“I’m sorry I don’t remember.”
“Right. Well it was bad, and that’s all you need to know.”
“But you don’t seem changed by your whole experience down there. How were you able to do it? Fight their orders, I mean.”
“Honestly Bren I don’t know. I just knew that I had to be back in his grace. When I lost it, it was the worst pain I’d ever felt. Humans speak metaphorically about having their heart ripped out. Well, in a literal way, that’s exactly what it felt like. And then each day I woke up, there was just this empty hole. Many of us felt we’d been deceived. At first, we were the ones who begged for Him to let us return. But we could no longer hear Him. Then, the one we had to call master, begin to rule over us. If we didn’t fall in line with his orders in detail, he would torture us. He wouldn’t stop until he knew we could be trusted again or that we were too scared to cross him.
Many still talk about an uprising, but they’re too afraid of what he’d do if he discovered any sort of coo.”
“So you had to follow his orders? Like when Nehemiah ordered Elijah to stay in his spirit form, he couldn’t manifest his body at all.”
“Not exactly, a fallen angel chooses to follow orders. If you disobey, you’ll be punished or imprisoned in hell.”
“Jesson, I guess what I’m asking is, what should I do, and don’t say, nothing, because that’s not an option.”
“Okay, Bren.” He smiles. “Talk to the Orator. Perhaps she’ll know what his redemptions are.”
“Let’s go.”
“What now? Look you’d better get your Keepers to take you.” He faces into the wind and his hair is swept up like a dark haired troll doll causing a smile to form on my lips.
“Fine, one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“What are your intentions with Emily?” I ask grabbing him by the shirt collar. He laughs.
“Whoa, easy there little human. I’m taking her to prom, not marrying her.”
“Why are you still here Jesson? Did Malphas make you keep an eye on me? How do I know you’re not still working for them?”
“I was a mole Brennen, the Cherubim knew who I was, and that I was really on their side. If they trust me, why don’t you?” he says, his voice never showing any sign of stress.
“Why does a six thousand year old angel, who just broke out of hell, want to be in high school?”
He chuckles. “Well, when you put it that way, you make me sound pretty pathetic.”
“See my point exactly.”
“Let’s just say your mother doesn’t take any risks. The plan will go as it was foretold, centuries ago.”
“That’s all I am to them isn’t it? A pawn in their one shot at success.” I kick a leaf off of the ledge and watch the wind carry it off.
“Why would you think that? Oh Bren, we’ve got to get your memories back.”
Why does everyone keep saying that?
"The main reason I think I’m just a player in their all too real Game of Life, is because I have half a fleet of angels surrounding me at any given time, to make sure I don't screw it all up for them. Again, I might add."
"Brennen, your mother only wants to keep you safe. She loves you tremendously. I have to go now. Please stay safe, and don't do anything..." He sighs, "Risky."
Chapter 4 ~ Mother Knows Best
I let the tailgate down on Sam's truck and hop up, making myself comfortable under the shady branches of the live oak tree. He finally saunters out of the barn in a dirty white t-shirt and dust covered jeans. He gives me a lazy smile and pulls his cap off to wipe his brow.
"Dang girl, I just love seeing you sitting on the back of my truck in your sundress, looking hotter than I need you too right now."
I roll my eyes and toss him a water bottle. He thanks me and guzzles it down. I bite my lip as I notice his arms have been freshly toned from all of the hay bales he just unloaded. Sam's arrival has just made the sun feel ten degrees hotter.
"I'm making your favorite tonight, it should be ready by the time you come down."
"Chicken fried steak?"
"Of course!"
"My mouth’s already watering." He licks his lips and kisses my cheek. We walk inside his home together hand in hand. He leaves me to cook while he showers. His father and sisters should be back any time from the girls’ dance lessons.
"So when will you take me to see Emmagen?" I direct to Elena.
