Asmodeus(73)

Michael stood before her, completely unfazed by her verbal attack as though he were detached from the scene. "The decisions he makes in the next few days will not only affect him, but those around him. His situation is precarious at best. A man such as he knows nothing of unconditional love, the kind of love that can redeem past sins. You have had your audience with me. Call on my services no more. You will find no compassion from me."



Before she could tell Michael what a lousy bastard he was, he disappeared.



She lacked the energy to get off the floor. Their situation was hopeless. Michael had been her last hope, and he had crushed her with his coldness. He seemed to hate Asmodeus as much as Asmodeus hated him.



What next? Dare she even ask? There were no more options left to her. No more strategic steps to avoid the Abyss for either of them.



Knowing Asmodeus would be back any minute, she forced herself up. After she washed the blood from her hands she busied herself with making her bed and picking up her room. She tried to keep her thoughts from the impending fires, and the sad fact Asmodeus would soon be going back to his own torment.



The decision to keep the knowledge of the Abyss and her mission from Asmodeus might have been bad judgment on her part, but the time to tell him had passed. If she told him about the angels, the angels would arrive en masse, not allowing Asmodeus to plan a strategy. The angels would take her and Asmodeus's last days together, and they would be left facing the fires sooner than anticipated.



As she took the laundry to the garage, Asmodeus flashed into her living room. She paused in the kitchen, holding her laundry basket. There was no hope for Kelly, so why was she holding her breath?



"She's getting worse, but that is to be expected. She will not get better."



Brianna nodded, hot tears pricking her eyes. She knew what he would say before he went to check on Kelly. She had needed an excuse to get him out of the house so she could summon Michael.



Why the hope? It seemed she carried hope in all things, and each hope was being unceremoniously crushed. She turned to put her hand on the doorknob leading into the garage, but his voice brought her up short.



"There's something else we need to discuss."



Dropping her hand from the doorknob, she turned to face him once again. What else could possibly have gone wrong?



Asmodeus indicated she should take a seat on the couch. Her anxiety was at an all-time high. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she put the basket by the door and sat on the couch. He sat next to her, and she could tell by the rigid set of his mouth this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.



"What we did was foolish, Brianna. There's a high probability that you're pregnant. You realize this, don't you?"



"Of course it's occurred to me." Especially when she had seen the flashback of that fateful day with his sons. But the one thing he didn't know was she wouldn't be carrying his child. Ever. She was going to the Abyss. A Nephilim they would not make.

With the vision of his sons fresh in her mind, she lifted her hand, placing her palm on his face. She imagined the pain he had endured when he had been forced to take the lives of his children.



"Brianna…"



The concern etched on his face nearly killed her. She wanted a better fate for him. A better life. And she had failed to assure that future for him. Was he destined to be imprisoned? Could no one fight for him and win?



Would anyone else ever try?



She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. "With everything that's going on, with Kelly and the book, I just want to take this one day at a time. Please. I can't handle much more."



He seemed to want to say more, but he let the matter drop. Her first concern wasn't saving a child she may or may not be carrying.



Her main concern was saving a man who, in some amazing, crazy circumstance, she had come to love.



A man who deserved happiness.





Chapter Seventeen





Asmodeus leaned against Raum's porch overlooking the ocean, his fingers digging into the seasoned wood. The sun cast its orange light over the shallow waves and the endless blue water beyond. Reflecting over his life and the decisions he had made had never been one of his traits, but it seemed that was all he was doing as of late.



He'd made a mistake where Brianna was concerned. The reality of what could transpire should she be pregnant ate at his soul. The possibility brought back the harsh pain of the past, making it seem like it had happened yesterday. The blood. The anguish. It was not something he could revisit while maintaining his sanity. The fight Jorian had given him had sickened him, but the calm acceptance of Bael, who had yet to turn, had destroyed him. He was no longer the same man he had been. He would never be the same.