The Birminghams were here to help when their own emerged from the sulfurous abyss, but they’d been there for Madison over the years. That wouldn’t change now. Georgie sided with prophecy, of course, and the ever-popular free will.
Amos resided on his momma’s team, but if she ever crossed, then he’d follow Madison blindly to destruction, death, and blasphemy.
And then there was him. Since agreeing to this idiotic mission, he questioned if he’d be able to make the hard choices he claimed he could. That brought him to a couple of basic questions. Did Madison’s crystal soul represent a family tree? He couldn’t discount the possibility that it represented the tree of life from the Garden of Eden. Did she play the same vital part in mankind’s existence just as Eve had?
Even if she played the same dark role as Eve, could he really crush her into oblivion?
Zen turned his head toward Madison. Asleep from his magic, she lay on her back, blonde hair mussed across the pillow. He twirled the stem of her crystallized soul between his fingertips.
The colors of her soul were an odd mix of bright pink and twinkling dots of gold stars. The starbursts threw him, but he had a notion they represented each power she held. It’d be interesting to see if more would join them as additional magic surfaced.
Pandora wasn’t represented because she was a parasitic power and would revert to the person that claimed her life.
Micah would be wise not to underestimate Madison.
Zen shoved the crystal back in his pocket and watched Madison sleep. His life had become complicated, but he willingly ventured into this foolishness with Madison.
Chapter Nineteen
“I’m going in at dawn to claim her,” Elias informed Micah and Phoenix.
With morning less than an hour away, Micah’s excitement grew. Knowing he would see his bride soon made it difficult to maintain his human facade. In less than an hour she would be where she belonged. By his side. In Hell.
“Didn’t I mention they’re more vigilant at dawn?” The Ark of Heaven scuffed his fingers through his hair and leaned a shoulder against the wall.
“Yes.” A fiendish grin curled his brother’s lips. “I’m sending a message to her immortal play-toy. If we want Madison, we can take her and not even he can stop us.”
“Don’t be too cocky, brother. Zennyo Ryuo is a sneaky son-of-a-bitch.” Underestimating him could result in a death sentence. Micah’s intentions were to gain his wife, not send his brother to his grave. “Keep your guard up.”
“Promise.” Elias pulled on a jacket. “Your family is there with her, Phoenix.”
Phoenix shrugged. “Makes no difference. I cannot even recall their names.”
“Just don’t harm his family and our covenant won’t be jeopardized.”
***
Madison came awake with Zen and Amos seated in chairs beside her bed. Sitting up, she shoved the covers back. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Zen said.
She punched him on the arm. “That’s for knocking my ass out.”
“You’re welcome.”
“It’s almost daylight.” Amos fidgeted in his seat.
“I’m sorry, angel, for demanding Petra remain with you.” She tucked hair behind her ears. “I can’t afford being distracted by your safety in Hell.”
“I know. Zen explained. He told me to man up.”
The sadness of that statement left her feeling hollow. “You have to man up way too much.”
Damn Micah for putting this pressure on their son.
No…Goddamn him!
She almost wished he’d never walked out and they’d be living in wedded bliss, turning the world upside down. As much as that scenario bothered her, at least her son wouldn’t be manning up at ten.
No, instead, he’d be a godhead. Acidic bile slammed into the back of her throat. “I’m going to grab a quick shower. I’ll meet you two in the living room.”
Zen rose with a nod. “I placed the Scroll of Cursed Souls on you while you slept. It’s on your lower back.”
“I slept through that? That was easier than Pandora’s Box.”
“You won’t sleep through the removal.”
“Thanks for the reminder. See you two in the living room.”
Amos stood from his chair and stepped in front of her. He chewed on the inside of his lower lip.
“What’s up, angel?”
He thrust his hand forward. “Alessa’s soul. I made it into a bracelet so it’d be easier to keep up with it.”
