Antiphon

Chapter 23

Frannie

They finally let me in to see Luc this morning, but I can’t bring myself to even look at him. Because, after everything, I know what needs to happen, and I’ve spent the last two days agonizing over it. I stare blindly out the window at the mist falling outside, making everything look filmy and ghostlike. I know I should say something, but I don’t trust my voice. I pull a deep breath and try to concentrate on what I have to do.

I lean my forehead into the glass. “The doctor didn’t say he found anything. weird in there when he was digging around?”

“No.”

“So, I guess that means you’re human now?”

“Guess so.”

I can’t breathe. I need to get out of here. I move toward the door without turning around. “I should probably go.”

“Frannie, talk to me.” His voice, the desperation in it, stops me in my tracks.

I raise my hand to my face, trying to erase the evidence of my tears. I turn slowly to face him, and his expression almost kills me. How can I do this? I’m not strong enough. I drop my eyes to the floor.

He holds out his hand to me, and I can’t help myself. I walk to the bed and sit on the edge of it. At his touch, my heart races, but I still don’t look at him.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he says, and I feel tears well up in my eyes again.

“I’m thinking we shouldn’t be together. I’m bad for you.”

He heaves a huge sigh. When he speaks, he doesn’t even try to hide the laughter in his voice. “You? You’re bad for me?”

I can’t believe he’s making fun of me-making light of this whole thing. Anger flares deep inside me, and I hear it in my voice. I pull my eyes from the blankets and glare at him. “I almost got you killed. You were immortal and I took that from you. You’d have lived forever if it wasn’t for me.”

“Living forever isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The piece of forever I’ve lived is plenty.”

“You’re just saying that.” I turn my head away, trying to clear it and get myself together.

He reaches up for my cheek and turns me to face him. “Frannie, look at me.” My eyes reluctantly slide to his. “For this feeling,” he taps his free hand on his chest, “I’d have given up anything. I’d say my immortality was a small price to pay, but I don’t feel like I’ve paid anything. I feel like I’ve been paid with the most valuable thing anyone could ever want.” A tear slips over my lashes, and he wipes it away. “You love me. What else could I ever ask for?”

I feel hot tears on my cheek as I lean down to kiss him.

“Don’t mind me or anything.” And out of the blue-literally-Gabe is sitting in the chair under the window, looking all angelic.

Luc glares over my shoulder at him. “You really need to stop doing that. Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s rude not to knock?”

But then it hits me. I know what needs to happen. I hop up, feeling a thousand times lighter, and walk over to Gabe. I grab his hand and pull him out of the chair. “We need to talk.”

I drag him out the door as Luc watches with concerned amusement on his face, and we find a bench in the hall. I sit with my elbows on my knees, resting my forehead in my hands.

The din of the hospital is white noise-generic-and I focus on that to slow the whir of my spinning head. I wind my fingers into my hair and stare at the floor between my feet. “You want to tag me for Heaven.”

“Yes,” Gabe says.

“And they’ll stop coming for me if you do.”

“Eventually.”

“But I have to forgive myself.”

“Yes.”

I pull my head from my hands, surprised at how light it feels. “I’ll cut you a deal,” I say, the anchor lifting from my heart.

Gabe leans back on the bench and smiles up at me as I walk back into Luc’s room. I slide onto the edge of his bed, and his eyes narrow as he laces his fingers in mine. “What was that all about?” He can’t hide the jealousy in his voice.

“Nothing,” I say.

He drops my hand and his eyes search mine.

I run a finger over his cheek, outlining the bandage on his face, and he shudders. He pulls a sigh and reaches for my face. “You know, when I told you to use your Sway with Beherit, I meant to save yourself, not me.”

I press my cheek into his hand. “I couldn’t think. I just. knew what I wanted.”

He pulls me into a kiss, but just as our lips touch, there’s a knock at the door. He holds me around the neck when I try to back away, and we finish our kiss. Then he smiles and yells, “Come in!”

The door swings open. Gabe smiles, all proud of himself for knocking. “Heads up!” he says, and, with a flick of his wrist, a shiny silver object on a chain sails across the room.

Luc grabs it out of the air before it slams into his face. “Thanks,” he says to Gabe.

Gabe props himself on the doorframe. “I’m not your errand boy. Next time you need something, get it yourself.”

