Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Silas
“If you share what you know, Silas, I will allow you to speak with Michael,” Uriel said, wiping his blade on the bloody rag beside him.
Did he really think I was falling for that?
Michael wasn’t coming, and even if he could, I’d never give Uriel a way to hurt Ursula, and hurting Lucifer would hurt her.
I shook my head, coughing up more blood.
It spilled over my lips and down my chin, mingling with the blood on the rest of my bruised and cut body.
“You do realize that if you don’t speak, I will throw you out.
Lucifer already thinks you betrayed him, and I hear his torture techniques are highly effective.
If you don’t share what you know. If you don’t tell me what you have learned about Lucifer while you fornicated with the demon spawn, you will be cast out again and never allowed to return.
You will be without a home, because I assure you Hell won’t want you, and the knights won’t trust you, either, not now. ”
Uriel was probably right, but I’d rather that than give him the means to tear it all down.
Uriel had done something to his brothers and sisters, and arming him with the means to gain more power would not only be a betrayal to Ursula and those she loves but to Heaven as well.
Uriel was a soldier, he was never meant to lead, and definitely not like this.
“Even if I knew h-how to best Lucifer, which I don’t, I w-wouldn’t tell you.”
With a hiss, he closed the space between us, then grabbed a fistful of my hair and began hacking it off. I gasped in agony. An angel’s hair was almost as important as their wings. It didn’t hold any power, but it may as well have. Losing it said you had been defeated, destroyed—broken—in every way.
“You are beyond redemption,” he said as he continued to hack, his knife slicing into my skin as he did.
I gritted my teeth. It would be over soon. Soon it would all be over.
“The stain of your sin will forever mark you, Silas. You will leave here disgraced. Marked. Exiled.” My hair fell to the floor around me.
“I’m going to let you live, for now, but only because I want you to suffer.
I want you to experience the rejection of everyone you care about.
I want you to know that you protected and gave up everything for those who care nothing for you.
I want them to see you like this, degraded, beaten, weak.
” He grabbed my jaw and shoved my head back.
“But if I do see you again, know that I will kill you.”
Then he gripped one of my wings and started slicing. I screamed, the sound torn from the depths of me. Not again. Oh God, not again. It was as if he were cutting out my soul as he tore the first wing from my back. As he cut off the second, I begged for death, but he would never be that merciful.
Instead, he imbedded two large hooks into the gaping wounds in my back and ordered Nathaniel and Eloa to drag my broken body from the palace, across the grounds, and through Heaven’s gates.
Nathaniel stared down at me, and this time there was no glee in his eyes, there was horror, maybe even fear. It flashed in his eyes before he hissed out a breath, planted his boot on my shoulder and shoved.
I fell.
For the second time, I fell from Heaven. Cast out like trash.
I sped toward the earth and didn’t bother to brace for impact. With any luck, it would tear me apart and finish what Uriel refused to.
Ursula
I couldn’t sit still. My brain wouldn’t shut the hell up.
Pacing my room wasn’t helping. I needed a change of scenery or to hit a bar and drink until I couldn’t think anymore.
Maybe Rune was having a party at the asylum?
There were always parties there. I could swing by the Thornhearts, see if Magnolia was around.
She’d been making some pretty good potions lately, the kind that made you feel good.
Harmless, unlike some, and strong enough that you could check out for a while if that’s what you needed. And I needed that more than anything.
Opening a gateway, I strode out onto an average suburban street, where Magnolia and her mate lived behind her family home.
The neighborhood was quiet, though that wasn’t surprising since it was getting late.
The Thornheart place was a large Victorian, several stories high, and backed onto the forest. Lights glowed from upstairs, and there was a car I didn’t recognize parked out front.
Mags and her mate, Bram, a crow shifter, lived part-time in a treehouse in the backyard, and the rest of the time with the crows deep in Oldwood Forest. I wasn’t in the mood to be sociable, so I slipped down the driveway and around to the back of the house.
