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CHAPTER 49
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The atmosphere inside the hall crackled with an electric tension that prickled over my skin and sent my heart racing, as if I'd just spent the night off my face partying at one of Davey's gigs.
Ethan straightened up, rolling back his shoulders, and by his side, his fists were clenching and unclenching - that sure sign he was squaring up for a fight.Nobody had moved since the moment he'd appeared.The demon army surrounded him, their arms outstretched and ready to attack, and yet their stance and the expression on their faces seemed to tell a different story. If the tension was coming from anyone, it was coming from them, not from the one demon who stood alone, outnumbered, flanked on all sides by his enemy. The nervous energy coursing through the air was so palpable, I could feel it building, becoming this monstrous thing that was threatening to consume everything. I waited, my eyes wide, my throat burning, and as the seconds ticked by, I realised I was waiting for tRelated chapters
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'Which, of course, you can do,' said Blake. 'After Helel has done what we require of him. I take it you have the book?'Oscar sniffed long and hard, swallowing down whatever shit he'd been storing inside his nostrils. 'Yeah, I've got it,' he grumbled, thrusting the holdall into Blake's eager hands, before looking down at Ethan, his expression almost apologetic. 'Sorry, lad, I really am, but I told you a long time ago that you couldn't hide from this.'Ethan glared at him, the full weight of his stare feeling like a shroud of ice that chilled my skin, even though it was directed solely at the demon who had double-crossed him.'I should have known,' he said, his tone laced with venom. 'Tell me, Berith, how long did it take you to betray your friends once Blake had wormed his way into your soul? When their bodies were still warm, or did you wait until they had turned to dust?''That hurts, Ethan, that hurts me right here.' Oscar thumped his fist against his chest. '
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 51
'Wait!' she warned, pulling him closer. 'Be wise, Azazel. Whatever has been done can be undone.''How, Juliette? The Gospel is useless to us without the witch's words.' The muscles in Blake's arm tensed as he wrenched it from her grasp, clearly exerting a great deal of self-control to stop himself from beating Ethan senseless. He thrust his fists into his sides.Juliette flicked through the pages herself, her eyes shrewd as she looked at each page in turn, running her fingers over the now-wordless paper. Pursing her lips, she raised her head to look in Oscar's direction. The rogue Demon, I noticed, had gone very red in the face, which had never been a good sign if you'd had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of his Vesuvius-like temper.'Did you have a hand in this, Berith?' Juliette accused.Oscar's eyes hardened. 'You fucking what? I brought that book to you myself. Do you honestly think I'd hand it over if I knew it had been tampered with?''Then h
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 52
Snowflakes were falling onto my face.The chill of each minute crystal felt good on my skin, like dancing in a brief, downpour of rain after enduring the sticky heat of a scorching summers day. I tilted my head back, so I could catch more of the snow on my face, eyes closed and smiling as it caressed my lids with the gentlest of icy kisses.'You feel better now?' Mr. Tumnus said, close by.I nodded, my eyes still closed. 'Yes. Thank you, Mr. Tumnus. I feel much better indeed. There's something so wonderful about the snowfall, don't you think?'Mr. Tumnus said nothing for a moment, and when he did, there was such a sad inflection to his tone, that it made me open my eyes and search him out, because I hated to think of Tumnus feeling sad.'I have grown accustomed to the harsh bite of winter, daughter of Eve,' he said. 'But I do so long for the summer. I think I would very much like to feel the softness of grass under my hooves, and dance in the warm glow of th
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 53
Ethan wrinkled his nose, as if the memory had conjured up a bitter taste on his tongue. 'Money. She wanted money. She came from a dirt-poor family and grew up in a rural town in Romania. They had nothing. Literally nothing. She claimed she wanted the money to send to them, you know, help them escape the shit-stinking poverty they lived in.'I frowned. 'But, that's a good thing, surely? I mean, I'm not excusing her for betraying you like that, but if she wanted to help them...'He laughed, the grin widening. 'It was a lie. She had no intention of helping them. They freaked out when they found out she was a maledicti and accused her of being in league with the Devil. Old Romania was steeped in a superstitious fear of witchcraft and spirits back then, it still is in a lot of places. She couldn't actually do all the things they thought a witch could do, but she still burnt her family home down anyway before running away. She killed her grandmother, her aunt and her baby brothe
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 54
The darkened corridor stretched ahead on an incline that grew steeper the further we walked. It was as wide and as tall as the great doors of the hall we'd left behind us, befitting the size of Kong and making me feel small and mouse-like, particularly when flanked by Blake and his two Demon guards. The smooth walls and ceiling were curved and segmented, like we were walking inside the belly of some huge worm-like beast and not a corridor at all. Dull lights moved under the surface, like fireflies bobbing under the skin, illuminating the strange walkway just enough for me to still see the hard lines of Blake's face as he walked alongside me.The growing heat was sticky and uncomfortable, like the sudden rush of a bad pill, and perspiration itched the skin on the back of my neck. I longed to reach up and wipe it away, almost as much as I longed to grab Blake's wrists and make him burn.No one had said a word since Blake had told me Addi was looking forward to seeing me, but
