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The bump of tires on pavement jerks me out of sleep and I rub my eyes, pushing myself up from the arm of the chair. Sam jumps off the seat and stretches, yawning in the process, and I follow suit.
Josh comes out of the cockpit looking haggard and exhausted, and I give him a nod of thanks.
“I didn’t want to wake you,” he says and waves towards the seat where I fell asleep.
“I appreciate it.” I am still groggy, but I don’t think I’ve slept that soundly since I was a teenager. When Josh reaches for my bag, I say, “I’ve got this. You look like you need some rest.”
I exchange a handshake and climb down the stairs into the cool spring New Hampshire air. Sam follows and I open the hangar door for her, letting her lead the way.
“Mr. Ryan?” a chauffeur stands, folding the paper he had been reading.
“Yes, sir,” I reply, and head towards him with Sam and my light load.
“Mr. Beaumont said I should take you anywhere you want to go.”
I smile my appreciation. Being as foggy as I am, I probably will make a better passenger than driver.
“I need to make a stop in Brooksfield and then I’ll want to head to York.”
“Sure thing,” he says and glances at my dog. “She’s a beauty,” he adds.
“Thanks. I’ll have to find a grassy spot for her before we go.”
He opens the door for me and I glance at the small parking area and a large grass patch on the opposite side of the asphalt. I unhook Sam and she waits.
“Go on, girl.”
She takes off, straight for that grass and her sniff-circle-sniff-pee routine ensues. The relief in her features is actually readable and I smile at her, waiting. As soon as she is back, we climb into the back of the town car.
From Wolfeboro, it’s less than a half hour south to Brooksfield and I give him the address to Steve’s cottage on Mirror Lake where Paradise Cove resides. My hand passes over the map in my breast pocket and I close my eyes, saying a little prayer that it’s enough. I’m done with being a nomad with little to no connection with those I care about. I want to plant roots and let Sam live out her days chasing balls in the surf.
When we pull into the long dirt driveway, I have a moment to wonder if Steve and Jennifer are at the cottage, but as we round the last bend, the darkened windows and empty driveway indicate no one is home. The driver pulls to a stop and puts the car in park.
“Wait here, I shouldn’t be long,” I say as I slip out of the back seat. Sam climbs out with me and I cross the dark lawn, smiling at the crunch of the grass under my feet. I don’t hesitate, like I had that night ten years ago. Instead, I tromp through the path in the woods until I’m standing on the soft green moss underfoot.
Nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes in the cove. Even in the dead of winter, flowers poke from the edges of the snow, creating a surreal landscape. Now that the winter snows have melted, the flowers bloom vibrant, even in the dark, creating a luminous glow like that of a nightlight.
I pull out the map and clear my throat, not sure of whose name to call. Eventually, I look up.
“Mom?” My voice sounds meek, like a scolded child’s voice, and Sam whines and leans her entire body against my leg. I shift, disgusted with how weak I sound. I’m almost forty, for God’s sake; I shouldn’t sound like a scared little kid.
By the end of my mental rant, I realize there has been no answer.
I repeat her name a little louder and my question echoes out onto the lake.
Still no answer.
“I did what was asked.” I hold up the map as if the heavens could see it.
“Mom? Dad?” I call, because the silence is deafening. Sam nudges me again, her ears falling back on her head as she reads my budding distress correctly.
“God damn it! Answer me!” This time my voice bellows with a growl.
Nothing. No ripple of the air, no smoke, no heavenly light, and I’m left in the dark.
“Raven!” I scream, the anger getting the best of me, I can feel it building under my skin, the burn of it right there in my simmering blood.
This time, the air changes and the form standing in the middle of the cove, doesn’t settle my nerves. As a matter of fact, I’m much more on guard than if it was a member of my family.
The archangel Michael walks towards me, and his face is a mask of wrath.
“You dare step onto this sacred ground?”
“I closed all the goddamned portals,” I wave the map at him, but take a step back, wary of the archangel. I not only harbored Lucifer’s grace, but in killing Damian, I also absorbed Gabriel’s and Michael’s grace.
So, I am as much a target to Michael as I am to Lucifer. I shift, setting myself in a defensive position, protecting my chest at all costs.
