《The demonisation of Hope》


 Prologue - 2009

    The boarding house at the University of Melbourne was a massive old manor, renovated to house 48 full-time students who faced financial hardship securing their own living arrangements. In the basement was an old bar with a polished wooden counter and plush old leather couches. The residents used it to hold parties and unwind.


    John snorted and took a long drink from the bottle. His unshaven face wrinkled in a grimace and he hissed as he passed the bottle on to Lilly. "Jesus, that shit tastes like engine degreaser."


    "Sack up, softie." Lilly laughed and took a drink. Her eyes watered a little and she coughed but didn''t complain.


    "Ha!" John pointed at her and laughed. "Told you! And I''m hard as fuck, babe." He sat up straighter on the bar and lifted his chin with a theatrically haughty expression.


    From across the room, Cain threw one of his shoes which smacked John in the middle of the chest and sent him tumbling arse over end off the bar. Lilly was off the bar a moment later, and unsteady as she was she still made her way to John''s side and put a hand on his forehead. "You okay?"


    John blinked stupidly while Cain and Thomas laughed. Lilly ran her fingers over his head and watched as John''s eyes focused on her face. "You right there? Crack your head on the floor?"


    "Na," he shook his head and blinked some more while she checked the back of his head for blood. "Hey, mum, I''m okay." His hand shot up and clasped hers firmly. "No worries."


    "Is he alive then?" Cain called mockingly.


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    Lilly rolled her eyes, "You''re such a wanker."


    "And you''re a grandma at 19, he''s fine." Cain laughed.


    John pulled his feet under him and got back up. "I remain undefeated!" He roared.


    Lilly could only plonk down on her butt and shake her head again as John stumbled over to Cain and they started playing Mario Kart. After a few minutes, Thomas came over to check on her. "You good there, mum?"


    She snorted, "don''t call me ''mum'', it''s weird."


    "Come on," he held his hand out to help her up. "It''s cute that you worry, really."


    Lilly let him pull her up and grabbed his shoulder to hold herself steady, "whoa."


    "Hey-up." Thomas laughed and put an arm around her waist. "Taxi?"


    "I''m fine, just spun a little. Maybe water for my next one barkeep."


    ¡°Alright, sit down, kick Cain¡¯s ass at Mario Kart.¡± He grinned as he settled her down on the couch next to his twin brother. ¡°Not a bad way to celebrate a successful school year, eh?¡±


    Lilly snorted. ¡°Successful my ass, did you ever even go to class? I swear none of you ever went to class.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± John objected.


    ¡°Okay okay sorry John, you went. But neither of these gits did.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not wrong,¡± Cain smiled without taking his eyes off the screen. ¡°How¡¯d we not get kicked out?¡±


    ¡°Animal magnetism,¡± Tom said as he put a glass of water on the small table next to Lilly¡¯s side of the couch.


    ¡°Oh, that must be it.¡± She leaned over hard to the left and ended up almost in Cain¡¯s lap trying to take a sharp corner in the video game. ¡°I swear, my first big story¡¯s gonna be an in-depth investigation of whatever rort you guys have going on.¡±


    John, Cain, and Thomas looked at each other seriously until Lilly squealed happily as her character crossed the finish line first.


    Eventually, it would be necessary to tell her...

 Chapter 1(now)

    With an irritated grunt, Lilly rubbed the screen of her iPhone against her thigh to clear away the Dijon mustard that had dripped from the corner of Thomas¡¯ overfull mouth.


    ¡°Jesus, man, you¡¯re a fucking Neanderthal. Eat with your mouth closed.¡± She grumbled.


    ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at mum?¡± He asked around his food.


    She sighed and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta go into the hospital today and try to track down those records. And stop calling me ¡®mum¡¯ you¡¯re older than I am.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, the corruption thing.¡± He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then licked it clean. ¡°Look at you, fighting the good fight. Stickin¡¯ it to the man. Do you deep throat yet?¡±


    Lilly rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re a pig,¡± she grabbed a slice of his toast off his plate and dipped it in his egg.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Hey yourself, you were meant to provide breakfast for me too remember?¡± She held an imaginary phone up to her ear and spoke in an exaggeratedly deep voice ¡°Oh you gotta come round Lil. Naaaw you won''t be late for work. Come on, we got nachos and I¡¯ll make breakfast.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Should have known better.¡±


    ¡°Hey, if you weren¡¯t here, hanging out with us, you might end up¡± he looked around as though searching for something terrible, ¡°with some, I dunno, some accountant or something. A boring ass white as snow straight-laced-¡±


    ¡°Human?¡± She asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with normal guys, Thomas. God knows I could do with spending time with at least one person who isn¡¯t actually a denizen of the underworld!¡±


    ¡°Underworld? How dare you talk about Frankston that way!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help laughing and patted him on the back as she stood. ¡°I gotta go. I left the rest of my nachos in the fridge.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a Goddess,¡±


    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t fuck anyone to death this week, okay?¡± She said flippantly.


    Tom rolled his eyes. ¡°I haven¡¯t done that in centuries. Which reminds me we only got up to like, the 1300s last night,¡±


    ¡°I know, I know, trust me I keep a note of where we''re at. One day I¡¯ll write a book.¡±


    ¡°No book!¡± Three voices said firmly in unison. John and Cain were still in their rooms but had obviously been eavesdropping.


    ¡°You know for a pack of demons you guys are a bunch of wusses.¡± She stuck her tongue out and shut the door behind her.


    ¡°One of these days, she''s going to get us into trouble,¡± Thomas muttered to himself.


    ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± Cain asked as he came out of his room in his Australian flag boxers. Thomas opened his mouth but the look on Cain¡¯s face silenced him. ¡°Don¡¯t even joke about it, don¡¯t even think it. We do not hurt Lilly.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Tom slid his slipper off and threw it at his brother who had stolen a sausage from his plate. ¡°HEY! Everyone get the hell away from my breakfast!¡±


    Traffic sucked in town in the middle of the day so Lilly took the tram. It was free once you got inside the city circle and she liked people watching through the windows as they rattled their way around lines. Finding out that her best friends were demons had turned regular old people watching into a biblically themed game.


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    If granny over there on the corner is a demon, what kind is she? What might her real name be? When was the last time she raised some hell? She¡¯d only seen John change once, and that was moving heavy furniture, so she didn¡¯t have a lot of points of reference, but what she lacked in information she made up for in imagination. She was still playing the game in fact when she walked through the front doors of the hospital admissions building and started to look for some way to sweet talk herself access to their accounting system.


    If she hadn¡¯t been so observant it¡¯s possible that the man in the expensive suit may have slipped right by her. He was the kind of attractive Lilly had always been wary of. The kind that suggests he was used to getting what he wanted and didn¡¯t much care whether you wanted to give it to him. When he told a nurse he was ¡®Mr. Abraxas¡¯ she did a double-take at the name.


    ¡®Abraxas¡¯ had been in the stories the guys had been telling her. Thomas and Cain had been around since almost three thousand years BC, but John was much older, he remembered all the way back to the beginning and Abraxas was a name he spoke with a certain degree of fear.


    Lilly followed him through the double doors and hugged the wall around to the left. The entire building smelled of disinfectant and artificial citrus, but as she breathed slowly through her mouth she realised that it wasn''t the ''hospital'' smell that made her feel so ill. She looked down at her bare arm and saw her hairs standing up and her flesh goosebumped in the lukewarm air. There was a hum around her that she couldn''t hear. A vibration she couldn''t feel, and it set off every sensory alert her body had, without actually telling her anything.


    At the end of the corridor, she stopped and positioned her camera so that it could see through the large window into the next room, and she could watch what was happening on the swivel LCD screen. Inside was some kind of neonatal intensive care unit with incubators, strange machines, lights and humidicribs. All of these were empty, bar one. In it lay a baby of average size wrapped in standard hospital blankets and wearing an ID bracelet. Abraxas and a doctor stood over the crib.


    "Will she live?" Abraxas asked.


    The Doctor nodded, "Absolutely. She''s not receiving any medical interventions at all," he reached down and opened the baby''s blanket. "She''s perfectly healthy."


    "And the mother?"


    "Ah," the Doctor looked uncomfortable. "She''s been told the child didn''t survive. You were right," he looked at Abraxas, "she accepted the story and didn''t ask for the body."


    Abraxas smiled. "I can always pick ''em."


    "What are you going to do with her?"


    One of Abraxas'' eyebrows raised in amusement and he regarded the Doctor calmly. "Better perhaps not to ask questions you don''t want the answers to. She''ll serve her purpose, that''s all that matters, and you''ll be paid." He stroked the baby''s head with one long-fingered hand and Lilly gagged at the cold feeling his expression gave her. "I''ll take this one to go. Wrap her up. I''ll finalise your payment."


    He was already on this phone as he wandered from the intensive care unit into the lobby area where the nurses'' desk was. Lily watched the Doctor as he stood perfectly still and stared down at the baby. On an impulse she couldn''t explain Lilly slipped in through the other door and boldly looked right at him. The Doctor opened and closed his mouth when he noticed her, but he said nothing. Her expression told him clearly she''d heard everything, and she knew enough... She took one step forward, he said nothing. Then another. The Doctor only watched, his expression tormented and torn until Lilly stood opposite him beside the crib. Slowly she reached in, bundled the blanket back around the baby and lifted her from where she lay.


    "He''ll kill me." The Doctor said as she settled the baby in her arms.


    Lilly looked at him and said nothing.


    "There''s nowhere for me to run," he said more to himself than to her.


    "So what will you do?" She kept her eyes on him, so it was plain as day when a tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek into his grizzled beard.


    "Give you as long as I can," he said after a pause. "And pray."


    Lilly backed away as the Doctor grabbed another blanket and put it in the crib in a bundle such that there could have been a baby in it. Once she was out the door he walked calmly to a panel and hit a large orange button. Claxons sounded and the doors locked. The Doctor went back to stand by the crib and looked down into the empty blanket. Lilly didn''t wait to see what Abraxas would do.


    The Doctor sighed to himself and raised his eyes from the crib. Across from him stood a tall, handsome man in a plain suit with bright red hair and calm grey eyes. He did not precisely glow, but as the Doctor looked at him he perceived that perhaps there was something in the air around him. Not light, but something physical, as though there were more to this being than his flesh... He opened his mouth to ask but closed it again as Abraxas began to hammer on the locked door. Across from him, the being reached over and put on hand over the doctors where he maintained a white-knuckled grip on the edge of the crib.


    "It won''t hurt." The stranger said.


    The Doctor could only nod and a moment later the room was engulfed in flames.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit,¡± Lilly hissed under her breath as she hurried down the corridor. Thirty seconds later she moved past a desk with a tired-looking nurse behind it who looked up at her. Sweat ran from her hairline and into her eyes. Despite her best efforts, she could feel the panicked expression on her face.


