Blood and Apples: An Annora Park Novel: Book One

Chapter Fourteen: Jagged Jugular

   "Why apples?"
   We're all sitting at the farmhouse kitchen table when Garrett asks the question.
   "The Shining Ones worship their Goddess, she is to them, what He is to me," Chamuel says.  "If it is to be believed, their Goddess resides on a blessed plane where groves of sacred trees produce Goddess blessed apples.  To be gifted one is to be blessed by the Goddess herself.  I'm assuming that our foul creature believes himself and what he does more righteous and right by eating a fruit that grows in the Goddesses grove."
   "But they're not Goddess apples," Garrett says, "They're human beings turned into apples.  Nothing blessed or sacred about that."
   "Indeed, Garrett Goodson, indeed.  Our killer is very sick, and very misguided."
   "Misguided?" I mutter, "I can think of another word for him."
   "Yes, yes, there are all sorts of things we could call our killer.  But the root of all of this starts with him, and the fact that he is sick, and I mean, physically so." Chamuel says pointedly.
   "I didn't think the Shining Ones were able to get sick." I say.
"They usually do not face any illness, at least no mortal illness. I fear this is not a mortal illness though. We must seek an audience with Kellenel."
"Who?" Garrett frowns.
"Terrenel Tir Oben," I say. "The king of the Golden Court, otherwise known as the Court of Light?"
Chamuel smiles. "So you do know some of the Shining ones, then, my amour."
"Know them, like personally," I laugh, "That would be a no. Don't think they're clamoring to meet a Treader, you know. But know of them yes, I know some about them. In my line of work it just makes sense to learn everything you can about the otherworlders as possible. But...I take it that YOU know him?"
Chamuel inclines his head. "It has been a very long time since I've had an audience with the King of the Light Fae. But our memories are long, and I doubt that he has forgotten me."
"When I Treaded, Chamuel, I didn't sense light Fae. It was a cloying evil, a dark malignant presence. Clearly Tuatha de Danaan, but there was no light, no...purity."
"Yes, I fear that our killer does not belong to the Court of Light, but to the Midnight Court. He is one of the dark Fae."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to seek an audience with their king, then?" I ask.
"Perhaps..." Chamuel sighs. "However, an audience with the King of the Dark Fae would be much harder to achieve for me. He and I...well, let us say it has been even longer than when I last saw Terrenel, that I had interaction with Branuel, the king of the Dark Fae. And...our last meeting, it did not go that well."
"Isn't that a shocker," Walker says snidely.
I shoot him a look, and am happy when he snaps his mouth shut and just stares at me sullenly. "Okay, so we need an audience with Kellenel Tir Oben. I can see how that makes sense. It'll get us one step closer to the Shining Ones, and at least we'll be one step closer to catching the murderer."
"Correct, amour. Terrenel will be able to fill much in for us, that I am certain of. He may even be able to negotiate a meeting with Branuel. In the meantime, we must finalize our link. We cannot have you passing out after every Tread, my amour."
"NO!" Walker suddenly shouts, and shoots out of his chair. "You are not linking with my darling girl. You're not linking with anyone."
"Walker, sit down, and shut up," I spit out. "This isn't between you and Chamuel. Whatever he's talking about has to do with me, and therefore I get to make the decisions, not you." I turn to Chamuel. "You mentioned this link before, I think. I was a little fuzzy in the head, but I think I remember you mentioning it."
"I did."
"I need to know what you're talking about." I look at Walker, then back to Chamuel. "I have a bind with Walker, a blood bind, is it something like that? Some sort of sealed agreement?"
Chamuel shakes his head. "No my amour, we do not share blood. That practice is..." he frowns, "...distasteful. This is a soul link, of sorts."
Soul link? That sounded...rather permanent.
"It is, amour, it is permanent, and that is why I say you will feel so much better after, and not need to worry about pain, and probably have no need of those pills either."
Okay, that sounded awesome. But, the whole permanent thing...wasn't so sure about that. "How will this link solve all my problems? And when you say permanent, what does that exactly entail, actually what does the entire link entail?"
"Annora, my darling, you are not linking with this feathered flying bird boy."
"Again, you have no say in this, Walker. Listen, he's right about me though. I can't keep..." I gulp, "I...I can't go on like this. I'll be no good to you, to the team, to anyone in the condition I'm in. It has been...getting worse, you know it has. Treading takes more and more from me, and I keep passing out. I can't keep passing out. If this link thing will correct that, then, well, what's the harm in it?"
