Page 62 of Living Legend

Reese got up from my desk chair and stalked over to my window. The sun was slowly starting to set. “You spoke to your father?”

“I did. How in the hell did you think I knew about the secret passage? I may be the smart one, but I’m not that smart.”

“Huh. Maurice Cassial, keeper of epically cool secrets,” Reese noted. He side-eyed me. “He wants you to put your faith in them?”

“I mean, he knows it’s my choice, but he does think I should stop holding back.”

Reese pressed his back against the window and smirked. “I swear, if you fuck us up, I will bury you where no one will ever find you and call you Nick the Dick in your eulogy.” He reached his hand out to me, bending his elbow. “The fact you ever thought I wasn’t going to side with you hurts my feelings. I may not like it, but I’ve always got your back.”

I pushed off my bed and grabbed his hand, bumping his right shoulder with my left one. Reese walked over to my desk, picking up the dagger and examining the blade.

“What do you plan to do about this?”

“For now, it's staying right where I’ve had it.”

“That sounds like…” Reese began, but a knock on the door startled us both. Reese let go of the dagger, letting it drop from his hand. I swiped my hand underneath him, grabbing it before it fell to the ground. I dragged open the drawer and shoved it inside. Reese winced, as if to say sorry as I passed him towards the door.A messenger angel greeted me with a blank expression.

“It’s a little early for messages,” I said plainly.

“Jonah wishes to speak to you.”

I looked over my shoulder at Reese, who shrugged. “About what?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Make your way to his office this afternoon.” The angel gave me a small smile and then made his way down the hall. I stuck my head out and watchedas he sauntered down the dim hallway. They normally did us a favor by allowing the lights to not be so bright when the night shift came back in.

“Well, maybe this little talk will bear more information for your anti-Jonah campaign,” Reese stated sarcastically, crossing his arms.

I leaned my forehead against the door. “Maybe, but it’s time to start demanding more answers.”

Chapter Eleven

DANI

Time went by extremely slowly when you had absolutely nothing to do with your time except wait. We hadn’t seen or spoken to the guys since that night in the Divine Library, and my entire mind and body was getting antsy. I was starting to enjoy the excursions they brought us on and I had to admit, that I was beginning to understand the appeal of being in a place like this for all eternity. I’d gotten used to the dimly lit Purgatory, the constant changing of temperatures, and I’d even gotten accustomed to just lying in my bed, alone, awaiting my next hedonistic moment.

I didn’t have free reign here like I did in Purgatory. Even if I did, the reactions would be close to the same. Only a few in Purgatory considered us friends; most cowered at my presence or just kept their head down and ignored me. Elise was the first one to come up to me and introduce herself. She wasn’t afraid of anything and she made it known, straight to my face, that she wasn’t afraid of me. It almost made me smile.Almost.

I’d noticed formations of angels headed out towards a larger field that I couldn’t quite see. I knew a line had formed between my eyebrows as I tried to figure out a reason for their gathering. A soft snort came from the other side of the room. I moved my head from where it was propped against my pillow and looked over to Elise. Her arms were splayed out at her sides, one of her legs hanging off the bed. Her mouth hung open a little and she snorted again.

I covered my mouth before a laugh could escape into the otherwise quiet room. I looked out the window and noticed the sun was rising. I stared up at the ceiling and I let my mind wander. Elise had a valid point when it came to Lilith: she never really got blood on her hands, had always let others do terrible deeds for her. I thought I had seen one of her demons outside of the Divine Library, but I had no proof. I hadn’t spoken of it since then, not even to Elise.

My mind kept leaning to one idea above all else. Lilith had her reasons for wanting to ruin Heaven’s Gate, but why would an angel want to destroy their home? Why would an angel partner with the Queen of Darkness in the first place? What didIhave to do with it? Natalia’s words came back so eloquently from the first time we met.

“What makes you so special?"

Lilith had given a lot of demons powers, but theirs had always been minuscule, and she sometimes even took those powers back when she deemed them unworthy. Compulsion was one not often given, the power of pulling souls even more unlikely. I had been given both. I guess that made me quite special, in retrospect. I decided that something less challenging might let me drift back off to sleep. I let thoughts of Nicholas flood their way in, settling themselves nicely into every inch of my brain. I think about his eyes, how they had a way of settling my mind; how his thick dark hair made me want to rake my hands through it; how his mouth angled upward every time he wanted to laugh or smirk at my comments but tried so hard not to.

I enjoyed peeling back his resolve. We were so close in the Divine Library; he had looked at my mouth as if he considered kissing me. Nicholas gave the impression that he was upstanding in the eyes of his authority figures, but my gut told me when no one was watching, in the dark confines of his bedroom, he was something else entirely. I would be lying if I said those thoughts didn’t make me want to drop to my knees and take his cock in my mouth.

If he had been a demon, I likely would have done just that, but Nicholas was an angel and my intentions didn’t really matter. I would tease him endlessly until he combusted, but that was all. Fucking him would be something I would leave to my imagination.

Another snort came from the other side of the room and I shook my head, deciding that throwing a pillow at Elise would be a bad idea. Turning on a lamp would cause her to throw multiple pillows atme, so I was forced to wait until the sun had risen. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees still covered by the comforter. I tousled my hair with my fingers, closing my eyes, massaging my temples with my fingertips. I peeked over at Elise when I heard her turn over, pulling her pillow over her face.

I rolled my eyes, before seeing the light from underneath the bathroom door. It was faint and easily missed if you weren’t staring directly at it. There was no window in the bathroom, so it couldn’t be the sun, and I’d turned off the light last night, unless Elise forgot. The light flickered and grew brighter, eventually disappearing all together.

I pulled the covers off my legs, letting my feet feel the cold floor. I heard a small sound come from the bathroom, if someone was trying to hide. I heard a hand on the knob and the soft, slow turn of it. I reached next to me and grabbed my pillow, throwing it at Elise. Her arms flailed and she chucked the pillow to the ground, sitting straight up, frowning.

She opened her mouth to start ranting, but she saw my hand point to the bathroom. Elise pressed her lips into a hard line, looking towards the bathroom door right as it began to creak open. She swung her legs over and stood to join me. Black smoke with red tendrils started to form in her hands and her eyes turned molten black. I was ready to defend myself as well, letting my power start to flow out, but I held it back just a little.

---