by Ching, G. P.
Hope.
Bonnie burst from behind the counter, throwing off Ghost and Samantha’s pleading hands, and shrieked, “Wait!” At the same time, she turned Hope to face Levi, tugging aside the collar of her shirt to expose the stone.
Levi sneered in her direction, then stopped. The flaming sword in his hand disappeared, and his body shivered as if he were having a seizure. The Watcher collapsed to his knees, twitching, a glow beginning in his fingertips and working up his arms.
Hope gasped and coughed.
“She’s dying.” Samantha wept, reaching for the baby. Bonnie shrugged her off.
Hope’s little body was gray instead of pink, and she’d curled up in pain although she seemed too weak to cry. Just a little longer. She had to save Cord. Levi growled and shook his head, straining to escape Hope’s spell.
“She’s not breathing, Bonnie. Stop this.” Samantha tugged at her elbow.
Thank the Lord, she didn’t have to choose whom to save. Cord leapt to his feet, clapped his hands together, and with a renewed vigor produced the burning purple sword of an archangel. He stepped forward and swung.
Levi’s head departed his neck, skipping down the hall from the force of the blow. The demon’s muscled body swayed for a beat, then flopped to the concrete like a dead fish. Black blood bubbled from the neck. Like acid, it ate away the body from the inside out, leaving a puddle of oily black behind.
As soon as he was sure the deed was done, Cord pulled his sword inside and ran for Hope. He lifted her lifeless form from Bonnie’s hands and tucked her next to his heart. In awe, Bonnie watched as Cord’s radiance gathered and blazed, engulfing her tiny body in healing energy.
Hope gasped and then coughed. Blue eyes fluttering, her skin pinked.
“Thank the Lord,” Samantha said, crossing herself. But Ghost’s face looked grave. He popped between them, holding his hand up in alarm.
“Flipping one Watcher almost killed her, how are we going to change all of them?” he said.
A cheer rose up in the background, a reminder of how close they were to a legion of Watchers. Bonnie’s eyes shifted to Hope, so sweet and innocent in Cord’s arms. She desperately wanted to flee with her, with both of them. What kind of God would do this to a baby? Maybe none of this was worth the fight.
“Pose as Levi,” Samantha said suddenly. “If you transform into him, you can walk right up to Lucifer with Hope on your shoulder.”
“Yeah, until he smells me.”
“By then it will be too late. You transform the Watchers, and it’s over. The new angels will defend you and the baby.”
“Hope will be dead.”
“Not if Cord blends into the light and heals her at the same time as you magnify her power. No one even needs to know he’s there. Lucifer is standing under a huge spotlight.”
“That might work,” Ghost said.
“And I’ll be close enough to defend you if something goes wrong,” Cord said.
“Sam and I will be nearby. We’ll engage if things go sour.”
Bonnie’s eyes hardened as she stared at baby Hope, snuggled into Cord’s chest and sucking on her fingers. “Seems like the wrong thing to do, bringing a baby into a pit of vipers.”
Samantha met her sister’s eyes and toyed with the cross around her neck. “Dad would have wanted you to do what was right for the greater good. That’s what he did every day as a police officer. That’s what Mom would say if she were here, too. And I’ll tell you something else, Bonnie, I know that look in your eye. I know you want to take Hope and run and go hide under the covers, but you can’t get away from this. These Watchers will eventually find you. And because your heart is pure, they will kill you, and Hope too if she’s still alive. You said it yourself. You are Jonah. You’ve been called to this. You won’t get away from it.”
The words slapped Bonnie’s face as sure as if it had been Samantha’s open palm. She gaped at first, and then the truth of it seeped into her heart. A wave of preeminent grief washed from the pit of her stomach to the bridge of her nose, aching there like the root of a raw nerve. They both would go then, she and Hope, sacrificial lambs to the Devil’s table, and if God were with them, He would give them the strength to be enough when the time came.
“Okay,” she said, wiping under her eyes. “I’ll take her.” She looked each of them in the eye. Ghost and Samantha wept for her. But not Cord. His face was a model of faith.
