CHAPTER SIXTY SIX


"Gray…" I said hoarsely as I knelt. Gray ran to me and I swept him up in my
arms. He wound his tiny arms around my neck and hugged tightly. I buried my head
in his neck and asked, "What's happening, Gray?"


He answered back, muffled against my own neck, "They're all around us. Can't
you see them? They're all around the trees."


Once. I saw them once—Ambrea's gift.


I shuddered at the memory, but I didn't know if it was from anticipation or
suppressed anxiety. I didn't know what to think, how to feel, or how to
react.


"Look." Gray pulled away from me and pointed behind me.


I turned and watched as Doron strode towards us, a long staff in hand that
curved over the end and was twice his height. His dark brown robe flapped behind
him as a hood nearly covered his eyes. I knew it was him from the same brief
graying beard…and his eyes. His eyes saw everything.


I stood and picked Gray up in arms as I turned towards him.


He stopped, but didn't say anything for a moment. Suddenly, he raised his
staff and struck the earth hard. A rumble crackled in the ground underneath us
and the wind rapidly picked up.


The wind kept going, faster and faster. Gray clung to me and Doron anchored
us as he reached and grasped my arm.


I watched, mesmerized as the the wind formed a funnel shape and blinded us. I
couldn't see anything, but I knew Doron still held my arm and Gray was wrapped
tightly in my arms.


And then, it stopped. A pressure abruptly dropped from us and I reeled for a
moment to gather my balance.


Doron still didn't say anything, but I turned to him and saw that he was
watching something else.


Slowly, something grew in my stomach, and I turned to see Jace on the ground
with Ambrea beside him. His hand held onto Ambrea's.


Their eyes were closed and I already knew that Ambrea's chest wasn't moving.
I held my breath as I waited to watch Jace's—and there it was.


Relieved, I blinked back tears and asked, hoarsely, "What? What is all
this?"


"Think, Maya." Doron said gravely. His timber voice sent chills down my
spine.


Jace didn't move.


"This doesn't make sense to me. All of this. What is this?"


Doron sighed impatiently and clipped out, "All of your life, think about it.
Think! That's what you do!"


Something snapped in me and I lashed out, "I don't want to think! I just want
to know! Tell me!"


Doron nodded in approval and stepped back.


It was then that I saw myself, but as a child.


"What is this?"


"It's a memory. Only you can see it." Doron said gently. "You were one of
them. Your nephew, Ambrea, there are others and you were one of them."


I blinked back tears as my throat tightened.


"He'll live. The man that you love will live. He survives, it's what he's
been born to do, but you, Maya. You were born for something else. You were born
for…other realms. Your man is a warrior, he's fierce, but he knows how to
control that fierceness. You, Maya, you hold back so much. Too much and you have
to stop."


"Stop what?" I couldn't look away from myself. I wasn't playing or running. I
was just sitting alone on a sidewalk and I watched some of the other kids play
tag. I remembered that day.


"That's when Krein left." I said hoarsely.


"Yes." Doron nodded. He turned and watched the memory. Even though he had
said that only I could see it, I knew he could too. "You knew he was going.
You'd already been prepared."


I shook my head. "No."


"Yes." Doron said firmly. "You didn't like what you were told and that's the
day that you stopped listening."


"Stop it!" I said harshly. "It's not true."


"It is!" Doron roared suddenly. He threw back his head and his hood fell
away. His eyes were enraged. "You knew and you turned your back!"


I wanted to deny. I wanted it so badly, but he was right. That day had been
about more than my brother's leaving.


"I was so little." I mumbled to myself.


"You were a child, but sometimes only the children can see what's right. You
saw us and you denied us."


"What does this have to do with anything? What does this have to do with Jace
or Gray or Marcus, even?"


"Nothing." Doron said simply. He smiled sadly. "It has nothing to do with
that world. Marcus happened. You happened. Jace happened. None of it has
anything to do with this, with what you were, and what your nephew is. Do you
know who you hold in your arms?"


Gray shifted and looked at Doron, wonderingly.


Doron smiled tenderly and stepped closer. He held a hand out and gently
touched Gray's shoulder. "Do you know who this child is?"


I held my breath…


"He is…he is very blessed and also very cursed." Doron finished.


Gray smiled.


"He has powers that no other human will parallel. He has a future that can
mean the world to our realm." Doron stepped closer and murmured, "And he cannot
hear us anymore for what I have to say is for your ears alone."


Alarmed, I waited.


