Heaven's Eyes

by Jason A Anderson

  He smiled back and said, “The artiste in me would like to say I have, but I would be lying.”

  As he watched her walk into the room, Jake got the impression she was being coy as she crossed over and sat on the footstool across from him.

  “It’s been in the attic for a while. I had Anton bring it down today. I was afraid it would be ruined, but it managed to keep its tune,” Jake explained.

  “Things that are properly maintained generally will,” Shannon said. The subtext wasn’t lost on him.

  Instead of responding, he strummed the first few familiar chords of a song they both knew.

  Shannon’s eyes grew and she said, “Don’t tell me you still know how to play it,” a slight Scottish lilt trickling into her voice.

  “It’s the only song I know,” Jake replied and began to play the folk ballad “Scarborough Faire”. On cue, Shannon began singing:

  Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

  Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

  Remember me to the one who lives there,

  He once was a true love of mine.

  Jake intensified the chords for the second verse and Shannon took some of the softness out of her voice, as well.

  Tell him to make me a cambric shirt,

  Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

  Without any seam or needlework,

  Then he’ll be a true love of mine.

  After the first two verses, Jake let the music drift off into silence. He didn’t realize they had slowly leaned toward one another during the musical interlude, until he reached over and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. Then he softly traced the line of her cheek with the back of his fingers, watching the firelight flicker off her skin. The intimacy stretched and they leaned in closer, almost touching…

  Three sharp knocks from the room’s entry arch startled them both out of the moment.

  Shannon smirked subtly as Jake cast an irritated glare to the room’s entry, until he noticed Ron standing there, a concerned look on his face.

  “Everything OK?” Jake asked his best friend, who seemed to be standing at an awkward angle.

  Ron glanced behind him, then motioned out of their line of sight. A moment later, the very drenched Damon peeked out from behind Ron.

  “Damon, is everything alright?” Shannon asked, jumping to her feet and hurrying across to her son. She took him by the hand and led him out from the entryway and over to one of the side chairs, turning on the floor lamp.

  Only a few moments later, Anton appeared beside Ron, a fluffy blue towel in his hands.

  “I was working on the singing head in the studio, when the little guy ran in. Apparently, he was frightened by the lightning and got turned around in the storm,” Ron explained, leaning against the entry wall.

  Shannon accepted the towel and began to dry off her son, making a rat’s nest of his blond hair. She managed to gather the towel around his shoulders and caught his attention with her gaze. “Are you OK?” she asked. “You didn’t trip or scrape against anything out in the rain?”

  “No, mom, I’m fine,” Damon replied, a little subdued.

  “Maybe it would be best for us to call it an evening, so you can go get your young man to bed,” Jake suggested, sauntering closer to Shannon and Damon.

  The little boy fairly beamed at being referred to a “young man”, a reaction not missed by his attentive mother.

  “I think maybe you’re right,” she agreed, brushing his arms and legs down with the now sopping towel.

  Anton stepped out from behind Ron and said, “You may find this helpful,” and held out an unopened umbrella to her.

  Shannon thanked the houseman and with quick goodbyes to all, led Damon through the entry arch and into the deeper shadows of the house.

  “Thank you, Anton,” Jake said with a nod to the older man. “You should be alright to turn in for the night.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Anton agreed and followed Shannon and Damon into the darkness.

  Jake watched them go, then cast a glance at his best friend, who at last wandered into the great room.

  “Everything OK in the studio?”

  Ron nodded, crossing over to the warmth from the dancing flames.

  “The studio’s fine. The breaker tripped once, so I wasn’t able to get as much done as I wanted. By the time I had it reset, the little boy had wandered in. I figured it best to not test anything with him in the room.”

  Jake smiled and crossed back to his chair. “That’s probably best,” he agreed.

  Ron rubbed his hands together and in the light of the fire, Jake noticed for the first time that Ron was pretty soaked, as well. “You want a towel?”

