I think the graveness of my tone tells Malcolm more than I could have said in words. I want him to be the first one to know what I learned from Levi. I need his guidance and advice before we make the information known to everyone else.
"Desmond," Malcolm says, looking over at our friend, "we"ll be in my study for a little while if you need us."
Desmond nods his head acknowledging that he heard Malcolm, but he doesn"t say anything as he continues to study Catherine"s wounds.
Malcolm phases us to his study. He takes a step back from me, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I take it this isn"t going to be good news," he says, watching me warily.
"No, it"s not," I admit. "In fact, you might want to sit down before I start."
Malcolm takes my advice and sits down on the sofa while I pace in front of him and tell him exactly what Levi told me. I also tell him about being able to open the door by just thinking about it. It"s a power I can only ascribe to the power of the seals manifesting themselves inside of me.
After I"m done, Malcolm doesn"t say a word. He simply sits silently and stares at me. I can"t read his expression. He closes his eyes before I have a chance to decipher what he"s thinking. I begin to wonder if what I said is too much for him to take in. I can"t help but think he"s been handed a raw deal by being made my soulmate.
Unexpectedly, I see G.o.d phase into the room. He stands in between Malcolm and me, but his eyes are fixed on Malcolm.
"I"m here, my son," G.o.d says, looking at Malcolm with the compa.s.sion of a concerned parent.
Malcolm opens his eyes, and I see them shimmering with unshed tears. My heart tightens inside my chest at the sight of his distress because I know I"m the cause.
"You need to tell us what"s going on," Malcolm tells G.o.d in no uncertain terms. "I need to know if what Levi told Anna is true."
"Yes," G.o.d says, "it"s true."
"Then why?" Malcolm demands. "Why are you making her retrieve the seals if you know what they"ll do to her?"
G.o.d looks over at me. "Because that"s what she was born to do."
"To do what exactly?" Malcolm bellows, standing up from his seat and facing his father. "To either become a monster or die? Are you telling me those are her only two options?"
"Things aren"t always what they seem, Malcolm. Every situation can have a thousand different outcomes. There are simply too many variables in play at the moment to know what the result of this particular moment in history will be."
"Then there"s a chance we can have the life we want with one another?" Malcolm asks, an audible yearning in his voice to hear G.o.d give him hope that our future isn"t completely lost to us.
"Yes, there is a chance you can have the future you want. Never lose sight of that possibility," G.o.d tells Malcolm, before looking over at me. "Anna, you have one of the most ancient and strongest souls in existence. I wouldn"t have given you this mission if I thought you would fail in achieving your goals. I have faith that you will succeed, but... you always have the choice of letting things remain the way they are."
"You know I can"t turn my back on what needs to be done," I tell him, wondering why he even bothered to bring that option up. "I can"t hide in the shadows and let them win."
"We"ve seen what Lucifer has done. He"s made it almost impossible for Anna to kill the other princes now," Malcolm tells G.o.d, making me wonder what he and the other Watchers have learned from their scouting missions.
"Almost," G.o.d agrees. "But I"m sure Anna can still find a way to retrieve the seals with all of you helping her." G.o.d turns his gaze on me again. "Anna, I feel like I should caution you about something while I"m here. I realize you want to understand Lucifer better, but you should be careful about spending too much time in h.e.l.l. At the moment, it"s acting like a spoiled child who wants to punish its parent for ruining its life. It may try to use you to hurt Lucifer, and I"m not sure he"s strong enough right now to survive losing you too."
"I understand," I tell him. "I won"t go there unless I have to."
"Then I will leave the two of you to talk now," G.o.d tells us. "I"m sure you have a lot to discuss with one another."
"Are you still coming?" Malcolm asks G.o.d.
"You know I wouldn"t miss it for the world," G.o.d replies. "Simply call to me when it"s time."
"I will," Malcolm says.
G.o.d phases and I turn a questioning gaze to Malcolm.
"What is it you want him to come to?" I ask.
Malcolm walks over to me and takes me into his arms.
"Our wedding, of course," he replies, sounding like he thought I should have already known what the two of them were discussing.
"Are you sure you still want to marry me?" I ask jokingly, unable to prevent a nagging doubt that he still does in spite of everything we"ve learned.
"Of course I still want to marry you," Malcolm says in a slightly chastising voice. "I want our union to have my father"s blessing now more than ever."
