War Angel Contingent (Everlasting Fire Series, Book 1)

by S. J. West

  Considering this delay a real possibility and knowing I’m in no condition to take on all of Anna’s angels at once, I decide to phase to Desmond’s home in the down-world of Stratus to seek his help. I attempt to phase there, but nothing happens.

  “Don’t do this to me right now,” I beg my son. “Mommy needs to get help. Please let me go find Desmond so he can bring you into this world safely.”

  Again, I try to phase to Desmond’s house, but my son continues to block my powers. He obviously wants me to stay right where I am.

  “Are you that eager for me to kill her?” I ask him, not sure if I’m impressed or worried that my child could be so bloodthirsty. I feel him press down even farther, as if telling me he’s preparing to be born whether I’m ready for him to be or not.

  My legs begin to feel wobbly, and I know it’s only a matter of time before I collapse onto the floor in a helpless heap. I stumble toward Jules’ bedroom. Once there, I carefully lie back on her bed, which helps relieve a portion of the pressure I’m feeling as my son stubbornly tries to enter the world.

  “I’m sorry our evening together has to end so abruptly,” I suddenly hear Ethan say in the living room.

  “It’s all right,” Jules replies graciously. “I understand. You know where to find me after you’ve secured things in Cirrus.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to leave you,” he moans in frustration.

  “Then go do your job and hurry back to me,” Jules urges.

  “I’ll return as soon as I can,” he promises her. “Get some rest while I’m gone because you’ll need your strength for what I have planned for us later.”

  Jules giggles. “Then go. The sooner you’re through, the sooner you can share these big plans of yours with me.”

  I hear Jules sigh sadly, telling me that Ethan has followed through with her request and has gone back to Cirrus.

  The rustle of material warns me of her imminent entry into the bedroom. As soon as she steps inside, I plan to use my telekinetic powers to snap her neck and end the threat she poses to my future with my son.

  Suddenly, I feel a rush of fluids gush out between my legs, soaking Jules’ bed beneath me. An involuntary scream escapes my mouth as I feel my baby move as if he intends to crawl out of me all on his own.

  “Helena!” I hear Jules shout in panic as she rushes toward the bed.

  “He’s coming,” I moan, knowing that I can’t kill her yet. She’s of more use to me alive than dead right now. “I need your help delivering him, Jules. He won’t let me phase to Desmond.”

  “Okay,” she says, quickly taking in the situation. “I need to check to see how far along your labor is to see how much time we have. Do you mind if I look?”

  “Do it,” I say, giving her my consent to look between my legs. Jules stands and lifts my wet skirt up to my thighs. After she removes my underwear, I hear her gasp in surprise at what she sees.

  “His head is already crowning,” she tells me in a calm voice, even though I can practically taste her fear and panic in the air.

  I begin to shake my head violently. “He can’t come out naturally. Desmond needs to cut him out of me.”

  Jules takes in a deep breath as she tries to steady her nerves and think of something to do.

  “I need to call my mother,” she decides. “She can find Desmond for us and bring him to help you.”

  “I don’t care what you have to do! Just get him here!”

  Jules grabs her phone off the nightstand beside the bed and makes a call. Evelyn doesn’t take long to answer.

  “Mom, I need for you to phase to Earth and find Desmond. Helena is in my apartment about to give birth.”

  Evelyn suddenly appears in the bedroom, quickly assessing the situation with a single glance.

  “Why are you wasting time? Go get Desmond!” I scream at her, causing the walls of the bedroom to tremble with only the power of my voice.

  “How far along is she?” Evelyn asks Jules, ignoring my plea.

  “The baby’s head is crowning,” Jules replies, “but she says Desmond told her he would need to cut the baby out because he can’t be born naturally.”

  Evelyn meets my gaze and asks, “Why is that, Helena?”

  “What does it matter?” I scream in aggravation. “I need Desmond! Find him and bring him here now!”

  “Desmond was in Cirrus before Ethan brought me home,” Jules tells Evelyn. “He was checking Lucas and Liana for any ill effects from being in Hell.”

