She laughed, curling her own hand into a fist. “I’d love to do what he can. It’s kind of awesome. You’re lucky you got a head start on me or else I’d be better at all of it than you already.”
“Maybe if you quit being such a twerp, I’d convince the others to come help teach you.”
She squared her shoulders and lifted her nose, grinning. “I’ll consider it. That key thing? Pretty cool move. You’re a lot smarter than I thought.”
My forehead wrinkled and I folded my arms. “Um, thanks. I think?”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, might overheat. I’m gonna go help out in the kitchens.”
“Don’t forget to wash your hands.”
She scoffed, chuckling. “Right. And don’t forget to wash your face.”
I shook my head, wondering if this was what it meant to have a little sister.
“You do have a spot on your neck, Mr. Albrecht. Right there.”
I clapped my hand over my heart, slowly turning in place to address Sadriel. “You know, when you angels show up, you don’t have to ambush me every single time. Whatever happened to appearing in a beam of light five feet away, where I can see you? Whatever happened to ‘Do not be afraid’? It’s like a jump scare, every single time.”
She tilted her head, confused. “Now where’s the fun in that? Although I do hate to confess, very little about this visit will involve ‘fun’ of any sort.” She clicked her heels together, shut her eyes, and took a slow breath. “Right. I think I’m ready. Mr. Albrecht, I’m afraid that I have to revoke your halo.”
I very, very carefully kept the muscles in my face perfectly straight. Finally, a good night’s sleep. “Oh no. That’s terrible. But why?”
“Don’t act so shocked. Surely it’s not so difficult to believe that the high heavens will take it back after that stunt you pulled in Nicaragua.” She shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. “Unlatching the gates to heaven? Simply unforgivable.”
I nodded, but not too hard. “Oh, I agree. Very unforgivable. Well, I guess I have no choice but to turn in my badge and gun.”
Sadriel frowned harder. “What on earth are you talking about? Here.” She snapped her fingers. Very little felt different, physically, but the space above my head was a little less warm.
“Oh well.” I sighed in relief, playing it off as disappointment. “You win some, you lose some.”
“Indeed.” Sadriel looked around conspiratorially, then bent in to whisper. “But between you and me, I thought it was a wildly innovative, if also wildly irresponsible method of dispatching Beelzebub. Spilling the light of heaven? You not only took out his army, Mr. Albrecht. You eliminated him and one of the gates to his prime hell, too.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, we’re lucky that it worked at all.”
“I should say so. Very lucky, because otherwise, the high heavens might have ordered much harsher consequences. Best not to discuss those.”
My teeth clenched together. “Probably not,” I said. There really was no winning with the high heavens. But you know what? That was fine by me. I got to be the rebellious little shit. What were they gonna do, cast me out of the pearly gates? Hah. One generation too late.
“Farewell for now, Mr. Albrecht,” she said. “And watch this. See? I am five feet away, disappearing right before your eyes, as requested.”
She waggled her fingers at me, grinning as she vanished into a pillar of light. “No, I meant for you to do that the other way around – and you’re gone. Never mind.”
But speaking of light, Apollo was sitting on the ground in a puddle of sun, probably quite literally soaking it up to help heal from his injuries. I ambled over, tapping him on the shoulder. His eyes flew open, one of them burning gold. He was getting back into shape, I think, whatever that meant for the god of the sun.
“How are you holding up?” I said. “You feeling any better? And your chariot?”
“Getting there,” he said. “She’ll reform in time. It’s kind of like you and your power to make things.” He tapped the side of his head. “It’s all up here right now, but after I heal up and get stronger, I’ll craft her from sunlight with my own two hands again. Bigger and better.”
I chuckled, sliding down to sit next to him. He clapped me on the back. “You did it, kid. You killed the bad guy, and you saved your mother.”
I grinned, shrugging. “Well, you know. You guys helped a little bit.”
Apollo laughed. “Look at that. You’ve got your entire family here now.” He pointed at the center of Paradise, towards the kitchens, where everyone was either making food or shoving it in their faces. Mom saw him gesturing, and waved back, smiling. “Your name really worked out for you, huh? You built this. Sure, maybe it wasn’t all on you, but you brought all these people together.”
I pressed my mouth against my forearms, a little embarrassed, but I knew what Apollo meant. “I guess,” I murmured.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure if you’re seeing where I’m going with this. You brought these people together, and with the way things turned out for the Hunger, I think it makes sense for you to bring your people together, too.”
“My people?” I tilted my head at him, confused. “What are you saying, exactly?”
Apollo leaned back on his hands and sighed. “Kid, remember when your powers first awakened? I tracked you down because I thought you were something special. Different. And I was right. All that stuff about the Vestments? That’s on me. I’m the sun guy, you know? All I know is shining light on the world from above. But I was curious to see if there could be, I don’t know, parallels between what I can do and what you can do.”
I shrugged. “Fat chance of it
