Uprising (Alternate Earth Series, Book 2) (8 page)

“Hello, Sanvi,” Mason replies, presumably using Peyton’s angel name. Mason folds his arms over his chest, still managing to look dignified even in his ridiculous costume. “Though, I guess I should call you Peyton now.”

“Either is fine,” Peyton says with a tight-lipped grin. “Dillon’s set is about to end, and I’ll encourage her to blow out the candles on her cake. After that, you should be able to find a moment to catch her attention.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Mason asks, apparently of the same mind as me, and wanting to find a way to protect Dillon from her mother. “It’s not too late to call it off.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Peyton questions heatedly. “I’ve waited long enough for Dillon to see reason, and she refuses to. Maybe this will finally make her realize which parent loves her the most.”

“You’re completely insane if you think ripping her wings out will make her love you,” I tell her, unable to hide my true feelings about the situation.

Peyton studies me for a long moment before saying, “Until you’ve walked in my shoes, you should hold your holier-than-thou attitude to yourself.”

I’m about to retort when I feel Nina take hold of my arm.

“Don’t provoke her,” Nina whispers in my ear. “I’ve got things handled, Jess. Just play along.”

Got things handled?
I have no idea what Nina is talking about, but decided to bite my tongue so I’m not the reason Nina’s plan falls through.

The music in the room stops, signaling the end of Dillon’s performance. As the crowd cheers and begins to sing “Happy Birthday” to Dillon while she’s still on stage, Peyton turns away from us to walk over to her daughter.

“Be ready,” Peyton says to us over her shoulder as she walks away.

“I really don’t like her,” I tell Mason.

“You don’t have to,” he assures me. “Let’s just get through this night, and try to keep in mind we’re here to save Ava and Lucifer.”

“That’s the only reason I didn’t slap that smug expression off her face,” I growl.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this, Jess,” Nina tells me again. “I’ll be waiting outside for you to draw Dillon out.”

Before I get a chance to ask about her cryptic statements, I feel Nina brush past me. There are only two ways in or out of the ballroom: one set of doors lead further into the interior of the home we’re in, and a set of large French doors that seem to lead out to a courtyard at the back of the house. I notice one of the glass doors open briefly and close as an invisible Nina makes her way outside.

My attention is pulled back to the stage when I hear Peyton ask the crowd to encourage her daughter to blow out the candles on her cake and make her birthday wish. As Dillon’s friends start chanting ‘cake’, Dillon relents graciously and follows her mother off-stage. As she passes Logan, the two girls loop arms, showing how close their relationship truly is. I can’t imagine Logan being very receptive to Sophia’s pleas to join the resistance after Brand essentially clips the wings off her half-sister. And, to be honest, I can’t say I would blame her one bit. I know our situation is dire, and several thousand souls could be at stake, but it just doesn’t seem right to harm an innocent on our path to saving this world. One life shouldn’t be worth more than any other, and it feels like we are deciding fates as though we are God Himself. I feel sure He wouldn’t approve.

Dillon’s birthday cake is huge. It stands four feet tall from the surface of the table it’s set on. Dillon has to climb a small ladder beside the table to blow out the candles on top of it. Servants begin to cut the middle portion of the cake to hand out slices to the gathered guests. By chance, I notice Logan take her place in line to get a piece of cake.

“There’s your opening,” I tell Tristan. “And remember, don’t touch her. We still don’t know if the two of you share the same soul.”

“Don’t worry, Jess,” I hear Jered say. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t go ‘poof’.”

“Wish me luck,” Tristan says, looking a little nervous as he walks over to stand behind Logan in line.

It only takes him a few seconds to strike up a conversation with Sophia’s daughter. Logan doesn’t seem phased by Tristan’s appearance, but, after living her life among Watchers, I suppose one more good-looking man in her midst isn’t much of a change. I watch the two of them for a little while, confident Tristan will be given the chance to make his plea on Sophia’s behalf.

Now it’s time for Mason and me to do our job.

I look for Dillon, and notice she’s surrounded by a group of her friends who have decided to forgo a piece of cake in order to speak with the birthday girl. It feels like forever before she excuses herself from the group to play her part as hostess and speak with another group of people. As she’s walking toward the second cluster of friends, she briefly glances in our direction, finally gracing me with an opportunity to raise my mask so she can fully catch a glimpse of my face. When Dillon sees me, she stops abruptly in mid-stride, and stares at me in utter disbelief. I hastily lower my mask to hide it from view of the others in the room as Mason takes my hand and guides me toward the French doors leading to the outer courtyard.

