At the front desk, when Surcy asked about the Immortal’s wife, no one knew. Surcy moved from one room to the next until she met an ICU doctor. He immediately knew the nameless stabbing victim, and just as quickly informed her that the woman had died.
She left feeling as if she’d swallowed a rock. The news would not be easy to tell the Immortal, or his children.
When she teleported back outside the sanctuary, she froze in shock. Where the woods had once been, the ground was leveled… leaving nothing behind but ash. For acres upon acres, stretching on for miles, nothing remained of the sacred grounds.
In shock, she took a step forward, stepping onto the ash that still smoldered. This was impossible. She’d only been gone for what? An hour? Two?
And then, she looked at the ash.
Kneeling down, she picked up the hot substance. Flakes of blue shone back at her.
The archangel.
17
“Did you really think they’d be safe here forever?”
Surcy whirled to stare at the most massive angel she’d ever seen. He had large red wings, corded arms, and a cruel face. Power hummed from him, power and something she couldn’t quite place.
“Kneel,” he ordered, and the word vibrated through her.
She collapsed onto her knees, even as she fought his control.
He moved closer until he stood just above her. “It's such a strange thing. I could order you to do anything. To suck my dick. To cut your own head off. And you’d do it. You’d have to do it.”
Her muscles jerked as she fought his control over her. But no matter how hard she tried, her body remained under his control. Sweat slid down her forehead, and her breathing was rapid.
“Why are you doing this?”
The angel smirked. “I could pretend it was because Caine ordered me to. But it’s not. I, in fact, have my own agenda that has nothing to do with Caine or those damn arrogant Immortals.”
“What is it then?” she asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
He knelt down until his face was level with hers. “What do you know about the Soul Destroyer?”
“Nothing,” she hissed, but it was painful to speak the lie.
“Such a pointless game.” He reached forward and trailed a fingertip down her cheek.
She jerked away from his touch. “Just leave. You’ve gotten what you wanted. You’ve destroyed this place.”
“Tell me what you know of the Soul Destroyer.”
This time, she felt his power like a hand around her heart, and the words bubbled up. “It’s just another realm, a place where the worst creatures imaginable are thrown.”
A smile touched his lips. “I always suspected as much.” His gaze grew distant, and he stood fully once more. “But Caine will never let me near it.”
“What do you want with it anyway?”
He glanced at her, as if remembering her for the first time. “I don’t have the power to rule the human realm, the angel realm, or the demon realm. But there? There I could have everything.”
No wonder Caine made this asshole an archangel. He's just like him, already drunk on power.
He reached out and grasped her face painfully. “You’ve helped me in more ways than you can imagine, so, I’ll give you this.”
Suddenly, an image was pressed into her mind of a space just outside of Zudessa. There, the Immortals and druids lay in a pie of smoking bodies, covered in ash, their skin blackened by smoke.
“All of them still live,” he whispered. “If I killed them, Caine might get what he wanted, but I wouldn’t. If you want any chance at winning this war, you’ll have to hurry… before the angels find them.”
When he released her face, she could feel the bruises from where his fingers had gripped her. Turning, he walked across the ash, his feet crunching with each step. When he reached the road, he looked back at her.
“If I make it into the Soul Destroyer, I’ll say hi to your demons.”
In the blink of an eye, the archangel was gone. The pressure of his command instantly lessened, and she shot to her feet, trembling. So Caine did destroy their souls.
Clenching her teeth together, she called her soul-blade into her hand and teleported. Instantly, the smell of blood hit her nostrils. Her eyes flashed open, and she saw the scene from her mind, only it was so much worse. The Immortals and the druids looked… dead. Like a pile of burned bodies.
Heart in her throat, she moved to them, placed a hand on the chest of someone she didn’t recognize, and sure enough, felt the rise and fall of his or her breath. Looking past the barrier that surrounded Zedussa, she saw the angels gathering in the sky. They would be upon them within minutes. She had to do something! She had to get them to safety!
But did she have the power to do it?
Closing her eyes, she sent a silent prayer that she did, and gathered her magic.
Soon she would either save them all, or doom them.
18
The Goddess of Sacrifice blinked her eyes open. She’d never been in this much pain before. It was mind-numbing, and yet she could feel every broken bone, every cut leaking warm blood from her body.
Staring at a stone ceiling far above, with the small opening in which angels flew by, she knew exactly where she was, and who she faced.
“You’re awake?”
Her head dropped slightly to one side. She stared at the dark cloud that swallowed the entire side of the throne room. But in the cloud of darkness, she knew Caine watched her, drinking in her suffering.
“I know what you think,” he said, his voice sliding over her flesh like slime. “That you were powerful enough to stand against me and survive.”
Blood leaked from her lips. “No,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I simply knew there was nothing more you could do to me that hasn’t been done already.”
“You’re referencing your rape, beating, and death?”
