Gates of Death

by Rae Foxx

  "We are." Gabe grabbed another slice.

  "Maybe the other angels are moving around in the country."

  We didn't encounter another angel until the next day in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was in the middle of a fight with a werewolf. "Stop," I commanded.

  The wolf heeled immediately, pressing his jaw to his paws. He recognized me as his alpha.

  The angel, a lower-level cherubim, stared at me in utter shock. "You're human," he exclaimed. "How did you get him to do that?"

  Gabriel laughed, drawing the cherubim's attention to him. "Gabriel!" The small, dark-haired angel bowed deeply. "Sir, I didn't see you."

  "This is Lilith," Gabe said. "Mother of all Demons."

  A rumor. I barely knew anything about demons when it came right down to them. Normally, wrangling demons was beneath me.

  "Yes, sir, of course," the angel said. "Your wife."

  "Indeed. "She's helping with the demons."

  He lifted his eyes to look at me without pulling himself from his bow. "Thank you, Lady."

  "It's my pleasure. We don't like this either. You may go. I'll clear this city of demons. I suggest you fan out into smaller towns and cities."

  He bowed deeper, then disappeared. I worked my mojo on the city, drawing dozens this time. "What made more gather there?" Gabe asked as we watched them disappear after I gave my edict for them to work on the walls.

  "No clue," I muttered.

  We were in the middle of gathering demons in Washington, D.C. when Michael appeared. "Joel's back," he said. "Come on."

  I dispatched the demons that had gathered so far back to Abaddon and grabbed Michael and Gabriel's hands. Seconds later, we sat down at the kitchen table to speak to Joel.

  "Well?" Lucifer asked.

  "The Voodoo in New Orleans is willing to speak to us, but she's hesitant because demons are involved."

  "There are no demons involved," I said haughtily. "Not with the Ariel situation. We've got two distinct problems going on right now."

  "She doesn't split hairs in the differences between Fallen and Demons," Joel said delicately.

  I bristled but kept my mouth shut. I needed him and his Voodoo Priestess to help find my daughter.

  "She agreed because an innocent child is involved."

  "Thank you," I said after biting back a giant slice of pride. "When can we go to her?"

  "Now." He stood and held out his hands. We linked in a circle and appeared on the side of a street in the city. He hadn't even put us in a back alley. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and cars passed by one after another, but not one driver blinked an eye at the appearance of four men and a woman holding hands in a circle.

  The cars weren't the most fascinating thing to look at. We stood in an empty parking spot directly in front of a restaurant with a big blue lettering that said, "Lakeside Harbor." Directly across the street, a huge wall blocked off a neighborhood of what looked like apartment buildings. Sailboat Bay.

  "Now where?" I asked. The feeling of being watched danced over my skin.

  "This way," Joel said. "I didn't want to take you directly to her. If we startled her, she might back out."

  He led the way down a block or so, then we turned left and cut through a packed parking lot. "Busy restaurant," I said. "I pictured you taking us out to some bayou in the backcountry."

  Joel chuckled. "There's plenty of hedge witches and some Voodoos out there for sure, but they wouldn't even let me get close. The only reason I managed to convince this lady to help was catching her in public where she had to hear me out without killing me. Too many people around."

  "What'd you do, interrupt her at the grocery store?" Michael asked.

  "Yes," Joel said over his shoulder.

  Okay, then.

  We walked onto a much smaller street. More of an alley, really, but no buildings lined it close like it would've in New York or L.A.

  Joel stopped in front of an older, red-brick apartment building. It wasn't very big, maybe holding eight or ten apartments at best. "Why wouldn't a Voodoo live somewhere grander?" I whispered, unsure if she had heightened hearing or what her abilities might've been.

  "They believe in the personal gain laws of magic," Joel replied. "She could make herself the richest, most politically powerful woman on Earth. Any of the children of the Nephilim could. But they won't. And if one of them tried, the others would shut her down in a heartbeat."

  "Always women?" Lucifer asked. He wasn't one for idle chit-chat, preferring to observe.

