“Jillian!”

  Detective O’Malley started running towards her, and he no longer looked like the friendly, helpful detective she’d once known.

  He was the enemy.

  She ran to where an impatient Kyriel waited, the detective following her.

  “Jillian!”

  “What were you thinking?” Kyriel couldn’t believe she’d done something so reckless.

  “I wanted to see who was after us,” she explained. “I’m sorry.”

  “Let’s go.”

  ***

  Kyriel took off through the back part of the hotel. They were on the run again. He only hoped there wouldn’t be any gunfire to hamper their escape.

  Jillian kept pace behind him as they raced through long, deserted hallways, down escalators, and past the empty banquet rooms. He cut through the large service kitchen, the busy clanking of pots and pans assuring the hotel employees wouldn’t pay them much attention.

  “Jillian! Stop!” The detective was right on their heels. “Stop!”

  Kyriel looked over his shoulder as he threw open a service door leading outside, and saw the detective braced in a wide stance, taking aim with his gun. “Don’t move, or I’ll shoot!”

  “Go!” He ushered Jillian outside first, and closed the door behind him as he followed.

  No shots were fired.

  The detective wanted her alive.

  They ran behind the hotel and Kyriel led her to the west parking lot where his Corvette was parked, ready and waiting. He and Jillian got in the car just as the detective came running after them.

  “Get out of the car!” he shouted, raising his gun.

  As Kyriel punched the gas, the detective fired, sending bullets ricocheting off the back of his Corvette.

  “Oh my God!” Jillian ducked down in the seat and covered her head with her hands. “Not again!”

  “Don’t worry,” Kyriel said, racing down an empty alleyway. “It’s bulletproof.”

  Jillian lowered her arms and gawked at him, either in disbelief, or awe, he couldn’t be sure since her emotions were so scattered. “Your car is bulletproof?”

  “Yes.” He nodded in affirmation.

  “Why?” she wondered.

  “Why not?”

  He liked to be prepared, and his readiness had just paid off.

  “I should have gotten on that plane.” Jillian sunk back in her seat and stared out the window.

  “What plane?” Kyriel heard the fear in his voice.

  He knew she’d been at the airport, it’s where she’d hidden the ring, but he hadn’t realized how close he’d been to losing her. How long would he have had to scour the Earth looking for her if she’d gotten on a plane?

  The more he thought about it, the more an idea formed in his mind. “That’s what we’ll do.”

  “We will?” Jillian looked at him expectantly.

  “We’ll take the longest flight out of JFK and be safe in the air until the Equinox is over, and with the rings that far apart, the planets will fall out of alignment.”

  “And then what?” she asked. “Do we hide out with the ring forever?”

  Kyriel hated to break it to her, but that’s exactly what they would have to do. “If that’s what it takes.”

  “Can’t we destroy the ring, or bury it in cement and throw it in the East river?”

  Kyriel chuckled. While they were good ideas, it wasn’t that simple. “The ring can never be destroyed. It’s protected by magic. The only way to be free of it is to take it out of this realm of existence, and if we’re going to do that, we should banish all three rings together.”

  “This realm of existence?” Jillian asked, dismayed. “How many realms are there?”

  “The number is infinite,” he answered in honesty.

  He appreciated how well she was taking all this new information considering it must be a lot for her to comprehend, but he would have the rest of their lives to explain everything to her.

  The Universe. Angels. God.

  Just as the angels had done before the fall, Kyriel would share the secret knowledge of life with her. He’d give up his wings to stay with her, because he’d found his own Heaven, and it was in her arms.

  Chapter 34

  John F. Kennedy International airport was one of the largest and busiest in the world. Over forty million people passed through the airport each year, so Jillian thought it would be a good place to disappear, but that was before her face had been all over the news.

  Kyriel had purchased disguises in the form of baseball hats and sunglasses from the duty-free shop, but every time a person looked at her, their gaze lingering longer than she was comfortable with, she went into an instant panic.

  “Relax,” Kyriel said, as they walked towards the security check. “People won’t be suspicious unless you act suspicious.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she said, fumbling with the large sunglasses that covered almost half of her face. “You’re not on New York’s most wanted list.”

  The line moved slowly, but eventually they reached the first airport official. Jillian handed him her ticket and passport.

  “Remove your glasses, please.”

  Jillian complied, folding the sunglasses up and jamming them in her back jeans pocket.

  “Where are you flying today?”

  “Hong Kong.”

  “Whoa, that’s a long flight.” He matched her passport to her ticket. “Have a nice flight, Ms. Whitmore.”

  Kyriel showed his ticket and passport next and they got through without any problems, only to wait in another line that would take them through the full body scanner.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Jillian was beginning to have her doubts.

  She’d never realized how many televisions were in the airport and she was waiting for her photo to appear any second.

  “It’s working so far.”

  “That’s comforting,” she said snidely.

  She was giving up her entire life, everything that was familiar and comfortable, to go on the lam with a fallen angel and a ring with magical powers. The least he could do was sound convincing.

  “I don’t normally fly,” he offered. “It takes too long.”

