by SJ West
“It won’t be easy,” he cautions me.
“I know that,” I assure him, “but it’s better than doing nothing or not having any hope at all that there’s a solution to the problem. I have to try, Malcolm, and I’ll need your support. I know how much you hate Helena, but you’re going to have to temper your dislike for her for a while.”
“I’ll do my best,” he promises, and that’s all I really need from him.
Filled with a new sense of optimism, I throw my arms around Malcolm’s neck.
“Thank you,” I whisper to him as I feel his arms wrap around me and hold me close. “Thank you for thinking of something.”
“Anytime, my love,” he says in relief. “Just remember that you can do anything you set your mind to, and I will always stand by your side. You don’t have to go through this alone. I promise you that we won’t let our daughter be taken over by Helena’s hate without a fight.”
The ache in my heart is less painful now. It’s strange how the tiniest ray of hope can transform your emotions almost instantly. I refuse to sit back and watch my daughter’s soul languish in the pool of Helena’s hate. She deserves to live a life where she can make up her own mind about things, and I will fight with everything I have at my disposal to make sure that happens.
“Now that we have a plan, what would you like to do for the rest of the time we’re here?” Malcolm asks.
“I think I’ll let you decide that. I trust your brilliance.”
The next thing I know we’re standing back inside Malcolm’s study, but this time we’re both dressed in layer upon layer of clothes plus a coat and knit caps with earflaps. I step back from Malcolm and have to ask, “Why are we dressed like this?”
“Are you questioning my brilliance already?” he asks with a roguish grin.
“Just curious,” I admit.
Malcolm points to a chessboard set up in front of the fireplace in the room.
“I thought we would play a game of strip chess.”
I can’t help but bust out in a laugh.
“Only you could turn playing chess into foreplay,” I tease as I walk over to sit down in the chair on the right side of the board. I readjust the hat on my head and clap my gloved hands together. “Come on! Let’s get this game started!”
“So eager to see me naked?” he asks with a throaty, pleased chuckle.
After Malcolm takes the seat across from me, I move one of my pawns forward to begin the game.
“Always, my love,” I say truthfully. “Who wouldn’t want to see you naked?”
“That’s very true,” he replies without the least bit of modesty. “I could probably name at least a hundred women off the top of my head who would love to have the pleasure of seeing me nude.”
“Luckily for you, there will only ever be one woman who will ever see you naked again.”
“It’s sad in a way,” he sighs, “denying all the women in the world the delight of seeing me in the buff. It’s almost a crime against humanity.”
“I can’t say it makes me sad at all,” I tell him. “If you haven’t realized this already, I don’t particularly like sharing you with too many people. Call me selfish, but I like having you all to myself most of the time.”
Malcolm looks at me and shakes his head, as if the motion itself is a chastisement of my unapologetic selfishness.
“Think of all those poor people you are relegating to a life without at least one naked vision of me, my love. How can you be so cruel?”
I have to giggle at his jest. It feels good to laugh after all the crying I’ve done.
Malcolm smiles at me, and I know he’s happy because he’s been able to lift my spirits with newfound hope and a moment of pure silliness.
“You should know,” I say, sacrificing one of my pieces to his on the chessboard, “that I intend to lose this game in record time.”
“And here I thought you loved me for the way my mind works,” Malcolm teases, moving his piece to capture mine easily.
I immediately pull the knit cap off my head and toss it onto the floor.
“I do love your mind,” I assure him, moving another piece for him to capture. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy lavishing other parts of you with my adoration.”
Malcolm stares at me for a moment as if he’s thoughtfully considering what I just said. Before I can take another breath, the scene around us changes to the one I woke up to earlier. We’re lying naked, side by side in the bed on the beach again.
“What happened to the strip chess foreplay?” I ask jokingly as Malcolm rolls me over on top of him in one swift motion.
“I decided I would much rather have you lavish other parts of me with your love,” he says with a cheeky grin. “Are you complaining?”
