Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (35 page)

“Shanna isn’t mortal,”
Bren said nonchalantly.

“
Wh
-- what do you mean she isn’t mortal?” Katie’s voice was trembling. She grabbed
hold of Sophia’s hand and squeezed until she realized maybe Sophia wasn’t
mortal either. “If she wasn’t mortal than what was she?”

“We have to tell them,”
Bren said to her grandfather. She gazed at Uriel, who gave a silent nod.

“Before we start this
discussion, we have to take care of Ryan,” Aura said. A sense of dread washed
over her. She pushed aside the sour taste in her mouth and tightness in her
stomach. “Oh, God – I have to tell Ella her brother is dead. Does anyone know
where she is?”

Eve’s hand brushed
Aura’s cheek, wiping away her tears. “Jasper took Ella to New Orleans this
morning. They are expected to return later this evening, Eve said. “Don’t worry
about telling her; I’ll take care of it.”

Stuart extended his
soft, white wings as he clutched Shanna to his chest. The sight was too much
for Katie who fainted and slipped to the ground. Sophia wasn’t in much better
shape. While she was still conscious, her hands and lips were trembling.

Tracy and the little
ones surrounded Katie, gently shaking her until she opened her eyes. At first,
she thought it was just a dream, but then she saw the angel with his wings
extended, and realized this was really happening.

“Shanna is – was an
angel-blood,” Bren said. “She thought her father died in a mysterious accident,
but the truth is, he reached one hundred and twenty five years of life, and
Heaven called him home.”

“I – I don’t understand,”
Katie said.

“Angel-bloods are
half-mortal and half-angel. We are the descendants of angels who are loyal to
Heaven.
 
You may have heard stories about
Nephylim. They are the children of fallen angels, who were denied Heaven’s blessing.
 
After the Great Flood, there aren’t many of
them left.”

“Except, Stella; I’d
bet money she is Nephylim,” Tracy said.

‘She is Samhael’s
daughter,” Mehri whimpered.

“How do you know that?”
Aura asked.

“I am Lucifer’s wife; I
know a great many things. I’m not proud of whom I am, but I made a pact with
him, so I could save my newborn son.”

“We’ll talk about this
when we get back to the house,” Eve said.

“Anyway, most
angel-bloods go home in the same body they occupied while they lived on earth,”
Bren said casually.

“Unless they’re killed
by hell-fire,” Tracy added. “Then, there isn’t anything to send back, except
their soul, as long as it wasn’t compromised.”

Katie and Sophia stared
at each other. “Is – is it possible that Sophia and I are angel-bloods too?”
Katie asked.

“It’s very possible,”
Paul said. “We can perform a small test to determine if you were born with the
blood of the angels.”

Katie’s eyes widened
and beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip and forehead as she tried to mask
her fear.

“Don’t worry – the tests
are painless.” Paul walked over to where Aura was sitting with Ryan. At first,
she was reluctant to let go of her friend, but she knew his body needed to be
prepared. Eve and Angie would take care of the arrangements.

Paul picked up the
young priest, carefully positioning him over his shoulder.
 
“We’ll have the funeral tomorrow, after the
Crestwell’s memorial service.”

“Where are you taking
Father Ryan?” Katie asked.

“We have a mortuary not
far from here where we bury our mortal friends. Since Ryan does not have the
angel’s blood, Father Patrick will perform a small, informal service, and he
will be laid to rest with our other mortal friends in the graveyard behind the
mortuary.”

“Father Patrick knows
about you?”

Paul smiled. “He has
been our priest since the children were born. He has been informed about our
heritage, but he has kept our secret these last twenty years. We have no reason
to distrust him; he’s become a member of our family.”

“After the funeral, we
can go to Savannah, and go trick or treating,” Bren said.

When everyone stared at
her like she had three heads, she crossed her tiny arms over her chest. “What –
it’s not like we’re doing anything else. The kids have been looking forward to
this. Besides, Savannah is safe and we can’t do anything for our friends now.
Changing the way we live is only giving in to the dark wings. Is anybody else
prepared to do that?”

