Krista was in the process of draining noodles when I entered the kitchen. "Hey, would you mind setting the table?" she asked, flashing me a brilliant smile.
"Uh, sure," I answered, not sure what kind of strategy she was up to now. "Who's all eating over tonight?"
"Just the three of us," she replied, still smiling broadly.
Feeling like some dumb animal walking into a trap, I opened the frosted glass cabinet and pulled out three ceramic plates. Stacking them on the counter, I added three glasses to my pile and carried them to the little nook that we preferred to eat in when it was just us. The nook sat nestled on the far side of the kitchen near a huge bay window that overlooked the ocean beyond. I continued playing along as I contemplated what Krista was up to. Maybe they had decided shackles would be the only thing that would keep me away from Emrys. I could just picture Mark showing up with heavy-duty chains that even I couldn't bust out of. I wonder how Emrys was at picking locks?
"Jordyn?" Krista said, breaking through my thoughts. By the look on her face, I could tell this was not the first time she'd called my name.
"Yeah?"
"Can you grab a serving bowl for the sauce and the can of parmesan cheese out of the refrigerator?"
"Sure. Are we having bread too?"
"Yes, Mark went to get a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery. He should be back in a couple of minutes. Hopefully with something in the chocolate variety too," she said, winking at me.
"Right, like he'd come home without something for your chocolate fix," I said, grabbing the butter and the pitcher of ice tea from the fridge also.
"Were you talking about me?" Mark asked, coming into the kitchen with a platter of brownies and a loaf of bread. Depositing them on the table, he turned and brushed a kiss across Krista's lips before smiling at me.
Shit, they were definitely up to something. Krista smiling at me after the bathroom episode I could buy. Mark, on the other hand, acting like he hadn't just splintered my bathroom door sent warning bells ringing throughout my head. Knowing my luck he'd already deposited the heavy chains in my room. I'd be lucky if I saw the light of day ever again.
Not returning his smile, I sat on the padded window seat with a sigh. Mark sat across from me with the same dippy smile on his face. I stifled a groan. This was shaping up to be as much fun as listening to an all-day lecture on fossil fuels. Krista joined us a moment later with a glass bowl towered high with cooked spaghetti.
"Smells great, love," Mark said, sniffing appreciatively.
"Yeah, well it'd be pretty bad if even I screwed up spaghetti," she answered dryly, heaping noodles on her plate. "And don't you dare mention those first couple batches," she continued, threatening him with her fork.
"What? It wasn't that bad. I, for one, didn't see the big deal of cutting the noodles with a steak knife," he said, shooting her a real smile. "It was at least better than my first attempt," he continued as Krista gagged slightly at the memory.
"What happened?" I asked curiously, despite my misgivings about their intentions.
"Well, just put it this way—you could have plastered a wall with my noodles," Mark answered chuckling as Krista made more gagging noises. "Come on, babe, it wasn't that bad."
"They tasted like they'd been run through a food processor. We had to eat them with a spoon. Remember? You kept trying to convince me that if I added more sauce it would help. I wound up eating just the sauce with my spoon," she said, laughing at the memory.
"Come on, now you're hurting my feelings," Mark said defensively.
"Really? That's why I saw you dumping your plate in the trash?" she teased, taking a bite of bread.
"I was stuffed, that's all."
"Right," Krista said, openly laughing now.
Despite myself, I couldn't help joining in their laughter. "I guess I can see now why we get takeout so much," I said, slurping my noodles.
"Yeah, culinary skills seemed to be on the low end of the spectrum when The Light created us," Krista said, still chuckling.
At least for now, the tension disappeared while we finished eating. I knew the boom was still coming, but at least they were serving me one last meal before I was locked away for good.
We were just about done eating when Krista finally spoke. "So, your uncle and I were talking," she began, looking at Mark for his approval before she continued.
"I figured as much," I said, scooting my plate away. "So, let's hear it. I now have to wear leg irons or maybe just a ball and chain, right? Wait, I got it. You guys have decided to build a dungeon under the house. Just to throw my two cents in, a dungeon might take away from the curb appeal of the house," I added.
