Wrath, p.19
Wrath, page 19
“Nephilim are rare and thus unknown.”
He hugged her tighter. “And here I thought you weren’t really listening.”
“I listened.” Eddie found comfort in the steady beat of his heart.
“Did you also listen when I told you that I had already lost my heart to you?”
Everything in her wanted to believe that, but she still harbored that bit of doubt. If she gave herself fully to Shade, he had the power to destroy her. And not only in the world ending kind of way. He would end her world if he left her. “You also said you would court me.”
“This isn’t courtship?” He cocked his head and met her gaze, humor dancing in his eyes.
“There’s a concerning lack of flowers.” Eddie loved this playful side of him. It called to something in her that wanted to come out and play. “And bringing me meals on a tray is not the same as wining and dining me.”
“Hmm.” Shade made a show of thinking over her words. “The lads have clearly been leading me wrong.”
Cronus grumbled and closed his eyes again.
“I get it, Eddie.” His tone turned serious. “You’re not ready, and that’s fine with me. I have time on my hands, and you are worth every moment of waiting.”
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Wrath took a seat in the greenroom as far away from Ramiel as the small room would allow. The theatre humans were busy doing something in the bigger rehearsal space, which would have been better suited to all the thundering egos about to trap themselves in a plasterboard box.
He hadn’t seen Haziel since they’d returned, which was odd because she’d said she would be here, and it wasn’t like her not to do what she said she would. And he knew all too well that she couldn’t lie. Still, he’d been preoccupied with Eddie and getting her healed. Ramiel had helped with that, their joint powers merging and packing more healing than his alone. If Ramiel hadn’t done it with the air of a sanctimonious bible thumper, Wrath might have found it in himself to say thank you.
“How is Edme?” Ramiel smirked.
“Recovering.” Wrath met his stare and held it, proud that he didn’t use his fists instead. Haziel should be trotting along any moment now. Whither goest Ramiel and all that crap. If he accomplished one thing before he and Haziel parted, it would be to convince her how far beneath her she was punching. Ramiel didn’t deserve any part of that female.
“Fuck me,” Leviathan said in her throaty drawl as she stood in the doorway in all her tall, willowy, kickass beauty, and for a moment, Wrath wondered if that was an invitation or an expression of disgust.
Ramiel was eye humping her in a way that made Wrath want to make him eat his teeth. He had a brief and delightful mental of Ramiel shitting his own chicklets. Everything on the normal then.
“Wrath.” Levi’s pouty, red mouth split into a pure sin smile. “You’re looking delicious as ever.”
“Back at ya.” He winked at her.
Levi chuckled and sashayed into the room.
Before Zeb had staked his claim, he and Levi had enjoyed a delightful no strings kind of connection. Unlike Ava, Levi didn’t want to hand him his wedding tackle for their affair ending. Wrath wished Zeb luck with trying to stamp his mine-all-mine on Levi. The hell prince was the defining free spirit and wouldn’t be tied to any being.
She dropped on the sofa beside him in a soft chuff of leather and air. “How many more of these fucking gatherings are we all going to have to endure?”
“Good afternoon.” Gabriel clippity-cloppitied her way into the greenroom on her high heels. She pinned Levi with a headmistress lip purse. “And you are aware that a gathering would not have been called unless under the direst of circumstances.”
Levi stretched her long, leather-clad legs in front of her. “Super.”
As Wrath had suspected he would be, Beelzebub followed hot on Levi’s trail. He clocked her sitting beside him, and his jaw tightened. “Wrath.”
“Zeb.”
Zeb’s face softened, which in the case of this particular hell prince, was like granite easing into quartz. “Levi.”
“Hey, handsome,” Levi rasped.
Flushing, Zeb wedged himself on the sofa on the other side of Levi and draped his arm over the back.
Wrath grinned at him to let him know he saw his bullshit and didn’t give a crap.
The arrival of the other archangels chimed inside him, and he tensed along with Zeb and Levi.
