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  Rather than barreling into their discussion, they settled into a silent rhythm of washing and drying the dishes. With the last dish washed and the last drop of moisture dried, there was no more they could do to stall the inevitable. They had to talk and they had to talk now. Michael followed her to the room next to the kitchen that she used as a study. He sat on the loveseat that faced a stone fireplace. She closed the French doors so they could be seen from across the hall, but not heard.

  Emma crossed over to the fireplace and studied the photographs resting on the mantle. She lightly touched the picture frame containing a photograph of her and Hannah covered in finger-paint and she smiled, then flitted her hand onto another one of them sharing a swing and jumping off together. She rested her hand on the largest in the bunch: a black and white image in a thick, black frame. They were facing each other, forehead to forehead and nose to nose, with beautiful expressions of love on both of their faces. She lost herself for a moment in the fond memory the picture elicited before she turned and joined Michael on the loveseat.

  His deep voice dissolved any comfort the pictures had provided. “That face we saw on the screen this afternoon, did you see that this morning as well, when you fainted?” His grave tone sent waves of shivers up her spine.

  “Yes, actually. But it wasn’t just the horrible face. I know it’s going to sound crazy, but he spoke to me. He told me his name was Agremon, Hannah’s friend. He isn’t a friend, because she told me he’s been terrorizing her in her nightmares for months now.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “He said he would visit me in my dreams tonight. And this afternoon, he flat out taunted me.”

  Michael put a welcomed hand on hers. What she heard herself saying out loud sounded absolutely absurd. But he had seen it, too. And he didn’t seem to think she was nuts, so far.

  Interesting. Thank goodness he doesn’t seem to think I need to be committed.

  “Hannah’s been having nightmares for months?”

  She nodded silently.

  “No wonder she seems so withdrawn and anxious all the time. And now the object of her nightmares is after you.” He paused. “Listen to me. I need to ask you some questions and I need you to answer them honestly.”

  “Okay, but really, let’s get one thing straight here. If you’re going to ask if I’ve been doing drugs or drinking too heavily, let me stop you right there. I don’t do either, ever. And there’s no history of psychosis in the family. My imagination is probably on overdrive after all these months of getting little sleep. I’m sure that after hearing about my daughter’s nightmares for so long now, maybe they’ve become mine as well. But I’m an adult and I can handle it. I just need to get some solid sleep.” She hesitated. “But, then again, it doesn’t explain why you saw this Agremon creature as well, and seem to know something about him.” As she began to think on this very troubling idea, she pulled her hand away from his and grabbed hold of the loveseat’s armrest instead, as though she were clinging to the edge of a cliff.

  “I’ll explain everything as soon as I get some answers to some very important questions. First of all, I need to know when you and Hannah were born.”

  “When we were born? Well, we actually share the same birth date, June sixth.” They both loved the coincidence and since it was just the two of them, it made it extra special. “Come to think of it, my mother’s birthday is June sixth as well.”

  “And what time were you both born?” he urged on.

  “Well, let me think about that one a minute. Hmm. I think I remember my mother saying when I was a little girl that I was born at 6:06 a.m. and Hannah was born at…you’re never going to believe this, but she was born at 6:06 p.m. Isn’t that interesting?” She paused, suddenly uncomfortable about the peculiarity and where this conversation was headed. “I never really noticed the coincidence before. Why do you need to know this?” She shifted uneasily.

  “Where’s your mother now? She should be here, too.”

  “I wish she could be, God knows, but she’s passed on. My father, as well. So that’s going to be a little difficult,” she replied quietly.

  “God, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t know. Forgive my abrasiveness. How long has it been?”