I look at the object in Luc’s hand. It’s a crucifix; larger than the last one and with a pointed end.

“I had this for you. that night.” He smiles wanly. “But I got a little sidetracked before I could give it to you.” He folds the crucifix into my hand.

Gabe meanders into the room. “You’re going home tomorrow.”

I pull away from Luc and look at Gabe. “How do you know?”

He shoots me a sardonic glance and slouches back into the chair under the window.

“Gabriel. ” Luc’s face shifts through frustration into anger and finally seems to settle on confused. “How.?” he asks.

“The decision was already made. It was never up to Michael.” His glance shoots to me and his eyes sparkle. “She wanted it, and you earned it.” Then he looks back at Luc, his expression serious. “Plus, we need your help.”

Luc nods at him. “Thanks.”

He quirks half a smile. “It wasn’t my decision either. You’ve impressed Him.” His eyes shift to the ceiling.

I look from Luc to Gabe and back, confused. “What are you guys talking about?”

Luc smiles at me. “You’ve got archangels quaking in their boots.”

That was a very unhelpful reply.

Gabe slides out of his chair and moves to the side of the bed, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s just say there was some dissension in the ranks, but we’ve got it sorted now.” He looks back at Luc. “How are you feeling?”

Luc flashes his winning smile and squeezes my hand. “Invincible.”

“Well, just remember that you’re not anymore, so if you want to be around to look after Frannie, reckless abandon isn’t your best strategy.”

Luc rolls his eyes.

Gabe grins, blinding me. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say, so I recruited you some help. He’s fresh out of training-just yesterday, as a matter of fact-but there’s no one better for the job.”

“Hey Frannie.” The voice is musical, like Gabe’s but different. It’s lighter somehow. I turn and, on the other side of the room, there’s a boy, maybe seventeen, medium height, with sandy-blond curls, sky-blue eyes, and the face of. well. an angel. He’s leaning against the wall, hands in his jeans pockets, smiling at me.

All the air is knocked out of me and my legs suddenly go weak. “Matt?” I can barely get the word out. He looks just like the image from my head-the way I pictured he’d look if he was still alive.

He smiles and the glare burns my retinas. “In the flesh-sort of.”

I turn to Gabe. “I don’t. ” but I can’t form the rest of the thought.

Matt laughs-a sound like wind chimes. “I’m your guardian angel.” He laughs again. “Would you ever have thunk it when I was sticking gum in your hair and stealing your bike?”

My shaky legs start moving, carrying me across the room. I feel the tears start to slip down my cheeks, but there’s not a thing I can do about it. I can’t even begin to reconcile the emotions whirring through me. But as I reach him, it’s guilt that finds a voice. I can’t look him in the eye. “Oh my God. Matt, I’m sorry.”

He wraps an arm around me and pulls me to his shoulder. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Frannie. You need to let it go.”

“I can’t.” I look up at Gabe, whose eyes bore a hole through me. I can almost feel him rummaging around in my head, looking for the answers.

“You have to, or there’s no point in my being here.” He shoots a glance at Luc.

All my insides are Jell-O and my head feels full of cotton. I can’t think. But then a thought peeks through the fog. “Mom and Dad. Oh my God! They’re going to die when they see you!” My breath catches when I realize what I just said. “I mean. ”

Matt pulls me to his shoulder again. “No, Frannie. They can’t know. Nobody can.”

“Why?”

“It’s just how it is. It’s strictly forbidden for us to show ourselves to anyone who knew us. Especially family.”

I pull my face out of his shoulder. “I knew you.”

He glances at Gabe. “An exception was made due to extenuating circumstances,” he says in this low, official-sounding voice.

I look up and Gabe is shaking his head.

I smile, but then I’m crying again. “So I killed you, but I’m the only one who gets you back? How is that fair?”

“I have no clue what to say to get you to see it wasn’t your fault.”

“But it was my fault.” I sob into his T-shirt, getting snot all over him. “I was there, remember? The one yanking on your leg and pulling you out of the tree?”

“You know I can’t lie now, right? It wasn’t your fault. You have to believe that.”

I start to feel really dizzy as my throat closes. I let go of him and drop my hands to my knees, trying to suck air into my collapsing lungs.

