Revelations: The Last War

by Lauretta Hignett

  My eyes traveled south, involuntarily. Under that shirt was that gorgeous V shape I loved so much, leading down to my own personal favorite hardness.

  Now that I was already pregnant, we’d been making the most of not having to worry about me getting pregnant.

  “Your mouth is hanging open, Eve,” Clover observed. “Although,” she added, “I don’t blame you.”

  Nate came and stood on Alex’s other side. “We’ve come to take Eve home, if that’s okay with you, Clover.”

  “Well, since this is the most action that the desk has gotten all night, you can probably go now, Eve,” she said.

  “I’ll stay with Clover,” Dale said. “Don’t pout, Zel. Clover and I have got a lot to catch up on. Go and get settled back into your bungalow and I’ll meet you at the staff bar afterward.”

  I was never going to get sick of that dynamic. Watching my sweet, beautiful friend Dale boss around an all-powerful Greater Demon was the best entertainment a girl could ask for. For his part, Zel just grumbled, balanced all his bags in his big arms, and walked out of reception, muttering under his breath.

  Clover gave me a wink. “Have a good rest, darling.” Her tone implied that by ‘rest’ she meant something completely different.

  Alex slung his arm around my waist, and Nate placed his hand on my shoulder blades. Comforted, cocooned by their love, I practically floated out the door.

  It was easy to forget that we were all going to die in a couple of short months.

  The path outside was dark, illuminated by soft lights set into the flagstones every meter or so. It was hot, the atmosphere close, as if there was going to be a storm. The dry season was over, and the wet one was on its way.

  I loved both seasons, but I think that the wet was my favorite. The forest around us seemed ecstatic as it drank in the always-flowing rainfall from the skies. I could imagine the earth breathing in, relishing every drop, the dirt quivering in enjoyment as it sucked up the precious life-giving water. The plants shone a brilliant green in the rain. And because it never really got cold here, even if you got wet, it didn’t matter. You’d soon be dry. A quick wipe of a towel, and you were back to normal. The lightning storms were incredible. The sky seemed to split open, bright fissures cutting the air in two. The booms of thunder were caressing, although that particular mood seemed influenced by the fact that it reminded me of Alex’s deep, seductive voice, which was murmuring to me right now.

  “So Zel is back,” he said. “I had my doubts that he would return.”

  “I had money on him not coming back,” Nate said glumly.

  I laughed. “Who took that bet?”

  “Met.”

  “Oh, so Met’s a bookie now?”

  Nate looked a little shamefaced. “He’s running a pool on who will be on which side, when the end comes.”

  I shook my head, confused. “What do you mean? What side are you talking about? There’s just me, and a million screaming souls pouring out of the Devil’s Drop, the moment I give birth.” I frowned. “Isn’t there?”

  Alex stroked my arm, the gesture reassuring. Unfortunately, his words were anything but.

  “There’s a war coming, Eve. It was always going to be this way - it’s preordained. A fight between Heaven and Hell. The only thing in question is who will be standing on what side.”

  “Awesome,” I breathed out, shocked to the core. “I thought I was knocking off my enemies, one by one, using my excellent persuasion skills. The Church is off my back - they’re just a penniless institution now. And the Quarters, they’re on the right path too. But now you’re telling me that there’s going to be a war?”

  “Not a war,” Alex said gently.

  “Just a giant battle,” Nate chipped in.

  I groaned.

  “It was bound to happen,” Alex’s voice was soothing. “The tensions between Heaven and Hell are as stretched to bursting point. Both sides think they’re right. Both have their theories about what will happen. Before, it was just the Percuitait that were willing to step up and kill the apocalypse in its tracks-”

  “That’s your girlfriend you’re talking about,” I muttered under my breath.

  “But now that you’re pregnant and the apocalypse is inevitable, Heaven is busy trying to figure out what to do. They’re choosing sides. It will end in a war, no matter what happens.”

  “Great.” I groaned again.

