Bittersweet Seraphim (27 page)

Everett emerged from Hell with flames streaming from his back. Smoke hissed as he hit the open air, lighting the scene around him. She didn’t doubt he’d win their battle, but she wanted to buy Jack time to get everyone out. Before Everett could reach her, Emma used her seraph powers for good. She prayed for the safety of all those in Hell, for Kate and Jason to have happiness, and lastly, she prayed for Jack’s lost soul.

God,

I know I’ve not done You justice. But Jack’s soul was the only one he had to offer. He shouldn’t lose it because I had to help him. I wish I knew Your plan, because following my heart seems to hurt people. I love You, and I know I’ll be extinguished soon. My soul’s no good to me now, so please take it and let Jack have his back.

I love You,

Emma

She felt Everett’s breath behind her before he spoke.

“Praying? You are
such
a predictable whore. You’ll never learn.”

Emma could feel the heat from his flame wings. She opened her eyes and sighed. She was sick of him. She might even be past hating him. She just wished he wasn’t such a pain in her ass.

“When I’m done with you? I’ll go after Jack and all those minions and half minions. I’ll kill anyone who’s ever smiled at you.”

And that was it. Emma decided she wasn’t dying. She was going to fucking win.

She stilled her wings and dropped, grabbing fistfuls of her feathers as she fell. Then she caught herself and flew past him again, flinging her feathers into the night. They turned into dripping silver throwing stars though her only thought accompanying their release had been:
Death!

Jason watched as Jack fell to his knees, apparently despondent over Emma’s departure, and felt bad for the jerk for about a second. He quickly forgot him as he watched the minions approach. The barrier was down, and they came uninhibited. The dragon whipped its tail around the group and pulled them in close, spewing fire. Jason tried to orient himself in their flailing arms and legs as he was pressed against the dragon’s scales. He felt Kate’s soft skin and pulled her closer. The glow from her palms had diminished. Jack’s face was close, so Jason took the opportunity to slap it. The former Devil sneered at him but did not retaliate.

“Now what?” Jason asked.

Jack was all elbows, trying to give himself more room. Nero, Ransom, and the poodle wiggled around. “Now? Emma dies, so I could give a rat’s ass about any of this. I tried. I failed. We die. Next question?” He tried to light a cigarette.

Kate gasped. “Look!”

Jason and Jack came to a mutual pause in giving each other dirty looks. He looked up to see minions climbing through the holes Everett and Emma had punched into the ceiling. Then a huge whoosh sent a bunch of minions falling back through. Everett fell on top of the pile, covered in glittering silver stars and bleeding everywhere.

“Emma!” he hollered. “That the best you got?”

Emma’s voice floated down to Hell, loud and strong. “Nope. Just getting started, you pansy-assed girl.”

Everett’s wings lit up again, and he flew back up through the hole.

Jason looked at Jack’s bewildered face. “Looks like she’s kicking his ass. You still want to martyr yourself? Or are you ready to nut up, cowboy?”

Jack shook his head in apparent disbelief. “If she wins, she’s the Devil. Then we can be together. Shit!”

The minions had now abandoned everything and focused singularly on getting out of Hell. Jack pushed out of the dragon’s grasp and grabbed Jason’s shoulders.

“Listen, ride this dragon up there and help Emma if you can. Avoid the minions—they’ll be crazed because Everett’s freed them from their compulsions. He wants them to fight for him. It won’t last forever. I’m going to find Dean, Seriana, and Violent. Does that sound right?” Jack seemed energized but a bit disorganized as well.

“I want to help you get to Seriana,” Jason countered. “Kate, will you be okay?” Jason wasn’t ready to rely on Jack.

The poodle came to stand by Jack, obviously not able to get out through the hole or ride the dragon.

Nero put his arm around his daughter. “Kate goes to the surface now.”

With that, the dragon, who appeared to understand more English than it let on, lowered itself for the riders. Kate ran to Jason and kissed his lips.

“I feel like we were blessed or something. Please find me when this is over.”

Jason didn’t tell her it was crazy to even hope there’d be an after, but if there was one, he was certain he wanted to spend it with her. He held his faintly glowing palm to hers. “She did bless us. I’ll see you on the other side.” He kissed Kate’s lips gently, aware of Nero’s intense scrutiny.

Jason helped her up and the dragon took off, knocking minions out of its way, then made Emma’s tunnel bigger with its head and wiggled through. All of Hell shook, as if it were trying to get into its own hand basket. Jack looked him up and down.

“Well, you’re lucky I like your sister. Let’s go back to the opening by Kate’s house and try to get out of here before this place caves in.”

