CHAPTER 4
Ethan phases us directly onto the sidewalk in front of Grace House. It’s still early in the morning, and the street is virtually empty in front of my mother’s nightclub. I know around five in the afternoon that won’t be the case. People will begin to line up just for the chance to enter her establishment. Being granted entry into Grace House is a difficult thing to accomplish for those among the general population, but if you can manage an invitation inside by the guards, your social standing can take a giant leap forward in the city of Arcas. As a teenager, I never quite knew if my friends liked me or the fact that I could get them inside the city’s most exclusive nightclub. I suppose since none of those people are still my friends, I can assume it was the latter reason.
“My apartment is a couple of blocks up the street by the city park,” I tell Ethan as I begin to take off the jacket I was wearing. In the mountains last night, it was chilly, but now that we’re in the valley where Arcas was built, the summer humidity is starting to make me sweat. I wrap the thin black jacket around my hips and tie the sleeves together at the front of my waist.
As Ethan and I walk down the sidewalk together, I notice him giving me the occasional sideways glance as if he wants to ask me something but isn’t sure if he should or not. I almost stop and ask him what his problem is, but I think better of doing that. Considering our track record with each other so far, we would probably end up fighting over something stupid. I don’t feel like fighting or having to defend myself. All I want to do is help him find Helena and earn the rest of the bounty.
I didn’t realize the gold bars being offered up as a reward for Helena’s capture were part of Emperor Malcolm’s personal wealth. I just assumed the gold was a portion of the riches Cirrus had accumulated over the years from the enslavement of their down-worlders.
“How is it that Malcolm is so wealthy?” I ask Ethan. It seems like an innocuous topic that shouldn’t cause us to get into an argument.
“He’s lived a long time on Earth, and he was sensible enough to save his wealth as gold instead of regular currency. Gold is a universal commodity. There are very few planets that won’t exchange it for legal tender.”
“That was pretty smart,” I say, finding myself respecting Anna’s husband even more. “A lot of people would have just squandered wealth like that. Since he’s willing to part with it so easily, I assume he probably has a lot more than just a hundred gold bars stashed away.”
“You seem awfully curious about how much money he has. Why?” Ethan asks, sounding as if my curiosity means I have some nefarious reason for broaching the subject.
“Geesh, I was just trying to make small talk with you,” I say defensively. “Why do you keep taking everything I say the wrong way? I’m not a criminal, you know.”
“And yet you basically extorted fifty gold bars from a man who is only trying to save the life of a child.”
Ouch. Now I can see why Ethan looks at me like I just crawled out from underneath a rock. He sees me as a coldhearted, money-grubbing mongrel.
“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling as if I need to explain my side of this situation. “I wasn’t even thinking about it like that. All I’m trying to do is the job I’ve been hired for. That’s all this is to me: a job.”
Ethan sighs, and I can see his shoulders begin to relax some from their usual uptightness.
“I realize that,” he admits. “It was my idea to put a bounty on Helena’s head. I guess I shouldn’t feel resentful for you wanting to collect it. I think I’m just exhausted from looking for her for so long and worried that we won’t find her in time to save the baby. From what you witnessed last night, it sounds like she’s close to giving birth. I honestly thought we would have found her before now.”
“Do you really believe she might kill her own son if she touches him after he’s born?”
“I honestly don’t know,” he says with a weary shake of his head, “but I can’t take the chance that she might. I don’t think I would be able to look Cade in the eyes again if I let her kill his son. I can’t fail him. I refuse to fail him a second time.”
The fierce determination behind Ethan’s words makes me feel guilty for making a profit off this misadventure. But if it wasn’t me earning the bounty, it would be someone else who might not be as scrupulous.
“I hope you realize that what happened to Cade wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Not even Helena’s, even though you seem fixated on placing the blame squarely on her shoulders.”
“I suppose it’s easier for me to view her as the enemy in case I need to take the baby away from her by force. If I start to humanize her, I might not be able to do what needs to be done in the end.”
“Do you genuinely believe you’ll be able to do what you said?” I ask as an imaginary movie of Ethan slicing Helena’s head off and ripping open her belly to get the baby out plays inside my head. The gruesome details of such a violent act make me shiver slightly in total revulsion. I just pray that if a showdown between Ethan and Helena does take place, I’m nowhere near when it happens.