Once we’re standing on the vacant terrace, we turn around and wait for Dillon to make her appearance. A part of me hopes she decides not to come out and pursue us. If she doesn’t, Peyton can’t blame us for her plan falling apart. However, whether or not Peyton would still help us is questionable, but at least we would have held up our end of the bargain, to an extent. Though, after meeting Peyton, my gut tells me that she wouldn’t feel honor-bound to help us.

Unfortunately, the subject becomes moot when Dillon walks out the back doors, and we’re forced to meet her face to face.

“What are you, a surprise gift?” Dillon asks, looking at us with excited eyes. Dillon looks me up and down, “Where’s your sword? I wouldn’t mind hanging it on my wall as a trophy after I hand the two of you over to Ravan.”

I admire her cockiness, in a way. She stands in front of us, completely unafraid, even though she’s outnumbered two to one. It makes me wonder even more how Peyton can justify ripping out her own daughter’s wings and changing her forever.

Before I can answer Dillon, I see her eyes widen in surprise just before she vanishes from our sight. Odds are, the look of surprise was from an invisible Nina taking hold of her before phasing Dillon away. Mason phases us to a sandy white beach where Brand is waiting for us. When we arrive, he looks perplexed.

“If you’re here,” Brand says, “where are Nina and Dillon? They should have arrived just before you.”

“We just saw Nina phase her,” Mason answers, also looking confused as both men look up and down the shoreline for any sign of Nina and Dillon.

Peyton phases in, looking the part of a distraught mother ready to do anything to save her child. When she spies us, minus Nina and her daughter, she asks, “Where is Dillon?”

“With Nina,” Brand replies. “Wherever that is.”

Just then, Nina phases into the space between Peyton and us, but Dillon isn’t with her.

“Nina,” Brand says, sounding like a father who is about to punish his child for going against his orders, “where is Dillon?”

“In a place only I know about,” Nina replies, looking at Brand and Peyton.

“This wasn’t part of the plan!” Peyton yells at Nina.

“I’m not following your stupid plan,” Nina replies, her tone void of any emotion. “I’ve devised one of my own to ensure your full cooperation in a timely manner, Peyton.”

Peyton looks at Brand accusingly. “Is this your doing? I thought we had a deal!”

“We do,” Brand replies, remaining calm, albeit confused, by the turn of events. “I told you I would follow through with your demands, and I am a man of my word.”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep your promise this time,” Nina says, looking at Brand determinedly.

“I gave her my word, Nina,” Brand replies. “I can’t back out on it now.”

“And you won’t have to,” Nina tells him. “I’m the one changing the rules here, not you. I can’t let you go through with what she wants you to do to her daughter, Brand. You’re a good man, and one of the few people I consider a friend. You helped me claw my way out of a dark time in my life, and I’m not about to stand by and let you lose a part of your soul because of Peyton’s selfishness. I lost my soul a long time ago, and I’m willing to lose the rest of it to save yours.”

“Where is my daughter?” Peyton screams at Nina, appearing ready to pounce on her fellow Watcher if she doesn’t get an answer right away.

Nina looks at Peyton with a cold, hard stare before saying, “Somewhere you’ve never been. If you ever want to see her again, I suggest you stop questioning me and help us rescue Ava.”

“And if I don’t help you?” Peyton asks, sounding as if she fully intends to back out of her part of the deal, since it’s obvious she isn’t going to get what she wants from us.

“Then you’ll never see your daughter again,” Nina says, with little to no emotion in her statement. “I’ll let her rot where she is by starving to death and cursing your name with her last dying breath. I’ll make sure she knows that her mother could have saved her life, but chose not to out of spite and pride.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Peyton says, not exactly sure of her own words.

“Do you really want to test me?” Nina asks in a voice that is unnervingly calm and even, considering the subject matter. “You know what I’m capable of, Peyton. I may not have given into my bloodlust like you did, but you know killing isn’t a problem for me. Can you honestly stand there and think that I won’t do what I just said? I can assure you that I’m not bluffing. You can test my resolve, but you’ll be the one who loses everything in the end.”

“You haven’t changed one bit, have you?” Peyton asks, the question sounding more like an accusation. “After you started working with Brand, I thought you abandoned your old ways, but it looks like you’re still the heartless little bitch you always were, Nina.”

“Takes one to know one,” Nina counters. “Now that we understand one another, I suggest you help us rescue Ava. And the fact that I have to use the life of your daughter to make you do the right thing should tell you something about yourself, Peyton.”

