War Angel Contingent (Everlasting Fire Series, Book 1)

by S. J. West

  “It will only work for me,” I tell her, holding the screen up to my face and pressing the button on the side to turn the machine on so it can scan my retina. Once it’s functional, I face the screen toward her so she can see it. “The red dots show that the device is attempting to track down the signal on Helena’s tracer.”

  Anna’s brow furrows as she looks at the screen. “And what does it mean if the dots turn green?”

  “How did you know they can turn green?”

  Anna shifts her gaze away from the tracker’s screen and looks directly at me.

  “Because they just did.”

  I quickly face the screen toward me. When I do, the green dots vanish and the direction and distance of our target appears on the screen.

  “Holy …” I stop myself from cursing because I remember a baby is present. “She’s here!”

  “Shh,” Anna says, craning her head to the side to look down the hallway Ethan and Lucas just walked down. “Don’t say it so loud.”

  “Why not?” I ask, leaning forward to get up so I can go find Ethan and tell him Helena is on Earth.

  With a lot more strength than I thought someone as petite and genteel looking as Anna would possess, she yanks me back down onto the sofa.

  “Don’t tell Ethan,” she orders in a whisper. “If he goes to her, they’ll just argue, and that’s not what I want right now. I need to go speak with her myself and try to reason with her.”

  “Anna,” the medium-sized orange and white dog says in an admonishing tone. “You shouldn’t go alone. There’s no telling what she might do to you. I simply won’t allow it.”

  “You can talk!” I say to Anna’s dog. At least I thought it was a dog, but as far as I know, dogs can’t talk.

  “Yes, I am a sentient robot who can talk and reason quite well, unlike some people in this room,” she says looking toward Anna accusingly.

  “I’m sorry, Vala,” Anna replies, standing up and placing Liana on the floor in front of her robotic friend. “I have to go to her. This might be my only chance to convince her to give the baby up peacefully.” Anna looks at me and asks, “Where is she?”

  I hesitate because I’m not sure what to do in this situation. I seem to be damned if I give Anna the information she wants and damned if I don’t. I can just imagine how mad Ethan will be with me if I don’t tell him Anna is about to go talk to Helena, and I know Anna will get upset if I allow her window of opportunity to speak with Helena alone close. Luckily, the decision about whether or not to tell her is taken out of my hands as Malcolm walks in through the double doors of the room that lead in from the hallway of the palace.

  He looks at Anna when he walks in and immediately asks, “What’s wrong?”

  “Helena is here on Earth,” Anna whispers to him. “And I want to go speak with her before Ethan finds out. You know I need to, Malcolm. I might be the only one she’ll listen to.”

  Malcolm closes the door behind him, not looking the least bit pleased about what Anna is proposing to do.

  “I know you feel as though you owe it to Cade to try and reason with her,” Malcolm says, “but I also don’t believe she’s in any state of mind to act rationally right now, Anna. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Please, Malcolm,” Anna practically begs. “You know I’ll go with or without your blessing, but I would rather go with it, and right now I need your help. I need you to keep Ethan busy while I speak with her.”

  “I’m not about to let you talk to her by yourself!” he thunders.

  “Stop yelling!” Anna says forcefully, but in a whisper. “Fine. I won’t go alone. I’ll take Jules with me for backup.”

  I’m not sure what superpowers Anna has been led to believe that I have, but fighting the embodiment of Hell isn’t one of them.

  “Malcolm would probably be a better candidate to help keep you safe,” I tell Anna, finding this a reasonable excuse to stay put.

  “Helena won’t talk to me if Malcolm is there,” Anna states. “I don’t think she’ll care if you’re with me.”

  “Why? Because I’m a puny human she can squash like a bug if she wants to?”

  “Precisely,” Anna confirms, not sounding the least bit apologetic about wanting to use me in such a way. “But I won’t let her touch you, Jules. You have my word on that. Neither of us,” she says, looking over at Malcolm, “will get hurt.”