Tears blurring her vision, Madison accepted the triangular-shaped crystal. She blinked the moisture away and studied his handiwork. The edges of the stone were encased snugly in leather that was braided to make up the lengths to tie around her wrist.
“You spent last night doing this? For me?” After their fight? He really had manned up.
“Uh huh.”
“Thanks.” Emotions hitting her hard, she cleared her throat. “Will you tie it on for me?”
He did as she requested, pinched the knot between his finger and thumb. “Fauga hivahtak.” Weave together.
At his command, the ties became one cohesive seam. “Now it can’t fall off until you’re ready to remove it.”
“You’re the best kid ever, you know that?” She ruffled his hair.
“Momma, you have to say that.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she smiled. “But it’s true. Ask Zen.”
Amos rolled his eyes, shoved something into her hand and said hurriedly, “A part of me to take with you.”
He took off as if he expected her to protest or embarrass him with some girly boohooing. Madison studied the object in her hand for a moment, shot a hard glance at Zen.
“Yes, I helped him. It was important to him.”
Madison burst into noisy tears.
***
Elias stood a couple of feet within the tree line of the home where his sister-in-law resided.
“Any activity this morning?” he asked the low-level demons he’d left on overnight watch.
“No, none yet.”
“You will precede me into the home and disband any Angel Locks she might have set.” She wouldn’t set Demon Locks because it’d limit hers and Petralegija’s ability to move about.
“As you wish.”
“Let’s bring her home.” Elias stepped out of the cover of the trees, his stride determined.
***
The skull-pendant necklace Nix gave to Amos a couple of years back dangled from her fingers. Amos cherished it and wore it nonstop. He’d hollowed out the metal center of the skull and wedged clear selenite into the eye sockets. Not only was selenite the same shit they’d busted Zen out of—they were probably pieces of the selenite he’d kept from that adventure—but the stone held protective properties as well. Selenite unblocked stagnant energy, instilled mental clarity, provided internal peace, and helped the wearer access angelic guidance.
Amos was her angel. She didn’t miss the analogy.
But that wasn’t all. Inside the skull, a piece of his soul—a tiny fragment—swirled with a rainbow of colors all over the freaking place. So vibrant and bright, it lent color to the selenite. These were hard-core primary colors.
Zen dragged her into his arms. “You realize it’s such a tiny speck of him, even if you crushed it, he wouldn’t be harmed?”
Madison knew, but that wasn’t what ripped her apart. Drawing in a ragged breath, she willed the tears to stop. “I’m okay.” She pushed out of his embrace. “Thanks for trying to comfort me.”
“I understand your emotion.”
His blank expression threw her. “Do you, Zen? You seem so distant from human emotion, sometimes I wonder if you get us at all.”
“Most of the time humans make no sense to me. But I understand you two more than you think. With that gift he comfortably said what he couldn’t say or doesn’t know how to say. He’s the angel on your shoulder and he loves you.”
Sniffling, she nodded and used the bottom of
her shirt to dry up the tears from her eyes and nose. “Yeah. And it drives home how terrible a mother I am. What kind of mother leaves her ten-year-old son behind while she goes to Hell to save a man? A mother that doesn’t believe she’ll make it back?”
“You do the best you can with what you’re given in life. Neither of you was given a fair shake. The odds were against you from the beginning.”
He was right about that. “Crush my soul if I don’t return the day after Nix.” She turned to walk to the bathroom.
“Madison?”
At the door, she stopped and turned to look at him.
His expression spoke tons: weighty, heavy emotions came from him. “You saved me from a crystal prison and I can’t say thank you in enough ways. I still see the same woman I saw the day you saved me. Determined to say fuck you to the unfair life you’ve been dealt. That hasn’t changed. I hope it never does. And I won’t crush your soul until I know you can’t be saved.”
Zen pivoted on his heels and walked out of the room.
Speechless, she gawked after him. Fucking shit, he cared about her. That fact equally staggered and worried her. Any other time, she’d be rejoicing if he hadn’t picked such a poor time to become a little human.
