this was a rather rude awakening,” Michael said as he gently nudged the small of my back. “But I believe in such awakenings. You needed it. Let’s keep moving.”
The town buzzed with activity, and all the shops were opened. This early, in LA, the general shops stayed closed. Only coffee shops were open, and many of them didn’t fill until nine.
But this wasn’t my world anymore.
It was Michael’s world, and if he said three in the morning was the waking hour for me, then that was when I awoke. If he said I needed a reality slap, then he’d make it so. If he said I needed to keep moving as if nothing had happened, I would, despite the fact I wanted to run. I bet these people abided by the schedule he designed. They looked at him in both fear and reverence. I didn’t know if they believed him to be their savior or their doom. Perhaps he was both.
Michael whistled, and a pair of angels descended. He spoke to them in a language I’d never heard before. Masculine voices produced from deep in the chest with high-pitched notes and low guttural sounds. The angels accepted the bag from Michael, and I slid out of their way as they entered Mr. Habib’s shop. They closed the door, and the heavy metal shutters slid down. Shop closed.
“Moving on.” Michael walked away.
I followed.
Chapter Ten
Mr. Habib sold Lucifer the spear I’d commissioned for myself. In turn, the man hurried to replace it. Judging by the unfinished tip in my pocket, Lucifer had visited only yesterday or perhaps even last night, giving Mr. Habib no time to replace the spear and pretend as if he hadn’t sold it to someone else.
Even with limited powers, Lucifer still preserved some strength and had found a way to escape the Veil that shields my mortals from him and the creatures he associates with. In a matter of weeks, he’d grown more powerful. Soon he’d have the ability to take up any form or shape he desired and corrupt every mind in my new world. It would be the end of the mortal realm.
I couldn’t allow him free rein, or I’d have to create another global shift. The human’s minds wouldn’t survive another alter-reality. Besides, the Sword of Creation wouldn’t work so soon either. Neutralizing Lucifer’s powers was a necessity.
As we continued down to the coffee shop that bordered the docking stations of the various ships in my navy, people followed us, murmuring their speculations on why Mr. Habib had suffered such a terrible fate. I didn’t mind the gathering mob, but Julia did. Though previously comfortable with the attention she’d received when we first got into town, now she appeared scared. Her fear ruffled my feathers. In my presence, even a mob of a million mortals couldn’t harm her.
“Are we there yet?” she asked, picking up her pace and glancing over her shoulder.
She might start running soon. I guessed the exercise wasn’t enough. She could run longer, harder. I was proud of her. I pointed toward the dock. “Right around the corner.”
“Did it really have to be the coffee place at the bottom of the mountain, Commander?”
“There are others, but I like this one best.”
“Why?”
I glanced at her while at the same time, from the corner of my eye, counting the mortals following us. Twenty-one. “Because they make their own whipped cream.”
Julia chuckled. “You know what I’m wondering? Does tequila exist?”
My turn to laugh. “Of course. We use it in the camps to numb pain.”
“What camps?” Blood drained from her rosy face.
Poor mortal, firmly grounded in the Before. “Army war camps, Miss DeLuca. Not to worry, you will graduate to the training camp at the lower level of the House, where you may experience them.”
“I can’t wait.”
I frowned and rounded the corner. “Sarcasm?”
“Certainly,” she said.
“Mocking me too?”
“It’s fun.”
Growling, I walked faster.
The coffee shop’s bell chimed as people started spilling out of the place to see the mob that followed us. I turned and faced the mob on the street, then counted. Seventy-four mortals gathered, some raising voices, demanding the reason for Habib’s death. Guardians landed on the rooftops, spears and other weapons poised to kill if the mob suddenly decided to execute their own form of justice. Just like in the old days. They demanded answers, and I demanded a pleasant morning with my companion.
“I will take a coffee with whipped cream,” I said. “To go. And so shall you.”
“Um, do you have any money?”
Fuck.
The mob