by JK Ensley
“I’m sorry you had to hear your father’s dark words, Tenshi. I am sorry I ever allowed him back into our lives. The day he tried to kill you on that battlefield, should have been the last day you ever had to look upon him. Forgive me.” She gently touched his cheek. “But I am glad you were with me in the end, my son. Now I can leave minus that regret.”
“I can do this instead of you, Mama. You know I can. Am I not Angel as well?”
“Yes. You are an Angel and a father. Lala will need you and Mika both. I can trust you to always keep her safe. Oh, and about Duhrias…”
“Worry not, Mama. If Lala is truly set on the River Spirit, I will not hinder them.”
Jenevier smiled. “Good. Trifling in affairs of the heart—”
“Never bodes well for the ones we love. Yes, I know.”
“You are such a good boy, Tenshi. A fine Angel, a devoted husband, and a father any child would be blessed to know.”
He smiled. “You did right by me, Mama.”
“Take care of Yui for me. Promise?”
“Always, Mama. Always.”
“Oh, and take Taka for me.” She pried the little Dragon Pixie from her neck. “Give him to Lala. They will need each other.” Jenevier kissed her son and turned to face the smiling Nephilim. “I am ready. Show me the way.”
“Simply step through this waterfall, Madam Empress, and Sheol will be opened unto you.”
“You mean… the entrance was here all along?”
“The entrance is wherever I choose it to be,” Rixx said, still smiling.
“What are you saying? That you are the gateway?”
Rixx nodded his head only once, then appeared at her side. “After you, Milady.”
When her strange escort elegantly waved his hand toward the waterfall, Jenevier took one step… and was violently jerked backwards. She landed on her back in the muddy water’s edge.
“I will not let you go!” Michael’s voice echoed loudly throughout the Valley of Dragons.
Jenevier struggled against her collar, to no avail.
“You cannot stop me, Michael!”
“I can, and I will. You are in my charge now, Kagi Naga. I will not let you err so.”
“It’s not your decision,” she cried.
“As long as you wear that collar, all your decisions are my decisions.”
“Nilakanta!”
Jenevier scrambled to her feet as her Dragon swooped down and gnashed at Michael’s invisible thread with his razor sharp teeth.
Michael smiled. “Chew away, Dragon. This is one cord you cannot cut.”
As Jenevier continued to struggle, she suddenly felt strong hands grasp her curls. Apollyon pulled her against him, locking her there.
“If you wish to fall, Anicee, come. Do it properly. Join me in hell. Together we will free your granddaughter, then you will ever after reign at my side.”
The Prince of Hell’s eyes burned with a terrifying blue fire the likes of which Jenevier had never seen within them before.
“Unhand my mama!”
Jenevier heard her son’s shouts a split second before Apollyon was knocked to the ground. The blue aura now emanating from Tenshi, matched that same terrible pressure she had felt when first she’d met Michael. Jenevier’s mouth fell open when she saw that Apollyon was now pinned to the ground… blood trickling from the corners of his beautiful sapphire eyes.
“Go, Mama!” Tenshi yelled, drawing back her attention. “Run!”
Without another thought, Jenevier spun towards the entrance, only to be jerked back into the water yet again.
“Nilakanta!” Tenshi screamed.
The Dragon immediately abandoned the binding thread and flew straight for the controlling Archangel… fire streaming from his lips as molten lava.
Jenevier seized the opportunity. In the tiny heartbeat of time that Michael was distracted, she dove into the waterfall.
Chapter 21
Sheol
(SHE-ol)
As soon as the water hit her face, Jenevier felt Michael’s cord snap. She rolled end over end into darkness.
“Well now, that was rather exciting. Wouldn’t you say?” Rixx chuckled.
Jenevier spit the mud and dirt out of her mouth. “Take me to Lala.”
“As you wish, Milady. Right this way.”
*****
Ahriman was sitting there… just sitting there, smiling—Lala at his side. Jenevier was so angry she was visibly shaking.
“Let. Her. Go.”
