Heaven's Eyes Page 4

  “Good morning, Collan,” Kiah grumbled, his mood not quite as euphoric as it had been a moment before.

  I’ve been up for hours, already, the feline informed his friend. The missus has been, too.

  Kiah chuckled and slowly sat up and swung his legs around to the side of the bed. “I doubt that. You never get up early,” he teased the companion from his youth.

  Collan refrained from comment, instead stretching and then walking over and butting the back of his head up against Kiah’s ribs. As he reached back and scratched the creature’s neck, he again reflected on the unusual nature of communication here. It wasn’t that he could actually hear the animal speak, nor was it anything like telepathy, he simply understood the impressions the cat was feeling. It was the same with Mike, the brutish German Shepard that helped Collan and his feline sister Caisha run the household. As the dog bounded into the room, Kiah new he was in for it.

  We’ve all been awake for hours! Mike told him. How can you possibly sleep in on a day like today? Come on, get up! You’ve got things to do.

  “What would Kenah do without you two to keep me in line?” Kiah asked as he reached out to scratch the Shepard’s head.

  With what Kiah could only describe as a disdainful expression, Mike retreated back a step, out of reach of Kiah’s fingers, and looked down his muzzle at the man. Are you getting up? he demanded.

  “Yes, yes, I’m getting up!” Kiah exclaimed, his exasperation with his companions beginning to rise.

  Alright then, Mike agreed and stepped forward to accept his morning scratch. Kiah knew that it was all an act with Mike. Nothing could have really kept the canine from his morning ritual, regardless of what his answer to the dog’s question had been. Mike would have come up with a glib response and accepted the scratching anyway.

  After a minute of canine and feline purring, the patriarch of the home felt ready to embrace the day. Even in life, he had never been a morning person, a fact that Kenah had teased and complained about nearly their entire married life. Even on an important day like today, he still found it difficult to rise and face the morning. Greet it, yes, but actually getting up was always an ordeal.

  Across the room, Kiah found his toothbrush and paste. As he brushed away his morning breath, he mused about the parallels between mortality and the Afterlife. During his own mortality, there had been days – sometimes more in a row than he wanted to recall – that circumstances had kept him from brushing his teeth, along with everything else related to good hygiene. Now, here in Paradise, he and Kenah enjoyed all of the comforts that they’d so often been denied in their mortal lives, whether they needed to or not; as a result, he still insisted on the unnecessary morning rituals.

  After a quick shower, the superfluous donning of deodorant and that cologne that Kenah liked so much, Kiah dressed in comfortable pale blue pants and a loose white shirt that closed with a clip at the side, and headed out to face the family.

  He found the golden tresses he’d expected to see on the pillows beside him, in the massive kitchen, attached to the rest of Kenah’s beautiful person. A couple inches shorter than her husband, she seemed a touch irritated as she scrubbed at a pan in one of the three kitchen sinks.

  “Good morning,” Kiah called as he crossed into the room, heading straight for her.

  Putting down the pan, Kenah turned her blue eyes to him and smiled. She radiated beauty whenever he looked at her and he felt his breath catch in his lungs as he approached. “The boys told me you were up... finally,” she said with enough of an edge to her voice that he couldn’t tell if she was sarcastic or genuinely mad at him.

  “Thanks, guys,” Kiah called out to the room without taking his eyes off of Kenah’s creamy white face. He didn’t have to look around to know that Collan and Mike were there, somewhere, smug in the knowledge that Kiah would get his due.

  The couple’s embrace and morning kiss wasn’t long enough as far as Kiah was concerned; when they parted, he glanced down at the large pan she was scrubbing and said offhand, “I don’t know why you insist on cleaning this place yourself. We have attendants that will do that for you.”

  Kenah patted him on the back as he turned to walk around the island counter. “I know, but it keeps me humble,” she replied, returning to her labors.

  Kiah stopped in the middle of the large gathering room, which was attached to the south end of the spacious kitchen. “I know, but it’s their Calling,” he replied. It was an old argument, one which neither of them really had the heart to get into today.