“Get a nurse!” Luc says, and I hear him struggling with the IV stand.

But then I smell summer snow and feel Gabe’s arms around me. “Frannie, breathe,” he says, his breath cool in my ear.

I shudder and pull tighter into him.

“Slow and easy,” he whispers.

And I find he’s right. If I breathe slowly, I can get some air in. The stars dancing in front of my eyes start to fade.

I straighten up and Gabe lets me go. I stare at Matt, wiping my nose on my sleeve. I can’t believe this. I’ve wanted him back so much, and here he is. I dive into his chest again and wrap my arms around him, determined to never let him go. “Oh my God.”

He smiles. “It’s going to be okay, Frannie. Really.”

His smile is contagious. I sniffle and smile back through my tears. “Why do you look seventeen-or how I thought you’d look at seventeen? How come you don’t still look seven?”

His smile widens. “Camouflage. There’ll be times I need to be visible, and a seven-year-old following you around would look pretty stupid, don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

Luc clears his throat loudly. A goofy grin stretches my face as I pull Matt over to his bed. “So, Matt, this is Luc. Luc, Matt.”

Luc’s brow creases, then his eyes spring wide. “It was you. at the graduation party, with Belias.”

He looks at Luc without smiling. “That was my field test.”

“I assume you passed?”

Matt glares at him. “Of course.” He turns to me. “So, I won’t be around all the time,” his eyes narrow and shift to Luc briefly, “because there’s stuff you guys do that I really don’t want to see. But if you need me, I’ll be there.”

Luc holds out a hand to Matt. “We’re happy for the backup.”

He just looks at Luc’s hand, his expression bordering on repulsion.

All of a sudden, the joy I felt is gone. I look between them, trying to understand what just happened, as Luc drops his hand.

“Don’t try to be a hero, Lucifer,” Gabe says to break the awkward silence. He fixes Luc in a hard gaze. “If you need help, call for it.”

Luc glowers at him. “Yes, mother.”

He smiles. “Speaking of mothers, you have some visitors.”

And just then, there’s a knock at the door. Matt vanishes as it swings open, and it’s a good thing, because Mom and Dad are standing there, McDonald’s bag in hand.

“A godsend,” Luc mutters, then grimaces. “Hospital food is an acquired taste.”

I managed to weasel out of the church retreat that my family is at ’cause I’m still recovering from the “dog attack.”

Instead, I browse through my closet, deciding what I’m gonna need in LA, and glance at Luc, who is standing near my dresser. He’s been out of the hospital for a week and most of the bandages are off. A bloodred scar twists down his face from just below the outside corner of his right eye to the middle of his cheek. Dark and dangerous is now scarred and sexy. Mmm. yummy.

“Are you taking this?” he asks with a raised eyebrow, the strap of my black lace bra looped over his finger.

“Probably. I need something to get those UCLA guys all hot and bothered.”

His face darkens as he tucks it back into my drawer.

“Course, if you come with me, I won’t have time for any of those lightweights.” I try to seem casual as I saunter over and wrap myself around him, but I’m all kinds of tense.

His expression clears as he ties my hair back in a knot. “Where else would I be?”

I blow out a nervous sigh. “So, you’ll come to LA?”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me,” he says with his wicked grin.

I look around at my papered walls, and it hits me for the first time how much I’m gonna miss home. But what I also realize in this instant is that anyplace with Luc is home. “What are you gonna do when we get there?”

“Maybe take a class or two. get a job.” He shrugs. “Whatever.”

“With seven thousand years of job experience, you should be able to find something.”

He cracks a smile. “I don’t think there are too many openings in damning souls to Hell.”

I smile back. “It’s LA. You might be surprised.”

He laughs but then gets all serious and pulls me tighter. “I’m really not sure this is a great idea. It’s not over, you know. If King Lucifer let him live, Beherit will send someone else-or come back himself now that it’s personal.” He rubs his chin with his thumb. “You actually may have killed him, Frannie. From his reaction it looked like gold was his weakness. That dagger to his brimstone heart. hard to say.”

I’m not sure how I feel about that. I pull away and look up at Luc, trying to shake off the sudden wave of guilt. “So if that’s true, according to you, I’m tagged for Hell now for sure.”

His eyes flash, and he goes instantly pale. “What are you talking about?”

