Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3)

by Devin O'Branagan

  THE LEGEND OF GLORY

  “A fantasy on the shoulders of a strong willed girl, Glory is not to be missed. 5-stars!” -Midwest Book Review

  “Glory is a well-written, fast-paced novel that sets the stage for other stories in the same universe. O’Branagan introduces supernatural archetypes that slightly twist the usual take on the paranormal, making for an engaging read. Glory’s ability to drive her own narrative is reminiscent of Hunger Games’ Katniss. I would recommend Glory to YA readers who crave a little more out of the traditional heroine. Its premise is unique, its world intriguing, and Glory herself has many stories left to tell.” -The Universal Mirror

  “I couldn't put it down! Pretty Sacrifices was an epic read. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, I highly recommend you do. I can’t wait for the last book in the trilogy, Genesis! 5-Stars” -Reading Away the Days

  “This book was so good that I finished it in one sitting. I really could not put it down. If you have not started reading the Legend of Glory series you are seriously missing out. I give it a 5/5 stars!” -YA Novel Reader

  Also by Devin O’Branagan

  Glory

  Pretty Sacrifices

  With Brave Wings She Flies

  Red Hot Property

  Red Hot Liberty

  Show Dog Sings the Blues

  Threshold

  Witch Hunt

  Witch Hunt: Of the Blood

  Of the Blood of Witches

  GENESIS

  Devin O’Branagan

  Cornucopia Creations, Ltd.

  To Ron Wingrove. A wonderful friend, talented colleague, and very good man.

  “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

  -Albert Pine

  SUMMER

  Glory: Her Father’s Graveside – Union, Colorado

  “Your destiny is to fight the good fight, Glory. There’s a dark winter ahead,” the Caretaker of the World, Davina, said. “Scorpio was only one small part of the conspiracy to destroy humanity. The world needs you.”

  “Do I have a choice?” I asked.

  “There’s always choice.”

  I looked into her eyes and reflected in them I saw the pain of the world. How could I not want to help alleviate that pain? “If I make the commitment, what can I expect?”

  “Your life will never be about you again.” Davina’s arm swept the horizon. “It will always be about them. It won’t be easy, but you’ll be in some very fine company.”

  I thought about the light warriors I had met and how noble their calling. The average person had no clue about what went on behind the scenes of the world. Was I strong enough to assume that responsibility?

  “So,” I said, “we surrender our own lives for the sake of the greater good, we work behind the scenes to stave off evil, we fight and suffer and possibly die, receiving no reward or public recognition, all because it’s the right thing to do?”

  Davina nodded.

  I now knew I was much more than I ever thought possible. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Okay, Davina, I’ll fight the good fight. You can count on me.”

  “It’s an honor to count you among our warriors,” she said.

  A moment of doubt crept in. “Will I be a good warrior?”

  “Someday, Glory Templeton, your name will be legend.”

  Our eyes locked, we shared a smile, and then she simply faded away.

  I looked at Dad’s grave. The headstone, which just a moment ago only had his name on it, now also read:

  He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; Glory, glory, hallelujah!

  AUTUMN

  Glory’s Premonition

  The full moon rode high in the sky. Beneath it stood two gangs facing each other—some showdowns happened at high noon, but for those of us with an otherworldly persuasion, we met at high midnight.

  I faced Jesse, Hallelujah stood up to Hex, Professor Greenberg challenged Erica, Jinx stared down Bo, and Kaia confronted two enemies: Nyx the demoness and Galen the witch hunter. Each of us squared off with our adversaries as bats flew overhead. In a classic Western movie, the bats would have been vultures waiting to devour the losers. And in a proper Western movie a final resolution would arrive in a hail of bullets. But in my horror movie, all that was aimed at the good guys were threats.

  “Our time will come, my little spitfire demon hunter,” Nyx warned Kaia.

  “And so will ours, you wildcat witch,” Galen added. “I’ve been keeping the burning fires real hot for you.”

