He gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Something was troubling him. “Good morning, Josselyn. I trust you slept well?”
My face flushed and my eyes fell from his to look at the gold box. Struggling through my embarrassment, I attempted to change the subject of my sleeping arrangements and exactly just how good they had been. With the mornings’ activities in the shower, I was lucky I could concentrate on anything but the arrangements. “Are you ready for me to explain that box to the people going with us?”
“If you like. I can do it, otherwise. I’m aware some of them may not understand. I am prepared for questions.”
“No,” I met his stare, “I can do it.”
He nodded in understanding. “Very well. You know I am only a thought away if you need guidance.”
I nodded back, and then walked to the front of the room. After clearing my throat, I waited for everyone to find a seat and give me their undivided attention. This was extremely important and I didn’t want anybody that was going with us or staying here to misunderstand anything I had to say.
“May I have everyone’s attention, please? Thank you,” I said, and the room instantly fell silent. It appeared they were just as anxious as I was about the mission.
As if my attention had been drawn to him, my eyes looked to the back of the room and met Thoros’ stare. He was seated beside Baddon, with his boot casually rested on his knee. His face was expressionless, but I could still sense that he was undressing me with his eyes. A single eyebrow rose and he smiled as if my thoughts were displayed for all to see. I couldn’t hide my feelings. The night had been too real for me, and I wasn’t ready to think about what had to be done. The cruel reality was that I had to save Heaven and Earth now for there to be more passionate nights and showers that lasted until the water turned chilly—
Isaiah cleared his throat, bringing me back to the here and now, letting me know that all eyes were on me, and that I was as red as a beet. Christ, what was Thoros doing to me?
After clearing my own throat, I pulled my attention from him and addressed the other people in the room again. “I’m not sure what to expect from Limbo. I’ve heard of only three spirits that were pulled from Heaven to go to Limbo, but my only source of information is now in Limbo himself. My plan is to bring him back with us. That’s part of what I’m worrying about: I’ve never heard of anyone leaving. I am not certain that even we will be able to leave once we enter into the Limbo Realm. Lameria is tied to silver chains and will need to be… looked after,” I said after giving Isaiah a brief glance. “And the corpses will need to be watched and protected, as will the one who lives. I hope to be back before he wakes, but if I’m not, those staying behind will have to keep him comfortable and keep him from leaving until he’s had a complete memory wipe of the last few days—”
“Boggs…” Emma said, and then let her shocked face explain the rest. It was obvious the girl knew the three males that had been in Thoros’ last incident of soul taking.
“That’s what his I.D. said his name was,” Marcus stated.
Emma’s mind seemed to be racing. “You were the people that took them,” she muttered, obviously piecing the puzzle together. “Where are the other two marshals that were with Boggs in the accident?” she asked, her voice rising. “Where are the agents that were taken from the hotel room the other night?”
When Marcus only dropped his head, Thoros spoke from the back of the room. “The agents and marshals are dead. I’m sorry. But that is why a few of us are going to Limbo. We have their souls, but the spirits have traveled on to Limbo. We have six spirits, including Malcolm’s, that we have to find before returning back here. I’m not foolish enough to think it will be an easy mission, but, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that nothing worth fighting for is ever easy to get.” I gave a quick glance at Thoros and flushed crimson as he nodded in agreement. I knew he was thinking of me and the battle he’d been struggling with to win my heart. I was extremely happy he had been strong enough to stay as I constantly pushed him away. I wanted to go to him, hug him and promise a thousand times that I would always be by his side.
“Who’s going with you?” Baddon asked.
“I think we should keep the group as small as possible. Like I said before, there is no guarantee we will be able to leave once we get there, and I honestly don’t see how taking several of you with us will help anything. Most of you will be safer here—”
“What if we want to come with you? Will you refuse to let us? I, for one, would be honored to go and protect you, as well as make sure everyone returns home safely.”
