All Hell Breaks Loose (Hellscourge Book 9)
Page 26
That included Zach’s dad. With both Mr. Orion and his son out of the picture, Candy and her mother were now safe. My rival would never even know what had happened to her boyfriend. Zach’s body was probably still lying in the subterranean levels beneath the police headquarters.
“We’ll make sure they spend the rest of their lives in jail,” Reynolds said. Enough cops were in the area for word to spread. His colleagues were staring at him in awe. They knew he’d been a part of the war and that he was important to our cause. He would no doubt become a legend to them.
God drew me aside to speak to me privately. “I will return to heaven now,” he said. “As the master gate hinted, another disaster will appear soon. Fate has chosen you to be her warrior, along with two others. Chaos has also chosen his pawn. This war has been ordained for thousands of years and nothing can stop it now. You three have a chance to save not just your worlds, but all worlds. Draw on the strength and power you have gained and have faith that I am with you.” His piercing blue eyes caught and held mine for a long moment. Then the majestic presence faded. Elijah blinked, staggered and passed out.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fifty-One
Catching the priest before he could fall, I waited for Reynolds and the former imps to gather around. I teleported the entire group to his church. “Give him to me,” the detective said. “I’ll put him in the bed in the back room and keep watch over him until he wakes up.”
“We will tend to him as well,” Rashida said. “He is our father now.” Some of the former imps looked at least Elijah’s age, but they were all staring at him worshipfully. He’d been a conduit of God himself, which I was still trying to wrap my head around.
Realizing that I wasn’t needed, I said my farewells then teleported back to Sophia’s store. My spells were still intact, but they weren’t needed anymore. Touching a wall, I deactivated them all. Holding out my hand, I willed the sapphire rune stone and the angel carving to my palm.
My friends were gone and I felt bereft. Everyone I’d ever loved had left me. I’d saved the world, but I’d lost everyone who mattered to me. Visiting them in heaven wouldn’t be the same as having them here. Placing the objects on the large round table, I put my hands over my face and sobbed.
“There, there,” a familiar voice said and a hand reached up to pat me on the shoulder. “Everything will be alright.”
Whirling around, I saw Sam standing in front of me. Picking him up, I crushed him to my metallic chest. “I thought you were gone,” I said brokenly. “I thought I was all alone.”
“You will never be alone, Violet,” he replied and stroked my hair soothingly.
“You should have known you could not get rid of us so easily,” Brie said snarkily as she and Leo popped into existence. Both were in their teenage vessels again. Sophia arrived next and she was also back in her vessel.
“What’s going on?” I asked in bewilderment. “Where are your wings?” I said to Sam and put him down.
“They appear when I call on them,” he replied. Concentrating, he called on his wings and holy sword and grinned. “You do not think that you would be facing the next apocalypse alone, do you?”
“Why aren’t you in your angelic forms?” I asked Sophia.
“We tend to stand out too much in our true forms,” she replied dryly. “God has altered us so that we can call on our wings and weapons when we have need. He asked our vessels if we could continue to utilize them until the next crisis is over.”
“They all agreed,” Leo told me. “The twins are aware of everything that has happened. They feel like heroes.” He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide his smile. “Our vessels have all been guaranteed places in heaven for their services.”
I was glad my friends were back, but the most important person in my life was still missing.
Reading me like a book, Brie spoke. “Nathanael asked us to pass on a message to you.”
My heart lodged in my throat and I was unable to speak. The moment dragged on and I found my voice. “Are you going to give me the message, or are you going to make me wait all night?”
“Now you understand how annoying it is when you do that to me,” she said and smiled sweetly.
Leo flicked his partner a look and put me out of my misery. “He said you should visit the place that he considers to be his home.”
Hope blossomed within me. I teleported away before they could warn me once again that it was forbidden for an abomination like me to have a relationship with an angel. I might never be able to spend the night with Nathan again, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him not being in my life.
Appearing in the living room of Nathan’s condo in Tudor City, I felt his presence even before I heard his footsteps approaching. He left his bedroom and came towards me. He stopped a couple of feet away and we just stared at each other. I didn’t like towering over him, so I concentrated and shrank down to my normal size. I changed my coloring back so I looked human again. My clothes returned to their normal forms as well. Knowing every molecule of my body, I knew the scars that had marred my flesh were now gone. I was able to make the strange markings fade from my flesh, if not disappear completely.
