Revelations: The Last War

by Lauretta Hignett

  “I come bearing gifts,” Dale said, smiling widely. “We’ve just come from the wedding cake tasting, and I brought you back the extra samples.”

  “I have red velvet, with cream cheese here,” Zel announced, handing me a little box. “And this one is a chocolate bomb with caramel ganache.”

  Dale piled a couple more boxes into my hands. “If you want something less sweet, I’ve got lemon cheesecake, and this one here is the orange and poppyseed sample.” He handed me a fork.

  A tiny bit of my depression lifted.

  Sure, neither of them were men. Not now, anyway. Dale was a fully-fledged supernatural entity, and Zel was every inch the higher demon.

  I didn’t have faith in men.

  But I definitely had faith in supernatural beings that brought me cake.

  Maybe that was enough.

  Chapter Twelve

  Exactly one week later, I smoothed a slate-black silk dress over my bump, and took a deep breath as Clover did the zip up. “That color suits you,” she said approvingly.

  “You too,” I replied, turning and admiring her. Both of us had similar coloring, which was probably why Zel consented to have me as a bridesmaid. We both had long, dark locks - Clover’s hair a deep burgundy, while mine was more dark chocolate, but both of us had our hair in wavy, classic fashion, falling down our backs. Clover had a heavier bustline, and looked very va-va-voom in her black dress, whereas my neckline draped a little more modestly. We both had good hips, but while her waist was slender, mine was non-existent.

  I was exactly one month off my due date. My baby was kicking the absolute crap out of me, perhaps it felt the excitement of being part of this special day. I winced and rubbed my belly.

  “Still kicking?”

  “It never stops,” I told her. “It’s like it senses it’s time to come out soon, and it's so excited that it's trying to bash down the door.”

  She giggled. “You still have no idea of the sex of the baby?”

  I shrugged. “No idea. It doesn’t bother me either way. As long as it's healthy and happy, then I’m happy.”

  My excited mood slipped slightly, and I struggled to plaster the smile back on my face. Failing, I turned away and hitched my foot up onto a stool so I could do up my sandals. Luckily, Clover didn’t notice.

  It had been a dark week, full of bad news. Vane and his army were on the way.

  Zel’s spies had told us that Vane had wanted to gather more forces so that we’d be beaten decisively. But now that I was just a month off my due date, he'd decided he couldn't afford to wait any longer. He didn’t want to take any chances of me going into early labor and triggering the apocalypse.

  “This is good news!” Zel had announced a week ago, flexing his muscles. “Vane doesn’t have time to recruit the forces he wanted to. He’s not confident in his success. We will beat him mercilessly.”

  “Zel,” I shook my head. “Vane and his army already outnumber us by a long, long, long way. We’re screwed, no matter what happens.” I frowned. “I think it might be time to consider other options.”

  “There are no other options,” Alex replied, his voice a low snarl, going into protective beast-mode.

  “Take it easy, babe.” I held out a hand to stop him. “I didn’t mean that I was going to do something stupid. I mean,” I said lightly, “Maybe we could just hide in another dimension?”

  I didn’t have enough knowledge of any of them, but it was a last resort. At this stage, I was just throwing out ideas.

  Alex bent his head down to touch mine. “Woman,” he replied, “You cannot travel through a portal when you are with child. You can control yourself and your own energy, but you cannot control the will of our baby. You could leave the baby behind, and bleed to death. It is far too dangerous.” His voice softened. “If it were an option, I would have bundled you off to the Fae Summerlands months ago.”

  “Oh,” I whispered. “I just thought you were being hopeful that we’d live through this. Well... why don’t you gather up whoever you can, and head to one of the Fae worlds now?”

  He laughed, but there was no humor in his tone. “None of us are leaving you.”

  I looked around the room, glaring at my friends and family. All of them stared back at me, their eyes bright with conviction.

  So, the war was coming. And there was nothing we could do to stop it.