“Absolutely not,” I reply, leaning down until our breaths begin to mingle. “You’re simply showing me just how brilliant you are by not wasting what precious little time we have here.”
“Then get to adoring me, woman!” he says, playfully slapping me on the backside. “I refuse to wake up until my every carnal desire has been satisfied.”
“Oh, really?” I ask. “And what about my needs? Will they be satisfied as well?”
“Very well,” he promises. “I don’t believe I’ve ever left you wanting, have I?”
“Never,” I agree, kissing him on the lips before sliding down his body to show him just how much I truly adore him.
Eventually, we are woken up from our dream world by a knock on the door. I’m reluctant to leave our seaside paradise, but I know the only reason we’re being disturbed is because the babies need to be fed. Malcolm and I both awaken, and he tells the interlopers into our fun to enter the room. Zane and Xander walk in, holding Liana and Liam.
“Were they any trouble?” I ask my War Angels.
“None at all,” Zane assures me.
Malcolm arranges the pillows around me like he did before and takes our children from the others’ hands.
“Do you want us to wait outside so we can take them back downstairs with us?” Zane asks.
I shake my head. “No. You can leave them up here. I’m sure they’ll probably just go straight to sleep afterwards.”
“Cool,” Xander says. “Jered needs some more help preparing Lucas’ birthday party. If you need us, we’ll be in Cirrus.”
“How is the city?” Malcolm asks. “Has anything changed?”
“It’s in good shape considering everything it’s been through,” Xander says. “Some of the buildings need to be repaired, but you saw that damage when you were last there. As long as nothing else happens that requires our attention, it shouldn’t take very long to make the place inhabitable again.”
“Then let’s all start praying that nothing else goes wrong,” I say.
“So show us the tattoo you got from Bai,” Malcolm says to Xander. The last time we saw him, he was heading to Brutus’ home so Bai could grant him protection from an archangel’s power to end a regular angel’s life.
Xander turns around so his back is facing us and uses both of his hands to scrunch up the back of his shirt up to his shoulders to reveal his tattoo.
I have to smile when I see a large pair of black angel wings.
“Very appropriate,” I tell him.
Xander lets go of his shirt and turns back around to face us.
“I thought so,” he replies with a small shrug. “Okay, well, like I said, we’ll be in Cirrus. If you need us back here, just send word.”
Both Xander and Zane phase to Cirrus.
“I can’t wait to go back home,” I tell Malcolm as I look through their phase trails with a sense of longing. Unfortunately, all I see is a blank stone wall. “It feels like it’s been forever since we were in the castle.”
“It hasn’t really been all that long.”
“I know, but it’s been longer than it should have been. We shouldn’t have had to leave at all. If Helena hadn’t …”
“My love,” Malcolm interrupts w
ith a note of caution, “remember what we talked about. Remember what you need to try to do.”
I sigh heavily as I look down at Liana lying on her pillow next to me. I quickly slip my breast from the top of my dress. Liam begins to suckle on my nipple right away. Liana takes some coaxing, but hunger seems to help her overcome her dislike of me. Liam is gentle in taking what he needs from my body. Liana, not so much. She clamps down harder than she needs to, but I don’t complain. At least she’s allowing me to feed her. That’s all I can ask from her right now.
“Only for you,” I whisper to Liana, “would I try to befriend my worst enemy.”
“We can do this, Anna,” Malcolm says in an attempt to boost my morale. “We have to.”
I nod but don’t make a reply. In order for me to truly attempt to bond with Helena, I know I have to let go of my resentment of her for causing this problem in the first place. I know she’s a selfish creature who only does what generates more power for her domain. Helena may be the mistress of Hell, but I fear her ambitions reach much further than that. Until she has complete dominion over the Earthly realm too, she’ll never be completely satisfied. She will do whatever it takes to advance her own cause no matter who gets hurt in the process.
