Zee's POV "And the First Light of MorningWoke to usher the first dawn in HellAnd cried as it happened.For the Light was a weak and paltry thingAnd lacked the Warmth He was accustomed toNow that they were in the dark.He asked for forgiveness,Begged for it,And heard—for the first time,Nothing in return."~ The Book of Lost DaysLilith 2:1-2 "You know life would be a lot easier if you didn't scream as much…"I wiggled my pinky finger in my ear, trying—but failing—to knock loose some of the blood that managed to worm its way in there after my last client. I hated when humans gushed, like popping a tick after it's fed for a while. Dis-freakin'-gustin'!The woman I'd dragged down into the Pit with me had the nerve to grab my leg, doubling down on her crocodile tears. She was putting her all into the waterworks. I sighed, snapping my wrist back so my fiery whip made out of the spine of the first human I'd slaughtered for the opposing team coiled loosely around my
Zee's POV "There was a hand upon the chains that were self-inflicted upon Him—The Little Prince, O Great Morning Star—And He looked up—And saw the face of a little brother most mischievousAnd despair He did no longer."~The Book of Lost DaysLilith 3:1 "You—" The Magdalena had her arms up, her waist-length auburn hair blew back from her strong face thanks to the excess Grace circulating the room. I could see the Seal of Laoth branded on her forearms in a knot of thick white scarring. That was probably why Nadya'd been so insistent I leave her sleeves alone. I figured she had cut herself, but never this. "—stay the FUCK away from me."This—this pissed me off. Unreasonable, I know, but true.She wasn't one of us, she had no right to invoke our sigils like that. It went beyond human arrogance and shot arrow straight down to blasphemy! She pressed the seal together, and more Grace crackled ozone thick in the room, making all the hair on my body stand on end.Danger,
Remmy's POV "And you're sure what you're saying is accurate? Because if you're in any way mistaken—""I know what I heard, Sarathiel!" My eldest sister, still swaddled in the light of her Grace and tethered to the Host, frowned at my gruffness. As an Archangel, Sarathiel's wings were that of a bird of prey, specifically, that of the Eurasian eagle-owl, dressed in bold russet stripes like layers in sandstone. She kept them pressed close to her shoulders, disguising them as a fantastical shawl around her wide shoulders. Her dreadlocks swayed in the wintery breeze, and she tucked an errant lock behind a pierced ear."There's no need to shout, Ramiel." Her voice was the disapproving soprano of an elementary school teacher. "I am right here.""I…yes, my apologies, sister." I colored, words feeling awkward in my mouth as my hands clutched the raggedy edge of my sweater. I'd yet to go back to get my coat and hoodie from Gehenna, and Mhir had taken pity on me and loaned me one of his
Zee's POV "Can I interest you in a drink or a smoke or getting' your jaw up off the floor?"Ah, yeah, no. That's really good self, yeah, anger the one being in the universe who'd wanted to kill you because of what you'd done to his precious little mortal family. Antagonize the fuck out of that one, real brilliant strategy right there. This was why you didn't get your circle to lord over like the rest of the Sins."You've done all this?" Remmy's eyes had gone to sharp chips of obsidian instead of the velvety darkness of a stormy night. "This you now, Zaq—""Don't." I rolled over onto all fours and coughed some of the pain away. That felt more manageable somehow, or maybe that was some of that good ol' demonic healing kicking in. Physical bodies did have their downsides, I'm afraid. Once I was sure I wasn't going to puke, I rose on wobbly legs like a newborn deer. "You lost all right to the name when you made me Fall.""I didn't—" But the look I'd sent the bastard had his teeth c
Nadya's POV "You…want to fuck me?"I wasn't going to pretend I was sober enough to deal with this bullshit. Jonathan was screaming tiny expletives at me in languages I was pretty sure weren't real at the bottom of the glass he was floating in. If you had told me a week ago every demon and angel I'd met so far had wanted to fuck me in some form or another, I would have pissed myself laughing. I then would have calmly asked if you were alright in the head.It wasn't as though I was an ugly woman. I was just…larger than most. In all ways that seemed to intimidate men who weren't battle-hardened Templari. In the day of dating apps and carefully curated social media feeds, I'd slipped through the cracks of a bygone time. I tried to keep up, and I did! But it's really hard to have any type of ability to binge shows or check out the latest thing when I was miles underground in strange Byzantine crypts battling all manner of beasties.There was a series on Netflix I had saved on my list
Nadya's POV "Oh, will you stop giving me such a sour damn look!? Christ, I'm not going to rape you, so stop lookin' at me like I might!""Sorry if you don't get my vote of confidence for being an honest man." I was curled up on my couch, wearing a new set of pajamas, trying and failing to be okay with a demon in my apartment.I was wearing a ratty t-shirt with a peeling Scooby-Doo on the front and a pair of fleece bottoms that had gingerbread men running around on them. Cup of hot chocolate in my favorite mug—a simple black cup that said "Blow Me…I'm Hot"—clutched in my palms. My hair curled up into a haphazard bun, that was neither fashionable nor flattering, but very convenient.If we were going to have sex to save Jonathan, then I wanted to make the experience as uncomfortable as possible out of principle…and also out of spite. But not before I was one hundred percent sober. Needed to make sure I didn't do anything supremely stupid, like sign my soul away in the throes of
Zee's POV "Well, this is a little…unorthodox…"I blinked at my ex-brother Daniel, who stood at the doors to the pearly gates I was seeing. I looked over my shoulder, and there was a host of souls behind me stretching into the dim infinite. I was naked, that was really distressing, what was distressing was the fact that I was a demon in heaven.And I was burning with all of the Grace around me."SEND ME BACK!" I screamed, feeling my skin blister as a woman burst into tears over my distress. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SEND ME THE FUCK BACK!""I wish I knew how! Stop yelling at me!" Daniel panicked, flipping his big book of nothing, trying to find some answers to this. "This has never happened to me before, and it's stressing me out! You need to remain calm!""I'M FUCKING BURNING!""PLEASE STOP YELLING!""THEN FUCKING DO SOMETHING, NIMROD!""I'LL GET HELP!" Daniel riffled through the drawers to his little pulpit and pulled out a key ring with a thousand keys on it. A couple of wafe
Remmy's POV "That piece of shit, I'll fucking kill him!"Winnipeg, Manitoba. The scum bag had sent me all the way to bleeding Winnipeg, Manitoba! A five-hour flight back to Manhattan only to realize he'd left the club ages ago with Nadya. And was doing God knew what to her! "I am going to lose my mind. I am going to commit murder. Give me my hoodie and my coat, Maxim. I am not in the mood tonight."The Heavenly Host sounded like a TV left on a channel that wasn't getting any feedback from the station, just mindless arrays of static that weren't particularly helpful to anyone at the moment. I could feel a headache coming on, as I opened my wings and flew to Nadya's apartment. After a couple of misses and one very amorous man who, though handsome, was not on tonight's agenda, I'd found the correct apartment and knocked on her bedroom window.No one answered.I peered in, the light was on, and all her clothes had collected all over the floor with more being thrown on a Nadya raide