Lunangelique (The Lunangelique Series) (25 page)

Alex’s head snaps up at me and he has a look of wonder and longing. After all the time I spent looking for our real parents Alex had been encouraging me to drop it. But now I know from the look on his face that he wanted to know just as much as I. He longed for his real mother.

Edmund clears his throat and stands up. He turns his back on us and walks out into another room. We all sit back in silence and wait for him to reappear. I turned to watch him retreat and now I’m looking back at Cole with an expression that asks, ‘Where did he go?’

“I think he needed a breather,” he tells me softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” Alex finally speaks up. He is speaking quietly too but his voice is full of betrayal.

“I told you. I didn’t know everything until today. I still don’t know everything. And I don’t think you are going to believe it all when you find out the truth,” I tell him.

“Why wouldn’t I believe it?” He snaps his question at me.

“Because if you were able to deny your own ability for so long, then you’ll never accept what is disclosed to you today. There is a reason why we all have abilities. A reason we love music and I art. A reason why we have high intelligence. And there are other things happening to us that you will find out soon enough.”

“What?” Alex shouts at me.

I lose my patience as his shouting makes my blood boil. “We’re not human, Alex! There, it’s out there now for you to deny!”

“Alexis, you have your mother’s temper. You better learn to control it. Sit down,” Edmund orders, coming back into the room with a tray of drinks and glasses. I hadn’t even noticed I stood up while yelling at Alex. Cole gets up and tries to take the tray from Edmund but Edmund ignores him and sets it down on the table in between all of us. “I didn’t know what you guys wanted to drink but I thought it would be nice to bring things that will settle the nerves,” Edmund explains the plethora of alcohol. There is a pitcher of water too.

He pours himself a glass of something that appears to be brandy into a small glass before settling himself back into his seat. Cole pours me a glass of wine before asking Kaitlyn what she wants, she chooses wine too and then Cole gets himself a glass. Alex goes right for the same dark liquor that Edmund is drinking, which makes me feel really bad because Alex
never
drinks.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” I tell him again as I watch him down a shot of the alcohol before pouring another glass. He ignores me and Kaitlyn tries to intercede by elbowing him in his side. He ignores her too as he stares into his glass.

“Well,” Edmund says thoughtfully. “I guess you
do
know about everything. Now it’s time to fill Alexander in.” He takes a sip of his drink and leans forward to address Alex who is now waiting expectantly for him. “I am your father, and…,” he pauses like it’s difficult to get the next part out. “I am an angel, a fallen.” I watch as both Alex and Kaitlyn’s eyes grow large. Alex tries to keep his composure but Kaitlyn’s mouth has dropped open. “Many, many years ago I discovered a secret that God had kept from us. He wasn’t just
the
God but a god among other gods. Our God loved humans more than the king god did. He wasn’t happy with the environment of the afterlife so he tricked the other gods into a spell that has had them sleeping for the last five thousand years. He created a new afterlife, the Heaven that you know of today. He became Judge and Jury to the souls, damning the sinners into the old afterlife and welcoming the good into his.”

“What about our mother?” I interrupt him before he can continue.

“Your mother was not a threat to him in the beginning. He had only cursed the more powerful gods at first. They were all his family, his brothers, sisters, parents, children. He didn’t want to be without all of them. But then he created us. Only some knew the real story, those were the ones that picked off the other gods that wanted to free their king.

“Your mother kept her want to free them to herself. She’s the one who told me many years later about the truth. We were going to amass an army to free the gods, but after she had you she was captured. Now, all the gods are sleeping.” Edmund goes quiet, lost in his thoughts of the past and the regret of losing our mother.

Alex finally speaks up, “Who is our mother?”

Edmund looks up at Alex and smiles blissfully at him. “Selene,” he says reverently.

Alex still looks confusedly at him so I tell him, “the moon goddess.” His eyes widen with shock and I see doubt creep into his eyes.

“Are you all going to sit around here and expect me to believe that my parents are an angel and a goddess?” He stands up and throws his hands in the air. “This is bullshit. What kind of game are you guys trying to play here? You’re all insane.” He stomps over to me. “How can you believe this, Alexis?”

I look down at my knees and mumble, “It’s different when you figure something out than when it’s told to you.”

