Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Henry, are you sure the signal is pointing to Santa Barbara County border?”

“Yes, positive!”

“Unless he flew the SUV to Santa Barbara, there is absolutely no way for them to make it in the rush hour traffic within less than an hour! It would have taken them nearly two and a half hours to get to Montecito.”

“Did you say ‘fly’?” asks Henry. “Wait a minute...” he says and checks his smart phone. “When the signal came, the SUV was still on 101 North outside of Oxnard, and only four and a half minutes later it came to a complete stop outside of Montecito, right within Santa Barbara County,” he explains and looks up.

“Henry, that’s a fully armored SUV weighting 13,000 pounds! It’s 8.3 feet high and nearly 20 feet long! How does anyone lift and fly such a vehicle in that amount time for such a distance? That’s about forty miles of distance in four and a half minutes! The speed with which that SUV is carried is over 533 miles an hour...” We look at each other, understanding.

“We better fly then. I think one of the Sikorsky X2s is still on the tarmac,” Henry says concerned.

The drive to the airport though short, is one of the longest in my existence.

“Patience, Alexander. It’ll take a few minutes!” Henry chides.

“Few minutes, I fucking don’t have! Its life and death! If something happened to Elissa under Anthony’s watch, I will kill him!”

Henry remains silent. “I think they’re testing the waters, the perimeters, looking for a weak spot. They've located her – remember, this used to be your tactic: strike once, strike hard. This is a message to you, too, Alexander! They’re saying ‘we are watching you!’” I turn to Henry sharply, my gaze full of anger.

“Do you remember Bacchus who defied me?”

“It was before my time, but I’ve read it. You've never talked about it, though. Is it all true?” he asks nonchalantly.

“I’m the one who tied him behind the horse, alive, to be dragged through the city! What they
 didn't write in the books is that he tried to fuck me over like these servants of Hades are doing. At the time, he captured Elissa, tortured her and was ready to first rape her and then hand her over to the
Fallen Angels
so that he would punish me through her pain at the cost of letting the
Fallen
take over the Heavens!”

“Don’t feel too bad. We cowboys used to do that for crimes a lot less than that. Kidnapping a woman, or a girl would have been right up there to get him strung up, or stretched behind a horse easily,” replies Henry.

“I don’t feel bad at all! I would have done worse. I wanted to! When I found her, he had his dick hanging out, looming over her while she was screaming!” I say in a low voice full of malice as if it happened yesterday. I barely realize that my hands are fisted, my entire body gone rigid. “At the time, I was only bound by duty. But now my entire existence, my heart and soul belong to her. Do you know what I will do to anyone who dares to harm her?” I hiss. The sound that exits my lips is simply the sound of the wild, inhuman. My rage is oozing out of my pores.

“We’re here,” Henry says stopping the car, and we both rush to the helicopter. Once we are ready to take off, I hear Henry's disembodied voice through the cans picking up the conversation where we left off.
 

“I thought that incident occurred before you met Marcus.”

“No. It was shortly after. Some of my former Praetorians who swore alliance to me recognized me. They fixed the story and were sworn to secrecy...” I say, but Henry interrupts me.

“Fly northbound Alexander, remain north east of Montecito. The SUV is on the move!”

“What? Where is it going? At what speed?”

“Driving speed...” Henry replies thoughtful. “What’s our ETA?”

“Twenty-three minutes,” I reply after looking at my watch.

“Where do we land?”

“That depends where and when the SUV stops?”

“You won’t believe this but it’s heading towards Elissa’s home. That’s not a road used by anyone else but the residents,” Henry says, cautiously wondering.

“Gabriel and Stella!” we both exclaim at the same time.

“I’ll land
in his fucking front lawn!” I hiss.

By the time I land on Gabriel’s property, he’s already waiting for me outside.

“Alexander,” he says nodding coolly. I’m not surprised that he recognized me despite the changes. I see my SUV parked in front, and Anthony is nowhere to be seen.

“Where are Elissa and Anthony?”

