Luke lifted his brows in shock, and I winked at him. He gave me a long blink, then looked at the Avenging Angels and Archangels who had given him their vows. They stared back solemnly, used to being betrayed.
Lifting his pointed chin, the Devil met Jerry's stare. “They are my people now, my family, and I don't barter with family, even to save my own grandson. What you do to Brevyn is on your shoulders, Jehovah. But you will not have these Angels. You'll have to go through me first.”
“You fool!” Jerry hissed. “I have eaten of the fey fruit. I have power that surpasses yours now, Lucifer.”
“I have eaten as well,” Luke said. “And my power has always been greater than yours. Hurt even one hair on Brevyn's head, and I won't just kill you, I'll cut you into little pieces while you're still alive, bake you into pies, then feed them to you.”
Jerry roared and lifted his hand toward Brevyn's throat. My heart stopped. Screams, roars, and shouts filled the air as my husbands and I raced toward the Christian God. We wouldn't make it; I knew that. Most of us couldn't even reach him. I cursed myself for being a horrible mother and a fool. I was the adult; I was the one who should have known better. Brevyn may have the power of vision, but visions can be fickle, and I had let him convince me that we could rely on his. I should have sent him home. I should have . . .
Brevyn started to glow. With a beatific look on his face, he lifted a hand, and Jerry's hand went jerking back, the knife flying out of his grip. As Jehovah gaped at him, my son rose out of his grasp, arms extended. He waved a hand toward the ground, and Jesus came to, gasping. Azrael and Jesus stared up at Brevyn with wide eyes—we all did.
“What the actual fuck is happening right now?!” Jerry screeched.
“He's taken your magic,” I said. “Holy hamburgers, Brevyn's borrowed Jerry's magic!”
Borrowing wasn't theft. It didn't leave Jerry helpless, but he was shocked enough that he didn't react. He just stared at my boy as Brev held out his arms to the Heavenly Host.
“I release you from your vows,” Brevyn declared in a voice much deeper and more resonant than his own. “You owe Jehovah no loyalty and he cannot control you any longer. Your will is once more your own.”
I had no idea what Brev was talking about. As far as I knew, the Angels had free will. Otherwise, the Archangels wouldn't have tried to convince them to defect. So, what the hell was going on? Or what the heaven?
The Host looked at Brevyn, each other, then Jerry. One by one, they sheathed their enchanted swords and traced away. Only then did Jerry react. He shouted and stretched a hand toward the Angels as if he could physically reconnect their bonds. But with the breaking of those ties, something happened to the Angels. You could see it immediately. A release of tension and awareness in their eyes. There was more between them than the usual bond a god had with his demigods. Jerry had been manipulating his Angels in more ways than we knew. But Brevyn had known.
And now the Host knew it as well.
The entire army vanished in mere minutes, leaving Jerry sputtering and furious in his cloud-wreath. He lifted his gaze to my son and held out his hand, filling it with light. Before I could scream a warning, Brevyn gaily waved at me as he traced away. I nearly fell out of the sky in relief.
As soon as Brev was gone, everyone focused on Jerry. Even Jesus stood up and glared at his father. Lucifer didn't even bother with a battle cry, he just shot forward, his barbed tail lashing and his razor teeth bared. Seconds before he reached Jerry, the God of the Christians traced away.
Satan pulled up short, shook his fists in the air, and shouted, “Fudge muffins!”
Chapter Thirty-One
Lucifer instantly texted Cid to get everyone out of Heaven. Cid texted back that they hadn't found the Archangels yet.
“I should have gone with them,” Lucifer said as he texted Cid.
“You sent nearly the entire Horde,” Gello said.
“And you needed to be here,” Azrael added. “But now we've got to get to Jerry before he hurts the Archangels.”
“Brevyn has his magic now, he can get us all into the Seventh Heaven,” I suggested, even as part of me was wondering how the fuck my son had ended up with Jerry.
“We don't need Brevyn for that,” Lucifer said as he shifted into his angelic form. He lifted his voice so that our entire army could hear him, “I made Heaven and it's time I took it back!”
Our soldiers roared, howled, and cheered.
“Hold on to each other, everyone,” Satan said. “We're going in hot!”
“I'm coming too!” Jesus said as he grabbed Azrael's shoulder.
Luke nodded approvingly as the rest of us clasped hands or shoulders, forming a connection that ended and began with the Devil. I'd done mass traces before but never on this scale. Of course, everyone would be using their own energy to trace, Luke would only be pulling us through the wards of Heaven, and he was hopped up on apple, but still, if this worked, I'd be impressed.
“Now!” Luke shouted.
A burst of blue sparks encircled our group as the Aether opened a hole the size of a football field. We were sucked in, becoming pure energy that shot through that realm of potential. The Devil's magic pulled us along, taking us through Jerry's wards as if they didn't exist. In just a few seconds, we appeared on a sandy plane, standing before a pair of enormous gates constructed from a pearlescent white metal. Beyond them, ethereal structures loomed, gold trellises and balconies shining against their white stone. The gates swung open for Lucifer, and he led us into the city, then through the golden streets. Angels scurried about, carrying bulging satchels. They bowed when they saw Lucifer, none of them looking surprised to see us.
“I hold no grudge against any of you!” Luke shouted. “I'm here to claim Heaven and dispatch Jehovah. After I do, you will be welcome to remain. There is no need for an exodus.”
