Page 73 of Wicked Savior
Gabriel stands there, swaying in the hot sun.
The sky rumbles and darkens. Both Lucifer and I shoot a worried glance at the sky.
Gabriel laughs and walks over to Ishkova. He motions for the angels to release him, then slings an arm around his shoulders. “No hard feelings, right?”
Ishkova snarls at him and tries to jerk away. Gabriel grabs his arm and holds him, then plunges the small gold knife into Ishkova’s heart, killing him instantly.
“No!” I scream, sending a stream of power to knock Gabriel away from Ishkova. The angels move toward me, and I strip the glove off my right hand to grasp the torque.
Gabriel laughs and eyes the dagger in his hand. “You would not believe what it cost me to get this knife. Luckily, one of the monsters was willing to bargain for it.” He points it at Lucifer. “You’re next.”
With a roar of outrage, Lucifer charges forward and grabs Gabriel by the neck, swinging him to the ground. He holds him down and punches him repeatedly in the face. His fury is unending.
Gabriel is laughing maniacally. His arm goes up, and he slams the blade into Lucifer’s chest.
Lucifer grunts. With a curled lip, he pulls it out and throws the knife on the ground near me. He raises his fist and brings it down.
Vargas’ warrior yell, along with several others, echoes across the land.
Gabriel’s gaze swings from the knife to Lucifer. “Why won’t you die!?” He screams and shoves Lucifer off him.
I pick up the knife and add it to my belt loop. The five angels from earlier stalk toward Gabriel and Lucifer, who are now circling each other. With a wave of my hand, I hold them in place.
Angry, they order their army to advance against us.
The ground begins to tremble from the stampede of feet running toward each other. The air above fills with fire, ice, and shadows as the dragons release their magic. Angels fly in deadly formations, weaving in and out, brandishing swords, spears, and arrows. The war begins.
ChapterThirty-Nine
EVREN
My power reaches its threshold, and I turn toward the angels and their army. I take a deep breath to release it, and the world stops. It literally freezes. Everyone and everything is motionless. Even the fire in the sky has stopped moving toward its target.
The only ones who aren’t frozen are Gabriel, Lucifer, and me.
Lucifer immediately moves to my side.
A rocket plunges to the ground from above, landing directly in front of us. The Earth trembles from the impact, and a large crack appears between us and the angels. When it stands up and expands its wings, I see it’s an angel unlike any other.
Most angels are beautiful and perfect looking. Elegant. And even though they’re warriors, their fighting retains a civilized edge. A formal dance choreographed by their leader.
This beast of an angel stalks forward. Features that might have originally been perfect and symmetrical have been broken and realigned. A large scar runs across one eye and down his cheek. It’s not alone. There are scars all over his body, as if he wasn’t able to return to Heaven quickly enough for them to heal perfectly.
He’s the epitome of war. He’s also the dark-haired angel the seer showed me.
Cold and menacing, he studies the scene around us, his eyes taking in every detail from the two canisters remaining by the portal entrance, to Ishkova, to the power crackling inside me.
“Can you maintain control of the power while I clean this up?” His voice is guttural, as if he lost his majestic voice long ago.
Gabriel begins to protest. “This isn’t your domain, Michael. Don’t you have a secret mission to run?”
“I’ve been sent to clean up your mess,” he replies with a hard look at Gabriel. “The power isn’t yours to use as you wish. You command his armies and send them against his enemies when he gives the order. Your duty is to protect mankind and promote the greater good, but all the things I’ve seen over the last few weeks tells me you can no longer carry out your duties. I’m stripping you of his powers and reassigning you. But first, we’re going to fix things here.”
Gabriel’s face whitens.
Lucifer shifts nervously beside me.
Michael studies him. “The arrogant angel has turned into a halfway decent warrior and protector. It suits you.”
