“You know… you remind me of a bird… all these feathers…” I observed, stalking closer. I stoked one of his wings softly, and he shuddered beneath my touch.
Raziel’s face blanched, and I saw it the moment he realized I was no longer under his control.
I wasn’t afraid of him.
He had already takeneverythingfrom me.
Without Gabriel, there was nothing left for me to lose.
“Catseatbirds,” I whispered, a deadly smirk curling on my lips.
Abruptly, Raziel flapped his wings, launching himself into the air as he tried to escape. I grinned up at him as his ivory feathers brushed my cheek.
“Oh, Raziel. Where do you think you’re going?” I cooed, smirking as one of my massive hellcats launched itself into the air with a snarl. Itssmokey claws tore into Raziel’s vestments, and the angel let out a terrified shout as he was dragged back to the ground.
“We’re not done playing,” I purred, sliding my hands in my pockets and stepping closer so I could watch him bleed.
“Stop, Shemhazai! I’m commanding you to stop!” he roared as another one of my tiger-sized cats pounced on him, tearing into his chest until the floor grew wet with his blood.
He dropped his blades as he attempted to fight off my hellcats, and I lazily scooped one of them up, twirling it in my palm as I moved to stand over him.
He cried out and kicked at the cats, crawling onto his stomach as he attempted to drag himself away from them.
He didn’t get far.
I grabbed one of his wings and pressed a foot into his back. Extending one of his wings, I examined it carefully before laying the blade against the joint that connected it to his spine.
“Hmm. You gave me so many scars, Raziel… Maybe it’s time I returned the favor?”
“No, Shemhazai,please!”
I winced as my full name echoed through the chapel.
Gritting my teeth, I sawed the Aetherium blade against his joint.
“I’ve always fucking hated the way you say my name,” I growled, and he screamed as I ruthlessly cut through bone and sinew. There was a satisfying explosion of bloodstained feathers that erupted as I cut. I reveled in his agony before tossing the severed limb away. He screamed again as I grabbed his next wing. Holding him still with the foot I had crushed into his back, I lazily—but efficiently—cut that one off, too.
“Dirty sinners don’t deserve to cover their scars, Raziel,” I sang as I hacked and chopped through the rest of his wings. He writhed beneath me as I did it. An unhinged, manic sort of laughter spilled from my mouth throughout the entire ordeal.
None of this was funny.
I justcouldn’t.
Stop.
Laughing.
By the time I wasdone, he was crying.
He was literally sobbing as I rolled him onto his mangled back, mirroring the stance he’d had over Gabriel when I’d entered the church.
With my foot pressed to his chest, I pointed the Aetherium blade to his throat and smiled.
“Shemhazai.Please,I only wanted what was best for you,” he cried, and I cocked my head to the side, staring down at him with nothing but cold, viscous contempt on my face.
“You’re adisgustingliar,” I hissed.
Then I swung the blade and relieved him of his fucking head.
