“But I can try to strengthen the wounded magic inside him with the power of the scythe.” He laid the weapon on Azrael's chest. Then he lifted his hand. As soon as he let go, the scythe went dormant, the writing going dull. “Dang it!”
“It may be the manacles,” Odin said.
“Oh. Yes.” Luke began to remove them.
“Wait!” Odin and I said together.
“His magic won't heal if it's suppressed,” Luke said.
“It won't heal if the Wild Magic takes control either,” Odin said.
“And if the Wild Magic takes over Azrael again . . .” I let thesentence hang.
Luke had faced the Faerie God with me. They fought. While I gave birth to Azrael's sons. The Devil and the Faerie God. It was a hell of a day. Pun intended.
“Then we are at an impasse,” Luke said.
“There must be something we can do,” Holly said. “A way to keep the Wild Magic suppressed while freeing Death.”
Lucifer stood up. “I need to do some research.”
“I will as well,” Odin said.
“Good. Between the two of us, we have every book written on the occult. We should be able to find something to help my boy.”
“I won't stop looking until I do,” Odin promised.
And I knew he wouldn't. I'd seen Odin search his ancient texts before. Last time, it was to help me.
“I'm staying here,” Holly said.
“All right, my love.” Lucifer kissed his wife, then shot me a heavy look.
Odin, Luke, and I left the bedroom and headed downstairs.
Luke waited until the tower door was closed to say, “Just leave her with him. Maybe in a few hours, ask her to help you with the twins. That will give her an excuse to take a break from her vigil. She's very vigilant, my Holly.”
“All right,” I said. “Don't worry. I'll look after her.”
“Holly isn't as weak as she appears. She is the Holy Spirit, and that's a powerful magic. I'm hoping she'll be able to reach Azrael even when you and I can't. But if she can't, she'll keep trying until she exhausts herself. It will take a while, but shewill weaken. So, just make sure she leaves that room every few hours.”
“I will.” I would have felt some hope at the possibility of Holly reaching Azrael, but I didn't believe she could. Sure, she was the Holy Spirit and his mother, but I'd felt how deep Az was inside himself. I wanted to hope, but that emotion refused to come.
Luke nodded then looked at Odin. “Perhaps we'd do better together. Would you like to help me search my library first? I'm more liable to have something pertaining to Azrael's magic. But if we fail there, we can look through your books.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Odin said. He turned to address our family and friends—the Squad was still in the kitchenette with Kirill, Viper, and Trevor, but the Intare had gone back downstairs. “I'm going with Luke to do some research. Holly is staying here with Azrael. Text me if you need anything.”
Before Odin could say anything more, a rumbling came from the tower stairs and Holly shrieked.
“Oh, fruitcake!” Lucifer growled as he ran for the stairs.
I chased after him with Odin hot on my heels. By the time we got up to Azrael's room, the rumbling had stopped and Holly looked shaken but fine.
Luke put his fists on his hips and stared down his wife sternly. “You took off the manacles, didn't you?”
Holly winced. “I had to give it a try.”
“And what happened?” I asked.
