by S. J. West
“Oh, cherub, don’t cry,” my papa says to me. “We’ll have plenty of time later to make other memories. We’ll find a way to be together again.”
“So,” Lucifer says. I look over my papa’s shoulder and see that he’s returned. “Have you been able to talk some sense into her yet? Have you explained what a fiasco her life will become if she marries Malcolm? You know him well enough to explain what a cad he can be, Andre, especially where women are concerned.”
Papa turns around to face Lucifer. “I’ve given her my blessing, Lucifer. You should know better than anyone that when two soulmates meet nothing can keep them from wanting to be with one another. Even though you don’t want to admit it, Malcolm is an excellent choice for her. He’ll take care of Anna better than any other man in this world.”
Lucifer rolls his eyes like he expected this to happen.
“Did you at least talk her out of retrieving any more of the seals?”
“Why would I do that?” Papa asks, sounding confused.
Lucifer looks at me. “I thought you would have talked about that too.”
“No,” I tell him. “We didn’t.”
Lucifer looks back at my father and says, “The seals are changing her. Their combined powers are evolving her into something darker. She needs to stop collecting them!”
My papa looks at me in alarm. “Levi mentioned you were gathering the seals, but he didn’t say they were causing you to change. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” I tell him. “I can handle it.”
“No, she can’t!” Lucifer says in exasperation. “She’s only collected two seals so far and that guardian angel of hers came close to losing her the last time she died.”
“The last time she died?” Papa exclaims. “How many times have you died since I’ve been gone?”
I hesitate but know I have to answer. “Twice.”
“Anna!” Papa says with a mix of surprise and worry. “Tell me everything.”
I go on to give my father a truncated version of the events that took place after his incarceration by Levi. I omitted my recent conversation with Helena, however. I didn't want Lucifer to know Hell was preparing to make me its master instead of him. He seemed to have enough problems to deal with. Plus, it would have just been another hit to his pride, which I didn't feel he could suffer through right now.
Papa listens to my tale closely, allowing me to get through the retelling of recent events before asking any questions.
“And are you feeling any different?” He asks me.
I look between my papa and Lucifer, debating whether I should admit it or not. However, I think my hesitation has already given them the answer they want.
“Yes,” I say. “I feel more powerful.”
“In what way?”
I look around the room and see the chair Millie has been laying my daily clothes out on for me. I lift it with my new telekinetic power, rotate it while it's in the air, and set it back down in the exact same spot it was before.
“Her powers will only increase,” Lucifer says emphatically.
“I can handle them,” I try to say with conviction, but there is a small part of me that doubts I'll be able to. “With Malcolm with me, I'll be able to finish this mission and take the seals back to Heaven. I'm stronger when he's with me. I can do this.”
Papa doesn't say anything. He just looks worried.
“What does my father say about it?” He finally asks me. “Does He think you can handle what the seals will do to you?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “He wouldn't have sent me here to take them if he didn't.”
My papa takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out.
“I've always trusted His judgment about matters like this, and I don't see any reason to doubt Him now. Do what you need to do, Anna. You have my full support.”
Lucifer lets out a feral growl. Before I know it, he charges towards me walking through the holographic image of my papa and grabs the crystal out of my hand. He squeezes it with enough force that I hear it crack and the projection of my father disappears.
“Why did you do that?” I scream at him.
“Because Andre was completely useless!” Lucifer yells back. “I had hoped he would be reasonable and tell you to stop this travesty of a marriage and to stop collecting the seals for your own good!”
“He trusts my judgment. It's something you should learn to do.”
“You're twenty-one years old! You haven't lived long enough to understand the powers you’re playing with.” Lucifer grabs the tops of my arms and shakes me a little bit. “You will end up killing yourself, Anna! Stop before it's too late!”
The worry in Lucifer's eyes tells me that he's only doing this because he truly cares for me.
“Then help me through it,” I plead. “Instead of trying to stop me, help me instead. With your knowledge about things like this, I'm sure I can succeed. Either way, I'm going to try, with or without your help.”
Lucifer lets me go with an aggravated growl and pushes me away from him, making me lose my balance and sit on the bed behind me.
“You're just like your mother. Completely stubborn,” he says, looking down at me.
“And if she hadn't been so stubborn,” I tell him. “She might have listened to other people and stayed away from you.”
“Maybe she should have. We might have all been better off!”
“You don't mean that,” I tell him, seeing through his attempt to belittle what he had with my mother. “She made you a better man. Look at you now. You're trying to save my life. Do you honestly think you would have even cared if it hadn't been for the love my mother brought out in you? I think you want to be more than you are, Lucifer. You just have to admit that fact to yourself.”
Lucifer is silent. He just looks at me, but I can tell my words have hit a spot of truth.
“Perhaps your ‘husband to be’ will be able to talk some sense into you when he learns what the seals are actually doing,” Lucifer says. “I assume you haven't told him everything yet?”
“I will,” I say in my own defense. “I just haven't had the time.”
“Ri-ight,” Lucifer says. “I think you're afraid he'll tell you to stop.”
