by J. E. Taylor
Death and Fate exchanged a glance and then turned their attention to me.
“Is this true?” Fate asked.
I nodded and my hand fell protectively against my stomach.
“But the contract,” Fate said and looked down at her notepad. “It’s binding and I can’t undo it.”
“There are always ways around a contract,” Tom said. “What if we freed the souls tethered to her? Would that be enough to rework whatever fucked up contract you hold?”
My heart leapt into my throat. I didn’t know what would happen to me if the souls I absorbed were freed. I certainly didn’t want to live without Alex.
I’m not going anywhere, Alex said, his voice firm in my head.
Tom looked at the spot right next to me before glancing at me directly. “Your husband, I presume?”
Yes, I signed.
Fate bit her lip and studied the pad in front of her. She glanced at Death and shrugged. “I don’t know if that would work. Let me see what I can do.”
I’m sorry I threw the knife at you, I signed.
She rubbed her arm. “Your aim was off. It just nicked me.” Fate turned to the group. “Make sure she stays here where we can find her.”
“Ask the angels. They always have the answers,” Grace said from behind Michael.
Fate cocked her head and then nodded. “I will. Just make sure she stays put.”
“Don’t come back unless you have a plan to fix this,” CJ said. “Because if you come back with the idea you are going to deliver her to hell, you better damn well bring the entire population of hell along with you to have a prayer’s chance of taking her off my property.”
Death’s face pinched in aggravation before he and Fate blinked out, leaving a heavy silence and all eyes on me.
You killed Lucifer? I signed.
CJ smiled, but it was as cold as a northern ice tundra. “Come on, let’s get you fed before the death squad comes back.” He turned and crossed through the sliders.
Everyone followed. I hesitated. Michael still had his hands on my arms and he coaxed me forward.
“They’re good people. They won’t let anything happen to you.”
I glanced back at him. His blue eyes held sincerity and his soft smile put me at ease. It only took a moment, and then I made the decision to follow the angel descendants, even though I didn’t know if they would be my salvation, or my demise.
Chapter 10
The plate of eggs, toast, and home fries was better than any diner I had visited on my way east. I signed my thank you and dug into the feast. Nearly dying and then being brought back to life by a natural healer made for a fierce hunger, which took all of my attention away from the conversations flowing around me. When the last morsel disappeared into my mouth, I washed it down with the full glass of orange juice and then leaned back in the chair.
“What happened to your voice?” Tom asked from the other side of the table.
I squinted at him. Fate took my voice.
“Julia?” He pointed towards the backyard.
No. The bitch that had the job from the time I was created until Julia took the position. The original Fate sent me to kill my own brother, and I had to use my siren to stop pirates from killing me before I completed the job. She took my voice to spite me, I signed. Julia tried to give it back, but she only succeeded in giving me my siren, not my voice. I shrugged.
Michael reached over my shoulder and cleared my plate. After putting my dishes in the sink behind us, he took the seat next to me. I studied his profile. While CJ and Tom Ryan were ruggedly handsome men, Michael Andreas outshined them in both looks and brightness.
Some of you are more than just angel descendants. Michael and his sister’s auras are brighter than CJ’s and CJ’s is brighter than yours and Tom’s. Why? I signed to Valerie
“Michael, Grace, and their brother Gabriel are trilogies with a more direct bloodline. Their father was the archangel Gabriel’s son. CJ is also a trilogy but further removed. And the rest of us only have one or two angel bloodlines flowing in our veins,” Valerie explained. “In this room, you have descendants of the host of archangels. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Lucifer.”
I shivered at the mention of Lucifer.
“Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer are all dead. Raphael and Uriel are stuck in Heaven since they gave their grace to CJ.”
Lucifer is really dead?
CJ reached over the table and touched my forehead. I was no longer sitting in the kitchen. Instead, I was stalking across the bloodied back yard towards Lucifer. It took me a second to realize that, I was reliving CJ’s memory.
TOM LAY ON THE GROUND covered in blood, his gaze locked with mine as a sliver of hope filled his mind, crushing another piece of my heart. Seeing him this near death nearly ripped the righteous fury out of my bones. I resisted, knowing if I let loose too soon, we were toast. Instead, I let the image fuel the anger inside me, controlling my muscles to provide maximum strength to each of my calculated strikes.
Tom’s thought whispered in my ear just as Lucifer revealed the knife Tom had just warned me about. Lucifer swiped and only met air as I parried out of the way, giving me the opening to grab hold of his wrist and crank it until the knife fell to the ground. Unarming Lucifer was as easy as taking a sticky lollipop from a child’s hand.
Each fist that connected with Lucifer’s body brought forth a satisfaction I should have been shamed by, but I embraced it, gaining power from it like the fury building in every cell. The bastard deserved ever broken bone and bruised muscle he got.
His fists connected with me, as well, but I didn’t register pain from even one of his blows. Maybe Valerie’s healing mojo was still working its magic.
I didn’t have much more time. Tom was slipping into the darkness, which fueled me even more. My fist connected just below Lucifer’s rib cage, lifting him off the ground with the power of it. The blow vibrated all the way to my shoulder, but it was enough to drop the devil to his knee.
