Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (24 page)

Chapter 37

“You should go to
Purgatory, and have some of the guards ready the carriage house. Have Verah
gather the children and take them back to the dormitory,” Samhael said.

“Why would I want to do
that?” Mortriel asked. “Let the children see the Abyvir. I can use the beasts
to threaten them into obedience.”

Samhael breathed a heavy
sigh. “Listen to me. Neither of us knows what kind of powers those angel-bloods
have. What if one of them is telepathic? We need to keep them away from the
Abyvir to make sure our secret is protected; unless, of course, you want the
Guild breathing down our necks?”

“If we send the
children back to the dormitory what guarantee do we have that Bree and Tercia
won’t attempt another rescue?”

“The Guild will be too
busy dealing with Gregory’s death. Paul will want to keep his children close.
Oliver or Garret can bring them food each day, and they can return to their
duties once the Abyvir have settled into the cabin. I’ll stand watch until you
return.”

Mortriel gave a
half-hearted shrug and walked further into the forest. “Fine, but don’t do
anything until I get back.”

“You have my word,”
Samhael said.

When Mortriel arrived
in Purgatory, he stopped at Oliver’s restaurant first. The fallen angel came
out to greet him. “Are you here for lunch?”

“No – we will be
bringing some visitors to Purgatory, and they will be staying in the carriage
house. The children will return to the dormitory, and I’ll expect you to
deliver food each day.”

Oliver gave Mortriel a
quizzical stare. “I thought you wanted the girls under guard at all times?”

“I’ll still have them
watched, but they won’t leave the shack under any circumstances.”

“Who are these
visitors? Shouldn’t we make room in one of the guest cottages?”

Mortriel laughed. “They
aren’t the type of creatures who do well indoors. The truth is -- they are
Abyvirs. My father instructed us to experiment again and unfortunately, only
two survived. We have them in chains, but we’ll need to keep them locked in a
cage until they can follow directions.”

What was Lucifer thinking? He knows what happened the last
time he experimented with the hound’s blood. We lost a score of friends. The
Guild has seers amongst them. We have kept our island a secret, but to bring
those creatures here – it’s just inviting trouble.

“One of the girls is in
the kitchen with Garret,” Oliver said. “Should I send her to find Verah?”

Mortriel nodded and
turned his attention to one of his soldiers sitting in a nearby chair.

“Come here,” he said in
a booming voice.
 
Remembering being
thrown against a building the last time he angered him, the guard hurried to
the table.

“I want you to find a
large steel cage and have it brought to the carriage house.”

“Bu…” He didn’t get to
finish his question before the scowl on Mortriel’s face stopped him
mid-sentence.

Wiggling his eyebrow,
he gave the guard a glassy stare. “Are you questioning my authority again?”

The dark wing’s face
paled as he felt the muscles in his body tense. “No, sir; I’ll see to it
immediately.”

Mortriel couldn’t help
laughing as he watched the guard knock one of the tables over as he was running
towards the square.

Fool – it’s hard for me to believe you were once a great
warrior.
He sighed.
With soldiers like him, we shall need all
the help we can get. We’ll see how this first pair of Abyvir fares, and then
I’ll speak to Father about making more.

By the time the cage
was in place, Verah had gathered the rest of the angel-bloods. Mortriel had
already gone back to the Utopian forest, so Oliver escorted them to the dorm.
He didn’t elaborate about why they were being moved. As far as the children
knew, Mortriel was giving them a reprieve.

Verah knew better. She
sensed Mortriel was keeping a secret; a secret he didn’t want the young girls
to know about.
 

At least they would be
fed and some of them could catch up on some much needed rest. They could also
talk about some of their own secrets; like their powers Mortriel knew nothing
about.

Finished with the task
of killing Gregory, Richard returned to the woods on the outskirts of the
Utopian colony. Clarence and Chester still appeared to be sleeping in their
human form. “Have they started any more trouble while I was gone?” he asked.