“If I killed him, I’m just like Tom. You said no extenuating circumstances. Straight to Hell for me. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”

Uncertainty clouds his eyes. “It was self-defense. And killing a demon is different,” he says, like he’s trying it out to see if it sounds right.

“Now you’re making exceptions? You’re such a hypocrite.”

His face hardens into a determined scowl. As if he can make it so through sheer force of will, he says, “You’re not tagged for Hell.”

When I don’t say anything, he turns toward the window, his face dark and brooding. He stares out at nothing and says, “This is my fault. I never should have come here.”

“They would have sent someone else-someone like Belias.”

He shakes his head slowly and turns back to look me in the eye. “He never would have found you.”

But Luc did. We’ve been connected from the beginning. I press into him and he folds me into his arms.

“I just want to keep you safe,” he whispers into my hair. “Gabriel and Matt can do that better than I can.”

“I feel safe right here,” I say, still burrowed into him.

“We can’t do this on our own, Frannie. We’re going to need Gabriel’s and Matt’s help. Especially if you insist on going to LA.”

I pull back and look at him. “Okay, so if going to LA isn’t a good idea, what do you suggest we do?”

“We should just take off. Find somewhere to hide.” That wicked sparkle is back in his eyes, and a hint of a smile curls his lips. “Maybe buy some deserted tropical island somewhere. just us, clothing optional.”

I laugh, kinda liking the sound of that. “I could live with that, but you’re the one who said they can find us anywhere.”

He looks hopeful. “That was before. Did you notice? Beherit didn’t know I was at Gabriel’s that night. I shouldn’t have been able to surprise him-and I had the hounds with me, so my Shield hid them too. With some help from Matt, this might just work.” He thinks for a second, then smiles. “And I suppose LA’s as good a place to get lost as any.”

I hope he’s right, but right now all I want to do is lose myself in him. I press tight into his body and bury my face in his chest. “I love you.”

“I know. That’s the only thing that saved me. You’re my redemption.” He leans down and kisses me.

I gaze into his perfect eyes and trace my finger lightly down the scar on his cheek. He closes his eyes and shudders, then sighs. I press closer into him, knowing what I want. “Do that thing again.”

He smiles and opens his eyes, but his brow creases. “I don’t think I can.”

I stretch up on my tiptoes, loop my arms around his neck, and pull him into a kiss. “Try,” I whisper into his lips, wanting to feel that close to him again.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and leans into me, kissing me deeply. After a minute he pulls back. “I can’t. My essence is human now-a soul. It can’t leave my body while I’m alive.” But he doesn’t look disappointed. He’s smiling.

My pulse quickens and I feel an electric tingle course through my body, waking every cell. “So. does this mean we can. ”

His eyes are deep, black pools as he stares down into mine, and I swear I can see his soul. Then they flash and he nods. He leans down to kiss me, and, as we sink into the sheets, into each other, I know this can’t be wrong.

Luc

I didn’t know it was possible to feel like this. I kiss her and feel my new flesh-and-blood heart expanding right out of my chest, filling me with indescribable bliss.

We can be together-really together.

Her hands start on the button of my jeans, and I wish for the ability to just magic our clothes away.

But that was my old life. No. not a life at all. Just an existence. I wrap my arms around Frannie and pull her closer. This is living.

I pull back and look at her, sure I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. She closes her eyes as I trace a finger along her eyebrow and down her nose, but just as my finger reaches her lips, her eyes snap open and her features twist in pain. “NO!” she gasps, bolting upright. I feel her terror just as if it was my own.

Her face is ashen as she rolls and vomits into the trash can next to the bed. She sits and hugs her knees to her chest. “Me. ” Her whisper is barely audible.

I pull myself up and sit next to her. “What is it? What did you see?”

“He’s coming,” she says, her voice strangled. Then she’s off the bed like a shot, pulling on her shirt.

“Who?” I say, struggling to keep up. I slide my feet onto the floor and button my jeans. “Who’s coming, Frannie?”

The room starts swirling, and then Gabriel is there, all human pretense gone. He hovers just off the floor in his flowing white robes, and I see Frannie’s terror mirrored in his eyes.

Matt appears next to him. “He’s coming.”

