by Tara Brown
Her jaw drops. “Of course. Wicked bitch! That is why all them others have always been such a waste of skin. I wondered why Lorri picked y’all. A bunch of kids that don't seem less like meat sacks than the fallen. Each of y’all is corrupted. But now that makes perfect sense. Lillith don't even have to fight you. She just needs to throw a bit of ass around and a good dancing beat, and y’all are stuck stupid on it.” I cock an eyebrow but she points at me. “Don't even. Picking little brats like y’all was a mistake. Your generation is so focused on taking selfies you don't even know the world is falling apart.”
I drum my fingers against my legs, contemplating it all. I send a text, summoning the one person who will think the right way.
Blake winks into the room, giving me a look. “I was busy.”
I roll my eyes. “Stalking Alise isn’t busy, psycho.”
He lifts his middle finger. “Look, I brought you something.”
Danny laughs and waves. “Hey, Blake!”
“Hey, Danny. How’s that new game treating you?”
Danny rolls his eyes too. “Pul-lease. I beat that the first day. I got a new game now. Zombies! I figure why not practice killing them since the apocalypse is coming anyway.”
Blake chuckles and strolls over to Lorelei and I. She grabs his head, flashing everything we have just discussed into his brain. He steps back, gagging. “Oh my God. Ask before you attack like that. What the shit was that? Did that all happen? Is that real?” He gives me a pale-faced look of horror. “How the fuck did we miss that?”
Lorelei swats him. “Language.”
He swallows hard. “Aimes, tell me the bumpkin has it wrong and we haven’t been stuck in a dreamland like Odysseus’ men with the Lotus-eaters?”
“We have.”
He covers his eyes. “Why? How?”
“Lillith has done something to us. She’s made it so angels get lost in the beauty and pleasure around them.”
“But Lorri and Dorian never got lost.”
Lorelei snickers. “Oh, Dorian got lost plenty. You should have seen him the first time he saw this one here.” She nods at me.
“What? You were there?”
She smiles. “I was. He was stuck the minute he saw you. You were only sixteen, maybe seventeen. You were reading contradicting books in the library. We was searching for Aleks’ daddy but we didn't find him. Just you. The moment Dorian’s eyes met your face, he was a goner.”
Blake waves a hand in front of her face. “No one cares about Dorian! He’s dead.” His words make me flinch but he shakes his head. “Sorry, Aimes. But it’s true. He’s dead and we’re alive, and we need to know what the hell is going on.” He starts tapping his lips and pacing. “Why would she occupy us with frivolity?”
Lorelei looks like she might say something and interrupt his pacing, but I shake my head. “Just let the magic work.”
She scowls, but watches.
“Why didn't you use magic on us if you knew we were acting crazy?”
She folds her arms across her chest. “I have been using everything I can think of on you all. I didn't think magic worked on you. None of you seemed able to respond to the spells I used to make you focus.”
I narrow my gaze, recalling things. “It was probably your spells that helped us stay focused, even the little bit that we are. It might not seem like it, but me, Blake, Shane, and Giselle are actually not doing too badly. Well, not as badly as you think and way worse than I thought we were doing.”
Marcus comes strolling over, eyes tapered and mouth fixed. Lorelei’s gaze doesn't leave Blake’s face but her hand slips up and covers Marcus’ mouth. He grins from behind her slim fingers. I can see the smug, shitty smile in his eyes.
Blake pauses, thinking aloud. “Distracting us gives her what? I mean it could be that she wants to mock God and show him that his mighty force of angels is nothing compared to her. But that's just boastful and doesn't give her anything but satisfaction. I don't think she cares about that level of satisfaction. She’s gone all this time, trying to make her name vanish into the whispers of history. Why boast now?”
I shrug but Marcus mutters from behind the hand. “Time, you idiot. She’s doing something that requires time. She’s occupying you morons to make certain you don't find her before it’s time.”
