Wings of the Wicked - By Courtney Allison Moulton Page 0,30

u want 1.

Movement out my window caught my attention. Appearing from the Grim, Will and Ava dropped gracefully from the sky with their wings wide before feathers and all melted back into their shoulders.

Thats them. text u later.

I turned off my car and pulled my coat tighter around me as I climbed out. It was hard to meet the look of disappointment in Will’s cool green gaze. Every time I did, stabs of ice hit my stomach. I had everything planned until what I’d say when Will got there.

“Ellie,” he said gently. “What are you doing?”

“I should be doing this with you,” I said. “We’re a team. I’m already out of school, so take me with you.”

Then he smiled, much to my shock and relief. “All right. To be honest, I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t want to do a mission without you.”

“I’m ready for this.”

His smile widened. “Then let’s go.”

“Keep your energy suppressed,” Ava said. “Zane has been the guardian of this relic for a long time, and he will sense us coming. We don’t want him to think he’s under attack and retaliate against us. He likes to cause damage and ask questions later—and he can cause a lot of damage.”

“But won’t he recognize you?” I asked, confused as to why he’d start a fight if he knew Ava.

She grinned. “Like I said, I’m not his favorite person. I haven’t been for decades.”

“Just stay calm,” Will said to me. “We’re not expecting a fight. Just be on guard.”

His words made me relax some, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was already very wrong. We climbed the stairs to the third floor and found apartment 310. The door was ajar and the wood was splintered as if it’d been forced open. The ill feeling in my gut spun and festered. I knew we were too late.

Ava didn’t waste any time; she pushed the door open carefully. She summoned the long, vicious talons through her fingertips and crept into the living room. Will followed, calling his sword, and entered on the other side of her, his back close to the wall.

It looked as if a tornado had blown through the apartment. Couches were shredded, their stuffing blanketing the living room like snow. End tables were overturned and one was shattered. Something had smashed the television, and paper, shards of glass and plastic, and a potted plant were strewn everywhere. I looked at Ava, whose face was hard and pale as she examined the room.

Then a rancid and overripe odor filled my nose and I clamped my hand over my mouth, almost gagging. Something was very clearly rotting. “Oh, God,” I groaned. “What is that?” It couldn’t be the relic guardian. Reapers didn’t rot when they died. They either burned up in angelfire or demonfire, or they turned to stone. Was it human?

Will stepped by me, following the scent into the kitchen, where he stopped in the doorway, his expression turning grave. At his feet was a river of dried blood that had flowed from the kitchen into the dining room.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Don’t come in here,” he responded firmly. “Stay back, Ellie.”

Ava turned toward him, her gaze darkening. “Is it a body?”

My heart plummeted when he nodded. “Human. She may have heard the commotion and come to check on the place. The face is too badly damaged and her rib cage has been torn open. She was definitely fed on by reapers. There are no large bites, so she must have been killed by demonic vir.”

“How long has she been there?” I asked, bile swarming in my throat. Images of brutal reaper kills I’d seen before flashed in my head, and I was very okay with taking Will’s advice to stay put. I had vision of my own half-eaten body lying at the feet of the mysterious vir that Cadan had warned me about. I could be next.

Will didn’t look up. “Days.”

Ava’s jaw tightened and she stomped toward the back rooms. She kicked open a closed door, took one look, and moved to the second bedroom. Will and I followed right behind her, and in the mess of the bedroom, I could see congealed blood splattered across the walls and carpet.

And the pile of gray stones in the far corner. We’d found Zane.

Ava stepped up to the rubble hesitantly and knelt down, her movements slow and quiet. She picked up the largest piece of stone and cradled it in her hands. Biting down on her