17

I ended up spending most of the next day at the public library, trying to do some research. No, I didn't have a clue as to where to start with any of this, but I was determined to try.

So, there I was, sitting in a small room on a computer and trying to search the internet for any information that might be leftover from the time when everything had begun. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like I was having that much luck. I didn't even know where Faith Evans was supposed to have lived, and Malakai had only told me that this had all started over eighty years ago. It didn't give me much to go on, and that was getting disheartening.

I sat back, taking a short break and considering what other options I could use here. I'd tried typing in a search for a woman dying on a train track in the 30s or 40s, but nothing was coming up. I was sure that that was how she'd, or more precisely I, had died before.

I wondered if maybe I was using the wrong dates. Maybe Malakai had meant ninety years or possibly even more than that. It was possible, given the time that we were living in now compared to what I saw in my dreams.

But I'll admit that concentrating was becoming harder and harder. I was getting way too frustrated with finding nothing.

I was so lost in this that I didn't even notice someone sit down beside me.

"You do realize that you can't find something if you don't have any information on it." Noah pointed out, keeping his voice quiet.

I looked up quickly, "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Looking for you. I figured that you'd be in a place like this. You probably don't have a computer at home." Noah responded.

"Don't make me sound so poor." I complained, turning back to the screen, "Anyway, didn't Malakai tell you to just wait on everything? Why'd you come looking for me like this?"

Noah shrugged, "Let's just say that I'm not always a good listener. But I also have someone else on my side now who's decided that I can help more, so he had to concede at least a little. Besides, I owe it to my dad to get this other one to help now."

"What do you mean?"

I was studying him now. He didn't look any different from any other time that he'd spoken to me, but I got the sense that something had changed dramatically.

Noah looked around us, "Come on, let's get out of here. I've got my lap top in the car, so we can use that to see what you're looking for." he said as he stood up.

I got up and followed him out of the library. His car was parked near mine right outside of the building. What a stark contrast it was to my little cheap thing when I really looked at it.

"So what were you talking about in there anyway? Who else did you get on your side, and what does all of this have to do with your dad?" I asked as he opened the door to take the lap top case out of the back seat.

"Just what I said. It's nice to have connections, and Malakai will tell you that, and one of those connections happened to be that guardian angel that he told you about, the one that he's calling Cass. As it turns out, Cass and I think a lot alike, and it didn't take a lot of our convincing to get him to work with us on this. As for my dad, well, I don't think that it would be right for me to talk about it. Maybe he can tell you later when he's ready." Noah explained.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that angel's with you now?" I inquired as I followed him up the small hill to the tables under the willow trees.

I decided to just let the subject of his father go for now. If Raziel needed privacy because of something with this, then I'd respect that. Hopefully, he would eventually decide to talk to me about his odd connection to all of this.

Noah sat down at the picnic table and pulled the lap top out of its case. It looked new and expensive and had a nice big screen. I huffed as I sat beside him. He certainly was never the type to tell me things flat out. I wondered if it was part of his personality.

"Anyway," he continued, "you're not going to find the information about Faith Evans on the normal internet. It's too far back, and too old in the news. The things that happened to people like her are typically archived deep in record departments of libraries, and given that you really don't know anything about her except for what you see in your dreams, you really couldn't expect to know what records you'd need to look for."

"You know, you're really good at avoiding subjects." I commented, putting my chin on my hand in defeat.

I saw him give me a slight smile, "It's a talent, but if you really need an answer to your question, then yes. But Cass is a little limited as to what he can do down here, so he's using me to help us, and in return, he's given me access to what you're looking for." he explained.

"You're saying that he's here now?"

"Not exactly, but he does talk to me and show me how to bypass things, and he thought that it would be better at this point if you knew some of what you're dealing with, so he sent me some stuff." Noah responded, opening the browser to his email.

An email at the top of the list immediately caught my attention. It had a long set of numbers mixed with strange symbols for the sender. Noah clicked on it, revealing that many files were attached to it.

"Is this from Cass?" I asked as I moved a little closer to him.

"Yeah. It looks like Faith Evans made the news a few times when she was alive. I took the liberty of looking at these files myself before coming to find you, so I know what they are and what's in them. This was the first time that she was mentioned in any kind of news, and when everything really started." Noah explained, opening the file for me.

A newspaper article came up on the screen. It looked yellowed and old, and there was a big picture of a high rise building beside headline that read ′Woman Jumps Off Of Balcony'. The paper was from New York City, and dated September 18th, 1929.

Skimming through it, I read that a 22-year-old woman named Faith Evans had apparently jumped from her fifth-floor balcony, landing on a glass roof below. She was in the hospital at the time of the printing with critical injuries. Her husband, Leo Evans, claimed to have witnessed her jump after an argument that they'd had, and said that she was suicidal.

