“What you're telling us is that he has built himself an army.”
“He hasn’t been as successful as he probably hoped,” Zel replied, grinning. “His arrogance has not worked in his favor. He’s only got about a hundred humans ready to fight. It’s Vane we’re talking about here,” Zel shivered dramatically. “He’s a creepy-looking dude. That long white hair and dark eyes... you could be as fanatical as they came, but some humans would take one look at him and assume that he’s evil.”
“He is evil,” I whispered. “He’s coming here, with his army, to kill me. Before I have my baby.”
There was silence around the table for a long minute.
“It’s not the greatest odds,” Nimue began. “However, I still have faith in us.”
The others voiced their agreement.
I wasn’t sure what I believed. I was used to being scared for my life. It was a big part of my childhood and my adolescence. It was even a defining part of my teenage years. I felt fear, I responded to it, and I fought my way out of whatever was threatening me.
It was different now. I cradled my belly, feeling the icy grip of terror on my heart. I wasn’t scared that I was going to die. I’d come to terms with that many, many times in my short life. Now, I was frozen with dread that I might lose my baby.
Fear was so much easier to deal with when it was just me. But it wasn’t just me anymore. I wasn’t just fighting for my life.
Alex leaned his head into my temple and placed his huge, warm hand over mine. Together, we cradled my swollen belly. “We still have hope,” he whispered to me. His voice sent tremors through me, chasing away the icy spread of fear in my veins. “All is not lost. The Seraphim are largely useless. Our imps can take on the Katadonis. Nate and I can deal with the humans easily.”
“Uriel is mine,” Malach growled.
Nimue stared at her ex-lover. “I was wondering when you were going to declare yourself.”
“Was it ever in doubt?”
The electricity sparked between them again, and I almost flinched back from it. Yet I still had darkness on my mind.
“That still leaves Vane, the superpowered Percuitait, on the loose,” I whispered.
“I hate to be a downer,” Zel said, “We still have the little issue of what we’re going to do when that creature is loosened from your vagina.” He pointed at my crotch.
“Excuse me. I will be giving birth, not voiding a parasite,” I snapped.
But his crassness jolted me out of my gloom. My brain started working properly again. I held up my finger, feeling the hope chase away the icy grip of fear. “I actually have some ideas on that…”
Alex groaned. He’d heard this before, in fact, we’d fought about it several times. The others leaned towards me, eager.
“We got Hannah to ascend quickly,” I began. “And yes,” I put my finger up again to stop Alex from butting in. “I don’t know how we did it. I don’t know if it was something that I did, or if it was the energy around the caves contributing her rise, or what it was. But we did it. And as a result, we got a meeting with the Quarters, and used that information to scare them into disbanding their fortunes.”
“Uh, Eve,” Nate interrupted. “I’m pretty sure it was Alex snapping Death’s neck that probably scared them…”
“Whatever.” My pointer finger was getting a good workout. “My point is, one thing led to the other. It also led to us freeing your mom from Hell too,” I eyed Nate sternly. “So, I get the feeling it’s kind of a path of its own.”
Zel nodded grandly. “Interesting.”
“Go on,” Malach rumbled.
“It was always an idea to try and get as many souls out of Hell as possible, so it’s not fit to bust,” I continued. “However, there are thousands of souls entering Hell every day, and only a handful leaving, so it’s not really the most efficient plan. But,” I took a deep breath. “What if I was to free a soul from Hell that might be able to help us?”
Zel frowned. “Who?”
I bit my lip. “Godric.”
“What?” Nate hadn’t heard my plan yet, and he was horrified. “Eve, no. No way. You barely survived him during his human incarnation.”
“Hear me out,” I pleaded. “ It makes sense, I promise.”
“It doesn’t,” Alex growled. “It makes no sense to put you in danger again.”
“It might be exactly what we need!” I exclaimed. “Imagine if we got him to ascend. He’d realize that trying to kill me was a mistake, that he’d been wrong all this time, I’d forgive him,” I rushed over the details. “Bada bing, bada boom, we’d have an ascended soul to parade around, telling everyone that our side is the right one.”
