Why would he do that? She was promised to us.
Youd best ask him, hadnt you? Azazel said, but I could see the alarm in his blue eyes. Besides, wasnt she to go to the Truth Breakers first?
We would have her when they finished with her.
You know as well as I that theres usually not much left after the Truth Breakers finish. He seemed to have no idea what effect those words were having on me.
An excellent point. Hence my concern that hes letting her go with you. She should stay here.
Again, discuss it with Beloch.
You know I wont do that.
Then stand aside.
For a moment the large man seemed to vibrate with rage, looming before us. And then he nodded curtly and backed off. Ill set a guard outside the house, he said. So you dont run the risk of losing her again.
Very kind, Azazel murmured. But unnecessary. She wont be going anywhere without me.
Until you hand her to the Truth Breakers.
I could feel his hesitation, though I doubted the captain noticed it. Until I hand her to the Truth Breakers, he agreed smoothly. And with a none-too-gentle tug he pulled me into the endless night of the Dark City as shadows closed down around us.
Until he handed me to the Truth Breakers, who didnt leave much when they finished with you. Had he rescued me from the Nephilim simply to turn me over to the Dark City equivalent? As he ushered me through the deserted streets, I glanced around for any possible avenue of escape. If I got away from him, I was no longer sure where Id go. I already knew the people who lived here would be no help, and I was beginning to have the strong, if belated, suspicion that Beloch wasnt the cozy, absentminded professor he appeared to be.
Dont even bother, Azazel said beneath his breath. You wouldnt get ten feet. There are Nightmen stationed all around, watching us, and I expect they will be there from now on.
I jerked, startled both by the thought of them watching and by the knowledge that Azazel, again, had read my mind. Though I supposed it would be easy enough to guess what I was thinking as my head swiveled back and forth. I dug in my heels when we reached the old brownstone, but it did me no good. He simply hauled me up the steps, shoved me inside, and slammed the door after us, locking it.
Not that it will do any good, he muttered. Enoch can get in anytime he wants to.
Enoch?
Your new admirer. The captain of the Nightmen. Hes not the best enemy to make.
He hates you.
Yes. And now he hates you as well.
I sighed. Well, arent things going just swimmingly. So tell me, what the hell did Beloch mean?
Were better off talking upstairs.
His hand was no longer clamped on my arm, and I wondered if hed continue to force me if I held back. I had no intention of it. I wanted answers, and this time he was going to give them to me, though I thought he was about as much an angel as I was a prehistoric sex goddess.
He started up the stairs and I followed him. I could always kick him in the head and escape, no matter how many Nightmen were lurking around the house.
One of the doors was open, and the high bed, similar to mine, was rumpled. This had to be his room, and I tried very hard not to show any reluctance as I walked in. After all, we were both adultswe could hold a discussion in a bedroom as well as in a library.
There was an uncomfortable-looking Victorian sofa at one side of the huge room, and I went and took a seat, perfectly ready to cross-examine him.
He raised an eyebrow, and I almost thought I saw a quirk of amusement at his formerly stern mouth. I had the sudden feeling that he didnt hate me as much as he had, though I had no idea what had changed his mind. He settled into a wingback chair that stood at a right angle to the sofa.
Why did he call you an angel? I launched right into it, not waiting for him to control the conversation. Youre not my idea of a gentle cherub watching over people.
Im not, he said flatly. Im fallen.
For a moment I didnt move. This I could almost believe, looking at the unearthly beauty of his pale face, the cold anger in his tightly wired body. When?
Before time was calculated.
I racked my brain for the snippets Id read. Are you Lucifer?
Id managed to startle him. What do you know of Lucifer?
Not much. He was the first fallen angel, wasnt he? Gods favorite angel, who became too arrogant and fell from heaven to become Satan.
I could practically see the wheels turning behind his cold eyes as he decided just how much to tell me. Yes and no, he said finally. He was Gods favorite, and his name means Bringer of Light. As for being arrogant, that arrogance was simply questioning Gods choice to destroy men, women, and children for one mans sin, as God had done so often. Lucifer asked questions, and for that he was banished to eternal torment. As for Satan, he is simply an artificial construct used by men to explain the actions of God and the archangel Uriel.
Youre telling me God is Satan?
He sighed, clearly annoyed. I am telling you Satan doesnt exist. Hes made-up.
So are fallen angels, I shot back.