Chapter Seven

Azrael stepped into the office of his superior and stood still his jaw clenched as he waited for the reprimand.

He had failed.

He could see the back of high-backed chair in front of him, behind an immaculately clean desk.

It turned slowly as Samael came into view, his hands steepled together as he rested his elbows against his desktop and looked at Azrael.

"In all of your millennia of service, how many times have you failed me Azrael?" he questioned.

Azrael bowed his head in shame. "I have never failed you Sir."

"Until now, tell me what was so hard to make sure that a human girl killed herself!" he roared making the table shake with his anger.

"It was of the utmost importance that this be done and you have failed." He snarled standing up and moving in toward Azrael. His hand shot out gripping Azraels jaw yanking him toward him, his hand smoking has he failed to reign in his anger.

"You will find her, you will kill her and maybe I will forgive you." He pushed his hand away watching as the Archangel stumbled backwards. "You have less than 8 days. Do not fail me again"

Azrael regained his footing and bowed again to Samael. "Your will, will be done Sir." He said and disappeared.

Samael turned and looked out the window of his office, showing a glimpse of different places that he had thought that god forsaken Demon would have taken the girl. Nothing was showing up. He was getting more and more irritated.

hr

Vanth slipped back into the room looking at Betelgeuse, he hadn't left the girls side since he had brought her in the night before.

"Any change?" she asked gently not to startle him.

Betelgeuse looked up at Vanth and shook his head. He leaned back against the chair and looked over at his friend. "No… and what I've been able to see through her dreams… she's not really dreaming either. Figure a lot of it is getting all that shit they had her on out of her system."

Vanth nodded in understanding and conjured up a chair sitting down next to Betel. "There is something I need to talk to you about." She said looking at her oldest friend.

Betelgeuse looked at her his eyes narrowing. "Not liking the sound of that Vanny… what's going on?" he felt a sliver of panic that they weren't going to be safe there.

Vanth shook her head and rubbed her head gently, she wasn't going to be the one to tell Betelgeuse who his father was... that was something that needed to come from Semyaza.

"If I can't recover your bond mate's memories, I have someone that can, but you have to trust them, or it won't work."

Betelgeuse slowly stood up, his body cracking as he realigned himself. "Ok… so which one of your little Demon buddies do you have in mind?" he asked looking down at the stack of books that were sitting on a small reading desk. Curiously he flipped through them seeing that it was a book about how the line of the Necromancer started.

Vanth didn't move from the chair as she looked over at the girl. "Semyaza."

Betelgeuse froze and slowly closed the book replacing it on the stack before he stalked silently over to Vanth, his hands slamming down on the arms of the chair pinning her in place, his face uncomfortably close to hers as he spat out. "What, in Hade's name makes you think that I would trust that fucking piece of shit Fallen near my Lydia?"

Vanth jerked backwards her eyes widening as she leaned back to get away from Betelgeuse. "He is willing to help Betel… which is more than most would do." She whispered thickly.

"How does he even know that we are down here Vanth." He clenched his jaw to keep his anger from erupting.

Vanth swallowed hard as her gaze flicked to the door and back to Betelgeuse. "He was here after you left the first time, offered to help and I accepted it. He warded my sanctum so that none can enter."

Betelgeuse pushed away from the chair and stalked to the doorway of the room. He ran his hand over the frame from top to bottom and concentrated. Pushing his energy into his fingertips he sealed the door from everyone save himself and Vanth. IF someone else needed to come in, he'd be the one to fucking walk them in. He promised Lydia safety and he would be damned sure that he gave it to her.

Vanth watched Betelgeuse and knew that when it came to his bond mate, he would do anything to protect her… even going against the Leader of the Fallen. She wanted to scream and throw things. Those two needed to speak to each other before it blew up over something else. She had wondered why she had never seen it before, but now looking at the two of them and how they acted… Betel acted exactly like his father. She shook her head and stood up slowly walking over to Lydia. She brushed her fingers over her forehead just to see if her mind was settled. Closing her eyes, she let herself fall slightly into her subconscious.

It was still muted and hazy and she could see a young Lydia sitting in front of a mirror. She didn't dare go any closer not wanting her to pull up her defenses. Carefully she pulled back and looked at Betelgeuse.

"B… you need to see if you can reach her… she's projecting her mind-self as a young teenager." She said softly worried that everything had been too much and Lydia would be trapped in her own mind.

Betelgeuse frowned and moved over to Lydia. He pulled the chair up close to the bed and let himself lean in close to her as he rested his hand over her forehead. Closing his eyes, he let himself find their bond and followed it to Lydia's subconscious.

He kept himself in the shadows watching as a younger Lydia sat in front of an ornate mirror, a sheet laying on the ground at her feet. He looked at the mirror and realized it was the one that had been in her bedroom back when he first met her… that was the mirror that he had been in when she had called to him during the time that the Maitland's had left her to go and find out how to get rid of him.

Was this how her memories were being repressed?

He moved slowly out of the shadows and stood behind Lydia. "Lyd's… its time to come home." He said softly not wanting to scare her.

The young Lydia looked up at him, tears in her eyes as she threw herself into his arms. "I thought you left me!"

Betelgeuse was confused and tried to remember that this was just the way that her mind was trying to over come what had happened. "I'd never leave you babes." He assured her rubbing his hand over her back gently, trying to be soothing. He had no fucking clue what he was doing. He didn't do hugs!

