by S. E. Babin
I gave my husband one long last look before I slipped quietly down to where Charon waited for me. He was still very annoyed about the grocery trip he had to take, but he’d tamped that grudge down. Part out of his feelings for my mother, part because he knew I wasn’t in the best head space right now. He held a hand out to help me into the boat, and without saying a word, rowed me across the Styx. When I stepped out, he held my gaze.
“I wish you the speed of the gods and the strength of the warriors who came before you. Please come back to us, Abby.”
I dipped my head and turned away from him.
Which brought me here. To a terrified nephilim. At first she started off with the poor attitude and the nastiness. So I smacked her in the face with a bolt of magic, forced her into a chair and slapped magic dampening ties on her. She was so surprised, she had no chance to recover or retaliate. She was now settling for dirty looks and sneers, which had about as big of an effect on me as swatting a fly with a wooden skewer.
We were now into hour two of negotiations. And by negotiations I meant her screeching at me that she wasn’t going to do it and me staring blithely at her and repeating, “You will do it or you’ll die.” And then I’d shrug and tell her she might die anyway, but either way she was going to do it.
I glanced up at the clock over her head and hoped it was right. We were in another crappy hotel room so the odds of the clock battery being dead were pretty high. I sent a quick spell over the nephilim to keep her silent, double checked the magic dampening cuffs and left the room to go on my next hunt.
By the time I was done, I planned on having enough firepower to blow the doors wide open. Willingly or not, the nephilim were going to play on my team.
Four hours and two police chases later, I had gathered seven nephilim in the room with me. It was hot and humid, due to their anger and to the small size of the room. Three of them shrugged and agreed right away. The other four, including Rachel, weren’t so apt to jump on board the crazy train with me.
I didn’t really want to kill anyone because at heart I wasn’t a bad person, but I was a mother on a mission. So, as a last resort, I bargained. And I was honest with them.
By the time I finished my story, even Rachel was staring at me with new eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me your son was taken?”
“At the time, he wasn’t. It was my husband.”
She shifted. “Kids are different.”
Was this chick finally coming around to my way of thinking? Were kids a magical solution to my issues? Everyone had a soft spot for kids, so maybe so. “They are,” I agreed, although Hades was pretty darn important to me, too. From my behavior lately, I wasn’t sure if he knew that.
The nephilim were all squirming in their seats. One by one they agreed to help. “This is for the world?” one of them asked.
I nodded. “The world seems fine right now, but if God grasps power of all the realms, I’d expect some apocalyptic level chaos.”
“I’ve never seen him or the angel that knocked my mama up,” someone else said.
Another made a noise of agreement. “The bastard never came to a single doctor’s appointment or even showed up for the birth. Didn’t even tell my mom he was an angel. The first time I showed a hint of power, my mother called up the Catholics for an exorcism.”
A couple of the nephilims laughed because I guess that’s what you did when your mom was a religious freak with a penchant for horror movies. “‘Cept they couldn’t knock out what this was,” the nephilim said. “So she dropped me at the first fire station she found and I spent the next twelve years in the system.”
Holy crap. The baggage was strong with this crowd. “Well, you have your chance for some revenge,” I said. “We took out thousands of angels last time we were there, but I’m assuming there are a lot more where that came from.”
Everyone nodded. “You’re going to have to take the handcuffs off of us.”
“Not until we come to a binding agreement,” I said.
The words of binding burned and etched in our skin seconds before they faded and sank down into our bones. We showed up to the gates of Paradise two hours later, our only plan to show up, knock the doors down and go in and screw shit up. This was my favorite kind of plan - none at all. That way no one knew what the hell was going on and no one on the other side had a chance to strategize. Hell, I didn’t even know what I was going to do on a day to day basis, so this was perfect for me.
Rachel, now a surprisingly decent ally once she finally erased the sneer that was taking up permanent residence on her face, looked at the gates and frowned. “I think we’re better off pooling our power than we are going at it one at a time. Better survival odds at least.” The majority agreed with her.
“When you finish opening the gates, you’re welcome to leave. Your service to me is done and there’s no reason for you to keep fighting. This is my son. Our agreement will be finished.”
Rachel gave me a short nod, told me to stand back, and grasped hands with the closest nephilim who did the same to the one standing beside him. Eventually all seven of them had focused on the door. Their eyes began to glow a vivid gold and the ground shuddered beneath me. I heard the first shouts of alarm coming several feet away, but it was too late. Who ever had left the door unguarded was going to be in a world of pain if God made it out alive.
Of course, I wasn’t so keen on that happening, but you never knew how the day was going to end.
Less than ten seconds later, the door cracked and shattered, sending out a peaceful aura of golden light.
“Bullshit,” I muttered at the peace emanating from within, flush with power and the knowledge my mother had given me.
The nephilims dropped their hands. All of them still stood. They looked a little weakened, but other than that they were fine.
“Go,” I said, “before the angels catch up to us.”
All of the nephilim disappeared before my eyes, just as the first angels began to rain down Hellfire. I popped out of existence and made my way through the doors of Paradise.
