Chapter Eighteen

"He's beautiful," Leah whispered as she watched the little boy sleeping in the crib, his pink cheeks and blond hair nestled against a blue pillow. "He looks like you."

"Thank you." Marielle smiled as she gazed at her son. "But when he's being stubborn, which is most of the time, I say that he takes after his father."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" When Marielle nodded, Leah continued, "How does it work - I mean, do you like being married to a vampire?"

Marielle's mouth twitched. "Are you contemplating a similar marriage?"

"No, no." Leah waved a dismissive hand. "I'm just curious."

"I see," Marielle said, although her eyes still glinted with humor. "Well, I know very little about other marriages, but I believe mine is very happy. Even our housekeeper says it works wonderfully well."

"She knows your husband is a vampire?"

"Yes. She even told me she'd like a vampire of her own. Do you know why?"

Because he might be gorgeous, sweet, and sexy like Dougal? Leah shook her head. "I have no idea."

"Because you never have to cook for them. And they never snore."

"Right." 'Cause they sleep like the dead.

"I can't imagine being married to anyone but Connor. And Gabriel - " Marielle glanced down at the sleeping boy. "I am still in awe that I actually gave birth. To have life growing inside me, then to see him, and hold him in my arms. There is so much love in my heart, I feel like it could burst."

Leah gazed at the little boy, and a vision flashed across her mind of a little boy with black curly hair and green eyes. She pushed the thought aside. Dougal seemed to be constantly monopolizing her thoughts. "Is it true you were an angel?"

Marielle nodded and led her toward the nursery door. "Not a very good one, I'm afraid. I didn't always follow orders. When I was a Healer, I healed two children I wasn't supposed to."

"You saved their lives?" Leah stepped into the hall with her. "How could that be bad?"

"One grew up to be a serial killer."

Leah winced.

Marielle headed toward the staircase. "When I became a Deliverer, I disobeyed again. My wings were stripped off, and I was cast upon the earth. That's when Connor found me, and I fell in love."

"But surely, as an angel, you already knew about love."

"Yes." Marielle paused at the head of the stairs. "For millennia, I was one of the Heavenly Host, a part of the whole. We were connected to each other, always communicating with each other and singing praises to the Heavenly Father. We could always feel His presence, so we were surrounded by love, and filled with love for His children."

Leah's skin prickled with goose bumps. "It sounds . . . heavenly."

"It was." Marielle smiled with a wistful look. "It was a warm and peaceful sort of love, a love for everyone. But with Connor, it all changed. All of a sudden, love was personal and . . . fierce. There was a desperation to it, so powerful that I could not live without him."

"So you gave up Heaven for him?"

With a sigh, Marielle started down the stairs. "When I was cast out for disobedience, I was afraid that I was a fallen angel and that I was doomed for hell. But now I realize that my rebellious nature didn't mean I was evil. It only meant I was human." She shrugged. "So I'm convinced I'm where I'm supposed to be. Connor needed me more than Heaven did. And the Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways."

"I see."

Marielle smiled at her. "I'm probably talking your ears off. We don't get much company here. How long will you be able to stay?"

"A day or two, I suppose."

Marielle touched her arm. "We'll take good care of you here. Why, I could take you on a tour tomorrow." She smiled proudly. "I've learned how to drive."

"That sounds great, but I should check with Dougal."

Marielle waved a dismissive hand. "He'll be in his death-sleep. Come on. We'll go to Inverness and go shopping. You can get your own kilt! And I'll show you Loch Ness on the way, and Urquhart Castle."

Leah grinned. "I'd love to."

"Great!" Marielle hugged her. "Let's go to the kitchen and have some shortbread to celebrate. I've been learning how to cook, too!"

Leah followed her, smiling. Who would have known a week ago that she would acquire two new friends - Abby and Marielle. And a suitor who just happened to be a vampire.

"There ye are." Dougal smiled at Leah as he entered the kitchen with Connor. She smiled back, her hands curled around a large mug with a cartoonish Nessie pictured on it. She was seated across from Marielle at the long wooden table, where they were having hot tea and shortbread.

Connor took two bottles of Bleer from the fridge and brought them to the table. "Och, that shortbread looks good."

"It is," Leah agreed.

"Thank you." Marielle turned to her husband as he sat beside her. "Leah's going to spend the day with me and Gabriel tomorrow. We're going to Inverness!"

"Sounds great." Connor cast an amused look at Dougal. "Apparently, ye'll be staying here awhile."

"That's fine." Dougal sat beside Leah and twisted the top of his bottle of Bleer. "We have some time before we move the mission to Japan."

Leah nodded. "Angus said it would take at least two weeks to get the old school ready, and that's with a small army of workers going twenty-four/seven."

Marielle gave her a worried look. "Be careful."

"I should be fine," Leah insisted. "I'll be on some remote island in Japan, working in a lab."

Dougal frowned. Missions had a way of changing once you were forced to adjust to whatever the enemy threw your way.

Marielle frowned, too. "It would be a mistake to underestimate Darafer. The second he sees you, he will know all about you. He'll know which fears to manipulate, which wounds to pick at, and the most efficient way to tempt you."

"Aye." Connor patted his wife's hand. "We were fortunate to escape him unscathed."

Marielle nodded. "He's superstrong and fast. Extremely intelligent. He can appear and disappear anywhere at any time. And he can even control time if it suits his purpose."

Leah's eyes widened. "Really?"

Marielle sipped from her mug. "He can freeze everything on a local scale, and no one realizes that it's happened. Except for the Heavenly Host."

"Is there a way to defeat him?" Dougal asked.

Marielle sighed. "Only the Heavenly Father has that power, and I've never known Him to destroy an angel, even the fallen ones. The most likely way to handle Darafer is to banish him back to hell, but only the Father or a God Warrior has the power to do that."

