Angel's Messiah (16 page)

The baby!

I reached down to my stomach. It was flat. Where was my baby? It had to be close by. I tried to sit up, even though I felt incredibly weak. I wasn’t even sure if I’d managed to lift my head from the ground.

A shadow passed over me and I opened my eyes again. A woman’s blurry face was smiling down at me.

“My baby,” I said. “Where’s my baby?”

“Here,” the woman laughed.

The sound of her laughter was delightful, like wind chimes, but it didn’t take away my concern for the baby I had carried and cared for all those months.

“Was it a boy or a girl?” I asked.

The woman clapped her hands excitedly, “A girl!”

So Danny had been right. We hadn’t even discussed names yet. What would we call her?

“Her name is Regina,” the woman said, as though reading my mind.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Here,” the woman laughed again.

This was getting me nowhere. I couldn’t see my baby and I couldn’t hear her. Surely she’d be hungry by now.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Gina.”

“Gina, my baby must be hungry. Help me find her, please.”

Gina knelt down beside me. I could see a vague, blurry outline. It was her face. She stroked my cheek. Her touch was strangely soothing.

“You’ve had quite an ordeal, Little Mother. Rest and regain your strength.”

Gina touched my brow and I fell asleep. When I awoke I felt strong again, the pain and bodily weakness a distant memory. I was still clad in the lingerie I’d been wearing when Drake had come to my rescue and wondered if Gina had helped with the birth. Where
was
my baby?

I sat up and looked around. I’d been lying on a bed of soft mosses. The only impression left on the ground was mine. There was
nothing
to indicate anyone else had been here recently. Where
was
that woman? I wanted my baby, and I wanted her
now.

“Gina,” I yelled. “If you don’t bring me my baby now I will hunt you down and
kill
you.”

“I’m here,” Gina said, appearing before me.

“Where is my baby?” I demanded.

“I … am … here,” Gina said slowly, smiling.

The realisation of her words dawned on me. I thought I must have been comatose for twenty years or so, for surely the woman before me was at least twenty. Gina sat on the ground, so that she was at the same level as me.

“You’re my baby?” I asked.

“Don’t sound so surprised, Little Mother,” she laughed, a melodious ringing sound. “I had to develop enough in your womb to transport. Once I mastered that ability I was free to be born. I’m sorry I caused you such pain. I took it away as soon as I could.”

“When were you born?” I asked.

“A day ago,” she replied.

Okay, that was weird. Maybe we were in some strange dimension where time travelled much faster than it did on the mortal world — even faster than heaven and hell. That would account for her enormous growth spurt in one day.

“You mean I didn’t give birth the
normal
way?”

“Did you expect to?” she asked.

“Well, yeah, I did actually.”

Gina laughed again. “You expected to give birth to a full grown woman the way a mortal gives birth?”

“No. I expected to give birth to a
baby,
in the usual manner. Why else would I have a nursery prepared at the cottage?”

Oh god. Danny and Drake would probably be going out of their minds with worry about what had happened to me and the baby.

“Danny,” I said. “He’ll be worried about me, about
us.
”

“Do not fret, Little Mother. My father will come when it’s time.”

Gina — Regina — didn’t seem concerned, and as she touched my face a feeling of contentment washed over me. For the time being I would follow her lead — not be concerned about anyone else — and learn as much about her as I could, while I had her to myself.

“You said you couldn’t be born until you could transport yourself. Is that how we came to be here? You transported both of us?”

“Yes. Call it a test run to ensure I was developed enough to leave the womb,” she said.

“And how is it that you’re fully grown when just over a day ago you were still a baby — a very active one I might add — in my womb?”

“As I left your body I grew. It’s most remarkable, is it not?”

“Yes, it is,” I agreed.

“I am the same age as you were when you were
changed
,” she explained.

“You know about that?” I asked in disbelief.

“I know everything, Little Mother.”

“Oh.”

It was my worst fear that my baby would learn about my sordid past. She reached out and touched my hand. It tingled where her fingers rested.

“I love you no less for what you’ve done.”

She held out her arms and I crawled into her embrace. Who was the mother and who was the child? The lines seemed to blur. I cried against her while she stroked my hair and spoke soothing nonsensical stuff into my ear.

“I am blessed,” Gina said, “to have three parents who love me so.”

I raised my head to look into her eyes, beautiful sparkling emerald green eyes —
gem-coloured eyes run in the family, on her father’s side
— to see if she was pulling my leg. Who would be her
third
parent?

“How can you have three parents?” I asked.

“Two fathers and one mother,” she said matter-of-factly.

“
Danny
is your father.”

“We all share
another
Father,” Gina said, and I knew now she was referring to God as her other father.

“Why are you the same age as I was when I was changed? Why aren’t you a baby?”

She stood up and helped me to stand. When I looked back at her she’d changed again — she now had wings. Gina was beautiful. She was so much taller than Danny or I, and had some of our features — the best from each of us. Her wavy hair was dark blonde, which surprised me, and incredibly glossy. She had full, but pale red lips, and sun-kissed skin. Her wings were white, and when closed they reached to her thighs. She wore a short-sleeved dress, the same colour as her wings, and walked barefoot.

