Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (36 page)

Chapter 58

Paul stopped to see Jeziel
and Elijah after he delivered Ryan’s body to Father Patrick. He recommended
they not attend the young priest’s funeral. Neither Jeziel, nor Elijah, really
knew Ryan and not everyone would be receptive to the presence of Lucifer’s
daughter, especially Mehri.

Raphael informed the
girls that the Council had agreed to the blood exchange, so when Paul returned
to Aura’s house, he gathered everyone into the living room.

Gertie volunteered to
give her blood to Mehri. Despite her young age, she knew what it felt like to
be alone after Mortriel killed her parents. Ava and Alli would exchange their
blood with Katie and Sophia.

Only a descendant of
the archangels was given permission to perform the ceremony. If anyone else
tried to use the rod, they would burn. At first the girls were anxious, until
they saw the six-inch, translucent, glass dowel had a head no bigger than the
eye of a needle.

Even though Aura swore
Richard couldn’t have been involved in Ryan’s death, according to Mehri,
Richard and Samhael were good friends. Lucifer didn’t confide the details of
his plans with her, but she felt certain Richard may have had some
responsibility in the attack on Utopia which led to the Crestwell’s death.
 

Will, Joshua and Jade
stayed until the exchange was complete. Then, they returned to Utopia with Rita
and Jessica.

Rita was still
insistent on linking Richard to the attack which killed Will’s parents and left
his brother, Arian, missing. She didn’t have the proof she needed, but after
the funeral, she planned to make finding evidence to convict Richard her number
one priority.

The Crestwell’s
memorial service was scheduled for the next afternoon at one o’clock. Because
of the time difference, it would be 8a.m. in Aeden. Since there were no bodies,
the service would be brief, so Rita and her Utopian friends would be back in
time for Ryan’s funeral.

Ryan’s funeral – he was
mortal, so they would have to bury him in a plot behind the mortuary. His
parents, who were killed in an auto accident a few years back, were already
there, along with Hespa’s human husband.

Ella took the news
about her brother better than Eve expected. Either she was doing a good job of
masking her grief, or she realized Ryan was probably already in Heaven and was
better off.
 

Eve cautioned her to
stay in Aeden for a few days. She knew Jasper had been taking her to different
cities to determine where they would honeymoon after their spring wedding, but
for now, they needed the protection of the Guild.

Five deaths in three
days – Lucifer was up to something. No one knew if, or when, Samhael would
return, but they were pretty sure Stella wouldn’t be coming back. Mehri
insisted that Samhael took his daughter to Purgatory, where she would be
protected.

“Yeah – he can keep on
thinking that,” Bren said. “Sooner or later we’re going to bring those other
kids’ home, and if Stella is there, I might just bring her back too. Then,
she’ll know what justice is.”

Tracy and the other
little ones nodded. They didn’t know Shanna or Father Ryan that well, but they
knew Bren’s family was close to them.

By midnight, Aura had
stored the leftover foods in the fridge and the house was back in order. The
kids were bathed and settled into the beds in the dormitory.
 
She set out camisoles and short pajama
bottoms for the older girls.

Gertie insisted Mehri
and her friends sleep with them.
 
Aura
had plenty of spare jeans and sweaters, and they could go back to the apartment
in the morning to get the rest of their clothes.

Mehri would not be
returning to the cottage; it was too dangerous.
 
Eve and Angie volunteered to bring her belongings, but she wanted
nothing. Samhael had filled her closet and she didn’t want to be reminded about
Stella.

Finally, Aura didn’t
have any more excuses for staying awake.
 
She stepped into the warm shower, hoping the water would relax her.

Unfortunately, the
visions of Ryan kept creeping into her head, and she started blubbering like a
love-sick fool. Thankfully, the sound of the running water drowned out most of
her whimpering.

She finally got herself
together and climbed into the bed with two of the three-year-olds. With their
arms wrapped around her, she closed her eyes, hoping she wouldn’t wake them
with her sobs.

