too late,” one with a cold, deep voice said. “She has no more need of you, nor you of her.”
The language sounded oddly old-fashioned, and I tried to turn my head to see who was speaking; but Raziel, the man who was holding me, simply pushed my face against his chest. “What about the Grace? Surely that would work.”
There was a moment’s silence, one that didn’t seem to bode well for my future. With my foggy brain, he was the only thing familiar, and I panicked, reaching up and tugging at his open shirt. “Don’t let them take me.” I sounded pathetic, but there was nothing I could do about it. I’d swallowed some salt water before Raziel grabbed me, and my voice was raw.
He glanced down at me, and I knew that look. It was as if he knew everything about me, had read my diaries, peeked into my fantasies. It was unnerving. But then he nodded.
“I will keep her, Azazel,” he said. “At least for now.”
Better than nothing, I thought, not precisely flattered. I was tempted to argue, just for the sake of it and because he’d sounded so damned grudging, but I had no idea where I might go, and I didn’t trust those other men who’d tried to drown my companion.
At least for the moment, as long as he held me, nothing could harm me. I could deal with the rest of it when it happened.
For now, I was safe.
CHAPTER SIX
HAD I LOST MY MIND? “I WILL keep her.” Ridiculous. I had no use for a human.
It was early evening. I’d spent most of the day in the pool, letting the seawater wash my battered body, healing the pain that still spiked through me.
Azazel was looking at me. “What are we going to do with the woman? Now is not the time to bring someone new into Sheol, particularly someone with no set purpose. Uriel moves closer, and the Nephilim are at our very doorstep. We can’t waste time with inconsequentials.”
“Where is she?” I said, stalling for time, my voice cool as I stretched out on the black leather sofa. The searing agony was gone, but my body ached as if I had run a marathon and then been trampled by a herd of goats.
“Sarah has her. She and the other women will take care of her, calm her fears.”
“Will they tell her the truth?” I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. The woman was smart, fearless, and just the kind of woman to fight the status quo. The kind of woman who would drive me to insanity and beyond with her ways.
“She probably knows already. At least part of it. What she remembers, that is,” Azazel said in the icy voice that terrified most of our brethren and managed to roll off my back. We’d been through too much together for him to intimidate me.
“We can always make her forget,” I said. “She has been with me so long the Grace would have to be very strong. She’d be confused for weeks. But it would work. She’s already forgotten what happened when I first took her.”
“But where will she go, old friend? She died yesterday. Her body has already been cremated.”
“Shit,” I said, thoroughly annoyed. “I thought she was Jewish.”
“You know that some of them no longer follow the old ways.”
Typical of humankind. They were always so hypocritical when it came to their faith, choosing what they cared to follow, ignoring anything that was inconvenient. It was little wonder the Supreme Being had washed his hands of them, leaving a heartless bastard like Uriel in his place. “If they are going to be devout enough to bury her immediately, they should at least keep her body intact,” I said, trying not to growl. “We could have worked with that.”
“Where is she going to go?” Azazel persisted. “You have no use for a human female. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
I knew that was coming. “I haven’t. I won’t bond again, and I have no current need for sex. And if I were stupid enough to change my mind, it wouldn’t be with someone like her.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
I closed my eyes for a moment. I could see her, smart, questioning, undeniably luscious. “She’s just wrong,” I said stubbornly.
Azazel was watching me too closely, and I shifted so he couldn’t see my face. “Then why did you save her?” he said in what for him was a reasonable voice. “Why did you tell us to bring her?”
“How should I know? A moment of insanity. It’s not as if I remember anything that was going on—I was almost dead. Are you sure I did? I could barely speak.”
“Yes. I heard you.”
Damn. Azazel never lied. Even if I couldn’t say the words out loud, Azazel would hear me and follow my wishes. If I’d told them to keep her, I must have had some reason, but damned if I could think of what it was. “Just one more thing to deal with, then. And I have no idea what the hell is going on, only that Uriel has been lying to us.”
“And that surprises you? His power is infinite. As long as free will exists, Uriel is in charge, to heal or hurt anyone as he sees fit. Just because he told us the good ones are moving on is no guarantee that we aren’t taking them straight to hell. Children, babies, young lovers, grandmothers . . . It was foolish of us not to realize he would do this. Uriel is a cruel and mighty judge.”
