“It’s the same one you went to before.” Lucas leans in and inhales. “I can smell the ocean on your hair.”
“Yeah,” I say and inch back, keeping my own hands locked around Lucas’s waist. I don’t want to be flown away from here either. I shiver from the cold, and Lucas pulls me close to his chest, though his body offers no warmth. Regardless, being close to him is comforting. “Michael seems rather fond of it.”
“It’s one of my favorite places in all of creation,” Michael states as if that’s a perfectly normal thing to say. I look at him, and then at Remiel’s body.
“What are we going to do?”
“You, my dear daughter,” Michael starts and walks forward. Kristy tenses and moves behind Scarlet. “Are going to go inside. We will handle this.”
“We will?” Lucifer scoffs. “Like I said, I’m done—”
“Enough,” Michael booms, and I shiver again. “None of this was your fault, Callie.”
“Claiming my throne was,” Lucifer says as he moves over to Remiel’s body.
“You can have it. I didn’t really mean it. I just…I didn’t know what else to do, and Bael…he…he was here. I don’t want it,” I spit out.
“Neither do I,” Lucifer says and waves his hand over his dead brother. Fire springs from the ground, the same way it did when he took Roger’s body to Hell. “And you’ve just given me an idea, my niece. Thank you.” His eyes meet mine, and he smiles before disappearing, wings flapping and blowing my hair back.
“Don’t go,” I rush out, moving away from Lucas toward my dad. “Please.”
Lucas pulls me back to him, glowering at Michael. “You owe her at least half an hour,” he growls.
“That’s all I can afford,” Michael says with a nod and motions to the house. “She should rest.”
“I’m fine,” I rush out, but I really want to get inside and out of the cold because I’m shivering uncontrollably now, both from the cold and from fear. Lucas scoops me up, cradling me against him like I’m a baby. “Put me down,” I protest.
“No,” he simply replies, and I fight against him just to prove my point. When it comes to a battle of strength, Lucas will always win.
“Don’t speed me into the house then,” I shoot back. “Just walk.”
“Fine.” He starts forward, and I catch Kristy’s gaze, rolling my eyes and shaking my head at Lucas’s insistence to dote on me like this. Bringing me food, rubbing my back, and insisting I take it easy by watching Netflix for hours on end, yeah, I’m more than fine with that. But this, this is excessive.
Michael follows behind, turning around every once in a while to stare at the spot where Remiel had fallen. There’s still blood on the earth, and I can’t help but wonder what kind of stain that will leave—and I don’t mean just on the dirt.
“Is there any sort of spell you can do to keep her safe from the other archangels?” Lucas asks when we go up the stone steps to the back patio, which leads into the conservatory. Lucas is still holding me, so Kristy goes first, waving her hand over the lock while muttering an incantation. She must have put an extra warding on the house while I was in Australia with my father and uncle.
What a week this evening has been.
“Any sort of warding against angels will hurt her,” Michael says, stepping into the house. I wiggle against Lucas’s hold, and he finally sets me down. I conjure an energy ball, lighting the dark room.
“When Ruth tried to ward off angels, it felt like I was being ripped in two,” I remind Lucas. There are a lot of windows in this room, making it colder than the rest of the house. I have plans to get some sort of planters and grow my own herbs, though I feel that’s very much a pipe dream. I’m a terrible gardener and have had to beg Olive, Kristy’s familiar, to come over and salvage my dead plants more than once.
My familiars and Scarlet rush ahead of everyone, and Lucas doesn’t set me down until the door is shut behind Michael.
“Anyone else hungry?” I ask, twisting my hair nervously around my fingers. “I guess I mean are you hungry, Kristy?”
“I could use a drink,” she replies. “Is there any wine in the kitchen?”
“I put it back in the wine cellar,” Lucas tells her. “I’ll get you something.”
“Thanks,” she says, and Lucas speeds off. Taking a few more steps into the room, I flick my eyes to Michael. Everything about this is so weird, and I don’t know how to act. Ever since I found out he’s my father, I’ve had so many questions for him. Now that he’s here and is going to sit down and talk for a while, I’ve forgotten everything I wanted to ask.
“So, this is my house,” I start. “Lucas and I restored it and moved in only a few weeks ago.”
Michael nods, looking around. “It’s very nice. It’s much bigger than your previous home.”
“Yeah, it’s a lot bigger. It was in really bad shape when we bought it. I say we, but I mean Lucas. He bought it for me as a surprise. He, uh, has a tendency to overdo things.”
“You can say that again,” Kristy mumbles, and I laugh. “Look at your ring.”
“It’s a little over the top,” I admit.
Lucas zooms down the hall, holding a bottle of Chardonnay. “Only the best for you, my love.”
“I agree with that,” Michael says.
“The best doesn’t always mean the most expensive,” I counter. “Though I’m glad we spared no expense with this house.” I pat the wall. “It has character and feels alive at times—but not in a haunted way. I was actually a little disappointed by the lack of spirits here, especially since we found a body in the attic.”
“You did?” Kristy asks. “I didn’t know about that.”
“I told you,” I say. “Didn’t I?”
“I knew about the bodies in the graveyard, of course, but the attic…nope…I don’t think you mentioned it.”
“It’s sad when you deal with so many dead bodies you forget to mention one.”
Kristy laughs and shakes her head, linking her arm through mine. She’s trembling and has to be working so hard right now to keep calm. I’m a ball of nerves, and I’m usually dealing with this shit. I can only imagine how this is for her, and my mind goes right back to thinking maybe the angels were onto something when they said Nephilim shouldn’t be allowed to live.
My life has caused so much grief for so many people.
“What did you do with it?”
“The body?” I shrug and look at Lucas. “He buried it somewhere. I think that was the last body on the property. Unless we find a surprise when the pool is put in. Maybe then we’ll wake and anger a spirit. I haven’t had a seance in a while.”
The lights are already on in the kitchen, and I take the bottle of wine from Lucas so I can use magic to pull out the cork. I’m not really a fan of Chardonnay, though to be fair, when I buy wine myself, I don’t usually spend more than ten dollars on a bottle. This bottle came from Burgundy and was pricey. Maybe it’s good? I won’t know since I’m not drinking.