else looks furious, except for Nix and Knight, who look a bit like they might throw up.
“It’ll be like the Apocalypse,” Remi says in a hushed voice. For the first time that I’ve known him, he’s not paying attention to the food he’s cooking—well, except for that time we kissed in the kitchen. But that was for a nice reason. Now? He’s just staring ahead into the middle distance, his eyes slightly unfocused, like he can see it happening in front of him, a train wreck he can’t tear his gaze away from.
“We can’t let that happen,” I inform them firmly. “We won’t let it happen. We’ll stop them before they succeed.”
Knight signs a few things, and Nix translates. “Are we sure that we can’t just talk to Above or Below about it? I mean, whoever’s in charge on either end won’t be happy with this coup.”
“Oh, so you’ve got the fucking Devil himself on speed dial?” Ford snaps.
Knight glares at him and Ford immediately softens, nudging the tall man with his shoulder. The brothers really do have such a soft spot for Envy. I love it. And I understand it—I have a major soft spot for him too.
“Maybe,” I say slowly, chewing my lip, “if I could get ahold of the people really high up in charge, I could do that. But I can’t. There’s no way I could get to them without Anderson or someone on his team stopping me. And I’m sure it would be the same if one of you tried to talk to the demons who are higher up than Salinas Downstairs.”
The others have to nod their reluctant agreement. Remi tears his gaze away from the nothing he was staring at, jumping in surprise and diving for the stove so that the food doesn’t burn.
“So then how do we stop it?” Sawyer asks. “Besides asking them politely if they’ll consider leaving us and all of humanity alone and going back home, no harm done.”
“I don’t suppose the sheer power of love will work,” Nix grumbles with an eye roll.
“We have to intercept the hellfire before it comes into contact with the heavenly light and is reflected,” Ryland announces, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thinks. I can practically see the gears moving in his brain. “Even without the heavenly light, the hellfire will be dangerous. It’s best to tackle that and then deal with the angels later.”
“Yeah? And how do we do that?” Ford asks sarcastically. “Just call down some fuckin’ rain, I suppose?”
“Hellfire isn’t just fire,” I point out. “It’s so much more than that. It’s almost like lava. It’s not made of oxygen like regular fire is. It’s… thick. It kind of has a mind of its own, like it’s an animal.”
“We could try to contain it,” Beck starts, but then Ryland and he share a look, and he shakes his head. Clearly, that won’t work.
“We could try to nullify it,” Remi offers, stirring whatever delicious-smelling food is in the pan on the stove. “We know enough people with magical abilities. Surely we can find some devices that’ll help us.”
I look around at the others. I don’t think that’s half a bad idea, and from the way that everyone—especially Beckett and Ryland—looks thoughtful, I think that we’re finally on the right track.
“All right,” Ryland says with an air of finality, and I know that we’ve hit upon the beginnings of a proper plan, “here’s what we’ll do…”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Trinity
We’ve got our plan set, I remind myself for the hundredth time.
We’ve got our plan set.
We’ve got our plan set.
But what if it’s not good enough?
I can’t shake that fear. Any number of things could go wrong. We’re only eight people up against a powerful demon and his minions, and that’s if Anderson and his angels don’t swoop in to cause problems. We’re hoping that they’ll hold the line so that their heavenly light stays in place, keeping them from directly engaging with us, but you never know.
We’re on the king sized bed in the master bedroom right now—we didn’t really discuss it, we all just climbed in together. It’s the only bed that’s big enough for all eight of us, and I want all of them with me tonight.
But even though it’s late, I can’t sleep. It seems to be a common theme of my life lately, which I guess makes sense. My mind just won’t shut off.
What if something goes wrong?
Our plan isn’t foolproof. Far from it.
We could be attacked at any time. The