Between (22 page)

“
Go on. I will not judge you,” Margaret encouraged.

“
We outlive them. It was the most painful experience I have ever known. One thing that gave me the will to go on was our child. To carry a miracle inside you and hold him in your arms is a feeling one can never forget.” Katherine’s eyes shimmered with love and pride.

“
I will never know the feeling, but from how you are describing it, it makes me want to have a child of my own. I’ve always wondered what it was like.”

“
Giving birth was easy for me, but for humans, it can be quite painful. Regardless of the pain and suffering of morning sickness and giving birth, they do it many times. I don’t know how the humans endure so much pain and suffering; life is not so glamorous for many. I’m glad we are here to help, but many are much stronger than we think. They have hope and endurance.”

“
I wouldn’t know, but you are the expert since you live among them. Tell me, I am curious, if human mothers carry their child for nine months, was it the same for you?” Margaret inquired.

“
No. The duration of pregnancy is about three months. Austin is my pride and joy and I do not wish him the same fate as mine. I tried to shelter him from human emotions. I told him that his father passed away before he was born so he would not try to seek him and become emotionally attached. I will have to face what I have done one day; however, creating him was the start of the venators. Regardless of what he wants, he is still part angel, a son of one of the Twelve. When the time is right, he shall sit on the throne with the rest of us. After all, we do need to find a replacement for Aden’s and Zachariah’s seats.”

“
Keep in mind that we need to make decisions of such sort with the other Divine Elders,” Margaret advised with a quick smile. “Any decisions.” Then she stood up and Katherine followed. “It was a pleasure to see you,” Margaret’s lips curled into a smile. “The humans are learning the value of life and there is less violence in this world. We need to thank the watchers, venators and especially the Earth angels for all their hard work and efforts. It is not easy when dealing with human emotions and at the same time, trying to fight our own demons. We are not God. We are angels with free will to do good deeds or not; however, if Aliah gains his power back, we will all be doomed.”

“
Don’t be so pessimistic, Margaret. You are underestimating the power of good,” Katherine said.

“
Maybe so, I just like to tell it how it could be. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Anyway, I’m sure you have many things to take care and I have already taken enough of your time.” Margaret turned to hug Katherine, pulled up the hood of her cape and walked out the door.

Claudia fell asleep in Michael’s arms, and he flew her back to her bedroom. As he lay with her, he felt a lump under her blanket. When he pulled it out, he realized it was his T-shirt. Knowing she still had it touched him warmly and he could not suppress a satisfied grin. He stared at her with admiration while his heart beat with love. He knew he should let her be, let her get her rest. He couldn’t help himself as he gently traced the outline of her nose, eyes, and lips. Feeling electrified, his blood swiftly raced through his veins at the mere touch of her skin.

He wanted her to wake up to have her set her beautiful eyes on his; to have her lay her lips on his. She was so exhausted that she slept through all his touches. Michael swiftly craned his neck as he sense a presence.

Austin stood by the window, staring down at Michael and Claudia. His heart sank, but he tried not to show it. He knew it would never work. It wasn’t the fact that she loved Michael. He could fight for her, but what was the point? Even if she allowed it, they could never be…it was forbidden. He could break the rules, but his mother was one of the Twelve. He could not disappoint her. He thought if she hated him, it would make it easier for him, but it didn’t. It only felt worse. He now knew that he’d rather have her as a friend than nothing.

“
I heard Caleb is doing better?” Austin said, surprising Michael with his concern for Caleb.

Michael slowly removed his left arm, tucked under Claudia’s neck. He stood up carefully, trying not to disturb her.

“
I haven’t seen him yet, but I was told he is doing better. Thank you for asking.”

Austin gave Michael a quick smile. “So, I guess it’s my turn to watch.”

“
Yeah, I guess so.”

“
Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

“
I’m sure you will,” Michael sneered.

Austin ignored his sarcasm and changed the subject. “You know you’ll end up hurting her at the end.”

“
You are talking about something you have no idea about. Do not accuse me of something we both agreed upon. You think that it will have no effect on me once I have to leave her permanently? You think I can just forget about her? I will die the day I have to leave. My heart and soul will be here with her. Until we are united again, I will be at Crossroads without a heart and soul. Do you understand?” Michael’s tone got a bit louder, but it was soft enough not to disturb Claudia’s sleep.

