Good Side of Sin (46 page)

“Ethan,” I whispered.

His head shot up in a quick jerk, and someone grabbed my arm to keep me from going to him. Ethan looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes blank and as black as obsidian stone.

“No!” I covered my mouth, and my eyes went blurry with too much moisture. I reached out to him, as far as the person holding me back would allow. “Ethan, don’t listen to them, please,” I pleaded. “This wasn’t what you wanted. You can still choose a different path.”

The shiny onyx eyes blinked at me, and then Ethan was instantly on his feet.

Arms struggled to pull me back, but I shrugged them off and confronted the demon inside Ethan. I refused to let it have him. “Let him go! You can’t take him against his will!”

“Nobody has him,” Geoffrey chimed in. “He has damned a good soul, so he belongs to us now.”

“You tricked him?” Ariana said in a calm voice as she moved up beside me. I was glad, because my mind was a black hole; I couldn’t think of anything to fix this situation.

Goeffrey laughed. “Regardless, he has committed a mortal sin—”

“You cannot take his free will.”

“I didn’t. I merely gave him my burden; he did everything else on his own. That is totally abiding by the rules.”

Jonah laughed. “Says who? Lucifer? Pfft! We’ve dealt with bigger—”

There was an “Oof!” sound, and that was the last I heard of Jonah for a while.

Aries, Chelsea, Marcus and Fallis came up to stand beside Ethan. Ethan stared at me, his coal-black eyes never giving away that he even recognized me.

“Ethan, please…”

“You see… Ethan belongs to us,” Geoffrey said, “and soon, Lucifer will reward him for a job well done. The soul damning that God bestowed upon me was more of a burden than a gift, as you can well imagine. I’ve been waiting for the perfect chance to get rid of it. Now, every person the alflight touches with his hands will lose their souls to Lucifer.”

My hand shot up to cover my mouth, and I glanced to Troy when he groaned. He was stone-faced, but his eyes flicked to Ethan and then back to me. I watched—and waited. He did it again. I looked to Ethan, focusing on the black bottomless pits that stared back at me. He blinked and when his eyes opened again they were his ordinary brown, human eyes. Then he winked at me.

I caught myself just before I let the shock I was feeling show on my face.
“Ethan?”

The corner of his mouth twitched and he quickly reached out to Marcus beside him and placed his bare palm against his neck. There wasn’t even time for Marcus to be surprised. The life left his eyes and he crumbled to the floor.

Fallis gasped as he fell to one knee. His hands rushed up to his head and chest, and he patted over his body as if to make sure he was the only one in occupancy.

Ariana threw out a block to keep any of their enemies from fleeting.

Aries’ eyes widened in horror, and she put her hands out, shaking her head as she backed away from an advancing Lameria. “Please… none of this was my idea. They made me—” She grabbed her head and screamed as Lameria worked her way into the girl’s mind.

Chelsea turned to run to the door and snarled when Baddon blocked her way, twirling a baseball bat with his fingers.

“And where do you think you’re going?” he said.

“You’re no match for me, half-soul. I have the strength of nine of Lucifer’s strongest demons within this host. All of you will belong to him within the hour,” she said, and started running toward him with murder in her eyes.

Baddon crouched, ready for the her with an eager smile on his face, but then a foot came out of nowhere and kicked the fiend in the face, knocking her to her back. Phoebe placed herself between Baddon and Chelsea, but the fight was over as soon as Ariana stooped to place her glowing hands on the demon.

Dusting off her hands, Phoebe turned and gave Baddon a grin. His mouth was agape as he stared at her with disbelieving eyes. “I may have been head cheerleader and homecoming queen, but my dad taught me kick boxing and self defense. He didn’t want anyone taking advantage of me.” She winked at him with a sly grin, and then turned and bumped into Fallis. “Oh, I’m sorry—”

He reached out to steady her, but didn’t let go once she had her balance. “Don’t be.”

She stared at his amused expression in puzzlement. “I—I didn’t mean to get in your way. I know you don’t like—”

“With a drop-kick like that, you can get in my way any day. We should practice together sometime,” he suggested, and then let her go.

“Give me the gloves!” Ethan roared.

Geoffrey backed away as Ethan slowly advanced on him.

