by S. J. West
“Helena naturally craves turmoil and chaos. What better planets to visit than ones that already have that going for them?”
“True enough,” I agree. “Let’s go.”
Ethan walks up to me and places his hand on my left shoulder.
“Stay close to me after we phase in,” he requests.
When I look up and see the worry he has for me in his eyes, I feel something stir between us that wasn’t there before now.
“I won’t leave your side,” I promise him in a whisper. “The closer I am to you, the less likely I am to get blown up.”
Ethan chuckles, and I earn a smile for my little joke. “Great minds think alike, I guess.”
This time I laugh and tighten my grip on the tracking device in my hand.
“I’m ready when you are, fearless leader,” I tell him.
“Here we go …”
CHAPTER 6
The first stop on our search for Helena’s whereabouts ends up being a total bust.
“She isn’t here,” I regret to inform Ethan after I see the “no signal” message appear on the screen.
“I’m not too surprised by that,” Ethan replies, as he surveys the forested area he phased us to on Laed-i. “We suspect she’s still in Hell.”
I lower the tracking device to my side and ask him, “What makes you think she’s still there?”
“We’ve been unable to phase into the Nexus. It’s a problem we’ve encountered before and previously assumed it was because Helena was there blocking our ability to phase into her domain. I think she’s been there since she left you last night after your encounter with her at the cabin.”
“So why are we doing this today if you’re so sure she’s not on any of the worlds you’re planning to take me to?” I have to ask. “It seems like a colossal waste of time to search for her if you already know where she is.”
“She has to come out of hiding eventually,” Ethan points out. “Besides, I need to check on a few of my men who are stationed on some of the worlds we’ll be visiting today.”
“You placed War Angels on other planets?” I ask, finding this curious. “What for?”
“I have a few scattered on various worlds to keep an eye on things for me. It may not look like it,” Ethan says, sweeping his gaze around the green forest we’re standing in, “but this planet is slowly being torn to pieces by its ruler.”
“How can a single man tear a whole world apart?”
“By killing anyone who gets in his way and doing away with any opposition before they can become a threat to his rule. The people of this world are too scared to stand up to their king, so he continues to pillage this planet of its natural resources and to sell them to neighboring planets for a hefty profit.”
“Seems a little shortsighted of him,” I say. “Which of your men do you have stationed here?”
“Both Xander and Zane are here keeping an eye on the planet’s destruction. I believe you already know them.”
I nod. “Yeah. They come to Grace House on a regular basis. How come Xander has such a drinking problem anyway? Seems strange for an angel to be an alcoholic.”
Ethan looks at me as if he’s confused by my remark. “He drinks to forget. Isn’t that the reason you gave me for why you drink?”
“What in the world would he need to forget? He hasn’t been on Earth long enough to rack up a lengthy list of regrets.”
“Yes, but he was involved in the war in Heaven, just like the rest of us. There are things that we each did during that time that’s hard to forget. Xander was forced to kill his best friend back then because he betrayed us by siding with Lucifer. Xander kept what he did a secret from the rest of us for a very long time, and by keeping that secret, it damaged his soul in a lot of ways. He’s having difficulty forgiving himself for what he did, but I have faith that he’ll pull himself together sooner rather than later.”
“Why does he come to Grace House to get drunk? Don’t they have alcohol on Earth?”
“He doesn’t want Anna to know that he’s still drinking. He’s ashamed that he hasn’t been able to break his addiction to it, and he would rather not worry her with his personal problem. The last time he got drunk in Cirrus, Anna had to shame him into leaving the establishment he was in and go home. Xander doesn’t want her to feel the need to do that again.”
“He must have a lot of respect for her.”
“We all do,” Ethan states without hesitation. “She’s an exceptional woman, mother, and leader. I still have a hard time believing she’s Lucifer’s daughter, considering how well she turned out.”
“My mother told me that Anna used to be a Guardian of the Guf. Aren’t those the angels in charge of molding souls?”
“Yes. She was the second soul ever created in Heaven. In fact, Lucifer made her from the light found within his own soul. So she was basically his daughter in Heaven too.”
“She was called Seraphina while she was a Guardian, right?”
“Yes. And Seraphina was the Guardian who created the first human soul in the Guf.”
“Which pissed Lucifer off and started the war,” I conclude.
“Lucifer simply didn’t like the fact that God wanted him to serve humanity. His ego wouldn’t allow him to even consider bowing down to creatures he considered beneath him.”
“My mother told me that after Lucifer and the other rebellion angels were cast out of Heaven, Seraphina asked the Guardians of the Guf to transform her angelic soul into a human one.”
“Yes, she did. She knew that the only way to save Lucifer was to become human and show him how wonderful a species they are. Her love for him changed everything. It just took a very long time for all the pieces to fall into place and for Seraphina’s original plan to finally work.”
“Did you ever resent being made a War Angel?” I ask.
“Resent it?” Ethan questions, as if the thought has never even crossed his mind. “Why would I resent being what I am?”
