The Soul Destroyer Read online

  “Problem is, the war won’t stay in Hell.” I pointed at the floor. “It’s only a matter of time before they bring the fight here.”

  “Why here?” Nathan asked.

  I shrugged. “What greater claim would someone have than if they possessed what the Morning Star wants the most?”

  Nathan sat up straight, the amusement suddenly gone from his face. “You think they’ll come after Iliana?”

  No one answered.

  Nathan looked desperately at Azrael.

  “It’s what I would do.” Azrael appeared almost forlorn. It must not have been easy for him to have once been so powerful and suddenly be so helpless.

  “There have already been threats,” I said.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Nathan’s panicky voice was almost at shouting volume. “Go! Go now!”

  I held up a hand to silence him. “I will, but not yet.”

  “Why? Because of Fury? To hell with her sister. We’re talking about my daughter!” Nathan’s mouth snapped shut as soon as the words left it. “I’m sorry, Warren. I didn’t mean to—”

  “I know.” I took a slow breath. “Trust me, no one is more concerned about Iliana’s safety than me. But first, we might have the biggest bargaining chip of all on our hands.”

  “The Morning Star himself,” Nathan said.

  I nodded. “And he might be right next door.”

  “Then why are we still in here?” Nathan stood and walked to the exit. He pulled it open and looked at me expectantly. “Aren’t you still able to open locked doors?”

  Chapter Three

  The four of us huddled in front of the nursery-room window. Clear plastic bassinets were parked in a row on the other side of the glass. A plump female nurse swaddled a squirming baby with a pale-blue blanket.

  Nathan searched the name placards on each bed. “Which one is he? None of these baby boxes says McNamara.”

  “How do you know she’ll give him your family name?” Azrael asked.

  “Because it’s cool.” Nathan said his last name again, letting the syllables pop off his lips. “Mc-Na-ma-ra.”

  I shook my head. “Fury’s baby isn’t here. All these are human.”

  The nurse, whose back was to me, lifted her head and turned her ear toward us.

  I leaned toward Reuel. “Did I say that too loud?”

  He shook his head, and the nurse returned to swaddling. Maybe the vibrations of my voice had carried into the room, but after checking the seal of the window against all edges of the wall, I seriously doubted she’d heard me. It had to be a coincidence.

  “What are you guys doing in here?” Johnny McNamara’s voice made us all turn. Down the hall, he was closing a door behind him.

  “A nurse let us in,” Nathan lied.

  “Sure they did.” Johnny rolled his eyes as he neared us. “Y’all are going to get us kicked out of the hospital.”

  Azrael stepped to the front of our group. “Can we see them now?”

  Johnny hesitated, then finally nodded. “Come on.” We followed him to the room he’d just exited. He held up a hand to stop us. “Just a second. Let me tell Allison.”

  Nathan looked up at me. “It’s weird when he calls her Allison, right?”

  “It’s weird she lets him.” I grinned. “I asked if I could call her Allison once when we were”—dating sure as hell wasn’t the right word—“whatever we were doing. She threatened to cut my tongue out and staple it to my forehead.”

  Nathan laughed. “Sounds about right.”

  We waited in the hall for what seemed like an eternity.

  Nathan rocked on his heels in front of me. “So…feel anything weird?” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “Crazy juju or anything?”

  “Nathan, shut up.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “No, I don’t feel anything weird.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?” he asked Azrael.

  Azrael rolled his eyes. “It means absolutely nothing.”

  It would be easier if I could feel something. Evil humans gave off warning vibes like they were radioactive. Angels were trickier, even those literally born evil like the Morning Star. We’d have to wait and see.

  Johnny came back out into the hallway. He looked at me. “She wants to see you first. Alone.”

  Azrael huffed and crossed his arms.

  I nodded and took a deep breath before walking through the heavy wooden door. Once inside, I closed it gently behind me.

  Fury’s eyes were closed. She wore a white-and-blue diamond-print hospital gown that was gaping open at the top until it disappeared under the white sheet that covered her. A baby in a blue cap was asleep against her chest.

