23

"Do you really think that this is a good idea?" I asked as Noah as we pulled into the driveway of my home.

"It's the best we can do right now. Besides, I don't see Cass or Jade going back on their word of making sure you'll come out of this okay, and neither will Dad." Noah reminded me.

It was now evening, and I was finally returning home. I confess that I hadn't wanted to, but I had no choice. Not only did we need to lure out Saffron, I was also worried about my aunt. I knew that she would be an easy target for him without me around.

Malakai, Cass and Jade agreed with this assertion, so they'd decided that it was time to make a move and allow me to go home to face whether Saffron would be there. But no one was to come with me. Instead, they only sent Noah to drop me off.

Aunt Farah knew Noah, so she probably wouldn't react negatively to him, and apparently, Jade and Cass were already starting to track Saffron's actions. Noah was wise and strong enough to handle things with my aunt if anything happened, not to mention that Malakai was also keeping tabs on him in his own way.

Everything felt safe and normal as we got out of the car and walked up to the house. I was relieved. At least Saffron wasn't around.

I unlocked the door and we stepped into the foyer.The house seemed a little brighter looking now, which was strange to me. All of the curtains were open, and I could hear a TV on in the den room.

"She's here, but it doesn't feel like he's around." I whispered.

"We'll count those as good things." Noah said, taking my hand, "Let's check on her."

Aunt Farah was sitting in the den, quietly watching TV and knitting. She quickly looked over as we came in, a relieved smile crossing her face.

"Mari! Thank goodness you're home! I was getting worried!" she declared as she got up.

"I'm sorry. I thought that you got my message that I was hanging out at a friend's house." I apologized as she hugged me. That felt weird too. She hadn't hugged me in years.

"Please call me next time. You had me so worried. You know that I don't like it here without you." Aunt Farah continued as she pulled back to look at me.

"I will." I promised.

"She really did try to leave you a message, and Mom sent her apologies if she scared you with insisting on keeping Mari for dinner." Noah added.

Aunt Farah looked at him as he spoke. It was like she didn't really like seeing him there.

"That's fine. You can tell her that I'll forgive it this time. But for now, I think that you should leave." she told him.

"Aunt Farah..." I started to protest.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like company right now,so thank you for returning her, and please go home." Aunt Farah interrupted.

Noah easily gave in, "All right then." He looked at me as he continued, "Do you mind if I speak to Mari for few minutes before I go?"

"I suppose." Aunt Farah reluctantly agreed.

I followed Noah back to the foyer, feeling guilty for my aunt's rude behavior.

"Sorry about this Noah."

"It's no big deal. Just be careful now. I don't think that anything's going on yet, but Saffron's had power over her before, so there's still that slim chance that he could use her at any time." he warned me.

"You're going to be careful too, right?" I had to confirm.

"Of course." Noah assured me.

I found it hard to believe him, "Noah, tell me you're not thinking of trying something to stop Saffron yourself."

He just patted my head and smiled, "Don't worry so much. We'll take care of it. For now, just try to relax. I'll be around soon." he promised.

I watched him walk out with a mix of anxiety and fear. There was no way I could ever feel comfortable about any of this, even when I knew that everyone was going to be watching for trouble.

I turned to find Aunt Farah standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, giving me a disapproving look.

"I don't like the idea of you hanging out with that boy. He strikes me as being a bad influence." she told me.

"Bad influence? Why do you think that?" I responded. As far as she'd said before, the Renaldis we're viewed as a great family.

"Never mind. Please, go upstairs and get ready. We're going out." she ordered.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

Aunt Farah smiled as she turned to walk away. Her smile gave me the creeps. It didn't feel like her doing it.

I wished I'd argued about letting Noah stay a little bit longer, but I figured that it was probably better to just suck it up. I knew that I could call to Jade if anything happened. He'd more than likely show up to help me.

