Page 147 of Viper

Ella felt her pulse spike.Good, because I don’t think this shield will stay up for much longer. And those strix want to rip me apart and get to the baby.

“You know,” began Ophaniel, his voice tipping up in volume, “it’s rude to have telepathic conversations when someone is speaking to you.” He gave a mockingtut, tut.

Ella lifted her chin. “Can’t say I was interested in listening to you try to excuse your own behavior by comparing your acts tothose of Viper. He might have done some dark shit in his time, but he never harmed children.”

She slid her gaze to Freddie, who still appeared remarkably uncomfortable. He wasn’t an archangel, but she got the sense that he was some form of celestial. “It doesn’t bother you that you’ll have contributed to the death of a child?”

His throat bobbed, and he plucked at his tie. “It is not a child, it is an abomination.” Harsh words. But there was a shake to his voice, as if he was repeating an opinion that he didn’t entirely agree with.

“Freddie is eager to earn his halo and return to his family in the upper realm,” said Ophaniel. “When my superiors hear that he aided me, they will grant him what he wants.”

Ella frowned. “Good deeds earn halos. He’ll have innocent blood on his hands.”

Ophaniel gave her a look that could only be described as one of gentle condescension. “None of you are innocent.”

“Neither are celestials.”

His lips twitched. “Quite so. Holy blood doesn’t ensure goodness.” His gaze zipped from her to Mia. “But you bothhavekilled, have you not?”

“My baby hasn’t.”

“But it will.” Ophaniel sighed. “In this realm, it is rare for your kind to go without taking lives due to the brutality of the demon world. The fetus may be half archangel, but it’ll still be firmly in that world. And it may very well carry Samael’s curse—perhaps even share his inability to avoid drawing evil like a magnet.” He gestured at the strix. “Case in point.”

“How did you manage to gaintheircooperation?”

Ophaniel shrugged. “I simply promised I would help them kill Samael. They’re very eager to make him pay for the deaths of their brethren.”

Again, the shield flickered—this time for several seconds, making Ella fear it would wink out altogether. But it didn’t.

“Not long to go now,” said Ophaniel.

Snickers ran through the crowd of strix, their eagerness to charge almost tangible.

“I would much rather not hang around for this part,” he said. “It will bring me no real pleasure to see two women—demons or not—savaged by strix. But my superiors will be angry if they’re not able to watch the replay of your deaths via my memories.”

His superiors needed to have their necks snapped. “If I’m going to die, I’d like to know one thing first.”

He tipped his head to the side, a brow hiking up in question.

“Why didn’t you act sooner? Why use notes and subtle moves? Why try hijacking the wills of others? You’re an archangel. It shouldn’t have been all that hard for you to kill me.”

“That’s several questions, but I don’t mind answering. Truthfully, I would have much preferred if my assignment had been a straightforward execution. But I’m under strict orders to ensure that your deaths do not taste of celestial interference—people would, after all, immediately suspect we’d targeted you to punish Samael for falling. That meant being very careful how I proceeded. We can’t have a war breaking out, can we?

“When you die at the hands of the Black Saints’ enemies, people will blame them as well as the strix. Joe will share some of the blame as well. But I’m quite sure he’ll die here and now, so he’ll be spared any punishments from your lair.” A smile lit his eyes as the shield began to ripple, its brightness fading. “Ah, here we go.”

Fuck.

The shield dropped. Ophaniel grinned. The queen let out a bloodthirsty roar, sparking her brethren to do the same. Thestrix all moved to charge … only to freeze as the pastureland around them disappeared, revealing their true whereabouts.

Seeing the rows of rusted, vandalized mobile homes and trailers, Ella realized they were on the grounds of an abandoned trailer park. Some trailers had been tipped over and lay sprawled on the leafy gravel roads.

Overgrown grass and weeds were all that was left of the lawns. Damaged portable canopies and smashed garden furniture lay haphazardly here and there. There was debris everywhere—bike wheels, satellite dishes, crates, and car parts.

Before the strix had a chance to recover from their surprise, the Black Saints appeared within the circle that the hell-born demons had formed around Ella and Mia.

Oh, thank all that’s holy and unholy.Her demon grinned, equal parts relieved and delighted.

The strix hissed, shifting uneasily as they found themselves facing the fallen angels, who were all stood with their backs to Ella, Mia, and Joe.

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