Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2)(89)

Uriel didn’t look particularly concerned about the fire or the tight grip that Sam had on him. But, what was new? Uriel was never concerned. That’s why he was good at his job.

And those punishment angels who weren’t so good—they wound up like Rogziel.

“Sometimes angels walk on earth. Mistakes are made. They have to be . . . called home.” Uriel inclined his head toward Sam. “Thank you for taking care of Rogziel. He’d become a nuisance.”

What the f*ck? “Take care of your own garbage next time.”

“That’s not the way it works.”

“How do you know?” Sam fired back. “Have you ever actually asked?”

Uriel’s dark eyes narrowed. “Rogziel received his punishment.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you!” Sam dropped his hold on the angel. “What? Did you want me to do your dirty work for you? And here I thought you enjoyed the punishment.”

He’d hope the words would crack Uriel’s icy fa?ade. They didn’t work. Because that wasn’t a fa?ade. It was just Uriel.

“You know the rules,” Uriel said. “No angel can kill another. Not without earning damnation.” He brushed off his T-shirt. “We didn’t just want Rogziel to suffer, we wanted him destroyed.”

And so he had been. “And the Fallen who got taken out along the way?”

“A Fallen was the only one who had a chance of fighting him.”

Ah, right. Since they’d fallen and lost their wings, they weren’t exactly angelic any longer so that whole rule about one angel not killing another wasn’t technically in play. Angels hadn’t just learned to twist the truth over the centuries. They’d learned to twist the entire world.

“Unfortunately,” Uriel said with a sigh, “the first few Fallen he found weren’t strong enough for the job.”

“Very unfortunate,” Az echoed, but there was emotion in his voice. Now that the guy was on earth, he was sure picking up the human ways fast.

I like him better this way. Az wasn’t quite as much of an *.

“But the job is done now.” Uriel leveled his stare back at Sam. “It’s time for you to move on.”

No. “I want to see Seline.”

Uriel’s brow furrowed. “And I do what you want because. . . ?”

“Because if you don’t, I will light this whole damn town on fire.” He smiled, showing lots of teeth. “I don’t have anything to lose. I’ll burn, I’ll fight,” and he pulled out the claw that was still stained with an angel’s blood, “and I’ll kill.”

Uriel’s gaze dropped to the weapon. “You’re actually threatening me?” Now there was emotion in his voice and on his face. Shock.

“I killed one angel.” Sam shrugged, then yanked out the bottle he’d gotten from Mateo. Smart-ass witch. The guy had no doubt seen this coming. No wonder he’d made sure Sam had a good stock on that holding powder. The bottle exploded, and the white smoke sprang up around Uriel, trapping him just as it had trapped Rogziel. “How much harder can it be to take out another?”

Uriel’s jaw dropped. He slammed his hands against the invisible wall that bound him in place.

“I don’t think he saw that coming,” Az murmured.

“Angels . . .” Sam shook his head. “Sometimes, they’re just too damn cocky. Just because they’re high up on the food chain, it doesn’t mean they can’t still get eaten.”

Uriel screamed, no, he roared, and his wings slammed into his crystal-clear prison.

“When you calm down . . .” The area was deserted now. Smart Other had fled. “We’ll talk, and then you’ll bring me Seline.” Sam shrugged. “Or I’ll cut off your wings.”





Seline was walking through a cloud of—well, a cloud. Everything was beautiful. Gorgeous. But . . . there were only other angels around, and they weren’t exactly chatty.

No humans. No shifters. No charmers. Delia had told her that when those beings passed, they went “far beyond the gates.” Yeah, there’d been a bit of yearning in Delia’s words. So when most folks died, they got some sparkly, happily-ever-after paradise. But angels had . . .

“You have to come with me!”

Seline spun around. Okay, wow, Delia’s wings were all ruffled. “What’s wrong?”

“Sammael.”

Her heart slammed into her chest. “Has something happened to him?”

Delia glanced around, and the woman looked worried. Not good. Delia didn’t worry. “If you don’t stop him, something exceedingly bad will happen.”

“Then why are we standing here?” Seline yelled as her own feathers ruffled. “Get me to—”

Delia grabbed her hand and yanked her right off the cloud. They fell fast and hard toward earth. The clouds whipped around them, and Seline could just make out a sea of blue and the thick darkness of land and— “Use your wings!”

Oh, crap, right. Seline started flapping.

Delia didn’t let go of her hand. The woman flew forward, not down, and Seline struggled to keep up with her.

The air was cold on her face. It felt like raindrops were stinging her skin. Faster, faster, they went. Their surroundings blurred. She lost track of time.