Cass was also in the picture, and he'd promised that he'd be looking out for me too. Surely he'd keep his promise. He was supposed to be an angel after all.

I couldn't shake my fears as I headed upstairs. I honestly wasn't sure of what was going to happen to me at this point. It seemed odd that they'd just assume that this would all be okay, especially with my aunt. I wondered if they thought throwing me to the wolves was their best option to move things along.

But one thing still majorly bugged me; why hadn't Malakai mentioned that he'd seen how to break the contract? I couldn't make sense of that one, unless he had something big planned with it.

I took a moment to stand in the doorway of my room and allow myself to feel around me again. Still, there was nothing. Sighing in relief, I walked in and closed the door. At least I was alone for now.

My mind began drifting to the past that I could now remember because of Jade releasing it. I still felt confused by what was currently going on. If what Jade had said was true, and Saffron had such a twisted personality, then why hadn't he killed me already?

He had always killed me when Jade had gotten close before. Yes, it was true that Jade had probably witnessed the moments after the deaths, but something felt wrong about this time. Saffron had far too many opportunities that he wasn't taking, and having Malakai and his family involved had to have changed things too, not to mention Cass coming there as well.

It made me wonder if there was something else, something deeper, behind Saffron's motives in all of this. He had written a contract that would never truly be fulfilled when he changed Jade's. That had to be unheard of with something like him.

Jade's reactions to everything made me wonder too. I had the distinct feeling that there was at least one thing that he didn't want to say out loud about Saffron. But what could it be?

The room suddenly got cold, and I looked around to see that it was also darker, though not just from the evening shadows. I shivered as the reality hit me that I wasn't alone in there.

"Very good Dove. Your perceptions have been dead on."

I didn't have to turn my head to know who was sitting behind me, now running fingers through my hair.

"How did you get here?" I whispered.

"I've been here. It's a shame that they don't like comparing me to Jade when it comes to cunning. Trust me, I am more than capable of out doing him when it suits me." Saffron bragged.

I couldn't believe it. He'd been there the entire time, and no one had been able to sense him. Okay, so one has to give credit where it is due. He must have been talented to do that.

But I was scared too. I thought about calling for Jade, but I wasn't sure that would such a good idea. Would Saffron snap my neck if I did? He certainly was in a position to do so.

"Now, now, stop scaring yourself, but forget about calling on Jade. He's chasing my shadows right now, just like the others. You see, I have something that most other Fallens don't. I'm very good when it comes to controlling my shadows, even from a long distance. By the time that they realize what I've done here, they would be far too late, so just relax and allow me my time now." Saffron went on.

Easier said than done, I thought.

I somehow managed to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat.

"Are you still influencing my aunt?" I asked him.

"Of course. That's an easy one. However, I did need a bit more to get past that Nephilim of yours, so I've allowed another to take over her body for a while. Trust me, you want to be with me right now. He'd love to have you alone to get even." Saffron whispered in my ear.

"Who is he?" I dared ask, although I feared that I already knew.

I could almost feel Saffron's smile, "Why, your once husband, of course."

It felt like ice had shot through my veins. Leo Evans. He'd brought his soul back and allowed it to possess my aunt's body. I felt sick now, but somehow managed to pull away from him and stand up to face him.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" I demanded, "You've tormented me for years, and now you're bringing back the person you and Jade were supposed to get rid of in the first place?!"

Yes, it was stupid to yell at him like that, but I'd had enough. I was so tired of living this Hell over and over.

Saffron wasn't the least bit concerned about my outburst,"You sound like you're upset now."

"Of course I am! I've had all of these miserable lives because of you and him. Everyone in this town thinks that I'm a witch because of you. I'm sick of being alive because you've made my life so miserable, just because who I was before was stupid enough to call on you and him in the first place!" I fumed.

He suddenly stood up in front of me, "Stupidity or not, you know what she did back then, and you're paying for those sins with the continuation of this, so it doesn't do you any good to blame us now. Your soul made its choices. All of them do." he stated.

