“Do you know? When the end of days is coming?”
Elijah laughs again. “I like her,” he says to Ramuell. “No. We do not. Only our Father knows.”
“And if we accomplish our mission, perhaps the day will never come,” Micah says. He grins at Keely, his almond eyes squinting as she looks at him in surprise.
Keely shivers and Asmoday fidgets in the saddle. Ramuell looks over at Elijah. “It appears it’s already complete.”
“I suspect that too,” Elijah says inclining his head.
“What is complete?” Keely throws the question out for any of them to answer.
“Have you sealed your bond?” Israfil smiles deviously at Keely, dimples appearing in his round cheeks when she looks at him with a puzzled expression. “With a kiss?”
“Oh my…” Keely lets the word go, not wanting to offend anyone, but too shocked to say anything else.
Asmoday looks at her as he confirms. “Yes. More than once.”
Micah nods. “Could be why he moved tonight.”
“I agree,” Ramuell says.
Asmoday asks, “Where are we going exactly?”
“For the others,” Elijah tells him.
“What others?” Kelly wonders.
“There are more in the prophecy than you two,” Israfil informs him.
“I am in the prophecy?” Asmoday stares at him in disbelief.
“You are the key,” Israfil says.
Keely sighs. “I don’t understand.”
“There are four who aid you to the Cimmerian Stairway,” Elijah explains. “The Prophet, the Perceiver, the Warrior, and the Demon. They fight with you, alongside us. Once you’re there, however, it’s all left to the two of you.”
Keely licks her lips and asks, “What’s left to us?”
“He must stay in darkness. You must ascend the staircase into light,” Ramuell says.
“Why would I leave him?” Keely feels a panic attack edging its way forth.
“Why is not in our prophecy,” Ramuell says quietly.
“I can’t do it. I’ve seen it. I don’t make it. I turn back and now I know why. I won’t leave Asmoday in darkness.” She looks at him and is reminded of Bryon. Recalls the fear that overtook him in the tunnels. She shakes her head. “I can’t do it.”
“You do,” Elijah says.
“Why? Why didn’t you just leave us there? We were safe. Nobody could get to either of us. I wouldn’t have to do this and take the chance of failing.”
“We got to you,” Israfil says.
“But the Demon King could not,” Asmoday counters. “They have a spell around the grounds. No Demons can enter and I could not leave the prison.” Asmoday rubs his forehead. “If you had just left us-”
“If we had left you, you could not fulfill our prophecy,” Ramuell says firmly.
“I don’t see why it’s so important as long as we don’t fulfill the Demon King’s either,” Keely adds.
“Because you bring peace between Heaven and Hell. That is too important. Especially now that we are at war,” Elijah says softly.
“How does walking up a staircase refusing to look at someone bring peace? It doesn’t make sense!”
“It will,” Elijah offers.
“What if I don’t want to do it? What if I say no?” Keely cries defiantly.
“You will do the right thing,” Micah tells her. “Even if it’s hard. You always have, Keely. It’s who you are.”
“How is it right to leave him?” Her voice is barely audible as she chokes out the words.
“Because I want you to do it,” Asmoday says. “It will ensure your safety.”
“I won’t do it.”
“You will. You have to. It’s what I want. Does that not matter to you?”
Keely swallows hard. “It doesn’t matter right now. We don’t even know what’s down there. You could die.”
“Or I could be fine. You do not know. Besides, one life, to save so many others, to save you. It is worth the cost.”
“Not to me!” Keely screams. She buries her head in her hands and begins to cry. A slow steady stream of angry tears. “Not to me,” she sobs. “Not to me.”
***
The rest of the ride is silent except for the rhythmic pounding of hooves. Keely is aware of Asmoday’s feelings as if they are a knife stabbing her. His sorrow, his determination, his pride, but most of all his love for her.
She ignores him as best she can as she struggles with her own state of mind, knowing he is just as aware of her as she is of him. She wasted too much time pushing him away. Too much time fighting her feelings for him. Soon she will have to leave him behind. Possibly forever.
