by West, S. J.
“That’s kinda harsh,” Chandler says. “Having JoJo put Michael’s crown on his head.”
“But fitting,” I interject. “I just wish I knew what she and I need to do to make it happen.”
As the vision comes to an end again, we all gather together.
“Does everyone feel comfortable with what their role in the fight is?” Gabe asks us.
“Not me,” I tell him. “Is there anyway you can show us what happens when I take Lucifer away? That part of the vision just seems to end.”
Gabe looks at Gabriel and I see a silent message pass between them.
“What?” I ask them, sensing something is amiss. “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t seem to access that part of the fight,” Gabriel tells me. “It’s like we’re being blocked from seeing it.”
“Blocked by whom?” I ask, but already have a fair idea what the answer to my question is.
“I would have to presume my father is blocking it,” Gabriel says.
“Why would he do that?” I ask.
“Maybe there is something he’s not ready for you to see yet,” Gabriel replies.
“Let’s not worry about it for now,” Michael suggests. “Let’s watch the fight we can see one more time, just to make sure everyone knows their job.”
I look over at him and can tell he wants to end this conversation for some reason.
I nod. “You’re right,” I say backing him up. “Let’s concentrate on what we do know and can control.”
We actually end up watching the fight three more times.
“Why can’t we see past this point?” I ask Michael. “I still don’t understand how we’re supposed to seal the Tear.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” he says reassuringly, but he can’t fool me. He’s worried about something.
“What?” I ask. “What are you thinking and not saying to me?”
He shakes his head, not wanting to voice his concern.
“Michael, please. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
He’s silent for a while and then he says, “I’m thinking about my father’s warning to you, about the sacrifice that has to be made in this fight.”
I look at the end of the fight playing out before us and notice everyone is all right. The only two people we don’t know the fate of are me and JoJo.
“Maybe we’re taking the word sacrifice to literally,” I tell Michael. “Like Lilly said to me once, He speaks obtusely.”
“Perhaps,” Michael says but he doesn’t sound too convinced.
“I vote we don’t worry about it until we know there’s a reason to worry.”
Michael looks at me. “There was a time not so long ago when you would have looked at things differently.”
I shrug. “I have more to live for now. I don’t think God would give me everything I’ve ever wanted to just take it all away from me.”
Michael’s eyes narrow on me. “You have faith in Him now.”
“Yeah,” I answer easily, “I do.”
Michael smiles. “I’m glad to finally see it.”
“Well, you can only bang your head against a wall so many times before either your head cracks or the wall does. I guess I finally broke down my wall and peeked through to the other side.”
I see Gabe and Gabriel walking over to us.
“We should probably be getting back now,” Gabe says. “I’m getting a bit tired from maintaining the vision.”
I nod. “All right. We’ll need to come back though until everyone gets their parts down pat.”
Once we all gather in a circle again I turn to Michael and give him a hug.
“What’s this for?” He asks, hugging me back.
“For always being there when I needed you,” I tell him pulling back. “Thanks.”
He smiles.
I turn to my fellow vessels in the circle with their archangel by their side.
“How do we get back?” I ask Gabriel.
“Click your heels three times and say ‘there’s no place like home’.”
I lift an eyebrow at him. “Was that an attempt at angel humor?”
Gabriel smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “I thought it was funny.”
I hear Chandler snicker beside me.
“Just close your eyes,” Gabriel says, “and imagine yourself back at the villa.”
We all close our eyes. I think about the living room at the villa and getting back to Mason.
Before I know it, I feel a pair of familiar warm hands land on my shoulders.
I open my eyes and see Mason’s handsome face.
“Welcome back,” he says, pulling me to him and holding me tightly in his arms.
I wrap my arms around him tightly and whisper, “We have to win.”
Chapter 12
Mason calls Malcolm to come to the villa before we go into an in depth explanation of everything that happened while we were in the inner realm.
“He’ll be here in a minute,” Mason tells me, ending the call and dropping his phone back in his front pant pocket.
“Is there a reason you want him here?” I ask. “I’ve noticed you’ve been including him in a lot of things lately.”
Mason looks to see where Aiden is. We are standing near the fireplace and Aiden is on the other side of the room talking to Chandler and Rafe.
“I have plans for Malcolm,” Mason tells me in a low voice.
“What sort of plans?” I ask in an equally low voice.
Mason gently takes both my hands into his which makes me worry he’s about to say something I’m not going to like.
“Do you remember me telling you I want to become human and live a normal life with you after the Tear is sealed?” He asks.
“Yes,” I reply, “I remember.”
Mason’s brow furrows like he’s not quite sure how I’m going to react to the rest of what he has to say.
“I would like to put that on hold for a few years. Would that be ok with you?”
“Mind me asking why?”
“I don’t feel right leaving my men without a leader. I would like a few years to prepare Malcolm for that job before I become human.”
“Have you told Malcolm your plans for him yet?”
“No. I will when the time is right. Though, I have a feeling he already knows something is up. At the moment, I’m more concerned about how you feel about my plan.”
