Alec spun about.
“Say that again.”
“I had her wrist
in my hand before I shifted out of the car.” Isharnel’s voice had a slight,
uncustomary rasp. “But when I reached the tower, she wasn’t with me.”
***
Beyond closing
his eyes, Raguel hadn’t moved since a pair of Infernals had taken the priest
out of their cell. He barely had the energy to reopen them when Riesgo was
returned. Maintaining the guise of a mortal was draining. Unfortunately, he
didn’t need his eyesight to see that the priest was badly shaken.
Still, he
watched Riesgo retreat to a corner and sit. The priest’s arms wrapped around
his knees and he curled into a ball. It was alarming to sense such
vulnerability in so proud and strong a man. Sammael intended to break them
both, and this was a way to accomplish that task with one blow. Raguel was
deeply affected by Riesgo’s tangible shock and desolation.
“Are you hurt,
Padre?” Raguel asked gently, pushing up from his prone position.
There was a
drawn-out silence, then, “No.”
“You
were not gone long.”
“Really? It
seemed like forever.” Riesgo sighed heavily. “I thank God something called him
away. I’m not sure I could have borne a moment longer in that place.”
“Want to talk
about what happened?”
Riesgo set his
cheek on his knee. “I’m not sure I know.”
Leaning back
against the stone wall, Raguel waited patiently. The deeper the silence, the
stronger the urge to fill it.
“He wasn’t what
I expected,” the priest said finally. “Satan, I mean.”
“He is always
what you need him to be. That is his gift.”
“He was. . . paternal”
“Because you
seek God in this Hell, he tries to fill that role for you. Did he meet with you
alone?”
Riesgo stared at
him almost blankly. “No. There was some sort of celebration. An orgy. Sex,
dancing and.. . other acts that don’t bear repeating. There was blood. . . so
much…”
“He plays the
role of an anchor in the storm. A stalwart presence in a world gone mad.”
“Like God in the
world above, offering peace amid the chaos.”
Raguel was
impressed by the priest’s perceptiveness. “Did that disturb you, Padre? Did it
shake your faith as he intended it to?”
“I-I don’t
know.” Riesgo shrugged lamely. “He was reasoned. Quiet. His confidence
frightened me more than anything.”
“You imagined
him to be volatile.”
“Yes. Wild and
out of control. Someone with a hair- trigger temper. Someone I could see
arguing with God enough to get kicked out of Heaven.”
“Instead, you
found someone cool and calculating. Sammael does not get angry. He gets even.”
Riesgo’s fingers
dug restlessly into his knees. “He had me sit with him on a pallet in the
middle of the room. He offered me something to eat and drink. I was so thirsty,
but I didn’t take anything from him.”
“It would not
have harmed you if you had,” Raguel said, knowing the mortal wouldn’t survive
long without sustenance. The priest wasn’t the only fragile one. After weeks in
solitary, Raguel wasn’t certain he’d survive the loss of his only companion.”
If they could
somehow manage to get beyond the void they hovered in, Raguel thought he might
be able to get them out. They were in the second level of Hell. He might be
able to break into the first, despite his growing weakness, then bargain their
way out from that point.
“He had a woman
there,” Riesgo continued in a whisper. “He told her to m-massage my shoulders.”
“A lure,
enhanced by powers you cannot expect to resist.”
Riesgo stiffened
and spoke tightly, “God expects me to resist.”
“You did nothing
wrong.”
“You don’t know
that!” The priest leaped to his feet. “She changed, while she was touching me.
Her appearance. . .
morphed.”
“Did she show
you her true face? The rot beneath the glamour?”
“I wish she had.”
Riesgo ran both hands through his hair and groaned.
The priest’s
restlessness was so pronounced it penetrated Raguel’s weariness and arrested
his attention.
“She became Eve,” Riesgo bit out. “Evangeline.”
Raguel frowned.
Then his brows rose as understanding dawned. “It was a cruel trick,” he
soothed. “It means nothing.”
“It means
something!
I was irritated by the woman—until she changed. Then. . .” Riesgo moved to
the door and fisted the bars. “Then, my reaction to her changed.”
“You are
speaking of the Devil himself,” Raguel argued, struggling to stand. “He has
ways of making you see things that are not there. He can make you believe a lie
as if it were gospel. It is no reflection on you or your faith.”
“Isn’t there a
grain of truth in every lie?” Rattling the bars, Riesgo craned his neck to see
outside. “I have to get out of here. Now. I have to get out.”
Raguel moved
carefully over to the priest and touched his shoulder. “You feel drawn to
Evangeline because God has a purpose for you in her life. Sammael has twisted
that in your mind to circumvent God’s will.”
“You don’t know
that.” Riesgo looked at Raguel with wild eyes.
A guttural, yet
amused voice intruded. “I was going to let you out. But what’s the point when
you two are so damned loud?”
Turning his
head, Raguel found Asmodeus at the door.
Riesgo retreated
with a horrified gasp.
Raguel’s
shoulders went back. He, too, was disgusted by the multiheaded demon, but he
would not show it.
Glamourless,
Asmodeus was a squat, wide, lumbering monstrosity. A creature both demon and
beast.
The king leered
with his many mouths and stepped back, gesturing at the cell with a wave of a
cloven hand.
The lock bent of
its own accord, shrieking as the metal was distorted beyond use. The door fell
open.
“Go that way.”
The king pointed to the left. A cobblestone path appeared, floating over the
endless void and seemingly without end. “You’ll find a pond a ways down. Swim to
the bottom and you’ll find a cave. Take that to its end and you’ll be back on
the surface. The portal won’t be open long. You’ll have to make a run for it.
If you’re able”
Raguel
hesitated. If Sammael had truly decided to free them, he would do so himself.
That way, he could boast of his largesse.
