The Death Skull: Relic Defender, Book 2 (25 page)

“Jackson McKay,” Michael called. “Your presence is requested.”

The Archangel barely lifted his voice above a normal level, yet she still heard Jackson acknowledge the call and the sound of his boots across the tile, the
clump
and
crunch
noises let her know how far away he was. Apparently, he hadn’t gone too far.

“Please sit down,” Michael said as Jackson entered the room.

He shot a raised eyebrow at Mari, then took the seat next to her. The glance they shared was quick but enough she was able to see that while anger still lay below the surface, he was back to his lighthearted self. She was surprised to note how pleased she was with that. And smug to see the darkness of passion still behind his smiling gaze.

“Beliel has a human capable of finding and using the skull, but he has erred in thinking he has the right one.”

Silence, then Jackson drawled, “Well now, that is as clear as mud. Glad we got that straightened out.”

“Jackson,” Mari murmured.

Michael’s serene expression remained, even as the light of amusement danced in his clear eyes. He looked at Mari and the amusement faded. “As you have suspected, the woman known as Catherine was dying. The Slayer swapped out Catherine’s soul for Katherine’s and placed his ex-lover into Catherine’s body. The body of her sister.”

Mari sat back and heard Jackson mumble something like
holy shit
under his breath. That was why the woman, Catherine, had seemed so familiar in appearance. Because of her sibling relationship to Kat.

“Did Kat know she had a sister?”

Michael shook his head. “She did not.”

Mari frowned. “Is Catherine’s mother Kat’s mother?

“No. They do not share a mother in common. Their blood match comes from their father. Neither Catherine nor Kat knew each had a sister. After Kat was born, Lillian DeMartinez, who had been given both girls, did not want to raise two children, especially when one was not hers. So, when the second child was sent to her, Lillian passed Kat along to a couple of people who thought they wanted a child. The people who took her were not ready to be parents and sent Kat to live within the system and she found herself in an orphanage, a succession of foster homes until she finally found a family to care for her.”

A snort from Jackson interrupted Michael. “Insensitive bastard.”

While she agreed with Jackson’s assessment of Raphael, distaste curled Mari’s lips for the mortal female’s behavior. Humans treated their children like they were pets. Sometimes better than pets. Passing them from one to the other as if they had no more worth than paper. In fact, she suspected the humans put more value on the green stuff they called money than on their children.

“Kat and Lexi found each other and became friends—”

“Then she found the Slayer,” Mari interrupted. “And he killed her and now he’s given her a second chance at life?”

Michael nodded.

Mari thought for a moment. Something occurred to her now that hadn’t when she’d first learned Raphael had created two half-mortal children. “It is forbidden for the seven to have children. Why did Raphael go against law?”

“You would have to ask him.”

“I’d be delighted to. Where is he?”

Michael frowned. “We do not know.”

“You don’t know? I thought you knew everything.”

The brilliant blue of his eyes darkened. “No, not everything,” he said so softly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him.

The fact that Raphael had chosen to have half-mortal children was shocking; the archangels didn’t tend to associate with the mortals, except as their hierarchy demanded. The lines tended to blur, especially among the levels within the Spheres, but there was still structure.

In the First Sphere were the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. These angels were closest to God. Mikos, before he fell, was a Seraphim charged with protecting God’s throne and singing praises. A Seraphim’s passion for the Lord made it quite the coup when Lucifer turned Mikos, and quite a defeat when Mikos left.

Angels in the Second Sphere, the Dominions, Virtues and Powers, were the governors or caretakers. They acted as leaders over other angels and presided over human nations. The Powers were warriors for God and none had ever fallen or turned from service.

The Third Sphere, the messengers and soldiers, the Principalities, Archangels and Angels were closest to mankind. They came to humans in dreams and acted as guardian angels. The majority of the two hundred who fell came from the Third Sphere.

For herself, she’d been a Throne, a dealer in God’s justice. She’d become disillusioned when the Lord continued to let the humans treat Him with disrespect and scorn His gifts. It had been easy for Lucifer to sway her with the promise of revenge and fighting. And when Mikos fell, she’d gone with him. Angels did not have true kin, yet if she had to call any true, Mikos was hers. Also, to some extent despite her denials, were Ash and Raphael.

As far as why Raphael had disobeyed, she just didn’t get it. What would he have had to gain from bringing two half-angel children into the human’s world? One of Raphael’s gifts was precognizance so it seemed like he would have realized what would happen should he…

Her gaze flew to Michael’s. She was sure her stare was wide-eyed and questioning.

“Yes, Marisol.”

“Holy shit,” she breathed, only half noting she’d subconsciously mimicked Jackson.

“You seem stunned.” A note of impatience edged Jackson’s tone as he said, “I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? So he had a kid. Far as I know, it wouldn’t be the first time one of you angels played hanky-panky with human women and had children. I seem to remember a story about beings called Nephilim.”

“Jackson, Raphael is
an
archangel, not Archangel with a capital A. One of the seven but not like Michael. And the seven do not mate with humans. It is forbidden.”

Jackson frowned. “What the hell is the difference?”

“Not all of the seven are host leaders. That is Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Jophiel.”

Jackson looked at Michael. “Sorry, partner. Guess you got the short end of the stick.”

The urge to walk up behind Jackson and smack him on the back of his head had Mari on the edge of her seat. Did the human not find anything serious? She might, at times, smart-mouth the Archangel but even she knew there was a line and it hadn’t mattered that she, technically, no longer fell under Michael’s sway. He was not an archangel to trifle with.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Jackson. However, I am quite content.” Michael smiled at Jackson, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “As to it being a ‘big deal’, not only is it forbidden for one of the seven to dally with mortals, it is a death sentence for the child of such a union. For when the child turns thirty, he or she will bring about the apocalypse, and the world, as you know it, will end.”