  “That’s right, you can just send yourself wherever you want to go,” she said, wishing he’d do that now. “Why don’t you just take us to Hong Kong the easy way?”

  “Angels can’t transport others, plus, we want to be on the plane. It’s the one place no one will be able to find us.”

  The sixteen hour flight was scheduled to take off just after noon and would keep them in the air until six a.m. the next morning, New York time. The Equinox would pass, but Jillian didn’t think that would be the end of her duty where the ring was concerned.

  Finally coming to the scanner, another airport official barked out instructions in a bored monotone. “Remove your shoes and empty your pockets. Place all your personal items in one of the bins, and slide it through.”

  Kyriel dumped her bag on the conveyor belt while she removed her high heels and placed them in a plastic bin, along with her sunglasses. She got through the scanner without raising any flags. It was Kyriel she worried about. He had the ring in his pocket.

  She should have known he’d pass through the scanner without notice. It was like the airport official hadn’t even seen him, and no alarms went off.

  Where could she get powers like that?

  “We’re through,” Kyriel said, looking relieved, but there was an underlying tension to his voice.

  He picked up her bag while she put her shoes back on.

  “That was easier than I thought.” Jillian donned the pair of sunglasses.

  They were on their way, though she wasn’t thrilled to be going to Hong Kong. She’d wanted to go to Johannesburg, but Kyriel wanted to stay away from Africa. He said it was too obvious.

  Whatever that meant.

  Two airport officials, complete with badges and guns on their hips, walked towards them. Jillian held her breath, and tried to convince herself that they couldn’t possibly recognize her in the hat and dark glasses.

  “Jillian Whitmore,” one of the men said, while the other moved off the side in an attempt to surround them. “You’ll have to come with us.”

  A cold knot formed in her stomach, and her pulse skittered rapidly. She couldn’t go with them. She and the ring had to be on that plane.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “You must have me confused with someone else.”

  Even she didn’t believe the lie.

  She had to get better at this game if she wanted to survive.

  “Just come with us, Miss.” The man moved to take her by the arm.

  Kyriel moved faster, dropping her bag on the ground to grab her by the hand and tear off at breakneck speed through the long row of airport gates. Jillian had a hard time keeping up with him as they raced past curious, confused onlookers.

  Airport officials came after them from all directions, and she heard a dog’s loud bark.

  “What are you doing?” she shouted.

  How did he think to escape with most of the airport personnel in pursuit?

  “This way.” Kyriel flew through a set of double doors labeled Employees Only.

  They came into a poorly lit, deserted hallway. He used a shot of light to blast open one of the doors and ducked inside.

  Jillian pulled off her hat and sunglasses and doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Kyriel moved fast.

  Outside, they heard loud voices, but no one came into the room. Jillian looked around. It must be an interrogation room of some sort because the only furniture was a table with two chairs and an empty bulletin board on the wall.

  “We’re safe in here for a minute,” Kyriel said, pulling off his own hat and sunglasses. He tossed them on the table.

  A flash of light exploded, illuminating the tiny room, and Jillian had raise her hand to shield her eyes from the brilliance.

  When the light faded away, she saw Asmodeus standing in front of the door. Jillian grabbed onto Kyriel, who put a protective arm around her and drew her close.

  The dark angel smiled, and his cold, black eyes gleamed with triumph. “Safety is an illusion.”

  “Do you honestly intend to do this here?” Kyriel asked.

  “Why not?” Asmodeus gave a casual shrug of his shoulder. “You’ve been using your powers. Let’s make it a real party.”

  “What do The Illuminati hope to gain by letting Lucifer out?”

  Asmodeus had a chilling smile. “The world.”

  “I won’t give up the last ring.” Kyriel’s expression hardened.

  “Even to save her life?” Asmodeus angled his head and looked at Jillian.

  Being caught in his dark stare was unbelievably terrifying, and she buried her face against Kyriel’s chest, breathing in his comforting warmth.

  Would the dark angel try to kill her? What if he hit her with those special powers? Kyriel said they could kill a human. And there she was—all human.

  The one thing she could be sure of was that Kyriel would protect her. She looked briefly at Asmodeus.

  He raised his hands as if he were preparing to strike with his deadly powers. Fear raced through her, chilling and intense. If he hit both of them, what would happen?

  Asmodeus shot out with his light.

  Kyriel pushed her away from him and took the hit of light square in his chest.

  He groaned miserably and collapsed to his knees.

  “No!” Jillian lunged for him.

  “Stay back!” He held up his hand to stop her from getting close.

  Jillian could feel the dark angel’s penetrating stare, and she dared a look at him. She was an open target so, when he raised his hands to strike, she was absolutely frozen with fear. She didn’t know what to do.

  “Where to run?” Asmodeus taunted. “Where to hide?”

  “Leave her alone,” Kyriel grated out the warning, using his hand to push himself to wobbly feet.

  Her guardian angel was too late.

  Bright light exploded, and Jillian put her hands up, bracing herself for the pain of impact, scared, and wondering what it would feel like to die.

  Nothing happened.

  When she opened her eyes, it was Asmodeus who rolled on the ground in pain. A beautiful angel with long, flowing blonde hair and white, Heavenly wings stood next to him.

