Exalted

  If Cayne could drain some of The Adversary's energy, Lille would send a message to Noelle, and Noelle would do something special (something involving his Celestial gifts) to get Julia there RIGHT THEN. She would begin her offensive when The Adversary was at his weakest, and everyone else there would help.

  What they hadn’t talked about, though, was the net. Previously, Lille had assumed the devil needed more time and energy to work the net into a position that would truly seal off Heaven from Earth. He hadn't been on Earth for long, and that they knew of, he didn't have a source of ready energy, so when they'd come up with their plan, they'd assumed nothing would be going on with the net.

  Not so.

  Julia said a quick prayer for Cayne—please, stay safe for me—and tried to stop worrying about what was to come. She looked below her dangling legs at the California landscape. Lots of lights. Cars, snaking down Interstates and highways. Everything getting brighter as they flew toward Bel Air. At least, she'd expected things to get brighter: like driving down a deserted interstate at night and approaching a city. But that wasn't how it was.

  A few minutes later, the sparkling cityscape actually receded. Noelle dropped back and nodded downward, at the ground, and Julia's stomach dipped as she followed him to a lower altitude, just over the lush treetops.

  Though they were flying over a scenic area, to her right and left were swatches of city, and Julia wasn't surprised to see some buildings burning. She used the sight to motivate herself. It was a known fact that the west coast of the U.S. was lit up by forest fires, and she told herself that kind of thing was only the beginning, if The Adversary managed to stay on Earth indefinitely, with Heaven sealed off by the net.

  A few minutes later, she and Noelle dropped down even lower, just above the lush treetops, and Julia found herself staring at strange clusters of lights punctuated by long stretches of darkness. Finally she realized the clusters of lights were rooftops—the rooftops of huge, California mansions.

  Noelle led her closer to the trees, so close that Julia felt sure their leaves and branches would scrape her as she passed; from her new altitude, she could see a giant, spotlighted gate: curvy and iron, Hollywood ornate.

  All of a sudden Noelle, in front of her, stopped; Julia bumped into his brown wings. She had to flap her own wings painfully hard to keep herself from spiraling. Noelle grabbed her arm, and wings were whooshing all around her as his dark eyes met hers. Inside her mind, he said, “I'm sorry, Julia. I just heard from Lille. This hasn't gone according to plan.”

  “What do you mean?!”

  He angled his body left and stretched out his arm, pointing toward the iron gates—beyond them—where a long, lit-up driveway led to a white mansion. The mansion was squarish, with half a dozen huge, round columns and a wraparound, Southern-style porch and—

  Oh, crap.

  Julia put some effort into focusing her sight, and she quickly saw the net was definitely sagging over The Adversary's farce of a home. It hung low and slightly funnel-shaped on the bottom, like someone had grabbed one of its rungs and jerked it close to the mansion. But that wasn't all that got Julia's blood pumping. The scariest thing about the picture in front of her was the swatch of night sky between the mansion and the net, which was teeming with Nephilim and Demons. Mostly Demons. There were scores of them, possibly even hundreds, swarming the sky, and they seemed to be creaming the small number of Nephilim.

  Julia watched with her mouth open as one of the demons used a short, red sword to behead a gray-winged Nephilim. In an effort to avoid the gory fallout, she shifted her eyes below them, to the vast, impeccably manicured lawn.

  From their vantage point a hundred feet in the air, it might be possible to imagine the figures on the ground living it up, enjoying some lavish, Hollywood party, but as Julia followed Noelle closer and lower, it was easier to see that the scene was one of chaos.

  She watched in abject horror as a man chased a woman with an ax swung over his head; a teenage girl banged her bleeding face repeatedly into a parked limousine, mouth moving as if in mid-scream; a herd of men doused an expensive-looking sports car in gasoline, and a boy no older than ten or twelve lit a match and threw it on the car, which exploded before any of them thought to move away.

  Julia turned to Noelle with a protest on her lips, and she was stunned to find he wasn't beside her. Her heart leaped all the way into her mouth when she saw him below her, descending to the far edge of the lawn.

  Crap!