Geoffrey took the one remaining glove from his hand and nervously tossed the pair to Ethan, and then held his hands up in surrender. “What are you going to do to me? I didn’t mean for this to get so out of hand. It was never my intention for anyone to get hurt. Lucifer only wanted you. He has plans to make you a very powerful leader.”

Ethan pulled one of the leather gloves onto his hand. “I’m sure he will be thrilled when he finds out you have failed him.” Geoffrey’s eyes widened in fear as Ethan took a step forward, then another. “Oh, and thanks for the gift. We don’t need someone like you walking around even Hell with the power to damn souls.” Ethan smiled as he brought his hand up. “Tell Lucifer I said better luck next time. My friends and I will be waiting for him. Have a safe trip, Geoffrey.”

Geoffrey seemed to accept the fate Ethan was sentencing him to and closed his eyes just before Ethan touched him. His body fell to the floor.

There was silence throughout the room, everyone unsure of what to expect, or maybe they were waiting for Lucifer to appear out of nowhere and smite them.

Nothing happened.

A loud knock sounded at the door and I jumped as a scream left my throat. Thoros chuckled as he laced his fingers with mine, but even with his light mood I could tell the sudden sound had rattled him a bit, too.

“It’s the angels that were fighting outside,” Ethan said. “The demons and fallen angels disappeared when Geoffrey was defeated. It’s over.”

The sob tore from my throat and I collapsed against Thoros’ body.
It’s over.

“I never lost faith in you, child.”

I gasped. “Isaiah?”

“Where is Isaiah?” Lameria asked as she walked over to me quickly, but I couldn’t feel him in my mind any longer.

I shook my head. “He’s gone. I’m sorry, but he’s gone.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed through her eyes, and I watched as she threw her walls back up. She walked away without another word. If I knew Lameria at all, she wouldn’t accept that Isaiah was gone as an answer. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, trying to figure out a way to get her soulmate back. I couldn’t actually say that I blamed her for trying. I know I would never give up.

“Josselyn,” Gabriella said, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I turned to look at her with a nervous smile. Even though the archangel was a good three inches shorter, she still managed to look down her nose at me. “You have held up your end of the bargain and, I must say, I am very impressed.”

“Thank you, Archangel Gabriella. The mission wasn’t exactly easy. Though, I suppose, nothing worth doing actually is.”

She nodded and gave me a genuine smile. “You requested that Malcolm and Isaiah be reinstated back into Heaven if you completed the mission successfully. I see Malcolm is here, but Isaiah is not.”

My expression fell. “Yes, well, Isaiah sacrificed his—”

“I know very well what Isaiah did. The fact remains that the exorcist still has his soul. I’m sure he would not want it to go to waste.”

I blinked at her in confusion and watched as she looked to Thoros by my side. “Aren’t you in need of a complete soul, young prince? I must say that you’ve earned it. Besides,” she looked back to my stunned expression, “we can’t have someone with Josselyn’s amazing skill refusing to come back to Heaven if you can’t accompany her, now, can we?”

All I could do was blink at her. I had no words. Was she seriously going to let Thoros into Heaven?

“I will take your stunned silence as a yes?”

“Yes!” Thoros and I both shouted together.

She smiled again. “Good,” she said. “Because I believe there is a seat on the Council just waiting for you to accept it, Josselyn.”

I gasped then, and Thoros had to steady me to keep my knees from buckling. “You want me to be an archangel?”

She nodded. “We would be honored to have you. We could do with a few changes around Heaven. I think starting with you is a good decision on our part.” She bowed, and then walked away.

“Did she just—”

In the next moment I was whisked off my feet and spun around. Laughter bubbled out of our throats and, for the first time in a really long time, I felt that everything was going to be all right.

I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.

Thoros accepted Isaiah’s soul, of course, and we both moved into our mansion in Heaven. For a while I’d thought my own personal world was coming to an end, but I realize now that it was just the storm I had to struggle through before I deserved the reward.

Ariana accompanied Ethan to Heaven to help him permanently close off the portal, as well as repair and reverse the damage Lucifer had caused. As it turns out, Ethan hadn’t damned the souls of his dad, Marcus and Geoffrey. However, he did absorb them into himself, and the exorcist extracted them from him. Geoffrey and Marcus were dealt with accordingly, and I pray Lucifer has no mercy on them.