“Did you ever think that they led you to figure it out so that you would believe it more? They’re pretenders. They aren’t telling the truth.”

The fight is leaking out of him so I take the opportunity to convince him more. “Alex, we don’t know who are parents are and we can do things that aren’t normal. This explains it. Do you need to see more evidence? I can have Cole control you or…” I turn to Edmund. “What can you do?”

In a blink of an eye Edmund disappears. “You can disappear like Alex?” Alex looks stunned, staring at the chair that Edmund was just sitting in.

“I don’t technically disappear,” Edmund’s voice comes from behind us. Alex and I turn around to look at him. “I teleport.” His face looks grave as he watches Alex’s response.

Alex sinks down on the settee that I was sitting on and puts his head in his hands. We wait quietly while he talks to himself. I sit down next to him and Cole scoots over. I don’t try to talk to Alex and I don’t want to console him in fear that he’ll slap my hand away. I’ve never seen him so mad, frustrated and doubting.

Edmund goes back to his chair and nurses his drink while waiting. Kaitlyn finishes off her glass and reaches for the bottle to pour some more. Cole amuses himself by looking at his watch, probably counting how many minutes it takes for Alex to talk himself out of everything he’s been told and shown.

“I didn’t ask for this,” Alex looks at Edmund with loathing. “I was happy in my ignorance.” He waits for Edmund to say something but he doesn’t. “What do you want from us?” he demands.

“To be a part of your life, Alexander. That’s it. It wasn’t my choice to let you go. I made a vow to your mother that I would take care of you once she was gone…”

“Then, why didn’t you?” Alex seethes.

“I was… hunted. I couldn’t let them find you two. They would have put you with your mother. You are going to be more powerful than you are now. Much more powerful than Cole or I or any other angel. You are more than a demigod. Have you never heard the stories? Theseus, Achilles, Helen? They are real; they are strong, beautiful and immortal. You are more than them. And because of that I had to protect you. I had to let the humans raise you.” He glances at Kaitlyn, the only human in the room, and gives her an apologetic smile. He turns back to Alex and I. “If the angels find out about you, they will take you away.”

“Then, why didn’t you stay away?” Alex glares at him. “Aren’t you going to lead them to us?”

“Maybe,” Edmund confesses. “But I couldn’t stay away from you. You are my children. Your mother wouldn’t want us to be apart. Besides the angels don’t know what you really are, if they know anything at all.”

“I don’t think they do,” Cole consoles Edmund. “Samson asked but he doesn’t know what to think. He’s been watching them but I don’t think they’ve given anything away.”

“Samson?” Alex asks. “You mean Ollie is an angel too?” I nod my head to him and look over to Kaitlyn to see she is taking everything in coolly. I nudge Alex to move over and he takes the hint, going back to the couch to sit with Kaitlyn and ask her how she is.

“I’m fine,” she says. “It’s just so bizarre.” I’m glad she is here with us. She’s our best friend. I just hope she doesn’t get hurt by knowing about us.

“I’m going to have to stay in the shadows for awhile,” Edmund says. “I don’t want Samson or Malachi seeing us together. Especially you,” he says to Alex.

“I think that they would have already put it together once they first saw Alex, if they were smart,” I say, referring to Alex and Edmund’s similarities.

“True. Maybe they’re waiting. Maybe they think that as long as you don’t know then you’re not a threat,” Edmund says.

“How would we be a threat?” Alex asks.

“You could be strong enough to release the gods,” Cole admits. He stares at Alex, trying to give him the message through his eyes without speaking it aloud.

“You think we can?” Alex asks. There is longing in his eyes again. He’s wanted to know his mother a lot more than he cared to know his father. I wish he would have told me about his longing.

“Are you willing to try?” Cole counters.

“I don’t know,” Alex lets the words hang there. He’s seriously considering it.

“It’s nothing we have to worry about just yet. I hate to say it but they’ve been there for so long now. I doubt they know how much time has passed. You and Alexis aren’t strong enough yet to attempt it,” Edmund tells us.

“Where are they exactly?” I ask Edmund.

“Mount Latmos. It’s in…”

I cut Edmund off as I realize where I have heard the name before. “Turkey,” I say. “How poetic.” I laugh.

