Kindred (The Watcher Chronicles #2) (6 page)

"Yes.  She's at her design studio in Paris.  I sent Malcolm over there to speak with her on our behalf.  Apparently, they're friends."

"That helps," I say.  "At least she won't think we're a bunch of lunatics right off the bat."

Isaiah places his hands on our shoulders and we find ourselves standing in the room we just saw in our vision.  Rays of bright sunlight shine through the large windows making up all four walls of the loft we’re in.  It's a lot like being in a glass house that's ten stories in the air.  The Eiffel Tower can be seen in the distance to our right making me realize how surreal my life has become.

JoJo Armand is standing on the opposite side of the room from us with her hands on her hips nodding at something Malcolm is saying to her.  Almost as soon as we phase into her work space, her eyes are drawn to us.  Just from the vision we had of her, I know JoJo is someone who has a natural effervescence but when she looks at us, it seems to multiply ten fold.

"Bonte' divine!" She says running over to us, her curls boucing around her shoulders.  JoJo looks to be in her early forties but her love of life makes her look almost like a teenager.  Her joyous smile is infectious and we instantly know we've found our third archangel.

She squeals in delight as she gives first me a hug and then Chandler.

"Jess and Chandler?" She asks, a French accent tingeing her words.

"Yes," I answer.  "We've been looking for you."

"Oui, oui, Malcolm told me that.  He said I would have to wait for you to come to explain what is going on."

JoJo takes one of each of our hands and practically drags us over to a sitting area in her studio.  The furniture is modern and doesn't look very comfortable since there are no backs to any of the chairs, just thick padding covered in white leather placed on top of steel frames.

Once we're sitting on either side of JoJo, she says, "S'il vous plait, tell me what is happening?  Why do I feel like I have finally been reunited with two of my very best friends?"

Much the same way I did with Chandler when I first met him, we explain what we know to JoJo.  She seems to take it all in stride without asking too many questions.

"Is there anything you want to ask us?" I say after we’ve explained the situation to her.

"Do you both have your crowns and talismans?" She asks.

"We have our crowns," Chandler answers, "but I haven't found my talisman yet."

"I have always wanted a crown," JoJo says, a wistful look on her face.  "It's just like when I was a little girl and wanted to be a real princess.  Now, I am a princess of Heaven, c'est vrai?"

"Yes," Chandler answers, obviously knowing a little more French than me.  "A very powerful princess."

JoJo smiles brightly.  "So, what should we do now?"

"We should probably attempt to find the next vessel," I say.  "But there's no guarantee it'll work the first time.  It took Chandler and me a while to finally be able to find you and we were only able to locate you so quickly because Chandler's been to some of your fashion shows and was able to recognize you instantly."

"Ah, do you like my clothes?" JoJo asks Chandler.  "Did you buy for a lady friend?"

"A few lady friends actually," Chandler admits with a cocky grin.  "And yes, I do like your designs.  They always show off a ladies figure to its best."

"Merci," Jojo bows her head at the compliment.

"I actually have one of your dresses," I admit.

"Lequel?"  JoJo asks, but I have no clue what she just said.  I must look confused because she then says, "Which?"

I describe the dress to her.

JoJo nods excitedly.  "Oui, oui, I remember that dress.  I wondered who ended up wearing it.  It is one of my favorites.  You lover has very good taste."

I feel my eyebrows draw together with her use of the word 'lover'.

"Not a lover?" She asks, shaking her head.

"Not yet," Chandler answers with a sigh.  "We're working on it."

I feel my cheeks burn.

"Maybe I can help with that," I hear Malcolm say.

I look over at Malcolm who is still standing on the far side of the room with Isaiah.

"Oh yeah?" Chandler says to him.  "What are you thinking?"

"I say we ambush Mason," Malcolm replies.  "Dress Jess up, make a romantic setting and throw him into it."

"Doesn't sound like much of a plan," Chandler says, completely unconvinced it will be enough to work.  "But guess it's worth a try."

"Excuse me," I say.  "Don't I have to agree to do that first?"

"Do you want Mason back or not?" Malcolm asks.

