The Devil You Know

by Zahra Stone

  “The power of three.” He absently ran his hand up and down my spine while I lay curled against his chest, my fingers dancing across his skin.

  “I’ve got it!” He sat up, dislodging me. I grumbled in protest. “He has three children! It’s you, Michael, and Gabriel! Has to be!” His voice rose three octaves in excitement.

  I sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees as I considered it. He could be right. What other three could there be? Me and my brothers were powerful archangels, and for the last millennia, we’d been divided. What if, together, the three of us were more powerful than we realized? Powerful enough to stop Lilith, to stop the calling of the witnesses?

  “We have to find them.” Swinging my legs out of bed, I stood, feeling the heat of Levi’s gaze on my naked back. I smiled at him over my shoulder and asked, “You still want more?”

  “I can never get enough of you,” he declared, climbing off the bed and coming to stand in front of me. Tracing the line of my jaw with one finger, he made me shiver.

  “I like this side of you,” I breathed. “Insatiable.”

  “I’ve always been insatiable when it comes to you.”

  “We need to find my brothers,” I reminded him, crossing to my dressing room and eyeballing the outfits lined up neatly on hangers.

  “Your dad banished them to Earth. To live as humans,” Levi said as if I needed reminding.

  I played with the belt of my robe, considering. “Maybe he’s lifted their punishment? After all, he sent me the message.”

  “Yeah, but if he’s given them back their angelic powers, do you think they’d hang around on Earth? They could be anywhere.”

  “True. But we’ll find them.”

  Mr. Meow appeared, rubbing around my ankles and purring. “Hey, buddy, where have you been, hm? Want some dinner?” The cat meowed and bumped his forehead against my shin, making me laugh. Nibbler came running out, chasing Mr. Meow’s tail.

  “Levi, take care of your cat! I’m taking a shower. Alone.”

  My shower was fast, and as I was drying myself, Levi cooed to the cats while he prepared their food. I grinned at the fact such a small creature could bring a grown man to his knees.

  I was still chuckling over Levi when Ashliel hissed, “Lucy,” into my ear.

  “On my way.” Dressed in red jeans, a white sequined top, stiletto heels, and sporting a messy bun on the top of my head, I summoned the elevator to take me to my office.

  “What have you got?” I asked, striding across the vast expanse of my office to where Ashliel stood in front of the monitor bank. She pointed at a news report, and I watched, brows knitted together in a frown. Images on the screens stuttered, but all the news reports were the same. Unprecedented acts of war and hostility were breaking out all over the globe.

  “Only one thing can do that,” Ashliel told me.

  “A Valkyrie,” I said.

  She turned toward me. “This could go nuclear.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” I assured her, although, at this point, I wasn’t sure how I was going to stop the Valkyrie.

  “Do you have any leads on Gabriel and Michael?” I asked Ashliel, moving from the monitors to look out the massive windows that afforded me the best view of Hell. I leaned one hand against the glass and looked down at my kingdom, the demons patrolling the skies, keeping our realm safe, the hustle and bustle of life on the streets below. People thought of Hell as one massive ball of fire, but it wasn’t that at all. It was so much more. Sure, we had holding cells that went on for miles where sinners arrived to atone for their sins. And we had the pit, where the evilest of souls would burn for all eternity, but the rest of Hell was beautiful. The skies were perpetual pinks, purples, and oranges that created an everlasting twilight. There were beaches, and although you wouldn’t want to swim in the acidic ocean, the sight was unmatched in all the realms. We had mountains—although it would take you a lifetime to reach them.

  “Nothing,” Ashliel said, dragging my attention back to her. “Why are you even worried about those assholes anyway? They’ve been nothing but trouble for you. Why give them any loyalty? They sure don’t deserve it.”

  “Send a message to Heaven asking for a report on their status. Or ask Dacian directly. I don’t care. I want answers. Dad sent me a message.”

  “Oh?” That got her attention, and her head snapped around so fast I winced.

