“Are you angry about the Lessons?”
He sheathed the sword at his back. “I’m not angry with you, Carmen. I’m in awe. And I don’t understand what just happened.”
“You sound pissed.”
He shook his head. “For so long, I’ve wondered who would be able to defeat your father, who would mend the horrors in Purgatory; make it what it once was and what it was intended to be. I thought Michael would do it.”
“That’s the trouble with you angels,” I said, watching his head tick to the side. “You only know how to follow rules.”
His eyes latched onto mine, roaring like a fierce storm. “Is that why Michael risked everything to break them with you? Did you trick him to make a point, Carmen?”
I swallowed. “Is he in trouble?”
“Of course he is! What you and he did… it’s forbidden!”
The souls flew. The crows ate. The rain began to pour. The cleansing.
“He told you about that?”
Gabriel’s laugh was hollow. “I could smell it. He didn’t have to tell me.”
“What did you do to him?” I screamed above the torrent of cleansing rain. “You’re his only friend!”
Steam formed between us, tar bubbling between our feet. “Carmen! Run!”
Why? The question lodged in my throat as one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen emerged from the molten asphalt. The scent of it burned my nose.
Brown hair, neatly cropped. A suit that cost more than my house, by the looks of it. An air of superiority. Roman nose, not crooked in the slightest, and full lips that were sinful as hell. He was gorgeous. He was dangerous. The sword cried out for him, the metal singing against my spine.
He was the devil.
24
Gabriel’s wings snapped out, the softness gone; steel weapons that protruded from his back to shield me from Lucifer. The devil wasn’t what I expected at all. I thought he would be grotesque, a monster.
“I am a monster, Carmen. Never doubt that,” he answered, a flirty smile on his face. His hair was dark as midnight, and truthfully, the devil was hot. He was insanely old, but looked young and vibrant. “Your father made a promise to me. Are you aware of it?”
“No,” I lied. I knew Malchazze had promised him my soul, but what were the terms? I felt the pockets along my sides, coming up empty. My Angel stone was lost.
“Angel stone wouldn’t block me from your thoughts, anyway. It would be no more useful than a pebble,” he answered my unspoken thoughts. Lucifer crouched to pick one up off the ground and levitated it over to Gabriel, pausing in front of my face. When he realized I wasn’t going to touch it, it fell back to the concrete. “The terms were as follows: He was given my sword and the use of it for five days.”
“My father traded my soul so he could use a stupid sword for five days?”
“You can’t bargain for the soul of another. It’s forbidden,” Gabriel spat from between his teeth.
I peered over his outstretched wings. “Is that true?” I asked Lucifer.
Incredulous, Gabriel asked, “You trust the devil to tell you what’s true? I wouldn’t lie to you, Carmen.”
“Wouldn’t you?” I asked. His tattoos roiled angrily over his back.
“Nevertheless,” Lucifer said in a bored tone, “I need my sword.”
“You need to leave,” I answered. I heard Gabriel tighten his hold on the hilt. Metal against angel made a distinctive gritting sound.
“Return what’s mine,” the devil demanded. “Malchazze is dead. Time is up.”
“Get. Out!” I screamed.
The crows ahead began to caw loudly as Lucifer’s feline eyes slithered to mine. “Where is the Keeper of Crows?”
I stood taller, stepping out from behind Gabriel’s wing. “You’re looking at her, prick.” I wanted to raise his own sword at him, but I wasn’t confident enough to keep hold of it. If he could make a pebble float, he could certainly call the sword to him. He probably could have called it anyway, slicing through me if he wanted. Power radiated off him, like the shadows that curled around his form, ebbing and flowing, a suit of tortured souls, writhing, churning.
Delight danced in his eyes. “It’s about time they sent a human female to do a male archangel’s job.”
I flipped him off and he laughed, clutching his stomach.
“I will be back. Keep the sword until then. I’ll enjoy breaking you, but I do want you to have a fighting chance. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do. Wouldn’t you agree, Gabriel? She wouldn’t stand a chance against me in this shape. You should help her, angel.”
