Kindred (The Watcher Chronicles #2) (26 page)

I open the bag expecting to see a piece of clothing but find a soft black leather sheath for my sword instead.

“Thank you,” I tell her, setting the bag aside.

“Is there anything we can do for you, Jess?” Chandler asked.

“Let’s just find the next vessel,” I tell them both.  “I don’t know how much time we have left considering Lucifer only has to find three more princes.  We’re falling behind.”

Faison walks out of her room putting her arms through her coat.  She attempts to smile at my friends but fails miserably.  I’m just happy to see her make the effort.  It shows me that a small bit of my sister is trying to resurface.  I hear her go out the front door and sigh to myself.

“She’ll be all right,” Chandler reassures me, seeing my distress and most likely feeling it as well.

“Oui,” JoJo agrees.  “You will both survive this tragedy and come out stronger for it.”

“I’ll just be happy to take the survive part of that sentence for now,” I say weakly.

“Do you want me to build a fire?” Mason asks me, knowing the sound of a fire helps me concentrate.

I nod and he sets to work.

Once the fire is built, we move the coffee table out of the way and sit in a circle on the floor.  Holding each others hands, we close our eyes and try to concentrate on the location of the fourth vessel.

After a while, I almost give up but something happens.  I start to smell something burning but know it isn’t coming from the fire we’re sitting by or anything inside my house.  I concentrate on the smell until a picture forms in my mind.

A girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, stands in front of a building going up in a blazing inferno.  On the side of the building, I see a ‘W’
and an
‘
A
’
marking it as Watcher property.  I can see the girl’s face clearly, like she’s standing right in front of me.  Her beautiful facial features are oriental in origin.  Her long black hair hangs almost down to her waist and she’s dressed shabbily in an old green coat and threadbare green knit cap.  Her face is streaked with either soot or dirt.  It’s hard to tell which.  She stands stock still staring at the building as if the dancing flames have hypnotized her.

I hear the blare of sirens in the distance and so does she.  She looks frightened and runs down a darkened street before disappearing from my mind.

When I open my eyes, I see Chandler and JoJo open theirs too.

“We have to find a Watcher building on fire right now,” Chandler says.

Mason immediately gets on his phone and makes inquiries about the fire, but no Watcher building in the world is on fire at that moment.

“What do we do now?” Chandler asks.

“We connected with her,” I tell him.  “That’s all that matters for the moment.  The rest will come.”

I decide that’s enough for one night and suggest we just relax and visit with one another for the rest of the night.  I grab my coat and go out onto the porch to find Faison, intent on bringing her back inside to be with the rest of us.

When I get out there, she’s sitting on the top step looking up at the stars in the sky.

Without saying a word, I sit down beside her.

“I wonder if he’s in Heaven watching me,” she finally says.

“Maybe,” I concede, not knowing if people in Heaven actually do look down and watch over the lives of the people they’ve left behind.

Faison breaks down into sobs and I pull her to me, cradling her in my arms as her heart continues to break.

“I can’t live like this,” she wails, shaking her head against my chest, bereft of hope.

“You just need time,” I tell her.  “Your heart needs time to heal.  You’ll get through this, I promise.  I’ll help you.”

As I’m holding her, I see a flash of white light out of the corner of my eye.  When I turn my head, I see the Tear is open.

Involuntarily, I gasp.  Faison raises her head and follows my gaze to the Tear in the sky.

Through the opening, we see a planet that looks a lot like Earth but there’s something off about it.  I can’t quiet put my finger on what’s different but there is definitely something wrong with this alternate Earth.  It seems darker for some reason.

As we both stare at the Tear, I hear Faison say, “I don’t want to be here.”

I look over at her.  “We could always go stay at Mason’s villa for a while.  I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.  We can go anywhere you want.”

Her eyes remain steady on the Tear.

“I don’t want to be here,” she says again with more force behind her words.

It’s only then I realize what she’s trying to do.  Quickly, I stand up so I’m blocking her view of the Tear, forcing her to look at me.

“No,” I tell her, as if that one word will stop her.

“I don’t want to be here,” she repeats breaking down into a heart wrenching sob.