She looked from one to
the next; each of the angel-bloods shook their head. “Good, then it’s settled. We’re
going to Savannah tomorrow.”

“The High Council needs
to speak with Mehri,” Uriel said. “Her answers will determine her fate.”

“Before you make any
decisions, there is something she needs to see,” Eve said. “It’s only right
that she knows the truth.”

Uriel nodded his head
and Eve pulled up a vision.

“You might want to have
a seat,” Bren said to Katie and Sophia. “What you’re about to see is going to
be pretty messed up.”

“Before you begin, I’ll
take Ryan to the funeral hall. Father Patrick is waiting,” Paul said.

Aura kissed her friend
goodbye, and then watched her father disappear.

Chapter 57

Katie and Sophia’s eyes
popped as they stared at the shadowy white mist. Bren started giggling. “We’ve
got a lot to talk about when we get home. Don’t worry; it will all make sense.
Daddy just used a portal to take Ryan to the funeral hall. It’s another way
angels
and their children can travel.”

“Yeah – it’s a lot
faster than driving,” Tracy said.

The little ones, with
Bren and Tracy in the center, formed a circle around the two mortal girls,
offering what little support they could. They had no idea what Eve was about to
show them, but knew it wouldn’t be good.

The year was 1929 and
the stock market had just crashed. People, including the Chastains, were out of
work and desperate – a perfect opportunity for Lucifer.
 

The scene began outside
a tenement in New York. A woman was sitting on the stoop of her brownstone.
Beneath the felt hat and long wool coat, Mehri recognized her mother. She was
holding an infant in her arms and crying when Lucifer appeared and offered her
a better life.

That was the first of
many visits the fallen angel made to Charlotte Chastain and her husband. Mehri
stared incredulously as a sudden coldness consumed her body. She watched as her
mother quickly agreed to a pact.

Through Eve’s visions,
Mehri also saw it was Lucifer who made her son, Byron, appear sickly. After
convincing Mehri to join him in Hell, the infant was left on the doorstep of a
childless angel-blood couple.

Mehri was horrified at
the influence Lucifer had over Bryon, changing him into a monster that not only
killed his adoptive parents, but later helped Samhael and Mortriel kill his
wife – Lucifer’s sister, Loralei.

 
Eventually, the Guild caught up with Byron,
and Paul took his life. Unfortunately, ten-year-old Meredith was there when it
happened, and believed her father’s death was unjust.

“Lucifer tricked me,”
Mehri cried. “He promised my son would lead a happy life, but he lied.”

“Your parents knew what
they were getting into,” Eve said. “Unfortunately, you did not. You were
sincere and thought Lucifer would save your son. The truth was; he only wanted
someone he could control. He paved the way for Byron to marry Loralei, so he
would have another male heir. But Loralie gave birth to a daughter instead.”

“My mother – Meredith,”
Joshua said.

Eve nodded.

“All these years – I
thought Lucifer cared about me, but I was just another of his pawns. Now,
Shanna is dead because of me.” She looked at Uriel. “I will accept whatever
punishment the Council decides. Giving my life is the least I can do to right
this terrible injustice.”

“Shanna may not be able
to return to earth, but she is far from dead,” Uriel said. ‘She is beginning a
new life; a happier life. As to your punishment – there were mitigating
circumstances which forced you to make poor decisions. As you said, Lucifer
deceived you.”

“If she held the
feather of trust, we would know if she were loyal to Heaven,” Bren suggested.
“Paul was a murderer and Jesus forgave him. He became one of the twelve
apostles.”

Uriel smiled at his
granddaughter. She was wise beyond her years. “If she would be willing to hold
the feather, then perhaps we could put this matter to rest.”

“Don’t be afraid,
Mehri,” Bren said. “I know the feather will find the goodness in your soul, and
you will be forgiven. Besides, your mother was the real monster. She would have
killed you, if she had been given the chance.”

