Until Next Time

by Amy Lignor

  Mark laughed. “I don’t know. I hope so. But that’s your choice. Your soulmate can help you with almost anything, but you have to realize in most cases soulmates don’t get many years together. Unconditional love needs good timing to succeed. Soulmates, you see, can always be overpowered by the people around them.”

  “What does that mean, exactly?”

  Mark leaned forward. “You’re strong. You have many things to accomplish while you’re down there. And even though your head spins or your heart melts for someone, your soul still has work to complete. Soulmates can get in the way of that, if it’s not the right time for you to be with them. Because the effect they have on you is so powerful, you could lose all concept of the world around you. The battles that need to be fought, the people who need your help—cease to exist if you’re only paying attention to one person.”

  Emily sat quietly waiting for the master to continue.

  Mark waved his hand over her lap and a cup of warm cocoa appeared. She took a sip and let the sweet, warm liquid calm her nerves.

  “Do you feel that?” Mark asked. “That’s relaxing. For a split second there’s no pain, no sadness, no work. But when the warm feeling fades, reality comes right back. A soulmate is the same type of feeling. If you’re not ready to give up the job and live happily ever after, then it’s not the right time for you to be together.”

  She looked up at the picture on the ceiling. “Is it possible to slay the dragon, marry the prince, and live happily ever after?”

  “If you have no worries—no eyes to see their pain, no ears to hear their call. There’s always something that has to be done. Usually by the time the dragon is dead and the prince has won, there’s another who needs saving. It’s the downside of who you are.” He sighed heavily. “You’re an angel and your job is to help humans who need you. But now that you’re experiencing the emotions of a human, you also want to fall in love and feel all the wonderful things that other souls experience down there.”

  Mark left his chair and knelt in front of her. “Someday you might be able to have the best of both worlds, Em. But to do that, you need to live. You need to learn how to juggle the job and reality. If you figure out the balance, then maybe there will be one life where that perfect soul will not only love you, but will also help you slay those dragons. It’s only a matter of time before you find him.”

  “But this is my first life,” Emily said swallowing her tears. “So there’s no hope with this boy?”

  “No hope?” Mark laughed. “I sincerely hope not, my dear. Hope and faith are all we have. No situation is ever completely hopeless. That’s one of the things we’re trying to understand—why people no longer feel a sense of hope in their lives. You see, no matter what, your soul will meet up with the same people every time around until all of you are on the same page. Maybe you’ll find the balance in this life, or the next, but the point is—hope springs eternal.”

  “What?”

  Mark shrugged. “Just a little phrase I’m trying out. I hope it’ll catch on someday.”

  Emily shook her head and finished off the cocoa. “Well, I think I can have both,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m getting better at this.”

  He smiled sadly. “There may come a time when you must choose between true love and the promise of love.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  He shrugged. “It all depends on who you choose.”

  Emily’s soul grew heavy.

  Mark reached out and took her hand. “There’s no need to worry about all that right now. You’ll be thrown into many situations—over your lifetimes to come. Just remember that Gabriel’s strength, Michael’s brains, and my romantic notions can all be helpful, but in the end it’ll be your choices that will make your life a success. Whatever you choose to be and whatever you choose to do will ultimately be how others remember you. And any information you gather along the way will help you in your future lives.”

  “Love is strange.”

  Mark hugged her. “The strangest emotion of all, but it is also the most beautiful. If you find the right person and open your heart to him, you’ll enjoy a love that will be better than…well…Heaven.”

  “Thank you, Mark.”

  “Not a problem. Remember…if you need anything,” he continued, as the warm, brilliant light beamed from his emerald eyes. “I’ll be right beside you.”

  ***

  The horse reared slightly, and a deep voice whispered, “Whoa, boy.”

  Liz woke up in Jason’s arms. Her head was filled with strange images of a dying dragon, a prince dressed in a black tuxedo and a castle in the air.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The nights and days flew by. Big cities and small villages seemed to blend together as their trip turned into a jumble of light and sound. The quartet rode through the night, usually galloping to a new destination by sunrise.

  Most of the time Liz felt like she was caught up in a whirlwind. And, oddly enough, America seemed like a far-off friend just waiting for their arrival. Yet they stayed on the green grass of home, choosing to keep the real adventure at bay.

  At least that was how it felt. Liz worked hard to quiet her nightmares, and slowly the blackouts disappeared. She threw herself into her ‘happy’ new life and let the charming young men erase her bad dreams and take away the pain. With each passing day, Liz felt more and more normal, but not matter how hard she tried, the guilt of leaving Daniel weighed heavily on her soul.

  ***

  Jason wanted to spend every moment with Liz. He savored each and every minute with her wanting nothing more than to share in the places of her soul he could never seem to reach. At times she seemed a million miles away, and he shuddered every time her brilliant dark eyes grew dull and distant, like the sun was being smothered in the sky. Those were the times she would leave his side and go off by herself, or simply scan the horizon for something he couldn’t see. And then, every once in a while, Jason found himself wondering what she was thinking about when a mysterious smile would suddenly light up her face.

  Although a private ceremony was held to join Charles and Faith in matrimony, he and Liz remained only friends. God knew that he had tried to convince Liz that they, too, were born to be together, but his words hadn’t changed her mind. He’d proposed a million times, but she always bowed her head and told him they were too young to promise forever.

  He did sleep beside her every night, stretched out on the floor or curled in an available chair in the room, wanting nothing more than to spend as much time as he could in her presence. Every time Liz let him register them as man and wife at an inn, he felt ecstatic, but when he kissed her, Liz became nervous, staring over his shoulder as if something evil was waiting to rip happiness from her grasp. He’d become obsessed with the mystery surrounding her, and not knowing her true feelings for him was driving him crazy.

  He stared up at her sleeping form on the bed; a sudden thought appeared in his mind. Jason stood up, raced from the room running across the hall.

  “Charles!” He shook the snoring man, trying not to disturb Faith sleeping beside him. “Charles, wake up!”

  “What?” Charles shouted as he sat up straight, tossing his arm on top of Faith’s head.

  “Wha…what’s going on?” Faith mumbled.

  “Jason’s here. It seems he feels the need to wake me up in the middle of the night,” Charles grumbled. “Is it Christmas? Are the other kids opening their presents downstairs and you want to join them? Or, maybe you felt the philosophical urge to tell me why God created sunsets at two in the bloody morning!”

  Faith muffled a giggle, and pressed against her husband’s body. “Stop it, Charles. I’m sure that Jason has something very important to say.”

  “When doesn’t he?”

  “Quiet,” Jason demanded. “We have to go to Dublin.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Charles asked as he sat upright in bed. “We can never go back there! I remember you saying those exact words
more than once and I strongly agreed with you.”

  “I have to take Liz there.”

  Charles stared at him; his eyes were wide and filled with confusion. “Why? Do you not like her anymore?”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t want to see his family or yours, so stop interrupting the poor boy and let him finish,” Faith said as she touched Jason’s arm. “Go ahead.”

  “Dublin’s a small town, Faith. There’s no need for either of us to ever lay eyes on it again,” Charles stated, an ominous tone in his voice.

  Jason stared at his friend. “I love her, Charles. So many times she says nothing and her silence scares me. She still thinks about Daniel. She thinks of times gone by and I know she misses them. She misses him. She won’t talk about it—she won’t share. Maybe if she knew?” Jason looked at his friend’s disgusted gaze. “If she knew…what I remember…how she changed everything in my life—she might open up. We’d have something in common; a bond that she would never want to walk away from. And you have to go back, too. You know that. You told me once, Charles, that there would come a time when I could ask you for a favor. Well…this is that time.”

  “I didn’t mean a favor that would have us walking to the gallows.”

