?” Sam asked forlornly, taking a seat on the couch.  Daphne immediately settled beside him like they were joined at the hip.  It was like they didn’t do anything independently anymore.  I knew I was apart from Adam more than I wanted to be, but even if he was there, I didn’t think I’d be so glued to his side.  Neither one of them seemed to notice though.

I gave them a brief rundown of the prophecy as best I could remember it, and Raziel’s departure to go find the prophet.  I sorta glossed over the witch angle and said the guys were trying to find something on an alternate way in to Midian.

“That is a good idea,” Sam nodded approvingly.  “I do seem to recall something to the effect of there being other ways in to Midian, I should check my scriptures to see if I can find a back door,” he volunteered.

“That would be great, thanks,” I smiled.  “But um, I was thinking that maybe you could do something else for me tonight?”

“Name it.”

“I had another visit from the police today about Ben, and it definitely wasn’t a friendly, we’re checking out all leads kind of visit.  They definitely think I’m involved in Ben’s disappearance.”  At least Detective Santiago did.

“How can I help with that?”

“I thought you might be able to help me break into Ben’s townhouse after work tonight.”

“You wish me to be your lookout?”  He actually sounded a little excited at the prospect, to my surprise.

“No, I need your help breaking in.  I don’t have my key to his place anymore and you were always so good at getting in there.”

“That’s because I came in through the bedroom window on the top floor.  I can only get in if it’s still unlocked.”

“Can you help me check it then?  All you have to do is let me in and I can take care of the rest.”

“Why do you want to break into Ben’s place?” Daphne asked.

“I thought maybe I could send some emails from his laptop to throw the cops off track.  Make it seem like he’s out there somewhere, alive and well.  What do you guys think?”

“Won’t the police figure out the emails came from his laptop at the house?” Daphne frowned, and I had to admit, she had a good point.

“Maybe, but they won’t know it’s not him who sent them.  I figure they’re not watching his house 24/7, how would they know if Ben came back or not?”

“I don’t know, Mercy.  It sounds kind of risky.” Daphne shook her head, blonde curls dancing.

“No one will see either one of us, I can make myself imperceptible coming in and out.  Do you have a better idea?  None of us knows how to fake his handwriting, so we can’t send any letters from him, and Sam doesn’t look a thing like him so he can’t go check into a motel in Denver or something, pretending to be him.  Email is the only way to perpetuate the idea that he’s still alive out there somewhere.”

“I think it’s a fine idea,” Sam agreed instantly, and I had to admit, I didn’t think he’d latch onto breaking and entering so easily.  But come to think of it, that was his normal modus operandi, wasn’t it?  He’d let himself into lots of people’s houses without thinking twice about it.

“I’ll meet you at Ben’s place after work, say around two-thirty?”

“It’s a date,” he smiled, his face clouding with a worried glance to Daphne.  “No, not a date, an agreed upon meeting at a pre-arranged time.”

“Mercy can’t date you, she’s already in love with Adam, and apparently seeing Parker too…” Daphne raised a brow at me, and I think she might actually have been jealous.

Too much drama.  I wasn’t about to acknowledge the date line from Sam, instead I distracted her with the bit of Parker gossip.  “That’s what I told the Detective when she grilled me on who I broke up with Ben to date.  I couldn’t exactly tell her I was seeing Adam, could I?  Oh, that reminds me, Sam, do you know what last name Adam uses?”

“I don’t,” he replied after a moment’s thought.  “Why, is that important?”

“Oh, just one of those things a girl likes to know.  What last name do you use, by the way?” I asked out of curiosity.

“That’s right, what name do you use on your apartment lease and your bank account, stuff like that?” Daphne chimed in, but Sam stared at us blankly.  I recalled him telling me that Adam set all of that up for him.  What was he going to do about rent and money with Adam stuck in Midian?

“What are you going to do this year without Adam taking care of your business arrangements?”

“Adam is often gone for long stretches of time,” he shrugged as if it didn’t concern him.

“But what about money to live on?” Daphne pressed. “You’ve been spending so much lately.”

Had he?  I didn’t want to know on what, and Sam didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.  “Don’t worry your pretty head about it,” he stole a line from Adam, his smile holding no trace of misogyny.  I hated it when Adam said it to me, but Daphne gave him a sunny smile.

“I’ll see you tonight then, Sam.  And any help you can give me with the mention of another way in to Midian in your books would be great.”  I almost felt like we had a handle on things, it helped to have a plan of action.

“I can help you with looking through all those prophecies if you want,” Daphne volunteered, but Sam looked less than thrilled by the idea.

“Thank you, no.  There are some passages that are not meant for human eyes.”

I remember when he used that line on me, but Daphne accepted it better than I did.  “I can use your help on a couple of things, Daph, if you’ve got some time.” I kept it vague on purpose.

“Sure, I’ve got time, I don’t go in until four today.”

“I’d better get cracking then, those books ain’t gonna read themselves,” Sam smiled broadly, and I wondered if he’d been watching Westerns lately.

I left them to their goodbyes, trying not to watch as their heads bent closer together, though they never actually got more than a few inches apart.  I felt a lump rise in my throat, thinking about the last time I’d seen Adam.  The way he’d touched my face, the look in his eyes, the longing, the regret, and most of all the love.  I saw that in Sam’s face when he looked at Daphne.

Making a cup of instant coffee, I waited for Daphne to come back to me, her face all dreamy and soft as Sam left.  I knew I should say something to her, a warning or caution at the very least, but what good would it do?  She could no more help who she fell for than I could, and she knew the risks involved.

I started to lose the momentum I’d been slowly gathering since the meeting, doubt and worry plaguing me as I tried to picture what Adam might be going through that very minute.  Time didn’t pass the same way in Midian as it did in the regular world.  That meant that what seemed like days to me since he’d left might feel like weeks or months to him and for Ben too.  Even if Azazael was in control of his body, who knew how much Ben was conscious of?  Months of torture already… I couldn’t bear to think of it.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“Just thinking about what horrible things Adam and Ben are probably going through right now.  I can’t stand the thought that they’re suffering because of me.”

“They’re not suffering because of you, they’re suffering because of the deal Adam made.  You didn’t even know about it.”

“Yeah, but he only made it to keep me safe.”

“It’s okay, we’ll get them back.” Daphne wrapped an arm around my shoulder.  “They won’t do anything bad to Adam, they need him to feed off of, right?”

My memory cast back to the way Raum fed.  With teeth.  “Yeah, nothing bad…”

Chapter Four

“We’re really looking for witches?” Daphne asked as we pulled up in front of the little shop.  The number thirteen was prominently displayed on the store front between two crescent moons.

“Yep, Nelo said he knew of witches that could come and go to Midian as they pleased.  We’re hoping we can find one who knows a back door into the place.”

“You really think we’re going to find someone who knows about that stuff here?”  The skepticism came through loud and clear, and I couldn’t blame her.  The place had plenty of crystals and pentagrams in the window display, but nothing that looked the least bit demonic.

“I’m not sure where else to start, so I thought I’d give it a shot.  Do you remember Jean’s friend Evie?  She works here, and they’re the only witches I know.”  I had no idea how to get ahold of Jean anymore, I wasn’t even sure she still lived in town.  Hell, I wasn’t even sure Evie would still be working there, but it was the only real lead I had.

“I don’t think they count as actual witches, just because they like silver jewelry and patchouli,” she muttered.

“Do you have a better idea?”

“Well… no,” Daphne admitted sheepishly before she was distracted by the glint of rainbow crystals on display.  “Ooh, look at that unicorn in the window, let’s go in!”

I left Daphne to the front window display, carefully turning over little figurines and frowning over the sticker prices underneath.  I pretended to look at the books while I sized up the girl behind the counter.  It wasn’t Evie, she had straight black hair and this girl was a natural blonde.  Instead of the expected silver jewelry, she had a single crystal hanging from her neck.  Dressed in faded jeans and a gauzy blouse the color of sand, she smiled when we entered, before going back to the magazine she flipped through.

A quick check of the bookshelves showed me there wasn’t anything there on dimensional travel or anything useful, though I did wonder what the heck astral projection was.  Hesitantly, I approached the counter, making a show of looking at the jewelry under the glass case.  Once I was actually in the shop, I had no idea how to ask for help without sounding like a total nutbar.

“Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see,” she offered with a faint smile, and I seized upon the opening.

“You have some really pretty things here, have you worked here long?”

“Thanks.  Uh, not too long, about four months.”

“Oh, you must know Evie then?” I fished, relieved when her smile widened in acknowledgement.

“Of course, are you a friend of hers?”

“In a roundabout sort of way,” I smiled, “I know her and Jean from way back.  I always knew they were into this stuff, but I’ve never really thought to check it out until now.”

“I can recommend some great books to get started if you like.” The girl warmed to the subject, coming out from behind the counter.  “Cunningham is great for the beginner, or Ravenwolf if you like something a little more contemporary.”

“Actually, what I’m really looking for,” I stepped into her path before she got carried away, “is something that deals with demonic portals.”  I know how it sounded, but what else was I supposed to do?

Her eyes narrowed instantly, the friendly smile dying on her lips.  “We don’t have any of that satanic crap here.  We focus on the right hand path.”

“No, I’m not talking about satanic stuff, it’s not Hell I want to get into, it’s… do you know anything about Midian?” I asked, watching her carefully for any sign of recognition.

“Yeah… you two can go ahead and leave now, you’ve had your fun.”  She turned back to her magazine.

“No, I’m deadly serious.”  I came back around to the front of the counter.  “I’ve heard that some witches know how to get into the demon realm and I need to know how they get in without the gate guard seeing them.”

“I don’t have time for this…”

“She’s not kidding, we really do need to find a way in there, it’s a matter of life and death.” Daphne joined us, the crystal unicorn in hand.

“Look, I get it.  You think it’s fun to come in and make fun of the pagans, call us all devil worshippers.  Well, it’s not funny to us, it’s our religion!” Her voice rose in indignation.  “You’d never think of going into a church and making fun of nuns, or into a monastery to taunt monks, but Wiccans are free game, right?”  She was getting herself all worked up, and I decided I’d had about enough of her tirade.  With a wave and a scowl, she froze mid sentence, and Daphne stared at her in shocked surprise.

“What did you do to her?”

“I just wanted her to shut up for a minute so I could think.  There has to be something else here than can help us…”

“You’re really good at it,” she murmured, waving her hand in front of the girl’s eyes.

“I don’t know how long it’ll last.  Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re gonna check out the back room, see if there’s anything back there that looks like it might be useful,” I called over my shoulder, pushing past the hanging curtain that led to the small office and storage space behind the store.

“And then what?  Take it?”

“I don’t know, I’m making it up as I go along, now come on!”

“I don’t know about this, Mercy.”  Daphne lingered at the doorway while I pulled open the drawers of the roll top desk.  I had no idea what to look for, but I was running out of ideas.

“Fine, then I’ll search, you keep a lookout.  If she unfreezes, or anyone else comes in let me know and I’ll zap her again.”  Only I didn’t find anything useful in the desk or on the stock shelves.  I even looked through the tiny bathroom in the back.  All I found was extra boxes of books and figurines.

“Ugh, that was a total bust.”  I wiped my hands on my back pockets.

“I don’t know, I think this is really cute. I think I’m going to get it.”  Daphne held the crystal unicorn up to the light.

“Are you serious?”

“I think Sam will really like it.  He’s very into fantasy creatures, I think he’ll get a kick out of it.”  Digging through her pockets, she pulled out a wad of crumpled bills and smoothed them out on the counter.

Surprised to hear she planned to give the figurine to Sam instead of keeping it for herself, I watched her count out the right amount and slide them across the counter where the girl was sure to find them.  “Daphne… about you and Sam…”

“What about us?”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great you two are getting along so well, but…”

“It’s fine.  You don’t have to worry for me,” she insisted, a placid smile fixed in place as she helped herself to a little paper bag to wrap it up.  “We should really get out of here before she wakes up.”

“Daph…”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

Damn.  That’s what I was afraid of.

* * *

After the complete debacle at the witchy shop, I was in poor spirits when I got to work that night.  I gave Walter a wan smile at the door, but no sooner had I crossed the threshold when Parker wrapped his arm around me, hauling me close for a big, noisy kiss right on the mouth.

“Parker!” I squirmed in his grasp, but he instantly smothered me with another kiss before I could get another word out.  That time I felt his tongue snake into my mouth, and I resisted the urge to bite him to make him let me go.  I started to rethink that stance when I felt his hand on my ass, but in the next moment he let me go.

“Relax, darlin’,” he grinned, dropping his voice to whisper at my ear as he hugged me close.  “Cop at the bar, don’t look.  Come on, we’re selling this thing, right?”  All at once comprehension sank in, and I got what he was going for.

“I know, but…”  Christ, everyone at work would think we really were an item.  Not that dating Parker would be anything to be ashamed of, but there was a stigma involved in sleeping with your boss, and I wasn’t overly fond of the idea.  I had managed to live down the suggestion that Parker and I once had a fling when he was dating Sharona, but I could feel the disapproval coming off of Walter in waves.  The old fashioned bouncer always had a soft spot for me, and I hated to see the disappointment in his eyes.

Maybe it was all in my head, but I couldn’t help but feel like everyone’s eyes were upon us as we walked back towards the bar arm in arm.  Detective Santiago made no attempt to hide her interest in the least, openly staring.

“Hello, Detective, what brings you down to Eden?” I asked, with a tight smile.

“I thought I’d get a first hand look at this great love of yours,” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Great love?” Parker’s surprise registered at the word and I hurried to cover it.

“It’s still a little new… we haven’t exactly professed our undying love for each other.”

“Really?  I could have sworn you said something about not being able to control who you fell in love with,” Santiago’s eyes narrowed.

“You’ve got that right,” Parker muttered.  “No, she’s right,” he said a little louder.  “Maybe I haven’t said it before, but you know I love you, sweetheart,” he reached up to caress the side of my cheek, turning my face to his.  “Don’t you?”

“I… um, yeah.  Of course I do.  I love you too, Parker.” Not a lie, just not the way he meant.

“I’ve always loved you,” he smiled, that sweet smile with no trace of mockery or sarcasm.  The smile that transformed his entire face from roguish charm to sincere, leading man, good looks.  As I blinked over the transformation, he leaned in close, his lips brushing over mine in a tender kiss.

“Parker…” I murmured, at a loss for words.

“I know, this wasn’t where I planned on doing this but… sometimes I get carried away.   You know how it is, don’t you, Detective?” he winked at her, his arm snaking around my waist to haul me up against his side.

“That’s my Parker, always doing impulsive things,” I gave a shaky laugh.  “I never know what he’ll do next.”

Detective Santiago’s expression remained unchanged, her dark eyes flicking between us.  “Mr. Davies, Miss Renault,” she nodded, rising from her seat without another word.

I wriggled out of his grasp the moment she was gone.  “You can’t do that!” I hissed, and he followed me back to his office.

“I thought you wanted to convince her we’re dating?”

“I did… I do…”  I couldn’t lay a finger on exactly what bothered me the most, being blindsided like that, or the fact that it was Parker who kissed me.  Again.  I had to make sure I wasn’t sending him mixed signals.  “Parker, you know it’s just for show, right?”  Lately with him I wasn’t sure if the usual flirtatious nature of our friendship was turning into something else.

“Of course I do,” his brows drew together.  “Oh, come on, it was a couple of kisses.   Don’t you think you’re blowing things out of proportion?”

“What about all that love stuff?”

“You’re the one who brought that up to her, I was just going with the flow.”

“You know everyone out there thinks we’re an item now, right?”

“Isn’t that the idea?  You don’t think Detective Stick-up-her-ass won’t think of asking anyone else if they’ve seen us together like that before?”

He had a point.  It was a few kisses and some empty words, what was I getting so upset about?  “You’re right, I’m sorry for freaking out.” I peeled off my coat and unwound the scarf from my throat.  “Thanks for helping me out, and I’m sorry if she came down hard on you.  What sort of things did she ask you?”

“What didn’t she ask me.  I thought she was going to haul me downtown by the balls, what did you do to her?”

“Me?  I didn’t do anything, she was like that when I met her.  Do you think she bought it, or did she still sound suspicious?”

“Who knows?” he shrugged, sitting on the edge of his desk.  “I think she’s a nosy bitch.  She won’t rest until she pins this thing on someone, and right now we look like the best bet.  But don’t worry about it, we’ll get Ben back and then she’ll back off.”

“Only if we can get Azazael out of him.  To be honest I have no idea what we’re going to do with Ben if we can’t figure out a way to do that.  Keeping him here all tied up is going to end badly, I can tell,” I sighed, leaning against the desk beside him.  He didn’t have anything to say to that, and we sat there side by side for long minutes, lost in thought.  “Well, I’d better get out there,” I patted him on the hand and grabbed an apron to tie around my waist, but Parker caught hold of the string and pulled me back towards him.

“Hold on, you can’t go out there yet.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want them thinking it’s over yet, I’ve got a rep to protect.”

“Huh?”

“I’m the kind of guy who likes to take his time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You and me, the make up sex…”

“Ugh.  You’re disgusting, you know that?”

“What?  They saw you were ticked off at me and now we’ve gotta be all lovey dovey again.  I had to have done something right to make it up to you.”

“You know, I think maybe this ‘relationship’ has run its course,” I scowled.  He was enjoying it way too much.

“What will the detective think?”

“That I finally came to my senses?”

Parker laughed at that, obviously not bothered by my insults in the least.  “Okay, okay, I’ll behave,” his hands came up in a supplicating gesture.

“Don’t kiss me like that without my permission again,” I pushed at his chest with two fingers.  Hard.

“Ow… Alright, the next time I kiss you, I’ll make sure you’re expecting it,” he promised, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“No, you’re missing the point.  You can’t kiss me at all.  I’m not yours.”

“That’s not what you said before,” Parker grinned, undeterred.  “You said to pretend we’re an item, that’s what I’m doing.  You’re the one bringing real life into it.  Maybe you were a little more affected by that kiss than you want to be.”

“What?  You’re crazy.”

“Am I?”

“Trust me, if that’s what you call a kiss, I can definitely say I was not affected by it.”  I turned to go, but he caught my arm.

“Alright then, give me a chance to show you what I can do.”

“No,” I frowned, not sure I liked where things were headed.

“Why not?”

“What would be the point?  Detective Santiago left, there’s no one to put a show on for anymore.”

“But if she was here right now you couldn’t sell it that I’m your boyfriend if you cringe every time I touch you.  You have to act like you want me to touch you.” He let go of his loose hold on my wrist, his fingers trailing along my arm.

“Parker…”  Definitely not heading in the right direction…

“No, I’m serious.  Here…” His hand skimmed up my bare arm, and he was right, I flinched.  “Relax, I’m not going to bite you.  I’m touching your arm, not groping you.”

“I’m relaxed, I’m just sensitive, that’s all,” I protested.  For some reason I didn’t pull away, even though my instincts still screamed inside that it was a bad idea to go down that path with him.  Parker brushed his fingers over my other arm in the ghost of a touch.  I closed my eyes for a second, shutting away the pang of longing for something I had no right to want.

“Do you jump like that when Adam touches you?”

My eyes snapped open at the mention of Adam, a flush of guilt going through me.  “Well… he hasn’t really…”

“Then he’s an idiot.”

“He’s not an idiot,” I frowned, taking a step away from his touch.  “We’ve had more important things on our minds for a while, we haven’t had all that much alone time.”  Not between his stupid ideas of leaving me alone for my own protection and then striking the bargain with Raum.

“I’d make time if you were mine.”  His blue eyes met mine for long seconds before I broke the connection.

“Well, I’m not,” I frowned, pulling free from his grasp. I tightened the apron into an impossibly small knot I’d have to cut off later, but I didn’t care.  I had to get out of there.  “I have to get to work, I’ll see you out there later.”

Chapter Five

The ‘break in’ at Ben’s the night before turned out to be a total bust.  Though Sam enjoyed playing burglar, even going so far as to dress all in black, complete with a knit cap and smudged face, I couldn’t get into Ben’s laptop at all.  Whether he’d changed the password or the cops did, the only thing I could get it to do was show me the pictures he had on screen saver, which sadly, featured too many pictures of me.  All it did was give me a whopping dose of guilt, and put us no closer to throwing the police off track.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Parker called me the next day, asking me to come by the club a little early.  Maybe he wanted to clear the air between us?  I’d pretty much tried to ignore him for the rest of the shift, as well as blowing off Jilly’s attempts to ask me about what was going on with us.

When I walked in, I half expected Parker to jump out and kiss me again, or grab my ass or something in the name of our “relationship”.  Instead he threw a damp towel at me with a grin.  “Just in time, she’s gonna be here any minute.”

“Why am I afraid to ask?”

“Laugh now, sweetheart, but old Parker really came through on this one, wait and see,” he winked confidently, and I had to admit, he definitely captured my interest.

“What did you do?” my eyes narrowed in suspicion.  Not that I didn’t trust Parker, I just… I guess maybe I did have some trust issues, and he didn’t always do the most appropriate thing.

“I found us a witch,” he grinned.  “Told you I could.”

“A witch…” I couldn’t help but be skeptical, especially given my failure at the pagan shop.  “How did you find her?”

“Craig’s List.  No seriously, she came highly recommended,” he back pedaled at seeing my face.

“To do what?”

“You know, magic stuff.  She said she’s had dealings with demons before, and she might be able to help us.”

I couldn’t quite trust any of it, either the woman was dicking with him and wouldn’t show at all, or more likely clinically insane.  “What makes you think she’s not a crock pot?”

“That’s crackpot.”

“Whatever.  You know what I mean.  You seriously called me down here to meet a witch you found on Craig’s List?  Have you even talked to her?”

“No, she’s meeting us here, she didn’t want to give me her phone number.  Like I was the crazy one,” he snorted.

“She’s never gonna show,” I sighed, sinking down onto a barstool.  I was wrong though, as the doors opened, and the woman strode in, her kitten heels clicking on the hard floor with short, businesslike steps.

“Mister Davies?”

“That’s me,” Parker straightened a little, and I recognized the look he got in his eye whenever confronted with a good looking member of the female population.

“I am Jadeluz Santiago.  You are looking for a witch?”

“Whoa, you didn’t say anything about being hot in your profile,” Parker’s grin widened, and I couldn’t resist a roll of the eyes.  Did he think that kind of compliment would make her swoon?

“Watch it, I can turn you into a toad,” her lips twisted into a wry grin.  Her accent was thick, but understandable.  I guessed Hispanic of some type based on her name and dark features, but she could have been Italian.  Her aura was a swirl of bright greens and purples, with flecks of pink.  Almost dizzying if I allowed myself to stare at it for too long, and I tried not to.  Overall she was a beautiful woman, with that look about her that if she took off the conservative skirt and let her hair down she’d be all kinds of sexy.

“Santiago,” I frowned, wondering if she was in some way related to Detective Santiago.  I didn’t come right out and ask her, it would be like asking everyone named Miller if they were related.

“Do I know you?”

“No, I don’t think so, I’m Mercy,” I smiled to cover what I’d been thinking.  “Nice to meet you.”

“So, you’re the one everybody is all in the uproar about, huh?” Her eyes swept over me critically, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much he’d told her about me.

“Guilty as charged,” I smiled, extending a hand.  For a moment I thought she might not take it, but then she did, clasping it with both hands.  Instead of shaking it, she held my hand for long seconds, until it started to get a little uncomfortable.  “Um… Ms Santiago…”

With an open smile, she let go of my hand, overcoming whatever reservation she might have had about meeting me, from whatever she picked up from my hand.  “You can call me Luz.  Now, your man said something about you needing the real deal, a witch with power.  What kind of power are you looking for?”

I traded looks with Parker, wishing I’d had a chance to look over what he’d told her already.  “We have a couple of problems we need help with actually.  First, I guess, do you know anything about possession?”

“If you are looking to get rid of a demon, you’d be better off with a priest.  Exorcism is a tricky business,” she shook her head.

“Actually, we’re trying to get rid of a fallen angel.  I don’t suppose you have much in the way of personal knowledge when it comes to them?”  It was too much to ask for, but instead of shooting me down, Luz gave another wry twist of the lips.

“Actually, I’ve known one… intimately,” she admitted.  “A real sonofabitch, but he did have his amusing moments.”

My face fell.  I knew Adam spent a good deal of his past reveling in more than his share of earthly delights, but the thought of coming face to face with one of his conquests left a little to be desired.  “You um, you know Adam?” I asked in a small voice.

“Adam?” her brows drew together in puzzlement.  “No, his name is Remiel.  I was a little bit wilder in my younger days,” she winked at Parker.

“I’ll bet,” he smiled back, leaning against the bar.

It suddenly got a lot easier to breathe.  Not that it meant there weren’t scores of women out there that he’d been intimate with, but I definitely didn’t want to meet any of them.  Especially not any with such lush attributes.  “So, anyway, we have this problem with a fallen angel.  He managed to possess a friend of mine, and we need both a way to force him out, but then a way to somehow keep him from doing that to anyone ever again.  Is such a thing possible?”

Luz considered for a moment, lacquered nails tapping against full lips.  “It could be done.  We might need something to jolt him free of the body, but you could maybe help with that.”

“Me?  What could I do?”

“Please.  I can feel the power radiating off of you from here.  Are you trying to tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“No, I guess not,” I admitted sheepishly.  “I’m just not supposed to talk about it much, and I’m still not really sure what I can do to help.”  I wasn’t aware of anything within my power to help knock Azazael out of Ben’s body.

“No te preocupas,” she waved away my concern. “You want to bind this dangerous angel, for how long?”

“Does eternity seem like too much to ask for?”

“That will take a lot of power, at least a circle of five, maybe seven,” she frowned, tapping with her finger again.  “I will have to put out the feelers, see who I can raise.  When are you looking for this to go down?”

Parker and I traded looks again.  “See, that’s the thing.  We have to go bust our friend out of the demon realm first.  I don’t suppose you have a way to help us with that?”

“You want to go to the shadowlands on purpose?” Her brows rose, as if I’d said the stupidest thing she’d ever heard.

“It’s not that I want to, but that’s where Ben is.  Trust me, if it was up to me I’d never go back there, ever again.”

“Then you’ve been there before.  You don’t remember how you got there the first time?”

“Of course I do, I just don’t know how to get past the gate guard.  He’s very… imposing.”  That was an understatement. I’d never met anyone who looked as capable of tearing a person limb from limb.

“That’s where they’re keeping her boyfriend too,” Parker contributed, and I shot him a look.  So much for pretending we were an item.  The first time a good looking woman came into it, he forgot his promise to me.  Typical.

“I thought you were her boyfriend?”

“No, I’m available, Senorita,” he winked broadly.

“Que sorpresa,” she smirked.  “I’m not.”

“I’m devastated.”

“I doubt it, but it’s sweet of you to say so,” she laughed.  “When are you looking to break your friend out?”

“Soon,” I replied, happy to redirect the conversation away from Parker’s flirting.  “I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of a way in or out of there besides through the main gate?  We have it under good authority that witches have found a way to travel there unnoticed.”

“I can’t help you there, I’ve never been into that dark shit before,” a shake of the head was given.  “I’ll put the word out though, into the great beyond.”

“The afterlife?” Parker blinked.

“The internet,” she smiled.  “Listen, why don’t you go do something manly and leave us alone for a little girl time.”  Luz made a shooing motion with her hands and Parker’s face fell.

“Can’t I stay and watch?”

“Parker!”

“What?”

“How about you play the quiet game for the rest of the day?”  As annoyed as I was with him for de-evolving back to the smarmy Parker I’d known for the past few years, I was dying to find out what Luz wanted to talk to me alone about.

“Alright then, I’ll bid you ladies good bye.  But if either one of you need me for anything, anything at all…” he fixed his baby blues on Luz.

“We know where to find you,” she finished his sentence for him.  “Is he always like that?”

“Most of the time.  Actually he’s a pretty cool guy if you get to know him better.  But like most men, he turns into a drooling idiot when faced with a beautiful woman,” I gestured to her.

“He must drool all the time then,” she replied, her smile losing some of the edge it’d had when Parker was in the room.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“You hear some weird shit when you hang out around the people I do.”

“I can imagine.”  She was easily one of the strangest people I’d ever met, but not in a bad way, just… interesting.

“I heard about what happened to you, when you got taken by the demons.”

“I’m surprised you know who I am at all,” I frowned.  How exactly did something like that get around?

“Oh please, we have seen the signs coming for a long, long time.  Even before the prophesies los angeles keep so closely guarded.  My sisters have had the sight for as long as there have been witches.  We know when something big is coming long before those stuck up bastards do.”

Wow, she didn’t pull any punches when it came to telling it how she saw it.  “They’re not all like that, you know.  Some of them are very nice.”

“Of course you’d say that, you’re on their side.”

“Tell that to them,” I snorted.  “Half of the guys upstairs think I’m an abomination.”

“That’s because you’re a woman.  If it was a man who had been given the gift, they would have called it a miracle,” she snorted.

“You’re preaching to the choir, honey,” I muttered.  “So, am I the something big your friends saw, or were you talking about something else?”

“My tia Lucia saw you first, actually.  I’m named for her, on my mother’s side.”

“What did she see exactly?”

“That’s the problem with having the Sight.  The future keeps changing.  Little decisions you make every day that you don’t expect to make any difference end up fucking things up, or setting them to right where they should be in the first place.”

“Okay.”  Interesting, but it wasn’t all that helpful.  “What did your tia say about me in general?”

“She said you were going to drive the heavens apart, I think we can agree that’s already happened,” she sniggered.

“I’ve already heard that one.  Did you hear anything else?”

“To be honest, I didn’t really pay that much attention to her stories when I was a little girl,” she shrugged.  “I thought she was telling fairy tales.”

“You heard about me when you were growing up?” my jaw dropped.  I wasn’t sure if that was kinda cool or plain creepy.

“I told you, we always know first,” she held up a single finger proudly.  “But I remember that you were a symbol to us women.  Like the Virgin Mary, but a symbol for the modern day.  You’ll bring about real change.  Talk about a lot to live up to,” she gave me a commiserating smile.

“It’s a real bitch,” I agreed aloud.  I decided I liked Luz, even if she did make Parker act like a total idiot.  “Any advice?”

Her eyes went distant for a moment as she laid her hand over mine.  “Don’t be afraid of change.  It might scare the hell out of you, but you’re strong enough to handle it.”

“Change.  Gotcha,” I waited to see if there would be any more.

“You’re not alone,” she added after a few seconds.  “Even if it feels like the loneliness is unbearable and you can’t go on, you are loved, and you will never be truly alone.”

That didn’t sound promising.

“Oh shit, is that the time?” she looked at her watch, releasing my hand.  “I got to get home before things fall apart.  I’ll be in touch about the binding, or if I hear anything about another way into the shadowlands.”

“Thanks for your help, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Luz gave me a brief but fierce embrace.  “What are sisters for?”

Chapter Six

As the days went on, I felt more and more restless, like I needed to do something instead of wait for a break to come to us.  Raziel had come and gone, delivering us copies of all of the prophet’s rantings, but nothing proved very useful.  Promising to try to find an angle on another way in to Midian, he left the same night, but in truth… I think he was uncomfortable hanging out in the same place with Sam.

Matty, Sam and Daphne took to hanging out at my place most nights.  One night after work we were sitting around, watching more TV than actual brainstorming, when Matty came up with an interesting idea.

“Maybe we can work out a trade?  Capture someone Raum wants, and trade him for Adam and Ben?”

“I don’t know.  An angel, even a fallen one, would be quite a coup. I’m not sure who he’d trade for.”  I couldn’t help but be skeptical, besides me, I wasn’t sure who else Raum would be interested in.

“No, I think he might be onto something,” Daphne shook her head.  “We just need someone even better… Who would be better?”

“Too bad we can’t catch Nathanael, he could use a year or two in there, it might knock him down a peg or two,” I muttered, while Sam hid a smile behind his mug of hot chocolate.  “Nelo?  Who do you think Raum might be interested in trading our friends for?”  I figured he would be the person who knew Raum the best out of all of us.  The little demon looked up from where he sat with Mimsy in his lap.

“Someone with power, he covets power above all else.”

“Power… who else has power in his court besides him?”  I hadn’t seen anyone else to match his skills, except for maybe… “Oh!  What if we snuck in and stole Oriana?”

“He would undoubtedly want her back, he relies on her gift of the Sight,” Nelo agreed.

“How would we get in and out?  There’s no way that gate guard is gonna let you sneak by with Raum’s favorite witch,” Matty pointed out, but I wasn’t ready to give the idea up yet.

“Nelo, could you…”

“I couldn’t hide her from Naberios’ gaze, just as I couldn’t when you escaped, Mistress.  I don’t even know if she would come with me.”

Which is why we needed a bargaining chip in the first place, instead of sneaking Adam and Ben out directly.  “It’s a good idea, we just need a little more thought put into it.  We keep coming back to this idea that we need another way in and out.  You didn’t find anything in your books, Sam?  It seems like angels would have some knowledge of people slipping in and out of a demon realm.”

“No, we avoid that place at all costs.”

“Someone must know…”

“What if you kidnapped a demon?” Matty suggested.  “The ones that go in and out all the time might know more about it than one who was on a short leash.  No offense,” he added as an aside to Nelo, who didn’t appear upset in the slightest.

“Look at you coming up with the good ideas tonight,” I shot Matty a grin.  “I think that’s a great idea!”  Even if it didn’t get us any new intel, at least it gave us something to do.

“How do you catch a demon?” Daphne asked, directing her question more to Sam than to me, but I had the answer.

“You go to where they hang out.”

* * *

I’d never been on a stake-out before.  You’d think it might have come up when I dated a cop, but instead I had an angel sitting beside me in my trusty little Ford Escort, watching the entrance to the strip club, ‘The Honey Pot’ emblazoned across the front in flickering neon.

“I don’t understand the name,” Sam frowned, pouring his third cup of hot coffee from my thermos.  He didn’t have a problem with cars as long as they weren’t moving, and he looked downright comfy in the passenger’s seat.

Not sure I wanted to get into that kind of a conversation with him, I ignored the question.  “You’re gonna have to go make a coffee run if you drink all of my coffee,” I grumbled, shifting in my seat to try and get comfortable.

“They don’t sell food there, just drinks am I not correct?”

“If I’d known you were going to be in a coffee mood, I would have packed you your own thermos.”

“Do they specialize in sweetened drinks?”

We were having two different conversations.  “Sam, do you know what a strip club is?” I asked finally, turning to look at him.

“A club that’s on the strip?”

“No, it’s a place where men go to watch women strip their clothes off.”

“Oh.”  He was silent for a few seconds.  “Why would they do that when they can watch women strip their clothes off for free on cable television at night?”

I did not want to know how he knew that, the idea that he may have been sitting on my couch watching Skinemax was a little icky.  “Some people would prefer to see it up close and personal.”

“Sometimes I don’t understand humans.”

“Me neither,” I muttered.

“Why would you want to watch a woman disrobe if you don’t even know her?”

I shrugged at that. “Some men aren’t all that picky.”

“Do women want to watch men disrobe as well?”

It was turning into a different conversation, and I wondered if anyone had ever had the birds and the bees talk with Sam.  I didn’t want to think what kind of a spin Adam might put on it.  “Ah, some do.  I think it depends on the guy.”

“What does it depend on?”

“I can’t speak for all women, but we can appreciate a good looking guy with his shirt off, like men appreciate a girl in a short skirt or a push up bra.  The better looking the guy is, the more we want to see.”  Not that I’d ever been to a male strip club, but I wasn’t above the appreciation of a well made male figure.

“Am I a good looking guy?”

Any other guy I might have thought was fishing for compliments, but there was no mistaking the earnest look on his face.  He really had no clue.  “Yes, you are a very good looking guy,” I smiled back at him.  “God made you guys at the peak of physical perfection, you must have noticed.”

“Beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.  I hadn’t ever thought of it before…”

“Before Daphne?”

“Do you think she finds me dreamy?”

“Dreamy?” I laughed, wondering where he’d picked up that word.  “Yes, I do believe I’ve seen her give a dreamy sigh when thinking about you, Sam.  I’m pretty sure that qualifies.”

“Then you believe she wants… more, with regards to the physical aspects of our relationship?”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go there with him, but I could see he had no one else to talk to about it.  “It’s hard for me to comment on that, when I have no idea how close the two of you have gotten already.”

“Very close,” he murmured, “I held her very close.  And once, our lips touched, though I don’t know if it was by accident or design.”

So basically he hadn’t even gotten to first base with her, but for him, I could see how that was very close indeed.  “I think any normal person wants things to progress, the closer you get,” I said carefully.  “But you’ve told me she wasn’t in any kind of danger from you acting on your feelings.”

“I still hold true to that pledge.  I wouldn’t dream of exposing her to my sinful desires.”

“Sam, those feelings aren’t sinful, they’re normal when two people care about each other the way you do.  It just happens to be against the rules for you two to…”

“Hook up?”

“Yeah, hook up,” I suppressed a smile at his mixture of the vernacular.

“I have recently begun to feel it might not be fair to her, if she is expecting things I can not give her,” Sam added thoughtfully.

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“Daphne says we don’t need to sully what we have with the physical side of things.  She is content to take what I have to offer.”

“Good luck with that,” I murmured, my eyes going back to the street where I caught sight of someone who looked familiar.  “Sit tight, Sammy, I see someone who might be able to help us.  I should be able to handle him, but be ready to come if I call for you, okay?”  Without waiting for an answer, I slipped out of the car, hurrying across the street to follow after the dark figure whose absence of a soul marked him a demon.

He turned off the sidewalk into an alley, and as soon as my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I realized I couldn’t see him anymore.  Figuring my cover was blown and he could see me better than I could see him in the shadows, I changed tactics, slowing my step to draw him out.  “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” I called out in a sing song voice.

“All alone are we?” came from up high, maybe on top of the dumpster, it was hard to tell.  “A bit dangerous for the likes o’ you, ain’t it?”

I knew my Grace would be too much temptation for him to pass by, and I suppressed a smile as I recognized his gravely voice.  “I can handle myself.”

The demon himself stepped out of the shadows, all casual, as if he held all the cards.  Still dressed shabbily like one of the unwashed homeless, he’d added a ratty bowler to the ensemble.  “If you need a bit o’ protection, just ask old Cephas.  I’ll keep you safe from the other rabble for a taste now and then.”  He smiled, showing the sharp teeth I sometimes still dreamt about, but I gathered my courage around me.  I wasn’t the same girl he’d met on the church steps months ago.

“Who says I need protection?  Do you see me quaking in my boots?” My chin came up in challenge.

“I ‘ear your boy is in chains under Raum’s boot.  I ‘ear your boy bleeds real pretty-like,” he chortled, and I got a flash of an image I’d been trying to ignore ever since Adam left.

“Okay, you know what?  I’m done playing.”  I wasn’t there to verbally spar with the scumbag, I was after some answers.

“I’m not, pretty, I’ve only just begun,” he advanced, his grin stretching obscenely wide.

Somehow I knew he wasn’t in for a Carpenters sing-a-long, but I was ready for him.  With a flick of the wrist, I called forth my sword, gratified to see his eyes bulge in acknowledgement.  “On second thought, I could go for a game or two.  How about we play… pin the tail on the demon?  No?  Where’s your laughter now, you bastard?”  Rage swept through me, all the anger and frustration finally having a target right in front of me to take it out on.  What was to stop me from killing him?  Absolutely nothing.  I would be doing the world a favor.

Cephas must have seen the deadly intent on my face as he started to back up, his hands stretched out in front of him.  “Now ‘old on there, pretty.  Don’t go doin’ anythin’ you’d regret later.  I ain’t done nothin’ to you since Adamiel told me not to.”

“But you did go back to Raum and tell him all about me, didn’t you?” my eyes glittered dangerously.  It was because of him I’d drawn Raum’s attention in the first place.

“I might ‘ave said some such…”

“You little rat, this is all your fault!”  I laid the flat of the blade against his throat and he let out a shriek as it burned his skin with a hiss.

“I beg mercy, Mistress,” Cephas whined, going down on his knees.

“The hell I will.  None of your kind have ever shown me the smallest amount, why should I?”  Pressing a little harder, I felt the sword bite into his neck, just enough for the stain of black blood to taint the blade.

“Merceline,” I felt Sam’s hand on my shoulder, but I tried to shrug off the soothing waves of Grace I felt emanating from him. I wanted to hold on to my anger, it gave me strength.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t skewer his black heart right where he stands.”

“Perhaps he has some information to tell us?” Sam’s face took on a speculative look.

“Old Cephas knows lots of things, ‘e does,” the demon nodded quickly, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth in eagerness to offer his services.

“He doesn’t know dick,” I maintained, holding the sword in place.

“No, I do!  Just ask and you’ll see,” Cephas begged, and I gave Sam a faint nod to go ahead.

“What do you know of another way in to Midian, beyond the main gate?”

“You’re askin’ about fairy stories?” His face scrunched up in confusion, and Sam nodded.

“Tell us and we’ll set you free.”

Cephas sat back on his heels as he thought it over.  “There is a way, but you gots to know where the portal is.  I’ve never ‘ad cause to find it m’self, Naberios lets me go through whenever I want to.”

“So, where is the portal?” I pressed again with the blade.

“Don’t know ‘ow much stock to place in it, but I’ve ‘eard stories.  Was a legend once of a fallen angel who falls in love with a demon, see?  And they worked a spell to create a doorway.  Don’t know if it’s true or a load of bollocks,” he shrugged.

“Can you ask this demon where it is?”

“No good, she died real tragic-like.  Shame too, she was a pretty piece of crumpet, as I recalls it.”

“What’s the name of the fallen angel?”  If he said Adamiel I was going to seriously lose it, but instead he named another angel I’d heard of before.

“Name’s Remiel.  Fell ‘ead over ‘eels.”

“Oh, Remiel and Lysha… I have heard this story before,” Sam’s eyes widened in recognition and I shot him a withering glance.

“And you didn’t think to mention it before now?”

“Lysha, that’s the one,” Cephas nodded energetically, reaching up to straighten his hat.  “Right, I gave you what you wanted, you said you’d let me go now.”

I moved the sword away from his throat, but Sam replaced it with his hand, slamming Cephas back against the dirty alley floor.  “I said we’d set you free.”  Sam’s eyes narrowed, that deathly calm settling over him as his hand began to glow.  “I judge thee, unclean thing.  I abjure thee, and cast thee into the cleansing fires of hell.”  Cephas’ mouth fell open with a horrible gurgle, and I turned around, not having the stomach to watch.  When I felt Sam rise to stand beside me, I darted a quick look, but there wasn’t a sign of the demon anywhere.  Nothing left but a scorched mark on the pavement.

“If you were going to kill him anyway, why didn’t you let me run him through?” I asked as we walked back to the car.  While it felt good to know Cephas had gotten his just deserts, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated out of getting to skewer him myself after all the trouble he’d caused.

“I didn’t want you to give in to the dark side of the force.”

So, he’d finally gotten around to watching the Star Wars movies…  “Looking out for my immortal soul are you?  Thanks Obi-Wan,” I grinned.  “But what about your soul, aren’t you worried about what it does to you to kill demons?”

“I did it without hatred in my heart.  I didn’t simply murder him, I cleansed the world of his presence.  There is a difference.”

I mulled that over as we got to the car, Sam leaning against the front in lieu of climbing back inside again.  “If we’re going to find the portal he mentioned, we need to find out everything there is to know about this Remiel and Lysha.”

“As I said, I have heard their story before, but the details escape me.  I’ll consult my books, see what I can dig up.”

“Thanks again, Sam.  We made a good team tonight.”

“We did, didn’t we,” he brightened at the thought.  “I quite liked playing bad cop.”

“Bad cop?” I laughed.  “If anything you were the good cop, I was the bad cop.”

“I’m the one who dispatched him.”

“Only because I threatened him enough to get him to spill his guts,” I pointed out and that just confused the heck out of him.

“But… I stopped you before you gutted him.”

“I meant… tell us what he knew, not literally spill his guts.”

“Oh, I see.  Yes, you were very good at getting him to empty quite a few guts.  I believe he would have told us anything we wanted to know.”

“Too bad he didn’t tell us how to find this Remiel.”

“Perhaps we should have asked him,” Sam considered aloud, his head canting to one side.

Oops.  “Huh.  Yep, we probably should have asked him that,” I agreed.  So much for patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.  “Ah well, we can always catch another demon if your books don’t turn anything up.”  Or maybe Luz might have a clue where the fallen angel lived?

“I should like that very much.  Thank you for showing me where they congregate.”

Uh oh.  Had I opened up a new hobby for him?  “You didn’t know where the gate to Midian was before today?”

“No, I have never trailed them to where they emerged from Midian, and I have never sought to go there.  I told you, most angels avoid it at all costs.”

“Be careful then, if you pick off too many of them by the gate, they might send reinforcements.”

“Don’t worry, Mercy, I know a thing or two about not spooking my prey,” he chuckled, and I was reminded that he’d been fighting ‘the dark side’ for thousands of years.  Sometimes I forgot how much life experience Sam had, since he was often clueless about the simplest of things.  But maybe, as Daphne had said, he was really starting to embrace this century and understand the way the world worked?

“Maybe next time we capture a demon, we can ask them what it means, ‘The Honey Pot’?” he added with a beatific smile.

Maybe not.

Chapter Seven

It didn’t take long to track Remiel down once we knew what we were looking for.  A short drive for me (and flight for Sam), and we found ourselves standing outside the aptly named Vagabond Inn in a rundown part of Tacoma. Despite the late (or early, depending on how you looked at it) hour, the light was on inside, and knowing angels didn’t need to sleep, I knocked boldly on the door.

“Somethin’ I can help you with, sugar?”

He was gorgeous, as all angels were, but something about him seemed… dirty.  Not just because of the greasy blonde hair that obscured half his unshaven face or the soiled wife beater he wore with blue jeans so torn and faded, I could see through them in spots.  His room was liberally strewn with garbage.  Old pizza boxes, beer bottles, and more than one pair of lacy panties; it looked like a frat party exploded in there a few weeks ago and no one had bothered to clean it up.

I’m not sure what I expected to see, but that wasn’t it.  Sure I knew he was Fallen, but so were Sam and Adam, it didn’t give them the excuse to live in a pigsty.  When people talked about Adam living in debauchery for centuries, was that what they meant?

“We’re looking for Remiel,” I managed to get out, more than a little disconcerted.  I might even have thought we had the wrong place entirely, but nothing could disguise the golden nimbus that surrounded him, or the bright (if bloodshot), blue eyes.

“Well, you found him,” he shrugged, squinting against the light.  “Either one of you got a smoke on you?”  His voice had a distinctly Southern twang to it, like he’d spent some time in Texas maybe, and the accent had stuck.

“I do not smoke,” Sam volunteered and Remiel cupped his fingers over his eyes to peer at him more closely.

“Oh, it’s you.  Shit, I thought you got busted down like the rest of us?  What are you doing working for the skirts upstairs?”

