The determined little look in her eye when she suddenly had an idea, or the excited crinkle of her nose when she was onto something. She had been right. She was too smart to be kept locked up in a room all day. Even as a little helpless mortal, she was clever and a fast study.
I found that the more agency and leniency I gave her, the more she looked at me like she didn’t hate every fiber of my being. When I had given her the dagger and she realized I was attempting to give her the ability to defend herself… The way she had looked at me… I wanted her to always look at me like that.
So, I stayed and played chess with Shemhazai instead of returning to the library and fucking Lilith on top of all those old dusty books like I wanted to.
“I know,” Shem said. “It’s hard to forget when you mention it every five seconds.” He chuckled, using a pawn to claim my knight.
Prick.
“What the fuck could be taking so long.”
Shem glanced up at me, his green eyes flashing in the firelight. “Well, he could have been discovered stealing the scepter, for one. Maybe Yahweh unmade him.” He grinned, and I bit back a laugh.
“Touché.”
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. I glanced over my shoulder to find Gabriel entering the study. He was holding a severed head in his left hand, his fist curled in the thick gray hair of what appeared to be a verydeadangel. I frowned and stood at the same time Shem did.
“You’re late,” I observed dryly.
“Astute of you to notice,” he snapped. His all-white outfit was stained crimson from the blood of the head clutched in his hand.
“Who is that?” Shem asked, his tone cold.
Gabriel’s mask slipped, and for a moment, he looked devastated. I made sure to keep my expression blank but glanced down at the head.
The face was bloated and swollen as if it had been beaten over the head several times before being severed. Which would explain the black sludge staining the dead angel’s lips. He had clearly been unmade and then decapitated.
“The fuck is this, Gabriel?” I snapped, and he snarled back, tossing the head toward me. It smacked the black marble floor grotesquely and rolled several feet before landing on its side. I looked down at the face and realized with a start that I knew who it was.
“Holy fucking shit, is thatMike?”Shemhazai hissed.
“Oh, so you know his name? I’m shocked you would bother to learn it, considering the way you look down your nose at us,” Gabriel hissed. He was clearly upset about Mike’s death. I had never seen him angry before; he normally came off as sarcastic and aloof.
I glanced away from Mike’s bloated head and met Gabriel’s citrine gaze.
“I’m sorry for your loss. He didn’t deserve this.” The words surprised me as they left my mouth, but they rang true. Mike tried to warn us about Rafael. He had helped Lilith through a panic attack at Voodoo. I had been too blinded by jealousy at the time, but he cared about Lilith. Anyone who wanted to keep Lilith safe was not someone I would have wished to be unmade, especially not in such a brutal fashion.
Gabriel’s eyes searched mine as if trying to detect whether or not I was being sincere.
“What happened?” Shem asked, stepping forward to examine the bloody head.
A pained look flashed across Gabriel’s face. He manifested the scepter he had promised us and handed it to me. He ran his hand through his auburn hair in frustration.
“It was my fault. He wanted to help steal the scepter. I tried to tell him to stay out of it, but he had a soft spot for Lilith and wanted to do what he could to help her. I agreed, and he got caught, obviously,” he said, gesturing to the mess on the floor. “It was like Yahwehknewhe would be in there.”
Shem frowned, clearly unnerved. “Why did Yahweh unmake him? Why not just punish him? He wasn’t exceptionally powerful. I would have never guessed he would be important enough to find himself on Yahweh’s shit list.”
Gabriel’s eyes were swimming with rage. “His lack of power iswhyYahweh unmade him. He’s been hesitant to truly wield the magic of the scepter as He says it’s a waste of resources.” His expression turned from rage to disgust. “I guess He didn’t consider Mike’s life a waste.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. Lilith couldn’t find out about this. I knew she would blame herself, and I had just given her a fucking knife. I didn’t need her turning the blade onto her own flesh over this.
Abruptly, Art walked in. He took in the bloody head on the ground and stopped in his tracks.
“Who is that?” he asked, looking disturbed. I didn’t blame him. It wasn’t every day you saw one of our kind unmade.
“Mike,” Shem said solemnly.
“Poor bastard,” Art said, coming closer and crouching down to examine the head more closely. “I guess the scepter really does have the power to kill us.”
