by S. J. West
“It’s the one place every Watcher knows,” he called back, the sound of boxes being moved on a shelf coming from where he was. “It’s where we were sent when we first came to Earth.”
Brand walked out of the closet with a large white cardboard box, like something you would store a coat in.
He set it down beside me on the bed and took the lid off.
My breath caught in my throat when I saw what lay inside.
“Why do you have one of those?” I asked, as he pulled out the black feathered cloak. It looked identical to the one the vampiric Watchers wore when they were on a hunt.
“It’s our formal wear,” Brand explained. “I know you’ve only seen the Watchers on Malcolm’s side wear them but we all wore them at one time. We will all wear them at the gathering so don’t be afraid. No one there will be allowed to harm you.”
“How many Watchers are there?”
“Originally there were 200 of us. Now that Justin can’t seem to be found and well Robert is gone of course, there should be 198 of us left.”
“Is Allan coming?” I asked.
“He said he would be there, but I think it’s only because he wants to make sure nothing happens to you.”
“Didn’t you just say no one would be allowed to hurt me?”
“Yes, but you can’t always prepare for everything.”
“Do you think Lucifer will try to do something?”
“It’s a possibility,” Brand admitted. “I doubt he wants us to form a united front against him. We would be too powerful. He would never be able to defeat us all at one time.”
“Do you think the others will help me?”
“I’m not sure they all will,” Brand admitted. “Especially the ones who have given into their craving for human blood. Those Watchers sometimes go insane because of the blood lust. It takes a disciplined Watcher to drink only enough to not kill a human. Most just rampage through their lives not caring how many humans they kill.”
“Did Malcolm kill many people?”
“I’m sure he did a few, especially in the beginning,” Brand said taking off his shirt and placing the cloak over his shoulders as if he wanted to make sure it still fit. “But Malcolm was able to control his blood lust by being sexually active.”
Brand walked to the full length mirror in the room to look at himself wearing the cloak.
“I haven’t worn this in a long time,” he told me, staring at his reflection like he wasn’t quite sure who the man in the mirror was.
On Brand, the cloak didn’t look menacing at all. It looked like he had been born to wear it across his broad shoulders allowing his pale bare chest to stand out against the ebony. I stood from the bed and walked to him, letting my fingers glide over the glossy black feathers. When I looked at his reflection in the mirror, I found him watching me.
“What are you thinking?” He asked.
“I was just thinking that I can’t help but find you sexy in whatever it is you put on.”
I let my hand drop to my side as Brand turned to face me with a roguish grin on his face. “Was that an invitation to ravish you until we have to leave, Mrs. Cole?”
“Hmm,” I said, lowering my eyelashes as coquettishly as I could, “that depends, Mr. Cole.”
Brand smile widened. “Depends on what exactly?”
“Depends on whether or not you can catch me.” I phased to the kitchen and Brand quickly followed. Just as he was about to grab me with both arms, I phased to the spare bedroom where he almost phased in on top of me before I phased to the living room. I waited a full minute but he didn’t phase in after me. Worried something might have happened to him, I phased back to our bedroom to find him lying on his side with his head propped up in one hand on our bed completely naked.
“That’s so unfair,” I said, quickly stripping my clothes off and phasing in on top of my husband to straddle his hips.
“You weren’t playing fair either,” he reminded me, sliding his hands up my naked thighs to my hips.
“How long did you say we have until we need to go?” I asked, letting his hands guide me into a better position.
“Couple of hours,” Brand said in a hoarse voice as I began to move against him.
“Not as long as I would like,” I said leaning down to kiss his mouth. “But I think we can get the job done by then.”
Brand smiled against my lips and proved to me two hours was plenty of time.
Chapter 16Brand insisted we wait until the exact second we were supposed to meet the others.
“How in the world can you have it timed out to the last second?” I asked.
“It’s how we’re built,” he shrugged. “I guess you could say we have our own internal clocks. It makes us very punctual.”
I smiled. Finally, I knew the secret to Brand’s extreme sense of punctuality.
I talked him into being a minute early to the gathering. It went against his grain but he did it for me. I had to assume the experience of watching all of the Watchers phase in at the exact same second had to be something no one on Earth could ever claim to be a witness to.
The sun was setting on the horizon of the vast desert casting a glow with shades of orange and red making it look like the sky had been set on fire by the it. We stood at the top of a dune and were surrounded by waves of sand mimicking the waves of an ocean in the last heat of day. We waited silently, holding each others hands.
“Keep our eyes straight ahead of you,” Brand told me. “They’re coming.”
I was scared to blink in fear I might miss their arrival. When they all phased in, I felt my heart jump in my throat. The Watchers stood dressed proudly in their ceremonial cloaks blowing against the desert wind. Instantly, Brand and I were surrounded by Malcolm, Isaiah, Allan and Mason. I felt protected in their circle shielding me from the others.
Brand held out his hand to Mason. “Thank you for doing this. We owe you everything.”
