I glanced over at the God of Sleep, shamelessly assessing his insanely cut physique, despite centuries of being nailed to a fucking cross.
“Are you offering?” I asked, and Hypnos’ eyes widened at the implication.
“I personally prefer the affections of the fairer sex,” he replied, politely refusing me. I shrugged.
“Your loss,” I said, before turning to face Gabriel.
“How do you feel? Do you feel like you could spin a soul into a body?”
Gabriel shrugged. “I’ll try anything once.” He winked at me, and my mouth nearly fell open as he turned and began to make his way toward the kiln.
This fucking angel had no idea who he was fucking with. When we got back to Hell, I was going to put him on his knees and make him beg for fucking mercy. I looked back at Lilith, who was wringing her hands anxiously.
“Do you think this is really going to work?” she asked. I glanced over her shoulder, where I could still see the faint outline of what I intuitively knew was Ramel.
“Only one way to find out, sweetheart,” I said, wrapping my fingers around her wrist, being careful to avoid the wound in her hand.
“Let’s see if we can bring your husband back.”
“Love isn’t brains, children. It’s blood.”
—SPIKE, “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”
Gabriel sat at the spinning wheel, and Shemhazai hooked up one of the ends of the tubes that was attached to the crucified Yahweh to the back of the kiln. He also produced a strange basket that was filled with something that looked like unprocessed wool, though the fibers moved and shimmered as if the fluff was somehow alive.
I wanted to scream at them to move faster, but I bit back my anxiety. Every second without Ramel felt like an eternity.
If this didn’t work, I truly didn’t know what I would do.
“What is that?” I asked, gesturing to the basket of wool. Even with my memories back, it didn’t look familiar.
“Raw soul fiber. Yahweh usually weaves souls with wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord… I think we can leave out those last two for Ramel, though,” Gabriel chuckled, and Hypnos looked fascinated.
“You ready for this?” Shem asked Gabe, who lifted an elegant shoulder, his ebony wings rustling gently behind him. The tips trailed in the stormy clouds beneath our feet, and I found myself thinking that the wings suited him.
“I’ve never exactly been into arts and fucking crafts, but let’s see what I can do.” He smirked, cracking his knuckles in front of him. He pumped the pedal at his feet, and the spinning wheel began to turn. Shem handed him some of the soul fiber from the basket before gesturing for me to move forward.
“Come here, Lilith, you have a stalker. I need him to agree to being spun into the rest of the soul fiber.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, and Shem grinned at me, his green eyes flashing.
“Ramel. He’s hanging around you like a bad idea.” He pointed over my shoulder and traced the outline of a body in the air. I glanced over my shoulder in shock.
“Is that what you keep looking at?” I gasped, and Shem nodded.
“Yep, now come stand next to Gabe so we can spin him up and get him back into his body.”
My heart was slamming in my chest. Ramel was here?
‘You will have me forever, Lilith. Even if you can’t feel me with you.’
His final words rang through my head. Was it possible he had truly refused to pass on? The smug look on Shem’s face told me it was. Ramel had stayed true to his word and refused to leave me, even in death.
I stepped up to Gabe, and Shem reached out to grab what looked like a handful of nothing over my shoulder. He pulled what I assumed was Ramel’s spirit to the spindle of the spinning wheel as Gabriel continued to weave.
Suddenly, the kiln sprang to life, and ink-black smoke began to chug from the vents. Yahweh screamed in the distance as the kiln sucked more of his magic down the golden tubing that Shemhazai and Gabriel had installed.
I could barely breathe—I wrung my fingers together anxiously, unable to tear my gaze away from the door of the kiln.
