“That may be true, but if I don’t try, Shemhazai, I’ll never forgivemyself.”
I turned away, steeling myself for whatever poison I knew he would spit at me on my way out.
Even though I was prepared for it, it still killed a small part of me when he said his final piece.
“Ihateyou,” he spat, and I flinched.
Turning back to face him, I gave him a long, sad look before letting out a slow, calming breath.
I snatched up my scepter on my way to seek out the angel that had broken the love of my life so badly that he would rather hate me than let me help him.
This time, I entered the church alone.
It was even more sinister at night, and when I stepped over the threshold, my footsteps echoed through the imposing chapel.
As I made my way down the center aisle, I felt Raziel’s eyes on me before I saw him. He manifested at the foot of the seraphim statue that I assumed had been made in his likeness.
He was now in white slacks with a white shirt and black clerical collar. The reverse of what a typical Catholic priest would wear.
“That didn’t take long.” The angel smirked, and those soulless eyes met mine with just as much intensity as they had before.
I didn’t bother shielding myself from him. Shemhazai wasn’t here, and I didn’t care if he penetrated me with his gaze. I had nothing to hide from him. I wasn’t ashamed of who I was.
Let him see me. All of me.
Maybe he would see his death in my eyes.
Because I planned to give it to him.
“Show me,” I demanded.
His smile only grew.
“Look into my eyes.”
Without hesitation, I met those two terrible, soul-sucking pits of darkness.
Then, the church melted away, and suddenly, I was seeing the world through Shemhazai’s eyes.
Alexa play: Gethsemane by Sleep Token
4004 BC
“What is it?”
“An angel, just like you.”
“Why is its wingsblack?”
“Likely a mark of original sin.”
“It must be infested with it. You should throw this one away.”
“Hmm. That’s a waste of material.”
“Well, we can’t use it the way it is.”
“Would you be up to the task of cleansing it?”
