“Yeah, the fact that I might be able to use them,” Isaid.
Lilith blinked at me. “That’s impossible. Fallen angels cannot use theirwings.”
“Yeah, but demons aren’t supposed to have wings, and yet that one out there apparently has a pair. Who’s to say I can’t use minetoo?”
“Who’s to say youcan?”
“A little water demon told her on the boat ride over,” Uriel said. “We keep trying to tell her that the demon was just messing with her, but, well, you knowErela.”
I shot him aglare.
“You guys,” Isaac said from where he still stood with his nose pressed up against the window. “I’m just as interested in this wing situation as you are, but the head-eating horse dude is about five seconds away from breaking down thedoor.”
Ramiel rushed into the center of the room, sliding his sword out of its sheath. “Everyone, get out your weapons. He cannot use his wings inside this house. As terrifying as he might be, we far outnumber him. Getready.”
But the head-eating horse dude did not enter the building when he reached its front steps. Instead, he merely took post just outside, the horse pacing back and forth in front of the door, the sound of its hooves casting an ominoustap, tap, tapinto the sudden quietness of the room. I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Lilith. This was unexpected. And I wasn’t entirely sure that I liked it. Why was he just pacing outside? If he wanted to kill us, why wouldn’t he comeinside?
“He’s not an idiot,” Lilith said dryly. “He knows he cannot beat us inside, and he also knows that we cannot stay in here forever. While most of us can survive without sustenance for quite a long time, we have a human with us. He needs water andfood.”
Shit. I certainly hadn’t thought about that. Lilith was right. Angels partook of food and water for strength. We could survive without it, but we were much more powerful when we fuelled our bodies. Demons were much like us. They didn’t need food either, even though they enjoyed it. Depending on the type of demon, they did need certain things to survive, like blood or water or fire. Humans, on the other hand, couldn’t go very long without a drink of water, and we hadn’t exactly brought any with us. There was some in the truck back on earth, but it wasn’t like we’d expected to get shoved through a portal to hell with no wayback.
Slowly, in unison, we all swivelled toward Rourke. His face had gone a brutal shade of white. “So, we either have to go out there and face the flying head guy or I’m going to die of dehydration andstarvation?”
“I’m not going to let you die of starvation, sweetheart.” Lilith placed both of her palms on Rourke’s meaty chest and gazed up at him with a mixture of fear and adoration pasted across herface.
“Now, wait a minute,” Isaac said, stumbling forward as if he’d been drinking some of those beers he liked so much from the Halfway Zone pub. He’d only just joined us, and he was still suffering the effects of falling from the celestial skies. “You’re going to have to fill me in here. Somehow, Erela and Lizzie, you’ve ended up joining the Order of the Fallen, right? Then, somewhere along the way, you became friends with the demon and a human. Can you explain to me exactly what is goingon?”
“It’s a long story,” Lizzie and I said inunison.
“And you’re definitely sure it’s a good idea to go out there and face that thing just because we want a human to get some water?” He asked, lifting an eyebrow. “I mean, wouldn’t it be better to just wait out the demon? He’ll get bored soon enough. And he needs death, doesn’t he? When he realizes we aren’t going to come out, he’ll go in search of morevictims.”
Lilith flared her nostrils, and she sucked a deep breath into her lungs, making her appear twice as tall and commanding as she had before. Her body practically buzzed with darkness and electricity, her skin shimmering from the force of the demon inside of her pushing and pushing to get out. This was the side of Lilith that she never showed. It was the side of her that she always pushed down. Just not now. Not when Rourke’s life was atstake.
“Listen to me, little angel. I know you’re a friend of Erela, and that is the only thing keeping me from wrapping my hand around your throat right now. We will not sacrifice Rourke, an innocent human who has done nothing but help us every step of the way. You want to know why your friends got anywhere near the portal? Because Rourke volunteered to sail them here. He risked his life to try and help close this portal. So, you damn well better show him some respect. And you should think twice about suggesting we sacrifice his life to save our own skin. Do it again, and you’ll see why I’m a demon, not anangel.”
“Damn,” Uriel said with a chuckle just as Az let out a lowwhistle.
Red filled Isaac’s cheeks, and he glanced to me. “Erela? You’re seriously friends with thisdemon?”
I merely gave him a shrug. “I know it’s hard to believe, but she’s right, Isaac. Rourke risked his life to get us here, and he sacrificed his blood to Lilith to make her strong enough to help us close the portal. But…even if he hadn’t done all that, you have to know that sacrificing a human to save our own skin is never the rightchoice.”
He winced and cast a glance at the ground. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t really looking at it like that, but you’re right. It’s hard to remember exactly how important humans are when we’re told day in and day out that they don’t really matter. That the Lower Realm doesn’t matter.” He shot Lilith—and Rourke—an apologetic look. “The Academy. They kind of see things one way and one wayonly.”
“Apology accepted,” Lilith said with a sniff before turning to Ramiel. “Now, what are we going to do to defeat thisthing?”
Ramiel gave a nod, the relief on his face plain to see. He’d looked pained during the entire confrontation. Now that we were back to the business of fighting, we were back in his comfortable wheelhouse. As we all gathered in close, he dropped his voice to a low whisper. “First, we’re going to need some kind of distraction. Erela, I’d like you to launch a fireball. I realize it could go anywhere, but that’s the point. Distract him while we all get a chance to rushoutside.”
I frowned, but I couldn’t fault his reasoning. “You know I don’t like using my firepowers.”
“And I normally wouldn’t ask you,” he said, pressing his lips into a thin line. “Your powers are far too volatile. This situation, however, seems to warrant theiruse.”
I loosed a breath. “Fine. I’ll see what I cando.”
“That’s all fine and dandy,” Uriel said, raising an eyebrow. “But what do we do once we’re outside, and he keeps picking us off one by one with his flightskills?”
“Arrows,” Ramiel said. “And swords when he’s on the ground. Listen, I know the legend of him makes him seem terrifying, but we are the Order of theFallen.”
“And a demon,” Lilithinterjected.
