Forgiven (Book 3, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (12 page)

After the rehearsal, we
p
ut the finishing touches on the sanctuary decorations
and finished decorating the reception hall.  Brand and Malcolm decided it would look nice to drape white lights from the exposed
cedar
beam rafters
in the room
.  I played decoy with Utha Mae and my mom while they used their phasing ability to make quick work of what would have been a time consuming job.

I
stepped
outside t
o
the back of the church
to
dispos
e
of some trash when I felt a presence behind me.  I turned quickly and found someone I thought I would never see again
staring straight at me
.

Robert stood at the edge of the woods.  Before I knew it, he phased
in
right next to me and grabbed
one of my
arm
s
. 

“
I c
ouldn’t let you get married with
out giving you
my wedding gift,” he hissed.

I immediately tried to phase but Robert counteracted it with one of his own
,
not allowing me to reach my destination.  While we played a tug of war on who could phase faster, he pulled me to him with what seemed like the strength of a hundred men.  I tried to wiggle out of his hold but found it impossible.  For a few minutes
,
it seemed like we were stuck in a white
misty
cloud as each of us tried to keep the other one from phasing to their destination.  During that time, he ripped my shirt open at the front and
grabbed the back of my head forcing me to face him while he tried to cover my mouth with his
own
. 
I felt the savage intensity of his hate as he forced himself on me. 
I tried to fight but found myself no where near strong enough to fend him off.

When I felt him try to undo the front of the jeans I wore, a burning rage I’d never
had reason to feel
before consumed me. 
My whole body suddenly felt like it had been lit on fire
from the inside out
.  I grabbed Robert’s arms
with my hands
and heard the sizzle of burning flesh.  He immediately let me go and stopped trying to prevent me from phasing.  I phased us to the
one place where I knew we would be alone: the
forest where he tortured my friends on Halloween night.

A holy righteousness burned deep in my soul.  Even in the dark I could see the fear in Robert’s eyes clearly.  Within
his dark
pupils
,
I could see the flames
lighting my own eyes reflected there
.

“You can’t be one,” he screamed at me.  “You can’t be one!”

I tightened my hold on Robert and watched as he burst into flames falling into a
black
pile of ash at my feet.

I held my burning hands out in front of me but didn’t feel frightened by the sight.  Instead, I felt a strange sort of comfort by the
fire’s
presence.  I brought my hands to my face and let the flames flicker against my skin.
  They felt like a warm wind
o
n a summer day
.  They didn’t burn hot against my flesh but
i
nstead brought a sense of calm.

“Lilly?”

I looked up and saw Brand staring at me with an expression I’
d
never seen on his face wh
ile
in my presence
: fear.

“What am I?” I asked
him, hearing my voice but realizing it sounded different, slightly deeper, infused with power
.

I saw Brand’s chest move up and down quickly like he was having trouble breathing.

“What am I, Brand?”
I asked again, demanding an answer.

“
T
he child of an arch angel
,
”
he said breathlessly.

A
fter
he said the words, I knew he was right. 
The forest around me suddenly began to
fade away
.
I collapsed to the forest floor losing consciousness. 

I felt a cold wet cloth resting against my forehead.  When I opened my eyes, I found all three of my angels standing around my bed watching me.  I immediately sat up.

None of them said anything, just stared at me like they were waiting for me to sprout horns out of my head.

“Why are you all staring at me like that?”
I asked
, s
itting up, removing the small wash cloth from my head
and laying it beside me on Brand’s bed
.  “Haven’t you ever seen an arch angel
’
s kid before?”

I meant it as a joke but none of them laughed.

“
Stop staring at me. 
You
’re
starting to scare me.”

Brand sat down on the bed beside me while Malcolm and Will continued to watch me carefully
, like they weren’t quite sure if I was still the Lilly they knew
.

“Lilly,
” Brand said.  “Tell us w
hat exactly
happened
?”

I told them about what Robert tried to do once again.

“I knew in my heart
,” I said, “
even if I was able to stop him this time there would be another attempt.  I’m not really sure what happened.  I
t was like something buried deep inside me suddenly
erupt
ed
.  Before I knew it,
I grabbed him feeling more powerful than I ever have before
and
destroyed
Robert
with that power until
all that was left of him was a
pile of ash at my feet.”

“The slimy bastard deserved what he got,” Malcolm s
norted
.
  “I won’t lose much sleep over his loss.”

“But how can she be the child of an arch angel?” Will questioned.

“She’s not the child of just any arch angel,” Brand said, understanding finally lighting up his eyes.  “She’s the child of Michael.”

