Every eye in the yard was on me. In the auranos as well, I was sure.
And if they were waiting for a reaction, I’m sure my stunned face delivered. Jaw dropped. Eyes wide. Sudden onset of tears.
I covered my gaping mouth.
Nathan was smiling beside me. “Surprise.” He hooked his arm around my neck and dragged me toward the house.
Iliana excitedly flailed her tiny hands as we neared them. Her mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear her words over the roar of the helicopter. It looked like she was chanting my name. “Appa! Appa! Appa!”
Black hair finally covered her head, and she wore a bright teal headband that matched her white-and-teal dress. Around her tiny neck, a purple stone sparkled in the sunlight.
She stretched her arms toward me, opening and closing her fists. Then she lunged for me when I was near enough. I thought my insides might turn to mush as I grabbed her, lifting her high above my head. She squealed with delight even over the sound of the helicopter rising into the air behind us.
I lowered her, kissing the tip of her nose, and she sandwiched my face between her hands. “Hi, sweet girl.”
“Appa!”
Curling my arms around her, I pulled her against my shoulder for a hug. She grabbed onto my shirt, happily kicking her legs.
“You can’t ask for a better welcome home than that,” Nathan said, slapping my back before walking over to stand beside Sloan.
“No, you can’t,” I agreed as tears dripped down my cheeks. I kissed her face again. “I’ve missed you, Iliana.”
“Appa,” she said, scrunching her nose against my cheek.
“She’s trying to give you a kiss. That’s her latest thing,” Sloan said.
Everything hard and manly in me turned to mush. “I love it so much.”
I hadn’t seen Sloan since the battle at Echo-5, many years ago for me in Eden’s time. She wore a dark floral sundress cut shorter in the front to show off her tanned legs. Her chocolate-brown hair was wavy with golden tones catching the sunlight.
She smiled. “Welcome home, Appa.”
I reached for her. “Come here.” I pulled her against my side and pressed a kiss to her temple. “God, I’ve missed you guys.”
Sloan clutched the front of my shirt. “We’ve missed you too.”
Chimera and Adrianne were standing in the doorway. Chimera pointed at me. “You promised, Parish. No more tears.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m not even sorry. How’d you get here so fast?”
“Az asked me to leave early with them this morning so we could surprise you.”
I looked around for my father. He’d been there when we got off the plane. Just off the porch, he was holding Fury. Her face was away from us, but I could tell from the rattle of her shoulders, she was crying.
My heart broke.
“How is she?” Sloan asked, concerned.
I shrugged. “How do you think?”
“Hated to hear what happened to her dad,” Nathan said.
“You knew?”
He nodded. “Az told me, but he didn’t tell the others. He knew she wouldn’t want to deal with it. He sent Enzo in a with a crew to clean it up.”
“You’re both OK, though?” Adrianne asked.
“Yeah. She’s got a few cuts and scrapes, but all my wounds healed.” I looked down at my daughter. “I’m perfect now. Thank you all for this.”
“Come on,” Adrianne said, opening the door into the living room wide. “Let’s give Fury and Az some privacy.”
I followed everyone inside.
“What happened?” Nathan asked.
“I think Flint had an aneurysm. He was gone before the helicopter hit the ground.” I took off my sword and satchel, then sat down with Iliana on the sofa. “Which is all the reasons Azrael warns me not to fly.”
Sloan and Nathan sat down beside me. “You can’t blame yourself, Warren. Aneurysms don’t just pop up. It’s not your fault.”
I nodded, wishing I could believe her.
“I wish I could help her.” Sloan’s face fell. She knew how hard it was to lose a parent.
“Never thought I’d hear you say that,” Nathan said.
“Fury has some sharp edges, but she’s not all bad. She helped me a lot.” Sloan looked up at me. “If there’s anything I can do, will you let me know?”
“Of course.”
“Will this change your plans?” Nathan asked.
“I have no idea. It won’t stop her from going, and I really don’t want her to fly alone, but Az is right. It’s too dangerous. And now I don’t have a passport or anything.”
“I can get you a new one, but it’ll take a couple of days, and I have to be in New Hope to do it,” Chimera said.
“Thanks. I’ll talk to Az later.” I turned Iliana around on my lap to face me. “Right now, I want to soak all this in.” I bounced my knees, making her giggle.
