Chapter 9
Nine
Castiel
An overgrown chicken?
Did she think I was an idiot? I lived in a rural village up north. An overgrown chicken. I was nothing like a chicken. I hadn’t reacted to her taunt. I would save that for later. Bring it up when she least expected it.
I had decided I was done waiting on these foolish humans and would fly above the clouds to release some frustrated energy when a knock sounded at my door.
“Enter,” I barked, eager to see Lilith again. I needed someone to verbally spar with, and she was the only person in this horrible little cult with a brain. I felt a bit bad about how our conversation ended yesterday, but I didn’t regret anything I had said to her. She needed to hear it.
The door opened and a man stepped through.
My heart thudded in disappointment, and the ayim coursing through my veins turned sluggish.
I scowled.
The man smoothed a wrinkle in his black suit jacket. “I’m Elder Dalton. I’ve brought you breakfast.”
“We do not need to eat regularly like humans,” I told him as an adolescent girl tiptoed past him and brought a plate and napkin to the table beside me. She glanced up at me in alarm, then scurried out of the room.
Elder Dalton smiled anyway. “Whatever we can provide you, Herald, let us know.”
I bit back a sigh. This treatment, this veneration, was annoying and restricting. I wanted to leave.
My heart fluttered at the thought of leaving Lilith. I was just getting to know her, and she seemed wonderful. That was a shame.
I needed to get that old manuscript the other elder mentioned yesterday, and I didn’t want to rely on an old man’s memory to retrieve it.
But I also didn’t want to be too obvious about my steps. Gabriel and I had agreed our search should be done discreetly, drawing as little attention from humans as possible. The last thing we needed was a cult of followers traipsing after us as we returned home. Aerie didn’t need humans in it.
Also, we didn’t want to alert the Gar to what we were doing.
The Gar, our enemy, had Fallen through the sky with us.
Both our sedge and their unit had been severely wounded, and in the aftermath of the Fall we ignored one another to gather our injured and retreat.
I doubted the Gar had plans to attack us—the war was back home, not here—but we also didn’t want to tempt them.
I didn’t know where the Gar had gone and I hoped they had no idea where we were, either.
Elder Dalton cleared his throat, staring at me.
Clearly I’d missed something with my cloud-gathering. “Of course,” I replied.
He nodded. “Come with me, then. Our meeting will begin in a few moments.”
Great. Just great. I still hadn’t studied the holy precepts. They better not quiz me on anything. I gestured broadly and followed him out the door.
“Your church is admirable,” I said as we walked. “Do all the members live right here, or are there others in the greater city?”
“We have a few friends who are sympathetic to our cause, but they hold positions of power and wealth.” He sighed, shaking his head. “They are seduced by earthly things, and so will not fully commit to walking Erlik’s path.”
“Is Lord Fallon one such man?”
Elder Dalton glanced back at me in surprise. “Why, yes. He is known for his rare collection of books.”
“I would like to meet this man,” I declared. “To judge his heart and see what hope we have for him joining this church before Erlik takes him home.”
I must’ve said the right thing, for the elder nodded and smiled. “I have great hopes that you, mighty Herald, will turn his gaze to our god.”
This was definitely a cult. I didn’t have a lot to compare it to—the worship of the universe back home in Aerie and the coven we met long ago that worshiped Emmas—but none of them used special language and such exclusive beliefs.
Stars, I needed out before any of it started to rub off on me.
I’d already heard some whispers about public punishments.
Things not even the military would do to its warriors in Aerie.
We entered a room off the sanctuary. I clenched my jaw, tightened my wings, and wiggled my way through the door. I could not leave soon enough.
Inside, a large wooden table graced the center of the room. The bare wooden floors and walls spoke to the ascetic expectations of the group, though I noticed the chairs were plush with velvet upholstery.
The smell of decay was stronger here. A waterspot stained the ceiling in the corner, a corresponding musty, dark patch on the floor below it. I wrinkled my nose, trying to ignore the smell emanating from the room. Was it the age of the building? The age of the humans around me?
Something fresh and clean cut through the miasma.
With a jolt, I saw Lilith standing on the other side of the table, bent forward and fussing with a bouquet of evergreen and bright red berries.
Her hair shone the palest gold in the flickering candlelight.
Ayim surged, my heart pumping it so fast I could feel the tingle down my limbs.