"Well, a dungeon did cross our minds, but we figured that wouldn't do any good at keeping yourfriendfrom springing you," she said. "Kidding. Truthfully, we just finally came to the conclusion that we're treating you both unfairly. My mom once tried to keep me from Mark and it turned out to be a disaster," she continued.
"Really?" I asked, sitting excitedly forward. This was the last thing I had been expecting.
"Yes, but with stipulations," Mark answered, bursting my bubble.
"Right," I said, sinking back on my seat.
"Nothing unreasonable," Krista reassured me. "We just feel that before we allow you to hang out with this Soul Trader, we should get to know him too. We're not comfortable with you running all over the world with him, getting tattoos in Shanghai and who knows what else."
Gah, freaking Lynn was going to get a smack the next time I saw her. Shanghai was supposed to be our secret. "What do you have in mind?" I asked, still leery of where the conversation was going.
"We thought, instead of sneaking into your room and bathroom, he could visit you like a normal boy your age would. We'd obviously like to have him over for dinner so we can get to know him, and then from there maybe we can move to double-dating."
"No way are we going on a double date with you guys."
"I'll try not to be offended over your reaction, but no, we weren't thinking of double-dating with us. We figured you wouldn't mind going out with Lynn and Robert," she said dryly.
I exhaled a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding. This was doable. Sure, the idea of a family dinner was cringe-worthy, but I'd been wanting to double date with Lynn and Robert for months. Emrys would probably find the whole idea ludicrous since he was used to coming and going as he pleased, but maybe I could talk him into it. Besides, if he really likes me the way he seems to, he'll at least consider it, and surely after they all saw how fantastic he was we'd eventually be left to our own devices.
"What exactly will the family dinner entail? And won't Haniel crap a brick when he finds out?" I asked, suddenly afraid their plan would be smothered out before it could even begin.
"We've already discussed it with him," Mark answered, sitting back in his chair. "He has grudgingly agreed to trust us on this, although he plans on joining us for the family dinner," he added, smiling almost gleefully at the thought.
"Oh, god. I can just imagine how that's going to go," I griped, not relishing a night of hanging out with Haniel, my aunt and uncle, and Emrys.
"You have to understand his side, Jordyn. Soul Traders have earned their bad reputations for good reasons. More times than not, Soul Traders turn away from helping souls move on to a better place. The Dark One entices them to bring the souls to him instead with promises of power and immortality," Mark said, defending Haniel.
"I thought Soul Traders were immortal?" I asked, confused.
"They are to a certain extent. They can live forever in this realm, guiding souls as they see fit, but they can be destroyed much like you destroy Daemons. Once their earthly forms are snuffed out, they can never return to this realm again. They are forever forsaken to eternity in hell."
"What if they don't align themselves with The Dark One?" I asked, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.
"They are still condemned to spending eternity in hell. Remember, The Light does not allow Soul Traders in heaven, no matter how many souls they've delivered. By denying him in their time of judgment, they gave up their place in heaven. The Light allows them to stay on Earth and the Between, but he denies them passage through the pearly gates."
"That still just doesn't seem fair at all," I said, finding a hard time grasping the idea of being denied access into heaven. It seemed so barbaric to me.
"Harsh maybe, but The Light believes if you truly wanted to go to heaven, you would never had denied him," Krista said, brushing crumbs off the table into her cupped hand.
"So, all that being said, you're telling me even though he's immortal, Emrys is going to wind up in hell at some point?" I asked, wanting to punch something in a sudden burst of anger.
"Well, his place on Earth is relatively safe as long as he continues to deliver souls to both sides and stays under the radar," Mark said. "Usually, what you see with Traders is that they eventually get too cocky or desire more power, and make alliances. Since The Light isn't exactly a dealmaker, many of them stop delivering any souls to The Light and instead only bring them to The Dark One."
"Emrys is different," I said stubbornly. I didn't want to believe that Emrys would hand-deliver souls that belonged in heaven to The Dark One. He was one of the good ones. He obviously had reasons for staying on Earth.He was a good guy, I repeated to myself.
"I'm sure you're right," Krista said, patting my hands that I didn't even remember clenching. "But we just want to be sure, okay?"
