Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (19 page)

Will nodded. The boys
decided to have breakfast at one of the restaurants in the village, hoping
Richard and Desiree would make another appearance together.

After seating
themselves at an empty table in the center of an outdoor café, a wave of guilt
washed over Joshua.

I should have talked Caspian out of the marriage. We both
knew it was a mistake. I swear, if Desiree is unfaithful, I will help send her
and Richard packing and to hell with what Meredith says. Why should I keep
quiet? I’m not the one betraying my brother. Not everyone is as naïve as you,
Mother.

They ordered breakfast,
and after a few minutes they were laughing and joking as they focused on the
events from the previous day. It wasn’t all bad.

They recalled the
expression on Meredith’s face, when Willow hit her so hard that she landed in
the fountain, feet in the air, with her tiara lying broken on the ground. That
was a sight Joshua would almost pay to see again.

By the time their food
arrived, the boys had forgotten all about Desiree and Richard.

Chapter 28

After a lengthy conversation about
Aura and her priest friend, Samhael left the cottage. The fading moon cast a
shadow over the small construct, and the only sound came from an owl nesting in
one of the oak trees.

Though Lucifer had
asked him to remain in Aeden, Stella insisted the fallen angel’s presence could
place Mehri at risk of being discovered by the Guild.

Agreeing with her
assessment, Samhael decided to return to Hell, and collect the hound’s blood.
Making his way past the gatekeeper, he meandered through the cold, dark
tunnels. Several shrill, ear--piercing screams were heard coming from beyond
the far wall.

Shaking his head, he
continued his leisurely pace to the lower level, when the screaming abruptly
stopped.
 
Fools -- they haven’t yet learned to control their temper. If they keep
killing the prisoners, there won’t be anyone left to torture, and they will be
forced to turn on each other.

He sighed as he watched
a mortal girl being carried from one of the rooms. Eyes, fixed in a vacant stare,
her half-naked, limp body was sodden with blood.
 
Looking intently at the two fallen angels,
Samhael chuckled to himself.
 

Patience and self-control – two traits Lucifer admires most.
Mortriel isn’t much better than these two idiots. Hopefully, he can learn to
manage his emotions; until then, he will never gain his father’s respect.
 

Turning the corner,
Samhael watched Lucifer step out of another room carrying several small, glass
vials of a thick, black substance – the hound’s blood.
 

The fallen angels were
still in plain view. Scurrying along the dark corridor, they couldn’t escape
the glower on his face.
 

Though Lucifer gave
most of the fallen angels’ free reign to do as they pleased, he had warned them
about the frequency of so many deaths. He could have cared less about the
mortals, but he was trying to teach them to control their temper.

They had grown
complacent and weak since being exiled. When the time came to declare war on
Heaven, their anger had to be in check, or they would lose the next battle.

“They will never
learn,” Lucifer barked.
 

He had changed from his
smoking jacket and pajama bottoms, and was now wearing a black pin-striped suit
with a red satin shirt and matching silk tie. Not one strand of his auburn
hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was out of place. As usual, he portrayed a
powerful presence.

Samhael had learned
from his Father; in order to command respect, you had to exemplify a certain
image. This was another attribute Mortriel and Richard were both lacking, unlike
him, who took pride in his appearance, and wore only the finest quality
designer fashions.

“Ah – you have
returned. I trust Mehri is adapting?”

“My daughter has
promised to take good care of her, though I must admit neither of them wanted
me to stay.”

Lucifer started to
chuckle. “I’m not surprised. It’s probably wise if you keep your distance.
Right now, Stella has the ear of the priest; soon, we will know all of Aura’s
secrets. When are you meeting with Richard?”

“By the time Mortriel
and I arrive in Utopia, he should be waiting with his friends.”

“I’ve been giving this
some thought. You may want to find a more remote location to perform the
transfer of blood. If any of the beasts happen to get free, the Guild will be
aware of our plans.”

“I think the woods are
safe enough; we aren’t really expecting many of them to survive. Grendel can
help us hide the dead bodies, but if there is any trouble, we can move the
angel-bloods back to their dormitory and use the carriage house in Purgatory.”

“If we are successful;
the Abyvir will be powerful weapons.”

They walked back to his
private chambers, and Lucifer ordered a light breakfast before Samhael left for
Utopia.

Richard found Clarence
and Chester in a pub in London. Though it was just after daybreak, the two were
well on their way to getting drunk. Their gruff, obnoxious voices drowned out
the old Beatles song playing on the jukebox.

Wading through the
smoky fog, Richard stared at the brothers and wondered how he could have struck
up a friendship with them. Friendship may have been too strong a word; they
were acquaintances who had taken care of a few problems for him in the past --
nothing more.

