16

The mid-afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the living room windows as I sat on the couch. Noah was sitting near me by one of those windows, quietly surveying outside. We'd been in there sitting like this for about ten minutes, and he had stayed quiet for the most part. I had the sense that he was concentrating, probably on keeping that demon away.

Malakai was still talking to Raziel and Anna in the nearby dining room. I didn't doubt that he was telling them what he wanted to do and how quickly they needed to do it.

I knew that Malakai was being extra cautious with all of this. He had already admitted that he was concerned about what might happen if we looked at this contract too long. I was willing to bet that he already knew what could. He just didn't want to scare me.

Noah got up, coming over to sit beside me, "He's close, but he won't come onto this property. He probably doesn't want to deal with Malakai."

"You really think so?" I said absently.

"Trust me, there aren't a lot of things out there that would willingly want to mess with Malakai." Noah assured me.

I looked over at him, changing the subject a little, "So this is what you weren't allowed to tell me, huh? That you're half angel."

"Well, it's not something you'd go around saying, and a lot of people wouldn't even believe you." Noah responded with a knowing smile.

I returned that smile, feeling a little bit lighter even with all that was going on.

"Yeah. I get that." I agreed. I looked back at the window before continuing, "So what's going to happen now? Will things change when they open this contract?"

"I don't know. I could guess that you might remember things from your soul's past afterwards. It's possible, although no one can say for sure." Noah admitted.

I wondered if I'd really want to remember. After all, in my dreams, some of those memories were pretty scary, especially of the beatings and being killed by that train.

But for all of that, there was also a part of me that longed to remember too. All these years, I'd felt like I was in the dark with all of these strange happenings. Even now, I felt in the dark about it. It was beyond frustrating.

"Hey Noah, did you see their names before?" I inquired.

"Only Jade's. He's the one that Malakai believes originally made this contract. The other one's been a mystery to me though. It's the other one that's been following you and causing all of the problems." Noah answered.

I was right. It was Saffron who was stalking me, and had killed me at least once before. I thought about telling Noah his name, but decided not to. It might be dangerous if I said it out loud right now.

Our conversation was interrupted by Malakai coming in there with Raziel and Anna. It looked like they were finally ready to start what they wanted to do here.

"Hey, he's still close out there. It doesn't seem like he's backing off that much while we have her in here." Noah informed them.

"I suspected as much, but it will be fine." Malakai assured him. His attention turned to Raziel, "I'd like you to copy this contract as quickly as you can. It's not this one that I'm worrying about as much as the other."

This would be the first time that I'd heard any of them refer to Jade other than Noah seeing his name, but I also didn't quite understand why Malakai was more concerned about him. Was it because Jade had been the one to first make this pact with my soul?

"I get it. Hopefully it should be easy." Raziel agreed. He sat down on my opposite side from Noah, laying a blank piece of paper on the coffee table in front of us.

I was nervous, but tried to suck it up. I wanted answers about all of this, and these people might be able to give them to me. I still had to double check what was about to happen here though.

"This isn't gonna hurt, right?" I verified.

Raziel flashed me a reassuring smile, "No. Trust me, it's quick and completely painless." he promised.

An odd feeling washed through me as I saw that smile. It felt so familiar, like I'd seen it before somewhere. Could it have been in another past life?

I forced the thoughts aside as I allowed him to lay a hand over my left eye. The warmth immediately enveloped it. To my amazement, the entire pentagram and symbols within it began appearing on the paper under his other hand. After less than a minute, he pulled his hand away.

But as he did, a strong pulse resounded in my mind. I sat perfectly still as a voice echoed in my ears. It was a deep male voice that I was certain my soul had not heard in decades now.

"Faith."

I was back to reality in an instant, gasping for breath like I'd just come up from deep underwater. The tension had filled the room like a fog, and all of us knew what had just happened.

Malakai let out a long breath as he held his head, "That's what I was afraid of. Her memories have returned just enough so that he could sense her this time." he muttered.

"Is he close?" Raziel asked.

"No. We still have some time, but he'll be coming here soon enough, so we'll have to work quickly on deciphering this." Malakai answered. He stepped over and picked up the paper, studying it.

Noah crossed his arms, "You know more than you're telling us about all of this." he stated.

The room became quiet. I looked around at them, not sure of what to say. I'd suspected that Malakai might have more answers than he let on, considering that he seemed pretty sure about things before, but I didn't think that anyone had a place in questioning him for what he was.

"I do, although I already had my suspicions. I've had them since the moment I heard her name, not to mention that her resemblance is rather remarkable, especially to the last one." Malakai finally relented.

"To what?" I asked, feeling even more confused.

