Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
GAVIN
We were lucky Lilith’s magic allowed her to make changes to this space whenever she wished, or we’d be in serious trouble.
Our cozy meeting space was now easily the size of a small community center.
All we needed was some crepe paper and balloons, and we could be hosting a party rather than drafting war plans. I’d much prefer the former.
This evening we weren’t gathered as the Hades Society.
Instead, our group was just over thirty strong.
Each of the horsewomen’s progeny and their mates were present because there was no way any of them would be left out.
Well, there were supposed to be—the four horsemen, Lucifer, and Meredith were still MIA.
I let out an annoyed huff. They were the ones who called this meeting; it was incredibly rude of them to make us wait.
Especially when I’d been occupied deciphering Lilith’s book rather than doing what I’d prefer—seeing to my wife’s needs.
I patted my coat pocket for the third time in as many minutes, ensuring the stack of decoded pages was still where I’d left it.
I’d made what I believed to be a significant discovery this morning, and was eager to share what I’d learned.
“Easy, husband,” Roslyn purred, placing her tiny hand in mine and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “They’ll be here soon.”
“They’d better. There is precious little time to spare for any of us.”
“I know.”
The pirate member of Dahlia’s group had the absolute gall to throw an arm across my shoulders and lean close. “All right, vampire, you called us all in here. What kind of shenanigans are in store? I was about to harvest some pixie dust for later when your summons interrupted me.”
“Caspian Hook, you leave those poor pixies alone. They’ve barely recovered from their run-in with Grim,” Dahlia chided.
“Oh, come now, Wendy-bird, don’t pretend you don’t enjoy the results.”
“It was one time,” she said, ducking her head to hide her blush.
“Aye, one very enjoyable time.”
The rest of her mates laughed, the dragon and the Viking quietly high-fiving behind her.
“The pirate has a point,” Remington interjected. “Why are we all here? You guys usually do your super-secret society stuff without us. Something about me being too distracting.”
I glanced around to see if the missing group had miraculously joined us—they hadn’t—before answering, “There’ve been developments.”
“Oooh, developments. Hear that, Benny-boo?” Remington made dramatic finger quotes. “Developments.”
“I h-heard him. W-we all d-did.” Bentley sighed as he took his seat.
“Technically, I didn’t call this meeting—”
“Yeah, you fucking did. I was mid-wank when you banged on my door. Jake is displeased.”
Sunday let out a snort before turning beet red. “You’re always mid-wank, Kingston. You’d think your hormones were out of control, not mine.”
“Sunshine, have you seen you? You’re so fucking hot. And the world might be ending, you can’t blame me for making the most of the time we have.”
“That’s valid,” Remington murmured.
“As I was saying, I didn’t call this meeting, I simply passed on the message,” I said, a little louder this time.
“Then who did?” Asher asked.
“It was us, of course.” Lucifer’s voice rang out from the doorway as he swanned into the room like a Shakespearean actor taking the stage for his grand soliloquy.
“All right then, diva. Care to tell us why we’re here?” Asher asked, brow cocked and arms folded across his chest.
“He’s just jealous because he used to be the one calling the shots,” the tiny dog behind the shimmering portal in the corner whispered loudly.
The ghost beside him laughed. “Shhh, buddy. That’s an inside thought.”
“A what?”
“Something you’re supposed to keep to yourself and not say out loud.”
“Where’s the fun in that, dollface? My thoughts are meant to be shared, otherwise the Fates never would have given me this perfect voice.”
“Hush,” Hades said, his exasperation tinged with amusement.
“I feel like that was another valid point,” Remington said.
“You hush too,” Roslyn admonished.
“Fine, but only because you asked, baby girl.”
Around the same time, the four horsemen and Meredith trailed in after Lucifer, their expressions varying degrees of grave as they approached. This was much more in line with what I expected from this meeting. Remington and the like added levity to an otherwise dire situation.
