Page 66 of Claiming Demons

“Oh… really? How?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never been able to do it, but I believe it involves simply willing all of us to be elsewhere. Try it.”

I drew in a breath, closed my eyes — I don’t know why, but that felt appropriate — and envisioned all of us in Grey’s living room.

There was a faint whisper of wind and then a more solid… something beneath my feet.

I opened my eyes to find myself exactly where I’d envisioned.

“Oh, wow,” I breathed.

“Indeed,” Raphael said. “You wished to change? Please do so. Then I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

I practically sprinted to Grey’s room. I was filthy and really wanted a shower but didn’t want to wait to hear what Raphael had to say. So, I threw on some yoga pants, a T-shirt, and one of Grey’s fluffy bathrobes, then returned to the others.

As I did, I met my daughters in the hall.

“What’s going on, Mom?” Reia asked.

Caia stood behind her, curious but quiet.

Eva was at the end of the hall peeking into the living area. “Who’s the new guy? Another lover?”

I choked a little at that thought.

“Ah… no. That’s Raphael. He’s… your grandfather.” I let that sink in and the three of them were silent for a moment until,

“He doesn’t look old,” Eva said. “In fact, he looks kind of cute.”

“Eva!” I admonished her.

“What? He is. This wholeimmortal godsthing takes some getting used to, okay?”

She was right about that.

I sighed. “He was just about to tell me about himself and my mother,” I said to my girls. “Did you three want to sit in?” They had a right to know as well.

They all agreed quickly, curiosity clear on their faces, so, the four of us went in and found places to sit.

Ramsey and Fen — whose clothes had been shredded — had wrapped themselves in blankets and sat at either end of one of the long couches while Grey remained standing, eyeing Raphael, who paced slowly until we were all ready.

“I’m all ears,” I said.

Raphael stopped his pacing and smiled.

“Our story begins thousands of years ago, when early man began to place meaning and power in the elements around them and the emotions they felt, creating the first gods. One of these deities had many names in the early centuries, but when beliefs solidified, roughly ten thousand years ago, she was called Inanna.”

Harmonia had said Inanna was one of the first goddesses, and the little research I’d done into Inanna had confirmed that she was ancient.

So far, none of this was news to me, but it was clear my daughters had questions, since thiswasnew for them. Thankfully they kept quiet for now because I was sure there was a lot more of this tale left to tell.

“Sometime later… Yahweh came along and I was made manifest. But honestly, I’m not the important one in this story.” How very humble of him… although Raphaelwasanangeland they were supposed to be humble.

“Time passed. Other gods came and went. Then about two hundred years ago, something miraculous happened. It was at the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople after the Greek War of Independence. Many gods and daemons were in attendance for that occasion, including Inanna and myself. I’d seen Inanna in passing over the centuries, but that was the first time we spoke at length.” He let out a soft, contented sigh. “After that… we began to meet more often. Although always in secret.”

“Secret? Why?” Caia asked.

Ramsey scoffed. “Angels aren’t supposed to fraternize with other Empyreans. It looks bad.”

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