“The antichrist. She’s making the antichrist,” Blake blurts it out. “Holy shit. She’s making the thing that is predicted to end the world as we know it.”
“What?” Lorelei scowls. “She’s a beautiful creature, made of God’s love. How the heck is she going to go about making some devil?”
Marcus’ face loses its smugness and color. “By lying with the devil.”
“But Lorri was the devil?” I am totally lost. “And she’s gay and she can’t make babies. Or can she?”
“She was never THE devil.” Marcus rolls his beautiful dark-blue eyes. “Only the devil to idiots. She isn’t the only devil. She’s the fallen angel who came to save humanity from the wanker angels. There is a force of evil that isn’t Lorri. I mean she was awfully sassy when she was angry, and quite ornery when she wasn't angry, but that doesn't make her evil.”
“What is the force of evil? Why hasn't this been discussed before?”
Marcus shakes his head. “I don't know what it is. I just know it’s there. I know Lorri always feared something in the shadows. I think she worried Jonathan might get to it.”
I cover my eyes and moan. “Friggin’ Adam. If he had just kept his dick in his trousers we’d be in a whole other situation. I might actually be graduated from college and loving my life. Instead of worrying about the unknown evil that even Lorri was scared of.”
When I lower my hands I see all three of their faces have lost color. Blake swallows hard. “That’s it. Lillith has found a way to repay Adam, and God, for everything. She has found someone to impregnate her with a child who she will make the antichrist. She has found someone with strong enough magic that the child will be born with more than any of us.”
The thought dawns on me and lands in my stomach with a thud. Seeing the powers of the half angels in the room, I can’t help but dread a child who is more than any of the ones we have met. The ones here have tons of ability for being so young. “Who would she have used to father such a child?”
Lorelei’s face twists. “My grandpa would be a good start. He’s more powerful than anything.”
“Is he the last of his kind?”
She shakes her head. “I don't really know. But he’s related to her and totally above having relations with her. I hope.”
Blake wrinkles his nose. “Uh, ewww. Why do all our conversations always turn to something ugly like incest?”
Marcus cocks an eyebrow like he might add something nasty about incest but Lorelei shakes her head. “No, just don't say whatever foul thing is sitting on that tongue of yours.” She glances back at me. “Whatever it is Lillith has done, hasn't really affected the human side of y’all. So she is focused on the ones who were special already. She never thought Lorri would turn you into angels, and I bet she doesn't know that Lorri’s power resets all your powers. So whatever you were when you were born is what you are as an angel.”
Blake’s eyes narrow as his thinking face creeps up. “Wait—so Ari, Lucas, Aleks, Ben, Sam, and Hanna might all be able to go back to what they were, or at least reach what they were if it’s still inside of them?”
Lorelei looks confused but I agree. “In theory. If whatever they are is still in them, they should be able to reach it.”
“If we can make Lucas and Ben turn wolfie, maybe we can fix them.”
I bite my lips. “What’s gonna fix Hanna, making her rage?”
He nods. “And Ari would need to push and Sam would need Hanna’s siren smell again.”
Lorelei gives me a hopeful smile. “Maybe loving Aleks is all he needs. You love him and he loves you, deep down, right?”
My insides turn and when I don't answer her face drops. She lowers her gaze
to the magical locket on my neck. “Oh. Well, maybe there is something else that can trigger him.”
Marcus rolls his eyes. “This is all very dull. I don't actually care if they fix themselves or not. Orgy Aleks is actually more fun, for the record. He’s become a bit like how Dorian was in the early years.”
His comment stings but I don't have to scold him or mock him. Lorelei gives him a disapproving glare. “Go find somewhere else to be rude.”
He blows her a kiss and saunters back to game with Danny.
Blake’s eyes focus that way. He pauses and tilts his head. “What do we know about the kids?”
I shake my head. “They have random nephilim parents.”
He nods. “Hmm.”
I don't know where he’s going with it. I don't even care right now. I’m exhausted and crabby.