And then, like a wrecking ball, some unseen force hits Frannie, lifting her off the ground and throwing her hard into the wall. Matt dives for her, but he’s too late. She slides into a heap on the floor.

“Frannie!” My legs have me across the room and over her crumpled form in a flash, and when I pull her into my arms, I see the steam start to rise off her skin. She’s a thousand degrees. “Frannie!” I say again, shaking her. Then she opens her eyes and I understand.

They’re glowing red.

“Lucifer,” she says in a voice that’s hers but not, “who’s got the prize now?”

“No!” I hear my voice as if from a great distance as rage nearly rips me in half.

“Beherit!” Gabriel’s voice vibrates through me. “You can’t do this. You have no claim.”

“Oh, but I can. am, actually.” Frannie’s lips pull into a sinister grin. “I’ve got special orders from the king Himself. Anything goes.”

I hold Frannie and, as I look into those glowing eyes, I know the game is over. If King Lucifer wants her so much he’s willing to throw all the rules to the wind, I’m not sure even the Almighty could save her.

I can’t give up.

I look at the crucifix dangling from the chain around her neck. Gold. I yank it from her neck and raise it above her.

But Matt grabs my wrist. He glares at me and rips the crucifix out of my grasp. And he’s right. I can use it to drive Beherit out, but at what cost?

She starts to pull free of me, and I let her. But then, by instinct, I reach for her hand, holding it in a death grip. Frannie is still in there, and a desperate piece of me needs to stay connected. She pulls herself to her feet, seeming taller, and turns to look me in the eye.

“How quaint, Lucifer. But you two are well past the hand-holding stage, don’t you think?” She grabs my face and pulls me into a hard kiss. But it’s not Frannie, it’s Beherit, and I feel tendrils of his essence start to work their way through my lips.

As I pull back, she gasps loudly and her face screws tight as a strangled “no” works its way up from her depths. Gabriel sweeps her out of my arms and into his. He cradles her in one arm and draws a circle on her forehead with the index finger of the other as he whispers something I can’t make out.

Her eyes snap open, still glowing red, and her face pulls into a grimace. “Good luck with that, Gabriel.”

As asinine as it is, I find myself jealous that Gabriel can actually do something other than just stand here staring, and I have to fight the urge to rip her out of his arms.

“A fighter, this one,” she says in a strained voice distinctly not hers.

“Fight him, Frannie,” I say, reaching for her hand.

Her face twists with effort. “I want you out.” Her voice is little more than a whisper, but it’s hers. Her body writhes in Gabriel’s arms. He lowers her to the bed, and I pull her into my arms, sending her all my strength.

“That’s it, Frannie,” Gabriel says. “You have the power. Use it.”

The flood of hope overwhelms me. Sway. Frannie has Sway. If she fights-if she wants it enough.

“You don’t want to be in here.” Her voice is stronger, and when her eyes open, there’s only a glowing ring around the irises. “You don’t. want me,” she growls.

She continues to writhe with the internal struggle for control then suddenly goes still, as if one of them has given up the fight. I gaze into her eyes, panicked nearly to the point of insanity. “Frannie?”

Her eyes roll back for a moment, and a moan starts from deep inside her, growing in intensity. Her face becomes red and her eyes bulge. There’s a flash of red energy, and she jerks then goes limp.

Breathing back the panic, I cradle her to my chest. “Frannie? Can you hear me?” She finally looks up at me with clear blue eyes-still scared, but lucid.

“He’s gone,” she says with a weary smile. I take a few deep breaths to slow my hammering heart then lean down and kiss her.

Frannie

I squeeze Luc’s hand where he sits next to me as I lie on the bed.

“You did good. Your Sway is getting stronger,” he says.

I’m still shivering and my teeth chatter. “Why can I only remember a little of what happened?”

“You may only remember the parts when you were in control.”

“I feel like someone ran over me with a bus. Why didn’t it feel like this with you?”

“Well, I didn’t pick you up and throw you into the wall, for starters,” Luc says. He and Gabe exchange a look, and Luc shoots him a vindictive smile. “But I guess it’s different when you’ve invited the demon in.”

Matt drops into the desk chair and glares at Luc.

Gabe looks at me with a rueful smile. I shrug, not sure what to say, but then a shiver racks me again and I feel nauseous. Out of the blue the tears start, and I’m helpless to stop them. “I’m not going to have a life, am I?” I say between the sobs.

