Page 61 of Grave Revelations (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #3)

Chapter 60

Rebecca

A wide grin broke over Rebecca’s face as she let an apple hang in mid-air, shooting a ring of blue flames around it. She flicked her fingers, setting it spinning inside her time bubble, and squeezed her fist, drawing all the moisture from it until it was a dried husk. She blinked. Everything sped forward, the apple dropping as her flame winked out.

She couldn’t wait to show Az. Using her gifts while time was frozen would undoubtedly be a weapon worthy of battling Elizabeth.

She picked up her phone. It had been hours since he left, but she hadn’t wasted it and was proud of her progress. Even with her seemingly endless supply of new power, when he was gone, some of her human necessities returned. She was hungry, or she wanted to eat something anyway, and her eyelids were heavy.

Wasn’t she supposed to be a superhero now?

Her phone buzzed, and a burst of annoyance shot through her. Without looking, she knew it would be another text from Simon. And although his last six messages tugged at her heart, she couldn’t find it in herself to forgive him. Not yet.

She left the orchard at the back of her estate, retracing partially covered tracks in the snow. Azazel’s much larger ones were still visible, but a light flurry had begun to fall, and they were quickly being erased .

Inside, she made tea, opting for an earl gray, Rhea’s favorite. Pain sliced through her heart at the memory of Sophia’s affirmation that Rhea was truly gone.

She moved to the second floor, turned the TV on, and scanned the news for updates on the latest crises. The death toll was still unknown in Wisconsin, and evacuation efforts continued down the line of states bordered by the Mississippi River as water levels rose higher. She blinked, sliding down in the seat as her lids grew heavier.

In California, they were only beginning to piece together the reason for the deadliest natural disaster on American soil. From what they had learned, volcanic activity off the coast of San Francisco had been brewing underwater for weeks. A series of eruptions causing underwater landslides had formed the largest tidal wave in recorded history.

Rebecca bit her lip. Should she go there? Use her gifts to help quell the tide? They needed someone with supernatural abilities.

“We have more important things to worry about,” a deep voice said from the door. “And my siblings will be there, aiding in whatever way they can.”

Rebecca jumped, spinning around in her seat. “You’re back!”

Azazel strode forward. Their eyes locked as he sat beside her, wings disappearing.

The room was charged with that invisible electricity that sparked between them every time he was near. Rebecca leaned forward, pulled by the cord between them that only seemed to grow stronger each day, and he wrapped his arms around her. She inhaled his scent, a rainforest full of life.

“You were gone a long time.”

Azazel released her, running his fingers through her curls. “I missed you too, Light.”

The ember in Rebecca’s chest stretched toward him as if in greeting before wrapping his half of their soul in its embrace. She leaned back, taking him in. “You’re… different. Again.”

Azazel’s electric blue gaze met hers. “Something has happened.”

Rebecca resisted the urge to roll her eyes and yawned. Should she tell him there was no end to “things happening” ?

You’re right. But this is different.

She searched his face, seeing new lines carved into his forehead. “What is it?”

The Fallen has his fourth prince. He is no longer bound by the treaty.

Rebecca’s brows scrunched together. “What do you mean?”

“The rules restricting him to Primoria have been undone.”

Rebecca gasped, glancing around, half expecting him to appear in her TV room at any moment.

“He’s not coming here, Light,” Azazel assured her. “He may be free, but his demons are not. They travel through the portal, which only allows so many through at a time. But he is forming his army. He prepares to march on Earth.”

Rebecca tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Then we’ve lost.”

Not yet.

She arched a brow at him. “Elizabeth has built an army of night-creatures. Lucifer’s army is preparing, and around the world, natural disasters have killed hundreds of thousands. We are only two people.”

We’re not people.

Rebecca frowned. “I’ve been working to control time magic. It might give us an advantage.”

Azazel stood, pacing to the door. “Perhaps, but more than that, I need the lance. If we end Samael, we end the war before it ever begins.”

“Are you sure? Elizabeth is planning something. She wouldn’t be gathering so many witches only to capture me. What if she’s working with him?”

