Chapter 86
“Magic is really very simple; all you’ve got to do is want something and then let yourself have it.”
—AGGIE CROMWELL, “HALLOWEENTOWN”
A fter the feast, Shem had the head table cleared and set with the pumpkins chosen for the contest. Lilith insisted that I participate this year.
“I picked a pumpkin for you and everything. Don’t waste it,” she pouted. Sighing, I conceded. It had never felt fair for me to enter the contest. With the power of decay, it was much easier for me than most to pull a design through the gourd’s flesh. Within seconds, I had rotted out a nearly perfect portrait of Lilith into the black pumpkin she had chosen for me. I smirked as I watched her scoop out the insides of her ivory pumpkin with her little tongue clenched between her teeth.
“Would you like some help, deathtrap?” I asked after she had finally finished with the guts and had moved on to drawing the design. She fingered her Sharpie, tapping it against her chin pensively.
“No, that’s cheating! I want to do it myself.”
I shrugged and leaned back against the table next to her, unable to keep the amused grin off my face as I watched her sketch out her design. My heart squeezed in my chest as she sketched what looked like the outline of the Grim Reaper, scythe and all, in the backdrop of a full moon. It was a simple design, but the fact that she was choosing to carve something that clearly symbolized me made my stomach flip .
Hazai, of course, was carving out the silhouette of a cat. He had permitted Gabriel to stand with him, and the angel was laughing while he helped Hazai with his pumpkin.
Jezebel was carving out a bat design on hers, her cheeks flushing red from the three glasses of wine she had with dinner. Since Art had publicly accused her of conspiring against us in the interest of securing a spot in my bed, she had been much quieter.
Lilith seemed to be avoiding her, and I couldn’t tell if Jezebel was tense because there was some truth to what Art had said or if she was truly bothered by the fact that Lilith seemed to be upset with her.I hadn’t mentioned it out loud, but Art was right. Jezebel had a motive to want Lilith out of the picture, though, I supposed so did Gabe. He was an angel after all. Maybe Art had been right, and he was trying to get close to Shem so he could eliminate him. Without Shem, we would be without our General. He really was the strongest of us. If I was being honest, I often wondered if he was even stronger than I was. If we lost Shemhazai, we would be at even more of a disadvantage than we already were.
Despite all these worries, there wasn’t much I could do about it outside of locking them all up. As I watched Lilith screw up her little face in concentration, I somehow knew she would not be thrilled with me if I threw Jezebel into the dungeons. Even if she did seem a little put out by the fact that the demon had admitted to pursuing me while she had been in purgatory.
I nearly smirked at the thought. She had been jealous. The thought of her feeling jealousy over the idea of me fucking somebody else made me unreasonably happy. It meant she cared. She wanted me. Better than that — she didn’t want to share me. She wanted me all to herself, and knowing that made my black fucking heart soar.
Finally, the timer went off, signaling the end of the contest. Lilith dropped her knife, standing back and smiling at her pumpkin with her hands on her hips.
“I think it looks pretty good!” She beamed. I slid behind her to inspect her work and grinned. Her full moon was a little crooked, and she had cut the handle of the scythe too thin and needed to reattach it with some toothpicks, but in my eyes, it was perfect.
“A masterpiece worthy of first place,” I purred, wrapping my hands around her and pulling her into me. She laughed, shaking her head.
She pointed at mine before glancing back at me ruefully. “Yours is like… freakishly good, Ramel. You could put that shit in the MoMa.” I raised an eyebrow and eyed the nearly photorealistic carving of Lilith, and shrugged.
“Nah, realism is so boring . Yours has so much character.” I smirked at her, and she just rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know what either of you are talking about. Gabe and I are clearly going to win,” Shem drawled confidently, gesturing to his crude cut out of an arched cat. It was Gabriel’s turn to roll his eyes, though there was a quiet smile on his face.
“I don’t know about that, Shemhazai,” he said skeptically, “ours looks like a human child carved it. We should have just done a classic scary face.”
