by Amy Braun
I held her eyes. “Honestly, I wasn’t planning on doing anything but keeping you alive.”
Dro’s temper faltered for a second. She took a deep breath and gathered herself again.
“I’m not a child anymore, Constance,” Dro said as patiently as she could. “You can’t fight all my battles for me, especially not these ones.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, I’m not going to sit here and twiddle my fucking thumbs, either.”
“Goddamn it, Con, I’m not joking around!”
“Neither am I!”
We stared each other down. We were as different as sisters could be, but we had one trait in common:
Stubbornness.
“Look, I didn’t mean to shout,” I told her honestly. “But what do you want me to do?”
Dro’s eyes softened, but the intensity remained. She took a deep breath.
“When we come up against him again, I want you to let me fight Lucifer.”
For a moment I thought I misheard her. Then I saw the seriousness on her face.
“Absolutely fucking not,” I said flatly.
Her eyes turned to stone. “This isn’t a negotiation. I’m fighting him. Not you.”
“Andromeda–”
“No,” she interrupted. “This is how it’s going to be. You’re the strongest, toughest, bravest person I’ve ever met. You’re the best big sister in the world. You’ve fought for me since before I could stand. But this isn’t a street brawl. These aren’t the Blood Thorns or demons. This is Lucifer. The King of Hell. The Original demon.”
Dro held her breath. “And you’re human.”
There it was. That damn word again. Human.
My loss for words gave Dro the chance to speak again.
“I’ll find a way to do it, Con. I don’t know how, but I will. You showed me how to defend myself. I won’t give up or run. But it’s going to be a battle with powers and magic... And you don’t have those.”
“Because I’m human,” I said aloud.
Dro looked at me sadly, her resolve beginning to break.
“Please don’t think it’s a bad thing, big sister. I love that you’re human. You keep me feeling normal. You scare off demons and monsters and prove that anyone can be a champion. But you don’t know what it was like for me to watch him burn you. I heard you screaming and I knew you were so much pain, and...”
She trailed off as the awful memory choked her. Dro shook her head, snow-white braid swishing against her back.
“I’ve spent the last six years watching you nearly die. I stand back because you tell me to, because you’ve always been the one to protect me. But I can’t do it anymore, Connie. I can’t keep letting you treat me like I’m made of glass.”
Her words hurt me more than I expected. Did Dro really think I saw her as someone who was weak? I didn’t have a chance to ask, because she looked at me again and spoke before I could.
“The things that worked for us on the run aren’t going to work anymore, Con. It literally is us against the world. If we really are going to fight together, you can’t keep pushing me back. You’ve been my shield for way too long.”
I’d been guarding Dro for so long that it never occurred to me that I was hurting her as much as helping her. It was just instinct. If something tried to attack my little sister, I killed it. That was the way it had always been.
But Dro grew up when I wasn’t looking. She was getting stronger every single day. I couldn’t hold her back from herself.
“I can beat him,” she repeated, bringing me back into the world. “But you have to promise that you’ll let me. If I worry about you and lose focus, he’ll kill us both.” She winced. “Or worse.”
It would definitely be worse. Lucifer’s hellfire had been the most horrible thing I’d ever felt, and I was willing to bet that he could get experimental in his tortures. Nothing would break Dro and I faster than watching him torture one another. She would do anything he asked, and he would enjoy my pain.
Watching Lucifer tear out Dro’s rib was a memory that haunted me every minute I was awake, and every second I slept. Even now, with her sitting inches from me, breathing, looking healthy and completely alive, I could see was his hand jamming into her side. I could see her back arching as she screamed and screamed and screamed...
I looked down. “I can’t make that promise,” I admitted quietly.
She watched me without speaking for a long time. “You have to,” Dro said firmly. “You’re going to. Or so help me, I’ll knock you unconscious, drop you in Mexico, and go on alone.”
