Chapter Twelve

Alex

I stood in the middle of the kitchen staring at the ring on my finger. It felt strange there, unusual. It was still warm from whatever Adam had done to resize it, and despite the newness of it on my finger I knew that it was meant to be there, and meant to stay there. Adam was still kneeling before me as my mother broke the silence of the moment. "A proper wedding will have to wait, considering the circumstances…" I sensed that she was about to continue when another voice filled the room. "What the hell is this?" I looked towards the source of the gruff, sleep-laden voice. The presence of my father dispelled my happy daze and placed an unwelcome knot of fear in my stomach. This wasn't good. Adam rose from his knee and took my hand as my mother tried to calm the fury that was sure to come. "Relax, Jacob…" There was a strange vein standing out on my father's forehead, just beneath the gray shock of hair that adorned his head. He was easily three inches taller than Adam, and as he took in Adam's strange appearance, his hands balled into fists. Strangely enough, the action actually set me at ease. "I wouldn't, daddy." The vein pulsing in his forehead grew to epic proportions as he shifted his gaze to me, but Adam's warm hand closed over mine made everything okay. As I thought about that I glanced down at our joined hands with a small smile before turning my gaze back to him to prepare to defend my new life. His mouth fell open and his fists unclenched as his eyes came to rest on the ring on my finger. He blinked a couple of times before looking at my mother, then at Adam. "Who are you?" Adam, perfectly serene, extended his free hand to my father, "Adam Gray." When my father did not immediately respond to the gesture of friendship, my mother finally came to her senses. She got up and slapped him lightly on the arm. "Jacob, be a big boy and shake his hand. He's marrying our daughter after all, and you're going to have to learn to like him." He unconsciously shook Adam's hand as he rounded on my mother, "Like hell he is!" He turned back to Adam and the handshake. "You shake hands like a woman, boy." I rolled my eyes, "He doesn't want to hurt you, dad." He was the essence of incredulity.

Adam

Despite the obvious seriousness of the moment, I found it quite hilarious. Alex's father was inflated like a blowfish trying to show spines he didn't possess, but I wasn't planning on goading him. "Hurt me?! Ha!" He cried boorishly. I took the moment to attempt to diffuse the situation. "I'd like to ask your permission to marry your daughter." As I concluded my polite question, the glimmer of an idea began to shine in his eyes. I felt sincerely like I was back in elementary school, and yet this was my fiancé's parent. I never got to hear the idea, because Alex saw it too and cut him short. "You don't think he's a man, daddy?" He rounded on her, "Nope." He said calmly, sure of his decision. I turned to her just in time to feel my spine tingle as she flashed her best "innocent smile." "Why don't you arm wrestle him? If you win, I'll go straight to bed and Adam will go away." I nearly laughed out-loud. Mrs. Helen wasn't nearly as sure as Alex was that I would win, she was suddenly wringing her hands nervously. Mr. Jacob quickly agreed. "Have a seat, boy." I nodded calmly at him and made my way towards the other side of the table. I pulled a chair out for Alex and her mother, and then seated myself across from her father. This was absolutely moronic. I couldn't believe that I was to arm wrestle a man for his daughter. And yet, at the same time, I felt an insane sense of relief. I was certain that Mr. Jacob was going to dream up some impossible task for me to do to win her. Beating him in an arm-wrestling match was pretty simple.

Alex's father placed his elbow on the table and gestured impatiently at me to follow suit. Alex held up three fingers to start us. As the match started I felt- barely, the strength of her father against my arm. I held him there, not gaining ground but not losing any either as the already bulging vein on his forehead continued to swell with the strain of his mounting efforts. Alex placed her hand on my arm and squeezed, "Don't goad him," she seemed to say. I decided not to bruise his ego more than I had to. I faked some strain on my face as I pushed him easily down onto the surface of the table. As his fist touched the surface he let out a gush of breath and I felt the tension relax. I turned my gaze to the man's feature expecting to find disbelief and surrender. Instead I found anger (and worse) resolve. "What are you?" He asked simply. I looked at him for a moment and removed my hand from his before answering, "Dead." I said as simply as he had asked. He blinked, unbelieving, and Alex's mother began to tell my story.

