Cataclysm (16 page)

“I take it you were one of the ones hoping I didn’t come up with this idea?” Knowing if I had this opposition within my family, I was bound to face it among the other angel families as the word spread of my intent.

“Can’t lie. I think it’s going to make it a whole lot more difficult. It’s risky on so many levels. The ones we can turn, at least, aren’t walking around like ghouls, but the ones we can’t? Who knows what will happen.”

“I know I’m asking a lot, but I think it’s worth the risk. We’ve only got one shot at this entire war, and regardless of how it ends, I think we owe it to ourselves to stand by the principles we believe in.” The more I voiced it, the better I felt.

Arie’s laughter came down the hall, which was surprising considering the phone calls she was making.

“I wonder what’s got her in such a good mood? Not that it’s that unusual,” I said, as I scooted myself off the couch with Athen pushing me up.

“My gosh, I’m stiff.”

“Another great sign for how things might turn out,” Cyril uttered under his breath.

“Not funny! Let’s not forget how long we’ve all been around the block! Cut me some slack. I’ve only recently gotten back to my old self,” I said, grinning at him.

I made my way down the hall to the office where Arie just ended her call on her iPhone. She swung around the office chair she was sitting in and bounded towards me, hugging me tightly.

“Whoa! What’s up?” I asked, completely perplexed.

“Everyone I’ve called so far is ecstatic about your choice. You’ve given them an option surrounded by goodness. With everything going on, I think we all needed that.” Her smile oozing over everything she looked at. “You’ve done it again, Ana. Giving hope is what they need, and you’ve provided that.”

“Huh. We might just be able to pull this off then,” I chuckled. “I’ll start calling too. Who do you want me to start with?”

“How about Noah?” she suggested.

We were on our way to a farmhouse in La Conner, a place known for beautiful tulip fields in the spring and antique shopping the rest of the year. The home was owned by a fellow white demon, Amanda, who had been instrumental in spreading the word about our next steps. Rounding up as many newly-turned demons as possible and attempting to turn them again was going to be a huge process. Not always successful by a long shot, but it would take the determination and faith Amanda had to keep everyone motivated. Tonight was the first of several roundups, and I wanted to be there. We all wanted to be there.

Her farmhouse was out in the middle of nowhere and had several outbuildings that would work perfectly for our upcoming events. I was nervous about the unknown but so excited at the thought of turning this war around by sticking to what we believed in. I doubt Azazel would ever expect us to waste time by trying to undo all his handiwork while creating our own armies. I couldn’t wait to destroy him and Lilith. The thrill was spreading through my body.

The Jeep hopped along the dirt road leading us to Amanda’s home, and a swirl of dust was in a constant uprising behind our Jeep. Being out this far highlighted the beautiful star-filled skies. This was what we were fighting for. The mortal’s right to enjoy the beauty that earth had to offer.

“Are you nervous about tonight?” Arie interrupted my thoughts.

“I am.” My lips were suddenly pursed, as I realized how nervous I really was. Shaking my head, I grabbed her hand. “You?”

“Most definitely. I mean what are we gonna do with the ones that can’t be turned?” Arie challenged. “It’s not like they are a great bunch of people to begin with. I doubt they’ll go silently into the night.”

Athen’s eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror. The intensity behind them shocked me, and I knew he had been thinking about the very same thing for quite some time.

“There are about five of our type to every one of the other. We will be able to handle everything. Even if we can’t turn any of them, there’s no chance for something to go wrong. They wouldn’t know what hit them, if they tried anything.” Athen’s voice was so soothing and full of confidence, exactly what I needed.

The ride became bumpier with every minute down the long driveway. Up ahead, I saw the beautiful old farmhouse glowing with a warm amber light from every window. The wraparound porch had people already standing outside and sitting on the steps waiting for the inevitable.

“Well, I guess we’ll see pretty quickly what we’ve got in front of us, huh,” I said.

Athen parked our Jeep, and out we hopped on to the gravel driveway.

Amanda stepped off the porch and came over to greet us. She had an ease about her, in her jeans and a blue sweater, which she had pushed up at the sleeves. Her beautiful fair hair looked like the exact color I’d pick if I ever wanted to go blonde.

“Hey, guys. Glad you got here when you did. The next group is expected to arrive any minute.” Her finger pointed off in the direction we had just come from.

Following her inside the house was like going through a museum. The inside of her home was nothing near old-fashioned. She had several small sculptures displayed in the entry hall and living room.

“Wow. Those are beautiful.” I was in awe. I had to stop so I could properly admire the curvature of the nearest piece. A mother was holding her child while vines wrapped around them. It was so very intricate.

“Thank you!” Amanda exclaimed. “It’s a hobby that turned into my career. I’m glad you like.”

“I love would be a better term.” I turned around, waiting for Athen to catch up in his gazing. “I can’t believe how beautiful these are.”

“I’m thankful I can be a part of this to help distract myself, to be honest.” Noah’s lips tightened. “Come into the kitchen. I’ve got everything laid out.”

“Yeah, not a problem, man,” Cyril said.

“I’m gonna slip out and go to one of the barns to see how everything is coming together,” Amanda told us, and she went back out through the front door.