"She'll see you tonight. So don't dilly-dally at dinner." I make a face. The girls were looking forward to game night after dinner. I unload the bag of groceries I brought over and bread the steak cutlets. I peel the potatoes and dump them in the boiling water. About the time I finally get the steaks in the pan of oil, I hear Sam’s family come home.
"Mm mm! Something sure smells good," Mr. Montgomery sings out.
"Brennen look at my new move," Mia says lifting her leg up near her ear.
"Wow that looks like it would hurt, but good job."
"Stop showing off Mia," Maci chimes in, dropping her bag on the floor.
"Jealous much!?"
"Girls enough with the bickering. Maci put your things away," their father barks out, silencing them with an irrefutable glare.
"Yes sir," they say in unison.
"Brennen, thank you again for making us dinner. It's very kind of you."
"You're welcome. I love to cook Mr. Montgomery." Sam finally comes down, clean and smelling enticing as usual. He wraps his arm around my waist and gently kisses my earlobe just as his father leaves the room. Suddenly I wish it was just the two of us alone tonight.
We bring all of the food to the table. I take Sam's hand and he follows suit around the table. I say a short thanks, feeling a little awkward as I pray out loud. Everyone has to start somewhere right, I tell myself. I made a huge spread consisting of the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and peach cobbler for dessert. I’ll need to be wheeled out by the time I’m done.
"You two kids looking forward to prom tomorrow night?"
"Yes sir."
"Son, I know we've had this talk before and..."
Sam cringes down in his chair. "Dad please, not in front of the girls."
Mr. Montgomery resigns his safe sex lecture for another time. My face is lit up like the Christmas tree at the liquor store.
"Have you found a place around Houston yet?" I ask, hoping the answer is no. I hope the Texas real estate market suddenly hit a dry spell.
"Yes, I found a small ranch in Magnolia, it's less than an hour away from Sam's school. I think we'll like it there."
"Much more humidity than in Ft. Worth."
Ack! We’re talking about the weather of all things. Much better than the birth control topic, however. Sam rubs my thigh as his father tells us about their new home. It sounds beautiful. He shows me a few pictures of a large white wooden house with green shutters and lush landscaping. A small gazebo is set off to the side of the house. The barn is not as updated as their last one but Mr. Montgomery says that’s where they will have to pour their work into.
“Brennen come on we’re going to play, Would You Rather,” Mia yells out from the living room. I need to leave, but they’ve been looking forward to game night all week.
“I’ll be right there.” Sam and I cuddle up on the love seat, and Mia and Maci sprawl on the rug. Sam’s dad settles into a leather recliner with a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Okay Brennen gets to go first since she’s our guest,” Maci explains.
“Would you rather have frog lips or eyes like a crab?” I ask and Mia and Maci squeal out “ew’s” in unison.
“Frog lips, crab eyes gross me out.” Maci explains.
“Oh but frog lips don’t?” Mia chimes in. “Well I choose crab eyes. I can sneak peeks around the corner and no one would see me. I shake my head at their logic.
“Would you rather never know love or never know kindness?” Maci asks me. That’s a tough one I have to ponder for a second.
<
br /> “Well I suppose I’d have to choose, kindness. I think life would be unbearable if the person you loved never showed you kindness,” I admit. Sam plants a chaste kiss on my cheek and takes his turn.
His dad narrows his eyes in on him asks, “Would you rather be able to fly no higher than three feet off the ground or read only negative thoughts in people’s heads?
There’s a smile behind Sam’s eyes as he strokes his chin.
“I think I’d want to fly more than know all the crap that goes on in the minds of most people.” After the first round I say my good byes and Sam walks me out. I love that his family has taken me right in and made me one of their own. Sam leans against my car. I dip my hands into his front pockets and pull him closer by his jeans. He pins me against the car and pours a kiss over my lips that could light the moon up at night with the voltage coming off of him.
“Be safe.”
“Always.”
*~*~*~
As soon as I return home, Elena and Inara whisk me away to the In-between. Night has fallen on the strange planet and for that, I'm grateful. They lead me down the hall and into an office, where Emmagen sits behind a large desk. What must be the Oracle, constantly changes, and flashes new images in the air by the second.
