by Lisa Olsen
“There was a whole group of angels on the island, that’s what the sound was. Gabriel called them for a meeting. I sorta crashed it.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Daphne nodded. “What happened? Did they toss you out?”
“Mercy was given a great honor. Gabriel himself bestowed her with a sword.”
“Let’s see it,” she prompted, looking curiously between the pair of us.
“Yeah, Sam, how do we get it back from wherever it disappeared to?”
“The sword will come when you call,” Sam replied as if that made perfect sense, but I had no idea how to do it.
“Okay, how do I call it?”
Sam’s mouth opened and then closed again without actually saying anything as he considered how to answer my question. “I don’t know, I have never put much thought into it, you simply do.”
“Super,” I muttered, wondering if my spiffy new sword was lost forever. “So I just call for it, huh?” Stretching out my arm, I tried to envision the sword in my hand. Nothing. “Shazam!” I tried again with a flick of the wrist. “Sword on!” Still nothing.
“Here watch me, it’s like this,” Sam held out his hand and the glowing sword materialized in it almost immediately, drawing a gasp of wonder from Daphne.
“Yeah, like that helps,” I muttered, trying to mimic his hand movement, but nothing worked. While I watched, Sam made the sword appear and disappear several times. “Okay, now you’re just mocking me.” I held my hand up, enough was enough. “They should have sent this thing with instructions.”
“I have an idea,” Sam said suddenly and that was the only warning I got before he drew his sword and brought it down towards my head. My arm came up as a reflex and the sword appeared in my hand, coming to my defense even though Sam’s blow stopped about six inches from my head.
“Christ!” I gasped, heart pounding from the rush of adrenaline. “Warn me the next time before you do that.”
“That would have defeated the purpose, don’t you think?” he chuckled and Daphne joined him in laughter.
“I hardly think you giving me a heart attack is funny,” I grumbled, but I was pleased to feel the heft of the sword back in my hand.
“Oh come on, Mercy. It worked, didn’t it?” Daphne pointed out and I had to admit she was right.
“Yeah, quick thinking there, Sam,” I grinned. “So, you’ll train me on the secrets of the ninja now?” I waved the sword in front of me but Sam shook his head.
“Perhaps you should focus first on trying to produce the sword without a sword coming at you.”
“Are you kidding? I’m never letting this baby out of my sight again. No fair putting it back into limbo or whatever you did with it before.”
“It wasn’t I that put the sword out of play, it will disappear whenever you let go of it.”
“Really?” That might prove inconvenient if I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on and off in a hurry. “That seems like a strange feature.”
“In this way, no one but you may wield it. The moment it passes from your hand to another, or you drop it, or it’s taken from you, it ceases to exist on this plane. Then you may simply recall it again. It’s quite handy actually.” He sounded like he had personal experience with it and I could see where that would be useful in a real battle. I wanted to test it out by letting go of it, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it back. Still, I’d never get anywhere if I never tried, right? I opened my hand, letting the sword fall, and it disappeared instantly. Unfortunately getting it back proved to be tricky and I wasn’t able to recall it.
“I’ll have to practice with it a bit I guess. Ah well, everyone needs a hobby, right?” As long as it appeared in a pinch, I was happy. Dimly, I recalled that Matty used to have some wooden Kendo swords from when he decided to take up martial arts for about five minutes. Maybe I could borrow one of them to practice in a less lethal way?
“What kind of meeting were they having with the angels?” Daphne asked, probably bored with watching me open and close my hand over and over again.
“Oh, it was kind of like a briefing, pretty boring actually. That reminds me though, I was gonna ask. Why did they send an angel to go check out a prophet?” I asked Sam, who absently twirled his sword in an impressive way.
“They want to know if he’s a true prophet or merely insane.”
“What will happen to him if he’s a real prophet?”
“His words will be taken down to form the new scriptures.”
“There are new scriptures?” Somehow I tended to think of the bible as a moldy old book. Finished. I never thought of it as an evolving document.
