The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set)

by J. D. Stonebridge

  “The timing?” David asked, but Caelum already knew what she meant.

  “The Rapture.” Caelum remembered Azazel mentioning it back in Hell. “Azazel, the leader of Hell, mentioned something about the end.”

  Azrael nodded. “The time for the new cycle is upon us. God will return very soon and as far as I can see, Lucifer aims to return to Heaven before God does. If the leader of Hell is preparing for it as well, then that means they are aiming to intercept God. That could spell trouble for every one of us.”

  “And we still don’t know what they’re planning,” Caelum added.

  “Which is why we need you, David.” Azrael looked to the human. “The archives your family has been protecting recorded all things that have happened beyond what others have seen. Your bloodline was given the gift to see these things long ago. And I want to know if any of your ancestors may have seen or heard what Michael and Lucifer have been planning since God’s absence.”

  “I—” David stuttered. “I don’t know, I’ve never read about anything like that in my family’s library.”

  “Have you read all the documents there?” Caelum asked.

  “No.”

  “Then, there’s still a chance,” Caelum said. “Ariel has a role to play in this plan of theirs, if my interpretation of Azazel’s words the last time we met is correct. They need her for something, and taking her off their hands will be a great obstacle for them.”

  Azrael nodded in agreement. She then turned to David. “So, will you do it?”

  David’s jaw hung open as he looked from the angel to the demon. He sighed heavily. He looked at Caelum and told him. “I will. But I can’t let you in there. It has wards against demons and stuff…”

  “Don’t worry,” Caelum smiled. “I’ll send someone else to help you.”

  Chapter Nine: Something in the Shadows

  “The number you dialed—” The message rang in her ears again. Jenny slammed her thumb against the end button on her smartphone. She had been calling her brother, David, for the last hour and a half. Worry was creeping in on her because she didn’t know where her brother was or what has happened to him.

  Where in the world is he? She wondered. The youngest daughter of the Tenney household paced the carpeted floor of their home. Jenny hated being left alone. While her mother and father were out uncovering something about some creature and her brother running away to college, she was stuck doing some math exercises her mother had left for her. She groaned, collapsing on the couch face first. Both frustrated and slightly paranoid that her persistence had triggered an event that would forever haunt her, she turned around and stared at the ceiling. She had always believed that angels existed, though she knew they weren't fairy godmothers who waited around to grant wishes. But she prayed anyway, hoping her brother would turn up soon.

  Her head snapped up at the sound of sudden footsteps. Jenny crawled off the couch and inched her way to the fireplace, her fingers curling around one of the iron pokers. The teenager held the poker close to her as she listened to the heavy footsteps heading up the stairs. Could it be David? She wondered, though she was prepared if it wasn’t, holding the poker tightly in both fists. With socked feet, Jenny moved silently towards the stairs and took each step as quietly as the old house would allow. She reached the landing just as the footsteps drew near. Panicked, she turned back but knew she wouldn’t make it to the front door without being seen. Frozen in indecision, Jenny forced herself to think as the footsteps grew louder.

  When her eyes caught sight of brown hair, the panicked girl swung the poker hard, hitting something soft.

  "Oof!" David curled forward, the poker hitting him in stomach with a dull thud. Pain shot up from the muscles of his abdomen and bile threatened to escape from his throat.

  "Oh my gosh..." Jenny released the poker immediately. "Oh my gosh, David. I'm so sorry!" She kneeled next to her brother, who had crouched down, moaning in pain. “What were you doing, sneaking around?"

  "Sure, scold me while I feel like hurling," David muttered weakly.

  "Oh, right.” Jenny took David by the arm and guided him to his bedroom, two doors down the hallway. She dropped him on his bed where he curled in a fetal position. "Err, need anything?"

  David opened one eye to glare at her and mumbled, "Where are the keys to the archives?"

  "What?" Jenny asked, confused.

  "The archives. I need to check something," David said, sitting up although still hunched.

