“Her life for your pain.”
“Go on,” Nathaniel said.
“You submit to me for twenty-four hours. I can do anything I want, short of taking your wings. After, they’ll take your soul out of your broken body and put it in a new one. When you get back, the battle resumes. No matter if you kill me later, Kate is free to live her life. No demon will ever touch her or even try to entice a human to kill her. Hell will forget she exists.”
The memories of Nathaniel being tortured flooded her mind. If Gadreel killed her now, her own death would be quick. The thought of Gadreel being able to do anything he wanted to Nathaniel curdled her stomach.
“No,” Kate said.
“Quiet,” Gadreel sneered, twisting her finger.
She screamed, then fought past the pain. “Nathaniel, no. If he kills me, the angels will come for me. It’s nice in Heaven, isn’t it?” she asked, trembling all over.
“Are you going to let her sacrifice her life for you?” Gadreel crooned. “I got to kill both of your sisters. Your brother. Your mother and father. Are you going to let me cut short the life of your girlfriend, too? I must admit it would be nice to have the whole set. I eventually hope to add you to it. What do you say? Her life for your pain? Or shall I slit her throat?”
“Let her go.”
“No!” she screamed.
“Your promise that you’ll submit for one day?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel said.
Her head spun, and she fought to free herself, to pummel Gadreel. The demon pushed her away without a glance.
Gadreel laughed at Nathaniel. “Beautiful angel boy, I promise to make you regret your choice. Let’s go.”
“I can’t fly. My wings aren’t ready,” Nathaniel said.
Gadreel grinned. “Well then, we’ll start the fun here until the firefighters make their way up and interrupt us. I want you naked and on your knees.” Gadreel’s eyes shone blood red in the moonlight. He was in the throes of dark pleasure.
Nathaniel discarded his shirt and unzipped his pants.
Rage and fury and frustration wailed through her.
This will not happen! I won’t let that monster touch him! Not for my sake. Not for anything or anyone. Never. Never. Never!
With a hand massaging his crotch, Gadreel strode toward Nathaniel.
Kate snatched up Nathaniel’s dagger that lay at her feet. She felt as though she’d left her body and watched from above as she rushed forward and drove the dagger into Gadreel’s wing, slicing down like it was fabric and then plunging the dagger into his back with a banshee cry. She gouged him and wrenched the blade sideways, coring a huge chunk of flesh as she dragged it out and then stabbed him again.
He wailed and spun, striking her so she flew backward. Her back slammed into the concrete, knocking her breath and the dagger free as Gadreel leaped forward, his own blade raised. He would kill her. She didn’t care. She would’ve died a thousand times for the chance to stab him again.
Gadreel’s blade arced down, but Nathaniel jerked him back. She watched, frozen, as Nathaniel tore Gadreel’s injured wing from his back.
Gadreel’s screams pierced the night. Nathaniel pinned the flailing Gadreel to the ground and sliced open his back, ripping out the other wing.
The wings burst into flame and burned to ash. Then Nathaniel cut Gadreel’s throat and climbed off him. The pale body, smudged with black blood, was consumed by blue flames. The smell of sulfur filled the air and then there was nothing but ash.
For several moments, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
Nathaniel bent over her. “Are you all right, Kate? Are you badly hurt?”
“No,” she stammered, then looked to the black ash that had been Gadreel. “But you . . . you promised to submit,” she said through chattering teeth.
“I did promise,” Nathaniel said, pulling on his pants and zipping them.
“And then you killed him.”