“He won't.”
“I wouldn't bet on it,” Lucifer says knowingly. “If Malcolm actually does love you, he will. You can bet on it.”
Lucifer begins to phase, but I reach out and grab him, forcing him to stop.
“Come to my wedding,” I beg him. “Share in the happiest moment of my life.”
Lucifer looks at me and shakes his head. “I can't be a witness to the beginning of the end of you, Anna. I'm not strong enough for that.”
I let go of Lucifer, and he phases away, back to Hell.
I wonder what memory Helena will make him relive while he's there. A red-hot hatred builds up inside me, and I have a sudden urge to go down there and knock her senseless. It's an absurd thought because she isn't real, just a manifestation that Hell devised to communicate with me.
“Are they gone?” Millie asks, peeking her head out of the bathroom.
“Yes,” I tell her, standing up because I realize I'm sitting on my wedding dress. The last thing I need to do is wrinkle it. “They're gone.”
Millie walks over to me. “It was so good to see your father again.”
“Which one?” I ask.
“Both I suppose,” Millie admits. “But Lord Andre more so than Lucifer, if I'm being honest.”
“Millie, the way you talked to Lucifer made it seem like the two of you knew each other quite well. I seriously doubt he would let just anyone speak to him the way you did.”
Millie looks uncomfortable about my observation.
“Oh, that...” she says, wringing her hands together obviously not liking the turn of the conversation.
I cross my arms over my chest. “What aren't you telling me, Millie?”
Millie looks at me with an almost guilty ex
pression.
“I promised Lucifer I would never mention it...to anyone.”
“Does it have something to do with me?” I ask, becoming even more intrigued with the secret relationship Millie seems to have with Lucifer. “If it does, you have to tell me, Millie. I need to know everything I can about Lucifer if I’m ever going to understand him.”
“I’m not someone who breaks her word easily,” Millie says, still looking uncomfortable about the subject. “But, considering how things are between the two of you, I feel like you should know. Perhaps if you know more about him, you can better understand his feelings for you.”
“Tell me, Millie. Please,” I implore. “I need to know.”
Millie sighs before she tells me her secret.
“On the night of your first birthday, I was putting you in your cradle when I felt like someone was behind me. I turned to see if it was Lord Andre sneaking in for one last kiss from you, but I saw no one. Still, I didn't like the feeling that someone had been there. So, I acted as if I left the room and waited for a couple of minutes listening in at the door. When I heard a male voice in your room, I barged in ready to fight whoever it was.”
“Was it Lucifer?”
Millie nods. “Yes, he confessed to me that he just wanted to see how much you had grown in the past year. I didn't see any harm in it. I even told him about all your little milestones like your first step, your first word...”
“What was my first word?”
“Papa, of course,” Millie chuckles. “Oh you've loved Lord Andre from the moment you saw him, I think. Anyway, every year on your birthday until you were ten years old, Lucifer would come during the night to see you. I would wait for him and let him know anything notable that happened to you during the year. We formed an odd acquaintance during those times.”
“Did you ever tell papa about Lucifer's visits?”
“No,” Millie says, looking guilty. “I promised Lucifer it would be between me and him. I didn't sense that you were in any danger. So, I didn't see the harm in keeping the secret from your father.”
“You said he came up until I turned ten. Do you know why he stopped?”
Millie shakes her head. “No, I don't. You would have to ask him that.”
Millie's confession just adds to my certainty that Lucifer cares for me more deeply than he might want to admit. I am almost certain now that he loves me, even if he doesn't want to say the words to me.
“Why don't we see if we can put a smile on that beautiful face of yours instead of a frown?” Millie suggests. “I suspect Master Malcolm would rather see you happy when you go walking down that aisle towards him.”
I follow Millie to the bathroom where she already has the tub filled with water and bubbles. After I strip off my clothing and submerge my body into the water, I feel a sense of calm wash over me as soon as I imagine Malcolm's happy face watching me walk down the aisle towards him.
I smile and close my eyes, letting the bad events of the day drift away, only keeping the good in the forefront of my mind.
Chapter 9
For the wedding, Millie styles my hair into long loose curls and pulls small sections of it away from my face. She pins them into place on the backside of my head with a diamond and pearl hair-clip shaped into a design that reminds me of a vine of flowers. The pearls act as flower buds and the oval diamonds leaves.
“That's pretty,” I say, watching her reflection in the vanity mirror as she clips it into place to hold my hair back. “Where did it come from?”
“Oh, the other Watchers brought you some jewelry as a wedding gift,” she tells me. “Now, let me see if I can remember correctly. I believe the hair-clip was from Desmond.”
“What else did I get?” I ask, excited to see what other treasures I was given.
Millie walks over to my bedside table and picks up a medium sized black box. She brings it over and hands it to me. I lift the lid and inside, beautifully displayed on a piece of black velvet, is a necklace and a pair of earrings in the same design as the hair-clip.
“I was asked to tell you that the necklace is from Brutus and the earrings are from Daniel,” Millie says. “And Jered said your gift from him will be arriving tomorrow morning.”
