Anna (Book 2, The Redemption Series) (3 page)

“
Then kiss me, Anna,” he urges.

“
But what if it makes you lose consciousness again?”

“
Then it would be a blessing.”

Without hesitation,
I press my lips against Malcolm’s and pray my kiss has the same affect it did the first time. I hear Malcolm sigh in relief as I caress his lips with mine gently, showing him physically how much I treasure him. I enjoy the sensation until I feel his head completely fall forward, and I know the poison has worked once again. It brings me small comfort knowing my kiss can have such an effect on the love of my life, but at least he can get some rest now while his body heals itself.

“
How touching,” I hear Levi say snidely beside me. “Really, I feel like I might actually have an emotional moment or something. Oh, wait…no…I think that might just be gas.”

I feel my body descend and have no way of knowing how I was able to fly in the first place. Though
, I do remember Jered telling me it was one of Jess' gifts from Michael. I have to assume since she's one of my ancestors that's where it comes from. As I face Levi, I find myself desperately trying to reign in my temper.

“
If I see that you’ve laid another hand on him when we make the trade, I promise that when I
do
kill you your death will not be a quick one.”

“
So many threats, Anna,” Levi says with a shake of his head like he's disappointed in me. “Didn’t Andre teach you any manners at all?”

“
Release Malcolm from this force field.”

“
And why would I do that?”

“
Because if you don’t I’m going to smash your face in!”

Levi raises one hand to his
jaw line. “The adorable little face of your beloved Auggie? You would defile his body like that, my little dove?”

“
You’re not Auggie. And you really don’t want to test my patience right now.”

Levi smiles.
“Such a little spit fire you are. I’m going to enjoy taming you, wife.”

“
I only promised Malcolm that I wouldn’t kill you, Levi. I didn’t promise anything short of that.”

Levi rolls his eyes
at me.

“
Such theatrics,” he says, turning to face the wall behind him. He waves his hand over it to bring up a holographic control panel. After he enters in a code, Malcolm falls to the floor. I go to him and roll him onto his stomach, turning his face to the side so he can breathe easier. I lean down and kiss him on the lips one more time, hoping it keeps him unconscious for a little while longer.

The floor of the prison cell is as col
d as I remembered it being. Knowing Malcolm’s hot blooded nature, I’m actually grateful for its coolness this time. I pray that it helps him heal faster.

Pray…

I close my eyes and pray to God.

I hear Levi take in a
deep, sharp breath.

When I open my eyes, I see God standing across from me. I look up at him as my eyes cloud with tears.

“Help him,” I beg. “I swear I won’t ask for anything else, just help Malcolm this once.”

God looks down at Malcolm
. His eyes hold a sorrow only a parent can have when their child is in pain. He studies the damage Levi has done with his lightning whip, but He shakes His head at me.

“
I can’t interfere with the natural course of events, even when I want to,” He tells me. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

“
Then what good are you?” I ask, feeling angry at God. “If you won’t help us, what’s the point of praying for you to come?”

“
If I healed one person, I would have to heal every person in the world. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair. Some people are simply meant to die, Anna. Malcolm will not die from these wounds. He will heal them on his own. I cannot interfere with the natural laws of the universe.”

I knew he was right
, but it didn’t make it any easier to go along with.

God turns his
attention to Levi.

Levi’s shoulder
s seem to sink lower as he faces his father, but he tries to hold his head up a notch higher in a show of defiance.

“
I suppose you’re proud of yourself,” God says to Levi. Slowly, He shakes His head at the prince of Hell. “But, I couldn’t be more disappointed in you, Levi.”

“
I gave up caring about gaining your approval a long time ago, Father.”

“
You say that and yet you know you’re lying.”

Even I could tell that simple fact.
In a way, I felt amazed that Levi still cared what God thought about him after all this time.

“
The good thing about not being in your Heavenly host anymore is that I don’t have to stand here and talk to you if I don’t want to.”

“
No,” God agreed. “You don’t, my son.”

Levi seems taken off guard by
God's use of such an endearment, but quickly shakes it off before looking over at me.

“
Gather up my brothers and meet me in the desert.”

“
Desert?” I ask, not understanding what he’s talking about. “What desert?”