It was beautiful, of course. It was like God had taken all of the beautiful things in the world and plopped them all into one space. I kept myself cloaked and quietly stood behind a flowering tree watching the angels search for me in vain.
That was until I heard these words in my ear: “Abby, what the hell are you doing here? We are under orders to kill you on sight.”
I dropped my cloak and turned to face Gabriel. “Are you going to?”
He looked like he wanted to. His fingers were itching toward the new wicked daggers holstered at his sides. But he was staring at me with this perplexed expression, like I was the most fascinating person he’d ever seen. Also the dumbest and he couldn’t decide which one he wanted to go with.
He let out a huff of breath. “If I don’t, I’m as good as dead.”
We stared at each other for a beat. “Decide. I’m not leaving here without my son.”
He nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He waved at something a few feet away. My attention turned and much to my surprise and horror, Ares, Hades, Hermes, Dionysus, Hera and Rafe stood there. All of them wore disapproving expressions, but relief was palpable in their expressions.
I struggled to speak. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to be responsible for any more death.”
“You didn’t tell us because you thought this was your fault and you were the only one who could fix it,” my husband said, taking a few strides up to me and taking me by the shoulders.
I nodded, tears shimmering in my eyes. “It was my fault. You told me to stay away. I did everything he wanted and I played right into his hands.”
I pointed back at the angel. “Is he on our side now?”
Ares stepped up looking completely fierce in his new black leather armor. “I’d say he wants to be on the winning side of history. I could always use another warrior on my team.”
Gabriel gave him a grim smile. “I’ll have to stay
cloaked. If God realizes what I’ve done -” he snapped his fingers, making my flinch.
“Uriel?” I asked hopefully.
Gabriel shook his head. “Still on God’s side. We will see what happens toward the end. I still have hope.”
Hades threw up a cloak over all of us, just as the other angels crept close to the space we occupied. With a grim look of concentration, Hades focused on one of the angels and with a slight poof it ceased to exist. I whistled low. I had no idea he could do that.
“That’s a bit terrifying,” muttered Rafe.
“Yeah,” said Gabriel looking at my husband with something akin to horror.
We watched as he took down all seven angels without breaking a sweat. When he saw my questioning look, he shrugged. “I’ve struggled with my darker half my entire life. I think we’re past the point of questioning our morality now, aren’t we?”
“Hell yeah, we are,” I murmured. “Let’s go get our son back.”
We walked quietly on the path strewn with the dusty remains of dead angels. It was strangely silent and I couldn’t help but think we were walking straight into an ambush. I had no idea how many angels heaven had. I knew we’d taken out a massive swath of them last time, but we’d only seen a few since we entered. Had we weakened God this much? It didn’t seem possible, but I also didn’t know much about Heaven either.
We got our answer just a few minutes later when we spied another door in the distance. Very Alice in Wonderland. It wasn’t a massive door, but the power that burned off of it was immense. It appeared to be heavily fortified and there must have been thousands of angels milling around it. Whatever was behind there, we needed it. I knew Draco was there. I could feel it in my bones.
I looked at my husband. His jaw was clenched tight. There was no way he could take this many out and he knew it.
Ares crept forward and I was immensely grateful for his presence. “We need to flank them,” he whispered urgently. “Some of us get behind them, the rest stay in front of them. When they try to retreat, we will be there.”
“There’s only seven of us,” I said, worried we were about to get crushed before we saw our son again.
Ares’ gaze flicked behind me. “Fourteen,” he corrected.
I spun around. Every single nephilim was standing behind me. I shut my eyes with the relief of it. Thank you, I mouthed. Rachel gave me a wave and a toothy grin.
“Those seven nephilim have the power of at least one god. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.” He looked at Hades. “When I give the signal, I need you to rain Hellfire down where they are concentrated the most.” He turned to Dionysus and Gabriel. “Once the Hellfire is clear, you slice through them like a watermelon. Same for you,” he said to the nephilim. Ares turned to me and gave the grin I’d always hated. “That’s when they’ll start running toward me, Hera and Hermes. Abby, I need you to turn your power full on.”
I knew exactly what he was asking. “Are you serious?”
He nodded and grinned.
“If there really was a Hell, I’d be first in line,” I muttered, but I agreed anyway. This was about to get real weird, real quick.
Ares took Hermes and Hera with him and they crept around the angels, still wearing their cloaking. When they were situated the best they could be, I watched as Ares gave the signal to fire. I took a step back from my husband and watched him build up the Hellfire inside of him. He took aim at the largest gathering of angels, some three or four hundred gathered too close together, and let it rip. The fire ripped through the sky and down through the angels. Screams of horror, of death, of agony rang out, but they fell on deaf ears.
We were their enemy and we were prepared to take this all the way to the grave. When the Hellfire slowed to a trickle, Dionysus gave a warrior’s cry, threw away his cloaking and rushed another large group of them. His sword cut through God’s minions like butter. The nephilim followed right behind him and, as I watched, they shed their mortal shells like a snake sheds it skins and rushed the army, glowing with an internal angelic light. The angels stood almost no chance. They fell like flies, but there were still a few hundred left. Some ran back toward Ares and the others and some ran toward us.
