Several of my nails broke painfully in my haste to tear through the chests and boxes, tossing them aside as each one revealed treasures that couldn’t have mattered less to me: one held a pile of emeralds the size of birds’ eggs, nestled in ancient silk like a nest; another was full of golden needles.
I found several jars of eyeballs, a rusted sword, and dried things that I was sure were more body parts.
I finally hit paydirt when I dragged a small but heavy chest from a dark corner. Both the pale polished wood and the metal handles were ice cold; I lifted the lid with shaking hands, my heart in my throat, and saw twisted lumps of darkness.
I picked up a chunk of ebonite the size of a human heart, cradling it in my palm and letting the cold numb the pain in my bleeding fingertips. It was rough and pitted, in its raw state, so dark the color looked almost velvety.
“You found it,” Azazel said, kicking aside another chest of gemstones.
“It’s raw,” I said, kneeling over the chest and dropping the chunk of ebonite back in. For all its weight, it made a hollow sound when it hit the rest. “It’s just enough.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been terrified the oracle might’ve traded it away and the smith’s information was outdated; luckily, she seemed like the kind of packrat who would never trade away something so valuable.
“How are we going to get this back?” I asked, and Azazel leaned over me, stroking my shoulders.
“Let me handle the logistics.” He closed the lid of the chest and locked it, and then made several hand gestures that I was sure most human hands wouldn’t be able to make without breaking bones.
The chest started shaking, rattling its contents, and I had the impression of violet trails of light before it vanished from sight.
“You’re going to teach me how to do that, right?”
Azazel shook his head. “The only way to learn how to use interdimensional pockets is to become familiar with them. That is where I draw the line at teaching you.”
“You managed it.” I looked for the mirror and saw that it was already gone.
Azazel pressed a hand to the small of my back and guided me towards the door. “I was willing to risk my own life and limb. I’m not risking yours.”
We emerged to find the campfire’s ashes strewn across the empty space, several of the coals still smoldering, and several streaks of soot marked the trail we’d taken in. There was no sign of Tascius, Lucifer, or the oracle.
A high shriek rose from the bluffs beyond, and several birds flew over the sky overhead, startled away from the sound.
My heart clenched in my chest. Surely Lucifer or Tascius couldn’t be hurt by her? She was wizened and thin, not much of a threat.
“Let’s find them before this turns into a bloodbath,” Azazel said, and I spread my wings and launched upwards.
From above, the bluffs were a warren of tunnels and paths, but I knew where I’d find my men. There was a brilliant flash of light from the edge of Elysium’s forest.
“It might be too late for the bloodbath part,” I said grimly.
Tascius’s roar echoed in my ears as I shot towards the forest with Azazel at my side.
24
Lucifer
I didn’t think twice about following the Nephilim as he charged out of the cave.
He barreled towards the shrieking oracle, who fell back into her fire and sent coals scattering everywhere. She climbed to her feet, her remaining robes smoldering, and darted towards the path.
Tascius slid to a stop with all the grace of a lion and followed, mindlessly roaring his rage.
I couldn’t find a single drop of sympathy in me for her. The moment she’d suggested eating my mate, her number was up.
I flapped hard and rose above the bluffs, drawing my sword and following them from above. Tascius was only a step behind the preternaturally fast crone; he swung his dagger and sliced away a hank of gray hair, but in his rage, his strike went wide and the blade skittered off the sandstone, sending out a spray of sparks.
His knife was blunt and bent, but it’d still serve its purpose if he caught her. In the grip of Nephilim rage, he would probably lose the knife altogether and use his hands alone.
I just wanted her hands before he tore her to pieces.
The oracle tore from the bluffs, darting like a spider over the rocks for the safety of the trees. I followed her, catching a drift of wind before plummeting downwards and landing at the edge of the forest like a meteor.
The ground shook under my fall, and she halted, breathing heavily and staring at me with wide eyes.
“I didn’t mean it, damn you!” she shrieked. “It was just a trade!”
“You’d think with your sight, you would’ve foreseen that asking for a trade like that was a really shit idea.” As soon as I had what I needed from her, Tascius could do whatever he pleased.
I’d see her dead just for looking at Melisande like she was a meal.
She turned away from me just in time to see Tascius stalking from the sandstone maze, his nostrils flaring as he caught her scent.
The oracle tried to flee, and I was on her in an instant, my sword at her throat. I drew it back for a powerful downswing, a clean beheading.
And then I went flying through the air, smacking into a boulder. A jolt of pain ran through me from the sheer force of impact.
Tascius snarled at me like an animal, and reached down for the oracle. His fingers wrapped around her throat, but before they tightened, she loosed the loudest scream yet, clawing at his arm and opening red scratches.
He gripped her head and turned it with
