The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,68

hair pulled back into a braid, pale oceanic eyes, and an expression that marked him as a restraining order waiting to happen. Far above them, violet lightning arced across a gray sky, seemingly out of nowhere.

“This is great,” Phenex said. “Really inconspicuous. Like Charles Manson hosts National Geographic.”

“You’d rather we waited inside?” Levi asked, getting to his feet. Physically, from his size and his striking looks, he could have been one of the Fallen. But while he was in many ways their leader, Leviathan would always stand apart. Maybe, Phenex thought, there was no other way when you’d been formed in a hellpit for the express purpose of terrifying the shit out of anyone who saw you. He had been a monster, a sea beast, Lucifer’s prized pet…and, it was clear now, in a perfect position to hear secrets that the Council didn’t want getting out. Nobody understood what had possessed Leviathan to change his lot in life, much less take others along with him. But he had decided to save them, whatever his purposes might be. And here they were.

But Levi’s secrets remained his own.

“No. Not inside. Okay, part of me wants to see how people would react if all of you went inside like this, but no. Sofia deals with enough in there. I’ve watched her.” And he had, from the shadows, becoming not invisible but thin, so that most humans wouldn’t see him even if they were staring him in the face. She was smart, efficient, capable…and he had seen a depth of compassion that fascinated him even as he struggled to understand it.

It reminded him of what he had once been, things he hadn’t thought of in so long he was surprised he still could remember. Sofia helped so many, the living and the dying, the young and the old, some of whom thanked her and some of whom were among the most awful, ungrateful specimens of humanity he had ever seen. Even when it frustrated her, Sofia thrived on what she did.

It made him remember…

He didn’t want to remember. Not that. Not the pain when he had finally given up.

“You’ve gotten awfully attached to your work,” Levi said, his disapproval clear. But he didn’t lecture, instead looking to the sky. “Meresin needs to get down here. Someone’s going to notice his…weather.”

“Better he let off some of that aggression up there than down here,” Phenex said.

Levi only grunted noncommittally.

There was a burst of warmth at Phenex’s back, and then a rich, beautiful baritone sounded behind him. Phenex hated that his first instinct was to appreciate the tonal quality of that voice. Uriel had always been a wonder when engaged in song. He remembered…

Why the hell was he remembering?

“Gentlemen,” Uriel said. “You present quite a picture.”

He strode into the middle of them, a golden-haired warrior in a charcoal-colored suit and topcoat, a vibrant red scarf at his neck. His wings were nowhere in sight, but Phenex could sense them, white edged in gold, blinding and brilliant.

Uriel’s eyes, the blue of the morning sky, swept the group of them. His gaze lingered just an instant longer on Phenex, and he could sense the curiosity there.

Hellfire. He was not going to be another redemption project. The archangel could forget it.

“I’ve secured a meeting room inside. Shall we?” When Gadreel slithered down the tree and began to make his way across the ground, looking like something out of a horror movie, Uriel’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “On foot, Gadreel. Points for style, but come on.”

In an instant, Gadreel reappeared, wearing jeans and a smirk.

“Nice to see you, too, Urinal.”

A blink, and the thrush became Caim, the crow Raum. The griffin stretched languidly and then rose to become Murmur. And after another impressive bolt of lightning, Meresin landed in the midst of them.

“What’s this about?” Murmur asked, scrubbing a hand through a crop of white-blond hair. His voice was one of the most compelling in the Above or Below, able to draw secrets from even the most reluctant subjects. Uriel, however, was unfazed.

“Inside. I’ll tell you then, and not before.”

The archangel led the way, choosing to bring them in through the main entrance and acting as though he had every right to be there, as an owner, perhaps, or a senator touring the facility. They attracted stares, especially from the women. Phenex ignored it, wishing that Uriel had thought of a less conspicuous way to get all eight of them, each well over six feet tall and looking like