It took me a minute to absorb her words. I wanted to be free, but the notion that I could let years of hurt feelings go without the need to punish him was hard to accept. I'm known for holding my grudges, but at the same time, I didn't want to hang on to all that negativity either. "Thanks, sis, I'll try to remember that."

"You called me sister!" Oriana beamed. "Do you truly accept me then, despite the hardship I bring to your life?"

She said bring, not brought. That made me wonder if I didn't have more trouble in store for me surrounding her disappearance from Raum's court in the future, but I chose not to dwell on it on her special day. "It's no more trouble than I get into on my own." I hugged her carefully, not wanting to muss our hair. "Now come on, let's get you married before someone else shows up."

When we emerged from the tent, the groomsmen were lined up outside to meet us. Parker walked with me, and Steve, Matty's friend, escorted Daphne down the aisle. My mother hit the boombox and Crazytown's b.u.t.terfly filled the air. A strange choice for a wedding by my reckoning, but Matty said he always heard that song in his head whenever he saw Oriana.

"Thanks for helping me with Vic, I wasn't up for another scene today," I murmured to Parker as we started down the short aisle between the folding chairs set up before the makeshift altar. Parker looked fantastic in his formalwear, clean shaven for once, his dark blonde hair tamed for the occasion.

"No problem." He patted my hand on his arm. "Uh oh, some prettyboy's trying to horn in on my territory."

Looking out into the small audience, I was surprised to find Remiel sitting next to Parker's date, Luz. His mouth bent to her ear, whispering something that brought a smile to her lips.

"Oh, sorry about that. I forgot they knew each other." Fairly well from their body language. I vaguely remembered the resourceful witch mentioning she knew him intimately some time ago.

"You know that guy?" Parker's frown deepened in direct proportion to the lazy smile that grew on Remy's face.

"Actually yeah, he's my date for the wedding."

"I didn't realize you were dating again." So soon... I practically heard the unspoken words.

"It's not a real date, I just didn't want to face the day alone," I whispered back, not quite sure what I found in his eyes.

"You're not alone, Merce."

"Thanks, boss." I gave his arm a squeeze before we parted to stand on opposite sides, a wire trellis threaded with flowers framing the altar. Taking my spot on the girls' side, I smiled at Matty, so unused to seeing him without his scruffy goatee. He looked nervous in his rented tux, out of place with his feet bare, but Oriana insisted he go through the ceremony with bare feet, just like she would. Luckily, she hadn't insisted on anything like that for the rest of the wedding party, because I didn't enjoy the prospect of going around barefoot in a public park. Who knew what you'd end up with on the bottom of your feet?

I bit back the instinct to scold Matty to stand up straight, his slouch well p.r.o.nounced until he caught sight of Oriana and his shoulders lifted as if by an invisible string. If I had any doubts about how long their hasty marriage would last, I forgot them at seeing the simple joy on his face. I'd never seen him so happy about... anything. And Oriana, she glowed from within, or maybe her bright aura obscured my vision. Whatever it was, they were head over heels in love, and it was hard to find fault with that.

The ceremony began with the standard text, and I started to zone out, more watching my brother and his bride than listening to the pastor drone on. The ceremony was pretty generic, no bible pa.s.sages or songs or anything like the elaborate Catholic ceremonies I remembered from my childhood. Idly I wondered where they'd found the guy? As far as I knew Matty didn't go to church anymore, and for sure he wasn't a Roman Catholic priest. Then it was time for the vows, and I snapped to attention again, smiling my encouragement to Matty who looked nervous as he spoke his own vows.

"Oriana... I never knew what love was until I met you. Then... it was like... like I could feel my heart swell up like the Grinch times ten, and I knew we had to be together forever. No matter what. I promise to take care of you and keep you safe by my side, in sickness and in health, for as long as there are stars in the sky."

How had I never known my brother was such a romantic? His words brought a sigh to the female population, and Oriana was no less affected as she began her vows.

"Matthias," she touched his cheek gently. "You are the sun and I am the moon. We exist apart, but can never know our true purpose without knowing the perfect harmony of our joining. At this turning of the wheel, we leave the darkness behind in antic.i.p.ation of the light. So too do we leave loneliness behind in antic.i.p.ation of love and happiness. I pledge my troth to you, to remain by your side through this life and into the next."

