He pulled his hand back and I shook my head, his mood changes dizzying. “What makes you think you’re an expert on human behavior?”
“I am the greatest actor Midgard will ever see. I’ve devoted many years to the study of being human.” He smirked and turned his eyes away. “I once spent seven years pretending to be a priest. Slept with nearly all the parishioners, the other priests, the nuns, and two bishops before the Archbishop found out. What a scandalous time.”
“That was around the Sophiee time you kept begging me to retire and give you the title of devil.”
Loki brushed invisible lint from his shoulder. “I would’ve made a good one, too. Yours is the only religion I haven’t had a nefarious role in. The Tempter and Seducer of Mankind. It suits me better than you.”
I chuckled and pushed to my feet. “Not really. You also tempt and seduce giantesses and stallions.”
“You wound me!” He grabbed his chest. I held my hand out and he took it, letting me pull him to his feet. An unnecessary but friendly gesture. “Give her some time, then go tell her the truth about how you feel and see where it goes.”
“I need to take on Abaddon sooner rather than later.” I ran my hand over the scruff on my face. “Whatever my future holds, if Lexi wants to be a part of it, she won’t be safe until he’s gone.”
“That’s where you need my help.” Loki clapped me on the shoulder and suddenly we were in my study. He reached down and touched a piece of paper on my desk. “You haven’t been the best at making friends since the fall, but I have many. I’ll start making some house calls on your behalf so long as you find a way to put yourself back in my daughter’s good graces.”
I circled my desk to look at the sheet of paper he’d filled. “Loki, I can’t just—”
“You still have a lot to learn about people, Lu.” He leaned in close, pressing his finger under my chin. “If she decides she wants to stay, you can’t keep her out of the fight. She wasn’t born that way.”
Then he was gone, and I was left with plan after plan swirling around in my head. I sat and looked over the list again, surprised at how many names were on it. Loki hadn’t been joking about friends; I didn’t care to foster relationships outside of the fallen. I could probably count on one hand how many I’d made, including his daughter Hela, and even she wasn’t particularly friendly.
Just outside my door, a shadow moved. A tiny flicker in the light reflecting off my hardwood floors, but considering the timing, suspicious. But who would risk coming into my home, especially right after Loki’s departure?
I walked out into the hallway and looked both ways. My senses detected nothing, but that didn’t always mean anything. I continued out into the living room, eyes roaming over everything. Nothing seemed amiss, everything in its place. When my gaze swept past the stairwell to the second floor, I saw it again.
Following it to the second floor, I still saw and felt nothing. I circled the floor twice, past the Norse and Aztec displays, past the relics of medieval Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Was someone playing a game with me or was I seeing things? Without thinking, I descended to the bottom floor.
I paced slowly around the room, watching for the shadow in the Egyptian and Mesopotamian sections. Still nothing. I walked past the menorah before stopping in front of the old Bible case. Whatever answers I needed to find, they sure as hell wouldn’t be in here. Still, my fingers trailed lightly across the top of the glass.
The pages started turning. I jerked my hand away and stepped back, but they kept flipping as easily as if they were fresh sheets and not over a thousand years old. There was no other presence that I could sense in the room with me.
“Loki!” I yelled, glancing around. “If you’re fucking with me after all that…”
I trailed off as the pages stopped near the end. Gritting my teeth, I approached to find it’d stopped in Revelations. My version, as I’d told Lexi, was not only complete, but was far different and more accurate than the mass-produced versions of today.
Nine Hells.
There was a light shining on one passage. It looked like a reflection of some kind, but I’d had the windows on this level sealed to prevent UV damage. A chill washed over my skin when I saw which one it was. It had been a while since I’d read it, for obvious reasons, but the words came back to me quickly.
“A star fell who was given the key to the Abyss. The herald of God signaled the fifth trumpet as the Abyss cracked open, and the skies were darkened by the smoke and ash. And out of the smoke, demons came down upon the earth, winged like locusts with the deadly stingers of scorpions. They were not to harm the earth herself, but only those people whom God had not marked with His seal.”
I frowned, skipping over the lines that described the ugly demons. “They heralded the coming of their king, the mighty angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.” A familiar warmth surrounded me as I read the words, one I hadn’t felt in ages. It was subtle but comforting, like home.
I raised my eyes slowly to the ceiling. This wasn’t Loki’s doing at all. It was either Michael sending me a subtle message, or… I swallowed hard. The warning in the passage was clear.
Abaddon was preparing to make a move.
Reappearing in my study, I started building plans upon plans. I wasn’t sure who the message came from, but I trusted the messenger for some reason. I knew what needed to be done.
Chapter 20
Lexi
I went back to bed. I was angry, exhausted, and in no mood to be around anyone just then. Sleep didn’t come easily—between thoughts of Lucifer, my dad, and the image of all those demons running at me—but eventually I drifted off.
My lungs burn as I run and thunder and lightning crash overhead. I’m not sure what I’m running from, or toward; I just need to get there. A roar fills the foggy space around me, followed by another crack of thunder. My head throbs, black spots edging my vision.
The ground ends, giving way to a great expanse of water, and a giant shadow looms above me. It’s vague, but whatever it is, it’s not what I’m being pulled toward. Then lightning flashes again, and in the gloom, I see the figure of a man wielding a familiar hammer.
