Son of Secrets

by N. J. Simmonds

  ‘You’re crazy. Any specific reason why you coloured yourself in?’

  Zac laughed. ‘I wanted to feel complete again. I missed the feathers. Anyway, the tattoos will fade and the hair will grow back. I wanted to look different for a short while because I’m a different person now. Well, not even a person or an angel. I don’t know what to call myself anymore. One of the fallen? I guess when I fell in love, I fell good and proper.’

  Ella. He’d been wanting to ask about her from the moment he saw Gabriel. He couldn’t wait any longer. Zac looked down at his feet, his voice dropping to a whisper.

  ‘Do you think she’ll still want me?’ he asked.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Ella.’

  ‘Who’s Ella?’

  Zac tutted. This was a game they played. Gabriel, the nonchalant big brother, and Zac, the kid he enjoyed winding up. Gabriel was trying to keep his face indifferent but was failing.

  ‘You know who. Arabella. Ella. Is she OK? You said in your note that you’d been looking out for her. Is she back on her life path? Does she miss me?’

  Gabriel couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. He looked up at the ceiling and let out a light laugh.

  ‘Chill out. I saw her two weeks ago. Don’t worry, she’s never seen me. I watch from afar, and no—she’s not back on her path yet.’

  Zac allowed a glimmer of hope to blossom in his chest.

  ‘So, she’s still in mourning for me?’

  ‘She’s stuck in the monastery most of the time, but she’s kept herself busy.’

  ‘She’s become a nun?’

  The archangel laughed so loudly it reverberated through the tunnels and bounced off the grimy, tiled walls. A couple of people on the platform turned to look at them. Zac felt twitchy. He didn’t want to be seen, although he knew Gabriel would sense anyone dangerous. Zac was safe as long as he remained with the archangel.

  ‘Boy, get a grip! You think Ella’s a nun? Believe me, your girl is far from being a nun. This isn’t the eighteenth century anymore. No, she’s converted an old convent in Tarifa and is running it as a hotel. I saw her two weeks ago, and there was no serious boyfriend hanging around, if that’s what you want to hear.’

  Zac thought about Josh and fate and wondered whether life would bring them together as it should have done by now. As long as Zac got there in time, he could get in the way of destiny again and cut off her path. He could change everything—including who she loved and when she died.

  ‘So she’s been alone for three years, pining for me?’

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Not totally alone, no. She’s kept…active. What’s your plan? Are you just going to barge right in and take her back?’

  ‘Of course. That’s why I did this. It’s why I killed myself, so I could be resurrected with eternal life on Earth. I want my girl back, Gabriel, and this time I won’t let her go.’

  ‘Man, you are one intense brother. I remember the time when they used to call you the Path Keeper. You went about making sure people followed their path, but now you want to just live your own life even if it destroys hers? You’re not her destiny, Zadkiel. You know that.’

  ‘I don’t care; it doesn’t matter anymore.’

  Gabriel sighed. ‘It’s getting busy in here. I better get going.’

  He went to stand but Zac pulled him back down.

  ‘You can’t go without telling me where she is. Please.’

  Gabriel turned to his friend and placed both hands on his shoulders. ‘Zadkiel, you know you’re like a brother to me, but you need to leave Ella alone. It isn’t fair to her—nothing good will come from stepping in the way of fate.’

  ‘No way. You’re crazy! Nothing’s going to stop me. You know how much we love each other.’

  Gabriel let go of Zac’s shoulders and sighed. ‘You’ve been around long enough to know that love means much less than people realise. What’s the point of having a relationship with her? None of us archangels can sense you, but Mikhael can feel her. She will lead him to you. Plus, what’s the point of winning her back in every one of her lifetimes over and over again? What can you even offer her? An eternally young guy to hang out with? You can’t even give her children, Zadkiel. They would be Nephilim, and they wouldn’t survive Mikhael.’

  ‘Raphael has managed.’

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows. ‘Mikhael didn’t try and kill Raphael’s woman. He doesn’t even know about her. But he does know about Ella. He blames her for your death, and he’ll be watching her. Chasing her will get you both, and any future children, killed. Death Eternal for her means no more lifetimes for either of you.’