  “Warren,” Fury whispered, her sleepy eyes fluttering open. Her mismatched blue and green eyes reminded me of the brutal scene in Italy.

  I walked toward the bed, bent, and kissed her damp forehead. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

  “Tired.”

  “I bet.” I sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. The whole thing creaked under my weight. “I think you just had the workout of your life.”

  She laughed softly. “You can say that again.” Reaching up, she tugged the blanket away from the sleeping baby’s face. My heart twisted in my chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe. “Warren, I’d like to introduce you to John Jett McNamara.”

  “McNamara, huh?” I asked, leaning forward for a better look. “Interesting choice.”

  “Why?” When she met my eyes, hers were filled with tears. She must have been exhausted. I’d never seen Fury cry.

  I put my hand on hers. “You know why.”

  Her eyes fell to the baby. “Because he’s not John’s.”

  “Fury, he’s not yours either.”

  And he wasn’t. There was nothing about this baby that was human other than the skin that contained him. Baby Jett was an angel incarnate. But which angel was the question.

  Fury broke then, tears spilling down her cheeks like someone had turned on a faucet. I bent and rested my forehead against hers. “That doesn’t mean he’s the Morning Star.”

  My words didn’t help. She buried her face in my shoulder and sobbed, her whole body shaking as she tried to muffle the sound with my shirt. “You can’t ever tell John,” she begged. “You can’t ever tell anyone.”

  I pulled back enough to look her in the eye. “I have to tell Azrael and the Council.”

  “No, Warren.” Her chin trembled. “They’ll take him away from me.”

  I tucked her hair behind her ears. “Nobody will take him.”

  What the hell are you saying, Warren? I nearly shouted at myself, knowing what I’d just said couldn’t be further from the truth.

  She looked at the baby boy again. “He can’t be the Morning Star. It has to be one of the others. That Shannon-girl’s baby. Or even Adrianne’s.”

  I blinked.

  “Don’t think for one second I haven’t noticed the way Azrael watches her now.”

  “I wouldn’t bring it up if I were you.”

  “I’m not stupid. Has he told Adrianne?”

  “No. And I doubt he will.”

  “Is she here?”

  I shook my head.

  “Is Sloan?”

  My jaw twitched. “No, but Nathan is. So are Az and Reuel. I think Reuel’s cleaned out the vending machine because he’s been so nervous.”

  She smiled and wiped her eyes. “I can’t wait to see him.”

  I glanced toward the door. “Want me to send him in?”

  “In a second. I need to talk to you about something else.”

  My brow lifted.

  “My sister was seen alive boarding a chartered yacht in Thailand four days after Abaddon attacked us in Mogadishu.”

  Fury’s sister, Anya, had been missing for over three years, since the sisters were attacked by their father, Abaddon, the Destroyer, in Somalia. Until now, there had been zero proof that Anya had survived aside from Fury’s adamant insiste
nce. Still, I was planning to take her to Nulterra to investigate.

  “How the hell did you find that out?”

  “I told you, my team has been following leads all over for the past few years. Something was bound to turn up eventually. I got so excited, I think it put me into labor.”

  I ran my hand over my face. “And you still want to do this? Even now?” I gestured to the baby.

  “Especially now. I know you haven’t met my sister, but Anya makes me look like a fruitcake. If the Morning Star is reborn in human form and is preparing for a war with Iliana, don’t you want her to have all the help she can get?”

  I scowled. “Are you manipulating my heartstrings right now?”

  “Bet your ass I am.”

  “You know that’s unnecessary. I’ll help you either way.”

  Her face softened. “I know. In all seriousness though, Anya is one of the fiercest women alive. And just like Iliana, she’s more angel than human.”

  A chill rippled through me; perhaps that was the feeling of heartstrings for an Angel of Death. “It’s still a long way off, but I won’t stop until we find her.”

  With a rare and grateful smile on her plump lips, she put her hand on mine and squeezed.

