Julia shook herself from those dark thoughts and finished the creamy deliciousness of her cold treat. Tossing the cup in the trash receptacle on the corner of the sidewalk, she got back in her truck. She put the truck in reverse and pulled out, and headed east along Highway 24, wishing she could think of someplace else to go besides home. Then an idea came to her, Meagan’s. She hadn’t seen the Parkers at the ribbon cutting ceremony that morning. It had been a while since she had seen her friend anyway – at least a couple of weeks. A couple weeks where she had been swamped with all the little details needing to be completed before the opening ceremony.
Pulling into the Parker’s driveway, Julia saw that the garage door was open. Meagan’s’ White Honda Odyssey was parked inside to the left of the triple car garage, but her husband’s patrol cruiser was gone. Julia pulled in behind the Odyssey just outside the garage.
Julie headed for the door located at the back of the garage. The door led into a large mudroom. Hooks along the wall held five coats with scarves and boots lined up neatly. One hook was bare. She could hear children playing just beyond the open door that led into the family room at the back of the home. She rapped her knuckles on the door as she twisted the knob and pushed open the door.
“Hey guys,” Julia called out with a smile as she walked into the family room.
“Julia!” chorused several young voices. Michael and Gabriel were sitting on the floor playing with building blocks, Raphael was snuggled in a chair with a book, and Roy Jr. or RJ, as he preferred to be called, was at the kitchen table across the room eating a pile of chips and salsa and looking at an electronic tablet.
“Where’s your mom?’ she asked as Michael got up and sprang into her arms. Gabriel toddled over and wrapped his arms around her legs.
“I’m here,” Julia heard Meagan say from the couch that separated the family room from the wide hallway that led to the mudroom. Julia came around the length of the couch and saw her friend Meagan wrapped in a pink and brown patchwork quilt, she looked as if she had been dozing.
“Oh, sorry!” Julia said as she sat down on the arm of the couch. Meagan waved off her apology.
“I was awake, just resting.” She smiled limply. Julia could see Meagan looked a little pale and dark rings were under her eyes.
“You don’t look so good,” Julia said.
“She barfed,” Michael announced proudly and Raphael mimicked the actions of someone vomiting. It turned Julia’s stomach. Suddenly, that double chocolate chip brownie shake wasn’t feeling too comfortable in her stomach.
“Thanks boys,” Megan muttered and pulled the blanket over her head.
“What’s the matter?” Julia said, as she leaned away from Meagan, wondering if she should move to the recliner next to Raphael to be out of reach of any virus that might be plaguing her best friend.
Meagan peeked above the edge of the quilt, “Nothing,” she said, but there was a strange glitter to her eyes.
“So barfing and looking like death warmed over is normal for you this time of year?” Julia cocked an eyebrow.
Meagan chuckled. “Only about every three years,” she said and shifted herself into a semi-sitting position. The movement cause her to close her eyes as her face contorted in pain. Julia leaned forward and touched her hand. “Meagan?” Now she was really worried.
The children watched closely and Raphael came over and took his mother’s hand. In a moment, her face softened as Raphael imparted his healing energy to her. She smiled at Raphael. “Thank you,” she whispered. Raphael nodded, kissed her cheek and then returned to his book.
RJ strolled into the room, hands in his pockets, earbuds plugged into his ears. Julia noticed his hair was longer, hanging in his eyes. On the verge of teenage-hood, RJ was trying to look manly with his swagger.
“Hey dude,” Julia greeted him, “What’s up with your mom?”
“Shh,” Meagan said to RJ, a small smile playing on her lips. “Don’t tell her. Let’s see if she can guess.”
RJ grinned. He looked at Julia with his piercing sky blue eyes. It always unnerved her when she looked into those eyes, as if he could read every thought in her head. But, unlike his younger brothers. RJ’s Nephilim abilities were lacking or not yet manifested. Like hers.
The other boys laughed. They loved games. Julia’s brow furrowed as she looked at Megan in surprise. “Guess? Why do you all look so happy that your mom is sick?”
That made RJ laugh. He normally was quiet and stoic like his father, but Julia found that the pre-teen was quite aware of his surroundings even when he appeared to be completely disinterested.
