"Justin was our leader." Brand says the name with undisguised loathing.

"What happened when you came to Earth under his command?"

"At first things were fine. We were teaching the humans what they needed to know like we were meant to. But many of us ended up falling in love and taking human wives. In fact, Justin encouraged it. He said our father would understand. But of course, He didn't. When G.o.d cursed us and our families, Justin urged us to give into what our father made us into. It was an extremely dark period in our history. Most of the Watchers followed Justin not seeing any point in trying to fight against the need to drink human blood and let their children feed on the corpses. After a while, Lucifer seemed to think the Watchers who became vampires were drawing too much unwanted attention to themselves with the trail of bodies they were leaving in their wake. I'm not sure what happened between him and Justin but Lucifer must have grown tired of trying to reason with him because he killed Justin. After that, Lucifer reined in the vampire Watchers and took control of them. They remained in the shadows for thousands of years, just legend to the humans here. That is until the Tear appeared. Lucifer seemed to take it as a sign of some sort and used the confusion the humans were in to take this world over under the guise of trying to help. I take it this isn't the way it happened on your Earth."

"No," Mason says. "I was the leader of the Watchers on our Earth not Justin."

"Did the majority of the Watchers turn to vampirism after the curse?"

"No. Most of them abstained from it like I did."

"Then I wish you had been our leader here too." Brand sighs over the missed opportunity. "Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess if you had survived the war and led us like you were meant to."

Mason becomes still and quiet, letting what Brand has said sink in.

"Could you guys give us a minute alone?" I ask, knowing Mason needs some time with his thoughts.

Isaiah mumbles something about Josh and coffee. Brand and Baruch follow him into the kitchen area.

I turn to Mason and bring his hand to my lips to plant a small kiss, gently bringing him out of his troubled reverie.

"Are you ok?" I ask, worried about him because he hasn't moved since hearing how different the Watchers' history is on this Earth. I'm not even completely sure he's taken a breath since learning what would have happened on our Earth if he never existed.

"I always thought I did something wrong to make the Watchers go against G.o.d's law," he finally says. "But it doesn't look like it would have mattered who their commander was. They would have done it anyway."

"How many of the Watchers gave into the hunger for blood on our Earth when He cursed you?"

"Forty-four."

I'm not surprised to hear Mason recite an exact number. He would have carried the guilt of their turning into vampires with him from the beginning.

"Forty- four out of about two hundred? Sounds like you had a greater influence on them than you thought. If you had given in like this Justin and encouraged the others to do so too, it's possible our reality would be similar to this one. But you didn't give into your hunger like he did. You set a better example for your Watchers."

Mason finally looks over at me. "For so many years, I thought I let them all down."

"Well, the ones who did turn into vampires didn't help your guilt issues. To be honest, I think they were just jealous that the rest of you had so much more self-control than they did. Plus, you still had hope that G.o.d would forgive you one day if you didn't give into your urges. That hope was lost to them the first time they drank human blood. They even got a second chance directly from G.o.d, Mason. They could have earned forgiveness after the Tear was made but they chose not to work for it. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You can't control what others do with their lives."

Mason sits and contemplates my words. Finally, he nods.

"You're right. I'm not responsible for the way their lives turned out. It never even occurred to me that I wouldn't exist in other realities."

"You've been feeling guilty about the Watchers in all the realities?" I say, fully realizing for the first time what Mason has been living with for all these years. "No wonder you have guilt issues."

I let Mason sit quietly for a moment to let his self-realization sink into his psyche. I now understand why G.o.d wanted Mason to come with me to this reality. If he hadn't, I'm not sure he would have ever found a way around the guilt he's been carrying inside his heart for all these years.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask, needing clarification about a couple of things that were said.

"You know you can ask me anything."

"What did you mean by our reality is the Origin? What's the Origin?"

