Jingle Hells (6 page)

The man answered. “We are Elohim,
counterparts to the heavenly Thrones you inquired about last night.
We may be able to provide the answers you seek.” He set the netbook
on my desk. “Satan knew you would doubt us, so he is providing a
resource for you to validate our claims.”

Keisha shot up out of the chair like her
bottom had been pinched. “Think I’ll go help Samson with that
tree.”

One thing I admired about her was her
ability to abandon me at just the right moments. As the door shut
behind her, I decided to keep my interview short and to the point.
“All I want to know is who set Delilah up to take the rap for
Samson’s fall?”

The three exchanged a look that made my
scalp tingle. Again, the man addressed me. “The Thrones of Heaven
and Hades.”

It took a minute, but my brain cells finally
made the connection. “Good and evil worked together to ruin Samson
and Delilah’s love affair?”

The three nodded as one and the tingle
spread down the back of my neck. “Do you do that often? Work
together to screw over humans?”

There was no response from any of them this
time. I took that as a yes. “Why?”

“As it is in Heaven and Hades, so it must be
on Earth,” the three of them chanted together. “The balance of
power must be kept in line. Lessons must be learned. Sacrifices
must be made.”

The tingle turned into a full body shake. On
the heels of that, righteous anger flooded my chest. I stood,
pointing a finger at the man. “What was done to Samson and Delilah
should be righted.” I shifted my finger to point at each of the
twins in turn. “And if you so much as harm a hair on Father
Leonard’s head, I will bring you and your counterparts here to
Earth for a lesson you won’t soon forget. Do you understand
me?”

As before, their response was unanimous.
They shimmered out of sight in a blur of black robes.

Keisha burst through the door like she was
leading the cavalry. “Where are they? Where’d they go?”

I was still shaking head to toe with fear
and anger. “Back to Hades, I guess.”

“Now what are you going to do about Samson
and Delilah?”

Skirting my desk, I put an arm around her
shoulders. “We, Keisha. What are we going to do?”

Her bell earrings made tinkling noises as
she shook her head. “I have no idea.”

Neither did I, but I wasn’t about to let
that stop me. “Mind if I invite Father Leonard to the winter
solstice party tonight?”

“You’re going to invite a priest to a pagan
ritual?”

“The balance of power must be kept in line,”
I recited.

Keisha narrowed her eyes at me. “What are
you up to?”

I smiled at her. “Aren’t you the one who
always tells me love conquers all?”

Her return smile was wicked if still
confused. “Speaking of love, how is Adam?”

A sharp meow sounded from the open doorway.
The cat from hell lowered her lids and swished her tail at me.
“What is with that damned cat?” I muttered.

“Language,” Keisha reprimanded me on a laugh
as she pulled me past the cat and out to see her voodoo inspired
Christmas tree.

Chapter
Six: Winter
Wonderland

Adam helped me close up shop at ten before
we headed to Liddy’s for the winter solstice party. The taco dip
was secure in a cute little Rubbermaid container, Delilah was
looking hot in one of my Devil-era S&M outfits, and I was
feeling smug about my carefully calculated plan to get her and
Samson back together. Now that I had all the deets about the
supernatural forces at work behind the scenes, I could reveal the
truth to both of them and let love take its course. Even if Samson
decided to be stubborn, there was no way he could ignore Dee decked
out in black leather and gleaming studs.

Liddy lived on the edge of Eden with her
sister in their family home. When her parents bought a second home
in Hawaii, they’d given the older two-story house, reminiscent of
Scarlett O’Hara’s southern mansion, Tara, to their daughters. The
house was white with black plantation shutters, a wraparound porch,
complete with monstrous columns, and a long driveway graced with
willow trees.

Puffs of soft, white snow fell on the
truck’s windshield as Adam maneuvered down the lane, the willows
bending together to form an enchanting tunnel. Liddy and her sister
had strung hundreds of white lights around the porch columns and
railings and a bonfire was burning out between the house and a
large barn.

