Good Side of Sin

by Haigwood, K. S.

  “What did you do to her?” Ethan said through the pain.

  Geoffrey lowered his hand and Ethan fell forward on his hands, gasping for air as the torture subsided. “Nothing she wasn’t expecting me to do. Now—we are alone.”

  “Josselyn!” There was no answer. He cursed as he slapped the wood floor with the palm of his right hand.

  “Do not worry about her. She was only a pawn to bring us together, to bring you to your real destiny. She followed the plan precisely.”

  Ethan lifted his head and glowered at Geoffrey from under his brow. “And what plan might that be? Because if you thought I was going to waltz in here and take you up on a ridiculous offer to free Lucifer, so that he can take over Heaven and Earth, you’ve got me mistaken with someone who doesn’t give a fuck.”

  Geoffrey took the remaining steps to where Emma sat, chained and gagged, eyes full of fear. Ethan’s breath hitched as Geoffrey reached out and took a strand of her hair between his fingers.

  “Please…” Ethan swallowed hard, and his eyes flicked from Geoffrey to Emma, and then back again. “…don’t—”

  “Pick one.”

  Ethan’s eyes widened in horror. “What?”

  “Pick one to save.”

  Geoffrey moved slowly to the chair a few feet from Emma. Ethan’s dad sat slumped and pale and wounded. It was obvious the demon had not treated him well. He was only hours away from death if he didn’t get him out of here so he could get the medical attention his body required to heal.

  “The humans are destroying Earth, young alflight. What is God doing about it? Nothing. Even the purest of souls are turning dark, because crime and war and poverty and disease continue to worsen, and yet… He does nothing. Lucifer has another option. There will be no hunger, no sickness. There will be peace. Everyone will prosper.”

  “Just like everyone in Hell is doing now? Lucifer is a master of deceit. He has told you nothing but lies, so you will do his dirty work for him. Then he will throw you to the bottom of the pit with everyone else.”

  Geoffrey held up one of his gloved hands and began to pull the fabric from his fingers. “Do you know what my gift is, Ethan?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He pulled the glove the rest of the way off. “I have the power to damn souls with only the touch of my hand. When an angel commits a crime worthy of falling, I am the last face they see before they are damned to Hell—to Lucifer. And right now Lucifer is waiting to welcome your father’s soul.” He moved his hand toward Ethan’s dad.

  “No!” Ethan roared, and slung his hands forward, sending a jolt of power from them strong enough to knock Geoffrey across the room, back-first into a book shelf.

  With a growl, Geoffrey shot to his feet and started running toward Ethan’s dad.

  Ethan acted on instinct and ran to stop him before he could touch him. He couldn’t let the archangel damn his dad’s soul to Hell. A war cry left his throat as he ran, and then he crashed into Geoffrey just before the archangel made contact with his dad. The force of the collision spun them around and Geoffrey smiled as he stared down into Ethan’s rage-filled eyes, eyes that quickly turned panicked when Geoffrey’s eyes turned from black to a pale blue. A strange sensation coursed through Ethan’s body and he knew something was very wrong.

  Geoffrey pushed Ethan away, and he landed hard on his hip and elbow beside his dad’s chair. He struggled to get to his feet, and then positioned himself between Geoffrey and his dad, his hands thrust out in front of him in case Geoffrey tried to get to his dad. He would die himself before he would let Geoffrey touch him, but Geoffrey didn’t move; he only stared at Ethan with a smirk.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t a better father to you.” Ethan’s dad said from behind him, and then he coughed and blood came out of his mouth, landing on his dirty shirt. “I love you, son.”

  “Dad!” Ethan shouted, and knelt beside his father. “No, I can fix this. You are going to be all right.” Ethan felt a shiver course up his arm the instant his fingers touched his dad’s skin. Geoffrey’s manic laugh echoed throughout the room. In the next moment, his dad’s body fell completely limp and lifeless beneath his hands.

  “What did you do to him?” Ethan choked out, his eyes staring at his dead father, seeing, but not believing.

