Still of Night (Thorne Hill 4)

“You’re too kind, Callie.” He gives me one more squeeze and then lets go, turning his attention back to Julian. “The last time we saw you, you told us the Gates of Hell had been opened. Then you took off and nothing has happened.”

“Nothing yet,” Julian says.

“Yet?”

He nods. “I was sent here again by Michael under the orders to follow up on the disturbance we felt. That’s how I was able to stop by. I’ve heard your prayers, Callie, but I couldn’t come and risk my travel being noticed, as I was assigned to a different part of the world before Michael was able to reassign me here again, and it’s a good thing he did.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I was following up on the demon that came from Hell, and it appears it may have had assistance in opening the Gates.”

“Assistance?” I echo, not sure what that means. “Like someone opened the Gates for it?”

“Exactly like someone opened the Gates for it.”

“But…who could do that? When Varrador was after me, I thought I could open the Gates and shove him inside but couldn’t figure out how.”

“There is an ancient and complicated spell, but it requires multiple witches, if not an entire coven, to perform. Though I suppose if a witch were able to tap into the power of the Ley line, it might only take a few working together to open the Gates.” He shakes his head. “Other demons are able to pass through the Gates and…and…” He drops his gaze from my eyes to the floor.

“And?” Lucas hooks his arm around my waist, protectively pulling me against his body.

“Nephilim,” Julian finally says. “Nephilim possess the power to open the Gates of Hell.”

15

“I did not open the Gates of Hell,” I rush out.

“I know,” Julian replies calmly. “I never once did. However, this new discovery puts you in an even more precarious situation than before.”

“She’s more at risk of being discovered,” Lucas fills in and Julian nods. “Especially since a high-level demon was just here looking for a divine child.”

“Yes.” Julian’s voice cuts through me and I shiver. “Demons can come and go from Hell as they please,” he admits. “We’ve put seals and locks on the Gates, but throughout time, the demons have figured out how to break them. They get out, we put them back. It’s not abnormal. Though, like you said—” He looks at Lucas. “This is already an area of interest. And no,” Julian goes on. “I do not know what kind of demon was summoned. Like I said before, Callie possesses more power than I do. An angel of my status doesn’t typically deal with this sort of thing. However, given the circumstances…”

“Michael pulled some strings to try and take the attention off of me,” I say and Julian nods.

“And whether this demon knows you are the divine child or not, I am not sure either. Though even if not, you need to be extra vigilant. High-level demons don’t wander into towns full of witches without a reason.”

“We’ll be ready,” I say, looking up at Lucas, who nods in agreement. I’m terrified, not only of another high-level demon trying to kill me, but of the angels figuring out who I am as well.

“Extra wardings, stock up on vanquishing potions, patrol the woods…we’ll be prepared. Though if I get a demon virus again, can you tell my dad not to wait so long to come save me? My organs shutting down in a slow, painful death really sucked.”

Julian’s lips twitch into a smile. “I can relay the message.”

“What would happen if the other angels did find me?” I ask.

“Most likely, they will destroy your soul.”

My brows pinch together. “Oh, that’s all?”

“It won’t come to that,” Lucas promises, tightening his grip on me.

“It won’t,” Julian agrees. “Michael is hard at work to ensure your survival.”

“Will I ever see him again?” I ask.

“Yes. I cannot tell you when, but you will. I’m able to come and go easier than he can. As an angel of less importance, I’m not accounted for daily like Michael is. He’s quite busy.”

“I never thought I’d want to partake in Take Your Daughter to Work Day, but I’m really interested now.” I let out a breath and shake my head. “So, now that we know this demon most likely has a friend, what do I do?”

“Try to stick to your normal routine as not to draw attention to yourself, yet stay vigilant, Callie.”

“Okay.” I suck in a breath but feel like I get no air. “Do you have to leave?” I ask Julian. “If you don’t, you could stay and hang out a bit.”

“I shouldn’t. But thank you.”

I look into Julian’s eyes and wonder if he’s lonely. He’s the only angel who spoke up for my cause, the only one who thought I was worthy of saving and got punished for it.

“Can I ask you one more thing before you go?”

“You’re going to anyway, I can tell.” Julian shifts his weight. “What is it?”

