Chapter 27
I was going to kill him.
He was going to die when this was over and I would make it slow and so agonizing. I had so many options to run through in my head yet none of them seemed good enough. The handcuffs bit at my wrists each time I flexed them, but I was vibrating with so much annoyed anger that I couldn’t help it.
I peered up at the blonde angel and noticed he looked pleased with himself. I could strangle him, watching the life leave his hazel eyes and I probably still wouldn’t be satisfied with my choices.
He had caught me by surprise, which I was mentally beating myself up about because that hardly ever happened. I wasn’t a total idiot, so I wasn’t going to implode the plan before it had a chance to even evolve. I’d nearly bit my own tongue through his short exchange with the sentries and maintained my silence as we passed by various angels, making our way to the Ethereal Bastille.
Once Blondie had his friend back and Dimitri was dead to all of us, I would formulate my own plan to lure him away and kill him. I would do it, I swore to fuck , I would do it.
I could feel the difference in the air as we descended some stairs and began to walk down a darkened hallway. It felt less airy, like the light that this place seemed to think it exuded was snuffed out.
I kind of loved it here. The Ethereal Bastille was the first place in this entire realm that felt normal to me.
“You going to remove these anytime soon, Blondie?” I wiggled my wrists.
He arched an eyebrow at me as we walked. “Not yet, just shut up and wait.”
I growled at him.
He snorted, pulling me along. “You keep making noises like that, I will have to flick you on the nose for bad behavior.”
“You touch my nose and I bite your fucking finger off.” I deadpanned.
I chuckled to myself as I noticed him flexing his fingers out, clearly thinking about what I said.
Two sentries were at the large door to the prison and I heard Reese suck in a breath. He cleared his throat as we settled in front of them. “I’m just bringing another one in for Ariel.”
The sentries glanced down at me. One of them stepped closer, kneeling down to get closer to my face. “Demon?” He asked, eyeing Reese.
The blonde angel nodded. “Yup, thought it would be nice for Ariel to find two of his problems in a cell down here.”
The sentry not invading my personal space spoke next,“Aren’t you one of Ariel’s problems?”
Reese rolled his shoulders. “Yeah, that was before, but like I told the sentries at the front gates, I’m not trying to end up here, so can I please take my prisoner to a cell?”
The sentry with his face in front of me, pressed his finger into my cheek. “She looks harmless.”
I let a growl radiate from my throat and I opened my mouth, snapping my teeth together just shy of his finger. He reared back, pressing his hand against the door quickly. I heard it creak open, a gust of smoke blew out near my face.
The sentries let us go past them, but they followed us in, closing the door behind them.
Reese glanced over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I don’t need you to come with us. I got this.”
The one who got in my face tilted his head at me. “Yeah…I think we need to make sure this one stays in line. Vicious thing, aren’t you?”
The blonde angel snickered. “You are not wrong.”
“Hmph. Keen observation. Get in my space again and I’ll rip your face open with my teeth, crunch your bones into dust and drink every last drop of your blood until you are nothing more than useless flesh. So yes , I am very, very vicious.”
Reese let out a nervous laugh, pulling me closer to him. His voice carried to my ear, whispering, “Cool it, you psycho.”
I looked up, giving him the most charming smile I could muster. He rolled his eyes, ignoring the horrified expressions of his fellow angels. He turned around, tugging on my arm.
“Do it now, Blondie or I swear I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass you’ll be afraid to take a shit for the rest of your life.”
He huffed, slowing his pace. Reese casually reached into his jacket, pulling out the glass ball of the sleeping liquid. I looked behind me, watching as the sentries kept their eyes on me, but also kept their distance.
Smart.
I saw Reese tighten his grip on the ball and then we stopped walking. The rest of the hallway and numerous doors to my left and right lay ahead of us, but we had halted.
“Sorry guys, but I have a best friend to spring,” Reese announced before he slammed the glass sphere onto the ground, watching as it shattered into a million tiny little pieces.
The liquid inside instantly morphed into green smoke. It became bigger and thicker as it continued to grow. The smoke curled and ran along the stone floor, nearly encompassing the entire Ethereal Bastille in minutes.
I practically gagged when Reese placed his hand over my face, shielding my mouth and nose from the smoke. Natalia had spelled us so we wouldn’t be affected by it, but Xander had told us to try and not breathe it in directly if we could help it.
We watched as the sentries tried to dart towards us, they tried to yell for help but their movements were slowed and their eyes got droopy. They stumbled on their feet and eventually collapsed to the ground with a thud. It was amusing watching them drop like insignificant entities. I heard more thuds and groans as more angels succumbed to Xander’s spell.
