4

"So Saffron's in on all of this too. Why am I not surprised?" Chris commented as we sat at the small table in the hotel's restaurant and had some breakfast.

It was three hours later, and we were preparing to leave the hotel once I'd been able to eat. Of course, by then I was more than starving. But looking down at my fried eggs and toast, I kept thinking about Saffron's words and the life growing inside of me. I couldn't imagine that an angel would want to harm an unborn baby. But this wasn't a normal baby by any means either.

Chris noticed my distraction, "Hey, you need to eat and stop thinking so much into all of this. Whether we like it or not, we all knew that none of this was going to be easy." he reminded me.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I just wasn't expecting to hear that Judiel would want to kill this baby. That's the last thing you'd think about with angels." I said, forcing myself to eat.

"Trust me, I don't like thinking about it either, but that's why we're stuck going to this clan. Their leader might be the only one right now who may be able to prevent him from harming them." Chris continued.

He sat back in his chair and sighed in frustration as he looked out of the nearby window at the figures sitting in the lobby. Carroll had promised us that they wouldn't go too far because he was concerned about me being spotted. Not that any of them would want to anyway. Sevee came off as being just as protective over this as Carroll and Zane.

I decided to try and change the subject a little. All of this tension was giving me a stress headache.

"You know, Carroll seems to think that this baby is a boy."

"Maybe. I guess that an Emerald Nephilim might know."

I frowned as I looked at him. Chris still didn't trust Carroll or Sevee. That much was obvious in how he'd been acting towards them.

"You don't trust Carroll, do you?" I guessed.

Chris blinked like he was surprised by my sudden assertion, but was still quick to respond to me, "It's not really that. It's just that we don't know that much about him or any of those like him; and to be here with a Renaldi, and Mia's son on top of that, almost seems too convenient for me."

"I get that, but do we really have a choice in any of this?" I reminded him.

"Maybe not." he relented.

I did understand where he was coming from regarding Sevee Renaldi, especially when it came to Zane. I was also wondering how that was affecting him. Zane had always been good at hiding his feelings about things, and he really hadn't shown much in the way of a reaction when he'd learned that Sevee was one of Mia's children. I didn't know if that was a good or a bad sign.

I tried to picture Mia in my mind as I glanced out at Sevee again. Zane had claimed that he could see a resemblance between him and his mother. Sevee was a really good-looking guy, beautiful in a sense for a man. Zane had said quite a few times that Mia was beautiful too. I could believe it now.

I sat back in my chair as I finished eating, "At least I feel better now. I was starving." I admitted. I was hoping to lighten the mood.

"You need to make sure that you eat more. That kid's going to take a lot out of you with the way he's growing. We'll make sure to pick up a few things for you to eat on the ride too." Chris promised.

"You're really doing okay with all of this?" I verified.

Chris sighed, "I can't say that I'm completely alright with it. If things were different and we were normal people, I would be ecstatic, but I'm more worried about you and him now. Call it instinct, but I know what might be coming. Either way, I'll just be glad when we get to this damn Seraph and things are a little bit safer."

"I'm going to be fine. This Seraphita isn't trying to hurt me." I assured him.

"I know. I don't think so either, but it's really put us in a bad position with how quick he's done this, not to mention that we can't discern any of his plans right now."

I understood why he felt that way. I did too. We really didn't know what to expect with all of this. None of us knew what this powerful angel was planning, or how they were going to execute said plan. All we knew was from the guidance we were being given by those around us.

The waitress brought us the check, which Chris glanced at before handing her his credit card. He glanced at the others again as she walked away. It only took a few minutes for his card to be brought back, along with a receipt.

"Let's get moving. The place we have to get to isn't that far away, so hopefully we'll be there before nightfall." he said quietly while he slipped the card into his wallet.

"You really think we'll be able to get there that fast?" I had to ask.

"If everything goes according to plan. At least that's what Carroll's been saying, although I'll admit that I'm not that sure of what to think of him."

