by Rae Foxx
I'd been anticipating him showing up again. "I've got your number, you big asshole," I whispered.
On the counter next to the back door, I'd put a giant air horn. I'd just open the door and stick my arm out, blasting the horn to scare the owl. Maybe then he'd be content to stick closer to the barn and stop watching me in the kitchen.
His eyes followed me across the kitchen until I couldn't see him from my angle by the door. I turned the deadbolt on the back door and peered out the glass to make sure he wasn't close to the door. He was still in his spot on the railing. Good.
Inching the door open, I stuck my arm out and pressed down the top of the air horn, but nothing happened.
I jerked my arm in and inspected the canister, glancing frequently out the window to make sure the winged beast hadn't moved closer. He hadn't, and I realized I'd left the tab on the can. I pulled it off and tried again, sticking my hand out the door.
Pressing the nozzle of the horn, I squealed as it went off, louder than I'd expected.
Yanking my arm inside, I slammed the door shut to the sound of scraping chairs from the dining room. Lucian and Adam ran through the door first. "What the hell?" Lucian roared. "Are you okay?"
I grinned triumphantly as I looked out the window. The owl was gone. I hadn't seen it leave, but my angle had been bad with my arm out the door. "It worked. He left."
"Who?" Adam took the air horn from my hand and set it on the counter across the kitchen.
"The owl!"
Lucian and Adam stared at me like I'd grown an extra head while the other guys filed back into the dining room snickering. "You could've warned us," Lucian said.
Adam came into the kitchen and raised his nose in the air, sniffing. Crap. The oven. The pickles were still inside. "Let me get this."
I handed him a plate for them, and within minutes, he and Lucian walked out with a plate full of oven-fried pickles. They were only a touch extra crispy, nobody would know the difference.
Their irritation did nothing to squash my triumph at getting my back porch back. I cracked the door open and peered out into the night. No sign of the owl.
With a deep breath and stretch, I stepped outside, just because I could. I left the door open, though, I wasn't stupid. If the owl showed one feather, I'd be back inside in a flash.
I was looking up and not at the grass below the deck, when out of nowhere a deep, booming bark was the only warning I had before a massive dog launched itself out of the yard and up onto the deck.
A terrified scream curdled out of my throat as the dog, bigger than any I'd ever seen, lunged for me. I backpedaled into the kitchen, but the beast headbutted me in the chest. I went flying, still screaming my head off and expecting to land hard against the far wall, but something softer stopped me.
Adam wrapped his arms around me and absorbed the impact of the wall as we both continued to stumble. I blinked and one moment the dog was there, drooling with his huge fangs out and the next he was gone. "Whoa, there," Adam said. "I was coming back in here for more beer and heard you scream. What happened?" I looked around, expecting Lucian to come. That he had heard my scream as well, but he hadn’t gotten there yet.
He set me on my shaky feet. By the time I was steady, he escorted me over to the island, shut the back door, and the men were all in the room again.
Lucian put his arm around me. "Now what?" He looked worried as he searched my face and smoothed his hands over my arms.
"I went out on the porch for a breath of air."
Lucian nodded. "The owl?"
"No," I exclaimed. "A huge dog!"
Adam's gaze swung around to me. "What kind of dog?" He looked concerned and furrowed his eyebrows. "Did it bite you?"
"No, it just knocked me back. You kept me from hitting the ground, so while it was really scary and my adrenaline is going nuts, I'm okay."
"What about the baby?" Lucian moved from stroking my arms to rubbing my belly. "Is he or she okay in there?"
I nodded. "Yeah, thanks to Adam." I beamed at him and found myself thankful for him always being too close. "He caught me and kept me from slamming into the wall or floor."
Lucian turned and held out his hand. "Good man," he said. "Appreciate it."
Adam preened comically. "All in a day's work, my friend."
Once again, everyone filed out of the kitchen, except for Adam and Lucian. "I'm curious about this dog," Adam said.
"Me, too." Lucian turned on all the outside lights and peered out. "What did it look like?"
