Ascension (Book 4, The Watcher Chronicles) (8 page)

Gabe nods. “Yeah, sort of but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me really. It was like a puzzle of images that didn’t seem to be in any kind of order.”

“What did you see?” I ask.

“I saw a woman holding a baby in her arms; then there was a girl around twenty years old standing in a city but…”  Gabe shakes his head like he’s not sure what he saw was right. “She was standing on a terrace in a city built above the clouds. And then a bunch of random images kept flickering in and out. They didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But, I think it was the last vision that scared Baal the most.”

“What was it?” I ask.

“His death.”

“Did you see who kills him?” I ask, secretly hoping I get to kill the bastard even though I realize that isn’t exactly something I should wish for.

“It was the girl I saw standing in the cloud city. She killed him.”

“Did you recognize the girl?”

Gabe shakes his head. “No. I didn’t recognize anyone but Baal in the visions.”

“Well, at least I know what made him look so scared right before he left. I guess learning he has an expiration date showed him he isn’t invincible,” I say.

“But that’s just a possible future, right?” Gabe asks Mason.

“Yes, it’s a possible future. There are probably a dozen or more iterations of the same event. You just showed him one of them.”

“The right one I hope,” I say under my breath.

“So we should be able to find my crown now, right?” Gabe asks. “Since I’ve used my power.”

“I’ll call Joshua and let him know to start looking for it. As soon as we have its location, we’ll go get it.”

After we eat, Aiden takes Zack to the villa so he can begin the process of connecting with his archangel.

“Do you think you could take me to my flat in London?” Gabe asks Mason. “I’d like to grab a few of my things if I need to stay here for a while.”

“Ok, give me just a minute,” Mason says, grabbing my hand and phasing us to my bedroom away from the others.

“Need more kisses?” I ask, sliding my free hand up his chest as I turn into him.

“I want you to pack a bag while I’m gone,” he says, “enough for a couple of weeks.”

“A couple of weeks?” I ask in surprise. “Are you kidnapping me?”

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay here. And I’m going to take Gabe to the villa after he gets what he needs from his apartment.”

“I’m not safe in my own home?”

“No. Too many people know about this place. If you won’t let me help you when they come, then at least let me take you somewhere I know you’ll be safe.” 

The desperate look on Mason’s face makes my decision for me.

“Where are you taking me?  I need to know how to pack.”

I feel Mason instantly relax. I don’t think he thought I would comply to his request so easily. But what he doesn’t seem to realize is that I would do anything he asked of me except let him fight by my side against the princes of Hell. If I have any hope of defeating them, I need to know he is safe. I see this little absconding of my personhood as a way to keep him safe as well. If they can’t find me, they can’t find him either.

“Pack for warm and cold weather. We’ll stay at the beach house for the most part, but tomorrow’s adventure will be a little chilly.”

I nod and say, “Ok.”

Mason kisses me and we walk back into the living room.

While Mason and Gabe are in London, my dad sits on my bed to keep me company while I pack a small suitcase.

“I take it you worked things out with Mason,” my dad says as he watches me fold some shirts and place them in my suitcase.

“Yes. I think he’s having a hard time coping with the fact that he isn’t meant to help me in this fight against Lucifer’s group. He doesn’t like being the one who’s being protected. He’s used to doing the protecting.”

“It’s understandable,” my dad says. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. Not many people could handle the things you’ve been through and stay sane.”

“I guess you made me well,” I tell him.

My dad smiles.

“So when is the wedding?” My dad asks.

“I honestly don’t know,” I tell him. “We haven’t set a date. I guess I need to ask Mama Lynn and Faison how long it will take them to get things ready. I just saw the dress JoJo made me today.”

“Do you like it?”

“Imagine me stuck in the middle of a giant sparkly cotton ball. That’s what I’m going to look like.”

My dad chuckles. “I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.”

“Well at least there won’t be many people there to see me trip when I try to walk down the aisle to Mason.”

“I won’t let you fall,” my dad promises. “I’ll never let you fall, Jessi.”

I look up at him and know he’s talking about more than just the wedding. Mason isn’t the only one who wants to protect me. I know my dad will do everything in his power to make sure I don’t fail in my mission to protect the world from Lucifer. I just wish I knew what we were protecting the world from exactly.

“Has God said anything to you about what Lucifer’s plan is exactly?”

My dad shakes his head. “No, He doesn’t tell me much.”

“I don’t understand why He doesn’t just tell us. I mean, we need to prepare for this big fight but I have no idea what we need to do to get ready for it.”

“He hasn’t given you any sort of hint in your talks with Him?”

I bite the inside of my lower lip, contemplating if I should tell my dad the one thing God did tell me. I haven’t told anyone and the need to share the information makes the decision for me.

“He’s told me a sacrifice will have to be made during the final fight,” I say. “But don’t tell anyone that. I haven’t even told Mason. I’m afraid he might freak out over it.”

The concerned look on my dad’s face makes me wonder if he’s freaking out about it now.