“I’ve lived a life without God, Bonnie. You don’t want to live that life. Whatever the outcome for us, have no regrets that you walked this road. You’re making the right choice.” He handed her Hope.
“Wait,” she said, holding up her hand. She reached for Samantha, flesh merging with her sister’s, and transformed into an exact replica of Levi. Her sister was smaller now, like a child, but her size wasn’t indicative of her power. If need be, she’d become a Watcher-killing hurricane. Bonnie adjusted the stone around her neck so that it was clearly visible, then reached for Hope.
Cord handed her over. “You look eerily evil, although your scent gives you away.”
“Nothing I can do about that.”
“Maybe.” Cord stared at her for a moment and then gathered a handful of brown napkins from the counter. With an expression of pain, he mopped up some of the oily black puddle that used to be Levi and painted it over Bonnie’s clothing, careful not to touch her skin. “Better.”
She nodded. Another round of cheers rose up from the stadium. “Sounds like Lucifer is giving the speech of his existence.” She cocked her head to the side. “Here goes nothing.”
* * * * *
Tucking Hope under the lapel of the leather coat Levi had been wearing, Bonnie entered the stadium from the first-floor concourse, trying her best not to think about the tens of thousands of Watchers in the seats around her. She had to look badass. Her simple presence, from the way she held her shoulders to the set of her mouth, must elicit fear or Lucifer would see her coming.
From the shadow of the concrete walls of the entrance ramp, she emerged into a cesspool of evil. Lucifer stood on an elevated platform at the center of a sea of perfect faces, each illusion more flawless than the next. Fluffy pink, purple, and orange wings stretched from the backs of tall, thin runway model types. Even the men appeared graceful and gorgeous. It was an illusion, but the force of their collective presence had an immediate effect on her. Was her portrayal of Levi perfect enough?
Why did these creatures insist on their illusions, even when only in each other’s presence? As she walked the aisle toward Lucifer, who was babbling on about taking over the world and forcing humans to pay them the respect they deserved, she supposed that illusion was a necessity as a Watcher. A Watcher would never accept another in his or her natural state. They exercised no forgiveness, no compassion, and definitely no love. She was standing in the middle of a room of beings that thought each of their individual desires was more important than anything. Lucifer was tolerated out of necessity; he pulled their metaphysical strings. These creatures were not free, but slaves to evil. Slaves to their selfishness.
But Bonnie with Hope would set them free from that bondage.
Lucifer held up the empty glass he was holding and turned in a circle. “Now, my Watchers, that you have tasted of my blood, I give you my sixth and final curse. Death.”
A rumble rose up around her and then settled into a restless silence.
“I give you the Devil’s Passover. You shall go forth from this place with the ability to see into the hearts of men. Humans with hearts for evil shall be passed over, while those with a heart for God shall die.”
The crowd roared, Watchers pumping their fists in the air. Not one of them questioned her as Bonnie, disguised as Levi, placed her foot on the first step to ascend the platform. She took another step and caught the deadly gaze of Auriel from the front row. Another step and Auriel stood from her chair.
Bonnie sneered at her in a way she thought Levi might, and she sat back down.
; Distracted with his sorcery, Lucifer did not notice when Bonnie joined him on the platform. He raised his hands above his head and a black wind blew through the complex, tongues of inky sorcery licking down on the Watchers’ heads, all those who had drunk of Lucifer’s blood. Of course, the magic avoided Bonnie, drawing more visual ire from Auriel. Did she know? Did the way the sorcery moved around her give her away?
Luckily, at that moment, Auriel and the rest of the Watchers twitched and froze, internal wiring scrambled by the unholy fire filtering into their bodies. On shaking legs, Bonnie forced herself to continue forward, walking the platform to an area behind Lucifer. She looked up and saw Levi’s face on the giant screen above her. This was it. All the Watchers seeing Lucifer would also see her.