"Bigger than any dog I've ever seen. Maybe like Saint Bernard big... but taller, like a Great Dane. It had been more like a small horse.”
"What color was it?" Adam asked. He had his arms crossed, and his knuckles were white as they clenched his bicep.
"Black," I said. "But it disappeared so fast."
"I felt the impact," Adam said. "Even though I didn't see it." He rubbed the back of his head. "You're so petite, I'm not sure you could've created that much force with all your strength. Especially pregnant."
Lucian moved to the sink to peer out that big window. "Nothing out there now."
Adam moved away from me and toward the back door. "Get your shotgun. Let's go check this out."
Lucian nodded and went into the dining room to fill in the guys. The next thing I knew, they had gotten flashlights, all of Lucian's hunting rifles, and even my little revolver and were heading out the back door. They must’ve gotten them from the hallway closet. "Don't shoot it," I cautioned. "He didn't try to bite me. It was more like a head butt."
I listened to them discuss the types of dogs that would act like that as they disappeared around the house.
I curled up on the sofa and pretended to watch a reality show about a rich family in Hollywood until I heard them stomp their way onto the front porch. Jumping up, I winced in pain as my hips protested my movements while I waddled toward the front door. Halfway there Lucian opened it, I curse you pregnancy hips.
"Nothing," Lucian said. "No dogs or owls."
I shrugged. "I don't know what's going on lately. We've got oversized animals stalking us."
Adam laughed and patted me on the arm. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out."
As they put the guns back in the safe in the corner of the living room, Lucian's friend Robert smiled at me. "Are you sure you didn't just overreact to a particularly exuberant chihuahua? I mean, there was that time that one nipped at your ankle.”
I glowered at the man, my fear of the animal turning to rage towards my husband's idiotic friend. "I'm not an idiot, Robert." I put all the venom I could into my voice. "I'm not some hysterical woman, needing smelling salts because I have the vapors." If I could've growled at him enough to make any difference, I fucking would have. What an asshole. "If you think I'm capable of such bullshit, you can just leave."
He held his arms up. "I was just teasing."
"Tease someone else," I said. "I could've been seriously hurt tonight."
Robert glared at me and turned to Lucian. "It's been fun, but I'm calling it a night." He still had his jacket on, so he walked past me and out the front door.
"Good riddance!" I yelled as I slammed the door shut. Whirling around to the room full of dumbfounded men, I fixed my glare on them. "Anybody else think I made it up or overreacted to something?"
Four heads shook as they tried to back out of the living room and into the dining room.
"Good," I said. Stomping past them, I went upstairs to my bathroom with my enormous bathtub.
As I stripped and ran a warm bath, a text came through. It was Adam.
"Of course," I muttered.
I know you're not overreacting. If you ever need anything, I'm close by. Don't hesitate to reach out.
I shut off my phone and tossed it on top of the towel rack. "Ugh."
4
"I'm sorry." Lucian pulled on his galoshes, giving me a pitiful look. "I know you wanted me to try to start being home more the closer we get to the delivery."
&nbs
p; Laughing, I handed him his jacket. "Luc, I'm only thirty-one weeks. I meant like, close to thirty-seven."
He smiled in relief. "Okay. I feel like going to help is the right thing to do."
I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you for it." It started raining not long after the poker game was called on account of wife-rage, and it hadn't stopped until late the next afternoon. One of Lucian's elderly clients had called because her basement was flooded. He knew she didn't have any family in town and wanted to go help her.
"She's not capable of pumping that water out, and a company won't be able to get out there until tomorrow." I handed him a lunchbox. I'd made Luc and the older lady dinner to take with him, a big sandwich for each of them and a bowl of grapes to split. "You know I'd normally go with you."
"Yeah, yeah," he said and wrapped his arms around me. "But you could slip in the mud or something. You just stay here where it's safe for you and my little turtle."
