Kindred (The Watcher Chronicles #2) (7 page)

"I want to kill you."

I close my eyes wishing I had the strength to call on my sword but knowing I would lose it to Asmodeus even if I did have it.  I simply wasn't physically strong enough in my current condition to wield its power anyway.

"Why?"

"Because you're making Lucifer weak,” Asmodeus says scathingly.  “I've never seen him care one wit about a human's well being before you."

"Why is that so bad?"

"Because it's causing him to lose focus on what we need to do."

"Which is?" I ask, hoping Asmodeus' hatred of me and over confidence makes him say things he shouldn't.

Asmodeus kneels in front of me on one knee and practically spits in my face.  "You won't live long enough to find out."

"What are you waiting for?" I ask.  "Kill me."

"I can't kill you directly because I was ordered not to harm you," Asmodeus replies, filled with regret.  "But Lucifer didn't give that order to another one of my brothers."

"So we're waiting on him?"

"Yes.  He will be here soon."

"Is he another prince of Hell?"

Asmodeus grins.  "We thought you might have figured it out by now.  But I take it from your earlier question you still don't know what we're up to."

"We’ll figure it out and stop you."

Asmodeus laughs harshly.  "Good luck with that when you're dead."

Another man phases in and I have to assume he's my executioner.  He's taller than Asmodeus by a few inches with short red hair and a craggy face wearinga grey flight jacket and black jeans.  Just like Asmodeus and Lucifer, he has a black aura surrounding him.

He looks down at me in complete disgust.

"Mammon," Asmodeus greets the new arrival, "please dispose of this puny human for me."

"You're sure Lucifer doesn't know of this plan?" Mammon asks, eyeing me like a roach he's about to step on.

"Do you think I would be so stupid?  Of course he doesn't know.  Now kill her so we can be done with it and force him back to the way he should be."

Without even giving it a second thought, Mammon strides up to me and grabs me by the throat, easily lifting me up in the air.  I feel his fingers close in towards my windpipe making it impossible for me to breath.  I try to pull his hand away from my neck but can't find the strength to even grasp his arm.  I suddenly wish I were invisible.

I feel myself fall to the ground.

"Where the hell did she go?" I hear Mammon scream.  "I just had her!"

I place a shaky hand on my throat trying to draw in a breath but finding it impossible.  My throat feels completely closed.

"I don't know," Asmodeus says, coming to stand by Mammon.  "There isn't a phase trail so she doesn't have the power to phase."

"She couldn't have just vanished into thin air," Mammon argues.

"And yet, she did," Asmodeus says, not mad just intrigued by my disappearance.  "Let's go.  Lucifer’s probably already wondering where we are and I don’t want to raise his suspicions."

Mammon and Asmodeus phase away while I still attempt to take in a breath.  Just before I feel like I’m about to pass out, I'm able to draw in a small amount of air into my lungs.  I close my eyes and use my last breath to call the one person I hope who can hear me.

"Zeruel."

I fall back onto the ground.

Just before I completely lose consciousness I hear, "I've got you, Jessi."

I hear agitated voices.  Two men are having a heated argument but my mind is far too muddled and my body too tired to make an effort to understand what they're saying.  I desperately try to claw my way out of the black abyss I'm in, but I don't even seem to have enough strength to open my eyes.  Giving up, I let sleep over take me, drowning me in its wake.

I feel a pair of strong arms enfold me.  I don't know if it's a dream or reality but I smell Mason's particular woody scent mixed with a touch of cinnamon.

"Don't leave me," I beg.

"I'll never leave you," I hear Mason say and hope I'm not dreaming.

"Jessi."

I hear my father's voice and open my eyes.

I'm in my bedroom covered up to the neck by my comforter.

"You came," I say, feeling tears of happiness that my dad heard me call to him.

He smiles down at me.  "Of course I came.  I told you I would if you asked me to."

I struggle to sit up but still feel weak.  My dad puts his hands under my arms and lifts me like I don't weigh anything at all.  He props me against the pillows at my back.  I look around the room and feel my heart sink with bitter disappointment.

