with his wings—now a sad-looking and mangled gray with numerous holes—mashed beneath him.
I ran to him to find he was barely breathing. Michael grabbed me and pulled me up off the ground, out of Gavin’s reach.
“Wait, Grace! It could be a trick. They can’t attack inside, so they try here. Tongue of Truth, come forth and test this Fallen!”
That creepy old guy from Kheiron with the long blue hair appeared through the fog. I stepped back into Michael, who held me steady. I was not interested in being licked again.
The man opened his mouth, accenting the many wrinkles on his face, and a white dove flew out. The bird circled Gavin, who was writhing in pain, his limbs splayed at odd angles on the ground. My heart ached for Gavin. How could Michael just stand there and trust this tongue guy?
The dove sat peacefully on Gavin’s chest. Michael lessened his grip on me, and I tried to walk toward Gavin, who raised a hand to stroke the head of the bird. But Michael had only loosened his hold. He hadn’t released me.
Old creepy guy opened his mouth once more to reveal his many tongues. Out they popped, each one exploring a part of Gavin’s mangled body. My screams echoed in the air as one of the tongues grabbed at Gavin’s hair and licked it so hard that it pulled it out in clumps. Another tongue attached itself to his eyeball, then ripped it out of the socket before recoiling back into the old guy’s mouth. He laughed. The remaining tongues lurched forward to devour Gavin’s arms, lips, ears, legs, hands. Blood, bones, saliva, and organs splattered on the ground as the tongues ripped through him.
I couldn’t watch. Gavin screamed in pain, but no one helped him. I don’t know who screamed louder, me or Gavin, as he was being ripped to shreds, food for this disgusting creature. I fell to the ground, unable to lift myself back up as The Tongue of Truth demon recoiled his tongues and disappeared into the ground where he stood.
“Grace.” Gabe, my dad, pulled me to my feet. “He would have tried to kill you.”
I resisted his help, standing on my own despite the weakness in my body. I wanted to punch and kick Gabe. How could he think Gavin would have tried to kill me? And when had he become Gabe to me? When had he stopped being just Dad?
Just then, another “Gavin” came crashing to the ground in a heap. I turned to Michael, desperate for answers.
“It’s okay. They can’t perform that particular type of trickery on the fly. They must have been planning this for a long time.”
This time, no one stopped me from running to him.
“M-M-Michael. Please. Michael.” Gavin’s voice was weak and rattled, and I stroked his face. Liquid streamed from his nose and mouth. There was little life left in him.
I wiped his mouth with my sleeve. “Michael, please he needs to tell you something.”
Michael walked slowly over. He helped me stand, then placed a hand on Gavin’s chest. Gavin’s body rose off the ground to a few inches from Michael’s face. His limbs hung limp in the air beneath him, as tired and listless as I felt. Gavin whispered into Michael’s ear, then fell back to the ground, kicking up dust. When he landed, the sound of bones breaking pierced the thick air. Just as I started to drop my body over him to comfort him, Michael pulled me back.
“Gabe.” Michael seemed to assess Gavin. “Bring him to Raphael. Tell Raphael to fit him with a vest.” Michael turned and motioned to Arcturus. “Come with me.” Michael mounted, then rode off on a majestic and immaculately dressed white Shire that I had only then noticed. Arcturus followed.
While I watched them, I heard Michael in my mind. High Priestess Tia of the Virtues owes me a favor and has agreed to assist you. Go quickly.
How? Where?
Tia has made arrangements. Just. Go.
I turned just as Gabe began to carry Gavin upward. I had no idea if I would see either of them again.
A Slight Hiccup
One thing I was certain of was that Remi loathed the thing he was becoming, and he was not simply going to hand over his life or his child. He would fight to the death. With Jenny gone and Remi Fallen, the poor baby would be defenseless.
My only hope of getting to Remi before the Fallen did was High Priestess Tia, ruler of the Virtues, in