by Zoey Derrick
THIRTY-ONE
“No!” Vivienne screams.
Just as the jolt is about to make contact, Andrew releases Riley and disappears. It bounces off Andrew’s screen, hitting Riley square in the chest and sending him flying backwards ten feet.
The distance is just what Riley wanted; he starts to fling fireballs and bolts of lightning toward Mikah, who is still protected by Red, and Connor, who is now protected by Andrew. The lightning bounces off their protection and back at Riley, but he’s not giving up.
Mikah and Connor advance quickly on Riley, and then suddenly all four of the men are standing in front of him.
“Having fun?” Connor growls at Riley.
Riley laughs. “Of course I am. You idiots don’t stand a chance against me.”
Andrew laughs this time. “Really? Looks to me as if you’re losing this one. But then again that is what he wanted. He wanted you to be destroyed so he doesn’t have to deal with your ridiculous ass anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” Riley spats, but Vivienne can see his determination waver.
“We know who and what you are, Riley. When you killed your father you pissed him off, didn’t you?” Mikah says.
Riley’s eyes dart toward him. “How do you know that?” The lightning stops.
“We know a lot more about you and what the devil’s motivations are than you do,” Andrew says.
“I don’t believe you.” Suddenly the lightning starts up again.
Mikah rears back and brings his fist around in a right hook straight to Riley’s jaw. The contact is so hard that Riley’s face jolts to his right, but then he smugly swings his head back to look at Mikah, bringing his own right hook with him. Mikah dodges the punch and connects with a kidney shot to Riley. This time Riley crumples a little bit.
“You see, Riley, we know that you came here to kidnap her and take her back to Link,” Mikah growls.
Riley’s eyes widen.
“He wants her so that he can lay claim to her child. Raise Vivienne’s daughter in hell as one of his own. But you see, we’re not going to let you do that.”
All four men move at once, knocking Riley flat onto his back. Riley’s head cracks against the pavement, but it doesn’t stop him from fighting to get back up.
At the same time that Andrew raises his knife toward Riley, Vivienne is nearly knocked over by a force greater than Riley, and Andrew’s knife is knocked out of his hand.
“He’s not alone,” Vivienne breathes. She senses something else in the area, something coming from the same spot that Riley stands.
Mikah and Andrew look around.
“Not a physical presence.”
Andrew and Mikah recognize what she is implying. While Riley was already empowered by Link, the devil is now imbuing Riley with the last of his power.
Riley is on his feet in no time flat.
Everything at this moment starts to move in slow motion. Mikah’s wings burst through his sweatshirt while Red disappears completely for a brief moment, and Vivienne watches as he surrounds Mikah.
Andrew and Connor stalk toward Riley; their rage can be felt ten feet away. They move lightning fast, and Vivienne watches as Riley’s shirt shreds. Then Riley is fighting back, throwing punches and erratically launching lightning bolts and fireballs that Connor and Andrew dodge. Riley’s blood drips from the cuts he’s sustained from Connor and Andrew. The blood begins to pool at his feet.
Though time feels suspended, Andrew’s and Connor’s movements are nearly impossible to track, and Mikah stands back and watches, blade in hand and ready to strike when the time is right.
But three things happen at once. Andrew and Connor come to a halt, one on each side of Riley. They have Riley’s arms and legs intertwined with their own, holding him still, preventing any movement from him, and Red comes away from Mikah, morphing back into his human form with his gun pointed straight at Riley.
The blood runs down Riley’s body as he stands trapped, unable to move, but he manages somehow to throw a fireball at Red. Red, realizing he doesn’t have time to dodge it, begins to morph just as the fireball makes contact. Red is knocked to the ground in his human form. He coughs and staggers back to his feet.
Riley’s blood loss is causing him to fall weaker into Andrew’s and Connor’s arms, and the necessity of having everyone here becomes clear to Mikah. He lunges forward, knife raised and ready to strike Riley in the heart.
At the instant contact is made, right through Riley’s heart, there is a flash of bright white, and Vivienne watches in horror as Mikah’s wings suck in and he drops to the ground.
“Mikah! NO!”
THIRTY-TWO
“God dammit, Celeste, let me go!” Vivienne screams as she struggles against Celeste’s immobilization.
Another flash pops near Andrew, Red and Connor, only this time it’s on the ground. A massive puff of smoke rises, and ashes go flying in the breeze.
All trace of evil presence is gone. Riley has been destroyed.
“So help me God, let me go.”
Suddenly the bonds holding her back are gone and Vivienne takes off running toward Mikah. “No! No! No!” she screams as she runs.
Andrew, Connor and Red all surround Mikah, and Vivienne has to fight to get through them. Finally she breaks through the wall of men and tumbles onto him.
“No, Mikah, not like this.” She places her head on his chest, listening, hoping to hear something. But the rushing of her own heart makes it impossible. She can smell burnt cotton.
She raises her head up to see a hole in his sweatshirt. There is no blood, but she can see scorch marks on his chest. Vivienne takes ahold of either side of the hole and pulls apart the sweatshirt, widening the hole enough for her to see five points, charred black, on his chest.