Her voice was so lethally cold, it gave the soul-eater a moment’s pause. Only a brief moment, though.
“Of course.” He smiled happily. “The Princess is free to leave anytime she wishes. As soon as her replacement arrived, that is.”
“Come, child.”
When Jenevier held out her arms, Lala burst into tears and ran to her.
“Obaasan,” she cried. “I am sooo sorry. I didn’t know. I just didn’t—”
“Shhh now, child. All is well. Did he harm you?”
“N-no,” the girl whispered.
Jenevier narrowed her gaze, glaring coldly at the gloating dark Angel.
“If you so much as touched a single curl upon her head—”
“It is as the Princess says.” Ahriman stood. “No matter how pitifully she begged and pleaded otherwise… I did not partake of her fruits. Nay, I didn’t even lust for the girl. She is not whom I desire.”
“Where is my bracelet?” Jenevier snapped.
“Your bracelet? Oh… you mean this old thing?” Ahriman held it up. “If it is that dear to your heart, here. Take it.”
Jenevier snatched it from the air as Ahriman tossed it. She spun Lala away from the soul-eater and quickly locked that amethyst shackle around her granddaughter’s wrist.
Ahriman chuckled. “I will admit it looks good on the girl, but such measure is useless. Aside from the fact I have absolutely zero interest in her; the spell will not work unless I say the words.”
“We shall see,” Jenevier hissed, then grabbed her locket and began her chant.
Never had her desire and intent been as strong as it was at that very moment. With one hand tight around the bracelet now locked to Lala’s wrist and the other squeezing hard on the inscribed locket within her palm, Jenevier calmly and continuously whispered the words written within. She stopped only when she heard the soul-eater’s pain-filled cries. She smiled coolly, then looked toward Rixx.
“Lead me back to the waterfall.”
He did so without a word.
When they reached the spot, Jenevier felt as if she had slammed into an invisible wall.
“This is as far as you go, Empress,” Rixx said. “I will escort the child to her father.”
Jenevier grabbed Lala’s shoulders and spun the girl to face her.
“Listen to me, little one, and listen well. Do not seek out your grandpapa. No matter what, never go willingly with that man. Promise me.”
Lala only nodded her head as tears dripped from her chin.
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I know you love him, but much has happened. When the time is right, ask your father. Tenshi will guide you well. Always listen to him.”
“I will, Obaasan. I promise.”
Jenevier smiled sweetly, twisting one of Lala’s raven curls around her finger. “The River Spirit loves you,” she whispered.
“Yes, and I love him as well… fiercely.”
“Then cleave to him, my child. He will never harm you, never betray you. With Dimples and your daddy ever near… I have nothing more to worry about. Go. Kiss your mother for me and tell her I love her.”
Lala began crying in earnest. “I will, Obaasan. I promise.”
“Take care of Daichi for me, will ya?”
The girl nodded her head again.
“Don’t be too hard on him, Lala. He is one Angel who deserves more than he shall ever receive. Be kind to him, and do not make him angry.”
“I won’t, Obaasan. I will love Uncle Daichi
in your stead. I promise.”
Jenevier smiled and kissed her granddaughter’s forehead. “As it should be. Now. Go. Before I lose the strength to let you leave.”
Lala hugged her fiercely before Rixx took her by the arm.
“It is time, Princess,” he said.
“I love you, Obaasan,” the girl called out through her tears. “I will remember everything you taught me, every word you ever spoke. I swear by all that is ho—”
And then they were gone. Jenevier was left standing there—frozen in place, tears falling unchecked from her deep blue eyes. Gone were her pink curls. Gone were her magical pink eyes. She felt nauseous and dizzy… as the Grace slowly drained out of her.
“It is done,” she softly whispered, just as Ahriman stumbled up to her side, wiping away the blood trickling down from his ears.
“That was a dirty rotten trick, Angel,” he rasped.
“And who would know better than you, silver devil?”
“It was completely unnecessary. I told you such.”