    The Nurse¡¯s suspicious expression at her obvious panic made Lilly sick to her stomach. She gave the woman as friendly a smile as she could manage and nodded down the hallway ¡°Bathroom?¡± She asked, her voice appropriately strained.


    The nurse relaxed and opened her mouth to answer but alarms began to sound and instead, the woman sprang to the phone and started barking orders. Lilly kept on towards the lifts but despite repeatedly mashing the button, they wouldn¡¯t move. She sobbed in frustration and hurried around to the stairs. At first, she ran, often skipping steps, but after two flights she mistimed and nearly lost her footing. After that, she moved more carefully.


    At the bottom of the stairwell, she stepped out into the fluorescent-lit concrete cave of the underground carpark. She couldn¡¯t see anyone, and she hugged the wall intent on reaching the far exit to the street with as little exposure as possible. The baby in her arms gurgled a little and moved around in her blanket but didn¡¯t wake. She saw the ramp that led to the street and again whimpered as hope welled inside her that she¡¯d make it.


    As she put her foot on the ramp to start up towards the light, she heard a terrifying snuffling. Something that could only have come from a massive dog. She ducked back and shrank into the shadows, the baby clutched close to her body. What came around the side of a pale blue minivan was the size of a pony and had the dimensions of a mastiff. Its muzzle was massive and the fangs protruded past the lips and dripped with spittle the colour of puss.


    For a heartbeat, Lilly entertained the madness that it might not notice her squashed back into her corner, but then it lifted its head and sniffed. The large black pupils dilated in eyes the hue of coagulated blood. Then it turned and looked right at them and in those eyes, Lilly saw a terrifying intelligence. She fumbled along the wall, one hand against it behind her until she felt a door. With a prayer on her lips, she pushed and the door swung in. As it did, the great hound snarled and started towards them.


    The door swung closed again once she was through and she sprinted down the dimly lit service corridor. Against her chest, the baby protested the jostling while she took corner after corner until she had no idea where she was in relation to where she¡¯d been. Behind her, the unmistakable sound of that door smashing open made her turn blindly into the first room she saw and shut the door behind her.


    Lilly scrabbled for the lock then flicked the light off and skidded over the cold concrete floor to hide behind a metal shelving unit. She fumbled for her phone with one hand and hit 6 on her speed dial.


    "Lilly!" Cain called happily down the line. "Hey, John will be back from the store with pizza and beer in a minute, come round, we''re gonna watch porn!"


    "Cain," she hissed, "I need you!"


    "That''s what she said," Lilly heard Thomas say.


    Cain hissed inarticulately at him, "Lil, what''s going on?"


    She sobbed, "There is some kind of hellhound thing out there!"


    "What?" Both voices demanded together.


    "Please, please help me." She jiggled the baby with one arm desperate to keep her calm.


    "Have you got a knife?" Cain asked.


    "I can''t fight this thing with a knife it''s fucking huge," she squeaked.


    "Lil listen, I need you to cut yourself, the hand is good. Find something, anything, and cut your hand on it." Cain instructed.


    She looked around frantically. The edge of the shelving wasn''t sharp enough for a clean cut but she swallowed hard and nodded to herself. As gently as she could she set the baby down behind the shelving and slid a box in front of it. Then, with her eyes closed tight she gripped the edge as hard as she could and jerked her hand back towards herself. The resulting tear in her skin stung and she whimpered. "okay... okay, now what? Oh God, can it smell this?"


    "It doesn''t matter," Cain''s voice was firm. "Use the blood to draw a circle on the floor okay, big enough for you to stand in."


    Lilly did as she was told. "okay, now what?"


    "Look into the circle, and very clearly I need you to say ''Libidine'' like you''re calling a name."


    She swallowed hard and stared into the circle. As clearly as she could she said "Libidine", but nothing happened. "What now?"


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    "That''s not gonna work!" Thomas hissed. "Lilly listen to me, Um... okay, okay, we''re at the bar, right? The Mayfair, and I''m at the other end of the bar, and it''s my shout, but I''m talking to some skank and ignoring you. Yell for me." He urged. "Loud as you can. Make me pay attention."


    "It''ll hear!" She hissed, "I can''t."


    "Lilly, listen to me, you''re being hunted. It is going to find you. You have to summon me, right now. Get my attention babe, I swear you call my name and I''m gonna be there."


    "What about Libi-whatever?"


    Thomas snorted, "That was never gonna work, ignore it. You know me, you know my name, I''m coming all you have to do is call. Come on Lilly, show me where you are."


    She closed her eyes tight, balled her courage into a tightwad at the back of her throat and tried not to think about being torn apart. "Thomas get over here now!"


    The blood began to bubble as though it were boiling and Lilly pulled her hand away though it wasn''t at all hot. Instead, it seemed to spread in towards the middle until it looked like a bottomless pool of thick blood level with the floor.


    "Yes!" She heard Cain cry through the phone.


    The pool of blood rippled as though something moved below the surface and Lilly stared at it in fascination until the door flew off the hinges and forced her to dive back behind the shelving to protect herself. Hidden behind the box of replacement light bulbs, the baby began to cry. The hellish beast was crouched in the doorway snarling. Between it and its prey, in the pool of blood, was Thomas.


    He held up a hand in front of him, "back up, fucker." The beast snarled and crouched lower. "Hey! Don''t even think about it, mate."


    Lilly sobbed in relief and put her hand back on the blood as Thomas stepped out of it. Without encouragement or direction, she closed her eyes again and cried out "Cain!" Again the blood bubbled and rippled and as she blinked, one moment the air was empty, the next, Cain stood there. "Oi!" He yelled when his eyes fell on the beast in the doorway.


    The Hellhound regarded them and continued to huff and snort. Its hackles raised and its eyes darting always back to what it could see of Lilly cowering in the corner. She lay one arm over the box and tried to jiggle the baby to calm it.


    "It''s not gonna happen," Cain said firmly as he and his brother moved beside each other to effectively block the thing¡¯s access to their friend.


    ¡°He can¡¯t back down now, he¡¯s got a scent.¡± Thomas took a slow, deliberate step to the left, and Cain mirrored him to the right. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly soldiers, Cain¡­¡±


    Lilly had to simply let the child cry in order to put her hand back on the pool of blood. Her head swam and the edges of her vision dimmed as though she¡¯d been running for a long time. ¡°John! John please,¡± she begged.


    The pool bubbled and rumbled and then John was there. Taller than the others with massive shoulders and a confused expression. He saw Thomas and Cain, he saw the Hellhound, and he heard Lilly¡¯s last sigh behind him before she passed out. He dropped the shopping bags he¡¯d materialised with and snarled a terrible inhuman sound.


    ¡°Can you kill it?¡± Thomas asked.


    John¡¯s face split into a broad grin. ¡°C¡¯mere you ugly bitch.¡± He dropped his shopping bags which landed in the pool of blood with a sickening splash and hunched forward like a great gorilla. His muscles grew and his frame expanded while the bulge of blackened, mutilated wings grew on his back. The Hellhound snarled and launched itself at him.


    The ensuing ruckus was loud enough to alert even the distracted hospital staff who were still attempting to evacuate the building. The scuffling pair rolled sideways into the metal shelving and dislodged bottles of cleaning supplies and reels of printer paper. The bits and pieces tumbled down around the baby missing her by inches. Cain picked up a broken section of shelf support and attacked the hound¡¯s flanks while John seemed intent on tearing its jaws apart. Thomas left them to it and worked his way around the room to where Lilly lay unconscious. He began to scoop her into his arms when he suddenly noticed the baby.


    ¡°Fuck me!¡± He half dropped Lilly and she groaned.


    John looked over his shoulder, ¡°Just grab her and get out of here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a fucking baby over here!¡± Thomas shouted.


    ¡°Well grab it too and leg it!¡±


    Thomas picked up the baby and her cry became more insistent. ¡°Hey, whose side are you on?¡± He then slid his other arm around Lilly¡¯s body and hoisted her up against his side. ¡°Hey! Wake up, Lil! Come on!¡±


    She groaned and opened her eyes.


    ¡°We gotta get out of here, babe, hold on to me okay?¡±


    She blinked stupidly and then peered around. When she saw he was already holding the baby she put her arms around his neck and tried to put some weight on her feet. Her legs were wobbly but they held.


    Thomas looked over at his brother, ¡°I¡¯ve got her, let''s go!¡±


    ¡°Cain, help them,¡± John grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±


    ¡°Can you kill it on your own?¡± Cain asked.


    John¡¯s muscles bunched again and he tried to haul the hound off its feet. ¡°Bit out of practice. Gonna have to make a break for it.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Cain abandoned his length of shelving and hurried to Thomas to take Lilly from him. ¡°You think that¡¯s hers?¡±


    ¡°What, since this morning? Just take her, dumbass.¡±


    They moved to stand close together, Thomas and Cain each put their left hand on the opposite shoulder of his brother before Thomas looked back at John. ¡°You coming?¡±


    ¡°Right behind you, just go!¡±


    The twins looked each other in the eyes. Perfectly ordinary chocolate brown melted into a fiery yellow with unnaturally shaped pupils and between one heartbeat and the next, they were gone along with their precious cargo. The hound growled in consternation at their exit and tried to wrestle away from John¡¯s grip to search for them.


    ¡°Ohh no you don¡¯t, fucker,¡± John leaned back and put a foot against the chest of the beast. With a monumental effort, he booted it back through the doorway. The hound shook its head for a moment and then launched itself back towards him, but its jaws snapped shut on empty air. John had disappeared.

 Chapter 3

    When Lilly opened her eyes Cain held her against his chest. She blinked up at his yellow eyes and worried expression for a moment until her senses returned then she struggled out of his arms and scrambled towards Thomas. ¡°Is she alright?¡± She snatched her and held her close.


    "Whose baby is that?" Thomas demanded.


    Lilly held the child closer and took a step back. John appeared in the kitchen and leaned up against the counter. His shirt was ruined with seams busted along the arms, though he¡¯d shrunk down to his usual size. There was blood on his hands and face, and it looked like the hound had gotten a bite in on his side, but he didn¡¯t baby it as he moved to the fridge for a beer.


    "I''m not messing around Lilly, whose fucking baby is that?" Thomas closed on her.


    She stared at him helplessly. "I don''t know." She confessed. "I don''t know, but Abraxas was going to... I don''t know do something terrible to her and I couldn''t leave her there!"


    Thomas''s eyes bulged and his fists clenched, "You stole a sacrificial baby from Abraxas on a fucking whim? Woman! What the hell is wrong with you?"


    "Ooookay," John pressed an open beer bottle into Thomas''s hand and turned to shove the other one at Cain, whose face was a grim mask. "Lilly, just tell the story."


    She looked at John gratefully and rocked slowly to keep the baby calm. "I went to the hospital to poke around and Mr Abraxas was there, and-"


    "Wait," John interrupted, "How could you know him from any other Armani-wearing asshole?"


