Father Francis looked up from the pages. His eyes were unfocused as he slipped deeper into thought. “There is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text called the Fourth Esdras. The archangel Uriel describes many things about the end of days.”

Jared frowned. “I know what you’re about to say, and I know Uriel. Gabriel is the loudest adversary of Hybrids. Uriel is the second.”

“Nevertheless, his prophecy has some merit. He says—”

Jared cut him off. “Father….”

My curiosity and sense of self-preservation outweighed everything else. “Tell me, Father. I want to know.”

Jared sighed, and the priest continued, “He specifically mentions pregnant women in the Fourth Esdras. He says ‘Pregnant women will give birth to monsters.’”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Uriel thinks I’m a monster.”

I hesitated. “What…what kind of monsters?”

The priest glanced at Jared, and then back at me. “He makes many prophecies similar to Revelations. He refers to this as ‘The Beginning of Sorrows’. Jesus also states, ‘Woe to those who are pregnant or nursing babies in those days.’”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Jared said.

“You need to listen,” I said. “Maybe you’re unable to figure this out because you refuse to hear the truth. Maybe this is out of our hands.”

Jared’s brows pulled in. “Those prophecies state an abundance of Hybrid births. If something like that were happening, we would hear about it. Besides, Bean isn’t a Hybrid.”

Father Francis pushed up his glasses, clearly intrigued. “You know this for a fact?”

“Yes. The only child capable of this kind of reaction from Hell, a child capable of disturbing the Balance, will be more than a Hybrid.”

“Your child isn’t human?”

I wrapped my arms around my stomach, cradling Bean protectively. “You make the baby sound like an abomination.”

“Isn’t it?” Father Francis said.

Jared stood. “No. It’s a child. Our child.” He took my hand and I stood with him.

“Forgive me,” Father Francis said. He stood before us. “I didn’t mean to offend you. We are in strange times—frightening times. I let panic get in the way of my thoughts. I just don’t see how it’s possible.”

“Nina is a descendant of the Nephilim,” Jared said, matter-of-factly.

The priest was confused. “But, this is what you are. Nephilim are children of angels, born of human women.”

Jared shook his head. “I am the son of an Arch. The Nephilim bred the likes of Goliath. Giants not meant to blend in. These angels roamed the earth. They had…rebelled.”

The priest’s eyes grew wide, and I felt mine mirror his. I gripped Jared’s shirt. “What are you saying? That I’m a descendant of demons?”

“That’s not what I said. We’re talking thousands of years ago, Nina. Many things were different back then.”

“Rebellious angels were cast out, Jared.”