  ‘Maybe I could convince him to leave us be? Or fight him?’

  Gabriel snorted. ‘As long as he has his sword, he has all the power. You’d have to kill him and destroy his sword. You know how to do that?’

  ‘No. Of course I don’t.’

  Zac stared at all the commuters scattered around them, oblivious to Gabriel and him being anything more than just two men talking. He never thought he’d envy humans but he did. Every single person on that platform had the freedom to love whomever they wished. All he wanted was to be with the woman he belonged with, do normal things with her and have a family.

  ‘Maybe Ella and I could adopt a child.’

  ‘And what, you stay looking like a hunky twenty-something-year-old while your kids grow to be grandparents? How will that work?’

  ‘We’ll muddle through.’

  ‘You’re not going to stop, are you? Fine. I’ll take you to her, but you better get your shit straight. If Mikhael finds you it means I’m going down too, and I’d like to keep my pretty wings, thank you very much.’

  Zac grinned and patted his friend’s back.

  ‘Maybe I should call her and let her know I’m coming. I bought a mobile phone yesterday; electricity doesn’t seem to be affected by me anymore. Do you have her number?’

  Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  ‘No, funnily enough I haven’t had the chance to ask for her business card yet. Are you for real? Just look up Torre de los angeles in Tarifa.’

  ‘Tower of Angels? She named it after me?’

  Zac hoped that Gabriel couldn’t hear the quickening of his heart. Ella was still thinking of him. She hadn’t forgotten—she had been waiting all this time—and even the name of her hotel was a sign, a beacon, calling for him. This was going to work. He wasn’t too late after all.

  ‘OK,’ he told his friend. ‘I’ll look it up and call her straightaway. Did you know today’s her birthday?’

  Gabriel looked at him incredulously and shook his head.

  ‘So?’

  ‘So we need to get there as quickly as possible. Let’s go!’

  Zac was already walking toward the exit, but Gabriel placed his hand on Zac’s chest, stopping him from going any further.

  ‘Slow down, Romeo. We’ll go tomorrow.’

  ‘What? But I have to…’

  Gabriel raised his hand and Zac stopped talking, letting out an angry breath through his nose.

  ‘Zadkiel, I need to plan this properly. Dawn tomorrow will be safer. Can you travel like before?’

  ‘No. I lost some of my powers, including teleportation and the ability to feel what others feel.’

  ‘You can’t feel people?’

  ‘No, otherwise I’d be with Ella right now. Things have been tough. Anyway, I’ll call her, and you can go on ahead and tell her I’m on my way. I’ll catch a flight tomorrow. I’ve never had the need to fly in a plane—should be interesting.’

  ‘You have a passport?’ Gabriel asked. ‘Last time I checked, angels couldn’t even have their photo taken.’

  ‘I have something much better than a passport.’ Zac gave his friend a lopsided smile. ‘I can make people do anything I want them to do.’

  ‘For real?’

  ‘Yep. I lost some abilities but gained others. I now have this kind of hypnotic power over the minds of humans.’

>   ‘Really? Is that how you got that girl to deliver the note to me? I couldn’t feel anything off her; she was so calm. It was weird.’

  ‘Yes, exactly. I just ask for whatever I want, and I get it. I can even wipe people’s memories. I think that’s how my mother has survived for so long.’

  ‘Figures. Go on then, show me your magic trick.’

  Zac walked over to one of the smartly dressed commuters and pointed to his wrist. A moment later, he presented Gabriel with a gold watch.

  ‘Here you go. A thank you gift for everything you’ve done for me since I died.’

  ‘So, now you’re a thief too?’ Gabriel said, frowning and smiling at the same time.

  Zac shrugged. The archangel let out a loud laugh, putting his arm around his friend’s shoulder.

  ‘Come on, you crazy fool. Let’s go get your girl.’

  ‘I DON’T UNDERSTAND why we had to get the Tube when we can ride taxis for free,’ Sebastian muttered.

