They were all gathered. The Fallen were seated around the table, with one chair left for Azazel. The only woman at the table was Alliethe other wives were seated in the back, and Id started toward them when Azazel took my hand. She belongs at the table.
I desperately wanted to yank my hand free, but there were too many people watching, and I felt suddenly shy. Hes right, Allie said. Someone get her a chair.
I dont need I began, but Azazel overruled me.
This is of concern to you as well.
Someone drew another chair up to the vast table beside Azazels, and I had no choice. I sat, trying to keep apart from him in the confined space, but when he slid in next to me his thigh brushed against mine, and there was no way I could retreat, short of climbing into Michaels lapand even I stopped short of climbing into the archangel Michaels lap, whether hed fallen or not.
Word has come to us, Raziel said. Uriel has found Lucifers tomb.
This meant nothing to me. Allie had told me the Fallen were searching for the place where the Supreme Being had imprisoned the first of the Fallen, but it had nothing to do with me.
But all eyes were upon me, an unsettling situation, and I felt Azazels hand on my thigh, calming me, restraining me, copping a feel, I wasnt sure which. I wanted to scuttle out of the way, but Michael was too close, and with his shaven head and tattooed body he looked almost lethal. I stayed where I was.
Finally Allie said, Stop looking at her. Dont you realize she doesnt have any idea whats going on?
It was Raziel who spoke. You told Uriel where Lucifer is, he said, his measured voice expressing no censure. Thats what the Truth Breakers were trying to retrieve from you.
I should point out that my visit with the Truth Breakers wasnt my idea, it was Azazels, I said with remarkable calm. And if you hadnt sent someone to rescue me, I would have died.
In fact, it was the Councils decision to send you to the Truth Breakers. We didnt know that the Dark City was part of Uriels kingdom.
Well, thats all right, then, I said, letting the sarcasm through. Didnt you think there might be an easier way to get the information from me?
No.
God, he could be just as monosyllabic as Azazel.
The bottom line is, if Azazel hadnt turned me over to the torturers, they wouldnt know anything about where Lucifer is. And dont ask meI dont remember anything but pain. My ruined voice broke a little on that, despite my best effort, and I glared at Raziel. I wanted to glare at the man beside me, but that would mean I actually had to look at him, and I couldnt trust myself to do that.
They took that memory from you, Azazel said from beside me.
Is that why you sent someone to save me at the last minute? I asked Raziel, ignoring him. Because you realized they were the bad guys? Or because you figured theyd already stripped my memories of anything useful?
I could see Azazel make some kind of gesture out of the corner of my eye, but Raziel ignored him. I didnt send anyone to save you. Youre a demon. Your well-being isnt our concernyou were expendable.
Then who
None of that matters, Azazel interrupted. The question is, what are we
going to do now?
Raziels eyebrows slammed together in displeasure. I think you should answer Rachels question.
I had the sudden idea that I wasnt going to like the answer. No one else was volunteering the informationno one was saying anythingso I turned my head to look at Azazel.
It hit me anew, my longing for him, for the monster whod delivered me to torturers. It was crazy and wrong, and I would die before he found out. So tell me, I said calmly.
The bright blue eyes, watching me without emotion. The gorgeously shaped mouth that had kissed me. The hands that had turned me over to the Truth Breakers without a moments hesitation.
I brought you back.
I froze, going through a mental litany of curses. I was just going to shut up now, before I found out anything else I didnt want to hear. What was I supposed to do, thank the son of a bitch? I couldnt move away from the insistent pressure of his thigh against mine, and knew that if I tried to leave the table, hed simply force me back down. But I could move his restraining hand. I picked it off my thigh and deposited it on his own. He left it there.
We have decided to follow the prophecy, since fighting it has only made things worse, Raziel was saying, though whether to me or the others I wasnt sure. The demon Lilith will wed Asmodeus, king of demons, and together they will rule hell. They will raise Lucifer up from darkness, and they will beget a new generation of the Fallen.
But we know thats impossible, Allie spoke up. For one thing, Rachel is no longer the Lilith. Her servitude is broken.
How do you know? her husband said.
Allie ignored him. As for Azazel, hes only referred to as Asmodeus in a few obscure texts. Some people think hes an entirely different demon.
I might point out that Im not a demon. Azazels voice beside me might almost have held humor, but I knew that was impossible. Besides, if he found anything about this funny, Id hate him even more than I already did.