Angelus

FOR MY DAUGHTER,

WHO IS ALL THE INSPIRATION I NEED

Five years ago, when I sat down to write the acknowledgments for
Archon,
the first installment in the Books of Raziel trilogy, the day when I'd sit to write them again for the final novel in the series seemed like a speck on the horizon of life.

Yet here I am.

I've spent a literal decade in Angela Mathers's world. In that time, I've learned so much about myself as a person and as a writer that in many ways, I can say these novels are a part of me. It is a surreal feeling to leave these characters behind. But like all turning points in life, this stage was inevitable. These acknowledgments are a fond farewell from me to a world I've created, but they're also an embrace of the future and all those who've made it possible.

So I sincerely thank my husband, my precious daughter, my parents, my family, my close friends, and all the fans of this trilogy for their encouragement, faith, and pride in my work. No words can ever express how much that has meant to me throughout this journey.

I also sincerely thank my agent, Ann Behar, my editor, Kelly O'Connor, copy editor Laurie McGee, cover artist Nekro, and the team at Harper Voyager who worked to turn this book into a concrete reality. Thank you for all you've done to help make my dreams come true.

My dear cockatiel, Caesar, thank you for always chirping your enthusiasm over the years.

And God, who makes all things possible, thank You for carrying me through them.

Until next time, everyone!

Genesis
The Story So Far

Before the beginning of all things, there was a Mother who sang and carried the stars within her.

Worry consumed her because often the stars near her heart burned and jostled, as if fighting one another. Then the unthinkable happened, and she gave birth to twins long before the appointed time. These children were meant to be equal in every way, but from the start one twin decided to claim dominion over our universe. He attacked his sibling, murdering him, and from then on a fragile balance weighed toward the side of shadows.

The Mother who had carried these gods fell into the deepest despair and took her punishment to the depths of the eternal Abyss.

Innumerable cycles of time passed before an angel named Raziel found her again.

Raziel was one of three powerful sibling angels, and they had also been told their purpose was to share equal rule over the universe. Yet the jealousy and rivalry between two of them, Israfel and Lucifel, grew to a feverish pitch, and upon
returning to his home in Heaven, Raziel found his sister, Lucifel, instigating the infamous War that would divide the angels forever into two opposing kingdoms.

It was a dreadful time of blood and feathers falling like the snow.

Raziel was the last to fall. Horrified and determined to end the bloodshed, he had confronted God and begged for intervention to stop Lucifel's rebellion. Instead, he plummeted to his death in full view of his siblings, one of whom loved him more than life itself.

The glorious time of Israfel's rule as Archangel in Heaven was over.

Lucifel too had failed to claim the crown she so desperately desired, and she fled to her new kingdom of Hell. But the Throne of Hell was little more than a prison, and Lucifel found herself swiftly jailed by the angels who had once worshipped her. They called themselves demons, and though their kingdom remained forever dark and dismal, they never forgot the glories of long ago.

This truce between angels and demons could not last. Instead, Lucifel's influence grew from the darkness, and her twisted ideals seeped throughout the universe. Seeking the mysterious power contained in Raziel's Book, one of his greatest treasures, it is claimed she means to destroy the universe that mocks her suffering.

The last hope for a crumbling world is a being called the Archon, also known as Angela Mathers. Angela is human, but her unique soul is protected by the spirit of Raziel. She alone can successfully oppose Lucifel and open Raziel's Book for the power of good rather than evil. However, the Book is not a thing but a person, and Angela knows that to open the Book would mean murdering her best friend, Sophia. She has refused to do so, seemingly sentencing the universe to a fate of silence worse than death, because it would be one without resurrection.

Angela Mathers firmly believed that even Hell could not separate her from her friend. She suffered, and bled, and fought in a twisted demonic maze to save the Book from destruction, only to unwittingly allow Lucifel to escape back to Heaven.

Now Angela sits on the Throne of Hell, fulfilling a prophecy of Ruin. But Ruin does not always mean destruction. Sometimes it means Revolution. Crowns pass from one person to the next, yet it takes a special soul to heal the burdens of all.

The Mother's song no longer echoes throughout the universe, and new notes wait to be revealed. Now, the moment of change has finally arrived. The end of a cycle of pain has begun.

For though souls have hurt, and bled, and cried, the light ever returns in a rushing, relentless tide.