Fallen Academy: Year Four (Fallen Academy #4)(10)

Michael gave his daughter a pointed look. “You can, but I hope you’ll always make the best moral decision.”

Emberly just gave him a little eye roll.

“I can still advise you,” Michael looked at me. “And I have some time before the meeting, so I thought I would offer my two cents.”

Yes! I needed all the advice I could get.

I nodded enthusiastically.

Michael approached us and Emberly crossed her arms, cocking one eyebrow at her father as if annoyed that he was jumping in on her job.

“Brielle, I imagine it took a lot of mental fortitude to get through your time in Hell,” Michael sympathized.

I tried not to remember those mornings where Raksha fed me drugged oatmeal, and I was wheeled around the place like a zombie. Left to think that everyone had given up on me, and taken me for dead.

“It did.” My voice cracked.

Michael’s gaze filled with compassion. “That mental fortitude is what can make your mind impenetrable to outside commands. It’s the resilience you have from surviving the loss of your father, watching your mother become a demon slave, and then becoming one yourself. Most people wouldn’t fare so well, my dear. Their spirits would have broken long ago, leaving them cynical about the world. Your heart is still soft toward love, and you have a generally positive outlook on life. That’s what you need to use in order to fight the mental commands from Lucifer. It’s something a human could do.”

Shock ripped through me at his declaration that a human could do this. I’d been trying for weeks! I didn’t know at what point the tears started to fall down my face, but it must have been a while, because Emberly slipped her hand into mine and squeezed. What he’d said was basically a mini review of how hard my life had been, and the emotion overwhelmed me.

“Geez, Dad. Did you have to be so hardcore?” Emberly glared at her father.

Michael lifted both hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, just trying to help. I want Brielle to know she’s had this ability inside of her all along.”

Giving Emberly’s hand a squeeze before releasing it, I wiped away my tears. “How? How do I withstand the mental commands?”

A pensive look entered Michael's eyes and he nodded, starting to walk in a circle around us both. “Let go of the Fear. It’s like candy to Lucifer. It weakens the mind, and allows mental commands to flow right in.”

My brows gathered in a deep frown. “Fear itself? Or of Lucy?”

My feminine nickname for the Devil, made Emberly grin.

Michael shook his head. “Of anything. Him, dying, cancer, the dark, losing a loved one, not getting a job, not having enough money. Being scared creates an energetic cord into your soul, and it’s like a vacuum, sucking the energy out of your body and giving it away. Lucifer hooks into those ‘vacuums’ and gets control of people.”

Holy shit!

“That’s freaky.” Emberly hugged her chest.

Michael nodded. “It can be intimidating, but if you work on those emotions and realize that you have more control over your life than you think, you can eliminate fear.”

Emberly’s expression said she wasn’t buying it. “Obviously I’m not afraid of death. But public embarrassment? Succubus demon coming at me in my sleep? Not getting asked to prom? That’s terrifying.”

Her father chuckled. “Fleeting worries are normal, but being frightened about a Succubus demon coming for you in your sleep, on a nightly basis, creates a perfect energy vacuum.”

I swallowed hard. There was so much I was terrified of—getting cancer like my dad, losing my mom, Lincoln, or Shea in this war, not being able to live up to the prophecy and defeat Lucifer. Hell, I was even anxious of this training with Emberly not working, and that Lucifer would control my mind again! But I wasn’t actually scared of the Prince of Darkness himself. At first, I was. I was downright terrified, if I was being honest, but spending time with him down there, had humanized him to me.

I hated him, yes, but did I fear him? Not really.

A grin swept across Michael’s lips, and I knew he was reading my thoughts. “Brielle, you have been placed in a unique situation, and therefore, you have unique fears, but Lucifer isn’t one of them. That’s your greatest asset against him. Now, work on calming your other anxieties, and no one can control your mind.”

A chill worked up my arms. “How?”

Michael stepped closer to me, and the brightness he normally dimmed in my presence intensified, causing me to squint. Reaching out, he cupped both sides of my face with glowing blue hands. The moment his palms touched my skin, a pure feeling of love and exhilaration swept through my entire body. Ideas started to flash through my mind, bringing with them information, and clear knowing. Nobody really died; we all went into the afterlife, so fearing death of yourself or a loved one was pointless.

We were all reunited in the end.

Dreading things happening in life was pointless too, because it only served to weaken your body and mind, actually attracting what you didn’t want to happen, on an energetic level. Being terrified of a Succubus demon on a nightly basis, increased the likelihood of a Succubus attack.

Fear was the opposite of love, and it was making humans and the planet sick. I could see that now, felt it, knew it. Michael was gifting me with information that was overwhelming, but powerful. If I lost Lincoln or my mom in this war, I would see them again in the afterlife. We could reincarnate together again, so there was no need to be frightful of that. If I failed at my mission to live up to the prophecy, and rid the Earth of Lucifer, it would be okay. My only true goal on Earth was to love—love Lincoln, love Shea, even love Tiffany.