  It was the morning rush hour, and he was seated beside Luci on a Piccadilly line train. They’d caught the Tube at Heathrow Airport and managed to secure a seat. Sebastian wasn’t used to London’s public transport; the smell and heat emanating from the other passengers was making him nauseous.

  ‘I like to be surrounded by people. It makes me happy. I’ve spent far too long on my own over the years,’ she answered, staring up at the Tube map opposite them. ‘We need to change at King’s Cross station. Didn’t you tell me Ella goes to university there?’

  Sebastian shook his head.

  ‘That was over three years ago,’ he said quietly, leaning into Luci and avoiding eye contact with the other commuters. He’d bought a baseball cap at the airport, but he was still worried about being recognised. ‘She will have finished her degree by now. Let’s stick to the original plan and go to Highgate. My father will know where she is. Maybe you can convince him to forgive me while you’re there and then find a way to get the Met Police to drop the charges against me.’

  ‘Maybe. Oh! Look at that,’ Luci cried, pointing at the Tube map in front of them. ‘We’re close to Angel station. I came here four hundred years ago. My whisperers had heard there were two angels at an inn, one with long, wavy hair and the other with dark skin. I knew they were talking about Zadkiel and Gabriel, but I got there too late. I’m always one step behind my boy.’

  Luci’s voice was so loud that people were starting to stare at her, a woman dressed in crazy, skimpy hippy clothes, talking about angels. Sebastian looked the other way and closed his eyes, hoping it would make her stop. He was tired. The journey from the Saharan settlement to London hadn’t been an easy one.

  After her big reveal to Sebastian back in Morocco, Luci had left him tied to the chair in her tent and ridden into the main town on a camel with one of the yoga teachers. She’d returned an hour later driving a Jeep. The next day she’d announced they were leaving.

  ‘You’re free now,’ she’d told everyone at the campsite.

  Sebastian had watched as people queued outside her tent to say goodbye. She’d looked each person in the eye and placed a hand on their shoulder as she spoke. Some had hugged her, and some had cried. The young girl with the shaved head had begged Luci to take her with them and had kissed the fallen angel until Sebastian had begun to stir. Why did they all love the crazy bitch after being treated like slaves and being held captive in the middle of nowhere?

  ‘You won’t remember me. You will only recall a wonderful time at your yoga retreat,’ she said to the girl. ‘Now go on and do good things and be happy.’

  They’d all smiled at her and returned like sleepwalkers back to their tents. That was the last Sebastian had seen of the others. It was a shame. After having witnessed the bald kid in action with Luci, he would have liked to have had her for himself. Bloody waste of a firm young body, letting her go like that.

  The journey from the camp to Marrakesh had taken five bumpy hours. The Jeep had no air conditioning, and the air outside was hotter than inside, so opening the window hadn’t helped either.

  ‘Is this all you packed?’ he asked Luci, rummaging in the beaded cotton bag at his feet.

  ‘When you move around as much as I do, you learn to survive with just the essentials.’

  Sebastian rubbed his wrists where the scarves had been wrapped around him. They still stung after two days, although the red marks had disappeared instantly. He grabbed one of the four bottles of water at his feet and noted the contents of the bag—a change of clothes for her and a couple of apples. That was it. Sebastian was too scared to question her further; not only did he fear what her next torture trick may be, but she was easily distracted when driving and they’d already had some near misses. He’d shouted out the first time they’d nearly had a head-on collision.

  ‘You think I care if I turn the car over?’ she’d laughed, putting her foot down harder and forcing Sebastian to grip the handrail above his window. ‘Not being able to die is a wonderful thing.’

  At Marrakesh Airport, Luci had disappeared and returned ten minutes later with boarding passes to London Heathrow.

  ‘But I didn’t give you my details,’ Sebastian said.

  ‘When you have my abilities, you don’t need passports or ID. As long as you stick with me, you’ll be fine. We’re going first class; it’s the only way to travel.’

  She’d smiled, and he’d shuddered.

  Sebastian had slept on the plane all the way to England as well as a little on the lengthy Tube journey from the airport to Highgate. After a five-minute walk from the station, they were finally outside his former home.

