“If for no other reason than it would mean destroying itself,” I added.
“Great, so I've got self-centered magic taking over my body,” Austin grumbled.
“No, you don't,” Az said. “It has a sense of self-preservation, but whatever manifests, you will be in control of it. You may have to learn how to take the reins, but you will be able to.”
“Like riding a horse?”
“A wild horse.”
Austin grinned. “I can do that.”
“Yay!” Horus exclaimed in mock enthusiasm. “Nowcan we get back to the small matter of a war with Heaven?”
“Settle down, Horus,” Thor said. “We're getting there. There's no rush.”
“Azrael!” The Archangel Michael came running into the room, white wings rustling behind him.
“Mike? What's happened?” Azrael asked.
“Jerry has lost his fucking mind!”
Chapter Six
“What did the Man do now?” Jesus asked.
Michael paused, blinked at Jesus and Luke, and said, “Oh, hey, J-man. Hello, Luke.” Then he went right back to being furious, “He's ordered the Avenging Angels to stop punishing the evil-doers!”
“What?!” Azrael surged to his feet and grabbed Mike by his significant biceps. “But if the blood of the wicked doesn't flow, evil will spread through Shehaquim. My territory will blacken and die!”
“I know, dude! Don't forget who's been running Shehaquim while you've been off playing faerie. Yours truly.” Mike thumb-pointed at himself. “And Shehaquim isn't just your territory, it's where a lot of Angels live, even someArchangels, including me at the moment. Jerry is fucking bonkers! This won't just hurt you, it will hurt some of his strongest warriors.”
“Strong warriors who he can't rely upon because of their connection to me,” Az said grimly. “ He didn't call upon any Angel in Shehaquim to attack the Golden Citadel because he knew they wouldn't. Or if they did, they'd have found a way to warn me first. You would have absolutely warned me, and he knows that. So now he's punishing you and hurting me in one fell swoop.”
“Fuck, you're right,” Michael muttered. “He's making an example of us—a warning to the other Angels.”
“I'm sorry that our friendship is costing you.” Azrael lifted his hand to Michael's shoulder.
“Shut the fuck up,” Mike huffed. “There's nothing Jerry could do to make me regret our friendship.”
“Thank you.”
“You're a good man, Michael,” Luke said.
“Why is he a good man, but I'm a goodboy?” Jesus asked.
Luke patted Jesus's cheek. “Because I've known you since you were in diapers. You'll always be a boy to me.”
Austin shook his head slowly as he stared at Jesus Christ and the Devil. “I feel like I'm losin' my vertical hold.”
“Jerry is an idiot for alienating us, especially the Archs,” Michael said. “This is bad enough to send us to the other side.”
Lucifer spread his arms out and declared dramatically, “Come to the dark side!”
“They have cookies!” Pan piped up.
Mike frowned at Pan.
“If Jerry has more apples, he can make any Angel incredibly powerful,” Re said. “More powerful than you, Michael.”