  “The only thing in question is who will stand with who. No one knows what the best way forward is going to be. The Percuitait think that killing you is still the best option to avert the apocalypse altogether. So right now, that's all we need to focus on.”

  “Is this war coming before the birth of my baby?” I was suddenly worried.

  “Possibly,” Nate was always the one that delivered the bad news to me. “Most probably. We’ll know more soon. My father will be meeting us in a couple of days; he’s been gathering as much information as he can.”

  “Just gathering information, huh?” I was getting as bitchy as Nimue about her ex’s lack of action. “Not planning on taking sides either, is he?”

  Nate didn’t look offended. Instead, he took my hand. “Since my mother got out of Hell, he’s been more conflicted than ever. I think you’ve demonstrated to him something important. I think he’s suddenly getting the idea that the Great Plan doesn’t involve just being good for points.”

  “Huh?”

  “So you get into Heaven,” Alex explained. “That was the whole point of any sort of religious organization. Do these things, don’t do those things, give money here, and you’ll go to heaven. It’s selfish,” he grumbled. “There was never anything about being good to your fellow man, just to be good. There was always a reward involved.”

  “My father always held the false hope that simply eradicating sin would get you into Heaven,” Nate agreed. “When it’s actually far, far more complicated than that.”

  I was silent when we walked into the bungalow. I plonked myself down on the sofa. In a matter of milliseconds, Alex had a big, fluffy doona wrapped around me, and a pillow under my head.

  “It sounds complicated, and I’ve heard it a couple of times before,” I mumbled, as Alex settled himself beside me, pulling my legs up to rest on his thighs. With his firm, gentle fingers, he started rubbing my feet, and my grumble turned into a groan of pleasure. “Well, it’s almost too difficult for me to follow, anyway,” I managed to get out.

  “Baby brain,” Nate said fondly, settling into the armchair across from us. “ I was going to give you another lecture about manipulating energy flows."

  “I sensed the energy in the atmosphere changing when Zel arrived,” I told him proudly, but sleepily. “I remembered what you said about paying attention to your feelings. This time, I think I kinda sensed who it was before he arrived.”

  “I can go into it in more detail if you like. Can your mushy grey matter take it all in?”

  I wrinkled my nose at Nate, but smiled at the same time. “I think I can keep up.”

  “I’ll go over what we were talking about yesterday first, then.”

  We smiled at each other, and he started to talk. “You’re not made of anything solid,” Nate began. “You are - your body, I mean, is literally less than one-percent particle. The other ninety-nine percent is energy. The interesting thing about your atoms is that there is this enormous space between everything, and the particle doesn’t actually appear anywhere, until you start to look for it. Until that moment, it is everywhere, and nowhere. It appears in the place that you happen to be looking. So, think of it this way; you are only you because you expect to be you. Your feelings and memories and emotions dictate how you present in this reality. Are you with me so far?”

  I nodded. I kept my mouth shut, because if I opened it, I was going to yawn. This was interesting stuff, but I was exhausted.

  “So the mechanics of it would state that if you were able to adjust your emotions and memories to the point where you felt like you were som
eone else, your physical appearance would instantly change.”

  “A theory, right?” Whoops, there goes the yawn. Alex chuckled softly, and kept rubbing my feet.

  “Not a theory. There have been documented cases of people altering their physical presence, simply because they felt that they were someone else. People with brain injuries. Or even people with dissociative disorder - that’s the old multiple personality disorder - they can change their appearance drastically when they switch personalities. They can change their eye color, their muscle and fat structures. Left-handed people become right-handed. Some have been known to speak completely different languages - ones that they couldn’t possibly have learned.”

  I nodded. “I gotcha. So it really is a case of ‘I think, therefore I am.” My eyelids fluttered.

  “Exactly. Now, supernaturals are better at manipulating their own energies to change appearances, because we were created with the knowledge that it is possible. The imps are best at it; they can go big and small in a heartbeat.”

  “I thought Rux was wearing a glamour.” My words came out in a mumble.