An interesting name for the heavenly host…  “He’s not working for them, he’s helping me.  Do you think we could come inside maybe?”  Not that I thought anyone might be watching us, but I didn’t want to linger outside in that neighborhood.

“You can come in anytime you want, sugar,” he leered openly, leaning against the door as he opened it wide.  Sam strode in, immediately frowning in distaste over the filth.

“I will wait outside, if you don’t mind, Mercy.”  Sam looked to me for permission and I gave him a nod.  Remiel might be a pig, but I was pretty sure I could handle him.

“Mercy… mercy… mercy… ain’t you just the type to make a man sit up and beg for a little.”  Despite the generally disheveled look, his teeth were even and white as he smiled.  He might have been stunningly handsome if he made the slightest effort to clean himself up.

“Do you know who I am?”  I asked, making sure, since it seemed like every other supernatural creature I ran into had my whole dossier memorized.

“You got a website, honey?”

It figured he wouldn’t notice anything through the hangover.  “Take another look.”  He wasn’t that bombed that he couldn’t see my Grace, was he?

“Well, hot damn, look at you…” his eyes widened in genuine surprise.  “There’s somethin’ I don’t see every day.”

Glad I had his attention, I forged on.  “I don’t know how up you are on current events, but we could really use your help.”

“What kind of help?”  It didn’t take much to hear the skepticism in his voice, and I talked fast before his curiosity ran out.

“I understand you know how to get in and out of Midian without going through the main gate.  I want you to show me how to do it.”

Remiel grabbed a half empty beer bottle off the counter and took a swig.  “Shit, why don’t you slice open my belly and drag me around by my innards?” he replied sourly, sitting down on a beat up ottoman.

“Ah, I’d rather find out how to get into Midian.”

“Did it ever occur to you I might not want to have anything to do with those fuckers?  I been tryin’ my damnedest to forget about them ever since…”

“Ever since Lysha?”

“Don’t say her name like you know me,” he growled, lurching to his feet and stretching to his full six foot plus height.  My hands came up to press against his chest, and I sent out calming Grace, making my voice as soothing as possible.

“No, I get it, I don’t know you.  I don’t know anything about you, except that you risked everything for her once, like I’m willing to risk for the man I love.”  I don’t know if it was the Grace or my reply, but Remiel’s anger fizzled out, his eyes dropping to look where my hands laid on his chest before he cocked a brow at me.

“You want me to show you a way to get into Midian without getting caught.  What for?  Are you in love with a demon?”

“They’re holding my…” boyfriend seemed like a trivial word for what we shared, but I wasn’t sure what else to call him.  “…Adamiel, do you know him?”

“Your Adamiel,” a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.  “Sure, me and him have raised the roof a time or two,” he chuckled.  “So, you’re one of Adamiel’s girls, are you?”

I ignored the dig, it didn’t matter what Adam had done in the past. I knew how much I meant to him without having to justify it to a broken down hick of an angel.  “Can you help me get in or not?”

“Sure, I’ll help you, sugar.”

“You will?” My face lit up in a relieved smile, finally we were getting somewhere!

“For a price.”

Just like that my smile crumpled.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, what’s in it for me?” He laid his hands on my hips and I shoved him away in disgust.  Even if I wasn’t in love with Adam, he wouldn’t have been my type, even if he did have those little muscles on the sides of his arms that drive me wild.

“Ugh, no way.”

“Why not?  I got needs too, same as anybody else.  You might even like it,” he gave me a slow, sexy smile that was somewhat marred by the dirty hair hanging in his face.

“Not a friggin’ chance in hell.”

“I also accept cash,” he sat down on the ottoman again.  “Twenty large.”

“As in twenty thousand?” My brows climbed skyward and he grinned at my reaction.

“I don’t mean twenty bucks.”

“Do I look like I have that kind of money?”

“That ain’t my problem.  I’m sure there’s somethin’ you can do worth that kind of money.” His eyes traveled the length of my body and I felt the urge to shower.  Or possibly delouse.

I threw open the door, gratified to find Sam standing right outside.  “Isn’t there something you can do to make him talk?”

“I may not strike at another angel,” he shrugged helplessly.

“That’s something you could have told me before I took you along.”  Somehow I thought Parker might have had less scruples about it.  Then again, things had been a little weird between Parker and me ever since the detective’s visit, so it was probably for the best that we hadn’t had too much alone time together lately.

Turning back to face Remiel, I tried one last time to appeal to his sense of decency.  “Don’t you want to help me because it’s the right thing to do?”

“Shit, I ain’t done the right thing since before you were born, sugar.  Ain’t no reason to think about startin’ now.”

“But a terrible evil will be unleashed if we leave him down there.”

“Not my problem, gorgeous.  If it’s as bad as all that, you might want to rethink my offer,” he slapped his thighs as if he thought I would jump on his lap.

God, we were so close, but I couldn’t give him what he wanted.  Even if it meant setting Adam free, I wouldn’t be able to live knowing I’d debased myself like that.  Frustration swept through me and I called the sword to my hand without thinking twice about it.  Sam might not be able to strike at another angel, but I was under no such vow.

“Mercy, no, you mustn’t.”  Sam’s hand caught my wrist before I’d even moved a half step.

“Let me go, I’ll make him talk,” I growled, shooting Sam a dirty look for stopping me.

“Damn, the kitty’s got claws,” Remiel chuckled, as if we were there solely for his entertainment.  “Alright then, kitten.  You decide you want to pay the piper, you know where to find me.”  There was no mistaking the air of finality in his voice.  I got the impression there was room for negotiation, but I would still end up giving far more than I wanted to in dealing with him.

“The next time I find you, you might want to reconsider that position,” I muttered, sending away my sword with a snick and tearing my hand free from Sam’s.

“I got a few positions you might want to reconsider,” he sniggered, and I decided that was it.  I had to get out of there before I did something we might all regret.  For the moment, there was at least a ray of hope that there was another way into Midian, we just had to find the right price to get access to it.

* * *

“I’m telling you, a bank heist is the way to go.  You make yourself all invisible, and tiptoe in there, and no one will be the wiser.”  Matty stretched out on my couch, beer in hand.

“For the last time, no, I will not be committing larceny of any kind to get the money to pay that hick off.  Nevermind the fact that it’s plain wrong, I would hate to give him the satisfaction.”  Any kind of satisfaction.  There had to be another way.  “Maybe you could go try to talk to him,” I appealed to Raziel, who returned from his trip without another shred of useful assistance.

“I would not be of help to you with Remiel,” he shook his head sadly.

“Why not?”

A pained expression flickered over his face.  “I was the one who dispatched his lady love.”

“You’re the one who killed Lysha?” my mouth dropped open.  Talk about a small world.

“In my defense, she was a demon, and as the Angel of Death it has fallen upon me to destroy many a demon over the years.”

“That pretty much leaves you out of the negotiating process then, unless we offer you up to Remiel to torture in exchange for the location of the portal,” I muttered, shaking my head when I saw the look of panic come over him.  “Relax, I have no intention of turning you over to him or anyone else.”

“It does bring up a valid point though,” he considered aloud.

“What, that we should offer up some other person for Remiel to torture?  Or hey, I wonder if we could hook him up with some other willing chick?  Think he’d go for that, Mercy?” Matty perked up at the idea.

“We’re not offering anyone up to Remiel for whatever he wants to do to them.”  My tone brooked no argument.

“Okay, okay, jeez, I’m trying to think outside the box,” Matty’s hands came up.

“Someone’s at the door,” Raziel announced seconds before the knock sounded.

“How did you do that?” I wondered aloud, rising to check it.

“I have excellent hearing,” he shrugged, obviously unconcerned over who might be there.  Parker stood on the other side of the door, a wide grin on his face as I looked through the peep hole.

“I sure hope that smile means you have good news for me.”

“It so happens that I do,” he winked, striding past me and stealing my beer from the coffee table.  Matty sat a little higher, making room for him on the couch.

“So?  What’s up?”

“I heard from Luz, the witches are ready to go when we are for the binding.”

“She got it all together already?  That’s fantastic,” I all but hopped up and down in excitement.  Parker could have my beer any day if he kept bringing me news like that.  “And they really think they can pull it off?”

“She seems to think so.  Oh, but she said it’d be best if we could wait to do it on the Winter Solstice.  Something about crap being aligned better… I don’t know, I wasn’t listening much.”

“Luz came to see you at the club?”  I could imagine what he was paying attention to at the time, he’d done his share of staring the last time she dropped by.

“Ah, no… she came to my place earlier,” he answered, a flush of color creeping up the side of his neck, and I realized he was a little embarrassed.  Had they hooked up?

“Oh.”  I wasn’t aware that they’d gotten that close.  “And here I was under the impression she thought you were a…”

“Pig?” he grinned.  “There’s no accounting for a woman’s tastes.  You can’t resist me either, can you, darlin’?” Parker nudged my shoulder with his, and I gave him a wan smile.  While I couldn’t say it bothered me exactly to think of him hooking up with Luz, it definitely knocked me for a loop.

“Well, that’s cool, we’ve got the answer to how to help Ben, we just have to figure out how to get our hands on him,” Matty observed, oblivious to my train of thought.

“Right,” I nodded, trying to get back on track.  “That means we have to step up our plans if we want to do this on time.  It’s getting late.  Why don’t you guys come over tomorrow night, we’ll order pizza and hammer this thing out.  It’s time to get moving.”

“I’ll be here,” Matty drained the rest of his beer and slouched to his feet.  “You coming?” he asked Parker.

“It’s not all that late… do you want me to stick around for a little bit?  Catch up?” Parker looked to me, but I shook my head.

“No, you go ahead.  We can talk tomorrow.”  For some reason I couldn’t look at him, I wasn’t quite sure why.  The last thing I wanted to do was catch up with him and hear all about his latest conquest, and all of a sudden I felt bone tired.  “I’m ready to call it a night.”

“Are you okay?” Parker tipped up my face by the chin, but I turned away from his hand, not in the mood to be touched.

“I’m tired, that’s all.  I’ll see you tomorrow night.”  In truth I felt a little queasy, maybe it was from the beer.  Once Matty and Parker were gone, I realized Raziel was still there, sitting so quietly in the corner I’d forgotten he was still around.

“Do you need a place to crash, Raziel?  I can offer you my couch if you need a place to hang out, just keep it down so I can get some sleep.”

“That would be very kind of you, I have much to think on,” he frowned, barely glancing in my direction.

“Is everything okay?” I frowned.  When angels get frowny, I get frowny; it’s a matter of self-preservation.

“I would caution you against relying on the dark arts, my lady.”

“Oh, that.”  Of course he would object to the use of witches, that’s why we hadn’t brought either him or Sam up to speed on that side of the plan.  “Can you think of a better way to get Azazael out of Ben’s body and out of our hair for good?”

“No, I confess I cannot.”

“Then maybe it’s time to expand your horizons a little.  Meet these witches, you can see right off the bat that they’re not bad guys.  Look at their auras alone.”

“I still think no good can come from witchcraft.”

“Duly noted,” I nodded.  “But it’s still the plan unless some other stroke of good fortune falls into our laps.”  Not that I was holding my breath for that eventuality.  “You can always abstain from taking part in the plan if you have really strong objections to it.”

“No,” he shook his head resolutely.  “I am committed to freeing Adamiel and your friend from their prison, even if I had not been commanded to do so.  Whatever the price.”

“Alright then,” I smiled, glad to hear someone else willing to step up and do what it took to set them free.  “I’m headed for bed, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sleep well, Mercy,” he nodded.  “Gather your rest while you can, our time grows fleeting.”

Like those two sentences went together.

* * *

“I think we’re as ready as we’re going to be,” I sighed, leaning back against the couch.

“I still think I should be allowed to accompany you.  You will need my strength,” Sam objected, and Daphne gave his arm a pat.

“It’s too dangerous for you.  You’d attract way too many demons.  Mercy is right, smaller numbers are better.”

“Indeed, there is greater stealth in smaller numbers,” Raziel nodded, and Sam threw him a disgruntled look.

“Then why do you get to go?” he pouted.  “Isn’t there just as much danger to Raziel for attracting demons?”

“We already went through this,” I rubbed at my temples.  “Raziel is going because he’s our carrot to dangle.  Without him, we’ll get stuck at the gate.  We need bait and the skirts upstairs already offered his services.” I borrowed the term from Remiel.  “Besides, I need you here on this side of the gate to keep an eye on Daphne and Matty, remember?”

“That’s right.  I’d rather not spend too much time outside a demon bar without a little protection,” Daphne gave him a winsome smile, and I saw some of the frustration melt from Sam’s face.

“So, we’re good?  Raziel, Parker, Nelo and I will go tomorrow to request an audience with Raum.  Once we’re in there, Nelo will help us jump around and steal Adam and Ben, and then we will all somehow overpower Naberios to escape through the gate again.”

“He will be no match for our combined strength,” Raziel nodded confidently.

“Once we get through the gate, we split up in case we’re followed.  Matty, you’ll be waiting to drive Adam, Nelo and I to safety, and Daphne and Sam will take Parker and Ben in case he needs any healing.  Raziel, you go straight home where demons can’t follow.  We’ll meet up at the club afterwards where Luz will be waiting, and the witches will make sure Azazael is still in Ben and resting comfortably until we can do the binding.  Sound good?”  It was ridiculously simple, and a zillion things could go wrong with it, but it was all we could hammer out after hours of planning and everyone nodded their assent.

“Alright, let’s get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

The crowd melted away, Sam taking Daphne home, Matty and Parker leaving together, talking about the merits of being the getaway driver over negotiator, which was Parker’s assigned role in the caper.  Even Raziel kissed the air above my hands and took his leave to go wherever he went when he wasn’t hanging out at my apartment, leaving Nelo to stare at me with those big amber eyes full of trepidation.

“Are you ready for this, Nelo?”

“As ready as I am likely to be, Mistress.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?  I remember what you said about it being dangerous for you to go back there.”  My plan hinged upon his cooperation, but I’d gladly cast it aside if he really didn’t want to go, and I wouldn’t blame him for it.  He’d already lost plenty for joining my side.

“No more dangerous than it is for you.  My place is by your side, Mistress, come what may.”

“If I haven’t told you this lately, you’re a great friend.”  Pulling him into a hug, I sent him a little Grace.  Not a jolt, but a warm buzz.  He’d need the energy for what I had in mind.

Changing into warm, comfortable clothes, I pulled my hair back into a pony tail, and then on second thought, wound it up into a bun to make it less of a grabable handle, just in case.  My stomach churned at the thought of what I was doing, and before I knew it, I ran for the bathroom to toss up the late evening meal.  Catching sight of myself in the mirror, I took a long shaky breath, telling myself I didn’t have to go through with it. I didn’t have to go it alone.

“Yes, you do,” I whispered at my reflection.  It was the only way to keep them safe.  Shouldering my pack, I pulled the door open, letting out a little shriek as I nearly ran into Parker, leaning against the doorway.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he arched a brow.

“I have a few errands to run,” I lied glibly.

“What kind of errands?”

“Stop at the store, nothing big.”

“Oh, then I’ll come with you.  Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Parker, that’s ridiculous.  I don’t need you to escort me to the store, I’ll be fine.”  I tried to slip past him, but he was immovable.

“Good, then we’ll both be fine.”

Hesitating, I decided I could let him go with me to the corner store and get back in plenty of time to still carry out my plan.  Only the next time I opened my door, I’d be careful to keep myself invisible.  But Parker stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his head shaking back and forth.

“Why are you doing this, Mercy?”

Dropping the pretense, I let out a long, pent up breath.  “It’s the only thing that makes sense.  I can’t risk anyone else on this, just Nelo and I are going.”

“I thought we talked about this?  Take me with you to do the talking.  I can make a deal with anyone.  Raum will be so busy haggling with me, you’ll be able to sneak them out in no time.”

“Absolutely not.”  The thought of him dealing with Raum made my skin crawl, because I knew with a certainty that Parker had no idea what he was up against.  The last thing I wanted was for him to end up a permanent member of Raum’s court in a jeweled collar, or outright dead.

“Hey, I have as much of a right to help as anyone else.  It’s my risk to take, angel, and I happen to think you’re worth it,” he gave me a crooked smile that melted my resolve for a heartbeat, and I closed my eyes in defeat.

“Alright, come inside and we’ll make a new plan.”  Stepping aside to let him pass, I waited until he was completely inside before I froze him with a wave of the fingers.  Stepping around to look into his dear face, paused in the middle of a triumphant grin, I leaned up and kissed his unmoving cheek.  “I’m sorry, Parker.  I hope someday you can forgive me for this.”

It was the only way.

“Come on, Nelo, we’d better make ourselves dim in case anyone else is watching the place.”  Taking the demon’s slight hand, we stepped out of the apartment, leaving Parker in the darkened room.

Chapter Eight

Getting to the gate on our side was easy.  With Nelo’s help, we strolled right past the patrons of the strip club, human and demon alike.  Not that I think they would have stopped me, but the less attention we drew, the better.  The corridor was unchanged, as was the tunnel carved in rock on the other side of the door at the end of the hall.  I moved faster with Nelo at my side than when I’d been taken prisoner by Bert and Hubie, though I found myself filled with equal amounts of dread.  All too soon, the gate came into view, the light growing brighter from the portal.  Taking hold of Nelo’s hand, I took a deep breath, and stepped through.

Just like before, there was a strange, falling sensation as we stepped through the rock, and the nausea that came with it continued even after my foot connected with solid ground on the other side.  The light was brighter on the demon side of the gate, and Naberios filled the passageway, his eyes narrowing in recognition as we came into view.  His appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest; wearing pants made from supple brown leather, his brawny torso bare except for the intricate tattoos and the heavy bronze necklace that covered the top part of his chest.  Matching bands of metal encircled his wrists.   I couldn’t help but wonder if he ever left the gate.  When did he sleep, or eat?

“Um, hi,” I flashed him a nervous smile, still holding tight to Nelo who cringed behind me.

“You…” he growled, not particularly happy to see me I suppose.  “I thought I told you never to come back here?”

“Oh, but I owe you something for letting me go through last time.”  Taking the suggestion to heart, I pulled off my pack, producing a gold box bearing the name of my favorite fancy chocolatier.  “I thought you might like this with you being stuck here all the time.”

Naberios accepted the box with a suspicious frown, turning it over carefully.  “What is this writing?”

“Oh, can’t you see it?  It says ‘one dozen assorted deluxe truffles’.  Those are my favorite. I only get them for myself on my birthday as a splurge.”

Bringing the box to his nose he sniffed it carefully.  “What are truffles?”

“They’re the richest chocolate money can buy.  You know, chocolate?” I repeated at his blank stare.  “You’ve never had chocolate before?  Oh, you’re in for a treat then,” I grinned.  “Open them up and try one.”

“If you seek to poison me in some fashion…”

“Poison you?”  Damn, why hadn’t I thought of that?  It would have solved all of our problems!  Maybe not to kill him, but if we’d drugged him we could have slipped in, grabbed Adam and Ben and slipped right back out again, easy as pie!  “I wouldn’t dream of something like that.  I’ll eat one first if you want me to…” I reached for the box, but he held it away, pulling off the top of the box to inspect them carefully with another deeper sniff.

“What is this writing here?” he pointed to the embossed name across the top and it occurred to me… he couldn’t read at all.  I suppose there wasn’t much need for it in his given occupation.  I couldn’t help feel a little bad for him, and decided not to make an issue of it.

“That’s the name of the company who makes them.  Take a little bite, I think you’ll like it.” I gave him an encouraging nod and he fished one out with big, blunt fingers.  Giving it an experimental lick, he popped the truffle into his mouth whole, chewing carefully before breaking out into a chocolate stained smile, made even more frightening by the mouthful of sharp teeth.

“I accept your gift,” he proclaimed formally, reaching for another truffle and cramming it into his mouth.

“You’re welcome,” I watched with growing distaste.  “Slow down, you’re meant to savor them.”  Naberios ignored my suggestion, downing them like a starving man plopped in front of the buffet table at Ceasar’s palace.

“You came to bring me this gift or do you have other business in Midian?”

“Well, primarily I came to give it to you, but I thought I would stop in and see how Adamiel is doing while I’m here.  You don’t mind, do you?”  I edged a little closer to the other side of the tunnel, prepared to make a run for it and dive into one of the shadows with Nelo if need be.

“As you wish,” he waved me aside, more interested in discovering the second tier of chocolates under the paper doily.

Holy crap, the bribe worked!  Maybe he thought I was harmless to let through, or that Raum would be pleased to have me back in Midian. I didn’t want to stay and ask his reasoning.  “Thanks, Naberios.  I’ll see you later.”

With brisk steps, I all but dragged Nelo behind me, not daring to stop to breathe until we were a few turns out of sight.  “I can’t believe we got in so easy!” I finally leaned against the roughly hewn wall to catch my breath.

“Naberios’ function lies not in keeping invaders out, but in preventing escape,” Nelo pointed out and I frowned down at him.

“You can’t let me have one moment of triumph, can you?” I muttered.  “I still think it was a success.  You saw him eat that candy, I’m definitely back in his good books again.”

“Naberios has no books, good or otherwise.”

“I know, I meant… Nevermind.”  One hurdle down, there was still plenty to worry about ahead of us.  “Come on, let’s go.  You’d better make us imperceptible again in case we run into anyone else in the tunnel.”  It wasn’t safe to jump between shadows until we got to the familiar palace walls.

I held onto my hoodie, no matter how warm and sweaty I got in the underground tunnels, knowing it’d get much colder once we got to the palace.  As we stepped out under the purpley sky, I immediately tucked my nose under my scarf against the unpleasant scent in the air, but Nelo looked happy as a clam to be back in his element.  Even though we were shielded from sight, I kept my eyes on the sky for any sign of those big flying monsters that buzzed me the last time, but the sky remained empty except for a few dark clouds.

My heart beat faster the moment the palace came into sight.  Tucked into the side of the mountain, I took a moment to stop and stare at the gargantuan thing, wondering where in the labyrinth of rooms we might find Adam and Ben.

“Where do you think we should look first?” I whispered, even though there was no one near as far as I could see.

“Like as not, Ben will be kept in the dungeons, but Adam will be held more accessible, the better for Raum to feed.”

“Of course,” I murmured, my stomach lurching again.  “Why don’t we start with finding Adam first, then he can help us break Ben out?” I suggested, telling myself it wasn’t because I selfishly wanted to see Adam first.  If Ben was wounded or difficult because Azazael still had control over him, I wasn’t sure how I’d get him to cooperate.

“As you wish, Mistress.  I will take you first to my old apartments.  From there, we can begin a systematic search of the palace until we find him.  Unless you want to ask someone?”

It would be the quickest way to find him, but also the most risky that Raum would find out we were there.  “No, let’s do it the sneaky way, better to be safe than sorry.”  More worried about what state we’d find Adam in, I let Nelo take the lead, jumping us from shadow to shadow within the palace.  I kept thinking about what Cephas said about Adam being kept in chains under Raum’s boots.  While I knew he was being dramatic, a part of me worried if we’d have to steal him out from under Raum’s nose in the throne room, and what we’d do if there were actual chains?

Prepared for the worst, you could have knocked me over with a feather when we found Adam in the exact same room Raum kept me in.  No sign of chains or torture, he looked none the worse for wear lying on a chaise lounge by the terrace, a thick book propped up on his knees.  Held in the lap of luxury, at least Raum hadn’t dressed him in the silly costumes he’d foisted on me. Adam looked good enough to eat in his usual black jeans and a form fitting gray t-shirt.

Without thinking, I let go of Nelo’s hand, rushing forward to greet him without a single thought as to whether or not there might be anyone else in the room watching.  “Adam!” I gasped, my heart clenching almost painfully in relief as I ran to his side to throw my arms around him.  Only Adam didn’t seem happy to see me at all, catching hold of my arms before I could wrap them around his shoulders.

“Nice try, I’m not falling for that again,” he growled, shoving me aside where I landed on my butt with a soft whump.  Sweet Jesus, had Raum sent him an imposter me?  For what possible purpose?

“Adam it’s me!” I insisted, shifting back up to my knees.  “It’s Mercy.”

“Uh huh, sure,” he turned back to his book, studiously ignoring me.

“No, seriously…” I frowned.  “Who else would I be?  Look, I brought Nelo with me,” I looked around but Nelo was gone.  “Nelo?”  Adam didn’t even bother to look up, and I craned my head to look back towards the doorway.  “Nelo, this is really not a cool time to go walkies…”

“I’m not into the floor show, so you can take your act and buzz off, okay?” he smirked.  “Why don’t you run off and tell Raum I don’t need his attempts to keep me happy, I’ll keep honoring my part of the bargain.”

“For the love of…” snatching the book out of his hands, I tossed it aside.  “Hey, the least you can do is listen to me after everything I did to get here.  I don’t know what Raum’s done to you and frankly I don’t want to know about you and any body doubles he’s sent your way, but it really is me and I can prove it.”

“This should be interesting.”  Looking only mildly intrigued, Adam sat up, legs swinging towards me as he gave me his complete attention.  “Go ahead, dazzle me with your Mercy-like skills.”

Despite the mild rejection, I still itched to hold him, but it was clear I’d have to convince him first.  “I’m assuming you can’t tell by my Grace?”

“I see a shine of Grace, but that could be a trick of the light.”

“Fair enough, but we have a connection, right?” I laid my hand on his knee lightly and his eyes dropped to follow it.  “You should be able to feel me all the time the way I feel you.  Don’t I feel closer now?”

“You do feel close,” he murmured as I slid my hand a little higher up his thigh, my body shifting so that I came to kneel between his legs.

“On some level you know it’s me, even if I didn’t have anything to say about the boneheaded deal you made with Raum.”

“I know you’re not her,” Adam said evenly, “because if my Mercy were to show up here, I’d have to throttle her on sight for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Since when do I do what I’m told?” I scoffed.  “Besides, there are other things to consider, things you know nothing about.  Can’t you tell it’s me?”  Leaning close, I brushed my lips against his tentatively.  “Not even a little bit?”

Adam went as still as a statue at the touch, a groan escaping his lips as I bussed him lightly again.  “God forgive me, I don’t even care if you’re not mine, I miss you so much, Mercy,” he breathed, mouth chasing after mine.  For long seconds I lost myself in the familiar taste of Adam, before his words came back to haunt me.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I frowned, breaking the kiss.  I didn’t want him kissing me unless he was completely sure it was me.  “But if you need more proof, then here.” I laid the two metal slugs I always carried with me into the palm of his hand.  Adam’s brows drew together as he tried to puzzle through what they were until the realization dawned upon him.

“You pulled these out of me that night…”

“In my living room, before you left me,” I nodded, gratified to see his face change, the skepticism fading, replaced by longing so sharp, it took my breath away.

“And you’re really here…”

“I’m here,” I grinned like a fool before our lips crashed together in another passionate kiss.  “I had to come…” I started to explain but he cut me off, not interested in words for the moment.

“Kiss me again before I wake up from this dream.”

I was all too happy to oblige him with another kiss, but once again, I wasn’t convinced he really thought it was me.  “If this is a dream, why didn’t you set it someplace else?”

“You talk too much, you always did…” Adam smothered me with another kiss, but I pulled away that time.

“Wait… do you really think I’m me or do you think this is all a dream?”

“I’m pretty sure if you were a figment of my imagination I’d already have you on your back.  So, I’m going with a tentative… yes, I think you’re you.  But you’re wasting valuable time talking when we could be doing other, much more interesting things.”  While he talked, Adam unzipped my thick hoodie, his hands reaching in to touch the heated skin beneath.

“Hey…” I protested lightly, but I always did have a weakness where he was concerned.  “We really do have a time crunch here, I can’t let you get me all caught up in your bedroom eyes and your…”  Adam did something really distracting then, and I forgot what I was saying until I remembered the danger and clamped my hands down over his.  “Adam, I’m serious!  We don’t have time for this.”

“I have all the time in the world, I’m not going anywhere,” he frowned, hands resting on my hips.  “Hey, for the record, why didn’t you just say waffles?”

“That’s your safeword, not mine,” I shrugged.  “I didn’t think I’d have to prove my identity to you.  What’s that about, by the way?  Did you do something with someone else thinking it was me?”  It was hard to tell what passed over his face then, but when Adam replied, he was all about changing the subject.  Super.

“Let’s not cloud the issue, what are you doing here, Mercy?  I gave you very specific instructions to stay behind and let me do my time.  Win, win, remember?”

Deciding to let the doppelganger issue alone, I went with the new topic.  “I don’t see how it’s a win situation, you being stuck down here.  Though, I did sort of picture you under a little less luxury and a little more torture,” I frowned over the lavish apartments.

“You would prefer I was being held in a dungeon?  Nice to know how much you care.”

“Oh, you know what I mean.  Cephas said something about chains…”

“You ran into Cephas?” Adam sat a little higher, a pucker of worry appearing on his brow.

“We were trying to find a way to get in here other than the main gate, so I decided to jump a demon to get some answers.  He was actually pretty helpful…”

“Wait, let me get this straight, you went after a demon… on purpose?”

“Of course.  Who else would know the best ways in and out of Midian?  Don’t worry, I was fine.  I would have killed the little creep if Sam hadn’t gone all protective on me and tried to keep me from sullying my hands with demon blood.”  I was still a little peeved about that, though I could appreciate the sentiment.

“You were going to kill Cephas yourself?  With what, harsh language?” he chuckled, and I had to resist the impulse to smack him.

“I have the sword remember?”

“Oh come on, Mercy, you have no business tangling with demons. I’m surprised at Sam for letting you tag along on an errand like that at all.”

“I wasn’t tagging along, it was my idea.  I let him tag along, if you must know, and I was fully capable of cutting out that little bastard’s heart and feeding it to him on the tip of my sword.”  I might not have possessed enough skill for that kind of fine work, but I definitely found the mental image appealing.

“It’d be cute, the idea of you out there disemboweling demons like some kind of slayer, if it wasn’t an incredibly stupid idea.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have had to chase down demons at all if you hadn’t made your stupid deal with Raum in the first place, did you think of that?”  I was fast losing my patience with his tone, considering all I’d gone through to try and get him back.  The least he could do was recognize the skills that got me there.

“I told you, I made the best deal I could at the time, and you haven’t been bothered by demons since, have you?  Or was Cephas the latest notch on your demon slaying belt?” he smirked, and I closed my eyes, trying my hardest not to lose it.

“As much fun as this vote of confidence in my abilities is, we should really continue this conversation back at my place.”

“Um, okay… so I’ll see you back there in what…”

He wasn’t getting it.  “No, we have to get out of here, as in right now.  There’s a new prophecy that says something about a terrible evil if you stay behind.”

“Mercy, there’s always some new prophecy forecasting the end of the world, you can’t live your life by that stuff.”

“No, this one’s the real deal.  Gabriel even sent Raziel down to help and…”

“Wait, Raziel’s here?” his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Oh, now I had his attention?  “No, he was supposed to come, but I kinda ditched everyone else and snuck down here with Nelo by myself.”

“Because that makes sense.”

“It was the only way to keep them safe.  Besides, I knew it’d be easier to sneak in with just the two of us.  So, as soon as Nelo comes back, we’ll slip out of here and find Ben and then we’re out of here, okay?”  Rising to my feet, I gave his hands a little tug, but he remained stock still.

“I can’t leave.”

“What?”

“I’m not done serving out the terms of the deal I made with Raum.  I’m no welcher.”

“But Adam…”

“Absolutely not.  I gave him my word, I can’t go back on that.”

Letting go of his hands, I wondered if I could get away with koshing him over the head and dragging him out of there by his hair.  Why hadn’t I brought Raziel with me?  He could have tossed him over his shoulder like he didn’t weigh a thing.  Deciding I had to use the only tool at my disposal, I found my smile, dropping my tone to honeyed sweetness as I ran my fingertips across his shoulders.  “Adam, try and see things rationally…”

“Raum comes, Mistress,” Nelo popped into view by my side, but there wasn’t time to ask him where he’d disappeared off to.

“We have to go, now!” I hissed, but Adam didn’t even look at me.

“No, you have to get lost before Raum gets here.  Nelo, take her home, I’m holding you accountable if something happens to her.”  The little guy hesitated, his desire to serve me warring with his obvious fear of falling on Adam’s bad side.

“I’m not going without you,” I declared, planting my feet firmly, chin coming up in determination.  “If you’re staying here, then so am I.”

“I’m starting to think that’s going to happen anyway,” Adam frowned as the door opened, two of Raum’s burly guards filing in.  Nelo immediately slid into the nearest shadow as I seriously weighed the idea of whether or not to draw my sword and put up a fight.  Only where there were two, more would certainly come, even if I did manage to fight my way clear of them.  With Adam refusing to see common sense, there seemed like only one other option left.

“Take me to Raum,” I ordered the guards imperiously, nevermind that it was probably their intention to do so anyway, it made me feel better to call the shots.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Adam caught hold of my elbow and I pulled it free.

“Trying to save you, moron,” I seethed, my nose still out of joint over the trouble he was causing me.

“Whatever your plan is, it’s a bad one.  You still have time to take Nelo and go, I can distract these guys,” he spoke low by my ear but I shook my head.

“You aren’t listening to me, I’m not leaving here without you.  Now are you coming, or do I have to face Raum alone?”

Chapter Nine

The large, open air court seemed even more filled with courtiers that time, each uttering Raum’s name in a low chant, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many times a day he made them do that?  Was it the court’s idea, or was Raum that much of an egomaniac?  Probably the latter.

Raum, the Demon Lord, watched our approach with a faint smile, ignoring the chant of his subjects.  His dark eyes glittered in anticipation as we drew nearer, belying the casual way he lounged on his throne of carved stone.  “Well now, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he declared with a toothsome grin.  “Did you miss me, m’lovely?”

“Undoubtedly, my lord.” I returned his greeting with a tight smile, knowing he would be more inclined to negotiate if I approached him with some semblance of respect in front of his court.  We both knew I felt otherwise though, and I could tell he was dying of curiosity to know why I’d returned after taking such great pains to escape in the first place.

“You are always welcome here, Mercy, you know that.  You have only to ask and I will see to your… comforts, myself.”

Swallowing back the wave of revulsion that sprang from his words and the way his eyes dipped to my body, I was dismayed to find the slightest glow emanating from my skin.  The implied threat triggered a memory of how I’d last enjoyed Raum’s personal care, causing my Grace to react.

“Sorry, Raum, she won’t be staying,” Adam replied before I could find the right words, and it was enough of a distraction for me to find my tongue again.

“Actually, I hoped to speak to you about re-negotiating the terms of your deal with Adam.”

“What are you doing?” Adam hissed, but Raum sat forward, clearly interested.

“No, no, I’d like to hear what she wants to bargain with.”

In for a penny, in for a pound...  “Adam only made this agreement to keep me safe in the first place, and I don’t think it’s fair that he went over my head.  I should have the right to make the same bargain, shouldn’t I?”

“Like hell you do,” Adam growled. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Shh, the grown-ups are talking now,” I patted his cheek condescendingly, he deserved it after all.  “I propose you let me serve out the rest of his sentence, and I’ll… serve you without complaint if you let Adam and Ben go right now.”

“Surely some complaint…” Raum grinned, and I shrank away from the streak of cruelty I saw there.

“If you like, my lord,” I nodded shortly, but Adam stepped up, physically putting himself between Raum and me.

“No way.  We already settled this, Mercy has no part in it,” he insisted with a baleful glare, and for a moment I couldn’t tell who he was angrier with, me or Raum.

“Truth be told I find her proposal intriguing,” Raum considered aloud.  “I do admit, I have missed your delightful responses, m’lovely.”

“No deal,” Adam insisted.  “I won’t go if you keep Mercy.”

“Fine, then I’ll keep both of you,” Raum waved dismissively.  “You do have a certain raw power I find invigorating, but nothing compares to the sweetness of your lady love.  Think of all the fun we could have together…”

Oh God, that was not what I’d had in mind at all!  Thankfully Adam wasn’t about to go for it either.

“That violates the terms of our agreement.”

“So it does.” Raum’s head canted to one side as he made a show of thinking it over.  “But then, perhaps given this new development it’s a good time to alter it.”

“I won’t stay here willingly if you do.”

Raum shrugged, unconcerned.  “I think the odds are slightly in my favor.”  A quick glance showed more guards came to flank the sides of the court, more than Adam could manage, even with my help.

“I don’t think I have to remind you what I’m capable of,” Adam flexed, the shining sword appearing with a metallic snick.  “I think I’ve been more than tolerant of your treatment so far, but don’t mistake my compliance for weakness.  Now, I’m prepared to honor the original terms of our agreement as long as Mercy leaves unharmed.  Do we have an accord?”

“No!” I insisted, my own sword appearing with a flick of the wrist.  “We both go, or we start playing demon shish kabob.”

“Mercy, let me handle this,” Adam murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

“Why, so you can put yourself back in servitude to that guy?  No way.  I told you, I’m not leaving here without you.  So stop contradicting me and back me up for chrissakes!” My eyes blazed, prepared to fight Adam myself to make him get with the program.

Equally as stubborn, maybe more so, Adam whirled to face me.  “That’s not going to happen!  Now stop acting like a child and leave while you can.”

“I do so hate it when mummy and daddy fight.” Oriana stepped out from behind the throne and Raum giggled, eating up our little spat like we were the best entertainment he’d had in months.  The pale witch wore one of her simple shifts, feet bare, her long white hair hanging in twin plaits down her back, making her look more like a little girl than a woman.

“Come and have a seat, the fireworks are about to begin,” Raum bade her, and the slight witch took a seat at his feet on the cold, stone steps.

“More than you know,” she murmured, her eyes growing wide with surprise.

“Perhaps I may be of assistance.” I heard a deep voice behind me, and my eyes closed in defeat.  How many other ways could things go wrong?

Raziel strode into the demon court, head held high, giving no sign he’d willingly entered dangerous surroundings.

“Now we’ve got a party,” Raum clapped his hands together delightedly.

“I offer myself in Adam’s stead.  A year and a day of service, in exchange for his freedom.  Mercy, of course, would be allowed to leave unhindered, as she is guaranteed amnesty as per the terms of the original agreement.”

“That’s not what we agreed on,” I gasped at the offer.  When we talked about using him as bait, it had been as a diversion. I’d never intended for him to even set foot in Midian, let alone offer himself up like that.

“I think it sounds fair enough,” Adam met Raziel with a steely gaze.  “It’s the least he can offer after everything he’s done.  In fact, I think it has a kind of simple poetry to it,” he grinned.

“Adam, you can’t mean that.  Raziel has nothing to do with this.  You can’t let him suffer because of us.”  I lowered my voice.  “Let’s just fight our way out.  Together, the three of us stand a real chance.”

“I’m sorry, how do you even know the guy?” Adam hissed.  “You wanted me to leave with you, this gives us a perfect out.  That prophecy doesn’t say anything about doom and gloom if Mr. Shiny Britches over there stays down here, does it?”

“Well… no.”  The prophecy mentioned a fallen angel triggering the evil, not a regular angel.  We had to assume no bad would come from Raziel remaining in Midian, apart from the whole personal danger to him.

“And you said his bosses sent him down here to fix the situation right?  So, let him fix it, and we can be home in time for dinner.”

“Mercy…” Raziel’s voice was gentle, and I pulled my gaze from Adam.  “Adamiel speaks the truth.  I was dispatched to keep the prophecy from coming to fruition, this is my fate.  Let me take Adam’s place here, I am not afraid.”

“No, you don’t have to do this!” I insisted, taking his hand and drawing him away, though I was reasonably sure they could have heard us if they wanted to.  “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we’ll find another way.  Take it from me, you don’t want to be Raum’s chew toy for the next year.  This is my mess, I’m the one who should clean it up.  I should stay and you can get Adam and Ben out of here safely.”

Raziel’s lips curved into a sad smile.  “So generous of spirit.  This is what I’ve come to admire about you, my lady.  If there was ever a doubt of your worthiness to carry the Grace, this would surely dispel it.  No, this duty falls to me, you have others to accept that bear far greater importance.”

“But…”

“It is done,” he shook his head, and I shot a helpless look to Adam who looked far too pleased with the change in plans.  “Will you accept my benediction?”

“Your… okay…” my mouth snapped shut, not quite sure what to expect.  In my younger days at church, a priest usually followed that up with a shaker thing of holy water and a few pretty words.

I was wholly unprepared when Raziel placed a hand over my heart and I felt the surge of his Grace go through me.  No… not go through me, his Grace coalesced within me, mingling with my own strange mix.  I felt the power swell inside, radiating from my core down to the tips of my fingers and toes until my entire body thrummed with energy.  In that moment I realized he’d shared a part of himself with me, but instead of the healing I’d received from Sam or the love I’d felt from Adam, I could only stare at him, wondering why he’d do such a thing when he would need every scrap of his Grace to deal with Raum?

The crowd gave an audible gasp of longing over the display of Grace, but I was too stunned to worry overmuch about a stampede in their eagerness to get a taste for themselves.  Thankfully, they seemed to be a little stunned themselves, watching to see what would transpire next.

“Why did you do that?” I breathed, clinging to his arms when a wave of dizziness swept over me.

“It wasn’t for you,” Raziel whispered for my ears only, kissing the air over my wrists a final time.

“Hey, what the hell is this?  Mercy, are you alright?” Adam tore me from his grasp, hauling me up against his side.

“I’m fine, I’m just a little woozy.”  I knew I should try and ground myself, but somehow the idea of centering myself in Midian creeped me out.  More unsettling was the idea that I now had a third angel’s Grace inside of me.  Did I have an invisible sign around my neck that said ‘deposit Grace here’?

“I simply thought it a better use for my Grace than to have it languish here.”

“You know that’s forbidden,” Adam frowned, his arm still wrapped tightly around me.

“It didn’t stop you though, did it?” Raziel gave him a crooked grin.  “Take care of her, she has a long road ahead, and it will get more difficult to traverse from here on.”

“I know how to protect what’s mine…”

“Okay, guys…?” I interrupted before the testosterone fest got so cloying one of us might choke.  “We’re not out of the woods yet.  Demon court, crazy demon lord who wants to eat us all for dinner… ringing a bell?”

Right on cue, Raum cleared his throat, drawing our attention.  “A very interesting turn of events, but I have not given my sanction to this plan.”  He was right, nothing was set in stone, not yet.  There was time still to maybe renegotiate, or fight our way out.  Only I stood a lousy chance of changing anything with both Adam and Raziel on board with the proposed switch.

“Decisions, decisions, what am I to do, my pet?”  Raum bent his head as Oriana leaned up to whisper in his ear.  “Indeed?” his eyes widened in surprise and he looked far too smug as he returned his attention to our little group.  “Very well, you find me in a generous mood.  I accept the exchange, take the girl and go,” he waved us off.

“Then I accept,” Adam nodded curtly.  “Come on, Mercy, let’s get out of here before his changes his mind.”  The arm wrapped around me tugged, but I dug in my heels.

“Wait, what about Ben?”

“Your friend was not discussed when you re-negotiated the terms,” Raum smiled wolfishly, and my heart sank.

“Adam, we can’t leave without him, he’s half the reason I came down here in the first place.”  Maybe a less urgent half, given the prophecy, but an important half nonetheless.

“We need to keep him here for our own safety, remember?  It’s the only way to keep Azazael safely bound.”

“No, we really don’t,” I whispered, refusing to let myself be led away, and a pucker of worry appeared on his brow.

“What are you up to?”

“This isn’t the time or place to get into it, but we’ve got it covered.  We need to get Ben topside.”  I turned back to Raum, raising my voice.  “Look, as I understand it, you agreed to keep Ben here as a favor, right?  That wasn’t part of the agreement for Adam to stay here in order to keep me safe.  Well, we don’t need you to do that anymore, so we’ll just be taking him, okay?” I nodded encouragingly, but Raum shook his head with a mournful sigh.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple m’lovely.  You’re right, it wasn’t a part of the original deal, otherwise I’d let him go now that your guardian angel has offered himself in Adamiel’s place.  Now then, if you’d like to offer yourself in his place for say… two years?”

“The hell she will,” Adam growled, and I reached for his hand out of habit, sending him a small pulse of calming Grace.  It was easier to manage, Raziel’s strength giving me added control.

“Well then, travel safe, you’re always welcome to come for a visit any time you like,” he waved dismissively, and that time I let Adam drag me backwards, not knowing what else I could possibly offer Raum in exchange.

It felt like everything was falling apart.  Sure, I had Adam back by my side, but now both Ben and Raziel were left behind… How could I be expected to leave under those circumstances?  The decision was taken out of my hands though, as Adam tugged me towards the shadows where Nelo waited, immediately popping us to a different part of the palace.

“We have to get him out,” I whispered once we had left the formidable structure.  “Is he being held in the dungeon?”

Nelo opened his mouth to reply, but Adam cut him off.  “Absolutely not.  We’re leaving before you end up landing us in the dungeon right beside him.”

“But Adam…”

“No buts, I’m not having this conversation with you here.  Now we’re either doing this the easy way or the hard way.”

I didn’t need three guesses to figure out what the hard way was, so I gave him a single nod, my lips compressed into a thin line.  He seemed like he was in a surly mood, not glad to see me at all, and my mood was no better for having to leave Ben behind, so there was little conversation on the way back to the tunnels.

When Adam did speak, I almost wished he’d decided to keep giving me the silent treatment.  “What the hell is up with you and Raziel anyway?”

“What?” I blinked, not tracking what he meant right away, since my thoughts were a zillion miles away, trying to plot how we were going to break Ben out once we got Adam to safety.

“I didn’t even know you knew him and now he’s gifting you with his Grace?  Just what the hell happened since I left?”

He made it sound like I’d been carrying on with Raziel while he’d been gone, and I didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone in his voice.  “Nothing, I promise.  I have no idea why he did that.”

“A piece of his Grace… that’s not like a goodbye hug, Mercy.  That’s a part of himself.  He’ll never be as powerful as he once was.”

“I’m telling you, I have no idea.  He said it wasn’t for me.  And you heard him, maybe he didn’t want Raum to get such a big high out of feeding from him while he’s down in Midian?  For all I know he’ll ask for it back when his year is up,” I shrugged and I could see Adam hadn’t made peace with the idea.

“You know who he is, what he took from me.”

I knew their history, and I knew he’d never understand the friendship I’d forged with the Angel of Death who’d killed his wife and unborn child.  “Of course I know, Adam.  It doesn’t mean I’m happy about the idea of him spending a year down here because of me.  I don’t wish that on anyone, not even my greatest enemy.”

“He is my greatest enemy,” Adam mumbled, and I squeezed his hand.

“Let’s focus on getting out of here and we can talk more about this later.”  We weren’t out of the woods yet, I still wasn’t sure how we’d get past Naberios.  Would he magically know that Raum set us free?

It turned out I worried for nothing, as Naberios didn’t seem to be his growly self at all when we reached the gate.  In fact, he was almost friendly as he let us pass, reminding Adam that he still owed him for the favor I’d volunteered in his stead.  I stood by while they haggled in a language I didn’t understand.

