“And if the situation escalates before we locate them?” Cimmerian asked, the dark rumble of his words reflecting his doubt.
“My father has ordered their deaths.”
A round of growls sounded.
Michael held up a hand. “Not my call, warriors. My father has deemed their deaths imperative should you not fulfill your duties in order to avoid what would happen should Lucifer take possession of their souls. We’d all be in trouble if that were to happen.”
That was an understatement. Because anamsouelot’ssoul was tied to that of its mate, Lucifer would take possession of both souls. In this case, he would own an all-powerful, immortal warrior with capabilities that extended beyond that of an archangel. At least here on Earth. Not to mention, with the soul of theamsouelot, he would be able to persuade the warrior to do whatever he wanted.
The only way to prevent that from happening was to bind the souls for eternity, placing them into the hands of Heaven’s guardians. So, not only did they have tofindtheiramsouelots, they each had to get her to fall in love with them and—yes, as though that wasn’t difficult enough—andperform thelintamair,the official mating ceremony.
“I’d like to put in a formal request for backup,” Obsidian told the archangel.
Michael shook his head. “As outlined, you may not seek assistance from the humans, and I cannot grant you reinforcements from Heaven.”
“So we’re on our own?” Stygian groaned.
“Last I checked, you have forty or so angels at your disposal. Plus the seven of you.” Michael cocked one dark brow. “Seems more than fair to me.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Eclipse quipped. “Fifty heads to weed through seven-point-seven billion.”
“A bit overdramatic, warrior,” Michael replied. “It’s safe to say you can narrow your search to North America.”
“Well, in that case…” Eclipse rolled his eyes.
Obsidian fought the urge to do the same because Eclipse was right. It was a near impossible task, and they didn’t have nearly enough manpower to tackle it.
“Awesome,” Aphotic snapped. “Only five hundred seventy-nine million.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Michael noted, then canted his head. “Might I suggest you utilize other factions of misplaced halos. Perhaps they’ll offer you assistance.” He paced away once more. “But fair warning. Lucifer’s proving to be a formidable enemy. Not only to me but to humans and vampires alike. It’s come to my attention that themesonneirhave made it topside. And I’m hearing rumors thetrielairwon’t be far behind.”
Themesonneirwere the lieutenants in Lucifer’s demon armies, capable of severe devastation. On the other hand, thetrielairwere a beast all their own. They hadn’t come up from the bowels of hell for some six hundred years. It was then that they had laid waste to much of Europe and Asia, rolling out the Black Death, which resulted in the demise of roughly fifty million humans.
“Rumors are spreading that he’s looking to acquire your souls in an effort to strengthen that brigade,” Michael continued. “Without you defending them, the humans will be wiped out. So, I suggest you waste no time.”
“Why not eliminate us now?” Piceous prompted. “Without us, there’s no risk.”
Michael smirked. “Don’t think I haven’t considered it. However, the Fates have informed me your souls have already been aligned with youramsouelots. The direct link is made. Should youramsouelotsdie, your souls would still reside with whomever owns their soul.”
Which explained why God would eliminate them, ensuring He possessed both souls, regardless.
Michael’s eyes slid over each one of them. “Because you’ve proven yourselves worthy, I requested you be given the opportunity to claim youramsouelots. My father’s aware that your existence will prove futile should He eliminate them, but He’s prepared for that outcome. Don’t let me down.”
“You know, this could be made simple if you’d just tell us where they are,” Eclipse grumbled.
“If it were up to me, warrior, I would,” Michael stated, his words ringing with sincerity.
With that, the archangel vanished, the flutter of wings the only sound in his wake.
“Son of a bitch!” Aphotic shouted, grabbing a pool stick and snapping it in two.
Zeus barked once in warning. The canine was not fond of aggressive actions.
However, Obsidian understood the male’s frustration. They’d been up against incredible odds before, but nothing of this magnitude.
“So much for a vacation,” Stygian said.
“Needless to say, our priorities have shifted,” Obsidian informed his brothers. “We’ll divide and conquer.”
