Denver Paranormal Society
Chapter Ten—An Angel's Promise
Edward
As the realization of Bella's horrific childhood filled my mind, a scream tore through the air. I tried again to escape my captors' hold but it seemed impossible. Their strength outmatched mine. The voice that made itself heard again, though did not seem like Bella's. It was hardly even human.
Ben's alarmed gaze met mine. For some reason, we could hear them now. Not clear, but they were there. Was the veil between life and death thinning?
"She's hears this every day?" Ben asked, looking terrified.
Garrett helped me to my feet, though I remained locked in the grasp of the others. "She's sending all those earthly bound spirits in there through the light, all at once. She's creating a temporary gateway, but stronger than those for an individual. We'll make sure she'll be all right." There was an undercurrent in his voice that said he wasn't sure. His words did nothing alleviate my worry.
Wind slashed violently through the house, windows shattered along the bottom floor. Demetrius and Garrett shared a look.
Was something wrong? "Why is this happening?" I asked, needing answers and a damn way inside my home.
Garrett replied. "There were too many spirits in the area, it created a disturbance, a vortex if you will, and that would be like a beacon to all others. It also made her too open to them on that spiritual plane. All that chaos within your home is a combination of Bella's gifts, the vortex, and the gateway she's creating."
As quickly and violently as it all started, it ended, surprising everyone. The front door banged open, slowly closing as I ran toward it. I scrambled through snow and over ice before I reached it. I fell to my knees beside her, hovering over her prone form. Her hair fanned across the light wood flooring, dried tears stained her flushed cheeks, her lips parted, but her eyes were closed.
Fear gripped my heart, shaking her once. My hand automatically reaching to check, a gasp tore through my throat as I met Ben's anguished gaze.
"She's not breathing!" Behind Ben, two of the angels disappeared as Demetrius and Garrett stood on the edges of a blurred area between the kitchen and living room. None of that mattered in the slightest; only her and our baby. "She's not breathing!" I implored to them.
Demetrius looked at Garrett and nodded. He moved instantly, taking Ben's place on the other side of Bella.
"You save her," I demanded Garrett. "You save them both!" It was the least they could do!
He nodded as his hands, one on her forehead and the other her chest, started to glow. Three seconds passed, one too many before her back arched and she gasped for breath.
"She'll sleep for a while," he said. I held her close, watching as Garrett joined Demetrius again. One of the other angels returned and reported to him, who seemed to be in charge.
"She sent fifty-six souls home, Sir," he said to him. One by one, they entered the gate, leaving only Garrett behind.
"How long will she be unconscious?" I asked, sweeping away tousled hair from her face, relieved to see the flutter of her lashes.
"Not long but she'll be exhausted for a bit," he said. "She can't stop, Edward. Her mind and body will not let her."
"It's not fair," I whispered gravely. "She's carrying our child. It's too dangerous to do these things as it was."
"I'm sorry."
I nodded, realizing that he was sincere. "How are you here? The last time I saw you…" I trailed off, shuddering at the memory of Bella's description of Garrett and Kate's souls as they were dragged to hell.
"I was on the way to hell," he finished with a shuddering sigh. "Sacrificing my soul to send hers to hell earned me the chance to redeem myself."
I said nothing for a while. "This is too much. There has to be something that can be done."
"I guess you have to decide if you can handle it. All this comes along with her. There's nothing I can do. If I could help, I would," he said hesitantly. "We will give you as much peace as we can for a few weeks. After that, let her resume her normal activities."
"I won't let her go on an investigation."
"And I agree with you," he stated. "I'm talking about her normal everyday crossovers."
"The baby?" I asked.
"Will be fine," he said fondly, "And would be free of the curse."
A sob escaped as he disappeared with a flutter of unseen feathers. Sirens from the down the street interrupted my quiet words to my Bella. My phone and hers rang nearby, Ben answering one.
"Edward," her soft voice was such a relief. I bent down to kiss her gently, afraid to move her, despite Garrett's reassurances. "Is the baby okay?"
"They said he or she was fine, but the ambulance is on the way."
I wasn't sure who called; I'd been too focused on Bella. Perhaps a concerned neighbor or even Ben as Garrett healed her.
Bella's fingers traced my features, following the path of dried tears. Some started to fall from her own eyes and she watched me carefully, warily.
"I killed my mother, didn't I?"
I only kissed her gently, holding her close as she cried.