“And what’s that?”

“That your soul needs saving just as much as mine does,” Nina tells her. “Ava is one of your best friends, yet you tried to use her life to make us do something you don’t have the guts to follow through with yourself.”

“You don’t have a child. You can’t possibly understand my love for Dillon,” Peyton says condescendingly.

“I don’t think I want to understand a twisted love like that,” Nina tells her. “It’s no wonder Dillon chose Will over you. Your desperation to have her love you is like a sickness, Peyton. Who in their right mind would want to be around someone so pathetic?”

Peyton remains quiet, staring at Nina as if she wants to strangle her.

“What guarantee do I have that you’ll give Dillon back to me?” Peyton finally asks.

“You have my word,” Nina tells her. “You know I do what I say I will. If you help us, I’ll bring her back to you. If you don’t, you’ll never see her again. The choice is yours to make. I’ll keep my word either way.”

“You aren’t giving me any choice,” Peyton says in defeat. “Meet me back here in ten minutes. I suggest you all use the time to retrieve your weapons. Ravan has doubled the guards in the White House. You need to be ready to fight.”

Peyton phases away, leaving the rest of us standing on the shoreline. The gentle lapping of the ocean waves brings calm to what was a tense situation. Hesitantly, Nina looks at Brand as if she’s preparing herself for a rebuke from him.

“Thank you,” Brand finally says to her. They might have only been two words, but the weight of them held a great deal of meaning.

“You’re welcome,” Nina replies with a small nod of her head, acknowledging Brand’s gratitude for being spared a horrible ordeal.

I know nothing else will be said about what she did for him that night, because more words are unnecessary. Nina saved Brand from doing something he thought had to be done for the greater good, even if that meant losing a part of his soul in the trade. I don’t ask Nina if she would have actually let Dillon die if Peyton hadn’t agreed to help us. I’m not sure I really want to know the answer. All that matters is that Peyton believed she would. I have no idea what Nina has done in her past, but, whatever took place, Peyton believed that Nina was capable of allowing her daughter to starve to death. I’m grateful to Nina for what she did, but her actions have also made me more wary of her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Mason and I don’t have much time to talk about the events on the beach. As soon as he phases us to our room in the castle, we hastily change into our leather outfits and grab our weapons.

“Should I bring my pistol?” I ask him.

“Couldn’t hurt,” Mason says, hurriedly fastening the belt of his sword around his hips. “I’m not sure what we’ll be up against there.”

After I strap the plasma pistol to my thigh, Mason helps me put on my baldric. The weight of the sword on my back has become a comfort to me over the years. I feel protected by its presence, in much the same way I feel safe when Mason is with me.

For some reason, this thought makes me realize that, after our mission is complete on alternate Earth, we will be passing the reins of the Watcher Agency completely over to Malcolm. I know how much Mason wants to become human, and I know that without his angelic abilities, hunting down changelings and troublemaking rebellion angels will become near impossible for him. In a way, it makes me sad to be losing that part of our life together. But, then again, it provides us with an opportunity to explore a new dimension of the life we’ve built with our children. Now that I know a third child will bless our near future, I realize his childhood will be entirely different from Max and Brynlee’s. Mason and I will be able to spend more time with him during his early years. I don’t feel as though we’ve neglected our kids, but there were times I felt like I should have given them more of myself. He’ll also be granted the added benefit of not having to hear me scream every night. That in itself should add to his mental well-being.

“How much time do we have?” I ask, knowing that, as a Watcher, Mason has an internal clock that is exact to the second.

“Two minutes,” he tells me as I walk up to him.

“Then hold me for those two minutes,” I request.

Mason welcomes me with open arms and enfolds me in not only the warmth of his body but also his love.

“Do you remember those weeks we spent together after we closed the Tear?” I ask Mason.

“You mean the days I acted as your willing sex slave? Yes, I remember them very fondly,” Mason replies, a smile in his voice.

“Maybe after we go back home, we can take a couple of days and revisit that time,” I suggest. “We can have one last sexcapade through all the homes you own around the world before you lose the ability to phase.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan,” Mason replies, planting a kiss on the top of my head as I continue to snuggle up against him. “Maybe we can even make baby number three.”

I sigh. “I can’t believe we haven’t made love in two weeks. I don’t think we’ve ever gone that long.”

“Please say that we won’t ever have to endure that again,” Mason practically begs. “It’s unnatural for us.”

