Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

It was later that evening when Sean returned to the house with Raziel.

I had been debating upon their return on whether or not we should tell Raziel about what had transpired earlier. After all, he deserved to know the truth about everything.

Yet somehow, I just couldn’t find it in myself to tell him. Instead, I believed that it would probably be better if we allowed Anna and Noah to do that one.

Raphael was a bit beside himself. I think he felt the same as I did, that it wasn’t really Noah’s fault. However, it seemed that the darkness within him that had caused the act was now erupting into a nightmare within his body that would cause him to meet his own death. It was truly a bitter pill for all of us to swallow.

Sitting alone later that evening in the den, I couldn’t help but run it all through my mind. What a complicated mess this was all turning out to be. If what Noel had told us was indeed true, as I suspected it was, then we knew what caused this illness in Nephilim now.

It stemmed from a very dark sin.

Murder was indeed the worst when one really thought about it. I had always suspected that Noel had something to do with her kidnapper’s suicide too. It had been far too convenient. He’d died right after she saw him on that roof, and if I was correct, this was the same time that the curse was taking hold of her. It made me wonder how much that also had to do with it. Could being touched by such evil open the door to such an illness?

But there were two things that puzzled me with all of this. The first was Raphael. He’d at least had semi-knowledge of what had been happening between him and Noel, and he was also influenced by the curse just like our parents, so if that had helped sicken her, then how had he escaped it? Could there have been a way to enlighten one’s soul that stopped it from happening?

But even if there was, Raphael wasn’t aware of it. If he was, I was more than certain that he would’ve been trying to use it to help Noah to stop it.

The other thing that puzzled me was Yuki. He’d killed his mother, or at the very least was responsible for her death. He was like Noah in that aspect. Not to mention he carried an extreme ability that should’ve only been seen in Fallen Angels. Yet, his wings remained pure. He showed no signs at all of being sick, and it had been over a year now.

As if that wasn’t enough when it came to sin, at least according to most religious views, he had also admitted that he was homosexual. Was that really a sin though? I didn’t really know myself. After all, I may have been a Nephilim, but I was not fortunate enough to know for sure what was considered a sin and what wasn’t when it came to the Heavens. Those views very well could’ve been misguided and wrong, and there was no issue with those who were born that way.

In other words, all of this was starting to feel like another dead end.

“You know Michael, if you keep sitting up and worrying, you’re going to wear yourself out.” Sara pointed out as she sat down beside me.

“I guess I’m a born worrier, although this family has made it worse.” I joked half-heartedly.

“You need to stop blaming yourself for what’s already happened. There’s nothing you can do to change it.” Sara reminded me.

“I know, but I don’t understand it either. How did Noah’s wings turn black after what happened with Beverly, but Yuki’s remain the same after his mother’s death?” I wondered.

Sara sighed, resting her head on my shoulder as she hugged my arm.

“Sometimes there are no answers. Maybe Yuki’s guilt wasn’t as clear-cut, or maybe it was the feelings of the heart with those involved. We really can’t say anything for sure with this kind of illness. For all we know, Noah and Noel’s could’ve come on because of this curse. What it made them do had nothing to do with it.” she told me.

She had a point. All of this very well could’ve stemmed from this curse on our family, although the thought made me very uneasy. If it could affect us to the point of giving us a slow, painful death from an illness, then who was to say that more of us wouldn’t fall victim to it eventually?

“Sara, what do you think about what Noah said?” I asked her.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think it was really an accident?”

“Oh, I see. You’re worried about it being on purpose and causing Noah’s illness.” Sara realized. She sat up a little to face me, “Well Michael, to be honest with you, I believe that it was an accident. Noah is a gentle child, despite how aloof he can be, and I can definitely say that he’s not a cold-blooded killer.”

“You sound pretty sure of yourself,” I noted.

Sara nodded, “I am. I knew a murderer very well as a little girl. He was my own father.”

“What?”

She’d never even mentioned her human family before, and I certainly wouldn’t have expected her to tell me that her father was a killer.

“Yes. It’s true. He’s the reason that I was out on the road the night Sage found me.” Sara admitted.

Now I was feeling extremely curious. Sara never spoke of her past before she’d met Sage before, and now I was beginning to understand why.

“May I ask what happened back then?” I requested as we faced each other.

Sara looked uneasy as she sat there, her eyes looking to the side as if she couldn’t keep facing me.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t want to tell you. I’ve just… well… I’m always trying to bury the memories of all of that. Even though I know I’m nothing like him, it still gets to me that he was my father, and the memories are hard to face.” she confessed.

I gently touched her cheek so that she’d look at me, “It’s alright, Sara. I get it, and I’d never judge you. You’ve already seen where I have no room to judge anything with how I grew up and what happened in my family.”

A soft smile crossed Sara’s face as she shook her head, “Yes, I know, and I’ve never judged any of that either. I’ve also wanted to talk to you about it too, so maybe now’s the right time.”

“I think it is. Please, just tell me what happened. You’ve always been here to listen and help me, so let me do that for you too.”

