Hades (35 page)

you’re here,” Lucifer drawled. “Let’s just say it’s time this

little family feud was brought to a head.”

Jake, who had so far remained silent for the duration of

this conversation, chose this moment to speak. “Dragging

an angel into Hel against their wil is a sign,” he said. “It

marks the beginning of the war.”

“There’s going to be a war?”

“There was always going to be a war,” Lucifer said, “ever

since my self-righteous prick of a brother had me evicted.”

“We’ve been waiting a long time,” Diego added in his

clipped Spanish accent. “To show them who’s boss, to let

them know just how fragile their precious little planet real y

is.”

I swal owed hard and shook my head. “No,” I said. “It’s

not true.”

“Oh, yes,” Nash piped up, enthused by the turn the

hearing had taken. “We’re talking about the final

showdown, the face-off between your daddy and ours.”

“You better believe it, little angel,” Lucifer added. “We’re

on a one-way road to Armageddon. And what a show it

promises to be.”

I stood rooted to the spot, hardly daring to breathe. Part of

me hoped the demons would suddenly burst out laughing

and reveal I was the butt of some cruel joke. But deep

down, I knew it was no joke. They were deadly serious and

the world was in dire trouble. I couldn’t believe what I was

hearing. They believed my capture was going to work as a

catalyst, the final straw that would tip the angels over the

edge. Would it real y work? Hel had lashed out, would

Heaven now have no choice but to retaliate? Lucifer had

condoned my abduction to ral y against My Father and stir

things up to trigger a final confrontation that would be

bloodier than ever. He knew it was a step too far, but that

was the point. He was throwing down the gauntlet and

waiting for Heaven to take up the chal enge. He was

opening the gates and inviting war in.

The hearing seemed to have gone off on a tangent. Jake

brought it back to what was uppermost in his mind.

“So wil you leave us be?” he asked. “Father, the angel

has served her purpose and poses no threat. I ask that she

be entrusted to me.”

“Oh, dear,” said Lucifer with an exaggerated sigh. “I’m

afraid I can’t do that.” He lifted his cane and pointed it

directly at me. “Not after the little show Miss Church put on

for us yesterday.”

“She belongs to me!” Jake’s voice was too strident in the

lofty warehouse. I was no strategist, but even I could see

that he was losing ground. He needed to curb his emotions

if he wanted to get anywhere here.

Lucifer sat up straighter and Jake dropped his head

humbly, showing regret for his outburst.

“When I put you in charge I wasn’t aware you had

invested emotionally
in the project.” Lucifer spoke these

last words as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.

“I … I haven’t,” Jake said. “I knew she would be a prize,

and I thought only to add to our conquests—”

“Don’t lie to me, boy!” Lucifer roared so unexpectedly

that those assembled jumped. “You have coveted her right

from the start. I would never have trusted you with this had I

known the extent of your obsession.”

Jake looked up to meet his father’s gaze. His jaw was

twitching now. “It’s what you taught me to do: Reach out and

take what I want.”

Lucifer gave a hol ow chuckle and his tone softened. “To

want
is different than to
need
,” he said. “You
wanted
the boy

with the lame leg and the brat from Buchenwald. But

Bethany … you
need
her and your attachment is weakening

you, siphoning your strength. It disturbs me to see one of

my strongest fal like this.”

“I wil redeem myself, Father,” Jake said.

“You wil indeed,” Lucifer replied. “I wil see to it

personal y that you do.”

“What can I do?” Jake bowed his head and Lucifer

clicked his tongue softly.

“You are my child, one of my most accomplished

children. Don’t worry.” He smiled indulgently. “Daddy wil fix

everything.”

“He’s not one of your children,” I cut in, unable to stop

myself. My mouth appeared to have made a decision

independently of me and kept moving even though I knew

with every fiber of my being that I should shut up. “If you

recal it was
My
Father who created him … and
you
, by the

way.”

Jake spun on his heels and flashed me a deadly glare.

Lucifer only cocked his head to one side and regarded me

with mild amusement.

“Look around you, little angel,” he said. “The world is in

ruins and you are in Hel . Where is your father now? Why

doesn’t he come and save you? Either he doesn’t care or

he isn’t as powerful as you seem to think.”

“He had the power to cast you out of Heaven,” I said

brazenly.

“And why do you think he did that?” Lucifer flashed me a

bril iant smile. “Why do you think he built this underground

cage to contain me? It’s because he was scared. One

does not need to lock up that which is not dangerous.”

“If you’re so dangerous why don’t you bust out?” I

chal enged.

“Can’t.” Lucifer shrugged and waved a hand around him.

“But I can breed an army and send them out in my place.

It’s cal ed a loophole, darlin’.” He turned his attention to

Jake.

“I admit I can see the attraction. She’s quite spirited, isn’t

she?”

“I’m sorry, Father,” Jake implored. “She doesn’t know

what she’s saying, do not take offense.”

“I’m not offended,” Lucifer said, “but I’m afraid you cannot

keep her.”

Jake’s eyes fil ed with alarm despite his efforts to appear

composed.

“Is it true what your brothers tel me … did she conjure

life?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes, but it was an accident. It won’t happen again, I’l

make sure of it,” Jake insisted.