Doron continued, gravely, "Your nephew has your blood in him. He can see us,
hear us, and know more about us than any other child born with his gift. His
power surpasses yours. He can't ever turn his back to it. If he tries, it'll be
the death of him. It will drive him insane."


"What are you saying?" I asked as my voice trembled.


"You stopped believing in us, even though you never stopped your mission.
Every child born like this has a responsibility to make this world better. You
stopped listening to us and seeing us, but you still tried in your way. We
understand that. We do and it's because of that dedication that we entrust your
nephew into your hands. He needs to be guided and he needs to be given the
safety to develop his powers. You can grant him that safety."


"How?"


"Ambrea told you that they want him dead. It's true. Demons, evil entities,
they're coming after him, but we will protect him on that side. You need to
protect him in this world." Doron smiled. "I think you'll have more help that
you think."


I narrowed my eyes, frowning. "What do you mean?"


"There are others already around you that will help. They already know."
Doron said shortly.


I hugged Gray tightly, afraid to shed my tears, but I swallowed tightly and
heard what he was saying. And then I asked, "What are you?"


Doron said instead, "You hold back who you can be. You hold back too much of
yourself. You need to stop thinking and just be. You need to stop living life
afraid of what you can become. You would've been great, Maya. You still can
be."


I continued, ignoring him, "You're not like the others. I saw them and none
of them looked like you. What are you?"


"There's lots of them." Gray answered simply. His wide eyes weren't fearful.
He was content and then he yawned. As he laid his head on my shoulder, he
murmured, "I'm hungry."


I cradled his head and soothed, "Soon. We'll get food soon…"


Doron smiled at the sight of us, stepped close, and laid a hand over Gray's
head. He said to me, "You will be given one last sight. And then you shall take
up your mission."


A flash blinded my eyes, but it disappeared instantly.


I saw them again. They all stood around the valley, just on the cusp of the
treeline. They looked different and yet, all of them were beautiful. There were
orbs that shone brightly in some of their foreheads while others had the orbs on
their own staffs. Some wore armor and others merely wore a white robe. Some had
their wings outstretched and others looked like mere humans.


And in front of us, just behind Doron, was a young woman. Her long blonde
tendrils curled at the waist. She had plump perfectly formed lips and eyelashes
that needed no mascara.


Ambrea had morphed into a woman.


Her grey eyes already told me who she was because I had looked into them when
she had been a mere child.


She stepped forward and smiled, "Maya. It was an honor to meet you as a child
and an even greater honor to meet you as a woman."


"Is that what you are?"


"Yes. And I'm more than that. We can proceed to the age we wish and I wanted
to be your age."


"You're an angel?"


"I am a Messenger, but I am an Absath."


"What is that?"


She smiled briefly and said gracefully with a gentle tilt of her head,
"Basically, I oversee those who oversee the general guardians."


"And Doron?" I tested.


She answered with a wink, "Is not a general guardian. Nor is he a
messenger."


"Doron can answer those questions himself…when the time is right." Doron said
smoothly, amused.


"Yes. And he shall." Ambrea teased. She glanced back to me and sobered, "Take
care of my father. Tell him that he might not know me, but I always knew him.
And tell him…if he allows himself, I am there with him. I plan on visiting
often. And tell him…I didn't feel the fall. They took me before we landed and I
made sure that he would live."


Jace had sprinted over the edge to save his daughter, but she had saved him
in return.


I couldn't blink back the tears, not anymore. One slipped down and stalled on
my jawline.


Ambrea saw it and I saw that she blinked back some of her own.


"You have been chosen to protect your nephew. Gray will tell you where this
needs to be done and you need to do the rest. You are the sole guardian over
him. You will help him foster his gift, but you will teach him values, humility,
and kindness. You will love him because it will be those principles that will
save him in the end."


I brushed my tears away and asked, "And his powers?"


"They will be developed by us. We will train him, but they might send those
on your realm to harm him. You need to protect him from those also." She stepped
back and Doron lifted his hand.


Everything vanished and I was greeted only the realm that I could see.


It was then that I saw figures approaching from the trees. As they drew
closer, I recognized Stirley, Rafe, Krein, and the rest of Jace's team. Behind
them, a multitude of agents stepped out from hiding.


Jace hadn't wanted to call them, but they came nonetheless. They had come
because of him.


In the distance, I heard Doron whisper, "It is not the lesser that we fear,
but the greatest we can become. Do not fear this for you will gain nothing
except regrets…"


Krein approached my side and gazed, almost fearfully, at Gray, who looked
back at him equally intense.


