Fallen Kings

23

I glance at Callan, who clenches his jaw and crosses his arms but remains silent. I’m sure he refuses to believe it, but he needs to get over his issues for the moment. We have more pressing problems.

“Now that we’ve settled that, let’s discuss how we’re going to find my son,” Lucifer says. “Tell me, how did you find the Staff of Eternity in the first place?”

“We used this,” I say, holding up the quivering feather. “We stole it from Uriel and took it to Faerie, where it led us to the Staff.”

I let go of the feather to show him how it works, and it flies straight for Lucifer. He spreads his black wings in a flash, and the feather disappears amongst them with a small burst of shadows.

“The Archangels did always like to keep tabs on me,” he muses, as he rolls his shoulders and his wings disappear again. “Unfortunately, that trick will not help us now. You said Kassiel is in Utah?”

I bow my head. “Yes, but that’s all I know. I wish he’d told me more.”

“I’ll send some of my people there to search for him. If you learn anything else, you are to inform me immediately.” He straightens up and looks each of us in the eye one by one, as if taking our measure, before handing me a business card. “Should you need any assistance, you only have to contact me. The entire power of the King of Demons is at your disposal. We must find my son and retrieve the Staff from the Order.” He gives me a quick nod, and then strolls out onto the balcony and disappears into the night. Literally disappears, his body turning to darkness in front of us. He doesn’t even need his wings.

We all stare at the spot where he vanished for a long time, and then I glance down at the business card. It’s for a Lucas Ifer, CEO of Abbadon Inc. I tuck it in my pocket and shake my head, still wondering if that just happened.

Chapter Fifteen

Kassiel

A

prod to my ribs sends pain shooting through my body and jerks me from a restless sleep. If you could call it sleep, that is. It’s more like finally passing out after severe exhaustion and endless hours of torture.

Now it begins again.

I’ve been tied up in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse for more days than I can count, my wrists bound in light-imbued chains. At first the chains rubbed my skin raw and made them sting and ache constantly, but they went numb a few days ago. A small blessing.

Another prod to my ribs makes me groan. I c***k open an eyelid crusted with blood to see Grace hovering over me, holding the Staff of Eternity beside her. The Staff is made from twisted silver and gold metal from Faerie and ends with two wings at the top, one black and one white. Held between the wings is a glowing orb swirling with colors, radiating both darkness and light.

“Time to wake up, devil-spawn,” Grace says. She looks even paler than usual, and her strawberry blond hair is held back in a tight bun.

“Nice to see you again too,” I manage to get out between chapped lips. “Though I do find your hospitality rather lacking these days.”

“Agree to use the Staff, and we’ll be a lot more hospitable.” She’s holding the Staff like she owns it, and that only makes me more defiant. She wants me to use the Staff to send all the demons back to Hell, but I’ll die first.

I use what little energy I have left to sit up against the wall I’m chained to and squint up at her. Artificial light makes the room almost blindingly bright—another trick to weaken me and prevent me from using my powers. “That will never happen. Besides, you need someone with Archangel blood to use it too.”

“We have someone. Me.”

“You?” I let out a mad, rasping laugh. A few months ago, I graded her final paper, and now she’s holding me prisoner and having delusions of grandeur.

She grips the Staff harder and an aura of light surrounds it, feeding off of Grace’s power. “My mother had an affair with an Archangel. Now that I have the Staff my father will finally acknowledge me.”

I lean my head back against the stone wall. “Ah, daddy issues. I know all about that.”

“You know nothing!” She prods me with the glowing Staff again, and I cry out, playing up the pain. It’s horrible, but my father’s power inside the Staff helps soften the blow. Otherwise, it probably would’ve killed me by now.

Cyrus walks into my dungeon and frowns at the sight of us. Every time he sees my injuries, he cringes a little. I’m pretty sure he’s my best shot at getting out of here.

“Is that really necessary?” he asks Grace.

“Yes, it is.” She shoots a bolt of light at me from the Staff, and this time my screams are real. “Use the Staff, and all this goes away.”

“Even if I wanted to use the Staff, I’m too weak,” I mutter, then begin to cough, my lungs burning in pain. “You’ve kept me in light all this time. I need to feed on darkness, or I won’t last much longer.”

“He’s speaking the truth,” Cyrus confirms. I’ve never been so grateful to have an Ofanim around. “And he does look like he’s in pretty bad shape.”

Grace purses her lips. “Fine. I’ll turn off the lights for fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on him.”

She exits the room and the lights flip off, except for a small one over Cyrus. Blissful darkness surrounds me for the first time in an eternity, and I bask in the feel of it soaking into my skin and giving me strength. As my body heals itself, I think back on how I got into this mess.