“I’ll go out there with him,” Uriel didn’t know what else to say at that point. He wanted to stay with Gabriel, but knew to not get too close to him when he was good and mad. Lucifer hit way too many nails on the head just now. Everyone but Eve knew it too.
Her being naïve would be what held Gabriel back from lashing out at her.
Uriel stepped outside and watched Lucifer sizzle in the rain. “You’re really observant,” he sat down and dangled his legs over the edge.
“I’ve had to be,” Lucifer leaned against the rocks. “No one bothered trying to talk to me. No one tried to explain one fucking thing to me when I arrived at the brotherhood. You all just locked me up, beat me, and starved me. To survive, I needed to learn fast who was who and what was what.”
“And for that, we will forever be sorry,” Uriel knew damn well his apology wasn’t wanted.
“I forgive you,” Lucifer said in a dull voice. “Not so that you will feel less guilty, but for me to feel less resentful. I want nothing weighing me down once I can fly and be free.”
“Where will you go?”
“I don’t care.”
“You should care. Think this sect is the only one with cruelty?”
“I. Don’t. Care.”
“And what about Eve?” Uriel looked up at Lucifer and cocked his eyebrow. “She came here for you. She’s sacrificed much, just for you.”
“She did all that for herself. I was nothing more than an excuse for her to get into the brotherhood.”
Uriel didn’t miss the sadness in Lucifer’s voice. “I don’t think that’s entirely true.” He stood up and stretched his wings out, “You’re not the only observant Angel, you know. But you sure are the most selfish.”
With that, Uriel dove off the edge of the cliff and flew into the storm.
Chapter 15
Three days. Eve had been living in a cave with five male Angels for three days.
Gabriel stayed to himself for most of the time. He and Uriel had just flown off to patrol the perimeter of their hiding spot for threats again. So far, the only threats they knew of were Lucifer’s fiery temper, Lazarus’s blinding reflection from his wings if he stood in the direct sunlight, and Eve’s hunger.
If she didn’t get food soon, she was going to gnaw her arm off.
Constantine sat against the wall and scribbled in the dirt. “You’re making me dizzy with all your pacing, Eve.”
She tossed her hands in the air. “I’m too caged in here.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Lucifer said from his corner.
“You should already be used to it,” Lazarus said. “You’ve certainly seen your fair share of walls, Flower.”
Eve froze, mid-step, and glared at Lazarus. She didn’t say a word though. But ohhhh she wanted to say a bunch. Sometimes it sucked living with an actual know-it-all.
“The best windows are the transparent ones,” Lazarus said. “I’m partial to the stained glass myself, and hate the bubbled ones. But a good washing takes all the streaks out. It’s refreshing.”
“I wish I could keep up with your head, Laz.” Eve went back to her pacing.
If she was to be honest with herself, her cagey feelings had nothing to do with the cave or the Angels and everything to do with her guilt. She felt like a ticking time bomb. With no tunic to hide her scars, she’d been naked for three days and was constantly aware of the marks on her back.
It made her paranoid and on edge all the time. Even when she tried to sleep, Eve kept her back against the wall and made sure her wings were tight, but stress had impaired her ability to relax her feathers so they stayed hard all the time.
“You look exhausted, Eve. Why don’t you try to rest,” Con didn’t even look up while he talked.
Of all the Angels in the cave, Constantine was the quietest. Eyes cast down, jaw locked, he always seemed to be deep in thought. Yesterday he took some of the rocks Lazarus used to draw with and added writing to the cave walls too. Overnight, the majority of the cave became covered in art and writing. Now Con was scribbling on the floor.
Eve felt terrible for him. Mostly because he was still weak and it was because of her. What Angel gave all he had to someone else? It didn’t seem smart. And she learned from Uriel that Constantine did it often for other Angels.
With a sigh, she sat next to him and looked around at what he wrote in the dirt. Oh Divine Grace, he’d written a poem about her tied to the apple tree. When he saw her reading it, he swiped it away with his hands.
