“Maybe we should just kidnap her,” Wayne suggested as he, Darla, and Glory walked into the county courthouse. It was late, and they’d had to be let in by a security guard.

“Maybe you should say that a little louder, Wayne. I don’t think the security guard heard you,” Glory said dryly.

Darla was trying to keep her emotions in check, but she kept thinking about the phone call she’d gotten from the police officer who’d told them to come there. Her name was Dee Freeman, she was from Pine Bluff, and it was in regard to Emma Whitmore.

Darla could only assume something terrible had happened to Emma. Maybe the police officer had found their information in the DHS files and, seeing as there was no one else to notify, she called them.

She didn’t want to consider what could have happened to the precious little girl who had become a part of their family. She didn’t want to consider what she was capable of if she ever found out who it was who hurt her. Most of all, she didn’t want to consider not having Emma with them and getting to be a part of her life as she grew up into the remarkable young woman Darla knew she was destined to be.

They’d only made it halfway down the main entrance when a door labeled Department of Human Services opened and out walked a woman in a police uniform.

“Officer Freeman?” Darla said.

“Yes, ma’am. And you must be Darla.” She held out her hand and Darla shook it. “And you must be Wayne.” Officer Freeman released Darla’s hand and shook the one Wayne offered her.

“I’m Glory,” Serenity’s longtime friend said with a small wave. Darla knew that Glory had come along simply because she didn’t want to stay in the hospital room with Dair, who seemed to be a ticking time bomb. She knew Serenity was as safe as she could be with him. Glory also didn’t want to go home, and Darla couldn’t fault her for that. She’d had to grow up much too fast, helping care for her ill mother. Not that she didn’t love her mom, Darla didn’t doubt that, but Glory needed a chance to be her own person, to have a life other than helping her dad take care of her mom.

“I’m sorry that it’s so late,” Officer Freeman said. “But I didn’t think this was something that needed to wait until morning.”

“What exactly is it that couldn’t wait?” The words had barely made it out of Darla’s mouth when the door opened again and out walked Emma Whitmore.

Darla’s mouth dropped open at the same time she dropped to her knees and held her arms open. That seemed to be all the invitation Emma needed. She ran into them and wrapped her small arms around Darla’s neck.

Tears streamed down her face as she clutched Emma close. “We’ve missed you so much,” Darla said, her voice strained with heavy emotion.

“I missed y’all too,” Emma said. She pulled back from Darla and turned to Wayne. He lowered himself so he could hug her, and she smiled as she squeezed his neck.

“Let me get in on some of this hugging action now,” Glory said as she tugged Emma’s arm.

Emma laughed and turned, returning Glory’s hug.

Darla stood and wiped away the tears as best she could. She held out her hand to Emma, who took it immediately. “What does this mean?” Darla asked the officer.

“We found Mr. Jones’ home posed an immediate threat to Emma’s safety. After speaking with her, and hearing her story from the beginning, I decided to take things into my own hands. I bypassed DHS and went straight to the judge who makes the decisions in child protective cases. He also happens to be my father.”

Darla’s mouth formed an O shape as she took in Dee Freeman’s words.

“He’s granted you and Wayne temporary custody until DHS can come in and start doing the interview and evaluation process for permanent adoption, which is what I’m gathering you want?”

“Absolutely.”

“Yes.”

Wayne and Darla spoke at the same time, making Officer Freeman smile.

“Good. I need to get fingerprints on both of you before you leave in order to do a background check. And also, Mrs. Darla, I need to speak with you in private. Emma has given me permission.”

Darla nodded and looked down at Emma, who smiled up at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

When the fingerprints were done, Dee walked over to Emma and knelt down. “You have my number and my daddy’s number in your bag, alright? You call if you need anything, or you can have Darla or Wayne call. Remember what we talked about?”

Emma nodded. “I remember.”

Dee pulled her into a hug. “Good. I have a feeling you’re going to do great things in your life, Emma Jean Whitmore. Well, more great things, I should say.” Dee watched her as Wayne took her hand. He, Glory, and Emma headed for the door.

Darla turned to Dee, and she felt the worry rise inside of her again. “Am I going to want to kill someone after you tell me whatever it is you’re about to tell me?” Darla asked, and there wasn’t a hint of facetiousness in her tone.

