Fall from Grace (Book 2: An Angelblood Novel)

by Linda L. Creel

  After the Archangels departed Eve sensed Martin was still apprehensive about Myra meeting her mother. She pulled him aside to assure him the reunion would go well. “You have nothing to worry about. I have seen them together in my visions. This needs to happen Martin. Mahlyssa will prove herself to you and Heaven; I’m certain of it.”

  Martin looked at his friend and smiled.“I have always trusted you Eve. I know you love Myra as I do.” “She’s like a sister to me. I would never allow anything tohappen to her.”

  “I’m being over protective aren’t I?” Martin laughed.

  “We can never have too much protection. Lucifer is planning something, but we will stand together as we have always done. Our gifts will keep us safe.”

  “Do you think it would be better to move Mahlyssa here to the valley?”

  “Perhaps Myra will ask her. We can’t forget she has others with her who she regards as family, two other couples. One has a son; the other a daughter. Aura wouldn’t have brought them here if she wasn’t trying to keep them safe.”

  “There is also a little girl named Shannon, a very special five year old. She was abandoned by her own parents shortly after her birth and Mahlyssa has raised the child as her own. Her parents left when Mahlyssa forbid them from practicing the dark arts. I have a feeling we will be introduced to them soon. We need to ask the Guild to allow her to adopt the child in order to keep her from harm.”

  “If she is tru ly a daughter of Heaven, we will do whatever is necessary to protect her and those she cares about. You have my word,” Martin said.

  ‘I have no doubt of her loyalty. Of course I see a great many things you don’t. In time all of you will see the same trust in her that Aura does,” Eve smiled.

  “Let’s hope Richard won’t be able to convince her to walk his path.”

  “He will certainly try, which is why we must protect the child. Richard will use her to get to Mahlyssa. Aura intends to ask the Council to allow the child to receive angelblood, as they did Alice. I can promise you the child is as true to Heaven as our other children.”

  “We can discuss it later this afternoon. Why is Aura so interested in this child? Isn’t she mortal?”

  “She is, but as I’ve said the child is special.” “What makes her so special?” “She has the sight.”

  “A mortal born with the sight; I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are you certain?”

  “I am absolutely sure. She will be a valuable asset to us.”

  “Won’t the child want to return to her parents if they come for her?”

  “She barely remembers them. She is faithful to Mahlyssa without reservation. Shannon has seen her as she appeared with the curse, and yet she was unafraid of her. Perhaps she saw the goodness in her. You’ll meet her in a few minutes. I know Myra will love Shannon as your other children.”

  “We should return to the party before Myra comes to find us. It won’t do to spoil the surprise.”

  Jayden still didn’t understand why they let Natalie go, although he would never question the decision of the High Council. Acadia was sympathetic to him. “We are both going to have to trust their decision,” she said genuinely.

  “All this time, I thought my parents died in an accident. Now it appears Richard was responsible for their deaths too. I have to wonder what Meredith’s involvement is in all of this. She benefited by using us as servants. Perhaps Aura’s visions will show us those answers as well.”

  Jayden stopped thinking about himself for a moment and looked at Acadia. “Aura will help us sort this out. I’m sorry about your parents,” he said, as he reached to take her hand. Acadia didn’t pull away. She was comforted by his gesture.

  Rita looked at Will with great sorrow. He now had no doubt Richard killed his parents. Rita was sure he was thinking about his brother Arian. No one knew if he was dead or alive. Jade was still not convinced Arian was dead. She held out hope until she had proof; though Will disagreed with her. He was overheard telling her if Arian was alive, he would have returned to them.

  “What if he can’t return Will? What if he’s hurt?” Most of the time Will would walk away, not wanting to accept what Jade said. Maybe Arian was still angry about the argument they had about Natalie. But that was no reason for him not to come back to Jade; he loved her.