“How old is she?” Chimera asked from the love seat.
“She just turned one last week,” Sloan answered.
Nathan started laughing. “Sloan, show Warren the video of her birthday party.”
“Which video?” she asked.
“The birthday crown.”
“That’s on Dad’s phone, remember?”
“Damn. That’s so funny.”
“I’ve got a picture,” Adrianne said, standing up and walking to the kitchen.
Nathan leaned forward to look around Sloan. “Adrianne bought Iliana this silver-and-pink jeweled crown for her birthday party.”
“Iliana hated it,” Sloan said.
I grinned. “Wonder where she gets that?”
Sloan raised her hand.
“Every time Adrianne would put it on her head, Illy would scowl,” Nathan said, making a mean face. “Like she’d be chatty and giggling one second, and then Adrianne would put the crown on her, and boom. Angry baby.”
Adrianne walked over and showed me the screen of her phone. On it was a picture of Iliana wearing the crown with a death glare on her face. “Just like her mama,” Adrianne said.
“That’s hysterical.”
“Did Nathan tell you she’s standing now?” Sloan asked.
“No. Really?”
“Yeah. Put her down on the floor,” she said.
I slid off the sofa onto the rug, and Nathan pushed the coffee table out of the way.
“Sit her down, and let her pull up with your hands,” Sloan said.
Adrianne held out her phone. “Everyone smile for the video.”
I waved Iliana’s hand toward the camera. “You have to send me that, OK?”
“Of course.”
I put Iliana in the middle of the rug, but before I let her pull up using my hands, she frowned and crawled back to my lap. Everyone “awed,” including me.
After hugging her again, I pointed to the floor. “Can you show Appa how you stand up?”
Her head fell to the side with a look of confusion.
“Stand up?”
Her lips puckered. “Pelu nil.”
My mouth fell open. “You little smarty.”
“Did she just say stand up?” Chimera asked.
“Yep.”
“Warren told me on the way here that Iliana called out to him in the spirit world yesterday,” Nathan told Sloan.
“Really?” Sloan asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
She touched my arm. “She kept saying your name over and over. That must have been why.”
“It was the best sound in the world.”
“She says mama now, so I totally get it.” Sloan got up. “Come here, Illy.”
Iliana shook her head, making everyone laugh.
“Come here. Show Appa how you can stand up.” She picked Iliana up and put her down on the floor again. I held out my hands, and Iliana crawled toward them. Then she grasped my fingers and pulled herself up to standing.
We all clapped and cheered.
“Babe, where’s your phone?” Nathan asked Sloan.
“Check the crack in the couch cushions,” Sloan said.
A second later, Nathan started chuckling. “Warren, put her down again, but this time, don’t help her.”
“Don’t help her?”
“No.”
I put Iliana on the floor between me and her mother.
“Stand up, Illy,” Nathan said.
She frowned.
Chimera crossed her arms. “She’s wondering what’s wrong with you all.”
“Probably,” I said. “Iliana, pelu nil.”
She flopped forward onto her hands and knees, then pushed up onto her feet. But then she was stuck with her butt straight up in the air.
“Watch this.” Nathan held up Sloan’s phone and “Uptown Funk” flooded the living room.
Iliana’s bottom started to bounce while she was on all fours like some sort of baby yoga-slash-Jazzercize.
We all laughed.
She finally toppled over onto her side and rolled onto her back. I snatched her up and looked back at Nathan. “Parenting is just one giant experiment to make you laugh, isn’t it?”
He was almost in tears. “Pretty much.”
I kissed her cheek. “Appa umai alis.”
“Me Appa,” she said, patting my cheeks.
The back door opened, and Fury and Azrael walked in. Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. “What’s so funny in here?”
It felt a little wrong to be so happy.
“Warren, put Iliana down again,” Nathan said. “This can brighten anyone’s day.”
Maybe he was right. I put Iliana back on the floor, and she danced again. Fury smiled as Adrianne handed her a tissue.
When I caught Fury’s eye, I patted the seat I’d vacated behind me. She came over and sat down.
Azrael pointed at my sword on the floor. “Want me to put that somewhere safe until you and Fury leave town?”
“Sure. Where will you put it?”
He leaned down and picked up the sword. “Will a half-ton steel-and-high-Z safe do?”
