by T. R. Hamby
Tears welled in her eyes, and she brushed at them. “I didn’t want this.”
“I know,” Michael said soothingly, taking her hand. “I know.”
“You need to stay Home, Serene,” Mel said gently. “It isn’t safe down here. You know that.”
“I want to help,” she moaned.
“You helped. Now you have to go back.”
“I’m stuck,” she said, and tears began to slip freely down her cheeks. “I’m fucking stuck. I lost my shop, my friends, my country. Now I can’t even be with you.”
And she immediately went to Michael, burying her head in his chest, and he held her. He and Mel looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Once she was soothed, Serene Traveled back Home. Michael was quiet, and Mel could tell he was facing the loss of his daughter once again. Barry and Gabriel finished dinner while he and Mel sat in the living room, sipping on whiskey, of course.
Michael ran a hand through his hair again.
“Maybe Helena can talk some sense into her,” Mel said quietly. “Get her to see you.”
“I don’t know why she won’t,” Michael said, frustrated. “I support her no matter what she wants.”
“You know how she is. She always withdraws when she’s stressed.”
“I thought she would have grown out of that.”
Mel shrugged. He didn’t know much about parenting, just uncle-ing.
Michael seemed to be thinking of this, because he looked at him and asked, “Why did you never have children?”
Mel frowned at him. “You know why. I told you.”
“Not really.”
“There’s not much to say,” he said, exasperated. “I never wanted any. I’ve never wanted to be a father. That was always your thing.”
Michael stared at the contents of his glass, a dark look on his face. “Not sure how good I was at it,” he murmured.
“You can’t say that with Gabriel sitting in the next room.”
He seemed to think for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah.”
“She’ll see you again,” Mel said firmly. “You just have to give her time. She loves you.”
Michael didn’t say anything--just nodded again. He stared ahead, his jaw working, a worried expression on his face.
Finally he murmured, as if to himself, “I have to see it. At least once. My daughter’s child.”
Mel nodded, feeling a pang. “You’ll see it,” he said firmly. “Many times.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “If Persephone doesn’t kill us first.”
Michael snorted and rolled his eyes. It was the reaction Mel had wanted--Michael’s lips were twitching.
Nora
Nora and Gilla had kept themselves busy the past five months. They had gone out on the town, and made some friends close to both their ages. Their one friend, Judy Talbot, had an old house she was hoping to refinish. Nora and Gilla jumped on the project, and they began remodeling and redesigning the house top to bottom.
Tonight they were having dinner with Judy and her boyfriend, who they hadn’t met yet. It was mostly just a get-together, but Nora knew the conversation would eventually turn to the project, which she was eager to discuss.
It was an upscale Italian place in South Bank. They sat on the roof--it was still warm out--and waited for Judy and her boyfriend to arrive.
“How is Michael doing?” Nora asked, sipping her wine.
Gilla shrugged. Okay, mostly, she signed, but he hasn’t seen Serene since he showed her the house. She’s not with Judith when he Travels Up There.
“I hope that won’t become permanent.”
She shook her head, troubled. I know he’s thinking of her. He just got her back.
“When will the baby be born?”
He says in the next month or so. Angel pregnancies apparently last about as long as human pregnancies.
“God. I’m glad I’ll never have to do that.”
Gilla grinned and nodded firmly.
Their conversation continued--until it was cut short. Both of them shifted, confused.
There was a Presence, and it was slowly approaching them.
An Angel. Shit.
Nora looked around, and caught sight of Judy, arm-in-arm with a tall dark-haired man. Nora could tell he was the Angel, as his Presence strengthened as he approached.
He was dressed impeccably, in a button-down and slacks. His dark curly hair was slicked back. He was handsome, in a sort of asymmetrical way, with sharp angles on his face.
He was frowning, too, looking between the two of them.
Judy was oblivious. “Ciao,” she greeted, having taken to Nora’s Italian roots.
She gestured to the Angel beside her. “This is my boyfriend, Roone Harrison.”
“Hello,” he greeted, in a perfect Irish accent that Nora knew was fake.
He was still looking between the two of them, and they stared back, struck.
Gilla was the first to break the tension. Nice to meet you, she signed, putting on a friendly smile.
He looked surprised, and Nora translated.
Then he smiled. “Nice to meet you too….should we sit down?”
He had a cool exterior, but an awkward demeanor. Judy did most of the talking, gushing about the changes they were making to the house, while the other three sat and listened. They ordered and ate, but Gilla and Nora barely touched their food.
This wasn’t good. It couldn’t be a coincidence that they had run into another Angel--although he seemed just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. He kept glancing at them, and seemed to eat in a sort of dutiful way.
If he was evil, they were toast.
“Oh, I have to take this,” Judy said as her phone rang.
She excused herself, and the three stared at each other for a moment.
Then Nora and Roone asked at once, “Who are you?”
Roone looked at Nora, before addressing them both. “I’m Roone,” he replied, dropping the Irish accent. “I’m a thousand years old, and I’ve been on Earth for five hundred. I’ve been living in London for a few months, and Judy is my mate.”
