Page 131 of Crimson Promises
“I wouldn’t worry about whatever details they claim are revolutionary in the book. Afraid Aurora will learn some unsettling things about you?” he challenged.
“No,” I snapped. That barb hit a little too close to home.
“As you wish, I think the answers to the questions you have posed are self-evident, but I will waste precious moments of my time explaining everything. You might as well take a seat.” He gestured to a pointed rock behind me with only two inches of flat space.
“There’s no room to sit on that.”
“Suit yourself. You can continue to stand. Neither makes a difference to me.”
“What else is new,” I muttered under my breath.
“The attacks, as you so suavely pointed out, have escalated, occurring at the points around the Arch Cape campus where Aurora frequents. So far, Lucifer’s attempts to obtain Aurora have failed. He is an angel well-versed in strategy. When the ones he had been using failed, it doesn’t take a large amount of wit,” he narrowed his eyes at me with the gesture. “To disconcert that using the book was simply another technique to try and reach Aurora, utilizing a not so overt method.”
My limbs still throbbed from the workout I had done with Connor. I deeply regretted asking for this explanation, even more than I regretted sitting on the pointy stone that would surely break the skin of my behind.
“I’m surprised you don’t know the answer to your second question. All angels should have been taught this: the most obvious telltale sign of an object corrupted by demonic abilities is the object will emit a faint smell of ash. The scent is only detectable from those who wield magic. Since Aurora is none of those things, she wouldn’t have sensed anything off with that book.”
I met his glare. We both knew Aurora could wield magic. He was daring me to challenge him, and that wasn’t something I was ready to do. My knowledge of her powers and her own acknowledgment of her abilities was something better kept between us. While Michael knew about them, perhaps even before her first breath, it was a secret he had pointedly kept to himself.
“As an Ordinary, you should know, Michael, that we were segregated from those lessons. Minimal magic and my designated status made us unworthy of that knowledge.”
His hand dropped to his sides. “That shouldn’t be happening.”
“That’s nothing. You’re an archangel. You help uphold the system. Do you really think it was a coincidence that so many Ordinaries joined Lucifer’s forces? He offered so many a chance to live rather than merely existing.”
Michael rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyelids
Good, I hope I was giving him a headache. While I may have been discarded from Heaven like a piece of garbage, there were still others there who were suffering and needed change. Michael was one of the rare beings that could start to ignite that change.
“Some things need to burn to the ground before being rebuilt,” I crooned. Azrael’s sneer echoed in my eardrums. Nothing but the extinction of the archangels would rid Heaven of that parasite.
“Seems that motto hasn’t served you well so far. Maybe organic change needs to start small.”
“Small?” I scoffed. “People, God’s masses, have been suffering for years with no one to save or intervene on their behalf.” I threw my hands up in the air, swiping a hand through my hair. “Never mind, there’s no point. I’m not here to debate politics with you. Anyways, I appreciate the kidnapping, but I really should get back to guarding Aurora. I’m sure you would agree. If you can just float me and my bike gently back down, that would be appreciated.”
In a deathly quiet voice, Michael said, “Caelum, don’t forget it is imperative to find the necklace and ensure Aurora remains far outside the reach of Lucifer’s clutches. Or else you will be the one that pays the price.”
“Yeah, yeah. If I fail, I will die, paired with more ominous and veiled threats. It’s been a slice, Michael, but like you expressed, I’ve wasted enough of your precious time,” I said with more venom than I had intended, but still, his moods tonight had been mercurial. One minute, he seemed concerned. The next, he poked at all the vulnerable places I always worked so hard to keep hidden.
I looked around at the barren meeting place I had been dragged to. I bookmarked it for the future. While I was freezing my balls off up here, it was secluded, and over the corner of Michael’s shoulder, I noted a black hole that looked like it burrowed into the mountains.
Before I could ask him exactly when he wanted me to connect with him next, the snap of his fingers echoed in my eardrums and my bike crumpled to the floor.
* * *
I crept into a dark and silent apartment. That designer did well with the blackout curtains. The sheets were twisted around Aurora, exposing one of her long legs. She was facing the window, hair splayed like a dark halo around her. Her hands were pressed together and tucked under her chin as if she was in prayer. The air was musty and smelled like sex.I’ll crack a window when she’s awake.
As much as I wanted to crawl into bed and collapse beside her, I needed to wash the sweat, grime, and dust off my body. I cranked the shower until the room was filled with a thick haze, stepped inside, and braced both my arms against the tiled walls. I stared as the current carried the dirty water down the drain. Swirled around and around.
My nails traced the grout as I couldn’t help replaying Michael’s words: “Afraid Aurora will learn some unsettling things about you?”
I was terrified of her learning the truth.
She had already forgiven me once. She wouldn’t again.
As much as I wanted to tell Aurora everything, I couldn’t. The ghosts of the people I had lost depended on me.
Better for her to hate me and become the monster she would assume I was. It was safer, easier.
