The Fallen (Angelic Redemption) (19 page)

“I don’t remember you.”

“Yet you and Lila are back together. How does
that work?” Ethan asked, his dark eyes displaying the flaring temper inside.

“She found me three days ago in LA. We’re on a
mission to kill the rogue that wiped out Karen’s pack.”

“Small world,” Gus said.

“And you don’t remember anything about your old
pack or dying seven years go?”

“I didn’t know I had died until a few hours ago,”
Sophie said, unwilling to look Ethan in the eyes. “Roman said we had amnesia
and that’s why we didn’t remember.”

“And he found you?” Ethan asked.

The blond brother nodded. “Roman did say he
sensed Lila. He said that before he took off and we didn’t believe him.”

Ethan’s frown grew more intense. “Because Ivy
said she saw them die.”

“Either she got it wrong or God did bring them
back,” the taller brother said, now ignoring Sophie. “Either way, Roman was
right when he took off.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t think he was nuts back
then,” the blond man said.

The men’s agitation returned as the newness of
Sophie’s appearance waned. Gus waved his hands in front of their faces, his
friendly demeanor hardening.

“Guys, settle down. We’ll get this figured out
later. Right now...”

“What’s there to figure out?” Ethan asked. “If
these two are alive, so are the others. We need to find them especially if the
bad guys are trying to take them out.”

“Did the demon say anything when you saw it?” the
taller brother asked Sophie.

“Lila cut off its head, so unfortunately it
wasn’t able to share its secret plans.”

This got a smile out of the taller brother who
nudged Gus. “Lila always was a big dog.”

“She’s a dead big dog now, isn’t she?” Ethan
said.

Sophie didn’t know if Lila was rubbing off on
her, but she wanted to punch Ethan. Whether it hurt him or not, she was willing
to take the chance.

“Why are you being so nasty?”

“Since you say you don’t remember anything then
let me fill you in. You died seven years ago because of Lila. Because of her,
you were torn to pieces and gobbled up by hellhounds. That was Lila. We can
blame Micah all we want, but you and the others didn’t follow him out there.
You followed Lila. Your loyalty was always to her and she used it to get you
killed.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “So your big complaint is
that we were loyal to our leader? Well maybe if you had been loyal to Roman,
you wouldn’t just be finding out about things now? I think it’s obvious why
Anya didn’t like you.”

“Looky who’s channeling Ivy?” the blond brother
said with a grin.

“I don’t know what that means and I don’t care,”
Sophie said, losing her temper and not caring if she was outnumbered. “Lila
does what she feels is right and I doubt she cares what you think anyways, you
dumb Chihuahua.”

“Yes, but I do,” Roman said, appearing from the
hallway.

The men eyed him uneasily and he frowned at them in
return. Even with his clothes darkened with blood and the exhaustion clear on his
face, Roman was the picture of calm.

“Ethan, you never could accept what happened and
clearly that hasn’t changed.”

Roman’s proximity seemed to douse Ethan’s temper.

“I’m glad you’re back, but this all happened so
fast. It’s going to take some time to accept that Sophie is standing three feet
from me.”

Nodding, Roman was clearly unimpressed by Ethan’s
explanation. His face remained tranquil though. The brothers ignored the
tension and went to hug their old friend.

“How is Lila?” the taller brother asked.

“She’ll be fine,” Roman said and Sophie detected
a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

“She always was a fighter,” the blond brother
said awkwardly.

“Did you introduce yourselves to Sophie since she
doesn’t remember you?”

Taking the hint, Gus grabbed the men and lined
them up.

“You’ve met and clearly been charmed by old Ethan
here. These two are brothers Connor and Logan. You guys remember Sophie, don’t
you? She’s the one who was nice to us.”

Sophie nodded at the taller one named Logan and the blond one named Connor. They nodded back, friendly enough, but Sophie
couldn’t help moving closer to Roman.

“Can I see Lila?” she asked.

Nodding, Roman focused his gaze on Ethan. “Please
stay with her while I talk with my pack.”

Sophie hurried down the hall and into the room. One
look at the still lifeless Lila made her turn back and stand at the doorway.
She could hear Ethan speaking again, so she peeked around the corner to
eavesdrop.

“What’s happening, Roman?”

“I can’t be sure. I knew God brought Lila back
three years ago, but then she died in Tennessee. I hoped she would come back
again, but I never expected her to find Sophie. I imagine more is going on here
than a simple mission to stop a rogue hunter.”

“Don’t take this wrong,” Ethan said, “but are we
completely sure they’re really Lila and Sophie? Could they be imposters
somehow, sent by the devil to trick us?”

At first, Sophie thought Roman wouldn’t answer
because there was a long moment of silence. Roman finally spoke and his voice
was different, angry maybe.

“You think I wouldn’t know the difference between
Lila and some fake? That is Lila. She looks the same, sounds the same, likes
the same things, hates the same things. She’s still vibrant and impulsive and
temperamental and…”

When Roman spoke again, there was something else
in his voice. A pain hinting at how he knew Lila was gone once again.

“God sent me dreams telling me where she was and
that’s how I found her. I know Lila’s vibe and that’s the real Lila. That is
the real Sophie. This isn’t a trick.”

No one said anything and Sophie sensed the other
men didn’t know how to deal with Roman anymore - let alone his tangible grief.
Ethan eventually spoke just to break the silence.

“How many times has Sophie died?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know anything more than what I told Gus.
I do know something’s got the villains riled up.”

Gus frowned. “Maybe it’s this rogue hunter? He
might be working with the villains and trying to take out Lila and Sophie
before they can get to him?”

