by S. J. West
I briefly turn my attention back to Malcolm. He and Cleo are embroiled in a battle I have a hard time seeing much less following. They’re phasing around each other so fast I can't tell who is where exactly. The other rebellion angels attempt to use the same tactic with Daniel and Jered, but they're nowhere near as proficient in the art of fighting in such a manner as Cleo and Malcolm.
Daniel is fighting off two rebellion angels when I see the hellhound of the group try to sneak up on him from behind. I run towards the dog and draw his attention away from Daniel. The hellhound snaps its razor sharp teeth in my direction. Without hesitation, I fly up into the air above its head, swinging my blade in a downward arc through the back of its neck. Its severed head rolls down towards the fence as the lifeless body drops in place.
Daniel slices through the gut of one of the men he's fighting, causing his opponent's innards to spill out onto the ground. He then redirects his blade towards the other man and rams his sword up through the underside of his opponent's jaw, angling it in such a way to pierce through his attacker's skull until the tip of his blade is jutting out from the top of the man’s head. Daniel quickly pulls his sword out, and the man falls to the ground dead.
I turn my attention towards Jered and see that he's fighting off the two remaining men and woman at the same time. Just as Daniel and I phase over to help him, ten more rebellion angels phase in, swords at the ready.
“Did none of them get the memo about fair play?” Daniel grumbles as he, Jered and I put our backs together to face our new foes as they surround us.
We’re able to fight them off for a while, but as soon as we kill one, two more phase in to take their place. Fighting them is almost like fighting the mythical hydra. Yet, the more of them I kill, the more of them I want to kill. Their increasing numbers begin to irritate me to my breaking point because I know it’s only a matter of time before they over run us. It’s almost as if Helena is trying to force me into doing something. But what?
It’s only when I hear Jered cry out in pain that I completely lose what little control I had over my temper.
I chance a glance in Jered’s direction and see that he’s missing his sword arm. He’s attempting to stem the flow of blood from the open wound at his shoulder with his remaining hand. Three of the rebellion angles have their swords in mid-swing determined to finish him off.
In that split second, I feel my anger burn through to something buried deep inside my soul causing it to explode.
“Enough!” I yell.
The sound of my voice reverberates through those around me causing them to immediately pause in their actions and direct all of their attention in my direction. Even Daniel and Jered are compelled to stop what they are doing and turn to face me.
I rise into the air above everyone and look down at the scene. When I meet Malcolm’s gaze, he looks at me with a blank expression, like he doesn’t even know who I am anymore. I quickly avert my gaze from his because I don’t need to doubt myself. I have control over the situation, and I know exactly what needs to be done.
“Kneel!” I command the rebellion angels.
All of them abruptly fall to their knees as though they’ve completely lost their free will and are only able to do what I tell them to do. I’m faintly aware that Malcolm, Daniel, and Jered have also knelt down before me, but I push that knowledge to the back of my mind to think about later. I find Cleo kneeling not so far away from where Malcolm is and lock my eyes with hers.
“Leave this place,” I order her. “Never return here, or I will kill you. Is that understood?”
Cleo nods her head slowly. “Yes. I understand. I'll make sure everyone else abides by your command.”
“Then go and take your dead with you,” I say, not having to raise my voice beyond a whisper to be obeyed.
The rebellion angels do exactly as I say and phase themselves and the corpses littering our front yard away. I soon find myself alone with my Watchers.
I lower my body to the ground.
“Guys, stand up,” I tell them, not understanding why they felt compelled to kneel in the first place.
As if waking from a trance, the three of them stand to their feet. I walk over to Jered who is still holding a hand over the wound on his shoulder where his arm used to be.
“We need to get you some help,” I say to him, looking at the grotesque injury.
“It’s not a big deal. I’ve been through worse,” Jered tells me, even though I can see by the grimace on his face that he’s in a great deal of pain and weak from the loss of so much blood.
“I’ll take care of him, Anna,” Daniel tells me as he comes to stand beside us with Jered’s severed arm in one of his hands. “I just need a healing wand to give Jered’s regenerative powers a head start.”
Malcolm walks up to me and takes my free hand with his own.
“Come on, we have someone else who needs our help too,” he tells me.
We walk towards the front door and find Luna lying near the wall next to it. Malcolm bends down on one knee and gently places a hand on her chest.
“Is she dead?” I ask, feeling on the verge of tears at the pitiful sight Luna makes. Blood spots her fluffy white fur but seems concentrated on the back of her head.
“No,” Malcolm says, handing me his sword so he can pick Luna up carefully with both of his hands. “But we should use a healing wand on her too. Her head seems to have hit the wall pretty hard.”
As soon as we walk into the house, we see Brutus closing the door to the sitting room behind Vala as they both walk out to speak with us.
“No sense in upsetting the others,” Brutus says looking pointedly at Luna, “especially Lucas. I’ve seen how close he and the pup have become.”
“Poor little thing,” Vala says, looking at Luna's limp figure in Malcolm's hands. “Will she be all right?”
