15. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Dash
I couldn’t believe I was holding our sweet baby girl in my arms. There was quiet chatter from the nurses caring for the other newborns, but it wasn’t intrusive.
A knock on the nearby glass caught my attention. I opened my eyes to see Jonas standing on the other side. I slowly got up and took Grace to the glass, turning her so Jonas could see her. He grinned and took a picture of the two of us with his phone.
“I need to talk to you.” He held his thumb and index finger to his ear to simulate a phone, and I nodded.
I held up my finger for him to give me a minute, carrying Grace back to the small acrylic bed and swaddling her. She sighed and moved her little mouth in a sucking motion before falling right back to sleep. I’d fed her a tiny bottle earlier, and it seemed she was still satisfied. I had a lot to learn about babies.
I pulled on my shirt and walked over to Leilani, or Lani, as she’d introduced herself. She’d been the one who’d taught me to bathe Grace. “I’m just going to step out for a minute. I swaddled Grace and put her back in her crib. I won’t be long.” Lani nodded, so I stepped out to speak with Jonas.
“How is she?” Jonas’s gaze was locked on Grace in her little plastic bed.
“Perfect. When she was born, I could have sworn I’d heard angels sing—or a vicious scream from somewhere else. Anyone heard from Lilith? She was going to talk to Lucifer.”
“I haven’t heard from her, but we’re not exactly on the same side. Never trust a dark lighter, Dash. Jo’s with Lake right now. Seems they became close while they were in hiding. Anyway, Scotty and Jay are headed to Normandy. When can you and Keir get away? All signs point there for the battle. I’m heading out when I leave here.”
“We can’t leave! We just had a baby! ” Was he insane?
“You and Keir must go, Dash. Now is the time. I’ll be right back.” Jonas hurried out of the scrub room and disappeared, just as Keir returned.
“How’s Grace?” He stopped next to the sink and began to wash his right hand. I quickly pumped some soap to help him.
I took a breath. “Jonas was here. We need to—”
“Go? Yes, Jo stopped by to check on Lake. She’s brought someone to watch over Grace and Lake. Let’s go—” Keir was tugging at the bandages on his left hand.
“Let me try something? Let’s go to the men’s room.” I hoped I still had a little of Lilith’s magic left inside me to help my husband.
I glanced into the nursery to see Lani smile and nod before she walked to the door. “Go ahead. I’m here with Angela, and we’ll look out for that sweet baby girl.”
When Lani smiled, it was like the room lit up, much like when Jo did when they were in their angelic form. I nodded and took Keir’s hand to lead him to the men’s room.
Once inside, I pulled him into the accessible stall and smiled. “We’re going to Normandy, you know.” I began removing the bandages to see the blistered and inflamed skin on Keir’s hand and arm.
I then moved up to check the burns on his face and neck. They looked so painful. My heart slammed against my ribs. “Are you in pain, Dearly?”
Keir’s smile lit up my world. “I’m so happy right now that I don’t feel any pain.”
I brushed my lips over Keir’s. “I can’t tell you how much I love you. I’m not smart enough to have the vocabulary to say it properly and give it the importance it deserves. I just know that I was a zombie, going through my life without much thought or purpose...” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.
“Love, I’m not sure right now is the time for seduction.”
Of course, I guffawed. The man made me happy from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. “Yeah, I guess that will have to wait. Anyway, let’s see if I can help you.”
I bit into my wrist and gathered some of my and Lilith’s blood that coursed through me. I then gently smeared it on the raised blisters and scorched skin on Keir’s face, neck, and arm, seeing the skin peel away like a sunburn and leave supple pink skin in its wake. I was so grateful. I just didn’t know who to.
“May I kiss you?”
Keir nodded, so I wrapped myself around him and kissed the man with all the love he’d inspired inside me. If we made it out of this battle alive, I would look forward to spending the rest of my days with Keir Dearly by my side.
We stepped out of the stall to see Jo leaning against the wall in their angelic form. “You get that all worked out?”
Keir stopped in front of the mirror to check that the burns were indeed gone. He turned to me with a smile. “How’d you know it would work?”
“I didn’t. I just had faith Lilith had told me to drink her blood for a reason.” I then looked at Jo. “Ready to go?”
“We’ve got to make a stop first.”
We swung by the nursery to kiss our little girl, and then Jo led us out to a courtyard behind the hospital. It was already dark outside, which was probably good as Jo wrapped her huge white wings around us, and we were off.
When I opened my eyes, we were in front of the smoking remains of Dearly & Son. “The building is unsafe, so I’ll take you inside. Keir, you need to get the scroll, top and bottom, to destroy it. Dash, get the cooler with the other bag of Lilith’s blood from your vehicle. Hurry! We have no time to waste.”
Jo took Keir up the stairs on the outside of the building while I rushed to the garage where my Escalade was parked, retrieving the cooler. The small demon wasn’t still inside, thankfully, but my cooler, a white and royal-blue Playmate, was on the floor on the front passenger side.
I opened it to see the blood was still there and the ice pack was still frozen. I touched it to feel it was cool. I had no idea what the lifespan of vampire blood in a bag was, but I was pretty sure I was in the clear in case Lilith was forbidden from joining us.
I stepped out of the garage and looked toward the garden, seeing a bunch of spirits gathered there, so I walked over. “Hello. I wanted to let you know your resting place is secure. This will always be your memorial. You will always be visited here.”
I noticed Lorraine Joly standing in the woods near the memorial, so I headed that way. “You have no place here. You tried to kill my husband, you crazy nutjob.”
