Pete nodded to Derick, who took over the meeting. “Tonight Morgan will go with Pete and they will investigate the upper floors. Tomorrow they will hit the chapel and the courtyard. Annie and I will cover the meeting halls and the main floor tonight. The dungeon and armory are our destinations for tomorrow night. Wedge will walk around the grounds filming shots of the castle for post-production. Josilyn will stay at home base and monitor the walkie-talkies in case we need anything. She will keep track of our positions and call out the time. Wrap up time is 3:00 am so we can pack up the equipment and get some sleep. Remember to call out your positions to Josilyn so that no one gets lost. There are a lot of areas to cover and we want to make sure we hit all the sweet spots,” Derick spoke with confidence, but it was clear that Pete was the natural leader of the group.
Derick nodded to Josilyn to take over.
“Okay, you all know the drill. If you get lost, I have to come and rescue you, so make sure you leave me some clues as to where you are. You each have your map of the castle and areas of importance. Pete, make sure you cover the tower. There’s a legend of a woman who lost her love and threw herself from the top. People claim they’ve heard crying and screaming coming from that area. I’ve also marked a few guest rooms where visitors have seen some crazy things. There are spirit sightings, blood on the walls, and creepy noises. You’ll want to check out the chapel. Supposedly, a phantom priest roams around in there. There are also tons of weird noises reported in and around the courtyard. Derick, make sure you do a tour of the Throne Room. People say that a man haunts the room and won’t let people sit on his throne. Oh, and good luck in the dungeon tomorrow night. People say that there’s a heavy, depressing feeling there. I’m not trekking down all those stairs at night, so you’d better not need anything while you’re there,” Josilyn said, looking over her notes. “I think that covers it.”
“And I will oversee things,” Cassie smiled politely, yet there was an undercurrent in her voice. She didn’t like being left out. Sashaying over to Doug, she pointed to the video monitor and asked him a number of questions about where the remote cameras were set up.
Annie saw Mrs. Pavel make the sign of the cross and scurry over to the folding chairs near Doug.
She didn’t think making the sign of the cross would keep Alazar at bay, but then again, short of a Celestial Sword, not much would keep them safe. She needed to find him after the Spirit Experts finished investigating so that the dungeon would be clear tomorrow night; otherwise, Derick would be walking right into his lair.
“You ready?” Derick asked Annie. He ignored Cassie and grabbed his video camera.
“I’m good to go, though I’m a little confused. You and Pete keep calling Doug, Wedge. Why?” she asked, perplexed.
Derick laughed. “He hates being called Doug. Only Josilyn and Cassie call him that and it’s just to annoy him. With anyone else, he’ll only respond to Wedge. I should have warned you about him, he can be a little weird sometimes. He’s really into movies, comic books, and anime. You need a sci-fi dictionary just to understand him. Pete and I get him, but Josilyn doesn’t understand him. Just ignore him if he says something confusing.”
“Wait, do you mean Wedge as in the fighter pilot Wedge Antilles from Star Wars?” Annie laughed when the character came to mind.
“Yes, exactly, but how did you know that?” Derick was impressed by her knowledge of the movie.
“Come on, everyone knows that he was Red Two in Episode IV, then part of Rogue Squadron in Empire, and then leader of Red Squadron in Jedi. C…my friend from high school made me watch the trilogy every time we had a vacation from school. There were days when he watched Empire all day long because he was in a bad mood. He said it gave him hope that things would get better,” she smirked. She remembered sitting on her bed next to CJ having detailed conversations about how Darth Vader was the best villain of all time.
“Why does it not surprise me that you know that? I should have realized when I saw the Mortal Kombat shirt that you spoke our language,” he snickered. He happily accepted that she was a geek, just like him. He couldn’t help himself. He was completely in love with this woman. If she started quoting Professor X, or any X-Men character, he would drop to one knee and propose.
Pete signaled for everyone to make their final walkie-talkie checks and move out.
Annie checked her camera one last time. When she looked up, she was startled to find Cassie standing right next to her, glaring at her.
“I told Derick that I would allow you to help the crew, but I expect you to follow orders. I don’t need you delaying this project. You will need to sign these waivers before you start the investigation. Don’t lose any equipment and don’t drop the camera. It’s expensive,” Cassie said snidely. She shoved a bunch of forms and a pen at Annie. She moved closer and whispered. “I’m sure that innocent, naive Derick believes you’re here solely out of the goodness and kindness of your heart, since you had planned on touring the castle. Personally, I think you are planning on whoring your way into Derick’s pants. Forget about your little fantasies and leave him alone. Derick needs to focus on his work, not your cleavage,” Cassie swung around catching Annie in the face with her long brown hair and sauntered over to Morgan.
Annie decided that the first chance she got; she would trip the bitch and blame it on a spirit.
She turned her attention to Derick, who was walking toward her with his map. He pointed to a red circle, clearly oblivious to Cassie’s rude comments. “Let’s try to make it into the Throne Room by midnight. We can do a quick sweep of the room and then focus on the thrones.”
