Bael nodded, although Lucifer couldn’t see him. “I will not fail.”
“I do know that, my child. Now, once you get the Angel Blessed, it won’t be easy to convert her, or any of them. Are you prepared for the work ahead? Remember, while your focus is on them, you must appoint a new second to carry out the slaughter.”
“Do not worry, Lucifer. It is already done. Moloch has been promoted.”
“Ahh. Yes. Moloch. He will do well at your side, I think. Great potential in that one, but he is a little soft. You must make sure you keep him in line.”
Bael clenched his teeth together. “I’m glad my choice pleases you. Now, I must go. There are things I must do.”
“Good. Keep moving forward, Bael, and you may earn a powerful reward when I am freed.”
“I will be pleased just by serving you, Master Lucifer.” Bael rolled his hands into fists.
With that, Lucifer cut the connection, leaving Bael with a mind filled with static. After he turned it off, he drove his fist into the tree behind him, rage taking over. Answering to Lucifer had once been fine, but Bael craved more now. If he succeeded in his plan, perhaps that would be changing.
“Was that Lucifer?” Moloch asked, startling Bael.
Bael nodded. “Moloch, you will be in charge for a few days if all goes well tonight. You must keep the attacks going strong and steady.”
“I will, Master Bael. You can count on that.”
“Good. Now, if there’s nothing else, it’s time for us to crash a party.”
Moloch raised his eyebrows.
Bael laughed loudly. “You will find out soon enough. Follow me.”
Bael started back toward the fancy brick home, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He let his grin spread, not trying to hide his excitement in any way. This was what he lived for. Even though he was tired of the political demon hierarchy, he could find plenty of enjoyment tonight. Let the real fun begin.
Chapter 18
Strange Introductions
Jasmine
The woods smelled of pine and mud as Jasmine trekked to their training spot. She took a deep breath and sighed it out. Her hands were still shaky from the adrenaline coursing through her body, and she didn’t know if using her power right now would be detrimental to her control or if she could rein in her nerves. But she was willing to find out, and that was what counted.
Amon walked almost on her heals, and she could feel the warmth of him seeping through her tank top, touching her back. She shivered at the thought of him, then grabbed a piece of skin at her wrist and pinched it. Wake up, Jasmine. He’s training you, nothing more. Quit thinking about his heat!
“Here is good, I think,” Amon said. Jasmine jolted from her thoughts like a glass of cold water had been thrown in her face.
“You do realize that you picked the exact same spot as last time, right?” Jasmine asked, letting her grin spread over her face.
Amon furrowed his brow and looked around for a moment. Recognition lit in his eyes as he found the shattered stump on the ground that he’d sat on. “I suppose I did.” Then he grabbed a thick broken log from the ground and placed it against the base of a large tree trunk. “This will be your target.”
“Okay. But you might want to move out of the way,” Jasmine said with a laugh in her voice.
“That may be a good idea,” he said. He circled around her until he stood at her back. “Proceed when you are ready.”
Jasmine brought her power out and let it fly. She’d been right. The shaking in her hands caused her power to go everywhere except the target.
“Okay, stop a moment.” Amon stepped forward once Jasmine had put her power away and reached a hand toward her stomach. Then he pulled it back. “May I touch you?”
Jasmine nodded her answer and held her breath as his hand gently caressed her stomach. She sucked in a breath, and he instantly yanked his hand from her.
“Did I hurt you?”
Jasmine bit her lip and shook her head. “Not at all.”
“When you used your power here before, it came from where I touched. I was trying to see if I could feel anything unusual.”
“Did you?”
“No. But I suppose I wouldn’t since your power is not there at the moment.”
“Right. It’s in my hands.” Jasmine held them up between them. “You can always tell where it is at any given moment because my body changes color.”
“Yes, it becomes this bright shade of blue. But why?” Amon asked, almost as if he was speaking to himself. After about a minute, he said, “I want you to tell your power you don’t want to hurt me and grab my hands.”
Jasmine raised her eyebrows.
“I know you think you will hurt me, but I want to test something. So enlighten me this one time. No arguments. Please?”
Her heart warmed as he all but begged her for her cooperation, although it also made her wonder if she constantly argued with him. It didn’t feel like she did, but if that’s how he saw her, she wanted to make sure his opinion changed. For some reason, it was really important that he saw her with respect, as if she was his equal. She shrugged it off, not sure why that thought furrowed itself inside of her mind and didn’t seem to want to go away.
“Are you ready?” Jasmine asked him.
Amon seemed to brace himself, sinking into the ground and stiffening his muscles. “I am.”
Jasmine did as he’d asked her. I don’t want you to hurt him. He’s a friend.
She kept speaking to her gift as she stretched her hand out. Amon’s hand reached toward her as well, and she clasped it gently. His skin was soft, but rough in spots as if he had worked a lot in his lifetime. Jasmine held her breath. But nothing happened. Her power seemed to wrap around Amon’s hand, petting him like he was a cat, and he all but purred his happiness back at her.
“Incredible,” Jasmine said breathlessly. “I can’t believe it.”
Amon smiled brightly up at her. “It’s so warm against my skin. And it tickles.”