I noticed Raziel look away as Malakai spoke, not saying anything. It was like he didn't want to face me now.

"Come on Malakai. Talking in riddles is going to scare her, and if the other one is coming now, I think that she at least deserves to know what you do." Anna reasoned.

She sounded like a mom who was trying to make things fair. If I hadn't been so scared and confused, I would've thought that it was funny how she could reprimand him like that.

Malakai let out a defeated sigh, "Very well. I will explain then, considering the fact that we've been involved twice now, but it's rather complicated, so I'd ask you to listen closely." he requested.

"You've been involved twice? What do you mean?" I responded.

"It is nothing to be too concerned with. Besides, there are much more important matters for us to consider at this time. Bringing up the past will not change it." Malakai responded.

Well, so much for that, although I was determined that I was going to question Noah about it later. For now, I decided to just continue with the conversation that we'd been having.

"So, you know who I was?"

"I believe that I do." Malakai confirmed, "Tell me, does that name Faith sound familiar to you in any way?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's my middle name."

"I see. Well, I can't say that surprises me too much. The truth is, I believe that you are the same soul as the one who called on him, especially as I see the names of the ones involved in this contract. It's no coincidence that Faith was incorporated somewhere into your name. It's been from the time that everything started." Malakai explained.

"Really? So who was she originally?" Noah asked.

"She was a woman named Faith Evans." Malakai answered, "Back when all of this began, which I believe was over eighty years ago now, I was getting ready to leave the Heavens to start this family. I knew a lot of angels there, including the one who had been assigned as a guardian for this woman's soul. Needless to say, he didn't have an easy time with the assignment. Faith Evans was raised in a very cold household, and eventually married into an even colder one. He was able to keep her living, but he could not stop the terrible things that were happening to her, or the darkness that was determined to follow her."

I looked down as he said that, "She was abused by her husband, wasn't she?" I guessed.

I could remember all that so clearly now. Before Jade came, I had felt so alone. That man was going to kill me before he'd appeared.

But also, in the back of my mind, I had the feeling that I knew the darkness that he was talking about too. It wasn't just how her life had turned out. There was something else that had been appearing around her from time to time since she was a little girl, just like it had with me for as long as I could remember.

My attention was pulled back by Malakai agreeing with my words.

"She was."

"Hold on a minute, if he was supposed to be her guardian angel, then why didn't he do anything? Aren't they supposed to help the people they watch over?" Anna asked, sounding a bit upset.

"There's a limit as to what they can do at times. As I said, he was able to keep Faith alive, but he couldn't do much about her husband at that time except pray that the human laws would somehow intercede. However, Faith took matters into her own hands when she almost died and was in the hospital afterwards. According to him, she began praying for revenge, and a Fallen One named Jade answered those prayers." Malakai told her.

"So he came and she agreed to a contract between them. Sounds like something out of a movie or an old horror novel." Noah commented.

"Believe it or not, that's often how it works." Malakai told him, "Faith did call for something, and he did answer. In this contract, it was stated that he would kill her husband and claim her soul when she died. But he didn't do it alone. That's where matters became rather complicated, and we knew that eventually we may end up getting involved for this woman's soul."

"You mean when he brought in Saffron, right?" I guessed.

Noah looked surprised, "You know his name?"

"I met someone before that said his name was Saffron, and he looks like the same person with Jade in my dreams." I explained.

"He's the same, and he's the one who ended up complicating everything from what I've come to know. I'll admit that I wasn't aware of the scope of it all though. That's why I wanted a copy of this contract. Only the other would know why this soul keeps dying and being reincarnated, and what Saffron has apparently changed, but I haven't spoken to him in a very long time. So this will have to do until I can." Malakai continued.

"And who would that be?" Noah asked.

"Simple." Malakai answered, "The one who was the guardian for her before. The angel known as Cass."

"But he didn't even do anything about it before. What good is it going to be to ask him now?" Raziel countered.

"Because Cass knows about what has happened then and since. Just because he couldn't intervene back then doesn't mean that he's given up, and I'm sure that he'll be more than interested to hear that a Nephilim clan has found the one he's been looking for." Malakai informed him.

"Wait a minute." Anna interrupted, "Are you saying that there have been angels following her too?"

"One angel." Malakai corrected, "I can also assure you that this is the first time since everything began that our side has been able to truly intercede. It may mean an end to all of it is finally coming."

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. All this time, there had been a powerful struggle for my soul between what was considered good and evil. It was funny, but I could almost picture this angel that Malakai was talking about as he said his name. An angel who used to appear in my dreams back when I was this woman; one who told me that I could not enter heaven under such a contract. If that was true, then why was he still fighting for me?