“Because time grows short and I will need to leave soon.”

My heart thudded at this news. “
Why?
”

“Because our other Father commands it.”

“Great,” I said angrily. “He gives you to us only to tear you away.”

“Shh, Little Mother, it’s not like that at all.”

“Then
explain
it to me,” I said.

“Ah, I am truly blessed that our Father chose the angels Danizriel and Helena to be my parents. You are
so
inquisitive for an angel and there is
much love
in both of you.”

“Wait a minute,” I said sceptically, “I’m only
part
angel.”

“In our Father’s eyes it makes you no less of an angel. Indeed you work harder at being an angel, without even knowing it, then many of the angels in the heavens, for you have served His purpose well, even at times when you thought you were at odds with Him.”

Danny appeared beside me.

“Helena,” he said, sounding relieved, “you called me at last. We were so worried when you disappeared, not knowing where you’d gone and how you’d fare on your own.”

“It wasn’t me who called you,” I said, pointing to Gina. “It was her.”

Gina clapped her hands in delight and squealed like a little girl.

“We won’t be needing the nursery,” I said dryly. I continued on before Danny could ask, “this is Regina — Gina for short —
our
daughter.”

“Gina?” he asked. “When did you decide on a name?”

“Little Mother didn’t, Father,” Gina said. “Our
other
Father did.”

“Aren’t you going to hug our daughter, Danny?” I asked, and pulled his arm to get him moving.

Gina held out her arms. “Father, it feels like I’ve waited an eternity to meet you. I heard you talk to me so many times, and felt your soft touch through Little Mother’s womb.”

Danny embraced her and kissed her cheek. “I
have
waited an eternity for
you,
Gina.”

Danny was taking this much better than I thought he would. I guess being so
old
he was used to strange and unusual things happening. Nothing much shocked him anymore.

“I love you, Father,” Gina said.

“I love you too, Gina.”

14.
Eden

Here we were, the three of us, and I wondered if I was having some strange dream that I would wake up from at any moment. It was unbelievable to have a family of my own, even if Gina and I could be mistaken for sisters, born no more than a year apart. She was a part of me, and I a part of her.

When they’d finished hugging, Danny came back to me and wrapped an arm about my waist, kissing my cheek.

“She’s just like you,” he said.

“She has your eyes.”

“They’re green,” he protested.

“But they sparkle like gems, just like yours.”

Gina laughed with delight and took us both by the hand — squeezing her body between us — to walk.

“I thought you might bring Drake along,” I said.

“He cannot set foot here, Little Mother, though I shall meet with him one day,” Gina said.

Danny looked at me questioningly.

“Apparently she knows everything about us,” I said.

“Only about you, Little Mother, through your eyes and thoughts. I only know about others you have met from your memories. Perhaps Father will share what has passed since you last shared a bond with me too.”

“I think not, Gina,” Danny said quickly. “There are some things best kept
private
.”

Gina laughed. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were blushing, Father.”

Danny mumbled something under his breath, so low I couldn’t catch it, though Gina did and she laughed again. She swung our arms back and forth as we walked. I couldn’t help thinking that for her outwardly grown appearance she was still only a child.

“Where
is
here by the way?” I asked. “I don’t even know where I am.”

“Eden,” Danny replied.

“Eden, where?” I asked.

“Eden, as in the biblical Eden,” Danny said. He peered behind Gina and pointed at me, mouthing, “
Put some clothes on.
”

“
Father,
” Gina said. “Little Mother can wear whatever she likes.”

I shrugged my shoulders and donned a simple sarong. It didn’t matter to me either way, though I didn’t want Danny to feel uncomfortable.

“How come I’m
Little Mother
and he’s
Father,
” I complained.

Danny chuckled. He thought it was hilarious.

“Father, stop being
mean
to Little Mother,” Gina scolded him.

“Oh, he’s not being mean,” I said. “He just enjoys it when he sees I’m uncomfortable. Usually it’s the other way around.”

“I have so much to learn,” Gina said, “if I am to walk amongst mortals.”

I pretended I hadn’t heard what she said. It would only lead to me saying something rash, like she was forbidden from venturing into the mortal world. If she was like most children she’d do the exact opposite. I’d talk to Danny later, when we had some alone time, to discuss how we could stop her from leaving. I still didn’t have an answer to my question about being
Little Mother
, but I was prepared to let it slip for the moment.

“So this is Eden,” I said, looking around. “It’s quite nice really. I’m sure Adam and Eve were very upset when they were evicted.”

“This is the very
same
Eden,” Gina said, “minus a few things, of course — the serpent and the tree of knowledge. There are to be no tests of faith and devotion here.”

“Is this one of Danny’s blind spots?” I asked. “Surely a place as large as Eden would have been discovered by now.”

“Our
Father
has protected this place from all, save us,” Gina said.

Danny was quite happy to walk along listening to us talk.

“Are we to stay here?” I asked.

“You and Father are free to come and go as you please. I will stay here until it is time to leave.”

“How long before you have to go?”