+1+

                                                                                                                            

Aria

I expect Adonis to be upset when he makes his way around the back of the motel and finds the girls and me at the motel’s pool. The fenced in below ground pool is far from luxurious--but it was surprisingly clean so I let the older girls splash around in the shallow kiddie pool. I’d even found an abandoned polka dot beach umbrella in the lobby to shade us from the early morning sun.

Adonis is shirtless and I can see why Helios found it fitting to name him so. The Regime and all that followed lent a roughness to his voice and facial features that hadn’t made its way down to his lithe perfectly sculpted body sprinkled with fine hair. His walk is more like a saunter with the way he leans heavy on his right leg. I hadn’t noticed that when we were running for our lives.

“Early riser”, He growls taking a seat next to me.

I just turn back to my phone. I’d taken the SIM card out of my phone last night and put it back in this morning just to check my messages. I had messages from Lady Bless asking where I was and about the ambassador’s Peace Gala at Ft. Bradley this weekend. I’d texted her I’d had a family emergency and in an entirely unprofessional manner begged her to help me get an extended VISA. I didn’t want to put the SIM card back in case it was tracked here.

“We usually have a pretty tight schedule.” I admit while keeping my eyes on Helena and Athena as they splash each other. I’d kept Callista and Hera close to me, “This is…the first time my girls have been outside of New Aeterna.”

“It’s scary right?” he says.

“I’m not sure.” I answer honestly.

“I mean. If my kids were out here…where humans still hate us. I’d be scared for them.”

“Humans don’t hate us.” I remind him, “They hate you. Helions. Don’t act like they don’t have a right.”

He scoffs and leans back on his hands. His eyes focused on the sky.

“They may be decent to your face but they hate us. We go against everything humans have believed about God, the universe and science. During the first few days we took the city you should have seen them. They kept firing bullets at us and couldn’t figure out why we never went down. We were invincible and they looked at us like we were monsters”

The hint of nostalgia in his voice concerns me. Those were his glory days and there would be no more ahead of him as far as I was concerned. For the first time I look at his back. He has the familiar scar that every one of my Sisters has from where our wings had been removed. I’d heard he had only been born with one wing and that it was taken from him the night Helios escaped.  What an anomaly to be born with one wing. So close to being able to take to the sky, something I’d only dreamed about.

“Helios had hatred in his heart. Just like you and the other Helions” I tell him.

“It wasn’t like that—“

“You were stationed in the prisons right? What did you do there?  You patrolled the streets like a king didn’t you? You were loyal until the very end until your life was inconvenienced. Thea told me.”

Adonis shakes his head as if he’s trying to erase something.

“What’s done is done.” he says his eyes still on the sky.

“Tell that to Ariel, Tessa, Calliope and all the other Angels and humans who were killed or hurt during the regime.”

“I was just followi---“

“Don’t say it.” I stop him. This conversation can’t end well. The Regime fell almost 5 years ago but we are all still divided, “I thank you for saving my life but I will never be a Helion sympathizer.”

His jaw tightens and he starts to speak again.

 “We should head out”, I say decisively, “If we want to find Leon we should head towards Mexico.”

Adonis shakes his head.

“Come on Aria. You need to stay here while I go find Leon.”

 “You are not leaving me here…what if those men come back.”

“You seem like you can protect yourself.”

“I can”, I said gently shifting Callista in my arms and pressing the revolver I’d been holding to his bare back, “I’m coming with you. I’m bringing Leon back.”

He shakes his head in annoyance but stiffens when he hears the click of the trigger.

“Really, Aria?”

“Really”, I confirm, “You’re not leaving us here…as a matter of fact I think I know where we can go to regroup. Are you game?”

He shifts against the gun, “I’m guessing I don’t have a choice.”

+++

I pull the girls out of the pool and get them in the mismatched clothes I’d grabbed last night. We’d had a very sweet breakfast from the gas station and I can already tell they are getting restless when I put them back in the SUV. Adonis gets into the driver’s seat and waits for my directions. I make sure to keep the gun pointed at him

“Does that thing even have bullets?” he asks skeptically.

“Yes. White gold ones.” I tell him because regular bullets wouldn’t kill Angels or Demons.

“What would Leon be doing with bullets like that?”

“I guess he’s learned not to trust anyone.”

I pull a map out of the glove compartment. Leon’s aviators fall out onto my lap and I slip them on.

“Keep on 1-20”, I tell Adonis.