I dropped the glamour I always held tightly to me and stepped forward. “Come to me,” I whispered. “Come to me and allow your fantasies to come true.” My body glowed with light. I shed the remains of my clothing and appeared to them the same way I came out of the sea, clothed in only magic and beauty. The angels slowed, both females and males, and their mouths dropped open as I walked toward them. I put more power behind the spell. “Drop your inhibitions. You are safe with me.”
Dozens of them begin to shed their armor. Hades stifled a chuckle behind me and I heard some of the nephilim whispering. The angels facing my direction were fully under my thrall. It was a manipulative magic and one I didn’t use often, but I was willing to do whatever it took to win today.
“On your knees,” I whispered. All of the angels in various states of undress, fell to the ground.
Silence reigned across the battlefield. I turned back to my husband.
“Kill them all,” I whispered.
Hellfire cracked through the sky and the angels fell.
30
“Every time you do that, I find it creepy as hell,” Ares said amiably while we stood in front of the next door trying to open it.
I shrugged. “Some people have weapons. Some people have sex magic.”
“I wouldn’t quite call it sex magic,” Dionysus said. “That’s some seventh level horny control shit, right there.”
“You better quit while you’re ahead,” Hades said from next to them. “There’s no telling who Abby might make you fornicate with.”
Ares shuddered, but Dionysus looked strangely intrigued. I shook my head. “Has anyone ever heard of this door?”
Rafe, quiet since the battle and largely unscathed because he’d stayed cloaked and out of our way, stepped up. “This seems new,” he admitted as he examined it. “Though the magic is certainly Enochian, it’s a spell I haven’t seen before.”
“Can we break it?” asked Ares.
Gabriel shook his head. “He had this door made centuries ago, but just now put it to use.”
“When he took my son?” I inquired.
Gabriel gave me an uncomfortable nod.
“And you have no idea to get through it?”
He shook his head, paused, and gave the nephilims the side eye. “But I do have a suggestion.”
The nephilims all looked green around the gills, but they agreed to try. Gabriel explained that their magic was the antithesis to God’s or the other angels. In essence, it was the opposite and repellent of angel magic. The Olympian’s magic wasn’t opposite it was just...different. So the best chance was to use repellent magic to try to force the door open. As ideas went it wasn’t the worst I’d ever heard.
“That door,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “I’ve never felt such power.”
“God moved all the souls behind it,” Gabriel explained. “In case someone was able to break the other door. Part of what you’re feeling is that magic. The other is probably Draco’s.”
My gaze flew to his. “Is he hurt?” I asked.
Gabriel’s mouth pulled down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. If all of this was for naught...I couldn’t imagine what I’d do. Nothing good.
“Everyone ready?”
The nephilim stepped up and placed one hand on the door and with the other grasped their neighbor’s hands. I said a quick prayer they would succeed. Within seconds, their eyes began to glow, but the door didn’t quake or shatter, or even move much.
A full minute passed and the nephilim were beginning to sweat and shake, but still nothing happened.
“Hades?” I whispered. “Do you think you can open it?”
He stared at it. “I just don’t know. But if the power of seven nephilim can’t, I doubt it.”
Another minute later and the first nephilim fell. Followed by the second, the third, the fourth, and so on until only Rachel was standing.
“Let go,” I whispered. “Please let go.”
Her teeth were bared in a grimace of effort and she gave me a small shake of her head. Blood began to drip from her eyes and nose and just before she slid to the ground in her final sleep, there was a whisper of a click from the door.
I shut my eyes in pain and let out a slow breath. Rafe bent down to each of them, whispered a blessing, and traced a hand over their bodies. As he went to each of them, the nephilims disintegrated into ash.
“That was fucking heroic,” Ares said. From anyone else it would have sounded sarcastic, but Ares knew a hero and these nephilim were that and so much more so.
Hades opened the door and held it for us as we walked in.
Paradise was one long hallway filled with rooms. If Artie had been here, she would have gotten a kick out of it. My mother was right. It was magic. There were no fluffy clouds of cotton candy or boy bands jamming out to screaming crowds of teens. It was sterile. White. Devoid of any personality, and full of rooms with names on them.
Heaven was all a grand illusion. Did someone need to tell the humans?
I frowned in distaste. This place looked like a hospital for germaphobes. Nothing was touched. Nothing was aesthetically pleasing. It was just pristine. No trees. No music. No nothing. Emptiness with white floors, walls, and ceilings.
“This place gives me the creeps,” said Dionysus. I figured if any of us were disturbed by it, it would be him. He was all about beauty, sex, aesthetics, good food and all of the wonderful things in life. All of us were like that, but Dionysus didn’t do anything halfway.
Ares agreed with a grunt. “Whoever did this has no concept of beauty.”
Hera, splattered in angel blood, and mostly silent until now agreed. “I can’t wait to burn this place down.”
“We just need to find him first.”
Hades walked up ahead of us. “I can sense him. We aren’t far.”
