by Riley London
The hole in my heart felt like it’d been filled, almost to the brim. There was something about being home, something about how normal this all seemed to me now, despite the fact that I was literally standing in the middle of Hell. I felt safe in a way I hadn’t for so long at the academy, maybe because I knew that no one here was judging me for being half-demon, and they certainly didn’t care about what I got up to in my free time.
Here, no one was suspicious of me and no one expected anything of me, either. And I felt like I was able to take a breath, for the first time in a long time.
“Here you are, my sweet.” My father returned to the conversation, with a large, golden sword in his grip. “Are you sure that you’ll be able to wield it? It’s quite heavy.”
“I think I’ll manage.” I took the sword into my own palm, immediately feeling the strain in my upper arm. “Or at least I’ll get used to it.”
“Hmm.” My mother reached out her own palm as her fingers lightly trailed along the sword’s blade. “How peculiar.”
“What? What’s wrong with it?” I asked.
“The magic…” my mother continued. “It’s entirely lost. And not in the usual way that prayers and magic are lost in our realm. It’s almost like…it requires something. Something more, although I am not sure of what. Something that Michael must’ve possessed.”
“God’s gift?” I suggested.
“Maybe so.” My mother nodded. “But before you’ll be able to use God’s gift with a sword like this, you’ll need to restore its ability to hold a prayer.”
“Restore its ability to hold a prayer?” I shook my head in confusion. “Wait. Is that something that you can help me with, Mom?”
“I’m afraid not, my love. I may be able to enchant your weapon, but I cannot open it up to receive prayers. Only a witch with angel blood could do that.”
Only a witch with angel blood.
Goddammit.
“Trinity.” I rolled my eyes as my sister’s name came out of my mouth. “Ugh. Is she still down here?”
“No, but I can help you find her.” My mother took me by the hand as she started to walk towards the living room. “Come, come. It’ll only take a moment to cast a spell of seeking. I’ll only need a drop or two of your blood.”
“Sounds great, Mom.” I grimaced, even though I kept up with my mother’s pace, our footsteps landing together in time.
“Comment t'appelles-tu?”
“Ca veut dire quoi?”
“Comment ça s'ecrit?”
“Où sont les toilettes?”
“Merci beaucoup!”
I made my way through a French night market, keeping an eye out for any sign of my sister. My mother had been able to get a hold on her location, and I wasn’t surprised to see that Trinity had returned to her old stomping grounds. Thankfully, instead of having to buy an expensive plane ticket to the other side of the world, my mother had also been able to send me directly to France with her magic, although the trip had been quite painful.
But not more painful than paying thousands of dollars for a last-minute trip overseas.
I continued my search for my sister, using what little grasp of the French language that I had. I stood in front of a fruit stand debating whether or not I should try to buy a small bag of peaches, when I heard someone make a disgusted noise behind me.
I turned to see the perpetrator and was glad to see that it was Trinity’s face, looking back at my own.
“How dare you?” Trinity started. “How did you even find me in the first place? I thought you didn’t practice magic on your own.”
“I don’t. Mom helped me out.” I smiled back at her. “You look good by the way. You know, for someone who I thought I’d injured pretty badly.”
“You tried to kill me,” Trinity sneered. “You tried to kill your own sister.”
“Oh, please. You would’ve killed me first, if you’d gotten the chance.” I shrugged. “I just happened to be a little quicker on the draw.”
“You’re right. I would’ve killed you. I should’ve killed you.” Trinity continued. “But…that’s behind us now, is it not? Tell me, why have you come all the way to France just to ruin my night?”
“I need your help with something.”
Trinity cackled in response, a full-on witchy cackle that felt like it went on for at least five minutes. When she’d calmed down from her laughter, her cheeks were tinged with a dark pink glow. “Oh. Sorry. That was just…you really think that I would ever help you with anything, sister? I may have forgiven you for trying to take my life, but how could I ever forget a thing like that?”
“I’m not asking you to forget about it or even forgive me for it,” I explained. “I’m just saying that I need your help.”
“Help with what?” Trinity asked. “Let me guess. You’re having boy problems? Trouble in paradise?”
“You can call them boy problems, sure,” I replied. “The Princes of Hell recruited Charlie to their side.”
“Sounds like a worthwhile recruit. He was always quite observant and he seemed very intelligent too. I’m sure he’ll be perfect for taking any field notes as well,” Trinity responded. “Where’s the problem in that?”
“I want him back,” I answered. “And I’m willing to take on the Princes of Hell to do it.”
“You’re going to take on the Princes of Hell?” Trinity cackled again. “You and what army?”
“I don’t need an army. I’ve got this.” I nodded down towards the weapon in my sheath, whispering a prayer. “Ostendo.”
And the very hilt of Michael’s sword was revealed to Trinity’s eyes. She blinked a few times in response, before she looked back up at me. “Our father gave you Michael’s sword?”
“Yep.”
“But…with that you could kill Lucifer himself.” Trinity seemed to be stunned. “He gave you the power to take his own life…”
“Because he knows that I never would,” I replied. “This isn’t for Lucifer. This is for any of the Princes of Hell who try to get in my way.”