  Malcolm sighs in resignation. “I know I won’t be able to talk you out of it, so go. But if you’re not back here in ten minutes, I’m coming after you. Where is she exactly?”

  I stand up and show Malcolm the screen of the tracker. He looks at the direction and distance in relation to where we’re standing.

  “We know this spot,” he says in a surprised voice, which is exactly how I feel hearing his words. I thought he would need to look at a map to figure out where she is, but then again, he has been on Earth a very long time. He probably knows every nook and cranny on this planet. “It’s the cemetery where we placed Cade’s memorial. The one he liked to go to sometimes to think.”

  “I’m surprised Helena even knows about that place,” Anna says.

  “Maybe Cade took her there at some point or she found out about the memorial,” Malcolm suggests. “But if you insist on going without Ethan finding out, I suggest you go out onto the balcony to phase. He’s sure to see your trail if you do it in here. Where is he anyway?”

  “In the nursery changing Liam’s diaper,” Anna answers, grabbing me by the right arm and practically dragging me toward the balcony connected to the room. “We’ll be back as soon as possible. Just keep Ethan occupied and take care of Liana while we’re gone.”

  Once we’re out on the veranda, Anna tells me, “You should put that tracker back in your pocket. We don’t want her to know that you were able to pinpoint her location with it.”

  I do as she says but have to ask, “How are you going to explain that we knew exactly where she is?”

  “Hopefully, she won’t ask,” Anna says. “But if she does, I’ll come up with something plausible. Do you mind doing this with me? If you’re too scared to go, I’ll understand.”

  “I’m not scared of Helena,” I tell her, earning myself an incredulous look from Anna. I don’t really have time to explain it, so I just say, “It’s a long story.”

  “One I would like to hear soon,” Anna replies, sounding intrigued. “But right now, we need to go to her. Are you ready?”

  I nod. “Yes. Let’s go. I would much rather talk to her about giving the baby up voluntarily than watch Ethan rip it out of her.”

  “Me too.” Anna nods, seeing that I understand the reason behind her desperation to speak with Helena alone.

  Anna phases us, and I soon find myself staring straight into Helena’s eyes.

  CHAPTER 12

  (Helena’s Point of View)

  The specter of sorrow surrounds me like a clingy, unwanted visitor whose stay is endless and whose gift is everlasting pain. The life-size alabaster statue Anna and her family erected to memorialize Cade’s passing almost looks real. He stands tall with his shoulders straight and proud as his gaze is directed toward some unknown object in the distance. He’s shirtless but wearing his War Angel feather cloak, pants, and boots.

  I reach up and touch the replica of his lips, allowing the tips of my fingers to glide across the smooth, cold stone. I close my eyes and picture Cade’s face smiling at me. I can almost feel the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers as I caress the side of the statue’s face, but I know what I’m feeling is just an illusion that I desperately want to believe is real.

  I open my eyes and force myself to face the fact that Cade is dead. His soul is safely tucked away behind Heaven’s veil, and no matter how powerful I become, I will never be able to reach him.

  I let my hand fall back to my side, knowing wishes don’t come true for creatures like me. They never have and they never will.

  Unexpectedly, I see Anna phase in with Evelyn Grace’s daughter, Jules. They s
tand only a few feet behind Cade’s statue staring at me but not looking the least bit surprised to find me in this cemetery.

  “Hello, sister,” I say to Anna, finding the timing of her visit curious. It can’t be by coincidence. “What happens to bring you here?”

  Anna lets go of Jules’ arm and walks closer to me.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” she tells me, her face full of pity that I neither want nor need. I see her eyes drop down to my stomach as if needing to prove to herself that I am indeed with child.

  “Really?” I ask, feigning ignorance. “About what exactly?”

  Anna looks at me knowingly. “You know full well what I want to talk to you about, Helena.”

