Forgiven (Book 3, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (18 page)

I heard
Tara
almost choke on the coke she was drinking.
  I was just thankful she was able to keep the car on the road.

“We’ll see,” I told Utha Mae, not wanting to tell her why I would never be able to have children unless a small miracle occurred.

But who knew what the future might bring.  On my last visit with God, he had shown me my daughter again and called it a wedding gift.  Could he possibly plan to allow me to have a child with Brand and not have her burdened with the curse of all Watcher children?  And what of the dream I
had
in
which
I first met my daughter and found myself pregnant with a rather rambunctious baby boy
?  Had it just been a dream conjured by my own desires
for a real family
or
had it been
a
possible
glimpse into the future?  Only time would give me the answers I needed.  I just prayed I had
enough of it
to
discover
the
answers
for myself.

When
Tara
dropped me off, Brand wasn’t home.  After we got all my purchases inside,
Tara
left saying she planned to have supper with Malik.

I decided to try and assemble to the new Christmas tree I bought while I waited for Brand to come back home.  I had just laid out all the tree limbs by their color coding when I suddenly felt the warm hands of my husband encircle my waist.

“Did you have fun today?”
he
asked, propping his head o
n
my shoulder as he surveyed the pile of artificial limbs lined up on the floor.
 
“You know we could have just bought a real tree
.
”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that.  I’ve always just had artificial ones.  Would you rather have a real one?”

“It doesn’t matter to me.  I already have my Christmas present
, and I don’t think she’ll fit under a tree
,” he said, squeezing me tight.

I turned to face him within the circle of his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Were you able to speak with Samyaza today?”

“No,
but
Isaiah tracked him down and told me to expect
a message from
him
tomorrow sometime.”

“Did you tell Isaiah what we planned to ask him to do?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“He thinks it’s a long shot but certainly worth
a
try.”

“Could he really still feel guilty after all these years?  He may have been your leader but it’s not like he forced you to follow him.”

“I think he
understands
that intellectually but those who are leaders, at least good ones, always feel like their responsible for the
ones placed
under their command.  He feel
s
like he failed us and just can’t seem to get rid of the guilt.”

“Well, Isaiah’s right.  We have to try.  There’s
no
other choice
.”

“But that’s not until tomorrow,” Brand said drawing me closer to him.  “I say we spend the time in
between in a more productive way.”

And that we did…

Later when we lay in bed holding each other
afterwards
, Brand said, “I want you to take me somewhere.”

I lifted my head off his chest.  “Where do I know that you don’t?”

“The house Malcolm built you.  I only saw it that once in your dream.  You’ve never actually taken me there
.  I would like to see it in person
.”

We got dressed and I phased Brand and I to my
Colorado
home.

Brand looked out the picture frame window at the snow capped mountain and lake.  When he turned around in the empty living room he said, “Let me buy you some furniture for this place as a Christmas present.”

I hugged him around the waist and asked, “What can I get you for Christmas?”

“
Like I said earlier, y
ou are my present.”

“I have to get you something
for under the Christmas tree
.”

“You really don’t, my love.  I have everything I want.”

“Well
,
if I end up buying you a funny looking Christmas sweater just act like you love it and can’t live without it.”

Brand laughed.  “All I will ever want.  All I will ever need is you.  Even if I lost every possession I own, I wouldn’t care as long as you were still
by
my side.”

With those
types
of words, how could I stop myself from phasing us back home and having
my way with my
husband
.

The next afternoon Isaiah phased into our living room as Brand and I were making out on the couch.

“Whoa,
did
not
mean
to see that,
” Isaiah said, lifting his hand to shield his eyes
and turning away from us
.  “I guess I should have called first.  I forgot you
’
r
e
still
newly weds.”

Brand stood and I quickly
began to
button my shirt.

“Yes,” Brand said
,
not bother
ing
to put his t-shirt back on, “you should have.”

“
I promise I will next time. 
Are you decent, Lilly?” Isaiah asked.

“Yes, you can look now.”  I stood by Brand eager to hear what Isaiah had to
tell us
.

Isaiah faced us with a sheepish grin
on his face
.  “A thousand apologizes, truly.  I only came to tell you Mason is ready to see you now.”

“Who’s Mason?” I asked.

“It’s Samyaza’s human name,” Brand said.  “Most of us adopted one when we had to live here on
E
arth.”

“What was your angelic name?” I asked Brand.

“Tir.”