  “Nah,” Ron replied, then knelt down in front of the hearth and petted Sunny, who barely opened her eyes. The only obvious reaction was her tail thumped at the attention.

  Friends for most of their lives, Jake had a pretty keen sense for Ron’s moods and after a few minutes of contemplative silence, he asked, “Everything alright?”

  Ron glanced over at his friend.

  “There’s something... unique... about that kid,” he said.

  “Who, Damon?” Jake asked in astonishment.

  “He seems to be -- I don’t know -- older than I expected.”

  “How so?”

  “I came into the studio after resetting the breaker, the storm was thundering and lightning pretty good, and I about had a heart attack. He was just standing shivering in the open studio door... just standing there, no tears, not frightened. I asked him if he was OK, and he said he was looking for his mom and did I know where she was. I told him, Yes, and brought him inside.”

  Jake shrugged. “He’s an only child and his mom doesn’t treat him like a little kid. He may just be mature for his age.”

  Ron nodded. “Probably,” he agreed. “I see that Shannon has a Volt. I don’t see you heckling her about having to get out and push.”

  “She’s a pretty redhead,” Jake replied. “Need I say more?”

  “Fair enough,” Ron said, then checked his watch. “I think I’m gonna bail. With the weather like it is, I don’t expect to get any more done tonight.”

  Jake stood and he and Ron bumped fists, then Ron headed out into the storm.

  Returning to his spot at the window, Jake watched the weather outside and pondered the day’s events.

  Chapter 28

  “No Host Required”

  An uncharacteristically fierce summer storm pummeled Shadow Valley as Kiah emerged from a grove of trees on the southeast edge of town. From his vantage point, it seemed that the storm had crept between the mountain peaks, then got stuck in the wide valley and proceeded to take its wrath out on the residents.

  As a Guardian, Kiah didn’t need to look for a host. He existed in both the physical and immortal realms. That was convenient in most circumstances. But tonight, he found himself wishing he’d chosen a more robust wardrobe, as the rain pounded down on him.

  He flicked up the collar on the sodden brown leather jacket he wore and zipped it up tight, then began the walk into town. Above him the storm raged. He noticed the swirling clouds and marveled to himself how much they resembled the weather phenomenon which occurred when rogues and SoulChasers pierced the Veil into mortality. Still, without the abilities of an active Guardian, he doubted his arrival here could have affected the weather in such a fashion and chalked it up to an unpredictable mountain climate.

  Going over the many conversations he and Kenah had had with Levahn in the past, it felt right to check out Shadow Valley first. If he didn’t find any sign of his brother-by-marriage, he would widen his search to neighboring New Amstead and farther. He couldn’t explain it, but he doubted it would come to that. Something told him on an instinctive level that this wa
s where he would find the troubled man. He did wish that he’d already received the abilities that came with his new office. The True Sight could really come in handy in his search. And he was sure he could’ve kept the rain off as he walked.

  The concussion of thunder from above attracted his attention again and he passed the time reliving past retrievals as he walked.

  Chapter 29

  “Dine, No Dash”

  Levahn sat in the 3-6-5 Café, eating as fast as he could without choking on his food. He didn’t remember being as ravenous during his own life. Of course, as a revolutionary, you ate when you had food and opportunity. He guessed there had been days when he couldn’t seem to eat enough, but couldn’t bring any to mind. Tonight, as the storm raged beyond the warm confines of the diner, he simply couldn’t eat enough.

  Three main course plates were stacked at the end of the table, each cleaned of even the remains of the food, as Levahn worked on a plate of steak and eggs. It wouldn’t take long for him to finish it off and as he did, he started to feel the hunger abate. But not before he also finished off the fries and thick toast slathered in butter and honey.

  A heavy-set waitress in the red and white striped diner’s uniform and a pin on her blouse that said “Natalie” stopped at his table. She looked at the order ticket on her pad and surveyed the remains of Levahn’s meal.