Annie nodded, but didn’t say anything to Derick about Cassie. Cassie was her problem, not his. She quickly scribbled her name illegibly on the papers, and brusquely tossed them on the closest table. She wanted to force feed them to Cassie, but ignored the thought when she saw Derick looking at her with trust in his eyes. She hefted out a breath and decided to put aside her petty dispute with Cassie so that she could help Derick.
Derick gave her a wink and motioned for her to follow him as he headed out of the foyer.
Mrs. Pavel muttered quietly to herself in Romanian. “I doubt that I will be seeing any of you again, but if I do, I will call the morgue.”
Annie followed Derick through the dark castle. Mrs. Pavel had turned off the main breaker and Josilyn had gone ahead to blow out the candles in the rooms along the front of the castle. Annie and Derick, or Team Awesome as Derick had dubbed them, moved through several rooms, stopping to listen to the sounds of the castle. Derick asked questions addressed to anyone still residing in the castle.
She was surprised to hear a few responses from the souls, though she doubted they would be heard on the recordings. Based on her experience in Hell, most souls were either very angry or very sad. They told their tales to Derick, though most of them stopped abruptly when they saw her and averted their eyes. She couldn’t hide her true identity from any of them. One soul was brazen enough to flip her off and laugh at her before he ran away.
They walked around the different halls and corridors on the first floor, but Derick didn’t seem to notice anything of interest. She dutifully followed him and kept the camera trained on him while he navigated the rooms. Aside from almost running into a closed door or a random piece of furniture, the night was proving to be uneventful, which suited Annie just fine. She didn’t need to run into Alazar while in the company of helpless mortals.
Derick refrained from speaking to her unless he was directing her to record something of interest. She kept a healthy distance from him and reminded herself not to focus the viewfinder primarily on his perfect ass. It would help their ratings, but it wouldn’t win the TV exec’s vote.
Annie followed Derick as he entered the Throne Room, which was smaller than the one in Hell and less showy. She was disturbed to see three simple wooden thrones at the end of the long room, seated against a curved wall. The center one was taller and sat directly in the middle of the sp
ace, while the two thrones surrounding it were smaller and turned at an angle to face the center throne. Whoever sat on the side thrones were required to defer to the center throne. Wouldn’t Lucifer love that? Hades would certainly object to the arrangement, as would she.
Derick approached the thrones and inspected them. “Is there anyone here who would like to speak to us? Would you mind if I sat on your throne?” he called out to the empty room.
Annie looked around for any soul who might object, but the room remained empty and silent. She watched Derick on the small output screen to make sure that she recorded all of his movements. Due to the night vision, he appeared to have white hair, which didn’t suit him. Despite the wrong color hair, his gorgeous face was made for filming. He carried himself with a quiet confidence and looked comfortable moving around the room in the dark, asking questions to no one in particular. She instantly saw the appeal that he had with the women who stayed up until 3:00 A.M. to watch his show. He would be a smash hit in prime time. She could sit and watch him do this for hours.
She tried not to speak to him, but she couldn’t help herself when he moved to sit in the middle throne.
“Maybe you shouldn’t do that,” she hissed. It came out more harshly than she intended. She didn’t think she would be able to handle seeing him on a throne. He was the complete opposite of Lucifer and Hades. She didn’t want to ruin her perception of him if he looked like a tyrant.
Derick chuckled. “I don’t think I’m going to summon an angry spirit if I sit down, but I still have to try.”
She relaxed when she realized that he took her curtness for fear. “I don’t want to press our luck,” she shrugged.
“Annie, it’s okay. I would rather draw out an angry spirit and deal with it than go home empty handed. I’m here to get them to interact with me. If making them angry is what does it, then I have to try. Do I think it will work? Not really, but I still have to try. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he was sincere, which made her feel worse. He had no idea what he was up against. If he had ever experienced fear or danger before, it was nothing compared to what might be waiting for them in the dungeon.
Derick waited to see if Annie would finally give up and ask to leave. She had been quiet since they left home base. It was nice to be able to concentrate on what he was doing, but it was driving him crazy that he didn’t know if she was okay or not. He had tried on multiple occasions to gauge her reaction to walking around in the dark, but she replied with one word answers that gave nothing away. He would rather turn back than upset her, which surprised him. He had been obsessed while planning this trip and only thought about making contact with spirits and finding evidence of an afterlife, yet now all he thought about was her and her well-being.
He was on edge, waiting for the first noise to scare her off. He was afraid she would see something questionable and run in terror. He didn’t know why he wanted to protect her and make sure she was happy, but it was at the top of his priority list. Part of him wanted to scrap the investigation and get her out of the castle. He knew where he wanted to take her, but he forced himself not to think about that. Her, in his bed, in that outfit and he would lose his mind. For the thousandth time, he shifted uncomfortably in his restrictive pants.
“Well, if you think it’s important then go ahead,” Annie sighed from across the room.
He had a better idea. “Here, give me the camera.”
“What’s wrong? Did I do something I shouldn’t have?” she was worried about ruining his show.
“No, of course not. Here, I’m going to put your camera down so that it faces out over the rest of the room and I will film you with my camera. You sit in the throne and I will look for anyone who might object,” he took her camera and placed it on a narrow offering table that sat in front of the thrones just below the dais.