With Lucifer distracted by the delivery of his final curse, Bonnie peeled back the leather jacket to expose the stone and turned Hope’s beautiful face toward the camera. Unfortunately, the Watchers, writhing under the force of the spell, were not looking at the mega screen above their heads. In the throes of pain, most squeezed their yellow eyes shut.
Lucifer dropped his hands. Bonnie froze only steps behind his back.
One by one the Watchers stopped their violent conversion and raised their faces to Lucifer, which meant they also saw Hope. Bonnie watched in horror as her tiny body was bled of life, her skin graying again and her breath coming in small, tight gasps. In return, a few Watchers at the front of the crowd fell into a sort of stupor, fingers sparkling slightly. All the rest of them just looked angry.
“It’s not working,” Cord whispered from the light next to her ear. He was touching Hope, but she wasn’t healing.
Lucifer whirled at Cord’s voice and balked at the sight of the baby. His lips peeled back from his teeth. “What is this? What are you doing?”
Chapter 29
The Still, Small Voice
“Hurry, Jacob,” Malini said. “I have a bad feeling.”
Jacob held one of his flasks over the sink in the bathroom and willed the holy water up the spout, into the pipes. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He worked against the pressure, water into water. Not the easiest of tasks but, like a virus, the blessing spread. He could feel it branch and bloom in the pipes above his head. When the holy water took on a life of its own, traveling beyond his reach, he let it go.
“It’s done,” he said. “The blessing will continue to spread on its own.”
“Good. Come on. We’ve got to find Bonnie and Hope.” Malini threaded her fingers with his and tugged him into the concourse. They both pulled up short when they saw the video feed.
“Oh no,” Jacob said. Hope slouched in Levi’s hands. No, wait, those were Bonnie’s disguised hands; the stone around her neck gave her away.
“Lucifer knows,” Malini said. “We’re doomed.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
Malini whirled around to see the source of the still, small voice behind her. She came face to face with … herself. Realizing who it was, she dropped to her knees. God often appeared in the image of the viewer.
“Please, we don’t have time. The sixth temptation has been given, now you must help me deliver the sixth gift.”
“What can we do?” Malini asked. Jacob was speechless, unable to fathom that the Lord God Almighty was standing less than a foot in front of him.
“We must release your healing power and reconnect Hope with her soul,” God said.
Malini nodded. “There can only be one Healer,” she whispered. “Will it hurt when I die?”
“Die?” Jacob shook his head. “What?”
The Lord smiled Malini’s smile. “Peace, Soulkeeper. Malini need not die.”
“Then how?” Malini asked.
“Only Jacob can do it.” God smiled. “Water is alive, Jacob. It is the beginning and ending of all things, agile enough to enter the tiniest crevices and powerful enough to carve mountains.”
He nodded. “Do you want me to flood the stadium?”
“No.”
Jacob startled. “Then what?”
“Destroy the red stone.”
Malini and Jacob glanced at each other. “My red stone?” Malini asked. “The one around Bonnie’s neck?”
“Yes. Destroy it.” The Lord placed Her hands on Jacob’s shoulders and looked him deep in the eyes. “Hope is my vessel for the sixth gift, but she cannot do my work disconnected from her soul. Her soul is trapped inside the stone. Free her and I will do the rest.”
Jacob glanced at the screen above his head. Cord had formed between Lucifer and the baby and was protecting Hope.
“How?” he asked quickly. “How can I destroy the stone?”
“It can only be done by you. Use the water. Direct it into the stone.” The Lord pointed one small brown hand toward the stadium. “Go now. Hope’s life is in danger.”
Malini stepped back as a huge wash of water arced from Jacob’s flask into his hand. He stormed past her and charged up the ramp to the seating area at a full run. Malini took one last look toward God before joining the fray, but She was already gone.
The two made it halfway to the platform before the Watchers descended.
* * * * *
Covered in Watcher blood, Dane helped Ethan to the relative safety of the dark booth. “Your face is burnt.”
“I’m okay. It isn’t that bad.” He tried to stand on his own, but failed. Blood gushed from his nose, and the skin over his neck and cheek had already started to blister. Dane handed him a wad of brown napkins from the dispenser.
