Hellsbane Hereafter (24 page)

“Yes.” Uriel looked from Michael back to me. “We thought we’d prevented it. We’d thought Lucifer was the archangel the prophecy spoke of. He’s been locked in the abyss for eons. So confident were we that mention of another archangel’s fall was forbidden like any other lost brother. It wasn’t until recently that we realized we’d made a terrible mistake. And your birth meant we were already too late to stop the first steps in fulfilling the prophecy.”

“What do I have to do with it?” God, my head hurt. This couldn’t really be happening. Not really.

“Come now, Emma Jane.” Michael leaned his back against the railing and crossed his ankles. “Don’t be naive. You knew Jukar changed you. You had to know there was a reason.”

“I figured you knew.” Shame warmed my face. I couldn’t have stopped him, but whatever he did to me made me feel wrong somehow. A breeze kicked up, whipping small flyaway strands around my face. I didn’t care.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know, that I wouldn’t feel the brush of a sibling’s power against mine?”

Sibling? “I’m not—”

“No. But your power is near enough to ours that the sensation is disturbingly familiar.” Michael ran his fingers through his breeze-blown hair, brushing it back from his forehead.

“It has to be.” Uriel’s hair was just long enough he tucked a few bothersome strands behind his ear. “Jukar needed you to be powerful enough to protect his progeny. Just as we protect the progeny of men, you will protect the children of nephilim. The birth of a protector means the fallen archangel has amassed enough angelic worshipers to give him the strength to overcome the incompatibility of the species. His children will be the first nephilim able to pass their DNA to their offspring.”

I blinked, my brain shuffling around memories and information. “Jukar’s nephilim children will make more nephilim—”

“Males,” Uriel inserted. “Females are sterile.”

“What?” I’d never thought about having kids, but… I felt like I’d been smacked in the head with a bat. “I’m sterile?”

The brown-eyed college boy gave a single nod, those beautiful eyes suddenly empathetic. “I’m sorry. But, yes. You’re to be charged with the protection of an endless multitude of children. Your own would only be a distraction.”

“But everyone else, all those boys in the house with Abram, because of me, their children will be nephilim.” I could hear my voice, feel my lips moving, but I felt disconnected, numb.

“No. Because of Jukar.” Michael pushed off from the railing, turning to face me. “You are the sign that Jukar has produced nephilims who can spawn more nephilims. The children of those boys will be nephilim, and their children’s children and so on, and so on, until—”

“Until there’s no such thing as human, only nephilim. He’s really going to wipe out humanity as we know it?” I glared at Michael. “You said it wasn’t possible.”

“That was before you became our sister, for want of a better term.” His face scrunched like the word had left a bad taste in his mouth.

No. That wasn’t true. I’d told Michael about Jukar’s plan right after he’d used the severed hands and swords of countless angels to change me. If Michael could feel the difference in me, then he knew I’d been changed when I spoke to him at the aviary.

He would’ve known when he felt my power that I’d been made strong enough to fulfill the next step in the prophecy. He lied to me to keep me from stopping things then. And he was lying now. But not to me. He was lying to the rest of the Council. Michael wanted the prophecy to come true. I met his eyes, and he stared back without an ounce of guilt. Did he know something the rest of us didn’t?

“It’s
not
possible.” Raphael shifted to face me too, his flip-flops shuffling against the cement floor. “Eventually there’d be no more women.”

Michael didn’t look at him. “That would take generations and generations and evolution has a way of working out such problems.”

Raphael scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. The problem’s moot after the boys are killed.”

I looked at the sexy blond surfer-dude. “You mean the kids in the house? Wait. Did one of you set the fire?”

“We cannot kill humans, but we can arrange their natural deaths,” Uriel said.

I looked to Michael. “That’s why you were there. Killing one kid wasn’t enough. Now you’re after all of them?”

