Mercy for the Fallen (32 page)

“Thanks,” I smiled back.  All at once I knew there wasn’t a date waiting for him.  He wasn’t interested in anything that wasn’t already up in the heavens.  “Thanks for everything.”

“Ugh, I forgot how much you like to talk.  Get going before I change my mind and strand your ass up here just to get some peace and quiet.”  Adam swatted me on the behind with a teasing smile as I turned to leave. 

I was still smiling as I emerged into the endless drizzle of Ma’on, the rain much warmer than the Seattle streets far below.  At first I wasn’t sure if I could even find the break in the trees to get to Michael’s place.  I considered calling him, but I didn’t want to leave Eve unprotected, even for a few minutes.  Not that I thought anyone would be after her here, but all it took was one misstep and she’d be a goner. 

Just when I thought I’d have to try and find someone to ask for directions, I spotted the break, the path growing more familiar the closer I got to Michael’s house.  I couldn’t help but smile as I heard Eve’s voice, high and sweet, singing about a jolly holiday with Mary.  My smile stretched wider as I caught Michael’s smooth tenor joining in.  I sang along as I slowed to approach, the sight of Evie hopping up and down in excitement as she spotted me overcoming any fatigue I felt from the flight.  Her aura was no longer the golden glow of angels, but a beautiful, deep green with a violet ring around the outside and a pink center. 

“Momma, you’re back!  Did you get lost?”

“No, of course not,” I said, pulling her into a bear hug as I sank onto the floor in relief.  Whatever I’d endured at Dahlia’s hands, it was worth it to see the spell worked.  “Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause you just left.”

Of course it would seem that way.  “Nope, I took care of everything I need to.  Are you ready to go home?”

“Home with Daddy?”

It was only with the greatest effort that I kept the smile on my face.  I couldn’t bring her back to see Parker, it would kill the whole point of hiding her Grace.  “Actually, we’re going to find a new place to live.  Maybe you can help me pick it out, like an adventure.” 
Of course I had no idea where Eve and I would be staying once I brought her back to Earth.  It was obvious Adam thought it would be with him, but I hadn’t gotten that far.  Seattle was out of the question, but I wasn’t convinced taking her off to Timbuktu would be any safer.      

“Why don’t you go get your books and Puffy together and we’ll get going.  Uncle Adam is waiting for us.”

Eve scampered off, and Michael lost no time in approaching me, his voice stern.  “
I wondered how long it would take thee to come after I saw her Grace stolen.”  From the pinched look on his face, it was clear he didn’t approve. 

“It’s not stolen, it’s hidden.”

“What did you do?”

Here we go…
“I had a witch bind it away so Eve could go back to Earth and live a normal life without having to look over her shoulder for Lucifer every minute of every day.”

Sure enough, his eyes bulged, and I thought Michael might be very close to losing it, but he controlled himself, lowering his voice before he spoke in a harsh whisper.  “Thou didst conceal her gift from God with the black arts of Satan himself?”

“Relax, it had nothing to do with Satan.  And considering God didn’t give me any other means of defense, this is what we’re going with.  She’ll be safe this way and out of your hair.  That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?  Now you can go back to contemplating the universe or whatever the hell it was you did all day before we came here.”

“This is most disturbing,” he muttered.  “Nothing has been foretold about this turn of events.”

“Yeah well, not everything’s in your precious books.  There is something called free will, you know.  And I’m exercising it to keep her safe.  Are you ready to go, sweetie?”

“Yes, Momma.”

“Great.  Say goodbye to Michael then.  Unless you’re coming with us?” I cocked a brow at him.

“I should say not.”

“Goodbye, Michael.”  Eve slipped her small hand into his, and he lost some of the bluster in his voice. 

“Goodbye, Eve.  Don’t forget, you are a creature of the light, no matter what darkness comes to call.”

“Will you still be my guardian angel?”

“I am not well suited for…”  Her face crumpled with disappointment at his response and he softened his words.  “I will try.”

Eve brightened, tugging on his hand until he bent low.  She whispered something into his ear, too soft for me to catch, and his face lit into a glorious smile.  Damn, he was pretty to look at when he wasn’t full of himself.

