Forgiven (Book 3, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance)

by S. J. West

  My mother smiled. “Would you have believed me or thought I was telling you a lie?”

  Thinking on my mother’s past, I knew the answer immediately, “Lying,” I said.

  “That’s part of the reason why I never told you. Plus, I didn’t want you to think badly of your father for leaving us. At least now we know he was only sent here to give me you.”

  “I’m sorry you got used like that because of me. Your life would have been so much easier if you hadn’t had me.”

  My mother looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Lilly, you’re the only thing that I did right. Having you was like having a little piece of your father with me. If I couldn’t have him, at least I had you.”

  “But,” I felt myself begin to cry, “you never seemed to want to be around me.”

  My mother sighed. “I’m only human, Lilly. I had a hard time being around you because you did remind me of your father so much. It broke my heart to be around you sometimes because I missed him so. I know that sounds selfish and awful, but don’t you dare think for one minute I never loved you. You’re the only thing in this world I love.”

  When I broke down into tears, my mother got up from her seat and put her arms around me.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I should have said all that to you a long time ago.”

  When I finally got my emotions under control, I told her, “Well, there’s one thing you can do to make it up to me.”

  “Anything.”

  “Come to Disney World with us.”

  My mother gave me the same odd look Will had. “With everything you and Brand are having to deal with, you two decide we should all go on vacation?”

  I shrugged. “Well, you know, if the world is going to end and all, at least we’ll all have a smile on our faces.”

  My mother shook her head and smiled. “You are definitely your father’s daughter.”

  “Why? Why would you say that?”

  “Because he was the only person I knew who would do something completely insane just to have fun.”

  It wasn’t the way I thought an arch angel of Heaven would be described, but it oddly made me feel closer to him in a way. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to meet him in person but was thankful my mother was able to see a small part of him inside me.

  Chapter 22The next day we all phased to Disney World. Brand booked us rooms at the Disney Animal Kingdom Villas. I felt like an honored guest when the manager of the hotel came to greet us personally. He arranged to have everyone’s bags delivered to their rooms and told Brand that our special room was waiting for us. All we needed to do was go outside the hotel to the awaiting limousine.

  “We’re not staying here with everyone else?” I asked as Brand took my arm to escort me out of the hotel.

  “No.”

  And that was it. That was all the explanation I got.

  To say I was slightly disappointed I wouldn’t be able to wake-up and watch the African wildlife surrounding the hotel roam freely by our bedroom window would have been an understatement.

  Brand helped me into the back of the white stretch limousine waiting for us outside. As we drove away, I watched the giraffes walking around in the fenced in area and sighed.

  “I thought I would be able to pet a giraffe,” I said dramatically with a touch of a whine.

  Brand laughed. “Don’t look so disappointed. I promise you will like where we are staying.”

  I snuggled up to Brand and just enjoyed the ride with him by my side. We drove up to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park and were met by a man dressed as Prince Charming.

  “Welcome to Disney, Mr. and Mrs. Cole. We’re delighted you’re staying with us. Please take a seat in the cart, and I’ll take you to the castle.”

  I looked at Brand. “Why are we going to the castle?”

  “Patience,” Brand said, apparently pleased that I was absolutely clueless to his plans.

  Prince Charming drove us up to Cinderella’s castle. We were escorted to a secret elevator which went up to the fourth floor of the castle. When we disembarked, we walked into a small foyer which was beautifully decorated with all things Cinderella. There was a circular tiled mosaic of Cinderella’s carriage inlaid in the floor beneath our feet. There was also a desk, grandfather clock, and a glass case on one of the walls housing Cinderella’s crown, scepter and an arrangement of glass blown pumpkins of varying colors. The suite wasn’t very large but the space held a cozy homey feeling. Two queen size canopy beds butted against the far wall while the inner wall was home to a fireplace. Above the fireplace, hung a picture of Cinderella and we were told it also doubled as a flatscreen TV. The bathroom looked like something you would find in a medieval castle with a deep almost Grecian style tub and separate shower. Hanging over the toilet were draperies which made it look like a throne, which made me giggle.

  Once Prince Charming left, I jumped my husband until he fell on one of the canopied beds and kissed him until he gave me what I wanted. When we lay in each others arms afterwards, I said, “I didn’t even know this room existed.”

  “Well know you do, my love. Whenever you want to come here we can stay in this suite.”

  I looked up at Brand. “How much does it cost to stay in a room like this?”

  “Nothing for me.”

  “And just what makes you so special?”

  “Well, it’s true the room isn’t generally opened to the general public any more, but if you’re a major stock holder in the company, they pretty much let you have anything you want.”

  “You have stock in Disney?”

  Brand shrugged. “I knew a good investment when I saw it. And after I met Walt, I knew he would take the company in a good direction. I was one of the very first investors. Of course, people think that person was my great grandfather, not me.”

  “Oh yeah,” I said, trailing my fingers over his chest, smiling. “I forgot I was married to Methuselah.”

  Brand rolled me over onto my back and held my arms above my head by the wrist. “Are you calling me old, Mrs. Cole?”