That fast, her story was erased.
“Why do you write so much?”
“It’s my job.”
“You don’t have that job anymore, Con. You’re free of the Brotherhood.” But he didn’t look like he wanted to be free from the Brotherhood.
“It’s a compulsion now,” he shrugged. “I can’t not write.”
“A compulsion or a curse?”
Constantine’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her, “Gabriel didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I wasn’t blaming him. I’m simply trying to understand.” And why would it be Gabriel’s fault if he was cursed?
“It’s not a curse. It’s only a compulsion. I started writing when Michael wanted notes of his experiments. Then I started writing as therapy from watching those experiments. Now I can’t stop. If I do, I’ll snap or suffocate or blow away or… I don’t even know what, but I don’t want to find out. Writing is what saves me, so I write.” He started another story with the stick in his hand.
“Experiments,” Eve whispered. She looked over at Lucifer and yup, he was staring at them. “What kind of experiments, Constantine?”
“The kind I saved you from, Eve.”
Her breath hitched. “What… what do you mean by that?”
“It doesn’t matter now because you’re never going back there.” Constantine looked over at Lucifer next, “Neither of you are ever going back. Don’t fight this war with us and Michael. Just… fucking leave. Why haven’t you run off to do that yet?”
“Because,” Lucifer grumbled, “I can’t protect her until I have full use of my wings.”
“I don’t need your protection, Lucy.” Eve’s tone sounded like she was insulted.
Con chuckled sardonically, “You certainly wanted it when you were dying.”
Was Constantine jealous? Yeah, well maybe he was. Angels weren’t perfect and jealousy was an ugly monster that lived in all of them.
“I’m the one who saved you,” he stopped writing in the dirt, “I’m the one who swung the sword and stabbed the Angel I’d pledged my fealty to. Then I cut your binds, kicked away the snakes, was bitten countless times myself, and I flew the fuck out of there with you in my arms bleeding, dying, and crying for another male to come save you.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that cave. Shit, not even Lazarus moved a muscle.
Eve’s cheeks reddened. “You… you didn’t tell me about any of that.”
“You didn’t ask,” Con hissed.
“You should have said something.”
Eve tried to touch his arm and he jerked away from her. “I’m not a sharing kind of creature. That wasn’t your story as much as it was mine. And if we’re going to discuss sharing and telling stories, I’d really like to know what the fuck that mark is on your back. I think I’m entitled to know, given what I’ve done for you.”
Eve’s cheeks now turned flaming red. “I said I wasn’t ready to tell.”
“And I say I don’t care. We’re in serious danger, Eve. It’s only right that we know everything.”
Oh fuck that. “I don’t know everything about you. I barely know anything about any of you!” Eve stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t expect me to spill my secrets without you spilling some of your own.”
Constantine was about to object when Laz cut in with, “She’s right. You’re going to be together for a while. Tell her, Constantine.”
Con was fuming now. “I don’t o
we anyone anything.”
“Didn’t say you did,” Laz shook his head, “But give her something. A sign of good faith.”
“My saving her life wasn’t enough to prove my intentions?”
“What are your intentions?” Eve asked. “I’m… look… I don’t understand what’s going on, but I don’t want you upset. Everyone in this cave is always so angry and testy and—”
“Threatened, Flower. They’re threatened.” Lazarus walked over to the mouth of the cave and looked out at the ocean. “The ocean is vast and deep and beautiful. So much wonder. So much life.” He looked back at Constantine, “Not even it understands its full potential. But in the threat of storms that clash above it, the waves swell and make their own war.”
“We’re not waves, Laz.”
“Maybe not. Maybe you’re all little ripples. Or maybe you’re something else entirely.”
Were they speaking in code? She was struggling to keep up with this conversation.
Con stormed over to Laz and his voice dropped to a deep calm, “What are you saying?”
