by K. G. Reuss
“No.” Brax shook his head, his black tears pouring from his eyes and splashing me, cleansing me. “No! Don’t go, Maggie! Please! I love you so much! I can’t be without you! I can’t!”
I raised my hand and traced his lips with my trembling fingers, and he leaned his head down to me, making it easier on my dying body.
“I love you, Abraxas Shepherd, emissary of the Devil. Don’t forget, faith, not hope,” I whispered as a brilliant bright light engulfed me, taking me far away from the man I loved.
Chapter 87
“Welcome home,” Raphael greeted me, his arms opened wide as I stepped through the light. I fell into them wordlessly, tears on my face.
“This is a happy moment, Maggie,” he assured me gently. “Your father is down there right now dealing with it. Brax will serve his penance and once he realizes what he truly wants, he can be brought back to the Middle Kingdom.”
“So he still has to suffer?” I wept softly into Raphael’s white shirt.
“It could be as little as a day,” he murmured, brushing my hair aside. “It’ll only last as long as he lets it. He simply has to ask for help. He has to asked to be saved.”
“And then he’s free?” I looked up at Raphael hopefully.
“And then he’s free,” he confirmed. “I promise you, he will not suffer any longer than need be.”
“Will I get to see him? Will I be able to be with him?” I asked, staring up at Raphael.
“How about we discuss it over a cup of tea?” he suggested with a gentle smile. “I think we might be able to work something out.”
“Promise?”
“I swear it, Maggie,” he answered, taking my hand and leading me to the gleaming white Gates of Heaven. The golden gates swung open and we stepped inside, me leaving my entire world behind. I looked back at the fading white light, my heart heavy, my throat tight.
I’d be back. I knew I would be. If I had to bring Heaven to Earth, I was going back.
Faith, not hope.
Look for Gospel of the Divine, book three in The Emissary of the Devil series.
Coming October 2018!
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Gospel of the Divine
“Fuck,” I groaned, shielding my burning eyes from the sun.
The sun!
I sat up, squinting, trying to figure out where I was. As I looked around, my head screamed at me for mercy. I was in a park. Children played nearby, their giggles tickling my sensitive hearing.
“Hey, mister. You OK?” A little boy peered over me, his blond hair falling across his eyes, sweat dotting his rosy cheeks. He couldn’t have been more than nine. There was a time not long ago where I’d have dug into his fragile mind like soft sand on the beach and twisted his innocent thoughts into something gut-wrenching and sinister.
Instead, I cocked my head as I stared at him. He was beautiful. There was so much light inside of him. I could see it shining around him, a beacon to the lost. He was innocent. Untainted. I reached up and cupped his face with one hand. His blue eyes widened as he gazed back at me. Instead of taking the plunge into his mind, I gave him a smile.
“Do you know where I am?” I asked him, dropping my hand from his sweet face after a moment.
“You’re on the ground. And I think a dog peed on you,” he replied, frowning, his nose crinkling. I looked down and noted the wet spot on the leg of my tattered jeans. He was probably right. What a great way to make my reentrance—covered in soot and piss.
“Is this the Middle Kingdom?”
The boy looked at me confused.
“I mean, what day is it?”
“It’s Thursday,” the boy answered. “In June. I don’t know the date. I don’t pay attention once school gets out.”
“The year?” I demanded, climbing painfully to my feet. My clothes were shredded and singed. The smell of hell still encased them. It made me want to vomit.
“2018,” he replied. “My mom says the year’s going by too fast, though. But she says that every year.” He rolled his eyes.
“Time does have a way of escaping us,” I murmured, looking around. “Is-is this Woodman’s Park?” My eyes had almost adjusted to the brightness of the Middle Kingdom. I was able to see it more clearly now.
“Yep!” The kid nodded, looking around. I took a hesitant step forward, my legs shaky. “Do you want me to call 9-1-1, mister?”
“No.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “This is why you don’t drink or do drugs. You always end up waking up in the strangest places.”
“That’s what my uncle says,” the kid replied, nodding earnestly. I laughed again. The realization that this was the Middle Kingdom made my heart leap. I’d been pulled out of Hell. Maggie. She’d really saved me. I swallowed hard, looking around for her, but there was nothing. She wasn’t here. I knelt and picked up the snow-white feather that was at my feet and twirled it in my fingers.
“Maggie,” I whispered.
“Mister, I gotta go, but want me to tell my mom you need help?”
“No thanks, kid.”
“OK,” he said uncertainly, backing away from me, his blue eyes sweeping over me quickly. “Don’t wake up in any more weird places, OK?”
“I won’t,” I murmured softly, watching him run back to the swings. I lifted the snow-white feather up to my mouth and let it brush against my lips. “I won’t.”
Coming October 2018!
About the Author
K.G Reuss was born and raised in Michigan. She currently resides there with her husband and three children. When not writing, she can be found working in emergency medicine.
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Also by K.G. Reuss
Emissary of the Devil: Testimony of the Damned (Book One) mybook.to/testimonyofthedamned
The Everlasting Chronicles: Dead Silence (Book One)
mybook.to/deadsilence
The Chronicles of Winterset: Oracle (Book One)
mybook.to/wintersetoracle
The Everlasting Chronicles: Shadow Song (Book Two) August 2018
Gunny Perkins (September 2018)
Emissary of the Devil: Gospel of the Divine (Book Three) October 2018
The Everlasting Chronicles: Spellbound (Book Three) November 2018
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone involved in Brax and Maggie’s story. Charlotte, K.B. Andrews, my fans, my family. You guys keep me going. There’s more to come! Much love.
