Page 88 of Death Trap

“And to answer your earlier question, you couldn’t activate the elevator because you haven’t Ascended yet,” Eli said.

“Meaning…”

“You haven’t completed the Trials. Only then will you gain full control and strength to your gifts and be able to take the lead in the coming war.”

My head ached. Eli had said before that I was the only one who could stop this impending apocalypse. Even Benjamin and Azrael said I was in the way of his plans.

It might be a hard pill to swallow, but it looked like things were falling into place.

And after waiting so long for answers, now I was unsure learning them was the right choice. Right for my psyche anyway.

“So, Trials. Gotta complete some tests or something. Great.”

“Only then will your memories be fully restored, I’m afraid,” Eli said. “The reaper cycle threw everything off balance for you.”

“Which Azrael did on purpose, we can assume,” Simon said. “Your death and Benjamin’s Release were timed perfectly to make you the next reaper. Thus, wiping your memories and stealing from you who you are.”

Did he just say ‘thus’?

Wow, Simon meant business.

That’s when something Eli had said earlier really sank in. “Wait, you said Monnie was opposite of me. One of the first demons ever created.”

“Yes,” Eli replied.

“So that means I am one of the first angels?” I paused, realizing how ridiculous I sounded. “Ever?”

“Yes. All Archangels were the first angels ever designed and brought to be. Even before the known Firsts, like Azrael.”

My eyes widened. “There are more of us?”

“There are exactly seven.”

I glanced at Kay and Laurence. Kay hadn’t taken so much as a sip of her coffee, but her eyes were fully open now. Not a hint of tiredness present. Laurence, on the other hand, was softly snoring while slumped over on the couch. The baby monitor on his hip was quiet, signaling he wasn’t the only one sleeping peacefully while the rest of us were having our worlds turned upside down.

“But, Jade, you’re not only one of the first Archangels.” For the first time, Eli smiled, making the jitters in my belly dance an Irish jig. “Youarethe first. The very first. The one chosen to lead us all in battle.”

Well, fuckity fuck fuck.

It was official. We were all doomed.

“What, Jade? You’ve gone quiet,” Simon said as he watched me.

“If everything you’re telling me is true, and I just happen to be some kind of magnificent angelic being, why was I alive to start with?” I asked. There were still so many things I didn’t understand. So many questions I had.

“Archangels aren’t like Guardians or the other angels,” Eli explained. “They are meant to live among the living. Learn from them. Gain knowledge. Relate to them. And when the time came for the Archangels to be called for battle, they’d know everything they needed to protect the living and the nonliving world.”

I stared at him blankly, my next words evaporating off my tongue.

“Jade.” Simon’s calm voice vibrated across the sudden silence. When I looked up at him again, he smiled tenderly. Sympathetically. “All this time, you’ve wondered about who you are and the life you’ve lived before becoming a reaper… It’s because helping the living is what you were meant to do. Not kill them.”

He was right about that. I did suck at being a reaper.

“This is who you are, Jade,” he went on. “You’re an Archangel. You know the truth now. This is who you are.”

I glanced around the small living room, staring at the faces of some of my closest friends. Kay, Laurence, Zach, Simon, Eli—they were all counting on me. They needed me to stop this war and save them all.

It wasn’t a joke. It was all real.

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