Angel Incarnate: Second Sight (22 page)

Mortriel’s brow
furrowed. “What am I supposed to do with my prisoners?”

“They’ll be moved back
to their dormitory. A large cage can be brought into the carriage house, and
we’ll keep Clarence and Chester in these manacles until they are in command of
their faculties.”

“How long will that
take?” Richard asked.

“They should be under
control in a week, two at the most,” Samhael said.

Grendel stepped forward
and pulled a small, silver ring-like object from her pocket. She slid the cap
off, revealing a fountain pen-type tip. She turned to Richard.

 
“This has been soaked in a very powerful
poison – Witches Bane. Place it on your forefinger; one tiny scratch on any
part of Gregory’s skin should do the trick. The effects will be immediate, so
don’t linger,” she warned.

She tried to place it
in his palm, but he hesitated.
 
“How do I
know it won’t poison me?”

 
“The venom can’t enter your body unless there
is a tear in the skin,” she said matter-of-factly. “As soon as you scratch him,
toss the implement on the ground.”

Grendel laughed as
Richard pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around the tiny weapon before
shoving it carefully into his pocket.

 
“You should be on your way before Gregory gets
too far ahead,” Samhael said.

Richard nodded, and
then vanished leaving behind a faint outline of black smoke.

Samhael looked at Clarence and
Chester, who appeared to be sleeping. “Let’s get these bodies piled up. Richard
should be back in fifteen minutes. As soon as you leave; I’ll start the fire.”

Chapter 34

By the time the support
group finished eating; Stella came strutting down the stairs with the new girl.
After hugging Ryan, she introduced Mehri to the roommates.

“I hope we’re not
late,” Stella said, staring at the half-empty plates.

“Find a seat; there is
still plenty of food,” Ryan said.

Katie and her friends
stared at the new girl. Mehri was wearing blue jeans and a white peasant blouse
with embroidery on the belled sleeves and open neckline. Her blonde hair was
cropped short like theirs, but to them, she looked older than her seventeen
years.

When she leaned across
the table to shake Ryan’s hand, the sleeve slid up her arm exposing the black
stitches.

“Are you a cutter?”
Katie asked.

Mehri’s eyes widened;
she felt her heart racing as she stared at her naked wrist.
My bracelet…

Stella clutched Mehri’s
hand and pulled her closer. “Don’t worry; they won’t judge you,” she whispered.
“This will make your story more credible.”

“I don’t care about that.
My bracelet is missing; I must have lost it in the house.”

Fool – how could you be so careless?
 
“We’ll cut our visit short, and then talk about what to do.”
 
Stella let go of Mehri’s hand and turned back
to the girls.

“Mehri has self-esteem
issues, and has been cutting herself for months now.”

“Don’t worry about it,”
Sophia said. “We had another cutter here a while back; her name was Betsy.
Father Ryan met with her parents and explained they were putting too much
pressure on her to be perfect. After some counseling, everything worked out.
She went home a few weeks ago. I talked to her yesterday, and she said home
life is better than ever now.”

Shanna snapped her fork
in half and threw it on the plate. “Yeah-- her parents care about her. The rest
of us are still here, aren’t we?”
 

Without saying another
word, she stood, slammed her chair against the table, and tossed her plate and
cup in the trashcan before running up the back stairs.

“You’ll have to excuse
her,” Katie said. “After Shanna’s father died last year, her mother lost it.
She hooked up with some loser a few months later. They started clubbing and
spending money like water. Shanna saw her mother turning into a drunk and they
fought every day. Finally, she had enough and ran away. She thought her mom
would kick the boyfriend out and beg her to come back, but …”

“We drove by the house
a few months ago,” Sophia said. “A new family was living there. According to
the neighbor, her mother married the boyfriend, and they moved to another state
– Shanna doesn’t know where they are.

Mehri understood how
Shanna felt. Her mother had abandoned her too.
Maybe I’ll ask Samhael for a favor. No one will miss a couple more
mortals. I hope he won’t be angry that I lost the bracelet Lucifer gave to me.
We need to go back to the house and see if I left it there.

“I can’t thank you
enough for meeting with us, but we have to leave early,” Stella said. “Mehri is
still getting settled into the house, and we have some shopping to do.”

“Isn’t she staying at
the dorm with us?” Katie asked.