  “They both died before my sixth birthday, actually. There was a terrible skiing accident. An avalanche wiped out an entire group of skiers in Colorado.” She shook her head, still amazed after all these years. “My parents were among them. My grandmother took care of me until she passed away unexpectedly a few months after my parents’ deaths. I was placed in foster care until I was eighteen.” She stood abruptly, smoothed down her shorts, and walked to the fireplace. “And that’s where this story is ending. Let’s just say they’re not memories I’d wish on my worst enemy. So now you know my tragic past. It’s time for some answers from you, Michael. You know, ever since this afternoon, you’ve been acting very strangely. You’re not yourself. So come clean. What the hell is going on here?”

  Chapter Six

  There was a silence as thick as molasses. No, Michael wasn’t himself. Not at all. Not since he found Emma lying unconscious on her classroom floor earlier this morning. Disquieting thoughts had been swimming through his mind all day unbidden, and served as frequent distractions. Like how God awful beautiful she was with that long, wavy, dark-as-midnight hair he could easily imagine brushing across his bare skin. And how her almond-shaped eyes were made for seduction. And her lips. Every time she nibbled on the bottom one, he had wanted to help her. How many times had he thought of her like this since the day they’d met six years ago? He figured he had the longest running crush on a woman in history.

  He’d never acted on those feelings, though. It was completely unprofessional, and with these latest developments, it was especially awkward. Although he had to admit, for the first time in the six years he’d known her, he felt consumed beyond measure by her raspy voice, her sensuous body, and her strength of character. He found himself totally enthralled and disarmed.

  And then, looking at all the pictures on the mantle tonight added to his discomfort. They were pictures of family, of closeness, of an impenetrable bond, and something he knew he would never experience again. A dull ache welled in his heart he quickly suppressed.

  How was he supposed to explain who he really was, and where did he begin to explain who he suspected she really was, who her daughter really was? It was obvious that she’d never been told what she needed to know about herself and her family lineage. Her mother would have done that on her sixth birthday. What about her grandmother, though? Why hadn’t she told her? She probably never got the chance.

  It was vital that she knew now, or else, Hannah’s nightmares wouldn’t solely be her own; they would be shared by every mortal on this Earth.

  “Okay, I need you to sit down and listen to me very carefully. What I have to tell you isn’t going to be easy to hear. It isn’t easy to say. I want you to promise that you’ll give me a chance to explain, that you won’t throw me out or call the police.”

  “Now you’re starting to scare me. What, are you some kind of lunatic escaped from a mental hospital, and you’ve been living a secret life as the favorite principal in a two-bit town?”

  “Emma, please, come sit down and I’ll try my best to explain. But you have to promise that you’ll listen to everything. Please,” he pleaded with an outstretched arm.

  “All right,” she agreed, joining him on the loveseat. “I promise, now tell me.”

  “My name is Michael, and I really am the principal of Prophet’s Point Elementary School. But I also have another job. I was sent here six years ago by the company I work for, Brethren Security and Investigations. There was intelligence gathered alluding to some kind of disturbance here, but nothing specific about who it involved. I’ve been on alert ever since. I am one of the Protectors of the Good. I am an angel, an immortal.”

  Emma stared at him, eyes wide as saucers. She opened her mouth as if to respond when he quickly continued, �
�Uh-uh. You promised you’d hear me out, and I have so much more to tell you.” She closed her mouth and Michael could see the cynicism washing over her as she folded her arms and crossed her legs. But he forged ahead undaunted. “This Agremon you’re referring to is a really bad guy. He used to be part of the Brethren, but he fell from grace and now works for this Namirha. Dollars to doughnuts, Namirha is an alias for Satan. With what you’ve told me about your birthdays and Hannah’s nightmares, it looks as though Namirha wants her and is using Agremon to get her. Agremon’s the perfect guy to get her, too. He’s able to turn dreams into nightmares, invade people’s imaginations, and take souls while they sleep. When you die in one of his concocted dreams, you die for real. Listen closely. We can’t let Agremon get near her again.”