I wasn't ready to back down, "You think that I don't know that? If I could destroy this eye then I would, but I know that I'm too much of a coward, so just go ahead and kill me."

"Kill you? Why would you even think that you wanted that?" Saffron responded, sounding surprised. It seemed awful real, but I wasn't sure. He had proven to be an amazing actor before.

"Isn't that what you always end up doing? You told me before that killing someone is the ultimate act of love. If you think that you love me so much, then do it. Just kill me. I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to know all of this." I challenged.

The strength had left my legs and I slumped to the floor. Yes, I was scared, but my soul was tired too. Maybe I wouldn't have to remember the awful truth for a while if I was reborn again.

Saffron was quiet, then knelt down and embraced me. It was such a gentle action that I almost couldn't believe it. His black wings came out and wrapped around me.

"I... cannot do that this time. I want to do that, but every time I look at you now, I feel it break within me." he whispered.

"But... why?" I heard myself whisper.

"Because you remind me of her. Even if you don't have her eyes, you still have the same features and beautiful hair." Saffron answered as he pulled back to look at my face. His eyes looked sad now, "I'm sure that Jade and Cass thought the same thing when they first saw you. Even that Nephilim probably did. I know that I have for a long time. You look so much like Faith Kent. It's uncanny, even for a reincarnation. Perhaps it is even my curse coming back on me for such forbidden feelings."

I couldn't recall any of them saying anything about that, but thinking back to when I'd called up those memories with Raziel, I did recall seeing Faith looking at herself in the mirror a few times, and I had to admit that he was right. I did look a lot like her.

"But you killed her. You killed all of them to keep them away from Jade." I reminded him.

Saffron looked away, running a hand over his right wing. There was a bloody wound on the top of it near where it bent. This must have been from Cass. It actually looked painful.

"I acted on impulse that day that I killed Faith Evans. I hated her for being so close to Jade, and because he'd allowed her so much control over us. Even though he'd been connected to me for so long, he'd begun to ignore me for her affections. So I decided to end all of that. I snuck into her room while she was sleeping that night and changed the contract to my benefit. I knew that I could do it without any problems, considering the fact that he gave me equal rights. Too bad that he assumed that I wouldn't realize my own power in that situation we'd been pulled into. I also knew that giving her that nightmare would confuse her enough to give me an opportunity for the first ending of her life, and it worked perfectly. The only thing that I couldn't do back then was write him out. So I had to settle for giving your soul short lives, and I had to end them when he got too close so that I could keep things like they are." he explained.

So that was it. It had been out of jealousy after all, just like everyone had thought; and now, what happened to Faith Evans made even more sense. He had thrown me off balance with that nightmare, and then with his words. He was counting on my doubts.

"So it's always been the same. You've always been worse than him." I stated.

I took my chance and gently touched his injured wing. I did feel a little sorry for him, even though I shouldn't have. I guess I'm just gentle by nature, even if it's stupid.

"Your soul has been hard for me to lie to ever since she was born. Even back then, a lot of the things I did weren't lies. They were all my attempts to win her over from him. I even thought about destroying the contract myself a few times back when you were Faith Kent, but I didn't want to be separated either. So I made my choices, even though I knew that she would have to die. You are correct in saying that I am the worse of the two of us in the end. I was always as much a killer as Jade, and I've carried a twisted personality for as long as I can remember. Even now, I fear that I would turn on you without thinking. It would be better if the contract was ultimately destroyed, but I cannot do it myself either." Saffron admitted.

I glanced towards my closed bedroom door. It felt like the malicious presence of Leo Evans was getting stronger.

"Saffron, please make Leo go away again. I'm so scared right now." I begged, resting my head on his shoulder.

I figured that this would probably be the best card to play now. If Saffron wanted to make himself seem like he was better than Jade, then I would let him. At least, until the others could stop him.