I understood Chris's point. I wasn't that sure of what to make of Carroll Hawthorne either. Even though I'd had that vision about what had happened between him and his twin brother, Carroll remained somewhat of an enigma. He was polite and courteous, yet distant as well.

On top of that, Lennox couldn't read anything from him either. Somehow Carroll was able to block him at all times. Of course, this had annoyed Lennox to no end, and I'd gotten to spend half of the morning hearing about it in my head. I was relieved when he finally gave it up and allowed himself to fall back into what he liked to call a sleep state.

The two of us got up and headed back out to the lobby to meet with the others. Sevee was standing with Carroll near the side of the couch and was the first to speak as we walked over.

"I see the girl's feeling better now, but just to be safe, I picked up a few things for the ride. It would be bad if she gets sick on the way." he said, holding up a plastic bag that had been on the couch beside him.

"Very funny." I muttered.

"It's all for your benefit, so you needn't think of it so much as dependence." Carroll assured me.

"Are you a mind reader too?" I inquired.

"Not really, but I am good at reading a person's eyes, and you didn't look too happy over the comment, though I agree that it was a bit tasteless." Carroll responded, giving Sevee a short, knowing glance.

Of course he'd read into it just from my expression. I did agree with Chris on Carroll being somewhat of an enigma when it came to such things. I wasn't that sure that I completely believed him about not being a mind reader either, but I decided to let it go. There were much more important things for me to think about.

The five of us went out to the parking lot where I stopped with Zane and Chris by the Dodge while Carroll and Sevee headed over to a black Mustang parked two spaces to the left of us.

"Is the plan still for us to follow you there?" Zane asked them.

"I believe that may be the best course of action for now. It will also allow me to shield your presence. I have no doubt that Judiel may know by now of what's going on, and the last thing we need is an accident being caused in order to take lives inconspicuously." Carroll answered.

Sevee leaned back against the car, "Yeah. That would be really bad, especially given her state." he agreed.

"So we won't speak of it anymore." Chris stated as he opened the back door for me, "Let's get moving. I don't want to waste any more time getting to this leader of yours."

Carroll didn't seem worried about his attitude. He simply agreed and opened the driver's side door of the Mustang.

"Very well. Let's move."

When it comes down to it, riding in a car for a long period of time isn't that exciting. I thought over everything that had happened so far as I watched the scenery flying by. So much had happened already since all of this started.

But it seemed like the thing that stuck out the most in my mind were Saffron's words to me from our meeting the night before. He'd said that he was preparing himself to be able to be around me soon and so was Jade.

I shivered as I thought about Jade's violent reaction towards me when we'd first realized what the Seraphita had done. I'd seen that the Fallen could be violent and unpredictable, but I'd never seen such a quick turn to anger from them like that until then.

But the other thing that stuck out in my mind from that meeting with Saffron was how he spoke about his plans. While it didn't surprise me that Saffron was planning things on his own, considering the fact that he seemed to be doing that ninety-nine percent of the time, this situation was different from all of the others. Where could the plans of a Seraphita possibly fit in with the plans of a Fallen anyway? Was it possible that Saffron was thinking that he could use this Seraphita to his own advantage?

I was pulled back to reality when Chris broke the silence.

"I'm still not that sure about this. It feels way too easy." he was telling Zane.

"I understand, but do we really have any choice other than to trust them? We're flying blind on all of this, and we've never had one of our kind pregnant before, let alone with a child like this. They may at least know a little bit about Nephilim pregnancies in general, considering their kind can procreate." Zane reasoned.

"I get all that, but doesn't it seem a little too convenient that they'd be at that hotel at the same time as us, not to mention that the other Nephilim that was with that Hawthorne would be a Renaldi, even if he is considered a half breed?" Chris countered.

Zane let out a long sigh, "Maybe so, but what is done is done. Besides, I can't say that I was that surprised when I looked at him that he belonged to Mia. He does have a lot of her features, even if he doesn't have her different colored eyes."

