“A rogue… ?” said Umiet.
“Well, he’s not a demon anymore. He’s—”
Bronze flashed in the distance.
Rehniah tilted her head and the symbols were no longer visible. If I’d noticed it before, in all the years I’d known her, I would have assumed it was my imagination. A trick of light. But now, I knew better.
She asked, “Why are your wings that color?”
I pulled one in front of me. They’d turned a brilliant, shining color somewhere between bronze and gold. “I have the energy of half the Council. And I’m off to get the rest.”
Before she could respond, I rocketed off toward where the flash had appeared. I’ll deal with you later.
I flapped as hard as I could, but I needed to catch up to Asorat faster. I focused on his life spark and faded out of the sky and right above the hedges, where he was hovering. A group of demons stood below, around a pile of souls that slipped and slid over one another like silk scarves in a jumble.
So this is where he’s keeping them.
Without stopping to assess any further, I darted at him and grabbed two more strands of power. Seven left. I’d shifted more than half the power to myself.
I rounded above the hedgerows and turned, expecting him to leap at me again. But the look on his face stopped me short: he was afraid.
He swiftly wiped away the look and glared. His wings had faded toward gold, the shining bronze dulled. “What are you going to do when you have all the power for yourself? Perhaps you’ll realize then what opportunity you own. And you’ll need someone alongside you who knows how to rule.”
I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. “Why didn’t you stay on the Council and oppose Rehniah? If you knew of her plans, you could have stopped her as a Seraph.”
“You’re questioning me?”
I flapped to move closer, and he cringed—ever so slightly, but he did cringe.
“They were all inept and focused on their own goals,” he said. “No one listened when I rallied them together. Parsiel, with his insistence that the Aleph didn’t exist—and I knew all along that he was her most fervent supporter. Iztar, with her sniveling incompetence, unable and unwilling to do anything. She voted no against every hard decision we ever faced. And the rest of them, with their heads in the sand.”
“And so you Fell? Disrupted history? Unleashed demons against the innocents of Earth?”
“They weren’t listening.” His voice rattled the trees. If I hadn’t seen the look of fear on his face a few moments ago, I might have cringed. “This was the only way I could get their attention.”
“The Plans disrupted. The lives lost, gone into the Source forever. We have no Council. Do you really believe that you’re fit to rule Heaven and Earth? Look at what you’ve done.” I pointed to the pile of souls below, surrounded by the cadre of demons. “Why would anyone accept your rule? Why would I accept your rule?”
“I do what’s necessary!” he shouted.
“I’m the Cornerstone. You could have protected me. Instead, you let my former lover attack me. You allowed the Council to manipulate my life for their own designs. You watched while the Aleph gathered more power, and you waited while you gathered your own.”
“It’s complicated,” he said. “I had to extricate myself from the bindings placed upon myself.”
“Great job. Really stellar.”
“You’re one to judge. How are you going to defeat her? You have no idea.”
I had no answer, so I leapt forward, darted around him, and yanked out three more bits of power. Four left. “I’m taking it all, and I’m dealing with the Aleph after I’m done with you.” I fastened them onto myself, banking in the sky to come back at him.
But he wasn’t there. He’d already dived toward Earth and scooped up a couple souls. “Now you’re not listening. You know where to meet me.”
He disappeared.
I had to get to the Nexus before he tossed those souls into the Source.
CHAPTER 50
The crackling purple energy of the Nexus had faded to a sickly purple, the color of an old bruise. The strange lightning still jumped but without the fervor of before. I landed on the marble floor. Yasva’s symbol lay beneath my feet on one of the only parts that wasn’t cracked and broken.
Asorat was standing next to the beam, holding two souls in his arms. “Who are they?” he said. “Are you going to allow them to be destroyed by the Source, as your precious Council has been?”
I sensed the appearance of Nephilim and an Archangel behind me. With my new heightened awareness, I felt eleven total: five pairs and Rehniah. Still her essence was no brighter than any other Archangel. I held up a hand to keep them back. I needed to face him myself.
“Stop this, Asorat. You’ve been defeated.”
I took a step closer, and he held out the first soul toward the beam of light.
“Maybe it’s Daniel, your Ward that started this so long ago,” he said. “He was so timid and afraid, perfectly ripe for manipulation by my peers. You do remember that they used him, don’t you?”
“And you let them use him, just as they used me.”
“Or maybe it’s Tabitha. Do you remember Tabitha? She was so brave, facing down her fears, her pain, the death of her son.”
“I don’t think you will.” I took another step.
He clutched the soul tighter and it flowed over his hand. “I’ll do it.”
“I have more than half the Council’s power at my disposal, and you know it. This is pathetic and you’re far from pathetic.”
I took another step. We were close enough now that we could talk without being overheard by the others. He shook the soul and it flowed around his hand.
“I have to know something,” I said. “How is it that we were able to talk about the Aleph’s name in your Throne Room? You didn’t know I was Kaspen, but you spoke her name effortlessly to me. That shouldn’t have been possible.”
