by Jane Hinchey
“You don’t get to touch him,” I growled.
“You don’t make the rules.” Gabriel shoved my shoulder, and I staggered before regaining my balance.
Levi bristled behind me. I could feel his heat against my back, could feel the wave of anger accompanying it. “I don’t need you to protect me, Lucy,” he said.
“Oh?” Gabriel laughed. “You think you can take me, human?”
“I’m cleaning up your mess, so if you don’t mind…” I pushed Gabriel aside, intent on getting to the hover car I could see waiting, but he grabbed my arm and flung it away.
“I do mind,” he spat.
“The chaos you’re unleashing on Earth, unchecked, is all on you,” I accused.
“That’s where you’re wrong. This is your fault. It always has been.”
While I tried to make sense of that accusation, he threw a punch. I caught it, and, curling my fingers over his knuckles, pushed with all my might, sending him skidding across the ground. Righting himself, Gabriel launched at me, but I was ready. Fists flying, we cut into each other.
Spitting blood, I yelled, “You think I want to be here?” Punch. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be home now.” Punch. “Instead I’m here, sorting out your mess.” Punch.
Gabriel got beneath my defenses and his fist connected with my jaw, snapping my head back. I returned the favor, blow for blow, until we were flying through the air, our path obstructed by the hover car. We slammed into it with a sickening crunch, and glass rained down on us. I was tiring, but so was Gabriel. His clothing was torn and filthy, blood smeared across his face and knuckles. I suspected I looked no better.
“You’re here because of your precious human.” Gabriel spat out a gob of blood, laughing. “Now I understand what this tantrum is all about. It’s about Levi.”
“Don’t you say his name,” I warned, wiping my nose on my forearm.
“I mean, I don’t blame you, sister,” Gabriel taunted. “These humans can be wild in the sack.”
Grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, I head-butted him. “Levi has nothing to do with this. You gave the ghosts the Sword of Angels. If you wanted me dead, you should have had the balls to do it yourself.”
Gabriel staggered back, hand to his nose. “Oh, please, you’re the one playing games, twisting things to suit your own needs. You have Hell. Now you want Heaven. It’s not going to happen.” Gabriel threw another punch. As it collided with my face, my head jerked back and the vertebrae in my neck cracked.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Punch.
“You always were a lousy liar.” Punch.
I paused for a moment to catch my breath. “That’s just it, Gabriel. I can’t lie.”
“ENOUGH!” Michael yelled, hands on his hips.
We both ignored him.
“You don’t understand the full picture.” Gabriel swung again.
I ducked and threw my own punch. “Then explain it to me.”
“Stop hitting me! You have a tendency to get emotional about things.” I punched him again, but he blocked it, muttering, “Case in point.”
“You don’t care about anyone other than yourself, unless they can be of use to you,” I accused.
We tumbled together, fists swinging, droplets of blood raining down on the pavement. Our grunts drowned out all other sound, although I could vaguely hear shouting, and it occurred to me that I’d left Levi unprotected, that Michael could attack while I was busy with Gabriel. The thought cost me. Distracted, Gabriel got the upper hand—or, rather, foot, bringing it down with all his might on my forearm. The snap of bone was loud, and my bellow even louder. Scrambling to my feet, I cradled my broken arm against my body, making sure the bones were aligned before I started to heal.
“That was a shit move,” I accused.
Gabriel tossed his head back and laughed, his delight in my pain more than evident. Time to end this. Spreading my wings, I allowed my flames to burn higher and brighter than ever before. They danced and swirled around me in a firestorm. A look of concern flashed across Gabriel’s face. I saw him glance over my shoulder before bringing his attention back to me. Yeah. You should be worried, dickwad. You piss off Lucifer, you pay the price.
With a flick of a wing, I sent a fireball his way. He dodged with a startled “Hey!” but wasn’t fast enough for the second one. Or third. Within seconds, he was ablaze, running in circles with his arms and wings flapping, screaming louder than any girl.
I let him suffer for a little longer before calling my fire back, and Gabriel was left curled on the ground, unscathed but sobbing. I rolled him onto his back with my foot, and, resting my heel on his chest, stared down into his face.
“You think you’re better than me? You think you’re stronger than me? Think again. You’d do better to work with me than against me.”
Turning my back on him, I looked at the others, standing there with their mouths open. Dacian had Michael in a choke hold and Levi looked ready to self-combust.
“Shall we go to the archives?” Brushing dust from my pants, I smiled brightly, threaded my fingers with Levi’s, and headed toward to the street, where a new hover vehicle had arrived. “Let him go, Dacian,” I commanded without glancing back.
“The sword…” Michael sputtered.
I looked back over my shoulder to where my brother was rubbing his neck and watching Dacian warily as he followed me.
“All in good time,” I said.
I’d always been the one to play by the rules, always done as I was told. They didn’t have to know that Dacian already had the sword in his possession. It was his call whether he returned it to my brothers or not, but I couldn’t help feeling relieved when he hadn’t. We needed to find God and then rescue him, and for that, two swords were better than one.