  Julia could barely keep her wings flapping, she was so worried about Cayne. She hadn't seen him yet, and she hadn't seen The Adversary or Lille, either. When she reached Noelle, he was hanging in the air between two giant trees, and he seemed to be watching several Demons overpower a lone Nephilim on the ground.

  "Noelle?"

  He turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Julia opened her mental mouth to ask about Cayne, but Noelle beat her to the punch.

  “I've spoken with Lille again. He wants us to wait here.”

  Julia's stomach flipped. “What?! I can't!”

  For a badass Authority, Noelle had a terrible poker face. His mouth twisted in an almost-grimace, and Julia thought she might throw up.

  “Julia, Cayne and The Adversary are going one-on-one. Somehow Cayne's been able to hold his own. But Lille is afraid The Adversary will try to use you against him.”

  Julia hovered there in the sky, her All-Stars almost tangling in a tree's branches. It only took her a second before she made the decision to bolt. She'd go back to Noelle later, she thought as she lunged across the lawn. She'd only flapped her wings twice when Noelle caught her by the arm, spinning her to face him, then jerking her back into the tree cover. “What are you doing? I told you, you must stay!”

  “I want to see Cayne! I need to!”

  Noelle hovered in front of her. “NO! Listen to me, Julia! Lille knows!”

  She tugged out of Noelle's grasp, her heart beating hard. “I don't care what Lille knows! If Cayne has The Adversary distracted, now is the perfect time for me to attack!"

  Noelle had Julia in a Celestial bear-hug in an instant, and before she knew what hit her, her wings were gone. Her mind was overwhelmed by vertigo. She screamed, sure he was going to drop her, but Noelle's voice was in her head. “Calm yourself, Julia. This is the role you play. You simply stay put! We wait for Lille's signal. Going in too early would be—"

  “LET ME GO!”

  “You left me no choice.”

  "LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!"

  As Julia struggled against Noelle, she watched the flames that had enveloped the sports car spread across the front lawn, totally enveloping a party tent. A thick plume of black smoke rose into the air as people ran out of the flames screaming. Julia squinted, trying and failing to recognize anyone in the panic. A line of demons formed a wedge and cut them down. Some of the victims were Chosen—Julia tried not to look at their faces or auras—but at least a few were Nephilim. Julia watched one fall; his aura turned almost black as a group of Demons took a chainsaw to his wings.

  Please, oh please let me see Cayne!

  At that very second she caught a glimpse of molten silver, zipping around the back side of the house , and there were charcoal wings! Cayne flew over the edge of the front law, near the fancy gate; as Julia watched, he sailed high into the sky, and she was feeling jubilant because he was alone: no Adversary.

  Then she saw huge, red wings round the corner behind him. As Cayne was turned, surveying the lawn, the house, and the sky, The Adversary twisted his body, thrust his legs out, and kicked Cayne hard in the back.

  Cayne toppled forward, flipping three times before he righted himself. Julia wanted to cheer as he zoomed toward The Adversary, wielding what she assumed must be his blood dagger.

  She couldn't tell if he made contact, because that very second, hellfire exploded around him, and he dropped a few feet in an attempt to dodge it. He made a quick loop up, slashing at The Adversary, maybe catching him across his
shoulder, but she couldn't tell. He got hit by fire, but it didn't slow him. He zoomed strait up, the devil laughing with glee as he gave chase.

  Julia had seen Cayne fight Samyaza in the sky, but this was nothing like that. She watched breathless as the two of them chased each other all around the far side of the lawn.

  Every time The Adversary got in a swing, a kick, a punch, or a fireball, Julia tried to wrench free of Noelle's grasp.

  "Keep waiting," he would tell her.

  As Cayne and his father soared over the roof, coming almost level with Julia and Noelle, they were on each other like dogs in a dog fight, and the fight was all fire.

  It didn't take long watching from such a close distance to see that The Adversary was striking most of the blows. He slammed Cayne in the eye, and blood spurted out a gash just above his eyebrow.

  “Oh God, why is he doing this?!” Why would Cayne fight him one-on-one? Where was Lille?!