~oOo~
I found my family, Charlie and my friends in the waiting room an hour later. "How is she?" my mother asked, squeezing my arm. Charlie patted my shoulder to take my place by Bella's side. I assured everyone that Bella and the baby were doing well, and then Ben pulled me aside.
"I think you need to know something," he said.
I couldn't take much more. "What is it?"
"The reason the spirits found a way inside was because one of the protection spells were broken." I was confused, since I was still not too well versed in spells and such. "Spirits can't do something like scratch away at the blood on the wall, it had to be something corporeal. Someone or something made of flesh and blood. Edward, there were footprints in the snow, leading to and away from the house."
This was not something I needed, another worry. "Are you trying to tell me that someone wanted this to happen to her?" He nodded. "An angel?"
"I checked, they don't leave behind footprints, or hell, fingerprints, for that matter."
"Human?"
"Probably."
"Why?"
"Good question," he replied. "One I don't have an answer to, my friend."
It seemed with every day that passed more questions arose than were answered. It was time that I found some. Garrett's promise of a few weeks of peace came to mind. For now, I would not take that time for granted. With the wedding about a week away, it couldn't have come at a better time.
We needed it.
Despite the fear of unknown future, of everything that happened, there was still nothing I wanted more than to be with Bella. Later, as I stayed by her hospital bed, her hand in mine as she slept, I did something I hadn't done in a while.
I prayed.
~oOo~
On top of last minute wedding details, we had to organize our house. Many of our things had to be replaced, but Bella handled redecorating with some excitement. The fact that Hayley's room had remained intact did not escape my notice. I just chose not to dwell on it.
We'd been walking on egg shells, worrying that something would disrupt the peace. She wore her necklace whenever she left the house, and I wore my watch at all times. On a daily basis, either Ben or I would check the protection spells to ensure that there were intact.
Shortly after she was released from the hospital, either Alice, Jasper, Benjamin or myself accompanied her to fulfill her promises to the spirits she crossed over that night.
A tip was given to the police, to check into the financial records of a corrupt cop that killed his brother-in-law, who found out the truth who shot him and staged it as a suicide. A few others were given messages from their lost loved ones. There were several people more she had to go see, including one that concerned a child, but since she'd been so distracted with all those voices, she lost some of the information in the chaos.
Two days before the wedding, she called for a vacation from all things ghost related until after the honeymoon. I was happy that I didn't have to convince her, she had come to the decision on her own. That was important to me. She more than a woman with the link to the dead, she was wonderful artist, a great friend, a loving daughter, and soon, she'd be my wife and the mother of our child.
I wanted her gift to no longer define her. Was that so wrong?
~oOo~
It was the night before the wedding and though my mother tried to have Bella stay with them, I adamantly refused. She seemed to understand and ordered us—the men—to clean out the spare bedroom on the bottom floor for me to use while Bella remained in our bedroom.
It was a compromise I could live with. Bella seemed to be on the same page as I was, though we couldn't stay away from each other. My cell phone rang and I answered immediately.
"You should be sleeping," I said, smiling at her quiet laugh through the line. "This is sort of stupid, considering you're upstairs."
"I know, but your mother insisted, which is probably why Alice is sharing the room with me."
"How are you feeling?"
She's been plagued with a little morning sickness all day. "Better now that your mother is not bouncing around. She's something else. Where does she store all that abundant energy?"
"She's excited," I said, laughing and laying back on my pillow. "I miss having you here with me." A thump from overhead alerted me, and had me staring at the ceiling. "Sounds like a herd of elephants up there."
She giggled sweetly, and I was happy to hear her sound like herself. After the last week, she'd embraced wedding planning and decorating with renewed strength and determination. Every time I'd come in from the cold and running some errand for them, the house was full with women helping my beautiful Bella.
"I love you," I whispered, rubbing the small ache in my chest. I hadn't told her that for a couple of days, which was strange and unlike me. Her sniffle had me rising out of bed. "What is it, Bella?"
"Are you sure?" she asked softly, warily.
"You know I want this, I want you."
"And everything that comes with me? All this baggage?"
When the realization that she had a hand in her mother's death years earlier, she'd sought out someone she could talk to about all of it. She had to be cautious about who she spoke with; the last thing we wanted was for someone to indicate that she needed to be institutionalized.
She found someone through Alice, a cousin that had a gift like Alice, but subtler. They already had one session and asked if I'd join Bella the next time after our two week honeymoon, somewhere sunny. It took weeks to find a suitable place. At home, we were safe in our protected house, but somewhere out there, she wasn't.
We had to check history of the hotel we'd be staying at in Malibu, along with the surrounding areas to ensure that there weren't many deaths in the area.
