place, but Michael and Gabe had to have fixed it.
Gabe switched on the TV, and we crowded onto the couch to watch.
Every channel was full of breaking news.
Elysium and Hell are real.
Demons walk the earth.
Where is God? Where are the angels? Have they forsaken us?
Joel sighed at that one. "Lovely. This proves Raphael's intent. He wanted the humans to know it was real."
"What are you guys getting handed down?" Luc asked. "How are you supposed to handle this?"
"We're to take out Raph at all costs," he said. He gave me a sad look. "And the child."
Fury boiled inside me and ignited my magic. As I was about to lash out at Joel, Asmodeus appeared beside him. "Lilith! We found Raphael!"
I reined it in and looked at my brother. "Where? "He's got Ariel, there's no way it's anyone but your kid, she looks just like you. They're in Des Moines."
I disappeared immediately. I didn't care if anyone went with me, there was no time to waste.
When I appeared in a street in downtown Des Moines, Lucifer was beside me, with his arm around my shoulders. Joel and Asmodeus appeared a few seconds later.
Demons ran around us, wreaking havoc wherever they went. Cars were on fire, windows busted out of businesses. Humans ran screaming between cars that had crashed into each other. It looked just like all the other news reports of chaos and terror.
We walked around, running to and fro, trying to find the source of the demons, to no avail. He wasn't here. I sent demons back to Abaddon one after another, but there were so many it wasn't easy. I knew they'd just come back, but at least they'd be back on their plane, invisible to humans when they returned.
"Joel!" An angel I didn't recognize appeared beside us. "He's sticking to downtown areas. Los Angeles."
I grabbed Luc's hand and disappeared. It wasn't precise, appearing in cities I wasn't familiar with, but I did the best I could. The scene was exactly the same. Fires, screaming. Police ran around trying to help, but they were as overwhelmed as the citizens. Gunfire sounded from several different directions.
This time, instead of running around, I used my magic to reach out and probe as far as I could. Human life forces and demons were dismissed easily. I searched for Raphael. Something stronger than the demons, much stronger.
I found him several blocks away. Without a word, I launched into the air, I was invisible to humans, and went around the tall buildings as fast as I could. As I neared the spot I'd felt Raphael, I blasted my magic ahead of me, searching for any sight of him or Ariel.
Spotting Raphael’s frame, I focused the magic on him, but he turned and spotted me. He disappeared in an instant, and my magic exploded the pavement where he'd stood moments before.
I landed with a curse as the rest of my party caught up.
"Did you see her?" Luc asked.
"No." I cursed and began blasting demons with my magic, destroying them in my anger. It wasn't an effective use of my magic. They'd just end up back in Abaddon and it took more energy to do it this way. But it felt good to work off some of my fury.
We walked around Los Angeles for a few minutes, and when I calmed down, I resumed sending the demons back. I spread my magic out and was able to send back entire blocks at a time, leaving the humans here reeling from the shock.
A Fallen appeared in front of Abaddon. When he realized Luc and I were there, he bowed deeply. "Mistress. Master." I couldn't help but be pleased he'd addressed me first. "We found him. He's in downtown Houston."
I grabbed Lucifer. I'd lived in Houston before. It was many years ago, but at least I did have some knowledge of the city. If he wanted to go for the max shock value, he'd be on the outskirts of Buffalo Bayou Park or one of the other city parks. I started with that one because I knew it.
And this time, luck was on my side.
The scene was the same. Total insanity. And a man stood in the middle of it all. He turned, and a little girl stood beside him with her arm outstretched. I watched a demon cross into the Earthly plane as she touched it. It immediately ricocheted toward a human, slamming into the innocent woman and disappearing. It possessed her without any trouble.
Oh, Elysium’s. Her