War Angel Contingent (Everlasting Fire Series, Book 1)

by S. J. West

  “I will,” Lucas promises. “See you later, Ms. Jules! Have fun!”

  The three of them phase, presumably back to Cirrus, while I stand there holding the tart in my hands. I turn around to face my date.

  “That boy may end up ruling his own cloud city one day,” I declare.

  “What makes you think he’s not already calling the shots in Cirrus?” Ethan questions me with a smile.

  “I wouldn’t doubt it if he was,” I reply truthfully.

  Ethan walks up to me and takes the tart from my hands.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” he says as he walks over to the small table Roan phased in and sets the tart down on it. “I prepared a couple of side dishes for us, but I thought the shrimp and lobster would taste better if I grilled them here.”

  “To be honest, I’m starving,” I admit. “Sometimes I think my mom forgets that I’m human and need to eat on a regular basis. Either that or she was just having too much fun today shopping with me.”

  I notice Ethan’s eyes look me up and down in a slow manner. It’s the first time he’s allowed himself to consider me in my new outfit. The intensity of his gaze makes me wonder if he has x-ray vision because I suddenly feel like I’m standing in front of him in the buff.

  “If that’s one of your purchases from today, I have to say it was money well spent,” he tells me.

  Ethan doesn’t smile as he says these words, which makes the moment feel more intimate. He does, however, allow his eyes to sweep me from head to toe once again as he awaits my response.

  “Thank you,” I tell him in a soft voice because there’s no need for me to say it any louder. The air between us has suddenly become filled with an electrical charge that seems to cause every look and word said to carry more meaning. I can honestly say I’ve never felt such a strong attraction to a man, not even Timothy.

  “Well,” Ethan says with a small grin to break the sudden, but not unpleasant, tension between us, “I suppose I should start cooking before you waste away. I brought plenty of food, so don’t feel shy about eating as much as you want. That’s what it’s here for.”

  “If there is one thing you should know about me,” I declare, “it’s that I’m not shy when it comes to food. In fact, would you be terribly upset if I had a slice of Anna’s fruit tart for an appetizer?”

  Ethan chuckles. “Please, be my guest. I’m sure she’ll love to hear whether you like it or not.”

  “I have a feeling I’m going to love it,” I say as I walk over to the dining table and pick up the small dessert plate sitting on top of the dinner one.

  As I’m cutting a slice of the tart and Ethan walks over to the grill to prepare to cook, I see a man phase into the gazebo. He’s handsome in a very classic sort of way with brown hair and dressed in a well-tailored black suit with a white undershirt. I’ve never seen the man before and can only assume he’s either a War Angel or one of the Watchers from Earth. Whoever he is, he looks haggard and anxious, causing me to immediately wonder what horrible tragedy has befallen him.

  Ethan looks over at the man who is standing at the entrance of the gazebo.

  “Jered, what’s wrong?” Ethan says to him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need you to help me,” Jered says desperately, his voice quavering slightly. “I need you to help me find my son.”

  CHAPTER 10

  I have no idea what’s going on, so I decide to stand still and listen.

  “Malcolm just told me you saw him on Cephas,” Jered says anxiously. “Where exactly did you see him? What was he doing? How can I find him there?”

  Ethan turns away from the grill and walks over to Jered.

  “I tried to find you earlier to tell you myself that I saw Silas, but Malcolm said you were busy doing something in the down-world. I figured that by the time I found you and took you to Cephas, he would most likely already be gone.”

  “But what if he’s still there?” Jered asks desperately. “You don’t know that he isn’t. Where exactly did you see him?”

  “I went to meet Alex there to get his report but found a firefight happening in our usual meeting spot instead. I saw Silas shooting on one side of the fight; I’m not sure which one. I didn’t have time to figure it out before we had to deal with Helena.”

  It’s only after the mention of a “we” that Jered seems to finally notice my existence.

  “I’m so sorry,” he says as he straightens his shoulders and tries to wipe away the worry from his facial features. It almost works, but I can still see his troubled state of mind in the pools of his eyes. “Please excuse my intrusion, Ms. Grace.”

  “No apology necessary,” I tell Jered, slightly surprised that he knows my name. I can only assume Malcolm told Jered who Ethan was with this evening.

  Jered nods his head in my direction, silently letting me know that he appreciates my acceptance of his apology.

  “Ethan, do you have a moment to spare to phase me to Cephas so I can look for Silas myself?”

  “It’s been hours since I saw him there, Jered. I’m sure he’s gone by now.”

  “Nevertheless, I would like to be able to phase to the planet on my own whenever I want. If he went there once, that might mean that he’ll go there again. I won’t be able to rest until I know for sure that he isn’t on that world anymore.”

  “I think it would be better if I took you to where Alex is staying on the planet,” Ethan tells him. “He can escort you around and show you the most likely places that Silas might be. That’s better than phasing you to a world you’ve never been to before and having to walk everywhere you want to go.”

  “Then I would appreciate you taking me to Alex,” Jered replies, sounding as grateful as he looks.

  Ethan turns to me and says, “Will you be all right on your own for a few minutes? This shouldn’t take me very long.”

