Chapter 27
Idon’t know how he can materialize so suddenly, but I do know that I’m not safe with him. I know it in the same way prey instinctively fears its natural predator.
His draconian eyes, more molten lava than human, assess me the way a beast does when making a game out of its food.
His wings tower over his shoulders, red as fresh blood, casting me in the shadow of violence.
The darkness even seems to bend to his will, molding to him like a second skin, trapping me in his lethal web.
But Michael is not just any predator, I realize.
He is the single apex predator of the entire fucking planet.
Unknown to the rest of the food chain, he sits at the very top, ruling everything and everyone with cold, fathomless calculation.
As far as I know, the angel is unrivaled in his power.
He could kill me with a fraction of a thought.
What good is bravado in the face of futility? Any fight or flight response I could have here is hopeless. If it suited him, I’d be dead before I even had the chance to think about it. With the way he looks at me, I don’t doubt it’s crossed his mind, either.
The only thing keeping me from rolling on my back like a submissive, beaten animal is the thought of the people I have depending on me.
I wouldn’t be above begging for mercy for my friends and family—but I’ve yet to determine if even that would save me.
I have to keep my calm long enough to figure out how to survive the righteous judgment of a vengeful angel.
“Michael.” I try to swallow the hysteria in my voice. “How did you—”
“Someone can explain how ethereal and physical forms work later.” He sounds extremely unamused, though not necessarily venomous.
“Stop trembling and calm your weak base nature, child. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. In fact, I’m making sure you don’t do anything idiotic.
” His eyes flick towards the path, then back at me, narrowing. “Like rush the gates.”
A moment of silence passes, and I realize he’s waiting for me to say something. Fuck. I have to be careful, or I’ll only end up insulting him. He clearly likes to be in charge, so I need to let him lead the conversation. “Wh-what’s going on?”
Michael looks at me like he’s trying to determine if I’m even worthy of an explanation.
I hold my breath until he finds what must be sufficient enough for him to continue.
“After your fragile human body collapsed yesterday and the King of the Abyss made himself incapacitated, the rest of us finished the mission as planned. We successfully raised the beacon in the evening. I have no doubt it sent a pulse to every celestial being on the planet.”
“I’m sorry, but I…” They did what? “I don’t… understand.”
He continues as if I never said a word. “Their swiftness is moderately unexpected. We assumed they would trickle in separately over time, but they must have regrouped before arriving.”
The blood drains from my face. “Michael… who are you talking about?”
Please don’t be—
“The Profuga, of course.” He looks at me dully, his expression bored. “The fallen Watchers.”
My heart leaps so high into my throat that I choke on it. I would have been less shocked if he had reached out and slapped me. “I-I thought the demons were imprisoned.”
And the Council summoned them here? Does Abaddon know this? Oh God, if he’s going up there to fight them off all by himself, then I have to warn him!
“Yes, a convenient rumor that ceased to be true some time ago. In response to our summons, they’ve made the audacious decision to come barreling down the tunnels together.
The organized coalition is a mockery of their insignificant authority, really, and too similar to their prior rebellion for our preference. ”
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.
“Abaddon is in danger.” My head feels light, muddy with panic. “I have to—”
Michael scoffs like I’m the most idiotic human on the planet.
“And what exactly do you think you can do, with your weak little mortal body?” The pupils of his eyes are tiny, constricted beads as they narrow in on me in sheer disgust. “I’ve seen what power resides in you, and I know you have zero control over it.
You would be nothing more than a liability to the Destroyer. ”
In such a short time, my resolve to survive this conversation with wit has crumbled.
I can feel his words worming their way into a deep-rooted insecurity of mine, because…
he’s right. I am weak. And I’ve been stupid to pretend I can make any sort of difference.
I have no business being in the same room as these beings, let alone a battlefield.
In a fight against a celestial warrior—any of them, even the lowest of their ranks—I’d die pathetically fast.
This power has been wasted on me.
As if it can hear my bleak thoughts, the entity suddenly thrashes within my soul, grabbing the entirety of my attention.
It shouldn’t be possible for me to forget Michael’s eagerness to kill me, but I’m suddenly enraptured by this thing. It’s rousing without being threatened. How strange.
