With three weeks until the release of LAST RITE, I decided this may be the time to give you a few sneak peeks. I know there are a lot of Luc lovers out there, but I've heard for two books now that y'all want Gabe's POV. Well, guess what? You're finally going to get it. Most of you know Gabe as my tormented angel. He's the most conflicted character in the Personal Demons trilogy.
Here it the first look we get into Gabe's head in LAST RITE. There is very little spoilage, but if you don't want to risk it, scroll to the end for this week's LAST RITE contest =)
Gabe
I can’t believe I’m thinking this.
How can I consider putting her in danger—directly into His path? This isn’t a plan. It’s insanity.
But it’s all I got.
I pull myself to my feet and watch Frannie disappear behind her door. I don’t know how long we have. A few months, or maybe just weeks. Whatever it is, it’s not long enough. I won’t be able to hide her forever, so something needs to change.
Luc is staring at me, waiting for me to come clean. He’s not going to let this drop. And he shouldn’t.
I should tell them. I know that. Eventually, I’ll have to.
Ha. Eventually.
Who am I kidding? Eventually is now. Because time’s up.
But I keep praying for something different; a safer plan for Frannie. So far my prayers have gone unanswered—and I’m afraid I know why.
I head for the door and Luc cuts me a parting glare. Once on the porch I look out over the predictable tides. They’ve ebbed and flowed for eons, just as good and evil have ebbed and flowed. But the balance is shifting. Lucifer has decided the Rules don’t apply anymore. And Frannie is our best weapon to shift it back.
I’ve always known Frannie was special, but I’m starting to think it’s bigger than her Sway. There’s a subtle power that radiates off her. I sensed it in the beginning, and, despite her insecurity and doubt, it gets stronger every day. I can’t identify it—it’s nothing I’ve never felt before—and I’m afraid of what it means for her. But despite my feelings for her, she’s a soldier and this is a battleground.
I walk out onto the beach and settle into the sand. Its warmth radiates through me as I lie back, closing my eyes. I let the tension run out of me and wash myself in peace, then give myself up to the last crimson rays of Light. There’s a painful tug in my gut as I move with them, nothing more than light myself, and, when I open my eyes, I find myself standing in the Collective. All around me is a whole lot of nothing. White energy. Except, floating in the center of all that nothing is the Board.
The Board is really a misnomer. It’s not a board at all. It’s a sphere. The Earth. It’s ethereal, like a floating cloud, and, at the moment, relatively small—about four feet in diameter. I glance up at the mass of twinkling blue lights dancing over the surface of the Board like fireflies. Humanity. The white lights of the celestial move among them, but it’s the red ones I’m interested in. I step back and ask the Board to size up for better detail.
Instantly, it’s easily a half mile across.
“Gabriel,” a voice says.
Without turning, I spin the Board and take several minutes to peruse it, stopping at the Florida Keys. No red lights within at least a mile of the bungalow. I’m sure the infernal are looking, but they haven’t found her yet. Frannie’s safe for now.
“Thanks for your help at the airstrip,” I finally say.
Celine paces to my side as I reach forward and touch the blue light that represents Frannie.
“You’re welcome,” she says with a crisp nod, her copper curls bouncing with the gesture. “You wanted to know when Marchosias had been located.”
My eyes slide from the Board to Celine. She folds her wings behind her slender frame and points a long finger at a flashing red light just north of Boston.
I rotate the Board and scan the area for white lights. “Who do we have on Frannie’s family?”
She cringes. “You didn’t leave orders…”
Because I was hoping that our leaving would draw them away. “Who’s available?”
Celine sweeps her hand over the Board and a series of white lights flicker, each representing a guardian available to take on a new charge. “Not many. Lucifer’s crews are marauding and there’s more instances of coercion.” Her expression is a mix of sadness and rage as she turns her eyes on me. “He’s cheating, Gabriel, sending them into synagogues, churches, and mosques. He’s actively seeking out innocents and the faithful, influencing them to sin.” She runs a finger over the Board. “We’re bringing new guardians on line everyday, accelerating the training program to try and cover the growing need, but we don’t have enough guardians to protect all of humanity.”
The sense of dread that’s been growing steadily in my gut settles deeper and takes root.
It’s starting.