“You can save them. Simply kill Abram,” Michael said, totally unapologetic. “Without his testimony, humanity will never accept angels into their beds. He’s the last step before stopping the prophecy becomes…difficult.”

If killing an innocent human being was the easy part, I didn’t want to see what hard would be. “No. That can’t be right.” I cupped my forehead, my brain starting a dull throb. “Killing him isn’t the answer.”

Raphael’s head tilted to the side, his brows creasing. “After everything we’ve told you, you still refuse to kill the boy? He can’t be allowed to testify. He must be ended.”

I dropped my hands to my hips. “I know. I mean, I agree allowing him to convince humanity to pray for a melding of the species would be bad. But I just know killing him isn’t the way to fix the problem.”

“If she won’t kill the boy then there’s no reason for her to exist.” Gabriel’s anger billowed off him in waves so cold it burned against my skin. He drew his sword, and I shuffled back, calling my own weapon with a lightning-quick thought.

The dark-haired angel’s light eyes stretched, surprised for half a heartbeat before he shut it down.

“No.” Saraqael shifted over to make a wall of himself between us. He’d been quiet until then, but now his long, narrow face flushed almost as red as his auburn hair. Dressed like he’d just come off the basketball court in long shorts, an oversized tank, and high-top sneakers, he turned to face me. “Kill the boy, or we will banish Elizal to the abyss where everything you’ve come to love about him will be slowly eaten away. He will suffer an eternity for your defiance.”

“What?” I stiffened, looking past him to Michael. “No. You said if I figured out Jukar’s plan for Abram, how he plans to spread his testimony, that you’d get Eli home. You’d put in a good word and get his grace back. It’s not too late. I can still find out. I know it.”

Michael’s cool eyes met mine. His long lashes brushed his cheeks in a slow, unaffected blink, but he didn’t say a word.

“Give back his grace?” Saraqael laughed. “His grace is not ours to give. None of us, not even Michael, can welcome a Fallen back into Heaven. Who told you such a thing?”

I looked from the redhead to Michael, willing him to disagree, to speak up, to tell them. He didn’t. He’d said no one knew about our agreement; now I knew at least that wasn’t a lie. My breath froze in my chest. “You never intended to save him. Eli was right. You were just saying what you needed to, so I’d do what you wanted.”

“What does Elizal know?” Michael’s frowned hard, his muscles tense.

“I told him what you promised. He wouldn’t believe me, but I convinced him he was going home.” Tears stung my eyes. “I made Eli believe against his better instinct that there was a chance.”

Now…now I’d have to tell him it was all fake. He could never go home.
Bastard.

Michael’s voice whispered through my mind like a winter breeze.
“You broke our agreement the moment you revealed it to him. You are to blame for his heartache.”

“Screw you!” I yelled, and for the first time drew attention from nearby humans to the gathering of stunning men. “You’re all liars. You think you’re so much better than the Fallen. But you’re all self-centered sexists. You don’t care about anything but what you want.”

My gaze flicked to Michael, and I tightened my grip on my sword, my jaw clenched as I spoke through my teeth. “I hope you all get
exactly
what you want. And I hope there’s hell to pay for it.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Honestly, I don’t know how I made it out of there alive. I should’ve been smote. I should’ve been dead where I stood. For whatever reason, I figured Michael must’ve wanted me alive. Not that I gave a shit. I was so friggin’ done with lying, no-good, two-faced angels.

I was just happy to be home. It felt like forever since I’d last slipped my key into the lock and stepped into my old, familiar foyer like a normal human being. God, I wanted to be normal again. I closed the door behind me.

“Emma. Don’t kill me.”

I jumped at the sound of Amon’s voice, my sword forming in the palm of my hand almost on reflex. “What the hell, Amon? You’ve got a lot of balls coming—”

“Coming here. I know. I know.” He held his hands up in surrender, totally vulnerable if I wanted to hack his head off for what he’d done to Mihir. And I did. Right there in my foyer. “Please, let me explain.”