Gabriel answered with a growl that shook the windows in the buildings above us.
Lucifer waved as he sank back into the bubbling tar beneath his feet. “Soon,” he promised. I had a distinct feeling that though the devil may lie, he would manage to keep this oath.
Gabriel cursed, the tip of his sword stabbing into the tar and meeting only cement. “You should have given it back to him.”
“He would have killed you with it.”
Gabriel swallowed thickly.
“And it wouldn’t matter anyway. He wants this place. He knows I’m a weakness, and he’ll make plans to take Purgatory as his own.”
The Lessons slowly began to return to the square, lingering for further instruction. The only one I had? Get out of the city. You belong in the outskirts. For now.
Each turned and slowly began filing out of the city, more filtering from the buildings and joining those who were leaving. Shuffling feet. The crows above ate the few souls just dispatched and held them in their mouths.
“Seal the veil,” Gabriel reminded.
“You should leave.”
“I’m not leaving. Seal it.”
“Archangels don’t belong in Purgatory!” I yelled, angry at how long Michael had been left here with no other instruction but to watch his birds and the holes that tore in the veil. Why hadn’t he taken this place from Malchazze? My father deserved to die a long time ago. The souls here? My mother? They certainly didn’t deserve to be trafficked and debased.
White-hot anger sliced through me.
“Lucifer will come back. He will come for his sword, and if you aren’t prepared, he’ll kill you and take this place as his own,” he answered.
“I can’t stop him from doing that. It doesn’t matter how much training I have. Standing against my coward of a father was easy, but standing against him?” I motioned to the ground where the tar had solidified. “That’s impossible.”
Gabriel sneered. “Do you know that Michael tried to kill Malchazze? Several times he came close. Without orders, I might add. I’m sure you’re surprised to learn about that. But he couldn’t stop him. His birds, his sword, nothing worked. An archangel, it seemed, could not harm the antichrist. But you did. You killed him.”
“He might have been the antichrist to you, but to me, he was just a mean, callous bastard.”
“He was also one of Lucifer’s pets. The reason we couldn’t end him was because Lucifer strengthened your father, guarding him against us. Archangels can’t kill one another. It’s not physically possible. Michael couldn’t even command his crows to do so. He couldn’t utter the words. But you, a soul, turned him into dust. Even if he was just a mean, callous bastard.” Grinning, Gabriel folded his wings behind him. “We just have to convince you that Lucifer is the same.”
I snorted. Never gonna happen.
“Seal the veil. You can open it later, right?”
“Right,” I parroted, calling to the fabric, to the Earth beneath my feet. Become stone. No one passes through. Not even Satan himself.
“I want to see the castle—all of it.”
Gabriel nodded. “We should note the exits, any hiding spots, where the weaponry is…”
I smiled. “You’re a true soldier.”
Gabriel brushed the hair off his shoulder. “When Lucifer returns for the sword, you’ll be glad we’re prepared.”
“Why is the sword
so important to him? Is it the one he left Heaven with?” It looked much like the ones the archangels sported, only black as obsidian.
“No, it’s much more dangerous. This sword was created in Hell, forged from the metal spear that pierced Christ’s side when he hung upon the cross. It probably contains trapped souls and more evil than either of us could ever wield. Even being around it is dangerous.”
“Lucifer is more dangerous with the sword than without it? That’s scary as hell.” He seemed powerful without it. I couldn’t imagine his deadly intent growing exponentially because of a simple blade.
“It isn’t a simple blade, Carmen. And I’d love to keep him from getting his hands on it again.”
“Take it to Heaven,” I told him.
He shook his head. “It’s been tarnished, and evil isn’t welcome inside the gates.” His eyes turned to the sky above.
“What? What are you thinking about?”
“There may be one safe place to store it, but it’s risky.” Something flashed over his eyes, gray-blue as storm clouds.
“When do you think he’ll return? I’ve sealed the veil.”
