Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [108]
Thanatos went down on his heels next to the angel. “Say hi to the nice lady, Zhreziel.”
“Fuck you, Death.”
Thanatos’s smile was grim. “That could very well happen if I turn evil, so take the agimortus like a good servant of Heaven.”
Cara put her hand to her belly, but that didn’t stop the churning. “Why doesn’t he want it?”
Zhreziel snarled. “Do you want it?”
“No, but—”
“But what? Are you completely stupid?”
In a flash, Ares had the fallen angel by the throat and was squeezing. “You do not speak to her that way.” Loathing burned in Zhreziel’s eyes, but he gave a reluctant nod, and Ares dropped him. “Cara, come here.”
“No!” Zhreziel scrambled backward, but Thanatos caught him. The angel began to pant, his skin paling. “I don’t want it. Don’t… want… it.”
Ares eyed the fallen angel with disgust. “You haven’t entered Sheoul, which means you’re redeemable. Taking the agimortus will be in service to humans. Don’t you think that will be a good thing?”
“Good? Pestilence and his demons will be after me!”
“We’ll protect you.”
“The way you protected Batarel and Sestiel? Forgive me if I’m dubious about the quality of your protection.”
“Idiot angel.” Limos, who had been licking a blue lollipop, wagged it at him. “Those two thought they’d be better off on their own. That won’t happen with you. We’ll keep you nice and safe. And busy. Ares has a great video collection. Ooh, and a wet bar.”
“What are you people not getting? I don’t want the damned thing! If I have it and Pestilence kills me, my soul will belong to Satan. If he doesn’t, and one of your other Seals breaks, then I will turn evil because I bear the agimortus. It’s a lose-lose for me.” He nodded to Cara. “She’s human. Not meant to bear the agimortus, so she won’t turn evil.”
“You selfish shit.” Ares’s voice pulsed with mounting anger. “She’s going to die if she doesn’t transfer it. Do you want the Final Battle to begin?”
“Of course not,” Zhreziel snapped. “But if I’m not carrying the agimortus, I can fight on the side of good and win my soul and wings back.”
Oh, God. He was in a fight for his very soul. The nausea became a crashing wave that threatened to spill right out of Cara’s stomach.
“Say it with me.” Thanatos’s voice was wintry as he spoke into the angel’s ear. “Apocalypse. Armageddon. It will break in a matter of hours if Cara keeps the agimortus, because it’s killing her.”
“And if I take it,” Zhreziel shot back, “it’s only delayed. Either you or Limos will see the breaking of your Seal, and then you all turn evil. It’s coming, you stupid fucks. No matter what, it’s coming. And I’d rather fight against you than fight for you.”
A soft “pop” rang out as Limos pulled the lollipop out of her mouth. “You realize we don’t need your permission, right? So you should probably shut up now. We have to keep you safe, but we don’t have to be nice to you.” She gestured to the shelves of DVDs. “Ares has the complete collection of Miami Vice. We could torture you until you’re begging for Pestilence to kill you.”
“Release me!” Zhreziel brushed his hair away from his face, but it fell back, covering one eye as he swiveled around to Cara. “Please. Don’t do this.”
“Shut up.” Limos slammed her candy down on the bar top and wrapped her hand around the back of the fallen angel’s neck, forcing his gaze away from Cara. “Ares also has Starsky and Hutch.”
This was not at all how Cara had envisioned this going, and she swallowed sickly. “Can we hold off? Find another fallen angel who would be willing?”
“Even if some mythical willing creature existed at some point in time,” Limos said, “we’re running out of even unwilling options.”
Unable to bear looking at Zhreziel for one more second, Cara swung around to Ares. “So what are our other options?”
“There are none,” Ares said. “Do it.”
Stall. “I don’t know how.”
“Touch him with the intent of passing it. It should be automatic.”
She shivered, suddenly chilled to the bone. “I can’t.”
“You can.” Ares’s hands clamped down on her shoulders, and he dipped his head to look her straight in the eye. “You have to.”