"Joel!" An angel I didn't recognize appeared beside us. "He's sticking to downtown areas. Los Angeles."
I grabbed Luc's hand and disappeared. It wasn't precise, appearing in cities I wasn't familiar with, but I did the best I could. The scene was exactly the same. Fires, screaming. Police ran around trying to help, but they were as overwhelmed as the citizens. Gunfire sounded from several different directions.
This time, instead of running around, I used my magic to reach out and probe as far as I could. Human life forces and demons were dismissed easily. I searched for Raphael. Something stronger than the demons, much stronger.
I found him several blocks away. Without a word, I launched into the air, invisible to humans, and went around the tall buildings as fast as I could. As I neared the spot I'd felt Raphael, I blasted my magic ahead of me, searching for any sight of him or Ariel.
Spotting Raphael’s frame, I focused the magic on him, but he turned and spotted me. He disappeared in an instant, and my magic exploded the pavement where he'd stood moments before.
I landed with a curse as the rest of my party caught up.
"Did you see her?" Luc asked.
"No." I cursed and began blasting demons with my magic, destroying them in my anger. It wasn't an effective use of my magic. They'd just end up back in Hell and it took more energy to do it this way. But it felt good to work off some of my fury.
We walked around Los Angeles for a few minutes, and when I calmed down, I resumed sending the demons back. I spread my magic out and was able to send back entire blocks at a time, leaving the humans here reeling from the shock.
A Fallen appeared in front of Hell. When he realized Luc and I were there, he bowed deeply. "Mistress. Master." I couldn't help but be pleased he'd addressed me first. "We found him. He's in downtown Houston."
I grabbed Lucifer. I'd lived in Houston before. It was many years ago, but at least I did have some knowledge of the city. If he wanted to go for the max shock value, he'd be on the outskirts of Buffalo Bayou Park or one of the other city parks. I started with that one because I knew it.
And this time, luck was on my side.
The scene was the same. Total insanity. And a man stood in the middle of it all. He turned, and a little girl stood beside him with her arm outstretched. I watched a demon cross into the Earthly plane as she touched it. It immediately ricocheted toward a human, slamming into the innocent woman and disappearing. It possessed her without a bit of trouble.
Oh, Heavens. Her aura was golden, like Lucifer. Like me. I wondered if she had wings, and if she did, were they black like his or purple like mine? Tears flooded my eyes as I saw my sweet girl’s pure gold aura. She’d not lived long enough for any other colors to dilute it. A child’s aura was the most beautiful thing in the world, pure and clean. And Ariel’s was rare gold. It was like watching the sun shine. Like being in Heaven again.
Before he could disappear, I sent a blast of magic at him, aiming carefully to avoid Ariel.
He saw it coming at the last second and ducked. My blast hit a demon as it walked up to Ariel.
Raphael jerked Ariel into his arms and in front of him. I couldn't send more magic his way without hurting her.
Rushing forward, ignoring the possible dangers to myself or what Raphael could do to hurt me, I tried to reach them.
But my sweet girl held up one hand. Her face showed intense fear and her eyes welled up with tears. "No!" she shouted. "Don't hurt me!"
A surge of energy unlike anything I'd ever felt slammed into my chest. I couldn't stop the momentum as I was lifted off my feet and flew high into the air and back, far away from my daughter. Her big green eyes followed my progression. I didn't bother trying to break my fall or change my trajectory. All I could do was look at my child. She looked to be about six, and the sight of me had scared her to the point of tears.
Before I hit the ground, Raphael and Ariel disappeared again.
My back slammed into the pavement, and I slid and slid as I kept my head up and stared at the spot they'd been standing moments before.
My ears rang with the impact of my daughter's powers as I processed what had happened. She'd blasted me with her power.
Her power that she got from me and Luc. Power we weren't sure existed until this moment.
My body rang with shock. The blow had been incredibly powerful. Time had slowed as my focus had been entirely on my daughter, my terrified daughter.
Gabe, Luc, and Michael reached me with Joel and Asmodeus close behind. They bent and took my hands, hauling me to my feet. I could've done it myself, but my heart was shocked. Not physically.
My daughter.
My husband’s mouth moved as he spoke to me, but I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears. My vision worked, but the world was sharper, brighter than it had been a few minutes before.
Blinking, I looked from one to the other, then realized Asmodeus's mouth moved as well.
The world still moved slowly. Had Ariel's magic given me some sort of cushion on the world? Was I removed from it?
