Sinful Obsession

34. 34 – Ewan

34 – Ewan

W aking up to an empty bed didn’t terrify me at first until I realized that Vienna—Lilith—wasn’t with the others either. We hurried to the cafeteria, hoping that she had found her way there before us but her absence feels like a kick to the gut.

Even as we assume our table toward the back, each of us ignoring the lifeless, gray food on our trays, we can’t help but wonder where she disappeared to her. The new signature of power from her is thick and strong but distant. It’s pulsing through me, powering the portal. I can only imagine that she probably followed the energy and one of the angels stopped her.

"She’s somewhere in the building," I say under my breath, my voice just loud enough for the others to hear. My hands are clenched into fists beneath the table, my plate untouched. “We just have to figure out where.”

“She’s locked up tight,” Vito whispers. “And Michael’s not stupid. He’ll have her somewhere close, where he can keep an eye on her.”

Nevan shifts in his seat, his sharp eyes scanning the room. “What do we do if they’re right?” he asks, his voice low but tinged with unease. “If Vienna’s body can’t handle it? She’s human.”

“She’s not just human anymore,” Kaua growls, his voice a quiet rumble. “She’s Lilith. Death officially took her soul. We would have felt an energy shift if her physical body couldn’t contain that kind of darkness.”

“Means jack if we can’t get to her,” Vito mutters, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. “But I’ll find out where she is. That’s step one.”

Before I can respond, a ripple of energy crawls through the air. We all stiffen as the three angels walk into the cafeteria. Michael leads the way, his presence suffocating as always, with Raphael and Gabriel flanking him like guard dogs. The room falls silent as their cold gazes sweep over us. When he heads toward us, I brace myself for the worst news.

“It’s over,” Michael says. “You’re wasting your time. Vienna’s body is human, and she won’t last. She can’t handle what’s inside her. With her physical body protected, there will be no damage to the rest of Briarwood when things inevitably go south.”

There’s never been a human version of Lilith but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

“She’s stronger than you think,” Kaua growls, his voice low enough that only we can hear.

Michael doesn’t respond, but the faint smirk on his face is enough to make my blood boil. The angels leave in unison, a practiced routine that’s both haunting and agitating. Vito leans forward, addressing the three of us. “We don’t have time to sit around. They think they’ve already won. We have to prove them wrong.”

As if summoned by our desperation, Asmodeus’ voice echoes in my mind, dark and rich like the shadows he commands. “The cracks in the portal are giving you what you need,” he says. “You’re growing stronger. Use it.”

I glance at the others, and by their expressions, I know they’ve heard him too. I can’t imagine living with a voice like that in my head but all the more power to Vienna for staying sane until Lilith appeared.

“I’ll get the information,” Vito smirks, leaning back as he surveys the cafeteria. “Watch me.” It sounds like a challenge, a game that only he’s playing and I’m all for it.

Moments later, Vito is up, casually approaching one of the orderlies standing by the wall. His voice drops to a whisper, a conversation between only the two of them. I don’t need to hear the words to know Vito’s weaving his magic, planting the suggestion, bending the man’s will like a branch in the wind.

Nevan chuckles from his seat across from me. “If Vito gets the location, I’ll handle the orderlies. Starve them of their emotions. Make them hollow.”

“And I’ll handle the crowd,” Kaua says, a dark grin tugging at his lips. “All it takes is a spark.”

I nod, my chest tightening. “I’ll slip away once it starts. I just need enough time to get to her.”

The plan forms quickly, our whispers blending with the drone of the cafeteria. Vito returns to the table, his grin triumphant.

“She’s in a room beside Michael’s office,” he offers. “Close enough to keep an eye on her, but not where they think anyone would look.”

This plan is stupid, dangerously so but with the portal so close to bursting up, we have to try everything we can to retrieve her. Even if that means attempting this god-awful plan.

“Let’s move,” Kaua says, cracking his knuckles.

The next few minutes pass in a blur. Kaua’s distraction begins as a subtle shift in the air, a ripple of tension that spreads like wildfire. Voices rise, sharp and angry, the cafeteria soon erupting into chaos. Patients are shouting, fists flying, chairs scraping against the floor. The orderlies rush to contain the brawl, their focus entirely on the riot.

Nevan steps forward, easily, draining the orderlies of their emotions. He reaches forward, pulling on imaginary strings as if orchestrating a chorus of darkness. Their movements slow, their expressions blank, and the chaos spirals out of control as the orderlies lose their grip on the situation.

And now, it’s my turn.

I slip through the commotion, keeping my head down as I move through the chaos. My heart pounds in my chest, every step taking me closer to Vienna. Her energy thickens as I head down the hallways, memorized pathways leading me to the offices we’ve done our best to avoid over the years.

Asmodeus’ voice echoes faintly in my mind, urging me forward, directing me.

When I reach the corridor near Michael’s office, I slow down, facing the long hallway of solitary rooms. I’ve spent my share of time behind each one of those doors, the doctors and orderlies trying to beat the idea of Death out of me. It makes sense now that they were never actually trying to make me believe I wasn’t Death, but rather to ruin my resolve to the point that I was nothing more than a shell of the horseman I’m supposed to be.

“Is she here?” I whisper, hoping that Lilith’s demon will respond.

There’s no answer but I didn’t expect there to be. In the delicate balance of life, there are things we all have to experience so that the apocalypse truly happens. I don’t remember my past lives like Lilith and Asmodeus does so I don’t understand this experience.

Or the test either one of them has put before me.

So, I move forward, testing the first door. It opens, a squeal piercing the silence as it swings open. This close to Michael’s office, I’m bound to get caught but there’s no other way. Yelling into the hallway will alert them of my position but I’m sure someone is already headed this way. Death isn’t exactly a subtle presence.