20

The evening and night passed by quietly enough, although I kind of felt like I had stepped back in time being there with Jade. I admit that I was also worried as the time moved on because my aunt never came home.

I asked Jade about it, but as usual, he avoided answering any of my questions. That gave me the sickening feeling that Saffron could very well have gotten to her. I just hoped that he hadn't harmed her.

I was still worrying about it as the two of us walked out of the house the next morning.

"This isn't much of a car." Jade commented as he sat in the driver's seat.

"Don't make fun of my car. It's all that we could afford." I retorted.

"A meager existence. How interesting." Jade mused.

"So what are you going to do anyway? I didn't think that you could just waltz into a place with angels." I went on as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Normally, I couldn't." Jade agreed, "However, I think I know Cass and Malakai well enough, especially with you being involved with that little clan Malakai's had. He won't want Saffron coming after them without the one that he's after."

"So you know them both?"

"Of course. I knew both of those angels before I fell. I even worked with Malakai once before his whole mission with those half breeds started. You shouldn't let him fool you. He's a very powerful angel."

I believed that one. I'd sensed it when I was with Malakai before. He may have looked young and beautiful, but he definitely had a commanding air to him at times. It made me wonder if he really looked like that before he played human.

It didn't take long for us to pull up to the Renaldi house. As Jade parked in the driveway beside the Mustang, I looked up at the house and wondered if they were all there. Jade had claimed that Noah was okay, but I still didn't feel too sure about it.

Jade opened the car door, "Let's go before he trails us anymore." he ordered.

I quickly got out and followed him up to the house, glancing around us. I didn't feel anything, but also didn't doubt that Saffron was probably watching.

The front door opened before we got to the first step. Malakai was the one who had opened it, looking at Jade like he'd been expecting us.

"I figured you'd show up here. Not feeling so confident about things anymore, Jade?" he commented. I'd dare say that he looked smug.

"You would know why. I need no help in going after Saffron, however, protecting this girl is a different story." Jade responded curtly.

"Yes, I am aware of that much. Please, come in, but be warned that I expect no trouble." Malakai ordered.

We followed Malakai to the living room, where Raziel and Anna had been waiting. They weren't alone either. There was another man in there with them. He was very beautiful, just like Malakai. His hair was the color of the sun and he had eyes that reminded me of an amethyst stone. I was sure that this was Cass. It looked like he'd taken a human form after all.

But that worried me too. He'd used Noah's body before, so why take this form now?

"And so the Fallen comes to us after all. Bravo Malakai. You haven't lost your touch." Cass said, not bothering to move from where he was seated. His voice sounded exactly the same from when he's spoken through Noah. Yes, he was definitely my former guardian angel.

"So you're here too. Why am I not surprised?" Jade responded.

"Say what you will Fallen. You know why I'm here. I'm tired of yours and his games with this soul that rightfully belongs to Heaven." Cass retorted.

"You should have let her pass before then. This is your fault you know. If you'd allowed that woman to die that night, we wouldn't be here now, would we?" Jade argued.

"That's enough. The facts still stand as is, and nothing is going to change them. Besides, altering fates is not under any of us, and both of you know that. So be civil." Malakai ordered.

I quietly followed as Jade went in and took a seat on the couch across from them. To be completely honest about the whole thing, I was feeling a bit more than uncomfortable now, especially with the feeling that seemed to be settling between Cass and Jade. Malakai may have told them to act civil, but that didn't mean that they had to feel it.

Anna seemed to be studying both of them, "It's so strange. You two don't look that different. One only looks like they have darker features." she admitted.

"Most that are considered damned don't look that different than they did in the Heavens. The biggest difference is only their hair and their wings. If Jade had any kindness within him, which is very unlikely, he'd show you that his wings are nothing like ours. They're more of a bat's equivalent." Cass explained.

"A bat's?" Anna repeated, clearly surprised.

"As black as our hearts have turned. That was always Saffron's favorite way of putting it." Jade added.

"So you're still not bothered at all when you talk about him?" Raziel noted.

"Not quite." Jade replied. I saw his eyes turn harder as the room became colder, "After all, he did take what's mine in the first place, and I have never appreciated being given a run around, especially for the likes of him. But then, neither have you. After all, we all know how much he used you before as well."

Malakai frowned, walking over to make sure that Raziel didn't get up. I was taking note of the implications that I'd been seeing and hearing. Raziel definitely had some kind of past with my soul, but no one was ready to talk openly about what it was.

"Either way, everyone in this room knows where things stand now, and, as I'm sure you are aware, Saffron was given a substantial injury from Cass in the fight yesterday after you intervened." Malakai said, effectively dropping the subject before the debate could begin.

"I'm aware, but that's nothing you should be so proud of Cass. He was more surprised that I showed up when I did, and you caught him off guard, and given that you are in a body of your own now, I'm willing to say that you went against orders in using the boy's body." Jade pointed out.