  “Why would you be marched to the gallows?” Faith chimed in, her voice filled with worry. “Charles, you’ve talked about them but they’re just a messed-up, mean-spirited family. Everyone has at least one relative they would rather forget. You’re an adult…a married man. There’s nothing they can do to hurt you.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Charles said, falling back on the comfortable pillow.

  “You’re right.” Anger infused her voice, as Faith jumped out of bed and stomped across the floor. “I have no idea because you won’t tell me!”

  Charles sighed heavily and propped himself on his elbow. “Where are you going?”

  She turned on him; her face red with rage. “To Liz! You know, for all your sweet words and deep thoughts you can be really stupid sometimes. I’m your wife! Maybe I’d like to hear why it was so awful. I want to be a married couple, Charles. I want us to be partners in life, but you push me away when you should be holding me close!”

  Jason sat in silence as Faith threw on her robe. She hoisted her long ponytail out of her collar tossing it over her shoulder. She threw open the door. “Being a couple means taking the wonderful and the horrible things in life and sharing them with each other—battling the demons together. Believe me, my dear—I’m a lot stronger than you are. I can take it.”

  As the door slammed behind her, sarcasm dripped from Charles’ mouth, “Thank you so very much.”

  “Sorry,” Jason mumbled.

  “Your love life isn’t everything you thought it would be, but why do you feel the need to ruin my marriage?”

  “That’s not it and you know it. I’m not that petty.”

  Charles raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay…so sometimes I’m that petty, but not this time.” Jason walked to the window and stared out at the dimly lit street. “I did get what I wanted, Charles, but I don’t think Liz has. She still seems to be longing for something…someone. I don’t know. What I do know is that she’s missing something, and I think the answer may be in Dublin.”

  Groaning, Charles shoved his face into the pillow.

  Jason sat down. “Please do this for me? All I’m asking for is this one last trip. Then you and Faith can go your own way. But even you know that this has to be resolved if we’re ever going to be honest with the women we love so much. You can see by Faith’s reaction that she needs to know. She deserves to know. Please, Charles, it’s time.”

  “I knew we should’ve gone to America,” Charles moaned.

  “Too late.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Her anger was quickly replaced by terror as Faith marched into Liz’s room. The air was stifling, and her friend was lying on the bed arms and legs outstretched. Her skin was gray, like a ninety-year-old woman taking a last gasp of air.

  “Jesus, it’s happening again,” Faith whispered. She raced to the bedside table, took a wet cloth from the basin and began to wipe the sweat from her friend’s forehead. Faith shuddered. Liz’s eyes were wide open; the cold, dark pupils stuck in a deadly stare. The cuts and bruises began to appear, as Liz’s flesh was once again being torn apart by an invisible killer. Blood dripped from her torso, soiling the sheets. Faith tried everything she could to stop the attack. Small slices appeared on her friend’s arms, like a herd of demons were clawing her body from the inside out. This was the worst it had ever been.

  Faith began to pray. “Fight, Liz. Whatever it is…fight. Please don’t leave me.”

  ***

  Home

  The gray cloud surrounding her was thick. The air was so hot that it felt like she was sitting in the center of a large volcano. Emily wiped the sweat from her eyes as she listened to the violent screams in the distance. A bolt of lightning flashed through the molten cloud and Gabriel appeared before her.

  “What is it? What’s going on?” Emily struggled to be heard over the roaring winds that were feeding the flames.

  “We need your help,” Gabriel hollered. His gloved hand grabbed her and pushed her down through the cloud cover. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  Emily tumbled down a flight of stairs landing at the bottom with a thud, wishing she had enough time to release her wings. As she searched the blackness for Gabriel, she found herself eye-to-eye with her long-lost partner.

  Matt’s eyes grew wide and he grabbed for her. They held each other so tightly that Emily thought her lungs would collapse from the pressure. Even though they were surrounded by horrible sounds, she felt no fear. She buried her head in Matt’s chest and began to cry.