Looking like a fucking Abercrombie & Who’s-a-little-bitch commercial, they strolled into the greenroom in a six pack. Michael headed the flexing and radiating prissy posse.
“Jesus.” Levi rammed a pair of Ray-Bans over her eyes. “Can you turn down the lightshow?”
Gabriel consulted her tablet. “We are still missing Belphegor, Shade, Mammon, and Lucifer from your side.”
“Present and accounted for.” Shade strolled into the greenroom, smelling like Eddie and looking like a being with a lot on his mind. As much as Wrath wanted to hate the thing between Eddie and Shade, he had seen the way she clung to Shade. He’d also noticed the way Shade didn’t want to be any place other than close to Eddie. And he owed Shade for doing what he hadn’t been able to: finding Eddie.
Still, he’d only just found his daughter, and it now looked like he might need to share her with another. The years he’d missed with Eddie sat like old porridge in his gut. Even with all the power in this room, they couldn’t turn back time and give him what he’d lost.
“How is Edme?” Zeb glanced at him.
And it gave the sweetest relief to say, “She’s recovering well.”
“Oh my.” Ava strutted in, her hips going like she had a pair of bongo drums laying down a slick track in her head. It was a good look on her. Even though he wasn’t going there again, he could see why he had. She let her gaze do the walking over Michael. “We should totally do this more often.”
Michael stiffened.
Shade chuckled. Yeah, they didn’t need the lust hell prince to read the play on that one.
He almost missed Belle cruising Ava’s wake and making herself small near the microwave. Easily the physically tiniest of the beings in the room, Belphegor liked to stick to herself and keep her opinions between her teeth. She reminded him of a tiny, sparkly sprite with her shiny waves of platinum hair and big blue eyes. Sending her a nod, he got a small smile in return.
“So.” Gabriel tapped at her ever-present tablet. Wrath was convinced that thing was fused to her soul as well as her hand. And speaking of fused, Raguel joined them, whispered something in Gabriel’s ear and then made like a ghost. Poor bastard. He’d really drawn the archangel short straw with that assignment. “Still missing Bel—I beg your pardon. Just Lucifer.”
“You know, you could look around the room instead of consulting that infernal device.” Michael shifted the broad sword between his shoulder blades.
Wrath’s spine crawled, and then Lucifer appeared in the doorway. “Am I late?”
Red washed over his sight, and fury surged through his body. He’d kill him.
Wrath lunged for his twin, only to run into the brick wall of Michael, Raphael, and Ramiel.
“No fighting,” Gabriel snapped. “We cannot afford to be divided at this time.”
Wrath didn’t give a fuck. Lucifer had been responsible for Eddie’s kidnapping, and the torture they’d put his child through. He would have his vengeance in flesh, sinew, and blood. “He ends now.”
“Stop,” Michael grunted. “We can’t let you end him.”
Through his wash of rage, Wrath noted that Michael didn’t deny his right to wreak his vengeance on Lucifer.
He threw his strength against the triumvirate of muscle between him and his target.
“Listen to him.” Despite panting from his effort of holding Wrath back, Raphael managed to sound calm and rational. “I have spoken with Lucifer, and you should hear him out.”
“Fuck off.” Wrath pulled on his power. His wings released.
Michael, Raphael, and Ramiel pulled their power to hold him.
The mirror shattered, faucets exploded, cupboard doors wrenched from their hinges and flew around the room. The furniture buckled and slammed into walls. The lights exploded.
“Nope.” Ramiel gritted his teeth, perspiration dotting his forehead. “Stop now, or I’m gonna have to shut you down.”
And only Ramiel could do it. His check and balance, his countermeasure.
“Breathe.” Shade touched his shoulder, then leaned closer and whispered, “Let’s hear him out first, and then we end him. When these fuckers aren’t around.”
He’d always hated how tricky Shade could be, but right now, Wrath appreciated it. As an enemy he could drive you to destruction; as an ally he was a cool, measured head.
“I’m good.” Wrath dragged a breath into his lungs.
Michael, Ramiel, and Raphael kept their hold on him.
