Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Leith was struggling to keep his emotions in check, but it was there, on his face, the fight between hope and hopelessness. “Does the debt he owes you cover us as well?”
Raphael nodded.
“You’re certain you’re not overpromising or that you won’t be in Anahel’s debt for—”
“The debt is great,” was all Raphael said.
“Okay,” Leith agreed, looking over at Jael. “But it means we’ll be gone, and time moves differently in heaven. We may be changed men when we return, Jael.”
“We have no choice.” Jael sighed. “Deidre, we need to message the council for others to guard the city.”
“I’ll do that now.” She smiled at him, reaching up, hand on his face, before she placed a gentle kiss there. “It will be fine. We should also ask the council for others to accompany Raph and Jackson on their hunt for Moira.”
“What?” Malic barked at her. “Marcus and I are going with Jackson.”
“Exactly right,” Marcus agreed.
“No,” Jael told them. “I need at least two of the warders who know the city to be here and stand guard. I have to stay and monitor the portal Raph opens to take everyone across the planes. If the portal closes on either end, they won’t be able to get back. Humans aren’t made to cross planes in a corporeal state, only in a disembodied one upon death, so it’s crucial the portal remains open.”
“You won’t be able to leave your home?” Malic was stunned.
Jael shook his head. “I’m to be a gatekeeper until the task is concluded.”
Raphael shook his head. “No. That’s not necessary. My portal won’t close, Jael, not until we cross back or either Jackson or I die.”
It was up to Jael to inspire and be stalwart, so the first words out of his mouth were, “No one’s going to die.”
“Of course not,” Raphael agreed for his sake. “But again, it won’t close. It’s not a vortex or a wormhole or a pocket dimension; it’s a true gateway from your dimension to Ibos. I promise you, the portal will not close.”
“You’re certain?”
Raphael nodded.
“It won’t collapse without me holding it open?”
“No.”
Jael’s brows furrowed. “Raph, my understanding is that a kyrie doesn’t have that kind of power. How are you—”
“If I was going to one of the planes of hell, or deeper into a hell dimension, like where Leith and Simon were lost, I couldn’t hold a portal there for long. Hell is shrouded to all but demons. But in Limbo, and in all the in-between spaces of the world, I can keep a gateway open like I did when I was looking for Marcus.”
“How?” Deidre asked him.
“I don’t know. It’s what makes me better than most,” he said dismissively. “But that’s not the point. The important part is that you, Jael, can patrol the city, as nothing else can use my gateway without me.”
“How do you know?” Malic asked.
“I know,” Raphael stated, and the certainty in his voice reassured everyone. He wasn’t prone to exaggeration or making promises he couldn’t keep. If he said the portal was secure, it was. No one had any reason to doubt him.
“So I can help with patrolling of the city,” Jael said, sounding relieved. “And I’ll be in charge of the revolving warders coming to help.”
“Yes,” Raphael agreed.
“Thank you,” Jael husked, putting his hand on Raphael’s shoulder and squeezing gently.
“So who will go hunting with Jackson and Raph?” Malic wanted to know.
“The Labarum council will send us men.”
“It should be us,” Malic growled. “Fuck the city. Leave it to other warders.”
“You don’t mean that,” Leith said. “You’ve spent your life protecting this city and the people here. You would never abandon it.”
“But I have to go with you,” Malic ground out, like it was painful. “I can’t abandon my brothers either.”
“We’re not abandoning them,” Marcus insisted. “And are you suggesting we leave Joe and Dylan here alone?”
“No, they’d come with us.”
“On a hunting trip through hell?”
“Yes! Why are you arguing with me about this?”
“Because you’re being short-sighted.”
“How so?”
“You actually think that hunting while trying to protect Joe and Dylan is smart?”
Malic turned his back on him, clearly frustrated. “We could protect them and—”
“You want revenge,” Marcus told him, turning Malic to face him. “So do I. Moira kept me from Joe and all of you, my family, for so long. I want to see her suffer too, but not at the cost of losing what I have.”
“Dylan could have died,” he rasped.
“I know,” Marcus soothed, pulling him into a hug.
“Listen to me,” Jael ordered. “The fact of the matter is that Ryan must make the trip to Anahel’s realm, as Julian will be safe there. Leith has to go as well, as the same is true for Simon. Both Ryan and Leith have been building power for over a year, and I didn’t understand why, but now I do. Even though we thought the threat had passed, our power, tied to senses we have no conscious connection to, knew better.”