Samhael often chided
him about his image, but Richard’s appearance couldn’t hold a candle to the two
disheveled mortals seated in front of him. Judging by their greasy hair and
scruffy faces, they couldn’t have been near a bar of soap in weeks -- maybe
longer.

Wearing ripped jeans
that had seen better days, and flannel shirts with half of the buttons missing,
the foul, rancid odor emanating from their bodies hit him as soon as he entered
the tavern.

The pot-bellied,
bald-headed barkeep didn’t look much better. Wearing stained tan Khaki’s and a
faded red t-shirt, which showed off the ink on his arms, he reeked of stale
beer and cigarettes. Most of his front teeth were missing – no doubt the result
of a fight with one of his patrons.

The floor was so
littered with peanut shells; Richard couldn’t avoid crunching them under his
shoes. Pulling a stool from the nearest corner – he positioned it far enough
away to minimize the stench, but close enough to still be heard by the
brothers.

Clarence peered over
his shoulder and nudged Chester in the ribs. “We have company,” he whispered.

When the bartender
approached, a fifty dollar bill was thrown on the bar and Richard dismissed him
with a wave of his hand. After shoving the money into his pants pocket, the man
refilled the brothers’ empty glasses before walking into the back storage room
and closing the door.

Chester turned around
to see Richard using his handkerchief to brush the excess shells off his shoes.

The mortal couldn’t
help but chuckle. “Not exactly your kind of place, is it? What brings you to
our neck of the woods?”

Richard gazed around
the room to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Besides the brothers there were
only two other patrons seated at one of the rear tables, both appeared to be
passed out drunk.

Despite the acrid
smell, he leaned in closer and whispered. “I have another job for you. If all
goes well, you will both become very rich men.”
Samhael said I could promise them anything. Neither of them have any
intelligence. There is no need to disclose the risks involved.

The mention of money
got their attention. “What do you need this time?” Chester asked. “Is somebody
bothering you again?”

“Before I tell you my
plans, are you agreeable to accept my terms?”

Chester looked at his
brother, who shrugged his shoulders. Richard had always paid them well in the
past; there was no reason to doubt him now.
 
“Let’s say we are agreeable. How much money are we talking about?”

“More money than you
can spend in a lifetime,” Richard promised. “After each assignment is
completed, you will be paid one thousand gold coins.
 

Clarence, who had
allowed his brother to do the talking, slid his stool closer. “What do we have
to do?”

“By giving each of you
one drop of a very special blood, you’ll receive incredible powers no other
human has ever had.
 
There is a cabin waiting
for you in Cumbria, outside the Utopian city limits. While I firm up my plans,
you’ll remain there. When the time is right, you’ll be asked to use your powers
to help me get rid of some people who are hell-bent on destroying me.”

“When is this supposed
to happen?”

“I have a friend
waiting, so we’ll need to leave now.”

I don’t know if I can stand the stench. I would insist they
bathe first, but if the hound’s blood kills them -- it won’t matter.

After finishing their
beer, the brothers followed him outside to the alley behind the pub.

They had experienced
traveling via portal once before, so it came as no surprise when Richard
grabbed their shirttails, and within seconds, the three of them were standing
next to a log cabin in the Cumbrian woods.

Though the area wasn’t
technically part of Utopia, Richard had placed wards around the perimeter to
ensure privacy from the mortals. However, the angel-bloods weren’t affected by
the barriers, so he would still have to remain cautious.

Chapter 29

Rita and Jessica left
Utopia with Willow at five a.m., but because of the time difference, they
arrived in Aeden just before midnight. Not wanting to be questioned by their
parents for keeping her out so late, the girls slipped into Aura’s house,
settling in one of the spare bedrooms.

Still wearing their
formal gowns, it felt as if their heads had just hit the pillows, when a slow
moving light winked through the sheer curtains covering the window.

Dragging the pillow
from behind her head and smothering her face, Jessica moaned, “Damn – I thought
Aura hung the winter drapes last week?”

Willow started giggling
in the other bed. “Some of us may have had a little too much wine to drink last
night. I noticed you were sitting pretty close to Joshua.”

Jessica pulled the pillow
from her face and threw it at her little friend. “Smart-ass – for the record, I
only had one glass of wine.”

“Yeah-- but it was a
big glass.”

Rita laced her fingers,
and stretched before rolling out of bed.
 
She saw one of her shoes at the foot of the bed. Dropping to her knees,
she lifted the comforter in hunt of the other sandal. A short search revealed
the shoe was on the opposite side of the room. Crawling on all fours, she
retrieved the lost shoe and put the pair next to the closet.

“Well, we’re up now; we
might as well go down and face the day,” Rita said.

Jessica grabbed another
pillow and turned over. “You’re up; I’m still sleeping. Wake me when breakfast
is ready.”

Rita walked over pulled
the cushion away. “C’mon; we have a lot to do. I promised Willow we’d take her
to New York, so she can visit with Matthew.”

