by Elise Marion
She shook her head. “You should. You should care that my carelessness is what got you killed. You never would have gone through any of that if it weren’t for me.”
“Not true,” he insisted. “Michael told me himself that my death was already in the cards. It would have happened no matter what you did. I hate that you had to be there that night, and that you’ve carried that guilt around all this time. But you have to let that go. It wasn’t your fault, and even if it were, I wouldn’t hold that against you. Because I love you.” He paused, laughing and kissing the tip of her nose. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that.”
She closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “I could never get tired of hearing it.”
He lay back on the couch, stretching out and pulling her against his side. “You’re exhausted,” he murmured. “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”
It physically pained him to keep his hands to himself when she lay so close, but they would have plenty of time for lovemaking later. For the moment, it felt good just to hold her—a privilege he didn’t think he’d ever get to experience again.
She curled up against his side and sighed.
“Hold me, Jack,” she mumbled, her voice already growing heavy from fatigue. “Don’t let go.”
He smiled, pulling her even closer. “Never.”
Addison woke up alone. The sun was still up, which meant she hadn’t slept the entire day, but still long enough for Jack to have left the couch. A heavy feeling rested on her shoulders, making her want to sink back down onto the cushions and curl into the fetal position, sleeping for another month or so. Anything seemed better than getting up to face the mess she had made of her life. She’d spent the night in Jack’s arms—something she’d dreamt of doing every night since he’d died. When she’d gotten her chance, thoughts of Micah had tormented her, tainting the experience. It had felt wrong, thinking about another man while the one she loved had his arms around her. But she’d barely had time to wrap her mind around what she and Micah had done before having to face Jack. Hell, she hadn’t even had a chance to shower Micah off her before Jack was standing there, hugging her and solidifying his presence as real.
On top of all that were the new developments in their mission. She had no idea what would happen now. Not to mention the issue of Lilith and Astaroth, both still out there somewhere. The mother of legions wasn’t done with her yet, and would be sure to want revenge for the hundreds of offspring she’d killed out in the swamp.
Sitting up slowly, she ran a hand through her messy hair, then forced herself to her feet. As uncertain as things felt, curling up into a ball and accepting defeat wasn’t an option. She would do what she’d always done and face things as they came. And that meant working up the courage to tell Jack about Micah. He had a right to know, and she wouldn’t be able to move forward until she did. But, that also meant talking to Micah, who might have other ideas about what to do concerning their moment of weakness.
Squaring her shoulders, she resolved to take everything in baby steps. First, getting freshened up. She took her time brushing her teeth, fixing her hair into some semblance of order, and getting dressed.
She had just left her room when the front door crashed open and Jack and Micah entered the apartment. She faltered in the living room, frozen in place as they came into the kitchen dressed in workout clothes and dripping sweat. Their differences had never been more apparent, even as they laughed, talked, and nudged each other while ragging on one another about who hadn’t been able to keep up with whom. Jack, dark and lean; Micah, broad and powerful. One representing all that was good and honorable in the world; the other all that was wild, primitive, and maybe just a bit naughty. One who had everything she needed, and one who had everything she didn’t need but somehow still found herself wanting. One who she loved and the other … well, she hadn’t quite figured that out yet.
Jack’s smiled widened when he saw her, while Micah’s expression grew guarded and shuttered. As Jack crossed the room toward her, Micah bent to rifle through the refrigerator.
“Hey, look who’s finally up,” he said. “Did you sleep okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, maybe a little too well. You guys have been busy.”
“Just four miles,” he said with a shrug. “I would kiss you but I’m all sweaty.”
“Heads up, podna,” Micah called from the kitchen.
He hurled a water bottle through the air, which Jack caught and opened before chugging half of it at once.
“Dibs on the shower,” he said to Micah before turning back to her. “There’s a meeting later with Reniel and the other elite Guardians. We’re expected, of course.”
She nodded. “Sounds good. I’ve got some homework to catch up on, but other than that, I’m free all day and off work tonight.”
“Great. I’ll be back when I smell better.”
Making a beeline for the bathroom, he left the two of them alone.
Addison bit her lower lip and dared a glance at Micah, who had the makings of lunch spread out on the counter. Sidling toward the kitchen, she watched him closely. He seemed determined not to look at her, and hadn’t said a word to her since coming into the apartment.
Pausing beside the counter, she watched him retrieve a sharp kitchen knife and proceed to slice a red bell pepper.
She cleared her throat. “Micah.”
He didn’t glance up, but he did answer her. “Addison.”
She sighed. “Can we talk about what happened yesterday?”
His jaw tightened and his nostrils flared as he paused, knife poised just over the halved bell pepper. His gaze darted toward the bathroom door, then settled on her.
“No,” he ground out from between clenched teeth. “We can’t.”
“But Micah—”
“No!” he repeated, a bit sharper this time. “He’s home, cher. He was dead, but now, he’s home. My best friend. The man you love. It’s what we both wanted, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is,” she replied. “But what we did—”
“We had sex,” he muttered, going back to slicing. “It was a mistake.”
