Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (25 page)

Paul could hear the
acrimony in her voice.
She’s really
bitter about being left behind.
 
I hope
she stays angry with her father and doesn’t lose sight of why she’s here.

“I didn’t mean to
offend you,” Aura said apologetically.

Jeziel shrugged. “I
have no reason to be offended. I learned a long time ago, that I can’t control
anyone’s actions except my own.”

Her words say one thing, but her body language says something
totally different. She’s as stiff as a board. It must be hard for her –she
doesn’t really have anyone. After she gets settled, I’ll invite her and Elijah
to the house for dinner. I would give her a hug, but I’m not sure how she would
react.

“Maybe Elijah could
bring you to the house in a few days. Then you could meet the rest of the
family.”

“It might take me a
while to get used to being here, but I’ll consider your invitation.”

“Oh, I almost forgot
why I’m here. Would you excuse me so I can speak to my father privately?”

“Sure – I was just
about to show her the house, and then make us some lunch,” Elijah said. He
grabbed Jeziel’s arm and walked her up the cabin steps. When they were out of
sight, Aura leaned into her father.

“There have been two
more murders,” Aura said.

“When did this happen?”
Paul asked.

“They weren’t
angel-bloods; they were mortals. They died a short time ago. Father Patrick is
with the bodies now. And – um – Bren and Tracy are there too, with the little
ones. We looked around the property and didn’t see anyone lingering about, but
Father Patrick found a bracelet with some strange markings on it. When he picked
it up, his fingers were burned. He thought you should see it.”

Paul tilted his chin
and forced a smile. “I’m not happy about you leaving your little sister there,
but I know how difficult Bren can be when she doesn’t get her way. Take me to
the farm now, and I’ll see if I recognize the jewel.”

Shea grabbed her
father’s sleeve and the portal carried them to the front yard of the farmhouse.

They could hear
children’s laughter coming from the side of the house. Walking in that
direction, Aura saw a few of the little ones sitting in a circle on the lawn
shredding lettuce and carrots for some wild rabbits. The rest of the girls were
hand-feeding watermelon to a family of deer.

She shrugged her
shoulders. “Guess the Chastain’s won’t mind them using the leftover food.”

Paul shook his head and
followed her inside. As he crossed into the living room he saw Pierre and
Charlotte’s bodies.

“We didn’t want to
touch anything until you looked at them,” Aura said. She pointed to the broken
mirror and the dried blood on Pierre’s head. “They must have thrown him against
the wall before they shattered his windpipe.”

“So you think there was
more than one assailant?”

“Don’t you? I know the
Chastains were old, but if there was a single attacker, one of them could have called
for help. Look at the telephone cord. It’s still intact. I think the attackers
killed both of them at the same time.”

“Did your visions show
you anything?”

Aura’s shoulders
slumped. “No – I’m sorry.”

Paul cupped her chin in
his hand. “There is no reason to apologize. Your gifts will come to you in
time.”

He stepped carefully
over Pierre’s body, but stopped abruptly when he got to Charlotte. He bent down
and picked up her right arm. There, on her wrist, a pentagram was burned into
her skin.
Lucifer’s mark; this woman made
a deal with the fallen angel. But why would he kill her, unless she broke their
pact?

“What is it?” Aura
asked, kneeling beside him.

Paul shook his head and
dropped Charlotte’s arm. He walked over to inspect Pierre’s body.
 
After unbuttoning his shirt, he found a
similar mark over the old man’s left breast. “Where is the bracelet?” Paul
asked.

Aura led him into the
kitchen where Father Patrick was sitting in one of the chairs; his head bent as
he mouthed a silent prayer. He looked up to see the angel and his daughter. The
priest pointed to the towel on the counter. “The children put it over there, so
it would be out of their way.”

Paul reached to pick it
up, when Father Patrick screamed, “NO – the bracelet holds some kind of curse.
It will burn you.”

“I am not affected by
darkness the same as you, my mortal friend.” Paul’s expression blanched as he
picked up the relic, turning it over in his hands.
There’s no mistake; this was worn by Laelah.

“Do you recognize it?”
Aura asked.

