"We embody the Powers of Heaven, the select few of the angels who represent Destruction, Punishment, Vengeance and Death."
Well, this didn't look good.
"Through your actions you have released the leader of the Rebel Watchers from his imprisonment in the Abyss."
The angel to the right of the speaker held up a golden scroll. "Asmodeus, formerly an archangel, fell from grace of his own devices, bringing with him two hundred Holy Watchers. His deceit and lechery caused the Second Angelic Revolt, for which he was sentenced three millennia imprisoned in the Abyss to atone for his actions."
The angel lowered the scroll. The angel who spoke first stepped forward. "There are two choices given unto you this day. One—a millennium imprisoned in the Abyss, of which you would report to immediately. Two—the death of Asmodeus by your hand, therefore eliminating the possible war his opposition may create."
"War?" she choked.
"A contingent of angels lies in a state of readiness to apprehend the Rebel." He opened his palm and raised his arm. Behind him the mist lifted, revealing a group of angels in full battle gear. Rows upon rows of them.
"The resistance the rebel has shown leads us to believe he retains his powers bestowed upon him in this realm. Together, with his fallen comrades, he can lead a force to which we have already begun to prepare. If you decide to report to the Abyss we shall be forced to go to your realm en masse to apprehend him and any others who would resist us."
Who? As in Naberius and Raum? Who were they kidding? Asmodeus hadn't had time to gain a force that could effectively go up against those who stood before her.
She wasn't sure she should address them with that bit of inside information, though.
"Inform us of your decision."
The sound of the angel's voice resonated deep within her chest. Her senses were being attacked, bombarded. She fought the urge to run from their company screaming.
What choice were they giving her? Kill Asmodeus or face the Abyss? She'd witnessed Asmodeus emerge from the Abyss practically on fire. She didn't want to go there.
On the other hand, how could she kill a demon three archangels could not kill? How could they possibly expect that of her? It was ludicrous.
She had to convince these angels the mission they were giving her was doomed to fail. "His powers make a mockery of mine, which are precarious to say the least. How can I kill him?"
"Obtain his trust. Rely on your realm's powers as you did when you summoned him."
Obtain his trust…
She was so far out of her league she couldn't begin to comprehend it. To put it simply, it was her or him. She wished she had never laid eyes on that book. What had possessed her to utter a spell she couldn't understand? Look where it had gotten her.
A strong urge to just tell them he was in the library came over her, but she realized they would know that simple truth. "Why didn't you just summon him? It would seem the most logical—"
"You are being given the opportunity to remedy the problem you have created. We give you this mission as a chance for you to redeem yourself. Inform us of your decision."
Well, when he put it that way… There was only one choice. "I'll try to do as you ask."
"If you do not complete the mission you will be subject to the fire from which you summoned the Rebel."
The pain in her chest tightened to an agonizing degree. So this was what a heart attack felt like. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. "I understand."
"You have one week in your realm to complete this mission."
One week?
Before she could voice her shock at the period of time they had allotted her, she found herself looking at a bookshelf. She stood in the library, as she had been before the dizziness had brought her to her knees.
She turned to find Asmodeus thumbing through the book as though he had not sensed her absence at all.
Dismayed and more than a bit shaken, she made her way to one of the plush chairs in the room. The book she had taken off the shelf before her summoning was still in her hand.
She sat and pretended to flip through the book, but she couldn't focus on the pages. How did one kill a demon? What was she supposed to do about Michael, and Asmodeus's insistence she summon him? The angels had made no mention of that. Would that put her in even more trouble?
Hell yes it would!
She caught Asmodeus walking toward her and she hid her wariness. Now what?
He handed her the book and she placed it on top of the other one on her lap. He then handed her the dagger.
"On page thirty-four you will find a strong summoning spell, and you have Michael's dagger before you."