  “On that I agree.” She unfolded her arms, uncrossed her legs, and scooted to the edge of her seat. “Leaving everything else you’ve told me about yourself aside for the moment, because God knows, I need to; you should know that last night, when I heard her screaming, I walked in to find her in a tug of war with some kind of invisible force.” She rubbed her hands on her lap. “When I got close to her, she stopped. She said I saved her from being taken by Agremon to a Mr. Namirha so she could be his daughter. Are you telling me that all that’s been happening, that Hannah’s nightmares are real?”

  “Yes, I am. And it looks like you literally are Hannah’s savior. Agremon couldn’t take her with you there beside her. Now the threat is clear. Namirha wants Hannah, but why as his daughter? That is the question.”

  ***

  Stunned, Emma sat silent.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I think you can obviously understand how all this might sound to me. I don’t know if I can believe it, believe you.” She nervously combed her hands through her hair. “I mean, what am I supposed to do here, Michael? Are you crazy? Am I crazy, too, if I want to believe you? I mean we’re talking about my baby here, my Hannah. She’s all I’ve got in this world.” She was quickly becoming unglued, so he turned her to face him with strong yet gentle hands. He cupped her face and looked at her with those piercing azure eyes.

  “First of all, I’m not crazy and neither are you. Secondly, I am not going to let anything happen to Hannah or you. And finally, there’s actually more to tell. About the two of you. When you hear what I have to say, I think you’ll be impressed.” He released his hold on her, and she felt instantly bereft, like a vital connection had been cut off. How strange was it that she could be feeling this way about a man, and a seemingly crazy man to boot?

  “Okay, okay. Tell me the rest of it. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Emma breathed in deeply trying to get a grip on things, but who was she fooling? There were no handholds to be found.

  “If my guess is right, and I’m pretty damn sure it is, you come from a long line of extremely powerful and gifted women.”

  “Well, I could have told you that,” she joked, desperately trying to lighten up a situation that had become disturbingly dark. She was doing her best to get back on solid ground.

  He continued, “When you told me your birthdates, I immediately knew who you were.”

  “You’re not making sense. Of course you know who I am. I’ve been working for you for six years.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

  “Yes, I know, that’s a part of you. But the part that was lost to you when your mother died is what I’m referring to. Your lineage, Emma, is ancient. Every generation in your family lineage, for as long as history has been recorded, has had a mother and daughter born on the same date, June 6, at precisely the same time 6:06, either a.m. or p.m. Every generation. Usually, on the daughter’s sixth birthday, all the knowledge and special gifts are revealed, passed on from mother to daughter.

  “Each mother and daughter has had to do battle with evil on a variety of levels. But you didn’t get that chance to learn this. I suspect Namirha had a hand in that. You and your daughter are connected to a source of great ancient power and a prophecy foretelling the salvation of this generation. I may be a Protector, but Hannah,” he explained, pointing in her direction, “I believe, is meant to be the Great Warrior Child, and you, as her mother, are meant to be the Great Savior Mother. With this knowledge comes great strength and gifts that need to be uncovered by each of you and mastered in order to defeat whatever plans Namirha has in mind. I can help you. I must help you. The fate of the mortal world hangs in the balance.”

  Conflicting thoughts swirled around in Emma’s mind. She stood abruptly and began pacing the floor. Her face flushed and her heart raced. “All right, Michael, I’ve been very patient, considering. I’ve listened like you asked. You know,” she tittered as her eyes snapped to a copy of Alice in Wonderland on the bookshelf. “I had really invited you over here tonight because I had kept Hannah’s nightmares a secret, and after last night, well, I couldn’t do it anymore.

  “I needed to have someone besides me know what was going on around here, so I could look at that person and find the strength to go on. I thought it could be you.” A gulp of air, a slow release, and she turned to face him as her body seemed to hum with unrestrained energy. “Now you share with me a story about who you ‘really’ are, who my daughter ‘really’ is, and who I ‘really’ am, and you know what? I’m not buying it. Not at all, buddy. So I’m going to ask you politely to get your ‘immortal’ ass out of my house before I do call the police. I suggest you forget about your goodbyes to Hannah, and go. Now.”

  Damn, it was going so well.

