Page 27 of Darkest Need

I nodded. “Yes. Him.” I didn’t point at the dark angel; I just watched him walk until he finally stilled amid the chaos of the party. Slowly, he turned his head and made eye contact with us, freezing us both in place.

“He’s coming.” I gulped. “He’s going to do it again.”

It felt like an eternity until he stood in front of us and then went to his knees, still towering over our small bodies. “Beautiful.” He pulled back his hood. “I never knew you would both turn out so perfect being reborn this way. But it looks…” He tilted my head, then Tarek’s. “It looks like the perfect combination of angelic blood and that of the firsts…”

His white eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “Though we can’t always plan for some things. Can we, Lilith?” He stopped examining us and turned to Tarek. “And others are better than expected. My, my, the age you have in your blood. The wisdom you have in your mind. They’d be smart to keep you hidden from us, for I would feed from you for centuries.”

He laughed. “If I debased myself enough to do so. But still, I’m not fully Fallen yet. I just want you to understand that the Creator doesn’t care. They never did… The stars will fall from the sky because they choose to save immortals and humanity. They choose to fall because that is their purpose given by the Creator. Want to guess yours?”

I started shaking so hard my teeth chattered. Tarek pulled me closer against him.

It’s like I’m inside my small body again, like I’m back in that moment when I thought all would be lost.

“You.” He pointed at me. “Were here in the beginning. You hold the soul of Lilith, the first before Eve—or Eva as some say. And you…” He turned his head to the side. “Are the son of Enoch. Some might say you house one of the only human souls in eternity that never died. Makes you wonder how I was able to do it.”

He leaned in and whispered, “Because, dear child, I was the angel who killed him. I ripped him to shreds in Heaven and then fled, taking that tiny blue remnant of a soul with me and then gifting it to you. You should say thank you.”

“You’re bad,” Tarek said boldly. “And you will be punished.”

Danu walked up behind the angel and laughed. “Playing with children, Phanuel, when you could be playing with me? A goddess?”

Phanuel stood to his full height, his jet-black hair falling down his back. “It’s good that we both like games. Shall we start a new one?”

Danu clapped her hands. “Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been so bored.”

Her white hair bounced around her waist as she clung to Phanuel and wrapped her arms around him, crushing his black tunic.

“A bet, then.” Phanuel’s grin was evil. “I’m going to give them my blood. I’ll gift her to you as punishment for what she possesses and what caused part of the Fall and cursed us all… And I’ll give him a living Hell. What he thinks is his blessing will become his curse and what will end up killing him. The gift he has, the blood he carries, they will be his end. And she will be the one to bring it. After all, she holds the apple in her soul. The minute you’re powerful enough to extract it…”

He turned to Danu. “You’ll be able to control her, only allow her to exist for a certain period of time every year. The same with the rest of the goddesses. I wonder who will die first. Who will survive? So, yes, let’s take some bets. Will she”—he pointed at me—“last because of her origin? Or will she constantly create Discord? Ah!” He snapped his fingers. “What an incredible future you will have.”

He turned to Tarek. “And you, my child. What an incredible end.”

Danu laughed. “We have our own little Adam and Eve. The Fall will be massive, the blood powerful.”

“Why else would I use children and bring down the souls from the Creator? I want power. But what I really want…” He looked around. “Is to be entertained before I die. I can’t wait to—”

A sword suddenly went through his chest, dripping golden blood onto the ground in slow, purposeful drops. Danu moved around and licked the tip of the blade, then moved again and thrust it deeper from behind. “You may be a nearly Fallen Angel, but you were so easy to manipulate, screw, and feed lie after lie. Do you want to know why I caught you unawares?”

His head lolled as she leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Because you wanted. And whenever we want, we lust and tend to forget everything around us. Truly, though. Thank you for this delicious blood. You were one of the best in Heaven before you believed my lies. Now, I’ll send you to Hell and use every drop of your blood.” She turned to Tarek. “On him.”

A sudden explosion happened in the distance. There was so much ash and smoke. Within seconds, I saw Tarek lying on the ground, gold blood pooling in his mouth.

I rushed over and held him up, but it was too late.

He’d already swallowed.

He had been immortal to begin with. Now? Now, he was…other.

Now he’s an abomination with powers only the Heavens can understand. Now, he will forever be in isolation, lost but not understanding why, even with power and a family. He will never love.

Chapter Twelve

Cassius

Ethan slams his hand against the table, nearly slicing it in half. “We have to do something.”

“No,” Horus answers before I can. “Trust me, I want to save Tarek, too, but even if we knew where they were taken, we can’t force our will on them—”

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