Asmodeus(27)

The sorrow, the guilt, the pleasures, all of which were foreign to him. He had wanted to experience those emotions with such intensity that he'd made a rash decision. In doing so he had convinced many angels to fall with him, with no thought to the penalty of his actions. Not one of them had thought of the repercussions.



Seeing Brianna in a state of panic over his insistence she summon Michael had sent him over the edge. He wouldn't drag another down with him. It wasn't right.



He had accomplished nothing in his life. His boys had meant everything to him and he had eventually destroyed them as well.



"What time are we heading out tonight?" Raum asked Naberius. Both had passed on the vodka. Asmodeus's hand actually shook as he poured another shot.



"A little after dark. Figured we would take Asmoday to Tony's," Naberius said as he laid out his cards.



Raum grinned and flung a card at him. "Have you ever had a deep-dish pizza?" When he shook his head Raum rolled his eyes and sighed. "Holy crap they're good. After dinner we'll head out for the Nephilim."



Redemption. Was that even possible? Is that what Naberius and Raum were pushing for? Did they think they would attain salvation? Or were they only staying out of the Abyss by keeping the Nephilim under control? The archangels had given one command to the rebels after they had served their sentence in the Abyss—control the Nephilim or go back.



He threw back his shot as his thoughts wandered to Brianna. She was such a good person, wholesome. She dealt in witchcraft though he had a feeling she did so with good in mind. He wondered what she was doing now.





"Fucking hell. What could it be?"

She opened her closet and started tossing shoeboxes behind her. She had collected so much ancient trash from Kelly's shop and her own, she didn't know where to begin her search.



She stopped throwing boxes and put her hands on her hips. Whatever it was she had of Asmodeus's had to be old. Really, really old. Dating back before the Flood.



Damn, she couldn't think of anything she owned that was that old.



She walked back out of the closet, kicking shoeboxes out of her way. Sonofabitch.



Okay, it had to be something in this room. Something close to where she had summoned him. She'd been on her bed, flipping through the spell book. Drinking a Pepsi—



Her gaze floated to the wall opposite her. In a glass case she had arrowheads mounted against a black velvet background. Ancient arrowheads, some Indian, some Viking—and some Neolithic.



I'll be damned.



She ran over to the glass case and hefted it from the wall. This might be a stretch, believing the arrowheads could have belonged to him, but it was all she had at the moment. She flipped the case over on her bed and took off the bindings. Her hands shook as she spread the black velvet across her bed. Finally her collection of ancient crap would pay off.



There were two Neolithic arrowheads. She took them off the Velcro.



She held them in her hand, studying them. She hoped this was what she was looking for.



Now, why would she take these to him? Why would he care, if indeed they had been his in the first place? She could see it now, her standing on Naberius's doorstep…



"Hi, I just thought Asmodeus, with all he has on his mind, would love to have this rusty arrowhead back. I know it must mean so much to him. I've no idea how they belonged to him by the way…"



Yeah, right. That would go over real well. He wouldn't be able to smell bullshit with the pile right under his nose.



There had to be another way. She pocketed the arrowheads. Why else would she appear on his doorstep?



It amazed her how quickly her boring, routine life had taken a turn into the unbelievable. On any give day she would open her bookstore, read, come home, get ready for the next day. The weekly call to her parents, the trips to the grocery store, the laundry…all routine. Her biggest issue two weeks ago had been a ChapStick left in the pocket of her jeans. Upon opening the dryer she had found all of her clothes spotted with a clear stain.



All relative when compared to what she now faced. She had always known demons existed. If you believed in Christian mythology you had to take the good with the bad. She'd even studied the ancient texts on angels and demons, and now she was wrapped up in a plot to kill one of them.



Crap, how was she going to intercept him?



He did say he was going out to hunt Nephilim tonight with Naberius and Raum. They had been talking about it at the kitchen table. Had Kelly heard anything when Brianna had left the room?



There was only one way to find out. She went to her dresser and picked up her phone.



Kelly answered on the fourth ring. "Miss me already?" she asked in a sleepy voice.