People hung out in small groups on the back
porch and around the bonfire, talking, drinking and enjoying the
falling snow. The inside of the house was lit only by candles and
fires burning in the fireplaces in the formal living and dining
rooms. After dropping off the dip in the kitchen and chatting with
Liddy for a minute, Adam, Delilah and I made our way out to the
bonfire to find Keisha and Samson.

I scanned the crowd for Father Leonard as
well. When I’d called to invite him, he’d been skeptical about the
celebration, but told me he’d attend because he’d done some
research and wanted to share something about angel and demon
possession with me. He’d made it sound secretive, like he was
afraid to share it over the phone, so I’d encouraged him to find me
at the party.

Most of the crowd belonged to Keisha’s coven
of voodoo followers. Scanning those I could see in the light of the
fire, I was disappointed Father Leonard was not among them. Maybe
he’d changed his mind or gotten sidetracked by something at church.
Hopefully, he’d show later in time to help me with my plan, if
nothing else.

Since he towered over everyone there, Samson
wasn’t hard to find. Marcia and several other Witches Anonymous
members had trapped him near the barn. Whatever they were asking
him, it was clear on his face he was uncomfortable about it. I made
Delilah stay on the back porch while I went to extract him from
their clutches.

Adam stopped to talk to someone he knew by
the bonfire, and I stopped with him, watching the jumping flames
and inhaling the burning wood scent. Fire always mesmerized me.
Along with a weakness for bad boys and designer shoes, it’s one of
my worst vices.

Twigs snapped and a spark leapt out from the
center, breaking me out of my reverie. I continued on to my target.
When Samson saw me, his face transformed from fear to relief. He
dropped to one knee as I sidled up the group and bowed his head.
“My queen.”

Marcia and the others parted to each side of
him, startled expressions on their faces. One gal giggled at
Samson’s display, but Marcia rolled her eyes. “Samson sure is under
your spell, Amy.” She said spell like it was an accusation.

I obliged and took it as one. “What are you
insinuating, Marcia?”

“I suppose it’s just your irresistible charm
that has every man, demon and angel you come in contact with
falling at your feet.”

“I’d be happy to send everyone but Adam your
way if I could. They come to me for a reason. Apparently for
something you can’t provide.”

My tone was sweet but still held the sharp
edge of sarcasm. Marcia narrowed her eyes and Samson glanced up at
me with a surprised expression. The giggler giggled again and the
other women simply stood, mouths open, as I hauled Samson to his
feet and dragged him after me.

Before I took him to Delilah, I wanted to
talk to him alone about the powers that had literally played God
with his life, so I stopped in a secluded spot away from the fire
and faced him. Snowflakes landed on his exposed skin and melted
instantly. “Didn’t Liddy have a coat you could wear tonight?”

He glanced up at the dark sky. “Cold does
not bother me.”

I wished I could say the same. Even in my
wool coat with a heavy sweater underneath and a scarf at my neck, I
was shivering. I hated cold. While I didn’t want Keisha to know,
that was the real reason I’d refused to attend the party earlier.
That, and the fact I hadn’t known Adam would be back in time. As
soon as I had Samson and Delilah squared away, I was heading
straight for the warmth and comfort of Adam’s arms—preferably back
at my warm apartment.

Samson listened intently as I gave him my
take on the story. His eyebrows drew together tighter and tighter
as I explained how the same order of angels in Heaven and Hell had
partnered up to keep him from becoming a great leader of his
people. How they had used Delilah to make him believe she was the
guilty party. “I don’t know who allowed you to come back to Earth
to find me, but now you know the truth. It wasn’t Dee’s fault and
you can have a second chance with her.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and then
took one of my hands. “I was sent back by—”

The snow stopped falling. Just froze in
midair. A flake lay half melted on his cheek. The back yard was
silent. No voices, no crackling from the bonfire, no music from the
house.

Samson appeared as frozen as the snow. I
glanced around and saw everyone else was frozen too.

Everyone but me.

As if one small section of snow was again
falling, three white bodies—a woman and two men —materialized out
of it on Samson’s left. And from the ground on his right, three
black shadows rose and formed into the two women and one man who’d
visited me earlier that day.

Jumping back, I moved so fast, I nearly fell
on the slippery ground. “What the hell?”