“Alright,” Sara let out a long breath as she held my hand, absently running her fingers over mine, “To start with, it was always bad when I was growing up. My father was an alcoholic, and would become very abusive when he was drunk. I can’t remember many times when he wasn’t drunk, and it was like a vicious cycle in our household. My mother absolutely feared him too. He’d beaten her quite a few times and even held a gun to her head. He'd say all the time that he’d kill us before he let us leave him. But Mom still wanted to try to get out of there, especially as I got older. So one afternoon shortly after I turned thirteen, she made a plan. When my father was out at the bar, she began packing two bags for me and her, and we were going to run away from him. But she miscalculated her time, and he came home early. She hid me in a closet in her room to protect me, then stayed there to try and hide what she’d been doing.”

“But he figured it out anyway.” I solemnly guessed.

Sara closed her eyes and sadly shook her head, “Yes. They got into a huge fight over it, and she finally stood up to him and declared that she was leaving. That was when everything became a nightmare. He grabbed his gun that he always carried, and he shot her.”

I couldn’t imagine the horror of that moment for her. It was obvious by how she spoke that she’d witnessed the entire thing. It took me a bit to get my voice to work.

“But he didn’t find you?”

“No, he knew that I was there. Actually, he tried to justify what he did to me after he coaxed me out. But I knew that he was lying, so I played along, and I ran away in the middle of the night to save myself from the same thing happening to me.” Sara confessed.

“So that was why you were out that night when Sage found you.” I surmised.

“Yes.” Sara confirmed, “We lived in the mountains of Virginia at the time, and we were about fifteen miles from the nearest town, but I was determined to get there and find help. It’s funny for me to look back on it now. I was a thirteen-year-old girl walking all alone in the darkness down an isolated back road that was lined with woods. But you know, it wasn’t half as scary to me as staying there with my father. I didn’t think that there would ever be anything like a werewolf out there though. To be honest about it, I really thought that I was about to die when it attacked me. If Sage hadn’t stopped it when it did and taken me back to his den to take care of my wound, I would have.”

I’ll admit that I never realized what a close call Sara had had back then. But it was fascinating too. I had been married to Sara for years now, yet somehow, we really didn’t know that much about each other’s pasts. In a way, this was like breaking down the last barriers for both of us.

“Did he have a den there?” I asked.

“Yes. He had one right on the other side of one of the gateways into the Veil, but he told me that he’d never take me to that side.”

“Really? Why?”

Sara actually laughed a little then, “He claimed that he was protecting me, although he never told me from what. I’ve always taken it that it was from some of the more predatory creatures over there. But I’ll admit that I didn’t like him that much at first. He was so arrogant, and he kept telling me that all I was to him was a pet that he could keep however he wanted. He even compared me to a doll a few times. I couldn’t stand him for that.”

I couldn’t help shaking my head. That sounded like a fox to me. They did tend to have an arrogant streak at times. At least, from what we’d gotten to see with some of the full-blooded ones.

But at the same time, it was obvious that something had changed between them as well. It must have for Sara to still speak so fondly of him like she tended to.

“I’d imagine that he was, but it seems like his feelings changed too,” I noted.

“They did. Actually, both of ours did in time. It was a slow thing, but there was love there, and I did get pregnant with Sean and Tico. I think that it was then that the two of us really became the couple that we were supposed to be. To be honest with you, I kind of wish that we’d understood those things back when we first met. Sometimes I think that there were things that were left unsaid when he died.” she confessed.

“I get it. I regret a lot of things too when I think about Missy, even though she left me a long time ago. You move on, but you don’t forget. Maybe that’s natural too. There are always the good memories, even if there were bad too.” I told her.

“Maybe,” Sara looked thoughtful now, “But you know Michael, there’s something else I recently found out about that’s helped me piece things together about Sage that I never could before.”

“Really? What’s that?” I inquired.

Sara glanced around us, “I know you won’t, but I have to say this. You can’t repeat what I’m going to tell you. You’ll understand why when I do.”

“I guess.”

I was a little puzzled by that one, but agreed anyway. If anything, I was incredibly curious as to what she wanted to tell me that had to stay between us.

“Well, back when Sean and you all went to the other side to look for Lenore, you met with Jekia for the first time, and you saw that he has a human wife and children.” Sara started.

I nodded, “Yes, we did.”

“Did you get a good look at his wife and one of his sons?”

“Sort of. She was a pretty young woman, and it did kind of strike me that one child had coloring like Jekia’s and the other’s was red.”

“Yes, but did you notice something else about that woman? Like how she looked?” Sara pressed.

I had to think about that one. But as I did, something suddenly dawned on me. That woman that Jekia had kept as a wife, she looked a lot like Sara, even though she still appeared like a teenage girl.

“You mean that she looks a lot like you?” I finally guessed.

Sara nodded, “Exactly,” she confirmed. She let out a quiet sigh, “Like I said, there were things I never understood back when Sage was alive, and it’s only been recently that Musket’s revealed them to me and our boys. It’s a bit of a story, but I’ll try to condense it. From what I know now, that girl that Jekia’s married to is named Lana Barnes, and she was born back in the 1400s. She inadvertently slipped over to the other side, where Jekia found her and claimed her as his wife. Well, that was the story that was told, but according to Musket, her coming over there was no accident. Sage made it happen.”

