Anna (Book 2, The Redemption Series)

by S. J. West

  Malcolm’s hand stops moving, and I can feel him tense beneath me.

  “Is she dead?”

  “I don’t know yet. We gave her to Travis Stokes to see if he can do anything. Just before I entered your dream, Jered took Lucas to check up on her.”

  “I’m so sorry, Anna. I know how much you love her.”

  I try not to cry over the possible loss of my friend, but the tears flow anyway. Malcolm hugs me as I weep, but he doesn’t say anything. He just holds me close which is all I really need.

  “I hate him,” I tell Malcolm. “I hate Levi almost as much as I love you.”

  “Can you tell me what happened at the trade? How were you able to get us back? What did you have to do?”

  I go on to tell Malcolm everything that happened, ending with Lucifer’s master stroke to take control back from Levi.

  “What did he do to Levi?” I ask. “Lucifer said he wasn’t dead even though he broke Levi’s neck.”

  “Lucifer has the ability to trap the souls under his command in the bodies they inhabit, even if that body is dead. It’s punishment for disobeying him. Levi will feel Auggie's body start to decay, but he won’t be able to leave it until Lucifer releases his soul. Or, I suppose, until you kill him.”

  “I’ll kill him first,” I say with heated conviction.

  “Be careful,” Malcolm tells me, his voice filled with concern. “Don’t let your hate control you, Anna. Levi isn’t worth you losing your soul over. Lucifer has let his hate control him for a long time now. Don’t follow in your father’s footsteps.”

  I look up at Malcolm and see him peering down at me with worry in his eyes. It’s the same worry Jered had when we had a similar conversation.

  “I won’t,” I promise him. “I don’t think I could ever be like him.”

  “I don’t think Lucifer ever thought he would become what he is either. All I ask is that you don’t give into your hate like he did.”

  “What did he hate so much that would make him go to war against God?”

  “He’s always despised humanity,” Malcolm tells me. “He never understood why it seemed like our father loved humans more than his angels.”

  “Do you think that?”

  “No. I think He loves us all the same. But, Lucifer didn’t like it when our father asked us to serve the human race. He considered it beneath us because we were far more powerful.”

  “I found my mother’s room in your New Orleans home. That’s where we really are right now. I watched a video of her and Lucifer on her holo-projector.”

  “The one where she told Lucifer that she was pregnant with you?”

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  “Amalie loved to watch that one over and over again while she was bedridden. It was one of her happiest memories.”

  “Lucifer looked so different in it. He looked…happy.”

  “I think it was one of the few times in his life that he truly was happy. Amalie was able to touch a side of him that no one, not even our father, could reach. I didn’t approve of them being together, but I couldn’t deny the connection they had either. I hoped your mother would be able to change him forever. He’s laid low since her death. This is the first time since you were born that he’s shown back up.”

  “He has control of the princes now. What do you think he plans to do with them?”

  Malcolm shrugs. “I have no idea, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we find out.”

  I wrap my arms around Malcolm’s torso and remain silent for a while. I simply want to be with him and block out all of our troubles, even if it's only for a few precious moments.

  Finally, Malcolm kisses me on the top of the head and says, “It’s probably time we woke up. There are things we should take care of.”

  I lift my head and look up at him. His eyes are a lot more focused now which probably means the drugs he was given have worn off.

  I sit up and kiss him soundly on the lips one more time.

  Malcolm plunges his hands into my hair and kisses me with a ferocity that takes my breath away.

  When I pull back, I say, “I have a feeling we won’t be able to do that for real yet.”

  “Probably not right now,” Malcolm agrees. “But soon.”

  “Very soon, I hope,” I reply, kissing him again before I force myself to wake up.

  When I do awaken, I immediately look at Malcolm’s face and find him just opening his eyes.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask as I sit up, unable to keep the worry out of my voice.

  Malcolm looks over at me and smiles.

  “Almost like a new man.”

