Back in Eden, we stopped at the safe room outside the gate to stash our stuff. Cassiel’s locker was much bigger than mine. The inside of its door had a couple of magnets. With a glance over, I could make them out: London, Sydney. Now she would have Venice. I’d expected there would be more given her fascination with them.
She was unloading the bag she’d brought along. No phone. Nothing personal. Just hand sanitizer, a toothbrush, and a small collection of travel-sized supplies.
Cassiel had only ever been a traveler.
She caught me staring.
I smiled and turned back to my own stuff. I flipped through my Iliana book until she closed her locker door. “Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I stuffed the book back inside and shut the door.
We kept our distance as we neared the Eden steps. It was a little exciting carrying such a secret into the purest place in the universe. I smiled over at her. She smiled back.
My smile faded as I caught sight of my chamber up ahead. Sooner or later I’d have to do some work—or the bodies (figuratively speaking) would start piling up again.
Just looking at my door, my shoulders sagged. Nothing in me wanted to go in there. I wasn’t sure how Azrael had done the job for so many millennia. I was starting to understand why he spent so much time on Earth.
“You all right?” she asked as we neared the Eden Gate.
“Can I confess something?”
She looked surprised. “Sure.”
“I hate my job.”
“What?”
“The final death. Making people cease existing. I hate it almost as much as I hate sentencing souls to Nulterra.”
She was smiling. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“OK, I will. The Angels of Death got screwed.”
“What?” she asked with a laugh.
“Think about it. The messengers have the Avronesh.” I pointed back at her. “You guys have the Onyx Tower. The guardians have the Keep in the auranos. The prophets have Celestine. And the Angels of Life have the Throne Room.
“The Angels of Death are supposed to be the most powerful in all of Eden, and we got stuck with Reclusion. Undoubtedly, the most miserable place in all of Eden.”
“The Angels of Death are the most powerful in Eden?” She scoffed. “You sound just like your father.”
“Are we not? It says so in the Canon.”
“You are the first choir in Eden. Nowhere in the Canon does it say you’re the most powerful.”
“Same thing.”
She laughed. “It’s really not.”
“Still,” I said, shaking my head.
“What’s wrong with Reclusion? It’s gorgeous. All polished obsidian and domed ceilings. You even have an oculus.”
I made a circle with my fingers. “That looks this big from the floor.”
“But you can go to the landing above the oculus. It has some of the best views of the auranos.”
I stopped walking and crossed my arms. “Oh really? How do the stars look from the Onyx Tower?”
She pressed her lips together to fight a smile.
“See?” With a huff, I walked on and she followed. “Reclusion is depressing. It’s always dark. And cold. And…do you hear that?” I pointed above our heads.
She looked up. “The music?”
“Yes. There is absolutely no music in that place. It is dead silent all the time.”
She smiled. “Pun intended?”
“No, because this is not a laughing matter.” I pointed toward the giant black door. “Would you like to step inside and see for yourself?”
Her nose scrunched.
“Exactly. Because it’s awful. I wish I could take all the souls locked up in there and destroy them on Earth.”
She grabbed my sleeve. “Hold on. You’re perfectly fine.”
“Why thank you,” I said awkwardly.
“No. I mean, you delivered the final death three times on Earth without it affecting you.”
I considered flexing to show how powerful I was, but Cassiel was serious. Per usual. “And this is such a big deal because…?”
“It’s forbidden to perform the deed outside of Reclusion because it’s supposed to be physically harmful.”
“Maybe it was true for Azrael, but not for me. We might look similar, but we are very different.”
She shook her head, her face still puzzled. “That can’t be it.”
“Maybe I’m tougher than what you give me credit for.” That time, I flexed.
She laughed. “What’s the matter with you?”
“I don’t know.” I dropped my arms. “Sex does weird things to the male brain.”
“Shh.” She looked around for anyone who might have heard.
“Relax. Nobody cares.” We started up the steps. “Stop trying to change the subject. What are we going to do about my job?”
“We?”
