“Leave Sierra alone! You stay the hell away from her.” Tomas lunged forward and slammed into the side of the invisible wall that held him. His nose broke and blood splattered.
So much blood. Not dark. Bright red. Rogziel smiled. “You wanted her, you fell to f**k her. But . . . she’s not with you now.”
Tomas’s hands clenched into fists. “What do you want?”
Rogziel frowned and moved closer. “Why is that?” He really wanted to know. “You burn for her, but you let her go? Or maybe—maybe she didn’t want you.” Now that would be a nice twist. “Once she found out what you were, did she run away?” Humans were always so afraid of the things they didn’t understand, and they didn’t understand most things.
“What do you want?”
“So emotional.” Rogziel shook his head. “But that’s what happens when you fall. You feel too much.”
“And you think you don’t feel?” Tomas fired right back, but he was careful not to get too close to the white powder that formed a circle around his feet. “I can see it on your face—you like hurting people. You’ve gone bad. You’re f**ked in the head.”
His heart was pounding too hard. “I serve. I do my job. I punish.” His lips twisted in disgust. “I have my wings. They didn’t burn away because I disobeyed.”
“It’s not always about disobeying,” Tomas muttered, and then he smiled. Rogziel didn’t like that bloody smile. So close to death, Tomas shouldn’t be smiling.
He should be begging.
“How long has it been . . .” Tomas asked, raising one brow, “since you were upstairs?”
Rogziel’s eyes narrowed. “I travel between heaven and earth. Earth and hell. I have the power to—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tomas cut in, rolling his eyes. “I’ve heard the spiel before.”
Tomas would die. Soon. Once he was no longer useful.
“Bet you can’t remember the last time you were upstairs, can you?” Tomas pressed. “You know why? ’Cause you’re f**ked in the head. You think humans are the only ones who go bad? Angels do, too. I heard about the Fallen who’ve died. I know it was you. And I know you liked killing them.”
The thunder of his heartbeat filled his ears. Rogziel became aware of the sweat slowly trickling down his back. “I have my wings. I am favored.”
“The hell you are. Try to go back upstairs.” Now Tomas laughed. “Bet you’ll find out they changed the locks on you. You aren’t favored by anyone, and when Sammael gets a hold of you . . . you’ll be burning.”
For an instant, Rogziel’s vision went red. His body trembled with the effort to hold back. He wanted to lunge forward and tear Tomas apart.
This one dared to judge him? For centuries, he’d punished the wicked. He’d seen the worst humanity had to offer. He’d punished.
And he would continue to punish. He didn’t need assignments anymore. He could smell the wicked. See the sin.
He turned away from Tomas. “I will give Sierra your regards.” When I let her feel the wrath that is her punishment.
“No!”
Just that quickly, the arrogance and fury were gone from Tomas’s voice. But Rogziel didn’t look back. Tomas needed a lesson.
Changed the locks . . .
A blood lesson.
“Leave her alone! Dammit, just stop, Rogziel!”
But Rogziel had planned this moment. He opened the door to the connecting room and found his prey waiting. Her hands were bound to the chair behind her. A blindfold covered her eyes. Duct tape smothered her screams.
She’d been working on a site in Mexico. An archaeologist, digging into the past.
No wonder Tomas had been in the area. Some sins always drew you in.
He cut through the binds on her wrists, and he knew the blade sliced her flesh when tears leaked from her eyes. He hauled her up, not caring when she immediately shoved back her blindfold.
What did it matter if she saw his face? She wouldn’t be escaping alive.
He dragged her into the room with Tomas. Tomas—still yelling. But when he saw Sierra, he froze and his cries died on his lips.
“Now, I think you may be understanding your situation better,” Rogziel said. His humans had brought Sierra to him. Always so eager to please. He’d make sure they were rewarded one day.
In the end, everyone always got the reward they deserved.
Rogziel yanked off the duct tape from the human’s mouth. “Recognize him?” He asked her.