The Redeemable
Part Three
By
Grace McGinty
Copyright © 2018 by Madeline Young
Writing as Grace McGinty
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Printing, 2018
Chapter One
I couldn't breathe. Black spots danced in my vision as my heart beat in a discordant rhythm. I was going to pass out. Or vomit. Or both.
Call for Lucifer, Ace yelled in my head. She seemed really far away. I ignored her. Lucifer! Her yelling wasn't helping the encroaching darkness.
“Well?” Azriel asked, stepping closer. I scrambled away out of instinct. I didn't want the angel to touch me.
I was pregnant. Ace was killing me. Those two thoughts just went around and around in my head.
“I can help, Arcadia. Ace would understand. All I need to do is touch you.” He reached out a hand. His long, beautifully sculpted fingers snapped me out of my shock. I didn't know what I was going to do, or even what I was thinking, but I knew one thing for certain; I didn't want anything to happen right now.
“LUCIFER!” I yelled with every ounce of will I could muster. The danger of calling for the Devil wasn't lost on me, but the only people I could trust were across town and couldn’t just teleport themselves around like angels and devils.
Luc appeared in the time between one frantic beat of my heart and the next.
“Azriel. It's been a long time.” He positioned himself between the angel and I, and I instantly felt better. That was all kinds of messed up, but right now I was all kinds of messed up. There was nothing okay about this situation.
Today, Lucifer had wings. The shone like polished onyx in the sun, soft and smooth, and a discombobulated part of my mind wondered what they felt like. Could I touch them? Where had he put them all those other times he'd come to visit? He spread them wide, hiding me from Azriel’s view.
“Lucifer Morningstar. Did you think you could hide her from him, that He would not know?”
“She needed a chance to live.”
“Arcadia or your precious Acerezeal?” Azriel almost sneered.
“Both.”
Luc knew. He knew that placing Ace in my body would slowly kill me. If I was expecting guilt, I would be disappointed; expecting guilt from Lucifer was useless.
“You stole her from me once, Azriel; I will not let you do so again.” Luc lost the pleasant edge to his voice, and almost growled.
“She will die with your Redeemer, anyway. The seed of life sits in Arcadia’s womb. It will accelerate the only gift you really have to give, Lucifer Morningstar. Death.”
Lucifer laughed. “Oh Azriel. The Angel of Death, lecturing me? You always did have a great sense of humor, even if you are oblivious. You have not spent enough time amongst these children of the Father. You do not understand their medicine or their hearts. I believe that Arcadia will redeem the Sins. She will restore Ace to her body and she will hold that child in her arms. The fact she carries that life at all means she has already redeemed one of them. Maybe she will even name the baby Luc.”
Un-fucking-likely. Azriel tsked at my mental bad language, and I did something that the old Arcadia would never have contemplated doing. I flipped him off. The angel Azriel. A messenger of God, even if he was rude and creepy as hell.
“It is always a pleasure seeing you, Azriel. Every time we meet, I see just how close you are to falling yourself. Soon, you will be in my domain, old friend.” The promise of pain tripped silently off his tongue.
“Unlikely, Lucifer. Arcadia, call me when you are ready to save your child.”
Luc turned quickly, wrapping me in his arms and his wings, and the whirling motion sickness returned.
He materialized us back in my apartment, in the bathroom, and I promptly leaned over the toilet bowl and dry heaved as my body succumbed to the worse form of vertigo imaginable. I wiped my face on my sleeve. Luc stared down at me patiently.
“You knew all along.”
Lucifer nodded. “Yes. But you are strong, body and soul. I knew you could survive sharing your mortal body with Acerezeal.”
“And the baby? Did you know about that too?”
This time he grimaced. “No. That was a surprise from the other side of this chess match. For what it is worth, I am sorry.”
And you? Are you sorry too? I trusted you above anyone else. I trusted you more than I trusted myself. And you betrayed me. I couldn’t keep the accusation, or the hurt, from my voice.
I’m sorry. Ace's voice cracked a little. I truly wasn’t sure until Friday either.
But you've suspected since you got your memories back and you said nothing. Nothing, I hissed.
I wanted to slam out of the room, away from them both, but you can’t escape yourself. I heaved a few more times and Luc made a bottle of sparkling water appear in his hand.
“Drink this. It will help.”
I took it from him, scowling, but desperate to settle the churning in my stomach.
I pushed to my knees, and then to my feet. I had to call the guys. They would be frantic.
“Mini-Oz, message User:Oz and tell him that I am okay and at home. But I need them here as soon as possible.”
I needed a time out away from them all. Ace, Luc and maybe even the guys. I needed to be alone, but I was never actually alone. Until now, that fact had comforted me. Now it felt like shackles.
“I'm going to bed. Don't talk to Ace. I don't want to hear anything from either of you right now.”
Ace said nothing and Luc nodded. “If it is okay with you, I shall wait for the return of the Seven in your living space.”
“Whatever.” I shut the door in his face and crawled into bed, pulling the pillow over my head and hoping it would all just go away.