“Probably. But you need to remember that Emma needs you, and Mr. Jones is already behind bars.”

Darla clenched her jaw before finally saying, “Fair enough. Tell me what happened.”

* * *

Emma was still in shock that she was back in Yellville. Even after the long drive across the state, she had yet to come to terms that it was really happening. Part of her still thought she was going to wake up in her little closet and find it had all been a dream. Raphael had told her multiple times that it wasn’t. Sometimes she swore he could read her mind.

He wasn’t there now to reassure her because she’d asked him to go to the hospital and check on Dair and Serenity. She knew he was as worried as she was, and she also knew she was safe with Darla and Wayne. Raphael hadn’t put up much of an argument, which made it clear to her just how worried he was.

“We’ve been trying to get you back,” Wayne said, breaking the silence. “I want you to know that.”

She looked up at him. “I do. Didn’t doubt it for a second.”

“Good,” he said.

Glory was looking at her, but Emma couldn’t read the look on her face. “Serenity,” she began, and then Emma understood.

“I know,” Emma told her quickly. “Raphael kept in touch with Dair. He told me.”

“The angel?” Glory asked.

Emma nodded.

“Is he here now?” Glory asked, looking around warily.

Emma laughed. “He’s not a creeper.” And then shook her head. “He’s gone to the hospital to check on Dair and Serenity.

“Will he be able to help her?”

Emma wished she could say yes, but she knew better. Angels had rules. They couldn’t just do whatever they wanted, no matter how badly they might want to. “I don’t know.”

A few minutes later, they watched Darla descend the stairs from the courthouse. A big smile was plastered on her face, but Emma saw past it to the pain in her eyes. She knew what Dee had told her. She knew that it would hurt Darla, but Dee was right when she said they needed to know.

When Darla reached them, she hugged Emma long and hard and then stepped back. “You okay?”

“Right now, yes. I am okay.”

“Alright then,” Darla said, her head bobbing forward in a nod and her mouth set in a determined line. “That’ll do for now. What do you know about Serenity? Did they tell you what’s going on?”

“Actually, Raphael’s kept me up to date. He’s told me what Dair had told him. Is she still unconscious?”

“She is. Dair hasn’t left her side.” She looked contemplative for a moment, but seemed to shake it off. “I know you’d probably like to see her, but it’s late, and I think rest is something we all need. If Raphael and Dair are with her, then she’s as safe as she can be. And none of us are going to be any good to Serenity if we’re dead on our feet.”

“Home it is,” Wayne said as he opened first the passenger front door and then the back one.

They all climbed in, Darla and Emma in the back, and Glory and Wayne up front. Emma reached over and took Darla’s hand. For the first time in weeks, she finally felt safe. “Thank you,” she said.

Darla’s brow drew low. “Why on earth are you thanking us? We are the ones that have been blessed, Emma. If I could give you anything in the world, I’d give you your parents back, whole and healthy, because nothing can replace them. But I can’t do that. What I can give you, what Wayne, Serenity, Glory, and even Dair and Raphael can give you, is a home where you are loved, safe, and taken care of. And hopefully a bit of happiness too.”

“And green stuff?” Emma asked, referring to the popular dessert Darla made that everyone fought over.

Everyone laughed. “Yes, lots and lots of green stuff.”

“My mama used to say, ‘Emma Jean, in life you will meet all kinds of people. Some will love you, some will hurt you, some will be indifferent to you, some will use you. But you remember that the only person you can control is you. How you respond to those people is all up to you. You can let them love you, let them hurt you, let them be indifferent to you, or let them use you. Or not. Don’t ever let someone think they can take that choice from you.’” Emma paused and took a deep breath. “I’ve met all those kinds of people, and they’ve done all those things. But I would meet them all again and go through all those experiences if it meant I’d end up back here with all of you.”

* * *

Raphael stood in the dark corner of the hospital room and watched as Dair brushed Serenity’s hair. The strokes were done with such tenderness and love that he felt his own heart aching for them.

“I know you are there,” Dair said quietly, not taking his eyes off Serenity. “Why aren’t you with Emma?”

“Emma is home, where she belongs,” Raphael told him. “That is why Darla, Wayne, and Glory left.”

