"It's not easy to use," I said.
Michael shook his head. "I can't. Neither can Gabe. But it has Abel blood on the handle to this day. If we can get to it, it will tell us where to find Ariel, I'm sure of it."
Lucifer sent Michael an appraising look. "I hadn't considered that. I thought we'd find a witch to do a location spell. The Scythe would be much more reliable and accurate."
Cain's Scythe was found many years later and passed among the world's leaders until Raphael found it and hid it.
"Why didn't he put it with the rest of the Relics in Elysium?" I asked. "I never was clear on that."
With a smile of thanks, Gabe took the first plate of sandwiches from me and set them on the table. "It's too powerful. Attempts were made to break it, lessen its power, but it was the weapon of the first-ever murder," he said. "It's got some major oomph behind it."
"Do you know where it is?" Lucifer asked. "I don't."
"No, you wouldn't. Raphael didn't want any Fallen or demons getting ahold of it. The temptation is too great," Michael said.
Luc gave him a dark look, but Michael shrugged. "I don't know either, don't get your panties in a twist."
I chuckled before I could stop myself, then cut it short and shot Lucifer a look to see if he was going to blow up again.
But he was also laughing. Lucian's influence was still helping to temper the anger inside him. I only hoped when he returned to his ethereal body, which was far more capable of handling all his power, that he would keep part of Lucian with him. Lucifer wasneverthis bad before, in Hell, but his coldness and indifference was its own form of cruelty.
"Who knows where it is?" I buttered more bread and put in the skillet. These guys ate like teenage boys sometimes.
Michael's face went from somewhat jolly, chuckling with his friends, to forlorn. "I'm not sure. Raph chose one angel to hold the key to the location, and nobody but that angel and Raph knows where it is.
"Why do you say it'll be dangerous to get to?" I asked. I didn't know much about Relics, most of them being created and captured by the angels long after Luc and I Fell. Contrary to popular belief, demons and Fallen spent relatively little time in the Earth realm, except for our Earth cycles, but that was in human bodies. We didn't have much opportunity to harass and tempt humans. They did a good job of that all on their own.
"It's almost certain Raphael has the Scythe behind traps," Michael said. "Once the layers of spells are removed, we still need a key to get to it. There could be angels guarding it for all I know. Raph is a pretty inventive dude."
I sighed and put the second plate of sandwiches on the table, snagging one for myself. "Are there other options? What about the Relics the humans have?"
They went quiet and chewed. "Mostly fake," Luc said. "TheLignum Crucisyou used on me is probably their most powerful. What did you do with it?"
"Put it back," Michael replied. "The humans don't have much like it, not real, anyway. I felt bad taking it from them."
And that was a big reason I loved him. He thought about stuff like that when most would've left the fake with the humans and not worried about it.
I reached out for his hand and squeezed it. "What else?"
"There's still the witches," Luc suggested. "They're not to be discounted."
Witches existed and used the limited magic in the world for good or evil. For the most part, they were nothing more than herbalists with a sweet, honorable religion, but a small handful existed in the world that were real. They had something in them that let them connect to magic, whether it was the everyday magic that coursed through everyone's veins, that no scientist was capable of detecting or testing or measuring; or the magic of the Earth itself, that traced back to the origins, which even the angels argued over. I was of the belief that God caused the Big Bang, myself, but that was a debate I didn't have time to think about.
"If we can convince a witch to help, their magic can be volatile," I said. "It can react in ways that have serious consequences." I didn't know much about relics, but witches I knew. Many of them worshipped me as the Earth mother, however incorrect that was. I still loved them and cherished their prayers, occasionally intervening when I could to help them.
"If anyone has a chance, it's you, Lil," Lucifer said. "But not in a human body. They'll think it's a trick."
He was right, unfortunately. "They are unlikely to help an angel. Followers of God are too outspoken against them," Gabe said. "But I could try." He smiled. "I used to have a witch friend, but she's been dead for many hundreds of years." He seemed to have come to a decision and nodded. "But her descendants may have her magic. I'll try."
"And I'll begin the process of finding the Scythe," Michael said. "If it works to find Ariel, it might also work to kill you two," he said. "And Gabe and I can take care of our sweet girl until you both fix Hell and return for Ariel."
Gabe jumped up. "Okay, wish me luck." Michael and Lucifer nodded gravely at him, their version of a goodbye.
I followed him out of the room to say goodbye. He wrapped his arms around me. "You're not quite yourself in this body, but it's so nice to be able to hug you again."
My sweet, funny Gabe. "I missed you, too."
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. "You did not."
