Authors: Sarah Brocious
"I swear if one more thing goes wrong…" Thanatos shoved his phone roughly into his pocket and laid his head back on the headrest.
"What is it now?" Jonathan asked without taking his eyes from the road. He was navigating smoothly through traffic as they moved down the highway. "Did you get a text message?" The instant he asked the question he drew the answer from Thanatos head. Jonathan's hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel. He loved his gift and he hated his gift sometimes.
"I can see by your reaction you already know." Thanatos ran a hand over his stubble covered face and then pinched between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "I actually wish I didn't know at all. This makes our mission more nerve wracking for me. God I can barely concentrate now." He shook his head and stared out the window. He was upset for sure, but he knew Nolan was doubly so.
"Grandpa will take care of him," Jonathan assured him. "He knows how to tend to Nolan. The both of them have always been connected and it's more of a father-son thing for them. I'm sure it cost grandpa greatly to give Nolan that news."
Thanatos nodded. "Well, I guess this is going to blow up in both of our faces. I wonder if Raina can forgive us after she learns.” There was misery in his voice. ”But we couldn’t tell her, not without turning her world completely upside down! More so than it already was! Now…now she’s going to be devastated!”
Jonathan reached over and patted his shoulder. "She will forgive you. You know Raina. She will understand why you kept this from her."
Thanatos smiled sadly. "She will. But this is going to hurt like heck for her. Can you even imagine? I mean, she's likely to go into shock. She needs Nolan there now more than ever. God if I only knew where she was!"
Jonathan read the thoughts that Thanatos didn't wish to speak aloud. He cleared his throat. "What if she doesn't know yet? I mean, wasn't the whole point that she would never learn? There were great strides taken to keeping this from her and not just on your part or Nolan's part. There were contracts and there were rules set forth. Why would it be decided that this contract be broken now? If you think about it, it’s probably better if everything remains as it was before. It could still very well be a secret."
Thanatos took comfort in these words. "So you think she may still be okay?"
Jonathan gave a nod. "Maybe you should share that with Nolan. It may give him comfort."
Thanatos gave a nod back. He would tell Nolan, but he knew it wasn't going to give him comfort. Nothing short of being with Raina was going to give Nolan comfort. He was so wrapped up in her. A smile played at his lips at that thought.
“What?” Jonathan asked, surprised that Thanatos could smile at all at this moment. Then he took a peak at his thoughts and smiled himself. He still waited on Thanatos for an answer.
Thanatos shrugged and smiled again. "It’s just…if you'd told me years ago that Nolan would be in love and so obsessed with one girl… I would've called you crazy. He never had interest in anyone. I remember the most beautiful women I'd ever seen throwing themselves at him. He didn't even give them a glance. Ever the gentleman, he was always polite never going beyond a hello or pardon me."
Jonathan laughed at this. "Oh you don't have to tell me that. Nolan and I hung out quite a lot back in those days and at times I found him quite depressing." His dark eyes danced merrily. "He wasn’t a sour or a mean immortal, but he was always so sad. I just couldn’t figure out why!"
"Immortality did that to him," Thanatos answered. "He was completely the opposite of depressed when I met him. That’s why we became friends I’m thinking. I had no intention of forming a friendship. I didn't think I had time for mortals anyway so I was surprised when I found myself very much drawn to him. He was funny and smart and we both shared a lot of interests. He was the type of person that warmed up to you." Thanatos shrugged. "I remember him being one of the first mortals that I ever met that had that glow about them. It was the kind of glow that Raina has. If that doesn't prove that they were meant to be soul mates, I don't know what does.”
“That’s for sure,” Jonathan agreed.
Thanatos scowled and scratched at his beard. “Yeah, I guess God messed up on that."
Jonathan's brows lifted in curiosity. "God messed up?"
Thanatos nodded. "He either put Nolan in the wrong time era or he put Raina in the wrong time era. If their lives had been lined up they would've found each other one way or another. They would have lived happily ever after."