“Okay, it’s time to go,” I smiled.  “Thanks again for keeping her safe for me, Michael.  I appreciate the struggle it’s been for you to have us intruding in your sanctuary.  I owe you one.” 

He waved away my thanks, but said nothing else as I gathered her into my arms. 

It was harder going as I flew us to where Adam waited.  At least, I hoped he still waited.  While I’d assured him it wasn’t necessary, I definitely felt the strain as we reached the gate.

“Hey, squirt!  Long time no see.” Adam’s smile was a mile wide as we emerged from Ma’on to the heavenly corridor of light.  Eve was easily transferred to his arms, and I didn’t mind taking his hand to steady myself as we hovered above the Earth.  “You guys ready to go home?”

“About that…”

“Leave it all to me.  You can decide what the big picture will be after a good night’s sleep.”

I nodded, too tired to do anything else.  I would’ve followed him back but Adam gathered me into his strong arms, holding us both close.  I listened to the steady rhythm of his heart as we descended.  Dimly, I was aware of Eve’s excited chatter as we fell from the sky, but it felt much slower this time, almost as if we were floating.  As we touched the ground, I hardly knew where we were, my eyes as heavy as my limbs. 

In a haze, I felt Adam scoop me up into his arms, and the soft comfort of a bed as he murmured promises to take care of everything.  There might have been some undressing then and I know I felt the brief press of lips before I slipped into oblivion.  But it seemed like I’d only been asleep for a few short moments before I felt myself roughly shaken awake. 

“Jesus, Mercy, wake up before I shoot myself in the head!”

Chapter Thirty-One

“What?  Who?”  I blinked against the harsh light, Adam’s freaked out expression sending a rush of adrenaline through me.  Not exactly my favorite way to wake up.

“Oh, thank God.  I need to get out of here.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”  I pushed the hair out of my face, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I tried to force my brain to catch up to my pounding heart. 

“She’s been watching that cartoon about the stupid sponge for six hours.  If I hear that song about the pineapple under the sea one more time…”

“You’re freaking out over Spongebob Squarepants?”  Was that all?  For that he’d nearly given me a heart attack?

“How can you stand it?  I’m ready to chuck the damn TV out the window after two days of the crap they have on those kiddie channels.”

“I’ve been asleep for two days?”  I pushed myself up to a seated position, surprised to find myself in a tank top and a pair of soft sweatpants. 

“Almost three.”

No wonder I felt so out of it.  I rolled my neck first one way and then the other; stiff, but not nearly as bone weary as I’d been after Dahlia zapped my Grace.  “Did it ever occur to you to turn the TV off?”

“But that’s what she wanted to watch.” 

“And you’re the adult.  You say no.”  I could see from the look on his face, it hadn’t occurred to him once.  My stomach gave a loud, almost painful rumble.   “Do we have anything to eat?”

“I think we have some leftover pizza.  That kid has been eating nonstop.” 

“She has?”  That didn’t sound like Eve at all.  Normally I had to trick her into eating more than a thimble full of food.   

“Yeah, she only has three modes – eat, sleep and watch TV.  And the TV seems to be part of the other two modes, ‘cause she notices the moment you turn it off, even if she’s dead asleep.”   

“Okay, first of all, relax.  Take a breath.  You did fine.”  Instinctively, I reached for his hand, intent on sending him a wave of soothing Grace, but it came out as more of a trickle.  Apparently my Grace hadn’t recovered as much as I had physically in the days I’d been passed out.  “Second of all, where are we?”

“The state capitol.”

“DC?”

“Not the nation’s capitol, the state’s capitol.”

“Which would help if I knew which state we’re in,” I pointed out.

“We’re in Olympia ,” he replied.  “I figured it might be better to hide a little closer to home.  Who would think to look for us here?  It’s a big enough city not to be easily spotted, and not too far away in case we need reinforcements.” 

He might have gone on, but I gave his arm a squeeze.  “No, it’s good.  I approve of the choice.  Are we in a hotel?”  The bedroom had the generic, furnished look of a decent hotel, and nobody with real taste would actually buy big framed prints of pinecones like that. 

“Yeah, I didn’t want to jump the gun and get anything more permanent until we had a chance to talk.”

