by Ashlee Sinn
“What are we supposed to do now? Our businesses are gone. Our homes are gone. The humans will never work with us again. We won’t be able to—”
Mammon shot her hand out and I flew backward to the far side of the alley and slammed into the brick building. The force of the blow knocked the breath out of me, so as I slid to the ground and saw Jericho making a move toward my sire, I couldn’t get out any words to stop him. His wings expanded and he ran toward Mammon. But just when I thought he would attack, he pushed her to the ground and shot a stream of light out behind her and directly into a wraith that had suddenly appeared in the street.
Mammon cursed when she hit the ground. Echo did his best to try and comfort her. Yet Mammon was pissed. She whipped her duster around, stood, and marched directly toward Jericho. I thought she was going to kill him—she could, after all. But instead, she flung her arms to the left and right, shattering Lucifer’s demons into pieces without ever laying a hand on them.
Echo crawled over to me and helped me off the ground. I thanked him, even though I kind of hated him for telling on me. Yet at the same time, I understood that he did what he thought was right and I had been the one to break all of the rules. “Your angel is tough,” Echo said, watching Mammon and Jericho fight off a group of demons.
“He is,” I agreed.
“I can’t believe Mammon hasn’t killed him yet.”
“I know.”
Echo squeezed my hand. “What’s going to happen to us now?”
His voice, so tiny and frail, scared me. Echo wasn’t as powerful as me or our sire, but he was a hustler. He never showed true fear or let others know when he was frightened. While he’d spent most of his years sucking Mammon’s ass, he was still a demon whose whole life had changed the instant Lucifer decided to take over the world. “We’ll figure something out,” I finally said.
And as we stood, huddled together in the alley while Mammon and Jericho fought side by side, I had no idea what the something might be.
Jericho let out a curse when one of the wraiths broke through his light and slammed him to the wall. Mammon continued her deadly rampage right alongside him until there were no more demons standing in the street. In the sudden calm, I rushed to Jericho’s side and checked for mortal injuries. Brushing my hands over his arms, his chest, his back, I sighed in relief when I felt nothing but dust and ash covering him.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
With his sexy smile, he touched the side of my face. “There will be more.”
I turned to Mammon. Her brows were pinched and her eyes glowed an angry red. She glared back at me and Jericho but said nothing.
“Mammon, what should we do?” Echo asked. “Do you want me to start packing up the restaurant and—”
“No,” she snapped. Looking back behind her and toward the destroyed downtown, she shook her head. “Fucking Lucifer.” Her black boots crunched along the ground as she stepped further into the street. With eyes closed, and face lifted to the sky, I watched as she pressed her shoulders down and sucked in a few deep breaths.
Echo and I shared a glance, and a small smile—Mammon was getting ready to fight back. Our sire wouldn’t just let this happen. No, she was going to do something about it.
Just then, a large, dark shadow flew above her and the distinct beating of wings dwarfed the devastating sounds in the city. The wingspan of the shadow crossed the entire street, and as the form got larger, Mammon raised her fist to the sky. “Lucifer!” she shouted. “Get down here, you coward.”
“Holy shit,” Echo whispered.
Agreeing with him, I nodded. “She must be really pissed.” Lucifer was the demon of all demons, and Mammon just insulted his ego.
“Will he respond to her?” Jericho asked, still holding onto my waist.
“I don’t—” I spun, getting a sudden feeling that we were no longer alone in this alley.
“What is it?” Jericho asked.
“I’m not sure.” Stepping away from him, I slowly walked deeper into the alleyway and deeper into the darkness that was now sending a rush of chills up my spine. My feet ached and my legs burned with all of the scrapes and bruises from not just today, but also the last two weeks of living in my cage. I tiptoed around the dead woman, doing my best to avoid the puddle of blood reaching out from her body like a morbid art statement. The side of the building on my right seemed to crawl, shimmering in the night and stopping my heart cold.