“Oh yes, I have copies of most of them if you want to see them sometime. Either of you,” Sam looked to Daphne. Poor guy. Bible study wasn’t the hottest lure to get a girl to come back with him to his apartment. But Daphne actually looked interested.
“Yeah? I’d like to check it out sometime, thanks,” she smiled sunnily.
“Is that where the prophecies about me and Azazael came from? Were they new ones or were they made a long time ago?”
“It is difficult to say, I wasn’t aware of them until some time after I came to know you. Adam is the one who brought them to my attention.”
“Everyone there sure seemed to know all about me and them.” It was strange to be so famous for something that hadn’t happened yet.
“We’re not going to go shopping today, are we?” Daphne asked out of the blue, checking her watch.
Grabbing her wrist, I turned the watch face towards me with a grimace. “I’m sorry, Daph, we’ll go tomorrow, I promise.”
“Fine,” she grumbled.
“I would go shopping with you,” Sam volunteered, a look of cautious hope on his face that changed to radiant joy at Daphne’s happy smile.
“You would? What do you need to buy?”
“Perhaps you might offer me some assistance. I find myself needing a woman’s perspective.”
“I can totally do that. You know, you should think about wearing something a little more tailored. You’ve got the bod for it, why not show it?”
I listened to them go back and forth making plans, feeling like a third wheel. Or is it a fifth wheel? Because a third wheel is still a valuable asset for stability, right? “Um, I can catch a bus back to town, I guess…” I ventured. I needed to get back to get ready for work before too long.
“Okay, we’ll take you to the metro center, I think I saw one by the freeway exit,” she replied without skipping a beat. Wow. They were really ditching me? Daphne had me going until I saw her break into a fiendish grin. “Like I’m going to leave you at the bus stop to go shopping,” she laughed. “Sam, do you mind if we give Mercy a ride back first? Or we could always go shopping tomorrow.”
“Perhaps tomorrow is for the best? I nearly forgot my duty to protect Mercy after nightfall.” Sam was contrite as he recalled his promise to me, but I didn’t want to come between them.
“You know I probably don’t need a babysitter at night anymore. Adam’s off chasing after Azazael, and now that I have my nifty sword, I can take care of myself in case Raum sends any more of his goons after me. You can go with Daphne if you want to. Of course, I’d appreciate the ride back first.”
“Are you sure?” Daphne’s face puckered with worry. “You can’t even make the sword appear.”
“I’m betting I can if a demon showed up though. Remember how it popped up when Sam attacked me? I’ll try it out with Nelo when I get home, but I think I’ll be safe enough. You can always come and escort me home when I get off work if you’re worried about me. Unless you guys think you’ll still be shopping at two a.m.?” Daphne punched me in the arm at my tone, but I couldn’t help needling her a little bit after making me think I’d have to ride the bus home.
“No, we would not be shopping then,” Sam nodded, oblivious to my tease. “That is agreeable to me if it suits your purpose, Daphne?”
“Yeah, that works for me. Do you want to ride back
with us in the car?”
I could see the struggle on Sam’s face as the dislike of cars warred with his desire to spend more time with Daphne and I took pity on him. “It’s probably faster for him to get back his own way. How about we meet up at my place and you guys can go from there?” They were both in agreement and we went our separate ways.
“So… you and Sam. When did that start up?” I probed, the moment we were back on the road again.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, young lady,” I teased. “You guys seem to be getting along pretty well.”
“Yeah, he’s a really nice guy. I don’t mind the clueless puppy thing at all. And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s not as clueless as you think he is.”
“Oh sure, after I wore him down for you. He is coming along nicely though, isn’t he?” I didn’t think he hid from sight nearly as much anymore either. “So, Daphne, I know it’s not my business, but I’m gonna make it mine anyway. You do get that he’s not allowed to be with a woman, right?”
“God, Mercy, it’s not like that!”