“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect Cade’s son,” Ethan replies ominously, leaving no doubt in my mind that he will follow through with his plan if Helena leaves him no other option.
“Remind me never to piss you off,” I say, meaning my words wholeheartedly.
Oddly enough, this earns me a small smile from the rock-hard War Angel.
“Oh wow,” I say in amazement as I openly gawk at him, “you do have teeth! I wasn’t too sure since all I’ve seen you do is scowl at me.”
“I don’t normally smile a lot,” he confesses. “It doesn’t exactly promote an aura of authority to others.”
“Yes, but a smile can open a lot of doors if you use it at the right moment and on the right people.”
“And has your smile opened a lot of doors for you?”
“Bunches,” I say with a toothy grin to punctuate my point.
“How did someone like you choose to become a bounty hunter?” he asks, sounding mystified by my chosen profession.
“I used to be a police detective here in Arcas,” I tell him. “After my husband died, I left the force and picked up work hunting down some bail jumpers for a buddy of mine who’s still a cop. Since then, I’ve become the go-to bounty hunter for the Arcas police force. They come to me if they need some help because they know I’ll always get the job done.”
“Do you always work alone?”
“Yes,” I reply and leave it at that.
“That seems a bit lonely.”
“You’re just used to working with your men,” I reason. “It’s all you know.”
“True,” he agrees. “We’ve always worked together.”
“So why didn’t you bring any of them along with you this time? It seems like it would be easier to compel Helena to do what you want if you present a show of force when you confront her.”
“Some of my brothers aren’t quite as levelheaded as I am.”
I have to laugh at that one. “If you’re the calmest one of the bunch, then I say you’ve made a wise decision to leave the others behind.” Before Ethan can make a reply, I announce, “We’re here.”
I walk up the three steps to the glass door at the front of my apartment complex. I place my hand against the biometric reader on the panel next to the entrance. Once it recognizes me, the locks on the door disengage and it slides open to allow us entry. Ethan follows me to the elevator located directly opposite the door. Once we get in, I push the button for the seventh floor, which is the top floor of my building.
As we’re riding up in the elevator, I notice Ethan look over at me again as if he wants to ask me a question.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” I ask him point blank. “You’re starting to creep me out a little.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean to.”
“You keep looking at me like you want to ask me a question. Spit it out already and get it over with.”
“I’ll stop looking at you,” he promises, turning his head away and staring at the closed elevator doors instead.
“Well, that’s not any better,” I say in slight exasperation. “Why don’t you just ask me your question?”
Ethan doesn’t turn his head. He just gives me a sideways glance out of the corners of his eyes.
“I will after I have a better understanding about something,” he says cryptically. “Until that time, I would rather not.”
I let out an involuntary huff of irritation but decide to let the matter drop for now. Whatever he wants to ask can’t be all that important in the grand scheme of things.
I feel relieved when the elevator doors open and we both step out. I turn to my right and begin to walk down the hallway toward my apartment. If my mind wasn’t so preoccupied with Ethan’s odd behavior, I probably would have noticed the unusual state of my front door before we reached it.
“I assume you don’t usually leave your door slightly ajar,” Ethan says, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword as a precaution.
“No,” I say, looking over at the fingerprint keyless entry and finding the screen smashed in. “Someone broke in.”
Cautiously, I open the door only to find the interior of my apartment in shambles.
I vaguely notice Ethan tighten his grip around his sword as he follows me across the threshold. Almost everything in my apartment has been overturned. The cushions from the couch and chairs in the living room have been tossed haphazardly onto the floor. My coffee table is upside down. The table and chairs of the small dinette next to the kitchen area are all on their sides. It’s a mess, but strangely, I don’t see anything permanently damaged.
“Are any of your belongings missing?” Ethan asks, as he takes in the carnage of what used to be a tidy home.
I quickly scan the area but don’t notice anything missing. Items are simply not where they should be.
“Not that I can tell,” I reply as I step farther into my apartment. “I don’t own a lot of expensive things. There really wasn’t anything of much value here except …”
I make a mad dash into my bedroom where a similar mess was left behind by my intruder. I run over to my closet and have to step over the clothes that were left in a pile in front of it to grab a red shoe box that’s thankfully still sitting where I left it on the top shelf. I pull it down into my arms and lift the lid.
