by West, S. J.
“You’re no longer under Lucifer’s protection,” he tells me, stopping at the foot of the steps which lead to the porch.
“Did you come to kill me?”
“Now how did you know that?” He asks with a devilish grin.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re a homicidal psychopath?”
I hear the crack of a whip and instantly feel a lancing pain encircle the arm that is holding the sword. I grimace but don’t give the prince of Hell standing on my porch the satisfaction of hearing me whimper. I look over at Levi. His eyes glow from the brightness of his lightning whip.
“I really wouldn’t call my brother names,” Levi tells me, tugging on the whip with so much force it makes me fall to my hands and knees.
I keep my grasp on the sword. I know if I let it go I’m as good as dead.
I hear Baal walk up the steps and come to stand right behind me. He grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks my head back so hard I wonder why my neck didn’t break.
“I’m going to enjoy stripping your skin layer by layer from your body,” Baal says and I hear the pleasure just the thought of my torture seems to give him.
The front door slams open. A guttural growl fills the air as Gabe propels his body against Baal, causing the prince to release me from his grasp. I’m faintly aware that Gabe rammed Baal so hard they are both rolling down my sidewalk. Strangely, I don’t hear any further sounds of struggle between the pair.
I take advantage of Gabe’s unexpected rescue attempt and let go of my sword in order to grasp it with my free hand. Once I have a hold of it, I raise it to slice the cord of Levi’s lightning whip, which instantly releases my trapped arm from its excruciating grasp. Before Levi has a chance to move, I raise the tip of my blade and point it to the center of his chest daring him to move.
The pain in the arm Levi’s whip was wrapped around is killing me, but I simply hold the damaged limb to my side and let the blood drip onto the planks of my porch.
“Why don’t you just kill me?” Levi asks, warily looking down at the blade of my sword.
“Because God asked me not to,” I tell him, not seeing any advantage in telling him the whole truth. “I suggest you leave before I’m tempted to go against His wishes.”
Levi phases and I immediately look over the rail of the porch to where I know Gabe and Baal landed. To say I’m confused by what I see is an understatement.
Gabe is spooned against the backside of Baal like they’re sleeping together. I run down the porch steps and hold the blade of my sword over them to illuminate their faces. They both have their eyes wide open. From the movement of their eyeballs, it’s almost like they’re watching something only they can see. I wait patiently, for what seems like forever, but in actuality is probably only a couple of minutes.
Finally, they both seem to come out of whatever trance they were in and Baal gasps like he’s taking his first breath in a long time. He looks up at me, the light of my sword reflects in his frightened eyes before he phases.
Gabe groans as he rolls into a sitting position, knees bent up as he rests his elbows on them and holds his head in both of his hands.
“Man, that was a trip,” he says, rubbing his temples.
I want to ask what he meant but considering how much blood I’ve lost I feel lucky to even still be standing. Weakened by my injury, I begin to fall to my knees but a pair of strong hands grab me under my arms to prevent me from falling.
“I’ve got you, Jessi.”
I look over my shoulder and see my father just as I pass out.
“Why didn’t you make her call me?” Mason asks, his voice extremely angry.
“Listen, I’m new to all this,” I hear Gabe say in his own defense. “I wasn’t even sure what was happening. She told me to stay in the house and let her handle it, but I’m not a complete idiot. I figured out she was just trying to protect me. So I went out there to help.”
I keep my eyes closed. Partially because I’m just that tired and partially because I don’t think I’m in any condition to face an angry Mason.
“Mason,” I hear my dad say in a voice meant to soothe the ire of the man I love, “you need to calm down before she wakes up. She doesn’t need for you to berate her about her decision.”
“No, I don’t think I need to calm down,” Mason argues fiercely. “Maybe it’ll finally make her realize she’s only hurting me by trying to protect me.”
“She loves you,” my dad tells him. “It’s her nature to protect the ones she loves no matter what the cost to herself. If you want to blame someone for that side of her personality, blame me because I’m where she gets it from.”
“She keeps putting herself in harms way!” Mason says. “I’m tired of her doing that! I’m tired of her feeling like she needs to sacrifice herself for the rest of us. She needs to learn to trust me to help her.”
“I trust you more than anyone in this world,” I say from my position on the bed as I open my eyes and turn my head to look at Mason. “And you’re the one person in this world I can’t live without.”
I feel the warmth of my tears before I even realize I’m crying. Just the thought of a life without Mason in it makes my heart cry in torment.
The anger on Mason’s face softens into concern. He comes to me and kneels at my bedside.
“How many times do we have to argue about this, Jess?” Mason asks, desperation in his voice.
I begin to sob.
Mason slips his shoes off and crawls into bed with me to hold me in his arms. I’m faintly aware of Gabe and my dad leaving the room to give us privacy. I cling to Mason and cry. I don’t like him being mad at me, but I know in my heart Baal and Levi would have killed him if he had been here. I know all he wants to do is protect me, but in the fight against the princes of Hell, I’m the strong one. I can withstand whatever they might want to dish out but Mason is my weak link. I feel sure Lucifer knows it. Mason even told me Lucifer could kill him if he wanted to. If Lucifer truly wants to debilitate me, he knows the one person he can harm to effectively do the job.
