The days seemed to pass quieter and slower since Lenore died and I brought Sage home, and although I still felt that lingering ache of loss, I also was beginning to find some contentment within me as a father. I loved my new little son and enjoyed every moment I had with him. By the time a month passed, I really felt like I'd found my place in life and peace with who I was.
Yet even with my renewed sense of self, I couldn't deny that there were still some unresolved issues around me. Namely, the curse and its effect on my family. While Seraphina remained silent, Noah was becoming more and more a prisoner of the darkness looming around him, so much so that other than occasionally talking to him for a few minutes on the phone to make sure he was doing okay, I didn't communicate with him at all.
This particular afternoon was another boiling point with all of that. I was listening as my parents stood in the nearby dining room, talking about what had happened at my grandfather's just half an hour earlier. Sage was sleeping in his bassinet near me, while Seraphina quietly curled up against me. She'd been upset when her and Sean had come back, and I'd offered to sit there with her and comfort her while he discussed what had happened with Mia.
"I really don't think this is a good idea now Mia." Sean was saying quietly, "I know that this isn't really Noah doing this, but he's pushing too much, and I'm worried about how it's affecting Sera."
"I get it, but I can't just tell Raziel and Anna that we can't see them anymore because of that. It's not fair to them, and it feels like we'd be abandoning Noah to this." Mia reasoned.
I heard Sean let out a frustrated sigh, "We'd never abandon him. I'm just worried about Seraphina. She's been through so much already, and it nearly broke her before. I'm afraid that could happen again if Noah pushes her too hard with this, and we might not be able to get her back at all."
"I know that. I'm just worried that it'll do more harm than good to keep her away from him. Her, Noah and Sevee have always been close. It's bad enough that he hasn't even gotten to see Sage yet because of all of this." Mia responded.
I quietly huffed to myself. No, Noah hadn't gotten to see Sage because I had elected not to take him around him yet. I was worried about what might happen if I did. But I admit that it bothered me too. Noah might've butted heads with me a lot of times because of our personalities, but he really was a gentle person at heart. This damned curse was making him look like a psychopath now.
Seraphina hugged me a bit tighter, bringing me back to reality. I looked at her and saw tears rolling down her cheeks, along with hearing her sniffle.
"Hey, it's okay." I comforted her as I hugged her, "I know you're upset, but that wasn't Noah saying those things. He's just under that same darkness that tried to get us, and Pop is doing his best to free him from it."
She sniffled again, closing her eyes as she hugged me. It was hard for me to see her like this. I knew she missed Noah. All she wanted was to see him and have things back to how they were. As much as I was loathe to admit it, I did too. I wanted the three of us to hang out again, and for him to be able to know my son.
Mia and Sean were still talking things over as the two of us sat there together. Their conversation had become more subdued now.
"I know it would probably be the best thing, but I hate thinking about Raziel having to move away from us because of this." Mia was saying.
That perked my ears. Raziel was talking about moving his family away because of what was happening with Noah?
"Nothing's set in stone right now Mia, and we still have time. Besides, your dad is working very hard with Raphael and Gabrielle to figure this out. No matter what we need to do, we'll protect Noah and Seraphina." Sean reassured her.
I didn't hear any more of this as Sage began to whine, then broke into full crying. He'd been asleep for about two hours, so I guessed he was probably in need of a diaper change and a bottle. I gently made Seraphina pull back from me.
"Hey, why don't you change Sage while I fix him a bottle?" I suggested.
Seraphina nodded, getting up and going over to the bassinet. As she lifted Sage out and comforted him, I headed to the kitchen. I was working on preparing his bottle as my mom stepped in there. She looked dejected.
"Did Dad leave?" I asked her.
"No. He just went to check on your sister. I heard Sage crying too. Is she changing him now?" Mia responded.
"Yeah. I asked her to help me out. I thought it might help her feel a little better. She really loves taking care of him, and it seems like it makes her feel better." I pointed out.
"That's true." Mia agreed, finally smiling a little, "Sometimes I wonder if she feels like a mother with him."
"I don't see where that would hurt anything. Sera's got a really gentle heart. I think she would make a great mom."
"Just not too soon." Mia quickly added.
That one made me laugh, "Yeah, I get it. Sorry."
"Little late for that, but it's fine." Mia responded. She crossed her arms as she leaned back against the counter. I noticed that she still looked upset.
"For what it's worth," I continued as I shook the bottle, "I can't see Raziel and Anna leaving like that either. I don't think it would help anything with Noah, and neither does anybody else."
"I agree with you. It's just hard right now." Mia admitted.
"You know this isn't really Noah doing this." I reminded her.
"I know. I just wish we could do something about it. I wish I could break this like I did for you and your dad, but I can't, and neither can Michael. It's like it's got too strong a hold on him, and it scares all of us." Mia told me.
She walked to the living room with me, where Seraphina was sitting on the couch and comforting Sage. His crying had died down a little, but it was obvious he was still hungry. I handed her the bottle so that she could feed him, then sat down with Mia on the other couch while Sean sat with her.
"Are you sure you're okay now Sera?" he asked her.
Seraphina nodded, the rest of her attention on Sage. She looked content now. Hopefully this would let her stop thinking about all of the issues with Noah now.