The judges approached the table to inspect each contestant’s work. I glared at them as they examined each pumpkin.
‘There’s a special cell reserved in the dungeons for any judge who does not vote for Lilith,’ I warned into their minds as they marked down their votes on their clipboards. I nearly snarled as their faces paled. ‘Don’t be so fucking obvious,’ I snapped as they scurried away to tally their votes.
Unsurprisingly, Lilith came in first place. Her jaw dropped at the announcement. She spun to face me, her eyes filled with delighted surprise.
“What! That’s crazy; yours is so much better than mine!” she gasped. I shrugged.
“I must have lost points for straying so far from the Halloween theme.” I grinned at her, bringing her hand to my mouth. I left a kiss on her knuckles, relishing the adorable pink flush that bled to her cheeks.
Shem slid his hands into his pockets and smirked. “He’s right; the Grim Reaper was a way better choice. I’m not shocked you won.” He shot me a sly look. “Not shocked at aaaallllll.”
“Shut up, asshole,” I muttered under my breath. Lilith squealed as the judges pinned the blue ribbon to her pumpkin. Shem and I watched as Jez and Gabe crowded around her, examining her Jack-o’-lantern curiously.
I casually leaned closer to Shem, keeping my voice down so as not to draw attention to us. “What do you think about Art’s little outburst?”
Shem glanced at me, his lips pursing slightly. “He’s not wrong. Both of them have motives.”
“I’m wondering if we’re being fools allowing them to mingle out here this close to her ascension.”
Shem nodded somberly. “I feel you. Say the word, and I’ll put them both in the dungeons faster than you can say ‘Hail Satan.’ ”
“I’m worried it’ll upset Lilith. I promised her I wouldn’t hurt her friends anymore, and I think she considers Jezebel a friend,” I admitted, trying not to scowl.
“Locking her up isn’t hurting her,” Shem argued, and I sighed.
“I’m not sure Lilith will see it that way. She seems… touchy about things like that.”
Shem glanced at me, frowning. “Since when do you care? You’re going soft on me.”
I shrugged. “Since she fucking cut herself up with the Aetherium blade. I’m trying to go easier on her. I want her to like me again. ”
“She does like you. She’s just being stubborn about admitting it.” Shem grinned.
“It’s more than that. I want her to be happy here.” Sadness rushed through me as the words left my mouth. That was all I had ever wanted for her before Yahweh ruined our lives. I had wanted her to be happy and to be surrounded by people that loved her. So far, I had done a piss poor job of making that happen.
“Look at her, Ram,” Shem said, gesturing to the little threesome that stood before us. Lilith was animatedly explaining her pumpkin carving process to Jezebel. Jez was critically looking over her own pumpkin, as if trying to determine how she would apply Lilith’s tips to improve her own work. Gabriel was leaning against the table next to them, listening attentively to Lilith with his hands in his pockets and an amused expression on his face.
“Does that look like someone who’s unhappy?” Shem asked me, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say he was trying to comfort me.
I glanced at my friend, and he gave me a reassuring smile. “She loves you, Ram. We’re both dicks, and we’re not perfect, but she loves us. She always will.”
“I hope you’re right,” I sighed.
“Ramel! When does the dancing start again? I want to celebrate my victory.” Lilith bounded up to me, a giant smile painted on her beautiful face. She threw her arms around my neck, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Dropping my hands to her waist, I tugged her in close and greedily accepted the affectionate kiss she dropped on my lips. I glanced at Hazai, who raised an eyebrow at me as if to say ‘ see?’
“If you’re ready to dance, then the dancing starts right now,” I promised her. She beamed at me just as there was a massive bang! The hall shook suddenly, and I threw myself on top of Lilith as the entire far side of the dining hall exploded inward. Sharp chunks of stone and obsidian rained down around us.
Demons scattered as they attempted to take cover, but the floor began to collapse near where the wall had once stood, and several demons disappeared into the hole.