“You’re not fol owing me, boy. Her presence has raised

hope. You introduce hope in Hel and everything we’ve

worked for goes up in smoke.”

“I’l keep her under lock and key. I’l do whatever it takes.

You have my word.”

“I can feel the righteousness rol ing off her in waves. It’s

nauseating. Is it just me or can anyone else feel it? She’s

already infected our world with her compassion and that

dreary lovethy-neighbor attitude. Her very presence here is

an aberration.”

“But, Father, think of the gains.”

Lucifer looked dismissively at Jake. I could see he was

ready to bring the proceedings to a close. “I gave you

permission to bring her here; I never said she could stay.”

“You cannot take her from me!” Jake sounded like a

petulant child and even stamped his foot.

Lucifer leaned forward and rested his elbows on his

knees. “There is nothing I cannot do if I so desire,” he

replied. “You are at my mercy here and don’t you forget it. I

could strip you of your powers for this. Lucky for you, I don’t

like to see my sons downtrodden.” He gave an

exaggerated sigh. “I can’t help my paternal instincts.”

“So you’re going to send her back?” Jake sounded

crushed.

“Send her back?” Lucifer arched an eyebrow. “This ain’t

some fairy tale, boy. We don’t work that way down here,

you of al people should know that.” He shook his head in

dismay. “See the damage she has done to you already.”

Jake turned to me, his eyes wild with panic.

“Do something,”
he mouthed fervently.

I stood numb with confusion and a penetrating fear. First

he had instructed me not to speak and now he wanted me

to react. What did he think I could do?

Lucifer stood in one fluid movement. “I’m sorry, Arakiel,

but this plan of yours has been very poorly executed. From

the moment she descended into Hades you knew it would

come to this. Never love that which you cannot keep. Your

angel was always condemned to die.”

Suddenly an idea came into my head. “It won’t work,” I

stammered. “I can’t die here. Those are the rules. Kil ing

me wil only send me back to Heaven.”

“No, my dear.” Lucifer shook his head. “Your death on

earth would send you back to Heaven. It’s a whole different

bal game down here. Hel fire is strong enough to annihilate

an angel for good.”

“What if she agrees to convert,” Jake said desperately.

“What if she becomes one of us?”

“Highly unlikely,” Lucifer said languidly, inspecting his

manicured nails. It was evident he was bored with the whole

discussion. “She’s shackled to the A-Team, I can tel .”

“At least offer her the choice.”

Lucifer gave a heavy sigh. “My dear Bethany, would you

like to consider the option of renouncing Heaven and using

your powers to assist us?”

“No,” I said. “A thousand times no.”

“Satisfied?” Lucifer said to Jake.

“Father.” One of the unfamiliar Originals stepped forward.

It was a woman with coils of glossy raven hair that fel to her

waist, ruby lips, and bril iant hazel eyes. She had a face like

a porcelain dol ’s and her skin was so milky pale she

looked as though she had never seen the sun. Maybe she

hadn’t, I thought absently. I wondered why I wasn’t fil ed with

panic, why I wasn’t crying or begging for leniency. I felt like

time had stopped, the seconds were crawling by and my

emotions seemed to have shut down as if someone had

pul ed out a plug. The female demon continued, “I think we

could make an example of her.”

“How so, my lovely Sorath?” Lucifer asked.

“If we are to undo her influence and restore the balance

of power we must show the people that we mean

business,” Sorath swiveled her swanlike neck to look me in

the eye. “We must punish her publicly.”

Lucifer tapped his chin and looked pensive. “Interesting

idea. What do you suggest?” He smiled at the seven

demons like an indulgent parent. “I wil let you decide the

method.”

I watched in silent dismay as the Originals scampered

out of their seats like a swarm of vultures to form a huddle.

They conversed together in hushed voices. Diego and

Nash cast sly glances in my direction and Asia looked

smugger than a cat that had just stumbled upon a saucer of

cream. Lucifer waited patiently while Jake paced

compulsively, looking like he wanted to say something. He

kept opening and closing his mouth, the perfect argument

eluding him. Eventual y, Sorath stepped out of the circle.

“We have decided,” she said with a satisfied grin.

“And you are al agreed?” Lucifer sounded almost

disappointed. “There’s no need for lively debate?”

“No, Father,” she said.

“Then by al means, declare your verdict!”

Sorath turned to face me and the others slunk forward to

flank her. Her eyes gleamed like blades and her lips pul ed

back into a smile of delight.

“Burn her,” she purred.

Lucifer clapped his hands in approval. From behind me, I

heard Jake let out an agonized moan.

22

Vigil

I stood helplessly as the demons filed out of the warehouse.

Now that my fate had been decided, they didn’t deem me

interesting enough to acknowledge. Only Asia paused, long

enough to mockingly blow me a kiss as she sashayed past.

“Arakiel, at dawn you wil surrender your angel to us,”

Lucifer cal ed nonchalantly over his shoulder. “You have

what is left of tonight to say your good-byes. Can’t say I’m

not bighearted.”

I knew the enormity of what had just happened hadn’t

sunk in because I was so calm. Jake was saying something