Before I could reply to that—it was just getting fun—two men walked up the metal stairs behind and to the right of Taran. All of our attention immediately went to them because we weren't expecting any visitors and the bottom of those stairs was guarded by a Froekn. So either the two men had overpowered a Froekn or they had been recognized as people we'd want to see.
When the low lights in the fake trees around us hit the men, I was shocked enough to stand up. Trevor joined me.
“Jesus?” I hurried over to the new King of Heaven. “What are you doing here? Abaddon? What are you doing with Jesus?”
Jesus looked grim, something he never looked. His stern visage didn't go with his bellbottom jeans and worn T-shirt with the image of, well, himself on it—arms extended up in a celebratory gesture with a big grin on his face and the words “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” written above. Leave it to him to have the correct Mark Twain quote and not the more commonly used “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” But then, people misquote him all the time. I imagine he made it a point in life to not do the same to others. His long, shaggy hair was more unkempt than carefree and his usual round sunglasses were missing (appropriate for the club, but still odd). Without the glasses to hide his brilliant blue eyes, I could see the strain-lines around them.
Abaddon the Destroyer (sorry, had to add his title because it's just too fantastic) looked just as grim as King Jesus Hadranius Christ (yup, that's what the H stands for), but that was normal for Abaddon. Still, the very fact that the Angel of the Abyss was with the King of Heaven was unsettling. With hisblond buffness, he would have made Jesus look scrawny—the old gangly Jesus, that is. But when I gave Jesus his father's Light Magic, his body had swelled with power. Literally. He got big—all muscly like Jerry had been. It was still odd for me to see him like that, filling out his hippie clothes like an M.M.A. fighter. In addition to that, the power of the Seven Heavens radiated from Jesus, giving him a presence that Abaddon couldn't compete with. But the J-man's face was still the same, with that hook nose and wide, full lips. Those lips were usually smiling. I didn't like that they weren't.
“Hey, V,” Jesus said and then hugged me. “I was hoping my brother would be with you.”
“I'll text him,” Trevor said as he pulled out his phone. “He can be here in a few minutes.”
“Dang, I should have thought of that,” Jesus said. “This bad juju has got me all spacey.”
“What bad juju?” I asked.
“Weird stuff. Let's wait for Az to get here, so I don't have to reinforce the bad vibes by talking about it twice.”
“I'm here,” Azrael said as he stepped around the door markedFamily Room.
Past that door was a set of stairs going down to guest rooms for vampires (or anyone else who needed to stay through the day) and a tracing room. So, none of us were surprised to see him emerge. Well, Abaddon lifted his brows, but I think it was his first time in Moonshine.
“Brother.” Az, wingless for the club, hurried to Jesus and hugged him. “What's happened? Trevor's text sounded urgent.”
Jesus shook his head. “It's blowin' my mind, Brother.” He made an explosive sound as he burst his fingers outward from his temples.
“Let's sit down,” I suggested and waved at the couches.
We got settled, and that's when Jesus realized we had company.
“Oh, hey, man. Taran, right? Good to see you.” Jesus slapped Taran's shoulder.
“Yeah, you too,” Taran said, looking over Jesus' new physique with wide eyes. The last time he'd seen Jesus had been when we'd brought Jesus to Taran's nightclub in Lexington, Texas—the Wet Whistle. That had been pre-Light Magic Muscles. “Uh, should I give you all some privacy?”
“Naw, it's all good,” Jesus said. Then he scowled. “Well, it's not good. It's very un-good. But I'm good with you hearing my ungoodness.”
Taran blinked. Processed. Then said, “All right then.”
“J, what's happened?” Azrael demanded, the Angelic script on his cheek flashing blue with his anxiety.
“Trippy shit, Brother. Trippy. Shit,” Jesus said. “I've been coastin' along, doin' my best at ruling Heaven. Keepin' it mellow.” He motioned his hand before him in a wave. “Then Angels started coming to me with strange reports. Things are going missing. Getting moved.”
“Angels came to you over misplaced items?” I asked.
“They were important items that don't get misplaced,” Jesus said. “Like fiery swords and the Ark of the Covenant.”
“The Ark exists?” I asked.
“Of course,” Az answered for Jesus. “Dad made it back when he was trying to be popular. You know, make a name for himself.”
“Does it have the power the myths say it has?”
“Oh, yeah,” Jesus said and rubbed a long hand over his face. “It was a bummer when it went missing.”
Abaddon frowned at this gross underestimation but said nothing.
“But you found it?” Azrael asked.