She was relieved to hear his suggestion. No soul would dare question her, and if they did, she would deal with them. Surprised by her sudden urge to lash out against an unseen enemy, she evaluated her reaction. Protecting Derick had always been a priority, but now she seemed to delight in the idea of destroying anything that might threaten him.
Derick held her hand and guided her to the throne so that she wouldn’t bump into it. It was nice feeling her skin against his. It didn’t help his pants problem, but he was happy for the excuse to touch her.
He trained the camera on her once she was seated on the throne. She settled in and looked around. Before he could blink, he noticed a distinct difference in her demeanor and presence. Her back was straight, her shoulders squared, and she held her head high. Her arms were gingerly placed on the armrests. She no longer looked like the shy hot girl in black; now she appeared regal, graceful, and powerful. Her youthful appearance changed slightly and she looked older, more serious. Experience filled her every movement. She was mesmerizing. He half expected her to order someone’s head to be removed, but she merely looked in his direction, waiting for him to say something.
“It suits you,” he stammered, unsure what to say.
Annie tilted her head and noted the unusual tone in his voice. Perhaps it was reverence, though she thought it might be fear. She nearly kicked herself when she saw that she had become Lady Black, physically, without even thinking about it. While it wasn’t her Fire and Ice Throne, it was enough to bring out her automatic response to sitting in a throne. She immediately sat back and let her shoulders slump. She crossed her legs and leaned to one side to eliminate her ceremonial mannerisms.
Derick saw her immediately change back into his shy dream girl. He felt bad that he had made her feel self-conscious. He quickly sat down on the throne to her left and turned his camera to face the room.
“See, everything’s okay, no angry spirits, just you and me,” he said quickly to put her at ease.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk while filming, at least not to the cameraman,” she teased.
“We are allowed to sit and listen to the room and take the occasional break. Here, I’ll turn this camera off and let the other one run for a while. We’ll see if we can catch anything in the rest of the room. Right now, I want to know more about you. I feel like I’ve only been talking about myself. I want to hear about your life,” he turned off his camera and let the darkness surround him.
“There’s really nothing to tell. You know why I’m here and where I’m from. There’s not much more to say,” she shrugged, even though he couldn’t see her.
“Yes, but that doesn’t tell me anything about you. There has to be more to it; otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting in an ancient castle with a bunch of weirdos running through dark rooms in the middle of the night,” he laughed at the description of himself, but he figured it was the truth.
“I don’t think you’re weirdos. I don’t know if you are going to find anything, but I think that people should follow their dreams,” she replied. She was free to stare at him all she wanted since he would never know.
“What are your dreams? I somehow doubt that it’s your dream to stay on a constant vacation for the rest of your life. I’m sure you want to accomplish something, someday,” he said. He knew he was prying, but it was killing him that he couldn’t figure her out.
She had given up on having hopes and dreams, aside from the ones that pertained to her destiny. She hoped that she would find her angels and dreamed of never using them for their intended purpose, but she couldn’t very well admit that.
“Of course, there are things I want, but most days I feel like I’ll never get them. I want to be happy and live my life the way I want. I want to be a good person and do the right thing. On top of that I want to be loved and love someone in return,” she gulped. Had she said that aloud? Lucifer would gut her if he’d heard that. She cared for Lucifer, she did, but he didn’t make it easy. Touching her head, she recalled smashing into the wall. He certainly wasn’t easy to love.
“Why do you believe that you’ll never be happy or find someone who loves you?” Derick lean
ed forward, trying to see her through the darkness. He had obviously hit a nerve. An apology came to his lips, but he held back. He was curious to hear her answer.
“You wouldn’t understand,” she replied softly. It was killing her that she couldn’t tell him about her problems. She was desperate to talk to someone who didn’t have wings or a death scar.
“Try me. What’s the harm in talking to a complete stranger, whom you might never see again?” Derick nearly choked at the thought of never seeing her again, but he wanted to find a way to get her to open up to him.
She chuckled. “If I tell you my problems, you won’t want to see me again.”
“Annie, my life isn’t perfect. I’ve been through plenty of horrible things. I’m the last person who should be judging someone,” Derick shook his head when he thought about his miserable past.
She heard the sadness in his voice and knew he wasn’t lying. Hoping that she was making the right decision, she closed her eyes and blurted out the secret she’d kept bottled up inside. “I feel like I’m in Hell. Each day is worse than the last and every day I have to wake up and start over again. There are times when I want to give up, and days when I think I’ve been asked to go beyond my limits and endure the impossible. You can’t dream when you feel like your world is falling apart every second of every day. Hope is non-existent when you know that there is no happiness to come. I have no concept of Heaven. I don’t know what it’s like to believe that everything will work out, and that anything is possible. Do you know what that’s like?” tears filled her eyes as she spoke.
Letting out a deep breath, she felt relieved to finally say the words that had been weighing her down. Finding Alazar had only compounded the existing problem. She was unhappy on a boring day. Survival mode was her only way of getting through the unending days. Adding to that, her crazed angel hated her and wanted her dead. She nearly screamed when she thought about finding the other nine and the difficulties that she would inevitably have to face with them.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 19
