Chapter 23 #2
Tome gasped, glancing down. His eyes widened in shock to see the hilt of a knife sprouting from his chest. His black suit darkened further. He sagged, grabbing with both hands at the banister. “No, it’s not supposed to—no,” he garbled. His knees buckled and he rolled to the flagstone floor.
I stared down at him as he blinked, trying to make sense during the blood loss. Pulling the knife free, I watched as blood gushed from the open wound. “I warned you,” I rasped.
The life in his eyes flickered, then died.
I stalked past him, trailing molting feathers in my wake. My wings dragged up the stairs. I didn’t have the strength to fold them against my back. The stairs went up and up and up. I felt every sharp stone, every catch in the tread as my feathers tore from me.
The pain grew, blotting out the edges of my vision and making my hands tremble. I welcomed the fiery torment. Let it guide me, direct my focus. My footprints left blood and ayim behind.
I might not have magic, I might not wield magic, I might be the son of farmers. But I was Castiel, third in our sedge, warrior, survivor of the Fall, and I let my brown wings spread as widely as they could. I was Castiel, and Lilith was mine to protect.
Need sunlight, my body screamed at me. But I wasn’t headed for sunlight. I was headed for the elders and Lilith. Healing could wait.
Up the stairs I went, until at last I reached a door. Hurling it open, I stalked through into the corridor near Grimshaw’s study.
I bared my teeth. Perfect.
Not bothering to hide my approach, I let my footfalls be their only warning. Several feathers caught in a crack along the floor and I wrenched my wing free, uncaring of further damage. I found the room that smelled of ego and greed and sounded of men’s voices, and kicked the door down.
My leg screamed in protest at the sudden movement, tendons crackling, but I dragged myself into the room.
Sunlight streamed through the one small window, and my heart, which had been pounding in my ears, suddenly was able to get the ayim pumping through my body again. A weight lifted off my chest.
Nelson, Dalton, and White sat around the table, arguing. They stared up at me, mouths falling open as I loomed over them.
“Your time is over.” The words scoured my throat and made my tongue throb.
White and Dalton stood. “We didn’t know! We weren’t told until later—”
“But you knew and didn’t stop it.” I forced the words out of my mouth despite it feeling like vomiting sandpaper. “The way you rule this neighborhood. The way you treat Lilith. It ends today.”
White bolted for the door, but I was faster. Already I felt renewed vigor seeping into my muscles.
I sliced his throat, watching as a ribbon of blood appeared and then poured down his neck.
His eyes widened and he choked, grabbing at his neck to hold the torn flaps of skin together. White opened his mouth as if to shout for help, but no sound emerged.
I grinned. Now he knew what it felt like.
Dalton cowered in a corner, raising his hands. “Please! I have a wife. Children.”
But I had watched the way his eyes roved over Lilith’s body, the way he dismissed anyone around him he deemed unworthy of his attention, and the way he twisted his god’s precepts to fit his whims.
I rounded the table and cut his throat, like the other elder. Blood hit the floor, covering the mildewed planks and overlaying the stench of decay with bright, salty iron.
Then I turned to Elder Nelson.
Sunlight spilled across the room. My heartbeat grew stronger. My vision began to broaden as my eye healed. I was by no means whole, but at least I could breathe without feeling near unconsciousness.
He sat at the table, staring at me.
I stared back, blood dripping from the blade in my hand. Soft splats of it landing on the rug ticked the seconds away.
“Are you truly going to kill an old man?” he asked finally.
“After all you have done you do not deserve to live.” My voice was hoarse.
“You turned Lilith’s father into a stern, remote man who didn’t love his children.
You encouraged Lilith’s mother to pin all her love on one child because you deemed him more worthy than the other two.
You used Absalom’s cruel tendencies to frighten people into compliance.
You rewarded him with a wife, knowing she would be abused.
You held Lilith up as beautiful and perfect, making her a target for everyone around her.
And that’s only one family of many.” I gestured around the room.
“What other sins have you hidden? Encouraged?”
Rage suddenly shone in his eyes. “I have held this community together,” he shouted.
Spittle flew from his mouth. “I deserve respect. With my own bare hands I kept the church from collapsing with each new Grimshaw taking over. And I have offered you power and prestige. Stature in this world where you clearly don’t belong. ”
A harsh laugh ripped out of my raw throat. “Power? Prestige? Do you really think you could offer me something I do not have the strength to take on my own?” My wings flared, molting and burned though they may be, and I stepped closer.
He flinched. “I—I was only doing what Erlik commanded.”
“Do not even try that line with me.” I stepped over Dalton’s dead body. “We both know your only interest in Erlik is how you can use his traditions to trap people into venerating you. Your ego knows no bounds.”
The rage returned, turning his face ugly. “How dare you!”
A sound caught my attention. Someone coming down the hall, likely. The gait was familiar, though I couldn’t place it at first.
A harsh, male gasp filled the room. “Castiel.”
Surprise made me falter. I turned my head to see Azrael standing in the doorway, drawn sword in hand. His soot-colored wings were pinned tightly to his back to give him room to maneuver through the narrow corridor. “What are you doing here?”
“Skies and stars, Castiel.” His black eyes were wide and his pale face grew even whiter. “What did they do to you?”
Movement flickered behind him. “By Erlik’s name,” a woman gasped. Hazel eyes peeked from between his wing and the doorway.
“Keep away, human.” Azrael impatiently pushed her backward.
“Castiel!” Silence called, still pushing at Azrael’s back. “You have to get Lilith out!”
Out? Out from where? My heart pounded and ayim swelled through my body. Find her, find your mate. My heart, mind, and body were one in their goal: save Lilith. Protect her at any cost.
Nelson grunted, and I turned back to him in time to see him launch himself at me with his cane.
I leaned into the attack, swiping with the blade in hand. Knocking the cane away with one forearm, I caught his arm with the knife.
He shrieked in pain, falling against the edge of the table and clutching his upper arm. “You!” His face was a mask of wrath and disbelief, as though he didn’t imagine anyone would fight back against him.
“Me,” I rasped, grabbing him by his collar and dragging him up in the air. His face reddened and eyes bulged, his wrinkled and age-spotted hands scrabbling at my hold on him.
Nelson wheezed as his legs kicked in midair. “P–P—”
I shook him. “Today is the last day you hurt her.” I sank the knife into his side, angled between his ribs.
Nelson’s eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock. Blood gushed from his side, drenching my hand.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled the blade free and let it drop with a dull thud to the floor. The horrible squish echoed in the room. I dropped him on the ground, watching his face turn gray as he gasped for air.
He was close enough to death. I didn’t have time to waste. I spun and pushed past Azrael.
“Where is Lilith?” I demanded, my whole body quivering with need to get to her.
“The prayer closet!” Silence blurted, wringing her hands behind Azrael. “She’s locked in the prayer closet!”
Azrael, for his part, glared at me. “Where are you going? You can barely stand. You certainly can’t fly.”
“To get my mate,” I snarled over my shoulder.