The ringing in my ears blocked out all other sound. For a moment, I was so disoriented, my stomach whirled with nausea. My back ached like the night I’d fought with the wraith on the bridge. My right arm was stiff where Elijah had sliced the skin and muscle. And my head throbbed like I had a concussion. Or three.
If time had been reset, why did I still have these injuries?
As disappoint filled my bones, Jericho’s face came into focus above me. “Arabella?”
“I’m here,” I whispered. “Did it work?”
“I don’t know.” He looked over his shoulder toward the counter where the clock had been. In its place sat a pile of ash. “I really don’t know.”
“Where’s Otis?” When Jericho shrugged, I reached out my hand to have him help me up. “We need to find him.” I stood slowly, relying on the strength of Jericho to help me gain my balance. “Whoa, I guess I hit my head harder than I realized.”
“Are you okay?”
Listening for the wrath of destruction outside, I had to ask, “Do you hear anything?”
“What?” Jericho tried to prop me up against the counter.
“The end of the world. Is it still happening?”
“I can’t hear a damn thing right now,” he grumbled, before spotting something on the floor. “Otis!” Jericho jumped over the counter and fell to his knees next to the old man. “Otis? Otis!”
“Is he alive?”
He took a few moments. Jericho looked up at me with tears in his eyes and shook his head. “He’s gone.”
“Dammit! If he’s dead, then that means—”
The bell on the front door of the antique shop dinged, catching our attention. “Arabella?” Echo shouted my name like he thought I might not be here.
“In the back!” I looked at Jericho and he shrugged.
Echo stumbled around the bookshelves which made the back of the shop look like a maze, out of breath and wearing a bright blue suit. “Oh, thank Satan, you’re alive.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jericho stood behind me and we both waited for the Under to explain.
“Because Mammon thought you’d both have to die in order to reset time.”
“Wait. What? You’re telling me we did it? We set everything back to the way it was?” Jericho’s hand squeeze my shoulder and I closed my eyes in relief. That little fact that Mammon was willing to sacrifice me getting a special space in the back of my mind. “But why is Otis dead?”
Echo shrugged and acted like I was wasting his time. “I don’t know, maybe he did what he had to do. Anyway,” he waved his hands at us, “we have to go. Now.”
“Go where?” Jericho asked.
Echo rolled his eyes and popped his hip. He pointed at Jericho and glared at me. “Is this really a thing between you two?”
Confused, I said, “Yes.”
“Fine. Whatever. Then you both can come.”
“Echo,” I said slowly, “Where. Are. We. Going?”
“To the meeting. We only have a few hours before all hell breaks loose again.” Echo huffed like we were being the stupid ones.
I looked over my shoulder at Jericho. “Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?”
“I’m guessing it’s a meeting to convince Lucifer not to move forward with the reveal.”
Echo clapped like a sea lion and flipped me off. “He’s smarter than you. I think I like him more.”
“I can still kill you,” I warned.
“Whatever. Let’s go.” Echo turned on his heel and walked toward the front door. He sashayed back and forth like we might care, and once he disappeared around the corner, Jericho jumped back over the counter.
“We’ll come back for Otis later. I have a feeling our time to convince everyone to change their mind is pretty slim.”
I kissed him on the cheek. “I love you.”
He smiled. “What was that for?”
“I just wanted you to know it.”
“Noted.”
With his hand on my lower back, he escorted me out of the store and toward the limousine Echo was just climbing into. But we both stopped the moment we stepped into the street. Like nothing had ever happened, time had been reset. Nothing was burning. No humans were screaming. The city was just like it had been the night Leviathan captured me. Complete, stinky, and my home. That memory triggered another question which I asked Echo once we climbed into the car.
“Do you remember what happened?”
He pressed his lips together. “Are you all right? You seem a little dumb.”
“Echo,” I groaned. “Answer the question.”
“Of course, I remember everything. And it’s a stupid question.”
Facing Jericho, I tried to put the pieces together. “Our injuries didn’t heal and Otis died. Echo remembers everything and so do we. Does that mean the humans would too?”
Just as Jericho opened his mouth, Echo signed in a very exaggerated way. “Seriously, you two were the ones chosen to save the world? What a crock of sh—”
“Echo!”