“Sage brought her over there?”

That one shocked me. Even if this had been hundreds of years ago, at least in our world, what purpose would this have served Sage?

“Yes,” Sara confirmed, “From the story I was told, Sage met Lana when she was a little girl, and he’d originally planned to take her away when she was older for himself. But he changed that for some reason and decided that it would be better to let Jekia have her. But from what Musket said, he never really let go of her.” A resigned sigh escaped her, “I know things were different back then for girls, and they’re still kind of like that within the Veil. While Alphas like Sage and Jekia can love, they also enjoy using girls that they’re attracted to. I believe that’s what happened with Lana at first too. According to Musket, they both were involved with her, if you know what I mean.”

Well, this was painting another grim picture for me. But also, it answered some things too.

“I think I see where you’re going with this. Jekia ended up having her to himself, and Sage chose you as a replacement at first.” I stated.

“I believe that too, and so does Musket now. Don’t get me wrong, Michael. I do believe that Sage ended up loving me, but I’m not a fool to the truth about why he kept me like he did. I’d never blame Lana for anything either. I think she was used to an extent too. But what interests me the most is the red-colored child she has. I’m sure you suspected it if you looked at him close enough. He’s not a Luna Dog like Jekia. He’s not a dog type at all. He’s a kit, a little Fox.” Sara continued.

I tensed up as I heard this, everything coming together for why this had so interested Sara.

“He’s Sage’s child.” I guessed quietly.

Sara nodded, “Yes. Musket confirmed it to me, Sean, and Tico. He was born at the same time as the other little boy, only they were from two different fathers. But Jekia claims both of them as his own and treats them both like they belong to him. Both are also considered heirs to his lands within the Veil.”

“Are you really okay knowing all of that? I’m sure it must’ve been shocking to you to hear the truth that they’ve hidden.” I sympathized.

“It was,” Sara acknowledged as she squeezed my hands, “but I don’t blame them for anything with it. Sage did what he did long before we met, and even if he only chose me at first because I reminded him of her, I know that he loved me too, so I don’t carry any regrets. I just hope that maybe one day I can meet Lana and her children, and see that little boy. I hope that Sean and Tico can get to know him too. It doesn’t matter where he came from. He’s still Sage’s son too.”

“Well,” I leaned closer to her, resting my forehead against hers, “No matter what happened back then, I know I’m a lucky man because I can call you mine now.”

Sara giggled, giving me a quick kiss and hugging me, “And I’ve been lucky too. I’ve gotten to be with the handsome Nephilim guy I had such a big crush on when I came here.” she teased.

“Maybe, but you certainly knew how to play hard to get.” I teased back.

“Come on, I couldn’t make it that easy for you, could I?”

I truly loved how she made me feel. Sara always knew how to lighten my mood, even when the heaviest of things were happening around us. This woman was a true angel to me. With her by my side, I felt like I could handle anything that came my way.

I pulled her into another kiss, enjoying how it felt. Maybe this could shut my mind off for a while from everything bad happening around us. It had been a while since we’d been this romantic.

But it wasn’t to be for now. Our moment was interrupted by the sound of the front door being unlocked and opened.

“I didn’t think that anyone was coming by,” Sara whispered as she reluctantly pulled away from me.

“Not that I knew of, but let’s see who it is. Something could be up.” I responded.

As much as I didn’t want to get up, I knew we had to check on this. If anything else was happening with Noah, then we’d want to help in any way we could.

The two of us made our way to the foyer, where we stopped dead in our tracks. Sean had apparently gone back out, but he’d returned with company.

Beside him was a young man that looked almost exactly like him, except that he had his fox ears and tail showing, and his hair was a silvery-white in color. He was dressed like a normal human in dark slacks and a white shirt, and had the same emerald eyes as Sean and Sara.

“Oh my God. Tico, it’s you!” Sara exclaimed as she ran over and hugged him.

“Hey, Mom. Long time no see.” Tico responded as he hugged her back.

Sean stepped over to me, “I went out for a run to clear my head and ran into him, and after I told him about everything that’s been happening, he finally decided to come back with me.” he explained.

“I see. Well, I’m a little surprised, but I was hoping to meet him one day.” I responded.

Tico stood in front of me, offering a friendly hand, “I’m going to take it that you’re Michael Renaldi. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Tico, Sean’s brother.” he introduced himself.

I must say that I was amazed. He looked almost exactly like Sean, say for their hair. Except for that, they were definitely identical twins.

“It’s nice to meet you too, although I admit that your mother and brother hadn’t told me about you until recently,” I responded as I shook his hand.

“I know, and I apologize for asking them not to, but there were things that have been going on that made it necessary. But when Sean told me about that spirit and your nephew getting sick, I had to come and see what kind of help I might be able to offer.” Tico explained.