Roman shrugged. “Maybe, but the villains that
ambushed us today weren’t looking for us. They were surprised to find such
resistance.”

“And the demon?” Connor asked.

“I don’t know. That all happened when Lila was
alone,” Roman said, his voice faltering. Sophie could feel his guilt at leaving
Lila exposed. “She’s Micah’s sister and having her alive could pose issues for
the demons.”

“You still think they’re holding Micah?” Ethan
asked.

“Ivy said he disappeared. If the demons can’t
kill him even after all this time, they’d have to keep him locked up somewhere.
Lila might be able to find him which would explain the demon’s interest. What
it doesn’t explain is why the villains made such an effort to attack a Denny’s
in the middle of nowhere?”

“And we still have the villains outside,” Gus
said. “Though from the security cameras, I don’t see them making a move. Maybe
Roman showing up spooked them?”

“They’re dead,” Roman said dismissively.

Ethan eyed the brothers with an almost pained
expression on his face.

“You could have waited for us to help.”

“I haven’t been part of a pack in years. It’s not
my way to sit around waiting for others anymore.”

The men glared at each other, tensions exploding
again, but Gus stepped in with his big friendly grin.

“Sophie said the rogue hunter that she and Lila
are hunting is the same one that killed Karen’s pack. Looks like God’s
connecting some dots for us.”

Roman nodded, still eyeing Ethan.

“Still doesn’t explain the villains today. They
were there to kill someone important. While I didn’t sense anyone, I was
distracted.”

Sophie stepped back into the hall and walked towards
them.

“Lila said the waitress at Denny’s was a hunter,
but still living the lie. She left a few minutes before the villains showed up,
so maybe they were looking for her?”

Connor grunted. “Sounds like a lot of effort for
an inactivated hunter.”

“When they came to kill me, they came as a pack
and I was still living the lie. If Lila hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead.”

Ethan moved closer to Sophie, his scowling face
furrowing even more.

“What did she look like?”

“I don’t know. Brown hair, blue eyes, tall,
pretty. She had an accent and her hair was really long. I didn’t pay much
attention to her, to be honest. I just thought Lila was using her as an example
of how I needed to embrace the hunter life and give up on being human.”

“Did Lila recognize her?” Logan asked.

Roman sighed. “Lila doesn’t remember anything.
Not me, not Sophie, not anyone from that life.”

Ethan ruffled through his pockets and pulled out
a folded picture. “See if she’s one of the women in this picture.”

Sophie took the photo he shoved at her and opened
it. A group of armed women stood lined up. She recognized Lila immediately then
herself. An eerie feeling came over her as she viewed herself from a different
life. She didn’t recognize the person inside the familiar face. It was her, but
not her.

Knowing they were waiting, Sophie studied the
picture, not recognizing any of these former friends. She then spotted the pale
blue eyes and frowning face of the waitress at Denny’s.

“That’s the hunter at the restaurant.”

Taking the picture, Ethan studied it with a
pained expression. “It’s Anya.”

Sophie eyed Roman who glanced back at the bedroom
where he left Lila alone.

“But her nametag said Olivia, not Anya,” Sophie
said.

Roman sighed, rubbing his eyes. “When I found
Lila three years ago, she had a different name too.”

“It looks like the old gang’s getting back
together,” Gus said, grinning widely as if desperate to lighten the mood.
Unfortunately, Ethan wasn’t taking the hint.

“You talked to Anya and never realized you were
talking to one of your own?”

Frowning, Sophie stepped forward, still hungering
to throw a punch. Moving between them, Roman lost his temper for the first time.

“When I told you Lila was alive, you wanted me to
leave well enough alone. Now, you find out Anya’s alive and you’re full of
righteous anger? Maybe instead of accusing Sophie and Lila of wrongdoing, you
should go find Anya before the villains do?”

For a moment, Sophie thought Roman and Ethan
might go to blows, but Ethan backed down and glanced at the brothers.

“I’m going. You stay and help Gus.”

“You wanna do this alone, man?” Logan asked.

Ethan studied Roman then nodded.

“Something big is going down. You guys stay here
and help Roman. I’ll call if I need backup.”

Sophie watched the men walk to the kitchen where
Roman gave directions to the Denny’s. After they finished whispering, Ethan
headed upstairs to pack while Gus and the brothers checked the security
cameras. Roman took Sophie’s hand and brought her into the bedroom.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I don’t like them.”

Roman smiled, but the smile never touched his
blue eyes. “They’re good guys. You’re just not seeing them at their best.”

Gazing at Lila, Sophie finally began to cry. “She
looks the same.”

Roman sat next to Lila and took her hand. “She’ll
be awake by tomorrow, so we’ll need to come up with a plan to deal with the
Reaper. Until then, you should rest.”

Sophie stared at him for a few minutes then finally
said the painful words. “You don’t really believe she will ever wake up, do
you?”

Roman smiled at Sophie then lifted Lila’s limp
hand. He squeezed it for only a few seconds before Lila’s fingers curled around
his, tightening against the pressure.

“She’ll want you to be up for battle, so I
suggest you get some rest. That hunter Karen knows something about the Reaper
and we need to find out what it is.” Roman sighed, his fatigue palpable.
“Whatever God has planned for your old pack, He wants this rogue taken care of
first. The sooner we kill him, the sooner we learn God’s plan.”

Staring at Lila’s still curled fingers, Sophie felt
a newfound confidence.

“Tomorrow we start again.”

Maximo was waiting on the steps of the church and
quickly joined them in the car without being asked. He did wave goodbye to
Father Francisco who showed no unease at allowing the strange boy to head off
with the strange couple. This reaction might have startled Joaquin a week ago,
but nothing seemed odd anymore.