  The Adversary didn't appear to be weakened at all, and the Authorities supposed to be wearing him down were too busy fighting Demons all over the property. Julia, still clinging to Noelle, squeezed his arm. “Where's Lille? Why isn't he helping Cayne?”

  “With the rest of the Authorities. If they Demons aren't kept in check we'll all be overrun.”

  “So no one is worried about The Adversary?!”

  “Yes,” Noelle said calmly. “Cayne is.”

  Cayne dodged another of The Adversary's fireballs, but he wasn't able to avoid the stream of hellfire that burst against his back. Julia gasped as he tumbled.

  The Adversary was in pursuit, but at the last second, a pair of beautiful, mahogany wings joined their piece of the sky. Lille! He pulled back the string of his golden bow and sent a flaming arrow straight at The Adversary's head.

  Cayne regained his balance and gained some altitude as Lille's arrow hit The Adversary's shoulder; moving faster than Julia thought he could, Cayne rushed his father, stabbing him in the throat with his blood dagger.

  She was surprised to see real, red blood spurt from The Adversary's throat. He let out a mighty cry as he reached out and throttled Cayne; the blow was so hard, it boomed; Cayne's wings folded, and he tumbled several dozen yards toward the grounds.

  As Julia shrieked, Lille swooped down to help him right his course. They flew straight up, higher than before, where The Adversary waited. Lille readied another arrow, and The Adversary reached behind him, like he was going to pitch someone a softball, and lobbed the biggest burst of hellfire Julia had ever seen. It soared through the air toward Cayne's head, and Julia screamed as it exploded in Cayne's face.

  The Adversary pumped his arm like an athlete after a big play. He took Lille out next, with another brutal shot to the face, and The Adversary laughed as the Authority dropped like a ton of bricks. Cayne, flying crooked and bleeding from his nose and mouth, dove after him.

  “Give me my wings back! Please,” she begged Noelle. “Let me help! They need me!”

  “Still too soon,” Noelle said firmly. “The Adversary is more like a mortal in this realm, and he will tire. Patience.”

  Julia bit back the urge to blast Noelle back to where he came from. Without her wings she wouldn't be able to help Cayne, free or not. "Please!" she begged as Lille bombed The Adversary with a few potent bursts of Authority fire, distracting him enough so Cayne could sneak up behind him. Julia held her breath as Cayne brandished his blood dagger, aiming again for The Adversary's neck as he flew, faster and faster with each flap of his beautiful wings.

  The next second, she saw a strange flash of red, and her eyes snapped to the huge, glowing red sword that had materialized in The Adversary's hands.

  Cayne was flying too fast. He couldn’t slow down. Julia watched, oddly distant, as The Adversary lunged toward Cayne. Cayne's eyes widened, the wicked sword pierced his chest, and sparks flew everywhere.

  Cayne's wings crumpled.

  He fell.

  It wasn't a clean fall; his body spiraled through the trees, until Julia lost sight of him. She was screaming as she threw herself out of Noelle's arms. He had to rush to catch her, and as soon as he grabbed her, she felt her wings pop back out. He tried to restrain her—“Let Lille try something first! Lille is coming! You must focus on The Adversary, not Cayne!”—but Julia's mind was deaf to everything but Cayne's body, landing on the ground with an awful thump.

  She had the split second thought that it was so much like before. Cayne, falling, wounded; her rushing to heal him. Things had come full circle, she thought.

  All of a sudden a Demon streaked through the yard toward Cayne, and Julia couldn't take it anymore: She kicked Noelle hard and dove, blasting the demon back to Hell on her way down.

  Don't let him be dead, please don't let him be dead, she begged as the ground rose up to meet her. She opened her Sight and found his aura waning; Cayne was limp, blood staining his entire torso. She saw ribbons of his aura floating off before she realized what it was: confirmation that the link did still exist. The Adversary was using it again; he was pulling Cayne's energy with him as he flew up above the roofline, toward the net.

  "Lille!" she screamed, and the Authority was beside her in a second. "Go to Cayne now!"

  She didn't wait for him to reply. She didn't have any time if she wanted Cayne to live. Mustering all her courage, she flew up, up, up, so high the cold air hurt her lungs. So high, it was only The Adversary, the net, the perfect stars, and her.

