by SJ West
When I feel Anna try to phase in to see me, I find this both troubling and odd. She’s never tried to disturb my solitude on Cal’s birthday, and she’s trying to do it before Liana’s usual nighttime visit to me. Both are things she’s never done before. Could this mean there’s something wrong with Liana? It’s the only assumption I have, but I won’t know for sure unless I allow her to come see me. I decide knowing what’s wrong is more important than my self-imposed isolation.
When she phases into the cottage, I almost laugh at the surprised look on her face.
“I didn’t think you would let me in,” she admits.
“I almost didn’t,” I reply. “Why are you here, Sister? Where is Liana?”
“Liana won’t be coming to see you for at least a month,” she replies. “She’s been grounded by me and Malcolm, and putting a hold on her visits with you is part of her punishment.”
“What did she do that was so terrible?” I have to ask. “I don’t remember you ever grounding her before, or punishing her, for that matter.”
“Look into my mind,” Anna requests. “That will probably save us both some time.”
I instantly do just that and feel my temper flare white-hot.
“Liana took Cal to Earth!” I scream, quickly standing from my seat on the couch. “And Abaddon knows he’s my son!”
“He suspects,” Anna is quick to correct me, hoping that will temper my wrath at her daughter. “He only thinks Cal is your son because of his wings and what he saw him do. At least, that’s what we assume from what Cal was able to tell us about his interaction with Abaddon. Does Abaddon come here to see you?”
“Occasionally,” I reluctantly admit.
“Then the next time you see him, you need to convince him that Cal isn’t your son before he goes bragging to Hale or any of the other rebellion angels.”
“From your memories, it looks like Abaddon still doesn’t know where he lives,” I say, finding this to be a comfort at least.
“Did you see what Cal did for me?” Anna asks. “Do you know what your son can do?”
I quickly dip back into Anna’s mind and see that Cal has the ability to heal.
“He saved your life by healing you?” I ask in astonishment. “How did he get a power like that?”
“You healed me once. Remember?” she says. “Maybe Cal got it from you. We’ve all been waiting for him to show us some sort of power, and it looks like he might have inherited the best you had to give him, not the most destructive.”
I do remember healing Anna after I stole the seals from her, but I certainly didn’t do it out of sisterly love. Cal, on the other hand, seems to have found a power that mirrors his gentle nature. I can’t say I ever imagined he would be a healer, but considering his father’s kind heart, it seems like a fitting ability for him to have.
“Liana never should have taken him to Earth,” I state angrily.
“She understands that now,” Anna replies. “She won’t do it again.”
“You don’t know that,” I say. “Seriously, Anna, sometimes I wonder if you know your daughter at all. She’s as muleheaded as you are and twice as determined to do what she wants.”
“I think almost seeing me die today has scared her straight, at least for the time being. In a week’s time, she’ll grow tired of having to stay home. Hopefully our punishment will make her second-guess what she does in the future.”
“We can only hope,” I reply with little confidence that such a miracle will ever actually come to pass.
“Well, I just came down here to let you know what happened today and that Liana won’t be coming to see you for a while.”
“That’s probably for the best. I’ll need time to deal with my anger over what she did today. It’s a good idea to keep her away from me for the time being.”
Anna nods her head in understanding. “Malcolm and I suspected as much. It’s one of the reasons we told her she couldn’t come down here to see you. Just remember that what she did today wasn’t done to hurt Cal and that she’s just a child. She’s going to make mistakes.”
“Age shouldn’t be an excuse for stupidity,” I argue. “She could have gotten him killed!”
“She understands that all too well. Trust me, today won’t be a day she forgets anytime soon. I still plan to come to see you in the evenings after the children go to bed, if that’s all right.”
“I don’t need a keeper, Anna,” I snap defensively. “You don’t have to come down here to make sure the caged animal is behaving herself.”
“Is that why you think I come down here?” she asks with a heavy dose of incredulity.
“It’s a possibility even you might not be consciously aware of,” I reply. Anna and I have had this discussion before, but she still doesn’t seem to know the exact reason why she comes to see me. In her way, she believes she’s helping me, but there is also fear behind her need to check up on me every night.
“Well, there’s really nothing I can say that will change your mind because you’re already privy to my most private thoughts,” she says.
“Yes, I am,” I reply as I see something else inside my sister’s mind. “It appears Lucas has made another prophecy for you. I suppose you’ll be popping out more babies with that Neanderthal husband of yours. How is that possible?”
“I’m not sure,” she says, but just as she lets out those three little words, an idea of how such a miracle could happen forms in her mind.
“Do you really believe that?” I ask, questioning her deduction, even though I consider her newly formed assumption to be the right one.
“There’s no other explanation,” she says in wonder. “Cal didn’t just heal the wound from Abaddon’s sword. He must have healed the damage to my womb too.”
I can see Anna is on the verge of crying. It’s a sight I would rather not have to witness.
“Congratulations,” I tell her without actually meaning it, “but happiness really doesn’t have a place down here.”
I snap my fingers to revoke her invitation into my domain so she can blubber about her good fortune elsewhere.