“You talk, I need to eat.”  I pushed myself out of bed with a groan, an unfamiliar ache in my back making me take shorter steps, like an old lady. 

“Hey, are you alright?  Maybe I should’ve let you sleep longer…”

“No, it’s good.  I’m not sleepy anymore, I’m just stiff.  Nothing a good hot shower and a trough of coffee won’t fix.  There is coffee, isn’t there?” I shot him a worried look as panic set in.

“You hop in the shower, I’ll take care of the coffee.”

“Thanks.”  It surprised me when he left without offering to scrub my back or anything even cruder.  Maybe there was hope for him yet?” 

* * *

Now that I was awake and the TV had been switched off, Adam lost the wild look from his eyes as we sat down around a sea of cardboard containers bearing tasty, but overpriced Italian food from the restaurant across the street.  At first I worried Eve wouldn’t eat anything since he hadn’t picked simple food like mac and cheese, but she gamely worked her way through both Alfredo and Bolognese alike. 

We held an impromptu family meeting, doing our best to include Eve in the conversation as much as possible.  Things were so crazy in her life lately, I wanted her to feel like she had
some
say in how things went. 

Adam offered to set us up with new identities through Finch and I tried to make it a game as much as possible, letting her pick out what her new name would be.  She settled on Ginny, having recently discovered the Harry Potter books thanks to Michael’s influence.  I told Adam I didn’t care what name he came up with for me, as long as it wasn’t a stripper name.  He then spent the better part of an hour taunting me with suggestions like Alotta Fagina and Boobies McGee.  What had I said about him maturing?  It was kind of a two steps forward one step back thing. 

As for the danger, we kept it simple.  The shiny man who’d taken her before was still out there, and we needed to start a new life.  No, Daddy couldn’t be a part of it, and she seemed to grasp the concept that years had gone by for him since she’d last seen him fairly well.  It probably helped that she hadn’t spent much time with him while trapped in Githa, or maybe she’d end up with big time daddy issues when she got older.  I couldn’t worry about that now, one crisis at a time. 

It was almost kind of fun, making up these new identities for ourselves.  I decided I was a recent widow, that way people wouldn’t ask too many questions about Parker.  Adam promised he could get me any kind of credentials I needed to help me find a job, but I wanted to keep it simple.  Without my usual Grace I wasn’t qualified to do more than bartend or work in a fast food restaurant, and neither sounded too appealing. 

For the moment Adam was footing the bill for things, and I couldn’t complain after I saw the stack of cash he pulled out of the mysterious black duffle that appeared after one of his trips out.  I tried asking him about the cash once, but all I got was a “don’t worry your pretty little head about it”.  Typical. 

Nelo arrived the next day with Bitey, and the hotel suite started to almost feel like a home with all of us together again.  But any time I left the room, which was rare, I felt horribly exposed.  There were far too many ways for someone to come after us in such a public place.  We started looking at houses after that, online at first, and then with a realtor. 

But none of them was quite right.  I couldn’t look at finishes in the bathroom and whether or not I liked the kitchen appliances.  All I could think about was – could Eve climb out of her bedroom window if she needed to?  Was the yard sheltered from the neighbors to keep them from noticing the demon we had living with us?  How could we make it defensible in case of an attack?  Was there a back way out of there in case we had to leave in a hurry?

And Eve… I couldn’t let her out of my sight.  We strolled to the bakery, and I nearly crashed us into a pole, I was so intent on watching the street around us at all times.  She wanted to play with another kid at the park and I spent the whole time hovering about ten feet away from her, worried someone might swoop down and snatch her.  I didn’t sleep well; I kept needing to get up and check on her in the middle of the night to make sure she was still there, despite the fact that Adam stayed up to watch over her. 

“I’m going to end up like Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, aren’t I?” I said, late one night after my third time waking to check on her.

Adam sat at the table, poring over the real estate listings.  “She was a little butch for my tastes, but I think you could make it work.”

“I’m serious.  I’m going to turn into this paranoid shell of a mother who doesn’t sleep and spends all of her time smothering her kid because she’s scared to death of what will happen to her.”

He looked up from the computer, leaning back in the chair with a lazy smile.  “Hey, that’s not going to happen.”