"There, there. I have no intention of allowing him to cause you any harm. He's just a fail-safe, and his will is completely bent to my own." Saffron promised, hugging me.

"Is your wing really not healing?" I dared ask as I pulled back to look at him.

I was acting concerned, but now I was curious too. Noah had claimed that it should have at least started by now. Maybe Cass had hurt him a little more than everyone thought.

"It's going to take a while. I owe Jade a pain of his own for this. His surprise could've killed me then. I'm rather glad that I'm so fast." Saffron huffed.

"You really should at least clean it up. I don't know if you can get infections, but it might make it feel better." I suggested.

"We can't, although you do have a point. It might not hurt as much." Saffron agreed as he stood up. He held out a hand and helped me up as well.

"Come on. I'll clean it for you." I offered, still playing along with the friendly game. If this was what Saffron wanted, then I'd give it to him. It would at least keep me in one piece for now.

I went over to open the door and backed up at seeing my aunt there. She was quiet, but staring at me. I didn't like her eyes though. It felt like Leo was looking at me, and he didn't seem very happy.

Saffron stepped beside me, "Go back downstairs. I have her now." he ordered.

She stood there for a moment longer, then finally backed off and headed downstairs. I let out the breath that I hadn't even known I'd been holding.

Saffron smiled at me, "Why don't we go ahead now? He won't bother us."

Okay, so maybe I was crazy for luring him in with me, but one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, as my aunt so lovingly used to put it. So I walked with him to the bathroom to clean up his wound.

Saffron was actually being very agreeable now. I had the sinking feeling that he was happy over me claiming to trust him. If I cooperated with him, then he was winning over Jade and everyone else. Yes, it was stupid to act so friendly towards a creature that aimed to eventually kill you, but I suppose that the survival instinct is a very strong thing.

Still, cleaning that wound off, I found that I couldn't deny the draw to him that I was feeling. I'd been having it from the moment that he'd appeared to me claiming to be a new neighbor. Could this have been from that bit of me that had once been Faith Kent?

But as I thought of that, another thing popped into my mind. It was how he'd compared me to her, saying that I looked so much like her that it threw him off completely. Had there really been something so different about her to him, and was that something affecting me even now from her past life?

"You know, it is ironic that you'd run into those Nephilim like you did. Even I was surprised the first time that I saw that boy. He looks a lot like his father." Saffron suddenly spoke.

"Really? You almost sound like you like that." I noted, not bothering to look up at him.

"A little, but it doesn't matter. Besides, it seems like that boy does like to press his luck as well. I halfway wonder if he has a death wish that he keeps from those others. I'd imagine that it certainly wouldn't sit well with that father of his." Saffron continued, sounding a little contrite.

"He does have a name you know." I reminded him.

I decided to be careful about bringing up Raziel too much. There was no telling what that conversation might lead to.

"Yes. Noah Renaldi. As I stated before, he is rather interesting. He'd probably make a good pure angel if he didn't carry that bit of human blood within him. He's certainly one who could proudly carry the power of the Sapphire Flame, although it seems that most of his so called clan are." Saffron responded.

"You sound like you might actually like them." I noted, still looking at the threaded needle in my hand.

"Don't worry about hurting me. It's practically numb anyway." Saffron added, holding the wound closed for me, "But back to the subject, I don't really care much about anything or anyone in the end. What they do doesn't matter to me except for when it interferes with the things that I want. Jade was a special case because he happened to be what I aimed for back then, although I do admit that I'd enjoy a one on one with him just to see who'd win in a fight. Jade's tough, but he tends to underestimate his opponents at times. It's what got him thrown out in the first place. I simply allowed myself to be caught because I'd grown bored and wanted to remain with him a while longer."

"So you get bored with things after a while too. I'm surprised that you're not bored with me after this long." I admitted.

