Ted broke out laughing. “That I’d like to see. I haven’t attended a good smiting in several centuries.”
“Go ahead and laugh, but he had such a look of amusement on his face before he kicked me out for asking too many stupid questions.”
“Wait. Look,” Ted pointed. “No more scar where you cut off your leg.”
“I didn’t cut it all the way off,” she reminded Ted. “I thought that couldn’t be healed.”
“Maybe it couldn’t, but now it can.”
“I can’t keep track. As it is, I should be carrying a maintenance logbook,” Mia grumbled. “Now where are those boys?”
“In Dieter’s room,” Ted said, leading the way.
They knocked before entering.
Dieter yanked open the door and froze. “Mom…” he said, walking around her. He poked her a few times.
“Ouch.”
“Your soul is different. It’s you but… it’s got an emerald green aura emanating from the center.”
“I’ve had a little work done. My heart’s been fixed. Turns out it was an electrical problem or something like that. Okay, we’re here, Mark. What’s so important?”
“Long story short, Sabine asked me to look at Luke, Orion’s and Audrey’s baby.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Anyway, she saw something or felt something. She’s not really good at explaining it. She wouldn’t tell me what, but she really wanted my opinion first.”
“And…” Mia led.
“Luke’s an angel.”
“Are you sure?” Mia asked. “Angels aren’t born. They’re made. They’re made by God. Maybe there’s just angel wings, like I had,” she suggested.
“I asked Sabine why she thought Luke was an angel. She could hear the angel song in his head. He was singing along. I saw what will be his wings when he grows up. I saw a vision of him. Mia, he’s the real deal.”
“Ah damn,” Mia said. “He’s going to be studied by the others. I can’t do that to him. He’s just a baby.”
“Who do you know who can help and keep a secret?”
“It used to be Altair, but he blabbed about Hell. Tell you what, we’re going to keep this to ourselves as long as we can. Angels are made full grown. And their angel/human offspring have a lot of problems but…”
“It could be a miracle,” Ted said.
Mia, Dieter, and Mark looked at Ted, the scientist, in shock.
“Come on, you guys, miracles happen. Dieter, I got your mom to marry me. That’s a miracle.”
The boys seemed to be calming down.
“Sabine knows…” Ted said. “Mia, you have to tell Michael before he finds out you know something important that he doesn’t.”
“I just got back. Let me talk to Orion first.”
“Fair enough,” Ted said. “Do it now.”
Mia nodded and left the room.
“Dad, she gave you the stink eye,” Dieter warned.
“Better I get the stink eye than your mother getting her wings torn off.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
“Mia?” Audrey said, surprised, as she opened the door. “You should be in bed.”
“I’ve just had my heart looked at by Saint Michael, and it’s fine. Just an electrical thing. Can I come in and talk with you and Orion?”
“He’s inside giving Luke a bath. Come on up.”
Mia looked around as they headed for the stairs. “You have a beautiful home, Audrey. I love what you’ve done with this place. You’ve done the impossible. You’ve made a mansion feel cozy.”
Audrey blushed. “Thank you, Mia. Ted saw the place and remarked on the lack of superhero posters.”
Mia laughed. “It’s the nerd life, Audrey.”
They heard giggles and splashes as they approached the bathroom. Mia took a moment and watched her grandfather interact with his child.
Audrey saw the joy on Mia’s face and felt a bit calmer.
“Hello, Luke,” Mia said softly. She listened to his burbles and squeals of joy enjoying bath time. She also heard the chorus of angels just faintly in the background. Mia started humming the tune.
Orion looked at her sharply and then nodded his head.
“What’s going on?” Audrey asked. “Is there something wrong with my child?”
“Come, let’s let them finish. Orion, bring him into the nursery when you’re done,” Mia instructed.
“What?” Audrey asked, clutching Mia’s arm.
Mia led her into the large room appointed with colorful pictures and furniture picked out for the several growing stages Luke would go through. She sat Audrey on the bed and sat down beside her. “You know how Brian and Varden are different from the other children?”
“Yes, they have birdman DNA, superhuman, and genius genes. I expect Luke has a lot of birdman genes mixed with mine,” she answered.
“Sabine noticed something when she first met Luke. Now, Sabine is a very talented listener. She can hear things I can’t unless I target my mind. She also can feel the emotions of those she loves from hundreds of miles away.”
“Is Luke unhappy?”
“No. But she picked up on something she wanted confirmed.”
“That’s why Dieter came over?”
“Dieter and Mark.”
“Mark, what is it about Mark again?”
“Audrey, Mark is an angel hunter,” Orion said. “He can see even a trace amount of angel in people.”
“So, there’s angel in our background?” Audrey asked.
Mia took a deep breath. “I’d like it confirmed by an angel you respect, Audrey, but Luke is showing signs of something that is so impossible, I don’t know how it will be received.”
“What?” Audrey asked in fear.
“You and Orion have made an angel.”
“No, you’re wrong. It’s impossible.”
“Audrey, I’ve been hearing angel song since he was born. I just thought that maybe a guardian angel was near.”
“According to lore, you can’t give birth to a true angel. They are made full grown by God,” Orion said.
“Your uncle is half angel,” Audrey said. “Maybe your grandmother…”
“His father was one of the fallen. He’s a Nephilim. Luke is an angel. I’m eighty percent sure.”
