by Eva Brandt
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “We’ll get Delilah back.”
His voice was so husky the words were barely understandable. Even so, those two sentences made all the difference in the world.
Hearing her name on his lips brought me peace. For a beautiful, priceless moment, I truly believed everything was going to be okay. The burden I’d been carrying vanished, leaving behind only the pleasure. With a muffled cry, I came, my body convulsing and tightening around Sariel’s dick.
My climax caused a sort of domino effect. Azazel thrust one last time into my mouth and followed me over the edge, the sexual power of my orgasm causing him to surrender to the pleasure as well. Jets of hot cum filled my mouth and I swallowed down every drop, greedy for it, for everything they could give me.
Sariel tried to hold on, but utterly failed. As stubborn as he might have been, he couldn’t stop the unavoidable. He ended up coming too, pumping me full of his seed.
But neither Azazel nor Sariel were done with me, just like I wasn’t done with them. They pulled out of me, but their cocks were still hard, as was mine.
Azazel kissed me again, and I shared the last traces of his semen with him. When Azazel let me go, Sariel maneuvered me around and climbed into my lap, ready to impale himself on my dick.
That was the moment when Sandalphon finally broke. The edges of the dome blurred, signaling the arrival of the archangel.
We all froze, holding our breaths and trying to pretend this wasn’t what we’d been going for all along. Turning, we faced Sandalphon.
This time, he was alone, just like I had hoped. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone to witness this exchange, so he must have sent his minions away. His divine power surged through the air, causing ours to recoil.
“This is a surprise,” Sariel said, just as calm as always. “I thought it would take you a while to come visit us again.”
Sandalphon glared at him just as viciously as he did whenever Sariel committed blasphemy. “It would have, had you remained respectful of your position and of this realm. I didn’t think you’d cause too much of a ruckus even if you were kept together, but clearly, I was a little too optimistic. You’ll have to be separated.”
I arched a brow at him, rubbing my naked belly and spreading the splatter of semen all over myself. “Oh? Will you take me along then?”
I had to be careful to not push him too far, otherwise he’d leave or ignore our ploy and go through with his official plan—to place us in separate domes. That would be disastrous since it would be ten times more difficult to get out.
“You will be moved, yes,” he answered, not seeming too affected by my discreet flirting.
I got up, presumably intending to cooperate. Now, for the second part of the plan. “Or you could stay here with us.”
He didn’t answer, and for a few seconds, I thought I’d been too bold. But maybe Sandalphon was having a tough time too, because he finally snapped. His magic furiously swirling around him, he stalked forward, straight toward me.
“You always like to play with fire, don’t you, Watcher Yeqon?”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me close, crushing his mouth to mine. I didn’t fight him off. I was no incubus, but I could work with this. If I could just tap into Sandalphon’s core, I’d be able to get us out of the dome.
Sariel had other plans. With the corner of my eye, I caught sight of him extracting several of his feathers from his wings. He didn’t waste a second. Taking advantage of the distraction I’d given him, he stabbed Sandalphon in the spine.
Sandalphon went rigid and tried to fight back. I drowned out his scream into the kiss. His oppressive divine magic swelled further, burning my skin and threatening to kill me on the spot.
But I was an angel too, no matter how much I—and countless others—hated the idea. So even if his fire hurt, it couldn’t free him.
Once Azazel joined in, it was over very quickly. In less than a minute, Sandalphon was unconscious, still alive, but immobilized.
Sariel picked him up and together, we headed toward the exit of the dome. He pressed the body against the shield, using it as a conduit for his own magic.
Azazel and I helped him, compensating for the energy we’d all lost in the ritual and had yet to fully recover. In Sariel’s arms, Sandalphon twitched as we scavenged his core, using his power as ours. It was brutal and inelegant, but it worked.
For a few seconds, the shield flickered. Seeing our chance, we jumped straight through. We almost didn’t make it. The dome closed again just as Azazel was passing through, and the shield severed the tips of his wings.
He hissed in pain and went down. Sariel dumped Sandalphon’s unconscious body and knelt by his side. “You okay?”
“Not really, but I will be.” He took a deep breath and shakily got up. “Don’t worry. I’ve had worse.”
It was true, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Normally, I’d have pushed or tried to do more, but we were already running on borrowed time. Any moment now, someone would notice what we’d done and come back. “Okay then. Where to now?”
We could leave the academy, but we still didn’t know where Delilah was. We could try to find Michael, but we’d already decided he was our backup plan. So where did that leave us?
“I might have an idea,” Azazel said, his voice steady despite the pain he was still in, “but it’s a little drastic.”
Azazel didn’t usually come up with drastic ideas. He tended to be the one to anchor us. I lost my temper pretty easily, and Sariel could get wrapped up in his esoteric research and forget people actually had limits. But these were unusual circumstances, so it stood to reason that even Azazel would throw sanity out the window.
“The whole reason why Alyssa needed Delilah was the divine spark,” Azazel said. “Delilah has a connection with it. I think she always did, and it must be why the Grim Reaper picked her to receive Death’s Gift. There are other primordial souls that would have been easier to handle, but none with that kind of affinity.”
