[The Watchers 22.0] Everlasting Fire - Between Worlds

by SJ West

  “How are you feeling?” he asks me.

  “Alive,” I answer, wondering why that is since I should be dead. Then the reality of the situation hits me, and I know exactly who the stranger looking down at me is. “Are you Will?”

  “Yes, I am, Liana, and I have to say I’m rather disappointed in you for trying to kill yourself.”

  The guilt over what I tried to do is compounded by his admonishing tone.

  “Does it help if I say I’m disappointed in myself too?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I suppose that’s better than being upset that I brought you back to life,” he concedes. “What in the world would lead you to do such a reckless thing, Liana? What’s happened?”

  “I thought you would already know everything about my life,” I say.

  “I only know what God allows me to see,” he corrects me. “I have no idea why you would try to end your own life this way. Can you explain it to me? Maybe I can help you.”

  I close my eyes because the earnest expression on Will’s face makes me feel unworthy of his help, but I also feel like I need to talk to someone right now. I need to confide every thought I’m thinking to someone I know I can trust, and if you can’t trust your Guardian Angel, who else is there?

  As I lie there trying to organize my thoughts, I hear the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shoreline.

  “Are we on the beach near the castle?” I ask Will.

  “Yes,” he answers.

  I sigh and try to sit up but find that small motion almost impossible to do on my own. I feel weak for some reason and can only contribute it to the fact that I died and was brought back to life. Will must notice my struggle because he places one of his hands on the center of my back to help me up. I feel light-headed and open my eyes, hoping to focus on something that will keep me steady. That something ends up being Will.

  He’s handsomer than I thought he would be. For some reason, I always imagined my Guardian Angel as being old with a long white beard and a portly belly. Will is the complete opposite of that. He’s young, perhaps twenty, and physically perfect from his tousled blond hair to his broad shoulders and slim waist.

  “I always imagined you wearing white robes,” I tell him. “Not a white T-shirt and jeans.”

  Will smiles in amusement. “You caught me on laundry day.”

  I stare at him for a moment because I realize he just made a joke. I let out a small laugh and return his smile.

  “You have a sense of humor too. I wasn’t expecting that either,” I admit.

  “What exactly did your mother tell you about me?” Will asks, sounding curious to know how my mother described him to me.

  “You know, now that I think about it, she didn’t really describe you to me when I was younger. I suppose I just conjured up an image of you inside my head and it stuck all these years.”

  “And what image was that?”

  “Someone old looking with a long white beard and a chubby belly,” I confess, hoping he doesn’t take offense to the picture I had drawn of him inside my imagination.

  Will laughs, and the sound of his mirth causes me to smile. I feel like I can tell Will anything and he won’t judge me harshly or make any disparaging remarks to make me feel bad about myself. It’s the only reason I proceed to tell him all about Silas and believing he truly cared about me. When I tell Will that Silas stole my bracelet, he seems to better understand my predicament.

  “You should have more faith in yourself, Liana,” Will tells me. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. Taking your own life is never an answer to a problem. It simply ends your pain and causes those you leave behind a grief they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Is that really what you set out to do?”

  “No,” I say softly as tears begin to stream from my eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt my family. I thought if I ended my life, I would be able to save others. My aunt plans to use me, Will. I don’t know how or when, but she’s going to try to make me do something evil for her. I can feel it.”

  I begin to sob uncontrollably as everything that’s happened within the last twenty-four hours begins to fall down on me like a heavy weight. Will brings me into his arms as we sit on the sand together. I cry on his shoulder until I don’t have any tears left to shed. I continue to lean on him for support because his arms feel like the safest place in the world. I begin to wonder if my mother felt this comfortable with Will when she first met him, and I simply chalk up my reaction to him as something that naturally happens between a Guardian Angel and his charge.

  After a while, I start to feel guilty for unloading all of my problems onto Will. Reluctantly, I pull my head away from his shoulder.

  “Thanks for listening,” I tell him as I wipe the last of my tears away. “I’m sorry I just unburdened all of my problems onto you. I don’t normally do that to strangers.”

  “Technically, I’m not a stranger,” he gently corrects me. “I’ve served your family since the beginning, and I’m told you’ll be the last one of Lilly’s descendants that I’ll be in charge of looking after.”

  “Really?” I ask, finding this news surprising. “God told you that?”

  Will nods his head.

  “I don’t suppose He told you why.”

  “No,” he answers, looking troubled by that small omission on God’s part. “He simply said my services would be needed in a different capacity and that my duties would lie elsewhere after you complete your mission.”

  “Do you know what God needs me to do for Him?”

  Will shrugs his shoulders helplessly. “I honestly don’t know. All I do know is that it’s meant to finally bring your family’s story full circle. That’s all He told me.”

  “Not exactly helpful,” I comment, unable to keep the derision out of my voice. “My parents warned me that God likes to talk in riddles. Why doesn’t He just tell people what He needs them to do instead of forcing them to figure it out on their own?”

  “He’s always been a proponent of free will and allowing people to decide their own fate.”