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 55
I stopped just in front of him, raising my bound hands to his face and gently wiping at his mouth.'Baby-girl,' he croaked. He looked sickly-pale, his skin peppered with sweat. Pressing his lips together, he swallowed, closing his eyes for a second. 'You best not be looking down south, you know,' he said, when he opened them again. There he was. My Addison .I rested my forehead against his, doing my best to stifle the sob that was building with a weak-as-fuck smile. 'Like I haven't seen that before,' I said, rolling my eyes when his own widened. 'Skinny-dipping at Aguas Blancas, remember? You, me, Davey, that weird girl you picked up in the club. Emma?'Addi chuckled hoarsely. ' Emily ,' he corrected. 'And she wasn't weird. She just wasn't wasted like us.''Oh, well in Ibiza, that is weird.''True,' he said, sniffing as he glanced over my shoulder. 'Not as weird as this though.''I'm not sure weird is the word for it, Ads,' I said, my voice cracking as
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 56
The Fallen Angel he actually was.I swallowed down the thought of that, let it scald my throat.'Then, why, Oscar?' I whispered. 'If everything you say is true and you're trying to protect Ethan, why give them the Gospel?''Because, my darling, I gave them a book that's fucking useless to them, while ingratiating myself with Azazel in the process and making him believe I'm trying to earn my place in this new world he's got such a hard-on for. That useless bundle of paper is only good for wiping their arses on.''Blake doesn't seem to think so,' I protested. 'And Addi just had half his soul sucked out of his body because of that useless bundle of paper.'Oscar's expression faltered – a brief crack in the façade that seemed almost human – when I mentioned Addi's name and his grip on my wrists eased. 'That kid will be okay. Worth his weight in gold that one and a lot fucking stronger than I gave him credit for.'Anger flared hot and expl
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 57
I was dying.I don't know what I'd expected to happen. I mean, it had looked just like an ordinary vial of liquid. Blood, yes, but I'd tried not to think about that as I'd swallowed it down. Tried not to think about the strange coppery taste on my tongue. Tried not to think about how it was warm, when it shouldn't have been, because the First had been slain thousands of years before my time. I'd tried not to gag as it hit the back of my throat, because that's what you did when that voice inside you insists you shouldn't be consuming something alien. I even half-expected Oscar to start laughing and call me a stupid cow for falling for it, because of course, this had to be a joke, right? I wasn't drinking the blood of some fabled First creature to have ever existed. I wasn't drinking the blood of the First Angel. I couldn't be, because even just the thought of that was total bloody insanity.I was dying. I had to be.Maybe this was the joke. Maybe this was what Oscar ha
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'You sure you want to do this, Case?'Addi's brow was a mess of worry lines as he looked at me, his gaze flitting down to where my hand rested on my distended stomach. I'd been rubbing it without even realising it. Rubbing it because I could feel Lily moving around inside. Rubbing it because it calmed me. Addi knew that and I knew what he was thinking now. He thought I didn't want to do this. He thought I'd changed my mind.I looked into his eyes and smiled.'Yes, Addison. Perfectly bloody sure, thank you.'I chewed on my lower lip as I studied his face, suddenly uncertain whether he was trying to dissuade me because he didn't want to be a part of this. I couldn't blame him. He might have enjoyed being a gangster once, but things had stepped up a level since his days of dealing drugs on Davey's patch.'You know, if you don't want to be here, Ads, no one's going to stop you from leaving, or think any less of you for not sticking around.''Speak for yours
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 66
'No,' I gasped. 'No.'Ethan glanced towards Blake, lowering his voice. 'Please, Casey, please listen to me. I have to finish this now. Angels? Demons? It makes no difference. They are one and the same. Look at them. Both want to control this world, but it doesn't belong to them. The First might have been the first Angel, but the First was not the first being to walk this earth. Humans were here long before we arrived. The First Angel knew this and knew we didn't deserve to claim it. That's why the Seraphim killed her.'My mouth fell open. ' Her? ''The First was female, Casey, or at least as close to it as it was possible to get.'I rocked back on my heels, feeling overwhelmed by his words, overwhelmed by the pain in my broken arm, but mostly overwhelmed by what I knew he intended to do.'There must be another way,' I said. 'There has to be. You can persuade them, Ethan, if anyone can change things, you can.''This is the only way things can change. Usu
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'Are you fucking insane? ' Ethan shot back, his voice echoing out. 'Think about what you're saying, Azazel! Think about the pain they inflicted on us all over the centuries!''They inflicted it on us, Helel, while you sat quaking in whatever dimension you created for yourself. Don't talk to me of the pain of the Shedim when you turned your back on your kind a long time ago. Lucifer poisoned you, Helel. He poisoned your mind to the truth and infected you with his lies.'Turning his face up to the skies, where the Seraphim and Council waited, Blake called up to them.'Blessed Seraphim!' Blake pleaded with them, gesturing to me. 'Rightful descendants of the Throne, this is proof of my devotion, proof of my commitment to you! I will give you the witch. Do with her what you will, but I beg you to grant the Shedim a pardon. We denounce Lucifer. We denounce the ways of the First to Fall. We will no longer defy your rule. Please, I beg of you, redeem us our powers and let us