“And yet… you are nothing if not a proven liar. I only ensured my granddaughter’s safety, my sanity, and your eternal absence from the ninth layer of this universe. Why do you care? If you do not go near her, you will know no pain. Why do you care if she is bound with the bracelet or not?”
“Because you did it while I was standing right there.”
Jenevier smiled. “An added bonus.”
“I thought my brain was going to explode.”
Her smile grew wider. “Now that would have been an added bonus, right there. One far too spectacular to even be hoped for.”
Ahriman only glared at her profile as Jenevier remained staring at the spot where her precious Princess had only just disappeared… patiently waiting for Rixx to return.
*****
“Wow… Things sure have calmed down out there,” Rixx said as he stepped back into Sheol. “Your son is one terrifying Angel.” He snorted out a laugh. “Apollyon is still flat on his ba—”
Rixx’s words were cut short when Jenevier calmly, yet quickly, sliced clean through his pale neck. She flicked her wrist then, slinging the blood from Iole Máni’s pristine edge.
Maza Vespar Rixx’s eyes went wide, before rolling back into his head. He fell to the ground. Not as a man, no… but as nothing more than a red and white speckled koi.
Jenevier did not turn toward the slow, deliberate clap coming from the darkness to her right.
“Congratulations, Death Angel. You figured it out,” the unknown man said.
“I figured out nothing.” Jenevier’s voice remained flat, emotionless. “I knew the man to be a liar, a trickster, and not a Nephilim. And… I hated him. Simple as that.”
Ahriman shared in the stranger’s amused laugh.
“You are as fierce as you are beautiful, Kagi Naga.”
“I am Kagi Naga no more. My name… Shamsiel…” She turned to face him then. “Is Jenevier Olesia Embarr. If you wish to address me further, you can do so as such.”
“So… you know who I am.”
“Well, it wasn’t all that hard. I mean, yours is the only name I have heard in association with this damnable place. Shamsiel—once right-hand commander to Uriel, Archangel of Heaven… and my long, long forgotten ancestor.”
Shamsiel raised a single brow. “Is that all?”
“No. You are an Arch who chose to fall for a woman, my great-whatever grandmother, with whom I happen to share a striking resemblance.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “What’s with the fish?”
Shamsiel glanced at the now stilled koi and then back to Jenevier.
“He was my eyes and ears. That is all.”
“Shamsiel has a rare talent,” Ahriman said.
“Yeah,” Jenevier mumbled. “Seems to be a common theme.”
“He can take any animal and turn it into a walking, talking, completely obedient, humanoid type creature.”
“Careful, Ahriman.” She casually glanced his way. “Your nerd is showing.”
The soul-eater furrowed his brow, obviously confused.
“Mind her not, Ahriman,” Shamsiel said through a sneer. “She is simply channeling the drivel she learned from those worthless Guardians.”
Jenevier smiled. “Snide comments were not the only things… umm, drivel… I picked up from those worthless Guardians. Mind how you treat me, Seraph boy.”
Shamsiel pretended to ignore her. “What our good Sage, here, was so eloquently trying to explain to you—before you rudely interrupted him—was my talent concerning Father’s lesser creatures. Alas, Sheol is minus any of these lower life forms. Ahriman was kind enough to obtain one for me.”
“Oh, how sweet. But… why?” She looked then to Ahriman. “He isn’t known for his selfless acts and good deeds. What did this wicked little soul-eater ask for in exchange for the fish?”
“You,” Shamsiel calmly said.
She turned back to the flaming-haired Arch. “And you expect me to believe you taught a fish to talk, let it follow me around for the better part of a century… all out of the goodness of your heart? All because you wished to help out your poor lovesick friend, here?”
“No.” Shamsiel snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He smiled then. “I desire you as well.”
Jenevier snarled up her nose. “That’s just sick, Great-Grandpapa.”
Shamsiel laughed. “I do not desire you as he does.” He motioned toward Ahriman. “I do not wish you as lover. I will use you as coin.”
“Coin? For what?”
“I hope to trade you for your great-whatever grandmother.”
She furrowed her brow. “What in the holy heavens are you talking about, Angel?”