“Yeah. You make the rules, right?”
She rolled her eyes.
“If that’s not it, then what do you do?” I bent toward her. “Besides make decisions that ruin people’s lives?”
Her face whipped toward me.
I put my hands up in defense. “It’s a joke. Ha. Ha. Funny, funny.”
“Not funny.”
“No, I guess it’s not. I’m sorry.”
After a moment, she exhaled, the sound heavy with regret. “You’re actually right. We do make a lot of decisions that ruin people’s lives for the sake of the greater good. We allow things to happen on Earth without intervening. We set things into motion that can really damage certain individuals.”
“That’s why you don’t like spending time on Earth. At least here, you don’t have to see the ripple effect your decisions have.”
She didn’t answer.
I wanted to hold her hand, but I didn’t.
She was looking down at the moonstone steps. “This trip has been eye-opening for me in ways I didn’t expect.”
“Is that why you’re willing to help me now?”
“That’s why I’m willing to try.”
“Thank you, Cassiel.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still don’t know that he can actually help.”
“Where are we going?” We were nearing the Eden Gate.
“You were right about Metatron being in Lunaris. He’s in a place called the Fiery.”
If I’d had any questions about whether or not it was the gloom of Earth that drove me to Cassiel, those questions vanished when we crossed into Eden. As we walked into the buzzing Idalia marketplace and my knuckles graced her hand, I felt thirteen again. Downright giddy.
Still, aside from a private smile, I kept my affections to myself. The marketplace was busy, and it was no place to unveil an angel affair.
“How far is Lunaris?” I asked.
“Several hours in the air. We can take a ship, but it’s much slower.”
“I don’t mind flying. It just makes me feel weird to do it around other humans who can’t.”
“I wish I could say I understand that, but I don’t.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
She looked up ahead. “Let’s walk through the village, and we’ll fly from the beach. We should be able to make the Fiery before dark.”
“What is the Fiery?”
“It’s a light garden.”
“A what?”
She smiled. “You’ll see.”
My nose caught a whiff of something delectable nearby. I looked around and saw the Heavenly Delights manna cart was open for business near the end of the lane. A sparkling black-and-white stardust sign out front said “Fresh and Hot: Death by Chocolate Manna!” I stopped walking. How could I not?
Holly and Heather—Reuel’s favorite bakers in all of Eden—were both working the stand. Holly was all smiles as we approached. “Hello, Warren. Death by Chocolate manna?” She offered us her basket and pulled back the checkered blue cloth that covered it.
My eyes nearly rolled back in my head. “That smells sinful.”
She laughed. “Help yourself.”
I pulled out a piece and offered it to Cassiel. “Ladies first?”
Holly and I both watched as she lifted it to her mouth and took a small bite. Closing her eyes, she licked her pink lips. “It’s positively delectable, Holly. Bravo.”
“Thank you.” Holly held the basket toward me again. “Your turn.”
I took a piece for myself and slowly bit into it, savoring its warmth, flakiness, and molten chocolate. My body quivered with sweet happiness. “Holly, Heather, I’m nominating you for sainthood.”
The ladies giggled.
“Warren?” A woman’s voice across the lane made us all turn. Audrey Jordan, Sloan’s mother, was walking toward us with a basket full of food. Audrey had died when Sloan and I were still together.
“Audrey,” I said, meeting her halfway. I greeted her with a tight one-armed hug, carefully holding the manna away from her white dress. Chocolate, no matter on what plane, was messy. “It’s so good to see you.”
She stretched onto her tiptoes as she hugged me back. “And you, my sweet Warren. How are you? Have you been to Earth lately?”
“I just got back.”
“Did you see Sloan?” she asked, her eyes full of hope.
I shook my head. “Not this trip, but I saw Nathan, and he brought me new photos of Iliana. She still doesn’t have hardly any hair.”
“Sloan didn’t either until she was almost two.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“She’s really cute, though, and so smart. She’s talking now and crawling a lot. Nathan says she and Sloan both are doing really well.”