  “Then say what you have to say, if it will make you feel better. I would hate for your conscience to be rife with guilt because you don’t believe you did enough for Cade’s baby. Or are you here to rip my little bundle of joy out of my womb yourself instead of sending your henchmen to do the dirty work for you?”

  “That was never my plan, Helena. I have no desire to see you hurt, but I also don’t believe you’re the best person to raise Cade’s son.”

  “That’s rich of you, Anna,” I scoff. “Aren’t you my polar opposite in this universe? At least I thought you were supposed to be the good one in the family. It doesn’t seem very sisterly of you to suggest that I should hand my baby over to you because you deem it the right thing to do.”

  “And do you believe you’re capable of taking care of him on your own?” she questions me, sounding doubtful that I have one motherly bone in my body. “You haven’t even been to see a doctor to make sure he’s all right. Desmond would be more than happy to do an examination at any place and time of your choosing. All he wants to do is make sure the baby is healthy. If you won’t even do that one simple thing for your child, why should I believe you’ll raise him right?”

  “He’s my child, Anna!” I scream, sick and tired of her holier-than-thou attitude toward me. “He is the only thing I have left of Cade, and I will not give him up without a fight! Trust me, sister, you don’t want to push me on this. If it’s a war of mutual destruction that you want, I am more than willing to do it because I have very little to live for these days. My son and the promise I made to Cade not to harm the ones he loves are the only reasons I haven’t destroyed this planet that you cherish so much. But heed my words and take them to heart, I will destroy you and your family if you push my patience too far.”

  “Helena,” my sister says in a placating voice meant to temper my wrath, “what kind of life can you offer him? Do you want him to become as bitter and hateful as you are? Do you really believe Cade would want that sort of life for his only child?”

  “You’re such an insufferable hypocrite, sister,” I say through gritted teeth. “Can you honestly stand there and tell me that you would just hand over one of your own children to me if I asked you to?”

  “That isn’t the same thing,” she protests weakly, but I can see her begin to realize precisely what she’s asking me to do.

  “It’s the exact same thing, and you know it! Remember when I took Liana away from you for a short time? Do you remember how that made you feel? Now multiply that heartbreak a million times over and you’ll have a small taste of what it is you are asking me to do. I’ve lost Cade for an eternity. I will not lose my son!”

  From the look of defeat on Anna’s face, I can tell she knows trying to convince me to give my baby to her will never work.

  “Then at least let me help you with the pregnancy,” she begs. “Let Desmond look at the baby, just to make sure he’s healthy.”

  “He’s fine!” I reply adamantly. “There’s nothing wrong with him.”

  “Excuse me,” Jules says, “but the other night you told me that your pregnancy has been anything but natural. Now, I could be wrong, but that sort of makes it sound like something hasn’t been quite right the last few months.”

  “It’s nothing,” I say, attempting to wave away my own worries while convincing them that everything is as it should be.

  “Please, Helena,” Anna begs. “If something feels wrong, go to Desmond. I know for a fact that he’s at his home in Stratus right now. I swear I won’t follow you there or tell anyone else that you’ve gone. All I want you to do is make sure the baby is healthy.”

  “You expect me to believe that you won’t tell Malcolm or Ethan that I’ve gone to him?” I ask her scornfully. “What type of simpleton do you take me for, Anna?”

  “If there is one thing I have never questioned you about, it’s your intelligence,” she assures me. “And if there is one thing you should never question about me, it’s my promises. I swear to you on the lives of my children that I will not tell anyone that you’ve gone there.”

  I look over at Jules. “And what’s to stop her from telling Ethan where I am? Do you think I haven’t noticed that sword he carries on his hip? I know exactly what he intends to do with it if I don’t give him my son. I know everything, Anna. Why do you think I let those War Angels of yours use the Nexus so freely? They didn’t know it, but I was there reading their minds and seeing all their plans.”