 “Mommy, where are we going”, Athena asks sulking in her car seat.

“We have to get Daddy and Aunt Sera. They need our help. But first we need to make a stop first.”

The answer does not satisfy her and by the time I get her fully distracted with a game I have downloaded on my phone I have Adonis take the I-20 exit heading west.

“Where are we going”, Adonis asks.

“Just keep driving. Don’t forget I have the gun”

I’m not as confident as I’d like to be, but I’d mapped out this destination before a lifetime ago. I feel a little better when we cross state lines into Ohio.  Adonis and I take turns calling Leon’s’ cellphone on the secured SGI mobile Adonis has but we get nothing. We drive all day, stopping for a drive-thru meal and my numerous bathroom breaks. I can barely keep my eyes open when we past the Cypress Tree exit in Western Ohio.

“There. Take that exit”, I shout and Adonis swerves to catch the exit for Cypress Tree.

“Careful”, I shout checking on the girls in the back, “Keep driving.”

He shakes his head as we continue down the streets of Cypress Tree. It’s a small American town that looks like something I’d seen in magazines or all the movies I’d started watching after the liberation just to escape the memory of the Regime.

I didn’t know how beautiful this country could be. I hadn’t left New York City since we’d moved there in the 1890’s

 “We need to find State Route 302 West”, I instruct him

“Where are we going?”

“The way”, I tell him. My voice softer than I mean it to come out.

We have to double back to find the route and the big Escalade was getting some looks in this small farm town. Adonis turns down State Route 302 West and I started feeling butterflies in my stomach.

We drive for an hour down the empty winding road. The girls stare out the window having never seen the country before.

“It’s like my books, Mommy”, Athena exclaims whenever we past small farms, “Is Daddy here?”

“No, baby”, I tell her and Adonis and I share a glance.

 We lose service for about 15 minutes. I’m almost used to the silence when the radio unexpectedly clicks back on as we pass over a rickety bridge.  It creaks and I’m worried it won’t hold the car, but somehow it does.

“…a right at the big oak tree with white ribbon”, I sing to myself and before Adonis can question me I see a big oak tree with white ribbons tied around its branches

I let out an involuntary squeal and clap my hands.

“Horsies!” Athena and Helena shout excitedly.

“Fuck”, Adonis says under his breath. Luckily the girls were two distracted by the horses to see the two figures in front of us with rifles pointed at the car.

While the car is slowly rolling to a stop I jump out and wave both of my arms in what I hope is a peaceful gesture. The figures hesitate and slowly lower their guns before tossing them aside. Letting out a breath I walk as fast as I can to embrace my Sisters.

+++

“Take the 20 to Cypress Hill, the small town with the mill, follow the 203 just as written, look for the oak with the big white ribbon!”

I say the little limerick again in unison with Siobhan and Rowena as they embrace me. Nearly three centuries have passed since I’ve seen them and they’d barley aged a few decades.

“Aria”, Siobhan says looking me up and down, “In all the years…we never thought you’d find your way here.”

Siobhan’s tight brown curls are cut short in a slightly outdated poodle perm. Her dark blue eyes scan my face as if to make sure it was really me. Rowena, with her small stature and open smile is the first to hug me. She pulls back almost immediately to touch my belly. Her long brown hair is in a braid past her waist.

“Aria”, Rowena says softly, “We never thought we’d see you here.”

 “Why is that?”, I ask giving my estranged Sisters another once over.

“You were always so obedient”, Rowena says distantly.

“That so”, Adonis interrupts. I hadn’t even noticed him get out the car, he is holding the two car seats and Athena and Helena rush underneath me.

“This is very unexpected”, says Siobhan happily holstering her rifle at Adonis.

“Please, Sisters”, I said, “He’s with me. We need help”

+2+

 “So…this place is like a hideout?” Adonis asks as Rowena puts another pancake on his plate. It was nearly sunset but Rowena had promised Athena she could have whatever she wanted to eat for dinner and she’d chosen pancakes.

“This place started as an escape”, Siobhan explains. She pulls out some hard spirits which perks Adonis right up. I could tell working the farm had hardened Rowena’s features but I’d still recognize her anywhere.

“Anne was always very strict with us”, I explain to Adonis, “She was truly doing her best to keep us together and safe from zealous humans. In the olden days we were truly afraid of that humans would do to us. In those days they would think us demons, maybe slaughter us.”

“I’m not sure about that”, Siobhan says bitterly, “Anne did love her scary stories. She was such a high and mighty bitch.”

