Mercy for the Damned

by Lisa Olsen

  “We did it,” Luz nodded, her grin a mile wide as she shared a hug with one of her sisters. “He won’t be bothering you again.”

  It sounded almost too good to be true. “How can you tell? I mean, no offense, but how do we know it really worked?”

  She picked up the box, inspecting it carefully before holding it out to me. “He’s in there alright.”

  “What do we do with this?” I accepted the box with my fingertips, not so sure I wanted to touch it.

  “Keep it safe,” she shrugged. “Don’t worry, no one will open it by mistake, it’s spelled shut.”

  “Good to know,” I murmured. “Are you sure this thing is strong enough? Why’d you pick a flimsy plastic box?”

  Luz laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s definitely strong enough. We had to use something completely manmade. Any natural elements and he might have found a way to slip through, but this… this will hold him until the end of time. Trust me, it’s not something you need to worry about anymore. Your friend here might need a little help adjusting to being back in control of his body again though. He’s going to be confused to say the least.”

  “Will he remember what happened while Azazael was in there?”

  “You’ll have to see. It depends on how much control Azazael took of him. Parker said he still had access to Ben’s memories, that’s a good sign.” Luz took me apart from the others, lowering her voice. “If you need me for anything, to talk, or if you need some advice, you can always call me,” she smiled warmly, and I found myself smiling back.

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. Maybe we can get together sometime and hang out in a completely normal capacity? Especially if you’re seeing Parker. I hope you don’t mind that I sorta borrowed him tonight.” I didn’t care what Adam intimated about witches having their own agendas, so far Luz hadn’t steered me wrong and I had a good feeling about her.

  “No te preocupas, it’s fine,” she laughed. “It was worth it to see the look on his face when your mama asked him if you were going to get married. I would like that very much. We’ll stay in touch, no?” she laid her hand over mine, giving it a brief squeeze. “For now, I think your friend needs you and I have to get home to my kids.”

  Ben shifted out of his cross legged position with a groan. “Hang on to this,” I thrust the pink box into Adam’s hands as I knelt down in front of Ben. “Ben? Is that you?” There was a dark tinge to his aura that hadn’t been there before, but I supposed that was to be expected after having someone else inhabiting his body for so long.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” he groaned again, but I was glad to see the corner of his mouth tug up into the ghost of his old smile.

  “Let’s give him some room here, he’s been through quite a bit.” I helped Ben to his feet, waving back the curious stares of witches who lingered in my apartment. Ordinarily I might have liked to share a celebratory drink with them, but at the time all I wanted was a little peace and quiet to see how bad the damage was. “I wish I could take you guys all out for a drink in thanks, but I think I’d better take care of Ben first. Thanks again, you guys, for your help, I appreciate it more than I can say.” There was a ring of dismissal to my voice that thankfully Adam picked up on.

  “Actually, here ladies, the first few rounds are on me,” he peeled off a few bills from his wallet and handed them over to Luz. “I’ll take it from here.”

  There might have been more said between them, but I was busy helping Ben to my bedroom to lie down. “God, Ben, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m so sorry about all of this,” I apologized, removing the blessed ropes that had pinned his arms for far too long. Ben’s anguished cry of pain at finally moving his arms cut straight to my heart, and I grabbed hold of them to keep him from moving too much yet.

  “Wait, no, let me help you first.” Hurrying to ground myself, I sent healing energy, repairing the damage from long months of disuse. Feeling Ben relax beside me, I sent him more calming Grace, wanting him to be as comfortable as possible; it was the least I could do. When I let go of him, he looked almost tranquil, his eyes half lidded.

  I searched his face for some sign that the Ben I knew was still there, or if he hated me for what he’d had to go through. Not that I would have blamed him one bit if he did. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I just went ten rounds with Tyson.” He windmilled his arms a few times, wincing at the residual soreness.

  “How much do you remember?”

  “I remember getting shot. The rest of it is… a little blurry.”

  Azazael had been firmly in control when the gun went off, so that was a fair sign that he remembered at least some of it. “So, do you understand what happened? Where you’ve been?”

  Ben let out a long breath. “I know a little more about Azazael than I want to, that’s for sure. I don’t remember much about that other place… was that Midian?”

  “The gist of it is, Azazael commandeered your body and we had to trap him there to keep him from jumping out and trying to come after me again. Adam took you to Midian for safekeeping, but as soon as we found a way to trap Azazael for good, we busted you free. Does that sort of line up with what you remember?” I left out the parts where I’d stabbed him with my sword, or the fact that he’d been in Midian for weeks of our time, and that the police had linked me to his disappearance. One thing at a time.

  “I remember coming to see you at Eden. I remember telling you that I love you,” he replied, looking up at me with what might have been hope behind the pain in his eyes.

  “I thought that was Azazael talking.”

  “That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

  Isn’t. Not wasn’t. I could hear the witches leaving outside in the living room, Adam making small talk as he herded them out. It was as good a time as any to get into it. “Ben, I…”

  “No, hear me out,” he picked up my hand, cradling it in his. “I know you’re with Adam. I heard all of that, and I’ve seen the two of you together through Azazael colored glasses. I can’t help but feel like I never had the chance to try and make things right with you before he swooped in and stole you away from me.”