"What if..." I begin but have a hard time finishing. "What if I do become a monster, Malcolm? What if the seals make me into something horrible, and I"m not able to control the powers I gain from them?"
"I don"t believe that will happen," Malcolm says with a confidence I wish I felt. "Like Levi said, no one has ever had that much power. Therefore, no one knows what will happen to you. This could be just a lot of worry over nothing, Anna. He may not have said it in so many words, but my father thinks you can handle the energy the seals possess. Otherwise, he wouldn"t have sent you down here to retrieve them. I trust in His judgment a lot more than I do Levi"s or Lucifer"s. Lucifer may love you and be doing what he is because of that fact, but I seriously doubt he wants to compete with his own daughter for control over h.e.l.l. I think he"s done what he has so far to partially protect you but to mostly keep his position of authority in h.e.l.l."
"I"m a.s.suming from what you said to G.o.d that you and the others found out what Lucifer has done in the other cloud cities."
"Yes," Malcolm says with a sigh. "He did what we thought he would and placed his people in positions of power in each one. I"m not sure how we"ll be able to get to the princes now and kill them without it looking suspicious."
"Where are they and who did they kill to get there?"
Malcolm kisses me on top of the head before letting me go and taking one of my hands into his.
"Come on. I think the others would like to tell you what they found out themselves."
Malcolm phases us to the sitting room where we find Jered, Brutus, and Daniel having a lively discussion with one another.
"I say we just let Anna kill them and deal with the political ramifications of it all later," Brutus says as he stands by the fireplace with one elbow propped up on the top shelf of the mantle.
"Brutus, I think you"re letting your heart think for you instead of your brain," Jered chides gently from his seat on the sofa. "And I don"t blame you one bit. I understand Kyna"s safety is paramount to you, but we need to think about this rationally. Anna can"t become known as the royal a.s.sa.s.sin of the leaders of Earth. We need to keep her sovereignty over Cirrus intact so she can remain empress after she disposes of Levi."
"I have to agree with Jered on this one," Daniel says from his chair situated between the other two. "We need to take care of the situation in a way that doesn"t turn Anna into a murderer in the eyes of the other cities."
"What did you guys find out?" I ask them as Malcolm and I go to sit with Jered on the sofa. I turn to Jered first and ask, "What"s happening in Alto?"
"Baal has taken over Emperor Rafael Rossi"s body," he tells me. "From what I gather, his wife, Bianca, suspects something is wrong with her husband."
"Why?" I ask. "How is he acting differently?"
"Apparently, he"s been clamoring to share her bed," Jered says with a small chuckle. "I guess the real Rafael didn"t appreciate what a beauty Bianca is while he was still alive, but Baal certainly does. From the information I was able to gather, he"s even gone to the extraordinary measures of trying to romance her."
"Baal"s romancing a human?" Malcolm asks, sounding certain Jered is talking about someone else. "I didn"t think he could love anyone more than he does himself. Are there any ulterior motives on his part besides the obvious?"
"Not that I can tell," Jered says.
"Well, at least mine doesn"t have a wife to be concerned about," Brutus says. "Mammon has taken over Callum Ellis in Virga."
"I met him a few times at parties Auggie had," I say, fondly remembering the young, handsome prince of Virga. "Why take over the son and not the emperor himself though?"
"Probably because the emperor is so old," Malcolm reasons. "Mammon"s always had a healthy appet.i.te for the ladies. If I were him, I would certainly rather be inside the body of a virile young man in his prime than an old man who could kick the bucket at any minute."
"I"m afraid my news won"t make you very happy, Anna," Daniel warns. "Botis found his way to Cirro."
"Who is he now?"
"The emperor."
"But I thought the emperor was on his death bed?"
"With Botis in control, the Emperor of Cirro has made a miraculous recovery."
"And how does Empress Zhin feel about that?" I ask.
Daniel clears his throat as if he really doesn"t want to tell me the next part of his report.
"The empress has been taken over by Belphagor."
"Great," I say, ma.s.saging my temples with the fingers of my free hand because I suddenly feel a painful headache forming. "How am I supposed to kill the emperor and the empress of the same cloud city?"
"I don"t know yet," Daniel admits. "It does present something of a problem."
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news," Malcolm tells me. "The emperor of Nimbo isn"t a Prince of h.e.l.l."
