Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 7
Eve frowned. “Why do I have to dress to anyone’s tastes but my own?”
Isaiah stepped forward. “It’s not exactly about their tastes, Eve. It’s just that the people at the benefit tonight have very deep pockets, and if Mr Javan can impress them, they’ll donate enough money to make sure that every homeless person in Canada has somewhere warm and safe to live. We might be trying to help people here, but in order to do that, we kind of have to kiss some ritzy, highly-polished, asses.”
“Isaiah!” Javan admonished, but laughed. “That’s no way to talk about our benefactors. At least, not when they’re around.”
“That’s why I’m getting it out of my system now, sir,” Isaiah smirked.
“Good man,” Javan laughed. He then turned back to Eve. “So, how about it? Think you can stomach wearing some rag like this for the evening?”
Eve hid a smile and sighed. “Fine. Let me see it.”
Smirking, Javan lifted the lid off the box and let Eve look inside.
What immediately caught Eve’s eye was the bright color of the dress. It was a gleaming red, almost as red as her hair. She carefully lifted the dress out of the box, holding it gently, as though it might break apart in her fingers. It felt soft and smooth beneath her fingertips, the satin sliding under her touch. Holding the dress out at arm’s length, Eve could see an intricate pattern of beads around the waistline of the dress. The dress flowed to the floor, like silky-water, billowing out slightly as it got closer to Eve’s feet. The dress was strapless, and fitted around the waist, and Eve was impressed with the care and attention to detail that had clearly gone into the design.
“Wow,” she said. “Not bad, Javan. Not bad.”
“As much as I’d like to take credit for this gem,” Javan began, “it was Isaiah who picked it out.”
“The salesperson said it was, um…” Isaiah said, screwing up his forehead as he tried to remember. “A strapless mermaid pee-plum. No, peplum! Jovani. I remember the designer, because they kept saying it.”
“Damn, dude, you’ve got good taste in dresses,” Eve smirked.
Isaiah cringed. “I don’t really. I just… well, I just thought, you know… That you’d look nice in it.”
Eve felt her face grow hot. She smiled at Isaiah, embarrassed, far too aware of how red her face was, which only made her feel more embarrassed.
Javan suddenly clapped his hands together. “All right! We should all get dressed. We’ve got a benefit to get to. And many highly-polished asses to kiss.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs by the car, sir,” Isaiah said. He smiled one last time at Eve, then quickly left in the elevator. As he flashed one last grin at Eve, she felt her heart skip several beats. Then the doors closed and she felt like she could breathe freely once more.
Freaking keep it together! Eve snarled at herself. He’s human! If that’s not against the rules, I don’t know what is.
“So, uh,” Eve began, trying to sound nonchalant as she continued pretending to examine the red dress. “Isaiah’s coming, too?”
“Yes,” Javan said slowly. “Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” Eve quickly said. “Just wondering. Hey, you better hurry up and get dressed! You know, lots of money to schmooze and everything. Go!”
Eve gave Javan a shove towards the stairs, but Javan just stared at her, a knowing smile on his face.
“What?” Eve snapped.
“Nothing!” Javan said, throwing up his hands in mock surrender as he hurried towards the stairs. “I’m going, I’m going! And put on those shoes, too! They’re by the sofa.”
“Shoes?” Eve scowled. “I have to wear shoes?”
A short while later, Isaiah stood outside beside a white limousine, dressed in a black tuxedo. He wasn’t waiting long before Javan exited the building, all smiles and excitement.
“Have a good evening, Ian,” he said to the doorman, smirking.
“You as well, sir,” Ian replied, tipping his hat and winking.
“Is Eve on her way?” Isaiah asked Javan immediately.
Javan didn’t reply. Instead, he just grinned and looked back towards the door of the building. As Isaiah followed his gaze, he saw a red vision emerge through the doors. For a moment, he didn’t recognize her, but there was no mistaking that head of fluorescent red hair, or her bright green eyes.
