no
resistance to the idea. I loved Emo. We’d been friends since we were kids and
partners for several years. I didn’t want to do anything that would endanger
him. “Okay. I’ll stay away as much as possible.”
“No. That’s not what I’m asking of you, daughter. Myra
brought you here for a reason. He needs you now more than ever.”
I leveled a look on my father. “Have you met me? My life is
stress on steroids. Just standing next to me constitutes a walk on the wild
side. How am I going to spend time with Emo without passing some of that stress
onto him?”
“I’m not saying it will be easy. But you made a great start
today. You’ll figure it out.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “My entire life is impossible, why
should my relationship with my best friend be any different.”
“Whining doesn’t become you, Astra.”
I stuck my tongue out at my father and he laughed. “There
you are. I was afraid Myra had left your backbone behind when she shifted you
here.”
“Har. Now tell me about Dialle. What in Hades is going on
with him?”
“You probably have already guessed. When prophecy foretold a
great unifier, we didn’t realize that his power to walk the line between dark
and light had a caveat, if you will. That caveat is you, Astra. Without you
Dialle is no longer grounded in the light.”
“Shit.”
“Crude but accurate. Your connection with Dialle was what
allowed him to become the unifier. Without you…” My father shook his head.
“He’s being seduced by the dark.”
“Yes. That’s bad on many levels. It’s bad for the Royal
Devil Court on Earth, because as long as you and Dialle are tied to the court
it will continue to crumble and degrade, until Dialle begins to heal, or…” He
shook his head and went on. “The disintegration of the court is really bad for
humans and, by extension, the Celestial Realm. Without the good in Dialle to
restrain their baser instincts, the royals and lesser members of the court will
explode into violence. Humans will be slaughtered and debased by the
thousands—maybe even millions—depending on how quickly we can get the situation
under control.”
“And how will you get it under control?”
He just looked at me, pain shining brightly in his clear,
blue gaze.
“You’ll have to kill them all.”
“Yes.”
“Frunk me to Hades.”
“Exactly. And it gets worse.”
I snorted, figuring he was joking. But when I looked into
his eyes I knew he was about as far from jokes as he could get. “What? Give it
all to me so I know how much shit I’m gonna need to wade through to fix this.”
James Phelps, Seraphim of the Celestial Realm, shook his
gorgeous blond head. “You had to acquire your mother’s language gene didn’t
you?”
I didn’t think that needed a response. There was absolutely
nothing frunkin’ wrong with my language.
“The royals of the court won’t go down without a fight. Even
now they plot to disconnect Dialle and you from the court to save themselves.”
I frowned. “Disconnect?” He lifted an eyebrow and I sighed.
“I’m about to become the catch of the day again aren’t I?”
“You are. But don’t expect them to release you once you’re
caught. The only way to save the court from its current, rapid rate of decline
is to kill both you and Dialle and install a new king and queen as quickly as
possible.”
“Well just shit. That’s frunkin’ wonderful.”
“Offensive, but succinct. And true.”
* * * * *
Moments later, I shifted into Dialle’s quarters, hoping to
find him there and avoid the other members of the court. The room was empty and
looked as if a war had been fought between its walls.
The stench of dark magic stained the air and scorch marks slashed
across the draperies lining the walls, the thick velvet hanging in tatters
along the floor. The bed where Dialle and I had made love just days earlier
looked as if it had been sliced with a sword. The contents of the mattress
bulged outward from
resistance to the idea. I loved Emo. We’d been friends since we were kids and
partners for several years. I didn’t want to do anything that would endanger
him. “Okay. I’ll stay away as much as possible.”
“No. That’s not what I’m asking of you, daughter. Myra
brought you here for a reason. He needs you now more than ever.”
I leveled a look on my father. “Have you met me? My life is
stress on steroids. Just standing next to me constitutes a walk on the wild
side. How am I going to spend time with Emo without passing some of that stress
onto him?”
“I’m not saying it will be easy. But you made a great start
today. You’ll figure it out.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “My entire life is impossible, why
should my relationship with my best friend be any different.”
“Whining doesn’t become you, Astra.”
I stuck my tongue out at my father and he laughed. “There
you are. I was afraid Myra had left your backbone behind when she shifted you
here.”
“Har. Now tell me about Dialle. What in Hades is going on
with him?”
“You probably have already guessed. When prophecy foretold a
great unifier, we didn’t realize that his power to walk the line between dark
and light had a caveat, if you will. That caveat is you, Astra. Without you
Dialle is no longer grounded in the light.”
“Shit.”
“Crude but accurate. Your connection with Dialle was what
allowed him to become the unifier. Without you…” My father shook his head.
“He’s being seduced by the dark.”
“Yes. That’s bad on many levels. It’s bad for the Royal
Devil Court on Earth, because as long as you and Dialle are tied to the court
it will continue to crumble and degrade, until Dialle begins to heal, or…” He
shook his head and went on. “The disintegration of the court is really bad for
humans and, by extension, the Celestial Realm. Without the good in Dialle to
restrain their baser instincts, the royals and lesser members of the court will
explode into violence. Humans will be slaughtered and debased by the
thousands—maybe even millions—depending on how quickly we can get the situation
under control.”
“And how will you get it under control?”
He just looked at me, pain shining brightly in his clear,
blue gaze.
“You’ll have to kill them all.”
“Yes.”
“Frunk me to Hades.”
“Exactly. And it gets worse.”
I snorted, figuring he was joking. But when I looked into
his eyes I knew he was about as far from jokes as he could get. “What? Give it
all to me so I know how much shit I’m gonna need to wade through to fix this.”
James Phelps, Seraphim of the Celestial Realm, shook his
gorgeous blond head. “You had to acquire your mother’s language gene didn’t
you?”
I didn’t think that needed a response. There was absolutely
nothing frunkin’ wrong with my language.
“The royals of the court won’t go down without a fight. Even
now they plot to disconnect Dialle and you from the court to save themselves.”
I frowned. “Disconnect?” He lifted an eyebrow and I sighed.
“I’m about to become the catch of the day again aren’t I?”
“You are. But don’t expect them to release you once you’re
caught. The only way to save the court from its current, rapid rate of decline
is to kill both you and Dialle and install a new king and queen as quickly as
possible.”
“Well just shit. That’s frunkin’ wonderful.”
“Offensive, but succinct. And true.”
* * * * *
Moments later, I shifted into Dialle’s quarters, hoping to
find him there and avoid the other members of the court. The room was empty and
looked as if a war had been fought between its walls.
The stench of dark magic stained the air and scorch marks slashed
across the draperies lining the walls, the thick velvet hanging in tatters
along the floor. The bed where Dialle and I had made love just days earlier
looked as if it had been sliced with a sword. The contents of the mattress
bulged outward from
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