I smiled. “I appreciate the offer, Baddon, but I think your skills will be needed here a bit more. I believe the demon will stay close until it gets what it wants. And with Lucifer’s impatience, I doubt he’ll wait much longer before sending reinforcements to make sure the job gets done in a timely manner. It’s already been two weeks now. I’m sure his patience is wearing thin. Isaiah, Ethan, Aries and Thoros will accompany me to Limbo—”
“Me?” Ethan shouted, leaning forward in his seat and almost falling to the floor in the process. “I know you all think I’m some all-powerful superhero, but I can assure you that I’m not! I need to stay here. I have to get my dad back. We need to go find him instead of wandering into some other dimension looking for a bunch of dead people! My dad is not dead yet!” he screamed, his voice cracking with emotion at the end.
“I’m sorry about your dad, Ethan, but I can’t take the chance that Lucifer will get his hands on you. I know you don’t understand, but if Lucifer gets control over you he will use you to take control over Heaven and release himself from the pits of Hell. Do you want that to happen? If the demon kills your father there is a very big possibility his soul will go to Heaven. If you try to save him now, we will all end up tortured in Hell for eternity. There is a time and place for everything. Don’t rush this. Rushing will be like being blindfolded and letting Lucifer lead us all to destruction. We have a better chance of talking to Melina. The head guardians believe she is our only chance at saving Earth and keeping Lucifer at bay.”
Ethan fell to the couch cushion again, apparently at a loss of knowing how to win the argument, or too distraught to try any longer.
“Who is Melina?” Fallis asked.
“She is the Queen of Limbo. She rules Limbo like Lucifer rules over Hell and God rules over Heaven and Earth. She and Lucifer were both archangels; they were banished at the same time. God exiled them, Lucifer to Hell and Melina to Limbo, neither of them able to escape an eternity of mental anguish and heartache from not being able to be near one another. That was, and always will be, their punishment for betraying God.”
“Why do the archangels think she will help you?” Damien asked.
I was silent for a moment, deliberating on how to phrase my answer. “Because she is Lucifer’s soulmate and I have a very special gift to offer her, one hopefully her heart will not be strong enough to refuse.”
“Which is?” Fallis piped up again.
“A chance to spend a day with her soulmate.”
Damien snorted. “You think one day will be enough to offer in exchange for her help?”
“When you meet your soulmate, you will know then that even an hour is better than none at all, Damien.” My eyes flickered nervously to Thoros. He was smiling.
Fallis chuckled. “Is that the reason Thoros was irritable and broody until you showed up? Are you his soulmate, angel?”
I sucked in a ragged breath. I wasn’t ready to answer questions about us yet, but I knew how awful he had looked when I had arrived here. If the urge to save Malcolm hadn’t been so distracting, I had a feeling I would have realized the half-souled immortal was my soulmate earlier and been in the same misery. The people in this room would never understand until it happened to them, though. “I am,” I said on a whisper. The room went silent as everyone looked from me to Thoros, and then back to me again.”
“What?” someone said. I t
hought it was Damien, but with my eyes looking at the Persian rug, I wasn’t sure.
“Damn, it’s gonna suck when you save the world and have to return to Heaven,” Fallis said. “I really feel sorry for us. Thoros will be ten times worse now that he’s—”
“I’m not going back to Heaven.”
This time there were a series of gasps throughout the room.
“You would give up Heaven? For him?” Fallis said, aghast.
I nodded. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to spend eternity with him. He is my Heaven. If he can’t go with me, then I will stay here with him. It wasn’t a choice I really even had to consider. I just pray Melina and Lucifer feel the same way and want to see each other again; even if it’s only for a day… otherwise we are screwed.”
I refused to look at Isaiah. I didn’t want to see what was in his expression about my decision. Had he seen this coming all along? Was he angry? He hadn’t spoken through my thoughts, so I was in the dark until one of us caved. I couldn’t worry about what he thought now; we needed to get going. We were wasting precious time and the exorcist still had to take the souls from the people going to Limbo before we left.
