almost too elegant for its purpose of destruction. Along the
golden hilt were etched letters in a language no human
could possibly understand. The letters seemed to ripple
and glow with a soft blue light. The sword was alive—as if it
were blessed with a spirit of its own.
“The Sword of Michael,” said Gabriel in a strangely
reverential tone I’d never heard him use before. “It’s been a
long time since I’ve seen it.”
“It actual y exists?” Xavier asked.
“It’s more real than you know,” Gabriel replied. “Michael
has gone up against them before.”
Xavier thought for a moment. “Of course,” he said final y.
“It’s in Revelation. ‘And there was war in Heaven. Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon
and his angels fought back.’ The dragon was Lucifer,
right?”
“Correct,” Gabriel replied. “Michael was the one who cast
him into Hel at Our Father’s command.”
“Good job,” Xavier said and Michael raised an eyebrow. I
smiled at how informal his manner was compared to my
siblings’. “And you reckon you can bust back in?”
“Let’s see, shal we?” was al Michael said.
He drew himself up to his ful height in the middle of the
tracks. The sword in his hand vibrated so loudly it caused
the nearby birds to take flight. “Hey, man,” Xavier cal ed out,
sounding uncomfortable. “Sorry for cal ing you a douche.
My bad.”
Michael nodded delicately to indicate there were no hard
feelings. He raised the sword above his head so the
sunlight poured off its silver surface in streams.
“In the name of God I command you …”
His voice started off booming and then began to peter
out. I was fading away, back to my Hades. I tried to linger. I
needed desperately to stay and see whether Michael’s
sword would unlock the portal. But the jarring sound of a
hotel phone ringing tugged me mercilessly back to my
body.
“HELLO?” I asked, fumbling for the receiver and almost
dropping it.
“Mr. Thorn is waiting in the lobby,” said the receptionist. I
noticed her tone had changed from last time we spoke.
Then it had been respectful. Now it was smug.
“Tel him I’l be right down.”
I hung up and flopped back onto my bed, exhaling loudly.
I didn’t know what to think. Could Michael real y be about to
burst through the portal and rescue me? I didn’t dare
believe it. I dithered helplessly for a few moments,
wondering what to do. I knew one thing for certain: I couldn’t
let Jake find out what I’d just witnessed. I needed to go
along with the deal as if nothing had happened. I hoped my
skil s as an actor were up to the chal enge.
I met Jake in the lobby of Hotel Ambrosia. He’d shed his
customary biker jacket and replaced it with tailcoats and
silver cuff links, probably in a bid to play the romantic hero.
But we both knew that despite the lavish dress-ups there
was nothing romantic about the arrangement we’d made.
Tuck and Hanna stood just inside the revolving doors
looking forlorn as I was bundled into the back of Jake’s
limousine and we sped off down the tunnels of Hades. I
waved at them through the back window, trying to convey
the same message of hope I’d been given.
The car final y pul ed up at the mouth of what appeared to
be a cave. I climbed out and glanced around.
“This is your idea of a romantic location?” I asked
dubiously. “Why didn’t you just choose a broom closet?”
“Just wait.” Jake smiled secretively. “You haven’t seen it
yet. Shal we?” He held out his arm and escorted me into
the dark. I held on to him as he glided us through a short
tunnel that opened as if by magic onto an expansive stone
chamber. It had been arranged especial y for the occasion.
For a moment al I could think about was how strangely
beautiful it looked. I stopped on the spot and stared openly.
“You organized al this?”
“Guilty as charged. I want to give you a night to
remember.”
I looked around in amazement. The floor of the
underground cave was fil ed with shal ow milky water the
color of opals. Rose petals and candles floated on the
surface, casting a soft flickering light against the fissured
stone wal s and sending shadows dancing across the
water. Candelabra hung in midair, enchanted by Jake’s
dark power. At the far end of the cave was a flight of broken
stone steps that led to dry land. In the center sat a vast bed
lavishly covered in gold satin and fringed pil ows. The stone
outcrop was decorated with intricate hanging tapestries
and portraits from a forgotten world. Gilded mirrors covered
every bare space, reflecting the murky light in a spectacular
glittering pyramid. The notes of an operatic aria filtered
from hidden speakers. Jake had transformed this dank,
dark space into a fantastical subterranean world. Of
course, the setting didn’t change anything.
My eye caught sight of something, half concealed by the
water. It was a marble statue of the armless Venus de Milo.
Through the fog, I could see a dark liquid trickling down her
stone cheeks and landing with a rhythmic drip into the water
below. It took me a moment to realize that the statue was
crying tears of blood.
Before I could say a word, Jake softly clicked his fingers
and an ornate gondola appeared before us.
“After you,” he said, gal antly offering me his arm for
support. I stepped cautiously inside the waiting vessel and
Jake slid in beside me. The gondola steered itself across
the glittering water until it nudged against the stone
platform. I stepped out, not bothering to gather up the hem
of my dress, which dragged up the stone stairs. Jake
drifted over to the bed and let his fingers trail across the
coverlet. He beckoned me to his side.