“If you hadn’t been made into a War Angel, you wouldn’t have had to fight in the war. The energy your soul was made out of could have been molded into a Guardian or even a human.”
“I like myself just the way I am,” he replies with a troubled frown. “Do you think less of me for being a War Angel?”
“No!” I’m quick to say. “But haven’t you ever wondered what it might have been like if you hadn’t been specifically created to be a warrior?”
“It’s honestly never crossed my mind until this moment. I wouldn’t want to be anyone else besides myself, but from your question, I take it that you believe being a War Angel is a bad thing.”
“That isn’t what I said,” I tell him.
“But you implied it with your question.”
“It’s just that you don’t strike me as someone who would take pleasure in killing others. Am I wrong about that?”
Ethan hesitates before answering my question. “No. You’re not wrong, but you have to understand that we were made to prevent Lucifer and the rebellion angels from tearing Heaven apart. Of course I didn’t enjoy killing other angels, especially since killing an angel in Heaven is a true death for them.”
“True death?” I ask, having never heard this part of the story before. “What do you mean by that?”
“The angels who died during the war in Heaven were lost forever. Their souls were basically sucked back into the vortex of energy that makes up the Well of Souls.”
“I didn’t know that,” I say, extremely thankful now that my mom and Uncle Enis were fortunate enough to survive the war.
“It’s a time most of us would rather forget,” Ethan tells me, returning his gaze to the forest around us as he seems to search for something. I also get the feeling he would rather drop the subject of our conversation.
“What are you looking for?” I ask.
“Xander and Zane were supposed to meet us here and give me a report. It’s not like them to be late.”
“Do you think something is wrong?�
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“That’s the only conclusion I can make.”
“Do they have a home here?”
“Zane does.” Ethan looks back at me. “He married a woman on this planet a few months ago.”
“He’s married?” I ask in total shock, wondering if I misheard Ethan’s statement.
Ethan nods. “He’s the first of us to marry and the second of us to have a child on the way. I believe his wife is two months along in her pregnancy.”
“I had no idea,” I say, “but I don’t talk to Xander and Zane that much when I see them at Grace House either. We normally just give a passing hello to be nice.”
“Do you have any children?” Ethan asks.
“No,” I reply with a small shake of my head, leaving it at that. It’s a topic of conversation I would rather not delve into right now with Ethan. “Do you know where Zane and his wife live? Have you been to their house?”
“Yes.”
From the questioning way Ethan is looking at me, I can tell he senses my brusque change of subject was meant to deflect the conversation away from me and my past. Whatever. As long as he doesn’t push things, we’ll be just fine.
“Then maybe we should go there to see if they’re having a problem,” I suggest. I thought he would have gotten the hint with my mention of their house, but apparently not.
“I suppose we should,” he says, but he doesn’t make a move right away to touch me so he can phase us both there.
He may not be saying anything, but his silence is speaking for him. He wants to ask me more questions, but he senses now isn’t the time.
Finally, he reaches out and places his hand on my shoulder to phase us to Zane’s house.
As soon as we arrive, I instantly feel a strange sense of being home. The house Zane and his wife live in is built on top of a rocky mountain. The landscaping in front of it is filled with a lush green lawn and flowers ranging from red to purple and every color in between. Green trees with leaves that look like lace fans stand tall on each side of the house. The front porch is made out of polished wood boards and is about four feet wide. The home itself is mostly constructed out of white stone, and the front is totally exposed to the outside world, since it’s predominantly comprised of large panes of glass held into place by steel beams.
Ethan raps his knuckles against the darkly stained double wooden doors we’re standing in front of, and we wait in mutual silence for someone to answer it.
A harried looking Zane yanks the door open. He’s wearing a white linen sleeveless shirt and matching long pants. His usually slicked back short blond hair looks natural and free flowing today, unlike the times I’ve seen him in Grace House. I assume this must be his casual look while he’s at home with his wife. When he sees Ethan and me, his expression changes to one of remorse.
“I’m so sorry, Ethan,” he says, opening the door wider. “I completely forgot about our meeting today. Verati has been sick all morning. I just sent Xander back to Earth to track down Desmond so he can bring him here to examine her.”
“Do you think anything is seriously wrong?” Ethan asks with concern.
Zane shakes his head, and I audibly hear Ethan sigh in relief.
“I think it’s just regular morning sickness, but you know Desmond. He wants us to keep him up to date on everything about her pregnancy.”
Zane looks over at me and smiles. “Hey, Jules, are you starting to regret you got caught up in the search for Helena yet?”
“Not yet,” I say, smiling back at him. “But the day’s still young.”
Zane laughs and takes a couple of steps back to allow us entry into his residence.
As soon as I step over the threshold, I smell the sweet aroma of lavender. All around the room are vases of a purple flower with large petals and a bright green center. It may not look anything like the plant I’m used to, but it certainly smells the same.