Realizing we have completely failed at whatever mission Lorri had given us is making me spicy. It feels unfair to be tested and found lacking so early on. But the truth is, it isn't early on. We have literally been doing nothing for a very long time. Lillith has won before the war has even started.
Blake nods at me. “What’s our next move?”
I give Lorelei a look. “Contain Ari and the others so they can’t hinder our attempts at stopping Lillith or hurt anyone else with their detachment from humanity.”
“Sounds like a start,” she says with a smile.
I offer her my best smile. It’s strained and half hearted but it’s better than nothing. “Thanks for not giving up on us and continuing to try magic on us.”
She shakes her head. “That's the point, right? Lorri picked those of us who would never quit. We are a team. Now I have to text Gwen and get her and Landry to help us out. Brandon Green should be able to as well.”
I grimace, recalling something. “Brandon Green is dead.”
Her jaw drops. “What? Why didn't nobody tell me? How? When?”
I shake my head, not recalling details just the fact he’s gone. “I don't know. But what about the rest of the wolves?”
“That just breaks my heart.” She shakes her head at me. “Forget about the other wolves, they won’t participate. Not since Ben and Lucas changed to angels. They feel like Lorri betrayed them.”
“We’re all on the same page then?” I scoff.
“You know she wouldn't have done that.”
“Yeah, but it feels like she might have screwed up by accident.” I glance at Blake who nods his head. “We are the first ones she ever made. She might not have realized how bad it all was.”
“It’s not so bad, so long as you have a focal point. It’s like spinning. So long as I can see or hear Alise, I don't get dizzy. But the minute I’m out of sight from Alise, I can feel my thoughts and clarity start to fade away.” He nods at my pocket. “Like you and the feather, I assume?”
I nod, lifting my hand to the locket.
Lorelei’s eyes narrow. “So you love those people and they keep you grounded? Dorian is dead, and yet his love is able to ground you?”
“I suppose.”
She turns and looks toward the kitchen. “What’s grounding him and Giselle then?”
Blake’s lips curl into a grin. “Each other.”
My jaw drops. “What about Ben and Giselle? I thought that was a lifelong thing.”
He shakes his head. “No. Ben, Lucas, and Ari have been so screwed up lately. Shane and Giselle have been hanging out a ton. They seem to get on.”
“She’s a diva. That's doesn't even make sense.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Says the girl who made me watch every Murder She Wrote when we were sixteen and is now pining over a dead angel with the meanest sense of humor I have ever encountered.”
Lorelei cackles. “He has a point. Opposites attract.” She glances back at Marcus. “Trust me.” He winks at her, making us both smile. She shakes her head, lost in some aspect of his smile.
Blake rolls his eyes. “Let’s just get this over with. Finding Lillith can’t happen until we have the team of horny angels behind bars.
Lorelei nods. “You two go and find them and I’ll get Marcus motivated.”
I take Blake’s hand and wink, knowing full well where at least two members are.
Chapter Four
A peeping Blake
Finding Hanna and Aleks was easy. They hadn’t left nor changed. Hanna was licking his taut abs and grinding on top of him in the garden when we landed. They didn't even lift their heads when we got there. Watching them has been awkward as ass.
Lorelei texts as I walk over. I glance at the words and frown. Blake looks up from his phone, clearly confused. “Momma Holt?”
I shudder and nod. “If that's what she says, then that's what we do.”
Aleks lifts his head, grinning at us like we’ve interrupted a meal and he’s about to ask us to join.
Blake shakes his head. “Blood brothel. We need some help.” He sounds like he isn’t convinced of what he’s saying.
Hanna turns her head sharply. “WHAT?”
“You heard him. We need some help.”
She rolls her eyes, annoyed at the interruption. “Why can’t you just do it?”
Blake’s voice is completely deadpan. “We desperately need your brand of expertise.”
