Chapter 15 #3
At least in moments like this, when I try not to think about the nature of our relationship, I can simply enjoy his company. Between our smiles and laughter, I can almost forget the impending doom of the apocalypse.
Almost.
The castle looms before us on our approach, its stone edges melting into the shadows with a sinister hue.
The few lamp posts that dot the courtyard garden aren’t yet lit, making its strange plants look like skeletons and tombstones at this hour.
Strangely enough, though, I’m completely comfortable walking through this graveyard.
I guess I should be proud of my own adaptability.
I’m about to open the castle doors when a movement in the shadows startles me.
Abaddon.
I hadn’t even noticed him standing there, just to the side of the doors. Was he there the whole time, hiding in the shadows like the little wraith he is? Is that his M.O.? In the past week, I’ve only glimpsed him a few times, briefly from a distance. I’m pretty sure he’s been avoiding me, actually.
Until now.
His haunting silver eyes are locked onto me, his face so stoic that it almost looks pained. I clutch my chest, instinctively backing towards Dusk, putting a little more distance between us.
“Good evening,” Abaddon greets, surprising me further. “I trust your training was productive?”
“Uh…” I do my best to swallow the lump in my dry throat. What is it about him that’s so off-putting? Is it just the way he looks, or is it something more intangible—like the melancholy inhumanness he carries around everywhere? “Yes, the training was, um… very rigorous...”
Abaddon drags his eyes to Dusk, an unmistakable scowl crossing his face as he looks over the sweaty, shirtless angel behind me.
Ah, fuck.
I can only imagine what’s going through his head. He’s already accused Dusk of ‘defiling’ me once. With my stupid ass response, I’m only making us appear more suspicious. Very rigorous. Goddammit. Why! Why am I like this!
I glance over my shoulder, hoping Dusk will somehow help remove the foot I’ve put in my mouth.
I’m fresh out of luck, it seems.
Golden boy is either entirely oblivious to the whole ordeal, or he simply doesn’t care what assumptions Abaddon makes. Maybe he even wants the King to assume we’ve just done something sexual together. Based on his smug face, I’m inclined to believe the latter.
That little fucking shit.
“Yep. Long day. Lots of activities.” As he passes Abaddon, he smacks one of his wings—which I hope and assume is the angelic equivalent of a friendly pat on the back. “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”
Abaddon clearly doesn’t return the sentiment, standing still and rigid as a statue. I have to force myself to walk past him.
When I do, it feels like my soul shrinks away from his simmering silence.
Dinner with Abaddon and Dusk is so fun.
After about ten minutes of pure, awkward silence, Abaddon finally breaks it with a very blunt, “You need to report your mission completion to the Council.”
I raise an eyebrow towards Dusk in a silent question.
If he sees me, he doesn’t acknowledge it. Slowly, he sets his fork down, crosses his arms, and leans back in his chair with a careless smirk. “I’m sorry, but the last time I checked, you weren’t my superior—”
“Surely it’s not that big of a deal,” I interrupt. I don’t even know if I’m right, but I desperately want to de-escalate before he can piss off the King any further.
Actually, now that I think about it… Maybe I can gain some more information about the elusive Council by playing the fool. It’s been a week, after all, and Dusk has been painfully unresponsive in all my attempts to prod. I can work this to my advantage.
“It isn’t,” he replies flatly. “They have more than enough angels to send on field missions, and I received my instructions directly from the Almighty for this objective.”
Wait, God? He spoke to God? Isn’t that bad?
Abaddon narrows his eyes. “That does not place you above the Council.”
“You don’t say?” Dusk raises his eyebrows, nearly begging for Abaddon to test him further. By his sarcastic tone, I assume this is standard conduct for a messenger. Interesting. I wish I had a notebook on me so I could jot all this down and put the pieces together later.
“I do not determine when the Council hosts our meetings in the Abyss, but it is not infrequent for them to visit. If you do not report to them, they will still eventually find you here. Let it not be at Kae’s expense.
” Abaddon’s gaze flicks to me, extremely briefly—as if by mistake—before looking back at Dusk.
My eyes widen in surprise.
Not only did he just acknowledge my name on his own accord, but he’s concerned about… me? He doesn’t want Dusk to make me look bad in front of their Council?
