[The Watchers 19.0] Dominion - Reckoning

by SJ West

  “When you presented this scene to Anna, you embellished it to gain her sympathy,” God says, unmasking my little deception. I don’t feel an ounce of surprise. He is God, after all. Of course He knows what I did.

  “So?” I ask defensively. “I manipulate people’s emotions all the time.”

  “Yes. And you’re very good at what you do,” God says disappointedly. “You’re so good at it that you even deceive yourself sometimes.”

  “You’re not going to start talking to me in riddles like You do everyone else, are You?” I ask, already becoming annoyed. “I really hate that. Why don’t You just say what You mean if You’re trying to teach me some sort of life lesson here?”

  “I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you, Helena,” God says patiently. “You already know what I’m talking about.”

  I remain mute and just stare at Him.

  “Very well,” He says, “if you refuse to recognize what you did, then let Me make it plain.”

  God unfreezes the scene and allows it to play out just as I did for Anna. When Lucifer throws me to the ground and I begin to sob, He freezes the scene again.

  “I still don’t see Your point,” I say. “The way I showed this moment to Anna worked in my favor. She feels pity for me now when she didn’t before.”

  “True,” God concedes. “Your plan did work well, but do you fully understand why it worked so well?”

  “Because Anna is too soft-hearted.”

  “You’re missing the point, Helena,” He says disappointedly.

  “Then why don’t You tell me what the point to all of this is?” I yell in aggravation.

  “The scene worked so well because you showed Anna how you truly felt when Lucifer denied who you are to him. You try to hide from others how much he’s hurt you over the years, but I know the truth. You can’t hide your thoughts from Me.”

  “What I can do is blame You for making him hate me so much,” I say viciously. “He only created me because he wanted to make You suffer for what You did to him. If You hadn’t cast him out of Heaven, maybe I would have been made like Seraphina and been lavished with his attention and love, but the maybes of this world are a waste of time to think about. Nothing can change my life or who I’ve become. Not even You.”

  “You’re right,” God agrees. “There is nothing I can do to change who you are. Only you can do that.”

  “I don’t want to change. I love myself just the way I am.”

  “In a way, I know you’re right, but I also know there is a part of you that wonders if you could have another kind of life.”

  Our surroundings change once again to Anna’s chambers in the palace in Cirrus. God fades from my sight as I feel a pair of warm hands curl around my waist from behind, tugging me back against a firm body. I don’t have to turn around to know who’s behind me.

  “You seem lost in your thoughts,” Cade whispers in my ear. “Do you want to share what you’re thinking about with me?”

  I close my eyes and allow myself to soak in the moment. I know it’s only an illusion, but a part of me wishes it was real.

  I hear the cry of a baby from the adjacent bedroom.

  I quickly open my eyes and ask, “What was that?”

  I feel Cade’s body tremble as he begins to laugh at my question.

  “That would be our son, or have you forgotten about him already?”

  “Son?” I ask in shock. “That’s impossible.”

  “Come on.” He pulls his arms away from my waist and takes one of my hands with his. “I bet he’s hungry.”

  I allow imaginary Cade to escort me to the bedroom where I see a white bassinet. Lying within its safe confines, I see a baby with blue eyes staring back up at me. When he sees me, he begins to gurgle and smile as if I’ve just made his day brighter. I feel a deep, primal emotion well up from somewhere within my soul. Before it has a chance to overwhelm me, I wrench my hand out of Cade’s and run back into the living room.

  “Stop this!” I scream. “Stop this now!”

  My surroundings fade away, replaced with the original one, and I find myself standing on the grassy knoll once again. God reappears in front of me.

  “Why did You show me that?” I demand to know.

  “Because it’s what your heart truly desires,” He says. “You want the love and peace a family of your own can bring into your life, but you don’t feel as though you deserve it.”

  “Is that why You made Cade my soul mate? To torture me with the possibility of love when You know I can’t accept it? Are You trying to punish me for being the way I am?”