Eve stood hesitantly on the sidewalk, feeling off-balance in the red, open-toed, heels she was wearing. Javan had provided her with a black satin shawl that draped over her shoulders and upper arms, though they both knew that she would not be affected by the cold air. Her red dress hugged her body, the beads at her waist twinkling in the dying light. A slight breeze blew through the street and gently lifted a lock of her hair from her eyes, just as she looked to Isaiah.
Isaiah was staring at her as though he had never seen her before. His face had gone red and his mouth was slightly open, his eyes unblinking. He stood frozen to the spot, staring at Eve in apparent awe. Even Ian, the doorman, was staring sideways at Eve.
Eve smiled at Isaiah and looked down at herself. “So,” she began. “Is it okay?”
Isaiah’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He clamped his jaw shut, swallowed hard, then finally managed to say, “You look… Wow, you look amazing.”
Eve felt her face turn red again and hoped that Isaiah thought it was only because of the cold. Javan chuckled and clapped Isaiah hard on the shoulder, which seemed to shock him out of his state of near-paralyzation.
“Are we going to a party or are you two just going to stare at each other all night long?” he asked, laughing good-naturedly, though his eyes were strangely narrowed.
Isaiah quickly stepped to the rear door of the limo and opened it up. “Let’s party, sir.”
Javan climbed inside and slid over, making room on the back seat for Eve. Eve approached the car door, wobbling slightly on her heels as she stepped off the curb.
“Here, let me help,” Isaiah said, holding out his hand to her.
“Okay,” Eve said, smiling as she felt the onslaught of butterflies invade her stomach again.
When Isaiah took her hand, her throat suddenly felt incredibly dry. Isaiah helped Eve keep her balance as she lowered herself into the backseat of the limo, pulling her legs up inside with her. A part of her brain noticed that he had removed his ring, the one he had accidentally scratched her with. She liked the feel of his hand as she gently squeezed his fingers.
“Thank you,” she said to Isaiah. Isaiah just grinned at her, seemingly at a loss for words. He then closed the door and hurried around to the other side of the limo, where he climbed inside and took a seat parallel to Eve and Javan.
“We all settled?” Javan asked.
When Eve and Isaiah responded in the affirmative, Javan pressed a button on the ceiling above his head and the partition between the three of them and the driver lowered, allowing the chauffeur to turn and smile at them. Javan suddenly instructed the driver to take them to the ball, speaking in fluent Spanish. The driver nodded and replied in Spanish, “Right away, sir.” As the limo pulled out into traffic, Javan pressed another button, which raised the partition once more.
“So, you speak English,” Eve began, counting off on her fingers, “Mandarin, and Spanish. How many languages do you speak, exactly?”
Javan grinned at her mysteriously. “All of them,” he said.
“I asked him that, once,” Isaiah said. “He said the same thing. I thought he was joking, but now, I’m not so sure.”
“Well, I certainly don’t speak fashion, like Isaiah, here,” Javan laughed. “What do you think, Eve? How do you like the dress?”
“It’s great, except for these shoes,” Eve frowned. “Seriously, what human thought high heels were a good idea?”
Isaiah grinned and began to reply, but what he was about to say was suddenly lost in a flash of gold light from within the limousine. Isaiah, Javan, and Eve all shielded their eyes from the sudden flare, then blinked in confusion as the light dissipated as quickly as it had arrived.
“I need to speak with you.”
“Gabriel!?” Eve cried.
Isaiah turned to the seat beside him and shouted a cry of surprise when he suddenly found himself face-to-face with Gabriel, his bright green eyes glaring at him. Gabriel had his wings out of sight, but he was wearing the armor that was customary of his commanding rank in Heaven’s Army. Javan was staring at Gabriel like he had seen a ghost, his eyes wide with shock.
“Wha-?” Isaiah stammered. “Who are you? Where’d you come from?”
Gabriel offered no reply. Instead, only an instant after questioning Gabriel, Isaiah’s eyes rolled backwards in his head and he slumped in his seat, where he remained motionless.