    "You talked about him," Lilly said, ¡°He¡¯s in half your stories and I heard the name and..."


    "Why wouldn¡¯t you say you were investigating a demon?" Thomas interrupted.


    Lilly rolled her eyes. "I wasn¡¯t! I swear I wasn¡¯t."


    Thomas rolled his eyes right back at her. "You just saw a demon and started stalking him, Lilly what the-"


    "Shut up, Thomas." John gestured for Lilly to continue.


    "I was poking around for the accounts department because all the best stories are about money and I just," she looked down at the baby and frowned, "I heard the name and couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± She looked sheepish when John snorted his beer and looked horrified. ¡°I don''t know, okay I just followed him and the longer I followed him the weirder I felt. Like I was in an electrical storm or something and then he went into the NICU and there was a Doctor there and the baby and... He''d lied to the mother. She thought the baby was dead and then he said the Doctor was going to get his money and he shouldn''t ask questions he didn''t want the answers to and then he left and..."


    "And? What!"


    "Tom!" the others hissed together.


    "And I just walked in." She said, her eyes fixed on the sleeping baby.


    "You just walked in? What about the Doctor?" John asked.


    She shook her head. "He was there. He was just looking at the baby, and I picked her up and the Doctor looked really sad and then-" she frowned trying to piece it all together. "Then I backed out of the room and he put the place in lockdown... and I ran."


    Cain''s expression had changed to one of concern and wonder, "uh guys?" He pointed at the muted TV. The hospital had been evacuated due to a fire in one of the NICU rooms. One known casualty. Doctor Lisbon. "Well, that escalated quickly."


    "You think the Doctor torched the place?" John asked.


    Thomas shook his head, "It''s hard to get a fire to stick in a modern public building. If that thing''s still on fire it wasn''t a human that started it." He looked back at Lilly. "What the hell have you dragged us into, babe?¡± He shook his head and picked up his keys and wallet off the counter.


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    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Cain asked.


    ¡°Shop.¡± Thomas went to the door. ¡°Muscles over there dropped dinner in the hospital and that baby isn¡¯t going to want anything we¡¯ve got in the fridge.¡±


    Lilly¡¯s defensive expression softened, ¡°Thank you, Tom.¡± She sat on the couch and looked down at the face of the little girl in her arms. ¡°It¡¯s okay honey. It¡¯s gonna be okay.¡± She leaned down and whispered against the baby''s tiny perfect ear. ¡°I know they look kinda unreliable, but they won¡¯t let anyone hurt you.¡±


    Thomas stalked through the streets and muttered to himself under his breath. Abraxas was a son of a bitch. Hellhounds were inbred mutts. Women were stupid. Babies were trouble. He squeezed his keys tight in his fist and winced when he relaxed the grip.


    ¡°That¡¯s not overly safe,¡± a voice interrupted his mumbled diatribe from off to his left.


    A tall, handsome figure leaned against the brick wall of a bakery with his arms crossed over his chest. Thomas stopped and glared at him. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    The figure pushed off from the wall and sauntered towards Thomas, who glared at him coldly. ¡°Airing your dirty laundry in public?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you, flyboy?¡± Thomas turned and continued up the street, but the other man fell into step with him.


    ¡°You¡¯re in something of a situation here, Thomas.¡±


    Thomas didn¡¯t stop walking. ¡°I don¡¯t see how it¡¯s any of your business. Demons are scrappers. We had a fight, it¡¯s hardly worth divine intervention is it?¡± He stopped abruptly and turned to glare up at his companion. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re a dirty little overachiever mate, but around here we leave each other alone. The war is over, we¡¯re all just trying to get along.¡±


    The taller man leaned forward until their faces were close together, ¡°Your friend rescued a Nephilim baby from one of the generals of hell,¡± he smiled calmly. ¡°And then you, your brother, and your beer-swilling friend fought a Hellhound to ensure their escape.¡±


    ¡°And how exactly do you know that Telemachus?¡± Thomas took a half step forward and glared.


    ¡°I know because I was there.¡± Telemachus smiled.


    ¡°You set fire to the NICU.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question.


    ¡°I did.¡± Telemachus shrugged. ¡°The Doctor saved his soul in a last-minute act of selflessness, and the fire has confused Abraxas. It will take him some time to determine that the child did not die in the fire. Assuming, of course, you killed the Hellhound?¡±


    Thomas swore, ¡°It got away.¡± Telemachus raised an eyebrow but Thomas waved him off. ¡°Hey, you want guaranteed dead dogs, you help out next time.¡±


    ¡°What were you doing there, incubus? You¡¯re not known for hanging out in hospitals.¡±


    ¡°Our friend needed us, ¡± Tom said defensively. ¡°She saw the hound and called for the only ones she thought could help.¡±


    Telemachus''s eyebrow shot up. ¡°She knew? She knew what you were and you let her live?¡±


    Thomas kicked Telemachus hard in the crotch and when he doubled over, followed with a sharp elbow to the angel¡¯s kidney. Once Telemachus was on the ground with all the wind knocked out of him, Tom sat on his chest and punched him in the jaw. ¡°You do not threaten Lilly, you understand?¡± He hauled an arm back to hit the prone man again but Telemachus put both his hands up in defence.


    ¡°I meant no threat to her!¡± He slowly lowered his hands and looked Tom in the eye. ¡°I meant only to enquire why you and your brother spared her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting thing for you to believe, demon.¡±


    Tom rolled his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no more war, we¡¯re all just here. I don¡¯t know about you but I haven¡¯t had an order of any kind for going on 80 years now! Live and let live, mate. We¡¯re not interested in gettin¡¯ all up in your shit, we¡¯re not causing trouble,¡±


    Telemachus snorted and Thomas slammed his shoulders back into the pavement. ¡°Seriously! We don¡¯t possess, we don¡¯t corrupt any more than they already are. We drink too much and we watch some iffy porn, but this fight isn¡¯t a thing anymore unless you want to make it one. Whatever the Morning Star wanted, he either got it, died trying, or he¡¯s in a hole someplace feeling sorry for himself.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a good idea to go around telling humans about your demonic nature.¡± Telemachus did a half sit up at glared at Thomas. ¡°For some, the war will never be over, Thomas. I¡¯m not interested in making your life difficult, but you have a Nephilim in your possession and a human who seems as well versed in demonology as Abramelin!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a sorceress,¡± Tom hissed. ¡°She needed us so we talked her through a simple summoning, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Telemachus let himself flop back to the pavement and laced his fingers together behind his head arrogantly. ¡°You¡¯re putting her in danger, and now she¡¯s wrapped up in something she can¡¯t possibly be ready for¡­ unless you¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°So help us, we don¡¯t want to be responsible for your stupid illegal baby!¡± Tom growled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take her?¡±


    Telemachus shrugged. ¡°We could if you can get her to meet us.¡±


    ¡°Fine. But I need to finish the shopping trip first. Babies need a lot of things.¡±

 Chapter 4

    The day was sunny and deceptively calm. Lilly stood at the windows in the living room and looked out on the street. A perfectly ordinary street lined with trees and unnecessary SUVs and featuring joggers and mums pushing prams. The baby had begun to fuss and John had taken her and walked back and forth with some inappropriate rock song playing which actually seemed to calm her.


    ¡°It¡¯s noisy in the womb.¡± Cain moved up behind her and Lilly gave him a weak smile.


    ¡°How would you know something like that?¡± She asked.


    Cain shrugged, ¡°I know a lot of random crap. Comes with being very old and very wise.¡±


    Lilly snorted. ¡°Wise my ass.¡±


    ¡°But old,¡± he stepped up close behind her and she could feel the warmth from his body.


    She leaned back and let him take some of her weight. ¡°I¡¯m not religious, I never have been. I don¡¯t know anything about any of that stuff unless it was in a movie¡­ but I know you guys. I know you wouldn¡¯t hurt me, I¡¯m pretty sure you aren¡¯t running around hurting anyone else so¡­¡±


    Cain put his arms around her and gave her a squeeze. ¡°But we used to.¡± He confessed quietly. ¡°We hurt people, we were in the war and we wanted to win it.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She pulled away and turned to look at him. ¡°Why are you saying this now?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t think you understand what you¡¯ve done.¡± He said. ¡°You know three demons who aren¡¯t really into it anymore, but not everyone¡¯s like that, Lil. Abraxas is a vicious son of a bitch, okay? He was a die-hard believer and he¡¯s never going to stop. Eventually, he¡¯ll find a way to turn this cold war hot again and when that happens,¡± He looked away uncomfortably.


    ¡°What? What happens then?¡±


    His eyes moved back to hers, and they¡¯d changed again to the fiery yellow she¡¯d seen at the hospital. ¡°Then the legions will be called up, and we¡¯re all going to have to make choices.¡±


    ¡°Choices like what?¡±


    ¡°Like whether or not we¡¯ll answer!¡± He snapped. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand, we can¡¯t change sides? The flyboys won''t have us, the silver city will never accept us, its get with the program or be a target for everyone!¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t really go back to what you did before though?¡± She looked at him, and for the first time, she was legitimately frightened.


    ¡°What did I do before, Lilly?¡± He asked, his voice dangerously low. He took another step forward and looked down at her intently. ¡°Do you know what I did?¡±


    Lilly shrank for a moment, but she saw the flicker of sadness behind Cain¡¯s eyes and straightened her spine again to look up at him defiantly. ¡°You won''t hurt me. And you¡¯re not going back.¡± She snuck her hand forward and gripped his, hard. ¡°I know you better than that. All of you.¡±


    Cain¡¯s eyes changed back and he sighed, ¡°Being around us, being in all this, is gonna come back and bite you in the ass, Lilly.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek lightly.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s someone else¡¯s turn to walk back and forth, I need a beer!¡± John called out.


    Lilly rolled her eyes at Cain and hurried to take the baby from John so he could have a break. ¡°Come here honey,¡± She smiled down at the grizzling girl. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Thomas will be back soon with something for you to eat.¡±


    John¡¯s voice came from the kitchen, ¡°You want a beer, Lil?¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t want a beer, John, I¡¯m holding a baby!¡±


    John snorted, ¡°A baby you stole from a demon general with a chip on his shoulder and a bad fuckin¡¯ attitude. If I were you I¡¯d drink the beer.¡±


    The key turned in the lock and Lilly turned to watch Thomas walk in, but she did a double take when she saw he wasn¡¯t alone. She didn¡¯t see how it happened exactly, but John and Cain were beside her. John held a long-bladed kitchen knife and Cain glowered darkly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Thomas waved a hand and ushered two men into the room. ¡°They just want to talk.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like them here,¡± Cain growled.


    ¡°You will in a minute,¡± Tom started but he was cut off by the tall red-haired man behind him.


    ¡°That is a Nephilim,¡± Telemachus gestured to the child.