  Geoffrey chuckled. “I didn’t do anything to him. You, however, just damned his soul. Welcome to the dark side, alflight. Enjoy the gift I gave you.”

  Chapter 49

  Josselyn

  The house shook on its foundation as if an Earthquake had just rocked Las Vegas. I reached out for the wall and was steadied by a pair of hands around my waist. Thoros’ eyes filled with concern, and then we both looked toward the closed door of the library.

  “Something has happened! I have to get in there,” I said in a rushed voice, and started for the door, but Archangel Aberney stepped in my way before I could burst through it like a mad woman.

  “If we go in there and Geoffrey damns three innocent souls—”

  “Compared to the seven billion other people that are in danger of losing theirs? Either help me or don’t, but whichever you choose, you need to get out of my way; Ethan needs me.”

  “I’m with you,” Lameria said from behind me. “I’ve got a bone to pick with a certain little seer, and she just happens to be in that room.”

  Thoros linked his fingers with mine, and I gave them a gentle squeeze as I stared at Aberney. “The majority of the Council gave me permission to try and stop Lucifer from taking over. You were one of the first archangels to stand, Aberney. Don’t stop me now, not when we still have a chance. I’m asking you to let me do my job.”

  The archangel looked unsure until he glanced to Rhyan, Abigail and Alexandra, that moved up on the other side of me. Abigail lifted her hands and blue sparks danced across the tips of her fingers.

  “You heard the woman. It’s time for you to move,” Abigail said.

  I smiled as I glanced over my shoulder, noticing that everyone in the hall with us was lined up behind me, waiting to join me on the other side of the library door, no matter the risk.

  “Let her pass, Aberney,” a female voice said from farther down the corridor, by the grand staircase. Gabriella emerged from the top of the stairs with the remaining eleven archangels trailing behind her. My eyes locked on her and I blew out a breath through puffed out cheeks. Out of all the archangels, she was my least favorite, and it stunned me to hear her side with me now. “I’m anxious to see if the girl can live up to her word.”

  Aberney intruded in on my personal space. “Troy is in there—”

  I sighed. “I know. And I aim to do everything I can to save my friend, but Ethan isn’t prepared for this; he needs the help we promised him.”

  “The help you promised him.” He inhaled deeply, and then let it out before commenting again. “If you fail… this is on you.”

  “I understand that. Ethan was hand-picked by God himself; do you really want to be the one to tell God the alflight was taken because you stood in the way and let it happen?” We stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity, but he looked away first, and then stepped to the side so I could pass. I released Thoros’ hand and moved toward the door, knowing he would follow right behind me.

  “Wait!”

  Irritated, I turned and glared at the approaching group of people. My eyebrows shot into my hairline and I looked to Alexandra for an explanation. She was smiling.

  “I wasn’t sure she would come,” Alexandra said, and nodded her head in the direction of the six people walking toward us. Leading the pack, was a woman—about mid-thirties—with long, bright blond, curly hair, dressed in black LOD gear, complete with hot pink combat boots.

  “Who—” I began, but the woman stuck her hand out before she even came to a complete stop in front of me.

  “The name’s Gloria.” I took her hand and she nearly shook my arm out of its socket. Still pumping my arm like a car jack, she pointed with her other hand to a very pretty blond. There was
a very handsome man with dark hair standing protectively at her side. “This is Ariana—she’s an alflight, too—and this is her husband, Abe. He’s a vampire,” she said nonchalantly, as if vampires were the main topic in everyday conversation.

  “Oh—oh!” My eyes widened in surprise when the guy standing beside Abe smiled and flashed a pair of real fangs.

  “And I’m Jonah,” the guy said as he gave me a wink.

  I had to remind myself to breathe, and not because Jonah’s rugged good looks had taken my breath away—although he was very attractive—but because it was the first time I had ever met a vampire. How did I not know they existed for real?

  Thoros nudged me, and I realized that Ariana had her hand out. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I’m Josselyn.” I took her hand in greeting. “Vampires…” I shook my head, still trying to wrap my mind around that word. What else did I not know about?

