Angelus (19 page)

Angela worked her way over to the metal car and began to slowly scale it to the roof, using pits and holes in the metal as footholds. Juno stayed where she sat, staring at their exit
with an uncertain expression that didn't change the closer Angela came. Angela struggled a little more, and her hands recoiled at the contact of the icy metal. Her fingers had numbed over when she reached the roof. Yet her time spent in survival mode while in Hell had paid off and she was standing next to Juno quicker than she'd hoped. From her new vantage point, Angela could see the cracked and missing tiles set in the arched ceiling and the other carriage cars curving off into the dark distance of the rail track.

She looked up at the grate. It was more corroded than she had originally thought and there was a ledge beneath it. If Juno helped hoist her higher, Angela could definitely hunch on the ledge, and then kick or push the filigreed bars of the grate out and emerge onto the surface.

“Can you support my feet?” Angela said, remembering to whisper.

Juno nodded and her chalk-white hands held Angela's weight with surprising steadiness as Angela used them to launch herself toward the ledge. She barely caught it, almost losing her balance entirely. With adrenaline setting her heart to a gallop, she pressed against the cobblestones in the wall.

“All right, here goes nothing,” Angela muttered.

She steeled herself and gave the grate a powerful kick. She winced and her leg ached like mad, but the already weak metal bent in the middle. Angela kicked harder, and then harder. She kicked so hard she had nearly given up from the pain when the grate exploded onto what must have been the street above them.

Angela squirmed out of the opening onto her hands and knees, her face almost dragging against the bricks set in the street. She smelled salt water—they must have been much closer to the ocean than she thought. This was probably one
of Luz's lowest levels. Yet there was no sound of waves crashing against the supports far, far beneath them.

The air was shockingly cold, as if a million needles pierced her lungs.

Angela's teeth chattered as she surveyed her surroundings. She couldn't move. She was now face-to-face with the glassy sea.

She stood on a level of Luz with a street that wrapped around its farthest side like an enormous balcony. Behind her lay the grate and openings into a few small alleys layered with trash. Snow and ice hid the railing that could protect her from plummeting over the side into the sea. In front of her, the ocean glimmered like a silver plate spread in all directions, while the stars above reflected in the water with rainbow hues. But the light was what really took her breath away. A powerful glow had lightened the sky from black to a deep shade of marine blue. Angela whirled around, looking up past the towers and half-broken turrets of Luz.

The angelic city revolved menacingly in the sky, so close that Angela felt like she could reach out and touch it.

It was much, much closer than before. Enough to take up half of her view.

The silence suffocated her. She couldn't stop looking at the Realm where Raziel had met his death. It shimmered like a glorious galaxy, but all Angela could see were the feathers and blood that had filled her visions in the past.

Suddenly, voices echoed back to her. People were approaching.

Angela searched desperately for a place to hide. There was none. The only choice she had was to escape back into the grate, and the strangers were coming closer. Now she could make out long black robes. Voices shouted now—they
saw her. She had so little time. But how could anyone know where she'd been and what opening she'd used to emerge again into the city?

Angela dashed back to the grate and began to slide inside.

Too late.

Hands seized her. She struggled and screamed for Juno, but the voices were louder than hers. Something struck her hard on the head, her body slammed to the ground, and an image of Sophia and then Kim flashed before her eyes.

Had everything she'd suffered through and accomplished been for nothing?

With her last conscious thoughts, Angela knew she'd find out too soon.

LUZ
WESTWOOD ACADEMY

Angela awakened slowly.

She lay on a soft bed in a room that could have been lifted from the Emerald House she and Sophia used to share as a dormitory while in Westwood Academy. This was definitely another mansion owned by the Vatican officials who supervised the school. A large tapestry depicting angels with black-and-gold wings hung over the window to her right. Mahogany dressers took up the wall opposite and a flickering candelabra hung from the ceiling. Angela patted her legs and arms and realized she was still in the same stolen clothes she'd used to enter the canals.

Thank goodness, though, Sophia's pendant still rested against her chest.

Angela clutched it, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and slipped to the ground. Her shoes were gone, but at least now she wore warm knee-high socks.

She walked to the door and tested the brass knob. Locked.

Angela bit back a frown. She jiggled the knob harder and pounded on the heavy door with her fist. “Hello? Hello!”

Met with silence, she resigned herself to climbing back into bed. Exhaustion tugged at her again, and Angela's eyes started to close once more when she heard footsteps echo down a hallway outside.

Now the lock on her door turned and someone entered the room. Suddenly nervous, Angela chose to keep her eyes closed as the footfalls approached her bed. Weight pressed against the mattress by her side.

