Page 166 of Living Legend

The blonde boy shook his head, magically closing the lock on one of the doors to the rooms in the Ethereal Bastille. The sentries had been working diligently to bring all the useless angels down here after they were put into a slumber of sorts. I hated being this messy, but as long as they didn't get in the way, then I was fine with lumping them all together down here until it was over.

"Then keep looking; it has to be somewhere," I commanded, sneering at him. He nodded once and moved past me.

I let out a huffed sigh. This was meant to be easy. Lilith had told me that this demon was tough, but that she would fall right into our hands and it seemed like everything was falling into place. Except for this.Thiswas proving difficult.

"Sir?" a voice said from behind me. I turned around to see a sentry waiting to speak.

"What is it?" I asked, clearly frustrated.

"The others are headed this way; we just got word."

Fuck. I breathed a long breath in as the sentry waited patiently for my next words. "What did she tell you to do?"

The angel cleared her throat. "She told us to be ready and prepared. Do not harm the Soul Seether, but all others are of no concern."

I thought this over. "That's fine. Be prepared to keep them alive, but do as you're told." I waved her off, needing to think. None of this would mean anything if I couldn't find what we needed. Lilith only told us so much, but I wanted this. I wanted this so much, I had killed an innocent of my own kind for this. I believed in proving my loyalty, and if she wanted it in exchange for giving me a piece of what I wanted, then so be it. That Finley boy didn't deserve it but we do what we must, I supposed. I couldn’t risk exposing myself so, desperate times, desperate measures.

His portal key was heavy in my pockets every time I walked. I couldn't leave it lying around. Moira's offspring hadn't found me out, but she was smart and quick with her powers just like her mother. Lilith had expected that and made her own moves against her.

Who knew so many Enchanters down in Purgatory would be so willing to bestow their powers to another? I wasn'tthatsurprised, actually. My heart stuttered as I thought about them down there, wanting out and finally seeing a way to get what they wanted.

I rubbed my temple with my index and middle finger. I thought I would need to just get to the Soul Seether after all that, but things had now gotten complicated.I didn't like that one bit. The Cassial boy and everyone else had gotten in the way.

I walked down the hall of the Ethereal Bastille and heard a commotion coming from one of the rooms. I stomped further down the hall and looked into one of the open doorways. I smirked as I came eye to eye with Jonah Zuriel. He was tied to a chair, straining against his restraints. Pieces of his clothes were torn, his face scratched and dirty. He narrowed his eyes at me and curled his lip.

"I will not stand for this! I will make you regret it all…"

I shook my head laughing as he started to create light in his hands, trying to conjure his executive magic.

"Ah, but you won't. You have an odd liking for that boy and I would hate for him to become a casualty so quickly because you decide you want to make things difficult."

Jonah halted his magic, his hands stiffening. The white flutters near his fingertips that had started to trail down his hand stopped and started to disappear. He immediately ceased all means of wanting to fight. I didn't understand it, but if the Cassial boy was what I had to dangle in front of him, then I would. "What is it that you want?" he asked, sounding exhausted.

"All in due time. You will pay for the sins of your father." I waved my hand at the sentries at his side. "Keep him alive but have your fun." I walked out of the room and listened as Jonah made a loud groan, the chair he had been tied to sounding like it hit the ground hard. I chuckled to myself as I made my way out of the Ethereal Bastille.

"Sir! Sir!" An out of breath sentry ran up to me and I placed a hand out to stop them.

I raised a brow expectedly.

"We found it." The sentry held up what I had been looking for, what Lilith had promised would be here when she arrived.

"Thank you," I said, the sentry handing it over to me. I let my chest puff out in pride. I would finally have the peace I wanted. Now, all we had to do was wait for them to come to us. I placed my hand firmly on the angel's shoulder. "Now, we wait for them to make their move."

Lilith would have what she wanted, and so would I.

Chapter Twenty-Six

NICK

It wasn't as bright as it should have been when I stepped out of the portal. The sun was high and beaming in Oculus, but peering up at The Skies, the clouds made their presence known and it felt much later in the day. It was as if the entire sun had disappeared because it too was scared of what was happening. There were no unfamiliar scents lurking around and everythinglookedlike it was in place, as if nothing had really changed.

Something was missing, though.

The Skies was a place I had come to know as continuously moving. Even if you thought it was quiet, there was always someone off in the distance training, or you could hear laughing, or even the flutter of wings along the treetops. Right now, I heard absolutely nothing. A shudder went down my spine as I realized that hearing nothing was worse than seeing pools of blood or unmoving bodies. I had no idea what I was walking into, what to expect.

I took a short look around, taking into account all the people in front of me. Elise had her eyebrows turned down as she scanned the perimeter. Reese and Natalia were eyeing the looming front gates of the tall, castle-like building. Dani, I hadn't realized, was saddled up next to me, casting her gaze up at my face.

"Not what you expected?" she asked, no teasing or sarcasm laced into the words.

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