Chapter 15

Desmond

“How could you be so reckless?” Zareya shouted, her skin bluer than usual. “They’re looking everywhere for you.”

My brow furrowed. “Why are they looking for me?” I asked. “Did the little bastard who got me the phone snitch to someone?”

“They know you called your sister,” Zareya told me, her voice shaking slightly. “Hades and Rainer are looking for you.”

“That’s interesting,” I mused. I’d been in our little hovel all evening. After using the contraband phone, I’d destroyed it. It was a shame to lose such a valuable piece of equipment, but I couldn’t risk having it traced back to me. My sister didn’t have friends, and I’d been certain she wouldn’t know who to complain to about me calling her. It seemed I was wrong.

“Interesting?” she screeched. “How can you be so calm?”

“This isn’t a bad thing,” I assured her. “Hades and Rainer aren’t going to spend much time looking for me. They have bigger things to worry about with the recent riots. Besides, it won’t be long until we’re free of this prison.”

Zareya let out a tired sigh and nodded. “You’re right. This is just a problem I didn’t need. You’ve been able to deliver all the messages because you were invisible to the guards. Now, they’re determined to find you, at least, for the time being.”

“I wonder how they found out about my call to Bea,” I muttered. “She must have called Rainer. I’m shocked she had his number. Why would he care what happens to a homely witch like my sister?”

“I think I can answer that question.” Those words were spoken by a man who’d suddenly appeared in the room. His white wings were spread out behind him, and he carried a sword of fire.

“Why are you here, angel?” Zareya demanded. To her credit, there was only a slight tremor in her voice.

“To help you with your little rebellion,” the angel said in a condescending tone. He studied me carefully before speaking again. “If I didn’t already know you’re a warlock, I’d swear you were a demon with those eyes. That blue is too intense for warlock eyes.”

“I get that a lot,” I told him. “How do you plan to help us?”

“You want to overthrow Lucifer,” he began. “I assume you’re hoping to do so by getting to his daughter or someone else close to him.”

Neither of us responded. We weren’t about to share any information with this angel.

“Your sister was seen with Lucifer today,” the angel continued with a smirk. “According to the rumors, Lucifer is quite taken with the witch.”

“Impossible,” I scoffed. “Why would Lucifer have anything to do with my sister?”

The angel shrugged. “He claimed to be using her for sex.”

I snorted. “My sister has no feminine wiles. Someone with access to sex demons of all types couldn’t possibly be interested in Beatrice.”

“The angel who saw him tried to follow them, but Lucifer went to great lengths to make that impossible. He seems very overprotective,” the angel added, still smirking. “Your sister has caught the devil’s eye.”

“He has to be using her to get to me,” I mused. “I don’t know how, but he must know I’m helping with the uprisings.”

“Or he’s after you because of her,” Zareya stated. “This would explain how Hades and Rainer knew about your phone call so quickly. It would also explain why they were the ones searching for you rather than sending guards. It appears Lucifer has a soft spot for the little witch.”

“That’s why I’m here,” the angel told us. “I hate Lucifer. He and the other fallen angels should have been wiped from existence long ago. This whole place should be destroyed.” He visibly struggled with his anger before continuing. “Naturally, I’m not planning to destroy the demon realm. Not all demons are bad—or so I’m told. If we work together, we can destroy Lucifer.”

“Why would we work with you?” Zareya asked. “You think we should all be destroyed. All your lies about demons worth saving wouldn’t apply to us.”

“I’ll make it worth your while if you help me destroy Lucifer,” he replied.

“What are you offering?” I asked in a bored tone. “Keep in mind, we already have a plan, so I’m not sure we need your help.”

“I can provide you with celestial weapons,” he offered. “Nothing that can be traced back to me, of course, but I have weapons at my disposal.”

This was getting interesting.

I shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of getting involved with you.”

“Angels make my skin crawl,” Zareya said with a shudder of disgust.

I expected the angel to be angry with her. Instead, he looked amused. “What do you want, demon?”

“I want out of here,” she hissed. “Not just out of this prison. I want out of Hell.”

I smiled, wondering what Zareya had planned. She didn’t want to live in the human realm.

“Where would you go?” the angel asked. “You’re not a demon who can blend in among humans.”

“But you could make that happen,” Zareya insisted. “We have business in the human realm before I take Lucifer’s place.”

“What about you, warlock?” the angel asked.

“I want to kill my bitch sister,” I told him. “She deserves to pay for everything she’s done to me.”

“I can make that happen,” the angel assured me. “Do you want me to bring you her head?”

“No,” I growled. “I want to kill her myself. It’s my right.”

“Fine,” the angel agreed. “I’ll make sure you get to kill her. Do we have a deal?”

Zareya looked at me, waiting for my opinion. I nodded. “We have a deal,” she told him.