"Exactly," Chamuel smiles. "Amour, I am so glad you see the wisdom of my words."
"Annora...this link, you don't understand—"
   I cut Walker off, "—No, I don't, and that's why I'm trying to talk to Chamuel here about it.  Please stop interrupting. Okay, so, Chamuel, this link. What exactly does it entail...what does it mean, for me, for the both of us?"
Chamuel comes to sit right next to me and he stares intently into my eyes before speaking. "My amour, my beloved, what you fail to realize is that we already have a connection, the link is already formed. It is not finalized, but it is formed. There is nothing within the link that will harm you. It will only help you...help us."
"Uhmmm...again, I'm not your beloved, and I think I'd know if we were connected in any way, Chamuel."
"Can you honestly say that you felt nothing when you first saw me, amour? Can you truly say that your soul did not recognize mine in any way?"
I think back to the moment I'd first seen Chamuel in the foyer, how truly magnificent he'd looked. But there was more...there was indeed more to it than his merely beautiful appearance. Yes, if I were honest with myself I'd admit that there was something, maybe deep deep down inside that had reached out to him.
"You see, amour, you recognize me."
I shake my head. "That's not possible, Chamuel. I've never met you before in my life."
"Not in your life, no. But in the spark of your soul, yes." Chamuel takes my hands in his and smiles. "My beloved, you were promised to me from the moment of your conception."
WHAT?
"Oh fuck no!" Walker shouts and again I shoot him a dirty look.
"Explain, NOW!" I say to Chamuel.
"Amour, what do you know of your parentage?"
I shrug. "Not much. My father disappeared when I was a baby, I assume he didn't want to be saddled with a crazy kid who could see, speak and feel dead people. My mother..." my expression grows wistful. "She was...wonderful." I swallow then, "...she died when I was fifteen."
"...Faded," Chamuel murmurs.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"She had served her purpose, and imbued you with all her magic and ability. She could no longer sustain her mortal form, she faded."
"That's what I said, she died, Chamuel. And what do you mean she imbued me with her magic and ability?"
"Amour, your mother was an angel."
I shake my head violently. "No, no, that's not possible. My mom was human, well sort of human, human with magic, but still human. I would have known if she was an angel, Chamuel."
   "Would you have, though, really?" Chamuel's smile broadens.  "My amour, this is not a bad thing, it is truly magnificent.  You are a gift, a true miracle, the only one of your kind."
   My head is reeling.  I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.  Angels couldn't lie, could they? Chamuel had to be telling the truth.  My mother had been an angel.  But...how was that possible? And why, why then had she faded, died?
   "She faded because you had reached your maturity, my beloved.  She held on as long as she could, and gifted you the last of her power, and then her spirit returned from whence it came."
   "I...I...I just don't know what to think about all of this," I mutter, "...it just...it just seems so unbelievable.  And...and what about this part where I was promised to you.  What do you mean by that?"
   "Exactly that, amour.  You were mine from the moment of your conception.  Our souls reached for one another.  I knew the moment you were born that you were to be mine, and the spark of your soul reached for mine."
   I shake my head.  "But you're like...I mean...I don't even know how old you are.  Do you even have an age?" I laugh hysterically.  I feel like I'm losing my mind.
   "Please do not fret, amour.  We do not count age the way that the humans do.  I have existed for longer than I can even remember.  Remember, I am the first born of Archangel Michael.  I had to wait..." he squeezes my hand, "...and it was so very difficult...I had to wait so very long, amour for you.  But you were, you are worth it.  You are worth everything.  You are my reward, my gift, for my long service to Him."
   I swallow.  "So...so...we're like...uh...engaged?" Oh my GOD! I was engaged to an angel.  How in the world had this happened.  Oh yeah, my mom had been an angel whose purpose it seems had been to birth me.  Riiiiight.  OH. MY. GOD.
   "Just so," Chamuel says grinning.  "You use His name correctly now.  He did indeed foresee this.  It was His purpose and His plan.  We were always meant to be together, amour. And we are so much more than engaged, my beloved. This human concept of engagement, it does not translate the same way to angels."