As for me, I was considering what I could do now too. I still hadn't told anyone about the Angel Noah claimed to have been talking to, nor did I tell them about the vision of her that I'd had. But I didn't want to say anything about it in front of Seraphina. So I decided to make an excuse to talk to my dad alone.
"Hey Dad, there was something I wanted to talk to you about too. Do you mind coming outside with me? It's a little personal." I spoke up.
Sean looked a little confused, but obliged me.
"Sure." He stood with me, "We'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay." Mia agreed. If she was suspicious about anything, she wasn't saying it around Seraphina either, although she might question Sean about it later.
The two of us headed out to the back deck, making sure to close the patio door behind us before going over by the railing. We were far enough now that we could be sure not to be heard.
"What's this all of sudden Sevee? I find it a little hard to believe that you'd be asking me about something personal now." Sean said as he faced me.
"Yeah, you got me, but there is something important that I wanted to talk to you about. I just didn't want to do it in front of Mom and Seraphina." I responded.
Sean gave me a skeptical look, "Really? What exactly wouldn't you want them to hear?"
"It's not really about me." I admitted, "Actually, it's about Noah. I know this gonna sound weird, and I haven't told anybody about it because he asked me not to, but I'm starting to wonder if this is a big part of what's been happening with him. I just don't want to jump on it and say anything right away because I don't want to make things worse, especially for Sera."
"Alright then. I won't repeat this for now, but I want you to tell me what you know." Sean reluctantly agreed.
I thought about where to start with all of this. I guessed the best place was what happened when Noah and I first went to that den.
"Well, here's the thing. Back when Noah and I went to Flint's old den, he told me something that stuck out to me. He claimed that he knew her anchor was there because an Angel had told him that it was. He said that he'd been talking to this Angel for a long time, and he really trusted them." I started.
"Wait a minute." Sean interrupted, "You're saying that Noah's told you he's been communicating with an Angel?"
"Yes." I continued before he could say anymore, "I know how it sounds, and I felt it too. Something didn't feel right about it. He was also telling me that this Angel was telling him that the Angel who created our family abandoned us, that he'd never wanted us in the first place and was glad to be called back to the Heavens. I told him that I didn't believe him, and I still don't. I know what I saw down there when you and Raziel and Michael came to help us. I saw visions that looked like they might've been from the past, and I'm sure that I saw and heard him."
Now I had Sean's full attention, "You believe you saw the Angel who created this family?"
"I'm sure of it. He looked so much like Michael and Raphael, and the other members of our family with blonde hair and blue eyes. I heard him say that he would never abandon us, and I believe him. He saved Missy, and he's helped me by letting Melvin and Elvira talk to me. Elvira even helped me and Mom save Seraphina's life." I went on.
"How come you've never mentioned all of this before Sevee? If you've seen Melvin and Elvira Renaldi's spirits, why didn't you tell any of us?" Sean pressed me.
"I didn't know how." I confessed, shaking my head, "It's all seemed so crazy, and I don't know why it's been happening to me and not him or anybody else. But I know I saw Elvira in a dream, and she was telling me that the Angel's going to be coming back soon to help us, then begged me to wake up and save Seraphina; and when I was in that den, I lost it and was about to destroy Missy's spirit, and Melvin stopped me. He told me to calm down and not to do something I'd regret for the rest of my life. It's like they wanted to guide me. Maybe they were even doing it for him."
But as I said this, something odd dawned on me. Hadn't we spoken about this before?
"Hey, I did talk to you about this. Back at the cemetery. You don't remember?" I asked him.
Sean thought hard about it, rubbing his forehead like it was almost giving him a headache to try and pull the memory up.
"No. I can't recall that part of our conversation at all. I barely recall anything from that afternoon aside from meeting Emelio and finding out that Lenore had been taken." he admitted.
As he said this, I also realized that I couldn't quite remember that Angel's face in that vision. It was like it was a blur to me.
"What the hell's happening to us Dad? It's like something's messing with our memories." I pointed out.
"I'm not sure." Sean shook his head, pulling himself together, "Sevee, I need you to tell me about that Angel Noah's been talking to. Did he tell you anything about them aside from that little bit about Missy?"
"No, but I know I saw this dark vision of some kind of Angel. Well, the shadow of a woman with angel wings. I don't think she was the demon though. It was weird Dad, but she felt like she was familiar, almost like... family."
Sean tensed up as he heard this, and he held my shoulders.
"Sevee, I know this might be important, but I want you to keep this between us." he requested.
"You don't want to tell Michael or Raphael about any of this?" I asked in disbelief.
"No." Sean glanced back towards the patio door, "If this is part of this curse like we suspect, then keeping this between us may be the safest option for your sister. But if the time comes where things get out of hand, I want you to be honest with Michael about what you've experienced. For now though, let's believe in that Angel returning soon, and hope that he'll free Noah's mind from this dark Angel when he does."
I don't know that I completely agreed with my father about this, but at the same time, I would never put Seraphina's life in any more danger, not to mention my son's. He was right. Until that time came, we would look out for ourselves and do whatever we could to stay safe.
Until the day that Angel returned to us.
But more than that, I was thinking of Lenore as I went back in that house with him. Holding my son as I sat beside my sister, a felt peace more than the anxiety sitting within my soul.
Yes, that Angel would come back, and in my heart, I was sure that when he did, Lenore would also return to us.
(Storyline to be continued in Sapphire Flame)