The place was heavily warded, but apparently, I’d been given the all-clear by the family at some point and they’d forgotten to rescind it.
Lights were on up in the treehouse. At least they were home. Hopefully Magnolia had something here.
A shiver slid down my spine as I closed in on the huge tree their house was built in.
My gaze whipped up and I froze. Bram stood on the balcony, blending in with the shadows.
He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a dark T-shirt, and his long hair was tied back, revealing the shaved sides and all the small lines tattooed into his skull, highlighting the crow assassin’s many kills.
His eyes glittered in the darkness. “You wanna tell me why one of Lucifer’s handmaids just trespassed and is sneaking up on my nest?”
The crows were lethal, and Bram was extremely protective of his mate. The fact that I hadn’t thought about that, like at all, just showed how all over the place my head was. I lifted my hands. “Hey, I know I went about this all wrong. I’m not here to start any shit. I just…is Mags around?”
“Why are you here, Ursula?”
The sound of a door opening came from behind him. “What’s going on… Urs?” Mags and another female stood there. Mags frowned. “Are you okay?”
Anything but the truth would set off alarm bells with her mate.
I’d strolled onto Bram’s territory like a fucking amateur, and now I had to humble myself not only in front of Mags and Bram but some complete fucking stranger, or risk a fight I most definitely didn’t want.
“No, not really,” I said. “I don’t really want to talk about it, but I’m sure you’ve heard all the juicy details and maybe get why I made the mistake of rocking up to your place like a fucking idiot.
” There was no way they hadn’t heard what had happened, the knights, hounds, and Thornhearts were all closely connected.
“I’m not myself at the moment, and if you tell anyone I said that, we’ll have a problem.
All I really wanted is the means to forget the shit show that is my life, for a little while, and was hoping you had something that could help me with that. ”
Mags turned to the female beside her, who was staring down at me all wide-eyed. “Could you give me a minute, Temp? I’ll be right in?”
“Oh…of course!” the other female said and scurried back inside.
Then Mags planted her hand on Bram’s chest. “I’ve got this,” she said. “Can you grab my bag?”
He gave me a hard stare but did as she asked. A moment later he was back, bag in hand. Mags took it from him. “I’ll be inside in a minute.”
“Mags—”
“This is Ursula. I’m in no danger.”
His dark eyes slid to me, then beyond us, and he narrowed his eyes at something and shook his head. “What the fuck has gotten into everyone tonight?”
Mags followed his gaze. “What is it? Is someone out there?”
“Yes, but it’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “Not yet, anyway.”
I looked as well, then reached out, searching for any sign of someone else. I hadn’t seen anyone when I arrived, but if whoever it was didn’t want to be seen, it was easy enough to stay hidden.
I turned back and Bram’s gaze returned to me. “I’ll be listening,” he said.
“No problem.”
He finally disappeared inside. Mags slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way down the ladder.
She jumped the last few rungs and looked up at me. “Hey.”
“Who’s the female?” I asked.
“A new healer, Tempest, she started at the clinic a few months back. I’ll make sure she doesn’t mention this visit to anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
That’s exactly what I was worried about. “I’d appreciate it.”
“We’re having a movie night if you want to join?”
“Not really in the mood to socialize, Mags. If you could just help me out, that’d be cool.”
She gave me a small nod. “I’m not going to ask you any questions, it’s none of my business, but if I give you this, I’m trusting you to use it wisely.
What I make is safe, but nothing is completely harmless.
You coming to me for this stuff can’t become a habit, that’s not why I make my potions, okay? ”
I nodded.
She fished around in her bag and handed me a small jar with two green capsules inside.
“This should do the trick.” I reached for it, but she didn’t let go.
“I know you’re a strong female, and you have sisters you can vent to, but if you ever want to talk to someone else, someone not as close, who won’t judge you no matter what you share, I’m here. ”
She released the jar, and I took it.
“Thanks.” Her offer didn’t surprise me. She was a good female and a warrior in her own right. I respected her and her sisters a great deal.
