by Deena Remiel
“Am I making you nervous? Raphael, the long lost husband. Why should you care what happens to Sirona? You didn’t care enough back then to hang around and protect her. I’ve read the myths, the stories of what happened. You were never around for her.”
As the doctor spewed his venom, his eyes took on a curious red glow; one Raphael recognized well and had hoped never to see again. Satan wanted to play. And he didn’t play fair. “You didn’t understand what she needed. You could never give her what she needed. It’s your fault she died. But now I’m here. I will always be here for her, through her death and beyond. I am the only one who truly worships her.”
Raphael lost any fragment of control he had left. He whipped his sword out of its sheath as he stalked over to the doctor, heedless of the danger and the doctor’s unpredictable nature.
“Don’t come any closer, Raphael,” he warned, aiming the gun steadily at Serena. “You wouldn’t want to cause Sirona’s death all over again, now would you?”
Raphael paused for a moment, but liking his own odds better, he continued bearing down on him. Suddenly, the doctor switched his aim to Raphael and fired. Over and over again until the bullets were spent. He caught a bullet square in the chest, and another two, below the ribs. The bullets were quickly absorbed by his body and dissolved into microscopic particles released through his sweat. Undaunted, he pushed on, and with a mere flick of his wrist, sliced off the doctor’s hand. Dr. Chappo looked at his severed limb, shock and horror on his face. He looked back at Raphael.
“You were saying something, Doctor? I believe I’ll be causing your death today.”
Raphael pivoted and spun around, gaining momentum. With his sword outstretched, he unleashed a godlike fury, and a single slash of his blade whispered straight through the doctor’s neck.
“Now you can live forever where you belong…in Hell!” he snarled, watching the lifeless and headless body drop to the ground. Raphael threw his sword down on the ground in disgust and raced back to Serena’s side. He resumed his arduous task, praying that Serena had enough strength to help him help her.
“Come on, Serena!” he urged, as his hands made sweeping passes over her body. “Come on back to me, baby. Don’t give up. You’ve got so much to live for. Your friends, your father, your business, and me. I can’t bear the thought of living my life without you. I lost my first love. I’m not about to lose my forever love. Do you understand me, Serena? You are my forever love. I need you.” His movements quickened as he sensed her fading away. Even with his speed, he couldn’t reach the speed required to replicate the red bloods cells sufficiently.
I’m losing her. The Brethren had come to stand around the two of them, Gabriel putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Raphael shrugged it off.
“No, damn it! Serena! Don’t leave me, girl! Stay with me, fight with me, fight for us!” Raphael panicked and lifted Serena into his arms to cradle her and shower her face with kisses. Enmeshing his hand in her lustrous hair, ready to shake the life back into her, he stopped for a moment and marveled at her peaceful, angelic face. And her eyes opened.
Not Serena’s eyes. Sirona’s.
“Raphael, my love,” she whispered lovingly and lifted her hand to caress his cheek. “I’ve waited centuries for you to save me, to hear you say those very words to me. But I know the words you’ve just spoken were not for your sweet Sirona. You’ve moved on, and I fear I cannot.”
“Sirona, my dear Sirona,” he murmured into her hand. “I’m so sorry. So very sorry. For everything. For not being there for you. I failed you….” Raphael’s voice trailed off as he closed his eyes, fresh pain slicing through his soul.
“It is as it should be, as it is meant to be. Let us not end our time together with sadness and grief. Let’s work together and bring Serena back to life. Back to you. Your skills and my gift can do this.”
He nodded his approval and began his feverish healing once again, this time with Sirona’s help, multiplying red blood cells faster than ever done before. Her color improved, she breathed more deeply, and her pulse returned, slow but steady. She gazed lovingly into his eyes.
“This is my eternal gift to you, my love. We had our time together. I have loved you so long. Goodbye, Raphael, my angel.” Her hand slid gently down his face and hung limply by her side. Her eyes slowly closed.
And Raphael wept.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Great! Just great! There’s a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Wait a minute, that’s not right. I’m not in my bedroom. I’m locked away in Dr. Chappo’s house. She remembered more. Being bound to a gurney, her body broken and dying. But I’m not lying on a gurney now, and I actually feel great. How could she be dying and still feel great? And what’s with the rain shower on my face? Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped.
It was raining. Angel’s tears. Raphael’s tears, to be exact.
She lay in his arms, and from the way he shuddered and sobbed, she thought maybe he didn’t know she lived. To be honest with herself, she’d only realized this fact just a few moments before. Iridescent wings were outstretched and trembling though no breeze made them flutter so.
She gently raised her hand to caress his cheek and whispered softly. “Shh…there now, Raphael, shh. It’s all right. I’m okay.”
His eyes opened, and through the torrent of tears, he gazed upon her face. He sniffed and smiled, and said, “I know, sweetheart, I know.”
“Then why are you crying?”