“What?”
“Will the humans remember?”
He shook his head and slouched into the seat facing us in the back of the limo. “No, they were wiped clean. So were most shifters and others.”
“But not demons?” I asked.
“Or angels?” Jericho added.
“It would appear not.”
Thinking that through, I stayed silent the rest of the car ride until we reached the ferry docks. Snuggling tightly against Jericho, I waited for Echo to huff and sigh several times before exiting the car. Nothing made me feel more normal than to give the Under a hard time.
“Ellis Island?” Jericho asked Echo.
“Neutral ground,” he groaned. “I thought you were the smart one?” Echo stomped away and climbed the ramp to the boat. We followed behind but also didn’t mind the privacy. The water slapped against the sides, as if encouraging us to keep moving. And once the ferry was underway, Jericho and I sat near the center, huddled together.
“We probably should have picked up some clothes,” Jericho said.
I glanced down at my bare legs and extremely dirty feet. “Why bother? If Lucifer won’t change his mind, none of it will matter anyway.”
Rubbing my legs to keep me warm, Jericho said nothing else. Even as we approached the island and we noticed the huge mass of demons and angels gathered together, we didn’t speak. It was almost as if our energy had been sucked out of us with the time reset. I could barely keep my eyes open, especially as the movement of the boat lulled me into a coma.
“We’re here,” Jericho whispered into my ear, making me realize I really did fall asleep.
“For fuck’s sake, Arabella. Pull yourself together.” Echo’s attitude was really starting to get on my nerves.
There was a crowd and they didn’t want to let us pass at first. But Echo pushed his way through one shoulder bump at a time, until we stood along the inner circle closest to the action. In the center, Mammon, Leviathan, Lucifer, and Raphael spoke quietly to each other. Lucifer looked bored. Leviathan smirked at me. And Mammon glared at all of them.
“What’s going on?” Jericho asked one of the angels standing near us.
“They’re negotiating a truce. Lucifer’s been hesitant, but the other two archdemons seem to be doing a good job of convincing him otherwise.”
“How much time to we have?”
“Before the reveal Part 2?” the angel asked. When Jericho nodded, he looked at his watch. “Less than five hours.”
“And how long have they been talking?” I asked this time.
“A while,” he muttered. But then he focused on me again. “Wait, are you the two that reset time? I heard it was an angel and a demon working together, but I didn’t believe it. Rumor has it that you two had to get it on to make it happen.”
When Jericho chuckled, I turned to face the angel, giving him my best evil glare. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He cowered and walked away from me. I really wanted to hear what Mammon and the others were talking about, so I tried to ignore the side conversations and town gossip happening all around me. But it was futile, and just a few moments later, Lucifer extended his giant black wings and shot up into the sky.
“Well, shit. What happened?” someone asked.
“He didn’t look super angry,” another stated.
“Yeah, but he always looks like that,” a demon confirmed.
The crowd starting to get louder and louder until Raphael held up his hands and everyone fell silent. “We have reached an agreement,” he said in his booming, deep voice. “Lucifer has agreed to the terms and has decided not to reveal his true self to the humans at this time.”
“At this time?” Jericho whispered in my ear. “That’s not very reassuring.”
Raphael continued. “The clock has reset. The memories have been cleared. You are now asked to return to your lives up here or down below with no mention of the chaos.” The crowd didn’t seem too happy about that, by the amount of grumblings going on. Raphael held up his hands again. “Be warned. Breaking this pact will have severe consequences.”
Mammon mimed a neck slice behind him, which got the demons into a frenzy. They started chanting “Kill them” over and over until Mammon screamed at them to stop. “Go home!” she demanded. “Go home and start investing again.”
Investing could mean the money in human businesses or the connections to the souls most demons really wanted. Who knew exactly what she was referring to.
“Mammon wants to see you both,” Echo said, appearing by my side so suddenly I jumped.
“Why?”
“I don’t know why,” he spat at me. “She just does.”
Jericho wove his fingers around mine. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”
“Okay.”
The crowd started to dissipate, most of the lesser demons taking the ferry while the ones that could teleport, did. The angels took to the sky and I briefly wondered how that would keep them hidden from the humans. A question I’d bring up with Jericho later one.
