Epilogue

Time goes slowly when you're content with your life.

That random thought crossed my mind as I looked through a rack of dresses in the department store. It had now been nearly a year since my encounter with Noah Renaldi and his family, and my being freed from the contract that had bound my soul to two demons for nearly a hundred years. Although so much had happened, I'd been happier now than I'd ever thought I could be.

I had been leading a quiet life since I was discharged from the hospital. I was able to stay with Cass due to his claim that he was my new husband. He produced paperwork stating that my aunt had signed an approval for our marriage shortly before she died, along with a marriage certificate. It was all deemed official, so no one questioned anything about it.

As for Aunt Farah's death, it was investigated and eventually determined that she was the victim of a serial killer that they had been after for a while now. It was pieced together that she'd been kidnapped by this person and killed at the abandoned train station.

The story about my eye being burned was also verified by whatever means was covering all of this up. As far as anyone knew, I'd been in an accident right before my aunt was kidnapped, and was recovering in the hospital when her body was discovered.

Everything had easily been wrapped up in all of this, much more than I'd imagined it could be. The people who had known me around Ithaca believed that I'd met Cass the summer before in upstate New York, and we'd been meeting up for dates on the weekends. I had been planning to move in with him after I graduated, except that Aunt Farah had died shortly after agreeing to let him marry me. That brought us both back to Ithaca until we were able to get her affairs in order. Once that was done, we left and never looked back.

The Renaldis ended up moving a few months later too, and Noah and I still kept in contact through letters and phone calls. We remained good friends, and I was grateful to have met him. With him and his family's help, my life had truly begun.

I had ended up going to the mall and doing some window shopping this afternoon to get out of the house for a while on my own. Cass had dropped me off, promising to meet up with me in an hour or two. As much as I loved being with him, I admit that having some time to myself was nice too.

I let these thoughts go as I picked out two dresses I liked and made my way to the dressing rooms. I was the only one in that area right now, but I didn't mind it. I opened the door to the small room and stepped inside, hanging the dresses on the hook near me. But as I did, I caught sight of myself in the large mirror near me. I couldn't resist standing in front of it and studying my reflection.

My looks hadn't changed much in the last year. I'd let my hair grow a little longer, and I'd started wearing a bit more make-up and dressing a bit nicer. But the biggest draw in my appearance was my left eye. The memories of everything I'd been through came back every time I saw it.

My eye really didn't look too bad now. It was glazed over blue, a scarred cataract covering the damage that fire had done to it. It felt like a small price to pay for my newfound freedom. I smiled as I thought of what Cass had said to me a few days before.

"Even if he'd scarred your entire face, you'd still be beautiful to me."

I confess that I loved Cass so much now. He was a wonderful husband, and everything felt so natural between us. We'd been building a good life together, and I didn't think I could be happier.

Yet there was still a tiny longing deep within my soul when it came to Jade. As stupid as it was and even with my being in love with Cass, that feeling remained. Maybe it was a leftover from the past within me. But even if it was foolish, I had this hope that I'd get to see his beautiful face at least one more time, if only to thank him for letting me go.

My mind was pulled back to reality as the lights over me flickered. I cautiously looked around me, now noticing how quiet it had become. An ominous feeling came over me as I stood there, and I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as the fear set in.

A black spot appeared in the middle of the mirror that I was in front of. It expanded until it enveloped the entire mirror so that I couldn't see anything in it. After a few seconds, a small light appeared, looking much like the flame of a candle. Those lights multiplied quickly as I watched. It looked like they were illuminating the night, although I couldn't see anything but the candles.

A familiar voice suddenly spoke from that darkness.

"Did you really think that I'd forgotten about you?"

I cried out, holding my eye as it burned. It felt like it was on fire. I could make out footsteps coming towards me as this happened, and my eye's throbbing went down just enough for me to raise my head and look. To my horror, Jade was standing in the reflection of the mirror, a smug grin on his face.

"How? He took you back to Hell." I breathed.

"He did, but that doesn't mean that I can't escape once I've appeased the Master of the Realm." Jade responded, the smile remaining on his face.

I fell to the floor, scooting back until my back hit the wall. I could feel something dripping from my eye now. I shakily moved my hand and saw that it was covered in blood.

"Please, leave me alone. Go away." I begged.

"I think not, Kitten. You see, I am not quite one of my word when it comes to contracts." Jade stated. He stepped out of the mirror and knelt in front of me. I could feel my blood running cold now. I was sure that I was now in imminent danger.