“Snakes,” I mumbled, now hearing Echo and Jericho behind me. “No.”
“Snakes?” Jericho asked.
“Leviathan.” Echo whispered exactly what I wanted to, but couldn’t.
The three of us stared at the brick wall and I waited, knowing what was coming next. One by one, black snakes the length of a car fell to the ground. Jericho jumped forward and started kicking them. Echo covered his mouth and hid behind me. I froze, hating how much the fear paralyzed me right now. Had Leviathan come for me again? Was he ever going to let me go?
The snakes, at least a hundred of them now, rolled together to form a massive ball. But instead of making one large creature like before, a different one spawned from the mass of scales and skin. Towering over all of us, Leviathan rose from the dark. One by one the snakes absorbed into his body, outlining his form until he stood before us as a solid being.
His slit eyes found mine, and with a hiss, he said, “Arabella.”
“What are you doing here?`” I shouted. Reaching for Jericho’s hand, I also wrapped my other arm around Echo. “You’ve already won.” I moved us backward toward the street where Mammon continued to scream at Lucifer flying around above her.
Leviathan stalked us. When he reached the dead woman on the ground, he bent forward and studied her form. Partially opening his mouth, he appeared to taste the air like the true serpent he was. But then he reached forward, dipped his hand into her blood, and brought it back up to his lips. Sucking on his finger in pure delight, he closed his eyes and savored the moment.
“Gross,” Echo said. We continued to make our way out of the alley, getting closer to Mammon with every step.
Leviathan stood and visibly shuddered. “What a shame.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I asked.
“Leviathan?” Mammon had turned, and now pushed all three of us behind her as she faced the serpent demon. “Are you here to gloat?”
Leviathan stared at my sire for far too long before answering. “There is a lot of destruction.”
“Well, no shit. What did you think Lucifer would do?” Mammon had no fear of Leviathan, and she was also irritated, which made her doubly lethal.
Walking past all four of us, Leviathan stepped out into the street and looked to the left where the buildings continued to collapse. The shadows of wraiths and other demons swarmed overhead, and if I wouldn’t have known better, I thought I recognized a hint of regret on Leviathan’s face.
“We should stop this,” he said to Mammon.
“Any suggestions?” she huffed.
“No.”
With that simple statement, I felt Jericho and Echo sigh beside me. This was our new reality and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it. The demons had fucked this up and now we would all pay the price of their miscalculations.
Leviathan suddenly seemed to realize Jericho’s presence. “Why is there an angel hiding behind your spawn?”
“I’m not hiding,” Jericho growled, stepping away from me.
Leviathan smirked and looked at Mammon. “Am I seeing this?”
She slammed her hands to her hips and cut him a glare. “It doesn’t matter who he is. How do you suggest we fix this little problem?”
“The angel?” he asked, egging her on.
She shot her hand out and Leviathan flew backward several feet. “The apocalypse, you sorry piece of serpent shit.”
The archdemon chuckled while he examined the sky and brushed the ash off his tailored suit. “I told you, I don’t know.”
“I mi
ght.”
The new voice had all of us whipping our heads around to the other side of the street. The tall angel stood in a beam of light, white wings double the size of Jericho’s and glowing like he was a god. With tanned skin, dark hair, and a broad chest, I wondered if all angels were made of the same caliber.
Jericho pushed past me. “Raphael?”
The angel nodded and Jericho knelt before him. “Raphael, you came.”
Raphael reached forward and plucked one of the many gray feathers from Jericho’s wings. “What have you done?” His words weren’t accusatory, more like they were spoken out of concern for his son.
“Forgive me, sire.”
“Enough of this bullshit,” Mammon snapped. “What the fuck are you doing here, angel?”
Rafael watched her, then his eyes drifted over to Leviathan who stood still but looked as though he was bored with it all. Then his gaze found me. A small smile pulled at his lips as his focus traveled between me and Jericho. “I might know how we can fix this.”
