Chapter Twenty-two

 

If the Master of all Evil wasn’t trying to drive her bat-shit crazy, then the Brethren were doing their fair share to send her to the insane asylum. Never alone for a minute, Hannah’s world closed in around her and choked out the very essence of who she was—a free spirit. No matter where she went, the Brethren followed like her entourage, and still, people’s faces would screw up into contorted expressions as they passed her, spitting disgusting taunts at her. She’d given up on opening cabinet doors, preferring to lay all her makeup, brushes, and clothes on bureaus so there’d be no surprises.

They sat one night by the fireplace in the family room trying to figure out what had gone wrong. No matter how often or how many protection rituals Gabriel performed, nothing worked. Her mind refused to retain any of it, and continued to be compromised.

“Damn it! Why is nothing I’m doing working for you? I was positive I was to be your protector, but I’m tapped out. I don’t understand how your mind can allow them entry. You’re wearing your amulets? Never taking them off?”

“Of course. Of course.” She paused and reconsidered her answer. “Although, there was one time, a couple of weeks ago, come to think of it. While I was showering, my hair got impossibly tangled in my wrist amulet. I had to cut it off and reattach it. But it was only off for a few minutes, and I put it right back on.”

His head fell, and he muttered, “Son-of-a-bitch.”

“I’m sorry! Like I said, I put it back on within minutes of cutting it.”

He peered up at her, defeat in his eyes. “When you cut the band, you severed the protection long enough to create a breech and allowed them in. That’s why I can’t do a thing for you now. They got a piece of you.”

“But I don’t want them to. I want them out of me.”

“I said there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I’m worthless to you. All I can do is put out the fires. I can’t prevent them.”

Dejected, and feeling guiltier than a toddler caught drawing on the walls with toothpaste, she walked out of the room, leaving him to wrestle with his own frustration.

Tensions mounted as the weeks blurred into one another. She snapped at him to give her space. He always had a flippant comment in return. She’d run off crying and he’d follow to apologize. It became almost a nightly ritual. Only a couple days, and it would be her birthday. Something had to give.

The sun had gone down, and she faced the second to last night before becoming immortal. The pair sat on his back porch swing, silent and contemplative as the crickets’ songs kicked into high gear.

“Gabriel?”

“Hmmm?”

“There are a couple of things I’d like to do before I turn immortal. Things that will be different once I turn. Will you help me?”

“Depends on what you have in mind.”

That didn’t sit well with her. “Why can’t you just say yes?”

“Because I want to know what I’m agreeing to first.”

“Oh! You sound just like my father.” She stormed off the swing and marched out into the middle of the yard where the fire pit sat and she could be somewhat alone. She swiped angry tears away and sat on a bench like a petulant child. A crooked grin raised a cheek. Hadn’t Namirha called her that once a long time ago? She felt horrible for blasting her mate.

The waterworks flowed freely at this point. How dare she hurt the one she loved? She was a despicable creature. “I’m a wretched woman. Forgive me.”

She’d felt his presence behind her, but she refused to turn around.

“No you’re not. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. There are many times I sound like Michael. We’re both Protectors, cautious and deliberate in all that we do. You may have felt it a slight against me, but it is just simple truth.”

“I need you to say yes. Just…say…yes, without knowing exactly what it is you are agreeing to. It’s nothing too dangerous. Nothing I haven’t done before. Please.”

There was an appreciable silence and she bowed her head in utter defeat.

“Yes.”

She looked at him with a tentative grin pushing its way up her face. “Really? You’ll help me?”

“Yes. I see how important this task is to you. So, without knowing exactly what’s involved, I’m saying yes.”

“Thank you!” she jumped up and into his arms, layering kisses all over his face.

“When do we start?” He eased her down gently.

“Now! Come on!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to her Jeep. “Wait here! I’ll be back in a flash.”

She ran inside and grabbed her purse, came back out, and hopped in the driver’s side. “Might wanna buckle up there, sir. Just sayin’.”

“So, what can you do as a human that will be different as an immortal?”

“You’ll see.” She winked and turned the key.

