Part XXI: Revelation


John leaned over so his nose was inches from Midnite's, "What the fuck was that."


Jade sat stoically on the couch, staring out the window. Chas glanced over at her every couple of seconds as he flipped pancakes on the stove. It was nearly noon and Jade hadn't spoken a word to him since she'd awoken around five am screaming. Her cat nuzzled its black head against her arm, but Jade ignored it, and the miffed Isis hopped off the couch and into a corner to find something more interesting than her catatonic owner. Chas poured himself a cup of orange juice and sat stiffly on the couch next to Jade, placing the cup and a plate of pancakes on the dusty coffee table. Without a glance in her direction, he picked up a newspaper and disappeared behind it.

Several uncomfortable minutes later, Jade cleared her throat.

"There are three of them."

The paper lowered just enough that she could see the curly mop of Chas's head, "Huh."

"Of the amulets, there are three. And they're connected."


"Psychically connected."

The paper lowered more—now she could see his brown eyes as well.

"I need your help."


Midnite stared evenly back at John, "She is right. The prophecy is in effect."

Angela shifted, her reflexes restless.

"But we have nothing to worry about."

"That's correct, John. Because as long as she is here, Lucifer cannot touch you. You are cleansed. And he cleansed you."

Angela raised one eyebrow, "In my experience, Adila is right. The devil does not play by the rules, Midnite."

"Of course, Angela, he hedges around them. But all must play by certain rules. And blood is one of those. There are escapes to prophecies, but they always result in one of pure bloodline to that of the chosen. In this case, Jade Constantine is that bloodline."

"So Jade is in danger." John muttered, unable to decide how much he cared about that fact.

"Jade is your protection." Midnite replied calmly.


Chas sighed, "How am I supposed to help you? I don't know anything about these amulets." He kept his face passive, but Jade could see the twinkle of curiosity in his chocolate brown eyes. She knew she'd hooked him into it.

"Earlier…" Jade paused, and Chas lowered his newspaper, "I think I was linked to the third wearer of the amulet. Not Angela—she has the second one—but someone else. They were…thinking, I guess, about something…some prophecy…something happens at midnight?"

Chas leaned forward, intrigued and unable to hide it, "What did they sound like? I mean, could you tell the gender? Were they upset? Calm? In trouble?" He hastily reached for a pen and started scribbling to find ink on the edge of the newspaper.

"I…I don't know what gender…but they were…in pain." Jade closed her eyes, trying to recreate the sensation of being pulled from one plane to the other. Color swirled in her mind, faster and faster, until she felt like she was going to be sick. Shaking her head, she opened her dark eyes.

She was met by the sting of wild wind, and her dark hair flew wildly about her face. Pushing it hastily behind her ears, she took in the rusty plains of what she had now come to know as Hell. She wrapped her arms around her, protecting against the wind, sulfuric heat, and empty cold.

"CHAS!" She screamed, disoriented, as it turned into a whimper, "Chas, where are you?"


John and Angela exited Midnite's into a rainy dusk. John pulled his coat closer to his body, and turned to Angela who was looking up as a rain drop fell on her eyelash.

Angela blinked and looked down to see the road swirling with orange dust and crimson blood droplets. It was raining in Hell.

Almost as soon as she had entered, she was pulled back roughly by John's hand on her shoulder. Her long lashes blinked up at him as she saw a particular dawning tumble through his brown eyes. His eyes widened slightly at whatever he'd just calculated, and he grabbed her hand nearly dragging her to the car.

"What, John, what is it?" Angela asked breathlessly, but John just waved off her inquiries.

"Jade…" He muttered, as he swerved in and out of traffic on the highway.

Angela gripped the armrest, "John, you've got to slow down!"

He turned to her, his eyes narrowed, "Angela, I can—"


In the split second Jade closed her eyes, she opened them screaming his name. Chas reached for her, but she fought his hands, hysterical.

"Jade!" Chas yelled, securing her hands at her sides, "Jade, it's me! It's okay!"

Jade's brown eyes finally focused on the angel in front of her. She took a deep breath and threw herself into his arms. Chas wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into his lap.

"Why…why does this keep happening to me?" Jade whispered into Chas's chest, pushing herself slightly away from him. She looked up into his eyes, and he gulped audibly.

"Uhh…" Chas articulated, focusing stoically on a point far over her right shoulder. Jade tilted her head and looked at him, but he continued to move his gaze around the room—everywhere but directly at her.

Jade gathered her hair and flipped it over her shoulder, resting one hand on the back of Chas's neck.

Chas looked distinctly uncomfortable, and he started stuttering again, "Uhh…J-John's probably on his way b-back, now, and…"

Jade quirked an eyebrow at his nervousness, "All you ever think about is John, Chas."

Chas avoided her gaze, "N-no, I just think that he's p-probably—"


Angela looked up just in time to see the Ford F-150 crumple into the little Honda.


Chas looked up just in time to see Jade wet her lips and lean into him.


What? Chas and Jade? Who would've thought…hehehe.

Thanks so much for keeping up with this story…So sorry my updates are rather erratic. It's almost over, though! How exciting. Haha, anyway, I have some big projects that I'm actually working on for…oh yeah, that whole college thing. For the people who care, I'm a dramatic writing major at New York University—which means two things. First, I should be writing like I'm in one of the best art schools in the country, and second, that the Tisch school of the Arts is sucking my creative genius out of my soul (along with my money). So…um…yeah, give me a little bit of a break, I guess, but not too much of one. Anyway, special thanks to those of you who reviewed since my last chapter: morph, Ithilwen6, Issay, Evelyn Valerious, Cali, Osage, JimmyNoName, Karaoke Risa, angie232, rickid, Karigan Marie, Believer29, Drodjan, Matthew D Curry, Kim, moppl, and avaleighfitzgerald.


lil jake (I'm a girl, by the way.)