“This is Nick Wallace’s home,” Asmoday says. Keely pulls herself out of her thoughts and looks around. “This is the Warrior?”
Israfil nods, confirming his assumption.
Elijah slides from Ephesus and reaches for Keely. She jumps off the other side before he has a chance to help her. Just because they’re Angels doesn’t mean she needs to like them right now. Not when they are making her do something so terrible.
Elijah stares at her and chuckles. “I really do like her.”
Keely ignores him and heads for the door that leads to the steps. She bounds down them and knocks as Elijah and Micah catch up. A moment passes and she knocks again. “He might be at the hospital with Bryon,” Keely suggests.
“He’s here,” Micah says confidently.
“How do you know?”
Before he can answer, the door opens and Nick stares at Keely with red rimmed eyes that go big with surprise. Nick grabs Keely’s shirt and tugs her toward him, wrapping his arms around her so tightly she can barely breathe. “I thought you were gone. You’re all right. You’re all right.” He pulls back and cups her face in his palms. Looks at her face. “You’re all right,” he says again and Keely thinks he’s talking more to himself than to her.
“I’m fine, Nick,” she says quietly.
“Ambriel called me. She said they took you…” He looks past her now and his words trail off.
“You need to come with us,” Elijah says. “Now,” he adds when Nick just stares.
“Yeah, o.k.” He pulls the door shut and takes Keely’s hand tightly in his.
***
Nick perches behind Micah, more in awed silence than discomfort as they stop outside of the hospital.
“Who here?” Keely asks urgently.
Before Keely can ignore his help, Elijah grips her waist and lowers her. Dismounting, he smirks at her as she crosses her arms in front of her. “The Prophet,” he says.
“Who’s the prophet?” Nick asks. He slides off the horse and immediately takes Keely’s hand. She feels Asmoday’s eyes on her, but keeps her gaze fixed on Elijah.
“The Watcher.”
Keely freezes. “Which one? There are two here.”
Elijah looks at Israfil. “What’s the boy’s name again?”
He pulls a scroll from his belt and unrolls it several inches. “Hill, Bryon Nathaniel.”
Relief washes over Keely instantly, grateful it isn’t Dustin. “But he’s hurt. He needs to stay in the hospital.” Then something else occurs to her. “Bryon’s not a Prophet. Is he?”
“He is,” Israfil states, “according to this.” He rolls the scroll closed and reattaches it to his belt.
“A Prophet? Bryon?” Nick can’t believe it. He and Keely share a look of mutual surprise. Nick shrugs. “All right.”
At this point, Keely nearly shrugs too. Nothing should surprise her anymore. “Well, he probably shouldn’t leave the hospital.”
“We’ll ask him,” Micah says as he strolls past her.
“I’m pretty sure we all know how that will go,” Keely sighs.
Elijah raises his eyebrows. “Exact
ly.”
“You know, for Angels, you guys just don’t seem very angelic,” Keely murmurs as she follows after Elijah and Micah.
Elijah laughs. “We’re not Angels right now, remember?” He wriggles his brows.
“Hey, Micah, you want to take the armor off before you go in there?” Ramuell calls.
Micah looks down at himself, his eyes crinkle with amusement. “Guess I should. Don’t want to frighten the humans.”
“I don’t know why you wear that stuff anyway,” Israfil says with a grin. “It’s not like you ever need it. I haven’t seen you engage in battle in over a hundred years.”
“I’m overdue, don’t you think?” He flashes a brilliant smile as he slips the breast plate over his head. Beneath, he wears a plain black tee shirt and Keely is struck by how normal he looks. How normal they all look. If she had passed them on the street, she wouldn’t have given them a second glance. O.k., she might have. They are all amazing looking, but she would never have guessed Angels. Not like this. Just normal guys joking and talking outside of a hospital.
Bryon smiles as Keely comes into the room. He’s sitting up watching T.V. and sipping Mountain Dew from a straw. “Kiem, you finally came to see me?”