“Get your fucking hands off me.”
Ramiel stared into his eyes. “Are you calm?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
Ramiel chuckled and glanced at his fellow archangels. “He’s angry, but he’s got a hold on it now.”
Michael and Ramiel stepped back but kept themselves between him and the hell prince who was about to meet extinction.
“I love these little get-togethers,” Belle murmured.
Lucifer’s gaze met his over Raphael’s muscled shoulder. “I didn’t take her, brother. I vow it.”
“Tell him who did.” Raphael kept his focus on Wrath.
“Ashe.” Lucifer’s jaw tightened, his characteristic insouciance missing. “He was one of mine, but this was not under my instruction. Fucker went rogue, and I haven’t seen him in months.”
Wrath’s temper lashed its tail within him, and Shade tightened the grip on his shoulder. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m aware.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “But think, Satanus. What reason would I have for kidnapping your daughter?” He pressed a hand to his chest. “My niece.”
“Like you give a fuck about that.”
Lucifer smirked. “Strangely enough, I do.” He flicked his fingers between them. “Whatever issues I have with you, do not extend to Edme.”
Shade snarled. “Get her name out of your mouth.”
“This is why Nephilim should not be allowed.” Gabriel pursed her lips.
“Shut up,” Raphael snapped at her. “Go back to alphabetizing your Spotify playlist.”
Gabriel’s pinched expression tightened. “Raguel has already taken care of that for me.”
“I agree with Raphael.” Michael glared at her. “Shut the fuck up.”
Moving closer to Lucifer, his wary gaze still on Wrath, Raphael said, “Tell them what you’ve found out.”
“I’ve been looking for Ashe, tracking the hordes of missing demons.” Lucifer snapped the cuffs of his priggish shirt. “As we’re all aware, the horde is made up of demons from all of our hordes.” His dark eyes swept all the hell princes. “And as anomalous as that is, they seem to be cooperating. I suspect we have a rebellion on our hands, and they’re powerful, united, and using Nephilim power to increase their strength.” He met Wrath’s gaze. “That’s what I suspect they are doing with the amulets. We have all noticed they are more powerful than they should be.”
His words clanged like a dropped anvil into the destroyed greenroom.
Gabriel recovered her composure first. “That’s impossible.”
“As much as it pains me, I have to agree with you. It shouldn’t be possible.” Lucifer stepped into the greenroom. “But impossible or not, it’s happening.” He looked at Wrath. “Ashe betrayed me. No doubt about it, the duplicitous fucker is with them, and given his powers, I would not be surprised to find out he’s the one leading them.”
Wrath had heard Lucifer spout some crap in his life, but this took the cake. “You’re lying.”
“I don’t think he is.” Raphael came to Lucifer’s defense. “After Lucifer and I spoke, I did some sleuthing of my own. I can confirm that Ashe is no longer a member of Lucifer’s horde. I can also confirm that there seems to be a high level of cooperation and organization amongst this rebel horde.” He shrugged. “You have experienced the power drain through the amulet. That has to be happening for a reason.”
“You’ve been to my palace.” Lucifer risked a step closer to Wrath. “You know the place is just about abandoned. I’ve lost almost my entire horde, and from what my spies tell me, Shade is no better.”
“A rebel demon horde?” Michael shook his head. “They must be exterminated.”
For once, Wrath agreed with the meathead.
“There’s simply no precedent for this,” Gabriel muttered, her fingers flying over her tablet. “This is not a possibility we accounted for.”
“And not your biggest problem.” Daniel entered the room. He looked about at the wreckage and shook his head. “You need to clean this up before Dee sees it.” He turned to address the assembled beings. “I requested this gathering, and I went to a lot of trouble keeping it from my superiors, because quite frankly, I believe they’ll make a bad situation worse.” He took a deep breath. “The horsemen are awakening.”
The room exploded into denials and expletives, and Wrath even forgot his mission to kill his twin as the news sunk in. The only being who didn’t react was Ramiel. Had he already known and not shared the information with the rest of them? They all hated the gatherings, and cooperation was anathema to them, but withholding this was tantamount to courting creation’s destruction.
