by S. J. West
“Who are you?” She asks him.
“I'm Malcolm,” I hear him say, sounding slightly amused that he's being questioned by a dog, even if it is a sentient robot.
Vala hops up on all four paws and assumes a fighting stance as she growls, “Friend or foe?”
Malcolm chuckles and the sound of his mirth lightens my heart.
“Hopefully, a friend,” he replies.
“Definitely a friend,” I tell Vala, chancing a glance behind me to Malcolm.
The smile on Malcolm's face vanishes when he notices me looking at him. I get the feeling he's not sure if I'm exactly friend worthy material. There is a distrust in his eyes as he looks at me that I can't quite understand. Even though he's a complete stranger, I feel like I can trust him more than anyone else who has ever been in my life, besides my papa. Yet, it's apparent he doesn't feel the same way about me.
Vala seems satisfied with our answers and lays back down, crossing her front paws before her and resting her head on top of them.
“I need to sleep for a little while, Anna,” Vala says, sounding tired. “I need to heal a bit more.”
Before I know it, Vala has fallen to sleep.
I turn in my chair and look back up at Malcolm.
“I'm sorry. I didn't finish answering your question about what happened earlier. We can go into the sitting room, and I can tell you everything that I know.”
Malcolm nods like this idea sound agreeable to him. He waits for me to stand and walk towards the outer room before following behind me.
As I walk, I wonder why, if Malcolm is truly my father's best friend, he doesn't completely trust me. And how can someone barely in his thirties be someone my father has known 'for a very long time'?
Things simply weren't adding up, but I hoped Malcolm would help me unravel what was really going on.
CHAPTER seven
I sit down on the couch and expect Malcolm to sit beside me, but he chooses to stand in the exact same spot Levi did earlier instead. His eyes travel to the ruined portrait of my mother which is hanging by burnt threads from its damaged frame over the fireplace. A cast of sadness covers his face, making me wonder just how well he knew my parents.
Malcolm drags his eyes away from my mother's picture and looks at me.
“Anna, I need you to tell me exactly what happened here tonight,” he says, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest, standing with his legs slightly apart.
I have to take in a deep breath just to steady the rapid beating of my heart at the sight of him. I look down at my hands clasped in my lap in order to give myself some extra time to compose my thoughts before answering.
“I was sitting right here with Vala when the emperor teleported into the room,” I tell him, looking back up at him. “But, I've known since I was arrested that he isn't my Auggie anymore. During the conversation, I forced him to tell me who he really is and learned that he's actually an Archangel named Levi living inside Auggie's body,” I say, feeling the heartache over Auggie's loss threatening to overwhelm me. I will myself to keep my sorrow buried for now. I can't break down because I know if I do I might never recover. I need to tell Malcolm everything first. Maybe then we can figure out what needs to be done next and how to get my father back from his exile before he reaches the point of no return. I've already lost my closest and dearest friend. I can't live with the loss of my papa too.
“I was already aware that Levi had taken control of the emperor's body,” Malcolm informs me.
“How?” I ask in shock.
“The night you were arrested at the ball Jered came to me and delivered the news.”
“Is there any way to get Auggie back?” I ask in desperation, but know in my heart that Levi was telling me the truth when he said Auggie's soul had moved on. I know I'm grasping at a tenuous straw, but it's the only hope I have of saving my friend.
Malcolm stares at me, looking confused by my question.
“Why?” He asks.
“Why what?” I counter.
“Why would you make an effort to do such a thing?”
“Because I love him,” I say without hesitation. “Auggie's my best friend. If there's any chance I can save him, I have to take it. I'll do whatever it takes to get him back.”
Malcolm remains silent for a while before finally saying, “You can't save your friend. He's dead, Anna. His soul has moved on, and it can't be retrieved.”
The resolute way Malcolm says these words to me crumbles the little bit of hope I had left in my heart of saving a person who had been in my life for as long as I can remember. The realization that Auggie is truly gone hasn't quite sunk in, and I don't permit it to fully. I'll allow the dam holding back my sorrow to collapse later. Right now, I need to stay focused and figure out if there is any way to save the other man in my life.
“What about my father?” I ask, straining to gain a small bit of hope that at least one person I love can be saved. “Is there anything you can do to bring him back?”
Even before Malcolm verbally gives me an answer, I already suspect it will be 'no'. The way his brow furrows at the question and the troubled look which enters his eyes tells me everything.
“I can't find Andre,” Malcolm says, like he's admitting to a failure.
“What do you mean you can't find him?” I ask. “He's on a ship to one of the outer worlds.”
Malcolm's brow furrows even deeper as he says, “No, he's not.”
I sit there for a moment, letting this new information sink in.
“Then where is he?” I demand. “Where is my papa?”
Malcolm shakes his head slowly and keeps his eyes completely focused on me.
“I don't know, Anna,” he admits. “Like I said, I can't find him.”
“That doesn't make any sense,” I say, trying to find reason in something that has none. “He can't have just vanished into thin air. There has to be a trail we can follow to figure out where he is.”