He stilled. “I don’t know. It took an immense amount of power to tell Fanush and Kaspen in the first place. Even though I regret telling that power-hungry—” He sniffed. “Fanush is expendable. I’ll deal with her later.”
I shook my head. He still thinks he’s going to convince me. “I wasn’t lying. I did kill Kaspen. It was an accident, but he’s gone. His remains are somewhere in Antarctica, awaiting return to the Source. Did he really command me?”
His lower lip trembled, though in anger or sorrow, I couldn’t tell. “Yes, inside Adolf’s dream, right before he tossed you out. We had to keep him from harm.”
That’s why no one told me—they didn’t witness it. “You know why it didn’t work? It didn’t work because I’m the Cornerstone.”
“So?”
“Look at the destruction you’ve wrought. If only you’d helped me instead of creating this terrible war, we could have defeated her together.”
He shook his head, closed his eyes. “You were under their thumb. You wouldn’t have listened to me. You knew nothing of what was at stake, a clueless little lamb waiting to be led about on a leash.”
“Maybe.” I wouldn’t allow myself to feel insulted. “Or maybe you could have guided me. Helped me.”
He opened his eyes, stared at the crackling lightning.
“Now we’re on opposite sides of a terrible war. One you started.”
I didn’t want to pity him, but his usual angry grimace was fading into a look of sadness.
“Give me the souls,” I murmured. “And let me take the power so I can defeat her. You already razed the Council. We have to start over anyway. But we can’t do that until Rehniah,” I whispered her name, “is defeated.”
The hand holding out the soul toward the beam lowered. “I don’t know how you’re doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Seraphim don’t have the ability to sever power on anyone but themselves. No angel has that power. Every angel in the history of Heaven has Fallen of their own free will. No one else can t
ake away your connection to the Source.”
“All the more reason for you to let me do this.” My power was diminishing slowly, inexorably through the cracked threads. “I need to defeat her. You tried and you failed. But I can do it. Let me take the rest.”
He opened his eyes. “What will happen to me? Will I become a demon again?”
“Before Kaspen died,” I swallowed, forced my voice neutral, “he became a Reaper. His wings were brown. I’m certain I can restore you to a higher rank once we’ve sorted everything out.”
I thought maybe he would ask when that was or what rank he would be or demand some kind of assurance. Instead, he lowered his arm. He let the soul drop to the floor and then the one in his other hand.
“Thank you,” I said.
He lifted his arm and pulled the first strand of gold from his wing. He held it out to me. “You’d better defeat her. If you don’t, I will rise again. That I promise.”
I took it and attached it to myself. The power hummed, golden light surging through my body.
Asorat lifted the next and the next and gave them to me. His wings were golden, but they didn’t shimmer anymore. With one strand remaining, he said, “I know when I’m defeated. At least you were a worthy foe.”
Looking down at his hands, he seemed shorter now—or was that just my imagination? Tears glimmered in the corners of his eyes. He grabbed hold of the last strand of power. He slowly pulled it free. He held it out.
I took it gently.
His eyes widened and his body rippled. “What’s happening to—”
He burst apart, a spray of drops slapping me in the face. I held in a shriek and wiped them from my forehead with my sleeve, dropping them onto the mass congealing on the ground.
That wasn’t supposed to happen!
The Source was silent.
The last strand was still in my hand. The group behind me was approaching, led by Rehniah. I quickly fastened it with the others while tamping down the rising panic. I couldn’t give away that I knew she was the Aleph. She would read it in the infernal, one-way bond I had given to her.
As if in reassurance, the power of the entire Council of Seraphim hummed through me.
The Nephilim stopped several paces back, but Rehniah stepped behind me. “Heady, isn’t it?” she murmured. “All that power contained in one place.”
Rehniah had never spoken to me like that before in my life. She’d always condescended or reprimanded. This was an almost reverent murmur, like one equal to another.
I turned to take in her face. The beam of light in the center of the Nexus was losing the last of its purple tinge, and she was awash in white. Her silver wings glimmered behind her, and a hungry look glinted in her silver eyes.
CHAPTER 51
Under the watchful gaze of my former mentor, I considered my options. I could confront her here and now and defeat the Aleph once and for all, or I could regroup. I knew only a fraction of my new abilities, which had been good enough for a power-hungry demon who’d forgotten who he was, but it wouldn’t be good enough to defeat this ancient, angry being, who’d been the first creation of the Source.
I squinted at her, thinking perhaps I could see wisps of power feeding from the Source into her invisible threads.
Now is not the time. I wasn’t ready to face her, not yet, especially since she was still leeching away the Council’s power. I needed time to prepare.
Tightly holding my feelings in check, so as to not give myself away, I said, “Asorat is defeated. It’s time to clean up the mess he left behind on Earth.”
She cocked her head at me. “And the Council?”
“We will reestablish it.” If I had anything to say about it, each of the Seraphim would be restored to life, just as Voctic had been.
Voctic!
I had to get back to Antarctica, find out how he fared, and rally troops for the next and final fight. Before my mind—and my emotions—could spiral off, I composed myself.