  Henry couldn’t help overhearing the conversation. He contemplated if the others would distrust him considering he was Richard’s father. He wouldn’t have objected to trying Natalie then and there. He was more concerned knowing Natalie had Lucifer’s blood. He saw her wickedness clearly when she threatened the life of the priest. How could he have been so blind?

  Paul saw the worry on his face and came over to him. “There is no reason for you to feel guilty about your granddaughter. We have known for some time she killed Ella and Jasper.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Richard has a way of knowing our plans. It was safer for you not to know,” Paul apologized.

  “Do you think I am in danger?”

  “Not only are you in danger, but your daughter Analie and Ambrosia are in danger too. As long as they remain in the sanctuary, no harm will befall them,” Paul promised.

  “It hardly seems fair to keep them confined. Isn’t there something else that can be done?”

  “We’ll do everything within our power to keep all of you safe. I don’t know Aura’s plans, but I can say with confidence you are regarded as family. Joshua will never be in any danger. Jessica would never allow it.”

  “Do you think it’s wise for them to marry after all that’s happened?”

  “If we wait for the threat of darkness to go away, I’m afraid we’ll be waiting a long time. We’ll have the wedding in twelvedays. Richard won’t be foolish enough to disrupt the celebration. The High Council will be in attendance. Natalie was visibly uncomfortable by their presence today.”

  “She wasn’t that concerned. She would have easily cut Father Patrick’s throat without hesitation.”

  “She may have considered it, but she realized if she hurt Father Patrick it would have been the end of her existence.”

  “I don’t understand why you allowed her to go free. Surely you have other means to go after Richard?”

  “We still need to identify the other participants. We have every intention of bringing Richard before the Council to standtrial for Virgil’s death.”

  “Do you think my son will appear now?” “He’ll have no choice. Phillipe Devereaux still serves as one of your ambassadors, does he not?”

  “Yes, but I’m certain he has probably already aligned himself with position immediately.” Richard. I should terminate his

  “On the contrary, he may afford us information that would benefit us in our quest for justice. I am asking you to leave things as they are for now.”

  “Are you sure that’s wise?”

  “Phillipe lives in New York. His daughters are residing at the Godwin Academy. I’ll ask Will and Joshua to return there until the wedding. Andromeda can keep an eye on them for a few days. Rita and Jessica can do some shopping while they’re there.”

  “I’m not sure I agree with your decision, bu t I will honor it. Are you sure Will and Joshua will leave here now?”

  “I’ll speak to Rita and Jessica. The boys will go if they ask them. I’ll inform Arthur about today’s events. Richard will be angry when he realizes Mahlyssa is no longer under his control. His priority will be to make sure Natalie is safe first. We’ll convene the trial in a few days. Aura should have a better understanding of where we stand by then.”

  “I thought we agreed to give him a week.”

  “We have Tristan and Jasmine’s wedding on New Year’s Eve. Rita and Jessica will marry the boys six days later. We can’t wait for them to make a move.

  “I’ll warn Analie about what’s happened. I wish Axel and Caspian were back, but I suppose we can deal with Richard until they return. I’m starting to believe the rumors that Analie and Ambrosia were the in
tended targets of the initial attack.”

  Paul felt he could now trust Henry enough to tell him the truth. “Axel and Caspian have been working as members of the Guard. I can assure you they’re both safe and will be returning soon.”

  Henry laughed.“I should have known they were working for you. Was their journey a successful one?” “Very successful,” Paul smiled.

  PJ and the boys didn’t seem fazed by the confrontation. They went back to the dining room to fill their plates a second time. As Aidan watched them he shook his head. How could they remain so calm after what happened? He was impressed by their composure. Even he was more emotional.

  There was a time he would never have shown any sentiment. That was the way of Heaven. But he was in Aeden now with his family and he found himself acting more like the angelblood every day.

  Iris and Howard checked on Father Patrick who was not in the least upset by Natalie’s threat. He was a true child of Heaven and did not fear death.