Sara nodded, “I’m glad. I think that we could use all of the help that we could get with this. It’s become quite a mess.” she admitted.

“Yes, it has, especially with the boy’s confession. We could run into some trouble with that one later down the line if that death is investigated more, especially for the verbal exchange that happened in the emergency room.” Sean noted.

“I forgot about that one.” I sighed, shaking my head.

Damn the luck. If anything, the police would be questioning more if someone claimed that Beverly might have been called out to that roof.

Tico looked around for a moment, “Perhaps it would be better if we sat down and spoke more of this. I believe that I might be able to help you some with things that I’ve heard.”

I certainly wasn’t going to turn that one down, so the four of us went back into the den room and took our seats on the couches there.

Sara looked back at Tico as we did, “So what did you find out about all of this?” she asked him.

“Well, it was rather interesting when I heard about Noel. Manake mentioned it to me when I saw him the other day, and he said that you’d been having problems getting her back to where she belongs. But when he said that, I remembered something that Dad mentioned back when me and Sean were small. He was talking about a creature named Eclipse, one who could restrain and return wayward souls.” Tico answered.

Sara thought about it, “You know, I do halfway recall that. But he didn’t say a lot about it. It was just a passing thing when we were talking about something else.”

“I see. So you believe that this Eclipse might be the answer to our problem with Noel?” I guessed.

“We believe so. At least, he would be the one who could remove her. However, the issue with Noah is a bit of another story. The two of us have been talking about it since Tico came back, but we can’t quite find an answer either. This illness is a bit of a mystery, even within the Veil.” Sean admitted.

“However, I also think that finding Eclipse could help us there too,” Tico added.

“You do?” I said.

“Yes. Eclipse is one of the lead disciples of the Angel Azrael. That is the Angel who is in charge of life and death. It’s possible that he could know more about this illness because of that, and he may be able to give us some input on what can be done to possibly stop it.” Tico explained.

“It does sound possible, but how would we even begin to find him? Wouldn't he be on the other side?” Sara asked him.

“I’m not sure,” Tico admitted, “I asked Musket about it before I came here, and according to him, Eclipse is the type of creature that crosses between the worlds where he needs to. He’s a higher hunter than the Dregs, and they use him when there’s a huge issue with a soul. I’d imagine that Noel would fall under that, although it’s kind of weird that he wouldn’t just show up here to deal with her if that’s the case.”

“Perhaps there is something more to it, but either way, it’s the best plan that we can come up with now,” Sean told him.

“It would seem so.” I agreed. I looked back at Tico, “So are you going to stay around for a while?”

Tico smiled, “I will if you’ll have me. It’ll be kind of nice to be able to be here with Mom and Sean, and get to meet my niece and nephew, and I suppose I should add great-nephew.”

“Yes, that would be the correct term,” Sean confirmed, looking amused now.

“Time does fly, I suppose. But you know, I feel a bit odd right now too. You still do not show your ears and tail?” Tico noted as he regarded Sean.

“Not all the time. There just isn’t any need to on this side. But it doesn’t hurt to allow it either.” Sean responded, removing the limiter.

Within seconds, he had changed to look like Tico. To be honest about it, seeing them was a bit surreal. Aside from coloring in the hair, they were exactly alike.

Sara looked amused as she regarded them, “You know you’ll need to use your limiter if normal humans come around, Tico.” she reminded him.

“I will. But right now, I think that this will be fine.” Tico assured her.

“I see no problem with it. Actually, it seems very natural for both of you, although I’ll admit that this still catches me by surprise. You look exactly alike except for your hair.” I told them.

“I’m glad you think so. After all, we are basically identical twins. I just ended up getting more of our father’s silvery coloring than Sean did. But then again, Sean is the older of us, and he’s always proven to be the stronger too.” Tico admitted.

“You still believe so?” Sean asked him.

“I do. But you know that it’s never bothered me. Besides, the more pressing matter now is to help Noah and see what can be done about Noel. Worrying about such minor things would be silly.” Tico answered.

I’ll admit that Tico’s words and offer of help gave me at least a little bit of comfort that night. But waking up the next morning, I also knew that we had a lot of work ahead of us. Even with Tico’s added help, it may turn out to be difficult to track down this creature that was known as Eclipse. We didn’t even know that much about him, except that he was supposed to be a disciple of Azreal. I just hoped that we would have at least some luck getting started, before Noah got too sick.

Unfortunately, coming downstairs I was greeted by the usual noise of bickering. I had to sigh. It sounded like Sevee and Noah were at it again. I was just hoping that someone was down there with them. All I needed was another room destroyed.

Note to self: Look into getting the room fixed before putting the house on the market.

Coming into the doorway of the den room, I found the two sitting on the two couches at the side of the room. Lenore was seated by Sevee, obviously making sure to keep him in check, and Raziel was beside Noah. He actually looked like he was all right, although I knew that looks could be deceiving.

Across the room, Sean and Tico were sitting with Sage. It seemed that Tico was already working on acquainting himself with his nephews.

However, I didn’t see Seraphina down there. I wondered where she was, though I reasoned that perhaps she was doing something with Mia.