“Are you seeing this?” Cheveyo asked from the concourse. He was pointing at the video monitor. Dane lowered Ethan to the floor behind the counter, holding up one finger to let him know he’d be back, and jogged out from behind the concessions stand to join Lillian and Cheveyo.
The first thing he noticed was that Levi had Hope in his clutches, but when he saw the stone around his neck, he figured it was actually Bonnie. Cord was battling Lucifer in front of her and, wow, he had some new skills. He was wielding a fiery sword like something the Lord made, which of course he was. The Watchers quivered in their seats in various states of confusion.
“Are they having a collective fit or something?” Dane asked.
“I think it’s a side effect of Lucifer’s sixth curse,” Lillian said.
“What’s happening on the floor?” A few Watchers battled at the base of the platform. Heads flew from the crowd at regular intervals.
“Jacob,” Dane said. “We’ve got to help them.”
“Why isn’t Hope working?” Lillian asked. “They can all see her.”
“She’s dying. She’s disconnected from her soul,” Cheveyo said.
Lillian drew the sword she kept sheathed on her back. “Then we’ll have to kill them the old-fashioned way.”
“Dane,” Ethan rasped.
Dane leapt over the counter, landing next to his partner. “What’s going on, Ethan? You going to be okay?”
“You’ve got to take my power. I’m done. My body has completely given out.”
“Huh?”
“Borrow my telekinesis. It’s wasted on me.”
Dane wanted to protest, but the plan made too much sense. Ethan would be safer here anyway. He nodded and held out his hand. Ethan placed his shaking fingers in his, and Dane drew out his power as gently as possible. Still, Ethan’s body jolted from the loss, then passed out on the cold floor.
“We’ve got to go,” Cheveyo said.
Dane placed a dagger in Ethan’s right hand and kissed him gently. Then he retrieved the arsenal of throwing stars and boomerang weapons his partner always wore and strapped them on his arms, ankles, and waist. He bounded over the counter and headed for the entrance to the stadium proper.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
* * * * *
The worst thing about the war going on around Bonnie was the sound. While she held Hope in one hand and a blessed hammer in the other, a horrific din rose up around her like a fog. The gurgle of black bl
ood gushing from Watcher bodies, the sizzle of burning flesh, and the rhythmic explosion of power that sparked all around her. The first was caused by Jacob, doing his best to clear a path to the platform. The second was thanks to Malini, using her healing hand to do the same, and the last was due to Cord, defending her from Lucifer with a growing power worthy of an archangel.
She would have liked to help, but in her position behind the Cord-Lucifer conflict, she was painfully aware that she was the only thing standing between a wave of Watchers recovering from Lucifer’s spell and Hope, who was barely breathing. At this moment, Auriel was gathering herself, stepping toward her on uncertain legs with death in her eyes.
“Archangels are such a pain in the ass,” Lucifer said, wielding a stormy mass of power in Cord’s direction.
Cord slashed it aside with his fiery blade. “Must have hurt when Michael tossed you off the edge of Heaven onto your ass.” He swung, clipping Lucifer’s wrist. The Devil staggered backward. “I hope you learned from your mistake. If not I’ll show you a replay.”
Lucifer laughed wickedly, circling him on the platform, fangs and talons protruding from his illusion. “Michael was over ten thousand years old. You’ve been an angel for as long as it takes me to sneeze. I will crush you.”
Wings spread from one side of the platform to the other, Cord smirked and curled his upturned fingers. “I’m waiting to see you try.”
The clash that ensued was so bright Bonnie turned away, which brought her gaze to Auriel’s. The Watcher staggered up the stairs toward her with increasing conviction. Bonnie readied herself for an attack.
Inconceivably, a barrage of throwing stars landed in Auriel’s spine, causing her to arch and howl. She pivoted, casting the weapons out of her skin by shedding her illusion and unfurling her large, leathery wings.
Above them, balanced on the railing of the second-floor seating area, Dane pointed and yelled, “Auriel!” He goaded her from above with a barrage of weapons.