“You certainly didn’t seem to think so yesterday,” she reminded him.
“Forget yesterday,” he said. “Forget it ever happened. You were lonely and missin’ Jack. I was …”
She leaned forward, gripping the counter. “What, Micah? You were what?”
“Horny,” he replied with a shrug. And just like that, the old Micah returned. “I told you I wanted to fuck you, and you let me. But he doesn’t have to know. It’s better this way. Any other way, he gets hurt, and that’s the last thing I want.”
She sighed, torn between wanting to slap him and admiring him. He was trying to be a jackass to put her off, but couldn’t hide his love for Jack. At the heart of it all, he only wanted to save his friend from being hurt.
“How is it okay for us to lie to him?” she whispered. “Micah, it happened!”
“And it won’t happen again, because Jack’s home and you guys are together. I see no reason to ruin everyone’s happiness. He’s home. It’s what we wanted. End of story.”
Yet, the dejected slump of his shoulders told her a different story. For all his supposed surety now, Addison couldn’t forget the vulnerable man she’d been with last night. He’d opened himself to her and showed her a different person—one she had felt, at the time, she could come to care about deeply. It felt like betrayal now with Jack just in the next room instead of rotting beneath the ground.
She turned away, now more uncertain than ever. His hand came around her wrist swiftly, halting her retreat. Turning back, she found herself trapped in his gaze. The light from the kitchen window caused his irises to gleam like jade and set his hair on fire like a halo. God knew this man was no angel. Just his touch on her wrist reminded her of the things she’d let him do to her—the things she’d done to him.
“I meant what I said last night, cher,” he murmured
. “I have no regrets. I’m sorry if you feel any, but that’ll pass, too. I promise.”
She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t so sure about that, but as abruptly as he’d grabbed her, he let her go and turned his attention back to cooking.
Addison wandered back into the living room and plopped onto the couch, burying her face in her hands. Despite Micah’s insistence that keeping it a secret would be best, she couldn’t fight against the gnawing ache that started in her gut at the thought of lying to Jack. It seemed a no-win situation. Tell the truth and risk losing Jack, as well as breaking up a friendship—no, a brotherhood. Keep it to herself and suffer the guilt, anyway; and who was to say the truth wouldn’t come out, eventually? Then the hurt would be even greater for Jack, who would have been lied to all that time by his lover and his best friend.
No, he had to know. The sooner, the better.
Chapter Fifteen: War Council
Night had fallen by the time Addison, Jack, and Micah arrived at the Plaza de Armas in the heart of Jackson Square. The St. Louis Cathedral loomed over those gathered, its stark stone façade seeming to glow in the moonlight.
Jackson Square had always been one of Addison’s favorite places to shop, and she’d often sat to have lunch while doing her homework in the plaza, surrounded by the bustle of New Orleans and the serene environment of the stretch of flowering mall sprawling before the cathedral.
Tonight, the atmosphere had shifted to one of restlessness and expectation as the Guardians gathered to hear from one of their leaders. There must’ve been at least a hundred of them present, and among them, she spotted Alice and Derek. Giving them a wave, she followed Micah and Jack to the front of the crowd, where they had a better view of Reniel, who sat on the stone slab housing a statue of President Andrew Jackson, elevated a bit above them all.
The angel looked as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. She felt pity for him, knowing this couldn’t be any easier for him than for her. The Nephilim being targeted by Eligos were human beings, and angels were naturally sympathetic to the plight of people, especially when they’d worked closely with humans for as long as Reniel had.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said, his deep voice carrying easily over the crowd. “You have all been apprised of the situation concerning Eligos’ plans to stage a coup against Lucifer. For those wondering why we should care about this, allow me to enlighten you. The Great Duke of Hell does not care about the rules of engagement. You have already seen this in your interactions with his minions. Because of his actions, more of them have gained entry to this world—the ones who should never have been allowed back in. They’d been banished before for a reason. Let me paint a picture for you—a world in which Eligos becomes the ruler of Hell. If you think fighting them is difficult now, imagine our current battle on a scale tenfold. As dedicated as you all are, I do believe many would lose heart in the face of such overwhelming odds. We cannot allow this to happen.”
“Seems to me the answer is simple,” said a girl from the middle of the crowd. She had dark skin and a headful of springy curls surrounding her head in a neat Afro. “Eligos’ army will be made up of demon Naphils that he spawned for the purpose of breeding soldiers. Take them out and he has nothing.”
Addison’s hand curled into a fist at her side, and the familiar anger rose up to choke her like acidic bile. Jack’s hand came to the small of her back to steady her, and she forced herself to calm down, taking a deep breath.
“The Nephilim are people just like you,” Micah spoke up, leveling a narrow glare at the girl. “They can’t help who their parents are any more than the rest of us. You wanna punish them for that?”
That shocked her. Before, she’d thought Micah would rather kill her than work with her. She supposed things had changed now.
Afro Girl shrugged. “If it’s us or them …”
A few jeers came from the crowd, along with a few murmured agreements. The voices mingled, then grew and swelled until everyone was talking, arguing to be heard over one another.