Twenty minutes later I heard the door slam open and voices yelling in the living room. I tensed, expecting Azriel’s return, but then I recognized Tolliver’s angry baritone. The bedroom door slammed open too, and the blankets were yanked away. Lux stared down at me with wild eyes that roamed continuously over my body, which was curled in a ball protectively around my belly.
“Are you hurt? Eli!” His voice was strained, and I could see fear in the whites of his eyes.
“Lux, I'm fine.” Well, that was probably a matter of perspective but I wasn't going to say that to the man who was still shirtless and in his shorts from his fight. They must have gotten him straight from the change rooms.
Eli appeared in the door anyway, and was at my side in a second. “Where is the pain?”
I laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. If I didn't think it would result in him calling the paramedics immediately, I would point to my heart.
“I'm not in any pain, Eli.” I wouldn't say I was fine though. That would be a lie.
“Luc says you were abducted by an angel?” Eli pressed.
I sighed and slid out of bed. Best to get this story over and done with so we could plan. The thought not to tell the guys about Ace’s role in my sickness, and even the baby, crossed my mind, but I dismissed it completely. I'd promised Eli no more secrets, and I meant it.
I saw Oz's guilt-ridden face first and I walked straight into his arms.
“I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.” He repeated it over and over into my hair.
“You couldn't have possibly known that I'd be abducted by the Angel of Death from the women's restrooms. Don't apologize.”
“I should have gone in with you.”
“No, you sho
uldn't have. I'm fine.”
Valery and Ri burst through the door, their relief palpable when they saw me in Oz's arms. Ri cast a look at Lucifer, then strode over, gently taking me from Oz's arms and pulling me into his own.
“If this keeps up, I'm the one who is going to have a heart attack.” He pressed kisses to my forehead and cheeks and lips.
Valery came over and ran a hand down my hair. “What happened?”
I sighed and snuggled deeper into Ri’s arms.
“You all better sit down.”
Lucifer cleared his throat awkwardly. “Should I take my leave?”
I wanted to shout yes from the rooftops, but instead I shook my head. “Stay. There'll be questions that I just can't answer.”
He eyed Lux warily. Yeah, Lux was not going to be impressed.
Ri sat with me in his lap, the solid warmth of his body dispersing the chill from my bones. The others didn't sit beside us, instead standing in a small semi-circle facing me, six equally concerned faces staring down at me.
“So, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I know how to cure my sickness. I could be better with in a year.”
Broad smiles broke out on their faces and Sam sat down beside me, his hand on my cheek. “That's great news.”
I frowned sadly. “It gets better, and then so much worse. Also, one of you has been Redeemed. I'm not sure which one.”
Eli was frowning. “Go back to the miracle cure. What did Azriel tell you?”
Ah, my sexy scientist. Always needing to know the why.
“Ace is the one making me sick. Possessing two souls in my body is unnatural, and nature is trying to resolve the issue by having my body attack itself. My cardiomyopathy is from the overworking of my heart to sustain two life forces. Azriel offered to remove her for me, and that once gone my body would begin to win the fight. As it is, he said I have less than a year.”
“You said yes, right?” Tolliver asked.
Lucifer growled. “Watch it.”
“No Tolliver, I didn't say yes. Ace, despite our differences, is someone I love. I don't give up on the people I love.”
Lux grunted. “So we all work hard to be redeemed in months, and then Ace goes back to her own body in hell and you get better.”
“That was the plan. There was a problem though. No one has asked how I knew one of you was redeemed.”
I watched the color drain from Eli’s face. He went ashen. “No.”
I nodded sadly. “Yes. I'm pregnant.”
Chapter Two
If the situation hadn't been so tragic, their response would have been almost comical. Orion, who had been hugging my torso tight against his body, dropped his arms like they were on fire, moving down to grip my thighs tightly. Sam and Tolliver had similar looks of shock. Valery began to swear in French, cursing everyone and everything, well, at least I thought that's what he was saying.
Eli was still pale and Lux was completely blank. His face was devoid of any expression like he was a Greco-Roman marble statue.
But it was Oz who took it the worse. His face went deathly white and he swayed on his feet like he was going to pass out.
“Sit, Oz.”
He sat without question. Without a word. Eli turned and left the silent room.
“Where's he going?”
“To get his medical bag, I would think,” Luc answered. He was the only one who didn't look like he'd been hit by a bus.
Unfortunately, speaking drew Lux's steel grey eyes to him. It was Lux who looked like the angel of death as he prowled toward Lucifer.
“You.”
Lucifer tensed for a fight. This could not end well. I moved off of Orion’s lap, stepping toward them. Lux ignored me.
“You knew this would kill her and said nothing,” Lux growled.
“She was so strong of will. She would have made it.”
Would have. Past tense. Another blow.
“Take your consort out of her now.”
“That will not happen. She will redeem you, and Ace will have her body restored. How about you help her help you, instead of falling back into old patterns, Lux of Taygetus.”
There was another deep growl from Lux and I moved closer, ready to put myself in the way. Orion was there in an instant, holding my arm.