“Jesus H. Christ,” Jackson breathed on a long exhale and fell back into the seat.

For once, the Archangel did not correct the blasphemy, as if he recognized that the expression was the most appropriate response for the news. Knowing this better than anyone, why would Raphael have done this thing? Why would he have knowingly had relations with a mortal female, and then create a child?
Two
children. She’d never known him to be cruel—ruthless, terrifying and at times unforgiving, but never cruel. Such a thing would be cruel beyond belief.

“Let me see if I got this right.” Jackson leaned forward and rested his elbows on the tops of his knees. “Your boy Raphael had forbidden sex with not one but two human females, then adding to that, made two world-destroying babies. Both grew up, not knowing of the other, and today one died while the other took over her sister’s body and is now in the hands of the one dude determined to bring Hell to Earth. Have I got that right?”

Michael nodded.

Jackson swiped a hand through his hair. “Well hell, I thought maybe I’d misunderstood the whole dang thing. Glad to know I got it straight.”

“On the other hand,” Mari interjected. “Beliel also possesses the key to stopping him. Raphael likely saw the future and realized what he’d need to do to save the human realm.”

Michael smiled.

“What do we do? Can we stop this?”

The smile slipped slightly. “You have to stop Beliel from discovering who he has. It is one thing for him to use her to find and control the skull. It is quite another for him to learn he holds the end of mankind in his hands. You must find him, the skull, and remove Raphael’s daughter from Beliel.”

“And then? What do we do with Kat?”

Jackson sat up straight as if recognizing some note in her tone. “Hey now, don’t go and think what I suspect you’re thinkin’. I’m not going to be a party to killing my own people.” His eyes narrowed. “Or allowing someone else to.”

“It may be the only way to protect your world, Jackson McKay,” Michael said, his voice calm, his gaze steady.

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck, then surged from the chair and began pacing in front of the fireplace. Something clicked in her mind. “Ash. What about the Slayer? What does he have to do with this? Does he know?”

Two lines formed between Michael’s brow. “That I do not know. He is a part of this, but how much and what part he is to play, I cannot see and it has not been shared. He cares for the woman—his ability to consider other than her safety is compromised.”

“Great,” Mari muttered. “Now we have to worry about what the Slayer will do.”

Michael bent his head slightly forward. “The Slayer is secured. For the time being, he will not be able to interfere.”

“Secured?” How could Ash be secured and who could do that to him?

She hitched her shoulders. She didn’t have the time or energy to think about what that meant. There were few with the power to hog-tie the deadly assassin.

Hog-tie? Where by the black waters of the Styx had that come from? Her gaze slid to the tall, sandy-haired man standing near her. Jackson. Obviously, she’d been around the Texan long enough to pick up his slang.

Standing, she straightened her spine and cleared her throat. “First things first. We have to find out where they are going. Without the information the”—her gaze went to the still body of the blonde woman crumpled on the floor—“woman had to offer, how do we find out where they went?”

The little woman, Luna, had mentioned a City of Fallen Stones in Belize, but why would Mari believe a stranger? Especially one who could have been working for Beliel to lead them astray?

A soft popping sound disrupted the air near her head. In a flash, her sword was in her hand and she whirled to face the new threat.
Wonderful,
she thought when she saw the tiny figure and wished she had a few hundred demons to fight.

“Hiya doll! I hear you need some information.” Rocky, Mikos’s shapeshifter Illianian demon friend hovered before her.

As usual, the little imp was dressed in something he called a zoot suit, which was attire the humans wore back in the 1920s. Gangsters, if she remembered. The gray pinstripe suit draped his three feet high form in a boxy jacket and pants that bulged at the top and tapered down to the ankles. On his silver head was a matching fedora with a wide white brim.

“What are you doing here, Rocky?”

“Told ya. I have some information for you.” He bowed to the Archangel then his gaze flashed on Jackson. “Hey, pal, how’s it going? I see Mari hasn’t singed your hair yet. Good to see you two getting along.”

Despite the anger and frustration that lay behind his green gaze, Jackson smiled at Rocky. “Pretty soon she’ll have to admit she likes me.”

“I still have time,” she mumbled. “So, imp, what do you have?”

Rocky zipped over to the unbroken table behind the couch. “Well, you see, I was reconning the area to make sure no nasties snuck up on you while you were duking it out with Beliel and Jahi—what a pair of losers. Although, that Jahi is one hot chick with tatas—”

“During your recon
noiter
ing,” Jackson interrupted Rocky and added emphasis on the correct pronunciation of the word, “did you happen to hear anything about the skull?”

“Yeah, sure I did. Lubaantun. The skull is in some place called Lubaantun. In South America, I think. Belize.”

Mari’s eyes widened. Looks like Luna had been telling the truth. “How were you able to find this information, Rocky?”

His gaze darted to Michael who gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Rocky sighed. “Well, I, uh…see…I can kinda read minds, so I read Beliel’s.”

“What?”

“What the hell is
you can kinda read minds
?” Jackson asked while Mari stammered mentally for a response. She had not known the imp possessed that ability. Did all Illianian? If so, that changed the dynamics of power among the demons. She arched an eyebrow at Rocky.

He bent his head in a quick bob, a sheepish grin on his face. “Well, yeah, it does. But not all of us can do it and those that can don’t talk.” His chin lifted. “Don’t want the big bad demons to think they can use us.”

“Does Mikos know?”

This time, Rocky hung his head and shuffled his feet, kicking out every once in a while as if he were knocking over stones. “No. He doesn’t.” He lifted his gaze and looked at her. “You gonna tell him?”