Surely I’m misunderstanding. He has to be hiding some ulterior motive. Hell, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he’s worried about a hit to his own reputation. If a dog misbehaves, it reflects poorly on the owner, yeah?
“Fine. I will report to Elohim tomorrow,” Dusk says with reluctance, letting loose a quiet sigh before shifting his eyes to me. “I may be gone for a few days.”
Before I have a chance to say anything, Abaddon responds, “You expect to return when the mission is complete?”
My fists ball at my sides, panic rising in me. No, I can’t be left alone in this place. Between Abaddon and the locusts, I might as well be isolated with complete robots. I don’t even want to consider the idea of never seeing Dusk again. The thought hasn’t even crossed my mind, not until now!
As if he can sense my immediate panic, Dusk leans in closer, making sure his eyes fall in my line of sight even though he’s not speaking to me.
“I will return. You said it yourself—Kae has plenty of training to do. It would be a poor reflection on both of us if she isn’t being properly prepared. I just…”
He looks down, rubbing the back of his neck in a very distraught way.
Abaddon stares at him for a moment with a faintly inquisitive expression before finally stating, “You have penance.”
A fire lights in Dusk’s eyes as he throws his gaze back in Abaddon’s direction. “We had a deal. You mind your own damn business, and I stay out of yours.”
“I do not need to pry. It’s obvious as it is, but the length of your absence will speak for itself.”
My eyebrows furrow. “What penance?”
“Don’t—” Dusk starts, but he can’t finish his sentence over Abaddon.
“Anyone who wants to enter Elohim must swear the Oath of Akae. Under the oath, one’s intentions in entering the city must be pure. Council Law demands atonement for any sins committed before allowing entry.”
“Not sins,” Dusk corrects him in a low growl. “The Council does not have the authority to judge sins. Only the Almighty can do that. Penance is only for violation of Council Law, which gatekeeps the city from those they deem to be impure.”
“What penance do you have?” I speak up, worry inching into my voice. “Is it just house arrest, or something like… I don’t know. Punishment? Retribution?”
Who knows what kind of violent punishment angels would demand to cleanse an immortal of perceived wrongdoing? My imagination jumps to dark images, like Dusk being dragged through the streets, beaten, and hung on a cross. A shudder wracks through me at just the thought of him suffering like that.
“Something like that,” he mumbles.
Abaddon is all too eager to explain even further, “It depends on the law broken. Each one has a specific atonement.” His eerie stare fixes upon Dusk. “Would you care to share what your penance is for?”
“Absolutely fucking not,” Dusk hisses, standing up abruptly. Clearly, Abaddon hit a nerve. “It’s as you said. Whenever they allow me to return, then so be it.”
Without another word, my friend storms out of the room, leaving his dinner half-finished. I watch the door in a stupor, halfway expecting him to return with a level head, but he doesn’t.
It’s not long before I leave the dining hall, too.
Dusk is long gone, though. The only company I have on my walk back to my room is my racing thoughts and the violent protests of my aching muscles. I walk slowly, pausing over the little stone bridge on the blackwater creek, just as the fake sun is fading into its eerie night light.
I can’t shake the feeling that Dusk’s penance has something to do with me.
It has to. It makes the most sense. In Urim, he mentioned we were breaking some ancient laws, which I assume must be the Council Law. Even if he was so dismissive about it at the time, though… Was he faking the gravity of his transgressions?
Or is there something else he’s hiding from me?
As much as I hate to think it, he could be less trustworthy than he appears. He already shares so little with me about his world. What would be the difference of one more secret? I’m only the mission, after all. His loyalties lie elsewhere.
And so should mine.
I’ve been so caught up in adjusting to my new life here that I’ve already forgotten my underlying goal. Dusk might have good intentions, but he’s still just a soldier. Whoever this Council is, he’s subject to their will. And if I’m not careful, I’m going to unwittingly become a tool for them, too.
I have to step up my game. I don’t know if I can stop the apocalypse, but I do know the angels want me to believe I can’t. They want me to think it’s so completely impossible, I won’t waste any time searching for an alternative.
What they want me to believe, though, isn’t necessarily the unshakeable truth.
No matter how good they are, how Holy and ordained, they can still lie. They can sin. So much so, they even have a system to deal with the consequences of it.
Starting now, I only have one goal—and it’s not to open the Abyss.