Page 46 of Wings of Torment
His slate pings, the screen lighting up with a text from the very angel we’ve been arguing about.
Hayliel.
18
Istare at the screen, lost in thought.
Can she sense we’ve been talking about her? And if she knew the topic of our discussion, would she agree with Theo? It hurts to think about because he’s right in some ways. I can’t deny that I’m an asshole. I haven’t been very nice to her, but it’s not like she’s a saint either. She brushed me off and constantly rubs her relationship with Theo and Raphael in my face. Maybe someday I’ll get over it, but I’m not there yet.
Pulling down on the notification, I read the message.
Hayliel: How can I send in a tip to the Guild?
Huh? I read her words a second time, then a third. Why would she want to send anything to the Guild? And how is it she evenhassomething to send in?
“What’s wrong?” Theo asks, noticing my frown.
“I don’t know yet,” is all I reply before pulling up her contact and calling.
She answers on the first ring. “Hey.”
“Don’theyme after a text like that. Why the fuck do you want to send something in to the Guild?”
I watch as Theo’s brows press together at my words and wait for her reply.
“So I went out after supper to walk around the Fallen district, and I’m pretty sure I found the scarred angel from the photo.”
“Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you went out,alone, in an unknown district and ran into the angel that helped a bunch of demons raid one of the Guild’s armories?” The look Theo throws me screamssee? You do care.
“Well, yes, but it’s not—”
“Not what, hummingbird? Stupid? Dangerous? Because I assure you, it’s all those things. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking about finding fucking answers. And I told Raphael and Theo that I was going out for a walk. Besides, it’s not like I found him in some shady fucking place. He was at the shops, going door to door arguing with angels.”
I glare at Theo, muttering about fucking Pures under my breath. “Damn it all to hell. Telling them doesn’t mean shit. If something happened to you, how would they know? Even the Guild’s fastest flier would need at least a few minutes to reach the Fallen district. Then they’d need even more time to locate you. What if you’d gotten hurt?”
“I didn’t. And I’m not really in the mood for more of your attitude, Zeke, so if you can’t help me with the Guild, then I’ll just find another way.”
I take a deep breath, holding it in for a second before letting it go along with my anger. “No, no. I’ll help. You’re certain no one saw you?”
“No one saw me.”
Theo waves his hand, whispering, “Let me hear.”
Rolling my eyes, I ignore him. “Alright. Tell me what happened.”
“Well, I followed him a bit and stumbled upon a meeting. There were at least three others there, maybe more, but I was hiding so I couldn’t see. Anyway, the guy with the scar is named Roderick. It sounded like he was in charge of whoever was there with him because he was getting angry about some delivery of goods or something. But then he said he had someone to answer to, so I bet he has a superior.”
“Fuck. He must have been talking about transporting the shit they stole from the armory. Is that what you wanted to tell the Guild, so they’d look into this Roderick guy?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Hummingbird …” I grumble
“Listen, so I … well it just sort of … look, it’s only—”
I sigh. “Spit it out. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
