“Stop!” Raphael dropped to his knees and put up both hands in surrender. “We didn’t come here to fight you!” His arms shook with tremors as he spat out more mouthfuls of saliva and blood. “Damnit,” he grunted. “Help me.” Head dropping, he started coughing up more gunk from his throat and spitting it out.
“Help you?” Lucifer’s chest rose with every harsh breath.
“You owe me, 666.” Raphael swayed as he rose on his feet and kept his arms to his side. The blade secured around his waist was still sheathed.
Why hadn’t Raphael used it?
“We need help,” the leathery Angel implored. “And if you raise a violent hand to me, I’ll be triggered. I do not wish to fight you. I wish to help you. But help me first. Help us!”
Lucifer felt the wind on his back and the smell of death grew stronger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw large males dropping down from the sky – two-by-two. Uriel held Cassian at sword point. Gabriel’s blade tip pierced Nikolai’s spine. And Constantine’s dagger was poised to slice Jude’s throat wide open.
No way on this green earth had they subdued those guys with just a blade. They were good, but not that fucking good. Lucifer was the strongest of them all and he’d had a rough time getting a couple shots in on Raphael. No, the four Angels that made up the so-called Scourge were submitting. Surrendering.
Why?
“Let’s listen to what they have to say,” Uriel kept his hold tight on his blade.
Lucifer didn’t like that he couldn’t see Eve right now. “Where are the others?”
“They’re safe. Together,” Con said.
He didn’t ask where they were. He’d find them soon enough. Lucifer’s relief that Laz spirited Eve away someplace safe was the only thing keeping his rage on a leash right now.
That these four – The Scourge – would have found them so easily pissed Lucifer off. Was there no place safe and secluded in this universe?
Scenting the air, it was hard to pull out any other smell besides the four enemies they had in their clutches. “Where’s Michael?” Lucifer growled.
“With Merri, the Purity Sect’s leader.”
“And he let you off your leashes, unsupervised?”
“We were told to bring you back to him. He knows you’re alive. Knows Eve is too.” Raphael did all the talking and every time he opened his mouth, drool and blood oozed from the corner of his lips.
“You’re his animals now.” Lucifer studied Raphael’s response. “You don’t like that, do you?”
“Did you?” Cassian growled from the left.
Lucifer didn’t answer. Keeping his gaze locked on the most dominant of the four, he tried to feel them out. “You ask for our help, yet you also admit to coming here so that you can drag us back to Michael.”
Raphael’s gaze flicked to Gabriel since Lucifer wasn’t bending. “Please, brother. Help us.”
Lucifer clutched Raphael’s chin, forcing him to turn his head back and face the one addressing him. “You keep your eyes on me, motherfucker.”
Raphael’s red eyes darkened even more. “Don’t… threaten… us. You have no idea what we’ve become.”
Monsters, Lucifer wanted to say. But he couldn’t allow that word to slip from his lips. No matter how true it may be. His silence wasn’t mercy, it was a recognition of fate.
Staring into Raphael’s bloodshot eyes, Lucifer knew damn well this was most likely what Michael had tried to turn Lucifer into and hadn’t been successful. He was familiar with that stench coming out of their pores. He knew what that red haze was like in their vision right now. And their wings? He remembered the weight of how his felt when Michael dipped them in a poultice laced with terrible magic.
Only Lucifer’s power was no match for what Michael tried on him. And the black flames he made naturally burned off everything put on his body, which infuriated Michael to no end.
“He thinks he can own you,” Lucifer growled in a low tone. “Does he?”
“No.”
He stared into Raphael’s eyes, and for a second, he saw the telltale flash of misery. That spark of pain when a male lost everything and couldn’t find his way through the dark anymore. He had no idea what Raphael and the other three were up to, but knew the potential for disaster was strong. Were they friend or foe? Liars or Truth-Sayers?
Raphael was cursed to never back down from a fight. His begging Lucifer to not threaten him played into that curse. Raphael sacrificed his life so Lucifer would have a chance at breaking free of his cage and get out of the brotherhood.
