Malcolm (Book 1, The Redemption Series) (27 page)

“Hopefully, somewhere he’ll be safe,” Malcolm replies. “We can’t exactly take him with us to the places we need to go.”

“But I want to go with you,” Lucas protests. “I don’t like being away from you for so long.”

Malcolm smiles wanly at Lucas. “I know. I don’t either. But, it’s not just for your safety. It’s for ours too. There are bad people who would use your life against us to hurt us.”

“Ok,” Lucas says with a pout, “I understand. Just don’t take too long to do what you gotta do.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Malcolm says, and I see a genuine smile grace his face as he looks at his son. I think it’s the first glimpse of happiness I’ve seen Malcolm express, and I decide then and there that I want to see him happy more often.

“Malcolm!”

We all turn when we hear Celeste's piercing, and somewhat angry, call of Malcolm’s name.

Malcolm walks over to Jered and hands Lucas to him. He strides over to Celeste meeting her halfway across the misty lawn of her backyard. They stop and talk in low but heated voices. Celeste reaches up and slaps Malcolm across the face so hard we all hear the crack. She then storms off back towards her house without a single glance backwards. Malcolm watches her go for a few seconds then turns around, not looking at all bothered by the altercation.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

“She’s mad,” Lucas answers unexpectedly. “She got mad last night because dad wanted to stay in my room with me. I’m not sure why.”

I’m happy to know Lucas doesn’t exactly understand why Celeste is upset. And even happier to discover that Malcolm might have spent the night in a house full of whores, but he obviously didn’t partake of any of the ladies’ wares, not even those of one very vivacious Ms. Celeste DuBois.

“We should probably get going,” Malcolm says, lifting Lucas back into his arms and walking over to the black horse that’s obviously his ride.

Malcolm sits Lucas in the saddle and instructs him to hold on before he walks over to me.

Malcolm takes the blanket from my hands and tosses it to Jered to take care of. He then walks up behind me and places his hands on my waist. I feel the hood of his coat brush against the side of my face as he leans down and whispers, “Are you ready, Anna?”

I nod my head because I suddenly find speaking impossible with his closeness.

Malcolm lifts me easily with his hands and helps me into my saddle.

I look back down at him and say, “Thank you.”

Malcolm gives me an almost reluctant, lopsided grin and nods his head before walking away to mount his own steed, holding Lucas in front of him. I watch as he lightly presses the sides of his horse with his heels signaling it to move forward.

Jered brings his horse up beside my own just as it begins to follow Malcolm’s horse of its own accord.

“You don’t look like you got much sleep last night,” Jered comments with a note of worry.

“I didn’t,” I confess. “I had things on my mind that I couldn’t stop thinking about.”

“Am I right in assuming if you had known a certain someone spent the night in Lucas’ room, you might have gotten more rest?”

I grin and look over at Jered. “I think you’re starting to know me a little too well, Jered.”

Jered laughs. “The day I know a woman too well is the day I ask that woman to marry me.”

It's a comment which brings to mind an interesting question.

“Have you not met your soul mate yet, Jered?”

Jered shakes his head. “No, I haven’t been lucky enough to meet her. When the time is right for me to, I’m sure my father will find a way to introduce us.”

“I hope you aren’t as stubborn with her as someone else who shall remain nameless,” I mutter.

Jered chuckles. “I pledge to you that I will do my best to treat her far better.”

I look back at Malcolm and see Lucas peek around the side of his dad to look back at me. The smile on Lucas' face is infectious, and I can't help but smile back. Malcolm gently makes his son sit upright in front of him again.

“By the way, when did you and Lucas meet?” Jered asks me. “I’m a little surprised Malcolm introduced you to him last night.”

“He didn’t,” I confess. “Lucas came to see me in the barn.”

“Really?” Jered asks in surprise. “He’s usually very shy around people he doesn’t know. Did he say why he came to see you?”

“He told me he had a vision about me when he was three-years-old,” I say with a small laugh, thinking such a concept is the fanciful notion of a child who obviously just wants a mother.

Jered doesn’t laugh. Instead, he looks thoughtful.

“It makes perfect sense that you would be the one he saw,” Jered finally says, like pieces of a puzzle are finally forming a picture he can recognize.

“The one he saw?” I ask. “Are you saying you think Lucas actually saw me in some sort of prophetic vision?”

“Do you remember what I told you about the vessels?”

“The ones who carried the archangel’s souls and helped Jess and Mason close the Tear?”

“Yes. Do you remember me telling you about the different powers they possessed because of their archangels?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Lucas is a descendent of Gabe. His archangel gave him the power to see visions about the future.”

“So the power each vessel possessed because of their archangel was passed down?”

“Yes and no,” Jered says looking perplexed. “Not every descendent received the power. Sometimes it would skip through ten generations before showing up again. We still don’t understand how the powers were passed down. It was almost as if a part of the archangel each vessel carried did something to their genetic code after they were awoken. But, it wasn’t a dominant gene which was altered. It was a passive one that only seemed to activate in particular descendants. Lucas is the last of Gabe’s line now that his biological father is dead.”

“Then, he really can see into the future?”

Jered nods. “Yes, but the vision he had of you is the only one he’s told us about. As he grows, his power may strengthen.”

I sit there for a moment absorbing this new information.

“He said,” I say hesitantly because I fear if I voice my next words they won’t come true, “that I was going to be his new mommy.”

“Yes, he told us that when he was three and had the vision. Well, he said he saw the woman who would become his mother. I guess his vision of you has stayed with him since then.”

“I haven’t been around many children,” I tell Jered. “And I don’t know if it’s just because he’s a cute kid or what exactly, but I already love him to pieces. Is that natural?”