I still feel the incessant attempts by Abaddon to enter Hell. Even though I know how to lure him off the track of Cal’s existence, I also know I shouldn’t let him in before the day is through. If I break my tradition for him, that will be a sure sign that his suspicions are correct. When I meet Abaddon face to face, I have to act normal in order to protect Cal and the life he has on Laed-i.
Liana’s stupidity in phasing my son to Earth where he’s the most vulnerable to attack simply gives me another reason to continue my plans for her. She deserves what she’s going to get. All I have to do is make sure she lives long enough to carry out my scheme. After that, I won’t have need of her anymore.
Once Cal’s birthday has passed, I allow for more time to tick by before I grant Abaddon access to Hell again. I wait for him in my throne room with a plan set that should convince him that Cal can’t possibly be my son.
When Abaddon appears in front of me, I can instantly see his memories of Cal and what he did to him. I can’t believe the fool actually took him to Cade’s old beach house. I’m sure he did that in order to play with my emotions because he knew I would be able to see everything inside his pea-sized brain when he phased here.
“I found your son,” Abaddon says cockily as if he believes he has the upper hand on me for once.
“My son is dead,” I inform him, lying smoothly because that’s one of my gifts. “Is that the only reason you’ve been annoying me by trying to come down here?”
“I know you can read my thoughts,” Abaddon says. “You can see him inside my mind. Are you really going to sit there and tell me the boy isn’t yours?”
I do my best to look bored by Abaddon’s attempt at a power play.
With a heavy sigh of annoyance I say, “Surely even an imbecile like you can figure out that the child isn’t mine. I mean, did you really look at him? He’s literally a perfect little angel. Can yo
u honestly stand there and tell me that you think something that beautiful could come from me? Even now I can see your own doubts.”
“Maybe he took after his father more than you,” Abaddon tries to argue.
I let out a low, menacing laugh and shake my head at Abaddon as if I believe he’s the stupidest creature in the universe, which isn’t that far off the mark actually.
“Nothing that grew inside of me for almost forty weeks would come out looking that perfect, you fool. I know your IQ is low, but even someone as slow-witted and unimaginative as you should be able to realize that. I am Hell incarnate, Abaddon. Anything born from me would not be as pure-hearted as the boy you saw. Did you even detect an ounce of evil in him? No. You didn’t. Use what common sense you have and continue the job I sent you to Earth to do. We’re getting so close to my goal. Don’t screw things up now by trying to think for yourself.”
I can tell that Abaddon still has his doubts. He’s been searching for Cal ever since he had to leave when Ethan showed up, but he can’t seem to find my son anywhere on Earth. That just goes to prove my point that his thinking is truly limited. He hasn’t even tried to explore other worlds for my son. Any effort on his part to go on that fool’s errand would simply be a waste of time anyway. No rebellion angels have phase points to Laed-i. Lucifer never sent them there because the planet was already on its way to ruin by the time he found it. That’s what makes it the perfect place to keep Cal safe, if he will just stay on it like he’s supposed to.
“Now, why don’t we talk about what happened yesterday with the explosion,” I say, directing his attention away from my son. “Did everything go as planned?”
“Yes,” Abaddon replies as he lets thoughts of Cal drift to the back of his mind.
For now, I’ve convinced him that the boy he saw yesterday isn’t my child. He’s berating himself for thinking that a child so pure could have ever come from me. Still, he wonders about the wings Cal has on his back. Those are what made him assume the boy belonged to me, but even now, Abaddon is doubting his own assumption. Odds are a child that developed within my womb would come out looking more like a hellspawn than a perfect little angel. I had the same exact thoughts once upon a time.
“Good,” I reply with a sly smile. “Now, let’s talk about what needs to be done next.”
I only have a few more years to set the stage for Liana’s transformation, and I hate relying on Abaddon to help me do it. My only saving grace is the fact that Silas will help me carry through my final plans for her. All I have to do is make sure she’s ready when the time comes.
Chapter 11
(Liana’s Point of View)
“Just remember,” Marcus says to me, “he’s your brother, so go easy on him.”
“Liam’s more than capable of handling anything Liana throws at him,” Jered states crossly but in a good-natured sort of way.
“I’m starting to think the two of you might need to spar each other instead,” Liam tells the other men as he takes his place in front of me in the combat holo-room.
“I wouldn’t mind it,” Marcus says, giving Jered a sideways glance. “But I think grandpa here might have trouble keeping up with me.”
“Ha!” Jered says while crossing his arms over his chest. “Bring it on any time, War Angel. It’s been a while since I had a good fight. You do realize that I’m only a little bit older than you are.”
“Face it, you’re both ancient,” I tell them, unable to stop myself from smiling and shaking my head at the two angels.
“Just because you’re sixteen going on seventeen doesn’t mean you know everything, Liana,” Marcus warns me. “What have I said about that cockiness of yours?”
“That it’ll get me in trouble one day,” I reply, stopping myself short of rolling my eyes at him. I’ve heard this same warning ever since he took over the responsibility of my sword training when I was thirteen. My mom and dad became too busy ruling Cirrus and running after my younger sister Lyra and the latest addition to our family, my baby brother Dax, to find time in their schedules to keep training me. So that responsibility fell to Marcus, who didn’t seem to mind filling in for them.