I can’t help but giggle at my husband. I lean back and look up at Mason, to find him smiling down at me.

“Can you promise me something?” I ask him.

“Anything.”

“Promise me that we’ll never lose this feeling.”

Mason pulls me tightly against him. “I promise we’ll never lose this feeling, but why do you feel the need for me to say that?”

“I know some couples lose the butterflies after being together for a long time. I never want to look at you and only see a friend. I always want to look at you and see my lover, too.”

Mason pulls back slightly and places his hands on my face, tilting my head up just a little bit to make sure I’m looking into his eyes.

“I will always make you feel like the sexiest woman in the room because, when you look into my eyes, you’ll know without a doubt that’s exactly what I’m thinking. Our souls are linked, Jess. Nothing will ever break that bond. Every year that passes, I somehow find that I love you even more than the year before. I don’t know why or how, but I do. I love the life we’ve built together, and I thank my father every day for bringing you into my world at a time when I was on the verge of giving up. You are the rock my life is built on, Jess. I will always love you, I will always desire you, and I will always make sure you know that.”

“How long do we have before we have to leave?” I ask, wrapping my arms around my husband’s neck.

“Thirty seconds.”

“Then let’s make the most of those seconds,” I propose.

Mason isn’t gentle with his kiss. He’s demanding, and exactly the way I want him to be in the few precious seconds we have left. I hear myself whimper softly, not because the crush of his lips against mine is too hard, but because I know we don’t have time to take our passion for one another to the next level. I feel an urgent need to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

Mason pulls his lips away from mine and murmurs, “Five.”

He gently kisses my bruised lips, whispering, “Four.”

I run my fingers through his hair, gaining pleasure from its silky texture. “Three.”

Mason reaches up and pulls my arms from around his neck, lacing his fingers with mine as we stand slightly apart. “Two.”

I sigh in disappointment because I know our time is up. “One.”

Mason phases us back to the beach just as everyone else phases in, too. Standing beside Nina, prepared for battle, is Malcolm.

When I look at him questioningly, he replies, “What? Did you think I would let you go rescue Lucifer without me being there? You haven’t seen him since you got here, Jess. For all we know, he could be helping them instead of being their prisoner like we were told.”

“Oh, he’s their prisoner,” Peyton tells us unequivocally, absently adjusting what looks like a thin white dress draped over her left arm. “Trust me.”

“Excuse me for being blunt,” Malcolm tells her, “but you’re the last person in this world I would trust right now. Any mother who would disfigure her daughter for her own needs is lower than the lowest bottom-feeder, in my book. You’re another reason I decided to join this little rescue party. I certainly don’t trust you with the lives of my friends, Sanvi. Maybe if you had performed the job you were given by our father, this world wouldn’t have to deal with Ravan running around in it.”

Peyton scowls at Malcolm, but makes no comment.

“What are you talking about?” I ask Malcolm.

“God sent three angels to find Lilith and bring her back to the Garden of Eden after she left Adam. Sanvi,” Malcolm says, nodding towards Peyton as he addresses her by her angel name, “was one of them.”

“I wasn’t the only one who failed in that mission,” Peyton declares self-righteously. “Sansanvi and Semangelaf were also sent.”

“Are they here on this Earth, too?” I ask.

“Ava is Semangelaf,” Malcolm tells me, “but I haven’t seen Sansanvi.”

“As far as I know, Sansanvi isn’t on our Earth,” Brand informs us.

“Wait,” I say. “Has Ava known all this time that Ravan is Lilith?”

“No,” Peyton tells me. “She doesn’t know. I didn’t know until a couple of weeks ago. Lucian decided to tell us after he learned Ravan told you her true identity. He wasn’t very happy with her for doing that. He hit her so hard when he found out, I thought he was going to kill her.”

The last time I saw Ravan was at the news conference when she asked the world to help her find Gabriel. I remember noticing that her left eye was swollen and that her bottom lip had been split open. Considering what Peyton just told us, those injuries were more than likely the result of Lucian’s displeasure with Ravan for not keeping her mouth shut and bragging to me.

“Anyway,” Peyton says, sounding bored by the turn of the conversation. “Why don’t we concentrate on rescuing Ava and your Lucifer? Apparently, that’s the price I have to pay if I ever want to see my daughter again. I would like to get this done as quickly as possible.”

“What type of resistance should we expect there?” I ask Peyton.

