Page 75 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
I heave a heavy sigh and throw my arm out in a gesture of reluctant consent. He smiles at my fierce glare as he turns away to retrieve my sword and thesayafrom the snow.
“My name is Aloros. I am from House Esagila, the jewel of the City of Anur,” he tosses over his shoulder, as though he’s feeding scraps to a grateful stray. I roll my eyes but he doesn’t see. “House Esagila is one of the most powerful houses in the Realm of Light. You will behold our ziggurat and weep at its beauty. There is no other temple as grand in all the Realm.”
“Was it your house where a traitor came from to give their wings for Angelwing poison, or did they come from somewhere else?”
Aloros turns and narrows his eyes at me as he tries not to scowl. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that with a dark-souled vampire.”
“So it’s a yes then.”
His scowl deepens and I give him a saccharine smile. The angel strides toward me and sheathes my sword before tossing the strap over his shoulder. “His name is Leander. The last he was seen was a year ago, in Jerusalem.”
“Let me guess. He was with the witch Mila Karras. She was working with Bobby Sarno and his father to bring the pieces together for the hybrid, wasn’t she.”
Aloros gives a grim nod as he comes to a halt in front of me. His frown softens as his eyes flow down my bleeding arm and my ankle. He offers me a hand but I look around him to where Cassian’s lifeless body lies in the snow.
“I need to get a message to my companions,” I say with a stinging knot in my throat. Aloros follows my gaze and looks back to me, his hand still extended for me to take.
“We can do so later if you wish. The demon was likely not alone. We need to go now.”
I keep my eyes locked to Cassian, even when I nod and take the angel’s hand. He sweeps me from my feet and clutches me to his chest as his wings beat, stirring the snow across our silent battlefield in crystalline swirls. And still I look at Cassian, until we fly over the forest and the tops of the pines obstruct our view.
“He died with honor. A true soldier,” Aloros says as we glide through the cold air that bites at my skin. I don’t say anything in reply, because it doesn’t feel like enough.
We head southeast, and it’s only a short distance before we’re sweeping low to the ground. A slab of gray and white stone reaches for the sky, the yawning black mouth of a cave beckoning to us in silent scream. I know this cave. Pestera Liliecilor.
“Cave of the Bats? Seriously?” I say as he sets us down close to the cavern entrance.
“Yes. We were fortunate that a portal was so close to where you crashed. Divine blessings, do you not agree?”
A sinking sense of dread settles into my stomach as the angel carries me into the pit of darkness. “Considering how the fates have been fucking with my life lately? No. I don’t.”
Aloros is undaunted as he strides into the shadows. His skin glows with warm light, illuminating our path. “Have faith, vampire.”
We fall into silence as Aloros sets me on my good foot. We stand in the chamber, the damp smell of cold rock and moist earth and guano stinging my nose. Bats hibernate among the rock above us, some stirring and squeaking with the intrusion of light.
“If I get rabies from these fucking sky mice, I will cut you,” I say, glaring up at the angel. “Likewise if your kind gives me angel rabies. You’re the first person I’ll bite when I’m foaming at the mouth.”
Aloros looks down at me with a combination of confusion and disgust. “You are an odd creature,” he says.
I sigh with dismay. Why is it that the Reaper is the only one aside from Ediye to really get me? “Whatever,anunnaki. Let’s get on with it so I can commence weeping at your ziggurat.”
The angel’s gaze lingers on me for a moment longer before he starts to chant.
“Sagzu galam gen galu nupade,” Aloros says, spreading his arms wide to embrace the darkness.Thy heart is profound and undiscovered.His voice resonates through the chamber of the cave. Bats chatter around us. “Anshar. ati, me peta babka.”
Foremost of the heavens. Gatekeeper, open your gate for me.
Blue glyphs flare to life on the cavern walls surrounding us, warming the light gray stone. Aloros’ deadly wings shimmer as though catching starlight. A column of light appears before us and the angel sweeps me up in his arms once more.
“This is demeaning,” I grumble as I hook my good arm behind his neck.
“I agree,” he says. “Carrying a dark-souled creature into the City of Anur is… distasteful.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
Aloros narrows his eyes without even a hint of teasing amusement and I sigh as we step into the light.
Sparks rain down on us as we stand in the column that pulses its energy like a heartbeat. Pressure builds in my head until I feel like all the light is collecting in my head, until the world stops spinning through the universe. Every spark of light that surrounds us stops, suspended in time. And then it bursts and all falls away, and we’re standing in the Realm of Light.