Dair stiffened and looked over his shoulder. He had dark circles under his eyes, and no whites were visible.

“You didn’t even know they had left, did you?” Raphael asked, though he already knew the answer. “It’s dangerous to be that distracted.”

“She isn’t a distraction.” He growled. “She is my heart. She is my breath. She is mine. Serenity is a lot of things, Raphael, but never a distraction.”

“I meant no disrespect. I’m simply reminding you that you don’t exactly have the luxury of forgetting your surroundings, Brudair.” Raphael took a step toward the bed, and the closer he got to Dair the more he realized just how bad a shape the dream weaver was in. “What’s happened to you, Sandman?” he asked.

A single tear slid from his eye. “I can’t reach her. She’s trapped in a nightmare, and I can’t reach her. It has to be Lucifer. Only he could be this powerful, and he’s taken a personal interest in her.”

Raphael moved closer to the bed until he was standing opposite Dair. “May I?” he asked as he reached out his hand toward Serenity’s forehead.

Dair gave a single nod.

He laid his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. Raphael allowed the cloak he wore that blanketed his power to fall away. He let the light that lived inside of him, bestowed upon him by the Creator, enter Serenity. He immediately felt the presence of evil. He forced himself to keep his hand on her as he tried to see past the darkness that seemed to have wrapped itself around her mind.

“Serenity,” Raphael projected his words into her mind, hoping he could get her to answer him back. He waited and then forced more light into her mind. He felt the evil flinch away, but only for a second, and then it pushed back. “Serenity, I need you to listen to my voice. Answer me.” Still, he heard nothing, but this time he could feel her spirit pushing against the evil that was keeping her mind trapped. “That’s it, Sarah Serenity, fight back. See through the lies with which the enemy is attempting to deceive you. Think about the things you know to be true. Think about the Creator who loves you, your family who is here. They need you to come back to them. Think about Dair. He is breaking over this. You have to fight. You cannot give up.”

“I can’t.” He heard her voice, weak and frightened. “I’m not good, Raphael. I’m not able to be what they need me to be.”

“You can’t listen to the lies. Hear me. Lucifer will attack you in different ways, but his favorite is to twist the truths you know into half-truths so you can no longer discern lies from facts. You have to unravel his lies. He will take something good and tear it apart, and he will take something abhorrent and make it look beautiful and desirable. Don’t succumb to him. Don’t lay down and give up.” He waited for her response as he felt her spirit wrestle with the things he was telling her. He knew the battle she was facing; he’d seen many humans fight it. Some succeeded and some did not. Raphael did not want to think about what it would do to Dair if Serenity did not.

“Tell him I’m sorry. Tell him I love him.”

“NO!” Raphael knew he’d not only said it into her mind but out loud as well.

“What’s going on Raphael?” Dair’s voice was background noise as Raphael focused his attention on the woman his friend had chosen as his own

“You will tell him yourself. You will not give up.”

“I’m not giving up! If I don’t endure this, my family, those I love, will have to. I can’t let that happen. I either sacrifice myself, or I sacrifice my family. I can’t let them suffer for me. If I try to keep Dair, I lose everyone else. Raphael, I can’t choose, but I can’t just sit back and do nothing. I have to do this. I have to. There’s no choice when it comes to their lives. The things he will do, I can’t bear it.”

He saw briefly some of the things in her mind that Lucifer must have shown her, and he understood her fear. It was horrific. She was so young, so innocent in so many ways, and yet she’d had to watch her family, real or not, endure torture and death. What was he to say to that? There was no greater love than for one to lay down their life for another. Serenity was willing to do that, not just for one person, but for her whole family. “We will figure this out. Don’t give up yet.”

“He’s sending someone after me. He wants Dair to have to watch me die. It will destroy him. If he has to watch what Lucifer will do to me, Dair will not come back from it. You have to protect him. You have to keep him from knowing or from witnessing it. Please, Raphael. Please promise me.”

He fought the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him. Raphael could feel her torment, could feel the utter despair inside of her soul, and knew she wouldn’t change her course. She was determined to see this through. “I promise. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

When he opened his eyes, Raphael saw the tears streaming down her face, though she was still unconscious.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Dair roared at him as he wiped the tears from her face.

