The Return (Haunted Series Book 21)

by Alexie Aaron

  “They came for Victor and Hero. Nicholai had left hours before. They tried to take Varden, but Angelo stopped them. Mia, I think they will take him if you don’t go and straighten this out.”

  “Yes. I’m going, but first, go and get the boys.”

  “I’ve got them,” Dieter said, walking in from the kitchen with each boy on a shoulder sleeping.

  “I’m going to send you to Ed and Judy. You’ll be safe with them.”

  “How?” Ted asked.

  “Ed gave me this,” Mia said, walking over to the bookcase and pulling out a book on lighthouses. Inside the front cover, she studied the incantations Ed had written there and picked the one that would open a door to the island. “He wanted us to have a way to get to him in an emergency,” Mia said. “I want you all to go.”

  “I’m going to stay here and wait for you to return,” Ted said.

  “They may use you to get to me,” Mia said. “Please pretend that I don’t think that you can get us out of this if you put your mind to it. Please go.”

  “I’ll go,” Ted said. “What about Lazar and Cid?”

  “I’ll send Lazar to his parents. His grandmother is powerful and can hide him with Crone magic. Cid, I know you’re listening. You go with him.”

  Mia reached down deep and brought forth her superhuman powers and conjured a doorway. She watched as Dieter walked through with the children. She kissed Ted and pushed him into the gate, closing it after them. She walked over to the bathroom and sprayed some air freshener to get rid of the ozone smell. Mia put it back in the bath, took a look at herself in the mirror, and said, “Cooper, it’s time to shine.” She stopped and felt Murphy enter her body. “Glad to have you aboard.”

  Angelo watched as Mia walked out the door. “K. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “I need your sword,” the nearest birdman asked.

  “Sorry, it’s attached,” Mia said. “I promise not to draw it.”

  “Is it angel steel?” Angelo asked.

  “Yes. I can’t use it to attack, only to defend,” she lied.

  “Fair enough. Come,” he said, putting a strong hand on her arm. He pulled her into his chest before she had time to expand her wings. “Remember who I am and what I can do,” he hissed.

  “You seemed to have forgotten who I am. I’m your friend,” Mia said and stomped on his foot.

  Angelo took off, squeezing Mia a bit too hard for comfort.

  Victor paced the cage he had been put into. He looked at Hero and shook his head. “Why are we here?”

  The raven spoke into his mind. “It’s been years, but I feel the presence of my betrayer. I never was allowed to see her face, but I memorized the air she took up and her scent.”

  The moment Mia’s feet touched the ground, Murphy moved silently out of her. It took him a few moments to recognize where he was. They hadn’t left the continent of North America. Mother Nature’s great trees hadn’t been touched here, with the exception of building the great Aerie that was the home of the Brotherhood of the Wing’s tribunal. Murphy sought out the best ley line route to get him quickly to Quentin before he left Mia. He turned and looked at her determined face and memorized it. Mia was not going to go down easily.

  Mia turned to Angelo. “What’s next?” she asked. “How am I being charged as a Brotherhood of the Wing warrior when I never joined.”

  “That is the first question I’m asking. I take it you sent the family away?”

  “Someplace safe,” Mia said. Her nose was burning, but she was damned if she was going to let these feather-brains see her cry.

  “Victor has been charged with the same thing but has also been charged with conspiracy to take over the Brotherhood of the Wing.”

  “No, he wouldn’t do that!” Mia exclaimed.

  “Little Bird, I know this, but there are so many who look upon him and quake.”

  “Humans and angels alike,” Mia said. “He doesn’t have your suave Italian charms.”

  “Stop it. I know what you’re doing. I’m not the enemy. I’m here for you.”

  “Who’s here for Victor?”

  Angelo didn’t say anything.

  “Well then, I’m here for him. I’ll defend him.”

  “No, that’s what they want, to see you as his passionate lover.”

  “Oh, give me a flying break,” Mia complained.

  A small group of Gray Ladies approached. “We will take possession of Mia now.”