But as I thought that, I realized that Raziel had gotten up. He actually looked disgusted as he walked out of the room.

Noah was watching with an impassive look, although I could see a little bit of concern reflected in his eyes. Anna was watching too, although her concern was a bit more evident.

After a moment, she looked back at Malakai, "Hey, I think that I should go after him." she said quietly.

"That's fine. Please make sure that he's all right and let me know if I'm needed." Malakai requested.

I wanted to ask Malakai what all of that was about, but somehow, I just couldn't make myself. Something about all of it still felt strange, almost like I should understand why he was acting this way. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure it out. Why did I feel like I'd caused him pain before, or that I'd even known him?

I was pulled out of my confusion as I heard my cell phone ringing. I reached into my purse and looked at the screen, seeing that it was Aunt Farah. That was when I realized that it was nearly seven in the evening. She must've been getting worried.

"Go ahead and let her know that you'll be home shortly. We'll make sure that you'll be okay getting there." Malakai promised.

I agreed, answering her call, "Hello?"

"Mari." Aunt Farah breathed in relief, "Are you okay? It's getting late and I didn't know where you went to."

"I'm fine. I just took a ride and stopped by the marina to read for a while. I'll be home in a little bit." I promised.

"Alright. Please do."

I didn't blame her for how scared she sounded. She probably did worry about that demon going after her if I wasn't there.

Noah spoke as I hung up, "Maybe it would be a better idea if I took her home." he suggested.

"No. There will be others watching over her now, so I'd much rather have you here so that I can tell you what's coming next. This is going to be something that's very delicate, so we have to play our cards right. For now, allow me to have all the say." Malakai told him.

I don't think that Noah really liked it, but he didn't argue with him.

I reflected on everything I'd learned as I went out to my car to head home. Faith Evans. I was certain now that I had once been her. Yet it also brought up so many questions for me. Just what had been happening after Faith had died? Apparently, I'd been reincarnated more than once after that original death, and I had the distinct feeling that at least one of my previous lives may have involved Raziel Renaldi. His reaction to me and to the mentioning of Cass was way too telling. Something else was going on there.

I was still trying to connect the dots as I drove home. Faith had died over eighty years ago, after being in a contract with two demons that had killed her abusive husband for her. But her soul wasn't taken when she died. Instead, I was being reborn over and over again. Why?

I was so lost in those thoughts that I almost didn't see the black figure that appeared in front of my car. I slammed my breaks, closing my eyes and waiting for the hit, but nothing happened.

Opening them again, I blinked as I realized that no one was there. It was just me on that little side road. But the figure had been so real. It had been standing there shrouded in black and holding up a hand to stop me.

I was still shaking as I put the car in park and got out to look around, but there was no sign of anyone being there. I leaned on the car and held my head. I must have been losing my mind now. I was seeing things because I was so scared of the ones that were coming after me. That had to be it.

I gave myself a few more minutes to calm down before heading home. It wasn't that far, which I was thanking God for. But pulling into the driveway, I had the eerie feeling that I was no longer alone. I glanced around me, but saw nothing. Yet it felt like that figure was still there, sitting right beside me in that passenger's seat.

I pushed the paranoia aside and forced myself to get out of the car. I had to get inside now. Aunt Farah was going to worry if I let on about what had just happened to me.

I found her inside sitting in the den. It didn't escape me that she looked pale.

"Aunt Farah, are you okay?" I asked as I walked over to sit beside her.

It took her a moment to realize that I was there, "Oh Mari. I'm sorry. I was just... thinking about something. That's all." she responded, her voice calm and even.

"Did something happen?" I prodded.

She shook her head, "Nothing at all." she answered, still sounding the same, "Where were you for so long today? You had me worried you know."

"I told you that I was out by the marina reading. I also ended up meeting Noah Renaldi out there, and he invited me over to meet his parents." I lied.

"Really? It sounds like you might actually have a boyfriend now. How nice." Aunt Farah commented.

She stood up and quietly moved towards the kitchen, still not looking directly at me. It was almost like she was in some kind of trance.

"Aunt Farah?" I called, moving to follow her.

But suddenly, it was like she was gone. I looked around, alarmed by this. There was no way I'd imagined talking to her just a few seconds before.

I almost screamed when I turned around and saw her standing on the stairs across the room. How in the world had she gotten there so fast?

"You need to go to bed now. It's getting late." she ordered.

She then turned and headed upstairs. I shivered as I stood there in the den room. Something didn't feel right. But there was nothing I could do about this either, so I decided that maybe it was better just to listen for now. If anything, I could lock my bedroom door for the night. But even as I did that, the uneasy feeling remained.

I knew that something wasn't right, and it was going to be a long night.