“This is fun.” Lucifer laughed behind her, but she didn’t look; she couldn’t take her eyes off Azrael, her Azrael.
“Azrael?” The voice didn’t sound like hers; it sounded rougher and deeper. “Baby?”
Slowly, she stood, her knees still hurting so badly that she wanted to cry, but she couldn’t think about the pain. All she could think about was the man in front of her.
“What did he do?” Somewhere in her head, a voice screamed at her to stay away, but she couldn’t. Azrael didn’t move as she hobbled up to him. “It’s me. It’s Lilliah.”
“As touching as this is,” Lucifer said from behind her, “we should be going.”
Lilliah turned to face him. “You’re not taking him anywhere.”
“I really don’t think that’s up to you.” Lucifer’s creepy smile was firmly in place, but she wouldn’t back down. He’d have to kill her first.
“You’re not taking him.”
Lucifer moved so quickly that she wasn’t aware he had moved until his iron grip was tightening around her throat.
“People don’t tell me what to do.” Lucifer spat the words, his face inches away from hers. “I am an archangel.” He lifted her off the ground. “Even the daughter of Michael needs to learn that.”
“Az … Azrael …”
Lilliah kicked and clawed at Lucifer without fazing him. His eyes held hers for a second longer before flicking to Azrael, who was standing behind her.
“Azrael was your saviour, your warrior.” His eyes moved back to hers. “Now he’s mine.”
He dropped her to the floor. Lilliah breathed in deeply, the much-needed air burning her lungs.
She looked up at Lucifer. He had his back to her. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Lucifer mused, turning on his heels to look at her. “I want revenge, sweet Lilliah.”
“Then why punish us? We have done nothing to you,” Lilliah said, trying to reason with him.
She had no way of escaping Lucifer or Azrael—they were too fast and too strong. The only way she would leave was if Lucifer let her. She lifted her head to look at Azrael. He had turned but still didn’t look at her. He was staring straight ahead, his features hard. He was in his warrior mode—the perfect soldier.
“I want revenge on your father,” Lucifer said, pulling Lilliah’s attention away from Azrael and back to him. “I will get it. But first, I will break you.” He motioned to Azrael. “I will break your heart. I will break your body.”
Lucifer ran up to her, grabbed hold of her arm, and snapped it cleanly. Lilliah screamed.
“And then”—he stepped back, his gaze intense as she cradled her broken arm—“I’ll break your spirit until it’s nothing more than dust. Then I’ll go after your father.”
Lilliah kicked the floor, scurrying away from Lucifer and Azrael. Azrael. He still wasn’t moving, still hadn’t looked at her.
“Please, Azrael,” she sobbed. “Help me.”
“He won’t help you.” Lucifer breathed in deeply, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, his eyes shining. He was enjoying this.
“Azrael,” he commanded.
Azrael stood straighter, his hands folded behind his back, causing Lilliah’s panic to reach new heights.
“Watch me while I hurt your love.”
Chapter 6
The floor was cold. That was all Lilliah could focus on: the coldness of the marble against her skin. If for a second she tried to concentrate on anything else, she’d realise how much pain she was really in.
Light streamed in through the windows. The attack must have happened hours ago; days even. She kept drifting in and out of consciousness until the whole concept of time blurred, reminding her of the spell Ada had put her under, where she had relived all of her past lives and past deaths.
This was worse.
This wasn’t some dream. Azrael wouldn’t be waiting for her when she woke up. Azrael. Her eyes burned with tears. He had stood there while Lucifer had hurt her. He’d broken so many of her bones over and over again. She hadn’t been able to stop shaking or crying out as pain had shot from so many places. Her legs and arms were broken, as well as her fingers and ankles—all snapped. He’d broken her over and over again as if she were nothing but a twig underfoot.
Realisation slowly dawned on her; they might not have left.
