tomorrow,” Dinah said. “Tomorrow we’ll start training together. We need to be a unit—the Fallen and Coven—before we plan any kind of attack on the Brethren together.”
Gabriel glanced at Maria, then shook his head. “I agree with the idea in principle, but I can’t put you and your sisters in that kind of danger.”
A cold laugh fell from Noa’s mouth. All eyes were on her. “Danger.” She rose from the seat and moved to refill her brandy. She downed another glass, the heat in her stomach only fueling her excitement for her violent date with Diel tonight. She turned, with a third glass full, to see that Gabriel, Maria and Dinah were still watching her. “You’re considerate, Gabriel. But your men are a haphazard group of murderers at best. They pose no danger to me and my sisters.”
Noa’s gaze drifted to the oil painting behind Gabriel’s head. It was of an older man who shared some similar facial features with Gabriel and his brother, Michael. The Fallen had ended up in a government-protected home, with more money than they could spend in several lifetimes, yet they did not know the true strengths of their gifts. Because their respective ways of killing were gifts—devil-created or not, that was of little consequence.
Their decision to turn their murderous intents on the men who’d wronged them was the beginning of the Brethren’s end of days. Kingdoms would rise against kingdoms—the kingdom of the Brethren-abused versus the Brethren themselves. But right now, the Fallen were a motley crew of too many different styles to be effective as a battalion.
“A viper on its own can easily be captured,” Noa said, sauntering back to the others. She sat down, smelling the brandy as she ran the glass under her nose. She loved that smell, that burn. “But a den of vipers—no, a nest of differing venomous snakes, all working in concert?” She shrugged. “No one could stop them. They would cut down anyone in their path.”
Noa glanced at Dinah. Her sister was nodding in agreement. “We may be physically smaller than your men, but we ‘witches’ are organized. We can anticipate every move each other will make, even in battle. My sisters and I are a motherfucking synchronized death squad. The Fallen wouldn’t stand a chance against us. Physical strength and a lust for killing mean nothing if they can’t use their talents cohesively.”
Gabriel sat back in his chair, interlacing his hands over his stomach. Noa could see the apprehension on his face. But she was right. He knew it. They were brothers. A codependent little group, just like the Coven. They were all each other knew. But they killed separately. They were super-soldiers without a unit, or even a commander.
“You gave them a life they could thrive in,” Dinah said, appeasing Gabriel and taking up the mantle of Coven leader once more. “But you’ve only just turned onto a new path from the one you traveled when you escaped Purgatory. And you need to retrain, completely shift your MO if you’re going to succeed.” Excitement flashed across Dinah’s face. She was a born leader and loved a challenge. “Give your brothers to me in regard to fighting. By the time we’re ready for the attack against the Brethren, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. The Brethren will never see us coming.”
Gabriel closed his eyes, and his mouth moved in prayer. The key and remote to Diel’s collar burned in Noa’s pocket. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She was getting closer to meeting him in the folly, and she could hardly fucking wait.
Gabriel opened his eyes, then at a subtle nod from Maria, he said to Dinah, “Make them unstoppable.” Gabriel swallowed, and to Noa’s eyes it looked almost painful, like everything within him was trying to stop him from speaking his next words. “If the only way to stop the Brethren is to see them dead, then may it be them who meets God first, not my brothers. I won’t see us destroyed. Not after everything we’ve fought to have.”
Noa felt a pull in her gut at the strain on Gabriel’s face. She glanced between Dinah, Maria and Gabriel and, in that moment, saw them as one and the same. Gabriel then addressed Noa. “I know you believe them inferior fighters to yourselves. That may be so, but please be careful tomorrow. Some of them are more violent than I think you know.”