When my parents had made enough ground to take an obvious lead, the remaining Shadows decided they’d lost. They backed up into a protective circle and dove into my car.
I had never actually seen a portal to Hell before. I hadn’t even known they were a real thing until this night. Together with my parents, we watched the air in the Malibu swirl and crack until it became something else entirely. The cacophony of noises coming out of the portal grew to an ear-splitting level.
A frozen heat blasted out of the vortex and licked at my skin with a hopelessness and dread that reached inside my body and ripped it apart. I started to cry from the feel of it, from the utter sense of loss and depression that ate away at me like acid. The smell of sulfur and death washed over me and tore open my chest with more wretched grief.
The Shadows lifted their black heads and allowed their bodies to be sucked up into the blackness. Where Shadows were an absence of Light, a complete and absolute Darkness that could not absorb any of its opposite, the glimpse into Hell was much worse.
It wasn’t just the absence of Light, it was the denial that Light could ever exist there, a place so dark and empty that it would corrode a soul within the first seconds of exposure. An eternity of suffering and never-ending pain. It was what I went through tonight only elongated into eternity.
There would be no reprieve, no rest, no rescue.
It was the end and the beginning. A constant cycle of horror.
I never wanted to be this close to it ever again. I couldn’t feel enough resolve for that though, enough commitment.
Never again.
Once the Shadows were gone my parents rushed me. My mom took my face in her hands and let her super-heated skin warm me.
“They tried to detain us, keep us from here. They demanded we stay for just one more night,” she cried softly.
“Who?” I croaked, feeling oblivion finally make headway. I couldn’t fight it anymore. At least now I was safe.
“The Council,” my father answered. He still vibrated with rage and fury. “The Council tried to keep us. And if we would have listened, you would be dead.”
“Jude was right,” I whispered. “They’re trying to kill me.”
I tried to look up at the now visible sky but my eyes landed on the roof of my school building instead. Just as unconsciousness took over, I saw a figure move back from the ledge.
I decided I was hallucinating though. The long, golden brown hair and the satisfied smile playing across her disturbingly beautiful face could not have been Seven. That would be ridiculous.
She didn’t have the power to call up hell hounds from the depths of Hades. And she would not have looked relieved at the sight of me still alive and kicking.
That had to be a dream. More of my fears manifesting in my graying consciousness.
And that was my last thought before I passed out.
Chapter Sixteen
“Here.” My mom set a cup of hot chocolate down in front of me. The steam wafted over the rim of the mug and tickled my nostrils.
It smelled like heaven. Like the opposite of what I’d experienced tonight.
Nate sipped his own cup across the table from me and tipped it at me with a concerned frown. Serena sat next to him but had turned down the offer for chocolaty comfort. Crazy girl. Jupiter sat next to her and my mom hadn’t even bothered to offer him a cup.
We’d convened around the kitchen table almost as soon as we arrived back home. My dad had called Jupiter and Serena before we’d left the school parking lot and they were waiting for us by the time we got home.
I only passed out for a minute or two before my parents revived me. I was growing stronger. I could feel it. Even though I still had eleven months before my birthday, my powers were building.
And that was a good thing.
“Tell us what happened,” my dad demanded gently. He looked exhausted from their trip and the fight he’d come home to, but he also looked ready to tear apart Earth in an effort to avenge me.
I loved that man so much.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” I groaned. “Do you want the highlights from tonight or should I go back to when Seth tried to kill me? Or should I start with Aliah and Seven sacrificing children? Or when we found out that Jude is actually a double agent working for a secret brotherhood of Archangels?”
My parents just stared at me. Even Serena and Nate looked a little lost.
“Brotherhood?” Nate had never sounded more confused. “What?”
Jupiter nodded. “Jude’s abduction wasn’t an accident. Michael is his father. Michael the Archangel.” Jupiter waited patiently for an acknowledgment that everyone was following along, but nobody said anything. Jupiter continued anyway. “The Brotherhood of Ethos is what they’re called. They placed Jude in the way to be abducted. At the time, they didn’t know that the children being stolen were also later sacrificed. Aliah stepped in and saved Jude’s life in the hopes of making him Fallen. A task, Aliah believes he’s been successful in.”
Jupiter went on to explain everything else about Jude and what he’s been doing and how he’s been active in my life. I took over next and recounted the battle with Seth in the burning village and his objective to murder me. And last of all, I recounted the events of tonight.
“Do you think it was Seth that set the trap for me?” I asked at the end of my story.
Everyone shook their heads at once.
“No, he doesn’t have that kind of power,” my mom explained. Her liquid gold eyes burned with a fierce intensity tonight. “It takes a very strong Fallen to open a portal straight to Hell. It’s not something just anyone can do.”
“They would probably have to be quite old, too,” Serena offered. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve met someone that possessed that kind of capability.”
“So, you think it was waiting for me the whole time? I mean, can you open those remotely? What does it take?”