“Angela,” a low and familiar voice whispered.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Angela turned over slowly and opened her eyes to find Kim sitting on the edge of her bed. Like the days that seemed so long ago when they'd first met, he wore the long black coat of a Vatican novice and his hair had been cut shorter. His amber eyes glistened with the light of the candle he held in his hand. Angela was pretty certain this must be a dream. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, but he was still there.

“But how—” she began to say.

Kim cut off her words by drawing in close, pressing a warm hand against her cheek, and giving her a slow, sweet-tasting kiss. His lips slid soft and teasing against hers. She returned the kiss and he embraced her more, pressing her against his chest so that she could feel his heartbeat.

When he pulled away, Angela touched her lips. It was him.
This was real.

She was just about to open her mouth again, when Kim stopped her.

He grabbed her wrist hard. “I've come to get you out of here. If I'm found out, it will be the end for us both. Don't say anything. Pretend that nothing is out of the ordinary.”

“Why am I here?” Angela said. She took the clothes he now handed to her. It was her old Westwood Academy uni
form. But instead of the boots she used to wear there were tights and a pair of black clogs. He must not have wanted anyone to see her telltale scars. Angela hastily jumped out of bed and started to undress.

Kim turned around, giving her privacy. “Do you know how much time has passed since we parted ways in Hell?”

His voice sounded anguished.

A piercing fear went through Angela's heart. Had days gone by since Angela walked in those catacombs beneath Luz? Perhaps—she could hardly dare to consider it—even weeks? But the Realms had already been on the verge of colliding. Angela tried to focus on Kim and ignore the terror working its way through her. Every passing second now felt like a breath she couldn't bear to take again until she knew.

They were all still alive, so that meant the end hadn't arrived yet. But they could be on the verge now, ready to tip into the Abyss at any moment.

Kim no longer waited for her to answer. “It's been a
month
. Since then the Vatican has been gathering all female blood heads in the city and sequestering them in mansions like this one. But it's all a ploy. Most of them are being killed. They're trying to find
you,
Angela. Your existence is common knowledge now and red-haired women are being killed one by one as a precaution. Their blood is being gathered in individual urns . . . for Lucifel.”

Angela thought back to how the angel under Mikel's control said Lucifel now only needed Angela's blood to open Sophia.

An excruciating lump formed in her throat.

All these girls were dying for her sake. It was a systematic genocide, and all to find her special blood.

“But how did you get here?” she said, half tripping as she
pulled on her tights and shoved on her shoes. She touched his shoulder so that he turned around again.

“Troy and I used the Mirror Pool beneath Python's mansion, just like you did. Troy had struck on the idea to speak to the Cherubim hidden beneath Luz and encourage her to scry the pool and speak to Raziel. I wanted to find a way for you to open Sophia without the Glaive—or to find the last stanzas of the Angelus. They're the key to stopping Lucifel. It's what she is searching for, Angela, and it's the power hidden within the Book. But—” Kim looked angry. “In the end it was no help at all. Raziel showed me his death. He showed me the creature responsible. And he showed me you.” Kim stroked Angela's face, his fingers lingering near her left eye. “But I also learned it's impossible to open Sophia without killing her. The only other option is to create a new ending to the Angelus, whatever that means.”

“The Cherubim!” Angela gripped Kim's arms. “She's dead, Kim!”

His face drained of the rest of its color. “What!”

“Python killed it. But that was before I ever met it myself. When Sophia and I came to Luz, we were ambushed. Somehow the priests used a mirror connected to the pools to bring us back to Earth when they got an opportunity. We escaped into Memorial Cemetery and found Nina and Fury—”

“Nina's alive,” Kim said breathlessly.

“Yes! She took me to see a woman named Gloriana who—” Angela paused. She longed to tell Kim that he wasn't alone in the world. That Gloriana was also half-Jinn. But something checked her tongue. Maybe it was the intense look in Kim's eyes, and the overwhelming sorrow in his voice. She felt that if she spoke at the wrong time, it might do more harm than good. “Gloriana knew how to reach the Cher
ubim by using the canals beneath Luz,” Angela continued. “But by the time Juno and I reached the angel, she was dead. A soul trapped in that place explained that time flows differently where the Cherubim choose to dwell. I was afraid it was too late by the time she and I got back to the surface . . .”

“So Juno's alive too,” Kim said. A grim look crossed his face. He looked both hurt and frightened.

Angela paused. “Didn't Troy tell you about her?”

“No,” Kim whispered. He didn't look too pleased about it either. “Probably because Troy's trying to protect her from me. But I remember learning about her existence, and about how anxious the Sixth Clan was to shelter her back then. She's the former Jinn Queen's heir, after all. Her survival means a lot. Now that I'm still technically up for execution, my closeness to Juno would be a liability to her safety. But Troy didn't bargain on Juno pardoning me.”

Angela felt the surprise all over her face. “When did she do that?”