“And Malcolm?”

“Raum.”

“He’ll meet
with
you at the
stones
,” Isaiah said
.  “And he wants to speak with Lilly alone.”

“Why alone?” Brand asked
, immediately suspicious
.

“He said he didn’t want you
there
influenc
ing
his decision.  He wants Lilly to plead her own case
for his help.  I’m to bring Lilly and her only.”

“Right now?” I questioned, feeling as though I should change out of my simple white button down
shirt
and
blue
jeans.

“If you want to speak with him it will have to be
now or never,” Isaiah told me.

I quickly went upstairs to grab a coat and put some shoes on.  When I came back downstairs
,
Brand
pulled
me into his arms.

“
Can
I have a k
iss for good luck?”
I said.

Brand kissed me tenderly on the lips.  “
You don’t need luck
.
  He won’t be able to refuse you.
”

I placed
one of my
hand
s
in
Isaiah’s and soon found myself standing beside
something
I had only seen on TV and online: Stonehenge.
 

It was night time in
England
.  The moon was full
in the star filled sky overhead,
illuminating the lone figure standing in the middle of the
ancient ring of
stones with his back turned to me.  He wore a long dark coat with the collar standing stiffly around his neck.

“I have to leave you,” Isaiah said reluctantly.  I turned to him and saw how despondent his expression was.  He, like most of the Watchers I knew felt the calm I brought to their souls.  I knew his craving for human blood would be almost nonexistent around me and pitied him for having to endure such pain.

Isaiah
phased, leaving me to do my best to convince the leader of the Watchers to help me in my quest.

When I stepped into the
ring
of stones, Mason didn’t turn to face me.  I heard him take in a deep breath and
saw his shoulders
shudder slightly.

“I see why they treasure you so,” he said, still with his back to me.  “I thought Brand was lying at first and needed to know for myself w
hat power you held over the fallen under your control.”

“I don’t control anyone,” I said, slightly offended.

“You are the child of Michael, Lilly.  Of course you control them.  You control them without even having to consciously make an effort to
bend them to your will
.  Your power is in your blood.  It courses through your veins like fire.”

“I would never use my power to make them do anything they didn’t want to do.”

“Do you offer me the same courtesy?”  Mason turned to face me.  “Can you honestly stand there and tell me if I refuse your request you wouldn’t use your power to make me do what you want
anyway
?”

I looked away from M
ason
’s penetrating gaze.  Even though I couldn’t see him clearly, I felt the strength of his will and understood why he had been chosen to lead the Watchers on Earth.

“No, I would not make you do what I want against your will.  That isn’t the type of person I am.”

“Michael would use his power.  Why not you, his only daughter?”

“Because I’m not my father.”

Mason was silent for a while before saying, “No, I guess you’re not.”

“I came here to ask for your help.  Brand seems to think if we bring the Watchers together
they
can figure out Lucifer’s plans for me.  Whatever he does have planned, I can assure you it won’t be good for any of us.  Please, I’m asking for you
r
help.  Will you
gather the Watchers together to
help
me?”

Mason sighed heavily.  “What you ask me to do is something that hasn’t been done since we were exiled here.  Why are you so sure the Watchers will even listen to me
after all these years?”

“Because you were their leader.  I believe they want something to fight for
again
.”

“You know our father sent us here to help humanity flourish.  We were scholars, artist, craftsmen: everything the human race needed to learn we provided.  Then
,
we did the one thing
H
e forbade us to do.  We took human women as our wives and tried to have children
with them
.  We tried to have families because we craved such a connection to other living soul
s
.  I stood
silent
as all of those under my command eventually succumbed to their desires because that was what I wanted for myself too.  Even though I knew it was wrong, I still let it happen.”

“Did you have a child with your wife?”

“Yes.  And now he is burdened with the curse of all Watcher children.  He writhes in pain every night because I was too weak.  Yet, he still loves me.  I can only assume it’s his mother’s half which can still love a monster.”

“Has Brand told you about my dreams?”

Mason cocked his head to the side.  “What dreams?”

“God has visited me in my dreams. 
From what H
e’s show
n
me and told me, I can tell
He still loves all of you
,
and I believe
H
e wants to give you a way to be forgiven for the sin you
committed
.”

“Did
H
e tell you this?”

“In a way.  Malcolm says He speaks obtusely.  That you have to make out his real meaning by what
H
e provides you.”

“I had hoped
H
e would outgrow that annoying habit.”