It was nice that Gabriel and Michael had carved a path in for us, but this time I knew where we were going. I was more powerful than all of them, and I needed to get to the River. It was time to take charge.
The walk was shorter, as most of the path carved on the way in was still there. The vines were still broken and leaves pushed aside. The undergrowth already threatened to take the path over again, but all in all, it was easier.
Of course, demons continued to harass us, but they came one or two at a time, so it was nearly laughable. Like being attacked by a toddler. More annoying than dangerous. As we walked, I considered everything.
I'd read Vincent's aura and killed him pretty quickly. What if I'd moved too soon or too rashly? Did he have more to say?
And who had sent the words to Cecilio? It could've been Vincent himself. "I haven't heard of an angel or demon making it to the River before," I mused.
Gabe was closest to me. "Yeah, but I've also never heard of a soul like his being held in Elysium, so this is a time for firsts."
"I guess." I blasted a vine out of the way, then sent another bolt of energy toward an approaching demon.
"Has anyone checked on Jellybean since we started all this?" I asked. "Is he acting as crazy as the rest of them?"
"He was fine when we left the house," Gabe said. "We can pop in and check on him before we go to the river." Gabe walked beside me for a while but shuddered. "Do we have to go to the River? It's so creepy."
I laughed and pushed at his shoulder. "You're so silly. They're just souls."
"I hate it there," he said under his breath.
"It's not like you have to go often. And if Vincent is in the limbo area, we've got to get him out of it and away from possibly entering Purgatory."
While all the demons were freed from Abaddon, the souls were piling up in Purgatory. I knew that, but there was nothing to be done for it. We had all our Fallen wrangling demons and trying to at least keep them invisible.
The souls that were in Abaddon were another story. I had no idea where they were. Hopefully still in Abaddon, but if they figured out how to get out, they'd become ghosts on Earth. We tried to keep ghosts to a bare minimum because, in this day and age, technology made it too dangerous to have a rogue specter roaming around.
I guessed the cat was out of the bag now, though. Humans knew all about demons. If we could get enough magic, maybe we could reset it all. Change the course of what happened.
Humans were supposed to make their choices without absolute knowledge of what came after. They weren't supposed to be scared into submission. They were supposed to choose to be good, to be noble and honorable on their own. Not because they were terrified of Abaddon.
But now they knew. It was all changed.
I hacked more vines away and increased my speed. We had to hurry. Once again, I tried to move with magic, but Cecilio's wards were too strong. He'd spent years layering them on. Even we would've had to work hard to get past them. Like he said. It was faster to walk.
"They appointed me caretaker, did I tell you?" Michael asked. "When Raphael went rogue, his responsibilities were reassigned." The plane that housed the River was technically the same as the demons while invisible on Earth, but it was sealed off with stronger magic than any of us had. God had been involved with it.
Only a few were able to access it at all. That made it all the stranger that an angel's soul had gone into it. Luc and I of the fallen alone could go there, and of the angels, only Joel and Michael.
Another demon launched at us, this one a flier. He looked a bit like a bat, but I knew. I waved my hand and sent him to Abaddon without a second thought.
The ward's weight lifted as soon as I stepped past its boundaries. I knew instantly we were free. Turning, I grabbed Lucifer's hand. "We'll take Mary home. You guys go check on Jellybean. We'll meet you at the house." They nodded and disappeared.
"Ready?" I asked Mary.
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Queenie, you've got work to do."
We blinked to her living room, where her grandson lounged on the couch. He didn't even flinch when we appeared out of thin air in front of him. "There you are, Granny. Mama wants you to come for dinner."
Mary reached down and pinched his cheek. "Tell her I'll bring dessert." He jumped up and ran out the door, sidestepping me and Luc.
"Mary, what do you get up to that he didn't think twice about us appearing out of the blue?"
She laughed and walked toward the kitchen. "Wouldn't you like to know?”
11
Jellybean laidin the middle of the kitchen, gnawing on a huge steak when we arrived at the house. "He's fine," Michael said. "He was in the back yard and he fed himself. He did break the back door to get out."