    The room erupted in sound. Lilly couldn¡¯t understand what was going on, ¡®Nephilim¡¯ wasn¡¯t a word she¡¯d read in her short, fevered research into demonology after discovering the truth about her friends, but by the way everyone was losing their minds, it must be pretty bad. She hugged the baby closer and took a step back.


    "Can I see her?" the other stranger asked quietly, and somehow Lilly heard him through the din. Lilly met his eyes and frowned. He looked so sad. ¡°She¡¯s-¡±


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    ¡°She¡¯s his daughter,¡± Telemachus said. ¡°This is Metatron,¡±


    ¡°Talkie tosser is Telemachus,¡± Tom said.


    Lilly shyly shifted the baby and blanket so Metatron could see his daughter¡¯s face. "Do you want to hold her?"


    "Hey now!" John stepped across her and separated them and Cain moved in on the other side.


    "It''s not that we don''t trust you mate," Cain said.


    "But we don''t trust anyone." John finished.


    Lilly shook her head, "He''s not going to hurt his own baby, guys."


    Cain snorted. "Oh yeah? Where''s he been, hmm?"


    "Think about it Lil," John agreed. "If he''s such a loving father what was the kid doing alone in the hospital? How did Abraxas even know about her? There''s some bullshit politicking going on here," he said firmly. "And until we know exactly what that means, you can keep your grubby mitts off."


    Metatron held up his hands in surrender. "I couldn''t be with her," he said quietly. "Don''t you understand, I''ve broken the covenant, and the more contact I have with my daughter the more likely she''ll pay the price." He looked at John, stricken, then gestured back to Telemachus. "Once she was born, Telemachus came for her. To protect her. But you were already there," he gave Lilly a small smile. "You''d already taken her. You were protecting her. We thought perhaps that was better. Safer. For everyone."


    It was John who snorted this time. "For everyone? For Lilly, it''s safer to be running around with a half-angel baby? Hunted by one of the old generals? That''s safer? Mate, you are thoroughly full of shit."


    ¡°That is no way to talk to-¡± Telemachus started but John cut him off.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk however we like. You¡¯re the ones dropping Nephilim in our city, drawing out old power and-¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Telemachus snapped. ¡°Don¡¯t you stand there and pretend to me that you care about this city, brother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your brother, not anymore. That¡¯s been made very clear.¡± He put one arm around Lilly¡¯s shoulders. ¡°And what we care about isn¡¯t up to you. What does Abraxas want with your halfling?¡±


    ¡°The same thing he always wants,¡± Metatron said quietly. ¡°He wants his friend back. He wants the Earth. He wants to stick it to our father and generally be unpleasant.¡±


    Lilly leaned against John¡¯s side ¡°How does a baby let him do that?¡±


    ¡°There are a number of possibilities,¡± Telemachus told them. ¡°A sacrifice of some kind for the power to give Lucifer a physical body maybe. Or Abraxas may believe he has a way for the Morning Star to possess the child and manifest in the physical world that way.¡± He shrugged. ¡°The punchline is they¡¯re going to come for her once they work out where she is. Tracking her would be difficult but I imagine Abraxas has always kept a close eye on you, John, and since you didn¡¯t kill the hellhound¡­¡±


    ¡°Keys,¡± John said sharply but Cain was already moving. He grabbed a set of car keys from a hook in the kitchen and Tom held his arm out to Lilly and beckoned her towards the door.


    ¡°We¡¯re going.¡± He said shortly.


    ¡°What? Where?¡± Lilly asked.


    The three demons looked at the angels expectantly. The angels said nothing.


    ¡°Give Metatron the baby,¡± Cain told her. ¡°We have to get out of here.¡±


    Metatron sobbed and Telemachus shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t take her.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Thomas snapped, ¡°You said you would, that¡¯s why I brought you here!¡±


    Telemachus shrugged. ¡°I lied. Standard rules apply and we can¡¯t touch her¡­¡± he looked reproachfully at Metatron. ¡°Nephilim are forbidden, and as a blanket decree, things start going badly if an angel touches one. We¡¯re not supposed to get any joy from such offspring¡­¡±


    Thomas rolled his eyes, ¡°God is love.¡±


    ¡°God is a pragmatist,¡± Telemachus said. ¡°Most people avoid things that bring them pain. Nephilim bring angels pain. That¡¯s why Lilly was inspired.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lilly asked.


    ¡°Son of a bitch.¡± John snapped. ¡°Come on, we have to go.¡±


    ¡°What does inspired mean, John?¡± Lilly demanded as he ushered her out the door past the angels.


    ¡°It means it wasn¡¯t your idea to pick up the baby and walk out with her. Shit, it probably wasn¡¯t even your idea to investigate things at this hospital. They needed someone to get her out and they manipulated you into doing it for them.¡± He hurried her down the corridor while Cain and Thomas brought up the rear. ¡°It also means no matter what we say we¡¯re probably not going to be able to get you to abandon her.¡±


    ¡°John¡­¡± She growled in warning but he waved her off as they trotted down the stairs to the parking garage under the apartment complex.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother trying, don¡¯t worry, just keep moving. Telemachus is an asshole but he¡¯s right, Abraxas will have kept an eye on where I am, they won¡¯t be far away.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just¡­ poof?¡± She asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t we ¡®poof¡¯ before?¡±


    ¡°The apartment is different, it¡¯s home. We can always go home.¡± Cain told her. ¡°We¡¯ll set something else up someplace but right now we have to get you away from here.¡±


    She stumbled over her own feet but John and Thomas were there to keep her from going down. When they paused for John to unlock the car she looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes. ¡°They called you brother, I thought,¡±


    ¡°Not anymore,¡± he kissed her forehead and nodded at the open door. ¡°Get in. We won¡¯t let anything happen to you.¡±


    Cain and Tom both sat in the back with her, wedging her in the middle between them.


    ¡°Keep the baby low,¡± Tom advised, ¡°we really don¡¯t need to get pulled over right now.¡±


    John drove like a little old lady through the streets of Melbourne and out onto the freeway that led to the foothills of the Yarra Ranges. Lilly held the unnamed baby on her lap and watched silently as Cain fished a weird box of premade formula from Tom¡¯s shopping bags and poured it into a bottle. He handed it to her without a word. ¡°I know it¡¯s only room temp, but she can¡¯t go much longer without food.¡±


    ¡°Why do you know anything about babies?¡± Lilly asked as the baby began to suck at the nipple with a blissful expression.


    Cain shrugged, ¡°we lived in a brothel in Cardiff for the better part of a decade in the 1500s.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± She changed the subject.


    ¡°There¡¯s a cabin just outside Reefton,¡± John told her with his eyes still on the road. ¡°It belongs to a petty mobster who won¡¯t be in any position to use it for a while.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in Port Phillip Prison,¡± Cain said in response to her questioning look. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Abraxas won¡¯t think of it, we haven¡¯t been out there since the place belonged to his grandfather.¡±


    ¡°Why would a mobster invite you to their holiday house?¡±


    Cain and Thomas grinned identical grins, ¡°Obviously you¡¯ve never been a guest at an orgy with incubi in attendance¡­¡± Cain waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.


    Lilly shook her head, ¡°I must be the most boring person in history with demons for friends.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, probably.¡± Tom agreed.

 Chapter 5

    The car pulled up next to the two-story log cabin and Cain held the baby while Lilly climbed out. She wrinkled her nose at the state of the garden. ¡°How long has it been since anyone was up here?¡±


    ¡°Good five years I¡¯d guess,¡± John said. ¡°Come on, let''s get inside and we¡¯ll take you through putting the wards up.¡±


    ¡°What? Why me?¡±


    John smiled at her gently, ¡°We can¡¯t actually do much in the way of magic, it¡¯s a human thing. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll keep the blood stuff to a minimum.¡± He gestured for her to precede him into the cabin, which he¡¯d opened with a key he took from inside a knot in the wooden porch railing. ¡°Besides, if you pass out you know who¡¯ll end up having to babysit.¡±


    For reasons that were painfully obvious to Lilly, there was nothing in the cabin particularly useful for looking after a baby. Cain clicked his fingers at Lilly and gestured for the baby.


    ¡°Give¡¯er,¡± he grinned.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Cain rolled his eyes, ¡°Stop saying that, just hand her over. You have to put wards on the house and I''m worthless at it, gimme.¡±


    With her nose wrinkled up in amusement, Lilly handed the baby to Cain, who walked through the large arch into the kitchen, Tom followed him. Lilly shook her head and looked at John, who held his hands up in surrender.


    ¡°Cain¡¯s always been clucky.¡± He chuckled, ¡°which is weird, being a thousand-year-old defiler of the virtuous, but hey,¡± he shrugged, ¡°Who am I to talk?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your weird obsession, then?¡± She asked.


    John shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m the boring one, remember?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true,¡± she put her hand on his arm. ¡°I fainted in the middle but I¡¯m pretty sure you beat up a hellhound this morning.¡± She looked up at him and smiled.


    John gently tucked her hair behind her ear. ¡°You¡¯re kind of a mess.¡±


    She laughed nervously and blushed. ¡°I feel like I haven¡¯t had a shower in weeks. When did all this shit start again?¡±


    He flashed a quick smile and stepped back. Lilly frowned and half turned to look out the window, her expression hurt.


    ¡°Lil,¡± John moved up closer to her side and she glanced at him. ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t say this but, I... ¡° he coughed uncomfortably. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We kind of made this deal,¡± He mumbled.


    ¡°You? You who? What?¡±


    John held up a hand in surrender. ¡°It¡¯s not bad like it sounds, I swear! It¡¯s just,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Well, we made a covenant, when we were all living in college.¡± He coughed again and looked around for his beer. ¡°I mean, you know we¡¯re all mad for you, right?¡±


    She blinked at him stupidly.


    ¡°So, we made the deal. ¡®No one makes a move on Lilly¡¯.¡± He explained. ¡°We just wait and then if you want, you can pick one, and the others just have to suck it up. But no sucking up. No flirting just¡­ you know, be cool, and then if you want-¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    John grumbled, ¡°The deal! Jesus, look, it¡¯s not complicated but you seem kinda pissed so I figured I better tell you. It wasn¡¯t against the rules to tell you about the deal. I think. I dunno, we were drunk, but I don¡¯t think so.¡± He shook his head to clear it. ¡°Point being, if you wanna get any you¡¯re going to have to choose. None of us will make a move first.¡± He patted her shoulder. ¡°Or you can just get it someplace else I guess.¡±


    Lilly stared at him in confounded shock. An uncomfortably long period of time passed and she didn¡¯t say anything. After a while, John shifted his weight from foot to foot and looked embarrassed. ¡°We¡¯re in trouble now, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Why would you¡­¡±


    ¡°You have to understand Lil,¡± he gave her a small shy smile. ¡°We¡¯ve been together for a long time¡­ and we¡¯re going to be together a lot longer. In a thousand years like as not, we¡¯re still gonna be swilling beer and watching whatever passes for porn. We had to keep the peace. We can¡¯t just get into brawls over a woman like other guys. I mean, it¡¯s actually kinda enlightened when you look at it. If you squint.¡±


    ¡°But, why?¡±


    John huffed, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m not explaining this well.¡± He looked around helplessly and finally grumbled, ¡°But screwed if I can work out a better way.¡±


    ¡°Better way what?¡± Cain came back in with his shirt in his hand and a disgustedly wrinkled nose. ¡°She coughed up on me and then went right to sleep.¡± He stopped, cough up stained shirt in hand and wary expression when he saw them, ¡°I walked in on a thing.¡±


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    Tom wandered in from the kitchen with a six-pack of beers in his hand, ¡°What thing?¡±


    ¡°Great, now you¡¯re all here,¡± Lilly muttered under her breath.


    ¡°I may have told her about the deal,¡± John said carefully.


    ¡°You may have,¡± Tom said, ¡°as in you¡¯re not sure? You been drinkin¡¯?¡±


    John snorted. ¡°No! Obviously I,¡± he coughed, ¡°I think we¡¯re in trouble.¡± He moved away from Lilly to stand with the twins. Three little demons all in a row and each looked something between confused and concerned.


    ¡°Are we still doing that?¡± Cain asked.


    The other two turned and glared at him, ¡°Of course we are!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Cain fiddled with his soiled shirt and shifted his weight from foot to foot.


    ¡°Have you been hitting on Lilly?¡± Tom demanded.


    Cain blushed, ¡°Well, I mean, maybe a little.¡± He looked at them, then Lilly, then back. ¡°I mean, she didn¡¯t pick anyone, and it¡¯s been like six years.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I figured maybe she just didn¡¯t want any of us so¡­ I mean, if she doesn¡¯t want anyone we can flirt as much as we like, right? It wouldn¡¯t matter?¡±


    ¡°You have the attention span of a three-year-old, I swear to God, Cain.¡± Tom hissed. ¡°What if she¡¯d gone for it, then you¡¯d have broken the deal!¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Cain looked at Lilly, ¡°But you don¡¯t, right? I mean, with us. It¡¯s okay, right?¡± He sounded a little desperate by the end.


    Lilly stared at their expectant faces. ¡°You¡¯re all insane¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been suggested,¡± John agreed. ¡°We didn¡¯t want to put you on the spot or anything but,¡± he glanced sideways at the twins who were glaring at each other. ¡°Maybe you could just put everyone out of their misery here? We¡¯re big boys, we can take it.¡±


    ¡°Put you,¡± she choked, ¡°like just pick one? You want me to pick one of you?¡±


    ¡°Or none,¡± John said quickly. ¡°We¡¯re not like, demanding or anything. You know better than that, it¡¯s just,¡± he jerked his head at the twins who sighed simultaneously and turned to look at her. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve been pretty sure for years you¡¯d end up with Cain.¡±


    Cain twitched. ¡°Me? Come on, I¡¯m a fuck up. It¡¯s you and you know it. You¡¯re all old and put together and shit.¡±


    Tom rolled his eyes, ¡°She¡¯s a lesbian.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Three voices demanded at once.


    Tom flinched and then shrugged defensively. ¡°Come on, can either of you remember a single boyfriend? Ever? 6 years and she¡¯s never had a dude for sport or for keeps.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Lesbian. Broke my fuckin¡¯ heart when I worked it out, I tell ya.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a lesbian!¡±


    Tom held up his hands, ¡°Hey, we don¡¯t care. Chow down, babe. Makes things simpler really¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking lesbian!¡± She yelled with an edge of hysteria.


    Cain took a step forward and held his hands out, ¡°Shhh. Don¡¯t wake the baby!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should just get some sleep?¡± John suggested. ¡°There¡¯s a master bedroom upstairs, Lilly, you can have that. We¡¯ll crash out down here. The baby is okay in the study, we¡¯ll hear her when she wakes up and take the overnight shift, then you can watch her tomorrow and we can catch up on sleep?¡±


    ¡°Wards,¡± Tom reminded them. ¡°Come here, babe.¡± He held his hands out to Lilly and she just stared at them. ¡°Hey, you okay?¡±


    ¡°Am I,¡± she blinked stupidly and took half a step forward.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, no more bleeding today, we might need to be a bit more dramatic tomorrow but for right now you just channel us and it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll show you.¡± He met her halfway and took her hands in his.


    They were comfortably warm and Lilly stared at them stupidly.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna start spouting gibberish, when you think you can, you join in okay? It¡¯s not super complicated. You might feel a little tingly.¡± He flashed her an impish grin on the word ¡®tingly¡¯.


    ¡°Normally a sorcerer would have to subdue demons to do this kind of shit,¡± Cain told her. ¡°It¡¯s kinda weird for it to be a mutual thing so, this shit is probably gonna be a bit stronger than normal, cuz we¡¯re not fighting you.¡±


    Tom began to speak in a low, clear voice. Lilly didn¡¯t speak any Latin but she felt like she could reason out some of the words having to do with protection, safety, power, and barriers. After two runs through, she began to stumble her way along with him. After her first repetition, the other two moved in and put their hands on her shoulders. Everything began to vibrate but without movement. It was like being back at the hospital, except that Tom, Cain, and John seemed to swell around her, taking up more space than their bodies, and she could feel them everywhere.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be any resistance as power flowed smoothly from them into her and then swelled out around the cabin. She shivered at the sensation as her vision swam with images, her mind filled with thoughts and her heart swelled with emotion, all of which she recognised as not belonging to her.


    ¡°I can,¡± she gasped and rocked on her feet. ¡°I can feel you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± John assured her, ¡°It¡¯ll be done in a moment.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d never hurt you, Lil,¡± Cain breathed near her ear and she whimpered helplessly.


    Tom continued the chant, but it slowed and faltered and the feeling of being joined began to ebb. She gripped his hands tighter and with no idea how, she tried to chase the feeling with her mind, to hold onto them.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she sobbed. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± The idea of them retreating back into their own skins. Of being separated again. Alone in her own mind, was obscurely painful. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t happen, babe,¡± Tom said.


    Lilly¡¯s eyes popped open, she hadn¡¯t realised she¡¯d closed them. Tom¡¯s deep, clever eyes bored into her. Against her left side, she could feel John¡¯s massively powerful chest, his warm breath on the skin of her neck while one of his arms had snaked around her waist to hold her up. To her right, Cain¡¯s nose booped against her ear lobe and the noise she made was profoundly embarrassing.


    ¡°We should stop,¡± John¡¯s voice was soft against her hair but proved a liar by his hands, the fingers of which splayed over her stomach while she leaned her weight against him.


    ¡°Lilly?¡± Tom¡¯s eyes had held hers and he loomed closer without seeming to have moved. ¡°What do you want, baby?¡±


    She stared at him, completely incapable of answering. She couldn¡¯t even imagine what she wanted, or how it might look. After a painfully long pause at the mercy of Tom¡¯s eyes and John¡¯s body and Cain¡¯s hot breath on her neck, she said the only thing that made any sense¡­ ¡°Everything¡­¡±


    Cain moaned brokenly, his mouth latched onto her neck and he sucked firmly against her overheated skin. Lilly arched her back and flailed an arm out to find Cain¡¯s body and clutch at it, while Tom¡¯s eyes darkened and he slid in close against her body, he could feel John¡¯s hand flex against her stomach and met his friend¡¯s eyes. John exhaled slowly and opened his mouth, likely to object, but it never happened. Tom had let go of Lilly¡¯s other hand so he could take hold of her hips and she reached back with her freed hand and gripped Johns''s shirt to pull him closer.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± the huge man groaned under his breath and let his eyes close.

 Chapter 6

    Lilly¡¯s eyes popped open at the sound of the baby crying in the study. She began to lever herself up, but there was a great deal of weight over her body. Two sets of arms held her well wrapped in place, and the twin incubi they belonged to snored lightly through the baby¡¯s distress. When she looked around for a way to extricate herself, she saw John.


    He sat with his fingers laced together and his elbows on his knees. She met his eyes as calmly as she could considering her jeans lay in plain sight over the back of the chair he was sitting on, and only the twin''s fortuitous arm placement protected her modesty. He held up one hand and stood slowly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of her. You should rest while you can.¡±


    ¡°John¡­¡± she stopped, plainly unsure how to continue.


    The smile he managed for her was nervous, almost shy. ¡°I won¡¯t go far. I promise.¡±


    She let out a slow breath and nodded. Once his back was turned she sank back down into the warm pile of skin and arms and muscles. Tom wriggled back to make room for her without opening his eyes and Cain nuzzled his face into her hair. In the cooler temperature of pre-dawn Lilly bit her bottom lip and ran one hand over Cain¡¯s muscular shoulder then down his arm. At the same time she leaned back against Tom¡¯s slightly leaner body and wondered at the insanity that had taken root in her life.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think so much,¡± Tom hadn¡¯t moved or opened his eyes but his voice sounded perfectly clear and awake.


    ¡°Easy for you to say,¡± she retorted as glibly as she could manage. ¡°It¡¯s not your first orgy.¡±


    Tom chuckled softly, ¡°Actually an orgy usually involves multiple groups or couples, you darling just got gangbanged, if you want to be accurate about it.¡±


    She wrinkled up her nose, ¡°Lovely.¡±


    ¡°Tom,¡± Cain tightened his arm around Lilly¡¯s body and cuddled her closer. ¡°Try not to shove your foot in your mouth until after breakfast, yeah?¡± He pressed his face into her hair and kissed her gently. ¡°You smell amazing.¡±


    She laughed and boldly kissed the side of his jaw.


    ¡°Suck up,¡± Tom groused, but he wriggled closer too and stroked a hand along her side.


    As Tom began to nibble at the skin of her neck, John walked back in with the baby girl in his arms. He sat back in his chair dressed only in his jeans and kept his eyes on the baby as much as possible.


    ¡°Oh, here it comes. Recrimination time.¡± Tom grumbled.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have done that, not now,¡± John said calmly.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Cain rolled onto his back completely indifferent to his nakedness, ¡°We should have done it years ago!¡±


    John rolled his eyes and finally looked up at Lilly. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay if you are.¡± She pulled a couch cushion over her and looked around. Cain, with an amused but adoring expression, passed her his shirt. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°John still remembers being beholden to the stupid rulebook,¡± Tom started but Lilly slapped his leg firmly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t start in on him,¡± She sighed and struggled into Cain¡¯s oversized button-down shirt. ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    Cain¡¯s face lit up, ¡°I have a copy of the Kamasutra in the car!¡± He¡¯d started to stand when he noted the others looking at him. ¡°Oh,¡± he sat back down. ¡°You mean about the whole ¡®Nephilim¡¯ situation, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°My guess is we¡¯ll never convince Lilly to give her up,¡± John looked her in the eyes, ¡°Will we? Even if I tell you it was never your idea. Even if I tell you that you were shoved into this mess to cover a stupid angelic mistake¡­ inspiration is a powerful motivator.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we undo it?¡± Tom asked. ¡°I mean, she can do magic, we¡¯ve proved that. I¡¯ve never had a sorcerer before but surely we can work out how to-¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    They all looked at Lilly. The twins in disbelieving confusion but John nodded slowly. ¡°So, we move on to-¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t move on, what do you mean no?¡± Tom demanded. ¡°They dumped a dangerous problem in your lap to cover their own asses. This is not your problem, Lil!¡±


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    Lilly looked at him helplessly. ¡°She¡¯s just a baby¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a half-angel illegal baby wanted by a general of hell who will use her to reignite the war between Lucifer and the throne!¡± Tom choked out.