"Was that the good news or the bad news?" I ask.
"The good news. The bad news is he"s still a powerful demon by the name of Agaliarept."
"And what about Stratus?" I ask, knowing Lucifer wouldn"t leave it unscathed by his plans. "Who did Lucifer plant there?"
"Abaddon," Brutus says in disgust. "He"s another one of Lucifer"s high ranking generals, like Botis and Agaliarept."
"I a.s.sume he"s taken Lorcan over?" I ask, knowing Brutus wouldn"t be so calm if this Abaddon had taken possession of Kyna.
Brutus nods, confirming my a.s.sumption.
"Honestly," Malcolm says, "I doubt Abaddon will be any worse of a ruler than Lorcan was. In fact, it seems as though he"s treating the down-worlders of Stratus better than Lorcan ever dreamed of doing."
Malcolm"s statement brings to mind what Desmond told us the night before about Lorcan sending supplies to the down-worlders of Stratus. I guess that should have been our first clue that something might be going on with the leaders in the other cities.
"I think he"s up to something," Brutus says confidently, not willing to give Abaddon the benefit of the doubt. "He"s purposely trying to gain support from the down-worlders and the cloud city citizens. Abaddon has always been a calculating little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He has to be planning something and is trying to bolster his position before he does it."
"Do you have any idea what that something is?" I ask.
Brutus shakes his head. "No, I have no idea. But, you can bet it"s something that most people wouldn"t ordinarily agree to do considering how much effort he"s put into gaining support."
"Should we just go grab Kyna now and bring her here?" I suggest, knowing if Malcolm were in a similar situation I would do whatever I had to do to ensure his safety.
"I think that"s a bad idea," Jered is quick to say. "She could be placed in more danger if we single her out. Abaddon will know we care what happens to her, and he"ll make sure to keep her close to protect his own skin."
"Which is exactly why I haven"t gone there myself and taken her out of Stratus," Brutus grumbles, obviously not liking the situation but not seeing a better way to protect Kyna.
"We"ll think of something," I promise Brutus.
Brutus nods at my words. "I know we will."
Desmond phases into the sitting room.
"How is Catherine?" I immediately ask him.
"As well as can be expected considering what Levi did to her," he says, sounding disgusted by Catherin"s condition. "She"s going to need a lot of rest and medical care while the lash marks heal. Mentally, I"m not sure she"ll ever recover. It"s too soon to make a proper diagnosis."
"Gladson and Barlow have arranged to have her taken off world," I tell them. "I think we should still stick to their plan. Levi knows I care about her now. If she"s somewhere he can"t find her easily, he won"t be able to use her safety against me."
"Agreed," Malcolm says. "We keep to the plan Gladson has worked out and get her off-world as quickly as possible. Maybe a new set of surroundings will even help her forget what happened."
"I had to make a promise on your behalf to the owner of a freight company," I tell Malcolm. "He wanted exclusive rights to transport thorium off of Mars in exchange for helping us with Catherine."
"Vitor?" Malcolm says knowingly, looking slightly amused.
"Yes," I answer hesitantly. "Should I not have made the deal?"
Malcolm shakes his head. "No, it"s fine. Vitor has been hounding me to do that for a long time now."
"What kept you from agreeing to do it before?"
"I mostly just wanted to keep the price of thorium low. We can deal with him through a tariff negotiation to yield the same result. It"s nothing to concern yourself about. We have bigger issues to deal with at the moment."
"I will arrange for a doctor to accompany Catherine to Mars," Desmond says. "I know of one who has been looking for an excuse to get off-world."
"Barlow said it would take a couple of hours before Captain Vitor would be ready to leave," I tell Desmond.
"Good. That gives me plenty of time to make arrangements. I"ll bring the doctor back here so she can do her own examination of Catherine. I"ll be back soon."
Desmond phases.
"I can"t just sit here and do nothing," Brutus says, looking frustrated by his inability to do something about Kyna"s situation. "I"m going to go to Stratus to snoop around and see if I can find out what Abaddon is up to."
"Make sure you"re back here by this evening," Malcolm tells him.
Brutus nods and phases away.
"I guess I should make arrangements for Linn to come tonight," Daniel tells us before standing. "She would kill me if she missed it."
"Missed what?" I ask. "What"s happening tonight?"