Jonathan thought about this for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't think God messed up. If he knows all things then he would've known about the curse…or the change, whatever you want to call it. He would've known every step that Nolan would take to get where he is right now. He would have known they were to meet.” Jonathan focused on the road and his thoughts. “There are dark matters at hand and there are choices that men made that have altered the life that the two of them should be living now. But they are still meant to be together.” He gave a nod.
Thanatos lifted his brows in surprise.
“We are here to make sure that happens! God didn't mess up. He knew we’d be here for them.”
Thanatos snorted at this. “So, God planned on putting Nolan through a depressed hell all of these years to find the girl of his dreams? Only to get her taken from him? I think it would have been easier if he had just put them in the same era!”
Jonathan frowned. “Then it wouldn’t have been as epic!”
Thanatos threw his head back and laughed. “Jonathan Rivers, are you saying you are a romantic?”
Jonathan shrugged. “Maybe.”
Thanatos shook his head.
“Okay, maybe I am,” Jonathan admitted.
“And you think all of this is God’s plan?”
“Yes,” he growled. “And heck, maybe he knew it would take all of these years to perfect who Nolan is. To make him what Raina would need." His dark eyes softened as he thought about his mortal friend. "Yeah, she's that special that God took his time molding her mate for her."
Thanatos felt a connection at that moment. He wished he could feel so fervently about this whole thing. "I won't argue with you there. She is that special.” He shrugged. “I like the way you think Jonathan. You’re an okay immortal…especially if you can feel that way about our Raina. Why has it taken me decades to realize that?"
Jonathan laughed at this. "Maybe because it took you decades to realize what a she devil my sister is. I hated how you were with her."
"Well I hated me too," Thanatos agreed. "That there proves how special Raina is. Every one of you told me to stay away from Elenora. Years and years of warning and it took just her gentle little voice to make me believe it." He bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. "Jonathan we have to find her."
Jonathan nodded sensing the frustration that was building up in Thanatos. He knew he had to keep his mind busy if Thanatos was to remain calm, cool, and collected. They needed level heads going into this…especially if Richard happened to be around.
"Well we know Elenora is a grandpa's so no chance of getting information from her right now. I'm going to go in as if I'm expecting my dad to be there. The servants will be none the wiser. Hopefully enough has been said or done around them on my father's part so that we can get some information."
"Well my persuasion and your mind reading should come in handy," Thanatos chuckled. "Are there any mortals on the staff, other than the Madeline you spoke of?"
"I think maybe a few. My dad may have some playthings lying around." He shuddered at the thought.
"He wanted to make Raina his plaything." The green eyes sparked with fury. "After his attack on Nolan and Raina, Elenora came to me and told me that he might have plans to do just that. I was so angry. I never even told Nolan because I knew Nolan would go after him and it wouldn't be pretty. I didn't want to see him be judged by Our Sovereignty and most likely be sentenced to death." Thanatos swallowed. "After the hell I added to his life and all the suffering I put him through, I don't even deserve to be a part of all of this. Yet, he entrusted me with Raina, which was the greatest compliment, the greatest honor, he could've given me.”
Jonathan nodded in agreement. “He thinks highly of you now. And he cared for you before Thanatos, even during all those decades of making him crazy. He still remembered the friendship you created before-hand.”
Thanatos chuckled. “All the warring and all the fighting all of these years haven't changed this one fact; Nolan is my best friend."
Jonathan fished through Thanatos thoughts and then he stopped. The thoughts going through his head now were too personal and deep. Those thoughts belong to him not some nosy mind reader. If he chose to share then Jonathan would be honored himself.
"I've heard some stories but not all of Nolan's life before. He doesn't like to talk about it because I think it makes him sad. I've never investigated his mind further," Jonathan admitted.
Thanatos smirked. "Don't feel bad. I only know because I was there. If I hadn't been, I doubt he would a shared anything from his past. He's barely given any information to Raina."