Oh good, Con couldn’t keep up with it either. That made her feel a little better.
Lazarus frowned, “I’m saying you’re all going to be together for a while. Get on the same level. You know that no Angel was meant to be above another.” He grabbed Con by the shoulders and shook him, “I beseech you, brother. Get on the level before one of you falls from a height too lofty to survive the crash landing.”
“None of us are better than the other, we’ve never been like that.”
“Get on the same page of your book then,” Laz repeated. Glittery light sparkled on the cave walls from his wings. “Always write with the same ink, in the same language, on the same page, or your story will never be told properly.”
Constantine continued staring at Lazarus, trying so hard to read between the lines. They all were. Eve looked over at Lucifer who only shrugged.
“Laz,” Con whispered, “What book am I to write?”
The lunatic’s eyes grew distant and glazed over. Constantine tried to shake him back into focus, “Laz wha—”
“You’re going to love Die Hard when it comes out in theatres. Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucker.” And just like that, Lazarus was back to talking total nonsense.
“What book am I to write?” Constantine practically begged him for an answer, but it was no use. Loony Laz walked away humming a tune. Constantine’s voice echoed in the cave when he screamed, “What book?”
Chapter 16
Gabriel and Uriel flew around the perimeter and found nothing. No Michael. No Angels. No threats other than the occasional snake or large fanged animal.
“You’re not going to like what I’m about to say, Gabe.”
“Then for your own safety, do not say it.”
Uriel chuckled as they made their way through the field, “I think we all need to come clean. Just open up and say it all. It’s not like it’s that big of a deal, ya know? The three of us know everything about each other. And Loony Laz knows all.”
“But it’s not just us and Lazarus.”
“Duh,” Uriel rolled his eyes. “But I think there’s a reason we’re all together like this. I’ve got this feeling in my gut.”
“It’s called hunger, which is why we’re hunting.”
“Not it’s not. It’s fucking instinct.”
“You saying Lucifer is rubbing off on you?”
“And if he is, would that be so bad? I like him.”
“Well I don’t think he likes you back.”
Uriel shrugged, “He doesn’t know me. Once he knows me, he’ll love me.”
Gabriel barked a laugh, “Or kill you. Divinity knows I’ve had to stop myself countless times from wringing your neck with the way you always gab.”
Placing a hand over his heart, Uriel winced, “That hurts, brother.”
Gabriel laughed again, “Not as much as Lucy sinking his teeth into your jugular would.”
“Meh, Con would heal me before I bled out.”
Gabriel slowed his roll. “We depend on him too much.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We push our limits because we know Con will save us.”
He wasn’t wrong. They all ran to Constantine if they couldn’t heal on their own. Con always said it was an honor to be able to help, but he never knew when to step back. That Angel would give his last drop of energy to his brothers without a second thought. It made what he did incredibly dangerous.
And made what Michael would attempt all the time that much more despicable.
Ever since the day Constantine healed Michael’s first victim, Constantine had been used. Used. Like a tool.
Just like Gabriel had been used like a weapon.
Once it was discovered that Gabe could lay curses upon both Angels and humans, Gabriel had never been the same. Once, he was joyful and wild. Now, he was cautious and guarded. Defensive all the time, too. Grumpy as fuck.
Then there was Uriel. He was used too, but not like his brothers. Uri’s high tolerance for pain was earned the hard way, and he in no way was proud of the fact that he could take a sword to the gut and keep going.
Gabriel wanted to find some food for all of them and get back to the cave. For three days they’d stayed to their own corners and if one of them tried to start a decent conversation, someone would inevitably get pissy and an argument would start.
He had his theories about why, but common sense said it was because they were all scared and worried and frustrated. Hopefully a little food in their bellies would calm their hanger down.
A rustling in the tall grass caught their attention. Gabriel and Uriel both froze with their swords up and ready to strike.
A lizard-looking thing scurried between Uriel’s legs.