"That would be none of your concern, and right now, I believe that the bigger issue is your other that you so graciously decided to write in in the first place." Cass informed him.

Jade huffed, "Well, there's not much more to say to that one. I admit that Saffron pulled one over on me that I never foresaw. But then, I underestimated his intelligence. It's a mistake I'm not making again. However, I believe you know full well why I returned here with this girl."

"I believe so, but I'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth." Cass agreed.

"If you must. I'm making sure she's protected when I am able to go after Saffron. You of all angels are aware that he's aiming to kill her now for my return."

"But why now? He's had plenty of opportunity already." Raziel spoke up. His temper seemed to have died down a bit with Malakai standing near him. Maybe Malakai had done something to help him with it.

"Simple. It's the same way that it's always been. He wants to make sure that I find the body right after the kill." Jade explained.

I couldn't take any more of this tension and stood up, "I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable sitting here. Is it okay if I walked around a little?" I requested.

"Of course. We don't mind, and we've made sure that this house is a safe place for you." Malakai agreed.

"A barrier set up right after we pulled up. You've covered your bases." Jade noted.

"As always. Although we did let you in. That may not have been the best decision, but we had no choice." Cass scoffed.

"You would know." Jade teased.

I left the room before they could continue. I couldn't take the tension anymore.

Walking back out into the foyer, I stopped and looked around. While I had been in this house before, I really hadn't paid much attention to anything in there except for quick glances. Now, I was looking around just to have some distraction.

The house was very beautiful. I took my time as I looked at the pictures and antiques in there. But as I reached the stairs, I heard something. I stopped and listened. It was piano music.

I wonder who's playing.

I was way too curious, so I went up the stairs to the second floor to check it out.

The music was coming from the end of the hall on the left. I reached the end and found a set of double doors that were slightly open. I peeked in and realized that there was a second den room up there. Large bay windows lined the far wall, and I could hear the piano music clearly. I stepped inside and looked to the far right. There was a beautiful ivory colored piano there, and Noah was sitting on the bench playing it.

I had not seen or heard from Noah since the confrontation with Saffron the day before. Honestly, I hadn't even thought that he was in the house. I was a little nervous as I saw him there. If he'd been up here the entire time, then it meant that he hadn't wanted to be down there to see me.

I wondered if he thought that my feelings for Jade wouldn't have changed since who I was before. But I knew that they had. I was no longer Faith Evans. My soul may have once been hers, but I had now become Mari Hanes. Yes, I still felt something towards the demons who had started this whole mess, but I would never love them like she did in her lifetime.

Noah finally stopped, looking over at me, "I was wondering when you might come up here." he said quietly. As usual, the tone of his voice never changed.

"You knew that I'd find you?" I guessed.

"You could call it a gut feeling. Besides, I didn't think that you'd want to stay there when you'd feel the tension that's obviously there between the Pure and the Impure." Noah responded.

A sigh escaped me, "No. I couldn't stand it anymore, even though I know I should've expected it. I don't have anything against Cass, and I really can't say that I have much against Jade right now, but I can't handle much more."

Noah patted the bench he was sitting on, "Come on. Why don't you sit down? There's enough room." he suggested.

I hesitated but couldn't see where it would hurt anything. I don't think that it dawned on me until I walked over and sat down about what Noah had said at first. He'd been waiting for me up there. He knew that I wouldn't want to stay downstairs with everything that was going on.

"So what happened to Saffron yesterday? Did Cass really hurt him that bad?" I asked after a moment of listening to him play some more.

"Somewhat. He's got a wound in his left wing, but I'm sure it's probably begun to heal now. Even for us, a wound like that would heal within a day or two." Noah responded, not missing a note.

"Jade said that he was surprised that he showed up. That's why it happened that way." I went on.

"He probably was. After all, no one here even felt Jade's presence that close until he was right there. He's good at hiding it apparently, just like Cass said."

"Speaking of, why is Cass in a normal body now? Did he really get in trouble about using yours?"

"No." Noah answered, "When Jade showed up, he decided that it was time to up the ante as well. He was given specific orders to at least send Saffron back to the Abyss. Apparently, it's not looked too well upon that he's messed up so much with the humans' existence like he has."

That did make sense. I could see where this probably had messed up a lot of things for whatever other angels were involved. Maybe it even messed up some destinies for those humans that were involved with all of my lives during this.

"Hey, I did want to ask you something." Noah suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?" I looked over at him as he stopped playing again.

"Did Jade decide to tell you anything about any of this last night?" Noah inquired.

I debated on telling him about it, but decided that it might be better to. Noah obviously had his reasons for asking, especially if Cass had decided to talk to him some more about everything.