Lucifer spit blood through his teeth and glared up at me. Before he could rise, I grabbed him in a headlock, crying my rage as I twisted. Bone splintered and skin split, and everything inside me burst with white hot wrath. With one final yank, Lucifer’s head severed from his body. My angel fire swept over the backyard, blackening the ground along with the king of hell’s body even before it hit the dirt.
THE VISION SHIFTED, and I sat at the kitchen table blinking, my form trembling from the intensity of emotions that came with the memory. My heart hammered in my chest and my breath wheezed. I didn’t know whether to drop to my knees and beg for mercy or to act casual, as if I saw the demise of an archangel every day.
Michael’s hand covered mine, snapping me fully into the present.
What. The. Hell? Alex’s gasping thought filled my head.
I pulled my hand away from Michael’s soft grip and reached for the water glass still in front of me. The water sloshed as I brought it to my lips and forced a sip down my tight throat. CJ chuckled from the other side of the table.
I understood how this man could easily challenge Death and Fate. He had taken on the beast and won. Death, Fate, and even Leviathan were like a sparring match at the gym in comparison.
He stood, clearing the rest of the plates.
Why are you helping me? I signed once my hands stopped shaking.
“Because it seems like the right thing to do.” CJ put his hand on my shoulder. “We...”—he twirled his finger to indicate everyone in the room—“know what evil is, and you aren’t it.”
How do you know?
He smiled. “My wife would know. She has your memories, remember?” He turned his attention to the sink. “Why don’t you go relax on the couch. It’s much more comfortable than the kitchen chairs.”
I stood on shaking legs and crossed into the family room, then took a seat on the corner facing the doors where my backpack sat. Aggravation at my helplessness burned my skin. As much of an ally as this family posed, I coul
dn’t in good conscience tangle them in my mess.
I calculated my odds of a getaway.
Valerie took a seat across from me. “Tell me about Alex.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I know. I have the memories, but I think it would do you some good to talk about him.”
I can hear her, you know, Alex piped in.
I rolled my eyes at both of them and started signing. Alex was my neighbor and became my friend. I shied away from friendship for obvious reasons, but he kind of wormed his way into my heart. The day I was told to hunt down my brother was the day he made his first move on me. I didn’t dissuade him either. If I had, he’d still be alive.
“You don’t know that,” Valerie said.
I stared her down until she dropped her gaze, then I continued. He never knew quite what I did. I mean who really understands what a paranormal investigator does anyway?
Tom laughed. “I own a paranormal investigation agency.”
I leaned back in the seat and studied him for a minute, my aggravation at feeling helpless growing beyond my control. What kind of paranormal situations do you investigate? My snark was lost in translation.
“Ghosts mostly. But I’ve had my fair share of demons as well.”
So, no bicorns, or gorgons. How about Medusa or a Minotaur?
Tom shook his head. “I’ve had my fill of demons, vampires, and ghosts. You’re the first siren I’ve ever met.”
I am no longer a true siren. Yes, I still hold the capability of siren song, but what you see today is what Fate turned me into after I escaped from Lucifer with my brother. The brother I was later commanded to kill. I’m enslaved by Fate, obligated to hunt down creatures that escaped from hell during a breach. But, as I learned recently, I am only obligated to hunt down those that cross the line. Therefore, my contract will truly never end. I’m bound to Fate’s whims for eternity. Anger blew past my surface. This was not my choice. I took a breath and closed my eyes. I’m the best at what I do, but it is not my choice to live an eternity alone. You asked about Alex. I made the mistake of letting him in, and he died because of it. When I opened my eyes, everyone in the room was staring at me.
“I see ghosts. I never asked for that,” Tom said, and bitterness threaded through his voice. “I never asked for my tongue to be cut out or my dead wife’s to be sewn back in. I never asked to choose between my best friend and my daughter, either.” He gave me a shrug. “Unfortunately, neither my daughter nor my best friend survived. So, you’ll find zero sympathy from me.” His hard gaze locked with mine.
This family, while being as strong and amazing as they were, had already lost too much. I climbed to my feet and started towards the door. Staying was a mistake, and I wasn’t about to drag these people into a losing battle.
CJ stepped into my path, stopping me. His gaze held both compassion and an unyielding hardness that flamed the fury building in my soul.
Move. I signed. You don’t need to be part of my shit show.
“Sorry, not happening.”
I had two choices, give in to the anger and let my siren loose to get my way, or fight my way out. These people didn’t deserve being damned, so I executed a spin kick aimed at his chest.
But my entire body stopped in mid-air with my heel a hair away from his chest. I gulped air.
“Are you quite done with your little show?” he asked and pushed my leg away.
Whatever suspended me in the air released, and I crumpled to the ground next to the couch. The only being I’d ever encountered that had that kind of control was Lucifer.
I can’t stay.
“Yes, you can. And there is a way to fix this.”
I opened my mouth, but only a puff of air came out. I clenched my hands in frustration, believing him naive for thinking he could fix something that was millenniums old.
The soft expression on CJ’s face hardened, and his focus moved away from my face in an arc, like his eyes wielded a blade.
