Underworld Queen (36 page)

“You’d do that? Serve me like that idiot husband of mine, Rupert?”

“Yes.”

“You would call
me
queen?”

“Of course, my queen.”

“You would breed another heir?”

Jonas hadn’t considered this. He hesitated too long.

“Ah! See? There are things you would not do.”

“That I would not,” Jonas looked up at her and then to Audray, hoping she’d see the truth in his eyes. “I have paid the price for that mistake before, I will not do it again.”

Suddenly Drucilla appeared at the edge of the circle. “You evil bitch. Jonas holds more honor in his little finger than you would ever hold in a thousand lifetimes.” Her little finger glowed for a second before a shimmer of crystals flew at Catarina, encapsulating her.

Catarina’s countermeasures melted the golden veil, her eyes murderous and red. “Then die with honor, witch.” The dark angel lowered the shield to send a pulsing beam at Drucilla, melting her quickly. Molly shrieked, but was held back by Carl. Catarina clasped her hands and chuckled. “You see? There is no hope. Time to die, all of you. I’m tired of this game of cat and mouse.”

Jonas was nearly close enough to touch Audray, but the dark angel warned, “Stop now or it costs your bride a limb. Your choice, Grandfather.” She backed up, reaching for Audray’s bound hands, to pull her with her. Jonas saw the shield was still down. He mentally searched for a weapon, knowing she was fully exposed. Claire pushed Audray aside at the last minute, prepared to defend Audray’s body with her own.

A large red liquid beam the diameter of an arm hit Catarina square in the chest, causing a gaping hole that surprised even her. Out of reflex, her eyes began the vaporization sequence but to no avail. Her face reddened as the red liquid found the heat within her own body and the dark angel exploded, leaving behind smoldering bloody rags.

“Couldn’t stand that bitch,” Doris said, lowering the flamethrower.

Audray collapsed into Jonas arms, safe at last.

I
n the chaos
afterwards, Jonas and two of his men carefully carried Drucilla’s remains to the lawn of a nearby church yard. Audray watched as the fire at Joshua’s house was put out. The former dark angel was shouting instructions to the fire crew as they tried to salvage as much as possible. She saw rescue workers take note of the scene, examining the large piles of dead and charred snakes, the bloody remains of the powerful dark angel as well as remains of two dark winged creatures and several other armed men. She knew the report to be filed would not make any sense, and no doubt Josh would have a hand in drafting something creative and nearly believable. Humans were his people now, after all.

Molly was beside herself with grief over the death of her grandmother, who had been the one to tip the scales in their favor, forcing the protective shield down. Carl went to the young witch, embracing her bended frame, but Molly was inconsolable.

“She wanted this for you, Molly. Believe me, she chose this,” Carl whispered to her as he kissed her forehead and placed a blanket over her shoulders. “She’d want you to live your life and not to grieve.”

“I can’t help it.”

Audray buried her face in Jonas’ chest.

“Come, sister.” Claire suddenly appeared from the darkness. Behind her, Daniel held Alondra tightly. “You need a place to rest. Daniel and I will bring you to our place, and then you can make your plans.”

“I can’t ask you to do that for me,” Audray responded.

“But sister, you have no where else to go. Am I wrong?”

Jonas encouraged her to agree.

Freshly showered and
with some clothes Claire lent her, Audray felt like a new woman. Daniel had made strong coffee for him and Jonas. The two men were seated in front of the fireplace Audray knew only too well. A new painting adorned the wall above, replacing the one Audray had enjoyed when she was doing Josh’s dark bidding. Daniel blushed and looked down at his coffee. The painting was just as bright as the jungle canvases he was known for, but these new ones looked like they’d been suffused with light from within.

“I like it, Daniel. These are lovely,” she said as she examined the other canvases on an adjacent wall which led to the kitchen where Claire was working.

“You should see the ones he’s been working on for the children’s book series. I’ll show you later. We’ve turned the attic into a studio. The light is perfect and he feels inspired to work there.”

“As he should be, sister.” Audray hugged Claire.

“You must rest, Audray. I can’t imagine what this ordeal has done to you. How are you feeling?”

Audray was tired, but she didn’t want to be without the company of her newfound sister. “I’m feeling well, thank you.” She had so many questions she wanted to ask. “Do you remember our father at all, Claire?”

“Sadly, no.”

“I’d give anything if I could have met him. I’m glad you didn’t see what our mother had become.”

“I hardly remember that time. The Wash is supposed to remove all our human memories. I thought perhaps when Father gave me back my human life some of those memories would remain. But I think now I’m glad for his gift of amnesia. My life really started when I became a Guardian.”

“I can’t see you living with or being any part of the mother I knew. How strange that two lives could be so different.” She hesitated to explore more of what Claire knew of her past. “You know I found your grave. And the grave of our father. You are buried next to him. Perhaps I’ll take you there to see it one day.”

“Someday. I take things a day at a time now with Alondra. I’m not sure what we’ll tell her of my past. But at some point she’ll need to know.”

They held hands in the kitchen, Audray rubbing the knuckles on the back of Claire’s hand. “If I survive this—” Pain welled up inside her at the thought that perhaps she wouldn’t be around to experience the life of her baby.

“You’ll survive, Audray. You’ll live to tell the tale to successive generations,” Claire said lovingly and squeezed her hand. With her smooth still-angelic face and clear blue eyes, Audray found herself trusting and depending on Claire the more she was around her.