  “You may not possess me. I’m bound to Theodore Martin and under the employ of Michael the Prince of Angels. You can guide me to a place of internment, but you can’t possess me.”

  Angelo hid the pride he had for Mia. She wasn’t going to go meekly into the night. He regretted his moment of anger when he believed that she and Victor had mated. Deep down he knew it was a lie, but the accuser had nothing to gain by lying - or did she?

  Mia heard Hero call out in her mind. She answered, telling him all she knew. He told her something that clenched her jaw. She responded with his own words:

  How can alliances be forged

  When deceit runs rampant

  Within the ranks

  When even a friendly hand

  Has become tainted by

  The blood of betrayal

  Pray that our mission

  Has not been compromised

  That we have not lost sight

  Of our true objective

  And as we enter the fray

  Let love be our rallying cry

  A cell was opened, and she was handed a Gray Lady’s habit.

  “No thank you,” Mia said, handing it back.

  “We will strip those clothes from you,” warned one of them. “I think it’s best for you to arrive looking complacent.”

  “So you have my best interests in mind? If you did, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Idra pushed through the crowd of Gray Ladies. “Mia, we weren’t the ones given Victor’s heart feather. You were.”

  “I was told I needed it to survive.”

  “You may have been lied to.”

  “Oh great. I have wings again because of a lie. Well, that’s effing great,” Mia complained, taking off her clothes. She reached for the robe.

  “What has happened to your body?” Idra asked.

  Mia looked down. Everything seemed in the right place. Do you mean the circle scar or the tattoo?” Mia asked, self-conscious.

  “No, the bruises.”

  “I was learning how to fight. You get bruised.”

  “You already know how to fight,” Idra said.

  “Not with these wings. They are so heavy that I usually end up like an unsettled turtle on the ground.”

  The corners of Idra’s mouth twitched, but she didn’t smile. “How do you get into all of this trouble?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  “Where are your children? Where is Varden?”

  “Home,” Mia lied. “Why?”

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “No, Ted and I use protection. Why?”

  Idra walked forward and placed her hand on Mia’s womb. Then she walked around her and studied her a moment. “What is that thing sticking out of the back of your neck?”

  “Gargoyle magic. I absorbed it accidentally. Why all the questions?”

  “We were given other answers by your accuser.”

  “Who is my accuser?”

  “She is hidden for her protection.”

  “What kind of court is this when you can be accused falsely by someone hidden for their protection? You really need to revolt and join the 15th century, girls.”

  Angelo stood in front of the cage holding Victor and Hero.

  “Why are you here?” Victor asked.

  “I’m acting as an advocate for Mia.”

  “Good, she will need you,” Victor said.

  The raven croaked while bouncing his head.

  “I don’t believe you’ve met my grandfather Hero?” Victor asked. “He and I were just gettin
g acquainted when the goon squad showed up.”

  “Hero as in…”

  “Hero is my grandfather. Anat was my grandmother. She gave birth to Vance, my and Varden’s father.”

  “You are being accused of the same crime as Hero and Anat.”

  “They are wrong. I did not intend to, or take, the mating death plunge with Mia. I gave her my wings so she could protect my godson and, according to Elizabeth, survive the last attack on her. The funny thing is, when I carried her to the Aerie, she didn’t have a broken back. That happened under Elizabeth’s care.”

  “Elizabeth is your accuser,” Angelo said. “I cannot tell Mia this, but you need to know.”

  “Tell me, who was it that accused Hero and Anat?” Victor asked. “I have a feeling it’s the same person.”

  “I will look into that,” Angelo said.

  “All of this is a vendetta of Elizabeth’s to destroy the heirs of Hero and Anat,” Victor said.

  Angelo took a step back. “If it is, this isn’t the Elizabeth I know.”

  The raven croaked. He angled his head and pecked at Victor’s sleeve.

  “He says that Elizabeth was in love with Anat. Anat did not return that love.”

