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Authors: L. A. Banks
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didn’t possess. Fury and frustration united within him as he stared at how the sun still glinted against unstained sections of the crystal coffin. The Light still had the advantage, but not for long.
For now, he would call up Appollyon, the destroyer, who’d ruthlessly been slain by Azrael with a battle-ax in his back, right between the wings. Then there was Bune, whose fighting form was the three-headed dragon. Pure treachery had lured Bune into an explosive trap. Just asLahash, his dark angel brother of judgment day, had been tricked into an aerial battle over the Delaware River and subsequently broiled to death in holy water.
Asmodeus rubbed the side of his scarred face, remembering how Azrael had emerged from the river wet and covered with holy water, so that when they’d lunged at each other and connected, the vile substance had burned like battery acid. Then there was that bastard Isda, who’d beheaded the lovely Onoskelis, protectress of perversion, just as Azrael had beheaded Malpas, the raven. Then to add insult to injury, Azrael’s Remnant bitch had blown off Pharzup’s face.
“Calm yourself or you will not be able to perform the incantation even to raise the five dark warriors we lost,” Rahab murmured into Asmodeus’s ear as she appeared behind him from within a sand dervish.
“You have caught me in a very violent mood, Rahab. Do not toy with me.”
She leaned in and kissed the side of his neck and massaged his massive shoulders, her long, blue-black hair billowing around them both in the rough desert wind. “My name means ‘violence,’ remember, my love. And as you know, I rarely toy with anything—that is Onoskelis’s province, not mine.”
He turned around and kissed her savagely.
“Tell me, when you pull off this coup, what do you want beside power?”
Asmodeus smiled at her. “I want to be second-in-command to the Dark Lord with all the accoutrements of that office. It beats where I had been, in a Warrior angel regime, undistinguished. Never again.”
“Is that all you want?” she murmured, her eyes beginning to narrow.
“No. It is the first thing, so that I can have everything else.”
“And you’ve been promised such a title?”
His smile broadened. “I have been having private negotiations that have borne fruit. Failure is not an option.”
This time when he kissed her hard, he drew blood. She wiped her mouth sensually with the back of her hand.
“Then by all means,” Rahab said with a fanged smile, “I should get to work.”
Celeste woke up with a quiet gasp that made several adjacent passengers stir. But just as quickly, a protective arm tightened around her.
“What’s the matter?”
Slightly disoriented, she wiped her eyes and looked up at Azrael. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Felt trapped. I can’t explain it. Like I was closed in and I could still see light around me, but there were dark streaks and dust and grime, like on a really dirty windshield.”
Sitting forward a bit, she lifted her ponytail and drew down the airline blanket, then suddenly shrugged out of Azrael’s hold. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I feel so hot all of a sudden.”
He felt her head and then the side of her neck. “You’re burning up, Celeste.”
He was out of his seat in a shot, heading for the back of the plane. She was too weak to move and simply slumped against the window. When he returned, he sat half in theseat, facing her and offering her a bottle of water. After several sips she slumped back against her seat and sighed.
“Tell me I’m not coming down with the flu or something crazy before
this
trip,” she said.
“No,” he said in a concerned tone. “I don’t think it’s the flu.”
Chapter 4
C eleste closed her eyes and took in slow breaths through her nose to stave off a sudden bout of nausea as the plane began its rapid descent to Cairo International. The pilot’s announcement that the Great Pyramids at Giza could be seen from
For now, he would call up Appollyon, the destroyer, who’d ruthlessly been slain by Azrael with a battle-ax in his back, right between the wings. Then there was Bune, whose fighting form was the three-headed dragon. Pure treachery had lured Bune into an explosive trap. Just asLahash, his dark angel brother of judgment day, had been tricked into an aerial battle over the Delaware River and subsequently broiled to death in holy water.
Asmodeus rubbed the side of his scarred face, remembering how Azrael had emerged from the river wet and covered with holy water, so that when they’d lunged at each other and connected, the vile substance had burned like battery acid. Then there was that bastard Isda, who’d beheaded the lovely Onoskelis, protectress of perversion, just as Azrael had beheaded Malpas, the raven. Then to add insult to injury, Azrael’s Remnant bitch had blown off Pharzup’s face.
“Calm yourself or you will not be able to perform the incantation even to raise the five dark warriors we lost,” Rahab murmured into Asmodeus’s ear as she appeared behind him from within a sand dervish.
“You have caught me in a very violent mood, Rahab. Do not toy with me.”
She leaned in and kissed the side of his neck and massaged his massive shoulders, her long, blue-black hair billowing around them both in the rough desert wind. “My name means ‘violence,’ remember, my love. And as you know, I rarely toy with anything—that is Onoskelis’s province, not mine.”
He turned around and kissed her savagely.
“Tell me, when you pull off this coup, what do you want beside power?”
Asmodeus smiled at her. “I want to be second-in-command to the Dark Lord with all the accoutrements of that office. It beats where I had been, in a Warrior angel regime, undistinguished. Never again.”
“Is that all you want?” she murmured, her eyes beginning to narrow.
“No. It is the first thing, so that I can have everything else.”
“And you’ve been promised such a title?”
His smile broadened. “I have been having private negotiations that have borne fruit. Failure is not an option.”
This time when he kissed her hard, he drew blood. She wiped her mouth sensually with the back of her hand.
“Then by all means,” Rahab said with a fanged smile, “I should get to work.”
Celeste woke up with a quiet gasp that made several adjacent passengers stir. But just as quickly, a protective arm tightened around her.
“What’s the matter?”
Slightly disoriented, she wiped her eyes and looked up at Azrael. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Felt trapped. I can’t explain it. Like I was closed in and I could still see light around me, but there were dark streaks and dust and grime, like on a really dirty windshield.”
Sitting forward a bit, she lifted her ponytail and drew down the airline blanket, then suddenly shrugged out of Azrael’s hold. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I feel so hot all of a sudden.”
He felt her head and then the side of her neck. “You’re burning up, Celeste.”
He was out of his seat in a shot, heading for the back of the plane. She was too weak to move and simply slumped against the window. When he returned, he sat half in theseat, facing her and offering her a bottle of water. After several sips she slumped back against her seat and sighed.
“Tell me I’m not coming down with the flu or something crazy before
this
trip,” she said.
“No,” he said in a concerned tone. “I don’t think it’s the flu.”
Chapter 4
C eleste closed her eyes and took in slow breaths through her nose to stave off a sudden bout of nausea as the plane began its rapid descent to Cairo International. The pilot’s announcement that the Great Pyramids at Giza could be seen from
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