He crushed her to him. “Because you are alive. I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to save you. But between Sirona and me, we brought you back. She blended her gift with my healing powers. And now…she is gone, forever.” Raphael wiped the last of his tears from his eyes, and she knew his tears of joy were mixed with tears of sorrow.
“I see. I’m so sorry, Raphael.” She shook her head and moved to get up. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling, having lost your love, twice. I’m so very sorry.” Raphael tried to stop her, but her will to break free from his hold apparently took him by surprise, and she stood up on her own. “Is it over, Raphael?” she asked, looking around. He stood as well.
“Yes, it’s over. Dr. Chappo is dead, along with his goon squad. And we have Steve bound over there.” He pointed to a chair in the corner of the lab. “He’ll be dealt with, Serena.”
She stared at Steve long and hard, eyes narrowing, her body remembering every little detail of his brutal treatment of her. She peered back at Raphael. “Swift and permanent, Raphael,” she commanded loud enough for the asshole to hear.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he concurred. She stalked out of the lab.
“What? What does that mean?” Steve shouted maniacally after her. “That stuff you said? You’re gonna take me to the police, right? Right? What does that mean? What, what are you doing? N—”
***
“Serena! Hey, wait up,” Raphael called out. She kept right on walking, though she seemed a bit perplexed and a bit hysterical. He caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm.
“Serena, hey, slow down, sweetie. It’s okay.” He hugged her close and wrapped his wings around her. Her chest heaved, and he sensed how unsettled she felt. He sent healing waves of comfort down their threaded connection. But she fought it. And he didn’t know why.
“I gotta get out of here, Raphael.” Her words muffled against his chest. She shuddered in his arms.
“I know the way out. Come, I’ll show you.” They walked briskly through the maze of corridors, stopping briefly at one room in particular. “So this is where he kept you prisoner.” His voice grated with contempt. She nodded. He noticed the furnishings and how they replicated the time period he and Sirona had shared together. He shook his head in disgust and ran his hands through the tendrils of hair sweeping down her back.
“Yes, he was a very sick, twisted, and evil man. I almost pitied him. Almost.” She rubbed her arms with her hands as if to fight away a sudden chill.
They
reached the main foyer and walked out the front door. Serena took a last look back at the mansion that was now ablaze, and then all around her. It was still dark. With the moon hidden behind clouds, it was difficult to see beyond a few feet.
Raphael took her hands in his and asked, “Where do you want me to take you?”
“Home. I want to go home.”
“I can do that,” he said with an easy grin.
“Thank you, Raphael.” She put a tender hand on his arm and hushed him as he was about to reject her gratitude. “I don’t care what you say. You and the Brethren saved my life. And now, I can live in peace. I’m eternally grateful to you all. So, where’s your car or van or whatever vehicle you rode in on?”
“You’re looking at it.” He opened his arms and outstretched his wings. “What? You don’t mean you…you know…flew here, do you?” she asked, eyes widening like the full moon above.
“Yup. Are you up for it? Because it’s a mighty long walk back to Sedona.” She stood there, seemingly contemplating her options. “Don’t worry about a thing, Serena. I’ve been doing this for centuries. Come here and put your arms around my neck.”
She stepped tentatively to him and did as he told her. He swept her off her feet and took off. She shrieked and buried her head in his neck. It was all Raphael could do not to chuckle. After a few minutes, she calmed enough to peek out, and from that point, he figured she was cured. The sky turned from pitch to the deep purples and oranges of an encroaching sunrise.
“I’ve never seen the earth quite like this before,” she gushed. “I’ve never felt so free. I’ve always been at peace and one with nature, but seeing the landscape change its face like this, seeing the sky awaken in all its glory, leaves me believing that Shakespeare may have been right. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.”
“Indeed,” Raphael agreed. “How does one explain the emotion brought about by a sunrise? Today actually mirrors your own rebirth, the dawning of a new chapter in our lives.”
Serena fell silent.
The wind picked up her hair and it trailed behind her, gently stroking Raphael’s wings. And his soul. He knew of no other place he’d rather be than right in the present, with Serena in his arms. He would tell her so. He would tell her everything. She had to know that no one else existed for him but her for the rest of eternity.
And he had to make her believe.
Just before daybreak, he alighted at her doorstep and eased her down, checking that she could stand solidly on her own two feet. He kept her close in his embrace, not wanting to let her go for even a moment. “Welcome home, Serena.” He smiled down at her. She looked up at him and smiled back.
“Thank you. That had to be the most amazing trip I’ve ever taken. I shall never forget it. Join me later, will you? At Cathedral Rock, say…ten o’clock? I need to shower and change out of this wretched gown, and I must see my father at the nursing home. But we have to talk, Raphael. So please, say you’ll come.” She bit her bottom lip.
“Yes, I can do that. I know we have a lot to talk about, but do you really want to go back to Cathedral Rock? I mean, there’s bad history there.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers.
“That’s exactly why I want to go. If I don’t go back there, I’ll never deal with it properly or put the past where it belongs, in the past. I need to make other memories there.”