  “I almost wish He wouldn’t give me a choice,” I admit. “I would rather know what it is He wants me to do for Him so I can just go ahead and get it over with.”

  “Odds are it isn’t time yet,” Will says. “It could be that you have a lot left to learn first.”

  “I definitely need to learn how to make better choices when it comes to boys,” I admit, still feeling the sting of Silas’s betrayal.

  “Silas has been troubled for a very long time,” Will tells me. “I’m sorry he used your feelings for him to get what he wanted. You deserve to be treated better than that.”

  “Maybe I don’t,” I say, feeling dejected. “Maybe he did exactly what I needed to show me just what a lousy judge of character I am.”

  “Or maybe you showed him a different path he can take. Sometimes one person believing in you is all it takes to change the course of a life. Lilly did that for me. Maybe you’ve done that for Silas too.”

  “Then why did he steal my bracelet?”

  “I don’t know. You would have to ask him that question.” Will reaches out and gently cups the side of my face. “But never believe loving someone is the wrong choice. Sometimes it’s the only choice you can make. You come from a long line of beautiful and strong women, Liana. Hold onto your faith that God has a plan for your life and that whatever is meant to happen in the future was always meant to be.”

  As Will continues to caress the side of my face and we stare into each other’s eyes, I feel a strange sensation pass between us. He seems to feel it too because he automatically drops his hand away from me and stands up like we just did something inappropriate.

  “Wait,” I say, scrambling to my feet. “Don’t go.”

  “I’ve stayed longer than I should have,” Will tells me. “I’m only allowed to come here to revive you.”

  I reach out and take ahold of one of his arms. I don’t want him to go yet, bu
t I can’t think of a good reason to make him stay. If he can’t remain here, then perhaps I can go with him.

  “Can you phase me to Heaven?” I ask in a desperate attempt to spend more time with him. “I’ve never been there before.”

  “You do realize that you don’t need me to take you, right?” he asks, looking amused by my request. “You have the ability to phase there on your own.”

  “Yeah, but I would rather have a chaperone for my first visit,” I say. It’s partly the truth, so I don’t feel quite so guilty for not saying the main reason I want him to take me. I really want to know what that spark I just felt happen between us means, and I’m wondering why he isn’t interested in finding out the same thing.

  Will seems torn between leaving or helping me. Finally, he holds out his hand for me to take.

  “I can phase you to your grandparents’ house,” he tells me. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”

  “You sound like you’re just taking me there so you can ditch me afterwards,” I say, not accepting his hand just yet.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” he tells me. “I just thought you might like to see Lucifer and Amalie on your first visit to Heaven. They’ve been wanting to see you again for a very long time.”

  “If that’s true, why haven’t they ever come to me?” I ask.

  “I don’t think they wanted to disrupt your family life in such a way,” he tells me. “Plus, it’s always hard for the dead to visit the living, just like it will feel odd for you to visit Heaven.”

  “Do you feel uncomfortable here?” I ask.

  Will doesn’t answer right away. He considers my question before saying, “Normally, I do, but for some reason this trip feels different.”

  “In what way?” I ask.

  “I don’t know how to explain it,” he admits. “I don’t feel the overwhelming urge I normally do to go back to Heaven after I’ve completed my job.”

  “Then why don’t you stay here for a little while,” I suggest. “I know my parents would love to see you, and you could meet my brothers and sister.”

  I can see Will is tempted to stay, but he slowly shakes his head.

  “No,” he says in a resigned voice, “I need to go back. It’s what’s expected of me. If you still want me to take you there, you’ll need to take my hand.”

  I reach out and place my hand in Will’s. Again, I feel something pass between us as our skin touches. I hear Will clear his throat as if he’s suddenly uncomfortable. Without a word of warning, he phases us to Heaven.

  We’re suddenly standing in front of a quaint house that I assume belongs to my grandparents. Even though my mother has described Heaven to me on numerous occasions, actually standing inside of it is completely different from what I imagined. The air smells sweet, but I definitely understand what both my mother and Will meant by the living not belonging in Heaven. I feel something pulling at my soul as if it’s urging it to leave. It’s rather annoying, so I try to push the feeling behind me and focus on why I came here.

  Will lets go of my hand and tells me, “I hope you have a nice visit with your grandparents. Please give them my regards.”

  Before I can even get a word out, Will vanishes, dashing my hopes that he and I can spend more time together, which was the main reason I wanted to come here.

  The door of the house opens, and my grandparents fill the opening. I’ve seen pictures of the two of them before, but standing in front of them in the flesh is a totally new experience.

  “Welcome, Liana,” my grandmother says as she walks up and gives me a welcoming hug. “We’re so happy to see you.”

  When she pulls away, I see my grandfather lingering in the doorway as if he’s not quite sure if he should hug me or not. He looks wary of my presence for some reason, but I can’t fathom why he would feel that way.

  “Amalie,” Lucifer calls to my grandmother, “why don’t you put together some refreshments for us while I have a talk with our granddaughter.”

