Great.
Cephiel banged a fist on the door. A low growl came from the smoky pit and Mikayla screamed.
Hells bells. How many more visitors were we were going to get tonight? Not the best time to be making deals with a rogue angel, but…
Reckless and foolish, here I come.
I gave Z a nod.
Chapter Six – Heaven’s Terminator
A flying demon came out of the pit, spread its wings and started to take off. Zayfeer decapitated it in one swift move.
Body parts fell to the floor. Z used the sword to prod them back into the pit.
Sighing, I unbolted the door. Cephiel charged in, pointing a gloved finger at Zayfeer’s face. “How dare you use that sword.”
Z stood his ground, a debauched angel with nothing to fear. “It’s mine, why wouldn’t I use it?”
“He stopped several demons from escaping the shop with that sword,” I told Ceph as I relocked the door. “Cut him some slack.”
Grabbing Ceph by the coat sleeve, I tugged him toward the pit and smoke column. “Lucifer made that hole, opening the gate to purgatory, when the Mark sent him to Hell. You need to close the hole and get Luc back.”
Cephiel made a big deal of removing his gloves and unbuttoning his coat as he eyed the smoke and jagged opening. Underneath the coat, he wore a tux.
I pointed at the monkey suit. “You going somewhere?”
His cheeks colored. “Yes.”
“Where?”
He looked everywhere but at me.
“You have a date.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He waved me off and made a closer inspection of the hole. “We’re just friends.”
Marcia. I took a few steps back and sat down hard on the edge of a booth.
“Amy?” Ceph’s brows drew down. “What’s the matter?”
“I think I’m jealous.”
Ceph glanced at Mikayla and Zayfeer, who were taking this all in. “Jealous? Of what, pray tell?”
“You’re an angel and a priest and yet you get to hang out with your girlfriend and kiss her at midnight like a normal person.” They all stared at me. “I, on the other hand, am a normal person and what do I get? Nothing. Nada. My boyfriend is in Hell and purgatory central is in the middle of my ice cream shop.”
Mikayla came to my side. “Luc’ll be back any minute.”
“Then why hasn’t he shown up already?”
Z fiddled with his sword. “Probably using a different Hellmouth. He avoids purgatory.”
“Hellmouth?” Mikayla’s voice wobbled and her eyes cut to the hole. “That’s a Hellmouth?”
Silence from both angels.
I threw my hands in the air. “Gate to the underworld, Hellmouth. What difference does it make? Why didn’t anyone” —I gave Ceph a pointed look— “tell me my shop was over a Hellmouth?”
My guardian angel shrugged. “Lucifer must have mentioned this to you.”
No, he hadn’t.
Behind him, Z shook his head. “Sure, blame Luc. Hide information from her and then make it his fault. Everything else is his fault, right?”
Ceph shook a fist at him. “You listen here, you lying, cheating Judas…”
“Enough.” I rose from the booth, gave Mikayla a pat on the shoulder. She was too pale for my liking. “If you’re okay, you should go to Keisha’s party. We’ll figure this out. Tell her I got a little tied up and I’m not going to make it.”
“Party?” Zayfeer’s face lit up. “Can I go?”
“No,” Cephiel and I said at the same time.
I pointed at the hole. “We have to close this. Lucifer or no.”
Z bounced on his toes, watching Mikayla head to the back room for her coat. “Cephiel can stand in for Lucifer.”
“Not so fast.” Ceph held up a hand. “We can’t simply close the hole that God’s Mark made. There is a reason for all things, including this.”
God could bite me. “It was a mistake. An accident.” I banged my forehead with my palm. “This stupid thing is a curse. I want it gone.”
Cephiel’s eyes darkened. “It is not a curse, Amy. You would be wise to accept its protection.”
We could argue this for eternity and neither of us would cave. Time for a new tactic. If Ceph wanted to bring God into this, so be it. “Surely God never intended for purgatory to be ripped open so its prisoners could go free.”
“Well,” Zayfeer said, eyeing me. “With you standing guard, it’s an effective form of eliminating the monsters that crawl out. You’re like the Terminator, eliminating all evil.”
Cephiel rocked on his heels. “And yet, you’re still standing.”