“Fix this,” Jericho looked up at him. “I thought you wanted this?”
Raphael shook his head and helped Jericho off the ground. “No, no. This was not my plan.”
“But you wouldn’t help me stop it!”
“It wasn’t my battle to enter.”
Jericho opened his mouth, but no words came out. So, I took over. “Jericho asked you for help, and you refused,” I said after I wrapped my hand around Jericho’s waist.
“I did.”
“And now you want to help?” My voice squeaked with frustration.
Raphael turned his attention to Mammon, as though I didn’t deserve his time. “Lucifer has convinced many of his plans, but this was not a part of it.”
“What? He didn’t want death and destruction?” Mammon crossed her arms and waited.
“Not like this,” Raphael said.
“You’re lying,” Mammon huffed.
“Angels can’t lie.”
“Enough of this!” Leviathan, the calm, cool and collected demon, finally snapped. “How do you think we can fix it?”
Raphael calmly said, “We don’t let it happen.”
“Fucking angels,” Mammon groaned at the same time Echo said, “Well, too bad we don’t know anyone who can manipulate time.”
At his words, everything stopped. Each one of us stared at the Under, surprised at his suggestion. Why? Because it wasn’t so crazy after all.
“Oh my, god,” Jericho whispered at me.
“Is it what I’m thinking?” I asked.
He hung his head and let his long hair cover his face. “It all makes sense now.” Stepping toward Raphael, Jericho dragged me forward. “Was this always the plan?”
Raphael said nothing.
“Was it you or Father?”
The angel remained silent.
“Will somebody please tell me what is going on?” Mammon yelled. She glared at Leviathan. “You? Do you have anything to say?” When he just shrugged, she turned her attention back to Raphael. “Well?”
But I answered her instead. “Otis Redmond.”
“Otis who?” And as the name left her lips, and Echo sucked in a surprised gasp, Mammon put it together. “The mark?”
“The clockmaker,” I answered.
“It’s why you wouldn’t let them take his soul, isn’t it?” Jericho asked Raphael. “It’s why you had me looking after him, right? He’s not just an old man who got a second chance. He’s part of His plan.”
“Seriously?” Mammon turned her anger toward Leviathan. “Did you know about this when you made our deal?”
With his trademark smirk plastered across his face, Leviathan said, “No,” and to me, it sounded like a lie.
“You bastard!” Mammon ran toward him. “I almost lost my best collector because of you.”
Leviathan let her rush over without any hint of concern. “I told you, I didn’t know.”
“I don’t believe you!” And just as Mammon reached his side, Leviathan exploded from the inside out and a thousand snakes rained down on top of Mammon. Echo rushed over to her, throwing serpents off her body until she could finally stand again.
“That…that…piece of shit!” Brushing her duster off, she snapped her head around to me. “Go get that clockmaker and fix this.” With a nod, she stomped down the other side of the street, Echo jogging behind her while asking question after question.
“Can he really fix this?” Jericho finally asked Rafael.
“Possibly.”
“Possibly isn’t good enough,” I snapped, but then Jericho grabbed my hand to help calm me down.
“Where is he?”
Raphael looked up to the sky and sucked in a breath. “In his shop.”
Jericho and I both turned our heads toward to the part of town that should be SoHo…only to see flames licking the sky. The chances of Otis and his shop still being there were slim to none at this point.
“You should both go” Raphael said in a cryptic tone.
“Why should—” But before Jericho could finish his question, Raphael extended his wings and shot into the air. In just a few seconds, he’d disappeared completely.
“Lucifer’s knife,” I whispered, suddenly remember something important.
“What?” Jericho asked.
Shaking my head, I marveled at just how planned out this whole thing had been. “Mammon gave me a dagger made by Lucifer. It would have been the only way I could have killed you in that shop—”
“So you could have collected Otis’ soul,” Jericho finished. He squeezed my hands. “We weren’t supposed to fail.”
