by Susan Reid
Everything inside was made brand new, right down to the paint over the insulated steel walls. I set up the utilities, all new appliances, furniture, and even cable television. There were a total of seven bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen and dining room, and an equally large living room. I even threw in a few extras, like a state of the art gaming system, sound system, and a hot tub. The rest was up to them.
No one really spoke and a few people were missing. The only ones here were Lorelei, Gabe, Anthony, Ry, Nay, and Atiro.
“Where’s Berith?” I asked Atiro.
“She’s safe on a tropical planet with a few others. I thought it would be best for her in light of everything that’s just transpired.”
I nodded, “Good thinking.”
I then turned to the three warriors that remained. “Where are Jamie, Durien, Kaia, and Lira?”
“Jamie, Durien, and Kaia all went with Rahab, Jerilah, and Sinma to check on Spencer, and Lira is at your place with Crystal, Scarlet, and Edanai— unconscious. She went to see what happened at the hall.” Lorelei explained, melancholy. Her eyes were red.
Great.
“Well, there’s something I need to tell everyone but I’ll wait until they all return so I won’t have to repeat it.” I told her.
“I hope its good news.” Gabe said.
“And Starling is unconscious in that room up there but she’s alright.” Anthony pointed.
“Unconscious?” I was up the metal spiral staircase in a flash.
“I had to do it, man. She was fighting me to stay with you.” Ry informed me, “And I’ve already scoped the place out. It’s clear. I placed a few feathers around and Vinnah placed some protective spells around the windows and doors, and about a mile radius all around. If anything, it might be a really good disguise. Not many would think that warriors were here, if you know what I mean.” Ry went on to explain as he headed back down the stairs in the opposite direction.
He glanced over his shoulder while throwing a quick peace sign, “I’ll be at Draea’s if you need me.”
“Thanks.” I nodded.
I quietly peered into the room, seeing Starling sleeping peacefully on the bed. I would have woke her up but I wanted her to rest.
She needed it.
Being pregnant, and pregnant with twins wasn’t easy yet she exuded both energy and strength beyond my expectations and even that of her friends. The ring I gave her shimmered softly on her finger. Her hand rested on her stomach and it winked with the slow rise and fall of her rhythmic breathing. It was a symbol of my undying love and loyalty to her. She was already professing hers to me by virtue of carrying and having my children.
Someone was approaching. I backed out of the doorway and glanced down the short hallway at the landing of the metal, spiral steps.
Devlin stopped, eyeing me carefully. She was apprehensive, taking timid steps. I didn’t even notice her when I got here. She stopped, still several feet from me once we made eye contact.
It seemed like she wanted to speak to me but she was afraid. Then she softly cleared her throat.
“Is…Is she really pregnant?” She asked me in thin, hoarse voice and her eyes shifted to the room where Starling slept.
That wasn’t the question that I was prepared for her to ask me but there was no point in lying about it.
I sighed and nodded.
“How was that possible?”
I didn’t know that I wanted to answer that question, aside from the birds and the bees talk. Then I realized exactly why she was asking it. This was the girl that Starling helped. She had endured and suffered in Morning Star’s capture and I was pretty sure I knew why he let her go. Morning Star never lets his captives and servants go, at least not sane; all in one piece; or alive for that matter, so it made me a little wary of her.
Leaning with her back to the wall behind her, she laughed quietly to herself as if thinking of a private joke, and then slid down to sit, pulling her legs up and hugging her knees. We were probably about four or five feet from each other. I leaned against the opposite wall on my shoulder and crossed my arms.
She inhaled, taking in a deep breath as if she were about to speak and then she paused. We could hear the other four bustling about downstairs and engaged in low conversations about what just happened.
For the most part, it was pretty quiet.
I needed to tell them the truth, soon. I wondered what was taking so long to check on that damned seraphim.
“Who took Jamie, Durien, and Kaia to get the seraphim?” I called out to everyone at once.
“We did. Me, Jerilah, and Sinma are here. The seraphim is gone and I suspect foul play but you know they didn’t kill him. There are lots of lingering dark signatures left behind here. No trace of a struggle but there’s not a body either, which makes me very suspicious.” Rahab reported back.
No trace of a struggle? That was odd unless he was also broadsided and overpowered, which was very likely. Earthbound seraphim were the third in line for most valuable in the Spirit Realm because they were very rare. I know for a fact that whoever took him didn’t kill him, and they don’t plan on it either.
They want him for the light he has and for reproductive purposes. I couldn’t see him choosing darkness, which is exactly what they’re hoping.
Damn. I groaned. More bad news.
“You must already know what we’re thinking. Jamie is hysterical. She thinks he might have just gone somewhere and she wants to wait for him to possibly come back but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. This place is miles from any town and he has no access to portals. The others are scouting the area with the other warriors right now.”
Great. I hate to say that I already knew what could have happened. Dark armies didn’t believe in ransom and surely wouldn’t have picked him for it either if they were trying to get to me and maybe Starling. This was unfortunate but he was just too damned hard-headed.
