“Diana. It means divine,” he replied. “Please, Azazel. I know Heaven let you down. I know we should have put our pride aside and stood with you so the threat was taken more seriously from the get-go, but there’s nothing we can do to change the past. We can just carry on into the future and do what’s right.”
He made a good point. We couldn't change the past, but we could do everything in our power to ensure our future. My instincts told me that she needed me. That this girl wouldn’t be able to overcome her trials unless I stood with her.
“I’ll do it, but not for you.Not for Heaven.You all turned your backs on me. I’m doing this for her–for the world as we know it. Heaven and Hell aren’t immune to the annihilation that will come to pass if she fails.” I held my arms out, and Michael gently transferred Diana to me. She smelled like roses and fresh laundry. Her little nose wrinkled, then her face smoothed out again.
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael stood, rearranging themselves into a triangle around us. They held hands, and started chanting the soul binding spell.“Duae animae occurrit et fiet unum.”
A silver light surrounded Diana and I as they repeated the words. An electric feeling crackled between the two of us. My entire body buzzed with warmth and I felt the connection instantly. Gazing down at her, I realized the weight of the responsibility I now shouldered. This little girl was going to change the entire world–usher in a new era–and I would be there to help her, every step of the way.
After what seemed like no time at all, and yet an eternity, the light dissipated. Sparks flew into the air.The spell worked.Gabriel and Raphael shook hands with Michael and I, and hastily made their exit. They cared about the fate of the world enough to do the ceremony, but didn’t want to be caught fraternizing with me.Typical.
“What now?” I asked Michael as he guided us to a couch in his study. Diana still snoozed in my arms, softly snoring. The walls were lined with ancient texts, from the ceiling to the floor. It was every bibliophile’s wet dream come true. Michael probably read every book in here multiple times. When he was my mentor, I had made it my mission to read as many as I could, and would have finished them all if I hadn’t been disgraced.
“You watch over her, guide her. You use your visions and magic to determine the right path and try your hardest to keep her on it. I know you’re not beholden to it anymore, but try to stick to the guardian angel guidelines as much as you can. Don’t interfere too much, and try not to blow your cover until she’s old enough to understand. Report back to me regularly, so I can relay the information to God.”
“God knows? I assumed we were doing this covertly, seeing as God wasn’t a fan of my prophecy when I had it, and we’re meeting at night time in secret.”The angels must really take it seriously if they got the Almighty on board.
“Of course God knows, but this stays a secret between you, Gabriel, Raphael, and myself. I was commanded to reach out to you until you agreed to come here. That’s one of the reasons I’ve tried so hard to contact you these past few decades,” he replied.
“The other reasons?” I asked.
“Because I miss you. I love you like a son, Azazel, and I’m so sorry I let you fall from grace. I thought I was doing the best thing for you, but I should have fought harder. I know you can’t forgive me, but hopefully we can come together and move past it,for her sake.” His voice was strained as he rubbed a thumb across her cheek. He seemed so sentimental.
“I can forgive you, actually.” My voice cracked with emotion I never thought I’d express out loud. “Falling gave me perspective. Good and bad don’t exist. Neither do Heaven or Hell. It’s all relative. There are just two opposing sides that want different things and are willing to fight and risk everything over their beliefs. One wouldn’t exist without the other. We’ve been pitted against each other for so long, but if we don’t come together, the world won’t survive to fight over anymore.”
“There’s no one I would trust with this task more than you. Promise me you’ll keep an eye on her?” Michael sounded desperate. Hefinallyunderstood how pivotal Diana was in all of this.
“I promise. You’ll hear from me soon.” I got up, handing her back to him as gingerly as I could. Babies were so fragile. She would need to toughen up and grow a thick skin if she was destined to save the world.
We walked to her bassinet, where the servant from earlier waited for us. He placed her back in, tucking her under more clouds. Michael escorted me to the front door of his house. As he faded us to Heaven’s door again, I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d gotten myself into.
Chapter 1
Present Day, JFK Airport, NYC
My entire body was seized by raw panic. The only thing I felt was each strained, shallow breath that filled my lungs and burned my chest. I stared into my lap, only seeing blood–on my t-shirt, jeans, hands, and the floor. Her blood.She died in my arms. We couldn’t save her. Where was her body? She literally died… I felt her lifeforce dwindle. Then her body just disappeared.
“Desmond…Desmond!”Desi!Bash’s angry voice rang all around me, but I couldn’t look at him. My eyes stayed glued to the floor.She should be there…“We have to go! There are scalers everywhere!”
Reptilian shifters swarmed the entire terminal, heading right toward us with rage etched onto their scaly, slender faces. But I couldn’t make myself move or defend myself. My body wasn’t cooperating with me.
Ares, he’s in shock. We have to get home. Once we’re there, help Olga pack up the essentials. We have to leave, ASAP, Bash mindlinked among the three of us. Ares’ shirt was soaked in blood and slashed to shreds that hung off his wide shoulders. The hair of his beard was matted with blood, too.
“What about Mal?” Ares’ voice was glacial. I had never heard him sound so detached before. “What do we do with him?”
“He’s still knocked out. Bind his magic with cuffs and temporarily blind him. I’ll figure out what to do with him when we reach the safehouse.” Bash’s calm voice did little to soothe me. I had trouble keeping my focus, my thoughts constantly bringing me back to Diana.
Snarling, hissing, yelling, cracking.Ares had a severed head in his hands. Bash was drenched in black blood. Someone shouted my name, but I was frozen, knees glued to the floor. The voice sounded so far away. We were surrounded by a ring of red barrier fire that kept the shifters at bay. A hand grasped my forearm, and the destroyed airport gate around me faded to black temporarily, until our living room came into focus.Oh yeah, the wards are down…
Olga held Oscar against her chest, tears running down her face. She looked to me as she awaited my instructions, but I justcouldn’t. I still knelt on the floor, and as hard as I tried to get up, my body was frozen to the spot. Why pack the essentials? Why go anywhere? She was gone. Satan knew we betrayed him. Any minute he was going to barge through that door, and we’d be fucked. We would be lucky if he killed us… and the idea was appealing. At least I could be with Diana that way. I had no clue how much time had passed since we arrived at the house. Bash slapped me across the face, waking me from the stupor I was in.
“DESMOND SINCLAIR! Wake the fuck up, and snap out of this bullshite. We need to gonow. Olga packed up your things, but with Mal out cold, I need your help getting all this to the safehouse,” Bash commanded.
I got up, and he and Ares each took one of my hands. Ares’ other hand was on Mal, and Olga completed the circle we made. Our luggage, some boxes, and Oscar were in the center. Bash cracked his neck–a telltale sign he was stressed–and we faded in front of a large white stone house with terracotta shingles. A mountain range loomed in the distance. I scanned the area, seeing no other homes for miles. Just desert and sand. My confusion must have been clear as day on my face. Ares took my head in his hands, gazing deep in my eyes.
“Where are we?” I croaked.
“Smack dab in the middle of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The house with all the fancy cloaking and protection spells?” Ares stared at me, frowning. I drew a blank… “The safehouse outside Las Vegas…Remember, you went full-raging-demon-douche on me for bringing a few coked-out strippers here a couple decades ago?” Ares said slowly, as if he was talking to a child. “I’m going to help you into the house.”