"A what?" Leah asked.

"A God Warrior. An angelic soldier," Marielle explained. "You see, there are five kinds of angels: Messengers, Guardians, Healers, Deliverers, and then, the God Warriors. They are the strongest and fiercest of the Heavenly Host. They fly in chariots of fire, and if they wish, their swords can turn into blades of fire."

"Holy crapoly," Leah whispered.

Dougal leaned forward. "Then there's nothing a mortal or a Vamp can do against a demon?"

Marielle winced. "The best you can hope for is to survive."

Leah shuddered.

Underneath the table, where no one could see, Dougal took hold of her hand. "Is there a way we can get these God Warriors to help us?"

Marielle tilted her head, considering. "There is a way, but only if the demon in question has broken the rule of free will. You see, the Heavenly Father has decreed that all his children must have free will. From the viewpoint of mortals, it's a wonderful thing, but for the angels, it's a frustrating rule that severely limits their power. If a mortal decides to follow a demon, they cannot interfere. The mortal has the right to his decision."

Leah groaned. "The soldier we had was a willing participant."

Marielle nodded sadly. "If Master Han's soldiers are willing to let Darafer transform them, then there is nothing the God Warriors can do."

"Even if Master Han's army takes over the world?" Leah asked. "They would just sit by and let it happen?"

Marielle sighed. "As long as mortals choose to do evil, then evil will triumph. And Lucifer will laugh when people blame it on the Heavenly Father. But even with all the suffering in the world, the Heavenly Father will not take away your free will. He wants you to choose good or evil. He will not force us to choose good."

"Because forcing us would be . . . evil?" Leah asked.

Marielle nodded. "Exactly. Of course, demons like Darafer are evil incarnate, so occasionally, they will force someone, destroying that person's free will. When that happens, the demon has broken the decree, and the God Warriors have the right to step in."

"How would they know if that happened?" Dougal asked. "Maybe it already has happened, and they doona know."

"They would know." Marielle's gaze drifted to the corner of the room. "That person's Guardian would let them know."

"Guardian?" Dougal glanced at the corner, but there was nothing there. "Ye mean guardian angel?"

"Yes." Marielle smiled at the corner. "All mortals have at least one Guardian, and they are in constant communication with the Heavenly Host."

Leah glanced over her shoulder. "I have a Guardian?"

"Yes. Josephine." Marielle turned to her husband with a sad smile. "I'm afraid you lost yours when you died."

"That's all right." Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I have you."

Leah peered around the room. "Are you serious? I have an angel named Josephine?"

"Yes, and she loves you dearly." Marielle gave Dougal a sympathetic look. "None of the Vamps have any."

He shrugged. That was hardly surprising.

Leah glanced at him, then blushed. "Does my Guardian see everything that I do?"

Marielle smiled. "Angels don't have bodies, unless they need to take one for a specific purpose, so they don't normally relate to the physical aspects of human life. They simply turn away and rejoin the Host whenever you . . . I mean, if you do . . . anything." Her gaze shifted to Dougal and back to Leah.

Dougal smiled at the heated blush on Leah's face and squeezed her hand underneath the table.

She cleared her throat. "If people have Guardians, then why do they get hurt?"

"The Guardians protect you as best as they are able," Marielle replied. "But when free will comes into play, and a person decides to drink and drive, or chooses to take a drug, then there is very little they can do. It is painful to watch a soul we love destroy itself. And even more tragic when other innocent souls are destroyed in its wake."

Dougal took a long drink of his Bleer while Leah and Marielle continued to philosophize. As long as Darafer was finding humans who were willing, there would be no help from the God Warriors.

He figured the Vamps and shifters could handle Master Han and the two vampire lords. The army would be difficult because the Vamps were so outnumbered. Difficult, but possible. However, when it came to Darafer, as far as he could tell, they were screwed.

Chapter Nineteen

"Ow!" Leah stumbled on the uneven pavement.

"Are you all right?" Marielle stopped pushing the stroller.

Leah put some weight on her left foot and winced. "I twisted my ankle."

"Let me see." Marielle leaned down to touch her ankle, and Leah felt an instant surge of relief.

"I think it's better." She tried walking, then winced. "But not much."

Marielle sighed. "I'm afraid my healing powers are not as strong as they used to be, at least not for physical ailments. We need Bunny."

"A rabbit?"

Marielle smiled. "Buniel. He's a Healer. Let's stop in that pub for a while so you can rest."

Leah limped toward the street corner where the pub was located. Her arms were so full of purchases that she hadn't seen the small pothole. But how could she have resisted buying herself a kilt? And then she'd needed the matching plaid shawl, a red beret, knee socks, and white Jabot blouse. She'd even splurged and bought herself a small sporran made of faux fur.

Marielle had bought plenty, too, and every storage space on the baby stroller was stuffed. She wheeled it into the pub and up to a table.

Leah set her purchases down on the nearby bench, then took a seat.

"I tell you what." Marielle leaned over to rummage through the large diaper bag. "After we've rested a bit, I'll run back to get the car. Then I can just pick you up, and you won't have to walk."

"Sounds good." Leah propped her foot up on the bench. Already the ankle was starting to swell. She glanced around. The place was mostly empty, except for a few older men close to the fireplace, drinking pints and playing chess.

"Here you go." Marielle handed Gabriel a stuffed tiger. He smiled, flailing the tiger about as she hunted for more toys in the diaper bag.

"May I be of service?" a deep voice asked, and Leah glanced up and blinked.

The waiter was tall, blond, and stunningly handsome.

"I'll have a lemonade," Leah said.

His mouth curled in amusement. "As you wish. And perhaps some warm milk for Gabriel?"

Marielle straightened. "Bunny! You came."