“Gabriel, what’d you do!?” Eve shouted.
“He’s just asleep,” Gabriel replied. Then he fixed his eyes on Javan, looking increasingly stern. “I could have knocked you out before appearing, but I want you to know that I’m watching you, Javan.”
Javan shook his head. “Gabriel,” he began. However, just as he had done with Isaiah, Gabriel put Javan to sleep an instant later, Javan slumping sideways until his face was plastered against the window and he snored gently.
“What the Hell, Gabriel?” Eve demanded furiously. “What are you thinking?”
“That’s what I came to ask you,” Gabriel snapped back. “You’re going to a party with him, now?”
“He invited me!” Eve argued. “It’s a charity! You know, helping people!”
“You shouldn’t be doing anything with humans!” Gabriel growled, pointing angrily at his sister. “Ever since Azrael’s betrayal, our father has been advocating a position of non-interference with humans more than ever, and here you are, his own daughter, cavorting with one who stole immortality through your feathers. Not to mention this one!” Gabriel jerked a thumb at the sleeping Isaiah. “Javan may have already known about Angels from before we stopped intervening in human affairs, but this one knew nothing!”
“And he didn’t, until you showed up with a flash of freaking light!” Eve shouted. “I never told him I was an Angel, and neither did Javan!”
Gabriel blinked in surprise, momentarily silenced. “Really?”
“Yes!” Eve snapped. “But he probably knows now. You’ve ruined everything!”
“Ruined what, exactly?” Gabriel asked firmly. “Don’t tell me you like this human?”
“That’s none of your business,” Eve scowled.
“Eve, there are severe punishments for Angels who fraternize romantically with humans,” Gabriel said warningly. “And I mean, severe.”
“We’re not fraternizing,” Eve snapped impatiently. “He works for Javan, that’s it! And now that you’ve basically showed him I’m an Angel, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. If I were you, I’d be more concerned about having just revealed myself to a human.”
“I’ll make him forget he ever saw me when I go,” Gabriel began, “but you can’t be seriously entertaining the idea of a relationship with a human.”
“Of course not!” Eve replied, wondering just how much of a lie she was telling.
“I saw you two outside on the street,” Gabriel said, a touch of accusation in his voice. “I’ve been watching, Eve.”
“Spying, you mean?”
“Not spying,” Gabriel insisted grimly. “This is why I wanted to talk to you, and it couldn’t wait. You need to stay away from these two. There’s something strange going on.”
“Like what?” Eve asked dubiously.
“Our father can’t see Javan,” Gabriel said flatly.
Eve snorted derisively. “So?”
Gabriel sighed in frustration. “So, our father can’t see Javan! From Heaven. Father’s omnipotence is useless when he turns his Sight on Javan.”
Eve hesitated before answering. As the God of humanity, her father should be able to turn his mind’s eye on any human at any time and see them. Many humans say that God is everywhere at once, but the truth was that Elohim just saw everywhere at once.
“There are blind-spots all over the world,” Eve pointed out. “Places where raw Angel power was spilled. Like places where the Archangels were born as humans, where Father spoke to humanity at Mount Sinai, places where even Father can’t see. Maybe Javan using my feathers created another blind-spot. One that moves around with him.”
“I thought that at first, too,” Gabriel replied. “But when Father looked toward Javan’s building, when Javan wasn’t in it, he could see nothing. It was like the building didn’t exist. Even when I stand across the street and look at the thing, I sense nothing inside. No life, no souls, nothing.”
Eve began shaking her head. “It’s just the feathers,” she insisted. “I mean, Javan’s probably used a lot of energy from them just by living, right? It’s probably leaked all over the place. I mean, Javan does live there. Pure Angel energy has to be everywhere.”
“I know you want to believe that, Eve,” Gabriel replied softly. “But I have a bad feeling about him. I fear that there is more he has not told you. That he’s deceiving you. Again!”
“He’s my friend, Gabriel,” Eve said sternly. “He’s changed.”