“Dash, she’s confused.” I turned to see Keir step closer with Jo following.
“Lorraine, my family’s roots are a product of Pierre d’Erlie. He went on to have children, only males because of a curse he didn’t know had been cast on our family. That’s the d’Erlie bloodline of my forefathers. Claude joined a religious order and never fathered children. He’s already gone to judgment and ascended to—”
“Lorraine Joly?” The snow-white spirit of a male appeared, and when the glow faded a bit, or my eyes adjusted to it, I saw a man who strongly resembled my husband.
“Claude!”
Lorraine ran to his arms and the two embraced for an instant before Claude pushed her back. “You will not join me in the Celestial Realm, and I’m sorry for that. I should have tried to help you seek the righteous path instead of falling in love with you. I hope you’ll forgive me for my shortcomings and allow me to lead you toward a chance at redemption.”
Hell, I was anxious to hear what that could be. Keir glanced at me and shrugged, echoing my thoughts exactly.
“Find all the men in Pierre’s lineage who have already left the Human Realm and are in Limbo. Bring them to our homeland. Go now. Perhaps you can get a chance to repair some of your soul’s darkness. Also, find the witch, Marie, who you called upon to work your black magic. It is time for her to face her judgment.”
Much to my surprise, Lorraine disappeared without a fight. Claude approached the two of us. “I was sent by Azrael, the Angel of Death, to ask who you need by your side during the fight. I’ve been given permission to go to the Celestial Realm and bring those you need to Normandy.”
I glanced at Keir, who spoke quietly. “Any of the d’Erlie or Dearly family who have gone on to the Celestial Realm, including my father. I thought Azrael was a neutral entity. Why is he involved? Doesn’t that break some cosmic rule?”
Claude chuckled. “This particular situation affects us all. We are prepared to assist. Unlike the underworld, you will have our support.”
“Time to go. Alba Protectorus d’Erlie, thank you for your assist. I’ll see you there.” Jo then wrapped her wings around us again, and we were whisked away.
Everything was a blur, but when we finally landed, Jo pulled back her wings and allowed us to see nothing but miles of beach. “ Arromanches-les-Bains . This is near the beach where Scotty died. It’s about ten kilometers from Courseulles-sur-Mer where Henri d’Erlie brought the curse upon your family, Keir.”
I stepped closer to Keir, taking his hand. Suddenly, Scotty appeared, his angelic wings splayed behind him. It was as if he walked out of thin air. He was wearing jeans and those huge wings, slowly striding toward us as he stared at the beach, maybe remembering his time there before he was taken from his human life.
Keir gasped as his father came forward, wearing a tracksuit that reminded me of Beelzebub. His smile was nearly identical to that of my beautiful Keir. As we watched, the beach began to fill with people I recognized. My mother and father. My brother Daniel—which was a surprise. I was able to hug them all as the beach continued to fill.
“Look, there’s Corrine Burke. She was a guest just before I met you. I’m not surprised her boyfriend didn’t make the cut.” Keir continued to scan the crowd.
“Oh, Andrea Timm. Albert Picket. Emil Hauge. DJ Langston…” He continued to name off the spirits of those who had been guests at Dearly & Son, who were joining us on the beach to fight for our daughter and all the nameless children who were yet to be born. Nobody wanted the kind of future the promise of Nyx would bring.
Nancy Plum led the group of women she’d been wrongly accused of killing, along with a young boy I didn’t recognize. He walked up to Keir and extended his hand. “I’m Kent White. I’m resting in your memorial behind the funeral home. I’m sorry your home was destroyed, but thank you for assuring us our markers will remain on the premises. I’m finally home.”
He brought tears to my eyes, and I didn’t know who the hell he was. Keir leaned into my ear. “He’s the headless torso the police found. Remember his name so we can try to find his family when this is over.”
Kent smiled. “You’re my family now. I was homeless, and I didn’t know the man who killed me. Just take care of your little girl.” Kent then walked away and joined the others as everyone seemed to be enjoying their time on the beach.
Scotty approached us with a huge smile. “I saw that beautiful little girl of yours. I can’t wait to get to know her better.”
David Dearly hurried over to us and hugged Keir, then me. “Are you able to block out their thoughts? I understand you were given that ability, and I assume it’s so you’ll be able to hear the enemy’s approach.”
People continued streaming onto the beach as I opened my mind, hearing the jumbled sounds of thoughts and voices of the multitudes that kept coming from somewhere. I was sure those we saw on the beach were only a pin drop compared to the population of Limbo, but I’d be grateful for every helping hand.
I made my way over to my brother and parents. “Oh, Dashiell! It’s so good to see ye, but I’ve heard ye’ve taken the side of the underworld.” The disappointment on Mom’s face had me embarrassed.
“Siobhan, my love, you didn’t listen. He is the dark to Keir’s light. He will protect the Gatekeeper, and if he’s fighting demons, the only way to beat them is to join them.” My dad smirked at me before he hugged my mother.
It was bittersweet to see them still so in love, knowing our visit would be interrupted by evil. “If we make it through this, I want you to meet our daughter. Daniel, I’m surprised to see you here.”
My brother laughed. “Well, I’m hoping it’ll win me a few brownie points with those upstairs. Plus, little brother, I can’t let you go unprotected.”
We laughed as a screech drowned out the waves hitting the shore. I glanced toward the other end of the beach to see many more spirits joining us, their dark auras dividing the space as though day and night were fighting for control.
This was it. The time had come.