Lilith stood, crossing her arms over her chest and staring daggers at the devil. “What is this all about, Lucifer? We didn’t have a meeting of the full Hades Society scheduled until later this week.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, does the paternity of Merri’s child not hold any urgency? Am I inconveniencing you with the information I’m about to impart? I can leave. We can happily fuck off to another realm and just watch the world burn.”
“You will speak to her with respect, or you will not speak at all,” Crombie growled.
Lucifer’s eyes blazed, his face twisting into something terrifyingly sinister. “Try me, fae scum.”
“I’ve taken shits more terrifying than you,” the fae prince sneered.
“Holy shit, I’m writing that one down. Talk about a fucking burn,” Kingston said, choking on a laugh.
Alek chuckled beside him while Lilith placed a soothing hand on her pet’s shoulder. “Quiet, love.”
“He besmirches your honor.”
She waved a hand. “What good has honor ever done me? I’m not offended, nor should you be.”
Crombie scoffed, but settled back into his seat.
“Go ahead, share your news. We’re all waiting with bated breath,” Lilith drawled.
Lucifer took a deep breath and looked out over us all, like a priest at his pulpit. “The witch—”
Moira coughed. “My name is Moira.”
His eyes locked onto hers. “You didn’t like it when I said your name the last time.”
Chaos groaned loudly. “Jesus fucking Christ, we’re going to be here until the literal end of the world. Moira performed a ritual, but the results were veiled.”
“Hey! I was getting to that.”
“You were taking your sweet fucking time.”
“It’s called setting the stage. You should learn about it. Seriously, crabapple, I worry for the state of your loins if this is what they consider foreplay. Honestly, where is the vision? The ingenuity? You’re lucky you have me to remedy the situation.”
“Moira, what does he mean, veiled?” Gabriel asked.
She stood, her back straight, head held high. “Exactly what he said. I couldn’t tell who the father is, but it’s clear there is only one. This isn’t an Eden situation.”
“We already knew that,” Caleb grumbled. “So really, what you’re saying is you called us here for nothing.”
“Now, now, priest, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Lucifer crooned.
“He doesn’t wear panties,” Kingston said with a wink.
Grim stepped forward. “We may not know who the child’s father is, but we do know how to proceed. This information has given us only one clear path forward.”
Michael huffed. “And what is that?”
“We have to stop them before the child is born. That is the only option.” Malice took Merri’s hand as he took up his place at her side.
This was the opening I needed, his assertion dovetailing perfectly with my findings. Clearing my throat, I stepped forward. “I’ve found something that might help with that.”
“We’re way ahead of you,” Lucifer said dismissively as he brandished a very familiar black tome.
“How the hell did you get that?” I snarled, having last left the Book of Lilith securely tucked away in my personal safe.
“Did you honestly think a paltry safe would keep me out? I could waltz into the vault at the Louvre without issue.”
A scowl settled across my features, prompting a snicker from Remington. “Uh-oh, Daddy’s mad.”
“You could have tried asking for it instead of outright thievery.”
“Is it thievery if it’s mine by rights?”
Lilith scoffed. “The book is mine.”
“Right, but it’s filled with knowledge that belongs to me.”
“By its very nature, knowledge cannot have an owner,” Lilith contradicted.
Asher stood up. “We’re getting way off track. What did you find, Gavin?”
I offered my research partner a genuine smile. “The answer we’ve been searching for. I’ve learned how to unmake an immortal.”
“I’ll see your declaration and raise you unmaking the horsewomen. Specifically.” Lucifer smirked as he leveled his gaze on me, fingers drumming on the cover of the book.
Shock and confusion warred within me. I hadn’t seen anything specific to them in the pages I’d been working on. How had I missed it? “Where? Show me where it says that.”
Lucifer chuckled. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Of course you missed it. You’re barely literate when it comes to my native tongue.”
Meredith sighed. “Stop antagonizing everyone, Luc. No one is going to want to help us when you’re such an asshole all the time.”