  “It wasn’t like that…”

  “I know I was stupid and stubborn, and I pushed you away before. I’ll always have to live with that. But I still love you, and even after all this craziness, I want to be with you, if you’ll have me.” Lifting my hand to his lips, he laid a soft kiss to the back of my fingers.

  Of all the things he could have said… I expected him to rant and rave, for him to threaten me with prosecution for abduction or worse. But love… after everything he’d been through. I didn’t know what to think. “Ben,” I tried again. “You said you heard me tell Azazael that I’m with Adam, that hasn’t changed. I’m sorry, but I love him. I risked everything to break him out of Midian because we belong together.”

  “You broke me out too.”

  I stopped him before he picked up too much steam behind that idea. “That’s because I couldn’t leave you there forever, it wouldn’t be right.”

  “Because you still have feelings for me,” he insisted with an open smile.

  “Ben… please, try to hear what I’m saying. I’m sorry things got so screwed up between us, and I’m sorry you ended up suffering so much because of me. But I’m not going to date you, because I’m with Adam.” I didn’t know how to say it more plainly than that without yelling.

  “You know he’ll end up hurting you in the end.”

  I let out a long, pent up breath of frustration. Why did he have to make things so difficult? “You can’t know that. Besides, sometimes love is worth the risk.”

  “Exactly,” he brightened. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Love is worth the risk.” Before I knew it, he leaned over to cover my mouth with his, his hand coming up to catch hold of my neck, binding me to him. Even though I shoved him away, breaking the kiss as soon as I recovered from the surprise move, the damage had been done.

  “What the h
ell is this?” Adam demanded from the doorway, and I didn’t like the look on his face. Instead of anger, I saw a deadly calm so detached, it scared the hell out of me, even though it was leveled at Ben, not me.

  “Adam… it’s not what you think.”

  “Then I’m not interrupting a tender moment between you and your ex? More professions of love?”

  Okay, so it kind of was what he thought…

  “What’s the matter, you can’t stand the idea of a little competition?” Ben stood up, putting himself between Adam and me. “Is that why you stuck me away in that hellhole?”

  “There is no competition, Mercy is mine,” Adam smirked, but there was no smile behind his eyes. Ben held his ground, undaunted by Adam’s confidence.

  “You’d better do your best to hold onto her then, because I’m here now, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get her back.”

  “Oh, you want to go a few rounds? I’ll show you who’s the better man,” Adam growled, losing the thin veneer of calm to take a threatening step towards Ben, who didn’t back down in the slightest. Slipping in between them, I placed hand on their chests, prepared to blast them if need be.

  “Enough with the testosterone fest, you’re both manly and impulsive. Now how about you back off?”

  “He wants to play, I’m just trying to be accommodating,” Adam ground out between clenched teeth.

  “This is between the two of us, Mercy. Why don’t you move out of the way and let us settle it like men.” Ben didn’t back off either and I gave him a little shove.

  “I’m trying to save your life, dummy. He’s not playing, no matter what he says.” I tried to make Ben understand, but he had that obstinate look on his face, the one there was no reasoning with. “Fine. Adam, can you please go?” If I couldn’t count on Ben to see reason, the only solution seemed to be removing one of the irritants.

  “You’re picking him over me?” Adam blinked in astonishment, and I hated the vulnerable look behind his eyes at the accusation.

  “I knew you still had feelings for me,” Ben crowed in vindication, and I shot him a look worth a thousand daggers.

  “Would you shut up a minute?” I scowled, at the end of my patience, making an effort to soften my expression before I turned back to Adam. “No, I’m not. In fact, I just got done telling him the exact opposite.”

  “Then why…?”

  “Ben, would you please excuse us for a minute? Help yourself to whatever you need, take a shower, get some rest, make yourself at home, okay?” I pushed Adam out of the room, leaving a very smug looking Ben unbuttoning his shirt.

  “I can’t believe you’re sending me away and letting him stay here.” Adam was livid, and I kept pushing him backwards until we reached the kitchen for a little bit of privacy.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but the two of you clearly don’t get along.”

  “Then send him home!”

  “Can you please give him a break?” I lowered my voice. “He’s been here for like five minutes and you’re ready to throw him out on the street.”

  “Not the street, he has a home to go to.”

  “Which is under police surveillance, like my place, remember? We need to keep him out of sight until he can adjust to getting back and we figure out what we’re going to tell the cops.”

  “Fine, then I’m staying too. I don’t like the idea of leaving the two of you alone together.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud… What do you think is going to happen? Do you think I’m going to jump into his arms the moment you leave the room? I feel like I’m talking ‘til I’m blue in the face but neither of you is listening. You won, moron. Can’t you be the better man and be gracious to him?”

  “I don’t care, I don’t trust him.”

  “Fine, then the two of you stay, I’m leaving.” Sure, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on my couch and get some rest, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen in the near future.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To my brother’s to try and figure out how to deal with my mother when she finds out Matty and his bride are MIA.” Because crazily enough, that looked like more fun than staying and watching Adam and Ben duke it out. I found my coat and tugged it on, slipping the keys into my pocket while Adam watched with a frown.

