Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Accessing Hell from a portal wasn’t quite possible from Nat’s current location, so when his father had summoned him, he’d had to comply through other means. Meeting Azrael, even in another realm, could be both uncomfortable and dangerous, so as Nat waited in what appeared to be an antechamber in a palace he’d never visited before, he paced the floor.

The room was poorly lit, with black marble flooring which transitioned to dark stone where it met the walls. There were no windows, and even the ceiling, with its ornate flying buttresses, was ominous. The gloominess matched his mood, and he feared, would fit his father’s disposition as well.

Failing at holding Ru off under the circumstances was almost inevitable. He’d been demanding more assistance from other realms for weeks as she grew stronger. It seemed those who commanded the demons felt there was little use in wasting their resources on an elementary school teacher who didn’t even know how to levitate, but they were proven undeniably wrong, and now Nat feared he wouldn’t be the one sounding the alarm but rather the scapegoat.

The solid bronze doors in front of him opened, and he knew that was his signal to enter. With a deep breath, he squared his shoulders, resolved to meet his demon father with confidence, even if it was all a façade.

Azrael was in his human form, though it was just one of the many he could take. He preferred to appear as an older gentleman with graying hair and a full beard and mustache, though he could choose whichever face he wanted. Today, the face he wore was angry. He sat on a throne, high up on a dais, and Nat assumed that was so that he could peer down at him like a boy with a magnifying glass inspecting an ant.

“You requested to see me, Father?” Nat asked, tipping his head in respect, though he didn’t bow. His father wasn’t a ruler, after all.

Azrael cleared his throat and stared for a moment, his green eyes boring through Nat’s head. “Thanatos,” he said slowly, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his elaborate chair. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Would you care to enlighten me as to how a band of misfit Keepers, led by Michael’s reject grandson and a schoolteacher, managed to decimate your troops yesterday and obliterate one of our last venues between worlds?”

His father had a flair for the dramatic. Cutter was hardly a reject, and Michael’s great-great-great-grandson at best. And Ru—he definitely had her wrong. But then, his father had refused to see how dangerous she was from the very beginning. “The girl,” Nat began, trying to focus on the information his father needed and not her stunning face or long blonde hair, “she’s immensely powerful, Father. She has the talents of a Keeper as well as the sheer power of a Reaper. It will take something much stronger than my ragtag group of Reapers to stop someone like that.”

“Clearly.” Azrael replied, rolling his eyes.

“Father,” Nat said, taking a step forward. “As I’ve been saying all along, Rune’s power is beyond anything we have yet to experience. We desperately need for her to connect with her Reaper half so that we can wield that power against the Keepers. If we can find a way to harness….”

“Have you not tried that already?” Azrael asked, his booming voice cutting Nat off. “Did you not attempt to bring her under your wing?”

Once again, the sting of failure hit Nat in the gut. He remembered how close his ruse, pretending to be Kyle, had been to working. Ru had developed true feelings for him. If only he had taken his time and prolonged things a bit more, perhaps she would have completely fallen under his spell. “I have,” he admitted.

“And what of the child you attempted to take? She foiled that, too, didn’t she?”

Nat thought back to the night he’d threatened to claim Ira, the little autistic boy Ru cherished. She’d found a way to escape him then, as well. “I know I haven’t figured out a way to be successful yet, Father, but with some help from your world, I know I can be.”

“Help from us you shall have,” Azrael replied, “but not toward the goal you seek.”

Confused, Nat studied his father’s face for a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

“Thanatos, no longer will you pursue the daughter of Larkin and Seraphina in an attempt to secure her for our side. From this day forward, your mission shall be to destroy her.”

Nat felt his breath catch in his throat. He took a step backward, unable to believe his ears. “But, Father… we need her….

“I need you to do exactly as I say, Thanatos!” Azrael’s words boomed through the room, ricocheting off the marble hall, causing Nat to grab his head as the vibration turned to pain. “This game that you are playing has not gone unnoticed. We lost the opportunity to take her mother. We will not let her slip through our fingers as well. Now, if you are not capable of doing as I command, then I shall find someone else who can!”

“No,” Nat replied, shaking his head. How many times had Azrael threatened to take away his command? To banish him to the ranks of common Reapers? To lessen his power in favor of someone else? This time, Nat was sure this was not an empty threat, and there were others who would gladly fill his boots. “No, Father. I will do as you say.”

“Very good.” Azrael leaned back against his throne, apparently satisfied with his son’s answer. “Now, I have a legion of demons, Reapers, and other creatures forming to assist you. Do you think you can take out one tiny teacher with the assistance of three thousand of our kind?”

Swallowing hard, Nat nodded.

“I will send them through as soon as they are prepared. In the meantime, are you certain that she does not know the location of the two portals that remain?”

Once again, Nat’s head rocked up and down, slowly. “I’m certain she doesn’t know.”

“Should that change, you will find a way to inform me at once. That is understood?”

“Yes, Father.”

With a wave of his hand, Azrael said, “That is all,” and Nat wasted no time turning on his heel and heading toward the door. “Oh, and Thanatos,” his father called after him, causing him to pause and turn back to face him, “Don’t make me regret my decision. One way or another, Rune will be destroyed. It’s just a matter of whether or not you destroy yourself along with her.”