  “Your back looks pretty much healed,” I tell him, remembering how I found him in the prison cell.

  “I told you it would heal on its own. You know…you didn’t have to ask my father to come stay with me.”

  I tilt my head. “How did you know I did that?”

  “He was still there when I woke up from your kiss.”

  “I prayed for him to heal you but he wouldn’t.”

  “And he told you why he couldn’t.”

  “Yes. He told me. It didn’t make it any easier to go along with.”

  “He was right though. If he healed me, he would have to heal every person in the world who asked for it. He can’t show favoritism like that, Anna.”

  “Like I said, I understand that. I just don’t like it when it means someone I love has to suffer because of it. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. I would sell my soul if I thought it would save you.”

  Malcolm sits up suddenly and grabs me by the arms.

  “Don’t you ever say that again,” he growls. “Don’t even think of it as a possibility, Anna. Promise me.”

  “I can’t promise you that,” I tell him truthfully, never wanting to lie to him just to make him feel better. “I would do whatever I had to do to save you.”

  “But I would never want you to do that, Anna. I would rather die than lose you forever.”

  “Forever?”

  “If you gave your soul to Lucifer in a bargain, you would spend eternity in Hell. We would be separated forever. This life is fleeting. Heaven is a lifetime without an end. Please don’t do that to me. Don’t make me suffer through forever without you. I’ve been through enough during my time on this planet. There’s no point in going to Heaven if you aren't there to share it with me.”

  I hadn't really thought about it that way, but Malcolm was right.

  “I promise,” I say. “I promise I won’t do that to you.”

  Malcolm breathes out a sigh of relief and hugs me close.

  “Don't scare me like that again,” he whispers, kissing the side of my neck. “I need you too much, Anna.”

  I pray that I didn’t just lie to Malcolm. I understand what he said, and I don’t intend to do anything that would jeopardize my soul. Yet, a small part of me wonders if I will be able to keep the promise I just made. If I’m faced with a situation that looks beyond hope, I know myself well enough to realize that I would do everything within my power to protect my loved ones. I would do whatever it took to keep them safe.

  Chapter 11

  I wrap my arms around Malcolm holding him close.

  “Is it bad that I don’t want to get out of this bed just yet?” I ask, luxuriating in his warmth simply because it makes me feel happy.

  “No,” Malcolm says, kissing the side of my neck, “it’s not bad at all.”

  I feel the first tingles of desire and reluctantly pull away from Malcolm.

  “I don’t want to start something we can’t finish,” I tell him, hoping he understands it’s not his kisses that I’m pulling back from. I just don’t want us to have to endure more physical torture than we are already in.

  “Well, maybe we can finish it,” he says suggestively, leaning in like he’s about to kiss my lips.

  I phase out of bed to stand on his side of it.

  “The others would kill me if I kiss you, and you end up falling bac
k to sleep before they can see you.” I hold my hand out to Malcolm. “Come on. Lucas might be back by now, and he needs to see his father.”

  Malcolm stands from the bed and takes my hand without further argument.

  As we walk out of the room together, I realize how complete I feel with Malcolm holding my hand and walking by my side. Now that he has finally stopped denying how he feels about me and we’re together again, I feel like no matter what might happen next we’ll be able to face it head on.

  Through my travels with Jered, I learned that the other down-worlds are in need of help just as much or more so than the Cirrus controlled lands. Initially, I thought my mission would be confined to the troubles between our own cloud city and down-world. I didn’t think that now. I knew I was meant to help those in the other down-worlds too. The people living in all of the cloud cities had become complacent. They didn’t care what happened to the down-worlders because they were shielded from the problems plaguing those living below them. It was time the plight within each down-world became known to those in the cloud cities above them. I had a feeling once the conditions the down-worlders were living in came to light, a vast majority of the cloud city citizens would ask the royal families to do something. I wanted to believe in what Jered said about most people desiring to take the noble path through life, that they did indeed prefer peace over anarchy. I too believed that people would choose to do the right thing. Yet, it always seemed to be the few bad apples who preferred chaos over order who were able to turn the world upside down.