Encouraged by the sound of that, Raphael smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? I know my way around buttons and showers and—”
Serena interrupted immediately. “I really need some time alone. And like I said, I need to see my father. Goodbye, Raphael. Until later.” She quickly turned and reached above the doorjamb for her spare key. Unlocking the door, she gave him a quick smile and closed it.
Raphael stood there a moment, scratching his head. Something’s going on here, and whatever it is, I’ll fix it at Cathedral Rock. There’ll be no more ducking and running from Miss Serena. Oh no. I’ll see to that. There’s no place she can duck or run to that I won’t find her. We will be together.
Raphael had a brilliant idea. He hurried over to the safe house to shower and change. He was going to follow Serena to her father’s and when she leaves, he would have a little sit down with the man, too.
***
Serena threw the gown in the garbage. She tore off the lace panties and bra and tossed them in there as well. She tied up the garbage bag and tossed it in the garbage so she wouldn’t have to see those garments ever again. As she let the water cascade over her head and shoulders, she closed her eyes. I’m alive and free!
When she removed herself from Raphael’s embrace, she felt as if she’d left a piece of herself behind. But, she had made her decision, no matter how miserable she may feel about it. The way she saw it, it was a lose-lose proposition. Leave him and she’d be miserable. Stay with him and never trust his love for her. And that would be the greater heartache.
The foaming bath gel slowly washed away the horrors of the day and the heartache of resignation. At last it brought about not just a rosy complexion to her skin, but a rosy outlook as well. She would see her father and tell him how much she loved him and how grateful she was to still have him in her life. She would see Raphael and explain things. He would see the wisdom of ending any romantic entanglement, and they would agree to continue as friends or go on their separate ways.
She had the perfect plan, she thought. Perfect and flawed. Because I’m still in love with the guy, damn it! When she had seen him crying above her, it was all she could do not to take him in her arms and kiss away the pain until all that remained was passion. When he had held her in his arms, carrying her home, she nearly melted from the fire that had been stoked inside her. But she knew with time it might fade. And if not, well, it wasn’t as if she would live forever. She’d dealt with sorrow most of her life anyhow. I’ll have to make the best of things until my time is up on this earth. Making the best of things. Yeah, I’m good at that.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Raphael watched Serena leave the nursing home from behind one of the bushes in the front. She seems in good spirits, he thought. Only when he saw her disappear down the street did he dare to venture out of his hiding place. He walked into the nursing home and headed straight to the reception desk.
“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Sikes.” He smiled amiably at the receptionist.
“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”
He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”
Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand. Am I actually nervous? Hell yeah! Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daughter’s hand in marriage. And Raphael, the Savior, is about to lay the groundwork for the most important healing, next to Serena’s, of my eternal life.
He sat facing the window, like a still-life portrait. In his healthier years, Fred Sikes had to have been an imposing figure, Raphael guessed, for his body seemed to just fit into the wheelchair. How uncomfortable that must be for him, he considered. Knowing what he could do for him, he itched to remedy that. But he needed to be patient right now.
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, and approached the still man, taking a deep breath to calm his heart. “Good morning, Mr. Sikes.” He turned the wheelchair slightly so that they could look at each other. “Sure is a beautiful day out there. Sir, my name is Raphael. I wanted to come and speak with you today. Let me get right to the point. You see, sir, your daughter and I are…involved. Basically, I wanted you to know that I’m in love with Serena, and want her to be my wife. So I’ve come to ask for her hand, and gain your blessing before I ask her.”
A muscle twitch in Mr. Sike
s’s cheek startled Raphael. Serena hadn’t mentioned that her father had gained back some muscle movement. Did she even know it herself? This encouraged him and would make her father’s “recovery” less miraculous. He planned to incrementally heal him, all the while keeping it secret from Serena, so that by the time of their wedding, Mr. Sikes could walk his daughter down the aisle.
“Mr. Sikes, you need to know that I will take excellent care of your daughter and love her forever. I will never give you cause to worry. There’s more, sir. I’m not sure, but I don’t think you like being cooped up in that wheelchair, or like not being able to communicate with people. There’s nothing more I would love to see than you walking your daughter down the aisle to me. And so, I must share some things about myself with you that may surprise you, but in the end, what I can do for you, and ultimately for Serena, will make you very happy, indeed. Let me explain by showing you.”
Raphael placed his hands on either side of Mr. Sikes’s head. He took a deep breath and began searching the thousands of neural pathways in the brain that were destroyed by the stroke. He sought out those specific to gross muscular functioning and speech and created new neural pathways, but not all. As much as he wanted to, he really needed to make this look genuine to others, not divine. When he released Mr. Sikes’s head from his grasp, he looked at him for signs that his healing session had been successful.
His hands and feet wiggled. Good! His eyebrows raised and lowered, and his mouth opened and closed. Even better. He grunted a bit, trying out a voice that had been silenced for a long time.