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“Sarakiel, listen to him,” Kalmiya whispered against my ear. “I think he’s telling the truth.”
I tried not to make it obvious she had said anything contradictory to me, and though her remark should have surprised me, it didn’t; either this confirmed my suspicion that she was a traitor, or she was far more afraid of Medrion than I thought.
Truthfully, it could’ve been both.
“Only Oracles receive visions from God,” I said, “And you killed the only Oracle I have ever met on this planet. For your crimes against our people and against humanity, you have been denied entry into this bastion. Leave, now. We won’t give you a second chance.”
I could tell Abaddon was looking at me, frantically wondering why in the world I had just offered Medrion a way out of here. I wasn’t being naïve or trying to hold onto virtue. I knew a straight up confrontation with Medrion was going to be an uphill battle, and that even if we won it, we would take heavy casualties. If I could avoid the bloodshed, I had to try.
But Medrion wasn’t stupid, and he knew the situation just as well as I did.
Solemnly, he nodded. “Very well,” he said, “I have heard your refusal to lend us aid and acknowledge your generousoffer to allow us to leave peacefully. As a counteroffer however, I, the Archangel Medrion, hereby request your immediate and unconditional surrender. Lay down your arms, drop your shield, and I give you my word… none of you will be harmed. Resist, and you will give meno choice. You have five minutes.”
Medrion’s wings beat hard and fast, and in mere moments he rejoined his army of angels. Each of them looked ready and eager to get into a fight, like they were waiting for an excuse to rush against our shield and demolish it.
Could they?
Would they breach it easily?
I turned toward Abaddon and Azrael, “I wish that had played out better, for all of our sakes.,” I said.
“We knew this was coming,” Azrael responded, “And we are ready to face it.” She then took off to rejoin her group, leaving me with Abaddon and Kalmiya. Suddenly I felt awkward, I knew I would have to deal with what Kalmiya had whispered to me, but I couldn’t do it in front of Abaddon.
Luckily, I didn’t have to. He nodded toward me and said, “I will find you after the battle,” before stalking back to his men. He’d chosen his parting words carefully, perhaps because he was aware of Kalmiya’s feelings toward him, or—most likely—because he felt this was not the time or place to be mushy.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I gave Kalmiya a sidelong stare. “I’m only going to ask you this once,” I said, “And I want you to tell me the absolute truth.”
Kalmiya frowned. “What?” she asked.
“Did he ask you to betray us?”
For a moment she didn’t answer. “He told me he’d had a vision,” she said eventually. “He told me he was the only one who could restart the Sacred Machinery.”
“And you believe him?”
“I do.”
“Lucifer is the one who can restart the machines, not Medrion.”
She nodded. “But only an Archangel can free Lucifer.”
Shit.
My blood turned instantly cold. I could suddenly hear the hammering of my own heart, soaring above the roar of the wind. It even drowned out the pitter-patter of light rain that was beginning to fall on us.An Archangel.
I shook my head lightly. “That can’t be… it has to be another lie.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. But you asked me a question, and I’ve answered it.”
“Do I need to worry about you or any other members of the Ebon Legion?”
She shook her head. “It was easy to manipulate us when we were battered, bleeding, and hungry… but Helena saved us. I’m not about to betray her—even if it means we are locked out of Heaven for good.”
“So why didn’t you tell me this when we last spoke?” I pressed.
“Because I thought you already knew, since you are the chosen one after all.”
I imagined slapping her then, but I instead nodded, smiled, and dismissed her before taking to the air to check the battle line. Not because I wanted to get a better look at what was about to become our battlefield, but because I didn’t want anyone to be able to see even the slightest bit of dread on my face.