Lilliah tried to steady her breathing and listen. The only sounds were coming from the traffic outside. At some point during his attack, Lucifer had broken a few windows by smashing her body into them and then catching her again before she hit the ground. At that point she had wished for death. She couldn’t have begged him anymore.
She lay there, listening to the sounds of busy people going about their normal lives, oblivious to the danger and evil happening above them. She knew how deadly Lucifer was. If he had wanted to, he would have killed her within seconds, but that wasn’t his plan.
“You see, we can’t kill her, Azrael,” he had drawled at some point during the night. “She’ll just be reincarnated again. We can’t have that happen.”
“Azrael?” a man’s voice said. She wasn’t sure whether the voice was real or in her head. Was she going crazy?
“Lilliah?” The voice was closer and sounded familiar. Benedict. Tears started falling again.
“Ben …” The words hurt her throat. “Benedict.”
She heard his footsteps.
Benedict knelt beside her. His hands reached out to touch her, then hesitated.
“Oh, Lilliah. What happened?” Horror resounded in his voice. “Where is Azrael?”
Lilliah’s body started shaking again. Hearing his name hurt. “Lu-Luci …”
“Lucifer?”
She tried to nod but couldn’t, so instead she whispered, “Yes.” Her eyes started to close.
“No, no, Lilliah.” Benedict rested his hand on her forehead and brushed away her hair. “Please, stay awake.”
“Pain.” She welcomed the blackness that consumed her.
********
Lilliah didn’t speak for two days. What could she say? She was still wrapping her head around what had happened. How could she even begin to explain it to someone else? Benedict assured her constantly that her body was healing and soon there wouldn’t be a trace of her injuries, but she would never be able to forget. Every place Lucifer had touched her had left a mark that only she could see. Every time she closed her eyes, she relived every hit and every kick. His face loomed over hers as she begged him to stop, but Lucifer laughed, ignoring her pleas. Her months of training had meant nothing. He had been too strong for her. Too fast.
And Azrael hadn’t helped. He hadn’t stopped him.
It wasn’t him, was the mantra she thought to herself every few minutes. It was the only thing keeping her from crumbling.
“Hey, Lil.” Rebecca stood nervously in the doorway with a bowl of soup in hand. “You hungry?”
Just like yesterday, Lilliah didn’t respond. She just stared.
“It’s chicken and vegetable soup today.” Walking into the room, Rebecca ignored her silence and sat on the side of the bed. “It’s microwaved again. Benedict really doesn’t have much food here, but he said he’d go shopping if you wanted anything.”
Benedict had brought her to his apartment, promising her she’d be safe here. True to his words, she had been. Lilliah was too busy thinking to reply to Rebecca. No one had mentioned Azrael; not to her, anyway.
Where was he? What was he doing?
She hadn’t had any dreams about Lucifer. He was done toying with her and had moved on to Azrael. Was anyone even looking for him? The thought unnerved her. Benedict had spent most of the last few days at the house; she knew this because he came in to check on her every half hour, as did Rebecca. She had only seen Sebastian a few times.
“Is Sebastian with my mum?” Lilliah’s voice sounded strange, croaky, and unlike her own. “She shouldn’t be alone.”
Rebecca’s head whipped in
Lilliah’s direction. “You’re … talking.”
“I couldn’t stay mute forever.” Lilliah took the soup from her friend. “I need to speak with Benedict.”
“Yeah, totally.” Rebecca shot to her feet and headed for the door. “I’ll be right back!”
Lilliah sipped her soup while recalling everything she had told Benedict, which wasn’t a lot. No one was looking for Azrael because she hadn’t told them anything. Her hands twitched with energy. Azrael had been in danger, at the hands of the Devil, for two days, and she had done nothing to help.
Benedict rushed into the room, his features tense. “Lilliah?” He said her name so gently.
“Lucifer did something to him.” She turned to look at Benedict. “His eyes were red.”
Benedict took a few hesitant steps forward. “We don’t have to talk about it now. If you’re not ready, then—”
“I’m ready.” She leaned over and put the soup on the nightstand. “Are you looking for him?”