“No, no, no. Mikah, no, you can’t do this. You can’t leave me.”
“Vivienne. We should get him to Elysium.”
“No, not yet,” Vivienne argues.
The guardians look at each other, wondering how to get Vivienne to let him go so they can get him to Elizabeth, who is his best chance for survival. Just then, a bright white light rises up between them. Everyone looks down, confused.
Vivienne kneels over Mikah, her hands over his chest, over the scorch marks. The light is coming from her.
They watch and listen as Vivienne recites an ancient healing prayer. All five guardians kneel down, surrounding both of them as Vivienne continues to recite the incantation. The men look to Celeste, who nods and mouths, “She knows what to do.”
The longer Vivienne recites the prayer the more labored her breathing becomes. Tears streak down her cheeks, and the light begins to die out. But the marks fade from Mikah’s chest and a beautiful, intricate Celtic tattoo begins to spread across his shoulder and down his arm.
But he still isn’t breathing, and his heart, when she again lowers her head to his chest to listen, doesn’t beat.
“Mikah, no, you can’t. Please, Mikah.”
Failure washes over her. She couldn’t save him.
“I love you,” she whispers.
THIRTY-THREE
“I’d be lying if I said I was surprised by you coming back through the death channel.”
Once again Riley stands before the devil. This time, though, the room is different. It’s hotter, and there are screams – haunting screams that echo off the walls.
“Death channel?” Riley realizes all too clearly that the men on the path were right all along.
His inquiry is met with laughter. “I always knew your arrogance was going to get you into trouble. Yes, the death channel. You’re dead. Again. And you’re mine. Or rather, you belong to the pits of hell, and I have just the person to torture you for all eternity.”
Riley could never have predicted what happens next.
Striding into the room is a woman. She’s confident, maybe even a little smug.
“Yes. She will do wonderfully,” Links says as the woman comes to a stop in front o
f Riley.
Her hand slides down his stomach as she struts around him, down past his dick, heading straight for his balls. She wraps her fingers around them and starts to pull.
Riley lets out a blood-curdling scream as he looks into the eyes of Rebecca Black.
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
THIRTY-FOUR
“Madison?” He breathes against her belly.
They’re sitting on the white couch in the big white room in Elysium. Mikah is lying across the couch with his ear pressed to Vivienne’s belly. She’s dreaming of him once again, as she has every night for the last two months.
She laughs and nods.
“I like it. I think it’s a good, strong name.”
Vivienne runs her hand through his hair as he gently caresses her belly. ”Madison Callahan-Blake,” she says.
His head comes up off her belly and he stares deep into her eyes, not even trying to hide his surprise. “Why?” is all he can manage to breathe.
“Is it not what you want?” she asks him, returning his gaze.
“I love it, but...”
“But she’s not really your daughter.”
Vivienne moves to sit up. Mikah lets her, then he lays his head on her thigh. She goes back to playing with his hair.
“No, she’s not. But I want her to be, just like I want you to be my wife.”
She rolls her eyes at him. This isn’t the first time he’s brought up the subject of marriage with her. “My opinion on marrying you hasn’t changed, at least not until after she’s here. Then we can talk about it.” She rubs her tummy as Madison moves around.
Mikah notices Vivienne’s wince.
He also notices that her image is flickering like a bad channel on the TV, and he knows that she’s going to wake up soon.
“I want your name on her birth certificate,” Vivienne says, bringing the conversation back to the original subject. “I don’t want hers to look like mine.”
She flickers again.
“I’d be honored to have my name on her birth certificate.”
He sits up and turns so that they’re face to face, then leans in to bring his lips to hers.
She kisses him back, but the kiss doesn’t last as long as either one of them hoped.
Tears streak down her cheeks as she climbs out of bed and shuffles toward the bathroom. Being eight months pregnant keeps her dreams a lot shorter than they used to be. But it is the same every time: Vivienne wakes up crying, bereft, and the ache of loneliness courses through her veins.
Mikah is gone, stuck in Elysium. She’d fought hard to save him that night, but the damage had been too much for her to handle. Despite Elizabeth’s reassurance that there is a chance that Mikah can return home, the longer he stays away and Elizabeth refuses to let Vivienne see him during her waking visits to Elysium, the more hopeless Vivienne starts to feel. Her dreams are the only place she can see Mikah, and when she wakes, she misses him that much more.
She believes in her heart that this is not the way it was supposed to end.
THIRTY-FIVE
“How are you holding up?” Celeste asks as they walk by the river.
Vivienne sighs. “I’m alright, just very ready for her to come out. Beyond ready.” She rubs her hand along her extended belly.
Celeste and Vivienne have continued to take their daily walks since that day in December. It’s become a ritual of theirs, and they have become very close since that night, what seems like eons ago.
They approach the spot on the blackened pavement where Riley was vanquished back to the devil. Vivienne doesn’t look at it very much anymore. However, the mark next to it is another story. That’s a mark she touches every day.
