Page 50 of Living Legend

“Weknow that, but we’re talking about two sentries who’ve pretty much pledged their lives to this place.”

“Teaches them not to be so quick to judge us. They should be looking in the damn mirror,” she stated, no empathy in her voice.

I got off my bed and walked to the window. Today was quiet. I couldn’t hear any noise from passing conversations. Even the wind had settled, the leaves on the trees dormant.

“Why would Lilith kill a messenger angel?” I asked, the question burning my tongue.

“What makes you thinkshekilled him? She took the soul; it doesn’t mean she finished him off.” She propped up an eyebrow, her eyes still fixated on the ends of her hair.

Taking a soul was like death, but it wasn’t a complete one. Without a soul, there’s just an empty shell, probablywishingfor death.

“You don’t think so?”

She pushed her hair away. “I mean I don’t know, but what would she gain from grabbing the soulandmurdering him? It’s one or the other.”

“She does like to do those kinds of things for fun, you know.”

Elise leaned back against the headboard. “Ok, sure. She always had some motivation, though. This would just seem messy. She isn’t the type to do the dirty work. She physically doesn’t draw the blood. She took the soul because it was torture to the unwilling party. She gets someone else to do all the hard stuff, which would include killing this Finley person.”

“Valid point. An angel killing another angel would be a satisfying show to her.”

She continued. “Why this messenger angel, though? There are a million of them here.”

I tilted my hip towards the windowsill, propping it against the white trimming. “They did mention Keegan was fresh on the job. They likely needed someone who wouldn’t ask questions, someone who wanted to prove themself. I think Keegan was just the first one they came across. He served whatever purpose he was needed for, then removed from the situation.”

“The question still remains. Why take his stupid portal key thing?” Elise looked at me with expectant dark eyes.

“It still holds magic, so itcouldbe used for something else, now that I think about it…” I let my words fall away, my eyes hitting the floor. I had a thought, peering up at her. “Natalia said that regardless, Keegan’s key would remain. It’s not attached to him, so it’s not like the object would show any indication he was dead, right?”

Elise slowly shook her head. “Yeah, I was half listening, so I’m just going to say yes.”

“I think whoever killed him had an inkling Natalia or another Enchanter could locate the key, so they created a smoke screen. They covered all their tracks.” I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, feeling the hairs tickle my back as it swung back and forth. “The key is still enchanted by someone who has likely been highly influenced by dark magic. Mix that with the magic that an Enchanter already wields, and you’ve got a bit of a disaster.”

“So, Lilith has just been sitting on her ass, grooming this mysterious helper of hers for years until the right time to strike on a messenger? Lilith is smart, but she’s not that smart. She couldn’t have predicted Keegan would just come walking in all dumb-like,” Elise pointed out.

I pressed my hand against the window. “I don’t think she had to. I think someone else decided on Keegan for her, I mean they very well couldn’t use their own key. Now that person is gatekeeping Keegan’s key. He was just a means to an end. The Enchanter was just one of the things she brought to the table.” It was a solid recipe for disaster. Each party involved brought an ingredient in preparation for a meal we were on the edge of our seats waiting for.

Elise made a humming sound, making me slide my eyes over to her.She fiddled with the collar of her black jean jacket. “I might know a few Enchanters close to Lilith’s ear.”

“Enchanters with the kind of magic to cloud Natalia’s?”

“I don’t know about that, but we never went into deep conversations about it. We were busy doing other things that were way more important at the time.” She shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. “Other things?”

Elise waved her hand at me. “Fuck off, you know I put my sex life above most things. It’s right there next to the cries of grown men and sleep.”

“How could I forget,” I laughed. “Do you know anything that could be of use?”

Elise tapped her teeth together, thinking. “One of them mentioned that they wanted out just as much as Lilith did. She kept saying how they didn’t deserve to be detained there, that Lilith would make it right someday.”

Elise swiped her hair over her ear. “I don’t know if she’s the exact Enchanter involved, but she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. They were all adamant on improving their magic and proving to her how much they wanted out.”

“So, an Enchanter in Purgatory would’ve been ready and willing to cultivate their skills with Lilith’s influence and taint the key for the sake of leaving Purgatory.”

“I promise you, people have been motivated by worse things,” Elise noted, walking backwards to the bathroom.

“So one Enchanter was able to overpower Natalia’s magic? That doesn’t make sense. She’s the daughter of a High Priestess, for fuck’s sake.” I was exasperatingly tired of this thought process. I sympathized with Nicholas’ frustrations. “We need a reference book for all this shit.”

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