"Yes, but…"

"No, there's no buts," Malcolm replies.  "The only way to make Mason see reason is to force it on him.  I thought you would be willing to try anything."

"Well, I am but…"

"Ok then," Malcolm smiles but it makes him instantly look like he's up to no good.  "Leave the details to me."

"Dress up?" Jojo asks.  "I will handle the dressing up.  How much time do I have?"

"I say the sooner the better," Malcolm says.  "Give me until tonight to get things ready."

"Ok, now that we're through planning Mason's ambush," I say, "maybe we should try to concentrate on finding the fourth vessel."  I look over at Isaiah.  "Could you take us back to Mason's villa?  It seems to work there the best, at least for me."

Once we're back in the living room at the villa, Chandler, JoJo and I stand together facing one another and make a circle holding onto each others hands.

"What do I do?" JoJo asks barely able to control her excitement.

"I concentrate on the noises from the fire," I look over at Chandler.  "Did that work for you?"

He nods.  "Yeah, just try to block out everything else except that."

JoJo nods, causing her curls to bounce in unison.

We all close our eyes and concentrate.  After a few minutes, I open my eyes.

"Not working for me," I say, feeling confident it's not my emotional baggage that is causing the problem this time.

Chandler and JoJo open their eyes.  JoJo shakes her head, indicating she didn't see anything either.

"Nope," Chandler confirms.  "Nada."

"Maybe you just need more time together," Isaiah suggests.  "Jess, you and Chandler spent time alone together before it worked.  Perhaps the two of you simply need to spend time with JoJo before you try again."

"Come back to my studio," JoJo urges us.  "I will make you a dress for your date with your future lover."

"Do you think you could stop calling him my lover?" I ask as delicately as I can.

I don't want to offend JoJo's choice of words, maybe it's a language barrier problem, but I can't say she isn't making me feel extremely uncomfortable with that particular term.

"We haven't even kissed yet, much less become lovers."

"Désolé, I forget you American's are so…umm what's the word… provincial.  But you want to become lovers, oui?"

I bite my lower lip and glance from Chandler to Isaiah, not exactly comfortable having this conversation in front of them.

"Dire non plus," JoJo says, squeezing my hand.  "I will make your dress and we will see what happens.  If he tears it off of your body, do not worry, I will make you another."

Chandler smirks and Isaiah just looks extremely uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.  I'm pretty sure my face is so red I look like a tomato.

“Don’t suppose you could make it so I can become invisible whenever I want?” I ask, wishing I had such a magical piece of clothing at that very moment.

JoJo just laughs.  I almost tell her that I’m completely serious but hate to drown her enthusiasm with my sarcasm.

When we make it back to JoJo's studio she ends up asking me questions about Mason like his favorite color, his hobbies, ect ect.  I suddenly realize I don't know most of the answers and can only guess at them.  It's strange that I should know more about Chandler in that regard than the man I'm in love with.  I make it a priority to learn everything I can about Mason as soon as he'll let me.

JoJo calls in a team of seamstresses to help her with my dress.  She decides to make it out of light colored lavender silk.  The dress ends up being far classier than I thought she was planning to make at first.  With all the talk of clothes being ripped off, I assumed it would be something rather skimpy.  But, the dress ends up being something you would wear to a fancy party where long dresses with billowy material are expected.

The gown she creates is simple and classic.  With its sleeveless bodice and ruched top, it shows off my shoulders and certainly lifts my breast to new heights.  The waist is encircled with a sown in belt made of dazzling crystals and the skirt is long and free flowing.  When I walk around the room in it, I feel the extra material attached to the back flow in the air like I have a permanent wind flowing around me.

JoJo calls in her personal stylist who applies my make-up and curls my hair letting the strands cascade over my shoulders.  It's similar to the style I wore to the masquerade ball.  I begin to wonder if everyone in the world except me has a personal stylist.

Once I'm primped for my proposed ambush of Mason, I stand in front of JoJo's large, gold framed mirror, which is almost as tall as the glass walls in the room, and stare at myself.  I have to admit.  I really do clean up pretty nice when I have a team of stylist and designers to help out.