“
Jered and the others will know where to go,” Levi says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You have until 7am Cirrun time the day after tomorrow to bring them to me.”

“
And what happens if I can’t make it in time?”

“
Then I kill the boy!” Levi shouts irritably. “Just do what I tell you, Anna! And don't come back here to visit lover boy unless you want me to end Andre's life. I think you've had quite enough touchy feely time with him as it is.”

Levi phases away leaving me alone with God and a
mercifully unconscious Malcolm.

I look down at Malcolm’s ravaged back.

“I don’t want to leave him alone like this,” I tell God.

“
He won’t be alone,” God reassures me. “I’m always with him.”

I stand to my feet and force myself to look away from Malcolm.
Otherwise, I won’t be able to leave.

“
I won’t let anyone hurt my family anymore,” I tell God, feeling as though I should warn him that I might do things he won’t approve of.

God nods.

“Do what you have to do, Anna,” He says. “I know you’ll make the right decisions in the end.”

I take in a deep breath and phase.

I stand in what’s left of the room I slept in at Malcolm’s house in Lakewood. The house has been reduced to ash now. A few smoldering timbers lay haphazardly against one another marking the evidence of a once happy home. I scan the ground around my feet and breathe in a sigh of relief when I see what I came for.

I bend down and pick up my sword
still sheathed in its baldric. Amazingly enough the leather of the baldric isn’t damaged and neither is my sword. I remember Jered telling me that archangel Jophiel’s vessel, JoJo Armand, had made the baldric to be resistant to fire.

I wipe the soot off of the baldric and
slip it on my back, tightening the cinch of the belt around my waist.

I realize I should have asked Malcolm where Jered
is, but in those moments with him, I wasn’t too worried about it.

I kn
ow someone who can give me the information I need.

I
just hope, for her sake, she's in the mood to talk willingly.

Chapter 2

I phase to Celeste DuBois's red front door and kick it in. The door slams against the grand staircase inside, sliding down the glossy wooden steps until it comes to a rest against the polished oak floor inside the airy foyer. I probably should have knocked instead of barging in, but I'm really not in the mood to play nice. I pray Celeste answers my questions quickly. Otherwise, I fear what I might do to her in my current state of mind.

I could almost forgive her for betraying Malcolm and me to Levi. She was in love with Malcolm and having him shun her
because of his feelings for me must have been devastating not only to her self-esteem but also to her heart. Jealousy was a powerful emotion I could understand. What I couldn't forgive was the fact that she placed Lucas' life in danger by telling Levi where to find us. He was an innocent in all of this, and his life should have never been placed in peril. Her selfish need for revenge could have cost Lucas his life. That, in my eyes, was unforgivable.

I st
and within the now empty doorframe, cross my arms over my chest and wait. It takes less than a minute for the residents of the home to wake up and appear at the head of the staircase. The one I’ve come for is standing dead center among the gathering of scantily clad women, staring down at me with a look of surprise.

Celeste’s
face is clean of make-up which makes her appear younger in my opinion. Her long blonde hair is braided and hanging over one shoulder. She’s wearing a full length, red velvet robe with white lace trim. Her eyes hold a worried look at my unexpected arrival. I’m sure she thought I would be in the hands of the emperor by now, safely tucked away in Cirrus where I couldn't reach her.

“
You can’t just barge into my home like this in the middle of the night!” She says to me rather indignantly. “We may be lowly down-worlders to you, but we do have some rights!”

“
You should choose your words wisely when you speak to me, Celeste, and you should definitely watch your tone. Considering what you did, I could have you executed for treason. In case I need to remind you, I’m empress of these lands,” I tell her. “That means I can pretty much do as I damn well please.”

“
You don’t act like any empress I’ve ever seen,” Celeste says scathingly, looking me up and down.

I smile.
“I’m a new type of empress,” I tell her. “More…hands on.”

“
Well,
your highness
, I would appreciate it if you left my home. Some of us have to work for a living. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have everything we want handed to us on a golden platter. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some beauty sleep.”

Celeste turns her back to me.

It’s a colossal mistake.