Does it feel the inexplicable urge to protect me, just as I did for it?
If this is my rare chance to learn more about the nature of my parasite, then a brief slip of focus from my current company is worth the risk.
I shut my eyes and immediately let myself slip into that blind ocean of the immaterial world. My ease in doing so might be the only thing I’ve mastered here, and until today, I’ve never been grateful for it.
The star seems to beckon me to it, thrashing around the core of my soul. I recognize it, and it seems to recognize me, too. It calms at my proximity.
It’s the most disturbing thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Not only is the worm acting like a beloved pet, but I feel more enmeshed with it. It’s starting to seem less like an unwanted parasite and more like a symbiotic relationship. Like a mere shadow of my soul.
I swear, it even has a malevolence about it that isn’t directed towards me. It’s fighting off something foreign to both of us. Perhaps it’s even asking me to help it.
What a crazy and fucked up theory.
But it didn’t end well for me the last time I refused to give in to my unwanted urge to protect the entity, so I suppose it’s time to start testing my hypothesis.
“Stop.” Throwing my eyes back open, I look up at Michael with a newfound, fierce determination. “You’re crossing a line.”
To my absolute horror, he gives a small, disturbed smile.
I’ve never seen him smile before, and I wish I never did. It makes my skin feel like it’s covered in spiders. It’s not just twisted amusement. Something about him is very, very wrong.
How am I the only one who sees it?
Well, at least my soul’s shadow agrees, considering the entity has stopped thrashing like an enraged, caged animal. I can’t even feel it anymore—and for some strange reason, that bothers me. I almost liked knowing I’m not completely and utterly alone with Michael.
“At least you can sense interference.” He takes a step closer, immediately prompting me to step backward.
A wall hits my back—the stone pillar—and Michael’s sick smile grows even wider.
That, combined with my disintegrated connection to my angry shadow, shatters any fragile confidence I had left.
“Too bad that’s all you can do. I’ll admit, I didn’t think you’d survive yesterday.
You proved me wrong, which doesn’t happen often.
I would say you should be impressed with yourself, but you only made it as far as you did because of me.
You are nothing on your own. The key is wasted on you. ”
“I’m trying. I just…” He’s found my weakness, the vulnerabilities in my pitifully frail armor, with such ease.
Every cruel word he says wedges itself under my skin, perfectly designed to break my spirit.
Despite my best efforts to keep myself from falling apart, my body quivers, and my eyes burn with tears. “I need more time.”
“Excuses. Your resolve is pathetic.” A hard sneer forms on his face. Disgust radiates off of him, becoming one with my self-hatred. “A cockroach has more resilience than you.”
And what reason would the chief of angels have to lie to me? He’s probably right. Of course he is. He knows everything.
If I were any stronger, I’d have already taken control of my power. I’ve made no real progress here, and the truth of my failure claws at my heart, paining my chest.
“I want nothing more than this,” I plead.
“I’m not convinced. You had the chance yesterday, and you wasted it.
If you want it so bad, what’s holding you back?
Can’t deal with the pain? Afraid your puny mortal heart will give out?
” Every word he spits at me is laced with sardonic distaste and bitter disappointment.
“You’re just too weak a human for the task, and your continued existence is only delaying the inevitable. ”
True desperation creeps into my voice. “I can do it.”
Michael tilts his chin up, looking down his nose at me with a righteous stare that makes me shiver again.
“No. You don’t even believe yourself worthy, let alone capable.
So why not just die already? Stop wasting everyone’s time.
Be a martyr to the cause and let the key pass on to someone who can handle it. ”
This is it—this is exactly what I’ve feared. Michael is willing to kill me for my failure and let someone else have my shadow. I feel it stir inside me again, as if it understands the same ugly reality that I do. Instead of thrashing, though, it’s more of a… nervous pacing.
Not a good sign.
“I refuse,” I whisper to more than just Michael. “I would rather die than give up now.”
Michael leans in closer, towering over me even more. “You could do it right now, you know. With your keepers distracted, I could ensure you’re uninterrupted until you pass the point of no return.”