The commitment in her voice hit me like a punch in the stomach. Dro and I didn’t lie to each other. If she thought knocking me out and ditching me would keep me safe, she’d do it. After all, that’s what I would do.
“Promise me, Con.”
I looked at her. Angel face, long white hair, bright blue eyes. My little sister didn’t seem so little anymore.
Trapped facing choices no one should face. Hunted by the Devil just because she was existed. Fearing her powers and the damage she could do to the people she loved.
I didn’t know how to stop protecting her from all those things, let alone Satan himself.
I opened my mouth and nothing came out. I dropped my head and shook it, short black hair hiding my face.
“I... I can’t, little sister.”
“Promise me,” she demanded.
Dro wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was going to fight Lucifer alone. I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting a taste of my own medicine. Dro had been following my lead since the time she could walk. As she got older, she got tougher. She made her own judgments. She watched how hard I fought and how fearless I made myself. I never let anyone take control in a situation when I didn’t have to.
But this situation was out of my control. A choice I couldn’t– and had no right– to make. My sister didn’t get upset with me very often. When she did, it was for a good reason. If I took another risk when she begged me not to, it would take weeks for her to talk to me again. If she ever did.
My heart felt too heavy, like it was a boulder I was pushing uphill with every breath. There was no happy end to this. If I ignored my sister’s wish, I would die. If I gave in, we might both die. Either way, we would lose.
It hurt to breathe, but I inhaled, steadily raised my head, and said the two hardest words of my life.
“I promise.”
I didn’t wait for Dro to confirm my expression. She knew my word was my word, especially to her.
I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t move. I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t speak. It felt like something had been cut out of me. Something was lost between us, and I didn’t know what it was.
Dro threw out her arms and hugged me. I tried to understand what just happened. How had it come to this? Why did I say yes? Had I done something wrong? Didn’t Dro trust me?
As if she heard my thoughts, Dro hugged me tighter.
“I love you, Connie. Don’t ever change. Please just let me do this.”
I folded my arms around her and waited for the tightness in my chest to ease. I couldn’t even pretend everything would be okay. There was only one thing I could take comfort in.
No matter what happened, Dro would always be my little sister.
“You’re okay, right?” she asked when she broke away.
“I will be,” I said. It almost sounded true. “Just wish we could go back to being kids again.”
Dro grinned sadly. “Yeah. Everything was easier then, wasn’t it?” Her grin faded. “Con, about Mateo...”
“Don’t worry about it,” I mumbled. “I’ll deal with him when the time comes.”
“I never thought we would see him or Lucifer,” she went on. “I didn’t even bother to ask Max to look.”
“He wouldn’t have a lot to go on. Besides, we were kind of busy running for our lives,” I said with a dry smile.
Dro’s smirk was awkward, and didn’t stay on her face very long. “I’m nervous to
open my mind again,” she went on. “The moment I start using my powers, Lucifer will sense me.”
“Then don’t use them.”
“I have to. How else are we supposed to close the Heaven Gate?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “But you told me to make sure you don’t lose yourself. At the motel you wanted to kill those Possessors. You incinerated that Knight. Seems like every time you use your demon powers, you become more...”
Dro and I were close enough that I didn’t have to finish that sentence. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at her feet.
“I know. I hate that feeling, but demon powers are just so much easier to use, and I don’t see any other options. Max and Sephiel can’t pinpoint the location, and Gabriel isn’t going to tell us anything.” Dro shook her head. “I wish there was something we could offer to have him change his mind. I wanted to heal him. They should never have hurt him like that.”
I watched my sister’s eyes. We were both coming off an edge and trying to get rid of bad memories. We needed something to cheer each other up. If there was one thing that would make Dro feel better about a bad situation, it was helping someone.
“Do you still want to heal him?” I asked.
My sister looked up at me. “What?”
“Gabriel. Do you want to heal him?”
Dro bit her lower lip. “Of course, but wouldn’t that make Carver mad?”
