With a heavy groan, I bring myself to a sitting position, readjusting my hood. Abaddon offers his hand, but I only stare at it, unwilling to touch him.
“Who was it?” Michael snaps.
Ignoring the hand, I pull myself to my feet, dust the dirt off me, and look up at the sky. Maybe I have a death wish, but I don’t care to cowtoe to a single angel right now. “The Adversary, of course.”
It brings me some small pleasure to know that I’m putting Michael in a bind by not directly stating it was Azael. He’ll have to give up something if he wants more information.
The earth seems to rumble beneath us as Abaddon takes in a furious breath. Michael, on the other hand, looks at me with clear suspicion.
“How many? What did they look like?”
I shrug. “Just one, I think. There was a bag on my head.”
“And what did he want?” Abaddon grinds out through his teeth.
"He tried threatening me into not opening the Abyss."
Michael narrows his eyes, taking another step forward so that he’s standing in front of Abaddon. “Why are you lying?”
“I’m not. Everything I’ve said is true.”
“You’re telling me that he just gave you a warning andlet you go?”The anger on Michael’s face is making my nonchalance so worth it; I have to hide how giddy it makes me feel. I think there’s something seriously wrong in my head. Maybe Azael knocked a few screws loose.
“Yep. He sure did.”
“What else did he say, exactly?” Michael’s seething catches Abaddon’s attention, who takes a step closer as the lead archangel continues to press for answers. “If you don’t spit it out already?—”
“Michael,” he growls, “that’s enough. She said what his intentions were.”
Igniting like a fire onto charcoal, Michael whirls around to face the King. “If you weren’t so blinded by your unholy,vileattraction to the mutated human, you would realize that every single detail of her encounter is critical for understanding the Adversary’s plans. Do not forget your place, Destroyer. Her emotions are not more important than the mission.”
I take a step back, my eyes wide, shocked that Abaddon would challenge Michael so blatantly. It’s a terrible idea—one that might get usbothkilled. I can feel the tension rising in the air.
Abaddon’s voice drops even lower, reaching a menacing depth. “Myplace, and my Queen’s, is not within your sovereignty. I only align with you out of our mutual servitude to the Almighty. At any point in time, I could retract that support.”
Their wings both shoot out, nearly simultaneously, like two oversized birds in a territorial display of strength. Michael begins to glow with an impossibly bright light, something that once felt like acid when I was fully human—and in parallel, fire lights along Abaddon’s armor, glowing with a shadowy dark material.
I start stumbling backward to get away.
When they draw their origin weapons—Michael with his brilliant greatsword and Abaddon with his scythe—I realize this isn’t anyone’s bluff. They’re genuinely moments from fighting each other to the death.
I can’t even imagine the destruction that could happen in the crossfire of these two. It could be catastrophic. Nuclear.
“Stop,” I breathe weakly, my eyes wide, my pupils constricted to tiny beads. “I’ll tell you everything. Please. This isn’t necessary.”
Abaddon’s glowing silver eyes dart to me. My voice almost acts like a lullaby to him, dimming the destruction that radiates off of him...
But it does nothing to Michael.
His Holy light sears everything around him, scorching the earth. Like the egotistical dictator he is, he cannot let a challenge against him go unpunished.
“You make a mockery of us, Destroyer,” his voice booms with thunderous might, entirely inhuman. “I am a Principality of Earth. This is my realm you’re standing in. If I wanted to take your life for disregarding our governance, it is entirely within my sovereignty.”
“You can try,” Abaddon starts, but I immediately step forward, stealing his attention again.
I’m desperate to keep him from making this worse. I’ll put myself in the line of fire if that keeps them from destroying the whole Middle East in one argument.
“Please—”
