Lilith patted our back. “There, there. All gone now.”
Once we’d recovered, which frankly didn’t take very long given the circumstances, we stood up and wiped our mouth.
“You can separate now.”
We frowned. “What?”
She waved a hand. “You only need to combine forces when you’re threatened. Trust me, it’s for the best. Two souls in one body is hell on the chakras.”
The process of separation was harder than the joining had been. Our spirits were so thoroughly meshed inside my body that it was like ripping apart cosmic-strength Velcro. Only more painful.
I pushed, Maisie pulled. We groaned and strained, until finally my sister’s spirit flew from my body. I collapsed on the ground and she slid across the marble. Maisie’s exit left me feeling hollow, lonely. I’d spent so many years alone inside myself that I didn’t realize how… barren it felt in there.
Adam and Giguhl ran to me. Gentle hands helped me stand. Strong arms enveloped me.
Over their shoulders, I saw Phoebe go to Maisie, comforting her.
“Thank the gods,” Adam said.
“Dude, you guys were fucking awesome!” Giguhl enthused.
I glanced at Maisie and my mother again. Lilith went to speak to them. She reached out to touch Maisie’s arm, and her hand went through her spirit. I froze.
“Hold on!” I called. “Why isn’t Maisie back in her body?”
Lilith looked up and tilted her head. “She’s dead.”
I nodded and walked forward. “Yes, but we’re the Chosen, right? Surely that means she can return to the living now.”
The Great Mother slowly shook her head and shot Maisie an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry, but that’s not how this works. Once someone is dead, they must remain so.”
I slashed a hand through the air. “But she’s a goddess now! The normal rules shouldn’t apply.”
Lilith crossed her arms. “Technically you’re just demigoddesses. Regardless, there are some rules even deities can’t escape. Besides, that’s not how the Chosen works. You and your sister are the Chosen together because you balance each other. Mage and vampire, light and dark, blue and red.” She pointed to me. “Life”—she pointed to Maisie—“and death.”
I blinked at the irony. For so long I’d thought of myself as the death part of this equation.
“If she has to remain a spirit, how can she return to the mortal realm?” Adam demanded.
“You don’t get it,” Lilith said. “She won’t be returning. Sabina will lead the dark races on Earth, and she will lead the dark races in Irkalla.”
My mouth fell open. “That’s bullshit!”
Lilith shrugged. “I didn’t make the rules.”
“Well, who did?” I demanded. “Because I want to kick their ass.”
Lilith pointed up. “Elohim made the rules. Trust me, you don’t want to tangle with him.”
“Wait, what?” Adam said.
Lilith spread her arms. “I struck a deal with him when I married Asmodeus. Elohim was pissed that I created my own races. He wanted to destroy all my children. I promised him that if he didn’t, I would retire to Irkalla and never interfere again. That’s why I could not allow Cain to kidnap me from this realm. It’s also why a war between all of you could not be allowed to happen. Elohim demanded that if either of those events occurred, I would have to return to earth to destroy all of you.”
“But how does the Chosen fit into all that?” Adam asked.
Lilith smirked. “I knew that without firm leadership, it wouldn’t take long before my children turned on each other. You’re such a surly bunch,” she said proudly. “So I negotiated a deal. A way to balance the scales between the two most powerful dark races. Twins born of both races who would rise to lead everyone. Elohim came up with the tests. He loves making his subjects jump through hoops.”
I blinked. Was his voice the one we’d heard come from the bright light? Holy shit.
“But the catch is that there are checks and balances built into your powers. The first you’ve already seen when Cain’s essence made you ill. The second is that you can use your powers only when you’re joined together. Third is that one of you must live in Irkalla and the other on earth. Because of Sabina’s Chthonic powers, she can summon Maisie to earth or come down here to visit, but the longer you’re together, the weaker you’ll become.”
“That sucks!” Giguhl said.
Lilith shrugged. “It sucks less than it would have if Cain had succeeded.”
“If we’re supposed to rule the dark races above and below, what will you do?” Maisie asked.
She shrugged. “Same thing I’ve been doing for centuries—making demon babies, loving my man. Perhaps causing a little mischief every now and then. But honestly, I’ve had so little to do with my nondemon children over the last few millennia that things won’t change much.”
I guess that all kind of made sense, but I still had a question. “So what was up with telling me I had to kill myself?”
