by Elicia Hyder
I was sure that was what Azrael was afraid of. Theta had the power to rip the shroud of secrecy off the details of Adrianne’s pregnancy. Azrael had found out about it through Sandalphon, another Angel of Prophecy. So it was highly possible Theta knew as well.
“It’s about your powers as an Angel of Death,” Theta said.
Azrael looked up.
“Of course.” Adrianne rolled her eyes. “Now he’s interested.”
He shook his head. “I am absolutely not interested.”
“OK,” Sloan said with a chuckle as she fed Iliana more potatoes.
Theta walked around the table toward Sloan and Iliana, and I immediately reached for my sword. Reuel held it out of my reach. “She won’t hurt them,” he said, pushing my hand away.
Theta held out her hands. “May I hold her?”
“No,” Azrael, Nathan, and I all said in unison.
Theta took a step back. “Why not? I hear the stone protects her.”
“It might protect her from you making her sick or crazy, but I don’t want to risk you filling her head with your nonsense,” Azrael said.
“Oh my god.” Sloan sat up straight. “Angels don’t ever shake hands. That’s why!”
“Correct. Too many of them use their powers for evil, even when they aren’t fallen,” Azrael said.
Sloan was still smiling. “I’ve wondered that for years.”
I walked to the end of the table and carried over a vacant chair. Fury and I moved ours back, and I placed the empty chair with ours. “Theta, have a seat.”
“Thank you, Warren. You must have inherited your manners from your mother.”
Nathan pushed his empty plate back a few inches and balanced his elbows on the table. He looked at Theta but pointed at Az. “Why the bad blood between you two?”
Theta still hadn’t added any food to her plate. She stared at it. “Because I foretold the death of the Morning Star, and it didn’t come to pass.”
“The Thousand Year Prophecy,” I mumbled, more to myself than anyone else as a faint memory resurfaced.
“You’ve heard of it.” Theta looked at me.
My head tilted. “Not exactly.”
“You saw it in Azrael’s blood stone?” Fury asked.
“A long time ago. I don’t remember much beyond the name.” Or anything, if I was being honest. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything about it in Eden, either.”
“You wouldn’t. The angels would like to forget it,” she said solemnly.
“Why?” Sloan asked, feeding a tiny piece of rib meat to Iliana.
“Because it means they’re fallible.” Fury’s answer caught everyone off guard.
I looked at her. “How do you know of it?”
“She told me,” Fury said. “It’s the reason she warned me about going to Azrael with the vision of my sister. She said he’d never believe it. She was right.”
“He believes it now.” My voice was loud and aimed right at my father. He was still doing his best to pretend he was ignoring the conversation.
“What was the Thousand Year Prophecy?” Chimera asked.
“It was a spoken word about—”
“It was a joke,” Azrael said, cutting Theta off.
“It was not a joke,” she insisted.
“Can you tell us what it was?” I asked, speaking over both of them.
Theta put her hands in her lap. “I’d rather not.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Azrael said.
Theta closed her eyes and spoke in Katavukai. I translated for all the English speakers at the table. “I saw the great sword come down from Eden…having the key to the bottomless pit. And he laid hold of the dragon…when a thousand years had expired…the devil that deceived them…was cast into his lake of fire…and tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
“I’m guessing the thousand years has come and gone,” Kane said, farther down the table.
“Yes. The Morning Star was supposed to have been cast into the pit after a thousand years, and that expired”—Theta cleared her throat—“quite a long time ago.”
I thought again about Theta’s absence from Eden. I’d never seen her there. Had rarely even heard her name mentioned. I wondered if perhaps this colossal mistake was the reason.
“I remember something about this,” Enzo said. He pointed at Azrael. “This is what brought you to Earth a bazillion years ago.”
Azrael didn’t answer, so Theta did. “Yes. He was the first Archangel who wasn’t fallen to spend a considerable amount of time here.”
It wasn’t common for angels to spend much time outside Eden. Even I, with all that I loved on Earth, found it hard to leave or stay away for long. My responsibilities as the Archangel of Death kept me busy in Reclusion, and by nature, Eden made me not want to leave. Infinite happiness, constant peace…why would I?
All creatures—angels and humans alike—crave Eden, as it is the life source of all things. Humans just aren’t born knowing it. Angels, the ones born on Earth, don’t know it either until they come of age. Or so I’d been told.
“I came here chasing a lie,” Azrael said, still not looking up.
“It wasn’t a lie.” The emotion in Theta’s voice was clear. Her tone teetered on tears, very uncommon for an angel—much less an Archangel.
She looked at me, her eyes begging for my acceptance of her word. “The Thousand Year Prophecy is the only prophecy in history that has been altered or changed.”
“I believe you,” I said.
She relaxed.
At the end of the table, Azrael was shaking his head.
“So do I,” Fury agreed.
Theta’s face sobered, and her eyes locked on mine. “The fact that the Thousand Year Prophecy is the only one to be altered is the reason you need to listen to what I have to say.”
“You think your vision for us will help?” Fury asked her.
“No. I’m hoping my vision will stop you.”
“Stop us?” Fury straightened.
