8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Scotty
I sat on the garden bench behind Dearly & Son, watching Adonis speed-paint the changing appearance of the flowers as the sun moved across the sky. He didn’t turn in my direction or even speak to me, but he positioned himself such that I could see what he was doing.
It had been two weeks since Jay had been taken away, and I was slowly losing my mind. I couldn’t fathom how anyone went about mourning the loss of a partner of many years. My sympathies went out to them. Could the one left behind ever get over such bone-deep sorrow?
Jophiel hadn’t been clear about what would happen after Jay went to Hell, and I was stuck in a spiral of despair. I wanted to disassociate myself from the Celestial Council, but Jonas kept blocking me from getting on the calendar to speak with them.
There was a touch on my shoulder, so I turned to see Jo standing behind me. “May I join you?”
I nodded, resisting the urge to break their fucking hand. “Why’d you show up now? I could have used you a few weeks ago when my life literally went to Hell.”
Jophiel morphed into Josephine and took a seat next to me. The little woman exhaled. “I’m sorry you’ve been left alone, Scott. Things are complicated—”
I turned to them. “No shit, Jo. I’ve lost my mate. Now what am I supposed to do for the rest of my existence?”
There was a deafening silence I didn’t expect. They usually had the right answers.
“Scotty, things have taken a bad turn, but we’re not losing yet. Please, stick with me.”
Stick with them? I wanted to die, and they wanted me to stick with them? What the hell were they trying to pull?
“Yeah, well, I’m done. Any joy or fulfillment I found in this job is gone. You people are absolutely ruthless. I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to cease to exist, Jo.”
“ No! You can’t do that. You can’t give up, Scott. Things are happening that... I believe there is a traitor on the Celestial Council. Someone is looking out for their own interests, not the collective good of humanity.” Josephine’s expression was distraught. Clearly, they were worried about something big.
“What’s going on?”
“There have always been differences of opinions among the members of the Council. I’ve had run-ins with most of the members over time, but we’ve worked things out and moved on. There is one member who has disliked me since the Creator elevated me because I have disagreed with them on nearly every issue that has brought me before them, and now, I’ve come to believe they are working behind the scenes with the underworld to undermine humanity.”
“Who?”
“I can’t say yet. I need more proof before I come forward—just as you hesitated to point a finger at Asmodeus. It turns out you were right to do so since it appears he wasn’t the father of Vagar. I believe there are more sinister forces at work here, but I need something to back up my theory. I need your help, Scotty.”
I sighed. Jo wasn’t a being I’d consider a conspiracy theory nut. They also weren’t a gossip, so I gave credence to their speculation.
Maybe as my last act as an angel, I could expose the traitor? I’d certainly try my best. I owed Jo for all the things they’d done for me. I just had to figure out how to repay that debt.
I was in the mortuary helping Dash take inventory of embalming supplies, and we were chatting about the garage. Dash had decided to sell it to Quinn with the caveat that he keeps the name, Clegg Cycles.
“Do you think I’m being selfish? My husband is like ‘You can’t make that a condition of the sale. That’s not fair to Quinn.’ I said, ‘Watch me.’”
I’d sensed a little tension between them since I’d been helping at Dearly & Son. There had to be more to the conflict than selling the garage.
“What’s up with you guys? You seem to be at each other’s throats these days, and that’s not normal. It’s not because I came back, is it?”
Dash stopped his counting of disposable paper sheets used to cover the guests and sat on the floor. “You’re not our problem, trust me. Something’s going on with Keir that he won’t talk to me about, and I get really pissed when I ask what’s wrong and he just shrugs and walks away.”
I wanted to say he was lucky he had his husband because I was never going to have one, but that sounded bitchy to my own ears. “I’m sorry. Maybe he needs a break? After the doppelg?nger fiasco, maybe he just needs to rest?”
Dash stared at me for a second before standing and dusting off his hands. “That’s a very good idea. I should have thought of it. Thanks, Scotty.”
Sometimes, solutions to problems with a loved one don’t come as quickly as we’d like—not because we don’t care, but because we have things on our minds that occupy our attention. Maybe if I cleared my mind, I could come up with a solution to my separation from Jay?
