Tirade (Heven and Hell #3)(39)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“We have to go now. To hell,” I said, jumping off the bed and searching for some clothes.

“I thought you had to go to the funeral home.”

I let out a frustrated sound. I did and there was no getting out of it. There was no way I could come up with a lie that would excuse me from planning my mother’s funeral. Except the truth, and Gran would probably try to commit me if I told her the truth. “Yeah, okay. I’ll go do that. Stay close because the minute I get home, we’re leaving. I’m done waiting.”

*

I spent some time on my appearance this morning because I felt that not looking like death warmed over while planning my mother’s funeral was something she deserved. But I also felt stupid for caring about my appearance at a time like this. I did my hair and makeup, taking extra care to conceal the scar on my face. I didn’t have the makeup I needed to make it disappear, but I was able to downplay its presence. As much as I hated to admit it, her final words bothered me. You were marked for evil.

I thought I put all that behind me, but I found the words haunted me still.

What if she was right?

Trying to put it out of my mind, I got dressed in black wide-leg pants and a snug black T-shirt. I grabbed a pair of oversized dark sunglasses and a dark-washed denim jacket and headed for the door to go downstairs with Gran.

Then everything went white.

*

Airis was standing before me when I opened my eyes. For once, she seemed different… Her eyes weren’t as soft as they usually were and there was something brittle about the way she stood. There was an air around her that seemed… repulsed.

I watched her warily. I knew why I was here and this conversation wasn’t going to go well.

“Hello, Airis.”

“You did not heed my warning.”

Something inside me shrank. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“I told you that you were going down the wrong path. I told you to resist the devil and he would flee from you. But you didn’t.”

“I’m so sorry about the Map. I don’t know what happened.”

“You allowed yourself to be distracted. You allowed evil to influence you. You murdered someone.”

I sucked in a breath. “Beelzebub manipulated me. Colin attacked me.”

Airis held up her hand. “I told you to be careful of whom you trust. You chose not to listen.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen!” I protested.

“Your soul is compromised.”

“It’s not.”

“We thought you had the strength to resist the temptation calling you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Since your conception, you’ve been marked. Two sides of one coin, marked by heaven but also by hell. Both places vie for you, yet you never seemed to understand the importance of your role.”

“Please, help me understand.”

“At first, we thought your unique position would be a strength, but now we see it may be a weakness. You were gifted with abilities and I’ve been here to guide you, but, alas, it seems that the hold he has on you is much stronger than we realized.”

He who? Sam? Airis always knew how strongly I felt for Sam. She seemed to approve of that before; she seemed to think we were stronger together than apart. Had that changed in her eyes?

“This will be the last time you see me. I can help you no more.”

My heart sank. “But what about the scroll? I can get it back.” Knowing full well I couldn’t.

“The scroll has been compromised. Higher beings have already been dispatched to make sure the people on that list are safe and remain so. The scroll is no longer your responsibility.”

“All those people,” I said almost to myself. They were in danger because of me. I felt like my world was being ripped away. Her coldness hurt me more than I thought it would.

“I’ll give you one last warning. Heed me and all may not be lost.”

I straightened and prepared to dissect whatever riddle she spoke.

“You still have the strength within you to prove that you fall on the side of heaven and not of hell. But you are in more danger than ever before. He thinks his claim on you is singular. He does not know you are two-sided. He does not know you have a claim on him. His ignorance is your only protection now. Your saving grace is the missing piece of that scroll. It must remain lost forever.”

“Who is he?” At first I thought it was Sam, but it couldn’t be. Sam knew I had good inside me.

“You will not see me again, but that does not mean that God has turned from you. He believes in you. But you must prove that you believe in him. That you are loyal.” She lifted her hands as a ball of pure, white light formed.

“Airis, please! Wait, I have so many questions.”

I barely noticed the flash of white that sent me back to my bedroom. I found myself standing in the middle of the room, staring at the busted lamp I used to protect myself from the demon. Then it dawned on me.

I knew who he was. What claim could I possibly have on him?

Chapter Twelve

Heven

It turns out it didn’t matter how much effort I put into my appearance. My meeting with Airis totally ruined whatever I had managed to accomplish. I looked like I’d been through the ringer and hung out to dry. Thankfully, my oversized black sunglasses hid the worst and everyone at the funeral home, including Gran, assumed it was only grief for my mother that made me look this way.

And I was grieving for her. But maybe not in the way a loss of a parent deserved. There were so many things I was grieving over I could hardly focus on anything. Yet, I managed to make it through the morning. I thought it would be harder to choose a casket, pick flowers, music and decide who would be speaking, but all the choices were already made. Thankfully, Mom kept a last will and testament and everything she wanted had been outlined. It made things easy, and it went much faster than I expected.

When we arrived back at Gran’s, Cole was sitting on the porch waiting. There were several glass bowls and dishes at his feet. Before I was out of the car, he was there opening the door and reaching in to grab me.

“You made it through the morning,” he murmured in my ear as he slung an arm across my shoulders and led me toward the house.

“Beelzebub has started taking his anger out on Sam. We have to leave soon.”

“What is all this?” Gran asked, pointing to the dishes.

“While you were gone, some people stopped by, most of them from Madeline’s church. They wanted to pay their respects.”