My mind flooded with images of my friend, his wheelchair, the story he’d told about being beaten and terrorized—because of me. Anger swamped me faster than I could breathe, and I swung my sword up to the demon’s neck, cutting a small line in his flesh that instantly oozed black blood.

I didn’t care. “How about I take your head first, and then you can explain why you tortured my friend nearly to death, over and over again, finally leaving him broken and paralyzed. Oh, wait.” I feigned a laugh. “If I take your head you won’t be able to explain. Oh well.”

“Emma Jane, wait.” Eli rushed from the living room to stand beside me. He didn’t touch me, didn’t get in my way.
Smart man.
Instead he spoke in a calming tone, the voice of reason. “Perhaps you should hear what he has to tell you first.”

The statuesque demon stumbled back, his hands still up. “I’m sorry. I know I deserve to die for what I did, but please, please hear me out. You have to believe me. I didn’t want to leave him that way. It wasn’t my fault.”

I took back the distance, pressing the point of my sword against the demon’s neck again. “Typical. A demon blaming someone else for his evilness.”

“No. No, that’s not what I meant.” Amon raised his hands higher, his voice cracking. “I did what you said. I tortured the man, Mihir. It sickens me to think of the pain I caused him. But it was…it was confusing.”

“What about nearly killing a man over and over is confusing?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“I didn’t want to hurt him. I mean, I wanted the ring, but if I’d been alone I don’t think I would have been so…vicious. I didn’t even know I was capable.” Amon closed his eyes for a moment as though the admission pained him. “But when he refused to tell us where it was, the angel lost patience. He told me to hurt him, told me to do my worst. He promised that anything I did, he could undo. He said he would heal even the memory of it in the man’s mind, so I had no reason to hold back.”

“You’re telling me you were crueler on purpose because you thought you’d get away with it? And you felt this was something that would help me forgive you?” The urge to run him through tested my last shred of restraint. I wanted him to pay for Mihir’s agony.

“Yes. I mean, no. I know I don’t deserve forgiveness. That’s not why I’m here. Yes, I was crueler, because I thought it would be erased. And because of that I gave into the dark urges that always whisper through my head. I hurt that man. I did things that make me sick to think about, but as much as it haunts me, I have to admit, I took a frightening kind of pleasure in it. I liked letting go, giving in to those needs.”

“What the fuck, Amon? Are you getting off on telling me this or something? One last twisted thrill before you die?” My arm shook with restraint, anger flaming through me.

He stiffened again, brows high. “No! I just…I just needed you to know, to understand what happened and why. I would’ve gone after the ring. Yes. But I wouldn’t have tortured him if not for the angel. He took advantage of my nature. He lied to me. I never would’ve left him like that if I had the power to heal him. The angel betrayed me.”

“Who was it?” I needed to hear him say the name. “Who was the angel?”

He blinked, eyes widening. “Michael. It was the archangel Michael.”

“Son of a bitch.” Blood gushed through my brain, pressed against the inside of my skull. My coconut was gonna crack open under the pressure. I dropped my sword arm to my side.

“It’s true.” Amon shifted forward, earnest. “That’s why I trusted him. The boy, Jukar’s son, told me he could open the abyss with the ring. That’s how he convinced me to help him. He said I’d have help. The next thing I know, he’s introducing me to the archangel.”

My brain shuffled back to my conversation with Michael.
At least something good would come of Abram’s wickedness.
He’d said that he wanted to rid the world of all Fallen. He wanted the abyss and everyone chained inside it destroyed. “Why would Michael help the child of a fallen angel?” I rubbed my temple, trying to think around the pounding in my head.

“I don’t know. The boy said he’d free the Fallen still chained in the abyss.” Amon lowered his hands even with his shoulders. “If I got him the ring, he’d free them all. I didn’t care about anything else.”

“No, Amon. The Ring of Solomon was made to control the Fallen, not free them.” I willed my sword to vanish.