“
I can imagine your pain, for I feel it now. I know she loves you. What I don’t understand is that you have broken one of your Divine Commandants, which is the same as the one for the venators; thou shall not love mortals. But you seem fine with it.”

“
Yes, you’re right. I don’t care. When it comes to being with Claudia, I’ll break all the Commandants. I can’t explain love to you, nobody can. It’s something you feel and you can’t let go, no matter how hard you try. When you find the one, there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do.”

“
If what I feel is love, I don’t like it, especially when it’s not returned.”

“
What you are feeling is called rejection,” Michael said and slapped him on the back.

“
Well, no wonder. I’ve never been rejected in my life time,” Austin muttered. “No mortals can resist me, except for one. We can’t really count her; she is half after all.”

“
I should get going. You behave now,” Michael reminded.

“
Afraid of a little competition?” Austin teased.

“
Nope, afraid of what Claudia will do to you when her power emerges, so you better watch out,” Michael warned. “She is a fighter. You should’ve heard what she did to Ryan, her ex-boyfriend.”

“
I know, I was there.”

“
You were? Why didn’t Claudia tell me?” Michael looked puzzled.

“
Maybe, she was trying to keep me a secret.”

“
Rather, you’re just easy to forget,” Michael scoffed. Then he thought about that night. Claudia was upset with him for not knowing she needed him. “That’s why I didn’t know she was in danger. It was because of you. You were there and Claudia didn’t know you were an angel. Now it all makes sense.”

Michael engulfed Claudia one last time and turned to Austin. “It would be wise if you knock on the front door next time. The door has a purpose. You may not want to see the things we do when no one’s around.” He let out a quick smile and disappeared into the night.

Chapter Nineteen

Another week went by and all was calm. Mr. Cain was no longer our substitute. He was replaced by Mrs. Weber, who cancelled our project since it wasn’t her assignment. I wondered what happened to Mr. Cain since Nicholas took over his body and mind. I hadn’t known him that long, but I was greatly worried for him. I wondered if he had a wife or children. Would anyone miss him?

Mom called almost every day apologizing for not being there with me. I told her that I was fine and that she didn’t need to treat me like a child. She also said that the doctor predicted that her friend just had a month left to live. Mom wanted to be there with her for Christmas since her friend was being released from the hospital. She asked me to join her during Christmas vacation, but I fibbed and said that I had asked Mrs. Lee to schedule me in for the whole break. I actually wanted to spend some time with my friends.

Patty had done a wonderful job decorating. She’d hung multi-colored lights and gold streamers behind the register and on the dressing room doors. Colorfully wrapped Christmas boxes were stacked neatly on top of the clothing rack, and she’d even placed a small fake Christmas tree, decorated with red ribbons and various ornaments, by the entrance. As the fragrance of poinsettias and the sounds of Christmas melodies filled the store, it was definitely festive.

It was an extremely busy day. Everyone was doing last minute shopping, being that it was two days before Christmas. Nanci attended to the customers while Patty and I worked behind the register. We had never worked this hard; we hardly got to talk. This place was loaded with customers. At one point, the line was very long and even though Patty and I moved as fast as we could, it hardly made a dent in the line. Mrs. Lee should have had scheduled more employees today.

As the end of the day was nearing, Patty sent Nanci home. Patty and I finally had time to catch up while we counted the day’s earnings.

“
Oh, I almost forgot.” Patty walked into the storage room and walked out with a box. “Some girl told me to give this to you.”

It was a large box that was neatly wrapped in red with a gold ribbon. “Someone gave this to me?” I asked, taking the box out of her hands and placing it on the counter by the register. There was a card attached to it. “Did she give you her name?”

“
No, but she had long hair. Tall. Pretty. I think she shops here. She had on the same shirt that I displayed last night before I left; or at least I thought I did.” Patty was deep in thought, trying to recall what she’d done. Then she snapped out of it, shaking her head. “Anyway, I don’t remember seeing her before.”

From Patty’s description, I knew it was Vivian; she was on watch today. I didn’t know exactly where she was, but when I was at work, they were told to keep their distance, but to stay close.