“Guess!” Michael called.
“Yeah, guess!” Raphael and RJ added together. Gabriel clapped his hands, then climbed up onto the couch to snuggle under the blankets with Meagan.
“Not flu,” Julia said. Everyone shook their heads.
“Food poisoning?” Julia offered. Then a thought brightened suddenly on Julia’s face, “Wait a sec.” She turned and looked at Megan, “Does this barfing have anything to do with a baby?” Megan laughed as Michael jumped up and down clapping.
“Oh wow, Sherlock!” Megan said. “You powers of deduction is amazing!”
Seriously?” Julia said, astonished.
“Eight weeks now,” Meagan said.
“Oh my gosh!” Julia exclaimed. She couldn’t help herself and wrapped her arms as best she could around Megan and Gabriel to hug them both.
“How exciting!” she exclaimed. Laughing, Julia sunk her knees on the floor next to Meagan, and sat back on her heels. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“A baby,” Gabriel said in a matter-of-fact tone, looking at Julia as she was the dumbest person in the world. His chubby cheeks and serious expression made Julia and Megan laugh. Gabriel frowned at them and squirmed away, casting them offended looks as he returned to his blocks with Michael.
Meagan watched him go, with a smile, then looked at Julia. “We don’t know yet. I don’t think we want to find out. We like surprises,” Meagan explained.
“It’s a girl.” RJ announced as he leaned against the doorway leading to formal living room. Megan and Julia looked at him in surprise.
“How do you know?” Julia asked.
“I just do,” RJ said simply, then scowled and turned away, disappearing into the other room.
Megan sighed. “Sorry. He’s been emotional recently. Pre-teen boy stuff I suppose. Plus his dad has been gone a lot.”
Julia shrugged. “Boys.”
Meagan looked over at her children, her hand on her belly. “Boys, go put away your supper dishes and then you can watch TV upstairs.” The boys leaped up, shouting with joy.
A few moments later, the two women were alone in the family room. Meagan sat up to make room for Julia to sit next to her and share the blanket.
“I guess I’ll forgive you for missing the ribbon cutting ceremony this morning,” Julia said as she pulled the blanket across her lap and nudged Meagan playfully.
Megan offered a slight frown. “Sorry. How was it?”
Julia shrugged. “It was a ribbon cutting ceremony. I’m so glad it’s finally over.”
“Really?”
“Kind of,” Julia said softly, emotion tinting her voice.
Megan reached out and squeezed Julia’s hand. “Did you see Nathan?”
Julia nodded and said, “It’s so complicated, Meagan. I don’t know what to do. He didn’t even say if and when he’d be back. He hasn’t even been gone a day and already I miss him. So many emotions right now, I just can’t sort through them.”
Meagan wrapped her arm around her shoulders, “I’m sure things will work out. They always do. Just give it time.”
“You sound just like my Gramps. I don’t want to give it time. I don’t want to wait around to see what will happen.”
Meagan laughed and then said, “For being a project manager, you sure are impatient.”
Julia felt her face warm. “That’s me, impatient and impulsive
Julia.”
“Relax for a bit. Are you sure you want to jump in and manage a B & B? Don’t you want to take some time off and enjoy a break? You’ve worked so hard the last year. You deserve a vacation. Go to Hawaii and get some beach time.” Meagan said cheerfully.
Julia briefly entertained the idea. She had never been to Hawaii before. Warm white beaches, palms swaying in the breeze, the warm ocean lapping at her feet. The idea had some appeal. She had been once. A summer vacation with Gramps years ago before his heart started giving him trouble. He had wanted to retire there one day. Julia remembered the brochures he collected of condos he was considering buying after he retired. Those memories brought a pang of grief that he never got to live his dream.
“Gramps wanted to retire there,” Julia said, her voice hollow. Meagan gave her friend a squeeze, “Well, he can go there whenever he wants now,’ she replied brightly. Julie blinked in surprise, then realized she was right. How quickly she had forgotten the freedoms Angels had to travel where they pleased when they pleased – if not on assignment of course.
“I guess you’re right,” she said. “Maybe I will go. When’s that baby due anyway?”