“Anne was doing her best”, I say because so many of my Sisters did not understand that, “The Demons were lucky they were men. It was harder for us. Anne had to be tougher with us.”

 “Anyway”, Siobhan continues, “Some of us escaped for one reason or another. Most eventually came back… more disappeared.”

I nodded my head solemnly.

“We made it through”, Rowena says and there was pride there, “It was …1795 when we escaped. We stole away in the dead of night. We dressed as men and traveled through the Baltic empire to get passage to The New World. You’d have been proud of us Aria. Did everything ourselves.”

“I am proud of you.” I say shocked they would still want my approval, “Some of your letters made it back to us. But not all”

I said this remembering the imperious look Anne would give me as I watched her burned the letters that arrived from Sisters who’d abandoned us. Only a few letters from wayward Angels made it passed Anne…or me.

“Reckless”, Anne had said, “They’ll get us all killed with this behavior.”

“Rowena makes it sound easy”, Siobhan says pouring herself a finger of whiskey and offering the rest to Adonis, “Trust me it was not. Far from it.”

“When Anne brought us to the states”, I explain to Adonis, “We all had dreams of finding Rowena and Siobhan here. We didn’t understand how big the country was. Whenever one of us would runaway we’d put a coded advertisement in the paper as a message to the rest of us to find our way. After a while it was the same message. The same rhyme.”

 “The jingle”, Adonis finished

“It’s not a jingle”, Siobhan corrects pouring some scotch, “It was a message. The way.”

“It was a promise of safety…and it’s real. How many Sister have passed through?”

“Three”, Rowena says refilling plates, “In over 200 years. They all went back after a while. Couldn’t take it on their own.  But the farm has been a safe haven for anyone trying to make a better go of it or to escape.  Even humans. We’ve helped as many people we could during one time or another.”

I nodded. I could name three Sisters who left but they never came back to New York. I shiver to think what fate Anne must have bestowed on them when they tried to rejoin us.

“We never felt more lonely that during the Regime”, Rowena explains, “We were always afraid humans would find out we were Angels too. We almost left but we couldn’t in case our Sisters escaped the Regime. None ever made it though. “

“I dreamed about it”, I said, “I dreamed about escaping New Aeterna and coming here every day.”

I held Callista close and put those dark thoughts and memories out of my head.

“What brings you here now Aria?” Siobhan asks.

I look over at Adonis.

“Sera, my boyfriend, and Paris Prince have gone missing. They went after Heli—“

Adonis squeezes my leg under the table. They didn’t need to know Helios was still alive, “They went after some escaped Helions. They must have ran into trouble because we were attacked and I can’t get in contact.”

 “Maybe it was the Demon boy turning on you”, Siobhan says “Serves him right parading around as an Angel. Who knows what dark magic he used on poor Seraphina. ”

I start to explain how things have changed with the Demons but it’s too much for one conversation.

“This is where you thought we’d get help”, Adonis says to me, “two spinster cowards.”

“You will watch your mouth”, Siobhan says holstering her shotgun at him

“Adonis”, I snap ushering the girls into another room, “Siobhan for godsakes put that thing away.

“It’s true. You’re cowards. Traitors”, Adonis says when I come back in, “When SGI first came here you think it was easy? You think Helios and Leon weren’t ruthless. We were all plunged into this unknown world but SGI never broke rank. No one eve ran. Ever. Only death took us down. Your Sisters were trapped for ten years in Helios’ hell and you two did shit. Yeah, Aria you should be real proud of them.”

Adonis heads outside to cool off and Siobhan lowers her gun. Rowena moves to sit next to her and takes her hand. There is a slight shine to Rowena’s eyes that she bites back.

“What is it you need from us”, Siobhan asks. I can tell Adonis’ words have hurt her. Not that she’d let it show.

“Well, I wanted a safe place to leave my girls.”

“Done”, Siobhan says

“I mean”, I begin careful not to mention Helios, “If something were to happen to me or I was to never come back. I want them to stay here. Away from the politics New Aeterna. I want them to see the world and be free. Please.”

Siobhan and Rowena look to each other, finally understanding what I’m asking.

“Done.”

+++

.

Rowena takes the girls on a twilight tour of their property. The working farm is small but bountiful. They also own the small church half a mile up the road they use for a shelter for people in distress. The girls love running in the wide open field and Helena is transfixed by the the little Shetland pony Rowena let’s her brush.

I am clamoring to take photos but even with the SIM card disabled I don’t want to risk anything getting intercepted.