I giggled as he said goodbye to my belly. I loved him for being the kind of man to leave the comfort of his home to help someone in need on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I wasn't sure I would've gone to help the sweet little old woman myself, even if he’d let me. After all, the next day a professional company could come do it and the company would pay for it. He was a better person than most, for sure.
"I'll be waiting for you to get back," I promised. "Maybe with a special surprise?" I wiggled my hips, which I knew looked ridiculous given the fact that I couldn't separate them from moving my belly.
Lucian chuckled and hugged me close. "That sounds perfect."
Then he left me with my heart full of love for my selfless husband. I walked into the kitchen to clean up the mess from the hurried dinner I'd made him. Humming, I cleaned up the sandwich fixings and put the lunch meat and condiments back in the fridge.
When I closed it, the owl stood in the middle of my kitchen. Screaming, I backpedaled, slamming into the counter as far from him as I could get. Because of the layout of my kitchen, he was between me and both the back door and the doors that lead to the dining room and hallway. I was stuck.
"Shoo!" I screamed, then rolled my eyes. Like that was going to work.
The owl was bigger than he'd looked outside. With his big claws on my kitchen tile, he was almost as tall as me, maybe even taller.
No way I was about to get close enough to find out.
As my gaze darted around the room, trying to find any weapon or way to escape, white light filled my vision, obscuring everything until I had to screw my eyes closed with a whimper.
When the light filtering through my eyelids lessened, I cracked them open enough to realize the owl was gone from the kitchen.
Standing where he had been, was a man. I threw my eyes open, gaping at the man standing in my kitchen. "Who in the hell are you?" I exclaimed, more frightened than ever. Wrapping an arm around my stomach, I inched to my right, closer to the door. He'd have to move over for me to be able to get to it, though.
"Do not be afraid."
When his voice washed over me, my panic receded. Something about the way he spoke calmed me.
"I will not hurt you."
I believed him and straightened up, my hand still resting on my belly. I took a moment to get a good look at him for the first time. He had long, blond hair, curling over his collar, which, I belatedly noticed, was made of gold. "What the hell are you wearing?" I asked.
He looked down at his tunic-toga-wrap-thing. "What?"
"You look like a Greek painting." I inched closer to the door. While I believed he intended me no harm, I didn't want to stick around.
"Lilith," he said. "Enough is enough."
He thought I was someone else. Well that explained a lot. "Nice try." I moved out into the room, away from the counter. "I'm just going to go, and you can return to whatever cosplay or reenactment you came from."
He sighed, pulling my gaze to his plump lips. "Lilith, you have to remember. It's time."
"Yeah, I'm not Lilith, so this is a case of mistaken identity." I pointed to the back door. "Shut the door behind you, we've got a rogue owl prowling around."
He looked from me to the door, his long blond hair swinging back and forth. "You have no idea?"
I arched an eyebrow at him. "I really don't know why you're in my kitchen uninvited, but I want you to leave."
"Okay, we'll do it the hard way." He pointed to himself. "I'm Gabriel." He pointed to me. "You're not Constance. You're Lilith."
"Uh-huh." I put my hand on my hip. He was throwing Biblical names at me. I just didn’t know why. "And Lucian is Lucifer, right? Are you in a play at church or something? Are Adam and Eve going to waltz in here next?"
Laughter bubbled up my throat, but I clamped my lips together. No sense in laughing at the crazy cosplayer. "Oh, no, I get it." I was unable to mask the sarcasm in my tone. "My neighbor, Adam, he's the Adam, right?"
A small giggle escaped as the man who called himself Gabriel shifted in place, flexing one of his muscled arms. I froze as I realized I was antagonizing a very large, strange man in my kitchen. I was pregnant and far more vulnerable than I'd ever been in my life.
"No, he's not the Adam," Gabriel mimicked. "Just a coincidence, his parents naming him that.” He looked away for a second, then amended his statement. “Actually, he was the Adam once, now that you mention it.”
This had gone on long enough. "Okay, well, sure. I'm Lilith, you're Gabriel. Let's go sit down in the living room and talk about it." If I could get out of this damn corner of my kitchen, I could grab my phone. Or maybe get over to the gun safe. It was programmed to my fingerprint and would open a small compartment containing my revolver.