  "Usually. They don't know why." He shrugged and strode forward.

  Interesting.

  We stood back as Joel knocked on the bottom left door in the apartment building's breezeway. It opened after only two raps and a young boy stared out at us. He couldn't have been more than ten. With a big sigh and a shake of his head, he called into the apartment, "Granny! He came back!"

  His accent had the French lilt. I'd longed to hear a New Orleans accent as long as it had existed, which was a relatively short time in the span of my life, at least.

  A woman's voice replied to the boy. "Don't be rude. Let them in." Her Southern accent was unlike any other location in the American South, only found in this area. The young man stepped back and held out his arm.

  Joel led us into the poorly lit apartment. Shades on the window blocked out the sunlight, but the room was artificially lit by a few lamps that didn't put out enough light to replace the shuttered window. I knew it was for privacy, though. She didn't want anyone knowing her business.

  "Go home, child. You lot, come in." A plump woman walked around a corner into the small living room. "Please, have a seat." The boy left the apartment and shut the door behind him.

  A couch took up one wall and two armchairs another. Directly behind us was an enormous entertainment center full of DVDs and video games, with a moderate-sized TV in the middle. I perched in one of the armchairs and left the couch for all four men to squeeze onto.

  The woman sat regally in the other armchair. We weren't sure what the protocol was here, so we waited for her to speak. "My name is Mary. I am a Nanbo, or Priestess of Voodoo. But you are here for much more than that, are you not?"

  "Yes, Mary. Thank you for agreeing to see us." I leaned forward earnestly. "We need your help."

  She'd been looking at Joel and turned her head to stare at me. "I do not recognize demons," she said.

  Michael sat closest to us on the couch. "I am no demon, by any means, wise woman." I didn't know if that honorific would please her, but she didn't shut him down, so he continued. "Our daughter has been kidnapped. And I know you think these two with us are demons, but I assure you, they do God's work, as they've been instructed."

  Her eyes narrowed on Michael, then moved to me again. I sat, unmoving, while she studied me. Lucifer did the same a minute later when she turned her unnerving gaze to him.

  I didn't know why she made me so nervous. I needed her to find Ariel, so I wouldn't have done anything to make her angry, but on a normal day, I could've obliterated her where she sat and danced with her soul in Abaddon.

  Or could I have? I studied her as she did Lucifer, and it wasn't as easy as I would've thought to get a read on her. She definitely wasn't pure human. Must've been that angel blood. I wondered if she knew that what her ancestors thought were angels were probably Fallen.

  It wasn't the right time to give her that knowledge. Not by a long shot.

  "I see darkness in you both," she said. "But I also see hope and desperation." She sucked in a breath. "And heartbreak. This child, she is yours?"

  I nodded. "Yes, and human, we believe."

  Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply for several minutes. The seconds dragged by as she sat there, looking to be asleep. When I thought I'd go out of my mind with impatience, she opened her eyes. "I will help you for a price."

  "Name it,' I said. I'd make Gabe and Michael go get the woman anything in the world she wanted.

  "Rid my city of the demons. We have been figh
ting them as best we can, but without revealing ourselves we must be discreet."

  "Do you want to watch?" I asked. Shit, I'd get them all in her living room right this second if it meant she'd help.

  She shrank back. "I do, but only if I will be safe."

  "Do you have an open space we can use?" Lucifer asked. "We can make sure nobody sees it, but we will need room."

  "Behind the building." She stood and led the way out the same door we came in and to a large yard behind the apartment complex. A lonely jungle gym that had seen much better days stood in the middle.

  I took Gabriel's hand, but then Luc took mine. "I'll lead," he said, meaning we would funnel our magic to him. "Joel, if you want to help, it will heighten the effect."

  Joel didn't look happy about it, but he took Luc's other hand, then Michael took Joel's.

  "This yard will fill with demons, then we will order them back to Abaddon," I explained to Mary. She stood to my left, but several feet away. She didn't want to get close. "Don't be afraid. They won't touch you."

