right now. “Without a contract—verbal or written—I don’t think there is any ground to stand on. He doesn’t own you.”
“Own me?” My eyes widen with abhorrence. “Nobody owns me, and they never fucking will. I don’t belong to Lucifer. I am not his puppet on a string.” The porch lights start to flicker, and I close my eyes, trying to get my powers in check.
“Maybe he doesn’t want anything from you,” Julian rushes out. “Maybe…maybe he’s afraid of you.”
“The fucking devil is scared of Callie?” Eliza scoffs.
Julian cocks his head, looking at me as if he can see the very fibers that make up my soul. “Lucifer is an archangel. He has several brothers and sisters who have similar power as he does. It’s long been said Michael is the only archangel who can easily oppose Lucifer. Michael is Callie’s father, and her mother was a natural witch by birth.”
“Half witch, half angel,” Lucas says softly. “But together, you have more power than either.”
“More power, and different power,” Julian goes on. “Witchcraft differs from what I am able to do as an angel. And when you consider the dark arts…”
“Your nightmares will be my daydream,” I finish, remembering a line from an old pagan fairytale Tabatha used to read to Evander and me at bedtime, putting the fear of God into us, keeping us from going all dark side.
“Yes,” Julian says seriously. “And I was going to say, with all of Heaven looking for Lucifer, it could be a good distraction from the rumors of the Nephilim.”
“Lucifer already came to Callie once,” Lucas starts. “What if he comes again and alerts the others to her presence?”
Julian considers his question for a minute. “You still have the dagger I brought you, correct?”
“The one that kills angels? Yeah.” My head bobs up and down. “We put it somewhere safe.”
“That might be our best option,” Julian says gravely.
“I can’t tough it though, right?”
“The hilt is safe to touch. But if any of the metal comes in contact with your flesh…well, it will be incredibly painful. I don’t know what it would do to your human side, either. No humans have ever used or been stabbed with that dagger. It was created strictly for killing angels.”
“Great,” I sigh. “Just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be even more bad news tonight.” I lean back against Lucas, letting my eyes fall shut as I exhale. Slowly, I take in air, holding it for a few seconds, and then breathing out again.
There. I’m fine. It’s all the time I can afford to pull myself together. “We were just about to go out to eat,” I say and straighten up. “Want to come with? I’ll be the only one eating again, so why not add another to our table?”
Julian’s eyes narrow. “You want to go out and get food? After what we just discussed?”
“I have to eat,” I say. “And I really want a milkshake. And Cheerios, for some reason. Oh, maybe that’s my first weird craving. Though it’s not really weird.” I shrug. “We can continue our talk about Lucifer and demons as we eat. And if you don’t get your butts in gear and come with me, I won’t be ashamed to pull the pregnancy card. You don’t want my blood sugar dropping, do you?”
I’m fairly certain I’ve had perfect blood sugar my whole life, surprising since I drink a shit ton of sweet wine and have a bad habit of skipping meals when I’m busy fighting demons.
“You do need to eat,” Julian slowly agrees. “And I don’t think the demons who may or may not have followed will attack in a crowded venue. They’ve spent the last few centuries hiding in one of the less favorable circles of Hell.”
“There are worse circles than others?” I take a step toward the Range Rover. “The more ya know.”
I get in the passenger seat. Lucas speeds around to the other side, and Julian climbs in the back next to Eliza. “Seatbelts,” I say when I realize I’m the only one who pulled mine over my body. “Stop showing off your immortality.”
I say it as a joke, but my word are rather sobering. Because out of the four of us in the car, I’m the only one who can’t heal. Who still ages. I’m the only one with a legitimate expiration date.
But I’m also the only one who could be the devil’s worst nightmare.
Chapter 9
“Oh my god,” I moan, tipping my head back and closing my eyes. “So