I waved the comment away. “Who cares? Carver shouldn’t have been trying to capture angels in the first place. Who knows, maybe Gabriel will feel more chatty if we help him.”
I started sliding off the bed and walking to the door. Dro followed me.
“What makes you say that?”
I paused, turning to face Dro. “Before I left the room, he gave me this weird look. Like he was ready to trust us.”
Dro squinted, confused. “Why would he do that?”
“No idea.” I opened the door. “So let’s get the guys, and we’ll find out.”
***
Warrick, Max, and Sephiel didn’t hesitate to come with us when we told them we were going to see Gabriel. It eased my mind the closer we got to the cell door. The archangel might have been spelled and bound, but I didn’t trust him not to try anything when Dro came in.
“Shouldn’t we be asking Carver’s permission?” Max asked.
“Don’t tell me you want to have him boss you around,” I said.
Max stifled a laugh. “Not at all. But he’ll probably have a hissy fit if he finds out.”
“Carver’s asleep,” Warrick said. “So is Elle. Jackson’s taking a break. This is the only chance we’re going to have. If Carver does find out, I’ll say we were going to ask more questions.”
Max and I looked at him. “Won’t he go berserk on you?”
Warrick stopped in front of the keypad and sighed. “One problem at a time. Let’s get Gabriel healed first.”
The demon slayer still seemed a bit off. I wasn’t going to ask him about it yet. He probably wanted to avoid the issue anyway. I certainly would.
“You know the code?” I asked.
He nodded. “Every few months we would get together and have a meeting about places that had a heavy demonic presence. Carver would reassign us to another state to cover it until the supernatural threats were decreased or gone. I haven’t been to a meeting in a few months, but Carver is predictable once you know how his mind works.”
Warrick punched in the code for the door. Sure enough, the door buzzed and clicked. Warrick pulled the door open and waited for the rest of us to file in. He stood by the door, glancing down the hall to make sure no one was going to catch us off guard.
Gabriel was still awake and staring straight at us. That same weird, understanding expression remained on his face. His hazel eyes traced over each one of us, stopping the longest on Dro. He grimaced a little as she got closer. We all stayed close to her back. I was wearing my new hatchet and knives under my lucky jacket, borrowed black shirt, and cargo pants. Sephiel managed to find a new hatchet for me, and Warrick brought me a new set of throwing knives that our angel made sure to bless. My other weapons had melted when Lucifer burned me. I wanted to be sure that Gabriel would be able to see all my sharp new toys, so he would think twice about trying to hurt my sister.
Dro knelt down until she was eye level with the archangel. He watched her, not sure what she was doing.
“I’m sorry for what they did to you,” she said honestly.
Gabriel kept staring. Dro lowered her head.
“We might not agree on how to stop Lucifer, but no one should be captured and tortured.”
“What is this?” Gabriel asked. “An effort to appeal to my sympathies and earn my permission to destroy the door to my home? Do you know how many angels will fall if you close the Gate?”
“I can hear all the angels if I want,” Dro said, a hint of coldness in her voice. “So yes. I do know.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. My sister sighed. “I understand why you don’t like me. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t like me either.” She raised her eyes. “But closing the Gates is the only way to prevent unnecessary war.”
He grinned cruelly. “You do not seem like the type to condone the sacrifice of many for the lives of a few.”
“I’m not,” she replied. “And believe me, I’ll grieve for every fallen angel. But unless you have another way to defeat Lucifer, then we don’t have a choice.”
His smirk faded. Dro shifted a little closer to the chalk circle. She never broke eye contact with the angel.
“But I didn’t come here to argue. I came here because I wanted to heal you.”
Dro slowly raised her hand and eased it toward Gabriel. I wrapped my hand around the hilt of my hatchet. Sephiel moved to Gabriel’s side, standing just on the edge of the white chalk circle. The archangel never flinched or blinked.
