Page 72 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“She’s not possessed. And we thoroughly fucked up whatever sacrifice it meant to do tonight. It’s best that she’s hidden and protected. If it’s her will, she can come to Grayshell.”
Ally used her powers to turn on all the faucets in the room. With a grunt of effort, she pulled the water from the lines into a cascading current, spinning above her, and threw it into the sigil on the wall.
* * *
Magic. There was no other word for what the residents of Grayshell could do. Every soul gathered in the hall in their spirit armor. There were more weapons than people inside those grand walls, and they raised their pale hands to the sky in unison, before chanting a long string of Latin words I hadn’t learned yet. Not only did the ground and walls tremble, but the sound shifted. Normally the melody of voices reverberated off the walls in the hall. A constant chorus of noise. But as they lowered their hands, it was as though they had submerged the castle into a pool of water, and everything felt muffled. Like I’d fired a gun too close, and my ears were between the shock and the ringing.
Alvara explained that they sealed the gateway on nights where the dimensions overlapped.
It was all hands-on deck. That was Aren’s ringing command. If Hell wanted our healers, they’d have to go through all of us first. He’d sent messages to the other hierarchies, requesting their Commanders follow the same protocol. No soul was permitted to stay on earth through Samhain’s thin veil. Even braids were summoned home. Not everyone would answer the call, but I couldn’t fault him for trying. Alvara and the other seers were to be in a meditative state, on watch.
“If we’re all bound here, who defends Earth?”
She shook her head. “There aren’t enough of us to guard the light world and the mortal world. For tonight, the mess is up to God and his angels. They’re on their own.”
“Demons can’t reach Heaven?” It was only partially a question.
She shook her head. “No. Nothing evil can enter Heaven—they’resafe.”
We turned and walked from the hall together. I wanted desperately to reach out and grab her hand, but our chance for an in-depth reading seemed to have vanished. Overwhelming Alvara was not the goal.
“An Archangel bound Sarah?”
Her eyes narrowed and she stared at me for a moment. “She believes so.”
“What did you see?”
“Not as much as I was hoping. Her memories just…cutoff.”
“Like yours?”
Expression grim, she gave me one nod. “And yours.”
“But Sarah believes she remembers beyond what you can see.”
“That’s what concerns me.”
A haunting choir began to sing in the hall, and the wave of energy ran chills down my arms as a thought solidified.
“Satan was an angel once?”
Her steps slowed, and she side-eyed me. “Yes, Lucifer…you don’t think…”
“The devil himself…bound our memories? I don’t know. But…can you think of another explanation? We’re between worlds, aren’t we? As vulnerable to him as we are to any of the others.”
She rubbed her temples, little stress v between her brows. After several long paces, she looked up at me, and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Must be a new sensation for you.”
“You know, I’m getting used to it.” Her lips quirked. “But yes. It is.”
Aren poured eight mugs of tea and slid them across the island.
* * *
“Canyou tell us everything you know about the great battle of light and dark?” Alvara’s voice was urgent.
“Which one?” Aren raised his eyebrows, smirk on his face.
