With my cheek pressed against hers, I whispered, “I’ll never leave you again.”
Mom squeezed me tighter, her shoulders trembling.
Dad kissed my forehead. “And Ramiel? He’s with Lizeth?” Dad asked.
“He must be,” Bex said, walking into the room. Allison was with him, but she hovered in the doorway. “I can’t sense him anymore,” he said.
“He crossed through the Eighth Pearl,” Eli said from the corner. “But you’re all causing quite a stir up top.”
We all turned to face him. He was wearing a fresh new shirt, one without a tear from Lucifer’s blade.
“Really? You’d think Satan kabobbing you with his sword would’ve pissed someone off,” Levi said with a smirk.
“His temper isn’t exactly a surprise, but it’s been taken care of,” Eli said in his typical unaffected tone.
“How?” Dad asked.
“That’s between Lucifer and The Almighty.” He shrugged. “And you’ll find out soon enough.” Eli stepped forward from the dark corner, still in rolled khaki chinos and sandals. Even in the moonlight pouring in from the window, his skin was nearly glowing tan as if he’d just returned from a sunny holiday. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “The plan.”
I wiped my cheek. “What about it?”
He arched an eyebrow. “So you admit it? Making deals with one side behind the scenes? Not becoming of The Keeper of the Balance.”
“It wasn’t her plan,” Levi said, coming to my defense. “She had no idea. Neither did I, until we arrived in Ramiel’s Oubliette.”
“And yet you’re part of it,” Eli said.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked. “What is he talking about?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, already feeling her anxiety. “My death set off a chain reaction.”
“Well, that’s Lucifer’s problem,” Mom said.
Her answer took me by surprise. She usually wanted more information than that.
Mom held me tight to her side, pausing for a moment at the circulating smell of Sulphur, but soon glared at Eli. “You know as well as anyone it’s a process. She’s learning so many things. She didn’t ask for any of this, Eli. Tell Him she deserves a learning curve. She’s still half human.”
Eli glanced at me.
“What?” Mom asked, catching the motion. She’d been left in the dark so often she was hyper aware of any signs of secrecy.
I wiped my eyes again. “You have all the subtleness of a napalm suppository.”
Eli chucked, and even Dad had to suppress an unexpected guffaw, but the tone quickly became serious again.
“Eden, am I witnessing your denial of any part of Ramiel’s agreement with Cain and Abel?”
I nodded, waiting. This wasn’t a friendly check-in. Eli was investigating. I’d been accused.
Levi sensed it as I did and took a protective stance in front of me; the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his muscles tensed, and his hands balled into fists.
Eli grinned, touched by Levi’s diminutive but powerful gesture. “She’s safe, Levi. I’ve only been sent to corroborate the stories of Ramiel, Cain, and Abel, and it all seems to check out.”
Levi reached back, grabbing my hand tight. Something far more potent than déjà vu paused the world around me. We’d been there before, accused and separated for more than a few lifetimes. The agony only flashed through my soul for a moment, but it was enough to nearly incapacitate me. I grabbed Levi’s middle with my free hand, pulling him to my chest.
He held my hand tighter.
“Levi, however,” Eli began. “I don’t have to tell you he disturbed The Balance. He’s done enough in the past twenty-four hours to warrant a tribunal.”
“You know it’s what they wanted,” I said.
“Do you feel that?” Eli asked. “The difference in how he feels so close to you? He feels like an enemy now. You’re aware of his offenses. Just because you’ve found a loophole doesn’t mean it’s excused. Eve and Cain have long been sentenced by God. Levi superseded that sentence. He’s absolved of any involvement in Ramiel’s transfer, but no, he’s not with Lizeth.”
“What? Why?” My voice was higher and louder than I’d meant for it to be.
“Eden,” Eli said. For the first time, he seemed frustrated. “You can’t fool The Almighty, and it’s dangerously near blasphemy that you tried. Ramiel is being held. Lizeth is allowed to visit until his release.”
“But he’ll be released,” I prodded.
“One day,” Eli said. “Abel has been detained for a time as well. But your choice has forced Heaven’s hand, Eden.”
“To punish Levi,” I said.
“You’re to exile him,” Eli said. “I’m sorry I didn’t have better news.”
“To where?”
Eli didn’t have to answer. I already knew.
“I’m not sending him back to Hell,” I said, my voice firm.
Eli remained stoic.
“Eli!” I begged. I locked eyes with my father, then Mom, then Uncle Bex, pleading with them to help me.
“And he must return Gehenna to The Temple,” Eli said. “His Cambion status will return, and he will be protected … by Bex.”
“What?” I cried.
Bex’s mouth fell open. He was speechless.
“Wait a second,” Dad began.
“What did I just hear?” Claire asked, rounding the corner into my room from the stairway and passing Allison. Ryan was right behind her. “Tell me I heard him wrong,” she said, tears already filling her eyes. She was shaking to hold back her rage.
“I’m … exiled with Levi? I don’t understand,” Bex said. He was in total disbelief.
“No!” Allison screamed from the door.
Our entire family exploded with emotion, screaming and crying and arguing with Eli.
“It’s the only way to stop Lucifer’s sons from breaching this plane. We’re avoiding a war, and…” Eli said, pausing, “Levi is dying.”
The room grew quiet. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, he’s just losing the powers his father granted him.”
“Those are long gone,” Eli said, strolling across the room. “Lucifer has turned his back on him. Levi is a man without a country. He’s fully human now, and his body is struggling to navigate his actual age. His cells are breaking down. If Levi and Bex don’t accept this sentence, they’ll die anyway.”
Bex grabbed Allison just as her knees went out from under her. She covered her mouth and sobbed. Saying no over and over was all she could manage.
I sat on the edge of my mattress, stunned.
“One thing before I go,” Eli said. “I’m saying this as a friend. The Balance was disturbed before you were born, Eden. As impossible as it seems, it’s never too late to fix what was broken. It’s never too late to go back, even if it could change everything. You were given the most extraordinary powers. More than you even you know. Use them wisely and take it all back.”