  “The New World Order will take over the planet,” Erica informed Professor Greenberg.

  Hex hissed at Hallie and her needlelike teeth snapped viciously at the air.

  “I always did want me a little vampire daughter,” Bo said to Jinx.

  “I’ll sacrifice your baby, too,” Jesse told me.

  OUTSIDE OF TIME AND SPACE

  Glory and Zane

  We make love high on a cliff under the sky bright with a pregnant moon and shooting stars. I cling to you with desperation, knowing our time is almost over. You whisper words to me I cannot hear over the pounding of my blood.

  Except for one. You call me Glory.

  A shooting star falls from the heavens and fills my body with light.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Glory

  * * *

  My Australian Shepherd, Hallelujah, warned me about the incoming demon attack. She was sleeping with her chin gently resting on my rapidly growing baby bump, as she had slept every night since the mysterious little Genesis appeared in my belly. Her low growl pulled me from a dream where Gen and I were having a rather grownup mother and daughter conversation about how, because of their bewildering complexity, NASA rocket scientists must have designed baby car seats.

  My eyes flew open and met Hallie’s wary ones. Sky blue, they glowed in the light of the bright crystal amulet that sat on my nightstand. A rumbling sound merged with her growl, and the room shuddered. I glanced at my guardian angel, Sasha, who sat vigil in the rocking chair at the foot of my bed.

  Her eyes were wide. “Something bad’s coming.”

  Instantly, my hand flew to burrow under Hallie’s chin where I cradled my baby and whispered, “Fasten your itty-bitty seatbelt, Gen. I think we’re in for a bumpy ride.”

  Before any of us could further react, an earthquake upended our world. The rocking chair flipped backward, Sasha slammed into the wall, and my bed convulsed. Hallie emitted a terrifying howl and scrambled to lay her body across me.

  My free hand clung onto a bedpost, the precious amulet smashed to the floor, and a dark, malodorous fog descended on us. I fought to breathe. Hallie’s howls morphed into whimpers. Sasha’s weak voice struggled to sing one of her protective angelic songs. The suffocating shadows grew more oppressive.

  I’m sorry, my mind told Hallie, Gen, and the world that—according to the Caretakers—my child was conceived to save. I had done heroic deeds in my term of duty as a warrior in the good fight against evil, but I had no superpowers. It took a lot more than good intentions to defeat evil.

  Radiance exploded and the universe stood still. In a shaft of light, a woman appeared at the foot of my bed and shadows dispersed. Sasha uttered a little gasp. Hallie grew quiet, the air cleared and we could breathe again. Stunned, I shielded my eyes against the brilliance. Then I felt my baby move—it was the first time she had wiggled inside me.

  My boyfriend, Dominic, raced into the room wielding a baseball bat.

  I pushed Hallie off my belly so I could sit up.

  As the light dimmed, I got a good look at the newcomer. Incredibly beautiful, I would have known
she was an angel even without the fireworks that heralded her arrival. But none of the angels I had met dazzled quite like this one. Over her midnight-blue satin gown she wore a multi-colored feather shawl, and wild, blonde hair fell from beneath a snazzy, velvet beret. Bejeweled fingerless gloves glittered, and one hand clutched a glowing dagger. She was a wonder to behold.

  “Where is Rebekah?” the newcomer asked. Rebekah, Sasha’s mothering angel, had been staying with us since my own mother left me alone.

  Rebekah manifested in the room without any fanfare. “I was tending one of my other angelic charges and—” She blanched, fell silent, and took a step backward.

  Then I noticed that Sasha and Dominic appeared equally shaken.

  Rebekah tipped her head respectfully in greeting. “It’s an honor, Lailah.”

  “I’ve been assigned as Genesis’ guardian.” Lailah took stock of the scene. “Explain to me why humans as important as these two have been left in the care of an angel barely out of her celestial diapers whose greatest weapon is singing, a former angel who thinks he can defeat a demon with a piece of wood, an absent mothering angel, and a ... a dog?”