The question came out more accusatory than she had intended.
“There hasn’t been any trace of either of them.” Benedict stood straighter.
For the first time, Lilliah noticed how tired he looked. His normally bright eyes were dim, and his hair hung over his face. She had never seen him dishevelled before.
“Right. You need to sleep,” she said softly, feeling guilty. “And you need a change of clothes,” she joked, gesturing at his creased shirt.
“It’s been a stressful two days.”
Lilliah nodded. “Get some sleep. Then we’ll talk about everything.”
Benedict opened his mouth to protest, so she added, “You’re of no use to anyone while you’re tired. We’ll talk when you get up.”
“At least let me check you over before I leave.”
“Okay.”
Benedict had reeled off her injuries. The list had gone on and on, from her skull to her toes. He hadn’t wanted to tell her at first, but she had gotten it out of him in the end.
“I’m so sorry,” he had kept telling her, his eyes full of pity and sorrow.
“It wasn’t him. It was Lucifer.”
“I know, but it still doesn’t make it any easier.”
Benedict was right. Thinking of that night still petrified her, but when she did, all she could see was Lucifer’s face.
Her body was healing much faster than it normally did, Lilliah realised as she hobbled down the hall later that night.
She had never been to Benedict’s apartment before, and after always seeing him around at Azrael’s, she found it strange that he even had a house of his own. Benedict hadn’t been home in months. The rooms were dark and dusty, with white sheets laid over the few pieces of furniture that filled them.
Lilliah slowly moved from one room to the next until she found the one she wanted: Benedict’s office. She had wanted to ask him so many questions while he had been examining her healing body, but he had looked dead tired. He deserved his sleep, so she had decided to go looking for answers herself.
In its bareness and simplicity, Benedict’s office was nothing like Azrael’s, but she could imagine Benedict working here. Without turning the light on she walked further in. The desk was clean, with a few papers here and there and two laptops. She knew one of them belonged to Azrael; Benedict must have taken it from Azrael’s apartment.
Lilliah traced her fingers over the Apple logo. How many times had she seen Azrael slaving away behind this thing? She fell into the small chair behind the desk and booted up the laptop. Her breath hitched. Her face was staring back at her as Azrael’s screen saver. She wasn’t sure when the picture had been taken—she wasn’t staring into the camera—but she was smiling, really smiling, and her eyes were shining.
She swiped the mouse. The computer was password protected. She should have known; Azrael protected everything. She rested her elbows on the desk, pondering the possibilities. What could Azrael’s password be? She typed in Purgatory, the name of his club—access denied. She cursed, thought again, and typed in Heaven. Denied again.
Lilliah sat back, staring at the screen, her own face staring back at her. One word. What was the one word Azrael would have chosen over all others to protect his belongings, his work, and his thoughts? Would it be old or new? Long or short? Biting her lip and with one finger, she typed in the word angel, Azrael’s pet name for her. Her eyes filled with tears when she was granted access. It might as well have been another physical blow, because it hurt just as badly. He had chosen her to protect his things. Had he enjoyed typing it in everyday? Had he thought of her every time, or had it become just another word?
“I’ll have to ask you next time I see you,” she said and made a mental note.
Taking a deep breath, she clicked on the Documents folder and flicked from one file to another. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for. Something about Lucifer, maybe? She found nothing. All Azrael did on his laptop was work. She didn’t know what she had expected. A diary? A document in which he had typed out his thoughts and plans? She shook her head and smiled. No, Azrael wasn’t the diary-writing type.
Bored, she clicked on his pictures folder and was surprised by what she found: hundreds of photos—of her. She was smiling in some and frowning in others, all the while unaware that she was being photographed. She bit her lip as she scrolled. No pictures of him, just her. Azrael had done this, he had taken all of them. She loved it and couldn’t hold her sobs in any longer. He was gone; Azrael was gone. Her body shook and she cried out all of her agony. She pushed away from the desk, the pain in her chest growing bigger and bigger until it had consumed her entirely. Though she had known loss before—the pain she had felt when her dad had died had been excruciating—her pain right now couldn’t be explained, just like the situation she found herself in. She was completely alone and the person she thought would never leave was gone.