 

Thirty minutes later, she drove up to the gates of the Painted Horse Raceway. She waved a pass at the guard. He walked over and smiled. “Hey there, Hannah. How are you? Haven’t seen you ’round here in ages.”

“I’m good, Arthur. I’ve been way too busy at work. Was wondering if I could take a lap or two around the track.”

“We just closed up, honey. Lights go out in five minutes.”

“Exactly what I’m looking for. Listen, Arthur. My life is changing drastically, day after tomorrow. I just need this last opportunity to experience the thrill, the rush of driving around her. What do you say? Turn the lights off. I don’t need them. I just need the track.”

“Aw, damn. Cancer got ya? Bucket list? I think I can oblige. Cancer got my girlfriend last year. She didn’t get to do all the things her heart was set on.” He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll lock up as usual. There’s no way in, but you can get out of here through the south gate. God bless you. God bless you.”

“Thanks, Arthur. I’m so sorry to hear about your girlfriend. May she rest in peace.”

He waved her on to enter the track.

Gabriel squinted at her. “Oh, stop. I didn’t lie. He did it all for me.” She offered a crooked smile. “Nope, the lying part of our journey this evening is scheduled for later. Now, we ride! No headlights!”

“What?”

She couldn’t have planned it better. All the track lights shut down, and the only glow came from her headlights. She drove up to the starting line and turned them off.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Taking a risky drive that won’t matter in a couple of days. Hang on to your balls!”

“But you have supernatural sight. You can still see.”

She whipped out a bandana from her purse, twisted it, and tied it around her eyes and head. “So much for angel sight!”

She pushed the pedal to the floor. Her jeep burned rubber off the line and flew down the track. “Woohoo! That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Stop! Stop right now! You’ve no idea where you’re going!”

“I know! Ha ha! But I have a two mile straight away calling my name!”

The wind rushed all about her, whipping her hair out of the jeep’s roof and back in again.

“You’re crazy! Stop the car. This is exactly what I feared. You’re risking your life for the sake of your humanity. Stop the car.”

“Not yet. Just a little bit further. Yeah!” She turned her steering wheel to the left while tromping on her brakes, and with wheels screeching, spun around making donuts. “That was awesome! Now for the return.” She flashed her headlights on for a moment to realign the car to the straight away, then turned them off. “I’m blind! I’m blind! Ha ha.”

“Turn the lights back on.”

“You promised me this. Don’t rain on my human bucket list. Okay, here…we…go.”

She flew down the track for the two miles and stopped about thirty feet from the starting line. When she turned the lights on again, she was neither too far left nor right, but dead center. She turned to Gabriel, preening like a peacock. “Guess you didn’t know about me and cars, did you? We have a thing for speed. Arthur and I met a long time ago when amateurs could race on the track on off days. I was a regular. Now, not so much. That felt incredible. Shall we move on to the next thing on my list?”

“Not a chance in hell unless you tell me first.”

“Oh, you big bundle of party pooper.”

He crossed his arms and appeared unmoved.

“Okay, so now that I’ve built up a thirst, I thought we’d go to a club. It’s called Liar, Liar. It’s part comedy club, part singles dance club. Now, I’m no longer single, obviously, but they have this game they play every night called One Truth and Three Lies. I figured since I won’t be able to lie anymore, I’d get all my lying out of my system.”

Gabriel immediately roared with laughter. “That’s fantastic. Love the idea. Much more than this little jaunt.” She smiled with deep satisfaction.

“You’re just an old fogey. I promise to drive at a safe speed all the way there.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

The club was located in downtown Phoenix. Luckily, it was one of the few places that had a parking lot attached to their building. Once parked, they stood in line to get in. Twenty minutes later, and they had a table in the back.

“Hi, I’m Candy and I’ll be your server. There’s a two drink minimum, so what can I get you?”

“Hi, Candy. I’ll have a Sour Apple Martini, and my man over here will have a pitcher of Brethren Brew.”

“I’ll be back with those.”

“Oh, wait! Where do I sign up for the game?”

“On the clipboard by the stage.” She smiled and move on to her other customers.

She got up and headed to the stage.

“Wait, I’ll go with you.”