“Why do I feel like I’ve witnessed a really bad decision in the making?” I murmured as they shook hands over whatever accord they struck.

“Relax, I’ve got it all under control,” Adam winked, giving me the first real smile I’d seen from him since I arrived in Midian.

“Next time you will bring me more truffles,” Naberios nodded to me, and I gave him a wan smile in return.  I never wanted to go back to Midian again, but I knew I’d have to, given Ben’s circumstances.  Knowing the gate guard had a chocolate jones wasn’t a bad piece of intel to have.

“I will if you promise to eat them more slowly.”

“Why would I do that?” His head canted to one side in confusion.

“Now you have none left, right?  If you’d eaten them slower, you’d still be able to enjoy them.”

“I enjoyed them enough,” he grunted, crossing his arms over his expansive chest.

“Okay, well, it was nice seeing you again.  Maybe we can visit longer next time.” I backed towards the gate as both men stared at me as if I’d said something completely mental.  “Adam, we should go, we have that, um, thing to get to, remember?”  I wasn’t sure why, but I felt the sudden urge not to linger any longer.  The sooner I got him back across the gate the better I’d feel.

“Naberios,” Adam nodded simply.

“Adamiel.”

Great, we all knew each other’s names.  Without waiting for anything else, I linked my arm through Adam’s and grabbed Nelo’s hand, stepping back through the gate.

As soon as we got out of the strip club and into the open night air, Adam gave a whoop of joy, picking me up and swinging me around so that my head spun.  “Holy shit, I can’t believe you did that!”

“Then you’re happy I came?”  I clung to his arms to keep from losing my balance once he set me down, and he gave no sign of letting me go.

“No, I want to throttle you for risking it, but since you did…”  His lips descended over mine hungrily as he walked me backwards, or rather dragged me backwards, since just the tips of my toes hit the pavement as his strong arms hauled me up against his body.  Gasping as I felt the cold metal of my car press against my back, I kissed him back, not caring that we were in an iffy neighborhood late at night, making out like there was no tomorrow.

“God, I missed you,” he breathed between kisses, my Grace glowing faintly at being in his arms again.  It was way better than any dream or even a visit in the Ether.  Adam was really and truly safe, and there was nothing to keep us apart.

“I missed you too, so much.  Don’t ever do that again…”

“I won’t.  I’ll never leave you again, I promise.  Only you have to promise not to do anything so stupid again either.”

“I saved you.” I pulled back to look at him, and found a somber look on his face again.

“You put yourself at risk.  It makes everything I went through moot.  When are you gonna get it through your head that I love you more than life itself?” Adam kissed me tenderly, and a rush of longing went through me.  Didn’t he get that I felt the same way?  Why else had I gone to hell and back to be with him again?

“Probably about the same time you get that I can’t accept you risking yourself for me either.  What was I supposed to do, sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you suffered on my behalf?”

“Yes, if that’s what it took.”

“Well, I can’t accept that.  So remember that the next time you go off making idiotic deals behind my back.” I chased after his lips with mine, unable to keep from kissing him when he was so near.

“Idiotic seems kinda strong…” he frowned.

“Reckless?”

“That implies a lack of thought or planning.  I assure you, I planned this down to the last detail.”

“Boneheaded then?” I grinned, and he returned the smile, kissing my neck.

“I can accept that as long as you admit it was dangerously ill advised for you to come down there after me.”

“I can agree to that, but it was worth it,” I sighed, holding onto him tightly, tears threatening to spill as some of the adrenaline wore off and I realized how close I’d come to being stuck down there with him if Raziel hadn’t come along.

“Hey, it’s okay, we made it out together, that’s all that matters.”  Keying in to my distress, Adam held me close until some of the tension went out of my body.

“I’d forgotten what the sky smelled like.” A soft voice sounded in the darkness, and my eyes popped open to see Oriana standing there in her thin dress and bare feet, her pale face turned up to the stars.

Chapter Ten

“Oriana?  What are you doing here?” I gasped, letting go of Adam in my shock.

“I decided to take a holiday, I wanted to see the miracle.”

“What miracle?  Does Raum know you left?”  It seemed unlikely, but maybe he had some crazy scheme she was a part of?

“What delightful thing did you say?” she paused, trying to find the right words.  “Raum isn’t the boss of me,” she smiled sunnily, in direct proportion to the scowl that set on Adam’s face.

“Only he absolutely is the boss of you, Oriana.  Damn it, he’s going to think we stole her away.”

“That’s actually one of the plans we tossed around, only we didn’t know how to pull it off,” I admitted.  “Maybe this is a stroke of genuine luck?”  It was about time something went our way.

“You’re right, we can make this work for us,” Adam agreed, rapping on the roof of the car.  “We’d better get her out of sight before someone out here spots her.  You know Raum will send demons after her once he realizes she’s missing.”

“We’re going on a journey?” Oriana brightened at that, and I took hold of her elbow, gently guiding her to the back seat of my car where Nelo waited patiently.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m going to show you where I live.  You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I replied with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

“Oh yes, I should like to see that very much,” she smiled, allowing herself to be easily led.  I had no idea how long she’d been in Midian or if she’d freak out at the prospect of travel by automobile like Sam did, but she didn’t balk at all at being shoved into the back of my car with a demon.  Actually, maybe Nelo made her feel more at home.

“Adam, do you think you could…?” I tossed my car keys, and he snatched them deftly out of the air without a second thought.  Adam wanted to take her to a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere to keep her out of sight, but I wanted to keep a closer eye on her.  Since he didn’t want to separate, I won out on that argument, and we headed to my place.  Oriana didn’t mind the drive at all, her attention fixed out the window for the entire ride.

“Now, it’s late so we’ll have to be quiet going up to my apartment.”  I reminded her gently.  I had no idea what time it actually was, given the time difference between Midian and the real world.  It was still dark out as we parked in front of my building.

“Will the sun rise in the morning?” she asked gravely, as though there might be more than one answer to the question.

“Uh yeah, of course it will.  You can get up early and watch if you want to.”

“Mummy says you mustn’t stare into the sun, it will burn you up if you’re not careful,” she nodded earnestly.

“That’s probably good advice,” I nodded back, nudging her towards the door.  “Don’t stare at anything bright for too long, it’ll hurt your eyes.  And you could probably stand to use some sunscreen too.”  Her skin was much paler than mine, as though she hadn’t set foot under the sun for years and years, and she probably hadn’t.

“Come on, ladies, up the stairs, here we go.” Adam herded us up to my apartment on the third floor, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow as if he expected an attack at any time, but Nelo didn’t act like he found anything strange lurking in wait.  “Hold up a sec…” He paused outside the door, approaching it very, very slowly, a finger to his lips.

“What is it?  Is someone inside?” I whispered, placing myself between Oriana and the door.  For the moment she was our biggest bargaining chip and I wasn’t prepared to let go of her without a fight.

Before Adam could reply, the door was snatched open by Sam, a thunderous look on his face.  “There you are!”

“Mercy’s here?” Daphne rushed out to pull me into a hug.  “Oh, thank God, we thought we were going to have to mount a rescue!”

“I’m fine, we’re all fine,” I choked out under her overenthusiastic greeting, while Adam did his best to move the reunion out of the hallway.

“Come on, let’s take this party inside.”

“A party, how lovely,” Oriana beamed, smoothing her long hair back as she followed us in.  Parker and Matty rose to greet us, and I couldn’t meet Parker’s eyes after the way I’d left him.

“Told you she’d make it back okay,” Matty grinned.  “Who’s this?”

“This… is Oriana,” I waved in her direction, deciding to let them introduce themselves.  Suddenly, I was bone tired and the couch looked awfully comfy.

“No shit?  You broke her out too?  Wait, where’s Ben?”  Matt’s brow crumpled in confusion, but I didn’t have the heart to get into it yet.

“Adam, can you fill in the troops?” I gave him a wan smile, and he launched into a brief account of the trip while I rested with my eyes closed.  That was, until I felt someone sit beside me.

“Are you okay, Merce?  You look… different.”

I opened my eyes at the concern in Parker’s voice, though I still felt guilty looking at him.  “I’m fine.  It took a lot out of me, that’s all.”  Taking a deep breath, I launched into an apology.  “Look, about earlier…”

“I get it,” Parker shook his head.  “I still think you should have taken my help, but I get the whole protective thing.  That’s why it drove me so crazy to find you gone like that.  Do you know what it’s like to wake up and find someone you care about making a crazy move that could end up getting her killed, and there’s nothing you can do about it?”

“It’s all too familiar,” Adam smirked.  Sitting on the other side of me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.  “You must be the infamous Parker,” he offered a hand.

“And you must be the infamous Adam,” Parker matched the tilt of his smile, shaking his hand, and I remembered that most of them hadn’t met Adam before either.

“I’m sorry, guys, I forgot to mention, this is Adam.  Adam, that’s Matty, Parker and Daphne.”

“I know, I’ve been around, remember?” he reminded me he probably knew more about my friends and family than I did, with his ability to skulk about.  Daphne gave him a shy smile, and Adam appeared vaguely amused to see her take her place at Sam’s side, picking up his hand by habit.  Sam caught sight of Adam’s knowing look and proceeded to look everywhere else but at Adam after that.  Matty barely gave Adam a second glance, much more interested in Oriana.  He followed her to the rear sliding door to watch her breathe on the cool glass and trace patterns in the steam.  Parker rose from the couch, pacing slowly once Adam pulled me to relax against his warmth.

Adam picked up the thread once the introductions were over.  “We made it back from Midian with an unexpected guest.  But we’ve been thinking this is the break we need to get Ben out of there.”

“We need to keep her under wraps until we figure out how best to handle it,” I nodded.  “Sam, I thought maybe you could keep her at your place?  Raum doesn’t know where you live, and you’re strong enough to look out for her.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Daphne nodded for him, “There’s more room there than here or at my place, and they won’t know where to start looking for her.”

“I’ll come too,” Matty volunteered by Oriana’s side, and she flashed him a radiant smile.

“My champion,” she beamed.  “Will we have cakes and tea?”

“Ah, sure, cakes and tea sounds cool,” he replied with a bewildered smile.  “Only we call it donuts and coffee here.  I happen to be a connoisseur of donuts, as a matter of fact.”

“Sam, does that sound like a plan?” I asked again, not wanting him to get steamrolled into doing something he didn’t want to.

“No harm shall come to her in my care,” he agreed with a wary eye on the witch, and I could tell he wasn’t a hundred percent on board with the plan.  But I also knew I could take him at his word, he’d do his best to keep her safe, she was too valuable to lose.

“I hate to meet you all and show you the door, but it’s been a long night for us, and Mercy needs her rest,” Adam said with a note of finality.

Parker’s eyes swept over my face as he rose, something unreadable in his expression.  “I’ll see you at work.”  I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I knew something was up with him.  I was too tired to try and figure it out that night, so I let him go without another word.  The others shambled out after him, even Nelo went to rest in his closet, and finally we were all alone.

I felt Adam’s arms wrap around me from behind, and I closed my eyes, resting against his solid chest, trusting him to keep me upright as I leaned on his strength.  “You’re the one who’s been trapped in a demon realm.  Are you really alright?”

“It looks like I should be asking you that, you look wiped out.” Adam spun me around to get a better look.

“That’s not exactly what a girl dreams of hearing,” I pouted, remembering Parker’s words as well.  “Do you think I look different?”  I wondered if it had anything to do with Raziel’s Grace.  At the time it had given me such a rush of power, but I felt drained.

“I think you look beautiful,” he smiled, brushing the hair away from my forehead.   “God, I missed you.”  Adam leaned down to kiss me tenderly, almost reverently.

“You said that before,” I murmured, between kisses.

“I meant it.”

“I missed you too.”

“I missed you more.”

“How do you know that’s possible?” I smiled against his lips as I felt him walking me back towards my bedroom.

“More time went by for me, remember?”

“Oh right, I guess you did miss me more.  How much time did go by for you, Adam?”  What had he endured?  How many times had Raum fed from him?  Or worse?  A wave of sadness washed over me, bringing the sting of tears to my eyes, even though he stood there whole and healthy in my arms.

“Shh, it doesn’t matter now,” he frowned, catching a tear with the edge of his thumb.  “All that matters is we’re together and we’ll never be apart again.”

“Do you really believe that?”  It seemed almost too much to hope for.  We’d spent far more time apart than together.

“I told you, Mercy.  No man will ever love you more than I do.  I wouldn’t have left you in the first place if I wasn’t trying to keep you safe.  Now that we’re both here, I won’t let anything come between us again.  I’ve already done my time in hell, even I deserve a little happiness now, don’t I?”

Instead of his usual smirk, I saw a trace of vulnerability there, as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe the words, even though he’d spoken them.

“Yes.  Yes, I do think you deserve happiness.  We both do.  Whatever prophecy comes our way, whatever His plan is,” my eyes rose skyward for a moment, “we can handle it, as long as we’re together.”

“Good.  ‘Cause I think I’d like to spend the next week in bed.”  To illustrate his point, he scooped me up and deposited me on the bed, immediately covering my body with his.

“Wait, what about Nelo?” I pulled my lips from his, realizing the bedroom door stood wide open.  I wasn’t sure if the little guy had disappeared for the night or if he might come wandering out at any moment.

“He’s fine.”

“Yeah, but… the door,” I nodded, refusing to let his hands get any further until he guaranteed at least a modicum of privacy.

“Fine.”  Adam rolled off of me, not only shutting the door, but locking it before kicking off his shoes and rejoining me on the bed.  “You know, in my dreams you’re wearing way less clothes by this point.”  To rectify that, his fingers were already busy working on removing the outer layer of my clothes.

“I guess that’s the difference between dreams and reality.  In my dreams you never left in the first place.  If you stop and think about it, all we’ve had is dreams.  We’ve never actually been together in the real world.”  The Ether wasn’t the same, was it?

“Then we’ll have to make this count, this being our first time and all.” His eyes flashed playfully, sending a thrill of anticipation through me.

Had I said I felt tired?  Any fatigue faded away as his mouth descended over mine, my body reacting instantly to his touch.  Absently, I longed for the Ether, where I could will away his clothes with a single thought.  But the slow revelation of his skin had its own delights, providing a languid exploration that let the tension build between us as our Grace started to glow faintly.

One memory persisted as he kissed me hungrily, forcing its way into the forefront of my thoughts.  “What was that you said before about not falling for it this time, when I showed up in Midian?  Are you talking about a dream you had, or did Raum send you a copy of me?”

“Do you really want to talk about that right now?” he murmured, hands busy.

“Well…a little.” Though it got harder and harder to remember the question when he touched me like that.

“There’s nothing to worry about.  I saw right through it, but that’s why I was extra wary when you showed up.  That’s all.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but decided jealousy had no place in a room where he devoted so much attention to my needs.  I quickly learned that Adam wanting to “make this count” meant to drive me insane with pleasure.  With knowing hands that kept a single coherent thought from forming until I was a ball of need, he literally made me a slave to his attentions, incapable of doing more than gasping for air, my body clamoring for more.  Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, he repeated the same lazy exploration, that time with his mouth, and I came apart in his arms, his name on my lips in a hoarse cry of delight as he showed me what I’d been missing.

When I could open my eyes again, I found him watching me intently, inordinately pleased with himself.  “My turn,” I smiled back, determined to wipe that smirk off his face and give him just as much pleasure as he’d given me.  Pushing at his shoulders, I straddled him, hair spilling over my shoulders like a dark cloud.  Adam’s hands immediately went to my hips, attempting to guide me where he wanted me the most, but I resisted.  “Ah, ah, ah… none of that.”  Pulling his hands away by the wrists, I pinned them over his head, fully aware that he was strong enough to resist me at any moment.  “I told you, it’s my turn.”

“By all means,” he nodded earnestly, resting his hands behind his head to wait and see what I would do next.

I shifted a little lower, taking a moment to look my fill of his magnificent body.  Mine… echoed through my mind.  A little possessive growl left my throat as I laid worship to him with my hands and mouth, every moan of pleasure I wrung from him sending a thrill straight to my core.  Everything about him was hard and velvety smooth, but softly yielding to the touch.  Weeks of pent up longing lent an urgency to my movements, I wanted to touch him everywhere at once.

“You’re killing me,” he bit out through clenched teeth, fingers tangling in my hair.

“You can dish it out, but you can’t take it, huh?” I smiled against his skin, letting him catch his breath.  In a heartbeat our positions were reversed, with Adam looming over me.  “I’ll be the one doing the taking,” he growled as my legs parted to accept him, wrapping around him lithely.  “Wait… wait, wait, wait…” He went rigid, and my eyes clouded with worry.

“You don’t want to…?”

“No, I do, it’s just… we’re in the real world now, we have to be careful.”

“Oh, right.”  I don’t know what I was thinking, usually I’m a safety first kind of girl.  I guess the answer was, I didn’t think in general when it came to Adam, and I was glad he had the presence of mind to slow things down, especially given his stance on unwanted pregnancy.  “Top drawer, on the left.”

In the space of a few heartbeats, he was back, and it was like we’d never been apart.  Gone was the playful teasing, his face intent as he covered my body with his.  “Missed you,” he murmured into my hair, taking me in one swift movement that stole the breath from my body.

“Missed you so much,” I whispered back, nails digging little crescent moons into the strong planes of his back as he rocked us higher and higher.  My body already ultra-sensitive, it didn’t take long before I hit that elusive peak, my cries of satisfaction mingling with his as the Grace flared in recognition, flooding my body with white hot pleasure as our souls touched.

Adam rolled over with a groan, and I tumbled after him, collapsing against his chest as I fought to regain my breath.  For long moments we lay there, nothing but the beat of our hearts and the gentle fall of rain outside penetrating the sweet haze of contentment.

“This…” Adam pressed a kiss to my shoulder, “this is what I missed the most.”

“So, you just love me for my body then?” I teased, fingers tracing invisible patterns over his skin.

“No, I mean this, being with you, being home like this with you, knowing you’re mine, this feeling of… peace.  Actually, I take that back.  We’ve never done this in the world before, just in the Ether. I think on some level I knew that.  This is much better.”

“I have to say I agree, having you in my actual bed definitely doesn’t suck,” I sighed happily, snuggling deeper into his side.  “I started to think I’d never get you here.”

“That’s being dramatic, don’t you think?  You knew my plan was for us to be together eventually.”

“A year apart is cause for a little bit of drama.”

“I forget sometimes you’ve only lived for like a quarter of a century.  Live a little longer, it falls into perspective.  Besides, I was already through what, three quarters of the sentence?  You could have left well enough alone and I would have been back to you before you knew it.”

I knew time moved differently in Midian, but I couldn’t help but sit up at that.  “You mean you were there for months and months already?”

“I told you it wasn’t that big of a deal, but you didn’t listen.”

“Then… Raziel made that arrangement for nothing… he’s there for another year and a day, isn’t he?  Not just the rest of your sentence?”  Not that I’d wanted Adam to be stuck down there at all, but… if we’d waited a couple more weeks he might have gotten out without Raziel’s sacrifice.

“Yeah well, I didn’t ask you to come and bust me out, did I?  In fact, I seem to remember saying the complete opposite of that.”

“Poor Raziel…”  Talk about a buzzkill…

Adam sat up against the headboard, watching me intently.  “Tell me the truth, do you have a thing for Raziel?”

“What?  No,” I scoffed.  “I told you, he came down to help me break you out.  There’s absolutely nothing going on between us.”

“What about you and Parker?”

“Are you always like this?”  I’d known he was a little possessive, but where was this coming from?  I knew Parker had a harmless crush on me, but he couldn’t possibly know about that.  Besides, it had nothing to do with my feelings for Adam.

“It’s okay.  I told you I’d understand if you didn’t think you could wait for me, I just said I’d fight for you once I got back.”

“Those demons must have leached out part of your brains with their torture.  Did they drop you on your head?  I love you, genius.  Why do you think I came to Midian in the first place, to get you out.”

“So… I don’t need to have a little man to man with your boss?”

Oh God, that was all I needed.  “No, you really don’t.  I’m not saying he’s not a little dazzled by the Grace, you know how that affects people, but Parker knows how much I love you.  And besides, he’s into the witch who’s gonna help us get Azazael out of Ben and bound away where he won’t hurt anyone else ever again.”

“About that, are you sure you can trust those witches?”

“Of course,” I responded automatically, until I started to wonder what concerned him in the first place.  “Why wouldn’t we be able to?”

“They’re helping you out of the kindness of their hearts?”  His tone spoke volumes, and I couldn’t help but frown.

“Why not?  Putting Azazael away is for the common good.”

“It’s just that witches tend to have their own agenda and it’s usually contrary to what the heavenly host has in mind.  But, seeing as how our own agenda is a little skewed from the Big Guy’s plan, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, it’s probably fine,” he kissed the back of my hand before pulling me near again.

I let myself be tugged closer, laying my head against his chest, but instead of drifting off to sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder.  Did they have their own agenda?  We hadn’t discussed anything by way of payment. I suppose I’d thought the idea of binding a dangerous fallen angel was reason enough for them to help, but was I being naïve?  Adam was right, not everyone else was altruistic.  In fact, most people weren’t.  I drifted off thinking about witches and demons, resolving to find Luz for a little heart to heart before work the next day.

Chapter Eleven

As tempting as the sight of Adam in my bed the next morning was, I forced myself to get up and back into my regular schedule.  We hadn’t established any kind of routine together, apart from spending time in the Ether.  We’d never talked about whether or not he’d be staying with me, or if he had another place in town (I assumed he did, of course, though I’d never seen it).  Our relationship so far had been so… abnormal, it felt strange to think about whether or not to clear out some space for him in the closet, or how he liked to drink his coffee.  There was so much I didn’t know about him…

Adam was gone when I got out of the shower, a hastily scribbled note on my pillow telling me he’d be back in a bit.  I took care of some mundane chores I’d put off like paying the bills, taking out the trash, all the little things that hadn’t seemed so important in the face of breaking Adam out of Midian.

For once coffee didn’t sound like a good idea, and I cuddled up with a mug of blackberry tea on the couch to write a long overdue email to my mother.

“Uh oh, are you sure you’re my Mercy?  Where’s your usual cup of java?” Adam grinned, emerging from my bedroom in nothing but a pair of jeans and a smile.  Had he gone out in public like that?  I suppose it might not matter if he kept himself hidden.  On the other hand, maybe he just didn’t care?

The joke hit a little too close to home, but I offered him a brief smile.  “I decided to take it easy on my stomach after such a night.  I can make you some coffee if you want.  Are you hungry?”

“Only for you.” He leaned down to steal a kiss and I forgot what we were talking about when he straightened up.  “What’s on the agenda for today?  Are you up for a walk in the park?” His gaze went to the overcast sky outside.  “Or more in the mood for a movie marathon?  Or should I drag you back to bed?”

“All those things sound really good,” I couldn’t keep the longing from my voice.  “But actually, I have to go to work in a little bit.  I thought about what you said about the witches, and I think I’d like to talk to Luz some more about what they have planned, so there aren’t any surprises once we get Ben back.  I’m gonna ask Parker if he can get her to stop by.”

“You want me to come with?” He plopped down on the sofa beside me.

“To work?”

“Sure, why not?  For once I don’t have anything better to do.”

I’m pretty sure he meant that as a compliment.  “Um, okay.  I guess it’ll be fine for a while.  Parker sort of has this rule about no boyfriends hanging out at work, but considering the circumstances, he can’t complain too much, as long as I don’t ignore the paying customers.”

“Maybe he won’t care so much if I’m buying?”

“I meant to ask you, where do you get your money?”

“Oh, you know… around,” he shrugged dismissively.

“No, I don’t know,” I frowned, not at all happy he’d blown me off.  “Seriously, how do you afford to set up Sam in his apartment or wherever you live?  Where do you live by the way?  And what name do you go by?”

“Does it matter?”

“A girl does like to know these things when she lets a guy into her heart, not to mention her bed.”

“Why?  You know everything important there is to know about me.  You know things about me that people I’ve known for hundreds of years don’t even know.  Besides, whatever name I’m using now isn’t my real name anyway.”

“Do you know how embarrassing it is to have to admit to people that I don’t know the last name of the guy I’m in love with?  I had to tell the cops I was dating Parker to get them off my case.”

“I knew there was something funny going on with you and Parker,” he narrowed his eyes at me, but I’m pretty sure he was teasing.

“Really not the issue on the table here.  Adam, if we’re going to make this work, you have to let me into your regular life.  You know all about me and how I live because you’ve been keeping tabs on me.  But I have no idea where you disappear to when you’re not here.  I don’t know if you like Chinese food or sports or sappy movies…”

Adam mulled that over for a long moment, nodding faintly.  “Fair enough.  I guess I don’t have all that much practice sharing those things with anyone.   For the record, yes, I do enjoy Chinese food, the spicier the better.  Sports, I could take or leave, it depends on the game, but I don’t follow any particular teams.  I have been known to watch a sappy movie or two in my lifetime, but that’s not something I would like distributed as common knowledge,” he grinned.

“Thank you,” I returned his smile, inordinately pleased he’d taken me seriously.  “I’m not saying we have to learn everything there is to know about each other in the next ten minutes, but I’m glad you’re willing to share.”

“I’ll go you one better.  As soon as we get Ben back and things settle down, I’ll take you out on a real date and you can ask me all those inane questions people bore each other with over a steak dinner and greasy popcorn at the movies, what do you say?”

“A real date?” I blinked, the idea both surprising and appealing.  “I’d love to.”  It felt like the first normal plans I’d made in… I couldn’t remember how long.

“Great.  I’ll even let you pick the movie.  Within reason, I don’t do musicals or Muppets.”

“Aw…” I pretended to pout, giggling inside at the idea of Adam singing along to a Muppet musical. I had at least two of them in my DVD collection.  “I think I can work with that.”

“Oh, and by the way, in this current incarnation I go by Adam Anderson.”

“Really?  Huh.”

“What?”

“It’s so… ordinary,” I shrugged.

“You were expecting something sexier?  Ordinary is good when you’re trying not to attract too much attention.  It’s a name on the lease, Mercy, it has nothing to do with who I am.”

“Thanks for telling me,” I gave him a heartfelt smile.  “And now, I’d better get ready, I have to call Parker about Luz and pick up my vest from the dry cleaners before work.  Still feel like tagging along on those boring errands?  It’s okay if you’d rather hang out here.”

“Actually I think there are a few errands I should see to myself after being gone for so long.  How about I meet you at Eden later?” He leaned over to steal a kiss, and I came away with a silly grin on my face.

“Sounds like a plan.  I’ll count the minutes until we’re together again.”

“You don’t have to leave yet though do you?”

“Did you need me for something?”

“I thought you might give me a hand.”

“With?”

“Washing my back?”

“Just one hand?” I quirked a single brow.

“I’ll take whatever you can spare…”

* * *

It was quite a bit later when I left the apartment, a bit flushed but happy, on my way in to the club.  I wasn’t sure whether or not to bring up my reservations about Luz and her friends to Parker or not, but he was the only one who knew how to contact her.  In the end I decided to say I wanted to talk more about logistics and what the witches might need from us to pull it off.

“Hey, Luis.  Is he in?” I asked our part time bartender, pointing to Parker’s office door.

Luis nodded, barely looking up from the blender.  I didn’t often work when he did, but he was getting a lot more hours lately with my crazy schedule.  If things kept up, I’d end up the relief bartender and he’d end up with the full time gig.

I walked on back to Parker’s office, not bothering to knock since he was expecting me.  “Hey, boss,” I called out, surprised to see Luz already there, looking very chummy with Parker, sitting on the inside corner of his desk while he smiled up at her.  “Ah, hello, Luz.”

“Madre de Dios… What happened to you?” She rose from the desk, coming around to get a better look at me while I gaped back at her, not quite sure what to say to that.

“Ah…”

“You shine, chica.  Doesn’t she Parker?”

“I’ve always thought so,” he shrugged, unconcerned.

“Um, thanks, I guess.”  I didn’t feel particularly shiny, I felt stressed out and a little tired.  Chalking it up to the Grace, I pushed on.  “Thanks for coming to meet me like this.”

“No problem, I kill two birds with one stone,” she smiled in Parker’s direction.

“Did another bird need killing around here?” I asked, but they were too busy making sexy eyes at each other to hear me, I guess.  “So, um…”

“I’m sorry,” she focused her attention on me again.  “I hear you got your angel out of hot water, congratulations for that.”

“Yeah, thanks.  It wasn’t without cost, but hopefully this averts the worst of the prophecy.  We still have to get back in to steal Ben out though.  How much notice will you need to get the witches ready to go to do the ritual?  Once we get him back, it’ll be tough to keep him under wraps for very long.”

“It won’t take long, maybe a few hours to get everyone together, they are all on standby.  I told them to keep the night of the Solstice free in any case.”

“It’s really decent of you all to help us.  I know we didn’t talk about any kind of payment…” I began, more than a little uncomfortable bringing it up.

“No, no te importa… don’t worry about that, we are happy to help,” she waved me off.

“Really?” I smiled, glad my instincts about her had proven correct.

“Of course.  As I say before, we have seen these things coming from a long time ago.  It is our sacred duty to help.”

“Besides, I’m kicking in free drinks for the witchy after party back here,” Parker grinned.

“Something tells me Ben won’t be up for a drink, but I’m in,” I sighed, picking up an apron to start my shift.

“Yes, Parker told me about him, he’s a policeman?”

“Yep, he’s a detective, or at least he was.  Hopefully he doesn’t lose his job over this.  It’s not like he can tell anyone what happened to him.”  Yet another thing to worry about.

“People believe what they want to believe.  I’m sure he will be able to straighten it out, especially if he was a valued asset to the department.”

“Speaking of bacon…” Parker muttered as the door opened and Detective Santiago let herself in without knocking either.  Instead of singling me out like I expected, her eyes lit upon Luz.

“Jadeluz?  You’re mixed up in this too?”

“If you mean mixed up in getting a drink and unwinding with a friend, then yes, I guess I am,” a roll of the eyes was given.

“You two know each other?” Parker’s eyes narrowed as he looked from one woman to the other, and Luz gave a half shrug.

“We’re cousins.  Not that she likes to admit it so much anymore.”

The detective kept the same undercurrent of hostility in her voice I’d come to expect, clearly family made no difference to her in attitude.  “I’d prefer to keep my private life just that, private.  What brings you down here Jadeluz?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but like I said, I’m here to see a friend.”

“Miss Renault?”

“I like to keep my private life just that, private,” Luz threw back in her face with a smug smile.

“Is there something we can help you with Detective Santiago?” I interrupted before things devolved any worse.

“I’d like you to come downtown with me.”

“Is that really necessary?  What else would you like to know?  I think I’ve been pretty good about answering all of your questions.”

“I think it’s best if we don’t discuss it here.”

“Is there a problem?” Parker rose from his chair, coming around to stand beside me.

“That all depends on Miss Renault here,” the detective replied evenly.

“Mercy, you don’t have to go with her,” he frowned, but I shook my head, untying the apron.

“No, it’s fine.  Let’s get it over with.  I’ll be back later, okay?  Tell Luis I’m sorry to stick him with the hours.”

“Don’t worry about it, angel.”  Parker stepped in close.  “You call me if you need anything, alright?”

“I will, I promise,” I nodded gratefully.  “We’ll talk more later,” I added to Luz.  “Come on then, let’s get this over with,” I sighed, wondering why Detective Santiago seemed to be the one person on the planet who didn’t respond favorably to my Grace.  What would happen if I managed to touch her… could I send her some soothing vibes to get her to chill the fuck out?

* * *

I’d never been hauled down to the police department before.  The only times I’d been down there had been with Ben, and I’d been treated with the respect and kindness due to a girl who’s known for dating a cop.  But that trip was a different story entirely.  Even though she didn’t parade me through the precinct in cuffs, I could definitely feel the difference in the air as she led me back to the interview room.  Maybe it was my imagination, but it felt like every pair of eyes that looked my way were hooded with suspicion and hostility.

As soon as I took a seat, Detective Santiago left the room without another word.  Maybe she wanted to keep me off balance, maybe it was a power play.  All I know is, the longer I sat there, the more nervous I got.  “Adamiel…if you can hear me, I need you on standby,” I murmured, seriously debating whether or not to make myself dim and sneak out of there unseen.  Only the worry I was either being recorded by a camera hidden in the room, or being actively watched from behind the two-way mirror kept me in my seat.

With longing I looked at my phone tucked into the pocket of my purse on the table.  Would it seem guilty or normal if I sent Adam a quick text?  Only… I had no idea if he still had that phone number after his stay in Midian.  I had just decided to risk it, when the door opened, and Detective Santiago came in, a manila folder in her hands.

No opening greeting, no thank you for waiting, she plopped a series of black and white photos down on the table in quick succession.  “Do you know this man?”

I recognized Sam right away, entering my apartment building, coming out of the corner market, standing in the rain outside the movie theater next to a blonde that was most likely Daphne.  The days of Sam passing unseen from human eyes were long gone, especially since he’d started hanging out in public with Daphne so frequently.  “Yes, I do, he’s a friend of mine.”

“What’s his name?”

“Sam.”

“Sam…?”

“I have no idea what his last name is,” I answered truthfully.  “Why do you want to know about Sam?”

“He’s wanted for questioning in the Charles Weatie killing.  I think you’re familiar with that that case?”

Uh oh…  “Of course I am, that’s the guy who attacked me.  That’s how I met Ben in the first place.  Look, Ben didn’t think Sam had anything to do with that Weatie guy’s death.”

“Detective Gates’ notes say otherwise.”

“No, this is crazy.  Ben knows Sam, he’s seen him at my apartment before.  He’s talked to Sam himself.  If there are notes in his files, they’re out of date.”

“Easy for you to say without Ben here to corroborate it though, isn’t it?  In fact, I’d say it’s pretty convenient.”

“You know what?  I think I’d like to make a call now.”  I reached for my purse, and she slid it across the table, out of reach.  I opened my mouth to object, but the door swung open and Adam slipped in, raising a finger to his lips.  Detective Santiago gave no sign she noticed at all.

“You know what I think happened?”

“I can’t wait to find out,” I murmured, trying hard to pay attention to her instead of Adam, who propped himself against the wall.  He’d either gone back to his place to change or had gone shopping, wearing an elegantly tailored black suit, the black shirt open at the throat.

“I think he found out you’d been seeing your buddy Sam on the side the whole time.  Maybe you hired Sam to take care of Weatie for you when the cops had to let him go, or maybe your lover volunteered.  Either way, he took Weatie out and Ben found out about it.”

“Wow, talk about an active fantasy life.  She’s in the wrong business, I’m pretty sure there’s a Lifetime movie in there somewhere,” Adam smirked, and I darted a look to let him know he wasn’t helping.

I scrambled to answer because she had it half right, Sam had killed Weatie.  Ben just hadn’t ever mentioned prosecuting him for it.  “I’ve never dated Sam, he’s my best friend’s boyfriend actually. You’re definitely on the wrong track here, Detective.”

“Nice one, you’re a natural born liar, baby,” Adam gave me a supportive wink.

She continued as if I hadn’t spoken a word.  “I think he confronted you.  Maybe you didn’t mean to hurt him at first.  Maybe you wanted him to look the other way, drop it.  But Ben’s too good a cop for that.  He wouldn’t turn a blind eye for a pretty smile, so you did what you had to do to silence him for good.”

Whoa, when had I become the prime suspect?  “That’s not what happened!”

“Was it an accident then?”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong…”

“He pulled on you and you fought over the gun?  Did you shoot him, Mercy?  Or was it Sam?”

“I didn’t shoot him, I…” The memory of Adam and Ben struggling over the gun burned behind my eyes, and I blinked away the threat of tears.

“That’s who you’re protecting now, isn’t it?” Her voice dropped, taking an almost sympathetic tone.  Almost.  “Look, I want to help you.  I know you’re not a killer, but this guy is,” she pointed to Sam’s picture.

I shot Adam a pleading look, what was I supposed to do now?  He must have popped into normal view because she jumped back a foot, hand going to her hip.

“We’re done here,” Adam slid my purse across the table, gesturing for me to get up.  Detective Santiago got right up in his face, blocking the exit.

“We’re done when I say we’re done.  Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?”

“Are you charging her with anything?”

“Adam, please…” I wanted out of there alright, but she looked mad enough to spit nails, and it didn’t look like she’d let go without a fight.

“Let me handle this, Mercy.  Are you?”

The detective’s jaw worked as she took a moment to pull together the right words.  “Not at this time.”

“Then that’s it.  We’re done,” Adam smiled smugly.  “You might like to pull this shit with the scum you normally pull off the street, but Mercy is under my protection.  Remember that.”

“Who are you exactly?” she asked, eyes sweeping over his face, I’m guessing so she could give a good description to the police sketch artist.

“Mercy belongs to me, that’s all you need to know.”

“I thought she was seeing Mr. Davies?”

“I was…” I interjected, more than a little bothered by all the talk about anyone owning me, even Adam.

“He was just keeping her warm for me until I got back from an extended business trip,” Adam smiled wolfishly.

“And what business are you in Mr…”

“Anderson.  And my business is my own.”

“Obstructing justice is my business Mr. Anderson,” she challenged, but Adam held his ground admirably.

“You’re not after justice, Detective.  You’re after revenge for what you think happened to Ben.  Well, I’m here to tell you, you’ll need more than threats and swagger to lay anything at our door.  So, why don’t you give it a rest before I report you for harassment?”

It looked like she was seconds away from losing her temper and punching Adam in the face, but instead she took a step backwards, her eyes deeply hooded with anger.  “The next time we meet like this I suggest you change your tune, Miss Renault.” The words were directed at me, but her gaze remained fixed on Adam.  “Threats and swagger won’t protect you for very long.”

“Long enough,” Adam replied loftily, taking my arm and all but dragging me out of there.  “I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes and you’re getting into all sorts of trouble, aren’t you?” Adam shook his head, not at all disturbed by what had just gone down.

“I told you we have to get Ben back, and fast,” I hissed as soon as we were on the street.  “I’m not so sure you did me any favors back there, you know.”

“I got you out of there, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but she hates me even more now than she did before.”

“I’ve got a news flash for you, that woman hates everyone, it’s an occupational hazard.  Give up the idea you’ll ever be BFF’s and you’ll be fine.  In the meantime, it looks like we need to ramp up the Ben plan before any more crazy hits the fan.  Let’s go see our little miss ace in the hole.”

Chapter Twelve

Instead of catching the bus, as I was prepared to do since Detective Santiago had insisted on giving me a ride to the precinct, Adam led me to a sleek black Audi.  “Are you kidding me?  This is your car?”

“It’s one of them, yes,” he grinned smugly, and I couldn’t help but be a little impressed.  More elegant than Parker’s flashy muscle car, it was easily the nicest car I’d ever ridden in before.

“Seriously, where does the money come from?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he smirked, smoothly tooling the car through the city streets.  I let it go again, vowing to dig deeper when I had less pressing matters to worry about.

“I should probably call Parker, tell him I’m alright and I’ll be in later.”

“Might as well tell him you’ll be out the rest of the shift.  We have to work out logistics on the trade.”

“We can do that later, I can’t no-show, there are people counting on me.”

“Parker won’t care.  Why do you even have that job, you shouldn’t have to work.”

“Ah… because I have this thing about eating and sleeping with a roof over my head?  Not all of us are mysteriously wealthy.  In fact, none of us are.  Apart from you and Sam, the rest of us have to earn a living.”

“Why not come and stay with me?  I’ll take care of you.” He shrugged like it was a no brainer.

“Um, maybe because you’ve never invited me to before?  I don’t even know where you live, remember?”

“That’s easily fixed.  It’s not too far from here, in a much better neighborhood than Sam’s place, of course.  There’s more than enough room for the both of us, and Mimsy too.”

“You really want me to move in with you?”  I had to admit, the idea of being taken care of, especially by Adam, didn’t suck.  I wouldn’t miss the long hours on my feet, or worrying about whether I wanted to buy a pair of boots or pay the heating bill that month.  But chucking it all and becoming reliant on another person for all of my needs… it had me more than a little nervous.

“You don’t want to?” A pucker of worry appeared on his forehead.  “I’m serious about making a life with you here, that wasn’t just pillow talk.  But if you want your space…”

“No, it’s not that… you caught me by surprise, that’s all.  I think it’s a good idea, but are you sure?  When’s the last time you lived with a woman?  Wait… don’t answer that.”  I had visions of him living in a commune in the sixties, or shacked up with a house full of sorority sisters in the eighties.

“I think I can handle sharing my space with you.”

“And Mimsy.”

“And a cat.”

“What about Nelo?”  I couldn’t possibly abandon the little guy.  He might not like living with another fallen angel, but I knew he would want to stick close to me.

“Ah… sure, I guess, Nelo can come too.  Any other strays you want to take in?  Should I get an apartment built over the garage for your brother?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, Matty would love that.  “Let’s start small.  I’d like to keep you to myself as much as possible.”

“Sounds good to me.” He laid his hand over mine and I enjoyed that simple contact until we got to Sam’s apartment.  The idea of quitting my job I decided to defer for another day.

Sam opened the door before I could raise my hand to knock, a slightly wild look in his eyes.  “You’re it,” he tagged me on the hand, squeezing past us through the door and out the hallway.

“What?” I called after him, but he was through the stairwell door before I knew it.  Trading a helpless look with Adam, we entered the apartment, unsure as to what we’d find.  Inside, Matty and Oriana sat on the pair of easy chairs, watching a cartoon movie with 3D glasses on.  “I guess it’s our turn to babysit,” I murmured, as Adam shut the door behind us.  “Hey, Matt…?  Can we talk to you for a minute?”

“Hold up, this is the best part.”

“For chrissakes…” Adam grabbed the remote, pausing the movie.  “Do you think you could spare us a sec, sport?”

“Oh… they’re frozen in time,” Oriana frowned at the television screen.  “Will the spell last long?”

“Not too long, we need to talk for a few minutes, that’s all.  How are things going here, Matty?  Is she settling in alright?” I asked, glad to see him take off the 3D glasses, though Oriana kept hers on.

“Yeah, it’s been great.  We stayed up all night talking, and I showed her some of my favorite movies and music.  She’s never heard the Strokes before, can you believe it?”

“It’s a real shocker,” Adam deadpanned.  “I’m glad you two kiddies are getting along so well.  Want to tell me what had Uncle Sammy running for the hills the moment we got here?”

“Did he leave?” Matty looked around the apartment in surprise.  “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Everything’s okay then?” I prompted, he was acting a little strange.

“Yeah, Oriana’s really cool,” he grinned, and I recognized that look.

“Uh oh… Matt, you know we have to send her back, right?  In fact, that’s why we’re here, to figure out the best way to trade her back to Raum for Ben.”

“No…” He drew us closer to the door, lowering his voice.  “We can’t send her back there.”

“Why not?  Can you seriously see her functioning here?  She’s been there for so long she doesn’t remember what it’s like to live with people.”  Looking up, I noticed Oriana had risen from the chair and danced and swayed to the soundless music in her head.

“Besides, Raum won’t let her go, he’ll come after her.  Why not use that to our advantage?” Adam pointed out, even as Matty shook his head.

“That’s totally unfair.  She didn’t do anything to deserve being trapped in that… that… that demon hole.”  Matty got more and more agitated by the second.  “It’s a miracle she’s in as good a shape as she’s in.  How can you talk about sending her back?”

“Hey, take a breath,” I laid a hand on his arm, sending him soothing Grace.  “We talked about sending her back from the start, you knew that, Matty.  I’m sorry it’s not fair, but that’s the way of the world.  It’s not fair Ben’s trapped in Midian either,” I darted a quick look to Adam.  “Maybe… maybe the time will come when we can get her out again.  Or, maybe she’ll wander out on her own again, we didn’t take her this time, she got out all by herself.”

“That’s true,” he considered.  “Maybe he’d let her come and visit?”

I knew that was nothing more than a pipe dream, but I held my tongue, wanting him to find his peace with the decision that had already been made.  “It’s for the best, Matty, you’ll see.”

“When are you taking her?”

I traded looks with Adam.  “As soon as possible.  The cops are breathing down our necks.  We’ve got to get Ben back before I end up in jail or worse.”

“So, we’ve got through tonight maybe?  Or the night after?”

“Any more than that and we’re risking Raum finding her here first,” Adam nodded.  “Trust me, you don’t want that, no matter how much she likes your taste in music.”

“Okay,” Matt nodded, his shoulders slumping in defeat.  “You can count on me, I’ll keep her safe.”

“Good man,” Adam clapped him on the shoulder.  “Tell Sam he’s back on guard duty, Mercy and I have to go… liaise.”

“We do?” I blinked, “Um, yeah… we do,” I nodded, wondering what he had in mind.  “See you later, Oriana.”

“Will you?  Or will I be hidden from divine eyes?” she asked seriously.  I didn’t have an answer for that, and settled for giving her an awkward wave.

“Talk about bats in the belfry,” Adam murmured as we stepped into the elevator.

“She can’t help it, she’s been through a lot.  For all we know she could have been normal before Raum took her.”

“Something tells me that girl hasn’t been right in the head since the day she was born.”

“Too bad Matty got attached to her,” I sighed, linking my arm with his.

“You know what they say, better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all.”

* * *

Only Matty didn’t lose her at all.  By the time we all met up at my place after work, (I’d had to explain to Adam about commitments again, I still don’t think he truly got my point) Sam was waiting there.  Or I should say pacing, because he looked like he’d had eight shots of espresso with an energy shot chaser.  I could hear Nelo fussing around in the bathroom again, my guess is he wanted to steer clear of Sam in his agitated state.

“They are gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Oriana and your duplicitous brother,” Sam thrust a creased sheaf of paper at me.  I took the paper with a groan of dread, knowing what I’d find inside.  In Matty’s cramped scrawl, I read his goodbye note.

Sorry, but I couldn’t let you take her.  I think she’s the one, Mercy.  My Venus.  I have to keep her safe.  I hope someday you can forgive me.

Love, Matty

“Oh, sweet Mary…” I murmured, handing the letter over to Adam, who promptly swore in a language I didn’t recognize and crumpled the letter into a ball.  “I can’t believe he did this.  He completely screwed us over a girl he just met a day ago.”  I’d always known my brother was a little flaky, but that… that went beyond anything he’d ever done before.

“How could you let this happen?” Adam turned on Sam with a snarl, and he recoiled with guilt.

“How was I to know he would kidnap the witch?  They seemed to be getting along famously, so I…”

“What did you do?”

Even before Sam replied, I could tell by his face what had happened.  “I left to go meet Daphne.  He said he would guard her with his life.”

“Great, just great!”  Adam threw the balled up note across the room.

“Calm down, maybe we can find them.”  How far could they have gotten in a few hours after all?

“How?  I’m good, but I’m not that good.  I’ll catch up with them eventually, it’s not like your brother’s a rocket scientist, but before the solstice deadline?” Adam shook his head.

“I will go.  It’s my failure, I will bring the witch back,” Sam volunteered solemnly, but I wasn’t convinced that was the best plan of action.