“I can’t lose you,” I tell Mason, my face buried against his chest as I continue to cry. “If I lost you, everything would be lost. I wouldn’t be able to fight because half my soul would be missing.”
Mason sighs heavily but he doesn’t say anything immediately, just holds me because that’s what I need and he’s always understood my needs. Once I stop crying, he finally says what’s on his mind.
“I can’t help the need I feel to protect you. I know my powers are nowhere near as strong as yours,” Mason admits. I can hear in his voice how hard it is for him to say it out loud. “And I do understand your desire to keep me at arms length and away from Lucifer and the other princes. But you should understand that it goes against every grain of my being to have you try so hard to keep me safe from them. The man in me wants to guard you against everything bad in the world. It doesn’t feel natural to me for you to be the protector. I guess I feel a little emasculated every time you do it.”
I know Mason is just coming to this realization about the dynamics of our relationship. He’s not only admitting his feelings to me but to himself as well.
“Like my dad said,” I tell Mason, looking up into his handsome, concerned face. “I was made to protect those I love, and my love for you is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced or even thought I could ever find. I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, even if it makes you angry with me. I would rather have you hate me than die because of me.”
Mason pulls me closer to his body, and we simply hold each other not feeling the desire to say anything else.
When we walk into the living room hand in hand, Aiden, Zack, Gabe and my dad are sitting around the table eating the take out Italian food Mason brought back earlier.
“Sorry,” Zack says to me when we join them at the table, “I was starving. The food just smelled too good.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I tell him, seeing that his crown is sittin
g on the table in front of his plate. “You need to eat up. You’ll be asleep for a couple of days. Did you have any trouble getting your crown?”
Aiden snorts derisively.
“It was in a well on my parents’ property,” Zack tells me. “Aiden went down and got it for me.”
“From your reaction,” I say to Aiden, “I assume the well was not a pleasant place.”
“The well I could handle,” Aiden says, leaning back in his chair. “It was Zack’s grandmother I had the problem with.”
“She’s old,” Zack says in her defense. “She likes to talk.”
“For two hours she liked to talk. I know about every boil and bunion that woman has ever had,” Aiden shivers. “I’m going to have nightmares for a week.”
“Well, we got the crown and made my grams happy,” Zack says. “It was worth it to me.”
“Mind if I ask you something?” Gabe says to my dad who is sitting across from him.
“Sure, what is it?”
“So we all had guardians like you for the first seven years of our lives, right? That’s what I was told.”
“Yes.”
“How come Jess and Leah are the only ones who get to see their guardians?”
“Do you remember who yours was?” I ask Gabe.
“I think so. Her name was Amelia. She was my case worker.” Gabe looks at my father. “Was that her? Was Amelia my guardian?”
“Yes, that was her. I’m not really sure why the other guardians aren’t allowed to visit the rest of you.”
“Guess I could ask God about it the next time I see him,” I say. “I know Chandler wants to see his guardian again.”
“I think I know who mine was,” Zack says. “Old Jack. He used to be my parents gardener. When I was little, he would tell me stories whenever he took a break. He even bought me a fishing pole when I was five and showed me how to fish in the pond by my house. If we’re making requests to see our guardians, I’d like to put mine in too.”
“Do you think God will let them visit if I ask him to?” I ask my dad.
“No,” my dad says with certainty. “They won’t be allowed to come back.”
“Why not?” Gabe asks, sounding a bit perturbed.
“Because they’ve all already asked to come back,” my dad tells him. “And He told them they weren’t needed yet.”
“Yet?” I ask.
My dad shrugs. “I have to assume He plans to let them come back at some point, but He seems to have His own reasons for not letting them do it just yet.”
“But you think we will see them eventually?” Zack asks.
My dad nods. “If I were to bet, I would lay money on you being able to see them again. I just don’t know when.”
I feel sorry for my friends. I know the hell I went through during the years I wasn’t able to see my dad. I was so happy when I was given the power to call on my father whenever I needed to see him. This thought makes me wonder about something.
“Daddy, how did you know I needed your help?” I ask. “I didn’t call to you this time.”
My dad’s brow furrows as he thinks about my question.
“I can’t really tell you how or why I knew you needed me, Jessi. I just knew you were hurt and needed me to come to you. It’s never happened like that before.”
“Do you think it means something?” I ask. “Do you think God did something to our connection with one another?”
My dad shrugs helplessly. “I have no idea. If I were to guess, I would say that He did. I just don’t know why or why now.”
I turn to Gabe because my dad appearing without me calling him isn’t the only odd thing that took place.
“So what the hell happened when you tackled Baal to the ground? Why were you guys spooning one another on my sidewalk?”
Gabe doesn’t seem to take the bait of my teasing. He simply looks troubled.
“I think I showed him part of his future,” Gabe says.