“Do you know what his gift is?” I ask, intrigued to know what Jered would give me.
“I have no idea, my sweet,” Millie says with a shrug. “But he seemed quite pleased with himself for thinking of it, whatever it is.”
There is a soft scratching at the door.
“Anna?” Vala says from the other side.
Millie goes to the door and opens it for my four-legged friend. I not only get Vala but also Luna. The little hellhound runs in and jumps up onto my lap. Her little tongue is hanging out as if she just ran a marathon and her bright blue eyes practically glow with happiness. Vala leisurely walks into the room shaking her head at the pup's antics.
“It's almost like she knows what's going on,” Vala tells me, sounding amused. “She's been excited ever since the others began preparing the chapel.”
“Chapel?” I ask Vala while rubbing the little hellhound between the ears in an attempt to calm her down.
“Yes,” Vala says coming to sit down beside my chair. “There's one at the end of the east wing of the house.”
“Oh,” I say, wondering if it's the same chapel my mother used for her own wedding.
It makes sense that it would be. Where else would she have gone?
“I think it's time to get dressed,” Millie tells me. “You don't want to keep your man waiting at the altar any longer than you have to.”
“I couldn't agree with you more, Millie,” I say, placing Luna down on the floor and slipping off my robe as I walk over to the bed. “I think Malcolm and I have both waited long enough, and it feels like it's been forever instead of only a few hours since I last saw him.”
“Love has a way of changing the pace of time in your mind,” Millie agrees.
“Have you ever been in love, Millie?”
Millie smiles sadly, as she holds out my dress for me to step into it.
“Hasn't everyone been in love at least once in their lives, my sweet?”
“Who was he?” I ask, slipping my arm through the one shoulder dress.
Millie steps around me and pulls the fabric together in the back to zip it up.
“A young man who used to work for Master Malcolm back in the day,” Millie tells me.
“What happened? Where is he now?”
“He went off-world to make his fortune and never came back,” Millie says.
“Why?”
“Apparently he found someone else he liked better,” she replies, not sounding like she wants to discuss her lost love any further, and I certainly wasn't going to push the matter.
“Well, his loss was my gain,” I tell her. “You've been like a mother to me, Millie. I know my life wouldn't have felt complete without you in it.”
I can see Millie tear up at my heartfelt declaration. She sniffs and smoothes out the front of the skirt for me.
“Pretty as a picture,” she declares, taking a couple of steps back to see me fully. “I knew you would make a much prettier bride in this dress than your last one. You're wearing the dress this time, not the other way around.”
I giggle because I remember quite well how ridiculous I looked in the monstrosity of a gown they forced me to wear to my coronation.
“Oh, Anna,” Vala says, coming to stand beside Millie, “you look absolutely gorgeous!”
“Thank you,” I tell them both. “Do you think it's time yet?”
“Very close,” Millie says. “Jered told me to keep you in here until he came for you. Are you nervous?”
“Not one bit,” I tell her truthfully. “I’m just anxious. I feel like I've been waiting for this moment my whole life, Millie. It seems like it's taken forever to finally happen.”
“Well, I'm just happy I'm here to see it. I do wish your father could have stayed for the ceremony.�
�
“Me too.”
“Oh!” Millie says, obviously remembering something. “I completely forgot to tell you that Mr. Gray and Mr. Stokes will be attending the wedding. After they took Catherine and her doctor to the freighter, they came back to watch you get married.”
“So Catherine's safe now?”
Millie nods. “She is on her way to Mars as we speak, from what I was told at least.”
It brings me a sense of relief to know that Auggie's mother is being well taken care of. I just hope she's able to recover from the torture Levi made her endure. His complete disregard and sadistic behavior towards her simply adds another reason to my growing list of them for me to kill him as soon as possible.
Millie helps me put on the jewelry the other Watchers gave me. I decide to slip off Jess’ bracelet since it doesn’t really go with my wedding outfit and safely tuck it into the drawer in my nightstand with my other Heavenly gifts.
Not long afterwards, someone knocks on my door.
“Anna, are you ready?”
I instantly recognize the voice as belonging to Jered.
Before Millie can even move, I phase over to the door and open it.
I gasp in shock at the sight of Jered. I just stand there and stare dumbfounded at his face trying to decide if it's actually Jered standing in front of some tortured imposter or me. Under any other circumstances, I knew Jered would look quite handsome in his tailored black tuxedo. He's holding a small bouquet made up of lavender and off white roses tied together with a silky lavender ribbon, which I assume is meant for me. However, his appearance throws me completely off kilter.
His entire face is a mass of black and blue bruises. One eye is completely swollen shut and his lower lip is busted open straight down the middle. Yet, Jered doesn't give the appearance of someone in excruciating pain. He stands before me smiling cheerfully, looking happier than I've ever seen him.
“Jered, what happened to you?” I ask in alarm, wondering if there was trouble here on Earth while I was visiting Heaven.
Jered's smile goes a little lopsided. “Oh, it's nothing.”
“How can you say that?” I exclaim. “Your whole face looks like it was used as a punching bag!”