“You are a naïve, stupid little human, aren’t you? Can you not clearly see your value?”
“Why don’t you enlighten me, good Shamsiel? Please, do go on.”
“You are full of fire, aren’t you?” He smiled a sardonic, crooked sort of smile. “Very well, I shall. Father favors you. Well, in truth, He favors all humans… but you caught His eye from early on. Even your origins—your creation—was blessed beyond the ones who came before you. Father kissed your delicate little soul, fashioned you from His favorite Guardian… and then whispered a great secret unto you.”
Jenevier stiffened, narrowing her steady gaze as the red Arch began encircling her as he spoke.
“Weren’t you just the most precious little thing?” He sneered, flipping one of her curls. “His perfect little doll. Your childhood was happy, carefree… magical. Have you ever gone a whole day without smiling? No… I don’t believe you have. Even when you had nothing to smile about, Father was blessed with your tiny giggles. Infuriating, really.”
“You hate me because I smile? Because I choose to find a spot of joy where none should exist?” She snorted. “You are pathetic, Grandpapa. The Angel within you is long since dead.”
“Oh, yes. That’s the truth of it, to be sure.” He chuckled. “But we’re talking about you right now. Allow me to continue.”
Ahriman’s silver eyes flashed as he watched her set a hard line to her jaw, heard her grinding her teeth. His mouth began to water.
Shamsiel stopped right in front of her and lifted her chin. “Oh, how His heart must have swelled with pride when He watched you stand up to that imposing Gate Guardian. I bet He was smiling the whole of your trial. What—falling for that Alzeen mask Varick was wearing, all because you were so sweet and protective and gentle.”
“Alzeen was the sweet, protective, gentle one. Not me.”
Shamsiel smiled with only one corner of his mouth. “You’re right about that, Jenevier Olesia Embarr. You proved yourself to be wicked, volatile… unpredictable on your best day.”
“Best you keep that in mind, Angel.”
Shamsiel ignored her. “And what did Father choose to do when you acted thusly? Hmm?”
Jenevier didn’t answer.
“He blessed you!” Shamsiel shouted in her face. “That’s
what He did! No matter how many mistakes you made, no matter how many times you fell flat on your face—completely screwing up the universe’s plan—He continued to bless you, forgive you… love you. Why, little girl? Can you tell me that? Why did He treat you so much better than many who have come before you?”
“I don’t know,” she yelled. “I didn’t deserve any of it!”
“And that’s the damn truth.” Shamsiel lowered his voice. “You don’t deserve the favor you have been given. Do you know how many times I had to err before being bound in this place?”
Again, Jenevier did not answer him.
“Once! There is only one sin to my name! Tell me. How many have been logged against you, Angel?”
Jenevier glanced to the side. “Too many to count,” she barely whispered.
“Yes. Too many to count. That be the truth of it.” He gripped her chin tighter. “Now… tell me why.”
“How the hell am I supposed to answer that?” Tears filled her eyes, angry tears. “I already told you. I don’t know!”
The flame-crowned Arch snorted. “It’s just one of the great mysteries of the universe, I guess—why are humans so damn special.” He roughly released her chin and began circling her again. “And… why are you favored among them? What secret did Father share with you… before you even took your first breath? Hmm? Why… why…why?”
“Now you sound like Apollyon.” Jenevier glared straight ahead. “Perhaps you should count jealousy down as another sin you have mastered. If whining were one, you’d claim that grand prize as well.”
“But that’s the big question, isn’t it?” Shamsiel chuckled. “That’s the amazing mystery we all want solved… the why. Why did Father bless even that disgusting Prince of Hell? Hmm? Do you know? Do you know why a creature—far more evil than even words can express—was blessed because of you?”
“Apollyon wasn’t blessed because of me, you blathering idiot. I was a curse unto him from the moment he first laid eyes upon me, and I will remain his curse until the end of all things.”
“She speaks true,” Ahriman mumbled.
Shamsiel growled at the soul-eater before turning back to Jenevier.