She cocked a brow at my tone, but I didn’t give a damn. “I lied, naturally. The choice you made proved that you were worthy of being the Chosen. A true leader never surrenders.”
I squinted at her. Perhaps the centuries of being alive had messed with her brain. Or maybe she’d just lived in the underworld too long. “But Maisie didn’t have any tests.”
“Maisie had already proven herself worthy when she died so that you could go through the rest of your quest. She’d seen everything that was coming, but instead of warning you, she stepped aside so that you could learn the lessons you had to learn.”
I glanced at Maisie. “You knew all of this?”
Maisie nodded. “Some of it. I’m sorry, Sabina. I tried to help indirectly.”
I nodded. “The birthmark?”
Her smile confirmed it.
Part of me wanted to be mad. At the very least, something a tad more concrete than a shoulder ache would have been nice. Just a simple, “Oh, by the way, I’m going to die, but don’t worry, it’ll all work out.”
But I understood that even if Maisie had laid everything out for me, I would never have learned the lessons about teamwork and forgiveness and a million other things I’m sure I hadn’t even realized fully yet.
I opened my mouth to deliver a response when the floor of the throne room began to vibrate. Lilith crossed her arms. “Oh, here we go.”
“What’s wrong?” Adam yelled over the earsplitting sound of cracking marble.
“Asmodeus is coming. Everyone act natural.”
The shaking intensified until it knocked all of us to the ground. A loud cracking sound rent the air and a large chasm tore apart the floor.
A black mist rolled out of the crater and coalesced into the hottest demon I’d ever seen. Literally the hottest. In addition to a thickly muscled chest and the humongous biceps, the long blond hair, and the fallen-angel face, he also had wings made of flame. And a whip made of lightning. Not hard to see, then, why Asmodeus was the king of demons. Demigoddess now or no, I certainly didn’t want to tangle with him.
Rumor had it that Asmodeus had once been in the employ of the mortal deity. An angel, I think the sons of Adam call them. But early on, not long after the mortal god made Eve for Adam after Lilith fled the garden, Asmodeus split ways with the big guy and formed Irkalla. The legend tellers say his wings are on fire because of the friction of his fall from grace.
“Lilith!” he boomed.
“Hi, honey!” she said, rushing forward.
Her husband towered over her. The frown he shot her could have leveled entire armies, but the Great Mother looked up at him with a serene expression. “What is going on here?” He looked around at all of us with a suspicious expression.
“My friends just dropped by for a visit.”
He cocked his head. “Lili, I didn’t fall off the cloud yesterday.”
“Why are you back so soon?” she evaded. “I thought you were off training a new legion of Vengeance demons.”
Asmodeus crossed his arms and heaved a great sigh. “The demon league is making noises about unionizing. I had to go bust some skulls. But imagine my surprise when Valva burst into the meeting and told me Cain was in my home. You want to explain to me how the hell your ex snuck into my kingdom?”
Lilith sighed. “Asclepius helped him.”
The King of Irkalla’s face looked like a thundercloud. “Asclepius!” he roared. His whip cracked through the air. A split second later, a cloud of blue smoke erupted in the center of the throne room. My jaw dropped when the smoke cleared, revealing Asclepius.
The god was in his black dog form, the one he used when he worked in the Liminal. Asmodeus waved his hands and Asclepius’s body morphed into his humanoid form. He shook himself and looked up, shocked to find himself in Irkalla. His gaze zoomed around the room. Clearly he was surprised to see all of us still alive and Cain nowhere to be found. When his eyes landed on Nyx, his expression morphed into hatred. But when he saw Asmodeus staring at him with fire in his eyes, the god paled.
He fell to his knees and bowed his head. “Your Horribleness!”
“Asclepius,” Asmodeus said, his tone menacing. “Did you allow Cain entrance into my kingdom through your portal?”
Asclepius’s head shot up. His mouth worked as his mind tried to come up with an excuse.
“Answer me!” the king roared.
“Sire”—the god’s tone became pleading—“I only did it because that one betrayed our agreement.” He pointed at me.
“What agreement?” Asmodeus snapped.
“She promised to kill that vampire standing next to you and return a magical item that belonged to me. I informed her that if she failed to deliver as promised, I would contract Cain’s services. She agreed to those terms.”
Asmodeus’s accusing gaze landed on me. “Did you agree to those terms?”