Asmodeus had killed his own children? What had that done to him? Had Michael been the one to command Asmodeus to kill his own flesh and blood? It made sense. That had to be the reason he had been so hell-bent on her summoning the archangel.
Asmodeus's children had turned into Nephilim and Michael had ordered their death.
God, she couldn't imagine seeing her own child turn into such a monster. How old had they been?
On top of that, he had been thrust into the Abyss for being the leader of the Second Angelic Revolt. In all that time in the Abyss what had he been able to think about? What had been his driving force? His focus?
His children.
His revenge on the man who had forced him to do the unthinkable. Michael.
Yet here he was, helping to keep the Nephilim under control all these years later. It must bring back all those memories he'd carried throughout the years. Memories of killing his own flesh and blood.
She ran her palms over the blades of grass, contemplating what her next move would be. She had seen enough in her vision to tell her what kind of man Asmodeus was. Certainly not the demon she had thought him to be.
What the hell could she do now?
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and flipped it open. It was Kelly.
She glanced back at the house, hoping she wouldn't give herself away. "Hello?" She backed up next to a bush by the patio. If Naberius caught her in the backyard he would want to know what she was doing out there, and she had no explanation at the moment. Naberius was already suspicious, and rightly so.
"That bastard didn't remove the necklace."
Crap. The grounding necklace. "I'm sure he'll take it off you."
"That means I have to go back to that house again, and after being held there against my will it's not exactly a place I want to go back to."
Brianna placed a hand on the pot of the bush and leaned forward, looking at the windows of the house. Everything seemed quiet. "I'm already at Naberius's house. Just show up in the morning and I'll have Asmodeus take the necklace off."
"You're what?"
Brianna heard a noise. She looked back up at the house. No lights had come on. Everything was as it should be. "Long story. Let's just say I'm here to take out an insurance policy." That explanation sounded good. Not.
"Brianna—"
Brianna snapped the phone shut as a light from an upstairs window cast illumination all over the patio. She'd hung up on Kelly for the second time that day. Kelly was going to turn her into a ferret or something worse if she kept hanging up on her. Thank God she had that grounding necklace on.
Brianna stayed where she was, well hidden by the potted plant. She would have laughed at the absurd situation if the distinct sound of a window being opened hadn't reached her ears. Naberius had heard her.
"Brianna?"
He didn't sound too happy, either.
"Brianna!"
Shit. She left her safe haven and crawled on her hands and knees to the side of the house. Their garbage can stood against the fence. She moved it to the side of the house and climbed up it, trying not to make too much racket. Once she gained her footing, denting their garbage can in the process, she hoisted herself up on the roof.
She kept flush against the wall of the house. Naberius couldn't poke his head out of the window because of the screen.
His loss, her gain.
She tiptoed ever-so-slowly to her window. Once she got there she slipped a leg inside. The screen sat next to the roof to the right side of the window.
She heard Naberius say, "I'll be right back."
He was coming to check on her. His room was right down the hall, so she had only seconds to get back in the room and pretend she was in bed or watching TV. There was no time to replace the screen. Thank God she'd left the TV on to hide any noise she might make.
She launched herself the rest of the way through the window and turned to yank the curtains shut. She jumped in bed and pulled the covers to her chin just as the door opened.
When he flipped the light switch on she squinted, sitting up in bed, the remote in hand. "What's going on?" she asked, attempting to sound tired.
He stopped just inside the door and looked around the room, his gaze unerringly drawn to the window. The Santa Ana winds threatened to showcase the missing screen. "I heard someone in the backyard. I thought I heard your voice."
He walked straight to the window and she froze, knowing he'd see the screen off.
Not knowing what else to do, she was about to scream when Asmodeus came walking out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.
"It was me."
Her heart did a stop, drop and roll. She slid under the blankets once more. This was so not good. Trepidation crawled into her gut as she held the blankets up.