  “What is a glamour, but a magic spell? And what is a magic spell, if not the manipulation of the energetic forces that surround us?”

  “Ohhhhh.” Something clicked in place in my head, but I was too tired to pinpoint it. “I’m still listening,” I said to Nate.

  He kept talking. “When you can manipulate your own brain waves, and sink from beta, to low beta, to theta, you’ve effectively lowered your vibration…”

  His voice was smooth and rhythmic. He was doing it on purpose. I fell into unconsciousness, and heard nothing more.

  Chapter Three

  A week later, we got word that Malach had news for us, so Alex and Nate called everyone in for a summit.

  Most of the demon side didn’t have to travel very far. Nimue was still staying at Revelations, as was Zel. Rux, Nux and Phil, our guardian imps, hadn’t left the resort even for a second. And, as Rux told me one slow evening on the desk, there were hundreds of imps waiting in Hell, quite desperate to come up and help us. Nimue only banned them because they were needed down there to tend the souls. Privately, Nimue had told me that mischievous little devils managed to make more trouble in more significant numbers. They loved to have fun. They would be noticed.

  On the angel side, there was a handful of Katadonis fluttering around. And Metatron was still with us. He didn’t have a suite to himself, as far as I knew. He was just here, napping on Alex’s sofa, swimming in Zel’s pool, flipping burgers for other guests in the Revelations restaurant, while the executive chef scratched his head in confusion.

  It was only Malach who had to travel from Heaven. We’d set the meeting to be held in Alex’s bungalow, as usual. But when the allotted time came, only me and the boys were there.

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Where is everyone?”

  “No idea,” Alex said.

  Nate snapped his fingers, and a cherub appeared in the room. “Do you know where the others are?”

  The cherub grinned happily. “The Voice is throwing a foam party in the Servant Domain.”

  I giggled at Nate’s confused face. “Met,” I explained. “The Voice of God. He’s doing some crazy frat thing back at staff quarters.”

  Nate sighed heavily. “Can’t he take anything seriously?”

  “That might be Met’s whole reason for existence,” I said. “To not take things seriously.”

  Nate sighed, his shoulders slumping. “You guys go on. I’ll summon my dad and meet you there. He is not going to be happy about this.”

  I wound my hand through Alex’s, and we walked out of the bungalow, onto the path outside.

  When we reached staff quarters, we could hear the sounds of the party from the back fence. The womp-womp sound of the bass filtered through the trees, punctuated by shrieks and shouts from the revelers. I pushed the gate open and walked inside, suddenly a little nervous.

  All the staff at Revelations knew I was pregnant. By now, it was obvious. My belly was swollen to typical third trimester proportions, and I had started to waddle. There was no chance I could hide a pregnancy in a place like this - it was so warm that clothes were an annoying inconvenience most of the time. Our staff uniforms were short shorts and a polo shirt. It was not unusual to see staff members hanging around naked. We had an unspoken rule that if anyone was uncomfortable with someone’s nudity, they could tell them to put clothes on, and the request must be obeyed. On the whole, everyone here was a hedonist.

  I never minded the nudity before, and I sure didn’t now. Although I never got nude myself, as it was just asking for trouble, I wasn’t a prude. I’d always appreciated the naked human form.

  Plus, I roomed with Clover, who had trouble keeping her clothes on. She was absolutely gorgeous - a perfect Botticelli angel, all rounded curves and lustful smiles. However, it wasn’t just conventionally beautiful people that I appreciated. We got old wrinkly guests getting nude in the pool, too, and I never minded seeing them either. There was something so beautiful about someone who reveled in their natural state of being. It was also a great social leveler. It reminded me that without flashy bling or designer clothes, we were all born the same, and we’d die the same too.

  Martin had told me that they’d never had a pregnant woman work at Revelations. The staff here were mostly too young to be thinking about starting a family. God knows I was far too young myself - but that wasn’t something that I’d exactly planned. Legally, the Revelations management couldn’t fire me, and Martin had been mortally offended when I’d suggested that he might.

  “I wouldn’t even think of it, Eve,” he gasped, “Especially at a time like this. We’re short-staffed as it is. No, you get to keep your job, and I’ll give you extra sit-down breaks so you can cope. I’m just trying to figure out the logistics of getting you into the Revelations polo shirt for the duration of your pregnancy.”

  Trust him to worry about the finer details. He worked out the fashion component with the on-site tailor very quickly. I was still wearing a polo shirt, but it had extra panels sewn into the back so that the belly flared out a little. Most of the time, with my lower belly hidden by the desk, the guests didn’t even realize I was pregnant.

  And the ones that did know didn’t care. They were used to their servants getting knocked up. They fully expected that nothing would change, and they made no allowances for any discomfort their pregnant servants might feel while they went about their duties.

  I didn’t care much about the guest’s reactions, anyway. They either didn’t care one iota, or, like the lovely Mrs. Croxford from last week, were over the moon and very excited for me.

  I did worry about my colleague's reactions, though.

  I wasn’t close to that many of the Revelations staff, apart from Clover and Dale, but I was on good terms with everyone. Being one of the youngest staff members on-site, I had a reputation as the shy little sister. When I started working here as a damaged, scared girl, I made it pretty clear to the boys that I wasn’t interested in any sort of physical relationship. I got left alone in that respect. And I was protected pretty well by Clover and Dale.

  Andrea, too. I missed her. My heart clenched when I thought about what happened to her: the victim of a parasitic Percuitait who manipulated her, drove her mad and eventually drained her of all her energy, killing her. She died because of me, and I’ll never stop feeling guilty about it.

  Andrea had always had my back, despite what those bastards tried to do to her. She never judged me.

  I knew I shouldn’t worry about what everyone thought of me, but of course, I did worry. I’d already made the social leap from receptionist to guest’s boyfriend, and none of them seemed to care. But now, I was pregnant, and this was far more permanent.

  So far, no one was treating me any differently, apart from regularly inquiring on my health. I’d moved in with the boys, into their bungalow, since I'd found out I was pregnant - for security reasons, as well as for
my own comfort. In the typically Australian way, it didn’t seem to faze any of my colleagues. All of the staff members here were good-time people, they worked hard, and liked to party. Besides most of them slept with the guests from time to time.

  But I never wanted to shove it in anyone’s face. I stopped at the gate, and looked down at myself - in my usual off-duty uniform of denim cutoff shorts, and a little floaty camisole top. My belly was perfectly round and totally obvious.

  “Are you okay?” Alex picked up on my reluctance.

  I smiled at him and nodded. “Just not sure how much I should push the whole ‘I’m pregnant with a guest’s baby thing on everyone. I don’t want anyone to get awkward or jealous. It’s the last thing I want.”

  He smiled back, a glint in his eye. “Well, if you had consented to marrying me when I asked you to, given up your job, and moved in with me as a guest, we wouldn’t have this problem, would we?”

  I mock-glared at him. “We’re not having this conversation again.” I held up my finger. “Marriage is a ridiculous concept. I have no idea why women still consent to having the government meddle in their relationships.”

  I had strong views on marriage, especially since my own mother was forced by societal convention - and by the leaders at her church - to stay in an abusive marriage until it killed her.

  I wasn’t opposed to committing to Alex for the duration of my existence. However, I’d be damned if I’d contribute to an archaic, oppressive institution.

  He’d heard all this before, so he just smiled at me while I glared at him. “And yes, we would still be having this problem,” I went on. “I just wouldn't be an employee flaunting her pregnant belly to everyone, I’d be another snobby guest instead.” I sighed and kicked a pebble on the ground. “I’m not giving them enough credit,” I said, pointing towards the party. “They don’t think like that, anyway. It wouldn’t even occur to any of them that I’ve deliberately schemed to get pregnant by a guest. That I’m a gold-digger.” I huffed out a chuckle. “And even if they did think I was a gold-digger, they wouldn’t judge me for that either.”