  “You are the only one holding yourself back from such a life, Helena. Everything you need to have the life you want has been given to you. Whether or not you accept it is your decision. As I said before, only you can decide your fate.”

  “I don’t want to be here anymore,” I tell him. “Send me back to Earth.”

  “You can leave at any time,” God tells me. “I’m not holding you prisoner here.”

  “And if I ever want to come back?”

  “You know what has to be done in order for that to happen.”

  “What? Bow down to You and ask for forgiveness? No thanks. I don’t have anything to be forgiven for. Everything I have done, or will do, has been to serve my own purpose. Anyway, why would I want to live here in Your realm when I already have one of my own to rule over? I’m not the servant type, and I definitely don’t intend to serve You.”

  God lets out a disappointed sigh. “I fear Lucifer made you too well. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not,” I retort before phasing back down to Earth.

  When I return to the bedroom where Lucas is still sleeping, I find Ravan standing by one of the windows, looking out at the city she once helped destroy.

  “Why are you here?” I ask her curtly.

  Ravan turns around to face me. “I didn’t want to leave Lucas here all alone. I wasn’t sure if Lucian would try to take him while you were away.”

  “You can leave now. He’s safe with me.”

  Ravan considers me for a moment before saying, “Why are you protecting him? It seems to go against your nature.”

  “He’s my sister’s son. She would expect me to keep him safe for her.”

  “Do you love Anna that much?”

  “I’m not sure I can love,” I admit. “It’s not something I was made to do.”

  “You could learn to love if you tried. It took me a long time to figure that out, but I finally did.”

  “What made you change?” I have to ask. “From what I remember, you were a real bitch during the Apocalypse.”

  “You definitely say what’s on your mind,” Ravan says with an embarrassed smile. “And yes, I was selfish and cruel back then.”

  “So what happened to you? Why has your attitude changed so much?”

  “I guess you could say that I saw the error of my ways and decided I wanted to be a better person.”

  “But what made you want to change? Something must have happened for this epiphany of yours to occur.”

  “I’m not sure exactly,” she begins. “After living for so long with so much hate, it finally dawned on me that I’d only been living a half-life. I started thinking about all the people I’d wronged in my time, and the guilt of what I did to them began to weigh so heavily on my soul that I felt as though I couldn’t breathe anymore.”

  “So you asked God for forgiveness and He granted your wish,” I say sarcastically with a touch of meanness.

  “To put it simply, yes,” Ravan answers.

  “There was a time I wanted to meet you in person,” I admit. “I even fashioned a body to look like yours because I thought you were someone I could identify with. I wish I could have known you back then because, frankly, the way you are now sickens me. You’re pathetic and you’re weak. Get out of here before I tear your head off and spit down your throat for being such a great disappointment to meet in the flesh.”

  “I see your talk with God
hasn’t changed you yet,” she replies, unaffected by my threat to do her bodily harm. “Maybe in time His words will sink in and you’ll decide to choose another path for your life.”

  “Don’t count on it. I like myself just the way I am. Now leave,” I say threateningly.

  Ravan phases out of the room, and I go to lie down on the bed again.

  Lucas is still fast asleep. He seems to be able to sleep through almost anything that goes on around him.

  I close my eyes but find sleep unattainable. My mind keeps going back to how sweet and fresh the air in Heaven smelled. Why did God feel the need to have Ravan take me there? Did He really believe His little pep talk would work a miracle on me? Obviously, He doesn’t know me as well as He thinks He does. Or does He know something about me that even I don’t understand? He is God, after all. He isn’t one to waste time on lost causes.

  I groan in frustration and roll over onto my side, away from Lucas.

  I may not know what God’s true agenda is, but I do know one thing: I’m ready to go back home to my own domain. The sooner I make that happen, the better.

  Apparently I fall asleep at some point during the night. When I wake up the next morning, I turn over to check on Lucas and find him missing from the bed. I quickly stand up and phase to the living room but find it empty of his presence, too.

