He grinned, looking triumphant. "Like you can stop me." Chuckling, he walked forward. "By now, your powers are a fraction of what they should be, and you're no more powerful than I am. Some great and powerful leader you are," he snarled. "One simple spell has you cowering in fear. "
I arched one eyebrow and looked around the room. "Who is cowering? Am I cowering?" Looking down at myself, I made a comical show of turning in a circle. "Nope. No cowering here."
My powers were diminished, sure, and wearing by the minute, but they were leaving me far slower than this putz realized.
I split the flow of my energy, leaving half of it to keep me protected. I used part of the other half to lift the tall man into the air. "My power is fine," I said in a low, even voice. "And I can't help but wonder if killing you will stop the spell and release my husband."
"No," he whispered. "He promised me if I got you here, you'd both be weak. He told me to keep you here."
This wasn't someone on the list we already had. This asshole was someone new. I didn't waste the energy to read his aura. It could safely be assumed he was vile.
Snaking a thread of power up his arm so he could feel it, I let it wrap around his neck several times like a constrictor. "Do you want to release the spell? Or should I test my killing you theory?" I asked.
He gulped. "I can't. If you don't kill me, he will."
My coil of magic tightened around his neck. "He's not here. I am." I cocked my head at him. "Last chance." Squeezing harder, I smiled as he gasped.
"Okay," he whispered through the tightness in his throat. "I'll break the spell."
I released his throat but kept the rest of him tightly bound in my power. "Do it."
"It's not an incantation. It's a spell in the necklace around my neck."
Striding forward, I grabbed the gold chain around his neck and pulled a large purple gem out from under his shirt. Closing my fist around it, I fought the surge of power from it, trying to suck my magic away. With a yank, the chain broke, and the stone rested in my hand.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Crush it," he said.
I considered his words. He could've been leading me into a trap. Crushing it could make it explode or something, but I didn't see how I had much choice. More and more of my magic slipped away every second, and Lucifer didn't look good. He'd slipped into full unconsciousness.
Dropping the stone onto the hardwood floor, I stomped it with my hiking boot. A real stone never would've crumbled without considerably more pressure, but this one did. My magic slammed into me, and Lucifer opened his eyes with a gasping breath.
Jumping to his feet, he surged forward, and I was shocked to realize he was full of power.
But it felt all wrong. "Luc," I whispered as he lashed out at the bound angel.
The man's head separated from his body as Lucifer roared his anger. I watched the wretch's soul separate from his ruined body and sighed as I wrapped it in my power to hold until we could deal with it. We'd never get any information from him now. "Why'd you do that?"
Luc grunted and held out his arms, fully flexed. He cried out again, a low, guttural sound. As fast as he'd filled with power, it disappeared. "It wasn't my power," he said when it was gone. "Whoever's power he stole in that gem is returning to them now. I just borrowed it for a second."
"Why'd you kill him?" I asked. "Now we can't question him."
"Because Raphael and Mark, the one I killed, underestimated what a human could endure. They warned me I'd pass out as soon as we entered the house. I nearly did, too, and my eyes closed. But I didn't go out. They thought I did and spoke freely. This schmuck was being blackmailed. He killed an angel not too long ago and Raphael found out. He wasn't really on Raphael's team, so to speak."
"Then why'd you kill him?" I asked.
Luc brushed my question off. "Would've happened anyway. He killed his friend in cold blood. Any of the angel courts would have condemned him."
I rolled my eyes. "You should've left it to them."
"Sorry," he said. "Once Raphael left, this asshole kicked me around, slapped me a bit. Then told me what a piece of shit I was over and over. My temper got the best of me."
I grabbed his hand and pulled him close. "You were so worried about me getting hurt. I should've taken you with me. If you had your powers, there would be no match for you, but you don't."
He grunted and hugged me back. "Don't remind me."
I pulled Mark's soul close and took us back to the barn. Gabriel and Michael waited there with Joel and bound Uriel. "Ah, I see you were successful." I narrowed my eyes on Uriel, then used my power to stick him to the wall beside Genevra. "Joel, would you be a dear and put this soul with the one you're holding for me?"