“…All right then. I will help you, sister,” Trinity muttered as she casually changed her tune. “What exactly do you need from me?”
“I need you to make it so Michael’s sword can work with prayers again.”
“Did you not just pray over the sword to reveal it to me?”
“That’s different,” I replied. “That kind of prayer doesn’t need to pass through anything, just go over it. I could probably make the Eiffel Tower disappear with a prayer like that, but I still couldn’t use it to defeat the Princes of Hell.”
“Yes, I too believe that using the Eiffel Tower in combat would not be very effective.” Trinity cracked a smile. “Come with me. Back to my home. I will fix your sword for you.”
“This isn’t a trap, is it? Like, you’re not going to try to kill me as soon as I’m alone with you again?”
“You have my word.” Trinity placed a hand over her heart. “Well, under one condition.”
“Yep. There it is,” I sighed. “What’s your condition, Trinity?”
“When you’ve finished with your business, you will let me have the sword.”
“Why? I thought you were fine with the princes taking over the surface.” My tone was lined with suspicion. “Since when do you plan on fighting against them?”
“Sister, I don’t plan on fighting at all.” Trinity shook her head. “I would just like to keep the weapon in the family, and there’ll be nowhere safe for you to store it back at the academy, correct?”
“Nah. I could probably find a safe space for it.”
“But could you bind it, too? Enchant it so that no one with demonic energy can even touch it?” Trinity asked. “If you leave it at the academy, it could easily fall into the wrong hands. And once it’s been filled with magic again, bringing it back to our father’s house would be a mistake. Any of the princes could take hold of it and kill him in his sleep.”
“Shit. You’re right.” I hadn’t
thought about the possibility of someone else going after the sword, once it was able to work with prayers again.
“Then, it’s settled. I will bring the sword to life for you, and afterwards, you will hand it over to me.” Trinity beamed. “Now, come. Let’s get on with it. I’d like to return to the night market before the last stall closes.”
Chapter 7
The city lights twinkled along the streets, casting a wondrous glow on the body of water below Trinity’s bedroom window. Her apartment was nestled along the banks of a river, all peaceful and serene. There was an eerily glowing cruise ship that slowly passed by her building, and a part of me wondered if there was anything demonic about its presence.
But eventually, once it made its way past the apartment, I realized that the only thing demonic about that cruise ship was its insistence on playing a shockingly bad cover of “That’s Amore” as loudly as humanly possible.
Wait.
Was that even a real cover of the song or were they just letting the people onboard sing karaoke while drunk off their asses?
Either way, it was godawful.
“How do you stand it?” I asked Trinity, turning away from her window. “How do you deal with all the tourists?”
“I do not mind the tourists,” Trinity replied as she placed the sword down on a nearby table. She placed her palms across the blade, before continuing. “It’s easy enough to cast a quieting spell. It’s much harder for me to stay in the shadows if nothing around me ever changes. Getting to know someone in a city like this can be difficult.”
“And you don’t ever want to be known.” I leaned against the wall, suggesting the rest of Trinity’s unvoiced thoughts. “I thought you were enrolled at the French Academy.”
“I am, but it’s different there. I attend my classes, ace my training, and then I come back home. I don’t live on campus with the rest of the students,” she explained. “And I don’t need to stay and make friends after my classes either. I don’t have a future on the Council. There’s no one that I need to impress.”
“That sounds pretty lonely.”
“Lonely? Maybe.” Trinity shrugged, and I watched as a purple glow began to emanate from between her fingers. “But I am not the one desperate to save a doomed man, am I? My lack of relationships doesn’t make me vulnerable. It makes me strong.”
“I think it might be the other way around,” I replied. “There’s nothing wrong with caring about something other than ruling the world, Trinity.”
“Says the girl who never had any interest in ruling it.” Trinity smiled. “I should’ve just taken your no for an answer. It would’ve made things much simpler for me.”
“Yeah, but I think you finally got the hint.”
“I did,” Trinity admitted, before she moved her palms away from the sword. “All right. Go on with your prayers. Try it now.”
“Wait. That was it? That’s all?”
“The sword just needed a bit of magic, nothing too severe,” Trinity continued. “But you should be extremely careful with its hilt. Even as I enchanted its frame, I could tell that there was a warning in its blade.”
“A warning?”
“Yes. This sword is only to be used for the holiest of purposes.” Trinity looked over at me. “And if you intend to wield it for a cause that would not be approved by Heaven…then…you will perish.”
“Perish? As in, the sword will kill me?”
“Yes.”
“How the hell am I supposed to know if I’m wielding it for a holy purpose or not, Trinity? Do you have a spell for figuring that out too?”
“No. I’m afraid you’ll have to figure that part out on your own.” Trinity sighed. “But I wish you luck, Sister.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I approached the table that Trinity stood behind, my hand already reaching out for the sword. “Well, here goes nothing, I guess.”
“Guess so.” Trinity’s words came out like she didn’t really care if I died or not.
Figures.