“They’ve been as gentle
as lambs. I don’t think they’ve even opened their eyes,” Mortriel said, looking
to Samhael for confirmation, and getting a faint nod in response.
 
“Did you have any problems with Gregory?”

“No – that little
thimble Grendel gave me worked perfectly.” He began to chuckle. “Gregory
promised to keep his mouth shut. He believed I was going to walk away and we
agreed to shake hands. That’s when I used the thimble to make a small cut in
his palm. He never saw it coming.”

“So, he was dead before
you left?”

“No, but he was close.
He clung to me like a pitiful child, begging for his life. The poison was already
beginning to take effect. I saw him stumbling through the gate.”

“And you are certain no
one saw you?”

“We were alone.” He
gazed at Chester and his brother. “You should get them out of here before
someone finds the bodies of the other men.”

“Samhael and I have
been giving this a lot of thought. Since you made the Abyvir, and can control
them, you’ll come with me to Purgatory.”

“Do you think that’s
wise? How will I explain my absence to my family?”

Mortriel pointed to his
blood stained trousers. “We’ll have you outfitted with a new suit and shoes.
Tell your family you did some shopping after your business meeting. It
shouldn’t take long to get these two squared away. Afterwards, you will return
to Utopia.

“What about Grendel?
Will she be going too?”

“No – Grendel will stay
here. Most of the Utopians avoid her and she can keep her eyes and ears open in
case the Guild catches wind about what happened this morning. As soon as the
fire is blazing; Samhael will go to Aeden to check on Stella and Mehri. After his
meeting, he’ll meet me in Purgatory. I expect you’ll be gone before he arrives,
but Samhael will stay in touch with you on a regular basis.”

‘And the fire – how
long will it burn?”

“The bodies should be
ashes in a few minutes. Some of the residents may see the flames, but by the
time they come to investigate, there will be nothing left of the mortals.”

“Fine - let’s get this
over with. I want to check on Desiree.”

Mortriel began to
laugh. “I’ll never understand why you allowed your mother to persuade you to
marry someone else who is completely disinterested in you. Has a wedding date
been set?”

Richard felt a
tightness in his chest as his muscles tensed and his pulse quickened. He forced
a smile. “No – Renatta has not yet consented to the marriage.”

Mortriel clapped him on
the shoulder.

“Perhaps we can use the
Abyvir to persuade her. If she’s disfigured none of the other men will give her
a second look. If you pretend to be sincere, she will agree to marry you.
Afterwards, we’ll arrange a little accident, and with your brother gone, you’ll
still be able to carry on your affair with Desiree.”

Richard’s lips parted
into a smug smile. “Renatta is close to my sister’s daughter, and they are
often in each other’s company. As long as Analie and Jade are the first to die,
and the beasts don’t kill Renatta, this could work out better than I expected.”

“You control Chester
and Clarence. They will do exactly as you command, or suffer the consequences.
I’m curious to see how they fare against the angel-bloods. By the way, we have
to do something about their names. How do you feel about Fenryr and Faelan?”

“They sound vicious.”

“Exactly – if they are
to instill fear in the angel-bloods, their names should be as frightening as
they are. Well, we should be off. I don’t want to risk someone else seeing us.
One inconvenience is more than enough.”

Mortriel picked up
Chester, renamed Faelan, and tossed him over his shoulder, while Richard
grabbed Clarence, now named Fenryr, and carried him on his back. After wishing
Samhael good luck, the four of them disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Samhael looked at the
stack of dead bodies. There was no need of kerosene or lighter fluid to start
the flames. Because of his loyalty, Lucifer had given him the gift of
hell-fire. The blaze would destroy everything in its path, and there would be
nothing left of the mortals remains.

He raised his hands,
stretching out his fingers as he called for the fire. The current- colored
inferno surrounded the bodies instantly, leaving a thick, sable cloud in the
air above them.