But she was still looking at me. “What about the Aleph?”
“You believe in the Aleph?” I couldn’t believe I was being so bold.
“How else do you explain all of this?” She spread her hands to take in the crumbling sections of the Nexus floor, the crackling energy in the beam, and the ripped up chairs and cushions. “Asorat had a reason for doing what he did. He declared over and over that he was opposing the Aleph’s machinations. He never gave another explanation, not even at the end. Did he?”
I needed to be careful not to reveal my knowledge. “No, he gave no other reason. But I think the Aleph is gone, absorbed into the Source with the rest of the Seraphim. If not, I’ll take care of it. We need to reestablish Heaven and ensure the war on Earth is won.”
She leaned forward. “What if it comes back? What are your plans for it?” The way she said “it” almost sounded as though she were referring to the Source. If I had any doubts before, they were washed away.
“I don’t know how I’ll defeat it.” I hated that that was the truth. “You should head back to Germany. Rally the troops. Chase away the demons. With Asorat and Kaspen gone, they’ll be in disarray.”
“What about the others of Asorat’s Council?”
“Let them surrender. Or not. We’ll destroy his fortress soon enough. Now that he’s gone, the power is restored.”
“To you,” she said. “The power is restored… to you.”
“Yes. The power is restored to me.”
“Enael-Nehleaz—” She stopped speaking, her eyes going wide.
“Yes?”
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out. She choked once and then closed her mouth.
Was she really trying to order me to do something? Did the Source protect me?
A thrill ran through me.
I kept my face neutral, my excitement reined. “Go now.” Ordering this powerful, ancient creature made the energy coursing through me swim faster. “Do as I’ve said and we’ll speak again soon.”
The look on her face as she faded to Earth was a mixture of awe and fury.
The Praetorium was alive with Nephilim practicing with weapons, Keepers scribbling in books, and Archangels bent over maps. If I hadn’t known better, I would assume nothing had changed since I’d left hours before. But the dots denoting our troops on Earth had inched forward, and the room seemed ordered rather than chaotic.
A gasp rose from the room as heads turned toward me. I glanced backward. My wings were brilliant gold now, and, I realized, shining with a Heavenly light. The closest Nephilim squinted and drew back.
“Asorat is defeated,” I announced.
A cheer rose, but as I stepped through the crowd, the angels drew away. No one touched me. They parted and I moved toward the Archangels.
Umiet bowed her head. “Enael. Thank you for defeating him. The war is progressing well.”
“We’re not finished, though.” I was about to continue but stopped short.
The power of the Seraphim, which had been steady and constant up to this point, shifted.
The strands that Rehniah was using to drain away power widened. The power leech increased, bit by bit, until the steady stream was unmistakable.
“What’s wrong?” said Umiet.
The entire room had fallen silent.
The brilliant glow from my wings was fading. They’d stopped squinting at me, and now, all eyes were worried. Whispers rose. “What’s happening to her?” “What’s wrong?”
“The Aleph is attacking,” I said. “How many platoons can we spare from the war? An entire host?”
“You want an entire host?” Umiet said. “But we’re winning. If we remove any—”
“It’s imperative that we send as many platoons to Vycanus as possible! If we don’t stop the Aleph now, there might not be an Earth left for us to defend against.” I was working on instinct. I’d have no time to learn what other abilities I had as a Seraph or to test what possibilities the Source had granted me when It chose me.
Umiet turned back to the maps. “You heard the Cornerstone!” She marked a spot. “We can spare three, if we take one from here, spread one across here, and move another one here.” She turned back. “You really want eight thousand angels?”
“I want every single being you can spare. Send medical squads and anyone who’s ever been in combat before. We’re going to need all the angelpower we can get, and I don’t know what the battlefield is going to look like until we get there.”
The energy was draining faster. At this rate, it would be diminished by half in only a few hours, and after that…
After that, she’d have more power than I did. Defeating her would become impossible.
CHAPTER 52
An hour later, I stood on the dais at the front of the War Room in the Praetorium. Zaponsla stood to my left, Umiet to my right, and the half of a host—the eight platoons the Archangels were able to spare—were silent. They’d assembled quickly and efficiently, which was good, since that was the only way we were going to win.
“We’re the last line of defense against the Aleph,” I said. “And we must fight to the end, no matter what we encounter.”
The Nephilim had chased the demons out of Heaven with ease once we’d relayed that their Commander and Vice Commander no longer existed. Though death was common on Earth, to hear of one in Heaven was a shock, and Asorat’s remaining military wanted nothing to do with it. Over the coming months and years, we would need to weed our opposition out of the nooks and crannies of Hell and Earth, maybe even welcome some back into Heaven. For now, we needed them out of our stronghold, if only to show our ability to do so.
We had to declare to the Aleph that she wouldn’t win.
“Rehniah, the Aleph, has been building power through the years in Vycanus. Even now, I can feel it leeching away. Our first order of business is to remove every one of the Aleph’s symbols that you find in Vycanus.”
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