  “Lucas?” I call out, feeling a sense of panic set in.

  “I’m in the kitchen,” I hear him reply.

  I walk over to the entrance of the kitchen and see him pulling some silver packets from the refrigerator.

  “You scared me to death,” I admonish him. “I thought someone kidnapped you.”

  “No, I just got hungry,” he tells me. “Would you like some breakfast?”

  My stomach growls, answering Lucas’ question.

  We eat a simple meal of eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. While I’m sipping coffee, he says, “I had a dream about God last night.”

  “Really?” I set my coffee cup down on the table and give him my full attention. “That’s interesting, because I had a nightmare about Him.”

  “A nightmare?” Lucas asks, baffled as to how I could have such an experience with the Almighty.

  “Don’t think about it too hard,” I advise. “You might hurt that tiny human brain of yours. In your dream, did He happen to tell you where your mother is?”

  “No,” Lucas says, looking dejected by the lack of help God provided. “He just told me not to be afraid no matter what happens. He said I would make it back home to see my dad again.”

  No matter what happens? What was that supposed to mean? Why didn’t God just say what He meant?

  “Is that all God told you?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” Lucas replies with a small shrug of his shoulders. “That’s all He said.”

  “He’s not a very helpful deity.”

  “Well, He can’t tell you everything,” Lucas tells me. “I don’t think He always knows what’s going to happen either.”

  “Why wouldn’t He know?”

  “Everyone has free will. He doesn’t control that. He might think you’re going to turn right on a street when you decide you want to go left instead. I bet He has to adjust things a lot because we don’t always do what He expects us to.”

  “You could be right about that,” I admit, amazed yet again by Lucas’ ability to reason the obvious from the obtuse.

  “I’m pretty sure I am,” Lucas says confidently.

  “Sure about what, exactly?” I hear Lucian say from the kitchen’s entryway.

  I turn to watch him as he strides into the kitchen and up to the dining table.

  “Have you found Lucifer yet?” I ask him, choosing to ignore his question to Lucas.

  “No, I haven’t, but Ivy thinks she knows where he is.”

  “So where is he?”

  “I’m afraid she wouldn’t tell me,” Lucian says regretfully, almost sounding like he means it. “She said the two of you would have to come to her if you wanted the information.”

  “Why is she so interested in meeting me?” I ask, suspicious of my counterpart’s motives.

  “You probably know the answer to that better than I do. You and Ivy are basically the same person, after all. You’re just more powerful than she is. If I were to wager a guess, I think she wants to know how you’re able to keep your physical form outside of Hell. I know I’m curious to understand that as well.”

  I smile tight-lipped at Lucian. If I don’t have to, I’m not about to tell him that I absorbed five of the seven seals to gain my ability. It’s very possible Ivy will discover that information when I enter into her realm, but if Ivy is as weak from the lack of new souls entering Hell as Lucian claims, she may not have the power to read my mind. I can’t find Lucifer on my own, and I’m sure he’s aimlessly roaming the city streets trying to find Lucas for Anna. I’m not deluded enough to think that he cares what happens to me. His only reason for concern over my welfare would be the fact that they know I’m needed to get us all back home.

  “When can we meet her?” I inquire, desiring to find Lucifer and leave this Earth as quickly as possible.

  “If you’re ready, we can go now.”

  I stand from my chair. “Come on, Lucas. Let’s go see what the Hell of this Earth looks like.”

  “Do I have to go?” Lucas whines.

  “Apparently so,” I say. “Ivy wants to meet you, too.”

  “I don’t see why. I’m nothing special.”

  If only he knew just how special he was. Lucian knows who Lucas really is, and if he knows, Ivy knows, too.

  “Stay close to me, Lucas,” I say, holding out my hand to him.

  He doesn’t question my request. He simply walks over and firmly takes hold of my hand.

  I look back at Lucian and say, “Let’s go.”

  Lucian touches my arm and phases us to alternate Earth’s Hell.