  “So, how’s everything going here?” she asked.

  Looking up, Levahn read her nametag. “It’s fine, Natalie. I think I’m about done.”

  Chewing her gum, Natalie nodded. “Can I interest you in some pie, tonight?”

  “Mmm... sounds great. Got rhubarb?”

  “Sorry, no. But we have a great cherry, delicious apple and a lemon meringue that’s to die for,” Natalie replied, noticing that he flinched for some reason on the last one.

  Levahn wiped his mouth with another clean paper napkin and said, “I think I’ll try the apple.”

  “Ice cream or whipped cream?”

  “Both?” Levahn requested. “And could I get that to go?”

  Natalie smiled, noted it on his ticket, then walked away.

  Levahn had finished off the last few bites when Natalie returned, pie in hand and busboy right behind. The teenager cleared all of the dishes from his table and Natalie placed a styrofoam container on the table in front of him. His meal ticket rested on top of it.

  “When you’re ready, I’ll be your cashier, too,” Natalie said and smiled at him before walking away.

  Cashier? Levahn wondered. Is that how I pay?

  Pondering his next move, he popped the top of the container open enough to get a peek and smell the desert. Then he closed it up and looked over at the diner’s customer counter. Natalie stood at its end, watching him.

  In a sudden burst, Levahn sprang from his booth and sprinted for the entrance.

  “Tony!” he heard Natalie call.

  Levahn hit the entry doors full speed, but rather than a clean getaway, he crashed into a solid wall of muscle. The wiry host body was no match for the immovable wall of Detective Mendez. The officer grunted at the impact, but that was all, even as Levahn careened off into the shrubs beside the glass doors.

  Beside Mendez, Detective Taylor scowled as he wiped pie filling and ice cream from his slacks.

  “Natalie?” he demanded, looking up at the waitress glaring at them from the open doors. “What-the-hell’s going on?”

  Natalie nodded to Levahn and replied, “He tried to dine-n-dash. Lucky you two came in when you did.”

  Detective Taylor was not happy. “You call this luck?” he growled and turned his angry eyes on Levahn. “How ‘bout you? Feeling lucky, tonight?”

  Levahn tried to scramble out of the foliage, but couldn’t get his footing. This made it easy for Detective Mendez to step over and clamp his iron fists around the smaller man’s shoulders.

  Levahn yelped in pain, but his struggling did nothing. As Mendez dragged him over to the back of their sedan, Taylor slipped into the front seat and retrieved the radio mic.

  While Taylor called in to the precinct, Mendez snapped the handcuffs on Levahn and shoved him into the backseat of their car. The door slammed behind him, shutting out the rogue’s protests.

  Chapter 30

  “Visiting Old Friends”

  Kenah looked up from the flower bed she had her hands in as a shadow crossed her workspace. Rebeccah now stood beside her, Talethah cradled contentedly in her arms.

  “Is something wrong?” Kenah asked. She brushed her hands on her pants. “Would you like me to take her?”

  “No, she’s fine,” Rebeccah answered. “I was wondering, after all that you and Kiah have done, what do you think will happen to Levahn?”

  Kenah sighed to herself and stood. The garden around them bloomed in riotous color, as it always did. Sometimes, at the desire of she and Kiah, winter came to their eternal home. But today the sun warmed them all and the scents and sounds of springtime permeated the gardens.

  “It’s hard to say,” Kenah said and crossed over to sit on a bench near the garden’s central fountain. She patted the bench beside her, beckoning to Rebeccah. “Kiah and I weren’t part of the decision making process. We were part of the cure, never the diagnosis.”

  “But you’ve seen all sorts of things, been involved in a variety of missions,” Rebeccah pointed out, joining her sister.

  Kenah smiled, but there was sadness behind it. “True,” she agreed, “but usually by the time we got there, things were pretty bad already.”

  “Can’t you at least give me an idea. I know it would help Terra and Mom and Dad, too,” Rebeccah asked, almost pleading.