Meagan burped, looking green around the edges as she covered her mouth. With a deep sigh, she looked at Julia forlornly. “End of October. It’s going to be a long summer for me.”
“Then you should all come with me to Hawai’i. Get some sand and sun – pass the time relaxing.” Julie said eagerly.
“Hah!” Meagan laughed. “You’ve never taken four children on vacation, have you? It won’t be a relaxing time for me.”
Julia pursed her lips, “Oh. I suppose you’re right. Hadn’t thought that one out very well. Anyway, I better get going. When do you expect Roy back?”
Meagan shrugged. “Not sure. Roy’s been very busy. Apparently, the She-Demon whose name we won’t mention has sent out the call to summon all Fallens and Unaligned Nephilim’s. The balance is tipping dangerously toward the dark in this area. Roy’s been doing all he can to stem the flow and find her – but he’s going to need back up if he can’t capture her soon.”
Julia shuddered involuntarily and suddenly the mark on her hand burned. She glanced down at it and rubbed it with irritation, catching Meagan’s concerned eye. Whenever she thought of the False One, Quabin, it made her feel strange inside and the mark would ache and burn, as if sensitive to the mere thought of its creator.
“I hope he gets her soon too,” Julia agreed. Meagan nodded and gave her friend a concerned look. “How are you doing Julia, really?” Meagan probed.
Julia rocked her head side to side and shrugged. Julia couldn’t hide anything from Meagan. “Missing Nathan. Dreaming about Matthew,” she said followed by an empty laugh. Meagan offered a sympathetic smile as Julia continued. “I’m mostly tired, I suppose. And, anxious. Like I’m waiting for something to happen but I don’t know what.”
“Why don’t you let someone remove that mark?” Meagan asked.
Julia stopped rubbing her hand, “We’ve tried. I mean, Nathan has tried. It’s like it’s a permanent tattoo. I don’t know how else to get it off unless Q removes it. Maybe Matthew knows…” her voice trailed away as they heard the muted rumbling sound of the garage door closing.
Julia sensed Meagan’s energy shift from tired and nauseous to anticipation as she turned at the sound of the mudroom door opening. Roy’s familiar rhythmic pace sounded on the hardwood floor as he entered the family room and without a word, leaned over Meagan and gave her a peck on the cheek. Roy asked quietly, “Where’re the boys?”
“Upstairs watching TV,” Meagan said.
Julia hadn’t noticed how tense Meagan was until Roy had returned home and she could see the tension around Meagan’s eyes soften and her shoulders relax. She watched the exchange between the couple, felt their connection and marveled how much they communicated without a word. Roy, tall and lean, but muscular with straight black hair that hung just below his shoulders and tied back with a braided leather thong, seemed more native American than his parentage should have allowed, seeing as how Butch Cassidy was his father. He bore Butch’s squarish strong jaw and piercing gaze, but his skin was darker. All of Meagan’s and Roy’s sons bore their father’s general look, except for Gabriel, the youngest, who was colored after his mother with his golden curly hair and large blue eyes.
Julia looked away and wondered if she’d ever have that same level of connection with Nathan. In the year that she had known him, he hardly showed her much affection, let alone spoke of their future together. She didn’t understand much about the laws that governed his role as an Angel, except what Nathan only hinted at – that they couldn’t be together until she had passed from mortality. As a Nephilim she could easily have a thousand more years on this world and that seemed an excruciating long time before she could hope to experience love like theirs. According to Nathan their love was off limits until she could join him on the other side.
“What a cruel joke,” she mumbled. Meagan glanced at her. “What was that?”
Julia clapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, “Oh, nothing,” she said behind her hands. Roy gave her a doubtful look and shook his head as he walked to the kitchen with a small burlap sack gripped in his hand. Meagan got to her feet and followed Roy stood as he laid the sack on the kitchen table. Julia’s ears pricked up as Roy mentioned apprehending a tainted artifact. She followed Meagan to the kitchen.
“Where did you get it?’ Meagan asked as Roy rested his hand on the bundle. The small burlap sack wrapped around some object about the size of a football.
“Picked it off a tourist coming out of the National Park. Claimed he just found it while hiking along the Fremont River,” Roy said as he carefully unwrapped the sack. As the rough material fell away, Julia saw that it was a cracked grey pot with trapezoid designs on the inside.