“I can’t be certain,” she replies, “but Ravan took me down to the room not long after Micah brought Ava to the White House. After they confirmed that she was leaking information to the resistance, Lucian ordered Micah to kill her, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do it. I suppose, in his way, he still loves her. Instead of killing her himself, Micah talked Lucian into making an example of Ava so others would understand the price of betraying him. The last time I was there, Ravan had guards set up at each vault door. I can only assume it’s still that way.”

“Since you’ll be the one opening the doors for us,” I say, “won’t there be a record of you helping us?”

“Yes,” Peyton says, her eyes narrowing into slits as she looks pointedly at Nina. “I was willing to completely sever my ties with all my friends, as long as I had my daughter with me. But I guess I won’t be able to have my happily ever after. I’ll have to live my life in solitude on my island, and pray Lucian never finds me.”

Nina remains quiet. There’s really no reason for her to make a response. She did what she had to do. Peyton would just have to live with her disappointment.

“Should we phase there invisible?” I ask.

“If you have the capability of doing that,” Peyton replies, “I might be able to take us all the way in without having to fight our way to the elevator. However, we’ll have to fight our way back out. That whole wing of the White House is basically one large graviton cage. We won’t be able to phase somewhere safe until we’ve made our way out of the first vault door again.”

“I suppose that’s good, in a way,” Malcolm says. “At least we won’t have to worry about more of them phasing in on top of us unexpectedly.”

“It’s one plus,” Peyton agrees, not sounding overly-enthusiastic about our small advantage. “Also, thermal sensors don’t work down there. The energy given off by the graviton cage interferes with their readings, so they won’t be able to see through your invisibility.”

“Jess,” Brand says, stretching his right arm towards me to hand me a silver cylinder that is about five inches long, “use this on your Lucifer when we get there.”

“What is it?” I ask, taking the cylinder from him and staring at it.

“Pop off the cap to expose the needle. There’s a sedative in the canister that will knock him out until we’re ready to put him inside our graviton cage. As soon as we’re all able to phase, take your Lucifer to the safe house we took you to in New York. Wait there to make sure no one is following before you go back to the castle.”

“Good thinking,” I say, tucking the cylinder into my belt for safekeeping.

“If everyone is ready, I suggest you all become invisible and gather around me so I can phase us,” Peyton says. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

We all turn invisible and surround Peyton as she continues to stand in a normal stance. I place my hand on the arm with the dress over it while everyone else finds an appropriate place to touch her.

“What’s the dress for?” I ask.

“My excuse for going to see Ava,” Peyton replies.

“We’re ready,” Brand informs her.

Peyton doesn’t waste any time, and phases us all to the White House. Once we’re there, we let go of Peyton. She’s phased us into a hallway that looks normal enough. We’re standing in front of the first of three vault doors Peyton will have to open for us. I notice the same sort of security panel that Wayne installed inside our graviton cage housed in the wall beside the vault door. Thankfully, there are only two guards standing on either side of this particular door, giving me hope that Ravan has reduced her security in this section of the White House.

The female guard looks Peyton up and down, with undisguised suspicion.

“Can we help you, Peyton?” the guard asks brusquely.

“I’ve been asked to dress Ava for the ceremony,” Peyton lies convincingly.

“We weren’t informed that you would be coming down here tonight,” the female guard says.

“Do you honestly think Lucian would waste his time notifying you about such a trivial matter?” Peyton scoffs. “He told me to handle it for him and to dress Ava all in white. I guess he wants to make sure her blood has a good backdrop. You know how dramatic he likes to be sometimes.”

“Sounds like something he would want,” the guard agrees. “Proceed.”

Peyton steps up to the security panel. It scans her and asks her to say her name. We hear the bolts of the door slide back just before it opens to let us pass through. On the other side, we encounter another hallway leading to another vault door. This hallway is stark, and covered with a black material I instantly recognize. The polymer Wayne designed to prevent angels from escaping the graviton cage covers every inch of the space.

Two guards each stand on either side of the second vault door we need to pass through. Peyton isn’t even asked why she’s there. Since the first set of guards allowed her entry, these guards don’t seem to care about the reason behind her unannounced visit.

After we pass through the second door, we’re met by yet another long hallway. Down by the third and final vault door we need to pass through, I set eyes on something that I wasn’t prepared to see. Unsurprisingly, the last door is also protected by four guards. However, in addition to the guards, there are a lion and a grizzly bear protecting the final obstacle on our way to the elevator.

“Well,” Peyton says, looking pointedly at the animals, “that’s new.”

“
Are those fairies in their animal form?
” I ask Michael, since I can’t actually voice my question aloud to the others.