29 FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD #2
He was a prick, just as Raum had said. A narcissistic prick with a flaming sword and the power of Heaven on his side.
Still, Sunshine had known him most of her long life, and he’d always been kind enough. Surely there was a part of him that could be merciful. If he was truly indifferent, Eva would already be dead.
“I’m sure it’s a mistake that you haven’t been assigned a mentor yet,” she said, deciding her best hope lay in appealing to his ego. “Why don’t you and I return to the Realm now? We can pay a visit to Adriel together, and I’ll ask him on your behalf to—”
“Still, you try to hide your misdeeds from me,” Raphael interrupted, shaking his head. “I wasn’t surprised before when I showed you my research, but I expected you to come clean when I confronted you. Maybe you are too far gone.”
“I’m not sure what you think I’ve done, but—”
“I know everything, Shamsiel.” His eyes were cold again. Cold and bitter. “I’ve known it from the beginning. Who do you think the Tribunal assigned to wipe Raum’s memories? I’ve been watching you for centuries, waiting for you to break again. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
Sunshine’s entire body froze as his words sank in. Her heart forgot to beat. Her lungs forgot to breathe.
Raphael knew about her past. He already knew. Not only that, but he was the one who had erased Raum’s memories. Because of her.
He had called her out for lying, but how could he have looked her in the eye for the last four centuries and not felt the need to confess?
“I already knew the pages were torn from Raum’s record in the Library,” he continued.
“They were removed on purpose—so you wouldn’t find them.
I thought you should be banished altogether.
I told the Tribunal an angel corrupted to that degree could never truly redeem herself, but they wouldn’t listen, too quick to bend under Adriel’s will.
My only choice now is to show them all the mistake they made in trusting you. ”
This was so much worse than she’d expected. Her world was crashing and burning around her, her faith in the heavenly hierarchy and justice system shattering like frail glass. But she put all her strength into projecting calm. She would not fall apart. She would not give him the satisfaction.
“I see now that I have been misled.” She kept her voice level, without a single tremor.
“You speak of lying, but it seems to me you and the Tribunal have just as much to confess.” Her hopes of reasoning with him were dying with every passing second, but for Eva’s sake, she had to keep trying.
“Whatever it is you seek to achieve here, surely we can find a way to avoid cruelty.”
“It’s not cruelty, Shamsiel. It’s practicality. All I’ve done is arranged a circumstance where I can address the problem of you, the rogues, and this hybrid simultaneously. I borrowed a scrying glass and those manacles from the Court of Ceremonies in preparation. Everything has been arranged.”
Items of power and extra abilities were only bestowed upon archangels when they’d been charged with dispensations of justice. It had to mean the Tribunal had sanctioned this entire terrible plan. The thought made her nauseous.
“We should not follow the rules so blindly,” she said.
“We should have mercy for all creatures. This innocent woman doesn’t deserve to die simply because she was born.
And demons can evolve. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Have you checked on Asmodeus since you cursed him all those years ago?
He is not a mindless servant of darkness.
He cares. He has passions.” Her gaze flicked to Eva. “He loves.”
“A convenient creature for him to fall in love with. A Nephilim’s blood grants him the ability to hide from tracking spells. Because of her blood, I couldn’t use the scrying glass until I had found him with my own eyes. A naive little girl would fall easily for a lust demon’s charm.”
“He didn’t have charm when we met, fuckwad,” Eva spat, “because you cursed him to be invisible, remember? And he passed out cold the first time he told me he loved me. Pretty sure I’d know if he was faking it!”
“Be quiet,” Raphael’s voice was low. “Or I’ll silence you myself.”
“Raphael, please!” Sunshine lurched forward when he lifted his sword toward Eva again. “Let’s remain calm and resolve this without violence. What is it you want from me? Why have you arranged all this?”
His blue eyes fixed on her again. Cold and lifeless. “I want to bring the demon here and finish what I started.”
Raum finally forced himself to leave Luna behind in the kennel, though he felt like the world’s biggest bastard.
The only way he’d been able to do it was to promise her—as if she could understand fucking English—that he’d come back as soon as possible and take her home again.
Even being around Belial seemed better for her than the cage, which said a lot about how much she hated the kennel.
Still feeling like shit, he headed outside, past a gaping Chloé. He didn’t blame her for staring this time. He’d left his torn shirt with Luna—it wasn’t wearable, and he figured his scent might comfort her—and it wasn’t exactly summer yet. The night was cold and the air bit at his bare skin.
As he jogged down the steps, his phone rang. He whipped it out with lightning speed, rolling his eyes at himself when he saw it wasn’t Sunshine.
Meph was right. He had it bad.
It was Ash, but Raum answered anyway because he hadn’t forgotten what Meph said about Sunshine’s warning. He barely got a hello out before Ash demanded, “When was the last time you saw Eva?”
“She dropped me off at the shelter. Why?”
“How long have you been there?”
“Couple hours. Why?”
Ash let out a stream of curses.
“What’s going on?”