“But I’m your asshole, darling.”
“Kinky,” Asher said, prompting Remington to snicker before gazing adoringly at him and replying, “and yet also romantic.”
Lucifer dropped the book on the desk at the front of the room.
“Allow me.” He cracked his knuckles and flipped it open, flipping pages until he was near the back.
“Riiiiight . . . here. The weapons shall be collected from the four corners of the world and wielded against those who seek to destroy it.”
“Weapons,” I murmured. I’d expected some sort of spell or incantation rather than a physical weapon.
“Yes.”
“What kind of weapons? Sunday used a sword on War. Do we need that again?” Kingston asked.
“No. These are items hidden across the world. Each one holds significance as pertains to their mantle.”
“Great. I don’t suppose there’s a helpful list already laid out for us of what they are and where to find them,” Asher grumbled.
“Not quite,” Lucifer said, “but there are clues, so we aren’t entirely empty-handed.”
Asher sat up straighter. “Well, that’s surprisingly useful.”
The three angels moved closer, Evander pointing at the page Lucifer referred to as he said, “The weapons shall be determined by the most significant step made by the mantle bearer, power imbued upon the item once anointed in the wake of their destruction.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. What the fuck is a mantle?” Kingston asked.
Sin laughed. “They mean our titles. We bear their mantles. War. Death. Pestilence. Famine.” He pointed to each of the horsemen in turn. “Not all of us were born this way.”
“Oh, right. I knew that.”
“What does ‘significant step’ mean, though?” Asher asked.
“Are we talking, like, historically speaking, the biggest war of all time? And how do we quantify that? Is it by the number of people involved in the actual fighting? Or the number of countries involved in the conflict? Or if we look at, say, death, are we talking the most deaths in one fell swoop? But what if the most deaths are the result of a plague? Would that be Pestilence or Death? And assuming we figure out that much, how can we possibly determine one specific item?”
Roslyn moved to Asher’s side, gently wrapping her arm around him to rub his back. “Take a breath, baby.”
He did as she bade, looking embarrassed as he murmured, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “They were valid questions. There are a lot of unknowns we are working with.”
“Items of significance have their way of making themselves known,” Caleb offered.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Look at the Knights Templar. There were items they tried to protect throughout history. Surely objects as significant as this would be treated the same.”
Michael shook his head. “Not necessarily, Caleb. God tasked many beings with hiding items of importance, and He ensured their protection by making them the sole recipients of that knowledge.”
“He wouldn’t risk them getting lost or in the wrong hands,” Gabriel added.
“So how are we supposed to find them, then? The book doesn’t give us all that much to go on. What if we choose the wrong thing? The world could end before we ever find one of the items that we need,” Asher said. “And that doesn’t even get into the attunement portion or whatever.”
“Or actually using the weapons,” Alek added grimly.
“Exactly,” Asher said, silence descending on the room as the enormity of the task before us became clear.
Lucifer waited several beats before clearing his throat and stepping forward. “I hate to interrupt your little pity party, but it just so happens that I am one such person.”
The angels rounded on him.
“You?” Michael scoffed.
“Why do you sound so surprised, brother? It’s common knowledge that I was our father’s favorite.”
“Was being the operative word,” Evander muttered.
“Be that as it may, I know where we can find the first item, since I was the one tasked with keeping it safe.”
“What is it?” Meredith asked.
Lucifer’s grin turned smug. “It’s the bone of the first victim.”
“Victim of what?” I asked.
“Death,” Lucifer replied as if it should be obvious.
Grimsby’s eyes sharpened with interest. “You mean Abel.”
“The one and only.”
“The guy whose brother killed him?” Sinclair asked.
“Precisely,” Lucifer said.
“How do we know for sure that’s the right item?” Asher pressed.
Lucifer let out a long-suffering sigh. It was obvious he was more used to adoration than having to explain himself. “Because not only is he the first person to be murdered, he’s the first person to die. Ever. What could be more significant than that?”