  “I hope we can be of some assistance,” Ariana said with a kind smile.

  Abe rocked on his heels and avoided eye contact. It was clear he didn’t want to be here, or maybe he didn’t want her to be here. “Yeah. We’re all thrilled to do what we can to help. Always,” he said on a sigh, but Ariana acted as though he hadn’t said a word.

  Time was wasting, and I hadn’t heard a single sound from the library in over five minutes. “If Ethan gives himself over to the dark side, Heaven and Earth will belong to Lucifer.”

  Abe’s shock was evident as his pretty greenish-blue, guarded eyes blinked at me, and then his head whipped around to glare at Ariana. His enthusiasm toward being here seemed to switch from ‘off’ to ‘on’ in less than a second. I guess his wife had left out a few minor details about their visit. Oops!

  “That’s why we’re here,” Ariana said.

  I watched as Abe’s lips tightened, and then glanced at Thoros, who had a smile from ear-to-ear. Guess he was relating to how the guy felt.

  “Ariana—”

  “Not now, Abe. We’ll talk about it later.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and opened the door leading into the library. I followed after her without a glance back at her husband; I knew he wasn’t a happy camper.

  Ethan was at the opposite end of the room, his head bowed and his body kneeling before the middle of three chairs, containing Emma, his dad and Troy. Geoffrey smirked at me from his standing point behind the victims. I didn’t know whether to take that as good or bad news; after all, he hadn’t destroyed any souls when we walked in, like he had threatened he was going to. On the other hand… were we too late?

  “Ethan,” I whispered.

  His head shot up in a quick jerk, and someone grabbed my arm to keep me from going to him. Ethan looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes blank and as black as obsidian stone.

  “No!” I covered my mouth, and my eyes went blurry with too much moisture. I reached out to him, as far as the person holding me back would allow. “Ethan, don’t listen to them, please,” I pleaded. “This wasn’t what you wanted. You can still choose a different path.”

  The shiny onyx eyes blinked at me, and then Ethan was instantly on his feet.

  Arms struggled to pull me back, but I shrugged them off and confronted the demon inside Ethan. I refused to let it have him. “Let him go! You can’t take him against his will!”

  “Nobody has him,” Geoffrey chimed in. “He has damned a good soul, so he belongs to us now.”

  “You tricked him?” Ariana said in a calm voice as she moved up beside me. I was glad, because my mind was a black hole; I couldn’t think of anything to fix this situation.

  Goeffrey laughed. “Regardless, he has committed a mortal sin—”

  “You cannot take his free will.”

  “I didn’t. I merely gave him my burden; he did everything else on his own. That is totally abiding by the rules.”

  Jonah laughed. “Says who? Lucifer? Pfft! We’ve dealt with bigger—”

  There was an “Oof!” sound, and that was the last I heard of Jonah for a while.

  Aries, Chelsea, Marcus and Fallis came up to stand beside Ethan. Ethan stared at me, his coal-black eyes never giving away that he even recognized me.

  “Ethan, please…”

  “You see… Ethan belongs to us,” Geoffrey said, “and soon, Lucifer will reward him for a job well done. The soul damning that God bestowed upon me was more of a burden than a gift, as you can well imagine. I’ve been waiting for the perfect chance to get rid of it. Now, every person the alflight touches with his hands will lose their souls to Lucifer.”

  My hand shot up to cover my mouth, and I glanced to Troy when he groaned. He was stone-faced, but his eyes flicked to Ethan and then back to me. I watched—and waited. He did it again. I looked to Ethan, focusing on the black bottomless pits that stared back at me. He blinked and when his eyes opened again they were his ordinary brown, human eyes. Then he winked at me.

  I caught myself just before I let the shock I was feeling show on my face. “Ethan?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched and he quickly reached out to Marcus beside him and placed his bare palm against his neck. There wasn’t even time for Marcus to be surprised. The life left his eyes and he crumbled to the floor.

  Fallis gasped as he fell to one knee. His hands rushed up to his head and chest, and he patted over his body as if to make sure he was the only one in occupancy.

