Lucifer shrugged. "Have them research a spell that would be able to block or steal the most powerful Archangel's powers."
My jaw dropped. Of course. "Asmodeus!" I yelled. I trickled a little power in my voice that would call him to me.
He appeared a few seconds later. "Change of plans. Go to the libraries in the palace in Abaddon and research a spell or Object, Relic, anything that is powerful enough to strip Lucifer of his power."
Asmodeus's eyes lit up. "Of course, sister. You know I enjoy a good trip through the ancient tomes vaults."
I waved him off as he disappeared again. "Sorry, Luc. That didn't occur to me."
Lucifer grunted and walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Jellybean.
"Demonic plane, huh?" Gabe asked. He'd walked out of the room while I spoke to Asmodeus and returned with my old laptop. "So, the humans are reporting strange things worldwide. But you're right, they can't see the demons."
Demons, Fallen, ghosts, angels, we all appeared on a different plane within the Earth realm. we could see and interact with one another, but the humans were oblivious unless we wanted them to see us. Most demons couldn't show themselves, but then, some humans had a special ability to see the truth. They were more than likely descendants of Nephilim but hadn't been born with the gene that gave them magic. They were still a bit special, but nothing like the ‘Mary’s’ of the world.
"If we can get the demons back to Abaddon soon, the humans will write this off. You know how humans are," Michael said.
He was not wrong. Humans denied anything that didn't make complete sense to them. Even to the extent of taking it out on their fellow humans if they didn't understand one another's cultures or identities.
"One news article is blaming Russia," Gabe said as he browsed the internet. "Said it's biochemical warfare making people act crazy."
I snorted. "Good one."
"Most people agree it has to be some sort of solar flare or EMP." Gabe closed the laptop. "So, that buys us a little time. The people that can see the truth will be dismissed as crazy or religious fanatics.
The sound of a phone ringing drifted into the room. "I recognize that ringtone," I said. "That's Connie's phone."
"We put her on your bed," Michael said. "That's all we'd gotten done before you returned."
I walked past him and noticed Lucifer sitting by himself in the kitchen. Jogging up the stairs, I was jolted by seeing my body on the bed.
Oh, what a strange feeling, to see one's own dead body. I had a brief stab of sadness for Connie. Her life was over, forever. She was part of me now, but for a while, she'd been her own person with her own identity.
The phone stopped ringing as I stared down at the woman that had housed me for far too long. She looked a lot like me with small differences. The shape of her nose, the curve of her jaw. Her hair was a slightly different shade of black than mine. Her breasts were a bit bigger.
When the phone pinged that it had a voicemail, I jumped and walked forward, then carefully slid the phone out of Connie's pocket.
Then, with that small part of me that was creeped out by being in the room with my own dead body spurring me on, I went quickly back down the stairs. Michael was in the kitchen with Lucifer, making another sandwich. How could they think about food right now?
"It was Mary," I said. The call history showed four calls from her. I pressed the buttons to play the voicemail on speaker.
"I don't know if you're here or gone or what, but you gotta get this mess figured out!" Her bossy voice filled the living room. I smiled, very fond of the powerful woman. I hoped we could get through all this without her coming to any harm.
"People out here talking about mass hallucinations. You and I know the truth, but you're the only one with the power to stop it. So stop it already!"
Two more voicemails followed that one with similar messages. She sounded sad in the fourth and last one. "I'm guessing this means you've gone since you're not answering. I hope you haven't left us to deal with this ourselves." The phone made a clicking sound when she'd hung up.
"We certainly can't leave them to deal with it themselves. What can we do to contain the demons?" I asked.
"Not enough power to create a new realm," Luc said from the kitchen in a sullen voice.
"Can't build a wall to hold them in Abaddon." Michael walked in with his sandwich. "I'm out of ideas."
"And they're not listening to us anyway," I said. "Let's go see Mary. Maybe she's got some ideas in her books. At least we can calm her down and make sure she knows we haven't abandoned her."
Lucifer walked in from the kitchen with one hand on Jellybean's head. "Are there any government statements about this?" he asked.
Gabriel shook his head. "I searched for that, but the biggest governments of the world are mum. They either know what it actually is and don't want to cause mass panic, or they're clueless and trying to figure it out."
"Why don't you go sneak around?" I asked. Gabe loved popping in the president's office or the royal throne rooms and listening in on what was going on.
He grinned. "My favorite pastime."
After leaning over and popping a kiss to my lips, he disappeared.
Clearing my throat I looked at my other two mates, “Is everyone else going with me?"
They nodded and Luc held out his hand. "Here, carry me with you like a baby."
Instead of taking his hand, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He looked down at me in surprise, but his arms circled me, and he squeezed.
Maybe a little vulnerability would be good for him.