“Don't endanger yourself. Or the baby,” he murmured to me. “Lux in this mood can be… unpredictable. He is more animal than man.”
I didn't care how unpredictable Lux got, I knew he would never hurt me. Lucifer on the other hand would probably snap me without a single thought.
I had to stop this. I stepped around Ri and reached out for Lux's hand.
Those cold grey eyes snapped to mine, and immediately warmed with such love that my breath clogged in my throat. I gave him a watery smile.
“The baby could be yours. I need you.” Conflict contorted his face, until he put his back to Lucifer and placed a hand on my stomach, his fingers curling over the light curve that probably had more to do with Valery’s food than a baby.
“I'm yours. Both of you.”
Eli returned, wordlessly indicating I should return to the couch. Lux picked me up in his arms and went back to the couch, sitting me on his lap.
Eli didn't waste any time checking my vitals, including my blood pressure. He handed me a cup and a white packet with a pregnancy test inside.
“Just to make sure.”
“It might be too soon to come up on tests,” I argued.
“I know. But it might help us narrow down who the father might be,” he said softly. Or who was redeemed.
“She shouldn't keep it. She will die. Is no one else catching the sub context here?” Tolliver argued.
Oz shot to his feet. “Don’t you ever listen? There's no way she's going to get rid of the baby. She won’t even get rid of Ace, who is killing her slowly. Besides, it could be yours. Are you so eager to get rid of your own flesh and blood?” He came over and knelt in front of me. “I don’t care who’s baby it is, Tolliver's or Sam’s. I will look after you and him until the end of my days.”
I leaned forward and kissed him gently, his rough beard chafing my chin.
“It could be Lux’s. Or yours.”
Oz smiled sadly. “I don't think so. You haven't tried to redeem either of us yet.”
“But you have changed. Both of you.” I set my chin stubbornly. I hated making him sad. I wanted him to be redeemed. My sweet, caring Oz.
“Not enough. But it doesn't matter. We all will be, because we are going to work twice as hard to redeem ourselves while you rest. Aren’t we Lux?”
Lux gave a stiff nod, his hand still resting on my stomach. His eyes found mine and burned with an intensity that made my heart jump into my throat.
“I, Lux of Taygetus, swear upon Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, to protect you and yours until my dying breath.” His tone was solemn and hard, determined in a way I had never heard before. It was the voice of a warrior. A vow.
“Thank you,” I whisper against his cheek, my hand reaching out to run down Oz’s face. “Thank you both.”
Lucifer cleared his throat. “Avowing another god in my presence is a bit of a faux pas, don’t you think?” Lux just narrowed his eyes in Luc’s direction.
Luc had a small smirk on his face. That face made me suspicious.
“Do you know who’s baby it is?”
Lucifer laughed. “Always such the clever one. I have my suspicions, but that is all they are.” He cocked his head, as if he was listening to music in another room. “I must go. Give my love to Ace.”
“Fuck you,” I said pleasantly, and he laughed again.
“You’ll be fine, Arcadia. You spit in the eye of the Devil and stare down the Angel of Death. If there is anyone who can survive this with everything intact, it will be you.”
With a crack of air, he was gone.
I shifted from Lux’s lap and moved toward the bathroom, cup and stick in hand.
Time never goes slower than when you ar
e waiting for water to boil or a pregnancy test to work.
When the pregnancy test came back negative, I was a little relieved. But it was short lived.
You are definitely pregnant, Arcadia. It is just too soon for human tests to detect. Ace’s voice was quiet, respectful.
Do you know who’s baby it is? Who has been redeemed?
Ace sighed. No. It could be any one of the four you’ve slept with.
Normally, she would have called me a hussy or something. I was already regretting the distance between us. It was like losing my best friend. Sure, it was a best friend I refused to talk to for a couple of years, but still.
I walked back into the room, every pair of eyes following my movements.
“It's negative. But Ace says that Azriel was right. I am pregnant despite the test.”
Eli sucked in air through his teeth. “Never trust the motives of the Devil, Arcadia. Or Angels in general. They always play the bigger game. We will continue as if they are correct, but I won’t believe it until the tests say it is so.”
“If the baby was Lux’s, would the test have been positive?” Lux went still at my words.
“Not necessarily, but it would have ruled out Sam and Tolliver. Now, it could be any of the four.”
Valery walked over and took my hand, pressing a mug of chamomile tea into my hand. “No one has asked what Arcadia wants. You’ve all made assumptions on her behalf, and told her what you think she will do.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pressed me gently to his side. “I do not have any grand Roman vows to make, and I may not be invested in this situation to quite the same degree as Lux, Tolliver, Oz and Sam, but know that I am with you every step of the way. I will support you no matter your decision,” he murmured against my hair.
“I want to keep the baby. And I want to help Ace if I can.”
Ri laughed, and it sounded wrong. “Well, that's the least surprising thing I’ve heard today.”
Valery sat me at my bench, and pulled open my fridge, getting out the bread and some strawberry jelly. Then he got down the peanut butter and started making me a sandwich as I gaped. Valery never made anything as mundane as a PB and J.
The Redeemable Part Three Page 1
