“Raphael brought words from you. You may as well speak again. Have such inane barriers not been broken down?” He paced the floor. It was only then that Az really looked at him.
Nervous. The thought struck him an instant before Michael’s yellowed eyes met his. “What’s going on?” Az asked.
Michael kept pacing. “Your knowledge is necessary, Azazel. The council persists in the belief you shall return to us fully, but I believe they’ve made a grave error.”
Az shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Knowledge about what?” He’s right, though. I’m not taking the vows. I’m not giving up. The thought was there before he could stop it.
“The Suiciders.” Michael stalked across the room until he was uncomfortably close.
Az bent his face away. “Gabriel told you everything we know.”
“You lie.” A mournful wail burst from him. “Are you so lost to us? Some say you’ve broken. Has the light seeped from the cracks inside you, Azazel? I fear for you!”
Despite everything, Az couldn’t help the trickle of shame inside himself. “I’m not lost,” he said quietly. “I’m just different now.”
“Azazel, you must tell me if you know how they started and what they’re for. The Siders sent Upstairs are infecting the souls here, destroying them utterly. Our sources speak of the same infection Downstairs. Is it true?”
He shrugged, made his eyes wide and baffled. “Gosh, I just don’t know.” A second later, he dropped the sarcastic act. “I’m not telling you anything.”
Az recoiled when Michael dropped gently to his knees in front of him. This didn’t seem like the same angel he’d seen at the Christmas tree with Eden, all uncoordinated anger. Az wondered now how much of that rage had been fear for Gabe.
“Please,” Michael murmured. “You would stand by and do nothing while the world falls to ruin?” A single tear slipped down his cheek. “Have you become so selfish?”
Az gave his head a slight shake. Guilt turned his stomach, ripped away the last of the sarcasm he clung to. “You don’t understand. The Siders aren’t these terrible creatures you all are imagining. They’re not a plague, Michael; they’re souls!”
“They’re a handful of souls. We must protect the souls here and on Earth. Months with them have convinced you to undermine entire worlds?”
“You don’t know them like I do,” Az said. He thought of Eden, memories spilling through him. Michael’s face soured.
“What happened between yourself and that Sider was not love, Azazel. She used you to learn our secrets. They aim only to spread the plague of their kind!”
Az blew out a breath in contempt.
“She lured Gabriel with her helplessness, did she not?” Michael’s tone gentled. “Called out to him like a siren.”
“No,” he said, but his mind hung on Eden the night they’d met on the beach. Gabriel had told him later that she’d seemed to be desperate for help. “Eden couldn’t have planned it. She was mortal when we met.”
Michael straightened, leaning toward him. “You told the council she had no path, even then. You swore.”
Az opened his mouth to answer, to defend her, but there was nothing he could say that didn’t feel like entrapment.
Michael caught Az’s glare, held it. “Your time with her has been but a flash. How can you call it 'love, as if love were so simple.”
The cadence of his words wormed into Az’s head, pumped through his veins like a drug. He couldn’t shake his thoughts free, part of him wanting Michael to see them, to know what he knew in his heart. “It’s love,” Az insisted.
“She lied to you, didn’t she,” Michael said, staring straight into his eyes. “She tricked you, Azazel.”
Az’s head dipped slightly. “That’s not . . . You don’t . . . Don’t do this to . . .” The thought spun away before he could grasp it. He flinched at the pressure of Michael’s finger under his chin, the black pupils fixed on his.
“Azazel, tell me her secrets.”
Something stirred deep inside him. The words seeped out slow and slurred. “She puts herself in danger. She’ll die for her friends before she lets you touch them.” Distress bloomed in his chest. “She hates when things are complicated, and so she should hate me, but she doesn’t.” Az tasted a metallic tang of terror but couldn’t remember why he should be afraid. His brain ached, itchy and hot.
“More,” Michael whispered. “Where did she come from?”
He fought for the answer through his confusion. “Jersey?”
“Where did the Siders come from?” Michael asked, his voice a melody. “Who made them?”