Luc pulls me tightly to him, but he doesn’t answer.

Gabe stands in my door and just stares at me. “Nobody knows the future, Frannie. Everything that happens changes everything else. But the deal is, you’re valuable to both sides. The chance that you’ll be able to get through this untagged is pretty much none. And once you’re tagged-either way-you can be manipulated. I’m obviously not all that objective, but if someone was going to be jerking me around, I’d rather it wasn’t Hell.”

My heart is so heavy. I know what needs to happen, what I need to do, but. “How do I forgive myself for the worst thing I’ve ever done? The worst thing anyone’s ever done?”

“Start by remembering what really happened.” Matt glides to the foot of the bed and sits. Luc untangles himself from me and moves to the door with Gabe, giving Matt and me some space. “I fell because I was trying to climb too fast. It was my fault.”

My throat tightens as I remember it. “No. I grabbed your ankle. I was mad, and I pulled you out of the tree.”

“Stop it. You’ve been beating yourself up for so long. It wasn’t your fault. You need to let it go.” He wraps me in his arms, and I sit like that for what feels like forever.

“I just wanted you back,” I finally say.

He smiles. “You have me.”

My heart feels so heavy. “Not really. You’re still dead.”

“You’re right. I don’t have the life I would have had if?I hadn’t fallen out of the tree, but that doesn’t make why I’m here any less important to me. And it doesn’t make my dying any more your fault.”

He looks at me for a long time, and I don’t know what to say. Finally he says, “Gabriel says you need to forgive yourself, or we can’t protect you.” A smile turns the corners of his lips. “You gotta do it, Frannie. I can’t blow my first gig because of an uncooperative client. It wouldn’t bode well for the rest of eternity.”

“I can’t-”

His smile is gone as he cuts me off. “He says you have to figure out why you can’t let go of the guilt.”

“Because. ” I fight tears as I pull his journal from under the mattress. I think of all my conversations with Matt in this book. All the things I told him so that he could have a little piece of me-my life. How I needed to keep him alive in my heart. “I needed it to keep from forgetting. I needed to hate myself ’cause the pain kept it fresh. It kept part of you alive.”

All of a sudden I’m sure I’m going to throw up. There’s something inside of me that my body needs to get rid of. “How do I do this? Let it go?”

“It’s okay to feel sad about it, but you have to let go of the guilt. It has to come from inside. You need to remember what really happened.”

I rest my forehead on my knees and close my eyes, waiting for the nausea to stop, but it only gets stronger as I relive the scene in my head. Matt climbing, his foot slipping. I screw my eyes tighter and groan as he falls. In my mind, I see my hand grab for him, but all I catch is his sneaker, and it comes off in my hand. I hear my scream as he hits the ground.

My eyes snap open, and I roll and dry heave over the trash can. Matt’s arms are around me, and he pulls me to his shoulder, where I sit and shake.

Finally, I lift my head and look at him, tears streaking my cheeks. “Why’d you have to fall?”

He shrugs.

I’m not surprised by how mad I feel, but I am surprised when I realize I’m mad at him. I push away. “You should have slowed down-been more careful.”

He nods. “But there was nothing you could do. It was an accident.”

I drop my face into my hands and breathe back the anger. When my shaking slows, I pick the journal up off the bed and press it to my forehead, then hold it out to him. “I did this for you. or more for me, I guess. All along, you’ve been the only person I could really talk to.”

He takes it from my hand and smiles. “I’ve been talking back. Did you hear me? Told you to stay away from him,” he says, glancing toward Luc.

My heart sinks. “Why do you hate Luc so much?”

“Why? You’re kidding, right? He almost got you killed, Frannie. He’s one of them.”

“He’s one of me,” I correct, my voice raised.

Luc and Gabe stop whispering and look at us. Luc steps forward, concern on his face. “He’s entitled to his opinion, and he’s got good reason to think the way he does. I did almost get you killed. more than once.”

“No. That would be me that almost got you killed,” I remind him.

Matt looks at Luc, his expression still sour. “I hate the thought of you anywhere near her, and if you hurt her-in any way-I’ll kill you myself.”

Luc nods, holding Matt’s eyes with his. “Duly noted.”

