Last Rite (32 page)

I kneel next to Grandpa and touch his face. He’s so cold. His eyes open just a sliver and a hint of a smile curls his pallid lips.

“Grandpa!” I lean down and hug him gently, afraid of hurting him. “Hold on, Grandpa. I’m going to get you some help.”

His hand opens and squeezes my arm almost imperceptibly. “I’m sorry for…” he pauses to take a wet, rasping breath, “… not knowin’ what I was.”

“No, Grandpa. This isn’t your fault.” I sob the words, and I hate that he’s hearing that, but I can’t help it.

I look up to see the immense platinum-haired angel standing over us. His lips never move, but I feel him more than hear him in my head, a soft whisper telling me Grandpa will be loved in Heaven. Instantly I know it’s the archangel Gabriel. He nods, and the next instant a golden-haired angel descends and sweeps Grandpa into his arms.

Grandpa looks into the face of the angel, and then into the sky beyond. “I’m comin’ Vivvie,” he says in a cracking voice so weak it’s barely audible. His eyes flutter shut.

“No, Grandpa! You can’t die,” I cry, clutching at him with all my might.

His heavy lids open again and he looks at me with such peace and serenity as he says, “It’s been a good life, Frannie, and this is a good death. I’m ready.”

The golden-haired angel leaps into the air and Grandpa is gone.

I stand there, staring into the sky after them for a long moment, my heart bleeding and tears streaking my face. But then Hellfire streaks past me and I smell the pungent scent of singed hair. I beat out the flame at the ends of my hair and look up.

A dark mass forms behind Lucifer, swirling to life—hundreds of shadowy black forms with bloodred eyes.

Mages.

I recognize the eyes from my dreams. I watch them sweep into the mêlée, slashing at the air with their clawed hands, and I hear the celestial screams that follow.

I spin, panic taking over my thoughts, as shrieks and explosions erupt from every direction.

What do I do?

Rhen. Free will. That was my plan.

I spin and find him advancing on me. “You are free to make your own choices,” I say. I feel celestial energy erupt out of me like lava from a volcano. “You decide.”

In a heartbeat, his fist is pointed squarely at me and I brace myself for his blast. But when he doesn’t strike, I step forward. “Did it work?”

He looks at me wide-eyed for a second, then turns his fist on Lucifer, whose attention is focused on His Mages, directing them like a maestro would conduct an orchestra. Rhen’s unexpected blast strikes Lucifer in the chest, sending Him wheeling.

“Looks that way,” he answers, gaping at his fist as if he doesn’t believe what he just did.

Closing my eyes, I focus on the infernal and shout at the top of my lungs, “You can choose!”

A bolus of energy leaves my body all at once, erupting out of me into the sudden silence and echoing off the canyon walls with a boom. I’m momentarily blinded by the intense flash of white light, but when my vision returns a moment later, Lucifer stands tall, looking to the white sky with arms raised overhead, as if calling on celestial forces.

But what He’s calling is much darker, and there’s nothing celestial about it.

Hellfire swirls all around Him in a dervish of red, yellow, gold, and blue, stronger every second.

His eyes focus on me. “You will belong to me, or you will belong to
no one
!” He bellows.

The whirl of Hellfire consumes Him, obscuring Him from my vision for a heartbeat. When He throws His arms forward, it shoots from His being with all His infernal command and streaks toward me. But instead of consuming me, it feeds me. I feel it swirl through me, becoming even stronger. Before I realize I’ve done anything, enormous blasts of lightning shoot from my hands, red from my right and white from my left.

As I watch, my green-eyed angel vanishes. He’s replaced by an immense black demon with leathery wings that lift Him into the air. He struggles against my red and white electric cocoon, flapping His wings, but He can’t break free. Then Rhen’s power joins mine, a Hellfire blast from his ranseur, streaking toward Lucifer. Others from all around the cavern add theirs—hundreds of streaks of red Hellfire all converging on one spot.

Lucifer.

The cavern grows eerily quiet, the screams and explosions ceasing, until the only sound is the crackle of Hellfire.