Gabriel snorted. “Lucifer is already searching for a weakness, no doubt. Not to attack just yet, but so he knows them before you do.” A shiver of fear crawled up my spine. “He will come for it – soon – but I’ll be ready for him. I’d love nothing more than to end him. It’s been a millennia since he betrayed us all, but the wound still stings as if it’s fresh.”
We walked through the hallways, taking note of each room, its exits, the best areas in which to hide, and areas that were dangerous to stand near, like fireplaces. They were entry points as well, and demons could easily scale the tall chimneys.
“Do you think he’ll come with demons?” I asked curiously.
“Lucifer doesn’t need them, but he rarely fights alone.”
Coward.
“Exactly.”
There were rooms bursting with swords mounted ceiling to floor, empty rooms, rooms with rich furniture, and rooms with books flanking every wall. We were exiting the third library when a thought came to me.
“What if we hid it?” I asked, walking farther down the hall.
Gabriel eased out of the closet he was looking in. “Hid what?”
“The sword.”
“How would we do that? It knows its owner. It would call to him, and he would know in an instant.”
“What if we cloaked it in the veil?”
Gabriel stilled, his brows kissing. “Could you do that?”
“I think so.”
His fingers reached over his head, spreading around the grip of his sword, and with a slicing noise, he freed it. “Try it.”
He extended the blade, transferring it to my outstretched hands. I hoped I was right about being able to manipulate the fabric so freely. Would the veil allow me to use it that way? Even if it worked, would Lucifer be able to find it? Would it still call to its master? If he got it back, could he harm the veil with it? Open it up and spill the darkness upon the Earth?
“No, he couldn’t,” Gabriel answered honestly.
“How do you know?” The weight of the metal was heavy in my hands.
“Because he’s tried before. The veil doesn’t answer to him.”
It answers to me.
Gabriel inclined his head. “See what you’re capable of, Carmen.”
I knew I needed to keep my wits about me unless I wanted to be Lucifer’s puppet; the controller of the veil, a gatekeeper for evil.
I took a deep breath and stepped away from Gabriel, holding the archangel’s sword in my hands. Closing my eyes, I imagined fabric, glittering like the night sky, wrapping around and around the glowing silver metal until every speck of it was concealed in darkness. When I opened them again, Gabriel’s lips were parted. I was holding dark fabric, and when I willed it to, it became invisible.
“You can do it,” he breathed in awe.
“O, ye of little faith, Gabriel,” I teased.
25
The next morning, I relaxed the veil so the manna could fall. The souls would go hungry otherwise. “We have to be on guard,” Gabriel explained. “Lucifer will wait for an opening and take the first one he gets.”
“I’ll seal it as soon as the manna stops.”
We watched the cloudlike puffs fall from the sky, and as soon as they stopped raining down on the city, I sealed the veil, making it harder than steel. I wasn’t ready to face him again, but I knew he was lurking just beyond this realm. I could feel him there, just out of reach, taunting me. Gabriel was strung tight. He’d been training night and day. Archangels, it turned out, didn’t need to sleep at all. He finally stopped the clanging and crashing last night after I screamed at him for keeping me awake.
“You’re grouchy,” he snipped. “I’m only trying to help you.”
“Help me in the morning,” I groaned, my muscles and body strained past the point of exhaustion. The longer the veil was solid, the more tired I became. I didn’t know if Gabriel had put two and two together yet, but he soon would.
“Can you strengthen me, Gabriel?”
He wasn’t happy about it, but he stepped forward and infused me with some of his power and energy. I felt better immediately, but was still wiped out. Leaving him, I traced the path to my room.
This morning, he watched as I descended the steps, clad in black, wearing the feathers of the crows perched on every windowsill in the castle. “It suits you,” he finally rasped.
“What? Darkness?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Don’t get soft on me, Gabriel. You’re the one who said angels can’t feel.”
Taking in a deep breath, he muttered to himself, “Perhaps I was wrong about him.”