“Elissa is packing, and your man and Stella insisted that he remain as close to her as possible.”

“What happened?” I say without preamble or any friendliness; I’m vibrating with tension.

“Henry, so good to see you,” Gabriel says smiling at him.

“Been a long
time, sir,” Henry replies.

“Cut the fucking pleasantries! What the hell happened to my wife?”

“She isn't your wife! She was your wife in a different lifetime! She’s 21 today and she’s once again visible to the
Fallen Angels
! She was lucky that it was only the minion of Azaziel and Azaziel is a minion of Apollyon! He’s at the bottom of the ladder!”

“Who?” I ask with the intensity of my gaze piercing him.

“Phlegethon,” he replies with an inscrutable face. I hate that name! He and his master ripped my family apart. This is personal.

“Stella felt Ellie’s distress and we had to shed our cover, and we had to take flight. Now it’s unsafe for her here! And, FYI, Elissa saved your man!”

“What? He was supposed to protect her!”

“You forget her affinity. She is still Marcus’s daughter; she will always possess the powers of a first generation and as the daughter
of my brother, a top 
Watcher
, she has no equal, except perhaps you, Alexander! She has sacrificed before, her body remembers even though she won’t. She shielded Anthony with her own body,” he says making me wince. What if she died? “Without Elissa, your man would be soulless for all eternity even though Stella saved his body!”

Something is shaking and I realize that it’s me. “You don’t have to tell,
 
me
! I was there! I lived for over two-hundred years of agony day after day since I’ve lost her! I’m taking her back tonight!”

“What will you tell her Alexander? That you were her husband? She does remember
 
the Alexander
 she married in her recurring dreams and nightmares. Not you! I saw how effectively your man could protect her. Her life is much more valuable than that!”

“Shut up Gabriel!” says an approaching female voice and we all turn to see Stella.

“Hello! You must be Alex!” she says as if she’s just met me. Why the ruse? “You must forgive Gabe who is only bound by duty, and only in one direction. That’s why Marcus also placed me to share her custody. So, I could look out for her interest. Ellie really seems to be taken by you,” she says. She’s doing this for her benefit! They have a bond, a connection! “You will have to make her remember and forget the past! That’s your key to her happiness!”

“What? Did you say,
 
forget
?” I ask confused.

“Yes, remember and then forget. She will have to remember everything, but after all is said and done, she must forget. She cannot l
ive in two places at once and be happy. Resolve the past, and...” she turns to look behind her as if she’s heard something that none of us heard. “It looks like tonight is the night for ambushes... Gabriel! Someone’s outside the property!” Stella jacks her thumb in the direction of the driveway.

“I
 didn't feel anything...”

“You
 wouldn't, but I know the signature.”

A butler appears, “Sir, two officers from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff are here outside the gates, requesting entry.”

“Police?”

“On the fucking surface!” Stella curses.

“Reason?”

“They want to talk to you, sir.” he says.

“Let them in,” I say. I am in a punishing mood tonight.

“No!
The first order would be taking Elissa away from here. They know her presence is here now! She’s like a beacon; they’ll be coming for her from all over!” Gabriel opposes.

“Are we going to argue about this while they are already
here, when there are five of us who can protect her? You would rather we remain on the run?”

“He has a point,” grins Henry. “And besides, it’s been a while since I’ve had a good
fight.” Gabriel nods at his butler. We follow him into the property. The monitor feed with the images from the camera at the main entry shows two sheriff’s deputies along with another man in an unmarked vehicle.

“Doctor Newman?” asks Stella quizzically and looks at Gabriel pointedly. Gabriel goes to the intercom and presses a button.

“I’m Gabriel Duncan. State your business...” he says in a professional tone.

“Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department, sir. I’m Sergeant Emilio Chavez,” says the bulky officer with olive skin and dark eyes, flashing a badge and his identification. “We have a complaint that Miss Sarah Duncan and Miss Ellie Duncan may be in trouble. We need to check the premises.”