“Don’t thank me too soon,” Mason said with a wry grin. “They haven’t said they will help yet.”
Mason looked down at me. A faint smile played across his lips, and I knew he was remembering the moment I touched him, granting him the peace of knowing his father still cared about him.
Mason turned to face the other Watchers.
“Brothers,” he said, his voice carried by the desert wind. “Thank you all for coming.”
A Watcher who looked like he was of Egyptian descent stepped forward. “Why have you ordered us here, Samyaza? Why now after all these years?”
“When we were first sent here by our father,” Mason said, “we were eager to help the humans like He wanted. We were their teachers and counselors. They trusted us to lead them in the ways of the world. Then, when we became filled with our own self-importance we began to think of ourselves as gods among the mortals. We even thought we deserved to live normal lives and stop doing what we were sent here to do. We turned our backs on our father to satisfy our own needs. As your leader, I should have stopped what happened but I didn’t. I wanted what you all wanted, a family to call my own no matter what the cost. For that, we all paid the price for our arrogance. Even our most beloved, our children, had to pay the cost for our treachery. Now, I believe our father has presented us with the opportunity to begin the process of atonement for our sins.”
“How?” The Watcher who seemed to be the spokesman for the group asked.
“I believe he sent this woman,” Mason said, stepping to the side so the others could get a clear view of me, “to provide us a way to atone for what we did and lead us back to Him.”
I felt the eyes of all the Watchers suddenly fasten on me. It made me wish I had written down what I wanted to say to them because the speech I had prepared in my head was chased away by nervousness.
“She is a descendant of Lillith,” Mason told them causing a disturbance among the Watchers, “And she is the daughter of Michael.”
The Watchers went completely silent only the whistling of the wind could be hea
rd.
“How do you know this?” The Watcher asked.
“Because, Baruch, she has the Touch.”
A collective gasp could be heard.
“Prove it,” Baruch challenged.
Now it was my turn to prove I deserved their help. I took a few steps forward. Baruch walked to me, his eyes daring me to prove I was the child of an arch angel. I physically felt my power awaken, yearning to show Baruch what I was.
I saw Baruch flinch slightly at the sight of my hands blazing with the white fire of my gift. I laid my hands against his shoulders, instantly allowing him to feel whatever it was God felt for him. Baruch trembled under my touch but didn’t step away. I watched as a myriad of emotions passed over his face. First there was disbelief, then sadness and finally relief.
Finally, Baruch staggered back from me. He silently watched me before turning to the other Watchers.
“She is the child of Michael,” he announced, his voice filled with awe. “And I for one,” he said turning back to me, “will do whatever she might ask of me.”
Baruch knelt down on one knee in front of me. Before I knew it, all of the Watchers knelt before me, even those I considered my friends. Brand was the only one who didn’t kneel. He stood by my side and took my hand.
When I looked up at him to tell me what I should do now, he said, “Tell them why we need their help.”
“Please,” I said to them, “please stand. There’s no reason for you to kneel in front of me.”
“You are the first and only child of an arch angel,” Baruch said to me. “That is reason enough.”
I looked to Brand for help.
“Baruch, you’re making my wife uncomfortable. Please, stand up brothers.”
Almost reluctantly, the Watchers stood. They watched me carefully as if they were planning to etch my next words into their memory which simply made me more nervous.
“We’ve called you all here to ask for your help. We have been told Lucifer plans to tear a hole in space and time to somehow rip our world, Heaven and Hell apart. We know he will try to possess me and use my power as an arch angel and the power Lillith passed down to enter Heaven. What we need you to help us with is figure out when he plans to do this and how he intends to harness enough power to accomplish his goal. Brand’s told me my powers aren’t enough to achieve what he plans to do. We hope with your combined knowledge at least one of you can figure out what else he needs and where he intends to draw the power from. We’re missing a piece of the puzzle and desperately need it to know how to stop him. Please, if any of you can help, I beg you to help me.”
“If you are willing to help Lilly,” Mason said, “take a step forward and be counted.”
I took a deep breath waiting to see how many of the Watchers would help us. As one, they all took a step forward, bringing tears of relief to my eyes.
“Thank you,” I told them my voice quavering with emotion. “Thank you all.”
Before we could leave, some of the Watchers came up to me asking that I use my touch on them like I had Baruch. Almost all of them had the same reaction as Baruch. I was told by some that they felt their father’s disappointment in them but they also felt His love and want to have them back by His side. It seemed to be enough for most of them to know that even they could be forgiven in time, that Heaven wasn’t completely lost to them.
I looked to Malcolm offering him once again the opportunity to feel what I had to offer, but he simply shook his head again refusing to allow me to touch him.
It was decided that anyone who found out something which might be of use to us would contact Isaiah who would in turn contact Brand and me if he thought it was worth investigating further.
The last of the Watchers to ask me to touch them was Allan.
He seemed uncertain when he came to stand in front of me, like he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know what God thought of him.
I smiled to encourage him to accept the Touch.
“I don’t know, Lilly,” he said. “It’s been so long. Maybe He’s forgotten about me.”
