by Diem, J. C.
The next vision was of a baby that I held in my arms. I knew she was my daughter and that she’d been born by the vessel that I’d taken over. This child will be special, Fate told me. Her soul will be different from everyone else’s, which will make her a target. If you choose to save humanity, you must take steps to ensure that your daughter will reach adulthood. She sent me a barrage of images from the baby’s future and I reeled beneath it.
All this had only taken moments and I heard the doorknob turn. I have made my decision, I said in some anguish, knowing what was to come. My daughter would be an abomination to angels. I would have to keep her safe from them as well as from demons. Despite her origins, I knew the little girl would become the savior that this world needed.
Hinges creaked as the door opened. A demon approached the bed and I could feel his gaze crawling over me. “What color are your vessel’s eyes?” he asked.
“Green,” I replied automatically then cringed when his hand stroked my hair.
“‘Gold of hair, green of eye’,” he recited then gave an evil chuckle. “It would be the greatest of ironies if a former angel were to bear Hellscourge.” His voice sounded young, but the demon hiding inside the vessel could be any of my fallen brethren.
“Is that why you are raping harvested angels?” I asked. “Are you attempting to bring about the destruction of your own race?”
I could hear him undressing and had to fight against the urge to thrash against my restraints. I’d never had a curiosity about human desire, but he was about to force himself on me and I was powerless to stop him. “We are attempting to create a new race,” he corrected me. “I highly doubt that Hellscourge will be conceived by our experiment. Surely God would not allow such a thing. We all know how much he despises the beings that we are attempting to fashion.”
“You are creating Nephilim,” I realized numbly. It was even worse than I’d realized. The Collectors were madmen if they thought they could get away with this.
“We have been unsuccessful so far, but I am certain that we will prevail,” my captor told me.
As promised, Fate blanked out what happened to me next. My mind went elsewhere and I only returned to reality when the unknown demon left the room. Deep inside me, I felt something strange happen. What was that? I sent the thought out to Fate, hoping that she hadn’t abandoned me.
I kept part of your grace inside you, Fate responded. I also took some of the demon’s essence from him. They have been drawn into the embryo that was created by your union with the hell spawn.
It took me a moment to understand. You mean I am already pregnant?
Yes. The demon has no idea that what he merely jested about has come true. You now carry Hellscourge inside you. I have shown you what will come to pass and what you need to do to keep her safe. I will arrange for you to escape from here. After that, her future will be in your hands.
“I will keep Violet safe,” I vowed out loud. I’d gleaned from Lilly’s mind that this was the name she would have given her daughter. We were now irreversibly bound together. This was my tribute to her for the sacrifice of her life.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fourteen
I woke up from the dream sobbing and Nathan was there an instant later. He took me in his arms and held me to his chest. “What is wrong?” he asked as he rocked me.
“She knew,” I said in anguish, holding onto him like he was a lifeline. “My Mom knew that she’d eventually die if she had me, but she chose to fall pregnant anyway.” I’d seen everything that Fate had shown her in the vision and it was burned into my memory now. My mother had seen her own death at the hands of the demons and she’d still agreed to sacrifice herself.
He tensed up when he realized that I’d had a dream about my mother. “What else did you see?”
I told him about the dream, leaving out the jumbled vision that Fate had sent her of my future. He relaxed and stroked my back soothingly. “Asteraoth made the ultimate sacrifice because she loved you,” he said.
“Why did she have to die?” I asked plaintively. “Why weren’t you allowed to save her?”
“It was God’s will.”
Rage rose inside me and I had to force it down before it could turn into true wrath. Holding back bitter words, I saw a faint red glow coming from my eyes and squeezed them shut. “It isn’t fair,” I whispered. “Why do I have to suffer through so much torment? Is that God’s will, too?”
“No,” he refuted. “That is Fate’s will. She intends you to become the warrior that this world needs.” Now it was his turn to sound cynical. “She will put you through whatever trials she believes are necessary to toughen you up.”
“It isn’t working,” I said harshly. “I’m not getting tougher. I’m dying.”
His hands became almost crushing before he leaned back to look down at me. A faint blue glow emanated from his eyes. His anguish was almost as bad as mine. “I would give up every scrap of my essence if I thought it would save you,” he said.
“I know.” I buried my face against his neck before he could kiss me and damn himself.
The door burst open and Leo and Sam entered. They stumbled to a stop when they realized that I wasn’t draining Nathan of his grace. I turned in time to see them exchanging a sheepish look. “We thought you were treading on dangerous ground and that you required our intervention,” Leo said lamely.
Nathan sighed and gently placed me back on my bed. “One of you should stay with her until she falls asleep again,” he said then vanished.
“Did you have a bad dream?” Sam asked as he shuffled his feet anxiously.
“You could say that,” I said and flopped back down. Both teens crawled into bed with me, one on each side. It was squishy with all three of us, but I needed their comfort. “How much did you hear?” I asked.
“We heard everything,” Leo replied truthfully.
“You know I’d never steal Nathan’s grace.”