She smiles back, glad to see him look so good. Nick comes in behind her, followed by Elijah. “How are you doing?”
“Better. Who’s this?” He scrutinizes Elijah carefully.
“He’s an Angel. Like, a real Angel,” Keely whispers.
Bryon grins, sure she’s joking with him. The smile fades slowly as he reads the serious expression on her face. His eyes dart to Elijah, then to Keely. Over to Nick who nods. “Why?”
Elijah laughs loudly. “He is definitely your friend,” he says to Keely. “You are a part of our prophecy. We need your help,” he adds turning to Bryon.
Without a word, Bryon plucks off the plastic rectangle clipped to his finger and tosses it on the bed. Pulls the blanket back and pushes himself gingerly off the bed. He pulls at the one string tying his hospital gown together and it falls to the floor leaving him standing in his white boxer briefs. Keely’s eyes are momentarily glued to the bandage on his chest. As her eyes begin to trail down his stomach, she turns around quickly.
“Shouldn’t you stay in bed?” she asks in what was meant to be a scolding voice, but comes out more like a sigh.
“I don’t have a shirt. They cut it off of me,” he says ignoring Keely. She hears the zip of his pants and turns back to scowl at him. He rolls his eyes. “Keel, I am not going to miss this,” he says firmly.
Elijah pulls his tee shirt over his head revealing a white tank top. The kind she always refers to as wife beaters. He hands the shirt to Bryon.
“I’m sorry miss, you can’t go in there,” Micah says from the hallway.
“The hell I can’t. Who are you? Where’s Bryon?” Lila’s voice rises to near hysterics. Nick and Elijah run toward the door as something hits it with great force.
“She hit me. Hard,” Micah says rubbing his cheek with a bemused expression. “It kind of hurt.” He smirks at Lila as she pushes past him into the room.
“What the hell is going on? Why are you out of bed?”
“Calm down, Lila.”
“What did you just say to me Nicholas Wallace?”
“Lila? Lila Wallace?” Elijah asks suddenly. He looks to Micah who nods. “You need to come with us too.”
Lila looks him up and down, her chin dipped toward her chest, hands on hips. “And who are you?”
“I’m Elijah.”
“They’re Angels,” Bryon says. Keely hears the excitement in his voice. Lila looks at Nick. He nods.
She bites her lip and shrugs. “Where we going?”
“Really? Not one of you is freaked out?” Keely bursts out throwing her hands in the air. “Nobody questions the fact that they are actual Angels? Really?”
“Are you kidding?” Bryon looks around at the others in the room. “Is she serious?” He grunts as he lifts the shirt over his head. “I waited my whole life for this.”
Thirty-Nine:
Elijah pushes Bryon into the saddle and offers Keely his hand. “What about you?” she asks.
“I’ll walk,” he tells her and lifts her onto the horse.
“You can ride with me,” Micah says to Lila with a flirtatious grin. She smiles back and he helps her onto his mahogany colored horse.
“So, if Nick is the Warrior, Bryon is the Prophet, then who is Lila again?” Keely says as she wraps her arms loosely around Bryon’s waist.
“I’m a what?” Bryon asks.
“You’re the Prophet. She is the Perceiver,” Israfil explains.
“I’m not a Prophet,” Bryon says.
“What’s a Perceiver?” Lila asks.
“You are a Prophet, or you will be,” Elijah tells Bryon. “And a Perceiver is someone who has a sixth sense. If you were an Angel, you would be a guide, like Micah.”
Lila purses her lips. “I see that.”
Keely looks at Ramuell. “And you called Asmoday the Scion. What does that mean? The Scion of whom?”
“Of me,” Ramuell says.
They all fall silent. Eyes darting between Asmoday and the Angel. “You’re my grandfather,” Asmoday whispers. Ramuell looks at him proudly and nods his head.
“Whoa. Wait a minute. Am I the only one confused?” Lila puts her hands out, palms up. “You look about what? Twenty-four, twenty-five? How can you possibly be a grandfather?”
“Angels, Lila,” Nick groans.
