Atonement (Heaven Sent Book 1)

by JL Rothstein

  Deb’s mind couldn’t process the information. It can’t be true, she pleaded, please God no, Deb prayed.

  The somber silence in the room was broken when they heard a crash in the kitchen.

  “Deb! Deb, come quick!” a male voice called out.

  Deb immediately recognized the voice as Marcus and teleported into the kitchen first. Her siblings were fast on her heels.

  Marcus stood in the open area just beyond the table. He was soaking wet, his hair and clothing stuck to his body. The water created large puddles on the floor. He held Kelly’s limp body in his arms, her layers of T-shirts torn, and stained, all of it muted from being drenched in some sort of water. Deb saw she was missing a boot, the other one severely damaged exposed her blueish toes.

  “I submerged her body in the dark side’s purity pool, but we only have minutes!” Marcus said breathlessly as if he had just run a great distance.

  “What are you talking about?” Gen asked. “The fountain?”

  “Yes, but it won’t work for long, she has a pulse but it’s weak and fading,” he told them.

  Dan cleared the kitchen table by violently shoving everything off the surface and onto the floor. Marcus placed Kelly’s body on the table and stepped back. Deb grabbed Gen’s hand and propelled her sister into action.

  Standing on either side of Kelly, Gen and Deb held their hands out, palms facing down, and attempted to heal Kelly.

  “This can’t be? She died in my arms. How can this be?” Gen sobbed as her hands trembled in the air over Kelly’s bruised and battered body. “I felt her go.”

  Deb reached across and grabbed hold of Gen’s hands to ease her shaking. She then yelled to Frankie. “Help her, she’s unsteady!”

  Frankie grasped Gen’s shoulder to help stabilize her, then he used his power to enhance their healing.

  The room rustled with quiet movement as Deb saw her brothers using some of the Holy water and oils on Kelly’s open wounds. Dan removed what was left of her boot and Greg grabbed several blankets from the living room and wrapped them around Kelly. Tom’s soft voice uttered prayers in Latin.

  Somewhere in the flurry of movement Marcus quietly left the house. But Deb knew enough, he had somehow saved both her sisters. In another realm no less, he sent them back to her, but how? She struggled to make sense of everything but, she was too tired to concentrate on more than one thing and it was her family that needed her now.

  After twenty minutes or so, Deb and Gen had to stop, their powers were draining. Deb felt Kelly’s neck for a pulse, though her sister was alive, she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Gen and Deb would need to take a short break before starting again and Gen needed some minor therapy of her own.

  Once Deb healed the abrasions on Gen’s face, she sent her upstairs to shower and put on new clothes. She told Gen to bring a change of clothes down for Kelly when she was done. When Gen returned, Deb sent her brothers out of the room for privacy. Without talking Deb and Gen removed Kelly’s wet clothing and saw the severity of the wound in her stomach. Though it was closed over and no longer bleeding, Deb could tell they needed to focus more energy there before they would be able to safely move their sister’s body. When they were done using their powers, Kelly would need to sleep to complete the healing process, at this point they all would.

  “I don’t know why he would take her back to the dark side?” Gen commented. “That’s where Kelly encountered the female green-eyed demon. Why would he put her in the fountain?” Gen tossed the soaked garments to the floor.

  “I don’t know, maybe it’s some sort of healing pool,” Deb said.

  “On the dark side though.” Gen paused “I’m worried what that did to her. She was bleeding, a lot. I felt her last breath leave her body. I know she died in my arms, I felt it all over, inside and out.”

  “I can’t imagine what you’ve both been through. But, Kelly’s here and she’s alive. We’ll figure out the rest later. Right now, we need to concentrate on her stomach.”

  On and off for the next several hours they worked on healing different parts of Kelly’s body. Finally, it appeared they turned a corner. The surface wounds were healed, including a pretty big gash on the back of her head and Deb noticed Kelly’s color seemed to rebound as well.