“It certainly will.” I lifted Cassiel’s bag. “Can you put this in there too?”
“But what if you need your manpons, Warren?” Nathan asked.
“Nate, I’d flip you off if I weren’t holding my baby,” I said.
When Azrael had gone, Adrianne looked around the room. “This is the first time we’ve all been together in quite a while.”
“And the first time in never that it hasn’t been in some huge crisis,” Nathan said.
Adrianne’s head tilted. “You’re probably right.”
“Do you really think it’s possible you can come back and stay?” Sloan asked me.
“I’m not getting my hopes up just yet, but it certainly looks like more of a possibility than it did yesterday. This blood stone is revolutionary. If we can get more of it, I’d love to come back permanently.”
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” Nathan held up his hands. “Have we really thought this all the way through?”
I looked back at him and smiled. “Are you worried, Nate?”
“Hell yeah, I’m worried.”
Everyone laughed.
“Don’t be. I know Sloan is right where she’s supposed to be.” I let Iliana clap my hands together. “All I want is a chance to be a father.”
“Just as long as we’re clear. We”—he waved his hand between himself and Sloan—“will live at Echo-5, and you can live somewhere waaaay over there.” He flung his hand wide to the right.
I laughed.
“I hear Tryon is lovely,” he added.
“You got it, Nate.”
Azrael returned and sat in his recliner. “So what’s the plan for the rest of the day?”
I wanted to do nothing but sit in the floor and hold my baby, but I knew that wasn’t possible. “We have to get to Oregon tomorrow to catch the flight to South Korea with the team. That means I have to see Shannon tonight.”
“Shannon Green?” Adrianne asked, surprised.
“Or whatever her last name is now,” I said. “Didn’t she get married?”
“Yeah. I talked to her husband this morning when I heard you’d be here today,” Nathan answered. “He said they’d be home all day and to text him when we’re on our way.”
“You ready for this?” I asked with a grin.
He sighed and shook his head. “I feel like I’m taking my life into my hands. I considered wearing a cup.”
“Nathan,” Sloan chided, rolling her eyes.
“Speaking of people taking their lives into their hands…” Nathan pointed at Azrael. “Did you talk to your father about him trying to get himself killed?”
“I wasn’t trying to get myself killed,” Azrael argued.
“You were standing in a bathtub full of water about to drop a hair dryer into it, while my daughter watched,” Nathan said.
“We talked about it,” I said. “And he won’t do it anymore. Right, Az?”
He rolled his eyes. “Right.”
Fury cleared her throat behind me. “Sloan, is it true you got your powers back?”
Sloan looked surprised that Fury was speaking directly to her; they’d never gotten along. Or maybe, like me, she was surprised that Fury was speaking at all.
Sloan hid her hands in her lap. “It’s debatable.”
“I saw you do it in Azrael’s memory stone,” I said.
“Well, something happened in that electrical storm, but no one knows what,” she said.
“Can you show us?” I asked.
She hesitated.
“Oh, come on. It’s not a gathering of friends without Sloan whipping out the party tricks,” Adrianne teased.
“Only if you want to,” Nathan said gently to his wife. Then he looked over at me. “I’m afraid we’ve all worn her out with it the last couple of months.”
He probably meant Azrael.
“Only if you want to,” I repeated.
Sloan slowly raised her hands, palms facing each other. Then she pressed her eyes closed. A second later, a bright white light sizzled to life, crackling in the space between her hands.
Azrael was mesmerized. Like a starving man watching the Food Network. Iliana squealed, kicking her feet.
“Try to summon someone,” Fury said to Sloan.
Part of Fury’s gift was to see how angels used their powers. If Sloan was, indeed, tapping into her old summoning power, Fury would be able to see it.
Sloan’s light fizzled out. “Summon who?”
Fury shrugged. “I dunno. Anyone. It doesn’t matter as long as they’re human. Summon Chimera.”
“Huh?” Chimera asked.
“No, she’s not completely human,” Azrael said. “Summon Fury.”
Sloan chewed on the side of her bottom lip. I wondered if she was nervous she’d fail. Or if she was still afraid of Fury. It was probably a combination of both. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, and her brow pinched with concentration.
I scooted to the side so I could watch.
Fury’s eyes seemed to trace a path between them. “I see it. It’s faint, but the power’s there.”