“Yes – it belonged to
Lucifer’s first wife. Take the children home, while Father Patrick and I bury
the Chastains.
 
Then, I’ll show this to my father and the rest of the Council.

“Aren’t we going to
give them a proper funeral?” the priest asked.

“They both bare the
mark of Lucifer. He is in possession of their souls. It seems the Chastains are
not the good Christians they pretended to be.”

The priest clasped his
hands together and stared at the floor. “I welcomed them into our parish. Now
you tell me they have bargained their soul away? How can you ever forgive me?”

“You had no way of
knowing. If it’s any consolation to you, I didn’t recognize they were under
Lucifer’s control either. The question now is who killed them? If they failed
to honor their agreement, Lucifer wouldn’t hesitate to take their lives. Still,
there’s a chance their deaths came by someone else’s hands and Lucifer isn’t
aware they’re dead. I’m certain they have been watching my family closely.”

That may explain how he knew about Avriel’s reincarnation.

Aura wanted to ask how
something owned by Lucifer’s wife, ended up at the Chastain’s home, but if Paul
had wanted her to know, he would have told her.

Chapter 39

Samhael went straight
to the cottage when he left the woods. The hell-fire should have done its job
by now, and even if someone saw the smoke, no one would be able to identify the
bodies; there should be nothing left but ashes.

When he opened the
door, he found Mehri and Stella in the living room sipping on glasses of red
wine. “I trust your meeting with the priest went well?” he asked.

“The meeting was fine,
but we have another problem,” Stella said.

Samhael’s brows
furrowed as he took a seat next to his daughter. “Explain – why was there a
problem if you only met with Ryan and the runaways?”

Mehri cleared her
throat. “I’m afraid it’s my fault. I wanted to take a trip to see my parents
this morning, and well – they’re both dead now.”

A guttural laugh
escaped Samhael’s throat. “I expected you would want to see them. I wouldn’t
worry; there is no way anyone can link you to their deaths.”

“Mehri was responsible
for killing her mother. I’m afraid I sent her father to Hell,” Stella said.

 
After clearing her throat, Mehri swallowed hard.
“I lost the bracelet Lucifer gave to me before I left. My fear is that someone
will find it.”

There was a hint of
annoyance in Samhael’s tone
. This is why
mortals can’t be trusted with even the simplest of tasks.
“Why didn’t you
go back when you realized the charm was missing?”

“I wanted to, but
Stella said the bodies may have already been discovered. Do you think Lucifer
will be angry with me?”

Taking a sip from one
of the goblets, Samhael looked at her and smiled.

“You worry too much.
The Chastains were mortal. Whoever finds their bodies, and I’m assuming it will
be the police, won’t know anything about the origin of the bracelet. They’ll
think it belonged to Charlotte and since she has no family to speak of, it will
end up in storage. I’ll wait for an appropriate time and then I’ll steal it. Of
course, I’m sure Lucifer placed some type of protection on the bangle, so we’ll
have to be careful until its back on your wrist.”

Holding her hands in
her lap to keep them from trembling, Mehri stared incredulously at the fallen
angel.

“Father Patrick will
call the Guild instead of the police. You’ve told me he shares a close bond
with the angel-bloods.
 
He may recognize
the stone; it’s the same worn by the wives of the Guild and their daughters.”

“I have some business
to take care of, and then I’ll go after the bracelet this evening. It will be
in your possession before first light.”

“Are you going to tell
Lucifer?” Mehri asked.

Samhael shrugged his
shoulders.
 
“Accidents happen – as long
as you don’t lose sight of the reason you’re here, I’m certain you will be
forgiven. If the Guild does become involved, I’ll speak to Lucifer about
bringing you home. Stella has already provided me a great deal of information
about Aura and her family. Now – tell me about your meeting.”

“The girls seemed
receptive to my joining their group. I’m planning to have brunch with them on
Sunday after mass. Stella thinks I should go to the service, but I’m not sure
that’s wise.”

“They may question your
absence. If you want to become close to the girls and their priest, I would
advise you to go – if you’re still here. If not, Stella can tell them you had a
change of heart and returned to your parents.”

