against my back. In one swift motion, Canaan pushes off from the ground and swats at Damien with his sword. Damien blocks the blow, but it takes the strength of both his hands to hold his blade steady. He shoves back, but Canaan seems to be the stronger of the two. Canaan realizes this too and opens his inner wings, releasing Jake. He tumbles to the ground next to me, sending Kaylee into a fit of startled shrieks.
But her voice is quickly drowned out by the sound tearing from Damien’s lips. Like a hawk going in for the kill, he cries out, his eyes on me. I want to hide, but I can’t look away. Canaan smacks him in the face with the hilt of his sword, and Damien’s cry turns brutal. His wings pull him backward, putting distance between the two of them. He lifts his scimitar high and then . . .
And then they disappear from sight.
My chest rises and falls, my eyes open and shut, again and again. But they’re gone. The Celestial is gone. I’m both relieved and terrified.
Jake moves away, toward Dad. He removes the quilt that hangs like a veil over Dad’s face. He doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t pause to consider the consequences, he just presses both hands to the wound. I crawl on my hands and knees until I’m next to him. Dad looks . . . well, he looks awful. His hair is matted to his head, a dirty mess of sweat and blood. I push a clumpy strand out of his eyes.
“Are they gone?” Kaylee asks.
“For now.” I grab her hand and pull her toward me.
“Is he . . .” But Kaylee’s voice catches and she can’t even finish the thought.
“He’ll be okay,” Jake says. “He’s just lost some blood is all.”
I have complete confidence in Jake’s healing ability. What I don’t have is an assurance that Dad won’t murder Jake the minute he wakes.
“I told him, Jake. I told him about Canaan.”
Jake looks at me, his face inscrutable. “How did he take it?”
“I don’t really know. Damien’s talon interrupted things.”
“It’s better that he knows,” Kaylee says. “Way better. His head was super messed up about this whole thing. About your mom. Thinking Canaan had something to do with her disappearance. You had to tell him, Elle.”
Jake bumps Kaylee with his shoulder. “Looks like this one knows too.”
“No choice,” I say, smiling at her. “She was here when Damien showed up. And Helene.”
Helene! This is the first free moment I’ve had to consider her.
Kaylee seems to be thinking the same thing. “Do we know what happened to her?”
I shake my head.
“Don’t worry about Helene,” Jake says. “She’s immortal. If she’s hurt, she’ll heal.”
His hands are occupied, but I take his face in mine and I kiss him. Hard. It’s awkward, with his hands still on Dad’s shoulder, but he’s warm and he’s close, and I kiss him again.
“Oh, come on! Demons and make-out sessions? Unless you’re getting me one of these,” Kaylee says, gesturing to Jake, “save it for later.”
“Fair enough,” Jake says, blushing.
“Speak for yourself,” I say, and press my lips to his once more.
“Barf,” Kay says.
“Yeah, barf.” It’s Dad.
We jerk apart, but it’s too late. His eyes are open, his mouth set in a frown.
“Sorry, Dad. I just . . .”
But he’s moving his shoulder now. Jake’s hands fall away, and Dad rotates his arm. He winces, pressing his fingers to the spot Damien’s talon punctured.
“I’m not sure if it’s done, sir,” Jake says.
“Feels a heck of a lot better than it did before.” He looks at Jake. I know that look. It’s the same one he gets when he’s trying to decide if he’s going to eat his dinner steak rare, or bloody and mooing. “What did you do?”
Jake swallows. Audibly. “My hands can . . . God uses my hands to heal. Sometimes.”
And just like that, Dad lets out a sob. Loud and awkward. He sniffs and jams his fist into his eyes, one at a time.
“Thought you said Canaan was the angel.”
Jake is quick to speak. “I’m not an angel, sir.”
“No?” Dad barks. “Then what are you?”
I slide my hand into Jake’s. It’s wet with Dad’s blood, but it’s warm. I squeeze, hoping to convey something encouraging.
“I’m human, sir. Like you. I just have a gift.”
“And Hannah, my wife, is that what happened to her? Did she have a gift? Is that why they took her?”
With celestial eyes I see the waters of misery break over my