  I instantly grew defensive. “My dog’s name is Hallelujah, and she’s quite valiant.”

  “There’s also the protective amulet I found in the Sirius star system,” Sasha said, waving toward the shattered treasure. “It was infused with the music of the spheres.”

  “The Wiccan Sisters of Avalon warded the house with salt and sigils,” I said, daring the divine newcomer to make a snide comment about witches. Some of my best friends were witches.

  Using better judgment than mine, Dominic added, “And Glory’s friend, Carmela, gave her a rosary.”

  I grasped the white pearl rosary that hung around my neck and held it out to the scary angel for examination.

  We all cringed.

  Instead of wrath and condemnation, Lailah sighed and said, “Well, it’s a good thing I’m here now, isn’t it?” With that, she swept from the room, feathers fluttering in her wake.

  I finally broke the hushed silence. “Who is that Stevie Nicks knock-off?”

  Rebekah looked at me with wide eyes. “That’s Lailah. The first female angel ever created. Her work since the beginning of humankind has been as guardian angel to souls with significant destinies.”

  I considered my own guardian angel, wringing her hands and mumbling incoherently. The Powers That Be had made me a new angel’s first assignment, while my baby rated the numero uno guardian angel of all time. I suddenly felt rather insignificant. Perhaps any eighteen-year-old virginal human girl could give birth to a miraculous baby.

  “Nothing that powerful has ever attacked us before,” I said.

  “What was it?” Dominic asked.

  “I think, well, it felt more than demonic,” Sasha said. “Like fallen angel. Big fallen angel. The biggest fallen angel maybe?”

  Did Sasha mean what I thought she meant?

  “Lucifer?” Dominic asked.

  Lucifer was real?

  Sasha nodded. “It felt like something on that scale.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Because of Gen?”

  “If an angel as important as Lailah was assigned as her guardian, it makes sense that she’d attract interest,” Rebekah said.

  That was horrifying. “Well, good thing Lailah intervened,” I said, then noticed Sasha’s grimace. “What?”

  She averted her eyes from mine. “If Lucifer himself had actually wanted in, he could have made it past Lailah. Only Archangels have the power to take him on.”

  I didn’t find that comforting. “So, you think we were just being scoped out?”

  “That makes sense,” Rebekah said.

  Lailah flounced back into the room. “I’ve erected new wards.” She flapped her shawl like wings. “The Wiccan wards were well-designed, but not as powerful as they could have been. And the rosary isn’t going to help you, Glory, if you don’t believe it will.”

  Despite the ongoing presence of angels and demons in my life, I wasn’t keen on religion. Apparently, she had studied up on me.

  “And Rebekah needs to return home so I can take over,” Lailah added.

  “But I promised Glory’s mother I’d stay and—”

  Lailah raised a hand to silence her. “Go home. I’ve got this now. You’re needed elsewhere.” She flicked her fingers dismissively. “Carry on.”

  Rebekah gave me a sorrowful look, kissed Sasha’s cheek, nodded to Dominic, and said, “Close your eyes.”

  Dominic obeyed. I covered Hallie’s eyes with my hands and shut mine. Despite that, I could still see the brilliance of Rebekah’s transition behind closed eyelids.

  “Did you need to be so harsh?” I asked. “Rebekah didn’t deserve that.”

  “Her gift is nurturing new angels,” Lailah said. “But it’s boot camp time now.” She leveled both Sasha and Hallelujah with hard stares. “Consider me your drill sergeant.”

  Hallie’s ears flattened and Sasha blanched.

  “What about me?” Dominic asked.

  Lailah quirked a glittery eyebrow. “My study of your history indicates that you renounced your divine heritage as an angel for human romantic notions. Despite what Heaven might think, I don’t consider that to be warrior material.”

  “I’m now a man and intend to protect my family as a man would.”

  “But Glory’s not your wife. Genesis isn’t your child.”