Sam’s low growl causes me to look away from the angry angel and down at her.
Her teeth are bared and all the hair on her neck stands on end.
“Sit,” I command and her growl fades as she glances up at me in confusion. “I know he’s dangerous,” I whisper and look up at Michael, weighing my chances. He no longer sports wings and his power is not as strong as it once was, but he could do the same type of damage that Lucifer did to Sam and me back in Death Valley, especially since this is Michael’s home turf.
Paradise Cove is a portal to heaven. And based on the reception, it looks like I’m still not welcome.
“I closed the portals. Every last one of them,” I say and throw the map in his direction.
“We are very well aware of what you have done.”
The venom in his tone catches me off guard. I’m at a loss and I just stare.
His eyes narrow and he crosses his arms. “You really have no idea, do you?”
“Apparently not,” I say. “I kind of expected a thank you,” I add, pointing at the faded map lying at Michael’s feet.
His sardonic laugh echoes. “You really are an inept fool.” He scoops up the map and scans all my red marks for closed portals.
“I worked my ass off to close every goddamned portal on that list!” Anger brews beyond a simmer and the heat spreads. “I spent the last ten years doing CJ’s job, and this is the thanks I get?”
He glares at me and tosses the paper back. “You closed the portals, but you left Lucifer topside,” he growls and takes a step towards me.
Like a flash, Sam is between us and her menacing growl fills the space.
My anger dulls and I blink, trying to reconcile my achievements with what he just stated.
“I closed the portals,” I say again, but with less force.
“Yes, and you locked Lucifer out of hell, you stupid bastard!”
The map crumples in my hand and I glared at Michael. “How the hell was I supposed to know that? Huh?” I step closer with purpose, crowding Sam between us. “I was told to close the portals and I did. And now you’re insulting me?”
The burn rakes my skin and from the widening of Michael’s eyes, I know I’ve transformed. His shock is momentary, and then his growl of anger forming Lucifer’s name announces his intentions. He charges and I sidestep my dog, parrying into a block before I toss Michael over my hip and he slams into the ground on his back.
“I am not Lucifer,” I yell in his face and step back, calming the burn. I know I look exactly like that murdering bastard when I lose my temper, but I am not the devil. I take another step, and another breath, putting more distance between us. “And I don’t understand. I did what was asked of me. Why are you so pissed off?”
Michael sits up slowly, still staring me down. “Give me my grace,” he orders.
I know from CJ how to transfer grace but I hesitate and shake my head. I had other plans for the magic inside me, plans that would ensure the safety of my nephew as well as Damian’s daughter. “No. I’m saving that for my nephew,” I say. “I have a feeling he might need it more than either you or I.”
The anger burning in Michael softens and his head cocks. “You... care about his welfare?”
“Why the fuck do you think I’ve been running all over the world? It certainly isn’t to enjoy the perks of travel.”
“I didn’t think you gave a damn about anyone but yourself, especially after what you did to Damian,” he snaps.
“I thought I could save my daughter.” I glance out at the water for a minute before looking back at Michael. “I screwed that up royally.” I step closer and offer him my hand.
Michael stares at it and then meets my gaze again. He takes my grip and the instant he is on his feet; his hand forms a claw and covers my heart, his fingers dig into my flesh with purpose.
My reaction is immediate and the explosion moves outwards from the center of my being, knocking him back into the woods beyond the edge of the cove. I can’t pull the power back in, it’s already formed a life of its own and it engulfs the cove in flame, like it has every other portal on the planet, obliterating it off the map.
I turn, scooping up Sam before she is consumed, bolting towards the path, my heart thunders in my ears as the voices of my family echo in my head in one final chorus of “Don’t!” Then the door slams, shutting off any further contact with the dead.
I trip on a root and Sam goes flying. She lands on her feet and I find myself on my hands and knees, horrified at what just transpired.
I roll and scan the crop circle that is left. All the beauty and lushness of the cove is gone and only dirt remains. Michael slowly stands in the protection of the woods a few feet beyond my destruction.
Holy fuck.
My chest clenches with the knowledge that I’ve just locked Michael out of heaven.