"Of course." As if I wouldn't be careful doing something like this. I sucked in a shuddering breath and turned to the aura that was so repulsive. I knew what his preferences were. Young girls. At least here he wasn't being forced to relive his memories for me to stumble into. As much as he deserved to relive his worst memories, I didn't want to see them.
Holding out my hand, I touched his aura, then trickled magic into it and grabbed it. Before I could change my mind, I hauled it into me fast, like ripping off a bandage or knocking back foul-tasting cough medicine.
Revulsion washed over me, curling my toes and making my stomach lurch. If I thought being pulled into the memory of an evil person was bad, well, this was a hundred times worse.
Vincent's entire demeanor filled me. His negative energy, holy shit, talk about glass half empty. His whole sense of self was dark. Depressing. Evil tendrils snaked around, trying to leech into me and affect my aura.
Not today, buddy.
No wonder he ended up evil. He was beyond broken somewhere. His was the kind of soul that never left Abaddon. He would end up being a demon one day, no doubt about it.
Who is there?
Ah, so he was awake.
This is Lilith.
Surprise registered throughout me. Err... Him. I didn't give him time to get curious. Why did you summon me?
When his surprise switched to relief, I squirmed inside myself. If Vincent had been in a body, he would've been sobbing.
That did not feel good inside me. Eww, I needed this to end quickly.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I spent that time in the River, and I have so many regrets.
His words were nice, and he probably meant them now, but his soul was still black. Still sticky. He wasn't changed, just in a moment of remorse. There was a distinct difference.
What do you want? I wasn't in the mood to hear his apologies.
I broke out of Elysium because I overheard Raphael say Ariel is the key.
My heart lurched with shock and confusion. I looked at my guys and raised my eyebrows. I couldn't relay the information, but I grabbed their arms and attempted to connect to them so they could hear him, too. Vincent, say that again, please.
He stumbled but started over. I broke out of Elysium. I heard Raphael say Ariel, your daughter, is the Key.
"The Key to what?" Lucifer asked.
It didn't seem that Vincent could hear him, so I relayed the question.
Abaddon. He said she's the most powerful creature he's ever seen, and that includes all the Nephilim he's made over the years. He had no idea my soul was being kept in the weapons room. Joel put me in some sort of box thing.
I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't really care, either. All I cared about was what information he had for me. It was easy to tell he spoke the truth with him inside of me. I would've smelled a lie before he even created it.
What else? Can you tell me how to find her?
If he'd had a body he would've sighed, but I got the feeling. When I managed to break out of the box, I ricocheted into Raphael's head. I did get some information, but he expelled me pretty fast. As soon as I was free in Elysium... He went quiet for a few seconds. I got some perspective. It all went bad when my daughter was killed.
I was, of course, curious about that, but I pushed it aside. What else?
She opened the gates of Abaddon. Not Raphael. She was the one that managed it. She's so powerful, he thinks if he can keep her and train her, she'll be more powerful than you and Lucifer put together.
"What about Lucifer's powers?" Gabe asked.
I asked Vincent.
I didn't get anything about that. But there was one more thing about Ariel. He tested it. She was able to open Abaddon, but she can't enter it. She's got a real body, humanistic, but it's more than human. It's something new. She can't go into Elysium either. She can either go to the realm Raphael made for her or Earth. That's it.
Lucifer's jaw dropped. "So even though she's not human, we still can't bring her home."
"We will find a way to make it all work out. We'll find a way to create a million new realms if we have to!"
Do you know anything else that could be helpful?
Vincent said he didn't. He seemed very regretful about that, as well.
I pulled him out of me, and I'd been right. It was relatively easy to overpower him and expel his aura from mine.
Once he was a soul again, I blasted him with a bit of power and sent him floating into the sea of souls. "We can't take him. All we can do is leave him, then fix this mess..." I gestured vaguely to the souls piled up in the River that couldn't come through. "Once we have Lucifer's powers and Ariel back."
"Agreed," Michael said. Lucifer and Gabriel nodded.
"Come on. Let's stop by and check out Abaddon. See if there's anyone left in it." We walked out of the gates, which let us leave easily, but none of the souls could. Not unless we made it happen with magic. That was normally the job of the Fallen, but they were currently trying to make all demons invisible again on Earth.
The walk across the soft grass was eerie. Normally, this area bustled with activity. Upper Demons and Fallen going back and forth, souls in states of entry and exit.
Now there was nothing. No more demons ran out of the gates.
We entered to find vast emptiness in Abaddon. Our palace stood silent, empty. It was built so that some of it was on the outside of the gates, and that part was where Michael