"Trust me, you're far from boring. Your original was as well, even if I didn't really care for her dull personality. Although she wasn't always so willing to do some things with me as she was with Jade. But I suppose it doesn't really matter either. I took care of her then, and that body is no more." Saffron contended.

"What she wouldn't do huh? Like what?" I dared ask.

I couldn't look at him as I asked this, so I continued with what I was doing. I had a funny feeling that I knew the answer to the question, and it was embarrassing to me considering my inexperience. Of course, with Faith Kent's memories, maybe I shouldn't have been either. That life certainly had a lot of experience because of him.

"You wouldn't have guessed?" Saffron grinned, "I wanted her in my bed only."

Nope, no surprised there. That was the answer I was suspecting.

"But you slept with Faith Kent. You did it plenty of times, and she'd do whatever you wanted her to. You even tricked her into into starting a relationship with Raziel Renaldi." I pointed out.

"That's true, but I do not believe that any have ever gotten the big picture of that girl and her relationship with me. I enjoyed her far more than just for that beautiful body of hers. I also enjoyed that her mindset was so much like my own. She wasn't the saint that others want to believe. She enjoyed killing just as much as I did, as well as the pleasures of the flesh." Saffron informed me.

I shivered slightly as he said that. I was well aware that Faith Kent had been deeply in love with Saffron. In fact, most of what she'd done had been for him. But in the end, he'd told her that she had to die because if not, Jade would come and kill her. So she'd went willingly to her death, believing every word that he'd fed her.

But as all of those memories raced through my mind, I suddenly found myself thinking of what Raziel and I had been talking about that afternoon. It was the biggest reason that Raziel was so angry with Saffron over what had happened with Faith, and why he'd vowed to send him back to hell.

"What did you do with them?" I asked softly.

"With who?" Saffron replied, although he obviously knew exactly what I was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about. The baby. You got Faith Kent pregnant and you took the baby when she died. You even lied to her and let her believe that it might be Raziel's until you finally decided to take her away and kill her." I clarified.

I felt a little bit of anger coming into my voice, but managed to keep it in check. I couldn't help those feelings. What he'd done back then was beyond cruel, both to Raziel and to Faith.

Saffron just chuckled, "Wouldn't you all like to know?" he teased,"But I'll never tell you. She will always be my Ariana, and no one will ever take her away from me."

Well, this confirmed everything. Faith Kent had a baby girl, and her name must've been Ariana. Somewhere out there, there was a girl with demon's blood running through her veins, because Saffron was her father. Did she even know the truth about that?

"I don't plan on us staying here long either. I have no doubt that they'll figure my shadows out soon enough, so we'll need a better place to finish this now." Saffron continued.

He had effectively dropped the subject of his missing child and Faith Kent all together. I wanted to continue with it, but I knew that it probably would be no use. If he knew where this child was, which he probably did, he'd never tell. That I was sure of.

I looked at him as I finished with his wing, "What do you mean finish this?"

I hadn't been expecting that one, but I could read between the lines very easily. Saffron had something more planned with this. It looked like Jade was right.

Saffron flexed his wing a little as he stood up, "That's much better. Anyway, you certainly couldn't think that I wouldn't end this now. Just like Jade, I've become tired of it all, and given the resemblance and your renewed involvement with those half breeds, I believe that this will be the perfect time to end everything. But here just wouldn't quite fit, wouldn't you agree?"

I knew better than to disagree.

"I guess. But what are you thinking?"

"That, my darling, is for me to know and you to find out." Saffron responded.

That same smile was sitting on his face. In a way, it reminded me of Jade. It was that smile that you just couldn't read.

"Please..." I started, but couldn't even finish. That same cold fear was welling up within me.

Saffron knelt in front of me and held my face. I closed my eyes as he leaned in close and whispered to me. His words chilled me to the bone, and remained embedded into my mind for a long time afterwards.

"No matter what happens, you will always be mine. I'll make sure of it."