Chapter 101
“Mine, says the cat, putting out his paw of darkness.”
—MARGE PERCY, “THE CAT’S SONG”
G abriel’s wings had been cumbersome in the shower, so he misted them away as we took our turns washing and praising Lilith. I made sure to give Gabriel a fair amount of praise as well, considering he had done everything I had asked of him without complaint.
After finishing in the shower, the four of us curled up in bed together and watched some of Lilith’s favorite spooky shows. She restarted episode one of The Fall of the House of Usher , so Gabriel and I could get caught up. My little bird seemed enthralled and intrigued with the show, which made me surprisingly happy.
“Yahweh never allowed us to watch TV,” he said, looking annoyed, and I nodded in understanding. My time serving as one of Yahweh’s angels had been the most mind-numbingly boring experience of my long, immortal life. The only thing that had been worse was when the asshole had managed to trap me in purgatory. I was not surprised that Yahweh had denied his angels the luxury of things like TV once it had been invented.
Lilith stroked his auburn hair out of his eyes and gave him a gentle smile. “I can promise you, you will not be bored here,” she said, echoing the promise she had made to Ramel and I, all that time ago. Gabriel was looking at her like she was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. I knew that he, much like Ramel and I, was doomed to fall in love with her just as much as we had.
By the time the credits were rolling, Lilith had fallen asleep curled up on Ramel’s chest. Ramel was sleeping too, and I couldn’t blame him. I had to assume that dying and then coming back to life would be exhausting for anybody. Even Lilith’s Nightmare Reaper.
Resolving to let them rest, I rolled out of bed and stretched, making my way to the door.
“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked. I glanced back at him and could tell immediately he didn’t want me to leave him. I waited for the usual sting of annoyance I had felt every time Art complained about my comings and goings, but it never came. I found I wanted Gabriel with me, which surprised me. Outside of Lilith and Ram, I had a very low tolerance for spending long periods of time with any one person. Even with the two of them, I usually left for several decades at a time to explore the human world and create mayhem. The only other person who had ever caught my attention for more than a few hours had been Hecate, and she was a big reason why I was feeling restless.
“I’m going to see if anyone needs any help with repairs and assess the extent of the damage to the city. Do you want to come?” I asked, and the corner of his mouth kicked up at my invitation.
“Yes,” he said, getting out of bed. He went to grab his ruined shirt, but I rolled my eyes with a smile and shook my head.
“Here,” I said, snapping my fingers and manifesting a black T-shirt for him. I watched appreciatively as he shrugged it on. The soft cotton pulled tight across his chest and swelled against the round curve of his biceps.
Fuck, he looked good in black.
“Show me your new form,” I ordered. Gabriel hesitated for a moment, looking unsure. I gave him a small, reassuring grin.
“Go on, shift. It won’t hurt,” I promised, and he looked at me with so much trust in his eyes it made my heart skip a beat. How Yahweh had hurt and tormented his followers made me fucking sick. There was doling out punishments that were earned and suited the crime, and then there was straight-up needless torture.
Forcing innocent, brand-new creations to live in pain for sins they had never committed was bullshit.
Gabriel shifted into a large raven. He let out a sharp caw, caw! and fluttered to perch on my shoulder. I smirked at him and stroked a finger down his little head, grinning.
“Let’s go see what the damage is,” I purred, and we left Ramel and Lilith to rest.
Our people had already been hard at work — it would take some time to repair the damage to the infrastructure of the manor, but the areas that had been affected most had already more or less been cleaned up and sorted out. Thanks to some talented healers, our wounded had been well taken care of, and our dead were being prepared for burial.
Happily, we now had a very vacant graveyard for when the burial ceremonies began.
I ordered those who had been working diligently to head home and rest as best they could. I knew we had a long road ahead of us, and our people needed space to heal.
The good news of our victory against Yahweh had spread quickly, and demons rushed to thank and congratulate me as I moved among them. Many of them asked after Lilith and Ramel. I assured them that they were just resting after the long battle and would be debriefing everyone in the morning on what had happened and what the plan was for mankind moving forward.
We had our work cut out for us. With most of Yahweh’s Voodoo locations destroyed, there was already a backlog of souls that needed to be sorted.
‘Are you going to send teams to attempt to rebuild what Yahweh had created?’ Gabriel asked into my mind, as his beak did not allow him to speak human words.
I moved easily through the bustling hallways of the House of the Fallen with my hands in my pockets and a spring in my step. I was in a relatively good mood despite the devastation we had endured.
“Honestly, maybe. I like the idea of using alcohol and depravity to coax confessions out of drunk mortals. It’s much better than his original plan of using the church . ” I made a gagging sound, and Gabriel’s bird-like laughter tittered through my mind.
I made my way into the office, which largely remained untouched and was free of busy demons. The fireplace was roaring, and I flopped down into one of the large leather couches facing the chess set. Gabriel took flight, and with a few flaps of his wings, he shifted into his human form. He took a seat opposite me and sprawled out, throwing his arms over the back of the couch and framing the chess table with his long legs.
“And what of Hecate?” he asked me as I set up the board.
