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13
Apocalypse in the Plural
Nero just sat there and said nothing. I could understand his surprise. Not long ago, he’d thought both of his parents were dead, and now they were not only alive, they were going to have another child. A sibling for Nero, right when he was about to become a father.
Nero’s gaze shifted from Cadence, to Damiel, then back to Cadence. “How did this happen?”
“I trust I don’t need to explain how babies are made.” Damiel’s gaze dropped to my belly, then his eyes met Nero’s and he winked.
Cadence was more serious. “As you know, after your wedding, Damiel and I went on a quest to retrieve several immortal artifacts. During that quest, I had the Fever. And now we’re going to have a baby.”
I stood up, grasping her hands in mine. I gave them a squeeze. “That’s great.”
Cadence looked so happy she could hardly contain herself. “After Eva and Jiro learned of my pregnancy, they asked us to come back to them and train as Keepers. An Immortal child has not been born in so long. This truly marks the rebirth of a dying race—or, as some people thought, a completely dead race. We had plans to find others of Immortal blood, those who escaped the hunters.”
“But those plans can wait,” Damiel said. “The fight will come here soon, and Earth will be ground zero for the war between the Guardians, gods, and demons.”
“Damiel and I aren’t going to sit this one out. This is my home first and it will always be,” Cadence declared.
A sudden shrill, ear-splitting noise tortured my eardrums.
I covered my ears. “What the hell is that?”
“My alarms,” Nero told me. “Someone has tried to penetrate my defenses. Let me wake up Harker to guard the house, then we’ll check it out.”
“No need.” Harker came out of Bella’s room, rubbing his eyes. “That racket is loud enough to wake the dead. Go. I’ll keep watch here.”
We all ran outside, our magic primed. We found the intruder at the front fence. It was Nyx. The First Angel was battling the barrage of spells Nero had cast to trap any and all intruders who crossed the property line.
“Windstriker, this is your magic,” Nyx growled. “I can smell it.”
Nero waved his hand, and his spells stopped attacking Nyx. The clotheslines disengaged from her wrists and ankles, snapping back into place. The trees grew still again.
The First Angel approached us. She brushed a broken string from the clotheslines off of her uniform, then said to me, “This is your bad influence, Pandora.”
I glanced sidelong at Nero. “So this is more dignified than paintballs?” I said, snickering.
“More effective anyway,” he replied.
I grinned at him. “Nyx is right. I have influenced you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment,” Nyx told me. “My angels used to know how to behave themselves.”
Her tone was stern, but her eyes were amused. That was the whole duality of Nyx. She was the most dignified of all angels—and yet she had a better sense of humor than she cared to admit.
We all walked back to Calli’s house and went inside. Harker was waiting there, on the sofa. He rose to his feet as soon as he spotted Nyx.
Nyx looked around the house, perhaps remembering the only other time she’d been inside, after Nero and I had returned here from the Lost City. I’d been sporting a fresh wound from an immortal weapon at the time. I still had the scar.
After she looked around, Nyx’s eyes fell on Nero and me. “Well, you’re still here.” She sounded a bit annoyed.
“My sister was attacked last night,” I said, defensively. “We think whoever is behind the attack might try again.”
“Don’t be so feisty, Pandora. Of course you can’t let your sister die.”
I thought maybe Nyx was allowing herself to show sympathy, that she understood the importance of family.
Until she spoke again. “If the Angel of Purgatory can’t even protect her own family in her own territory, then she would appear as very weak to our enemies. And those enemies would grow bold.”
