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"Apparently, my ancestors knew powerful beings," she shrugged. "It would make sense. We guard more than just books. And before you ask. Yes, I have power. I find it’s easier to keep it masked. And no, I'm not discussing my family history right now."

His phone buzzed because he’d turned his comms off. It was Araton. Probably pissed about another shit show at the port. But this female with her ancient knowledge and hidden power had become mission-critical. And maybe something more. Fuck.

The Codex pulsed with a sickly light. The pages turned themselves and stopped on diagrams. Sarah's fingers traced symbols that writhed beneath her touch. That was interesting. Her "just a bookseller" facade was getting thinner by the second.

"We need to get this somewhere secure," he said, though his wings refused to retract from their protective arch. "The mansion has wards that⁠—"

"I'm not leaving my shop." Her words snapped out like a whip. "These books need protection. If something's coming, this knowledge could be our only defense."

"Then I'm staying too." The words came out before he could stop them.

She blinked. "Don't you have a city to patrol?"

"My brothers and the others can handle it." He met her gaze. "This is more important."

His phone buzzed again. Araton's text was terse. “MAJOR SITUATION AT PORT. NEED YOU NOW.”

"Go," Sarah said, not looking up from her work. "I've got this."

"Like hell." He moved close. "You've got knowledge they want. And power they didn't expect. I'm not leaving you unprotected." At least now, it made sense why she had been targeted by the demons before.

She finally looked up, and the fierce intelligence in those green eyes hit him harder than celestial steel. "I'm not helpless."

"I never said you were." His wings shifted restlessly. "But this is bigger than both of us. Whatever's coming – these Titans, the prison break Lucifer is attempting with them – it's going to take all of us working together to stop it."

Another tremor rocked the building. It was stronger this time. The very air seemed to vibrate with wrongness. Above them, books crashed to the floor. "This is getting worse," Sarah said as she snatched the codex and headed up the stairs. Abraxos followed behind her as she moved between the stacks. She shifted the codex to one arm and gathered fallen texts with practiced urgency for several seconds until she looked up at him. "Are you picking up a pattern to them?"

Abraxos shook his head as she led him to a workstation tucked between towering shelves. He hadn’t sensed anything of the sort. Wondering what she was feeling, he focused on the star charts and ley line maps covering the desk surface. Each one was marked with timestamps and energy readings. For someone who claimed to be "just a bookseller," she ran one hell of an intelligence operation.

"Here." She set the codex down and traced a series of intersecting lines. "The pulses are hitting major convergence points, but they're not random. They're searching for something."

Abraxos leaned closer, inhaling that intoxicating mix of salt air and ancient paper that clung to her skin. "Or testing defenses."

"Exactly." She turned to face him. Fucking hell. That was a mistake. They were suddenly inches apart. Her fierce intelligence burned in those green eyes. "The Titans are looking for weak points in the barrier of their prison."

"Where did you learn these calculations?" He asked to distract himself.

"My grandmother." A shadow crossed her face. "I learned everything I know about being a guardian from her. Her whole life was dedicated to watching for signs that they were waking up. I didn’t listen as I should have."

"You couldn’t have known the Titans were real if you never saw proof."

She nodded and sighed. "Among other things." She ran a hand through her hair, loosening more strands from that messy bun. It took all his control not to reach out and touch them. "The books really are weapons. The knowledge was passed down through generations of watchers. That’s how I always thought of us."

Another tremor hit. This one was targeted. It almost felt like something had sensed them discussing it. The Codex's pages began to turn faster, creating a nightmarish flipbook of horror. Abraxos caught glimpses of monsters moving through dimensions like water through a sieve.

"There." Sarah's finger stabbed at a page as the book finally settled. "That's what they're looking for."

The illustration revealed a massive underground complex that made his warrior's instincts scream danger. The structure descended at least fifty levels deep. It had walls of black stone etched with lines of silver sigils. Steel and concrete reinforced the ancient stonework. Mystical containment systems merged seamlessly with ceremonial circles that his angelic eyes recognized as pure power. The blueprints showed a network of chambers that were connected to form a massive binding circle. They were prison cells designed to hold beings capable of shattering mountains.

"The Prison," she breathed. "This is what Lucifer is trying to break into."

"And these tremors are what? Attempts at a prison break?"

She lifted one elegant shoulder. "More like... jailhouse riots." She traced symbols that writhed beneath her touch. "Lucifer woke them up, and now they're testing the bars. Looking for stress points where the wards are thinnest."

His phone buzzed again. Araton wasn't playing. “MAJOR SITUATION. CIVILIANS AT RISK.”

"Go." Sarah didn't look up from her work. "I've got this covered."