Demon Bound

two to every Guardian left after the Ascension—and that was including novices.
    “Yeah, well, what she probably didn’t know was that Michael had to take Charlie and Drifter down Below, so that they could open the prison.”
    “It was shielded?” It must have been, or Michael would only have taken Ethan, whose Gift allowed him to open any lock . . . except for the lock cast by the shielding spell. For that, Ethan needed Charlie, and her rare tendency to sense psychic energy as sound, rather than a scent, a flavor, or physical touch.
    “Yep. And as they were getting ready to go, Belial shows up. He tells Michael the prophecy will be fulfilled, that his followers will return to Grace—well, let me send you the image Drifter gave me.”
    Alice nodded, then instinctively squinted her eyes. Michael had been standing in front of a large black building, facing Ethan. His wings were folded behind his back, and his sword dripped blood. Between Michael and the building, a figure shone with brilliant light: Belial.
    It was said the demon had retained his angelic form, and Alice didn’t doubt it. She had the impression of multiple pairs of wings, of beauty so great it was painful to look upon.
    Alice had seen him almost two years ago, in the short battle against Lucifer that had led to Michael winning his wager and the Gates to Hell being closed—but she couldn’t see him any better through Ethan’s eyes than she had in person.
    The image vanished. Jake rubbed at his eyes. “Flippin’ fuck. That hurts my brain.”
    Hers as well. And left her confused, wondering what had been so shocking that Ethan had kept it to himself. “So, apparently this means that Belial believes in the prophecy—and he confirmed that the prophecy exists.”
    Unless, as demons often did, Belial had been lying. But what would be the point of lying about it to Michael, who had dismissed the prophecy’s validity?
    “Yes, and Michael’s response was to call it a bunch of bullshit.” Jake gave his head a hard shake. “Well, not in those words. But the gist, you know.”
    “I do. But was that all that was said?” A wet tendril of hair blew in front of her eyes, and Alice lifted her arms, quickly weaved it back into her braid. “Jake? Was that all?”
    She sighed when she realized that his gaze had unfocused. At the restaurant, she’d noted that he had a tendency to drift off in the middle of a conversation. Now she had to repeat his name several times before he snapped to attention.
    “Yes, Alice. Yes.” He chuckled to himself, then just as quickly sobered. “No, that wasn’t all. Because that’s when Belial said that Michael should have known Lucifer would release the nephilim, because he—Belial—had taught Michael to think like Lucifer.”
    Alice blinked, certain she’d misheard. “Belial taught Michael?” “Yep.” The answer was grim.
    “Taught him where? When?”
    “Dunno.”
    “But he—? And how—?” Alice closed her eyes, tried desperately to order the questions spitting through her mind, to suppress her revulsion.
    Taught by a demon.
    She trusted and loved each of her mentors. To imagine Michael having a similar relationship with a demon—even a demon who was Lucifer’s enemy—made her feel as if a sickness had taken root inside her, putrefying her body and emotions as it spread.
    But surely it hadn’t been the same. Surely, whatever Michael and Belial’s relationship, it couldn’t be compared to what she’d shared with her mentors.
    Alice took a long breath. “What did Michael have to say about it?”
    “Just that any association he might have had with Belial was long past, was nothing as Belial imagined it had been, and was best forgotten.”
    That resembled what Michael had said about the temples. She met Jake’s gaze, saw the same realization there.
    His eyes narrowed. “Think it’s connected?”
    “I don’t know. I cannot even—” She shook her head. “Why didn’t Ethan tell the rest of us?”
    To her surprise, Jake shape-shifted into Ethan’s tall form. And she had to smile when he drawled, “Well, I reckon there’s no need to go about causing a fuss just yet. It may be that Belial was lying, hoping that every Guardian would be looking at Michael all suspicious-like, and that it might have us squabbling with one another instead of putting a world of hurt on Belial’s demons like we oughta be. So we’ll wait until we figure the truth of it before telling the others.”
    Alice nodded