“I’ll do whatever you
ask,” Stella said.

“We are all in
agreement then.” He looked at Mehri who was still fidgeting on the sofa. “One
more thing -- you are not to attend your parent’s funeral, under any
circumstances. Right now, no one can associate their deaths to you, and we need
to keep it that way.”

“I’ve been invited to a
party at Aura’s house on Halloween, but I’m debating about whether to go or
not.”

“I’ll speak to Lucifer
and see if he wants to bring you back. If you are still here, you’ll go to the
party. If you’re in costume, no one will recognize you. It will give you the
perfect opportunity to meet Aura. Perhaps you should arrive late to the party.

“I was thinking the
same thing,” Stella said. “I know of a way to lure Father Ryan here.”

Samhael set the glass
on the coffee table. “Excellent -- the priest will be of no further value to us
by then. Once you have him alone, Mehri can kill him, and then you can summon
me.”

Mehri’s jaw dropped.
“You want me to kill the priest?”

“Yes – do you have a
problem with that? The reason you were sent here was two-fold. First gather
information, and then kill Aura’s best friend. She will be heartbroken over the
loss. Lucifer wants to send a message to the Guild. He may not be able to touch
their children, but he can do as he pleases with their friends.”

“Don’t worry, Father.
If she doesn’t have the courage to kill him, I’ll do it myself,” Stella said.

“Good, then its
settled.”

Samhael stood and
walked towards the door. He paused before leaving.

“I’ll be back in a few
days. I have another matter to deal with first. If Lucifer decides to bring you
home, I’ll return later this evening.”

“I hope he’ll allow me
to stay,” Mehri said. “I need to avenge my son’s death.”

Samhael chortled, “Keep
that in mind as you are befriending the priest. I don’t want you to start
feeling sorry for him. If we are to be successful, we need to make the
angel-bloods bleed. Killing Aura’s friend is the best way to accomplish that.”

He opened the door and
closed it quietly behind him.
Maybe I’ll
take a quick peek at the farm and see if anyone has discovered the bodies yet.

“Do you think Lucifer
will summon me back to Hell?” Mehri asked Stella.

“No – there is too much
to be gained by letting you stay. Now, I’m getting hungry. Why don’t we go out
for lunch? I know a great little seafood restaurant in the city.”

“That sounds great. I
was too upset about the bracelet to eat much at the meeting.”

Stella grabbed her
purse and they walked to the black sedan. “I’m really sorry if I caused any
trouble for you,” Mehri apologized.

“What trouble – like my
father said – accidents happen.”

They buckled in and
Stella sped out of the driveway.

Maybe I should get my license again; my driving can’t be any
worse than hers.
Mehri
leaned her head against the window and listened to the radio.
 
She hoped Stella couldn’t see the tension in
her neck muscles, or her brows knitting together.

Killing my mother was an accident; I’m not sure I can kill a priest. At
least Stella has already volunteered, so I won’t have Ryan’s blood on my hands
too.

Chapter 40

Willow remained in New
York with Matthew, while Rita and Jessica took Gregory’s body back to Aeden. It
may have looked unusual for a mortal to see a teenage girl carrying a grown man
over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes, but the portal landed them in front
of Aura’s house.

Eve was waiting in the
front yard. “We’ll put him in one of the guest rooms for now, and then he’ll be
taken to the mortuary.”

“Is Dad here?” Rita
asked.

“No - an elderly,
mortal couple was killed sometime this morning. You may remember the Chastains;
they attended some of Father Patrick’s sermons. Your father is at their
farmhouse with Aura, the kids, and Father Patrick.”

Eve walked to the sink
and put the kettle on to warm water for tea.

“Why would Dad
investigate the deaths of a couple of mortals?”

“Father Patrick found
an ancient bracelet made with a blue diamond next to Charlotte’s body. He
recognized the stone, and when he picked it up, his hands were burned. He
thought your father might be able to identify the piece.”

“Why would Charlotte
have something like that in her possession?” Rita asked.

“It didn’t belong to
her. They suspect whoever killed the Chastains must have lost the bracelet
during the struggle. Adam can take care of Gregory’s body until your father
returns.”