“Maybe Cade can help us,” I say, clinging to hope, however small, that her soul mate can change Helena.
“Do you think we should even tell him?” Malcolm asks. “He did caution us about revealing anything important to him because Helena can read his thoughts when they’re in Hell.”
“I think we might have to take the chance. We need him to find reasons for the two of them to be around us more. That’s the only way this is going to work. I can’t exactly befriend Helena if she’s never around us.”
“I think it would look suspicious if we tried to track Cade down, though. We may just have to wait for him to come to us.”
“Patience may be the key, for now. I’m sure an opportunity will present itself soon.”
As soon as the babies are fed, we lay them down in the bed with us, and they both fall asleep within a matter of minutes. Malcolm suggests we do the same and return to his dream world to pick up where we left off. I heartily agree. I do love my husband with all my being, and the physical contact we share, whether it be in his dream world or the real one, always helps ease my worries.
The next morning Malcolm and I get up early so we can make Lucas breakfast to start his seventh birthday off right.
When we go downstairs, we’re surprised to find Cade in the kitchen arranging a dozen colorful cupcakes on a white platter at the kitchen island. He’s talking and laughing with Ethan, who is the only other person in the room.
His presence feels like a sign from God that our plan is destined to work. My mood is instantly lifted by his unexpected visit.
“Just the man we were hoping to see,” Malcolm says to him.
Cade looks up and smiles. He appears happier than I thought he would be after spending so much time with Helena. Perhaps I was wasting my energy worrying about him while he was around her. It obviously isn’t changing him for anything but the better.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought cupcakes for Lucas. I know how much he likes them, and every little boy should be spoiled on his birthday.”
Malcolm and I had both forgotten about Lucas’ birthday until Jered brought it up yesterday, but Cade remembered without having to be reminded by anyone.
“I know he’ll love them,” I tell Cade. “We’re having a party for him in Cirrus later today if you would like to come.”
“That’s what Ethan was just telling me.”
“We’ve got everything ready,” Ethan reports, “and people have been invited to join us there this afternoon.”
“Who have you invited?” I ask.
“Just family and friends,” Ethan assures me.
“So it will be a small affair?”
“Well, not exactly. We did invite all the War Angels to come.”
“Ah, so two thousand War Angels will be attending.”
“Hopefully,” Ethan confirms, looking pointedly at Cade before continuing, “all two thousand of us will be there.”
Cade suddenly looks uncomfortable, and I assume I know the reason why.
“Will Helena let you come?” I inquire.
“I can ask,” Cade replies. “She might. She seems to have a soft spot where Lucas is concerned. It’s why she let me come over here this morning to wish him a happy birthday.”
“A soft spot?” I ask, remembering quite clearly how violently she reacted to him when he showed her a possible future with his visions. Lucas told me at the time that he saw Helena crying in the prophecy, but he didn’t know why she was so upset. “I thought she hated him.”
Cade shrugs. “Apparently not. I guess the time they spent together on alternate Earth changed her mind about him.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” I say, seeing an opportunity present itself, “why don’t you tell Helena she’s invited to come to the party with you?”
Malcolm isn’t very surprised by my offer, but Ethan has definitely been thrown for a loop.
“Why would you invite that thing to spend time with us, Anna?” Ethan asks.
“She isn’t a thing,” Cade is quick to remind him. “She’s a person, and if you’re just going to be rude to her, we definitely won’t be attending.”
“Please, Cade,” I say, taking a step forward. “I can promise you that no one will be rude to her there. You have my word on that.”
Cade looks at me in total confusion. “You’re not planning to do something to her, are you, Anna?”
I feel rather insulted that he would imply such a thing, but his question is a valid one.
I may indeed have the means by which to harm Helena.