Chapter 59

By the time the sun
started peeking through the dormitory window the next morning, Aura and the
girls were just waking. Despite all the visions popping in and out of her head,
Aura managed to get a few hours of sleep.

Her godfather and his
son, Rusty wouldn’t be attending the funeral. Though Howard wanted to be there,
he was on a mission for the Council. Aura suspected it must have been really
important because nothing kept Howard or Rusty from being there when she needed
them.

Once again, everyone
would be dressed in white to celebrate the beginning of a new life for Ryan and
Shanna.

Aura couldn’t help
feeling if she had disobeyed the council and given Ryan her blood; he would
still be alive, although that didn’t change the outcome for Shanna, and she was
an angel-blood.

The Witches Bane was a
powerful poison and not something generally used by the fallen angels. They
preferred an outright physical attack. This was a new strategy; one that was
pretty effective.

Three of their friends
were killed with the ancient toxin, leading Aura to believe there were others
helping the dark wings. Who, she didn’t know, but she swore to find out, and
then she would personally avenge Ryan’s death.

Stella – how could they
have not seen she was Nephylim? At least they knew Samhael took her to
Purgatory. Bren and Tracy had already been there, and would be more than happy
to go back to rescue the other angel-bloods and deal with the traitor.

For now, Eve made them
promise they wouldn’t go there again because they would be walking into a trap.
Bren and Tracy were powerful angel-bloods, but they weren’t immortal. If
Mortriel or Samhael could capture them, they would have leverage.

Today was Halloween,
and although Aura didn’t agree with her parent’s decision to take the little
ones to Savannah to go trick or treating, she was looking forward to having
some time alone.

Rita and Jessica
returned to Aeden just before breakfast was served. The memorial service for
Will’s parents lasted only half an hour, and the boys didn’t feel like hanging
around for the traditional, ceremonial wake afterwards.

Ryan and Shanna’s
deaths gave them the excuse they were looking for. They intended to pay their
respects to the young priest, but if the truth be told; Will couldn’t tolerate
being in the same room with Joshua’s family.

Every time he looked at
Richard, or his daughter Natalie, they seemed to be sneering at him. Maybe it
was him just being paranoid, but he felt like the walls of darkness were
closing in on him.

Will couldn’t get it
out of his mind that the last conversation he had with Arian was an argument
about Natalie. Would he ever see his brother again? Jade was convinced Arian
was alive, but Will wasn’t sure.
 
Despite
their disagreement, the brothers were tight. Arian would have found a way to
come home if he were alive.

“What if he’s hurt and
he can’t come home?” Jade asked.

Rather than debate the
issue, Will walked away.

Rita and Jessica
convinced the boys to accompany them to Savannah. Not that they planned on
trick or treating, but Rita wanted to keep a close eye on her little sisters.

The rest of the Guild
would be there, and the plantation had more than enough bedrooms to accommodate
all of them.
 
Since Eve was raised there,
and her mother Alice, died on the property, the ground was hallowed.

Whether that would make
a difference in keeping Lucifer and his disciples out was yet to be determined,
but Rita was ready for a fight if it came to that. She was tired of being on
the losing end; it was time to retaliate.

At 10 o’clock, the
families left for the mortuary. Rather than use the portal, they piled into
several vans and cars to take the fifteen minute jaunt. Mehri was nervous about
meeting Ryan’s sister, but Aura assured her Ella would blame Samhael and Stella
for using the poison, not her.

Eve decided to dress
Ryan in one of his black pin-striped suits, with a white linen shirt and blue
tie to match the color of his eyes. She thought it would be too much for the
family, especially Aura, to bear, if he was wearing his vestments.
 

Paul warned her about
the dangers of getting close to a mortal, but Aura ignored his warnings. How
could she ignore someone who was so kind and generous -- who put others before
himself?

Now, she couldn’t help
thinking it was somehow her fault that Ryan and Shanna died. Lucifer’s visit to
Aeden wasn’t a coincidence. There was a connection to the deaths, and she was
determined to find out what that connection was.
 