  As Kenah finished with her cleaning and rinsed the pan, she asked, “Speaking of Callings, I don’t know how you can sleep in with all that’s about to happen.”

  “It’s a gift,” Kiah called absently as he walked over to the wall of windows on the south side of the gathering room. Beyond the panes of glass, their estate stretched out as far as he could see. Far to the east, west, and north grew the heavy woods that bordered three sides of the estate. To the south, shimmering with a life of its own in the morning sunlight, waited the sea. He had longed for a place like this all of his life. Now that he had it, he considered it nothing short of a miracle.

  “I’m glad to see that you’re up; our guests will be arriving before long,” Kenah called to him as she handed the dirty hand towel to an elderly attendant named Marie. Marie smiled at the mistress of the household and immediately turned and left the room through a side hall.

  Gazing out over the estate, Kiah took a moment for a contented sigh, just as Kenah walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist. “Now that we have everything we could want, why do I still feel too inexperienced to be a parent?” he asked softly.

  Laying her cheek on his strong back, Kenah replied, “I think that’s simply the nature of raising children. You’ll do fine. You wait... they’ll grow big and strong, just like their father.”

  Turning in her embrace, Kiah turned his loving gaze down to her and added, “But smart and beautiful, like their mother.”

  Kenah’s lips turned up in a smile and her eyes twinkled in the bright light coming in through the windows. “Of course. That’s a given.”

  Maria, a small bundle wrapped in white linens carried carefully in her arms, approached Kenah from behind. Kiah’s shift in attention told her of the woman’s approach.

  The recently promoted Guardian Angel watched as his wife turned and accepted the infant into her arms, cooing to the newborn and speaking softly to Maria as she did so. It seemed so picturesque to Kiah, seeing the two women coddling his daughter, the firstborn of their family. Suddenly, he felt large and gangly as he tried to picture himself in the scene.

  A touch of pressure on his calf preceded Collan’s teasing comment, I think I’m ready to go out and face the day.

  Looking down, Kenah teased back, “Chase the grasshoppers, you mean.”

  With an air of innocence, Collan met her gaze and replied, Once they learn that it’s my yard, we’ll get along fine.

  Chuckling, Kiah opened the glass door beside him and the foursome stepped outside. A moment later, as the door was beginning to swing closed, Mike bounded outside, nearly bowling Kiah over, and raced across the stone patio and down the steps to the rear courtyard.

  About a dozen family members and friends congregated on the patio, typically in the midst of at least three separate discussions.

  Glancing over the stone rail, Kiah noticed even more guests lounging in the gardens below. “Looks like we have a full entourage today,” he commented.

  “What did you expect. It’s not every day that a couple has their firstborn, even in Paradise,” Kenah teased him lightly as the attention of everyone came to focus on her and the bundle in her arms.

  For a moment, Kiah stood back as the family and friends approached to congratulate Kenah and see little Talethah. She had her father’s cocoa-colored skin and dusty
hair. Her newborn soul peered out through her mother’s brilliant blue eyes as she charmed everyone around her.

  Kiah was astounded by the number of family and friends that had gathered to see the baby for the first time. He knew it was an important day, but he couldn’t help noticing that the crowd around Kenah and the baby was decidedly female. Both sets of parents were there and most of their siblings, as well. Relatives that had long passed before Kiah was alive, had rekindled relationships with him upon his arrival in Paradise. The only ones missing, such as Kenah’s only brother, Levahn, were those that hadn’t earned the level of Glory which allowed them to visit here. All in attendance had either earned the same Glory as Kenah and Kiah, allowing them to come and visit as often as they wanted, or were of a higher Glory, granting them the right to visit any of the lesser Kingdoms.

  Kiah couldn’t help noticing how many “lesser spirits”, such as Mike and Collan, roamed the vast estate. It seemed as if everyone present had brought their own entourage of animals and playmates. All who knew Kenah and Kiah well were very familiar with the couple’s fascination for animals. Their shared existence in Paradise was a colorful menagerie of animal scents and shapes, where the lamb and the lion quite literally rested together under a nearby grape arbor, seeking respite from the early afternoon sun.