“With Lucas? Yes, I would say that’s perfectly natural, Anna. He has that sort of effect on people, always has.”

We fall silent and simply enjoy the ride. Malcolm decides that we need to keep to the trails within the forest again that day. I don’t mind the slow progress. It gives me a chance to ponder things.

“Jered,” I say in a low voice, hoping Malcolm is far enough in front of us that he won’t hear my next question, “what type of relationship did Malcolm have with Celeste?”

“Business mostly,” Jered replies, also keeping his voice to a minimum. “Though, I think Celeste took Malcolm’s frequent visits to her as meaning he felt something deeper. But, he never cared for her beyond friendship. Malcolm’s just always had a healthy appetite when it comes to …ahh…physical activity with the fairer gender.”

I have to smile at Jered’s euphemism.

“So you’re saying he likes to have sex,” I clarify for him.

Jered grins and seems to almost blush. “Well, if you want to put it bluntly, yes.”

I grin back at him. “Good to know.”

In spite of or because of my audaciousness, Jered laughs.

Malcolm turns his head to look back at us.

“Everything all right back there?” He asks.

I smile back at him. “Everything is absolutely fine. We’re just getting to know each other a little better is all.”

Malcolm raises an eyebrow at this but doesn’t make a reply. He simply turns back around in his saddle.

“You’re too good for him, Anna,” Jered says with a shake of his head, still grinning. “But, you’re exactly what he needs.”

“I hope he realizes that soon,” I tell Jered. “If he doesn’t, neither of us will ever find happiness.”

“Have faith,” Jered tells me, mirroring the words God said to me only the day before.

I nod.

“I do,” I tell him. “But Malcolm has to have it too or it’s never going to work out between us.”

Jered doesn’t make a reply because he knows I’m right.

The horses come to a stop suddenly and begin to back up of their own accord.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

But there’s no need for anyone to make a reply.

Twenty Cirrun guards teleport in around us holding laser swords pointed in our direction.

“In the name of the emperor!” One guard shouts to Malcolm. “We demand that you let Empress Annalisse go or suffer the consequences!”

I watch as Malcolm looks around at all the guards, sizing them up. Apparently, he finds them wanting because he begins to laugh.

“So, do these humans not know what you are or are we really going to pretend you aren’t a rebellion angel?” Malcolm asks the guard who spoke. “Seems a bit ridiculous don’t you think?”

“Give us the girl,” the guard says, losing the pretense of actually being one, “and we’ll let you go, Malcolm.”

“I lost the ability to tell a lie from the truth a long time ago,” Malcolm replies, “but even I can hear the lie in what you just said clear enough.”

“We’ll let the boy live if the empress comes with us willingly,” the guard says, trying another tactic.

I hop down off my horse and draw my sword from the baldric on my back, causing it to ignite into its red-orange flames instantly.

“Unfortunately for you,” I tell them all, “I
can
tell the difference between a lie and the truth.” I look at the guard who seems to be the mouth piece for the group. “And that was a lie.”

“We have you outnumbered,” the guard says, trying to sound threatening. “Just come with us, empress, and I promise we’ll let the others go unharmed.”

“If I thought there was even a remote chance you would keep that promise,” I tell him, “I would go with you willingly. But, we both know you have no intention of ever letting them go.”

“You’ll die if you try to fight us,” the guard threatens with so much conviction I almost believe him.

“I would rather die fighting than let you slaughter my friends.”

“Don’t worry, Empress Anna, you won’t be dying today,” I hear a friendly voice say behind the guard I’m talking to.

I look over the guard’s shoulder and see someone I haven’t seen for quite some time, Gladson Gray, Auggie’s former lover and leader of the rebel faction in Cirrus.

Before I know it, all hell breaks loose. A group of men and women seem to erupt out of the forest attacking the surprised Cirrun guards.

Jered phases off his horse to join the fray, drawing the sword from his scabbard and showing a practiced skill with it against his opponents.

Malcolm jumps off his horse and pulls out his sword from its sheath at his side. He quickly picks Lucas up and sets him down on the ground behind him.

A guard attempts to take Malcolm by surprise while he’s tending to Lucas, but I phase the short distance to him and use my sword to block his swing at Malcolm’s back. The guard attempts to fight me but quickly realizes he’s outmatched in strength and swordsmanship. In three swings, I have his head separated from his shoulders.

I quickly turn around to make sure Malcolm and Lucas are all right. Lucas is staring up at me in shock. I realize he just saw me kill the guard and hope that he understands I didn’t have any choice.

Malcolm quickly takes off his long coat and places it on Lucas, covering his son’s face with the hood.

“Put your hands over your ears and shut your eyes,” Malcolm instructs him.

I can see the worry on Malcolm’s face over Lucas being in the middle of a fight.

“Phase him away from here,” I urge Malcolm. “We can handle this.”

Malcolm looks over at me, and I can tell by the stony expression on his face that phasing isn’t an option.

“No,” he says decisively, “I’m not leaving you. We stand and fight together.”

A part of me loves that Malcolm doesn’t want to leave me and another part of me just wants him and Lucas somewhere safe. Yet, I know from the stern look on Malcolm’s face that he won’t leave no matter how strenuously I make my plea.

So, I turn around to face what’s coming next with Malcolm by my side.

Malcolm and I keep Lucas sandwiched between our backs. Any guard who is foolish enough to attack us is dealt with quickly by either me or him.

The fight between the guards, us and Gladson’s people is fast and furious, but finally all the guards are killed and the threat to our lives is contained, for now.

Once the bedlam is settled, I quickly turn and kneel towards Lucas, pulling the hood from his face to make sure he’s all right.