    ¡°She¡¯s still a baby, Tom. She didn¡¯t ask for any of this.¡±


    ¡°Neither did we!¡± He snapped.


    John put down the baby, who was drowsy now her belly was full and stood. ¡°We¡¯re getting rather close to the answer now,¡± he said carefully. ¡°I can¡¯t make you give her up,¡± he looked at Lilly with his huge blue eyes and sighed, ¡°and I won''t give you up. So, you and I at least are going to have to run and find somewhere safe for her.¡± He looked back and forth between the twins.


    ¡°This is insane,¡± Tom hissed. He looked at Cain, ¡°Tell them!¡±


    Cain nodded slowly, ¡°It¡¯s insane.¡± He agreed. ¡°But I won¡¯t give her up either. Not now.¡± He looked at his brother with his deep brown eyes and perfectly honest expression. ¡°Come on man, we can¡¯t just give up now. We waited for years to tell her we love her, and centuries before that for something, anything, just anything...¡± He shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯ll mean war,¡± Tom said.


    Cain shrugged, ¡°We were made for war. Fucking and fighting and wouldn¡¯t you rather do that for her than for Him?¡±


    One of Tom¡¯s hands found Lilly¡¯s and he turned it over and tangled their fingers together. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m ¡®inspired¡¯ or whatever, but I¡¯d like to believe I¡¯m not someone who could abandon a baby to a mad hell general anyway.¡± She squeezed his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll understand-¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you with these two,¡± Tom said. ¡°Cain can¡¯t find his ass with both hands and a map, and John¡¯s Latin is shit.¡±


    ¡°Why do I need someone who speaks Latin?¡± She frowned.


    Tom rolled his eyes, ¡°Because if you¡¯re going to take on Abraxas and protect the spawnling of light over there, you¡¯re going to need to be a sorceress.¡±


    ¡°Yeeaaah,¡± Cain laughed and lurched over Lilly to wrestle his brother down and hug him.


    John watched it all with a tolerant smile for a moment before he looked Lilly in the eye again. ¡°We¡¯ll be okay here for a few days I imagine, but this isn¡¯t a permanent solution, and you¡¯re going to have to think about what you¡¯re willing to give up.¡±


    She looked at him in confusion and he sighed. ¡°Well, for example, it seems like it¡¯d be a pretty bad idea for you to go back to work¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to work, you know?¡± Cain said with a negligent wave of his hand. When Lilly looked at him like he¡¯d gone mad he laughed. ¡°Come on, you think any of us could hold down a job?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s sort of difficult to not be wealthy if you¡¯ve been around for more than a few hundred years,¡± Tom grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve got stuff I picked up on the side of the road on a whim that¡¯s now worth a house in Washington DC.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Also, the invention of compound interest was pretty cool.¡±


    Lilly blinked at him stupidly. ¡°I¡­ I always assumed you guys were dole bludgers.¡±


    They all laughed, ¡°we don¡¯t have enough paperwork to be on the dole, Lil,¡± John said. ¡°It''s ¡®be independently wealthy¡¯, or ¡®live in a cave in the bush¡¯.¡± He shrugged, ¡°Which is not a completely unreasonable option, I know demons who do it.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me you guys are all moneyed up?¡± She asked.


    Cain started to laugh, ¡°Tell her where the money came from,¡± he chortled. ¡°Go on, tell ¡®er.¡±


    Tom sighed and rolled his eyes, but when Lilly looked at him expectantly he gave in. ¡°I held on to something that sold for a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°It was a guy¡¯s dress!¡± Cain chuckled.


    ¡°It was a cassock, you cretin!¡± Tom snapped. ¡°It was the Venerable Bede¡¯s cassock. The man is generally considered to be one of the greatest minds of all time!¡±


    ¡°You are a demon who held on to a dude''s dress because you were a fan, and the dude was a MONK!¡± Cain blurted happily


    ¡°Shut up¡­¡±


    Lilly still had an amused twinkle in her eye when she stumbled into the front stoop with her mobile phone in her hand. She still wore Cain¡¯s shirt, buttoned unevenly, and her hastily pulled-on jears weren¡¯t buttoned up at all.


    There were tears in Metatron¡¯s eyes and his fists shook they were clenched so tight. He and Telemachus stood just behind the treeline with a clear view of the cabin.


    ¡°She¡¯ll do the right thing,¡± Telemachus said confidently.


    Metatron blinked and looked away, ¡°I¡¯ve given my daughter into the care of demons.¡±


    ¡°No, you gave her into the care of your brother and a human, who happen to have demon pets.¡± Telemachus put a comforting hand on Metatron¡¯s shoulder. ¡°They¡¯ll protect her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why I was asked to do this,¡± Metatron confessed.


    ¡°Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why,¡± Telemachus said.


    Metatron snorted, ¡°You do know the next lines don¡¯t you?¡± He let his eyes wander back to the windows of the cabin. ¡°Theirs but to do, and die,¡± he whispered.


    In a dank room more than a hundred kilometres away from the cabin, Abraxas grinned as the thin, sallow-skinned man in front of him jabbed a long, skeletal finger at the computer screen.


    "There."


    "You''re sure?" Abraxas pressed.


    The cadaverous IT tech didn''t answer, but spun in his chair and held up his hand. "My fee."


    Abraxas stared at the screen a moment longer and then nodded once. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a magnetic key card and placed it in the IT tech''s palm.


    "She''ll be waiting for you at 9:30 this evening, and I''ve ensured she won''t be missed," Abraxas said.


    The IT tech grinned and his mouth spread abnormally wide showing teeth which were disconcertingly pointed.

 Chapter 7

    Abraxas pulled up in a polished and shining 4WD. He pulled the nose into a bend in the driveway such that he could only just make out the cabin at the end of the gravel. The baby and its unwitting protectors had proved themselves slippery, and he wasn''t interested in a protracted chase. He moved cautiously around the outside of the cabin and noted the front and rear doors were the only exits.


    He looked around and his brow furrowed, he cocked his head to one side and slowly reached out a hand towards the cabin, then swore under his breath. A fire seemed to light in his eyes and pulled a gleaming silver Zippo lighter from his pocket. His eyes still intent he tossed it up onto the back verandah and stared hard at it. The flame grew unnaturally fast and took on the boards with incredible speed.


    Once the fire was well set, he moved back around the front of the cabin and watched the front door.


    The smell of smoke alerted Cain first, who still lounged on the floor with a cushion under his head in only a pair of ratty denim shorts. He sat up abruptly and swore. "Grab the baby!"


    Thomas hurried to do just that while John moved towards the front door but kept Lilly behind him.


    "Shit. He''s out there."


    "He can''t come in though!" Tom said.


    "But the fire can! All he has to do it wait, we either come out where he can get us or we burn to death." John replied.


    ¡°Is he alone?¡± Tom asked as he rocked the baby to keep her calm.


    John nodded, ¡°Far as I can tell. He¡¯s always been a wily little bastard though.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to make a break for it,¡± Cain moved up next to John at the door.


    John nodded, ¡°You and I rush him,¡± he looked back at Tom and Lilly, ¡°You two get to the car. If the opportunity presents itself, run him the fuck over.¡±


    Cain and John both turned and each kissed Lilly¡¯s cheek gently. She lifted her chin bravely and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m ready. You guys be careful.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± John insisted.


    When John turned away he held his hand out in front of him in a strange gesture. Lilly watched in fascination as a sword made of fire seemed to grow from his hand. It dripped molten fire on the floor which sizzled and hissed as it scorched the carpet. He looked at Cain, ¡°Ready?¡±


    Cain picked up a cast iron fire poker that leaned against the door lintel and nodded. ¡°Let''s go.¡±


    The door exploded outward in a shower of burning splinters as John obliterated it with his flaming sword. The small group charged down the stairs with John and Cain at the fore, weapons in hand and wild battle cries on their lips. Tom and Lilly broke left and hurried to the car. Lilly would never forget the calm, smug, confidence on Abraxas¡¯ face. She saw it all in slow motion as Abraxas lifted a sawn-off shotgun from where it hung comfortably at his side, levelled it at the charging demons, and pulled the trigger.


    Inarticulate horror and rage were given voice from Lilly and Tom who had frozen halfway to the car as John and Cain crumpled. Abraxas took a deep breath and let it out in a contented sigh.


    ¡°Glorious day, isn¡¯t it?¡± He called.


    ¡°Lilly, take the baby,¡± Tom hissed and tried to shove the child into her arms. ¡°Take her! Run!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recommend it.¡± Abraxas smiled. ¡°You see, you¡¯ve got probably five or ten minutes in which you can get those bullets out before those fellows shuffle off this mortal coil permanently. Blessed items being somewhat toxic to the infernal body..¡±


    Tom snarled, and Abraxas laughed at the sound.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been corrupted little imp, look at you. Doing God¡¯s work?¡± Abraxus shook his head mockingly. ¡°Honestly child, I¡¯m not angry¡­ just disappointed. As the good book says though, repent and come back to the fold. You can keep your human, of course, her corruption has been most impressive.¡± He held out a hand. ¡°Come now, give me the abomination. Even God doesn¡¯t want it. Give her to me. Then you can save your friends and go back to your orgy of debauchery like a good boy.¡±


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    Tom¡¯s nostrils flared and his eyes burned with demonic fire. He glanced down at the wriggling, crying baby in his arms and then at Lilly. Her expression was contorted in terrible pain as she struggled to breathe. ¡°Take her,¡± Tom snarled.


    Lilly whimpered but Tom gave her a warning look and she crumpled to the ground with her face hidden in her hands. Tom hurried forward to his brother¡¯s side and put the baby down gently on the grass. He hooked one hand under Cain¡¯s arm and bunched the other in the back of John¡¯s ruined shirt. With great effort, he dragged them back to where Lilly still sobbed. Neither watched as Abraxus gathered the baby up and left without a backward glance.


    ¡°Lilly help me!¡± Tom sobbed.


    She managed to look up but the sight of John¡¯s chest, riddled as it was with tiny bleeding holes, made her gag.