The exchange of rings came next and within the s.p.a.ce of a few minutes they were joined as man and wife to the delight of the crowd who cheered and clapped while the newlyweds shared an enthusiastic kiss. Someone hit the boom box again, and we broke our formation to descend upon the picnic tables crowded with food and gifts.

I checked my mom's face to see how she took the unorthodox vows, but she was too busy sniffing behind her handkerchief. If she disapproved of any of it, she remained uncharacteristically quiet about it. "That was so beautiful, Merceline," she sighed as I joined her side. "When you get married you should do something like that. I think writing your own vows is so much more personal, don't you?"

I bit back the comment about not getting married any time soon that sprang to my lips, offering her a smile. "Yes, I do think they sound more personal that way, I'll have to remember that when it's my turn."

"Don't worry, baby, I know he'll come around. He loves you very much." She patted my cheek comfortingly.

"We'll see. None of that for today though, this is Matty and Oriana's day." I changed the subject and for once she dropped it. I sensed a nervous energy around her, she gabbled on even more than usual. I mean, my mother could always talk, I suppose it's where I got my gift of gab, but she seemed more frenetic if possible. All at once I caught on to why.

My father.

So far she'd been able to avoid talking to him directly, but her eyes continuously tracked his movement in the crowd. Vic stood near Matty, downing drink after congratulatory drink. For the moment he was jolly, but Mom and I knew how quickly that could change. Every time his voice boomed above the crowd I saw her shoulders flinch, and I hated him for doing that to her, after so many years.

"Mom, are you alright?" I asked softly, drawing her aside.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" I recognized the brittle smile on her lips only too well.

"He can't hurt you anymore, I promise you." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively.

"I know." She tried to brush me off, but at catching my expression shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Your father means well, but you know how he gets."

"Yes, I know exactly how he gets. Which is why I want you to know I won't let him hurt you. I'm not a little girl anymore, I can be the one to protect you now." I owed her that for the years she tried to keep me safe from the brunt of his temper. It didn't always work, but I knew she had it much worse. My mother fixed me with a watery smile, and I left my arm wrapped around her waist while we circulated through the party.

Wondering where Remiel disappeared to, I spotted him talking to Parker and Luz, Parker looking none too happy about that. I flashed Parker a commiserating shrug, grinning when he rolled his eyes dramatically. Deciding I had to try and corral my date before he charmed Parker's lady away from under his nose, I steered my mother over to them.

"Hey, Remy, there you are. I want you to meet my mother."

"Why would I want to meet your mama?" His brows drew together in confusion and I suppressed a smile as Parker looped his arm through Luz's and led her away without a word.

"Because that's the polite thing to do when escorting someone to a wedding."

"Sorry, sweetcheeks, this is the first one of these things I've been to in an age."

"Merceline, this boy is your date?" My mother's brows rose in surprise. "What about Adam?"

"Adam is still out of town, as you well know, so I thought I'd ask Remy here to stand in for him." Besides not wanting to go stag, I had other reasons for inviting Remiel. Namely to keep the peace in case Raum decided to make a play for the bride. "Any sign of anything... off, Remy? Or have you been too busy flirting with other people's dates?" I raised a brow.

"Who else am I supposed to flirt with, everybody here's already attached," he muttered in disgust.

"Oh, you two are friends, that's fine," my mother eased. "You do have the most attractive friends, Merceline," she smiled at Remy almost girlishly.

"Well, ain't you a peach for that." Remy's lopsided grin returned. "And if you'll excuse me for sayin' so, I can see where your daughter gets her particular allure from," he added, leaning towards her confidentially (which my mother absolutely ate up).

"Hey, don't flirt with my mother," I growled, bothered by it for some reason. It didn't annoy me when Parker b.u.t.tered her up, but with Remy it felt somehow... sleazy or something. Maybe because I had the notion he might consider hooking up with her if nothing else panned out at the reception.

"Oh, Mercy." My mom pushed at my shoulder. "He's just being friendly."

