The Real Story of Heaven and Hell

I left our guardians to deal with the fiasco out in the living room and followed my sister down the hall.
“Sera?” I knocked on the door. “It’s me.” When she didn’t answer I sighed and twisted the doorknob as hard as I could and broke the lock. My sister was praying to the porcelain altar, hugging the toilet bowl.
I dropped to my knees next to her. Is it weird that I could smell the tequila on her?
“What possessed you to drink so much?” I asked. “And without me?”
“Umm…” She trailed off. It clicked.
“Tell me Jimmy didn’t get you drunk.” When she didn’t answer I sighed. I was gonna have to be mad at him for that.
“I just wanted to forget.” She blurted. “You and Brian, all over each other, we couldn’t take it anymore and we just got drunk.” I sat there silent for a moment.
“You know why he did that. He did it to protect you.” I rubbed my sister’s back. “I didn’t like it anymore than you did sweetheart.”
“I know.” She mumbled, curling into a ball.
“I know the best hangover remedy. I’ll be right back.” Three cups of super strong black coffee later she was feeling more human so I helped her over to Brian’s room and got her settled in the bed.
“It’s all those goddamn angels’ faults. Why the fuck are they here anyway?” She muttered.
“Ser?” I whispered, lying down next to her. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”
“I’m not pregnant.” How do I tell my sister the world is fucking ending in two days?
“WHAT?!” Did I say that out loud?
“Brian told me that they think the End of Days is going to be on All Souls Day. We have two days until the battle. That’s why the angels are here, and why the demons are here as well. They’re choosing to fight for us Sera.” She was silent for a long moment.
“Two days?” She finally asked.
“All Souls Day is November 2. Today is October 31.” I winced. It’s been so long since our birthday and everything got turned upside down. Brian came in just then and I headed down the hall to the room I shared with Jimmy.
To potentially commit a murder.
I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, arms crossed.
“Hey babe.” Jimmy murmured, sitting up on the bed. “Maddy’s calming down Giselle, so everything’s okay.”
“Not everything.” I gritted my teeth. He raised an eyebrow. “You got my sister drunk dumbass. She’s puking her guts up and she feels like hell. Did you not think of what would happen the next day?”
“Well excuse me for wanting to forget watching Brian shove his tongue down your throat.” He snapped. “Do you have any idea what that feels like, to watch the girl you love with someone else?”
“Believe me, I do.” I growled, grabbing some hopefully clean clothes and locking the bathroom door behind me.
I washed my hair furiously, wondering where he got off thinking he could get Sera drunk and not have to worry about the consequences. I didn’t know exactly why I was mad, just that I was supremely ticked off at him. Maybe it was because it was so close to the End of Days and maybe the end of our lives.
I opened my eyes to see the water running red. The horrible smell of fresh blood coating my skin made me want to be sick. It ran in rivulets down my face and into my eyes. I started screaming just as my eyesight blurred and the scene changed.
Now I stood on a barren plain, surrounded by the bodies of the dead, angels and demons alike.
I heard a cry of pure pain and the images passed by too fast to really understand.
A few stood out and imprinted themselves into my brain.
Death pain kill despair murder anguish blood slaughter betray-
Jimmy’s POV
I heard Lil’s screams and broke the bathroom lock before I could even think about it. I found her huddled in the corner of the shower, making a high keening noise. I couldn’t see any damage until I looked into her eyes.
Those eyes I knew as well as mine had a wild gleam to them, like she had lost her mind. I wrapped her in a towel just as everyone burst into the bathroom.
“What happened?” Four different people asked.
“The princess has the gift of foresight.” The less creepy of the two male demons, Lucius said smoothly. He at least was not looking at Lil.
I couldn’t say the same for Abbadon. He looked at her like she was a piece of meat he wanted to sink his teeth in. Kiva noticed and shooed everyone out, leaving me to get some clothes on Lil. I could barely do it my hands were shaking so much. She’d stopped making that awful noise and now she was just staring blankly into space. Every now and then a slight shudder would pass over her, and that was the only movement except the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
I cradled her in my arms and carried her out to the bed.
“The princess-” Lucius started.
“Stop calling her that.” I snapped. It killed me to think that Lucifer, the embodiment of all evil had fathered such a wonderful, beautiful girl as Lil. I couldn’t bear to think of her as the princess of Hell.
“Lilith is gifted with foresight. The visions are violent because it is Samhain.” Lucius said softly. He seemed the more human of the two male demons.
“How do we help her?” Cory murmured.
“We wait for the buria to end.” Kiva said. I knew that word. It was Russian for storm.
I held her all through the night and just as the clock struck midnight the storm in her mind ended.
“Lili?” She nodded and I kissed her gently. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“You think you were scared.” She sat up carefully. “Love, you don’t even know the half of it.” She was quiet for a moment. “Jimmy, whatever happens just know that we’re luckier than Brian and Sera.”
“Why?” God, what had she seen?
“Because if one of us dies we won’t have that bond.” She rested her hand against my cheek. “I won’t leave you with that madness.”
“What makes you think I wouldn’t lose my mind without you anyway?” She shook her head and pulled me on top of her.
“Just know that I love you more than life.” She murmured, kissing me.
Loving Lil was easy. Being with her in the physical sense was easy. But sometimes it really felt like we were one soul in two bodies. The kisses got more urgent and frantic as she yanked my shirt over my head and nearly twisted the metal of my belt buckle. Not to say that I wasn’t just as eager to get her out of her own clothes.
Later, after she’d fallen asleep in my arms, I wondered just what she’d seen that made her think we were luckier unbonded.
What had she seen in the storm?