"He talked a little bit, and he brought back my memories because he wanted to see how Saffron got past him before." I answered.

"I see. That would make sense for him to do that. Bet he was pissed off when he learned the whole truth of it and why Faith Evans died in the first place." Noah commented.

"I guess Cass told you about that too." I said. There was no way I was telling him about Jade's reaction to those memories or what he'd done to me. We had enough tension right now.

"He told me a little bit, but I also decided to check up on it by myself." Noah replied.

"How'd you do that?"

I didn't think that Noah had the same abilities to read the past like Jade did, not to mention that my memories had been fragmented before all of this.

"There are ways for us to look things up, and I took the liberty of doing so. But there was also something that interested me that I noticed in that contract. It was something that Malakai didn't even mention at first. I think that he was worried that Saffron might notice it as well, although I'm not sure of how he missed it." Noah explained.

I knew what he was talking about, "You mean how to break the contract."

"I figured that he might tell you himself, but to me, it seemed like a weird thing to put in from the start. So I did my digging about all of it, and I was surprised at what I found." Noah responded.

"I see. Now you know why she was the one chosen. Were you honestly that surprised when you know how some come to fall?"

We both turned to see Jade standing by one of the windows with his arms crossed and back against the wall. I wondered how long he'd been there. Obviously, it long enough to know what was being said.

"You're good at spying, but that doesn't surprise me. They did say that you were once a Seraphim in Heaven, just like Malakai, but you fell once they discovered what you were up to." Noah stated as he stood up. He didn't seem to have any fear of Jade at all. I wasn't sure if he was brave or stupid.

Jade seemed to study him as they faced each other, "This is true, and I'm certain that Malakai and Cass have told the three of you enough about both of us to understand what you are dealing with here. It's rather ironic though. I never would have dreamed that Nephilim would find my girl after all of these years, or that two would think that they could stand up to Saffron by themselves."

"My father and I see no reason to fear any of you. Besides, we've stared a much higher demon in the face before, and that felt a lot worse than you or him." Noah informed him.

"Is that so? Which one? As I recall, there are many Fallen who could fit that description." Jade responded, sounding amused.

"Astaroth." Noah answered.

"Interesting." I gasped as Jade moved within the blink of an eye and grabbed Noah's face, covering his eyes with his hand. Noah's wings came out, but they weren't the same as what I'd seen before. They were very dark, the feathers bordering on black, "I see now. You had a favor done, and this tint is your punishment. I knew the color that I saw before was only from Cass and his influence on your body."

Noah grabbed his wrist, forcing him let go, "We all have our secrets, and my wings are nothing compared to yours or his, are they?" he countered, still not backing down. Again, brave or stupid?

"Of course not. But trust me, these wings are never for show with us. I quoted Saffron because he's always been right about this one thing: Our wings are just like our hearts. We have them, but they are black and hard. Only a very few precious things can break through that." Jade sneered.

Noah stood his ground, "And this one precious thing did. That's why you were careless about the other one. You wanted her so badly that you didn't care who you had to partner with to get yourself out of Hell and look where it got you."

"Don't press your luck boy. Trust me, I am not the type to do so with, and I do not fear Malakai. I am more than a match for him." Jade warned him as he grabbed his collar.

"Stop it Jade! You're not hurting anyone here! Not if you want them to protect me!" I yelled as I got between them and pulled on his arm.

It was weak argument, but it was all I could think of to reason with him. I was sure that Jade was in a foul mood anyway because he had to deal with Cass, and Noah pushing him wasn't helping.

But thankfully, another person was intervening too. The next thing I knew, Raziel had come in there and grabbed Jade's arm, forcing him to let go of Noah.

"Leave my son alone. If you want to take out your anger on someone, then deal with me." he ordered.

Jade glared at him, but did back down, "Very well. However, I doubt that you realize just how much your continued involvement with this soul may cost you."

"I'm well aware of that, but I'm going to keep my vow to her. I'm going to make sure that this ends and her soul is finally free, both from him and from you." Raziel swore.

Jade brought his wings out. Like Saffron's, they were black and leathery, just like a bat's. Both Noah and Raziel stiffened at the sight of them. It seemed like this was reaction that Jade was looking for too.

"No matter how we look, these wings are always the reminder of what we've become. Yours are not the same, but you have not been without sin either. I doubt that any Nephilim could, considering the element of human blood that runs through their veins. However, you realize that I will not hand over this girl to you or any of those others until the end has come." he told them.

"Fine. We'll deal with all of that when the time comes." Raziel responded.

I had no idea of what they were referring to with me at that moment. I guess my best assumption was that Jade was jealous of Noah and Raziel for protecting me while he couldn't.

However, I was to find out later that it was far more than that. In fact, it would be more than I'd ever imagined, and it would lead me to the conclusion of this chapter of my existence.