“That’s fair enough, Azazel, but how does it help us?” Sariel asked.
“If we were to… bond with it, we might be able to find her,” he replied.
Bond with it. If bonding with the divine spark had been so easy, Kemuel wouldn’t have deemed Delilah special in the first place. But maybe that was the whole point. Bonding with the divine spark wouldn’t be possible at all, not without taking extreme steps.
Like Demogorgon had said, sacrifices needed to be made to achieve a greater purpose. It was a crazy idea, and normally, I might have thought the wing mutilation had done more damage than expected. But right then and there, I could understand and agree with Azazel’s logic.
“I think we should do it. At least one of us.” Of course, I intended to offer myself as the representative.
“No.” Sariel shook his head. “We stick together. We’ll have a better chance of surviving the spark and actually tracking Delilah down.”
“But Sariel…” I started to protest.
He refused to listen. “Come on. We have to find our way to the spark.”
As it turned out, that wasn’t so difficult. As soon as Sariel finished the phrase, a portal opened in front of us, swirling in shades of silver-blue. It was a little too convenient and I had my doubts about accepting aid from an unknown source. But I could already catch a glimpse of currents of energy heading toward us. It was either the portal, or running and trying our luck in The Mortal Realm.
We’d made our choice the moment we’d seduced Sandalphon and stabbed him in the back.
Taking a deep breath, I jumped straight into the portal. It was far easier than passing through the shield around the dome. We all made it to the other side safely.
We’d been brought to the massive chamber of the divine spark, just like I’d hoped. I’d been here before, but even so, glimpsing it again left me dumbstruck. The immensity of the spark’s power paralyzed us.
This proved to be very unfortunate. As we stood there, stari
ng like idiots, the gate behind us opened. Hamaliel and Uriel walked into the room.
“I’d say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m really not,” Uriel told us. “What do you want with the divine spark?”
“Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?” I shot back.
Uriel had always been resentful of our relationship with Delilah. He had never trusted her. Or maybe it was our commitment to The Heavenly Host that he hadn’t trusted. He and Delilah had reached a truce, but I knew better than to rely on it now that everything had fallen apart.
“We don’t belong here any longer,” I continued. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“That’s my line,” Hamaliel replied. “Where can you go? Your lover is dead, and even if she does come back, she won’t accept you. There’s no home for you in The Infernal Realm. And if you want to try your luck in The Mortal Realm, this isn’t the way to do it.”
“Maybe not, but it’s the only solution we have,” Sariel replied.
“Sariel, be reasonable,” Hamaliel protested. “This isn’t a solution at all.”
We didn’t bother explaining our decision. We’d already grown tired of the conversation. Since they hadn’t really approached us, it had become obvious they didn’t realize what we intended to do. They likely believed we wanted to create another ritual, like the one at the Dead Sea.
But we didn’t need to do that here. Sariel turned on his heel and jumped forward, straight into the spark. Azazel and I followed him.
We heard Uriel cry out behind us. “Wait, no! Stop!”
And then, the world turned into pure, agonizing white—and I burned.
I burned, died, and screamed Delilah’s name. But she wasn’t there, and if my consciousness wasn’t completely ripped apart, it was just because of Sariel and Azazel.
The divine spark scattered our powers like dust, but our minds and souls remained strong. And we had something else, a connection we’d thought we couldn’t reach.
“Oh, Yeqon…” Michael whispered in my head. “What have you done?”
“What we had to.”
The uncontrollable fire faded into a more sedate warmth. Affection, grief, and regret surrounded my soul like a comfortable blanket. I let the familiar power engulf me, trusting Michael to know what to do.
At this point, he was our best chance. He would know how to use the power we’d offered him.
Michael’s Magic
“You’d better have a good reason for being here, brother. I’ve had a bad day and I’m not in the mood to deal with your bullshit.”
I sat in an ornate chair in Lucifer’s office and impassively watched him approach. This episode was almost a perfect recreation of the day Fara had kidnapped Alyssa, with my assistance. I could already feel the ghost of Lucifer’s blade against my neck, even if he hadn’t pulled it out yet.
Then again, the fierceness of his glare alone would have felled a lesser man. “How did you get in here?” he inquired.
“You know better than to ask that, Lucifer,” I replied. “Don’t you remember? You sneaked into The Celestial Realm just a little while ago. Why are you so surprised that someone else can do the opposite?”
“I’m not surprised,” he shot back. “If my wards had been perfect, my daughter wouldn’t be gone. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“No, I don’t.” I let out a low sigh. “That child is my granddaughter, Lucifer. You must know I wouldn’t have done anything to her.”
“Yes, and that’s the only reason why I haven’t killed you on the spot.”
“I’m pretty sure you have another reason. Don’t you?”
Lucifer clenched his hands into fists. His claws dug into his palms and I knew he wanted to rip me apart right then and there.
But I was tired and angry too, and he wasn’t the one who’d had to watch the woman he loved die.
On top of that, I had to live with carrying the bodiless souls of the three reckless Watchers who had someone wormed their way into my heart. It sucked and it put me in a foul mood.