She put a hand on her chest and smiled. “I know. I feel her.”
That was the thing about humans in Eden. Their souls were still connected to those they loved on Earth. Turns out, love is a bond so strong even death can’t sever it.
Audrey looked past me at Cassiel. She offered her hand. “Hello. I’m Audrey Jordan. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I stepped to the side. “Audrey, this is Cassiel. Cassiel, this is Sloan’s mom.”
They shook hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Audrey. I’m very familiar with your daughter.”
“Most angels are. It’s very nice to meet you too.” Audrey touched my arm. “It’s good to see a smile on this guy’s face. It doesn’t happen nearly enough. Even in a place as happy as this.”
She was right, but was I really smiling that much? Maybe we weren’t being inconspicuous enough.
Audrey pulled her basket around in front of her. “I’d better be off. I’m having dinner with my family tonight. It’s so wonderful to see you, Warren. I hope you come visit soon.”
I smiled. “I’d really like to.”
She waved, and I watched her walk away. Cassiel was watching me. “You didn’t mean that.”
I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“We have a long walk unless you want to fly,” she said as we started down the street again. “And I know you’d rather walk.”
I took another bite of manna and chewed slowly. “It’s not that I don’t want to see her. I’m just not a fan of visiting her at home. It’s exactly like her place back on Earth.”
“And that makes you sad? Even in Eden?”
“Maybe not sad exactly, but I don’t like the way it makes me feel.”
Her head tilted. “That’s curious.”
I thought of Audrey putting her hand over her heart. “I’m a little more connected to Earth than most angels.”
“Understatement,” she said with a chuckle.
When the street ended at the main road, we turned right and started down a stone staircase. At the bottom was the trail that would lead us to the Eternal Sea. “Is it such a bad thing I was born part human?”
“Do you want the truth?”
“Isn’t that what we do now?”
“I used to think it was a bad thing. That you were an inferior angel.”
I clutched my chest. “Ouch.”
“But I’m starting to think you might have an advantage on all of us. You understand things about the world we never will, and you certainly have more incentive to fight for Earth than any other angel in Eden.”
“That’s true. And I don’t hold it against you that you thought I was inferior. Sometimes I feel the same way.”
“I was wrong, Warren.”
“Really? How many other angels have you had to chaperone since the beginning of time?”
She smiled. “Your father. On a few occasions.”
I laughed. “Touché.”
“You’re just different. I realize now that’s not a bad thing.”
One stone was very tall, so I stepped down ahead of her and offered a hand.
She laughed as she took it. “This. This right here is a perfect example of another good way you’re different.”
“Huh?”
“I have wings. No one in Eden helps me on the stairs.” She held onto my hand after she was standing beside me.
“You’re wearing a long dress. I don’t want you to fall.”
With a genuine smile, she nodded. “I know. It’s sweet and refreshing. Thoughtfulness in Eden is rare because no one needs help.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“You guess? I’m an Angel of Knowledge. Warren, you know I’m right.”
Laughing, I squeezed her fingers before she released my hand. We reached the bottom of the steps and turned toward the sound of trickling water.
“You know, we could leave from the cliffs if you’d like to stop by and see your mother.”
I smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that. Might drop by my house first and check on Alice and Skittles.”
“Skittles?”
“My dog.”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Pets are for humans. Angels don’t have dogs.”
“This one does.”
Music and laughter echoed through my house when Cassiel and I walked through the front door. Skittles barked and ran through the open living room, slipping and sliding happily across the dark hardwood floor toward us.
I knelt down to greet her. “There’s my girl. Who’s a good dog?” I leaned down to let her lick my face.
“You’re home!” Alice cheered, running in from the back patio through the open door in the living room. She wore a pink bikini with some kind of skirt wrapped around her waist.
I stood and caught her around the middle. “Not for long,” I said, kissing the side of her head. “Who all is here?”
There were lots of people and angels in our infinity pool overlooking the bright-blue ocean.
“Just some friends.” She draped her arms around my neck. “You know I get lonely when you’re not here.”
