So Lucifer's son would rule over the angels and Hell too? Or possibly destroy both? Poor kid. That's something nobody is going to be prepared for.
"So this kid is potentially dangerous then?" Kian asked.
"So the rumors say," Arthur replied, "Then again, they also say I'm to be King again one day."
"That child must come to no harm." Michael said, "If Lucifer really had a son... right now if he claimed the Throne there would be nobody able to refute it."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.
"God is missing." Michael replied.
"Missing?" I said, "How is that possible?"
"I don't know," Micheal admitted, "There was a message. The reason I intervened and stopped Alec from signing his soul away to The House Of The Apocalypse. My brother recently cast doubt on its authenticity."
God was missing... Lucifer destroying worlds... Lilith playing games with all of us.
My head was spinning with all the revelations. Higher powers were working behind the scenes, and we were just puppets in their war.
Arthur looked troubled, a brief crack in his otherwise hard exterior.
"Then we have even less time than I imagined," he said, "We must move quickly."
"To do what, exactly?" Harry asked, "You knew that Lucifer had a son."
Kian's eyes flashed, "You knew? How?"
Arthur sighed "Yes, because I helped to deliver that child."
With swift movements Kian reached out and grabbed Arthur by the throat.
"You better give me a good reason to let you live," Kian growled.
Arthur gasped for breath, struggling against his grip. "You don't understand..." he croaked, "It's not... as simple... as that."
Harry stepped forward, anger in his eyes, "Do tell."
"They have... my soul."
"Your soul?" Kian echoed.
"I can... show you." Arthur coughed, his face red. A bright golden circle appeared on his chest, glowing with an angelic light.
"Damn it!" Harry cursed, "Why would you give it to them?"
Arthur laughed, "Because... the alternative was... burning in hell. No rest... for the wicked, eh?."
Kian let him go, stepping back a bit but keeping one hand at the ready, "Where is your soul now?"
Arthur shook his head, "I don't know."
Kian's eyes narrowed, "Why don't I believe you?"
"Believe what you will," Arthur said, "I don't know what became of my soul, but I gave it up to leave hell, and it's a choice I would make again."
The golden circle dissipated, leaving Arthur looking tired and sickly. His skin had turned almost ashen, his eyes glazed.
"This isn't going to help us." Michael argued.
"No," Arthur agreed, "It won't. Whatever Lilith has planned... I don't want him harmed."
But if he's a threat... we might not have a choice.
"Your in no position to be making demands." Kian snapped, shutting Arthur up as he rubbed his neck.
"We can try to find the boy," Harry added, "But, we need to be ready for the possibility that Lilith or Lucifer will turn him into a weapon."
I had to agree. The focus should be on saving Alec, not worrying about saving Lucifer's son.
Kian looked at me, the anger gone from his eyes, and I knew he had read my mind.
"Lilith has Alec," he said, "His soul anyway. She set all of this up. I'm sure of it. We find Alec, we find the child."
"But, you said Alec was... dead." I replied, "How can we find him?"
"Not him exactly," Micheal said, "If Kian is right, which I have every reason to believe, then all we need to do is find his soul. Unfortunatly, I can no longer travel to Heaven... but something tells me that's not where he is."
No. Jonathan had already told us exactly where Alec's soul was now.
Victoria looked down at Jonathan's body, her mind clearly working overtime, just like mine.
"I think I have a way," she said, "But, your not going to like it."
"What are you thinking?" Kian asked.
"We can try and summon Alec's soul to us. We don't have his body, but, we do have a body that we can use."
Crap. Was she suggesting what I thought she was?
"That is dark magic that very few are able to properly control." Harry warned.
"And there is no way I'm happy with you putting Alec inside that monster." Kian added, "There has to be another way to get to him."
"If there is, I'd be open to suggestions." Victoria said.
"Alec wouldn't want this..." Kian said.
No, but, he would see that it was necessary.
"If it means saving the world, then he would understand." I said, "Kian, I don't like this any more than you, but I just want my brother back."
Kian ran a hand through his hair, "You're right, I just... This feels wrong."
"Trust me, if anyone can pull this off, it's Victoria." I assured him.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." she smiled sadly.
I glanced down at Jonathan's decaying face, hatred building up inside me.
We don't have a choice...
Victoria held out her hand and a large book suddenly appeared floating in front of her. The pages flipped by quickly, stopping once they reached a point about halfway through.
"Okay," Victoria said, frowning as she studied the page, "It's actually simpler than I imagined."
"That's good, right?" I asked.
"Not necessarily." Harry said, "The magic needed may look simple, but it is deeply corruptive."
"I can handle myself, Harry." Victoria snapped, "Trust me."
"If she thinks she can cope with the spell, we have to have faith." Michael said softly.
"You will be consumed by it!" Arthur laughed, earning himself a punch in the face from Kian.
"King or not, I will end you." he warned, "Vic, just... be careful."
Victoria nodded, her green eyes hard like steel as she stood over Jonathan's body and began to chant.
"Sala Hoah Buk Namo, veia laok ollo atli," her voice seemed to get deeper as she read on, a red mist forming around Jonathan, "Alau poln yara esh mael... hear my voice!" she shouted, "I call to you spirits of darkness!"
I watched in horror as her eyes turned black, and the red mist began to sink it's way into Jonathan, making his body jerk and twitch on the ground.
"I command you bring to me the soul of the dammed, soul of the innocent! Let that soul rise once more to walk this mortal realm!"
This was a bad idea...
Then Victoria screamed out in pure terror before collapsing onto the floor. Micheal and Harry rushed to her as the spell book dropped hard to the floor. Kian had not rushed to Victoria, he had headed to Jonathan who was now sitting up and looking around, a confused look on his face.
The cold blue eyes that I had seen before were softer somehow as he looked up at Kian.
"Kian?" Jonathan looked confused then, "What happened to me?" he looked down at his body, "This... this isn't me. I remember... dying. I died."
"Alec?" Kian asked tentatively, tears evident in his eyes.
I ran over to them and hugged Alec, well, Jonathan. No. He was gone, but Alec's soul was here, and I let the tears flow as I held onto him.
"I thought I bloody lost you," I heard Kian say, before I felt him join the hug.
"For a minute there, you did." Alec replied.
For a moment we just held onto each other, and everything was okay again. Then Arthur's voice cut through the brief moment of happiness.
"How touching... shame you're all going to die."