Asmodeus
laughed. “Hurry, Raguel. Before the distraction I created runs its course.”
“Distraction?”
Glancing at Riesgo, Raguel found the priest to be deathly pale but nodding
slowly.
“When Satan was
called away,” Riesgo said. “It seemed urgent.”
“That’s why they
sent you back so soon.”
“Yes.”
Raguel turned
back to Asmodeus, but the king was gone.
“Let’s go,” he
said, gesturing for Riesgo to precede him out.
They didn’t look
back.
Reed shifted
into the hallway outside of Cain’s condo. He ignored Ishamel in favor of his
brother. “What the hell is going on? Where is my car?”
“Abel.”
His mother’s
voice drew his attention to Cain’s open doorway. She stood there wide-eyed,
with a trembling mouth. “Is that
your
car on the television? Was Eve in
it?”
“My car is on
television?” Irritated by the distress everyone was displaying, he brushed past
his mother and entered the living room.
He found his
father sitting on the couch facing the TV. He turned to look, watching as a
camera zoomed in on firemen using the Jaws of Life to pry open what remained of
his car.
“Holy shit.” He
shifted back to the hallway, landing directly in front of Ishamel. “Where. Is.
Eve?”
The
mal’akh
met
his gaze directly, unresisting yet defiant. “I don’t know
Catching him by
the lapels of his gray suit, Reed slammed him into the wall. “Wrong answer
Cain grabbed him
by the shoulder and yanked him around. Ishamel’s feet hit the carpet with a
thud, but he didn’t stumble.
“You are such a
monumental fuck-up, Abel. You have one job.
One
fucking job, and you
can’t get it right.”
“Cain. . .“ their
father warned.
“No, Abba.” Cain
made a slashing gesture with his hand. “Your precious Abel fucked up, whether
you want to hear about it or not. He’s supposed to be keeping his charges safe,
but in the last two days Eve was ambushed by Azazel and now—”
Cain’s voice
broke, which nearly broke Reed. Was Eve still in the accordion-like remains of
his car? Nothing could survive a collision like that. Nothing.
“You’re
her fucking mentor, asshole,” Reed tossed back, fists
clenching at the brutal understanding of his own culpability. He hadn’t wanted
Rosa in the vicinity, yet he’d allowed Eve free rein because... Fuck.
Because she was
mad at him and he wanted to pacify her? Because he couldn’t read her and took
it personally? Because he felt like he was hanging on to her by his fingernails
and was afraid to fight with her?
“She was driving
your
car!” Cain bit out.
“I didn’t know!
I thought she was riding in the limo with Ishamel
Cain’s face took
on an ugly, twisted cast. “Betcha left the Lamborghini out front, right? Smack
dab in the entryway so everyone would see it. ‘Look at my awesome car, which I
drive to stroke my massive fucking ego and compensate for my miniscule prick.”
“Cain!” their
mother snapped. “That was completely—”
Reed didn’t wait
for the rest. He lunged across the space between them, tackling Cain halfway
down the hall. They hit the carpet and skid, grappling. Weeks of frustration,
jealousy, and anger poured out through his fists. He didn’t feel his brother
returning blows. He didn’t feel fear at challenging an angel far more powerful
than himself. All he felt was good. Really damned good.
Arms and hands
intruded too swiftly; his father and Ishamel digging between them to rip them
apart. With his wrists restrained behind his back, Reed was pulled off Cain and
yanked upright. He continued to kick with his legs—once while his brother was
still on the floor and again as Cain managed to regain his footing.
“Enough!” their mother shouted, slapping Reed
in the face, then Cain. “Why can’t you work together for once? Is your feud
more powerful than your feelings for Evangel—”
The sudden
halting of her tirade arrested everyone in the hallway.
She moved closer
to Cain, her fingers finding and lifting the necklace that had fallen out of
his shirt. “W-where did you get this?”
Cain looked down
at her hand, his irises still flickering with the lingering rage of angels.
“Eve gave it to me.”
Reed’s teeth
ground together. Eve had given a gift to his brother?
Doors opened
along the hallway and residents poked their heads out. Sydney, too, appeared
from Eve’s condo.
“What’s going on
out there?” one woman asked crossly. “I’m calling the police.”
“That won’t be
necessary.” Ishamel released Reed and moved away to address the concerns of the
onlookers. Sydney joined him in working damage control.
“Where did
Evangeline get it?” their mother persisted, sounding formidable despite her
petite stature.
“An Infernal in
the firm made it’ Cain answered.
Their father
stood still and watchful. “No, he didn’t.”
Tugging at it,
she said, “Give it to me
Cain’s head
tilted. His gaze narrowed. “I can’t. I promised Eve I wouldn’t take it off
“She could be
dead!” she snapped, chilling Reed with her callousness. “Give it to me.”
Then she gasped
and covered her mouth as her careless words registered. “I’m s-sorry. I didn’t
mean that.”
“What is this,
Ima?” Cain asked with dangerous softness, watching her like the predator he
was. “What does it do?”
“It doesn’t
do
anything.”
“How do you know?”
Adam stepped
forward and caught her wrist. “Leave it.”
“I can’t just—”
“Leave it,”
their father repeated harshly. He pulled her back down the hail to Cain’s condo.
Reed turned his
attention back to his brother. “What the fuck is going on around here? Where’s
Eve?”
“Missing.” Cain
shoved the necklace back inside his T-shirt, then pointed an accusing finger.
“Find her. If she was in your car. . .“ His throat worked. “Just find her
Agreeing that
Eve came first and killing his brother could come later, Reed shifted to the
men’s restroom of the 7-Eleven on the corner of Katella and Harbor. As he
exited to the street, he saw the crowds and heard the sickening grind of metal
being ripped apart. His gut knotted.