"He loved his family. That much I gathered."
"He was a doctor as you know. He was completely dedicated to his family and his church. His favorite person in all of the world was his grandpa. Maybe that's why he's so close to Joseph. Joseph is kind and wise as was Nolan's grandpa." Thanatos smiled fondly. "Even as a grown man he was following his elderly grandpa around like a puppy. Nolan was the doctor of the town and his grandpa was supposed to be retired but they still work together and even went on house calls together. They were so close…thicker than thieves. I was jealous." Thanatos scratched his jaw in irritation. He hated to admit to such a weakness.
Jonathan again withheld the urge to dig deeper into Thanatos thoughts. He was growing to respect the man and part of respect was allowing someone their private thoughts. "Why were you so jealous?"
Thanatos wet his lower lip and gave a halfhearted laugh. He shrugged his shoulders with discomfort. "I've only ever really told two people about this. One was Nolan and the other was Raina. The only two people I have ever really trusted."
Jonathan nodded. "I understand if you don't want to tell me. The two of us haven't exactly had the best track record."
"True,” Thanatos agreed. “But Nolan trusts you and Raina respects you. So maybe I can too." He shifted in his seat and scratched his beard again. "I had an abusive father. My mother died giving birth to me. It was not a good start in life. My father blamed his infant son for her loss.” His stomach dropped. It still brought pain to his gut every time he told this story. “You know, a lot of the immortals that I meet think that I gave myself the name Thanatos…trying to sound bad ass or something.” He snorted, and looked down at his hands. “Truth is, my dad named me death. I didn't have that father-son relationship that many have, not even a father-like figure. I didn't have a grandpa to shield me from the abuse. Not like Nolan did."
Jonathan blinked at this response. "First of all, the fact that your dad named you death is messed up. Second of all, what you mean by not like Nolan did? You said that Nolan was close to his family."
Thanatos paused and panicked for a moment thinking he may have revealed something he shouldn't have, but he’d said this much, he might as well explain. "Yes he was close to his family…his sisters, his mom, his grandpa, not his father. His father was really abusive but not to the girls, not to Nolan’s sisters. He was very abusive to Nolan though. His grandpa protected him in many ways." Thanatos looked to Jonathan pleadingly. "Please don't tell Raina. Nolan never told her and the only reason he ever told me was when he was trying to comfort me when I was going through a funk. It's not a weakness that he likes to reveal. He'd much rather just act as though his grandpa was his actual father.”
Jonathan felt the sadness for Nolan. He was sure that Nolan had gotten over it because he no longer thought of it. Jonathan had never even sense this about Nolan. "After he was changed, did he go after his dad?"
Thanatos shook his head. "No, he never did. He didn't have to. His dad died shortly after he became immortal. I know Nolan feels guilty about this only because if he had been there even if it was to exact his revenge. He could of healed his dad."
Jonathan again felt sadness.
"He hung around for just a bit and then he decided he needed to leave his family behind. He did go and say goodbye to his grandpa. I think that's what he regrets the most… is not being able to tell his grandpa what was going on."
"Poor Nolan," Jonathan sighed. "No wonder he was so sad and depressed all of those years. In your case you were saved from a life of sadness. In my case I was saved from death. He had a happy life despite the abuse. I'm sure he wanted to just continue living that life that was taken from him."
Thanatos nodded. "It's taken me a long time to understand his feelings. But I know now that it was a tragedy for him."
Jonathan chuckled. "Yes, his immortality has been a tragedy up until he met Raina. Do you think he knew from that moment? From the moment he first laid eyes on her?"
Thanatos green eyes twinkled merrily. "The first time he met Raina was at her wedding. I think he was very much taken by her but too much of a gentleman to ever try anything. He struggled greatly and it was very amusing to watch because I had never seen him struggle when it came to a woman. He is the most unselfish person I've ever met. I think back to when David was sick and Nolan offered healing. He could've just let nature take its course and his competition would be out of the way.