The warriors nodded their heads, acknowledging Michael’s commands. They disappeared and took up their positions while Michael, Demyan, and Nathanael, crossed the bridge to the main entrance.
Each warrior kept their wings inside their backs, and their hands on the hilts of their swords. They donned mortal clothes over their armor, so that they wouldn’t alert the mortals to their true identities.
Michael was surprised to find that the entrance of the castle wasn’t locked. He entered and surveyed the dimly lit room. Noise echoing inside made his team move stealthily through the foyer and into the main hall. Michael motioned for them to follow him and they made their way into the Main Hall. He pointed for Nathanael to head up the staircase and motioned for Demyan to move toward the Knight’s Room. He took the hallway that led deeper into the castle.
Michael ventured forward, but froze when he heard footsteps coming from the room a few feet to his right. He quietly moved closer and drew his sword. The blue flame lit the shadowy hallway. It would give away his position if someone poked their head into the hallway, so he moved quickly.
Michael took a deep breath and steadied himself just before he rushed into the room.
“You’re too late,” a voice called out to him in Romanian.
Michael tripped to a halt when he saw an old woman standing in the kitchen in front of a hotplate.
He immediately put away his sword and looked around for a quick exit.
“I have seen your kind before,” Mrs. Pavel said over her shoulder.
“You know what I am?” Michael replied in Romanian. It wasn’t often he met mortals who had firsthand knowledge of angels.
“Yes. The Angel of Death has been walking the halls of this castle on and off for decades. I was tempted by him as a young woman when I first came to care for this place. I stared into Death’s eyes and rejected the images he showed me. I was stronger back then,” Mrs. Pavel replied matter-of-factly.
“Alazar tried to tempt you, but you chose God?” Michael was curious about this woman.
“Yes,” Mrs. Pavel nodded. She poured hot water from the kettle into her mug and placed it back on the hotplate.
“Do you know why I am here?” Michael felt awkward speaking to the mortal. It had been a long time since he’d interacted with one, but she obviously had information about Alazar.
“You are either here because of the boy who died on the staircase, or you are here for me. Since I am still alive, I assume it is because of the boy. It is a true tragedy. I hate to see them die so young,” she sighed and shuffled over to the small table and chair set.
“The Angel of Death needs to be brought to justice for what he has done,” he didn’t want to say too much, but he wanted her to know that the deaths would finally cease.
“It is true that he needs help, but he is not the one who killed that boy,” Mrs. Pavel sat down in the chair and looked up at Michael for the first time.
“I’m sorry, but you are mistaken. He is very dangerous and out of control,” Michael wasn’t sure why the woman believed that Alazar was innocent.
“Yes, he is out of control. I hear him speaking when he thinks that he is alone. He is lost, that is true. He speaks of one that failed to come for him. I have seen the people in the city that have died because of him, but the boy in the stairway did not die by his power,” Mrs. Pavel regarded Michael like a child that failed to see the obvious.
“How can you know that?” Michael realized that the woman was insane and was about to move on when she tsked at him. He had never been so insulted in all his life, and he had heard Lucifer call him all manner of foul things.
“You have never faced the Angel of Death before, so you do not understand his power. Having survived it, I understand it. There is a chill in the air that lingers once his victim is dead. It is the same chill that I felt just before I saw the beautiful mountains. I have noticed that all of those who have died by their own hand, because of his power, have a peaceful look on their faces. The boy who died here was not at peace and there was no chill. The one that you are searching for is a woman with brilliant red hair and a temperament to match the devil. She brought a group of young investigators here. I can only assume that she meant for them to meet the Angel of Death. When you find her, please make sure that the world no longer has to deal with her darkness. She is your enemy, not Death,” Mrs. Pavel picked up her mug, sipped the warm tea, and sighed.
Michael couldn’t believe the brazenness of this woman. How could she possibly understand his world? Sure, a red-haired woman was the one responsible for the death. It was impossible for this woman to understand angels and Heaven. He was about to walk away when an image of a red-haired angel appeared in his mind. Maraquette. It was possible that she had finally gone rogue. He had fought to classify her as a Rogue instead of a Forgotten when she left Hell, but was overruled by the others.
Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. He didn’t care if Alazar was innocent or not. The Destroyer had sentenced Alazar to death. That meant she couldn’t control him, and in the end he would turn on everyone. Just because he hadn’t killed the boy that the old woman spoke of, it didn’t mean that he was innocent of other crimes. He was going to kill Alazar as quickly as possible, but now he had a new target. Though the testimony of an old woman wouldn’t be enough to classify Maraquette a Rogue without a lengthy trial, it gave him enough cause to question her. If he did find Maraquette, he wouldn’t hesitate to capture her.
Chapter 17
Alazar’s view of the world was distorted by the pain in his chest as he opened his eyes, though he was aware of three things: He had been shot in the back and had a slew of small holes straight through his chest, there were Celestial Bonds clamped around his wrists, rendering him powerless, helpless, and little more than mortal, and he was completely screwed.
Maraquette had chained his limp body to a wooden post with his hands bound in front of him. The chains were wrapped around his chest and legs, making it impossible to move or sit. The best he could do was lean forward to relieve some of the pressure from his bleeding chest. At least he wasn’t hanging by his arms, which implied he was supposed to watch the show, not be a part of it. Maraquette wasn’t deranged enough to get close enough to take his head.
Currently, he was out of friends and options. Maraquette would summon Michael once the Destroyer was dead and let him take the fall. She undoubtedly had his favorite dagger; the one Gabriel had given to him as a gift when he became Death. It was Gabriel’s way of congratulating him for making a difficult sacrifice. When used to kill Anjali, no one would question his involvement in the murder. Things couldn’t get much worse, but at least he would die a free angel, without his worthless Master.
Alazar looked more closely at the hapless boy hanging on the barn wall across from him. He had no idea why Anjali was sleeping with a mortal, but it was no longer his concern. She could sleep with whomever she wanted. Unfortunately, curiosity got the better of him since he had nothing better to do. He looked into the boy’s eyes, and wondered why he was so special. That’s when he saw the mark, the one Maraquette had mentioned. Having looked into Anjali’s soul and felt her power, he recognized her mark. The boy definitely belonged to her, but he was surprised to see how bright the mark was. He must have made some kind of deal with her.
“Alazar?” Derick asked tentatively.
Alazar chuckled. “You know my name, but do you know who I am?” It was doubtful that the kid knew who he was. Maraquette must have mentioned his name.
“Yes, you tempted my friend, and now he’s dead,” Derick said with disgust.
“I see that Anjali has been filling your head with her assumptions,” Alazar shook his head slowly and sighed. “Not that I care, but who the hell are you?” he asked with mild interest as he tested the strength of the chains.
“I’m Derick, and apparently, I’m the bait,” he pulled on the ropes, trying to get feeling back into his hands.
Alazar nodded absently. �
�Ahh yes, Pedro’s friend. You were the one in the tower trying to save him.”
“His name is Pete and I should have let him jump,” Derick sneered. “I should have let him walk into the bright blue sky and plummet to his doom.”
Alazar smirked. “Yes, you should have. He was entirely too eager to meet his end. I’m glad to see that we agree on something.”
Alazar thought about how he couldn’t remember Pete’s name. It disturbed him because he could remember every name and face he had ever tempted, yet he couldn’t remember a simple name like Pete. It was probably for the best that Anjali had turned on him. If he had trouble remembering one name, he would never be able to remember them all when the final days were upon them. He vaguely wondered if the new Angel of Death would be able to remember a temptee’s name.
Ignoring his morbid thought, he examined his chest wounds. Whoever had shot him had used a shotgun with buckshot. It wasn’t enough to kill him, only wound him. It was obviously meant to make him bleed out slowly. It would take forever to heal with the bonds draining his power.
“Why? Why did you do it? Wedge never hurt anyone. What did you say to make him put that rope around his neck and jump?” Derick couldn’t keep the hurt and anger from his voice. He trembled as he spoke.
