Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“They made an exception for you, since it is essential to prevent the birth of the Antichrist.”
“That would imply that you knew about the prophecy before you came here. You didn’t learn of it from the clerics?”
He pressed his lips shut, his eyes flickering.
A grin tugged at her mouth. “Ah, you weren’t aware of it until you came to them.” Something he couldn’t lie about, because the clerics would know. “If you had no knowledge of it, well, God had no reason to send you to these people, did he?”
“He did not go into the specifics of my mission, true,” he clipped. “But he was clear that the Antichrist might soon walk this earth if I did not aid the clerics.”
“Oh, I see. Explain one thing to me, then.” She paused. “How is it that a supposed angel, who’d know and speak the old languages, wasn’t able to tell that they’d mistranslated the prophecy?”
His brows flicked together, a mix of confusion, doubt, and interest rippling across his face. He wanted to hear what the prophecy might say, but he wasn’t sure if he should believe her.
Right then, Luka’s mind touched hers. Naomi, we’re . . . Need . . . finding . . . flames.
Uh, yeah, she wasn’t too sure what he was saying. Not knowing how much of this would make sense to him, she replied, Don’t worry about me, Luka, I’m just dandy. I got this, trust me on that. She paused. I’ll be home soon.
Kushiel inched up his chin, sweat now dotting his forehead. “Just like Lucifer himself, you are a great pretender. Full of lies. No wonder he chose you.”
“What-the-fuck-ever, dude. You and me both know that you’re no angel. You’re not here on some divine mission. You’ve been manipulating these clerics since the moment you showed up on their doorstep. I know what the prophecy really states. I know what the Elioud predicted all those years ago. And if you knew, you would never have come for me.”
“Cease trying to plant seeds of doubt in our minds—it will do you no good. I wouldn’t bother begging, bargaining, or attempting to flee either. You could scream, but no one aside for us would hear you,” he taunted.
“Why would I scream? You’re no real threat to me. You never were.”
“You think if you keep us all chatting it will give someone time to save you?”
Nope, she’d just wanted to keep him occupied while she psychically healed . . . and she’d been successful.
He chuckled, as though she were pathetic. “Nobody is coming for you. Even if they did come to this very area, they would never find the monastery. So you see, you are going nowhere. I have you now. Your death is guaranteed.”
It was almost cute that he truly believed that. “You should have killed me when you had the chance,” she said as the molten force inside her bubbled and snapped. “It was a mistake on your part to let me live, just as it was a mistake to assume that I’d need rescuing. Bringing me here achieved one thing only—it allowed me to get to you.”
She let her inner power rush out of her system. Red-violet flames roared to life around her body, incinerating the magick ropes. As Kushiel stumbled back, shying away from the brightness of the fire, her demon rose to the surface.
Luka ground his teeth, flexing his fingers. “I see nothing.” The GPS signal had led them here, to a desert on the outskirts of Vegas—an endless sandy landscape with rocks, cacti, shrubs, thick grass, and stunted trees.
It was an area that he’d searched once before, having identified it as a possible spot for the monastery. Back then, he’d found nothing.
Of course, he’d taken into account that the building could be somehow concealed, but there would be some signs of human life out here. Footprints. Vehicles. Tire tracks. Litter.
None of those things could be seen. Not during his previous search, and not now.
There were no sounds of human life either. A thick silence had fallen, broken only by the occasional rattle of a bush or flutter of wings.
He scanned his surroundings again—left, right, down, even up. The sun was beginning to set in the wide-open sky, turning a deep gold ringed with red. The clouds had taken on a pink/orange hue that held faint dashes of purple. Shadows were beginning to creep over the landscape, bringing with them a slight chill.
At least they wouldn’t all be baking in the daytime heat while they searched.
“She’s somewhere around here,” maintained Tobe, his phone in hand. “She has to be.”
“Unless the clerics removed her shoes and tossed them here,” said Nikandr. “Though I see no reason why they’d feel it necessary to do that.”
Luka had brought along the twins, but not Daniil—he’d had the teleporter focus on moving Konstantin and Iain’s bodies. Only Nikandr and Mikhail knew of Naomi’s angelic blood, and Luka wanted it to stay that way. If Tobe’s prediction was correct, her entity would do nothing to hide its true nature when dealing with the monkhood.