Az blinked slowly, his limbs heavy. An infectious heat invaded his mind even as Michael’s cool fingers wrapped around his head. A trickle of sweat slipped down his temple. “Tell me what you know,” Michael pleaded.
The door opened. “Michael!”
At the sound of his name, Michael pivoted, broke eye contact. Az doubled over in agony. Everything inside his head screamed, ripped loose and bruised. He squeezed his temples, barely noticing the angel that had entered his room.
“What suffers him so?” Raphael’s voice.
“I came to find answers,” Michael replied, his tone cutting. “You interrupted.”
Az rolled off the mattress, dropping gracelessly onto the floor. He made it to his knees barely in time to brace himself for the first retch. His throat burned, each exhale scalding. He tried to crawl away, but Michael seized him, pulling him back even as the retching started again. Thin strands of blood-streaked spit dripped from his gaping jaw.
Raphael touched his back gently before pressing his hands against Az’s neck. Instantly, the heat dulled. “Better methods weren’t considered? Were it not for him, Gabriel would be Fallen still. Have you so swiftly forgotten?”
“There are more pressing matters than comfort, Raphael.”
Their angry voices pounded in time with the pulse in Az’s head, tripled the pain. His vision blurred.
“You would rip his mind apart like spider’s webs to find what you seek?” Raphael chided Michael. “Look at him!”
“Necessary measures. He desired to assist us, or it wouldn’t have worked.”
Neither the Bound nor the Fallen could work their tricks without permission, but Az had been vulnerable. Michael had lured him in with the challenge against Eden. The need in him to prove Eden loved him, to prove she was good, had allowed the connection to take. I let him in, he thought. I let it happen. He could still feel the fiery heat Michael left behind.
“What was learned?” Raphael asked.
Az cradled his head against his knees, shivering, feeling violated and exposed. Oh no. What did I say? He couldn’t remember, didn’t know how badly he’d betrayed her. He waited, terrified.
“Worthless bits of nothing,” Michael said. “Pathetic laments to her loyalties and love. He’s bespelled over her.”
Az’s throat was ravaged, but he managed to get his voice. “I love her,” he said. “She’s not evil. Especially not compared to you.”
Michael shook his head sadly. “Look what you’ve become. Selfish and misguided. Singing the praises of a damned girl, Azazel? Again?”
Az flinched.
“Michael,” Raphael chided. “Frustration is blinding you to his pain. Can you not see how he suffers? Perhaps you should leave.”
“You’d do well to remember he’s not an innocent in all this,” Michael said, and then slammed the iron door shut behind him.
Az waited almost a full minute before he sent out thoughts to Raphael, words he didn’t dare voice Upstairs. If Gabriel is really supposed to destroy Eden, he should have done it already. He’s failing, isn’t he?
The intensity in Raphael’s stare sent a chill through Az. “You should know I’m not vulnerable to your manipulations, Azazel. I am aware of a lack of progress. Soon, other arrangements will have to be made.”
“No,” Az said, shaking his head. “You can’t do that!”
He swallowed hard and shut his mouth. You’ll damn him. It’s different if Gabriel can’t get to her, but you know full well if Eden ends at anyone else’s hand, his promise can’t be fulfilled.
Even as the thoughts formed, Az froze. The reason behind Gabriel’s seeming betrayal suddenly slipped into perfect clarity. Once the promise had been made to end her, none of the Bound could do it but Gabriel. He was protecting her the only way he knew how. A small smile flickered across Az’s lips.
Well played, Gabe, he thought before he could help himself.
Raphael’s face purpled with rage. “Misguided wretch,” he snapped. As the angel stalked out into the hall, he snatched the blue sheet and took it with him. “If Gabriel chooses not to fulfill his promise to destroy the death breather, to sacrifice himself, I cannot stop him. I can assure you it will be in vain,” he said over his shoulder. “If necessary, I’ll end her myself.”