I didn’t get a lot of time to think about it as Sevee spoke again.

“You think just because you came clean gives you the right to act like everything is okay between us?” he was saying.

“You know why I did it. I knew that you would get upset and lose your head.” Noah responded.

I watched them closely for a moment. There was no sign of aggression, considering they were both sitting across the room from one another. However, I did note that Lenore was keeping a hand on Sevee’s, and that Sean kept glancing over at them. Obviously, no one was going to let this confrontation get out of hand.

“You still know that it wasn’t fair, and here I was trying to actually be nice to you,” Sevee complained. It was odd, but I could see a little bit of hurt in his eyes, even though he was trying hard to hide it.

“I told you that I did it to help you and everybody else. I didn’t want to hurt anybody just because I got sick.” Noah quietly informed him.

“Right.” Sevee scoffed.

“I see you two are getting along as rotten as ever.” I finally spoke up.

“Good morning. I see you heard the debate that’s started.” Tico said, smiling back at me.

“Unfortunately yes,” I looked at Sevee and Noah, “And I’ll give you both a fair warning, if one more room gets destroyed, you both will be very sorry.”

“Don’t worry. We’re making sure there’s no more trouble.” Raziel promised.

I noted that he seemed tired, but in a decent mood. I took that as a good sign. Perhaps Sean going out to speak to him the night before had helped things. After all, the two were good friends.

As I stood there though, I noticed Sevee looking back over at Sean and Tico.

“You know, I’m still not getting over this either, Dad. You two look so much alike that it’s weirding me out,” he stated.

“Just give it some time. After all, you and Seraphina have not gotten to know me yet. I think that you will find that Sean and I can be quite different when we choose to be.” Tico assured him.

I wasn’t too sure of whether I should take that one as good or bad, but at the time, I was willing to let it go. I had more important things to worry about anyway.

Saying my excuse me to them, I made my way to the kitchen, finding that Raphael and Gabrielle were already in there.

“I’ll take it you heard them,” Gabrielle said, pulling herself up on one of the barstools at the island across from Raphael.

“I don’t think one could miss it.” I responded, sitting beside Raphael on the other side of the island, “So, when did you all get here?”

“We haven’t been here long. But it seemed better to keep Noah close in case anything happened.” Raphael admitted.

“Let’s just hope those two leave things alone today. The last thing any of us need is another fight.” Gabrielle commented.

“And they wonder why Seraphina doesn’t want to be around them right now.” Raphael scoffed.

“Where is she anyway? I haven’t seen her this morning, and I would’ve thought that she’d want to get to know her uncle.” Gabrielle pointed out.

“She’s gone out for a while with Mia, Anna, and Hayden. They thought that it would be good for Anna to get away for a while, and I have to agree. She needs to let herself relax at least a little so that she can get her head on straight.” Raphael explained.

“Yes, I would have to agree. Let’s just hope that Raziel is handling this better too.” I added.

“I believe that he’s trying to. Apparently, Sean was able to get in a long talk with him last night, and he did calm down quite a bit afterward. Although I’ll admit that we were more than surprised this morning about his twin.” Raphael informed me.

“You haven’t said anything. When you mentioned that the other day, I was really surprised, but I never expected to see him this soon.” Gabrielle added.

“Neither did I. But he showed up here late last night with Sean. Even Sara hadn’t realized that he was going to finally come here.” I explained.

Raphael shook his head, looking down at his coffee cup for a moment.

“To be honest about it, I never would’ve suspected such a thing with them. I’ve heard of Foxes breeding with humans before, but twins are a rarity according to them. Usually, if there are two, one twin is substantially weaker and often passes away.” he told us.

I tensed up as he said that, recalling Tico’s words from the night before. He had said that he was the weaker twin. Could this have been part of the reason that Sara and Sean had always kept so quiet about him?

Still, I decided to leave that alone and change the subject a little. After all, there were more important matters at hand.

“Yes, maybe so. But there is something else that he told us last night. He mentioned an Angel called Azreal. Have you ever heard of that Angel when you’ve gone into the Veil?” I asked Raphael.

“Yes, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard that name. In fact, I think I had only heard of him once, and that was before Raziel was born,” he admitted.

“So who’s he supposed to be, Michael?” Gabrielle asked, “Is it someone we should know?”

“No. Actually, Tico mentioned his name when we were talking about possible ways to save Noah and help Noel.” I explained.

“From what I know, we’d be better off leaving that alone with Azreal. He’s one of the most elusive Angels, not to mention what he represents.” Raphael told me.

“You mean the Angel of Death,” I stated.

“Wait a minute. What do you mean Angel of Death?” Gabrielle spoke up. She clearly didn’t like where this one was going.

“Just what he said. Azreal is in charge of life and death. He oversees it, and he tends to have many disciples taking care of the legwork though. There are very few who have actually seen him though. I’ve heard that he remains hidden deep within the bowels of Hell, constantly working with the names, birthdates, and deaths of all mankind.” Raphael explained to her.