Neither of them spoke or reached out to the other.


Stirley, Scottie, and Jake bent down to pick up Jace. Each of them paused
just before me and nodded their salute as they took their leader out of the
valley where angels had stood.


I watched as Rafe paused as she looked down at Ambrea.


She looked up and held my gaze for a moment. She said uncharacteristically
quiet, "Jace should've carried her body. It shouldn't be me."


Oscar stepped forward and swiftly picked up Ambrea's body.


He arranged her head to rest against his shoulder. Rafe placed Ambrea's hands
to be cradled in her lap. She almost looked like she'd been sleeping, but we all
knew better.


Rafe bent her head down, her gun in one hand, and cleared her throat. "The
boss would've wanted something done, you know, to mark this spot or
something."


Oscar looked around. It was then that I realized the other agents remained at
a distance, just watching.


He coughed lightly and said, "They didn't fall here, Rafe. Think about that
for a moment."


Rafe looked up, confused, but Oscar nodded to me, "My Abagail told me quite a
bit. She said you'd be needing our help. She also wondered what Doron looked
like because she'd right like to know."


"What?" I asked, now to be the one confused.


"My Abagail—she can hear them, but she can't see them. We'll be sticking
close to where you decide to settle down."


Gray whispered in my ears, "They're going to help us. Abby can talk to
them."


Abby.


I had met the woman only a handful of times and yet my nephew called her by a
nickname.


"She said that Jace would be okay." I murmured huskily.


"If she said so, then I'm sure it's right."


Oscar never asked me who I meant, but we both knew. Gray smiled at Oscar and
something relaxed inside of me.


Oscar led the way with Ambrea's legs dangling over his arms. Rafe followed
and the rest of the men stood to the side as Krein and I followed behind. I
still held Gray in my arms. When his head rested on my shoulder again and when
his arms hung limp, I knew that he had fallen asleep.


Lily's body had been stepped over and intentionally forgotten. I wondered,
briefly, if Marcus had received the same treatment.


As we walked through the woods and to their vehicles, Krein gently took my
elbow and held me back.


The others walked ahead.


"Maya, I—"


I didn't care what my brother had to say. I didn't care if it was
condolesences or vain explanations. What I did care about—is what I said
harshly, "You will drop any resentment you have. You will stop any vengeance you
have in mind. You will forget any nagging temptation you have as a criminal. You
will love me, protect me, care for me, and you will wait until your son is ready
for you to be in his life. You will also forgive any betrayal that you migth
conceive of Jace. Instead, you will become a man like him and you will do it
because if you don't—I will destroy you. I cannot kill you, not after what I
just saw, but I can hurt you and later I'll feel badly about it. Don't cross me
or abandon me ever again, Krein."


He closed his mouth and nodded his head once, quickly.


It was all Krein said to me for the next five days. We drove to the hospital
and from there, I took care of Gray until Cherry was able to fly into town. Gray
sat on my lap as I sat beside Jace, unconscious in his hospital bed.


I read to Gray and I prayed with Gray.


Yet, everytime I started to get scared, it was Gray that calmed me. He told
me who was around and who was watching over Jace, 'the big man that Doron said I
loved.'


At the end of the fifth day, Cherry arrived and took Gray for dinner and a
rest at a nearby hotel.


The others filtered in to sit with me and with Jace. All of his men came.
Some of the Panthers came.


They made sure to come when the agents weren't there. I didn't know how they
managed to time it perfectly, but they always did.


After so many days, I lost count. I was there throughout everything until
finally, Jace's hand jerked at that instant and I whirled to see his eyes wide
awake.


He didn't wake up slowly. He woke up instantly and on alert.


"…he was born to survive. That's what he does…"


"Hey." Jace croaked and pushed himself up. "What?...what happened?"


"What do you remember?" I asked tentatively.


"I…you were there, Marcus, and then…my daughter…" Jace looked at me
questioningly. "My daughter?"


I nodded. "Her name was Ambrea."


He sucked in his breath and closed his eyes instantly.


I realized my wording. 'Was.'


Gently, I sat on the edge of the bed and murmured with my hand in his, "She
died, Jace. I'm sorry."


Jace blew out a ragged breath, but he didn't say anything. His shoulders were
tense, even his hands were stiff.


"She…"


Here was the moment of truth.


I took a breath and continued, he needed to hear it all, "She…she let me see
things, Jace. I saw some wondrous things and she did that. She…her name was
Ambrea. She was wise and beautiful and…she's very special."


Jace nodded and swallowed tightly. He rasped out, "I saw them too."