  After she nodded, Lucifer called the demons. They came fast with all our magic amplifying him. I whispered to Mary, who looked like she'd been shocked to her roots, that it would take several minutes for them all to appear.

  She didn't respond as she studied the myriad of creatures that appeared. When I was fairly sure we'd gotten all there was to get, the large yard was full of creatures of all shapes and sizes. I even saw a chimera in the back. "Good haul," I muttered.

  Mary gasped and stared at me. "Good haul?" she asked. "This was prowling the streets of my city and you say good haul?"

  "I'm sorry," I replied. "But if we don't find our baby, this is going to get much worse." We weren't focusing on the problem of getting Lucifer back to Abaddon until we found Ariel.

  Lucifer raised his voice. "Return to Abaddon and do not leave. Not even if you find a way to escape. Stay in Abaddon."

  They started to disappear, so I raised my voice. "And if you find a hole in the walls, fix it or hide it!"

  That got me a few eye rolls from the closest of the demons, but I'd expected that. They'd do as I said, but they'd bitch and complain the whole time. I didn't care how much they bellyached as long as they did it.

  When the yard was empty, Mary held out her hands. "Blood of the parents," she said.

  Lucifer pulled out a knife. "How much?"

  "Just a finger prick will do." Mary gave him a reproachful look. "Don't go cutting anyone's throat or anything."

  He took my hand and pressed the tip of the knife into one of my fingers. I fought a hiss at the pain. When the bright red blood welled at the tip, he left me to drip it into Mary's hands and cut his finger. We let the blood drip until she nodded. "That's good," she said.

  Gabe took my hand, and I knew he was healing my finger. Michael would probably heal Lucifer's, but I couldn't see them from my angle.

  Mary rolled our blood around in her hands, then put them together and rubbed, Our blood spread across her palms, then all over her hands and fingers. As she began to move it up her arms, she gasped, and her head jerked back as if someone had grabbed her long braids and pulled. "Take my hands," she gasped.

  Lucifer and I lunged forward and each grabbed a hand. Mary's entire body vibrated. "He is three steps ahead of you," she said in a garbled, deep voice. "You must hurry."

  With a huge exhale, Mary slumped forward. Doing this had made her exhausted. Luc scooped her into his arms and walked back to her apartment, depositing her on the couch. I had to take a second and admire his human physique that could carry the heavy woman. She wasn't huge, but no way she was light, either.

  Mary held out her hand. "I have information for one of you, whoever can transport you from one spot to another."

  Gabe rushed forward and took her still-bloody hand. "Yes?"

  She put her hand on his face. "Here is where the child is. This will not be easy," she whispered. "God be with you."

  She let her hand fall and watched us through sleepy eyes. "What are you waiting for?" she yelled. "Go!"

  We jumped and grabbed hands. The woman had a presence that would make anyone jump to obey her. Gabriel took us to wherever she told him to. When I opened my eyes, we stood in the middle of a field of green. Trees swayed in the distance, but I only had eyes for the man standing in front of us.

  Raphael.

  He looked as shocked to see us as we were to see him, all wide eyed and open mouthed. "Where is she?" I yelled.

  He staggered back a few steps and put his hand over his heart. "I'm sorry, my old friends." Michael lunged for him, but Raphael dodged him. "It's for the greater good."

  He disappeared, leaving us standing in the middle of a field. "Where are we?" I whispered.

  Gabe took my hand. "Ireland," he said. "Still the Earth realm."

  "Why did we come here? Why not where Ariel is?" I cried. "How is this happening?"

  "She must've been here when Mary connected with her," Lucifer said. "Let's go home and regroup."

  Gabriel gathered me in his arms and took us home, landing us in the living room again.

  Joel followed a few seconds later as we stood in the middle of the room and stared at each other in dismayed shock. "When Michael grabbed Raphael's shirt, this fell out." He held out a key.

  I gasped. Lucifer reached out and snatched the key from Joel's palm. "How?"

  Joel shrugged. "I don't even know what it is, only that it feels horrible. Pain radiates from it."

  "Well, it would," I snapped. "It's the Key to Abaddon." My heart sank as I realized the implications of Raphael having this key. Things kept getting worse and worse.