Pain ripped through my head, dropping me to my knees. A hand clamped over my mouth and shut off any hope of wailing my siren to stop whatever fresh hell they were doling out.
A soft voice whispered in my ear, but I couldn’t hear the words, not with the agony overwhelming me.
Alex’s thundering “No!” filled my head and then cut off, like our connection had been severed.
Silence blanketed my world. I welcomed the black wave that took me under.
Chapter 11
A cool, damp cloth wiped my forehead, dulling the throbbing pain. The minute it was drawn away, the pounding returned. I winced, wondering what happened to bring on this hellish agony. The cloth wiped again, slow and steady, reminding me of a mother doting on a sick child.
I forced my eyes open. Blonde hair hung in my field of view. I didn’t remember anyone with blonde hair, but my eyes wouldn’t focus. My eyelids dropped again. The soothing cloth continued to slowly mop my forehead.
A sigh followed.
“I know you’re awake,” a voice whispered softly.
It was familiar in an eerie way. I forced my eyes open again, focusing on the fawn eyes looking down on me. I tried to move away.
Fate whispered, “Shhh,” and mopped my forehead again with enough care to bring tears to my eyes.
“Why?” I blinked when the word actually came out of my mouth. My eyes widened, and I tried to sit up. “You gave me my voice back?”
Julia pushed me back on a bed in an unfamiliar bedroom. “Just lay back and I’ll explain as best I can.” She ran the cloth over my face one more time before laying the cool washcloth over my forehead.
“There wasn’t a way to break the contract.” She stood and crossed to the window. “So I asked if there was any way to void the contract.” She let out a soft laugh. “It’s amazing what the angels will tell you when you ask the right question, especially when their kin are knee-deep in the situation and Leviathan wants to tear each and every head off.” She turned back to me. “I can’t blame him. CJ knocked him halfway across the Atlantic.”
I let out a surprised laugh, the sound of it shocking enough to stall my brain for a moment. “You know CJ?” I asked, still stunned that my voice was back.
“Believe it or not, they used to babysit me.” She gave me a smile. “Nick and I are from York.”
I glanced at my hands.
“But you knew that, didn’t you?”
“I remember the old Fate mentioning that Death’s son was from York during one of her infamous rants.”
“Well, it was a smart tactical move on your part. Unfortunately, you left a map in your car, so we knew where you were headed. Your car should be here in a day or two.”
“Why? Why am I not chained in hell?”
She stared at me for a moment and then licked her lips. “You’re mortal.”
“What?”
“That was the only way to make your contract null and void.”
My hand dropped to my belly and my heart squeezed. “And my child?” I asked, praying whatever they did hadn’t terminated my pregnancy.
Fate took a deep breath. “The baby is fine.”
Relief flooded every cell, and I fell back on the mattress. I expected Alex to pipe in and tell me of course the baby was fine, but the utter silence in my head triggered a new set of alarms. I met Fate’s gaze.
“Alex didn’t want to go,” she said. “But we convinced him that he would better serve you and your child from heaven rather than become a bitter, angry ghost that was forever earth-bound.”
The pain in my head was nothing compared to the hurt in my chest. He was gone. Forever. Tears formed, blurring my vision. I didn’t know whether to be angry or not. At least he wouldn’t be sentenced to an eternity in hell alongside me.
“You’ll see him again someday,” she said. “As long as you don’t go on a murder spree.”
I slowly sat up, staring at her. “I’m bound...”
She shook her head. “Your siren was bound for hell. Another loophol
e that the angels told me about. I honestly didn’t know if the Ryan’s could do what I asked of them or not, but we had to try. Otherwise...” She shook her head, either unable or unwilling to finish that sentence. “Anyway, you will grow old, and when your time is up, I’ll be there with Nick to bring you home.”
She glanced out the window again. “You know, York is a wonderful place to bring up a family,” she said and turned, walking out the bedroom door.
I was flabbergasted.
Mortal.
I didn’t know what to do with the information, so I pinched my arm hard enough to draw a wince. A knock on the door drew my attention, and I looked into Michael’s kind blue eyes.
“Hi,” I said, my voice soft and scratchy.
His eyebrows arched. “Nice bonus,” he said and stepped inside the room. He waved at the accommodations. “I’m sorry it isn’t a five star hotel...”
“It’s not a prison cell or a hospital bed, so...” I picked up the washcloth that had fallen into my lap and set it on the bedside table. “I assume I’m in CJ’s house?”
“Safe assumption.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Can I get you anything?”
“Do you have anything for a headache?”
He turned and disappeared from the room, coming back a few minutes later with a glass of water and two Tylenol capsules. “Val said you can take this. She also said the headache may last for a few days.”
I took the pills and downed them with the water.
“I’m supposed to give you this,” Michael said, pulling a folded paper out of his pocket. He handed it to me and gave me a nod. “If you need anything, just yell.”
I unfolded the paper and stared at the handwriting. A lump formed in my throat, and my vision blurred under the sudden barrage of tears.
HEY BABE,
First, let me tell you how truly strange it is to be using someone else’s body to write this note. But it was the only way I was going to agree to let go. I wanted to say goodbye in my own words, in my own way.