I smile.
“Don’t look so worried,” I tell him, looking him up and down. “How old would you say you are physically in human years?”
Mason shrugs. “I would guess somewhere around 28 or 29. Why?”
“Well I’m only 22. Let’s wait until I’m 29 before you become human. I don’t want you cheating me out of years with you and dying early.”
Mason smiles. “I’ve always liked the way you think, Agent Riley.”
“I know, Mr. Collier. That’s why we get along so well.”
Mason brings me fully into his arms and I wrap mine around his waist. “Can you guess what I’m thinking about right now, Agent?”
“Hmm,” I say running my hands up Mason’s back. “It wouldn’t happen to be what we did in the shower last night would it?”
“It would be exactly that,” Mason says, a wry grin on his face. “Can we do that again tonight?”
I lean up and whisper in his ear, “Yes.”
Then I pull away because I see Malcolm phase in directly behind Mason.
“Am I interrupting something… again?” Malcolm asks with a knowing grin.
“Aren’t you always?” I reply back but with a smile.
“Well honestly,” Malcolm says as Mason turns to face him too, “when are the two of you not groping one another?”
“I’ll ignore that for now,” I tell him. “We have more important things to talk about at the moment.”
After Mason, Aiden and Malcolm resituate the furniture in the room, we all sit down and begin to tell the three Watchers what we saw and experienced while insi
de our own inner realm.
“I guess we should have seen that coming,” Malcolm says. “It makes sense that he would want to unleash Hell on the worlds and make them his own personal playground.”
I look at Mason. “When the Tear opened the night we first met, did you know it had opened up to Hell?”
“Not exactly,” Mason says. “We had our suspicions but like I told you that night it’s impossible for us to distinguish between changelings and regular people. You’re only able to do it because you have Michael’s gift. And many of the people who came through that night checked out as being completely human.”
“Many?” I ask. “What about the few then?”
“A few simply disappeared after being taken in by Watcher agents. I would have to assume, knowing what we do now, that those few were probably also changelings.”
“So they could be anyone by now?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“But how did human’s come from Hell?” Rafe asks.
“When a soul goes to Hell,” Aiden answers, “they’re given a new body.”
“Why?” Leah asks. “They’re dead.”
“Because if you don’t have a body, you can’t really feel pain,” Aiden answers. “Making people suffer unimaginable agony in death is Lucifer’s whole reason for being. He needs them to have bodies in order to truly torture them.”
“Why did the Tear in the vision have that orange-red dot in the middle of it?” Chandler asks.
“Just like Heaven,” Mason begins to explain, “there are different levels of Hell. From what you’re describing, it sounds like Lucifer is able to punch a hole through every level of Hell and unleash all the nightmares he has stored there.”
“Like the creature we saw?” I ask, shivering slightly at the memory of the serpentine creature with a belly full of human corpses.
“That was a leviathan, one of Levi’s creations,” Malcolm tells me.
“When you watched the battle with the princes did you notice any variation in the fight?” Mason asks. “I mean did it always play back the same way or did it ever happen in a slightly different way a few times.”
I shake my head. “No, it always happened the same way.”
“And your fight with Lucifer,” Aiden says, “it was never shown to you?”
I hesitate before answering because I know this part of the vision worries Mason.
“No,” I tell Aiden. “I wasn’t allowed to see it.”
“Then it must be the deciding factor in the fight,” Mason concludes. “Whatever happens between the two of you will determine which fate we face.”
“Thanks,” I say, “no added pressure there.”
Mason squeezes my hand.
“You’ll win,” he says full of confidence. “I can’t imagine you losing.”
I try to smile at him, thankful for his confidence in me but I fear it comes out looking more like a grimace.
“So, now what do we do?” Zack asks. “How will we know when it’s time for us to fight them?”
“I’m not sure yet,” I answer. “But apparently we’ll be told somehow or we wouldn’t already be waiting for them to show up at the Antarctica site.”
“I must get back to my studio,” JoJo says, “I need to start making our outfits.”
“Before you leave,” I say looking at everyone, “I think we should run through the fight again a few more times until you guys have it down cold.”
“Well, I don’t have much else to do,” Gabe says. “Anytime is good for me.”
Chandler looks at me. “Don’t forget we have the Grammy’s to go to tomorrow.”
Unfortunately I hadn’t forgotten about that. “Yes, I know.”
JoJo looks over at me. “My fashion show is on Monday. Can you come, mon cher?”
I nod. “I’ll be there.”
“So does Tuesday work for everyone?” Mason asks.
Everyone nods and agrees to this plan.
Aiden and Malcolm end up taking everyone home except Gabe who is exiled to the villa until things are over. The video of him disappearing into thin air went viral and even Joshua and his computer genius couldn’t snuff out all the variations of it on the internet.
“Do you want us to stay with you?” I ask Gabe, not feeling right about leaving him alone.