And now Raphael was the one in need of breaking free.
Lucifer squeezed Raphael’s neck and tilted his head down to sniff him. Under the currents of death and anger, was a hint of fear and misery. It smelled like sour grapes and rancid oil – two things served in silver bowls to Lucifer while he was locked up.
He released Raphael and backed the fuck up. “How can we help you?”
Why he was giving them this small mercy, Lucifer didn’t know.
Here’s hoping it wasn’t a mistake.
Michael waited for the Scourge to return with Lucifer and the other traitorous deserters. Rave, always foaming at the mouth for an ounce of progression in ranks, had told them exactly where to find those traitors of the Brotherhood. The sly fox ran into Gabriel and Constantine and had them followed by Daniel - the Angel whose tight ass Michael used the night desire struck like lightning in the brotherhood.
Even now, Michael’s cock hardened at the thought of doing it again. And, thanks to Lilith, he knew that a male’s ass might be blissful, but a woman’s cunt was far more satisfying. Fuck, the way that female clenched down on him, Michael’s balls swelled with the memory.
He was going to miss her.
“More wine?” he tempted Merri as he poured himself another glass.
“I prefer water over wine.”
“Rave, get our guests some water.” He’d normally have Lilith do it, but she was incapacitated at the moment.
“They’re taking too long to return.” Merri shifted her cloak and uncrossed her legs.
“My warriors are not pups you can tie leashes upon and drag away. Gabriel and the others will put up a fight. And fighting, is what the Scourge does best.”
“Those four Angels are unnatural now.”
“They are the product of their master’s hard taught lessons.”
Merri’s eyes flashed, “You’ve not changed.”
“Neither have you.”
“We were to do better than this, Michael.”
“Greatness takes time, Merri. You, of all Angels, should understand that.”
She let her hood fall back and reached for the goblet of fresh water Rave presented her and the two females next to her. “If you are All-Knowing, why did you not know where these rebel Angels ran to?”
Michael didn’t skip a beat when he replied, “I know what I must, as I must. Being All-Knowing comes with a delicate balance that cannot ever be tipped.”
“You speak nonsense.”
He spoke the truth, and if she didn’t believe it, that was fine. No skin off his balls. “The future is never certain until it is,” those words were repeated often by Lazarus himself. “We are all one decision away from having very different lives.”
In moments like this, it was important to keep a bland expression. Merri thought Michael was All-Knowing. She didn’t have a clue about Lazarus having sipped from the cup. If she thought she could use Michael in some way, she’d keep her manners in check.
Merri rolled her lovely blue eyes and took a sip of her water. “When they return, I’m leaving with Eve immediately.”
“Lucifer will have her protected and hidden away somewhere. She might not return with my warriors.”
“Hmmph,” she placed her drink on the small table between them.
“Sire,” Rave spoke with his head bowed. “Permission to take my post on the west side of the sect.”
Michael leaned back and looked out the window. It was nearly da
wn, only the Morning Star was left alongside a fading moon. “Granted,” he mused. Then he turned his attentions back to Merri and smiled, “How about a walk?”
“A walk?” she bristled. “I think not.” She leaned back with a sigh and crossed her arms.
“Then what about both of you?” he tempted the two Angels next to her. “The Brotherhood is an impressive sect. Would you like a tour?” Michael had time to spare. That’s why he was never in a rush to hunt down his enemies. He far more preferred the war to come to him… on his territory.
He was a patient bastard.
The blonde female next to Merri gnawed on her bottom lip and kept her gaze locked on her toes. The other one, a brunette, held her breath and stared at the corner of the cushion like it was the most interesting thing in the entire world.
“Just go,” Merri rolled her eyes. “It’s rude to deny your superiors the attention they seek.”
Both the females stood like perfectly timed soldiers.
Michael’s mouth twitched, “Make yourself comfortable, Merri. We won’t be long. And I expect the Scourge to take until dusk to return to us.”