“The Devil,” I say, and a chill goes through me. “Is he trapped in Hell or can he get out like the demons can?”

“Lucifer Morningstar has been bound to Hell, but he’s broken out before.”

“Would you know if he got out like say…now?”

“I would assume his brothers would be able to sense his presence.”

“Cool. Cool.” I nod, trying and failing to appear unfazed. “Do you think he knows about me?”

“I’m not sure.” Julian shakes his head. “Though for some reason I feel he would argue for your cause. If anyone knows what it’s like to be cast out by their family, it’s him.”

That was not the answer I was expecting. “He’d be on my side?”

“I wouldn’t consider it exactly that, but in a sense, perhaps. Though I think it would be more him wanting to go against what the majority of his brothers wanted.”

“Oh, that’s uh, interesting. Is he really as bad a we’ve been told?”

“By human definition, yes, he’s bad. Did something happen to make you question things, Callie?”

“No. I was just thinking about how crazy it is that I’m related to the actual Devil.”

“His brother is your father. It’s not crazy. I believe you call that biology.”

“I meant it in a different—you know what, never mind. I shouldn’t have to worry about it. Thank you again. And if you can ever hang out, I’d like that. We are family and there’s still a lot about my angel-side I’m totally clueless on.”

“I’ll come back when I can. And if you need me, I’ll be listening.” He gives me a curt nod and disappears. A light gray feather floats down from the middle of the ceiling, and Pandora bats it around.

“Well, that’s totally normal,” I laugh.

Lucas smiles. “You mean other people don’t have a century-old spirit in the form of a calico cat playing with the feather from an actual angel in their house?”

“Shocking, right?”

Lucas folds me in his embrace, and I stand on my toes to kiss him before pulling away and going into the dining room. My china cabinet in there holds my “good dishes” that I only use at Christmas time, but also a great deal of magical items. I pull out a jar of black salt.

“What are you doing?” Lucas asks, leaning against the wall as he watches me get everything out, putting it on the table.

“Taking an inventory,” I say, though I knew I was low on most of my herbs after Tabatha raided my supply so she could cast the binding spell last night. “And then I’m going to start making potions. You know how to sharpen blades, right?”

“Blades?”

“Yeah. I haven’t sharpened my daggers in a while, and I need to do that before I re-enchant them.”

Lucas looks at me quizzically. “I can sharpen them.” He comes into the room, staring at me. I look up at him, pulling out a jar of graveyard dirt from the back of the cabinet. It’s been in there for years and has lost all potency by now, making it regular dirt at this point in time.

?

??What?” I ask, sliding the jar of dirt across the floor.

“Something about this whole thing has been bothering me, and I think I know why now.” He holds out his hand for me to take and pulls me to my feet. “You are powerful, but the fear of you turning evil didn’t seem enough to warrant your death.” He smooths my hair back. “But if you are able to open the Gates of Hell, then doesn’t it makes sense that you’d be able to open the Gates of Heaven too?”

My mouth falls open. “I didn’t think about it like that. But yeah…it does make sense.”

“The angels don’t want to kill you because they’re afraid you’ll wreak havoc on humanity. They’re afraid you’ll hurt them.” He tips his head down, looking deep into my eyes.

I part my lips, breath coming out in a huff. “Which means they can be killed.”

16

I close the book and look up, blinking my dry eyes. I’m sitting on the upper level of the two-story library inside Grim Gate Academy and have been reading through every text I can find that mentions angels.

Lucas has to be right about the angels not wanting Nephilim to live because they know we can hurt them if not actually kill them. I don’t want to go off murdering angels, but if I could find a way to defend myself if I get discovered, that would be great.

In the two hours that I’ve been here, I’ve found nothing, and that tension headache I’ve been fighting threatens to come back. I lean back, let out a sigh, and look around the library.

It’s one of my favorite places in the whole Covenstead. I’ve always been a bookworm, taking solace in fictional stories and living vicariously through the characters on the pages in front of me. It got me through my shitty childhood, and when I started here, I still found the escape for real life to be much needed from time to time.

There’s a certain energy to the library, and I’m going to miss it after I’m excommunicated from the coven. Though it’s not like I’ve come here that often in the last few years. I’ve been busy with life, yet having the option to pop in whenever I wanted was there, and knowing that it’ll be taken away soon guts me.