“Why? Oh, all right.”

She was the last to sign up. Thrilled, she nearly skipped back to her seat. The game would begin in just a few minutes.

“I can’t wait! I hope it doesn’t fill you with envy, watching me lie through my teeth.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve found clever ways of lying while not lying over the millennia.”

“Ah, you mean like what I did with Arthur?”

“Exactly.” He winked.

“Here you are. One Sour Apple Martini and one pitcher of Brethren Brew. My personal favorite. I brought a bowl of oranges just in case you prefer them.”

“Thanks, Candy. That’s exactly how I drink my beer.”

She blushed and left to tend to more tables.

“You are too much, mister.”

“What? I can’t help it if I ooze charm and sex appeal. It’s all for you, though. You know that.”

She rolled her eyes and snorted, and tugged at his collar to lay a plundering kiss on his lips. “That’s so all the women know, too.”

The emcee for the night bounded on stage to announce the game. “Welcome to tonight’s game of One Truth and Three Lies, where you lie your ass off and we try to guess what the one true thing is about you. We have a loaded docket tonight so let’s get started. Each liar gets one minute to lie and tell the truth. You, the audience, have a minute to guess the truth. Whoever guesses correctly wins a free happy hour party. If no one guesses correctly, our contestant wins. Let’s give it up for Steven!”

The evening went on with lots of laughs and lies galore. Her turn finally arrived, and she leapt to the stage filled with adrenaline. “Hi everyone! Tonight’s a special night for me. After this game, I’m taking a vow never to lie again. It’s a personal challenge I set for myself, so I thought I’d kiss the lies goodbye in front of a huge crowd.”

Everyone cheered, a few people whistled. “Okay, okay. Here I go.” She used her minute better than anybody— firing lies one after the other as though they were bullets. People were laughing up a storm at her ridiculous statements, but she still had to share a truth. “The last thing I want to share is that my twin siblings are angels.” That got the biggest laughter and cheers out of everything she’d said.

The emcee stepped onto the platform. “All right folks. Time to guess!”

“You’re telling the truth about how many brothers you have!” She shook her head.

“You honestly have five tattoos!”

“Not a one! Ha ha!”

“You’ve climbed South Mountain a hundred times!”

“Sorry, only a dozen.” She winked.

Nobody guessed correctly, so she revealed to the crowd that the truth was her twin siblings were angels. She could hear the crowd questioning the validity of her statement. “It’s true. They’ve always been the sweetest kids and now grownups. Simply angels.”

Everyone laughed and clapped, and she left with a Happy Hour party for her and one hundred of her closest friends. Arm in arm, they walked back to her Jeep where she quickly handed the keys over. “I’m in no condition to drive, so batter up!”

“Lucky for you, I can’t get drunk.”

“Yup, I’d planned for you to be my designated driver.”

“Where to now, Madame?”

“Now, we go home. The rest must be done at your house.”

“Okay. Do we need to stop by your place for any reason? It’s on the way. Do you have clothes and toiletries at my place to last, say…an eternity?”

“Well, not for an eternity, but for an overnight. Wait.” She sobered up in an instant. “What exactly are you asking me?”

He turned off the Jeep’s engine and turned to her with a mixture of desire and vulnerability at war on his face. “I’m asking if you’d stay forever at my house and make it our home.”

An immediate rush of tears cascaded down her cheeks. “Oh, my God! Yes, of course!” She nearly choked herself trying to scramble into his lap, having forgotten the seat belt still securely latched.

Leaning over to her, he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her. He tasted like beer and honey. He always tasted of honey. He was simply delicious. She purred as his lips lingered and his tongue explored. He slowly broke away, turned the car back on, and drove off to start the process of blending their lives.

“Whoohoo!” he screamed out his window. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world!”

“Look at you, going all high school on me. I don’t know if it’s the martinis or you or both, but I’m dizzy as all hell and I love it!” She laughed and stuck her head out the window.

 

Finally back at his house, she was eager to tell him the last two things she wanted to do. “So, there are a couple more things I must do before I turn. One is to sleep because I will never sleep again. The other is to make love to you as a mortal, since I’ll never make love with you that way ever again after my birthday. Oh, and not necessarily in that order.”

