Chapter 25

It took two days for Caspar to wake and another three for Binah to come back to the land of the living.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I smiled as she blinked up at me, a frown deep set between her brows and her lips pursed. I could see the cogs turning as she tried to remember.

"Did it not work? Did he live?" she croaked before falling into a fit of coughs and splutters.

I picked up the jug of water at her bedside, took great care to fill her cup and not spill a single drop and then held it to her mouth so that she could take a sip. Even as she took a long sip of water I could feel the burning question in her gaze as she stared at the side of my face.

I set the cup down at her bedside before I even attempted to address her questions.

"It worked." I answered finally. I paused before I added, "And yes, he is alive."

Binah pushed her body up on the pillows, her arms shaking under the strain. I wrapped an arm under her arms and slowly lifted her so that she could rest her back on the pillows.

"Something is wrong." She stated, her eyes watching me intently.

I hesitated but finally pushed out the words. "He lives but then he doesn't." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Since he has woken up, he's been different. He's disconnected from the world around him even when he appears to be completely lucid is distant."

Binah leant her head back and closed her eyes. "I never noticed it before but now," she drew in a deep breath and sighed. "It's so quiet. My mind has never been so quiet. Ever since I came into existence, since my birth, my mind has always been filled with so much chatter. It was just filled with the possibilities, the outcomes which may or may not happen. I didn't even think about the burden I would be giving to the boy."

Raising her hand, she swiped at the tear which had fallen from the corner of her eye.

"I am sorry for that." She murmured but then opened her eyes. "I am sorry that he will have to endure this but I am not sorry that I did this. It's selfish but you know, I didn't expect to survive the transfer. I thought I would just cease to exist when I gave him everything that I was."

I smiled sadly as her and took her hand. "I know." I paused and added. "Lucius knows – everything."

Binah gasped and looked up at me, her eyes wide as she shook her head.

"I had to." I stated, holding my hands up in front of me defensively. "He was like a bear with a sore head. He was walking around cussing and threating Caspar's new immortal life. He blamed Caspar for your condition. I explained to him that you had been planning it for some time. I explained it would have happened eventually even if events hadn't unfolded like they had."

Binah tried to be angry but she just sighed and slumped back on to the pillows. Her eyes were fluttering as her body fought to drag her back down into sleep. Mortality was hard and tiring especially to the newly initiated.

"Rest and get some sleep." I murmured, easing her back down on the pillows.

Binah opened her mouth to protest but her words were slurred and unintelligible. All too quickly her breathing deepened as she fell into a deep slumber.

It was the first time I had ever seen her look so peaceful. It was as if all of the strain and worries she had been carrying around for the last few centuries were suddenly gone and now she was free to live her life without the burden. Tucking the blankets in around her, I then stood up and left the room, closing the door behind me.

I jumped when Lucius abruptly stepped in my path. His face was pale, his cheeky smile gone and there were dark circles under his eyes. Laying his hands on my shoulders, he pressed a kiss to my lips before leaning his forehead against mine.

"How is she?" he asked, the same question he had asked me every single day.

He asked because he always refused to go in and actually see his sister. Ever since I had told him about Binah's decision to end her life Lucius had not been the same. He had been distant and evasive. Between him, Caspar and Binah it had been like living in the midst of a ghost town.

"She woke up."

"She did? Is she okay? What did she say? Does she remember what happened?"

Placing my hands over his mouth, I smiled up at him. "Yes, she is okay. She didn't say a lot - she's been unconscious and no matter how much she had planned with regards to her 'retirement', nothing could prepare her for the reality. But I think she will be okay – in time."

"Good. That's good."

"How's Caspar?" I asked, reaching up to stroke a finger down his nose.

"He's better today. Ms Bridger came to see him." He replied quietly, his voice just a whisper. "She helps him but even she can't tell him why his entire world has changed."

"I think Binah needs to discuss this with him." I advised, staring up into his face. "She's the one who has changed his life. She is the only who can fully explain how much his world has changed."

"I know, but it's just difficult trying to dodge all of his questions." Lucius replied with his mouth set into a frown. "He keeps asking how he is alive. He knows he should be dead. He seems to think I had something to do with it." He snorted and let out a little laugh.