  "Oh... Wait, why?" Jenny asked again. "I thought you didn't like that stuff anymore?"

  "I thought you wanted to get me back into it?" David shot back, removing himself from the pitiful position. He took a deep breath, wincing at the dulling pain in his abdomen. He pushed himself up, a hand still clutching his stomach as he walked to the door and out. "Something came up on my way here, and I need to research on that something."

  "What something? What's going on?" Jenny hurried after her brother.

  "Key to the archives, Jen," he reminded her.

  "Oh, right." Jenny rushed past him, throwing her bedroom door open and appearing a few seconds later. She dangled the keys between her fingers, offering them to him. David grabbed them and rushed down the stairs. "Hey, what's going on?" Jenny called after him, then followed him down the stairs when he didn’t reply.

  David half-ran to the basement door and went down the stairs where a hidden door was camouflaged as part of the walls. A small hole on the wall next to the fourth to the last stair marked the hidden door. David placed the first key in the lock. The wall slid to the side, and Jenny came down the stairs just as David stepped inside.

  “Hey, why aren’t you answering my question? And why are you acting weird?” Jenny demanded.

  “Okay,” David said, leaning against the wall. “You know Lucifer, right?”

  Jenny pulled her brows together. “Yeah.”

  “Well, do you know anything about how his cage can be opened?” David asked her.

  “What are you talking about?” Jenny asked.

  David shook his head and turned around to shine a penlight that revealed the set of stairs leading down. “Just trust me on this, Jen. Something is happening, and it involves Lucifer. The Lucifer. So if you know anything, please share.” He started down the stairs.

  A few steps below was yet another door that required another key. David fumbled with the keys Jenny had given him and opened the lock. Inside was a large room lined with bookcases, file cabinets, and only one study table with four chairs at the center. David reached up to flip the light switch, illuminating the whole room as his sister joined him.

  “What are you involved in that has to do with Lucifer?” Jenny asked him, suspicion in her voice.

  David hesitated. Caelum did mention that my family was under an untraceable location, so it should include this house. But a voice at the back of his mind told him that untraceable wasn’t exactly synonymous with secure from possible eavesdroppers. He looked at his sister. “Please just trust me, Jen. I need to know, if by some miracle, one of our ancestors happened to figure out how to open the cage.”

  “Look, I said we’ll check out the thing in Kansas. Why don’t we just do that, and leave this whole Lucifer business for another time?” Jenny negotiated, unhappy that he wouldn’t tell her.

  “No. Ugh…” David ruffled his hair out of frustration. “Can you just help me out with this one? I mean, aren’t you a bit curious?”

  Jenny pouted. “You finally get interested in this, yet it’s still not the one I asked you to help me with.” She sighed heavily. “I’m not in the mood to be stuck in this stuffy place right now. Maybe later.”

  “Fine.” David frowned. He moved to the filing cabinet to start his research, and when he looked back, Jenny was already making her way back up the stairs. He sighed, knowing that he had disappointed his little sister again. “Sorry, Jen. I can’t tell you until I’m sure you’re safe,” he muttered under his breath. He opened the top drawer of the cabinet
and checked for books that referenced the archangel.

  Drowsiness was creeping in on him, but he had to fight it. The sooner he figured out the mystery, the sooner he could rest. It was unfortunate that the archives were strictly off-limits to electronic devices. Even with the dawn of computers, he and his sister had been taught never to type in or photograph any information their family held, in case of hackers. To the Cryptology student whose entire life depended on his mobile phone, David knew that digging through the books and papers would be an incredible hassle.

  Jenny stormed out of the basement and headed for the living room where, as she had been before her brother arrived, she paced the rugged floor in her wool socks. She rubbed a palm over her forehead as she tried to calm herself. This was the first time her brother had come home since he’d left. Jenny thought she’d finally got him back, but with his ramblings about the cage and Lucifer, she didn’t feel comfortable. Perhaps she had gotten used to David’s reluctance to take part in their family’s line of work, and now that he’d shown interest, it was all weird to her. But no, it was his urgency that alarmed Jenny.