  Joel's jaw dropped. Michael leaned forward, studying it. Gabe's arms tightened around me.

  "Explain," Gabe said.

  I tapped his hand, so he'd let go of me, then took the key from Lucifer. "We've searched for this thing for centuries," I whispered. "Since the death of Christ."

  Studying the heavy iron key, I marveled at it. Talk about a Relic. "Raphael having it is confirmation of all of our suspicions and fears," Lucifer said. "Raphael wants to open the gates of Abaddon and release Hell on the Earth Realm."

  Angels created around the same time are considered brothers and sisters

  7

  Joel was a damn social butterfly in Heaven. He'd recruit more help. With Lucifer and I both nearly powerless, we needed all the help we could get. Michael and Gabe couldn't handle all of it alone.

  The three of them left to notify Heaven of the latest on the Raphael search and demon hunting.

  We sat on the back porch to wait for them. "Do you think she's something more than human?" I asked.

  Luc shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so."

  "If she's not, when all this is done, we can't bring her back to Abaddon." The thought made my heart ache.

  "Why can't we stay here with her?" he asked. "We could take turns in Abaddon taking care of business, and Gabriel and Michael would certainly help."

  I considered the possibility. "We'd have to move constantly."

  He agreed with a grunt. If we stayed in one place in our ethereal bodies, we'd have demon hunters all over us constantly. Something about our magic had shifted and changed when we Fell. It was detectable now by the human hunters. They couldn't find angels, but they sure as shit found us easily enough. It was one reason Fallen and higher-level demons no longer spent any significant amount of time in the Earth realm. Humans didn't need us to tempt them into sin. They handled it on their own just fine.

  "God doesn't get involved. But he wouldn't have allowed this baby to happen just to punish us by taking her away," Luc mused. "He sees some reason for all this, something to make it worthwhile to allow Raphael to continue this course."

  "I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I didn't think she was anything but human."

  The weight of his gaze burned into my profile, but I didn't look at him. I couldn't stand to see the look of disapproval. "I know you meant well," he said. "And I'm trying so hard
to understand your pain and the pain you were in. But if we don't find her, I'll never gaze upon my only offspring's face."

  With those words, he stood and walked inside, leaving me on the porch steps chewing on my cheek in frustration.

  Gabe and Michael came back soon after. I had just enough time to compose myself and cool off my face in the bathroom sink so they wouldn't know. "Joel is working on recruiting more help to find Raphael and Ariel," Michael said when he walked in. Luc heard him and came from wherever he'd been hiding in the house. "But asked us to continue the demon hunt. Most of the angels are out of Heaven right now, hunting demons."

  "What are they doing when they find them?" I asked.

  "They either kill them, which returns them directly to Abaddon," Michael said. "Or taking them to purgatory to re-enter that way."

  "Either way, they could just get back in and leave again," I said. "It would be better if one of us stayed here. Have the angels bring the demons directly to us. The other can continue city-hopping to send them back en mass," I suggested.

  Gabe's eyebrows flew up. "That's genius. That way the ones the angels get can't re-enter the Earth realm."

  "And we can stop as many as possible from leaving even if the gates are opened," Lucifer said. "There is no higher word than mine and Lilith's in Abaddon. Not even Asmodeus can override it."

  "Not that he'd want to," I added. My brother hated being in charge while we were in our Earth cycles. He did the least amount possible, including, when anyone bothered to ask, telling demons and Fallen to do whatever Lucifer and I would tell them to do. He was irritating, but he was the next most powerful Fallen in Abaddon when we were absent.

  We'd instilled rules and regulations with harsh punishments over the years, anyway. Rule breakers were generally dealt with whether we were there to do it or not. Punishments of larger-scale problems would wait until Lucifer's return, but otherwise, Abaddon carried on business as usual.

  I doubted it was so business-like now. "Why hasn't Asmodeus come for us?" I asked absently as they continued discussing the logistics of dealing with demons out of our home. "Seems like when this got bad, he would've come right away to check on us."