After scourging the outer borders of Hell with a few angels, they retreated to the palace. He retracted his wings and then sighed. Carrigan had been feeling off since Jaide left with Noelle.
"My Lord, some of the angels have questions. Before you go, do you care to answer them?" she asked him with her dark painted lips.
"Not right now. I have to go," he walked away. Carrigan had quickly stepped through the portal and to the other side into the penthouse. He could smell Noelle's demon stench with blood but he couldn't smell or sense Jaide.
He found her in the living room and near the fireplace, wounded and bleeding. There was a trail of black blood from the elevator and to where Noelle now sat.
"What happened?" he asked her.
"It was him!" she said, now tightly wrapping her wound with a gauze.
"I told you already that break ups are pointless with Nephilims. You have to kill them or else they'll be a pain in the ass," he fumed and then sighed. "And where's Jaide?"
Noelle had that look of uncertainty in her watery and irritated eyes. She gently frowned like she wanted to cry. He knew that she was feeling as though she had failed him.
"I couldn't -"
"It's fine. I'll find her. You go back and heal," he said.
"You can't kill a Nephilim!"
"I got this, Noelle." He reassured her before walking away.
With an ancient knife and the only kind made to cut into his flesh, Carrigan took the ridge of the blade through the palm of his hand. His black blood dripped into a gold chalice cup. Softly enchanting, he was cursing the cup. The blood now boiled inside and the cup became heated. Carrigan closed his eyes.
Behind his eyelids, it was as if he left his body and soared through the midnight sky to an unknown location. At an abandoned, fenced house, there was Jaide. She was tied with her hands in the air and unconscious, as bait.
Carrigan opened his eyes to see Noelle enter the room. Holding her side, she slowly joined him. "Well?" She asked him.
"I know where she's at. They're using her as bait. I'll send in my best angels to take them on and then that's when you'll get her," he instructed.
Noelle sighed and then said, "You know they're not going to be okay with this. You've slept with at least -"
"At least, mainly three of them. They are without question, undeniably loyal and understanding. And they are also the best of the best," he said. Carrigan turned to Noelle and stood close to her. Within his space, he grasped onto her sides. She grunted in pain, his touch burning as he healed her from her wounds.
"Better?" he asked her.
One side of her lips twitched into a smile. "Much better," she said.
"Let's go."
***
Slowly waking up, Jaide discovered herself strung up into the air, and hanging by her arms. She controlled her breathing and looked around, her vision coming into focus from being blurry at first.
She was the centerpiece of some abandoned warehouse filled with the smell of sawdust and metal. No one else was in sight until she heard the faint steps and heartbeat of someone approaching. Jaide's eyes immediately glared at a figure that was quickly walking towards her.
"Oh, you're finally awake," it said, folding its arms across the breasts.
"What the hell are you?" Jaide asked. She couldn't make out the thing to be a human or demon. The iris of its eyes were slanted like an animal and a deep blue color. It's flesh was a discolored purple hue with dark red scales going down it's arms. It did have the physique of a woman though.
"Poor, pathetic little, stupid human. Us Nephilim's come in all different types."
Jaide bursted out into laughter until it grabbed her by the shirt. "What's funny?"
"Nothing. It's just that I was expecting you to be a little more common. You kind of knocked me out before I could get a good look at you," she joked and chuckled in her throat.
Jaide tightly grabbed onto the knot of the chains as the Nephilim stepped up. When it grabbed her by the throat, it said, "You will address me as Sanoa!"
Ignoring her, Jaide lifted her legs into the air and then wrapped them around Sanoa. She then broke free from the chains and bit into her neck. Sonoa screamed and grabbed Jaide. She tried to pull the woman off her, but Jaide clutched her legs harder around her waist. She devoured and ate into the flesh of her neck.
Sanoa fell down to her knees. Jaide released her, leaping back onto her feet. She watched the life left her eyes and her body turned cold. As Sonoa dropped dead, her limbs and body crinkled and then quickly phased into a skeleton with wings.