“It makes perfect sense.” Lucifer’s voice rose against the uproar. “And provides one of the missing pieces to this puzzle.”
It took a while for the room to quiet enough for him to continue.
Lucifer paced as he spoke, his loafers squishing and crunching through the debris on the floor. “It’s the one thing I couldn’t figure out. Why would these demons band together like they are when they know the chaos will weaken the seals?”
“Because you treat them like shit?” Michael scoffed.
“They’re demons.” Lucifer gave him a look of scrotum withering scorn. “Do you really think offering them daycare and a pension plan would keep them in line?”
Despite himself, Wrath wanted to laugh. He despised his twin, but the fuckwaffle had a way with words.
“We’re tough on them because we need to be,” Lucifer said. “Their entire purpose is chaos, and we were given the job of keeping that chaos contained.”
“Angels are difficult to contain as well,” Ramiel groused.
And speaking of angels, Wrath still didn’t see Haziel. Now that he’d calmed out of his homicidal rage, he didn’t sense her near either. She’d promised to wait until he returned, and Haziel did not lie. The only thing that could have compelled her to break that promise was a direct instruction from her archangel.
“If what Lucifer says is true—” Wrath was not the only one to scoff at Daniel’s remark.
“If what he says is true,” the guardian continued. “We are looking at a demon rebellion. And they took Eddie to boost their powers.”
Lucifer nodded. “And it looks like my former second is leading them, which makes him my top priority.” He turned to Wrath. “Think about it, brother. Why would I send my second to kidnap your daughter, knowing it would point the finger right at me?”
What Lucifer said echoed a lot of what Daniel had before Wrath had left for hell. Lucifer wasn’t stupid or suicidal. “Let’s assume I believe you,” Wrath said. “And that’s a big assumption. What are you planning to do about Ashe?”
The temperature in the room lowered under the lash of Lucifer’s anger. “End him and any who follow him.”
Gabriel raised her hand. “Excuse me, but I do believe the horsemen are an even bigger concern.”
“Are they, though?” Raphael shoved his hands in the pockets of his gray slacks. “The entire thing is connected. Demon rebellion destabilizes the seals, the horsemen sense the seals failing and are triggered by the end of days.”
“Raphael’s right,” Lucifer said. “We need to attack this on multiple fronts if we have any hope of succeeding.”
The strange thing for Wrath was the doomsday scenario paled in significance to where the hell Haziel had gone.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Haziel didn’t know what Ramiel had told Wrath about her absence. Wrath hated broken promises as much as she hated breaking them. Her archangel, however, had sent her on a mission, and she could not refuse.
Her mission was simple; find out what was going on with the horsemen and how dire the situation was. Only not so simple. The horsemen were powerful beings. How powerful, nobody knew for sure because nobody could remember ever encountering them. What she did know was that they were too powerful for her to mess with, so caution was needed.
She flew through the night, taking it easy on her injured wing. Ramiel’s power helped her fold time and destinations, and it took her only a fraction of the time it would have taken a mortal to journey halfway around the world to the resting place of the horsemen.
It was winter in her new location. Landing at night in a secluded corner of a hotel’s garden, she changed into regular human clothes. For this mission, she would be going incognito, and she muted her angelic aura and powers. She wondered how humans would react if they knew how often supernatural beings moved amongst them. Still, people were always drawn to her angelic aura, and she had never had any trouble finding an ally or a temporary friend amongst people.
She brought into being the things she would need to go human: identification, a driver’s license, and that most powerful of human gods, money. In this time, in the form of a credit card.
The hotel was quiet in the early evening hiatus between lunch and dinner, and she had no trouble securing herself a room for the night. The hotel gift shop was still open, and she added to her necessary supplies with toiletries and a change of clothes. She wouldn’t be able to visit the site of the horsemen’s underground lair until morning, so for tonight, she had a rare opportunity to be human.