  “The power of three,” I told her.

  She screwed her mouth up, mulling over the words. I could practically see the cogs turning in her head. Ashliel was a veritable database; I’d be lost without her. “And you think he was referring to you and your brothers? That the three of you combined…” she trailed off, tapping a fingernail against her lip, eyes unseeing as she disappeared into deep thought.

  “Gabriel and Michael were stripped of their angelic powers and banished to Earth to live as humans—as punishment for their actions—or lack of action, in running Heaven.” The pacing began, as it always did when she was unraveling a puzzle. I settled on the sofa and waited in silence.

  “Lilith is calling the witnesses, opening doors to other dimensions, intending—we assume—to start the Apocalypse and destroy every living creature on Earth. She’s the one who told you what your dad had done to you…in the hopes of getting you on her side. Again, that’s an assumption, but I’d say it’s accurate.” She nodded to herself, talking out loud. I remained silent; she didn’t need my input. “She’s probably letting your anger at your father fester for a bit before approaching you. So, in the meantime, if I were her, I’d recruit your brothers—her sons. She could return their powers, and given your brother's personalities, I’d say they’d join forces with her without hesitation. After all, they tried to destroy Earth themselves. Being rid of it once and for all would be very appealing to them.” She stopped pacing, took in a deep breath, and then went on.

  “But why does she need them? Is it purely motherly love that she wants you all by her side? After all, the creatures she’s inviting to Earth can destroy it; she doesn’t need Michael and Gabriel for that.”

  “She wants more than Earth,” I said.

  She looked at me, her eyes narrowing.

  “Hell will be next,” she predicted, and a shiver danced over my skin at the surety in her words. “Hell is God’s creation, and she’s out to destroy every last piece of him. She’ll need your brothers for that. She’ll need you.”

  “The power of three,” I said, breathless.

  Ashliel nodded. “Your dad sent a warning.”

  “She’s assuming I will side with her, though. And I won’t. No matter what my father has done, he doesn’t deserve this. She imprisoned him for thousands of years, left him to rot. And in punishing him, she punished me, for like it or not, I love my dad.” I felt tears gather in my eyes and blinked to dispel them.

  “We have to protect him,” I whispered, for Dacian’s words came back to me. He was weak. He’d used precious energy to restore Heaven. He needed time to regroup. If Lilith realized he was vulnerable, she would strike now, take Heaven, and if she had my brothers with her, she just might pull it off.

  “Do not breathe a word of this,” I ordered, striding to my desk. “This information cannot leak.”

  “You think we have a leak?” She sounded surprised, but I shook my head. “No. I don’t. But if I was Lilith and I had plans as big as hers, I’d be planting spies, for while I was busy with plan a—calling the witnesses—I’d be wanting intel on the next stage, learn Hell’s weaknesses.”

  “The key,” we said in unison.

  Chapter Eleven

  We were back on Fury Island. Even though I’d warded the island and the vessels containing the key to the gates of Hell, I had an uneasy feeling that Del, Jase, and Duke were in danger.

  I could feel the connection I had with them, stronger now that I was close. It was like a rubber band stretched between us, pulling me toward them. And they’d feel it, too, would know I was nearby.

  “
I wish you could feel what I’m feeling,” I said to Levi, clasping a hand over my chest. “It’s the weirdest thing.”

  Levi was glancing around with narrow eyes as he squeezed my hand tight. “Something is off.”

  “Are you sure?” I frowned. “I don’t feel it.”

  “I think your bond with the key is overpowering your other senses,” he muttered, dragging me down the dock and onto the sidewalk that ran the entire length of the shore. Shops were squeezed in side by side, catering to the tourist crowd. Only…there was no tourist crowd. The sidewalks were empty. Even the birds had stopped flying overhead.

  We hurried along, peering into each shop as we went. It was as if everyone had simply vanished. Coffee cups sat half-finished. Lights were on, doors unlocked, yet not a single soul was to be seen.

  “Did Keres reach here before we stopped her?” Levi pondered.

