I take the folder into the kitchen and set it on the counter, madly opening it up and taking out the crime scene photos. Julian leans in, brows furrowing.
The photos are disturbing to say the least, and all the women look like they’d been tortured before having their still-beating hearts cut right out of their chests.
“You know what this means?” Melinda asks Julian, noting his concern.
“I do.” Julian looks up, blue eyes full of fear. “And I know what Bael is trying to do. He doesn’t want to kidnap you, Callie. He wants to possess you.”Chapter 36“Well, that’s not happening,” I spit, vision blurring a bit from the shock. “Like literally, right? The one time a demon tried to possess me, it kind of exploded.”
Lucas, having heard our conversation, speeds into the kitchen, dark blue eyes full of fear. He stops behind me and looks at the crime scene photos.
“How do you know this means he’s trying to possess Callie?” he asks, needing to hear a logical answer.
“Because I now know what prophecy Bael was talking about,” Julian tells us. Kristy and Tabatha come into the kitchen, wondering what caused Lucas to come speeding in like this. It takes one look at us to know something is going on.
And it’s not something good.
“Centuries ago, a dark prophecy was spoken about a child born of both light and dark, being perfectly balanced so if one side was taken away, the other would take over. Most took it to mean good and bad, but others interpreted it to mean two types of power.”
“I’m far from balanced,” I say, shaking my head. “And why does that mean he wants to possess me?”
“These markings.” Julian taps the photos. “They’re inverted.”
“And an inverted archangel sigil is like an upside-down cross?”
“Yes. Bael is trying to figure out which archangel you are part of so he can neutralize that side of you, making it possible to possess you because, like you said, demons cannot possess angels.”
“I’m still not following,” Kristy says, pulling her arms in close to her body. “What would possessing Callie have to do with his plans to rule Hell?”
“You need angel blood to sit on the throne,” Lucas answers, looking at Julian and hoping he’s not right.
“Right, and Bael found what you humans refer to as a loophole.” Julian’s brow furrows and he flips through the photos. “Each of these women were killed in a ritual. Were the hearts found?”
“No,” Melinda tells him, shaking her head so hard her ponytail shakes back and forth. “There wasn’t much blood by the bodies either, but no one could find the scene of the crime.”
“There have been how many murders so far?”
“Four. That we know of. This one was the most recent.” Melinda taps a photo of a young girl in a purple dress. Her body was thrown in a ditch, littered with garbage before she was found.
“How recent?” I ask, heart in my throat. I hadn’t been aware of any more murders, though I haven’t exactly been looking either.
“Four days ago,” she replies.
“You can expect more murders,” Julian says. “And you won’t find the hearts. Bael will need them to bind Callie’s angelic powers.”
“Three more murders?” I echo.
“Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Saraqael, Raguel, and Remiel,” are the most powerful archangels. He’s already gotten what he needs for Uriel, Gabriel, Saraquel, and Raphael.”
“Are you talking about Ninja Turtles?” Phil asks, coming into the kitchen to refill Penny’s water cup. He looks at the crime scene photos on the table. “Goodness. Apparently not.” His eyes dart to mine. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, you know,” I start. “It wouldn’t be a party without someone trying to kill me. Or in this case, use my body without consent. Not cool, Bael, not cool.” I twist my wedding ring around my finger, mind racing with no end in sight.
Three more women are going to die. Three more lives taken. Families torn apart. I can’t stand by and let it happen. I won’t.
Bael asked me who my father was, trying to narrow it down. If I had told him it was Michael, would those other women have died? I put my head in my hands, feeling my heart speed up. Even if I summoned him right now and told him who I was, he’d still have to cut someone’s heart out in order to bind my powers.
I can’t see a way out of this without anyone getting hurt, and we’re not strong enough to defeat Bael. The pendent lights above the island flicker, and Lucas’s hands land on my shoulders, massaging my stiff muscles to try and calm me down before I pull a Carrie again. Though maybe I should alert the archangels to where I am.
If they have me, Bael can’t use to me take over Hell. But I really don’t want to die, especially before I give birth to this baby. He or she at least deserves a fighting chance.