The Timekeeper (17 page)

The throbbing in my head made it impossible to concentrate.

“Princess, no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t before and nothing’s changed. Why in the world would we try and kill you? Don’t get me wrong, we’ve gotten some strange orders before, but that’s a little over the top. We’re not allowed to touch you.” I shrugged, trying to block my eyes from the brightness of the setting sun. Gideon noticed and kindly moved over to create the perfect obstruction, ever the gentleman
.

“Thanks, much appreciated. I don’t know, that’s what I’m asking you. Two Angels by the name of Asher and Zamir, one who is one fucking sick bastard by the way
.
Zamir
,
that douche, he fucking licked me
.
I mean, who does that? Anyway, they show up at my shop and try to kill me in front of my mortal doesn’t
-
have
-
a-fucking-clue mother. I figured you would have some info on them or something. All you Angels are in cahoots together.” Gideon glanced over his shoulder at Chester and he shook his head.

“Ilana, that’s not us. We don’t get orders like that when the issue involves someone from Aliis. We’re the only ones assigned to you
.
There shouldn’t be any other Angels around you unless you requested them to be. You, in particular, are a protected person by our organization. Heaven and Hell, all the governments of your world, are in agreement you should never be harmed. You said Asher and Zamir?”

I nodded and watched as Chester leaned forward to whisper something in to Gideon’s ear. He blanched and glanced at Chester. The Angel agreed silently and Gideon turned back to me. Their silent exchange didn’t help my nerves.

“They aren’t working for the Seraphim. They abandoned the Order centuries ago. They changed their names a tad, but Chester put two and two together. We’ve heard nothing from them in ages. Interesting they came after you. You can see now why we take renegade Angels seriously. Our race is dangerous when they can’t be controlled.” I snickered.

Figured I’d be pulled into Angel bureaucracy at some stage. Yep, time to retire. I couldn’t stomach Heavenly politics.

“Well, no offense boys, but your kind aren’t doing me any favors right now. I’m still not going to tell you where Warde and Neal’s whereabouts, they seemed to be keeping themselves out of trouble for now. If I were you, I’d spend my time trying to find Asher and Zamir. Those two are worthy of a little harassing, and if you track them down, make sure you lick that sick fuck Zamir, right up the side of his throat.” Gideon looked disturbed at the prospect of going anywhere near Zamir with his tongue
.

“He licked you? With his tongue?” I nodded, why was this so hard for everyone to believe?

“Sorry, as appealing as it sounds, I’m not touching him with a ten foot pole
.
Zamir is one of the few who landed a spot on our most wanted list. I have no idea why they’re interested in you, Princess, but I intend on finding out.”

I chuckled and leaned my noggin against the seat, praying to any god who would listen to make the pounding in my head stop, “Not holding my breath, Gideon. I’ve found the only two Angels I can rely on are Warde and Neal. They’re not as bad as you’d like to think.” I spotted Darius on his way back from the store, eyeballing the Angels standing next to the car. He’d been edging for a fight.

“Good evening
,
gentlemen.” I said as I rolled up the window, dismissing them before they protested. Darius watched them walk away before he got to the vehicle, and slid in with a scowl on his face.

“What was that about?”

I closed me eyes,  “Angels are a persistent lot. Those guys are clueless as to why Asher and Zamir are trying to kill me. They know who they are, and they don’t work for the Order of the Seraphim. They went rogue a while ago
,
Zamir managed to make it on the Angels Most Wanted list, although he didn’t say why. I’d venture assault with tongue.” Darius started to pull out of the parking lot
,
sniggering as he drove.

“Well,
that’s
not comforting. I hope they’re planning to go after those two
,
rather than trying to hunt down your pets. At least Asher and Zamir are in the mortal world right now. They aren’t going to track down Warde and Neal. I wouldn’t mind being rid of them, but you’ll never allow me.” I nodded in agreement, not only would they not get them, no matter how much Darius wanted me to ditch them, I refused.

The brothers had been under my protection since they made their escape to Aliis Mundi. No one dare lay a hand on my Angels
.
They earned their keep by carrying out whatever I assigned them to, and waited for my return
.
That was all I ever asked of them.

“Yeah, well I explained that to them, they claimed they’re going to look into it. I don’t think the situation is a main concern. I’ll deal with it tomorrow. I’ve got the day off
,
and I’m supposed to meet Nathan at the bar. He comes up with actual info all of the time
,
faster than any other resources. He’ll figure this out before those two boneheads will. If I know Echo, she already asked him to poke around.” I opened my eyes and looked at him curiously
.

“Are you coming with me tomorrow?” 

“No, I’ll drop you off because I still don’t want you by yourself. Echo can bring you home, or if not, I’ll come and get you, just call me and tell me what’s going on.” He shook his head, never pulling his attention from the road
.

I smirked, “I’m quite capable of taking care of myself. I appreciate your concern, but I don’t think they’re going to try and off me in public again. I don’t want a chauffeur.” Darius ignored me and pulled the car into the driveway and parked, not bothering to glare at me before he got out and said hello to the dog, who was jumping for attention.

“Sorry babe, not happening. No way in hell am I leaving you alone unless you’re at home. I’ll still be here with you, but I’m not going to hover over you. Everyone has the right to privacy.” I grinned at him; surprised he didn’t plan to stalk me through the house. He tended to be the helicopter type.

My husband must’ve come to his senses, or Azazel had everything to do with this change in heart. This was one occasion when I had no intention of complaining about his interference. I remained convinced something else going on
.
I planned on waiting until things settled down before harassing him.