“We weren’t supposed to figure this out either,” I mused. A car alarm blasted in the distance. “We should go.”
Jericho nodded and pulled me in close. “I’ll fly.”
“No, there’re too many enemies in the sky. I’ll transport us.”
Wiggling his brows, Jericho kissed my nose. “I like it when you take charge.”
I laughed and held on tight. “Good.” A moment later, I thought about the antique shop in SoHo and willed us there. It was hard to think about how I almost killed the one person who might be able to stop this chaos. But when we appeared more than a block away from the store, I worried none of it even mattered.
“Why are we here?” Jericho asked, making his wings disappear.
“I don’t know. Maybe we can’t get any closer.” The heat from the burning buildings around us scorched my skin. But it was the way Jericho yanked on my arm that actually struck fear into my bones. “What? What is it?”
Jericho was looking at something over my shoulder and beyond the flames. And when I turned, my heart dropped. “Is that…?”
“My brothers.”
“They knew,” Jericho hissed. “But how would they?”
“Someone must have told them.” My suspicions were on Lucifer—the instigator of so much would certainly want to place some kind of scouts near Otis.
“Do you think they killed him?” Jericho’s voice hitched with his anger and worry.
“Wouldn’t Raphael know?”
Jericho nodded. “Yes, he probably would. So why are my brothers here?”
“My guess?” I looked back at Jericho. “They’re waiting for me.”
“Or me,” he growled.
The three earth angels emerged from the flames darting across the street and jumping from car to car. As though they couldn’t be touched, they slowly sauntered toward us, gray wings expanded and naked chests glistening from their sweat.
Jericho spoke without looking at me. “You go get Otis. I’ll take care of them.”
“No.” I didn’t even think about my response. “We do this together.”
“Arabella—”
“Don’t waste your breath, angel,” I teased.
“I love you,” he said.
“You too.” I disappeared as the words left my mouth and reappeared a foot behind Griffin, the largest of the three. An offensive attack was the onl
y chance we had, and when I got my arm wrapped around his neck, I knew it was the best tactic.
It also sent the other two brothers into a frenzy. Aldrich threw me and Griffin to the side with his telekinesis, but I held on tight. Griffin fell on top of me and the air whooshed out of my body as though it was the last I had in me.
“You dirty demon,” he choked out.
“Keep calling me names. It turns me on,” I said with a chuckle. He swung his hands backward but kept missing me. He kicked and twisted, so I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on like a tick. Pulling my hand back with the other, to get good pressure on his neck, I waited for him to pass out. Griffin continued to curse at me as his breathing slowed, and when he finally closed his eyes, I held on a few seconds longer to make sure he wasn’t faking.
Pushing the giant angel to the side, I stood and pulled down my shirt to minimize exposure. Never in a million years did I think I’d be experiencing the end of the word in nothing but my panties and Jericho’s tee, but sometimes you just have to roll with it.
Jericho shouted from somewhere in the distance, and I ran toward the sound. The air was so hot, it almost made me miss Hell. In fact, I had a very brief vision of what my life might be like now that the surface was in ruins. It meant days in the heat. A total wardrobe change. And a life without the sun.
Nope. I didn’t want that.
An angel flew over my head.
Not by choice, but because he’d been tossed. And from the hints of white I saw as he whipped by, I knew it was Jericho.
“Demon!” Aldrich yelled out to me and I made the mistake of turning to face him. Just then, Elijah caught me by surprise and sliced me down the arm with his finger as he sprinted past.
With a hiss, I spun. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“Oh, you just wait. I’ve got lots of plans for you, whore.”
“Do not talk to her like that!” Jericho rushed Elijah from the side and picked him up off the ground a few feet before tossing them both against a burning car. The two brothers fought ferociously. Like it would only end in death, the determination on their faces scared me for the first time.
“Aw, he saved you for me,” Aldrich purred.