“Damn it!” I yell in frustration, throwing the empty box onto the floor with everything else that was once in my closet.
“What’s missing?” Ethan asks, but I can tell from his knowing tone that he’s already deduced what’s been stolen. He just needs me to confirm it.
“The tracking device,” I tell him. “The only thing of any value in here.”
“Who else knew it was in your apartment?” he asks. “I assume you wouldn’t have told a lot of people about it.”
I begin to shake my head as I realize exactly who stole it.
“Only Uncle Enis and my mom knew anything about it,” I say, just as I sniff something in the air that answers which of the two culprits it was who took the tracker. “My mother has it. I can still smell her perfume.”
“Why would Evelyn take it?” Ethan asks. “Do you think she’s trying to cheat you out of the bounty?”
I look at Ethan like he’s lost his mind.
“Of course I don’t think that,” I say, appalled by his suggestion. “Are you always this suspicious of people, or just my family?”
“She’s a rebellion angel,” Ethan states like that should be enough of a reason to not put much faith in my mother’s moral character.
“Look, I understand that War Angels were made by God to win the war in Heaven and that you’re probably still hardwired to distrust any and all rebellion angels. But you need to realize that my mother and uncle aren’t like that anymore. They’re not your enemies now.”
“Then your mother has an odd way of showing it. She just stole the one thing we need in order to find Helena,” he points out.
“She didn’t do it to prevent you from finding her.” I sigh. “She did it to prevent me from getting hurt. I know my mother. Keeping me safe is all she cares about.”
“Then how do you suggest we get the tracker back? For all we know, she might have already destroyed it to make sure you can’t use it.”
“No, I don’t think she would have destroyed it,” I say, knowing exactly what my mother is doing with it. “Can you phase us inside Grace House?”
Ethan nods and walks over to take hold of my arm again. He phases us directly onto the dancefloor.
I can’t prevent myself from saying, “Now I know you angels can only phase to places that you’ve been to before. Does this mean you’ve come to the nightclub and danced here? Because I would have paid good money to witness that happen.”
Ethan lets out a half laugh. “No. I have most certainly not danced here. I had Xander bring me here once, so that I could phase to this planet if I ever needed to.”
“Ah Xander,” I say, making my way across the dancefloor to the kitchen area. “From what I hear and from what I’ve seen personally, he has a serious drinking problem.”
“He’s trying to work through it,” Ethan says in a voice that doesn’t sound too confident his fellow angel is going about his rehabilitation in the correct way.
“You realize that if he truly wants to kick the habit, he’ll actually have to stop drinking alcohol one day.”
“I’m fully aware of that fact, but until he decides to do that for himself, there isn’t much I can do to force him to change. I thought you of all people would have more sympathy for his predicament.”
“Me?” I ask as I stop in front of the swinging door to the kitchen to look back at Ethan. “Why would you think I’m addicted to alcohol?”
“I was told you get drunk on a regular basis,” he answers, looking confused. “Was I misinformed?”
“Oh, no, I drink a lot, but I’m not addicted. To be honest, I hate the taste of alcohol. I just like the way it makes me forget things for a while.”
“Aren’t there various drugs you could use instead that would produce the same effect?”
“Sure, but I might become addicted to those. The way I see it, if I use something I hate, there’s no way I’ll become hooked on it.”
“That’s very odd logic,” Ethan replies, looking confused.
I shrug. “It’s worked for me so far. I don’t see any reason to go changing my strategy now.”
I push the door to the kitchen open and step inside with Ethan following close behind me.
We find my uncle sitting at the counter I ate my breakfast at just a little while ago. He’s watching a cartoon on the tablet in his hand and laughing at something on the screen. When he sees us walk in, he greets me with his usual affable smile.
“Don’t smile at me like that,” I say sternly. “Where’s Mom? And don’t tell me she’s at some meeting with an alcohol supplier, because I was just at my apartment.”
Uncle Enis’ smile slips from his face. “Oh, figured that small lie out already, have you?”
“What is she thinking?” I ask, unable to hide my frustration.