"Brennen, I've missed you so much. Elena, Inara please give us a moment alone." The two women turn on their heels without objection and I'm positive that my mother indeed has special powers of her own.
"Yes, well thank you for agreeing to see me. Jesson said you may be able to help."
"I'd be more than happy to do anything I can for you, child." I walk around her desk, memorized by the pictures.
"Have you got the hang of this thing yet?" My hand hovers over it and it stops over an image of me. I'm sunning myself on a blanket. The view changes as if the camera were panning around to see my face. Whoa, I'm very pregnant, is that a baby elephant I'm carrying? Good grief. My hand falls away and the images keep moving.
"Mostly."
"Did you see that? Please tell me my future doesn't involve me birthing baby hippos."
"Brennen, what is it you're in need of?" She grasps my arms and studies my expression. Her doe-eyes settle over me in a way that can only be interpreted as motherly.
"I need to help Elijah. Tell me what he needs to do to get his grace back."
"Even if I tell you, he's in Hell right now. There's no way in for our kind."
"He'll find a way out and when he does he'll find me. I have to help him."
"Brennen you need to stay away from Elijah, especially now. I know you think he would never hurt you but the fact is, he could kill you."
"Look I'm going to do this with or without you. If you want to help me great, but I will find a way."
My mother purses her lips, looking every bit the pouty child that I do when I make the same face. She sweeps her hair back behind her, and concentrates her gaze on the Oracle. I walk around the glass desk and stand beside her, anxious to see what she sees. I get glimpses of Elijah's face here and there but her hands fly around as if she were conducting a complicated symphony.
"Listen carefully. Elijah must redeem himself three times and then he will be allowed to return to his master. As far as I can tell, his first mission is to save Nehemiah."
"But I thought Nehemiah was crazed with power?"
"Perhaps he was, but Michael the archangel, will deal with him in his own way. It wasn't Elijah's place to enslave him to Hell." I shrug it off. Okay, so the guy basically ruins my life by turning it upside down, re-writes my history, and he gets a get-out-of-jail-free card?"
"Yes, He has a plan."
"Next, it looks like Elijah saves a mass of people from dying before their time."
"What people? Give me more details."
She scrunches up her brow and goes back on the search for a few minutes.
"You're going to have to figure out which plane, carrying only thirty-five people, is doomed to crash. The plane will be sabotaged by the evil ones. More than likely they've made deals, like the one Sam's mother made. It looks like Malphas wants to collect early.
And lastly… He will have to save the life of the very person he most likely wishes would never take another breath again."
"Me?"
She rolls her eyes back like she can't believe I'm as dumb as I've just let on.
"Oh, Sam?"
"We really must get your memories back."
Seriously?
"Any details on how that whole scenario is going to play out? Because Thing 1 and Thing 2 aren't letting Elijah anywhere near me."
"Brennen, they're ordered not to. I made the one exception so he could say his goodbyes. Have Jesson relay everything I've just told you to Elijah. You are to stay away from him. Are we clear young lady?"
Whoa what? Is she trying to actually be my mother?
"You don't know me all that well, I see."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because if you did, you would never threaten me to get me to comply." I walk out of the office and look for Inara and Elena, leaving my mother with a look of clear discomfort on her brow.
I finally find them lingering in the garden. Roses the color of sunset, bloom by the hundreds here. It looks as if they go on for miles. The air is painted with their delicate fragrance and I inhale their perfume as I walk.
"Beam us up Scottie."
"Was she able to help?" Elena asks.
"I have what I need. Now can we please go?"
"What's wrong? Did she upset you?"
"That's putting it mildly." I walk back into the building with them not far behind. We step on the platform and are transported through time and space and back into my living room.
"Thanks for taking me, I'm going to head on up. Goodnight ladies."
"Goodnight Brennen." They both say.