“Dusk!” she glanced out the window. “That’s hours away!”
“What they’re doing will take time. Lucifer isn’t going to submit willingly. Neither will Gabriel, for that matter.”
“Lucifer,” she growled his name like the word itself was vile and evil.
“A name Eve gave him, as I’ve been told.”
Merri’s abhorrence for Eve was palpable. He could almost pluck the shards of hate spiking from her eyes and use them to pick his teeth.
“I’m glad we’re together with our goals,” Michael grinned. “Perfection and Purity are all there should be in this world.” And pleasure, he was so very tempted to add. Being in a room with a female that was undoubtedly his equal in every way, Michael had to lock down his thoughts of impaling her toxic mouth with his dick and coming down her lovely throat while he choked her.
Michael politely escorted both the Purity Angels out of his private rooms. Merri stayed back and remained well guarded. He made sure eyes were on her at all times. The bitch couldn’t be trusted.
Wispy little creatures, Michael mused as he guided the two females away from their protector. So slender and slight. So… fragile looking. But he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. They were Merri’s right- and left-hand maidens. That meant they could swing punches like a warrior and would be hard to tame.
He was rock hard and definitely up for a challenge like that.
Chapter 48
Gabriel’s gut said something wasn’t right about this. No way. The Scourge was too deadly to be this docile. Same for Lucifer. Speaking of, since when had Lucifer taken over as the leader of their group?
Gabe didn’t have the energy to fight that one. They might both be Alphas but Gabe’s head wasn’t in the right space to lead anymore. Too much was derailing him right now and it seriously impaired his judgment. Not to mention how torn his heart was over who the Scourge was comprised of.
Nikolai wasn’t the same red-headed jokester they all knew and loved. His face was etched in hard lines and cracked skin. No hint of joy graced him now.
Cassian wasn’t the charismatic Angel who they used to joke about and say could calm storms with a wink to the skies. He was more like chaos trapped in a skin sack now. A storm in a bottle. The way his head shook, the twitch in his eye, and the tightness of his lips – holy mother of glory, if he opened his mouth, would a hurricane fly out?
Jude was always the silent type but now Gabriel wondered if his tongue had been removed. The hollowness in his once full cheeks, the lifelessness of his eyes, there was no fight left in the once-undefeatable warrior.
And Raphael. He was the hardest to look at. They all had matching, disgusting wings, dark patches under their red eyes, and skin that stunk like rotten eggs, but Raphael also had the marks of Michael’s wrath on every inch of his body.
Those slices were still oozing and angry looking. Not in the way an infection looked, but in the very slices made into his flesh – like he’d been whipped with a cat of nine tails. Gabriel swallowed the rising bile in his throat. Those slices hadn’t been there the day Lucifer plunged that sword into him and escaped. No. Those slices were made afterwards.
That Raphael was still functioning at all was a damn miracle.
And the darkest curse of all.
No Angel should suffer like that. It made Gabriel grateful Lucifer showed mercy. And if it cost them in the end, so be it. Gabriel was sick and tired of fighting anyway. Having his life purpose be to curse others didn’t really instill joy in one’s soul. He felt damned.
“If you’ve come to kill us, just fucking do it.” Gabriel dropped his sword and stepped away from Nikolai. “I’m not going to fight you. Just let the rest go.”
If anyone wanted revenge right now, it deserved to be Raphael.
“I’m not going to kill you,” the Angel said in low tones. “But I need you to break this curse you put on me.” Raphael walked over to Gabe and stretched out his hands. “I need it lifted, or what I am now will get worse.”
“It had to have lifted already,” Lucifer countered, “Your curse is to never back down from war. You’ve surrendered to us already,” his wings ruffled, “and not for the first time.”
“I’ve surrendered to you,” Raphael corrected. “I don’t understand it, but I’m capable of holding my ground around you, 666.”
Gabriel felt a surge of relief for that. “Then he’s right. The curse somehow lifted.”
“I do not trust such hope,” Raphael hissed.
