“Ares, no need to smoke over those big feels of yours and get your boxers in a bunch. Why don’t you calm down? You should smile more,” I suggested as sarcastically as I could.
His fist caught fire. Mal tossed his drink over it, dousing the flames. The smell of rich coffee wafted through my nose as I inhaled and busted out laughing. Fuck being serious, that was funny.
“What confuses me is that Diana hopped just over a month ago, but Azazel said she showed up at his doorstep four days ago… So where was she for the remainder of the time?” Ares questioned.
“All I know is that as soon as Diana showed up at my doorstep inches from death, I put her into equilibrium,” Zaz said. “I’m not sure why she was missing on your end.”
“Yeah, her being immortal was a boon, because we really didn’t have another option unless Desmond could raise her, and that’s iffy, circumstantial magic,” Mal said.
“Immortal…” I contemplated. “So, I’m not going to die? Ever? How did we know I couldn’t die?” I asked. With all the shit going on in the past few hours, I’d have to unpack the fact that I couldn’t die later. My emotional range wasn’t equipped to deal with that mindfuck right now.
“I suspected it,” Michael added. He was quiet until now, taking all the information in. “As far as the time difference, your ability to time travel must have manipulated the timeline.”
“If that’s even possible…” Ares quipped in a suspicious tone. “Something with you and Feathers over there still seems fishy.”
“Time travel is an extremely rare, mysterious power. The magical community doesn’t know a ton about it. My friend is the only other person I know that can do it,” Zaz replied, addressing the whole table while ignoring Ares’ barb toward him. He switched his focus to me as he put his hand over mine. “Diana, would you like to meet my friend? He can teach you how to control and direct your power, considering I can’t hop.”
“Wait, you don’t time-hop? I assumed you could time travel, because you kept meeting me in different time periods,” I said.
“No, I have the Sight. I can see the past and visions of the future randomly or through making contact with an object or person. I would have visions of you in the future, and use our soulbond to meet you wherever you were during that time.”
“Our what?” I asked, confused.
“Azazel,” Michael said in a warning tone.
“No, Michael, she needs to know. Diana values honesty,” He sat straight in his chair as his honey eyes bore into mine. “Usually, a guardian angel is assigned to a person. They have the ability to watch over their charge because they share a loose bond. It sort of feels like the human equivalent of intuition. I’m a fallen angel, which means my grace was taken away. Disgraced angels can’t be guardians anymore. When Michael asked me to watch over you when you were born, we had to use a soulbond so I could do it. Our souls are bonded indefinitely, and it puts me at your disposal. You’ll always have eyes watching over you, unless you ask me not to. I willalwaysrespect your wishes.”
I sat there for a few minutes, speechless and caught in my own little world. That would certainly explain the conversation we had in the river, and how he knew so much about me. It also explained why I felt an instant trust and comfort toward Zaz when I met him in his cabin. Our souls recognized each other.
“I don’t understand… Why did Michael ask you to watch over me?”
“Remember when we met in the Civil War era, and I said you’d change the world? I was serious. Hundreds of years ago, I had two visions. One of a magical uprising, where Red is hellbent on taking over the world, and another of you fighting in a war against him. I also channeled a prophecy, which is very rare among those with my gift. The gist of it was that a witch-hybrid female child would be born when Hell was in turmoil. She would either save or destroy the world. Initially, the majority of Heaven didn’t take my prophecy or visions seriously. Years later, after I was disgraced, Michael made contact and met me. He found you, and wanted me to watch you because I was already on earth and kept having visions about you. I’ve seen you fight Satan, with all five of us by your side,” Zaz gestured to Desmond, Bash, Mal, and Ares. “That’s why I was confused earlier; the showdown with him at the airport wasn’t foretold, although, not everything is.”
Seems like the Sight is just as nuanced and unpredictable as time travel.
“Why did you agree to watch over me?” I asked, astounded by how selfless Zaz was. He could teach the other men at this table about acting right. “A lifetime bond? That’s a huge sacrifice to make.”
“I agreed to the bond because I knew how important guiding you would be for the world’s survival. I felt it was the right thing to do.”
“That’s why you said you couldn’t tell me everything when we were at the river. If you had, I would have freaked out…wait witch-hybrid? So my father isn’t a warlock? He could be anything, like a demon, or a vampire?” I asked Zaz.
The thought that my father, a man who wanted nothing to do with me, was a magical being out there in the world rankled me. He could have helped me control my magic and answered so many questions. I would know who I was if he’d bothered to raise his child instead of being a deadbeat piece of shit.
“He’s one hundred percent a magical being; there’s no way he’s mortal with how powerful you are. He isn’t a vampire, because whether you were half vampire or full, you’d have sprouted fangs by now,” Zaz said as he ran his hands through his hair. I could see the wheels turning in his head.
“Yeah, and their powers can’t be blocked. We discussed it multiple times while you were in equilibrium. Bash, Mal, Ares, and I agreed a while ago that Diana is only half witch. It’s imperative we find out who her father is and contact him. He can fill in a lot of the blanks, and if he’s as powerful as we believe him to be, we can work with him to bring Red down. None of us are safe as long as he’s alive.” Desmond was already starting to form a game plan.
“I highly doubt he’s demonic. I would have smelled it on you,” Bash pondered aloud.
Zaz squeezed my hand to get my attention. I was so busy dwelling on my father, I hadn’t even realized he still held it. “If it’s okay with Desmond, I’d like to stay here to help out and continue to watch over you. I’d also like a hand in your training.”
Desmond’s face pinked under Zaz’s scrutiny. He looked around the table at Mal, Bash, and Ares. Their silent communication wasn’t as secret as they thought. Their faces said everything for them. Mal’s bored, annoyed expression told me he was above caring about it. Although, he always had resting bitch face. The determined expressions onBash’s and Desmond’s faces showed me they agreed it was a good decision. Ares still had his furious expression from earlier. I had a feeling something had gone down previously, because there was no other reason he’d hate Zaz that much, jealousy aside.
“Sure. We have the room, and it would be nice to have your skillset on the team,” Desmond said stiffly. “I’ll mindlink Olga to set up the last room for you.”
“Wait a fucking minute,” Ares growled. “Bash and I claim you, and you get super pissed off and run away. But Zaz soulbonded with you–when you were a baby and couldn’t consent to it–and you’re A-okay with that?! This isbullshit,” he spat.
“Ares, never assume you know how I feel. Last time I checked, you couldn’t read minds.” Every word that came out of my mouth was scathing. “I never said I wasn’t upset about it. Zaz may have withheld some information from me in the beginning, but he was honest with me when he could be. He did what he thought was the right thing to do, based on the visions he had. If I should be angry with anyone, it’s Michael for suggesting the bond, but I have the feeling he’s the type who feels he’s never wrong.”