“It’s the Naissance de Demoniac. The Bible of Hell,” he said in a whisper.
“Why is the Bible of Hell in Jack’s safe?” I said, stunned.
“Each of the patricians of the hierarchy of Hell has one. This one belongs to Shax,” he said, eyeing the black brand in the center. “I don’t want to know how Jack got his hands on it, but the fact that both of our names are on the account here tells me that he knew I would go against his wishes, and once I did, we would need this.”
“Need it for what?”
“To barter for the only thing Jack would be willing to hand this over for: Your life.” His expression was tortured, as if the guilt was crushing him.
“Jared….” I said, reaching out to him.
He pulled away and emotion disappeared from his face.
His rejection fueled my irritation. “Are we going to leave it here or take it with us?” I asked.
“It’s staying here. I don’t want this anywhere near you. Let’s hope Shax is the one demon in Hell that won’t hold a grudge.”
I reached my hand out to the book. “What’s in it?”
Jared jerked it away and kneeled down to thrust it back into the safe. He slammed the door shut, locked it and pushed the safe into the safety deposit box with a loud bang. He threw the paper bearing the code in with it and locked the door, shoving the key into his pocket.
Grabbing my arm, he rushed down the aisle toward the door. A short, low buzzer sounded when Jared pressed the button, and he fidgeted until Mr. Stephens answered.
“We’re ready,” Jared growled.
As soon as the vault opened, I was pulled forward again. His long strides had me trotting alongside him to keep up. The elevator doors slid open, revealing Mr. Stephens’ lanky frame. Jared stood rigid as the elevator climbed, and when the doors opened again he burst out, keeping a firm grip on my arm.
At his motorcycle, Jared wasted no time handing me his helmet. I fumbled with the chin strap, and with one movement he snapped his firmly across my neck and swung his leg over the seat, simultaneously pulling me on the seat behind him with one arm.
He wrapped my arms tightly against his chest. “Hang on,” he demanded.
We raced down the road, weaving through traffic, blowing through red lights and stops signs until we reached his building.
My feet barely touched the steps, and once we were inside the loft, he released me. Without a word he climbed the stairs and disappeared beyond the railing. I stood at the bottom of the steps and listened as his footsteps stopped in the center of his bedroom. I waited, listening for a clue as to what he was up to, and then he walked into the bathroom. Seconds later I heard the shower turn on, so I waited.
Ten minutes passed. I sat on the couch, staring at the dark television screen. Nothing about Jared’s behavior made sense, and I assumed he would explain it in his own time, as he always did.
After half an hour, I began to doubt my own reasoning. I climbed the stairs and made my way to the bathroom door, pressing my ear against the wood. The shower was still running so I tried to be patient, but after the fourth time of glancing at the clock I couldn’t let him avoid me anymore.
I lifted my fist to knock on the door but held back, turning the knob instead. The steam bellowed out around me and dissipated, revealing Jared slumped on the floor. His knees up, his back against the tile wall, his head down; he looked hopeless.
I sat on my knees in front of him. “Jared?”
He looked up at me, his eyes a midnight blue. “The night I sat on that bench, Nina, I signed your death warrant.”
“What are you talking about?” The sight of him frightened me. “Please tell me what’s going on!”
“We had more company last night,” Jared said, with the same tortured look from before.
“Who was it this time?” I asked.
“Gabriel,” he choked out.
“You’re not talking about your father, are you? You mean The Gabriel?”
“Yes…The Gabriel.” Jared said, rolling his eyes at his own words. “He’s one of the most vocal advocates for eliminating fallen Archs before they have a chance to procreate. My existence insults him,” he said, an indignant look flitting across his face. “Gabriel’s a messenger…he also serves as the angel of death.”
I swallowed. “What did he say to you?”
Jared leaned his head back against the wall. “He said that he’ll see me soon.”
My mouth opened as I gasped. “What did you say to that?”
“That he always says that,” he said with a contrived smile.
I thought for a moment. “Eli doesn’t mind Hybrids. Maybe he can talk to Gabriel?”
Jared breathed out through his nose, trying to be patient with my suggestion. “Nina, no one but the Almighty tells Gabriel anything.”
My shoulders sunk. “So now we’re fighting demons and angels? How did we sink into this mess?”
“I shouldn’t have sat on that bench.”
I touched his face. “You sitting on that bench is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Jared recoiled from my touch. “You don’t know what you’re saying. You have no idea what I’ve caused. Shax won’t stop until he has the book, and even then there’s a good chance he’ll retaliate. Hell wants us dead and Heaven won’t help us, Nina. I don’t know what to do.”
“This isn’t your fault. If Jack hadn’t taken the book, none of this would have happened.”
Jared laughed once. “Including us.”
I frowned. “Didn’t we agree we had to get through the nightmare to get our miracle?”
Jared smiled infinitesimally. “Yeah.” He parted his knees and pulled me to him, hugging me to his chest.
“What are we going to do about what we saw today?” I whispered into his neck.
“Right now we’re just dealing with humans. We have to make sure it stays that way.”Jared shifted and stood up, bringing me along with him. He brought me to the middle of his room and took in a deep cleansing breath, pressing his forehead against mine.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so….” he shook his head, clearly in full self-loathing mode.
I inched up on the balls of my feet and touched my lips to his. He cautiously kissed me back, and then sighed again.
“You’re under a lot of pressure right now,” I said, running my fingers through the sides of his hair.
“The last person I should be taking that out on is you. The way I treated you this morning is unforgiveable,” he frowned.
“It was unforgiveable,” I said. “But I forgive you.”
“We know what they want; we’re just not sure how far they’ll go to get it. Claire and I can handle the humans. The hardest part will be waiting for their next move.”
I nodded and wrapped my arms around him. “Can we start this day over?”
Jared kissed the top of my head. “Why don’t we start with getting you to class? You have a test today, don’t you?”
I shook my head. “I have a paper to turn in at ten thirty.”
Jared released me, disappearing to the bathroom. He emerged in a light grey t-shirt and black soccer shorts, with his ratty running shoes. He looked dramatically different than the more professional attire he wore to the bank.
I stood by the door and waited while he pulled a hooded sweatshirt over his head.
“Get your stuff together and I’ll take you to school. I need to finish setting up for next week, so I’ll meet you later, okay? Claire will be close,” he said, almost in passing.
“Jared?” My fists gripped the fabric of his shirt, holding him tightly to me just as he began to walk away. He looked down at me and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Yes?” he smiled, the softness finally returning to his eyes.
“Can we just pretend it’s a normal vacation and forget about everything here?”
“Absolutely,” he said, hugging me to him.
At Brown, Jared seemed to be back to his old self, which helped the unease surrounding me. Bibles from Hell, demons with criminals-for-hire, antagonistic angels — trying to make sense of it all only created more