“Heaven and Hell, actually,” the woman in
white corrected. Her voice was almost musical. She held her hands
up, pointing to the men on either side of her “We are the Erelim. I
believe you have already met our Throne counterpart, the
Elohim.”

Oh, boy. Nothing like ganging up on the
witch. “What do you want?”

This time it was the male demon who spoke.
“What is done cannot be undone. This was a mistake. Samson’s soul
must return with us. Now.”

I shifted my focus back and forth between
the two groups. Why had they intervened right before Samson told me
who sent him back to Earth? And who exactly was going to get
Samson’s soul?

“Who says he can’t come back and have a
second chance? He was sent to me so the wrong you did could be
righted. So why don’t you go back to where you came from and let me
get on with it.”

The woman smiled at me, patience straining
her pale face as if she were dealing with a two year old. “The
Thrones act on God’s will.”

“Or Satan’s,” the Siamese twins chimed
in.

She nodded one curt nod to them before
continuing. “Or Lucifer’s. There are no higher powers and how
Samson revisited his earthly body and searched you out is not your
concern. He and Delilah will return with us and you will forget
this ever happened.”

A spurt of anger heated my stomach. “You
know, I did a little research this afternoon, thanks to Lucifer” —I
shot the Erelim a glance— “and technically there are a couple of
powers higher than the Thrones. Seraphim and Cherubim ring any
bells?”

All their faces lost their self-righteous
confidence. I’m sure mine gained a bit. “Should I go on? I mean,
maybe even God himself decided you were unjust when you screwed
Samson over and He’s the one who sent the big guy to me.”

“Blasphemy!” all three heavenly powers
yelled. The hellish group looked at me with disdain, but also a new
attentiveness. Something had clicked with them. Something I’d hit
on.

“I’ll tell you what’s blasphemy. That you
would use love as a means to take Samson down. God is love, isn’t
that your mantra? And yet, you blackmailed Delilah with her love
for Samson.”

The Erelim reacted like I’d smacked each of
them across the face, and I was suddenly channeling a certain
Voudan priestess who was going to be pissed she’d been frozen
during the best part of the solstice party. “Don’t you get it? If
God sent Samson back, He didn’t send Samson back to regain his
strength and power. He sent him back, sent him to me, to regain
love.”

Out of the silence came a voice I hadn’t
heard since Halloween. It rang with sisterly impatience. “Amy?
Where the heck are you?”

Emilia. What was she doing here? Relief
mixed with wariness in my stomach.

I didn’t dare take my attention off the
Thrones, so I tried to catch sight of her out of the corner of my
eye. I raised a hand and waved it in the air hoping she would see
me. As long as I was taking on Heaven and Hell, I might as well
confront her too. “Over here, Em.”

A second later, she barreled up to me,
completely ignoring the fact everyone in the yard was frozen except
me and the set of supernaturals, and threw her arms around my neck.
“Oh, my God,” she sobbed on my shoulder. “I’ve been so lost. I
can’t believe I finally found you.”

I couldn’t help it; I let a piece of my
magic slip from my chest to analyze her. Not a trace of the
possession lingered on her skin or under it. I exhaled slow and
steady and patted her back. “It’s okay, Em. Everything’s going to
be okay.”

Was it, though? Six unfriendly pairs of eyes
stared at me, challenge and defiance in all of them. From behind
me, I heard another voice speak up. “Try ‘the Lord rebuke
thee.’”

Father Leonard? A smile tugged at the corner
of my mouth. He was one damn smart priest. I untangled Emilia’s
arms from my neck, turned her to face the Thrones, and gripped her
hand firmly. “Say it with me, Em. The Lord rebuke thee.”

The Thrones straightened in surprise. We
repeated the words together. “The Lord rebuke thee.”

They disappeared the same way they’d
arrived—in clouds of white and black shadows.

“…God,” Samson finished his sentence and
then jerked back as he registered Emilia.

Once again, the party was in full swing. The
sounds of conversations, laughter, and the crackling fire mixed
with the snow falling around us. I patted Em’s arm. “Em, meet
Samson. Samson, this is my sister, Emilia.”