“No – she’ll be staying
with me for now.”

“The girls were
thinking about doing some shopping too,” Father Ryan said.

He pulled the cash out
of his pocket and handed it to Katie. “I was so busy this morning I forgot to give
this to you.” He chuckled as he watched her counting out the hundred dollar
bills. “It seems you girls have a secret benefactor.”

Mehri’s eyes darted
towards the stairs.
They can’t go with
us. We have to retrieve my bracelet.

“I’m afraid there isn’t
room today, but we can plan to get together after church on Sunday,” Stella
said. While she hugged the priest and each of the girls, Mehri stood back.

As they were leaving,
Katie tugged on Mehri’s arm. “We wanted you to have this.” She tried to hand
her five - $100 bills.

Mehri felt a warm
tingling sensation spread through her chest.
This girl doesn’t even know me, yet she is offering me part of her
gift.
 

She smiled and gently
pushed her hand away. “Thank you, but you keep it. I brought plenty of money with
me, before I left home. I hope to see you on Sunday. Maybe we can have lunch.”

“Are you coming to
mass?”

“We’ll have to get back
to you,” Stella said. Grasping Mehri’s hand, she dragged her up the stairs.

As soon as she heard
the car doors open, Katie approached the priest. “So, what did you think? Will
she fit in with the rest of us misfits?”

“I think so.”

“Can we use your car to
go to the mall? I promise -- I’ll be careful.”

Ryan pulled the keys
out of his jeans pocket and handed them to her. “Remember – no speeding.”

Katie giggled. “Right –
don’t drive like Father Patrick.”

Sophia finished
clearing the table. “What should we do with the rest of the food?”

“Drop it off at the
dorm on your way to the mall. Maybe you can take in a movie tonight and bring
the car back tomorrow afternoon.”

Katie came at Ryan so
fast, she almost knocked him over. “Great – we’ll tell Shanna.” She gave him a
quick peck on the cheek, leaving Ryan red-faced, and Sophia laughing.

After putting the tins
back in the shopping bags, Ryan and Sophia carried them to his car.

Katie found Shanna
sitting on a bench staring curiously at the statue of the Archangel Gabriel.
Black mascara spilled down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy from
crying. Looking up when she saw her friend; she managed a weak smile. “Do you
think they’re real?” she asked.

“Who
– the angels?”

“Yeah – sometimes I
feel like they’re watching us; other times, I think we’re alone,” Shanna
sighed.

Katie pulled a tissue
from her pocket and wiped the make-up from her friend’s face. “I know what you
mean. Look -- I’m really sorry about your Mom, but none of that was your fault.
Father Patrick says we are accountable for our own actions, but other people
have to make their own choices. Even if we don’t agree with them, there is
nothing we can do.”

“You’re right, but I
can’t help thinking how different my life would be if my father didn’t die.”

“You may not want to
hear this, but I think your mother was always looking for an excuse to go
crazy. That guy, Larry – gave it to her.”

“Why weren’t we friends
before? I mean, we grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same high
school.

“I guess we traveled in
different circles back then. If it makes you feel any better, my parents
weren’t all that great either. My dad left my mom for a younger woman who was
only a few years older than me. After the divorce, I never saw him again.”

“Yeah, but at least
your mother didn’t run off with the first loser she met in a bar.”

“No – she locked
herself in her bedroom and ate a bottle of anti-depressants. They were followed
by a glass of whiskey. When I found her the next morning – she was blue and ice
cold.”

“You never told me your
mother committed suicide. I thought she died of a long-term illness.”

Katie shook her head. “My
older brother was in college at UCLA, so my grandmother moved in to take care
of me. After a few weeks, I understood why my mom got pregnant and ran away
from home when she was sixteen. My brother didn’t even come home for the
funeral. He graduated from college and got a job at Lionsgate as a film
editor.”

“Didn’t he ever call to
check up on you?”

She rolled her eyes,
and there was an ugly twist to her mouth. “What do you think? He had a new
girlfriend and a new life – he couldn’t be bothered with a little sister.”

“Father Ryan said we
can borrow his car to take the leftovers home and then do some shopping.” She
shoved five -$100 bills in Shanna’s hand.

“Where did this come
from? You didn’t take money from the church, did you?”