  My grandmother pulls away from me and places a kiss on my right cheek. “I’ll see you in a moment,” she says cheerfully. “Don’t you dare leave before you taste my chocolate chip cookies.”

  “I won’t leave without saying goodbye,” I promise her.

  My grandmother walks back into the house, but my grandfather still doesn’t budge from his spot just inside the doorway.

  “Why are you here, Liana?” he asks before lowering his gaze to the wrist where my bracelet should be. “And why aren’t you wearing your bracelet?”

  “Strangely enough, the answer to both of those questions is the same: because of a boy.”

  My grandfather stares hard into my eyes, and I feel as though he’s judging my soul. Perhaps that’s exactly what he’s doing. He is Lucifer, after all. The first angel ever created. The maker of Hell and the torturer of countless souls. I begin to wonder if he ever personally tortured Silas and involuntarily shiver at the thought. Just having him look at me now with so much distrust feels like torture enough. I can see that I need to explain why I’ve come, so I tell him everything that’s happened since I first met Silas.

  “You should have known better than to trust that boy,” my grandfather chastises me as if he’s deeply disappointed in my judgment skills. “He’s been trained to blindly obey your aunt’s orders. Even if he has true feelings for you, he would never disobey her. And as far as this spark you felt with Will, well, I can’t really explain that other than it being a normal sexual attraction.”

  I let out a soft, nervous laugh because the last thing I want to do is discuss the topic of sexual attraction with my grandfather while we’re standing inside Heaven. Instead, I decide to do what any teenager my age would do: change the subject.

  “I did come up here for another reason besides Will,” I say to him. “I was wondering if I could get more of the silver my bracelet was made out of, so we can make another one.”

  “Artifacts such as your bracelet are only forged once and for a singular purpose,” he tells me. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t a backup one here, and before you ask, another can’t be made.”

  “I see,” I reply, not really seeing the big deal about making another one, but I don’t understand how things in Heaven work either.

  “Liana,” he says, finally taking a few steps toward me until he stands only a couple of feet away, “the longer you’re separated from the bracelet, the more influence Helena will begin to have over you. In time, it could be that you begin to love her more than you do the members of your family.”

  “That will never happen,” I say vehemently. “I’ll never betray my family.”

  “I’m glad you think that, and perhaps your love for them will protect you for a time, but eventually, her hatred will seep into your soul and take root. She’ll ask you to do things for her that seem logical because you’ll begin to think like she does.”

  “What is it that you believe she’ll want me to do for her?” I ask, desperate to know what everyone seems to be so afraid of. “What are my parents not telling me? I know they’re scared I’ll end up doing something horrible, but I don’t know what that something is.”

  “When you were first born and given a seal by Helena, I told them my theory about why she gave you that particular one. It’s the seal I used to carry, and it’s known as the Seal of Silence.”

  “Why do I get the feeling it scares you that I have it?” I ask.

  “Because I believe I know why she gave it to you.”

  “What can it do?”

  “If you were to open the seal while you’re here in Heaven, it would prevent souls from the land of the living to cross through the veil after death. Anyone who dies would eventually find their way to Hell because that’s the only place they would be able to sense. If that happens, Helena will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

  “What would she do with all of that power?” I ask nervously.

  “It’s possible she could end the universe, or she could
simply make it so miserable to live in that people would wish they were dead. Either way, the outcome isn’t good for anyone.”

  “Then I just won’t do it,” I declare.

  “I hope you’re right,” my grandfather says, but I can hear the doubt in his voice. He doesn’t seem to believe I’ll be strong enough to withstand my aunt’s influence over me.

  “Is there a way to get rid of the seal?” I ask, hoping for an easy way out.

  “You could give it to your mother,” he suggests, “but then she would have to deal with fighting off Helena’s influence over her.”

  “That’s not an option,” I say stubbornly. “She’s been through enough, and she doesn’t have a Guardian Angel protecting her anymore.”

  “No, she doesn’t,” he agrees.

  “I’ll deal with my aunt. I won’t let her win.”

  “I wish you the best of luck with that.” His words might sound encouraging, but his tone definitely doesn’t.

  “Are the two of you going to come in?” my grandmother asks as she reappears in the open doorway. “Or should I bring the plate of cookies out here?”

  “We’re coming,” my grandfather tells her, placing a smile on his face for my grandmother’s benefit.

  He stretches out an arm, indicating that I should precede him inside his home. My grandfather still looks wary of me, but at least I understand why now. I have the ability to prevent every living soul from crossing over the veil to Heaven when they die. If the tables were turned and he had the seal instead of me, I would keep a very close eye on him too.

  While I am enjoying the chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen of my grandparents’ heavenly home, my mother walks into the room, surprising us all. After greeting her parents and giving them both hugs, my mother turns to me with an anxious look on her face.

  “Will came and told us where I could find you,” she says.

  I knew what that meant. By now, she and my father would know that I tried to commit suicide. Considering the stupidity of my act, I expected her to look more disapproving or even angry. Instead, she simply looks worried and distraught that I chose such a drastic measure.