"He thinks the big bad devil can resurrect people from the dead?" I giggled, before reaching up and placing a kiss on to his lips. "He must be crazy."

"Hey, why shouldn't he think I'm wonderful and all powerful?"

"Those were not the word he used."

"You don't know that." He protested, pulling away so that he could pout at me.

"I don't have to. Your head would be at least three times bigger if he had actually said those words. Considering your ego is proportional to the rest of your body at this point in time I can only assume that you are trying to lie to me."

"I don't lie."

I smacked him on the chest and pulled away. "Come on, we still need to go and interrogate Lyle. I think a week is enough to let him stew in his failure."

As we appeared downstairs, I looked over into the lounge and saw that as Lucius had stated Caspar was up and conscious. His face was looking fuller and his skin had gained as much colour as his pale complexion would ever allow. He still had that haunted look about him but he also looked well for the first time since I had met him. Not that it said much about his recovery. I had only ever seen him at his worst.

Francesca was sat by his side, dressed in casual attire. It was a bizarre sight. I had never known her to be in anything other than the business attire. To see her in a pair of jeans and a woolly jumper was just disorientating.

"Morning," I chirped, sounding happier than I felt.

"Morning." They both replied before continuing on with their conversation. They were wrapped up in their own little bubble that involved just the two of them.

Taking Lucius's hand, I waved goodbye to the group and dragged him towards the door. I didn't want to analyse their situation right now. There was just too much for me to deal with right now without adding other people into the mix.

"So where do we have to go from here?" I asked, allowing Lucius to open the door to the car to help me up into the passenger seat of the beautiful red tank.

It had sort of grown on me. There was something enjoyable about being so high up whilst cruising through the hum drum of London. And it was also great because Lucius was the one who had to pay for the congestion charges as he was driving. It was the car rule – one I had applied and enforced on a daily basis.

He ran around the car and climbed into the driver's seat, wordlessly starting the engine.

It was only when he pulled into traffic that he spoke. "We are going to the church. Castiel is holding Lyle there so that we can transport him down below."

Whatever I had been expecting, it hadn't been that. The Church he spoke of was one of the earth side entrances to the underworld – to hell. It was an excellent cover. How many people would look to find the entrance to hell on consecrated ground?

"What about the humans? Despite him being an arse of gigantic proportions his absence will be noted."

"Don't you worry about that – we've got it all covered." Lucius advised with a certain degree of smugness. I stared at the side of his face demanding an explanation but I received nothing.

"But we need him to prove that I'm not intent on killing the Prime Minister." I added but still he didn't speak. "As much as I hate it, we need to hand him over to the human authorities."

"Tartarus is the only place for a corrupt soul like him. He will be interrogated but we cannot give him the opportunity to be released from the system. I'm sure the slimy git has enough connections and money to get released. We cannot let him be the cause more pain and suffering." Lucius continued on defensively before slamming his hand on the car horn when someone cut in front of the tank.

I jumped at the loud noise and glared at the side of his face.

"That was unnecessary." I chastised but said nothing further on the matter.

We drove the rest of the way in silence.

The church was just as I remembered it. It was a small little country church which had not changed at all in the time since had last been out here. It was as if it was in a weird kind of stasis. Although the building had been weathered with time the flowers had continued to bloom even though we were in the middle of winter.

As we pulled up, there was no welcoming party. Everything was still and quiet. Fortunately it wasn't Sunday so there were no attendees to navigate. I hopped down from the red tank before Lucius could come and help me down; I closed the vehicle and then took a few steps forward and outstretched my arms. Closing my eyes and drew in a deep breath. It was a fortifying breath. I knew I would need all of my strength if I was going to make it through this entire meeting without beating the man to a bloody pulp.

"Are you okay? Are you sure you can do this?"

I exhaled slowly and opened my eyes so that I could look up at the man who had helped me through so much. He was always there. He was always trying to protect me and shield me from harm. And yet he didn't smother me. He was perfect for me. I just felt so stupid for fighting it for so long. His philandering past will always be there but whatever lay between us was so much more than just sex as it had been with his other women.