“Skye just called me. Eva didn’t show up, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“She was driving. You sure she’s not stuck in traffic or something?”
“The venue she was meeting Skye at is fifteen minutes from the shelter,” Ash snapped. “How the fuck could she get stuck in a two-hour traffic jam at night?”
A chill crept down Raum’s spine, but he assured himself it was too early to jump to conclusions. “Maybe there’s construction—”
“If she was stuck somewhere, she would’ve called to let me know she’s okay. She knows shit is dangerous right now. And she would’ve called Skye to let her know she was going to be late.” Ash sounded like he was barely holding it together. “She would have fucking called.”
Raum headed toward the alley down the street where he usually shifted. The streetlight above flickered on and off.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that your angel girlfriend shows up with some dire warning right before this,” Ash growled. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Raum replied, trying to tamp down his own frustration. “I’ve been trying to reach her all day.”
“If she has anything to do with this—”
“She doesn’t.”
There was a pause, and Raum could hear Ash making low growling sounds under his breath. “If anything happens to Eva, I swear to fucking god—”
“Threatening Sunshine isn’t helping. I’m gonna look for her, and you look for Eva.”
“Fine.” He hung up.
Raum stared at the screen and couldn’t dispel the nerves tightening his chest. He rang Sunshine again, knowing she didn’t have her phone.
He was sure it was sitting in her empty apartment, but he was still going over there to check.
What else could he do? He turned down the alley and headed toward the shadows to shift.
He’d barely made it halfway when a big fucking angel appeared in front of him.
Blue eyes, curly blond hair, with a little dimple in his chin, he had that all-American white-boy charm.
Except for the giant white-flaming sword in his hand. That part was a bit incongruous.
Raum’s heart started beating four times its normal rate, but he held himself perfectly still. He knew who this fucker was.
The longer he stared at him, the more familiar those blue eyes appeared.
Until suddenly … he flashed back to where he’d left off in that dream. Only this time, there wasn’t a smudgy blur where the angel’s face was. This time, the memory was crystal clear.
“Where is Shamsiel?”
“Where is who?” Raum said, adopting a bored expression. Inwardly, however, panic and dread raced through his bloodstream.
“I know everything,” Raphael said, forcing his way into the room. Raum stepped back and gestured for him to enter like it had been his idea all along, carefully maneuvering himself toward the exit.
He wasn’t delusional. If the archangel wanted to apprehend him, he would. Angels could flash. Demons could not. Raum could try to escape in crow form, but Raphael would always have the advantage.
But Raum had broken no rules, he reminded himself. Angels always followed the rules.
Yes, his relationship with Shamsiel was forbidden, but she was the one placed most at risk by their association, not him—something that had never sat right with him.
“I know everything,” Raphael said.
“I highly doubt that,” Raum drawled. “The universe is vast.”
“You can play smart with me, demon, but it doesn’t matter in the end. The Tribunal has come to a decision about how to handle this matter. Once Shamsiel is found she will be dealt with, but for now, it’s your turn.”
Raum stiffened. “Wait, you don’t know where she is either?” he demanded, giving up the pretense. His game of pride meant nothing if Shamsiel was in danger. He’d join forces with far worse than Raphael if it meant finding her quickly and making sure she was unharmed.
“No,” the archangel replied impatiently. “No one knows.”
“Then we need to find her! We don’t time have to waste here—
“Shamsiel is no longer your concern.” Raphael’s handsome face split in a smile as evil as Lucifer’s. “In fact, you’re about to forget you ever knew her.”
Raum blinked back to the present, mind racing as he put the final pieces of the puzzle together. Raphael hadn’t just discovered his relationship with Sunshine, he had been the one to erase his fucking memories.
Of course it was Raphael. Why was he even surprised?
“We meet again,” the archangel said. “You won’t recognize me, but I can assure you—”
“I recognize you,” Raum mumbled, his lip curling.
Raphael frowned and then shrugged. “The subconscious is a tricky thing. No memory wipe can ever be completely foolproof. I suppose your reunion with Shamsiel could have triggered the return of some of your lost memories.”
Well, that explains the dreams. “Why are you here?”
“I hear you’ve misplaced your Nephilim.” He smiled as Raum’s hands curled into fists, and then he pulled a small mirror from his pocket.
“Once I followed Shamsiel to Montreal, I was able to make use of this scrying glass. How do you think I found you here so easily? If you try to escape or contact the others, I will know and I will kill your Nephilim.”
Fucking prick. Raum swallowed back a stream of curses. He wouldn’t give this piece of shit the satisfaction of seeing him mad. “What do you want?”
“Allow me to flash you and you’ll find out.” The archangel pocketed his fancy mirror and held out a hand.
There was no choice but to do what he wanted. Raum probably could’ve come up with a hundred ingenious plans if he’d had time to think, but right now, he wasn’t betting Eva’s life against his chances of fucking up.
“Fine,” he bit out. “Let’s go.”
Raphael’s smile was smug as he grabbed Raum’s arm and flashed him away—probably straight to his untimely demise. Fuck this fucking guy.