My sister’s pale hand rested on top of his tanned one. A moment later, a gold glow came from her palm. Her healing magic seeped into Gabriel’s skin. He couldn’t move his hand away, so he just looked at my sister without emotion. I could only imagine what was going through his mind as his bruises began to fade and open cuts were closed. In a couple minutes, Gabriel looked perfectly fine. The only evidence he’d been beaten up at all was the leftover blood on his face and clothes.
Dro took a deep breath. She pulled her hand back and stood up. Max was at her side, placing his hand at the small of her back and giving her a gentle smile. Gabriel watched her, stunned.
“Why did you do that?” he asked. “I tried to have you killed.”
Dro looked at him seriously, a knowing smile coming over her face. “I know. But no one else was going to help you.”
She slid her hand into Max’s, then glanced at Sephiel. He inclined his head gratefully. She turned and met my eyes, giving me a gentle smile. I didn’t fake the one I gave her. Dro would feel a little better about everything now that she’d used her powers for something good, even if Gabriel was on a mission to kill her. The four of us turned and started walking for the door, where Warrick was still waiting.
“You stole the movens caeli, Sephiel.”
The auburn-haired angel turned, meeting his brother’s hazel eyes. “I did. And I do not plan to return it.”
“Good,” replied Gabriel. “Then you can use it to aid us in escaping this place.”
I turned, crossing my arms over my chest and resting my fingers on the head of my hatchet. “You make it sound like you’re coming with us.”
“If you wish to find the Heaven Gate, you will require my assistance, and therefore I must be released.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’m not letting you get in arm’s length of my sister.”
“You will not find the Heaven Gate without the support of an archangel, and I am the only one who will provide the help you require.”
“Wow, that sounds like an awesome idea,” Max snarked. “Can you make it sound more like a trap, please?�
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Gabriel shot him a withering glance. “Have you forgotten that the movens caeli conceals the location of its users for a time?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’ll kill us all the moment we free you. There is nothing you can say that will make me believe you.”
Gabriel looked me directly in the eyes. “I swear on the sword of Michael, archangel and Commander of the Heavenly Host, that I shall take you to the Gate of Heaven, and I shall harm neither you, the fallen angel, the prophet, the demon slayer behind you,” his eyes fixed on Dro, “or the hybrid of Lucifer and Everiel.”
We all stared at him with disbelieving eyes. Gabriel had just spoken the Oath of Michael. I’d only heard it once before, while I was under possession. Sephiel swore the Oath to promise I would survive my exorcism. It was the most sacred Oath an angel could make, and was never made lightly. I didn’t know what would happen if the Oath were ever broken, but Sephiel once said that defying Michael meant you were likely to be vaporized.
I looked at Gabriel for a long time. Sure, he wanted to be free, but at what cost? Would he face any consequences if he broke the Oath by killing us all? Or would Michael give him a pat on the back and move him up a rank?
On the other hand, we had no way to find the Heaven Gate. Gabriel was offering us the chance to. His eyes were focused, determined, and yet again, understanding.
“Why?” I asked. “What’s stopping you from calling Michael and the Heavenly Host the second we let you go?”
“Nothing,” he answered truthfully. “But I shall not do so.” His eyes went to Dro and Max. “I have recently begun to discern that the situation is not as I imagined. I felt no evil in the hybrid’s touch. She means to harm nothing and no one. As the prophet said, her origins are evil, but her spirit is pure. It is perplexing, but the spirit matters more than its creation.”
Gabriel looked at me again. “If it appeases you more, I shall permit Sephiel to place a spell upon me preventing my betrayal.”
“What kind of spell?” Dro asked.
“It is called the Oath-Binder. Once it is placed upon me, I am sworn to maintain the Oath I have made unto the death of my vessel.”
I looked at Sephiel, who might as well have just heard Lucifer’s plea for surrender. Complete and utter shock filled his face, followed closely by a sense of triumph. Sephiel looked at me, giving a slow nod.