"I'm okay." I whispered before scrunching my eyes tightly closed. "There's just a part of me which wants to make him hurt – hurt as much as he has made all of those people suffer. Hurt as much as I have suffered. And make him pay for what he did to Caspar. I especially want to make him pay for that."

"And that's why we are taking him to Tartarus. It's the one place where he can truly pay for what he has done. Any mortal wound you inflict on him will not make him pay for him crimes and will only be a shallow blood payment." He brushed a strand of my hair from where it had blown in front of my face and then stroked his hand down the length of my arm. Finally he tangled his fingers through mine and pulled me into motion.

The church was quiet and sombre today. There were no candles burning, the place cast into gloom. It was strangely absent of sound so our footsteps were obscenely loud as they echoed around us. I squeezed Lucius fingers tighter as we reached the front pews where Castiel, still in his battle torn clothing, sat next to the hooded figure of Victor Lyle.

He turned his gaze to me and despite his bedraggled state, the dark haired fallen angel looked awake and fully alert.

"Have you rested at all Castiel?" I asked, stepping close to place a hand on his shoulder while the man at my side kept the other hand occupied.

"No, I wanted to make sure our captive did not attempt escape." He stated as his eyes turned to the hooded man at his side. "Besides, I haven't felt tired. This place is calming and strangely rejuvenating."

"Are you ready to go? We need to deposit our prisoner quick sharpish if we want to be on time for the main event."

Frowning, I looked up at the man beside me. "Main event?"

The doors to the church crashed open at that moment and a procession of angels, fallen angels and what I was sure were a few demons, made their way up the centre aisle. They were chattering happily amongst themselves, paying no heed to the human as they came to stand by us.

Raising my brows, I asked Lucius the question without actually asking it.

"We're here for a wedding." Lucius advised. "Hades will be joining fully, heart and soul to his life partner today."

Doom and gloom aside, I felt a brief dart of happiness. Hades had been alone for so long. He deserved to be in love and happy.

"And we have some very special guests coming along." Lucius added, a big grin appearing on his face as he looked at something behind me. Turning on my heel, I followed his gaze and felt my heart catch in my throat.

Gabriel stood at the top of the aisle, illuminated by the winter sun which made him look even more powerful and awe-inspiring than usual. His angelic blank mask was gone as he looked down at the little boy in his arms. He nodded his head at the appropriate times as my son chattered on with his story, his perfect little hands waving through the air as he spoke.

Pressing a hand to my chest, I felt myself getting weepy. I sniffled and whispered the name of the little boy who belonged in my heart. "Danny."

As if he had heard me, which was impossible due to the great distance between us, my son lifted his head and looked our way. At first there was confusion as he stared at us. For a moment I felt sick. Maybe he had forgotten us. Who knew how time worked up there? Maybe things happened faster up there.

He looked like he had aged at least a year since I had last laid eyes upon him. His hair was longer and hung over his eyes and as he stared at me from his father's arms, I couldn't help but compare them. They looked so alike.

Then he wriggled in Gabriel's arms, his arms outstretched towards me , so that the man was forced to place him on the floor. And then his little legs were running towards me and his voice was calling out to me over and over again. "Mummy. Mummy."

I dropped Lucius's hand as the gathered crowd parted so that I could get to my son. I rushed towards him. I stopped a few feet away and dropped to the floor, my knees protesting as the smacked down on the cold stone, and opened my arms.

His little body rocketed towards me and launched into my waiting arms. Wrapping my arms around his body, I burrowed my face into his neck and cried, cried because there was no way to process the joy of being reunited with my son after so long spent apart. His little arms wrapped around my waist and clung to me desperately.

"I've missed you so much." I whispered into his hair before pulling back so that I could pepper his face with kiss after kiss.

He giggled under the onslaught, making no attempt to push away my attempts to rain on him a year's of affection.

Remembering our audience, I held on to him even tighter and pushed to my feet taking him with me. I refused to let him go, just held him tighter still in case someone tried to take him away from me.

Lucius approached and wrapped an arm around my waist, dropping a kiss on my forehead and then pressing one kiss on to Danny's hair.