“She’ll be fine,” Malcolm assures her. “But Brutus is right. No sense in worrying Lucas.” Malcolm looks at me. “I’ll go heal Luna and clean her up before putting her on his bed. She’ll need a lot of rest to fully recuperate.”
“I'll come with you,” Vala tells Malcolm, walking over to him, “just in case she happens to wake up unexpectedly. She might feel better if I'm with her.”
“I’ll explain things to Lucas and bring him up in a few minutes,” I tell them.
“I think Linn, Bai, and I should stay here tonight,” Daniel tells us. “Just in case there’s an encore attack.”
“I don’t think there will be,” Malcolm says with certainty, briefly glancing in my direction. “But you’re more than welcome to stay here. It’s not like we don’t have enough room.”
While Malcolm and Daniel take care of our injured, Brutus goes back into the sitting room while I phase up to the bedroom to change out of my bloodstained dress. Lucas has seen me wear the blood of others enough for one night. I don't want to scar him for life.
After I change into a pair of slacks and a clean white button down shirt, I phase into the sitting room.
Lucas is the first to see me and runs straight into my awaiting arms. I pick him up and hug him to me. His hold around my neck is so tight I can barely breathe, but I don't complain.
“I don't like that you have to fight so much,” Lucas says, loosening his hold as he rests his head against my shoulder. He kisses me gently on the neck and seems content just to let me hold him.
“Sometimes you have to fight,” I tell him, “especially when it means you need to protect the people you care about.”
“I still don't like it,” he says resolutely. “It makes me worry.”
I smile at his sentiment, but deep down I have to admit to myself that I enjoyed the challenge of the battle. I know I shouldn't have, but I'm not going to lie to myself either. It's not like I actually killed any of the angels. I simply killed the human bodies they inhabited. I didn't use my power to send their souls to the Void. Though, I probably should have. Once they recovered from being displaced from their host, they wou
ld simply look for new ones to reside in. I just couldn't bring myself to kill them after what I did to Belphagor. I don't think my soul could have taken on any more guilt.
Perhaps that's what Helena wanted. Maybe she thought I would truly murder the rebellion angels she sent. Thus forcing me to revert into the same monster who killed Belphagor. I knew that dark part of me was patiently waiting beneath the surface, looking for its chance to reemerge and influence my actions.
I tighten my arms around Lucas, attempting to soak up at least a small part of his innocence. Just his presence in my life makes me remember who I am and who it is I want to become. I want to be the type of leader people readily come to on their own. Not one who has to use threats and violence to force them into following my lead. Lucas is a reminder to me that the innocent need to be protected at all cost. He and Bai are the future leaders of our world, and I want to set a good example for him to follow. I know, given enough time, he will become someone who people will naturally flock to. His integrity and pure heart will be traits people can naturally trust and want to emulate. I know I do.
“Are the others all right?” Linn asks anxiously.
“Yes,” I tell her, seeing her shoulders sag in relief. “We're all fine. Daniel is taking care of Jered's injury, and Malcolm is taking care of Luna.”
Lucas' head pops off my shoulder.
“What's wrong with Luna? Is she all right? Who hurt her?” he asks in the space of what seems like two seconds.
“Luna just got knocked on the head is all,” I tell him. “Your dad and Vala are taking good care of her. Would you like to go see them?”
Lucas nods and looks over at Bai.
“Will you be all right without me?” he asks her.
Bai nods and smiles shyly at him. “I'll be fine, Lucas.”
“You'll see her in the morning,” I inform Lucas. “Daniel and his family are staying with us tonight.”
Lucas looks back at Bai. “Sweet dreams, Bai. I guess I'll see you in the morning.”
“Is there anything you need me to do?” Millie asks me.
“If you could help Linn and Bai get settled in one of the guest rooms, I would appreciate it, Millie.”
“Of course, my sweet. Consider it done.”
“I think I’ll take Kyna to Alto for the rest of the night,” Brutus tells me. “We promised Bianca we would go back there this evening to finalize some of the details for the wedding. If you need me, just send someone.”
“I will,” I tell him.
After Brutus and Kyna phase to Alto, I phase my little Romeo out of the sitting room and into his bedroom.
Just as we get there, Malcolm is laying a freshly washed Luna down on her pillow beside Lucas' on his bed.
“Is she ok, Dad?” Lucas asks, unable to hide his worry for his friend.
I set his feet on the floor so he can walk over to Malcolm on the other side of the bed.
“Luna will be fine,” Malcolm reassures Lucas. “She just needs some rest to heal a little bit more.”
Lucas nods gravely as he looks at Luna’s limp little body.
“You should know that she acted bravely during the fight,” Malcolm tells Lucas. “She got hurt trying to protect your mom.”
“She's a really good dog,” Lucas says proudly as he gently begins to stroke Luna's fur over her heart.
“Yes,” Malcolm agrees, somewhat reluctantly, “she is. You're doing an excellent job raising her.”
A small smile graces Lucas' face from his father's praise.