Siobhan and I walk along the property and I see Adonis checking out the car engine. I catch Siobhan up on the Sisters back home and deftly explain how Seraphina ended up married to Paris.

“That stupid girl. She really will fuck anything with a pulse”, Siobhan comments.

“Goodness Siobhan.” I say, “I thinks she might like this husband. He’s certainly outlived the others.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“Anyway, Adonis and I are going to head out tomorrow. We will also need supplies. Like weapons. We know they were last seen at as a resort in Mexico so I guess we’ll go there.”

“What have you gotten yourself into, Aria?” Siobhan asks.

I make sure Rowena and Adonis are out of earshot and become candid with her.

“My girls need their father and I’m going to get him. We believe he’s been taken by Helios.”

Siobhan stops short.

“How can that be? He died the night of the revolution. The news…it was all over the TV.”

“Longer story.”

Siobhan seems skeptical but leads me into the barn, I’d expected there to be more animals but the entire barn is outfitted with guns, knives, saws and axes. They are all in pristine condition some are have to be hundreds of years old.

Adonis comes up behind us and stares at all the weapons.

“Not too bad for two coward Spinsters, eh”, Siobhan says

 

+3+

I leave Siobhan and Adonis to pack up the SUV with weapons. I try to spend as much time with the girls as I can, easing them into the idea of me leaving for a little bit.

There are a million different things to look at in the farmhouse. Rowena and Siobhan have collected trinkets for centuries and they are displayed on every shelf and cupboard. It was like a museum and I take my time surveying while trying to lull Callista to sleep.

We Angels had never really been allowed to have much under Anne. We had to be ready to move or join a new husband at any time. Anne always told me she didn’t like outside objects getting it because we shouldn’t be tempted with what we couldn’t have. Unlike Hmjeu who built businesses and taught his charges skills, Anne never had a plan for us. She tried to keep us in stasis until we were saved. Well waiting to be saved hadn’t done much for us.

Athena and I play pretend in front of the warm fire, she fights dragons and giants to save Princess Mommy with Helena and Hera as her sidekicks. Rowena is absolutely delighted and fashions medals of Honor for them out of an old broaches lying around the house

Adonis clears his throat behind us. He gestures for me to come outside and I follow with the girls trailing behind me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask on high-alert.

“Nothing, I just”, He picks up a jar resting against the side of the house. At first it think it’s empty but then I see fireflies glowing inside. Athena reaches for it and he gently passes it to her.

“Wow!” Athena picks up the jar and intensely studies the bugs as they light up.

“Careful”, I warn her before she shakes it.

“Here is the best part”, Adonis says gently taking the jar and unscrewing the lid. The fireflies lazily float out in a swirling trail of light before dispersing.

“Is that magic, Mommy?” Athena asks smiling up at Adonis.

“No, but it’s pretty close.”

She runs off to chase the fireflies and I yell at her to stay in my sight.

“That was sweet?” I say to Adonis.

He folds his arms.

“Yeah, well. Poppy is always going on about fireflies. Saw them in a book or something. Thea says she spends all night looking for them. Wanting to see lights in the sky and all that. That kind of shit isn’t in the city. But it’s not like I can take her out the city, you know.”

“You will one day”, I assure him.

He tilts his chin up to take in the stars. For the first time it what feels like forever he takes his eyes off the sky and looks at me.

“With the half-way house rules…I see my kids maybe once a week. Former Helions aren’t legally allowed out the city. Thea never wants to work around my schedule.”

“I’m sure she’s doing what’s best.” Because I know all my Sisters are.

He folds his arms.

“It’s just…We went through that shit during the Regime together and she treats me like I’m still the enemy. You do it too”, Adonis shakes his head, “Yeah, I believed in Helios way to long but I was wrong. I mean when …he…he sold Poppy hours after she was born. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. Did you know that? He sold the baby girls to traffickers if there were too many.”

“Poppy doesn’t remember any of it.”, I offer him that bit of kindness. Thea was so protective of her children, “Antony is a little bit of trouble maker and Little Adam looks just like you.”

He winces.

“Please. Eos was so desperateto show his loyalty to Helios’ that like half the first-generation kids are probably his. The Regime was more lenient with pregnant women so some of the women went to him. I spent a lot of time in the reeducation center towards the end so I wonder about Little Adam…I mean I don’t blame her for going to him. I’d never say anything. I claim him and all.”

He shakes his head and bites his lip hard.