“Then fight alongside us.” The words spilled out of Gabriel’s mouth before he could stop them.
Raphael’s anger flared. “I do not wish to fight!” Storming over to Gabriel, he shoved a finger in his face, “I’m DONE! I want no part of this life anymore.” His gaze cut to Lucifer, “And I cannot seem to fucking DIE!”
“What can we do to help,” Uriel asked when no one else said a thing. “What would you have us do, brother?”
“We’ve been ruined,” Raphael’s voice cracked. “We are unfit to exist in this way. End our suffering.”
“How?” Uriel pressed.
“Lock us up until we disintegrate,” Raphael said.
“And make sure,” Cassian raised his head, “you lock Michael in with us.”
It felt like an animal just sank its teeth into Gabriel’s heart and ripped the organ right out of his chest. “No,” he wasn’t going to do that. There had to be another solution.
“There is no other way, brother.” Raphael spread his wings wide along with his arms. “Would you live like this? All I feel is rage. All I want is blood to run. He’s turned us into monsters. Killers of anything that draws breath.”
“You didn’t kill us,” Uri argued. “You have some control of your wills.”
“Not enough,” Cassian admitted. “Not nearly enough.” The Angel dropped to his knees with his head hung low, “He sent us to the human world. What we did there…” his leathery wings shivered like bat wings in a strong wind gust.
“Their screams,” Jude swayed as he whispered, “Their screams keep ringing in my ears.”
Lucifer growled. “What have you done?”
“Annihilated anything that moves. Body. Soul. The grass beneath their carcasses. Everything.”
Gabriel looked over at Lucifer. “Shit.” That would explain why Eve had such a nasty reaction. It wasn’t just Lucifer killing souls, it was the Scourge, too.
Uriel’s tone dropped, “Does Michael know you have that capability?”
Nikolai scoffed, “To kill? Of course.”
“No, I mean to destroy souls.”
They all shook their heads. “But he will soon,” Cassian warned. “And I don’t know what will happen if he finds out. I can’t do that again. I can’t.”
“Why?” Gabriel wasn’t trying to encourage him, but there must be something else about it they we
ren’t saying.
“The energy… it’s changing us. We’re…” Raphael was at a loss for words and clenched his jaw.
“I understand,” Lucifer whispered. “It’s like a festering sore that spreads and aches.”
“With a gaping mouth stuck mid-scream,” Jude ran a hand down his face. “I can’t live like this. I can’t live knowing this is our purpose.”
Gabriel quickly glanced at each of their arms and saw all their numbers were now gone. Fuuuuck. They were meant to be the Scourge. What honor would come from such a thing?
None. And honor, to a warrior, was sometimes all they had to live by.
“Have mercy on us all,” Gabriel whispered. If there was a Creator of Life at all, they evidently weren’t paying attention to what was happening. Or maybe they didn’t care.
Or maybe this was the plan all along.
“We’ll honor your request.” Shit, he felt numb now. “We’ll help you.”
The Scourge lowered their heads and didn’t say a word.
If this was a trick, it was a very convincing one.
Chapter 49
Eve tried to get Lazarus to let her go. When those terrifying Angels descended upon them in the cottage, Lazarus grabbed Eve and took off with her. With a quick spell on a dagger, he made it so she was unable to speak – by shoving the blade into her neck.
What a fucking asshole.
If the others saw him do it, they’d have gone apeshit. But their attentions were on the big, bad uglies who ripped the cottage roof apart to get at them, so Lazarus got away with using a terrifying and absolutely violating spell on her.
He took off at a dead run through the woods with her on his shoulder. His wings angled in an odd way made him look like a gold porcupine. She half-suspected his feathers were razor sharp. She wanted to touch one to find out, but he dropped her on the ground before she had the chance.
Yanking his small dagger from her neck, her wound closed up before she was able to take in her first breath. A few droplets of blood tickled her neck and that was it. Clean. Swift. Nearly painless.
Laz smiled. “He’s gifted you.”
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