I’m afraid.”
She shook her head, exasperated. “Worse than everyone dying, angel? Astonish me.”
“Don’t you get it? Heaven’s supposed to win. It’s all meant to go just as the big guy said it would. But if demons get a hold of His wrath, everything gets twisted. And in the end, hell wins.”
“Riiight. The demon Apocalypse. Bummer. Whose stupid idea was it to leave those vials lying around in the first place, eh?”
“Look, I’m just gonna pretend you’re taking this seriously, okay? Ithiel is the key. I have to know if a demon stole the vial.”
“And how will you find this out, again?”
“I’ve got a few tricks.” He grinned, cheeky and handsome. Like he was just some guy flirting with her in a bar. “I can do magic. Wanna see?”
Morgan swallowed. Flyboy had all the moves, all right. Charming, funny, sexy. And disarming. You wouldn’t believe he had a lying bone in his body. Far too much like her mother’s killer. She wanted to punch his face in. “In a minute. I’ve got a few questions first.”
She expected him to brush her off, shy away from scrutiny. But Luniel just shrugged. “Fire away.”
Okay. Time to concentrate, catch him out.
She frowned,trying to remember what she knew about angels. “You bled when I shot you. Are all angels flesh and blood?”
“Yep. Between you and me? We were kind of a practice run for humans. Bigger, stronger, heal faster, don’t age, that kind of thing. And I guess He decided the wings were too much fun. Toned the whole thing down for mark two.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, you guys got a raw deal.”
“Oh.” She shifted, uncomfortable. “So that’s why you’re so, ah…”
“Tough? Witty? Roguishly handsome?” He winked. “Wait till you see Dashiel.”
“One’s enough, thanks,” she replied dryly. “So gunshots won’t kill you, huh? You’re immortal, then?”
“Nothing’s polished me off yet.” A cocky grin.
“And nothing can?”
“Ithiel’s dead, isn’t he? Demonsteel through the heart tends to do that. Forgive me if I don’t make you a list.”
“Fair enough. You say this blood is the second sign. What’s the first?”
“Supposed to be boils and sores. Rotting skin, the crazies, that kind of thing. Seen any of that recently, Doctor?”
Morgan laughed, uneasy. “The Manhattan virus? You can’t be serious. I’ve been studying that. It’s just a blood-borne pathogen.”
“Is it?” His gaze didn’t falter.
Doubt crept into her guts, and she swallowed. “Another thing. You say that guy’s your brother, yet you don’t seem too cut up about him being dead. Why’s that?”
His gaze darkened, but he didn’t let it slip. “We, uh…don’t see too much of each other these days.”
“Oh. You guys fall out, or something?”
“Heh. Yeah. You could say that. But blood’s blood. We still talk occasionally. Talked. Whatever.”
“But he never mentioned this guardian business?”
“Nope.”
“Doesn’t that seem strange?”
“So he’s a tight-assed son of a bitch. What can I say? I love the guy.”
“Okay.” She thought hard, adding up what he’d said. The explanation requiring the fewest unusual assumptions was themost likely…“You say this demon could have stolen your brother’s bottle thingy—”
“Vial.”
“Yeah. That. Whatever. You say the demon could’ve taken it. But if the blood in the ocean really is one of your signs, it could’ve been one of your guys who did it, right? Not a demon?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“And I’m guessing you angels and demons slaughter each other all the time, right?”
“And twice on Sundays,” he said cheerfully. “Best fun you can have with your pants on.”
“So Ithiel’s murder probably had nothing to do with this. If the blood really is a sign, it’s actually more likely that this is the real thing, isn’t it? Just like in Revelation? God wins?”
“Guess so. If you put it like that.”
She held her breath. “So if it
She shook her head, exasperated. “Worse than everyone dying, angel? Astonish me.”
“Don’t you get it? Heaven’s supposed to win. It’s all meant to go just as the big guy said it would. But if demons get a hold of His wrath, everything gets twisted. And in the end, hell wins.”
“Riiight. The demon Apocalypse. Bummer. Whose stupid idea was it to leave those vials lying around in the first place, eh?”
“Look, I’m just gonna pretend you’re taking this seriously, okay? Ithiel is the key. I have to know if a demon stole the vial.”
“And how will you find this out, again?”
“I’ve got a few tricks.” He grinned, cheeky and handsome. Like he was just some guy flirting with her in a bar. “I can do magic. Wanna see?”
Morgan swallowed. Flyboy had all the moves, all right. Charming, funny, sexy. And disarming. You wouldn’t believe he had a lying bone in his body. Far too much like her mother’s killer. She wanted to punch his face in. “In a minute. I’ve got a few questions first.”
She expected him to brush her off, shy away from scrutiny. But Luniel just shrugged. “Fire away.”
Okay. Time to concentrate, catch him out.
She frowned,trying to remember what she knew about angels. “You bled when I shot you. Are all angels flesh and blood?”
“Yep. Between you and me? We were kind of a practice run for humans. Bigger, stronger, heal faster, don’t age, that kind of thing. And I guess He decided the wings were too much fun. Toned the whole thing down for mark two.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, you guys got a raw deal.”
“Oh.” She shifted, uncomfortable. “So that’s why you’re so, ah…”
“Tough? Witty? Roguishly handsome?” He winked. “Wait till you see Dashiel.”
“One’s enough, thanks,” she replied dryly. “So gunshots won’t kill you, huh? You’re immortal, then?”
“Nothing’s polished me off yet.” A cocky grin.
“And nothing can?”
“Ithiel’s dead, isn’t he? Demonsteel through the heart tends to do that. Forgive me if I don’t make you a list.”
“Fair enough. You say this blood is the second sign. What’s the first?”
“Supposed to be boils and sores. Rotting skin, the crazies, that kind of thing. Seen any of that recently, Doctor?”
Morgan laughed, uneasy. “The Manhattan virus? You can’t be serious. I’ve been studying that. It’s just a blood-borne pathogen.”
“Is it?” His gaze didn’t falter.
Doubt crept into her guts, and she swallowed. “Another thing. You say that guy’s your brother, yet you don’t seem too cut up about him being dead. Why’s that?”
His gaze darkened, but he didn’t let it slip. “We, uh…don’t see too much of each other these days.”
“Oh. You guys fall out, or something?”
“Heh. Yeah. You could say that. But blood’s blood. We still talk occasionally. Talked. Whatever.”
“But he never mentioned this guardian business?”
“Nope.”
“Doesn’t that seem strange?”
“So he’s a tight-assed son of a bitch. What can I say? I love the guy.”
“Okay.” She thought hard, adding up what he’d said. The explanation requiring the fewest unusual assumptions was themost likely…“You say this demon could have stolen your brother’s bottle thingy—”
“Vial.”
“Yeah. That. Whatever. You say the demon could’ve taken it. But if the blood in the ocean really is one of your signs, it could’ve been one of your guys who did it, right? Not a demon?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“And I’m guessing you angels and demons slaughter each other all the time, right?”
“And twice on Sundays,” he said cheerfully. “Best fun you can have with your pants on.”
“So Ithiel’s murder probably had nothing to do with this. If the blood really is a sign, it’s actually more likely that this is the real thing, isn’t it? Just like in Revelation? God wins?”
“Guess so. If you put it like that.”
She held her breath. “So if it
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