  “I believe I just did, Mr. Cole. Though,” I lowered my eyelashes halfway, “you could always prove me wrong.”

  And prove me wrong he did…for the next three hours… in each bed….

  When we finally met up with the others, Tara forced me to ride Space Mountain with her. It was the first time I ever heard Tara call on the Lord so much. After that we pretty much rode whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. I felt a little bad skipping people who were waiting in line but Brand assured me it was protocol for someone like him who basically owned a large part of the company.

  Tara was in Heaven when we went to Cinderella’s Royal Table Dinner. We were greeted by Cinderella herself who also escorted us to our private table. We were given a choice of appetizers, entrees and desserts. I chose to eat the rock shrimp cocktail, grilled swordfish, and the chef’s dessert trio.

  After we ate we watched the parade by the castle and invited everyone up to our room to watch the fireworks show.

  Luckily, someone had already been in the room and tidied up. I realized everyone knew Brand and I had been privately busy during our three hours away from them, but I didn’t need them to have proof of our physical activity. I knew Tara would have brought it to the attention of everyone, and I wasn’t sure how I would ever live through the embarrassment.

  While we were walking by the large bronze statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse by the castle the following day, Tara grabbed my hand like her life depended on it.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked her following her gaze to the statue.

  Standing there like he was alive was the eight year old Will we had lost once upon a time. He was smiling at us. The Will we had lived with for the past eleven years walked up to his young counterpart and knelt down on one knee in front of him. Tara and I walked over.

  “Are you real?” Tara asked.

  “With the veils so weak,” young Will said, “it takes less energy for me to appear to you gu
ys.”

  I remembered the newscast I saw when Malcolm first told us about the weakening of the veils.

  “Why haven’t you come before now?” I asked him.

  Young Will shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Wasn’t sure how you guys would react. I’m still a ghost you know.”

  I held my hand out to young Will, testing to see just how real he was. Will reached out and grabbed my hand letting him know he felt very real.

  I knelt in front of him and pulled him into my arms, feeling hot tears roll down my cheeks. I knew I shouldn’t be happy about the veils being so weak, but I couldn’t help feeling glad I was being given a chance to hold one of my dearest friends again.

  Before I knew it, all three of us were giving young Will a giant group hug.

  “Thank you,” older Will said to him. “Thank you for letting me live your life.”

  “You’re welcome,” young Will said back.

  The three musketeers were back together with the addition of our newest/oldest member. We spent the day acting like we were eight years old again finally having a last chance to play with one another. Young Will left us at the end of that day, but he didn’t say goodbye, just vanished. I don’t think he said goodbye because he knew it wouldn’t be goodbye forever. We would see him again one day when we all went to meet him instead.

  For the next two days we acted like we didn’t have a care in the world. We went to every park and rode every ride there was to ride. Malcolm would come to visit us and keep us up to date on things each evening when we sat down to eat. I could tell the strain of trying to find Lucifer’s power source was taking its toll on him. I felt bad he was working so tirelessly when we were having so much fun.

  “I’ll have fun when this is over, dearest,” Malcolm assured me. “Don’t worry about me. Just enjoy your time together. We’re certain to figure things out before it’s too late.”

  That night Brand and I stayed up most of the night not letting ourselves fall to sleep until the early morning hours. When I finally did go to asleep, I had a strange dream. I was floating in space above the Earth but the world I lived on looked odd to me. It looked like it had been wrapped in a clear plastic bubble which was pocked with holes in various places but the largest hole seemed to be situated over Antarctica. From the direction of the sun, I saw what looked like an invisible disturbance in space, only visible to me because of the optical illusion it presented of bending the star fields around it. What looked like a shock wave of energy passed over the Earth. The next thing I knew I was sitting straight up in bed having a hard time catching my breath.

  Brand was already up. I heard the water of the shower going in the bathroom and laid back down on the bed until my breathing returned to normal. I reached for the TV remote to check on the weather for that day and flipped through the channels trying to find the local news. When I turned the volume up, the newscaster on the screen had a picture of the sun with what looked like a large loop of fire streaming from its surface.

  “Scientist say the solar storm is the largest in recorded history. They are warning that the resulting flare might affect electrical power grids within the next two days.”

  I sat there and watched the digitally produced reenactment of the geomagnetic storm which was to take place, finally understanding what my dream actually meant.

  “Brand!” I yelled, finding my robe and hastily putting in on. Brand came out of the bathroom completely naked and glistening with the wetness of his shower.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked, looking me up and down to make sure I was physically all right.

  In any other circumstance, I would have drug him to bed and had my way with him he looked so good but now wasn’t the time for such frivolity.

  “Call Malcolm. I think I know what Lucifer intends to use as a power source.”

  “It was literally staring us in the face all this time,” Malcolm said as he sat on the red settee in our suite’s sitting room.

  “I wouldn’t have put it together if I hadn’t just had the dream,” I told him, knowing the subtle hint had probably come from God. “So you think that’s what Lucifer plans to use then? I’m right?”