Lilith was screaming beneath me, and I shifted into my Reaper form on instinct. Shem’s fingers were tipped with curved claws, and black cat ears had bloomed through the crown of his head. They were laid flat back against his head, and he hissed as several angels flew in through the hole in the wall, all of them brandishing golden scepters.
“What the fuck!” Shemhazai shouted. Gabriel looked furious and pale. He glanced at Shem.
“Where is the scepter I gave you?” he barked, and Shem narrowed his eyes at him.
“You think I’m going to trust you with that information?” Shem’s tone was dangerous. His hellcats began to manifest in the dark corners of the room. Shadows morphed into angry, smokey feline shapes, and soon we were surrounded by hundreds of feral cats, born of night, their red eyes glowing with the might of Shem’s bloodlust.
“We don’t have time for this!” Gabriel snarled as I stood, dragging Lilith off the ground with me. I tucked her safely behind me, manifesting the scythe. It was fully charged with death magic. If Yahweh was declaring war here and now, I was fucking ready.
The invading angels began to descend on our people. My hands gripped the scythe in rage as I watched them bring their scepters down on several demons who were too injured to get away. Black sludge exploded from their mouths as they were unmade. Lilith wailed in agony behind me as we watched them take their final breaths.
Gabriel roared in pain and rage as a pair of ebony angel wings exploded from his back. He didn’t transform fully into his angel form, but the wings were enough to make my lip curl. He was one of them — I couldn’t trust him.
“Give me the scepter, Shemhazai!” he snapped. Hazai glanced back at me, and I snarled.
“Come on, Ram, his wings are fucking black.”
I hesitated. The only other angels I had ever known to have black wings had been Shem and I. It had to mean something that Gabriel’s wings were black too. But still, it was a huge risk, trusting him with something so important.
“You can’t give him our only fucking scepter,” I snapped.
The invading angels continued to murder the demons that were too injured from the explosion to escape. Some of the partygoers were members of our cavalry and had shifted to their demon forms to join the fray, but as the brutal screams of battle filled the night air, Lilith became more and more inconsolable behind me.
“Do something! They’re killing them!” she screamed, and I could feel her pain grate against me like it was a living thing.
Jezebel rushed forward. “We need to get Lilith out of here! They’re here for her!” she cried, and I knew she was right. The angels were attempting to cut a path toward us.
“Shemhazai! The fucking scepter!” Gabriel shouted. Shem stared at me, waiting for the okay, when Lilith screamed at me to give it to him. Finally, I nodded, and Shem manifested the scepter, handing it to Gabriel.
To my relief, the angel tore the scepter out of Shem’s hands and darted into the air, an unmistakable look of vengeance painted across his face.
He made it to the first angel in seconds, drawing the scepter back like it was a baseball bat. We watched in awe as he slammed the golden weapon down into the center of the angel’s body, and black sludge exploded from its many eyes. Two more quick swings, and the angel was unmade. Gabriel ripped the dead angel’s scepter away from its feathery grip and hurtled the stolen weapon back to Shemhazai, who caught it easily.
Without pausing to admire his work, Gabriel moved on to the next angel, ruthlessly going to work, unmaking him just as quickly. He was insanely fast and moved through the air like a dancer. His violent swings were somehow just as graceful as they were deadly.
“Holy fuck,” I breathed, staring at the glittering golden weapon that Shemhazai now held in his hands.
“Holy fuck is right,” Hazai agreed. He was watching Gabriel, his green eyes burning with something more than just lust. There was respect there too. The archangel had impressed Shemhazai, which was no easy feat.
“Ramel! They’re coming, look!” Jezebel pointed through the massive hole that had been blown into the side of the House of the Fallen. Thousands of angels were floating down the bridge into the city of Hell. Reality flickered in and out suddenly, exposing the holes in the veil. I watched in horror as even more angelic bodies flooded through the gaping holes that had torn between worlds for Samhain.
“We need to get Lilith out of here, now!”