Edmund smiles, getting the joke. “Yes, it is, isn’t it? Almost ironic.” I hear Cole chuckle next to me. Alex and Kaitlyn look confused.

“What’s so funny?” Alex interrupts are private joke.

I look to Edmund but he gives me the nod to tell him myself. “There is a story about our parents.” I remember Cole telling it to me the first night I met him. He knew everything all along. I later looked up the story to read it again because I found it beautiful and magical. “Selene fell in love with a mortal man named Endymoin.” I roll my eyes at Edmund and he grins.

“The stories aren’t always accurate but there is truth to them,” he interrupts me.

I continue, “She wanted to keep him with her always so she asked Zeus to put him in an eternal sleep so he will live forever. She would visit him every night and…” I stop and look to Edmund. “Do we have siblings?” He motions for me to continue and I look back at Alex. “Anyways, he slept on the side of Mount Latmos.” Alex just bobs his head up and down to tell me he got it. “So do we?” I ask Edmund.

“Not anymore,” he says sadly. “She chose a mortal life and so died a mortal death.”

“We can do that?” Alex asks hopefully.

Edmund shakes his head. “You can, but think about it before jumping into it. Once you decide there is no turning back. Menai begged us to help her get her immortality back when she was dying.” Edmund’s head sinks down as he remembers. “It broke your mother’s heart. She never wanted to have any more children after that. And we didn’t, until you.”

“Why did she change her mind and decide to have us?” Alex steals the question that I was about to ask.

“Hope,” he says.

I lean against Cole and he wraps his arm around me. I feel so emotionally drained. But I’m glad this day has finally come and I don’t have the burden of keeping secrets from Alex any longer. He seems more relaxed now too. I am surprised he has accepted everything in a day when I thought it would take weeks.

Chapter 21

“I’m going to step out and take a run real quick. I’ll only be half an hour,” I tell Cole from outside the bathroom door. We left Edmund’s house late last night with the promise of meeting him today when we go tour more of New York. Alex seems to really like him and wants to get to know him more despite the fact that he so adamantly told me he had no concern for knowing our real parents. He was wrong.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Cole opens the bathroom door in just his towel. He has another towel in his hands, trying to dry his hair.

“No, you just got out of the shower,” I state the obvious. “I’ll be real quick. I promise.” I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and then grab my iPod before jogging out the door. It’s only seven o’clock in the morning. Alex and Kaitlyn are still asleep, or at least they are still in their room.

I need to run so I can think. I couldn’t sleep at all last night, trying to think of how to accomplish waking my mother up. I imagined so many scenarios of being able to rescue her and meet her. I want to know her so bad it hurts my chest to think about it.

When the elevator door opens to the lobby I’m greeted by three beautiful men, obviously expecting me.

“How’s it going Lexi?” Ollie asks me.

I jump back in surprise. “What are you doing here?” I ask him dumbly.

“We heard you were in town for the weekend,” he answers.

“Oh, so you want to hang out, go see the sites with us?” I put on my poker face. I know this is not a good situation. They’ve probably been following us and saw us go to Edmund’s yesterday. If they saw then they know that we know. I need to play ignorant until I can get away.

“I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you. I know some sites you should see while you’re here.” I glance at the other guys while Ollie talks to me and see them all smirk at his comment. I hear the elevator door open behind me and I step over to let the person pass.

“Oh, yeah? Which ones?” I’m mentally telling myself to prepare to fight. The hairs on my arms are raised up and something inside of me is telling me they are here to hurt me.

I wait for Ollie to reply but he just grins at me as someone covers my mouth and nose with a cloth and I black out.

*

Note to self. Tell myself that chloroform will not make me unconscious. I awake with a major headache. I’m in another apartment, just as grand as Cole’s but I’m not comfortable in this one. I’m handcuffed to a chair. They have handcuffed my feet to the legs of the chair and my wrists to the closed arm on the chair.

My mouth is parched and my eyes burn from the brightness in the room. I look around to see if anyone is in the room with me and am met by a pair of bright green eyes. This angel is very handsome with a straight roman nose, sensual mouth and a body that was meant to cause damage. The only thing I’m put off by is his red hair. It’s not unattractive but I know it means that this is Cerviel.