Uncomfortable going into Hell while unsure of Zen’s intentions, she ditched the shower to get to the bottom of his objective.
Hooking the necklace Amos gave her around her throat, she scrambled to discard her dirty clothes for clean ones, took a few seconds to admire her ‘tramp stamp’. It resembled a miniature dragon with black and flamey red scales. Hmm…a peculiar pattern and not what she’d expected. But, admiring the design on her flesh, maybe she’d get a real tattoo when she returned.
She took off after Zen.
“Zen!” She yelled spying him at the entrance to the living room and jogged toward him.
Go back! He screeched in her head so loud she stumbled, almost hit the floor with her knees, but caught his arm before she fell.
“Goddamn, Zen, that wasn’t necessary.” She stroked her temples. They ached to the touch as if he’d issued her a physical slap.
“What do we have here?”
Madison knew that voice and whipped her head around. It was Elias, as cold and domineering as the last time she saw him three weeks before Micah walked out of their lives. No surprise, he didn’t look a day older, either.
Air jammed inside her lungs and turned to cement.
“Multiple Sherlocks and a missing Queen, all in the same home…how interesting.” He tapped his chin and tsked.
The suave son-of-a-bitch set off every alarm bell in her system, not to mention turned her cold.
Everyone was present in the living room, including Amos. Madison’s stomach hit the floor and her heart slammed into her ribs. Amos was too far away from her to get to him before Elias could.
Dark silence weighted the room heavier than thick, gooey tar.
“Uncle Eli!” Amos squealed in delight at the sound of Elias’s voice. He jumped from the sofa. Madison was unsurprised by his reaction. The two of them had always gotten along famously, but her brother-in-law’s presence could be defined as nothing shy of disastrous. On his feet, Amos halted, and turned a frightened expression toward Madison. He scrambled over the sofa faster than Gage could give him a shove to help.
“Zen…Amos!” she said, horrified by the possibility Elias would go for him.
Orbing from his position beside her, he reanimated beside Amos, who now crouched behind the sofa. They disappeared in a sparkling display of pale rainbow spheres.
A satisfied curl slowly tilted Elias’s mouth in a lopsided grin. His steely gray eyes swept her, peeling her clothes from her body one garment at a time. At least the slimy intensity of his leer left her with that impression. Some things never changed.
“Gotcha,” he taunted. She realized the trap had been for her all along. And she’d walked straight into it. “E yuqq omil Taqq’j sokejxeyheil ulx jauq htej tipa, xalcelv hta Zennyo Ryuo uxpehhulya.” I call upon Hell’s jurisdiction and seal this home, denying the Zennyo Ryuo admittance.
Fuck!Madison darted to the right, going for the gun in the side drawer, but Elias scrambled after her. A foot from the furniture, an arm clamped around her throat. She’d forgotten how tall he was until he jerked her against the hard line of his chest and anchored the top of her head beneath his chin.
So much for head-smashing him.
One hand pressed to the side of her cheek, and twisted enough to put a crick in her neck. Muscles and ligaments protested the hard angle, but she said nothing, offering no resistance.
“Come closer and I’ll crack her neck,” he warned the group.
“Liar.” Petra called his bluff with a snarl to her upper lip. “Daddy’d kill you if you harmed her.”
“Really? You think? She’s his wayward bride. I think he probably plans a little revenge all on his own. Wonder whose punishment will be more severe, yours or hers? Want to take bets, cherub?”
“You don’t scare me, Uncle Eli,” Petra said with much bravado, but Madison saw the terror in her over-bright gaze.
“I might not, but your daddy does.” He winked at her. “See you soon, cherub. Imal.” Open.
Promptly a hole opened up. The orange blaze of a fire danced across the room and the smell of brimstone grew pungent. The souls screeching from the pit sent gooseflesh across her exposed skin.
