“Wraith.” His voice was a guttural whisper against her ear. “Call me Wraith when you come.”
“Now,” she moaned. “I’m coming now… Wraith.”
He f**king came again when he heard her call out his name in her release. Afterward, they collapsed together, their skin slick with perspiration, their lungs sucking oxygen like there wasn’t enough on the train.
“Thank you,” she said, taking a ragged breath. “God, thank you.”
She was thanking him? She’d given him a miracle, had sacrificed her own life to give him something he didn’t deserve.
So no, he didn’t deserve thanks, and he wasn’t sure he should thank her, either.
Because Serena had saved his life, but in a way, she’d killed him a little, too.
Twenty-two
Eidolon experienced a strange mix of relief and anxiety as he hung up the phone after speaking with Wraith. Shade sat across from him in E’s office, jaw working overtime on a piece of gum, waiting for the news.
Wraith had retrieved the charm, which explained why Eidolon suddenly felt like running a marathon, but it sounded like his brother had fallen for the human, and that was only going to end in disaster. Especially because he’d all but ordered E to find a way to save her at all costs, and nothing Eidolon said could convince Wraith otherwise.
“Shade, he got the charm, but it’s not all good news—”
Reaver walked—or, more accurately, stumbled— -through the door. The angel’s hair, normally blindingly shiny and perfect, was tangled and dull, falling around sunken, bloodshot eyes. His hands were black with dried blood, his skin so white his veins beneath it read like a road map of misery.
“What the f**k?” Shade asked, coming to his feet as if to catch Reaver.
“Forget me,” Reaver croaked. “Serena. Need to protect her.”
“Oh, now you’re ready to help?” E asked, and Reaver bowed his head in a nod. “Good. What’s special about the necklace?”
“There are things I can’t say.” Reaver met E’s gaze, his cracked lips set in a stubborn line.
“Dammit, Reaver, it’s been stolen, and it sounds like it’s a pretty damned big deal.”
The very last drop of color drained from Reaver’s face. He began to sway, and Eidolon shot to his feet to catch the angel before he keeled over. Fortunately, Reaver caught himself on the wall.
Good. Eidolon hated to admit it, even to himself, but the idea of touching someone of divine origins gave him the willies.
“It can’t be,” Reaver said. “What you’re saying is impossible.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not. I need to know about the necklace. Right now.”
Reaver’s pale blue eyes were diamond sharp but haunted when he locked them with Eidolon’s. “The pendant,” he said, in a clipped voice that made every syllable vibrate, “is Armageddon on a chain.”
Shade stopped chewing his gum. “Come again?”
“The amulet. It’s a piece of Heaven.”
“Ah… Heaven? Literally?”
“Yes.”
E exchanged looks with Shade, because this was big. Beyond big. “Reaver, we need to know more.”
Reaver raked his fingers through his hair. Eidolon gave the angel a minute to compose himself, because he still looked like he was on the verge of coming out of his skin. Finally, Reaver stopped messing with his mane but started pacing—slowly and with a limp, but pacing.
“In the Daemonica, there is mention of a celestial lock and key.”
E nodded, because he knew the passage in the demon bible, but it was vague. Demon scholars had been trying to decipher it for centuries. “Go on.”
“It is said,” Reaver continued, “that when Satan was booted from Heaven, he took a piece of it with him in hopes that it would allow him to return someday. He kept it hidden, and then, during a skirmish battle between good and evil, the angel Hizkiel took it back. But thousands of years of corruption had altered it. It could not be allowed back in Heaven for fear of taint. But neither could it be left on earth for demons to use as a way to open the celestial gate between Heaven and Hell. So it was decided that it should be put into the keeping of humans, since ultimately, the power struggle between good and evil has always been about mankind. Should they fail to safeguard it, their downfall will be their own doing.”
Eidolon had a bad feeling about this, especially with Wraith landing smack in the middle of a conflict between good and evil. “So it’s been left in the keeping of a human who has been charmed?”
“Yes. Many humans. Serena was the most recent. Theoretically, it should always be safe.” Reaver shook his head. “I don’t think even another Marked Sentinel could bypass the charm. Sentinels have come up against each other in battle, and their charms made them both untouchable even to each other.”
“It wasn’t another charmed human who took it,” Eidolon said. “It was a fallen angel. Name of Byzamoth.”