“Nah, you guys go have fun,” Gabe tells me. “I’m just going to go to the kitchen and raid the fridge. Then I’ll be heading on to bed. All that vision stuff wore me out.”
I give him a peck on the cheek. “Ok, sleep tight.”
Gabe tries to smile at me but I see worry in his eyes, and I know he’s worried about me. I can’t lie and say I’m not worried about me too. I don’t know why God purposely blocked what happens between me and Lucifer in the fight, but I feel confident everything will work out in the end.
It has to.
The next day Mason takes me to Chandler’s hotel suite in Los Angeles to get ready for the Grammy ceremonies. I allow Deon and her crew to do my hair and make-up because, well, it’s the Grammy’s. You have to be all hip and rock n’ roll for it, right?
Deon decides she wants to put my hair up. I don’t argue with her because I know Mason won’t mind. Since I’m going to be with Chandler for most of the afternoon and all night anyway, I see no reason not to let her do what she wants.
Mason stays in the background silently observing my transformation as Deon works her magic.
“I hope you didn’t get mad at me for letting it slip to the media that you and Chandler are engaged,” Deon tells me as she twists my hair up on my head making me think of a twist donut. “It’s just that I’ve been waiting forever for that boy to find a nice girl and he finally found one. You guys are such a great match.”
“Thanks,” I manage to say with a half smile.
I see Mason’s glowering face in the mirror.
I wink at him.
The glower subsides, a little.
Mason gets a call on his phone. I watch him answer it and immediately look like he has a headache as he raises his hand to his forehead. When he hangs up, he approaches me.
“I need to go,” he says. “I’ll have Aiden come keep watch over things while I’m gone.”
“Is it anything bad?” I ask.
“No, I just need to go do some hand holding.”
I immediately know Mason is telling me he has to go see the President again. Not exactly his favorite thing to do.
“Ok,” I tell him. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Mason nods but doesn’t phase immediately. I see his lips part and I know he wants to kiss me before he leaves but can’t in present company.
“Have fun tonight,” he says instead and phases.
Aiden comes not long after to take up Mason’s position as bodyguard for me and Chandler.
Once Chandler and I are dressed and ready to go, Aiden phases us to the Staples Center saving us the hassle of driving there.
“Are you ready?” Chandler asks me, holding a bent arm out to me before we hit the red carpet.
“Not really,” I admit, slipping my arm into his. “But let’s get this over with anyway.”
Chandler and I walk the red carpet and pose for pictures together. The flashes are blinding me, but I try to keep a happy smile plastered on my face for appearance sake. Past the crowd of photographers I see a man staring at me like he knows me. It takes me a minute but I soon put a name to the face: Amon, the prince of wrath.
He’s taller than almost anyone else in the room. He’s wearing a dark blue pair of jeans which are faded white on the thighs. Underneath his dark blue suede jacket, which has a strip of leather around the elbows on each arm and leather lapels, is a faded lighter blue leather vest with diagonally sewn inseams. Below that is a dark blue button down shirt but all I can see of it is the collar. His short, curly light brown hair has a tinge of red in it and the lower part of his face is covered by stubble. His hazel eyes are staring at me so hard I feel like I’m being pinned into place just by his
glare.
Amon was the one prince I couldn’t put a name to when I went to Antarctica to stop Lucifer from opening and closing the Tear. He was the smart one who remained silent while Levi shot his mouth off. The only reason I can put a name to the face is because Michael told me who he was while we were watching the fight in the inner realm.
He holds something up in front of him as if he wants to make sure I see it.
It’s my bracelet. The one I placed on Lucifer’s wrist so he could feel how I truly felt about him. I saw myself wearing it in the final battle with the princes and realize this must be how I get it back.
Once the man is sure I’ve seen it, he lowers his arm and walks away. I feel a need to immediately go after him but not having the luxury to do that simple act because there are too many cameras aimed at me. I watch his progress to the side of the large room we’re in and see him walk through a door marked as leading to the stairs.
“Hey,” I hear Chandler say beside me, “are you all right?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Later when Chandler and I are sitting in our designated seats in the auditorium, I tell him I need to go to the ladies room.
“You’ve only got like ten minutes before the show starts,” Chandler warns me.
“I promise I’ll be quick,” I tell him just before I race up the aisle out of the auditorium back to the door that I saw Amon disappear through.
“Where are you going, Jess?”
I’ve just opened the door to the stairwell when I see Aiden standing beside me.
“I need you to stay here for a little while,” I tell him. “There’s something I need to do.”
“I’m not leaving your side,” he tells me. “Mason ordered me to keep an eye on you and that’s what I’m doing.”
“He might not talk to me if you come,” I try to argue.
“He who?”
“Amon. I think Lucifer sent him to speak with me.”
“Then there’s no way in hell I’m letting you anywhere near him!”
“Listen, this might be important,” I say, trying to sound reasonable. “Lucifer wouldn’t have sent someone without them having a message for me. What if he’s going to tell me something that will help us figure out when the battle is supposed to take place?”