Alex

As my mother finished telling Adam's story my eyes were glued to his. His hand engulfed mine, firm and reassuring. While my father pondered his response to the story Adam spoke in a whisper so quiet it was nearly inaudible. "I'm not leaving you." My throat closed up, his quiet promise obviously meant he thought he might have to. "I know." My father pounded his fist on the table. "Look at me, boy." Adam complied warily, fearlessly meeting his eye. "You don't have magical powers. And you're not marrying my daughter. Also, you're sure as hell not taking her away from her home." My mother protested faintly but Adam held up his hand. His patience was waning. As my mother fell silent he flattened his hand and held it out to my father with the palm facing up. My father moved to cross his arms but stopped short as a blue flame flickered to life in Adam's palm. Adam then started to speak, "If I had a daughter the one thing in this world that I would want more than anything is for her to be safe…" The flame in his hand danced and flickered, separating into four streams of fire that began to spiral upward. "…I would do everything in my power to ensure that she would not come to harm…" The streams of fire intensified and the lights in the kitchen went out. "…To make sure that no person could hurt her…" The fires split apart near the ceiling and began to fall like water towards the center of the table… "But more than that, I would want her to be happy." The separate drops of fire landed squarely on the wicks of the four candles of my mother's dining centerpiece. "What do you want?"

I was grinning like a fool. Dad's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide as the lights in the kitchen returned. This display of power from Adam would win him over; his heavy questioning of my father's motives would serve only to solidify the inevitable decision. But even if both of those things failed to sway him there was nothing anyone could do to keep Adam from me, nothing except Adam himself. If an army came against us he would stop their bullets, if the stars fell he would send them back to space. If the sun went out he would keep me warm against the cold, and if my father said no he would fly me away. Mother spoke up: "Jake, she's our little girl, but I can feel that this is right. I can feel that this is what is meant to be…" She leaned closer and lowered her voice, "…Do you remember what it was like when we first met?" My father seemed to soften a bit at this, his shoulders relaxed and he sank slightly in his chair. "Our Alex, Helen, she's…" I rolled my eyes at this display. Adam turned towards me and grinned. "You're cute when you blush." I rolled my eyes yet again and head butted him lightly on the shoulder. Once there I decided I'd rather just stay. "Can't you see Jake? It's meant to be this way."

Archimedes

I opened the door to Order and was greeted by a very unwelcome surprise. "Archimedes," Said the archangel dryly, "Where is the boy?" I took a moment to replace the key ring at my belt in order to decide what to say. If I told Method where Adam was he would send a legion to bring him to Order, after that… "I won't tell you, Method." I ducked beneath Amon's speeding blade by instinct; I didn't take the time to realize the consequences of my actions. The blade cut into Emily's incorporeal neck and she had time only to scream before she faded away into nothingness. "Fool! She was innocent!" I caught Amon's wrist with my own weapon and sent his blade spiraling away into the darkness; I launched my weight forward, bringing the arrogant pharaoh down to the ground. Again I had failed to think things through. Method's staff sent me hurtling through the door into Order, before I could try to stop my motion the Archangel appeared in front of me and rammed the butt of his staff into my abdomen, sending me hurtling into a crystal stream. The water cleared my head and I concentrated, forming a door beneath me. As I sank deeper into the water the door opened and I fell through, landing on the soft, damp ground of Chaos. I scrambled to my feet and used the haft of my hook to slam shut the door suspended horizontally in mid-air. I clutched at my chest were the staff had struck me; it glowed softly with white light that burned painfully. "No time for pain… Time to go…" I thought hurriedly as I hurtled towards the black tower.