“Does she know what you are?” Nora asked, though it was obvious that she didn’t.
“No,” Roone said, and he looked a little sheepish, shifting in his seat.
He frowned at the two of them. “So….your turn.”
Nora glanced at Gilla. She was sure they shouldn’t reveal all their secrets.
“You’re Angels?” Roone prompted, and Nora seized on this, realizing that he didn’t know about the Existence of Immortal humans.
“Yes….we’re sisters,” she said quickly. “We’ve been down here a few years.”
He looked confused. “But….you’re American,” he said, “and you’re--” he looked at Gilla, “--deaf? Mute?”
Nora faltered. “Humans like Americans,” she said, doing her best to imitate Mel’s difficult accent.
She looked at Gilla, who was turning red. “And….she’s been unable to speak since birth.”
Roone looked intrigued. “That’s strange. I’ve never heard of that before. Maybe your--you know--maybe your parents offended Father somehow?”
Gilla studied her plate, still red in the face.
He desisted, and looked at Nora. “Well….I don’t want any trouble,” he said slowly. “I’m only here to enjoy the culture. I won’t get….you know. Territorial.”
Nora and Gilla nodded, although Nora was still suspicious.
But he seemed nice enough, and too awkward--too placating--to have malicious intentions. And there were plenty of Angels on Earth who weren’t evil demons. Mel had said before that Angels living on Earth tended to avoid each other, so maybe now that Roone knew them he would steer clear.
The rest of the dinner was awkward. Judy still didn’t seem to notice the mood, and yammered on about the house for the rest of the evening.
Once dinner was over they got ready to leave. Nora caught Roone’s eye, and she managed a
small smile. He looked away, frowning, and the couples parted.
Nora and Gilla looked at each other as they hailed a cab.
What the hell was that? Gilla signed, bewilderment on her face.
Nora had no idea, and she guessed no one else would, either.
Mel
They decided to wait for Nora and Gilla to get home before they discussed Serene’s report.
They sat in the living room with the TV on. Mel and Michael took one couch, while Gabriel and Barry took the opposite. Gabriel had his arm around Barry, who had fallen asleep lying against him. Mel couldn’t blame him; the first two weeks of class had been rough. He was taking English, and had never been good at writing papers.
Mel studied him. He had approached him a couple weeks ago, asking if he could have money for a new tattoo. He wanted the script on his neck covered up.
“Have to figure out what I want,” Barry had said, shrugging.
Mel thought. “You could always get a rose,” he said.
Barry shook his head. “I have plenty of those. So you’re all right with it?”
“I can live without a few hundred pounds.”
“Thank you.”
Mel had studied him, watched how he surveyed the books on the shelves of the library.
He pointed to a couple. “These art books?”
“Yeah, some of Nora’s. She studied art in college.”
“I’m taking an art course too. Think she’d mind if I borrowed them?”
“Go ahead.”
He extracted them from the shelves, flipped through their pages.
“I just need to pass these courses,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “I’m shit at writing. Never was good in school anyway.”
Mel heard the shame in his voice, the lowness. He could see a younger Barry, navigating the school halls, unbelonging and underperforming.
“Ask Nora if she can help,” he finally said, and Barry looked at him.
He shrugged. “You know she’s smart. She’ll help you.”
Barry flushed, but nodded. “Thank you.”
“You know,” Mel added as he turned to go, “an eagle, maybe. On your neck.”
Barry thought for a moment. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. They symbolize courage.”
Barry had looked embarrassed, but pleased. He left, and Mel was left to contemplate.
What was Father planning for Barry? He was a good kid, smart, likable. Brave, clearly. He was resourceful. He had been through a lot. But it was all a fucking mystery, for all of them. Mel sat on the couch now, wishing he had some answers.
The front door opened, and in came Nora and Gilla.
“Guys, we met another--what is it?” Nora said, catching the look on everyone’s face.
She and Gilla sat down, and Mel and Michael recounted everything Serene had said. Slowly Gilla and Nora looked more and more grave, their shoulders slumping.
“Four to seven,” Nora murmured, holding her head in her hands. “Four to seven.”
They were quiet for a long time.
Finally Nora lifted her head. “Okay,” she said firmly, “if it somehow comes to it, we’ll do it like this: Mel, you’ll take Raziel, since the two of you basically match up Talent-wise. Gabriel and Michael, you’ll take Horus and Valor. Gilla, you’ll take Persephone. And….I guess I’ll take Ceres. And then--shit, there’s still the other two. Grayson and Alice.”
“You can’t take Ceres,” Michael said calmly.
Nora swelled angrily, and he said, “I’m being practical. She’ll overpower you and kill you. You’re just not strong enough.”
There was a pause. Then Nora deflated and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “What’s the point of making this deal with me if I can’t fight Angels?”
There was that anger Michael had been asking about earlier. Mel wrapped his arms around her, murmured in her ear.
“I’m not useful,” she whispered, so the others couldn’t hear.
“You are. I promise.”
She took a deep breath and sighed, leaning into him.
Michael studied her worriedly before saying, “We need to figure out what to do next.”