  When Mia heard movement at the front door, she told everyone she would answer it. She must have thought Becca Cohen would make an appearance, because she was seen standing on the sofa looking through the curtains frequently.

  Once again it was not Becca; Aura had returned with her guests.

  Chapter 24

  Aura asked Arian to remain hidden outside, until she came for him. She knew Will would be overwhelmed with joy, when he saw his brother.

  Aura walked in the house, holding the hands of Mahlyssa and Shannon. The two other young couples held tight to their small children. While they were clearly apprehensive about the meeting, Shannon entered the house with a huge smile on her face.

  The little ones were the first to walk over to greet them. “I’m Aura’s sister Bren. This is my best friend Tracy and this is Aura’s daughter Alannah,” Bren said, with a welcoming smile.

  One by one, each of them introduced themselves to their guests. When she came to Myra, Aura introduced Mahlyssa. “This is your mother.”

  “My mother how can that be?” she asked. “I’m sure you have a lot to talk about, but first I should bring in our other guest.”

  Aura went to the door and whispered for Arian to come in and join the others.

  Jade saw him first. She dropped her drink and ran straight to his arms.“Arian is it you?”

  “It’s me Jade. I swear it’s me.”

  Will turned around. “It can’t be,” he said to himself. He got up to greet Arian, still not believing his brother was alive. The two boys hugged. “I thought you were dead. What happened to you? Where have you been?” Will asked.

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it , after I meet everyone,” Arian said. He looked at Jade; really looked at her. “What have you done to your hair?”

  Jade’s long brown locks were gone leaving behind a short bob which covered her blue eyes. But it was the scarlet streaks that held his attention. “I can change it back if you don’t like it.”

  “Don’t bother it suits you,” Arian laughed. “There isn’t anything about you thatI don’t love. It may take some getting used to, but I think you should keep it this way.”

  “About that little disagreement we had about Natalie,” Will said apologetically.

  “What disagreement?” Jessica asked. “Is there somethingyou haven’t told us about you and Natalie?” “It’s alrightJess, Will explained everything to me,” Rita smiled.

  Arian looked around the room. “Are we having a party?”

  Jade giggled. “It’s an engagement party. Your brother and Joshua are gettingmarried.”

  “What? I leave for a couple of months and you’re bothengaged?” he teased Will.

  Will smiled as he introduced his brother to Rita and Jessica.

  “I guess congratulations are in order. When is this wedding?”

  “Next week, and now you won’t have any excuse for not being there,” Joshua said.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Arian hugged both of the girls and offered a congratulatory hand shake to Joshua.

  Aura was about totell the family Mahlyssa’s story, when she stopped her. “Please – I need to tell her.”

  Aura nodded. She motioned for the others to take a seat. The little ones surrounded themselves around their new friends.

  Mahlyssa clasped her hands together and stared into Myra’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’ve been told about how you came to be here. You probably think I abandoned you, but I swear nothing could be further from the truth.”

  She hesitated for a moment, before telling them the story of how her father Marcus had cursed her and then tried to bargain with Virgil, Myra’s father, for his wings.

  “Even though he k new it was wrong, he consented. When the wings turned to ash, I thought Virgil deceived him. I blamed him for a long time, but after a while, I realizedthat Virgil was trying to save me from my father.” She continued to tell her how she searched desperately for Virgil and how Richard kept them apart.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him, but I believed he was being honest with me. Aura told me the truth. Richard had no intention of allowing me to find your father.”

  “How is it thatArian was in your custody?” Will asked.

  “Richard asked me to keep him there. He never said why, but he promised he would remove the curse if I agreed to help him. It wasn’t that I cared about myself, but I wanted to find Virgil and tell him how sorry I was. Your brother was near death when Richard brought him to me. I thought many times he was going to die. I did all I could to save him,” Mahlyssa said.

  “I wasn’t mistreated Will,” Arian said. “She’s telling you the truth. She healed me and made sure I had everything I needed. She wouldn’t let me leave. It was probably a wise decision. I would have gone after Richard for what he did to mom and dad. I know you may not believe me, but she saved my life.”