Jason used his palms like a flashlight, but Jack was still faster, easily navigating the caves. So he followed Jack’s cigarette and tried to let the sounds of the epic battle going on above his head give him purpose instead of panic.

Everett had wrapped her in darkness. Emma cursed herself for not seeing this one coming. He’d had used the same trick on Jack in Hell. He flew closer to her, bruised and bloody.

“Well, this has been…arousing.”

Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

“I thought I needed you under me. But I get it now. Your fighting makes your fear
much
sweeter.” His hand passed through the darkness and skimmed her arm.

Emma shivered. She didn’t have Jack’s smoke to release her, but maybe she could call to the light. She focused on a spot in the distance where a gorgeous star did its best to decorate the sky. Emma meditated, and Everett passed both hands over her wings. Each sensitive feather protested his evil. It was just a bit of starlight, but it was coming fast. What looked white in the distance was really every color, she realized. Emma braced herself as it headed toward her heart.

Everett whispered his degrading plans as the starlight slowed. She’d expected it to hit with the force of the millions of years it had just flown through. Instead, it gently touched the edge of the dark shroud and traveled like a fire line. Rainbow sparks sizzled. Everett had slipped his hands under her wings to hold her ass, and he screamed as the starlight traveled from the dark to his skin.

Emma was free, released. She flew forward and watched as Everett writhed. The light attacked him like a parasite. She took a moment to look below her. Minions poured through the holes she and Everett had created to reach the surface. When she looked back at her greatest enemy, he’d shaken off the starlight, but it had attacked his flame wings. Gravity finished the job, and Everett began the plummet back to Earth. She took off after him before thinking. Smoosh the dragon shook the ground as he worked his way out of the underworld, and in her peripheral vision she saw Kate, Nero, and another minion on his back. She didn’t stop Everett from hitting the ground.

Nero pulled his daughter from the dragon’s back before they could miss their chance to be on the land. As Smoosh flew high above Emma, Ransom jumped free as well. Everett’s body had made a huge crater. Emma waited on the lip, and Nero jogged over.

“You must battle him to the death,” he advised. “These minions will only listen to the real Devil. They’ll flow free on this unprepared world and change what humans experience.”

He’d obviously taken her waiting as indecision.

“Where are Jack and Jason?” she asked, keeping her eyes on Everett’s prone form.

“They were going through to help the others escape. I do not know their names.”

Kate came close to her father, eyes wide. “Seriana, Dean, and Violent were waiting in my shed’s entrance. The grandfather and his army were waiting on the other side.”

The minions around them were losing their minds. Freedom caused some to run, some to shake, and many to fight with each other.

Emma had challenged Everett for the position to buy Jack time, but now she understood what she’d really done. She’d decided to become a murderer.

“Can you go to your house and try to help?” Emma watched as Everett began to pull himself out of the crater.

Nero shook his head. “No. My daughter stays safe.”

Kate nodded at the same time and said, “Headed there now.”

It was the best Emma could do. She nodded and stepped backward to prepare. She needed a second to assimilate to the changes she was asking of herself. Killing was wrong. It was a commandment. Thou shall not kill. And yet she was ashamed to find she wanted his blood. This man, this thing—he’d never stop unless he was dead. She might never spend another night in the arms of her love, Jack, and her escape from Hell had released a mass tragedy in the form of roving minions on the world she was supposed to protect.

Everett pulled himself out, flexing his muscles. His wings flamed up again. “And that’s when you should have tried to finish me off. You just stood there? Shit, were you praying again?” Shaking his head, he walked toward her like they were friends.

Emma took off quickly. Everett had given her a good idea.

She prayed again:
Lord, this feels like the only choice. It also feels like I’m turning my back on You. I’m so sorry.

With that Emma stilled and hovered. She cataloged all her seraph powers and imagined working evil with them. Everett caught up and situated himself for their brawl, once again running his mouth.

“Do you know how easy this is? You have no follow-through. You expect to be able to fight? All you’ve ever done is be a cock tease. In Heaven you were God’s bitch. You don’t have the balls to be the Devil.” He cracked his knuckles and smiled.

Emma closed her eyes and dipped herself in black leather, placing swords in her hands and a black mask around her eyes. She smiled back. “You don’t know me.” She threw the first sword at his chest and immediately followed the strike with a numbing force, paralyzing him for a split second.

She raised the second blade above her head, ready to end him, when she finally had the pleasure of seeing fear in his eyes.

Jack and Jason could not resist fight breaks from time to time, despite their cooperative mission to get back to the portal at Kate’s. One would trip the other or jab with an elbow, and they’d fall into fisticuffs, working out their dislike. Then one or the other would remember the goal and holler that they needed to keep moving.