  “I’ll come with you then.”

  “No, someone should stay here with Ben and my mom doesn’t know who you are.” Besides, I needed a little space while they both cooled their jets. “Get Sam to come and relieve you if you don’t want to stay long, but don’t leave Ben alone. He needs our protection and our compassion, and if you can’t manage that, then at least give him your silence.”

  “Mercy…”

  “I’ll call you later, but don’t expect me home tonight. I’ll crash at Matty’s.”

  “Mercy, don’t go like this.” Adam caught my arm, pulling me back to press me up against the wall. “I’m sorry. I’ll behave if he does, but I can’t guarantee I won’t retaliate if he starts something.”

  “Be the better man.” I looked up into his blue eyes, pleading with him to behave for my sake if nothing else.

  “I am the better man.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have any problem being nice to him,” I grinned, tipping my lips up to meet his for a brief kiss. “I love you.”

  “You’d better,” he growled, delivering a searing kiss, effectively branding me as his own.

  *

  A little preoccupied by that kiss, I sat in the car while it heated up, thinking over the night’s events. In theory, we were home free now. Ben was back in the world and Azazael bound away from wreaking any more havoc in my life. Even though Ben’s new fixation with me might prove worrisome, at least it was a regular problem, not anything steeped in the supernatural. Eventually he’d get the hint I wasn’t about to leave Adam for him and he’d move on.

  My mother’s visit was another can of worms I’d rather not have opened, but I suppose I was long overdue for a visit anyway. Better to let her see I was fine and happy, so she could go back to California satisfied I hadn’t screwed my life up more than any normal human being.

  Deciding to call Daphne to make sure things were okay, I dialed her number while the car slowly warmed up. “It’s done,” I said simply, not sure if she had me on speaker phone or in mixed company.

  “Oh good, and did everything come out… the way you wanted it to?”

  “More or less,” I admitted, leaving out Ben’s attraction for the moment. “How are things going there? Is she talking your ears off?”

  “Oh yeah, we’re having a great time,” she replied, and it didn’t even sound all that forced. “Your mom and Adam are looking through some old photo albums she brought with her.”

  “Oh God… I can imagine how he’s loving that.” Parker wasn’t exactly known for enjoying familial bonding.

  “Actually, I think he’s having a good time pretending to be Adam, you should hear some of the stuff that’s coming out of his mouth,” she giggled, and I hoped like hell she was out of range of their hearing.

  “I can hardly wait. Listen, tell her I’m on my way and then we’ll find her a nice motel somewhere. On second thought, I’ll have her crash there with me, that’ll probably make her happy. Tell her Oriana got hung up somewhere and didn’t make it to the party so we had to cancel it.”

  “Okay, will do. Do you want us to stay with her until you get here?”

  “No, she’s a grown woman, she should be fine as long as she doesn’t go wandering the streets in that neighborhood at night. Just make sure she’s got food, or have Parker loan her some cash to send out for a pizza and I’ll pay him back later.”

  “I’ll tell Parker and then head on home. I know Sam is dying to know how everything came out, even if he won’t admit it,” she laughed and I hated to be a buzzkill, but something told me she wasn’t about to have the PG-13 romantic evening she had in mind.

  “Oh… I think Sam might be at my place watching over Ben.”

>   “Why does Ben need watching over? I thought it worked out fine.”

  “It did, but he’s not quite himself yet, plus we don’t know if Raum’s gonna send anyone after him. I thought it’d be best if someone was with him, and Adam is… not the best candidate.” Understatement of the year…

  “Ah, I guess I can understand that. Do you mind if I hang with Sam at your place then?”

  “No, not at all. In fact, I got a new half gallon of Chocolate Explosion chilling in the freezer all ready to go for you.”

  “Sweet! I’m going to get going then. Call me later when things settle down.”

  “Yeah, absolutely. Thanks again, Daph. Hopefully the worst is over and we can all get a little well deserved R and R.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Daphne was gone by the time I let myself into Matty’s apartment, but I was surprised to see Parker still on the couch with my mom. “Hey… I didn’t think you’d still be here, I know you had to get to that thing.” I tried my best to give him an out, but he didn’t seem all that interested in an immediate extraction.

  “I couldn’t leave your mom all alone here, what kind of boyfriend would I be?” he flashed me a quick wink. “Besides, we’ve been looking through some old pictures of your family. Very illuminating…”

  “Funny.” I stuck my tongue out at him, squeezing next to him on the small sofa. “You didn’t have to lug those books up here, Mom. I have most of them scanned into my computer.”

  “But this way we can enjoy them all together,” she smiled, turning to the next page. “Remember this trip to Disneyland? You were so little… Daddy didn’t want to let you go in the haunted house but you insisted.”

  “I remember I had nightmares for a week, but it was worth it,” I grinned, looking down at the plastic covered pictures.

  “We should definitely go sometime, hon,” Parker smiled as if it was the best idea ever. “I never made it out there as a kid, but it looks like a lot of fun.”

  “I… didn’t think that would be up your alley.” My brows narrowed at him, knowing what was coming next.