  As she pulled her hand away and adjusted the baby’s blanket, I caught a flash of charred skin tissue on her palm. I caught her wrist and turned her hand over. “What did you do?”

  As she yanked it away, I caught a flash of a circle with a line through it. “Burned it a while ago.”

  “Burned it on what? The sun?”

  She shot me the bird.

  The baby stirred.

  I graced my knuckle against Jett’s tiny cheek. “I hope you’re ready to have a ball-buster for a mother, little guy.”

  At my touch, his eyes fluttered open. One of them was dark blue, like most babies; the other was a shocking emerald—just like his mother’s.

  Mismatched eyes in humans was often a sign of the gift of discernment, the ability to see angels. Fury had the gift, and it was hereditary.

  “Warren, look at those eyes and tell me again that he’s not mine,” she said.

  I kept my mouth shut and wished she was right. Genetics were irrelevant; baby Jett wasn’t human. That much was a fact.

  An even more disturbing thought churned in my mind. If this was the Morning Star, our problems had just multiplied. Fury’s gift was unlike others similar to it. She could see more than just angels—she could see the angels’ powers, which are mostly invisible even to someone like me. Their energy—their intentions—were as clear to her as if they’d brandished a shining sword.

  The only thing I could compare it to was how we used infrared in battle when I was in the military. Our night-vision goggles had a setting to view infrared, and our weapons had special infrared lasers we called “night lights.” When we switched our goggles to infrared, a previously dark battlefield would suddenly look like a maze of green glowing beams.

  Fury didn’t need goggles to see how angels were using their powers. It was apparently something her father, Abaddon, the Destroyer, could do as the Archangel of Protection. A gift he didn’t lose when he fell. A gift he passed on to his daughters when they were conceived.

  Even as powerful as the Morning Star had always been as an Angel of Life and Angel of Knowledge, he’d never had that kind of advantage before. And it was an advantage my daughter would never know.

  I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “We’d probably better let Reuel in before he takes the door off its hinges.”

  She smiled and nodded, still looking down at the baby.

  I got up and pulled open the door. “You guys can come in now.”

  Reuel pushed his way in first and went straight to her bedside. He bent, kissed her head, and spoke softly to her in Katavukai, which Fury spoke fluently.

  Azrael caught my arm as everyone else filed past me. His brow lifted in question.

  I just shook my head slightly.

  His expression was unreadable.

  Nathan and Johnny walked to the other side of Fury’s bed. Nathan patted his uncle on the back. “Congratulations, John.” He bent over Fury for a closer look. “He’s a cute kid. Please tell me his name is Chaos or Hercules.”

  Johnny laughed. “Jett. John Jett McNamara.”

  Nathan looked at Azrael. “Told ya.”

  I leaned toward my father and lowered my voice. “John Jett kinda sounds like a cartoon character, doesn’t it?”

  “Or a seventies rock star,” he replied.

  I chuckled softly.

  “Can I hold him?” Nathan asked Fury cautiously.

  She nodded and weakly offered him the baby. Nathan scooped him up and held him to his chest. “He’s tiny,” Nathan said, his voice full of wonder.

  “Just under six pounds.” John looked at Fury. “They’ll keep a close eye on him. Make sure everything’s working properly.”

  “That’s a good sign, right?” I asked Azrael, hoping for some encouragement.

  He nodded, sort of. Then he crossed the room to stand by Nathan. Fury shifted in her bed like she might be going for a weapon she probably had concealed somewhere.

  But Azrael didn’t make a move for the baby. He looked over Nathan’s shoulder. “He’s a fine boy, Allison.” Azrael only called Fury by her real name when he was feeling sentimental—or manipulative.

  “Thanks, Az. We thought about naming him Azrael.”

  His head snapped up. “Really?”

  She smirked. “No.”

  We all laughed.

  “Are you OK?” he asked her.

  She flopped back against her pillow. “I’m beat.”

  Azrael put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “We’ll get out of your hair and let you rest.”

