He smiled. “And what will you do?” he said, looking over to Kim’s lifeless body. In one blurry moment she was in his arms. He cradled her, looking almost paternal as he brushed her cheek with his blackened fingers. He scanned her face with a somber expression, and then leaned down to smell her hair. “She had a heartbeat not an hour ago. Dreams. Aspirations. And now,” he said, tossing her limp body across the room with one hand, “nothing.”

I closed my eyes, unwilling to let fear rob me of rational thinking. Before I was a mother, I might have run from the room, but I had carried her inside of me for the better part of year, and I had survived Hell before. Something inside of me whispered that my child was safe in my arms. I would have faith in what Eli had told me, and I would stand my ground. Nothing was stronger than a mother’s love for her child…not even Satan.

Claire dropped to the floor, and Ryan rushed over to her. Jared attempted to get to his feet, but instead resorted to crawling toward me. Jared made his way to his family, and then slowly stood on his knees, weaving with exhaustion. Once again, he was all that stood between us and death.

Satan took Jared’s throat in his hand and lifted him off the ground. Jared gripped the man’s arm with both hands as his feet dangled above the floor. Moving his arm to the side, Satan held Jared in the best position to watch the end.

Long, blackened fingers reached for the child. Without thinking, I pulled her to the other side of my body, and with my free hand, gripped the Devil’s wrist. It was cold and thin. My skin blazed against it.

“Don’t. Touch. Her,” I breathed.

He frowned, noticeably confused. He tried to advance his hand to my child, but he was unable to move.

“That’s far enough, Lucifer,” Samuel said. As usual, he had blinked into our plane without detection, but time Eli was with him.

“What is this?” Lucifer said, struggling to reach the child. He was clearly straining, but he was powerless in my grasp.

Eli smiled. “Daddy says no.”

Lucifer wrenched his hand back, his eyes wild with anger. “He’s allowing this…this human to defy me?” he howled, dropping Jared to the ground. “Do you know what this means?”

“War?” Samuel grinned. “Too late.”

Satan began to speak, but Eli held up his hand. “Enough, Lucifer. It’s over. He has chosen to spare the child.”

Lucifer charged at us, he arms extended, his fingers curled, preparing to kill the baby angel in my arms. Just before he reached us, he was blown back and held against the wall. Large, long fingers curled around his neck. Lucifer’s eyes widened. The Prince of Darkness was afraid.

“Gabriel?” Lucifer said, surprised.