He smiles, “Very.” He nods to several people lining the white wall, blending in with their blonde whiteness. “Show them to their rooms and speak aloud. They are not used to mind talking.”
The men and women curtsey and bow. Michael points, “They will show you to your room and get you clothed in something less, interesting.” He looks at the priestess. She snickers. I hate it when people snicker. The priestess gives me a look and I point at her, “Stay out of my head.”
She laughs harder.
Wyatt takes my hand, gripping it almost painfully and drags me from the room. “Stop, you are so rude. These are the people who want to help you. That’s a friggin’ archangel in there.”
I jerk my hand free, “You stop. Don’t get moody with me, Wyatt. I don’t like the whole mind-reading crap. If I want to think a bad thought, I want to be left alone to do it.”
He sighs and climbs the stairs. The ladies open the doors, and the men fetch clothing for us and lay it on the bed.
They leave instantly except for a lady and a man. I look at Wyatt, “You have to tip them.”
He laughs, “They are our dressers.”
“They hold the clothes?”
He covers his eyes with his hands and takes a deep breath, “They change our clothes for us, undress, and dress.”
I make a face, “Oh, uhm. None for me, thanks. I’m good.”
The lady looks confused. Wyatt smiles, “We can dress each other. It’s a custom where we are from.”
She backs out of the room with the man. They both look lost.
Wyatt cocks an eyebrow, “Are you being horrid on purpose or is it something else?”
I give him a look, “You don’t think it’s funny we have an army, instantly, as we need it? Constantine betrays us after all this time helping us?”
He gives me a look, “It was your dream.”
I nod, “I just think it’s meant to look—what is that word. Serendipitous. But to me it seems too coincidental.”
He smiles sweetly, “My pet. You are just used to being betrayed at every turn. It’s nothing.”
I can see the way he is speaking exactly the way Constantine does and I nod. He wants us to play the part until he can get to the bottom of it.
He walks to me, kissing me on the top of my head, “Let’s take a hot shower and then curl up in the crisp sheets. That bed looks divine. I’m exhausted, you’re exhausted, and we are both dirty. Let’s relax a little and know we are safe here. The air witches and the angels are made of love, they want us to win.”
I nod, letting him pull me to the shower. I can see the look in his eyes. He is being on his best behavior. He is being fake as hell. He pulls my shirt off and kisses my collarbone. I reach for the shower and turn it on. The white room is so clean, I swear every inch squeaks. The shower is a round tube like area with a huge nozzle above our heads. It rains down on us when we step in. Wyatt wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head, “I love you. That’s what matters. I’ve always loved you.”
I close my eyes and let it all wash off of me.
The whole thing is too big to sit in my brain. There has been a betrayal at every turn and an injury or death directly behind it. In my heart I know that dream was off. Something isn’t right about the dream. Something isn’t right about Constantine betraying me.
I close my eyes and let the water wash me clean. I have to have faith; that is the thing I need to get through the rest. Faith that God will show me the answers when I am ready. I need to let go of the things in the past and move forward, and trust that God has my back in this. He wants me to win, he believes in me. That makes me believe it too.
Epilogue
I lay my head against the pillow but my eyes won’t close. I know I’m tired, but I have never gone to sleep on my own before. I lay there, wondering if I should count sheep.
I get up and sip the tea the ladies have brought me. It’s weird, smells like mint, but it tastes like oranges. So bizarre. I finish the cup and walk to the tall thin windows. I can see the moon and the stars, and I wonder if Constantine is looking at them too.
I hear something and move closer to the window as I hear it again, “RAYNE!”
I hear him scream my name but it’s far away. I open the window, but when he screams again it is quieter. I turn and leave the room. In the hallway it is loud again. I run down the hall, my bare feet slapping against the cold white floor. I run to the voice. There is a door made of glass and a white tree in a garden behind it. I open the door. My breath becomes frosty mist. I shiver as I walk into the cold garden. The ground crunches under my feet.