“You saw Baal’s future?” Mason asks just to clarify.
Gabe nods. “Yeah, sort of but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me really. It was like a puzzle of images that didn’t seem to be in any kind of order.”
“What did you see?” I ask.
“I saw a woman holding a baby in her arms; then there was a girl around twenty years old standing in a city but…” Gabe shakes his head like he’s not sure what he saw was right. “She was standing on a terrace in a city built above the clouds. And then a bunch of random images kept flickering in and out. They didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But, I think it was the last vision that scared Baal the most.”
“What was it?” I ask.
“His death.”
“Did you see who kills him?” I ask, secretly hoping I get to kill the bastard even though I realize that isn’t exactly something I should wish for.
“It was the girl I saw standing in the cloud city. She killed him.”
“Did you recognize the girl?”
Gabe shakes his head. “No. I didn’t recognize anyone but Baal in the visions.”
“Well, at least I know what made him look so scared right before he left. I guess learning he has an expiration date showed him he isn’t invincible,” I say.
“But that’s just a possible future, right?” Gabe asks Mason.
“Yes, it’s a possible future. There are probably a dozen or more iterations of the same event. You just showed him one of them.”
“The right one I hope,” I say under my breath.
“So we should be able to find my crown now, right?” Gabe asks. “Since I’ve used my power.”
“I’ll call Joshua and let him know to start looking for it. As soon as we have its location, we’ll go get it.”
After we eat, Aiden takes Zack to the villa so he can begin the process of connecting with his archangel.
“Do you think you could take me to my flat in London?” Gabe asks Mason. “I’d like to grab a few of my things if I need to stay here for a while.”
“Ok, give me just a minute,” Mason says, grabbing my hand and phasing us to my bedroom away from the others.
“Need more kisses?” I ask, sliding my free hand up his chest as I turn into him.
“I want you to pack a bag while I’m gone,” he says, “enough for a couple of weeks.”
“A couple of weeks?” I ask in surprise. “Are you kidnapping me?”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay here. And I’m going to take Gabe to the villa after he gets what he needs from his apartment.”
“I’m not safe in my own home?”
“No. Too many people know about this place. If you won’t let me help you when they come, then at least let me take you somewhere I know you’ll be safe.”
The desperate look on Mason’s face makes my decision for me.
“Where are you taking me? I need to know how to pack.”
I feel Mason instantly relax. I don’t think he thought I would comply to his request so easily. But what he doesn’t seem to realize is that I would do anything he asked of me except let him fight by my side against the princes of Hell. If I have any hope of defeating them, I need to know he is safe. I see this little absconding of my personhood as a way to keep him safe as well. If they can’t find me, they can’t find him either.
“Pack for warm and cold weather. We’ll stay at the beach house for the most part, but tomorrow’s adventure will be a little chilly.”
I nod and say, “Ok.”
Mason kisses me and we walk back into the living room.
While Mason and Gabe are in London, my dad sits on my bed to keep me company while I pack a small suitcase.
“I take it you worked things out with Mason,” my dad says as he watches me fold some shirts and place them in my suitcase.
“Yes. I think he’s having a hard time coping with the fact that he isn’t meant to help me in this fight against Lucifer’s group. He doesn’t like being the one who’s being protected. He’s used to doing the protecting
.”
“It’s understandable,” my dad says. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. Not many people could handle the things you’ve been through and stay sane.”
“I guess you made me well,” I tell him.
My dad smiles.
“So when is the wedding?” My dad asks.
“I honestly don’t know,” I tell him. “We haven’t set a date. I guess I need to ask Mama Lynn and Faison how long it will take them to get things ready. I just saw the dress JoJo made me today.”
“Do you like it?”
“Imagine me stuck in the middle of a giant sparkly cotton ball. That’s what I’m going to look like.”
My dad chuckles. “I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.”
“Well at least there won’t be many people there to see me trip when I try to walk down the aisle to Mason.”
“I won’t let you fall,” my dad promises. “I’ll never let you fall, Jessi.”
I look up at him and know he’s talking about more than just the wedding. Mason isn’t the only one who wants to protect me. I know my dad will do everything in his power to make sure I don’t fail in my mission to protect the world from Lucifer. I just wish I knew what we were protecting the world from exactly.
“Has God said anything to you about what Lucifer’s plan is exactly?”
My dad shakes his head. “No, He doesn’t tell me much.”
“I don’t understand why He doesn’t just tell us. I mean, we need to prepare for this big fight but I have no idea what we need to do to get ready for it.”
“He hasn’t given you any sort of hint in your talks with Him?”
I bite the inside of my lower lip, contemplating if I should tell my dad the one thing God did tell me. I haven’t told anyone and the need to share the information makes the decision for me.
“He’s told me a sacrifice will have to be made during the final fight,” I say. “But don’t tell anyone that. I haven’t even told Mason. I’m afraid he might freak out over it.”
The concerned look on my dad’s face makes me wonder if he’s freaking out about it now.
“Don’t you start worrying about it either,” I tell him.