Lucifer hovers in midair a moment longer, still as stone, before I pull my power back. But, along with my own energy, I pull back His. It enters me like a flaming missile. Lightning courses through my veins, searing through me, burning me alive. There’s a thunderous crash, and as my eyes adjust to the sudden dimness after the intense blaze of the convergent Hellfire, I see Lucifer hit the ground in a cloud of brimstone dust, splintering into a million shards. I fall to the ground, my body seizing. The earth rumbles under me and a deafening sucking sound almost ruptures my eardrums.

My fingers curl into the coarse grass of my backyard, and when I open my eyes, maple leaves flutter overhead. Beyond, puffy white clouds float lazily through an azure sky.

This is it.

This is the image after the lightning that night at the airstrip—the reason I was so sure I was gonna die. This is what I felt—lightning not only in my head but consuming me, radiating out of me. The lightning
is
me. I’m burning alive.

My heart implodes as I close my eyes and see Luc’s face.

Then everything fades and I’m gone.

25

Divine Intervention

FRANNIE

When I wake up from the strangest dream of my life, my body feels uneasy.

Twitchy.

Jittery.

I need to run.

I open my eyes and I’m staring at Grandpa’s living room ceiling. When I push to a sit on the couch and look around, I’m suddenly certain I didn’t wake up at all.

Grandma is sitting in front of me.

I stare at her, my heart in my throat. And then I remember.

Not Grandma.

God
.

I stare at Her some more, unable to find words. I want to apologize for being so stupid and so blind about Lucifer, but it just feels too embarrassing to even bring up. And, even as I think of Him, knowing that He’s gone, I feel some insidious tug at my insides.

I twitch in my skin, unable to shake the jitters.

Grandma stands and drifts toward me, settling into the loveseat next to me. She loops an arm through the crook of my elbow and I start to feel calmer—less like I want to bolt out the door.

“He could be quite persuasive,” She says, and I cringe when I realize She can read my thoughts, just like Gabe.

I drop my eyes and pick at the fringe of my jeans. “I should have known. I just wanted it so bad.”

“It wasn’t wrong to hope, my dear.” When I look up at Her, Her expression is soft and forgiving.

“But I
was
wrong, and because of it…” I can’t even say Gabe’s name, or Luc’s, or Matt’s. At the image of Dad lying lifeless on the ground, my throat closes as grief claws at my heart. “Oh, God,” I mutter into my hands. “Dad.”

“Your father is fine, Frannie. As a matter of fact, he’s waiting for you at home.”

My heart leaps and I look up. “He’s okay?”

The radiance of Her smile reminds me who She is. “He’s more than okay. He’s earned his wings back.”

“Daddy? He’s an angel again?”

She nods. “Your guardian angel.”

The mix of emotions is so sudden and overwhelming that all I can do is stare at the wall and concentrate on breathing so I don’t hyperventilate. “I don’t want him,” I finally say when I can speak. I can’t do to him what I did to Matt.

She chuckles and I look up into Her iridescent face. “It’s not your decision to make.”

“I don’t want to put him in danger.”

“The decision was not made lightly. Gabriel consulted me, and we decided this is the best choice. He’s well trained and has learned the pitfalls from personal experience. He won’t make the same mistakes twice.”

I hold my breath for a second before I ask, “Gabe decided?” daring to hope. “He’s…?”

“You will see your Gabe again, my child. Soon.”

My eyes fly to Her face, searching.

A knowing smile flits over Her lips. “He’s a Dominion. It is exceedingly difficult to destroy a Seraph’s essence.”

“Gabe is alive?” I whisper more to myself than to Her.

“In a manner of speaking.” There’s admonishment behind Her gaze and I look away.

“I didn’t mean to tempt him. It’s just that…” I don’t know how to finish. What I really want to ask is if I ruined him, but I can’t.

I don’t have to. She hears it in my thoughts.

“He’ll be fine, but…” She trails off and I look into Her face.

“He can’t be with me anymore,” I finish, reading the sadness in Her eyes. The truth is, I knew it already. Last night at Grandpa’s, I knew that was what we’d decided, even though we hadn’t come right out and said it.

“It’s for the best.”

I nod again, swallowing back the throbbing, wet lump in the back of my throat. “What about Luc?” I ask, my gut clenching against Her inevitable answer. Thanks to me, Luc was very mortal. And that means he’s very dead.

Her eyes darken. “Would you like to see him?”