“Adonis?”

“Adam”, he corrects me and wipes his eye, “We never talk about it, you know? What we went through together. It was three years of hell and we just never talk about it. Thea gets to be free and I get see my kids once a month for 30 minutes. Everyone looks at me and sees the enemy. It’s so fucked up. How the fuck were we the wrong ones.”

“Us? What do you mean?”

 “Look at this place. Siobhan and Rowena. They turned their backs on their people, they ran away…they were selfish. But not us, right? You and me? We were loyal to our kind and it fucked us over”

I nod catching his meeting and maybe understanding why he’d snapped at Rowena and Siobhan earlier. No matter how strict or unfair Anne was, no matter how much I craved adventure or a room of my own or to wear anything other than white I never left. I never turned my back on my Sisters but I never stood up for them either

I held them as they cried before being sent off to husbands, I dutifully sent them back if they ran away. I let Anne punish the ones who dared think for themselves and, I told myself it was for the greater good.

Adam hadn’t been so different. All of SGI was so tight-lipped about Helios’ past and how he rose to power in the ranks. They were all complicit in something, I could feel that. I studied Adonis’ sturdy expression again as he looked up at the stars, something his children may never get the chance to see.

Adam opens his mouth to speak again but his cell phone rings. I dive for his pockets realizing it’s his secure SGI mobile.

“It might be Leon.”

He digs the silver flip phone out of his waistband, “This is a secured phone number. No one should have this number but Leon.”

We stare as the unknown number lights up the screen.

“Maybe it’s Helios. Maybe he has a ransom.”

Adam answers and puts it on speaker

“Hello?” Adam says awkwardly.

“Leon? It’s Agent Morris I got the Salazar file.”

“Wait what?” Adam says and I roll my eyes.

“Is this Leonidas Argos?” The man on the phone asks.

“No”, I say taking the phone with a bit more authority than Adam, “But we are associates of Leon.”

“Associates?” The agent sound confused.

“Leon has gone missing. Who are you? What did he wanted from you? Why was he speaking with you? Who are you with?”

Adonis shakes his head clearly embarrassed I’d asked so many questions.

“I can’t just…you know fuck it. I tell you what Leon wanted and that ends my debt to SGI.”

“Fine”, I say as if that’s something I can offer.

“Leon called me last week. He wanted information on Salazar cartel properties in the Oxatal Valley. Edgar Salazar reportedly has a compound in the area but we’ve never been able to find it via satellite. It’s supposedly at the north end of the valley. Okay. You tell Leon that.”

“Why would Leon want that information?”

“I don’t know but get the information to him and tell him to lose my number. Debts are paid.”

“But—“

I hear a click as the man hangs up.

“Oxatal Valley? Maybe that’s where Helios is”, Adonis suggest, “I think it’s mostly desert.”

“Then that’s where we are going.”

+4+

Adam stays up all night mapping out our destination at the kitchen table. I try to fall asleep with the girls in front of the fireplace. I feel the hairs rise on the back of my neck when Siobhan comes down stairs and stands in front of the darkened window.

“Siobhan?” I asks

“The farms sensors have been tripped.”  She says. In the shadows I see she is clutching her shotgun.

Adonis and I are both tense but jump to action.

“It’s Helios. He found us. How?”

“He may have intercepted that call”, Adam says.

Siobhan’s gaze follow something out the window. It is all quiet on the farm before a loud boom reverberates and I feel the ground tremble. The window lights up a bright orange and I see the barn is on fire.

“Get the girls”, Siobhan shouts and runs into the kitchen, “There is a passageway that leads to the church. We can take shelter there.”

Rowena comes thundering down the stairs in a long robe, her long ponytail unfurling from it’s bun. She looks out the window and goes wide-eyed as flames erupt out the barn

“The barn”, she says, “Who are they? What’s going on?”

“It’s Hel—“

I catch Siobhan’s warning look fast enough to realize she doesn’t want Rowena knowing Helios is alive. Rowena gathers the girls and I follow her into the kitchen where she helps Siobhan push aside the fridge to reveal a trap door. I try to quiet the girls but Athena screams when she hears the all too familiar gunshots

“It’s all sweetheart. It’s just an accident.”

“I’m scared”, Athena tries to wrap he arms around my middle

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

The trap door is pried open and I see a set of dirt stairs that leads into a darken tunnel. I gently make my way down the steps when Adonis slides back into the kitchen.

