Page 72 of Revelations

He snapped his fingers. Two grisly-looking creatures came out of the shadows to drag Thomas away. She had never seen anything like them. Hunched, charred skin the color of burned steak—and smelling just as bad – with clawed hands and feet and no distinct facial features aside from a hawk-billed nose.

“You so much as clip a hair on his head and I’ll end you, I swear it!” What exactly she could do to hurt an archangel, she had no idea, but she would definitely think of something.

“All right, so feisty! That is one of your many traits I adore!” His smug expression infuriated her more.

Glaring at the pompous ass fallen angel, she inwardly dared him to test her resolve. He, in turn, smiled broadly, taunting her.

“Come on, I am waiting,” he stated, as if he had a big secret and was dying to share it.

“Waiting on what? Someone forget to bring your complimentary cup of water and bag of peanuts before your flight here?”

Her voice echoed throughout the caverns, growing fainter with each iteration.Just how far down do these caves go?

“No. I am waiting on you to ask wherehereis. Are you not the least bit curious?” Obviously, he wanted to brag about how far he’d traveled so fast.

Quite frankly, she was a bit curious and envious. Her job would certainly be easier if guardians were able to travel at warp-speed.

Reluctantly, she asked, “All right, I’ll bite. Where are we?”

With a gleeful smile, Olivier blustered. “Tibet! We traveled almost eight thousand miles in less than eight seconds!” His neon eyes blazed with smugness.

Was he expecting applause or a racing trophy overflowing with champagne?

“Bravo for you. I’ll notify Guinness or whoever documents all those pesky world records. Now can we get down to business?” Irritation tinged every syllable. “What the hell do you want from me?”

Frowning, Olivier readjusted his red power tie, his eyes narrowed in obvious agitation. “Fine. All business, no play. I must say, you guardian types are rather boring.”

She let the slight to herself and her kinsmen slide. It wasn’t worth getting into a tit-for-tat debate with him.

Tapping her foot against the rock floor, Greylyn said, “Well, I’m waiting.”

“Your friend’s question intrigues me. It has been a subject of contemplation for me since that nasty business in Baltimore. Why did Kael, my personal dark guardian extraordinaire, save that mortal’s life?” His raised eyebrows indicated that he had an idea. He just wanted her confirmation.

“Seriously? That’s why you brought us all the way to Tibet? Sorry, I don’t have an answer for you. Perhaps you should ask the savior himself.”

Although she knew that it was dangerous to do so, she turned her back on the archangel to survey her surroundings. There had to be a way out of there. They were only eight thousand miles from home!

“I did ask. The damn devil lied to me, I know it.”

Greylyn stopped dead in her tracks.

“Shortly after it happened, I snatched him up and we had anice long talkabout it in this exact spot.”

Olivier’s response surprised her enough that she swiveled back around to stare at him, wide-eyed.

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense…what did he say? Was he not content that only one should die, so he delivered you many more as payment for the one?” Sofia’s and the others’ deaths still hit her hard, but she understood that if she had been given a choice, she would have saved Thomas, too. A part of her had already forgiven Kael for that.

Throwing his head back so that his platinum hair cascaded in waves down his back to his butt, Olivier’s laugh echoed through the caverns. “No, nothing so endearing as that. And do give the boy a break…he was unaware of the price for his foolishness. However, I also do not think he would have changed course if he had known.”

Greylyn was anxious to know Olivier’s hypothesis. Through clenched jaws, she seethed, “So, what did your little minion have to say for himself?”

“He expected me to believe he saved Thomas because you cannot get to where I need you to go without the erudite professor; something along the lines of his brains, your brawn. Otherwise, he doubts you can pull this whole thing off.” After a pregnant pause, he continued in a condescending tone, “So, is he correct? Are you so feeble-minded that you need a human’s help? Are you such a disgraceful disappointment for not only a guardian angel, but especially for a Nephilim, that you must rely on someone else to save your ass?”

Surprised, and a bit insulted, Greylyn mulled it over for a moment. So, Kael thought her too dim to unravel the prophecy on her own. Normally, she would have argued, more to save her own ego than anything. However, she had learned more about her past since letting Thomas in on the secret than she had found out the last three months. Maybe Kael wasn’t exactly wrong.

Shrugging her shoulders, she absentmindedly bit her lower lip as she continued to process the accusation. Was she too dumb to figure this out by herself?

“I guess the boy has a point then,” Olivier teased, while picking out invisible dirt from underneath his perfectly manicured nails. “But I am still not convinced.”

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