"What do you mean you saw nothing?" I practically hissed at the Angels, blood boiling in my veins.
"The streets were only filled with the dead. Nothing moving. Some buildings were still smoking, but other than that-," one of the Angels explained, but I held up my hand to silence them. My wings ached and burned with every push downwards, but still I hovered.
"So you mean to tell me we are going in blind? Again?" I breathed out through gritted teeth. This was so not good. So not good. I had agreed to the whole elite task force thing because I knew the rest of the army would be distracted, but without any indication as to where Lucifer was-
it would be a massacre.
"What's our new plan?" An Angel questioned softly and I turned to face her. She had warm dark skin and big doe eyes, unhardened by the horrors we'd seen in the last few days. Pity. I didn't think those would last long.
"We don't have a choice. We have to go in blind. Let's go back down and I'll address everyone at once," I grumbled in dissatisfaction. The Angels followed me as I descended back towards the camp, and much to my displeasure, it seemed everyone was waiting for us.
"Well?" Siena rushed up to my side, slightly out of breath.
"Nothing. We will be going in blind," I replied with a huff. Her jaw fell open a little, but she took a step back from me without saying a word. I turned to address the many Angels and mortals who were still wounded across Central Park. As much as it burned the back of my throat to speak, I had to anyways.
"Nothing was seen. We will be going in blind. When Lucifer is spotted, the elite task force will separate from the main group and we will go deal with him. This is not what we wanted, but it's all we've got. Once again, if you would like to flee when I release the shield, you're more than welcome to," I called out, earning a low grumble of frustration from the crowd. "I will open the shield in a few hours, at daybreak. We have no time to waste if we're going to save Earth from Hell."
That earned me a solid minute of pure silence, shock, perhaps. I didn't blame them. I wanted to procrastinate as much as anybody. However, if the streets were empty, that meant Hell's Army had moved elsewhere, and that meant leaving millions of souls without protection. As much as I wanted to save our injured, we simply had no more time. We would have to do what we could and try to save the souls of those we lost. There was no other way. This was the end, and one way or another, it would end.
Greene, a voice cooed in the back of my head, sending a shiver hurtling down my spine. I turned and faced Grey, who slowly sauntered towards me, cerulean eyes now a cool silvery blue.
"When you let the shield down," he began in a low whisper, his voice beginning to break, "I need you to get as far away from me as possible. Thanatiel will focus on me, and I can't have you as a possible target for her."
My heart fractured a little in my chest, aching as I sucked in a withered breath. As badly as I wanted to refuse, I knew he was right. I gave a quick nod.
"When I kill her, I will find you. I promise," he murmured, a croak in his normally suave voice. "I will find you, whatever the cost. I will find you."
"I know," I whispered, my throat burning as tears welled in my eyes. I knew very well that we likely wouldn't survive tomorrow, that Lucifer's prediction was more likely than not to come true. I suppose it was a small comfort to know that yes, Grey would keep his promise. In Lucifer's vision, we had died in each other's arms, after all. At least I had that to look forward to.
"You were made for this, Greene. This is your Reckoning," he breathed out, gingerly brushing the burning tears from my cheeks.
"I know," I nodded quickly and a crooked smile broke out across Grey's lips, as dazzling as if the sun had broken through my clouded shield.
Given the gasps and screams that echoed around me now, it seems it had.
I quickly looked up, my eyes wide in fear as I realized the shield had shattered at the top and sunlight now rained down on us. The clouded walls surrounding us began to crumble and fade into nothing, slowly revealing the burning skyscrapers and mounds of broken, bloodied bodies around the park.
How had it broken? I hadn't meant to let it fall.
As I felt the wave of power flood back into my body, I realized- I had let it slip. My soul had failed on me. It could no longer hold up the impenetrable wall it'd been holding for days, despite Grey completing the bond. Our time was up.
"Everybody go!" I screamed out, watching Angels and mortals grab what armor and weapons they could.
"What happened?" Grey growled out to me, eyes flaring a fluorescent blue.
"It gave out. I couldn't hold it any longer. I had no warning, it just slipped," I replied quickly, feeling the power I had put into the wall slowly seep back into my veins. It burned like wildfire through me, searing every inch underneath my skin. I could feel it bleeding into my eyes, healing my aching wings and bruised skin. That was why I hadn't been healing- the wall had taken up all of my power.
"We aren't ready," Grey whispered sharply, looking around at the crazed remains of Heaven's Army, all in an uproar. Siena had abandoned her healing equipment and grabbed her sword and crossbow, as had Ravenna and Allison. Suriel helped Allison strap a shield onto her wrist while tears streamed down her cheeks. But even as they did, she did not make a sound. Allison stood there in complete silence, holding her sword in front of her face, staring at her reflection. She slowly turned to me.
"Jordan, I-," she began, but was cut off by an inhuman screech that echoed down the streets from the bay. The earth began to tremble once more and I met her fearful gaze.
"I love you too," I mouthed back, turning and looking back up at Grey.
