“Honestly, maybe. I like the idea of using alcohol and depravity to coax confessions out of drunk mortals. It’s much better than his original plan of using the church.” I made a gagging sound, and Gabriel’s bird-like laughter tittered through my mind.
I made my way into the office, which largely remained untouched and was free of busy demons. The fireplace was roaring, and I flopped down into one of the large leather couches facing the chess set. Gabriel took flight, and with a few flaps of his wings, he shifted into his human form. He took a seat opposite me and sprawled out, throwing his arms over the back of the couch and framing the chess table with his long legs.
“And what of Hecate?” he asked me as I set up the board.
“What of her?” I asked absentmindedly. “I missed my chance to chase her. If she wants me to find her, she’ll send me another clue.”
Gabriel frowned. “That seems… unlike you. I always thought you enjoyed a challenge.”
I glanced up at him, unable to keep myself fromsmirking.
“I enjoy a challenge when I know I can win. Hecate is crafty. Trust me, if she doesn’t want me to find her, she won’t be found. It’s why it took so long for Yahweh to wipe her out.”
“He never really did,” Gabe mused dryly, leaning forward to move one of his white pawns into play. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hecate is the Mother of Witches. Yahweh did everything he could to wipe out her children, but even with her asleep, he was never able to stop people from practicing witchcraft. He had a whole choir assigned just to uncover the location of Witchwood. He never was able to find it.”
I froze.
“What did you just say?” I asked, my voice dark.
“Yahweh was never able to wipe out witchcraft?—”
“No, the other thing, about Witchwood.”
Gabriel frowned, looking up at me. “It’s rumored to be where one of Hecate’s oldest and most loyal covens still operates. Legend has it that it’s still run by the original bloodlines. You know the bloodlines, right? Bishop, Good, and Nurse?”
“Of course, I know the bloodlines. I was fucking there when she created them,” I snapped, looking down at the scripture tattooed on my left arm. One of her acolytes who was gifted with the sight had given me a prophecy the first time Hecate had disappeared. I had it tattooed on my skin so I would never lose it.
However, Ihadn’tknown about Witchwood. That part of the prophecy had always stumped me. Gabriel leaned over the chess table, squinting at the text on my arm. He read it out loud, and a shiver ran down my spine. I hadn’t heard the words spoken in over three hundred years.
Born ‘neath the moon in Witchwood’s embrace,
A mortal vessel, a sacred space.
Creation’s angel seeks to unravel fate,
While Hecate hides in a mortal state.
Emerging from Hell, seeking flesh and bone,
Chaos explores realms unknown
In a place once familiar, the search takes flight,
To unveil Hecate’s mortal plight.
God of Wrath, with vengeance ablaze,
Joins hands with creation, in a darkened haze.
Against Witchwood’s magic, they conspire,
A plot to consume, and burn like fire.
But with Chaos’ whiskers and raven’s wing,