  We had no idea of Vane’s plans, nor of the route that he would be taking to get to me, however we did figure that the army would be coming all at once. We had enough sentries around Revelations that they wouldn’t be able to sneak in. The army would march upon us with all their numbers, hoping to crush us with brute force.

  We had plans in place. We figured we had a little over a week before the army made their way here. They were relatively easy to keep track of, considering they were slowed down in their travels by the human army that they had amassed.

  Their army was bigger than we thought - around a hundred fanatics from all the major religions. Dotted here and there, Zel’s spies told him, was something more sinister - humans who just wanted to kill. They weren’t there to pursue any particular ideology. They only understood that a fight was coming, and they wanted to be part of the blood and despair.

  It was unfathomable to me that a heavenly creature such as Vane would allow those people to join his crusade, but Nate explained that it was the end of the spiral that the Percuitait had gone down many years ago. Continue God’s chosen path. Win at all costs. No matter who they had to get into bed with.

  Nimue and Zel had been spending their spare time in discussion with the boys about the battle plans. While they argued and fussed over first advances and left flanks and right flanks, I was busy devising a plan to clear all the guests out of Revelations so that there would be no human casualties.

  Metatron, in his usual unbothered fashion, was spending all this time with the imps and cherubs. The two little factions of Heaven and Hell got on surprisingly well. Met had them divided up into mixed teams, playing dodgeball and tag in the forest. Their shrieks of laughter and delight were a rare moment of joy, in a week that was fraught with fear and anxiety.

  Also, because they clearly couldn’t wait any longer, Dale and Zel decided to get married immediately.

  It made sense. They were desperate to formalize their love before the world ended. We needed the distraction. So exactly a week after we got the news that the Percuitait army was on the way, we were here, in the boy's bungalow, getting ready for the wedding of the century.

  I banged on the bathroom door. “You okay in there, Dale?”

  “No,” he replied breathlessly. “I think I’m having a heart attack.”

  I smirked at Clover, and she marched over to the bathroom door to join me. “I thought you just needed to pee,” I called through the lock.

  “I did. But I made the mistake of looking in the mirror, now I’m frozen.”

  I tried the door; he’d left it unlocked. Clover and I hustled in, picking up our beautiful silk dresses as we walked.

  Dale was crouched on the floor near the tub, his head in his hands.

  His suit was fantastic; pitch black; with a thin shiny slate lapel, and a crisp black shirt: Cutting edge, tailored to perfection, stylish and beautiful, it highlighted his glowing, dark-honey skin. When he first put it on, I was literally speechless. He looked incredible in a way I’d never seen him before; very cool, and a little dangerous. And those were not adjectives I would have ever used for him before. But after he’d donned the suit, he’d immediately disappeared into the bathroom. Now, his James-Bond-On-Steroids aesthetic was looking a little shaky, as he crouched on the bathroom floor, an expression of panic on his face.

  “What’s wrong, doll?” I asked. “Cold feet?”

  He shook his head emphatically. “Never. Never about Zel.”

  “What is it, then?”

  He rose slowly from the floor, and turned to me, his big eyes glistening. “I’ve never been the center of attention,�
� he whispered. “I never thought I’d have to walk down an aisle.”

  “Er, actually,” I put my head on the side. “Why are you the one walking down the aisle, anyway? I would have thought that would be more Zel’s scene.”

  “He wanted to be at the altar the whole time, waiting for me.” Dale’s voice was choked. He bent over again, put his head in between his legs, and took a deep breath in.

  “Figures,” I snorted. “He gets to stand up at the front of the altar while he waits for you. That’s going to be about half an hour. He would rather the audience look at him for a lot longer than just the minute it takes to walk up the aisle.”

  “He had no one to give him away,” Dale said, a tad reproachfully. “My mum and dad are both here. They’ll be on either side of me.”

  “Yeah... about that,” I said. “How are your mum and dad taking it, anyway? You getting married all of a sudden?” I raised an eyebrow. “And to a big, hulking ‘man'?”

  Dale frowned at me, registering the strange emphasis I put on the term ‘man’ when I clearly meant ‘demon'.