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The ground exploded near my feet, sending plumes of white dust billowing up into my face and I stumbled, alarmed as a fissure appeared in the dry, white earth, wide enough to swallow my feet.'Casey, watch out,' Ethan shouted, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me away, just in time.A tall, lithe Dominion, no doubt the one to fire the explosive shot that had made the ground open up, came hurtling through the melee, its moves surprisingly graceful, its hair flying around its shoulders like a cascade of silver silk. With a cry that contorted its beautiful face into something quite repulsive, it released a hail of hard, focused bolts of energy that came at us with such speed that I felt the first ones rip through the air by my face as I pulled out of their way, the fierce velocity burning at my skin. I heard Ethan cry out and judder against me, and I knew he'd not been so lucky. He'd been hit, not badly, but a small trickle of blood was snaking from his temple where th
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'Ethan,' I whispered urgently. 'I can't do what you asked. I don't know how.'He pulled me close again, smiling as he trailed the backs of his fingers of his now-blackened hand down my cheek. 'Just let go, Casey. Trust your instincts. Trust yourself. You can do this.'I swallowed my fear and nodded, still unsure that I could do what he wanted, still sure that his faith in me was misguided.'Oscar, look after Addi.' Ethan gestured to Addi, who was standing behind us all, still staring wide-eyed up at the Archangels as if hypnotised. I couldn't blame him. Even with their terrifying wings of fire, they were still dazzling to the eye. They were rising up into the air now, retreating towards their forces, the screech of the Cherubim heralding their return.Oscar's nose wrinkled as if he didn't much like his appointed role as Addi's guardian. 'And what exactly are you going to do?' he said to Ethan.'I'm going to do just what I promised.' Ethan turned back, direct
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 62
Oscar chuckled. 'Careful, Uriel,' he said. 'Endorian magic has a habit of burning a bit. Hate for you to hurt those pretty hands of yours.'Uriel, who was clutching his hand to his chest, sneered at Oscar, his angered gaze sweeping over him with repulsion. He inhaled deeply and grimaced.'Berith, it appears no amount of time can lessen the stench of your betrayal. So many years in exile and your mutinous intent remains sadly as strong as ever. We believed you had left Lucifer's failed teachings behind you and learned your place. It seems we were mistaken.'Oscar sniffed dismissively. 'The Council have been mistaken about many things, Uriel. Time could never diminish the power of Lucifer's teachings, and time was all I ever needed to make you believe the lie. I've got to say, you boys have disappointed me, you really have. You're such experts at smothering the truth, I thought you'd have realised centuries ago that I hadn't abandoned your brother.'Uriel hissed ag
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 61
Snowflakes tickled my nose and I reached up with my free hand to wipe them away. My other one was gripping Mr. Tumnus' hand tightly.Behind me, the door to the wardrobe was open, the thick wall of fur coats being the only barrier between this world and my own. I knew if I wanted to, I could push my way through them and feel their warmth engulf me. I could go back and yet somehow, I knew that nothing would feel as warm as Tumnus' hand did around my own.'You could go now, daughter of Eve,' he said, softly. 'You should go now, before they get here.'I looked up at him, smiling at the snowflakes that were melting in his hair and settling on his woolly red scarf. The snow was falling heavier now, the wind catching it and making it look like a flock of tiny white birds, spinning and diving in the air. Tumnus blinked as a flake settled on his eyelashes. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he must have thought better of it in the end, because he swallowed it down
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 60
'Casey, girl, don't you do this!'We glanced at the one called Berith, irritated at his intrusion, but he didn't matter anymore. None of them mattered now.Reaching out with the water, we pulled Helel to his feet, tugging him towards us. We caressed him with the water, ignored his revulsion as we let it run over his earthly form, shuddered as we felt his divine power – so much power like this world had never seen! The mighty Helel! Oh, Morning Star! Oh, Bringer of Dawn! We would have him now, claim him for ourselves, control the one that would be the First!We forced the water into him, just as we had done before, craving the touch of his power again, craving all that he was and all that he would be. He shuddered, fought against us, but we were the Naiad, we were with the water and with Endor, and we would prevail.We brushed aside his petty memories and all those pointless emotions that had enslaved him for so long and poured everything into him, all our p
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 59
'You are sure?' Blake said.The sound of his voice popped in my ears, like a bubble of pressure bursting, pain stabbing in my eardrums and down into my throat.My throat .Something was in my throat.I gagged and coughed up water. I watched, dazed, my eyes barely half-open as it trickled away of its own accord, sliding over the monochrome tiles until it reached an ever-shifting stream of water that I could see stretching round behind Ethan.My cheek was damp, pressed against the floor and a lock of wet hair hung over my eyes. A tiny drop of water slid down the lock and grew fat, hanging there, before finally dropping to the floor and that tiny droplet moved of its own volition and joined the moving stream, like an ant, seeking the protection of its colony.My clothes felt heavy and stuck to my skin. I shivered and tried to focus. Ethan was positioned just as I'd remembered, before the water had come, only now his bound hands were in his lap again and hi