“She’s thinking that she’s saving your life, Jules,” he answers. “You don’t know what Helena is capable of doing to you. She could end your life on a whim just for looking at her funny. What do you think she’s going to do when she learns you’re helping her enemies hunt her down? I can tell you one thing: it won’t be pretty.”
“I won’t let Helena touch her,” Ethan tells Uncle Enis.
The conviction with which he said his words takes me by surprise. He didn’t say it like a random promise. It sounded more like a solemn oath.
Uncle Enis begins to shake his head. “You can’t make a promise like that, Ethan. Do you know how powerful Helena is right now? Do you even know what she’s done?”
“What she’s done?” Ethan asks, sounding confused. “Do you mean since killing Cade?”
“She has become a destroyer of worlds,” he tells Ethan. For the first time in my life, I see fear in my uncle’s eyes. “I don’t know what killing Cade did to her exactly, but I do know that she’s gone nuclear on at least one planet that I know of, more than likely more. I can’t be sure. All I know is what I heard secondhand.”
“Heard from who exactly?” Ethan asks.
“A fellow rebellion angel who used to live on the planet she destroyed. He said he felt her presence the moment she arrived on his world. In fact, it was the very same day she killed Cade. David told me that he had never felt darkness like that before, and that’s saying a lot considering the fact we used to work for Lucifer. He said that it was so strong he was able to pinpoint her exact location on his planet. When he phased to where she was, he found her floating over a dune in the desert within a sphere of what he thought was pure energy at first. As he continued to watch her sob inside it, he slowly realized it was a ball formed from her own tears. Over a short period of time, the power emanating from Helena’s grief became so strong it started to produce shockwaves that made it impossible for him to keep standing. Eventually, the shockwaves grew in intensity and frequency until there was a final flash of bright white light. Apparently, it was the release all of the energy Helena had produced within the ball. David wasn’t able to phase away quickly enough and lost the body he was inhabiting at the time, but it wasn’t strong enough to kill him in angelic form. He wasn’t sure how long he had been knocked unconscious, but when he came to, there wasn’t a living thing—human, plant, or animal—left on the world. All he could find was scorched earth. Everything else had been turned to ash.”
“Why didn’t you tell Roan this story after you heard it?” Ethan asks, sounding suspicious of the tale since it’s only being retold now when we’re so close to finding Helena.
“We never thought she would slip up and do something stupid—like going back to the cabin—that would let you find her.”
“You should have at least told me,” I say. “You and Mom have never kept secrets from me before. Why not tell me this? You knew I was looking for her.”
“We wanted to, but we weren’t sure you were in the right state of mind to know how easily Helena can kill.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Ethan asks, looking between Uncle Enis and me curiously.
Neither of us make a reply. Uncle Enis simply looks at me since it’s my secret to tell, but for some reason I don’t want Ethan to know about my death wish. I’m not even sure I really want to die. If I did, I could have ended my life a dozen different ways by now, but I chose to drink my problems into oblivion.
“Nothing,” I reply, keeping my gaze fixed on Uncle Enis. I fear if I look into Ethan’s eyes, I might say more than he needs to know, and right now, he doesn’t need to know anything about my personal demons. “Where’s Mom, Uncle Enis? We need the tracking device to help us look for Helena.”
“I think I know where she is,” Ethan says, eyeing something over to his right where the large industrial-size refrigerator stands.
I know she isn’t hiding in it, so I ask, “Can you see her phase trail?”
“I see a phase trail.” Ethan looks back at my uncle. “I assume it belongs to Evelyn?”
Uncle Enis just nods his head reluctantly. “You’ll go through it anyway. There’s no reason for me to lie about it.”
I hate seeing my uncle look so crestfallen. All he and my mother were trying to do was protect me. I can’t fault them for caring so much about my safety. I walk over to my uncle and wrap my arms around his shoulders.
“I’ll be careful,” I whisper to him. “I promise.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tight.
“You better, Jules. Otherwise your mother will never let me hear the end of it.”
I laugh and lean back to give him a peck on the cheek.
“I’ll be home for supper,” I tell him.
“I’ll be waiting.”
I walk over to Ethan, who takes hold of my arm again before he follows my mother’s phase trail to a whole new world.