  Kenah thought for a moment, the sun causing her blond hair to glow almost white. When she spoke, her voice had an edge to it. “I want to tell you that everything will be alright. That a SoulChaser will find him and return him to us without problems...”

  “Yes?”

  Kenah shattered her sister’s hopefulness by replying, “No, it probably won’t happen that way.”

  “Oh.” Rebeccah’s shoulders sagged and she hugged the baby to her.

  Kenah watched her sister coddle her daughter. She felt the war raging inside her... a war between saying something to bolster Rebecca’s spirits and that of telling the truth. Finally, she settled on a bit of both.

  “Kiah told me there may be something that he can do.”

  Rebeccah’s eyes lit up and her smile lifted her demeanor. “Really? I’d love to hear it,” she said eagerly.

  “As would I,” the recognizable voice of Joshua called from the opposite side of the fountain.

  Rebeccah startled in surprise, but somehow Kenah had already known of his presence there. She turned and shaded her eyes to look at him through the rainbow from the arcing water. “It’s not polite to eavesdrop.”

  Joshua nodded at her in agreement and rounded the fountain to join them. “Hello, Rebeccah. How are you?”

  Her smile a little reluctant now, Rebeccah replied, “I’m fine, thank you.”

  Joshua nodded to her and then turned his attention to the woman of the estate. “Word has reached me that Kiah has returned to Mortality without an explanation as to why. I thought that before things get ugly for him, I’d ask you what his intentions are.”

  Kenah stood up, but Joshua still had several inches over her. Regardless, her presence made up for what she lacked in stature. “Please,” he added.

  Kenah paused to think a moment on the ramifications of answering his question, then decided it mattered little if he knew. “Kiah has gone to find Levahn and do what he can to mitigate the situation until the SoulChaser arrives.”

  Rebeccah gasped in surprise and Joshua rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You know as well as I do that’s not how these things work,” he said.

&nbs
p; “You can’t expect someone like Kiah to sit back and watch when he could help Levahn,” Kenah pointed out. “He’s family.”

  Joshua would not be cowed. “There’s a thin line between helping and hindering. Let’s hope that your headstrong husband knows the difference.”

  Kenah stepped out of the mist into a crowd of people enjoying themselves on the most picturesque beach she’d ever seen. It even rivaled the small beach at her own estate, where she and Kiah’s sailboat was moored. She scanned through the sun bathers, children chasing each other and building sand castles and a large group playing volleyball nearby. Her gaze stopped as she spied the person she had come to see.

  Morgan Dameron sat in a beach chair, ebony hair under a wide-brimmed sun hat, soaking up the sun and reading. Around her, family and friends enjoyed themselves.

  She looked up from the ancient book she held in her lap when she heard someone call her name. Through the tumult, she spotted Kenah making her way toward her. Surprised, she forgot her book and watched the woman she had known in Mortality as Heavenly DeLang approach.

  “Hi, Kenah. This is a surprise. You usually send word to let me know you’re on your way,” Morgan said, staring up at her friend.

  “I know, I’m sorry about just dropping in.”

  Even though Kenah now looked nothing like her dusky-skinned friend from their mortal lives, Morgan couldn’t help but smile. “It’s good to see you. Where’s Kiah? Or are you taking a break from his doting on you?” she teased.

  Kenah smiled back and pulled an empty beach chair up beside Morgan’s so that they could talk more comfortably. It didn’t take long for her to relate the situation to Morgan.

  “I understand how upsetting this is for you, but I don’t know how I can help,” Morgan said, her voice full of uncertainty.

  As Kenah explained her idea, Morgan listened closely.

  When she had finished, Morgan sat back in her seat and turned her gaze out to the family and friends busy enjoying the sand and sea. Eventually, her eyes settled on her brother, Bridger. He was hunched over a mass of coral jutting out of the surf, several children clustered around and listening to his every word.