Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance) (29 page)

“Do you sing?”

“Not often.”

“Would you sing for me one day?”

The corners of Mason’s lips quirk up into an almost shy smile.  “I believe I would do about anything you ever asked of me.”

“Then take me dancing.”

When we walk into the ballroom, I see a myriad of colorful dresses and masked people twirling
about the dance floor.  One large single mirror runs the length of one side of the room making it appear even larger than it is.  A mural of angels I have to assume rivals that painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel adorns the ceiling.  I estimate there are well over a hundred people in attendance.

Mason leads me in dance after dance without any mishaps.  The more we dance the more comfortable I feel leaning into him and trusting him to
show my body where to go and how to move.  Finally, I ask for a break when I become desperate for something to drink.

Mason leads me to Angela’s side since she is the only other person in the room I know while he and his son go find us both drinks.

“You and Mason look fabulous together,” she tells me after they’ve left.

“
Only because Mason is a great dancer.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen him dance,” she reveals.

“I thought you have this ball every year?”

“We do.  But, this is the first time he’s actually come.”

“Why?”

Angela smiles at me.  “I suspect it’s because of you. 
You know he asked me to come with him to help pick out the dress you’re wearing, which by the way is knock out gorgeous on you.”

“So you picked the dress?”

“No, he did.  When he saw it at the House of Armand it was like he just knew it had been made for you.  It’s a one of a kind, you know.  No one will ever have that same dress.”

The thought ma
kes me feel special.  To know Mason went to the trouble of shopping for me warms my heart, making me feel like someone special.

“Jonathan is beyond thrilled by the change in Mason.  He’s been so worried about his dad.  You’re the first healthy relationship Mason’s
ever been in.”

“Has he
had many other relationships?” I ask, hating my sense of morbid curiosity. 

“He’s had a few lady friends here and there but no one he’s ever spent any amount of time with.  He’s not a monk you know,” Angela laughs.  “He’s a man with certain needs from time to time.  But he certainly didn’t bring any of those women to meet his son.  We only knew of those women because of Isaiah.”

“Is Isaiah here?” I ask, hoping to see my one time mentor.

“No, he couldn’t come this year.  I think he went to see Lilly and Brand.”

“I thought they might be here too.”

“
Normally they would be,” Angela says and I can tell she’s purposely holding something back from me.

“Why aren’t they here this year?”

Angela gives me a sideways glance and I’m not sure she’s going to answer until she says, “Lilly wasn’t ready to see you just yet.”

I instantly know why.

“Because of Michael?”

Angela nods.  “It was a shock when Malcolm told her.  Brand said she just needed some time to think, but he
also told me I should probably warn you that Lilly will come to see you when she’s ready.”

“I’m not sure I’ll have much to tell her,” I say.  “I only have contact with Michael when I dream, at
least for now.  He did say something about new neural connections being made in my brain and me being able to call on him even when I’m awake at some point.  I don’t know.  It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.  Anyway, I’m not sure if seeing me will help her out any.”

“Well, I thought I should warn you to expect her.”

“Thanks,” I say, not sure if the warning helps me or makes me nervous to meet with Lilly again.  I enjoyed my time with her when we first met and don’t relish the idea of having her upset with me for something that is beyond my control.  Though, from what Michael told me, my soul chose to meld with his while still in the Guf.  Why had it been stupid enough to saddle me with a tag along archangel?

By
the time Mason and Jonathan make it back with our drinks, Angela is starting to herd people towards the back terrace since it’s only a few minutes to midnight.  Apparently, she has planned a pyrotechnic display of fireworks to ring in the New Year.

I soon find my hand entwined with Mason’s as he leads me in the opposite direction the crowd is heading.

“Aren’t we going to watch the fireworks?” I ask.

Mason looks back at me as he
’s leading me out of the ballroom.

“Trust me,” he says, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

We end up going up the grand staircase to the second floor.  We walk down a long hallway and finally into one of the bedrooms.  It’s only then I begin to wonder if our earlier flirtatious texts about removing masks had been code for something else entirely.  Angela’s words about Mason being a man and having needs are still fresh in my mind.

Without paus
e, we walk into the room. Mason heads directly out a set of glass doors to the bedroom’s exterior balcony.  The balcony faces the back of the house overlooking the garden area and forest beyond.  I hear the chatter of the other guest below us.

“Thought it might be nicer if we had more privacy,” Mason says as we stand together near the stone railing.

The winter air is chilly and I involuntarily shiver.  Mason lets go of my hand and I watch as he goes back into the bedroom and grabs his ever trusty grey coat from off the bed.  When he comes back out, he holds it open for me so I can easily slip my arms inside its warmth.  Gently, he spins me around to face him and begins to button the coat for me.

“You don’t have to do that,” I whisper, even though I like the feeling of being taken care of in this small way.

“I know I don’t, Jess,” he says, glancing up at my face.  “But I want to.”

When he’s finished, I hear the crowd below us begin the count down to
midnight, starting with twenty.

“Time to take off the masks,” Mason says, reaching his hands under my hair and easily undoing the tie he placed there earlier.  The mask falls from my face and he
deftly catches it with his free hand.

“That’s better,” he says grinning down at me.

I reach up and place my hand on his mask.  He almost flinches away from me, but I don’t let him. 

“My turn,” I tell him
, reaching with my other hand behind his head to slip the black silk ribbon tie free.

I pull off the mask and set it down on top of the railing.  When I look back at Mason I say, “That’s better.”