  “So, all of this is because of a woman scorned,” Angelo said through gritted teeth.

  Mia was walked out in a procession of Gray Ladies. She sat alone on a stark wooden bench. Victor was led in, in chains. She acknowledged that he was there but, for his sake, didn’t stare. Hero was brought in a cage carried on a long pole by two beefy birdmen. They set it down between Mia and Victor. Before them was a long stone dais where seven elder birdmen and Gray Ladies sat. They wore robes of woven tapestry, and each wore a wig made of white matte feathers.

  Mia couldn’t help but remember being in the demon court. This was a picnic compared to there, but she wasn’t fooled that it wasn’t just as serious.

  Angelo walked in followed by Nicholai. Angelo stood in front of Mia, Nicholai in front of Victor. Mia felt better that Victor had someone to advocate for him.

  Angelo motioned for Mia to stand, and she did, along with Victor. Hero stood still in the small cage where they had put the massive raven.

  The judges arranged their paperwork and nodded to the birdman in charge of the courtyard. He said, “All sit.”

  Mia sat down.

  A handsome, older Scandinavian birdman stood. He wore gray robes that fell softly against his hard body. Mia noticed that his blue eyes reflected the sky behind him. Mia guessed that he was the fabled historian Soren whom her grandfather had spoken of many times. He waited until all were quiet and all eyes were upon him before he spoke, “We are here to see if there is any validity to claims that Victor took Mia, a married woman, in a death plunge mate after giving her his heart feather. Victor, also, is accused of plotting against the governing body to take over the Brotherhood. Victor, how do you plead?”

  “I am innocent of all charges.”

  “Mia Cooper Martin, how do you plead?”

  “I am innocent and affronted.”

  There was a hiss in the crowd behind her.

  Angelo turned around and pleaded with Mia with his eyes to shut up. She ignored him.

  “Please explain,” Soren said, keeping an even tone.

  “I am affronted that I have been taken from my home and that my savior and friend has been kept in chains because of someone’s accusation against us. I’m not even allowed to know my accuser. I sense that I’ve been used poorly by the Brotherhood of the Wing, a group that, until this moment, I’ve held in the highest regard. What you do today determines if I or my friends ever come to your aid again.”

  “How dare you!” Elizabeth shouted from the gallery. “How dare you be affronted when I had to put you back together when you were so careless with your body.”

  “I never asked you to,” Mia said and turned around and sat down. “Elizabeth, how could you?” Mia thought.

  “Angelo, please advise Mia to be silent unless spoken to,” Soren directed.

  “I’m sure she has heard you, your honor, and will comply. May we ask for proof of Elizabeth’s claims.”

  “I was in the area of the farm and saw the two of them mating for all to see. Two days ago,” Elizabeth said, walking forward out of the crowd of spectators.

  “Mia, you may answer her,” Soren permitted.

  “I was in the between with Altair and Victor. There was no mating. Just me trying not to fly upside down. There were two witnesses to this.”

  A murmur filled the room.

  “Name the witnesses,” Soren said.

  “Stephen Murphy and…”

  “He is, I believe, a ghost and doesn’t qualify. The second?”

  “Quentin Reynolds.”

  “Who is Quentin Reynolds?” Soren asked the assembly.

  “He’s a Nephilim, your honor,” Angelo answered.

  “A Nephilim and Mia’s half uncle,” Quentin said, landing in the middle of the courtyard. The deep-blue, opaque skin of a Nephilim set Quentin apart from the birdmen. His eyes resembled star sapphires, the pupils a brilliant white star in a sea of blue. His blue, leather wings resembled more the bat than the bird, and yet, he was still a creature of flight, a creature whose power drew respect and fear from the crowd.

  Quentin reached for something on his back. Murphy, who had been sitting there, slid into the mammoth hand and then disappeared. He appeared again, sitting next to Mia, his sharpened axe lying in his lap.

  There was quite a commotion in the courtyard.