“You’re blind,” Gabriel said, shaking his head sadly. “Your affection for him blinds you from who he really is.”
“Look,” Eve snapped firmly. “I don’t know why no one can see Javan from Heaven, or why you can’t sense anything inside his building, but there’s a simple explanation. Did you ever think of just asking him?”
“I wouldn’t trust a single word that creature said to me,” Gabriel sneered.
“Then go!” Eve shouted, waving a hand at Gabriel in anger, gesturing for him to leave. “Just go! You’ve said what you came to say, I listened, now get out!”
Gabriel looked at Eve with hurt eyes. “Eve, please,” he began.
“I’m staying,” Eve said flatly. “Javan is my friend. You say I’m blind? Well, I think you’re blind, because you can’t see that he’s changed.”
“Eve,” Gabriel said pleadingly. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I never asked you to!” Eve snapped. “And I don’t need you to.”
“I just-”
“Go,” Eve interrupted, looking away. “Just… just go.”
Gabriel stared at his sister for a moment, as though unsure of what to do. Then, in a flash of gold light, he was gone. An instant later, Javan and Isaiah both began to stir as they woke up.
Isaiah sat upright, blinking rapidly as he pulled himself out of the deep sleep Gabriel had put him under. He looked around, confused.
“What happened?” he asked. “I spaced out for a minute.”
Eve breathed a silent sigh of relief. She then looked sideways at Javan, who, despite Gabriel’s abrupt appearance, was still smiling cheerily, as though nothing in the world could disturb him. Eve felt confident that she was right. Javan had changed. There was no way he was hiding anything from her now. Gabriel was wrong.
He had to be.
8
ISAIAH
T
o Eve’s surprise, when she exited the limousine (again with Isaiah’s help), she was almost immediately blinded by the flashing lights of a dozen cameras. As her eyes quickly adjusted, she saw teams of photographers, reporters, and camera people, all with their respective channel logos on their equipment. When Javan climbed out of the vehicle, many of them rushed over and thrust cameras and microphones into his face.
“Mr Javan, how much money are you expecting to raise for the homeless tonight?”
“Who are you wearing?”
“Mr Javan, is this your date for the evening?”
Eve looked surprised when the reporter who asked the last question indicated her. Before Eve could say anything, Javan chuckled merrily and replied.
“Maybe in a perfect world, but this is just my good friend, Eve.”
“She looks a bit young to be a friend,” the reported responded, a little judgmentally.
“She is a friend because she is a good person who cares about the homeless, which is why we’re all here tonight,” Javan replied firmly, though still politely. “We met when she once saved my life. I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for this young woman.”
“How did she save your life?” the reporter asked, having to shout over the other reporters who were now paying closer attention and trying to make their own questions heard.
Javan laughed. “That’s a story better left for an exclusive. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a benefit to get to. Have a good evening, everyone!”
“You’ll have to tell me that story one day,” Isaiah said quietly to Eve as they walked into the building. “You saved his life?”
“Ah, well, kind of,” Eve shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
Putting the argument with her brother behind her, Eve was determined to have fun that evening. When she walked into the banquet hall with Javan and Isaiah, she was immediately smiling with the anticipation of the evening. Hundreds of people, all milling around together, talking, laughing, not a single one of them knowing that she was an Angel. Except Javan, of course. The secrecy of it all gave Eve a thrill, which made the excitement that much more.
As Isaiah took his and Javan’s coats, and Eve’s shawl, to be checked in, Eve surveyed the room, unaware of the eyes that had all turned to admire her. She was probably the youngest-looking person at the event, and easily the most eye-catching, what with her bright red hair. Eve, however, was studying the lavishly set tables of plates and champagne. The bright lights, the dance floor, and the podium on which a band was beginning to warm up.
“I arranged for Ed Sheeran to play later tonight, too,” Javan said. “He was homeless for a couple of years, himself.”
“Who’s Ed Sheeran?” Eve asked.
