Hypnotic

Twenty

It was around 11:00 pm when we finally pulled into the driveway leading up to a rather nice but not overly lavish two story house. The windows were open, and the soft glow of the lights filtered through them invitingly. "Come on." Damiar shut off his car and helped me gather up our bags before he knocked on the door. I was greeted first with a large golden bird-like creature that made me take a step back.

Its feathers ruffled out as its dark eyes glared at me, and I backed up out of instinct. "Kai." Damiar addressed the gryphon sternly, reaching a hand out to take ahold of my wrist. "This is Venus. She is my mate, and you will treat her as such." Kai huffed, his tail lashing to and fro. "Fine," he growled out, shifting into his human appearance. His eyes never lost their coldness, however. I wanted to know why he already seemed to dislike me, but I wasn't stupid enough to ask.

Damiar nudged me inside the house, helping me tote in my things which he set in the floor right inside. My eyes roamed over the cozy interior, the staircase directly in the middle and accenting the room. "Venus?" My eyes landed on the familiar faded blond, and a grin broke out on my face. "Noen!" I wrapped him in a tight hug, and he laughed softly as he returned the embrace.

"I missed you," I muttered, and it was true. "Kinda missed you too." We broke apart, still grinning, as he moved to pick up my suitcases. "Come on. I'll show you your room." I grabbed my two tote bags, but froze when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. Hot breath brushed my ear, and I immediately stiffened. "Don't ever do that again," he hissed, and I tugged my body out of his hold. "Stop being weird, Damiar," I huffed as I followed Noen up the stairs.

He helped me put my things away in silence, but he finally decided to break it. "How has he been treating you?" I exhaled a long breath as I hung up my shirts. "Well... He um..." "He attacked your parents?" I looked at him in surprise. "How did you -" Noen chuckled as he placed my jeans in the chest of drawers. "Word gets to our little group fairly quickly." I simply nodded as he placed my empty bags in the closet and once more turned to me.

"You killed Lilith? Caleb told us that you killed her, and right afterwards, your power spiked considerably." I groaned and plopped back onto the bed, rubbing my eyes. "Who even is Caleb?" "Me." I sat up and glanced at the black and blond haired male in the doorway. I recognized his accent immediately. "Come downstairs, you two. We have a lot to talk about."

Noen and I followed him into the living room, where I was met with a comfortable looking sectional with four recliners where four people sat. I recognized Kai and Damiar, but the other two I didn't know. I thought I knew the dark haired girl from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly where or when. Perhaps social media?

"Venus," Damiar started as I sat beside him. "This is Cap and Aviva. Cap is a dragon born shifter, and Aviva is a kitsune." The duo greeted me with a warm smile, but Caleb cleared his throat, silencing their hello's. He sat in the middle of the sectional so we could see him clearly. "We have a problem," he began, fingers laced together under his chin, his elbows propping his arms up on his thighs. "Because you took your mother's power, Venus, God has recently realized that you exist. It doesn't help that he also knows you're hanging around Samael."

Damiar muttered under his breath, and Caleb corrected himself. "I meant Damiar. Either way, you both know that the angels will be hot on your trail soon enough. They may already be." Aviva sat forward and motioned towards Damiar and I. "Okay. So we know what the problem is. But how exactly are we supposed to fix it?" "'We'?" Kai sniffed and crossed his arms. "This isn't our issue to deal with, Aviva."

The girl looked at him in shock, her mouth open. "You can't be serious, Kai! When have we not helped Damiar? What's wrong with you?" "What's wrong with me? What's wrong is that she -" He pointed at me, dark eyes narrowed. "She shouldn't be here!" "She's the reason God is coming back," Cap butted in. "Without her, we're all screwed." "We're screwed anyway if God's coming back!" "Waylon." The room went silent when Damiar growled out that name.

Kai tensed and turned his glare on the angel. "What, Samael?" Damiar bristled, and I could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. "Leave." "You can't -" "Leave!" Aviva jumped slightly at his outburst, and Noen and Cap winced at the sudden snarl. Kai sat still for a moment longer before storming out of the room and up the stairs. Heavy, uneasy silence settled in the air, and Damiar inhaled a deep breath, releasing it shortly after.

"What's your plan, Azrael?" He sighed, rubbing his face with both of his hands. The angel of death coughed awkwardly before speaking. "What if we could... convince the fallen to side with us?" My mate laughed humorlessly, smiling coldly. "Millions of evil angels on our side? Do you have any idea how utterly impossible that is?" "Well.." Aviva trailed off softly. "He has a point. You and Venus have enough power combined to take on an entire legion of angels."

"And," Noen chimed in, "the fallen would be more than glad to overthrow God. Without God, there's no hell. And without hell, the fallen angels won't be killed." "What about the demons?" Cap asked, and we turned to look at Noen. "Most of them are feral," he sighed. "But I can still try to get some to see reason." Damiar chuckled lowly, staring at the carpeted floor. "You're all absolutely insane. You know that, right?" "Maybe," Caleb answered. "But we're family. And family protect one another."

I grimaced but said nothing as a collective murmur of agreement resounded throughout the living room. I excused myself to my room to spare myself the torture of having time to feel guilty about what I planned on doing, but I paused when I heard Aviva's soft voice on the other side of the closed door. "Venus? Can I come in?" I chewed on my lower lip and hid my Blade under my pillow.

"Yes."

Kai: