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Chapter Twenty
Deep within the womb of creation, it stirred. So long dormant, the being did not recognize what was happening at first. Around it, its siblings still slumbered, but their eternal rest was fitful, as if they felt it too.
The summoning.
The awakening.
The end of days.
And the being remembered its name. It was Pestilence, and it rode its white steed with a crown upon its head, and a bow in its hands. It was the first of the harbingers of the end of days, and it felt the calling to it and its siblings—the breaking of the seals.
* * *
Dee didn’t want to like Daniel Lee, but her abiding sin was being a pushover for a pretty face and a kickass body, and Daniel Lee had both. As well as being a thoroughly pleasant and easy guest. She’d finally caved and cleared out the spare bedroom in the living area from years of old programs and posters and let him move into it. He already shared most meals with her, and bless his heart, ate her cooking as if he enjoyed it. So, it didn’t seem too much of a concession to get him to pack up his sleeping bag and take over the unused bed.
As far as the guardianship went, he was winning points there as well. He consulted rather than sidelined her and often deferred to her experience. Unlike a lot of men she’d encountered, he was quite happy to take her advice as well.
They’d taken to having an unofficial meeting every morning in the basement to keep an eye on the hell gate together and decide between them on the best course of action. Most days, he made the coffee for their meeting.
Dressed in faded jeans and a snug white T-shirt, he divided his attention between the hell gate and the app on his phone. “It seems relatively stable.”
“It did before it started coughing up rakshassa demons and imps.” Dee had to work to keep the acidity in her tone.
Daniel threw her a sweet smile. “True. It’s a tricky son of bitch to be sure.”
Jean-Claude had sent her a message a few days ago. He’d found a group of people and joined a hike in Alaska. She shouldn’t have been hurt by his defection. She certainly didn’t love him, and was, at best, fond of him, but her ego smarted nonetheless. Dee left her men. They didn’t leave her. After Rosabella’s father had headed for the hills and taken her heart with him, she’d sworn never again. It had been surprisingly easy to keep her promise as well.
“You all right?” Daniel studied her.
Dee buckled into her emotional armor and wiped any expression off her face. “Of course. What would be the matter with me?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel shrugged, but kept that dark, compassionate gaze on her. When Rosabella had first left Eddie with her, she’d been resentful. She’d raised her daughter and didn’t want to be raising someone else’s child. It had taken little Eddie mere days to help her overcome that. She adored her granddaughter and related to her in a way that she never had with Rosabella. Perhaps if she’d been closer to Rosabella, a better mother, Rosabella would have been different.
“With Eddie still missing, I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for you,” Daniel said.
The unwelcome worry and grief taking up residence in her chest gave a vicious twist. Rosabella being here wasn’t helping either. With Daniel in the spare room, Rosabella had taken over Eddie’s bedroom. It used to be hers when she still lived here, but Dee resented her presence in there. Mostly, she resented Rosabella’s constant demands for information and veiled accusations that if Dee had done a better job of looking after Eddie, she wouldn’t be missing now. Those accusations had wriggled beneath Dee’s guard, and she lay awake at night tormenting herself with what ifs. What if she’d been more open with Eddie about the hell gate? Given her the information she needed. What if she’d told Eddie about her father? Maybe Wrath could have protected her better or even taught her how to use her Nephilim power. But like she always told Eddie, you can’t change the past by wishing it that way. “Yeah. I’m worried sick about her. Wrath couldn’t find her in hell, and we’ve heard nothing more from Shade. Sophia checked in to say she’s traveling with him, but they have nothing concrete yet.”
“This is all so hard on you.” Daniel shook his head. “You were more like a mother to her than a grandmother.” A roguish grin turned his face boyish. “Not that anyone would guess you are a grandmother.”
Was he flirting with her? Well, he could cut that out. She didn’t have time for young, pretty diversions right now. All hell was literally breaking loose, and her granddaughter was caught in the vortex. When Sophia last reported in, it was with the tantalizing hope that the hounds were still on Eddie’s scent.
But still no Eddie.
Bollocks, but she wanted Eddie back here, safe and sound, where she could first shake the life out of her for worrying her grandmother half to death and then hold her like she never intended to let her go.
She felt stripped to her soul by Daniel’s compassion, and she needed to get away. “I’m going to…er…go and do my yoga. Meditate,” she tacked on in case that sounded heartless. Not that she cared what this boy thought of her.
Nodding, Daniel went back to studying the app. “I’ll check the deeper levels for activity before I come up.”
“You don’t need to tell me what you’re doing,” she snapped. “You’re the hell gate guardian now.” She instantly regretted her response, but Daniel kept his attention on the app. Something about the stillness of his posture stopped her. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure.” Frowning, Daniel tapped his phone screen, and a new display appeared.
The hair on Dee’s nape rose. Daniel was checking below the surface, way, way below the surface energy level. She’d never bothered to update her own app, but the thing was much more sophisticated now, and Daniel had the newest version. Another should have that she couldn’t deal with right now. She moved closer and peered over his shoulder. He smelled of laundry detergent and herbal soap, but she dragged her attention back to the screen. “You’re in the core.”
“Yeah.” Daniel’s jaw tensed. “I’ve been checking on it every other day or so.” He glanced at her, a chill in his gaze. “What with the seals cracking, it made sense.”
It did make an awful, horrible, final sort of sense, and Dee licked her dry lips. “And?”