“No… you both know what we need to do.”

Adam’s face was resolute, blue eyes blazing.  “No way, not a chance in hell.”

“Do you see any other way?  We’ll have to bust in there and steal Ben back.  We’ll deal with Raum’s wrath later.”

“I will go,” Sam repeated.  “I vow to track them down and bring them back.  Perhaps I can find them before the solstice, but in either case, I will bring back Raum’s prize.”

I knew there wasn’t any point in arguing with him, and it really was our best bet to get them back.  Plus, I can admit a selfish part of me didn’t want Adam to be the one to go out after them, I’d just gotten him back.  “Keep in touch then, and good luck.”  I leaned up to kiss his cheek.

“Will you tell Daphne where I’ve gone?”

“I will, I promise.”  Sam looked to Adam, but he was studiously looking out the back slider onto the night sky, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge him.  With a sad little wave, Sam was gone, and I went to wrap my arm around Adam’s waist.

“It was such a good plan,” he sighed, leaning his head on top of mine.

“Too easy, we have to keep things interesting, right?” I tried to lighten the mood, but he didn’t respond more than a twitch of the lips into what might have been a faint smile.

“I’m gonna owe Naberios a fortune for this.”

“Hey, if you’ve got twenty large, I can get us a different way in,” I joked, more than a little surprised when Adam turned me to face him better.

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s another way in to Midian, didn’t you know?  Remiel, he said he knew you.”

“Oh right, I forgot I did hear something about him getting tangled up with a demon at some point.  It ended kinda badly as I recall.  Why didn’t you use that way before?”

“He wouldn’t tell us where it is.”

“And?” he waited.

“And… Sam said he couldn’t do anything to another angel, and it’s not like I was willing to meet his price, so we left.”

“Honestly, it’s a miracle you people survived without me out here,” Adam muttered, fishing the keys out of his pocket.

“What are you gonna do to get him to talk?”

“Whatever it takes.”

I could see the wheels turning in his head, and it occurred to me, he probably did have that kind of money.  “Adam…”

“Relax, okay?  I’ll get it out of him. Remy owes me a favor or three from back in the day.”

I didn’t like to think what the two of them might have gotten up to back then, but I did intend to be there when the boys’ reunion took place.  “Fine, I’m coming with you then.”

“Fine, as long as I can drive.”

“Be my guest, I can take a nap along the way.”

“Aw, and here I was hoping you’d help me pass the time another way,” he grinned, and I blinked as I caught on to what he was suggesting.

“In the car?”

“Why not?”

“While you’re driving?”

“I have fantastic multi-tasking abilities,” he flashed his eyes playfully.

I bet…  “Come on, at this rate it’ll be dawn by the time we get there.”

* * *

The room was a good deal cleaner when Remiel pulled the door open, my nose was happy to report, and the man himself had gone through quite a transformation.  Gone was the greasy hair hanging in his face, his dark blonde hair had been cut and styled, falling just above the collar, still longer than was strictly fashionable, but it looked good on him.  The five o’clock shadow was still in place, but it had that carefully cultivated look rather than unkempt and unwashed.

Instead of the stained wifebeater, he wore a shiny gray suit with casual grace despite the shabby surroundings.  This was a man I could believe had once been an angel, though he definitely had that Fallen cast to him.  He greeted us with a drink in hand, surprise coloring his handsome features, before a slow grin spread across his face.

“Well, look what the kitty cat dragged in.  I see you got your man back on your own.  Good to see you, brother,” Remiel held out a hand, which Adam clasped warmly.

“No thanks to you I hear,” Adam returned the smile, giving no sign at all that his refusal to help us bothered him one bit.  “Nice place you’re got here.  It reminds me of that shithole we stayed at in… where was that?”

“Alabama?  Arkansas? Arizona? It was definitely an A name,” Remiel chuckled, pulling the door open wider.  “Come on in, mi casa es su casa,” he drawled.

Adam strolled in, helping himself to a drink without asking.  I squeezed past Remiel through the doorway, it sure seemed like he took up a lot of space when it was my turn to pass through.

“Damn, you smell good, kitten,” he leaned closer still to sniff at my neck.  “I’m glad you decided to come by for another visit.”

“This isn’t a social call,” I frowned, taking a big step away as soon as I was past the short hallway.

“No?  Not here to catch up on old times since your girl sprung ya?” he looked up to Adam, who shrugged.

“Maybe a little of both.  I hear you held out on her and Samael when they came to visit you on my behalf.”

It was Remiel’s turn to shrug.  “I offered them a fair price.  You know how it is.  A man can’t go givin’ away freebies, people will think he’s soft, take advantage of him.  Besides, it didn’t do you no harm, you look fit as a fiddle.”

“Twenty G’s is a fair price?  You know Sam can’t get his hands on that kind of cash without me around,” Adam scoffed, further cementing my belief that he definitely had the money to spare.

“I offered to take it out in trade, but your girl wasn’t interested.”

“Damn right I wasn’t,” I muttered, expecting Adam to take issue to the offer, but he seemed amused over it.

“What can I say, I ruined her for all other men,” he smirked.  “Of course, I expect a discounted price when you give it to me.”

“Discounts, is it?  Well then, let’s get down to it,” Remiel rubbed his hands together, his eyes alight with avarice.  “You know my previously stated price, what are you offerin’?”

“I’ll give you five thousand, cash up front.”

“I’ll take an hour with your girl instead.”

“No deal!” I interjected, not sure if I should be insulted or complimented by his counteroffer.

“She’s not part of this negotiation, brother.  I’ll raise my offer to seven, and that’s being more than generous.”

“Everything’s up for negotiation,” Remiel grinned.  “How about two G’s, and you and I share her for a couple of hours?  That way everybody wins.”

“Eewh, except for me,” I recoiled, ready to let Adam have it if he so much as looked like he was considering it.  Luckily for his sake, he didn’t bat an eye and ponied up more cash.

“Ten thousand and that’s my final offer.”

“Cash up front?”

“Five now and five after we return,” Adam countered.

“No dice.  You never make it back and I’m out five large.  What you in such a lather to get back into Midian for anyways?  You just got out.”

“We’re going to bind Azazael.”  Adam’s eyes glittered with glee.

“Damn, you’re buckin’ for Azazael?” His brows shot up a notch.  “How’d you get your hands on him?”

“He’s trapped inside a friend’s body.  We’re trying to keep him from coming after me.  You know, to be reborn?”  He stared at me blankly, without a clue as to what I was talking about.  “You really aren’t up on current events, are you?”  Everybody else in the angelic community seemed to know far too much about my business, it was weird to come across someone who had such little care for the supernatural world around him.

“And the skirts got no problem with you bindin’ their boy?” he asked, his voice rife with skepticism.

“Like I give a damn what Nathanael and his goons want,” Adam muttered.  “Are you gonna help us or not?”

“It’s not as simple as all that.  It’s not just tellin’ ya where the portal is.  If it was that easy I’d send you on your way and wish you well.”

“So what is it then?  If it’s not a where?” I frowned, not sure I followed him.

“We got some witches to magic us up a portal so we could see each other whenever we wanted.  It ain’t tied to a place, it’s tied to an object.”  Remiel poured himself another drink, staring into its amber depths before he continued.  “Lysha’s ring.”

Lysha, who was now dead.  Were we spending all that time on a wild goose chase?  “And you still have that ring?”

“I got it,” he gave a slow nod.  “It’s all I got left of her, you expect me to give that up for nothing?”

“Ten thousand is hardly nothing,” Adam scoffed, and I shot him a look, feeling like the only reason Remiel kept asking for such outrageous prices for the ring was because he didn’t want to part with it at all.

“I’ll bring it back to you, I promise,” I met his gaze squarely.

“And what if you don’t make it back, like she didn’t?  What then, huh, kitten?  What good’s a promise when you ain’t alive to see it through?” I saw the pain behind his eyes, shining bright behind the swagger and bravado.

“Because I’m here to make sure she does,” Adam replied gravely.  “I’ll have the ten for you as soon as the banks open.”

Remiel reached into his shirt, grabbing hold of a chain around his neck and tugging until it snapped, the woman’s ring dangling from it swinging wildly as he thrust it into my hands.  “Take it and go.  You can owe me one.”

“You already owe me a fortune, I’ll just scratch off one of yours,” Adam grinned.

“No.  She,” Remiel nodded to me, “your girl can owe me one for this.  I ain’t doin’ it for you, Adamiel.”

“I’d rather pay you the ten grand,” Adam frowned.

“It’s fine, Adam.  I’ll bring the ring back to you, I promise.  And I’ll owe you a favor, of a non-sexual nature to be redeemed sometime in the future.  Deal?” I offered him a faint smile.

“You drive a hard bargain.”  Remy offered his hand and I took it, more affected than I wanted to be by his dazzling smile.  “Damn girl, but you do shine.  You ever consider throwing over that skirt chaser and looking for a real man, you give me a holler, y’hear?

“I will strongly consider that,” I nodded, suppressing another smile.  You had to give a guy points for trying.  Adam cleared his throat, and I snatched my hand away guiltily, looking down at the ring.  It was delicately cast in silver with a light green stone set into a hinged lid, like an old fashioned poison ring.  “So, how do we make this thing work?  Is there an incantation or something?”

“Naw, it’s simpler than that.  For the ring to work, you gotta stand under the light of the moon, and ask the Goddess Hecate to open the portal for you.”

“Hecate’s mixed up in this?” Adam’s brow furrowed.  “I guess that makes sense.”

“Goddess?  So… you’re saying there’s more than one God then?” My mouth fell open in surprise, but Adam shook his head.

“That’s a can of worms best left unopened.”

“Oh, and you need a drop of virgin’s blood in this here doohickey,” Remiel took the ring from my hands and popped open the chamber, revealing a tiny recess under the stone.  “I’m guessing that don’t apply to you, does it, gorgeous?”

Still reeling over the idea that there were other pantheons of deities out there at our beck and call, I was slow to react to Remiel’s question.  “Um, not exactly.  Why virgin’s blood?”

“Magic don’t come without a cost, sweetheart.  You want it or not?” he held the ring up as if to slip it onto my finger.

Darting a quick look to Adam, I raised my hand, letting him slide it on as though we were engaged.  Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt a tingle of power from the ring, or maybe it was just the cool metal.  Either way, it made me a little nervous, but I covered it with a smile.  “Thank you.  Where will the portal open up, on the Midian side, I mean?”

“In the lower decks by the slave pens.”

I looked to Adam and he gave a slow nod, apparently he knew where that was.  “And when we come back?”

“You can leave from anywhere, and it’ll take you to the same place you went in.”

“Alright then, I think we’re good,” I nodded, my mind already racing ahead to try and figure out how quickly we could arrange to leave for Midian.

“You ain’t got to rush off right away, do you?” Remiel side stepped to block the doorway.  “We’re almost out of moonlight and you can’t go on to Midian yet.  Stay a spell and have a drink.  We can catch up on old times,” he sent an appealing grin to Adam.

I was all set to beg off, when I caught sight of Adam’s face, giving me a pleading, pouty look.  “Why don’t you boys stay and catch up?  I’ll take the car and head back, it’s been a long day.”

For a long moment I thought Adam would agree, but instead he finished his drink and wrapped an arm around me.  “No, I’d better get you home.  It was good seeing you again, Remy.  We’ll catch up when this business is over,” he promised.

“Yeah, alright,” Remiel sighed, running his hands through his hair.  “You’d better keep a tight hold on your girl. Raum sees her, you’re gonna have a fight on your hands to keep her.”

“Been there, done that, got the t-shirt,” Adam smirked as they shook hands.  “Take care, man.”

“Always do, brother.  Always do.”

Chapter Thirteen

I fell asleep again on the way home, only vaguely waking when Adam picked me up to carry me up to my apartment.  I probably could have walked, but feeling him sweep me off my feet… who wouldn’t love that?  Instead I wrapped my arms around his neck, eyes closed against the early morning light as he climbed the stairs to my floor, breathing in the scent of him that always made me smile.  Adam didn’t stop until he hit the bedroom, laying me down gently, and slowly taking off my shoes.  I let him undress me like a five year old, more than a little amused by the thoughtful look on his face.

“I can take care of myself you know.”

“I don’t mind taking care of you.  In fact, I kind of like it.  As long as you reciprocate of course,” he grinned.

I could definitely get used to that…  “Where are we gonna get virgin’s blood?” I remembered suddenly.  Not that virgins are all that scarce, but I personally didn’t know any, and it seemed like an awkward way to begin a conversation with a total stranger.

“I can get it.”

“Where?”  His keeping me in the dark over the details was starting to really bother me.  With our track record, he wasn’t likely to always be around, no matter what he promised.  What if I needed to find my own source of virgin blood for the future?

“Don’t worry…”

“Don’t you dare tell me not to worry my pretty little head about it,” I cut him off, rising up on my elbows.  “Damn it, Adam, you can’t treat me like I’m a child.  I’m in this up to my eyeballs.”

“I’m sorry, you’re just so cute when you get mad,” he grinned.  I closed my eyes and counted to ten before I exploded and showed him exactly what it looked like when I got really mad.  I swear to God, I was so close to losing it…  “I’d rather not have you deal with all the sordid details.  I’ll get it.  That’s all that matters.”

It wasn’t all that mattered, but I could see I was getting nowhere and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of watching me fume over it.  “How long will it take for you to get it?”

“Not long, a couple of hours.  I’ll pick it up today when I’m out running errands.  I can be ready to go by tonight.”

His not needing to sleep came in handy and I admit I was a little jealous of that ability.  You’d think with three kinds of Grace running around inside of me I’d have inherited that ability to go farther on less sleep, but if anything I’d been more tired lately.  Still, I’d slept some in the car, and with a couple of hours I’d be ready to go.  “Alright, I’ll take a little nap and then go see Daphne later; I should really talk to her about Sam in person.  But I’ll be ready by tonight too.”

“Wait, what do you mean you’ll be ready?  You’re not going.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Uh, no… you’re not.”

Was he messing with me to watch me blow my stack again?  Or did he really not intend to bring me along?  Either way didn’t make me very happy and I decided to reacquaint him with a few facts, sitting up on the edge of the bed.  “I’m the one who has the ring, so I think I’ll be the one opening the portal.”

“I’d rather cut the ring off with your finger still in it than let you come with me.”

“I’d like to see you try,” my eyes narrowed dangerously.  Was Adam actually trying to threaten me?

“Fine, screw the ring, I’ll go through the main gate,” Adam tugged his jacket back on again after removing it two minutes ago.

“Then enjoy your chat with Naberios, because I’m taking the portal.  With or without you.”  The hand with the ring on it clenched into a fist, throbbing dully where the metal cut into my skin.  He wanted to be stubborn?  Oh, I could show him stubborn.

Adam leaned close, his face inches away from mine.  “Get it through your head, I’m not taking you back into Midian.”  Refusing to be cowed, I pushed back at his shoulder, forcing some space between us.

“Get it through your head, I’m not asking you to take me anywhere.  I’m leading this operation, because I’m the one who has the most at risk here, and I need to make sure Ben gets out in one piece if something goes wrong.”  His feelings towards Ben were murky at best, he made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like him.

“If you think I’m going to let you set foot back on Raum’s territory, you’ve got a screw loose,” he pushed back.  “After everything I’ve done to protect you…”

“I don’t need your protection, Adam.  I can take care of myself.”  He started to laugh, and I just lost it.  Shoving him backwards, I pushed him against the wall.  Hard.  “You think this is funny?” I yelled when he giggled all that much harder at the show of force.

“Actually, I kinda do.  It’s cute how you think you can run with the big boys.”

I wanted to break every bone in his body.  Instead, my voice dropped, shaking with the effort to control my temper.  “I’m deadly serious about this.  One way or another, I’m going to Midian to get Ben out.  I’m not the delicate flower you think I am.”  Hadn’t he been listening to me about my tangles with Azazael and demons?  I had lived to tell the tale.

“Show me.”

“What?” I blinked.

“Hit me.  Go on, take your best shot.”

That was too much, he actually gave me permission to hit him?  Without stopping to think about it, my arm cocked back, but instead of going for his smug jaw, my hand came out aimed at his solar plexus.  Palm up, I delivered a burst of Grace with the blow, sending him crashing against the wall again, hard enough to crack the drywall.

That time, instead of laughing, his head came up with a groan, brows drawn together in a wince of pain.  “Again.”

Without hesitation, I followed up with a knee to the stomach, (lucky for him I wasn’t feeling too vindictive, or I would have aimed lower).  Grabbing a hold of his head by the hair, I slammed him against the wall again, the bottles on my dresser rattling and falling over as we smacked into it.

Adam countered with a knee between my legs, using the momentum to flip me around so that he pressed me up against the wall.  Before I could react, he slanted his mouth over mine in a passionate kiss, but I wasn’t in the mood.  Wrenching my lips from his, I hit him with my Grace again, in the head that time, pressing my advantage when he stumbled backwards to tumble him onto his back on the bed.

“I win,” I breathed triumphantly, straddling his waist to hold him down by the shoulders.

“Is that what you think?” With a playful flash of the eyes, he rolled me onto my back, pinning me to the bed with his body.  “I have to say, you’re kinda hot like this.”

“And you’re kind of a jerk,” I squirmed under his grasp.  I was strong, much stronger than I’d realized, but he was stronger.

“Aw, I just want to keep you safe, baby.  Is that so wrong?”

Calling forth my sword, I held it to his neck.  “I still win,” I smiled.  We both knew he’d never retaliate with his sword, just like I’d never really use mine to hurt him.

“Fine,” Adam sighed, “you win this round.”  His hand let go of my shoulder to brush the hair away from the corner of my mouth.  “Go ahead and cut me if you want to, but I’m still gonna kiss you.”

“You think so?” I raised my brows at him playfully, the anger gone as quickly as it had come on, now that he’d capitulated.  Opening my hand, the sword winked out of existence, and I took advantage of the distraction to leverage myself back on top.  “If there’s any kissing to be done, I’ll be the one doing it.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Adam grinned, his hands coming to rest on my hips.

“I kinda like the sound of that.”

“Don’t get too used to it.  I’m all for playtime, but let’s keep things in perspective.”

God help me, but I still loved him, obnoxious behavior and all.  “Shut up and kiss me before I have to hit you again,” I growled, covering his lips with mine.

* * *

It was much later in the day when I woke up again.  Adam was gone, off on his errands I supposed, and it was nice to have the place to myself.  Well, myself and Mimsy, who had curled up on the inside of my leg under the covers.  I assumed Nelo napped in the hall closet.  Briefly, I thought about waking him up to let him know we’d be going back to Midian that night, but in the end I decided it was better to let him rest up.

As I puttered around the apartment, I started to wonder what it would be like to move out.  I’d lived there for a few years, long enough for it to feel more like home than any of the cramped apartments I’d grown up in.  I had no doubt Adam’s place was nice, wherever it was, but did I really want to completely uproot myself just yet?

I couldn’t help but think that maybe it would be better to take things a little slower.  Take that date Adam offered, see how we got along day to day first.  If that morning was any indication, things could get volatile between us pretty quickly.

My temper is legendary among my circle of friends, but it had never exploded into out and out violence as it had earlier.  I’d never wanted to actually smash anyone’s face in before, especially not someone I claimed to love.  Was I slipping more and more out of control with each bout of Grace I absorbed?

A tiny part of me doubted whether or not Adam really accepted I could hold my own against a demon, but I felt confident I’d made my point.  I didn’t worry about him sneaking off to get into Midian without me.  Not too much anyway.

*hungry?* I sent a text to Daphne, thinking I might bring over some lunch.

*starved.  tacos or deli?*

I mulled that over.  Knowing what I was headed into that night, I decided to steer clear of tacos and hit the deli instead.  *I’ll get Kovacs, see you in twenty*

Kovacs was this cute little deli about halfway between my place and Daphne’s that featured great peppered meats.  Peppered turkey, peppered salami, peppered pastrami… if there was a spicy rendition of meat or cheese, they had it on a regular basis.  It was also more expensive, but I was in the mood to splurge.  I was either moving in with Adam and wouldn’t have to pay rent soon, or I’d be stuck in a demon realm.  Either way, my bank account should be able to withstand a sizeable hit.

Picking up the sandwiches, a couple of chocolate fudge brownies and a giant pickle to share, I let myself in to Daphne’s tiny apartment.  “Hi, honey, I’m home,” I called out, glad to see she already had cold sodas and napkins laid out on her coffee table.

“You’re in a fine mood today.  It’s good to have Adam home again, isn’t it?” she smiled, taking the bag from my hands and laying things out on the table.

“It is, though it feels almost strange to have him here.  Is that weird?  That I should feel off having my boyfriend around?”

“I think it’s probably normal for you two.  After all, you can fit the amount of real time you’ve spent together into a thimble.  If you don’t count that dream thingy.”

“The Ether?  Yeah, I guess that’s not reality.  By those standards we really haven’t,” I agreed, chewing thoughtfully.  “Um, speaking of spending a little time apart… did Sam reach you after what happened last night?”  I know I said I’d tell her why Sam left, but I figured he’d probably remember he could call her whenever he wanted to once he was done beating himself up about letting Matty escape with Oriana.  But from the look on her face as she grabbed a napkin I realized she hadn’t heard a peep from him.

“What happened last night?”

“We got back to the apartment after work and Sam brought us a note that Matty left.  He formed an instant attachment to Oriana and decided it was too cruel to use her as a bargaining chip to get Ben back, so he took her.”

“Well, it is pretty cruel,” Daphne allowed. “What do you mean took her?  Took her where?”

“That’s what Sam left to find out.”

“Sam left?”

“He felt sorta responsible since he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Oriana.”

“He was.  We were all watching her, but I left to go to work last night.  Sam came to make sure I got home alright, he worries about me you know.” I could imagine.  “Then he went back to his place.  He never said a thing to me about the two of them running off.  Where do you think they went?”

“I have no idea.  Matty’s not exactly a planner and he’s not flush with cash either.”  They were probably holed up in a cheap motel somewhere in Tacoma, or maybe even Olympia.  “The thing is, we needed her back to get Ben by the solstice, and we’re kinda running out of time now.”

“Oh, that’s right.  What are you going to do?  Did Adam leave again too?”

“No, we actually found another way in to Midian.”  I skimmed over the visit to Remiel’s place, figuring Sam had already filled her in on the first time we went to see him.  I still wore Lysha’s ring on my finger, and she was very interested in seeing it and the compartment for “virgin’s blood”.

“Wow, that changes things.  When are you going then?”

“Tonight’s the big night.”  I took a deep drink of my soda, cooling off the burn from the peppered turkey.  “Daph, do you think I’ve changed much lately?”

“Is that a trick question?” The corner of her mouth tugged up into a lopsided smile.

“No, I mean besides the whole angel thing.  I mean me, Mercy, personality wise, am I very different?”

Daphne let out a long sigh.  “I don’t know what to say to that.  To tell the truth I feel like we haven’t spent all that much time together lately.”

“What do you mean?  You’ve been hanging out at my place all the time.  You’re the one who spends it all in Sam’s lap.  When’s the last time you went a whole twenty-four hours without seeing him?” I challenged, immediately on the defensive.

“Whoa… have you had too much caffeine today or not enough?” she frowned, setting down her soda to really look at me and I took a good look at myself in the bargain.

“Not enough I think.  I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s going on with me lately.  I even got in a big old fight with Adam this morning.”

“You did?  Over what?”

“Over him not taking me seriously.  He didn’t want to let me go back to Midian to get Ben.”

“Adam just wants to protect you, that’s all.  He loves you.”

“I know, but he was so…”  I could feel myself getting mad all over again and forced myself to calm down.  “You should have heard him.  He actually started laughing at me when I said I could take care of myself.  So I hit him.”

“You didn’t!” Her mouth fell open in shock, and I gave a half shrug.

“To be fair, he told me to.”  Not that I hadn’t wanted to already.

“You guys have a twisted relationship.”

She should talk… but I didn’t say that, instead I took a big bite of dill pickle.  By the time I was done chewing, the urge to snipe back had passed.  It wasn’t a bad trick really, and I considered that maybe I should keep a pack of munchies on me at all times? “Hopefully after tonight, things settle down, and we can all get back to our regularly scheduled lives.”

“If you guys get Ben out alright then Sam can come home, right?”

He hadn’t even been gone a whole day and she already looked down in the dumps, but I couldn’t blame her for having a one track mind.  “Yep, that’s the plan.  Then we get Azazael bound away, Ben goes home and we look to the future.  Adam asked me to move in with him,” I added as an aside.

“He did?  I don’t even know where he lives.”

“Neither do I, that’s one of the things that’s making me hesitate.”

“You don’t want to do it?”

“I didn’t say that, I’m… weighing my options carefully, trying not to leap before looking for once.”

“It’s a big step,” she agreed pensively. “But you love him, right?”

“I do.”  Even if I wanted to smack him half the time, I loved Adam enough to risk everything for him.  Just like that I decided I’d do it.  I would move in with him.  “You know what?  I’m gonna do it.  You’re right, I love him, at the end of the day that’s all that matters,” I smiled broadly.

“I am?” Daphne blinked.  “I don’t think I said…”

“I don’t know what I was so worried about.  People move in with each other every day, right?  Here I’ve been so miserable without him, and now I have the chance to see him every day.  How could I possibly pass that up?”

“He does have a place here in town though, right?”

That brought me up short.  “I think so. He didn’t talk like it was too far away.  Plus, he always got here pretty quickly whenever I called, it has to be around here somewhere.  I’ll take you for the tour once this Midian stuff is all over.”  Then I well and truly hoped it would be over, but I couldn’t help but think about Adam’s warning in Midian.  There was always a prophecy or threat of great evil.  Would I be tangled up in it for the rest of my life?

“I hope it’s not too far.  We’ll still do totally awesome Tuesdays, won’t we?”

Every Tuesday night, come rain or shine we got together at one of our places for a double feature of movies, usually with dinner, but sometimes just with munchies.  The past few weeks we’d done it at either my place or Sam’s.  Daphne’s was too cozy with the three of us, and Nelo liked to be included, but still didn’t like to venture out of my apartment.  “Of course we will.”

“What if Adam doesn’t like having company over?  Does he even like to hang around and watch cheesy movies?”

I had to admit, I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it, but he’d have to learn to alter his lifestyle a bit if I was going to move in.  “I’m sure it’ll be fine, it’s gonna be my place too, right?  I can invite people over if I want to.  Besides, we’re not talking about a raging party, just a couple of our closest friends.  What could be better than that?”

“Who would have thought we’d end up with a couple of angels?” She dimpled into a smile.  “Even Fallen ones.  It sounds like a fairy tale.”

“Just shows you should be careful what you wish for,” I smiled back, wishing her version had a happier ending.  “I should really get going.  I have a couple of stops to make before I head for home, and I wanted to be plenty well rested up for tonight.  I’ve been so tired lately. I think it’s the stress finally catching up to me.”

“Don’t push it too hard, you might be coming down with something.  Do you want me to do anything?  I can still drive the getaway car like we planned before.”

“No, no I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I’d hate to have you waiting around all alone, I have no idea how long it’ll take.”  Though with the time difference, it likely wouldn’t take long at all in reality.  Still, the last thing I wanted was her waiting alone in the dark without Sam or Matty around for protection anymore.  I could have called Parker, but something kept me from involving him. I think we needed a little space for a while.

“Alright, then call me the instant you make it back safely.” Daphne leaned in and I wrapped my arms around her for a long hug.

“I promise.”

* * *

Errands done, the apartment was quiet when I got home, and I took the opportunity to do all those girly things I liked to do when I got some time to myself.  Soaking in a hot bubble bath with a trashy romance novel involving time travel and guys in kilts, painting my toenails a pretty pink color, finally getting to the crossword puzzle in the back of my magazine… I took a guilty pleasure day, just in case.

Even though Adam didn’t need to eat, I took the time to make a special dinner for us.  Roasted chicken with balsamic vinegar, rosemary and olive oil and baby red potatoes, with fresh crusty French bread and salad on the side.  I even got a baby chocolate mousse cake for two.  On the off chance we never got to take that date to the non-Muppet movie, I wanted to have a special night with him.

Just in case.

I seemed to be repeating that in my head an awful lot that day, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was at something of a crossroads.  Once we stepped back into Midian, it was anybody’s guess what would happen.  It made me stop and appreciate all the things I had to be thankful for.

I even finished writing that email to my mother, sending it before I put it off too much longer.  Deciding not to mention Matty’s disappearance or the new love interest, I kept to as much of the truth as I could reveal.  My boyfriend was back in town, and we were talking about moving in together.  Things were serious and I was happy.  That was all she needed to know.

Around dusk, Nelo emerged from his closet, and I decided to have a little heart to heart with him before Adam showed up.  He was surprisingly hesitant over the idea of moving, but I guess I could understand his reluctance to leave the security blanket that was my apartment.  Apart from our trip back to Midian, he hadn’t set foot outside the building to my knowledge.

“Will I have a closet of my own?” he asked, amber eyes blinking wide.

“I’m pretty sure we can manage that.”

“Will Mimsy come too?”

“Yes, wherever I go, Mimsy goes too.”

“And Nelo too, Mistress?”

I heard the fear in his voice and I was quick to reply.  “Yes, wherever I go, you go too… if you want to, that is.”

“Of course I wish to, I owe my life to you.”

“No, you don’t owe me anything, Nelo.  You’ve been a really great friend.  In fact, you don’t have to do half the things you do around here for me.  You spoil me.”  I felt bad sometimes about the cleaning, but at the same time, he seemed happy to do it and my bathtub had never been so sparkly clean.

“No, Mistress.  It is you who spoil me by sharing your Grace.”

“Okay, we spoil each other,” I cut him off before he started in about how unworthy he felt.  “So, I can count you in on the great move?”

“If that is your wish and Master Adam’s as well.”

“Don’t let him hear you call him Master, he’ll start to expect it and his head’ll swell so big we won’t be able to get it through the door.”

“What else should I call him?”

“Adam is fine.”

“Talking about me, I hear,” Adam called out from the hallway, a paper bag in one arm.

“Just making some plans,” I replied, dropping a quick wink to Nelo.

“Good ones, I hope.”

“I think so.” I leaned up to be kissed, which he happily took advantage of.  “We were talking about moving in with you if the offer still stands.”

Adam’s smile broadened. “Of course it does.  Whenever you’re ready to.”

“Nelo here was wondering if you had a closet to spare, or if he’d need to find some other place to sleep.  I told him I’m sure we can rustle up something for him.”

“Yeah, in fact, I have just the place in mind for you.  How would you like your very own walk in closet?”

“I walk in to the closet I dwell in now,” Nelo frowned, not understanding.

“No, I’m talking about a closet big enough for you to make a little home in.  Bed, little chair, hell, even a TV in there if you want one.”

Nelo looked around my living room, obviously picturing something similar.  “Would it still protect me from the daylight?”

“Yes, it’d still be completely dark during the day, you’d just have more room to stretch out in.”

“Thank you, Mas… Adam,” Nelo beamed, darting a worried look at me when he nearly slipped up.  “I would like that very much.”  With a happy bounce, he disappeared to go do whatever he did when he wasn’t cleaning something or playing with Mimsy.

“Great,” Adam clapped his hands together.  “Now that’s settled, what smells so good?”

“Roasted chicken, potatoes, the whole shebang,” I reported with a smile, more than a little surprised with how Adam had been with Nelo.

“I was talking about you,” Adam kissed my neck noisily.  “You must have been reading my mind though,” he produced a bottle of wine from the paper bag.

“You were very sweet with him.”

“He might be the closest thing we ever come to having kids of our own, why shouldn’t I spoil him with his own room?”

I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before.  I guess I always thought I’d have kids of my own some day, but Adam’s prejudices in that area weren’t without merit.  Still, that was something to worry about in the far future, I wasn’t remotely ready to settle down and have kids.  Especially with the danger of the week script my life had been following.

“Besides, I have tons of space at my place.  He could also have his pick of the spare bedrooms or the pool house if he wanted.”

“You have a pool house?”

“Where else would I keep the pool stuff?” he shrugged.

“That makes sense,” I nodded, bringing our plates to the table.

“This looks fantastic, I see I’ll be well fed,” Adam grinned.  “You’re not doing this as like a last supper kind of thing though, are you, babe?”

I considered denying it, but in the end, I sat down with a half shrug.  “Maybe a little.  You never know what might happen, I thought it would be nice for us to have a good meal and savor this time, just in case.”  There is was again, that phrase.  I had to watch it, or I’d start to freak myself out.

Adam reached across the table to cover my hand with his.  “It’s gonna be fine, Mercy.  Trust me.”

“Did you get the… blood?”

“I did,” he said shortly, letting go of my hand to pour us each a glass of wine.  “Are you still set on coming with?”

“I am,” I nodded, bracing myself for another argument, but he just offered me the glass of wine.

“Well then, what shall we drink to?”

“To getting in and out easily?”

“I’ll drink to in and out,” he smirked, taking a long sip.  “But we should probably drink to surviving the trip to Midian too, don’t you think?”

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Fourteen

There was quite a bit of discussion as to where we should open the portal.  The only requirement we had was that we needed moonlight.  That meant we could open the drapes to my sliding glass door and open the portal from the comfort of my living room.  There was something to be said for the privacy and convenience of that plan.  At the same time, we had no idea what to expect from the portal itself.  It could open with a ring of fire and there was no way I’d get my cleaning deposit back if I scorched the carpet or worse.

Wherever we did it had to be nearby too.  If things went according to plan, we’d have Ben with us, and the less time we spent with him out in the open the better, especially since he’d still be trussed up with the blessed ropes to keep Azazael bound to him.

In the end we decided to do it at Sam’s apartment.  No one would be there, and with the big windows on the side of the building we’d have plenty of moonlight.  Besides, Adam was still too ticked off at Sam to care whether or not we singed his floors.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

Adam produced a glass vial, carefully pouring a single drop of blood into the ring’s recess and snapping it closed.  As we watched, the green stone turned ruby red, and I felt a thrum of energy go through my hand as the ring felt almost alive.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke aloud in the moonlight, holding tight to Nelo with my other hand in case the portal swept me away.  “Goddess Hecate, please open the portal to Midian.”

Nothing happened.

“She likes a little bit of the dramatic.  Try something like ‘Mighty Hecate, I beseech thee to open the portal to Midian in your divine wisdom’, or something.”

Was he kidding?  “Remiel said it was simpler than that.”

“For him.  She’s always had a soft spot for him.  You might have to beg a little.  Unless you want to give me the ring and let me take a shot at it?  She always did have a smile for me too,” he grinned and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.  I did not want to get into a conversation about his connections to various goddesses at that point in time.

“Divine Hecate, though we are unworthy, I beseech thee to heed our humble request,” I tried again without further comment.  “Please open this portal to Midian in your celestial wisdom, so that we may rescue a friend, and contain a great evil.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.  Have you done this before?”

“Appeal to a pagan goddess?  Not so much.  But if it’ll help I’ll dance naked on a sacrificial altar.”

“Now that I’d like to see.”

“We might have to if she doesn’t hear me,” I frowned, as a big, fat nothing happened.  “How long should this take to work?”

“Maybe she’s busy,” he shrugged.  “They get a lot of random petitions, especially at night.”

“Are you sure the blood you used was from an actual virgin?”

“Of course I am.  At least, I’m pretty sure it is,” he frowned.

We’d both seen the stone turn from green to red, that had to count for something.  Deciding to try again, I left all the flowery speech by the wayside, opting for a more heartfelt appeal.  “Hecate?  I know you’re busy, but we really need your help.  If you could please open the portal to Midian for us, we have to get our friend out, and we’re running out of time.  I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Please, please help us.”

Looking up into the empty room, my shoulders sagged in disappointment, but then a crackle of red lightning split the air in front of us.  A fissure opened up, revealing a darkened hallway, surrounded by red, sparking energy, large enough for us to step through.

“Thank you so much, I won’t forget this!” I cried out happily, stepping through without wasting another moment, trusting Adam to move quickly.  The portal closed up with a shower of red sparks the instant Adam came through, and the stone on my ring finger turned back to the original peridot color.

The first thing I noticed, besides the cooler air, was that it didn’t smell very nice in the passageway.  Maybe that had something to do with being near the “slave pens” Remiel mentioned.  “Ugh, does it always smell like this?” I tried to take shallow breaths through my mouth.

“Not everyone gets held in the lap of luxury in the penthouse suites,” Adam replied, his voice pitched low.  “Let’s get this over with.  The sooner we’re in and out, the better.”

“Do you think he’s being held in this level or somewhere more secured?”

“He’s tied up, so it’s anybody’s guess what level of security Raum thought was needed.  I suggest we check out the lower dungeons first though, I doubt he’d be kept with the slaves since he’s not at liberty to sell him.”

“I’ll follow your lead.”  Giving Nelo’s hand a little squeeze, we found the stairs without too much trouble, easily avoiding anyone in the halls by stepping into the shadows.  It helped that no one else made any effort to keep quiet, we could hear them coming from way off.

The dungeons smelled worse than the slave pens, if that was possible.  In addition to the usual human body smells, there was also the strong smell of rot, and some other unidentifiable ickiness that made me zip my hoodie up tight and breath through the fabric.  The trouble was, Ben wasn’t anywhere to be found on the lower levels.  Escaping up to the now blessedly fresher air of the slave levels, we regrouped.

“What do we do now?” I whispered.  “It’s gonna take a long time to search the rest of the palace room by room.”

“Maybe we could find someone and ask without drawing too much attention to ourselves.  What do you say, Nelo?  Feel like talking to some old friends?” Adam asked encouragingly, but I took one look at the tremor in Nelo’s thin shoulders and nixed the idea cold.

“No, we can’t ask him to do that.  He’s persona non grata down here, remember?  What if we split up?  We can cover twice the ground that way.  I can start up top and you can start down here, and we’ll meet in the middle.”  Almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth I could tell Adam didn’t care for my plan.  “It’ll be fine.  I’ll take Nelo with me, he can hide me from just about anything.”  Except for Raum, but I didn’t feel the need to point that out.

“I’d rather stick together, there are too many things that can go wrong here,” he shook his head.

“Adam, you said it yourself, the sooner we’re in and out the better.  I’ll call you if I need you and you can come to the rescue.” I gave him the same encouraging smile he’d tried with Nelo.  “It’ll be fine, I promise.  I can take care of myself, remember?”  Raising a brow, I dared him to challenge me on that.  Instead, I could see the reluctant acceptance spread over his features.

“Fine, but call me if anything strange crops up.”

“I promise, I will.”

“I’m counting on you to keep her out of sight, okay, buddy?” he wagged a finger at Nelo.

“I will gladly give my life for hers, Master Adam,” the little demon nodded solemnly.

“Come on, we’re wasting time,” I whispered, leaning up to drop a quick kiss to Adam’s lips, but he had other ideas, pulling me close for a proper kiss.  “Love you,” I whispered at his ear when he let me up for air, darting out of his grasp before I lost my nerve and went with whatever counter-plan he came up with.  “Take us to the top floor, Nelo.  Not the court, but the rooms under it.”

“As you wish, Mistress.”

We stepped into the shadows, the sensation not even fazing me anymore as we hopped from one place to another, emerging in what I’d come to think of as my old room.  It stood empty after Adam’s release, and I was glad for the moment’s privacy to gather my thoughts.  “Are you clear on the plan, Nelo?”

“Yes, Mistress.  We hop from room to room looking for Ben.  If we get into trouble, we call to Master Ad…”

I cut him off with a finger to his lips.  “Don’t say his whole name, he’ll show up here with guns blazing, expecting trouble.  But yeah, that’s the gist of it.  As long as we stick together and keep our heads, we’ll be home before you know it.”

“As you say, Mistress,” Nelo nodded, taking on a more formal tone now that we were back in his old surroundings.  Luckily, he was very familiar with the territory, and it was easy for us to slip in and out of the shadows, checking the rooms methodically.  Most of them were vacant, and I wondered who Raum kept them in reserve for.

With a pang, I noticed that Oriana’s plants looked a little wilted in her old room.  Doubtless they’d wither and die without anyone to care for them.  It was enough to make me sad for her years of incarceration there, but not sad enough to stop and water the plants.

Luck was with us, and on the second stop on the floor below, we hit paydirt.  The rooms were smaller on that level, but still nice by my standards.  Equipped with a bed and the usual furnishings, they stood untouched, as the single figure in the room sat bound to a wooden chair, his head lolling against his chest in sleep or exhaustion.  It was difficult to tell who it was at first, but at least I could see the slow rise and fall of his chest, indicating he was still alive.  His clothes were stained but unsoiled, cheeks clean shaven, indicating his basic needs had been cared for at least.

Creeping forward, I suppressed a whoop of joy once my eyes confirmed who it was.  “Ben!” I whispered happily, kneeling beside him.  His dark eyes blinked in confusion, a glorious smile spreading once he saw who it was.

“I knew you would come for me.”

“Sit tight, we’re gonna get you out of here in no time,” I promised, ducking back to study the series of knots that kept him bound to the chair.  “Nelo, see if you can find me a knife or something.”

“How long has it been, my love?  Time moves so sluggishly here, it feels as though I’ve been deprived of your beauty for an age.”

“Oh right, Azazael…”  I don’t know why I’d forgotten Azazael would be the one in control of Ben’s body.  Of course I knew we’d been keeping him bound there with the blessed ropes until the witches’ binding, but for some reason, I’d expected to talk to Ben, and I felt my spirits deflate in the fallen angel’s presence.

“Of course it is I.  Why else would you risk all to save me, my love?” he gushed, and I decided to focus on the knots, trying to touch him as little as possible.

All of a sudden it dawned on me.  Duh, I didn’t need a knife, I had my own.  With a flick of the wrist, I called forth my sword with a metallic snick.  “Hold still or I might accidentally cut something off you need,” I muttered, gratified to see his eyes widen at the sight of the glowing sword.  “Oh, you remember this, do you?  Keep on remembering, or I might decide Adam had the right of it, transporting you in an injured state to keep you more docile.”  It was an empty threat, I wouldn’t hurt Ben unless I absolutely, positively had to, and Azazael seemed to think so too.

“You would not hurt this body, you care too much for it,” he scoffed, even as he leaned away from the blade.

Being careful not to slice through the blessed ropes, I worked to free him from the chair.  “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” I replied.  “It wouldn’t be my first choice, and I’d feel really bad about it, but I would definitely hurt Ben in order to save him.”

“I found a knife, Mistress,” Nelo appeared, a small dagger in hand.

“Nevermind that, go get Adam, I’ve got Ben.”

“I am not to leave your side, Mistress.  Surely you remember that.”

“I know, but it’s time to go, so go call him before someone else shows up.”

“Ah, therein lies the flaw in your plan,” Azazael smirked, his eyes alight with amusement.  “Adamiel will not let you remove me from the prison of his making.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Adamiel is fully on board with this plan.  Especially, since we found a way to offload you and give Ben his life back.”

“You found another host body for me?” he blinked.  “That sounds promising, I was getting rather tired of this one.”

“Actually, I’m not really sure where they’re going to put you, the witches weren’t at all specific with the details of the binding.” My eyes glittered with malice, enjoying the way he squirmed at the mention of witches.  After everything he’d put me through, it was the least I could do in payback.  “Nelo, what’s the matter?  I thought I told you to go get Adam?” I frowned as the little guy stood with his eyes fixed on the door, his head canted to one side.  “Nelo?”

“They come, Mistress.  We must flee!”  Sheer terror shone from his amber eyes a split second before the door burst open and four of Raum’s guards spilled in.  The room got a lot smaller as it filled up with bodies, and I still didn’t have Ben completely free.

“Oh crap…” I breathed, grateful I at least had my sword drawn.  Guards I could probably stall until Adam got there, as long as Raum himself didn’t put in an appearance.  Speaking of which… “Adamiel?  Anytime you want to show up now would be great!” I called out nervously, stepping in between the guards and Ben’s chair.

The soldiers stared at me, as if they weren’t quite sure what to make of me in my jeans and hoodie, but the sword they recognized right enough.  Deciding to use their hesitation to my advantage, I gave it an expert swing.  Expert as in, I’d practiced that move a zillion times with Sam, not in actual battle, but I hoped they wouldn’t be able to guess that.

“Don’t come any closer,” I threatened.  “Let us go and you might escape with your lives.”

“She means it, boys, I’ve seen first hand what she can do with that sword,” Azazael offered helpfully.  “Of course, I’ve also seen first hand what Raum does to deserters, so I can appreciate the conundrum you find yourselves in.”

“Stop helping!” I hissed back at him.  It was enough to give the closest one an opening.  He lunged towards me, sword drawn and I only barely deflected it in time.  Once the clumsiness of my response was seen, the others lost their paralysis and drove forward.  Only the narrow confines of the room kept me from having to engage all of them at once.  I backed up towards the terrace door to keep any of them from circling around behind me, abandoning Ben for the moment.  “Adamiel!” I yelled a little louder, wondering what kept him.

I wish I could tell you the training I’d had with Sam paid off, I suppose in some ways it had.  I shudder to think how quickly the fight would have been over without those rudimentary skills in place.  But in reality, I was no match for veteran soldiers, even with my enhanced strength.  Only the thought that I just had to hold them off long enough for Adam to arrive kept me from throwing in the towel when the first solid hit jarred my arm so hard it made my teeth rattle.  I didn’t get a chance to try any of the offensive moves I’d learned, I was too busy trying not to lose an appendage as they drove me back, closer and closer to the edge of the terrace.

Right about then I wished I had set Azazael completely free.  Even a dangerous psycho’s help would have been preferable to dying on that terrace, and I could hear him shouting threats at them from his vantage point, still stuck to the chair.  I might have even called for Raum’s interference then if I hadn’t caught sight of Adam’s face, his eyes blazing something fierce as he burst into the room.

His righteous anger was a sight to behold as he easily dispatched the first two of the guards who pivoted to focus their attack on him.  Those brilliant blue eyes were the last thing I saw, as a blow to the side of my head sent me sailing back over the low terrace railing, pitching headlong into the open air below.

Chapter Fifteen

I’m not sure if you remember this or not, but Raum’s palace is easily thirty stories high, set into the side of mountain range.  So, a girl has plenty of time to reflect as she plummets to a hopefully swift death on the jagged rocks below.

There was time to regret that the last contact I had with my brother was to leave a nasty voicemail on his cell phone, yelling at him for being so selfish in keeping Oriana for himself.  There was time to regret not calling for Adam sooner.  Maybe if I’d called his name the instant I’d recognized we had Ben’s room, I might have averted the fight altogether.  There was time to regret splitting up with Adam in the first place and I wished I had time to hear his I told you so’s if that meant I’d get to see his face again and tell him one last time how much I loved him.

All those thoughts were fleeting, the majority of the time I spent in freefall taken up by mindless screaming as I flailed through the air.  I guessed I’d never find out if I was truly immortal like the real angels, because I was gonna bite it on that stupid rock, away from friends and family.  I wondered if Adam would have the presence of mind to take my body home for a burial service.  I didn’t want to know what passed for a funeral on Midian.

