“Fuckingrun,Lilith!” she screeched. I gasped as she threw me to Art. “Get her out of here!” she snapped at him before launching herself through the air toward Raf.
Instead of looking worried, Rafael’s grin widened.
“Jezebel! No!” I screamed, moving to chase after her, when I heard asnapand awhistle.
Suddenly, there was a long, quivering, golden arrow buried in Jezebel’s back, right between her soft, leathery wings. She screamed and crashed to the ground, black sludge exploding from both her mouth and the wound in her back.
Rafael started to laugh as I rushed toward my mortally injured friend. She pressed her palms into the floor and struggled to push herself up when there was anothersnap, followed by that deadlywhistle. I felt the arrow shoot past me, embedding itself with perfect precision next to the first one.
I screamed in horror, looking behind me to see who had fired the golden arrows, though some part of me already knew before I turned.
Art stood in the doorway with a grave look on his face and a bow clutched in his hand so tightly that his hand shook.
“Art!” I screamed, as Jezebel coughed up more black sludge behind me.
“Lilith… run,” she begged, but there was nowhere for me to go.Art was blocking the only exit.
I dropped to my knees next to Jezebel, examining her wounds. The arrows were long, thick, and designed to kill. The shafts seemed to be made from the same material that the scepters were crafted from. Both arrows had pierced all the way through her body, and their golden tips protruded through her chest. I rolled her onto my lap, unable to stop myself from choking on a sob.
“Lilith… I’m sorry,” she said, her voice wet and raspy as she choked on her own life force.
“Don’t be sorry.I’msorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” I was shaking. I didn’t know what to do or say—there was a roaring in my ears—I knew she was going to die. She was going to die, and just like all the other times, there was nothing I could fucking do to stop it.
She chuckled and spit up more thick black sludge.
“Shh… be still.” I stroked a strand of red hair out of her face. If she was going to die, then I wanted to make sure she knew she wasn’t dying alone.
“It was smart to doubt me. I didn’t take it personally,” she reassured me, closing her eyes and attempting to breathe past the wetness that seemed to have gathered in her lungs. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She opened her eyes and reached up a hand, cupping the side of my face gently. “I really wanted to be your friend, you know. I wish we could have had more time together. I’m sorry I failed you.”
“Youaremy friend! You didn’t fail me—Ramel is coming. He’s going to come, and we’re going to get you a healer?—”
Jezebel shook her head, giving me a sad smile. “Even Ramel can’t fix this, Lilith. Just… don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Jezebel. I’m right here. I’m right here with you; don’t be afraid.” My throat was burning with grief, and I choked on my sobs as Jezebel stroked the side of my face one last time.
“I’m not afraid of death.” She smiled softly. “Death is my friend.”
And then she was gone. Her hand dropped from my face, and her breathing stopped. I stared down into her brown, vacant eyes and felt her consciousness slip away. Whatever energy had made her Jezebel was gone, and only her broken body remained.
“Jez?” I shook her, knowing that I couldn’t bring her back but wishing desperately that I could. “Jez, please… no, no, no, no…”
I felt a large, cold hand wrap around my arm, and I jerked away with an angry screech. I spun to find Art looking at me with something close to remorse on his face.
Revulsion and rage exploded through me.
“Don’tfucking touch me! You disgust me!”I spat on him. I scratched at his skin, leaving bloody streaks across his flesh as he effortlessly overpowered me and forced my hands behind my back. Rafael stepped forward, chuckling softly as he wound a golden noose around my hands.
“This should keep her contained, even after she gets her powers back,” he said. I struggled against the restraints. Hot, angry tears spilled down my cheeks.
I stared at Jezebel’s lifeless body as Art lifted me up and cradled me against his chest.
“I have to be the one to carry her out. The veil will return to normal at midnight. We only have a few minutes to get her through to Heaven, or we’re going to have to take the bridge.”
Rafael nodded. He dug his fingers into the folds of reality and pulled back the glistening threads to reveal the blinding white of Heaven beyond.
“After you, Arteqoph,” Rafael said, and Art stepped through the hole in the world to Heaven. Rafael sealed the window behind us and dusted off his hands as if being in Hell had disgusted him.
“Where do you want me to put her?” Art asked, looking around the blinding white heavenscape with a stern coldness.
