Page 16

Chapter sixteen

A s soon as we arrived, I headed for Frankie’s room. She wasn’t there. I rushed to Nonna’s, where I found my family with the addition of Levi, Giana, Gor, and Tony. Mammon was leaning up against the balcony doorway, appearing to be in a bad mood.

“Where in the hell have you been?” Frankie said, pulling me into her embrace. “We were worried sick.”

“I told you guys we needed some time,” I replied. “Sorry I didn’t check in. We were … occupied.”

Aunt Thora smirked. She looked at my mother, who bore the same facial features. They shook their heads in unison, a perfect mirror image of one another.

“I’m never going to get use to that,” I said.

“Tell me about it,” replied Frankie.

“Fifty thousand dollars apiece, brothers,” boasted Belz, trailing in behind us and looking at the other princes. “Pay up.”

“Thanks a lot, Mammon,” mumbled Gor, rolling his eyes.

Belz laughed. “When will you all learn?” he said with pride. “I’m gluttonous when it comes to victory.”

“Oh, shut up already,” growled Mammon. “You had an unfair advantage. ”

“How so?” spat Belz.

“You own an ungodly amount of property around that area,” replied Mammon, pushing off the doorframe, storming towards his brother. “You also have been keeping tabs on Deus’s property holdings for centuries now.”

Deus straightened. “You’ve been doing what?” he asked.

Belz scoffed. “Oh, don’t act so offended. We all saw your little journals with maps and information on our territories in Hell.”

I felt Deus flicker with anger.

“For Father’s sake,” intervened Gor. “We’re all paranoid, territorial assholes. No one should be surprised here. Now, if all of you would shut up already, maybe we can find a way to stop our brother from immobilizing our powers.”

My mother and aunt were huddled together, covering their mouths, attempting to mute the laughter that was slipping through. Nonna rolled her eyes, making her way over towards me.

“They’ve been like this since they all arrived,” Nonna said, throwing an arm around my shoulders lovingly. “Insufferable, the lot of them.” She looked over her shoulder at the princes. They smiled, and Belz, being the smartass he was, gave her a playful and dramatic bow.

“I refuse to be clumped in the same category as those imbeciles,” Levi said, stepping next to Frankie.

“Suck up,” Nonna murmured.

“We’re all cut from the same cloth, Envy,” commented Mammon.

“Don’t remind me,” Levi replied, turning to Deus. “You’re looking better, brother.”

“I’m feeling better,” Deus said with a thankful nod.

“Well, fucking can do that to you,” said Belz. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Will you shut the hell up already?” yelled Gor.

“Apparently it doesn’t improve everyone’s mood,” Mammon added, bumping his elbow into Belz. They both laughed.

Tendrils of brown smoke laced with electricity began to snap and swirl around Gor. His brothers were getting the best of him, as usual. Giana approached and ran a soothing down his chest. “Ignore them, bear,” she said softly. “They’re just jealous.”

“That I can confirm,” Levi added.

“Bear?” Deus asked.

“Oh yes,” replied Belz. “Their relationship has progressed to the cutesy nickname stage.” He made a puking face.

“Father, take me now,” grumbled Mammon.

“All of you,” demanded Nonna, “shut up. You are older than the rest of us combined, yet you all act like teenagers. And to think, I use to fear the lot of you when I was a bambina.” She huffed a laugh of amusement.

No one dared say a word. I smiled up at Deus next to me.

“Told you she could be scary,” I said playfully.

“Frightening,” he replied, running his fingers down my spine. The contact made my core tighten and heat. I closed my eyes, trying to control myself.

“Mm, I feel you,” I heard him say in my mind.

“Yes, and if you don’t stop whatever it is your doing, we’re going to be useless,” I replied.

“It’s just been so long,” he said, his desire sliding sensually down the bond.

“It’s been three hours.”

“Exactly. Too long. ”

Belz stood by Aunt Thora. He arched an eyebrow and gave her a slight smile, then leaned down, whispering something I couldn’t hear. She fought to hide the grin creeping along the edges of her lips. She shook her head, rolling her eyes before stepping out of his orbit. He smirked, clearly proud of himself for the reaction he gained from her.

I stepped out of Deus’s touch, trying to focus.

“Belz said Lucifer took Saint Benedict’s remains?” I asked Frankie.