I felt a bit of anger rising within me as I read that. Faith had not been suicidal. He'd tried to kill her.

Noah must have noticed that my expression had changed a bit, even though I didn't.

"I'm taking it that you know the truth about what really happened." he commented.

I sat back a little, taking a deep breath, "Yeah. She didn't jump. He threw her off."

"I know. But people didn't believe abused women during that time, and no one believed her." Noah agreed.

"So how'd she survive that fall anyway? Wouldn't something like that kill you back then?" I asked. Obviously, their medical technology was nothing compared to ours.

"Normally, yes, but we told you before that Faith Evans had something else on her side. Cass saved her by causing her to land in a place where she stood a chance to live. If she'd landed anywhere else, she would have died instantly." Noah replied.

"Isn't this Cass's fault then? If he'd let her die, this wouldn't be happening now." I pointed out.

Noah avoided giving an opinion, "Don't know. It's not my place to question him about why he did that. I really would've assumed that he could've just taken her to Heaven if he had let her die that day. Maybe he just couldn't stand to see that happen to her."

I was starting to get frustrated over this, so I decided to change the subject a little, "Anyway, what else is there? It looks like a lot."

"Yeah, there's plenty more." Noah confirmed.

He closed the article and brought up another. The headline on this one was big and bold, and read ′Detective Killed By Unknown Assailants'.

"What is this?" I asked softly.

"Just what it looks like. This is when Leo Evans died." Noah answered.

The paper was dated October 1st, 1929. In the article, it stated that Leo Evans, a highly respected New York City detective, had been killed in his high rise apartment in the early morning hours. He had been beaten to death. There was also a woman present at the time named Lacy Manson, who witnessed the attacked but was in a state of shock and unable to provide any usable leads. She'd apparently been assaulted as well, and had bruises on her wrists where someone had held her down. They noted that his wife was still recovering in the hospital from her fall from the balcony several weeks earlier, and were asking for anyone with any information to come forward.

"So that was her revenge huh?" I breathed.

"Seems to be. She contracted Jade to kill him. But there was also something else there that she was asking that Malakai pointed out. In exchange for her soul, she didn't want him to simply kill her husband. She wanted him to take care of her until she died. It seemed like she was looking for someone to actually care about her." Noah told me.

He was right. As Faith, that was all that I'd really wanted. Even in this life, it felt like that at times. Because of what was happening around me, I'd always felt mostly alone, and all of the people who tried to care about me ended up either dying or being hurt pretty badly in strange accidents. Even now, I feared what may happen to Noah, and I was beginning to fear what might be happening with my aunt. She was still acting very strangely that morning.

"So what else is in there?" I asked, making sure to swallow the lump that was trying to rise in my throat.

"Well, there is her death. Did you want to see it?" Noah asked. The question almost sounded protective, as though he'd wanted to be sure that I was ready for this.

I nodded back at him, "Yeah. I want to know."

The article was a bit smaller than the others, but no less poignant. The headline read of a suicide. It stated that Faith Evans had gone to the train station that morning and jumped in front of a speeding train. It was dated almost three years after everything had begun.

The memory flashed through my mind as I looked at the picture of the station entrance. Driving up there, feeling confused over something. I was upset then. I was very upset. It was like I was seriously doubting something. Then I was walking down the stairs and standing near the platform. A train was coming in the distance, and I was contemplating jumping in front of it to end the contract.

Then Jade was there. He looked surprised about me saying something to him. But as he responded, the place turned unbearably cold, and the train was coming...

I jumped up, finally able to come back to my current reality. Noah was staring at me with wide eyes. I guess that my reaction had finally broken through that cool exterior of his.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

I shook my head, "I don't want to think about this." I responded as I began to walk away.

Noah followed me as I headed to my car, "Hey, hold on. You can't just walk away from all of this and act like it isn't happening." he reminded me.

"I don't care Noah!" I retorted. I stopped to face him, now intensely angry, "I didn't ask to be born like this. Just because that angel made the mistake of saving me and I did something stupid in a past life doesn't mean that I don't deserve a peaceful life now! I didn't ask to be stalked for my entire existence!"

"You think I don't know that? Every one of us involved do, and like it or not, those memories are just what they are. They're memories. They're what your soul remembers from those times, and nothing can change that part of it." Noah countered.

I wanted to argue back, but noticed that there were people near us. Strangely enough, they didn't seem to be reacting at all to what we were saying, although they obviously must have been able to hear it.

"Noah..." I started.

"Don't worry about it. They're not paying attention, because to them, we're just having another conversation. They can't register what it's about." Noah interrupted.

"How did you...?"

I couldn't make myself finish. Guess I should've reminded myself of who I was talking to.

"Like I said, it's a talent." Noah added. He looked around us before continuing, "Listen Mari, I get where you're coming from. This whole things sucks on a lot of different levels, but you have to remember what happened back then because the past keeps repeating itself with all of this. According to what Malakai has deciphered, that's what's going to keep happening unless we can end things."

"So he knows everything now?" I surmised.

"He had some help. I like I said, Cass knows a lot about it too." Noah took my hand, "Come on. There's something else that I think you should see before I tell you about it."

I followed him up the hill to where we'd left the computer. To my surprise, he didn't even have to touch it before a list appeared on the screen. It looked like names and dates.

"What is this?" I asked as we sat down.

"It's your soul's past. After Faith Evans died, your soul has been reborn over and over again. All of those names that you see on there are the lives that your soul was reincarnated to. As you can see, all of them died pretty young too, around the age that you are now, and all of them had the name Faith incorporated into their names." Noah explained.

I studied the names and dates that were listed. There were six names on there, including my own at the end without a date of death. Faith Anderson, Hannah Faith Morris, Candace Faith James, Faith Parks, and Faith Kent. All of them had died before they reached twenty. Two of them had committed suicide, and the other three had been murdered.

I felt a chill go through me as I saw this. Here was the pattern. The name Faith, the deaths at young ages, and to add to it, the ways that the three were murdered stayed consistent. They were all killed by someone very close to them.

"So the one that's following me does all of this?" I managed.

"Yeah." Noah confirmed, "It's the one called Saffron. He was brought in on the contract originally by Jade, although no one seems to know exactly why. He was also the one who killed Faith Evans, and altered the contract for her soul's rebirth. It looks like the purpose was to spite Jade, and keep this soul for himself. At least, that's what we're reading right now."

Another chill went through me. He was watching. I was sure of it. But I didn't know where he was. As always, it felt like Saffron was one step ahead. I just wished that I could remember what I'd been saying to Jade before Saffron killed me that first time. It had something to do with him, and it felt like it might be the answer to everything. But I couldn't recall it at all. It was like that part of my memory had been blocked.

Noah was looking around us too, "You know Mari, I don't think that it's a coincidence that we met. This has been going on for eighty years now, and it almost feels like something much bigger wants it to end. I personally don't think that any soul is really given up on, and neither does Cass. I can't promise you that we can save you this time, but we're going to try." he said quietly.

"I know, but I'm scared Noah." I confessed.

"Yeah, so am I. He knows that I'm part of this, and he knows that I can't really move against him yet. He's planning something." Noah admitted. I saw him looking at the library. It was almost like he was staring someone down.

After a few more minutes, he stood up and closed the computer.

"Are you going home now?" I asked softly.

"No. Actually, I'm going back with you. I want to see something for myself." Noah responded.

"Why?" I dared ask.

He didn't answer. Instead, I followed him down to our cars. Getting into my own, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I believed Noah when he said that Saffron was planning something, and with Jade coming like they were predicting, Saffron's hand might have been forced now. Did that mean that I was going to die soon?

The ride home was actually pretty quiet. Pulling into the driveway, I watched as Noah pulled in behind me. Thankfully, my aunt's car was gone. I felt some relief that she wasn't there. Her strange behavior was unnerving me, and I had no doubt in my mind that Noah would notice it as soon as he saw her. Her stares at me were unnerving enough without her starting trouble with him.

The house was silent as we entered, "Okay, what did you want to see now that you're here?" I asked him.

"I wanted to check out the feel of this house now. It looks like Cass was right. That's not good." Noah answered. He went to the stairs, looking up at the second floor.

"Right about what?" I dared ask.

"Tell me, has your aunt been acting strangely lately?"

Nothing like hitting the nail on the head.

"Yeah. When I came home yesterday, she seemed really out of it. Why?"

"I thought so. That's because she's now under his influence."

"You mean that she's possessed?"

"Not really. She's just being controlled to an extent, but that can be just as dangerous. This must be part of his plan now. He might use her against Jade when he shows up." Noah explained.

He continued up the stairs. I immediately followed, not daring to ask him to stop. I was already becoming even more frightened. What was Saffron going to do to my aunt? She was the only family I had left. I couldn't lose her too.

Noah made his way to my aunt's room. The door was open and the inside was like it always was. The only difference was that the air seemed a bit colder. Noah walked over to the nightstand beside her bed, picking up a picture frame that had been laid face down. It was the one of her with me and my mother. The glass over it was cracked.

"I see. So that's how it is." he muttered.

"What's going on? What is he doing to my aunt?" I demanded, though it was coming out meeker than I'd want it to.

"I think that I'm beginning to understand the driving force behind Saffron now. He's apparently very jealous of others. In everything I've gotten to see, he's always eliminated the ones who are closest to you. That, or he's turned them against you. I don't think that it's going to be safe here for much longer. I'm going to talk to Malakai about it as soon as I leave her." Noah explained.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, though I feared that I already knew.

"What I've said happened before." Noah answered, "I think that your aunt's going to end up killing you."