Samhael looked around
one last time, to make sure he was still alone. Peering at the molten ashes, he
knew it was safe to leave.

Snapping his fingers, he vanished. A
few seconds later, he was standing on the porch leading to the cottage. He
heard voices coming from inside and smiled.

Good they’re back. I’m looking forward to hearing about Mehri’s first
meeting with Aura’s friend.

Chapter 38

The first thing Aura
noticed when Father Patrick stepped off the porch was his hands. The tips of
his fingers were a sooty black as if he had placed them in an open flame. There
also seemed to be some new strands of grey at the temples of the forty-year-old
priest’s hair.

Rushing to greet him,
Aura asked, “What happened to you? Was there a fire?”

The priest stared at
the discoloration of his hands. “You should come inside, and I’ll show you.”

When Bren and Tracy
tried to sneak in front of her, Aura pulled them back by the hood of their
sweaters. “We agreed you would wait outside.”

Bren deliberately
avoided her sister’s gaze. “I don’t remember saying that,” she said. “Besides,
what if whoever killed the Chastains is still hiding somewhere on the property.
Do you want to be responsible for letting the girls get hurt?”

Aura shook her head. “Don’t
play that sympathy card with me. I’m trying to protect them and you. I have no
idea how the Chastains died and I don’t want to traumatize them.”

Bren crossed her tiny
arms over her chest and stomped her feet. “I don’t need protecting.
Me
and Tracy took on those dark wings single-handedly. I
think we can deal with looking at a couple of human corpses.

Aura turned back to the
little ones who were still holding hands and hovering close to each other.
Maybe Bren’s right, we don’t know who killed
the Chastains and I don’t want anything to happen to them.

“Alright, but don’t
touch anything.”

A smug smile crossed
Bren’s face.
Aura is such a pushover. She
knows it won’t do to argue with me, because I would follow her into the house
anyway.

“C’mon kids; we’re
going inside. Just stay close to me and Tracy, and don’t step on the dead
bodies.”

The girls huddled
closer together, and Bren could see their posture stiffen.
 
I hope
it wasn’t a gruesome murder. Maybe I should go in first to check things out,
and then bring them inside.

“Are you sure the
little ones should see this?” Father Patrick asked.

“It’s OK,” Gracie said.
“Most of us watched our mothers die, so I don’t think it could be worse than that.
The other girls saw a lot of bad things happen in Purgatory. We’re not afraid
of death.”

Each of the girls
nodded. Purgatory was hell for them. Nothing could compare to the beatings and
torture they endured there.

Still grasping each
other’s hands, Gracie led them up the steps. After Father Patrick and Aura
entered the house, they followed, with Bren in the lead, and Tracy bringing up
the rear.
 

Aura looked at Pierre’s
body which was still lying on the floor a few feet away from his wife. Shards
of glass from the broken mirror above his head littered the floor. The blood on
top of his scalp and around his mouth had dried, but the crimson puddle on the
floor was still wet.
 

The fireplace is empty and there isn’t any indication of a
fire; the furniture seems to be intact and I don’t smell smoke. So how did
Father Patrick’s fingers get scorched?

Her eyes focused on
Charlotte. Through the black and blue bruises around her throat, she could
clearly detect a pair of handprints.
Someone
choked her to death. The Chastains were old; who would want to kill them?
 

She turned to see a
money clip resting on one of the end tables.
This was in plain view. Whoever killed them wasn’t after their money.

“So you were going to
tell me how your hands got burned?” Aura said.

“Come into the kitchen
and I’ll show you.”

Aura and the children
followed the priest into the country kitchen. As the girls passed the bodies of
Charlotte and Pierre, they made the sign of the cross, asking that they be
forgiven for any sins.

Father Patrick pointed
to the bracelet lying on the towel. Bren went to pick it up when he grabbed her
hand, a little harder than he intended.

“I’m sorry if I hurt
you, but this is what happens when you touch the jewel.” He held his hands up,
so everyone could see his seared fingers.