“But Josh said the mother doesn’t usually—”

“Nonsense. Josh doesn’t know everything. You know this for a fact, Audray, don’t you?”

She nodded, placing her palms on her belly, rubbing the tiny bump she could feel. Or, maybe it was her imagination. Would she know this child? Would she be able to communicate with this child like she did with Jonas? Would this bundle of love cause her own death? She had more questions, but had no one to ask.

“You must have faith, Audray. Trust that there is a golden future for you out there. And for Jonas and your child. After all, we have no hard evidence to the contrary.” Claire began preparing a plate of fruit. “Go and sit with Jonas and Daniel. And then I’m going to insist you take a nap.”

Visitors were at the front door as Audray headed back to the living room. Jonas greeted several of his men, Omar among them, who reported the Underworld was in total chaos. They inquired whether Audray would be returning to restore order. Audray heard the angst in his thoughts as she told them that no, she would remain in the human world, for the time being. She saw Luke hanging in the background. “Luke? Should I appoint a successor?”

“As you wish, my queen.”

“Luke would make an excellent Director,” Jonas smiled in admiration at her choice.

“What about you, Jonas? The angels respect you,” Luke asked.

Jonas placed his arm around Audray. “No. My place is here.”

A battered yellow and black taxi cab pulled up into the driveway, and Audray recognized Doris behind the wheel. She was transporting Joshua and another man in the back seat. Audray couldn’t help but run through the foyer to greet the Guardian and thank her properly. The hug she tried to bestow on the cabbie was shrugged off. Doris separated herself and stood stiffly, taking on a big gulp of air before she began.

“I’m not into the touchy-feely stuff, Audray, and I’m going to be real honest, I was ordered to watch over the little war we had this evening.”

“By whom?” Josh and the other passenger had extricated themselves from the rear seat, but didn’t come forward.

“I did,” said the white haired gentleman standing next to Josh.

Father.

Claire pushed by Audray and ran to the older gentleman. “You look well, my dear,” he said before he enveloped her in his powerful arms.

Jonas came up behind Audray and embraced her. “All is as it should be, love. Have no fear. The battle is done, for now.”

She melted into him, suddenly needing him more than she ever had.
We’ve survived, my love, but what of our future?

We wait. We trust. We love each other. For now, that is all we can do.

With their arms about each other’s waist, Father and Claire made their way over to Audray and Jonas.

“I usually keep my distance from dark angels, but I’ve made an exception here tonight,” Father said. He dropped his arms from Claire’s body.

“I provide the stage but I don’t write the play, my new friends. It is your performance that makes it real. I give everyone a chance at redemption, just as the Underworld is a place to experience, um, the alternative.”

“We’ve accepted our fate, sir. We have no regrets,” Jonas spoke the words Audray was thinking.

“And then sometimes, a true miracle happens, surprises us all.” Father’s eyes lowered to Audray’s belly. “May I?” he asked as he extended his palm toward Audray’s stomach. She stepped to him and allowed him to place his hand on her there.

“Children are not my miracle, though I’d love to take credit for them. They are a true miracle, not one I created. Spontaneous. Perfect as life is perfect.”

“What’s to happen of us, Father?” Audray whispered. Jonas came up behind her, spooning his body against her backside, giving her the support her heart needed. He found her right hand and their fingers laced together. Whatever was going to be said, he was going to be there for her. Father removed his palm and crossed his arms, his face serious, with a small furrow to his brow.

“Is it your intention to raise this child in the human world?” he asked.

“In all honesty, I’d go wherever I must to raise this child. I want this child, Father,” Audray answered him. “Perhaps that’s not what you wanted to hear, but that is the truth, I think for both of us.” She turned and Jonas gave back a nod of agreement. “Will I live to carry this baby to term, and will I live afterwards?”

“You would give up your dark angel lives for this child?”

“In a heartbeat,” Audray answered him without hesitation, “As long as it won’t damage the baby. If I need to die to bring this new life forth, I will willingly do that. But Father, is there a chance we can be a family?”

“The war goes on, Audray. It is far from over. In fact, it will never be over. How will you stay safe?”

“Is anyone ever guaranteed safety? Living, either as a human or a dark angel, is risky,” Jonas inserted. “In the Underworld, there is no hope. Here, we have our love and with that comes a faith in a bright future. If you would allow such a thing,” he continued.

“Allow it?” Father winked at Jonas. “As a matter of fact, I can’t stop it!” He began to chuckle. “Give me your hands, children.”

Audray was having difficulty holding back the tears. Her chest was heaving, her lower lip quivered. She thought holding her breath would stop her tears, but when Jonas squeezed her other hand, she lost it. Audray glanced up at Claire and found that Claire too was crying. In fact, everyone was crying, even Doris. The sounds of sniffling even came from Josh’s direction. Father turned to him and smiled.

With Audray’s small hand sandwiched between Jonas and Father’s, she heard the words she would never forget.

“If it is human you desire, then it is human you both shall have. One special, limited lifetime to love, to raise your family, to pass on the faith you have in the human condition to others along your journey.”

Golden threads encircled their hands as Father removed his, and Audray felt for the first time as a human woman, the skin of her beloved Jonas. Their fingers entwined and she looked to his tear-streaked face and felt the miracle of a bright loving future.