Kobal

“So, you are a fallen angel now too?” River asked.

Raphael’s nostrils flared and his gaze slid to Caim. “No, I could never be one of them. My wings will remain intact, and I will never allow myself to become corrupted as they have.”

Caim rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. “Oh, Raphael, so certain of yourself in all things. Remember, pride goeth before the fall. Wait until you feed on your first wraith, because you will have to in order to survive. If their nefarious souls don’t start to wear away at your otherworldly perfection, something else will trip you up one day. You are no longer in Heaven, with none of its temptations and all its endless boredom. This is the mortal realm; there is much to enjoy here my arrogant, prick of a brother.”

“Enough,” I commanded when Raphael’s hand tightened on his sword.

“Why can’t you go back?” River asked Raphael.

“Each angel has the ability to open a gateway out of Heaven. However, once on Earth, we are unable to open a gateway back into Heaven,” Raphael replied. “Michael is the only angel who is capable of opening a gateway from Earth into Heaven. It is against our laws for any angel to come to Earth, and Michael will not come to retrieve me. I knew when I left Heaven that I would never be able to return.”

“It’s also against the laws for an angel to heal a human,” Caim said. “Or at least it was when I was in Heaven.”

“Is that true?” River asked. “Was it illegal for you to save me?”

“It was,” Raphael confirmed. “Some of the other angels felt it best if we allowed you to die. Others were undecided, and some were adamant it be done. In the end, it was my choice to make. I am the only one with a healing ability strong enough to heal the dead. I’ve seen countless humans martyr themselves for loved ones and causes before, but with your bloodline and selflessness, I knew I had to make a sacrifice to save you.”

“Well lah-dee-fucking-dah for you,” Corson said. “One of you self-righteous assholes has sacrificed something since you dumped these black-winged dicks on the world six thousand years ago. I’m really glad you saved River, but you’ll get no sympathy from me.”

Hawk snickered and Magnus smiled at Raphael who didn’t acknowledge Corson’s words.

“Won’t you die on Earth like the original fallen angels were supposed to?” River asked Raphael.

“Yes, before I would have perished here,” he replied.

“Before what?”

“Before the humans opened the gateway and changed the natural order of things,” I answered her. “In the past, the gateways to and from Hell and Earth and Heaven and Earth were opened by creatures who were not of this world. Those gateways were never as large as the one the humans opened, and they never stayed open long.”

“What difference does that make?” Erin inquired.

“A big one. Earth has changed, and it will never be the same. The unnatural gateway has forever altered the fabric of all our existences,” I explained. “I don’t have to return to Hell, or travel to the other side of the world to know the gateway in Hungary closed at the same time as the one on this side of the world. I felt its shutting when it occurred. I can also feel that things didn’t return to the way they were on Earth, or in Hell. Demons and other Hell creatures won’t have to travel into Hell to maintain their immortality, or to feed. When the gateway closed, there were still wraiths on Earth. Like everything else from Hell, they will now be able to survive here too as Hell and Earth have intertwined with each other.”

“Oh shit,” Vargas breathed.

***

River

“Thirteen years was too much time for the gateway to remain open,” I murmured.

“Fourteen years,” Erin said.

“What?” I asked.

She gave me a wan smile. “It’s September. It’s been fourteen years since the gateway opened.”

I blinked at her, uncertain of what to say or how to respond. Fourteen years. It’s September. “How long were we in Hell for?” I blurted.

“Five days,” Shax replied.

Five days? How was that possible? How could I have missed the anniversary of the gateway opening if we had only been gone for five days? The anniversary had been in July.

“We all missed it,” Erin said gently as she seemed to guess at my thoughts. “But then, we’ve all been pretty damn busy. I didn’t realize the anniversary had passed until two days ago when I noticed that fall was settling in.”

I gazed over her shoulder at the fading green of the maple leaves. Some of them were already taking on an orange or red hue. There had been a time when the anniversary of the gateway opening would have been as recognized by me as Volunteer Day. However, unlike Volunteer Day, there had been nothing celebratory about the anniversary date.

I realized that Volunteer Day, the anniversary, and all the other things that had once ruled my life felt as if they belonged to a different River now. My life had changed so much in such a short time.

I could never go back to my old life, and I didn’t want to. All I wanted from it was my brothers and my friends and I would get them. For the first time, I truly realized how precious time was. Living in the past would only bog me down, and living in the future would make me miss the present.

All any of us had was the now, including the immortals.

My eyes lingered on Verin as she hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. My heart broke for her sorrow.

“We’d hoped to put things to rights by closing the gateway, but even if the gateway was closed minutes after opening, I don’t think the damage would have been fixed,” Kobal said.

“So that means all the creatures that broke out of Hell will survive on Earth forever?” I croaked.

“No, it means they will survive until we hunt them down and kill them,” Bale replied and pulled her sword free to tap the blade against the palm of her hand. “They don’t stand a chance.”

I gazed at the humans and demons standing by the truck. “Many people will die before then.”

Kobal rested his hand on my shoulder, drawing me closer as he spoke. “Ever since they created this mess, the humans have been trying to hide it. We did the best we could to keep them safe, but it is time for the humans to reap what they have sown. Yes, many will die, but many were killed when the gateway opened, and many have perished since. Death is the way of all the worlds.”

“Not for the angels, at least not the ones above,” Shax said, his eyes locked on Raphael.

“We experienced our fair share of deaths during the battle with Lucifer. Many of the angels were slaughtered. Even a few archangels, such as myself, lost their lives,” Raphael said.

“So it’s been six thousand years since you’ve experienced death?” Vargas asked.

“We watch over the mortal realm. We experience death every single day and in the thousands,” Raphael replied.

“The more he speaks, the more I hate him,” Corson muttered.

Raphael pinned him with a steely look. “We do not fight amongst ourselves like demons and humans do.”

“I think you forgot about Lucifer and his followers,” Kobal growled.

“Lucifer wanted too much. He questioned too much and broke our laws,” Raphael said. “Angels cannot have the freedom humans and demons enjoy. Because they broke the laws, those who followed Lucifer were denied the glory of Heaven.”

“Glory my ass,” Caim snorted. “Heaven may be the ultimate goal, but you will experience joys here you would never find in Heaven. Each plane has something to offer that the others don’t. Without any guidance from the being, it was only a matter of time before some angels started questioning things.”

“What do you mean without guidance from the being?” Vargas inquired.

“After the being finished creating all the angels, it established laws for us and retreated from our world. The angels remained to do what they were supposed to do, guide and give bliss to the souls they feed on in Heaven,” Caim replied. “And we blindly followed the laws in an unbelievably boring fashion. Then, one day, Lucifer asked a simple question.”