Everyone stared at me blankly.
“Sounds awfully simple,” Zel drawled sarcastically.
“Sometimes simple is the best way. C’mon guys,” I pleaded. “It makes sense. If this whole war is about who is right about what God wants, who better to tell us than someone who was on the wrong side? And now sees sense?”
“You are assuming we are on the right side,” Zel muttered under his breath.
“I thought that was decided?” I whined.
“It is,” Alex said firmly. “although we still have to consider all the factors before we do something so dangerous, Eve. Firstly,” he ticked off his points with his fingers. “We have to call Godric. Then, we have to get him to recognize you, and not kill you. Then, you have to forgive him.”
“I can do that.” I tried and failed to make my tone believable. Alex raised one eyebrow at me. “Okay. Fine. I can work on it. I forgave Hannah,” I reminded him.
“Hannah didn’t hold a blade to your aunt’s throat. You already felt bad about her being murdered instead of you. Then you found out about her being abused by her father. It made you empathetic. It made it easier to forgive her.”
“Then I’ll find out why Godric was such a nutter,” I replied breezily. “I’m sure he was an orphan or something. Anyway,” I glared at my lover. “I was the one who killed him. I feel awful about that.”
“You’re still a few steps from forgiving him,” Nate chipped in. He met my eyes warmly. “You’re not far away, though. One more trip out to see Margot and you’ll be ready to let go of your anger towards him.”
“Brother,” Alex glared at Nate. “Whose side are you on?”
“Hers,” Nate replied simply.
I wasn’t fond of them fighting over me, so I waved my arms to distract them. “It’s a good plan!” I wailed. “I forgive Godric, he ascends, he goes and tells the rest of Heaven that killing me is the wrong thing to do. They call off the battle. Then, when I give birth to my baby - who incidentally will be perfect and will not have horns and a tail - all of Heaven will come down and help us hold all the souls in. In fact,” I said brightly, getting carried away, “they could even work together on building a bigger Hell, or strengthening the barriers. Then we all live happily ever after.”
“And I thought I had some pretty crazy fantasies,” Zel murmured. “You, my darling, have a wonderful imagination.”
Nimue looked puzzled. “Why would your baby have horns and a tail?”
“No reason at all,” I said sweetly. “Like I said, my baby won’t have horns or a tail.”
Met leaned into me. “You know that rogue demons have horns and tails? They manifest them, just to scare the humans.”
Something tickled in the back of my mind - a memory of an image that I'd seen in a mirror. I brushed it aside. I had enough fear in my life right now, and I was coping with it by plunging myself deep in fantasies of success.
“It could work, guys! It could be the key to everything.”
Nimue’s expression was severe. “Darling, you cannot begin to imagine how volatile his soul will be. You have only seen Hannah and Auriela’s souls in action.”
“Mom was probably the most benign soul in Hell you’ll ever encounter,” Nate murmured. “She had almost lived completely sin-free. She was in pain, but not too much. It
was the confusion that made her transition difficult.”
“And Hannah was a bitch,” Nimue agreed. “But she wasn’t a murderer. She would not have even a fraction of the bad karma that Godric amassed. Also remember, Godric was convinced that he was right. That will make it harder for him to see the truth. If he is capable of rational thought, he will just think he is being punished for failing in his duty to kill you.”
I stared down at my hands. “I know all that,” I said quietly. “I’ve thought about it all. But I have to try.” I looked up and caught Nate’s eyes. “Nate,” I said, my eyes pleading, “I’ve seen the change in you since your mother ascended. Malach,” I stared at the archangel. “You, too. You’re different now that you know she’s out of Hell. You’re free of the pain and guilt, just like she is. Can you imagine the power that Godric would have if he ascended? He'd be able to convince the Percuitait of anything.”