  This close, he reminded her of a blond vampire: flawless and frightening, and as she approached, he turned to face her. He held onto the net, which he had twisted into a funnel shape.

  “Daughter-in-law, what are you doing here?”

  Julia grabbed him by the shoulders and jerked down, hard, separating him from the net, the force of it making them both spiral in the freezing air. She saw the corner of his mansion and made a fast decision, diving and dragging him along until she slammed his body into the side of it. Brick exploded out from the force, and The Adversary moaned as he tumbled to the ground.

  Holy shit! He really is weak!

  The feeling of power was intoxicating, but Julia didn't have time to enjoy it. A flaming arrow burst toward her like a missile, followed by another. She summersaulted out of the way of the first and easily caught the second, throwing it back at him as fast as he sent it.

  She didn't wait to see if it hit him. She had an idea, a burst of inspiration, and she took off for the net. If The Adversary could place it over Heaven, sealing Heaven off, why couldn't she pull the net off and let Heaven in?

  The wind was cold as it whistled past her ears. The glowing strands of the barrier were as thick as fire hoses. Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed one with both hands, and gasped as the skin of her palm sizzled. She felt her consciousness expand, stretching to follow the massive barrier, but a brutal force snapped her back to reality. She whirled, clinging tight with one hand, and The Adversary shot fire in her face.

  She cried and covered her burning eyes, and The Adversary grabbed her ankles. "You don't belong here, little Chosen," he said, and he threw her toward the ground.

  She spun wildly, unable to see, unable to stop herself as she toppled through a tree and hit the ground hard. Her entire body exploded in pain, even her wings. She managed to stumble to her feet, dazed, and that's when she saw Cayne.

  He was by himself, no Lille in sight, and his breaths were shallow and ragged. She checked his aura automatically, and her heart forgot to beat when she saw that it was gone. She looked up, and was able to see the last strand floating toward The Adversary.

  It was the Raysons' backyard times a billion. She saw white as she leapt at it, grasping Cayne's soul like a rope and jerking hard. She could see all the way down the silver strand, straight to The Adversary; she could see his face twist in fury as her mighty tug on Cayne's aura ripped him off the net.

  She blasted him with white light, smiled when he shrieked in pain. She tugged again, snapping Cayne's aura free and severing The A
dversary's link. She watched Cayne's energy rush back to his body, and then she jetted up, knocking The Adversary out of the sky. She blasted him with white light as he fell, and when he hit the ground, it exploded around him, leaving a crater three feet deep.

  Then Julia grabbed the net once more and tugged as hard as she could. But she was totally unprepared for what came next: The Adversary was already back, and not with a show of tricks, but raw strength. His hand went around her neck, and as he squeezed, her lungs emptied of air.

  "I told you to stay away! How would you like to die and go to Hell? It's currently lacking a CEO, but Michael Abiss visits sometimes to dole out discipline." He chuckled, but Julia kept a firm grip on the barrier, refusing to let go. "I like the hard way," the devil snarled, and Julia's vision started to waver. She knew she couldn't let go. The wild white power had left her, spent when she'd ripped into the net, and if she let go now she'd never make it back. But if she held on… He was killing her.

  She thought of Cayne, lying there on the ground with no one to heal him. She tried her best to hold on to her awareness, to her view of the beautiful stars, telling herself, as her lungs pumped futilely, that one was Mer, and one Suzanne, one Harry…

  Which was sad, because they all went black.

  This is it, she thought, but then she heard a familiar voice. It was clearly angry, leering, and after a second, laughing in a way that could only be described as menacing. Yet somehow also sexy.

  She took a deep, cold breath, surprised that she could breathe again. Moaning, Julia wrapped her arms around the net, holding on because she was too weak to flap her wings. She looked down, and was shocked to find The Adversary wrestling in mid-air with…Edan?

  He was on The Adversary's back, his arms locked around the devil's neck, and Julia had only a second to notice his grin and his sparkly, pink wings before she took her shot. The rip she had made was just under her hands, the glowing fibers halfway torn; summoning the last of her strength, she pulled at either side.