  She groaned at the thoughts in her mind, slumping down on the couch. Jenny found herself in the same position she had assumed a moment ago, the weight of her worries bringing her down. She stared blankly at the vase her mother had bought in Thailand, following the intricate designs of vines enveloping the porcelain. She missed the days when her family was around. Her parents would be the ones stuck in the archives, writing about whatever they’d discovered days before while she and her brother did Calculus together. Now, she felt all alone, even though her brother just arrived.

  Her eyelids grew heavy, her mind weary. Jenny realized that she hadn’t slept since she has been waiting for David to come. Dawn was already breaking between the curtains of the living room, and she decided to sleep on the couch when something caught her eye. A movement just behind the vase she had been staring at jolted her awake. “David?” No answer.

  A familiar scream tore through the house, causing David to jump and drop the papers in his hands. He called for his sister as he rushed up the stairs to her aid. David took the steps two at a time, slamming through the door and into the living room, where he found Jenny holding yet another poker from the fireplace, her back to him. She was not aiming at him, but to someone just out of his sight. Slowly, he walked towards Jenny, concerned that he may have attracted unwanted guests.

  David grabbed a silver letter opener beside the phone and neared his sister. He was halted by a female voice. “Easy with that thing, you might hurt yourself.”

  David walked further into the room and looked at the woman. She was a tall woman with crimson hair, wearing a dark blue overcoat over some black leggings and ankle boots. The woman lifted her green eyes to him, a hint of recognition in her eyes. “You’re David, right?”

  “Uhm, yeah…” David confirmed. “Who are you?”

  A look of disappointment crossed her face, but it disappeared quickly. “Just as well, I didn't expect you to remember me anyway. But at least I think you've met my damned father. I’m Mikaela.”

  “Remember you?” David set down the letter opener as her meaning penetrated his mind. “Mikaela. Caelum sent you, right? Wait, you said ‘father’? But Caelum’s—”

  “A demon, so that makes me a witch.” Mikaela finished his sentence calmly. Her words affected his sister.

  “A witch?!” Jenny exclaimed. “What do you want?”

  “Gee, relax, little girl,” Mikaela told her. “I’m here to help your brother find out this thing about Lucifer.”

  Jenny looked to David, then back to Mikaela and back to David. “David, please tell me you haven't been making deals with demons and witches."

  Before David could answer, Mikaela took the chance. "Add an angel in there, too."

  David glared at her. "Thank you for that. And don't just say stuff like that in the open."

  "Don't worry. I made sure no one is listening besides the three of us," Mikaela placated him. "Even if one of you screamed again, no one outside these walls would be able to hear you."

  "Oh." David looked around the house. "Really?"

  "Yep, so where are these legendary archives?"

  The first thing Mikaela noticed about the archives was how dusty everything was. She feared that opening a book from the shelves would lead to an explosion of dust that she’d be coughing up for days. She thought of casting a spell that would clean the place, but there was the possibility that her spell may accidentally damage something important. No choice but to suck it up.

  "So you're telling me," Jenny began after David tried to explain the situation. "There's some conspiracy theory that Heaven is actually trying to get Lucifer back on their side?"

  "Yes. That's why we have to find out how they'll do it, so we can stop them," David confirmed.

  "And an angel told you this?" Jenny asked

  "Yes."

  Jenny glanced at Mikaela, who was already looking through a couple of books from their shelves. The teen bit her lip and tugged at her brother's sleeve. "Can I talk to you in private?" she asked him. David nodded and followed Jenny upstairs and back to the living room.

  "What?" David asked.

  "Um, are you insane?" Jenny said in a hushed voice. "You're trusting a demon and a witch because of something an angel said about some big plan from Heaven? Doesn't that sound suspicious at all to you?"