"We come from the first of everything: the first universe. In Heaven, it's called the Origin. All of the other realities branch off from what happens in the first universe. Think of the different realities like a tree. We're the trunk and every different reality is a branch sprouting off of that trunk. Each of those branches sprout smaller branches. Each branch is a different reality. The events that happen in our reality end up causing a ripple effect on all the other realities, like a pebble dropped in a pool of water. We're the pebble."

There's an urgent pounding on the other side of the metal door in the room.

Brand hurriedly walks over and opens it.

"Brand, I need your help," a male voice says, filled with desperation. "She did it again! Could you please talk to her? She won't listen to me but maybe she'll listen to you."

"I can try Remy but I'm not sure it will do much good. Why don't you come in and get some coffee? Maybe we can figure out a way to stop her from burning down half the city."

The man Brand was talking to steps into the room and I'm able to see him clearly for the first time.

Surrounding him is a golden glow just like the one my father has.

When our eyes meet, he seems startled by my presence. He's a tall man with bushy brown hair and a s.h.a.ggy matching beard and mustache, which both look in need of a good trim and wash. He's wearing wire rimmed gla.s.ses which are smudged with fingerprints. I'm not even sure how he can see out of them.

Remy smiles with delight as he bounds down the steps and walks up to me like he's going to rush me. I automatically stand preparing to defend myself. But, instead of attacking me, he gives me a big bear hug like we're long lost friends.

He pulls away from me and I see the excitement in his eyes as he asks, "Did G.o.d send you to bring us home?"

Chapter 4.

I know what the man is, a Guardian from The Treasury of Souls like my father, but I don't understand why he's here.

"Us who?" I ask. "And what the h.e.l.l are you doing here? You shouldn't even be in this reality."

The man named Remy looks confused. "G.o.d didn't send you to get us? But you're a vessel right?"

I gently push Remy to arms length away from me.

"Yes, I am," I answer. "But no, G.o.d didn't say 'by the way could you pick up the lost Guardian that's in the reality you're going to'. Sorry, I didn't get that memo."

"Then why else are you here?"

"I'm here to get my sister. Why are you here?"

"The vessel I was sent to protect was transported here. I came with her."

"Leah's a vessel of an archangel?" Brand asks, apparently hearing all this for the first time.

"Why is she here?" I ask. "She's supposed to be in my reality."

"Long story that," Remy says, scratching his beard nervously. "But I'll give you the cliff notes version. Her mother is the one who actually came through the Tear. She just happened to be pregnant with Leah at the time."

Remy grabs me by the arms, desperation in his eyes. "You have to take her back with you."

"Could you stop touching me?" I ask, gently removing my arms from Remy's hold. "I'm not exactly a touchy feely kind of person with strangers."

"Oh, sorry," Remy says, stuffing his hands in the pockets of the threadbare brown coat he's wearing. "But Leah needs to go back. She doesn't belong here. She never has."

"Where is she?" I ask.

"Back in our room sulking because I yelled at her."

"What did she do this time?" Brand asks.

"Burnt down another abandoned Watcher complex."

"She does realize she's just doing them a favor right?" Brand asks. "Saves them the ha.s.sle of completely demolishing the buildings themselves."

Remy turns to me. "Her power is partially awakened."

"How?"

"A Watcher attacked her and she used it on him a week or so ago. Now she feels like she's invincible. You have to take her back to your Earth before she gets herself into trouble here."

"What is her power?"

"Fire."

"Yeah, that's not telling me much, Remy. Explain."

"She's able to conjure a flame in the palm of her hand. Now she's going around setting everything on fire like some pyromaniac."

"I need to see her," I say.

"Come with me."

Mason comes to my side and takes my hand as we follow Remy out of the room. I'm faintly aware of Brand following behind us.

Remy walks rather quickly down the concrete hallway for someone his size. His urgent gate makes me feel like I'm in a race against time. He opens one of the many grey metal doors which branch off the corridor and stands completely still in the doorway.

I hear him curse and find myself surprised an angel has that particular four letter word so readily available in his vocabulary.

"What's the matter Remy?" Brand asks.