Adam

I hummed quietly in Alex's living room while she packed her things. Her father had given up glaring at me after a few minutes and had lapsed into dejected silence. Her mother was drumming her fingers nervously on her tea cup but would smile at me every once in awhile. I decided I really didn't like being away from Alex. It made time go by very slowly and made everything slightly annoying. My enhanced senses picked up things I sometimes wished they didn't. I heard water running in pipes, I heard Mrs. Helen's fingernails clicking ceaselessly on her cup, and I heard Mr. Jake's rapid heartbeat that betrayed the fear beneath his silence. After an eternity I finally heard the welcome sound of Alex's light footsteps on the stairs. Though I had intended to walk calmly to the stairs to take her bag, the thirty or so feet took me less than a second and left her parent's eyes wide. Alex handed me her bag and flashed me a smile before crossing the room to squat down in front of her father's chair. He broke the silence before she could speak, "Why do you have to leave? Why can't you stay here?" She reached up and took his hand, "Adam is different now, dad. And people will start asking questions, they'll be nosy…" She stopped and turned towards me, and I saw that she didn't understand why we had to leave. Neither did I, but I knew we had to. I was struggling for words to explain myself when my keen senses detected movement that should not have been there. The shadows in the room were writhing and moving towards a central point. As that central point formed a doorframe I crossed the distance to Alex and lifted her to her feet in one smooth motion, placing my body between her and the door. This didn't feel right. The door formed completely and swung open to reveal the stark whiteness of Order behind the tall olive-skinned man who stepped through the door. He closed it softly behind him, moving the slender sword at his hip out of the way of the motion of the door. "Greetings," he said with a thick accent with which I was not familiar, "I am Amon." "Adam Gray." I said warily. "There is no death here, reaper, why have you come?" Amon's chin rose slightly and he regarded me through lidded eyes, "Such rudeness from you, boy, you speak to a pharaoh." I looked briefly at Alex before returning my attention to the arrogant man, "Apologies, but Egypt isn't ruled by pharaohs anymore, and last time I checked, reapers are dead. We are all equal in death, no?" The reaper huffed and crossed the room, plucking the teacup from Helen's hand; he sipped it and spit it onto the carpet, letting the cup fall to the floor. "You have spent too much time with foolish Archimedes, I see." Alex crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed with this one's bravado, "I happen to like Archimedes, and why are you here?" She asked firmly. The reaper finally answered, "You must come with me. Method of Order will pass judgment on you upon your arrival." "Judgment?" I asked with incredulity. Before Amon could answer a familiar voice did so for him, "Hardly," Said Archimedes, "by judgment he means that Method will offer you atonement for nothing in the form of service in the war." Amon slid his blade from his scabbard, positively quaking with rage. "You have interfered for the last time!" The bald-headed pharaoh started to charge Archimedes and I reacted with force. I crossed the room and rammed my fist into Amon's sword-wrist; I was met with a satisfying crunch before a light blow to the chest put him on his back. "I think not, your majesty."

Two more familiar faces emerged from the door Archimedes had come through; Isaac's laughter led me to believe they had come just in time to see me put a reaper on his back. I turned to the couple and was surprised to see Sarah smile slightly at me, "It seems I was wrong about you, you do show some courage." Isaac turned to his wife and grinned, "I told you, dear, this one is important." Amon lifted himself to his feet and pointed his sword at me, "You will pay, fool…" I had a biting remark ready when his gaze shifted to Alex, "Oh yes, you will pay." My stomach clenched into a ball of pure anger as the reaper opened the door to Order, I held out my hand and a jet of white-hot fire belched out towards him, engulfing him entirely even as he passed through the door. He screamed as the flames enveloped his two-toned wings, and I slammed the door.

As I closed my fist and turned around I realized that I was afraid. I was mind-numbingly afraid. Order wanted me to fight for them, and I knew suddenly that the reaper or his friends would make good on his unspoken threat. I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched as I was pulled away from my thoughts. I turned to face Archimedes, making a feeble attempt to hide the fear that I knew was painting my features. Alex was everything to me. "You have made a powerful enemy Adam. Method will seek you himself when daylight comes and no angels of chaos can help you." I turned away from the gray-haired youth and sat down on Alex's sofa; she crossed the room and joined me with a worried look painting her features. "I just want to be free of this. All I want to do is live in peace without anyone to hurt you." I was suddenly sure of what I had to do. Before I could tell Alex what needed to be done she reached up and took my face in her hands, a chill ran down my spine as she looked me in the eyes. "I know what you're thinking," She said slowly and without looking away, "-you're not going to sacrifice anything to save me. You're not going to die to spare me from danger. Do you know why?" She asked with a glimmer in her eye. I shrugged slightly and she held out her hand with her grandmother's ring. "You can't. You and I are no longer separate people now. We're a single soul. Where you go I will follow, when you are sad I will cry…" Even as she spoke those words I realized the truth of them, I had felt it as I carried her from the cabin, I had felt it when she kissed me and even when she simply spoke. "You're right, love." She squeezed my hand and turned to the three dead people in the room. "What should we do?" She asked quietly.