“Either Levi has him hidden very well or...” Malcolm lets the words hang in the air with their ominous portent.
“No,” I say resolutely, refusing the idea Malcolm is trying to plant. “My father isn't dead. I would know it if he were.”
“How exactly would you know something like that?” Malcolm asks, not even trying to hide the fact that he doubts my words.
“I just would,” I say defensively. “I would know if he was dead. I would feel it in my heart and I don't. So, get that look off your face and help me figure out a way to find my father!”
My words seem to penetrate through Malcolm's stubbornness because the creases across his forehead disappear, and he looks at me in surprise. I get the feeling he isn’t used to being yelled at.
“For arguments sake, let's assume that he is still alive,” Malcolm says, still sounding doubtful that I'm right. “Levi has him hidden extremely well. It'll take some time and cunning to find out where he's being held. I have people searching for him but even they don't have access to some areas. So, in the meantime, let's get back to what happened here tonight. What exactly did Levi say to you?”
“He told me he was an archangel and one of the seven princes of Hell,” I say. “Then he made some disparaging remarks about my mother's virtue and told me I came from a long line of smart mouthed thorns in his side.”
Malcolm chuckles. “Truer words have never been spoken.”
“He also said...” I can't quite bring myself to say the words because then they would become all too real. But, I have to have it confirmed. I need to know the absolute truth. “He also said that papa isn't my real father.”
I watch for Malcolm's reaction to this statement but his expression remains the same, giving nothing away. Instead, he asks me a question.
“Did you believe him?”
“I don't care what he said,” I say adamantly. “Andre Greco is my father. Even if he isn't my biological one, he is my papa in every other way that matters.”
“Then I wouldn't worry about what Levi
said to you,” Malcolm replies, seeming to want to dismiss the subject of my true parentage for now. “What else happened?”
“Someone named Amon came and we fought,” I tell him. “I stabbed him with the sword my father left me, and then I phased behind him, grabbed him by the neck and...”
I pause for a moment to collect my thoughts, not completely sure how to explain what happened next.
“And you turned him into black ash,” Malcolm says quietly, finishing my sentence for me.
I nod slowly. “Yes,” I say, “but how did you know that?”
Malcolm doesn't answer right away, and I see the confused look return to his eyes.
“I didn't think it would be you,” he finally says. “Andre never had a doubt you were the one. He seemed to know the moment he first held you in his arms. That's why he smuggled the sword up here. He knew you would need it one day to protect yourself from Amon.”
“You talk like the two of you already knew what would happen here tonight,” I say. “How is that possible? How did I turn Amon into ash?”
“I guess I should have known too,” Malcolm says, his eyes becoming unfocused, almost like he's talking to himself and completely dismissing me from his mind. “I should have known the moment you were conceived that only a child from Lilly's line and his could produce someone who can actually kill an archangel. I just let my hatred cloud my judgment.” Malcolm's eyes refocus on me. “Andre loved you from the moment you were born and because of that love he was able to see who you truly are. I should have listened to him, but I don't think I was meant to be a part of your life until now.”
“Why?” I ask, needing to know why his thoughts were leading him to that conclusion.
Malcolm stares at me, and I can tell by the tense way his jaw is set that I won't get an answer.
“There are things you need to know about yourself,” he says instead. “Things about the history of your family, your lineage. I know Andre purposely withheld the information from you. I think he secretly hoped that you weren't the one we've been waiting for. He loved you so much he even gave up his immortality because just the thought of living longer than you caused him too much pain.”
“Immortality?” I ask. “But that was outlawed years ago when it was decided no generation should outlive the next.”
“I'm not talking about immortality gained through science,” Malcolm says patiently. “I'm talking about the immortality of angels.”
I let what Malcolm tells me sink in for a moment, but then it all makes sense.
“That's why you look so young yet you've been friends with my papa for a long time. Did you know my mother too?”
“I've known your family since it began,” Malcolm tells me. “Andre, Jered, I and a few others have been waiting almost a thousand years for you to be born, Anna. Now that we know for certain that you are the one we've been waiting for, we can finish the task we were asked to undertake and finally be released from a promise made a long time ago.”
“A task? What task?”
“Have you ever read the Book of Revelation in the Bible?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“In it, seven seals are opened and they bring about the end of the world. You were born to stop the seals from ever being opened here in this reality.”
“This reality?” I ask, becoming more confused by the second. “You say that like there's more than one.”
“There are a multitude of different realities,” Malcolm says. “The one we live in is what we call the Origin. All of the other realities stem off of this one. Any major or cataclysmic event that takes place here will trickle down to all of the other realities. If the seals are opened here in the Origin, they will destroy not only this reality but all realities.”
“How am I supposed to stop the seals from being opened?” I ask, still confused by how I, of all people, can prevent such a thing from happening.
“Each of the seven princes of Hell has one of the seals,” Malcolm says. “They stole them after the war in Heaven. You were made to retrieve those seals from them.”
“How?” I ask, still not understanding.
Malcolm takes two steps closer to me and holds out his hand.