“No? What is it like then? ‘Cause I have to say, I’ve seen that calf-eyed look from you before. Be honest. Part of you is already trying to figure out what to name your children, am I right?” Her telltale blush let me know I’d struck a chord and damn, I had to admit, their children would be gorgeous! “Aw Daphne… I’m not saying you and Sam is terrible idea, but you should know there are some serious down sides to it.”
“I know that, don’t you think I know that?” She darted a look at me before turning her eyes back to the road. “I’m not dating the guy. He’s just so… sweet and kind and adorable,” she gave a dramatic sigh.
“All good things,” I nodded. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. You can’t forget what happened to Adam’s wife. Those laws are still in place. Even fallen angels aren’t supposed to take a human wife.”
“What if we just fooled around a little?” she teased, and I gave up trying to be the voice of reason. Daphne was an adult, and she could make her own choices. I have to say if it was me in her shoes, I might do the same thing. Would I have been able to keep from falling for Adam if I was a regular human? I already knew the answer to that one.
“Speaking of which, I met Raziel at the angel’s gathering.”
“Oh! He’s the one who killed Adam’s wife, right?”
Glad we were on the same page, I nodded. “He wasn’t at all like I expected, by the way. He was actually pretty nice. He stood up for me against Nathanael, who was being a total dick again.”
“He was nice. You mean you actually talked to him?”
“Yeah, for quite a while. We decided to try and leave all the baggage from the past behind and start things with a clean slate.” I was pretty proud of that, it felt like I was evolving past my tendency to hold a grudge.
“Mercy, you can’t be friends with him!”
“Why not?” I knew my reasons but I wanted to hear hers.
“It’s… it’s un-American!”
“How is it un-American?”
Daphne struggled to come up with a good answer to that. “I don’t know, but you can’t be friends with that guy.”
“You didn’t meet him, he’s a good guy,” I insisted. “It’s not like he went on a killing rampage like some maniac, he was following orders.”
“So did the SS, that didn’t make them good guys.”
It wasn’t an argument I wanted to get into, and to be honest I was surprised my normally tender hearted friend took such a hard stance. It was like we’d switched roles. “It’s not as if we’re gonna hang out together all the time, I met him is all, and I agreed not to hate him on principle.”
“Wait until Adam finds out, he’ll hit the roof.”
“I wasn’t planning on telling him.”
“You know what they say about secrets and relationships. Look at what happened to you and Ben?”
“Yeah, I know. I can guarantee you though that there are things Adam keeps from me because he doesn’t want me to ‘worry my pretty little head about it’.” That reminded me, I still hadn’t heard back from Ben and checking my phone, I didn’t have any missed calls. How was I supposed to break up with the guy if he never answered his phone?
“That’s what I like about Sam. He doesn’t even know how to lie,” she sighed dreamily and for the rest of the way home I listened while she gushed about his redeeming qualities. I kept from voicing any more concerns over the pairing, but deep down I worried if I was going to have another reason to hate Raziel before too long.
Chapter Eighteen
It was strange living with a demon, even a minor imp like Nelo. No matter how many times I asked him, he still called me Mistress (which I admit, I was starting to like), and he basically made himself a little home in my hall closet. He made his peace with both Sam and Mimsy, bonding with the former over a Dukes of Hazzard marathon on TV, and the latter over a slab of smoked salmon.
Nelo took over most of the housecleaning duties since he was used to having to earn his keep and I have to admit, my bathroom had never been more sparkling clean or my laundry so April fresh. About once a week I gave him a little burst of the Grace, and it was enough to keep him going without having to go out to feed off of people. It didn’t cost me all that much energy-wise, and it made him so happy, it seemed like a fair trade to me.
One day I came home to find him with Mimsy nestled all cozy in his lap, a straight razor in his hand. “Whoa, what the hell are you doing?” I demanded, my voice reaching an octave only animals could hear. I was pretty sure we’d come to an understanding on how cats were friends, not food.