  Ariana threw out a block to keep any of their enemies from fleeting.

  Aries’ eyes widened in horror, and she put her hands out, shaking her head as she backed away from an advancing Lameria. “Please… none of this was my idea. They made me—” She grabbed her head and screamed as Lameria worked her way into the girl’s mind.

  Chelsea turned to run to the door and snarled when Baddon blocked her way, twirling a baseball bat with his fingers.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” he said.

  “You’re no match for me, half-soul. I have the strength of nine of Lucifer’s strongest demons within this host. All of you will belong to him within the hour,” she said, and started running toward him with murder in her eyes.

  Baddon crouched, ready for the her with an eager smile on his face, but then a foot came out of nowhere and kicked the fiend in the face, knocking her to her back. Phoebe placed herself between Baddon and Chelsea, but the fight was over as soon as Ariana stooped to place her glowing hands on the demon.

  Dusting off her hands, Phoebe turned and gave Baddon a grin. His mouth was agape as he stared at her with disbelieving eyes. “I may have been head cheerleader and homecoming queen, but my dad taught me kick boxing and self defense. He didn’t want anyone taking advantage of me.” She winked at him with a sly grin, and then turned and bumped into Fallis. “Oh, I’m sorry—”

  He reached out to steady her, but didn’t let go once she had her balance. “Don’t be.”

  She stared at his amused expression in puzzlement. “I—I didn’t mean to get in your way. I know you don’t like—”

  “With a drop-kick like that, you can get in my way any day. We should practice together sometime,” he suggested, and then let her go.

  “Give me the gloves!” Ethan roared.

  Geoffrey backed away as Ethan slowly advanced on him.

  Geoffrey took the one remaining glove from his hand and nervously tossed the pair to Ethan, and then held his hands up in surrender. “What are you going to do to me? I didn’t mean for this to get so out of hand. It was never my intention for anyone to get hurt. Lucifer only wanted you. He has plans to make you a very powerful leader.”

  Ethan pulled one of the leather gloves onto his hand. “I’m sure he will be thrilled when he finds out you have failed him.” Geoffrey’s eyes widened in fear as Ethan took a step forward, then another. “Oh, and thanks for the gift. We don’t need someone like you walking around even Hell with the power to damn souls.” Ethan smiled as he brought his hand up. “Tell Lucifer I said better luck next time. My friends and I will be waiting for him. Have a safe trip, Geoffrey.”r />
  Geoffrey seemed to accept the fate Ethan was sentencing him to and closed his eyes just before Ethan touched him. His body fell to the floor.

  There was silence throughout the room, everyone unsure of what to expect, or maybe they were waiting for Lucifer to appear out of nowhere and smite them.

  Nothing happened.

  A loud knock sounded at the door and I jumped as a scream left my throat. Thoros chuckled as he laced his fingers with mine, but even with his light mood I could tell the sudden sound had rattled him a bit, too.

  “It’s the angels that were fighting outside,” Ethan said. “The demons and fallen angels disappeared when Geoffrey was defeated. It’s over.”

  The sob tore from my throat and I collapsed against Thoros’ body. It’s over.

  “I never lost faith in you, child.”

  I gasped. “Isaiah?”

  “Where is Isaiah?” Lameria asked as she walked over to me quickly, but I couldn’t feel him in my mind any longer.

  I shook my head. “He’s gone. I’m sorry, but he’s gone.”

  A flicker of disappointment crossed through her eyes, and I watched as she threw her walls back up. She walked away without another word. If I knew Lameria at all, she wouldn’t accept that Isaiah was gone as an answer. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, trying to figure out a way to get her soulmate back. I couldn’t actually say that I blamed her for trying. I know I would never give up.

  “Josselyn,” Gabriella said, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I turned to look at her with a nervous smile. Even though the archangel was a good three inches shorter, she still managed to look down her nose at me. “You have held up your end of the bargain and, I must say, I am very impressed.”

  “Thank you, Archangel Gabriella. The mission wasn’t exactly easy. Though, I suppose, nothing worth doing actually is.”