"She's gone! d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it! I knew I shouldn't have left her alone."

"Calm down," Brand says, his voice soothing. "Let me go speak with Josh. He'll probably know where she is." Brand looks at me and Mason. "I'll be right back."

After Brand phases, Remy huffs and crosses his arms in front of him. "That girl has been nothing but trouble since the day she was born."

I feel my temper flare.

"You made her," I remind him. "Why don't you look at yourself before cursing her again? And for G.o.d's sake stop cussing so much! You're not setting a very good example. You're supposed to be an angel not a foul mouthed heathen. Leave that to us humans."

Remy sighs and lets his arms fall to his sides.

"I just love Leah too much is all," he says. "Ever since her mother left her with me, I've tried my best to raise her but I just wasn't cut out to be a father."

I have to agree with Remy on that point. From what I've seen so far, he is not what I call father material.

"What do you mean her mother left her?" I ask.

"As soon as Leah's mother gave birth, she just up and left us. We haven't seen her since. It didn't help that we ended up being transported to a planet where the Watchers had taken everything over. I've tried to keep us under their radar for the past few years, moving from sector to sector. When I caught up with Brand and his renegade angels, I hoped she would straighten up her act. I thought it was working up until she awakened her powers. Now she thinks she can do anything she wants. It's going to get her killed!"

Brand reappears with Josh at his side.

"Josh thinks he might know where Leah is," Brand tells us.

"Yeah, she was talking about checking out that Watcher supply depot on Hemingway Street," Josh tells us. "If I were to bet, I would say she went there to blow it up."

"It's not far. She might even already be there," Brand informs us. "Remy and Josh, you stay here in case she comes back."

Brand holds out his hands to Mason and me. He phases us and we find ourselves standing on a lonely deserted street in what looks like a not so good part of town. My eyes are drawn to a lone figure standing a couple of hundred feet down the sidewalk from where we are. The bl.u.s.tery wind blows Leah's long dark hair behind her giving her figure a ghostly appearance. I know it's Leah without even having to see her face because I instantly feel our archangel connection to one another ignite. She turns in my direction and I know she feels it too.

"Would the two of you mind staying here?" I ask Brand and Mason. "I need to speak with her alone."

"We'll be here if you need us," Mason tells me, squeezing my hand before letting it go.

I walk over to Leah feeling our bond grow stronger the closer I get to her. When I reach her, I see the face of the beautiful oriental girl from my vision. She's wearing the same old green coat and threadbare green knit cap. Her long black hair floats around her on the current of the wind giving her beauty an ethereal quality. Her face isn't streaked with soot this time but tears. Before I know it, she's in my arms crying on my shoulder. I just hold her to me, content in the fact that she feels safe with me.

"You came for me," she cries. "I didn't think you would."

I'm not sure if it's the right time to tell her I didn't even know she existed in this reality up until a few minutes ago and decide to keep that small fact to myself for the time being.

"I'm here to take you home," I tell her instead.

It's the truth. Nothing in my life has ever happened without a reason. It's now clear to me that Faison went through the Tear to force me to follow her and find the fourth vessel who, unbeknownst to any of us, was stranded in this alternate reality. My destiny had struck again but this time it took a life to correct its own course.

Had John Austin been a necessary sacrifice in the fight with Lucifer? Or had his death already been preordained and it was just a coincidence that he died right before the Tear opened to this alternate Earth? An Earth which just happened to contain one of the archangel vessels? Seems like too much of a coincidence for me to believe G.o.d didn't have a hand in his death to force me to come here. I make a mental note to bring it up with Him the next time we see each other.

Spent of her tears, Leah raises her head from my shoulder and looks at me. I loosen my hold of her so she can wipe the wetness from her cheeks.

"Remy always said when the time was right someone would come for us," she tells me. "When I got my powers, I knew it wouldn't be too much longer. I'm ready to go."

"We have to get someone else too while we're here."

"Who else would be here that you know?"

"My sister came through the Tear tonight. I need to find her and bring her back home with us."