Chris shifted in his seat, "Maybe, but I'd hope that she doesn't act like him. It seems like he's got a superior attitude." he commented.

"Not at all. The Mia I knew was very quiet and sweet. Personally, I feel like the attitude is just a front that Sevee's putting on. It's probably to defend himself in situations that he's unsure of. I'd imagine that he was caught off guard by me too. I doubt that he ever expected to meet me or to realize that I am what I am." Zane continued.

"You don't think that Mia ever suspected it?" I spoke up.

"I doubt it. Mia didn't even seem to know what she was back then. I think that it was kept from her due to the unique situation she was in." Zane admitted.

"Yeah, maybe, but you knew what she was anyway. I told you back then that you should've just left her alone." Chris added in.

That one caught my attention. So what Saffron had said was true. Zane had known the truth about Mia Renaldi all along, and Chris knew more about it then he'd wanted to say before.

But before I could say anything, I noticed Zane suddenly sit up a little straighter.

"Did you hear that?" he asked us.

Chris straightened up and looked out of his window, "Yeah. Keep pace with them. Something's spotted us."

A strange sound became discernable behind us, welling up in pitch as it got closer. It was like a rushing wind. Looking out of the window at the highway, I was shocked to realize that our Dodge and the Mustang were the only cars currently on it. The entire thing had a strange, foreboding feeling to it. A knot formed in my lower belly. I had sense that it was the baby curling up tight. It actually hurt.

"You've got to be kidding. They're isolating us!" Chris grunted.

"It's a tactical move to not involve the mortals, but it seems that they aren't shy about involving the clan Nephilim. I hope they're not branding them too." Zane responded.

The Mustang quickly turned onto one of the off ramps to exit the highway. Unfortunately, the loud sound of wind kept following. Then it suddenly felt like the car was jolted hard from the left side. I held on to the seat, closing my eyes. I could hear the screech of tires as we slid to the side of the road.

Then all I heard was silence.

I could hear the sound of steam coming from the car as I slowly opened my eyes, and smoke was in the air where the airbags had deployed. I shifted a little, realizing that the car was now pushed up against the guard rail that it had smacked into.

Zane and Chris were slowly regaining their senses too, coughing a little from the smoke around us.

"Is everyone okay?" Zane managed, rubbing his head.

"I think so." I coughed.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Chris asked as he climbed into the backseat to check on me.

I shook my head, "No. We're both okay."

"Her and the baby are fine. I managed to shield them just in time, but you've got much bigger problems. You all need to get out of this car as quick as you can before he comes back." Lennox told him as he appeared beside us.

"He's right. Come on. We'll be sitting ducks if we stay here." Zane agreed, shoving hard against his door to open it.

Chris joined in, kicking the door beside me until it opened. He then climbed out, helping me out too.

Outside of the car was deathly quiet except for the steaming of the car engine. I was amazed that we hadn't really been hurt as I saw the car. It had spun out and hit the guard rail hard, now looking like a crumbled mess on the front and passenger's side.

The Mustang had also spun out about five feet in front of us, hitting the cement median in the middle of the road. Carroll and Sevee managed to kick open one of the doors so that they could get out too.

"Hey, are you two alright?!" Zane called to them as we hurried over there.

"We're fine. We were able to shield ourselves enough before the impact." Sevee responded. He huffed as he looked at the car, "Looks like you won't be returning the car Carroll."

Carroll let out a long breath, "If the circumstances were any different, I'd stand here and say that Carlton's going to kill me for wreaking it. But right now, I'm more concerned about Ariana. Are you sure that you're okay?" he asked he as looked at me.

"Yeah. Lennox was able to shield us." I answered.

Carroll held a hand over my belly to check, "There's no damage done to either. That's a relief" he breathed.

"Great." Chris sighed, looking relieved too, "But what now? We're still trapped in this vortex that this thing's made, and on top of it, this feels like it's from holy power."