“I only age in my human form.”
“But his daddy’s a Demon, right?”
“My son was an abomination. He was an original Demon, born without a soul. I grieve for him every single day.”
“So Demons really don’t have souls?” Keely asks.
Ramuell nods. “Most do not because they were never meant to exist. What we did when we fell, we went against our Father. He didn’t have life planned for the children we created. That much supremacy without a soul, it made them insane. Mad with power. Their bodies grew larger and stronger each day, and as their hunger grew, so did their rage. There was nothing inside of them to point them in the right direction. No inner voice telling them to stop, telling them they were wrong. They couldn’t hear us when we tried to teach them. All they wanted was to placate their desires, but it was never enough. Their hunger was never satisfied. Their thirsts never quenched. Their passions never sated. Some of the fallen tried to kill them, but they wouldn’t die. No soul to leave their bodies. We begged our Father for forgiveness. Repented and pleaded for his help. He opened the gates to us once more. The flood came a fortnight later.”
“Asmoday has a soul,” Keely says with absolute confidence.
Ramuell looks at his profile. “Yes, he does. Our Father had a plan for him.” He squeezes Asmoday’s shoulder.
“So, if Asmoday’s the Scion, then who is the Demon?” Keely begins to shiver as she waits for somebody to answer. Asmoday holds her gaze.
“Keely, are you cold?” Bryon asks, feeling her tremble.
“She’s scared,” Asmoday answers.
“I’m very sorry, Keely,” Elijah begins. “It’s only because he’s part of the prophecy that we must include him. If there were any other way…”
Nick asks, “Who is it?”
“Apophis,” Lila says.
“Yes. I am sorry. You’ll be safe, I give you my word,” Elijah tells Keely.
“And where do we pick him up? He hides in Demon realms,” Keely scoffs.
“I can find him,” Asmoday suggests. “I pledged my allegiance. He will not hide from me. I can go and be back quickly.” He glances at Keely, feeling her unease. “I will not be gone for long.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Israfil calls.
“But the cord will break,” Keely
reminds him urgently.
“I will be back as quickly as I can. I promise.”
Ramuell asks, “You’ll be able to find us?”
“I will be able to find her. Please take care of her while I am away.” Asmoday inclines his head at Keely. Ramuell nods and Asmoday is gone.
“So, what’s it like to be an Angel?” Bryon’s voice fills the uncomfortable silence.
The Angels bark with laughter. “It’s wonderful,” Elijah sings.
***
Ambriel and Michael are at Keely’s house when they all arrive. Her dad is slumped in the chair, his hair messed as if he’s been running his hands through it for a while now. He bursts from the chair and stands in front of Keely. She sees his eyes and knows he’s been crying. “I thought I lost you both,” he chokes and jerks Keely into a hug.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” She tries to pull away, but he clings to her as if she is his life preserver.
“The Demon King’s taken her mother,” Ambriel explains to the others. “We’ve dispatched several teams in search of her. They haven’t found anything as of yet.”
Keely wrenches free of her dad. “He took my mom?”
“I’m very sorry, Princess.”
“Stop saying that! Everybody stop apologizing to me. Stop calling me Princess. Stop wanting me to be someone I’m not!”
Nick tries to take Keely’s hand, but she jerks away. “I’m going to get her.” She turns to leave and Micah blocks her path. “Get out of my way, Micah. I don’t care if you are an Angel. I am leaving.”
He holds his hands up. “We go together.”
Keely flinches. She was prepared to fight her way out of the house. Didn’t expect it to be so easy. “O.k. Let’s go.”
“We wait for the rest,” Ramuell commands.
Seeing she is about to protest, Nick adds, “Apophis and Asmoday may be able to find them easily. We need to wait for them.”
“Yeah, and we’ll have a better chance if there are more of us,” Lila says.
“Don’t let your emotions make you do something that could endanger yourself or others,” Elijah murmurs softly. “You risk us all, including your mother with the choices you make. Don’t forget, you may not be in any shape to help anyone soon.”
Dark Calling Page 36