Luc turns and looks hard at Gabe, and I know he’s thinking the same thing as I am. Gabe said Matt was the best angel for this job, but I’m starting to wonder.

Matt softens his posture and leans his forehead into mine. His voice is low, meant just for me. “Frannie, I’m having a really hard time with this. Are you sure? About Luc, I mean? I just can’t make myself trust a demon, no matter what Gabriel says.”

“I’m sure, Matt. He loves me. Can’t you just read his mind? Then you’d see.”

“Sorry, I’m not high enough up the food chain for that particular skill. Dominions or higher.”

“Please, just give him a chance.”

His eyes harden again as he glances toward Luc, but then he pulls me into a hug, and I hear the smile in his voice. “You’re not gonna pull that Sway crap on me, are you?”

I smile into his shoulder. “That depends entirely on you.”

Luc

I watch Frannie with Matt as I stand in the door with Gabriel, and I know this is it. Talk to me outside, I think, and he nods and slips through the door with me into the hall.

“She’s ready,” I say.

“Yep.”

“Tell me you’ll take care of her. The look in Michael’s eyes. ” I shudder.

Gabriel leans into the wall. “We’ve got her backside, which is pretty nice.” He quirks a smile.

“Can you be serious for like two minutes?”

He scowls at me. “Fine. Stop stressing. The Almighty knows she’s special. And remember, Moses’s life didn’t suck. She’ll be fine. She’s not going anywhere.”

“But she’s not staying with me either. I just need to know she’ll be okay before I let her go.”

His eyes hold mine, and his jaw clenches as he contemplates that. “I’m not going to pretend that nothing’s going to change, but what happens from here is up to Frannie. You’re not a demon anymore. You’re human, with a clean soul and a completely clean slate. If Frannie still wants you,” he almost seems to choke on the words, “then there’s no reason you can’t be together.”

And that’s the key: if she still wants me. She’ll belong to Heaven. To Gabriel. Will she still want me after? Her life will outgrow me-the tagalong, used-to-be demon. It won’t be long before she doesn’t need me or want me. I crack open the door and gaze at her. She looks so tired, but she also looks at peace, and I know it’s time.

Gabriel pushes through the door, and I walk behind him, stopping just inside. But then Frannie holds her hand out to me, and I stride to her side, needing to feel her touch.

“You’re ready,” I tell her, and she nods her affirmation. “Good,” I say to myself. “This is good,” I repeat a little louder-for her. Then I kiss her quickly and stand.

I turn to Gabriel. “Okay,” I say, giving him the signal.

He smirks. “Okay, what?”

“Tag her. She’s ready.”

“It was done before we walked back into the room. What’d you think, we have some big “Pomp and Circumstance” thing?”

I glower at him. “You’re such an asshole. I thought maybe you’d give her a heads-up, that’s all.”

“If she’s ready, why does she need a heads-up?”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” she says, glowering up at us.

“Should I have given you a heads-up, Frannie?” Gabriel teases.

Frannie grins. “No, but maybe Luc would have liked one.”

I start and stare down at her. “What are you talking about?”

Frannie’s eyes are brighter than I’ve ever seen them. “Tag-you’re it!”

I look at Gabriel, stunned. “You’re joking.”

He smiles and shrugs. “It was one of Frannie’s conditions. Plus, you’ve impressed the right deity, though Michael was less than thrilled.”

I try to digest what Gabriel is saying. “I’m tagged. for Heaven. ” I say, trying it on.

“Could you at least pretend to be happy about it? Otherwise, I may have to take it back.”

I feel the grin spread across my face as Frannie reaches up for my hand. I grab it and sit down hard in the desk chair next to the bed. “Holy shit.”

Matt cracks a dubious smile. “You can say that again. A demon tagged for Heaven. ” He shakes his head.

“So, what’s going to happen?” Frannie asks. “I mean with my life. college and all. ” her gaze shifts for an instant to me then back to Gabe, “. you guys.”

Gabriel sits next to her on the bed and grasps her other hand, visibly struggling with what to say. But his eyes say what he can’t. I see it, clear as day, even if she doesn’t. He’d give up his wings for her. All she’d have to do is ask.

His eyes drop from hers, but his hand grasps tighter. “What happens from here is up to you.”