I laughed. “No, you don’t.”
Her blonde hair whipped around her face as she shook her head. “No, I don’t.” Her eyes landed on Cassiel behind me. “Oh. Hello, Cassiel.”
Cassiel waved.
I pulled Alice close and inhaled. “Had a little bit to drink, have we?”
Alice held her index finger and her thumb millimeters apart. “Just a little.”
“Is that my grandson?” Yaya called, waving from the pool through the sliding-glass wall of the house. She held a wineglass in her other hand.
I looked at Alice. “You’re hanging out with my grandmother?”
“George and your mom are here too.” Alice counted on her fingers. “And Sagen, Lachlan, and Forfax.”
“Lachlan, really? Good for him.”
Outside, Lachlan and Sagen, Forfax’s male partner in the auranos, were playing a pool version of a game I liked to call hoverball. It was like volleyball, except often telekinetic.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Alice said, pulling me toward the kitchen.
“Of course I don’t mind.” I looked back at Cassiel. She was lingering near the front door. “Come on in. You can meet the rest of my family.”
The kitchen was full of food. Thanks to my mother, I was sure. Alice stopped at the kitchen freezer and pulled out a pitcher made from an Eden blend of dry ice. It was filled with something pink and fruity. She poured two tall glasses full and handed one to me and one to Cassiel.
I tried to refuse it. “We can’t stay.”
“You can have one drink. It’s delicious. Gazenberry and crystal water.”
Uh oh. Crystal water was like the white lighting of the afterlife. “Be careful with that stuff,” I said to Cassiel as she took a sip.
She shuddered. “Whoa.”
“It’s good, right?” Alice turned up the volume on the house speakers.
“It’s something,” Cassiel said, still grimacing as she carefully set the glass on the countertop.
Alice took my hand and twirled under my arm. Then she danced out the patio door over to Forfax on the pool steps. We followed her outside, both of us leaving our drinks behind.
Sagen caught the ball in his large hands. A guardian, much like Reuel, Sagen towered over everyone else in the pool. “Great, you brought the Council to the party.”
“Be nice,” I said.
“I’m just curious. Is she here to hang out, or has she come to tell us we require approval to be here now?”
Lachlan and Forfax both laughed.
I shot them all a warning glare.
My mother got out of her lounge chair to greet us. She wore a black sundress, a wide-brim hat, and giant sunglasses. Mom looked like a Kennedy.
I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, son.” She took off her glasses and smiled at Cassiel. “Hello again. Nice to see you, Cassiel. You look lovely as always.”
“Thank you, Nadine. So do you.” Cassiel glanced around the party. “Looks like everyone is having a wonderful time.”
“Yes. This is what Eden is all about, isn’t it?” Mom asked.
Cassiel nodded and smiled, sort of. She looked more confused than anything.
Yaya waved her hands over her head in the pool. “Warren, introduce Yaya to your friend!”
I looked at Mom. “Is Yaya drunk?”
Mom chuckled. “What do you think?”
“Where’s George?” I asked.
Mom stretched on her toes, looking out toward the water. “Down by the dock. They sailed over on their boat. I think he’s washing it.”
“Was it dirty?” I asked, confused, knowing that wasn’t really a thing in Eden.
“No,” she said, smiling.
Yaya, refusing to be ignored anymore, clapped over her head.
I laughed. “Yaya, this is my friend Cassiel. Cassiel, this is my grandmother. You can call her Helen.”
Yaya waved her hand. “Hogwash! She can call me Yaya.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Yaya,” Cassiel said.
“Heads up!” Lachlan shouted from the pool as an inflatable ball sailed toward our heads.
I caught the ball in a shower of pool water, which had to be intentional given either one of the angels could have stopped the ball before it reached us. Using my power, I smacked the water in front of both of them, splashing their faces before I hurled the ball back at Lachlan’s face. It bounced off his forehead.
We all laughed. Except Cassiel. She took a small step back.