“We can’t leave them!” Lilith cried. Shemhazai and I both glanced at her. I wasn’t even sure my heart was beating. I was so terrified for her. If she had been immortal, this would have been nothing. Shemhazai and I could have focused on eradicating the invasion. She would have been able to hold her own. As it was, she was fucking human and defenseless. We couldn’t protect her and deal with this many angels at once.
Yahweh had planned this. He knew what he was fucking doing.
“Where the fuck is Art?” Shemhazai asked.
“I’ll go find him!” Jezebel said before rushing off into the melee. Lilith gasped as large bat wings exploded from Jezebel’s back. She took flight and soared through the air in her mission to find Art.
More angels began to cut their way through our slowly growing defenses. Jezebel had been right; they were all heading right for us. Hazai’s lip curled, his ears flat against his head.
“You get Lilith out of here, I’ll deal with these assholes.” As the words left his mouth, his hellcats stretched and arched around his legs. More and more of them began to manifest in the shadows until there were nearly twice as many shadow cats in the hall as there were immortals.
“Shem!” Lilith cried. She reached out from where I had her backed behind me against the wall. He looked back at her briefly, frowning.
“Shem, be careful,” she whispered. I glanced back at her, my heart pinching at the sight of her mossy eyes so wide with terror.
I stepped out of the way as Shem stalked toward us. He pulled her into him, kissing her passionately on the mouth.
“I’m always careful, sweetheart,” he murmured, resting his forehead tenderly against hers. “You be good for Ramel, okay? I’m going to pluck these fuckers and send them back where they came from.” He gave her a confident smirk and a wink. Twirling the scepter Gabriel had recovered for him like a baton, he leapt onto the dance floor and began sprinting into the now raging battle of angels and demons. His shadowy hellcats tore into feathery wings and ripped out angel eyes with ease as Shem brought his scepter down on the writhing carcasses, finishing them off. He collected scepters as he went, passing them off to our own demons, working to slowly arm our own forces with Yahweh’s weapons.
I grabbed Lilith by the arm and steered her away from the battle. “Back to the room,” I ordered, but she shook her head.
“We can’t leave him!” she cried, staring out after Shem, who was gleefully tearing into angels with abandon. I snorted.
“He’s fine, deathtrap. Trust me, he’s probably having more fun right now than he ever would have at the party.”
Her eyes were filled with tears, and I softened, suddenly realizing she was afraid we would lose him.
“Listen to me. Shem is not going to die,” I promised her. “But right now, we have to go. They’re here for you. We need to keep you safe until you can ascend.”
She looked so distressed that I nearly felt bad forcing her toward the door.
“Ramel, you don’t even have a scepter!” she protested, and I chuckled.
“No, but I have the scythe.”
She frowned at me. “The scythe will kill them?”
I smirked at her. “Remember when I told you there were only four Aetherium blades ever crafted?” I jerked my head up to the wicked curved blade. “The scythe is one of them.”
She gaped at me as I led her through the now mangled doors to the dining room and into the hallway. Suddenly, Jezebel swooped overhead and landed next to us.
“Art’s coming. He was in the dungeons trying to torture Raf for information on Gabriel and… well, me.” She winced at her admission. “As soon as I told him we were under attack, he rushed out. He should be here any moment.”
As if her words had summoned him, Art jogged up behind us, his face white with anger and what looked like stress.
“We need backup. Shemhazai and Gabriel are nearly single-handedly holding back the angels,” Art panted. His concern for Shem was painted clearly across his face.
“The only thing that matters is getting Lilith to safety,” I growled. Jezebel nodded.
“He’s right. If you left Lilith to help Shem and something happened to her, you know he would never forgive you,” Jezebel said solemnly to Art, her bat wings rustling in agitation behind her. Art looked like he was in physical pain at the prospect of leaving Shem behind, but he nodded.
“Alright. Let’s go,” he agreed and fell into step behind us.
We were halfway down the hall when the veil flickered again, and my heart skipped a beat as heavenly fingers tore through the fabric of reality. I threw my arm out to stop Lilith from moving any further and forced her, Jezebel, and Art several steps back as someone ripped a hole through the paper-thin veil.