While on alternate Earth, Malcolm’s double there, Xavier, gave me the sword Jess once recovered from that reality’s Garden of Eden. He said he felt as though it was part of his destiny to wait for my arrival so he could give me the weapon. At the time, I assumed God meant for me to retrieve it and use it against Helena. I still think that, but I don’t believe using it now will advance my quest to build a relationship with her and, by proxy, end my daughter’s hatred of me.
“You have my word that no one will harm her there,” I vow.
Cade considers my offer before saying, “I’ll ask her, but I wouldn’t count on us being there.”
“I understand. Just make sure she knows I’m the one who invited her and that I would really like it if she came.”
Cade nods, still looking unsure about my reason for inviting Helena to what’s normally a friends-and-family-only event. I would tell him the truth, but I fear if Helena discovers my real motive, she’ll think I’m only using her as a means to an end. I can’t deny that’s true. I fully intend to use her to help my daughter, but I’m also leaving myself open to the possibility that Helena and I can actually build something of a sisterly relationship with one another.
Malcolm was right in what he said earlier. I will have to let go of what has happened between Helena and me if my plan has any chance of succeeding. For my daughter’s sake, I will attempt the impossible. I can’t fail her. I have to try.
“Cade!”
Lucas rushes past Malcolm and me and practically leaps into Cade’s arms.
“Are you back?” Lucas asks excitedly as Cade picks him up. “Did you find a way to escape from Helena?”
Cade chuckles and shakes his head slightly. “No. I haven’t escaped. She said I could come here to wish you a happy birthday and bring you those.”
Cade looks pointedly at the platter full of cupcakes on the kitchen island.
“Are they from that bakery in New York?” Lucas asks excitedly as he practically begins to salivate.
“Yes, they are. I know how much you love them.”
“You’re the best,” Lucas says, wrapping his arms around Cade’s neck and hugging him tightly.
Cade closes his eyes and smiles,
basking in the love my son has for him.
When Lucas finally lets go of Cade, he looks over at Malcolm and me to ask, “Can I have a cupcake for breakfast? You know it’s my birthday.”
“That’s fine,” Malcolm says in a tone that tells Lucas he’s only getting his way because it is his birthday. “But at least drink a glass of milk with it.”
Cade sets Lucas back down on his feet so he can get himself the required glass of milk to drink with his sweet birthday indulgence.
“What time is the thing?” Cade asks Ethan, purposely not saying the word “party” in front of Lucas.
“The party starts around noon I think,” Lucas answers, having already deduced what “thing” Cade was referring to in such a roundabout way.
“How do you know that?” Ethan asks, flabbergasted. “We made sure we didn’t say a word about it while you were around.”
Lucas shrugs like it’s no big deal that he already knows about the party.
“I had a vision about it,” he replies. “And Cade, tell Helena I saw her there too, so she has to come with you.”
Now I’m the one who feels shocked. The decision to invite Helena was only made by me a few minutes ago. Yet Lucas knew she would be coming even before I extended the offer.
“I’ll be sure to let her know,” Cade says, looking just as surprised as I feel. Although I’m not sure if he’s startled by Lucas’ foreknowledge, or the fact that Helena seems destined to attend the gathering. The latter would be my guess.
“I should probably be getting back to her,” Cade says. “She had to go do something in Nimbo this morning, and I told her I would be back before she returned.”
“I guess we’ll be seeing you later then,” Ethan says, looking concerned about the addition of Hell incarnate to the festivities.
“It’ll be all right,” Cade assures him. “She’ll be on her best behavior, Ethan. If she’s not, I’ll make sure she leaves before things get out of hand.”
Ethan nods, accepting Cade’s promise to keep Helena in check.
“Until this afternoon,” Cade says to us just before he phases.
From his trail, I see that he’s gone to the beach house he built not far from our own. I know it is his personal sanctuary and find it strange that he would go there to meet Helena. Perhaps he thought surrounding her with everything he holds dear would soften her heart toward him. I sincerely hope that it has, because in order for my plan to be successful, I need her to be pliable to forming a friendship with me.
