With luck, you never needed to know what was going on, he said, keeping his face blank, his voice neutral.
Because I dont belong here, is that it? Everyone else is preparing for battle, ready to defend their home and their lives. And Im supposed to just curl up in bed and wait for the outcome? Her rough voice vibrated with rage.
Yes.
She gave him a steely glance. Give me a weapon.
Are you thinking of gutting me? he asked, curious. Curious as to whether hed let her, as final penance.
No. To help defend Sheol.
Go back to our rooms, he said, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. You will only hurt our chances of winning.
Fuck you, she said in her hoarse voice.
The enemy were almost here. He could feel their approach. Theyd reached the gates of Sheol, and in moments they would smash them down, breaking the covenant, the laws ordained by the Supreme Being. The Fallens banishment and eternal damnation were written in stone, but so was their life. Eternal life, eternal damnation, and the unbreachable sanctuary of Sheol. And now Uriel was about to break that law.
Go back to our rooms.
Why?
He took a deep breath. Because you make me vulnerable. If youre there, Ill be thinking about you, trying to protect you, instead of fighting the battle I need to fight. Rachel, I cant fight Uriel and fight you too. Go back, for the love of God.
For
the love of God, she echoed. God is the one who cursed us all. Is there any particular reason I should love him?
He heard the gate come crashing down before the steady march of their enemy. I cant argue about faith right now, he said in a quiet voice. Theyre here.
Then Ill have your back, she said.
The assaulting host were marching toward the beach, and the army of Sheol, the small, ill-equipped force of the damned, was waiting for them. He looked at Rachel with her fierce braids and fiercer expression, and a slow smile crossed his face. He pulled her into his arms, just ducking the dagger shed grabbed, and kissed her, not with desperation but with pure joy. Whatever happened, she was his, and it was enough.
We have to go, he said when he released her. Taking her hand, he headed out to the sandy beach.
Raziel and Michael were in front of the others, a powerful force, and Rachel released his hand, going to stand with Allie. He had no choice, wasting only a moment to accept that he might never touch her again. And then he went to join the other two leaders.
It was an endless army, as far as the eye could see. No leather armor for them: their bright metal glinted in the filtered sunlight. He looked for Uriel in whatever form hed chosen, but the archangel wasnt leading his army of angels today.
At their head was Metatron, king of the angels, ferocious and unblinking and huge. With a definite grudge to bear.
He stood front and center, towering over his foot soldiers, but his sword wasnt drawn. He wouldnt call his troops into battle until he raised it, and he was making no effort to reach for it.
So he wants to talk, Michael muttered in disappointment. Coward.
Raziel glanced at him reprovingly. You have no wife, Michael. You have nothing to lose.
I dont lose, Michael said simply.
Neither does Metatron, Azazel said.
The king of the angels stepped forward, his black eyes meeting Azazels for a pregnant moment. There was no sign of Enochthat form had vanished completely. There was only a giant among men, hungry for carnage.
I would talk, he announced, stopping about twenty feet from the three of them.
I could kill him now, Michael muttered, his tattooed arms flexing. His army would scatter without a leader.
Control him, Raziel snapped, and Azazel put a restraining hand on Michaels shoulder as their leader stepped forward.
It should have been difficult for Azazel to watch Raziel in the place he himself had held for millennia, but he felt nothing but relief. He glanced over at Rachel. Her face was set, but she felt his gaze on her, and she turned, meeting it. And then she smiled at him.
It almost brought him to his knees. She had never smiled at him, not like this, full of love and promise and, yes, the forgiveness that hed been too great a coward to ask for. He wanted to cross the sand and pull her into his arms, but he couldnt move.
Instead, he smiled back at her.
What the hell is wrong with you? Michael growled. I dont remember ever seeing you crack a smile in your life, and you decide now is the time to do it?
He turned to Michael, and his smile shifted to a more ironic grimace. Im in love, he said. He looked back at Rachel. I love you, he thought, wondering if she could pick up the words.
Her eyes widened, and he knew shed heard. She might not believe the truth of it, not until he said it out loud, but if he never got the chance at least shed die knowing it.
Raziel had reached Metatron, and he halted, his hand on his sword, as Metatron began to speak.
I, Metatron, first guardian of the ephemeral realm, enforcer of the law, protector of the Dark City, king of the warrior angels, demand the surrender of the so-called Fallen of Sheol and their whores to the most proper and right rule of the archangel Uriel, master of the universe.