unwilling to accept what I was telling him. “How…”
Then Belial stepped up behind him and slammed the hilt of a dagger into the archangel’s temple.
Michael dropped like a sack of bricks. He sagged onto the floor, and Tascius kicked him off, climbing to his feet and dragging in a ragged breath.
“He’s incredibly fucking lively for being stuck in a coffin for who knows how long,” he said, massaging his throat.
I rushed forward, hunching over from the pain in my wing and back, and gripped Tascius’s shoulders as he crouched over Michael’s body to check his pulse. “Are you hurt?”
He turned his head, managing the faintest smile. “Only my pride.”
Belial sheathed his dagger and stepped around the sarcophagus, yanking the rest of the shroud off of Michael’s slack form. The archangel’s gilded armor wasn’t the slightest bit tarnished even after years in a sarcophagus, glowing like the sun in the darkness.
“Maybe we should kill him now while he’s unconscious,” the Prince suggested, scowling at Michael.
I couldn’t prevent myself from resting a little more of my weight on Tascius as spikes of pain ripped through my back. “Belial. We can’t just kill him.”
“Why’s that, angel?” he asked, nudging Michael with a toe. The archangel didn’t move. “He’s the enemy.”
I scowled, taking shallow breaths. “We don’t know for a fact that he’s the enemy. He slept through the entire Apocalypse. He has no idea what’s going on.”
Belial raised his eyes to me. “And you want to bring the lost little puppy dog home.”
“The puppy dog might know something that can help us. We need to go after Satan and get Lucifer and Vyra back. If we have to team up with an archangel to do it, so be it.”
And perhaps Michael would be able to shed light on Tascius’s transmutation. None of us would be any help for that.
Belial’s eyes softened. “Most importantly, you need healing. We’ll bring back your new pet, angel. But he’ll remain tied down until we’ve determined whether or not he needs a killing.”
“Let’s give him a chance. If he isn’t complicit in murdering God, then maybe all hope isn’t lost for Heaven.”
“He’s an archangel, love. They don’t have the most spotless track record.”
I frowned, even though it was technically true. “What if you’d killed me on sight just because of what I am? We need every weapon we can get now.”
“The situation was different. You weren’t my sworn enemy,” Belial said.
One of my eyebrows popped up. “But I was trained by them. I was raised by them. And I never once saw Michael or Raphael while I was there. They might not be accomplices.”
“Point taken,” he grumbled. “The things I do for you, Princess Wrath.”
It was getting harder and harder to think as the ache settled into my bones. I nodded, feeling the blood rush from my face as a jolt of pain went through me. It was impossible to voice any appreciation for his restraint in the face of bloodlust when it felt like my ribs wanted to collapse on themselves.
Belial was suddenly all business, his face tightening in alarm when he saw my face go white. “We’ve wasted too much time here. Azazel, take her up. I’ll bring Michael.”
I felt Azazel surround me. This time I breathed a sigh of relief for the sensation of weightlessness that took the strain off of my broken wing. “Don’t crunch him, Belial,” I whispered. “He probably doesn’t taste good.”
Belial was already shifting, his mass increasing by the second as his bones stretched and grew. A moment later the enormous golden lion was picking up Michael’s limp body in his teeth, letting out a rumbling chuckle.
I gazed down at the shards of the Sword of Light scattered across the inky floor of the abyss, regretting that I couldn’t bring them back now. Each shard gave off its own internal light.
At least no one would be able to touch them. Even in pieces, the Sword’s inherent nature was intact. I was the only one who would be able to return for them.
Azazel rose into the air with me in his arms, and Tascius spread his wings for flight. We ascended as the lion leapt from tower to tower, his claws squealing on the obsidian and leaving deep scratches behind.
The higher we rose, the more I wanted to close my eyes, but I forced myself to keep them open. The scent of death was left behind us, trapped in the Pit below, but the reek of smoke replaced it.