“Be safe and bring her back anyway. It’s got Morning Star written all over it, though I can’t figure out how they were able to track and find him so quickly. I knew they were watching and I don’t think it was a coincidence on the heels of what just happened at the hall either. I’m pretty sure that the two occurrences are linked. Hurry and return here with the warriors. I’ll send an image and an address of the location.”
Devlin began to speak again, having no idea that I was in my own mental communication.
“I can’t blame them for not trusting me but they didn’t deserve that sucker attack. He set me up to be a mite, hoping that they’d accept me back in and I’d be his eyes and ears.” It seemed like she didn’t want to face me at first, keeping her eyes fixated on the blank wall across from her.
“I know what he did but I had nowhere else to go. I tried to…I wanted to just…” She shook her head and sniffed, her eyes closing briefly to stop her tears.
Sadly, I knew what she was going to say and what she had tried to do. I remained quiet, lending her the ear that she needed.
“He wanted me to try and lure Starling to him. I didn’t know who she was at the time but when she did what she did…I understood exactly why then. She’s gonna have to be really, really careful here too. She has no idea how many he has out to get her for him.”
“I do and that’s all that matters. He won’t so much as see her let alone get his hands on her while I’m around.”
She nodded slowly and then paused again.
“He’s been trying for the longest time. As long as he had me, he’s been trying but he can’t do it, not even with all the magic and servants that do that stuff. He still can’t. None of them can. Evil and hate-filled aren’t even strong enough words to describe him.” She then laughed softly to herself, scratching her chin on her knee in thought.
“All of that power yet the one thing he can’t do is what he wants more than anything.”
“He can impregnate humans. We all can. All of his children are expendable. The dark divines chose darkness, there’s no li
ght left in them anymore so they’re of no use to him except to fight.”
Her brows furrowed. “I know but how? Light and dark can’t exist in the same body.”
She made a good point and it was true.
“I have both.”
Awe brightened her eyes and then she was perplexed.
“I guess that’s why she’s pregnant now.” She glanced at the open door where Starling slept.
“I don’t know if you planned it or not…but I do know that if it wasn’t born of love, it wouldn’t have happened. At least, that’s what I believe. You’d better make sure to keep her protected. If he finds out, he will go above and beyond to kidnap her and your child.” She whispered ominously.
I was nonchalant.
“He’s evil, bold, annoying, insane, and powerful but he’s not stupid, and by that I mean he would never try and attack me directly or anything I hold dear.”
She chuckled. “No shit. I get why he’s scared of you now. He really hates you, which means you guys must be doing something good.” She smiled crookedly.
I nodded, flattered.
There was another long pause and I thought about her words. I wanted to know and hear everything that she had to say, only because she hadn’t spoken for so long since rejoining the other warriors.
“What’s the name of the fallen that befriended you?” I asked her.
A light seemed to turn on in her eyes all of a sudden and she appeared both hopeful yet sad at the same time.
“Xavien. You—you can call him back?”
“I can’t make any guarantees. I’ll see what I can do.”
Her shoulders slumped a bit but she nodded.
Why did that name seem…familiar?
XXXVI: Starling
My eyes slowly fluttered open. The room was a bit chilly but a thick comforter had been pulled up to my chin.
Where was I?
I sat up quickly and looked around the unfamiliar, dim room. It was cozy, and set-up with the smell of brand new furniture but it wasn’t anything or anywhere I’d been before. Am I in the human realm now?
Voices carried from below, sounding familiar and then Cam stepped into the room with a tray of— bless him, a nice juicy burger, fries, a coke, and a shake!
The smell alone made me salivate for the fattening meal, and though I felt ornery, I began to grin gratefully.
He was obviously alright but then the sadness of what had just happened suddenly slammed back into my gut and I wasn’t as hungry anymore.
He waited for me to sit up before setting the tray across my lap.
“I figured you’d be starving. You woke up sooner than I thought.”
I pursed my lips.
“That was low down of Ry and Edanai.”
“You didn’t give them much of a choice.”
Cam kissed me softly on the lips right before I shoved a hot, salty, delicious French fry in my mouth.
“Is everyone here? And where is here? It’s cold.”
He shook his head. “Still waiting on a few others. We’re back in the city where you went to school. It’s out in the country and it’s the middle of winter.”
He paused.
“I’ve just turned the heat up a bit.” He then said.
Anxiety slammed into me with a mixture of nostalgia at simply being back in the human world and what was to come, once I came face to face with China again.
“Is Lira back yet?” I had to ask, feeling my gut twist and my chest burning already, threatening to bring the fry back up.
“I don’t really know what she did or what she was trying to do but I’m gonna guess that it shouldn’t take this long. That’s what your friends said”
I sighed, depressed at the bad thoughts that suddenly filtered into my mind.
Cam wasn’t finished yet, that much I could read on his face. He sighed before continuing, “And Jamie isn’t doing so well.”
I tensed. “Why?”
Cam sat down on the bed beside me.
“The seraphim, Spencer, was apparently kidnapped at some point after he was last with us.”
I nearly spit out a spray of chewed up potato, coughing with a hand over my mouth as I sat up straighter in the bed and nearly toppling the tray that Cam held steady. He handed me the coke but I didn’t want it.