“No.” The demon didn’t seem relieved, his beautiful, chiseled face ruined by the horror slowly dawning on him. He shook his head, long, sandy-blond locks swaying. “No. The boy said he needed the ring to open the abyss. Even the archangel said the abyss would empty. Everyone chained inside would be set free.”

“Set free or let loose?” I’d made it a question, but I wasn’t really asking.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as they’re out of there. You don’t know, Emma. The abyss is pain without end. Like having your skin peeled off in layers, then the raw flesh salted. When the agony begins to numb the senses, another layer is peeled away, and more salt is rubbed in to reignite the pain. If slightest chance exists I can free my brothers from this…this hell, I’ll take it.”

I raised a brow, my tone sharp. “Even if it costs you and the rest their freedom? Because I think you’ve already paid for your part in this.”

Amon’s brows creased. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Does Abram control you?”

The demon’s violet eyes scanned my face, then Eli’s. He looked back to me, shaking his head. “No. I told you. I did this of my own will.”

“I know. But what about after you gave him the ring? Where have you been, Amon?” I folded my arms across my belly. “What have you been doing all this time?”

Amon looked genuinely confused. “I’ve been…I’ve been waiting for him to open the abyss—waiting in case there’s something more I must do.”

“Liam’s worried sick.” I dropped my arms, disgusted, and headed toward the living room. “He hasn’t heard from you in weeks.”

“Liam’s searching for that witch,” Amon said, following me. He didn’t sound as sure anymore. “It hasn’t been weeks. Only a day or two. I just spoke to him…”

Eli stopped at the edge of the foyer, leaning a shoulder against the archway, silently listening.

I turned, forcing Amon to come to a sliding stop before he ran into me. “No, Amon. You came to my shop days ago. You told me not to kill Abram. But I’m the only one who’s had contact with you.”

Amon’s long lashes fluttered, fear stiffening his back. “Weeks? Abram told me to stay near. It’s been weeks?”

I nodded. He really didn’t know. I sighed. “It’s okay, Amon. You’re here now. You should go see Liam.”

“But the abyss,” Amon said. “I want to be there when it’s opened.”

“No.” I stepped forward, grabbing the pretty man by the arms. “You have to go. Get Liam and run. Both of you. I don’t know what kind of range that ring has, but the farther away you are, the better.”

Amon nodded, and I turned to Eli. “Actually, that’s good advice for us, too.”

Eli straightened. “You want to run?”

“Ya’ damn skippy I do.” I winked at the sexy fallen angel. “I’m through with this clown show. Both sides have got a part for me to play in their master plan. I figure if I’m gone, they’re both screwed, and I’ve got a feeling that’s the best humanity can hope for.”

“You might be right.” Amon exhaled loudly, a weak smile flickering across his face. “I have to find Liam. I only hope he’ll forgive me for all I’ve done, for how long I’ve been gone.”

“I’m pretty sure he will. You sure you’re okay? I mean, Abram’s not in your head somewhere pulling strings? How did you get away from him?”

The handsome blond stared at me for several seconds. “I, uh, I don’t really know. I mean, I feel like myself. Before everything was clear. What I was supposed to do and why, and now, now everything’s confusing, and I know I wasn’t in control before. I started feeling more myself after he left. Maybe it has something to do with the distance between us. I…I don’t know.”

“Okay.” What more could I say? Liam would want to see him no matter what. I had to trust he was really free of Abram. “Be careful.”

The demon smiled at me and then left so fast it almost appeared as if he’d vanished.

“What happened?” Eli asked the moment we were alone.

Crap.
I didn’t want to tell him. How could I? I’d made him believe he was going home. I’d given him hope when he’d known better. I’d set him up for heartache, and now there was no way to avoid it.

“They won’t take me back.” He looked away. His jaw flexed, but then he forced a smile and turned back to me.

The disappointment buried in his softly spoken words shredded my heart like jagged glass. I knew he had to be guessing. I exhaled, relieved and full of guilt. “I’m so sorry. He lied. He lied about everything.”