Up above I saw Adam launch himself into the sky, his great dark wings unfurling majestically and then tucking tight to his body as he hurled himself after me.  I had time to admire his beauty and grace, even as I knew with a certainty he’d never reach me in time.

And then the most wondrous thing happened.

Everything slipped into slow motion as I felt the rush of air slow, my body braced by an invisible cushion.  Before I had time to process the change, the reason for it became clear, as I caught a glimpse of snowy white wings teasing the edge of my peripheral vision.  All at once I felt them, the surge of oddly placed muscles stemming from my shoulder blades as the wings beat, slowing my descent and keeping me aloft.

My wings.

Let me say that again.  My wings.

The most comical look of disbelief swept over Adam’s features as his face loomed closer and he shot right past me, too stunned to put on the brakes.  Without understanding how I knew how to use them, I operated on instinct.  No longer in freefall, I surged higher, climbing back towards the balcony where we’d left Ben and Nelo behind.  Seconds later I felt the rush of air as Adam joined me at my side, a questioning look on his face.

I shrugged, momentarily losing my balance at the motion, but I was quick to recover, flashing him a giddy smile as I shot past him.  “You get Ben, I’ll get Nelo.”

“If there are reinforcements on that balcony you stay off of it,” he warned, his voice leaving no doubt he’d physically keep me out of harms way if I made him.

“Okay,” I nodded, still too euphoric from my near death experience to argue.  Thankfully, the balcony was deserted apart from our friends, and Adam swooped in to throw Ben over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the chair disintegrating with one good blow.

“Come on, Nelo, time to go,” I held my arms out to the overjoyed demon.  Catching him up, I hugged Nelo close to my body like a small child, taking to the sky once more.  “Any ideas where we should go to open the portal again?”

“Beats me, sweetcheeks, I’m making this up as I go since you took that swan dive.  I’d say lets focus on getting far away from the palace first before they… oh shit.”

“What?  What is it?”  Craning my neck, I looked back to see what commanded his complete attention.  The sky behind us darkened at an alarming rate, the clouds obscuring most of the horizon.  “What is that?  A storm?”

“Not a storm, my love,” Azazael replied.  “Raum sends his army after us.”

“His what?” I blinked, doing my best not to crash into Adam while I looked over my shoulder.

“His army,” Adam’s face lost all trace of its usual amusement.  “Something tells me he’s not going to let us go without a fight.”

I came to realize that wasn’t cloud cover behind us.  The sky was literally filled with winged demons, swarming and crashing together in their unruly pursuit.  “Holy Mary Mother of God…” I breathed, losing altitude as I lost all concentration on what I was doing, gripped by a suffocating panic.

“Mercy,” Adam barked, drawing my attention.  “Stay with me now, I need you to focus.  We have to stick together if we’re gonna survive this.  All we need is a few seconds of peace and quiet to get the portal open again, that means we need to buy a little time, that’s all.  We don’t need to think about engaging them.”

“That’s if she opens the portal for us this time.  She didn’t do it right away before, remember?”

“There are caves to the south,” Nelo suggested.  “If you can but lead us to one of them, I can step us into the shadows, out of sight.”

“South then,” Adam nodded, shifting his hold on Ben to call forth his sword.

“Set me free and I would stand with you, brother,” Azazael volunteered, but Adam just smacked him with the flat of his blade.

“Pipe down or I’ll knock you out myself.  I don’t need you complicating things right now.”

“What if I tried to get Hecate to open the portal up here and we could try to fly through it?” I suggested, those caves looked awfully far away.

“No good.  We have to add more blood to the ring, remember?  No, it’s best to find a way to do it on solid ground.  It’s hard enough to swing the portal anyway.”

“There Mistress, I see one,” Nelo pointed, holding fast to me with his other arm.

“I see it.  I hope it’s big enough to hold all of us,” I replied, following Adam’s lead, tucking my wings closer to my body to shoot through the air fast enough to make my head spin.  Trusting in my instincts to keep me alive, I focused on the small dark opening, not wanting to think about bugs on a windshield, should I miss my mark.

To my great relief, once I unfurled my wings again, it was easy to slow with plenty of time to sail through the opening, the tips of my wings brushing against the cave mouth.  Adam was quick to join me, immediately turning to look back at the cloud of demons hot in pursuit.

“We don’t have very long, let’s get this show on the road,” he muttered, unceremoniously dumping Ben in a heap on the ground and digging into his pocket for the little vial of virgin’s blood.  Keeping Nelo tucked against me, I pried open the jeweled cap of the ring, trying to hold my hand steady for him to pour it, my eyes on the horizon.  Blood dripped over my fingers as there wasn’t time for finesse, but the ring didn’t seem to mind; the stone turning once more from green to ruby red at the addition.  The ambient light at the mouth of the cave faded as the demons approached, blocking the view of Midian’s purple suns.

“Goddess Hecate, please, please open the gate to get back home.  We need you now more than ever.”  The tingling in my hand increased, but no red sparks came.  Adam grabbed my hand, mingling his fingers in the spilled blood.

“Hecate, I implore you, open the gate.  You wouldn’t want to see us die, would you?” he laughed nervously, eyes on the skies, heavy with the beating of a thousand dark wings.

“Hecate please!  I beg of you.  I’ll do anything you say, just open the gate!” I yelled to be heard over the growing din of the demon army, their unearthly shrieks splitting my ears.  At once, the crack of red lightning appeared, splitting the air into a jagged tear, Sam’s living room visible on the other side.

“Let’s go!” Adam shoved me towards the gate, grabbing up Ben and diving through as the first winged creatures reached the mouth of the cave.  I rolled out of the way as soon as I hit the other side, making room for Adam and Ben who came tumbling after me.  The portal snapped closed with an impressive crack of lightning, made more so by the fact that it neatly severed a screeching demon in half.

Even half a demon was scary though, its clawed hands scrabbling against the hardwood floor as it dragged its torso in my direction, trailing black, goopy ichor in its wake.  Fast as lighting, Adam towered above it, neatly lopping of its head and staking it to the floor through the heart.  I fell back against the side of the wall, clutching Nelo to me as I fought to catch my breath, waiting to see what else popped out at us next.

“What did you do?”  Adam whirled to face me, his face livid, and I recoiled from the fury there.

“What do you mean?  I got the portal open.”

“You promised her you’d do anything she wanted.  You don’t promise a capricious goddess like Hecate something open ended like that.  What the hell is the matter with you?” he demanded.

“I didn’t know what else to do.  I made a split second decision and I don’t regret it.  We’re still alive, aren’t we?”

“I told you something like this would happen,” Adam glowered, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal.

Did I say I wanted to hear his I told you so’s before?  I must have been delirious from the fall.  “Something like this?” I kicked at the demon’s head which made a squishing noise against the floor. “Or like this?” I rustled my wings, giving them a little shake as I wondered how to tuck them away again.

“Don’t do that with me.  You know perfectly well what I’m talking about.  I told you we shouldn’t have split up.  I could have handled those bozos quickly and quietly, and we could have left with no one being the wiser.  But no, you had to go all independent on me and look what happened!”

“But we’re fine, we made it.  You’re okay, aren’t you, Nelo?”  I asked the little guy, who still huddled close to my body.  Nelo nodded slowly, and I set him down on his own two feet where he stared up at my wings in wonder.  “I know, right?” I grinned at him, more than a little taken with them myself.  Did I qualify as an actual angel now?  And how come they were white when his were black?  The look on Adam’s face kept me from asking.  Besides, he probably had no idea either.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Azazael called out cheerfully, still thankfully bound to Ben’s body.

“You could have died,” Adam maintained, ignoring Azazael and the glory that was my wings equally.

“But I’m fine,” I stepped into his path, reaching for his hands.  “Better than fine even.  We won.  We got Ben out, and now we can finally put things right.”

“And what makes you think Raum won’t send his army into the world to pay us back for that?”

That brought me up short.  “He wouldn’t… can he do something like that?”  Somehow that seemed against the rules.  Otherwise, why weren’t there demons walking around openly all the time?  The only ones I’d seen were the ones who could pass for human.

“He’s not supposed to, but he’s done it before.  Granted, it’s been about three thousand years since he allowed a full scale incursion, but I’d say we’re about due,” Adam replied sourly, going back to pacing again.

“But God won’t let that happen, will he?  He’ll have to respond if Raum breaches the rules so badly.”

“He will.”  Adam’s jaw tightened, his expression bleak.  “His armies will fill the skies to re-establish the balance between good and evil.  And when that happens… God save us all.”

“That’s being a bit pessimistic, don’t you think?” Azazael snorted, trying to push himself up to a standing position awkwardly.  “Raum won’t risk out and out war, he knows he’s outmatched.  Unless Lucifer throws in with his lot and we all know that won’t happen.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.  Lucifer knows an opportunity when he sees one.  He might very well pledge his support to Raum and use the diversion to try and get back into Heaven.  Or take a larger slice of the pie up here, you never can tell what his agenda is,” Adam pointed out.

“Lucifer?” My eyes widened a little, I’d forgotten about him, but here they were, talking about him as if he was a real person.  Of course they’d both know him, they were brothers of sorts.  “We have to worry about him too?”  I sat down on the arm of one of Sam’s easy chairs, the strength suddenly going out of my legs as the adrenaline wore off.

“Mercy?” Adam immediately sank to his knees before me, worried as he searched my face.  “Are you alright?”

“Do you really think I started a war?” I whispered, hating the tremor in my voice.

“No,” he blew it off as if we hadn’t been talking about that very thing only moments before, his voice soothing.  “It’s not that big of a deal.  You’re right, Raum’s too smart to risk an all out war.”

“But he will attempt retribution, you can be certain of that,” Azazael added, smiling to himself once he’d gained his feet, only to topple over again when Adam kicked him squarely in the chest.

“Hey!  Don’t do that to Ben,” I scowled.  “Besides, he’s right.  Raum will definitely come after us again, your deal with him has got to be null and void after this.  Oh, poor Raziel… I hope he doesn’t take it out on him!  Maybe we should…”

“Not a chance,” Adam thundered.  “We are not going back there, I don’t care if they’ve got Mother Theresa, Ghandi and Justin Bieber strung up by their thumbs.  We’re staying out of Midian.  Period.”

“That sounds like the beginning of a great joke,” Azazael cackled to himself.

“You are the only joke we have to concern ourselves with here,” Adam muttered, leaving me to loom over Ben’s body.  “Are you going to cooperate until we get the witches here, or do I have to render you unconscious again?” his eyes glittered dangerously.

“I’m fairly certain you’ll want me in full possession of my faculties for the procedure,” Azazael responded sullenly.

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take.  I can always heal you in a pinch if necessary, but I’m more than happy to knock you out until then if need be.”

“Mercy, are you going to let him bully me in this fashion?” he pouted and I hauled myself to my feet, the shakes having thankfully passed.

“After everything you’ve done?  Be thankful he doesn’t turn you over to me,” I laughed.  “I think we’d better get a move on though, the solstice is coming up fast.  I’ll give the witches a call, Adam, you get Sam back here.  Nelo, do you think you could do something about that?” I nodded in the direction of the still oozing demon corpse.  The smell was starting to turn my stomach.  With some hard work and a little luck, we’d have Ben back and in shape to return to work before the week was out.

“Ah, Mercy?  Before you get anybody over here, you’d better do something about those,” Adam gestured over my shoulders to the white wings that still hung down my back.

“Oh, right.  Anybody know how to put these things away?”

“I’d be more than happy to show you,” Azazael popped up, only to get the threat of a backhand from Adam.

“I’ve got this one,” Adam tugged me away from him, Nelo already scurrying to find something to get rid of the demon’s body with.  “The wings are a natural extension of you, even more than the sword is, you just need practice to make them come and go whenever you need them to.”  He started to unbutton his shirt, more for the excuse to show off than for any real need, I suspected.  Once his torso was bare, he turned to show me his back, and I watched in fascination as his glossy, dark wings sprouted and retracted a few times.

“I still don’t get how it works with the clothes,” I murmured, but a quick check showed there were no holes in his shirt.

“Call it a divine gift.  Maybe the Big Guy didn’t want to get stuck with a lot of repair bills, who knows.  All I know is, it works, so why question it?” he shrugged.  “Now you try it.”

That was easier said than done though, I was still getting used to the idea that I could move the suckers on my own.  I spent a few moments doing just that, extending them and tucking them close to my body, enjoying the soft rush of air at the movement.

“Anytime you’re done playing…” he prompted, and I closed my eyes, trying to shut him out so I could concentrate.  Focusing on the pull of the new muscles in my back, I felt my way through the process of tucking them away.  In a rush of air, the weight of the wings was gone, and popping my eyes open, I was both pleased and saddened to find them gone.

“I did it!” I grinned, reaching back to assure myself there were no holes in my clothes either.  But could I bring them back?  Short of tossing myself out a window, I wasn’t sure how else to provoke the reaction, but the instant I tried to extend the wings again they unfurled in a snowy drape of feathers.  “That’s gotta come in handy,” I murmured, extending and retracting them a few times, to satisfy myself with how quickly I could do it.

“Great, now you’ve got a new hobby.  Hey, remind me to try this again with you in the bedroom, I’m thinking we could work out a really interesting striptease…”

I knew Adam was trying to get a rise out of me, and instead of giving him that satisfaction, I extended my wings once more, drawing them around me protectively, almost coquettishly to obscure half my face like a lady with a fan.  “We might have to do that…” I lowered my voice seductively, gratified to see him swallow in surprise.

Azazael let out a low whistle.  “Lord help us all.”

* * *

Parker showed up with Luz about a half an hour later to get a feel for the place, and I could tell something was wrong the instant she stepped over the threshold.

“We can’t do the ritual here, this is all wrong,” Luz frowned, sniffing the air delicately.

“Well, this is where it’s gonna go down, so you’d better get used to it, sweetheart,” Adam drawled, not bothering to look up from the book spread open on his lap.

Luz barely spared him a glance, her heels clicking against the hard floor as she pointed to a dark smudge on the wood.  “This is demon’s blood, no?”

“Ah, actually yes, it is.”  How could she possibly tell that?

“We need the entire area to be completely free of all negative influences if you don’t want to wind up in deeper shit than you’re already in.”

“That leaves me out,” Azazael muttered from his corner of the room and Luz clicked over to study him carefully.

“Oh no, honey, you gonna be right up close and personal to the main attraction,” her lips curved into a sweet smile.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not,” he shifted his seat a little, craning his neck to look up at her.  “My God, but you’re stunning… I don’t suppose you’d fancy a change of sides?  We could have a good time together, you and I.”  Azazael’s charming smile was slightly marred by the growing bruise on the side of his borrowed face.

“Sorry, I don’t do cowards who steal other’s bodies to do their dirty work.  I only like one man inside of me at a time,” her lips twisted into a wry grin.  “Don’t worry, we gonna take good care of you, keep you safe for a long, long time.”  Luz patted his cheek firmly.

“Isn’t she something?” Parker whispered by my side, and I realized I’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Yeah, I’m glad she’s on our side,” I agreed wholeheartedly.  “So, um… back to the binding ritual.  Isn’t there some way to purify the room?  We have some time, right?  The solstice isn’t for two days.”

“No, mira, it would take too much time for something like that.  It’s not as simple as scrubbing the room down with bleach and burning some sage.  We’ll have to work to purify any room we use, it’s better if we can start with less evil seeped into the bones.”

“What about the club?” Parker offered.  “I’ve got plenty of space, and I can shut it down for one night, no big deal.”

“That’s really sweet of you to offer, but I don’t think that’s the best idea.  It’s kinda public, and if something goes wrong…” I shook my head.  “Besides, we need a place not too far from here.  We’ll need to transport Ben wherever it is, and not only the cops are looking for him, but Raum’s thugs too.”

“I can handle the transport, no one will see a thing,” Adam replied confidently.  “She’s right though, somewhere a little more private would be best.  What about your place?”

“My place,” I repeated, not entirely happy with the notion, but it made sense.  “We can do that.  How much room do you need?”

“Enough to form a circle, and we’ll want cleared floor space just in case.”

I didn’t like the sound of that ‘just in case’, but I was well familiar with it lately.  “Alright, how about we go back to my place then and you can check it out, see if it’ll work for your purposes, and if not, we’ll have to think of somewhere else.  Adam, are you okay to stay here with… him?” I jerked my thumb towards Ben/Azazael.

“Yeah, I’m good.  There are a few things I wanted to check on, so I’ll keep myself out of trouble.”

I considered asking him what he was looking through Sam’s old books for, but I had the feeling he might not tell me, and I didn’t want to risk that embarrassment in front of Parker and Luz.  “I’ll call you later then and let you know where we’re having it for sure.”

“Remember, you owe me a striptease later,” his eyes flashed playfully.

“How could I forget?”

Chapter Sixteen

I have always considered myself to be a fairly open minded individual.  Still, if you’d told me a year before that I’d be entertaining a room full of witches, I’d probably have laughed my ass off.  Parker and Daphne were on hand to help move furniture out of the way and generally help me keep my nerves under control as they arrived.

Sam was conspicuously absent, he wanted nothing to do with the ‘dark arts’, as expected.  Nelo stayed tucked away out of sight as well, even though it was full on dark outside, not wanting to make himself known to so many humans with power.

In preparation, Luz had been burning sage to help purify the room, and drew an intricate circle on the floor using knotted string, with a smaller circle inside of it, large enough for one person.  She could have drawn it with chalk if I didn’t have carpet, she explained, but the protection circle was necessary to keep Azazael trapped when they forced him out of Ben.  My breakfast bar looked like a curio shop exploded all over it, literally covered with little bottles and jars of herbs and oils, candles, and incongruously, a pink plastic jewelry case.

There were seven witches in all, including Luz, obviously friendly with each other for the most part and I had to wonder if they were part of a witchy club.  Did they regularly meet for potions and cookies?  Was it business as usual for them, or was my fallen angel problem a rarity in the supernatural community?

I recognized the blonde from the pagan shop Daphne and I visited.  What was her name…?  Summer.  Feeling a little guilty for having frozen her in the shop that day, I avoided all eye contact with her, and she seemed inclined to ignore me as well, looking away the one time our eyes inadvertently met.  Daphne was less restrained, chatting easily with a few of them while Parker flirted with Luz.

I don’t think I’d ever felt more uncomfortable in my own apartment.  Even Mimsy disappeared for parts unknown, possibly hiding under the bed, or in the closet for all I knew.  For a brief moment, I wished I could join them until it was all over.  All we needed was the guest of honor, but Adam hadn’t shown up with Ben yet.

A knock sounded at the door, and I let out a long sigh of relief when it immediately opened, expecting to see Adam with Ben slung over his shoulder.  Instead, a familiar voice turned my insides to ice.  “Hello?  Merceline?  I’m here, baby.”

“Mom?”  It couldn’t be her… my luck wasn’t that bad, was it?  My mother hadn’t set foot into my apartment in… I couldn’t remember the last time she’d come to visit.  It was always Matty and I taking the long drive down to see her.  “What are you doing here?” I asked, finally breaking free from my paralysis to scoot past the room full of staring witches before she got too far into the apartment.

“That’s a fine greeting.  You’re going to make these people think you’re not happy to see me.  Are you having a party?”  She looked around with interest and the witches moved as one to block the view of the circles.

“Um… sort of.  You know you really should have called, I could have come to pick you up at the airport.”

“I told your brother I was coming.” She tried to look past me, obviously more than a little interested in what all those people were doing there and I could tell the ‘party’ premise was wearing a little thin.  No one had drinks in their hands, there wasn’t any music playing, and there was only one guy present.  “Didn’t he tell you I was arriving today?”

I swore under my breath in every language I could think of, including a few nonsense words for good measure.  The next time I saw Matt I was going to flay him alive.  “Mama, Matty isn’t here…”

“You invited me to come up for the holiday, didn’t you?”

“Thanksgiving was last month, Mom,” I reminded her gently, but she was unfazed.

“I know, but I didn’t want to intrude when you’re so busy.”

“We would have been happy to have you here.”  Typical, she used that excuse more times than I could count and I suspected her no-show for Thanksgiving was less about her not wanting to intrude and more about her having other plans.

“It couldn’t be helped, Marie was useless in the kitchen without me.  You know how she is with a house full of people.  Oh honey, look at your eyes!  Why would you want to cover them up with fake lenses when you have such beautiful big brown eyes?  Go and take those ridiculous things off,” she waved me away and I blinked at her, absorbing the criticism.  Luckily, her mind moved on to something else just as quickly.  “This is a surprise party for Matty then?” she eagerly looked around me.

“Hi, Mrs. Renault,” Daphne came forward with a ready smile, and I was glad to have the back-up.  “It’s nice to see you again.  Did you have a nice flight?”

I pounced on the opening, anything to get her out of there.  “Yes, you must be tired from the trip.  How about I take you down there to rest for a bit and we can have a nice visit tomorrow?”

“Don’t be silly, I’m staying here with you.”

“With me?” my face fell.

“Of course, I can’t stay with your brother, not now.”

Not now… There was a disconnect somewhere, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  “When did you talk to Matty, Mama?”

“Just the other day.  I was so excited to hear about the wedding!  I can’t wait to hear all about the girl that won my baby’s heart.  Tell me, have you met her?  Of course you have, the two of you were always so close,” she gushed, and I stood there, my mental process painfully slow.

“Wedding?  Matty’s told you he’s marrying her?”  I had to have heard that wrong.  It made no sense, he hardly knew Oriana.

“Of course, that’s why I came right up.  I had to meet my new daughter-in-law.  Is she here?” She craned her head again, looking at the other women in the room with interest.  When no one stepped forward, her gaze fell to Parker.  “Is this your beau, Merceline?” She brushed past me to offer her hand to him.  “You’re a very handsome boy, but don’t think I condone you living in sin with my daughter.  When are the two of you going to get married?”

Parker’s smile froze even as he accepted her hand, and I think she managed to stun him out of a response.

Everything was spiraling out of control and all of a sudden I couldn’t take it any more and I lost it.  “Mom, that’s enough!” I froze her in place, putting an end to the uncomfortable string of questions and giving me some much needed time to think.  Unfortunately for Parker, he got sucked into the effect, maybe because they were shaking hands.  For whatever reason, he froze in that same instant, leaving the rest of us to gape at them.

“That!  That’s what you did to me!” Summer exclaimed, pointing at the still figures, and I briefly considered doing it to her again to get her to shut up.

“I’m sorry, it’s like an instinctive response.  It’s totally harmless, it’ll wear off in a few minutes.  Well, you already know that,” I shrugged.

“I’m not doing this, Luz.  I can’t believe you talked me into coming here in the first place,” Summer muttered, looking for her bag and slinging it over her shoulder with short, angry movements.

“Wait, what’s going on?  What’s the problem?” My brows drew together in confusion.  When did I become the bad guy?

“Calmate,” Luz’s hands came up in a supplicating gesture.  “You know this is the right thing we are doing here.  You can’t leave now, we won’t be able to bind him without your strength.”

Summer hesitated, and I stepped up with what I hoped was a contrite look on my face.  “Hey, look I’m sorry if I freaked you out.  I tried to tell you I wasn’t making fun of you in the store.  You’re the one who flew off the handle, I was just looking for some help.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to override people’s bodies whenever you want to,” she insisted, holding tight to her grudge.

“We have the right to do whatever we want, we’re divine beings,” Adam called out from the hallway, joining the conversation without skipping a beat.  I was torn between relief that he’d shown with Ben in tow and wishing he’d kept his mouth shut as Summer immediately bristled, but at least two other witches looked happy to see him.  Would I never escape his exes?  “Hello, ladies,” he grinned, striding past my mother and Parker to deposit Ben on the couch tucked into the corner of the room.  “I see I’m in time for the festivities.”  He rubbed his hands together briskly, eyes lighting on my mother.  “What did I miss?”

“Little bit of a hiccup, my mom decided to drop in for Matty’s wedding,” I replied evenly and he didn’t skip a beat.

“Yeah?  Remind me to buy him an ugly blender or something.  Let’s get this show on the road.”

“We need to get rid of my mother first, I can’t have her waking up in the middle of it all.”  Did he really not see that?

“I can take her out of here when she wakes up,” Daphne offered.  “Maybe on the excuse that we need to go to Matty’s for something for the party?”

“Thanks, Daph, that’s a great idea,” I smiled, grateful for the help.  “Parker can go with you since she thinks he’s my boyfriend.”  I noticed Luz’s lips curve at that statement, but I didn’t have time to explain to his current girlfriend why that was preferable to her meeting Adam with him standing right there.

“Again with Parker posing as your guy.  You know, I’m gonna end up with a complex over this,” Adam frowned, but I ignored his upset too.

“Adam, you take Ben to my bedroom, stay out of sight until she wakes up.  I don’t want her freaking out with new people suddenly in the room.”

“You still intend to go through with this?” Summer frowned, and I could tell she’d been hoping for an excuse to get out of it.

“Absolutely we are.  We only get one shot at this, am I right?” I looked to Luz for confirmation and she nodded somberly.  “Tonight’s the night.  Even if I have to keep my mother tied up in the closet, we’re gonna get Azazael out of Ben before it’s too late.”  I inched closer to the witch.  “I know you’re not particularly fond of me, and you can give me a plague of boils later if it makes you feel better.  But we really, really need your help to get this binding done.  Will you do it?”

There was a long, pregnant pause as we all waited for her to reply.  Finally, she dropped her bag back on the floor with a dramatic sigh.  “Fine, I’ll do it.  But I’m not doing it for you,” she scowled, but I didn’t care, as long as she agreed to help with the binding.

“Adam, can you please take him?” I gestured to Ben who still sat slumped on the couch.  It had escaped my attention until then that he was either unconscious or sleeping very deeply, but I didn’t ask why at the time. I could guess it had something to do with Azazael’s mouth.

“Yeah, I’ve got him,” he sighed, hefting him over his shoulder again and disappearing into the bedroom scarce seconds before my mother and Parker unstuck in time.  My mother blinked at finding me across the room, but I quickly returned to her side.

“Mom, there’s plenty of time to discuss all that later.” I gently pulled her away from Parker’s outstretched hand.  “For now, I need you to go with Daphne, to…” I looked up at my best friend in a panic.

“You know what, Mrs. Renault?  You’re right, this is a party.  And we need to go pick Oriana up from Matty’s place.  Why don’t you come with me, I’m sure she’d love to meet you,” Daphne smiled, drawing her towards the door.

“Actually Adam, why don’t you go too?” I tugged at Parker’s elbow, willing him to play along.  “You know guys aren’t allowed at a bridal shower anyway.”

“Right.  Because I’m your boyfriend,” Parker nodded, catching on quickly.  “Yeah, I’ll drive.  Have you ever been in a Camaro before, Mrs. R?” he added with a charming smile, to which my mother dimpled in reply.

“It’s been more years than I care to admit to,” she giggled. “But I wouldn’t mind taking a spin in one.”  Whatever her agenda in coming to see me, it was immediately forgotten under the power of his smile.

“You three had better scoot then.  Here, take my keys, let yourselves in to Matty’s place in case she’s not there yet.  You know how brides are, they have so many things to attend to, she might be running late.” I thrust the keys into Parker’s hand, whispering near his ear.  “I’m sorry, thank you!”

“You got it, darlin’,” Parker grinned, leaning down to steal a quick kiss to my cheek before concentrating his attention on my mother again.  “I’ll let you ride shotgun, Mrs. R.”

Once the door was firmly shut and I could hear them moving off noisily to the stairs, I offered the witches an embarrassed smile.  “I’m so sorry about that, you guys.  Do you need more time to re-cleanse the room or anything?”

“I think we all need to re-center ourselves, yes,” Luz nodded, already breaking out another bundle of sage, and I wondered how long it was going to take to get the smell out of the drapes.

“Okay, I’ll go check on Ben.”  A quick look in my bedroom found Ben still passed out, dumped in the corner against the wall with Adam stewing to himself on the edge of the bed.

“What did I tell you about making blanket statements like that?” he demanded, and I wondered what I’d done wrong now.  It seemed like he was angry with me all the time.

“What are you talking about?”

“You invited a bitchy witch to give you a plague of boils?  Not a good look, I can vouch for that.”

Was that all?  “She’s not going to do it, she’s just mad ‘cause I froze her once.  Besides, if I get boils you can heal me back to normal, right?” I sank down onto the bed beside him, laying back to close my eyes for a moment.

“Yeah, but… eewh.  Kind of a mood killer, don’t you think?”  I felt him lay down beside me, but I was too tired to look up at him.  “I’m sorry. I worry about you, okay?”

“I know,” I murmured, pressing the heel of my hand against my temple, which throbbed dully.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Hearing the concern in his voice, I popped my eyes open, giving him a wan smile.  “I’m tired and ready for this to all be over.  My mother showing up just makes it that much more fun to deal with.”

“It seems like you’ve been tired a lot lately.”

“It’s probably stress. I feel like I’ve been going, going, going nonstop for as long as I can remember.”  Or maybe I was coming down with something?  It wasn’t just feeling sleepy, I felt achy and sore all over, like maybe I had the flu but didn’t know it yet.  I hadn’t been sick much since getting the Grace, and I suppose I thought maybe I was immune to most sicknesses.  I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or glad to find out I was human enough to catch the flu.

“Are you ashamed of me?”

“What?” I turned to look at him, his out of the blue question catching me off guard.  “Why would you even ask me that?”

“Well, because you’ve been telling everyone Parker is your boyfriend, and you didn’t want your mother to meet me.”  The way he said it caught at my heart.  Sort of off hand like it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I could see in his eyes he was serious.  He really thought I was ashamed of him.

“No, Adam, I’m really not.”  Leaning up, I cupped the side of his face, bringing it closer to mine.  “I only told the cops I was with Parker because I didn’t want them looking into your identity too closely.  That and there was the fact that I had no idea what name you were using, remember?  If anything, I’d say I’m a little ashamed of my mother, not the other way around.  As much as I hate to say so… I admit, I don’t particularly like the idea of you spending too much time with her.  Not because I’m ashamed of you, but because I don’t want you looking too close into what a future with me might be like.  I’ve already got a crazy brother who took off to marry a witch and now my mom pops up out of nowhere and she’s… well, she can be a lot to handle sometimes.  I have a hard time with her, and I’m genetically predisposed to love her.  I’m sorry if I made you feel bad over any of it, that wasn’t my intention.”

“Ah, Mercy,” he kissed the side of my head. “I don’t care if you have a crazy family.  Look at mine.  That’s my brother squatting inside Ben’s body right now.  My heavenly father kicked me out because he didn’t like my wife, another brother killed her and I’ve got another one running Hell. I’m not one to talk.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” I smiled, tilting my face up to receive his soft kiss.  “I’ll introduce you to her if that’s what you want.  To be honest, she’ll probably breeze out of here as quickly as she came, and we won’t see her for years at a time.”

“Then it’s fine, you can let her think Parker is me if that makes it easier.  After we get Ben all squared away I’m taking you away for a week or two of rest and relaxation, no arguments.”

“That sounds nice,” I smiled, not wanting to bring up work or responsibilities.  It was nice to pretend I could take off at a moment’s notice and not have to face any consequences.  “Where would we go?”

“I’m still up for that Fiji idea if it gets you into a bikini, but lady’s choice.”

“Wow, that sounds tropical.  We’ll have to put some serious thought into that.  Do you think we could…”

“Con permiso,” Luz knocked on the door as she poked her head in.  “We’re ready to begin.”

“Can we still go ahead with him like that?” I asked jerking my head towards Ben who slumped in the corner.

“It’s fine.  In fact, it’ll make it easier if he holds still.  Don’t worry, it’s gonna be pieces of cake,” she winked, ducking out of the room again.

“Hear that, hon?  It’s gonna be pieces of cake,” Adam grinned, pushing himself up to his feet.  “Don’t sweat it, Mercy, let the professionals handle it from here.  Just stay out of the way and we’ll be planning that vacation in no time.”

I followed Adam out of the room, watching as he carefully propped Ben into a seated position inside the inner circle of string.  Amazingly, he sat well enough in a cross legged position without toppling over.  The witches gathered inside the outer circle once Adam was clear, and I had to wonder… was that designed to keep them safe inside?  What did that mean for me and Adam?  He didn’t look at all worried though, so I tried not to think about it too much.  Sensing my mood, Adam picked up my hand and gave it a little squeeze, and I was grateful for the support.

Though the lights were all off, my living room was ablaze with the soft, flickering light from two dozen candles easy, some within the circle and some outside.  Each of the witches held something in their hands, but I couldn’t quite make out what that was.     Most of the ritual went right over my head, even though Luz spoke in a ringing voice.  There was a lot of talk about the elements and the invocation of what I assumed was deities or maybe spirits?  I didn’t think it was a good time to ask Adam for a running commentary.

I can’t really explain what it was like when I felt the tingle of magic in the air.  Like too much static electricity before a storm?  That’s almost right, but not quite.  It didn’t make the hairs stand up on my neck or my skin crawl, but the air felt… alive in a way I’d never experienced before.

All at once, the witches tossed their items into the inner circle and then joined hands, chanting as one in a language I didn’t recognize.  As I watched, the little pink jewelry box materialized in the inner circle next to Ben.  As in, one second it wasn’t there, and the next instant it was.  I never would have believed it if I hadn’t been looking right there the whole time.  The chanting intensified, the air growing colder, and I could hear a clap of thunder outside.  The flash as lightning split the sky made me jump, and Adam let go of my hand to wrap an arm around my shoulder.

A miniature funnel cloud rose from the center of the circle, starting as little more than a wisp of air, gathering form and strength as it rose higher.  Instead of stirring the contents of the room, we were protected by the circle of rope, but Ben’s hair and clothes whipped crazily, and I heard him moan in discomfort.  Darker and darker, it congealed to a near solid mass, writhing and churning as the tail end of it got caught inside the plastic box.  As though the cloud was alive, it struggled, fighting the inexorable tug as it slowly slid into the box.  Until finally it was completely contained, and the box snapped shut with a click.

Chapter Seventeen

All at once, the chanting stopped and a collective sigh went through the room, followed by whoops of success as the witches high fived each other and general congratulations were shared.

“Is that it, is it done?”  It seemed almost anti-climactic.  Was that little plastic box really supposed to hold Azazael forever?

“We did it,” Luz nodded, her grin a mile wide as she shared a hug with one of her sisters.  “He won’t be bothering you again.”

It sounded almost too good to be true.  “How can you tell?  I mean, no offense, but how do we know it really worked?”

She picked up the box, inspecting it carefully before holding it out to me.  “He’s in there alright.”

“What do we do with this?” I accepted the box with my fingertips, not so sure I wanted to touch it.

“Keep it safe,” she shrugged.  “Don’t worry, no one will open it by mistake, it’s spelled shut.”

“Good to know,” I murmured.  “Are you sure this thing is strong enough?  Why’d you pick a flimsy plastic box?”

Luz laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.  “It’s definitely strong enough.  We had to use something completely manmade.  Any natural elements and he might have found a way to slip through, but this… this will hold him until the end of time.  Trust me, it’s not something you need to worry about anymore.  Your friend here might need a little help adjusting to being back in control of his body again though.  He’s going to be confused to say the least.”

“Will he remember what happened while Azazael was in there?”

“You’ll have to see.  It depends on how much control Azazael took of him.  Parker said he still had access to Ben’s memories, that’s a good sign.”  Luz took me apart from the others, lowering her voice.  “If you need me for anything, to talk, or if you need some advice, you can always call me,” she smiled warmly, and I found myself smiling back.

“Thanks, I appreciate that.  Maybe we can get together sometime and hang out in a completely normal capacity?  Especially if you’re seeing Parker.  I hope you don’t mind that I sorta borrowed him tonight.”  I didn’t care what Adam intimated about witches having their own agendas, so far Luz hadn’t steered me wrong and I had a good feeling about her.

“No te preocupas, it’s fine,” she laughed.  “It was worth it to see the look on his face when your mama asked him if you were going to get married.  I would like that very much.  We’ll stay in touch, no?” she laid her hand over mine, giving it a brief squeeze.  “For now, I think your friend needs you and I have to get home to my kids.”

Ben shifted out of his cross legged position with a groan.  “Hang on to this,” I thrust the pink box into Adam’s hands as I knelt down in front of Ben.  “Ben?  Is that you?”  There was a dark tinge to his aura that hadn’t been there before, but I supposed that was to be expected after having someone else inhabiting his body for so long.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he groaned again, but I was glad to see the corner of his mouth tug up into the ghost of his old smile.

“Let’s give him some room here, he’s been through quite a bit.”  I helped Ben to his feet, waving back the curious stares of witches who lingered in my apartment.  Ordinarily I might have liked to share a celebratory drink with them, but at the time all I wanted was a little peace and quiet to see how bad the damage was.  “I wish I could take you guys all out for a drink in thanks, but I think I’d better take care of Ben first.  Thanks again, you guys, for your help, I appreciate it more than I can say.”  There was a ring of dismissal to my voice that thankfully Adam picked up on.

“Actually, here ladies, the first few rounds are on me,” he peeled off a few bills from his wallet and handed them over to Luz.  “I’ll take it from here.”

There might have been more said between them, but I was busy helping Ben to my bedroom to lie down.  “God, Ben, I don’t even know where to begin.  I’m so sorry about all of this,” I apologized, removing the blessed ropes that had pinned his arms for far too long.  Ben’s anguished cry of pain at finally moving his arms cut straight to my heart, and I grabbed hold of them to keep him from moving too much yet.

“Wait, no, let me help you first.”  Hurrying to ground myself, I sent healing energy, repairing the damage from long months of disuse.  Feeling Ben relax beside me, I sent him more calming Grace, wanting him to be as comfortable as possible; it was the least I could do.  When I let go of him, he looked almost tranquil, his eyes half lidded.

I searched his face for some sign that the Ben I knew was still there, or if he hated me for what he’d had to go through.  Not that I would have blamed him one bit if he did.  “How are you feeling?”

“Like I just went ten rounds with Tyson.”  He windmilled his arms a few times, wincing at the residual soreness.

“How much do you remember?”

“I remember getting shot.  The rest of it is… a little blurry.”

Azazael had been firmly in control when the gun went off, so that was a fair sign that he remembered at least some of it.  “So, do you understand what happened?  Where you’ve been?”

Ben let out a long breath.  “I know a little more about Azazael than I want to, that’s for sure.  I don’t remember much about that other place… was that Midian?”

“The gist of it is, Azazael commandeered your body and we had to trap him there to keep him from jumping out and trying to come after me again.  Adam took you to Midian for safekeeping, but as soon as we found a way to trap Azazael for good, we busted you free.  Does that sort of line up with what you remember?”  I left out the parts where I’d stabbed him with my sword, or the fact that he’d been in Midian for weeks of our time, and that the police had linked me to his disappearance.  One thing at a time.

“I remember coming to see you at Eden. I remember telling you that I love you,” he replied, looking up at me with what might have been hope behind the pain in his eyes.

“I thought that was Azazael talking.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

Isn’t.  Not wasn’t.  I could hear the witches leaving outside in the living room, Adam making small talk as he herded them out.  It was as good a time as any to get into it.  “Ben, I…”

“No, hear me out,” he picked up my hand, cradling it in his.  “I know you’re with Adam. I heard all of that, and I’ve seen the two of you together through Azazael colored glasses.  I can’t help but feel like I never had the chance to try and make things right with you before he swooped in and stole you away from me.”

“It wasn’t like that…”

“I know I was stupid and stubborn, and I pushed you away before.  I’ll always have to live with that.  But I still love you, and even after all this craziness, I want to be with you, if you’ll have me.”  Lifting my hand to his lips, he laid a soft kiss to the back of my fingers.

Of all the things he could have said… I expected him to rant and rave, for him to threaten me with prosecution for abduction or worse.  But love… after everything he’d been through.  I didn’t know what to think.  “Ben,” I tried again.  “You said you heard me tell Azazael that I’m with Adam, that hasn’t changed.  I’m sorry, but I love him.  I risked everything to break him out of Midian because we belong together.”

“You broke me out too.”

I stopped him before he picked up too much steam behind that idea.  “That’s because I couldn’t leave you there forever, it wouldn’t be right.”

“Because you still have feelings for me,” he insisted with an open smile.

“Ben… please, try to hear what I’m saying.  I’m sorry things got so screwed up between us, and I’m sorry you ended up suffering so much because of me.  But I’m not going to date you, because I’m with Adam.”  I didn’t know how to say it more plainly than that without yelling.

“You know he’ll end up hurting you in the end.”

I let out a long, pent up breath of frustration.  Why did he have to make things so difficult?  “You can’t know that.  Besides, sometimes love is worth the risk.”

“Exactly,” he brightened.  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.  Love is worth the risk.”  Before I knew it, he leaned over to cover my mouth with his, his hand coming up to catch hold of my neck, binding me to him.  Even though I shoved him away, breaking the kiss as soon as I recovered from the surprise move, the damage had been done.

“What the hell is this?” Adam demanded from the doorway, and I didn’t like the look on his face.  Instead of anger, I saw a deadly calm so detached, it scared the hell out of me, even though it was leveled at Ben, not me.

“Adam… it’s not what you think.”

“Then I’m not interrupting a tender moment between you and your ex?  More professions of love?”

Okay, so it kind of was what he thought…

“What’s the matter, you can’t stand the idea of a little competition?” Ben stood up, putting himself between Adam and me.  “Is that why you stuck me away in that hellhole?”

“There is no competition, Mercy is mine,” Adam smirked, but there was no smile behind his eyes.  Ben held his ground, undaunted by Adam’s confidence.

“You’d better do your best to hold onto her then, because I’m here now, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get her back.”

“Oh, you want to go a few rounds?  I’ll show you who’s the better man,” Adam growled, losing the thin veneer of calm to take a threatening step towards Ben, who didn’t back down in the slightest.  Slipping in between them, I placed hand on their chests, prepared to blast them if need be.

“Enough with the testosterone fest, you’re both manly and impulsive.  Now how about you back off?”

“He wants to play, I’m just trying to be accommodating,” Adam ground out between clenched teeth.

“This is between the two of us, Mercy.  Why don’t you move out of the way and let us settle it like men.” Ben didn’t back off either and I gave him a little shove.

“I’m trying to save your life, dummy.  He’s not playing, no matter what he says.” I tried to make Ben understand, but he had that obstinate look on his face, the one there was no reasoning with.  “Fine. Adam, can you please go?”  If I couldn’t count on Ben to see reason, the only solution seemed to be removing one of the irritants.

“You’re picking him over me?” Adam blinked in astonishment, and I hated the vulnerable look behind his eyes at the accusation.

“I knew you still had feelings for me,” Ben crowed in vindication, and I shot him a look worth a thousand daggers.

“Would you shut up a minute?” I scowled, at the end of my patience, making an effort to soften my expression before I turned back to Adam.  “No, I’m not.  In fact, I just got done telling him the exact opposite.”

“Then why…?”

“Ben, would you please excuse us for a minute?  Help yourself to whatever you need, take a shower, get some rest, make yourself at home, okay?”  I pushed Adam out of the room, leaving a very smug looking Ben unbuttoning his shirt.

“I can’t believe you’re sending me away and letting him stay here.” Adam was livid, and I kept pushing him backwards until we reached the kitchen for a little bit of privacy.

“Look, I’m sorry, but the two of you clearly don’t get along.”

“Then send him home!”

“Can you please give him a break?” I lowered my voice.  “He’s been here for like five minutes and you’re ready to throw him out on the street.”

“Not the street, he has a home to go to.”

“Which is under police surveillance, like my place, remember?  We need to keep him out of sight until he can adjust to getting back and we figure out what we’re going to tell the cops.”

“Fine, then I’m staying too.  I don’t like the idea of leaving the two of you alone together.”

“Oh, for crying out loud… What do you think is going to happen?  Do you think I’m going to jump into his arms the moment you leave the room?  I feel like I’m talking ‘til I’m blue in the face but neither of you is listening.  You won, moron.  Can’t you be the better man and be gracious to him?”

“I don’t care, I don’t trust him.”

“Fine, then the two of you stay, I’m leaving.”  Sure, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on my couch and get some rest, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen in the near future.

“Where are you going?”

“To my brother’s to try and figure out how to deal with my mother when she finds out Matty and his bride are MIA.”  Because crazily enough, that looked like more fun than staying and watching Adam and Ben duke it out.  I found my coat and tugged it on, slipping the keys into my pocket while Adam watched with a frown.

“I’ll come with you then.”

“No, someone should stay here with Ben and my mom doesn’t know who you are.”  Besides, I needed a little space while they both cooled their jets.  “Get Sam to come and relieve you if you don’t want to stay long, but don’t leave Ben alone.  He needs our protection and our compassion, and if you can’t manage that, then at least give him your silence.”

“Mercy…”

“I’ll call you later, but don’t expect me home tonight. I’ll crash at Matty’s.”

“Mercy, don’t go like this.”  Adam caught my arm, pulling me back to press me up against the wall.  “I’m sorry.  I’ll behave if he does, but I can’t guarantee I won’t retaliate if he starts something.”

“Be the better man.” I looked up into his blue eyes, pleading with him to behave for my sake if nothing else.

“I am the better man.”

“Then you shouldn’t have any problem being nice to him,” I grinned, tipping my lips up to meet his for a brief kiss.  “I love you.”

“You’d better,” he growled, delivering a searing kiss, effectively branding me as his own.

* * *

A little preoccupied by that kiss, I sat in the car while it heated up, thinking over the night’s events.  In theory, we were home free now.  Ben was back in the world and Azazael bound away from wreaking any more havoc in my life.  Even though Ben’s new fixation with me might prove worrisome, at least it was a regular problem, not anything steeped in the supernatural.  Eventually he’d get the hint I wasn’t about to leave Adam for him and he’d move on.

My mother’s visit was another can of worms I’d rather not have opened, but I suppose I was long overdue for a visit anyway.  Better to let her see I was fine and happy, so she could go back to California satisfied I hadn’t screwed my life up more than any normal human being.

Deciding to call Daphne to make sure things were okay, I dialed her number while the car slowly warmed up.  “It’s done,” I said simply, not sure if she had me on speaker phone or in mixed company.

“Oh good, and did everything come out… the way you wanted it to?”

“More or less,” I admitted, leaving out Ben’s attraction for the moment.  “How are things going there?  Is she talking your ears off?”

“Oh yeah, we’re having a great time,” she replied, and it didn’t even sound all that forced.  “Your mom and Adam are looking through some old photo albums she brought with her.”

“Oh God… I can imagine how he’s loving that.”  Parker wasn’t exactly known for enjoying familial bonding.

“Actually, I think he’s having a good time pretending to be Adam, you should hear some of the stuff that’s coming out of his mouth,” she giggled, and I hoped like hell she was out of range of their hearing.

“I can hardly wait.  Listen, tell her I’m on my way and then we’ll find her a nice motel somewhere.  On second thought, I’ll have her crash there with me, that’ll probably make her happy.  Tell her Oriana got hung up somewhere and didn’t make it to the party so we had to cancel it.”