“Well,” Vala says, “I think it's time we all got some sleep. Who knows what tomorrow might bring? I think it's better if we're all rested up for whatever might be coming our way next.”
“Agreed,” I say, walking over to Lucas' chest of drawers to search for some nightclothes for him.
After we get Lucas ready and all snuggled underneath his covers, I lean down to kiss him on the cheek. Before I can back away, he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me back down so he can kiss my cheek too.
“Sweet dreams, Mommy,” he tells me.
I smile at him. “You too, sweetie.”
After Malcolm kisses his son, we turn out the light in his room and phase back to our own bedroom.
Malcolm brings me into his arms and doesn't say a word. He simply holds me, and honestly that's all I need in that moment.
I take in everything I can about my husband, from the way he smells to the way he feels in my arms. I don’t need to use the bracelet to know what he thinks about me. Although, I can’t imagine a better or safer time to test it. I haven’t used it yet and have no idea how it works or if it even will for me. So, I ask it one simple question.
What is Malcolm feeling?
Instantly, I know exactly what Malcolm is feeling. His love for me is so deep it overwhelms me, and I involuntarily gasp from its intensity.
“Are you all right?” Malcolm asks in concern, hearing my sharp intake of breath.
I simply nod my head and continue to hold him without making a reply. The bracelet isn’t finished telling me how Malcolm feels, and I want to know everything I can now that I’ve started.
Malcolm’s feelings slowly begin to peel away revealing to me exactly what my husband is thinking.
Just underneath his great love for me is worry. He’s troubled because he isn’t sure what the seals are actually doing to me. He wants me to stop my quest, but knows I’ve gone too far now to back out of it. I’ll only return to normal after I’ve taken the seals back to Heaven where they belong. Unexpectedly, considering we just went through a battle, I feel another emotion from Malcolm that makes me blush.
I pull back from him just enough to look up at his face.
“You want to make love?” I ask him, sounding slightly amused because that’s exactly what I am. “Now? After everything what we just went through?”
Malcolm shrugs. “Fighting always makes me horny.”
I feel shocked by his bluntness for a split second then bust out in a laugh.
Malcolm smiles at me. “That’s what I like to see, you smiling.”
“How can I not smile when you’re being so silly?”
Malcolm feigns a shocked expression.
“You wound me, my love. And here I thought you might willingly offer your body up to me to satiate my ravenous hunger to have you.”
“Who said I’m not?” I ask, pulling Malcolm with me as I back us up towards the bed until my legs hit the side of it.
We fall down on it with him landing on top of me, just as I planned.
While I study his face, I confess, “I used the bracelet just now to tell me what you were feeling.”
“So I gathered,” Malcolm says, leaning down and kissing the tip of my nose. “Besides my horniness for your perfect body, what else did you feel?”
“Your love for me,” I tell him. “And your worry.”
“Of course I’m worried,” he says, letting that emotion play across his features as he looks down at me. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when you actually have all the seals, Anna. You’ve only got three of them now, and you’re already having problems controlling what they’re doing to you.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t control me,” I promise, even though I know it might not be within my power to limit their influence on my actions.
“I know you’ll do your best,” Malcolm says hesitantly.
I don’t need the bracelet to tell me my words haven’t eased his worry.
“I want you to promise me something,” I say to him, repeating his earlier words to me that evening.
From the grin that appears on his face, I know he’s made the connection.
“What?” he asks.
“I want you to try and forget about the seals and just think about me for the next hour or so.” I lift my hands and run my fingers through his hair, gently pulling his head down closer to mine. “And I want you to make love to me like I’m the only woman in the world.”
“Sweet words will get you everything,” I tease him, pulling his head down to mine until our lips touch.
I feel Malcolm’s hands run up my sides underneath the shirt I’m wearing. The warmth of his hands makes me moan and desire more than just his hands touching my body. I quickly pull his shirt out of his pants and deftly undo the few buttons securing the bottom of it. Malcolm seems to be in no mood to waste time either. He quickly stands up and strips his shirt off, flinging it behind him onto the floor. He makes quick work of shedding the rest of his clothing.
I simply prop myself up on my elbows and watch him as he undresses, appreciating the beauty of his body as he reveals all of himself to me.
“You’re perfect,” I tell him admiring the way his muscles ripple as he strips.
He smiles as he bends over to take off his last sock.
“And you’re still dressed, woman. How am I supposed to make mad passionate love to you when you still have all your clothes on? Have you learned nothing from me since our wedding night?”
I giggle and scoot off the bed until I’m standing in front of him.
“I might need some help,” I tell him coyly, slowly working the buttons of my shirt free.
Malcolm grabs for the waistband of my pants and yanks me toward him.
“I’m always willing to lend a helping hand where undressing you is concerned, my love,” he says, unlatching the hook and pulling down the zipper to let my pants fall down around my ankles.
I slip my shoes off and step out of the trousers while taking my shirt off.
Malcolm kneels in front of me and grabs the sides of my panties to slide them down my legs. I step out of them and Malcolm stands back up, tossing my underwear behind his back carelessly onto the floor where his discarded clothes are laying.