"Well, why don't you go be friendly over there, and don't forget to keep an eye out for Raum or any of his goons. You never know what he might try to get Oriana back," I reminded him, and Remy gave a drawn out sigh.

"Yes, ma'am. You save me a dance for later though, y'hear?" He winked at my mom, his drawl lazy as he sauntered away. It probably gave him some kind of sick thrill to tick me off, but I resisted the urge to call him on it. He was doing me a favor after all.

"Who's Raum?" My mother asked as soon as she stopped undressing Remy with her eyes.

"He's Oriana's ex," I lied glibly. "He didn't take it too well when she left him and it'd be just like him to show up and cause a nasty scene." Instantly sympathetic, she asked me for a description of him, and I went ahead and gave her one. The more eyes on the look out for Raum as a creep the better, as far as I was concerned.

The party stretched on through the afternoon and I stuck by my mom's side, waving away offers to dance. Not that I needed to stick to her like glue. The party wasn't so big I couldn't keep an eye on her, but to tell the truth, my heart wasn't in it. Maybe the pregnancy had me a little down, but I didn't feel like smiling and chatting with people, pretending my own wedding was right around the corner whenever someone spotted my engagement ring. So instead, I listened to my mom, or rather I let her talk at me for the most part, not thinking much of it until she gave me a teary hug.

"I had so much fun visiting with you today, Merceline. It's been too long since we really spent a lot of time together."

"I know, Mom, and I'm sorry." I hugged her back, teary myself. "I get so wrapped up in things. Maybe we can..."

"My two favorite girls!" Vic's voice boomed from behind us and I felt my mother freeze as he wrapped his arms around our shoulders. "This is so great, all of us together again, just like old times."

"Yep, just like old times." I shrugged out of his clumsy embrace, drawing my mother up against my side. "I think maybe it's time to wrap things up though, it's getting late." Only about half of the guests remained at the party. Matty and Oriana had already left about a half hour before on their honeymoon to Las Vegas. Daphne had slipped away a while ago with Sam and I was sticking it out until the end, on clean up duty along with my mom.

"I'll tell you when the party'sh over, girl," Vic slurred. "I need another drink."

"Don't you think you've had enough?" my mother replied, her face pinched with worry.

"Don't tell me my businessh, woman!" His hand came up... I don't know if it was just to wave in the air, or if he actually intended to hit her, but my mother flinched away regardless, and my hand shot up to catch his fist, halting the motion stone cold. My fingers flexed over his as I fought the urge to bring him to the ground.

My instinct was to make him suffer the way he made us suffer. I was stronger than he was, thanks to my Grace, not to mention all the other advantages I had on my side. I wanted to make him feel scared and alone, to feel like a victim the way he'd victimized us over the years. It would be so easy. His eyes widened as I saw he knew it too.

It would be so easy.

In that same instant, I realized that would make me no better than him. What had Oriana said? There wasn't anything I could do to him worse than what he'd already done to his life. In fact... why waste my time on him at all? I let go of his hand, and he clutched it to his chest, stumbling as he backed away from me.

"Come on, Mom, let's get the leftovers packed up and I'll drive you home." I smiled, completely ignoring him.

My mother flashed him an uncertain look, but nodded, trying to recover her smile when he didn't offer another word. Feeling much lighter, I turned to clean up duty, glad to find plenty of volunteers once we started. There was no sign of Remiel anywhere. I'd seen him chatting up a blonde earlier and a.s.sumed he'd found other company. I didn't mind so much, I wasn't in the mood for his horrible attempts at flirting anyway. Luz, on the other hand, cornered me by the potato salad to ask me a few not-so-subtle questions about the fallen angel.

"I thought you were still going out with Parker?" I asked as she helped me carry an armload to the dumpsters.

"I am." She gave a half shrug, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder at the movement. "But it's not serious."

I knew the reason it wasn't serious was because she thought Parker was in love with me. After I'd turned down his marriage proposal he'd gone right back to acting like normal Parker, so I wasn't so convinced of that. "I guess you're free to see who you like as long as you're both on the same page," I said carefully. I'd never been one to play the field, but I knew Parker did.

