“So all of the demons I’ve been killing…” I begin, trying to tamp down the worry filling up my voice.
“You’ve been resetting them,” Nefta finishes, in a tone that indicates she blames herself too for what’s been happening. “Sending their souls back to where they were created.”
“Well, shit,” Crux comments, leaning back into the couch and running his hands through his blond hair as the magnitude of all of this sinks in.
“Lucifer needs to bless you with a different Hell weapon to use, and you’ll need to learn to fight with both, as I do. The scythe will tell you when and how a soul needs to be dealt with. You and I will start working on that right away,” Nefta starts in, like aligning our schedules and working on training is suddenly the most important thing.
“Wait,” I say, completely overwhelmed. “So if I’m not a Gatekeeper, why would Morax...the Ophidian...whatever he goes by, want me?”
“Because he figured out something I didn’t know was possible,” she says, her purple eyes hardening. “You see, in the realms, we all have our duties. We go about doing what needs to be done, and we serve our purpose. But Morax was never okay with it. As kids, he loved to play God and ruler of all, but everyone just thought it was play. Morax “died” before he had to choose Heaven or Hell, and although it was sad, I never thought his passing was suspicious. It seems his play was so much more than we ever thought, and if he figured out how to create a new realm, then he’s been corrupting abilities for a long time.”
“Is that how he can override my brain like he does?” I ask, bewildered. “I thought we all had free will and choice, and that could never be messed with, but I don’t think he got the memo,” I point out.
“Morax has definitely corrupted something to enhance and alter what his bloodline was created to do. His ancestors were Impels, which were beings tasked with spreading the word of the Gods. They relayed important information about realm events, Job openings, Choices that were available to us, and so much more.
“They were blessed with the ability to amplify their voices, to be heard by a large crowd for instance, as well as to coax people into paying attention to the messages they were required to deliver. It was their responsibility to ensure all citizens of Heaven and Hell were aware of the right information, hence their gift to help citizens want to listen.
“Morax has altered it somehow. Distorted the gifts he was blessed with and tainted them in a way that’s allowing him to violate our most sacred rules. He shouldn’t be able to control, and yet, that’s exactly what he did.”
Nefta sets her cup and saucer down and rubs at her face. If we had a different relationship, a different past, I might have gone over and hugged her. But we’re strangers, even if we look so much alike and I have her blood flowing in my veins.
“I should have seen it coming. I don’t know how I missed it…” she says, more to herself than to me.
“Missed what?”
“The Demonic Annulus line was wiped out. We didn’t know how or why, and then the Angelic line came under attack. We hid and did everything we could to survive, but our line was purged too. I’m the last one left. The same happened with the Gatekeepers. Until now, I thought they were separate, unrelated issues. But I think Morax figured out a way to use us. He could, in theory, make a realm by taking several Annuli to create a neutral ground for himself, as well as resetting demons, mortals, or angels to populate it. Combining that with the skill of the Gatekeepers, he would’ve been able to make a portal to that plane and come and go as he pleased.”
“Fuck,” Jerif declares, and Nefta nods at him.
“Delta, I suspect that you are more than just the average Annulus. You were born with both Heaven and Hell blood, and if Morax has been experimenting with Annuli and Gatekeepers on both sides all this time, then he knows more than us at this point about what he needs to possibly destroy the balance or even the realms as we know them. If he successfully started his own realm to rule, it’s only a matter of time before he wages war on Heaven and Hell and very possibly could take over. Maybe even the Mortal Realm as well.”
I can barely breathe after all the horrible truths she’s laying down at my feet.
“I wouldn’t have thought creating a new realm was even possible, but it’s clear I was wrong. Based on what your mates have told me, Lucifer’s army and the Legion tracked it down and destroyed it, thankfully, but the fact that it even existed in the first place violates so much of what Heaven and Hell hold dear. Who knows what the Ophidian is capable of at this point?”
Goosebumps rise up on my arms at her declaration. How could one being become so powerful and no one saw it coming?
Our line has been purged. I’m the only one left.
I hear those words a couple of times more in my mind, connecting that this is the reason that Nefta hid me. She kept telling Tazreel that it was for my protection, but wouldn’t say why. I thought she meant that it was because she was protecting me from Taz’s ego, but she was being hunted, and she didn’t know who was hunting her.
“So I can reset demons because Tazreel is my father, and angels because you are my mother. I’m a two for one special,” I mumble, not liking the way that truth feels in my mouth.
“What’s he going to do when he finds out?” I
