“Angel,” Gideon warned, hovering protectively near his mate.
“I mean no harm,” Samuel said, separating himself from the foliage across the way.
“Hell’s bells,” Gideon muttered beneath his breath, “what’d Asher do? List this place as a point of interest on Google Maps? Anybody else shows up here uninvited, and I’m gonna kick his ass.”
“May I come closer?” Samuel asked politely, his voice deep and gentle.
He could feel Maggie relaxing beside him, and made a mental note to speak to her later about caution around angels.
“Why are you here?”
“I have come to speak with you about the Prophesy,” he said. “I vow, by all that is holy, I will not harm your mate or your child.”
“Or Gideon,” Maggie quickly prompted, earning herself an approving smile from the angel.
“Or Gideon,” he amended.
Samuel was one of the few angels that still referred to the Fallen by their given names rather than traitor or another derogatory demon epithet. Eyeing him with suspicion, Gideon nodded his assent. Though he didn’t believe the angel would break his vow, and Samuel appeared relaxed, his wings tucked smoothly behind him, Gideon couldn’t help but maintain his battle ready wariness as the angel approached. He slipped a cautious arm around Maggie.
“I have consulted the ancient scrolls of our brethren,” Samuel began. “And what I have found is…disconcerting.”
Maggie’s hand tightened apprehensively on his arm. “How so?”
Samuel clasped his hands in front of his waist. His white shirt stretched taut across his broad shoulders, and the sunlight glinted in his ginger hair. “The scrolls containing the Prophesy have been tampered with; some were blatantly damaged.”
Gideon’s eyebrows shot up at that. He remembered the massive marble building housing endless rows of scrolls and texts, tomes and charts. Each piece held with the highest, hushed reverence, catalogued, maintained and protected by the Custodian.
“How is that possible?”
“We do not know. But we did find an obscure reference to the Prophesy, and a name.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Gideon asked.
“I have tried, as I’m sure you are aware, to make contact with Xander and his mate. Unsuccessfully. I believe you might be more willing to listen.” Gideon caught his gaze straying to Maggie’s belly. “I think I begin to understand what the Fallen are trying to do.”
“And what is it that you think you understand?”
“You seek to recover the relics, not to use them, but to hide them away and keep them from the hands of those seeking to…upset the balance. I am not the only one puzzled by your behavior.”
Gideon tilted his head. Could this be the break they were looking for?
He knew he courted ridicule, or flat out confirmation they’d never gain forgiveness, but he lifted his chin and rolled the dice. If there was even the slightest possibility of gaining something—anything—that might aid them in their quest, then he’d throw his pride to the wolves if he had to.
“We know we were wrong,” Gideon said. “When we chose to follow Lucifer, we made a mistake. One we all regret. We seek to make amends for our actions. We know we cannot make right the wrongs we have inflicted, but we strive to earn forgiveness, all the same.”
Maggie squeezed his arm, and that small show of support buoyed him, insulating him from anything harsh Samuel might have to say.
“Your actions have not gone unnoticed,” Samuel remarked at last. “And you should not forget that you have allies.”
That took Gideon aback, and he nearly forgot to press for answers. “What is the name you spoke of earlier?”
“The scroll was damaged, but the last legible sentence read, ‘The balance of the worlds will be weighed in the hands of Rehsa’.”
Gideon had never heard the name before.
Samuel nodded. “I will continue to search for the name in the Library, and should I find more, I will be in contact.”
“Ah, thank you. We’d appreciate any help you are willing to give us.”
Samuel nodded his head. Then he stepped closer and held his hands out to Maggie, though his gaze included them both. “May I?”
Gideon kept his arm around Maggie, but he nodded. Gideon watched as Samuel’s long sun-bronzed hands enveloped Maggie’s. The angel closed his eyes for a moment, and then a radiant smile blossomed on his face.
The angel then made the sign of the cross over Maggie, and another over the child that grew within her womb, speaking low and soft as he blessed mother and child. That simple blessing lifted an oppressive weight from Gideon’s shoulders. One he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying.
Samuel released Maggie and stepped back, clasping his hands before him once more.
“I will return when I have more information. Perhaps at that time we might discuss the sanctity of holy matrimony?” The angel turned to walk away, but then paused, shooting Gideon a grin over his shoulder as he added, “Your glow suits you nicely.”