Reaver (17 page)

“We need a backup plan.” Another backup plan, anyway. Raphael had set the first one in motion

when he’d given Reaver the
sheoulghul
. He’d suspected that the idiot might try to rescue Harvester,

and now it was only a matter of time before he paid dearly for that stupid move.

“What kind of backup plan?” Lorelia asked.

Raphael swallowed his distaste at what he was about to say. Regret was the price of being an

archangel, of setting aside personal feelings in order to do what was necessary to win a war.

“I need you to perform a
fetaelis mortcaesar
on Limos.”

“Limos?” The color drained from Lorelia’s face in an almost comical rush. “You… you can’t be

serious.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“But the risks—”

“Limos is the only person I’m aware of, in any of the three realms, who can do this. She’s immortal,

so she’ll survive. She’s pregnant, which is critical. She’s farther along in her pregnancy than Gethel by

a matter of a couple of weeks, which is a bonus. And Satan’s blood has run through her veins since she

was betrothed to him as a child. Also a critical requirement. Can you think of anyone else who

matches those prerequisites?”

“Of course not, but—”

“Are you arguing with me?”

She swallowed audibly. “No, my lord. But it’s against Watcher rules. Even with your orders, I’ll be

punished. Unless you’ve spoken to the Watcher Council.”

“No. This is an archangel matter. I told you this was going to be dangerous. I’ll do what I can to

ensure a light punishment, but ultimately, it’s up to both Heavenly and Sheoulic Watcher Councils.”

He just hoped his plan worked. He’d be the hero who saved Heaven. If it failed, he’d end up before

the Archangel Council and face punishment of his own.

Lorelia shifted her weight as she chewed her bottom lip, and he knew she was going through all of

the pros and cons.

Pros: Save Heaven.

Cons: Too many to list.

She needed an incentive. “Tell you what,” he said. “Do this, and I’ll assign you to the FCU.”

Her astonished breath told him he’d both hooked her and reeled her in. “You’d really do that?

You’d assign me to the Fabled Cities Unit? I know people who have been trying for a thousand years

to just get on the waiting list.”

Everyone wanted to be assigned to FCU detail and rightly so. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to

visit lost cities and mythical locales? And not just visit them, but go back in time to experience the

rise and fall of entire ancient civilizations, some of which had been erased from human and even

angelic knowledge.

“There’s an opening if you want it.” Besides, once the task was done, she’d have to avoid the

Horsemen for the rest of her life. They’d kill her for what she was going to do.

Suddenly eager, Lorelia wrung her hands like a villain from an old silent film. “When do you want

this to happen?”

“As soon as possible. We might not be able to kill Gethel, but with your help, we can make sure that

Lucifer’s birth takes place under our control, where we can kill him before he takes his first breath.”

“How do you think I should handle it? Revenant isn’t going to let me just walk up to Limos and rip

the child from her womb.”

True. The Horsemen’s Sheoulic Watcher existed to give the Heavenly Watcher trouble. And to keep

Heaven from stealing an advantage in the ever-present tug-of-war between Heaven and Sheoul.

“You’ve got powerful anti-Horsemen weapons. Start a fight. Make them take the first swing so you

can use self-defense as an argument with the Council. And be sure to demolish them all so they’re out

of commission for a while. We need six Earth hours to complete the ritual.”

“What about Lucifer? How are you going to take him from Gethel?”

“We need the physical presence of only one of the infants to perform the ceremony. Lucifer’s soul

will be forced out of Gethel remotely.” He lowered his head, hating that it had come to this. But war

was war, and Heaven would do what it must to win. “Do your job right, and Limos will have no way of

knowing we switched her child with Gethel’s, and that the life we put back inside her is Lucifer.”

At least, no one would know until he was born. Then the horse shit would hit the fan. The Horsemen

had wreaked havoc upon the Earth once—badly enough that history had been erased and rewritten.

The archangels had done it before, and they could do it again. The Earth and its inhabitants might

suffer, and that was regrettable.

But Heaven would be safe.

Thirteen

Reaver stared at the beast Harvester had become, his mind torn between focusing on the fact that he

was glowing and the fact that while she’d been latched on, connected to him in a way that seemed

more intimate than anything he’d ever done, he’d remembered things about his past with her.

Yenrieth’s past with Verrine. The memories had been fleeting and broken, as if they’d been whirling

inside a tornado and he could catch only bits and pieces as they flew by.

Harvester stared back at him, her normally green eyes as black as the oily pools dotting the

landscape around them. Black and blue veins ran like a road map of evil under her gray skin, and her

lips, usually lush and as smooth as a fine merlot, had blackened and peeled back to reveal a mouth full

of sharp teeth. She was taller. Larger. And two horns jutted from her skull like railroad spikes.

“We’re going to slaughter you down here, angel.” She charged him, swiping at his face with claw-

tipped hands.

“Shit.” He spun, caught her from behind, and threw her to the ground.

His blood had strengthened her, but she was still no match for him. Not yet. Once she was fully

healed, they’d be on even footing. He knew from experience that she was his equal in almost every

way.

She popped to her feet with a hiss. “You’re going to die.”

“
Verrine!
” His bellow rumbled through the cave, breaking free rocks and dust that pelted them and

swirled through the air. “This isn’t you. My blood did something—”

“I t
is
me!” she screamed, and he swore the air pulsed around her. “I’m not Verrine. I’m hell’s

daughter. Evil runs through my veins. You wasted what was left of your pathetic life to rescue a

monster.”