The three of us piled into the backseat of the hover car, and I directed it to the plantation house. As we glided away, I watched through the window as Michael helped Gabriel to his feet, the shaken look on both their faces reward enough after everything they’d put me through. And then the guilt kicked in. I’d used my flames to hurt someone. Okay, the hurt had been temporary, but still. I’d used it.
Levi squeezed my knee. “You did what you had to do.”
I placed my hand over his. “I know.” As much as I regretted my actions, I also knew that if I had to, I’d do it again.
As we travelled through Heaven, Levi gazed out the window with interest. Even though some parts of Heaven were in disrepair, other parts were still pristine and beautiful.
“I never imagined Heaven would be like this,” Levi said in wonder as we drove past a building that was half collapsed, the roof and one wall gone to rubble. Rocks, debris, and rubbish littered the area, and everything was an unattractive, orange-tinged brown color.
“It’s not meant to be like this,” I replied.
“You notice it’s a different color than before?” Dacian asked me.
I nodded. Yes, the last time Heaven had faltered, the invading color had been grey. We now knew grey was the color of evil. Now, we had brown. Was that the color of sickness? Death? I pondered this as we drove further out, past the Garden of Eden, which was thankfully still in its pristine state, and then through rain forests, waterfalls, and wilderness.
“The archives are out here?” Levi asked, his voice reflecting his surprise.
“Yup, in God’s original home.”
We glided to a stop in front of an old plantation-style house, painted white with columns supporting the roof. The jungle surrounding it had crept forward, and vines snaked up the side of the house. While the house wasn’t in complete disrepair like almost every other part of Heaven, there was a faint air of neglect about it.
“Wow,” Levi whispered.
I grinned. This was probably overwhelming to a human. Even when a mortal soul left its earthly body and ascended to Heaven, they never got to see this place. No one but God’s family knew of its existence, and with good reason. All of Go
d’s plans were here—the blueprints of the realms he’d created, all his creatures big and small. His future plans.
I led the way up the path to the huge door. Before I’d even touched the handle, the door swung open silently, allowing us entry.
Stepping inside was like stepping back to my childhood. This was where my brothers and I had grown up. We’d been born here, had grown into young adults in this house before moving to Heaven Central and taking up our roles.
The floorboards creaked beneath us—another familiar sound. Michael had often grumbled to our father about fixing them, but Dad always chuckled and said he liked the noise. It stopped Michael and Gabriel from sneaking up on him.
“This is…amazing.” Levi and Dacian were both gazing around at the high ceilings covered in murals, the decadent artwork on the walls, the luxurious rugs spread over the floor. The house was a mishmash of styles, most of the items gifts from other deities, Dad’s own creations, and others looking to win favor.
“Where are the scrolls?” Dacian asked, swinging his gaze back to me.
“In the study.” I led the way through the living room and dining room, then into the study, which was the size of Levi’s entire apartment. I stopped just inside the doorway and inhaled. I could still smell Dad here. Closing my eyes, I pictured him sitting behind his desk, lifting his head when he heard me scamper through the door, a warm smile welcoming me, even though I knew I was interrupting his work.
“What are you working on, Papa?” Always curious, I skipped across the floor, my bare feet making no sound. Rounding the corner of the desk, I squealed in delight when he scooped me up and onto his knee.
“A new home, Lucy-loo. See here?” He pointed to the parchment spread out on the desk before him.
My small fingers traced over the drawings there.“For us?”
“Yes.” He nodded, rubbing a big hand up and down my back. Settling against his side, I tried to hold back the yawn that threatened.
“Mama too?” I asked hopefully.
The silence stretched before he cleared his throat and answered, “Perhaps. If that is what she wishes.”
“Why doesn’t she want to live with us, Papa? Doesn’t she love us anymore?”
“Oh, my darling Lucifer, never think that your mother doesn’t love you. Together, we created you. You are the essence of us both and you’ll always have a connection with her. But she’s from a different world, my child, one that was not so understanding of our union.”
“I’m sorry I made you sad, Papa.” Tears filled my eyes and my voice wobbled.
He wrapped me tightly in his arms, giving me the kind of big bear hug only a father can give.“You haven’t made me sad, pumpkin. Your mother will visit soon, I promise.”
I had been six years old, and I never saw my mother again. God didn’t make empty promises, so I knew he’d tried, probably desperately, to convince my mother to return. Through a child’s eyes, I’d watched the heartache and hurt he struggled to hide from us. I barely remembered my mother. She’d left when I was four, and after that last conversation with my father in this study, I’d never asked after her again.
“Everything okay?” Levi’s hand on my shoulder made me jump.
“Yeah, just…memories.” And a lonely pang that made me realize how much I missed not only my father, but my family. Even the mother I barely remembered.
“So, what are we looking for, exactly?” Dacian asked, running his fingers over the scrolls stacked atop each other on the bookshelves.
“I’m not sure, to be honest. Anything that he may have been working on after Hell? He disappeared after creating it, so maybe he moved on to another dimension?”
“Did he ever talk about anything like that?”
“No, but I was all caught up in the excitement of my promotion. I wasn’t paying attention to anything else he may have planned.” I sat in the chair behind the desk, closing my eyes for a brief moment to hold off the wave of memories that threatened to bombard me. We’d spent a lot of time here in his study, me sitting on his lap and helping him with his plans. I grinned at my own naiveté. I’d probably been a major pain in his ass, but he always welcomed my interruptions.
