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“Soleil, Aurora, thank God,” Jerome said, wrapping both of us in his arms. I looked down to find there was a small cat-like thing at my feet, and it was still trying to take form.
“Aurora, what did you grab?” I asked her.
“A hellcat,” Aurora said to me.
“What is a hellcat?” I asked, and a cat the size of a tiger was suddenly at my feet.
“Aurora?” I looked at the girl.
“She wanted to come back with us. Uncle Zadkiel made her,” Aurora said.
“The cat is not staying here. I already have a dog, a unicorn, and a horse,” I told my parents.
“Angel is your dog. Uncle Z made her for you with my instructions. He made the hellcat for me,” Aurora told us. I stared at the cat. It was pink and purple, Aurora’s favorite colors. It was even striped like a tiger.
“What are you going to name her?” Ariel asked.
“Her name is Lexi,” Aurora said. “But I didn’t name her, that is just her name.” I stared at the cat and wondered if it was like Leviathan’s dragon and possibly contained a bargained soul within it.
“Can I pet her?” I asked Aurora.
“Yes, she’d like that,” Aurora said. I put her down and she immediately tossed herself onto the big cat. I reached down and rubbed my fingers over the cat’s ears. No bargained soul.
“She really is a cat,” I said after a moment.
“Why is Zadkiel making you a cat?” Helia asked.
“He sends me butterflies and moths in my dreams to keep my dreams happy, and sometimes if I really want an animal, he’ll make it for me.”
“He did that with all the kids,” Raphael said. “Well, not butterflies, but he sent messages to both of you girls while you slept. It used to cause Soleil to summon demons.”
“He sends me messages, too. Always has,” Jerome told my sister.
“So he said.” I frowned. “Always?”
“Yes,” Jerome said. “Or at least as long as I can remember. I didn’t know it was Leviathan, or Zadkiel, until after I met you, though.”
“I see,” I said.
“Aurora, why does Soleil need a hellhound?” My father asked.
“Because Azazael doesn’t believe Leviathan and Lucifer,” Aurora said matter-of-factly. “He’ll come for her and Jerome. I met him today and he was shocked to find that he couldn’t fight Soleil in the Stygian. Even the big, scary demon couldn’t fight her there. She made him kneel before her. She called him a weird name though, Titan-ahnk-cro-nose,“ Aurora said softly, trying to sound out the name.
“And so that is Belial?” Raphael said.
“He gave the demon box to a leprechaun,” Aurora said happily. “I want to meet a leprechaun.”
“But he says it isn’t the leprechaun using them,” I said. I handed Jerome one of the feathers I had taken from Azazael. He took it and immediately dropped it. Then he picked it back up.
“That feels slimy and cold,” Jerome said.
“It’s Azazael’s,” I replied.
“It’s not the feather in the box either,” he said.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Jerome. I made a portal and entered it. When I brought Leviathan over from the Stygian, he didn’t have wings, but in the Stygian he did. I hadn’t thought to get one of his feathers.
“What are you doing, niece?” Leviathan boomed at me.
“I need a feather for Jerome. He needs to feel the magic to identify it,” I said.
“Oh,” Leviathan said. Leviathan lifted his arms first and then his wings. They touched both walls of the great hall. I reached up and plucked a feather. Leviathan shuddered.
“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” I asked him.
“No, niece. It felt wonderful. You do not understand what your touch does to demons. It is part of your magic. It makes me feel more alive than I ever remember feeling.”
“Zadkiel, am I gaining powers?” I asked him.
“No, you are finally learning to use all the powers you’ve always had,” Leviathan said. “As Jerome grows more in tune with his magic, it is making you realize you pigeon-holed your own magic and never learned to use it beyond exorcism.”
“I see.”
“This is what I tried to tell you as a child, but you were mighty stubborn.” Leviathan laughed and it felt wonderful in my soul. “One day, niece, you and Jerome will fight alongside myself and Lucifer and any other demons you bring into your armies and you will destroy those that stand against you.”
“But why?” I asked.
“Because the nature of demons is to want to cross the Stygian and experience life. Lucifer has aged in the Stygian and those that would use it against him have been watching. Beelzebub was just the first to defect. You stopped the second today,” Leviathan said.
“Belial,” I said the name slowly.
“Belial.” Leviathan nodded. “You proved to Belial he would prefer to serve Lucifer rather than face you. The others will also remember today for a long time. You have plenty of time to prepare yourself and your son for the fight.”
“Jerome?” I asked.
“Yes,” Leviathan said. “Raphael doesn’t know it, but some of the magic in you also runs in Jerome because of his blessing to Jerome’s bloodline. A DNA test would reveal Jerome has as much DNA in common with you as Aurora and Ariel,” Leviathan told me. “Nothing happens by accident, remember that.”
“Leviathan, how do you know this?“ I asked.
“The Fates and Furies are both my creations,” Leviathan answered.
“I could destroy Azazael before the battle,” I said to Leviathan.
“If not Azazael, it would be something or someone else,” the hell prince answered, and I looked at the floor.
“Thank you for the feather, I must return to Jerome.”
“One last bit of advice; you have silenced Belial and many others for now, but eventually he will forget his humiliation and come for you again. Soleil, returning Beelzebub would also help, but I know that is Uriel’s doing,” Leviathan said, and I opened the portal to return to my parents.
“Aurora should definitely keep the hellcat,” I said as I flopped onto the couch. “Is there any more cheesecake?” I held out the feather to Jerome.
“Leviathan,” Jerome said reverently, as he took the feather. “The feathers in the previous boxes had similar magic to Leviathan’s, but they aren’t his.”
“So, whoever is making the boxes has access to Jerome’s blood, my feathers, and has found someone with magic like Leviathan’s. Oh, and they got the instructions from a leprechaun named Menard,” I said.