  “As you know,” Kenah’s mother, Melanie, was saying, when his wife gently nudged Kiah in the side, “you’re brother couldn’t be here, but he sends his best.”

  Distracted now by Kiah’s evident distraction, Kenah automatically asked, “How’s Levahn doing?”

  Melaine stood nearly as tall as Kiah and had developed the habit of sharing statements and comments with him, even when she was talking to her daughter; Kenah’s sea-blue eyes continued to look up to her mother’s kind face, even here in Paradise.

  “He’s much the same, which is to say, neither good, nor bad,” Melaine replied and took a sip from the crystal goblet she held. “He is so brilliant, and yet he doesn’t seem to aspire to better himself, or his immortal existence. When your father and I visit him, he seems driven to show us that his estate is exactly as he wants it and that he can’t conceive of ever needing anything else.”

  “Doesn’t he ever want to be reunited with Amberleigh and have a family?” Kenah asked.

  Melaine sighed heavily and her gaze turned soft. “For someone as brilliant as he is, I don’t think he understands the complexity of an Eternity spent in solitude. Amberleigh visits him frequently, but she knows that spending too much time with him will eventually hold back her own development and progression.”

  “Smart girl,” Kiah commented, accepting his baby daughter, along with a quelling glance from Kenah.

  “Indeed,” Melaine agreed with a nod. “He’s not fooling anyone, but I think he does have occasional times of joy. He certainly perks up whenever you two visit. And I’m sure he’d love to see little Talethah.”

  Quickly, Kenah responded, “We plan to take her to see him shortly.”

  This response caused Melaine’s gaze to narrow a bit. Before he found himself refereeing an intense Mother/Daughter debate, Kiah handed Talethah off to Melaine, then kissed his wife on the cheek and said, “I see someone I need to speak with.”

  The baby did the job of diffusing the moment and two generations of females began to discuss mommy/daughter things even as Kiah retreated from the small circle and headed straight for the man he had noticed standing quietly near the trees that bordered the main lawn.

  “I’m glad to see you, Joshua.” Kiah greeted his former Mentor with a firm, friendly handshake.

  “I wouldn’t have missed out on such a special day,” Joshua replied and nodded his head toward Kenah. “She certainly has taken to little Talethah.”

  Kiah’s gaze followed Joshua’s to where his wife and newborn continued to attract a gradually swelling crowd of family and friends. “It comes as no surprise to me. I’ve always known she’d make a good mother,” he said, a smile in his voice.

  Shooting a sly glance to Kiah, Joshua muttered loud enough to be heard by his former protégé, “I’m guessing that you make a pretty good father.”

  Kiah’s response surprised him. Shaking his head, Kiah remarked, “I’m not so sure.” He met Joshua’s steady gaze, following up with, “I don’t even know how to hold her. As stupid as it sounds, every time I hold her, I feel like if I’m not extra careful that somehow I’ll break her.” Joshua opened his mouth to protest, but Kiah forestalled the reply with, “I know. She can’t be hurt, won’t ever have to go through disease or experience pain... but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

  Joshua gave Kiah a brotherly pat on the shoulder. “Sounds like you need to spend more time with her... get to know her and learn for yourself that she’s gonna be okay. That’s what this Leave-of-Absence is for, you know.”

  “How are Pol and the others doing?” Kiah didn’t bother keeping the mix of concern and longing out of his voice.

  Joshua’s eyes clouded a bit as he pondered the best way to answer the question. “The team is doing well. Pol has really stepped up to take your place. He doesn’t have the raw talent that you did for getting into tough jams....” Kiah chuckled to himself. “...but I don’t have to spend as much time explaining his actions to the Council, as I did when you were still chasing rogues.”

  Kiah chuckled at his former Mentor’s easy heckling. “I still managed to get even the most difficult jobs done.”

