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I truly am a monster.
I know this because I don’t even care.
No one can blame me for someone else’s choices. How do I know this Elias guy wasn’t a stalker angel? How do I know it wasn’t one-sided? Cassius has a lot of damn nerve to blame me.
My rage grabs hold of me, and I let it control my being. Without thinking, I snatch Cassius’s discarded flaming sword from the floor. It sears my hand, the smoke of my burning flesh billowing through the air. I don’t know if my body shut down my ability to feel pain or it’s something else entirely, but whatever it is, my soul and body experience a disconnection and I manage to get to my feet.
The three angels stare in shock as I stand before them with the angelic sword in hand despite the wafting smoke from my burning body. Andre brings his hand up to his chest, and Zade grabs his arm. Cassius shoves past the two of them, stomping toward me.
Fighting Cassius will be the death of me if I try, so instead of attempting the impossible, I rush toward the closest window. I might not be able to break it with my Hell-bound body, but I’m sure Cassius’s sword will do the job. I don’t know how far I’ll get, but if I can escape far enough to call upon my devils, they can come. They can help me. They’re just as powerful as the angels, if not more, after all.
“Raven, don’t!” Cassius yells, blinking into view by my side.
I screech and ram his sword through the window, sending fragments of glass exploding through the air. Light engulfs the room as the angelic energy dissipates, but I don’t make it an inch out of the broken window. The world blurs around me, flickering with light and shadows until Cassius forces my back into a wall. He expands his brilliant white wings, glittering with what looks like silver tips. Cutting me off from his brethren and the rest of the world, Cassius gets in my face and pierces my chest with the point of the flaming sword.
“Please, don’t,” I beg, my whole body rolling with pain. “Please.”
I send my prayer to the universe, knowing these angels will not listen or give a shit about my plea for mercy. I just hope there’s something more out there willing to hear me. Maybe the Higher Power will see things untarnished by hurt feelings from a past that don’t belong to this life.
“I never wanted to be in this position. I thought you were saviors. I thought you fought for the good in the universe. How can you stand here while I beg you for help and for your mercy? You can’t hold another life against me. You can’t. This is far from fair.” I press my palms together, continuing to pray on the floor before Cassius. “Please, God. Please don’t let him do this to me. Haven’t I been punished enough?”
Bright light blinds me, stealing my vision and dulling all my senses. “In the name of the Higher Power, I send you to—”
“Cassius, no!” Micah’s deep voice bellows through the room, flooding me with relief. “I command you to stand down. She is my charge and purpose. You will not intervene.”
I’ve never been so thankful for his intervention. Cassius’s light dims, leaving shadows in my vision. Bruised and with a split lip, Micah stands on the broken glass just inside the window. His white wings ruffle with the wind coming into the apartment, sending his crisp sea breeze scent through the room.
Cassius drops the blade to his side, but he doesn’t step away from me. “Where have you been, Micah? We thought something had happened to you. The betrayers—”
“Imprisoned me. Kase was trying to use force to break me and get me to turn my back on the Higher Power.” Micah shifts on his boots and turns his gaze to me. “He doesn’t want to lose Raven’s soul to those more inclined to serve beneath Lucifer and grows desperate.”
My stomach knots and twists, hearing Micah reveal what Kase had been up to before I found him arguing with Cassius as he searched for his missing brethren. Am I angry? Maybe a little. But I already knew what he was capable of, and I can’t hold it against Kase’s psycho ass because his heart is in a good place. I don’t want to go to Hell as a servant as much as he doesn’t want me to be someone else’s plaything.
“Now please, Cass. Back down. I will handle Raven,” Micah adds, strolling closer.
Some indecipherable expression crosses Cassius’s face, and he jerks his sword forward and points it at me again. The holy metal heats up the skin under my chin, turning from uncomfortable to painful over a dozen seconds. I grind my teeth and cry out, trying to get space between my body and the angel’s blade.
“Cassius, stop! You’re hurting her.” Micah expands his wings, unsheathing his own sword from beneath his billowing jacket. “Step away from my soul.”
“Yoursoul?Yoursoul?” Cassius asks, chanting the comment like he can’t process the words. “I think you’re mistaken. That soul belongs in Hell. I command you to fulfill your mission, so we can move on. This is an order. I will not stand here and watch you destroy everything you worked for to ensure the balance of the universe.” Twisting toward his silent brethren, he points at Andre and Zade. “Stand ready. I think we have a devil amid us.”
Micah laughs in shock. “You surely can’t be referring to me.”
Cassius twists and aims the flaming blade at Micah. “Finish your mission, Micah. The soul must be sent to where it belongs,” he repeats, his body rippling.
Micah slowly puts away his sword and raises his hands in defeat. My heart sinks into my stomach as he surrenders. I can’t believe Cassius will get his way and that my prayers were denied after all. Why I even carried an ounce of hope is beyond me. I knew better than to expect anything less than a gruesome end to a shitty life and now a doomed eternity.
And why? Because an angel loved me?
Because Lucian needed me?
Because Heaven and Hell are fighting a never-ending battle, putting me in the middle?
This is fucked up. It’s unfair.
I refuse to sit here and just let it happen.
Cassius tightens his jaw, easing his sword away from my aching throat. It’s the second I need. Jerking my fist out, I punch Cassius right in his angelic cock, praying it is as sensitive as mortal men’s.
