34. Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lexia

"How in all the realms are we supposed to get into heaven?" Slate asks.

I shake my head as I pace the living room.

Hades said Persephone was hiding in heaven. Or, well, I guess she's being imprisoned there. We have to go get her and return her to him. Then he will give us the location of the well of magic we need. All in all, it seems pretty simple. But I'm not so na?ve to think it will be. Nothing has been simple so far. Every time we get information, we run into some sort of roadblock.

"And how will we know where to go once we are there?" Lumen adds, which isn't helping the situation.

I'm the last person to know the answers to any of this, as I've only just discovered that these things exist. Yet, they're asking me all these questions as if I should. Spoiler alert: I don't. Not even close. I've already told them everything Hades said, and in no way did he say how we are to get into heaven, and honestly… I didn't think to ask.

"Will anything ever be easy?" I shout, clenching my fists as I move faster.

Lumen grabs my hand and tugs me to his lap. I'm nearly vibrating with anger, but his warm body feels nice.

"Everything will be easy once this is over. You will get the simple life you want."

I shake my head against his chest because I'm not so sure about that.

"I have a thought," Vesperon says carefully.

"What?" I mumble, my voice muffled by Lumen's shirt.

"Well, humans have a way of speaking to people in heaven, do they not?"

I lift my head, my expression no doubt confused.

"What?" I snap, hating how harsh the word came out.

"Humans speak with heaven all the time," he adds.

"When do we do that?" I ask, not sure if he hasn't lost his mind.

"Church," Slate says. "You go to church."

"I'm not sure we speak to heaven that way," I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Plenty of people feel that they do," Slate says. "They go there to feel closer to God and the ones they love that they believe are in heaven. Not only church, but to gravesites. You do a lot of things to feel close to pieces of heaven. It's a start."

I stare between him and Ves, unable to believe they're agreeing on something, even if that something isn't quite an opinion but more of a fact. Humans spend a lot of time conversing with higher powers. And I guess it's something we could try.

"Okay, so what? We go to a church and talk to a priest? Nuns? The statues?" I ask, sitting up straighter on Lumen's lap.

"Statues…" Lumen says thoughtfully, his hand running up and down my back. "Yeah, that could work."

"You're kidding," I say.

"Not at all, darling. We have no way of knowing for sure which are which, but there are statues that you can communicate through."

"What?" I snap.

"Like gargoyles," Slate says with a smile. "When they are in their stone form, they can still hear and see everything. Angel statues could be the same."

"Only those statues don't turn into angels… which is what I'm guessing the gargoyles do?" I offer, but still not sold on the idea.

"No, but it's possible they use them as a window. They could hear our call," Slate adds, getting to his feet.

"It's worth a shot," Lumen says. "What do we have to lose?"

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Going to a church and talking to a statue isn't going to cost us a thing. I just think I'm going to look like an idiot, is all.

"Fine, but who will go and who will stay?" I ask.

"I will go," Lumen says quickly. "Vesperon and Slate can stay here."

Lumen gets to his feet and places me on mine. He runs his hands down my hair and kisses my forehead.

"Go change. The sooner we go, the sooner we can figure out if we are on the right track," he tells me.

With a sigh, I go to the bedroom to change. I put on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top to look somewhat presentable out in the public. I throw my hair up in a messy bun because it's still hot as heck out there. Before leaving, I glance at the nightstand, wanting to check the phone for a message from Bradyn, but deciding it needs to wait. I'm still not ready for that yet. One thing at a time…

When I get back, the three of them are talking quietly.

"I'm ready," I announce.

"We will return shortly," Lumen says as he walks toward me. His arm is around my waist and before I can say a word, we're popping out in a flash of bright white light.

"Where are we?" I ask the moment my feet are on solid ground.

The cool air around me is refreshing and I feel like I can breathe much better than I have in a long time.

"Vatican City."

"What?" I gasp, whirling toward Lumen. He's grinning and then gesturing over his shoulder.

"On top of the Castel Sant'Angelo ."

I don't know what that is, but I have a feeling whatever it is, we aren't supposed to be here. It's dark out, meaning wherever we are is likely closed—meaning off limits. If it's even allowed visitors at all!

"We should probably hurry before someone finds us," I say.

He takes my hand and pulls me after him. We hurry toward a large pedestal, and thanks to all the flickering lights from the city below us, I make out large wings. It's a statue alright, but I have no idea of who. All I know is we're on top of a building with no one else up here. Meaning, we're probably breaking a hundred laws and offending a million people.

We stop far enough away that I get a clearer image of the statue, but my knowledge of angels isn't all that great. My family wasn't very religious, so I have no idea what or who this is supposed to be. But the work is beautiful, as I'm sure most of it is out here.

"It's Saint Michael. This is probably the most well-known statue of him. With the ability to look over the city, I figured it was a good place to start."

"Well, you could have warned me we'd be leaving the country," I say.

He makes a noncommittal sound and shrugs.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" I ask Lumen.

"I don't know. Talk to it." He gestures to the statue.

"If they have cameras up here, they're no doubt going to put me away for a very long time. In a padded room with a straight jacket. No sharp objects. Probably no clothes, so I don't hang—"

"Lexia?" Lumen says, placing both hands on my shoulders and getting eye level. "I won't let anyone take you from me. Now, talk to the angel."

He moves out of the way, sliding his hands to my back and urging me forward.

I sigh and take a few steps. I raise my hand in an awkward wave. "Hi, Mr. Saint Michael angel person… uh, so that's probably not right at all. Please forgive my ignorance, I'm a little stressed out right now. Not that you want to hear about my problems or anything, but—"

"Lexia," Lumen says, this time there is a hint of humor in his tone on top of the impatience. When I look at him, he taps on his wrist like he's telling me we're running out of time.

If I'm doing this wrong, maybe he should have done it himself! He can talk to the statue and be painted as the crazy one.

I blow out a harsh breath, turning back to the statue. "Right. Okay. Me and three of my mates need to get into heaven to retrieve Persephone. She's Hades' girlfriend… I guess. Hades has something we need, and he said the only way he will give it to us is if we bring her to him. So, I was hoping you could help us figure that out? Please."

I wait a few beats, keeping my gaze on the statue. Is it going to come alive and speak to me? Speak to me without coming alive? Will something drop down from the clouds in human form and talk to me that way? Will a ball of glowing light float over and—

"Ehi, tu! Scendi da l"!"

"I think that's our queue to go!" Lumen snatches my elbow just as a flashlight shines in my eyes. I block it with my forearm, and then we're spinning again.