  “What’s the matter?” he whispered, grabbing handfuls of her hair and pressing her further into his body.

  “I didn’t realize, until now, how much I’ve missed you,” she said, choking back her sobs. “I’m sorry. I can’t stop.”

  Matt leaned away, as his lovely smile cut through the smoke-filled sky. “When I saw Gabriel I thought it was another test. But you’re here. I haven’t felt this safe in a long time.”

  “Me either,” she said. “Are we in the Lightning Room? Is this a punishment? Did we do something wrong? I know I did, but I’m sure you haven’t.”

  Matt raised her chin, and spoke in a voice filled with love. “You never do anything wrong. Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me all these years?”

  “No…Matt…I’ve made such horrible mistakes. I wasn’t ready for the world down there. All I seem to do is make the wrong choices and hurt people. And then, I don’t seem to realize when someone needs my help. I doze off, or something. Then when my nightmares stopped I fell into a funk. I try to enjoy the world down there, but it’s like, deep down, I feel like I’m being punished—being kept away from you.”

  She continued to sob. “And I’m not even really thinking that because I can’t even remember you down there. I just know something is missing.”

  Matt wiped the tears from his eyes. “I miss you, too. I seem to forget everything I’ve learned when I’m down there. Nothing makes any sense. I was so bent on being what I wanted to be, and thinking about the things I wanted to have, that the pain I brought to other people just…didn’t matter. I should’ve been thinking about others. I should’ve been helping them, but my own troubles seemed more important. I’m beginning to think that maybe they sent the wrong warrior.”

  Emily stared into his beautiful blue eyes, glazed over with confusion from a life that neither of them seemed to want anymore.

  “You’ve gotten bigger,” Emily whispered, staring at her partner’s profile. The smooth skin of youth now showed the faint worry lines of a human. But the eyes, the bright blue that Emily counted on, remained the same.

  He studied her with the same intensity, and Emily wondered what he was thinking.

  Matt’s voice came out as a whisper,
“You know, you were cute before, but now you’re…beautiful.” Blood rushed into her cheeks, as he continued, “You remind me of the women in Mark’s poetry.” Matt’s voice lowered, “You’re even more perfect than I remembered.”

  Emily’s breath caught in her throat as passion sparked in the eyes of the one person she knew she could trust.

  His lips suddenly pressed against hers and a spark of energy raced between them. Emily felt her cheeks burn as a large, cold drop of rain suddenly splashed onto her forehead.

  Her heart fell, as Matt let out a sigh. There were no words. The drumming had begun—calling the warrior and the angel to arms.

  The rain became heavy, and Emily closed her eyes, silently begging for more time.

  Matt’s gentle voice broke through her thoughts. “We have to go.”

  Emily nodded and took his hand. She waved her arm in front of her transforming her figure into one of the colorful raindrops. Matt followed suit, as Gabriel suddenly appeared. Together, the trio jumped through the cloud cover at the bottom of the staircase and into the chaos below.

  Emily saw the familiar looks of the victims and the sinners. She knew that they wouldn’t remember the rainbow of water that appeared above their village tonight, but it was time for the warrior and the angel to separate. They had souls to save.

  A church was on fire. Innocent people were locked inside the blazing inferno by the worst of mankind—sinners who felt that power came from terrorizing others. Emily knew these people existed in every land—individuals who just waited to twist and turn dreams into nightmares.

  She transformed her shell. White robes flowed behind her as light shone around her figure. She pushed her hands through the flames and passed some of the screaming bodies to find Mark and Luke standing beside her. Some wouldn’t be saved. The quieter ones, the ones with their eyes shut to the crime being committed against them, would be taken. Each raindrop was assigned a soul to bring back home.

  Emily watched the sky. As she took her hand out of the burning building, she felt a stab of jealousy. Inside the raindrops, the victims were now smiling, looking up for their first glimpse of family members that’d gone before.