“We gotta go, Aria”, Adonis says

“I’m hurrying—“

“No. We’ve got to go. If we want to make it to Mexico and find Helios we have to go now before they take the SUV out. It’s all stocked up.”

“But—“, More gunshots ring out and I hear Siobhan let out a curse. Rowena and the girls hurry down the steps.

“Now”, Adam says pulling me back up the steps and away from my girls.

Adam starts untying Callista’s sling, I let him because I can’t bring myself to do it. He gently passes Callista to Rowena who has the girls safely huddled around her.

“It’s okay”, I say wanting them to have a good memory of me in case it’s the last “I love you. I have to do this, okay. Be safe. Take care of each other.”

Siobhan dashes into the kitchen with her shotgun shouldered. She kisses Rowena before shutting the trap.  I can hear Rowena protesting as Adam and Siobhan move the refrigerator back into place.

“Wait”, I say everything happening to fast, “What about you Siobhan?”

“I can hold my own”, she says, “I’ll cover you when you head to the car. You need go now.”

She nods to Adam who has a gun in one hand and takes my hand with the other.

There are five men outside talking to one another and waiving around strange looking guns. They appear disorganized which gives us an advantage.

“There are five armed men out there Siobhan.” I warn her.

She laughs to herself.

“Don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of space for a few more bodies on the property”

“I---“

“You gotta run to the car”, Adam pulls me to the front door, “Just run and stay behind me. Siobhan and I will cover you.”

Siobhan nods to Adam in agreement.  Adam puts his arm around me and moves his body in front of me. He shoves open the door and we start running. The ratatata of the machine gun is deafening, I freeze but to Adam a warzone is his calling and he pulls me protectively with him. I duck and zag with him as we dodge bullets. Adonis lets out one shot at a time, but he can’t get a hit on them

The men realize we are heading for the SUV and one of them pulls out a grenade, he makes a cruel joke while pulling out the pin and tossing it. The grenade rolls to my feet. Quick as I can I pull away from Adonis grab the burning hot grenade and toss it back at the group of men.  While they are taking cover Adams grabs me and throws me into the car.

His body moves on autopilot and before I know it we are pulling onto the state route. I keep waiting for the grenade to go off but it never does.

“Fuckers!” Adonis shouts gunning and reaching a speed of 120 MPH, “Whew ! Did you see their shitty guns? The fuck was that refurbished grenade. Didn’t even work.”

I turn around to look out the back window to see if they are following us. Instead my eyes fall on the pink hearts and moon blanket lying on the floor.

“Adam, turn around.”

“What? What’s up? You hit?”

“Athena’s blanket. I forgot to give it to Rowena. Athena needs it. I just. Can we turn around? I just need to…”

Adam drives faster his eyes cutting quickly to me.

“Adam can we just—“, He keeps driving gripping the wheel, “Adam I just—“

“You know we can’t”, he says solemnly.

“I just—“

“Aria. We need to find Leon”, his voice is lower than usual “Bring him back to the girls. Okay.”

I face the night as he speeds through town and onto the interstate. It’s a while before I can make words again.

“How long will it take to get to Mexico?”

“Three days. We’ll need to find a way to sneak past the border. Might take another two days to make it to the valley where Salazar’s compound is. Can’t say how long it will take to find it. Especially if the locals won’t talk.”

“If Oxatal Valley is a desert we’ll need like…survival gear and time. There has to be a faster way”

He taps his fingers thinking.

“Aria…that…gala thing with the American ambassador for your job…did I hear you say that it was at Ft. Bradley?”

“Yeah, in New Jersey.” I say, “I’m supposed to be helping Lady Bless host--”

“Can you get us in?”

“I told Lady Bless I had a family emergency, she took me off the event.”

“Can you get us in?”

“Maybe? Why?”

Adonis taps the wheel and jumps on 1-20 East back towards New Aeterna.

“I have an idea.”

+++

A/N

Hmm, so guys I think I have a thing now for platonic male/female couples.

A lot of Adonis (Adam’s) deal in this story is me brining closure to his experiences in Little Rebellions. I was re-reading that serial a lot when I wrote this because, while I have no idea how I wrote that bleak story---I knew we’d get more depth/closure in the future

Muse : So, Lile when you first wrote LA and mentioned Angels who’d run off you waited this long to talk about it ?

Lils : I wish I’d plan this far ahead.

Also yes, I realize that I wrote an Adam in Spirits & Angels. Also I mentioned Sera killing one of her husbands in LA but there are probably like two others...