Eve opened the door and
Rita and Jessica followed her to one of the spare rooms on the first floor.
When they retreated to the kitchen, Adam was waiting.

“I heard what happened.
I suppose we’ll be planning two funerals – one for Gregory and the other for
the mortal couple,” Adam said.

Plopping into one of
the kitchen chairs, Rita grabbed an orange from the bowl and threw it to Jess
before choosing another one for
herself
. As she peeled
the fruit, she looked at her mother. “You don’t think the deaths are related,
do you?” she asked as she shoved one of the slices into her mouth.

“You know I can’t talk
about my visions. Suffice it to say- Lucifer is not innocent.”

“Why would Lucifer be
interested in the Chastains? They have to be –what –ninety something years old.
I can’t imagine either of them being a threat.”

Eve knew the Chastains
were well past one hundred years of age. She was forbidden to speak of the pact
they made with Lucifer, but hoped her family would soon make the connection.

“So – we have three
more deaths. Lucifer’s cohorts have been pretty busy. I hope Caspian and Axel
can convince the angel-bloods to move here until we figure out who is behind
all of these murders. Do you think Dad will allow them to come home for
Gregory’s funeral?”

“No – he’ll speak to
Caspian, but their mission has to be a top priority. Most of those families are
defenseless. I daresay these are not the last deaths,” Eve sighed. She brought
the kettle from the stove and turned over the teacups which were already on the
table.
 
“Is chamomile alright?”

The girls and Adam
nodded.

“I wish they would just
show themselves. I’m ready for war,” Rita said.

“Be careful what you
wish for. So many angels lost their lives in the last battle. Lucifer has no
regards for human life,” Eve noted.

“We’ll have to keep a close
watch on Ryan. If anything were to happen to him, Aura would be devastated,”
Jessica said.
 
“Do you think the Council
will give permission to exchange blood with him now?”

“No – that’s out of the
question. I’m sure they have their reasons. For now, Adam will take Gregory’s
body to the mortuary, and I’ll send Paul there when he returns.”

“Dad will go to Utopia
and make Henry aware of Gregory’s death. Jessica and I would like to go with
him,” Rita said.

“Aura and the girls
should be back soon. Why don’t you wait here?” her mother asked.

“That suits me,”
Jessica said. “I really don’t want to be around Andromeda right now. She’s
blaming herself for Gregory’s death, even though she had nothing to do with it.
It’s not like he treated her all that well. Willow told us stories about his
verbal abuse. I don’t wish harm to anyone, but Gregory might have gotten what
he deserved.”

“He was still her
husband, and I’m sure Andromeda had some feelings for him,” Eve said.

“Matt didn’t seem too
upset about his father’s death. Maybe there was more to Gregory than anyone
knew,” Jessica said as she finished the last slice of orange.

“I’m assuming Willow
will stay with Matt?”

“Yes, but I’d rather
his mother bring him here,” Rita said.

“Andromeda is stronger
than you think. She’ll be fine. I’m going to find Angie, so we can make funeral
arrangements. I’ll speak to you girls later.”
 

Adam collected
Gregory’s body and walked Eve out. As soon as they heard the door close, Rita
looked at Jessica. “I think Gregory was trying to tell me Richard poisoned him.
We’ll see if he’s in Utopia when we get there.”

“Yeah – Richard is up
to something. We’ll ask Will and Joshua if they noticed him missing this
morning. All of these deaths -- do you think it has anything to do with
Lucifer’s visit?”

“He’s planning
something. I don’t think any of this is a coincidence, but I am curious about
the mortals. I still can’t wrap my head around why anyone would kill them. Mom
knows more than she’s saying, but Dad will eventually get to the bottom of it.
Maybe we should do some more training in case the dark wings try to come
through the wards.”

“Lucifer’s powers
exceed those of his minions. I doubt they can make it past the barriers, but
I’d really like to see them try,” Jessica said.

Rita nodded and the
girls carried their teacups to the family room, where they started thumbing
through some of the fashion magazines.

Eve walked next door to
find Angie to advise her about the deaths.
This
is only the beginning. My poor girls; I hope they are prepared for what’s
coming.