The smoke started to clear and I needed to get Blondie’s fucking hand away from me. I stuck my tongue out and licked his palm. He awarded me with a hiss and disgusted expression.
“Ew, ew, why?” He pulled his hand away, shaking it vigorously.
I motioned to my wrists. “Get me out of these things.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What’s the magic word?”
“ Now .”
He rolled his eyes, using his own magic to release me from the handcuffs. Once they were off, I twisted my wrists. He started to speak, but on instinct I slapped him across the cheek.
He stumbled back, holding the side of his face. “What the fuck was that for?”
I cracked my neck and shrugged. “Let’s go find your friend.”
“Nick!” Reese yelled as we ran down different hallways, searching for the love struck angel. None of the doors had openings, so we had no way of knowing what was behind them. Reese had yanked my hand away the moment I tried to open one of the doors.
He’d made a point to harshly tell me that we didn’t need a shit ton of prisoners running around. I had spat back that they wouldn’t make it far if I had anything to do with it. He’d simply scoffed and continued to shout his best friend’s name.
“Shit.” Reese placed a hand over his face.
“What?”
He raised his hazel eyes to the ceiling, shaking his head. “Jonah made these rooms soundproof forever ago. The log of each cell's inhabitants is probably with Ariel somewhere.”
I raised my hands above my head, exasperated. “Oh well, that’s fucking great, Blondie! What does that mean for us now?!”
“Stop yelling at me or I swear I will slap those handcuffs on you and leave your ass down here!”
“I would love to see you…” My words were cut off by a voice that made us both whip our heads towards where it came from.
“Reese?!” It was Nick. He sounded both excited and slightly confused.
I rolled my eyes. “Soundproof, huh?”
The blonde angel ignored me, his eyes widening as he pushed past me, walking down the hall. His head swiveled as he spoke. “Nick? Keep talking!”
“Reese, what the hell?”
I followed after him, really listening to where Nick’s voice was coming from. We continued to get Nick to keep talking when his voice got louder as we approached a door at the end of a long and dark hallway. It seemed as if Ariel had put him in the most distant part of this prison. If I was Ariel, I would have done the same thing. Isolation could do wonders to destroy someone’s mental state.
“Nick!” Reese yelled one more time, making sure we were in the right spot.
“I’m in here!” Nick responded, his voice clear as day on the other side.
Reese pressed his hand to the door. “I thought Jonah soundproofed this entire building?”
Nick let out a humorless laugh. “I have a feeling Ariel undid it. The asshole probably enjoys hearing the screams of others.”
“Lucky for us then, huh,” I said, pulling the door open when it slid away from the threshold.
Nick stood on the other side, utterly surprised by seeing us both. He hadn’t been in here long, but it already looked like his incessant overthinking had torn some of the light from his eyes. Reese ran over to him, clasping him in one of the biggest hugs I’d ever seen.
I tapped my foot on the stone. “Are you fucking done? We have to go.”
“You guys really did this as a team?” Nick asked, raising a dark eyebrow.
“I don’t have time for your annoying ass questions, so please for the love of Satan can we get out of here.”
Nick looked a bit defeated. “I can’t. I don’t have my key.”
“What?!” Reese and I both said.
Nick shook his head, a grimace on his face. “The minute I got here, she?—”
I felt a sharp heat hit my back that sent me flying against the wall. I rallied quickly, my eyebrows furrowing when my eyes met the only person at the moment that rivaled Nick’s blonde friend for the top spot on my most hated list.
Morgan let her long silky dark hair swish over her shoulders as she aimed her light at Reese, who tried to counterattack, but she was just a tiny bit quicker. His back hit the wall alongside me, but I didn’t have time to figure out a plan against her. I was already too pissed to form words.
“Nicholas, what have you done?” She asked, her voice playfully scolding. It was almost like she thought this whole thing was funny. It was shocking to think that Nick had seen anything in her because all I saw was an angel that needed their pretty ass kicked.
I unleashed my tail, whipping it around and curling it around her legs. She had started to walk over to Nick, but I had her calves trapped and scooped her up. Her glasses fell off her face as I held her upside down, flinging her body outside the door and into the hallway. Before she could collect her barings, I grabbed her by the neck, sliding her body up the wall. I slithered my tail across both her wrists, coiling itself so she couldn’t move her hands. Inky black lines formed along her skin and she hissed in pain as my venom was leaking into her veins.
I brought my face close to hers. “You have his key?”
She pressed her lips together, refusing to speak. Nick and Reese watched from the threshold, not bothering to interrupt.