I kneel down in front of her and grab her by the shoulders, shaking her.

“Faison, look at me!”

She refuses and continues to say her sentence like a litany, all the while staring past me to the Tear.

I scream at her again but she’s too far gone.  She just keeps repeating the same sentence over and over.  Finally, I slap her hard across the face, hoping to break her concentration and bring her back to reality.

Her eyes, mad with grief, finally focus on me as she screams, “I don’t want to be here!”

Before I know it, I’m not holding Faison anymore.

In her place sits a half formed creature I’ve only seen once before.  It looks like a Watcher child in the midst of its transformation into a werewolf.  It seems startled by its new surroundings but still hungry for human flesh.  It snaps its protruding jaw in my face causing me to fall back onto the side walk.

Without even having to think about it, my sword appears in my hand just as the creature lunges towards me, intent on tearing my throat out.  As I lift the sword to ward off the attack, the blade burst into flames as the end of it pierces the werewolf through its gut.  The creature disintegrates into a cloud of black ash around me.

I drop the sword on the ground, trying to wrap my head around what’s just happened.  The reality of what Faison has done finally hits home.  In her grief over John Austin’s death, she used the information I gave her about how the Tear chooses its travelers and abandoned me like most of the people in my life have at one time or another.

She’s gone.

Before I know it, Mason is by my side, helping me stand up. 

“Jess, what happened?  Where is Faison?” He asks, but I can’t find a voice to answer with.  My own grief has all but closed my throat as my body is wracked with wave after wave of unbearable pain.

I feel Mason’s arms hold me tight as he tries to reassure me everything will be all right.  But, I know it won’t.  I know there will be no way to get Faison back because she won’t willingly ask to come home through the Tear again.  Why return to a place that only holds heartache?  She has a chance at a fresh start in another world.  She’ll never ask to come back.

I see Lucifer phase in a few feet behind Mason.  Our connection has brought him to me in my time of grief.  Strangely enough, his presence makes me stop crying because I instantly know what I have to do next.  I have to bring Faison back home.  I vow to myself that I will see her again, no matter what the cost.

Even if I have to make a deal with the devil himself…

Chapter 21

Abandoned…

As I look at Lucifer over Mason’s shoulder, I wonder if that word entered Lucifer’s mind when Michael left him on Earth for his exile.  Strangely enough the thought makes me feel like I understand Lucifer a little better.  If there was one thing we both had in common, it was the pain of having those you love and trust abandon you when you need them the most.

“Jess, what’s happened?” Mason asks again since I didn’t answer him the first time.

“Faison went through the Tear,” I tell him, pulling myself out of his arms and wiping the tears from my eyes, filled with a new determination.

When I look at Mason’s face, I see how worried he is about me.

“Don’t worry,” I tell him.  “I have a plan.”

“A plan?  A plan to do what exactly?”

“A plan to bring her back.”

Before he can ask how I intend to perform such a miracle, I walk around him and head straight towards Lucifer.

“What’s happened to make you so upset?” Lucifer asks me, sounding truly concerned but I can never tell how true his sincerity is.

“My sister just went through the Tear,” I say, coming to stand in front of him.

“I’m sorry to hear that.  Why did she want to go?”

“Her fiancé just died.  She’s grieving, not thinking.”

I stay silent, waiting to see if he says anything.  Will he offer me his help out of this growing friendship he seems to think we have?  It doesn’t seem like it.  I have a feeling nothing comes free from Lucifer.

I feel Mason come up behind me but don’t turn around.  I know he’ll disapprove of what I’m about to do but I just don’t care.  The only thing I can think about is getting Faison back.  If a Watcher child came through the Tear to replace her, then she might be in mortal danger.  I just pray there aren’t any more of those things where she was sent.

“Can you help me get her back?” I ask Lucifer point blank.

“Jess…” Mason says and I hear the warning in his voice.  He knows as well as I do that Lucifer won’t just help me out of the goodness of his heart, if there
is
any goodness left in him.

Lucifer smiles and I feel like a mouse about to be eaten by a cat.

“And if I help you, what do you offer me in return?”

