Page 70 of Lust

Nineteen

Xerxes and Cronus flanked Eddie as she stood on the edge of the hell gate.

“You’ll be fine, Eddie.” Dee gave her an encouraging nod. “You’re of hell and earth, and can therefore cross the boundaries without a problem.”

At Eddie’s feet, the hell gate swirled muddy green and orange. “I thought Nephilim were rare.”

“Extremely,” Uriel confirmed.

“Then you don’t know for sure what will happen if I step through there?” They needed to decide what truth they were going with, especially if they were asking her to step through a portal to hell.

Cronus pressed closer to her side.

“The hounds will protect you,” Uriel said. “They will also help you find Shade. They can track him better than anyone.”

“But it’s hell.” Eddie didn’t really know why she had to explain this.

“Um, Eddie.” Dee stepped forward and jerked her head to a still unconscious Chris propped up against the propane tank. “I’m fairly sure the guardians are only one step away from putting together what you are.” She cleared her throat and winced. “And when they do that, hell might be the safest place for you.”

Uriel hummed. “That is certainly true.” She plastered a bright smile on her face. “And you know hell is nothing like you think it is.”

No, Eddie didn’t know that, and neither did Uriel. “How would you know? You’ve never been there.”

“Not true.” Uriel held up her forefinger. “I can go to hell by invitation, and I have been there before.” Her smile brightened. “It’s really a fascinating place. Very interesting.”

“You’re telling me hell has a great personality?” Eddie edged away from the portal.

Uriel looked confused. “I don’t think a place can have a personality.”

“Right.” Sarcasm was clearly wasted on supernatural beings. Other than Shade. He got that sexy smirk on his face and called her bullshit. He was also a dickhead, and she didn’t know why that kept slipping her mind. “Tell me again why I need to go through there.”

Dee stepped closer and took her hand. “Eddie-girl, I know this is tough for you to accept, and I’m to blame for that. Maybe I should have told you what you were, but I was trying to protect you.” She jabbed a thumb at Chris. “From them.” She glanced at Uriel. “And from them.”

Giving the hell gate a meaningful glance, Eddie asked, “What about them?”

“Well, one of them is your sire,” Uriel said. “We know it’s not Shade.” She counted on her fingers. “It couldn’t be Belphegor, Mammon, or Leviathon because they incarnated as female this time around.” She shrugged. “So that leaves Lucifer, Wrath, and Beelzebub.”

“See, Eddie.” Dee grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. “You only have to worry about three of the seven.”

Eddie rolled her eyes. “Great.”

“I’d wager on Lucifer. Wrath doesn’t do relationships,” Uriel said. “And Zeb has been in love with Levi for centuries.”

“Who?” She was having trouble keeping all the hell princes straight, and now Uriel was introducing new beings to the mix.”

“Oh, sorry.” Uriel flapped her hand. “I’m not the only one who hates my name.” She gave Dee a significant look. “Elderly, middle eastern men did not do the best job of naming us.” She shook her head. “I mean…Uriel. Is it any surprise I prefer to go by Sophia?”

“Look at me, Eddie-girl.” Dee clasped her face and turned Eddie to face her. “Don’t worry about any of that. This is the crux of the matter as I understand it. Wrath is out to end Shade. Shade is not capable of stopping him right now. If Wrath succeeds, it will create a catastrophic imbalance that could implode the whole fucking lot of us.” Dee looked into her eyes. “You following me so far?”

Yep, she was getting the message loud and clear. Eddie nodded.

“I’m a guardian, and Uriel is an archangel. If either of us go through that portal without an invitation, it would be seen as an act of war.” Dee clicked her fingers. “War between heaven, hell, and earth…catastrophic imbalance. You still with me?”

“Uh-huh.” Eddie swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“You’re Nephilim, so you could be more powerful than the lot of us.”

“Um…Dee.” Uriel held up her hand. “That remains supposition at this point.”

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