My heart kicks in my chest and relieved tears spill over onto my cheeks. “He’s alive,” I whisper, dropping my face into my hands.

“For the moment,” She says grimly.

I jump from the loveseat on jittery legs.

She stands and squeezes the hand She’s still holding. “You’ll have to hurry.”

“Where is he?”

“In the hospital.”

The image from my head after the lighting—Luc in a hospital bed, wires and tubes everywhere—flashes in front of my eyes.

Time of death, six-thirteen.

I glance wildly at the clock over the kitchen table. 5:41.

“No!”

“He’ll wait for you,” She says. “And tell him there’s a job for him if he’s interested.”

I swallow again. “But he would have to die … right?”

Her gaze is soft as She nods. “He has a choice to make.”

“If he decides to live, will he stay human?”

She lifts an eyebrow. “Is that what you’d wish for him?”

“I want him to have a chance at a normal life.”

“Even if it’s without you?” She asks quietly, Her eyes trained on mine.

My heart contracts into a tiny, hard ball as I nod. “He deserves it. He’s already more human than almost anyone else I know.”

“Then I will make it so—if that’s what he chooses.”

“He will,” I say, as I turn for the door.

She stops me with a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You’re not using the door, dear girl.”

“What do you mean?”

She reaches up and Her hand sweeps over my forehead. It’s only then, as Her touch sends a rush of power through me, that I realize I’m not altogether solid.

“Oh my…” I whisper. “Did I die? Am I an angel?”

Her smile is soft as She shakes Her head. “No, Frannie. But you are unique in that you are born of three worlds. You are part Heaven, part Hell, and part Earth. And because of your ability, you are free to move among them.”

I feel my insides churn again as something flares in my gut. The unease is almost unbearable, and I want to jump out of my skin. “I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

“You know your purpose now, my child, and you know the scope of your power. This is what you chose in the Abyss. And to fulfill your purpose, you’ll need to shift between planes.”

“I thought my purpose was what I already did, with Lucifer.”

“That was part of it, but there’s still work to be done.”

“So … I’m supposed to…?”

“That’s for you to discover.” She levels Her gaze at me, and suddenly I feel the power of it. This definitely isn’t my Grandma.

It’s God.

A sickening sense settles into the pit of my stomach. “I feel like … I don’t know…” I lower my gaze, suddenly sure I’m not good enough to look at Her.

“What is it, child?”

“It’s like a part of Him—Lucifer—is inside me. I feel all itchy and jittery.”

She lifts my face so I’m looking at Her. “A piece of him does live within you, as does a part of me. It is your charge to find a balance within yourself, and within the universe, so the two sides can coexist.”

I actually press my hand to my chest to make sure my heart didn’t just stop. “He’s inside me?”

“If it ever gets to be too much, Kate can help you.”

“Kate?” The blurred memory of her grasping Lucifer’s pendant during the battle flashes in my mind. It had burned Maggie, but when Kate grasped it, it went dead. “What can she do?”

“She dissipates both demonic and celestial energy. If either ever grows too strong inside you—out of balance with the other—she can help.”

I stare at Her wide-eyed.

She smiles down at me. “You have support, Frannie. Your father, your sisters … and even your young man.” She gives me a gentle shove. “Now, go! He needs you.”

“Where?” I ask.

“Follow your heart.”

“But—”

She lays a hand on my forehead and I close my eyes. Instantly, the sensation of floating makes me nauseous. “Luc,” I whisper, and when I open my eyes, I’m standing in the corner of a hospital room, watching him sleep. As the nausea slowly passes, I realize I’m not alone. Luc is here, but so is someone else.

“Gabe?” I whisper. I sense him all around me. Then, like fog forming on a damp night, he’s there, ethereal—just a whisper of himself.

“Gabe!” I say, louder.

“I’m here.” He smiles but stands back from me.

I reach for him as both our forms become more solid. “Stop it!” I say, throwing my arms around him, my heart soaring. “I thought you were…” I can’t finish. I pull away from him and look up into his eyes. “Are you all right?”

He’s standing stiff, his arms at his sides. His gaze is soft as he looks down at me, but he won’t meet my eyes. “I’m fine, Frannie.”

I slip my hand into his and squeeze tightly, then turn to Luc. “Is he going to…?”