Mehri forced a weak
smile.
 
“I don’t think I am worthy of
forgiveness. I am Lucifer’s wife.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a
real marriage,” Bren insisted. “Unless there was a church ceremony, and it was
recognized by God, it doesn’t count. Isn’t that right, Mommy?”

Eve nodded. “See, even
Mommy agrees. OK, let’s get this over with so we can go home. I’m getting
hungry for some more of those hotdog fingers.”

Uriel called for the
feather. It was a one foot plume, and at the tip there was a golden eye. When
he passed the quill to Mehri, she was reluctant to take it in her hand.

“It will not harm you
unless your soul is consumed with darkness,” Uriel said.

As Mehri held the white
feather, she felt
a subtle
, soothing warmth in her
hand.
 
The golden eye opened, and a light
radiated down her arm until it reached her chest. With eyes closed, her lips
trembled, and she held her breath, waiting to be engulfed by fire, and then
turned to ash.
 

A soft glow enveloped
her entire body, and the light beam stayed over her chest for what felt like an
eternity, but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. The light then disappeared,
and the eye closed.

Mehri felt her cheeks
redden. She stared at the flume, but couldn’t bring herself to look Uriel in
the eye.
 

It was Bren who spoke.
“You see -- the feather didn’t burn you. You passed the test.”

“My granddaughter is
correct, but the problem is what to do with you,” Uriel said. “I suppose you
could stay in Aeden, but you should be forewarned that if Lucifer knows you’re
here, he may come looking for you.”

“We aren’t afraid of
Lucifer,” Bren said.
 
“If Mehri was given
the blood of the angels, she would have extra protection.”

Eve smiled at her
daughter. “With permission from the High Council, we can allow the children to
exchange their blood with Mehri, Katie and Sophia. Under the circumstances, it
isn’t safe for any of them to leave Aeden now.”

“I think we can make an
argument with our brothers,” Raphael said. “In the meantime, you should return
to Aura’s.
 
We’ll notify you of our
decision within the hour.”

“I don’t understand,”
Katie said. “Isn’t Paul going to test us first?”

“There is no need,” Eve
replied. “Neither of you are angel-bloods, but we can change that.”

Katie bit her lip as
she looked to Sophia, who shrugged her shoulders. “What do we have to do?”

“We’ll talk about that
after the Council makes their ruling. For now, we should go back to the house.
Samhael may return, and we don’t want him to know what we’ve just discussed.”

“I know some of
Lucifer’s plans, and I will do whatever I can to help you,” Mehri said as she
hung her head. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Grab each other’s
hands,” Bren said. “We might as well get them used to using the portal.”

The little ones held
onto each other, while Eve took Katie and Sophia’s hands. Before the girls knew
what was happening, they vanished, and re-appeared in front of Aura’s house.

Katie slipped to the
ground again. “I’m sorry, but this is a lot to take in.”

“
You have no idea
,” Bren thought as she opened the door and guided
the little ones to the dining room.

Aura waited for
everyone else to go inside. She didn’t feel like having a party. Even though
she knew Ryan would be called to Heaven; she still lost her best friend.

Eve didn’t pressure
Aura to talk. She allowed her to deal with Ryan’s death on her own terms.
Tomorrow would be one of the hardest days in Aura’s life, but unfortunately,
there would be many more difficult days.
I
pray our children have the strength for the tasks they will face in the coming
weeks. Our lives may depend on them.

The rest of the evening
was a bit of a blur for Aura. Even though she knew Ryan was safe; she couldn’t
get it out of her head that he was killed in Aeden.

Since Shanna was an
angel-blood, the ground would be hallowed. That might not make a difference for
Lucifer, but it might keep the less powerful dark wings away.

Eve notified Ella about
her brother’s death, and then she and Angie left to prepare Ryan’s body and the
funeral hall.

They had just been
there when Gregory Godwin died, and the seat coverings and satin ribbons still
adorned each pew.