  “What are you thinking about?” Malcolm asks me as we descend the staircase to the first floor.

  “Just…that the world is really screwed up, and I need to fix it,” I tell him with a heavy sigh, literally feeling the fate of humankind on my shoulders.

  “You don’t have to do it alone,” he tells me, squeezing my hand as a gentle reminder that he’s by my side.

  “I know,” I tell him. “And I don’t have any intention of trying to do it all by myself. If I did, it would either drive me crazy or my attempts would fail miserably. It’s not going to be a fast or easy fix, Malcolm. We could spend the rest of our lives just trying to change things and it still might not be enough.”

  When we reach the first floor, Malcolm tugs on my hand gently and brings me in closer to him.

  “And I will remain by your side the whole way,” he promises me.

  Malcolm lifts a hand to my face, cupping the left side against his palm.

  “I’ve always been strong,” he tells me. “But when I’m with you, I feel like nothing is beyond our power to manage. If it takes us a lifetime to transform the world into the place you want it to be, it will be a life well spent. As long as I’m with you, I really don’t care what it is we’re doing. I know that might sound selfish, but it’s the way I feel. I just want you, Anna. You and Lucas are my world.”

  “According to Lucas we’ll have at least two more to add to your list,” I tell him, feeling shy all of a sudden at the reminder of the children our son saw us have in the future.

  “Ohhhh yes,” Malcolm says, grinning as he brings me even closer to him. “I do recall something about babies being mentioned. Did he tell you how many?”

  “At least two. He even told me their names, Liam and Lillianna.”

  “Sounds like names you would give to twins,” Malcolm says, mulling this new information over. “You know twins run in your family, especially fraternal ones.”

  “No, I didn’t know that, but then again I don’t know a lot about my family’s past, especially little things like that.”

  “Well, at least his vision gives me hope,” Malcolm murmurs, as he begins to plant small kisses all over my face, being careful to not touch my lips.

  “Hope?” I ask, closing my eyes as I enjoy the tiny explosions his kisses are setting off all over my body.

  “Hope that the poison will dissipate quickly so we can get to work on making babies. I would hate to disappoint our son and not give him the brother and sister he wants so badly. I think we owe it to him to start as soon as possible.”

  I laugh and pull myself away from Malcolm before either of us loses our heads and throws caution to the wind.

  I take one of his hands into mine and say, “Come on. Let’s go find the others before I knock you out with a kiss again.”

  Malcolm groans in frustration but doesn’t make an argument.

  “Where are they?” He asks.

  “Millie said they would be down in the kitchen.”

  Malcolm takes the lead since I have no idea where the kitchen is located in his mansion. It takes us longer than it should have to finally get there because every so often, Malcolm would stop and bring me into his arms to kiss my face and neck like he just couldn’t seem to bring himself to stop kissing me. It was pleasurable, of course, but also very frustrating.

  Since the moment he entered my world, I’ve wanted to make love with Malcolm. It was almost like a compulsory need that my body had. I felt like it was probably a combination of my love for him and just plain carnal physical attraction. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be with Malcolm in an intimate way? He was everything a woman could desire all wrapped up into one very well endowed package.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t give dream world love making a try?” I ask as Malcolm kisses the tender flesh just below one ear lobe. “I’m more than willing to test it out if you are.”

  “Absolutely not,” Malcolm replies resolutely, his voice slightly muffled as he continues his delightful assault on my neck.

  I lift my hands to Malcolm’s bare chest and push with just enough force to make him back away.

  “Then no more of that right now,” I tell him, just trying to remember how to breathe. “I can’t think straight when you kiss me because all I can think about is taking you back to bed.”

  Malcolm sighs in disappointment.

  “But your skin tastes so delicious, Anna,” he tells me, leaning his body into mine again. “I can’t seem to get enough of it. I’m not sure how much longer I can wait to taste the rest of you.”