“Jess, don’t.”  I hear a familiar voice say beside me.

I look to my right and see Michael standing beside me.  I faintly wonder what Lucifer would give to speak to Michael.

“You can’t trust him to help you,” Michael tells me.  “He’ll get the information he wants from you but he won’t help you get Faison back.”

“How can you be so sure?” I ask him.

“Because I know him better than anyone.  Please Jess, trust me.  He can’t help you get her back.”

I feel my heart sink into the pit of my stomach because I know Michael is telling me the truth.  I can feel his certainty within my soul in this matter, but I also feel a spark of hope.

“You know how I can get her back,” I say to him, not having to ask for verification because I know the answer is yes.

“Excuse me,” Lucifer says.  “But I feel like I’m only hearing one side of a conversation here.  Who are you talking to, Jessica?”

I look back at Lucifer ignoring his question and asking one of my own.

“Can you help me get my sister back or not?”

“Perhaps.  But, you haven’t told me what I get in return for my help yet.”

I look between Lucifer and Michael and know which of the two can actually offer me a real chance at hope.

I turn to Michael.

“What do I have to do?”

“You have to ask for help.”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing?” I ask, becoming irritated with what sounds like a run around answer.

“I can’t help you but my father can.”

I let out a harsh laugh.  “When has God ever helped me with anything?”

“Have you ever asked for his help?”

I realize I haven’t.  I’ve never tried to directly speak with God because I didn’t believe in his existence until a few weeks ago.

“Why would He help me?  Because of you?”

Michael shakes his head.  “No, Jess.  He’ll help you because you ask.”

I shake my head in disbelief and look down at the ground.  I’m not sure what’s crazier: seeking help from Lucifer or praying to God, someone who’s stayed in the background of my life, never bothering to directly interfere for better or worse.

“Jess,” Mason says, trying to draw my attention.

I turn around to face him.

“Ask for His help,” Mason urges me, obviously understanding the advice Michael is giving me from what I’ve said on my side of the conversation.

“Praying really isn’t my thing,” I admit, not even knowing how to start a prayer.

“There’s no guarantee He’ll answer it anyway,” Lucifer says behind me, casting doubt.  “He’s not exactly the most responsive.  I’ve been talking to Him for years and haven’t heard a peep.”

“And we’re supposed to be surprised by that?” Mason questions sarcastically.  “I would imagine it’s because of what you say.”

Lucifer shrugs.

“Either way,” Lucifer says looking me straight in the eyes, “not a peep.   You’re prayer will probably fall on deaf ears too.  If Faison was meant to go through the Tear, he won’t interfere with her fate.  You, of anyone here, should know that fact.  If it’s part of your destiny to suffer by the hands of others or events in your life, He won’t lift a finger to make your life any easier.”

“You aren’t Jess,” Mason tells Lucifer.  “He’ll listen to her.”

“How can you be so sure?” I ask, my voice almost a whisper.

Mason takes both of my hands into his and looks at me.  “Because I think He’s been waiting for you to talk to Him for a very long time.  But, Lucifer is right about one thing.  If it’s Faison’s destiny to stay on that alternate Earth, he won’t interfere.  The only way you’ll know for sure though is if you ask.”

“How do I do that?” I ask, desperate enough to try anything.  “How do I talk to Him so He hears me?”

“Just ask Him for help,” Mason says, making it sound so simple.

“Out loud?”

Mason smiles at me indulgently.  “It doesn’t matter.  He’ll hear a silent prayer just as well as a voiced one.”

I take a deep breath and squeeze Mason’s hands even tighter.

“Here goes nothing,” I mumble.

I feel sort of stupid so I decide to just talk to God in my head and hope He hears my first attempt at a prayer.  I close my eyes.

Dear God,

Jess here.  Need your help if you have time.

Not exactly eloquent but surely He knows what’s going on.  Isn’t He like omnipotent or something?

Mason lets go of my hands, turns his back to me and kneels on one knee with his head bowed.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see my vision of Michael do the same.  Lucifer snorts behind me, but I don’t feel any movement telling me he feels compelled to fall to his knees.