“I hear Alyssa’s still out of it after Demogorgon’s bite. How unfortunate. It’s a shame that your abilities aren’t enough to heal her this time. If only you had an actual angel around who could give you a hand.”
Lucifer snarled at me. “If you’re here to taunt me…”
“Not at all.” Setting aside my biting tone, I got up and walked toward him. I might have been pissed off, but I refused to let that get in the way of what truly mattered. “Look, Lucifer. I think we both know where this is headed and it’s not in a good direction. We have to stop it before it’s too late.”
“And what would you have me do? Have you looked outside? Look, damn you! Look!”
He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room, into the balcony. From up here, I could get a better look at The Infernal Realm, and it wasn’t promising. The Seven Circles of Hell were shaking, a feeling of utter despair lingering in the air like a poisonous miasma. Even from the distance, I could hear the pained screeches of the demons and tortured souls.
My heart started hammering as the enchantment on The Infernal Realm intensified its attack on me. I forced myself to remain calm and freed my arm from my brother’s grasp.
“I was aware of your little crisis. It was a factor I considered when I came here.”
Alyssa’s problem went beyond her not recovering from the bite. She’d lost control over her gift. She was both the Vessel of Hope and the Queen of Hell, and because of that, everyone in The Infernal Realm was suffering.
Fire bloomed at my brother’s fingertips. “You don’t even care, do you? You don’t care that my wife is in that room, struggling between life and death.”
It was my turn to glare at him. “Should I? You only have yourself to blame for this one, Lucifer. If you hadn’t pushed Delilah, none of this would be happening.”
“My daughter—”
“She didn’t take Hope,” I cut him off. “And even if she had, you’re the ones who attacked first. Or have you forgotten?”
It was so easy for Lucifer to dump the blame on Delilah’s lap, when he’d been the one to start this whole mess. From the very beginning, everything had been about his arrogance and his absolute conviction that he always knew better.
To his credit, he didn’t try to deny it. “I haven’t forgotten. But I couldn’t take any chances. You weren’t here when we fought Satan the first time. We almost didn’t win. With the Power of Death at her fingertips, she’d have been unstoppable. We had to do something. Besides, let’s face it, even if I hadn’t acted, she’d have remembered eventually.”
“Yes, but it wouldn’t have been like that.” I stepped closer to him and gripped the lapel of his jacket. “You’ve always presumed to know me very well, but you know nothing. I’ve let a lot of things slide, but right now, I have other responsibilities too, beyond my desire to protect my son.”
Lucifer was many things, but he wasn’t an idiot. “Right. You want to protect her. Do you want to cut a deal with me then?”
“Now you’re getting the picture. Are her parents safe?”
“As safe as they can be.” Lucifer grimaced. “Callum stashed them in The Seventh Circle of Hell, but even there, they’re not out of reach of Alyssa’s power. We might not be hurting them, but there’s only so long they can be here without losing their minds.”
That, I believed. Humans didn’t react well to hopeless situations, and the artificial despair induced by Alyssa would make their psyches collapse. Delilah had come very close to it, and she might have actually died, if not for Demogorgon.
“Okay. I’ll try to help and stabilize her condition. Then, we’ll have to go to The Shadow Realm to get your daughter.”
“If it were that easy, I’d go there myself,” Lucifer spat. “But something’s blocking my path.”
“I know that. And I think we’ve come up with a solution.”
Well, the three Watche
rs had, not that they’d realized it at the time. The idea had popped up in my head when their souls had taken refuge with me, after they’d practically committed suicide by divine spark.
Once this whole thing was over, I’d kick their asses for being so reckless, but for now, I couldn’t deny it had paid off.
“I have a way of going to The Shadow Realm, through the divine spark.”
“That sounds alarmingly vague,” Lucifer offered. “But assuming I believe you… What do you want in exchange?”
For the first time in what seemed like forever, I smiled. Of course he could tell I had something else on my mind. “If I heal Alyssa and bring her back to the way it was, I want you to help me cast a binding ritual on Delilah’s soul.”
Lucifer stared at me in disbelief. “What? You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I won’t lie, Lucifer, things are… bad between us now. Very bad. There was another fight and she didn’t make it.”
I didn’t know why I told him that—maybe because I needed to tell someone and he was the only one here. He was my enemy, and he’d tried to kill her. She’d died on his command during her first life. But he was also my brother, and some part of me hoped he’d understand.
“Even so,” I continued, “I know she will still hold on, to make sure her family is safe. But after that’s no longer the case…”
I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Lucifer did it in my stead. “You’re worried her soul will drift into The Shadow Realm. I can see your point. But if you do this, Delilah might never forgive you.”
“Why do you care? You hate us, don’t you?”
“I suppose I do.”
A powerful explosion sounded in the distance and a shockwave of magic flowed through the room, echoing into my very core and interrupting my conversation with my brother. Lucifer cursed.
“I thought Callum was keeping her contained. Come on. If you really want to help Lyssa, here’s your chance.”
Together, the two of us left Lucifer’s office and headed toward his bedchambers. We found Alyssa being watched by Callum and Mikael, who were trying to contain her out of control power.