On that thought, I motioned with my hand toward the exorcist. “All those except for the people going with me are free to leave the room, unless you want to stay and watch the soul extraction process. I ask that if you need to leave the protection Fallis placed over the house, you travel with at least two other people. The demon will be watching. Believe me when I say that you don’t want to be taken hostage by a fiend like her. She shows no mercy and will torture you until she gets what she wants. If you can’t give it to her, well, I hope you have a high pain tolerance.”
Emma stood from her seat beside Ethan. “I need to leave here. I have to work. The agency has already been looking for me. They’ve called my cell several times, but when I try to answer or call out, the call drops. I can’t stay here! Ethan’s dad was staying with a friend of mine. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him—”
“He is more than likely dead,” Isaiah said, and Emma’s head jerked in his direction, an image of horror planted across her pretty face. “I’m truly sorry, Emma, but I imagine if the demon has Ethan’s dad that the person protecting him wouldn’t have just let her have him without a fight. In most cases, mortals do not win against demons.”
Tears welled in Emma’s eyes and she placed her hand over her heart. “James…”
Ethan took her free hand in his and gave it a squeeze. Her reaction gave Ethan a shock as she turned and fell into his arms and began to cry.
“Don’t leave me here with them alone, Ethan. I will go crazy with worry while you’re gone.”
He hugged her close and breathed in the scent of her hair, obviously torn about what to do.
I had no choice but to look at Isaiah then, but all I saw on his face was concern. “If we leave her here the demon will try to use her as bait. It is obvious Ethan cares for the girl—”
“You want her to come along with us? I didn’t see that one coming, Josselyn. Maybe your instincts are stronger than I thought. I believe you are right. It will only distract Ethan even more if we leave her here.” He turned back to Emma. “Would you like to go with us, Emma? It is not possible for you to go to work. The demon will take you hostage within an hour after leaving here.”
She wiped at her eyes and looked at Ethan.
He nodded. “It would make it a lot easier for me if you were there. I will worry about you constantly if you don’t come. I’ve never wanted to protect anybody more than I want to protect you. They say I have powers. I’m not sure that I do, but I feel like I could tear someone apart—demon or not—if they harmed you in any way. Please come. I want you to.”
“I’m scared,” Emma replied.
“I am, too, but not nearly as scared as I will be if you stay here. I will protect you, Emma.”
She smiled and, to Ethan’s surprise, leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. His grin was broad when she leaned back, breathless. “Whoa, was that a yes?”
Emma snickered as she nodded. “Yes, that was a yes.”
I smiled, wondering if another pair of soulmates had found each other. “Well, it looks like there will be another soul to add to the gold box, exorcist!”
Chapter 30
Thoros
Thoros could not control the muscles around his mouth from making him look like a complete fool for Josselyn as she took his hand, giving him a big, cheesy smile of her own. He didn’t mind that they were traveling to Limbo without knowing what to expect. He knew there was no way it could be as bad as Hell; Josselyn would be there with him.
She had admitted that she was his soulmate to the whole room and, in the process, told them that she would be staying here with him after they beat this. He could only imagine how difficult that had to have been for her.
If they got trapped in Limbo, so be it. Someone else would just have to save the world.
He watched with anticipation as Josselyn took Aries’ hand with her other, and then Aries took Emma’s, Emma took Ethan’s, Ethan took Isaiah’s and finally Isaiah grasped his free hand tightly with his.
“Everybody ready?” Isaiah said.
Everything turned opaque and blurry as Isaiah fleeted the group to Limbo. The journey took only a few seconds, but Thoros was relieved when he was able to open his eyes and look at Josselyn once again. His past was his past and Josselyn didn’t care what had happened before her. That made him a very happy man.