The white tree is beautiful, shimmering in the moonlight above. The garden is like an open spot in the middle of the castle. The tree is the only thing there. I touch a leaf on it.
“RAYNE!” I hear him like he is next to me.
“WHAT?” I whisper harshly.
“TURN AROUND!”
I spin quickly, seeing him in the reflection of the glass door. I scowl, “What are you doing in there?”
“You are in danger.”
I nod, “I know.”
He scowls. I can barely make out his face. “How?”
I take a step closer to the glass door, “I figured as much when I got here and saw the army. The angels and witches here are intense and it’s creepy the way they all look the same.”
He nods, “Michael made the air witches. He mated with the fae that he stole and made children. When they matured, he mated with them again. He is the father, grandfather, and great-grandfather of them all.”
I make a face.
He laughs, “I know. Very creepy.”
I narrow my gaze, “Why did the dead show me your basement full of vampires?”
He sighs, “The dead lie, like I told you before. You never listen to me. You always think the worst of me.”
I scoff, “You are always the worst.”
His eyes look pained, “I deserved that.”
I laugh softly, “Stop changing the subject. Are there vampires in your basement?”
He nods, “It’s full. But I didn’t put them there.”
“Stella?”
He nods, “She and Michelle have been team bad guy for a while now. They faked research, manipulating this to end the way Lucifer wanted. He wanted the fae queen all along.”
“Why?”
“She is a strong ally, not to mention, she still has some who are loyal to her in the gates. This is a mess. You have to get away from the angels.”
I give him a puzzled look, “Where are you?”
He chuckles, “Boston, with the fire witches. I had to flee my castle. They came in the night to get you—beasts. Something startled you, and as I entered your room to warn you to fly away, you and Wyatt vanished into the painting. I cut it and disappeared. Maria and Tom had fled already. I had a sensation earlier. I was walking in a garden alone, it was cold, and there was a single tree, and I was talking to you through a mirror. I came to the fire witches to get answers. They said you had to be with the angels at the castle where the tree of knowledge was preserved.”
I look back at the tree, “That is the tree of knowledge?”
He sighs, “Don’t cheat, Rayne. If God wanted you to eat from the tree, he’d grow a piece of fruit for you. Just leave the damned thing alone. It’s better not to know.”
“How can I get away?”
He smiles at me, “Look into my eyes.”
I laugh, “No, creepy Uncle Dracula.”
“Do it and I’ll make it so you can’t let them into your head.”
I look at him, leaning foreword. He stares at me harshly, “You will not let anyone read your mind without your permission. You will be a steel trap and no thoughts will be shared without words, unless you say so. No one may enter your mind without permission.” He sighs, “Go wake Wyatt and let me do the same thing.”
I shake my head, “No. If they can’t read either of our minds, we may get into trouble. I told them to stay out of my mind, maybe they will think I am all powerful.”
He nods, “Okay, that works. Now I will send a message somehow, and you will flee the moment I tell you to. You will not share this with Wyatt, you will just bring him and make him trust you.” He scowls, “And don’t be rude to them. They are archangels for God’s sake and we all know how you get.”
I make a sound like I am offended, but we do all know how I get.
He points, “Don’t be stubborn. Lila says hello and hope you have had a chance to consummate your marriage.” He turns his face to look at someone, “What? I don’t want to know that.” I assume he is speaking directly to Lila. I smile, “Tell her I said hello and indeed, I am a fully-married woman.
Constantine sneers, “Goodbye and goodnight.”
And he is gone.
I stand there, freezing and excited. My instincts about him were correct.
I turn and face the tree. Something about it calls to me. I walk three steps towards it. I can feel my hand wanting to reach out and touch it, but I don’t. Suddenly, there are several pear-like pieces of fruit on it, but I still don’t think I should eat it. Knowledge of the future is bad. Willow always says ‘the unknown future is like fluid, it can change at any time and your destiny can become something greater.’ But if you knew what your future was, you would manifest that exact thing and freeze it there. You would be stuck with the limits of it. I look up at the sky, “That’s tempting. Why on earth would you have ever made one?”