Carroll agreed, "It very well is, and it seems that this one doesn't care that we were involved. We need to find a way out of it or at the very least get some extra help."

"Normally I'd say we make a run for it, but with Ariana being pregnant, I don't think that would be the best option. We may not be able to find a way out in time." Zane noted.

"Definitely not. But there is one person that might be able to help us if I can reach him in time." Carroll told us. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping in the code to the home screen.

"Finally have to concede on calling Micah, huh? It's about time." Sevee complained.

"There was no need to request help before, but the situation has now changed." Carroll countered.

Chris was watching around us as they spoke, keeping his sword drawn and ready, but everything remained unnaturally still.

"How exactly are we supposed to call for help from here? We're still trapped in this vortex. It's locked everything else out." Zane reasoned.

"That's true, but I have the ability to project my consciousness through objects such as phones. Using that I should be able to put the call through to him, even in a place such as this." Carroll explained.

A green glow surrounded his phone as he dialed a number. After three rings, it was answered.

"Hey, I thought you'd be home by now." a male voice said.

The voice was a bit deeper than Carroll's and didn't sound concerned at all. They must not have sensed that Carroll had used his ability to call them.

"We would have been, but we've hit a lot of trouble. Is Micah there with you?" Carroll asked him.

"No. He went out a while ago, but what do you mean trouble? Is something going on?" the guy asked.

"I'm going to take it that Micah hasn't told you?"

The guy's breath hitched as he heard that, "Hold up. You're not talking about that whole thing with the Shadow Wings, are you? Did you find her?"

"You'd better hurry it up. Something's getting close." Chris warned him. We could hear the same sound of howling wind in the distance.

The guy heard Chris speak, "Carroll, what's going on? What's happening there?" he demanded.

"Just what you said. I've found the girl and her companions, but we've been stopped by a holy power and it's coming for us, so I need you to find Micah and get him to come here right away. We have no way of getting away from it now." Carroll explained.

"You what?!" the guy exclaimed. He seemed to calm himself down just as quickly, "Okay, I'll contact Micah right away. Just make sure to keep an eye on that girl until I do."

"I will. Thanks." Carroll said as he hung up.

"Yep, he's going to kill you for all of this." Sevee added bluntly.

The wind was getting stronger now. Chris took my hand, pulling me behind him.

"We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to get her out of here!"

We didn't have a chance to move before we heard that same whistling sound coming towards us. A bright light barreled down at us. Chris's reaction was just as quick. In a lightning-fast swing of his sword, he sent his own dark flames at it, effectively burning it out.

A figure appeared in the sky above us. He was dressed in long white robes and had long arms that looked like they were wrapped in white bandages with claw like hands. Two sets of large golden wings were coming from his back. His golden eyes regarded us with disdain from under his flowing white bangs.

"So, it was a holy power, just like we thought." Sevee growled, stepping beside Chris.

"Helping the damned will not prolong life, even for those such as you. Step aside and let our work be done." the angel ordered.

"Now who says that we'd want to do that?" Sevee retorted.

"Stay back. He's mine." Chris told him.

"Come on. At least let me get some of my aggression out. I'm a little pissed about the whole accident thing too." Sevee countered. I knew that kind of smile that he was giving him. He was looking for a good fight.

Chris huffed as he smiled too, "Good enough for me. I want to see if you can back up that smart mouth of yours."

Zane pulled me back with him and Carroll. The angel noticed this; his eyes immediately falling on me. He raised his right arm and a lightning bolt appeared in his hand. It crackled and glowed as he held it above his head, taking aim at us.

"The holy should not be born from the unholy! This will not be allowed!" he declared as he threw it towards us.

Carroll jumped in front of us, sweeping his hand from the left to the right in a fluid motion in front of him to create a shield. The lightning that the angel had sent barreling down missed Sevee and Chris as they jumped out of the way and hit the strong, emerald tinted barrier that Carroll had brought up around us. Inside of it was incredibly warm, and I felt some relief knowing that we couldn't be hurt in there as long as Carroll could keep it up.