“No problem.”
I took a step back. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“I hope so,” she said, then watched me as I spun and ran like I was running from something, something terrifying.
And I was—the version of myself that had just made a mistake like charging onto crow territory without warning, then opening myself up and making a fucking spectacle of my bleeding heart.
I didn’t know who this version was. Not anymore.
I was altered in a way that had me untethered. I felt like I was floating away.
When I hit the street, I reached out again, for whoever Bram had sensed out here. Hellhound. Fender to be precise. He stayed concealed, and I was fine with that. I didn’t want to talk either. Whatever his reason for being here was none of my business.
Instead of heading into the city or the asylum, I changed direction and strode along the street.
The Thornheart cemetery was just down the road, and just past that, Jasmine, Mags’s cousin, lived with her fox-shifter mate, Ren.
Beyond that was an open field, then more forest. No one would come looking for me here.
In fact, this was the last place anyone would come looking.
I strode through the field, through wildflowers, until I reached the middle and sat. I flopped back and stared up at the sky. The moon was huge, and there were so many stars here. I liked this view as well. Not as much as the one from my window in Hell, but it was a close second.
Could the angels see us down here? Did they look down with disgust? Did the humans provide them some kind of twisted amusement?
Was Silas looking down now?
Why couldn’t I get him out of my head? He wasn’t even here, and he was tormenting me. I opened the small jar. Forgetting him was what I needed. Pretending he didn’t exist, that I didn’t exist, was all I wanted.
I looked up again, as I tipped the capsules into my hand—
Something streaked through the sky. A glowing bolt of fire, like a comet, plummeting fast and heading for earth.
The ball of glowing heat hurtled from the sky at sound-breaking speed. It was going to land somewhere in the forest. Tossing the capsules aside, I jumped to my feet and started running, even as I told myself it wasn’t what I thought it was—who I thought it was.
Sprinting across the field, I burst into the forest.
I looked up again as the glowing ball of fire disappeared behind the trees.
The impact came a minute later, so fierce, the ground shook, and a wave of sound, an echoing boom, blasted through the forest, almost knocking me on my ass.
Birds burst from the trees, animals startled awake.
The humans would think they’d just had an earthquake, the demons in this city, and especially in the forest, would know otherwise—the knights as well.
They’d already be on their way, and they had wings to get here quicker.
Because it was him. It was Silas.
I dug deeper, running so fast the forest was a blur. He was mine. Silas was fucking mine. He must have pissed off the angels if they’d thrown him out again, but that wasn’t my problem. I told the knights what I’d do if I got to him first, and I never went back on my word. Ever.
Elation filled me as I got nearer. I could feel him. I wasn’t excited to see him, I was excited to get my revenge, that’s all this was, nothing more.
Bursting through the trees, I skidded to a stop. Trees were laid flat for half a mile around a crater deep in the ground. I bounded across fallen trees, one after the other, until I reached the edge. Someone yelled in the distance, the knights were closing in.
Without pausing, I kept going, digging my heels into the loose earth, skidding, sliding down into the scorched and smoking crater.
It took me a minute to see him. He was covered in dirt and char, and as I got closer, I could see he was bleeding and bruised.
I swallowed thickly, trying to harden my heart.
He did this to himself. This is what happened when you aligned yourself with angels.
Still, I crouched beside him, a pained sound sneaking free when I saw his hair had been hacked off and the open wounds on his back where they’d again sliced off his wings.
“Ursula!” Chaos called.
I looked up and saw the knight silhouetted against the sky, his huge wings outstretched.
Wrapping an arm around Silas, I threw up the other and opened a gateway to Hell. Gritting my teeth, I dragged him through, knowing they couldn’t follow. Chaos landed, Zenon with him.
“Hand him back through the gateway, Ursula,” Zenon growled.
“Not happening. Silas has to answer for what he did.”
“Ursula,” Chaos barked.
I closed the gate, shutting them out. They could have what was left of him when I was done.