Chapter 52: 53: Beyond the Poppies

ANGEL

Yes.

I can see it clearly now.

It’s not just a dream anymore.

It’s a memory.

~It’s the dead of night.~

~I have a baby in my arms.~

~Whose baby? I’m not sure.~

~He’s sleeping. He looks so peaceful.~

~I want to turn around. To sneak back into the house that I took him from. To return him to his crib.~

~But I can’t. I’m compelled to keep moving.~

~I run along a long, winding road. It feels like I’ll never stop running. Like I’ll never get to where I need to go.~

~But suddenly, without knowing why, I halt and veer left. The terrain underfoot changes. Becomes softer. More malleable. I look down and see that I’m trekking through a field of flowers.~

“What kind of flowers?” I hear Ariel’s voice interrupting my memories.

“I’m not sure...but they’re maybe...yellow. Or gold.”

“Focus. Could they be...poppies?”

I tune back into the memory, trying to increase the clarity of it. “Yes,” I say, “I think they are. Why?”

ARIEL

~Oh my Goddess...~

~I know where the Silver Soldier is.~

“It hurts too much to talk,” he says.

“It’s okay. Just relax into it,” I reply.

I want to pull my hands off of Angel, but I don’t want to shock his system.

So I keep taking in his pain and darkness through the tips of my fingers, cleansing him from the inside out. It feels like I’m performing some kind of psycho-spiritual photosynthesis.

And then his eyes find mine. “I’m ready. Release me. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Okay.” I nod and then, like ripping off a Band-Aid, I pull my hands off of his form.

He exhales, his body lying limp on the couch.

“How do you feel?”

“Different.”

“In what way?”

“Like a 100-pound weight has been lifted off of me.”

“Amazing,” I reply.

“But I still can’t remember anything from before all of this started,” he says with a hint of disappointment. “Not my name or my family or my pack…”

“The Silver Soldier really did a number on you. Wanna take the bastard on in real life?” I ask. “Because I think I know where he is.”

There’s no time to answer any more questions. I slip the blade back into its sheath and rush toward the door, hearing him scramble to get up from the couch and follow me.

I swing open the door, expecting to see General Dave’s face staring back at me. Instead, Alex is waiting there, pacing nervously.

“What’s going on?” he asks me.

“I think I know where Xavi is.”

“That’s great! Where?”

“If you can believe it, I think we were there early this morning. I guess I’ll find out.”

“Let’s go!” Alex says, ready to fly out the door.

“No…Alex,” I grab his forearm and pull him toward me. “What if something happens with your dad again? It could be awful if you aren’t here. You should stay. I’ll just go with Angel.”

“The last time you went on a rescue mission with a man, he kissed you,” Alex says.

“Huh?” Angel interrupts. “That’s not gonna be an issue here.”

“Says the guy who just tried to kidnap my best friend’s baby. Really trustworthy source.”

“I deserve that,” Angel says.

Alex grabs me by the waist. “Ariel, you’re my future, and I need to protect you at all costs. I know my dad would tell me the same thing. I’m coming with you.”

“Alright,” I concede. It would make me ~much~ more confident about this whole situation if Alex was by my side.

“Should we alert Xavier and Natalia?” Angel asks.

“No,” I say. “I don’t want to get their hopes up like last time. Let’s just go.”

“We’ve gotta strategize!” Angel says. “Develop a game plan! Something!”

“Any second we waste is just another second of abuse that Xavi has to endure!” I say.

“Should we bring along a squad of pack warriors?” Alex asks.

“I don’t think so,” I reply. “We have to be extremely discreet. If we barge in, guns blazing, Xavi might get caught in the crossfire. I couldn’t handle that.”

With that, I start making my way down the hall.

When we arrive at the front entrance, I see Amy sitting in a chair, head in her hands. Rarely do I ever see my happy-go-lucky friend looking so defeated.

I turn to Angel, but he doesn’t need the cue. He’s already walking toward her.

“Hi,” he says, kneeling down in front of her.

She peeks through her fingers. “Hey.”