The large mahogany
doors were already propped open when they climbed the stone steps and filed
past the large pillars into the funeral hall. Father Patrick was standing at
the dais watching Ella, who stood next to her brother’s open bronze coffin.

A rosary was wrapped
around Ryan’s left hand; a gold bible was clasped in his right. The pained
expression that distorted his face the night before was gone, replaced by a
subtle smile at the corners of his mouth. Ryan was at peace.

Eve found pictures of
Shanna and her father when she was a little girl – where -- she had no idea,
but they were displayed in the front of the hall, along with pictures of Sophia
and Katie.
 

Aura recognized the
other members of the Guild, but there was a little girl and another angel with
them, she didn’t know. Maybe they were friends from Savannah.

The male was blonde, and
his eyes were a soft lavender-gray color, but as Aura stared at the child, she
realized her eyes and hair were the same color as her own.

As far as she knew,
Esra was the only other angel who had violet eyes. She wondered if this little
girl was somehow related to Esra, and if she had second sight. The next time
she saw her great-grandmother she would ask.

The service began as
soon as everyone was seated.
 
Aura felt
sorry for Father Patrick, who had to stop a couple of times while he was
delivering the eulogy because he was so overcome with emotion, his voice
started to crack. Finally, he got through the ritual and managed to squeak out
the last prayer.

Before the family said
their final goodbyes, they watched a gold light envelope Ryan.
 
Even though his body was still there, Aura
knew his soul had gone to Heaven, and somehow all the sadness she was feeling
disappeared.

Paul and Adam waited
for the hall to empty before placing the glass lid on the coffin. They carried
it out the back door and buried Ryan next to a fountain with a statue of
Gabriel. Aura wondered if Bren had a little something to do with choosing the
location.

Everyone else had gone,
but Aura waited so she could place a white rose on top of the mound of dirt.
I will get to the truth, and whoever was
responsible for this heinous act will be punished.

Laying the rose gently
on top of the heap, she turned and walked to her car. She had promised to meet
Ryan’s sister, Ella, at his bungalow, so they could go through his personal
possessions together. First, they would return to Aura’s house where a light
fare would be waiting for them.

Aura really hoped the
little girl would be there. Even though she had never seen her before today,
there was something familiar about the child.

By the time Aura
arrived at her house, the rest of the family was already inside. Bren and the
little ones were in the dining room filling their plates. Paul and Adam were in
the library with Mehri, talking about who knew what.

Even though it was a
celebration of life, Aura’s mood was somber. Most of the group walked on
eggshells when they were around her, except Bren, who was talking excitedly to
the little ones about trick or treating in Savannah.

Aura was disappointed
that the little angel and her male friend, whom she saw at the mortuary, didn’t
come to the house. Maybe they had other duties, but she really wanted to speak
to the child. She was curious about her eyes and wanted to know if she was a
seer too. There was something memorable about her, but Aura couldn’t put her
finger on it.

The family sat in the
living room, reminiscing about Ryan and Shanna.

Katie and Sophia were
still trying to wrap their heads around everything that happened, especially
since they were angel-bloods now.

One of the first things
they wanted to do was change the color of their hair back to blonde. They
already had a target on their back; there was no reason for them to stand out
like a sore thumb. Bren promised them they would be safe in Aeden, but their
shield hadn’t saved Shanna, or Ryan.

At least Aura got to
see the light surround Ryan, and she knew he was in Heaven, which gave her some
comfort. Still, they had to find out who was pulling the strings and killing
all of their friends.

Aura had no doubt
Lucifer was the mastermind behind the attacks, but the Witches Bane was a
weapon usually used by women. Fallen angels preferred the more physical
altercations.
No – someone else is
helping them and I need to find out who it is, before we lose anyone else.

At four o’clock, Eve
announced it was time to take the children to Savannah. She collected their
costumes and gathered them in a circle on the front lawn. Everyone was leaving,
including Mehri, Katie, Sophia, and their friends from Utopia.

“I’m just a thought
away,” Eve said before the portal took them away.