Jasmine met his eyes. It really was incredible to see her power warming up to someone. She’d had no idea she could do this. Perhaps if she talked to her power more, the end result would be different and she would have more control. But only if it listened to her. It only meant that she’d have to make sure she stayed in charge.
“It’s like it recognizes you. It’s pulsing inside of me right now, like it’s excited,” Jasmine said.
“Perhaps it does. I’ve thought since the beginning that your power was angelic in nature. And the only way you could have any kind of angelic powers is if they were given to you, making you one of the few Angel Blessed.”
“Angel Blessed? What’s that?” Jasmine asked in a high-pitched tone.
Amon released her hand and started pacing. “It’s just as I said. An angel gives some of his or her powers to a human, blessing them. But they only ever do this when they know of a prophecy. Which means that they knew this war on Earth was coming, and they did nothing to stop it.” He balled his hands into fists at his sides, and then released them. “I can’t believe this.”
Jasmine tucked her power away for now, hoping her lesson today was all she’d need to add a bit of control into the mix. She moved toward Amon, and when she was close enough, she circled his arm with her hands. He stopped pacing instantly and sucked in a breath.
“It’s okay, you know. Maybe they did see this coming, but maybe it’s like Caim and Cole. They can see the future, but can do nothing to stop it from happening,” Jasmine said softly.
When his golden brown eyes gazed into hers, there was sadness in them that she desperately wanted to take away. “They could have warned us, though. They could have prepared us.” His tone sounded defeated as he looked at the ground.
Jasmine tapped under his chin and made him draw his eyes back up to hers. “Listen, I get it. The could haves will drive you nuts, though, so I suggest you let it go and focus on the now. It doesn’t matter what the angels did wrong or what they did rig
ht. It matters that we are here, now, to stop the demons. Who knows, maybe this really is our destiny. All I know is I’m ready to fight. Aren’t you?”
He smiled and leaned closer to her. “You know, you can be very inspirational when you aren’t sulking.”
“I don’t sulk.” She laughed because even though she’d denied it, she knew she did sulk. A lot.
“Mmm. I think you do. We will just have to agree to disagree.”
Their faces were inches apart now, and Jasmine wanted to grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him the rest of the way to her. She wanted their lips to crash together, to feel the passion that threatened to erupt every time they were together. Just as she was about to let herself do exactly what she wanted, the sound of wings flapping through the sky made her look up. And she froze.
“Uh, Amon, look up there.” Jasmine pointed.
“I’d rather not,” he replied. When Jasmine peered at him, he was staring hard at her lips.
She smiled despite herself, and put a couple fingers under his chin, forcing his head toward the sky. “I really think you need to.”
Amon’s jaw dropped open. “It’s an angel.”
She swirled down from the sky and landed directly beside both of them, a happy smile on her beautiful face. Amon stiffened beside Jasmine, but moved partially in front of her. The angel ran her palm down the front of her long, white gown. It wasn’t just white; it looked like a pearl, shimmery.
“Um…” Jasmine paused. “So, you’re an angel, huh?”
The angel shook her shoulders back and forth, causing her long blonde curls to sway. Then she laughed, the sound like a tiny bell chiming, or a fairy from one of those movies. “I am not only an angel, Jasmine. I am your angel. My name is Evangeline.”
My angel? Really? If she’s my angel, then where has she been my whole life?
Evangeline came closer, taking Jasmine’s hands with her own. “I know I have been absent from your life, in more ways than one. With no guidance growing up, you’ve had no way to know how your power works. I’m sorry for this. More than you will ever know, my dear.” She took a step back and frowned. “Among my many duties, I am also High Watcher to the Almighty, and because of that, I couldn’t come find you. Heaven is now in shambles. It needs to be restored, and the angels are all working diligently to make sure this happens. Eventually, they will join you here and help you fight the demons. Until then, you and the others like you will need to work together to stop them.”
Jasmine started to giggle. Then she stopped. Soon after, she burst into a fit of giggles again. It was too much to take in and clearly she was losing it.
“Jasmine. You are an Angel Blessed, one of five. Together, you are strong enough to face this battle head on. Can we count on you?” Evangeline asked.
Amon cleared his throat. “Evangeline, there is one fine detail you’ve left out. The demons have just won the war. Where have you been the other years of Jasmine’s life?”
With narrowed eyes, Evangeline said, “Amon. So good to see you.”
“Just answer the question,” Amon said.
Evangeline clenched her teeth. “I’ve already told you of my many responsibilities to the Almighty.”
“But I would think your charge would be your most important, especially since she is destined to fight the demons. Which, I believe, is a fact that you angels have known for a long time.” Amon raised his eyebrows. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but it seems these Angel Blessed were created quite some time ago?”
The corner of Evangeline’s mouth turned down. “They were created some time ago. We were given a vision from the prophets which showed us what would happen. You know how the visions work. We cannot change them. But we created a small group of people to fight the demons. And they were given their powers while still growing in the womb of their mothers.”
Jasmine seethed. “You made a decision to change our lives without having permission to do so. What makes you so high and mighty?”