“Fremont,” Meagan whispered and leaned back – obviously not wanting to stand near it.
“Perhaps,” Roy said. He lifted the pot and turned it over, on the bottom of the pot was a distinctive mark they had all seen before. A triangle inside a circle.
“I don’t get it,” Julia said. “Q makes pottery?”
Roy shook his head and wrapped the bowl back in the sack. “The pot is definitely of Fremont origin, but I’ve never seen Q’s mark on anything like this before. All we know about Q is that she was somehow responsible for wiping out the Fremont’s,” he added. “Why her mark is on their pottery is a mystery to me. Only the Host’s Record Keepers would know.”
Meagan looked up at her husband, “Are you going to return it to its proper place?”
Roy glanced down at his diminutive wife, “You worried about the Anasazi Sickness?”
Meagan fixed him with an incredulous look. Roy nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “Of course I’ll return it.”
“Anasazi Sickness?’ Julia questioned.
As Roy tucked the piece of pottery back inside the burlap bag, Meagan explained, “If you disturb ancient sites and take the relics, or rob the graves of the Ancient’s, it’s claimed the spirits will visit you with mental and physical sickness.”
Julia looked skeptical, but Roy affirmed his wife’s statements. “It’s true. Every so often, I’ll get things mailed to the station of items taken from local ruins with a note explaining the bad luck or illness experienced by the thieves. Although, I’m not so sure this was taken from a ruin. The guy said he just found it half buried in the dirt near the river he was hiking along not far from the campgrounds in Fruita.”
“Do you think it was planted there?” Julia asked.
“Not sure, but it’s suspicious with Q’s mark on it,” Roy answered.
“I don’t like it in my house,” Meagan stated flatly. “I want it gone.”
“I’ll take it away right now,” he assured her and then wrapped his arms around his wife, drawing her in close for a hug. Julia glanced away at the clock on the far wall. “Well, I ought to go back and help clean up from th
e party,” Julia said.
Roy disengaged so Meagan could hug Julia goodbye. The older woman held Julia by her shoulders and said, “Whatever happens between you and Nathan, just know that you will always be welcomed here. You’re my best friend.” She gave Julia another hug. Julia nodded, and left the couple alone.
As Julia drove back to the Bed and Breakfast, she thought how strange a pot would show up with Q’s mark on it. It didn’t make sense. Was it supposed to be a message? Her hand ached were Q’s mark was branded deep into her skin. After seeing the pot, a possession of Q’s, Julia now felt more than ever that Q regarded her as her own property. Perhaps that was the message. She belonged to Q and the False One wasn’t going to let Julia forget it. Now more than ever, she had to get rid of Q’s mark on her.
Chapter 9
Full dark and a new moon. Quabin stood on the threshold of the wooden framed box that was a portal to the world that had served as her prison for almost a hundred years. She had been watching her legions swell in numbers all day and into the night. It would not be long before her numbers would attract the attention of the Host again if it hadn’t already. But she wasn’t concerned. She knew the Host had better things to do than to fret about her paltry legion in the middle of a vast desert in the middle of nowhere. Scouts had reported that there were only two Hunters still covering the entirety of Wayne County. The incident with Quabin’s escape and near death of the Nephilim Julia Dayle hadn’t warranted reinforcements from the Hosts apparently.
Curious, Quabin thought as she surveyed the landscape, noting the pyramid shaped mountain to the south. The humans called it Pectols Pyramid and across from it to the west, Fern’s Nipple. She remembered when those places were called something else, when the revolutions of the earth around the sun measured her years and blood coursed through her veins. When her body was her own and alive, breathing and feeling the life all around her, not this insubstantial weak, numb husk that felt nothing, yet craved remembered appetites from long ago. She craved her lost human senses, the emotions, the feelings, the taste of food, the sound of music which now only sounded like rhythm because her senses were deadened, but worse of all were the lack of tears. If she could, she would have wept for the loss of those things; all the things the foolish humans took for granted that make life so worth living.
If I Fall...: Will You Remember Me? (Angelore Saga Book 3) Page 5