“No,” I said, “I don’t think He has Allan. But, there is only one way to know for sure.”
I held my blazing hands out to him. Finally, he placed his hands into mine. I felt him automatically tighten his hold. Overcome with emotion, he fell to his knees as silent tears coursed down his cheeks. When he let go of me, he stayed knelt in front of me before saying, “Thank you, Lilly. Thank you.”
He phased then. I could only assume he needed some time alone to deal with what I had just shared. I hoped being able to let the Watchers feel their father’s love again after all these years gave them a new found sense of hope and purpose. They had all been living with the guilt of their sins for a very long time. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for them to know He still loved them. I only wished Malcolm would let me open his heart to his father’s love. I felt like it would be good for him, somehow cathartic.
But, I also knew he needed to deal with his demons first. Malcolm didn’t believe he had the right to ask for forgiveness. I had a feeling he would have to prove to himself that he was a different person before he allowed me to show him God’s true feelings for him.
I only hoped I lived long enough to help him through his self doubt. I knew he had a good heart. It had just been a long time since he thought that way about himself too.
Chapter 17While we waited for new information to be collected by the Watchers, Brand and I tried to act normally for the next week. We had finals at school during that time which helped me take my mind off some of the stress we were under. I knew time was running out and tried to spend as much of it with Brand as I possibly could without him becoming suspicious of my motives. I didn’t want him to worry I had lost faith in us finding the answers we needed because I hadn’t. But, I was also a realist and knew the future wasn’t something any of us could control. Whatever was meant to happen would, and I was always one to try to be prepared for any eventuality.
Tara finally talked me into going shopping with her that Friday afternoon by embarrassing the heck out of me, as usual.
“Lilly Rayne, you’ve been with Brand so much you’re starting to walk funny,” she said to me, making me want to hide from her knowing eyes. “We haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together since you got married, and well girl, I’m feeling a little neglected.”
The last thing I wanted was for Tara to feel like my marrying Brand meant he had an exclusive monopoly on me. If things ended badly with Lucifer’s plan, I didn’t want my best friend to feel like I hadn’t cared enough to share my last remaining days with her. She was one of the rocks in the foundation of my life, and I knew she deserved better. So, we made plans to go shopping and eat somewhere for lunch. I wish I could say those plans happened. I wish I could say we were able to spend the day together just acting like any other young adults our age. But, I can’t do that because the world as we knew it began to fall apart instead.
Right before I was supposed to leave to pick Tara up, I received a frantic phone call from my mother.
“Lilly, you have to come home right now,” she said, sobbing hysterically.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked, praying Lucifer hadn’t harmed her in some way. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
“It’s not me, Lilly,” my mother cried. “It’s Utha Mae. I think she’s had a heart attack. Lucas called the ambulance as soon as he found her in her trailer. Come home Lilly and bring Tara with you. I don’t know how long she might have left.”
When I hung up the phone, I yelled for Brand.
“What’s wrong?” He asked phasing in next to me.
I felt tears burn my eyes and found it hard to see much less speak.
“Utha Mae’s had a heart attack,” I was finally able to get out. “We have to get Tara.”
When we phased into Tara’s house, we found her just grabbing her coat, expecting me to come pick her up for our day of shopping.
“Good grief,” she c
omplained, putting a hand to her heart. “You two know I hate that!”
When she saw my tear streaked face, her anger immediately faded.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
I held my hand out to her and drew her into my arms, crying uncontrollably.
“Lilly, girl, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Utha Mae’s had a heart attack,” Brand said for me since I was a complete basket case.
“Then get us to the hospital,” Tara said in a calm voice.
Not caring what it would look like, we phased to the hospital in Dalton. We were there before Utha Mae’s ambulance arrived. When my mother and Lucifer entered, my mom looked stunned that we were there already.
“How did you get here so fast?” She questioned, giving me a hug.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to come up with a lie because the gurney with Utha Mae came barreling through the ER entrance. She lay dead still on the mobile bed making me wonder if we were already too late to say goodbye. The EMT’s wheeled her quickly past us into a glass enclosed room. Doctors came at a run and quickly examined the situation. The curtain was drawn around her bed completely blocking our view of what was happening.
Brand held me as I tried to stem the flow of my grief. Tara had the presence of mind to call Will and ask him to bring Malik. I marveled at my best friend in those moments. She bore a strength inside her I had never seen before. She reminded me so much of Utha Mae then. Whenever the world around her was in chaos, Utha Mae was always there to keep everyone calm until the trouble passed. I knew then Tara had inherited the same ability as her grandmother to weather any storm placed in her path.
An hour later a doctor came to tell us Utha Mae had survived the initial heart attack but that it had weakened her heart to a point it would eventually give out.
“Given her age, we can’t risk doing surgery because that would surely kill her,” he told us. “All we can do is wait to see how she progresses in the next few days.”
“Tell us the truth,” Tara said. “Is she about to die? Do you see her walking out of this hospital?”