“Uriel is a pain in my ass.”
“You’d best watch out,” Azazel warned. “You never know when he might be listening.”
I rose, stretching my iridescent blue wings against the twilight sky, glittering against the purple and pink hues that saturated our misty world. “You’re a pain in the ass, Uriel,” I said again, raising my voice so there could be no confusion as to who was tossing out the insults. “You’re a spiteful, vindictive, lying pain in the ass, and if the Supreme Being knew what you were doing, how you were interpreting the laws, you would be in deep shit.” I loved cursing.
That was one thing I actually liked about humans— their language. The rich expressiveness of the words, sacred and profane, that everyone outside of Sheol seemed to use. The way the forbidden words danced on my tongue. Not to mention the fury I knew I was causing Uriel.
Azazel was unamused. “Why are you asking for trouble? We already have enough as it is. What are you going to do with her?”
He was right. Our lives were precarious enough, balanced between Uriel’s powerful hatred and the unspeakable dangers of the Nephilim, and now I had brought our entire family closer to devastation because of one stupid, quixotic gesture. I sank back down on the old leather sofa, momentarily distracted by the feel of it beneath me. Its coolness soothed my damaged body.
“Asking me over and over won’t get you an answer any sooner—it will just annoy me,” I grumbled. “I expect I’ll find someplace to send her. Somewhere far away, and Uriel will have more important reasons to come after us.”
“And you’re sure you have no interest in mating with her?” Azazel said carefully.
“I don’t even want to fuck her.” I watched Azazel wince. Not that he had any problem with the word—he just knew I was courting trouble. Uriel hated words as much as he hated so many other things of the human world, including sex and blood, and I did my level best to annoy him whenever I could. After all, our sentence was eternity, and the one remaining archangel couldn’t kill.
“She will have to stay here for now,” Azazel said finally. “Sarah will know what to do with her. She’s the wisest of us all.”
“Of course she is. She’s the Source.” I didn’t bother keeping the sarcasm out of my voice. There were times when Azazel treated us all like idiots.
“I will remind you that I am your leader. I can take everything away from you, every gift, every power,” Azazel said, his voice like ice.
I ignored his empty threat. We’d been raised up together, lived together, fallen together, been cursed together. There was no way he was going to cow me. “Leaving you short one soldier if the Nephilim decide to engage, or if Uriel sends the Host down on us as he always threatens. But feel free to try it.
You could banish me as well. . . .”
Azazel made a noise very much like a growl. “You know I would never do that.”
“I’m touched.”
“The Nephilim are too dangerous. They outnumber us, and they’re all mad.”
I laughed. No sentiment for Azazel. I was just another soldier. “Why the hell can’t they be like the others? Unable to harm us. Uriel’s heavenly forces cannot attack us. The Nephilim were once like them—”
“They were before they fell,” Azazel interrupted me. “When will you learn to stop fighting against the forces that cannot be beaten? There are times when you are your own worst enemy. You have no one to blame but yourself for this current mess. Get rid of the girl, and we’ll concentrate on what matters.”
I laughed bitterly. “I blame Uriel. He led me to believe I was taking her to heaven. How many people have I tossed into the mouth of hell for him, thinking they were returning to paradise? Paradise!” I was filled with disgust, both for Uriel and for my own unwitting complicity.
“So this is about the woman?” Azazel said.
I shrugged off the ridiculous idea. “Of course not. I don’t like being manipulated.”
“Then don’t think about it. There is nothing we can do except not let him trick us again. And you still haven’t answered my question. What are you going to do with her? We have no place to put her—Sheol is not made for visitors.”
“She can go in my rooms until we decide. I sleep outside half the time anyway.”
Azazel looked at me for a long moment. “Are you certain she isn’t your mate?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I will not take a mate ever again.” I kept my voice neutral, but Azazel knew me too well.
“You can stop as soon as I believe you. In the meantime, how are you feeling?”
That question was too stupid to answer, so I just looked at him.
“It has been months since you’ve fed,” he continued. “I’ll