The candles in the mirror flickered brighter, and Jade ran a finger over my eye.

"I'm sure that you understand now. I will never give you to anyone, and especially not him. Your place is with me." he told me.

I saw his eyes glow red, and then there was a bright flash of orange and red, along with unbearable heat. I could feel my soul being ripped from my body and into the mirror.

It would be in there where I would finally join Jade for our eternity...

That was the moment when I was sent back to reality and realized that I was still in that changing stall, now sitting on the floor. My eye felt fine, and there was no blood. Had I just lost my mind for a moment?

I left the dresses and bolted out of the stall, determined to get out of there. It didn't feel safe to stay after that, vision or not.

I slowed down and tried my best to act normal as I quickly walked out of the store. Of course, that was easier said than done. I thought about calling Cass as I got to the parking garage. Maybe he'd be close enough to pick me up within the next ten minutes.

But I stopped as I turned the corner from the elevator. There was someone standing right in front of me. I froze as I recognized Jade. Was I having another one now? Would this be another waking nightmare?

"I see that my ruse worked to get you out here." Jade gloated, the same smile from my nightmare on his face.

"What do you want?" I asked, although it didn't come out as demanding as I would've liked.

Jade shrugged, not looking worried at all. I felt frozen in place as he held my chin and examined my face.

"At least he honored my one request to not mess up your face. I do prefer such a pretty one as yours to stay intact."

I managed to snap out of my shocked state and pull away from him, taking a step back, "Stop it." I ordered.

That familiar fire had emerged within me. It had always been there when I'd faced him before as Faith, and even though the contract between my soul and him was gone, this part of me remained.

"Come now. You couldn't be so sore over my little trick." Jade reasoned.

"Excuse me? That wasn't a little trick. I thought I'd lost my mind!" I complained.

Jade was still unfazed, "I suppose I did push a bit too far there, but I was bidding farewell to you in my own way. You've told me before that I am cruel by nature, so I lived up to it. However, I couldn't quite make myself leave completely without speaking to you one more time."

"Huh?"

"It seems that I'm still good at catching you by surprise." Jade teased.

"Wait a minute. You only did that because you wanted to say goodbye?" I clarified.

"More or less."

An exhausted sigh escaped me. He really was too much. But as I thought that, his words sank in.

Bidding farewell.

"So you're really letting me go?" I verified.

"I suppose miracles happen after all, but I will admit that I also know when I'm out matched. It's not every day that a White Light and a Black Wing want the same soul so badly, and given my dark ties, perhaps it is appropriate for me to say goodbye for now." Jade admitted.

"You're just leaving me with Cass?" I guessed.

"I suppose." Jade replied, "But I'm not concerned about it. Cass is now like me, although he won't be cast into Hell or even have his wings for quite a while. I suppose one can concede to that much. After all, I know that he will not allow anything more to happen to your precious soul."

I stood still as he slipped a silver chain around my neck. There was a strange looking pendant hanging from it. It looks like a pair of small wings that had been made of black onyx stones.

"What is this?"

"Think of it as your link to me. After all, the gates have been open for a long time, and I anticipate more to happen in the coming years between the two factions. I have no care for either side though. You and my boy are my only concerns, and for that, this will allow me to keep my eye on you. If Cass should ever fail in protecting you, then I will be there to take his place." Jade explained.

I returned his smile, "If that day comes, then I'll wait for you." I promised. Then the second part of what he'd said dawned on me, "Wait a minute. Did you say your boy?"

Jade was smug as he responded to me, "You'd expect any less? All of us have our secrets. But for now, take care Kitten, and trust your instincts. They will never fail you."

I closed my eyes as he gently kissed my forehead, and when I opened them, he was gone. I held the pendant as I stood there, letting everything sink in. No, I had no doubt that I would see Jade again one day, but it could wait. After all, now I had Cass, and I had no intentions of ever losing this angel I'd come to dearly love.

"He's something. I'll give him that much."

I turned as I heard Cass speak. I hadn't even realized that he'd pulled up and was now standing by the car near me.

"I guess he really did want to say goodbye, but he could've been nicer about it." I complained as he came over to me.

I didn't feel like confronting him about what had happened there. Knowing Cass, he'd probably sensed Jade around and hung back to make sure I'd stay safe.

"It's not his way. Jade's never been one to do nice things for others, but I'm sure that you understand that too." Cass responded. He looked at the pendant, running his fingers over the stones.

"Are you jealous?" I had to ask, although it came out as more of a tease.

"Not at all. At least I know that if I ever fail, there will be another there to protect you. However, I don't intend for that to ever happen. He'll have to wait an eternity for that." Cass assured me.

I returned his smile, "I guess we'll just have to see."

"Are you ready to head back now?" Cass asked me, effectively changing the subject.

"Sure. Let's go. I want to get back and start decorating." I agreed, showing him the two bags that I'd somehow managed to hold onto throughout that whole ordeal. Damn demon. He'd almost made me lose my decorations for Thanksgiving.

Cass laughed as he walked over to the car with me and we got in, "You know, you're a strong girl to stand up to one like him too."

"I'd hope so. I've been dealing with him and Saffron for over eighty years, even if I can't remember it all." I told him.

"They certainly were persistent to do all of this, although Saffron paid dearly for it. Lucifer may not let him out for a few centuries if he's mad enough at him." Cass noted.

We left the garage and turned onto the road.. Sitting back in my seat, I watched the passing scenery and let my mind wander back to what Jade had told me. He'd mentioned something about his boy. Did that mean that he had a child too? I couldn't resist asking Cass about it.

"Hey Cass, do others like Saffron have children?"

Cass seemed caught off guard by my question, although he did answer me, "Well, it's a bit of a touchy subject. Why do you ask?"

"Jade said something about me and his boy being the most important ones to him. Does this mean that he has a son?" I probed.

"Yes, yes he does." Cass confirmed.

"So there are more of these children out there?"

"Yes." Cass verified, "There have always been children like that out there, although not many. The numbers have been lower in the recent centuries."

I took in his words as I watched him. It was obvious that he didn't like talking about this.

"So what about you? Would it happen with you?" I had to ask. I had a good reason to ask this, considering that I was now sleeping with him. I hadn't been anticipating that I could end up pregnant, nor had he mentioned anything about that.

"No. We can control such things on our ends, and I have no intentions of you dying just because you had our child. It's the sad reality for the mothers of such children." Cass assured me.

Well, that was a relief. I really didn't want to die giving birth to a child now that I'd just escaped those two. But thinking about that, I also recalled Raziel's words to Saffron at the station.

"Out of curiosity, do you think that Raziel will look for that girl now?" I had to ask.

Cass shook his head, "I doubt it. This has always been such a sore spot for him, and she is your age now. He probably just said that to get under Saffron's skin. Believe it or not, Saffron has always been very protective of this child. To be honest with you, I believe that he truly had found it in himself to love Faith Kent, and having this little girl with her was the ultimate connection to her in his mind. He simply hates Raziel because Faith may have fallen in love with him instead." he explained.

I could believe all of that. After all, I knew what I had seen in Faith's memories. Saffron had done a lot of things with her that were different from the rest of us, and he'd shown a lot of interest in this baby. Maybe he did learn to love something after all.

We were driving down the main road in the little town of Fallsburg now. It was a place that we had to go through before we made it back to our own town, although I will admit that I enjoyed looking as we did. The town was small, but still very nice. I took in the sight of the houses and little stores lining the main street. Maybe we could stop there sometime and look around, perhaps even do a bit of window shopping. It would be something interesting to do.

But as I looked out of my window, a noticed a young woman sitting on a bench near the road. I stared at her as we drove by. Even though I only got to see her for maybe thirty seconds, I couldn't believe what I saw. Although she had long red hair, her beautiful face reminded me so much of Saffron's that it was eerie. I reached over and grabbed Cass's hand.

"Cass..." I started.

He had noticed her too, slowing down the car, "It can't be..."

The girl glanced up as we did a U turn and drove past her again. That was when we saw her eyes. My God, they were the same unnaturally blue eyes that Saffron had. There was no doubt now. This girl was Saffron's daughter.

I quickly turned to Cass as he pulled over on the next street, "That was her! That had to be her!" I insisted.

"I don't doubt it. The resemblance is too uncanny to ignore." Cass agreed.

"We should go back. Let's at least try to talk to her." I reasoned.

Cass immediately rejected the idea, "No. I don't think that we should."

"Why not?!"

"Think about it. Saffron is gone, and this girl may know nothing of her heritage. It's better for us to just leave it alone. If anything, she will eventually join the others like her and live out her life. So let us leave her be. It's better for all of us, especially her."

I'm sorry to say that I had to agree with Cass that day. Even though I wanted to go back so badly, I didn't want to do anything that may cause harm to this beautiful girl. I could only hope that perhaps someday, I would get the chance to actually meet and talk to her. Someday, hopefully, I would meet my daughter from my last life.

Perhaps someday soon.