We sat around the huge pine kitchen table that could easily fit twelve. I watched Noah shuffle through some of the papers he had laid out. He looked weaker than when we last saw him. My heart ached for him. Knowing there was no way for him to connect with his soulmate, ever again, created a deep sadness. Looking over at Cyril and Arie, I fully understood why she put him through what she did to save him. Being without Arie for a few days, and dealing with the anger of being tricked, was a lot less devastating of a consequence than what could have happened.

Noah looked up at me, our eyes connecting. There was darkness under his eyes. Even though he was an attractive guy, the stress overrode that.

“So by all estimates, if we are able to turn even a quarter of these guys, we’ll be in good shape. Not only that, we can start using them almost immediately, to help turn the others,” Noah said.

“What kind of numbers are we talking?” Cyril asked.

“If we go with the conservative estimate, I say we can get up to a thousand at just this one camp. With these camps all around the globe, I think we are looking at tens of thousand converts. Azazel and his Legions won’t know what hit them. The numbers they were counting on will be gone. Remember, I’m being conservative. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to turn even more.”

The excitement escalated throughout every part of my body. Looking over at Athen, I knew he thought the same thing. With these numbers on our side, the war could be over a lot faster than Azazel ever could predict. Once he’s built his army, he never would guess we would attempt to reclaim his recruits. It’s far too risky a move, but it’ll obviously pay off for us.

“Nice work on convincing everyone on this, Ana,” Noah’s voice was full of appreciation. “It sticks to our values.”

“I didn’t really do much. You guys did all the communicating. I’m just thankful we could get so many on our side,” I told Noah. “Thank you for believing in it. It’s you guys who are making it work,” I told him, grasping his hand across the table.

“Have you guys been out to meet any of the prospective white demons?” Noah’s grin was from ear to ear.

“Nope! We came in here first,” Arie’s voice was full of excitement. “I’m actually kind of nervous about it.” Her eyes widened as she spoke.

I noticed a chalkboard behind Arie with all sorts of aprons hanging from it, and a to-do list, which listed ‘Get Bad Guys’. I smiled to myself, wishing it was that easy.

“I think everyone would be excited to show what all they’ve got set up,” Noah pointed towards the window. “It’s pretty impressive.”

Arie and Cyril took off down the hallway to the front door. I heard the soft click-click of the door, as they left the house. I knew Athen and I needed to go out there too, but I wanted to hang back and visit with Noah.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked him. “By the look of it, I’d say no.”

Athen slid to the seat next to me to offer support.

“We truly appreciate everything you’ve been doing for us and the movement,” Athen offered, “but it looks like it’s really taking a toll, man.”

Noah stared at the table and papers he had spread out everywhere. He didn’t say anything.

“We aren’t trying to stick our nose where it doesn’t belong. Believe me, I know how tough it is losing your soulmate,” I tried a different technique.

“Yeah, but you knew you were getting him back, eventually,” Noah’s voice was charged. “I don’t have that luxury. I’m alone, Ana - completely alone. This project? It’s all I’ve got!”

It was true. Even when I worried Lilith had gotten to him, there was a sprinkle of hope that kept me going.

“You’re right. I can’t argue with that. There was a moment where I thought I had lost him to another,” I whispered, looking over at Athen, who nodded back at me. “But you’re right. Even with that, I knew he’d still be on earth. It was cruel of me to act as if I knew what you’re going though, but you still have to take care of yourself. I’m sure she would’ve wanted that.”

Athen caught Noah’s eyes and began. His voice was soft and full of kindness, “Vanessa was tricked, but she did it for you. She was tricked into believing her sacrifice would save you from being taken to the dark side. Do you think her sacrifice was intended for you to beat yourself up for the rest of your existence?”

“Existence?” Noah began. “That’s the problem. Think about how long we are in
existence
. Think about how long I’m looking at facing without her. Listen, guys. I’m sure I look like a truck ran over me, but I’m trying my best. The only thing that keeps me going is thinking we have a shot at destroying Azazel. That’s all that I have. Am I miserable? Yes, but I fully recognize there’s nothing I can do that will make it better. To honor her sacrifice, I’ve got to do my part to end Azazel. It’s as simple as that. But please don’t worry about me, because there’s nothing that can be done. The darkness that follows me every day seems to be here to stay. I’m just learning how to work with it,” his voice full of grief.

“Whatever we can do to help,” Athen placed his hand on my knee. “Don’t forget we’re here.”

“No, I know and I appreciate it. It’s just a process.” Noah shook his head, getting up from the table. “I’d go out there and see what’s up. It’ll energize you. I’m sure of it.” A slight smile came into view on Noah’s face, as he tried to change the subject.

I went over and pecked Noah on the cheek before Athen and I started down the hallway to see what waited for us outside. I heard a sniffle as we passed by one of the rooms I hadn’t really paid attention to on our way in.

Confused, I pulled Athen’s shirt to slow him down. I quietly slid open the wooden pocket door and what I saw took my breath away. A little girl in a rocking chair was in view. Her little body transferred no mortal energy. She swayed in the chair, staring down at her tattered teddy bear. I couldn’t see her eyes, but if she was in this group that, alone, told me everything I needed to know. The disgust began building, as I realized there were no limits on anything these dark demons were willing to do.

“Oh my God, Ana. I didn’t even see her,” he said, wrapping his fingers through mine.

“I know. She’s tiny and so young.” The girl’s hair was long, and it draped over her lowered face, disguising any distinguishing features about her. The dark mass looked as if it hadn’t been taken care of for quite some time.