“You’re in pain,” Aura
said seeing the grimace on his face. “I don’t have the same powers as Joseph or
Willow, but I might be able to offer you some relief.”

I hope this works. Willow’s in New York.
 
I won’t be able to get hold of her until
later. I don’t want to wait that long because there could be more damage to his
hands.
 
This bracelet reeks of darkness.
It’s the same pungent odor I smell when a dark wing is nearby. But why would
one of the fallen come here? It makes no sense.

Aura moved her hands
slowly and methodically over Father Patrick’s charred fingers, being careful
not to irritate the dead tissue. After a few moments, his fingers were pink and
fleshy again.

“How did you do that?”
Bren asked. “You aren’t supposed to have healing powers.”

Aura stared at her
hands. “I don’t know, but I’m glad Father Patrick is better. Now, let’s have a
look at this bracelet.”

Seeing the eye was made
with a blue diamond, Aura knew it didn’t belong to the Chastains -- they were
mortal. “Where did you find this?” she asked Father Patrick.

“It was next to
Charlotte’s body. There is a strange inscription along the band, but it is
written in a language unfamiliar to me. I thought perhaps your father might be
able to translate its meaning.”

He handed Aura the
tongs, so she could examine the bracelet more closely. As soon as she prodded
the jewel, the eye changed from cerulean to ebony. Disregarding the warning,
she squatted to get a better view.

“Some of this is
written in Latin.” She read the words aloud.
 
“
Servo Gero –
that means
protect the wearer. But protect them from whom? I don’t trust moving the
bracelet, but you’re right, my father needs to see it. I’ll take the children
home, and then Dad and I will return.”

“No way,” Bren said.
“We can stay here and wait for you and Daddy. Father Patrick isn’t going to
leave the bodies. One of the attackers was female. Once she realizes the
bracelet is missing, she might decide to come back. Tracy and me will stay and
make sure nobody hurts Father Patrick.”

“We don’t know what
we’re dealing with yet. I’ll agree one of the killers is probably female, but
based on the odor coming from that bracelet; I know she isn’t mortal,” Aura
said.

“Exactly – that is why
someone needs to look out for Father Patrick,” Bren insisted.

Damn – she always argues with me. I know she has powers, but
she isn’t invincible.
“Fine, but stay inside the house.”

“We’ll move the bodies,
so the kids don’t have to look at them.”

“No – leave everything
as it is. Dad may see something that we missed.” Aura gave Father Patrick and
each of the kids a hug. “Remember don’t leave the house.”

Bren opened the
refrigerator. “There’s a bag of seedless grapes, a quart of strawberries and
some oranges in here. Who wants a snack?”

Aura rolled her eyes.
Dear God, sometimes I can’t believe we’re
related. It’s as if she isn’t even fazed by the dead bodies.

“What – it’s not like
they’re going to eat them,” Bren said as she handed the fruit to Tracy. She
picked the bracelet up by the edges of the towel and moved it to the counter,
making room for the kids to sit at the table.
 

Aura shook her head and
snickered. “I’ll find Dad, and then we’ll be back. Do you know if the Chastains
had any family?”

“No – their son and
daughter died years ago,” Father Patrick said.

“Good – that will make
it easier to arrange their funeral.” Aura waved, and then she vanished.

“I guess watching TV
would be out of the question?” Bren asked.

“I think that might be
a bit disrespectful,” the priest replied.

“Yeah – you’re probably
right. I’m going to take the girls outside.”

“I don’t think your
sister wants you in the yard.”

Bren walked over and
placed her hands on Father Patrick’s cheek. “Look – those bodies are going to
start stinking soon, and I don’t know about you, but me and the kids haven’t
had lunch yet.”

“Yeah-- they’re going
to smell like crap,” Tracy agreed.

Bren opened the
refrigerator and passed out a head of lettuce, some carrots, a slice of
watermelon, and a bag of apples to the girls. “Besides, my shield will keep the
bad guys away.”