Chris slid back on the pavement as he landed, "That's good Hawthorne! I expect you to keep that thing up until we kill this one!" he called.

"You'd better make it quick! I can only last so long before I start losing power!" Carroll called back as he kept his hand against the barrier.

Sevee stood up straight with Chris, and I realized that his appearance had changed some. His ears were now like a fox's, and he had a silver tail and claws. His eyes had also turned golden. This must've been what he'd meant when he'd said that he was mixed with a fox.

"Well, well. Looks like we're moving to the offense. Let me give a gift back!" Sevee announced, holding up his left hand. Five large balls of blue fire appeared in front of him. With a downward swipe of his hand, he sent them hurdling back towards the angel.

The angel flew back, using his lightning to block the fire, though it almost didn't work. He barely stopped it in time.

Chris brought his wings out, and in a flash, he was up there in front of the angel, bringing his sword down towards his right shoulder. But the angel was too quick and managed to catch the sword in one hand and hold it back.

"Tell me why!" Chris demanded as he continued to push down, "Why are you trying to kill one of the greatest holy powers under the Trinity?! It can't just be to keep killing us!"

The angel pushed him back, holding another crackling bolt of lightning in his right hand as Chris caught himself with a hard flap of his wings.

"Your kind cannot be redeemed, and the dirty cannot give life to one so clean. The Seraphita has made a grave mistake, and this unholy carrier must be destroyed!" he growled.

Chris held up his sword as the lightning was thrown towards him, slicing the bolt in half. I cried out as it hit the pavement near our shield, shaking the ground underneath of us and leaving a large crater behind.

Zane held my shoulders as we sat on the ground and looked at Carroll, "I hope you can hold this shield!" he called.

"I'm doing my best, but it takes a lot of my strength to do it. Hopefully I can hold out until they either stop that angel or Micah comes." Carroll confessed.

"Then at least let me help you. Two of us could maintain it longer to keep her safe." Zane suggested.

"It would be no use. Our powers cannot mix because of the clash between the light and the dark bloodlines." Carroll reasoned.

He was starting to strain now. A few more bolts had hit the barrier, even though Chris and Sevee were working hard to keep them from doing so.

"It doesn't matter! I have to try! Stay down Ariana!" Zane instructed me.

He let me go and hurried over beside Carroll, closing his eyes in concentration as he placed his hand against the barrier. A dark power rushed through it when he did. The emerald darkened noticeably, although it didn't turn black, and the whole barrier seemed much stronger.

Carroll stared at him with shocked green eyes, "How can you mix this? It shouldn't be possible." he managed.

"You said yourself that this child inside of Ariana has a lot of power and may be changing those around her. I've felt it too, and I've felt my connection to my father finally breaking. This is the ultimate proof of my soon to be coming exoneration, and I'm not going to let those around me die achieving it!" Zane declared.

"It's about time you proved your worth Zane!" Chris yelled back. He stared down the angel hovering near him, "Enough is enough! You've messed with the wrong Shadow Wing!"

The angel had no time to react as Chris suddenly hurled a large blast of darkness towards him. The blast hit him hard, hurdling him back into the nearby concrete wall that lined the highway beyond the rails. He left an indent in it as he managed to land on the ground below.

But Sevee wasn't giving him the chance to get back into the air. He immediately blocked his path with fire. This gave Chris enough time to swoop down and pin him to the ground near us, holding his sword over his chest.

The angel remained defiant, showing no fear towards him.

"And with this you show what you truly are. You would kill those who are opposite from you. You have killed many in your lifetime to save your own skin!" he sneered.

Chris hesitated as he heard this, but those words immediately angered Sevee.

"And why wouldn't you deserve it?! You're the ones attacking them, and now you're attacking us too! None of us have done anything to deserve the wrath of the Heavens!" he countered.

"You have sympathy for the damned, which I will say is quite noble of you; but sympathy alone isn't enough to stop us and will only lead to your own damnation." the angel warned.

