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Asmodeus released an incredulous laugh. “You are so ignorant.” He shook his head. “Let me open your eyes. The OA created a faster and stronger species by mixing human, demon, and angel blood, to get rid of us.”
“That’s not—”
He shook a finger and tsked. “No, no. Don’t talk. Let me finish. These special warriors killed many of the demons, however, they became unpredictable. Their hunger turned ravenous and the thirst for blood became intolerable. Not only did they slaughter more humans than the demons had conquered souls, but they also spread out, reproduced, and created their own race called vampires. So OA gathered these abominations, women and children too, into an underground cavern and sealed the exit.”
“Impossible. OA would never—”
His eyes turned wholly black, gleaming in warning to shut the hell up, before they turned back to brown. “When you’re desperate, you’ll do anything. But unfortunately, or fortunately, these beings were resilient and resourceful. In order to survive, what do you think these vamps did?”
I shook my head. Not because I didn’t know the answer, I didn’t want the truth to be said out loud. It was unfathomable and barbaric.
Asmodeus twirled his diamond ring on his finger. “They dug and dug for days and weeks until they found a way out. With great leadership skill from Victus and others, they built an underground city.”
Where I had been. A tiny fraction of what I had seen. I had questioned where the people who had visited Abacus for advice lived. Little did I know a whole city existed below my feet.
If that was true, it was the reason Victus and his court loathed the OA. But they seemed to despise Seraphims most of all.
I drummed my fingers on the table. “Let’s say I believe your story. Then who led the team for this genocide?”
“I don’t know this Seraphim personally, but I’ve heard they call him the Angel of Many Faces and he has many names. Rafael, Phillip, Luke, many more.”
Those names again. James had mentioned the same angel as his superior, so Asmodeus was not making up a story. Maybe.
“Why are you telling me about the vampires?”
“To open your eyes. You have been deceived by your own kind. Perhaps you’re fighting for the wrong legion.”
I uncrossed and crossed my other leg, the weight of the weapon giving me some comfort. “Maybe everything you said is a lie. Why should I believe you? You took over a world that doesn’t belong to you.”
Asmodeus leaped up and slammed a hand on the table. His nostrils flared. I clenched my jaw. Our conversation made me sick to my stomach.
He leaned closer and his gaze pierced into mine. “I need you to find something for me. What would it take for me to convince you to join my legion?” He caressed a finger down my shoulder as he sat back down.
I pushed back. “You’re impossible and a fool. I will never join you.”
“Even if it’s to get rid of the vampires?”
He piqued my interest. After Asmodeus was dead, the vamps were next. Who was to say we couldn’t start with them? But guilt waved through my core especially after learning about what they had been through, if what Asmodeus had told me about how vampires were created was true.
Yes, some vamps were like wild animals, but others were not. What had OA accomplished by trying to get rid of a species they had created? I felt like I was going in circles, repeating history that had gone wrong.
“My answer is still no.”
“Very well.” He clapped twice. “Maybe you’ll change your mind after you see Zander.”
The doors swung open and a gust of wind nearly put out the candles. I didn’t have to second guess who the captive was with ten soldiers and their spears pointed at him.
Zander, bare chest and his wings tucked inside his powerful back. Moonlight radiated on him like a God-sent warrior. Though he was bound by hematite cuffs, he didn’t look like a prisoner but more of a threat.
Chains around his ankles dragged and clanked as he strutted toward the dining table. No wounds or blood on him. Who knew what he had been through, but at least he looked unharmed.
One of you will know torture beyond imagining. I shut out the scammer’s voice echoing inside my head.
My heart skipped a beat as I rose, and my anger toward Zander went out the door. I wanted to run to him and be in his arms. I’d missed him so much. Tears pooled in my eyes. Showing me Zander in such a vulnerable state, Asmodeus might as well have stabbed my heart.
Zander’s muscles tightened and his face marred with worry. “Little Dove, why are you here? You shouldn’t have come.”
His tone was not welcome, but I understood.
