Fallen Kings

24

The fourth location was a trap. I took a few trusted demons with me to be safe, only because I promised Liv, but when we reached the farmhouse we were ambushed. My companions were killed, and I was placed in light-imbued chains in this brightly lit basement. All because I was cocky. I should have known the messages weren’t really from Gabriel. Now I might never see Olivia again because of my mistake.

When I’ve gathered enough energy, I tell Cyrus, “Thank you.”

He nods and doesn’t meet my eyes. For a while I’ve sensed he’s uncomfortable with the lengths Grace is willing to go to, and now that I’ve soaked up some darkness, I can use that against him.

“You know this isn’t right, don’t you?” I ask, putting some power behind my words. As the son of Lucifer, I’ve inherited some extra tricks. This is one I don’t like to use very often, except in dire circumstances. “They’re going to kill me.”

He runs a nervous hand through his curly hair. “You’re the son of Lucifer.”

Why does everyone always gets hung up on that fact?

“I taught you for two years. Isn’t that worth something?” When he doesn’t respond I throw more power into my voice. “What about your friends back at school? Olivia? Araceli? They trusted you, and you betrayed them. You must realize that if we use the Staff, it will hurt Olivia too.”

“I…” His voice quivers and I know I’ve gotten hold of him.

“You can’t let this go on. Free me, and I’ll put a stop to it.”

“I can’t,” he says forcefully, throwing off my coercion. “They’ll kill me and my entire family.”

That isn’t going to work. I try a new angle. “Then please get word to Olivia. Or the Princes. Tell them where I am. They can stop the Order, and then your family will be safe.”

There’s a long moment of silence, before I hear a sharp intake of breath. “Do you think they can really stop them?”

“I know they can, but they need your help.” I throw the last of my power into my voice. “Cyrus, you’re a good man. You want to do what is right. Find the others. Tell them where I am. It’s the only way out of this mess, for both of us.”

He stares at me with his mouth open and I think my suggestive power’s done its trick, but then the door flies open and Grace walks back in with the Staff.

“Time’s up.” She levels the Staff at my chest and blasts me with light until I scream. Any leftover power I got from the darkness burns away as it works to keep me alive. She grabs my hair to haul my head up, so I’m forced to look at her. “I’ll ask you again. Will you use the Staff?”

I spit in her face. “Never.”

With a sigh, she releases my head, and I don’t have the strength to hold it up. “We’re going to have to try something else,” she says.

I see the Staff swing at my face, before everything goes black.

Chapter Sixteen

Olivia

“E

arth to Olivia,” Jonah says, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blink and refocus on him. “What?”

“We’re supposed to practice sneaking up on someone. You’re my partner. Remember?”

“Oh. Right.” We’re in the middle of Ishim Training, but it’s hard for me to focus on any of my classes knowing Kassiel is still missing and now Callan, Marcus, and Eveanna have gone to Utah to search for him. Lucifer found out from his people that Kassiel asked a few demon warriors to meet him near Salt Lake City, and he sent us the location. Marcus and Eveanna went to investigate two days ago, along with a somewhat reluctant Callan. We haven’t heard anything from them since.

“I should be out there looking for Kassiel too,” I hiss to Jonah as we move through the forest. “It’s wrong that I’m the only one still here.”

“I’m here,” Jonah murmurs. “Bastien is too. You’re not the only one.”

I sigh. I know he’s right. As third year students, we can’t just up and leave whenever we feel like it to chase down a lead—but I care a lot more about finding Kassiel and retrieving the Staff than my classes at the moment. I just wish I could do something more.

I feel Callan’s absence strongly during Combat Training, but I also have some success ambushing Tanwen from the air without being distracted by his stupid face, so at least there’s that.

In Immortal Ethics, Simiel lectures us on how we should treat humans, especially since we won’t age, while our human contacts will grow older and eventually die. He cautions us against developing strong relationships with any of them and to avoid human-angel romances entirely. A few people in class look annoyed, and I wonder if they have humans they’re close with, but otherwise I tune everything out as I worry about Kassiel some more. At the end of class, Simiel pulls me aside and asks me if I’m okay. Luckily Araceli is there, so he can’t be too creepy, and I wave off his concerns easily. As we walk out, I can’t help but wonder if he’s the new leader of the Order on campus. It would explain his weird fascination with me for sure. In Human Studies, Raziel is telling us about a hunter group in the 90s who wiped out a lot of demons, and Jeremy makes a comment under his breath about how they missed one. I turn and glare at him, clutching my pen tightly, and then get an idea. I quickly text the others and they all agree to my plan.