Chandler puts his hands on my bare shoulders and starts to massage them for me.  It's only then I realize how tense I am.

"Don't look so worried," he tells me.  "You know it doesn't matter what you wear, right?  He loves you."

I look at him in the mirror.

"It only matters what you say," he reminds me.

"And that's supposed to make me feel less nervous?" I laugh.

"No but don't get caught up on how you look.  You're gorgeous even in your Watcher uniform.  All Mason is going to care about is what you say to him.  Don't leave anything unsaid, Jess.  Lay all your cards on the table.  If he doesn't pick them up then at least you'll know you did everything you could to make him see reason.  I just want to see you happy.  I don't like seeing you so sad.  You know I can feel it right?"

I hadn't even thought about that.

"I forgot," I say.  "Can you turn it off or do you always know what other people are feeling when you touch them?"

Chandler smiles.  "No, I can turn it off, but I like knowing how you feel.  I like feeling the love you have for me.  It makes me feel…loved." He says with a shrug, not having a better way to put it.

"Vous êtes belle," JoJo says, coming to stand beside me, a twinkle of pride in her eyes as she looks at me in her dress.

I have a feeling she called me beautiful, so I don't ask for a translation.

"Well, if that doesn't grab his attention, I'm not sure what else will."

Directly behind me is Malcolm.  I turn to face him.

"Are things ready?" I ask, raising a delicate eyebrow at him.  "Whatever it is you have planned."

"Yes, the stage is set.  Are you ready to go get your man?"

I nod. "Yes."

"Good luck," Chandler says, giving me an encouraging smile.

"Bonne chance," JoJo says, kissing me on both cheeks, and I know she's wishing me luck too.

Malcolm holds out one of his hands to me and I accept it.

In an instant, we're standing in Mason's living room in his Colorado home.  A multitude of white candles are lit around the room creating a soft glow.  An array of flower arrangements are practically on every surface making the room look like a florist shop.  A blazing fire is burning in the corner fireplace and there is a scattering of red rose petals leading from where I stand into the hallway, stretching as far as I can see from my position.

"It's a trail," Malcolm says, seeing my eyes follow the stream of petals out of the room.  "It leads from the elevator to you.  I wanted to make sure he couldn't miss you."

"Why are you doing this?" I ask Malcolm, turning to him.  It seems like such an uncharacteristic thing for him to do for me.

"Consider it my apology for treating you so harshly in the beginning," he replies, looking a bit chagrined.  "Plus, Mason is a good friend.  I don't like seeing him in so much pain."

"Do you have any idea what I can say to make him change his mind about leaving me?"

"The only good advice I can give you is to let him see how you feel about him.  Don't hide anything.  He's going to play the stubborn card but don't let him get away with it."

I nod, having already decided on that.  "I won't."

Malcolm looks me up and down in carnal appreciation.  "And if he doesn't take advantage of what you're wearing, I'm always available."

I feel my mouth gape open at Malcolm's obvious insinuation.

He simply laughs before phasing away, leaving me alone to wait for Mason.

I look down at my dress to make sure everything is in its proper place.  When I look back up, I see a man standing in front of me, surrounded by a black aura, who is definitely not Mason.

"Hello," Asmodeus says before grabbing my arms and phasing me.

Chapter 6

Asmodeus phases me so many times I begin to feel like my body is turning into jelly, much like the time Mason phased me over and over.  But this feeling is a hundred times worse because Asmodeus doesn't seem to care he's hurting me and continues to phase us until he finally reaches his destination.  Once there, he lets go of my now bruised arms and I fall to the grassy ground in a heap of silk.

When I finally regain a little bit of my strength, I force myself to look at my surroundings.  We're in a field I recognize.  It's the same non-descript field Mason and I went to when we tried to follow Lucifer and Asmodeus from the Watcher apartment complex.  I'm filled with a small ray of hope that Mason might actually find me here but realize the chances of that happening are slim to none.

"Did you have some of the rebellion angels helping you cover your trail from Mason's house?" I ask.

Asmodeus smiles.  "Pretty smart for a monkey.  Yes, so don't expect to be rescued.  Not even Lucifer knows where we are."

"What do you want with me?"