  “Sure, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promises before resting his hand on his friend’s shoulder and phasing away.

  By the time Ethan returns, I’ve already eaten my first slice of the fruit tart and am working on my second serving.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he apologizes. “Jered has been looking for his son for months. This is the first time any of us have seen him for quite a while. Although I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that Silas was on Cephas with Helena.”

  “Why is that?” I have to ask. “Does he work for her?”

  “Sort of,” Ethan begins, sounding hesitant to categorize Silas’ connection to Helena in such a way. “Jered is a Watcher. I assume your mother probably told you about their curse and the curse their children had to suffer through.”

  “Yes,” I say. “She told me that their children would transform into creatures at night called werewolves.”

  “Jered wasn’t always the man he is today. A long time ago, he sided with Lucifer and used his son to help him accomplish various misguided deeds that ended up killing a lot of people. Anyway, Jered’s son died and has been in Hell for over a thousand years. At least he was up until a few months ago. We assumed he was helping Helena in some way after she left Earth, but this is the first time any of us has actually seen him with our own eyes.”

  “So, is Jered going to try to talk his son out of helping her?”

  “That’s part of his plan,” Ethan says with a heavy sigh. “As you can imagine, Jered feels an enormous amount of guilt for being the reason his son was sent to Hell in the first place. Now, he wants to find a way to break Silas free from Helena’s hold over him so he can redeem himself.”

  “What if Silas isn’t interested in asking for God’s forgiveness?”

  “That isn’t a possibility as far as Jered is concerned.”

  “And what is your opinion on the subject?”

  Ethan shrugs. “It doesn’t really matter what I think. As long as Jered believes his son can be saved, I have to help him in any way I can.”

  “What if the only way to
help Jered is to make him come to terms with the fact that his son will never change?”

  “Then I’ll help him with that loss when the time comes. Right now, Jered has hope that he can reason with Silas. I’m not about to take that dream away from him.”

  I decide to drop the issue because it’s really none of my business. I’m sure Jered knows his son. If he thinks Silas can be saved, there has to be a possibility of it happening. If Silas was my child, I would never give up on him either, and I can only assume that Jered feels the same way.

  “I see you’ve already eaten a quarter of the tart,” Ethan notes before returning to his position by the grill. “If you will have a little more patience with me, I’ll have the rest of our meal cooked in just a few minutes.”

  “No rush,” I tell him from my seat at the table. “I just started eating this slice, and I’m trying to eat it more slowly than I did the first piece so I can savor all the flavors.”

  “By the time you’re through, I should have everything almost cooked,” Ethan promises.

  From my position at the table, I quietly watch Ethan as he begins to prepare our meal. Apparently the large plastic box on the table contains the fresh seafood he intends to cook. I see him pull out a bag of shrimp and a bag with two lobster tails. He also pulls out two silver-looking pouches and places them directly on the grill without opening them. After he lights a fire underneath the grill, he begins to skewer the shrimp and place them over the low-burning flames.

  Every motion Ethan makes is sure with purpose and graceful fluidity. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone move like he does. It takes me a moment to figure out what it is about the way he shifts his body that intrigues me. After a few minutes of studying him, I realize what it is. He moves like a man who knows exactly what he’s doing and exactly how he intends to accomplish each of his actions. Most people hesitate for at least a few seconds while they work at something, but not Ethan. There is no doubt in his actions, and for some reason, I find it fascinating to watch him move.

  He must feel me watching him, because while he’s basting the shrimp and lobster tails with melted butter, he turns around to meet my gaze.

  “How was the tart?” he asks me. “I assume it was good since you ate two slices of it.”

  “It was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten,” I declare truthfully. “Anna is a great cook.”

  Ethan smiles at my remark like I’ve said something that amused him.

  “Did I say something funny?” I ask, unsure how my statement could be considered humorous.

  “Anna comes from a long line of really bad cooks,” Ethan answers. “She’s the only one of the descendants who was able to break the curse and learn how to do it.”

  “Ah, well, she definitely knows how. That’s for sure. I just wish I had the patience to do it.”

  “I’m sure you’re good at other things,” he says, hinting for me to divulge a plethora of my secret talents to him.

  “I always hit my target when I shoot my gun,” I tell him. It may not be something a normal girl would say, but if whatever this is between me and Ethan has a chance of progressing to something more than just a dinner date, he needs to know I’m not like a lot of other women he’s met on other worlds. “And I always bring in a bounty once I’ve accepted the job.”

  Ethan grins. “I take it you’re not the type of woman who sits at home knitting scarves and baking cookies then.”

  “Sometimes I wish I were,” I half laugh. “Life would be a lot simpler.”

  “Why did you leave the police force to become a bounty hunter?”

  I stare at Ethan for a moment, considering whether or not I should answer his question. I don’t feel ready to, so I break our eye contact and look down at my nearly empty plate. While I consider my next words, I use my fork to roll a solitary red raspberry around in the leftover crumbs.