“Seriously? Cause I would be ecstatic if you babysat me in the bathroom. We’d have so much fun together.”

He chuckled, “Not going there
,
sweetheart. Besides, what could happen to you while I was in the house? No one would bother with that mess.” I nodded, but I didn’t believe it to be an accurate statement.

Angels had a funny way of popping up when you least expected it
,
in places you’d never thought possible. I shuddered
.

Thinking about Zamir made me sick, or I drank too much. The Angel brigade wouldn’t accomplish anything, and I contemplated pulling my own people back to the mortal world to deal with the problem. I couldn’t spare anyone right now, so I’d be forced to bring it to the attention of the Council to acquire the additional resources. I sighed, dreading asking people for things.

“What do you think about early retirement? I won’t do this for another lifetime. I miss living in Belt ta `Demm, and fifty-years isn’t enough. I want to spend more time with you, with Aural. Things need to be taken care of and I can’t handle them while I’m here. I’m tired of relying on other people
.
I need to do this myself. Azazel is getting older and he wanted to put me on the throne as soon as I came available. He’s nothing but a placeholder
.
I think it’s time to own up to my responsibilities.” Darius tossed his arm around me as we walked into the house.

“When we get back to Aliis for our vacation, we’ll asked to be removed from service. You can still advise from Belt ta `Demm. Other than providing support and supervision for the Seers here, I don’t see any reason for you to stay. I’m sure part of it is so they don’t need to worry about where you are
.
Once you’re here, well, you’re here.” He shut the door behind us and I plopped down at the kitchen table.

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that, hon. The Council wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if I placed myself in a position to move wherever I wanted. It means I’d be able to go home
.
I would be speaking to my father, the last thing they want. The phrase ‘scared shitless’ comes to mind.

“Doesn’t matter, if they won’t allow it, I’ll quit and they can con someone else into doing this fucking job. I don’t give two shits if no one else is qualified
.
” He picked me up out of the chair and carried me into the living room, depositing me on the couch and kissing me on the forehead before flopping down next to me.

“Well, you can force them into acceptance by quitting, get married will screw them up too, or you could pop out another munchkin. Any of those free you from active duty. I’ll back you, whatever you decide to do. Besides, I wouldn’t mind taking care of another little one
.
I miss the pitter-patter of tiny feet hitting the stone hallways of the palace. Azazel does too.” I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I wondered if he should’ve been born a girl.

“Enough with the hinting already. I’ll talk to Dexter tomorrow. I’ve scheduled a meeting with the Council, and I’ll stop by after I’m finished tormenting them, since I’m going to be in Portlandia anyway. You obviously want me to have a baby more than I do. I’ll give you permission to go find a chick to lay some eggs for you. I swear I’ll waive all punishment.” He shook his head at me with a smile
.

“That’s okay, I’m content with you
,
and only you. Regardless babe, you should go to him right now. Visit him tomorrow too if you want to, but this is something that should be taken of pronto. A lot of arrangements need to be made if this wedding gets the green light. Besides, I’m just going to sit here and play video games anyway. You’ve had a rough day and I’m sure Dex will find someway to help you end it on a better note.” For some reason I got the sneaking suspicion he wanted me out of the house. I, however, had no desire disagree with him.

“I’m getting the inkling you’re trying to get rid of me, but I’ll play. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.” I didn’t make it all the way off the couch before he had tugged me down on to his lap.

“Just remember, while you’re with Dexter, I’m still your second husband. I know six thousand ways to make you scream and possess a long history to back the claim up.” He kissed me like he might never see me again. Fire ran through my body, and all I wanted was to drag him up stairs with me.

“Are you sure you want me to go to Dex? I could always spend the rest of the night home
,
with you.” He grinned like I hadn’t propositioned him in a while.

“As much as I would love to, I told Dex I’d get you to him as soon as possible. He wanted me to drag you in right that minute, so I agreed to do the best I could. You can tell him that he owes me one for getting you riled up.” I frowned. He was up to something
.
Never, not in all the years I had known him, had he behaved like this before.

Some days, I felt like a treasure being traded and sold. Other days, I found it a little flattering to be so desirable. I crawled off of his lap and made my way up the stairs. Wondering what the man could be up to that he wanted me out of the house so badly he would send me into the arms of another man. I swear, if he’d been any other man or a different husband, he was cheating on me, but it wasn’t his style.

I laid down on the bed, Nita curled up next to me, and I closed my eyes. I forced myself to let go and drift out of my body. I pictured the entrance of the old stone building which housed the Embassy, clawing my way threw the layers of space and time.

When I opened my eyelids I found myself standing in front of the Vampire Embassy, adorned in my heavy wine cloak with the hood covering my face. I slid up the worn stone steps and knocked softly. Vamps had excellent hearing
.
I saw no need to beat down the door
,
even though most of the residents would be sleeping right now
.

The sun had almost set, but I made sure to cover the opening with my body to block out as much of the rays as possible. In the unlikely event of Dexter answering the door, I wouldn’t be concerned. Dex had built up a good tolerance to low level light. Since other Vamps lived here, I’d be courteous and try and prevent bodily injury to the poor bastard who was stuck on door duty
.

The door opened a small crack and Mr. Meldin peered out while trying to keep himself in the shadows as much as possible. He quickly moved back and allowed me to enter the foyer.

“Please come in
,
Princess. Ambassador Sloan has been eagerly awaiting your arrival since the Dragon Lord left
.
I’m glad you’re here
.
I feared he might go looking for you soon
.
I didn’t say as much, but I could see it in his eyes.” I slipped in and shut the door behind me.