Lucifer punched him in the jaw, knocking him backward. “Let her come if she wants,” he said, bent over, holding his slashed gut with one hand. “You’ll need something down here to play with.”
Asher heaved himself up from the ground, swinging the cursed sword in a wide arc over his head. He slashed across the demon’s throat, a spray of burning blood bathing them both. “Kelsey, go back!” he ordered, advancing as the demon fell.
“Will you destroy me, brother?” Lucifer rasped, his forked tail snaking restlessly, digging deep ruts in the dirt. “Will you take my place in Hell?”
“Asher!” Kelsey was shouting behind him. “Come with me! The gate is open, but we have to go now!”
“They will only cast you out again,” Lucifer said. “Rule or serve in Hell, my brother.” His burning eyes looked almost human, the eyes of the angel he had loved. “You will never have this choice again.”
“Asher, please!” Looking back, he saw Kelsey was sobbing, tears for him streaming down her face. “Come on!”
He raised the iron sword, and the demon smiled. “The words to send me to oblivion,” he said. “Don’t forget the words.”
Asher brought the blade down silently, plunging it through the demon’s gut, not his heart, pinning him tight to the ground.
“No!” Lucifer screamed, writhing in fury. Asher let go of the sword and turned his back on him.
“Asher, look out!” Kelsey shouted. The demon’s tail whipped out, slashing down the angel’s back, barely missing slicing off his wings. Asher roared with pain, and Kelsey started to run toward him again.
“No!” he said, waving her off as he staggered but kept moving. “Go! I’m right behind you.”
The Road
As soon as Kelsey passed through the gateway, Jake scooped her up in his arms, sweeping her off her feet. Giving Asher the briefest of smiles, he carried her up the hill toward the others. She draped her arms around his neck and lay her head down on his shoulder without looking back, looking utterly exhausted and utterly content. This was what she had wanted all along, and it was something Asher couldn’t give.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, braced to be flung backward into the darkest pit of Hell, Asher walked through the gate.
He heard it swing shut behind him with a long, slow scream of rusted metal. Turning around, he found the gate, the fence, and everything beyond it had disappeared. He was standing on a road that wound down the hillside into a wooded valley. Kelsey’s vision of Hell was gone.
Kelsey didn’t even see it happen. She rubbed her cheek against the soft flannel of Jake’s shirt, her arms still draped around his neck. “I love you,” she said softly in his ear.
He squeezed her tighter, “I love you, too.” He kissed her softly on the mouth. “We need to hurry, though. Your mama wants to see you.”
Asher saw the Judge standing at the crest of the hill. He was smiling. The dog who had followed Kelsey out of the dark lands was sitting on his haunches beside him, and his wounds were healed. An older woman who must have been Kelsey’s mother was running down the hill to meet Kelsey and Jake, and she gathered them both in a hug.
The dog barked once and ran to meet Asher, wagging his tail. As he reached the little group of human souls, Kelsey’s mother turned to him and smiled. “You did great,” she said. She was lovely with long, snow-white hair and eyes just like Kelsey’s.
He smiled back. “Thanks.” Just above them, another figure had joined the Judge, this one shining with light—Michael had come.
“Go ahead,” Kelsey’s mother urged. “It will be all right.” Kelsey was still wrapped in her husband’s arms, her face hidden against his shoulder as he whispered something in her ear. Her mother saw Asher watching, and her smile turned sad with understanding. “Angel, they’re waiting.”
Kelsey barely heard her mother speaking; she was listening to Jake. “You can’t keep thinking the whole fucking world is up to you to fix,” he was saying, holding her fiercely tight. “Promise me you’ll quit blaming yourself for everything.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “I promise.” She would promise him anything as long as he didn’t let go. “I finished your painting.”
“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “I know I scared you half to death the night I tried to fix it. But I had to try.” He drew back to look down into her eyes. “I saw your angel coming.” He caressed her cheek, and she hiccupped, both of them laughing through tears. “I knew he was going to show up.”
Kelsey hugged him tight. Looking over his shoulder, she saw Asher reach the crest of the hill. The stranger she’d seen with Mama was still there, and another man was standing beside him—no, another angel. He came forward to meet Asher and caught him in a hug.
As soon as Michael embraced him, Asher felt his legs turn weak, all his wounds attacking him at once. The Judge caught him, too, and the two of them lowered him gently to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Asher said. He couldn’t look the Judge in the eye, so he looked at Michael instead. His commander was smiling.
“You chose to fall,” the Judge said. “I’ve been there.” He laid a hand on Asher’s head, and warmth spread through him; he could feel himself healing, body and heart.
Down the hillside, Kelsey let go of Jake for a moment to hug her mother. “Mama, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Hush now, silly girl,” her mama said, squeezing her tight. She still smelled like white soap and rosewater perfume. “Of course you didn’t.”