  “It makes complete sense,” Malcolm said. “The geomagnetic storm which will pass over the Earth’s atmosphere normally wouldn’t affect us, but if we take into account your vision of you standing in snow with a tear forming in the sky, he has to plan to take you somewhere in the Antarctic since that’s where the ozone layer is the thinnest and harness the power from the solar storm to punch a hole in the veils. If he can find a way to possess you and combine your power with his, I don’t see why his plan would fail.”

  Brand took my hand with King Solomon’s ring on it. “But we won’t let him possess you. Just make sure you keep this ring on.”

  “I feel like I should hide somewhere he wouldn’t think to look for me,” I said.

  “I don’t think it matters where you go, dearest. He would be able to find you. It’s in the arch angel arsenal of powers to know where any angel is at any time. Since you’re half arch angel, you probably stand out like a lighthouse beacon to a lost ship to him.”

  No where to hide. No where to run. Even the happiest place on Earth wasn’t a safe haven.

  “Then we wait for him to show up and we fight,” Brand said, squeezing my hand.

  “We should go home,” I said. “I would like to come back here one day when this is all over. Mickey Mouse might not take it too kindly if we started Armageddon on his doorstep.”

  Malcolm stood. “I will gather the Watchers. Where should we meet?”

  “Let’s meet in my London home. It’s big enough to accommodate everyone for a while.”

  “I don’t think anything will happen until sometime tomorrow,” I told them.

  “Why is that, dearest?”

  “Because tomorrow is December 21.” I looked at them both to see if they understood what I was saying. “Maybe the Mayan’s had it right all along. Tomorrow might actually be the end of the world.”

  Chapter 23The Watchers decided they should all be at Brand’s house to wait out Lucifer. As seemed to be the unspoken rule among the Watchers when a fight was near, they all wore their ceremonial black feather cloaks and tight leather pants. I suppose as part of their war uniform they also had to wear the black leather belt around their waists which held a sword on one side and a serrated blade on the other.

  I felt like I was in the opposite of the Playboy mansion with so many bare-chested men walking around in form fitting, leave nothing to the imagination, pants.

  I thought Tara’s eyes were going to bulge out of their sockets at the sight of them all together.

  I tried to talk her into staying somewhere else at an undoubtedly safer place with Malik but she refused. True to form, she wanted to stay with me through thick and thin.

  “Girl, it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make for you,” she said eyeing a pair of Watchers pass by the couch we were sitting on in the living room. “Why is it that each one looks just as good or better than the last one I saw?”

  “Seriously, am I going to have to put blinders over your eyes? We’re supposed to be in crisis mode here.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Tara said in alarm. “I’m just fine, girl. I’m just fine.”

  I did worry about Tara being in a house full of Watchers though. I knew with so many of them a normal human would be hard pressed to withstand the pull of their over powering pheromones. But, Brand seemed to be right in his first estimation about my best friend. Her loyalty to me trumped anything the Watchers could do to her.

  Brand and Malcolm walked into the room dressed just as the other Watchers with Mason walking between them. Even though Brand and Malcolm were formidable in their own rights, you didn’t have to be a Watcher to know Mason was their leader. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why exactly though. True, he was just as gorgeous as my friend and my husband, but he seemed to emit a different aura. Maybe he stood a centimeter taller or broad
er of shoulder, I don’t know. But he did make you take notice of him and you knew he wasn’t someone you should ever double cross.

  “Can I ask you guys something?” I said.

  “You can ask us anything, dearest.”

  “Why does every Watcher look like a male supermodel?” It had been question bothering me for sometime.

  “It was easier to gain the trust of humans in these forms,” Mason answered.

  “Truly, dearest, wouldn’t you rather have someone who looks like us giving you advice than some ancient old man with a balding head and missing teeth?”

  “Makes sense to me,” Tara said, oogling another set of Watchers passing by.

  “Is everyone here?” I asked Brand as he came to sit beside me on the couch.

  “Yes, everyone has gathered.”

  “And you’re sure it’s safe for Tara and Malik to be here?”

  “None of the vampiric Watchers will harm them,” Mason said. “You have my word on that, Lilly. Plus, the calm your presence brings them makes their hunger go away when they are close to you.”

  “So,” I said, feeling like I should twiddle my thumbs or something, “what do we do now?”

  “We wait for him to make his move, dearest,” Malcolm said, standing before me like he would personally rip Lucifer’s throat out if he dared materialize in front of him.

  “Anybody got an idea on what that move might be?” Tara asked.

  “We have to assume he’ll try to get Lilly somehow,” Will said as he and Malik walked into the room. Will handed me my soda he had gone to get from the kitchen.

  Will’s presence rankled some of the Watchers but Mason quickly put an end to their objections. I told Mason I needed my family around me and that included Will. So, he took care of things and made it so I didn’t have to worry about any of my friends while we waited.

  We all started to stare at one another and I said the most obvious thing, “Well, this is awkward.”

  Mason was the first to chuckle and we all at least got one decent laugh out of the impossible situation we found ourselves in.