"I'm not—"
"—You are, amour, you are part angelic being. The rest...the rest is truly as I said, a miracle. You should not exist, and yet, here you are. Have you truly never wondered why you are as strong, as powerful as you are? Why your Treading abilities are so much stronger than any others? Why you have abilities that no one else has?"
I had, but I never thought it was because my mother had been an angel. I mean, really? "So basically what you're telling me is that I'm pretty much, uh, stuck with you...for a really, really long time."
"Not if I dispatch him back to his Heavenly hoard," Walker grinds out. "Just say the word, darling, and I'll send the bugger back."
Chamuel laughs, "Ohhhh Romanoff, so predictable. Know this, I tolerate you for my amour, and only for her. The Graces have seen that we are all to be a part of this, so sadly there is not much I can do about you in my beloved's life. But do not fool yourself into believing that you have any say in this...or have any chance against me. It would be better for you, and truly for our shared love, if you were to just...what is it that she said earlier, 'get on board,' with this? She and I have been linked since she was but a spark in her mother's womb. You...you are just an unfortunate side-effect of having left her on this mortal plane without guidance for too long. Again, I am willing to 'deal' with you, and your presence in her life, but only for her. It would be best for you to do the same."
Walker looks like he's chewing glass, his face is scrunched up and stretched in pain. I cast a quick look in Garrett's direction and realize that he hasn't moved a muscle since this entire conversation about linking began, or my parentage was revealed.
   "Garrett?" I say his name softly.
   Garrett blinks.  "You...you're an angel, Annora," he finally says.
   "No...no...no...I'm just me, Annora Park, still the same Annora."
   "No, you're not, Annora, you're not the same.  You're..." he swallows, "...you're like him.  You...you...you're an angel."
   "Garrett," I beseech him with my eyes, "...please..."
   Chamuel sighs.  "Garrett Goodson, as I said when we first met...I truly cannot thank you enough for taking such good care of my amour while I was not here to do so.  But you and she...you two were never meant to be.  The Graces have their plans, and your being together, was not in the plan."
   Garrett nods slowly, but his eyes are filled with unbearable sadness.  I almost want to cry at how truly anguished he appears to be.  "Garrett..."
   "No...the...the angel is right, Annora...I see it now.  You...you can't be with me.  You can't be with a mere human being.  You're...you're a freaking angel, Annora."
   Wasn't this what I wanted? Didn't I want Garrett to get 'the picture?' To understand that we couldn't be together?  Then why did it hurt so much? Why did I feel like a piece of shit?
"It is better this way, amour, he had to know the truth...you both did." Chamuel continues to caress the palms of my hand. "I am, however, sorry for the pain this revelation has caused you, Garrett Goodson."
Garrett swallows and nods his head. "Thanks," he mumbles.
"I still don't care, darling girl. I don't care about what the angel has said. I don't want you to link with him."
I sigh. "Walker, have you heard anything he's said, anything at all? If he's to be believed...and angels can't lie, Walker, so yes, I think we can believe what he has to say. Then, well, I'm already linked. Everything else is a mere formality it seems." I was unbearably weary.
"You will feel so much better after we've completed the link, amour. You will feel stronger. And you will not have to suffer through the headaches and the pain that you suffer through now." Chamuel turns glowing eyes to Walker then, "Would it make a difference to you, to know, that you will not have to worry about our beloved's demise anytime soon once we have finished? Her life will be intrinsically linked to mine, our souls bound together. Her death will not be imminent. In fact, she will, in essence be as near to immortal as possible."
Immortal? Freaking immortal? As in, I'd never die, never?
"One day, perhaps, amour, but no time soon. The Graces have seen your fate and your plans. Your work is required, thus your life upon this mortal plane, it too is required. You are too important to perish. Death cannot have you, not now."
"She won't die...can't die?" Walker finally says.
Chamuel nods. "When I have finalized our link, then no, death will not come for her. She and I will be soul linked."
Walker clenches his jaw and then nods curtly. "Then yeah, darling girl. Do it. Link with the flying feathered bird boy, go ahead."
I roll my eyes. "Oh, thank you Walker, so glad that I have your approval, approval may I add, that I don't need, just FYI." I scrunch up my nose. "So, how exactly do we finalize the link?" I ask Chamuel.
"By joining our bodies and minds, amour."
"Joining our...bodies...and..." my voice drifts off
"—Fucking. He means he needs to fuck you," Walker growls out.
    And I swallow—hard. Oyyyy...