  “Until Glory says otherwise, they are my family.”

  Lailah shrugged. “Okay. You’ll join the child angel and valiant dog in training.”

  I sat up straighter. “What about me?”

  Lailah laughed. “What about you? You’re pregnant.”

  “Hey, this is the twenty-first century.”

  Lailah cocked her head and stared at me.

  I summoned every ounce of my non-flinching ability and stared her down.

  She finally dropped her eyes from mine to study my belly. “The child is growing much faster than a human baby should. I’m uncertain of safe limits for training.”

  “Well, it seems to me that not knowing how to protect her is worse,” I said.

  After a moment, Lailah nodded. “Go back to sleep. We’ll begin at dawn.” With that, she righted the rocking chair at the foot of my bed and sat, her glowing blade disappearing into one of the many folds of her voluminous clothing.

  Sasha cleared a section of my dresser and hopped up onto it to continue her own vigil.

  Dominic kissed my forehead and smoothed Hallie’s raised hackles. “Me and my Louisville Slugger here will be on the couch, ready to hit any demon out of the park,” he said in his best tough-guy voice.

  “Very inventive.”

  “To quote Yogi Berra, ‘Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.’ I mighta psyched them out with my chutzpah.” He winked at me and left.

  My heart leapt. I really did love that man. I glanced at Sasha’s pitiful expression and tried to think of a way to cheer her up. “Sing to us, Sasha?”

  I was overjoyed to see the appearance of her sweet smile.

  I waved at Lailah. “Goodnight, my new fine feathered friend.”

  “Goodnight, angel food cake. Sweet dreams.”

  Angel food cake? Did that mean she’d try to eat me alive? Hah. Angel food cake. I’d show her sweet.

  Sasha’s lovely voice sang Hallie, Genesis, and me to sleep. I dreamt of tyrannical celestial beings, sadistic NASA rocket scientists, and itty-bitty seatbelts.

  * * *

  I awoke before dawn and immediately saw three pairs of eyes staring at me. I patted Hallie. “I’m okay. Don’t look so worried.” I sat up and studied Sasha and Lailah. “I’m okay. Don’t look so worried.”

  Sasha hopped off the dresser. “I’ll go make you some tea. I cleaned up the broken crystal, but wear your slippers in case I missed any pieces.”

  “When did you become so bossy?”

  Her eyes flicked toward Lailah and she du
cked out of the room.

  “Sasha’s very good at her job,” I said to Lailah, acting like the cheerleader I might have been in a different life.

  Lailah stood and walked to the far wall on which a montage of my photographs hung. The light moved with her, and it took a few moments for me to realize that the radiance in the room wasn’t coming from one of my lamps. She glowed.

  “A wall of light and shadows,” she said. “Explain.”

  I disentangled myself from blankets and Hallie, slipped on my warm chenille robe, then joined Lailah at my wall of memories. Despite the robe, I shivered, and not just from the draftiness of my old farmhouse.

  I pointed to a framed photo of my dad. An artist, he had been painting a portrait from memory of my sister, and my camera had captured his love and anguish. “My father died last summer during the pandemic-plague. The girl in the painting is my sister, America—we called her Erica. She was kidnapped twelve years ago, at seven years old. We didn’t know what happened to her until last fall. Before her disappearance, our family never took photographs—Mom was too unsentimental and Dad too ‘artistic.’” I paused to finger quote the word. “After Erica went missing, I developed a passion for taking photos of people in order to capture a piece of them forever.”

  Lailah pointed to a picture of my best friend, Jesse, all decked out as his alter-ego, actor James Dean, in Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause finery: blue jeans, white tee shirt, red jacket with the collar popped, hair 1950s slicked back cool. “The person in that picture has very dark energy.”

  My heart broke for the thousandth time. “A demoness named Nyx followed me home after my blood saved the world from the pan-plague. She decided to punish me for that by seducing the people I loved. Jesse became a demon, killed his little sister, and disappeared.”