Though now it is nearly impossible for her to touch it with her fingers anymore. Bending down has become a thing of the past. She’s lucky if her socks actually make it on her feet. She’s thankful that the cold Minnesota winter is coming to an end.
“What would you like to do today?” Celeste asks Vivienne.
“Sleep.” She laughs. It’s a sound that has become more common in the last few weeks, but the ache in her heart is still there.
They continue until they reach the bridge and then turn back, smiling as the runners fly past them without a clue that they’re there. Ever since that night, whenever Vivienne wants to take a walk along the river, she goes under complete protection, invisible to everyone outside of the shield.
“Have you decided on her name? Last we talked about it you were tossing around Madison and...what was that other name?”
“MaryAnne.”
“That’s right. See, all the more reason to name her Madison, I can’t remember the other name.”
The vision of Mikah stretched out on the couch as they discussed her name last night helps bring a smile to her face. “Madison it is.” Although she told Celeste some time ago that she was seeing Mikah in her dreams, she doesn’t keep her updated on what they talk about.
“How’s your relationship with Red?”
“Strained. We’re both trying very hard. I think when he looks at me he sees a lot of wasted years, and he’s not sure how to get them back. Couple that with— He has a hard time with it.
“Kelly is great, though. She is so excited about the baby. And Andrew and Connor have finished the baby’s room.”
“I know what we can do today.” Celeste says, a little too excited.
“No. We’re not going shopping. I’m so tired of shopping, and you know damn well I don’t spend any money. You always just go back and buy anything that I had my eye on.” She laughs. “Besides, Aubrey is coming at one.”
“Oh, you can skip yoga for one day.”
“Nuh uh, nope, won’t do it. Not to go shopping with you.” She laughs again as they turn onto the walkway that leads home.
THIRTY-SIX
“Red asked me to stop by his condo when we came back,” Celeste says as she pushes the elevator call button. “Are you okay to go up on your own?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to lie down for a while.” She absently rubs her belly as the elevator door chimes.
“Alright, I’ll come wake you when Aubrey arrives.”
Vivienne nods, and the elevator door closes. She inserts her keycard into the slot and presses the button for the seventh floor.
Standing alone in the elevator makes it seem like it takes forever. Finally it reaches the seventh floor, and the elevator bell dings and the doors slide open.
Lit candles line the foyer walls.
“What?” She remembers when Mikah laid out candles the day he returned from Phoenix, and her heart rate spikes to a fever pitch.
She races to the door and pushes it open. More candles line the hallway, and the floor is strewn with rose petals leading into the dining room, where she can see that every surface is covered in candles.
She walks as fast as she can manage without slipping on the rose-covered floor. The hallway seems like it’s ten miles long.
Finally she comes around the corner to the kitchen. Her eyes follow the line of candles to the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Mikah,” she breathes.
But he isn’t there. Her knees grow weak.
Her head falls into her hands and she can’t stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks. She’s so confused. She doesn’t understand why anyone except for Mikah would do this.
But he isn’t here. She can no longer hold herself up as the pain of realization washes through her body.
He wraps his arms around her and catches her before she hits the floor. The scent of everything Mikah fills her nose.
She pushes at him, pushing him away. “I’m tired of dreaming. It hurts too much.”
“You’re not dreaming. I’m here, Vivienne, I’ve come home.”
Her head lifts out of her hands, and she looks up into his beautiful, vibrant blue eyes. She touches his arm, his neck, his face, his chest.
“It can’t be real. I fell asleep, I’m dreaming. I—” She s
lumps down again and he catches her once more.
“I told you, I will always catch you. I will always be here for you.”
All the strength goes out of her and she crumples into his arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Mikah has never seen anything more beautiful than Vivienne with her red hair and bright blue eyes. She truly is an angel, and he’s been waiting for this sweet reunion for far too long.
“I’m here and I’m here to stay.”
“But...but...”
“Shhh, sweetheart.” He touches a stand of her hair. “You saved my life. Our life. I couldn’t have born to watch you leave Elysium. To see the pain in your eyes every time you knew you had to leave.”
“But you left me here. Alone. Losing hope. Losing faith that they’d let you return to me,” she sobs into his chest. “To wake up every morning crying because what we had was gone and I had to face another day alone, without you.”
“I can’t even begin to put into words how sorry I am that you had to suffer like that.”
He takes a deep breath, pulling back, hoping to look into her eyes. She tries to look up at him, but it’s too painful. It’s too hard to look at him.
“It was selfish. I was selfish. I thought that being in your dreams would be better than you having to walk out of Elysium without me. I’m sorry. I was wrong.” He kisses her forehead. “I love you.”
She pulls back to look him in the eyes. “I love you,” she breathes.
He brings his lips to hers: strong, needy and passionate.
She has missed the taste of him, and part of her is still afraid she’s dreaming, that she’ll wake up and he’ll be gone. Tears continue to slide down her cheeks.
As if he’s read her mind, he says, “I’m not going to leave, I’m never going to leave you. Let me prove it to you?”
She nods, weak and helpless in his arms. He reaches under her legs and stands up, bringing her with him.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she says. “I could never wait to get to sleep so that I could see you.”