The Almighty has overlooked Lucifer’s contravening of boundaries for too long and now things are starting to spiral out of control.
Frannie.
I can’t help thinking this escalation has something to do with her. Her power is growing, and so is Lucifer’s brazenness—and His disregard for the Rules.
I look back at my options on the Board. “We’ll send Aaron to Haden. Let him get a feel for the situation.”
Celine’s brows lift in surprise. “Aaron?” she says cautiously. “You’re sure?”
As much as I understand her apprehension, he’s the obvious choice. His last charge—a nun bound for sainthood—just died of natural causes at the ripe age of 104, despite Lucifer’s early and numerous attempts to corrupt her. “He’s my oldest and most experienced,” I say, wincing at the memory of what happened when I sent someone younger and greener.
Celine's head jerks in a sharp nod. “Done.”
I spin away from the Board as Aaron fades in next to me. He leans his broad frame nonchalantly into a rail that solidifies next to him and quirks a cocky half smile, which brings out his deep dimple on that side. “You rang?” he says with a lift of one platinum brow.
“I need you for a job.” My eyes shift between him and Celine and I wonder, briefly, if I’m making the right call. “Do you think you can stay out of trouble?”
“O ye of little faith,” he says, picking at his perfect teeth with a perfect fingernail.
I sit back into a white executive chair that materializes under me. “This is serious, Aaron. I need you on your best behavior.”
He stops picking at his teeth and cuts me a look. “If you don’t think I can handle it, why did you call me?”
I hold his gaze. “Because I need someone with your experience.”
His mouth twitches into a sardonic smile. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me, then, oh mighty one.” He bows with a flourish.
I pinch my forehead against the sudden sharp pain there.
A headache? What next?
“Don’t make this personal,” I say through gritted teeth.
His expression twists into something hard. “You’re the one who made this personal when you—”
Celine steps between us, a hand on Aaron’s chest. “He’ll be fine,” she says, her voice low but potent.
Aaron bites back his comment and turns to the Board. “What’s the assignment?”
I haul myself out of the chair, which disappears the instant I push away from it, lift my hand and tap my finger on the Board over Haden. “Help Daniel with whatever he needs.”
He glares at the Board for a moment. “Daniel? You’re not serious,” he sneers. “I’m supposed to take orders from a Grigori? He’s fallen, Gabriel,” he adds, folding his arms defiantly across his chest.
Again, I second-guess myself. I’m within a hair’s breadth of telling him to forget the whole thing when Celine speaks. “That’s her family, Aaron. What’s wrong? Too big of a job?”
Aaron spins and cuts a glare at me before turning to the Board. “So what is it that I’m supposed to do, exactly?”
“What you do best,” I reply.
He puffs out his chest. “I am the best, though no one around here seems to remember that little factoid.”
It’s useless to point out that being older does not automatically make him better. It’s been a bone of contention since my creation. But the fact is, his real beef is with the archangel Gabriel—not me.
After the War in Heaven, Lucifer fell and started creating His army. Gabriel determined he could no longer serve as the sole protector of all humanity and asked the Almighty for an army of guardians. Aaron was one of the first trained and one of Gabriel’s favorites. Shortly after, when it was decided that Gabriel would delegate control of the guardians to another, Aaron believed he was the obvious choice. So when Gabriel asked the Almighty to create a Dominion to serve as his Left Hand—one more powerful than the guardians who could watch over them—Aaron was furious.
And still is.
He resents me for being what he couldn’t, but he’s smart enough not to take out his frustration on Gabriel. He believes he was slighted, and for the six thousand years since my creation, he’s never let me forget it.
As Aaron smirks and fades out, and his white light pops onto the Board near Frannie’s house, I have to remind myself that he is, in fact, one of the very best.
I follow the Light back to the beach, where I sit and stare out over the waves, red in the glow of the setting sun. I pull myself out of the sand, praying I’m making the right call. If there was a way I could just hide Frannie away forever, I would. But they’re going to find us. With all of Hell looking, it’s just a matter of time.
So, there you have it: your first look into Gabe and Heaven. And now for this week's contest. I have a few more fabulous signed books to give away, and then the prizes get BIGGER! (Think NOOK. :p) So, this weeks grand prize winner will receive signed copies of both of these:
A runner up will receive a signed copy of ORIGINAL SIN. =)