  I shook my head. “One of her arrows could have easily taken out the island’s population. But this quickly? And if that were the case, where are the bodies?”

  “I can feel the key, though. They’re still alive.” But aside from that connection, there was a rising sense of panic. Where were the townsfolk of Fury Island? What had happened here? Something supernatural, I was sure of it.

  Kicking at the pavement, I spun and paced. “So many unanswered questions. I’m getting a damn headache.”

  “We should grab the key and get out of here.” He clenched his jaw. “This is a trap.”

  “You think so?” That was one possibility I hadn’t considered. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I really did have a headache, and there was a buzzing in my ears that was growing louder and more irritating by the second. “Do you hear that?”

  “What?”

  “A buzzing. A really irritating, loud, buzzing.”

  “I don’t hear anything other than the ocean.” Levi frowned at me and then looked around again, clearly on edge. “We should have brought backup. Or Dacian. Or both.”

  “I can handle this,” I protested, stung that he thought I needed help. We were here to retrieve Del, Jase, and Duke, to bring them to Hell for safekeeping while all the madness was going on.

  “I know you can. That wasn’t what I meant. I just have a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.”

  I tilted my head and studied his expression, trying to read the lines of his face. “A psychic one?”

  “Sort of. Not a vision. Not a message. But a sixth sense that something bad is about to go down. Something awful.”

  “Let’s get them and get out of here.” Spinning on my heel, I backtracked to the end of the block and headed inland. I knew the way to the Vet’s house like the back of my hand, only the closer I got, the louder the buzzing in my head roared. Soon, it was so loud that my teeth were chattering, and my eyeballs were in danger of popping clean out of my head.

  “Argh.” I collapsed to my knees, pressing the heels of my hands against my temples.

  “Lucy?” Levi crouched next to me, concern pouring out of him in waves.

  “Head,” I groaned. “Explode.” The pain was so severe that I could barely speak.

  “You’re bleeding. Fuck!” He ran his thumb across my upper lip, then pulled his hand back, revealing a smear of blood.

  “You need to get out of here. Now,” Levi shouted, scooping me up into his arms. He ran back toward the foreshore. Each step he took lessened the buzzing until we were back on the dock, and it was nothing but a faint hum. That didn’t stop my brain from feeling like it had melted and was in the process of oozing out of my nose.

  Laying me on the dock, he leaned over, brushing my hair from my face.

  “We’ve got to get you out of here,” he murmured, “Can you fly?”

  “We can’t leave the key,” I protested. “And how did you know to bring me back here? And why aren’t you affected?”

  “Typical, full of fucking questions. You didn’t hear the noise until we were off the dock. The farther inland we went, the worse it got. Therefore, it made sense to come back here. It was a guess.”

  “A lucky one,” I muttered, flinging an arm across my eyes to block the overhead sun that was burning out my retinas.

  “As for why I can’t hear it? I don’t know. Maybe it was targeted specifically at you.”

  “Which means…”

  “Your brothers or your mother,” he supplied. “And they knew you were coming. Which means I was right. It’s a trap.”

  “We do not have a spy in Hell,” I grumbled, refusing to consider such a thing. “We simply do not. My people are loyal.” Nausea churned in my stomach, and sweat broke over my skin.

  “We need to leave.” His tone was more urgent. He laid the back of his hand against my forehead and frowned.

  “I’m not leaving without the key.” I set my jaw. There was no way I’d leave Del, Jase, and Duke for Lilith. But what Levi said was true. Someone had gotten past the wards I’d cast, set a trap here, someone had known I was coming, and as soon as I’d stepped off the dock, it had been triggered. I crawled to the edge of the dock to vomit out the contents of my stomach, worry consuming me.

  “I’ll go get them and bring them to you. This trap was laid for you, not me. You wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

  I didn’t protest, wanting to focus on regaining my energy while he retrieved the key.

  Chapter Twelve

  The humming in my head was completely gone, and I was feeling marginally better by the time Levi returned.