Surprised, I waited.


"I got her hand. That was all I could get before we fell…I saw them too." He
opened his eyes now. I saw the anguish. He added, hoarse and stricken, "There's
a different world out there, isn't there?"


I smiled softly and scooted closer. "Just like you told me to believe. You
said that I needed to believe in something."


"And she's…"


"One of them." I finished.
"She's here." Jace said abruptly. "I feel
her."


I looked towards the window. It had been opened and a breeze moved through to
blow the curtains gently.


A long time ago, I would've been able to see her.


"Yes, she is."


"I had a daughter." Jace shook his head. "I can't believe it."


"She was beautiful." I smiled with tears in my eyes. I couldn't say anything
else because that was the truth. It was the heart of so many other glittering
words.


"I had a daughter." Jace sighed raggedly. A tear slid down his face.


"You had a daughter that everyone would be proud of."


"I did."


"You did."


Jace closed his eyes and stifled a grunt of pain. His head fell back against
the headboard, but his hand never left mine.


I loved this man. I loved him more than I loved anything else. And, if God
willing, I wanted him to help me with my next mission in life. But he needed to
comprehend his gift and his loss before that business could take place. He
needed to come to terms that he had a daughter and that he had almost saved her,
but they'd always known she wasn't going to be saved.


Jace swallowed tightly and it was then that I saw more tears had slid down
his face..


I moved closer and gently wiped them away, one by one, by my thumb.


More slipped down and I wiped them away.


One lingered at the corner of his mouth and I kissed it softly.


Jace found me with his lips and took mine captive.


He sunk into me as I quickly clung to him. He lifted me up until I was on his
chest and drowning in him.


"You protected me." I kissed him. "You killed for me." I kissed him again.
"You tested me." A third kiss.


Jace was listening now.


I breathed out, "You comforted me. You listened to me. You did what I
couldn't do. You're a ghost and a killer and a…you know what's right and wrong.
You're all of that mixed together. You're…you inspire people. They follow you. I
followed you. They…rally around you and protect you even when you don't want
them to. They…willingly die for you. And yet, you never ask for that. You just
do the job. That's what you do, Jace. You do the job."


I choked off and rested my forehead against his shoulder.


Jace cradled my head and smoothed my hair back.


"I wanted you to go back and save Krein. That's why I came to find you." I
confessed, breathless. "That's the ultimate reason. You inspired him and I knew
you could do it again, but the other way. Krein—you're two years younger than
him, but you became his father. I wanted you to save his soul and you thought
that I wanted you to get him out of prison. It was never about that."


"I know." Jace said softly and pressed a kiss to my forehead.


My hand found his on his chest.


I pulled away and cried quietly, "You told me when we were hiding in that
hidey-hole that you wouldn't save my brother. I lied to you. I said that wasn't
what I wanted, but it was. You just thought I meant to get him out of prison.
That's not what I meant at all…some of the things we said to each other."


Jace chuckled hoarsely.


"I held a knife to Taryn's throat, to…did I do that to Rafe? I don't know. I
stabbed you so many times. And you…you let me."


"I wanted that fighter in you." Jace smiled sadly and cupped both sides of my
face in his hands. "You have so much passion, but you constantly hide it. I
hated that. I just wanted you to be you, no matter what."


I had done my fair share of executions.


I shook my head, "I didn't want to be the fighter that you wanted. I didn't
want to kill people."


"What we were going into—I needed to know that you could do that. You
wouldn't have survived otherwise and I always survive."


I smiled and ducked my head.


Jace added, his deep voice reverberating against my ear as I pressed it to
his chest, "I wanted you. I wanted you from the start, but I didn't know if I
could have you. You fascinated me because you were like me, but you were
different somehow. I knew that…you weren't Taryn. You…I just knew you were like
me and you could be the one person that I could keep, just for me. Everything
else…" Jace lifted my face and said tenderly, "…everything else isn't mine. I do
the job, but I keep moving. None of it's mine. And then I saw you and I wanted
you to be mine so bad. I just…I couldn't tell you because at the end, you might
not have been mine. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's how I felt."


It made sense. It made too much sense.


I got a glimmer of the core underneath his intelligence and fierceness.


I pressed a kiss to the corner of his jaw and whispered, "I'm yours now."


"I know." Jace enfolded me close. "I love you, Maya."


Jace held me close, but I heard Doron's voice whisper in the distance, "It is
not the lesser we fear, but the greatest we become..."


I knew, without a doubt, that our journey had just started.