Mom smiled warmly and touched her arm.“It really is wonderful to see you. Please help yourself to something to eat if you’re hungry. There’s plenty of food.”
“Ah yes. Thank you.” She sidestepped back toward the door. “I’ll do that now actually.”
Mom and I watched her go. “Think it was Sagen’s greeting? Should I have a word with him?” I asked her.
Mom linked her arm with mine, watching Cassiel float around the kitchen. “That probably didn’t help, but I think she’d feel like a fish out of water in a situation like this anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re not like us. It’s harder for them to relax and have fun when their whole lives have been about service and duty.”
Perhaps Mom was right. As much as I bitched about my job in Reclusion, at least it wasn’t all I’d ever known. Cassiel and the others had been created for their destinies. There had been no childhood. No decisions. No options.
Was it really any wonder that a backyard pool party had her mildly freaked out?
Mom leaned on my arm. “It took a long while to soften your dad up too. Give her time. She’ll come around.”
I slid my eyes over at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom.”
She laughed.
My mother didn’t have to be an angel to know when I was lying.
“How long can you stay?”
“Not long. We’re on our way to find Metatron.”
“I hate it when you leave.”
I smiled and kissed her forehead. “I know.”
She squeezed my bicep. “We have all of eternity to celebrate your success.”
My mind drifted to Iliana. “I really have to go. Wish me luck.”
She looked at me seriously. “You don’t need luck. You are your father’s son. You can do anything.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I hugged her. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I waved to Yaya in the pool. “Bye, Yaya. Give my best to George. Tell him I’m sorry I missed him.”
“Your grandad and that stupid boat,” she said, shaking her head. “Well, at least Yaya loves you.” She blew me a drunken kiss.
I laughed and knelt down to pet Skittles. “To be fair, George doesn’t know I’m here. Maybe you should eat some manna.”
“You’re not leaving, are you?” Alice called from the pool. “You just got here!”
I stood and walked toward her with Skittles trotting beside me. “I know, but the universe won’t save itself.”
“Warren, hold up!” Lachlan hoisted himself out of the pool and jogged over.
I patted his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too. What happened in Chicago?”
I sighed. “It was a mess, but I handled it. There will probably be lots of media attention for a while.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah.”
He lowered his voice. “What was that thing?”
“It was a soul that should have been destroyed a very long time ago.” My eyes drifted behind him. Alice was laughing at something…at everything. I smiled. “It’s done now. Forever.”
Lachlan nodded. “Whatever else you need, just let me know.”
“Thank you.”
“Warren, wait!” Alice called, sloshing her way out of the pool. “Please stay!”
I put my arms around her. “I wish I could, but Cassiel and I are on our way to Lunaris.”
“Lunaris?” Her eyes widened. “Can I come?”
“You’d better stay here and take care of Skittles and Forfax. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, and I’ll probably have to go straight to Earth when we’re finished there.”
Her shoulders drooped.
I put my finger under her chin and raised her eyes to meet mine. “I promise, I’ll take you to Lunaris soon.”
She smiled. “Hurry back.”
“I do try.”
Alice clung to my waist until we got inside. Cassiel had finished almost half the potent drink. Alice pointed at her. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
“It’s an acquired taste,” Cassiel said, lowering the glass from her lips.
Smiling, I cupped her jaw and used my thumb to swipe away a drizzle of pink gazenberry juice from the corner of her mouth. My thumb lingered a second too long.
Alice gasped and wagged her finger between me and Cassiel. “Ooo, what’s going on here?”
I dropped my hand. “Nothing. Go play in the pool with Forfax.” Laughing, I playfully pushed her away.
“I saw that. I know what you guys are up to.”
“And you’ll keep it to yourself, right?” There was no point in lying. Alice knew me even better than my mother.
As she walked backward toward the door, she pretended to zip her lips shut. Then she blew me a kiss.
When she was gone, I looked at Cassiel. “Sorry about that. She won’t say anything.”
She nodded, still staring past me. Outside, Alice squealed as Forfax pulled her into the pool.