  Empty-handed. I pushed to my feet so fast, he doubled back.

  “Where is the key?” I demanded. “Levi!” I limped forward, my eyes wide with panic. “Where are they?”

  He held his hands up. “I couldn’t find them. I couldn’t find anyone. This place is deserted. I’ve been running around all over and found nothing. There’s no one.”

  My nostrils flared in irritation even though I knew it wasn’t his fault. It was stupid of me to send him off searching for the key when he had no way of tracking them.

  “I’m feeling better. I’ll get them myself.” I headed back down the dock, gaze darting from side to side, waiting for the humming to return, but it remained blessedly absent. Even as I stepped off the dock and onto the sidewalk, nothing. Levi was right behind me, ranting that we had to leave, that it wasn’t safe for me. I ignored him. The key was important, and I wasn’t leaving the island without it.

  “Wait here,” I told him, extending my wings and flying over the town, up the hill to where their energy pooled. I had a direct line to them. All I had to do was zoom in, carry them down to the dock, retrieve Levi, and we were out of there. I ignored the blood dripping from my nose and the fact that my vision was slightly blurred.

  I landed outside Del’s cottage on the hillside and sucked in a deep breath. All three of them were here. I could sense them. Opening the door, I stepped inside, and sure enough, they were huddled against the far wall behind a woman I’d never seen before. Dressed in a skin-tight silver camouflage catsuit, her hair was pulled tight in a high ponytail while white stripes were painted across her cheeks and forehead. I scanned her up and down, taking in the weapons strapped to her legs and across her back. Unable to help it, I smiled. She was badass, a war spirit, a Valkyrie.

  My gaze met Jase’s, who was standing protectively in front of Del, the fingers of one hand keeping a firm grasp on Duke’s collar to keep him from lunging at the woman who had them trapped. I could see their marks glowing, identifying them. Could the Valkyrie see the marks, too?

  “Finally. I thought you were never going to get here,” the Valkyrie drawled, inching closer to me.

  “Why? Why wait for me? Why the trap?” I stood with my arms by my side, relaxed yet on the alert. She hadn’t drawn a weapon, but she didn’t need one. She could turn me against everyone and everything, and there was no use pretending I didn’t know that.

  “You have something we need.” She stood with legs braced, hands-on-hips. Power and authority rolled off h
er, and I could picture her as a great general from wars past.

  “We?” I asked, although I already knew. From the smirk that curled her lips, she knew I was stalling.

  “Lilith.” Something like hunger danced in her eyes. “Your mother.”

  Del gasped, but I kept my attention on the Valkyrie. “What is it you want from me?”

  “Your sword.”

  I blinked. Her response surprised me. I hadn’t expected her to want my sword, of all things. “What does she need my sword for?” It tingled from its hiding place between my wings, eager for action. Still, I hesitated, not wanting to reveal the one thing she was after.

  “It is the sword of souls. Together with the sword of angels, she can…” She stopped abruptly, clamping her lips together as if she’d revealed too much.

  “She can what?” I snapped, taking a step closer.

  She stiffened, and one hand moved to a pistol secured in a holster on her thigh. Bullets couldn’t kill me. They hurt for a moment, sure, but they wouldn’t slow me down much. Unless, of course, the bullets were spelled. That would be a different story altogether and one best avoided. Slowly, I began inching toward Del and Jase, keeping myself between them and the Valkyrie. She allowed it, swiveling her body to keep me in her line of sight. It was true then. She wasn’t after the key. But their identity was compromised, and I needed to get them out of here, back to Hell where they’d be safe.

  She sniggered. “I told you, I’m not here for them.” She waved an arm at the door. “Go. You can all go. You included Lucifer…once you hand over your sword.”

  I glanced at Jase over my shoulder and gave him a slight nod. I’d accept the Valkyrie’s word that she would let them go, and the sooner they were out of the house, the better. A battle was about to go down because I had no intention of handing over my sword.