Nate rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “A séance. Time. Patience. Concentration. Whoever did it couldn’t have done it on the fly. They would have had to have planned it and gotten to work during a time they knew they wouldn’t be interrupted. They must know your schedule pretty well, to have it waiting after practice for you.”
That gave me a shiver. I immediately thought of Seven and how Seth had accused her of stalking me before. If that were true, she could know what my afternoons look like.
“You said Seth couldn’t do it, but what about Seven?” I asked nervously.
Jupiter immediately jumped in. “Not even her. She might have some powers we don’t see often, but this is more complicated than that. Not only does the person opening the portal have to possess immense power, but they also have to have a very strong relationship with Hell. They have to be able to communicate easily. Seven isn’t old enough to have developed that kind of rapport.”
I didn’t say anything. I knew she had been there. I had seen her. Or, I thought I did. Besides, why else would she be following me unless it was to plan my ultimate demise? The girl hated me, and even more so now that I was causing her brother so much strife.
“What about Jude?” I changed the subject. “Do you think we can trust him?”
Nobody answered immediately. We all sat in silent thought mulling over the complicated answer to that simple question.
“He tipped us off about Amsterdam,” Serena finally admitted. “That’s why we knew right where to go.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I gasped.
“He asked us not to,” she said simply. “And he’d just handed over valuable information. I didn’t want to ruin his trust, just in case we needed info in the future.” She looked at me with those luminescent eyes and her fiery hair and I felt myself shrink under her intensity. She was something else. A true otherworld force and I couldn’t help but want to be her when I grew up. “Besides,” she went on, “at the time I thought he was sending us the tip because it had something to do with your
immediate safety. I’ve seen him fight for you before, Stella. And he took us to Aliah last spring. I thought it was one of those kinds of things.”
“I don’t think it had anything to do with saving me,” I admitted.
“After what you said, I don’t think so either,” Nate sighed. “Have you heard anything about the kids? Do we know if they’re still alive?”
Jupiter answered quickly, “They are. You might not have rescued them that night, but you interrupted their plans. Jude said they had to move the kids but that they’ll try again. For now they’re alive.”
Whew. We still had time.
“And the Council?” Jupiter asked with his white, bushy eyebrows raised to his hairline.
“Is in as much turmoil as ever,” my dad sighed. “It was chaos up there.” He ran his hands over his face and aged twenty years by the time he was finished.
I knew the feeling.
“Jude says the Brotherhood is worried about another Rebellion,” I said quietly.
My parents shared a weighted look with each other and with Serena and Nate. Jupiter had gone utterly still at the whisper of that dreaded word.
I obviously hadn’t been around for the first Rebellion, but I knew the horror that word incited in my kind. I knew how afraid of it we were, how hated the events surrounding it were. It was the blackest moment of our history and we would be forced to live with the consequences until eternity.
“Well, it would certainly explain a lot,” my dad finally said. “You should have seen how the Council behaved while we were there. I wouldn’t be surprised if three-fourths of them are working for Lucifer.”
“How do you save something like that? Something so poisoned?” My fingers started to tremble and that familiar sick feeling pooled in my stomach. This was not good. And meanwhile, Seth was trapped over there, caught in the middle.
“I’m not sure that you can,” my mom whispered. “But we can ferret out the traitors. We can start over, build anew. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.”
I nodded because what else was I supposed to say? This was bad. Things were bad. And I didn’t know what was worse: That I would have to potentially fight against a new Rebellion? Or that my Counterpart might not be by my side when the time came?
I didn’t want to have to deal with either. But it didn’t look like I was going to get what I wanted. Not ever.
Except maybe a good night’s sleep. I was definitely going to fight for that tonight, because man, fighting a portal to Hell had really taken it out of me.
I said goodnight to Nate, Serena and Jupiter and then hugged my parents for a really long time before I left them to finish strategizing and planning. I needed sleep now and they understood that.
I showered first, though. And I stood under the hot water as long as it took until I finally felt like I’d washed the Hell off me. I brushed my teeth, dealt with my hair and then fell face first on my bed. I was out in the next three seconds and thought I would sleep until world actually ended.
But, of course, that didn’t work out how I wanted.
And when I woke up only a few hours later, I realized just how pissed off I could be. All I wanted was a good night’s sleep. And why couldn’t I get that?
Oh, because some crazy hooker was calling my name from the edge of our property.
Seven.
Her voice had roused me slowly at first. It was that soft irritant that nagged at me in my subconscious.
At first when I woke up, I hadn’t known why. I lay in bed quiet and irritated while I tried to figure out if I had to pee or not. Why else would I have woken up from a dead sleep?
The house was absolutely quiet by now. My parents must have been asleep by then and Nate and Serena had left already.
I had just decided to roll over and go back to sleep when her voice carried through my window on the wind.
“Stella...” the musical tone swelled just above a whisper and sent terrifying chills racing over my body. “Stella…”
Okay. First, I knew I was supposed to be a bad ass ninja and whatnot, but Seven’s voice was about the creepiest thing I had ever heard.