“You can’t be surprised.” His smile pushed up the corners of his lips, but I could see the disappointment it masked. My chest tightened. “Promises made to one human, their disappointment, their fate, is insignificant in the grand scheme. Unfortunately, the Council only thinks in the grand scheme. I’m sorry, Emma Jane.”

“What? No. Eli, this is my fault.” I closed the distance between us, slipping into his arms. The scent of sun-drenched fields filled with wildflowers soothed me, his power enveloping my body like a gentle hug. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I should’ve listened to you. All that sneaking around, having everyone look at me like I was a traitor, just to keep my agreement with Michael a secret. There was no agreement. He just used me.”

“If it helps, it wasn’t personal. In the archangel’s eyes you were simply a means to an end.” He kissed the top of my head.

I indulged a small laugh. “Tell that to Rumyal.”

Eli leaned back to better look me in the eye, concern creasing his face. “Don’t do that to yourself. Rumyal’s loss was heartbreaking, but losing you would have been catastrophic. And not just for me. You couldn’t have foreseen how events would unfold.”

“I have a feeling Michael did.” I pushed back from Eli’s embrace. “He’s the one who texted Rumyal. He lured him to the boardwalk on purpose. He knew what would happen. He
wanted
it to happen.”

“The archangel is privy to knowledge we—”

“We can’t begin to understand,” I finished for him, straightening. I sighed. “Yeah. He knows a lot. Tons of stuff on his mind. Yada yada yada. I get it. He’s super busy doing stuff like torturing my friend to get a ring to give to Abram so he can control the Fallen.”

Eli gave me a stern look. “It’s complicated, Emma Jane.”

“No. It’s really not.” I turned and made my way to the couch, plopping down at one end. “I mean, I don’t know everything that’s going on in the camps of good and evil, but I realized I don’t care anymore. I’m out, Eli. I’m done listening to their lies, worrying about who’s winning and who’s losing. I’ve given them three years of my life. I’ve lost dear friends and had to distance myself from my family. I’ve given them all I have to give. And the one thing I asked for, they said no. I’m done. I’m not giving anymore. Not to Michael and not to Jukar.”

“So you’re running.” Eli strode over and joined me, settling close but still leaving a comfortable space between us.

“I’m…taking an extended vacation.” I scooted closer. “Care to join me?”

He raised a brow, his smile turning mischievous, then he lifted his arm in welcome. “May I pick the spot?”

I leaned against his chest, his arm hugging around my shoulders. “Lead the way.”

“I know the perfect place.” The scene around us shifted. One instant we sat on the couch and the next we stood on a moonlit balcony with colorful tiles covering the floor. Over Eli’s shoulder, the dark Mediterranean Sea rolled in and out from the shore.

One look at the quaint town, its pastel-colored houses climbing up the mountainside, balcony lights twinkling in a spill down to the shore, and I knew where we were. “Positano, Italy.”

I spun around, staring into the hotel room. Honey-yellow lights shimmered off the white marble floor, the familiar king-sized bed, and white iron furniture. “It’s the same room,” I said more to myself than Eli.

“Actually, we’re one room over.” He hiked a finger in the direction of the other room. “Ours was occupied.”

Our room
was where Eli had lost his grace nearly a year ago, a full year after Tommy’s death. We’d spent several blissful days snorkeling, shopping, eating, and making love. We’d known it was all temporary, putting off the inevitable consequences of our actions. But while it lasted, those had been the best days of my life, truly Heaven on Earth.

“It’s perfect.” I turned back to him and launched myself into his arms.

He huffed out a breath on impact that melted into a low laugh. His arms slipped around me, tightening, and he turned his head, showering my neck and cheek with kisses. Desire awakened in the deepest parts of my body, shedding inhibition like a wool coat on a hot summer day. I had no reason to hold back, no reason not to give in to the possibility of my every fantasy realized.