Forcing myself to focus on the present rather than the past, I studied the desk. Several scraps of parchment were spread across the top. I rifled through them, looking for anything that might give us a clue about his location. At the bottom of the pile, I found a blueprint of Hell. I lifted it to the top, studying it intently. I could see beyond the borders that he’d left a pocket realm, for expansion if I needed it. I flipped the parchment over, confirming there was nothing on the back.
“Hey! This one is about the swords.” Levi hurried over and spread the scroll he had in his hands across the desk. On it were two swords, one with a blue glow, the other with red flames.
“So it is.” I leaned closer to read my father’s handwriting. The Sword of Angels and the Sword of Souls. Both powerful weapons that only the ruler of their respective realms could wield. “See? Here.” I pointed to the words. “Only the ruler of the realm can use the sword.”
“So?” Levi asked.
“So how come both you and Dacian were able to use the Sword of Angels? And what about the zombie ghosts on Earth? You also touched my sword with no ill effects. That isn’t how they were designed.”
“Can I try something?” Dacian asked.
I glanced at him quizzically. “What?”
“Let me see if I can touch your sword.”
“Why?”
“As an experiment. Perhaps we can work out whether your father’s invention failed somewhere. I mean, yes, they are powerful weapons, but what if something went a little haywire and they can in fact be wielded by anyone?”
It wouldn’t help us find my father, but I could see the benefit of knowing the truth. It would also tell me if my brothers could steal the sword from me. Maybe that had been their intention all along—tell me how to create the Sword of Souls, then take it for themselves.
“Let’s do it.” I withdrew the sword from between my wings and held it across my outstretched palms. “Take it,” I told Dacian.
Stepping up to the sword, he gave his hands a shake, then wrapped his fingers around the handle. The sizzle of flesh was instant and unmistakable. “Ow. Fuck!” Quickly releasing the sword, Dacian backed away, blowing on his burnt hand.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to heal you?” I offered.
“I’m good. All healed.” He held his palm up, showing us that the burn was completely gone.
“Let me try,” Levi said. Before I could stop him, he’d picked up the sword. And absolutely nothing happened.
Dacian and I looked at each other. What the hell was going on?
“How come you can hold it?” Dacian demanded.
Levi shrugged, a grin curving his lips. He started to wave the sword through the air, making the flames dance, until I snatched it from him and tucked it back between my wings.
“Dacian, check the scroll, will you?” I said. “Look for any clue that can tell us how this is possible.”
“On it.”
We spent the next few hours scouring the study, going through scroll after scroll, searching for any kind of hint as to Dad’s whereabouts. I found a scroll about my mother that gave me pause. Did I want to know more about the woman who had given birth to me and then left? Dad had never said a bad word about her, and I knew, based on all the times I’d caught him with a sad look on his face, that he missed her. Possibly loved her, otherwise why would they have had children together? I slid the scroll under my wing, tucking it safely away. I’d read it later, when all of this was over and things were back to normal.
“Nothing. I’ve got nothing.” Dacian cursed, flopping back in his chair and running his fingers through his hair. “This is a bust.”
“I have to agree,” I replied. We’d found no indication that Dad had another project on the go, no secret realms, no hidden places. The scroll about the swords had revea
led nothing about why Levi had been able to hold it.
“What next?” Levi asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know about you, but I’m beat.”
“So, we go back to Earth?”
He sounded disappointed, but I was already shaking my head. “No. We’ll go back to my apartment here. There’s still work to be done in Heaven. The answer wasn’t in the scrolls like I’d hoped, but I’m not convinced it isn’t here.”
“You want to examine the decaying buildings,” Dacian guessed, and I nodded.
“If we can pinpoint where it started, maybe that will give us a clue.”
“It worked last time,” Dacian agreed.
Last time, evil souls had tried to corrupt Heaven, and while they had wreaked havoc and disruption for a short period of time, we’d gotten things under control relatively quickly. This time, I felt like I was on the back foot. I didn’t have all the facts. I wasn’t sure how long Heaven had been in this state, or precisely when it had started, or what the other symptoms were.
My brothers had a lot to answer for after allowing things to get this bad.
8
My apartment was exactly as I’d left it over a millennia ago, a townhouse on the small side that I adored. A cleaning service came in weekly to keep it pristine, and word of my return had spread, so the kitchen had been fully stocked, toiletries neatly placed in the bathroom, and fresh robes hung in my wardrobe. Dacian had returned to his own place, and I hoped my brothers would leave him alone. Just in case they didn’t, I’d given him a quick lesson on how to construct a mental shield to keep them out of his head. I had a horrible suspicion he wasn’t safe, and it ate at me that one of God’s own guards was at risk in Heaven.
“You worry too much.” Levi slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against his chest.
“There’s a lot to worry about.”
“Why don’t I take your mind off it?”
He nuzzled at my neck and I sighed, arching to give him better access. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
“Let’s take a shower,” he said, shuffling us across the floor backwards toward the bathroom.