There was nothing we could do to bring Ethan’s dad back to life, but he did get to talk to him in Heaven before he returned to Earth with Ariana. He apologized for being a lousy dad and Ethan forgave him, promising they would see each other again soon to catch up on the time they lost.

The Council gave Ethan the option, but he decided to keep the gift Geoffrey bestowed on him, vowing only to use it if he happened across a demon or an impure soul. I think he is responsible enough to carry such a burden. If not, it can be taken away if we—or he—decide it’s just too much responsibility.

Ariana and Abe invited him to live on Eternal Island, at least until he gets the hang of his powers. He was pretty excited about meeting someone that was like him, and the mention of a whole island of vampires and witches had him agreeing to the offer quite quickly. I have to say, even I plan to visit sometime in the near future. I could use a vacation. For some reason, Ariana, Abe and Jonah laughed when I told them that. I can’t imagine why.

Emma asked for her mind to be scrubbed. She didn’t think she was strong-minded enough to live out a normal life knowing there was nothing normal about it. I healed Boggs, scrubbed both their minds and Malcolm gave them some sort of ‘normal’ memory that didn’t have anything to do with vampires, alflights, witches, magic, angels or Lucifer almost succeeding in taking over the world. Malcolm was smiling when he returned from dropping them off in the city, but I don’t think I want to know what he put in their heads, so I didn’t ask.

And last, but certainly not least, I accepted one of the chairs on the Council. I am now an archangel! And even better news, so is Troy! It seems we have gone above and beyond what Heaven ever expected of us.

The other archangels were surprised, but didn’t make much fuss about the first rule Troy and I enforced. We knew a lot of changes had to be made to prepare Heaven for any attacks from Lucifer in the future. It only seemed logical to start at the top and ensure that every archangel complete the three month course of the Line of Defense Academy. Most saw it as fair but necessary punishment for how they had let things get out of hand.

We still keep a watchful eye on the remaining six half-souled immortals, Tooka and Omega, who reside at the mansion, though I think a few of them are thinking of traveling in the near future. Maybe they will invite you along on their journeys.

Look for Isaiah’s story,
‘My Sweet Purgatory’
Late 2014

Sneak Peek of
‘My Sweet Purgatory’

Chapter 1

“A beheading would be much more amusing—quicker, too. Don’t you agree, brother?”

Uninterested, I sighed and toyed with the gold cufflink at my left wrist as we followed the guard through the door of the presence chamber. Melina had been completely ruthless since Josselyn had left Limbo. Because—through leaving—she had taken the only pass for Melina to join Lucifer in his quest to take over Heaven and Earth.

She blamed me for this. I could tell by her edgy demeanor, but I didn’t care. I was putting myself through more anguish than she ever could—and she knew that. Though, it didn’t stop her from stoking the fire.

I smiled to myself and decided to let her entertain me. It irritated her more when her attempts of angering me failed. “What crime has the accused committed to deserve losing their head, sister?”

Melina began rattling off a string of reasons
why
the suspect should be punished so harshly—all of them completely absurd and farfetched—so I immediately tuned her out as we took our seats at the head of the room.

Confusion fell over me as I glanced down for the first time at the frightened girl that knelt before us, royal guards either side of her, their spears ready to run her through if she even dared to breathe wrong. Was this the prisoner Melina was charging as a thief?

The young woman’s clothing was worn to rags and barely covered her body enough to keep her decent. Her weathered skin and dark hair were filthy from too much outside exposure, with obviously no way to properly clean herself. Numerous scrapes and lacerations marked her flesh, most of them appearing red and infected. I could feel her fear and knew right away that she was no hardened criminal; at least not to the extent Melina was blaming her for, anyway.

That is my gift. I can see into the heart of any person and instantly know if their intentions are good or bad, if they are lying or telling the truth.

The girl had indeed taken something that didn’t belong to her, but she hadn’t done it out of spite or anger or trickery. She had merely been hungry. Not a crime I would consider deserved something as severe as beheading. It would do me no good to tell Melina this, though. She forces me to attend these hearings, encourages me to tell her if the accused is guilty or innocent, but, no matter my verdict, she sentences them all to horrible fates.