“We know you would not drain him on purpose,” he agreed. “But I have seen what happens when you get carried away by passion.”
My face flamed bright red and I was glad the darkness hid it. They hadn’t seen me try to strip Nathan naked while we were hovering over the city. That was the closest I’d ever come to losing my virtue. I’d come close a few times with Zach, as well. My hormones were becoming harder to control. I’d promised my guardian that I wouldn’t sleep with my boyfriend. It looked like I was going to die with my innocence intact at this rate. Unless Bob got his hands on me again, that was. From what Reynolds had told us, his captain hadn’t given up on his plan to defile me before he handed me over to his master.
Shying away from that thought, it brought me straight back to what had happened to my mother. She’d been blindfolded, so I hadn’t seen the face of the creature that had raped her. That demon is my father, I thought numbly . The vessel he’d inhabited didn’t matter. I assumed he was one of the Collectors. As far as I knew, there were thirteen of them. Any one of them could have been my parent.
From what Sophia had seen, no further demons would be coming through the gates, but she didn’t know why. Maybe the Hellmaster had decided he had enough lackeys in the city already. His handmaiden, Lord Vepar, was doing her best to cut them down and to send them to me. It was most likely that they were all just a sacrifice that he was willing to make in order to turn me to the dark side. If what Sam had sensed about me was correct, then it was working and I really was turning evil.
I fell asleep with heavy thoughts weighing on me and I didn’t feel any better when I woke up the next morning. The boys had left me at some stage during the night. Sam was captivated by the TV when I trudged into the hallway. He managed to tear his gaze away from the screen long enough to smile.
Shaking my head at his growing addiction, I took a long shower. Studying myself in the mirror after I dried off, I was amazed at how much I looked like Lilly. I was almost the same age she’d been when Asteraoth had taken possession of her. Filled with sorrow f
or the girl and the angel who had shared the same body, I tried not to dwell on the suffering that they’d both experienced.
By the time I finished blow drying my hair, I’d managed to regain control of myself. I didn’t want to mope around and bring everyone down with me. I didn’t have the luxury of being a normal teen who was full of angst and drama. My mission was too important to let myself wallow in self-pity.
Filled with fresh determination, I strode downstairs and found Sophia in the kitchen. “You are just in time,” she said cheerfully as she transferred eggs and bacon onto a plate. Thanks to Brie’s torture session, my sense of smell and taste had improved. Food wasn’t as bland now and my mouth actually watered at the enticing smell.
Drawn by the scent as well, Sam ventured downstairs as I took a seat at the table. He slid into his chair and stared at my plate with interest. “Do you want to try some bacon?” I asked.
“You do not mind?”
I shook my head and cut off a piece of bacon for him. He took it and tentatively put it in his mouth. A look of pure bliss came over him as he chewed it. “That is the best thing that I have ever eaten.”
“I will cook some for you,” Sophia offered.
“You do not have to do that. I can cook it myself.”
“You can’t even make toast without burning it,” I reminded him. “Let Sophia cook for you. She enjoys it.” None of us wanted the entire building to become full of smoke if he set anything on fire.
“My vessel is the one who loves to cook,” Sophia said as she stood up. “It is a passion that she has passed on to me.”
“Sophia’s vessel cooks, Leo’s is an artist, Brie’s is probably a professional whiner,” I recounted and Leo and Sam both sniggered. “What does your vessel like to do?” I asked Nathan.
“He liked to hunt,” he replied. “He was a healthy young man in the prime of his life. He loved to chase down his prey on foot, pitting his wits and strength against their speed and stamina.”
“Did you choose him because he looks so much like you?”
He shook his head. “That is just a coincidence. I found him after he’d been injured during a hunting expedition. He’d fallen over a cliff while chasing a mountain goat and had been on the verge of dying. I took possession of him and healed his wounds, but his mind had been badly damaged when he’d hit his head. He died moments afterwards and his soul departed from his body.”
We all stared at him in surprise. “How were you able to remain inside him?” Leo asked. “We require a human soul to subjugate to our will. Without the soul, there is nothing for us to command.”
“God himself showed me where I would find the young man,” Nathan replied. “He made it possible for me to retain control after the young man perished.”
“He merged your essence with the vessel,” I deduced. “It’s the only way you could have stayed inside him.”
He inclined his head in agreement. “So it would seem.”
I’d always known that Nathan was unique. Part of God’s punishment for having doubts about humanity was that he couldn’t return to heaven. Over time, he’d developed the ability to hover between dimensions, which made him very nearly invisible. That ability had been negated by the wards that trapped us here in Manhattan.
“I don’t think it was a coincidence that your vessel looks so much like you,” I said. “I think God chose him because he wanted you to feel as if the body was yours. He banished you from heaven, but he still loves you.”
Nathan turned away, but not before I saw the glint of tears in his eyes. He’d been chosen just like I had and we’d both had to make sacrifices. I only hoped we wouldn’t have to lose anything else before this mission was finally over.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fifteen
Brie’s torture session had improved my health even more than I’d expected it to. The effects wouldn’t last forever, but I hoped it would tide me over until I found the next portal to hell.