  Nodding, Joshua agreed. “Which is why you’re supposed to be taking this opportunity to enjoy the time with Kenah and little Talethah. Fulfilling your duties as a Guardian won’t be as easy as you may think it will be.”

  “At least it won’t be retrieving souls.”

  “I thought you enjoyed your Call.”

  Kiah nodded. “I did – do, but I saw so much death, I began to worry it would affect me, change me into something I couldn’t stand. Make it impossible to be a father, for example.”

  “I doubt there’s any chance of that,” Joshua replied. His expression turned serious and he said, “I hate to bring up work on such a special day–”

  “Feel free,” Kiah prompted.

  “When you were out on retrievals, dealing with all those rogue souls, did you ever hear anything about an uprising within the Realm?”

  “A revolution within the Realm of Lost Souls, or them revolting against the rest of the cosmos?” Kiah asked.

  “Less of the former, more of the latter,” Joshua said. “On Pol’s last retrieval, he took down a particularly nasty rogue named Helann. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s clawed her way up the food chain in the Realm. Before Pol sent her back, she said something about a coming Eternity War. Does that sound familiar to you?”

  The surprise was evident on Kiah’s face. “Another Eternity War? The last one nearly destroyed Eden. What could the Soul Lost hope to gain taking on the Eternals?”

  Joshua said, “That’s what I’m wondering, too. And why I thought I’d ask you.”

  Kiah shrugged. “We always hear things like, ‘I’ll get you back’, ‘you’ll regret the day you came after me’, that kind of thing. The idea of the Realm raising a revolutionary army has a ring of familiarity, but I honestly couldn’t tell you why. Let me think on it. If I come up with anything new, I’ll let you know.”

  Joshua nodded and the men shook hands. “Excellent. I couldn’t ask for more.” He then noticed Kenah’s attention on them. “Looks like you’re needed, my friend.”

  Kiah caught Kenah’s wave for them to join her. “Coming?” he asked as he began walking away.

  Joshua graciously declined, adding, “I’m content to watch. You go on. This is an important time. You don’t need an old Mentor around, cluttering things up.”

  Knowing better than to argue, Kiah shook Joshua’s hand again and with a supportive smile, turned and crossed
the wide lawn to where the crowd of family and friends waited. Kenah stood in the middle, Talethah in her arms.

  Kiah arrived and Joshua watched as his friend accepted the baby into his own arms, then bowed his head over her, paused for a moment, then pronounced a heartfelt blessing upon the infant.

  Joshua about burst with pride, knowing how hard Kenah and Kiah had worked to receive the opportunity to raise a family, here in Paradise.

  Chapter 6

  “Shadows of the Past”

  Shadow Valley, USA

  Ron Hall’s rich, brown eyes stared at the decapitated head with unwavering intensity. His gaze took in everything from the expression of agony to the crimson blood splatters all along the surface of the metal shop table and the savaged neck... stains which matched the thick crimson all over his hands, stretching up to his elbows.

  The room lay swathed in darkness, all light focusing into the single bright halo shining down onto the metal table. From somewhere beyond the encroaching shadows floated the eerily melodic strains of Midnight Syndicate, adding a macabre soundtrack to the scene.

  With confidence born of long practice, Ron retrieved a Polaroid instant print camera from a nearby wooden workbench, almost knocking a blood-bathed meat cleaver onto the shadow-soaked concrete floor. Without blinking, he slowly placed the camera to his eye and snapped off two shots in quick succession. A decisive yank pulled the developing photos out of the camera’s ejection slot and he returned it to the wooden workbench, thumping the camera down, then switching on an overhead florescent light.

  The harsh light illuminated the cork board fastened to the workbench’s backplate. The two new pictures joined a gruesome montage of over thirty garish images pinned to the board.

  Placing both hands flat on the workbench, Ron leaned closer to inspect the new photographs. They helped to create a nightmarish collection of death and dismemberment that would make any serial killer proud. Pursing his lips, the effects designer looked from the two photos to the decapitated head in its yellow pool of light, then back to the stilled images.