“Eve,” Nate said softly. “Even if you can get Godric to ascend, he might not choose to become a Guardian. He might choose to rest in Heaven.”
“Duh, he’ll be in Heaven. He’ll be available for questioning. I’m sure the other angels and the Seraphim and whatnot would be interested in hearing what he thinks about the upcoming battle.”
Malach stared at me darkly. “He will not be available for questioning.”
I cocked my head. “What?”
“He’ll be resting in Heaven.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “He can’t rest and chat at the same time?”
“He will be reabsorbed.”
I glanced around the table, confused. “Can someone please speak English?”
“By God,” Nimue said bitterly. “Souls that choose to rest go and rejoin the Source. They merge their consciousness with the Divine Intelligence, just like animals do when they die.” She pursed her perfect red lips. “So Godric, like his namesake, God, will not be doing any chatting.”
“Oh.” I refused to let it derail me. “So if he ascends, he might go straight to God. Well, good on him if that happens. It might serve as a bit of a wake-up call to the Percuitait.”
“You are clutching at straws,” Malach said in a gravelly tone. “Godric has an overwhelming amount of bad energy to process. You’re betting on being able to help him ascend, first, which is an impossible task. Then you want him to join our cause, and convert the Percuitait to our side. Next you want the Percuitait and the rest of the Host to help barricade the souls into Hell when you give birth.”
“And help process the souls,” I said airily. “We could set up a conveyor belt-type thingie. Get ‘em in a barrier, confront them, forgive them, ascend them, and off you go.”
Alex grinned at me in spite of everything. “You are an incorrigible optimist,” he said, shaking his head.
“She’s cracked in the head,” Zel chipped in.
I glared at him. “You got any bright ideas, Bruce?”
He stretched out luxuriously, putting his big arms over his head and cracking his neck at the same time. I winced. “I’m going to marry my lover, right here on the Revelations lawn, in a month’s time,’ he announced grandly. “That’s the only decision I know is truly right. To answer your question though, Chalice, no. I don’t have any other ideas. None of us do. Which is why I think we should try it.”
Alex glared at him. “She could get killed.”
“Keep her out of the circle this time,” Zel shrugged. “If Malach is on board, we’ve got enough bodies for you to step out. You don’t have to hold the barrier. Just stay with her and keep her safe while she tries whatever hoodoo she does to get the soul to stop for a second and listen.”
Alex glared for a minute. After a long, broody silence, he turned to me, and nodded. “Woman,” he growled. “I do this because you ask it of me.” His icy-blue eyes bored into mine, and they were burning hot with passion. “For no other reason. Because I am your servant in all things, for eternity.”
Tilting his head forward, he glared at me. “However, please know that if I had my way, you’d be locked in a castle in the highest tower, out of harm's way. With me tending to your every whim.”
I shivered, half in pleasure, half in anticipation. “Sounds nice, babe. Maybe another time.” I met his eyes and dropped my smile so he knew I was serious. “I know I’m right on this. We have to try.”
“I guess that’s settled,” Nimue drained her margarita glass. “We’ve got a plan.”
“I must go,” Malach got to his feet.
I caught the flash of disappointment in Nimue’s eyes. Malach saw it too, and offered an explanation. “I still have not located Magdalena. I must find her. She is also a soul that must be saved.”
Nimue’s face collapsed into bitterness. “You’re going to find her and have a chat with her?”
“She is my daughter,” he said, in a low tone that vibrated straight through me.
“She’s not still with Vane?” I’d been reluctant to mention Nate’s sister. He was still upset that she’d defected to the enemy.
Malach shook his head. “She is not. She has disappeared. I suspect she may be summoning more forces to fight for the Percuitait.”
“That’s all we need,” I said. “We’re already hopelessly outnumbered as it is.” For a minute, I felt overwhelmed by despair.
It was hopeless. We were just a handful of fighters against whole armies from Heaven. I was baking a bun that would break open Hell, once the timer on my oven went off. After that everyone would die.