Zane’s home is spotlessly clean and decorated in such a way that I feel comfortable in my surroundings. Most of the furniture in the living room to my right is white with touches of purple and peach thrown in for an accent color in the pillows and other odds and ends, such as candles and picture frames. To our left is a dining room, which has a white-washed dining table and matching chairs. Straight out from the front entry is a cable-suspended staircase, which leads up to the second floor.
“Zane!” I hear a woman call out from the back of the house. “Is that Desmond?”
“No!” he shouts back. “It’s Ethan and Julia Grace!”
“Come on,” Zane tells us with a wave of his hand, indicating that we should follow him. “Verati is out on the back porch. She said she needed some fresh air to calm her stomach.”
We follow Zane to the rear of his house, and I instantly see why his wife prefers to sit on the patio. Stretched out before them is a blue-green ocean in the distance. We’re too far away to hear the crash of the waves against the shoreline, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of the scenery surrounding us. Verati is lying out on a lounge chair on the large wooden back porch with her eyes closed, basking in the sun’s rays as she allows her skin to soak up its warmth.
My first impression of Zane’s wife is that she looks far too petite to be having a baby. I know Ethan said she was only two months pregnant, but for some reason, I still expected to see her with a baby bump. Her slim frame will certainly fill out in another month or two as the child begins to grow exponentially inside her womb.
With her tanned skin and short black pixie style hair, Verati is the picture of tranquility in her relaxed pose. She’s dressed similarly to Zane, except her sleeveless white linen outfit is a summer dress. When she hears us step onto the porch, she immediately opens her eyes and turns her head to look our way. A welcoming smile lights up her face and her brown eyes. She swings her legs onto the wooden planks of the porch to stand up and greet us.
“Ethan!” she says excitedly before walking over to him and giving him a hug around the waist. “It’s so good to see you again. I was disappointed when you couldn’t make it to dinner the other night.”
“I’m sorry, Verati,” Ethan apologizes, returning her hug. “Something came up that I had to attend to.”
Verati steps back from Ethan, which places her right beside her husband.
“I’ll let it slide this time,” she says as if she’s making a grand gesture of forgiveness on her part, “but I will expect you to come over the next time you’re invited to dine with us. My friend was extremely disappointed that she didn’t get to meet you.”
Ethan suddenly looks uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.
“Verati, I would like to introduce you to Julia Grace,” Ethan says to her, quickly changing the subject and expertly steering the chat in another direction.
Verati smiles at me and extends her hand, which I automatically shake. “My husband has mentioned you to me before. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, and congratulations on the pregnancy,” I say.
“Zane says you’re feeling sick to your stomach,” Ethan says.
“It’s just the baby,” she replies, protectively placing her hands over her belly. “But it has Zane worried, so he asked Xander to bring Desmond over here.”
“And who is Desmond?” I ask to no one in particular, since it’s obvious they can all answer the question.
“He’s one of the last remaining Watchers,” Verati tells me. “Have you met any of the other ones yet?”
“I’ve only met Malcolm so far,” I admit.
“Oh yes, Malcolm,” Verati says with a sly grin. “I swear, every time I see that man, I think he gets more handsome.”
“If I didn’t know you were madly in love with me,” Zane says, bringing his wife into his arms, “I might get jealous with you talking about another man like that.”
Verati places her arms over Zane’s shoulders and gently begins to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.
“My heart onl
y belongs to one man, and I’m looking straight at him,” she declares.
I feel sure that if Ethan and I weren’t standing right in front of them that Zane would have kissed his wife for her sweet words.
Quite suddenly, but not unexpectedly, Verati’s smile slips from her face and she places her hands over her mouth before running back into the house.
“Sorry,” Zane tells us hurriedly before chasing after his wife, “we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“Poor thing,” I say sympathetically. “Morning sickness can be the worst. You feel like your body’s betraying you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Ethan doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes on me. When I look into his face, I can tell he’s debating on whether or not to ask me a question. Before he can make a decision, I decide to ask him one instead.
“How long has Verati been trying to fix you up with one of her friends?” I ask.
“Ah …” Ethan turns his gaze away from mine and looks out toward the distant ocean. “Caught onto that, did you?”
“It was blatantly obvious,” I say. “I assume you knew that was the reason she invited you for dinner, but what I want to know is if you purposely found an excuse not to come here that night so you didn’t have to spend the evening getting to know her friend.”
“Something did come up that night,” Ethan says as he looks back at me. In a lower voice he says, “But it wasn’t something that couldn’t have waited until the next morning. I just didn’t feel like being introduced to one of her friends again and having to turn down her advances. Situations like that can become extremely awkward.”
I have to laugh a small bit about that. “How many friends of hers has she tried to set you up with?”
“Five so far,” he answers with a heavy sigh.
“And none of them met your requirements for a potential mate?”
“No. They did not.”
Ethan’s response was so quick, I have to ask, “And what exactly are you looking for in a future life partner?”
“I only have one set criterion,” he tells me, staring into my eyes as if I should know what he’s referring to.