CHAPTER 13
The ceiling twinkled with thousands of tiny lights. Kristen admired them as she slowly dropped down each step, drawing out her entrance. Her instructions on decorations had been executed flawlessly. The white gown she’d chosen to wear swirled around her, ethereal and flowing. Below, the room was frenetic. Sebastian’s musical tastes veered toward bass-heavy dubstep, techno mixes of what she assumed were popular songs chopped up and spit back almost unrecognizable.
And the masks made a difference. With faces obscured by everything from simple cardboard to intricate works of beads, feathers, and ribbons, the Siders’ hesitations were lost. They danced, chatted, and laughed, introduced one another to friends. The ball was everything Kristen could have hoped.
Only Erin sat alone in a corner. They had agreed not to tell anyone beside the leaders what had happened to Zach until later, when the true planning began. As much as Kristen despised the idea, Zach’s disappearance would draw them all together, solidify them in their fear of the Bound. Soon, the music would be stopped, and she’d read the speech she’d prepared.
They would fight. They would win. Together.
Madeline met her at the base of the stairs, matching her pace as Kristen wound her way toward Sebastian’s post at the makeshift DJ booth. “Look at them and take a cue,” she said, shoulder bumping against Kristen’s. She kept her voice low enough that only Kristen would hear as she pointed to the Siders on the dance floor. “They’re having fun. Go dance before we have to get all businesslike!”
Kristen snorted in contempt. For the first time, she took in the green velvet dress Madeline wore. The sleeves draped her wrists in wide bells of fabric. Gloves hid her hands. Even the mask she wore wasn’t the simple eye style, but covered the upper two-thirds of her face. The only bare skin was her neckline. From it, a strand of emeralds sparkled so brightly they seemed to suck the glow from the stars on the ceiling. Kristen reached to admire it.
Madeline skittered back a step, her eyes suddenly wide. “I . . . I’d rather you didn’t touch it.” She laughed as she shook her head. “Sorry. It’s new. Overreaction.”
“I’d say.” Kristen grabbed Madeline by her covered upper arm. The way the other girl winced didn’t go unnoticed. Why is she so worried about dropping her glamour? Kristen wore gloves, and it no longer mattered who was more powerful, now that they were on the same team. Kristen narrowed her eyes. “Were I you, I’d start speaking. Now. What are you hiding?”
Madeline didn’t struggle. “I was going to wait until after the ball. But—” She jerked her arm away. Her attention strayed from Kristen to the Siders milling around them. “Okay, at least agree this isn’t the best place for me to be spilling secrets.”
Kristen stared at her for a long second. “We’ll go upstairs,” she said.
Madeline’s whole body was practically vibrating. “Jesus, Kristen, it’s gonna change everything. It’s just . . .” She laughed and clamped her hands over her mask to smother it. She’s telling me because she can’t keep it a secret any longer. The music swelled but couldn’t drown out Madeline’s excitement.
Kristen startled at a tap on her shoulder and spun around to find a guy there. His mask covered the entire left half of his face, but the visible eye was sightless and pale. He must be wearing a special-effects contact, she thought. Not one of her Siders. He raised a hand to the others swirling around them, then raised an eyebrow in question.
“No, thank you,” she said, but he grabbed her around the waist and spun her off into the crowd. In the shock of the moment, she caught only a blur of Madeline heading up the stairs, holding her gown so she didn’t trip over it. When she passed by another Sider, she skirted closer to the banister and left a wide wake between them. At the top, she leaned over and found Kristen, then pointed toward the back stairs. She nodded to Madeline.
A new song began, this one a step down from the throbbing cacophony. Her partner wouldn’t let her go.
One dance, Kristen thought angrily. She’d use it to make her way through the revelers, to the front door. Sneak around to the back entrance and put an end to the ridiculous theatrics.
Kristen let the guy guide her deeper into the crowd. At the center of the floor, he twirled her in a pirouette. He’d clearly had lessons at some point in his past. Despite herself, a smile broke across Kristen’s face as her hand found his shoulder.
“You’re good,” she said, her feet slowly working them toward the door.
He pressured her backward, taking away the ground she’d gained with a quick flurry of steps. She gripped his arm to keep from stumbling. He winked over her shoulder and then released her.