We watched in astonishment as none other than Yahweh Himself stepped through the barrier between Heaven and Hell.
“Hello, Ramel.” His many voices rang through Hell’s hallways, the weight of His power rattling the very marrow of my bones. Several angels spilled through the hole in the world and flanked Him. I snarled and pressed Lilith more firmly behind me. We were outnumbered.
I didn’t care about the angels. I could have taken out an entire choir of angels without breaking a fucking sweat.
Yahweh was a different story. He was a god and not just any god. He had managed to eliminate every other god and goddess that had stood in His way for thousands of years. Even I was no match for him, at least not while His Sorter of Souls was still in operation. He knew it, and I knew it. From the terrified whimper Lilith let out from behind me, she knew it too.
I glanced back. To make matters worse, the only demons I had with me right now were both high on my list of suspects. Gabriel had more or less proven to us in the dining hall that he was on our side. That left Art and Jezebel.
I was fucked. There were no good options. I was going to have to take a chance that if even one of them had turned out to be a traitor, the other one would protect Lilith. Because realistically, anywhere was safer than here. My entire body was recoiling at the fact that she was this close to Yahweh. He could kill her with a single thought. She was too fragile — I wouldn’t be able to fight Him and protect her at the same time.
‘Lilith, listen to me.’
“No… Ramel, no. I know what you’re going to say I’m not leaving you,” she whispered behind me, and my heart cracked in my chest. I kept my eyes on Yahweh as I pressed her farther back.
‘You need to go with Art and Jezebel.’
She choked on a sob, and the delicate sound broke the last thread of control I had. I stared into Yahweh’s many faces as I whispered into her mind. I was going to fuck this bastard up. I was going to make Him pay for what He had done to us, even if it killed me.
‘Go, Lilith. I’m right behind you.’ I promised her.
“Get her out of here!” I barked over my shoulder to Jezebel and Art. Jezebel nodded, wasting no time. She wrapped her arms around Lilith’s waist and launched into the air. Art shifted into his snake form and barreled through the barricade of angels that blocked the hall before us.
“Ramel! No! Please!” Lilith’s screams echoed through the hallway as Jezebel flew her away to what I hoped was safety.
When they were gone, Yahweh smiled at me, His many faces much too calm for someone who was about to be torn to shreds.
“Coming here was a mistake, Yahweh,” I growled. “I’m going to cut you to fucking pieces.”
“Your scythe cannot kill me, Ramel. I am God. I created you. The creation cannot stand against the creator.”
I laughed, tightening my grip on the handle of my blade and opening the dams that held my magic in check. For the first time in millennia, I truly let go of my power. Death and decay exploded from my body; mycelium crawled across the floor and up the walls around me, rotting the very stone that made up the manor. God’s angels floated back from the sickening threat of my magic, their lidless eyes widening in fear.
“You are not God, Yahweh. You are only one god of many,” I snarled, stepping forward, the handle of my scythe dragging through the rot that continued to spread beneath my feet in inky, black veins. “You may have created me, but Lilith made me,” I spat, flexing my power so violently the very walls shook beneath the might of my magic. “It is Lilith’s magic that runs through my veins, and she is a thousand times the god you will ever be.”
Yahweh narrowed his eyes on me, but I was not afraid. I took another step forward, twisting the scythe between my fingers as I continued.
“It does not matter. You cannot kill me Ramel, no matter how much you may wish that you could.”
I chuckled, reveling in the raw dark power that coursed through me. “You’re right, Yahweh, I can’t kill you.” Holding my free hand out before me, I fired a torrent of black decay at the angel that hovered closest to me. I laughed as it instantly turned into a messy pile of decomposed flesh. It splattered in black, stinking chunks across the floor at our feet.
I looked pointedly down at the throbbing pile of angel that was undeniably living through what I had done to it. Yahweh’s many mouths were set into firm, angry lines at my clear display of power.
“There are worse things than death, Yahweh. I think it’s about time you learned what it is to fucking suffer.”