“Okay, will do.  Do you want us to stay with her until you get here?”

“No, she’s a grown woman, she should be fine as long as she doesn’t go wandering the streets in that neighborhood at night.  Just make sure she’s got food, or have Parker loan her some cash to send out for a pizza and I’ll pay him back later.”

“I’ll tell Parker and then head on home. I know Sam is dying to know how everything came out, even if he won’t admit it,” she laughed and I hated to be a buzzkill, but something told me she wasn’t about to have the PG-13 romantic evening she had in mind.

“Oh… I think Sam might be at my place watching over Ben.”

“Why does Ben need watching over?  I thought it worked out fine.”

“It did, but he’s not quite himself yet, plus we don’t know if Raum’s gonna send anyone after him.  I thought it’d be best if someone was with him, and Adam is… not the best candidate.”  Understatement of the year…

“Ah, I guess I can understand that.  Do you mind if I hang with Sam at your place then?”

“No, not at all.  In fact, I got a new half gallon of Chocolate Explosion chilling in the freezer all ready to go for you.”

“Sweet!  I’m going to get going then.  Call me later when things settle down.”

“Yeah, absolutely.  Thanks again, Daph.  Hopefully the worst is over and we can all get a little well deserved R and R.”

Chapter Eighteen

Daphne was gone by the time I let myself into Matty’s apartment, but I was surprised to see Parker still on the couch with my mom.  “Hey… I didn’t think you’d still be here, I know you had to get to that thing.”  I tried my best to give him an out, but he didn’t seem all that interested in an immediate extraction.

“I couldn’t leave your mom all alone here, what kind of boyfriend would I be?” he flashed me a quick wink.  “Besides, we’ve been looking through some old pictures of your family.  Very illuminating…”

“Funny.” I stuck my tongue out at him, squeezing next to him on the small sofa.  “You didn’t have to lug those books up here, Mom.  I have most of them scanned into my computer.”

“But this way we can enjoy them all together,” she smiled, turning to the next page.  “Remember this trip to Disneyland?  You were so little… Daddy didn’t want to let you go in the haunted house but you insisted.”

“I remember I had nightmares for a week, but it was worth it,” I grinned, looking down at the plastic covered pictures.

“We should definitely go sometime, hon,” Parker smiled as if it was the best idea ever.  “I never made it out there as a kid, but it looks like a lot of fun.”

“I… didn’t think that would be up your alley.” My brows narrowed at him, knowing what was coming next.

“Oh, you should definitely come next summer!” my mother gushed happily even as I cringed inside.  “You can stay with me and Marie on your way down and we’ll have a good long visit!  Of course, we only have the two bedrooms now, so you might actually be more comfortable in a motel… and you’ll want to let us know ahead of time so we can make sure it’s a good time… and come to think of it, next summer I was thinking about going to visit my old friend Claudia in Bend, but we’d love to have you if you can work the timing out right.”

“We’ll see what we can do, Mom,” I smiled tightly, well used to her excuses.  “I think we’d better let Adam get going though, I know he did have some other plans for the night.  Didn’t you, honey?” I nodded until he started nodding too.

“Yeah, I really should scoot before I end up staying the whole night and we wouldn’t want that, would we, Mrs. R?” he grinned, rising to his feet.

“Oh, so soon?  I’m looking forward to a nice long visit with the two of you while I’m here.  Now give me a hug, we’re practically family now.”

Parker gave her the requested hug, patting her back a little awkwardly while I tried to figure out what had her thinking he was almost a part of the family.  The last email mentioned I was thinking of moving in with Adam, nothing more.

“Thanks again for coming out here, honey.  I’ll be right back, Mom, I’m gonna walk him out.”  Practically dragging him to the door, I was about to demand he tell me what they’d talked about, but instead, he pulled me out into the hallway outside, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

“You’re moving in with him?”

“She said that?” I blinked.  “I told her I was thinking about it, yes.  Why? What did you tell her?”

“I smoothed it over when she mentioned it, but you could have warned me.”

“There wasn’t time, I wasn’t expecting her to show up here, you know.  What’s the big deal?”

“She wanted to know if we’re getting married, because she doesn’t want her daughter living in sin.”

“Oh great…” Adam was gonna love that.  “What did you say to that?”

“I told her I was going to propose very soon,” he waved that away as if it was unimportant.  “Are you really going to move in with him?”

“I’m seriously considering it.  Why?”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit soon?”

“No, I don’t.  I’m a little more concerned about you telling her we’re getting married.  What am I supposed to do when Adam doesn’t actually ask me to marry him?”

“Considering that she thinks I’m Adam, that shouldn’t be such a big shock when it doesn’t work out.”

“You think it’s not going to work out between Adam and me?” I raised my brows at him expectantly, and Parker let out a long breath.

“I think… given his track record, it’s only a matter of time before he disappoints you again, that’s all I’m saying.”

“He hasn’t…” I pressed my lips together to keep from raising my voice.  It was pointless to argue Adam’s finer qualities with a man who may or may not still have some sort of feelings for me.  Besides, my mother was waiting.  “I should really get back before she wonders what we’re doing out here.  Thanks again for keeping my mother entertained.  That was really going above and beyond the call of duty.”

“It was no problem, she’s great.  A little bit of a handful, but then so are you,” he smirked.

“Funny.”

“Hey, at least she cares about you, that much is obvious.”  There was a wistful tone to his voice, and I was reminded that he hadn’t had much in the way of family interaction for a long, long time.

“I know, she’s just… better in small doses, that’s all.”

“What about your dad?  I got the feeling he’s not in the picture anymore.”

“Not really something I want to get into right now,” I offered a tight smile.  That was a subject I didn’t open up to many on, even if I did trust Parker.  “Listen, thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it.  I’ll see you tomorrow at work, okay?”

“Alright.  Oh, and I think I mentioned something about being best man at your brother’s wedding, so…”

“Anything else I should know?”

“I might have given the impression I want a large family.  Four, maybe five kids,” he grinned and I shook my head with a snort.

“I’ll keep that in mind.  Goodnight, Parker.”

“Later, Merce.  Let me know if you need any more help with her.  You know, this probably qualifies as one of the longest relationships I’ve ever had?”

“Goodnight,” I shoved at his shoulder playfully, returning to my mother with a smile still on my lips.

* * *

“I can tell how much you love him.”

“Hmmm?” I plopped down at the end of the couch, “Oh, you mean Adam?  I wouldn’t move in with him if I didn’t love him.”

“He loves you too, that’s easy to see.  You know, a little birdie told me he’s going to pop the question before too long.”

“A little birdie… like Adam?”

“Maybe,” she giggled like a teenager, and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.  “Isn’t that exciting Merceline?  Just think, you and Matty both will be married soon and I’ll have grandbabies and…”

“Whoa, slow down there, Mom.  Don’t count your grandchildren before they’re hatched.  One thing at a time.”  At this rate she’d have me barefoot and pregnant by the end of the year.

“Adam told me he likes children, it’s a shame more people don’t have big families anymore, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t help but think about my Adam, and how unlikely an event that was to be.  “I’m not ready to have kids for a while,” I said quietly, not quite sure who I was trying to convince more.  “I don’t even know if I’ll ever have kids.”  I might have said more, but Adam strolled in from the bedroom, momentarily distracting me.

“Don’t be silly, of course you’ll have children,” my mother gabbled on happily, oblivious to his arrival.

“We should get you set up in the bedroom.” I tried a change in subject, but she wasn’t so eager to let go of it.

“No, I can sleep out here on the sofa, you take the bedroom, baby,” the offer was made, but she waited expectantly for me to counter it, I could see it in her face.

“Don’t be silly, Mom.  You take the bed, it’s much more comfortable.”

“I don’t mind taking the sofa, Lord knows I’ve slept on my share of sofas in my lifetime.  But maybe you’re right, it would be better if I took the bed, with my back and all.”

Dutifully, I inquired politely about her back, and she launched into a detailed account of the trouble she’d had over the past year, culminating in a lack of care when her health insurance ran out.  I tried my best to keep an interested look on my face, but it was hard with Adam in the background making snide comments.  “But listen to me go on about myself.  What were we talking about before?  You said something about never having children.  You’re not afraid are you?”

“She doesn’t know you very well, does she?” Adam smirked, and I resisted the urge to smile.

“Afraid?  No, I’m just not in that headspace right now.  Things are finally settling down and I want to enjoy some alone time with Adam.  Talking about anything more right now is premature.”

“Plus, there’s the whole Angel of Death angle,” Adam added.

“I want you to be happy.  Isn’t it natural I should want that to blossom into a family?”  My mother opened the photo album to a picture of me as a baby.

“Wow, you really were a chunky little kid, look at those cheeks.”

“It’s called baby fat for a reason…” I muttered, biting my bottom lip as I mentally swore for responding to Adam’s dig out loud.

“Of course it is, and you were a perfect baby,” my mother smiled.  “It’s easy to see how happy you are with Adam, and he’s so kind and charming.  I bet he’d make a wonderful father.”

Adam didn’t have a witty reply for that.  He glowered to himself quietly in the corner and I wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t like the idea of becoming a father himself, or the idea that my mom thought Parker was kind and charming.

“Let’s just say… I’m not sure it’s a good time to even think about having kids.  My life is too up and down.”

“Your life changes when you have children, you’ll adjust, I did.  You have to put your children first and things will stabilize, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, and we had such a stable home growing up,” I muttered sourly, wishing I could take it back the instant the words were out of my mouth from the look on my mother’s face.

“I did the best I could…”

“No, I know you did, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it that way.  But you have to admit, I did not have a normal childhood by usual standards.”

“Your father meant well, he…”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Merceline, it’s been fifteen years, don’t you think you’ve held a grudge long enough?”

“Sixteen, but who’s counting.”

“Why are you so ticked about your father anyway?  Is it because of that thing with the beach?” Adam’s brows knit together, but I studiously ignored him.  Why was everyone so keen to talk about him?  I’d done my level best to forget I even had a father for longer than I’d lived with him.

“The thing about your father is…”

I interrupted her, standing up.  “Nope, we’re done talking about him.”

“Merceline, he’s the only father you’ve got.”

“I’ll make sure there are clean sheets on the bed for you, and I’ll take the pull out couch out here.  Tomorrow we can set you up at a nice motel because this isn’t the best neighborhood.”

“I thought I was going to stay with you.”

“I think a motel would be better, don’t you?  My place is kinda crowded, and I keep odd hours with work.”

“Are you still working in that bar?”

I bit back the retort at her tone, and focused on maintaining my calm.  “It’s a club and yes, I’m still working there, which is why I think you’d be a lot more comfortable in a motel.”

“I didn’t budget for an extended motel stay…”

I shot Adam a mute look of appeal and he nodded.  “Let me take care of that, Mom.  I’ll make all of the arrangements, and we can still have a good long visit.”

“If you think that’s for the best.”

“I really do.  Plus, I have no idea when Matty and Oriana will be back, did he say anything to you about where he was?”

“No, I thought he was here.”

Typical.  “Maybe you can call him tomorrow and let him know you’re in town and he’ll come back.  Oh, if you do talk to him, tell him Ben’s back in town, I know he was wondering about that.”

“Ben’s back in town,” she repeated.

“Yes, he’s an old friend who’s been gone and I know Matt will want to invite him to the wedding.”  Not a lie…

“Alright, if you say so.  I am pretty tired, now that you mention it.  It’s this new medication I’m on.  I wasn’t sure how comfortable I’d be on the plane, so I took two of them before take off and now I’ve been wondering if it’s safe to take another so I can sleep, or if I should wait it out until morning.”

I listened to her yammer on about her aches and pains again while I stripped Matty’s bed and put on fresh linens.  All that was required of me was a nod every now and again, and the occasional “huh”.  For someone who professed to be tired, she sure had plenty of energy to talk.  Adam hung back in the living room, obviously disinterested in listening to the topic.

“I think you’re all set now, is there anything else you need?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine until morning,” she smiled, wrapping her arms around me for a big hug.  “It’s so good to see you again, Merceline.  We don’t see enough of each other.”

I repressed the comment that sprang to my lips, laying the blame at her door and hugged her back, taking simple comfort in my mother’s arms before pulling back with a tired smile.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.  We’ll have a nice breakfast, and we can catch up more then.”

“I’ll take you out, it’ll be my treat,” she smiled brightly.  I knew it wouldn’t be, but I smiled back, leaving her with the door firmly shut as I returned to find the rickety pull out bed already set up, Adam kicking back above the covers.

“And I thought you talked a lot.”

“Be nice, she’s my mother,” I pulled a pillow out from behind his head to move to my side.  “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I didn’t like how we left things, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m alright, just a little drained, it was a long day.  What about Ben?”

“Don’t worry, Sam’s on Ben-sitting duty with Daphne.  What’s the deal with the two of them anyway?  When did they become a couple?”

“A lot of things have changed since you left,” I shrugged, settling down on the end of the bed to take my shoes off.  “Since before you left really, you just weren’t here to see it.”

“I’m sorry.”

I felt Adam’s hands on my shoulders before I even realized he’d moved at all, massaging lightly, and my head fell forward with a low groan.  “That feels so good.”

“Too bad your mom’s in the next room, I could keep making it up to you.”

“Not that I wouldn’t like that, but I’m afraid I’d fall asleep on you, and I’d hate to deliver that kind of a blow to your ego,” I smiled.  “But you can keep making it up to me this way, I’m not complaining.”

“Alright then, lie back and I’ll give you the full treatment.”

Any other day and the full treatment might have led to a lot more interesting things than a massage, but I’m sorry to say I did end up falling asleep on him before he even got to my mid back.  The last thing I recall was Adam tucking me up into his chest and settling the covers over the both of us.  I can’t remember spending a more restful, comfortable night’s sleep on Matty’s crappy sofa bed.

Chapter Nineteen

I can’t remember waking up feeling more like death warmed over.

Adam was nowhere to be found when I woke up to my mother singing in the shower, and I barely made it to the kitchen sink in time before I tossed up the contents of my stomach.  Luckily, there wasn’t much in there, and I didn’t feel all that better afterwards either.  I’ll spare you the details of how my morning went, ‘cause… eewh.  Needless to say, it wasn’t the best morning ever.

After begging off going out to breakfast, I left my mom watching morning talk shows with the promise I’d be back around lunch time to help her find a nearby motel.  It turned out I didn’t need to find a place for her to stay, because as soon as I checked my phone, I saw I had a voicemail from Adam.  He’d made reservations for her at The Edgewater Hotel and it was all taken care of.

Grateful that was settled, I tried to picture how she’d react to such a fancy place as I drove back to my apartment.  It was a cinch she’d never stayed at an expensive hotel before, I know I hadn’t either.  If Adam was around, I might have asked him about the money again, but in the end I decided not to worry my pretty little head about it, especially when the rest of me felt so crappy.

Sam and Daphne were on the couch when I got home, Daphne asleep while Sam cradled her head in his lap.  I wondered if that’s how Adam had spent his night, watching me sleep, since he didn’t need to.  It was either incredibly comforting or slightly creepy to think of him sitting there all night long watching over me.

“Hi,” I whispered, leaning against the back of the couch.

“You look like the cat dragged you in,” he replied, almost getting the phrase right and I gave him a pallid smile.

“I’ve had better mornings,” I admitted when Daphne gave no sign of stirring at all.  “I’m sorry you had to stay here all night, is Ben alright?”

“Yes, he has been up this morning and eaten, and has since retreated back into your bedroom.”

“And he seemed… alright to you?” I asked anxiously.

“He did seem changed, though I couldn’t say how exactly,” Sam considered aloud, his hand moving absently over Daphne’s hair.  “I didn’t spend much time in his company though.”

I let out a long breath, swallowing past the wave of nausea.  “Thanks for hanging out, I can take over if you want to get Daphne home.”

“I’d rather not disturb her yet if it’s all the same to you.  She was up very late last night.”  I could easily imagine them staying up talking for most of the night.  “Are you feeling alright?  You look pale, even for you.”

“I think I have the flu or something, I’ve felt crappy all morning.  I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you ever get sick?”

“No, I do not.  I’ve seen many diseases over the years though, the flu doesn’t look at all pleasant.”

“It’s not, but it’s one of those things you can’t escape like death and taxes.”  He stared at me blankly, and I realized he’d never had to think about those things either.  “I guess I’m not all that angelic then, even with the Grace.  Ah well.  I’ll go check on Ben and maybe I’ll feel better after a hot shower.”

“Would you like me to try and heal your ailment?” he offered, but I shook my head.

“No, I don’t want to disturb you guys, she looks tired.  It’s not that bad, but I’ll keep that in mind if it ends up getting a whole lot worse.”  Leaving them to their rest, I knocked gently on my bedroom door, stepping in when I heard Ben’s soft reply.  “Hey, how are you feeling today?  You look better.” And he did, much more refreshed.  A shower and a good night’s sleep and he looked almost like the Ben I knew, except for the darkening of his aura that persisted.  I’d forgotten to ask Sam about that.

“Thanks, I feel a lot better, things seem much clearer this morning.”  I hoped that meant he wasn’t going to try and pursue a relationship with me anymore.  “I have to say, I hoped you’d come back last night though.”  No such luck…

“I had to deal with my mother, get her settled in.  Are you really feeling alright?”  The past few months in Midian had to have been hard on him physically, I had no idea if they’d been feeding him regularly, though he didn’t seem gaunt.

“I’m fine,” he waved away my concern.  “I even found a change of my clothes in the back of your closet.”

“I thought it might be a good idea to hang onto them for when you got home.”

“That was very thoughtful, thank you.” He stepped closer and I took a step back, maintaining that cushion of space between us.

“Listen. I thought we should talk about what you’re going to say to the cops.  The sooner we get our stories straight, the sooner you can get back to your regular life.”

“Oh, I don’t know, there are certain perks to being a kept man,” he grinned.  “What did you tell them already about my disappearance?”

“Very little.  I said I hadn’t seen you since that night, which was technically true.”

“Smart.  People get tripped up when they complicate their lies with a lot of unnecessary details.  It’s best to keep things simple.”

“I’m glad you approve.  What do you think we should tell them?”

“I take it I shouldn’t go with the truth then?  Adam kidnapped me and kept me hostage?” he raised a single brow.

“I’d take it as a personal favor if you didn’t.  I’d prefer to keep Adam’s name out of it entirely if possible.”

“I’m open to suggestions.” He sat back on the edge of my bed.  Put on the spot, I wasn’t sure what to go with.  Keep it simple sounded easy in theory, but how did one explain disappearing for weeks?

“Kidnapping is out, or they’ll keep investigating what happened to you.  What about amnesia?  You bumped your head and forgot who you were?”

“Sounds a little movie-of-the-week don’t you think?”

“Well, I don’t think they’d buy alien abduction, so that leaves you going somewhere on purpose.  Maybe you had a family emergency?”

“No good, they would have checked with my family when I didn’t turn up.”

“Right, I forgot about that.” I chewed on the inside of my lip.  “I’ve got nothing then, do you have any ideas?”

“I could say I lost it when we broke up, which is true, in a way.”

“Okay,” I nodded, not sure where he was going with it.  “And?”

“And… I went on a bender, fell off the wagon, and spent the last few weeks curled up in a dive somewhere, living in the bottom of a bottle.”

My mouth dropped open.  “Won’t you get in trouble for walking off the job like that?”

“Some.  I’ll probably be suspended, and have to go to counseling at the very least, but I’ve put in a lot of years with the department, I don’t think they’d fire me over it.”

“That sounds kind of risky, are you sure you want to admit to something like that?”

“I’d do it for you in a heartbeat.” He gave me a lopsided smile and it made me frown all the more.

“Ben, please don’t throw away your career for me.  I don’t want you making that sacrifice trying to impress me.”

“It would be pretty impressive though, wouldn’t it?”

I tried not to smile at the look on his face.  “That isn’t the point.  I meant what I said last night. I’m in love with Adam.  I don’t want you thinking you can change my mind about that and end up losing your job in the bargain.”

“I meant what I said too, I’m not giving up so easily.  Besides, I think it’s a good story.  A lot less dramatic than saying I was kidnapped at gunpoint.”

“You’ve never had a drinking problem before though, would they even believe you’d do something like that?”

“People are always eager to believe the worst in others,” he shrugged.  “All it would take is a little bit of soul searching with the department shrink and I’d be off the hook.”

“I don’t know, I still don’t feel good about this.  What if you told them you got robbed while you were out drinking?  Just one night of drinking, not a bender that lasted for weeks, and you got koshed on the head and ended up in the hospital in another town or something?”

“It doesn’t explain why I didn’t call anyone to come and get me.  No, I think you should let me take the heat on this one. I can handle it, Mercy.”

“I don’t know, Ben…”

“I do,” he reached for my hands.  “Let me do this for you, I want to.”

I knew it was a bad idea.  Knew it down to my bones, but what else could I do?  “Alright.”  Pulling my hands out of his, I went to my dresser to pull out fresh clothes.  “But this doesn’t change things between us.  I’m with Adam.”

“For now.”

Closing my eyes, I counted to ten, and when I opened them again, Ben stood beside me, looking at the pink plastic jewelry box on top of my dresser.

“Is that where Azazael is?”

“Yep, it’s cute, isn’t it?  I should probably bedazzle it with some pretty gems or feathers or something,” I smiled, inordinately pleased by the thought of Azazael trapped inside there, impotent, and hopefully able to hear life going on around him with nothing he could do about it.

“Actually, he might like that, the guy was pretty vain,” Ben snorted, and I remembered he probably knew him better than any of us did.

“In that case, maybe I’ll stick him away in the closet and forget about him.  That’s what he deserves most.”  Picking up the box, I did just that, sticking it on the shelf above my closet, above a box of old postcards and mementos I kept.

“Hey, I was thinking,” Ben caught my attention again.  “Christmas is coming, you don’t even have a tree up yet.  How about we go pick one out?”

Christmas was the last thing on my mind, though I had done most of my shopping back in November before things had gotten too crazy.  With my mother in town, it sounded more like a pain than the joyful celebration I usually looked forward to.  “We can’t go out and about, not until you talk to the police and let it be known you’re back in town.  How would it look if you’re spotted in town Christmas tree shopping with me before you tell your family or work you’re back?”

“Alright, let’s go get that over and done with then.  We can stop by the precinct, then get some lunch and go look at trees.”

“We?”  Somehow I hadn’t thought I’d be present when he went in.

“Sure, why not?”

“Well, for one thing, Detective Santiago hates me with a fiery passion.  She’s absolutely convinced I had something to do with your disappearance.”

“Anna?  That’s because she’s a good cop.  I hate to break it to you, but you did, in fact, have something to do with my disappearance.”

“I know, but she thinks I murdered you with Sam because you were after him for killing Weatie.”

“That’s a new one,” Ben frowned.  “Why would she think that?”

“She saw some notes in your files that said he was your main suspect.  Is that true?  Do you think he killed Weatie?”

“Did he?”

Not really the conversation I wanted to get into.  “I’ll come with you for moral support, but I’m staying out of it.  You can do all the talking.  Then, if you’re feeling up for it, we can take you home.  Wouldn’t you like to sleep in your own bed tonight?”

“I’d rather sleep in yours,” he smiled wolfishly.

“It’ll be a little crowded there with Adam in it.”

“I can share if he can.”

“Eewh, no thanks.  I’m gonna go take a shower, then I’ll take you down to the precinct.”

“Want some company?” his brows raised hopefully.

“Not yours,” I smiled over my shoulder before I disappeared into the bathroom, firmly locking the door behind me.

* * *

It was a different experience walking into the police precinct with Ben on my arm.  Instead of suspicious stares, we got widespread grins and welcoming smiles at seeing him back again.  All except for Detective Santiago who still looked like she wanted to spit nails at me.  Pretty quickly we were ushered into an interview room, and Ben insisted I stay when she tried to close the door in my face.

While I sat there uncomfortably, Ben went through the story of how he’d lost it when I broke things off with him, and completely cut himself off from everyone, until he’d realized he didn’t stand a chance at getting me back unless he came back.  I could see the skepticism on her face at that, and who could blame her, it sounded farfetched to me too.

“And are you together now?” she asked, eyes narrowing at me, but it was Ben who replied.

“Not yet.”

“No, I’m still with Adam,” I interjected. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”  I patted Ben’s hand lightly.

“Adam,” Santiago repeated.  “I’m still not clear what happened with Parker.”

Ben’s forehead crumpled in confusion.  “Wait, when were you with Parker?”

“That’s who you dumped him for, didn’t you?” she pressed, and I felt the walls closing in on me.

“Are you sleeping with Sam too?” Ben demanded, and I saw the gleam of satisfaction in Santiago’s eyes at the accusation.

“You know that’s not happening, he’s with Daphne.”

“Christ, then who all haven’t you slept with?  First you’re screwing Adam and now Parker…”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to put some order to the lies.  “I had feelings for Adam at the time, but he wasn’t around much, he travels a lot for work.  Things between Parker and I… heated up, and I decided I couldn’t count on Adam and I didn’t want to keep Ben hoping for more than I could give, so I broke it off with him.”

“After you were already fucking both of them behind my back,” Ben glowered, and I decided that it wasn’t the right time to get into the details of when I had or hadn’t slept with Adam or Parker.

“Parker and I… it wasn’t built to last either.  You know how it is when you get involved with someone you work with.  It’s hot for a while, but it burns itself out pretty quickly.”

“And what does Mr. Anderson do for a living?”

“I honestly don’t know, he won’t discuss it with me,” I answered truthfully.

“That doesn’t strike you as odd?”

“That’s not the only odd thing about him,” Ben snorted, and I shot him a look.

“He tells me not to worry about it, and I find I’ve had more than enough to deal with without nosing too deep into his affairs.  But to get back to your questionl, yes, I broke things off with Ben to be with Parker.  Then when Adam came back, I couldn’t deny that he’s the one I want to be with.”  I knew it didn’t paint me in a very flattering picture, but it wasn’t as bad as what Ben had copped to on my behalf.

“And you are now ready to step back into your life again?” she turned to Ben.

“I’m ready to take my lumps.  I assume the Captain will want to meet with me about this.”

“At the very least,” she nodded.  “I’ll put my report on his desk this afternoon. I expect you’ll hear from him sometime this week.  He’ll want to meet with you alone of course,” she leveled an unfriendly stare in my direction.

“Mercy, why don’t you wait for me outside?  I’ll finish up here with Detective Santiago and be out in a few minutes.”

Eager to get out of that room, I launched myself to my feet.  “You got it. I’ll be waiting in the car.”  I couldn’t get out of that precinct fast enough, the smell in there making my still sensitive stomach turn a little.

Once in the relative comfort of my car, I called Adam, needing to hear his voice.

“What are you wearing?” was the first thing out of his mouth, in a sexy, bedroom voice.

“I’d like to say nothing but a smile, but that would be awkward considering I’m in the parking lot at Ben’s precinct.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we met with Detective Santiago. Ben’s still in there talking to her now, but we should be wrapped up soon.  I was thinking we should talk…”

“Uh oh, what is it now?”

I could hear the roll of the eyes in his reply.  “Nothing bad.  I just realized we totally forgot about Christmas Eve.”

“What about it?”

“You know, decorating, shopping, parties, family, presents… am I ringing any bells here?”

“I’m familiar with the concept, what about it?”

“It’s in three days.”

“Oh right, I guess it is.”

“I take it you’re not a big fan then?”  I would have thought he’d be into it big time.

“I don’t celebrate it,” he admitted.  “Why should I?  It’s not like December twenty-fifth is really his birthday.”

“It’s not?” My eyes widened in surprise.

“No, we didn’t even use the same calendar back then.  That’s just when people celebrate it.  But I never really knew the guy, so I don’t think much about it.  The same goes for Easter.”

“You don’t celebrate Easter either?”

“So he came back from the dead, big whoop.  It’s not like Joe Schmo pulled off rising from the grave, he’s the son of God.  It’s like being surprised when the Terminator sits up at the end of the movie.  That dude always comes back.”

“I… guess I never thought of it that way before.  Does that mean I should give your Christmas present away then?”

“Let’s not get hasty,” he chuckled. “We can celebrate Christmas if you want to, I guess.  I’ll even deck a hall or two, but how are you going to explain me being around to your mom?”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Guess I can’t exactly pass you off as cousin Adam, can I?  Maybe we can have our own private celebration together.”

“I like the sound of that.  We don’t have to wait three days for it either.  Are you taking Dudley Do-right back to his place?”

“I am.”

“Great, what time should I come over?”

“I have to work tonight, so it’ll be late, but feel free to wait at my place if you like.”

“Again with the job,” he muttered, and I prepared to defend my right to work when I saw Ben hurrying across the parking lot.

“I have to go, Ben’s on his way.  I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’ll be there.  It’s my turn for the massage, right?”

“We’ll see,” I laughed, hanging up.  Only then did I realize I didn’t feel so sick anymore, glad it was a fleeting thing like a hangover without the party.  Maybe it had been a backlash from the magic or something?  “All set?” I asked as Ben climbed in beside me.  I wasn’t sure what to expect after his up and down in the interrogation room, but his mood seemed sunny enough.

“You weren’t wrong, Anna does hate you.  She tried to get me to roll over on you, but I stuck to my story.  I’ve got a meeting set for the day after tomorrow to talk to the Captain, then I’ll know what disciplinary action I’ll be given.”

“Are you sure this is the best way to go about this?”

“Don’t sweat it, Mercy. I can take the heat,” he laid a hand on my knee and I immediately picked it up and laid it back on his own leg.  Ben didn’t miss a beat, fixing me with a cheeky grin.  “Ready to go get that tree now?”

“I think I should take you home.  I have to meet my mother for lunch and get ready for work.”

“Aw, come on, Mercy.  I want us to spend more time together.”

“Then stop by the club and order a drink like anyone else, but I’m not dating you, let’s keep that perfectly clear.  I’m grateful for your help with the police, but I won’t let you guilt me into anything more.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tone it down. I have patience.”

“Maybe you can lend me some, ‘cause I’m about out of mine,” I muttered, putting the car into gear.

Chapter Twenty

“I don’t get why your mom drives you so crazy,” Parker shrugged, lugging a box of booze from the rear storeroom to set on the bar.  “I liked her.”

“I like her too, but she frustrates the hell out of me.  She has no sense of personal responsibility, and I’m supposed to drop everything and cater to her whenever she remembers she has a daughter.”

“You mean the way a parent drops everything for their child growing up?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?  But I spent most of my teen years taking care of her and Matty after we left my dad.  She’s just so…”  I was getting all worked up again, and took a moment to let out a long breath.  “I love her, I really do.  I’m just coming from a position of years of disappointment.  I’ve had to learn to take everything she says with a big grain of salt.  Otherwise, I’d be sitting around waiting for her to keep promises she means to keep, but something always interferes.  I had to learn how not to buy into all of her drama or it’d take over my life too,” I sighed, unscrewing the cap off a bottle of rum.

“So, you’re saying you don’t want me to invite her to come and live with us after the wedding?” he teased, and I threw a wet rag at him with a satisfying plop.

“You do and you’ll be sleeping out in the doghouse on our honeymoon,” I grinned back.  “I have to learn how to be more like Matty and accept her for what she is, and ignore the rest.  She knows how to push my buttons, that’s all.”

“Like me?” he grinned, tickling my exposed sides when I reached up to put the rum up on the shelf.

“Parker!” I squealed, nearly dropping the bottle. Whirling out of his grasp, my hands immediately sought retaliation.  More than a little surprised to find he was ticklish too, we ended up holding each other’s hands to keep from reaching each other’s sides, laughing from the exertion.  “That’s it, I’m calling HR about your unwanted advances,” I giggled, catching my breath.

“Duly noted, but ignored, given the fact that you told your mother I’m your fiancé. I think that suspends the usual rules of harassment,” he grinned back.

“You’re gonna have everyone around here thinking it’s true,” I whispered, pulling my hands from his.  Though really, after the kiss he’d planted on me for Detective Santiago’s benefit, there was no point in shutting the barn door after the horse was loose.

“I’ve had worse rumors spread about me.”

“I’ll bet,” I laughed, retrieving the thrown towel.  Looking up, I noticed Ben standing about ten feet away from the bar, completely motionless.  “Hey, Ben,” I waved him over.  “Glad to see you out and about.”

“Hey, how about a drink on the house?” Parker smiled as well, but Ben just stood there, and we traded looks.  Dropping the rag behind the bar, I went out to talk to him.

“Is everything okay?”

It took Ben a full thirty seconds to look at me, his expression unreadable.  “Yes, I’m fine.  You said to stop by the club anytime, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.  Come on up to the bar, I’ll get you a drink.  Or did you want to talk about something?”  His behavior started to creep me out, but then he snapped out of it, finding his smile, and I relaxed.

“I’ll take a beer, thanks.  And actually, I came to talk to Parker.”

“Oh?”  My imagination ran rampant, but I didn’t ask why as I escorted him back to the bar.  “Hey, Parker?  If you have a few minutes, Ben wants to talk to you.”

“Sure, shoot,” Parker replied equably.

“I’d prefer it if we could talk in private.”

Uh oh… That set my nerves on edge, but what could I do?  I smiled blandly as Parker invited him into his office, wondering if I could get away with making myself dim to listen in on the conversation.  Sure, it’d be a breach of privacy and unethical to boot, but I really wanted to do it.

As the minutes ticked by, I decided my curiosity couldn’t hold out any longer, and my conscience came up with a compromise.  I drew a draft beer for Ben, resolving to bring it to him in Parker’s office in full view.  If they were getting along, I’d leave them to it.  If things were getting out of hand… then I’d rethink my ethics and do what was best.

Armed with a plan and a beer, I pushed open the door without knocking, figuring it was my best bet for gauging the real vibe of the room.

“I know you’ve been sniffing after her,” Ben was saying, his face cold and emotionless.  “I want you to back off.”

“Last time I checked that wasn’t up to you,” Parker returned smoothly and I could tell things were descending rapidly from there.

“Ben, it’s not like that.  Parker’s my friend,” I interjected, closing the door behind me and setting the beer out of the way.

“This doesn’t concern you, Mercy,” Ben replied without turning in my direction.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you threatening Parker over some other girl then?” I snorted.  “I’m pretty sure I have a say in this.”

“Mercy, why don’t you go back to the bar?” Parker never took his eyes off of Ben, his tone forced.  “Let us figure this out between us.”

“Maybe I should call Adam and we can really get the party started,” I muttered, refusing to be put off.  “Guys…”

“I’ll deal with Adam later, but for now, he needs to understand you’re off limits,” Ben interrupted, and I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Mercy, I really think you should go now,” Parker repeated, eyes still on Ben.

“Oh for the love of God, I’m not…” the words fell out of my head when I looked back to see Ben standing there with his gun leveled at Parker’s head.

“Maybe you’ll stop laughing out your ass now and listen to me.” Ben didn’t even look my way, his attention completely focused on Parker.  “Mercy doesn’t belong with you, she belongs with me.”

“Ben, look at what you’re doing.  You’re not making any sense.  I’m with Adam, not Parker, remember?”  Despite the drawn gun, I didn’t think he’d use it, not really, not the Ben I knew.  I knew I could freeze him at any second, but it seemed important to try and get him to lower the gun on his own.  “Put the gun down.”

“This is the only way I can get him to shut up and listen to me.  You hear me now, don’t you, asshole?”

Parker didn’t move a muscle, his eyes never leaving Ben’s face.

“Ben, I want you to look at me.” I approached him slowly, making my voice soothing.

“Stay out of this, Mercy, you’re too corrupted to think clearly,” Ben growled, and I took a moment to appreciate the full irony of that statement.

“Ben, I’m warning you…”  I took another step closer, but Parker broke his stance, inserting himself between me and Ben.

“Mercy, I told you to get out of here.”

“He won’t hurt me, he thinks he’s in love with me.”  I did my best to step out from behind Parker, but Ben took advantage of the movement, closing the distance between us to jam the gun into Parker’s neck.

“I am in love with you, Mercy.  That’s why I can’t let this lowlife touch you anymore.”

I felt the bile rise in my throat at the sudden turn for the worse, and I swallowed back the nausea, perspiration standing out on my forehead as I tried to figure out how best to handle it without one or both of them ending up shot or worse.  “Ben, let’s talk, just the two of us.  Let Parker go, I’m the one you want to be with.”

“No fucking way I’m leaving you here with him,” Parker gritted his teeth against the pain as the muzzle of the gun jabbed him in the throat.

We were getting nowhere fast.  Hell, maybe I was even making it worse by sticking up for Parker?  At catching a speculative gleam come into Parker’s eyes, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer; he was dangerously close to trying something stupid.  With a wave, I froze them both, closing my eyes with a whispered prayer of thanks it was fast enough to keep Ben from pulling the trigger.

That left the dilemma of how best to separate them without causing any damage.  First things first, I pried the gun out of Ben’s hand and stuck it in the top drawer of Parker’s desk.  Then I went to lock the door in case anyone decided to stumble in and saw them frozen like that.  I was spared having to figure out how to get them apart in that condition, when they came back to life while I had my back turned.  Sure enough, Parker seized the moment and I was glad I’d had enough time to take the gun out of the equation as they grappled with each other.

“Guys!  Knock it off!” I yelled, springing to try and pry them apart.  Looking back, that probably wasn’t the best idea.  I probably should have tried freezing Ben or even both of them again, but I got it into my head that I could wrangle them apart with my newfound strength.

I succeeded in pushing Parker backwards, but ended up catching an elbow to the face as Ben swung around.  I responded instinctively, blasting him with my Grace with enough force to send him sprawling across the desk.

“Wow…” Parker gasped at the display of power, catching his breath as I cradled my rapidly swelling lip.  “Christ, are you okay?”  He tried to get a better look at it, but I waved him off, I wanted to keep an eye on Ben.

“I’ll be fine, trust me, I heal fast.”  That didn’t take away from the pain, but I didn’t let on how much my jaw throbbed.  Ben stirred with a moan, and Parker took a step in his direction before I physically blocked him with a single hand.  “Do not even think about it,” I growled.  “I think it’s better if you go and let me talk to Ben alone now.  He can’t hurt me.”

“Are you serious, look at what he did to you?” Parker’s frown grew in direct proportion to the swelling of my lip.

“That was an accident. I won’t let him get that close, just go, would you?”

“Mercy, you can’t expect me to be okay with leaving the two of you alone.  That guy’s a whacko.”  His voice lowered to a whisper.  “What if he gets it into his head that he should kill you to keep anyone else from having you if he can’t?”

I took hold of Parker’s hand and gave it a squeeze, meeting his gaze evenly.  “Just let him try.”  I wasn’t afraid of Ben, I’d beaten him with a super charged fallen angel possessing him, a normal human was no trouble at all.

“I’ll give you two minutes while I go get you some ice, after that, I’m tossing him out.”

“I told you, I’ll be fine.  You won’t even be able to see it by the end of my shift, I promise.”  Parker left, darting a last nervous glance over his shoulder before closing the door, and I locked it after him as quietly as I could manage.  “How are you feeling Ben?”

He sat on the edge of the desk, rubbing his chest where I’d blasted him as if it was sore.  “What did you hit me with?” he groaned.  “God, did I do that to you?” Ben blanched at the sight of my face, and I started to worry how bad it looked.

“My Grace, and yes.”  I watched him carefully, but he didn’t seem as hostile.  In fact, he looked pretty distraught.

“I’m so sorry…”

“I know, I’m not blaming you.  It was my fault for trying to jump in between the two of you, but you have to admit, you’ve gone way out of control here.”

“I only wanted him to leave you alone,” he shook his head glumly.

“Ben, I think there might be something wrong with you.  When I look at your aura, it’s not the same as it used to be, it’s darker…”  Not black and splotchy like Weatie’s had been, but not the same, true color of his soul I’d come to expect.  “I want to try a little experiment.”

“What do you mean there’s something wrong with me,” he frowned.  “I feel fine.”

“But this isn’t you.  You don’t pull your gun on people without provocation.”

“Where is my gun anyway?” he looked around, and I caught hold of his shoulders, demanding his full attention.

“I want to try to heal you with my Grace, will you let me?”

“I told you, I feel fine.”

“Then humor me.”  I had no idea if it would work, I’d never tried to heal anyone’s soul before, but I had to take the shot.  Before he could object, I centered myself, taking a deep, calming breath.  Sending the soothing Grace into his body, I focused on suffusing his entire being with the warm, healing light.  After the burst that sent him flying and the expenditure of Grace, I was fairly wiped out by the time I pulled back, but I anxiously looked to see if it had any lasting effects.

At first his aura was dominated by the soft, golden glow, and I worried I’d given him too much.  Gradually, his own indigo reasserted itself though, and to my disappointment, the dark tinge seemed just as prominent as my Grace faded.

“That was…” Ben swallowed, searching for the right words.  “I feel…  You are amazing, you know that?”  His head dipped as if to kiss me, but I easily held him back by the shoulder.

“Not so amazing,” I murmured, keeping it to myself that it hadn’t worked as I’d planned.  I heard Parker try the door and a string of curses when he found it locked.  There wasn’t much time now.

“I didn’t mean to hit you,” he hung his head miserably.

“I know, you’re not thinking clearly right now,” I patted him on the shoulder.

“Of course I am, I see things clearer than ever.  I need to take you away from all this.  You deserve so much better.”

And we were firmly back where we started again.

I stepped away from him, putting some much needed space between us.  “I’m happy where I am, Ben.  I’m happy with Adam.”

“But I could make you so much happier…”

“No, Ben, this is it.” I made my voice cold and strong, needing him to understand I was completely serious.  “I wanted to try and stay friends but it’s obvious that’s not going to happen.  Stay away from me and stay away from my friends and family.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I couldn’t mean it more.” I drew my sword to emphasize my point, knowing somewhere deep down he remembered the sting of the blade.  “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t hurt you because I feel sorry for you.  If you come near me or mine again I’ll shoot first and ask questions later, is that clear enough for you?”

The door opened, and Parker stepped in, the glower fading from his face at the sight of my sword.  “Time to go,” he said firmly, smart enough to stay behind me this time.

Ben looked like he might say more, but at Parker’s entrance, his face shuttered closed, and he left without another word.

Slumping against the desk, I drew in a shaky breath, releasing the shining sword as Parker shut the door and approached me with a plastic bag of ice.  “Are you okay?  Why did you lock the door like that, he didn’t try anything did he?”

“No, I’m fine.  I told you it’s not that bad, I’d heal it if I hadn’t worn myself out again trying to fix Ben.”

“I take it the fix didn’t work?”

“Not even a little bit,” my shoulders sagged tiredly.  “I’m so sorry for putting you in the middle of that.  If I’d known he was that unstable I never would have…”

“It’s not a big deal.  Just name your firstborn after me, and we’ll be square.” Parker nudged my shoulder with his, coming to sit beside me on the desk.

“What if it’s a girl?” My lips curved into a smile, imagining Adam’s face when I told him I wanted to name our future bundle of joy after my boss.

“Then she’ll be sassy like her mom and she can pull it off just fine.”

I laughed at that, before the melancholy returned, clinging to me like a wet blanket.  “That’s not something that’s in the cards for me, not for a long time.”

“I didn’t mean tomorrow, just you know, eventually.  Why, can’t angels have kids?  Come to think of it, I can’t remember hearing of any half-angels in the bible.”

“They sure can, that’s why it’s forbidden.  Adam’s first wife was pregnant when they…” I drew a finger across my throat.  “So now, he’s dead set against the idea, hence, the no kids for the foreseeable future.  How about I name my next cat after you?”

“Hey, I at least rate a dog,” he snorted.  “What about you?  Are you okay with not having kids in the foreseeable future?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?  I don’t want to give birth to a monstrous thing, and besides, can you imagine me trying to take care of a baby in the train wreck that is my life?  You don’t exactly have a maternity uniform for me to tend bar in either, do you?”

Parker took long seconds to process before he spoke again.  “Wow, there are so many things in that reply, I don’t know where to start.  Go back to the part where you said you’d have a monster baby.”

“Maybe not a monster, but children between angels and human women were supposed to be ‘monstrous’,” I made little air quotes.  “I didn’t take that as a good thing.”

“Oh come on, who can’t use a third eye?  Or a tail?  It could be very useful on the playground,” he teased, drawing a smile to my lips again.  “And I happen to think you’d rock a maternity vest in the club,” he cupped his hands about a foot away from my belly.

“Not exactly my first choice.  But who knows?  Maybe in a couple hundred years, Adam will change his mind, and he keeps saying I should quit my job and let him take care of me anyway…”

“Again, you’re tossing them out faster than I can field them,” Parker shook his head.  “How can you talk about a hundred years or more so casually?”

I gave a half shrug.  “It’s something I might have to contend with.  The more Grace I absorb, the more likely it is I’ll live at least longer if not indefinitely.”  Not that I’d be able to tell for a good ten years for sure.  Of all the things I had to worry about, it was one aspect that didn’t keep me up nights.

“And the thing about quitting?  When were you going to tell me about that?”

I could hear the vulnerability in his voice even though his gaze focused on the floor.  “I haven’t made any decisions yet, he mentioned it the other day for the first time.  Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry without a bartender, but it does sound nice not to have to be on my feet all day dodging guys looking down my top or up my skirt.”

“If you didn’t like your job so much, how come you never said anything before?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you know I love working here.  But come on, Parker, what girl doesn’t fantasize about a rich, good looking guy who wants to take her away from all of this?  I have to admit, it wouldn’t suck to be taken care of for a while.”

We were both silent then for a while, lost to our own thoughts.  “Hey, what do you have going on for Christmas?  I just realized I’ll need to throw something together, especially with my mom in town.  What do you say?  Ready to come and play fiancé again for Christmas dinner?”  It was my turn to nudge his shoulder with mine.

“Actually, I have plans,” he patted my knee, launching himself off the desk with a little shake.

“You do?” I blinked.

“Luz invited me to come spend the day with her and her kids.  They’re cute little buggers.  But maybe I can swing by later if you need me to make an Adam appearance.”

All at once I realized how thoughtlessly demanding I was being.  “No, of course not, you should spend the day with who you want to.  I’ll tell her he’s away on a business trip or something.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.  You really like Luz, huh?”  I was genuinely glad for the pair of them, they were both good people and it was for the best that Parker get over his crush or whatever he’d had on me.

“She’s pretty great,” he admitted freely.  “Plus, I figure you’d clue me in if her soul was black and tarnished like my last foray into dating, right?”

“After the way you bit my head off, you’re on your own, pal,” I snorted.  “No seriously, she’s one of the good ones, witch or no.  I just… forgive me if this sounds insulting but… doesn’t she come with a lot of baggage?  I’ve never known you to date a woman with kids before.”

“Hey, I like kids.  That wasn’t a line of bullshit to your mom.  Especially since they’ve already gone through the messy years, they’re old enough to fetch and carry now, a beer here, pass me the remote… kids are pretty handy to have around.”

I couldn’t help but smile faintly at that.  “I’d better get back out there, it’s probably starting to hit the busy time and Jilly needs to get back on the floor.”  I’d almost forgotten I was on shift. I’d have to add an extra handful of awesome to her Christmas stocking for helping me out.