Mason is no where to be seen.  I must have just been dreaming that he was holding me and promising he would never leave me.

"What's wrong?" My dad asks.

I shake my head, not having the strength to tell him why I'm crying.

"Are you looking for Mason?"

I gasp, wondering how he knows.

"I just thought…" I close my eyes, allowing myself to relive that small moment of joy I felt in the dream when I thought he was with me, holding me in his arms, promising to never leave me again.

"Jessi, look at me."

I open my eyes and look at my father through the veil of my tears.

"Mason was here.  He just left to go get some of his things because we weren't sure how much longer you would be asleep."

"He was here?" I ask, needing to know it wasn't just a dream or a hallucination.

My dad smiles at me.  "Yes, he was here.  You didn't dream it.  That's what you're thinking right?  That it was a dream?"

I nod.  "But why?  What made him come?"

"When he saw the phase trail in his living room, he knew you had been taken.  From what I heard, he had every Watcher in the world helping him try to find you.  When you called for me, I found you and brought you here.  He almost attacked me when he saw me in your house," my dad chuckles.  "I had to explain to him who I was and thankfully he believed me.  After I healed you, he refused to leave your side.  I finally told him to crawl into bed with you to hold you, hoping that would heal the shock your mind was in.  That, more than anything I think, helped you the most."

Directly behind my father, I see Mason phase into my bedroom.  He's wearing a grey sweater, much like the black one he wore the first night I met him.  His eyes find mine and I see the relief he feels from seeing me fully awake.

"Hey," I say, feeling shy all of a sudden.

He smiles and my heart lights up like a firecracker on the 4
^th
of July.

"Hey," he says back.

My dad stands up.  "I think you two have a lot to talk about.  I'll be in the living room if you need me."

When my father walks out of the room, Mason sets his black leather overnight bag on the floor.

He looks back at me, unsure what to do next.  I extend one of my arms towards him, beckoning him closer.  He quickly closes the distance between us, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips to place a gentle kiss on top of it.  Sitting down beside me on the bed, he holds my hand like it's the most precious thing in the world to him at that moment.

"Did you mean it?" I ask him.

"Mean what?" He asks, looking confused.

"You said you would never leave me," I remind him, even in my delirium I can remember his words clearly.  "Did you mean it?"

"Yes," he says.  "I'll never leave you again."  He looks down at our joined hands.  "I never should have left you the first time.  Maybe if I hadn't…"

"Don't drive yourself crazy with maybes," I tell him, placing my free hand under his stubble covered chin to force him to meet my eyes.  "The important thing is that you're here now.  And I hate to be the one to inform you, but I never intend to let you leave me again.  Is that understood?"

A lopsided grin graces his face.  "Yes, that's understood.  It's not something you ever have to worry about anyway.  You're pretty much stuck with me now."

I smile, realizing it's the first true, happy smile I've had since before the night Mason left me.

"Good.  Now that we have that settled, tell me how long I've been asleep."

"A week."

I sigh.  "Why do I keep losing so much time sleeping?"

"Jess, what happened?  Who took you?"

"Asmodeus.  And someone named Mammon showed up to actually kill me.  He's another prince of Hell, right?"

Mason nods.  "Yes.  They were gone by the time your father reached you.  How did you escape?  Your father said you were almost dead by the time he got there."

I shake my head.  "I don't know.  One minute Mammon was squeezing my windpipe together and then it was like I became invisible to him and fell through his fingers.  They couldn't see me, so they phased.  I used what little air I had left to call for my dad because I knew he could heal me."

"JoJo Armand made the dress you were wearing, right?"

I nod.

"Maybe that's why her crown began to send out the homing signal that night.  We weren’t sure what triggered it to activate."

"Has she got it?"

"Yes, Chandler went with her to get it.  It wasn't far.  It was hidden inside an old chest of clothes that belonged to her grandmother at her parents' house."

"Have they found their talismans yet?"

"No, but I’m pretty sure I know where Chandler’s is and now with this new information about JoJo I have idea on which one might be hers.  I assume you’ll want to be with them when they get their talismans."