Alazar rolled his eyes. “What does it matter? He’s dead and we’re stuck in this barn. You will die, and Anjali will watch. No matter what happens, I will die a painful death. That should ease your mind a bit,” Alazar snickered.
“Why couldn’t you just join with her? Why did you have to hurt an innocent man to prove a point?” Derick yelled. Tears welled up in his eyes and he bit his lip to keep from crying. All of his frustrations welled up as he stared at the person responsible for killing Wedge and hurting Anjali. He wanted to get out of his ropes and punch him in the mouth.
Alazar was done listening to the insufferable boy. “Go ahead and believe whatever she told you, but I’m the victim here. I am the one condemned to death, an innocent angel, or relatively so. Think about it Derick; if I had killed your friend, I wouldn’t have stopped there. I’m the Angel of Death. I would have killed all of you. Hell, I would have burned the town to the ground as I watched everyone in the city murder each other,” he snapped. He watched Derick’s confusion as he processed his statement. It took less time than expected for the boy to understand the truth. At least his Master’s mortal pet was smart.
Derick’s throat tightened. He couldn’t breathe. He believed Alazar. He had no doubt that the Angel of Death would have sent a message to Anjali. She was barely friends with Wedge and had just met him, but watching a city burn to the ground would definitely have an impact. Alazar hadn’t killed Wedge, which begged the question, who had?
Derick pondered Wedge’s death and came at it from all angles. The only people in the castle were Josilyn, Morgan, and Pete. Pete. His stomach sank. Pete knew the layout of the castle better than anyone did. With Maraquette’s help, it would have been easy for him to ditch Morgan and kill Wedge before anyone saw him. Son of bitch. How could his best friend betray them like that?
“It had to be Pete that killed Wedge. Wedge would have trusted him. He could have gotten close enough to kill him. I doubt Maraquette or Cassie, whoever she claims to be, would get her polished nails dirty,” Derick said softly to himself as he let the reality of Pete’s deception settle into his bones.
Alazar’s head snapped up. “Wait, Pete is working with Maraquette? Strange how she didn’t mention that earlier when she presented your friends to me on a silver platter. That means he’s disposable. Let me guess, he’s the lone gunman. Don’t worry, the first chance I get, I’ll finish what I started,” Alazar smiled darkly. He would make Pete see more than just the sky; he would see his heart plucked from his chest. “If you’re lucky, you might be around to watch him eat his shotgun.”
Derick nodded slowly. “Yeah, he’s working with her. It explains why he was so eager for us to come to Romania, but it doesn’t explain why Maraquette wanted Wedge dead. There’s no point to it. They could have grabbed me at any time. Wedge was nobody. Why kill him? It doesn’t make sense. What does Maraquette want?” Derick hated the thought of Wedge dying for no reason, not that any reason would have been good. Wedge had deserved better.
Alazar shook his head. “She’s crazy, she doesn’t need a reason,” he leaned his head back against the post. The world was becoming shaky. The blood loss was making him dizzy. At this rate, he would pass out in about a half an hour. Sadly, the blood loss wouldn’t kill him. Once he took a nice long nap, he would regain enough strength to wake up and repeat the process.
“She seems pretty sane to me. Why is she here? She said that she wanted Anjali to suffer. Who is she and why does she hate Anjali? She’s obviously not a TV producer,” Derick’s shoulders and wrists were killing him. He didn’t know how much longer he could take the pain.
Alazar closed his eyes. He shouldn’t be talking to the kid, but they would both be dead shortly. What did it matter? “How much do you know about our world?”
“Not much. I got the Cliffs Notes version last night and the hands-on tutorial this morning. Let’s just say that I know enough,” Derick wondered if the Angel of Death had ever been attacked by Lucifer. He doubted it.