An arm curled around her waist. With a spin she was off, captured, twirled from one partner to the next in a spiral of white fabric, faces passing in blurs of sequins and painted fleurs-de-lis until the song ended. Everything slowed, bass deepening to a steady heartbeat.
Her last partner’s grip tightened instead of letting go. His mask had a long beak nose, decorated with black sequins and elaborate patterns of filigree, more macabre than celebratory. Appreciating the touch, she lifted her gaze.
Kristen faltered and he leaned in.
“You’d recognize me anywhere,” Luke whispered. The beaked mask scraped across her cheek as he pulled away. His hand tightened on hers, the other falling to her hip, guiding her movements. “Keep dancing.”
She swallowed, swaying stiffly to the music. Luke. A cascade of emotions roiled through her. “You shouldn’t be here. Gabriel. Gabriel is coming, and he’ll be here any moment.” Her voice shook with the lie.
A teasing sort of pleasure danced in Luke’s eyes. “You’re concerned about me?” he asked as he rocked her to the beat.
Seeing him was worse than she’d ever imagined. Not because she was afraid of him, but because with Luke in front of her, the questions that plagued her rose up her throat. Was it all a game? Every moment? She hated herself for needing to know. As if it mattered what he felt as he’d manipulated her.
She scanned the crowd for help. Sebastian’s DJ booth was surrounded by a group of Siders, their faces full of laughter. Look at me, she begged silently. Please, look up. Luke’s shoulder blocked her view as he turned her, moving them closer to the edge of the crowd. “I’d really rather you didn’t make this . . . difficult.”
The other Siders around her laughed and gossiped, parting to let them through. Not one noticed her distress. “What do you want?”
“You look troubled.” Luke raised the hand he held, twirling her. “Enjoy this with me. And then,” he said, ripping her roughly back into his arms, “we have unfinished business, you and I.”
She let out a failed attempt at a haughty laugh. “Oh, trust me. Everything about us is quite finished.”
He dropped her back in a deep swoop, bringing a gasp from her before he snapped her back against his chest. As the music swelled, she found her hand in his again.
“I thought so, too,” he said. “Imagine my surprise at your invitation.”
“I didn’t invite you.” She jerked away, but he had her around the w
aist. “Why on Earth would I want you here?”
“You mean to tell me you made it this easy for me to walk right through your front door with no intention of doing so?” He tsked his disappointment. “Admit it. You wanted me to show, in your heart of hearts. You were waiting for me. Searching.”
“The masks weren’t even my idea. Madeline wanted her Siders to . . .” Kristen fell silent before a bitter laugh burst from her. “Well played,” she said. “But you called in a favor from Madeline, which would mean you wanted to see me, no?”
Luke’s eyes sparkled behind their rim of black plaster. “Details.”
He wanted to see me. Her breath hitched, but she covered it with a scoff. So what if Luke wanted to see her? He’d used her as a pawn. And I never saw it coming, she thought angrily. The flutter inside her from their banter fell away. Left behind was the same hollow ache she’d felt that night at Aerie. “I made my choice, Luke.”
“Yes. But you chose wrong.” As the song ended, he stopped their dance. “You also made a deal. With me.”
She flashed back to her room upstairs, Luke on her bed. Gabriel’s location in exchange for a favor from her. A simple promise Luke had cashed in for one week with her. A deal she’d broken when she left the club with Gabe.
The sure smile evaporated from her face.
Luke’s soft chuckle sent a chill down her spine. “Now you remember.”
She could beg for mercy, throw herself at his feet, but an outburst didn’t suit either of their styles. That, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “What happens now?” she asked.
“Two choices, just like before.” He held up his fingers held up. “You leave with me, or you don’t.”
She licked her lips.
“Decide.”
There had to be more to it than what he revealed. Luke was a poison, but she could draw him out before he did any damage. Perhaps, if she played her cards right, she could even do what Sebastian had suggested, get Luke to tell her how to kill angels. “I’ll go,” she whispered, her tone hesitant yet strong, already starting her game. “I’ll go with you.”
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