“Listen, I haven’t gotten a chance to say how sorry I am. For everything I’ve put you through. I just hope you can see... it’s not me—”

“I know,” Amy says. “I know the real you would never do that.”

“Thank you for seeing the real me,” Angel says. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I will be. I’m just worried about you,” Amy replies. “How are ~you?~”

“He’ll be fine,” I interject, smiling at Amy. I want her to know just how much faith I have in Angel—that he will confront his demons and get them on his side.

I hear Alex conferring with one of the palace guards behind me. “Can you bring one of the SUVs around from the garage? We’re heading out for a bit.”

~He makes it sound so casual!~

But the truth is, we may find nothing at all. And part of me fears that when I induced Angel into that trance, I transmitted the image of the poppy field into his mind.

What if it’s all just another dead end?

But there’s no time to dwell on this possibility; there’s only time to act.

In a minute, I see the headlights from the SUV pull out of the garage and into the driveway.

“Where are guys going?” Amy asks me.

“We’re going to try and put an end to our troubles once and for all. Hold down the fort, will you? Make sure Helena and baby Camelia are okay?”

She pulls me in for a deep hug. “Okay. Be safe.”

I nod and follow Alex out of the front door, Angel trailing behind me.

ALEX

The majority of the tense drive is spent in silence, but Angel finally breaks it.

“Alex,” he says, “I injured some of your guards. I nearly killed your Beta’s child. If I was in your position, I would have just sentenced me to death. I know I even asked for death myself back there, but... thank you for your mercy.”

“Honestly, the only person you should be thanking is Ariel.”

I reach over into the passenger seat and squeeze her thigh. She puts her hand over mine, and I’m comforted by the warmth of her skin.

Life has been like a roller coaster lately. Too many unpredictable twists and turns to even pretend to get my bearings.

It’s hard to imagine what kind of ruler I would be through all of this, without this woman by my side.

She gives me perspective. And more empathy than I was capable of before.

I pull over when we reach the edge of the abundant field of poppies.

I don’t want to draw attention to our presence, and I don’t want to destroy this pristine landscape with the wheels of the SUV.

It’s absurd that we’re here again, just half a day after Ariel and I made love in this very spot, under such supremely different circumstances.

We climb out of the car. Angel points to the small wooden shack in the distance.

“There,” he says.”

It looks so small and unassuming. I had barely even noticed it this morning. But Ariel starts walking in that direction.

Angel picks up his pace.

“What are you doing?” she whispers to him. “Stay behind me.”

“No,” he says, “you stay behind me. You have love and a family and a fucking kingdom. I have nothing—a blank memory. It’s just me and the Silver Soldier for all of eternity, as far as I’m concerned.”

He charges in front of both of us.

~I guess it’s not up for discussion.~

And after a few more wordless minutes, we arrive at the small door of the shack.

ANGEL

I can feel it.

This is the place.

The source of my nightmares is here.

My stomach churns. My hair stands on end.

I place my trembling hand on the old wooden door and push it open. I step one foot inside and then the other. It’s dark, but as my eyes begin to adjust, I am surprised by what I see.

There is nothing ominous about this place at all. It’s just a standard garden shed, with rakes, buckets, and spare pieces of plywood.

This is not the elaborate lab with extensive medical equipment that I was hoping to find.

At this point, Alex and Ariel have joined me in the shed.

I jump when the door slams shut.

“It’s just the wind,” I hear Ariel whisper. Although I’m not sure that I’ve felt any breeze at all.

We look around, each of us hoping to see a sign of anything unusual.

~Well… Be careful what you wish for…~

Because suddenly, something highly unusual happens.

A large metal grate comes crashing down from the ceiling, blocking the front door, locking us inside.

“Oh Goddess!” Ariel shouts as the grate nearly lands on her foot. She dodges out of the way, and Alex wraps his arms around her.

In the other corner of the room, I see one of the floorboards starts to move of its own accord.

It’s a trap door. And someone is opening it from underneath us.

I point at it, and we all crouch, ready to attack.

I hear him first: the sound of steel-toed boots coming in our direction.

Then, in the faint glow of the moon…

I finally see the face of the Silver Soldier.