I
unfold my arms and run up the stairs. I say run, but it’s more like I fly up them. I’m not even sure my feet ever actually touch a single step. Once I reach the top of the landing, I grab Celeste by her right shoulder and spin her around to face me. I don’t completely have my strength under control because my anger is influencing my actions, and I end up spinning her around so hard she falls to the floor with a loud thump onto her backside. The breath is knocked out of her so it takes her a minute to recover enough to say something.

“
What the
hell
do you think you’re doing?” She demands, breaking my last strand of patience with her.

I grab her by the front of her robe and haul her up off the floor in one fluid motion. My strength surprise
s her and those around us, causing her girls to slowly back away from me.

Celeste looks at me
, but the bravado she showed earlier is nowhere to be seen now.

“
There’s something different about you. You're more confident...more determined,” she says to me, studying my face carefully. I see understanding enter her eye just before they well with tears. “I guess Malcolm told you how he feels about you. The love of a good man can make you feel like you can move mountains. At least, that’s the way I felt when I thought he loved me.”

Tears slide down Celeste
’s face, and I find myself pitying her. I know she doesn’t deserve such an emotion from me, but I can’t help but empathize with her plight. I know what it feels like to love a man but have him completely dismiss your feelings. In my case, Malcolm actually loved me even though he did everything in his power to hide that fact from me. In Celeste’s case, he never loved her. Yet, she mistook his frequent visits to her for physical gratification as meaning that he did.

“
I’m sorry he broke your heart,” I tell her. “But, he was never yours to have, Celeste. He was always meant for me. You need to come to terms with that fact before you let your jealousy destroy what’s left of your soul. You’ll never be whole again if you let your contempt for him continue to tear you apart. How would you have felt if Lucas had been killed in the attack with the emperor’s men? Did you really think you could live with yourself if that happened?”

“
The emperor assured me no one would be hurt, least of all Lucas,” Celeste says. I know she’s telling the truth but have a hard time believing she would be so naïve.

“
You had to know Malcolm wouldn’t let me be taken without a fight,” I tell her, making her face her dark side. “And I think if you’re being honest with yourself, you thought he might be killed in the attack so neither one of us could have him.”

Celeste squeezes her eyes shut, making her tears wash her cheeks with their
salty trails.

“
I was so angry,” she admits. “I just wasn’t thinking straight. I wanted to hurt him. I guess I didn’t care who else got injured in the process.” She opens her eyes. “Is Lucas all right? He wasn’t harmed was he?”

“
The emperor has him,” I tell her, letting go of the front of her robe, some of my anger dissipating. “And I need your help to get him back.”

“
What can I do?”

“
You knew where we were going after we left here. I need you to tell me where that is.”

“
Yes, you were on your way to Rory and Lora’s house. They live in Baton Rouge.”

“
What’s the quickest way for me to get there? I have to find Jered.”

“
You’ll need to take the teleporter in New Orleans,” she tells me.

“
Do you have someone who can take me to New Orleans?”

Since it was somewhere I had never been to before, I couldn’t simply phase there. The thought had occurred to me that I could phase to Barlow’s underground city
and use his teleporter, but I wasn’t sure if Levi knew about his hideout. I refused to be the one to bring Cirrun forces to Barlow’s doorstep and place his people in danger.

“
I’ll take you there myself,” Celeste says. She turns to look at her girls. “Trisha and Madeline, get my buggy ready and be quick about it, no dawdling around like you usually do.”

The two ladies quickly make their way down the stairs to do as they
are told.

Celeste turns to look at me again.
“I need to change my clothes. Are you hungry? I can have someone prepare you something to eat on the way there.”

“
No, I’m not hungry.”

Celeste nods. I’m sure she understands the situation I’m in isn’t very conducive to generating an appetite.

“I won’t be long,” she tells me, turning to walk down the hallway and enter what I presume is her bedroom.

I decide to wait downstairs for Celeste. She’s true to her word and reappears
less than ten minutes later.

She’s dressed rather conservatively considering what she was wearing the first time I saw her
when I came here with Malcolm. Her long, red skirted dress still retains the style of 19
th
century European clothing. The fitted top looks like a jacket with a silky, gold embroidered vest underneath. She slips on a pair of black leather gloves as she walks down the staircase. Her eyes glance in the direction of the door still lying across the lower portion of the steps.