“Byzamoth?” A concussion wave shattered the windows in the office area, and the hospital shook with such force that Eidolon wondered if humans would register the rumbling on their Richter scale.
Shade moved toward the angel. “Hey, man, check up. We kinda like having a roof over our heads. One that isn’t crumbling.”
“It’s a little late for that,” Eidolon muttered, but now that Wraith was no longer dying, the hospital should get back to normal. Too bad the lack of staff couldn’t be so easily fixed.
“Byzamoth.” Reaver’s eyes flashed blue fire. “Is Wraith sure?”
“That’s what he said. Why? Who is this guy?”
Reaver shoved a chair aside so hard it flew into the wall and impaled itself in the plaster. Eidolon had never seen him so riled. Hell, he’d rarely seen him even mildly annoyed. “He was an angel of Destruction. Now a demon of Destruction. He fell during the first war in Heaven. If he has the necklace and the charm—”
“He doesn’t. Wraith has the charm.”
Reaver barked out a bitter laugh. “It’s a sad day when I’m relieved that Wraith is the one who took the charm.”
Shade scrubbed his hand over his face. “Okay, so what does Byzamoth want with this stuff? If he’s a fallen angel, he doesn’t need an invincibility charm.”
“No, but he needs the blood of a charmed one to work the amulet and open the gate between Heaven and Hell. If he had possession of the necklace and the charm, he could use his own blood at his convenience. Since he’s not charmed, he needs the blood of the Sentinel who guarded the amulet.”
“But Serena is no longer charmed.”
“Exactly. So once he knows that, he’ll need the blood of the one she passed it to.” Reaver finally stopped pacing. “The good news is that if anyone can take care of himself, it’s Wraith.”
“And obviously, the charm won’t work against Byzamoth.”
Reaver nodded. “I don’t think anyone anticipated the loophole.”
“That loophole being that an angel could bypass the charm… even a fallen one.”
“Obviously.”
“So what, exactly, will Byzamoth do with the amulet?”
“He’ll open Heaven to the forces of evil. Demons will swarm inside.” Reaver wobbled as he sank down on an office chair. “Humans have always been focused on the Apocalypse. They see it as the end of days, but for believers, it’s not such a bad thing. They know that after the battle of good and evil, the righteous will go to Heaven.” Reaver’s voice went as thin as the air in the darkest reaches of Sheoul. “Humans think the Apocalypse will be the battle of battles. Hell on earth. But with that pendant, Byzamoth will open the gate between Heaven and Sheoul, and the resulting battle will take place on many realms, on an unimaginable scale. Heaven could… cease to exist, souls will default to Satan, and humans would be trapped in a hell so terrible it can’t be conceived of.”
Reaver’s eyes grew haunted. “Boys, this is much bigger than an apocalypse. This is the end of existence for all but the victor.”
Shade, Eidolon, and Reaver spent the next hour arguing about what to do, but it always came back to Wraith
“He needs to get that necklace,” Shade said, as he popped the top of the Fresca he’d fetched from the break room. He’d also called Runa to let her know he was running late. She’d sounded as exhausted as he was, but with four babies at home, it was no wonder.
“No!” Reaver slammed his fist on Eidolon’s desk. “If Wraith defeats Byzamoth and gets the talisman, that leaves Wraith in possession of the most powerful artifact in the universe. I don’t think any of us wants that. The Aegis must retrieve it.”
Shade snorted. “Those bunch of ignorant—”
Eidolon beaned him in the shoulder with a stapler. “You’re talking about my mate, you know.”
“And like it or not, they are the human Guardians of the earthly realm,” Reaver said.
Eidolon looked up from his computer, where he’d been researching Biblical and demonic prophecies. “Whatever happens, it needs to happen fast. Tayla said that within the last twelve hours, demons have come aboveground and taken over three holy sites in Israel. The local Aegi have their hands full. Coincides with Byzamoth taking the necklace.”
“Hell’s fires,” Shade muttered. “Leave it to Wraith to start Armageddon.” Shade thought about his sons, so small and helpless, and about Runa, who he loved so much it hurt. He couldn’t bear the thought that they could be caught up in this war.
“This is far worse than Armageddon,” Reaver added, as if Shade needed the reminder.
“Why now?” Eidolon asked. “This Byzamoth a**hole is obviously old, so why didn’t he grab the necklace and charm centuries ago?”
“Fallen angels can’t sense Marked Sentinels.” Reaver shook his head. “I don’t know how he could have found her.”