Raphael closed his eyes again and whispered a prayer over her. He did not know what the will of the Creator was, but he asked for mercy for Serenity.

“Raphael, what have you done?”

He turned to Dair, took his comrade’s face in his hands, and pressed his forehead to his. Raphael closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, not wanting to say the words he knew he must. Only one other time had his heart been so broken, when he couldn’t rescue Emma. This time he couldn’t rescue Serenity or Dair. He was helpless. “Listen to me, brother,” Raphael said in strained yet firm voice “You’re going to have to let her go.” Dair was shaking his head before the words were completely out of his mouth. “There are some things that are beyond us, some battles we are not meant to win. Serenity is fighting her own battle, and no one can fight it for her and no one can make her choices for her. You have to … let … her … go.”

“I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that.” Dair pulled away from him and pushed at his shoulders. “And the fact that you are asking this of me makes me question if you are even my comrade, my friend. How can you ask this of me?” He pushed Raphael again. “You, who are supposed to stand by my side. YOU ASK THIS OF ME!”

“A friend tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I would never betray you or hurt you intentionally, Brudair. But I won’t lie to you to spare your feelings. This is her choice.”

“WHAT is her choice? What did you find out? Did you speak with her?”

Raphael nodded. “I spoke with her spirit. I won’t tell you what she said. She’s making a choice that requires great sacrifice. What she needs from you is acceptance of her choice.”

“What she needs from me is for me to fight for her when she can’t fight for herself! Don’t you see that is what a mate is for? I am the one who holds her up when she can’t stand. I am the one who reminds her that she is not in this fight alone. Me.” He slammed his hand against his chest. “Everyone else might step back, but not the man who claims to love her. I will not step back. I will not let her sacrifice herself. I don’t care what Lucifer has poisoned her mind with. If anyone makes sacrifices, it is me for her. If you aren’t going to back me, then you can get the hell out.”

Raphael didn’t move. “She made me promise. I cannot leave you.”

* * *

Only once before had Dair wanted to kill someone like he did now. The intensity of his hatred for Raphael in that moment terrified him, but losing Serenity terrified him more. Let her go? Had the angel lost his ever-loving mind? Never. He would follow her to hell if that’s what it took, but he would never surrender her to Lucifer.

He turned his back on the angel and walked back over to the woman who held his heart, his very soul. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “I’m not letting you go. Get that through your thick, stubborn head. When I chose you, it was for forever, through good and bad, though dark and light, through pain and joy, through gain and loss. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you as many times as it takes. I am yours. There is no Sandman without Serenity. If you think I will sit idly by and watch you be taken by Lucifer, then you do not know me at all.”

“I know you.” Her voice in his mind was like a punch to the gut.

“Princess,” he whispered. It was a plea that nearly drove him to his knees.

“It is because I know you that I’ve asked for Raphael to protect you. I love you, Dair. I never thought I would experience the kind of love I feel for you. And if you know me, then you know I will do anything to protect those I love. Please tell Darla, Wayne, Glory, and little Emma that I love them. Tell them to live and not to mourn but to know that I have no regrets. I would make the same choice over and over and over. And you, my love, must let me go and do what you were created to do. You are important, Dair. The Creator has tasked you with something that keeps evil from taking hold. You are so much more needed in this world than I am. Do not let Lucifer have what he wants. Do not let him remove you from the path upon which your feet have been placed. If you stray, he will have that much more hold on the world. My place in this world will soon be over, but yours will not. I love you, so, so much.”

Dair felt her presence slip back away from him, her mind closing off. “DON’T YOU DARE! DON’T YOU LEAVE ME!” He felt as though his heart was going to stop beating at any moment. Dair grasped her face in his hands, tears falling from his face onto hers. “This is not how this ends, Princess. He will not win. He cannot have you. Not while I still exist in this world. Don’t you dare give up. Please, Sarah, please don’t give up.” There was no response from her. Though her chest rose and fell and her skin was still warm with life, she was gone, out of his reach once again. Dair had the sickening feeling that it was the last time he would hear her voice, in his mind or otherwise. He laid his head on her chest and wrapped his arms around her. His shoulders shook as he wept over the woman he couldn’t save.

Dair felt Raphael’s hand on his shoulder, giving him silent support, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, not anymore, not without her.