“I didn’t consume it.” I rip my IV out, applying pressure to the puncture wound. “Itallowedme merge with it.”
It was a mutually agreed-upon arrangement. No murder of sentient celestial entities was involved… I think. At least, I wasn’t trying to kill it. My conscience is clean.
“And you could have still warned me about your ‘hunch.’”
“Right.” Abaddon takes a step backward, toward the door. “Perhaps I should get you some food. I’m sure you’re very hungry.”
I amstarving,actually. If I were really unconscious for weeks, they must have magicked some nutrients into me—or, if they were feeling upto the primitive and barbarian practices of modern medicine, they had me on a regular old food pump. Regardless, I’m not withered away or dead, so they took care of me somehow.
“Fine, but leave Dusk.”
Abaddon’s brow crinkles slightly before he dips his head in a farewell, making a hasty exit.
I guess all isn’t well between the two of them, after all? They really had me fooled for a second there. At least I know the world isn’t spinning in reverse now.
Dusk is left standing in the middle room, awkwardly rubbing his head in that nervous tell of his. All traces of his anger with me seem to have dissipated. After a moment’s hesitation, he says, “I’m glad you’re okay, Dawn.”
“What happened,” I demand, my voice flat.
“Well, first of all, Michael confessed?—”
“No, we’ll get to that later. I mean, more specifically,whydid something happen? What caused all the hundreds of thousands of locusts to go into red alert in the first place?” I try my best to remind myself that it’s not him I’m mad at, but it’s a struggle. I’m pissed off in general. “Nobody told me a damn thing, and fucking Michaelgot to my head while you two were God knows where, doing God knows what. Something about the Council summoning a bunch of demons to the Abyss?”
“Oh. Right. Uh, about that. It was a false alarm.”
“You’vegotto be kidding me. You mean there wasnever actually anything there—”Ow, ow, ow, shit, I really need to stop yelling.
“No, there was definitely something there. They just didn’t mean any ill intent.”
I’m too busy pinching both sides of my head to glare at him properly, even though he definitely deserves it for being the worst messenger to ever speak words.
“Elaborate.”
Casually, he sits down beside me. “Well. It was very tense for a bit, but we managed to form a shaky truce. They just felt the summons andcame seeking refuge. Apparently, Abaddon and Semyaza go way back. He was surprisingly amicable about it all, actually. Hell, compared to when you and I showed up, he was nearly jumping with joy.”
“Semyaza? I feel like I’ve heard that name before. Who is he?”
Dusk huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, he’skindathe guy who originally led the twenty Watchers out of Heaven. You’veprobablyheard someone mention him a time or two.”
“Huh... So that’s it? No big battle, no casualties? Lucifer just shows up one day, and we’re immediately buddy-buddies with him?”
I have a hard time believing any of this.
“Well, he’s not exactly Lucifer, for one. Most people give that credit to Azael, though the stories are a bit muddy. Semyaza is just… Semyaza. His followers, the fallen Watchers who remain with him, are sometimes called the Profuga, I guess.”
“How many of them are there?”
“Uh… Four archangels, I think? And a dozen or so of their close descendants?” He lifts his finger to count. “Kiba, Armaros, Daniel, Yetarel… oh, and Ramiel. I almost forgot. He’s an interesting one.”
“Weren’t there twenty archangels? Where are the rest?”
“I dunno.” He shrugs, almost making me hate how casual he’s being about everything. “In hiding somewhere, maybe? I know at least one of them went back to Elohim already.”
“Fucking Michael. He must have planned the whole thing. Knew it would cause a panic, knew he’d be able to get to me…” I shake my head, fury growing red hot inside of me. “He killed two birds with one stone.”
“Yeah, he does that kind of thing. I tried to warn you.”
“I know, I know. I should have been more careful. I was just soobsessed.” I was literally willing to die for it, and I almost did. It’s a small miracle I didn’t. “That’s the last time I let him get to my head.”
