Oblivion (The Watcher Chronicles #3) (18 page)

“Thanks,” Leah says gratefully.  “I know I can’t see Remy everyday like I used to but it would just be nice to know I can call him whenever I want.”

“I completely understand.  That’s the way I feel about my dad.  Just knowing for sure that I can see him when I need to is all I need.”

“Jess!”  Mama Lynn calls from the living room.  “You’ve got to see what they just brought over!”

Leah and I walk back to the window Faison and Mama Lynn seem to be permanently stationed at.  When I look outside, I feel sure I’m hallucinating.

“I didn’t even know they could phase things that big,” Mama Lynn says, completely dumbfounded by what she’s seeing.

“I guess I knew,” I say. “It just never even occurred to me that they would.”

“Wow, I’ve never been on one of those,” Leah says as they phase in another large object to sit by the first one.

“Oh sweetie,” Mama Lynn says.  “They must really care about you and Mason to go through so much trouble.”

I tear up by the Watchers’ sentiment and know in my heart that the night will be one neither Mason nor I will ever forget.

Chapter 14

The Watchers continue to amaze me by putting up what seems like a million twinkling white lights in the tall standing oaks and newly built buildings in my backyard.  They even bring in a plethora of accessories to fill the small buildings and make them look authentic.  Everything is so wonderful, I feel a bit guilty that only a few of us will be able to enjoy all of their effort.  It makes me form a new plan.

Mama Lynn, Faison and I get on the phone and call everyone we know in Cypress Hollow and invite them over to share in my special evening with Mason.  I’m in such a happy place emotionally I figure the more the merrier, which is odd for me.  I realize I’ve never felt so content in my life.

Around three that afternoon, I text Mason.

Be at my house at exactly 5. 

Should I already be naked when I come over?  Please say yes…

Dear Mr. Incorrigible,

Please do not show up naked.  There will be impressionable young minds present and I would hate for them to be scarred for life by seeing little Mason in all his glory.

Scarred for life??  That seems a bit extreme.

The girls will go through life thinking all men are so well endowed and the boys will feel inferior to you for the rest of their lives.  So yes, scarred for life.  I do not want to be the cause of years of therapy for them.  So please, arrive with clothes on and dress warmly because we will be outside quite a bit this evening.

Can you at least promise me there will come a time this evening when I have you to myself to satisfy my incorrigible, insatiable appetite for your heaven sent body?

Yes, that is a promise I can make.  In fact, I have something new I would like to try with you.

Oh really??  Would you like to expound upon this brilliant new idea of yours?

No, it’s a surprise.

How many surprises do you have planned for me this evening?

Just the two that I can think of…

I wish it were already 5.  At least then I would have you in my arms…

We will be together soon and I promise you it will all be worth it.  I love you.

I love you too

As planned, Isaiah brings Chandler, JoJo and Rafe over to my house so we can try to connect with the sixth vessel again and so they can help me with my surprise for Mason.  All three of them stand at my back window and stare in awe at what the Watchers did to my backyard.

“It is magnifique,” JoJo almost purrs.  “I never could have imagined they could do such a thing in so short a time.”

“I know,” I say.  “In my mind it was much smaller and frankly not nearly as elaborate.  But Malcolm certainly out did himself.”

“He is such a sweetie,” JoJo says and it reminds me that she and Malcolm were friends even before we knew she was one of the archangel vessels.

“How well do you know Malcolm?” I ask JoJo.

“Oh, we were lovers years ago when I was in my youth.”

“Really?”

“Oui,” JoJo smiles at the memory of her love affair with Malcolm.  “I knew nothing would come of it but it was wonderful while it lasted.”

“How did you know it wouldn’t lead to something like marriage?”

“Oh, he was never in love with me.  I knew that.  He never made promises he could not keep. And I was fine with our arrangement because he was such a good lover.”

JoJo hugs herself as she allows herself to remember her days, and presumably nights, with Malcolm.