  I lift my hands to Malcolm’s chest and push him away again.

  “The rest of me could poison you,” I remind him.

  “But, Anna….” Malcolm begins until I lift a hand to his lips to stop him from saying another word.

  “You know it’s true,” I tell him, knowing he can’t argue against the facts.

  I grab one of his hands and pull him forward. “Come on. I want to see if Jered and Lucas are back yet. They may have brought back news about Vala’s condition.”

  This seems to break through Malcolm’s desire for me, and we walk hand and hand to the kitchen.

  Laughter welcomes us as soon as we enter the room. Millie and Giles are sitting beside one another at the kitchen table giggling about something. Desmond, Daniel, and Brutus are by the stove dishing out food onto platters. I don’t see any sign of Lucas and Jered which is a disappointment. I was truly hoping to find out if they had any news about Vala. I needed to know whether she could be saved or if she was truly dead. If she was dead, then I could grieve and move on eventually. But, if we got her to Travis in time, there would be no reason for me to remain upset. The ‘not knowing’ was wreaking havoc with my emotions.

  Millie sees us enter the kitchen first. She smiles broadly and stands from the table to come over to us. Giles follows her lead and comes to stand beside her.

  “Good to see you up and about, Master Malcolm,” Millie says. “It’s been a long, long time.”

  Malcolm gives Millie a quick hug. “Good to see you again, Millie.”

  Giles holds out his hand to Malcolm. “Glad to see you made it back in one piece. Though,” Giles say staring at Malcolm, “what the hell happened to your hair?”

  “Apparently, Levi thought it was time I had a haircut,” Malcolm grumbles, lifting a hand to his shortened locks.

  “Well, I can tell you one thing you could use,” Desmond says as he places a platter of ro
lls on the table. “A bath.”

  “How about you hang in the air and be tortured by Levi for a couple of hours? Let's see how fresh you come out smelling,” Malcolm says but with a hint of humor to soften his words.

  “I’ll fix you up a bath after you eat,” Millie tells Malcolm. “I’m sure that brute didn’t feed you a crumb while he held you prisoner.”

  “I don’t think making me comfortable was exactly on his agenda of things to do, Millie,” Malcolm agrees.

  “Then come and eat,” Millie looks at me. “I’m sure both of you could use something in your stomachs after what you’ve been through.”

  We all sit down at the table and feast on what was prepared. The meal is simple but filling. There is roasted chicken and potatoes, fresh peas and rolls. Desmond opens a few bottles of white wine for us to drink.

  While we eat, I ask, “Has anyone heard from Jered and Lucas?”

  “Did I just hear my name called?”

  I look up at the entrance of the kitchen and see Jered standing there. Lucas immediately runs into the open arms of his father.

  “Dad!” Lucas says, throwing his arms around Malcolm’s neck, hugging him so tightly I’m not sure Malcolm can actually breathe.

  Malcolm sets Lucas away from him a little bit to look him over. Even though you tell a parent that their child is physically fine, it brings them more comfort if they can see it for themselves.

  “Did Levi lay a hand on you?” Malcolm asks.

  “Not while we were in Cirrus,” Lucas answers. “Just in the desert.”

  Malcolm nods, satisfied with this answer. I already told him what Levi almost did to Lucas at the trade before Lucifer showed up. To say the news upset him was an understatement.

  Malcolm picks Lucas up and sits him between the two of us.

  Lucas wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me tightly. I hear him sigh in contentment before letting me go as Millie sets an empty plate in front of him. I watch as Malcolm fills his son’s plate for him and can’t keep from smiling at how good it feels to have almost everyone I love all in one place.

  The only person who is missing is my papa.

  The thought of his uncertain fate makes my smile fade. Malcolm must notice my sudden change of mood. He holds his hand out to me behind Lucas’ back. I grasp it, finding strength in his touch and knowing inexplicably that everything will work out in the end.