Chapter Three

I stepped out of the Aether and into Araboths tracing temple. Araboth as in the Seventh Heaven and the Seat of Heavenly Power. A.K.A. the J-mans home base.

And yes, the top tier of the Heavens had a temple for arrivals. I wish I could say it was unusual, but a lot of gods had temples as tracing chambers, even in individual territories. They didnt clean them with bleach, however.

“Ugh!” I cried and ran out of the stone building, holding a hand over my nose.

Trevor raced out behind me, but even after we made it outside, the burning sensation lingered. There was more. I ran until I could take a breath without my nose paying the price. At last, Trevor and I came to a stop and took several deep breaths of fresh air.

“Son of a sock puppet!” Trevor snarled.

“Whats going on? Are you two all right?” Abaddon asked as Jesus, Az, and he caught up to us.

“Bleach,” Trevor blew air out of his nose to try to clear it, but the damage was done.

“Strawberry milkshake!” Azrael cursed.

Abaddon looked from Trevor to Az. “Bleach? Strawberry milkshake?”

“Theyve amended their cursing for the little ones,” Jesus explained, even as he scowled. “Im so sorry. I didnt notice the smell.”

“Its not your fault. Its too faint for me to notice too,” Az said. “Unfortunately, their sensitive noses will be out of commission for a while.”

“All because of bleach?” Abaddon asked.

“Yes.” I rubbed at my nose. “We could ask Kirill to come over, but if this person bleached the tracing temple, Im betting they covered their entire trail with it.”

“I say we give our noses time to recover and meet with the God Squad in the morning,” Trevor said. “Then we can come back and investigate with their help.”

“Im sorry, Brother,” Azrael said. “But I think theyre right. That would be best.”

“Its all good,” Jesus said. “I didnt expect you to solve the mystery tonight. And its not as if theyre doing anything violent. My people are safe, and thats whats important.”

“Why dont you come by Pride Palace in the morning?” Trevor suggested. “You can join the meeting.”

“Thanks. I will.” Jesus looked at Abaddon.

“I have to meet with some of the teachers tomorrow morning,” Abaddon said.

“No biggie.” Jesus slapped Abaddons shoulder. “I can tell them about the library.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Aw, man. What did I say about that?”

Abaddon grimaced. “I am not calling you J-man.” With that, Abaddon pulled in his wings—out on full display now that we were in the God Realm, turned on his heels, and headed for the tracing temple.

Jesus snickered.

“You havent really been telling the Angels to call you J-man, have you?” Azrael asked.

“I like to keep things casual.” He shrugged. “Im the same guy they all knew before. Its not a big deal though. I dont usually insist on it,” Jesus said, still watching Abaddon walk away. “But thats a guy who needs more laughter in his life.” His expression softened as he transferred his stare to his brother. “Im trying to help him move on.”

“Hes going to be fine, Brother,” Az said. “Hes free now. The Abyss is gone and so is Jehovah.”

“But he still blames himself for killing his charges.”

“Still?” I asked. “That was a long time ago.”

“Would you get over it?” Jesus turned his gentle stare on me. “They were monsters, but they were his monsters.”

My whole body shivered with kinship and sadness. If anyone could understand loving monsters, it was me. “Dont call them that,” I whispered. “They were as they were made.”

Jesus nodded in complete understanding. “Yes. Perfect. Perhaps not in Jehovahs eyes, but in mine, they were.”

I nodded and watched Abaddon enter the tracing temple. “In his as well.”

“Yes. And so, I gave him work to focus on and, when I can, I try to lift his spirits.”

Impulsively, I hugged my brother-in-law. “I love you. Youre a good guy to think of others when youre so stressed.”

“I love you too, Sis.” Jesus kissed my forehead, and I felt a shimmer of his Comfort Magic wash over me. He just couldnt help it. He gave of himself constantly.

And I was going to give something back.

“Well find whoever is doing this,” I promised as I stepped back. Then I grimaced at the temple. “But first, we have to get through that.”

“Take a deep breath,” Trevor said.

“And run,” I added.