“You aren’t a monster.”

“No?” She took a few steps toward him, her hips swaying in that dangerously seductive way she had

that drove Reaver crazy with lust. “Want to know what’s going through my head right now? Because I

guarantee you’ll change your mind.” She whirled around as Calder burst into the cavern.

“I found the way out!” Calder gave Harvester a double-take. “Damn, bitch, you’re ugly.” He

gestured to the tunnel he’d emerged from. “Come on, I’ll show you. We can be in the human realm in

an hour—”

Calder’s head exploded like a balloon full of strawberry jelly and cream cheese. Gore splattered on

the cave walls and dripped down the stalactites to form gooey puddles on the ground.

“
What the fuck?
” Reaver leaped away from Harvester, whose finger and thumb pointed like a gun at

the demon’s remains.

Smiling, she brought her hand up and pretended to blow smoke from her finger pistol. “Bang.”

Still stunned, Reaver choked out, “He was going to get us out of here.”

“Whatever,” she said with a shrug. “He was an asshole.”

Yes, he was. But he was an asshole they needed. “He was our ally!” he shouted.

“Ally?” Harvester laughed, a crackly, paper-thin sound. “Do you know how many good guys I’ve

killed since I fell? Thousands. Humans, demons, angels.” Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, as if

inhaling the scent of her victims’ misery. “I fucking loved it.” She shivered and opened her eyes.

To survive Sheoul and earn a place as Watcher, she had to do things that hardened her heart and

blackened her soul.

Raphael had called it. Reaver wasn’t sure what he’d expected from Harvester post-rescue, but this

wasn’t it. He’d hoped that Verrine was somewhere inside the fallen angel, and now that he had a few

memories in his head, he truly couldn’t reconcile this Harvester with the angel who had, in the human

realm, healed children and animals. Who had brought him manna drops after he’d been mangled in a

battle with demons.

Who had kissed him.

“Damn you, Harvester,” he breathed. “Whatever is going through your head is happening because of

my blood. Or my glow. It’s affecting the evil side of you, but you can fight it.”

She raked her hand through her hair, exposing more of her polished black horns. “It’s easier not to.”

“Since when has doing the right thing been easy?” He inched slowly closer, careful to keep her from

feeling trapped. “It wasn’t easy to give up your wings, was it? It wasn’t easy to do the things you had

to do to prove your loyalty to Satan, but you did it.”

A tremor shook her, so subtle he’d have missed it if he’d blinked. But then it was gone, and her

malevolence burned in her coal eyes once more.

“It was difficult… but only at first.” She licked her lips and moaned with pleasure. “Do you know

how quickly you learn to love the rush other people’s misery provides?”

He took another step closer. “Listen to me. You’re an angel. Your mother is an angel, and your

father, bastard that he is now, was an angel when you were conceived. There’s more good in you than

evil no matter how much Sheoul has changed you. Fight this, Harvester.”

She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, they were bloodshot, but at least the whites were…

white instead of inky black. “You remind me of someone.”

Yeah
, he thought.
I remind you of me. Of Yenrieth
.

“Purge your powers,” she said roughly, and he went taut with suspicion. “You have to get rid of the

glow.” Her clawed hands flexed at her sides. “It makes me want to… hurt you.”

She was right—if feeding from him had drained the
lasher
implants and with them, their angel-

masking ability, the only way to dampen his angelic signature was to drain his powers. But what if she

was lying and he wasn’t radiating an angelic aura? What if she wanted him to drain himself so he’d be

weakened and vulnerable?

“Do it,” she purred. “Expend yourself.”

Could he trust her? And did she have to make it sound so dirty?

Harvester’s expression tightened, and all over her body, the veins winding in erratic paths beneath

her skin began to pulse. “Do you think I’m going to slaughter you once you’ve depleted your power

reserves?”

“The thought had occurred to me.”

“I won’t.” She clenched her teeth as she spoke, as if her brain was trying to keep her mouth from

talking. “My word is all I have. I won’t go back on it. I keep to my oaths.”

I keep to my oaths
. Another snapshot of memory. He saw Verrine on her knees, sobbing as she

pleaded with him.
I keep to my oaths. Please, Yenrieth, you have to understand.

Understand what? What oaths? What was that all about? Had he trusted her then? Could he trust her

now?

Harvester was starting to pant. “Once you do it, I should return to normal. But hurry. I can’t hold

back for long.”

Shit. Even if he could settle Harvester down or knock her out, he couldn’t walk around Sheoul like

some sort of divine beacon. He’d be dead, or worse, taken prisoner within hours.

“Stand back.” He gestured to the far side of the cave, near Calder’s body. “Over there.”

With a displeased growl, she moved with him to the exit, and he didn’t like the way she kept staring

at him like he was a juicy steak. And not one to be savored.

Reluctantly, he prepared himself, knowing this could be the dumbest move he’d ever made. And

that was saying something, because he’d made some whoppers.

Gathering every drop of his power, he threw out his hands and sent a blast of energy at the far side

of the cave.

Please, Yenrieth, you have to understand
.

Verrine’s words blindsided him again, knocking him so mentally off balance that he lost control of

the divine lightning. The
lasher
implants might be drained of the ability to mask his aura, but they