  The flash of surprise in Anna’s eyes doesn’t shock me. I know that the angels assumed I wasn’t in Hell while they used the Nexus to search for me. That’s the reason why I sometimes closed entry into my domain off from them. They began to assume I was only there when they couldn’t phase into my realm. For being angels of war, they certainly don’t think very strategically. Of course I would learn everything I could about their plans for me. I’m not an idiot, and it made it far simpler to keep them preoccupied during their search if I happened to stir up trouble on some of the planets that they keep a watch over.

  “I won’t tell Ethan,” Jules says to me like a promise. “I told you last night that I’m only concerned about the baby’s welfare, and if my story wasn’t enough to convince you of that fact, I really don’t see how else I can prove to you that all I care about is the child. Don’t be stubborn when it comes to your baby’s life, Helena, or you may live to regret more than just killing Cade.”

  “Why is it that you feel as if you can talk to me like you’re my equal?” I ask her, having found my encounters with Jules almost disturbing.

  “I’m nowhere near your equal as far as power goes,” she tells me. “I doubt anyone in the universe is, except for maybe Anna. The only thing we have in common is the fact that we both feel responsible for a loved one’s death. We share a common guilt, and I know how debilitating that kind of pain can be, but don’t make your son pay for your sins. He’s an innocent in all of this, and he deserves a chance to live a happy life. A child is a gift that you shouldn’t take for granted. Take it from someone who has lost the ability to have another child of her own: don’t squander the blessing that you’ve been given.”

  “You can’t have children?” Anna asks Jules in shock.

  Slowly, Jules shakes her head. “No. The accident that caused me to lose my son also forced the doctors to perform a hysterectomy.”

  Anna looks confused by this information for some reason, but she tells Jules, “I’m so sorry you had to go through something like that.”

  Jules bobs her shoulders up and down as if she’s shrugging Anna’s condolences off. The natural action causes me to have a smidge of respect for her.

  “Things occur in life that you don’t count on. That one just happened to be my life-altering event.” Jules looks over at me and says, “Go to Desmond if for nothing else than to ease your own mind that your son is well. Odds are, he’s perfectly fine. But if you keep worrying that something is wrong, the stress you cause yourself may end up affecting him too.”

  I know she’s right, but I’m not about to admit it to her.

  “Well, I think I’ve been lectured enough for one day,” I tell them both. “Oh, before I go, you never told me how you knew I was here, Anna. How exactly did you know?”

  “We have people watching the places we thought yo
u might visit here on Earth,” Anna tells me. “This was one of them.”

  I’m not quite sure I believe her, but I don’t see how else she could have known I was in the cemetery.

  “I saw the memorial you built for Cade in one of Roan’s memories,” I tell her. “I thought I would come see it for myself.” I pause for a moment, unsure if I want to ask Anna my next question, but curiosity gets the better of me. “Have you seen him? Have you gone to Heaven to speak with Cade?”

  Anna shakes her head. “God told me He doesn’t want to talk to anyone yet. He’s grieving the loss of you just as much as you are him, Helena.”

  I swallow back the threat of tears because I have to know one more thing.

  “Does he know I’m having his child?” I ask my sister. “Does he even know I’m pregnant?”

  “I honestly can’t answer that because I don’t know,” she tells me, looking sorry for not having an answer for me. “We haven’t seen God in months either, so I haven’t been able to ask Him. I wish I could tell you. I truly do.”

  “It’s just as well,” I say, acting as if the news doesn’t bother me in the slightest when it actually troubles me a great deal. “Even if he knew, it would more than likely only make him sadder.”

  “I don’t think it would,” Anna says with a small smile. “I think he would be happy to know he has a son on the way.”

  “A son you and your War Angel contingent seem determined to take away from me,” I say snidely.

  Anna sighs. “If you could assure me that you would raise him in a way Cade would approve of, I wouldn’t have a problem with you keeping your son. But, to be honest with you, Helena, I don’t think you’re in any state of mind to take care of a baby. And …” she pauses as if concerned about voicing her next words, “have you thought about after the baby is born? Have you even considered the possibility that you might unintentionally kill him with your love like you did Cade?”