“If you go”—Theta was still staring at me—“Fury will not come back from Nulterra alive, and I fear you will be the reason.”
The words dropped like a boulder onto the table. Everyone flinched. No one spoke a long time.
“What did you see?” Fury asked.
Theta shook her head. “Warren can be the only one to tell you as the vision was his. I will show him if he wishes.”
Fury grabbed my forearm. “Don’t do it, Warren. It will only make you—”
“I’ll do it.” The words were hard to get out.
Across the table, terror was etched across Sloan’s face. If anyone knew how afraid I was to dabble in prophecy again, it was her. She also knew how equally afraid I’d be to ignore it.
When Sloan’s death was foretold, had I not had weeks to decide that my absence would be the only thing that might give her a chance to live, I’d never have been able to save her.
“It’s going to make you want to change our plans,” Fury argued.
I looked at her. “Maybe. Or maybe I figure out a way to change the future. I could even go to Cassiel for help—”
“Cassiel won’t be able to help you,” Theta said. “While spoken prophecy might be open to interpretation, visions can’t be changed by anyone here or in Eden. They aren’t subject to choice.”
“Which is why Theta is here.” Azrael sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, looking even more angry, if that was possible. “You have a plan, don’t you?”
Theta hesitated.
“Well?” I asked.
She nodded slightly. “Eden won’t be able to help you, but the fallen might. The Morning Star has been the only one able to alter a prophecy.”
“Ha!” Azrael threw both hands into the air. “You want him to work with the Morning Star. That’s hilarious.”
Theta leaned toward him. “You and I both know that’s not even possible.” She slid her dark eyes toward Adrianne. “Am I right?”
Adrianne
stopped chewing. “What?”
Without another word, Theta looked back at my father, her eyes conveying a silent challenge. She knew Adrianne carried the Morning Star, and if he didn’t hear her out, she might let it slip for all to hear.
After a moment, his stony expression softened. “Then what do you propose?”
“Moloch,” she said.
Azrael laughed loudly. “Newsflash, Theta. Moloch is dead. I killed him myself.”
She straightened with surprise. “Dead?”
“He is?” Nathan asked.
Reuel nudged my arm. “Verta?”
I nodded. “Yesterday.”
“Yes, and good riddance. One less demon to worry about,” Azrael said.
Theta looked at Reuel. “Did you know?”
“Nan.”
“You wouldn’t know.” Azrael’s voice was even louder. He stood from the table so fast his chair fell over. “Because I built a damn good vault! Maybe everyone should think about that the next time I say I’m handling something!”
He stormed toward the house.
Adrianne got up and followed him.
“Well, I guess my efforts here are futile,” Theta said. “Without Moloch, I don’t know that we’d ever determine how to change anything.”
I lay my napkin across my plate and stood, then walked to her. “Show me anyway.”
“No.” Fury grabbed my arm.
I pulled away from her.
“Warren,” Sloan said, worry in her eyes.
“I need to do this. The Morning Star isn’t the only one who changed a prophecy. I was able to keep Sloan alive by leaving.” I knelt in front of Theta and bowed my head. “Shall we get it over with?”
Without pause, Theta grabbed my hand.
My hearing was the first sense to flash to the future. Sweet laughter filled my ears.
The scent of jasmine came next, and when my eyes opened, sunlight burned my retinas. In the sky, there was one sun—not two, as in Eden. I was on Earth.
A woman called my name. I started up a hill. Her back was to me, crouched, looking at something on the ground.
My eyes followed the direction of her finger. Two large flat stones were set in the ground.
Markers.
Graves.
From the ground, death called out to me like an old friend.
On the face of the first marker, words had been roughly etched into the rock. They were hard to make out. Chipped and faded on the weathered stone.
MCGRATH
Allison “Fury”
1985-2015
As I prelived the moment, it wasn’t the inscription or even the implication of the inscription that bothered me. I was horrified by how I felt.
There were other graves too, but this was the only one that mattered.
Sloan called to me. When I turned, I saw her through a halo of sunbursts. Her hand was outstretched, beckoning me to join her. And all that mattered in that moment, all that mattered was her.
All that had ever mattered was her.
Suddenly nauseated, I ripped my hand from Theta’s and the vision swirled away. I was back on the mountaintop. One knee on the grass. I eased down onto my hip, then cradled my head in my hands.
“Warren?” Fury crouched beside me and curled her arm around my back. “Are you OK?”
No. No, I wasn’t.
When Theta had said Fury would die in Nulterra and I would be the reason, I’d thought—worst case scenario—that I might unintentionally cause her death. As I had Flint’s.
But I was glad in the vision. No sadness. No remorse. In fact, all my feelings were the opposite, to a sickening degree.
Fury lay dead in the ground, and I was laughing.
Chapter Fourteen
The party died after that.
I couldn’t bring myself to speak of what I saw. Not to Fury. Not to Sloan. Not even to Theta, who’d seen it too. There had to be some explanation. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.
Holding Iliana made me feel better, and after finishing her dinner and cup of milk, she’d fallen back to sleep.