“You were,” I answered callously. “You were incredibly wrong about Michael. Where is he?” I’d asked him a dozen times already, and each time he hedged. My father would have been impressed with his ability to deflect questions with more questions, like arrows fired against an impenetrable shield, bouncing lazily off the surface.
26
MICHAEL
I made it to the wood line, but I could smell Kushiel closing in and heard the mighty beating of his wings. The trees sheltered me from the wind, and the farther I ran into the forest, the more cover I had. I stopped, willing the fire to burst from my fingertips, easing my hands up against the bark of an enormous pine.
I had to relight it seven times, but it finally worked. My bonds sizzled as they unraveled, falling to my feet. The sound of a whip cracking came surging from behind. He’d caught up with me.
Keeping my back to him, the forest behind me, I dared him to come closer. He wouldn’t win this battle. There was too much at stake. I had to get back to her.
“You and a human?” he asked.
“I love her. I won’t apologize for it.”
His head tipped to the side. “It must be worth it.”
“It’s worth everything. She is worth everything.”
Kushiel was unusual. Maybe it was from the position he held, to be a punisher of angels, of his own kind. Maybe it was how he was created to be. His eyes were bigger than they should be, sharper somehow, like those of a bird of prey. They crackled with the fire that lived within him.
“I’ll make you a deal, Keeper.” My shoulders pushed back, hope once again filling me with strength I didn’t think would renew in this forsaken place. “We’ll race through the forest. If you win, I won’t kill you. I’ll fly you to Earth myself.”
“Then you would be punished.”
He grinned. “Let them try.”
“On foot,” I said. “I’ll agree if you race on foot.”
The grin fell from his face as he attached the whip to his belt. “Very well. I do love a challenge. So let it be.” With those words, he sprinted into the trees beyond me. I pushed against the ground, taking off after him. I had to be faster… stronger. I had to get to her.
Gabriel would let her die. He would
let her drown in the power of Malchazze. I still couldn’t believe he’d turned his back on me or her. Pumping my arms, I was a blur through the forest. Kushiel had a head start, but I was fit and nimble compared to his hulking size.
The tree trunks were a maze, one I had to navigate faster than the speed of sound or light. When they thinned again, I didn’t let up. I pushed forward until I felt him behind me. Kushiel panted, laughing with his head tilted toward the roiling clouds above. “I concede!”
“I’m not sure if you truly wanted to win, or if you just wanted to pick a fight with your own kind.”
He smiled. “I’ll never tell.” Bracing his hands on his hips, his wings snapped from his back, flexing to and fro. “Anyway, a deal is a deal. I’ll take you to Earth.”
“To the ground,” I clarified.
He chuckled. “I would have loved seeing you cry, Michael. As it turns out, you’re smarter than the other archs. I will see you safely to the ground.”
I knew what it meant for him. “Why are you doing this?”
Kushiel never answered; he just lifted me from the ground and raised us both into the sky. Within moments, we were plummeting toward the ground. I’d forgotten the feeling of freedom and was grateful for a momentary taste.
It was over as quickly as it began. He landed in a field of wheat, our feet crushing the crop around us. “Where are we?” I asked.
“Earth,” he answered with an enigmatic smile.
“Where on Earth?”
“Not my problem, archangel. Figure it out. If she’s worth it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Of all the angels, I wouldn’t have expected it. “You loved someone.”
His smile fell away. “I did. And I’m still being punished for it.”
It was clear then that we weren’t allowed second chances. I was meant to stay in Purgatory for an eternity, just as he was meant to punish his own when they stepped out of line. Fairness flew out the window as swiftly as a crow.
“Thank you,” I said.
He inclined his head and sprang up into the air, spiraling toward the heavens. I wondered what would happen to him now. The thought faded as I realized I was in the middle of nowhere. Making a trail through the wheat, I found my way to a paved, one-lane road. It seemed like the best option, so I followed it until the sun set in an inferno in front of me.
Keeper of Crows (The Keeper of Crows Duology Book 1) Page 17