    ¡°Pull it together!¡± Tom snapped. ¡°There¡¯s a knife in the door compartment of the car, get it. Go!¡±


    Lilly scrabbled through the grass to the car and yanked the door open without standing. She found the knife easily enough and hurried back to John¡¯s side. Across from her, Tom¡¯s body had changed. She¡¯d seen his red eyes and burnished skin but had never before noticed his nails, elongated and razor sharp. While Cain struggled to breathe, Tom carefully used his nails to slice gashes over the holes in his brother¡¯s chest and lift out the buckshot that riddled him.


    ¡°You have to get the balls out,¡± Tom told her. ¡°Cut them out.¡±


    ¡°I,¡± she gagged and nearly threw up, ¡°I can¡¯t, it¡¯ll hurt him!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t he¡¯ll die! Crazy motherfucker got hold of blessed buckshot!¡± As Lilly watched, Tom lifted another little ball bearing from his brother¡¯s chest and it steamed and hissed as though it were scalding hot. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, he¡¯ll heal, but not if you don¡¯t get them out!¡±


    She whimpered and tore John¡¯s ruined shirt open to reveal the constellation of bleeding holes in his chest. The knife shook in her hands and she held her breath as she gingerly put the point to the edge of one of the holes. Her hands shook terribly. She sat there unmoving until John¡¯s bloodied hand wrapped around her wrist and she screamed once in fright.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He wheezed. ¡°Lilly, It¡¯s okay. I promise. Just do it,¡±


    Across from them, Tom had already removed about half of the buckshot from Cain¡¯s chest and the perforated demon winced and groaned his way through his brother¡¯s ministrations. Lilly bit her lip, took a deep breath and held it as she sliced cleanly through the first hole. ¡°Jesus¡­¡± she whimpered.


    ¡°Get in there, Lil,¡± Tom urged. ¡°I¡¯ll be with you in a minute, but you gotta get ¡®em out!¡±


    Her vision swam and all the colour drained from her face as she pressed two fingers into the widened wound and felt around for the little metal ball that fizzed and hissed in John¡¯s flesh.


    ¡°You gave him the baby!¡± They all looked up as Metatron, barely restrained by Telemachus, charged from the tree line, with wide horrified eyes. ¡°You just let him take my daughter!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tom snarled. ¡°You let him take her. I made a decision to save my brother and my friend and live to fight another day.¡± He struggled to his feet covered in his brother¡¯s blood. ¡°Help him.¡± He pointed at John.


    Lilly had managed to make a second cut and fished around inside for the blessed metal. Telemachus moved up beside her and nudged her with his knee. ¡°Move.¡± He held a hand out over John¡¯s chest and smoothly raised it a few inches. The buckshot lifted out just as smoothly and when Telemachus twitched his hand it flew off and embedded itself into the wooden railing around the verandah. John cried out and half rolled over to clutch at his chest.


    ¡°He took her!¡± Metatron cried again.


    Tom crouched beside Cain and reached his other hand out to grip John¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t given her up they¡¯d be dead, and I can¡¯t fight Abraxas by myself so he¡¯d have taken her anyway and you¡¯d now be screwed. Lilly, breathe baby, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Lilly whimpered and struggled to calm her breathing until John put an arm around her. ¡°I got ya, s¡¯okay. We¡¯re okay.¡± He grimaced, ¡°That stung.¡±


    ¡°You need to get her back,¡± Telemachus said sternly.


    ¡°How about you go get her back and we¡¯ll convalesce?¡± John snapped. Lilly looked at him sharply but he waved her off, ¡°Alright, alright I¡¯m getting up.¡±


    ¡°How are we going to find her?¡± Lilly asked.


    Tom shrugged, ¡°We¡¯re not.¡± Lilly levelled her horrified stare at him but like John, he waved her off. ¡°Calm down, I mean ¡®we can¡¯t¡¯, but the flyboys can. Wouldn¡¯t hurt ¡®em to get off their angelic asses and, you know, parent their own crotch-dropping.¡±


    ¡°We can track her,¡± Telemachus agreed, ¡°but you know as well as I do we can¡¯t get involved.¡±


    The laugh Tom gave was sharp and harsh, ¡°course not, getting involved with worldly affairs is a no-no. Tell me, buddy, how exactly did you manage to impregnate a woman with a perpetually limp noodle?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not helping, Thomas,¡± Telemachus sighed. ¡°Just shut up and get in the car. We¡¯ll guide you as you drive.¡±


    Then they were gone. Lilly frowned, ¡°how exactly will they guide us?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Cain looked back at the burning cabin, ¡°they could at least have put that out. Better call the fire brigade from the road. Could burn the whole fuckin¡¯ bush out.¡±


    Neither Cain nor John had spare clothing in the car, so they sat hunkered down in the back. Lilly had pointed out that if a passing police car happened to notice two shirtless men covered with blood in the front, it was pretty likely they¡¯d get pulled over. Initially, she¡¯d insisted on driving, but Tom had overruled her and the first time they received their ¡®directions¡¯, she was just as glad. Telemachus appeared under a sign indicating that the next left went to Emerald. A heartbeat later he was gone.

 Chapter 8

    The final angelic visitation had them turning right onto a dirt road that led to a little building that might once have been a church, with its sweet stained glass windows. As Lilly peered in through the window though, there was nothing holy or comforting about it. The shallow concrete pool at the back, once used for adult baptism, had been repurposed as a fire pit and thick black smoke rose from it accompanied by a terrible stench. Her eyes started to water but whether from the smell or the sight even she couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Abraxas, still in his suit with his jacket discarded in a corner and his expensive shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tended the fire with a long cast iron poker. A pastel yellow bundle of rags stirred fitfully in an old apple crate on the floor.


    John looked at Lilly seriously. ¡°Get the baby.¡± He said firmly. ¡°Whatever happens you grab her and you run, okay?¡±


    She opened her mouth to object but Cain and Tom both put their hands on her arm. ¡°We¡¯ll be right behind you,¡± Cain assured her.


    ¡°Just grab her,¡± Tom said. ¡°Get to the car and drive. We¡¯ll catch up.¡±


    They each kissed her hair quickly and then guided her towards the side door. ¡°Is he alone?¡± she mumbled to herself.


    ¡°He won¡¯t be for long,¡± John moved in front of her. His shoulders bunched and grew, and on his back, the stumps of his ruined wings punched through the skin. Cain and Tom changed too, though far less impressively with their fiery eyes and burnished skin. ¡°Smart money says the first thing he does is summon up a small legion to make sure this shit goes smoothly.¡±


    ¡°He can do that?¡± She hissed.


    John shrugged, ¡°He¡¯s a general, they didn¡¯t just pick a random word. The longer we leave him in there the more time he¡¯ll have to summon up fiends.¡± He held his hand out in front of him and flexed it. The flaming sword grew from his flesh and sizzled in the rapidly cooling air. Lilly¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at the sword and then she sniffed sadly.


    ¡°I love you guys¡­¡± She whispered.


    John leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Cain grinned broadly, which made him look maniacal with his flaming eyes, burnished skin and pointed teeth. Tom blew her a kiss. ¡°We love you too, babe,¡± he nudged her behind him. ¡°Move fast, yeah?¡±


    Inside, the baby started to cry and Lilly¡¯s horrified gasp spurred John to act. He flexed his hand on the hilt of his sword and booted the left side of the double doors off the hinges so it fell inwards. Abraxas had the baby in one arm while the other was held out towards the great fire pit at the rear of the church.


    ¡°He¡¯s making a gate,¡± Tom yelled as he and his brother moved to the sides to try to flank Abraxas.


    ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s not,¡± John ground between clenched teeth. He roared and charged up the centre, straight at the shocked demon general.


    Both Tom and Cain charged too. Being lighter and faster, Tom pulled ahead and was able to dive across in front of John when, in horror at the furious charging beast before him, Abraxas did the first thing that popped into his head. He threw the baby at John. Lilly sobbed and hurried around the wall towards Tom while Cain and John continued the charge. With an expression of desperation, Abraxas raised his arms above his head and barked a command in Latin.


    The fire pit changed colour from the familiar reds and yellows to unhealthy purples and blues. From its depths, which now seemed impossibly far away, flew four winged imps. Each had burnished skin like Tom and Cain, but could never have been mistaken for men. Their bodies were broad and misshapen, and their features looked like melted wax.


    They fanned out, each seemed to drip molten flesh, which dropped to the carpet and sizzled and stank. Lilly screamed and Tom shoved the baby at her.


    "Run" he ordered and turned to defend them.


    The imps didn''t speak but snarled and snapped. Cain and John had to abandon their wild charge as three of the imps moved to stop them. Johns''s flaming sword slashed at the first and it bounced back.


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    "Little fucker," John hissed.


    Cain had no weapon, so when one of the imps made a lunge for him he grabbed its wrists and wrenched them as far apart as he could. It screamed in pain as its shoulders dislocated, but momentum carried it forward and it continued to try to bite Cain''s neck.


    Two of the little beasts were dancing around John. He tracked them warily with his eyes and flicked his sword out as they attempted to maneuver such that one could get behind him. All the while, Abraxas made his way around the wall towards Tom and Lilly, his eyes intent upon the baby.


    "Lil, I need you to run!" Tom hissed as he ducked the swat of a large, clawed hand.


    She took a shaky step back, but then her eyes met Abraxas'' and she gasped.


    "You''re never leaving this place," the general whispered, and somehow the voice was clearly audible to her, though his lips barely moved.


    Behind her, Lilly heard a strange crashing sound and when she glanced over her shoulder her stomach dropped. The door John had kicked in was back in place and barred with a massive plank. She looked back at Abraxas with tears in her eyes and continued to back away.


    Tom was no match for the imp, he was too small and it was so heavily muscled that a single strike would be enough to take Tom''s head off. All he could do was annoy it and force it to chase him around.


    A vicious and painful howl filled the smokey church when John finally managed to cut one of the imps in half. It fell in two charred, stinking pieces to the floor. The things heart took several beats to accept its demise and the blood it pumped out in spurts into the carpet was thick and tar-like. Abraxas made his way past where Tom and the imp played a dangerous game of keep away. He had eyes only for Lilly and the baby she held.


    "Oh God..." she whimpered. In her arms, the baby wailed inconsolably and Lilly jiggled it unconsciously to try to calm her. She glanced down at the scrunched little face. "Please..." she looked up again, past Abraxas, to the stained glass window at the rear of the church. There was no light outside anymore to illuminate the image, but Lilly could make out angels perched on clouds watching over the world. "Please, help us."


    John mistimed a slash with his sword and caught a clawed hand across the inside of his left arm. He roared in pain and rage. Beside him, Cain still struggled with the maimed imp. Though both of its shoulders were loose from their sockets it didn''t slow and showed little concern for pain.


    "Where''s Lilly?" Cain called, unable to maneuver himself around to look for her.


    Abraxas closed on her. His eyes were made of fire and it seemed that the beginnings of horns were trying to sprout from his forehead. "Give her to me."