The room went completely silent.  The term
‘
you could hear a pin drop
’
came to mind.

“Is that bad?” I asked, needing to know.

“Unexpected,” Malcolm
answere
d.  “But it makes sense.”

“Why does it make sense?”

Brand touched my face
tentatively
letting the palm of his hand cup one of my cheeks in its warmth.

“I see it now,” Brand said
, his voice full of wonder
.  “That’s what we’ve all been seeing
in you
,
Lilly.  W
e just didn’t know it.”

“See what?” I asked
, realizing we were finally solving the mystery of what made me so special to the fallen
.  “What do you see?”

“God was right,” Will said, staring at me like he was seeing me for the first time.  “We
can
see Michael’s essence inside her.  That’s why she has the effect she does on us.  Why are we only realizing it now?”

“Because none of us have known the arch angels to procreate with humans,” Malcolm answered.
  “Why would we even think of such an absurdity?”

“There must be a reason God let it happen,” Brand said.  “
But w
hat could his purpose be?”

“Michael didn’t have a child with just any human
, though
,” Malcolm pointed out.  “
He had one with
a descendant of
Lillith
. 
That can’t just be
a
coincidence.  It has to be divine intervention.”

“Malcolm’s right
,” Will agreed.  “
It had to be planned
.
”

Becoming frustrated I said, “Will anyone answer my question?  What do you
see
when you look at me?”

“Michael’s job was to banish fear inside other
s
,” Brand
told me
.  “That’s what made him such a good warrior and leader in the fight against Lucifer when he rebelled.  His strength helped guide us through
the darkest hour in
Heaven
.  You have his strength, Lilly. 
You have his power to make us reach above what we fear most and strive to be better. 
I think you
a
re meant to guide us through whatever it is Lucifer has planned.”

“If I’m supposed to stop Lucifer, why did God let Uriel keep trying to kill me?
  That makes absolutely no sense.
”

“I think it was because of me,” Will said, rea
lization bringing tears to his eyes
.  “God told you he still watched over us.  I think he knew you were never in any real danger because I was always there to keep you out of harms way. 
My relationship wit
h
you, Tara and Utha Mae is
what changed me
from being someone who hated humanity to someone willing to
do anything to
protect the humans I love
.  You were never in
any
danger of dying in those accidents Faust orchestrated
because I wouldn’t let it happen
.”

“But what am I supposed to stop Lucifer from doing?” I asked.

The room fell completely silent again for a second time.  No one had an answer.

“It may be time to gather the Watchers together,” Brand said, standing to face Malcolm and Will.  “Maybe with our combined knowledge we can figure out
Lucifer’s plan before it’s too late.”

“
You know t
here’s only one way to get them all together,” Malcolm said
sounding like that in itself
might
be an impossible task
too
.
  “Our side
s
hate each other to
o
much to do it willingly.”

“
What are you talking about?  What has to be done
?” I asked.

“Samyaza will have to
order it
,
”
Brand said.

“Well, he’s already helping us,
right?
” I said
, not thinking this was an impossible task
.  “
Doing us o
ne more
favor
shouldn’t be too hard
,
should it?”

“I don’t think he will do it if I’m the one who asks
.
” Brand
looked down at me
.  “But he might do it if you
ask him
,
Lilly.  He’s a Watcher and we’ve already established those of us you know would do anything you asked of us.”

“But he doesn’t know me.”

Brand smiled.  “I didn’t either
;
yet
,
you captured my heart
with one glance in my direction
.” He looked at Will and Malcolm.  “You made the outcast of
Heaven
yearn for a better life.  You
are
your father’s daughter
,
Lilly. 
I believe it’s your destiny to
lead us through this dark time.”

“I’m not a leader,” I whispered.

“You’re wrong, my love,” Brand smiled at me
, his eyes filled with
certainty
.  “You were born to be a leader.”

After Will and Malcolm left, Brand lay down in bed
and
held me in his arms.  I began to tremble.

“What’s wrong?” He asked
, holding me tighter
.

“I’m no one special, Brand,” I said.  “How am I supposed to lead a legion of angels?”

“You brought three of us completely under your control and you didn’t even know you were doing it.  I wouldn’t worry about
a couple hundred more of them.  They’ll see what we do in you and follow
you
into battle if it comes to that.”

I buried my face in the side of Brand’s neck, wishing I could just forget everything I learned that night.  It was the night before my wedding.  I should be excitedly anticipating the ceremony and the wedding night instead of worrying about the fate of the world.