  We enter in to an almost pitch-black construct. The only thing present is a large oak tree devoid of leaves. Attached to one of the larger limbs is a rope and wood-plank swing. Sitting on the swing is a girl who looks about nine years old. She has pale white skin with brown freckles that run from cheek to cheek. Her long black hair is tied into ponytails that lay past her shoulders. She’s wearing a sleeveless black dress cinched in at the waist by a ruby red ribbon.

  “Hello,” Ivy says to us as she sits on the swing. It continues to sway back and forth by some invisible force.

  “Hello,” I reply as I quickly size Ivy up in a glance. I don’t feel much power emanating from her. I suppose Lucian was telling me the truth about Hell starving for power. As far as I can surmise, she isn’t a threat to either Lucas or me.

  When the swing pushes forward, Ivy jumps off it effortlessly and skips over to us like any normal little girl would.

  “Thank you for coming,” she says in a voice that has a highborn British accent.

  “You’re welcome,” I say, squeezing Lucas’ hand a little tighter to make sure he understands not to let go of me while we’re here. Even though she seems powerless, I don’t trust her. If she’s anything like me, no one in their right mind would trust her fully.

  “Lucian says you know where Lucifer is,” I say, getting to the point of my visit. “Where is he?”

  “Around,” Ivy says, tilting her head as she studies me. “How did you become powerful enough to leave your Hell?”

  “A lot of hard work,” I reply tersely. “Did you honestly believe I would tell you my secret?”

  Ivy smiles, but it’s a perfunctory one. “No. I didn’t. I wouldn’t tell you, either.”

  “Then why am I here?” I ask, becoming annoyed. “Are you going to tell me where Lucifer is or not?”

  Ivy wipes the smile off her face as her features become pinched. “You’re being rude to me. I don’t like it.”

  “And how exactly did you expect me to treat you? Like a long-lost alternate Earth sister?”

  “I expect you to treat me with the respect
I deserve!” Ivy’s face becomes so red with rage her head looks like it might shoot off her shoulders at any moment.

  I knew there was a temper hiding behind that childlike façade.

  “Why would I respect someone with so little power?” I ask scathingly.

  Ivy continues to study me for a little while longer without saying a word. Just as I’m becoming bored with her, it finally dawns on me what she’s doing.

  “Stop it,” I order. “Who’s the one being rude now?”

  “Too late,” she tells me with an evil little smile. “I already have everything I want to know.”

  I knew there was a possibility she had enough power to look inside my mind and find the answers she was seeking, but I had to take the chance in order to find out where Lucifer is.

  “If I had known the seals were the key to my freedom, I never would have let my Lucifer open them on this Earth.”

  “She has the seals?” Lucian asks in disbelief. “How did you get them?”

  “She didn’t retrieve them herself,” Ivy answers for me. “Her sister absorbed them from all of the princes, even from the Origin’s Lucifer, but Helena took them away from her. Or at least some of them. Her sister still has two of the seals, but they’re being used as the souls of the babies Anna carries.”

  I try to phase out of Hell to get away from Ivy, but apparently she has enough power to prevent me from leaving.

  “Her sister?” Lucian questions. “How can she have a sister?”

  Ivy tilts her head as she looks at him. “Anna is Seraphina born in human form. She’s also Lucifer’s natural-born child with his human soul mate in the Origin.”

  Lucian’s face goes entirely slack from shock.

  “That can’t be true,” he whispers, shaking his head to deny what Ivy has told him.

  “I’m afraid it is true. Anna is the one who helped the Origin’s Lucifer find redemption,” Ivy informs him. There’s a certain amount of joy on Ivy’s face as she watches Lucian’s reaction to her words.

  “Oh, that’s right,” I say, looking over at him as I remember an important piece of information Lucifer discovered on his last visit to this reality. “I seem to remember you telling Lucifer that you killed your Seraphina before you were exiled from Heaven. What a pity. You killed the one person who could have helped you find forgiveness from your Father.”