  “I, uh,” I begin so it doesn’t seem like I’m ignoring his question while I try to figure out how I’m going to answer it. “I quit after my husband died. I hated the way people would look at me like they pitied me. So I decided to start working alone. I’m basically doing the same job I did on the force. I hunt down criminals and get paid for it. The only difference is that I don’t have a badge or a nine-to-five job to go to every day. I like being my own boss and setting my own schedule. It makes life easier not to have to answer to someone else.”

  “I can understand that,” he says, turning back around to face the grill to flip over the shrimp and lobster tails.

  I suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to be closer to Ethan, so I stand from the table and walk over to him. As soon as I approach the grill, the delectable scent of the shrimp and lobster assail my nostrils, filling them with their sweet aroma.

  “That seriously smells delicious,” I tell him, unable to prevent myself from inhaling deeply. I look over at the two foil-wrapped items he first put on the grill. “What’s in those?”

  “Sea trout,” he answers. “We caught a few while we were shrimping. I have some white wine, melted butter, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper in there with the fish. I thought you might like to try it.”

  “It all smells wonderful,” I tell him as I walk over to the small table Roan brought earlier to look at the two small closed containers sitting on top of it. “Can I ask what you cooked for side dishes?”

  “I made some lemon rosemary roasted potatoes and sautéed asparagus spears with mushrooms. I hope those are all right. I wasn’t sure what you would prefer.”

  “Everything you brought sounds yummy to me,” I say, turning sideways slightly to meet his gaze again.

  “Good,” he replies with a pleased nod of his head. “My culinary skills are limited, but I try to expand them by learning new recipes when I have the time. Lately, we’ve been so busy trying to find Helena that I haven’t had much of an opportunity to cook.”

  With the mention of Helena, I realize I haven’t told Ethan about my encounter with her in my apartment after he left me earlier. I almost don’t want to, because I know as soon as I do, he’ll feel guilty for leading her directly to where I live. But if I don’t tell him now, I’ll feel like I’m keeping a secret from him, and that’s not any better of a solution for me.

  “I have to tell you something,” I begin, drawing his attention away from the grill and back to me. “Helena came to my apartment not long after you left it today.”

  Ethan’s body goes completely still. I don’t even think he blinks as he considers my words.

  Finally, he seems to snap out of his shock and asks, “Has she ever been there before? Perhaps during the time she and Cade spent on Sierra?”

  I shake my head and wish I didn’t have to say my next words. “They never visited my apartment. She followed your phase trail there from Cephas.”

  Ethan grips the wooden handle of the brush he was using to baste the shrimp and lobster with so tightly that it snaps into two pieces.

  “That,” he says in a deep voice, “was stupid of me.”

  I assume he’s talking about leading Helena to my apartment and not the fact that he just broke his basting brush.

  “She didn’t hurt me or even try to,” I’m quick to tell him. “In fact, I was able to use the opportunity to talk to her about asking for Desmond’s help when it’s time for her son to be born.”

  “But I led her straight to you, Jules,” he says agitatedly as he throws the now ruined brush into the sink beside the grill. “It was thoughtless of me, and I’m never careless, especially when it comes to people I care about.”

  “Seriously, don’t beat yourself up about it,” I tell him in an attempt to take away the sting he obviously feels for making a mistake. “I think it might have worked out in our favor, actually. She opened up to me a little bit, and that might help us later on, particularly if you want to convince her to hand over her son to you. I know you’re used to fighting for what you want and what you believe to be right, but I don’t believe this will be a situation you’ll
be able to win with a sword. You’re going to have to reason with Helena and prove to her that giving up her son is the best thing she can do for him.”

  “You can’t reason with a creature like her,” Ethan says without a note of doubt in his voice. “She’s pure evil.”

  “Do you truly believe that?” I have to ask. “From what I’ve been told, Cade loved her very much. Do you think he was the type of person who could love someone who has zero redeemable qualities?”

  My question seems to bring Ethan up short. His lips press together tightly like he’s doing his best not to start a verbal fight with me about Helena’s virtues … or lack thereof. I remember him telling me earlier that if he starts to humanize Helena, he might not be able to do what he feels like he has to in order to save Cade’s child from her. I can’t imagine Ethan cutting Helena open and ripping her baby right out of her womb, but it’s obvious he can, and I’m not sure how I feel about that side of him.

  “I’m sorry I absentmindedly gave her access to your apartment,” Ethan says in a low voice. Apparently he’s decided not to answer my question about Helena’s possible good traits. Cade must have seen something worth loving in Helena before his untimely demise or she wouldn’t be pregnant with his child right now. “I’ll try to be more cautious in the future. I suppose I was so concerned about your safety, I didn’t consider all of the repercussions of taking you directly home from the battlefield.”

  “Why were they fighting there anyway?” I ask. “I thought you said the places where you meet your men are out of the way on each planet.”

  “They were when we originally picked them. Apparently two of the warring clans on Cephas found a mineral deposit in that location within the last week and decided to have a fight to see who would earn the right to claim it as their own.”

  “And your friend—Alex, was it?—where was he in all of that mess? I assume he knew what time to meet us there.”

  “He phased in a few minutes earlier and discovered the fighting. He was helping tend to the wounded when you and I arrived. That’s why we didn’t see him.”