Heaven and Hell and Earth will know the name Salinas. They will quake to hear my name.”
Ryland inhales deeply, his nostrils flaring. Something in his dark features changes as his gaze seems to bore into the demon before him. “I know pride when I see it. I can sense it. I’m sure someone so proud of his accomplishments wants to share them with us. To let us know why he’s undertaking such a task. So tell us. Tell us and let us spread the fear of your name to every corner of the world.”
Holy crap. He’s laying it on thick.
For a moment, I’m certain Salinas is going to laugh in Ryland’s face. But then the demon’s face twitches. Ryland’s eyes glow a little as the power of his sin pulses from him like an aura.
It’s working. He’s using his pride to entice Salinas to spill the beans and get us what we want.
“I want to take over Earth,” the demon replies, sounding lofty. “It’s ridiculous, the way that Heaven and Hell are fighting one another. Nobody’s paying attention to the prime real estate that’s just sitting there. Humans are only good as souls for the army after they’re dead? What kind of nonsense is that? I tried to reason with my superiors, I did, but none of the higher-ups would listen. They’re stuck in their ways, bound to their rules.”
That sounds a lot like Heaven, and I cringe at the lack of difference between the two.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nix mutters. “This is absolutely insane, you know. You’re never going to succeed. You can’t possibly manage to actually conquer Earth. Is that…” He glances around at the rest of us. “I mean, am I hearing this right? I can’t be the only one who’s hearing this. Why are you all looking so serious? This is a joke. He can’t actually do this, can he?”
“I think the demon portals show that he possibly can,” Beckett replies, his voice hard.
“Earth is full of humans running around making a mess of themselves. They’re chaotic, they’re killing each other, they’ve got no ability to properly govern themselves.” Salinas sniffs, sounding appalled. Which is pretty rich if you ask me, coming from a demon—even a high-up one.
“They’re just waiting to be made slaves of,” he continues. Ford tightens his grip a little, making his words come out more choked than before. But he’s obviously on a roll now, pumped up by Pride’s power. His voice is a rasp, but he continues speaking. “It would be the easiest thing in the world to conquer them. To make them come under my rule. Let us see Heaven or Hell oppose me after that!”
He turns his gaze toward me, and I shiver. His burning yellow eyes look like both fire and sickness. “But you had to go and be so…” He sneers. “Noble. The other angels just ignored the portals, didn’t they?”
My gut tightens and twists. I want to say that no, of course they didn’t, what kind of people does he take us for? I want to say that my heavenly superiors told me specifically to close the portals so that no humans would get hurt.
But I know that Salinas would know I was lying. It would be my pride speaking up to say that, or rather… the hope of pride in my people. And it wouldn’t be real.
“I took it upon myself to close the portals,” I say. I think that’s a fairly neutral statement.
Salinas chuckles, an ugly, twisted sound. “I have to admit, you were more plucky than I expected. I was ready for you to give up or fail. I thought that the hydra curse was quite ingenious, multiplying the portals every time one was closed. But you found a way around that, and now… well. I’m afraid that I’ve had to go with the nuclear option.”
That makes my stomach grow cold, even in this oppressing heat.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Ford growls, shaking Salinas a little.
“Explain yourself,” Ryland says, his voice cold as ice.
Salinas laughs. As he does, I catch a new sound. Beneath his bone-chilling laughter, I hear chittering and growling. Heavy footsteps. Low snarls.
Ah, fuck. He must have backup—other demons he’s either recruited with promises or threatened into helping him.
And they’ve just arrived.
“Fuck. Look out!” Beckett yells.
Moving as a single unit, all of the sins except Ford turn, shoving me behind them. Salinas roars and tries to break free of Wrath, who tightens his hold in return. The