  I mentally scolded myself. I shouldn’t be so reckless with Clover around. She still didn’t know a thing. “They’re delighted that I’m marrying the handsome and rich Bruce Dewar,” Dale said quickly, glossing over my comment. “Dad and Zel have bonded by reminiscing about Evander Holyfield’s old fights.”

  I laughed. “I’m so glad, Dale, I really am. I’m so, so happy for you.”

  “Me too!” Clover squealed. “And I can’t believe I’m actually going to be a bridesmaid for you, and that you’re getting married here, at Revelations. It must cost a fortune!”

  “It did. Zel can afford it. Martin practically had a heart attack when we asked him, but we pointed out that pretty much every guest onsite was invited to the wedding anyway, and he agreed.”

  “Plus the staff, too,” I chipped in. “It’s a proper family affair.”

  Dale turned to me, his eyes filled with tears. “I’ve never been happier, Eve. Never in my whole life.” He leaned closer, looking at me dead in the eye. “If the world ended tomorrow, I’d die happy.”

  My laugh turned into a sob, and I leaned in for a hug to cover it up.

  I didn’t want Clover to see the depth of my emotion, or the despair hovering around the periphery.

  If I could get one thing right, I’d get Clover through this without her having to be scared of anything. Of all of us, she was the innocent one; blissfully unaware of the coming war, happily spreading joy wherever she went. I squished my face into Dale’s hard chest, and waved her forward to join us. My shoulders shook in his embrace; I couldn’t help the sobs that overwhelmed me.

  “Stop it, Eve,” Clover wiped away a tear. “You’ll mess up my eye makeup.” She flung herself around us, and we stood together for a long time. The three amigos, in one, long group hug.

  My baby kicked me right in the ribs. “Ouch.”

  Dale chuckled. “It looks like someone’s ready to go.”

  I fixed my smile in place. “Are you ready?”

  He took a breath and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Together, we walked out of the bungalow and made our way down the main path. The ceremony was being held on the back lawn, behind the reception building - the lawn where Metatron had held his football tournament only weeks ago. It was ringed on almost all sides by lush, green rainforest, but it was the only place in the resort where non-natives flourished as well. The Revelations gardeners worked hard to create a perfectly manicured lawn and familiar garden, for any guest that needed a little less wildness to their greenery. Gorgeous flowers let their heavy scents seep into the air; jasmine, gardenia and freesia scents all mixed together came at us first, then came the heady smell of the fragrant peonies that Zel had shipped in to decorate every inch of the ceremony.

  We couldn’t see any of it yet. Zel had wanted it to be a surprise for Dale. We stopped at the last bend in the path, where Dale’s parents waited in the gazebo. Next to him they looked tiny, but their smiles were huge, and their eyes shiny with tears. His mother appeared to be speechless. She reached up and patted his cheeks.

  “Okay, huddle up,” Clover waved her hands forward, and we formed a loose circle. “The song that’s playing now is last on the ‘ceremony arrival’ playlist. The bridesmaid's song will play next, and that’s our cue. I’m going first.” She nodded at me. “Eve, you can’t start walking until the key change, two minutes in.”

  “I remember, Clo.” Zel had drilled the information into me a billion times over the last two day.

  “Right. Then, as soon as the bridal march starts, it’s go time, Dale.”

  He took a huge breath, a smile breaking out on his face. “I’m ready.”

  Clover cocked her head, listening. Our entrance song started. She gave a little squeal and kissed Dale on the cheek. “Good luck, babe. See you in Love Jail.” Hastily, she shuffled out of the gazebo and on to the path, adjusted the silk around her neckline, straightened her back, held her head high, and started walking towards the lawn.

  I grinned at Dale. “You’re ready?”

  He nodded. “Thanks for everything, Eve.”

  His tone surprised me. “What did I do?”

  “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here,” Dale replied, his eyes shining. “I wouldn’t have met Zel. We wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

  “Dale…”

  “Shhh,” he put his hand out and cupped my chin. “This is all good,” he whispered. “Everything is good. You’ll see. I have faith.”