“No!” Madison put her foot into his instep, but being barefoot didn’t help her cause. Going to Hell on his terms couldn’t be allowed. It screwed with Georgie’s and Amos’s foresight.
“Fuck yes,” he growled against her ear.
Wiggling hard against him, he laughed at her efforts to place enough leverage between their bodies for her to go for his crotch. She put her elbow into his gut. Solid muscle greeted her attack and she winced. Elbowing a brick wall might’ve hurt less
“As much as I’m enjoying this, princess, I refuse to disappoint Micah.” He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, “I’ve wanted to say this for a long fucking time, sister…. Ichnaday, Madison.”
A hard gasp fled her lungs and tears blurred her vision. With one word, all her will to fight vanished.
“Oh, fuck!” Petra whispered, but panicked, she flung a blade. Elias jerked them to the right and the knife embedded in the wall behind them. James got off a shot with his pistol. The bullet went far left when Elias, with his kingly power, pulverized the gun into a jumbled knot of metal just by using his mind.
“Anyone else want me to spank them?” No one responded and she could picture his gloating smile. Elias threw up his hand and slammed everyone into the wall with his hellish strength. “I didn’t think so.”
“Madison!” Zoe screamed as Elias jumped with her into the hole.
Await my command from Hell. Madison sent the telepathy and prayed Elias’s demonic mojo didn’t block the message. If her thoughts were obstructed, she’d be on her own in Hell, with only an army of damned to control.
Chapter Twenty
Zen and Amos arrived at a safe house no one outside of those that traveled with them knew about.
“He’s got her.” Moisture welled in Amos’s eyes.
“I know.” Zen focused on the man-child, noting the boy’s distress. “She was headed there today anyway. This changes nothing.”
“It changes everything!” Like a tiny crack in a dam suddenly giving free, a destructive force he was unable to contain, tears raced down his cheeks. “Uncle Eli was never in my visions. She never went like that.” His voice grew hoarse and labored. “She and Alessa went together. Always together in my visions.” He hugged himself with his arms and rocked from side-to-side. “No…no…no….”
Zen touched Amos’s forehead and zapped him with a sleep spell. He laid the boy on the sofa. The child’s visions had never been wrong. Not once since he’d met him. What’d that imply? What could have gone wrong?
Angel Locks clamped the home tight from the inside. It’d kee
p angels out and angels in. Amos wouldn’t be going anywhere until Zen wanted him out. Which brought to mind, how had Elias entered the other home when Angel Locks were at every entrance?
He’d tangled with Elias before and almost died from the altercation. He didn’t like knowing Elias had his grimy hands on Madison. But he hoped Elias retrieved her for Micah and for no other purpose.
He tried to return to Madison’s location, but bounced off what had to be a demonic spell of Elias’s making. Zen attacked it with his own magic, but it took another ten minutes before he diffused the power. He returned to a bevy of panic.
“Zen, she’s gone!” Zoe rushed him. He pushed her aside and located Georgie. She stood with James and Gage across the room, the three of them deep in talk.
“How did he get in here?” James towered over Zen, but he ignored the man.
“How can we help her?” Gage asked.
“We wait for her command,” Alessa said. “Didn’t you all hear her comment in your head as she left?”
Zen gripped Georgie’s arm and turned her to face him. “Amos says he didn’t see her going to Hell this way. Tell me what you saw and say it fast.”
“That wasn’t the way I saw either.”
“How does it alter things?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I need something very personal of hers to try and get a new vision.”
“Be right back.” Zen walked out of the room with Petra on his heels.
“Where’s Amos?”
“Safe house thirteen.” He thrust Madison’s bedroom door open and spied what he wanted on her bedside table. He walked across the room and picked up the blade Nix had given her for her thirtieth birthday.
“I’ll meet you there,” Petra said.
“Petra?”
She halted at the edge of the portal she’d drawn up. “Yes?”
“He was distraught. I put him to sleep. He won’t wake until I return.”
“I just need to be with him, do what Madison asked me to do, and protect him.”
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