by J. N. Colon
The room whirled. I wanted to lie down and curl into a ball. I wanted to pretend none of this was happening. But I couldn’t. I followed Astaroth into Hell to find answers. I’d gotten more than I bargained for though.
My boots appeared by my little pallet. The soles were unmarred from the firepits. Astaroth must have fixed them with his evil angel magic.
I quickly yanked them on. I felt too vulnerable in Hell walking around barefoot.
“What do you want from me?” I asked for the umpteenth time. “What are you planning?”
His irises bored into mine as if he could see right into my soul. Maybe he could. He sure knew a lot about me—the Eve me. “I plan to break the chains from my fallen brethren and release them from Hell.”
I blinked as his words sank in. My shoulders tightened. “You want to let them walk between Hell and Earth like you do?”
“Yes.”
A heavy silence stretched between us. Leliel’s snarl played through my ears along with her wicked laughter as she toyed with the souls in the pit. The other Fallen could be just like her and Allocen. Maybe worse. And Astaroth wanted to set them free on the world.
They didn’t have their angel strength when they possessed humans. Letting those monsters out would bring Hell on Earth.
My muscles stiffened. I wasn’t a hero. I wasn’t even that brave, but I couldn’t let that happen. I had to find a way to stop him.
“How are you going to do that?” I asked, surprised my voice was so calm.
“The totems will be used in a ritual to release Lucifer’s claim on the trapped Fallen,” he said.
I shook my head. “I thought it was G—He who kept them trapped here. Not Lucifer.”
Astaroth’s lips thinned into a tight white line. “They’re both responsible. The totems are for Lucifer’s claim, and you are for the Creator’s.”
“And how am I supposed to release them?” A shrill edge sharpened my voice. All the calm had shattered. He wanted me to undo something God did. That was fracken impossible. Maybe I wouldn’t need to do a thing to stop Astaroth except fail.
“As Eve, you created sin, and it is their sins against Him that trapped the Fallen here.” He stood, taking a shaky breath. He’d been waiting on my help for eons. “It’ll all unfold. You’ll see. You’ll know exactly what to do when the time comes.” He disappeared through one of the stone arches in the back.
Astaroth was several crayons short of a full box. I couldn’t undo something God did. He was God for crap sakes. I might have Eve’s soul, but I was just some clumsy seventeen-year-old.
Astaroth returned, carrying a silver tray. He folded on the floor next to me, and I resisted the urge to scoot away. “Before I tell you how I’m going to help your Nephilim soul mate, I need you to do something for me.”
A nefa shimmered on the tray next to a thick gold bracelet. “Why do you want me to eat that?”
“It’ll prepare you for what’s to come.” He held it out. “Take it, little bird.”
“And the bracelet?”
“That’s my insurance policy.” He pushed the fruit closer. “Please, Lena. Don’t you want to keep Jayson from turning dark?”
The fruit pulsating with its own life in my palm. I stared at it. Astaroth was my snake in the garden this go-around. But I wasn’t doing this to satiate my own curiosity. This was to save Jayson. And to keep the wretched Fallen from ever seeing the light of day.
I had to do this.
Bottoms up.
I bit into the nefa.
The sweetest nectar in existence exploded on my tongue, and I groaned in ecstasy. It was pure bliss. Heavenly. Juices ran down my chin I didn’t bother wiping up. I took another bite.
Joy. Pleasure. Paradise. Gratification. Decadence… Sensuality… Lust… Sin.
So much sin…
The remaining nefa tumbled from my fingers as the room spun. I fell back, and Astaroth caught me, holding me against his chest. His body radiated heat as always.
Oh, hell. What had I done?
His lips brushed my ear as he whispered. “The knowledge of good and evil is now inside you. You will know sin as well as you know your own mind. It’s your burden and your gift.”
His ominous words sent shards of ice through my body. Or that might have been whatever the nefa was doing to me.
Had I felt this way in the Garden of Eden?
Astaroth grabbed my wrist. He opened the gold bracelet with his free hand, moving forward to clamp it around my arm. “I’m sorry, little bird. I won’t lock you up, but this will be your gilded cage.”