Nelo blinked up at me with total innocence. “I was thinking, it must be terribly hard to think with all that hair, perhaps that’s why she doesn’t talk?”
God give me strength… “Do not shave the cat. Or me. In fact, don’t do anything with hair ever, do you understand me?”
“As you wish, Mistress,” he nodded, clearly confused as to why I was so upset.
“Give it to me.” I held my hand out for the sharp razor, relaxing once I folded it safely away. “Where did you even get a straight razor anyway? No forget it, I don’t want to know.” Ah the joys of diversity…
He was a great help to me in learning how to use the sword though. Even though he was one of the good guys, my Grace reacted to him when he got too near, and I was able to call upon the sword. Of course, every time the sword appeared it scared him to death, but I assured him over and over again that I’d never hurt him.
After some practice, I was fairly confident I could make it appear, with or without imminent threat, and I’d even started practicing with Sam on the wooden swords. Satisfied I could defend myself from demons in the real world, and with Adam to protect me at night in the Ether, life finally settled down to where I wasn’t a ball of stress all the time.
Until one night Adam didn’t come when I called.
Or the next night.
Or the next.
I tried not to become that Ether version of a girl sitting at home waiting by the phone, but it was hard not to worry when he didn’t show after vowing to come whenever I called. For days I moped around, basically living for the moment when I could slip back into the Ether and look for him again.
And still no word from Ben. I wasn’t sure if it was because he already considered us broken up, or if he was dodging my calls because he wanted to keep us from officially breaking up. In the end, I decided to leave the ball in his court. He knew where I was, and I’d definitely tried to connect with him to get it all out in the open over and over again.
Thanksgiving was fast approaching and I made plans to have Matty, Daphne and Sam for dinner despite Sam’s misgivings over the holiday. Keeping busy with those preparations, I told myself Adam could take care of himself and I hadn’t seen any sign of Azazael either, so whatever he was doing was working fine. I could still feel him out there somewhere through our sh
ared bond, so there was no cause for real panic.
I tried to focus on work, relieved there was one facet of my life that was completely back to normal. And if I was a little moody or down… keeping busy gave me less time to dwell on Adam’s strange disappearance. At least until the Ether turned more into a lonely prison than the sanctuary I’d envisioned. Unable to escape to the release of real dreams, I think I started to get a little loopy during the day. Hadn’t I read somewhere if you didn’t dream on a regular basis it could make you go mental? Or was that just a dumb movie plot? Whatever the reason, I started getting downright depressed, which is really unlike me.
Finally, I cornered Sam one night after work, begging him to take pity on me.
“I don’t know where he is. I haven’t spoken to him since before you returned from Midian,” he answered solemnly.
“Is that true? Do you really not know anything, or are you doing that thing where you’re keeping things from me because Adam asked you to?” I studied his face carefully, not wanting to believe he could be completely ignorant of Adam’s whereabouts.
“I truly don’t know where he is.”
So where the hell was he? A niggling of guilt surfaced as I thought of something. “You didn’t say anything to him about me talking to Raziel, did you?” Was Adam mad at me and off somewhere sulking?
“No, should I have?”
“No! Definitely not,” I interjected quickly, that was the last thing I needed.
“Then you wish me to lie?”
“No, just don’t volunteer anything about it. There’s no point in upsetting him.” After all it wasn’t like I planned on spending a whole lot of time with Raziel anyway.
“I’m certain he’s fine. Adam is often fond of taking the bull by the horns as they say. Wherever he is, you can be sure he has a plan.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
*
In the Ether I played house, waiting for Adam to arrive. Inserting myself into the familiar surroundings he’d taken me to before, his city apartment, I made myself at home while I waited. Reading his books, watching his movies, cooking meals in his kitchen, at least - I think it was his kitchen. I had no way of knowing if my imagination supplied what the rest of the apartment looked like or if I truly was in a place that represented how he lived.