Nathan and Sloan lingered longer than the SF-12 guys, it was finally time for them to go. They said their goodbyes to everyone else before Chimera and I walked them out.
I carried Iliana through the house and to the front porch. “Sorry the evening took such a nosedive back there. I didn’t mean to ruin the party.”
Sloan touched my arm. “You could never ruin the party. I’m just thankful we got to see you.” She tugged on the front of Iliana’s dress. “I’m glad Illy got to see you.”
I kissed the side of Iliana’s head. “Me too. And it’s thanks to Chimera.”
Chimera pointed at me. “You know our deal, Archangel.”
“No tears, I know.” I smiled instead. “What’s your plan?”
“I’ll follow them back to Echo-5. Once Iliana’s safely inside, Nathan can bring me the stone. Then I’ll crash at the command center tonight before driving back to New Hope tomorrow.”
I bounced Iliana on my arm. “You’ll never know how much this means to me.”
“You’re probably right. I don’t foresee babies in my future.” She pulled her keys from her bag. “But good luck finding your own stone in Nulterra. I’m sure if anybody can do it, it’s you.”
“Thanks.”
“When I get back tomorrow, I’ll get working on your new passport and IDs.”
“Can you change the name?” I asked.
Nathan crossed his arms. “And what’s wrong with Angelo Suave,” he said with a fake accent from I had no idea where.
I pointed at him. “Because everyone says it just like that.”
He chuckled.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll wait for you guys in my car. Take your time.” She waved as she walked off the porch.
Nathan looked at Sloan. “I’ll go get the car and give you a minute to say goodbye.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Nathan offered me his hand. I took it, and he pulled me in for a hug, sandwiching Iliana between us. “Be careful, man.”
“I will. Take care of my girls,” I said.
“Always.” He held onto my shoulder. “Can I give you some advice?”
I nodded.
He jerked his chin toward the house. “Whatever you saw back there…trust your gut. Things turned out all right before.”
I grinned. “For you. You got the girl.”
“Hell yeah I did,” he said with a wink. “Seriously though, you’ve got this, Warren. Don’t let the oracle freak you out too much.”
“Thanks, Nathan.”
When he stepped away, he pointed at my face, then wagged his finger between me and Sloan. “Keep an appropriate distance from my wife, or I’ll send you to Hell to stay there.”
I laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.
When he was gone, I looked down at Sloan. “Thanks for bringing her tonight. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision, not knowing if it would work or not.”
“It was definitely an easy decision. I’m glad we all got to see you.”
“And again, I’m sorry about the—”
“Stop. No more apologies.”
I nodded.
When she pulled her hand back, her face fell. “Warren, what are you going to do?”
I thought of Theta’s vision. “I don’t know.” Which was the absolute truth. I felt sick and confused again just thinking about it. I took a deep breath and looked at Sloan seriously. “But I am sure this trip is necessary. Besides rescuing Fury’s sister, it’s the best shot we’ve got at securing the future for Iliana.”
“How?”
“Most of the fallen stay in Nulterra. They only have two ways in or out: the gate and the spirit line. The angels control the spirit line. Once I seal the Nulterra Gate for good, Samael will block their access to the spirit line, and we’ll all be able to sleep better at night.”
“What about the Morning Star?”
I gulped, then faked a
reassuring smile. “He’s just one demon. And for all we know, maybe he’s in Nulterra too.”
Her brow pinched. “You don’t believe that. I can see it in your eyes.”
The corner of my mouth tipped up. She still knew me better than anyone. I put my free hand on her shoulder. “I can’t let the unknown stop me from doing all I can to keep Iliana safe.”
“Please be careful.”
“I’m always careful.” I lowered my voice. “I’m also immortal, don’t forget.”
She was clearly not amused. “This is different. This is Nulterra.” Fear pooled in the form of tears along the lower shelf of her chocolate eyes.
I cupped her jaw with my right hand. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Her mouth smiled, but her worried eyes obviously didn’t get the signal.
“And who knows? Maybe I’ll find the stone, and we can all be together again. Wouldn’t Nathan love that?”
The tension finally broke, and she laughed. “Can I ask you something?” she asked.
“Always.”
“Are you happy?”
Interesting question.
I bounced Iliana on my arm. “Right now? Without a doubt.”
She touched Iliana’s back. “I mean, besides right now. All that talk about Cassiel earlier. It sounds like she really hurt you.”
“A lot of that conversation was Az being dramatic.” I couldn’t tell her why, but that was the truth. “Cassiel messed up, and it took a long time, but I forgave her. Still, there isn’t a future for us, if that’s what you’re wondering. We want very different things.”
“Well…I want you to hear me say this.”
My brow lifted.
“I want you to be happy, Warren.”
I knew what she meant, but I smiled and looked at Iliana. “I am, and I’ll have all I ever need if I can find that stone.”
“I know you will. You’re a good father.”
Those words meant more to me than she would ever know. “Thank you. It feels like I can only do so much for her.”
“You’ve done the hardest things of all. And someday, she will thank you for it.”
I laid my head against Iliana’s and took a deep breath. “I just hope she understands.”
“I know she will.”