“I’d better get back to my books.  I’ll be out in a while to give you a break.”

“Parker?” I paused by the door.  “Be careful, okay?  I’d hate it if anything happened to you.”

“I’m too pretty to get hurt, darlin’,” he winked, pulling open the desk drawer, and I remembered sticking the gun in there.  “Unless you keep dropping weapons in my lap.”

“Oh right, leave that alone.  I’ll take care of it later.”  That was two of Ben’s guns in my possession now, what an odd collection.

“No problem there,” he shut the drawer quickly and I got the distinct impression he wasn’t all that comfortable around guns.  Or maybe it was just that one, since it’d been so recently jammed up against his throat.

“Seriously, stay away from Ben.  I’d hate to lose you.”

“You and me both, angel.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Adam took one look at me when I walked in the door and his hands clenched tight enough to crush my TV remote to useless bits of plastic.  “Who hit you?” he demanded, scaring me a little with his intensity.  I’d almost forgotten about the blow.  It didn’t even hurt anymore, but I knew I’d have to tell him about what went down with Ben at the club.  I’d just hoped I could bring it up in a less confrontational manner.

“Adam… I’m fine.  It was an accident, and I already took care of it.”

“Who… hit… you…?”

“It was Ben.”  The moment his name slipped from my lips I knew it was a mistake.  I should have told him I walked into a door or something.  “I told you, I already took care of it, he won’t be bothering me again.”

“He’s a dead man,” Adam muttered, already two steps away from the sliding door. I put on a burst of speed, surprising both of us when I blocked his path.

“No, Adam… please don’t do this.”

“I told you, I protect what’s mine.”

“I can protect myself!  I already made my point, Ben knows not to mess with me or Parker or anyone else I care about.”  In a hurried, somewhat mixed up way, I told him about Ben’s visit to the club and how I’d stopped him easily, but failed to heal him in the end.

That brought him up short.  “Why did he come after Parker anyway?  I thought the story about you dating him was all lies.”

“It was… it is!”  Trust that to be the only thing he keyed into.  “Ben’s unstable, not thinking clearly.  He saw the two of us together and I think something snapped.”

“What were you doing with him exactly?”

“Oh God, not you too…” Why did men have to be so lunkheaded?  “Adam, there is nothing going on between me and Parker!  He’s seriously into Luz.  Remember, the witch who ran the binding on Azazael?”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a thing for you.”

“No, it’s pretty serious.  In fact, he blew me off on Christmas plans to spend time with her and her kids.”

“So what?  You don’t know how a guy thinks, Mercy.  He’s biding his time, we’ve all done it.  Who wants to be alone when you’re pining over a girl that’s out of reach if there’s a willing one nearby?”

“Is that how you spent your time when you left me before to keep me ‘safe’?”  My hands went to my hips.

“Mercy…”

“Answer me, Adam.  Is that why you didn’t answer my calls back then, ‘cause you already had a willing girl on your lap to take the edge off your misery without me?” My voice rose, tears threatening when he didn’t immediately deny it.  “Oh, this gets better and better…”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“How was it then, Adam?  You know what?  Nevermind.”  I stepped away from the door.  The last thing I wanted to know was how he found comfort in the arms of another woman.  Or women.  It shouldn’t matter since our on again, off again thing was off at the time and I was technically with Ben, but it still hurt like hell.  “I love you, but I need a little space right now.”

“Fine, I have an errand to run anyway.”  Moving past me, he slid the door open with enough force to make Mimsy jump from her cozy vantage point on the end of the couch.

“Don’t you dare go after Ben,” I called him back.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he smirked, knowing it would bother me, I could see it in his eyes.

“Don’t bother to come back if you hurt him!” I hurled after him, but Adam was already gone by the time the last words were spoken.  My stomach churned, and I ran to make it to the bathroom before the heaving started.  So much for not getting the flu…

“Are you unwell, Mistress?” I heard Nelo’s hesitant voice behind me as I slumped on the bathroom floor.

“I’m fine, Nelo, a little under the weather, that’s all.”

“Will you feel better when it stops raining?” he smiled at me so earnestly, I forgot to cry, my tears turning to a hiccupping laugh.

“I sure hope so, Nelo.”

“The forecast calls for rain for the next ten days…”

“I need some rest, I’m sure I’ll feel much more like my old self tomorrow,” I assured him, not wanting him to worry, even though I felt like poo on toast.

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you for asking though.  I’m sorry if we disturbed you with our… yelling.”  There wasn’t any other word for it.

“It is of no moment, Mistress.  I’m well used to enduring far worse.”

Considering the manner of his upbringing, I didn’t doubt that.  “I’m still sorry.  I’m off to bed.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Broken in body and spirit, I lay down on my bed, but scarcely did my head hit the pillow, when I found myself squinting against a golden halo of light.  Cracking my eyes open, I closed them quickly when I found Nathanael scowling down at me.  “Great.  Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better,” I muttered, laying an arm over my eyes.

“I can assure you, madam, this is no picnic for me either,” he sneered.  “I will endeavor to deliver my message as quickly as possible.”

“Fine,” I sighed, sitting higher in bed.  I could tell it bugged him to address me in my bedroom, but he was the one who trespassed without knocking in the first place.  “So, go ahead, deliver your message.”

“I have been sent to take you to task for utterly failing in your efforts to avoid the prophecy as delivered by Raziel.”

“Um… okay,” I blinked.  “Am I missing something?  I thought we took care of that.  Not in a good way for Raziel, but we avoided the big apocalyptic evil by getting Adam out of Midian alright.”

“The prophecy did not speak of Adam, it spoke of Azazael.”

“No sweat, we have him bound here.”

“Did you even read the prophecy?” his eyes narrowed in disdain.

“Yeah, and it was about as clear as mud, as usual.  If you wanted us to get Azazael out first, you should have said so.  Raziel said we had to get Adam out or terrible things would happen.”  Or had he?  Trying to cast my mind back to the actual words of the prophecy, I seemed to recall it mentioning one of the Fallen in Midian… We’d all assumed that meant Adam, not Ben.

“It’s of no consequence to us whether or not Adam rots in Midian for all eternity.  His decision to bring Azazael there though, that has broken the covenant.”

“You could have mentioned all of this before we busted our buns trying to get him out of there!”  With great effort, I put a lid on my temper, already feeling my stomach lurch uncomfortably.  “What’s this about a covenant?”  That didn’t sound good.

“What’s done is done,” he waved away my question.  “Our concern now is repairing the damage with limited human involvement.  What possessed you to bring them into it in the first place?”

“Hey, it’s our world too, you know.  Why wouldn’t I involve other humans?  Besides, it’s not like I took out a billboard ad, I only brought in people I trust.”

“Need I remind you that you are not human at all?  Especially now, I can see the mongrel Grace shining all over you.  You can rest assured He will not turn a blind eye for long.”

I’d been hoping no one upstairs would notice the fact that I had three separate Graces merged within me now, and I swallowed nervously, changing the subject.  “So, what’s this terrible thing that’s supposed to happen?  We got Azazael out of there and bound safely away.  Isn’t that enough?  What other damage are we supposed to be controlling?”

“Azazael is bound, true enough, but he has left his mark upon the one he inhabited for so long in Midian.  Had he remained here, the effects would have been immediately noticeable and greatly lessened, but in Midian…”

“It’s magnified, I get it,” I frowned, tapping my bottom lip as I puzzled my way through it.  No wonder Ben had been acting so off the rails since we’d brought him back from Midian.  There was some relief in knowing it wasn’t his fault, but I had no idea how to repair the damage.  “So Ben is tainted by evil now?  What can we do to fix him?”

“That, to be precise, is your problem.”  He looked almost smug about delivering that little tidbit.

“How can it be my problem when you just said it’s this big horrible evil that’s destined to screw over the whole world?  Isn’t that what you people are for?  Guarding over us, protecting us?  Or them?”  If he wasn’t lumping me in with the humans anymore, that was fine.  But he couldn’t seriously think the entire thing was my responsibility and wash his hands of it.

“I am not your keeper.  You saw fit to leave him behind in the demon realm to live out his penance in order to save your lover, as I recall.  Perhaps you should be more careful with your allies, madam, you find yourself growing short handed by your own design.”

“I didn’t…” I stopped myself from trying to explain it was Raziel who volunteered to swap places with Adam, realizing it wouldn’t do a lick of good with the pompous jerk.  “Oh, whatever.  Look, are you gonna do something about Ben or not?”

“I would like nothing more than to grind him into the dirt where he belongs, but it seems that He in his infinite wisdom has decreed that you should clean up your own mess.”  Nathanael looked almost upset at the revelation, and I realized he hadn’t been given dispensation to do anything at all but deliver the message.  What had Adam said?  The man upstairs wasn’t all that big on free will, Nathanael’s hands were tied.

“How are we supposed to take care of it without killing him?  Is there even a way to restore someone who’s been contaminated like that?”

“I suggest you find a way.  Or ask Adam what it’s like to fall out of His good graces.”  Another smug smile was given, and Nathanael zoomed out of there in the blink of an eye.

When it rains, it pours…

“Adamiel!” I yelled, because as much as I’d wanted space after our last argument, I didn’t want to face the news on my own.  He must not have gone far, because he strolled in from the living room minutes later.

“Was that Nathanael I saw high tailing it out of here?  Just how many men have you been entertaining in your bedroom lately?” he smirked, and I shot him a dirty look.

“Stop being an asshat for once and listen up.  That wasn’t a social call, Mr. Sourpuss had an official message to give us.”

Adam propped himself up against the doorframe, arms crossed at his chest.  “I’m listening.”

“Apparently, we completely missed the point of the prophecy.  It wasn’t about getting you out of Midian, it was about getting Ben out.”

“So?  Who cares?  We got him out.”

“Not quick enough.  He was there long enough to be corrupted by Midian or Azazael, I’m not entirely sure what the small print entails, but he’s definitely our big bad now.”

“Is that all?”  Adam looked genuinely relieved, happy even.

“What do you mean is that all?  Nathanael said we were on our own to figure out how to stop him from bringing about this terrible evil, they won’t help us at all.”

“Who needs their help?  This is not a problem.  I’ll pop around to his place, take care of it and be back in time for breakfast.”

“You can’t kill him,” I said patiently, using the tone reserved for talking to small children or the developmentally challenged.

“The hell I can’t,” Adam snorted.  “I just got special dispensation to ‘take care’ of it.  That sounds like a sanction to get rid of him if I ever heard one.”

“It’s not his fault he’s like this.  You’re the one who took him to Midian and broke the covenant, whatever that is.  Why should he have to die for something you did to him?”

“Oh, so now this is all my fault?  I was trying to keep you safe, Mercy.  I had no idea he’d give in to the dark side.”

I closed my eyes, not wanting to go around and around, playing the blame game.  “I’m not saying that.  I’m saying we owe it to Ben to try and fix him without killing him.”  I kept to myself the part about not involving humans.  As far as I was concerned, the cat was already out of the bag, and Luz might prove to be a valuable resource in restoring Ben’s soul.

“Well then, I’m fresh out of ideas.  My problem solving skills tend to involve more direct methods.”

I could imagine.  “Let’s think this through.  I’m still a little fuzzy on what Ben’s supposed to do exactly.  I mean sure, he’s not operating with a full deck anymore, but he’s just a guy right?  A human.  Shouldn’t we be able to stop him from doing whatever he’s up to pretty easily?”

“That’s my point entirely, we don’t need those stiffs telling us what to do, we can handle it in-house,” Adam nodded.

“And we have Azazael safely bound, he can’t easily break him out, and…”  All at once a terrible feeling came over me.  Scrambling out of bed, I darted to the closet door, slamming it open with a little too much force so that it jumped off the track, hot disappointment lancing through me as I stared at the empty space where the pink box used to be.  “No… no, no, no!  This isn’t happening!  Where is the box?”

“Mistress?”  A small voice came from the door, Nelo’s head popping in.

“Now is not a good time, Nelo,” I waved him off, even though I knew he was awfully nervous with all the yelling around the apartment that night.

“I know where the box is.”

That caught our attention.  “Did you see who took it?  Was it Ben?” I whirled, and he shrank back even further, just his eyes visible.

“Was I not supposed to let him take the box?  I thought he was our friend.  You let him stay here…”

My eyes closed for long seconds as I tamped back the string of curses letting loose inside my mind.  “No, Ben is not our friend anymore.  If he comes around here anymore you stay away from him.”

“I’m sorry, Mistress…” Nelo slipped away, probably to go hide in the closet again.  It was a good thing he was the closest thing we had to a kid, like Adam pointed out.  Any child we raised would probably end up in serious therapy.

“It’s not your fault, Nelo.  He would have taken it anyway if you’d tried to stop him.”  I leaned against the wall, the strength going out of my legs.  “He has the box.  What are we going to do now?”  I’d laid Azazael to rest in the part of my life designated for things I didn’t have to worry about.  With him missing, would I be looking for him to jump out around every corner or attack me every time I closed my eyes?

“Hey, Mercy, it’s okay,” Adam wrapped his arms around me.  “Like you said, he can’t open it easily, or at all.  We’ve got some time to get it back.”

“No, but that means he’s definitely in cahoots with Azazael.  We were so stupid for not thinking he’d be corrupted by having the guy inside him for months and months.  Of course he’s his stooge now!”

“It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I wish I could believe you,” I rested my head against his chest.  “I feel like I’ve been running and running and I never get there, and I can’t stop…” my eyes closed tiredly.  “And there’s so far to go.”

Adam tipped my face up to look at him, his thumb brushing across my lower lip.  “But you don’t have to run alone,” he offered me a crooked smile.

“I’m sorry, about before.  My temper’s been on a short fuse lately,” I offered by way of apology.  The last thing I wanted to do was push him away.  He was right, I didn’t want to do it alone.

“I’m sorry too.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had to answer to anyone but me, and sometimes I forget how.”

“You don’t have to answer to me, but don’t expect me to be thrilled with everything you do.  Especially if you do something you know I’ll hate.”

“Like killing Ben…”

“Like killing Ben,” I nodded.  “Promise me you’ll leave him alone until we figure out how to fix him.”

“What about getting the box back?”

“No, you’re right, he can’t open it.  We’ll get it back when the time is right.”

“And if he comes after me?”

“Then you have my permission to kick his ass.  But don’t kill him.”

“What if I promise to try not to kill him?  I’ll just maim him a little,” he grinned and I felt some of the tension ease out of my shoulders.

“Oh alright, a little maiming if he gets out of hand.  I’ll expect you to be the one to heal any damage you cause though,” I poked him on the chest to emphasize my point.

“I can live with that.”  Adam swept me off my feet, carrying me the few feet to the bed.  “But no chasing after anyone tonight, you look like you need your rest.”

“Is that a polite way of telling me I look awful?”

“You look beautiful,” he smiled, “just tired.”

“Stay with me?”  I hated the neediness in my voice, but I hated the thought of him leaving even more.

“For as long as you want me to,” the pledge was given as he lay down beside me, drawing me into the shelter of his arms.

* * *

I awoke to an empty bed, but that was for the best, as my nausea was back in full force.  It took me about an hour to drag myself out of bed and get ready for the day.  With a great effort, I steered my initial suspicious conclusions involving Adam breaking his promise and going after Ben anyway, and tried to hold onto the trust that he would do the right thing.  The problem was, my idea of the right thing didn’t always align with his.  To Adam, the end truly did justify the means, and I wasn’t built that way.  Maybe after a few centuries of perspective we might be on the same page, but for the present, I couldn’t embrace his morality or lack thereof.

It turned out I didn’t have to worry though, I found a voicemail from him after my morning cup of tea with the message that he had a scathingly brilliant idea, and he’d see me later for a romantic evening.  While I did have the night off, I wasn’t feeling particularly romantic, or productive, and I puttered around the apartment, trying to work up the nerve to go out and brave the crowds at the nearest mall to finish up my holiday shopping.

I wanted to pick up something for Luz, though I was reasonably sure she celebrated on the Solstice, Parker had mentioned plans with her for Christmas day and I wanted to show my appreciation for her help.  I also had four voicemails from my mother in the space of time it took me to take a shower, but I wasn’t up to dealing with her yet.  Instead my first call of the day went to Sam.  Maybe I was spoiled, but I really didn’t want to be sick, and Sam had offered…

“You changed your mind on the healing?”  Sam seemed happy to help, not at all put out that I asked him to come over.

“I thought I was doing better, but I felt really sick last night too and again this morning.  Maybe I’m getting an ulcer?  I really think that might be it, why else would I feel fine when I’m not stressed out?”

“What is stressing you out?  Have we not reached our happy ending?” he blinked, and I forgot he wasn’t up on the latest news.  Filling him in on Ben’s status as our new threat to the universe and his particular obsession with me and Azazael, Sam’s eyes got wider and wider.  “I can see how you’d feel the stress over that,” he allowed.  “But this is easily solved. Ben should be no trouble for either Adam or myself.”

“Oh no, not you too!  Sam, please tell me you don’t think killing Ben is the answer.”

“It depends on the question.  If you simply seek to end the danger, killing one for the preservation of all seems the obvious choice.  I do see why it isn’t the optimal solution though,” he assured me with a comforting smile.

“Thank you,” I breathed.  “You have no idea how long it took Adam to see that side of the argument.”

“Adam is here?  Why didn’t you ask him to heal you?”

“No, he’s gone this morning, out running some errands.  I didn’t think to ask him about it last night. I was so tired after everything, and you know I’m awful at trying to heal myself.”  Lying down on the couch, I propped my head up with a couple of throw pillows.  “The worst thing is the nausea, but I’ve been feeling really tired and run down too.”

“You have been burning your candles at both ends,” Sam nodded briskly, kneeling on the floor beside the couch.  “I should be able to restore your vigor, if not eradicate this illness,” he patted my arm comfortingly.  Closing his eyes, he lay his hands over my abdomen, in a repeat gesture of when he’d first bestowed his Grace upon me.  While I watched, the Grace gathered beneath his hands, glowing softly before dispersing into my body with a flash of warmth.  I found myself letting out a rush of air at the sensation, my heart beating faster, flushing away the fatigue as his healing Grace coursed through me.

All of a sudden his eyes popped open, shock coloring his features, and the flow of Grace stopped.  “What is it?  What’s wrong?” I gasped, feeling a lurch of dizziness at the rapid shift.

“You do not have an ulcer.”

“How can you tell?” I frowned.  I never sensed specific injuries in others.  My Grace instinctively knew where it was needed most, and when to stop.  Did he have an x-ray ability I didn’t?

“You are not ill.”

“You could have fooled me,” I snorted.  The nausea receded a little but definitely still raised its bumpy head.

“You are with child.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I’m sorry… I’m what?”  I couldn’t have heard him right, it wasn’t possible.

“I can feel the child’s Grace within you, there is no mistaking it,” Sam’s hands continued to hover over my belly without actually touching me.

“There has to be a mistake.  Are you sure you’re not sensing my Grace?”

Sam gave me a look that plainly said ‘duh’. “I think I know the difference between your Grace and a new life.”

“But… we were careful, we used protection.”  Stunned, I sat up, gathering a fuzzy pillow into my arms.  “This can’t be happening.”  Deep inside I knew he was right though, my own mind giving me a mental smack.  Fatigue, mood swings, nausea that comes and goes?  All classic signs of pregnancy, how could I have missed it?  Maybe because it was the last thing I’d expected.

“Are you not overjoyed?” Sam blinked, truly at a loss to understand my state of mind.

“Overjoyed?  That isn’t the first word that leaps to mind,” I replied, letting out a shaky breath as tears threatened.  “What am I going to do?  Adam is going to kill me.”

“Adam would never kill you, not over something so wonderful.  Don’t you realize, this is the first child of its kind?  The prophet had the right of it, you will be the Bringer of Life, and from your issue will arise a new race of man, free from Original Sin.”

I’m sure he meant it to be comforting, but ordained or not, Adam was gonna freak out.  Not only Adam, I was freaking out.  A baby?  What was I going to do with a baby?  I’d already reconciled myself to the idea that I wouldn’t have to worry about kids for a long time, if ever, and suddenly I was the mother of a new race?  Me?  Despite my best efforts, tears slipped from the corners of my eyes, and Sam caught up my hands.

“Don’t cry, Mercy.  Try to see this is a blessing.”

“A blessing?  Say a miracle happened and Adam didn’t start having flashbacks to the last time he found himself a father, and say for the sake of argument the Angel of Death doesn’t come knocking on my door for breaking the rules. Adam said the Nephilim were considered monstrous.  What exactly does that mean?  And is this going to be a regular pregnancy or am I going to wake up tomorrow swollen out to here and ready to pop?”  My voice rose shrilly, and it became harder and harder to breathe in as all signs led to a full on panic attack.  “I can’t do this,” I gasped, “I can’t be having a forbidden-angel-monster baby, I can’t do it.  Tell that crazy prophet to pick someone else.”

“Merceline…” Sam laid one of my hands over his heart, mirroring the action by placing his over mine.  “Be not afraid.”  I felt his Grace surge out to me again, and the sure, steadying beat of his heart had a calming effect.  At once, the tightness in my lungs eased, and I drew in a greedy breath, clinging to that life preserver in the middle of the storm, until I felt like I could breathe on my own again.

“All is as it should be.  God never gives you more than you can handle.  If you are with child, you can be certain it is according to His plan.  I truly do not believe he will send anyone to kill you as he did Mariah.  We can’t make any assumptions about anything, you are no longer human.”

“But Adam…”

“Will come to terms with it in his own time.”

I took another deep breath, absorbing that.  “Okay, but you have to promise me you won’t say anything to him about it.”

Sam raised a brow at that.  “It’s only a matter of time before he senses the child himself.”

“I know, and I’ll tell him, I just need to be the one to do it.  You know, to pick the right moment.”  We’d already been fighting more than I liked lately, though looking back, that was probably more to do with my crazy emotional rollercoaster than anything else.

“As you wish,” he nodded.

“That means no Daphne either.”  That was harder for him to swallow.  “Swear to me, you won’t utter this to another soul.  Strike that, even someone without a soul.  I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

Sam stared back at me, his eyes wide, before he nodded slowly.  “I promise.”

“Thank you.  That’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

“What will you do?” Sam took a seat next to me on the couch, his eyes falling to my abdomen.

“I… have no idea.  I need to process it a little first.”  There was so much… While I’d practically raised Matty from the time I was ten, I had little to no experience with babies or pregnancy.  None of my friends had children, except for Luz, and she was an acquaintance at best.

“Try not to worry, motherhood is the most natural of states, how hard can it be?”

I stared at him as if he had two heads.  “Yeah, how hard can it be…”

* * *

An hour later, I still sat on the couch, in a bit of a daze, not really looking at anything or thinking about anything.  I suppose I was in shock.  There seemed to be too much to think about at once, so my brain shut down entirely to zone out for a while until I was ready to cope.

My phone rang shrilly, startling me out of my daze, and I blinked in surprise at Matty’s number on the display.  Not quite sure what to expect, I answered it on the third ring.  “Hello?”

“On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you at me right now?”

I could hear the worry in his voice, and if he’d called the day before I might have really let him have it.  But in my current state of mind, I merely shrugged.  “About a two.”

“Really?  Mom said Ben was back safe, I guess that lets me off the hook then, right?”

“No, it doesn’t, I’m just a little too preoccupied with other things to be mad at you right now.”  I knew how to hold on to my grudges though, I was sure it would bubble up eventually.  “Oh, and Ben’s evil again, so stay away from him, okay?”

“Okay,” Matty agreed equably, and I marveled at his ability to accept that statement without pressing for more answers.  “So, you’re really not pissed about Oriana?”

“I’m… surprised to say the least.  Are you really going to marry her?”

“Mom told you about that, huh?  Oriana wants us to get married on February second.”

“On Groundhog Day?” My brows rose at that.  “Who gets married on Groundhog Day?”

“It has some other mystical significance.  Something to do with candles… I don’t know, I forget what she said about it.  But that’s what we’re shooting for.”

“I guess I’m happy for you Matty, but it feels a little fast,” I objected.  Matt, however, couldn’t care less.

“Are you kidding me?  I wanted to elope to Vegas right away, but she said she wanted the whole ceremonial thing.”

“Matty,” I tried again.  “Isn’t she a little…”

“She’s perfect,” he interrupted, and I could tell the subject was closed for discussion.  “Anyway, I wanted to make sure we’re still invited to come over on Christmas.  I want everyone to get to know her like I do.”

“We’re still on.  Have you seen Mom yet?”

“No, I called her when we got back in town.  You put her up at The Edgewater, huh?  Did you win the lottery without telling me or something?”

“Adam’s footing the bill.”

“Jackpot,” he sniggered.

I ignored that.  “Listen, why don’t you bring Mom over around two, we’ll have an early dinner and get all the uncomfortable introductions out of the way.  I’ll see if Daphne and Sam want to come too, or if she’s going to her parents’ house.”

“Sounds like a plan.  Mercy, are you okay?”

“Yeah why, don’t I sound okay?”  Paranoia kicked in, could he suddenly tell I was pregnant?  Would everybody know?  By my calculations I had some time before I’d start to show, but people kept asking me if I was alright.  I couldn’t keep dodging their questions forever.

“You aren’t normally this cool when I do something you don’t like.”

I let out a silent breath.  “You’re just lucky.  Like I said, I have too many other things to worry about to stay mad at you, but you’re not out of the danger zone yet, so watch it.  I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you on Christmas.”

“We’ll be there.”

Christmas dinner.  That meant I had to do some serious shopping.  I didn’t have any of the food or drinks on hand, and I still needed to pick up a few last minute things like wrapping paper and bows.

I left a voicemail for Daphne, asking if she wanted to come spend the holiday with us, or if she’d be taking Sam to meet her parents.  Boy, what I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall for that meeting…  Not knowing about her plans didn’t affect my shopping list much though, I always made enough for lots of leftovers.  Whether we had five or fifteen, there would be plenty of food available.

Feeling better once I had a plan of action, I set out for the grocery store, loading up on all the fixings for a fantastic holiday meal.  On impulse, I also picked up a pregnancy test.  While Sam’s Grace radar might be good enough for him, I needed to know for sure before I went crying Baby to Adam, and ended up upsetting him over nothing.

I waited until I got home and put away all the food before I went into the bathroom to take the test.  While I waited for the results, I read the little folded insert from cover to cover, even the instructions on how to use it to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.  Three minutes.  It sounded like such a short time, but I swear I’d stepped into a black hole and the clock ground to a halt as I waited for that little pink line to appear.

According to the packaging, it might be too early to test positive anyway, it was surprising Sam had been able to sense anything at all.  I’d so steeled myself for getting a negative test and having to wait long weeks to get a proper result, that I almost didn’t believe my eyes when the pink line appeared in the window, as sharp as you please.

Pregnant.

How was that even possible?  Not that I didn’t grasp the mechanics of it, but we’d been careful, and it hadn’t been that long since we freed Adam from Midian.  It shouldn’t be showing up on any test results yet.  Then again, I’d been feeling under the weather since before Adam came back… maybe my body was wonky with stress, the flu and I was coincidentally newly pregnant?

The only way to know for sure was to see a doctor, but that didn’t sound like a good idea either.  What if I tested differently since I wasn’t human anymore?  The last thing I wanted to do was end up as a guinea pig, poked and prodded while they studied my Grace.  So where did that leave me?

My first instinct was to jump on the internet, or go out and buy some books on pregnancy and child rearing, but would any of it apply to me specifically?  There were too many unknowns, given my supernatural status, and few resources for me to draw upon.  An idea came to me, and the more I thought about it, the better it sounded.  Bringing up my contacts, I dialed Parker, hoping he was in a place where he could hear his phone.

“Let me guess, you missed me and wanted to come in to work tonight?”

“Um… not exactly.  Why, are you short handed?”

“No, just making conversation.  What’s up, angel?”

“Parker, I need a favor…”

* * *

I pulled up to the little house as the sun dipped low, turning the sky from light gray clouds to dark gray clouds, the moon all but masked except for a glint every now and then.  So, that was what a witch’s house looked like.

It was cute, sort of a Spanish style with a red shingle roof, uncommon in the Pacific Northwest.  The overgrown yard gave me a little pause, but the windows were brightly trimmed with colored lights and hand cut paper snowflakes, reminding me that Luz had two small boys under her roof.

Pulling my coat up around my ears, I hurried up the broken concrete path to knock on the security gate fastened to the front door.

“Mercy, I’ve been expecting you.  Are you hungry?”  Luz opened the door with a smile, inviting me into the colorful warmth of her home.

“No, thank you.  I’m not interrupting your dinner, am I?”

“No, we eat early here.  Come on in, let me take your coat.”  A small tree covered in bright lights and homemade ornaments stood in the front window, brightly wrapped packages stacked artfully around the table it sat on.  Deeper in the house I heard the sounds of children squealing in play, a rapid fire string of Spanish calling after them.  “Parker said you wanted to talk to me about Ben?”

“Yes, I do.”  I needed to work myself up to the baby topic.  “Did he tell you about what happened the other night?  When Ben threatened him with the gun?”

“Yes, he did.  I take it that’s not normal behavior for your friend?”

“Not even close.”  Briefly, I laid out the message Nathanael delivered the night before.  I could care less that he’d complained about involving humans, I needed all the help I could get to try and handle it without getting Ben killed in the bargain.  “What I want to know is, can we do some kind of exorcism on him or something, to get the evil out of him?”

Luz was already shaking her head before I finished my sentence.  “He’s not possessed, he’s been corrupted.  The only way to save his immortal soul is to purge him of the evil.”

“Okay, how do we do that?” I brightened, glad she had an alternative in mind.

“The only thing I know that would purify him is with holy fire.”

“Holy fire,” I blinked.  That did not sound at all pleasant.  “How would he survive that?”

“He wouldn’t, but his soul would be cleansed, and he could achieve salvation.”

“No way,” I shook my head.  “We’re not doing that.”  Why did every solution end with Ben as a corpse?  Did no one get his innocence?

“You might not have much of a choice if what the prophecy says is true.  At least this way you can save his immortal soul. Do you need some help?” she offered, but I shook my head again.

“No.  This is still my fault he’s gone all postal.  If there’s no other way, I need to make sure it’s done as humanely as possible.  I haven’t given up yet. I’m convinced there’s a way to save him, we just haven’t found it yet.  That’s not my only problem though.  He stole the box you bound Azazael to.  What are the odds he’ll be able to jimmy it open?”

“No te preocupas, he’ll never get it open.”

“But, couldn’t he find a spell to open it, like you spelled it shut?”

“It’s possible, but it would be very difficult, and I can guarantee you there isn’t a witch in the state who would do it for him.  It should give you enough time to get it back.”

“I tell you what, the first thing I’m going to do once I get him back is stick Azazael in a safe deposit box, Indiana Jones-warehouse style.”  I closed my eyes as a wave of nausea hit me, and I took a slow, deep breath.  I thought you were only supposed to get sick in the morning?  Hence the name, morning sickness.

“I know what you need, I have just the thing.”  Without waiting for my response, she took off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving me sitting alone in the front room.  “Here you go, drink this.  Be careful, it’s nice and hot.”  Luz thrust the mug towards me, handle out, and I took it with a hesitant sniff.  It smelled like raspberries.

“Thanks, but what is it?”

“Don’t worry, it’s only tea.  It will help soothe your stomach.”

How she knew my stomach needed soothing was beyond me, but I was a little leery of drinking strange brews in my condition, even from a good witch.  “Thank you, but I’m not all that thirsty,” I begged off, setting it down on the coffee table.

“It’s safe for the bebe.”

I froze with my hand still extended towards the cup.  “How did you…?”

“We see things, remember?” she smiled, taking a seat and nudging the mug towards me.  “Take a sip, it will help, I promise.”

Sitting down, I cupped the mug in my hands for warmth.  “How many other people know?  You didn’t say anything to Parker did you?” my eyes flew wide at the implications.

“Calmate hermana,” she patted my shoulder.  “I didn’t tell anybody.”

“This thing is harder to keep secret than I thought it’d be,” I sighed, taking an experimental sip of the tea.  It wasn’t bad, a little tarter than the blackberry I was used to, but not unpleasantly so.

“Isn’t that why you’re really here?  To talk about the bebe?”

“Well…  I know you have kids, and you seem to have all this knowledge about things I’m pretty clueless about, so I thought… I don’t know what I thought.” I hung my head.

“What’s the problem?  You’re not happy about the news?”

“To tell the truth, I’m not sure how to feel about it yet, except for scared to death.  Adam’s going to flip out when he hears about this, he really doesn’t want to have children.  He’s been very clear about that.”

“It’s not always up to us, is it?” she smiled as a loud bang sounded from overhead, followed by a rush of giggles.  “I truly believe things happen for a reason.  Talk to Adam, he can’t blame you for this, it’s something you created together.”

“You don’t know him like I do.  Trust me, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.  And considering what the past couple of months have been like for me, that’s saying a lot.”

“I think you should give him a chance.  You never know, Adam might surprise you.”

Sipping my tea, I digested that for a few moments.  “I am going to tell him, I just need a little time to get used to the idea myself.”  That and I had absolutely no idea how to broach it with him at all.

Chapter Twenty-Three

For the next couple of days I waited to pick the right moment, but there never seemed to be a good time to say “Hey, Adam, guess what?  I hope that house of yours has room for a nursery.”

It almost didn’t feel like the holidays to me at all, and it seemed a little foolish to go through the effort of putting up a tree so late in the game.  Christmas Eve came and went, and we didn’t particularly celebrate it between Adam’s indifference and my nausea.  So far I’d managed to put him off about that, telling him I had a light case of the flu, and the tea Luz made up for me helped with the worst of it.  I didn’t object at all when he left to go “take care of some stuff”, spending the night watching A Christmas Story over and over with Nelo until I fell asleep on the couch.

On the plus side, none of us had heard from Ben since my last confrontation with him.  Neither was he staying at his townhouse, according to Adam, who assured me he’d gone there strictly on a recon mission to look for Azazael’s box.

My mother called daily, but I begged off another visit, telling her I wasn’t feeling well, and I’d see her on Christmas.  I felt bad ignoring her, but I didn’t have the energy to deal with her while I agonized over how to tell Adam the big news.  I ran scenario after scenario through my head, discarding each one as insufficient or plain old lame.

Why did people in the movies always have such an easy time of it?  Should I wrap up a gift for him to open with little baby booties in it?  Or buy him a #1 Dad coffee mug?  If I thought it would work, I’d get a sonogram picture, put it in a Father’s Day card and wait for him to catch on, but all of those movie-type ideas sounded too kitschy.

As Christmas morning dawned, I made a decision.  No more lies.  It wasn’t doing me any good to put it off any longer, I wasn’t getting less pregnant by the day.  And why was I hiding Adam from my mother?  I loved him and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.  She’d meet him eventually, why not come clean and explain the little mix up about Parker?  Not that I was ready to tell her about the baby yet though, that would be better served when she was safely back in California, otherwise she might never leave.

I hadn’t given Adam my final answer yet about moving in with him either, but what was I so afraid of?  Maybe in the back of my mind I equated sharing his house with giving up some freedom, but look at what I’d get in return.  The chance to see Adam every day, to build a real life with him (especially with the baby coming) was too good to pass up.  Not to mention money would be tight, and not having to keep my apartment would make things a lot easier.

All of a sudden it dawned on me… I lay in bed making those life altering decisions when I’d fallen asleep on the couch.  “Adam?”

“Out here…” came the response, from the direction of the living room.

Slipping on my robe and fuzzy slippers, I shuffled out of the bedroom, stunned to see a seven foot tree scraping the ceiling in the corner by the TV.  Completely decorated with posh red and silver ornaments, the delicate white lights twinkled on and off, casting the room with a bright glow.

Adam moved through the kitchen with ease, a hand towel slung over one shoulder while he expertly flipped a pancake up into the air and caught it with the plate.  “You made it just in time, how do you want your eggs?”

He’d gone though such an effort for me, I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t hungry in the slightest.  “The pancakes are enough for me, is there any hot water?”  Hopefully with some tea I’d even be able to eat a few bites.  “When did you do all of this?”

“I had a little bit of free time.  Some of us don’t sleep away the best hours of the night,” he smirked, sliding the plate across the breakfast bar to me.

“This is really sweet, Adam, thanks.”  Eyes shiny with unshed tears, I blinked rapidly to keep from crying, my emotions running away with me.

“Hey, don’t let that get around, I’ve got a rep to protect,” he pretended to frown. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

I shook my head, it was a big deal to me.  “No, I’m pretty sure this is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me before.  The tree, breakfast… especially since you don’t even celebrate Christmas to start with.”

“Eh, I can appreciate the sentiment even if the calendar is a bit off,” he shrugged it off.  “Besides, you haven’t been eating much lately, I had to try and tempt you with something.”  Setting the butter and syrup before me, he poured out a cup of steaming water for my tea.

“Is this the kind of treatment I can expect if I move in with you?”  I took a sip of the tea before it was even done steeping, craving the relief it brought.

“If that’s what it takes,” he winked.  “I’ll make you breakfast in bed every day.”

“Okay then.”

Adam blinked, “Okay then?”

“Let’s do it.  I’ll give my notice to the landlord tomorrow, and maybe I can move out as early as next month.”

Vaulting the breakfast bar, Adam landed lightly on his feet, pulling me into an excited hug.  “Hell, who cares about notice?  You can move in tomorrow.  I’ll make all the arrangements.”

I couldn’t help but laugh over his eagerness.  “How about you show me your place tomorrow?  I haven’t even seen it yet.”

“You’re gonna love it.  We can go today if you want.”

“I’ve got to spend most of today cooking, remember?  After everyone goes home tonight you can show it to me if you want.”  His enthusiasm was hard to resist, and I found myself eager to start the new chapter in our lives together too.

“Alright, as soon as you’re done with your family we can take a drive.  Unless you feel like stretching your wings a little?” he raised a brow.

I hadn’t even tried calling forth my wings since the night we returned from Midian, and I had to admit, the idea of zooming through the night sky with him was awfully tempting.  But my stomach gave a lurch at the thought of the heights and speed involved, and I rethought answering yes.  “Maybe we should drive for the first time.  I might be tired after having everyone over.  But um, listen, I’ve been thinking…”

“Uh oh…” A roll of the eyes was given, and I smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

“Be nice.  I was thinking, I don’t want to have any secrets between us.”

“Everybody has secrets.”

“Okay… well, I’d like to minimize the secrets between us.  I want to tell my mother about you today, I’d like her to meet you.”

“Really?”  Adam’s face lit up with a surprisingly innocent smile.  “You don’t think that will raise a lot of uncomfortable questions?”

“It might, but I want her to know you, especially with… you know, the future.  I don’t want to get into the whole angel thing, but the rest of it, where I’m in love with you, that part I’d like to share with her if you want to.”

“I’d like that.”  Adam leaned in to kiss me, and I felt my stress level go down from DefCon One to level Two.  I just had to work up the nerve to tell him the rest of it, and I took another steadying drink of tea, but he beat me to the punch.  “That sort of goes along with something I had in mind as well.”

“Oh?”

“Your present.”

“I thought you said you didn’t celebrate Christmas?”

“It’s not a Christmas present.”  From his pocket, Adam produced a small velvet box.  That wasn’t what I thought it was, was it?

“Adam…” I didn’t have any other words as I stared at the little box in shock.

“I know we’ve never talked about this before, but your mother did indicate that she has fairly strong opinions about you living in sin with a man who’s not your husband,” he smiled, opening the box to reveal a perfect princess cut diamond set in white gold, flanked by two smaller sapphires, the exact color of his eyes.

“Oh, Adam,” I swallowed, hardly daring to reach for the beautiful ring.  “Wait, you aren’t doing this because of my mother, are you?  Because I don’t want you buying in to her guilt…”

“I’m not doing this because of your mother, Mercy.  I’m doing it because I love you, and I’m ready to keep loving you for all eternity.  I know I’ve spent the past thousand and more years trying to forget my past and everything I lost, and for the first time, I feel like maybe I’m done paying for my sins.  I feel like maybe I have a chance at true happiness.  I don’t want to spend another sleepless night without you by my side.  Merceline Renault, will you be my wife?”

He took my breath away with the proposal, and I fell back against the stool, too stunned to answer right away, even though part of me shouted a resounding, yes!  “There’s a chance I’m not immortal you know.  We don’t know if I have enough Grace for that.”  I felt that needed saying.  All that talk about eternity… if it didn’t apply to me, marriage to me might not be anything like the picture he painted.

“Then I’ll share the rest of my Grace to keep you with me forever.”  Taking the ring out of the box, he slipped it over my finger while I watched.  “Marry me, Mercy.  You know I won’t stop bugging you until I get what I want.”

“You don’t have to bug me.” I stared at the glittering jewel on my finger.  “Adam, are you sure about this?”

“Say yes.  You know you want to.”

“Of course I want to, but…”

“Then… say yes.”

“Yes,” I whispered, dizzy with excitement as he picked me up and swung me around, delivering a sizzling kiss that left me breathless.  Already walking me backwards towards the bedroom, I remembered I still had to talk to him about the baby before we got too heavily into it.  “What about my pancakes?” I murmured against his lips.

“I’ll make you new ones afterwards.”

“Adam, I think we should talk about…” I never got the rest of it out as he captured my lips in a slow, drugging kiss, making me forget everything but the havoc he played with my body.  My Grace kindled to his, enveloping us both with a soft, golden glow as he gave me the rest of my Christmas present.

Only after we both lay in a haze of pleasure, did I gather the strength to bring up the dreaded topic.  There wouldn’t be a more perfect moment than when we both lay there, basking in the afterglow.  It seemed like a natural segue into the possibilities of the future.  Once more he’d been adamant about using protection, and I hadn’t objected.  Even though it was a moot point, I hadn’t wanted to ruin the mood.

“Adam?” I ventured, fingertips tracing lightly over the ridges of his abdomen.

“Mmm?” He didn’t move or react beyond the single syllable response.

“Now that we’re talking about getting married…”

“We are getting married, not just talking about it.  Hell, I’d blow off this Christmas thing in a heartbeat and do it today if you wanted to.”

“Okay, now that we’re getting married,” I tried again.  “Maybe we should talk about the future.”

“What’s there to talk about?  You move in with me, we get married, cue the happily ever after.”

“Yes, but, after that.  After I move in with you and we’re married and settled,” I swallowed, “In the future…”

“I guess you can keep working if that makes you happy, but maybe you could scale it back a little?  There are so many things I want to show you, places to go.  Do you think Parker would object to a few months off for our honeymoon?  I was thinking we could start with Fiji and then…”

I listened to him spin a beautiful, glistening web of dreams where we traveled the world in style and luxury.  Reaching the remotest of places, where only our kind could easily go, he truly did want to give me the world.  It was up to me to bring him down to Earth, even though I hated bringing reality back into the picture.

“That does sound wonderful,” I admitted, “but do you ever think what would happen if we ended up having a baby?  That might put an end to those travel plans for a while, don’t you think?”

“That’s one of the many reasons why we’re not having kids now or ever.  I’d rather keep you all to myself.  Think of it, Mercy, no responsibilities, no rules.  We go where we want, when we want.  You’re not worried about the money are you?” He leaned up to kiss the side of my temple.  “I told you, I’ve got that covered.”

“Okay, but things don’t always go as planned. What if it happens?”

“We were very careful.  As long as we keep being careful, it’s not a problem.”

“Is that what it would be for you if we had a baby?  A problem?”

His eyes popped open, brows drawing together into a single dark line.  “Mercy, you know it’s not an option.  Not now, not ever.  I thought you were on board with this.”

“I understand what you’re worried about, really I do.  But we both know the circumstances aren’t the same.”

“Are you saying you want to have a baby now?  Christ, we just got engaged, where is this coming from?”

“No, having a baby now is the last thing I had in mind, but…”  God, he was making it sound like I was this clingy girl who wanted an instant family, when that was far from the case.  More than anything I wanted that life he’d shown was possible.  I wanted to travel the world and not worry about anyone or anything more than spending time with the man I loved.  But that wasn’t reality, not anymore.

“Are you worried about bringing protection with us while we’re at the ends of the earth?  Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”  Adam leaned up to drop a quick kiss to my cheek.  “How about I make you those pancakes?”  Sliding out of bed, he looked around for his jeans, tugging them on most of the way while he looked for his t-shirt.

“No, Adam, I don’t want pancakes, I want to finish this conversation.”

“Well, I don’t.  You know, I don’t get women sometimes, it’s like nothing we do is enough.  I thought asking you to marry me would make you happy.”

“It did, I am, I’m very happy.  I just think we can’t bury our heads in the sand about this topic because it makes you uncomfortable.  Sooner or later we…”

“No,” he cut me off, shirt draped over one arm.  “There is no sooner or later.  We’re done with this topic.  I’d rather enjoy the day if you don’t mind.  Now… all of a sudden I’m in the mood for some bacon.  I think I’ll pop down to the store and pick some up.  When I come back, I’ll make enough pancakes for an army and I’ll let you bore me to death with wedding details.  Sound good?”

I opened my mouth to blurt it out.  I’m having your baby… but nothing came out.  He wanted to enjoy the day, and I did too.  “Yeah, that sounds good,” I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything else.  What would waiting one more day hurt?

* * *

Somehow I pushed away the worries and doubts, doing my best to live in the present, and enjoy the day for what it was - the first step to our future together.  Daphne and Sam planned to stop by for drinks later in the evening, and Parker and Luz might even show up, so I looked forward to a full house before the night was through.  Nelo ventured out to help me with the dinner preparations, and I promised him we’d have our very own celebration after my mother went home.  I had a present under the tree for him to share with Mimsy, a smoked salmon nearly as big as he was, his favorite delicacy.

I wondered how Nelo would react to the news that I was pregnant.  Having an extra pair of hands to fetch diapers and wipes sounded appealing, but was I dooming my baby to some kind of failure if I raised it with a dark minion around?  How the heck would I explain there were certain things like demons we didn’t talk about in polite society?  I couldn’t ask the little guy to leave, he was as much a part of my family as Sam or Mimsy, and he’d never survive in the world on his own.  Maybe people would assume Nelo was an imaginary friend, and besides, that was way in the future, no sense in borrowing more trouble than was already on my plate.

Adam seemed almost nervous as the time drew near for my mother’s arrival, and I caught him looking in the mirror more than once.

“Hey, she’s going to love you,” I assured him, leaning up to kiss his smooth cheek.

“I know, everybody does,” he replied without a trace of humility.  “But sooner or later I rub everybody the wrong way, and…”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine.  If anything it’ll be the other way around.”

He certainly looked handsome enough, in a pair of dark slacks and a crisp blue button up shirt that set off his eyes particularly well.  I had on my standard holiday party dress, a pretty red number with a wraparound bodice and a cinched waist that fell to just above my knees.  So what if I’d worn it for the past three holidays in a row?  By next year… I’d probably be wearing sweats and a spit up rag over my shoulder.  I couldn’t resist the urge to dress nice while I could.