Heat rushed over me, and I felt the urge to stretch my wings and straighten any ruffled feathers.
She glanced up, freezing in surprise. The hazy, wintry light trickling through the window to the right created a halo around her face. Stars, she was beautiful. My whole body ached at the sight. My cock perked up, too.
Then I took in the rest of the room and saw all the other elders milling about: Elder Nelson, the old one who seemed to lead; Elder White, the heavyset one; Elder Tomes, the thin, dour one I met at Mirkwold; and Elder Dalton. They exchanged easy smiles and laughs.
My sedge had once acted that way, molded from years of friendship and working together. I gritted my teeth against the bittersweet memory.
Elder Nelson thumped his cane on the floor and took a seat at the head of the table. “Let us begin.”
Elder White slid around the back of the table, resting his hand on Lilith’s lower back as he pulled out his chair.
Sudden rage boiled in me, and I saw red. My eyes zeroed in on the bastard’s hand as I seethed. My feet lurched forward, and I barely caught myself before a growl ripped from my mouth. My hand gripped the back of the chair in front of me. All I wanted was to fly over there and tear his arm off.
Something cracked.
Lilith’s eyes flew to mine, and she looked down in dismay. Her expression cut through my rage. I realized the room had fallen silent, and every single person was staring at me. I glanced down to see the back rail of the chair split. I blinked, pulling my hand away. Had I grabbed it that hard?
Splinters sprung from my palm, one particularly deep and large jutting from the heel of my thumb.
The men blinked at me. Then White laughed. “Power of Erlik himself!” The rest followed suit, laughing off my actions.
Lilith jerked around the table toward me, then halted, as if unsure what to do.
As the anger receded from my mind, I could recognize I had been a bit…ridiculous. I still didn’t like what I saw, but it wasn’t my problem to solve. Lilith had made that clear.
“Lilith, girl, go get a bandage for the Herald.” Tomes jerked his thumb.
She lurched forward again, shooting my hand a worried glance, but I waved her off. I wasn’t going to posture and force someone to serve me just so I could feel important.
“No need. We heal quickly.” I yanked the splinters out, keeping my face impassive against the pricks of pain. Red blood dripped from between my fingertips. Suddenly Lilith was beside me with a white cloth, cradling my hand.
“You’re going to stain the wood,” she whispered sharply. “Let me wrap it at least.”
Although her words were harsh, her hands were tender as she delicately wrapped the cloth around my palm, applying gentle pressure to the wounds. Pain pricked my hand, but I didn’t care. I basked in her attention.
She smelled of herbs—I didn’t know what kind, but they were sweet and mellow. It reminded me of wildflowers and clean linens flapping in the summer breeze. I closed my eyes, resisting the urge to bury my face in her hair. My heart throbbed at her nearness.
Or—no. Surely my heart throbbed from the pain. I could feel the ayim spreading down my arms, likely to heal my wound in a few moments. It had nothing to do with the beautiful woman at my side.
“Let us begin.” Elder Nelson rested his cane against his chair and folded his hands on the table before him.
Tomes pointed to one of two empty chairs. “Please, take a seat, Herald.”
I glanced at the narrow chair with the rigid back. There was no way I would fit. I cleared my throat. “Thank you, but I shall stand.”
The men nodded and turned to one another.
Which seat had the man pointed to? Lilith’s brother’s?
I sneaked a glance at her as she backed toward the door.
I hadn’t seen an outpouring of grief from her, but she wasn’t the type to grieve where anyone could see.
How did she feel about her brother’s seat being offered to me?
Perhaps it was a good thing I couldn’t sit in it.
“Lilith, bring us water.” Elder Dalton sat rigidly in his seat.
She murmured something and slipped out the door.
I ground my teeth, disproportionately annoyed at the scene.
“Before we begin with the needs of the community, I wished to inform the group the Herald desires to visit some of our sympathetic friends, like Lord Fallon, to test their hearts and urge them into the fold.” Dalton glanced up at me.
I took my spot, standing at the head of the table.
“That can be arranged.” White looked thrilled. “When can we begin introducing the Herald to the rest of those lukewarm reverends who claim to serve Erlik? I can’t wait to show the rest of those smug men we were correct all along and we have Lord Erlik’s favor.”
No, that wasn’t happening. No way was I going to be paraded around like a bird in a cage for a cult to score points over the rest of the Church of Erlik.