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The fire crackled and I shivered under the metric ton of blankets they draped over me. The hot cocoa in my hands was warm and sweet, but nothing in comparison to the feel of Valerie’s arms wrapped around me. We overtook Steve and Jennifer’s cottage, waiting for the rest of the family to arrive.
I hadn’t launched into all I learned while on the other side. I just wanted to have to lay it out once, and be done with it. The one thing I probably should have asked before I left was for a map showing where all the portals were, but then again, maybe it was by design that Michael and Uriel didn’t enlighten me. Maybe they wanted some time to devise a plan to save my father before I closed off any possible chance of that ever happening. Maybe they just didn’t know where all the gates to hell resided.
I could only speculate and I sighed, sliding my gaze to Valerie’s profile. She stared into the fire, reconciling the facts fed to her in the space of a few minutes when I opened my mind. She had opened her mouth with several questions since, and I just shook my head, softly whispering for her to wait.
By the time the crew arrived, I had warmed up to the point I felt human again, and God bless them, they brought food and warmer clothes for me. Steve pulled me into a hug after he set the pizzas down on the table.
“I thought we lost you for good this time,” he said.
“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” I said and he pulled back with a grin. “By the way, I have a message for you.”
The relief in his eyes tempered with a mixture of dread and he nodded, waiting for whatever words of wisdom I had to impart.
“Sarah asked me to tell you not to sweat it. She understands why you did what you did.” I shifted and leaned closer. “It looks like she hooked up with Eric.”
His eyebrows arched. “No shit?” he slipped and then pressed his mouth closed as his gaze drifted to the kids filtering into the cottage.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve seen either of them so happy.”
He grinned. “Damn,” he said and the guilt in his heart lifted a fraction.
The kids immediately started running through the cottage in a whirlwind and I stepped away from Steve, grabbing the offering of clothes and opting for a quick shower before I ate. I wasn’t quite ready to outline the facts, either.
The shower was warm and I could hear the happy chaos through the door. I didn’t linger like I wanted, not with the building tension as they all started speculating. After I dressed, I wiped a clear spot in the mirror and stared at the sigil on my chest, gently tracing it with my finger. It didn’t hurt, but it was a reminder of the grace infused with my powers and I met my own gaze before I buttoned up the shirt the rest of the way.
“Thank you,” I whispered, hoping like hell my father could hear.
Before the emotions ran amok, I stepped out into the living room. The sudden silence made me falter and I stopped, scanning the collective group that made up my family.
“Want some pizza?” Valerie asked.
I nodded and crossed to the table, sliding onto the free chair next to her. She put a couple of slices on my plate and my gaze locked with Grace’s. The child just grinned at me and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I told you it would become clear,” she said in that mini-adult voice before she blinked and was my three-year-old niece again.
“Yes, you did.” I took a bite of my pizza and scanned the multiple pairs of eyes locked on me. “After we finish here, okay?” I said through my mouthful. I knew the anticipation was killing them, but I needed food just as badly as I needed to clean up earlier. “I promise,” I added after I swallowed, and then dug into the pizza as if I hadn’t eaten in months.
With my belly full and my family gathered in the family room, I moved one of the folding chairs to the side of the fireplace where I could still feel the heat of the fire. I didn’t want Valerie in my arms for this conversation and I leaned forward, balancing my elbows on my knees and clasping my hands, taking a moment to figure out where to begin.
“I died,” I said and sat up. “Taking on Lucifer without the benefit of angel grace was a stupid move on my part.” I let that sit out there. “Even at Black Cove, I wouldn’t have survived if Damian hadn’t come. It’s a lesson that cost a lot of people a great deal.” I glanced at Valerie. My recklessness almost cost her her life.
My gaze moved to Damian. “You didn’t beat Lucifer until you had Michael’s grace and the infusion of power you stole from me.”
“I didn’t...”
I put my hand up stopping him. “It’s okay. I get that it wasn’t intentional but the combination of those two items is what is needed to have a fighting chance.”
“What about me?” Naomi said and I glanced at her.
“You were a vampire in the form of a Tiger, that’s a bit different and yeah, you almost ended him.”
“Momma, you were a vampire?” Grace asked, looking up from her coloring.
“Yes, honey, but I got better,” Naomi answered and then glanced back at me.