His fingers flexed, and her gaze trailed down his thickly corded arms.

“Dina.”

She appeared, gazing between them. “What is it Azazel?,” she asked. “I am in a crisis of my own at present.”

“Does it have something to do with Ch—your captain?”

Her iridescent eyes swirled impossibly fast. “Have you seen him? Please tell me it isn’t true. Is he there, in Primoria?

Azazel nodded. “He has accepted a place at Samael’s side.”

Jophiel’s wings twitched, and her clothes flickered over her tall frame, disappearing for a moment .

Rebecca’s gaze slid to Azazel. Although the air passed through his clothes, telling her they weren’t real, she couldn’t see through them. Her mind conjured images of his nude form from before he’d worn his banana swim trunks, and she slid her lower lip between her teeth.

His gaze slid to her. I’m more than happy to return to that state.

Her cheeks reddened, but she frowned. Why had he been forced to wear shorts before but not now?

It was a punishment. Incentive for me to do the Fallen’s bidding.

Rebecca’s gaze darted lower before she brought her eyes back to his. Damn, he’d noticed.

A dimple appeared on his cheek.

Jophiel grabbed Azazel’s arm, shaking him. “The war is lost, brother. We cannot win without him.”

“Have you sought Phanuel?”

“Phanuel?” Jophiel asked. “We need our captain.”

“He’s gone, Dina.”

Rebecca looked between the two winged creatures and tapped her foot.

Azazel’s dimple appeared again. “Yes, my Light? Did you have something to add?”

She glared at him, even as heat simmered in her belly at the possessive way he called her his .

“I think I need to be the one to use the lance, and I still think Elizabeth is a bigger threat than you give her credit for,” she said. “Also, why can’t Az lead your army?”

Jophiel and Azazel stared at her as if she’d grown a third eye on her forehead.

“I am a Prince of Hell.”

“And will you fight with them?” Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to lie.

“No.”

“Then fight for the side of good.”

Jophiel’s wings vibrated again. “Brother. This may be your chance to redeem yourself to Father. ”

Azazel turned his hard stare on her, the corners of his mouth hooking down sharply. “I am irredeemable.”

Rebecca started forward. To reach for him. To tell him he was wrong, but his gaze shifted to her.

This is not an argument you can win, Light.

She crossed her arms over her chest but said nothing.

Jophiel laid a gentle hand on his swirling arm. “No one is irredeemable, brother. Least of all, you.”

Azazel shrugged away from her touch. “I will not debate it. Phanuel could lead the seraphim to victory if you placed your faith in him. I’ve seen him on the battlefield many times. He has a mind for strategy, and you will need it to face what comes.”

When Jophiel had gone, Rebecca turned to Azazel. “What can we do against Lucifer and his army? Will the angels help us?”

They will fight, but if we end him first, there will be no battle.

She frowned. “Are you strong enough to defeat him?”

He wants the lance more than anything. He’s never stopped searching for it. We’ll use it to lure him into a trap.

“How?”

“When he releases the demons on Earth, I’ll feel it. When the box is opened, the lance will call to him, and he’ll know its location. But until his army is converging at the portal, we wait.”

Rebecca shuddered. “What if he sends the demons instead of coming himself?”

It's too great a prize.

“So, we wait.”

Azazel nodded.

“And what about Elizabeth?”

When we’ve used the lance to end him, she will be our next victim .

“Wait,” Rebecca said. “She has a necklace. It’s important to her. Important enough that she tricked me into returning it to her. Simon said—”

A low growl erupted from Azazel’s chest, cutting her off.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “That the necklace belonged to a witch—a witch from Endor—and that that witch was a necromancer. What if it’s not Lucifer she’s working with, but that witch?”

“Impossible,” Azazel said. “Sanura is gone.”

“Sanura?” Rebecca asked. “Sanura is the witch the necklace belonged to?”

Azazel’s nostrils flared. “The necklace was forged to ensure she died and remained dead, but it was never successfully used against her. In the end, it was your sacrifice that rid the world of Sanura.”