A crushing weight landed on my chest. That bracelet would trap me in Hell with him. And with the other Fallen. Nithael wouldn’t be able to get me out.
The metal brushed my skin, searing it.
An explosion suddenly rocked the entire building, and the hidden door to the street appeared. And was ripped away. A familiar tingle zipped down my nape, stealing my breath.
Chapter 28
A blur zoomed in, tackling Astaroth before he could place the bracelet on my wrist. Nithael didn’t spare me a glance as he attacked the creature who murdered the woman he left Heaven for.
Jayson appeared in the doorway, his golden eyes fastening to mine. “Lena.”
A sharp breath left my lungs.
He ran toward me and slammed on his knees. “Are you okay?” His fingers dug into my shoulders. “Talk to me. Say something.”
My ribs squeezed my heart, tightening around it like a steel cage. “You shouldn’t be in Hell. It’s going to turn you dark.”
His brows dipped, and he shook his head. “That won’t happen.”
I choked back the protests because he wouldn’t listen. He was wholeheartedly convinced the darkness would never touch him.
“Astaroth lied.” He ran his hand over my face, his thumb stroking my cheek. “He used me to get to you.”
Astaroth may have omitted certain things, but he never outright lied.
A roar ripped through the room. Nithael and Astaroth battled in the air, their black wings outstretched, taking up the entire ceiling.
My breath hitched as they collided, wind blasting down on us. Nithael was an archangel—or he was before he fell. What kind of hierarchy did Astaroth carry in Heaven? Was he a warrior? Could he kill Nithael?
Could angels even die? Zophiel lived after his wings had been hacked off.
The two fallen angels crashed to the ground, rolling toward us. Jayson yanked me out of the way moments before I was mowed down.
“You will pay for what you did to Selena.” Pops of crimson bled into Nithael’s gold irises.
I shivered. This was the first time he resembled anything other than a heavenly creature.
Astaroth kicked Nithael away, slamming him into one of the columns on the left. “I did what I had to for my family. If you were any kind of brother, you’d understand.” He spat a glob of blood, something very uncharacteristic of the charming gentleman. “Selena was a seer. She knew what was coming. She didn’t even try to stop me.”
Jayson’s body tensed. The memory of his mother’s death was still fresh for him. His sword appeared in his hand, gleaming bright even in the dimly lit room. “Stay back, Lena.”
My pulse soared to frightening levels as he raced to the angels. I couldn’t breathe. Astaroth had Nithael by the throat. Jayson swung his sword.
Astaroth swiveled, the tip of Jayson’s blade grazing his side. He let out an angry roar and released the blond Fallen. “Son of Nithael, you should leave while you still have the chance.”
“You think I’m going to let you get away with everything you’ve done?” He sliced his sword through the air, cutting Astaroth’s arm. “Do you really think I’m going to give you the chance to trap Lena in Hell again?”
An eerie smile curled over Astaroth’s mouth. Crimson eclipsed every ounce of blue in his eyes. “Your souls may be tied, but Lena will never truly belong to you.”
My stomach dropped like I was on a rolle
rcoaster. I may have been Eve in a past life, but Adam wasn’t a blip on my radar. I didn’t even remember him, and I never would.
Jayson was caught off guard long enough for the Fallen to strike out, his hands shoving the Nephilim in the chest. A gasp tumbled out of my mouth as Jayson soared through the air, slamming into a wall so hard the marble cracked.
Pain lanced across my back, and I dropped to my knees. The room spun. Jayson hadn’t stopped me from feeling his injuries. And it violently yanked the air from my lungs.
Astaroth glanced in my direction, his expression softening. “Little bird, I’m sorry.” He took a step toward me, his wings still outstretched and dragging behind him.
Nithael appeared over his shoulder. Shadows obscured his face, but the fury vibrating off him couldn’t be hidden. A gleaming sword made of pure golden light appeared in his hand.
My heart lurched. I waited for the blade to penetrate Astaroth’s chest.
Instead, Nithael swept his brother’s legs out from under him. The other Fallen crashed to the marble on his hands and knees.