My family arrived with a suitable amount of ruckus, my mother strolling right in without knocking, followed by Matty loaded down with packages. Oriana trailed behind, wearing white from head to toe, with the exception of a pink scarf wound round and round her neck.  She eyed me warily, keeping to my brother’s side as I hugged my mother and Matty in welcome.

“Are you very angry with me?” Oriana asked from behind the scarf as I came to stand before her.

“No, you’re welcome here.  But we should talk more later, there are a few things I want to say to you.”

Oriana broke into a radiant smile, unwinding the scarf from her throat with a flourish.  “I’m so very glad you wish to confide in me, I’m pleased we’ll truly be sisters now.”

Becoming besties wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I smiled back in keeping with the festive mood.  There was time enough to read her the riot act once my mother was safely on her way back home.

“Who’s this?” My mother looked expectantly to Adam, who hung back by the breakfast bar.

“This,” I sidled up to him, linking my arm through his, “is sort of a long story, but the gist of it is, this is Adam.”

“I don’t understand.  You met a new boy named Adam?” she blinked.

“No, actually the person you met the other night isn’t Adam at all.  He’s my boss, Parker.”

“I think I’m going to need a drink.”

A few minutes later, having tucked my mom onto the couch with a glass of my special eggnog, I ran through the basics of the cover story I came up with.  Basically, I said I wanted her to see I was happy and not making Adam up as a figment of my imagination, but he’d been away on business when she arrived and we hadn’t thought she would stay in town for very long.  But seeing as how he’d gotten back sooner than expected, I decided to end the charade and introduce them properly.  Any annoyance she felt over the misdirection was quickly eaten up by a few charming smiles from Adam and the sight of the diamond ring on the significant finger.

That quickly became the topic for the majority of the dinner conversation.  Weddings, engagement parties, dresses… all of it.  Matty was surprisingly involved in the choices he and Oriana had already made, they’d obviously given it a lot more thought than we had.  I shared a few private smiles with Adam across the dinner table as my mother yammered on about her own nuptials and how she really felt a wedding wasn’t a wedding unless it took place in a church with family and flowers and attendants and… the list went on and on.

“We aren’t getting married in a church,” Oriana declared when my mother paused for breath.  “I want to be married in the embrace of Mother Earth, as the Gods intended.”

“I have the most wonderful idea!  You four should have a double wedding!” My mom clapped her hands together in excitement.  Oriana clapped her hands delightedly as well, catching on to her enthusiasm, and I could see Matty’s mind churning through the more economical benefits to joining our blessed events together, but Adam shook his head.

“I’m sorry, as fun as that sounds, it’s not gonna happen.”

“No?  But think of how special it’ll be to share the day,” she pleaded.

“Sorry, Mercy deserves to have her own special day, and I’m here to see that she gets it,” he winked at me across the table.

I could tell my mother’s sense of practicality warred with the inherent romance of that statement and the romance won.  “Such a thoughtful man you have, Merceline,” she gushed.  “Of course, he’s right.  You both deserve your own special day.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Oriana piped up, reaching for a glass of water.  All she drank was water, I noticed.  “As I said, I’ve always wanted to be a sister.  And an Auntie, I’ve never been an Auntie before,” she smiled and I felt my stomach clench.  Did she know something?

Adam’s smile hardened.  “I hate to break it to you, Sis-to-be, but I wouldn’t count on being an Auntie any time soon.”

“No?  And here I tried so hard to be allowed to join the party,” her face crumpled in distress.  “I wore my finest dress, and I’ve been ever so careful with my manners, haven’t I, beloved?” she turned to Matty.  “Won’t I be allowed to bestow my blessing when the baby comes?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“What baby?” my mom blinked, and I tried to laugh it off as best I could.

“I don’t think we can always take what Oriana says at face value.”

“I have never spoken falsely,” Oriana frowned. “Don’t fret so, your head will stop spinning come summertime.  Oh… would you like me to cast an auger to see if you’ll welcome a girl or a boy?” she brightened at the prospect.  “Or shall you be surprised?  I do love surprises.”

I couldn’t look at her, all I could do was watch Adam who stared at me in growing horror as he started to grasp the truth behind her words.  His hands gripped the edges of the table hard enough to scar the wood.

“Oh, Merceline, how could you let this happen?”  My mother’s plaintive cry drew my attention, and I snapped back at her in annoyance.

“I didn’t let anything happen, it just did.  Adam…”

“How long have you known?”  His voice was quiet and devoid of life, it scared the hell out of me.

“Not long. I tried to tell you, but you didn’t want to talk about it, remember?”  I wanted to see him react instead of just sitting there, but his face remained completely passive.  Even yelling would have been preferable to the deadly calm that settled over him.  “Adam it’s going to be fine, it’s not ideal I know, but…”

My mother continued as if the tension in the air wasn’t thick enough to slice with a knife.  “I suppose it’s alright, with the two of you getting married, but no long engagements now.  You’ll want to pick a dress out with a little room built into it.  Maybe an empire waist gown.”

That was the last of my worries, and I only had eyes for Adam who continued to sit in silence.  “Could you maybe give us a few minutes?”

Matty stepped up, wiping his mouth and tossing the napkin onto his chair.  “Yeah, why don’t we take you back to the hotel, Ma?  They should really be alone for a while.”

“But we didn’t even get to exchange gifts, and…”

“We can do the presents some other time.”

“Are we going then?” Oriana pouted as Matty reached for her elbow to guide her from her seat.  “But it’s just getting interesting.”

“Is it mine?”

Too stunned to reply, my eyes closed as the pain of those three little words lanced through me.

“You watch your mouth.” My mom stopped on her way to retrieve her coat to point a finger at Adam.  “I raised my daughter better than that.”

“It’s fine, Mom.  It’s a valid question, Adam travels a lot, and apparently he has some self esteem issues,” I retorted, finding my voice.  “Should I bother to answer that, or will you not believe me anyway?”  My anger burned brightly, no doubt fueled by a good dose of hormones and the realization that I wasn’t the bad guy in this picture.  Why did I have to defend anything?

“Oh, it is Adamiel’s child,” Oriana interjected helpfully.  “Its light is blinding to behold, can you not see it?”

“Come here,” Adam rose from the table, stalking towards me, his face intent and I admit, for an instant I was afraid of what he might do.

“Adam, I…”

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!” my mother cried, and I saw real terror on her face.  I flashed back to seeing that same look on her face time and again when I was too small to do anything about it.  This was different though, I knew Adam wouldn’t ever harm me physically.

“Mom, it’s alright, he’s not going to hurt me.”

Adam blinked, his brows drawing together in confusion.  “Hurt you…?  No, I just need to know.”  Pulling me out of my chair, he backed me against the wall, his hand laying flat against my abdomen.  All at once I felt his Grace touch mine, and the tiny flare of something else… something new.  His eyes went wide with wonder before clouding with pain and what might be worry or regret, I couldn’t tell.

“Adam, I tried to tell you, really I did.”

“This can’t be happening, not again,” he murmured, eyes closing as he pressed his forehead to mine.

“It won’t be, I mean it’s not.  I’m not her, you know that.  You can’t think the same thing will happen as before.”

“I can’t…” he backed off, eyes darting around like a caged animal.

“Adam please, let’s talk this through, just you and me.”

“Come on, Mom, we’re going.”  Matty hustled them towards the door, and I flashed him a grateful look.  In the space it took me to look away, Adam was already going for the rear slider.

“Adam wait… don’t go.  We need to figure out what to do about this.  I need you to tell me it’s going to be okay.  I need you to tell me you still love me.”  I already knew he loved me, and I thought that might shake him out of the unreasoning panic with the realization that I needed him, but the helpless look he shot me was still charged with a terrible fear.

“That’s the problem, I do love you.  And it’ll never be okay as long as I do.”  His eyes told me he believed every single word he said.

“Don’t you dare run away from this. I need you,” I dashed after him, but he was faster, through the door and vaulting over the balcony railing.  “Adam!” I howled into the night sky as the wind whipped my hair into a frenzy.

It couldn’t be happening again.

Not after all the promises never to leave me again, the life we talked about building together.  The future he spun for us seemed impossibly out of reach when he panicked and ran at the first sign of danger, even if he did think it was to protect me.

I don’t know how long I stood out there in the freezing cold, staring into the dark skies for some flicker of movement I could recognize, that would tell me Adam was on his way back to me.  All I know, is when I felt Daphne try to usher me back into the living room again, my hands ached from gripping the railing so tightly for so long.

“Toss me that blanket,” she gestured to Sam, bringing my hands up to her mouth to blow on them, the heat hurting more than the numb of cold.  I let them bundle me up in the blanket, not paying much attention as they talked about how best to warm me up.

The hot mug almost fell when they wrapped my hands around it, I couldn’t feel anything.  I didn’t want to.  The pins and needles that came with the return of warmth didn’t penetrate my heart, which stayed numb for my protection.

“Mercy?”

I realized they required a response, and I blinked, having no idea what had been asked.

“What?”

“What happened?  Why were you out there all alone in the cold like that?”

“Adam left.”

“Adam was here?” Daphne traded looks with Sam, and I knew, she knew.

“You told her.”  It wasn’t an accusation, more like a statement.  I was still too numb to be angry.

“I am sorry, I know I promised,” Sam hung his head in shame.

“It’s my fault, Mercy.  I wormed it out of him, especially after I knew the secret was about you.  I was worried, I’m sorry,” she gave me her most winsome smile, but even that didn’t penetrate the fog of despair I found myself wrapped in.

“It doesn’t matter,” I shook my head.  “He’s gone.”

“He’ll be back though…”

“I don’t… I don’t know if he will or not.  You should have seen his face,” I shook my head.

“Yeah, but he loves you, he… OMG, is that what I think it is?”  Daphne suddenly grabbed my hand, the diamond flashing as she turned it first one way and then the other to get a good look at the ring.  “You really have been holding out on me, when did this happen?”

I’d almost forgotten about the engagement ring.  Did it still count?  “This morning.  He surprised me this morning, with pancakes and a proposal.”  My lips curved at the memory and I swallowed back the urge to cry.  “That was before though, now…”

“He’s just surprised, I’m sure he’ll be back, won’t he Sam?”

“He has never been able to stay away overly long in the past,” Sam allowed, his head canting to one side as he thought it over.  “Though he has not always chosen to reveal himself.”

“But you knew how to find him, didn’t you?  I mean apart from that one time he went to Midian to hammer out the details of his deal with Raum, you’ve always been able to find him before, right?” My eyes lit upon Sam, a speculative gleam coming into them.

“I have always found Adam in the past, yes.”

“You can find him for me then.  Talk to him.  Tell him it’s not the end of the world.  You can bring him back for me,” I pleaded with him, nearly knocking over the mug in my haste to catch hold of his hand, demanding his compliance.

“Mercy, I think it best if you let him come back in his own time.”

“When?  After the baby’s born?  Sam, I need him with me now, I can’t do this alone.”

“Oh honey, you’re not alone,” Daphne wrapped an arm around me.

“I know, and trust me, I’ll be counting on you plenty, but that isn’t what I meant.  I can’t help but feel like he’s not out there processing things, Adam is really gone, gone.  You have to find him for me, Sam.”  My eyes pleaded with him, drawing upon every thread that bound him to me in friendship.

“I will find him,” he agreed with a nod. “But I can’t guarantee I can bring him back.”

“Tell him…” I hardly knew what to say to get through to him in the state he was likely to be in.  “Tell him I love him, and I need him, and his child needs him too.”

“I will,” Sam rose to his feet and Daphne followed after him.

“You’re going now?”

Sam’s eyes flicked to mine and I let him off the hook, I didn’t want to steal him away just yet.  “You don’t have to leave right away.  You’re probably right, he needs some time to cool off, think things over a little.  There’s no reason to ruin your Christmas on my account.”

“It will be more difficult to track him the longer I wait,” he shook his head.  “I will return to you as soon as I can.” He touched Daphne lightly on the cheek and I looked away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment.  Instead, I gathered the blanket around me and shuffled to the kitchen to reheat my tea.

Daphne settled on a barstool on the other side of the breakfast bar a few minutes later.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t talk about it, not until after I figured out what to do.”  I left out the part where I’d gone to see Luz, I couldn’t really explain why I hadn’t wanted to involve anyone I was close to at the time.

“Did you figure it out then?  Are you keeping the baby?”

It had never occurred to me not to keep the baby, not once.  Not that I didn’t believe in a woman’s right to choose, but it wasn’t ever an option to consider.  It was Adam’s child, his and mine, a symbol of our love.  If Luz was to be believed, things happened for a reason.  Even if I couldn’t understand the reasons why, it comforted me to believe that too.

“That’s the easy part.  The hard part will be convincing Adam I’m not about to be butchered by the Angel of Death just because I’m carrying his child.”

“Are you sure about that?  Raziel won’t be trapped in Midian for that much longer, what if he comes to pay you a visit in his official capacity when he gets out?”

A sharp protectiveness swept through me, and I knew I’d defend my unborn child with my dying breath.  The shining sword came with the barest of thoughts, its deadly weight a comfort in my hand. “Then I’ll be ready for him.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

With less than two weeks until the wedding, we were hard pressed to get everything done in time to make it as magical as the bride and groom wanted it to be.  The fact that Oriana didn’t have much concept of what anything cost, or what was even possible in the real world made it a bit of a struggle, but finally we had the details hammered out to everyone’s satisfaction.

No one had seen or heard from Ben in the past few weeks.  Not like he was missing and I was a suspect, or at least Detective Santiago hadn’t turned up on my doorstep again.  I’d locked myself away with Sam’s books for hours, and I hadn’t been able to find any other ways to purify his soul without killing him, but I also didn’t hear anything about any acts of evil in the works either.  Wherever he was, Ben was content to bide his time, and I was glad for the respite.

Neither had I heard a single word from Adam since Christmas night.  Daphne spent most nights hanging out at the club or my place if I wasn’t working, just as gloomy as I was without Sam around.  I felt bad for her love life suffering on the count of mine sucking, but I gathered that Sam at least called her on a daily basis.  Me, he didn’t call at all, relying on Daphne to pass on his lack of success in finding Adam.

It was only a matter of time before Daphne let something slip around Parker, and then it seemed like everyone knew I was pregnant.  Half the club believed my story about a fiancé who traveled a lot, which was helped by the sparkly ring I still wore, but the other half whispered Parker might be the father.  It probably should have bothered me, but I couldn’t make myself care.  Mostly I tried to slip back into my regular routine, albeit somewhat modified since I had a bun in the oven.

I held the small engagement party for Matty and Oriana at my place.  It was cheaper that way, even though Parker generously offered to host it at the club.  Oriana still wasn’t good with large crowds and the music there might have easily overwhelmed the sensitive girl.  There were only a few people there I didn’t know, friends of Matty’s I’d never met, other than that it was the usual crowd I called family.  Parker brought Luz, and I was glad to see them still together.

My mom was still holed up in The Edgewater, there was no rush to hurry back to California in her jobless state.  After Adam’s disappearance, I’d called the hotel to inquire into her bill, knowing I’d be in serious debt if she stayed too much longer, but I was informed that all the arrangements had been made for her indefinite stay.  I could practically hear Adam telling me not to worry my pretty little head about it, so I didn’t.

I expected she’d go home at some point, but with the baby coming, she’d been dropping more and more hints about being there for me when the time came.  I was of two minds about that.  Part of me was grateful for the offer of help.  No matter how flaky she was in other parts of her life, she had given birth to the two of us, and raised us through infancy without any major mishaps, and I was glad for that experience.  At the same time, I knew I’d have to endure the endless litany of advice whether I asked for it or not over every facet of my existence.  The jury was still out over whether or not it was worth the trouble.

For the time being, my mom filled most of her days worrying about the upcoming wedding though, and the engagement party was less of a party than a last minute strategy session to try and get my brother and his fiancé to go with her choices whenever possible.  I stayed out of it as much as possible, keeping to the mundane details of keeping the bowls of chips full and the drinks coming.

Still, the night wasn’t without its entertainments.  I was in the middle of eavesdropping on Matty explaining to Oriana (with exquisite patience) why there was no moral obligation to pick angel food cake over devil’s food cake, when I saw Daphne’s face light up with happiness.  That could only mean one thing.

Sam.

I let them have their joy-filled reunion without intruding, smiling openly as Daphne tackled him with a big hug.  Instead of freezing as he might have done only a few months ago, Sam wrapped his arms around Daphne, lifting her into the air with a spin, both of them laughing like fools.  A lump rose in my throat, but I did my best to keep smiling, happy for them at least.

After a few minutes, Sam made his way back to me in the kitchen, his smile fading to a much more somber nod of greeting.

“Did you find him?  Have you talked to him?”  Even before I asked the questions I knew the answer wouldn’t be good, or he’d have had a dazzling smile for me too.

“I’m sorry, Mercy.  Adam doesn’t want to be found.”

“But you’re not done looking, right?  You still have other places you can check.”

“I truly have no idea where he has hidden himself.  For all I know he has returned to Midian.”

“No.” I could feel him out there through our bond of shared Grace.  He was far, but not that far.  “Wherever he is, he’s here on the face of the Earth.  Isn’t there anything else you can think of?”

“I have made many inquiries on your behalf.  If he turns up in any of those places, I’ll hear of it.”

It was the best I could hope for, and I gave him a grateful smile.  “Thanks, Sam.  I really appreciate you giving it your best shot.”

“I only wish I could do more.”

“Adam knows where I am. I guess I’ll have to wait for him to come back in his own sweet time.”  Hopefully he’d measure his time in human years, and I wouldn’t have to wait a hundred years or more to see him again.

“And how are you?  The child grows well?” His eyes dipped to my abdomen, voice lowering discreetly.

“It’s okay, the secret’s out.  Everybody knows about the baby.  Yes, I’m doing fine.  Thanks to the tea Luz gave me, I don’t even feel all that sick anymore, either.”  I still got tired a lot easier, and I cried at the drop of a hat, but I was able to get through most days without a meltdown.

“Then you are adjusting to the idea of becoming a mother?”

“It’s starting to grow on me, yes,” I smiled.  It still scared the hell out of me, but I was definitely adjusting to the idea of carrying a baby.  Already Nelo had baby-proofed the place, and declared we should move to an apartment on the ground floor.  I was just glad I hadn’t given my landlord notice before Adam disappeared, or I’d have to deal with finding a new place on top of everything else.

“I’m glad,” Sam gave me his sunny smile.  “Did you know there are websites online that have thousands upon thousands of baby names with their meanings and etymology?”

“That’s already been decided.  I believe you said you’re going with Parker, whether it’s a girl or a boy, isn’t that right?”  Parker sidled up beside me, a teasing grin on his face.

“You can’t seriously expect to hold me to that, I was kidding at the time!” I laughed, elbowing him in the side.

“Why not?  I still think it works, for either a boy or a girl.”

“I have often thought Sam to be an appropriate name for either gender as well,” Sam volunteered, and I couldn’t help but grin wider.

“Not you too.  Since when is Sam a girl’s name?”

“Isn’t it the witch’s name on TV?” As if there was only one show with a witch ever made.

“The witch’s name?”

“Yes, married and keeping house with her husband Darren.  Daphne and I often watch her juggling life as a mortal with her meddling mother and crazy uncle.”

“Oh, you mean Samantha from Bewitched.  That wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’ll keep it in mind.”  He looked a little crestfallen by that, but brightened at the offer of a glass of chocolate milk from Daphne.

“You got a minute?” Parker leaned close, lowering his voice for my ears only.

“Barring a pretzel emergency, I think I can spare you a few minutes.  What’s up?”

“Let’s step outside for a bit.”  Despite it being mid-January, we were treated to an unusually mild day out.  While it wasn’t exactly balmy, the sun made it more than bearable out there without a jacket.

“Okay.”  Following him out onto the small patio, I watched him carefully shut the door behind us.  Whatever it was he wanted to talk about, he wanted to do it in private.  “So… what did you want to talk about?”

“We haven’t really talked about this much, but you know I know you’re pregnant.”

“The secret’s out,” I nodded.  My thoughts turning suddenly, I shot him a sidelong look.  “You’re not going to tell me you don’t want a pregnant lady working behind the bar, are you?”

“What?  God no, angel.  You’ve got a job for as long as you want one, that’s not what I wanted to say at all.”

“Oh, good,” I relaxed, looking out over the street below.  “That’s the last thing I need right now, to lose my job on top of everything else.”

“But it hasn’t escaped my notice that you’re on your own right now.”

“That much seems certain.”  Especially given Sam’s news.

“And not to rub salt in the wound, but it doesn’t look like Adam’s coming back anytime soon.”  I didn’t bother to respond to that.  Whatever point he had to make, I wished he’d make it soon.  “I thought maybe…” He took a deep breath.  “I think maybe we should get married.”

“Oh God, that’s all I need now…” my head swiveled to stare at him.  What was he thinking?  He could step into Adam’s shoes and I wouldn’t notice the substitution?

“What?  Your baby’s gonna need a father.”

“And you think you qualify?”  Parker seemed miffed by my response, and I laid a hand on his arm to soften the blow.  “I’m sorry, it’s just… Come on, Parker… you as daddy material?  Can you honestly say you’re ready to wake up all hours of the night, changing diapers, feeding, burping, the crying…”  I didn’t think I was ready for it myself.

“That’s my point.  You need someone to share the burden.”

“I don’t want anyone to think of my baby as a burden,” I frowned, and he waved that away.

“Poor choice of words then.  I didn’t mean it like that, darlin’.  I meant it’s a lot for you to handle on your own.  It’s okay to ask for help.”

“Then I reserve the right to ask Uncle Parker to babysit whenever I need a mental health break.”  After a careful period of observation of course, so I knew he’d actually watch the baby instead of park it in front of the TV with a game on.

“You know you need more than that.  Let me help you, Mercy.  I know I might not seem like the kind of guy you can count on…”

“No, that’s not my objection.  I know I can count on you, Parker.  You’ve really been there for me, and please don’t think I don’t appreciate it, really.  But marriage…” I let out a drawn out sigh.  “I’m already engaged.”  My eyes went to the ring I hadn’t taken off since Adam placed it on my finger.

“So that’s it?  You sit and pine while Adam takes his sweet time deciding if he wants a family or not, and the moment he crooks his finger you come running?”  His tone sparked with bitterness, and I struggled to reply in a way that didn’t make me sound utterly pathetic.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but essentially… yeah.  This is his baby, he deserves to be the father, nobody else.”

“What if he never comes back?”

A thought I’d tried not to dwell on too much.  “I’m not ready to give up yet.  It’s only been a few weeks.  I know he loves me, and he won’t be able to stay away forever,” I said with more conviction than I felt.

“Okay, but will you promise me you’ll think about it?  Come on, Merce, it wouldn’t be that bad.  We have a lot of fun together, don’t we?  And I wouldn’t expect you to, you know…”

“What?

“You wouldn’t have to sleep with me.  Well, unless you wanted to,” he grinned.

I hadn’t even taken it that far, but it was obvious he’d put a lot of thought into it.  I couldn’t imagine a marriage like that in name only, even between friends, and I couldn’t imagine what he hoped to get out of it.  “Why are you doing this?”

“I told you, I want to help you.”

“This doesn’t sound like a very good deal for you.  You help me out and expect nothing in return?”

“Well, not nothing,” he grinned wolfishly.

“See, you do have expectations!” I punched him in the shoulder and he was quick to backpedal.

“I meant cooking!  Mercy, I was kidding around, you look so serious.”

“Crazy me, I thought we were having a serious conversation,” I snorted.

“No, you’re right, we are.  All kidding aside, I’m very serious about this.  I really think we can make it work.”

“What about you and Luz?  I thought you were dating.”  Was it strange that he’d brought her to the engagement party as a date, obviously intending to propose the entire time?

“We are,” he shrugged.  “But we’re all adults.  We all recognize certain needs that require filling.  I think we can handle it.”

He said it so calmly, like we were talking about sharing a car or something.  “I can’t believe we’re actually talking about this.  Parker, I really appreciate the offer, but I’m not going to marry you just to give my baby a father.  I don’t think I could marry anyone unless I loved them.”

Parker nodded, his face inscrutable.  “I can understand that.  But the offer still stands if you need me.”

“You’re a good friend, Parker,” I reached up to give him a hug. “I’ll definitely give you a call when things get rough, but I don’t want you putting your life on hold for me.  Now get in there and get back to your date, I’m sure she’s wondering what happened to you.”

“Are you coming?”

“No, I think I’ll stay out here and enjoy the brief glimpse of sunshine while I can.  I’ll be in soon though.”

I didn’t have long to wait before Luz stepped out onto the terrace with me.  I’m not gonna lie, I immediately felt awkward around her, wondering if she knew about Parker’s proposal or not.  If she knew, she gave no sign of it, though.  Instead she chatted with me about pregnancy symptoms and her experiences while being pregnant with her two boys and having to raise them alone after their father left.

It was nice to have that common ground, and I immediately forgot to feel weird around her, until she followed up a particularly gruesome description of childbirth with, “He’s in love with you, you know.”

“He has a funny way of showing it by taking off when I need him the most.”  There was no disguising the bitterness in my voice.  On the off chance Adam was nearby listening in, I wanted him to know how much anguish his disappearance had cost me.

“I meant Parker.”

Oh yeah, she definitely knew about the proposal…  “I know he does, but it’s not like that.  We… we go way back, that’s all.  He thought he was making this gallant gesture, but I think we both knew it wouldn’t work.”

“No, it’s deeper than that, I can tell.”

Shit.  Now things were going to be screwed up between them because of me.  “Luz, I can promise you, there’s absolutely nothing to be jealous of.  He made an offer to help me out, and I turned him down, plain and simple.  Parker knows I’m in love with Adam.  Besides, I thought things were going well between the two of you?”

“They are,” she shrugged, looking out at the setting sun.  “We both know what it is and what it isn’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we have something comfortable, but we both know it’s nothing more than that.  Especially when he’s in love with someone else.”

“I’m sorry,” I ventured, not knowing what else to say.

“No, don’t be,” she turned, smiling warmly, and I wondered how she could be so enlightened.  If I was in her shoes, I’d be tossing me over the balcony.  “It isn’t your fault.  I’m still looking for my knight in the shining armor, and I could do a lot worse than to have Parker warming my bed in the meantime,” she winked.  “Ven, let’s go inside, it’s starting to get cold out here.”

The party was starting to wrap up as we stepped inside.  A knock at the door had Daphne up to answer it, only to have her wave me over a second later.  “They have to have you sign for it, it’s certified.”

A courier stood outside, waiting politely, a large cardboard mailer tucked under his arm.  “Oh, sure, do you need ID?”

“Just the signature, ma’am.”  A few seconds later and I was the proud owner of said envelope, the return address from an attorney’s office I didn’t recognize.

“What is it?”

“I have no idea, it’s from some lawyer,” I shrugged, handing her the outer envelope as I found a sealed letter inside.

“Finch and Graybill… I know that office.  They make arrangements for me whenever I run short of funds,” Sam offered, looking over her shoulder.

“They make arrangements for you from Adam?”  My heart quickened as I tore open the inner envelope.  Maybe Adam decided to contact me though his attorney’s office because he thought it was safer?  The typewritten letter read:

Dear Ms. Renault:

Please contact the undersigned at your earliest convenience to discuss disbursement of a sizeable trust account and properties in your name.

Very truly yours,

John M. Finch, Attorney At Law

“It’s a letter asking me to call them about some money in my name,” I frowned, turning the paper over, but there wasn’t anything else included.

“There’s another letter in here,” Daphne held up a single sheaf of folded paper with my name on it, sealed with a blot of red wax.  Even before she gave it to me, I knew who it was from.  With trembling fingers, I accepted the letter, breaking open the seal.  I read the brief letter three times through before I looked up, my eyes shiny with unshed tears.

“What is it, baby?” My mother wrapped an arm around my shoulder.  “What’s wrong?”

“It’s from Adam.  He’s not coming back.”

Look for Mercy’s adventures to continue in the next book of The Fallen series, Child of Mercy.

Feedback is Love,

If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review today!

Read on for a special preview of Lisa Olsen’s novel, Pretty Witches All in a Row, available now!

Books by Lisa Olsen:

Pretty Witches All in a Row

The Touch

Moonsong

Nine Steps to Sara

The Fallen Series

Angel of Mercy

Mercy for the Wicked

Mercy for the Damned

Child of Mercy

Forged Bloodlines Series

Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down

Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down

Find Me When the Sun Goes Down (Spring 2013)

For more information, visit the author’s website at http://www.lisaolsen.net

Pretty Witches all in a Row

Chapter One

Prin lumina acestei lumânări

Conjur puterile întunericului

The words reverberated through her mind, indistinct; she couldn’t quite place the language or make out the intent.  The air grew oppressively hot, the scent of bitter herbs permeating the room.  Her breathing came in shallow gasps as an unreasoning panic seized her limbs.  She was in grave danger…

Să îmi dea puterea

Să îmi recapăt tinereţea şi să îmi dea viaţă de-a pururi

Suddenly there was no air, no breath, no light; only a terrible sinking sensation, as though she was being sucked into a black hole.  A terrified scream ripped through her, drawing her out of the void, even as the final words hovered in the air.

Aşa cum am spus aşa sa fie...

Annaliese clutched at the twisted bed sheets, chest heaving as she sucked in a greedy breath.  Her entire body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, heart beating like a jackhammer as she grew more aware of her surroundings.  All a dream…

Already the words began to fade, the edges of the dream becoming blurry and indistinct.  All too happy to let it fade away, she let go of the sheets fisted in her hands, willing herself to take slow, calming breaths.  “Just a dream,” she murmured shakily.  Drawing comfort from that mantra, Anna repeated it to herself again and again.

Just a dream.

Normally a nightmare kept its hold on her for quite some time, trying to reassert itself into the next dream.  Trying to avoid that particular circumstance, she reached over to turn on the clock radio by her bedside, cheeks puffing out as she exhaled again, arm crossing over her eyes.  The dream receded quickly, abnormally so; but she didn’t question it, letting the fatigue catch hold of her.  Scant moments later, Anna slipped back into a peaceful sleep, untroubled by dark dreams.

* * *

The sun had been up for an hour or more by the time he got the call.  Already on his way into the office, Detective Nicholas Gibson pulled over, needing to punch the address into his dash mounted GPS device.  The dead ends and one way streets in the Portland Metro area constantly gave him a headache, making the little device more than worth its weight in gold.

Well within the morning commute, Nick briefly considered flashing his lights to get there a little quicker, but he didn’t like to abuse that power.  Eh… who was he kidding… he loved to abuse that power.  Still, the dead body waiting for him wasn’t likely to get any deader, and the Crime Scene Unit was already on the scene working their magic.  In fact, the longer he waited, the more information his team would gather by the time he got there.  By comparison to his old commute in L.A., the drive across town was practically the speedway at Irwindale.  As he puttered along on 26th, managing a respectable twenty miles per hour, his fingers tapped along the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing on the radio.

The road grew less congested as he pulled off the main road, the side streets still sleepy in the early morning.  At every turn, the plucky little GPS directed him with great cheer, until he came upon the crime scene, the narrow street clogged with emergency vehicles of every shape and size.  Plenty of onlookers dressed in robes and slippers tested the patience of the uniformed officers on site, all eager to see what was going on.

Nick sighed as the little duplex came into sight, still steaming and smoking in the morning air.  He hated fires.  Not only would his shoes get all wet and ashy, he’d be lucky if he could get the smoky smell out of his suit without another trip to the dry cleaners.  That and it was usually none too pleasant a crime scene to come upon.  Physical evidence ended up contaminated in all manner of ways, from the water damage and the number of people tromping in and out before the CSU arrived.  At least he hadn’t had breakfast yet.

Double parking, Sergeant Gibson stepped out of the car, giving his most charming smile when spectator eyes swung in his direction.  At six foot one and a half, with brown hair and eyes, ruggedly handsome with more smile lines that worry wrinkles, Nick frequently found himself the object of female interest.  At least where the suburban housewife set was concerned.  Too bad the interest frequently cooled once they became acquainted with the reality of what he did for a living.  It might seem glamorous or exciting to be a police detective on TV, but it often translated to long hours and a lot of missed dates.  Not many women had that kind of patience, he’d found.

Wearing his favorite navy blue pinstripe suit, he felt a little overdressed for the crowd of onlookers, but he didn’t intend to linger with them for very long.  With a quick wink at a bottle blonde in a tight fitting jogging get up, he crossed the police tape, hastening his step as he dodged firemen closing up shop and preparing to clear out.

The duplex was a bungalow style house, converted some time ago to get two living units out of it.  The entire structure was smaller than his own two thousand square foot home by about a third, and he estimated each unit had about seven hundred square feet of living space.  The weathered siding had at one time been painted white with red trim, but had grayed with age, browner towards the bottom where overgrown shrubs lined the perimeter and a sooty grey at the top near the roof.  The concrete steps, painted red to match the trim, were scuffed and faded, the paint flaking away at every corner.  A brightly colored welcome mat in the shape of a sunflower sat in front of the door.  Wind chimes made from seashells hung over the door, hastily shoved aside, probably by the fire guys.

Not exactly the Ritz, but someone had put forth an effort to make the place a home.

As he stepped over the threshold, Nick spotted his team standing by an interior door, speaking in hushed tones.  Detectives Brady and Park were seasoned enough to know what to look for without him having to babysit them, while young enough to keep that eager edge despite all the drudgery they had to slog through.  Better them than him, he’d already put in his time running down dead end leads in his day, Nick was content to let the younger pups have at it.

Michelle Park, primly dressed in a navy blue, conservative woman’s suit, stood with perfect posture, black hair pulled back into a severe ponytail.  Of Asian descent, Nick found her attractive in an understated way, but completely lacking in any flirtatious or playful manner, despite his best efforts to engage her.  She looked more like an investment banker or an assistant principal than a detective, but Gibson had come to appreciate her dry wit and sharp observation skills.

Her counterpart Kip Brady waited to her left, impeccably dressed in a dapper charcoal gray suit that Nick guessed was worth at least a week’s paycheck, his shoes buffed to a high shine.  With close cropped dark hair and blue eyes, he easily fit the bill of everyone’s buddy, a trait that served him well in his years on the force.  A little short in stature, Brady had none of the ‘short man’s complex’ that plagued so many of his height.  Witty and affable, Nick could always count on him for a clever quip.  The pair of them tried Park’s patience to no end sometimes, of that he was sure, but overall they made a good team.

Brady looked up with a reverse nod and waved him over.  Gibson gave a little mock salute to a couple of EMT’s lounging by the kitchen entrance and slid past them.  The doorway led to a small bedroom, the epicenter of the fire with its blackened walls and waterlogged carpet.  “Hey guys, did you bring the marshmallows?  I’m fresh out.”

“That’s probably for the best, I think you’re probably gonna lose that sugar jones as soon as you take a look.”  Detective Brady gave him an amused smirk and Park stepped aside so he could stick his head into the bedroom, swiftly taking in the extent of the damage.  Even with the charring, it was easy to see the room hadn’t been filled with expensive furnishings.  There were puddles of wax on every surface indicating an overabundance of candles once resided there, along with an interesting array of candle holders made of glass, resin and stone.  A hanging contraption made of brass hung suspended from the ceiling, about the size of a small apple, riddled with little holes.  Maybe some kind of incense holder?  He hadn’t seen anything like it since his days as an altar boy.

It wasn’t long before his eyes were drawn to the badly burnt corpse lying on what was left of the bed.  “Eewh, crispy…” he muttered, ducking back out.  “So… are we thinking arson?”  His brow furrowed, it wasn’t often he was called to a fire; in fact, he could count them on one hand over the span of his ten year career in law enforcement.

“No sir, the initial report from the Fire Marshall indicates it was started by untended candles,” Park supplied politely and Nick gave a long suffering sigh.  No matter how many times he’d asked her, Park hadn’t lost the need to call him sir yet, but he was still working on softening her up.

“So, tell me again why we’re here?”  His phone chirped cheerfully, and he automatically withdrew it to check the screen, his face breaking into a wide smile when he saw the display.  “Hold that thought,” he raised a finger before reading the text:  It was supposed to be your turn to make breakfast!

Brady leaned over to surreptitiously read the message from around his shoulder.  “Bimbo du jour?”

“Bite your tongue, you know there’s only one girl in my life,” Nick scoffed, swatting Kip away before placing the call.  A smile was exchanged between the younger detectives as they listened to the one sided conversation.  “Hi Muffin…No, I know, but I’ll make it up to you…Well…how about pancakes for dinner? …Okay, Belgian waffles then…Did you finish your English project? …Okay, okay, it’s my job to ask, you know…I will keep that in mind…I’ve gotta go chase bad guys, I’ll see you tonight.  Make good choices! …Bye sweetie, I love you.”  Nick tucked his phone away with a smile, rubbing his hands together expectantly.  “Now then, where were we?”

“We were about to regale you with the tale of why we’re here before you stopped to play Father Knows Best,” Brady supplied helpfully.

“Regale away.”  Nick nodded benevolently, ignoring the jibe.  There weren’t many that took a back seat to his work, but he did his best to make time for his teenaged daughter, Veronica.  “But start with the part as to what makes this a homicide investigation.”  In his experience, fires were a messy way to kill someone; most people didn’t get that fancy.

“I think I can help with that.”  A gloved finger tapped on his shoulder and he turned to make room for the petite brunette with a paper mask attached to her forehead.  “Had to hit the ladies room, too much coffee.”  Her nose wrinkled as she stepped into the bedroom and she rapidly replaced the mask, her hazel eyes skimming over the room to find the clipboard where she’d left it on the top of the dresser.

“My favorite M.E.  Nice to see you, Libby, well… part of you,” Nick grinned, stepping into the ruined bedroom with her.

“Always a pleasure, Sergeant Gibson,” she nodded amiably, flipping open her metal clipboard and clicking on her pen.

“Not yet, but I’m hopeful,” he dropped a playful wink, drawing a roll of the eyes, prompting Nick to clear his throat.  “So, you were saying?  This wasn’t an ordinary fiery death then?”

“Not by a long shot, in fact this one should be right up your alley.”

“Yeah?”  He studied the body a little more closely.  “Cause of death?”

“Not the fire.  In fact, there’s no sign of smoke inhalation at all.”

“Huh, I wonder how he managed that?”  He certainly looked crispy on the outside, why not the insides?

“I’m thinking it was probably a little hard for her to breathe with an eight inch knife plunged into her heart,” Libby deadpanned.

“You don’t say…”  Nick brightened at the news. It was turning into an interesting fire after all.

“I do say.  Entered here under the breast bone.”  She lightly touched the body with her gloved hand.  “Right up under the rib cage and straight to the heart.  Either the killer really knew what he was doing, or it was an incredibly lucky shot.  She would have died almost instantly.”

“That would complicate things,” he allowed.  “Any way to tell time of death?”

“It’s a little more difficult with the state of the body, but on first examination I’d say sometime between eleven PM and two AM,”  Libby replied, scribbling onto the clipboard.  “I’ll have a more thorough report after I get her down to the morgue.”

“The fire department was called at one forty-two AM by the next door neighbor,” Park supplied, referring to the notepad on her cell phone.

“Okey doke.”  Nick backed out of the bedroom, leading them away from the doorway so Libby could get back to work.  He might enjoy teasing her, but he knew she hated to have someone looking over her shoulder.  “So, what have we got on our vic?”

Brady flipped open his notebook and began to recite the facts.  “Her name was Caroline Mackenzie, but she legally changed it to ‘Skye’ when she became an Oregon resident.  Age twenty-two, moved here from Texas three years ago.  No priors, except for one arrest for disorderly conduct last year, during a peaceful demonstration that turned a little ugly, but the charges were later dropped.  Worked as a massage therapist, according to her business cards.  Not a bad looker if you like the hippie type.”  He picked up a framed photo depicting a smiling blonde sitting on a field of grass, a crown of daisies atop her head.  She flashed a peace sign for the camera, blue eyes crinkling with mirth.

“Massage therapist, huh?  Maybe someone got ticked off when she wouldn’t give them a happy ending?”  Nick chuckled at his own joke, drawing a smirk from Brady in kind before he cleared his throat with a look at Park.

Ignoring the childish jokes as par for the course, Park took up where Brady left off as though there hadn’t been an interruption.  “Her parents are still living in El Paso, Texas and she has two sisters that live in Texas also.  That’s about the extent of what came up on record so far.”

Ducking his head into the kitchen, his gaze was drawn to a series of green plants tied into bundles and hanging face down from the ceiling.  “Drugs?”

“No sir, those are various herbs.  Some for cooking I assume, I can identify rosemary, sage, parsley, dill, oregano, basil, thyme… some of these… are a little more obscure, but nothing illegal.”

“Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, huh?  I’ll take your word for it.”  He stepped back out into the living room, pausing at the desk.  “We’ll want to check out her client list, friends from her email account, the usual.”

There was a small stack of business cards on the desk, all for the same shop.  He picked one up, examining the stylized silver flame printed on glossy, deep blue cardstock.  “Argent Flame, metaphysical and ritual supplies,” he read aloud.  “I wonder why she had a stack of these?  Looks like it’s over in the Hawthorne district… I wonder if she was running massages out of that place?”

Brady traded an amused look with Park.  “Yeah, about that…”

“About what?”

“Come on, you’ll want to see this for yourself,” Brady smirked, already backing towards the archway that led to the small room in the back of the little house.  The room was untouched by the fire, presumably as the owner had left it.  Once intended as a sun room, the windows were all covered with brightly colored bedspreads in a series of celestial designs.  One of the sun, another with a constellation of stars, one with the three phases of the moon and one with a large, five pointed star within a circle.

Candles surrounded the room as well, tall slender tapers, fat pillar candles and many unusual shapes and sizes.  A small table pressed into the corner was covered with trinkets, small boxes and bottles, and some objects that resisted identification.  Another five pointed star within a circle was drawn on the threadbare carpet with what looked like dirt, a darker stain in the center.

“Oh, this case keeps getting better and better…” Nick breathed, wandering through the room with interest before he turned on his team with exasperation.  “You knew this room was here the whole time and you didn’t lead off with this?”

“We saved the best for last?” Brady defended weakly with a helpless shrug.  “We were letting the mood build.”

“We didn’t want to prejudice your examination of the rest of the crime scene,” Park offered with a straight face.

“Sneaky… I like that.”  Nick pointed at each of them in turn.  “So… what am I looking at here, exactly?”

“It appears our golden haired girl was also a card carrying witch.”

“Get outta town, a witch?” Gibson’s brows climbed.  “Like pointy hat and broomsticks and the whole shebang?  She sure hid her warts well.”  He thought back to the picture of the pretty girl, she looked like any wholesome college co-ed.  Not the sort of gothy, tattooed, black dyed-hair type that he associated with the occult.

“The politically correct term is Wiccan, sir.  But that does seem to be the case based on her library.  She had a very strong interest in paganism if she wasn’t one herself,” Park added, sounding fairly knowledgeable on the subject.  Nick resolved to ask her more about that later, but the star symbol on the rug caught his attention.  Kneeling beside it, he looked up at her.

“CSU’s already processed this room?”

“Yes sir, everything has been catalogued.”

Picking up some of the dark powder and letting it fall through his gloved fingers, Nick studied the symbol.  “Any idea what this stuff is?”

“First word is it’s dirt, nothing beyond that as of yet, they took a sample down to the lab,” Brady replied.  “See that darker stain in the center?  That’s blood, same type as our vic.  We’re betting she was stabbed in here, then moved to the bedroom to make it look like the fire did her in.”

“There’s not too much of it then,” Gibson frowned, rising to his feet again.  Ordinarily he would have expected quite a bit more blood, especially if the body was moved to a completely different room.  He studied the books on a short bookshelf.  Lots of witchy subjects; everything from candle magic to herb craft, whatever that was.

Returning to the living room, he paused at one of the tall bookcases.  Withdrawing a scrapbook, Nick studied the pictures within.  There were photos of the victim at several gatherings, always smiling and laughing, hugging, generally joyful.  His expression thoughtful, he flipped through the pages of her life, wondering, who would have killed such a happy go lucky kind of girl?  But then again, he’d learned time and again, things were rarely as they seemed.

“Okay, let’s step through this… our killer slips in here when she’s home all alone and vulnerable, maybe she’s in her witchy room, working on some kind of spell.”  Nick walked back into the ritual room.  “Maybe she’s even in a trance or something, because he’s able to get the jump on her and stab her through the heart without her making so much as a squawk.”

“Maybe he held his hand over her mouth?  Muffled her before he stabbed her?  She wasn’t more than a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, she would have been easy to overpower,” Brady suggested and Nick nodded his approval.

“True, it could have gone down like that.  Either way, our guy decides the best way to hide any evidence of the crime is to burn the body, make it look like a simple accident.  After all there are enough candles in the house to open up her own shop.  So he scoops up the body, carries her into the bedroom.”  He stepped out of the rear room and headed back to the living room, stopping short of entering the bedroom, not wanting to interrupt Libby in her examination.  “He sets her down and starts lighting candles.  All he has to do is knock one over and it’s domino city… soon the room is ablaze and he beats feet out of here, through the back door if he’s smart.”

“There’s a large back yard out there, shared with the unit next door, fenced all the way around,” Park supplied.  “He could have hopped the fence, or even left through the front door.  It was late, he could have gambled that no one would be up and around to see him, and the flames wouldn’t have attracted any attention until they got really out of control.”

“We’ve got a whole lotta nothin’,” Nick sighed in disgust.  At that stage of the game it was as though someone had taken a box of puzzle pieces and tossed them into the wind.  Not only were they scattered about without any trace of a pattern, he wasn’t even sure if all of the pieces were in one place yet.

Libby stepped into the bedroom doorway and crooked her fingers at the waiting EMT’s who disappeared into the bedroom, wheeling the gurney between them.

Somewhat subdued, Gibson turned to his team.  “Okay, now the fun stuff,” he said briskly, all business now.  “Park, you take the family, make the call, you know what to do.”  Never one to enjoy making that call, he delegated it to Park, who had a gentle touch with victim’s families.    “See if you can find out about her friends, if she had a boyfriend, the usual.  Brady, start running down the contacts from her phone and computer, I want a list of her clients ASAP.  Find out if she’s affiliated with a massage therapy place in town or if she was working freelance on her own.  Let’s get her bank records too, see if there’s anything suspicious there.  Keep in touch, you know the drill.”

“You got it boss-man,” Brady nodded, scribbling into his notebook, and Park echoed her assent, fingers flying across the screen of her smart phone.

“I’m gonna swing by and check out this occult store, see what I can turn up.  See if she was really a tree-hugger type or if she was into any of the dark stuff.”  He waved one of the business cards from the desk.

The EMT’s emerged from the bedroom, wheeling the body bag with practiced indifference.  “Okay, let’s move like we got a purpose people.”  Nick waved them on grimly.  All kidding aside, it tore at him to see someone full of youth struck down so senselessly, and he was determined to bring the killer to justice.