"Hello son, look at you all grown up." He whispered, ticking under his chin before leading us the rest of the way down the aisle

I glanced back of my shoulder and found Gabriel walking several paces behind us. I could see the sadness on his face even though he had reverted back to his blank expression he wore so well. Even as I carried on walking, I smiled and nodded at him. Mouthing a silent Thank you to him, I turned around and allow Lucius to lead me forwards.

Castiel had forced our prisoner up on to his feet. The hood remained in place and a pair of extremely ordinary and mundane handcuffs was wrapped around his wrists.

Our trip down in the underworld was rather uneventful. When we arrived, the hood was ripped off of Victor Lyle's head. I had wondered why the man, who never stopped to think about the vitriol which spilled from his lips, had been so strangely silent. A person had taken care to ensure that he remained quiet by putting some duct tape over his mouth.

He looked awful. His slicked hair was now limp and slimy, hanging around his face in messy tendrils. He had dark circles under his eyes and there was several days' worth of hair growth on his face. There was nothing clean or slick about him. Still, there was a smug grin on his dace despite the fact that he was vastly outnumbered and on the path to his undoing.

Then he spun around and his smug grin slipped. There was nothing happy about his face as he looked around us. He looked disgusted. We were standing on the edge of one of the most amazing sights I had ever witnessed, one which changed the way you looked at the world, and there was nothing.

His top lip curled upwards in an ugly snarl. "Disgusting. What kind of trickery is this?"

I laughed long and loud.

He turned his attention to me and his face became even more distorted.

"Abomination." He muttered his eyes on me and the boy in my arms.

I put my hands on Danny's head to protect from the words spilling from the poisonous mouth. Just to rile the man up even more, I laughed and smiled at the horrible man.

"Why Victor, you do say the sweetest things." I cooed. "But don't you worry your slimy little head. This abomination is going to take great pleasure in escorting you to the pits of hell. We've got a special slot lined up for you."

He sneered but I watched as his eyes darted around us, searched for an exit. Despite the lack of opening, he still tried to force his way about by barrelling to the perceived easy target. She was a thin and frail looking auburn skinned woman standing between him and the embankment down to the river which ran through the underworld.

Victor Lyle ran towards the woman, his bound hands in front of him as he attempted to ram the woman and force his way to what appeared to be freedom. He didn't get very far. As soon as he got within range of the slight woman, he was struck in the face. The woman didn't even appear affected as she retracted her fist and threw another punch at the dazed man.

Victor Lyle, face bloody, teetered on the balls of his feet before his eyes rolled back in his head. As he slipped into unconsciousness, the man fell backwards on to the floor. No one made a move to catch him so he hit the floor with a hard thud.

I winced and looked away.

"We'll take care of him Savannah," Lucius advised, nudging the limp form with the toe of his shoe. I opened my mouth but he put his fingers on my lips to stop me from speaking. "You need to spend time with Danny, not spend time in the presence of this scum. You also need to get ready for the wedding."

He moved his fingers so that he could lean down and place a chaste kiss on my lips. He started to pull away but then leant back down and deepened the kiss, putting so much into the kiss that had I not held my son within my arms I would have tangled my fingers through his hair. Instead, I allowed myself to indulge for a moment more and then I pulled away.

"Okay, go and I will see you when I get back." I murmured, placing a small peck on the end of his nose. "And make sure you take the power twins with you. I will feel better knowing you have back up in Tartarus. Please, do this for me."

"Fine, now you go and get yourself ready. The wedding starts in an hour."

With that, he leant down and grabbed on to Victor Lyle's ankles. And then he started to drag. Lyle's head bumped across the ground, the crowd parting to allow the enemy through. The twins bowed their heads at me in respect before following behind Lucius and Lyle.

Now that they were gone, the rest of us exchanged glances. And then we turned as one towards the city that lay beyond. There was already music in the air, the town getting ready for the celebration to come.

Looking down at the boy in my arms and smiled at the curiosity on his face. He had been very young on his last visit here and it was like he was experiencing it all again for the first time. Now that I wasn't forcing him to hide form the horrible Mr Lyle he was looking around with wide eyes.

Tickling him under the chin, I giggled. "Come on my little man, it's time to get you into the party. I think Uncle Hades will want to see you too."