I leapt out of bed, stumbled out of the doorway into a strange, dark hallway, and raced towards the source of light and voices in the direction of what looked like stairs.
I was at the bottom of the spiral staircase in a flash, my eyes searching for faces, seeing only Durien, Anthony, and Gabe sitting in the kitchen, eating.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“In their rooms. No one has much of an appetite right now, especially Jamie.” Gabe said.
“Poor Kaia looks physically sick. I think that as an earthbound seraphim, she and Spencer are kindred-linked. She was the most devastated and she’s been in a deep state of meditation ever since we made the discovery.” Durien explained.
Cam was behind me already, “I’d let them all rest. Everyone has had a really big shock and this news doesn’t help.” He soothed with his hands gently massaging my shoulders.
I whirled around to face him in panic. “What about Lira?”
Cam went silent. I wondered if he were going into another mental conversation.
Then, his eyes darkened, almost making my skin crawl and I took a step away from him. I’d never seen him do that before. It temporarily reminded me of what he truly was for a split second.
“Cam, what’s wrong?”
The darkness lifted when he looked down at me, and without an explanation he quickly said, “Stay put. No one leaves. I’ll be right back.”
“Hey…wait!” I reached for him but he ghosted away and was gone in an instant.
“Cam, tell me what’s wrong, please!”
“I will as soon as I know.”
“Be careful.”
I sighed, feeling drained already even though I had just woken from a deep sleep.
I was afraid, wondering what had happened and praying that it wouldn’t be more bad news.
“What’s the deal with Spencer? What happened?” I asked, joining the guys at the table.
Durien shook his head and shrugged, though he was definitely upset. “I don’t know and I don’t get it. Nothing looked out of place. I don’t understand who or what managed to get him so easily either. There wasn’t a body or any blood. Spencer would never let himself go out like that, not without a good fight and magic. He was a damned good fighter.”
“But he didn’t have any way of calling any of us for help either. If several or more powerful demons got to him, he didn’t stand a chance no matter what he was throwing at them.” Anthony added.
I sighed in despair, thinking of the short amount of time that I got to know Spencer, and our last meaningful conversation. He was a playboy and a flirt, he was also Jamie’s man, I think. Though he was rigid and by the book…we really needed him. I agreed with Durien in that he was a very good fighter. He was knowledgeable and he had access to some defensive magic.
It was quiet. Too quiet and I didn’t like it.
A door creaked open softly and both Devlin and Lorelei emerged, weary.
“You’re up.” Lorelei tried to smile despite the circumstances.
She looked around the room, “Where did they go?”
We all figured that she was referring to our new, fallen allies and friends.
“They’ll be back. We’re still waiting on Lira, Crystal, and Scarlet. Lira hasn’t returned to her body yet.” Gabe answered.
Lorelei looked pained again as she pulled out a chair and sat down beside Anthony, eyeing the bags of fast food in the middle of the table with disinterest.
Devlin hopped up onto the counter next to the stove. She seemed different to me now. More alive, normal, and engaging in conversations.
“It took forever to get Jamie to calm down. She finally cried herself to sleep and Kaia
has basically zoned out too.” She said.
I felt bad for her but I didn’t know what to do. None of us did.
“I still can’t believe that you’re pregnant.” Lorelei flicked her eyes up to meet mine. I could see that her thoughts went beyond that simple statement and realization; like what was it like sleeping with a fallen and one of Cam’s size, too.
I wasn’t sure how to take her expression and statement.
Should I feel guilt or embarrassment?
“I can.” Devlin stated.
We all turned to look at her. Her expression was actually bright and almost playful.
“How far along are you?”
I shrugged.
“Pretty early I imagine. You’re not showing at all.” Durien pointed out.
“Do you feel sick or anything?” Lorelei then asked.
“No.”
“What are you going to do when you get bigger?” Anthony asked.
“Probably not much of anything.” I tried to joke.
I didn’t like being the center of so many questions but I couldn’t blame them for having them.
Procreation, let alone love between a fallen and a warrior, was absolutely forbidden. I didn’t have to be one for very long to know and understand that much.
“What about prenatal care? I mean, how did you find out anyway?” Lorelei inquired next.
I shifted in my chair. “I was told and it was confirmed by Ilka first, then Cam, and then Aon. Essentially, I was the last to know.”
They all gaped.
“No shit! Ilka knew?” Durien replied.
I nodded.
“Yep, they all know now then.” Gabe nodded in assurance.
“Damn. It’s so weird. I mean, you didn’t know that you could get pregnant?” Lorelei then asked as if I should have known better.
I sighed. “You’re making me feel like an afterschool special now. I did know but I didn’t know, meaning that it never crossed my mind since we’re immortal now.”
Lorelei thought about that as if the possibility didn’t dawn on her either, and then she turned her head, once Anthony moved in behind her and touched her shoulders gently.
I suddenly understood why she was asking. Had she and Anthony been trying to have a child? Why would they want to bring a child into this world now with all that we had to face as warriors anyway? The worst was yet to come. Then again, look at me.