I nod.  "Yes, I would like to be with them.  When can we go?"

"You need to rest a little more," Mason tells me and I can see from the expression on his face that I won't be able to convince him otherwise.  "They almost killed you, Jess.  Not just the choking but the phasing.  Your dad was able to heal most of the physical damage but the trauma to your brain almost put you into a coma.  So, rest is the first thing you need to focus on and I plan to make sure you get it."

"You've gotten awfully bossy," I tease, liking the bossiness very much but not daring to admit it.  You only boss when you care.  I should know.  I've done it enough.

"Where you're concerned?  Yes, I will be very bossy.  I can't lose you," he says, a catch in his voice, letting me know how much almost losing me affected him.

I pull him towards me, trying to use my physical presence as a reminder that I'm all right.  "You're not losing me.  I'm like bad luggage.  You'll never be able to get rid of me."

I hear Mason chuckle and it's the sweetest sound on Earth.

Mason decides my first visitors should be Mama Lynn and Faison.

"You should know I told them everything," Mason tells me.

Shocked is too mild a word to describe how I react to this statement.

"Everything?  Why?" I ask.

"Because they needed to know what was going on.  They love you.  They deserved the truth, especially when we weren't sure you would live."

I see the pain in Mason's eyes because he truly did believe I might have died from my injuries.

"Thank you," I tell him, feeling a great weight lift from my shoulders that I didn't even know was there.  Keeping so many secrets from my family had been a burden on my heart.  Now that they knew the truth, I had to wonder how they would react to me.

When Mama Lynn and Faison walk into my bedroom, they immediately envelop me in a group hug.  It’s then I know nothing has changed.  They still love me.

"You had us so worried, Jess," Mama Lynn says, her hands cupping my face.  She shakes her head at me.  "Don't do that again.  I don't think my old heart can take it."

"It wasn't on purpose," I assure her.  I look at both of them, "So Mason said he told you everything.  How are you dealing with knowing what's really going on?"

"Well, I wish you had told me Lucien was the devil," Faison huffs as she sits cross legged on my bed beside me.  "Good grief, no wonder you didn't want me talking to him."

"You're still our Jess," Mama Lynn says to me, knowing what I'm really asking.  "Maybe now you know why I made you go to church so much when you were younger.  I told you there was a God."

"Are you seriously going to use the 'I told you so' line on me?"

"Well it fits I think," she says rather smugly.  "You didn't believe me but now you know I was right."

"Yes, he exists but that doesn't mean I have to instantly like him," I say, not wanting to discuss my rather turbulent feelings about God with a devout Southern Baptist.  "Anyway, I'm just glad you guys know the truth.  I hated keeping everything hidden from you two.”

"So," Faison says in a low voice, "how are things going with your own personal angel since you woke up?"

"You know he wouldn't let us come in here but for just a little while each day," Mama Lynn tells me, an obvious sore point with her.  "And Chandler and JoJo were only allowed to come in here for a few minutes.  He was very protective of you."

I smile, liking the idea of an overprotective Mason. 

"Things have been great so far," I tell them.  "But he still wants me to rest before I get back to work."

"I think that's a good idea," Mama Lynn agrees.  "You've been through a lot and Lord knows you have a lot on your plate at the moment.  Don't rush yourself."

"Let Mason pamper you," Faison advises me.  "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"But I have a lot to do," I tell them.  "We still have four more vessels to locate."

"Just trust in the Lord," Mama Lynn says, patting one of my hands.  "He won't let Lucifer win."

"Why do you have so much faith in Him?" I ask.

"Because He's always led me down the right path.  I found you and Faison didn't I?  Who do you think let that happen?"

"Did Mason tell you about my biological mother?" I ask her.

"Yes.  I don't remember meeting her but I'm sure glad she picked me.  I couldn't imagine my life without you.  I don't even want to think about the possibility."

“Have you met my father?” I ask Mama Lynn.

“Oh yes, he’s so nice.  We were told everything about that too.  Odd that the father you grew up with isn’t your biological father,” she shrugs, “but you don’t have to be related by blood to be a parent.”