Chapter 5 ~ Easy Breezy
I turn the corner into the kitchen and spot Elena seated at the far end of the enormous granite island. She’s hidden behind the Washington Post, but I recognize the glossy red manicure as hers. I pour myself a cup of coffee and add in some Crème Brule flavored creamer. Ah, now this is Heaven in a cup.
"Good morning Brennen. I do hope that a nights rest has removed the bitter taste your mother placed on your tongue."
"What do you think Elena?"
"Perhaps not."
Perhaps not indeed. In fact I'm more determined now to help Elijah completely on my own.
"Well at any rate, at least you have prom to look forward to today. I know you've been busy, so I've arranged for my people to come here after lunch."
"I'm sorry what people?" I ask, wondering what kind of torment they want to put me through today. Elena flips her newspaper to the next page as if she's already bored by the topic at hand.
"Thomas will take care of your hair, and Maggie does the make-up. They're the best kept secret on earth," she whispers the last part while peeking out from behind her paper. I catch a hint of a smile just leaving her lips. "Of course, you should invite Emily."
"Elena thank you, but you didn't have to go through so much trouble."
"Better get used to it. After graduation, you and I are going to transform your wardrobe."
"What, why? I like my clothes."
She sighs, "Brennen, our future president cannot go off to Harvard in floral sundresses and plaid flannel. You have to look the part. And I intend to break you of the habit of using the word, ya'll when referring to more than one person. It's dreadful really."
"Is that so Elena? Well, ya'll better bring your big guns to that fight. I'd best be gettin along now." What is it with all of the women in my life wanting to control me? It only makes moving to Texas with Sam sound that much more appealing.
I slip the lead on Brutus’s bone printed collar and head out for our run. I try and out run the angels tailing me like a hawk in kill mode. Brutus is in full stride right alongside me. My legs burn but I ignore the pain and push through it. I’ll be glad when Elena is off my guard
and Elijah is back. At least when it was him, he was never a pain in the ass. The ocean pushes against the shore, glistening under the citrine sun like a multi-faceted gem.
Brutus sets his sights on a flock of gulls and the beach is empty so I let him go. The birds take to the sky before he even gets close. He’s like a freight train with fur and they spot him bearing down from a mile away.
Out of breath, I strip off my running gear leaving only my swim suit on. I take to the water and Brutus joins in. He’s probably never been in the ocean, but he’s dead set on following me in. Once we get past the waves, he treads water next to me and licks my cheek. I dip under to rinse his slobber off.
“Sorry boy, only Sam is allowed to get his tongue anywhere near me.” I rub the short slick hair on his nose. He’s starting to grow on me but I know I need to find him a permanent home.
*~*~*
True to her word, Elena’s people show up and set up in the master bathroom. Maggie is a cherry plump woman with unnaturally red hair. “Look out deary I’ve got a boatload of stuff to put up now.” She’s got a thick Irish accent and it takes me a moment to process what she just said.
“I’d be glad to help you.”
“Well come on then, get on with it,” she says shooing me out the door. I grab a box from her car and carry it to the bathroom.
Thomas whips past us in some kind of hurry. He has an obvious spray tan and keeps his platinum hair in a short buzz cut. He’s wearing an ivory vest and copper colored shirt which alerts me to the fact that he’s too well dressed to be straight.
The counter is filled with cosmetics and hair products when they call us in. Emily whips out a bottle of champagne from behind her back and two plastic flutes. I shake my head wondering how she gets this stuff. She pops the cork and pours us each a glass.
“My cousin works at the Stop n Shop.”
“To your cousin, and one hell of a night. No, wait I’d better rephrase that. To one simply fun prom night that we will always look back and cherish.” We don’t want to have any inkling of hell present tonight.
Emily gets her makeup done by Thomas while Maggie does my hair. She sculpts my long locks first into gorgeous waves and then forms an elegant loose braid of sorts. I can’t describe it, it’s just pretty.
My Soul to Save (Soul Keeper) Page 4