"Enough," Gabriel said. He strode forward, and I slung my hands out in front of me to push him back, but all he did was place one finger on my forehead.
"Remember." His voice resonated in the roomy kitchen, echoing off the walls.
The word washed over my skin like warm water, sinking into me and igniting a firestorm of memories. I gasped as it all came rushing back.
Lilith, Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer. My husbands, the loves of my life. I moaned as several lifetimes of memories crowded into my head. I remembered everything. The Fall of Lucifer, which had been much less about Lucifer's rebellion than the world thought it was. And our lives since, constantly tied to one another, spending a few decades on Earth for every five centuries spent in Abaddon.
Hell—Abaddon. My home. I remembered it clearly, in detail.
Tears poured out of my eyes as I remembered Gabriel. I lurched forward, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Gabriel." I sobbed into his chest as he stroked my back. "Oh, how did I not know you?"
I'd been through the emotional turmoil of remembering before, but never like this. I usually died, then woke at home, in Abaddon, surrounded by the loves of all my lives. Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer.
For me to be able to live with all three of the pieces of my heart, Lucifer had long ago created a special part of Abaddon that angels could enter, just for me. They couldn't go into Abaddon-proper. Likewise, I couldn't enter Heaven or Elysium, but in Limbo, or Purgatory, the realm Lucifer made, we had a home, a life together.
I sobbed into Gabriel's stupid tunic as more memories assaulted me. "Why are you waking me on Earth?" I asked when I finally came to terms with the situation. I was in the middle of a human-cycle, and for some reason, Gabriel needed to cut it short. "Why not wait until I return to Abaddon?"
"Because you've been here way too long." He squeezed me, but then looked between us. "This is weird."
I laughed and stepped back, rubbing my stomach. "Yeah, the belly gets in the way."
Covering my eyes, I thought about all the memories that had flooded me. They clamored to get my attention as I tried to process everything. Michael's face popped into my head.
"Michael," I gasped. "Oh, my gosh, he's Adam."
Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, and I think he remembers."
It didn't happen o
ften, but sometimes when we were in our Earthly cycles, we remembered our eternal lives. If he remembered me, that would explain all the touchy-feely stuff. He'd probably been hoping I'd remember and love on him in return.
"You and Luc need to go home," he said. "The gates are weakening."
My heart sank. "Oh, but this has been such a nice Earth cycle. Lucian has been wonderful."
Gabriel nodded. "I know, but it's time. How old are you?"
"Thirty-four," I replied, and the implications sank in. "Oh, man. That's the longest we’ve ever been away.”
Gabriel nodded, his blond hair slipping from behind his ear. I took his hand. "Come sit down and visit with me while Lucian is away. He has no idea who he is, of course."
Gabriel nodded. "I know. If he did, he would've recognized my owl."
Gabriel's chosen animal form was an owl. Always had been.
"Of course." I shook my head as I walked into the living room. "You would think I would have remembered that."
He sat on the couch, and I snuggled close. I didn't know how long it would be before I saw him again, or if my memories would remain without him nearby to help.
Angels and Fallen were tied to Earth. We lived in our own realms, Elysium for the Angels and Abaddon for the Fallen. But being out of the Earth realm weakened us, and every five hundred years or so, we were reborn as humans, lived a short human life, then returned to our own realms. The only catch was that while we were human, we remembered nothing of our eternal selves, usually. Gabriel said Adam remembered being Michael. If that was true, it was a rare occurrence.
"How is Abaddon holding up?"
"The gates are weakening," he said again. "Lower-level demons are starting to slip out."
Fear tickled up my spine. Any level demons escaping Abaddon would wreak havoc on Earth. There was a reason we had the gates. They were sorely needed. "That's not good."
He shook his head. "No. And it's only going to get worse. We've got to get Lucifer back to Abaddon or the gates could weaken to the point of crumbling."