41. ZARA #2
Minutes turned into hours as we waited for Raquel to regain consciousness.
“Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” I asked for probably the twentieth time. “Shouldn’t we try and find her a doctor or something?”
“I’ve already explained this to you, Zara,” he said, sounding like he was getting a bit fed up with having to keep repeating himself.
“There’s nothing a doctor can do for her that she can’t do for herself.
She’s not just sleeping, she’s healing. The bruising around her throat has gone now, but things like broken bones take longer to mend. ”
After Nero had granted her sanctuary, we’d checked her over for other injuries and found she had a broken wrist too.
“Will she have to stay here with you now? Does she need to be inside your wards to stay safe?” He shook his head.
“No. She is under the protection of all the gods, not just me. And if anyone tries to touch her again, they’ll have all of us to deal with. She can stay with you if you want, as she obviously can’t go back to her family now.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, I want to help her, but I don’t need Gabriel and all his brothers turning up and harassing us.” And taking it out on me when they couldn’t get to Raquel.
“I’ve already extended my wards to cover the entire manor. I know that’s not what you wanted but the circumstances have changed now. I’ll not take any chances with your safety. There’s plenty of room for Raquel to stay here though. You too, if you’d feel safer.”
Raquel started to stir, as if she could sense that we were talking about her, then sat up and looked around her in panic. She relaxed when she saw the two of us.
“Oh, thank goodness. I didn’t dream I made it here.” She reached up and touched the same spot on her forehead that Nero had when he whispered his mumbo jumbo. “Thank you. I really thought he was going to end me. He was so angry.”
“Did Gabriel do that to you?” I demanded but she shook her head.
“No, it was m- my- ” She broke off and two tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Michael?” I whispered in horror. Surely her own father hadn’t attacked her so brutally.
“He said I was useless, that I was a traitor and I’d let everyone down.
He said I was…” a sob tore from her, and I settled myself next to her on the sofa and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“He said I was no longer his daughter,” she finally managed to choke out.
“That all I was to him now was a tool for delivering messages and if I wanted to keep existing I’d better do just that and stop causing trouble. ”
“Easy, Zara.” Nero’s warning was in response to the way my siren powers were starting to build again, and I forced myself to take a deep breath and push them back down. Wrecking Nero’s study wasn’t going to change anything.
“What about your uncles? Didn’t any of them stand up for you?” She gave a pathetic little sniff and shook her head.
“Gabriel said I was a disgrace to the family. He said even Uncle Luci would be ashamed of me, and I don’t deserve to exist.” One day soon they were going to pay for that, I vowed, as I watched Raquel struggle to control her emotions.
“They gave me a message for you, Zara. That’s the only reason I was able to get away.
” She broke down completely then and I held her while she sobbed it out, until she fell into a fitful doze in my arms.
“Let her rest again for a bit,” Nero advised, taking her gently from me and laying her back down on the sofa. “Her message can wait. Let’s talk out in the garden.” He opened the French doors that led to a little terraced area and ushered me outside.
“Something has to be done about those bastards,” I spat as soon as there was no chance of Raquel overhearing me and getting upset again.
“They spent all those centuries living the life of Riley in their secret realm while one of their own brothers paid the price of their mistakes for all of them, and now suddenly they think they can come down here and start throwing their weight around like they own the fucking galaxy. And for Michael to do that to his own daughter – it’s beyond fucked up.
” I glared at him, daring him to disagree.
“If you were hoping for an argument, you’re not going to get it from me,” he said, sinking down onto a nearby bench and patting the seat next to him for me to join him.
“I completely agree. But I’m not sure what, if anything, we can do about them.
These beings have existed for far longer than we gods have and it’s obvious they have some pretty impressive powers of their own.
There’s no guarantee we’d be any match for them if we decided to take them on.
Do we even know how many of them there are? ”
“No,” I admitted, feeling a bit deflated. “Gabriel has only ever mentioned Raphael and Michael. Raquel must know though.”
“What must I know?” I twisted round as she spoke softly from behind me, taking me by surprise yet again. The woman had sneaking as a superpower. She looked much more like herself now, so hopefully the extra nap had finished off any healing that had still needed doing.
“How many brothers there are,” I said. “We know about Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, and Lucien of course. How many more are there?”
“Only two. Haniel and Uriel. They and Raphael aren’t as fanatical as my father and Gabriel, but they won’t stand up to them about Seth if that’s what you’re hoping, any more than they stood up for me.
As far as all of them are concerned, their only purpose is to protect the human race, and each other, by whatever means necessary. ”
That meant there were only five of them to deal with.
I looked hopefully at Nero, but he gave a tiny shake of his head, and I realised he didn’t want to risk upsetting Raquel by discussing taking down her family in front of her, so I bit my tongue on that subject for the time being and asked her about the message she’d been sent back with instead.
“Michael ordered me to tell you that whatever happens next is between them and Seth, and not to try and interfere in matters that don’t concern you.
That you’re immortal not indestructible.
And that if you insist on making a nuisance of yourself, you’d better tell your friends to watch their backs too, because you won’t be the only one to pay the price for your interference. ”
The flowers and shrubs around me started to tremble and shake as if a storm was tearing through the garden. Those bastards had gone too far by threatening the people I loved.
Nero didn’t waste his breath telling me to calm down this time, but I could feel his powers blanketing my own and stopping me from doing any serious damage to his garden while I got it out of my system.
“Message received.” I gritted out when the red haze finally cleared. “What will they do when you don’t return?”
“They’ll come looking for me. And if they find me, then I’m not sure what they’ll do to me.” She rubbed absently at the wrist that had been broken. “I really think my father has gone insane. I’ve never known him to act like this before.”
“You are under the gods’ protection now,” Nero reminded her gently. “So they won’t be doing anything to you unless they intend to start a war with us.”
“Well, you’re definitely not going back to them.
So what are you going to do now? You’re welcome to come back to the manor with me for a few days if you want, just while you decide what you’re going to do.
” Best to put it out there that the offer wasn’t open ended.
“Or would you feel safer staying here?” I’d hoped she’d say she wanted to stay with Nero, but instead her face lit up at my offer.
“Do you mean it?” she said eagerly. “I would love that. It would give me a chance to contact Jules as well. I haven’t been able to see her. Let’s go now.”
I looked at Nero. “I don’t think I’ll be working tonight, boss.” He looked a bit disappointed, so I added, “you’re welcome to come and visit us instead though if you haven’t got any visits planned.”
“Maybe I should pop in,” he said, a bit too eagerly, “just to make sure my wards are working properly. What’s for dinner?”
“Little pink sea creatures,” I teased, grinning at the horrified look on his face. “So it’s either that or you can bring a Chinese takeaway with you.” I giggled as the words ‘takeaway it is then’ floated after us as Raquel shimmered us back to the manor.