“We’re hiding in a church?” Jared says. “Don’t you think that’s a little ironic?”
Jared has the audacity to wear a smug grin. He’s sitting on a long, uncomfortable wooden bench with Bibles tucked behind it. He picks up a Bible and flips it open. Those books are filled with stories of half-truths, weaved and crafted by angels. Angels are better at spinning tales than demons are. That’s why they’re seen as the holy ones while we’re the scum.
Jared flips a page.
“Are you actually reading that?” I ask.
He leans back and looks at me. “There’s a bunch of fucked-up shit in this. Are the stories true?”
“Some of them, yeah. They’re all twisted, though. I wouldn’t take it at face value.” Some of the stories are toned down, despite how exaggerated they might seem.
“Is God real?”
“God is dead.”
Jared gapes at me. “Like the one in the Bible?”
“Yep. Killed in one of the realm wars before I was even born. Raphael rules the angels now.”
Sylver paces around, hands behind his back. “Why isn’t Xeres here yet? We told him to meet us here.”
“He’ll be here,” I say.
Once Xeres and Val arrive, our next course of action will be to head back to the portal. Belial has probably transported more demons out from Hell to greet us, but at least it’ll be nighttime, and the portal will be open when we arrive. We can rush back into Hell once we get past the army.
The angels are scouring Earth for Jared and getting close, so we need to get back to Hell as soon as we can. There’s only one portal to Hell, and Belial is guarding it. We have to face the demon army eventually, and to be honest, I’d rather fight through that instead of facing the archangels. Their power levels are pumped up because they’ve received influence from the orb for so long.
“We’re hiding in a church,” I say to Jared, “because it’s the last place the angels will think to find us.”
Jared looks up at me. “Aren’t we supposed to be worried about Bella?”
“She’s not our largest concern. If her people attack, we should be able to escape. They’re the weaker higher demons, though they would have been useful as cannon fodder when facing Belial and the demon army. We just need her people to bolster our chances when facing Belial and friends. We’re worried about the angels. Last time it was only three, but I have a feeling most of the great angels might be on our tails right now. I can smell them all over the city.”
“You sure pissed them off, huh?” Jared asks.
“They’re coming for you, idiot,” I say.
His lips form an O. “I knew that.”
“Have you been getting any more of those orb visions of late? We still need to find out where it is.” We expected Jared to receive one vision a day, just like the last cipher, but it wasn’t unheard of for the time between visions to span months, or even years. We need to get Jared to our stronghold soon, so no one can steal our prize.
“None so far,” he says. “The last wasn’t pleasant. I’m not sure if I want another one.”
“You do. Because what we’ll make you go through if you don’t is far worse.” I flick my hand, and a shadowed dagger appears in front of me. I close it, and the dagger dissipates. It’s good practice to keep the flames going. Keeps me in touch with my magic.
Jared shuts and puts down his Bible. “When will you show me how to do that?”
“You probably can’t.”
“And why not?”
Sylver answers for me, giving the same explanation I gave Valerie.
Jared sits up straighter. “What am I, then?”
“We’re not sure,” I say. “Your flames, like Val’s, are white.”
“And that’s not normal?”
“Not at all. Maybe it has something to do with being part of the prophecy and the cipher—”
The door swings open, letting the sounds of the city pour in. It slams shut a second after, thrusting the church back into an eerie quietness.
Xeres is standing in front of us, carrying what looks like a knocked-out Val.
I hold my breath.
“Vickal!” Xeres shouts. “She needs you.” His eyes are all black, not a hint of human in them. The demon in him has taken over.
Bile rises to my throat as I study Valerie’s crumpled form. Sylver and I phase toward Xeres. Panic rages in me like a storm. I’m not sure why I feel this afraid. Are we losing her? So what if we do?
Xeres rests Val on a bench. She’s as limp as a rag doll. If not for my sharpened eyesight, I would have missed the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Without noticing that, I might have assumed she was dead.
Xeres says, “Bella hit her right before we left. She shot something in her neck.”
“Do you know what it is?” I ask.
Xeres is shaking. He’s scared, just like I am. The sight is disconcerting and unfamiliar. Xeres is never scared.
“I don’t fucking know,” he says. “I came here as soon as she lost consciousness. I didn’t stop to check. You’re the one who deals with poisons, Vickal. Save her.”
“How did you let this happen?” Sylver asks.
The question makes Xeres enraged. A growl rips from his chest.
“Shit,” Jared says. “What happened? Val?”
I push him aside. He’s not useful to us right now.
“Save her now!” Xeres shouts.
I’m just as pissed and floundering as he is. Anger prickles through my veins, and I want to kill something. But I have to keep my cool or Val will be gone for good. I bend down and look at her neck, where her wound is supposed to be. It’s healed over, but a small bump protrudes from her skin, betraying where she was shot. I summon my fire, burning off her skin to reveal the silver bullet. Bella’s trademark. That succubus likes dealing with bullets coated with poison. The bullet slices through her skin, singeing and peeling it back. A wound forms where my fire touches, blistering with red.
Her body shakes and she howls. My fingers quiver. Is she still awake? I furrow my brow when she lies still again. I don’t want to hurt her, but I have to if I’m going to save her life.
I pluck the bullet from her skin, noticing her wincing as I do. To inspect it, I bring it closer and sniff. The metallic scent of her blood runs through my nostrils, but there’s something else there, bittersweet and dangerous—poison. Belle-Galante. Native to Hell, and rare. Also capable of killing its victim in ten minutes. Doesn’t matter whether the victim is demon, angel or human. It kills all the same by stopping the heart. Luckily, Xeres got here early, or she’d be dead.
“Not good,” I say.
“What is it?” Sylver asks.
Xeres tightens his grip around the back of my shirt. “Can you fix it?”
“Calm the fuck down,” I tell him, speaking partly to myself. My eyes have gone black, too. Sylver’s the only one with some semblance of calm. His eyes are still their usual green. “I can. Maybe. But it’s going to hurt her. Some part of her might still be conscious, judging from the way she reacted to me pulling the bullet out, and there’s ways to numb the pain.”
Sylver bends down so he’s at eye level with me. “I can do that.” He swallows. “I can overwhelm her with my pheromones. Maybe it can mask it.”
“We have to do it whether you can or not. Alternative is her dying.”
“Do it,” Xeres says.
I’m not going to let Val die.
I’ll let everything burn to the ground before she does.