It was better to be safe.
"Nothing has changed, baby."
"But there was some relief to know that our child will not inherit my gift, wasn't there?"
I couldn't lie to her. "Yes. Only because I knew how hard it was for you growing up."
"I love you so much," she replied. "Thank you for loving me." I heard her yawn toward the end of her soft words.
"Sweetheart, it was and still is effortless. Get some sleep. I'll be at the end of aisle in black."
"Looking hot," she teased, yawning again. "Can't wait to see you. Good night, love."
"Good night."
~oOo~
I was pacing. Bella had been feeling well, according to my mother, but had been crying all morning. Not surprising since her mother was not there to bear witness. I hated that I couldn't see her when she needed me.
Angela, Bella's agent and good friend, was protecting the stairs. Jasper even tried to coax her away so I could go up, but she was determined not to break tradition. Mom was upstairs with her, along with Sue, Alice, and Lauren.
"You're going to wear a hole in the flooring," Dad said, slapping my shoulder. "She'll be fine. It's the hormones and probably because of recent revelations about her mother."
"I know that, but I want to be there to comfort her," I huffed and rubbed a hand over my face.
"Dude, I didn't know you could pout," Emmett teased as he entered the room. I gestured to him rudely, earning a bit of laughter from him.
"Is Rosalie here, too?"
He nodded. "So are the kids." The big smile on his face surprised me. He wasn't known for committing to a woman, and when I met him, he was a bit of a ladies man, and had a reputation at the university. It was good to see him willing to settle down with Rosalie and her kids.
"All right," I said, checking the time. "We have an hour." My father handed me a glass tumbler. I didn't bother asking what he was giving me, but I needed it. The warmth from my drink settled my nerves.
My cell phone rang and I answered it immediately. "Bella? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she whispered. "It's the stupid hormones."
I held back the need to laugh. "Hurry, love," I replied. "I need to see you."
"Okay. I'll be the one in white…well, not quite white." She giggled as someone teased her in the background. I rolled my eyes as the men in our wedding party started to do it on my end. "I love you, Edward."
"I love you, sweetheart."
Minutes later, Dad was fixing my bow tie in the bedroom downstairs. Emmett and Benjamin were checking the protection spells all around the house. Angela had left to pick up her date; she was the only one amongst the group that didn't know about Bella and Alice's abilities. We had to be careful about what we said around her.
Snow lightly fell outside the picturesque window. The wedding was about to start soon, and I couldn't be happier. I wasn't about to let the sword that hung over our heads take that away from us.
Surrounded my family and friends, I stood at the end of the short aisle, thinking about everything that happened to get me to that point in my life. Though Hayley's passing led me to Bella, I knew in my heart, somehow, someway, we still would've found each other even if I hadn't lost her.
As music filtered throughout the speaker system, I watched people that meant a lot to us come down the stairs. Alice, in her long gloves to protect her from everyone's touch, her lavender dress that skimmed the floor, followed by the lovely Rosalie in a similar dress, but a shade darker, ending with Lauren dressed in a deep purple.
My parents followed the bridesmaids, both smiling widely as they approached. Mom held my face, kissing me gently, and Dad made one last adjustment to my tie. The light laughter helped ease some of my anxiety.
I wasn't nervous about marrying Bella. I was anxious to see my bride.
The music changed and my body tightened with anticipation. A warm chuckle from Emmett, who stood beside me, made me wonder briefly of the expression I had on my face. My thoughts focused on the stairs, watching as Charlie led Bella down.
She was a vision in ivory and lavender. My breath caught, as my hand rose to cover my mouth. I heard the click of the camera, saw the flash, yet my eyes remained on her. Her gaze on her feet as she clung to her father, likely fearing that she'd fall. I laughed, caught up in the moment, happy that I could bear witness to such a tender moment.
Charlie stared adoringly at his daughter, his hand clasped over hers on his arm. She looked up at him with watery eyes, but a smile that lit up her face. She whispered something to him, making him clear his throat softly.
As they stepped onto floor, Bella finally lifted her eyes to look for me. They widened as they zeroed in on the altar. She smiled brightly and her pace quickened, making our guests laugh. Her bouquet trembled in her hand as she made her way to me. Her hand was placed in mine, and I promised Charlie that I would watch over her—always.
Face to face, we recited our personal vows, spoken from the heart. As I kissed her minutes later, the officiator announced us husband and wife. After everything we'd been through, I truly believed that, come what may, we'd find a way to live a long and happy life together.