Leah instantly conjures up a fire in my hearth and we all gather around, holding hands to connect with our missing archangel.

As we connect with the sixth vessel, we’re met with the same thing as before: total darkness, the sound of a heart monitor and oxygen machine.  No new clues present themselves.  We don’t even hear the weeping in the background this time.  Just as our connection fades, we hear the sound of footsteps.  There’s a rattling, like the person is doing something near the sixth vessel and then the footsteps fade away.

When the connection fades, we open our eyes, none of us any closer to understanding what’s happening to our sixth member.

“The only thing we can assume is that they are in a hospital somewhere,” I say.

“It could be anywhere in the world,” Chandler laments.  “We need something, anything else to point us in the right direction.”

With no new clues to go on to find the sixth vessel, I show the guys what their duties are for the evening.  Rafe is the only one who can’t stay.

“I really wish I could help out,” he tells me.  “But I’m needed at the clinic.  It’s hard enough for me to come here just for the short time I’m able to.”

I place a hand on his shoulder.  “It’s ok.  We have things handled.  You’re doing important work over there.  Don’t ever apologize for caring about your patients.”

Rafe grins, pleased with my praise.  “I would wish you luck for your endeavor tonight but you don’t need it.  I know everything will turn out just as you have planned.”

“Thanks,” I tell him.

After Rafe leaves and everything is set up outside, I wait impatiently in the living room for Mason to arrive.

At exactly five, Mason phases into my living room.  He sees me sitting on the couch waiting for him but his eyes are immediately drawn by the spectacle of lights shining through my window showcasing what’s waiting for him outside.

“Uh, Jess,” he says, looking and sounding completely confused.  “Why is there a carnival in your backyard?”

I stand from the couch and take one of his hands into one of my own.

“It’s part of your surprise,” I tell him.  “Come on.”

As soon as we walk outside, the sounds of laughter and talking from almost everyone who lives in Cypress Hollow surrounds us.  When I look at Mason, his expression is complete shock which makes me giggle.  His eyes soon find the Ferris wheel and elaborate carousel the Watchers phased in to perfect the scene.

Malcolm and his crew built far more than I had originally designed.  Ten small buildings, five on each side of the small corridor leading to the rides, stand housing games for people to play.  I tug on Mason’s hand and lead him to the first one.

As we walk over to the first game booth which Mama Lynn and George are in charge of, various people from the town greet us and wish us the best.  Mason seems even more confused because he has no idea why they are bestowing their well wishes on us.

The booth Mama Lynn and George are in is set up with the milk bottle game where you try to knock down the three milk bottles standing in a pyramid formation with a baseball.  The booth itself is loaded with various stuffed animals, like all the booths are, as prizes, a gift from the Watchers.

“Step on up here, Mason,” George calls.  “Let’s see how good your aim is.  Maybe you can win the special prize we have just for you.”

Mason takes the ball from George and looks at me, holding the ball with the tips of his fingers.

“Are these challenges to win your favor?” Mason asks me.

“No, you have that but you just might win something else.”

Mason rears back his arm and throws the ball, easily shattering the milk bottles.

“And we have a winner!” George says.

Mama Lynn hands Mason a small white cardboard box, like one you would place a piece of jewelry in, tied up with a red ribbon.

Mason looks at the box and raises an eyebrow.  He looks at the small tag attached to the bow.

“One of four?” He asks me.

“You have to win four games to get all four boxes,” I tell him.  “And you can’t open the boxes until you’ve collected them all.”

Mason grins.  “Ok, I’ll play along just to see where this is leading.”

The next booth we go to is manned by Jonathan and Angela.  Bree and Bale stand on either side of it and give Mason a hug when he reaches them.

The far wall within the booth is decorated with a multitude of different colored balloons pinned to it.  Jonathan hands Mason five darts.

“If you can pop five balloons in a row,” Jonathan tells his dad, “you win your prize.”

Mason hefts the arrows in his hand and proceeds to throw them one after the other in quick succession to pop the required five balloons.