“Look – I may have been
a clepto in the past, but that was because my parents barely kept a roof over
my head, or food in my belly. Father Ryan said this came from a secret
benefactor. He wouldn’t tell me who, but I suspect it was Aura. We don’t have
to return the car until tomorrow, so he suggested we do some shopping and then
take in a movie. We can have a girls’ night out. So – are you in?” Katie asked.

Shanna stuffed the
money into her jeans pocket, and then used her fingers to wipe her eyes.

“Uh – I think you might
want to wash your face and put on some fresh make-up. I can’t be seen walking
around with a skank like you,” Katie teased.

With the tension gone,
the girls both started laughing. “Alright, Pinkie; I’ll clean up after we get
home.

“That’s my girl.” She
pulled Shanna up by the arm. “C’mon – Sophia has the car packed. We should be
on our way before the food spoils.”

When they got to the
car, Shanna yelled, “I call shotgun.”

“Yeah – whatever,”
Sophia said. “As long as you don’t distract your girlfriend; I don’t want to run
into anybody…literally.”

“Hey --I didn’t go to
Father Patrick’s driving school,” Katie replied.

The three girls hugged
Ryan and sped out of the parking lot. The priest watched and lifted his eyes to
Heaven.
Please watch over them and my
car.
 

After they cleared the
parking lot, Stella glared at Mehri. “Why did you wait so long to tell me about
the bracelet?”

“I didn’t know it was
gone until my sleeve slid up my arm. We need to go back to the farm. The
bracelet was a gift. Lucifer will be angry when he finds out its gone.”

“You probably lost it
when you strangled your mother. We can’t go back to you parent’s home. By now,
someone may know about their deaths. Hell – the police may already be there.
It’s just a piece of jewelry. I know a great jeweler; we’ll replace it.”

 
“You don’t understand,” Mehri sighed. “We
can’t just leave it. It’s one of the ancient relics Lucifer brought with him
when he was exiled. He told me it belonged to his first wife, Laelah. The
stones are made of blue diamonds, and apparently, there isn’t another one like
it. How will he ever trust me again?”

“Look – if anyone does
find the bracelet, they’ll think it belonged to Charlotte. There’s no way they
will know it came from Lucifer. We’ll go back to the cottage and wait for my
father. He’ll know what to do.”

Mehri was fidgeting in
her seat, having a hard time sitting still; she tapped her foot furiously
against the floorboard.

Stella placed her hand
firmly on Mehri’s leg. “That’s not going to help.”

“Lucifer sent me to
gather information about Aura. What if I’ve ruined his plans because I was
careless?”

Stella chuckled. “Stop
worrying; no one can link you to your parents’ deaths. As far as anyone knows,
you and your brother have been dead for years. There were no witnesses.”

Mehri felt the tension
leave her body. “You’re right – I didn’t see any other cars on the road leading
to the farmhouse.”

“Exactly – so let’s sit
back and relax.” She turned on the radio and Mehri leaned her head against the
window.
 
Neither spoke on the ride home.

I hope Stella is right. I need to concentrate on the priest
and learn everything I can about Aura. Knowledge is power – Lucifer taught me
that.

Listening to Stella hum
along to a familiar song, Mehri smiled, and then closed her eyes.
Soon –I will avenge my son’s death.

When they pulled into
the gravel drive, Mehri was the first one out of the car. If Samhael was
waiting inside the cottage, she wanted to explain her actions before Stella
told him about the Chastain’s deaths. She threw open the door, and breathed a
sigh of relief when she found the cottage empty.

Stella instinctively
surveyed the outside of the property -- searching for uninvited guests --
before following Mehri into the house.
 

She tossed her handbag
on the sofa. “Fix us some wine while I use the bathroom; then, we’ll talk.”

Mehri walked into the
kitchen. After placing a flask of red wine and two glasses on a silver tray,
she carried them into the living room. As she poured the wine, Stella returned
and took a seat in one of the wing-backed chairs.

“Are you upset with me?
You hardly said two words during the drive home,” Mehri said as she handed her
a glass of wine.

Stella shrugged.
 
“Why would I be angry? I understand why you
killed Charlotte and so will Lucifer. I think we should put this behind us, and
move forward.”

She kicked off her
shoes and rested her feet on the ottoman.
 
After gulping down the wine, Stella wiped her mouth with the back of her
hand, and then placed the empty glass on the end table.