I nodded, “And Tico was saying that one of these disciples may be able to help us. His name is supposed to be Eclipse.”

Raphael looked rather thoughtful, “Ah yes. There’s a familiar name, even though I’ve never met him in person. He’s the one who made such a fool of that one witch right before my first trip into the Veil. It was quite a spectacle from what I’ve heard.”

“You mean one of those nasty witches that run those inns?” Gabrielle huffed as she crossed her arms, “I always hated going to those places when we were there. I was always worried I was going to be eaten, angel blood or not.”

“I doubt that they’d even thought of messing with us. Even Aggie admitted that she didn’t like us in her inn because of what we were when we went searching for Noah the first time.” I told her.

“I suppose that Angels and those close to them are intimidating to those witches. But I’d imagine something like Eclipse was far worse, especially because they don’t know anything about him. He’s almost as elusive as Azreal himself.” Raphael admitted.

“Speaking of the Veil, did you hear anything from Morosa?” Gabrielle inquired.

“Actually, he did get in touch with me this morning. They couldn’t find anything on this illness that we didn’t already know, unfortunately. It seems that what Noel was telling us was the truth. Also, I asked Ryo to look into Beverly Smith’s records to confirm Noah’s story. He was telling the truth. Beverly’s death was indeed an accident that came from Noah losing his temper and pushing her back with his telekinetic ability.” Raphael explained to us.

“Well, we can’t say that much to it. Losing your temper can be easy at times, and Noah’s still young.” Gabrielle sighed.

I felt sorry for Noah then. He probably was carrying some guilt for what happened. However, it was odd to think that he’d cause something like that.

“Who would’ve thought it though? We certainly wouldn’t have pegged Noah to have such a temper, considering how calm he’s always acted before.” I commented.

“It’s to be expected in dealing with someone such as Beverly Smith. She became such a shrewd woman, and considering what was happening at the time, I could see Noah’s feelings towards her.” Raphael scoffed.

“Raphael, you’re showing your nasty side in saying that.” Gabrielle pointed out.

“I have none. You know that.” Raphael contended, a slight hint of a smile crossing his face.

“Either way, what’s done is done, and we have to think about what we can do to fix it. Personally, I think that Tico is right and that the first step is to find this Eclipse to see if he can get Noel out of Aiden.” I spoke up.

“That’s going to be easier said than done Michael. Even if Tico knows of him from Musket, it doesn’t mean that he could truly help us find him. The ones like Eclipse are rarely seen by those who are to remain living.” Raphael reminded me.

“Then you have a better idea?” I challenged.

“Please, not you two also. It’s bad enough having to hear the constant bickering from the kids.” Gabrielle complained, going over to the sink to rinse out her coffee cup.

“We don’t bicker. We simply disagree.” Raphael told her.

“It’s civilized bickering.” Gabrielle retorted.

I sighed. She had a good point. Sometimes, it seemed that we were worse than our grandchildren.

“Either way, I always win in the end, and I say that we’re going to look into finding Eclipse,” I told them.

But before anything more could be said, we all suddenly heard a commotion coming from the den.

“What in the world is that?” Gabrielle said, hurrying out there.

It didn’t sound too good. Something was definitely wrong with the startled cries we'd heard. Raphael and I followed to see what was going on.

To our surprise, we found Raziel helping Noah stand. Noah also looked like he was in terrible pain.

“He just collapsed.” Raziel was telling Gabrielle.

I think that we all knew that this wasn’t a good sign. It seemed that his illness was getting worse. That pained look was just like Noel’s when Raphael and I had met her that night that she took her own life.

“Take him upstairs right so I can check him,” Gabrielle ordered.

Sevee had come over as she spoke, helping to get Noah upstairs. Standing there and watching, I couldn’t help but feel my stomach tighten slightly. We were running out of time. I was sure of it.

Near us, Sean and Tico were watching as well with Lenore, who was holding Sage.

“This is bad. If I’m sensing it right, it seems like the boy’s progression is going to be fast.” Tico softly admitted.

“You know some things about this?” Raphael guessed.

Tico nodded, “I’ve heard things, considering that I’ve been around the sides of the Veil that have dealt with illness. Apparently, it’s a disease that affects those with angel blood like yours. The blood has to be from a Pure angel, not one who has fallen. From what I happened to hear once, it may have a progression stage that could be fast or slow. But from what I’m smelling here, Noah’s is on the fast side. If we want to save him, we’ve got to figure out something fast.” he explained.

“Unfortunately, he would know with all of that. Tico has an uncanny ability to sniff out illness that I don’t.” Sean admitted.

That was even worse to hear. But we didn’t have much more time to say any more to it. Instead, Raphael and I went upstairs so that we could see what was happening with Gabrielle checking him. If anything, we needed to see just what more we were dealing with.

Gabrielle had Noah taken home and put to bed right after she checked him over. As suspected, the black feathers had spread since the night before. Gabrielle was a bit alarmed by it, and so were we. Noah’s stub from where his one wing was missing was completely black, and the other wing’s bottom feathers were almost completely black. It seemed that Noah had just become too weak from it, and it had caused him to pass out.