Ever since I was little, I’ve always felt a strange connection to Marcus. I suppose it’s because my soul is tethered to the Guardian of the Guf who made him. All I know about his maker is that her name is Arel, and by some heavenly power, she was able to transform one of the seven seals my mother collected to make my soul. Liam’s soul is also one of the seals, and the guardian tethered to his soul is named Andel.
“One day it’ll get you in trouble?” Liam scoffs. “Try multiple times already.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say while making a figure eight in the air with my holo-sword to test its balance. “Liam Devereaux, the great peacekeeper, doesn’t like it when his big sister causes a little mayhem.”
“I’m not sure I would call sneaking out of the castle and going clubbing by yourself on our sixteenth birthday just a little mayhem,” Liam says disparagingly.
“I wouldn’t have gotten caught if I had picked a different nightclub,” I defend myself, knowing he has a point. “How was I supposed to know Mom is friends with Jade Sands?”
“Yeah, it really sucked to be you that night,” Liam replies, laughing at my expense. “You’re lucky I talked Dad out of making you wear a chastity belt until you find someone crazy enough to marry you. It would have served you right though for going out all by yourself.”
“I wouldn’t have been alone if you’d had the gumption to go against the rules for once in your life,” I retort. “You need to live a little, Liam. You’re wound way too tight.”
“I just see it as taking up the slack you leave behind.”
“Hmm, I’m pretty sure those are fighting words, little brother,” I say, pointing the tip of my sword toward him with a challenging smile.
“As you wish,” Liam replies as he takes a step forward and swings the first of what I know will be many strikes in this bi-weekly exercise of ours.
I hate to tell my brother, but I could fight blindfolded and still win a battle against him. It’s not that Liam is a bad swordsman; he simply isn’t as good as I am. I’m not even boasting when I think that. We all know it’s a fact. He used to be much worse before Jered took him under his wing and drilled him until he became not half bad with a sword. Every once in a while, I feel bad for him and let him win so his ego isn’t completely destroyed, but today isn’t one of those days. He tries to use the hilly terrain of the holo-room we’re in to his advantage by forcing me up it backwards, but it doesn’t slow me down one bit. In fact, it simply makes me want to win that much more.
I allow the battle between us to last a good ten minutes before I go in for the kill shot. Of course, the sword I’m using doesn’t actually pierce his body when I stab it through his heart. Nothing inside the holo-room besides our bodies and the clothes we’re wearing is real.
“End simulation,” I tell the computer controlling the room once I have my brother on his back and at my mercy.
The sunny outdoor scene around us disappears to be replaced by the black walls, ceiling, and floor of the room. The weapons in our hands vanish like they were never there, which, in actuality, they weren’t.
“You did a lot better this time,” I praise Liam, offering him a hand to help him stand from his supine position on the floor. “I didn’t even feel like yawning during the fight.”
Liam accepts my offer of help while I hear Marcus laugh at my joke. Once my brother is on his feet again, I turn to my instructor and promptly take a bow in acknowledgement of my prowess as a comedian.
“That was a pretty good one,” Marcus praises me. “But I feel obligated to say that you shouldn’t speak to your brother like that.”
“Liam knows I love him,” I reply, throwing my left arm across my brother’s broad shoulders. “You don’t mind getting beat by a girl, do you?”
“No,” Liam says, “especially not one as humble as you.”
&n
bsp; This time it’s my turn to laugh because we both know I’m anything but humble, but I can take a joke at my own expense.
As we all walk out of the room, I hear Jered say to Liam behind me, “I have everything set up for your visit to the down-world today.”
“Am I allowed to go this time?” I inquire over my shoulder.
“You know the rules, Liana,” Jered says. “Only one of you can be on the surface at any given time. It’s too dangerous to have both heirs to the throne in the down-world together.”
“Then why can’t I go today instead of Liam?”
“The only reason you want to go to the surface is so you can sneak off and attend Jackie’s party,” my brother says knowingly. “That’s why you can’t go. Mom and Dad have figured out all of your tricks.”
“Only some,” I grumble discontentedly. “And what’s so bad about wanting to go to her party anyway? It’s not every day I have a friend who’s about to get married. She’ll be a wife by this time tomorrow, and I won’t even have the chance to wish her good luck!”
“Dad and I aren’t even going to that part of the down-world today,” Liam reminds me. “Jackie lives in Stanton, and we’re going to New York City.”
“Can’t this trip be delayed a day so I can go to the down-world?” I ask Jered.
“I’m sorry, but it can’t,” he answers. “Your father and Liam have a meeting with one of the resistance fighters who wants to join our side. This might be our one chance to finally get a foothold in the organization.”
“We don’t even know if this person is who they say they are,” I point out.
“True,” Jered admits, “but we have to investigate every lead. All we suspect at the moment is that Abaddon is probably spearheading the movement down there. We haven’t been able to find anyone who can corroborate that he is in fact the leader. He’s staying too well hidden, and the people he’s surrounded himself with are extremely loyal to both him and the cause.”