“Yeah, and if that
doesn’t work, we can call for Uncle Gabe’s swords,” Tracy added.

The girls all nodded.
They had seen the sword and bow when Bren and Tracy rescued them from
Purgatory.
 
Going outside was a better
choice than smelling the decaying bodies.

Bren led them through
the front door and down the steps. Around the side of the farmhouse, they found
a group of bunny rabbits and a small family of deer.

“This is perfect.
Everybody grab something, and we’ll feed the animals.”

A few seconds later, a
red-tailed hawk landed on Bren’s shoulder. Some of the girls took a step
backward until Bren explained Ghaea was a special guardian who watched over
her.

Gracie’s eye widened.
“She came here from Heaven? They must think you’re really important to send one
of their birds to protect you.”

Bren shrugged her
shoulders. “Ghaea always shows up just in case there’s trouble. We’ll be safe
with her around.”

“Do you think I could
pet her?” Gracie asked.

“Sure.” Bren held out
her hand and the guardian wrapped her claws lightly around the little girl’s
fingers. She placed the falcon on Gracie’s shoulder, and watched her face light
up.

“She isn’t afraid of
me,” she gushed.

“Why should she be?
You’re an angel-blood and Ghaea knows you’re loyal to Heaven. She’ll protect
you too.”

Sitting cross-legged on
the ground, some of the girls formed a circle, passing the fruit and vegetables
around to feed the rabbits, while the others approached the deer tentatively.
When they saw how friendly the animals were, the little ones relaxed.

Aura knew her father
was meeting with Elijah and his new guardian that morning. When she arrived at
the cabin, she knocked on the door, but no one answered.

They might be in the woods
. She walked down the steps and started towards the
backyard, when she saw two males and a female exiting a small cottage at the
end of the road.

Recognizing her father
and Elijah, she began to walk towards them when she stopped mid-stride.
The girl…
no -- it can’t be. Why would Nathali be in Aeden?

She continued to stare
at the lithe figure dressed in
an off
-white, button-up
oxford shirt, and blue jeans.
 
It wasn’t
until the girl was standing in front of her that Aura realized her eyes weren’t
an ebony color; they were honey brown.

“I was just on my way
home,” Paul said. “Since you’re here, I’d like to introduce you to Jeziel,
Lucifer’s daughter, and Elijah’s new guardian.”

Jeziel couldn’t get
over the resemblance to Avriel.
She
shares the same color hair, the same violet eyes, and even the same stature.
But she isn’t Avriel; she can’t be.
 

Aura was just as
dumbfounded.
 
The likeness to Nathali was
uncanny.
I suppose it makes sense, since
they are both related to Lucifer.
 

Then she remembered
what her mother had said at the wedding.
She
called Nathali, Lucifer’s daughter. Mom wouldn’t make a mistake like that
unless she was sure. Is it possible that Lucifer fathered Richard’s daughter
and he doesn’t know it?

Aura extended her hand,
which Jeziel took, reluctantly.
I didn’t
smell the distinctive odor associated with the dark wings, but there was
something in her touch. She is unsure of herself. That won’t bode well if
Lucifer is relentless in his pursuit of her.

She heard her father
saying something, but it wasn’t until he shook her shoulder, that Aura came out
of her reverie.
 
Embarrassed, she felt
her cheeks flush, but tried to laugh it off.
 

“Please forgive me.
Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts.” She cleared her throat before posing a
question to Jeziel. “I don’t mean to be rude, but do you have a twin sister?”

“Why would you ask me
that?”

“It’s just that you
look exactly like someone else we met recently. Her name is Nathali. She is
Loralei’s granddaughter.”

Jeziel’s smile faded.
“My mother died in the war and as you know, my father and brother were exiled.
Neither gave me a second thought. To my knowledge, I don’t have any other
siblings, but it’s possible – no scratch that --it’s probable, Lucifer fathered
other children since leaving Heaven.”