  “And where exactly in Cirrus was he?” Evelyn asks.

  “Anna’s quarters.”

  “Don’t tell my sister what’s happening,” I order Evelyn harshly, lifting my upper body with my arms. “If you tell her, she’ll tell Ethan, and they’ll both come here to take my baby away from me.”

  “I don’t think that’s the worst thing that could happen to the child,” Evelyn states. “Letting you raise him seems like a much worse fate.”

  Even though I feel as if I’ll be split in two at any moment, I’m still able to muster up the strength to reach over and grab Jules by the front of her neck. She struggles and tries to pull my hand away, but I tighten my grasp until she starts making choking noises.

  “Get Desmond and bring him here alone,” I order Evelyn as I hold her daughter hostage. “If you don’t do as I say, I swear I will break her neck without giving it a second thought. And don’t get cute, Evelyn. Don’t go home and tell Enis to come here to look after Jules, or I will end her life as soon as he phases into the room. Is that understood?”

  There’s nothing like placing the life of a loved one in danger to make people do exactly what you want them to do. Evelyn phases to Cirrus right away, and I loosen my grasp on Jules’ throat just enough to let her breathe again. Killing her will have to wait until after the birth. Right now, I need everyone’s cooperation, and placing her life in jeopardy just got me what I wanted from Evelyn.

  A few minutes pass and I begin to wonder just how much Evelyn truly cherishes her daughter’s life. I begin to get uncomfortable lying on top of Jules’ now wet bed, and I attempt to phase us somewhere else, hoping that my son will let me go where I really want him to be born. Thankfully, he does, or perhaps he’s too preoccupied at the moment to prevent me from phasing us all to the cabin in the mountains where he was conceived.

  I end up losing my grasp on Jules when my son makes a rather aggressive attempt to enter the world on his own. I swallow a scream as the pressure becomes too much to bear. I suddenly hear what sounds like two twigs being snapped in half.

  “Was that your bones breaking?” Jules says in a hoarse voice as she gently rubs the front of her neck with one hand and looks around the bedroom of the cabin. Surprisingly, she continues to sit next to me. I’m not sure if she’s an idiot or allowing her compassion for my son’s survival override her better judgment.

  I shake my head against her pillow as warm tears stream out of the corners of my eyes. I know exactly what just happened to my son and feel helplessly alone as he endures unimaginable pain from being trapped inside me.

  “I need Desmond!” I sob hysterically as I close my eyes, unable to bear the thought of my child suffering as he vainly attempts to be born.

  “I’m here, Helena.”

  I open my eyes and see Desmond rush to the other side of me. I assumed Evelyn would have enough sense to follow my phase trail from Jules’ apartment to the cabin.

  “You were right,” I tell him through my tears, “he needs help, Desmond. Tear me open if you have to. I don’t care what you need to do, just save his life!”

  “No one is dying today, lass,” he vows. “I promise I won’t let that happen. Now, let me take a look to see what’s going on.”

  Desmond performs a quick examination before opening his black leather doctor bag to pull out a slim silver laser pen and what looks like a large translucent bandage.

  “Pull her dress up over her stomach,” Desmond instructs Jules, who quickly complies. He then places th
e bandage on the underside of my belly, and it immediately clings to the skin. “This will numb the area so you don’t feel me cutting into you,” he tells me before placing the tip of the silver pen in his hand a few inches below my belly button. “I’m going to use this laser to make my incision. Are you ready?”

  “Just do it!” I scream, partially because I’m in pain but mostly because I don’t want my son to die inside me.

  Desmond quickly runs the laser from one side to the other across my belly, but I immediately see worry and confusion crease his forehead as he stares at his incision in surprise.

  “What happened?” I ask, because I truly couldn’t feel anything. “Why aren’t you getting him out?”

  Desmond looks up at me.

  “The cut healed almost as fast as I made it,” he tells me. “I didn’t realize you can heal so quickly. I can’t get him out this way.”

