Page 11 of Destined for Eternity
“More or less what you already did at the bank, but on a more regular basis.”
Cori frowned. “Fighting demons?”
“That’s right.” He leaned against the wall and cocked a foot over the other one. “I’ve been assigned the new role of running Heaven’s operations on Earth. It’s my job to clean up the messes as they come—such as demons running around robbing human institutions. But as you know, I can’t go after them directly, so it is within my purview to assign anyone with angel blood to do the tasks that I can’t. Your mate is the best candidate for this particular job.”
“I’ve got more important things to do,” Bartol growled.
Jeriel arched his red brows. “You do realize your future offspring will be considered a nerou, right? And what are all the nerou doing right now and in the future?”
Bartol took a step toward the archangel. “You wouldn’t put my child through that.”
“It isn’t my decision.”
“They’re training to be enforcers against supernatural,” Cori replied, dismay in her voice as she considered the implications. “But this is different. Things have changed.”
“Not that much,” Jeriel said, a hint of sympathy entering his gaze.
Cori wondered if he was faking it. “Surely this is different.”
Offspring of nephilim and sensors hadn’t had a choice about how they lived their lives in the past, but she’d hoped that would change now that they lived on Earth and were proving to be good, productive people. Of course, they only got to stay after Melena and others had made a deal early last year to keep them free. The archangels considered the nerou’s extraordinary abilities a threat unless harnessed properly, so they’d made conditions no one could refuse. Giving them the job of enforcers was a way to keep them in line and focused after their training was complete.
Bartol clutched the kitchen table, gripping it so hard it started to crack under the pressure. “Remiel didn’t mention any of this when he said Cori and I would be allowed to be together with Heaven’s blessing.”
“She wasn’t pregnant then, and your offspring wasn’t part of the arrangement.”
Something occurred to Cori then. “There aren’t enough nerou around to enforce all the supernaturals on the planet, are there? And except for Tormod, none of them are fully immortal. You guys want us to make more of them for future use, don’t you?”
“Perhaps.” Jeriel worked his jaw. “That is a consideration.”
The kitchen table cracked in half. Bartol usually kept his temper under tight control, but when it came to Cori and their child, he had a harder time holding himself together. “My child is not up for negotiation.”
She hugged her belly. The innocent life inside her hadn’t even drawn its first breath and already his or her fate was being decided. She’d truly thought they would be given a pass, considering the angels had admitted their mistake with Bartol and the extensive torture he’d endured in Purgatory. They’d wanted him confined as punishment, but they hadn’t meant for the guardian charged with watching over nephilim prisoners to inflict the terrible punishments he had. Kerbasi had been unapologetically dreadful back then, doing things that made the Inquisition pale by comparison. He’d been more than creative and brutally cruel.
“Work with me any time there is demon trouble…” Jeriel said, speaking plaintively to Bartol, “and I’ll ensure your child only has to work as an enforcer for one century—after he or she turns fifty years old. That’s enough time for them to grow up, go to college, and experience a bit of life first.”
Cori gritted her teeth. “That’s convenient, considering their abilities don’t even fully develop until they’re older. My child would be useless to you until then anyway.”
The archangel shrugged. “Still, a century is quite a bit less time than forever, especially because we suspect your offspring will be immortal.”
She shook her head. “But I’m not immortal yet, so how could my child be?”
The whole reason nerou were only long-lived, most surviving for a thousand years or so, was because one of their parents was mortal. Having one nephilim parent wasn’t enough in this case since the offspring only got a quarter angel blood.
“You’re close enough at this stage that with both parents as strong as you are, it is a distinct possibility.” He shrugged. “We’ll know for certain after you give birth.”
“I thought you all knew everything.”
Jeriel scratched the back of his head. “With humans, we do. Whenever angel blood is in the mix, things get murkier. We haven’t gotten guidance from above on the particular traits of your child’s nature, so we can only guess at this stage.”
“And if we don’t cooperate?” Bartol asked, glaring at the archangel.
“As soon as your child is weaned, it will suffer the fate of the rest of the nerou and reside in Purgatory until it is grown up and ready for training.” He gave them a pitying look. “I don’t make the rules, just enforce them.”
“You sorry sack of shit!” Cori screamed, coming around the table, ready to punch Jeriel.
Bartol grabbed her. “Don’t. You could harm the child.”
She was so angry she’d forgotten. Cori stopped struggling, but she still couldn’t stop cursing at the man before her. Bartol was pissed too, but holding her back was keeping him from going after the archangel himself.