Flames melted across the sword. Nithael swung it, slicing at Astaroth.
A guttural bellow pierced the air as the fallen archangel sheared the massive black wings from Astaroth’s back in one fell swoop.
The blood drained from my cheeks as his wings fell. Delicate ebony feathers floated in the room like the ash falling outside.
Astaroth’s gasping breaths broke the heavy silence. Vibrant sapphire eyes shone in his pale face. He reached a trembling hand behind him, feeling the spot his wings had been cut from. His fingers came away with blood.
His body collapsed to the ground as he screamed, a choking, anguished sound. “N-No!” Tears spilled down his white cheeks, freefalling. He grasped his wings, pulling them close. “Why, brother?”
Despite all he’d done, tiny cracks crawled across my heart. Astaroth was broken. The palpable agony streaming from him twisted my insides into knots.
“Hours ago, you did the same to a brother of light, and you expect me to feel sorry for you?” Nithael spat, his eyes a mix of gold and crimson. “You stole my love, my reason for living, and you stole my son’s childhood. And you continue your wickedness now by trying to use Lena. You deserve no mercy.”
“I only wanted to right the wrongs brought upon us.” Astaroth’s blue gaze settled on me, imploring. “Everything I’ve done was to help my family, the family cast aside by the Creator and even Lucifer. No one cares for them. I had to.”
I bit my lip to stop the trembling. Astaroth was evil. He’d killed Jayson’s mother and done a million other terrible things in the span of his long life. He wanted to release the Fallen on the world, creating Hell on Earth. I shouldn’t feel sympathy for him.
Jayson’s presence materialized beside me. His fingers wrapped around my chin, turning my head and drawing my attention away from Astaroth. “Lena, are you okay?”
I swallowed rapidly and nodded.
“Jayson, you need to go now.” Nithael bent and plucked the golden bracelet from the carnage.
My gilded cage.
The former archangel grabbed Astaroth’s arm. He didn’t fight him. He just laid his head on the ground, his gaze vacant.
The glorious, charming, and wicked Fallen had been shattered.
Nithael locked it around Astaroth’s wrist. “You are trapped here with the other tainted Fallen.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Astaroth mumbled. “Lena knows who she is now. She knows the good and evil of this world, and their sins will be her own.”
His ominous words sent shards of ice through my veins, slashing at my insides. I wasn’t trapped in Hell, but I had eaten the nefa. What kind of damage had I done?
Jayson ignored the Fallen’s warning and curled his arm around my waist. “We have to go.”
My gut bottomed out as I realized where we had to go. “We have to cross the pits, don’t we?”
Jayson gave a grim nod.
My eardrums still throbbed from the souls’ agonizing screams.
“Wait.” Nithael approached Jayson. The crimson faded from his irises, leaving them a dark gold. He leaned forward and whispered in his son’s ear.
Jayson gave a sharp nod.
Nithael stalked back to the wingless Fallen, careful of the blood haloing around him.
“I will see you again, Lena.” Astaroth’s unsettling sapphire eyes seared into mine as Nithael grabbed his feet and began dragging him away.
A shiver spilled down my back. I believed him.
Jayson slipped his hand around mine and tugged me into the street. I couldn’t help but notice some of the flecks of ash drifted away from him, repelled by an invisible force.
My heart pounded as Jayson pulled me through the icy streets, the onyx facades on either side blending together. “Do you know where you’re going?” I asked, my fingers tightening around his.
“Yes.” He turned down a side street I hadn’t noticed.
I swallowed hard. Jayson sure did seem to know a lot about Hell. How often did he visit? Did he use that coin or did he come through the gate and cross the pits?
A chill slithered down my spine as a pair of shimmering crimson eyes appeared ahead. Jayson halted and pulled me against him just before a man in a black suit emerged.
“Hello, beautiful children.” Platinum blond hair was slicked back from his sharp, feline features. He could have passed for an elf if he had pointy ears.
But he wasn’t a fairytale creature. He wasn’t a demon either. He was a Fallen.