When Evangeline gazed at Jasmine, her features softened. “It was either that, or risk losing everything we’ve created. Even humanity, as cherished as it is to us, would be lost. Isn’t that a greater risk than changing a few of your lives for the better?”
Evangeline had a point. Jasmine could understand how desperate they must have been when they’d been shown their fate, and she could picture these Heavenly creatures scrambling to find the answer to stop this. Without being able to change the future, they did what they thought was best. Jasmine couldn’t be angry about that, even though she hated that her choice had been taken away before it had even been given.
Jasmine nodded at her, then turned to Amon. “We should get back to the house. We’ve been gone a while, and the others are probably wondering where we are.”
“They won’t wonder anything about us since they are gone. They went out as a group led by Caim before we came out here to train,” Amon replied.
“You sent them demon hunting? There’s no way they are ready!” Jasmine exclaimed, her hands in the air.
“Caim, Lamia, and Azzy are with them, Jasmine. I did not throw them to the wolves. And they have strict instructions to remain hidden and not to engage any of the evil creatures.”
Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good. That’s a relief.” They began the walk back to the house, but soon after Jasmine halted and turned to Evangeline. Something was bothering her. Why had Evangeline come now, this day, and not when the demons first rose?
“Tell me, Evangeline, why now? Why introduce yourself today?”
Evangeline shrugged, making her seem almost human. Only the unnatural glimmer of her pale skin gave her away as something more. “Your power has reached its full potential now. And I think you will need the guidance.”
“Don’t worry,” Amon scoffed. “I’ve given her the guidance she needed in your absence.” His tone was sour and angry.
“And I thank you for that,” Evangeline replied.
They reached the side of the house and walked around to the front when Amon had tried the back door and found it locked. A scuffle sound, like rubber soles on loose gravel, hit Jasmine’s ears right before strong arms grabbed her. Wings flapping came next as Evangeline took to the sky, hovering over them.
“Hello, my little Jasmine. It’s so nice to see you again,” Bael’s raspy, high-pitched voice rung out.
Her power reacted to the demon’s skin on hers and flew to the surface.
Jasmine growled. “I’m seriously sick and tired of you and your demon friends trying to kidnap me! Let me go unless you want to be demon barbecue. Remember your friend?” Jasmine said forcefully.
“Ahh. The same demon who almost took you today? Fully healed, I’m sure you saw.” Bael laughed. “If it wasn’t for Amon coming to your rescue, you’d already be at my mercy.”
“Let her go,” Evangeline commanded, her voice seeming to echo through the air.
Bael’s eyes glinted, but Jasmine couldn’t tell if it was surprise or hatred floating in there. “An angel, hmm? You think you can stop me too, I suppose. Need I remind you of what we did to Heaven?”
Evangeline’s eyes narrowed to slits. Her cheeks took on a rosy glow and she started breathing heavily.
A loud smacking sound drew her gaze to Amon, who was on the ground wrestling with another demon whose eyes were pulsing red with excitement. Jasmine didn’t let the fight distract her. Amon could handle himself just fine. She’d seen that first hand, so she focused on Bael once more by looking over her shoulder.
“Let me go, now. This is your final warning,” Jasmine said.
Bael rubbed his cheek against hers, and then spoke right in her ear. “Never.”
He had her by her upper arms, so she twisted her hand up and nailed him in the stomach. He released her and grunted, and she ran full force until she flipped around and crouched low to the ground. Bael stopped, leaving a gap in between them.
“Your power…is remarkable.” His whole face lit up as he stared at her.
“Where does it come from?”
“None of your damn business,” she responded.
“Such a mouth on such a lovely young lady. You know, if you chose my side of this war, I could spoil you. I could make sure you have everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Even what you most desire, someone to love you,” Bael said, inching closer. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”
The truth was, it did sound nice. But she couldn’t stray from her course. She forced a shake of her head and raised her blue hands in front of her. “It sounds pretty shitty, to be honest. And that isn’t what I desire most.”
Bael raised one finger in front of him in a tsking motion. “Do not lie to me, young one.” He tapped the side of his head. “It is all right there, inside of you.”
Hold on just a minute. What the hell does he mean? Is Bael some kind of mind reader?
Jasmine frowned. “Evangeline, help Amon. I’ll take care of Bael.”
The sound of wings reassured her that Amon would be fine, so she let every ounce of focus go toward her power. She talked to it, coaxing it to do her bidding in a stern voice, commanded it to take care of Bael. When it answered her, a sense of comfort stretched around her. Her power had listened, for once. Had the trick been there right under her nose? She just had to let herself lead her gift where she wanted it to go? Hopefully.
Amon ran to her side, breathing hard.
“Where’s Evangeline?”
“She took the demon off me and disappeared into the sky,” Amon answered.
Bael laughed, long and hard. “Why is it every time I’m around you tend to take your eyes from me? Do you really believe me not to be dangerous?”
Bael moved so fast Jasmine couldn’t even see him for a moment, until Amon flew through the air and landed with a crash against the front door, glass breaking over him as he fell in a heap on the floor.
Jasmine rushed toward him, but Bael’s arm snaked out and grabbed her around her waist, yanking her back into his chest.
“Let me go! You could have killed him,” she screamed.