    Lilly shook her head and took another step back.


    "Give her to me, and you won''t feel anything..." He loomed before her until she could see nothing else. "Make me work for it, and you''ll scream in agony for a hundred years before I let you die."


    With an inhuman effort, Cain wrestled his imp down. He kept his grip tight on its wrists and managed to get a foot on its neck. He grunted once as he stomped and crushed its throat. Blood gushed from its mouth and covered his foot and shin with the thick, stinking tar. He shook his foot for a moment to get the gunk off and then turned to see his brother dart under the claw of the imp that chased him.


    ¡°Oy!¡± Cain barked.


    Tom glanced at him and jumped a pew to run right past his brother. The imp was so focused on him that it barrelled after and never even saw the danger. As it passed, Cain reached out and hooked an arm around its neck. The momentum spun it and it crashed over the pew and fell back first against Cain¡¯s chest. With a sickening crack, Cain snapped its neck and dropped it at his feet.


    The last remaining imp backed up nervously. Its black eyes darted around looking for an escape, but its master had no interest in it and it was slowly steered into a corner. With calm, deliberate slowness, John ran it through with his burning sword.


    Behind Abraxas, bright light flooded in through the stained glass windows. For a dizzying instant, Lilly thought he might burn up in it, but the light didn''t affect him at all. It dazzled her though and the tinted colours made her blink to clear her vision. Abraxas lunged for them. Until that moment Lilly hadn''t been aware of the knife. She''d been unable to focus on much of anything, but somehow as he lunged she perceived it perfectly. He was trying to kill the baby. so Lilly closed her eyes tight and spun on the spot. She hunched her body around the baby girl and didn''t make a sound as the knife plunged into her back.


    She coughed blood as the knife pierced her heart and it spattered against the baby¡¯s yellow blanket. When she looked up the doors to the church had ceased to exist. Standing in the doorway was Telemachus, glowing and resplendent in a polished silver breastplate and holding a sword of light. Everything slowed down, her own quivering heart paused in its desperate struggle and Telemachus smiled gently at her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she heard him say quite clearly.


    Without making a sound, Lilly sank slowly to her knees, then down to the floor, the baby still snuggled against her body.

 Chapter 9

    ¡°No!¡± Tom roared and his eyes flashed as he and John collided with Abraxas and the three tumbled end over end across the cold stone floor. Cain stood frozen, his fiery eyes glazed as he stared uncomprehendingly down at Lilly¡¯s body.


    John¡¯s muscles bulged and grew and Abraxas screamed as the warrior demon twisted the general¡¯s arm, dislocating it. Then he hauled on it and tore it from Abraxas¡¯ body with a bestial snarl. Thomas lacked John¡¯s strength, but with Abraxas focused on the snarling beast determined to literally tear him limb from limb, the smaller demon was able to maneuver his way around until he had his enemy in a headlock.


    ¡°You¡¯ll suffer an eternity of torment for this, traitors!¡± Abraxas snarled through his pain.


    ¡°You first,¡± Tom snarled and jerked his hold. Abraxas¡¯ neck snapped and he stopped struggling.


    John didn¡¯t stop. The second arm followed the first, and when Tom let go, John flexed his powerful arms and tore the head from the body. Each piece was then flung into the huge fire pit to sizzle spitefully.


    ¡°Burn, fucker,¡± John growled.


    By the time they looked back, Cain had sunk to his knees and pulled Lilly¡¯s body up against him so he cradled her tenderly. Tears of blood dripped from his chin into her hair. The wailing baby still wrapped in bloody blankets abandoned for the moment in his grief.


    ¡°Fix it!¡± Tom demanded of Telemachus, who moved to stand over the baby with his sword in his hand.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Fix it!¡±


    Telemachus sighed. ¡°She martyred herself, Thomas¡­ you can¡¯t take that away from her. She¡¯s a hero.¡±


    ¡°Fuck that! Fuck it, you bastards bring people back all the time, you fix her!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, Tom.¡± Telemachus looked sadly down at Lilly¡¯s body. ¡°I swear to you, I would if I could¡­¡±


    Cain looked up at them stricken, ¡°We have to do something.¡±


    Tom and John looked at each other, and then down at the broken body of their best friend. They knelt beside her and Tom reached out to scoop Cain¡¯s bloody tears from his cheek. John winced as he stuck two fingers into his own wound and Tom, who had been miraculously uninjured, bit into his arm until it bled.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Telemachus demanded in horror.


    Cain took his brother¡¯s hand, and John¡¯s, with Lilly propped up against his body. John and Thomas joined hands.


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    ¡°Stop this! You can¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up flyboy.¡± Tom hissed.


    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a lich in centuries! It won¡¯t be allowed! They¡¯re all mad anyway!¡±


    The three demons on the floor ignored him. Thomas chanted quietly in Latin and after a few runs through the spell, the others joined in. Telemachus looked on in horror as the feathers on his wings ruffled with the rapidly building power. ¡°Please! Thomas I¡¯m begging you don¡¯t do this! She¡¯s gone home!¡±


    ¡°She had carnal knowledge of a demon,¡± John said, his eyes focused on the body before him. ¡°They¡¯ll never let her go home.¡±


    Telemachus gasped and began to back away. ¡°You¡¯re insane, all of you!¡±


    Lilly¡¯s body convulsed against Cain¡¯s chest and the three demons chanted louder.


    She couldn¡¯t clearly remember what it had been like to be dead, but in the first moments she woke again, she screamed. Cain, Thomas and John clustered tight around her in a tangle of arms and faces and cooed calming words. Still, she screamed and struggled for a few minutes before settling into a whimpering mess amongst them.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay baby, we got you,¡± Cain said over and over.


    Thomas gripped one of her hands and John stroked her hair. ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± John reassured her.


    ¡°I was¡­ it was¡­ I¡¯m¡­¡±


    Telemachus''s face was awed and frightened. ¡°They¡¯ll never let you keep her¡­¡±


    ¡°She saved your precious baby!¡± Tom hissed. ¡°Damn right, they¡¯ll let us keep her! You watch the war we¡¯ll have if they don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Thomas!¡± Telemachus hissed in warning, but Tom let go of Lilly¡¯s hand and stood to stare the angel down.


    ¡°You tell them to leave us alone. The truce stands, so long as you don¡¯t break it.¡± He said coldly. ¡°And I suggest if you want peace in our fucking time you think long and hard about murdering the woman who saved your ass.¡±


    ¡°Tom¡­ she¡¯s already dead, you know that. Lich¡¯s are,¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s never been a Lich like Lilly.¡± Tom insisted, ¡°If you thought for yourself for two seconds you¡¯d know that.¡± He looked back at his family and then at Telemachus. ¡°A Necromancer makes himself a lich by making demons slaves. He¡¯s powered by their rage, animated by it. We¡¯re not her slaves, and we didn¡¯t bring her back with hate¡­¡±


    ¡°John,¡± Telemachus pleaded.


    ¡°Go away, Telemachus.¡± John didn¡¯t look at him.


    The angel took a hesitant step towards them, ¡°Brother,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your brother!¡± John snapped. ¡°I¡¯m nothing! We¡¯re nothing to each other, that¡¯s been made abundantly clear.¡± He glanced at the sword in Telemachus¡¯ hand. ¡°If you try, I¡¯ll make you kill me¡­ and then who¡¯ll look after your precious halfling?¡±


    John and Cain helped Lilly to her feet and stood clustered tightly together. ¡°I know where this is going,¡± John continued. ¡°You can¡¯t take her. You can¡¯t even touch her, and if Abraxas knew about her so do the others. If you expect me to take her, slaughtering my family is a bad way to convince me.¡±


    Telemachus stared at him helplessly. ¡°If she gets away from you,¡± he started and then sighed. ¡°Alright, Jonathan. You win.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not convinced I¡¯d win anyway¡­ There¡¯s never been a Cabal quite like this.¡±


    ¡°Get the baby,¡± John said, and Cain moved to obey him.


    The incubus squatted beside the baby and gently opened the blanket to look at her, ¡°Hey there, monkey. You okay?¡± She settled as he lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his chest.


    ¡°Where will you take her?¡± Telemachus asked.


    John shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll work something out. We always do.¡± He wrapped an arm around Lilly¡¯s shoulders and hugged her against his side. ¡°There¡¯s no undoing things we¡¯ve done, I know that better than most. We just have to keep going.¡±

 Epilogue

    A mountain looms over the city of Hobart, Tasmania. Its peak is often snowcapped and its sides breed blustery winds that bend the trees almost double when they¡¯re feeling frisky. At the foot of the mountain in a sweet little chalet, Lilly sat at a glass outdoor table in a comfortable chair and sipped her iced tea. Down in the garden, Cain splashed in a small blow-up pool with a giggling six-month-old girl on his lap.


    ¡°Do you love the water?¡± Cain laughed as she splashed. ¡°Enjoy it while it lasts cuz it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ freezing here most of the time!¡±


    ¡°Language!¡± Lilly chided from the table.


    Cain waved her off negligently and splashed the baby.


    Open on the glass table was a pile of books and a half dozen notepads covered in Tom¡¯s sloppy handwriting. The demon himself sat beside Lilly with a curly straw in his mouth, the other end of which was stuck in a bottle of beer. He let the straw slip from his mouth with a wet pop.


    ¡°Okay, no one ever wants to talk about this shit, let alone write it down, but I think I¡¯ve got it figured out.¡± He announced. ¡°Nephilim are forbidden, we know this. Power and free will and blah blah blah. Personally, I think the big man just enjoys forbidding fucking.¡± Lilly shot him a dark glare at the expletive which he ignored. ¡°BUT, turns out there may actually be a reasonable reason this time. There¡¯s no provision in the grand scheme of things for hybrid babies so uh, they¡¯re unplanned.¡±


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    Lilly¡¯s brow furrowed, ¡°anyone can have unplanned babies,¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± he shook his head. ¡°I mean they''re completely unplanned. There¡¯s no soul available for the body.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying Hope has no soul?¡± John choked as he walked out of the chalet with a tray of drinks and a bucket of ice.


    Tom shook his head, ¡°I think she was born without one, and we,¡± he gestured to all of them and then looked at Lilly, ¡°and by ¡®we¡¯ I mean ¡®you¡¯ got played.¡± She raised an eyebrow and he continued. ¡°See, you my self-sacrificing lover, offered up your life for Hope. That¡¯s some big juju. She got your soul, and you were meant to die a martyr.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying I don¡¯t have a soul?¡± Lilly demanded.


    He shook his head again. ¡°Oh no, you¡¯re souled, we brought you back with all the bits. If there were no soul you¡¯d be a zombie. No, my best guess is you and Hope are going halvsies.¡±


    ¡°Is that dangerous for them?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I have no fucking clue, mate.¡± Tom leaned back in his chair and looked at his brother playing with the baby. ¡°As far as I can tell, this shit has never happened before.¡±