At least they weren’t complete idiots.
“Okay, let’s try this again. I know you have his key, so be a good girl and just fucking give it to me.” My hand squeezed her throat a tiny bit and her body tensed as if she was scared. She should be. If I truly wanted to, I could snap her in half before either of the men behind me could blink.
She narrowed her eyes at me. My face was so close to hers that I could practically count all the freckles along her nose. I pushed my venom out harder and she cried out.
“P-pocket,” she stuttered.
I gave her a full grin, before I reached my free hand into one of her pants pockets, producing Nick’s tiger’s eye key. I tossed it over to him, as he caught it easily.
“You’ll regret this, Nicholas. You’ll regret choosing her.” Morgan’s words were full of malice and something else that tasted a lot like jealousy. It was heady and delicious. She was the kind of woman that made me want to tie her to a chair and torture her for days on end, just to watch her cry. Ugh, but this so-called team I was begrudgingly a part of needed me to be fully present and alert.
“I think you’re one of his biggest regrets, sweetheart.” I brought her forward and then threw her back against the wall. Her head hit the stone and she slumped down the wall. I ruffled my bangs, casting a look over to the boys. “What? She isn’t dead, be fucking grateful.”
We stepped out of the portal and onto Oculus grounds, our little group waiting to greet us the minute the portal closed.
Maurice pushed past everyone to get to his son. The two men hugged and then the older Cassial patted his son’s body as if he was searching for any wounds. Nick waved him off. “I’m fine, dad. I promise.”
“Ariel has some nerve. Jonah and I might not have always seen eye to eye or been in the best place, but he would have never resorted to those measures.” The anger radiating from his father’s tone had me itching to see Ariel and Maurice in an all out fist fight.
Nick hummed. “Ariel is a giant bully and we’ll deal with him, but now…”
Beetee borderline hurled herself into Nick’s arms, embracing him in a hug. Maurice moved back, smiling over at the amount of love his son was receiving. Nick stumbled back, but hugged her with just as much appreciation. The pink-haired demon pulled back. “Are you okay?”
Nick nodded and then waved over to Reese and I. “Who thought it was a good idea for this to happen?”
I clucked my tongue. “Your best friend, surprisingly enough.”
Nick raised both his eyebrows at his friend but Reese just shrugged, punching his shoulder.
Natalia and Xander laughed. The witch shook her head. “What matters is that you’re here now and we can proceed as planned. I wouldn’t waste any time though. I’m not daft enough to think that Ariel won’t catch wind that you’re gone soon enough.”
Garrett sidled up to Nick, his long braids held together by a thick ribbon. “We’re by your side, Nicholas.” He placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder.
Beetee bounced on her feet. “Always.”
“You got yourself under control there, snake girl?” Xander asked, looking her up and down.
She rolled her eyes, but then her lilac eyes found my own. She gave me a look that told me she was fine. It was as if she inherently knew I was about to tell her she wasn’t going because she had just busted into snake mode a little over an hour ago.
I looked up at the sky, realizing that it was almost close to dawn. The place above the trees was still dark, but I knew light was on the horizon.
I walked up to Reese and Nick, observing the moment Blondie reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a leather bound notebook, handing it to Nick. “That important?”
Nick took it in his hands and pushed away from the way we were crowding him. He walked over to Natalia, handing her the book. “Can you hold onto this for me?”
Natalia cocked her head to the side. “Me?”
The pretty boy angel nodded slowly.
The witch’s bangles clanged together as she grabbed the book. “Sure, Nicholas. As you wish.”
Nick wrinkled his nose skeptically. “You aren’t going to ask me what it is?”
Natalia ran her fingertips over the letters on it. I couldn’t make out what they were from where I stood. “Hmm, something tells me I don’t have to.” She gave him a small smile, the glitter that dusted her dark skin shimmering. “Be safe please. And bring her home.”
Maurice grabbed his son and tucked him into his arms. “We will deal with Ariel when you get back.” His father whispered something to him that had Nick squinting as if he was trying not to cry.
Reese nodded over Nick’s shoulder when they stood in front of each other. Zane stalked over to us, handing Nick his sword. He gave him a short nod before taking his place at the side of his High Priestess.
Nick adjusted his sword at his back then grabbed his portal key. His brown eyes locked on my grey ones as he tossed the key over to me. A small knowing smile played at his lips, but there was something in his eyes that told me he would follow my lead. His priority was Dani, so long as I took him to Dani, he didn’t care what I chose to do.
Reese waved towards the space in front of me. “Lead the way, little one.”