Alazar had no idea what the mortal was babbling about, but it was irrelevant. Derick obviously knew Anjali, which meant he already knew too much. “Maraquette is a bitter angel who turned her back on God. We consider her a Forgotten, but now she is much worse. She walked out on the love of her life and has regretted it ever since. She and Lucifer were lovers when they lived in Heaven. Lucifer volunteered to rule Hell and he left her behind. Centuries later, he went to Heaven and saw her. The kind and sensitive Lucifer begged her to be with him in Hell. She felt guilty for not going with him originally and eventually caved. When she got to Hell, she found the devil wearing the face of her lover. They fought constantly. Lucifer was cruel to her, but even now, she still loves him. Maraquette stupidly believes that Lucifer’s obsession with obtaining Anjali caused him to lash out at her. She isn’t exactly wrong, but Lucifer wouldn’t have been kind to her, regardless of the reason. It’s just not in his nature. He’s the devil. He attacked Maraquette one night when she told Lucifer to make a choice. Either he had to stop waiting for Anjali to arrive, or she would leave. Lucifer lost his mind. He had always warned her not to speak of Anjali. She was not allowed to question his obsession. He finally snapped and hurt her. She stormed out of Hell, blaming Heaven and God for turning Lucifer into evil incarnate, unable to love anyone. Now, Lucifer has Anjali by his side. Maraquette finally has the chance to kill Anjali and get Lucifer back,” Alazar replied. He counted the drops of blood that splashed on the straw covered dirt floor. He estimated that he would lose a drop of blood for every year he suffered without Anjali.
“She killed my friend, turned my best friend against me, and wants me to die so that Anjali will suffer all because she wants Lucifer back? She can have him. Anjali can’t possibly love him anyway,” Derick huffed; annoyed that Lucifer was still at the center of his problems.
“Anjali can’t leave Lucifer, she is bound to him,” Alazar paused. “She’s bound because I messed up,” he hated admitting the truth, but it was pointless to lie to anyone, including himself.
Derick glared at Alazar. “What are you talking about? How are you responsible for Anjali not being able to leave Lucifer? I thought it was because she had committed suicide, based on what she said to Pete,” he said. He was glad that Alazar wasn’t with Anjali. The Angel of Death was a complete loser.
Alazar cleared his throat when he saw Derick’s rage spring to life. It was obvious that the kid cared about her. “In my defense, I didn’t know exactly what was happening. Honestly, it probably would have happened without my involvement. Just know that my head was screwed up for a long time. I wanted Anjali dead for abandoning my brothers and me in Hell. She knows this. I was desperate to be free of my duties. The darkness was slowing killi
ng me. Maraquette came to me, offering me a deal, offering me hope. She would kill Anjali and I would kill Michael, the guy who will take my head if he finds me. I was wrong to make the deal. I know that now and the deal is off, but Anjali doesn’t know about it. Obviously, Maraquette didn’t kill Anjali, but there were consequences of the murder attempt. Anjali is bound to Lucifer because he saved her life. The ritual he used bound their lives together,” he bit his lip. He would have to confess that little detail if he ever saw his Master again. Thankfully, the odds were good that he would never have the chance.
Derick lost it when he heard the truth. He finally understood what Anjali was trying to tell him when she said that her boyfriend had saved her life. “I don’t get it. She said that you had mental issues, but you seem lucid to me, just stupid. You wanted her dead when all she wanted to do was help you, and now she is stuck with that lunatic! She almost died because you wanted to be free. What the hell does that mean? I don’t understand the whole Master thing, and why she needs you, but I know that she was upset when she thought you had turned on her. After everything, she still cared about you. You don’t deserve her,” Derick shook his head. So far, he was not impressed by the Angel of Death.
“You know nothing,” Alazar snarled. He didn’t need to listen to the pathetic mortal.
“I know that you’re stuck in your own drama, and you’re letting the bad guys win. Okay, you didn’t kill my friend, so what. That doesn’t make you the hero. What did Anjali say when you told her you didn’t kill Wedge? You said she didn’t trust you, yet, from what I understand, you haven’t given her a reason to trust you. You tricked Pete into trying to kill himself, you attacked her, and you keep blaming her for your bullshit. Now you’re sulking in a barn, waiting for Lucifer’s crazy ex-girlfriend to set you up for murder. Get over your shit and wake the fuck up!” Derick screamed. The more he knew about Alazar, the less he liked him. Anjali was better off without him.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 45
