Steel

Chapter 42

We soared high above New York City, and I could hear the commotion below, even through the thick layer of clouds that separated us and the battlefield. Thanatiel had insisted we remain covered in the overcast sky until we reached Lucifer's location, that alerting him to our presence would only solidify Heaven's loss. Even now, I wasn't entirely sure Thanatiel was telling the truth about wanting to help us. I knew I was blindly putting my faith in her, but I felt like I had no other choice. Finding Lucifer on our own could take hours, even days. We were simply out of time. I could feel Grey's power waning through the bond, like a tug on my chest as if to ask for some of mine. I knew he wouldn't consciously ask for that, given what I was heading into, but it didn't make shutting him out any easier. The fact that, subconsciously, he needed it, was enough to make my stomach churn with unease.

I glanced briefly behind me at Siena and Barachiel, whose faces were taut with anxiety. I could feel their fear from here. They doubted my decision was the right one. I didn't blame them. However, I appreciated that despite disagreeing with me, they followed me. I just hoped I wouldn't live to regret that unwavering loyalty.

"Lucifer is on that boat. When we dive, stay close. Do not fall behind, or you will be killed," Thanatiel called back to us, pointing through the clouds towards the earth. I could faintly make out a dark shape floating on the shimmering waves of the bay. He was much closer to the battle than I would've thought. Perhaps he wanted to stay close to deliver the final blow.

The moment Thanatiel's dark wings pulled in to her body, I followed suit, diving down after her. I didn't dare look behind me to see if Siena and Barachiel had done the same, but I prayed that if they didn't, they remained above the clouds. I didn't want either of them to die for the mission that was given to me. This was my fate. Not theirs.

We broke through the clouds and I felt the cold humid air rip at my skin as we went faster and faster towards the dark waves below. The boat was growing larger by the second. Above the clouds, it had appeared to be little more than a sailboat. Now, it had become more apparent that it was nothing of the sort. It was more of a cargo ship, full of stained burgundy and yellow ochre crates. I could faintly make out some small dark figures moving across the deck, unaware of our approach.

I pulled my wings in closer and sped up, reaching Thanatiel's side. Her dark eyes flicked to me for a moment, her sharp lips curling in a smirk. "We're landing on the deck. Brace yourself," she called out and I nodded, hoping that if Barachiel and Siena had followed, they'd also heard. Wind ripped at my hair, screaming in my ears as the ship got larger and larger.

Thanatiel's wings spread and she began to slow, but I kept my wings in close. I was not here to appear graceful and gentle. I was here to destroy.

I heard Thanatiel's voice scream from behind me, but didn't listen. The moment I felt the splash of sea spray against my cheeks, I pulled my wings out beside me, my knees slamming into the steel deck of the ship. I felt the metal give beneath me, groaning and crumbling with the force of my impact. The shudders echoed across the ship in a large boom and I felt the front of the ship dive down in the water and splash a massive wave of water up behind me. Two booms echoed to either side of me, making the ship rock unsteadily back and forth. Then, I heard a final set of feet gently meet the deck of the ship directly behind me.

Slowly, my eyes rose to face my surroundings. Demons. Their eyes were pitch black like Thanatiel's but inside of her sharp canines, they had rows of razor sharp teeth like sharks. Unearthly snarls and howls erupted from their mouths as they began to run towards us.

"Go. Lowest level of the ship. I will follow," I heard Thantiel instruct from behind me. I turned and gave her a quick nod, running forward towards the masses of demons hurdling towards me. They screamed out as they began to attack, but each swing of their limbs, each lurch of their bodies, I dodged. I needed to make it through them, not waste my energy on killing them all. I was only a quarter of the way through the masses when I watched them all crumble into ash around me.