“
You’re awfully strong for such a little thing,” Celeste comments, sounding a bit amused. “The door was unlocked by the way. You really didn’t have to kick it in.”

“
I wasn’t in the mood to care,” I tell her. “If you’d seen what I have today, I doubt you would have been either.”

Celeste looks at me
, and I can tell she wants to ask what it is I’m referring to but thinks better of it. I’m sure she knows anything that would make my mood so foul can’t be good.

I hear the rattle of
the buggy come to a stop outside the home. When I look out the empty spot where the door once was, I see a small black carriage hitched to a black horse.

Celeste and I walk out to the buggy just as the girls who made it ready for us get out of
it.

Once we’re seated, Celeste clicks her tongue and snaps the reins gently against the horse’s r
ump to get it moving.

“
How long will it take to get to New Orleans?” I ask her.

“
Thirty minutes normally,” she tells me. “But, I think I can get you there in twenty.”

She
gently flicks the reigns against the horse once more, causing it to pick up its pace.

As we travel down the dark country road, n
either of us say a word. Celeste finally breaks the silence with a simple question.

“What did it feel like to have Malcolm tell you that he loves you?”

In spite of myself, I feel sorry for Celeste in that moment. My earlier anger at her has been
fully replaced by pity now. I feel sorry for the woman because she gave her love to someone who never could have reciprocated her feelings. It was a fear I had when Malcolm seemed so resolute in denying how he felt about me. When I thought I would have to live the rest of my life without his love, it was like a crushing weight against my heart.

Celeste would never get the reprieve I did. She would always live with the knowledge that Malcolm belonged to someone else. That he gave
all of himself to another woman. I very much doubt Malcolm will ever willingly see Celeste DuBois again. Knowing him, he would probably fear what he would do to her after she placed the lives of his son and the woman he loves in danger. Even I had a hard time controlling my temper when I first arrived at her house. I couldn’t imagine Malcolm holding in his emotions very well. I think Celeste knew this. I think she knew deep down inside she would never be in the same room with Malcolm ever again. Perhaps she was asking me this question because through me she could at least know what it felt like to have Malcolm’s unconditional love.

“
It was like having a dream come true,” I tell her. “It made me feel whole.”

Celeste nods and
averts her gaze away from me, returning her attention back to the moonlit road we're travelling down.

“
Would you do something for me?” Celeste asks in a quiet voice.

“
What?”

“
Tell Malcolm that I’m sorry. I never thought Emperor Augustus was someone who would hurt an innocent child. He always seemed to be so kind. I guess you really don’t know a person just by what the media tells you and what you see in videos.”

Of course Celeste wouldn’t know that the emperor wasn’t actually Auggie anymore. She had no way of knowing that Levi had taken control of my best friend
’s body. It was a point I hadn’t really considered until now.

“
The emperor isn’t exactly himself anymore,” I say, not daring to tell her the complete truth. “You can’t trust him.”

Celeste nods.
“Yes, I see that now.” She looks over at me. “I guess the real question is, can we trust you? We all thought once you and Emperor Augustus took control of Cirrus that the two of you would help us down-worlders. Were we just deluding ourselves?”

“
No, you weren’t mistaken in your beliefs,” I tell her. “But the emperor won’t be the one who will be by my side to help fix things. Malcolm will be.”

Celeste smiles
, a tinge of sad acceptance on her face. “I always thought Malcolm was meant for greater things. I guess he just needed to find the right person to help him become the man he was always meant to be.”

“
We will help you,” I promise her. “We will make things right. You have my word on that.”

“
I have no reason to trust you,” she says, “but for some reason I do. I guess that’s the mark of a true leader. You make people who have no reason to trust in your words believe what you say.”

“
I won’t let you down.”

Celeste nods
, seeming to accept my promise.

The rest of the ride goes by in complete silence. I don’t mind
the quiet. I have nothing further to say to Celeste, and she obviously doesn’t have any more questions she wants answered.

As
we approach New Orleans, the city appears like a bubble of light floating within the dark night. I’ve never actually been in a down-world city before. My father never let me come to the surface with him when he visited here, though those occasions were few and far between.