"That's enough, Jezebeth." The red haired woman was stood under a moon gate made of marble, sequestered in a museum basement away from the general public. She was whispering under her breath, speaking poisoned incantations to the gate. Jia could see the pure white magic inside it becoming sickly grey, darkening almost to black as Jezebeth's hold on it solidified.
"I told you to stop." This time was different to her last encounter with ley line travel. Jia found she was able to communicate, her soul manifesting in its true form right in front of Jezebeth's face.
Those green eyes flew open and a startled snarl ripped from her red lips. Jia smiled and waved at her, taking several steps towards her. Jezebeth shrank back but didn't let go of the gate.
"How are you here? What are you?" she demanded, her voice bursting out of her in a shocked hiss.
"I'm here to stop you. Let go of the gate."
"I don't think so."
"This is your final warning, Jezebeth. Let go of the gate or I will make you. You remember what happened last time right?"
"That was you?" The demon woman gritted her teeth in frustration and removed one hand from the gate, snapping her palm to send a wave of shadow at Jia.
It struck her and passed right through, hurting her but not throwing her back like she expected it to. She gasped at the sensation before returning the gesture, feeling the ley lines swell behind her and fill her with energy.
Instead of shadows, light burst from her palm and slammed into Jezebeth like a freight train, throwing her off her feet and out of the gate where she landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. The gate itself returned to normal, it's steady thrum resuming as though it were never harmed.
"Tell me why you're corrupting the gates," Jia demanded, stalking over to Jezebeth's battered form and crouching down.
"Never," the demon hissed. Jia moved to grab her but it was too late, and the demon was swallowed by a shadow portal that closed behind her an instant later. She cursed loudly before returning to the gate, checking once more that it was functioning normally.
When she was satisfied, she allowed herself to be pulled back along the ley lines until her soul returned to her physical body abruptly enough to leave her dizzy.
"Jia! I told you to wait!" Lucifer scolded when she staggered, catching her in his strong arms before she could fall.
"Sorry," she replied with a wan smile. "I couldn't wait. Jezebeth was corrupting one of the gates."
"What happened to her?"
"She got away again. She took a shadow portal somewhere before I could grab her." Jia pushed away from him gently so she could stand, pleased when her knees didn't buckle. "I saw God again."
"You what?" Lanthia gasped.
"I saw God. They asked me to protect all of the gates. They called me Nephilim." Lucifer's dark brows crept upwards as he studied her.
"And you're doing that now, then? Monitoring all of the gates at once?" She nodded. "Is that why your true form is exposed?"
"I think so." She pulled her wings in, feeling her chest get full and her connection to the gates dampen drastically. "Huh. I can't monitor them and maintain my human skin at the same time."
"If God has asked you to do this then you must," Lanthia warned. Jia nodded and let her wings out again.
"Looks like you'll be stuck with your wings for a while then," Lucifer mused. "I'm just glad you're safe." He pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment before pulling back to kiss her softly.
YOU ARE READING
Of Light And Shadows
Paranormal(UNEDITED- TITLE CHANGED FROM MORNINGSTAR) Jia's first memory was of someone who was once an Angel. He had eyes the colour of blood and hair as black as sin. All the stories from her world said he was formidable, that he could be ruthless and his po...