“Hold your identification onto the camera until I can see the content of it,” orders Gabriel and scans the ID. I’m surprised that he can quickly verify it through the Sheriff’s database.

“And now your deputy, please,” he orders. And reluctantly Chavez indicates the other man with stark blonde hair, slender and with unmistakable malice in his eyes. “This is Deputy Michael Van Dynveak,” he states, and Van Dynveak smirks and flashes his ID knowing full well that it will check out.

“And now, the person in your company,” says Gabriel nonchalantly.

“I’m Doctor Newman;
 you've known me for years, Mr. Duncan!”

“Then you
 wouldn't mind showing me your identification and state your business on my property!” bellows Gabriel with irritation.

“I have reason to believe that my patients are in trouble. Something is wrong, and we have the right to enter!”

“Sirs, you don’t have the right to enter the property without a search warrant. You will show me your search warrant first or state on what grounds you are coming to my property to conduct your search!” Gabriel booms making Dr. Newman wince.

“My patient Sarah Duncan made a distress call to me! We are concerned for her well-being!”

“This is not Sarah Duncan’s residence. It’s my residence!”

“But Miss Ellie Duncan resides here, doesn’t she? Her mother is concerned for her well-being!” That would be the mother Elissa
 didn't care to know about. The absentee one... It’s an odd surprise that when her daughter became twenty-one, she decides to act like a mother, and somehow the concern for her well-being peaks.

The
Doctor’s claim surprises Gabriel.

“I beg your pardon? There
 hasn't been a 911 call from this property officer. Has there?”

“Not exactly. But when Miss Sarah Duncan made the call stating a concern for her daughter’s well-being, inadvertently her own well-being to me, I have legal duty to inform the police to verify.”

I hold Gabriel’s hand before he presses the intercom again. Deputy Van Dynveak answers a call from his radio and his grin widens. He leans into the sergeant’s ear and whispers something.

“Stop the chit-chat, and open the fucking gates!” I whisper to Gabriel, and he reluctantly presses a button, and the
 monogrammed gates retract, granting entry to the malicious visitors.

The unmarked police car pulls up the driveway. Three men exit the vehicle.
Chavez comes forward flanked by the other two.

The butler opens the door to the visitors. Gabriel and I stand in the foyer about ten feet apart from each other. Chavez eyes both of us and noting our defensive stances, he approaches Gabriel.

“Mr. Duncan! We now have exigent circumstances to enter into the property without a search warrant. We have just received a 911 call from Miss Sarah Duncan who says she’s on the property right now.”

“You will wait in the living room, and I will go get my niece and my sister.”

“No, I think we will search the property ourselves while you wait here!”

“This property is well over twenty-thousand square feet, Sergeant.”

“All the more reason we start now!” says a determined Chavez, turning his head to his deputy, nodding at him imperceptibly. “This is Deputy Van Dynveak at the Duncan residence in Montecito, requesting backup.”

A nasally voice replies, “This is dispatch, copy, ten-four. Back-up on the way.”

“Now!” says Sergeant Chavez who shows his bottomless black eyes. This man is not a human, but neither a Nephilim. He’s a 
darkling bounty hunter
! They’re called Darklings because they are devoid of souls; instead they possess a demonic energy. I don’t know if they ever possessed a soul at one time. Both the men are soulless; but the Doctor is the worst of all. He is human on the surface, but he is one of those who have a pact with Hades; he’s a gatekeeper! I’ve only seen one like him before. As my eyes focus on the doctor, Van Dynveak becomes a blur, and he and Chavez are like shadows unaffected by touch, wrapping themselves around Gabriel over his torso and legs in an attempt to incapacitate him while the Doctor is on his way upstairs faster than any man I have ever seen running in such a fluid, speedy gait. I run after him. I feel, rather than see Stella and Henry back Gabriel up. I leap ten feet into the air, and land ahead of the Doctor, but I feel the dark tendrils reach after me, trying to wrap themselves around my body.