When I woke up from my nap Cass was still beside me, just like he promised. The first thing I saw was Evie sleeping in Cass' other arm. I looked up at Cass' face, only to see that he was resting too. His eyes were closed and his breathing was uneven. Angels don't sleep anyway. Sensing my eyes on him, his eyes opened and he looked down at me. "Did you get a sufficient amount of rest?" He asked. I replied, "Yes I did honey. Thank you. How long was I asleep?" "Only about two hours. Evangeline fell asleep not long after you."
I smiled and raised my hand to stroke Evie's plump cheek. Suddenly she yawned, her mouth turning into a tiny circle. She used her fists to rub her eyes and open them. The moment she laid eyes on her dad, she smiled. Considering she had no teeth, all you could see were gums. Her tiny fingers flexed as she tried to reach up to Cass' face. He lowered his face to her tiny hands and let her feel the light stubble. Evie took Cass' bottom lip in her hand and pulled lightly. Cass let her experiment with his lips, chin, and even his nose.
All he did was sit there and let her poke and prod. Suddenly she made a face. I knew that face. I removed myself from Cass' arms and got up from the bed. "What is it?" Cass asked. I pointed to Evie right as she made another face of satisfaction. "Diaper change," I said. Cass scrunched his eyebrows and looked down at her. Then, the smell must have hit him. He wrinkled his nose and looked up at me. I just smiled and took Evie from him. After successfully changing her diaper, I dressed her in tiny pants and a shirt. I then wrapped her in a blanket like a burrito.
Cass bolted from the bed and went over to the window. "What is it?" I asked. He turned to me and said, "You need to get into the panic room with Evangeline and Bobby. Now." Without question, I grabbed the essentials for Evie and went out of the room. Cass followed close behind me with his hand on my back. When we got to the bottom of the stairs Cass said, "Go to the panic room. I'll get Bobby. Don't come out until I come and get you okay?" I nodded and Cass leaned down to kiss me. After a quick peck, he leaned down and kissed Evie's forehead.
He turned into the living room and I made my way down the stairs and into the basement. I opened the heavy door and slipped in. There was no point in closing the door considering Dad would be coming down any minute. Sure enough, there were two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. Dad stepped in first and Cass followed behind. "Stay here until I come and get you. I'll take care of the demons." He gave me a quick peck on the forehead and left the room. I covered Evie's ears as the steel door closed with a loud bang.
I sat down on the cot and said, "You want to hold your granddaughter? You've had your nose buried in every book we have since Evie was born." Dad sighed and said, "I've just been looking into things about the pit. I guess I could take a break." I smiled and handed Evie over. He gently took her and sat down next to me on the cot. Evie smiled up at Dad and grabbed onto one of the buttons of his shirt.
The panic room suddenly got dark. I looked up at the open top that had a Devil's Trap made of metal. Black smoke rolled over the top but it wasn't regular smoke. Demons. And a lot of them. My mind immediately went to Cass. Would he be able to take them all by himself? The black smoke continued to swirl over us, almost as if it was waiting for us to come out. Evie started to squirm in Dad's arms like she was in pain. Without a word, Dad passed her over to me and I tried to calm her down.
Evie started to cry and scream at the top of her lungs. After ten minutes of her screaming, I was upset that I couldn't help her. Tears fell from my own eyes and Dad said, "Lay down on the bed Jelly Bean. It should be over soon. I did as Dad suggested, but Evie continued to scream and squirm. Suddenly, there was a bright light coming from the top of the panic room. I moved over Evie to shield her from the blinding light.
After the heat of the light went away, I removed myself from over Evie. She stopped squirming, crying, and screaming and was just sniffling. I picked her up and held her against my chest as I sat cross-legged on the bed. I was crying again, but now they were tears of relief. Evie relaxed against me and continued to sniffle. Dad sat next to me and wrapped his arms around us. The door of the panic room opened slowly and Cass came into view. He didn't have a scratch on him, but he looked exhausted.
"It's safe. The demons are gone," He said tiredly. I got up from the bed and went over to him. He kissed my forehead and then Evie's. Dad came out of the panic room with everything I brought down for Evie and said, "I'll put this back in your room sweetheart." He kissed my temple and went up the stairs. I looked back to Cass and asked, "What happened?" He didn't say anything for a minute. "Let's talk upstairs." He put his hand on the small of my back and led me up two flights of stairs and into my room.
After I put Evie in her crib and sat on the bed, Cass joined me on the bed and moved me so that I was laying on my left side and him on his right. He took a deep breath and said, "The demons have found out about Evangeline and they know that she is mine. They won't hurt her or you, but they are trying to distract me from my duties in heaven. They will only come so that I will confront them and get me out of heaven." I stared at him as he continued. "If they ever come, go into the panic room and pray for me."
I nodded and buried my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. "When the demons were above the panic room, Evie started to scream and squirm like she was in pain. Do you know why?" Cass nodded and said, "She is my offspring and even though she does not have angel blood in her, she can still feel the evil that the demons let off. She will outgrow as she gets older. I suggest putting a necklace with a cross on her. It may calm her down." I pulled away from Cass and pulled the necklace off of my own neck and held it up.
"Will this work?" I asked him. Cass smiled and said, "Perfect." I leaned over and set the necklace on the side table. I snuggled deeper into Cass' chest and let my mind wonder. Cass put his nose in my hair and inhaled my scent. I laughed and leaned up to kiss him. He eagerly kissed back. After our kiss ended, our lips stayed together as we continued to snuggle. "You need rest Cass. Taking on those demons made you weak." Cass looked at me and nodded. He turned onto his back and I rested my head on his chest and put my right arm over his middle. Cass wrapped his arm around me and fell asleep quickly, snoring lightly. I stayed awake to watch over my sleeping angel and our sleeping baby.