"Exactamente," she nodded, heaving the bags into the dumpster for me. "I thought I might be not serious with Remy for a while if he's in town. Unless you're borrowing him for a while."

"Me? No," I snorted. "He's not my type."

"He's every woman's type." Her eyebrows waggled playfully. "Trust me, he's good to cure what ails you, and I don't mean with his Grace."

I didn't think so, but I gave her a little smile. Not that I didn't think he'd be good in bed, the guy had to have skills after so many years of chasing women, but I couldn't think about anyone in those terms except for Adam. It didn't help that I didn't feel particularly s.e.xy lugging garbage in the late afternoon sun.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmmm?" I realized I'd been zoning out again. "Oh, sorry. I'm just tired, it's been a long day. I'm glad the party's over."

"Your morning sickness is getting better, yes?"

"It still comes and goes, and not always in the morning. Thanks for that tea, by the way, it's been an absolute miracle. I don't know what I'd have done without it." It was the only way I could get through a shift at work sometimes when the smell of alcohol made me want to retch.

"It was my pleasure." Luz waved away my thanks. "Have you been to see the doctor yet?"

"No... I've been sort of avoiding that." The less attention I got from the medical profession, the better.

"You can't put it off for too long. Sooner or later you'll want to make an appointment, to make sure all is as it should be with the bebe.

Part of me didn't want to know. The Nephilim were described as monstrous in the bible... what if the doctor turned up something awful? As long as I stayed in the dark I could cling to the illusion of a perfect baby growing inside me. "I'm going with later," I said firmly.

"Okay, well, let me know if you need a recommendation, I have a good doctor."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I smiled, fully intending to forget about it as soon as she dropped it.

Chapter Eight.

Balancing a bowl of ice cream on my bulging belly, I picked up the remote to start the DVD player for a little quality time with Ryan Reynolds. Absorbed in the movie and my chocolate explosion, I didn't notice anything wrong right away. Then I saw the melted ice cream in the bottom of the bowl pooling on one side more than the other. As I watched, the pool shifted as my stomach moved. No biggie, there's a baby in there... easy to explain the reason for the movement, until the bowl toppled to the floor after a violent shift that left me gasping in surprise.

While I watched, my stomach grew bigger and bigger, like a balloon slowly inflating a balloon filled with hands and feet that pushed against my stretching skin like an alien trying to break free. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt, but watching the baby's open mouthed scream from inside made my blood run cold. Something else slithered and moved in there, and I froze.

I had to get it out of me.

I screamed for Adam, but he didn't come, of course he didn't come. Sam's name was the next on my lips and he appeared out of thin air with an audible pop.

"I need you to take me to the hospital. I need to get the baby out."

"No need for a hospital." His sword materialized in hand, and he approached, a perfectly innocent look on his face.

"Are you nuts?" I backed away from him on all fours. "No, no swords. Hospital, with nice numbing drugs."

"Drugs are bad." Sam wagged his finger at me. "Hold her down, please."

Who was he talking to? Bert and Hubie appeared on either side of me, grasping hold of my arms to keep me still.

"I do hope it's a boy," Hubie grinned, showing a mouthful of rotten teeth.

"Or a girl," Bert nodded enthusiastically.

"Otherwise, it gets messy and I've just had me jacket pressed," Hubie preened.

Where was my super strength? I should be able to break free of a couple of minor demons, shouldn't I? "Hold on a minute here, guys. Don't do anything crazy. Sam... do you know what you're doing? You might hurt the baby."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Mercy. I've seen Shogun six times," he beamed.

I swear I heard a keening wail as my belly distended even further. I had to do something before it burst its way out on its own. With a deft flick of his wrist, Sam's sword flashed out, neatly slicing my belly open from end to end.

It didn't hurt... why didn't it hurt? What was going on? Have you ever watched the learning channel when they're performing a c-section? It was nothing like that. There was no blood, only a slimy ooze as the baby pushed its way out of the womb.

No, not a baby.

As I stared in revulsion, Azazael's head appeared on a fat, scaly body, a barbed tail whipping back and forth angrily.

"h.e.l.lo, my love." He smiled up at me, and I screamed and screamed...