Now we stood facing each other in silence. I could see a
hunger in Jake’s face that made me shiver. I didn’t feel
anything other than hol ow. My emotions had completely
shut down; my body was running on autopilot. I knew I
needed to stay calm and detached while I waited for help to
come … if it came. I didn’t al ow myself to consider what
would happen if Michael’s plan didn’t come to fruition. I
knew if I did that I would scream or try and fling Jake away
from me. So I stood stil and waited. Jake reached out and
ran his long, slender fingers down my arms. They worked
skil ful y and a few moments later the strap of my gown fel
down exposing my shoulder. He leaned down and pressed
his hot lips against my skin, moving along my col arbone
and into the hol ow of my throat. His hands came up and
tightened around my waist, pul ing me toward him. When he
brought his lips to mine, his kiss was urgent. I tried not to
think about the way Xavier used to kiss me—softly and
slowly, as if the kiss were its own reward, not a prelude to
anything more. I felt Jake’s tongue forcing my lips apart and
pressing into my mouth. His breath, as hot as molten lead,
was suffocating. As his hands began to crawl over my
body, he seemed not to notice how unresponsive I was.
Then, in one fluid movement, his hand reached out and
opened the zipper on the back of my dress. It crumpled to
the floor before I even realized what was happening and I
stood before him in nothing but a transparent silk
undergarment.
Jake drew back for a moment, breathing heavily as if
he’d just run a marathon, then he pushed me down onto the
bed and crouched over me, watching me with a curious
expression. He shimmied down the bed and slipped a
hand against my inner thigh rubbing his thumb in slow
circles. He began to kiss a path from my neck down my
breasts and stomach as he lowered his body over mine.
Where were Michael and the others? A sickening thought
occurred to me. There was every chance that the sword
had failed to open the portal, or maybe Michael had
changed his mind. It only took minutes to alter the course of
destiny; anything could have happened in the time I’d
missed. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and a sheen of
sweat broke out across my chest. Jake ran a finger lightly
across it and smiled with satisfaction. He lifted one of my
fingers to his mouth and sucked gently on it.
“Enjoying yourself after al ?” he asked. My mouth felt too
dry to speak, but I forced out an answer.
“Can we just get this over with?”
I thought it was a pretty safe bet that Jake would want to
draw out the experience as long as possible, but his
answer caught me off guard.
“We can do it however you like.” He tore off his shirt and
threw it to the ground so his bare chest was looming over
me, his chocolate hair fal ing over his blazing eyes. He
dipped his head and I felt his teeth graze my ear. “This is
just the beginning,” he whispered, moving down and
running his tongue along my breastbone. “You think this is
intense? Just wait, I’m going to push you over the edge.
You’l feel like you’re about to explode.”
I trembled with fear beneath his touch. There were a
hundred things I wanted to say, but I wil ed myself to keep
quiet. At the back of my mind a voice was screaming out.
What if they’re not coming?
And as the minutes ticked by it
became more and more apparent that they weren’t going to
come. I tried stal ing.
I reached up and let my finger travel lightly down Jake’s
chest. He shivered and pressed against me more heavily.
“I’m nervous,” I whispered, making my voice sound as
innocent as possible. “I’ve never done anything like this
before.”
“That’s because you’ve been with an amateur,” Jake
said. “Don’t worry, I’l take care of you.”
I couldn’t think what else to say to delay the inevitable.
There was no sign of Xavier or my family. It was too late
now; there was nothing else I could do. I lay back and
closed my eyes, accepting my fate.
“I’m ready,” I said.
“I’ve been ready for a long time,” Jake purred and I felt
his hands shift and travel up my thighs.
Suddenly there came a sound like a deep groan from the
bowels of the cave. It was as if the very rock itself were
being torn apart. The sound echoed off the wal s, causing
Jake to sit bolt upright, suddenly fiercely alert, his black
eyes darting. The sound suggested the ceiling above us
might be on the verge of caving in. I sat up, straining to hear
a comforting sound.
I heard Jake let out a vicious stream of curses right
before the far wal exploded in an ear-splitting shower of
dirt and stone, and a familiar 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
convertible plunged through the jagged hole. The car
seemed to soar through the air almost in slow motion as it
plowed into the cave and landed meters from us with a
sound like a thunderclap. Its body was long and sleek, just
like I remembered; its headlights blazing and its sky blue
paint scuffed from the dive it had just taken.
“Xavier?” I whispered.
The windshield was coated with dust, but a moment later
the driver’s door creaked open and a figure stepped out.
He was just as I remembered him, tal and broad
shouldered with eyes of liquid blue. The honey-colored
strands of hair that fel across his forehead were stil
streaked with gold and around his throat, I could see the
crucifix winking in the gloom. Behind him, Ivy and Gabriel
stepped out from the passenger doors, looking like pil ars
of gold in the dark chamber. Their expressions were hard
and their steel gray eyes were fixed on Jake. A wind blew
up and their golden hair fanned out behind them. It took me
a moment to realize that their wings had emerged, as they
always did in preparation for conflict. They reared up
behind them, like the wings of an eagle, casting shadows
ten feet high against the stone wal s. They looked as strong
and majestic as always, but I could sense that just being in
this place weakened them. They didn’t belong here and
soon their powers would begin to diminish. There was no
sign of Michael—I assumed he had opened the portal and
disappeared. But his sword glittered in Gabriel’s hand.
Mol y too was nowhere to be seen. She must have been left
behind in Alabama—this part of the mission would prove