His condescending tone washed over her. Though she couldn’t foresee events involving certain beings, she could foresee Belial complying with her wishes, for the short term. After all, it was in his best interest.
“I foresaw your rise to a Prince of Hell. I foresaw your subsequent subjugation at the hands of the First Order of Demons and warned you. I saw you gather your vast army and retreat to your realm rather than face defeat at the hands of the other princes when Astaroth and Moloch joined forces to annihilate —”
“Enough.” He held up his hand. Demons and truth didn’t mix well. “Tell me why you requested my presence. Tell me why I’m away from my comfortable home.”
“This universe is not safe.”
Belial scoffed. “This is what you came to tell me?”
Some angels had infinite patience. For example, Guardians. They dealt with humanity daily. They were bred for that purpose. Iaiél was not.
“Evil rises.”
Arms folded, he practically slouched beside her, uninterested in anything she had to say. He drawled, “You tell a Prince of Hell evil rises as if I should be appalled. This news is reason to celebrate.” He rubbed his hands to together, his eagerness and joy spilling over.
“If it were one universe, so be it. But evil rises in this one and Licron.”
Belial stiffened, and his gaze locked on to her. “Licron?”
Now she had his attention, because he knew who was imprisoned there. The being who had slayed Belial’s doppelgänger. That Belial in Licron had sacrificed himself in order to save his universe from an evil greater than his own; the ultimate, selfless act the Belial in front of her would never do.
“I’ve seen across our realms to Licron. There,hewakes. What happens in one universe affects both universes. We will need more than angels and demons joining to fight that evil.”
“When?” he demanded.
Incapable of lying, she knew he wasn’t prepared for the truth. He didn’t know she couldn’t see all aspects of the future. He thought the future was engraved in stone. Stone withered, fractured, broke into pieces, and eventually turned to dust. “I am unsure.”
“You? Unsure? Impossible when you know everything!” he hissed and partially shifted. His skin blackened and cracked. Lava veins split his skin. Poised to attack, his demise would level this continent if he didn’t first drain her grace. She’d already foreseen he wouldn’t, though he was greatly tempted.
“Yes. I am unsure. Too many variables to predict the outcome.”
“The outcome of what?” He loomed over her, trying to intimidate, and failed.
“The alliance between angels and demons, and humans.”
He looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head and laughed. He tossed his shaggy mane of hair back, clutched his stomach, and laughed. “An alliance with you? No.”
Fool! Her grace pulsed beneath her fleshy shield. After all these millennia, what did he think this clandestine meeting was about? A lover’s tryst?
Iaiél calmed herself and studied the problem from another angle. Belial was opposed to angels, but not humans. This could work. “Not I. The alliance will be between angelic beings of my choosing and demons of your choosing.”
Interest piqued, he watched her closely. “For what purpose do you require my demons?”
“Come with me.” Once more incorporeal, she passed through the roof of the hospital, down through the many floors to the maternity ward, and into the nursery with all the newborns. Twenty infants. All born in the last fifteen hours. It had been a busy day. Three nurses flitted about the room, checking on their charges, completely ignorant of the two beings in their presence. But the infants knew. All were awake. Their new senses were attuned to the demon and angel in their midst.
Three cried in terror. With a thought, Iaiél silenced their screams, sending them to sleep. Their souls were too fragile to endure the next thirty-plus years. Two more wouldn’t make it out of childhood. One would be lost in a car accident. The other, suicide. She sent them to sleep as well. That left Fifteen. Eleven girls. Four boys.And among the infants, three sets of twins.
Their futures were unwritten. Thus, perfect for this unholy experiment. However, she was there for the females and sent the boys to sleep.
“The males. Are we excluding them?”
“Yes.”
“Explain.”
“Males are inherently weak. For this to work, we will use the females.”
“No.”