Jessica sat up in the
bed, bending first to one side, and then to the other, before planting her feet
on the floor.

“That was pretty rude
of Gregory, making Andromeda and Matt leave the reception before they could
speak to Caspian. What’s his deal, anyway?”

Willow walked over and
sat on the edge of Jessica’s bed. Her eyes widened and she scanned the room
half expecting the kids to come bouncing out of the closet.

“Matt says his father
is still jealous of Caspian’s friendship with his mother,” she whispered. “He
says sometimes, he hears Gregory yelling at Andromeda, reducing her to tears.”

“I remember the first
time Dad took us to the school in New York to meet the Godwin’s. I think he
considered letting us go there, but Mom wasn’t having any part of that. They
weren’t bad people, but she wanted us educated here in Aeden. The Godwin’s died
a couple of years ago, and afterwards, everyone said Gregory changed – for the
worse,” Rita said.

“I remember going to
their funeral. Matt really loved his grandparents, but sometimes, he told me he
wished his father had been in the car when his parents were killed,” Willow
sighed.

“Yeah-- something about
the Godwin’s deaths doesn’t make sense,” Jessica chanted. “I mean, they were
both pretty powerful angel-bloods. How could a simple car accident kill them?”

“Good question,” Rita
said. “I’m going to take a quick shower. If you check the closet, you’ll find
clean jeans and shirts from the last time we were here; there should be
underwear in the dresser. Check the room across the hall. Aura always keeps
extra clothes in case some of the colonists drop by. You should come across
something to fit Willow.

Jessica started
laughing. “We could send her to our house, and bring our own stuff over; unless
you want her to avoid being questioned about what time she got home.”

Rita blew her off with
a wave of her hand. “So we stayed out a little late. Mom knew where we were.
Besides, we are of age.”

“We are, but Willow’s
not. What kind of example are you setting for your goddaughter?”

Willow jumped up and
crossed her arms over her chest.
 
“I’m
not a little kid,” she argued. “If Bren and Tracy can go to Purgatory by
themselves; I should be able to stay in Utopia for a few extra hours.”

“She’s got a point,
Jess. Her parents know she will always be safe in our company.”

“That was before
Lucifer came to Aeden.
 
If the archangels
followed him, they must be worried about something. My father thinks he’s
planning an attack on the angel-bloods, and was probably checking out the wards
around our property.”

“He may be able to
avoid the barriers, but he can’t avoid our family. Lucifer isn’t stupid enough
to try to take us on by himself; we have too much power. No -- he’ll try
something else first.”

Willow sat back down.
With hands folded and head bent, she tried to conceal her watery eyes. “I hope
Caspian and Axel find the other angel-bloods before Mortriel kills them, and
then takes their kids to Purgatory,” Willow said. “Nobody should have to suffer
like those little girls.”

Known for being a
hard-ass, Rita usually wore an invisible suit of armor to keep her feelings
hidden. There was only a handful outside of her family, who knew how fragile
her heart really was.

She had even kept her
distance from Will the night before; convincing herself she had only stayed
because Jessica seemed interested in Joshua. With everything else going on, the
last thing Rita wanted, or needed, was to get involved with a boy, especially a
Utopian.

Lifting Willow’s chin,
she planted a tender kiss on her forehead before quieting her tone.

“Don’t worry – Bren and
Tracy are probably already thinking of a way to bring the other girls home. Why
don’t you use the shower next door, and after we’re dressed, we can go
downstairs together?”

Jessica could see how
much Rita loved her goddaughter.
 

I guess none of us our very different when it comes to
family. The new girls are safe now, but God help the idiot who tries to put
their hands on Willow. The rest of us will have to stand in line because Rita
won’t hesitate to give him, or her, a one-way ticket to Hell.

After Willow walked out
the door, and Rita headed to the bathroom, Jessica collapsed again on the bed. Leaning
on her elbow, she stared out the window, allowing her thoughts to drift back to
Joshua.

Despite being
Meredith’s son, and Richard’s brother, his loyalty to Heaven was
unquestionable. It made everything better since his best friend Will, was also
fond of Rita.
Maybe they were just being
polite.

She smiled.
No, they wouldn’t have asked us to stay, if
they weren’t interested. I hope they’ll come to the Halloween party. I would
really like to get to know them better.

She bounced up when she
heard Rita open the bathroom door. Walking past her friend, she reached in and
turned on the shower. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“I’m going to check on
Willow after I get dressed. She seems a little down in the dumps. Hopefully,
our trip to New York will cheer her up.”

“Why don’t you see if
one of the orphans wants to go with us?” Jessica asked.

Pulling up a pair of
jeans and throwing a sweater over her head, Rita grabbed a brush from the
dresser and quickly ran it through her hair.

She corrected Jessica.
“They aren’t orphans anymore.
 