“Yes,” she answered. “Among other relics.” I followed her to Nonna’s large table. Books and scrolls scattered across the surface. “The first relic Hashen discovered while following Lucifer’s trail. St. Paul’s chains were stolen which made every news outlet across the world. I thought to myself, ‘ there was no way some average Joe would steal such a priceless relic’ . Then, three silver pieces given to Judas at the time of his betrayal went missing from a Catholic church in Germany.”

“Frankie came to us immediately,” said Aunt Thora.

“I contacted our coven near the church, and they confirmed that they had encountered demons in that area around the time of the theft,” added Nonna.

“So, Lucifer has three powerful artifacts,” I said. “What is his plan?”

“I’m thinking he needs to collect two more,” said Frankie, “which need to be extremely powerful to nullify magic completely. We know relics weaken our powers, but I’ve never heard of one completely silencing them. Hashen is still tailing him as we speak. He also needs to find a powerful enough witch willing to conduct the spell.”

I felt the ripple of hesitation trickle down the bound. “Victoria,” said Deus.

“Victoria?” asked Nonna, confused. “You mean, Victoria Prather … the former moon goddess ve ssel … your former lover?”

“That would be the one,” Deus replied.

I sent my essence down the bridge between us, wrapping around his. “This isn’t your fault,” I said, mind to mind.

“Aradia, help us,” Nonna whispered, leaning over the table.

“That just leaves the question of which two relics Lucifer will be aiming for,” continued Frankie. “He needs two more to compete the pentagram.”

“It would have to be something of immense power, right?” asked Giana.

“Shit,” said Tony, faintly. I had almost forgotten he was in the same room.

“What is it?” asked Levi.

Tony stepped towards the table, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked at my mother and between the two, something clicked in recognition. “When I was working for Lucifer and Annalise,” Tony began, “one of the tasks that I was assigned to was to track down and locate any artifact or relic that had been stained with the blood of Christ.”

“The most powerful relics of them all,” Annalise whispered. Shame fell over her.

“And how many did you find?” asked Nonna.

“Six,” answered Tony. “The four nails, the crown of thorns, and the Shroud of Turin.”

“The what?” asked G.

“The cloth that was laid over Christ and stained with his blood after he died,” answered Gor.

“That’s all that there is, right?” I asked.

“Not quite,” said Mammon.

“There’s the spear that pierced his side,” explained Belz .

“And the cross,” said Deus. “Which Lucifer would only need a shard of. Not even the entire structure.”

“And where are they?” asked Giana.

“We don’t know the location of the entire cross,” answered Levi, “but Spain has the largest piece that we know of. Rome has a piece, along with Notre Dame. The spear head is being held at Hofburg Treasure House in Viena, so the humans think, but it isn’t the true head that pierced the Messiah. At the time of His sacrifice, no one thought to gather the items that had been stained with his blood. Only in the past few millennia have the Christians found these items to be holy.”

“This is going to be impossible,” said Frankie, dropping her head.

“For now,” said Nonna, “we will station coven members around the churches that hold the relics we know of. Tony, get with Thora and disclose any information you can about their locations. We need to be alerted if any other relics go missing.” Nonna paused, her face scrunched together.

“What is it, Mamma?” asked Annalise.

Nonna’s eyes rose to mine and then flickered to Deus. “Someone needs to kill that traitorous bitch, Victoria. One less piece of his puzzle to contend with,” she said, her lips firmly pressed into a line.

“That won’t be an issue,” Deus said.

“Good,” Nonna answered. “We also need to discover where Lucifer plans to conduct the spell.”

“Holy ground,” answered Frankie. “It has to be.”

“We can take that assignment,” offered Belz, elbowing Mammon.

“We’ll get our forces on it and sniff out where big brother is setting up camp,” added Mammon.

“Good,” Nonna nodded. “Thora and Annalise, I need you to rally the covens. Everyone goes into training. If magic won’t be accessible in this fight, then we all must prepare our other skill sets if we want to stand a chance at surviving.”

“I can help with that,” offered Levi.

“I will also assign Mal and Hashen to assist,” added Deus. “You will not find two more revered warriors.”

“I will continue to help Frankie with the research,” noted Gor.

“Perfect,” Nonna said. “Everyone has their assignments. I suppose it’s time to get to work.” Nonna clapped her hands, dismissing everyone from her room. “Seren, please stay.”

Deus turned back, kissing me softly before nodding towards Nonna. Once the door was shut, I joined her at the couch in front of the fireplace. She poured herself a glass of wine and another for me.