The ground began to shake violently with his words. Carroll and Zane fell to their knees with me, unable to stand in the quake. The barrier around us began dissolving.

"Enough!" Chris yelled, running his sword through the angel's chest. But as he did, he was thrown off by a burst of incredible power.

"Chris!" I yelled, but my voice was drowned out by the quaking and bolts of lightning that were now coming down all around us. I threw my hands over my head, convinced that this was it. Even in dying, this angel was going to kill us.

As I laid there, I suddenly felt someone cover me with their own body. It took me a moment to realize that it was Chris. He'd managed to get over there to try and shield me and the baby inside of me.

But suddenly, all of the quaking and lightning was stopped by a tremendous surge of power. We all looked up to see a thick blanket of emerald colored light sweeping through the sky above us. It swallowed up the lightning and went down into the cracks in the ground, stopping the quake almost instantly.

Zane helped Carroll to sit up. One of the bolts had grazed Carroll's left shoulder, and he was holding onto it tightly with blood seeping through his fingers.

"He came just in time." we heard him say.

The light moved towards the ground and converged into a solid being. He was a beautiful man with dark hair and fair skin. Dressed almost casually in dark slacks and a white shirt, we could see six brilliant emerald-colored wings coming from his back. They were wings that matched his powerful eyes. Just the sight of him give me a feeling of awe, and there could be no doubt of who he was.

This was Micah Hawthorne, the Seraphim who led the Emerald clan.

"It seems that I was almost too late this time." Micah commented, looking around at the damage. He then knelt down in front of Carroll, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about the girl." Carroll replied, gesturing to me.

"I'm okay. Are you alright Chris?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Yeah. None of it hit me, but I was more concerned about you and the kid." Chris breathed, keeping a protective hand over my belly.

"Now that was one high level assassin angel. Looks like they're pretty serious about all of this." Sevee noted, wiping his sleeves off as he walked over with us. He had dust on him from the broken pavement, but seemed like he was in one piece. I noticed that his looks had changed back to a more human form too.

"It seems so, but one would expect no less when it comes to their leader." Micah informed him. He turned his attention back to Zane. For the first time I realized that he had a wound in his left leg. It looked like he and Carroll had gotten the worst of it. But Micah wasn't leaving such a thing alone. He laid a hand over the wound, "One does not have to suffer for doing the right thing. I will repair the damage done."

The wound quickly healed as he said this. He did the same with Carroll. Zane looked just as surprised as me by the whole thing.

"You would help us this easily?" he asked.

"I am as Kinsley is with my stand on everything, and so is the other like us. However, it seems that the tides have changed far more in our favor with this Seraphita that's decided to involve itself in this war. For that and the principals, we cannot ignore what must be done." Micah told him. He stood up straight and came over to me and Chris.

Chris didn't look that comfortable with this, but he was trying to hide it, "So, you're the Seraph leading this clan. Looks like we've met two now." he noted.

"Yes, that is so, considering that I've heard of how you've already gotten to meet Kinsley in person, but for the sake of good graces, I shall introduce myself. I am Micah Hawthorne, the leader of the Emerald clan, and it seems the one who will help you with bringing this child into the world." Micah responded with a polite bow.

Everything about Micah was so eloquent. That was all I could think as I looked up at him. Yet there was also such a gentleness in his eyes. It was something that drew you in almost immediately, as though you knew that he would never cause you any harm.

"Do you really think that it's safe for me to have this baby?" I had to ask him.

"I believe that it is very much so, although we will have more problems with things such as this if we do not bring you to a safe place and keep guard over you. It seems that getting you there will now take my intervention as well." Micah answered as he glanced at the cars.

"Please don't make it sound like such a chore Micah. You are more than capable of automatic transportation." Carroll pointed out, giving him a sour look.

Micah just smiled, letting out a small laugh, "Of course." he agreed. He then looked back at us, "Now, let us head home."