I searched for an angel with golden wings. There. Right above my head, Michael was painted as sitting on the roof of what I recognized as the House of Command. His majestic wings spread to their full length, he held his sword pointing downward toward the rest of the angels positioned over different landscapes. “Holy shit.” I propped my foot on his desk and pushed the chair so it swung me back, my neck tilted all the way.
The world appeared before me. Three continents, two on each side of one smaller but mountainous one. That was the Court of Command. I recognized it because of the white paintings of snow, this house, and Michael. Everything else was water, way more water than the Earth had before. I now lived on an island. The other two continents appeared to have clear borders, with different climates and vegetation. The biggest continent was split in half, with the eastern half painted in gray. From behind the sun rose an angel with black wings, his back turned away from Michael. Nobody had to tell me which angel that was.
Sitting back, I wondered where in this world my parents lived. If they lived at all. And if they lived somewhere, anywhere, would I ever see them again? If I saw them, would they remember me? I placed the file on his desk. Hopefully, I’d find some clues.
Chapter Thirteen
The fleet took to the skies, and mortals cleared the streets. I landed on one rooftop and hopped onto the street. Strolling along and expanding my senses, I searched for Lucifer. Unease palpable in the air, I sniffed, looking for the scent of malice or demons or anything that didn’t belong in my Court. Almost always, with rare exceptions, the Marked smelled identical to my brother Lucifer. Strong and masculine cinnamon over soft and sweet vanilla.
My second-in-command, Uriel, the fleet’s most decorated angel, walked with me. He wore black armor with a black kilt and boots and carried more weapons strapped on his body than half of any mortal squad carried into battle. He stopped and picked up a rock, then crushed it in his fist. The wind blew away the sand. “How did he escape the Veil? Our finest males guard it.”
I snorted. “He’s Lucifer.”
Uriel’s shoulders slumped. “Take my wings. The guilt alone will eat me from the inside out.”
“Maybe I’ll cut them off later. Have a ceremony.”
“Yes, Commander. You must.”
His dedication pleased me, and I squeezed his shoulder. “I don’t wonder how he breached the Veil or how he does much of what he does. I wonder how he plans to get the sword.”
Ever since Lucifer had been defeated, he had lived on Earth, taking different shapes and forms, guiding people into the gates of Hell where powerful creatures awaited, taking over souls, molding them, training them in secret. When one Heavenly realm crashed on the Earth, his army came with it. Forming a Veil and containing his army inside it was the only way forward for me. Lucifer didn’t like containment. He particularly hated that I had contained his powers inside the Veil. He came for the sword.
With all the power and wisdom granted to him upon Lucifer’s creation, the male developed not one or two different powers, but several. His most precious asset was the ability to infiltrate the minds of mortals, and even some angels. He needed not to move a finger for his minions to do his bidding. The prospect of millions of mortals under Lucifer’s influence made me descend and come up with a way to protect them.
And so I created a new beginning, one which he would attempt to destroy. All he needed to do was retrieve my sword from the ground, and the world would revert back to the hot August month when I first met Julia. At the time, the significance of Julia escaped me, though no longer. She was intended for me. I never believed I would get a mate. We, the powerful angels, in all our years and with all the deeds we’d done in service of the Heavens, were never assigned mates. We watched others form families, some with female angels, some with light benders, some even with fallen angels, and after all this time, we were simply resolved to serve, never asking for rewards. Lucifer asked for rewards, accolades, recognition for his deeds. I threw him down and led a massive war between my males and his that was waged for longer than I’d hoped.
Uriel and I strolled down the street and toward the sea. We’d comb the city on the ground while the fleet kept an eye from above. Having Lucifer on my training grounds was a disaster. He would corrupt the mortals and force me to either kill them all or alter reality yet again, which required enormous power. I had not fully recovered from the original alteration, but I would.
I kicked a can of corn, and it rolled down the street. My foot caught on something. I looked down and found the strap of a backpack wound over my boot. Lifting my foot, I kicked up the pack as one would a ball. An electronic mobile phone fell out. Such things no longer existed. No phones, no IDs, not even their green paper money. Loyalty to one’s Court was currency. Mortals and angels alike paid in flesh, blood, and souls. We didn’t have money in the Heavens and neither would they have it on Earth. Greed bred the mortals sentenced for annihilation.
Uriel picked up the pack and peered inside. He