“What of her?” I asked absentmindedly. “I missed my chance to chase her. If she wants me to find her, she’ll send me another clue.”
Gabriel frowned. “That seems… unlike you. I always thought you enjoyed a challenge.”
I glanced up at him, unable to keep myself from smirking.
“I enjoy a challenge when I know I can win. Hecate is crafty. Trust me, if she doesn’t want me to find her, she won’t be found. It’s why it took so long for Yahweh to wipe her out.”
“He never really did,” Gabe mused dryly, leaning forward to move one of his white pawns into play. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hecate is the Mother of Witches. Yahweh did everything he could to wipe out her children, but even with her asleep, he was never able to stop people from practicing witchcraft. He had a whole choir assigned just to uncover the location of Witchwood. He never was able to find it.”
I froze.
“What did you just say?” I asked, my voice dark.
“Yahweh was never able to wipe out witchcraft? — ”
“No, the other thing, about Witchwood.”
Gabriel frowned, looking up at me. “It’s rumored to be where one of Hecate’s oldest and most loyal covens still operates. Legend has it that it’s still run by the original bloodlines. You know the bloodlines, right? Bishop, Good, and Nurse?”
“Of course, I know the bloodlines. I was fucking there when she created them,” I snapped, looking down at the scripture tattooed on my left arm. One of her acolytes who was gifted with the sight had given me a prophecy the first time Hecate had disappeared. I had it tattooed on my skin so I would never lose it.
However, I hadn’t known about Witchwood. That part of the prophecy had always stumped me. Gabriel leaned over the chess table, squinting at the text on my arm. He read it out loud, and a shiver ran down my spine. I hadn’t heard the words spoken in over three hundred years.
Born ‘neath the moon in Witchwood’s embrace,
A mortal vessel, a sacred space.
Creation’s angel seeks to unravel fate,
While Hecate hides in a mortal state.
Emerging from Hell, seeking flesh and bone,
Chaos explores realms unknown
In a place once familiar, the search takes flight,
To unveil Hecate’s mortal plight.
God of Wrath, with vengeance ablaze,
Joins hands with creation, in a darkened haze.
Against Witchwood’s magic, they conspire,
A plot to consume, and burn like fire.
But with Chaos’ whiskers and raven’s wing ,
Bloodlines are summoned, and the witches sing.
Bishop, Good, and Nurse’s kin,
In Salem’s trials, where it all did begin.
Gabe let out a low whistle, leaning back on the couch opposite me. “That’s a headache waiting to happen,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
I let out a surprised burst of laughter. “No kidding. Witches are always so indirect. ”
Gabe raised a sarcastic eyebrow at me. “Pretty rich, coming from you. You’re always crafting some scheme and never telling anyone your plan unless it suits you.”
I snorted, shooting him an impish smirk. “What can I say? When you’re right, you’re right.” I winked at him before I reread the prophecy, despite the fact that I’ve had it memorized for millennia.
‘Bishop, Good, and Nurse’s kin,
In Salem’s trials, where it all did begin.’
“This sounds like you need to go to Salem,” Gabriel murmured, rubbing his thumb gently over the flesh of my arm. Despite the pleasant tingle his touch left on my skin, I nearly snarled in frustration.
“Do you not think I’ve checked Salem already?” I scowled. “There’s nothing there. It’s just a tourist trap.” I had gone to Salem several times over the years, hoping to find a witch who would be able to help me undo what had been done to their goddess. However, I had never been able to find a true member of one of the original bloodlines, just a bunch of humans who were somewhat sensitive to the paranormal.
Gabriel chuckled. “Somehow, I doubt the Witchwood coven is going to leave themselves open to discovery from a chaos demon,” he sneered, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Keep it up, and you’re going to get bent the fuck over, little bird,” I snapped, suddenly no longer in the mood to play games. I would never admit it, but he was right. I would need to go back to Salem. If Hecate was going to hide anywhere, it would be where she felt she would be safest—with her kin.
A thrill of something that felt suspiciously like anxiety rushed through me at the thought. I wasn’t exactly an expert at decoding prophecies, but this one had never made me feel like Witchwood would be safe for her if she ever returned.
I bit back a snarl. I needed to find her before she did something stupid and put herself in danger. Not to mention, we had unfinished business, her and I. I had been chasing Hecate since I had met her — it was time I put this particular game of cat and mouse to bed.
I was back on the trail. I had a solid lead. I wouldn’t be able to rest now until I had hunted her down.
Gabriel rolled his eyes but smirked at me, letting me know he wouldn’t protest too much if I followed through on my threat of bending him over .
“Look, it mentions a raven’s wing,” Gabriel pointed out. “Do you think that’s referring to me? Maybe you haven’t been able to find anything in Salem because she hadn’t awoken yet. Maybe she’s there now?”
It was possible.
I was humming with excitement. This was a real lead. Maybe I would be able to track her down without following her asshole dogs, after all.
I glanced up at Gabriel, an evil grin spreading across my face.
“Up for an adventure, little bird?” I asked, and an equally devilish smile curled across Gabriel’s mouth. He nodded, his citrine eyes flashing.
“With you? Always.”
To Be Continued…