  “I think that’s it,” Deb said. “We should get her to bed. She’s going to be out for quite a while.”

  “I can’t believe how close we came to losing her,” Gen said tearfully.

  “But we didn’t,” Deb reassured. “She’s here and she’s going to be fine, the two of us will make sure of it.”

  Deb and Gen got Kelly settled comfortably in bed.

  “Thank you,” Gen said to Deb. “You were amazing today, and sending Marcus, that was brilliant. You have been such a rock for me, for both of us.”

  “You’re welcome, that’s what family does. Now, get some sleep, you need it and so do I.”

  Deb climbed into bed and waited for her mind to settle, the image of Dmitri’s face as he lovingly looked in her eyes while caressing her face flashed before her.

  What is my mind trying to explain? Deb thought as she felt herself give into the exhaustion of the last several days. Why am I picturing Dmitri and not Marcus, shouldn’t it be Marcus? Darkness closed in and chased away the confusing thoughts as sleep finally enveloped her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Gen left Kelly at the kitchen table, books sprawled out before her, like an endless sea of research her sister was anchoring herself to. It had been weeks since they returned from the park between night and day, Gen hadn’t been able to let Kelly out of her sight since. Not that it had been difficult, Kelly had barely left the house since she woke from the deep coma-like state that healed her. Kelly had slept for days like only those on Death’s doorstep can, heavy with fever and according to Kelly, dreamless.

  She’s still not using the office, Gen thought. She made Tom return all the books she had previously taken from the Vatican library, why?

  Kelly was in a cycle where she appeared to be wrapping herself up in work. She was chasing every lead they brought her, doing additional research instead of facing the outside world. Her memory of their time in the park was jumbled, but the nightmares her sister was having indicated that the trauma lingered.

  Gen’s tea had grown cold, but she was too focused on the television to get up and re-heat it. This was her third time through the news cycle this morning, each time she spotted new demonic interference.

  Why did I wake on the light side and Kelly the dark? Gen asked herself this question countless times, she assumed Kelly must have asked it a thousand times too. There was no apparent answer.

  Deb entered through the front door and Kelly yelled a greeting to their sister from the kitchen. The news was wrapping up, so Gen grabbed her cold mug and made her way down the hall toward the kitchen.

  As she walked into the room, Gen heard Kelly reassuring Deb. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean up my mess before dinner.”

  “I’m not worried about you cleaning up after yourself.”

  Everyone was trying to hunt down leads on Schlosser, but they had nothing. Since Marcus saved them from the park no one had seen, nor heard, anything about him or the eight-foot green-eyed demons.

  “Tea?” Deb asked Gen.

  “Actually, I have some already, I just need to re-heat it. Do you have any cookies to go with it?”

  “Staying home all day with Kelly must be wearing off on you,” Deb joked.

  “That’s a good thing,” Kelly was quick to reply.

  “I don’t know if my waistline agrees with you,” Gen groaned.

  Deb and Gen went about their business as Kelly continued to hammer away on the keys of her laptop.

  “What are you working on?” Deb’s question paused Kelly’s mad typing.

  “A case file from the church, a new one,” Kelly answered.

  “Anything interesting?” Gen asked.

  “Not particularly,” Kelly paused, “except it
’s the third new one this week.”

  “There is an uptick in demonic activity,” Deb commented. “I feel like my mark is going to short-out, the signals are coming so frequently.”

  “There is a lot going on, and it’s all over,” Gen added. “I’ve just finished watching the news for the third time today and I’ve seen new demonic activity in each broadcast, both here and abroad. That’s extremely unusual.”

  Kelly flinched, then reached up and rubbed her eyes.

  She just saw something, Gen thought. Probably another flashback.

  “You okay?” Deb asked Kelly. “Need a break?”

  “Probably,” Kelly replied.

  “You want to go grab something to eat?” Gen asked.

  “Or maybe some shopping?” Deb enthusiastically suggested.

  “No, thanks,” Kelly answered.

