this closely.”
As the two friends chatted, Rachelle slipped from the back ranks of DRAC’s forces and sidled up to Rahim. Her smile lit her face. The wizard, bowed low to her and opened his arms. With a giggle, she fell into them, burying her face in his fur.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. Abraham was heartbroken when you didn’t return, believing his vision had come true. He’ll be so pleased to see you.”
A pang of guilt wormed its way down my spine at her words. Rahim looked to me, his eyes pleading. It was too much. Never much of an actor, Keanu Reeves a master thespian in comparison, I walked away to keep from breaking down. Scarlett saw me and came over.
“You all right?”
I didn’t turn to face her. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just getting a little mushy round here.” My voice quavered and I hoped she didn’t notice.
She put her hand on my shoulder and turned me around, her narrowed eyes meeting mine. “What aren’t you telling me?”
What indeed. I got on my bullshit bike and started pedaling. “Azrael is working with the weres to tear down the Tree of Life.”
The suspicion on her face turned to disgust, shades of disappointment mingled in.
“He’s on his way to assault the Nephilim and claim the other key piece. After that, he threatened to come after DRAC; after you and Katon, Rachelle…” I left it at that.
A feral snarl flickered across her lips. “Let him come.”
Off the hook, I took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Don’t worry, cousin, we’re taking the fight to him.” Forcing a smile onto my face, I reached into my bag and drew out Everto Trucido. “I’ve got something that’ll help.”
Her eyes lit up as she snatched the sword from me. “Thank God. Where did you find it?” Like a kid at Christmas, she spun the blade over and over in her hands, examining every inch of it.
“Golden boy picked it up when he saved Rahim’s ass. It seems he’s one of the good guys after all.” For now, at least.
She grinned as she slid the sword into its sheath, her hand remaining on the pommel. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Let’s get everyone over here first.”
She grumbled but called out for the group to come over. Rahim separated from Rachelle, grateful relief etched into his face. Without a doubt, he felt just as guilty as I was about keeping Abraham’s death a secret.
Morbid as it was, I caught myself wishing Azrael would succeed, or maybe even McConnell would man up, and then our betrayal wouldn’t matter anymore. How pathetic is that?
No time for self-flagellation, as fun as it is, I laid out the general plan of attack. “Azrael isn’t gonna be expecting us, so the idea is to lay low until we have a shot to snatch the key pieces. He’s gonna be super pissed when he sees us, so I want everyone to stay out of his way as best you can. I’ll draw him off and let you deal with whoever ends up winning the tug-o-war.”
“You looking to get yourself killed, Frank?” Rahim asked, more than a hint of accusation in his voice. Scarlett stood behind him glaring. McConnell had a glimmer in his eye.
“Not particularly, no. Azrael has it in his head that butchering me goes against an oath he gave a long time back. While I figure he’ll get annoyed with me enough to void that agreement at some point, his possible hesitance might give us the time we need to pull something off.” Besides, I had a little surprise in store for old Grim.
“So in essence, the plan really hasn’t changed from the last one: grab the key and try to be the first into Heaven?” Katon asked as I nodded, passing him his sword to help soften the lack of a cohesive idea.
“With Rahim, Poe, and Santa Claus, we’re packing a little more firepower than we were before. If you guys can hold the gate while Scarlett contacts Uriel to shut it down, we might have a chance. With a little backup, maybe Uriel or Forcalor can spare a moment to try and rouse Metatron.”
Their eyes told me just how little hope they had.
“We all know we’re farting in the wind, but it’s all we’ve got. If something better presents itself, don’t hesitate to take it, but keep your eyes on the ball. If the bad guys get into Heaven, we’re done.” I handed Eve to Scarlett, then turned to Michael and Poe. “I want you two to keep an open channel with me, and keep Rachelle in the loop. If things change, I want to be able to redirect on the fly. Any questions?”
Stone-faced, they all looked at each other, then back to me. No one said anything.
“Okay then. Seats in the upright position, we’re ready for takeoff.” I looked to Rachelle and asked her to open a portal.
Once the shimmering blue settled, we were on our way back to Iran, and to the earth-side entrance to Eden. We were headed to war; a ragtag bunch of wizards, mentalists, mystic, vampires, demons and angels, along with a couple hundred humans with minimal powers but lots of guns.
It was like we were the first soldiers to step off the boat at Normandy. My breath held as we filed through the gate, there was a heaviness that pressed down overtop, weighing on me. Despite all the trials I’d been through, despite all the furious battles I’d managed to scrape through, there’d always been a glimmer of hope off in the distant horizon. I couldn’t see it now.
A tear ran cold down my cheek.
Chapter Twenty-One
A ways from the gathered Nephilim, Rachelle set us down on one of the foothills of the mountains that ran to the south of Eden’s gate. An almost full moon and the height allowed us to see the grassy plain while being far enough away to avoid letting them know we were there. The men and women of DRAC rustled around, nervous energy making the whole group ripple-like waves as they waited to engage.
Rahim magicked a viewer into place so we could watch the Nephilim as if we were right there beside them.
Azrael had yet to attack apparently, the half-breeds still milled about. Though they didn’t look like an army, their people scattered all over the place without any obvious discipline, there was no mistaking their ability to do harm. Easily five thousand of them clustered on the plain beneath Eden, each with some kind of weapon. They were ready to fight. Just seeing them gave me chills.
“It looks like we’re early.” Just as I spoke, the Nephilim broke out in a panic. “Or not.”
Through the viewer, we saw the clusters of the Nephilim turning in on themselves, pockets of activity springing up all over. Flashes of gunfire boomed to life as they reacted to the invisible threat, the muted sounds hitting us seconds later. In their frenzy, a number of the half-breeds fell from friendly fire.
Unsure of what had riled them up, it was a few more seconds before we realized what was happening. From the ground, immaterial vampires drifted up in their midst. They solidified and attacked, then sunk back into the bloody earth below as the Nephilim mounted a frantic defense. Bodies crumpled in their wake.
“How come I’ve never seen you do that?” I asked Katon.
He shook his head. “Because I can’t.”
He looked a little jealous, so I let it go, my attention back on the battle.
Within just a minute, the vampire sneak attack had sown chaos. The Nephilim ranks began to spread out to better see the vampires as they materialized, the edges of their lines fraying. That only helped the vamps pick them off. Uncertainty spreading like wildfire, the half-breeds began to panic, jittery shots claiming more of their own lives than those of the enemy.
Near the center of the Nephilim a thick cluster of them pulled together and formed a tight circle of bodies. Unlike their brethren, they held their ground and fought smart, working together to minimize their losses. The Nephilim around them slowly drifted further away from the pack, isolating the group more every second.
From where they sat, it was a subtle thrust, but from up high it was very telling. Whoever was leading the attack, Azrael or Grawwl, knew what they were doing.
Katon said aloud what I was thinking. “The vampires are a scouting mission more than they are an