  Mahlyssa continued. “Richard came to see me a couple of days ago. He said his daughter was in trouble and asked if I could change her identity. He removed my father’s curse, so I agreed to help him. Once the curse was removed, I knew I could resume the search for my husband and daughter. She bent her head in shame. “I found out this morning, Richard killed Virgil. I never got to tell him that I was sorry.”

  Rita glared at her.“So you changed Natalie?”

  “Yes. I know it was unforgiveable, but I feared for the safety of the others. Richard would have killed the only family I had. I know they were brought with me as servants, but I swear I never treated any of them as such. I am sorrier than youknow for helping him,” Mahlyssa said in earnest.

  “Before any one passes judgment on Mahlyssa, I should inform you I’ve had a conversation with Michael and Uriel in regards to her past deeds. They agree there is no need for her to appear before the Council. They are aware of her actions and the reasons behind them. Heaven holds no ill will towards her,or any of those in her company,” Aura said.

  “Dad built a house on Hespa’s property and they are staying there. Since the ground is hallowed, they will be safe from Richard. She has put herself and those she cares about in great danger by helping us. If they were not true to Heaven, they would have burned when they stepped on sanctified ground. They did not.”

  Myra took her mother’s hands. “Perhaps it wo uld be better if you stayed here with us. Eve’s shield can protect you.”

  Mahlyssa smiled kindly at her daughter. “I am not concerned for myself, but I would like to keep the others safe. I am the only family they have and the same is true for me.”

  Myra smiled. “That was before. You have family now. You have all of us.”

  “There is no reason any of you should be placed in danger,” Bren said. “We can protect all of you.” She looked to Tracy and Alannah who supported her position.

  Mahlyssa spoke candidly. “I have no right to ask any of you to risk your lives for me. Richard will be furious when he realizes I have released Arian to you.”

  “All the more reason you should b
e sheltered,” Jade said. “I can’t speak for the others, but I will be forever in your debt for saving Arian’s life.”

  She looked to Will who nodded in agreement. “If what my brother says is true, then you have saved him from the same fate that took our parents. The manner in which you did is of little consequence to me. I too am indebted to you.”

  Mahlyssa started to weep. “Aura told me you would welcome us here, but I never expected this. I am so sorry for my past mistakes, but I promise I will do all I can to help you bring Richard to justice.”

  Myra was overwhelmed by her mother’s honest y. She looked to her husband Martin.“I think we have an obligation to my mother and the others.”

  Shannon ran over and put her arms around Mahlyssa. “It’s OK mum, we’re home now.” Mahlyssa picked her up and cried softly on her shoulder.“I never thought I deserved you, but I thanked God for you every day.”

  “Where are the girl’s parents?” Myra asked.

  Mahlyssa sighed. “I had to ask them to leave. After my father’s death, some of the younger Enchantor’s decided to follow me to New York. They were looking for a better life. There were more of us when we first arrived. But I had a rule. We would practice no dark magic in my home.

  One of the young men, Robert O’Hara, stared at Mahlyssa.“I thought they decided to leave on their own?”

  “I should have asked them to leave when I first suspected they were dabbling with the dark spells. I couldn’t prove anything at the time, but I learned the truth a short time ago. I know you believed the others were killed in an accident, but that wasn’t true. Shannon’s mother was responsible for their deaths.”

  “How could that be?” Robert asked.

  Mahlyssa looked at the entire room, before she spoke. “The Cavanaugh’s were good people at one time; at least that’s what I thought. Shortly before Shannon was born, Richard came to my home. He didn’t ask for anything at the time. He wanted to tell me he still didn’t know where Virgil was. Colin and Claudia Cavanaugh were there. I wasn’t aware Richard had a conversation with them. I suspected Claudia was experimenting with the dark spells, but as I’ve said I couldn’t prove anything.”