"Okay, but you'll keep Haniel in check, right? You know what a pain he can be."
"Yes, we'll make sure he behaves," she deadpanned.
"And you won't ask any embarrassing questions," I stated, looking more at Mark.
"Define embarrassing?" he asked, smiling wickedly, which just seemed wrong with his angelic background.
"Just be cool, please, and don't act like typical parents," I griped as he grinned broadly. "Remember, revenge is a cold-ass beeyotch," I reminded him.
"Language," Krista chastised. "And I'm pretty sure it breaks some kind of rule to threaten your guardians," she added, raising her eyebrows at me. "Don't worry, Jordyn, I'll watch them both."
I glowered at Mark who shook his head behind her back. Seeing my look, Krista turned toward Mark who was now smiling innocently at her. Using her turned back to my own advantage, I made a slashing motion across my neck. "You'll go down," I mouthed just as Krista turned back around to bust me.
"Can we act our ages?" she said, smacking Mark in the head.
"Sure we can, hon, but we won't," Mark said, scooping her up into his arms. "I think a little swim in the ocean is called for," he added, cradling her in his arms as he strode out the French doors.
Watching them from the patio, I whooped my encouragement as Krista squealed in protest. "I don't have my suit on!" she complained as Mark continued to stride toward the stairs that would take them to the ocean below.
"When have we ever let that stop us?" Mark asked suggestively.
"True," she said, capturing his lips with hers.
"Eww, TMI," I yelled, but they were lost in their kiss as they disappeared down the steps. A few moments later, they came back into sight on the beach below as Mark carried Krista out into the water. He lowered her so she was standing flush against him. The moonlight cast down, showcasing them as a perfect silhouette. I made my way back to the porch swing, sinking down against the plush cushion and reveled in the quiet that surrounded me. I was alone. For the first time in days, no one was watching my every move. This kind of freedom, I could definitely get used to. No more sneaking around, no more jail sentences or wardens. Now, I just needed to figure out how to get Emrys to appear again so I could tell him.
I knew he obviously couldn't read my mind, but I couldn't help wondering if he would come if I called him. "Emrys," I said, feeling more than a little ridiculous.
"What are you up to, sweet cheeks?" Emrys asked from behind me, sounding amused.
Whirling around swiftly, I almost fell out of the swing only to discover him lounging atop the patio table behind me. "Damn it, don't sneak up on me like that. One of these times it's going to get you hurt," I complained, trying to calm my breathing as I stood up.
"Why? You're so cute when you're scared," he drawled in a voice oozing sex appeal.
"I wasn't scared. I just didn't know you were there," I countered. "
Why'd you say my name if you didn't know I was here?" he asked, summoning me toward him with his finger.
"You know, I'm not some dog you can whistle for and expect to come trotting right over," I said spitefully, despite the fact that I was indeed walking toward him. Suddenly, I had flashbacks from the kiss earlier. "I was trying to figure out how to get you to show up. I should have realized your creepy stalker ways would make that unnecessary," I continued, willing myself not to look at his lips. He was already cocky enough without knowing how much I'd thought about the kiss in the last few hours.
"You're definitely not a dog," he said suggestively, not even trying to deny my stalker comment. "What's with your wardens getting all frisky in the ocean and leaving you unsupervised up here all by your lonesome?"
"I don't know. Time off for good behavior maybe?" I answered, smirking at him.
"I doubt that, but if you're serious, what are we still doing here? Let's blow this joint," he said with sudden excitement.
"Whoa, not so fast," I said, pulling my hand out of reach. "It came with some conditions."
"Of course it did. I wouldn't expect any less from a houseful of angels. Lay it on me. Do I need to arm wrestle each of them?"
"Ha, you're so funny. I guess you moonlight at some celestial comedy club when you're not stalking me."
"I did do a brief stint at one in Vegas in the mid-eighties. It was fun for a while, but humans have a fickle sense of humor. What's funny one day is lame the next," he said, sitting back down on the table.
"I was joking," I said, sidetracked by the idea of him holding a job like a human. "What other jobs have you done?" I asked intrigued.