  Reuel made an indignant squeaking sound and held his hands toward the baby. Azrael laughed and backed out of the way. “After Reuel’s held the baby, of course.”

  Nathan carefully handed the bundle over to the massive angel. Reuel curled his arms around the baby and held Jett carefully against his chest. Reuel laughed. “Cak.”

  We all looked closer. Jett’s eyes were open, and he looked to be smiling at Reuel. A tiny hand lifted from the mound of blankets, and Reuel lowered his face so Jett could touch his cheek.

  Azrael and I exchanged a loaded glance. Fury caught my eye. She gestured toward them as if to say, “There’s no way this kid is the Morning Star.”

  I hoped to the Father she was right.

  “Warren, may I have a second?” Azrael asked when we were all outside the hospital room again.

  Nathan slapped Reuel on the arm. “I’m starving. Want to walk with me to the cafeteria?”

  With a grunt of confirmation, Reuel nodded.

  “We’ll catch up with you,” I said.

  Azrael and I turned to follow them, but we both walked very slowly. When they were out of earshot, Azrael spoke quietly. “What is that thing in there?”

  “It’s a baby, you insensitive prick.”

  “I’m an insensitive prick? Earlier you said it would be easier if Fury gave birth to the Morning Star so we can take it away. Who’s insensitive?”

  I sighed. “I don’t know if it’s the Morning Star, but it’s not human at all. Fury knows it too. She didn’t want me to tell you.”

  “I feel bad she has the sight. It would be better if she had no idea,” he said, looking down the hallway.

  “Like Adrianne?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Did you see that baby’s eyes?” I asked him.

  “I did. I’m afraid of what that could mean.”

  “Me too.”

  “Warren, hold up!” Johnny called behind us.

  Azrael and I both stopped and turned around. Johnny was jogging to catch up. “Allison asked for me to tell you that she wants you to come by the house when they let her go home from the hospital.”

  “Does she know when that will be?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure, but I imagine th
ey’ll keep her for a day or two, at least.”

  “OK. Tell her to call me. I’ll be”—I looked left and right—“around.” I meant I’d be on Earth and reachable by cell phone.

  “Will do.”

  I extended my hand toward him. He accepted it. “Congratulations, John. I’m happy for you.” Although, I wasn’t exactly sure if that was true.

  “Thanks, Warren. That means a lot coming from you.”

  I wondered if it meant a lot because I was the Archangel of Death. Or if it meant a lot because once upon a time, I was the one sleeping with his girlfriend and this was my way of conceding the victory to him. I suspected it was the latter. And judging from Azrael’s grin, he suspected the same.

  “I’ll tell Allison to call you,” Johnny said, backing away from us.

  “You do that.” I waved as he retreated.

  When he’d turned fully away from us, Azrael nudged me with his elbow. “Humans, huh?”

  I laughed. “Yeah.”

  We continued toward the exit. “You know, I thought once the baby came, Fury might stay home and let you go to Nulterra without her,” Azrael said.

  I held open the exit door for him. “Motherhood might change people, but nothing will change Fury that much.”

  “You might be right, son.” He stopped walking and turned toward me. Folding his arms across his chest, he looked at the floor. Finally, he met my eyes again. They were serious. Worried. “If Fury’s child is the Morning Star, you know what the Council might require you to do.”

  A lump rose in my throat. “That hasn’t been decided yet.”

  “You need to prepare yourself, Warren.”

  “There’s no way I can—”

  “If they mandate it, you won’t have a choice. Trust me as one who knows, the last thing you want is to be thrown out of Eden.”

  I suddenly felt sick. “But it’s a child.”

  He pointed at my face. “It’s not a child. You know that.”

  “What do you think they’ll expect me to do? Find and kill him every time he’s reborn?”

  “Yes. At least until your daughter is old enough to destroy him permanently.”

  “So maybe we don’t separate him. Maybe we imprison him. Keep your enemies close, right?”

  He shrugged. “It’s what I would do, but the Council has a history of choosing the immediate path of least resistance. They tried to have me do this once before.”