Keepers: A Timeless Novella (8 page)

“
This is my fault. I’m
sorry. I’m sorry,” said a heavenly voice, though it was distressed.
“Please be okay. Please.”

“
He’ll be fine,” another
voice reassured. “I’m healing him. Look, the burns are almost
gone.”

“
Then why isn’t he waking?”
that same heavenly voice asked, pleading. Desperate. I recognized
that voice.

“
Jenna?” I rasped, my eyes
opening. Several faces stared down at me.

“
Joseph?” Jenna said,
hopeful. She came into my view, her face red and splotchy from
crying, which she started up again. Her hand squeezed mine, and
through the tears, she smiled, albeit a quivering one.

“
Hey,” I breathed, still
trying to reorient myself.

“
How ya doing?” Gabby’s
face came into view, and she grinned down at me. She’d stopped
doing her healing thing, and the pain rushed in.

“
I’m just peachy,” I
quipped, throat scratchy. “Only hurts when I breathe or blink or
exist, if I’m being honest.”

Gabby playfully frowned.
“So, do you want me to finish healing you or not?”

I coughed. “No, I want to
know if tweed is fashionable this year.”

Gabby laughed.

“
Yes, Gabby, I want you to
heal me.”

Jenna shook her head at our
bantering but seemed relieved when Gabby started up again. A bright
light came from her hands, and each second I felt a little bit
better, a little less like crispy barbecue.

When she was finished, I
asked, “What happened?”

“
I happened. You know, I’m
getting tired of saving your ass,” Gabby joked.

“
Hah-hah,” I said, sitting
up. I tried to absorb the scene before me, but it felt so unreal. I
was across the street from my house. Several of the angels were
talking with the police and firemen as they worked together to
contain the fire. My house was completely engulfed in flames, and
at this point, there was no saving it. Mostly, they were focusing
on my neighbors’ homes, though Melvin’s house could burn for all I
cared. That was when I remembered why I needed rescuing in the
first place.

“
Where’s Jules? Firen?” The
words left me in a rush of anxiety.

“
Jules is perfectly fine,”
Firen said from behind me.

I rose to my feet and
pivoted to face the Fallen Angel. “How’d you get her out of there
so fast?” I asked.

“
I went outside to make
sure no one had gotten through the perimeter the FBI had set up,”
Firen said. “As I came around the side of the house, I saw a
vehicle creeping by. I thought it was odd and was about to
investigate when a flaming bottle hurtled from inside the car. It
hit the front door and burst into flames. Several more were flung
from the vehicle.”

I cut her off. “Did you see
who it was?” Whoever had done this to my house and put my family at
risk would pay dearly. Moreover, how did that person get through
security?

“
Yes,” Firen
answered.

“
Did you recognize them
from the crowds?” I prodded.

“
It’s someone you know,”
she said, unsure if she should tell me, which was good because I
needed a moment to let that information sink in.

“
Then what happened?” I
asked.

Firen watched me carefully
before continuing. “I ran around back and got Jules out of the
house before the alarms started going off. I was about to go back
in for you and Jenna, but then I saw Jenna come out of your window.
When I realized you weren’t right behind her, I decided to go in
after you, but Jenna was already on the phone with the Illuminator.
Before I had a chance to move ten feet, the Illuminator had already
gone in after you.”

“
What can I say,” Gabby
said, tone ironic, “I’d totally miss your stellar cooking skills if
you died, especially your breakfast. So I had to save
you.”

My lips tilted up, and I
found it funny that we’d switched roles. Normally I was the one
trying to be upbeat in the face of tragedy.

“
Seriously, Joseph, you’re
going to be the death of me. All the swooping in and saving you
that I have to do on a regular basis.”

My grin widened. “Awe, but
if you die, who’s going to keep me out of trouble? You’re one of
the only friends I have with super powers.”

“
Well, the only reason
we’re friends is because you can rock a tweed suit,” she informed,
tone mock serious. “So if you want to keep me around, I expect more
tweed.”

“
And here I thought it was
my charming looks and personality that kept you around,” I said.
But then the smile melted away as I asked the dreaded question
burning in the back of my throat: “Firen, who did this?” I gestured
toward the pile of wood that was once my house.

Andrew stepped into our
little circle. He glanced between Jenna and me, and he grinned
suddenly. “I’m going to
go out on a
limb
and say it was the ex-girlfriend,”
Andrew said, winking at Jenna.

For a few seconds, no one
said anything, but then Jenna burst into a fit of hysterical
laughter. Gabby joined in, adding, “I’ve been teaching him new
phrases.”

I smiled at them, knowing
they were just trying to break the tension, but I had to know who
had almost killed my family. “Firen, was it Sara?” I asked, having
to speak over the giggling sisters.

Firen nodded, and my
fingers curled into fists at my side. Sara had finally gone too
far, and I had no one to blame but myself. The laughter hastily cut
off, and Jenna and Gabby shared the same look I knew was splayed
across my face: rage.

CHAPTER 9: HIT THE NAIL
ON THE HEAD

I needed a vacation.
Understatement, to be sure, but it needed to be said. There had
been so much crap piled on me, I was honestly surprised I hadn’t
broken in half already or, at the very least, crumbled to dust
under the weight. It was probably a good thing I was Gabby’s Keeper
and had some kind of mystical protection, though I still didn’t
fully understand what that meant. I just hoped Jenna never had to
go through all the trials and pains I already had. If I could, I’d
go through them for her. Between the battles, the hospitals,
multiple deaths, the healing, and the wild, crazy media, I hadn’t
seriously considered the idea that things could get any worse, even
though all signs had been pointing that direction for some time.
What was that saying again? Everything that can go wrong will?
Yeah. That described my life a little too perfectly.