Our
parents are going to adopt them; we just don’t know who’s going where yet. They
might wait until the other girls are rescued. Mom won’t do anything to separate
the sisters once they’re reunited.”

Jessica nodded and then
stepped into the shower, waiting for the cool water to erase her fatigue.
 

Gregory insisted
Andromeda and Matthew accompany him to an island resort when they left Utopia.
When they returned home, the house/school was quiet; the only lights still
burning were the sconces which lit the corridor and stairwell.

Still angry with her
husband about leaving the reception before she could speak to Caspian,
Andromeda and Matthew stayed in one of the guestrooms at the end of the hall.

When Andromeda woke the
next morning, she found her husband and son already in the dining room. Since
there was a separate cafeteria for the students, she wouldn’t have to explain
the scowl on her face.

Gregory sat at the head
of the table, mulling over a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon when she entered
the room. He looked up briefly, but then went about eating his breakfast as if
nothing had happened the day before.

Andromeda thought back
to the day she first met Gregory. A handsome man, his hair was salt and
peppered before his twenty-first birthday, giving him the appearance of a
distinguished gentleman. It was one of the features that attracted her to him.

He entertained her for
hours speaking about his adventures. She had never been further than Utopia,
except to attend the academy.
 
Gregory
was well-traveled, and she was in awe of him.

Before they were
married, Gregory promised her a lifetime of adventure.
 
Unfortunately, the one-week trip to Paris for
their honeymoon was the only journey she would ever take. Her husband insisted
she remain in New York to help his parents with the school, while he continued
to travel seeking out business opportunities.
 

It didn’t take long for
Andromeda to realize, Gregory was not the man he pretended to be. Since she was
already pregnant, leaving him was out of the question.

With her parents
already dead, there was no one to go back to in Utopia, and the Godwins treated
her like a daughter. When Matt was born, he provided her all the love she
needed.

Andromeda had already
decided to return to Utopia, and apologize for her husband’s garish behavior.
Appearing completely relaxed, she put the teacup to her mouth and took a small
sip.

“I thought I would take
Matthew to Utopia this morning. I didn’t have the opportunity to congratulate
Caspian and Desiree on their marriage, and our gift needs to be delivered.”

Gregory dropped his
fork on the plate. “I’m sure your friend is on his honeymoon now; I doubt he
cares about another silver platter. We can discuss this after breakfast. I see
no reason to bring our son into these petty arguments.”

Refusing to back down,
she squared her shoulders and gave her husband a frigid stare. “It’s not a
silver platter; it’s a tea set.
 
I had it
made at Tiffany’s months ago. As to whether or not Caspian and Desiree are
there; it doesn’t matter. I feel compelled to apologize to Henry for leaving
the reception without as much as a thank you.”

Gregory exhaled slowly.
“I need to take care of some business with Richard. I’ll deliver the gift and
your apology, but I must insist you remain here with the students. They are
falling behind in their studies.”

Andromeda forced a
laugh. “Since when do you care about the students?”

“Following in my
parent’s footsteps, I have always maintained a higher standard of education for
our pupils.” He threw his napkin on the plate and pushed it away.

At the mention of his
parents, Andromeda thought she saw her husband wince. It lasted only a second,
and then his vacant expression returned.

She gazed at the
portrait of the happy couple hanging over the fireplace. It was hard to imagine
Gregory loved anyone, but she supposed he did care about his mother and father.

As much as he tried to
please them, they were often disappointed by his callous treatment of
Andromeda. When they died, she thought there was a chance his attitude would
get better; she was mistaken. He became even more condescending, knowing there
was no one to protect her.

Since moving to New
York, she rarely saw Caspian anymore. It did no good to complain; this was her
plight in life. Aside from her son and a handful of pupils, Andromeda was quite
alone.
 

Her shoulder slumped
forward; once again she would become submissive and give up control in order to
keep peace. “Very well, I’ll call Henry and advise him you’ll be there this
afternoon.”

“That won’t be
necessary,” Gregory said as he stood and pushed the chair under the table.
“It’s almost noon there; I’ll leave now so I can be back for dinner.”

Matt shirked away when
his father tried to pat his head. Gregory laughed off his feeble attempt at
playing mad.

After giving Andromeda
a quick peck on the cheek, a rare display of affection he knew would further
agitate his son, Gregory hurried out of the room.

Andromeda released the
breath she was holding when she heard the front door open and close.

“Why does he pretend to
care about us?” Matthew asked. “I wish he would never come back. All he ever
does is make you cry.”

For just a second,
Andromeda allowed her mind to wander. Staring at Gregory’s vacated chair, she
almost wished it would remain empty.

The sound of heels
clicking across the wooden floor, snapped her out of her daze. The cook had
retreated from the safety of her kitchen to collect the dirty dishes. “Are you,
and Master Matthew finished, Madame?”