Releasing his hold on Isaiah, Thoros brought his hands up to cradle Josselyn’s beautiful face. Looking deep into her eyes, he whispered, “I missed you,” then bent to touch her lips with his.
She smiled when he took a step back and found her hand with his again. He knew that, if he deepened the kiss, the archangel would have a hard time getting them to separate. He already couldn’t get enough of her. Her presence was intoxicating.
The first thing he noticed after stepping back and looking around them, was a lot of exotic flowers and a big iron gate with a wall that separated where they were and where they wanted to be. Had Isaiah brought them to Heaven instead?
“It’s not Heaven,” Isaiah said out loud. “It is a beautiful oasis, a mirage to encourage lost souls to believe it is Heaven so they will enter through the gate. Once they’re in, there is no way to get out.”
Thoros nodded once. “I see,” he said, tightening his grip on Josselyn’s hand protectively. “We didn’t come here for the scenery anyway. Let’s get this over with so we can go home, and go back to bed,” he whispered so only Josselyn could hear. She giggled softly, melting his erratically beating heart.
Two guards, complete with matching uniforms and big Russian-looking hats atop their heads, stood stark and still on each side of the locked wrought iron gate. A thirty foot matte black stone wall stretched as far as the eye could see from each side of it. Even dark, the wall and gate looked exquisite and beautiful, not gothic or haunting. Must be another mind trick, Thoros thought, but tugged on Josselyn’s hand as he made his way to see what they had to do to get on the other side of the gate.
The ten foot tall guards never looked at them as they approached, but both said in unison, “Step into the booth for soul extraction, and then you may enter.” A booth—much similar to that of a telephone booth, but a bit larger—sat by the guard standing to the right of the gate.
“What? We have to go through that again?” Emma whined. “That crap hurts!”
Isaiah stepped forward. “We are without souls already. We come in peace to see Melina. She is… an old friend.”
Both guards looked down at Isaiah, like they didn’t believe a word he had spoken. “Nobody sees Queen Melina. Go back to where you came from.”
Isaiah sighed, and then Josselyn let go of Thoros’ hand and stepped up beside the head guardian. Thoros rushed to grasp it back, fearful of the unknown and what the guards were capable of. There was probably a really good reason why Queen Meli
na chose them to guard her gate, and he was afraid they didn’t want to find out what that something was.
“Please don’t do that again,” Thoros whispered in her ear.
Ignoring him, but keeping her hand in his, Josselyn spoke. “She will want what we are here to offer her. Let us in,” she said in a stern voice.
“What could you possibly have that Queen Melina would want? Where are you from?” only one of the guards asked this time, and then bent at the waist and narrowed his eyes at her.
“Well, um… I can’t tell you what we brought; I’m not sure she would want you to know, but I can tell you that we are from Heaven.”
The guards looked to each other as if they were having an internal conversation only they could hear. “You can only enter if Omega himself agrees to escort you to the queen. Whatever Queen Melina decides to do with you afterward is up to her.”
“Agreed,” Josselyn said on an exhale.
The guard that had stayed in his upright position went completely still and closed his eyes. He stayed that way for several minutes, so long that Thoros wanted to clap his hands in front of the giant’s face to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep. He finally lifted his eyelids and looked over to his identical twin. It was clear he had an answer back from the Omega guy and was now relaying the message to his brother. They nodded to each other and then looked down at their new guests. “Omega is intrigued, but he can’t promise she will see you. Once you enter through the gates there is no way to leave unless she allows it. Do you still wish to proceed?”
Thoros turned to look back at Ethan, Emma and Aries. They were clinging to each other like they were scared to death. Even before he walked through the gates, Thoros knew he had seen and been through much worse. “Come here,” he said, and was surprised to see them instantly obey him. Guess they didn’t want to be left out there alone with the guards. None of them could fleet, so there was really only one choice, unless they wanted to spend eternity outside the gates of Limbo if for some reason Isaiah, Josselyn or he was refused the chance to leave.
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