And then—drum roll
please—my ex-girlfriend showed up. Sara’s visit was mild compared
to everything else, but I had yet to truly grasp how certifiable
she really was. How should I have known she would return to get
revenge on me—she was the one who’d forced herself into my home,
not the other way around. What was that other phrase? The one about
a woman scorned? Warning fully comprehended, acknowledged, and
memorized. I’d never make that mistake again.

Everything I’d worked so
hard for was now ash. My home, my car . . . it was all gone. Hell,
I didn’t even have an extra pair of boxer-briefs. For some reason,
that last thought made it seem all the more devastating. As I
watched the flames devour what was left of my home, I thought of
all the things I was losing. I didn’t completely understand how
much stuff I’d amassed over the years until I started the inventory
in my head. The small things were what really got to me, like my
World’s Best Uncle mug, the boxes of birthday and Christmas cards,
or the stacks of photos sitting in the garage. I didn’t even have a
toothbrush. What kind of insanity was that?

The frame of my house
crashed to the ground, shrinking with each second that passed, the
wild flames refusing to be tamed by the torrent of water.
Everything I’d known for years was disappearing before my eyes. I
was in shock, though that word didn’t adequately describe the
emotions I felt. Even through all of this, I was lucky. I
automatically sought out my family, releasing a sigh of relief that
they had made it out without a single burn or scorched lung. I
didn’t know when I’d started to think of Firen as family, but she
undoubtedly was. She’d woven her way into my life just as easily as
Gabby and Jenna had.

Jules had fallen asleep in
my arms sometime between four and five in the morning. Even though
my arms were tired and sore from her weight, I couldn’t let her go.
A blanket covered her from head to toe, and her head was tucked
into my neck. She felt like
my
daughter, and I knew I couldn’t hold off on the
adoption conversation with Jenna any longer.

At sunrise, the sky lit up
as orange and vibrant as last night’s fire. Seeing the damage in
daylight was like a punch in the gut. My car, once sleek and
beautiful, was now a skeleton poking through the remains of the
garage. I needed a more family-friendly vehicle anyway. The wooden
fence in the backyard was half gone, which I’m sure my nosy
neighbor would have appreciated if I still had a house he could
snoop around, and the shed in the backyard had crumpled in like a
soda can. Smoke rose hauntingly into the cold morning air. On
closer inspection, I realized nothing would be salvageable. The
water had turned the ashes into mush, mixing together and hardening
as it dried.

Fire trucks, ambulances,
and police cruisers littered the street, and uniformed people were
everywhere. Through all the chaos, reporters had found their way
past the barricades, and they rushed me. For a moment, I thought
they might not stop and braced myself to be trampled, trying my
best to protect Jules with my body. Instead, microphones were
shoved in my face, and the media screamed at me as if their mad
dash in my direction hadn’t already gained my attention.

“
Joseph Carter! Joseph
Carter! Over here, over here!”

Stupid vultures. They
wanted one thing: my life. It all came down to what they could get
from me, what I could offer them. What news story could they break
by recording and manipulating everything I said? Had I mentioned I
needed a vacation? I pushed and shouldered my way through the crowd
sideways, hoping they’d back off as not to jostle the sleeping
Jules. They threw question after question at me like tiny
missiles.

“
Was it arson?”

“
Who did it?”

“
How did it
start?”

“
Was anyone
killed?”

“
Is everyone
okay?”

“
Are
you
okay?”

“
What about the
angels?”

“
Why didn’t the angels stop
this?”

On and on and on . . . My
head spun, and I knew a headache was just around the corner. In
that moment, all I really wanted to do was curl into a ball small
enough to disappear. It wasn’t very manly of me to think that, but
a man could only take so much. Jenna reached for me and helped pull
me out of the crowd. Realization hit me so suddenly and swiftly I
nearly tripped. Jenna and Jules had become the most precious and
important people in my world, and if I had them, I’d be okay. As
long as I had them, I would survive this.

A magical bubble popped up
between the media and us. The outline of it caught the sun’s rays
and reflected colors all around us like a prism of light, all
rainbows and shimmering surfaces. When I glanced up, Gabby and
Andrew were grinning at us, pleased with themselves. Before I had a
chance to thank them, Lucia was there, forming a portal. I couldn’t
wait to step through it, not caring where it took me, as long as it
transported me far, far away from here. I didn’t want to look at
the ruins of my life anymore. I didn’t want to have to deal with
the press or my boss or protestors.

Once the portal was formed,
the media went wild. I didn’t waste any time stepping through,
leaving it all behind. Mentally, I was laughing.
Hah, let the media chew on that!
I wondered what the headlines would say. “The
Angels Disappear and Take Agent Carter With Them!” or “Angels Are
Actually Aliens, Here To Invade Earth!” or “Stay Inside: Angels
Will Kidnap Your Children!” Who knew what kind of spin they’d put
on it. Maybe they’d think I was dead. Now that I thought about it,
that wouldn’t be such a horrible idea if it would get them to leave
me the hell alone.

Before exiting the portal,
I made sure to claim my frequent flyer miles with Lucia. Hah-hah.
Once on the other side, I was greeted with the rhythmic pounding of
waves wearing at the shoreline. My feet shifted in the sand as I
took in the miles of beach, barely visible in the night. The sun
hadn’t risen yet here, and it was warm outside. We were far from
D.C., which made me smile. Jules was still asleep in my arms, and
it didn’t even surprise me. She could sleep through a marching band
doing circles around her bed.

“
Aloha, and welcome to
Hawaii,” Gabby said, gesturing behind me. She sounded just as tired
and exhausted as I felt, but relief underscored her
words.

“
It’s the best we could do
on short notice,” Andrew added. He said it as if apologizing for
bringing us to Hawaii. Was he crazy? It was Hawaii! How could you
do any better than that?