Angela hands Mason his next white box.

Chandler and JoJo are in charge of the third booth which simply has a black tire hanging from the roof.  Chandler hands Mason a football.

“Dude, this is so simple a baby could do it.  Throw the ball through the hole and you get this,” Chandler says, holding up the third white box.

Mason throws the ball through the hole in the tire and wins the third box.

The last game is a test of strength.  Malcolm stands at the ready with the ten Watchers who helped him construct my backyard carnival standing behind him.  Malcolm is holding a large black mallet.

“What are all of you doing here?” Mason asks, pleasantly surprised to see so many of his friends.

“Jess asked us to help her,” Malcolm tells Mason.  “And just to make it a bit more of a challenge, we wanted to see if you could win one of our games.”

Challenge?  I never said anything about making things challenging.  I made the games easy for a reason!

We soon have almost everyone in Cypress Hollow standing around us to see what sort of challenge the Watchers have set up for their fearless leader.

Malcolm hands Mason the large mallet in his hands.

Mason looks at the metal tower with a silver bell at the top.  All he has to do is hit the metal see-saw platform at the bottom of the tower to propel the two foot high cylinder up the wire to hit the bell, seems simple enough to me.

Mason swings the mallet behind his back and strikes the see-saw on his side.  The metal cylinder only rises a foot.

Mason narrows his eyes as he examines the cylinder more closely.

“Not made out of lead or steel I presume?”  He asks Malcolm.

Malcolm folds his arms in front of him and the other Watchers look on quite amused.

“Now where would the challenge be in something so light?” Malcolm questions.  “You’re going to have to put in a little more effort if you want this.”

Malcolm holds up the last of the white boxes like he’s taunting Mason with it.

I’m pretty sure I have a ‘what the hell are you doing?’ look on my face because Malcolm just winks at me and smiles.

“Osmium?” Mason questions.

Malcolm nods.

“I’m sure you don’t want to disappoint, Jess,” Malcolm tells Mason.  “Just put a little bit more effort into it if you want the fair maiden’s prize for you.”

Mason sets the head of the mallet on the ground and leans the handle against his legs as he takes his coat off and hands it to me.  He doesn’t look upset, just amused by Malcolm and the other Watchers’ challenge.

Mason turns to the crowd of onlookers behind us.

“You all might want to stand back,” he warns.  “I have no way of knowing where it will land.”

Everyone ends up walking completely to the other side where the first set of booths are located.  I stay by Mason because I feel it’s the safest place for me.

Mason firmly grips the handle of the mallet and seems to put every bit of strength he has in his next swing.  I feel the ground beneath my feet tremble from his effort and watch as the osmium cylinder flies into the silver bell at the top of the metal tower, crushing it before it even gets a chance to ring.  The cylinder flies high into the air and ends up landing behind the High Striker with a loud thud as it comes back to earth.

The Watchers smile at Mason.

“Now,” Malcolm says, “doesn’t that feel more like you earned what you’re about to get?”  Malcolm hands the last of the white boxes to Mason.

“Do you know what I’m getting?” Mason questions, putting his coat back on.

“We all do,” Malcolm answers.  “Now go claim your real prize.”

Mason takes the box from Malcolm and looks at me questioningly.

“What now?” He asks me.

I take his free hand and lead him to the carousel.

A few of the children from Cypress Hollow are riding it and we have to wait for it to stop for our turn.  Faison and Leah are in charge of running it and ask everyone to get off so Mason and I can have a private ride. 

Mason and I sit down in one of the stationary carriages.  The carousel begins to move.

“Open the boxes,” I tell Mason.

Mason sets the four boxes between us on the seat and opens the first one.  He pulls out a wooden puzzle piece with part of a picture on it.  After he opens all four boxes, he lays the pieces on his thigh and assembles them.  The picture on the front is that of two red hearts joined together.

“Did you make this?” He asks me.

“I had George cut it out for me and I painted it.”

“Thank you, Jess.  It’s lovely.”