We’d almost reached Mammon, Leviathan, and Raphael, when I felt someone tug at my shoulder. Turning with enough speed to knock me over, I jumped forward when I recognized who it was. “Stefan!” Wrapping my arms over his shoulders, I held my friend tight. “You’re alive.”
He chuckled beneath me and held me just as close. “It takes more than an angel to kill me.”
I had no doubt he was glaring at Jericho over my shoulder, but I didn’t care. Those two would become friends one day soon. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Safe and sound, luv. Safe and sound.”
Mammon cleared her throat and Echo started to pace by my side. Stefan set me down and kissed me quickly on the lips. “Don’t be a stranger,” he said with a wicked smile a moment before he disappeared.
“Who’s that?” Jericho asked.
“An incubus. And a friend.” I grabbed his hand again, knowing that someday I might have to give him more details, but Jericho didn’t push right now. He was a wise man who knew when it wasn’t the right time to pry.
“Finally,” Mammon spat when we reached her side.
“Sire,” Jericho said to Raphael with a nod.
I didn’t acknowledge Mammon in the same way. I was still a little pissed at her.
“Thank you. Both of you,” Raphael said. “You gave us the time we needed. We will always be grateful.”
Leviathan muttered something under his breath and we all looked at him. Once he noticed us staring, he pulled his shoulders back and stood taller. “It is time for me to go.”
“Nope,” Mammon said, placing her hand on his arm as though that could stop him. “Not until I have a verbal agreement.”
He glared down at her. “Is that really necessary?” From the way his voice spiked, I guessed this was something not of his choosing.
“A deal’s a deal, serpent.”
I watched Mammon and wondered just what exactly she had cooked up. Jericho held me close as though sensing the same thing.
“Fine,” Leviathan groaned. “She is off limits.”
“For how long?” Mammon asked.
“For a millennium. At least.” With that, Leviathan looked at me one more time, licked his lips, and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.
“What was that all about?” I asked my maker.
Mammon seemed almost hesitant to tell me. “Leviathan has agreed to leave you alone. You won’t have to worry about him ever again. Or,” she shrugged, “at least for a millennium.”
Wow. And here I was, still hating on her for throwing me into the equation in the first place. But she was trying. She was trying to fix her mistake and this was the first step.
“Thank you,” I whispered, tears almost breaking free.
“Don’t thank me yet,” she snapped. “We aren’t finished with you two.”
Jericho looked at Raphael. “Sire?”
“Oh, quit with the sire thing,” Mammon groaned. “In two days, you both will stand trial for the crimes committed against your species.”
“What?” Jericho asked at the same time I said, “That’s bullshit.”
Mammon focused on me. “You may have saved the world, but you did it because you love an angel. And that is something that has consequences.”
“Ashby is married to a human!”
“So?” Mammon spat.
“Well…well, what’s the difference?” When my maker glared at me, I decided it was time to shut up.
Raphael stood stone-faced as Jericho waited for an explanation—one he would never get. Several moments later, Raphael spread his wings and soared up over the statue until we couldn’t see him anymore.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked Mammon.
She sighed as Echo brought her a bottled water. Her sharp demeanor softened a little. “It’s a formality, Arabella. Just show up on time and everything will work out.” Straightening her jacket like she did each time she was finished with a conversation, she snapped at Echo. “Let’s go get lunch. I’m feeling like Korean today.”
Of course, Echo agreed, and when he offered his elbow, our maker accepted and allowed him to lead her off the island.
I looked up at Jericho. “What will they do to us?”
“I don’t know,” he whispered.
And right then and there I knew he was hiding something from me. But I was tired, and sore, and sick of wearing this dirty tee shirt. So, I hugged my angel tight and said, “Can we just sleep the next two days?”
He kissed the top of my head. “Sounds good to me.”
“Perfect. Then hold on tight.”
I focused on my apartment and willed us to be there. At least there, we could pretend, for a little while longer, that the whole world hadn’t gone to shit. That his brothers hadn’t tried to kill us. That I was never captured by a crazy demon.
We could just pretend that we were two normal people tired from work, who simply wanted to have a normal life.