“Stab it!” Gabriel barked.
“No way. That’s not good eats.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“I’m not begging. I’m fucking choosing. And I want big meat.” Uriel marched forward towards the border where realms bled together. “Maybe if we go west, we’ll find something better. We’re up too close to the border now.”
Gabriel agreed and doubled back. A hundred paces out and there was another noise. “Motherfucker, if that’s another lizard, I’ll eat it myself. I’m starving.” Gabriel was poised and ready to catch his meal.
What prowled out of there wasn’t dinner, it was—
“Rave?” Gabriel gawked. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Holding his sword out, he was more than ready to strike, but he really didn’t want to.
“At ease,” Rave commanded. “I come in peace.”
“Bullshit,” Uriel huffed. “You’re dressed for a fight.”
“I’ve been scouting for days.” Rave, in a show of good will, tucked his weapons away and held his hands up. “I was there when Michael threw that apple. I made sure the worst of the Angels went back to their positions so Constantine could strike down Michael and get Eve out of there.” He pinned Gabriel with a hard gaze. “Raphael’s gone. He didn’t survive the attack.”
Gabriel couldn’t even swallow his guilt. It wedged in his throat like a spiked ball dipped in poison that burned and pierced and made it impossible to choke down. Raphael’s death was all on Gabriel. Lucifer might have made the killing blow, but Gabriel had sentenced Raphael to his death long ago.
I… forgive you. Gabriel stilled his beating heart. He didn’t need this head trip right now. “Where is Michael?”
“He’s been in his chambers. He sent the rest of us on a hunt,” Rave looked back and forth between the two. “I’m telling the truth.”
“We believe you,” Uriel said, “Right, Gabe?”
Gabriel was still trying to fucking breathe. He didn’t want to show weakness or panic, but the guilt was seriously suffocating him. “Yeah,” Gabriel coughed, “Yeah.”
Rave blew out a breath and relaxed his wings and shoulders. “It’s ugly, brothers. The whole sect is in an uproar. Michael blames it
all on Lucifer. Says the beast had just been biding his time in there and when Michael was occupied with Eve, he saw his opportunity and killed Raphael, stole Laz, and struck Michael with the sword before freeing Eve and taking off.”
“He actually thinks one Angel can do that much damage so swiftly?” Gabe thought that was a little excessive.
“He thinks Lucifer can do that much damage so swiftly,” Rave countered.
“Fuck,” Uriel scrubbed his face. “And what about the rest of us? Where does Michael think we were during Lucifer’s escape?”
“He thinks it happened during the rotation switch for Cagers. Raphael had taken over your post and when you two left, Lucifer went after Raphael with Laz’s help. There is no doubt in his mind that you two took off with Con to look for Lucifer and Eve. He’s also convinced you will not return without that Angel’s head on a spike. His belief in your fealty is unwavering.”
Uriel squatted down and cursed.
“You’ll need to make a move soon. Either return or run.”
“Run,” Uriel said the same time Gabriel announced, “Return.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Gabe!” Uriel popped back up on his feet and stormed over to him. “We need to get the fuck out of here and never look back.”
Gabriel didn’t want to have this conversation. Not in front of Rave. And not today.
Rave’s gaze shifted between Uriel and Gabriel, “You could do both,” his voice dropped. “Uriel, if you really want to abandon the brotherhood, Gabriel could return and say you died.”
“And what about Lucifer’s head on a spike?”
“Bring it with you,” Rave shrugged. “Small price to pay for Uriel’s freedom.”
Gabriel didn’t even know what to say about that.
“He’s a fellow Angel!” Uriel argued.
“He’s a threat,” Rave grumbled.
“No, he’s not. And even if he was…”
“He will always be hunted!” Rave roared. “Holy Divine Light, you two! How deep are you going to dig your graves with this? I’m offering you a way out. I’ve put my neck on the chopping block, and Raphael has—” He cut himself off before speaking further.
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