As I spoke, I lowered my voice and put just enough power to give it weight but not enough that he'd know I was influencing him. "Tell me what I want to know, and Genevra will get through this."
He couldn't nod his head, but he looked up and his eyes darted from me to Lucifer repeatedly. "Do you promise?"
"I promise, if you tell the truth, I will do everything I can for Genevra." I spoke the truth. I'd make sure she had her baby, then she'd be given every chance to redeem herself in Hell. That was the best thing anyone could do for her, give her the chance to avoid being a demon. A rebirth would be far preferable.
"Fine." He closed his eyes and a few more tears leaked out.
"Keep your mouth shut," Uriel snarled. "You'll ruin everything."
Straightening up, I waved my hand at Uriel and transported him into the stall with Genevra. Behind the ward where Ezekiel couldn't hear him.
"How do I know you won't kill me when I'm done?" he asked.
"I haven't read your aura," I said. "Did you know I can do that?"
I released the hold on his head. He wiggled around when he realized he could. "No," Ezekiel said. "I didn't."
"Come on. Let's go somewhere more comfortable to talk." I said.
"I'll stay with Uriel," Gabe said.
Chapter Fourteen
I moved me, Lucifer, Michael, and Ezekiel to my living room. Then, I unbound Ezekiel, all but his hands. As long as my magic was around his hands, he couldn't disappear from the living room. He was tied to me for the time being. He sat on the couch and looked at us in wide-eyed fear.
"Would you like something to drink?" I asked. "This doesn't have to be an unpleasant experience. But I'll know if you lie. I haven't read your aura, because if I do, and I find you've done horrible things, I can't let you go. But at the moment, I don't know what sort of angel you are. How pure or corrupted."
He nodded. "Yes, I understand. If I give you what you want, you'll let me go?"
I nodded. "And Uriel. I'll wipe your memories of ever having told us anything. Of ever being trapped. Then, I'll let you go."
He hadn't asked for a glass of water, but Michael brought him one anyway. Ezekiel took it in both hands, still bound together with an invisible rope. He gulped down half the glass, then handed it back. "Okay," he said. "Genevra recruited me to help. Not many people know she's my sister. Different moms," he explained. I didn't care about that, but I'd let him tell the story at his own pace. I hoped to get more details that way.
I knew Lucifer agreed because he was the one that taught me to interrogate that way. Let them speak freely until they ran out of steam, then ask questions after.
"Raphael contacted Genevra through some guy that knew them both."
Probably that angel I'd killed. The pedophile. Ugh.
"Raphael has said over the years that Elysium would have better recruitment if the people knew the truth about Hell. He thinks they need to know the evils of demons so that they will be led to be on the side of Elysium." We knew he wanted the gates of Hell opened, but not why. This was some of the info we needed. "He wants Hell on earth and for demons to be hunted and killed by angels and humans, and then no more demons created. He cast the spell on Lucifer so that he couldn’t die. He doesn’t want Lucifer back in Hell. He wants the walls and wards weakened so demons can escape until he can bust the gates of Hell wide open."
"And create Hell on Earth," I whispered. "To turn every living soul against Lucifer, Hell, the Fallen, and demons."
Ezekiel nodded. "Exactly. He wants there to be only Elysium and Earth."
I rocked back and sat on the coffee table. "I knew he wanted to open the gates. That much has been obvious. But to eradicate Hell?"
"What about our daughter?" Lucifer asked. "What could she have to do with this?"
"Raphael never told me specifically. But he did say that the spell for opening the gates required your blood. He managed to get some from you, but apparently, it needs your angelic blood, but if you're killed, you could stop him. So, he thought he was screwed until he found out Constance or Lilith, whatever. She was pregnant. So, he wanted to see if the baby's blood would do the trick."
I gasped, horrified at the thought. "Is he going to kill her?"
"I doubt it. It shouldn't take much blood. He's an angel, still. I've never known him to hurt a child." Fresh sobs burst out of his mouth. He covered his face and sucked in deep breaths until he calmed. "Not like you hurt Genevra and her poor baby."
Rolling my eyes, I sighed, exasperated. "I did her no lasting damage. That was my blood. She's bound up in the corner of the stall where you couldn't see her."
As Lucifer and Michael chuckled at my creativity, Ezekiel's jaw dropped. "They're going to kill me."