I had enough energy to engage Leo in a training session after breakfast. Sam slunk out of the room before he could be roped into joining us. He was happy for me to take his place. He’d been learning how to fight, but he’d never be a warrior.
I’d left my cell phone on the table and Leo was startled into glancing at it when it rang. I took advantage of his distraction and stabbed him in the stomach with my stick. “You’re dead,” I said with a smirk and took the phone when Nathan handed it to me.
“That injury would not have killed me,” Leo said sulkily. “It would barely have given me a splinter.”
Seeing Reynolds’ name come up on the screen, I answered it. “Harper,” I barked in the same gruff style that he used to answer his phone.
“Very funny,” he said. “Gomez has been called away for a few hours. Now would be a good time to perform the surveillance that we were talking about.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m sitting in my car two blocks away from our headquarters.”
He named the side street where he was parked and I looked at Nathan. “Tell him we will be there momentarily,” he said. I didn’t even need to put my phone on speaker. My friends could hear him just fine.
“We’ll be there soon,” I repeated and we both hung up. “Who wants to come with me?”
“There is no need for you to go,” Nathan responded. “Either Leo or I can perform this task.”
“I’m bored and I could use the fresh air,” I countered.
Sophia sighed, putting an end to our argument before it could begin. “Why don’t all three of you go?” Sam was busy upstairs and I guessed she wanted some time to herself for once.
Leo took my training weapon from me and stashed it behind the counter with his. I wasn’t particularly sweaty and I didn’t need to change clothes. I picked up my dagger and went to slide it down the back of my jeans.
“That cannot be comfortable,” Leo said when he ambled back to the table. “Allow me to make an adjustment for you.”
I stood still as he concentrated and waved a hand over my right pocket. “There. That should suffice.”
Sliding the sheath into the pocket, I found he’d enlarged and lengthened it so the dagger would rest against my outer thigh. I would have to remove it before I could sit down, yet it was far more comfortable now. The hilt of my dagger poked out the top of my pocket, but my t-shirt was long enough to cover it. Only close inspection would give away that I was armed. “Thanks,” I said and hugged him.
Nathan looked slightly disgruntled when I stepped away. He knew there was nothing going on between Leo and me, yet he couldn’t help but feel jealous. It was exactly how I felt every time I saw another female get too close to him.
I offered Nathan my hand and a small thrill went through me when he took it. He drew me to his side and took Leo by the shoulder and teleported us to a different location. Orienting myself once the blinding flash of white light faded, I realized we were only a few blocks away from our base.
Seeing Reynolds’ dark blue sedan parked at the curb, I walked over and knocked on his window. I tried not to grin when his head whipped towards me and he reached for his gun. “Feeling jumpy?” I asked when he climbed out.
“Can you blame me?” he retorted. “Now that I know demons are crawling all over the city, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.” Opening the trunk, he took a backpack out and slung it over his shoulder before locking his car and activating the alarm.
“We will do our best to rectify that,” Nathan said. “Do you have a location in mind where we can spy on your colleagues without being seen?” Our bracelets would hide us from demons, but normal cops would become suspicious if they saw us lurking around.
Reynolds nodded and started walking. “The rooftop of a nearby building should offer us the best view. I have enough binoculars for us all.”
“Nathan and I will not require them,” Leo said and slanted a look at me. “Violet will need the aid of enhanced vision, however. Her eyesight is laughably pitiful.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said dryly. “Sorry I’m just a pathetic mortal instead of a super being like you.”
“It is not your fault that you are inferior,” he said cheekily. “You are only human.”
“Are they always like this?” Reynolds said to Nathan.
“Sadly, yes,” my guardian replied.
Leo and I sniggered at his long suffering tone. “You love us,” Leo said.
“I tolerate you,” Nathan corrected him.
“You feel far more for Violet than mere tolerance,” the teen said in a sly tone.
Reynolds’ eyebrows rose and he sent me a speculative look, searching for verification of what Leo was hinting at. Redness flared in my cheeks, betraying my feelings for Nathan. “I didn’t think it was possible for angels and humans to date,” the detective said.
“It isn’t,” I replied. “It’s taboo.”
He heard the sadness in my tone and was wise enough to drop the subject. We jogged across the wide avenue before the lights could change and continued our walk in silence. Coming to an alley, he led us to a building about halfway along. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
“Do you live here?” I asked doubtfully. The building was short and squat. It was only four stories high and was dwarfed by the two apartment buildings on either side of it.
“No. I acquired the key from a trusted source.” Reynolds clearly didn’t want to say anything more, so I didn’t pry. He opened the door and led us into a short, cramped hallway. We followed him through a doorway and up several flights of stairs to the roof.
Nathan sent me a puzzled glance as we stepped out into the open. “You seem to be much improved. I did not realize that aspirin could work such wonders.” I’d been making a point to take it in front of the others to keep up the ruse.