Of course, she wouldn’t have really cared what happened to me right now. I mean, to be fair, I had tried to kill her before, so maybe she’d just see my death as some kind of cosmic justice. But I still hoped against all hope that I wasn’t about to die, and that the sword would fit right into my hand with zero complications.
Fuck.
What would’ve happened if I did die? Wouldn’t that have caused Charlie’s death, too?
Although, for all I knew, the Princes of Hell were going to find a way for Charlie to end up dead, maybe send him to Hell wrong or something, break our bond and end his life.
Hmm.
In that case, it was worth taking the chance, if it meant that I’d be strong enough to get Charlie back, to save him from those assholes and whatever fucked-up plans they’d wanted him to carry out.
I touched a few fingers to Michael’s sword, hesitantly grazing them along the hilt. I was terrified, waiting for a lightning strike or a heart attack to immediately take me out of this world. Instead, I soon felt something that I’d never felt before.
The electricity that so often flowed through my veins seemed as if it was going into the sword itself. I hadn’t even said a prayer over the weapon lately, but it was like it was responding to my body, responding to my wishes, as it soon glowed a familiar gold.
And once the light shone through the blade, I was able to read an inscription on its silver.
“Quis ut Deus?” I spoke the phrase out loud.
“Who is like God…” Trinity seemed to translate the words. “I guess the answer would be you.”
“Uh, that feels like a lot of pressure.” I made a face before I pulled the sword further into my hands.
“Yes, well, that is what tends to happen when you’ve been born for a higher purpose than the rest of us,” Trinity replied. “You can leave now, sister. Do what you need to do. But remember, the sword belongs to me.”
“Got it. I’ll bring it back to you, once I get Charlie back.”
“Right, but even if you don’t manage to rescue the boy, the sword is still mine,” Trinity clarified. “Now, go. I need to return to my studies. I have a test in the morning.”
“Shit. I think I do, too.” I groaned. “Is there any way you can send me back to the States? You know, for free?”
“With pleasure.” Trinity beamed, and soon it felt like my skin was being licked with flames, which was the unfortunate way it always seemed to feel when I traveled by demonic magic.
I nervously paced back and forth in my dorm room as I waited for Benjamin and Zachary to arrive. I hadn’t told them about my trip to meet Trinity, and I especially hadn’t told them about the fact that I was now in possession of Michael’s sword.
Shit.
What would’ve happened if the Council found out that not only did I have the sword of the guy who founded the Angel Academy, but I’d also found a way to bring it back to life? Holding onto Michael’s sword felt like I was holding onto a grenade, with the potential for things to blow up in my face any second.
But this was still the best thing in the world. With the sword, it seemed like I had a fighting chance against the Princes of Hell, like I’d actually be able to do something to bring Charlie back to me.
Although first, I needed to take care of business.
Telum Dei ultimum est scriptor.
God’s ultimate weapon. God’s gift to mankind. I wouldn’t be able to take on the Princes of Hell without it, if I wasn’t at my highest capacity of strength of fighting.
Although, due to my general bad attitude and avoidance of the guys for the past few weeks, we hadn’t had a chance to be intimate, much less have a conversation that wasn’t directly about the Charlie situation. And I had no idea how I was going to segue into something like that without explaining myself first.
Shit.
My heart leapt a little out of my chest as soon as Zachary walked through the door.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked, his curiosity obvious in hi
s tone. “Why?”
“What do you mean why?” I tried to play it off in the moment. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you, Zach? You know how I feel about you.”
“Don’t. Don’t do that shit with me. It’s not cute.” Zachary sighed. “Just tell me what’s going on, Celeste.”
“I need…um…” I didn’t know why it was so hard to tell Zachary that I needed him inside of me for saving-Charlie reasons. Maybe because I hadn’t been too interested in having sex ever since I lost Charlie in the first place. “Sex.”
“…Sex?” Zachary repeated the phrase. “You want to have sex with me?”
“Yes?” I replied, my nerves came through my voice. “Only if you were in the mood for it. I was just—”
“Take off your clothes.” Zachary interrupted me, his hands already going down towards his belt. “Now.”
I nodded in response, my hands quickly lifted my blouse over my head. My fingers went towards my skirt next, pulling it down to the floor.
“Get on the bed.” Zachary’s instruction came out with a hint of a growl underneath, and I felt wetness start to form between my thighs.
Fuck. I missed having sex with Zachary. In the midst of my depression over Charlie, over everything, I’d forgotten what it was like to be with another man who held a piece of my heart. As I climbed onto the bed I considered what it’d be like to tell Zachary that I loved him for the first time, to confess something so intimate while he shifted onto the bed behind me.
But I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because soon, Zachary’s mouth was between my thighs, his lips pressing against the fabric of my panties. I whimpered and squirmed as he dragged his tongue along my still-clothed clit, teasing me as he held my legs apart with his strong hands.
“Zach…” I felt the best kind of helpless as I pushed my hips down towards his mouth, trying to feel even more of his tongue on me, trying to feel as much of him as I could. “Zach. Please.”
“Please, what?” Zachary asked, bringing his fingers up towards my clit, gently massaging the sensitive nub. “What do you want me to do?”