"Go kill that son of a bitch," he growled out lowly, his charcoal wings slowly extending out to either side of him.
With a confident smirk, he shot up into the sky, the ground trembling in his wake. Legions of Angels and mortals followed him as he soared down the streets towards the bay once more, shockwaves of power radiating off of him as he went. I glanced over to Siena and Barachiel, who were making their way over to me. Barachiel swung his sword in his hand and Siena cracked her knuckles, a maniacal smile curled on her lips.
"Stay close," I instructed quietly and they nodded, following my lead as I shot up into the air and soared over the charred remains of New York City. The skies were a brilliant orange and pink with the sunrise, though I doubted they would soon turn black with smoke. I glanced down towards the bay, where I saw the dark masses of Hell's Army slowly ascending from the water back onto the New York banks. They dwarfed our forces, easily. I knew I had to retain what power I had, but I couldn't hang in the back while our forces were sacrificing themselves.
I was made for this.
As badly as I wanted to, I couldn't have Thanatiel focus on me while Grey tried to kill her. She would use me against him. I had to wait. So, I pulled my wings in close and ascended the side of the Empire State building, pushing my wings out as I reached the top. I landed in a jog on the observation deck, walking over to one of the guide railings and watching as the dark mass of Hell descended on our forces. I watched Grey as he sent out a shockwave of power, crumbling half of the army in a split second and sending nearby skyscrapers tumbling to the ground. Smoke and dust billowed up from the wreckage, but our forces seemed to have avoided the falls.
"He's gonna run himself dry if he keeps doing that. Thanatiel hasn't even shown herself yet," I snarled through gritted teeth, expecting Siena and Barachiel behind me. When I heard nothing but silence, I slowly turned around.
"I must admit, I find you intriguing," a sultry voice murmured. As my eyes fell on the pitch black ones of Thanatiel, I felt the gentle caress of death curl around my wrist, cool and soft like a blanket. I broke eye contact with her to see the lifeless bodies of Barachiel and Siena beside her, flat on the ground like stiff boards. My mouth fell open and a broken sound escaped my lips, but she shook her head, silencing me.
"They're not dead. Asleep. I want to talk," she replied in a diplomatic tone. She was draped in dark robes, her throat encased in glittering black jewels. Slowly, she walked over to a bench and sat on it, patting the space beside her. My heart stuttered in my chest, beating a million times a second. She could kill me any second, and that would kill Grey. She had it all figured out.
I stayed put, watching her like a fearful caged animal. I knew I was dead. Totally, and completely dead. However, she had been telling the truth about Siena and Barachiel. I could hear their faint heartbeats from where I stood.
"You're going to kill me anyways, so why would I entertain any conversation with you?" I hissed out. Her cranberry lips curled into an amused smile and she leaned back on the bench, folding her hands in her lap like a queen addressing a peasant.
"I chose not to kill your friends. That could change very quickly," she replied coolly, the threat dangling loosely on her tongue as if it were a modest proposal.
I felt heat rise up the back of my throat, my soul thrashing wildly in my chest as it urged to escape my body and show her exactly who she'd cornered. "What do you want?" I growled out. I felt my eyes flare with my soul's fury as I spoke, but it did nothing to phase her.
"Even in the face of Death herself, you are furious. It's intriguing to me. During my time as Death, I came face to face with every mortal who had walked this Earth. Never, have I ever had anyone look me in the eye and defy me like you did. They all grovel. All of them," she huffed, as if bored.
"I'm sure that's not true, but okay," I snorted, folding my arms and glaring at her.
Her smirk broke out into a dazzling white smile. "Tell me about this new Death, it's quite obvious you're fond of him. I was fond of a man once too, but then discovered women were much better company," she chuckled dryly.
"I'm not going to talk to you about Grey," I spat incredulously, bewildered that she even cared.
"Is he a good man, Silverborne?" Her gaze became steel and I heard the heartbeats of Siena and Barachiel begin to waver. I stumbled over my words for a moment, beyond confused.
"Yes. He is," I stammered. Her eyes softened and she relaxed against the bench once more.
"I quite like you," she tilted her head to the side, eyeing me for a moment. "It's a pity he wants to kill you. Such a powerful, young thing. But Lucifer is a man, after all, and there's nothing more men want than power."
"Not all men. I know a few good ones," I shot back.
"I assume he is one of them, Grey, is it?" She raised an eyebrow slowly, twirling a silver ring around her index finger. I gave a single nod. "Grey wants to kill me. Is that not pursuit of power?" She narrowed her eyes and I heard her power descend upon my friends once more. Fear boiled in my veins as I quickly shook my head.
"He's only doing it to protect me. He's trying to get me to Lucifer. This is not about power for him. It never was," I explained, struggling to keep my voice steady as my breath shook.
She paused, looking at me in the eye for a moment.
"Lucifer will kill you," she murmured, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"I know," I replied.
"And yet you still go?" She curled her neck, as if surprised. "After all the power you've been given, you still charge straight for Death?"
"Of course I do. I love him."