“What’s the matter?”
“You’re changing Eden, Warren.”
My brow crumpled with confusion. “What? Alice was here long before I came.”
“I’m not talking about Alice. There are angels playing in your backyard.” She shook her head. “That’s not normal.”
“Maybe it’s time for normal to change.”
She smirked. “I guess we should start giving everyone time off.”
“Maybe you should. I think that’s the only thing I’ve done right since I got here. That’s part of the reason you hear happiness right now.”
“We have about a million years of experience on you—”
“Sure you do. But the Earth was created to evolve. Wasn’t Eden?” I picked up an arenapple and bit into it.
She stopped and stared at me. Something in her eyes told me her mind was spinning for a rebuttal. “Eden’s perfection is held together by an intricate tapestry of laws and tradition—”
I burst out laughing. “Bullshit.”
Her eyes doubled.
“Laws and tradition? Would that be the Father’s answer if I asked him about the tapestry of Eden?”
Her jaw went rigid. But she didn’t argue.
“I’m pretty sure the rules were created out of necessity to keep Earth in order. Otherwise, what the hell did you all do before you had us as a welfare project? Was this place just a shitshow until the Father decided to test out humanity?”
She was scowling, but I knew she was trying to keep a straight face. “Eden has never been a shitshow.”
It was funny to hear her swear. “So what was it like before us humans? Was it all choir meetings and Council hearings?”
She finally cracked a smile. “No.”
“So maybe it’s held together by something else. The Father told me in Africa, the Council was appointed to make the hard calls. He’s not a god of laws and tradition. He’s a god who’d rather fish with the locals than rule the world.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Maybe you’re right about some things.”
With a gasp, I grabbed my chest. “What did you say?”
“I won’t repeat myself.” She smiled again.
I took her hand. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
After putting Skittles back outside with the others, I led Cassiel to my bedroom and closed the door behind us. “Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the bed.
She raised an eyebrow.
I laughed as I opened the nightstand drawer. “Trust me.”
She sat down.
From the drawer, I pulled a small, smooth stone. I handed it to her.
“A memory stone?”
I nodded. “The Father gave it to me when I first came to Eden.”
Similar to a blood stone, it could hold one memory from Earth at a time, preserving it in perfect clarity to be recalled by the holder whenever they desired.
Sitting down beside her, I clasped my hand around hers with the stone between our palms.
A memory surged to life in our minds. The day I took Azrael back to Earth. I had just dropped him in the front yard of Sloan’s house, and against my better judgment, I’d stopped in Iliana’s nursery. It was the first time I’d ever seen her face-to-face, except the moment she was born.
I was standing over her crib, and she was reaching her tiny arms up toward me. I didn’t dare hold her, but I did let her grasp my finger.
“I love you so much, Iliana,” I’d said, but not out loud.
Her spirit must have heard my voice because she started smiling and kicking her legs. She sputtered back a lot of baby babble. Nothing in existence could have meant more to me than the look on her face.
The memory faded.
When I looked at Cassiel, tears had streaked her cheeks.
“You really love her, don’t you?”
Cassiel would’ve been able to do more than simply see Iliana in the memory. She’d feel exactly what I felt in that moment. Because that’s really what memories are—everlasting snapshots of the way we felt.
“Of course. She’s my daughter.” I closed her hand around the stone. “And she’s the future for all of us. Imagine not fearing the Morning Star anymore because she is on our side.”
Another tear slid down her face. I brushed it away. “Why are you crying?”
“Because I’ve never loved anyone or anything with such intense affection. And I’m sure no one has ever cared for me.” She was still clutching the memory stone, letting all my most vulnerable—most pure—emotions mingle with her own.
My hand slipped beneath her hair and curled around the back of her neck. “You’re wrong.” I pulled her lips to meet mine and kissed her slow and deep.
The sound of singing outside broke our kiss. It was Yaya belting out “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. We both laughed.
I stood and offered Cassiel my hand. “Shall we do this?”
“Let’s fly.”