Page 75 of Wings of Torment
I release a breath and notice Raphael do the same, but our reprieve doesn’t last long. A rustling comes from the grass behind us, the sound almost musical, and if I wasn’t almost shitting my pants with fear of it being a demon, I might have enjoyed the sound.
Raphael and I are preparing for an attack when a figure comes into view.
I want to shout in relief, but I don’t. I don’t even move, just let Theo come to me, with Zeke following close behind.
Wrapping my arms around him feels like heaven, and I can’t stop a tear from escaping me as I grab his face and haul him in for a kiss. It’s messy and inappropriate, given our current situation, but fuck, I’m just glad he’s alright.
I turn to Zeke then, hugging him as well while whispering, “Thank you for bringing him back to us.” I have every intention of pulling away, but some ethereal force pushes me forward to place a kiss on the edge of his lips. It’s nothing like the one I just gave Theo or the ones Zeke and I have shared before, but for now, it’s enough.
We walk on in silence, with Theo and me holding hands. It’s foolish really, but I’m not quite ready to let go of him yet. If we keep going down this path, encounters like these might become a regular thing. We have to find a way to help keep Theo grounded in those moments.
When we feel there’s enough distance between us and the barn, we stop walking. So much information has been shared over the last few hours and it feels like I haven’t had a single second to process it all.
“I should have asked this before, but is anyone hurt?” Zeke asks, looking between the three of us.
We all shake our heads, feeling lucky that the demons didn’t investigate too thoroughly. Were they fools, or did they simply not care? Or maybe they had orders from whoever was in charge not to pursue anyone that stumbled upon their operation. We’ll never truly know.
“Please tell me we’re all on the same page here, and that Roderick guy set you up,” Raphael says, looking pissed off. It’s like he stole the words directly from my mind because I’ve been cursing Roderick since being in that barn.
“Oh, he set us up alright,” Zeke replies, shrugging. “He likely assumed we’d die there and it would clear up one more of his problems. Unfortunately for him, we survived and have even more information than we did before.”
I nod, glad at least that we’re leaving that interaction withsomething. “Do we really believe that angels and demons are working together, though? With everything we’ve been taught, the idea seems a little far-fetched.”
Demons are portrayed as evil creatures, ones we should avoid at all costs. So what would possess an angel to seek them out or, better yet, what would possess a demon to agree to any sort of deal with their sworn enemy? What would either side gain?
“Far-fetched or not, it kind of makes sense with everything that’s happened lately,” Theo adds.
Zeke nods once before elaborating. “Take the armory, for example. There’s no way demons would have known anything about the Guild schedule or their secret buildings. Most of that information is highly classified, which means even if they were watching us, the likelihood of them stumbling upon it is pretty slim. However, if they had someone on the inside, demons could take every weapon we have, including our sun blades, and really put us at their mercy.”
Fuck. They have a point. But it still doesn’t make sense. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why arm demons not only with theweapon that can kill us, but also with the only thing we have that can destroy them? It’s suicidal. Plus, from the conversation we just overheard, apparently whoever’s working with the demons wants access tomoreof those angel blades? It doesn’t add up.”
“There must be something we’re missing. Do we think the powerful creature they spoke of was referring to her?” Theo asks the question that’s been racing through my mind since I heard them talking.
Raphael runs a hand through his blond hair. “I can’t remember another recent instance where an angel killed a bunch of demons, so I’m thinking yes.”
“Shit. Nice to know they haven’t figured out anything definitive, I guess,” I say, not really finding anythingniceabout any of this.
Zeke looks at me, then the others. “We’ll just have to be more careful in case they start looking a little harder.”
“We might have left that place with more information, but it feels like we’re back to square one.” Raphael takes out his slate, looks through the notifications and then puts it away. “Dina is asking for an update. Should I tell her we’re coming back to campus?”
“Not yet. It doesn’t feel right to just give up yet.” I run through the options in my mind, but none of them are good. We’re just students, for fuck’s sake. And the information we have seems far more serious than we’re capable of handling. “There has to be someone we can talk to about this. Someone who can do more than we can. Is there anyone you trust at the Guild?”
“Azrael and my dad would never get involved in something like this, but with the way Azrael is withholding information, I’m hesitant to bring this to him. We’rethisclose to figuring it out, and I’m done being kept in the dark. Besides, if we ever do have to bring it to the Guild, I want something more concrete than ‘Hey, there’s this angel who’s working for this guy who’s teamedup with angels. Oh, and he’s probably locked up or even dead now, so good luck.’”
“You have a point. So what do we know?” Theo asks, taking out his slate and stylus to take notes. Fuck, even in this situation, he’s adorable.
I think about it for a moment before stating the obvious. “We know there’s a group of angels working with demons and collecting angel blades.”
“And we know that Roderick’s involved, but he reports to someone who I’d bet was thebossin the barn with us,” Zeke adds, sparking my memory.
“That’s right! He said his boss gave him the blade. I bet losing it is what got him in trouble. Serves him right for sending us to our deaths,” I say, though I don’t exactly mean it. I might hate the guy, but did I wish for him to be tortured and killed? Fuck. Maybe I do.
“Well, there’s a way we can find out.”
I’m lost in thought, so it takes me a moment before I realize what Zeke just said. Before I can ask him to elaborate, Raphael beats me to it.
“What do you mean?”