  There was a stillness in the air that hung between them, something wasn’t right, and Gen knew Deb could feel it also.

  “I don’t know what to say, you haven’t turned down a meal in decades and I don’t think you’ve ever turned down shopping,” Gen replied.

  “I know.” Kelly gave Gen a forced smile.

  “Is there a reason you haven’t left the house much?” Deb asked. “Something we can help you work through?”

  “I don’t remember a lot, just images that flash but don’t connect or make sense,” Kelly told them.

  “What about the office?” Gen asked.

  “I wanted to bring the books back,” Kelly told her. “Tom was right. I should have been more careful. I just couldn’t seem to find the energy to do it myself.”

  “Sending back the books with Tom is fine, but why are you avoiding your very clean and organized office now?” Gen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Kelly answered. “I’m sure whatever it is will reveal itself eventually.”

  “Okay …” Gen was shaking her head, she wanted more of an explanation.

  She’s holding on tight to whatever’s going on inside, Gen thought.

  Deb got up from the table. “Sorry, my mark is going off again, I need to head out. Frankie is going to meet me. I’ll let you know what it is when I get back.”

  Gen watched Deb’s aura surround her in a soft glow and take her out of the kitchen.

  “I’m actually going to shower and change,” Kelly told Gen. “Maybe I should get out of the house. An apple cinnamon muffin sounds good.”

  “It does sound good,” Gen answered. “I’ll go with you.”

  In the bathroom Kelly looked at her reflection in the mirror, something was missing. Her coloring was normal, her face looked flawless, not even a pimple tarnished her skin. “Benefits of eating less junk food I guess,” Kelly mumbled to herself before turning on the hot shower.

  As the water cascaded down, she heard flapping and knew it was a memory echo from that night in the park.

  Damn Gargoyle is going to drive me insane, Kelly grumpily thought.

  She couldn’t remember exactly what the creature looked like, but the sound of its thick wings as it flew resonated clearly. The splashing of the water coming up and over the side of the pool was something that plagued her every time she took a shower.

  She barely finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair when she had to shut the water off and get out. At least she was able to finish this time. The first week her shaking hands shut the water off in mid-wash, she ended up wiping soapy residue off her body with a towel. She was still unable to handle the sound of running water for more than a few minutes.

  What the heck is wrong with me? Kelly frustratingly asked herself.

  Dried off, she jumped on the scale, not something she typically did but it confirmed her suspicion. She had lost nearly six pounds, though she was hungry, there was something else underneath it. She felt like there was a lump in her stomach, not a physical presence but a gnawing churning thing that was just sitting there taking up space. She never felt anything like it before.

  Maybe it’s stress. I need to get rid of it and get back to normal.

  Kelly came through the kitchen door, her hair still damp from her quick shower. Dan had stopped by and was standing by the counter talking with Gen.

  “Hi Dan,” Kelly said.

  “Hey, how you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. Gen and I are venturing off to the bakery to get apple cinnamon muffins.”

  “Nice,” Dan said with noticeable relief.

  “Dan just dropped off a few more new case files from the church,” Gen told her.

  Dan pointed over at the table already cluttered with files. “Whenever you get a chance, let me know what you think.”

  “No worries, I’ll get to them later,” Kelly answered.

  Dan left the house while Gen and Kelly walked out the front door in human form. The bakery was about a fifteen-minute walk from their house. The late May weather was warming the air, but the shaded parts of the sidewalk were noticeably cooler. As they approached the bakery there were a few empty tables outside in the sun. Gen made her way inside while Kelly snagged a corner spot looking out over the busy intersection. The outdoor ATM at the bank across the street had a short line of customers, but the diner next door was bustling, even the library’s small parking lot appeared nearly full.

  Everyone out enjoying the nice weather, Kelly mused.

  A few minutes later Gen arrived juggling two large cups of tea with a white paper bag bulging with goodies.

  “What in the world did you get?” Kelly asked.