She exhaled. “I’m getting too old for this shit,” she said, taking a drink.

“Hopefully, this will all be over soon, and you will live out the rest of your life in peace,” I said softly.

Her eyes filled pain and worry. “And what of your life, bambina?”

I swallowed hard. “You know the answer to that question already, Nonna.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. And we don’t have time to search for one, either. Our to-do list grows by the hour.”

A long moment passed.

“How was your time away?” she asked.

I smiled, remembering the moments I would carry with me from this life into the next. “Perfect. Exactly what we needed.”

“Your prince seems to be in better spirits.”

“What can I say? I am a Salvo woman after all.” I smiled at her .

Laughter erupted from her fiercely as she hunched over. “Oh, dear girl. You are that.”

I joined in her amusement, relishing in her humor. “But in all seriousness,” I continued, “the bond … it’s … it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I can feel him, hear him, sense him. And, I can access his power, and he mine. The closer we become, the stronger my gifts grow.”

Nonna’s eyes went wide. “You have access to another Prince of Hell’s magic?”

I nodded. “It’s addicting, in the most alluring way. It’s not like Lucifer’s … it’s something different all together. The darkness there, mixed with my light. I can’t explain it, but it’s powerful, dangerous, yet … captivating.”

“You’ve lived through a lot of darkness in your short life. I wish I could have kept it from you. But you must remember, the light will always guide you back to your heart. To your true self. But the darkness … the darkness, child, will reveal your greatest strength. The darkness can be seductive and intoxicating, but give into it completely, and you will lose who you truly are. You must be careful. You have access to both Deus and Lucifer’s magic. Two of the most powerful demons ever to walk this earth.”

“What if losing myself is what I need to do in order to defeat Lucifer?”

Nonna stroked my cheek in a loving caress. “You losing yourself is what he is banking on, Seren. You’ve been able to defeat him thus far because you’ve been fighting for everyone you love and everything you care about. That is the light … that is your light. Your heart, your convictions, your blood … family.” She took my hand firmly in hers. “This,” she said, holding our hands in between us, “is the anchor you must never let go of.”

I nodded, knowing she was right. I held onto her hand. “There’s something else I wanted to discuss with you. Something that not even Deus knows.”

“Go on.”

“The night Deus and I spent together as a mated pair.” I thought back to that haunting moment. “When he was asleep, I was visited by a presence or a spirit. I am not sure what it was. She didn’t appear like Giana had, in a solid form. She wasn’t … whole, if that makes sense. And this isn’t the first time she has visited me”

Nonna’s brow furrowed. “Explain everything. And don’t leave a single detail out.”

So, I explained the eerie presence, the female figure hidden in darkness. Her heart-wrenching scream and flickering form..

Nonna thought silently for a moment. “Have you tried to use your goddess gift to call it forth? A door to this … realm, like the other door you created to Hell?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I don’t think it resides in Hell. And from what I saw, the spirit isn’t in heaven either. Each time, she was surrounded in darkness that I couldn’t see through. I could feel her fighting from somewhere foreign. Someplace I have never been before.”

She nodded slowly. “Tonight then, we’ll conduct a summoning spell and try to reach this spirit. But we will need the others: your aunt and cousin, even your mother. The more of us, the better chance we stand—just in case it is not a pleasant thing we are opening the door for.”

“I don’t want to put them in danger,” I said hesitantly.

“Seren, we are your family. We are stronger—”

“—together,” I finished with a soft smile.

She nodded, rubbing her thumb along the back of my hand in a comforting manner, stopping as her finger hit my engagement ring. Her eyes flashed down to the large red ruby. Her gaze rose to meet mine in a silent question.

I nodded. “I almost forgot,” I said, smiling softly.

“Oh, Seren.” Her eyes filled with tears as she pulled me into a firm embrace.

I pulled away, looking down at my hand. “I wonder if …” Tears fell from my eyes. “I wonder if I’ll live long enough to finally get to marry the man I truly love. The man I got to choose.”

“You will, child,” she said, taking my face in her hands. “If I must confine Lucifer myself, you will get the wedding you’ve always dreamt of. And the husband you’ve always deserved. I swear this to you.”

I fell into her arms, letting out all my fear of leaving my mate, my family, and the life I now so desperately wanted. Destiny was a cruel and unpredictable thing. No matter how hard I fought it, or what I did to outrun it, it always found new ways to end my life.