Darkness clouded the edges of my vision, and suddenly, awful thoughts filled my brain. Cities burning, souls screaming, the end of the world. With nothing to stop the souls, they smashed through everyone and everything, destroying all that they touched. Creating more screaming, angry souls, with nothing and no one to stop it.
It would be Hell on Earth.
Just then, Metatron, back in the DJ booth, flipped a record around, and the smooth, rhythmic sounds of reggae washed over the crowd. Bodies started swaying languidly, heads nodding in time. The sun came out from behind the clouds. Voices raised all around me, singing in harmony. Baby don’t worry, about a thing. Cos every little thing’s gonna be alright.
I rubbed my tummy, as a spark of hope in my heart flared to life again. It wasn’t over yet. I still had so much to live for.
We weren’t going down without a fight.
Chapter Four
“You know,” Margot said as she held up the measuring tape. “This pregnancy is surprisingly textbook.” She winked at me with her hawkish hazel eyes. “Considering you’re giving birth to the devil’s spawn.”
“Stop,” I moaned. Margot held out her hand for me to take so I could pull myself up from her examining table. “Stop calling him that,” I said sulkily, rubbing my belly.
She tickled me, right on the apex of my bump. “He knows I’m only kidding, peanut. Seriously though, Eve, your size is right on the marker. Thirty-five weeks pregnant.” She snapped the tape measure back on itself. “You’re right on the money. It’s a good thing you know exactly when conception took place.”
“Within a twenty-four hour period anyway,” I muttered, blushing.
“Your bloods are good too,” she read from her report. “Everything is normal. You’re negative for gestational diabetes and your blood pressure is good.” She put the report down and sighed. “It’s a pity you won’t let me do a scan.”
“You’re not an obstetrician, Margot.”
“I’ll take you to one!”
“No damned way.”
“Peanut,” she eyed me seriously. “That baby in there is all human, I just know it. Do you think I would be this darn excited about it if I thought you were giving birth to the son of Satan?”
I grinned at her, remembering the absolutely earth-shattering tantrum that she'd had when she found out that I was pregnant.
She had sat on the balcony of our home in Jagera, frozen in shock, while I dropped bomb after bomb on her. I was just trying to get everything out as quickly as I could. I
wanted to be completely honest, so I told her everything - about Alex being Cambion, a half-demon, and about Nate the Nephilim. I had blurted out everything about me being the Black Chalice, destined by the swirling convergence of cosmic energy to be the one who gave birth to the child who would end the world as we knew it. I’d hastily explained about Godric, who was still lying dead on the wooden slats in front of us, and about Andrea, dead on the lawn with a summoning circle next to her.
The only word Margot heard in my entire monologue was the word ‘pregnant.’
She launched herself at Alex, swinging furiously, screaming like a banshee, while Nate and I tried to hold her back. She was determined to kill him for it. Then, because I was trying to metaphorically rip the band-aid off in one go, I had to clarify that I wasn’t sure if it was Alex, or Nate who was the father of my baby. So she had immediately started swinging at Nate too.
A long time later, once she had run out of energy, she sat on the balcony, panting, glaring at all of us furiously. Alex and Nate tactfully excused themselves so they could deal with Godric and Andrea’s bodies.
And Margot and I got to talk.
I went over everything again, explaining in more detail. Margot was a rational thinker. It didn’t take her long to run through all the factors I was laying out for her. She wasn’t close-minded, and she’d seen her share of things in the ER that made her question reality as we know it.
She even confided to me that she was sure that she’d met supernatural creatures before. “There was a big guy with a beard, long ago,” she said, a crinkle in between her eyes as she tried to remember. “He bumped into me in the ER once, and he looked at me.” She frowned. “I was sure he was seeing something that no one else could. I felt an energy from him… I can’t explain it.” Shaking her head, she met my eyes. “No one else saw him, which was the weird thing. I asked all the nurses on the desk, none of them had seen a big blond guy with a long beard.”
Revelations: The Last War Page 5