  “Donut holes were on sale,” Gen answered through a wide smile, “Plus I got some muffins. Whatever we don’t eat we’ll just take home.”

  “Yeah, someone will eat them,” Kelly answered.

  “Someone?” Gen chuckled.

  “Yes, that’s all I’m going to say.” Kelly grabbed the bag and pillaged through it pulling out baked goods and tossing small dough bites into her mouth.

  “I’m glad you wanted to go out after all,” Gen told her. “It’s nicer out in the sun than I realized.”

  “Well, I had to leave the house eventually,” Kelly retorted.

  “It’s not like there’s a manual for how to recover from an event like ours.”

  “True,” Kelly said pausing to lift the lid from her tea sending wafts of steam into the air.

  “We all keep asking how you’re doing,” Gen said. “You still haven’t really answered.”

  “I know, it’s just kind of hard to explain,” Kelly told her. “Some images are returning, but only in fragments. Nothing that makes any real sense. It’s like seeing pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle but not being able to sort through them or fit them together.”

  “I remember most of that night. I mostly recall how I stopped walking and just stared over at the dark half, almost frozen in place.”

  “I remember waking up in the dark half, I was hurt, my stomach was bleeding and I couldn’t see anything…” Kelly seemed to drift off in mid thought.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t walk over the line sooner.” Gen’s voice revealed the guilt Kelly knew she must have felt. “I should have, I don’t know why I didn’t.”

  “Gen, it’s not your fault,” Kelly said emphatically. “I know you blame yourself.”

  “How can I not, it was my idea to go in the first place,” Gen replied.

  “I don’t blame you and I wanted to go with you, remember?” Kelly said.

  “I know but still, I nearly lost you.” Gen choked up.

  “This is what we do Gen, this is who we are. I always rush in, you’re more strategic. Both of those things are okay, we’re okay.”

  I am, aren’t I? Kelly questioned herself silently.

  Kelly reached across the small table and patted Gen’s hand. “I love you, truly I do, but you, babysitting me, isn’t going to change what happened or how you feel about it, only you can do that.”

  Gen laughed a little. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I’m sure I’m driving you crazy, but holding onto you that night, feelin
g your body give out. I can’t get that feeling out of my head.”

  “I know, there’s plenty of things I can’t get out of my head either, but we learn and move on, right?” Kelly asked.

  “Yeah, we do,” Gen agreed.

  Kelly demolished the bag of baked goods while they sat and talked about everything from case files to the weather. Kelly was talkative about all the leads she was chasing down but didn’t want to talk more about that night in the park.

  Her tea nearly empty Kelly was just starting to feel like a small weight had been lifted from them, a bit of normalcy returning, when the energy around them shifted. There was an uptick in noise as people started honking at one another in the intersection.

  “You feel that?” Kelly asked.

  “Yes, but I have no sense of what direction it’s coming from.”

  “It’s moving, like a wave of something just passing through.”

  “We should get moving ourselves,” Gen told Kelly.

  “Agreed,” Kelly stood up and started clearing the wreckage from the table.

  Raised voices rose above the traffic, Kelly heard the stampeding sound of feet hitting pavement as both she and Gen stopped and stared across the street toward the library. Before Kelly could speak, she saw a stream of people running from the two-story brick building. Women were screaming for help as several others were pulling out cell phones and ducking behind parked cars.

  “It doesn’t feel demonic, either way we can’t go in there in this state,” Kelly told Gen without turning around.

  “There’s another entrance on the far side. We can duck behind the evergreen bushes on our way around the building and switch out before heading in,” Gen told her.

  They made their way across the street, Kelly felt tiny surges of power coursing through her. Whatever was happening inside must have been frightening because several people were praying. The result of those pleas to God sent her and her sister sparks of energy, those would grow stronger the closer they got to the source. Kelly and Gen scurried over the back lawn toward the side entrance, just off a small courtyard where they disappeared from human view and entered the library.