I hear the crowd below us reach the ten second mark.

Mason cups the side of my face with his right hand and I tilt
my cheek into it enjoying the rough texture of his skin against the silky smoothness of mine.  I feel his other hand come to rest on the small of my back and gently bringing me in closer to his body.  His eyes burn with an unasked question and I wrap my arms around his neck in answer.

H
e leans his head down closer to mine and I feel his warm breath against my lips.  I close my eyes waiting breathlessly to experience my first kiss. The crowd below us burst into a joyous chorus of ‘Happy New Year!’ and then it happens.

A multitude of
terrified screams shatter the happy revelry.  Mason’s sharp intake of breath causes me to open my eyes and see him staring at something in the sky.  I turn around in his arms to follow his gaze and witness a living nightmare.

The Tear is open.

Th
rough the open white ribbon of fate, I see a large red planet loom through the Tear like an evil specter about to ravage our world.  Mason grabs my hand and phases us directly back to headquarters.

Joshua is no where to be see
n but Nick is there watching the Tear on the holographic display. 

“What’s going on?” Mason asks, letting go of my hand.

“I have no idea,” Nick says, his hands moving almost as fast as Joshua’s across the control panel.

As we watch, the Tear closes but I know it doesn’t need much time to wreck its havoc on the universe.

“Show me the Antartica satellite,” Mason demands.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Nick asks irritably.  “I’m not Joshua.  I’m doing the best I can.”  He hits a button with finality.  “There.”

On the holographic display, I see Lucifer and his friend standing on a snowy plane looking up at the sky rather pleased with themselves.

“I’ll be back.” Mason says like he’s about to phase there alone.

I grab his arm, forcing him to take me with him.

When we reach our destination, I suddenly wish Nick had
shown us a larger view of the area where Lucifer and his friend are standing.  The sun shines brightly over us causing a glare off the pristine white snow forcing me to shield my eyes with a hand.  On the outer reaches, I see a line of twenty men dressed in black leather pants with billowing black feathered capes on their bare backs.  The biting chill of the wind makes me wonder how they can stand to be here without wearing any shirts. 

“Ahh, Mason,” Lucifer says
like he’s talking to an old friend, “I thought you might show up.”  Lucifer looks at me turning serious.  “You shouldn’t be here, Jess.  This isn’t a safe place for you.”

I feel Mason take hold of my hand and squeez
e it tightly.

“I need to take you somewhere safe, Jess,” he tells me, keeping a wary eye on the men in capes.

Instantly, one of them phases to stand right in front of us.

“
It probably would have been wiser not to bring her here in the first place,” the man says to Mason but is looking directly at me like he wants to devour me whole.

“I will kill you if you harm her,” Mason threatens in a low growl.

The man looks at Mason.  “You did that a long time ago, Mason.  Or have you forgotten already?  You’re the reason we are like we are.  If you had been a better leader, perhaps we would all still be in Heaven instead of this hell hole.”

“We all made bad decision
s,” Mason tries to reason, but even I hear the guilt in his voice, like he doesn’t quite believe what he just said.

“You should have done a better job of protecting us,” the other man spit
s out.  “Then our children wouldn’t have been born and made to suffer through their half lives.”

“Our father gave you a way
to save your children,” Mason reminds.  “But you chose to ignore his chance at redemption.  Don’t put that blame on me, Baruch.  You made that decision yourself, not I.”

“I will always blame you,” Baruch says.  He turns his eyes on me.  “And maybe I’ll take that blame out on your little girlfriend here one evening when she’s least expecting it.  My son has become increasingly hungry for human flesh over the last fifteen years.  She looks like a delicate morsel
he might enjoy.”

“She,” Lucifer says
to Baruch, “you do not touch.  Ever.  Is that understood?”

Baruch’s eyes narrow on me.  “Why protect this human?”

“I don’t remember giving you permission to question me,” Lucifer snaps.

Baruch falls to his knees in front of us, screaming in pain as he holds his head
between his hands.  The intensity with which Lucifer is staring at Baruch tells me he’s causing the other man’s agony in someway.  When Lucifer lifts his eyes to meet mine, Baruch instantly phase away to points unknown.

“How were you able to reopen the Tear so soon?” Mason asks, staring at Lucifer.

“Don’t you recognize the person standing next to me?” Lucifer asks.

Mason looks
more carefully at the man standing by Lucifer’s side.  The man smiles but it’s a sinister expression not meant as an act of friendliness.

“Samyaza,” the other man says, “it’s been far too long.”

“Asmodeus,” Mason says.  “I never thought I would see you again.”

“
Yet, here I am, brother,” Asmodeus says, a smile plastered on his face.  Asmodeus’ eyes land on me and I instantly feel his lust.

“She’s off limits, Asmodeus,” Lucifer says as a warning to the other.

“Why is she so special to you?” Asmodeus asks, just as confused as Baruch at why Lucifer is offering me his personal protection.

Lucifer sighs.  “
Honestly, I’m not completely sure why,” he admits.  “But until I figure that out, hands off.”  Lucifer turns to the remaining men in black feathered capes behind him.  “And that includes all of you too.  You drink one drop of her blood and I will personally transform you and your progeny into piles of dust.  Is that understood?”

The men nod their heads in unison.

“Now leave,” Lucifer commands.  “You’ve served your purpose for now.”

The men phase away.

“Who were they?” I ask to no one in particular, I just want an answer.