She stands, winking away half naked and returning in seconds with clothes on. She tosses a sweater at Aleks—the beige one I love. He shrugs it on over his broad chest and smiles at us, oblivious to the power of the spell corrupting his beautiful innocence.
I hold a hand out for them, being the only one who knows where we’re going.
I wink, hating the weight of the guilt over the deceptive way we are luring them into a trap. As we land in the mud by the Blackwater Bayou, I step back and Blake shoves them both into the murky water. Lorelei is there, calling something in a way that I can’t understand her words. Wind shoots down on us, making a funnel around Hanna and Aleks. The water creeps up their legs, dragging them down into it. Somewhere in the commotion and noise I hear a scream from one of them.
They are gone, dragged below, within seconds.
She stops and faces me, still looking spooky and witchy. “Lucas and Ben next?”
I nod, taking Blake’s hand and wink us to the only place I can think to look.
When we land on the street, Blake’s grip on my hand tightens. He gives me a sideways glance. “What is this?”
I shake my head, mystified by the sight. Smoke and rubble fill the dreary view. The sunlight is blocked out by the debris. “A bomb has just gone off, I think.”
He smells the air, nodding. “Yup. This is great.” This is close to home for us. It’s very close. The smell of the bomb and death and destruction is everywhere. I bet they can smell it back home.
The club we are standing in front of looks disgusting. It’s in a level of disrepair I don't recall. We walk in, like Hansel and Gretel walking into the forest alone. We’re gripping to each other’s hands and taking our steps slowly. I’m not scared, I’m devastated. I can feel anger starting to build inside of me as we get farther inside.
The floor is sticky with old blood. I can smell it in the air.
“Wow, I thought the street looked bad.”
I nod, staring and stuck on the sights of horror and destruction. Ben and Lucas aren’t here. Anyone that is, isn’t alive. A foot smeared with dried blood and old cuts sticks out from the bar. Blake jumps when he sees it. He lifts a finger to push his glasses up, forgetting he doesn't wear them anymore. It’s his nervous tick.
I wink us to the one place I desperately don't want to go. I hate coming here but I don't see any other choice.
We land in the dank forest in Maine and instantly we are surrounded. Some of them are wolves and some are human.
Lucas’ huge uncle stalks over to us. I swear the ground shakes when he lumbers. “You again?”
“I need to find your nephews.”
Storm clouds take over his face. “What have you done to them?”
�
�I didn't do anything. I swear.” I’m instantly hopeful. “Are they here?”
He shakes his thick head. “You have no right to be here!” I can tell he’s holding on by a thread. He’s about to shift and come at me. The faces in the crowd aren’t any friendlier. Apart from Janine. She’s eyeballing Blake like he’s sex on a stick. She’s such a cougar.
I put a hand out. “Sir, I need them. They are a danger to themselves and everyone around them. I need to fix them. Please.”
He clenches his jaw, nodding toward the forest to the right. He’s clearly seen it. He clearly knows I am right. I wink/run with Blake in tow.
“Wow, he’s not very friendly.”
I sigh. “He hates me.” I just finish saying it when I catch a smell. It’s not what I expected. I turn, winking to the right. Blake pulls me back as I try to continue running. He sees it first, stopping us both dead in our tracks before giving me a look.
My heart sinks. I lift a hand and clutch to the locket. They are naked, both brothers, and lying on the forest floor asleep. They would look peaceful and sweet if it weren’t for the blood coating their faces. It doesn't smell human which leaves me to guess they slaughtered an animal and ate it, as humans. I don't even want to dwell on this.
I reach down and touch them both on the ankle, winking us to the bayou. They both scream as they enter the water. I step back onto the muddy banks, cringing at the sight.
Marcus is gutting himself laughing. I give him a sneer but he shrugs. “Their animal ways are finding their way back to them. That must have been a sight.”
I lift my middle finger into the air as the dark water settles. I can’t look back at the house behind us. I can’t look and see her face. I know I’ll break down if I do.