  “Then use something else to cut me open!”

  “I’m afraid anything I use will have the same effect.”

  A moment from the past comes to mind, and I know exactly what Desmond needs to slice me open with.

  “You need to get Anna’s sword,” I tell him. “She stabbed me with it once. It might be able to cut me deeply enough for the wound to stay open and give you time to get my son out.”

  Desmond stands from the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

  I can see from his phase trail that he’s gone directly to Cirrus. I simply hope he’s able to speak with Anna alone and that she gives him the sword without any fuss.

  Of course, when he phases in with Anna carrying her sword by her side, I want to curse him out for betraying me. He must see my thoughts about his actions in my expression.

  “She wouldn’t let me have the sword without coming with me,” he quickly explains.

  “No one knows that I’m here,” Anna assures me. “Malcolm went to put Lucas to bed, so he’ll be preoccupied for a while. I’m only here to help you and your son, Helena. You have my word.”

  “Then do it,” I challenge her. “Help me save my son, and maybe we can finally put all of this bad blood between us to an end, Anna.”

  Anna nods in relief. Her sword bursts into orange flames as she holds it up to my belly.

  “Are you ready?” Anna asks Desmond. “The last time I used it, she was still able to heal quickly from the wound. I’m not sure how long the cut will remain open.”

  “I’m ready,” Desmond says, prepared to snatch my son out of my womb as soon as Anna makes the laceration.

  With skilled hands, Anna quickly runs the tip of her sword across the underside of my belly. I see Desmond begin to move in to grab my son, but then he stops and shakes his head. The distressed look he gives Anna tells me everything I need to know.

  “The healing was slower than with the laser, but it’s still happening too quickly for me to get him out of her,” he tells my sister. “Can you think of anything else that might work?”

  “Yes,” Anna replies as she looks up at me. “But you’re not going to like it, Helena. I think we need to use the sword from alternate Earth.”

  “No!” I scream vehemently. “Ethan has that sword, and you know as well as I do that he’ll try to take my baby away from me as soon as he’s born, Anna!”

  “It’s the only thing we have left to try. If we don’t use it, your son can’t be born,” she reasons. “Once he’s out, I’ll talk to Ethan on your behalf. I’ll order him to stand down if it comes to that. You have my word.”

  “Why?” I have to ask, confused by her need to help me. “Why would you even want me to keep my baby?”

  “I’m not sure that I do want you to keep your son,” she admits, looking openly conflicted by the notion. “I’m scared of what you might do to him not only with your love, but also with your hate. Yet there’s a part of me that wonders how much sooner Lucifer would have asked for forgiveness if he had been the one to raise me. Maybe if he had, you and I could have been brought up as true sisters, and you wouldn’t be going through all of this right now.”

  “I probably would have just killed you when he wasn’t looking,” I say truthfully.

  “Perhaps,” Anna agrees. “But maybe not, Helena. I think all you’ve ever wanted was to feel accepted for who you are. Cade did that for you, and you were able to open yourself up to someone else for the very first time in your life. This baby could be the key to changing who you are.”

  “Why does everyone keep wanting to change me?” I ask angrily. “I like who I am!”

  I feel my son struggle inside me, yearning to be born and causing me pain again. Then the pressure eases, and I no longer feel him moving. I don’t feel anything.

  “Get Ethan’s sword, but don’t you dare bring him here!” I scream in panic. “I don’t care what you have to do to get it, just save my son!”

  “I think you mean our son.”

  I look over to the doorway of the bedroom and assume I’m hallucinating because the miracle I see before me can’t possibly be real. I’m not the kind of creature who is allowed to have happy endings.

  “Cade?” I cry as I begin to realize he isn’t just a figment of my imagination. He’s real because I can feel his love for me reignite my soul and fill my cold heart with warmth. I hold my hand out to him, beckoning him closer so I can feel his skin against mine once again to prove he’s real.

  As he steps farther into the room, so does someone else: Ethan.

