Azazel (Demonology II)

VII

EVA

  None of us got any sleep that night. We had decided to stay in a hotel, and we had secured the area by painting it with sigils, but we still didn't feel secure. The two most powerful angels in Heaven were after us, which wasn't too bad for Finn and Marc, but meant imminent death for me.

  Marc sat up playing a game of solitaire, while Finn and I tried to plan out our next moves.

  "Without artifacts, we can't really do anything." Finn said. "I can probably make a gate small enough to accommodate me, but that's it. I guess getting into Heaven isn't our priority right now."

  "Stopping Lucifer is number one on the list," I said. "But we can't track Eloy anywhere. We might have to go to Hell again, but that might not be a good idea considering your current state. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

  "I feel like crap," Finn fell back onto the bed. "But using my powers doesn't hurt as much. I think the angelic light did something to me."

  "Hmm," I pondered over that. "Maybe. I don't know much about angelic light. I've only heard of its powers. One of the ancient angels used it to banish Lucifer to Hell. It can work miracles, like curing the blind and deaf. But it can also destroy a small country. Maybe you inherited it from your mother."

  "I doubt it," Finn said. "All I can do is turn invisible and create holy fire. I read in . . ." I knew he was thinking about saying Thalia, but he hesitated ". . . a book that Nephilims don't always inherit their angel parent's powers, rather than down-graded versions of them. I guess that makes sense, seeing how powerful holy fire is. Things like that run in my family. My mother, Wynne, and I all possess outstanding angel powers, but I'm sure my mother's the strongest."

  "Does your father have any experience with the supernatural? Outside of marrying your mother."

  "I don't know. He might have, seeing as he managed to elude them for seventeen years. Now that I think about it, actually, I'm almost positive he does. I was attacked by the angel that was sent to take me back, and my father killed her. I didn't see how he did it, but I heard a crack and smelled ozone. He definitely did something supernatural there. Why do you need to know?"

  "I was just wondering." I lied. The truth was, if his father was an expert in dark arts, it could have imprinted on him. He could have had demon aura surrounding him long before he had met me, and he would have never knew. Marc seemed to know that as well, as he shot me a questioning look.

  "So, what do we do?" Finn turned over to face me. "We have no artifacts and no allies. Our plan to trap my mother failed, and now they're hot on our tails. To put things lightly; we're screwed."

  "While that is true," Marc packed away his cards. "We don't necessarily have to be the ones to end this war."

  "What are you getting at?" Finn asked.

  "Well, you said that they're following us, right? The last time we tried to lure them in, it worked, kind of. We can track down Eloy and Lucifer, no matter how long it takes us, and they'll follow. We can use them to stop Lucifer from reviving Azazel and Abaddon. In the middle of it all, when both sides are weak, we can swoop in and beat 'em both."

  "That's . . . actually a brilliant idea. The only work we have to do is locate the other side, and we're home free." I turned to Finn and smiled, but he didn't return it. He was still clinging to his mother, even though he knew she was on the other side. I put a hand on his shoulder to console him. He didn't even budge.

  "We're not doing anything for ourselves by staying up." Marc turned off the lights and fell into his bed. "Good night." I turned to Finn, who was already asleep. With a sigh, I cuddled up next to him and gave into my fatigue.