47
I stand by a tree on the side of the road and scan the sky above us. The Watchers are done with their ceremony and are flying back to us.
‘We need to get back,’ says Josiah. ‘The contest announcement should be happening soon. And then the big scramble for recruits will start in earnest.’ He glances at the Watchers, and I know what he’s thinking. It’s going to be a tough sell to get angels to join with the half-feathered, half-skinned Watchers.
‘We have to try to convince some to join us,’ says Raffe. ‘And we’ll work with whatever we have. We can’t let everyone fall, and we can’t allow a civil war to start.’
I won’t be shedding tears for Uriel’s angels if they fall. They’ve earned it as far as I can see.
He looks at me. ‘Earth would be the battle ground if there’s a civil war among the angels. Everything in this world will be scorched to the ground, regardless of who wins.’
Just like the Pit. We would be like the hellions – half starved and insane, cowering in the shadows, constantly in fear of our angel masters.
I have to clear my throat before getting my question out. ‘Isn’t that what they’re doing now?’
‘Your civilization was destroyed, but your people would survive, at least in pockets around the world. The apocalypse was never meant to annihilate an entire race. It was just the big event before Judgment Day. But the direction Uriel is taking everybody in . . .’ He shakes his head. ‘If anyone survives that, I’m not sure you’d recognize them as human anymore.’
What did the hellions look like before their invasion?
I’ve tried not to think much about the future, but in the small moments when I’ve let myself do it, I assumed that there would be a time after the angels were done with their rampage. Our world would need to be rebuilt, but there still would have been people somewhere, wouldn’t there?
Locusts, the resurrected, the low demons. We’ve already been pushed beyond the limits of humanity. If this continues, earth will be the new Pit.
‘You should go,’ Raffe says to me. ‘This is no place for a human.’
‘What about me being your second for the contest?’
‘Nobody will remember that once they see the Watchers.’
‘Are you sure you’re not just trying to avoid getting back into the truck with me and my mom?’
He almost smiles.
He walks me back to the truck. ‘Where will you go?’ he asks.
‘I don’t know.’ Every step feels like a goodbye. ‘There are no safe places. The only place that might come close to that is the Resistance camp.’
A small frown mars his expression. ‘From what Obi showed me, those people are full of fear and anger. That’s an ugly combination, Penryn. They’d kill every one of us if they could.’ By us, it’s clear he means angels. ‘They wouldn’t care if they killed us by plague or on the dissection tables.’
‘They’re as good as it gets right now,’ I say. ‘And you know where it is so you can find me there and let me know how things went. If you want.’
His eyes look over my face and hair. Then he nods.
‘You’re going to win this trial by contest, right?’
‘Absolutely.’ He squeezes my hand. His grip is firm and warm.
Then he lets go.
‘You better. And remember your promise. Get the angels out of our world when you win.’
I reluctantly lift the sword strap over my head. I hold the scabbard for a moment and feel the weight of it.
Of course, he should have it now that he has his wings back. I’m surprised he hasn’t taken it already. They missed each other so much. Besides, he can’t be part of a trial by contest without his sword.
But Pooky Bear made me special. I was more than just a girl with it. I was an angel killer.
‘She missed you,’ I say.
He hesitates, just looking at the sword. He hasn’t touched her since he got his wings back.
When he takes her, his hands are gentle. He holds her out in his palms for a heartbeat. We both wait to see if the sword will accept him back.
When she doesn’t drop to the ground, he closes his eyes in relief. His unguarded expression makes me understand that he hadn’t made a move to take her back because he wasn’t sure if she would accept him.
All those years when he was alone, he had nothing but his sword for company. I hadn’t fully understood how hard it must have been for him to lose her.
It’s good to see him happy, but it’s bittersweet. ‘Goodbye, Pooky Bear.’ I stroke my fingers along the sheath.
Raffe pulls off the stuffed bear with its wedding-veil dress. ‘I’m sure she wants you to have this.’ He smiles.
I take it and hug the bear to my side. The fur is soft but doesn’t feel right without its steel core beneath my hands.
We reach the truck, and I slide into the driver’s seat. Raffe looks into my open window as if he has something more to say. The dried fruit the Pit lord gave him swings back and forth below that vulnerable spot between his collar bones as he leans toward me.
He gives me a kiss.
It’s slow and silky, and it makes me melt all over. He caresses my face, and I tilt my head into his touch.
Then he steps away.
He opens his beautiful snowy wings and takes off into the air to meet his Watchers.