  He’d forgotten how big his father’s house was. After living off the beaten track in motels and guest houses for so long, the mansion was positively palatial—but not as pretty as he remembered. The driveway was littered with piles of bricks and a cement mixer, and the gate had been changed back to a traditional one with an old-fashioned lock instead of the fingerprint scanner it used to have. Sebastian couldn’t see any of the usual staff, the gardeners, or Ylva the housekeeper. The only people there were two builders on the roof.

  Luci placed her fingers in her mouth and let out a long, piercing whistle. The builders turned around and, at the sight of a partially clothed woman displaying impressive cleavage and not enough clothes for a British spring, they quickly scampered down the ladder.

  ‘You all right, love? How can we help you?’ the first builder asked, directing his question at Luci’s chest.

  He had a goatee, three earrings in both ears, and a dark blue smudge of a tattoo on the side of his neck. Sebastian sneered. What the hell was his father doing employing people like that to work on his home? He stepped forward.

  ‘I’m Sebastian Fantz, Richard’s son. Let us in.’

  The builder frowned at him. He was joined by his work colleague, an older man with glasses and greasy hair who looked Luci up and down like she was a cold pint of beer on a hot day.

  ‘All right, gorgeous. Who you looking for?’ the second builder asked.

  ‘My father, Richard Fantz,’ Sebastian replied.

  ‘Who the fuck was talking to you, mush? He ain’t here anyway, and you ain’t his son. I’ve seen photos of his boy in the house.’ He turned to his bearded friend. ‘This bloke’s too skinny and ratty to be Mr Fantz’s son, dontcha think? They’re having us on.’

  ‘Now you listen to me. I demand…’

  ‘Stop,’ Luci said, placing a hand gently on Sebastian’s arm. ‘Our friends here clearly need a little more persuasion.’ She beckoned them over with the crook of her finger, and they stepped closer to the gate. ‘Now, you delicious boys, will you be so kind as to let us onto the property?’

  ‘Yeah, course,’ the older builder said, producing a set of keys from his pocket. ‘This house don’t belong to the Fantz lot no more though. It was sold last week. There’s some removal people inside filling up boxes.’

  Sold? Sebastian pushed past the builders toward the front door. He instinctively lo
oked up at his bedroom on the top floor and wondered whether any of his belongings had been packed away.

  ‘Where’s my father?’

  ‘Maybe I should ask these nice young men instead of you, Sebastian. Gentlemen, could you please tell us where Mr Fantz can be found?’

  ‘No idea, love. Sorry.’

  ‘What about Felicity?’ Sebastian asked.

  ‘I ain’t answering to you, posh boy.’

  Luci repeated the question and the builders shrugged.

  ‘Rumour has it they’re getting divorced. Never seen her around here anyway, and me and the lads have been here months fixing the roof and converting the wine cellar into a game room for the new owners.’

  ‘Who bought the house?’ Luci asked.

  ‘No idea,’ the builders answered in unison.

  Sebastian sighed and walked up the stairs to the front door, closely followed by the builders. The house was swarming with workmen and people packing boxes.

  ‘Luci, if you want my help, then get these disgusting plebs out of my house. I can’t search for anything when the place is full of dirty men in overalls.’

  Sebastian busied himself rummaging through kitchen drawers, looking for any clues that would lead them to Ella, while Luci instructed all the workmen and packers to vacate the premises and not return until morning. Within five minutes, the house was empty except for the two original builders. The one with glasses was staring at Luci’s behind as she absentmindedly peered into the half-filled boxes.

  ‘Wouldn’t mind a piece of that,’ the older builder said to his friend quietly but loud enough for Luci to hear. She plucked some cherries from a fruit bowl on the kitchen table and then picked up a banana.

  ‘Something amusing you?’ she asked.

  The builders sniggered.

  ‘We just wondered what you’re gonna do with that, love,’ the younger one replied, nudging his friend and pointing at the banana. ‘You look like the kind of bird that likes long, hard things in her mouth.’

  Both men were laughing loudly now and completely ignoring Sebastian. He continued searching through boxes while watching the scene unfold from the corner of his eye. His thin lips twitched into a smile. He’d spent enough time with Luci to know this was going to be worth waiting for.