  Quentin looked at the judges and ignored the spectators. “I’m ready to give my account if it pleases the court.”

  They nodded, very aware that they were only a few feet from being in peril from the Nephilim.

  “Not two days ago, I was exercising my wings in the dimension you call the between when I saw this odd-looking flying creature in the distance. It was circling two creatures. This birdman,” Quentin said, laying his talon on Victor’s shoulder, “and an angel. I believe he calls himself Altair, but I know him as Wyatt Wayne. They were having some kind of an altercation. My ears picked up pieces of an argument. I discerned from the heated exchange that the angel was prodding the birdman to do something dishonorable, and he refused. I passed them and sought out the creature, and low and behold, it was my niece Mia flying upside down. After a short discussion with my niece, I feigned to leave the area. But I didn’t leave completely, because I wanted to make sure nothing untoward happened to my niece in the company of those two beings. I later found out that Stephen Murphy had tagged along as a chaperone.”

  “He’s a ghost. How could he be up in the between?” Soren asked Quentin.

  “He is what you would label an enigma. His powers come from Mother Nature, and as you know, Mother Nature rules the between as she does the other eleven dimensions.”

  “Did you see anything that would alert you to Victor’s lust for your niece?”

  “The only thing I saw was him trying not to laugh as she fumbled around getting used to oversized wings. She wasn’t happy.”

  “Thank you for your account, Quentin Reynolds,” Soren said, dismissing him.

  “May I stay and watch? I’ve seen a demon court and the justice it gives, but I’ve never seen a Brotherhood of the Wing court.”

  “You may stay, but please do not disrupt the proceedings,” Soren warned.

  “How about I transform? Does anyone have a robe I can borrow?” Quentin asked kindly.

  Idra handed the morphing Nephilim an extra-large birdman robe. He thanked her kindly. Mia thought she saw the birdwoman blush.

  “Since I have another witness who has been vetted by Mother Nature, may he speak?” Angelo asked.

  “Stephen Murphy, come forward,” commanded Soren.

  Murphy took off his hat and dropped his axe to his side as he approached the dais.

  “We understand you were there when Mia was with Victor.”

  “She was with Victor, Altair, and myself,” Mu
rphy clarified.

  “Was she touched in any way by Victor?”

  “No sirs and ma’ams,” Murphy answered.

  “Quentin Reynolds has testified that there was an altercation between Victor and the angel. Were you able to determine what it was about?”

  “I think the angel was testing Victor to find out the true reason why he gave Mia the heart feather. Altair had done some research and was rather alarmed about the normal use for the exchange. After hearing his concern, I reached out to an agent of Mother Nature, Lee. She was under the understanding that it really has to be an exchange of two feathers for the mating plunge. One feather just gave Mia a duplicate set of wings, not permission to mate with Victor. Lee also pointed out that, in a way, Victor was adopting Mia as his sister. Victor would never mate with family. I believe Altair was testing Victor.”

  Mia looked uncomfortable.

  “What was the end result of the test?” Soren asked.

  “Victor passed.”

  “Thank you, Stephen Murphy.”

  Murphy walked back, put back on his hat, and sat down next to Mia.

  “May we have the accuser step forward?”

  Elizabeth strode forward and faced the dais.

  “Elizabeth, you claimed that Victor and Mia were mating for all to see. We have two witnesses who claim this didn’t happen where you said, and Mia and Victor were chaperoned by an angel in the between.”

  “Where is the angel?” Elizabeth asked.

  Mia raised her hand.

  “Mia.”

  “I escorted Altair to beyond the light where he has been commissioned to guide a new herd.”

  “So convenient,” Elizabeth said. “Who are you going to believe, a tempter of birdmen and angels, a Nephilim, a ghost who lusts after Mia, or me? I’ve served you for eight hundred years.”

  Mia raised her hand.

  “Yes?”

  “May I ask a question, or do I have to do it through my advocate?”

  “Normally, you would sit silently, but since this is just an exploratory tribunal, I will allow you to question your accuser.”