“I look forward to being a part of both of those tasks.”

“Let me freshen up first, and then we can begin.”

“I’ll be waiting for you in the bedroom?”

“Perfect.” She winked and sauntered down the hall to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and dabbed his favorite perfume behind her ears and in the cleft of her breasts.

“There’s one more thing you should do before you turn, my sweet love. Something that you’ll never be able to do again. As you suspected, you won’t feel human pain ever again. Why not feel it now, for posterity, since it’s always been so important to you to feel all facets of being human?”

That voice. So silky and seductive. Making everything sound so tempting. “To remember forever. Feel the pain now to remember always.”

“Yes, my birthday girl. There’s a pair of scissors in the top drawer. They can help you feel the last bit of mortal pain. Take them out and I’ll show you.”

How could she deny that sexy rumble that vibrated deep in her belly? “Scissors. They can help.” She found the scissors in the top drawer and held them in her hand, not sure of what to do next.

“Remove your towel.” She did, and stood naked before the mirror. The chilled air wafted over her, raising goose bumps across her skin.

“Let my hand guide yours and you shall know pain.” The scissors opened and turned in her hand. With the point of one blade, she gouged a five-pointed star into the flesh of her stomach. Blood dripped along her belly, down her legs, and onto the floor.

“Ahhh!” Light-headed, with her abs stinging and throbbing, she dropped the scissors and fell to her knees. In a far-off, distant place, she heard someone yelling for her to open the door, but she couldn’t respond. The pounding from the wound was louder.

“Isn’t the agony rich? Revel in the painful rapture. The Brethren may have had you all these years, but I will have you now. Your gifts are worth the wait. Twenty-four hours from now, I shall reign supreme.”

Writhing on the floor, she held her stomach, trying to staunch the flow. With the Dark Lord gone from her psyche, her free will returned. “Help me!”

Gabriel blasted through the door and stopped short before slipping on the pool of blood and tripping over her body. “Holy shit! What…what have you done?”

“Help me. No more pain. No more.” She blacked out.

 

“Come back to me, Hannah. Wake up, darling.”

Gabriel’s insistent voice teased her away from the darkness that threatened to drown her. She wanted to go back to him desperately and followed his voice to freedom. She breathed in deeply and opened her eyes to see his own gazing down upon her, swirling with concern and undying love.

“Gabriel.” She reached a hand out to touch his cheek, needing to know for certain she was alive and he was real.

“Yes, sweetheart. You’re okay. Cassiel fixed you all up. Good as new.”

“Pain. There was so much pain.” She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. “He came to me. Put thoughts in my head. He forced me to feel mortal pain before I change over.” Once the words were spoken, they were realized. She sat up in the bed with a start, her hair flying every which way, and scanned her belly for scars, but there were none to be found.

“Cassiel healed everything. Don’t worry.”

“He’s in me, though. He’s in my head all the time now. I’m marked, and now he won’t let me go until he’s taken my gifts.”

“Easy. Easy.” With the gentlest of hands, he stroked her hair back in place, and a flood of peace and calm absorbed her terror. “You’re okay now, and I’m here beside you.”

“But I couldn’t stop myself. He made me do it. I promise you, this wasn’t part of tonight’s plan.”

“I know, honey. I know. Your sole Protector isn’t worth shit. I can only pick up the pieces afterward. If I unshielded, you’d be rocked by my fury over this. But I’ve put the word out. Legions are at the ready to protect you and fight him. It’ll be morning soon. Now that I see you’re well, let’s get you settled in for a good night’s sleep.”

“But we haven’t completed my bucket list.”

“Sweetheart, we’ve done that numerous times already. It’s okay. Sleep is more important. It’s the last time you’ll do so as a human. I’ll watch over you, even if there’s not a damn thing I can do while I’m here.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Things happen a certain way for a reason. We plan and…well, you know the rest. But I won’t truly be at ease until Dark Asshole is stuffed way back down in Hell. My birthday party is sure gonna be a blast from the past.” She hunkered down into the layers of blankets on the bed and clung to him, her only lifeline.