I tried to scream, but no noise came out. Theyd already taken my voice, and this time they would finish me. I scrambled to my feet, knocking over the chair in my hurry, but the creature didnt move, simply following me with those empty eyes.
I tried again for my voice, and found a husking remnant of it. Go away. You dont belong here. I dont have any more information for you. Ive told you everythingyou dont need to hurt me anymore.
He spoke then, in an eerie, disembodied voice that sounded mechanical. We are not here to hurt you.
We? I looked around and saw there was another one to my left, watching me with the same soulless intent. I stood a fighting chance against one of them. Twoimpossible.
I still tried to back away, toward the French doors Id stupidly closed. If I got inside I could lock the door, slowing them down while I ran for help. Then why are you here? I asked.
To kill you, the creature said, his voice expressionless.
Why? I was edging closer and closer to the door, and neither of them had moved. There was just the slightest chance I could make it.
So it has been decreed, and so it shall be, he said, moving toward me, and I saw his hands, hands that were more like claws, and for one crucial moment I froze in remembered terror.
My panic broke, and I whirled around just before he touched me, making a dash toward the door; but he caught me, talons ripping through the white cotton into my shoulders, and I felt the spurt of blood as I screamed once more, in deathly silence, knowing they would kill me, praying that death would be quick and merciful.
I didnt want to die. Not now. I wanted to lie in bed with Azazel and explore all the pleasures of the flesh. I wanted to walk in the bright sunlight beside the water that frightened me. I wanted to talk with Allie and laugh with the others, and I wanted to do what I did best. I wanted to heal the loss, make certain there were babies for these women to hold in their arms.
I felt a strange frisson ripple through my body, almost as if I were changing form; and instead of running, I lashed out at the Truth Breaker nearest me, watching in shock as the talons of a night bird ripped across his face, and he screamed in pain.
A second later the French doors exploded in a hail of glass shards, and Azazel stood there, rage on his pale face, his wings, his beautiful wings, unfurled. They were a deep blue-black, seeming to fill the space with a righteous fury, and then he was a blur of movement, ripping the Truth Breaker away from me and slamming him against the wall. I could hear the crunch of bones, the creatures high-pitched squeal of pain as I dropped to the ground, clutching my torn shoulders. I must have imagined that temporary shift, the lashing out with a raptors talons.
Someone had followed Azazel and was making quick, efficient work of the second one, breaking his neck and dropping him to the ground, but Azazel was horrifyingly merciless. He tore the pincerlike hands off the first creature as it shrieked and babbled, and then, with
a quick twist, broke his neck and ripped his head from his body.
I should have been sick, horrified. Instead, if Id had a voice, I would have cheered him. I was on my knees on the stone patio, blood streaming down my arms, my hands making no progress in trying to stanch it. Feeling dizzy, I swayed, thinking I could just lie down for a moment; then he was beside me, scooping me up in his arms, an unreadable expression on his face as he cradled me against him.
And then we went up, up, into the twilight sky, my blood soaking into his clothes as it soaked into mine; and I felt light-headed, though I wasnt sure if it was from blood loss or being flown in the arms of an angel. And then I saw where he was heading.
I began to struggle, desperate to escape his grip. Allie had explained to me one afternoon how the sea had healing powers for the people of Sheol, and I knew he was taking me there, down into the black, murderous depths, and I knew I would drown once more at the hands of a man I loved.
Stop it, he said, crushing me against him. Youll make us fall.
I didnt care. I would rather die in a tangle of broken limbs than drown at his hands. I tried to tell him, but nothing but air came from my throat, and he simply ignored my desperate struggles as he rose vertically over the roiling ocean, and then plunged downward.
I expected bitter cold, but the sea was merely cool and salty. I shut my eyes to keep the stinging water out, closed my mouth on the silent scream and held my breath, fighting him as he pushed me down, down, and my lungs were bursting, my body sinking, as he pulled me to him and covered my mouth with his.
I was too shocked to resist, and he forced my lips open, breathing into me, sweet, pure air for my starved lungs, and my eyes fluttered open. I could see him clearly in the luminous blue water, smell the scent of his skin, and when he lifted his mouth I realized I was breathing.
He stripped the torn and bloody shirt from me, letting it drift away in the ocean, and the salt water washed my wounds, soothing them. I felt my body release its frozen panic, almost on its own, and I lay back, the water wrapped around me, cradling me, caressing me. A moment later we shot upward, his arms tight around me, so that we were floating in the water.