“Lilliah?”
She jumped at Rebecca’s voice. Her friend was standing next to the desk, her features twisted with worry.
“Hey,” Lilliah croaked, wiping her face with the backs of her hands. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had been crying. “What are you doing up?”
“You sounded broken.” Rebecca twisted her hands together. “I could hear you from my room.”
Lilliah looked at the door, horrified. Had everyone heard her?
“Benedict’s given me the room next door,” Rebecca clarified. “He’s staying in the living room and Seb’s staying with your mum.”
Lilliah nodded. “I feel broken.”
Needing no more words, Rebecca flung her arms around her friend’s neck and both girls fell to the floor.
“The pain’s not going away.” Lilliah sniffled, and Rebecca eased her embrace. She shook her head. “Not that kind of pain. It’s inside, like when my mum was kidnapped, but then there was hope. Azrael was here to help us to get her back. This feels … emptier.”
“Oh, Lil.” Rebecca pulled her into another hug. “We’ll find Azrael. We’ll get him back.”
“It’s not just about that, though. This is Lucifer we’re talking about.” Her lips trembled as she pulled her legs to her chest, wanting to protect herself from everything and everyone. With Azrael, she had always felt safe, even with danger circling them, but with him gone, she felt exposed and vulnerable. “We’re going against the Devil. We’re not just fighting him for my boyfriend, we’re fighting him for everyone. Lucifer will destroy everything if we don’t stop him.”
They sat in silence for a moment, until Rebecca finally spoke. “We’ll get Azrael back, and if need be we’ll save the world—Devil or no Devil.”
Lilliah smiled in the dark. The sadness hadn’t left, but determination was setting in. She liked that feeling; it wasn’t painful. “Yeah. Fuck the Devil.”
Chapter 7
“How long have you been up?” Benedict flicked through the papers Lilliah had handed him.
Rebecca stood close by, yawning.
“A
few hours,” Lilliah replied, brushing it off, too excited to think about her lack of sleep. “We’ve been on Azrael’s computer all night. There wasn’t much but”—she held up her pointer finger—“there was something … something about a psychic.”
Lilliah was grinning and so was Rebecca.
“The Delphines.” Benedict looked up from his papers. “What about them?”
Her shoulders slumped. “You already know about them?”
They had been searching all night, going through all of Azrael’s e-mails and his entire history. They thought they had finally gotten somewhere with the Delphines. Lilliah had started to hope.
“Yeah, they’re a family of psychics. They can speak to angels.”
Lilliah and Rebecca eyed each other.
“Speak to angels?” Rebecca moved to stand next to Lilliah, looking bewildered. “Don’t you think that’s something that should have been brought up before? I mean, this seems like kind of a big deal."
“It’s not as simple as that.” Benedict chuckled, most likely at their naivety, but Lilliah was getting mad.
“How? How is a psychic who can talk to angels not simple?”
Benedict was still smirking. “The angels don’t answer back or just do not hear them, we don’t know which. The Delphines have been hunted since magic came to this world. A few decades ago, they came to The Cure asking to be hidden.”
“Don’t answer back? So they just ignore them?” Rebecca’s shoulders shook with laughter. “That must be so annoying. Imagine a family of angels trying to eat their dinner or something and all they hear is someone in the background saying, ‘Hello? Please, someone talk to me.’ And they’re all just staring down at their food, thinking, ‘If we ignore them, they’ll go away.’” By the time she finished, she was full-on laughing.
Lilliah wasn’t in the mood for laughter. “But they can talk to angels, right?”
“Well, I thought it was funny,” Rebecca said, still grinning.
Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) Page 7