She seriously scared the bejeezus out of me.
Second, what the hell??? Why was she here? Why was she bothering me? What in the world could she possibly want in the middle of the night?
No, seriously, what did she want, because I couldn’t shut my brain off after that and go back to sleep.
I listened to her calling me for fifteen minutes before I decided I would go after her.
I knew she couldn’t cross the property line so I knew that I would be safe. And after my little near death experience with Seth the other day, there was practically nothing that could get me to cross that line into the danger zone and risk my life.
Well, except for those things in my life I was willing to risk my life for. And if she had those, I needed to go anyway.
I jumped out of bed and threw on some yoga pants and a red, volleyball hooded sweatshirt. I grabbed my replacement katanas- Excalibur the Second and the Terminator- and slipped into some running shoes.
I crept downstairs, not wanting to wake my parents after all their intergalactic travel today and snuck out the kitchen door. I would call for help if I needed it, but I hoped to spare them from dealing with anything more tonight.
Their daughter almost getting sucked up into a portal to Hell should be enough for one night.
I walked over our property and almost enjoyed the silvery moonlit stroll. The sky was clear tonight and the moon shone down with a proud glow. The Stars blinked overhead with the brilliance they commanded. From every direction, from horizon to horizon, the blanket of Stars twinkled throughout the open sky.
This was one of the reasons to love Nebraska. The sky stretched forever. And this far from city lights, I could see the army of Heaven in all its grandeur and glory. They stood together up there, arm in arm, united for one cause. They would protect this planet. They would keep humanity safe.
And they would support me.
When I looked up and saw my backup, it was hard not to feel proud for the future laid out for me and the reason I fought so hard.
This was it. They were it.
And I would do whatever it took to ensure that they did not fall into another deadly Rebellion and that humanity didn’t become lost in the shuffle.
If they were all counting on me, I would not let them down.
My swords swung at my sides as I picked my way over uneven ground until I reached the edge of my property and the source of my midnight alarm.
Seven leaned against a tree just on the other side of the line. Her golden brown hair whipped around her in tangled strands that reached her hips. Her wide brown eyes looked as lost as ever but lit up with happy familiarity when I stomped into view.
She was dressed down from what I usually found her in. She wore a gray long-sleeved t-shirt and tight black leggings. Her extra-long sword extended from her dainty hands. She stabbed the tip of it into the ground and watched mesmerizingly as she twirled it around and around and around.
She was all hot and super-toned and made me feel very pre-pubescent next to her.
Dang it. She wasn’t supposed to make me feel insecure about my looks! She was the crazy person, not me!
“What do you want, Seven?” I asked around a large yawn.
Her eyes twinkled with amusement and she pushed off the tree to step closer. “Did I wake you up?” she giggled.
“Obviously.”
“You almost died tonight.” She jumped topics so quickly my tired brain had a hard time keeping up with her.
“I thought I saw you there. How much did front row tickets cost you? Did you have to bring your own popcorn? Or was it provided?”
She tsked at my flippant attitude. “I wasn’t invited tonight. I crashed the party. Do you think he wanted any one of us to see what he planned for you?”
“It would help if you used names. It would be much easier for me to keep up.”
/>
She gave me a “yeah right” look and went back to her vague nagging. “Nobody was supposed to see that tonight, Starling. He went against orders. That’s how much he hates you. If Seth ever found out what he tried to do, my brother would kill him himself.”
“Then you should tell him! That would solve so many of my problems!”
She laughed again but this time she sounded just a smidge saner. “I’m not sure I care about solving your problems. I have my own to work out.” Her eyes floated over my blades. “Do you think I’m here to attack you?”
I thought about that. “I don’t think you’re here not to attack me.”
“I think I’m offended.”
“It’s not like we have a history of peace treaties. You’ve attacked me before. More than once. And more than once you’ve almost killed me.”
“Would you believe me if I said, I turned over a new leaf.”
“No.”
In typical Seven fashion, she jumped to the next topic without any warning or conclusion to that last conversation. “Seth is losing himself.”
I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. “I know.”
“He needs you.”
“I know.”
“You can’t give up on him.”
Finally something clicked. “Wait,” I held up a weaponized hand. “Are you saying you don’t want him to become Fallen? Isn’t that a little… backwards for you?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits and she took an aggressive step toward me. “You don’t know anything about me. Or what I want for my brother. I want him with me. I want him with me always. And I don’t want him to go through what I have to. I don’t want his head to be confused.”
“Oh,” I whispered the word. “You don’t want him to turn crazy.”
She looked away. “I’m not crazy.” Her words were a whisper too.
I kept my mouth shut. I could have argued with her. Hell, I could have laid out a five-point sermon with detailed examples and extensive scarring to prove my points. But I didn’t. Some kind of reluctant instinct inside of me, told me to give her that. To let her believe that she wasn’t completely bat shit, if even just for tonight.