Raphael and I would end up spending most of the day working on getting any leads on Eclipse while trying to do everything else we needed to do. I took the time where I could to get in there and check on Noah, although he slept for most of the day.

But to my surprise, Tico was remaining there as well, helping Anna to make sure that Noah was comfortable. As it turned out, he had a lot of empathy for one who was so sick because he knew what it was like.

According to Sean, who sat down and spoke to me later that afternoon, Tico had indeed been the weaker twin, and for the first few years, there were fears that he would not live very long. Perhaps it was only fitting that Tico would want to take care of another who was now struggling to survive.

That evening, Raphael and I decided to stay up there with him. Raziel was up there again, relieving Anna for a while. Tico remained as well, helping Noah to sit up against some pillows and looking over some music notes with him.

“So you’re making an offer on that house you were looking at?” Raphael was saying as I hung up my cell phone.

“Yes. But I’d like to see it in person before I completely say yes. I don’t like not seeing what I’m getting first.” I told him.

“I would have to agree. By the way, I’ve already begun work on our documentation for when we get down there, so none of us should have any problems. I’ve finalized my own deal on the house that I’m buying, so at least we can remain close until all of this is settled.” Raphael added.

“So we’re really going to New Orleans? That should be interesting. At least we’ll blend in there. There are enough freaks in that city.” Raziel commented.

“Raziel, please don’t refer to your family as that. It’s rather insulting.” Raphael chided him. He didn’t even bother looking up from the pictures he was studying.

“So, no luck yet on Eclipse?” I asked, looking over at him.

“Not yet. But I spoke to Morosa a few hours ago, and he confirmed that they do know of him and that he probably is the one who could most likely remove Noel. He was thinking of asking Lumae to attempt it, but worried about putting Aiden’s life in any more jeopardy. Lumae is strong, but she does not possess enough power to bind Noel properly, given that this curse has remained wrapped around her soul. She very well could cause harm to Aiden’s soul in the process.” Raphael explained.

“Once she latches on, it’s like she’s put hooks in your soul. Only she can withdraw them.” Noah admitted.

“It’s amazing how powerful a spirit can be. Some of them are even worse than demons.” Tico agreed.

Raziel seemed to study him a little, “So you know a lot about all of this stuff huh?” he guessed.

Tico shrugged his shoulders, “Somewhat. Honestly, I only know what Musket has told me throughout the years, and that was more for my own survival. My knowledge about all of this is more from the things I’ve gotten to hear from others. I have to admit though that Eclipse seems to be a hot subject for them at times.”

“So who is this Eclipse again?” Raziel asked.

“He’s a disciple of Azreal. A very powerful creature who is supposed to be in charge of dealing with the souls that the Dregs are returning. When an issue arises with them, he takes care of it.” Raphael explained to him.

“That’s weird that Lenore never mentioned him. You’d think that would’ve stood out to her.” Raziel pointed out.

“I doubt she remembers anything from before she became a Sumarian now. Suicides are known for having complete amnesia to their previous lives and what happens to them once they’re put in their place.” Raphael said.

“She remembered Sevee and us.” Raziel pointed out.

“That’s because she was an Astarte then. Once she was killed again by the Dregs, the memories ceased again.” Raphael corrected.

“Lenore wouldn’t want to remember anyway. From what Hayden read, she had a terrible life as a human. She’s much happier the way she is.” Noah added.

“Is there anyone here that Hayden hasn’t read?” Raziel asked.

Noah shook his head, “She’s even worse than Seraphina. She can make anyone call up thoughts that they may not want revealed. She’s actually proud of her talent.”

“She certainly did get close to you in a short time, didn’t she?” I commented.

“Hayden gets close to people very easily. But she can be exhausting. Yuki is much easier for me to deal with.” Noah responded.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something about him,” Raziel spoke up.

Noah looked over at him, “What about him?”

“Did you ever see what this power of his is?” Raziel asked.

“I didn’t want to. Not after what Hayden managed to tell me about it.” Noah admitted.

“That boy carries a tremendous amount of guilt in him for that power. That’s why he suppresses so much. It’s going to take a lot of time to bring him out of that hard shell that he’s put himself in. Right now, it seems that the only person who ever really sees Yuki as he is would be his father.” Raphael added.

Noah nodded, “That’s true. Aiden is the only person that Yuki will open up to, and even then, he fears anything happening to him.”

“Hence his fear of Noel. I think if it were possible, he’d remove her himself.” Raphael noted.

Raziel stood up and stretched as he walked over to the window.

“I could understand that one. It’s hard to see someone you love suffering because of something like that,” he said softly.

“Noah, I think you should say something.” I quietly urged.

Noah nodded, looking down and taking a deep breath.

“Hey Dad…” he started.

But Raziel interrupted him, “What’s all this?”

“What do you see?” Raphael asked, getting up to move beside him.

By then, Tico had also come beside them to look.

“Are they Sumarians?” he asked.

“Yes, they are,” Raphael confirmed. He turned back to me, “It looks like Morosa and a few others are paying us a visit.”

