6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
“...you’re no longer a balanced pair.”
My breath caught in my chest. I had previously been angry at Jay because he’d said we were more bonded than we would be in marriage because I wanted the damn tradition. What he’d just done made our situation much more serious. If we were no longer a balanced pair...I couldn’t fathom what would happen to us.
The flapping of large wings caught my attention. I stepped onto the shack’s porch, seeing two images I wasn’t psyched about—my bosses, Jophiel and Michael. If they’d shown up, then the news wasn’t good.
I walked to where they were standing on the beach, knelt, and bowed my head in front of the two of them to show respect. Beelz, Jay, and Brok came out of the shack behind me, Brok still holding De Vil.
“How can I be of service?” I asked. Has the news of Jay’s actions traveled that fast?
Jay was now a prince of Hell, and we were no longer a balanced pair. What would we be forced to do now? I was deeply in love with Jay, bonded to him, heart and soul. Would that be taken from us? Was it even possible to undo it?
Having dreamed of marriage back in my human days, I’d been upset that he didn’t want the human ritual, and I’d behaved like a stupid jerk. We should have talked it out instead of me acting like a spoiled brat. Maybe we wouldn’t be in the current fix if I hadn’t let petty jealousy override my common sense.
“Get up, Scotty. We have a problem.”
“It’s not a problem if we approach the Council to do the right thing. The balance is only off-kilter because Jay’s now a prince of Hell. If the Council—”
Jophiel held up their hand. “Michael, you know it won’t be that easy. Uriel was upset that Scott was promoted last time. After appealing to the Council on behalf of Jonas and Vale, I have no influence left, I’m afraid.”
“Excuse me. What’s up?” Jay stepped over and pulled me from my knees.
The man gave me an up and down. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” That was a lie. Nothing about me was fine.
Jay then turned to Michael and held up his fist. Michael touched it and chuckled. “Jay, I guess congratulations are in order, huh? You’re one of the bad boys now.”
Jay studied Michael and Jophiel, smiling a little. “I’m not sure what any of that means. I was told that if I ever needed the power of Hell, I should ask for it, so I did.”
Michael chuckled. “Did you forget the rest of the instructions?”
“What? About the consequences? I’m already going to be Lucifer’s valet. How much worse can it get?”
I turned to my love. “You’re one of the princes now, Jay. You’re more powerful than me, and I’ve reached the highest I’ll ever be in the Celestial Hierarchy. I can’t be a mate to a prince of hell.”
“It worked, so I’ll just give it back. See—no worries. Easy-peasy, mac ‘n cheesy.”
I wanted to puke. “Jay, love, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t return the powers like a shirt that doesn’t fit. You invoked the powers of Hell. You no longer have a choice but to accept them.”
Jay’s face morphed from his usual smirk to shock. “Of course I can.”
Beelzebub stepped forward. “Sorry, little bro, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. If this sticks, the good news is that you won’t have to be Dad’s valet.”
Then, of course, Beelz laughed, and Michael joined him.
I turned to Jophiel. “I love him. What am I going to do without him?”
Jay stepped closer to me. “I love you, Scotty. I’ll figure it out, I swear.”
Beelz turned to Brok, who was still holding De Vil. “Bring him. Come on, Jay. Let’s go see Daddy and find out if there’s any truth to him being the father of Vagar and refusing to welcome him into the family. That’s pretty low. Maybe we can guilt Lucifer into fixing this little FUBAR.”
Jophiel stepped closer to me and held my hand as she addressed Beelzebub. “What will you do with De Vil?”
“I think Gremon might have some good ideas about what to do with the idiot. He’s not your problem anymore, white lighter. Take care of Scotty. I’ll be in touch.”
With that, they all disappeared. My heart went right to Hell with them.
“Don’t panic yet. Beelzebub is cunning. If there’s any way to fix this situation, he’ll think of it. And Jay is quite resourceful, too. Don’t underestimate him. Call me if you need me. I’ll let you know what I find out.” Jophiel, disguised as Josephine, patted my cheek and left the home Jay and I were supposed to be making together.
I paced from room to room, swamped by memories of the dreams we’d shared. Since we’d only moved in the previous day, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I hoped Lucifer would at least allow Jay to return to his place and gather some things.
The princes of Hell had a huge home in Hell and spent most of their time there, so I assumed that was where Jay would need to live. Would I get to say a private goodbye?
Or should I go to Limbo and try to find him? Could I get any of the occupants of the underworld to help me? Lilith, maybe?
The sun was turning Sacramento a lovely lilac color as I took to the sky. I had cloaked myself so I wasn’t visible to humans, and I set off for Clegg Cycles, where Lilith lived with Quinn. I waited on the roof of a building across the street for her to appear.
What were my options, really? Could I accept that Jay and I were no more? How strong would the bond remain, or would it completely go away? The pain in my chest told me that wasn’t possible. I ached for Jay to be sitting by my side.
I enjoyed the jobs we’d done on behalf of the Celestial Council and Lucifer. They weren’t fun, but Jay made them feel that way. Patrolling supernatural beings and spirits was hard, but with Jay, it didn’t seem like work.
I was certain I couldn’t do the job alone, and I definitely didn’t want another mate. In my heart, it was only Jay.
Just as the sun came over the horizon, Lilith stepped outside the motorcycle shop and waved at me. I quickly jumped down and followed her to her fancy car. She unlocked it, and we sat inside.
“White lighter, what can I do for you?” She backed out of her spot and headed toward the street leading to Trent’s weird little shop.
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Jay summoned the powers of Hell. He’s now somehow a member of Lucifer’s family.”
Lilith slammed on the brakes. Thankfully, nobody was behind us.
Lilith’s head swung around. “He did what ?”
“Yeah. We’re no longer a balanced pair. Beelzebub took him to Hell. I’m stuck here.”
Lilith and I weren’t exactly friends, but we had no issues with each other. Friendly acquaintances was more our vibe. We each had a reason for existing, though I wasn’t sure if I cared anymore.
“Honey, I don’t think that can be undone.”
“If I pledge loyalty to Lucifer and give up my place as a protector, can I go to Hell to be with Jay?” The tears came easily as I considered that option.
She pulled into the parking lot behind The Mystical Palm, turned off the car, and swiveled in her seat. “Why did he summon the powers?”
“It was that stupid warlock we talked about when you were at Jay’s place with Beelzebub. His powers were previously bound by a holy man, but someone broke the binding spell, and the warlock was immune to Jay’s powers. Suddenly, Jay remembered Lucifer telling him about calling on the powers of Hell if he got into a situation where he needed help, so he did it.”
“What were you trying to find out?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, but I was quickly running out of options. “As we mentioned the other day, we were looking for confirmation of which prince fathered the demon before we went to Lucifer with the news. De Vil told us it was Lucifer himself. He went on to tell us that Lucifer claimed Vagar wasn’t intentional so he couldn’t be a prince of Hell.”
Lilith rolled her eyes. “Sounds like something Lucifer would say, but I don’t think it actually works that way. My children aren’t princes of Hell, and Lucifer is their father. I think he decides who gets to be a prince of Hell. I don’t think just because he fathered the demon it gets to be a prince. The bigger issue is why would he seduce or allow himself to be seduced by Apate? She’s the batshit crazy daughter of Nyx. Lucifer really doesn’t have the patience to deal with that much crazy. I think if she opened her mouth and pissed him off, he’d have eliminated her.
“Michael destroyed Vagar and ate his remains so he couldn’t be revived. The only person who seems to know who did the deed is the actual father, Apate, and the warlock. I think maybe there’s more to this story, angel. Don’t lose hope yet.”
That was easy for her to say.