At the alarming sound of footsteps, Jaide glared up to see Carrigan and Noelle quickly walking into the warehouse. Carrigan nearly flew over to her. Jaide effortlessly knocked off the chains from around her wrists and then sighed.
"We're here. I see that you can handle yourself," Carrigan gently said. He whipped a handkerchief from the inside of his suit jacket before dabbling the corners of her mouth dry and wiping her lips and chin clean from blood.
"I'm not helpless," Jaide said.
"Some Nephilim are weak when they are not in numbers. They'll come for you now that you've murdered one of theirs," Noelle informed her and then sighed.
"We have to get out of here!" Carrigan said.
"No!" Jaide refused as a portal was produced. She stepped away from them and said, "I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm not going to Hell. I can handle myself."
"What will you do when there's more than one?"
"I'll figure something out. This... baby inside of me makes me powerful now. I'll live in thepenthouse before I go to Hell."
Carrigan deeply sighed, softly releasing red smoke from his nostrils like a bull. He stuck his hands down in his pocket and said, "You're coming back with me and that's it."
"I said I'll be at the penthouse!" Jaide said and started walking away. She could hear Noelle and Carrigan whisper as they turned to face each other.
"Okay fine then!" he said. She stopped walking and turned on her heels only to see them now up to her.
"You'll live in the penthouse. No company unless it's food, do you hear me?" he asked her.
"Where will you be?"
"I have some business to tend to in Hell. I will be leaving one of my best demons up here with you. Noelle," he smiled.
"What? You can't be serious!" Noelle said in objection as there was another portal that was created. Without another word, Carrigan walked through it. It disappeared behind him. Noelle and Jaide exchanged glances with each other and sighed.
When they returned to the penthouse, Jaide quickly locked the bedroom door behind her, leaving Noelle on the other side. She pulled off her clothes before reaching the bathroom.
Jaide pinned up her hair drenched with blood and sawdust, and entered the bathroom. She made sure to run the water completely hot. Closing her eyes, Jaide slowly emerged under the water. Hot and burning, it soothed her rigid muscles. It was purifying in a way to her bloody stained skin.
He filled her thoughts. Although he is the Devil, there was never a dull moment when they were together. Jaide had a good time in Hell with Carrigan. She just disliked how he changed the deal on her.
Exiting from the shower, Jaide closed the door behind her. She wrapped the towel around her body and then continued into the bedroom. Jaide gasped and gripped the towel around her tighter. "What are you doing here?!"
"I was never a big fan of locked doors," he said, calmly standing near the closed pair of double doors.
Jaide sighed and then said, "Well you should get used to them."
"About earlier when we was in Hell. You tried to attack me. Why?"
"Because you changed the deal on me without even telling me about the first one. You were like to 'do your bidding' and I was okay with that. But giving birth to the Antichrist is different."
"Our child can't be the Antichrist if that's what I already am," he smirked at her. Jaide sighed and then gently shook her head.
"I'll be glad when this is over. Now if you don't mind, I have to get dressed."
"You're making me leave?" The breath was nearly taken away from her by a gust of air. Carrigan was now up to Jaide, with her face in his hands. They made eye contact with each other. Jaide's heart raced and she swallowed hard. Looking in his eyes was easy before until now; they made her knees weak.
"You're....you..." her eyes were heavy and she closed them. Carrigan now had his arm tightly around her waist, pulling her into him while he had the palm of his finger tracing her lips. She could no longer find the right words to say.
"Are you making me leave?" he asked her again, his deep voice traveling down her ear canal.
"No."
"What do you really want?"
"I just want to rest," she answered him.
"No, what do you really want, Jaide?" he gripped her tighter into him.
Opening her eyes, they made eye contact again as she replied with tears in her eyes, "You."
Resting her head on his chest, Jaide held onto Carrigan as they were ported to Hell.