“What in the world could this be about?” I wondered as I stood up.

“If you want, I’ll deal with it. They may know something that could help us.” Raphael offered.

I considered the offer for a moment. I really didn’t want Noah left alone with them there. But also, I was a bit concerned for Aiden. He had come there with Hayden and Yuki earlier to visit, although they’d gone back downstairs to allow Noah to rest for a while. If the Sumarians entered the house, it was possible that Noel would react to their presence, especially if Lumae was with them.

“That’s fine then. But I think that Aiden and his kids should come back up here. I don’t want any trouble if we can avoid it.” I told him.

Raphael nodded and slipped out of the door.

“What could they want? I thought the more powerful Sumarians didn’t leave the Veil.” Raziel said, returning to Noah’s side.

“Something must be going on,” I concluded.

I was racking my brain to figure it out though. If Morosa was with them, then it was something big. I’ll admit that I was getting a bit worried at that point. Something was wrong, and we were about to be warned.

It wasn’t two minutes later that Aiden came in with Yuki, and Hayden.

“I’m taking it that this was an unexpected visit,” Aiden guessed as he closed the door.

“It is. I don’t think that you have anything to worry about, but I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to Noel.” I told him.

Hayden was sitting down in the free chair beside Noah, while Yuki remained leaning against the wall.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked him.

“I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry.” Noah reassured her.

“Don’t act like it’s nothing. Everybody’s been worried.” Yuki told him.

Although his voice remained even, as it always seemed to be, I detected a hint of anger in it. But then again, I’d known that Yuki was worried too. Not just for himself, but for Noah’s life. Perhaps they were better friends than we’d originally thought.

“I’ll be fine. Stop assuming the worst.” Noah argued.

I watched as Yuki looked away, not saying anything else to it. Hayden just shook her head, turning her attention back to us. But she said nothing else. Instead, both remained quiet and waited.

It was a few minutes later that Raphael returned, asking me to step out with him. As I did, I found Morosa, Lumae, and Ren waiting there.

“My apologies for dropping in on you so unexpectedly, but I think that you’ll find that we had good reason,” Morosa stated as they stood in there with us.

“Has something happened?” I asked.

“No. In fact, what we’ve been able to hear is in your benefit. It seems that Eclipse has been spotted.” Lumae told us.

Both of us froze then. If this was true, then we were finally in luck.

“So have any been able to get in contact with him?” Raphael asked them.

“No. He’s been too fast for us to catch up with. But we know that he’s there taking care of some business there that’s not done yet. There’s still a chance that you may be able to catch up with him if you can get there within the next day or so.” Ren told us.

Raphael and I looked at each other.

“Do you think that it’s possible to do so?” I asked him.

Raphael took a deep breath, “I believe so, although it’s going to be a bit difficult. I’ve finalized the deal for the house that I bought, but there wouldn’t be enough room to move everyone. We may have to leave some here for the time being.”

I glanced back at the door. He was right. We didn’t have a lot of choices with this. We couldn’t take all of our family right now, and we’d be giving them very short notice. This was something that would have to be played carefully. Still, it had to be done.

“All right. Then we’re going to New Orleans.” I told them.

“I agree. But I only want to take Aiden and his family, us and Gabrielle, and Noah with Anna and Raziel. I believe that the less we have, the better it may be.” Raphael added.

“That’s fine, but I’d like to take Sean and Tico as well. If anything, Tico seems to know more about him than we do, and perhaps they can help to locate him while we take care of Noah.” I replied.

“Hey, you’re not going without me.”

We both turned to see Sevee standing about a foot away. So he had come there after all. I honestly hadn’t thought that he would. Since what had happened at my house, he’d been making himself scarce again. I believed that he wasn’t able to handle seeing Noah getting worse. But it looked like he wasn’t giving up either.

Raphael gave him a skeptical look, “You would want to come knowing that we might not be able to save Noah or Aiden?” he asked him.

Sevee just gave him a defiant look back.

“You think I don’t know that? I can’t just sit here waiting, and if that does happen, then I want to help as much as I can. I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t. Even if we don’t get along, we’ve grown up together, and he is like the brother that I’ve never had.” he admitted.

“And I’m going to guess that Seraphina wants the same,” Raphael said, crossing his arms.

But Sevee shook his head, “No. She says that she can’t take doing it, and I’m not forcing her. But seriously, I want to go, and even if you tell me no, I will follow.”

Well, no sense in arguing that much. I think that we all knew to take whatever Sevee said seriously when he was like this.

“Fine, but you’re the only one.” I agreed. I then turned back to Morosa, “We’re going to need your help though. Noah’s not in any shape for us to take a long trip.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Ren spoke up, “I’m gonna help move Noah and get you all there through the Veil. It’ll be much faster that way.”

Raphael and I both nodded in agreement. It was time to go. Noah’s life depended on it, and so did Aiden’s. Both were becoming weaker and weaker, and we had no time to lose. Looking back at the door, I knew that much.

“Good enough. Then let’s get going. I want to get there as fast as we can.”