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“It was not my intention, I promise you. I wanted to save her life, and you were the only way I could do that. There are things I should have done differently, but in that moment of urgency I needed you, and I did not think clearly.”
“The Tyranttook over,” I said, watching him carefully.
“He is who I needed to be to survive in this place. Tell me you cannot understand how such a thing could have happened.”
I did, in truth.
I had only spent a little while on Earth, relatively speaking. But after seeing the place, having experienced it as I have, I knew this was an entirely inhospitable environment for an angel. We were not made to exist down here, least of all without God’s word, God’s guidance. We would not survive down here if we didn’t change.
Adapt.
As he had, and as I had too.
“This all sounds too convenient,” I said.
“Believe my words when I say, Aithen’s death is a tragedy,” said the Tyrant. “I lost many people to Medrion’s warriors, to the Wretched. They all fought and died not for Kalmiya alone, but because they—like you—know the truth about Medrion. I cameafter you to ensure the deaths we suffered were not in vain. Medrion is still out there… together, we could find him.”
I frowned. “For a moment, there, I hoped you were going to tell me youhadcaptured him, and he was sitting in your dungeons.”
“I wish I could,” he simply said.
I scanned his eyes, his face.Abaddon’sface. His was a dark name, an infamous one. I had only ever heard of one other angel with the name of Abaddon… he was one of the first God cast into the pit after Lucifer’s rebellion. Some say that Abaddon was now one of the lords of the pit, a powerful demon the likes of which no one had ever seen.
It was no wonder he was the last of his name; it was cursed.
“Even if I believed you,” I said, “And I’m still having trouble with that. What am I supposed to do with all of this information?”
“I want you to come back. This isn’t the place for you.”
“And how do you know that?”
He took a deep breath and placed a hand on the bars. “Because we have a sworn objective… to find Medrion and bring him to justice for the things he has done. If you stay here, you will never leave. Your hate, your rage, will burn away to nothing.”
“You don’t know that. Once I’m recovered?—”
“—they will let you leave on a mission of vengeance? Helena and her angels are pacificists. They do not believe in sin, war, or combat.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“It will be when Medrion turns his sights on this place and brings his army to bear. If you think he has forgotten about you, you are wrong. He will find you, Sarakiel… he will come to this place, and he will burn it to the ground. Believe me when I tell you, he is already planning an attack. I know it. I can feel it.”
“And how do you know that?”
The Tyrant lowered his eyes. “Because it is what I would do.”
I walked up to the edge of the cell, confident, now, that he couldn’t break out at a moment’s notice if he wanted to. Carefully, I placed the palm of my hand against his chest as I leaned closer to the bars. The Tyrant’s lips parted slightly. I could feel his heart rate quicken, pulsing through my hand, his chest pounding with each vibration.
He leaned closer to the bars, so close that our mouths were mere inches apart.
“You’d better hope you aren’t still stuck in here when he does, then,” I whispered against his lips.
Turning around, I gave the Tyrant my back as I made my way out of the cells. I had spoken to him, he had said his piece—now it was time to talk to Helena and find out what she had to say about all this.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ABADDON
Iwas not always like this.