“Don’t you start worrying about it either,” I tell him.

“I’m your father,” he says. “It’s in the job description.”

“Do you think I’ll have to make a sacrifice of some sort?” I ask.

“I don’t know. It could apply to any of you.”

I sigh. I had sincerely hoped my dad might have some heavenly insight into God’s warning. My only other hope is that Gabe’s power will show us what needs to be done in the fight and what sacrifice we will have to make in order to make sure we win.

By the time I have my suitcase packed, Mason and Gabe make it back to my house.

“I thought you were going to take Gabe to the villa,” I say to Mason as I walk up to him in the living room and put an arm around his waist.

“I got a call from Joshua. He’s found the location of Gabe’s crown. I thought you might like to come with us to get it.”

“That was quick.” I say. “Where is it?”

“London,” Mason says, chancing a glance in Gabe’s direction, “in a cemetery.”

“A cemetery?” Gabe asks. “Why would it be there?”

“I’m not sure,” Mason tells him. “I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

“I should be getting back to the Guf,” my dad says, walking up to me and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Let me know when you settle on a date for the wedding.”

“Ok,” I tell him.

My dad phases back to Heaven.

Mason grabs the flashlights we used when we went to the Cave of Treasures with Chandler from beneath the kitchen sink. He phases the three of us to London in search of Gabe’s crown.

It’s still night time in England. The graveyard we phase to is set against a hill on the outskirts of the city. The lights of London can be seen but only faintly. We all turn our flashlights on as Mason takes his phone out to find the app to detect the gamma radiation which will point us in the direction of the crown.

“This way,” Mason says heading west.

Gabe and I follow Mason through the maze of tombstones. It takes a while but Mason finally finds the source of the radiation signal.

It’s a plain tombstone without a lot of information chiseled on its face:

Jane Doe

Mother

June 26, 1993

“It has to be my mother’s grave. I knew she died during childbirth,” Gabe says, pointing his flashlight on the tombstone as he stares at it, “but I never knew her grave was here.”

“She didn’t have any family?” I ask, remembering Gabe tell me he had been shuffled through the foster care system as a child.

“No. There wasn’t any family. No one got her name at the hospital before she died. I don’t know who my father was either. I don’t know anything about my past.”

“If you want,” Mason says, “I could have Joshua and Nick look into your background for you.”

“No,” Gabe says, “if I wanted to know I would have already done that. I figure the past is the past. There’s really no need for me to go digging through it now.”

Mason kneels down by the grave. He uses his phone to pinpoint the location of the crown and finds that it’s directly underneath the tombstone. With little effort, Mason lifts the tombstone with one hand and leans down to grab the metal box with his other. After replacing the tombstone, he walks over to Gabe and releases the latch on the box.

Gabe points his flashlight inside the box and looks at the crown.

“You’re the only one who can pick it up,” I tell Gabe.

Gabe reaches inside the box and grabs the crown. The box disintegrates in Mason’s hands.

Gabe examines the crown. “What is this writing?”

“It says your archangel’s name,” I tell him. “We used to get Lilly to read it for us but by process of elimination, we know what archangel you are.”

Gabe hefts the crown in his hands. “Feels lighter than I thought it would.”

He smiles and puts it on his head. “Does it make me look princely?”

I touch Gabe on the arm. “You look very dashing,” I tell him.

The crown begins to glow. Gabe’s smile fades.

“What’s…” Gabe begins to say but that’s all that comes out of his mouth before he collapses unconscious to the ground.

Chapter 6

Mason and I look at each other in complete and utter shock.

“What the hell just happened?” I ask.

“It looks like he’s connecting to his archangel,” Mason says, staring at Gabe’s prone body lying on the ground.

“But he doesn’t have his talisman yet,” I say.

Mason hands me his flashlight and walks over to Gabe. He easily lifts Gabe in his arms.

“Maybe it means he doesn’t need one,” Mason says.

“But I thought we were all supposed to get one to help us focus our powers.”

“After he speaks to Gabriel, Gabe will have more answers for us. Right now we should probably take him to the villa with the others. It will be at least two days before we get any answers.”

I walk over to Mason and grab his arm so he can phase us all to the villa.

When we get there, Aiden shows us to the room where Zack is sleeping. Mason lays Gabe next to Zack on the bed.

“I didn’t realize I would have to play babysitter in this job,” Aiden grumbles.

Mason looks at Aiden, his eyes hard as diamonds.

“You’re babysitting the people sent here by God to save this world if not this universe, Aiden. We are in the Origin,” this one word makes Aiden look like he was just splashed with ice cold water, “so right now you have one of the most important jobs there is. Don’t complain.”

“You’re sure we’re in the Origin?” Aiden asks in a whisper like the word is holy.

“Yes. Jess and I learned that when we went to the alternate Earth. I don’t have to tell you what might happen if we fail to stop Lucifer here.”

“No,” Aiden says, looking at Zack and Gabe with more respect. “All the worlds might suffer the same fate without even knowing why.”