Cruising at 30,000 feet, Malini snapped back into her body with a jolt. Jacob’s hands pressed into her shoulders, holding her into her window seat. A nosy gawker stared across the aisle of the 747 in flight from Oahu to Chicago. Malini frowned pointedly in her direction and Jacob responded by positioning his body to block the woman’s view.
“She probably thinks I had a seizure or something,” Malini said, reaching for her bag.
“It looked like you did. What’s going on?” Jacob whispered.
She found her phone and dialed Dr. Silva.
“I don't think you're supposed to use that on the plane,” Jacob said.
“Let's just hope it works,” Malini responded.
“Why? What's going on?”
“Lucifer.”
Master Lee and Jesse glanced back from the seats in front of them. After the attack, they’d decided to fly home. With only one staff between them, the group would’ve had to split and take turns to get everyone back to Paris. But more Watchers could be out there. Everyone agreed splitting up would be playing into Lucifer’s hands. One call to Dr. Silva and they had first-class tickets on the next outgoing flight. Only, now Malini wondered if being trapped together in a tin can, hurtling through the sky, was the best idea.
“What’s going on?” Jacob asked again, a little louder.
“Malini? Are you okay?” Dr. Silva’s voice came through the phone, high-pitched and unusually flustered.
“Yeah. Okay for now. But what was that? I didn’t know Lucifer could do that.”
“It’s forced astral projection. He has an imprint of your soul and, of course, he has similar power over me. He can draw us to him for a time.”
“For a time? Does that mean he can do that to me again?” Malini asked. She swallowed and placed her hand on Jacob’s arm to quiet his prodding.
“Lucifer is not omnipotent like God. He can only be in one place at a time. Although he’s powerful, keeping our souls in Hell is as restrictive for him as it is for us. Yes, he can do it again but I don’t think he will. Not for a while.”
“What do we do? How do we save Dane?”
“I’m sorry, Malini. I don’t know if we can. We can’t allow him to have the list. And if I go physically to Hell to rescue him, chances are I won’t come out. You could say Hell is a one-way ticket.”
The plane entered a bank of clouds and Malini watched the sun slip behind the foggy air. “Unless we give him what he wants,” she said.
“Are you mad? He’ll slaughter them all.”
“Not if they’re already in Eden. Two more Helpers and five more Horsemen in twelve days. We can do it, Abigail. We can collect them all, take them to Eden, then translate the list once they’re safe.”
“He’ll know. He’ll follow you.”
“We’ll split up. You said yourself he can’t be in two places at once. Jacob and I fought off the Watchers this time, and we can do it again. With your help, we can have them out of his reach before he realizes they’re gone. Then we give him the list.” Malini bit her lip as she realized, if it hadn't been for Jesse, the Watcher might have succeeded at killing one or both of them. The plan was risky, but what choice did she have?
“It could work.”
“It has to.”
A flight attendant tapped Malini’s shoulder. “Miss? You need to put that away.”
“We’re landing. We should be outside O'Hare in about forty minutes. We can talk more then,” Malini stammered.
Tap. Tap. “Miss, now. Put the phone away.”
“Lillian is meeting you. She can take the others to Eden. Gideon’s returned to the university to check on Katrina. I’ve placed a protective spell on her room but that won’t help her if they use her roommate. I’ll meet you at the house to debrief. Then we’ll find the others.
Tap. Tap. “Miss!” The flight attendant grimaced in Malini's direction.
“Gotta go.” Malini powered off her phone. Thankfully, the flight attendant was satisfied and continued down the aisle.
Jacob narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Lucifer has Dane, and he’s going to kill him in twelve days if Dr. Silva or I don’t translate the list for him.”
Jacob took a deep breath. “You saw him? Just now?”
“Yes. Apparently, since Cord captured an image of my soul, he can demand my astral projected presence any time he wants.”
“Great.”
“I know, right? But the worst part is Dane looks awful.” Malini fought back tears. “Lucifer is torturing him, Jacob. I’m worried he won’t survive until we can get him back.”
“Can we rescue him?”
“Honestly, no. But we might be able to win him back if we give Lucifer what he wants without getting him what he needs.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Malini lowered her voice. “We get the other seven Soulkeepers, then give him the list when it’s useless.”
Jacob frowned. “Malini, it took three weeks for you to say it was the right time to get Master Lee and Jesse. You said the information comes to you when it comes to you. Can you force this?”
Turbulence shook the plane and she gripped the armrests hard enough to turn her knuckles white. A storm had moved in and they descended toward Chicago in a series of uncomfortable drops.
“I’ll have to, Jacob. Somehow, I’ll have to.”
The plane touched down, whipping her head back against the seat. As they taxied down the runway, the rain and thunder rocked the plane. Lightning struck the tarmac outside her window. Malini hoped the weather wasn't an omen of the turbulence ahead.