I offered a shrug. The conversation was going to get much darker and my gaze traveled to the kids and back to Naomi and Damian. “Maybe it’s time for a nap,” I said.
All three children looked up at me.
“We already napped in the car,” Michael said, taking the lead. His gaze penetrated in a way that I had only seen from Grace. Maybe the trinity connection was much greater than I thought and when he glanced back at the coloring book in front of him, the child was back and concentrating on coloring within the lines.
I now understood the need I had to protect the children. Raphael’s bloodline ran in both of us, and that compelled me more than I cared to admit. I moved my gaze to Tom.
“You and I share Raphael’s blood line, so we are actually related to Naomi. That was one of Mom’s angelic blood lines.” I unbuttoned my shirt enough to show the scar turned tattoo on my chest. “I’m pretty sure this is Uriel’s symbol. Uriel is one of Dad’s angelic bloodlines. He and Dad helped to get me back home.” I pressed my lips together and my head dipped. “Uriel gave me his grace and Dad...” I couldn’t finish.
“Dad gave up Heaven,” Tom signed, his words echoing in my head and I looked up at him through a sheen of tears and nodded.
“Yeah. He was the only one who could drag that bastard back to Hell.” I blinked the mist away and ran a hand down my face.
“Valerie said you are a trinity?” Damian asked. I hadn’t opened my mind to share the particulars with him.
“Both Mom and Dad shared another angelic bloodline, which, when added to Raphael’s and Uriel’s, makes me a trinity,” I said and scanned the room, sighing. “It’s the reason being near Dad jump started her talents.” I locked eyes with Tom. “We carry Lucifer’s bloodline.”
No one moved. No one spoke. They all just stared at me until Tom sat back in his seat and ran his hands through his hair. His face paled and his head slowly shook, trying to deny the reality that devil’s blood flowed through our veins.
“Pisser, ain’t it?” I asked and he barked a laugh, nodding. “Imagine how I felt, finding out I’m a f...” I stopped before I dropped the f-word in front of the children. “A dark trinity,” I finished with a softer tone.
“You aren’t a dark trinity,” Grace said from her place at the table, pulling everyone’s attention in her direction. “Dark trinities are bad.”
The simple statement and the way her eyes flitted from the coloring book to mine sent a rash of goose flesh up my arms. A quick scan told me I wasn’t the only one who reacted the same way.
“She’s right,” Damian said, turning back to me.
“Oh, and thanks for telling me you didn’t have to eat an angel’s heart to be given their grace,” I said directly to Damian. “I made an ass out of myself when Uriel offered up his. I told him I didn’t really want to eat his heart.”
Damian’s eyebrows rose and then the group collectively started to chuckle.
“I apparently am not immune to making a fool out of myself in Heaven.” I leaned back and crossed my arms, feeling the hint of a smile finally appearing on my lips. Valerie covered her snicker, but I saw the humor return to her eyes.
When the laughter at my expense wound down, Tom signed, “Did you see anyone else up there?”
I nodded. “Mom, Emily, Eric, and your father were all there, too, along with Dad’s brother and Sarah. They had just as hard of a time accepting the plan, but it was either this, or Lucifer would win and I couldn’t live with that. Neither could Dad.”
“So, your father is in Hell?” Steve asked. His complexion paled with the thought of his guardian angel burning in the pit.
“Yes,” I replied. “And I have to close all the existing portals.”
“Does Lucifer know?” Valerie asked.
“I’m sure he knows I’m going to try, especially given the things he did to you.” My gaze dropped to the bruises still on her neck. She had yet to use the healing power to fix her wounds.
“That’s not what I’m asking,” she clarified. “I’m asking if he knows you are one of his descendants.”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t know. But he did see the resemblance to Uriel in my father.” I shrugged and dropped my gaze to my hands. “I doubt that will make a difference in how Dad will be treated down there.” I chose my words carefully, cognizant of the children’s ears. As it was, I had already dropped a few inappropriate words that were bound to be repeated.
Oh well, what was an uncle for if not to add colorful words to a child’s vocabulary?
“Are you going to follow through on closing the portals?” Damian asked with a voice as hard as the bricks behind me.
I met his uncompromising stare with my own.
“Yes.”
“What about Dad?” Tom signed, his eyes reflecting the pain I held close in my heart.
“He made me promise. I’m closing the gates, even if it means his sacrifice is permanent.”