“I don’t want any trouble, Gudreel,” Jayson said. “We’re just leaving.”
Gudreel leaned against a building and produced a cigarette, blowing smoke into the air. “You might want to hurry, son of Nithael. The rumor mills of Hell work fast. News of what happened to Astaroth has already spread. Some of your aunts and uncles aren’t too happy. They’ll try to stop you from leaving.”
My heart took a flying leap into my gut. Leliel dropping me into the firepits flashed through my mind.
Jayson cursed and drew me in front of him. “I’m going to carry you.” He picked me up, and I quickly locked my limbs around him before I fell.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I was on your back?” My voice rose a few octaves, trembling through my throat.
The tendons in Jayson’s jaw tightened. “I’d rather not have you behind me in case we’re chased.”
Oh shitzu. We weren’t going to make it out of here alive.
“Hold on tight.” Jayson took off down the narrow cobblestone street.
I pressed my head into his neck and clamped my lids closed. He ran at full speed for several minutes before the air began to grow warmer. And then hot.
I glanced up, a desolate scenery whizzing by. An orange glow from the sky highlighted craggy mountains and barren wastelands on either side of the dusty road. Small pockets of decrepit cityscapes emerged. The buildings were crumbling or stripped to bare bones. Red eyes gleamed from a distance.
My arms tightened around Jayson. Did demons live there? Why hadn’t they tried to stop us?
The wastelands gave way to more mountains and rocky hills. As we neared, a tunnel formed within the rugged side of one.
Jayson stopped and set me on my feet. “We’re almost to the pits.” He jerked his head toward the passageway. “It’ll lead us down.”
I shivered despite the rising heat. Entering the place of torment was the last thing I wanted to do.
Jayson gently cradled my face. “We’ll get through this, Lena. I promise.”
I laid my hands over his, pressing them into my cheeks. “I missed you.”
A ghost of a smile curled his lips. “I knew you were madly in love with me.”
I scoffed. “In your dreams, bucko.”
His smile faltered, and he took a deep breath. “We better get going. Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
I had no such plans.
He sped through the tunnel. I’d been unconscious or close
to it when Astaroth had carried me through the first time. I was glad. Firelight danced over the cages lining the walls, tormented souls locked within. Some shook the bars, pleading for release. Others shouted appalling, foul obscenities. Those were well on their way to pledging allegiance to Lucifer and becoming dweller demons.
My head craned back as dark shadows crawled along the ceiling. More Fallen? Would they drop on us at any moment?
“Planning on leaving so soon?” A smoky, feminine voice whispered from the darkness. Crimson eyes appeared followed by a shapely silhouette.
Chapter 29
Jayson’s arms tightened around my waist, his heart crashing into my chest at the same erratic pace as mine. “Don’t try to stop us. I’m warning you.”
Giggles spilled out of the fallen angel as she slowly lowered in front of us. The souls silenced and shrank back into their cages at her presence.
That didn’t bode well. Did she get her kicks in Hell by toying with them like Leliel?
Lustrous strands of violet hair blew as her leathery midnight wings moved behind her. “Son of Nithael, the great archangel.” She reached toward him, her flowy top cut low and leaving little to the imagination. “Stay, young Nephilim. I’ll show you a good time.”
I scoffed. “Not happening.”
A grumble vibrated through Jayson. “Could you just not speak right now?”
I kept my body twisted toward the fallen angel while still holding Jayson in a death grip. “No, not when some she-demon angel is undressing you with her eyes.” Weak little human or not, I wouldn’t let this evil jezebel sink her claws into my soul mate. I already had to put Strawberry Longlegs in her place earlier today.
Eerie giggles bounced around the dank tunnel. “You’re a funny little avis.”
“Let us pass.” Jayson yanked his sword out, a blinding gold light slashing through the darkness.
My heart skipped a few beats. No. Not Jayson’s sword. Nithael’s. Power throbbed from the blade. It screamed danger.
Had Nithael slipped it to Jayson when he whispered to him before we left Astaroth’s?
The Fallen fled back to the ceiling. “Archangel swords don’t belong here.”