  She had misjudged him completely. She stalked towards the front door. Michael grabbed her arm. She looked from his hand on her arm to his face. If looks could kill, she was confident hers would kill him good and dead. He let her go.

  “I really don’t think I should go given the situation with Agremon. I’m a Protector, Emma. I can protect her.”

  “I’ll protect my daughter, thank you very much. I’ve been doing fine so far. Now get out.”

  She opened the door and dismissed him like one of her students. He didn’t argue any further.

  How could he? Emma slammed the door shut behind him. She slumped to the floor, elbows on her knees, forehead leaning heavily on the palms of her hands. How could he do this to me when I’m in such a vulnerable state? Burned again, damn it. I should have known better by now. I should have kept my problems to myself and found a way to solve them that didn’t involve others. The man is obviously insane! Immortal, my ass! Special gifts, ancient powers. Fantastical stories…all of it! What drugs has he been taking? But he knows Agremon and Namirha. No, I just can’t believe his story is real. And if it is real, well then, I’ll find a way to handle it on my own, without him.

  It took a few minutes, but Emma gathered herself together, got back up, and went to the kitchen in search of some aspirin. Hell! There were none left. She really was all alone in this. The one person she thought she could trust had gone off the deep end, nearly taking her with him. Thank goodness she had the presence of mind to throw him out.

  What she really needed right now was to shake this disaster off. She needed to be with Hannah and do her routine chores. So she went to the playroom to hang out with her best girl, but as she entered, she heard her playing with her Barbie dolls. She stopped at the doorway to watch and listen because it was so cute when she role-played with them. It reminded Emma of when she was young and had played with her own dolls. Hannah had a Barbie doll in one hand and a Ken doll in the other. Barbie was dressed in her wedding gown, and Ken was wearing a red satin jumpsuit. They were attached to each other with a string, and Hannah had the Ken doll yanking on the string and the Barbie doll was being thrashed around. As Emma watched, her rosy nostalgia turned to shock and dismay. And then Hannah spoke for the dolls.

  In a deep voice, she boomed, “For the last time you are coming with me or I will kill you!”

  Then she changed to a high lilt. “I won’t go, you evil, evil man! I’m never going to be his daughter, ever!”

&nb
sp; Hannah used her teeth to rip through the string. “Aha! You see! You can’t hold me! And soon, my army of immortals will be here fighting by my side, to send you at last to your total destruction!”

  With the deep timber, she responded, “You may have won for now, but you’ll never be safe again.”

  She made the Barbie doll’s hands grab the Ken doll and fling him across the room.

  “Hannah! What are you doing?”

  “Oh, Mama! I didn’t know you were there.” A blush washed over her face. “I was playing with my Barbie dolls.”

  “I see, well, I think I’m going to have to do a better job of monitoring the TV shows you’re watching.” And when had she learned the words immortal and destruction? Emma shook off the unsettling feeling creeping over her. “It’s time to get ready for bed, so why don’t you get in your jammies, brush your teeth and hair, and come to my room? I remember hearing that some really amazing mother gave permission for one amazing kid to sleep in the queen’s bed tonight. Since I am the queen of this house, you must be that amazing kid! So, scoot!”

  “Thanks, Mama! I’ll meet you in your room, okay, really fast!” Hannah leaped into her arms and nearly knocked her over, ending the love fest with a bear hug. She sprinted to her bedroom in a flash and was out just as quickly.

  Emma staggered to her bedroom, weariness suddenly overtaking her, and turned down the sheets. Hannah appeared by the door and came tentatively into the room. She slid quietly into the bed.

  “Hey, Mama, where’s Mr. D’Angelo?”

  “Oh, he had to go, sweetie. He said to tell you goodbye and he’d see you in the morning.”

  “Oh, okay,” she yawned.

  In the morning! Shit! He had to pick them up for school since she’d left her truck there. Not in this lifetime! She would call and cancel with him, and have Maddie come pick them up instead. Problem solved.