  I gave him a watery smile. “Even if I don’t.”

  “But you do. You always have.”

  I pressed my lips together hard. Luckily, before I had a complete breakdown, I heard the key change in the song. “Go on,” Dale said. “That’s your cue.”

  I stared into his face one more time. If only it were Dale that had to have faith. He had it in bucketloads. I took a quavering breath, gave him one last smile, turned, and started my long, slow walk towards the altar.

  The full force of Zel’s spectacle hit me when I reached the end of the path. The emerald green grass was spotless, save for a white carpet that ran up the middle of the lawn, dividing the rows of white chairs. My eyes surveyed the crowd - everyone was on their feet, staring at Clover. She had just reached the end of the carpet and was mounting the steps, walking gracefully, head held high and chest up. She stepped towards Zel, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and turned to wait in her spot.

  Unfortunately, everyone turned to look at me.

  Suddenly breathless and terrified of the scrutiny, I quickly cut my gaze to the ground. Slowly, I kept walking, exactly how Zel had instructed me. Step, pause. Step, pause.

  After a few terrifying seconds, I let the atmosphere around me sink in a little, tasting it cautiously. Curiously, I felt no judgment in the gazes that fell upon me, and with my heart in my mouth, I looked up.

  The entire crowd was grinning happily. There, taking up the back row, the rest of the night staff stood, the porters and valets, and the maids, looking collectively devastatingly gorgeous in their silky dresses and sharp shirts. I tended to forget that most of us were hired because we looked good. I grinned at them as I passed, collecting winks and blown kisses as I went.

  It felt so good. They were a great extended family - they never had any judgments, they just wanted to have a good time. None of them cared that I was ready to pop, in fact, it was hilarious to most of them. Halfway up the aisle, I winked at Martin, who smiled proudly at me.

  And just beyond them were the Nuntius and Katadonis contingent, in human-form and grinning from ear to ear. My confidence increased as I passed them, as if I was soaking up their goodwill as I went.

  For the first time, I looked up ahead towards the platform. Zel stood there, right in the middle, dominating the stage. Dressed in the most stunning white suit, his blue hair rising like a flame from a Bunsen burner, he absolutely shone and vibrated with uncontrolled happ
iness. His head was raised, chin lifted, trying to spot a glimpse of his groom coming towards him.

  But my eyes slid over him. They even slid over Nimue, standing tall and proudly next to him, resplendent in a matching sharp-as-a-razor white suit. Her splendor couldn’t hold my gaze; my attention was drawn like a moth to a flame, towards his other groomsman. Right to Alex.

  My lover’s eyes were glued on me; soft, and burning. Once I locked my gaze on him, I couldn’t look anywhere else. His hair was loose and tousled, brushing the shoulders of his white shirt, which clung to his gorgeous body perfectly. It wasn’t what he looked like that took my breath away, although it did send little eddies of pleasure rippling through my abdomen. No, it was the love I felt for him that almost knocked me off my feet. And, for the first time, I felt the love that came from within me; I felt it as acutely as if it were my own. Even though I wasn’t sure who my baby’s father was, I don’t think my baby cared. My baby loved Alex, fiercely, protectively, as much as he loved us.

  My eyes drifted to Nate, standing on the other side of Alex. He, too, was gazing at me with love in his eyes, but it was different. He watched both of us - Alex and me - with adoration. My new beautiful big brother. My favorite third wheel. If it cost him anything to dance on the periphery of our relationship, he didn’t show it. We were all part of a bizarre holy trinity - the mortal, the angel, and the demon, and within our circle thrived many different types of love - romantic, sexual, fraternal, paternal, platonic… requited and unrequited. We were joy and frustration, we were satisfaction and self-denial. It was quite messy and complicated, so utterly human and inhuman at the same time. It was perfect.

  I reached the edge of the platform and stumbled on the first step. Strong hands caught me before I had a chance to slip; Alex on one side, Nate on the other. Smiling, and blushing a little, I let them lead me up onto the platform, and gently push me into my spot next to Clover.