“I knew it.” Azrael clapped his hands together.
Nathan pointed at him. “Don’t get any ideas there, sparky.”
Azrael cracked a slight smile.
“Do you think it’s something she can improve?” I asked Fury.
Fury lifted her shoulders. “We’ve seen her improve in the past.”
That was probably the closest Fury had ever come to paying Sloan a compliment, even an indirect one.
“What if it’s harmful for Iliana?” Sloan asked.
“The Father was there,” Azrael said. “If it was going to be an issue, he would have put a stop to it when it happened.”
Sloan looked at me for confirmation.
“I think he’s right.” I looked down at Iliana. She was watching her momma, mesmerized. “She clearly loves it.”
Sloan was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up to just be a disappointment.”
Nathan and I replied almost in perfection unison, “You could never be a disappointment.” At the same time Fury said, “She has a point.”
Everyone burst out laughing. Even Sloan. “Thank God,” she said. “You were being so nice I was beginning to worry you’d been possessed by a demon.”
Fury smiled, crossing her boots at the ankles. “You’re safe another day, Sloan.”
Picking up Iliana, I sat on the couch again by Fury. “Do I still have a go-bag packed at the command center?” she asked.
Azrael answered “yes” and I answered “no” at the same time. They both looked at me. “Cassiel and I took your bag with us when we went to Italy. She wore your clothes,” I said.
Fury scowled, a look she did well.
“Sorry. Desperate times. We were in a rush to save the world, you know.”
“I need to go shopping then. Everything I had burned in the crash,” she said.
“Me too. We’ll go after Shannon’s. Nate, can I borrow my car?” I asked.
“It’s already here.” He pointed out the window. “We decided to store it in Az’s barn. It’s not really practical with an infant.”
I kissed the head of the infant in my lap.
“I heard he’s driving a minivan now,” Fury said, looking across me at Nathan.
I grinned. “Seriously?”
He sat back in his seat. “Hey, don’t judge me. Babies have a lot of shit.” He pointed at her. “Just wait. It’ll be your turn soon enough.”
She smirked. “Over my dead body.”
“A minivan?” I asked him.
He pointed at Sloan. “She drives it. I still have my truck.”
I shook my head, then looked at Fury. “We’ll take my car to Shannon’s, then swing by the store on our way back.”
“Sounds like a plan. You ready to go now?” she asked.
I looked down at Iliana. “No.”
“We’ll still be here when you get back,” Sloan said from the floor.
“We’d planned to pick up something to grill for dinner and invite a few of the SF-12 guys over, but I’m not sure if that’s still a good idea.” Adrianne’s eyes flashed toward Fury behind me.
I looked back at her. “What do you think?”
“You guys can do whatever you want. I’m fine.”
Her refusal to meet my eyes indicated otherwise, but I nodded. “I think grilling out sounds great.” With a heavy sigh, I looked at Iliana. “Guess I gotta go to work, little girl.”
“No,” she said perfectly.
I laughed. “No?”
“No.”
I kissed her head. “I’ll be back.”
Sloan got up and took her from me. Nathan stood and kissed them both goodbye.
“Az, you coming?” I asked.
“No. I won’t be of any use at Shannon’s. Just let me know what you think when you see the child. If it’s truly an angel, we’ll need to take precautions.”
“OK.”
“Chimera, why don’t you go with them?” Azrael said. “If you and Warren both go all the way to Flat Rock, leaving Iliana here wearing the necklace, we should know if it really protects her or not.”
Chimera stood. “Sure.”
“Where are the keys to the car?” Nathan asked Azrael.
He got up and walked to the kitchen as I started toward the front door. A dark spot on the wall drew my attention. I stopped.
The wall was scorched black around an electrical outlet near the door. When I looked back at Azrael returning from the kitchen, guilt was etched across his face.
“Did you do this too?” I asked.
“It was a faulty cell phone charger,” he lied as he handed me my old key ring.
“Really?”
He slowly shook his head.
I jabbed my finger into his breastbone. “No more.”
“I promise.” He stepped around us and opened the front door. “Call me when you’re on your way back.”
“We’re planning to eat around seven,” Adrianne said. “Any special requests?”
I smiled back at Sloan. “Just that my family’s here.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” she said. “Illy, tell Appa bye-bye.”
Instead, she blew me a kiss.