  "Hey, I know it sounds suspicious. But why would they try and fool us?" David asked her.

  "Hello? We just let a stranger into our secret archives, a witch for that matter." Jenny pointed out. "What if all she wants is to get whatever secrets we've been holding and not about how to free Lucifer?"

  "I—" David stuttered. If he was completely honest with her, he’d actually never thought of what Jenny said. But some part of him didn't believe that. He thought back to his conversation with Azrael and Caelum. The remorse in Azrael's eyes as she spoke about the souls she’d reaped, Caelum's face when she mentioned the angel trapped with Lucifer and the past he used to have. David wasn't certain if the expressions of an angel and a demon were similar to a human's, but he saw sincerity in theirs. Or maybe it was because he had an opportunity to finally do something extraordinary. The little boy who’d tied his blanket around his neck pretending to be a superhero must still be somewhere inside David.

  He let out a sigh. In the end, he still wasn't sure about what was happening around him. He wished he was back in the school library working on his report. "Look, Jen. Just trust me on this, please? I'll be down there with her and will keep an eye on her. It will be fine. At the very least, I'll find out what she does."

  Jenny studied him carefully, her brown eyes staring into his. David could tell his sister was thinking he'd gone insane, but for once, David wanted to trust his instincts. And it told him to help the Angel of Death.

  "Fine," Jenny finally said. "But I'm calling Mom and Dad."

  With his daughter collecting the information in the mortal's household, Caelum took it upon himself to gather some on his own. And his reference of choice was the angel amongst the monsters.

  Since the departure of the human, the demon had taken the spotlight; all the hungry eyes followed him. Most of them were the werewolves, whose eyes spoke murder even in their human form. Other monsters littered the tunnel as Caelum walked before them, from the tiny fae creatures to the gigantic bodies of the wendigo and golems. He smiled to himself, knowing how his presence bothered them all.

  Azrael was standing at the end of the tunnel, just before a turn to the left. She was speaking to the reaper, her face stern and her tone authoritative. She spoke the Enochian language; her words meaningless to the demon. He approached her nonetheless, interrupting their conversation. Azrael’s red eyes found him, and she dismissed the reaper, who blended in the darkness.

  “Caelum.” Azrael regarded him.

  “Must be quite a busy day for you,” Caelum started.

  “Quite. There a
re events happening in the world above, and I must soon join my army in reaping the souls before they go astray,” Azrael explained to him. “If the archangels notice my lack of presence in these trying times, they will suspect something.”

  “I understand,” Caelum said. “Speaking of, may I ask something about these archangels?”

  Azrael cocked her head to the side. “What is it you wish to know?”

  “I am aware that your advantage as an angel is that it is immensely difficult to kill the lot of you,” Caelum began, earning him a suspicious look from the angel. “One way is the Zound blade, I believe, the blade that was forged in the Heavens. Don’t get me wrong, I am not planning murder here. But I am curious what I can do to defend myself against Lucifer. Perhaps Ramiel has a few of those Zounds lying around, considering he gave them to his monsters before.”

  Azrael studied him. “You are asking if I can equip you with a weapon to harm Lucifer.”

  “Yes.” Caelum nodded. “I mean, let’s say we do figure out a way to get me in the cage for my rescue mission. As much as it harms my ego, I doubt I can win a battle against this archangel.”

  The angel looked away, her eyes lost in her thoughts. “You are right. Though I am afraid I cannot help you with that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I do not know,” Azrael admitted. “All I know is that the archangels are far stronger than us. They are the first ones that God breathed life into. His first children and the ones closest to him. I am doubtful that even the Zound can do much damage to them, especially to Michael and Lucifer.”

  Caelum frowned. “So what I am about to do is a suicide mission, then?”

  “Not exactly,” Azrael said. “I say that it is difficult to fight against Michael and Lucifer, but not impossible for a demon like you, who has nearly unlimited sources of power when in Hell. Lucky for you, Lucifer’s cage is there.”