The Ruler of Hell then turned to Beelz and me. “We’re going back to the mansion. I need to speak with the Celestial Council. They must be notified that Nyx has left Droh and taken her followers.”
If only I had a hotline for Scotty. We might be able to cut through some red tape so I could tell him what was happening.
“Give us a minute. We’ll be there, but don’t do anything until we arrive.” Beelz reached into the pocket of his track pants and retrieved a blinged-out cell phone. “I have Jo on speed dial.”
Thank heaven!
I stood next to him and heard the call answered. “Beelzebub? What’s wrong?” It was Jo’s angelic voice, which was deep.
“Jophiel, we need to meet. There’s been an undesirable development. Can you come to Limbo?”
“How undesirable?”
I spoke up. “Game changing for all of us.”
“I’m leaving now.”
Beelz hung up, and we stared at each other for a moment before I finally spoke. “I guess this is the beginning of the battle?”
“I suppose we’ll see. I’m not ready to concede, are you?” Beelz steadied his eyes on me, but I wasn’t intimidated. I had more skin in the game than Beelz, really. I had the love of my life. The owner of my heart. The one being I would die for.
Nothing was more important than Scotty.
Chapter Sixteen
Scotty
“It’s Uriel. He’s jealous of all of us.” Michael was adamant, and I’d like to say I agreed with him, but...
“I believe it’s Gabriel. He mentioned the upcoming vote for the head of the Celestial Council. I think he found out about Uriel’s affair with Nakir, and I believe Gabriel murdered Nakir and Tork to try to frame Uriel.”
Michael stared at me. “Why do you think Gabriel would...? He’s not aggressive at all, Scotty. Uriel would kill anyone who threatened him or his position on the Council. Gabriel would never kill an innocent like Nakir.”
I wasn’t surprised to get pushback from Michael. He disliked Uriel, just as many on the Council did. But, in my mind, Uriel wouldn’t kill a lover. He was a being who experienced emotions, and if he loved Nakir, he wouldn’t kill him. He’d be sad about the betrayal, but murder would never be a part of his agenda.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was an unsympathetic being. He had no emotions, but beneath the surface, he wasn’t perfect. He didn’t like Uriel. That much was easy to see if one opened their mind, but I could see Michael wasn’t there yet.
“Look. We have one shot. I corner Gabriel as Nakir when Gabriel is alone. I ask him why he killed me and see what he has to say. You’ll have to be nearby, but you don’t have to be seen. If we get a confession, then we can proceed to the Council. If we don’t, then you can destroy me and banish me to Hell. I won’t protest, and I won’t try to find a loophole.”
Michael stared at me. “How convinced are you that it’s Gabriel?”
“I want to be wrong, Michael, but—”
“Wait, is this a fight in the Celestial Realm? Tell me why this involves us?” It was Dash, and the protest didn’t surprise me. He was protecting Keir, and I couldn’t blame him. I’d protect my Jay the same way if given the chance.
I turned to Dash. “It involves you if there’s an uprising in the Celestial Realm as all Hell cracks open. This could be the end of all of us if we don’t figure it out.”
Keir choked on his margarita. “So, this is the beginning of the war?”
I wanted to tell my friendno. I wanted to say it was just a little dust-up between the realms, and humans would be just fine, but that might give them a sense of complacency, and we couldn’t afford to let our guard down, especially right now.
The truth was, none of us knew when the fight would begin. “I’m not sure, Keir. I just want to try to hold it off as long as I can. That’s why I want to try to see the reaction from Gabriel when I confront him...as Nakir.”
“So, you’re going to transform into the cherub and what?” It was a fair question from Dash.
“I’m going to ask Gabriel why he killed me and decapitated my lover, posting his head on the Gate to Hell. It should bring a reaction from him, don’t you think?”
Michael and Dash laughed at the same time. “You’re playing with fire, Scotty.”