“They’ll probably still be in that flat in Chelsea,” Gabriel said. “We never found it.”
Gilla clapped her hands calmly. We won’t know anything until they give us a sign, she said. They don’t know where we are either. They’ll try to draw us out.
Nora nodded. “Right. So we start patrolling again. Croydon, Hackney. Stay in the clubs and look out for Grayson. Actually,” she said, “here’s an idea.”
“Here we go,” Grabriel joked, and she shot him a look.
“Gabriel, you watch the Knightsbridge house and see if Alice tries to come back. Michael and Gilla, you take Hackney and Croydon, and Mel, you take Chelsea. Barry and I will….”
And she looked at Barry, stumped.
He shrugged. “Something online, maybe?”
“Yeah….maybe….”
She heaved a sigh, glancing at Gilla, who was white.
“There’s something else everyone needs to know,” she said quietly.
Mel frowned, concerned with her tone. “What’s wrong?”
She sighed again. “Judy’s boyfriend. I told you he was joining us for dinner? He’s an Angel. An Angel called Roone.”
There was a silence.
Mel felt his heart drop. Another Angel, and he had been close enough to touch both Nora and Gilla tonight.
“Are you okay?” he asked, touching her arm, and she and Gilla nodded.
“Yeah, we’re fine. He was actually….nice.”
Mel snorted. Sure, he put up a nice front.
“Seriously,” Nora said patiently. “He doesn’t seem like a threat. Just your regular run-of-the-mill Angel.”
“It’s not something to risk,” Michael said, taking Gilla’s hand.
Mel could tell he too was grateful that the two women had come back alive.
Nora shrugged, looking drained. “Judy says they’ve been seeing each other for months. It doesn’t sound like he just popped up to stalk us one day. And we haven’t felt any other Presence while going about our lives. We would feel him if he was following us.”
“She’s right,” Gabriel said, and everyone looked at him. “There are still Angels out there who aren’t out to get us. We need to focus on the ones that are.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for him,” Barry said, and everyone frowned at him.
He shrugged. “I go to university--I have the most predictable routine. If he’s following us, he might be checking up on me a lot.”
“Great,” Gabriel said dryly. “Now I’m worried.”
Barry looked a little bitter. “Don’t worry,” he replied, “if things keep going the way they are now, I’ll fail out by November, and won’t have to go to class anymore.”
Mel felt a pang. “I told you Nora can help you,” he said firmly.
“Yeah, I’ll help you, Barry,” Nora said. “All I did in school was write papers.”
He looked a little encouraged. But everyone was still exhausted, and two by two they went to bed.
Mel could tell Nora was still bothered by her lack of Angel strength. They got into bed, and she leaned into him again.
“I don’t want to be special,” she said quietly. “I just want to be able to help.”
“I wish I had an answer, love,” Mel replied. “But you should see yourself with us. You’re always taking charge, coming up with new plans.”
She absorbed this. “What is the point of being Immortal if I can’t protect myself from Angels?” she whispered.
Mel was patient, rubbing her arms and kissing her bare shoulder.
They were quiet a moment.
Mel hesitated, then said, “I hate to bring it up--”
“Roone,” Nora sighed, and he squeezed her arms.
“I think he’s a threat.”
“Even if he is, there’
s not much we can do,” she replied gently. “And, like I said, I really don’t think he is. He was really….awkward. He asked us questions, but I don’t think he liked being around us. He could barely look at me when we were getting ready to go.”
Mel ground his teeth together. He had to admit that he didn’t sound like a threat, like she said. And why would an Angel who was stalking them randomly pop up to say hello?
He sighed. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
“I thought you said I’m always right,” she teased, and he smiled, happy to hear her humor returning.
She became thoughtful again, and nodded to herself. “Yeah. Our priority is Persephone. We have to get her.”
Mel nodded too, and held her tight.
Once again, his little diletta was right.
Barry
So these Angels were back. Barry had hoped--probably stupidly--that they wouldn’t return. All he wanted was a nice, quiet life in Westminster with his boyfriend and his sort-of in-laws.
But he knew what he had signed up for, and he was determined to help. He didn’t like to see innocent people suffer as much as the next person. Those girls didn’t deserve whatever they had gotten. Abby didn’t deserve it. And their families would never find them, never have closure.
He was tired. These papers were kicking his ass. He had never had the best writing skills, and he had found himself writing and rewriting for hours the last two weeks. God, he was barely into the semester and he was only just passing.
“You all right?” Gabriel asked as they changed for bed.
Barry shrugged; he didn’t feel like talking about it.
They got into bed, staring up at the ceiling, playing with each other’s fingers. Barry felt some happiness pierce his funk. He would never tire of sleeping next to Gabriel. The warm bed, the clean sheets. His fingers on his skin, tracing his body.
He was still in love with him. None of that had changed.
“Anything in Knightsbridge?” he asked quietly.
Gabriel had Traveled to sneak a look at the Knightsbridge house right after the group had finished talking.
Gabriel sighed, frustrated. “The house is still being shown to buyers. I won’t be able to tell which could be an Angel; I have to stay far away.”
