Page 67 of Wings of Strife
I have to play this carefully. If I slip up, Azrael might look into my friends. “Someone I trust witnessed it. I even have the blade in my possession.” He opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off, knowing exactly what he’s going to say. “No. I won’t give it to you. It’s safer with me, somewhere only I know about.”
Azrael stands, and for a moment I’m worried he’s angry, but he just swallows the rest of his whiskey and pours himself another. “Would it be safe to assume that you also know who Roderick is working for?”
I wince. “Yes, and no. I don’t know exactly who, but I do know some. You may want to sit.”
“By the cock of God,” he mumbles, grabbing the entire bottle and bringing it with him.
“Roderick is working with a powerful angel, one I’m unable to identify.” Azrael nods like he expected that, but I’m about to shatter his world. “That isn’t the worst part. The angel he’s working for has partnered with demons. They’re collecting angel blades and are certainly not afraid to use them.”
Azrael’s eyes widen, his glass of whiskey completely forgotten on the coffee table between us. “For what purpose? And do I even want to know how you came to find all this out? By the Archangels, Zeke, this is some deep shit you’ve gotten yourself in.”
“We aren’t sure of a purpose yet. As for how I know, let’s just say it’s been a crazy few months.”
He taps his fingers on his leg but eventually gets up to pace his living room. “It concerns me that the guild hasn’t uncovered anything about this. Yes, we knew demons had gotten a bit moreriled up than usual, but things have been quiet these last few weeks. Honestly, I just assumed they’d given up and gone back into hiding. Now I’m worried what it means that we haven’t discovered this group of rebels before now.”
“I’m afraid there’s a reason for that, and you’re not going to like it.”
“To be fair, this conversation hasn’t exactly gone how I expected it to. I thought I had news foryou. Turns out you’re the one with all the information. What else is there?”
“We have an unidentified mole in the guild. I mean, shit. It’s likely we have more than one at this point.”
Azrael halts in his tracks, turning slowly to look at me.
“I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true. Whoever it is helped them break into the armory and steal our sunblades. Making any of this official will tip them off that we’re aware, and who knows what kind of landslide that will create.”
“Bloody fucking shit,” he mutters. “You don’t have the clearance to know about the armory, but I won’t bother asking how you found out. There’s not enough time in the day for you to catch me up on all the shit you’ve gotten into, is there?”
“No, sir.”
He sits back on the couch, elbows propped on his knees, and looks into my eyes. “Are you absolutely sure, without even the shadow of a doubt, that we have a mole?”
All I do is nod, because what else is there? He knows the truth if he only thinks about it.
“Damnation.” Azrael reaches for his drink again.
“The demons are growing bold, and I think having the guild in their back pocket is the cause. Why else would they attack us so close to the guild?”
“What do you mean? There was an attack near the guild?”
I can only stare at him, my mouth opening and closing like a damn fish because I thought he knew.
“My friends and I were attacked almost a month ago between the Fallen district and guild HQ. We were severely outnumbered and barely survived. Someone from the guild saw the fight on their way in for their shift and brought a crew to us. At least five showed up, probably more, but I wasn’t exactly focused on counting them. Lieutenant Atlas was supposed to tell you, but they left to hunt down the demons who fled, so I’m not surprised he forgot.” I don’t bother mentioning what happened to Hayliel. Maybe that’s the wrong choice, but it’s not my story to tell.
“This has gotten far too out of hand. Is that why you kept all of this from me? Because you thought I was the mole?”
I consider lying to him, but I know he’d hate that more than the truth. “I never wanted to believe you were involved, but we couldn’t risk it. If it helps, I haven’t shared this information with my father either. There’s too much at stake.”
“While I wish you would have come to me with this earlier, I don’t blame you for keeping this close to your chest. Your instincts are solid, Zeke. The guild is lucky to have you and so is Silver City.”
A vise I didn't realize was wrapped around my chest, loosens. I thought Azrael discovering I not only kept this from him, but even briefly suspected him, would ruin the relationship we had. Instead, he's supporting my choices and even complimenting me. “Thank you, sir.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you should tell your dad. Give it some thought and maybe we can talk to him together. For now, I have a plan for a little trap to lure out the snake.”
On the flight back to campus, with a plan in place to lure out the bastard mole, I finally allow myself to think about Hayliel and that bastard Uriel. Castiel saved the day, and it soundslike he even went a step further with his saving. He’s now her counselor instead of that piece of shit trash bag. It sure helps to have him on our side. Hopefully, it’s the same with Azrael.
Where are you?I push the thought to Hayliel, hoping to find her and see how she’s doing.
She doesn’t make me wait long.In my room. Everything alright?