“Enough!” Reniel thundered, silencing them all. “That’s your problem, all of you. For too long, you’ve had a mentality of ‘us’ versus everyone else. The Guardians aren’t the only order chosen to fight for Heaven. The Oracles are in this, too. And the Nephilim, no matter who their parents, have just as much stake in this as you do. They have a right to choose their side, and to be free from the influence of the other side if they want it.”
“Who says they want out?” argued a guy next to Addison. He was large like Micah, and she found herself wondering if he was as strong. “For all we know, they’re all down for fighting to help get their daddy, and themselves, a piece of Hell.”
“I can’t speak for them all,” Addison said, turning to face him. “But I can tell you the last thing I want is for that bastard to gain any more ground.”
He gazed down at her and scowled. “And just who are you?”
Reaching into her shirt, she snatched the ring free and held it up for him to see. Gasps sounded around them, as those who had heard of her and the Seal pressed in for a better look.
“Addison Monroe,” she replied, inclining her head at him. “One of Eligos’ children, in case you didn’t know. I spent most of my life fighting off his voice in my head, telling me I was worthless, and I was nothing, tempting me to do horrible things. I bet you the others have gone through the same thing. They can’t help whatever issues they have, or the bad things they’ve done. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of saving. They aren’t too far gone for redemption.”
Reniel nodded, giving her a little smile. “That’s right. Which is exactly why Father has decided we will be the ones to offer them that redemption.”
“What?” the girl with the Afro called out. “How?”
“As we speak, the Oracles are meeting with their leaders. The Nephilim who have already united with our cause are doing the same. We are all being charged with finding as many of Eligos’ children as we can and bringing them into the fold. Understand that if they sell their souls to Eligos, there is no going back for them. We have to save as many of them as we can, no matter how hopeless.”
“Do you have any idea how long that will take? They must be all over the world!”
“Do you realize how long eternity is?” Reniel countered. “That is how long Eligos will rule Hell if he wins. That is how long his children will spend in torment if they follow him to their doom. You will work in your usual pairs, and we will ensure you get where you need to go. When I said we were all being called in on this one, I meant it. Each pair of you will have an angel who will guide you to these people. Talk to them. Reach out to them. Help them see the truth. Save the ones you can. Because I can assure you, we will need as many of them on our side as possible when the battle lines are drawn.”
“What about Addison?” Jack asked. “What about her mission and the Seal?”
“Addison will continue working against the ten, though if she’s up for helping us recruit her siblings, she is more than welcome.”
Addison thought of her childhood and the hell she’d been through. She thought of Buck—or rather, Eligos—throwing beer cans at her and calling her a whore, trying to rape her, showing up seemingly from the dead out of nowhere. She couldn’t fathom there being thousands of people in the world who had been through the same thing. It didn’t seem fair that she’d had Reniel, Jack, and Micah to help guide her and pull her out of the muck, when so many others didn’t have that. No one else could reach those people like she could. No one else here could possibly understand what they’d been through like she could.
That realization caused her to nod in the affirmative.
“I will,” she said. “Whatever you need me to do.”
Jack put his arm around her and hugged her, Micah nodded as if in approval, and Reniel smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were muffled by a heart-pounding shriek from above.
Gasps and cries of alarm swept
through the crowd as a dark shape blotted out the moon and the sound of metallic clanking filled the air. The odor of sulfur permeated the little plaza, and a familiar sound caused Addison’s skin to grow clammy and cold. She’d heard it once, just before being attacked by a horde of demons. The cacophony of their whispers, like hundreds of snakes slithering in the dark, interspersed with a screech not unlike nails on a chalkboard. She flinched, gritting her teeth as it grew louder and closer, as if the creatures closed in from all sides.
Reniel leapt into the air, morphing into his angelic form in the blink of an eye. One second, he stood in his blond-haired, blue-eyed human form; the next, he swooped overhead, twelve feet of solid gold skin with pristine white wings and glowing white eyes.
Addison gazed up to find several of the black shapes coming at him from the sky, while all around them, smaller four-legged creatures scaled the fence surrounding the plaza. More of them appeared over the roof of the cathedral, crawling down over its front, blotting out the white stone.
The others had already jumped into action, running out to meet the demons, a few of them even taking flight like Reniel to fight those coming in from the air. Suddenly, Derek was at her side, one hand tight around her arm. His eyes were wide behind his glasses as he pointed up at the largest of the flying creatures, a lizard-like thing with humongous bat-like wings.
“The Prince,” he said. “One of the ten.”
Remembering their lessons, she fixed her gaze on the demon even as the ring against her chest grew warm and started to glow.
“Astaroth.”
From her left, Jack’s sound waves rippled through the air as with a roar, he took down six of the little demons at once before reaching into the waistband of his jeans and retrieving his pistol. She did the same, taking aim and dispatching one before it could overtake Derek.
“Get down and stay down,” she said to her teacher. He clearly wasn’t cut out for fighting.