I don't hesitate to place my hand into his. I immediately feel the same peace and warmth from his touch that I felt earlier when he was caressing my back. I stand up from the couch and follow his lead back into my bedroom. If any other man would have done such a thing, I probably would have worried that his intentions weren't noble, but with Malcolm, I feel no need to worry and secretly hope that his intentions aren't noble ones. I suppose I should feel ashamed of myself for hoping for such a thing but I don't. It just seems natural to want to be with Malcolm, like needing air to breathe to stay alive.
Unfortunately, Malcolm leads me to the reflective wall in my room and not my bed. He turns me around so that my back is facing it. He lets go of my hand, and I immediately feel a loss from the absence of his touch.
“I need to undo your dress in the back to show you something,” he warns, walking behind me and gently grasping the top of my dress there to pull the seam apart and bare my back.
He separates the seam until it reaches the small of my back while I hold up the front with my hands so the dress doesn't fall off. I look over my shoulder and see that he's staring at something on that portion of my body with a troubled frown on his face.
“What's there?” I ask, concerned by his expression and remembering the pain I felt earlier when he caressed that same exact spot.
Malcolm looks up at me before stepping to my right side and allowing me to see the reflection of my back in the mirror.
At the very base of my spine, I see a circular raised mark. Almost like a brand burnt into my skin. The symbol is strange, like nothing I've ever seen before. Yet, I immediately know what it says.
“Conflict,” I say, reading the word aloud.
“It's one of the seven seals,” Malcolm tells me. “It was the one Amon had.”
I stare at the seal, burnt into my flesh. “How did I get it? Was it transferred to me when I killed him?”
“That's what I'm assuming,” Malcolm says. “We were told that you would be able to recover the seals from the princes, but we didn't know how exactly until now. After you've retrieved them all, you can take them back to where they belong.”
“Which is where exactly?”
“Heaven.”
I stop looking at my reflection and turn my full attention back to Malcolm. “Don't you have to be dead to go to Heaven?”
“Not the women from your family line. You inherited the ability to phase into Heaven whenever you want.”
“Why would anyone want to do that?” I ask.
“Most don't,” Malcolm admits. “For the living, Heaven isn't a place where they feel comfortable because they're not meant to be there. But, I think once you recover the rest of the seals from the other princes, you'll need to go there and return them to God.”
I stare at Malcolm because I can't seem to make myself stop staring at him. I feel an uncontrollable urge to just throw myself into his arms and kiss him until he makes me stop, but I restrain myself because that isn't the proper way a lady should behave around a gentleman, especially one she's just met. Yet, my heart feels tethered to Malcolm in a way I don't absolutely understand. The gaping hole that has always been there is filled now, and I finally feel complete.
It's only the wariness in Malcolm's eyes as he looks back at me that tarnishes the moment. For some reason, he doesn't seem to trust me, and I can't fathom the reason why. In my fairytale dreams about meeting my soul mate, I always envisioned him wanting me as much as I want him. Yet, I get the feeling Malcolm may not feel the same way I do. Could I have just been deluding myself into thinking true love was instantaneous for both parties? Would Malcolm ever be able to return my feelings, or was I doomed to a one sided attraction that would never be requited?
Malcolm clears his throat and walks behind me again to close the sea
m of my dress for me.
I feel the tips of his fingers glide across my back as he brings the two pieces of fabric together. I expect him to walk back in front of me, but he doesn't. He stays behind me and remains silent, unmoving. I give him a few seconds more to walk away. When he remains in the same position, I slowly turn around to look at him.
Again, he has a puzzled expression on his face. When our eyes meet, I can see that he wants to say something to me. His lips part slightly like he's about to speak, but then he presses them back together firmly and his jaw muscles tense.
“What should we do next?” I whisper to him, still feeling perplexed by the events of the evening and completely clueless what our next move should be.
“You need to go through with your marriage to the emperor,” Malcolm says, catching me off guard.
“Have you lost your mind?” I demand. “I can't marry that thing!”
“If you want to have a chance at finding Andre, you need to do what I say, Anna. As empress, you'll have more power and privileges. If you truly want to save Andre, that's what you're going to have to do.”
“I'll do it for my father,” I say. “But that thing will never be my husband.”
“It's a marriage of convenience,” Malcolm agrees. “Not one of the heart, and that's the only one that counts in God's eyes.”
“Will you be staying here?” I ask, hoping Malcolm will remain close to my side. “Will you stay in Cirrus to help me?”
“I need to return to my home and make a few arrangements first,” Malcolm says. “But, I promise to be back in time for the party tomorrow night at the palace.”
Until that moment, I had completely forgotten about the ball at the palace. It's tradition in Cirrus for the bride and groom to host a gathering of friends and family the night before their nuptials. It's definitely not something I’m looking forward to.
“Anna, you can count on me to help you fulfill your destiny,” Malcolm tells me, even though there is a great deal of hesitation in his voice. “But you need to know that I'm only doing it because of a vow I made to someone very dear to me. I promised her that I would see this mission through to the end, and I don't intend to break my pledge to her.”
