Page 24 of Heal Me

“So you want to use Charlotte as bait?” Gabe interjects, his tone indicating his extreme disapproval of this plan.

“Call it what you will. Ms. Patel, your friend will die if I don’t stop the ritual. Nephilim, you will stay out of it,” he commands.

Gabe disappears, and is now in front of Chris. “Who the fuck are you?”

Chris rises, the two of them standing toe-to-toe. A scroll hovers in the air and Gabe snatches it.

“Official. Dominions. Business. Don’t try me, Nephilim,” Chris says in a terrifying tone that sends a chill down my spine.

“What is happening?” I demand.

“It seems the good detective is a Dominions.” Gabe turns to me, seeing confusion written over my face. “An Enforcer.” That didn’t help. “The angelic equivalent to a police officer.”

Chris snorts, clearly offended at that comparison.

“An angel!” I sputter.

“Who is the angel you’re after?” Gabe asks Chris.

Chris pauses, and I’m not sure he’s going to answer. He finally says, “Eiael, the Angel of Occult Knowledge. He’s posing as the human Ethan at the Center. He’s performing human sacrifice, to what end, I’m not sure.”

“How do you plan on protecting Charlotte?” Gabe demands.

Chris morphs into angelic form, and it’s as if all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. His huge white wings are glowing so brightly I can barely look directly at them. In his right hand is a large sword glowing with an otherworldly flame. “Any other questions?” He shifts back into his human form and turns to me.

“I’ll do it.” My voice sounds more sure than how I’m feeling as I take the angel’s outstretched hand.

“I’m going with you,” Gabe says, jumping up, but the next thing I know, I’m no longer standing beside him.

Chapter 11

Gabe

“Dammit!” I roar, grabbing my phone and calling Rumel. “Teleport me to the compound! I need to use your mirror!”

“You want to know the location of Charlotte Jasmine Patel and the Dominions.”

I would rip him a new one him for spying on Charlotte, but now’s not the time. Rumel gives me the coordinates, and I teleport next to a large storage shed surrounded by woods. Dark magic’s seeping out of the cracks and crevices of this place, causing all the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

I’m on dangerous ground here. On the one hand, I cannot legally interfere with Official Dominions Business. On the other hand, I don’t give a shit, because I’m too worried about Charlotte. I shift back into my human form and reach for the door, deciding I’ll worry about the consequences later.

Entering a small storage building that sits empty, I quickly spot a door left ajar and teleport to the basement. Surveying the scene, I sigh a breath of relief. Both Charlotte and Aubry are here and appear unharmed. A group of black-hooded individuals cower on the opposite wall. The Dominions must have already taken the angel offender off realm.

“I think I was in the angelic principal’s office,” Aubry announces.

“Ah, Metratron’s office,” I tell her, and she and Charlotte snap their attention to me.

Charlotte gives me a small smile and then hugs Aubry. “Don’t ever do something like that again,” Aubry tells her. I agree wholeheartedly.

“Don’t get yourself kidnapped by a lunatic angel and I won’t have to,” Charlotte retorts.

“How did you do something like that, by the way?” Aubry asks.

“Chris was watching the Center and knew you’d been brought here. He needed bait to lure Eiael out of his magic circle and I volunteered.”

“How about this—we both try our best not to get kidnapped by any lunatic, whether it be angel, human, or demon for at least the next six months?” Aubry suggests.

“Deal,” Charlotte says. A contract hovers in the air.

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