Dash walked over to the computer desk and sat down. He began pecking on the keyboard. “Where would Dearly like to go for a few days? Where could I make my husband feel as though we’ve found heaven on earth?”
That’s it!
“Take him to Mexico. I was just there, and it’s stunning. I’m gonna take off. I need a few days away myself.”
Dash grinned at me. “Be safe, man.”
I went through the other portal in the receiving bay of Dearly & Son that led straight to the gate of the Celestial Realm. Gabriel, one of the Archs, was standing guard, so I stepped behind an older woman and waited my turn.
“Welcome to Heaven’s Gate. I’m Gabriel. What’s your name?” Gabriel had a gentle smile on his handsome face, per usual.
He was quite beautiful—and quite unapproachable. It was as though the guy had no sexual on-switch, or so I’d heard. The other Archs fucked around all the time—many with humans, or so I’d heard—but Gabriel never did, or so the rumor went.
“Miriam Clark,” the old woman answered.
“Welcome, Miriam. I found your name. Please, come inside.”
Miriam walked through the gate and was greeted by one of the cherubs assigned as a guide. Gabriel made a notation in his book, and then glanced at me.
“Hello, Alba Protectoris Scott. What brings you upstairs?”
I crossed my fingers behind my back as though that would absolve me of the lie I was about to tell. “I need to talk to Michael. I have a dilemma, and I need his guidance.”
Gabriel’s huge wings drooped. “Maybe I can help you? I know things too. Michael isn’t the only Arch who can provide good counsel.”
“I, uh, I’m sure you do, Gabriel. This is a personal issue that’s more than a little embarrassing.” Not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth.
“I’m not judgmental, Scott. Has someone said otherwise?”
I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I needed to get through the gate. “Gabriel, of all the Archs, I don’t believe anyone would say such a thing about you. We would all know that’s untrue. This is a situation I’ve discussed with Michael already, and I’m on a timeline.”
“Oh, of course. Well, next time, please feel free to consult with me. I’m so tired of Uriel saying I’m worthless on the Council because I won’t side with him in his position that it’s time for a change in Hell. The leadership vote is coming, and it’s been said that Uriel’s position is in jeopardy because he isn’t handling this dust-up with the fallen properly. I’m perfectly approachable.”
“Yes, I’ll begin telling people the good news as soon I get inside.”
“Sure. Thank you, Scott.” Gabriel stepped aside, and I hurried through the gate.
I meandered through the crowd, trying to blend in until I ran into one of the cherubs I knew with a penchant for spreading gossip. I mean, where there’s smoke... “Hey Chasan. How’s it going up here? Anything new on the grapevine?”
“I heard something about you just the other day. Is it true your demon got himself elevated to a prince of Hell to get away from you?” The cherub seemed to delight in saying something so vile to me. I could see he was baiting me, so I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.
“It is true that Jay invoked the powers of Hell to interrogate a warlock. It had nothing to do with getting away from me.” There, you brat!
“Is it true you killed Nakir for being in Limbo with a lesser demon? Uriel has been on a rampage since his assistant disappeared. There were insinuations that Nakir was physically involved with the demon, and you killed both.”
That was interesting. When Jay and I left little Nakir, he was heading back up to the Celestial Realm. Had something happened to them?
“When was the last time you saw Nakir?”
Chasan studied me for a moment. “The appearance of the full moon on Earth. I was running an errand for Remiel. He likes these cookies from a shop in Brooklyn. I go get them for him on the eve of the full moon.”
Remiel was one of the Archs who sat on the Council with Uriel. It wasn’t a problem for them to have a cherub run an errand, but it happened three days after we had our talk with Nakir in Limbo, which could support our claim that we didn’t kill him.
“When did Uriel say Nakir was dead? How did he find out?” This was becoming more intriguing by the minute.
“A few cycles later, Uriel announced Nakir was missing and presumed dead. Why?” Chasan was glaring behind me, so I turned to see Uriel coming our way with two Celestial guards.
“That’s him. Arrest him.”
I glanced at Chasan and nudged my head for him to get away, my plan being to stall them enough for the cherub to get to Remiel. He would protect Chasen until we could figure out what was going on.
What I didn’t expect was for the bindings to be put on my wrists.