“When we were still in Hell. You'd certainly forgotten her after a time, so Juno must not have dared to approach you. She gave me her iron crow's foot talisman to symbolize her forgiveness of my so-called crimes. But I didn't know that Juno herself had left it. All I knew was that it was a young Jinn with high rank who'd shown me an ounce of compassion. Later, when Troy spied the talisman, she confiscated it and started guarding it closely. Now, I can put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Now it all makes sense.

“Juno's forgiveness is something I thought foreign to the Jinn for so long. You have no idea, Angela, what her gesture ultimately means. Or maybe you do. You know Troy well enough by now to understand how difficult it is for their kind to overlook the past. Yet I can never thank Juno
in person and likely never will. In fact, I've resigned myself to that already.” Kim shook his head and sighed. Then he said slowly, “But enough about Juno and Troy. Do you know what's happened to Sophia since you returned to Luz?”

Angela sighed with him. Tears threatened to blur her vision, but she forced them away. “All I know is that she's in the city. Somewhere safe, I hope. I have to find her now . . .”

Angela trailed off. For the first time she noticed the necklace Kim wore. It had an hourglass pendant and all the red grains sat at its bottom. She flashed back to the hourglass in her vision that Lilith tried to stop her from touching. Angela took a step away from him. A cold anxiety tightened her chest.

“What's wrong?” Kim said quickly.

“Well—that necklace. Why are you wearing something like that? Wait . . . Sophia mentioned that you both went to Python to help return my memories.
Kim, what did you say to him? What happened?
” It was all coming back to Angela so fast, and the more it did, the more frightened she became.

Kim breathed hard. He rubbed his face with his hands. “Angela, I had no choice. Lilith was using you to rule over Hell. She was biding her time. I couldn't stand watching that, and the Book needed to be opened. You deserve more than I can give you, and the thought hurts me more every day. But now . . . I . . .”

“What is it?” Angela whispered.

His expression broke her heart, it was so despairing. Angela forgot the danger she was in for the moment and cradled his face, kissing him softly again.

Kim seemed to savor the taste of her. Then he pulled back. “Angela. Right now the most important thing is getting you where you need to be next.”

“No,” she said. “Right now the most important thing is freeing whatever girls are trapped here and still alive. Then I can think of what to do next.”

“Lucifel is searching for you,” he said heatedly, sounding more desperate by the second.

“I'm not leaving without freeing those girls—and that's final,” Angela said in her most dangerous tone.

Kim let go of her arms. “All right. If that's what you want, I understand how you must feel. But if anything happens to you, those girls won't just lose their lives, they'll lose their souls.”

“I have to do what's right,” Angela said. “Don't let your feelings for me blind you to who I really am, Kim.”

“You have no idea who you really are.”

“Do
you
?” Angela demanded, whirling on him.

Kim reluctantly lowered his gaze. “I don't know. What Raziel showed me was confusing. But I do know you look just like the creature that killed him. And that Sophia knows why. You're taking your frustrations out on me right now. But Sophia is the one who's been leading you on. Demand answers from her, Angela. Before it's too late.”

Angela could only look at him, letting her mind work. The creature he was talking about was the Father. What, then, was Angela's connection to him?

“Like I said,” Angela explained slowly. “I don't know where Sophia is anymore . . .”

“And you don't think that Troy or Nina will find her? She's here somewhere, Angela. I saw her. And she'll find you again, and if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, even I won't be able to help you anymore. I've always wondered what my purpose was after mistakenly freeing Lucifel. Now I know it was to be by your side. Maybe you'll cast me
off when it suits you again, but despite what you might think right now, I'm not trying to be selfish. I'm just trying to act with your best interests in mind. But you're free to act as you please. Only . . .”

Kim knelt down in front of her. He reached for Angela's hand and kissed it.

“. . . I need you to know that I think of you constantly. No matter what happens, remember that I do in fact love you. And that if I ever say or do anything otherwise—it's not by choice.”

Silence fell between them.

This was one of the few times Angela had heard anyone at all say that they loved her. Besides Kim, there had only been Sophia. And maybe . . . someone else. But her mind was foggy and when she thought back as far as she could, she came up empty-handed.

“Kim, is there something else you need to tell me?” she said, her voice cracking.

Kim opened his mouth as if to say something. Instead, he shuddered and clutched at his throat, sliding to his knees. “No,” he said hoarsely, his eyes large with fear. “No. Nothing.”

“Why are you talking like that?” Angela said. “What's wrong?”

Was someone stopping Kim from talking? Perhaps it was Python—it had to be!

Angela threw herself at Kim, embracing him. She ran her fingers through his ebony hair and buried her face in his neck.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered. “I'm so sorry. Kim, I love . . .”

She wanted to say she loved him too, yet something held Angela back as well. But she didn't have the excuse of a demon's hold on her soul. She was just afraid of somehow causing Kim more pain.