“I am relieved that you will not permanently be in your Nephilim guise,” Nathan said.
“Why?”
“It will make it much easier to do this,” he replied then pulled me into his arms and kissed me. Bliss and a sense of peace flowed through me, mixed with what could only be described as pure lust. I’d embraced both of my natures. They’d combined to enhance the love that I’d felt for him ever since I’d first seen him in the flesh.
Realizing that we were crossing the line, I tore myself away. He held me too tightly for me to break free from his arms. “We can’t,” I said sadly. “It’s forbidden for us to be together.”
Nathan put his palm on my cheek and I leaned against it, relishing his touch. “God took me aside when he returned to heaven and he gave me a choice.”
“What choice?” I asked. I was afraid to hear what he was going to say.
“He said I could be reinstated as a Seraph and become his top warrior again, or I could choose to remain on Earth with you.”
The fact that he was standing before me told me what choice he’d made. “I can’t let you do this,” I said. Tears slowly rolled down my face at the sacrifice he’d made. “I’m not worth you giving up your grace.” I’d love him even if he was just a normal human without any power, but it wasn’t fair to him.
“Who said anything about losing my grace?” he said with a smile that melted my insides. His wings manifested and wrapped around us both as he pulled me in again. I went up on my tippy-toes and surrendered to the bond that he’d created between us. Some of my essence wafted out and merged with his, binding us even tighter.
“I love you, Warrior of Fate,” he said. He accepted my offering and drew my grace inside him where it nestled against his heart. “I will love you until the end of time.”
“I love you, too, Warrior of God,” I replied and drew him in for another kiss that I wished could last forever.
I’d survived the task that Fate had set for me and I’d saved humanity just as she’d hoped. I knew I would soon be facing an even worse threat, but I didn’t care. My wishes had been granted and now I would never be alone again. My friends had returned and so had my guardian.
Death was no longer circling me, but I needed Nathan to watch over me still. My team would be with me when I faced my next foe. I still didn’t know who he was. I knew only that he was an agent of chaos. I’d faced Satan down and I’d won. Surely whoever I’m going to face next couldn’t be as evil as the Devil, I thought.
A voice that I hadn’t heard for a while responded inside my head. Chaos is not evil, Fate told me. It is simply the opposite to order. All three of my warriors have the capacity to be evil, yet you all chose the side of good. The being you will soon face is the perfect choice to be chaos’ agent. He is clever, manipulative, narcis
sistic and enjoys causing as much mayhem as possible.
My interest was piqued, even though her words were disturbing. Who is he, I asked.
In many dimensions of Earth, he is known as the God of Mischief.
I sucked in a mental breath and my face drained of color. Do the other warriors know who we’ll be facing? I’d heard stories of the Asgardian deity and knew he was dangerous and that he seemed to hate humans. My powers were so new that I hadn’t had a chance to explore exactly what I could do yet. I would no doubt get to see the full extent of my abilities soon.
Not yet, Fate replied. I will soon bring you all together and I will enlighten them then. For now, enjoy your time with Nathanael and with your friends. You will be leaving your world for a while, but you will need their assistance when you return.
Her voice faded, leaving me alone in my head again. Our conversation had only lasted a few seconds. Nathan had no idea that I’d been momentarily distracted. If I was going to be facing possible death again, I was going to make the most of what time I had left.
Taking Nathan by the hand, I led him to his bedroom. Now that it was no longer forbidden for us to be together, I was going to spend as much time with him as possible before duty dragged me away once more. From his wide grin, he was completely on board with the idea of spending the next few weeks or so naked and in my arms.
Titles by J.C. Diem:
Mortis Series
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Death Deceives
Death Devours
Death Betrays
Death Banishes
Death Returns
Death Conquers
Death Reigns
Shifter Squad Series
Seven Psychics
Zombie King
Dark Coven
Rogue Wolf
Corpse Thieves
Snake Charmer
Vampire Matriarch
Web Master
Hell Spawn
Hellscourge Series
Road To Hell
To Hell And Back
Hell Bound
Hell Bent
Hell To Pay
Hell Freezes Over
Hell Raiser
Hell Hath No Fury
All Hell Breaks Loose
God Of Mischief, the first book in my new Fate’s Warriors series, is due to be released soon.
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