"Just got sent away and couldn't find you. But I'm back now, never leaving your side again, that I promise!"

He could feel the way that young Lydia's body was shaking in his arms as she cried. "Can you tell me what's going on Lyd's… you remember what happened?"

He watched as she shook her head.

"They took you away from me… and then they left too." She whispered into his shirt.

"Then Daddy was so mad, he didn't want me anymore. Had a new baby with Delia."

"I heard him shouting with someone… about me."

"He's not my dad."

"Then they got rid of me too, just like they got rid of you…. Locked me up and threw away the key."

Betelgeuse was floored, that was not what he had been expecting to hear, dear old Chuck wasn't Lydia's dad? There was something to that. He could feel it in his bones.

"You don't ever have to worry about them again babes…. I promised you I'd keep you safe and that's what I'm going to do… but you gotta wake up for me."

He looked back down at Lydia and realized that she was no longer a little girl as she had been a second ago, now she was back to her normal self. He swallowed hard hoping that this meant that she remembered him now.

"I don't know how to."

Betelgeuse nodded. "Don't you worry, just close your eyes… and I'll see you in just a second ok." He said and pulled out of her mind after she had closed her eyes. He opened his eyes seeing that Lydia was shifting slightly on the bed and he knew that she was trying to wake up. "Come on babes, that's it open those brilliant eyes for me." He said and squeezed her hand.

The second that his hand slipped into hers he felt a shock of energy zing through them and Lydia's eyes flew open, she sat up gasping for breath still holding onto his hand for dear life.

Lydia had been stuck in the darkness of her mind, not truly asleep or awake, but that gray in between time. She had found herself once again in front of the mirror only this time, he was there.

Her savior.

He was something important to her. She just didn't know what it was yet.

He held her as she cried.

And then he was gone, and she panicked. She couldn't wake up.

Then she felt it. A surge of silver energy that snaked through her jolting her awake.

Her eyes snapped open as she gasped for air.

She wasn't in hospital cloths anymore… but pajamas she had grown out of years ago.

They were familiar and comfortable. Her hand gripped someone else's, and she turned toward them and something in her shattered to a million pieces. Her mind clearing for the first time in years.

"Betelgeuse." She whispered, his name passing over her lips for the first time in almost two years. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized how much of her memory had been taken from her. "They made me forget you." She whispered out her hand still gripping his tightly afraid that he would disappear.

Betelgeuse squeezed her hand gently. "Nothing is going to take me away from you again Babes…nothing."

Lydia finally realized that they weren't in any place she had ever been before. Her eyes going over every detail of the room. "Where are we?" she whispered suddenly worried that Betelgeuse would get into trouble for having taken her away from the hospital.

Betelgeuse grinned widely. "Welp, you told me you always wanted to see the Netherworld… here we are. Well, a part of it anyway." He glanced toward the doorway not sure if Vanth was going to come back in any time soon.

"How is that possible?" she whispered and reached up to feel her heart still beating in her chest. She was still alive.

"Did you forget that I'm the ghost with the most babes!" he said teasing her lightly. He was still nervous about everything that she needed to be told. He scratched the back of his head and stood up, letting go of her hand as he started to pace.

Lydia frowned as Betelgeuse stood up and let her hand go. It was silly that she found him holding her hand kept her feeling safe.

"Well to be fair, I did." She snarked crossing her arms over her chest. It was then that she realized that she didn't have the bandages on her hands anymore. She opened her hands and looked at them in amazement. " B… what… did you do this…" she asked looking down at the unblemished skin.

Betelgeuse was jerked out of his rambling thoughts and looked over at Lydia. "Yeah, sure did babes… didn't want to take a risk of them getting infected. Wasn't a problem with my juice flowing better than ever." He wiggled his eyebrows at her knowing he was being obnoxious.

Lydia felt a groan slip out of her mouth and she tried not to laugh. "Thanks…" her smile slipped into a frown as something occurred to her. "How is that possible… when they sent you away, they took your powers again? Didn't they?"

Betelgeuse shrugged his shoulders slightly and moved to sit back down. "See that's the part that you and I need to have a bit of a talk about…." He said hesitantly and reached back out to take her hand. Again, he could feel that underlying zing of power flowing between them. He looked up at her. "Can you feel that?" he asked carefully.

Lydia frowned as she looked down at her hand that Betelgeuse was holding. "Like static?"

"Yeah, just like that." He cleared his throat and looked down at her hand. "Shit babes… how the fuck do I say this." He groaned knowing that no matter what he said or how he said it… it didn't make it any easier.

Lydia worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Just spit it out." She held up her hand seeing that he would most likely take that seriously just to be an ass. "Not literally."

Betelgeuse grinned roguishly. "You know me too well babes." He cleared his throat and frowned as he tried to find the right words.

"You remember that day, you all dolled up in that red dress… me in my matching number, looked pretty damn amazing if I don't say so." He trailed off seeing Lydia raise her eyebrow at him as he started to ramble. "Its like this… whatever we started… it was finished, not stopped." He said letting her draw her own conclusion from that.

He waited, watching her face as she turned over in her head what he had said.

Lydia's eyes widened. "Wait! Are you… do you…" She looked down at their hands still clasped together.

"We're married?!"