  She was the most beautiful creature Jillian had ever seen.

  “You have to stop this!” The radiant angel shouted down at Asmodeus. “You cannot harm an innocent.”

  Jillian was glad for the angel’s divine intervention, but who was she?

  “Beat it, Neriel,” Asmodeus said, getting to his feet and dusting off his black trench coat. “This is none of your business.”

  “I’ve chosen to make it my business.”

  “That was your first mistake, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me names you don’t mean.”

  Asmodeus raised a dark brow in amused contempt. “Do you really want to go there?”

  “Thank you, Neriel,” Kyriel said, interrupting. “Your timing is impeccable.”

  “Gabriel sent me with a message.”

  Gabriel? Jillian mouthed the name of the Archangel.

  Or, so she assumed. She knew of no other angel Gabriel.

  “What is it?” Kyriel asked.

  He held his hand out to Jillian. She took it, and he pulled her back into the safety of his arms.

  “Choose wisely,” the beautiful angel delivered.

  Jillian felt the tension in Kyriel. She had no clue what the message meant, but he seemed to.

  “Neriel, leave,” Asmodeus ordered. “Now.”

  “I’m not leaving,” she said stubbornly, ruffling her white wings. “They are.” She inclined her head to Kyriel and Jillian.

  “I have plans for them,” Asmodeus told her.

  “Too bad.” Neriel spun on him and threw a blast of light from both of her outstretched hands, enclosing Asmodeus in a ball of light.

  “You must go, quickly,” she said. “I can only hold him for a little while.”

  Jillian didn’t know who looked more dumbstruck in that moment: her, or Kyriel.

  “Thank you, Neriel,” Kyriel said, then took Jillian by the hand and walked to the door. “It’s time to get out of here.”

  “Where do we go now?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”

  After checking the hallway, Kyriel and Jillian left.

  ***

  Neriel held Asmodeus captive in the light for what seemed like an eternity. She had the power to hold him there forever, but he got so upset when she did it that she didn’t like to hold him for very long.

  “Godammit, Neriel!” Asmodeus snarled when she finally released him. “I almost had them.”

  “You can’t do this,” she insisted. “If you free Lucifer from Hell, you’ll never be allowed to come back.”

  “What if I don’t want to come back?” he snapped. “Did you ever think of that?”

  Neriel shook her head. “I know you don’t want to let Lucifer out. You can’t. He’d destroy everything.”

  “Stay out of this.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why the hell not?” he barked in agitation.

  “You know why.” She leveled her calm gaze at him, looking for the angel she knew and loved in the black depths of his eyes.

  Sometimes she couldn’t see him.

  “All sinners can be redeemed, they only have to ask.”

  “Don’t try to fill my head with lofty visions of a bright future.” Asmodeus grunted a bitter laugh. “I’m damned, I’ll always be damned, and you best get it through your narrow mind. Has working for Gabriel robbed you of all common sense?”

  Neriel lifted her chin proudly. “If you’re still half the angel I knew you to be, you’d stop this.”

  Something in Asmodeus’s dark eyes softened as he stared back at her. Neriel saw the faintest flash of blue, and she couldn’t resist the pull to touch him.

  Lightly, she laid her ethereal hand against his solid cheek.

  “Don’t touch me,” he growled, but made no move to pull away.

  “It’s not like I can really feel you,” she said.

  “Yeah, but I can feel you.”

  ***

  It killed Asmodeus to bear any touch from Neriel, however slight.

  He wanted her too much. For that reason, he had to stay away from her. She was too good for him. Too sweet, too innocent.

  “Stop this, Asmodeus,” she implored softly. “Come with me now.”

  Asmodeus brushed her hand aside. “And where would we live? You must reside in Heaven, and I’m damned to Hell.”

  “Let me help you. I’ll find a way to bring you back.”

  “There’s no hope for me.”

  “There is always hope.”

  Asmodeus had given up on hope.

  “Do you remember how it used to be in Heaven?” she wondered. “How we used to be?”

  He drank in the sight of her. Neriel’s purity and beauty were the only things he remembered of Heaven, and it tore him apart to know he would never feel her warmth again. Would never know her friendship and loyalty.

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “We can get to that place. It’s not too late.”

  Asmodeus didn’t want their former platonic relationship. That’s what she didn’t understand. She was too innocent to know what he wanted to do with her now that he was a man.

  “I know you’re afraid.” Her bright, blue eyes filled with sympathy. “You can do it.”

  “Don’t try to play on my emotions, Neriel,” he warned her away. “Lucifer stripped away any feelings I might have been left with.”

  “That’s a lie,” she declared.

  It was a lie, and they both knew it.

  His feelings for Neriel were the only reason he’d survived Lucifer’s tortures for this long. She gave him something to live for. Her beauty and her soft voice had been the one memory he could call on to make the pain easier to bear.

  Asmodeus could hope for no future with his angel, but the memories of their past could alleviate some of his anguish, along with the dreams he had in the dark. Dreams of a future that would never come to be.

  It didn’t matter that he could never touch her. He’d always be in love with her.