  The instant I see the War Angel who has been hunting me from one corner of the universe to the other, I feel betrayed by the one person I thought I could count on. The one person I love. I let my hand drop to the bed, no longer wanting to feel Cade’s touch, because he’s brought my enemy with him.

  “He wants to take our baby away from me!” I scream in anger at Cade, feeling the warmth of my love for him turn to rage. “How could you bring him here? How could you betray me like this?”

  Cade sits down on the bed beside me. Before I can protest any further, he leans down and kisses me gently on the lips. Except, it isn’t just a kiss. It’s the sweet breath of life. As soon as I breathe it in, I feel our son begin to move again, giving me the answer to why Cade has been allowed to come back.

  “You’re his Guardian Angel?” I ask Cade as he pulls away far enough to look into my eyes. His love for me is so naked on his face that my anger with him has no chance of surviving. It withers away, retreating into the deepest recesses of my soul—for now.

  “Yes, I am,” he answers with a small smile as he gently glides the tips of his fingers along my forehead and down the right side of my face in a gentle caress. “I’ll protect him, Helena. I’ll watch over our son while you’re unable to.”

  “I can protect him,” I argue. “I would never let any harm come to him. Don’t you trust me enough to know that?”

  “I know you would,” Cade says with a note of sadness, “but you know as well as I do that you won’t be the one who raises him. Lucas has already shown you his future. You know what needs to happen next.”

  “But why?” I cry, unable to comprehend how letting a stranger raise my son is the best thing for him. “Why can’t I be the one who raises him?”

  “Once he’s born,” Cade begins, “you will lose your ability to cross the veil between Hell and Earth. I think you’ve suspected for a while now that his soul is a seal, just like Liana’s and Liam’s souls were created from their seals. When you lose the energy of his soul, you won’t have enough to remain here any longer. You’ll be trapped inside your domain again.”

  “Then I’ll take him to Hell with me and raise him there,” I contend.

  Cade slowly begins to shake his head. “You know that isn’t right, Helena. If you raise him there, he’ll soak up all of the hate in your domain and become a monster. Is that the way you see our son? As a monster?”

  “He doesn’t have to stay there all the time,” I argue, desperately trying to figure out a way for me to keep my child. “When he comes of age, he can use the Nex
us to travel to wherever he wants to go in the universe.”

  “He won’t be able to phase,” Cade reveals. “None of the descendants of War Angels will be given that ability. God decided that they shouldn’t inherit that power because it would make them too formidable.”

  “I can go get him,” Anna volunteers unexpectedly. “I can phase to Hell and bring him home with me whenever he wants to visit.”

  “That would solve part of the problem,” Cade agrees, “but it wouldn’t solve the most important one.”

  “What problem?” I ask, wondering why Cade is so determined to keep me out of our son’s life. “Tell me why you don’t want me to raise our child.”

  “You’ve become even more powerful than when I last saw you,” Cade tells me. “And even though I would give everything that I am to see you grow through loving our son, that same love would destroy him, just like it destroyed me. You won’t mean to do it. Just like you didn’t mean to kill me, but it will happen if you try to raise him in Hell, Helena, and deep down, I think you realize that too.”

  “But he’s the only piece of you I have left,” I sob, feeling as if Cade is asking me to rip my own heart to shreds by giving up our child. “I can’t lose him. I refuse to let him go!”

  “Then you will doom him to death by your hands. Even I can’t bring ashes back to life.”

  “This isn’t fair!” I scream as all of my hopes and dreams of a life with my son are snatched right out of my grasp. “Why does God hate me so much? First you, and now our son! Why does He insist on taking everyone that I love away and leaving me with nothing?”

  “He isn’t trying to punish you,” Cade says. “If anything, He wants to see you grow and become more than Lucifer made you to be. You have so much potential, Helena. If you would only see that, maybe things could be better.”

  “I’ll never have what I want,” I tell him, feeling as if my whole world is meant to be nothing but a reminder of loss and missed opportunities. “If I can’t have you or our son, there’s nothing left for me here to care about.”